The Hill’s Morning Report — Trump charged in classified documents probe
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The government made history on Thursday and potentially upended the political landscape by charging former President Trump following a seven-month probe of his handling of classified records after leaving office in 2021.
He faces seven charges, including willfully retaining national defense secrets in violation of the Espionage Act, conspiracy to obstruct justice, and making false statements (The Washington Post, The New York Times, CNN).
Trump, who says he’s innocent and the victim of a political witch hunt, was the first to announce on social media that special counsel Jack Smith indicted him. The former president asserts he is a victim of unequal justice and contrasts his treatment to that of President Biden, who was found to have classified documents at his home and in a Washington office and voluntarily turned the materials over to Justice officials. Biden’s circumstances remain under investigation by the special counsel (Politico).
Asked by a reporter hours before the Thursday indictment how he could persuade the public that the Justice Department was fair when Trump said otherwise, Biden responded, “I have never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge” (The Hill).
“I’m honest,” he added.
Trump remains under investigation by the special counsel, who began his work in November, in a separate probe of actions by Trump and his associates before and after the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election results.
Trump’s presidential campaign team on Thursday evening began fundraising among GOP supporters, who in April contributed more than $4 million in 24 hours following 34 criminal counts brought against the former president by Manhattan’s prosecutor, a Democrat, related to alleged hush money payments to an adult film star. The former president has pleaded not guilty; a trial date is scheduled March 25 in that case, in the midst of the primary calendar.
▪ Bloomberg News: What Trump’s indictment means for his 2024 presidential run.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: New indictment adds fresh uncertainty to 2024 presidential race.
Separately, an Atlanta-based district attorney is gearing up, perhaps in August, to make a charging decision in a long-running probe of the former president’s bid to subvert the 2020 election.
Trump, who was at his home in Bedminster, N.J., must appear in federal court in Miami for arraignment on Tuesday. He is scheduled this weekend to campaign for the GOP presidential nomination at a Georgia event (WTVM), and another in North Carolina (WRAL). He had been planning political events tied to his 77th birthday next week.
“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States, who received far more votes than any sitting President in the History of our Country, and is currently leading, by far, all Candidates, both Democrat and Republican, in Polls of the 2024 Presidential Election. I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Thursday.
Trump’s attorneys met Monday with Justice Department officials, including Smith, a meeting that experts said was a sign that an indictment was imminent. The National Archives spent months seeking the return of presidential records after Trump departed the White House for Mar-a-Lago, eventually turning to the Justice Department for help. The FBI seized hundreds of classified records from the estate under subpoena after Trump relinquished some but not all sensitive records he retained, according to evidence described by the department. The FBI found more than 100 additional classified records (The Hill and The New York Times).
A federal grand jury met in Florida this week to review evidence, as prosecutors worked to insulate the Mar-a-Lago case from legal challenges, writes The Hill’s Rebecca Beitsch. Smith has for months been calling witnesses before a D.C. grand jury on the matter, but the flurry of new activity in the case – just days after Trump’s attorneys met with Justice Department prosecutors — was in Florida.
Part of the move south might be tied to the obstruction charge. Generally, prosecutors can bring an obstruction of justice case in the district in which an investigation originated but a court decision in D.C. says prosecutors must bring a case where the alleged acts of obstruction took place — in this case, in Florida. While not binding, legal experts have said the Trump case would be vulnerable to challenges if presented in Washington (NBC News).
Reaction to Trump’s indictment largely fell along party lines, with Republicans flocking to support the former president and denounce the investigation as partisan as Democrats used the news to criticize him (Politico). Republicans instantly echoed Trump’s sentiments Thursday, accusing the Biden administration of corruption and calling it a sad day for the country (The Hill).
Senate Republicans said Thursday that an indictment poses a serious conflict-of-interest for the Biden administration’s Department of Justice, and as The Hill’s Alexander Bolton reports, GOP senators predicted an indictment will spur Republican voters to rally even more behind Trump, whose lead over Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the polls shot up after he was indicted by the Manhattan district attorney in April. DeSantis himself weighed in on the indictment by slamming the Justice Department while carefully avoiding completely defending the former president (The Hill).
“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society,” DeSantis tweeted. “We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation.”
Others weren’t as careful: Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, one of the few Republican candidates who has been willing to say Trump’s legal issues should be disqualifying, reiterated that position Thursday night. Longshot candidate and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, meanwhile, pledged to pardon Trump “promptly” if he were elected in 2024 (The Hill).
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said, “Today is indeed a dark day” for the country following news of the indictment (CNN).
“It is unconscionable for a President to indict the leading candidate opposing him. Joe Biden kept classified documents for decades,” McCarthy said on Twitter. “I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”
Related Articles
▪ The Hill: What to watch as Trump, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence speak at the North Carolina GOP convention.
▪ The New York Times: Who is Smith, the special counsel who indicted Trump?
▪ Politico: Can Trump run for president from prison? Yes, and it’s been done before.
▪ The Washington Post: Trump and the Mar-a-Lago classified documents: A timeline.
▪ The Hill: Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows: “Just another body on the Trump trail,” says former senior Trump campaign staff member.
LEADING THE DAY
➤ INTERNATIONAL
Ukrainian forces were well into a long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia Thursday at the same hour that Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stepped into the East Room with a joint message for Moscow.
“There is no point in trying to wait us out,” Sunak said while rhetorically addressing Russian President Vladimir Putin. “We will be here as long as it takes.” Allied support for Ukraine, he added, is also “deterrence.”
Biden, speaking to reporters at the conclusion of a state visit with Sunak, said the U.S. has “done everything we could” to prepare Kyiv to escalate its assault against Russian forces inside its borders. The president said he’s confident Congress will continue to approve funding for Ukraine, despite Republican infighting and softening public support for a war that has lasted 16 months and counting.
“I believe we’ll have the funding to support Ukraine as long as it takes,” Biden said (The Hill).
▪ Financial Times: Ukraine sends western tanks into battle as the counteroffensive gets underway.
▪ The Telegraph: The prize that explains Ukraine’s southern push into Russia’s best defenses.
▪ The New York Times: Equipped with German tanks and U.S. fighting vehicles, Ukrainian forces are increasingly on the offensive, making gains and suffering casualties in the early fighting.
Biden and Sunak, who have met four times since Sunak became prime minister, did not agree on a free-trade pact, part of the prime minister’s post-Brexit strategy. But they announced a new “Atlantic Declaration” to serve as a framework for bolstering cooperation on clean energy, development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, and protecting technology tied to national security. Biden and Sunak covered China, economic security, and an accord on critical minerals such as copper, lithium and nickel.
The message Thursday was that the U.S. and U.K., with their historic special relationship and shared values, are leading together (The Associated Press).
Politico: Biden, Sunak reach for a critical minerals deal, and the two nations seek to smooth out differences over the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, which favors the North American auto industry and prevents nations without a U.S. trade deal, including the U.K., from accessing the law’s tax credits and subsidies.
Rapid developments in artificial intelligence have captured the attention of world leaders, business titans, investors, clinicians and educators, militaries worldwide and lawmakers, to name a few. Biden and Sunak brought the pros and cons of AI into sharper relief from the vantage point of governance. The president spoke of machine thinking that could cure cancer but also embark on digital analyses that bypass human programming and require guardrails to protect human “values” and, according to some scientists, perhaps the human species.
▪ Barron’s: Biden backs U.K. push for AI controls.
▪ Yahoo Finance, Reuters: President says security risks of AI need to be addressed.
Sunak announced the U.K., seeking to play a leading role in technology and regulation, will host the first global summit on AI safety in the fall (The Guardian). The plans drew swift criticism (Ars Technica).
Elsewhere on Thursday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up meetings in Riyadh, speaking with Saudi leaders and calling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to emphasize a U.S. goal of normalized relations between the two countries (The Associated Press).
▪ The Jerusalem Post: Tensions in U.S.-Saudi ties cloud Blinken visit to Riyadh.
▪ Reuters: Blinken says he will work on Israel-Saudi Arabia normalization.
▪ The Hill: What Taiwan’s high-stakes election means for the U.S.-China rivalry.
➤ SUPREME COURT
In a surprise decision, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Alabama had diluted the power of Black voters by drawing a congressional voting map with a single district in which they made up a majority. In the majority opinion to the 5-4 ruling, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the court requires the state legislature to draw a second district in which Black voters have the opportunity to elect representatives of their choice. He was joined by Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh and the court’s three liberal members, Associate Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. Alabama congressional map currently has one majority Black seat out of seven congressional districts — in a state where more than 1 in 4 residents is Black (The Associated Press).
Voting rights advocates had feared that the decision would further undermine the Voting Rights Act of 1965, a landmark piece of civil rights-era legislation whose impact the court’s conservative majority has eroded in recent years. Instead, the law appeared to emerge unscathed (The New York Times).
Roberts wrote in the opinion that there were legitimate concerns that the law “may impermissibly elevate race in the allocation of political power within the states,” and added, “our opinion today does not diminish or disregard these concerns. It simply holds that a faithful application of our precedents and a fair reading of the record before us do not bear them out here.”
In a Thursday statement, Biden welcomed the decision and emphasized his continued support of the Voting Rights Act.
“The right to vote and have that vote counted is sacred and fundamental — it is the right from which all of our other rights spring,” he said in the statement. “Key to that right is ensuring that voters pick their elected officials — not the other way around. Today’s decision confirms the basic principle that voting practices should not discriminate on account of race, but our work is not done.”
▪ NPR: The Supreme Court unexpectedly upholds provision prohibiting racial gerrymandering.
▪ FiveThirtyEight: The Supreme Court’s new ruling could help Democrats flip the House in 2024.
On Thursday, the Supreme Court also upheld an individual right to sue public nursing homes for violated rights. The court affirmed an appeals court ruling in a 7-2 decision that found a private individual can sue for rights protected by the Federal Nursing Home Reform Act through Section 1983 of the federal code, which allows someone to sue for their federal civil rights (The Hill).
The Wall Street Journal: The White House prepares for the possibility that the Supreme Court could kill its student loan forgiveness plan.
IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES
➤ MORE POLITICS
Biden on Thursday said the Republicans behind legal efforts that target LGBTQ Americans are “callous” and “hysterical,” while highlighting support for the community from his administration.
“Our fight is far, far from over, because we have some hysterical and, I would argue, prejudiced people who are engaged in all what you see going on around the country,” Biden said during a press conference with Sunak at the White House. “It’s an appeal to fear, and it’s an appeal that is totally, thoroughly unjustified and ugly.”
The president was asked about his support for the LGBTQ community in light of state legislation in places such as Florida, where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed bills that banned gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth, expanded a state law that limits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity, and restricted drag performances. Earlier Thursday, the White House unveiled measures to counteract actions in GOP-led legislatures targeting transgender youth and other minority groups. New efforts from the Department of Education, Department of Housing and Urban Development and other agencies will provide housing support and push back on book bans that disproportionately affect LGBTQ youth (The Hill).
▪ The Hill: Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed an executive order protecting access to gender-affirming care in the state.
▪ NBC News: The nation’s largest LGBTQ advocacy group declares a state of emergency.
▪ The Columbus Dispatch: Opponents say Ohio’s proposed parent’s bill of rights is increasingly anti-LGBTQ.
▪ IndyStar: “I just feel powerless”: Transgender teens share their stories as new Indiana laws target them.
▪ Rolling Stone: Louisiana lawmakers advance a veto-proof ban on gender-affirming care for transgender minors.
▪ The Hill: LGBTQ representation in government hits fresh high.
At the end of Thursday’s news conference with Sunak, Biden said the Republican efforts to push an FBI document that lawmakers claim outlines a scheme involving himself and a foreign national is nonsense. He called the accusations “malarkey.”
Republicans, House Oversight and Accountability Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) have been demanding a document from the FBI, outlining an unverified and unspecified “alleged criminal scheme” involving a foreign national and Biden when he was vice president. Comer was set to start proceedings to hold FBI Director Christopher Wray in contempt of Congress over the document Thursday, but they were canceled after the FBI allowed members of the panel to review the record.
NBC News: FBI agent who testified for Republicans was suspended over leaked sensitive information. House Democrats are asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to investigate whether Garret O’Boyle, who was presented as an FBI whistleblower by Republicans, lied to Congress.
▪ The Associated Press: The Republican presidential field is largely set. Here are takeaways on where the contest stands.
▪ Politico: Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is pledging to keep his abortion travel policy fight with the Pentagon out of annual defense legislation.
▪ The Washington Post: Pat Robertson, televangelist who mixed politics and religion, dies at 93.
▪ The Hill: Republicans buckle down for what could be marathon blockade.
OPINION
■ Never bet against the American economy, by Joe Biden, opinion contributor, The Wall Street Journal.
■ Given what we know, not charging Trump would be the greater scandal, by David French, columnist, The New York Times.
■ The Kakhovka dam’s destruction shows a Russian military on its back foot, by Seth Cropsey, opinion contributor, The Hill.
WHERE AND WHEN
📲 Ask The Hill: Share a news query tied to an expert journalist’s insights: The Hill launched something new and (we hope) engaging via text with Editor-in-Chief Bob Cusack. Learn more and sign up HERE.
The House will meet for a pro forma session at 9 a.m.
The Senate will convene Monday at 3 p.m. to resume consideration of the nomination of Elizabeth Allen to be under secretary of State for public diplomacy.
The president and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Nash Community College in Elm City, N.C., for an event at 1:30 p.m. focused on career-connected learning and workforce training. They will fly to Fort Liberty, N.C., to speak at 4:15 p.m. with service members and their families as part of the Joining Forces program. The president issued an executive order today related to veterans and their families. The Bidens will return to the White House tonight.
Vice President Harris is in Washington and has no public schedule.
ELSEWHERE
➤ PURPLE WITHOUT THE RAIN
The air quality continues to improve gradually across the Northeast and mid-Atlantic, as the smoke and haze from Canadian wildfires spread toward the Midwest (The Washington Post). The region has spent the past three days blanketed in sepia-toned haze from the fires, The Hill’s Zack Budryk reports, and experts say much of the fog could persist into next week, with parts of the upper Midwest in the line of fire as well. Throughout Wednesday, nightmarish images of New York City spread through social media, and there appeared to be little relief in sight Thursday. In the morning, the Federal Aviation Administration briefly delayed flights into New York’s LaGuardia Airport and New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport due to the smoke. The source of the haze is large wildfires in Quebec and eastern regions of Canada, and “[t]he weather pattern we’re currently in has allowed all that smoke to drift southward,” said Zack Taylor, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in College Park, Md. “The weather pattern isn’t going to change too much over the next couple of days, but going forward, [there is] potentially a pattern change by early next week.”
On Thursday, Washington D.C. recorded its first code purple — or “very hazardous” — air quality reading, at which point the air is dangerous for everyone, not just at-risk groups and those with respiratory or other health problems. People were told to stay indoors when possible (NBC Washington). Today, air quality warnings are in effect as far south as Atlanta, where the National Weather Service issued a code orange alert, which means the air quality is unhealthy for sensitive groups, and those affected should limit outdoor exertion (WSBTV).
▪ The New York Times: When will it end? Sooner for the Northeast, later for elsewhere.
▪ The Washington Post: Satellite images show wildfire smoke creeping from Canada across U.S.
▪ Reuters: International help rolls in to fight unyielding Canadian wildfires.
▪ The New York Times: Tracking air quality and smoke from Canada’s wildfires — in maps.
▪ The Washington Post: Find out just how bad wildfire smoke has been in your area.
The smoke carpeting East Coast cities serves as a stark reminder of what’s at stake with the changing climate, writes The Hill’s Rachel Frazin, and the unusual event, spurred by wildfires in Canada, illustrates what the world may have to deal with on an increasing basis as warming makes severe weather more common. Moving forward, the West Coast, which is already seeing worsened wildfires due to climate change, is expected to bear the brunt of the problem as planetary warming dries out the area.
“In Western North America … we know that the area burned has increased substantially in recent decades. In the Western United States about half of that increase in area burned has been contributed by climate change,” Noah Diffenbaugh, a professor of Earth system science at Stanford University, told The Hill.
▪ The Wall Street Journal: Hazardous smoky conditions to last days as Canadian wildfires rage.
▪ The Associated Press: Poor air quality from Canadian wildfires affects people as far as away as North Carolina.
THE CLOSER
And finally … 👏👏👏 Congratulations to this week’s Morning Report Quiz winners! Asked about presidents and their bipartisan passion for golf, victorious readers were scratch puzzlers.
Wearing The Hill’s green jacket this morning: Lou Tisler, Paul Harris, Richard Baznik, Patrick Kavanagh and Bonnie LePard.
They knew that former President Woodrow Wilson was so fanatical about golf that he tasked the Secret Service to paint his golf balls for better visibility so he could practice his drive in snow.
Former President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who was crazy about golf, was friendly with Arnold Palmer, a relationship credited with enlivening a midcentury U.S. golf boom.
Former President John F. Kennedy played on the Harvard University golf team and was said to be a gifted, speedy player with perhaps a 14-15 handicap.
Former President Bill Clinton shared his philosophy of golf during a 2012 interview after leaving office and described why he enjoyed playing even the most familiar golf courses. “If you think about it, until you get to the end of your life — and most of us don’t know when it’s coming — we act like we’re bored because ‘I’m gonna do the same thing as I did yesterday.’ No, you’re not. Different stuff’s going on in your mind, different stuff’s going on in your heart. So, if you’re alive to the possibility of what’s different, it gives you a gift every time you go. Like you can’t lose. You can play bad. You can make a lousy score. But you can’t lose. And I love that.”
Note: A dozen readers thought the quote was uttered by either former President Obama or Trump. Perhaps presidents have special perspectives on chasing small white balls with the notion that “you can’t lose.”
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