Former U.S. President Donald Trump leaves Trump Tower to meet with New York Attorney General Letitia James for a civil investigation on August 10, 2022, in New York City. (James Devaney/GC Images)
This content comes from the latest installment of our weekly Breaking the Vote newsletter out of VICE Newsâ D.C. bureau, tracking the ongoing efforts to undermine the democratic process in America. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday. Ricky Shiffer attended the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021, and frequently posted about it on social media. After the FBI served a warrant and searched former President Donald Trumpâs Florida residence this past Monday, Schiffer posted about killing FBI agents on Trumpâs Truth Social. Yesterday, he died after apparently trying to assault the FBI field office in Cincinnati and then engaging police in a shootout. Itâs been obvious since the evening of Jan. 6 that the rioting, violence, and lawlessness of that day was a mere dress rehearsal, and worrisome to think the real performance could be in 2024, if Donald Trump runs and loses. But itâs right now, when Trump is faced with a whiff of accountability from an institution thatâlike electionsâheâs worked so hard to destroy. Like on Jan. 6, accountability, through losses or law, means revenge. And if revenge means literal war to some of Trumpâs supporters, so be it. We now know that the DOJâs unprecedented search of Mar-a-Lago was the result of Trumpâs own unprecedented refusal to return classified documents he had no business possessing in the first place. DOJ counterintelligence officials were acutely aware they were dealing with a former president. So they first tried negotiation to get the documents, then a subpoena, then more yet negotiation. Once investigators came to believe Trump was still withholding classified information, they asked a judge to allow a search.And that search didnât happen in a void. It happened against a backdrop of years of Trump demonstrating his drive for self-preservation and hostility to due process. In addition to being an ex-president, Trump is also a person who fired James Comey to obstruct the Mueller investigation; called for the prosecution of dozens of political enemies; lied about wiretaps and the legal process of âunmaskingâ; disclosed classified information, multiple times; pardoned cronies who kept their mouths shut about his activities; tried to leverage the entire DOJ to lie in aid of his attempted coup; and so on.The question isnât why the DOJ would seek a search warrant to get classified documents back. It appears to be: How could they not, and what took so long? Itâs important to remember that we might know very little about the search but for Trumpâs wailing about it. The DOJ didnât announce it, their warrant was under seal, and their agents entered the property largely in plain clothes and unarmed at a time when guests and most staff were gone. Trump chose to publicize it, and of course to lie about it. And his machinery of lawlessness cranked into higher gear.Back on Jan. 6, House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy dithered. He reacted first with revulsion to the violence, then demanded answers from Trump, and privately even called for his resignation. It took several days for him to come to heel.This time, McCarthy and Republicans have learned: Instead of hesitating, go all-in early on political threats. Instead of recoiling at the dismantling of law enforcement, amplify it. Instead of pushing back on Trumpâs obvious lies about the legal process, cynically capitalize on them. Meanwhile, just off-stage from this recital of GOP fealty, Trumpâs feral supporters lurch against their chains and threaten FBI officials, judges, and the attorney general with violence. Right-wing media, led by Fox News, keeps the eyeballs on screens and the attention rapt by mirroring back conspiratorial fantasies from the internet and Capitol Hill.But if the last 72 hours were ugly, now imagine the months between some future criminal charges against Donald Trump and his trial (or trials).Youâre now free to envision the terrifying spectacle that Jan. 6 rioters and their director rehearsed, only this time with GOP officials whoâve learned all the steps and have them down-pat. It includes full-blown conspiracies of woke FBI henchmen using the awesome power of the state to stop Trump and destroy liberty. And lawmakers on Capitol Hill providing the fodder for daily coverage of the injustice. And a fully frothed base primed to believe any legal accountability for Trump is mortal tyranny against them, spurred on by their leaderâs assurances that just like on Jan. 6, violence in his name is patriotic and just.GOP officials, ever pragmatic, may yet hedge a little. This week proved it wonât matter. Trump has promised his people that elections are theirs, that the law only applies to others, and that whoever wants to talk about it is taking huge risks.Itâs important to learn why federal law enforcement searched the home of a former president and probable future candidate. Itâs even more important to learn why Donald Trump went so far to avoid returning documents that prosecutors and counterintelligence officials had to get a warrant. What we know already doesnât⊠look good.So far MAGA supporters have suffered an (admittedly jarring) search of Trumpâs home that included a valid warrant, no arrests, no accusations, and no charges. But Mr. Trump would also like law enforcement, and you, to know what awaits, should that ever change.T.W.I.S.âą NotesEditorial notice: In light of recent developments, weâre thrilled to announce that âThis Week in Subpoenasâ is temporarily rebranding as âTalkinâ Warrants, Investigations, and Subpoenas.â Itâs the same T.W.I.S.âą Notes coverage you love, updated for a new era of prosecutorial urgency! - A Tish served coldDonald Trumpâs potentially fraudulent business practices arenât by themselves a democracy-critical issue. But, per above, accountability and equal justice under the law definitely are! And nothing is quite so Trumpian as claiming for your own the very constitutional protections you ridicule for others. After months of delays, Trump was finally dragged in for a sworn deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia Jamesâ investigation looking at whether Trump and his business manipulated real estate valuations for gain. And, at the very moment when bluster, trolling, and lying give way to the penalty of perjury, Trump did what, according to him, guilty people and mobsters do: He took the Fifth. Of course, itâs Trumpâs constitutional right not to incriminate himself. He blamed the witch hunts and search warrants for forcing him to refuse to answer questions. More likely, though, itâs the stalled but very much revivable criminal investigation of Trumpâs business. Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg declined to charge Trump (and lost a couple of prosecutors in protest because of it) but also made clear heâd be closely monitoring Trumpâs sworn statements for actionable evidence, including lies. Apparently, it was best for Trump to say nothing at all, 440 times. - Raidy PerryIf searching the home of a former president is high-stakes stuff, so is seizing the phone of a sitting member of Congress. But Attorney General Merrick Garland, his prosecutors, and the federal judge who signed the warrant all thought Pennsylvania GOP Rep. Scott Perry had evidence important enough to the Jan. 6 investigation to seize. Perry leads the House GOPâs pro-coup Freedom Caucus, the right-wing group once led by Mark Meadows. He was also the guy who introduced Jeffrey Clark to Donald Trump before Clark made his bid to take over the DOJ in the coup plot; helped push the plan for DOJ to lie to state officials that the election had been tainted; then, according to Cassidy Hutchinson, sought presidential pardon for it. Perry denies he ever sought a pardon.It appears the FBIâs warrant is connected to the DOJâs criminal investigation of the fake elector scheme, though it doesn't necessarily mean Perryâs a target, or even a subject (Perry says heâs been told heâs not.). He also communicated extensively with Meadows, who is up to his neck in DOJ investigations. Perry says he would have gladly handed over the phone if the feds had just asked, though the amount of cooperation heâs given the January 6 committee leaves reason to doubt it!Meanwhile, federal agents paid a visit to Pennsylvaniaâs Capitol in Harrisburg and served subpoenas on several lawmakers. As of this writing, itâs unclear exactly what the subpoenas were requesting or which lawmakers got them. What is clear is that the walls are significantly closer in PA than they were at the beginning of this week. - So I Married a Facts MurdererOf all the things Infowars founder Alex Jones has assaultedâdecency, shame, the truthâletâs add his wifeâs privacy to the list. This part of the sorry tale started when Alex-Jones-finds-out-his-texts-are-in-open-court memes added a gigglesnort to the otherwise horrific defamation trial for his relentless lying-for-profit about the murder of children. Jonesâ texts reportedly contained âintimateâ communications with Trump confidant and Oath Keepers/Proud Boys associate Roger Stone. At least some of the speculation about what an âintimateâ text chain between Jones and Stone could include died the moment Jonesâ wife found outâfrom a reporterâthat it included a nude picture of her. Erika Wulff-Jones said she was upset about the disclosure but noted âthatâs really the least of my problems right now.â The January 6 committee surely has no use for a photo of Jonesâ wife. But Jones and his Jan. 6ârelated communications with Stone and anyone else are under subpoena, and now his phone data from the trial, have been turned over. - That Midnight Train to GeorgiaâŠis the only way Rudy Giuliani will make it from New York to Atlanta in time to answer his subpoena. Rudyâs lawyers told a judge presiding over the election-interference grand jury investigation in Fulton County his client couldnât honor a subpoena to testify this week because heâs not healthy enough to fly. That prompted prosecutors to produce evidence that Rudyâs been traveling to New Hampshire (by car, his lawyers said) and that he recently bought plane tickets to Europe.Judge Robert McBurney told Rudyâs lawyers there are lots of ways to travel from NYC to Atlanta, and that Rudy has to find one in order to appear on Aug. 17. Oh, and Lindsey Graham didnât show up either. For nearly two years, Wisconsin and Arizona have been in a fierce showdown for whose state GOP was the most Trump-drunk on election conspiracies. Arizona had Cyber Ninjas, death oaths, and Mark Finchem. Wisconsin answers with Michael Gablemanâs seemingly endless investigation, Sen. Ron Johnson, and a governors primary super-focused on who will answer Trumpâs call to rescind 2020.This week former Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefischâs attempt to titrate just enough conspiracy to surviveâalong with Mike Penceâs endorsementâproved fruitless. Businessman Tim Michels rode a Trump endorsement and a promise to consider the totally-not-a-legal-thing of signing legislation to overturn 2020 and rescind Wisconsinâs Biden electors. Michels will face off against incumbent Dem Gov. Tony Evers in November for a race where democracy, and a whole lot more, are in the balance. BTW, check out this weirdness about how deep a Wisconsin teenâs high school tweet cuts in Donald Trumpâs never-ending quest for revenge.Meanwhile, State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos managed to hang onto his partyâs nomination, despite spending the last week of the campaign at war with Trump. Vos had tried hard to appease Trumpists since 2020, hiring Gableman to conduct a taxpayer-funded election investigation that turned into a sideshow. All that just for Gableman to turn on Vos and endorse his Trumpist opponent. After his victory, Vos declared his charge âan embarrassment to the state.â A former Trump campaign lawyer is facing possible criminal charges in Michigan for leading an alleged conspiracy that illegally tampered with voting machines. Naturally, heâs also the Trump-backed GOP nominee for state attorney general. Matt DePerno was accused of participating with eight others in the election-tampering scheme, after pumping out false election allegations in the 2020 aftermath. Michiganâs current AG, Democrat Dana Nessel, asked for a special prosecutor to be appointed, since DePerno is her opponent in the 2022 election. Just after Nesselâs office released its findings, Reuters dropped this report, which places DePernoâs team right in the middle of a vote-tabulator security breach in Roscommon County in northern Michigan. Then there was DePerno in May 2021, acknowledging in an interview that âwe got access to a tabulator.â âHeâs going to make sure that you are going to have law and order and fair elections,â Donald Trump said of DePerno at last weekendâs CPAC conference in Dallas.âJust do it in three legs. You know folks in DC? Spend the night there. Work your way down.â âFulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, telling Rudy Giulianiâs lawyers that he must answer a subpoena on Aug. 17, despite a one-line doctorâs note saying Rudy canât fly. Sweet summer arraign â Time to catch up with BtV muse Tina Peters, who Friday finally pleaded not guilty on six felony charges and four misdemeanors, including fraud, election interference, and more. For now it looks like Peters is facing trial in January 2023. Peters also alleged massive voter fraud after her 14-point loss in the Colorado GOP secretary of state primary, then raised more than $250,000 to fund a recount. That recount netted precisely zero votes against the winner, Pam Anderson. Never daunted, Peters is now demanding a second recount. I hear this guy is looking for work.As a palate cleanser, Peters has been telling audiences and interviewers that the Mesa County, Colorado, DA took away her husband by forcing him to divorce her from his nursing-home bed? A local blogger in western Colorado says itâs all bullshit. (H/t VICEâs David Gilbert.)Ku Klux Kash â Not only does Facebook continue to host white supremacist groups after claiming to have banned hate speech two years ago, itâs running ads and profiting from them. Climate of fear â It will probably come as no surprise that the polarized environment plagued by increasing threats of violence is making Americans more afraid to participate in democracy. After all, thatâs precisely the aim. Just 41 percent of Americans now say they feel safe at a polling or voting place. And Black and Hispanic voters feel the least safe of all, with just 28 percent and 37 percent, respectively, saying they feel safe voting. And those numbers are dropping. Say what you want about threats and intimidation. Unchecked, they have the desired effect. 2 Cheneyz â Wyoming GOP Rep. and January 6 committee vice-chair Liz Cheney says sheâs ready to lose her primary this coming Tuesday if itâs the price for standing up for truth and the Constitution. Cheneyâs definitely in trouble, but sheâs not going down quietly. Sheâs spending big to run that ad featuring her father, former Veep Dick Cheney, denouncing Trump as a âcoward,â a mortal threat to the republic, and a liar who tried to steal the 2020 election. Even if Cheney loses Tuesday, itâs likely not the last weâll hear from her in her avowed mission to keep Donald Trump from the Oval Office. A run for president is possible. This fall, more Jan. 6 hearings are assured. Donald Trump has been preparing for this moment for a long time. WASHINGTON POSTState legislatures are torching democracy. THE NEW YORKERWhat kind of criminal case is the Justice Department building against Donald Trump? MCCLATCHY
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