Monday, August 26, 2024

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1/ Special counsel Jack Smith urged a federal appeals court to reverse the dismissal of the criminal classified documents case against Trump. Last month, Judge Aileen Cannon granted Trump’s request to dismiss the indictment on the grounds that Smith’s appointment as special counsel violated the Constitution’s appointments and appropriations clauses. In a brief filed with the 11th US Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta, Smith argued that Cannon’s decision ignored decades of “Supreme Court precedent, misconstrued the statutes that authorized the Special Counsel’s appointment, and took inadequate account of the longstanding history of Attorney General appointments of special counsels.” It’s unclear how long it will take for the appeals court to decide the matter, but even if it overturns the dismissal, the trial will not take place before the November presidential election – and if Trump wins the 2024 election, he could pressure his Justice Department to drop the appeals effort. Trump appointed Cannon to the federal bench in south Florida in 2020. (Associated Press / Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / NBC News / CNBC)

2/ An Arizona judge set a January 5, 2026, trial date for Trump allies charged in the criminal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. In April, an Arizona grand jury indicted 18 Republicans, including Mark Meadows and Rudy Giuliani, on charges including fraud, forgery, and tampering with public records, among others. Most of the defendants have pleaded not guilty to the charges. And, while Trump wasn’t charged, the grand jury wanted to indict Trump but state prosecutors said it would be a “big deal” and that they weren’t sure if they had “all the evidence to prosecute it at this moment.” (CNN / Salon)

3/ Texas and 15 Republican-led states sued the Biden administration over a new federal program that offers a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally and are now married to U.S. citizens. The initiative, called Keeping Families Together, provides a path to citizenship to an estimated 500,000 people, as well as some 50,000 children. Nevertheless, the coalition filed suit to halt the program, claiming that the administration bypassed Congress to create a pathway to citizenship for “blatant political purposes” and “incentivizes illegal immigration.” (Associated Press / NBC News)

4/ Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his election bid and endorsed Trump. [Editor’s note: Too bad, so sad.](

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