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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HAPPENING NOW: President Trump's deployment of the military into L.A. is on trial before Judge Breyer, who will decide whether the effort violates the Posse Comitatus Act.
First witness: Army Deputy Chief of Staff William Harrington.
Lawer for Newsom now underscoring that leaders of the federalized National Guard troops were generally trained to be aware of Posse Comitatus Act and the strict limits it puts on their domestic law enforcement activity.
Newsom's lawyers now eliciting testimony about all of the operations Guard troops participated in during deployment in LA, including 2 against marijuana farms in Mecca and Camarillo
Also, Harrington confirms HEGSETH directly approved guard role in operation in MacArthur Park.
ENGELMEYER says the Trump administration’s claim that they wanted to release the Epstein grand jury records to shed new light on the case is “demonstrably false.” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
MORE: Engelmeyer says he reviewed the grand jury material and confirmed there is virtually nothing in it that isn’t public already. It would “not reveal new information of any consequence.” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…
NEW: Donald Trump may be off the hook for his alleged crimes, but his allies are still facing charges in five states — including a case against fake electors that goes before Nevada's Supreme Court tomorrow
In Arizona, where Trump allies like Mark Meadows, Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman still face prosecution, AG Kris Mayes is fighting to salvage her grand jury indictment or else go back to the drawing board.
In Georgia, Trump is still technically a defendant but is unlikely to ever see the inside of a courtroom. The case is also a trainwreck, frozen by questions about prosecutorial misconduct that must be resolved even before thorny are resolved. politico.com/news/2025/08/0…
NEWS: Trump has withdrawn Alina Habba's nomination to be US attorney in New Jersey, part of a multistep maneuver intended to keep her in the position as acting US attorney beyond an initial Friday deadline.
Here's how it works:
1) Habba resigns as interim US attorney, ahead of a Friday deadline 2) Trump withdraws Habba's nomination to take the job permanently 3) AG Bondi appoints Habba First Assistant US attorney 4) Habba automatically becomes acting US attoreny bc of the vacancy.
The reason Trump has to withdraw her nomination is because the Federal Vacancies Reform Act prohibits the nominee for a Senate-confirmed office from holding the post on an "acting" basis.
NEW: A batch of newly revealed text messages and emails from fired DOJ attorney Erez Reuveni show in real time how DOJ officials handled court orders related to the Alien Enemies Act, Kilmar Abrego Garcia and more.
They lend contemporaneous support to Reuveni's claim that Emil Bove suggested telling a court "fuck you." politico.com/news/2025/07/1…
There's a lot to unpack in the texts and emails between Reuveni and his colleagues. They joke morbidly about beign fired, and are grateful Boasberg was on vacation when the AEA crisis erupted. politico.com/news/2025/07/1…
Reuveni repeatedly told people inside the administration that Boasberg had ordered DHS not to deplane people after they landed in El Salvador. There seemed to be no ambiguity until ... politico.com/news/2025/07/1…
HAPPENING NOW: Judge Xinis is pressing DOJ on why they claimed on May 27 they had no power to bring Abrego Garcia back to the US evne though they had secretly secured a grand jury indictment against him 6 days earlier.
DOJ attorney now contradicts the government's sworn testimony from Tennessee criminal case, saying Abrego Garcia criminal probe began before April 28. Xinis presses her on this and she says she can't explain the contradiction.
XINIS is incredulous at how little information DOJ has about what played out when they're trying to get her to dismiss the case. So far DOJ is basically shrugging and it's just agitating the judge further.