It’s been nearly 24 hours since former President Trump appeared in Washington for his arraignment, where he pleaded not guilty to four charges over his actions on Jan. 6, 2021, and now he’s looking for some help from higher authorities.  

The former president on Friday aired his day-after complaints on his social media site Truth Social and called on the Supreme Court to step in amid his litany of legal battles, headlined by the federal charges he is facing in connection to special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation of the Jan. 6 riot.

Once again, he laid the blame at President Biden’s feet and said that all of his legal issues are purely political, noting that the money he is being forced to spend on legal bills could be spent on 2024 items such as advertising. 

“I am leading in all Polls, including against Crooked Joe, but this is not a level playing field. It is Election Interference, & the Supreme Court must intercede,” Trump said. 

Any role to be played by the Supreme Court is likely a ways away as they must work through the legal processes — which Trump hopes will be lengthy — that may not happen until after the 2024 general election. 

Trump plans to continue speaking about the baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him, per The Washington Post. That sound you just heard is Republicans cringing en masse and running for their cabinet of vices.  

Trump’s legal troubles are likely to expand, as a possible indictment in Atlanta is on the horizon. The Fulton County Sheriff’s Office said on Friday that it’s beefing up security around the courthouse ahead of a potential indictment against the former president, and a number of streets surrounding the courthouse will be closed for the next two weeks. As The Hill notes, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is likely to seek a grand jury indictment in her investigation into Trump and his allies who attempted to overturn the 2020 results in the state. 

The other side of the 2020 coin: The Wall Street Journal writes about former Vice President Mike Pence’s decision to certify the 2020 election and how it’s hurting his current bid.

It’s Friday (albeit a sleepy one), Aug. 4. I’m Al Weaver (with a much-appreciated assist from Liz Crisp) filling in for Cate, with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. 

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) made a surprise visit to Ukraine today in a trip that underscored the fissures within the GOP over the need for continued aid to the war-torn nation.  

Christie met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during his trip, which was confined to Kyiv and nearby locales and considered a fact-finding mission for the former governor. Aid to Ukraine splits the GOP field, with Christie voicing full support for the Ukrainian cause in contrast with his fellow GOP candidates, who believe less involvement by the U.S. is the way to go.  

Christie told The Washington Post in an interview that he hopes that GOP voters are considering who of the Republican candidates has the ability to get a handle around “the really complicated issues that the next president will have to deal with,” such as the Ukraine situation.  

“… And who is going to be dealing with trying to keep themselves out of jail,” Christie continued with a pointed reference to former President Trump.

Right on cue: Christie’s trip comes as a Russian court on Friday sentenced Alexei Navalny to 19 years in prison over extremism charges. As The Associated Press notes, Navalny was already serving a nine-year term for a number of charges he said were politically motivated. 

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) says he’s “close to halfway there” on reaching the donor threshold to be elligible for the first GOP primary debate later this month.  

“I think we’re close to halfway there. We’ve got about three weeks left, so we’ve got work to do,” Hutchinson told CBS News, adding that his campaign has raked in 10,000 donors in the last two weeks, and are “growing by 1,000 a day.” 

Meanwhile, Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is under fire as he rises like a phoenix — this time over his stances on China, via Politico. 

The U.S. economy touted its resiliency on Friday as employers added 187,000 jobs during July and the unemployment rate dipped to 3.5 percent, a sign of strength despite the ongoing rate hikes by the Federal Reserve.  

As The Hill’s Taylor Giorno notes, hourly wages continued to climb last month as it grew 0.4 percent from June to July, according to new Labor Department data. That’s on par with 0.4 percent growth from May to June. In addition, wages increased at 4.4 percent annually in July — the same figure as it was a month earlier.   

Despite those positive figures, the sentiment remains gloomy across the U.S. as many Americans believe a recession is looming. A new CNN poll found that 51 percent believe the economy is still in a downturn and that conditions are continuing to worsen.  

Twenty-eight percent added that a recovery hasn’t even kicked off yet but conceded that economic conditions are no longer continuing to get worse. Only 20 percent believe the economy is starting to recover.  

Check out more from The Hill’s economic team here on the recent batch of employment numbers. 

The White House crowed over this news, even though economists had previously forecasted a stronger report.  

“We’ve added 13.4 million jobs since I took office — more jobs added in two and a half years than during any president’s four-year term,” President Biden said in a statement, noting the dipping unemployment rate, which has been below 4 percent for a year and a half.  

“This follows recent news that our economy continues to grow, while inflation has fallen by nearly two thirds and is at its lowest level in more than two years. We’re growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up, lowering costs for hardworking families, and making smart investments in America,” he added.

The White House Gift Shop (NOT affiliated with the actual White House!) has a new coin to commemorate the former president’s latest indictment. 

The site says they will ship Oct. 31 (cue up the spooky music). 

From the promo: “Each coin will have the following features: 

*Limited Edition 

*Edge Numbering 

*Certificate of Authenticity with Edition Number 

*Velvet Presentation Case Includes Outer Two-Piece Box with Gold Presidential Seal” 

Just in time for Christmas! 

Today is former President Obama‘s 62nd birthday! President Biden wished his former boss a happy birthday on Twitter:

“Wishing my brother and friend, @BarackObama a very happy birthday,” Biden tweeted. 

Among the fan girlies in the crowd, actress Sarah Paulson did the thing and live streamed from Taylor Swift‘s Eras show in Cali this week. It was adorable. (Tweet) 

The House and Senate are out for August recess. President Biden is on vacation in Delaware, and Vice President Harris is in Washington.    

• 8:45 a.m.: The president and first lady Jill Biden traveled from Rehoboth Beach to Wilmington, Del., where he will remain over the weekend.  

   

• Noon: The vice president will appear in Southeast Washington, D.C., in the Congress Heights neighborhood to deliver remarks on the White House’s economic plan and discuss small businesses. 

   

• 2 p.m.: Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will appear and speak at a reception for the Biden Victory Fund. 

All times Eastern.

• Noon: Vice President Harris delivers remarks on the White House’s economic agenda. Watch.  

Treat yourself to one of the best sweets in the world – a good, old fashioned chocolate chip cookie. And if you’re feeling a bit nostalgic, here’s the story of how the chocolate chip cookies got popular and an original recipe.

And because you made it this far, here’s a preview of the U.S. Women’s National Team’s Sunday (eaaaaaaarlyyyyy) morning match vs. Sweden.  

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