Robert Costa Profile picture
Chief Election & Campaign Correspondent for @CBSNews, co-author of “Peril” with @realBobWoodward, @Center4Politics Scholar at the University of Virginia
🇺🇦🇺🇲☕️Coffee&Robots🤖🌊🇺🇦🇺🇲 Profile picture Antone Johnson • @antonej or @antone everywhere 👋 Profile picture eDo Profile picture Caught the #WokeMindVirus and ... I LIKE It! Profile picture BlueGlowAgave 🌻 Profile picture 37 subscribed
Aug 13, 2023 6 tweets 2 min read
(thread) Will be on @FaceTheNation at 10:30 a.m. ET

Some reporting notes from this weekend...

Re: Hunter/S.C. news, spoke w/ several Biden advisers and top Dem strategists. They see public and private polling plus focus group data that shows most voters aren't focused on H.B. Inside Biden WH, the SC news wasn't welcomed and there is an ack. that it could lead to a drip, drip scenario on DOJ front. And they know H.B. issues are deeply personal for the pres. But they also believe Rs on trail and on the Hill will overplay the issue, esp if imp. pursued.
Jul 27, 2023 22 tweets 4 min read
(thread) Ahead of a possible Trump indictment on a Jan. 6 conspiracy, a review, in chronological order, of reporting I've picked up in recent days... what have witnesses been asked about? What has come under scrutiny during the investigation? What matters?

1) Hours after the... 1) Hours after polls close Nov. 3, shortly after 2 a.m. Nov. 4, Trump falsely claims he won. What was discussed in the campaign war rooms in both the Map Room and in the EEOB? What did Trump say? What pressure was put on Fox execs, DOJ officials, and political officials?
Jul 10, 2023 10 tweets 3 min read
Hearing from 2 sources, familiar with the special counsel grand jury on J6, that Trump's consideration of using purported fed. authority to seize voting machines is under scrutiny. SC probing whether there was criminal intent to build a premise for delay/block in certification... Why this matter... investigators, I'm told, are interested in whether Trump was CHOOSING, verbally and in documented exchanges, to buy into S. Powell/Flynn suggestion that, by claiming voting machines were problematic, the election had to be sent back to the states...
Jun 13, 2023 6 tweets 3 min read
NEWS (thread): I've been hearing for months that some major GOP donors are interested in recruiting a late entry into 2024 race, even in early 2024, if Trump is convicted or continues to face legal challenges yet dominates the field. Two names routinely come up: Kemp, Youngkin... Today @CBSNews had an exclusive, lengthy sitdown with Gov. Brian Kemp of GA, who has clashed with Trump over 2020 but is widely seen on right as fellow conservative, be it on handling the pandemic or social issues. I asked him about my latest reporting on the late-entry talk...
Jun 9, 2023 13 tweets 3 min read
(Thread) learning some new things this morning about WHY this all happened and the motivation, especially for the audio from 2021 discussing classified material. In short, it comes down to one person: *Milley.* Trump loathed his coverage in press, in books, per multiple sources… As Trump fumed in post-presidency period about Milley, in his view, being cast as a hero and himself as an insurrectionist, he began to talk regularly about Milley in 2021, dismissing him and bringing up stories that made Milley seem unintelligent and untrustworthy, per sources
Jun 9, 2023 14 tweets 4 min read
(thread/tonight) What I'm hearing... Trump is frustrated not just with the indictment but with people in his inner circle who reassured him for months that it was very unlikely to happen... source close to Trump says "too much happy talk for way too long" about what could happen A second source close to Trump says "Trusty knows the special counsel" and is expected to try to work with Rowley and Blanche to figure out exactly how to play the next step, which will be a move to dismiss/formal attempt to question special counsel and especially DOJ's Bratt...
Jun 6, 2023 8 tweets 2 min read
(thread) Have covered Christie closely since his run for governor in 2009. Watching his NH town hall tonight. He's now in the race. A few observations... he's starting this bid on low simmer. Reintroducing himself to voters, casting himself as a thoughtful, seasoned GOP hand... At age 60, after failed bid in 2016 and the scars of the bridge scandal still there, he's not entering with a rah-rah or bombastic message. This isn't (yet) the fiery Christie of 2010/2011. But there are echoes of his 2013 reelect in this 2024 campaign pitch...
Jun 5, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
Standby… BREAKING: Trump’s lawyers just spotted by @CBSNews entering the Justice Department, per @RobLegare who is on site… comes as sources tell me the special counsel is moving toward a charging decision in the classified documents case
Apr 5, 2023 13 tweets 3 min read
(thread) This Pence development today is significant and potentially historic. A former vice president is now willing, within certain specified constitutional grounds his lawyers fought to arrange, to testify about potential illegal acts by a president.
cbsnews.com/news/mike-penc… Trump's lawyers might try to appeal Pence's decision, but they keep losing efforts to assert exec. priv. with this grand jury.

That means Pence could appear before Jan. 6 grand jury in the coming weeks to testify under oath about what exactly Trump did and said in private.
Mar 22, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
Updates:

1. NY criminal grand jury on 2016 Stormy payments

An indictment of Trump possible in coming days, but grand jury was not convened today, making ETA of a vote on Trump indictment TBD. Not clear what is delaying DA Bragg, if anything, or if more witnesses will be called. 2. Federal grand jury on Trump's classified documents, special counsel

Trump's lawyer in the case, Evan Corcoran, has been ordered by an appeals court to provide any evidence about Trump's handling of records, notes of mtgs., audio files, etc. And to testify about all the above.
Mar 10, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
Former ambassador ⁦@NikkiHaley⁩ in snowy Nevada, Iowa tonight. Starts speech by talking up ⁦@IowaStateU⁩ basketball team’s latest victory and her bio. Tells crowd she grew up near farms, didn’t go to Ivy League, was outsider in SC GOP before being elected governor… Haley is not running against Trump. Or DeSantis. Or anyone. Talking up rec, nodding twd some policy stances (broadly hawkish on foreign policy but also a bit 'America First' in rhetoric) and traditional GOP on fiscal policy, calling for some changes to long term fed spending...
Feb 23, 2023 5 tweets 2 min read
As several observers have noted today, there are various ways the Pence subpoena issue could play out in court. Trump side raises privlege questions, which special counsel is taking steps to address and prompt Pence to testify. But Pence lawyer Emmet Flood's "speech & debate" ... argument looms over a possible Pence appearance and could lead to more deliberation over the scope of questioning, particularly regarding Jan. 6/congressional certification-related questions.
Feb 23, 2023 6 tweets 3 min read
BREAKING NEWS: In recent days, federal prosecutors have asked the chief judge in Washington, D.C.’s federal court to compel former Vice President Mike Pence to comply with a grand jury subpoena and testify as a witness in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s investigation... Per 3 people familiar with the investigation, the motion to compel Pence’s testimony – filed in secret to Chief Judge Beryl Howell in recent days – came after lawyers for former President Donald Trump asserted executive privilege in response to Pence’s subpoena... w/ @RobLegare
Feb 16, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
Good morning from outside the Fulton County courthouse, awaiting the special grand jury’s report on Trump and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election… due to a judge’s order, we expect a partial release of the report today ⁦@CBSNews In filing today, Fulton County (Ga.) special grand jury report, partially released, reveals the grand jury has concluded "we find by a unanimous vote that no widespread fraud took place in the Georgia 2020 presidential election that could result in overturning that election."
Feb 15, 2023 14 tweets 3 min read
(thread) Good morning from Charleston. Covering Haley's first event as a 2024 candidate. Some notes from the notebooks over the years... I first interviewed her more than a decade ago, in 2010, as she was running for governor. That bid made her a party star. By the end of it... she was being touted as a possible VP contender for the 2012 cycle. She was seen at the time as part of the tea-party movement, particularly b/c Palin endorsed her in May 2010, which generated a lot of news. But she notably never fully drifted from the Republican establishment...
Feb 10, 2023 4 tweets 1 min read
New statement from Pence adviser Devin O'Malley: "Following the discovery and disclosure of a small number of potentially classified documents that had inadvertently been transported to his home in Indiana, Vice President Pence and his legal team have fully cooperated... " "... with the appropriate authorities and agreed to a consensual search of his residence that took place today. The Department of Justice completed a thorough and unrestricted search of five hours and removed one document with classified markings and six additional pages... "
Feb 7, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Heard from several sources in recent days that some business leaders are encouraging @Sen_JoeManchin to consider a 2024 bid and to potentially work with No Labels. Just asked Sen. Manchin about this and whether he is thinking about running. He said he is focused on bringing... Americans together and wants to create a centrist space in American politics. I asked question at @semafor forum hosted by @SCClemons. The senator didn't speak about President Biden or his own 2024 plans, but suggested there will be many "players" in the 2024 conversation...
Jan 6, 2023 5 tweets 1 min read
INSIDE THE FRAMEWORK per several Rs briefed on talks… rules changes, budget promises, and committee guarantees… talks are fluid but the framework to win over some of the McCarthy critics coming together as people review top lines… big pic? It makes the HFC central in House. If this deal goes thru and McCarthy become speaker, you’re looking at a House where McCarthy is speaker and/but the Freedom Caucus is at the table on all big things: rules for floor, standoffs on budgets, and spreading HFC moves to key fiscal committees (approps, budget, etc.)…
Jan 4, 2023 4 tweets 2 min read
Today is a testament to @RepJeffries's soft whipping ability. When I heard from a few older Dems hrs ago, some grumbled this was chaos and bad for country and they might need to vote present at some point to stop the madness. I promptly heard from Dem leadership that they knew... a handful of Democrats might want to vote present/try to end the standoff late tonight if it got there. And they said they knew who I was likely hearing from. They then assured me those grumbles would stay grumbles and Dems would stay in line. That prediction held.
Jan 3, 2023 5 tweets 1 min read
Standing outside HC5 in basement or the Cap. Where House GOP will soon meet. This 9:30 meeting could reveal more about what’s going to happen during the noon speaker vote. Many new members don’t know where HC5 is. They will get to know it. The majority basement meeting room. Perhaps best known as the setting for many Boehner era showdowns between leadership and backbenchers.
Jan 2, 2023 9 tweets 3 min read
(thread) eve of speaker vote. Biggest question among GOP sources this morning: So what happens if McCarthy doesn't have the votes on the floor? The vote plays out and he doesn't reach the threshold. Then what? Some McCarthy allies tell CBS he should "fight it out on the floor." But McCarthy critics don't like that idea. "We don't want this playing out in front of a global television audience, take it to conference." In other words, if McCarthy stumbles, they want to take it behind closed doors for a reckoning within the splintered club/family/party.