It's 2:55 a.m. and I just figured out how Pence massaged the rules of the Electoral College counting session to avoid introducing the "rival" slates of Trump electors.
These are the instructions VPs have given out at the start in each of the last 5. Note the difference?
TLDR: The law specifies that the VP must introduce all "purported" electoral votes. This year, that might've included the unserious/mock Trump electors.
But Pence worked with the parliamentarian to interpret it so only electors backed by a state "authority" would be introduced.
Note how Pence emphasizes, before introduced each state that not only is the slate of electors "regular" and "authentic," but that the parliamentarian has advised him is the only one backed by a state "authority."
That is not a regular acknowledgment at these sessions.
A lot of people interested in this process. Even had Pence introduced these electors, which it’s not entirely clear he had authority to do, they would be legally invalid and unable to be counted by Congress. It would have accomplished nothing except making a lot of people angrier
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The Justice Department treated Friday’s sentencing like a coda of sorts for its 4–year investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, vowing on the eve of the Trump presidency that
“The institutions that protected democracy on Jan. 6 cannot and will not forget.”
Judge Mehta also used his remarks to lament how many veterans were among the Jan. 6 mob and have described, in court proceedings, dealing with mental/physical health challenges with minimal support. politico.com/news/2024/12/2…
MORE: The department's sweeping effort to identify a classified info leak — which included seeking phone/email logs for Schiff/Swalwell and 43 staffers — was done without proper oversight and risks chilling Congress' legitimate work, the IG found. politico.com/news/2024/12/1…
Kash PATEL was among those swept up in this search, and he unsuccessfully sued over it last year. But the IG found that the 43 searched staffers were split along partisan lines w/ no evidence of political motivation. politico.com/news/2024/12/1…
Judges are pushing back on efforts to sweep Jan. 6 under the rug but worried that a large swath of the public has moved on. politico.com/news/2024/12/0…
Judge Lamberth ordered a misdemeanor defendant — previoulsy convicted of a felony that was tossed because of SCOTUS — immediately jailed for a 12mo sentence.
And Judge Jackson worried that the "volume's getting turned up" on disinformation about 2020. politico.com/news/2024/12/0…
HAPPENING NOW: Enrique Tarrio, testifying at the trial of MPD officer Shane Lamond, has been combative, evasive and, at times, contradictory.
He seems to be relishing his attempt to fluster prosecutors. Drew a contempt threat from Juge Jackson when he refused to discuss Jan. 6.
The contempt threat for the former Proud Boys leader came on the first question from DOJ, when the prosecutor asked him if Proud Boys traveled to Washington on Jan. 6. Tarrio refused to answer and suggested he would plead the 5th even though he waived his 5th yesterday.
Tarrio also talked about timing his trip to Washington, D.C. for Jan. 4, 2021 because he knew he would be arrested for burning a BLM banner the month before and wanted to ensure he could be arrested and processed in time to be out for Jan. 6 events.
BIDEN calls Hunter’s case “selective prosecution” instigated by his political adversaries. Not exactly the ringing endorsement of the special counsel process his DOJ has long made.
Biden says “raw politics” infected the case, causing a “miscarriage of justice.”
NEW: Donald Trump hasn’t said a word since the election about his intent to pardon Jan. 6 defendants. It’s prompted some anxiety among supporters and a raging debate about his intentions.
That debate has been compounded by the replacement of Matt Gaetz — a fervent ally of Jan. 6 defendants — with Pam Bondi, who has maintained radio silence on the issue for four years. politico.com/news/2024/11/3…
Trump’s transition team exacerbated the issue by vowing Trump would consider pardons “case by case,” a signal that he might not implement the sweeping blanket pardon many J6 defenders have called for. politico.com/news/2024/11/3…