The Week Ahead

April 7, 2024

Marjorie Taylor Greene had this to say about last week’s earthquake in New York and this week’s eclipse.

As it turns out, the epicenter of the quake was about four miles from Trump’s Bedminster, New Jersey golf course, and eclipse “dates” were set long before there was a United States of America. Greene might want to go back and think carefully before she prays for the country to listen. Also, science.

Most everything this week will probably be overshadowed by preparations for Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan, which begins a week from Monday. There is a pending motion to recuse the Judge, and Trump will undoubtedly try to pull some other last-minute stunt to get a delay if that fails (which it likely will). I’m cautiously optimistic that prosecutors and Trump’s lawyers will be striking a jury a week from tomorrow. We’ll follow all of the developments before and during trial closely and make sure we understand what’s going on.

Following a speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan, last week, Trump employed his all-purpose strategy—delay—when asked about the six-week ban on abortion in Florida. Trump said, "We'll be making a statement next week on abortion."

Trump famously bragged about being the one to undo Roe v. Wade as president, insinuating others had tried and failed. Abortion continues to be a, if not the, defining issue for the 2024 election. Democrats have gotten a boost every time it was on the ballot since the Dobbs decision was handed down.

Will Trump try to walk it back, knowing that the conservative stance on abortion could cost him votes? Nothing is impossible with Trump. He re-posted a shocking and strange video on his Truth Social account this weekend that suggested conservatives “must” support him, even though he’s not a conservative and doesn’t represent their values. The video, which has the feel of a fascist World War II-era propaganda feature, is narrated by billionaire Thomas Klingenstein, one of the largest individual donors to the GOP with contributions of more than $11.6 million to candidates and PACs. Klingenstein chaired the board of the far-right Claremont Institute, also home to Trump lawyer John Eastman, for decades.

The pro-Trump video features Klingenstein telling Republicans, “Now that former President Trump is the Republican nominee for President in 2024, it’s time for Republicans, including those who doubt him or even can’t stand him, to get behind him. The times demand it.” He continues telling Republican voters what they must think, that it doesn’t matter that Trump isn’t a conservative or a good role model for their children. It doesn’t matter, he tells them, that Trump isn’t “modest and dignified.” Less than a minute in, and you’re bound to be thinking, “Wow, this is one heck of an endorsement for a presidential candidate.” You might also wonder where it’s heading.

The reason the video gives for abandoning concerns that Trump is the least qualified and most poorly suited candidate imaginable to be President of the United States is that Trump “knows we're in a war" and "he knows how to win." So, who’s the enemy we’re fighting? The enemy in that war is us. The camera shows President Obama with Vice President Biden, presumably on the Hill for a State of the Union Address, with then-Speaker Paul Ryan in the background. The enemy is “woke” people. It’s you and me. It's Democrats. It's anyone who doesn't support Trump; anyone who is other. If you can’t spot the fascism at this point, you never will. Fascism is all about forcible suppression of opposition. The message in this video is right on target.

It’s tough to watch the whole thing. But it’s worth watching the first couple of minutes with any Trump supporters in your life. Ask them what they think about being told to abandon their principles. According to this video, if Trump came out in favor of reinstituting Roe v. Wade, they would still be obligated to vote for him.

Believe him when he tells us who he is—before it's too late. The revenge presidency will be an ugly thing. Trump abandons even his own inner circle, people like Jeff Sessions, with a snap of the fingers. How can ordinary Americans, Trump’s voters, be sure he won’t abandon them on a whim after he gets what he needs from them, their vote? Do they really want to live in an America where the president only works for his supporters, and not the rest of the population? The video, as disturbing as it is, is a must-watch.

Minnesota Senator Tina Smith says she will introduce legislation to repeal the Comstock Act. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because we discussed it when efforts to ban medication abortion first surfaced in the Texas lawsuit that was argued last week in the Supreme Court, the Mifepristone case. The 151-year-old measure is a purity law, designed to prevent use of the mails for any obscene material, which includes information about or designed to promote abortion. The Appellants in the Supreme Court, who wanted to end access to Mifepristone, argued that the Act could be used to ban mailing it, which is a key way women get access to it. The Solicitor General responded that the Comstock Act is a criminal law and it’s up to DOJ to enforce it—they don’t; it’s been abandoned for a century because, in Smith’s words, it’s “very silly”—not the FDA when it makes administrative decisions about drug safety.

I wrote a bit about the history of the Comstock Act early in the Mifepristone case:

“In 1996 then-Congresswoman Patricia Schroeder (D-CO) tried to convince the House to take the Comstock Act off the books. They didn’t. But her floor speech has resonance today. She explained that the Act was named for a man named Anthony Comstock, who ‘was one of these people who decided only he knew what was virtuous and right, and somehow he managed to convince all sorts of people that this was correct.’ That sounds familiar.

She continued, ‘Anthony Comstock was a religious fanatic who spent his life in a personal crusade for moral purity—as defined, of course, by himself. This crusade resulted in the arrest and imprisonment of a multitude of Americans whose only crime was to exercise their constitutional right of free speech in ways that offended Anthony Comstock. Women seemed to particularly offend Anthony Comstock, most particularly women who believed in the right to plan their families through the use of contraceptives, or in the right of women to engage in discussions and debate about matters involving sexuality, including contraception and abortion.’ We don’t need a new Anthony Comstock, and we don’t need Judge Kacsmaryk to dictate health care—or the absence of it—to people across the country.”

Senator Smith says she wants to repeal the Act to avoid the possibility it could be used to limit abortion access further if Trump wins again. Imagine a Justice Department whose priority is prosecuting anyone who mails or obtains abortion drugs and/or direction in the mail under a revived Comstock Act. Smith faces an uphill battle, even in the Senate, to say nothing of the House. But if Trump actually makes a statement about abortion, one confirming his opposition (unlike his repeated, failed promises to hold an infrastructure week), perhaps this long overdue legislative repeal can at least get started.

Although the civil fraud trial before Judge Engoron in New York is over, there is still controversy about the bond. New York AG Letitia James has concerns about whether the issuer meets state rules. James suggested that the California billionaire who heads the Knight Specialty Insurance Company, Don Hankey, failed to provide a certificate showing the company was qualified to provide the bond under New York law. The bond can’t be more than 10% of the issuer’s liquidity. Judge Engoron has scheduled a hearing on the issue for April 22, but we may hear more about the situation this week.

Meanwhile, Trump’s social media holdings and the crazy value swings after he merged Truth Social with a shell company to produce a publicly traded entity, are under scrutiny. A friend who practices securities law explained it to me like this, “Trump is basically just a crook. So this company is a mechanism for him to steal from investors.” It’s unclear whether the jumped-up value, reminiscent of last year's Game Stop meme stock, was somehow used to secure the bond. Trump can’t formally sell any of his interest in the publicly traded company for at least six months under the terms of the deal, although he can ask the board for permission to go earlier.

On Monday, the Special Counsel’s office files its response to Trump’s opening brief in the immunity appeal before the Supreme Court. Trump asked Judge Chutkan to dismiss the D.C. election interference case, arguing he has broad immunity as a former president. She ruled against him, and after a stint in front of the Court of Appeals, where he also lost, the case made it to the Supreme Court. They will hear oral argument on April 25, just weeks away. Along with the government’s brief, a number of important amicus (friend of the court) briefs in support of the government’s position will be filed tomorrow as well.

One thing we won’t be doing this week is getting up to speed in advance of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s criminal trial on state securities fraud charges. That’s because prosecutors gave him a deal just ahead of the trial, which was scheduled to start on the 15th. That case had been winding its way through the Texas courts for nine years. Paxton makes Trump look like a mere novice at the delay game.

Under the terms of the deal, Paxton avoids a criminal conviction but is required to perform 100 hours of community service, take 15 hours of legal ethics courses, and pay around $271,000 in restitution. Ken Paxton is the sitting Attorney General in the state of Texas.

The deal came after a feud developed between two special prosecutors appointed to handle the case. One, who resigned before the deal that ended the prosecution was struck, called it “a cocktail and a hot meal and a backrub.” Paxton had been facing multiple felony charges based on accusations he defrauded investors in a Texas company and failed to register with state securities regulators. Paxton maintains his innocence despite reports he is still under investigation by the FBI. But that’s all she wrote. At least for the state charges.

Finally, if you haven’t already, take a look at this piece from last night. It provides the update you need on Judge Cannon’s off-the-wall handling of the Mar-a-Lago case, along with my thoughts on what the Special Counsel might do next. This case is likely to consume some of our attention in the coming week as well. Judge Cannon’s courtroom has taken on the feel of the Mad Hatter’s tea party.

Are you going to see the totality or some of the eclipse? We’re told we’ll get to see the eclipse at 88% of the total darkness here in Birmingham. My daughter, who unfortunately lives in another state, baked this incredibly fabulous pastry to mark the occasion.

I’d love to read about what you’re doing to celebrate in the comments!

We’re in this together,

Joyce