Former Trump adviser appears in court

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Is it just me, or does it feel like 2021 just began? But here we are closing in on the last month and a half of the year. And what a year. Though it's been filled with its share of bad news, there have been positive developments too. Here at THE TOPLINE, we're heartened by the courage of Republicans like Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger in taking a principled stand in defense of truth and democracy. We're also encouraged by the launch this year of the Renew America Movement, and the better future that Americans working together, regardless of party, can bring about. And we're thankful for our "Renewers," ([link removed]) proven leaders who have demonstrated their commitment to building bridges and finding common-sense solutions to the nation's problems. This week's question is: what are you thankful for this year? Please let us know here ([link removed]) . Have a great week! —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor

Ed. Note: Some news about THE TOPLINE. We'll be changing our publication schedule in a couple weeks. More details to come.

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** Bannon's bad day
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Well, at least he showed up this time. Longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon surrendered to FBI agents this morning, after being indicted on Friday on two counts of criminal contempt—one for refusing to appear for a congressional deposition, and the other for refusing to provide documents in response to a subpoena from the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. He appeared before a judge today to face the charges against him. ([link removed])
* — Bannon did not enter a plea during the hearing. Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather released him without bail but required him to check in weekly with court officials and ordered him to surrender his passport. He is due back in court on Thursday. If convicted, Bannon faces a minimum of 30 days and a maximum of one year behind bars on each count, prosecutors said. ([link removed])
*
* — Bannon briefly worked at the White House at the beginning of the Trump Administration. He currently serves as host of a conspiracy-minded far-right podcast. When he declined to appear for his deposition last month, his attorney said he had been directed by a Trump lawyer not to answer questions, citing executive privilege. As a private citizen, however, such privilege wouldn't cover him, according to the indictment. ([link removed])
*
* — Trouble for Meadows? Last week's indictment came on the same day that former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows defied a subpoena from the committee, and as Trump escalated his legal battles to withhold documents and testimony about the insurrection. As with Bannon before him, if the House votes to hold Meadows in contempt, that recommendation would also be sent to the Justice Department for a possible indictment. Stay tuned. —Associated Press ([link removed])

MORE: In wake of Bannon indictment, Republicans warn of payback —The Washington Post ([link removed])


** Cooper: Executive privilege is part of the problem
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"Cornell Law School will tell you executive privilege is rooted in the separation of powers, but it's actually rooted in the gradual expansion of executive authority. The chronically paralyzed dysfunction of Congress—supposedly the pre-eminent branch of the federal government, but now the weakest of the three by far—means power has flowed to the judiciary and the president. Beyond its origin, the way presidents use this privilege tells you everything else you need to know about its legitimacy. Virtually the only use of executive privilege in recent history is to shield presidential wrongdoing from scrutiny." —Ryan Cooper in ([link removed]) The Week ([link removed])

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at
The Week.

MORE: Memo from Trump attorney outlined how Pence could overturn election, says new book —ABC News ([link removed])


** There he goes again
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Michael Flynn isn't exactly known for his rational takes these days, but the retired general and former national security advisor really pushed the crazy envelope on Saturday. While speaking on a "ReAwaken America" tour stop, he said, "If we are going to have one nation under God, which we must, we have to have one religion. One nation under God, and one religion under God." Hoo boy. This isn't Flynn's first controversial statement. A QAnon sympathizer, he is an election-denier, joked in July about "finding somebody in Washington, D.C," while holding an AR-15, and called for a Myanmar-style coup in the U.S. Then there's the whole lying-to-the-FBI thing. Flynn's thoroughly unconstitutional comments on Saturday, however, seem to show he is heading to an even more dangerous place. —The Hill ([link removed])

MORE: 'Let's Go Brandon' chanted at QAnon-linked church event in Texas —Newsweek ([link removed])


** American journalist freed
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American journalist Danny Fenster, sentenced only days ago to 11 years hard labor in Myanmar, has been freed and is on his way home to the U.S. Fenster, the managing editor of the online magazine "Frontier Myanmar," was convicted Friday of spreading false or inflammatory information, contacting illegal organizations, and violating visa regulations. State Department spokesman Ned Price condemned the ruling, saying it was "an unjust conviction of an innocent person." Former U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Bill Richardson negotiated Fenster's release during a meeting with Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the military leader who ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February. "This is the day that you hope will come when you do this work," Richardson said. — ([link removed]) CBS News ([link removed])

MORE: Two journalists in India arrested as media crackdown continues —The New York Times ([link removed])
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** Daley: How gerrymandering impacts democracy
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"Only five seats separate the two parties in Congress. The wildly aggressive gerrymanders being drawn nationwide right now could determine the balance of power for the next decade, regardless of popular will. In Texas, where 95% of population growth has been driven by people of color, the new congressional map manages to expand white political power, decreasing the number of Latino seats from eight to seven, and eliminating the only Black majority seat. Republicans have wiped away once-competitive seats in Oklahoma, New Hampshire, and Indiana, and are expected to do the same in Kentucky, Kansas, South Carolina, and Tennessee." —David Daley in ([link removed]) The Boston Globe ([link removed])

David Daley is a senior fellow at FairVote and the author of "Ratf**ked: Why Your Vote Doesn't Count" and "Unrigged: How Americans Are Battling Back to Save Democracy."

MORE: Republicans have an edge in the emerging 2022 congressional maps —The New York Times ([link removed])


** Focus on voting and elections
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This month's election disproved almost every voting assumption in the book. Making voting easy is a death sentence for the Republican Party? Nope. Vote-by-mail is a slam-dunk for Democrats? Not necessarily. The American voting system is in the midst of a seismic shift, as state legislators propose and pass a flurry of laws restricting and expanding voting, and candidates navigate an electorate of which a sizable portion thinks the whole thing is rigged. The latest elections gave us fresh insights into this new playing field. ([link removed])
* — New York isn't as liberal as people think. At least on ease of voting, it isn't. Voters in the state soundly rejected two ballot proposals that would have allowed for same-day voter registration and no-excuse absentee voting in future elections. Both reforms are fairly commonplace in the U.S. at this point, with 20 states allowing for same-day registration, and at least 34 states allowing for no-excuse absentee voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. ([link removed])
*
* — Ease of voting helps both sides. Last year, Donald Trump said reforms that make voting easier would lead to "levels of voting that, if you'd ever agreed to it, you'd never have a Republican elected in this country again." He was way off. As political scientists and voting experts have long argued, high voter turnout doesn't give either party an advantage. "[The Virginia] election showed these reforms don't benefit one side over the other," said Amber McReynolds, the founding CEO of the National Vote at Home Institute. "They benefit all electors. And then it's up to the campaigns to articulate their message." ([link removed])
*
* — Questioning election integrity is now GOP gospel. Though generally a more traditional Republican in terms of policy and bearing, Virginia Governor-elect Glenn Youngkin waited until after he had secured the Republican nomination before acknowledging that Joe Biden was the legitimate winner of the 2020 election. And he called for election audits during his campaign, with "audit" being a sort of shorthand way to inject doubts about U.S. elections. "It's a strategy to fire up [Trump's] base, keep them close, keep them voting with the Republican Party," said Paul Gronke, an expert on early voting at Reed College. "Unfortunately, it's also deeply corrosive and damaging the future of American democracy." —NPR ([link removed])

MORE: Group hopes to bring ranked-choice voting to Arizona cities —Arizona Mirror ([link removed])


** Dent: The center is where it's at
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"Winning swing voters requires candidates to show some restraint; exercising considered judgment that at times is nuanced and measured will yield electoral benefits. These qualities or characteristics won't necessarily please the shrillest voices of a party's base, but they will appeal to voters who prefer the center lane." —Charlie Dent on ([link removed]) ABC News ([link removed])

Charlie Dent formerly represented Pennsylvania in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he chaired the House Ethics Committee and the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies.

MORE: Tara Dublin: Boebert's threat to help MAGA candidates in 2022 is just more proof GOP is dismantling voting system from within —Hill Reporter ([link removed])

I'll state the obvious by saying we live in a tumultuous time. The enemy is within. The choice is between democracy and fascism, between good and evil, plain and simple. Things do not even START to get better until people are held accountable for their words and actions, especially the so-called leaders. I'm not a Democrat, never have been, and it blows my mind every day to hear Democrats talk about how Republicans must stand up and call out their own. Here's a clue: except for the same few, they won't stand up, and they won't work with you. Here's a suggestion: read the book "The Art of War" by Sun Zsu. It's not a difficult read.

In the meantime, I'd like to know where the FBI, the DOJ, and all of law enforcement across the country are. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems to me death threats are not a protected 1st Amendment right. In fact, they are a crime. Start arresting these people who are making death threats. Heck, many of them do so right out in the open, like at school board meetings. Have local law enforcement at school board meetings and insist that they do their job. Unless, of course, they are fascists themselves. I read recently that law enforcement could not track down various people making death threats across the country, though they had phone numbers of the callers. Too hard, too complicated. Really? Members of the media did so just by calling the numbers. Imagine that. —Bill T., Arizona
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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Got feedback about THE TOPLINE? Send it to Melissa Amour, Managing Editor, at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .
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