[What A Day]([link removed])

Friday, April 26, 2024
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA

- Reporter [Ben Meiselas]([link removed]) relaying vital source notes from the Trump hush money trial

Editor’s note: Some bittersweet personal news: today is my last day writing the What A Day newsletter. I won’t be going far—I’ll still be writing here at Crooked, and you’ll even continue to see some of my horrid little jokes in this very newsletter. Our News Editor Greg Walters will be taking the helm in the meantime, so fear not! WAD will remain in your inbox five nights a week. 
 
Thanks for riding with me these past two years. It wasn’t always easy, but we sure did manage to call Mitch McConnell “a little bitch” a lot, and that’s what truly matters in my one wild and precious life. Take care. 
 
- Julia 

The Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday in yet another landmark case, this time involving presidential immunity. Damn, we’re getting pretty tired of these “unprecedented” times!

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Over the course of [some two-and-a-half hours of arguments]([link removed]), the Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled support for giving presidents some level of criminal immunity for certain acts taken while in office. Lawyers for disgraced former president Donald Trump appealed his immunity case all the way to the highest court in the land over claims he cannot be prosecuted for trying to overturn the 2020 election. 

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Trump has long claimed that the President of the United States has “absolute immunity”—which even some of the Court’s most notorious conservative whack-jobs seemed to rebuff. However, some of those same whack-jobs also indicate a belief that the president needs some immunity from criminal prosecution. [At the heart of the discussion was the question of what constitutes an “official act”]([link removed]) for which a president cannot be prosecuted. The lawyer representing Trump, D. John Sauer, was truly On One on Thursday, arguing that without total immunity from criminal prosecution “there can be no presidency as we know it.” Because the president simply NEEDS to be able to do crimes! 

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Under questioning from the Court’s three liberal justices, Sauer stood firm in his batshit argument. Justice Elena Kagan asked if immunity would apply “if the president orders the military to stage a coup.” [Sauer replied]([link removed]): “That might well be an official act.” Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked whether the president “creating a fraudulent slate of electoral candidates” would be “within his right?” [Sauer replied]([link removed]): “Absolutely.” What about the president assassinating a political rival he deems corrupt, Sotomayor asked. [Again, Sauer said]([link removed]): “That could well be an official act.” Thanks for clearing that up, my guy! We are, in fact, talking about full-blown authoritarianism. 

The Supreme Court’s ruling may narrow the scope of Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith’s allegations against Trump, but it appears that other parts of his indictment would survive. But even if Trump loses, the decision could further delay Trump’s trial, if the Supreme Court sends the decision back to a lower court for review.

[What A Day]([link removed])

If you’ve ever dreamed of following a podcast around like the Grateful Dead, this is your year! Pod Save America has a ton of great shows coming up on their Democracy or Else tour, headed to Brooklyn, Boston, Madison, Phoenix, Philly, and Ann Arbor. They will also be at the LA Times festival of books on April 21st with appearances by Dan Pfeiffer, Tommy Vietor, Jon Favreau, and Hysteria’s own Erin Ryan! To get tickets, head to [crooked.com/events]([link removed]) now. 

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It was, apparently, another blustery day in the Manhattan courtroom holding Donald Trump’s hush money trial. ([He kept complaining that the court room was “freezing.”]([link removed])) Emil Bove, one of Trump’s innumerable lawyers, [cross-examined former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker in his third day of testimony]([link removed]). Pecker gave the prosecution exactly what it was looking for on Thursday and Friday when [he offered jurors a vivid explanation of two “catch and kill” arrangements he made with Trump about unflattering stories:]([link removed]) one with former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who claimed she had a yearlong relationship with Trump, and the other now infamously related to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Pecker also detailed Trump’s personal involvement in getting the two women to sign non-disclosure agreements to prevent them from going public with their stories during the 2016 presidential campaign. Trump even hosted a “thank you” dinner for Pecker at the White House in 2017. Pecker admitted to having approved a forward-facing corporate lie—denying the existence of the agreements when the Wall Street Journal investigated—to “protect” his company, he said. 

[A campaign watchdog group filed a formal complaint to the Federal Elections Commission on Wednesday]([link removed]) accusing Trump’s presidential reelection campaign and its related PACS of concealing payment of Trump’s legal fees using campaign funds. The organizations paid $7.2 million for Trump’s legal fees covertly through an unrelated shell company, according to the filing. Neither the Trump campaign nor the company used as a conduit, [Red Curve]([link removed]), responded to requests for comment from the New York Times. 

Trust in the Supreme Court dropped to an historic low in the wake of the Dobbs decision in 2022. [Two years later, the Court hasn’t been able to rebuild trust]([link removed]), with the majority of Americans no longer having faith in the institution, and a plurality of those polled feeling that it is “too conservative.” That’s so weird… I wonder what could have given them that impression?

[The Alabama state House approved legislation that could lead to the prosecution of librarians under state obscenity laws for providing minors with materials the conservative legislature deems “harmful,”]([link removed]) as part of a larger nationwide crusade to ban books. The bill now moves to the state Senate.

In other terrifying news from red states, [Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) announced on Thursday that he plans to sign a bill passed in the state legislature that would allow K-12 educators and staff members to carry concealed handguns]([link removed]) on school grounds. 

In her new autobiography, [Gov. Kristi Noem (R-SD)—said to be on Trump’s short list for VP—detailed killing her own family dog]([link removed])…almost proudly(?) as some sort of bizarre conservative “I do what it takes,” bullshit narrative. This woman shot a 14-month-old puppy, and was so pleased with the job she did, that she then killed a goat she didn’t like on the family farm! And she volunteered all of this information! 

Elon Musk’s company [SpaceX has asked a Texas federal judge to block the National Labor Relations Board from pursuing claims that the rocket maker required workers to sign illegal severance agreements.]([link removed]) “On what grounds?” you may ask. Well, Elon teamed up with a bunch of other evil billionaires like Jeff Bezos [in February]([link removed]) and launched a legal campaign questioning the constitutionality of the NLRB. The group of corporate super villains asked the courts to effectively dismantle the New Deal-era agency in an effort to even further tip the scales away from workers and towards corporations. If any of them could grow facial hair I’m sure they would all be twisting their mustaches maniacally. 

[Britain’s King Charles will return to public duties next week for the first time since being diagnosed with cancer.]([link removed]) Buckingham Palace said on Friday that he is making encouraging progress with his treatment. [raising a plate of beans on toast] Cheers to his good health. 

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A staggering [53 individuals who aided in Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election have now been criminally charged]([link removed]). Gotta catch em all!

[President Biden appeared on Howard Stern’s SiriusXM radio show]([link removed]), where he said he would “be happy to” debate disgraced former president Donald Trump. Mercifully, Biden bucked guest tradition and did not end up telling Stern any weird octogenarian sex stories. 

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[You Survived Today. See You Thursday.]([link removed])

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