** News Roundup: Why Trump's Trial Shouldn't Be Delayed
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Former President Trump has consistently sought to delay or evade accountability for his actions — including his effort to overturn the 2020 election.

In an effort to postpone trial in his federal election interference case until after this year’s election, Trump’s legal team appealed a recent ruling that he is not entitled to immunity from criminal prosecution. But a brief filed by American Oversight last week has — as many ([link removed]) legal ([link removed]) observers ([link removed]) and ([link removed]) experts ([link removed]) have noted ([link removed]) — the potential to derail that delay tactic.

Late last month, we filed an amicus brief ([link removed]) that argues that the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit lacks jurisdiction to hear Trump’s immunity appeal until after he is tried by a jury, convicted, and sentenced.
* Supreme Court precedent prohibits a criminal defendant from immediately appealing an order denying immunity unless the claim is based on “an explicit statutory or constitutional guarantee” that the defendant doesn’t have to go to trial.
* Trump’s claims rest on no such explicit guarantee. And this week, in a reply brief that mentioned us, Trump still failed to identify any provision that expressly immunizes him from facing trial.
* The case should be sent back to the trial court, the stay should be lifted, and the matter should immediately proceed to trial.
* “This is a perfect example of the adage ‘Justice delayed is justice denied,’” said American Oversight Executive Director Heather Sawyer. “The American people should have the benefit of a jury verdict on Trump’s guilt before they choose the next president of the United States.”


Oral arguments on the appeal are scheduled for this Tuesday, Jan. 9, and Trump will reportedly appear in court ([link removed]) . Earlier this week, the court ordered lawyers to be prepared to discuss amicus briefs filed in the case, bringing major attention to our argument.

The timing is especially significant given that it’s been three years since the violent and heavily armed mob of Trump supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
* State and federal prosecutors are continuing their effort to hold Trump and his allies accountable for their actions that day: As of December, about 1,240 people had been arrested in connection to the attack, the New York Times ([link removed]) reported.
* But a recent Washington Post/University of Maryland ([link removed]) poll ([link removed]) has found that today, “Republicans are more sympathetic to those who stormed the U.S. Capitol and more likely to absolve Donald Trump of responsibility for the attack than they were in 2021.”
* State officials continue to weigh the question of whether Trump should be allowed on the 2024 ballot because of his role in the insurrection. Last week, Maine joined Colorado ([link removed]) in finding Trump ineligible for the state’s primary ballot, while officials in California and Michigan recently decided that Trump may appear ([link removed]) .
* On Wednesday, Trump asked the U.S. Supreme Court ([link removed]) to overturn the ruling barring him from appearing on the Colorado ballot.


On the Records

Foreign and Taxpayer Spending at Trump’s Properties
A new report released by the House Oversight Committee shows that Trump’s businesses received at least $7.8 million ([link removed]) from officials and governments of 20 countries during his presidency. The report confirms what we’ve long known: Trump’s businesses got a huge boost from his time in office.

Our investigations uncovered numerous examples of taxpayer money going to his private businesses:
* Last year, we obtained records showing that the Defense Department spent nearly $1 million at Trump properties ([link removed]) between July 2017 and November 2019, including more than $270,000 at Trump National Doral Miami.
* In 2021, we obtained records ([link removed]) from the Pentagon detailing a number of trips taken by cabinet and White House officials on military airplanes during the first year of the Trump administration, including several visits to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.
* Justice Department officials ([link removed]) spent more than $5,700 at Trump’s Doral and Soho properties in 2018, according to records we uncovered.
* DHS and Pentagon employees spent more than $5,500 ([link removed]) at Trump properties between 2017 and early 2019, including a roughly $1,600 dinner that DHS official Miles Taylor had with a foreign government representative at a restaurant at the Trump International Hotel.
* “Is this a meeting I should attend?” Trump’s ambassador to Canada Kelly Craft asked a staffer in a November 2018 email we obtained ([link removed]) . “If so, I would prefer the TRUMP HOTEL.”
* Woody Johnson, Trump’s billionaire ambassador to the U.K., paid £1,143 ([link removed]) (about $1,500) for a single day of activities at Trump’s golf course in Scotland in July 2018.


Three Years Since Jan. 6
The evidence uncovered over the past three years has shown that the storming of the Capitol was a culmination of Trump and his closest allies’ larger scheme to cling to power. Here are some of our major findings about the effort to overturn his election loss.
* We obtained DOJ call logs ([link removed]) , Secret Service timelines, and more records that shed light on the events of Jan. 6 and the surrounding days, and the government’s response. We created a detailed and comprehensive timeline ([link removed]) of that day and related public records.
* Trump Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark was willing to bolster Trump’s baseless claims of widespread voter fraud and to help him use the DOJ to overturn the election. We obtained emails ([link removed]) Clark sent in the final days of the administration — including an email to the acting attorney general alluding to his actions as something on which “reasonable minds can differ.”
* We uncovered whistleblower complaints ([link removed]) from the Department of Defense’s Office of the Inspector General in which federal employees reported coworkers they believed participated in the insurrection and preceding rallies.
* Through litigation, we discovered that the Defense Department and the Army had wiped the phones ([link removed]) of top officials at the end of the Trump administration — including texts from Jan. 6, 2021. In response, the Pentagon announced a new policy regarding preserving texts.
* Trump and some of his associates are facing multiple criminal charges related to their election interference. We compiled a guide ([link removed]) to public records we’ve obtained that shed light on the activities and communications of Trump’s co-conspirators and co-defendants, including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark, Mark Meadows, and more.


Other Stories We're Following

Election Denial and Threats to Democracy
* True the Vote wins intimidation case over Georgia voter challenges (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* A right-wing tale of Michigan election fraud had it all — except proof (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* As social media guardrails fade and AI deepfakes go mainstream, experts warn of impact on elections (Associated Press ([link removed]) )


Voting Rights
* Wisconsin Supreme Court rules legislative maps unconstitutional, orders new boundaries for 2024 vote (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel ([link removed]) )
* Republican lawmakers ask Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider redistricting ruling (Wisconsin Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Heated election year might bring more changes to Georgia voting laws (Atlanta Journal-Constitution ([link removed]) )
* Federal judge approves Georgia’s Republican-drawn congressional districts (Washington Post ([link removed]) )
* Texas Republicans want to hand count 2024 primary ballots. Experts say it’s ‘a recipe for disaster.’ (Votebeat ([link removed]) )


In the States
* Wisconsin leader pivots, says impeachment of state Supreme Court justice over redistricting unlikely (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Wisconsin Assembly’s top Republican wants to review diversity positions across state agencies (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Bomb threats lead to brief lockdowns and the evacuation of multiple state capitols (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Who investigates the sheriff? In Mississippi, often no one (New York Times ([link removed]) )


LGBTQ Rights
* Ohio governor blocks bill banning transition care for minors (New York Times ([link removed]) )
* Seattle Children’s Hospital sues Texas Attorney General over trans patient records (Texas Tribune ([link removed]) )
* HHS extends Nebraska’s emergency regs on gender-affirming care through March (Nebraska Examiner ([link removed]) )
* Families with trans kids flee to Colorado as other states ban gender-affirming care (Colorado Public Radio ([link removed]) )
* Judge temporarily blocks enforcement of Idaho law on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (Idaho Capital Sun ([link removed]) )
* New Hampshire House passes bill to ban gender-affirming care for minors, sending bill to Senate (New Hampshire Bulletin ([link removed]) )


Abortion and Reproductive Rights
* Abortion debate creates ‘new era’ for state supreme court races in 2024, with big spending expected (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Arguments over abortion-rights initiative set for February before Florida Supreme Court (Florida Phoenix ([link removed]) )
* Florida abortion amendment gets enough signatures for 2024 ballot (Tampa Bay Times ([link removed]) )
* In Texas case, federal appeals panel says emergency care abortions not required by 1986 law (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Texas doctors do not need to perform emergency abortions, court rules (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Threats to Education
* How a conservative group’s videos gained a foothold in classrooms with help from Republican officials (NBC News ([link removed]) )
* Laws on book challenges, ‘indoctrination’ create culture of fear in Arkansas school libraries (Arkansas Advocate ([link removed]) )
* Judge blocks most of an Iowa law banning some school library books and discussion of LGBTQ+ issues (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Home-schoolers dismantled state oversight. Now they fear pushback (Washington Post ([link removed]) )


Government Transparency and Public Records Law
* State health department’s top attorney retires amid ties to deleted foster care email scandal (West Virginia Watch ([link removed]) )
* Disney says in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is failing to release public records (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* After USA Today investigation, military finally releases internal extremism report (USA Today ([link removed]) )
* Attorney general: KY corrections department is improperly delaying release of records (Lexington Herald Leader ([link removed]) )


Immigration
* Justice Department sues Texas over law that would let police arrest migrants who enter US illegally (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* U.S. citizens have been accidentally caught up in the Texas crackdown on migrants (NPR ([link removed]) )
* Texas is sending asylum seekers to major cities by bus with little notice. These mayors want to pump the brakes (CNN ([link removed]) )


Jan. 6 Investigations
* Congressman told to hand over hundreds of texts and emails to FBI in 2020 election probe (Associated Press ([link removed]) )
* Trump wants judge in January 6 case to hold special counsel Jack Smith in contempt (CNN ([link removed]) )

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