The Republican Party is going all-in on election stealing, and they're still going nuts about the Mar-a-Lago search warrant. 

Monday, August 15, 2022
BY JULIA CLAIRE & CROOKED MEDIA
- Noted everyman Dr. Oz ([link removed]) on the campaign trail conflating Wegmans and Redner’s before talking about regular-guy food crudités, that he believes includes carrots, asparagus, salsa, and guac??​​ ([link removed])

The way many media companies once announced a pivot to video, we assume the RNC must’ve issued a memo saying “We’re pivoting to election stealing!”

* Prosecutors in Atlanta have told lawyers for former personal attorney to disgraced former president Trump (and the #1 person on everyone’s to-be-disbarred list) Rudy Giuliani that he’s a target of their criminal investigation into Trump’s illegal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election ([link removed]) in Georgia. Prior to January 6, Giuliani infamously disseminated a video that he said showed election workers producing “suitcases of unlawful ballots from unknown sources,” a baseless claim that was debunked within 24 hours, but that hasn’t stopped Giuliani from continuing to spread lies about “voter fraud” in the 2020 election to this day.


* Also today, a federal judge has ruled that another Trump ally, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), has to testify before the grand jury about phone calls he made to the Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger ([link removed]) . Graham was supposed to testify last week, but flouted his subpoena. Graham has argued that a provision of the Constitution provides absolute protection against a senator being questioned about legislative acts (lol), but the judge found there are "considerable areas of potential grand jury inquiry" that fall outside that provision's scope. The judge also rejected Graham's argument that the principle of "sovereign immunity" protects a senator from being summoned by a state prosecutor. Like Giuliani, Graham was an early adopter of the Big Lie.


* The Big Lie has spread so far and wide that an entirely new crop of Republicans could be swept into Congress on its back, as was the case for those who rode the wave of the (related) conspiracy theory QAnon movement. This election cycle, GOP candidates like Michigan secretary of state nominee Kristina Karamo, Pennsylvania’s fascist GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano, and Arizona’s two-headed monster—gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake and secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem—are peddle the Big Lie to anyone who will listen. According to a Washington Post analysis ([link removed]) , candidates in 2020 battleground states who now deny the legitimacy of that election have claimed nearly two-thirds of GOP nominations for state and federal offices with authority over elections. That’s, how do I put this, extremely fucking alarming.

This new wave of Republicans who are openly hostile to democracy is terrifying because they aren’t just looking back to 2020, they’re looking forward to how they can rig elections in the future.

* The 2020 election saw a secretive, multistate effort by the Trump campaign to illegally access voting equipment in battleground states. New information shows that this attempt was broader, more organized, and more successful ([link removed]) than previously understood. Republicans have no plans to stop there. If anything, 2020 was a practice run. With their new string of nominees at the state level, Republicans have a shocking number of boots on the ground to carry out even more election interference, towards an ultimate goal of upending democracy and perhaps calling a new Constitutional Convention ([link removed]) to rewrite the document in ways almost too horrifying to imagine (but we can imagine them).


* With this eye towards the future of election theft, Republicans are leaning heavily into anti-democratic sentiment in all-important Pennsylvania, where Mastriano wants to roll back mail-in voting and adopt harsh voter ID laws (the classics) but also advocates truly extreme measures like forcing voters to re-register ([link removed]) and threatening to decertify ([link removed]) all election machines in the state. If elected governor, he would choose the secretary of state ([link removed]) , a point he brings up frequently on the campaign trail, and whomever he chooses would be hand-selected to carry out election rigging.



Ignoring the will of voters and creating their own fraudulent electoral system that will deliver continual wins is now mainstream in the Republican Party. Democrats need to understand that and respond with appropriate force.

Everyone’s favorite talking tree is back and X-Ray Vision ([link removed]) takes a dive deep into the delightful new Disney animated series I Am Groot. Plus Harley Quinn co-creator Justin Halpern makes an appearance to dish on everything from the inspiration behind the series to how they squeeze so many jokes into every minute!

New episodes of X-Ray Vision ([link removed]) drop every Friday, listen wherever you get your podcasts.
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Republicans are still freaking the fuck out over the FBI search at Mar-a-Lago last week. New reports demonstrate that a Trump lawyer told the Justice Department in June that there was no more classified information at Mar-a-Lago ([link removed]) , which was, dare I say, obviously a lie judging from the boxes of documents labeled “Top Secret” the FBI took off the premises. Yesterday, several senior Republicans decided to try a new strategy in their slavish defense of Trump: questioning whether the material was actually classified. 18 Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee are now demanding that the Biden administration send them documents and communications about the FBI search ([link removed]) , including how the warrant was obtained and any communication between DOJ and the White House leading up to the
warrant’s execution. Before Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Thursday press conference in which he announced he would petition to release the warrant to the public, one of Trump’s associates reached out to the Justice Department to “pass along a message” implicitly threatening to fan the flames of violence ([link removed]) if things didn't go his way.

Former Trump Organization CFO Allen Weisselberg is expected to plead guilty to criminal charges tied to his indictment for running a tax avoidance scheme for former Trump Organization officials ([link removed]) , including himself.


A new study warns that California could be hit by a “megaflood” in the not-too-distant future ([link removed]) , potentially putting millions of state residents at risk.


China’s central bank cut key lending rates ([link removed]) to revive demand after figures indicated the world’s second-largest economy might be slumping.


Starbucks has asked the NLRB to suspend all mail-in ballot union elections nationwide, alleging misconduct in the voting process ([link removed]) . You know what’s even more egregious process misconduct? Union busting.


A Louisiana school librarian has sued two men for defamation after they used censorious rhetoric against her when she advocated to keep LGBTQ-themed books on the shelves ([link removed]) , a rare example of an educator taking legal action against conservative reactionaries.


Europe’s devastating, historic heatwave continues ([link removed]) as forests burn, major rivers run dry, and dead fish wash ashore.


New data shows that an “extreme heat belt” in the middle of the country reaching as far north as Chicago is taking shape ([link removed]) and would affect over 107 million people over the next 30 years.


Russian president Vladimir Putin said today that Russia is ready to sell advanced weapons to global allies and develop military technology ([link removed]) despite the Russian military’s unexpectedly poor performance in Ukraine.


The CDC has updated its monkeypox guidance to include dogs as animals that can catch the virus ([link removed]) after French officials documented the first case of a pet contracting the virus from its owners.


A massive oil spill occurred off the coast of Washington state over the weekend when a fishing vessel carrying 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel sank ([link removed]) . The spill has yet to be contained and continues to pollute waters home to endangered orcas.


A court in the military-ruled nation of Myanmar sentenced deposed leader and former Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to six years in prison today ([link removed]) after finding her guilty in four corruption cases.


A Reuters analysis found that U.S. drugmakers are launching new medicines at record-high prices this year ([link removed]) , and disclosing less information about the pricing of said medicines. Yep, sounds like them!

A Tehran official has denied that the Iranian government was involved in the Friday stabbing of best-selling author Salman Rushdie. The spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry still made sure to justify the attack ([link removed]) , saying “...we don’t consider anyone deserving reproach, blame or even condemnation, except for [Rushdie] himself and his supporters.” Well great, you guys seem cool. Iran was immediately suspected to be in some way behind the attack as their late leader Ayatollah Khomeni issued a fatwa demanding Rushdie’s death in 1989, and the decree still stands. A semi-official Iranian foundation posted a $3 million bounty for his murder as well. Rushdie’s attack was so severe he was put on a ventilator, and though he has since been taken off, he suffered a damaged liver and severed nerves in one of his arms and is likely to lose an eye. Rushdie’s alleged assailant is 24-year-old Hadi Matar, who
has pleaded not guilty to the attempted murder and assault charges.
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A federal grand jury investigating the January 6 attack has subpoenaed Trump White House lawyer Eric Herschmann ([link removed]) , who represented Trump during his first impeachment trial, for documents and testimony.


The GOP campaign arm has canceled ad plans in Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin ([link removed]) , signaling their fundraising issues may have led to them being strapped for cash. This from the party of "fiscal responsibility"???

British health officials said today that the country’s monkeypox outbreak shows signs of slowing ([link removed]) .

A federal judge reinstated a moratorium on coal leasing from federal lands ([link removed]) first enacted under President Obama then rolled back under Trump.
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