Trump cultists

Politico reports: Ron DeSantis has more than two years left as Florida governor. Yet Donald Trump is itching to find his successor. During a high-dollar fundraiser at the Pierre in Manhattan on Tuesday night, Trump pointedly asked Rep. Byron Donalds if he planned on running for governor. A smiling Donalds told POLITICO he answered Trump: “That’s what I hear.” Trump, …

Fox News reports: Rep. Andy Ogles is introducing the “Let Trump Speak Act” to prohibit judges from issuing gag orders to defendants, like former President Trump, in any criminal or civil proceeding. “We have watched for years as a politically-weaponized Department of Justice and Democrat activist judges have gone after President Donald J. Trump,” the Tennessee Republican told Fox News …

Florida Politics reports: U.S. Sen. Rick Scott lamented at a law enforcement roundtable that Senate Democrats won’t support intercepting fentanyl at the border. But the Naples Republican voted against doing so twice. Scott told WESH that the problems with the fentanyl crisis start at better patrolling the border. Scott traced a rush in drugs crossing the border to after Biden …

Mediaite reports: While speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill Friday morning, Rep. Jamie Raskin noted it would be “worth investigating” if alcohol played a role in the chaotic argument. Lawmakers on both sides of the Thursday argument have doubled-downed on their comments and refused to apologize. “I didn’t see the drinking, but the gentlelady from New Mexico Melanie Stansbury raised …

The Hill reports: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem (R) doubled down on claims Thursday that drug cartels are operating in the state with connections to Native American tribes, after multiple tribes in the state banned her from their lands over the comments. Noem said in a NewsNation interview that she has evidence of cartel activity in the state and will …

NBC News reports: A man whose family members were key architects of the American conservative movement was sentenced Friday to nearly four years in prison for his role in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. Federal prosecutors sought more than 11 years in prison for Brent Bozell IV, the son of Media Research Center founder Brent Bozell III …

ABC News reports: The man convicted of breaking into former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s home and attacking her husband Paul Pelosi with a hammer has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison. The Pelosis’ daughter, Christine Pelosi, appeared in court Friday and read victim impact statements from the family. David DePape was convicted in November 2023 for the Oct. …

“I spoke directly with Justice Alito about the flag story in the NYT. In addition to what’s in the story, he told me a neighbor on their street had a ‘F— Trump’ sign that was within 50 feet of where children await the school bus. “Mrs. Alito brought this up with the neighbor. According to Justice Alito, things escalated and …

The New York Times reports: After the 2020 presidential election, as some Trump supporters falsely claimed that President Biden had stolen the office, many of them displayed a startling symbol outside their homes, on their cars and in online posts: an upside-down American flag. One of the homes flying an inverted flag during that time was the residence of Supreme …

From the Justice Department: The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced that Jordan Gee, age 37, of Nanticoke, Pennsylvania, was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of threats against the President and interstate communications with a threat. According to United States Attorney Gerard M. Karam, the indictment alleges that Gee posted several videos …

CNN reports: The House Judiciary Committee voted on Thursday to advance contempt proceedings against Attorney General Merrick Garland for his refusal to turn over audio recordings of President Joe Biden’s interview with special counsel Robert Hur. The move is a major escalation in a dispute over the recordings between House Republicans and the executive branch that came after Biden asserted …

The Hill reports: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) was heckled outside the Manhattan courthouse Thursday where she was attempting to defend former President Trump at his criminal hush money trial. As Boebert and several other Republicans broke away from a makeshift press conference podium, she leaned into the microphones to say one last thing. “And I want all of the news …

“I’ll just be very plain and simple. I was at the State of the Union address and Joe Biden must have been jacked up on something that day. I absolutely believe that from a medical viewpoint and have a good bit of knowledge that happened. “He can’t stand and he can’t stand under the lights for that long and I …

NBC News reports: House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan is demanding documents from the New York attorney general related to the hiring of a lead prosecutor in Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Jordan, R-Ohio, accused Matthew Colangelo, who is a former high-ranking official in Attorney General Letitia James’ office, of assisting in what he called Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s …

The Hill reports: The House Oversight Committee shuffled its schedule, bumping a hearing to hold Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress so some of its members could instead attend former President Trump’s hush money trial. The panel was set to meet early Thursday, an hour after a twin resolution censuring Garland would likewise be considered by the House Judiciary Committee. …

Axios reports: House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) appearance at former President Trump’s criminal trial on Tuesday is dismaying the House Democrats who saved his job less than a week ago. The trip is sending ripples through the Democratic ranks and is already being raised in leadership circles, multiple senior House Democrats told Axios. At the trial, Johnson defended the former …

CNN reports: For the past several weeks, witnesses in Donald Trump’s hush money trial have evoked a chapter of his past when the adult entertainment industry helped him brandish an image as a Manhattan playboy. If some of the former president’s allies get their way, a second Trump term would put that industry on the ropes – and potentially its …

The New York Times reports: Nearly one in five voters in battleground states says that President Biden is responsible for ending the constitutional right to abortion, a new poll found, despite the fact that he supports abortion rights and that his opponent Donald J. Trump appointed three Supreme Court justices who made it possible to overturn Roe v. Wade. Trump …

Politico reports: A large House GOP group is discussing a trip to New York to back up Donald Trump at his hush money trial, according to four Republicans familiar with the matter — joining a growing GOP trend. Those lawmakers considering a Thursday visit, which is not yet finalized, include a chunk of the House Freedom Caucus. Roughly 16 people …

“I think it’s a little demeaning to show up in front of a courthouse particularly one where we’re talking about an allegation of paying a porn star. Really very difficult to watch. There is a level of dignity and decorum that you expect from people who are running for the highest station in the land, and going out and prostrating …