In a new court filing, Donald Trump’s lawyers speculated that documents marked “classified” found at Mar-a-Lago may not have been classified at all — and argued that even if they were, Trump has “absolute right’ to access them under the Presidential Records Act. The filing is the latest volley in a back-and-forth between the Trump team and the Justice Department in the race for the special master to be appointed to review documents seized during the Aug. 8 search of the former president’s Florida home. . . Meanwhile, Mr Trump was seen arriving at Dulles Airport, just outside Washington, DC, on an unexplained journey from his New Jersey residence. Filmed from a distance in indistinct footage, he arrived in casual clothes and golf shoes along with his Secret Service detail. Speculation about the visit abounds, but no clear explanation has been given.
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Democratic poll lead ahead of midterms could be very wrong again, election expert warns
With Democratic candidates leading or close to their Republican rivals in many states, a polling expert for The New York Times is warning that their voters may see a “blue mirage” on the horizon. “This warning sign is flashing again: Democratic Senate candidates are beating expectations in the same places where polls overestimated Biden in 2020 and Mrs. Clinton in 2016,” Nate Cohn said. He warns that continued biases in the polls may once again give Democrats a sense of early victory when, in reality, the races are much closer. “It raises the possibility that the apparent strength of Democrats in Wisconsin and elsewhere is a mirage — an artifact of persistent and unexplained polling biases,” warns Cohn. Read more in the Independent:
Blue mirage? Pollster Warns Democrats’ Midterm Leads May Be Overblown
Nate Cohn Says Forecasters Could Fall Into Same Trap As 2016 And 2020 John Bowden September 12, 2022 8:55 pm 1663010122
Senators call for probe into fake Mar-a-Lago heiress seen posing with Trump before secret documents raid
Senators are calling for an investigation into the bizarre story of a woman who allegedly ingratiated herself with Donald Trump and his Mar-a-Lago guests by fabricating her entire life story. The woman, Inna Yashchyshyn, is accused of impersonating Anna de Rothschild, a fictitious socialite and heiress from the famous European banking family, who allowed her to mingle with the former president as well as Senator Lindsey Graham at Mar-Trump. a-Lago resort. She was even present when (it is now known) Mr. Trump stored documents marked “top secret” and other levels of classification, apparently without the consent of the National Archives, at the resort. Read more from The Independent’s Graig Graziosi:
Senators demand investigation into fake Mar-a-Lago heiress seen posing with Trump
Lawmakers demand answers after woman’s bluff at golf resort John Bowden September 12, 2022 8:15 pm 1663008322
White House confirms Trump not invited to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral
Donald Trump will not attend the Queen’s funeral. Neither does any other living president of the United States, except Joe Biden. This is the official announcement from the White House, which confirmed the details of the British government’s invitation on Monday. Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Feinberg:
White House confirms Trump not invited to Queen Elizabeth’s funeral
The British government’s invitation does not allow President Joe Biden to bring any of his predecessors with him John Bowden September 12, 2022 7:45 pm 1663006522
Dr Oz’s leading supporter is confident he will win
The man who gets credit for convincing Donald Trump to endorse Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race has a message for the media: Don’t believe the polls. Conservative Philadelphia talk show host John Fredericks says Dr Oz has been beaten like no other Senate candidate and is set to rebound to beat Democrat John Fetterman in November. Democrats are keen to win the open seat as they try to retain the Senate, while Republicans will likely require it if they want to flip the upper chamber. Read more from The Independent’s Andrew Buncombe: John Bowden September 12, 2022 7:15 pm 1663004417
Trump told aides he would ‘never leave’ White House after 2020 loss
Maggie Haberman’s new book, Confidence Man, reveals an aspect of Donald Trump’s efforts to stay in office after his defeat that has never been reported. According to Haberman, who shared the details with CNN on Monday, the former president told at least two of his aides that he planned to stay in the White House after Jan. 6 regardless of how the Electoral College voted. He had bluntly insisted the exact opposite in a news interview around the same time. “We’re never leaving… How can you leave when you’ve won an election?” asked one, according to the book. Read more in the Independent:
Trump told aides he would ‘never leave’ White House after 2020 defeat, new book claims
Despite public claims to the contrary, the former president is said to have voiced the possibility of defying Biden to the end John Bowden September 12, 2022 6:40 p.m 1663002047
Fox: “Is he pro-antifa?”
In a discussion earlier this morning about Joe Biden’s recent remarks calling the Maga movement “quasi-fascist” — a comment that angered right-wing commentary — host Harris Faulkner raised the curious idea that being an “anti-quasi-fascist” can bring the Democrats to the side of “antifa”. The supposed threat of violence from organized anti-fa protesters is a constant trope of Fox News commentary on the left, but antifa is not actually a cohesive, organized group or entity. And the nebulous application of the term is useful for hosts who want to equate the openly organized and sometimes deadly violence staged by some Trump supporters with the protests that rocked American cities in the summer of 2020. John Bowden September 12, 2022 6:00 p.m 1662999862
Trump golfs in Virginia as media melts into speculation
Donald Trump was spotted by AP photographers at his Sterling, Virginia, property just outside the Washington area on Monday. His otherwise unusual exit came amid a frenzy of media speculation surrounding the sudden, unannounced trip to the Capital Region, with many openly speculating that the former president was going to meet with DoJ officials or was involved in some other situation arising from the multitude of criminals. investigations that now surround him and his allies. Read more from The Independent’s Gino Spocchia:
Trump makes surprise landing in DC sparking growing speculation about FBI probe
“Look, it’s kind of weird that Trump flew into DC tonight and nobody seems to know why,” says government ethics watchdog amid radio silence on Truth Social John Bowden 12 September 2022 17:24 1662997547
Trump’s running mate, Vance, is running in Ohio
Hillbilly Elegy author JD Vance once likened white working-class voter support for Trump to drug addiction, but now he’s become one of the president’s most scathing aliens on the 2022 Senate map. However, it appears that his bid to keep the vacant seat in the Republican column is struggling. Mr. Vance, who many Republicans worry has been largely absent from the campaign trail since winning the nomination, is polling only within a margin of error against the popular Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan — who is running an aggressive campaign.
Poll Shows Tim Ryan Slightly Ahead of JD Vance in Ohio Senate Race
Former President Donald Trump will hold a rally with Vance in Youngstown on Saturday Andrew Naughtie September 12, 2022 4:45 p.m 1662995755
What are Trump lawyers arguing now?
Lawyers for former President Donald Trump are now arguing that the Justice Department does not have the right to use classified documents seized during an Aug. 8 FBI search of his estate because they may not be classified at all. In today’s filing, Trump’s lawyers noted that federal prosecutors asked the judge to suspend her earlier ruling on a subset of the more than 11,000 government records obtained during the investigation. In the government’s motion to suspend the judge’s earlier order, prosecutors said Trump “does not claim and cannot claim that he owns or has any vested interest in classified records.” But Mr Trump’s lawyers said the government “has not demonstrated that these records remain classified”, adding that the issue of classification would be “determined at a later date”.
Trump lawyers say classified documents seized from Mar-a-Lago may not be classified
Trump allies often claim he issued sweeping declassification orders before leaving office in January 2021 Andrew Naughtie12 September 2022 16:15 1662993955
Multiple reports: Next hearing on January 6 two weeks away
After weeks of near silence except for media interviews, the Jan. 6 panel appears poised to hold the first of at least two hearings this fall before releasing a report on its findings: Andrew Naughtie September 12, 2022 3:45 p.m
