Some congressional Democrats are calling upon U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to preemptively recuse himself from any cases that his court may hear regarding former President Donald Trump.
CBS News reports that a group of eight congressional Democrats have sent a letter to Justice Thomas requesting his recusal.
The group is led by U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA). It also includes U.S. Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Madeleine Dean (D-PA), Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX), Gerry Connolly (D-VA), Jasmine Crockett (D-TX), Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), and Dan Goldman (D-NY).
There is also a separate letter from U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT).
It can be read in its entirety here. The Democrats' chief argument appears to be that Thomas ought to recuse himself from any case involving Trump because his wife, Ginni Thomas, is a Republican activist and this may prevent Justice Thomas from being impartial.
The Democrats specifically refer to the new code of conduct that the members of the U.S. Supreme Court recently adopted.
The code states that a justice ought to recuse himself or herself when his or her impartiality may be questioned. The code specifically lists instance in which a justice's spouse has an "interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding."
The Democratic members of Congress, in part, write:
We know through public reporting and through Congressional investigations that your wife, Virginia (“Ginni”) Thomas was intimately involved in Mr. Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election and to obstruct its certification – the very conspiracies at issue in this case . . . These details about your wife’s activities raise serious questions about your ability to be or even to appear impartial in any cases before the Supreme Court involving the 2020 election and the January 6th insurrection.
The Democrats conclude, "If you want to show the American people that the Supreme Court’s recent Code of Conduct is worth more than the paper it is written on, you must do the honorable thing and recuse yourself from any decisions in the case of United States v. Trump."
Blumenthal sent his own letter, on Tuesday, to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
In his letter, Blumenthal calls upon Roberts "to take appropriate steps to ensure that Justice Clarence Thomas recuses himself from consideration of the petition for certiorari and any future proceedings in United States v. Trump."
Barring that, Blumenthal calls upon the court to provide to the public "an 'explanation of [his] recusal decision' showing how [Thomas's] participation comports with judicial ethics and federal law."
Blumenthal, like the House Democrats, went on to highlight the pro-Republican activities of Thomas' wife.
At the time of this writing, neither Thomas nor the Supreme Court has responded to these requests for Thomas's recusal.
There's been much talk about the possibility of swapping President Joe Biden out with a different candidate given his low polling numbers and overall lack of enthusiasm from his base.
In normal times, the DNC would look to the vice president as the strongest and most viable option, but these aren't normal times.
According to Breitbart, there's good reason why Vice President Kamala Harris isn't being considered as a backup plan -- her polling numbers are garbage.
The latest polls show Harris' approval rating sitting in the gutter at 35%.
The latest approval rating numbers for the ineffective vice president show that she's struggling, big time.
It's so bad, in fact, that she's set a new historic low. Her approval rating, according to the latest Monmouth University poll, shows her at 35%.
The consistently low approval ratings have also come at a terrible time for the White House, as Harris is set to embark on a nationwide, pro-abortion tour. Some believe she might not be the best fit for spreading the word on behalf of the current administration.
Here is the main reason they CANNOT get rid of Rutabaga.
Harris polling 8 points below him, at a pathetic 26%.https://t.co/lsHT9O8jIF
— Larry Schweikart (@LarrySchweikart) December 20, 2023
Harris will begin her "Fight for Our Reproductive Freedoms Tour" next month where she'll travel around the country and hold rallies for the pro-abortion crowd.
Presumably, the tour will be the Biden administration's method of keying in on the abortion topic, as the left continues to use it to scare certain voting groups into voting Democrat next year.
Harris released a statement using the familiar liberal, pro-abortion talking points that demonize the right, dialing in on the "reproductive freedom" narrative.
"I will continue to fight for our fundamental freedoms while bringing together those throughout America who agree that every woman should have the right to make decisions about her own body — not the government," the statement read.
It added, "Across our nation, there is a full-on attack on a woman's fundamental freedom to make decisions about her own body," the vice president said. "In the new year, I will be traveling the country to organize, build community and fight back. Because when we fight, we win."
Only time will tell if Harris can wrangle any extra votes as a result of her tour, or if her insane gaffe machine revs into overdrive and makes people shake their heads.
Years after MSNBC first speculated that Barron Trump, now 17, is not really former President Donald Trump's son, media figures are still making comments about it and wondering exactly what their relationship is.
The rumors cited in a Monday post on The List are actually three-plus years old, but any possible dig at Trump right now is a way to respond to Republicans dug in with support for him that persists despite four indictments and 90 separate criminal charges pending against him.
The inciting incident was a 2019 statement he made to the press when he was considering banning vaping products because they were targeting children.
"And that's how the First Lady got involved. She's got a son — together — that is a — a beautiful young man. And she feels very, very strongly about it," Trump said about Barron, who was 13 at the time.
The comment led MSNBC's "Morning Joe" host Mika Brzezinski to say, "Maybe it is Melania's son" and to suggest that it wasn't Donald's because he "didn't remember Barron's name."
Co-host and Brzezinksi's husband Joe Scarborough pooh-poohed her comments at the time, but they got more attention than such a comment might have warranted.
Around Father's Day in 2020, Food Network host John Henson picked up on the speculation by tweeting, "I hope Barron gets to spend the day with whoever his father is."
The tweet offended Melania Trump enough that her spokesperson called it "inappropriate and insensitive."
The speculation happened, as with most speculation, because Melania has kept Barron out of the public eye. He spent his formative years in private schools and under the protective eye of his mama bear instead.
What media figures can't observe and legitimately report, they just make up.
The media already knows Trump hasn't been a hands-on parent from previous interviews, so it shouldn't be that surprising if there's not much to tell about their relationship.
Trump has on other occasions said Barron will become something great.
And have you seen the kid? He's six foot eight, but looks an awful lot like a younger version of his father. Questioning his parentage is a big stretch.
In all likelihood, Trump will have a lot more to do with and say about Barron when he gets old enough to join dad in the family business, if he decides to do so.
He has close relationships with his three adult children, so it makes sense that he would want Barron close when the time comes as well.
A number of news outlets reported Sunday and Monday that former President Barack Obama now fears President Joe Biden can't win the 2024 general election.
The Toronto Sun, Fox News and the New York Post all cited a Saturday Wall Street Journal article that quoted an anonymous source close to the former president as worried about recent polls showing former President Donald Trump with a sizeable lead over Biden.
Obama "knows this is going to be a close race" and "feels that Democrats very well could lose," the source reportedly told the Journal.
Biden losing would be "pretty dangerous for democracy," Obama reportedly fretted at the prospect of Trump coming back into office despite two previous impeachments and four criminal indictments.
Going to the original source on Tuesday, however, it appears that the references to Obama have been scrubbed from the article. Only David Axelrod, a former Obama advisor, and various other pundits weigh in as part of the article's current iteration.
Presumably, Obama did not want his fears on the record, even through anonymous reports, and pressured the Journal to amend its report to keep him out of it.
But it's not farfetched to think that Obama would be worried at this point: Biden has dropped even further in the polls and is close to Jimmy Carter circa 1979 territory. We all know how that turned out.
As Fox News's Bill Hemmer pointed out, it is "entirely too early right now" to know what will happen in 10-plus months.
"These numbers are going to change," he predicted.
If prior elections are a guide, Hemmer is right. A lot can and will happen before voters go to the polls. Democrats will be pulling out all the stops to humiliate Trump and scare Americans back into voting their way. And human nature being what it is, some of it will work, unfortunately.
But the flip side of Hemmer's argument--the one that could be circulating around Obama's mind--is that Biden will not get any younger, and the mental decline that has become so apparent will not miraculously go away.
In fact, if the last three years is any indication, Biden's decline will get noticeably worse in the next 10 months.
Coupled with bad feelings about the economy and a growing sense that having an open border is not sustainable, Biden's age and frailty form a one-two punch that Obama is apparently not sure he can recover from, even if he doesn't want to admit that publicly yet.
Some have speculated that Obama is really the one running the Biden administration in the background, and these fears could end up pulling the plug on Biden's campaign before too much longer if things don't turn around.
Florida's Republican Party has suspended its chairman and is calling for his resignation.
This comes as the chairman - Christian Ziegler - is facing a rape allegation.
The Associated Press reports:
The Republican Party of Florida suspended Chairman Christian Ziegler and demanded his resignation during an emergency meeting Sunday, adding to calls by Gov. Ron DeSantis and other top officials for him to step down as police investigate a rape accusation against him.
Ziegler, however, maintains his innocence, and, thus far, he has refused to step down.
The woman who has brought the rape allegation against Ziegler did so back in October. The woman has not been identified, but it has been revealed that she had a consensual sexual relationship with both Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler.
Politico reports:
The affidavit also revealed that Ziegler’s wife, Bridget Ziegler, who co-founded the conservative parents group Moms for Liberty, acknowledged to police that she, the victim, and her husband had consensual sex together over a year before the alleged crime occurred, per an interview police conducted Nov. 1.
This woman now claims that Christian Ziegler raped her at her apartment in October.
ABC News reports:
Police documents say the Zieglers and the woman had planned a sexual threesome that day, but Bridget Ziegler was unable to make it. The accuser says Christian Ziegler arrived anyway and assaulted her.
The Sarasota Police Department is currently investigating this accusation. Ziegler claims that whatever happened on that day was consensual, and, thus far, he has not been charged with a crime.
On Sunday, top officials in Florida's Republican party met and voted to suspend Ziegler as their chairman. They also called for his resignation.
The Washington Times reports that Ziegler attended the meeting and attempted to defend himself, but it was to no avail.
Fox News reports:
"Ziegler on soap box trying to defend himself, not working," Lee County GOP Chairman Michael Thomason posted to the social media platform X. Thomason posted a series of tweets during the closed-door meeting, with the final being a picture of a document titled "motion to suspend authority."
At this time, it does not appear that Ziegler has any plan to resign. It appears as though the committee's next step will be to try to have him removed.
USA Today reports, "The board also voted to hold a meeting of the party's full governing body on Jan. 8 in Tallahassee, when a vote is expected to remove him."
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) stated that expelling former Rep. George Santos (R-NY) from the House was a mistake.
McCarthy made the comments as he also plans his early retirement from Congress after losing his role as House Speaker earlier in the year.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy says George Santos’ expulsion was a mistake, says disgraced pol deserved’ his day in court’ https://t.co/Me9EwWDRJO pic.twitter.com/LdgXsCafFT
— New York Post (@nypost) December 16, 2023
“'I would have leaned to some other punishment for him,' said McCarthy, who was out of town during the Dec. 1 Santos expulsion and did not cast a vote," according to the New York Post.
"The disgraced Long Island pol should have been able to 'have his day in court' before the House of Representatives took action," McCarthy added.
Kevin McCarthy says expulsion of George Santos was a mistake
"I would have leaned to some other punishment for him," McCarthy said.
Read more ⬇️https://t.co/hzaxxFKH8D
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) December 17, 2023
"Meanwhile, McCarthy said that he thinks Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz, who has been under a House Ethics Committee investigation, may have committed a more serious misfeasance than Santos," Just the News reported.
"Gaetz 'doesn’t want whatever’s in that ethics complaint to come forward,' McCarthy said about the Ethics Committee probe following the Justice Department's decision to not bring any charges against him in a sex-trafficking investigation," it continued.
'No shame, no care': Kevin McCarthy faces backlash for labeling George Santos' expulsion 'mistake' https://t.co/92VQb8jGlG
— Desirae (@dhorton74) December 17, 2023
"McCarthy suggested that a censure, similar to the one issued to Rep Jamaal Bowman for illegally pulling a fire alarm in the House, would have been more fitting," Meaww reported.
"During his farewell media tour, the former House Speaker shared that he received congratulatory calls and messages from world leaders and high-powered CEOs. However, he has not yet heard from his replacement, the current House Speaker Mike Johnson," it noted.
The issues involving Gaetz and Bowman have been points of controversy between the speaker and former speaker.
The ongoing questions in Gaetz could be a concern for the congressman as he runs for reelection next year, despite running in a strongly red Florida district.
The comments by the outgoing congressman and former speaker also continue to spark controversy as he wraps up his final days in Congress ahead of new plans that will likely continue in the private sector.
A Michigan appeals court ruled Thursday that former President Donald Trump can remain on the 2024 Republican presidential ballot in the state.
The decision affirmed two lower court decisions in a lawsuit against Trump based on the 14th Amendment.
Michigan appeals court rules Trump can stay on 2024 primary ballot https://t.co/DbMxMQt8Rw pic.twitter.com/wsnP0ZoapD
— The Hill (@thehill) December 15, 2023
"The court determined that the former president’s spot on the general election ballot was not ripe for consideration," the Hill reported.
“It would be improper to decide whether to grant a declaration that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President of the United States at this time,” the 3-0 opinion reads. “At the moment, the only event about to occur is the presidential primary election.”
Michigan appeals court rules Trump can stay on 2024 primary ballot https://t.co/DbMxMQt8Rw pic.twitter.com/wsnP0ZoapD
— The Hill (@thehill) December 15, 2023
"As the Court of Claims recognized, it would be improper to decide whether to grant a declaration that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President of the United States at this time," the court wrote, according to ABC News.
"At the moment, the only event about to occur is the presidential primary election. But as explained, whether Trump is disqualified is irrelevant to his placement on that particular ballot. Thus, with respect to the presidential primary election, there is no actual controversy, as the only purported basis for removing Trump from the presidential primary ballot would not be a sufficient basis for removal of Trump's name from that ballot," the court said.
Michigan appeals court rules Trump can stay on 2024 primary ballot https://t.co/qRaPidCGX7
— FOX 5 San Diego (@fox5sandiego) December 15, 2023
"Multiple challenges to Trump’s 2024 candidacy have been filed in numerous states, including Colorado and Minnesota. None have blocked him from the ballot yet," Fox 5 reported.
"Last month, a Colorado judge rejected an effort to bar Trump from the state’s primary ballot, deciding that the 14th Amendment’s wording does not specifically apply to the office of the president," it continued.
The news comes as polls show Trump leading President Joe Biden in Michigan and other swing states.
The former president also holds a large lead in polls over fellow GOP presidential candidates. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley continue to battle for second place.
The good news for Trump is another win for the former president as he looks to gain momentum ahead of next month's first primary in his comeback bid for the White House.
Hunter Biden's legal troubles are having a "toll" on his father, President Joe Biden.
This is according to a new report from Politico, titled, He's worried': Hunter Biden's legal woes take a heavy toll on his father.
The outlet reports, "[P]rivately, fears about the upcoming campaign and potential criminal trial have become an ever-present weight on the president, according to those close to him."
Politico adds, "The elder Biden has told friends he worries that his son could even backslide into addiction."
This all comes after Hunter Biden's latest criminal indictment, in which he has been accused of having violated several tax charges. He is facing up to 17 years of imprisonment for the charges, and this is all separate from the other criminal charges that Hunter Biden is facing in Delaware.
In addition to the latest criminal indictment, Politico's report also comes after Hunter Biden was scheduled to provide congressional testimony, behind closed doors, about the Biden family business.
Republicans suspected that the two are not unrelated. They suggested that the indictment was designed to get Hunter Biden out of having to testify.
Whether or not this is true, the fact is that Hunter Biden did skip his congressional deposition, instead, giving a speech, outside the U.S. Capitol, in which he tried to spin his situation.
So, in addition to the criminal indictments that Hunter Biden is facing, he is now also potentially facing a contempt of Congress charge.
Politico, for its report, cites five anonymous "aides and confidants" of President Biden, and they all say the same thing, namely, that there are signs that Hunter Biden's legal problems are having an impact on the president.
One "confidant," referring to Joe Biden, told the outlet, "You can see it in his eyes, and you can see his shoulders slump. He’s so worried about Hunter. And, we’re worried it could consume him."
Throughout the report, Politico claims that Joe Biden has been consistently checking up on Hunter Biden "as part of his daily routine." The report also indicates that the elder Biden is having "some of his closest friends" also check up on his son.
Why does the 53-year-old Hunter Biden need all of this supervision, you may ask. The answer, at least in part, seems to be a concern that Hunter Biden may relapse into his drug addiction.
This appears to be one of the ways that Hunter Biden and the political left - of which Politico is a part - are fighting the indictments - by trying to make Hunter Biden appear as a victim.
The family Christmas dinner at the Clinton residence will likely be a little awkward this year.
As news of Hillary Clinton's possible involvement in President Joe Biden's struggling reelection campaign surfaced this week, Fox News reported that former President Bill Clinton wasn't impressed with his wife's 2016 campaign.
Bill Clinton reportedly made some nasty comments regarding his wife's 2016 campaign that were revealed in "The Squad: AOC and the Hope of a Political Revolution," a book by The Intercept's Ryan Grim.
Clinton allegedly made the comments to a "close confidant" during Hillary's failed 2016 presidential run.
Fox News noted that a portion of the book was made public by Grim -- specifically a portion dealing with the conversations between Hillary Clinton's campaign and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
One of Bill Clinton's alleged statements was especially derogatory.
Former president Bill Clinton, surveying the landscape and the ham-handed efforts at identity politics, was bereft, lamenting to a longtime friend in the fall of 2016 that Hillary's campaign 'could not sell p---- on a troop train.'
Notably, a previous book examining Hillary Clinton's campaign pointed out criticism from her former presidential husband who wasn't happy about its approach to swing states.
That was especially important for midwestern states in general. Bill Clinton reportedly said the warning not to ignore those parts of the country ultimately fell "on deaf ears."
"He thought, these eggheads don't really know politics. They don't understand persuasion," Allen said during an ABC News podcast at the time of the book's release, adding that Bill advised Hillary's campaign to visit suburban and rural areas where Hillary likely would not garner most of the votes.
This all comes to light at the same time reports emerged that Biden's 2024 campaign is bringing in Hillary Clinton -- of all people -- to help his fledgling campaign -- a move that has many scratching their heads.
The idea of bringing Hillary into the fold for Biden's campaign is laughable, according to many. Her track record isn't exactly impressive.
"Democrats are considering bringing in Hillary Clinton to help with Joe Biden's re-election campaign. That sound you hear is Democrats scraping the bottom of the barrel," Chad Prather wrote.
Biden campaign mocked for bringing in Hillaryhttps://t.co/l9B4Vap3aj
— RSBN 🇺🇸 (@RSBNetwork) December 14, 2023
Only time will tell if Hillary Clinton has what it takes to save Biden's sinking campaign ship.
A movie produced by the Higher Ground production company owned by Barack and Michelle Obama has led to a backlash against the former first couple due to a mixed-race character who tells her Black father not to trust "white people."
The scene appears in the apocalyptic Netflix film "Leave the World Behind," which chronicles the aftermath of a major cyberattack.
In the movie, the mixed-race family owns a house that is rented to white tenants, and they are forced to ask the tenants if they can take refuge in the property they own.
At one point, the daughter tells her father who is Black, "I'm asking you to remember that if the world falls apart, trust should not be doled out easily to anyone, especially white people — even mom would agree with me on that."
Obama personally consulted on the Sam Esmail film and gave him notes on the script, according to Newsweek.
Esmail told Vanity Fair, "He had a lot [of] notes about the characters and the empathy we would have for them," Esmail told the magazine. "I have to say he is a big movie lover, and he wasn't just giving notes about things that were from his background. He was giving notes as a fan of the book, and he wanted to see a really good film."
“In the original drafts of the script, I definitely pushed things a lot farther than they were in the film, and President Obama, having the experience he does have, was able to ground me a little bit on how things might unfold in reality,” Esmail continued. “I am writing what I think is fiction, for the most part, I’m trying to keep it as true to life as possible, but I’m exaggerating and dramatizing. And to hear an ex-president say you’re off by a few details. ... I thought I was off by a lot! The fact that he said that scared the f*** out of me.”
Apparently, however, Obama didn't see any problem with the line about not trusting white people.
Are you really surprised that Obama thinks it's fine to espouse this philosophy of the world?
Social media users quickly called foul on the scene, exclaiming over how "racist" it is.
"This racist clip from Barack & Michelle Obama's first fiction film on Netflix called: "Leave The World Behind" is about to go viral!" X user Matt Wallace said.
"White people are the only group you’re allowed and celebrated to be racist towards, and it will be put into movies by the most influential people," Libs of TikTok posted on X.
"This is unacceptable," conservative social media figure Liz Churchill wrote. "I would say the same thing if they said this about people of color. How is this okay?"
Podcaster Kyle Becker also said, "If you don’t support hatred against white people, then you’re a racist."