There is one path forward. Let’s take it.

March 16, 2024

Friday was a busy news day. As we head into the weekend, the temptation is to cover each development as if it has independent significance. While each development is meaningful (and generally positive for Biden and Democrats), the details matter less than the fundamental truth. And the fundamental truth has not changed: The 2024 election is a choice between democracy and autocracy; liberty and subjugation; decency and ugliness; enlightenment and ignorance. There is one path forward. Let’s take it.

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The White House declares that the Republican effort to impeach Biden is over

The Republican effort to impeach President Biden has collapsed. That is good news for Joe Biden, Democrats, and the American people. Here’s what happened:

• The witnesses touted by the House Oversight Committee turned out to be non-existent, liars, or favorable for Joe Biden.

• The Committee’s “smoking gun” witness was Alexander Smirnov, who turned out to be a Russian tool who was lying to the FBI about Hunter Biden’s alleged corruption.

• Hunter Biden demolished the House Oversight Committee in his deposition.

• In desperation, the Committee turned to a securities fraudster currently serving a 14-year prison sentence for swindling the Oglala Sioux Native American tribal entity out of $60 million.

• With a two-vote majority in the House, Republicans have been openly musing to members of the press about their inability to pass an impeachment resolution.

On Friday, a lawyer for the White House sent a letter to Speaker Mike Johnson telling him that the impeachment inquiry is over. See The Guardian, White House lawyer tells House speaker to end Biden impeachment ‘charade’.

The letter is a sign of confidence by President Biden and his team that the impeachment effort will not proceed—or, if it does, it will be a major embarrassment and political liability for Republicans. As it should be.

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Mike Pence says he will not endorse Trump for president

 Trump's former Vice President announced on Friday that he will not endorse Trump for president in 2024—despite a debate-stage pledge to do so. See CNN, Pence says he ‘cannot in good conscience’ endorse Trump.

Pence offered a mealy-mouthed justification for his refusal to endorse Trump, but that is beside the point. Pence said,

Donald Trump is pursuing and articulating an agenda that is at odds with the conservative agenda that we governed on during our four years. That’s why I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump in this campaign.

As I have watched his candidacy unfold, I’ve seen him walking away from our commitment to confronting the national debt. I’ve seen him starting to shy away from a commitment to the sanctity of human life. And this last week, his reversal on getting tough on China and supporting our administration’s efforts to force a sale of ByteDance’s TikTok.

Pence joins a long line of former Trump administration officials who worked closely with Trump and have now warned the American public that Trump is a threat ot democracy. See NYTimes, What 17 of Trump’s ‘Best People’ Said About Him. (Accessible to all.)

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NY state election interference trial delayed until late April 2024

As expected, Judge Juan Merchan delayed the start of the NY election interference / hush money trial until late April 2024. See NBC News, Trump hush money trial postponed until mid-April, judge rules.  

While it is still likely that the trial will begin before November 2024, it has become clearer that the US Attorney’s Office in the Southern District may have created a major complication at the very least—and possibly worse.

Judge Merchan issued an order explaining that he would delay Trump's motion to dismiss the indictment until the document issues are resolved.

Merchan wrote:

As evidenced by Defendant’s most recent letter filed this afternoon, there are significant questions of fact which this Court must resolve before it may rule on Defendant’s motion.

Therefore, the Court agrees with Defendant that a prompt hearing is required on the pending discovery motion, the circumstances surrounding the document production by the USAO-SDNY and the scheduling of a trial date, if one is necessary.

Judge Merchan’s reference to scheduling a trial date if necessary is a sign that he is taking the document issue seriously—very.

No thanks to the US Attorney’s Office in the SDNY for dragging its feet and producing documents on the eve of trial.

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Judge McAfee rules that Fulton County D.A. can remain on Trump RICO case

Judge McAfee issued an order in the Georgia RICO case finding the following:

a.     Fani Willis did not have an actual conflict of interest.

b.    The appearance of a conflict required Willis or her former boyfriend Nathan Wade to resign.

Wade resigned. Willis will remain to prosecute the case.

Judge McAfee’s order was described as “scathing.” He castigated Willis for defending herself by stating that the motion was a thinly veiled racial attack on a Black woman by a Trump surrogate. She had a point. See The Independent, Fani Willis: Donald Trump says ‘young racist’ Georgia DA had an affair with a gang member – days before she’s due to indict him.

And yet, McAfee suggested that he would consider imposing a gag order on Fani Willis, but not Donald Trump.

Willis, of course, defended herself publicly because McAfee allowed the disqualification hearing to turn into a grade-school character assassination.

Everyone in the case has acted poorly—some more than others: Fani Willis, Nathan Wade, the witnesses for the defense and the state, Judge McAfee, and Donald Trump. And yet, the only party who emerged from this debacle untouched is Donald Trump.

That may not be Judge McAfee's desired result, but it is what he delivered. Let’s hope he handles the trial with a firmer hand and clearer head.

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Opportunities for Reader Engagement

I received the following note from BigTent, which is promoting one of my favorite organizations, VoteRiders:

On Tuesday, March 19 at Noon ET, BigTent is thrilled to host a Tent Talk with VoteRiders’ CEO and Executive Director, Lauren Kunis.

We will also be writing letters to North Carolina voters who have very strict voter ID laws, and we need your help to ensure that every voter in North Carolina has the ID they need as they prepare for the upcoming election season.

Each letter we send delivers essential information and assistance to the voters most likely to be disenfranchised by voter ID laws in North Carolina.

VoteRiders is a non-partisan, non-profit organization with a mission to ensure that all citizens are able to exercise their freedom to vote. VoteRiders informs and helps citizens to secure their voter ID as well as inspires and supports organizations, local volunteers, and communities to sustain voter ID education and assistance efforts.

BigTentUSA is a moderate, inclusive, and collaborative community empowering citizens to take action to protect democracy, defend women’s rights, and protect our children. Join our free educational series of events and our calls to action, detailed and updated regularly on our website.

Sign up to attend the VoteRiders event here.

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Concluding Thoughts

Well, despite the annoyances around the edges of the stories above, the general arc of the last two weeks has been positive for Joe Biden and the Democrats. Trump is receiving increasing scrutiny for his rambling, incoherent, 90-minute campaign rallies. See Susan B. Glasser in The New Yorker, I Listened to Trump’s Rambling, Unhinged, Vituperative Georgia Rally—and So Should You. (Behind a paywall.)  

In contrast, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have remained disciplined and on message. The media is noticing. That’s good. So, take a deep breath and find a few hours to unwind and enjoy the progress we have made over the last two weeks.

Talk to you on Monday!