the DON JONES INDEX…
		GAINS POSTED in GREEN LOSSES POSTED in RED 6/12/23… 15,022.11 6/5/23… 15,072.36
	6/27/13… 15,000.00
(THE DOW JONES INDEX: 6/12/23... 33,876.78; 6/5/23... 33,762.76; 6/27/13… 15,000.00)

LESSON for June 12, 2023 – “HERE COMES EVERYBODY”

With the debt ceiling default crisic can kicked off into 2025, Don Jones breathed a sigh of relief... the occasional nihilist showing a snarl of discontent, many more on the far Left and Right of their parties also snaring (but falsely, just to show that they regretted what they saw as an unpleasant compromise – tho’ without the cojones to do anything about liket... oh... start an insurrection – and the Republic, thus, went back to its Republican and Democratic grind and grimacing over the issues of the day: war and inflation, disease and pollution and green M&M’s everywhere while several more gators, frogs and possums jumped into the swamp.

If there could be such a thing as the end of one micro-era and transition to the next, Saturday’s signing of the Fiscal Reponsibility Act was just that. No sooner was the blood dried on the document than a couple of never-Trumps who’d been hanging around (former Jersey Governor and talkshow icon Chris Christie and, literally, former Vice President and noose escapee Mike Pence) declared their intent to enter the lists. So did the Governor of North Dakota.

More bodies are expected to drop and plop into the political East River of 2024 within the next week or two, fulfilling the dreams of the obsessives, the dread of progressives and the agenda of Donald Trump, the exiled sovereign again seeking his Restoration.

Matters got complicated on Friday afternoon when Special Counsel Jack Smith (the one assigned to the former President’s Mar-a-Lago documents alleged criminality: as opposed to the Stormy Daniels case...indicted and awaiting trial... the Georgia election tampering and the One Six insurrection itself... both still awaiting indictments). Mr. Smith (who bear a striking resemblance to Don Junior) made a rare television appearance to state that he had issued a 49 page, 37 count indictment of Djonald UnLawful and that the Exile (still campaigning hard and raising money for his 2024 Restoration) would be ordered to Miami on Tuesday afternoon, where he would be arrested and processed to face trial before Judge Aileen Cannon (viewed widely as a Trump appointee and possible stooge). “Read the indictment!” Mister Smith commended Mister Jones and all the Joneses in all the homes across America. So we’ll do our part and unspool the spiderthreads and threats from the Trumpiverse as Attachment One, below (June 9^th) plus, as an extra added attraction, commentary (frequently biased) and explanations (less biased) from the New York Times.

In his press conference announcing the bust, Mr. Smith (his nomenclature still rather iffy, but his authority... in this case... rock solid) mentioned a few of the specific charges against Ol’ 45... conspiracy and espionage being prominent.

Espionag-ing? For whom and of what?

Apparantly, the hundreds of classified documents found in Trump’s storage locker and at various places in his Florida estate... closets, the garage, scattered over the floor in a unspecified room, (see website link in Attachment One) the shower (shower??!!??)... included critical information about foreign policy (like a planned, but not carried out attack on Iran and multiple listings of helpful foreign sources in foreign places ranging from the Mideast to Russia, all of whom were put in harm’s way from bad guys like Putin, the sheikhs of Arabi, Africa, Cuba, NoKo, etcetera etcetera).

The indictment(s), duly preceded by a Letter of Warning as the law in such cases advises have, as we noted, further complicated the already strange Presidential race now “only” eighteen months and change off into the future. Wince as they might, the donor class is opening their checkbooks to lay down their bets and the wise guys in London or Vegas can give you the odds on November 2024 (hint: Biden leads, but the indictment helped, not hurt The Donald). See the Las Vegas Review and Draft Kings (Attachments Two A and Two B)

Prior to Mister Trump’s indictment, the high or lowlights of the week were otherwise inclusive of more hats being tossed into the ring... those of never-Trumpers like Mike Pence, the former Veep whom Djonald plucked out of obscurity in Indiana, offering prestige, power and, perhaps, his own road to the White House in 2024, circumstances (a 2020 re-election, notably) allowing, which, of course, they were not. So after Mike had the audacity and disloyalty to fail to declare the election rigged and Constitution voided on One Six (that indictment still pending, or pencing, as it may be), Trump motivated a mob to haul his treacherous colleague dragged out of the Capitol and hanged.

Also declaring his candidacy was the former New Jersey Governor, failed Presidential candidate and Sunday talkshow talking head Chris Christie. Another of the legion of former sycophants pivoting after the debacle of the One Six, Christie has openly admitted that he’s in the race to fork the former POTUS up, with little, if any, hope that a Republican base that has veered so far off to the right that Ron DeSantis, among others, can contend, with some evidence supporting, that Trump is, really, just another degenerate liberal.

And the week offered up a smidgen of welcome comic relief... Doug Burgum, the Governor of North Dakota, also launched his 2024 campaign.

After disposing of the indictment and the chatter ensuing, we’ll run through a list of the dirty dozen most serious Republican candidates – their hopes and aspirations, their dreams and odds for or against surviving, let alone winning, in 2024.

But surprises have happened before... out of the woods have come candidates like Jimmy Carter, now resting comfortably in hospice care as he looks forward to his 99^th birthday, a couple of Democratic obscurities like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, who clawed their way to the top of the heap in their day, and Trump himself – a game show host with no political experience.

What have all these noteworthy newshounds had to bark about with the second official incrimination of the man who leads them all in the polls... by miles?

Not much.

Prior to indictment, the pollsters and the pundits were busy running their own Vegas-ish handicapping of the 2024 G.O.P. race (Attachments Two, A and B).

The Las Vegas Review-Journal (April 4th, Attachment Two A) declared that President Joe Biden remained the 2-1 favorite to win re-election in 2024 (with a Vegas ranking of +200). Trump was the +295 second choice. DeSantis was third at +440.

(A positive number represents how much you would profit on a $100 bet. In this case, a bettor would win $295 on a $100 bet on Trump to win the 2024 election. With Biden the heavy -250 favorite to be the Democrat nominee, you would have to risk $250 to win $100... a rather good bet, so long as President Joe’s health holds up.)

Trump climbed from a -120 favorite on March 27 to -128 on Tuesday after notice of his indictment at rival site Betfair to win the nomination, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis saw his odds worsen from +200 to +245.

“Remarkably, Donald Trump hasn’t lost any support in the 2024 US election betting markets since news broke of his indictment,” Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom told the R-J. “In fact, he’s even gained some backing and improved his chances of being on the ballot in 2024.”

(The Vegas R-J covered its ass with the gumment bounty hunters by adding: “Betting on politics isn’t permitted at U.S. sportsbooks.”)

By late May... given the settling of the default crisis and pending (but pre- ) indictment of Trump, Biden’s odds had risen to +150 according to another gambling guesstimate from Draft Kings (May 23rd, Attachment Two B). A few days before indictment rumours became reality, Trump was holding more or less steady at +240, while DeSantis had slid down to +450 (based on his disastrous announce and the growing perception that his take on the issues was just wannabe Trumpism – and who needed that when the real deal was available and, for now, unincarcerated?).

(Haley, by the way, was +3,500 and Scott was off the DK charts at something greater than 100-1 for those willing to bet the rent on a dark horse... no ethnic connotations intended... and Mike Pence was hanging round at +5,000 – also a pretty good bet, assuming that an angry Djonald UnHorsed didn’t start breaking furniture, eat two triple-cheese, side order of fries and then laungh his third (or fourth, fifth) party suicide challenge. Hint: the sobriquet “Conservative Party” is still available (sort of... one “Dennis Mulins” has squatted on the FEC’s no-fault nominating registration process, but how much money would it take to get rid of him?).

In Olde England, where the Conservative Party is a legitimate and sometimes ruling entity, the BBC glanced over the pond, cast its nets and hauled up a juicy net of crabs and cuttlefish, including most of the major declared candidates, some pondering declaration and some of the notable declinations. (Attachment Three)

For a sample of their powers of prophecy, lets choose a name from among what most handicappers believe to be the so-called Second Tier... a politician of some repute and experience who’s polled at least one percent, if not yet being a menace to the Dynamic Duo.

Let’s take... oh... perhaps the nearest contender to Trump and DeSantis (and a “woke” choice, too, being female and otherly-skinned)... that might be the former Governor and Ambassador Nikki Haley?

Go.com, a subsidiary of the ABC news raptor, proffered an even larger field of sporting horses, including some Democrats, Independents and a larger list of the maybes and neverbees. (go.com, Attachment Four, June 5th) Again, sticking with our friend, la femme Nikki, we are informed that she is “...the daughter of immigrants, highlighted her heritage as a South Asian woman and touted her hopeful view of what America can offer.”

Grasping for the youth vote, the 51 year old Haley “underscored her credentials as a former leader of the Palmetto State, stressing its resilience, but most of all she said there was a major need for change in the GOP's candidates.

"Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. … It's time for a new generation of leadership," go.com quoted her.

And the customarily exhausting Wikipedia/Ballotpedia combine published its latest list of potentials – an exhaustive roster of bees, wanna-s, may-s and (for now) never-s with biographical links. (Attachment Five) Here, too, Haley comes in for a slice of the pie... profiled as a “former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor (who) announced she would run on February 14, 2023,” with biographical notes here.

Back in March, Politico published not only a list of the prospects, but included brief notes on how they could walk off with the nomination and election as well as how, and why, all but one will not. (Politico, Updated June 6, Attachment Six)

Dividing the candidacies into the customary tiers... the first a dynamic duo of DeSantis and Trump; the second a listing of trailing candidates who, nonetheless, have demonstrable political accomplishments to their resume and third a countdown of newcomers, perennials, wannabees and the such with enough recognition to merit at least token media notice, Haley, standing atop the dogpile of second tier candidates, was profiled in Politico as a spokesperson for youth, justice and the American Way – contending, without exactly mocking, President Joe and former President Donald as old and decrepit in body, mind and spirit.

Politico cited her native South Carolina primary... third in the nation after as the former Governor and Ambassador... as her pathway to the Presidency, as well as her status as the “most politically accomplished woman” — a twice-elected governor and cabinet member — to enter a Republican presidential primary field. “Despite the gender gap between the parties, women make up nearly half of the GOP primary electorate.”

But failure to triumph in her home state, Politico added, would risk “getting drowned out in a primary where Trump and DeSantis suck up most of the oxygen. And Haley’s seemingly shifting views of Trump after the Jan. 6 riot threaten her credibility in taking on her former boss.”

Other media profiles served up other profiles largely corroborative of the above. The Guardian U.K. noted that she had underscored her credentials as a former leader of the Palmetto State, stressing its resilience, but most of all emphasizing the “major need” for change in the GOP's candidates.

"Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections,” she said… swiping at Biden’s age and Trump’s failed midterm putsch. “It's time for a new generation of leadership," she said.

And that brings us to a few media munchies regarding more crullers in the baker’s dozen of the likely first, second and third-tier contenders as of this week in descending order of viability – from The Donald, through Ms. Haley and Mister Laffey (“laugh, laugh... I thought I’d cried?); all the way down to Burgum (but no further). First and foremost (as well as usually earliest, given the transatlantic time differential) is the the staid and stolid British Broadcastiing Company, not afraid to poke its long nose into Colonial politics (Attachments Seven... A through M with, as an afterthought to Seven N – a short treatise on the money and why Burgum, a billionaire, might be undervalued as a candidate – or then again, a failure on the order of Forbes or Bloomberg or Tom Steyer who has, at least, filed again.)

As regards the highers-up and lowers-down, the BBC provided thumbnail sketches of the viable candidates and other media chimed in – so we assembled an assortment of assho... well, communicators... commenting upon them as Attachment Seven, subsections A (Trump) through M (Burgum) and, because of the financial resources of the mysterious latter, a Subsection N dealing with the money. These subsections are further sub-subsectioned by the publications (with the marginal having little to bring to the table).

Nonetheless, here’s what some had to say about these – prior to the Indictment.

The leaders of the Pack

TRUMP (A)

Much mentioned elsewhere, the BBC simply explained the former President’s lead upon formally launching his third bid for the White House on Nov. 15,

"America's comeback starts right now," he said, describing the U.S. as "in decline" and touting his administration as a "golden age."

DeSANTIS (B)

The BBC noted that he was Re-elected to the Governorship of Florida with Trump’s endorsement and won a spectacular victory. Time noted his dependance on “woke rhetoric” and the Guardian UK charged that he was billing the taxpayers for his “culture war lawsuits.”

The Contenders

HALEY (C)

The BBC noted that she would be the first female and South Asian President – and also remarked on her remarks upon the old men (Biden, Trump) in the lead. Vox cited her copycat culture war statements – “trending more MAGA than moderate”.

PENCE (D)

His announcement speech, according to the BBC, was “his most forceful repudiation of Donald Trump to date, accusing the ex-president of being unfaithful to the US constitution and of abandoning conservative values.” The New York Times documented his One Six break with his boss and, in another article, the BBC highlighted his Christianity… and hopes to capture that demographic for himself.

SCOTT (E)

The BBC noted the obvious: Scott is a rare black Republican, grandson of cotton field workers and an optimist; a nice guy well respected by even those who differ with him. NPR cited his insistence that America is not a facist country, saying: "We need to stop cancelling our founding fathers and start celebrating them for the geniuses that they were. They weren't perfect, but they believed that we could become a more perfect union."

HUTCHINSON (F)

The former Governor of Arkansas cited achievements over ideology (CBS News) and warned that the U.S. must secure its southern border and must not yield to China, pledging to “stand with our friends” (presumably in support of Ukraine). He has argued that the Republican Party has to have "someone different than Donald Trump running for president." 

CHRISTIE (G)

Like Hutchinson, he has opened up on Trump as “a TV star, nothing more, nothing less:. (BBC) The leftier GUK focused on a pardon he sought and received for a Jersey crony, as well as the scandals during his administration, The New York Times opined that his intent is to wreck Trump’s nomination train, a vengeful agenda despised by TV conservative Sean Hannity who accuses him of wanting to “bludgeon” Trump. (GUK)

The Pretenders

RAMASWAMY (H)

Speaking of right wing TV talkers, he BBC calls him regular fixture on Fox host Tucker Carlson's daily programme who “argues the country is in the midst of a national identity crisis driven by a decline in faith, patriotism and meritocracy.” NPR cites his self-designation as a Hindu who is also a “Christian Nationalist” and who scorns notions like “diversity” and “identity” and will campaign on the Hunter Biden laptop scandal if nominated. He will also raise the voting age to 25.

YOUNGKIN (I)

Still basking in the glow of his surprise victory in the Virginia governor’s race, he has promoted bipartisanship but also, says the BBC has vigoriously prosecuted the cultural wars and plague mask/vaxxing mandates,

ELDER (J)

Like Scott, the conservative talk show host rejects preferential treatment and calls himself "an American who is Black" rather than African American, telling The Hill in a 2019 interview: "The idea that there's systemic racism against Black people is a lie." (Reuters) He also pledged to repeal mask and vaxxing requirements (BBC).

JOHNSON (K)

The little known 75 year old businessman is promoting “a plan to reignite the economy by shaving 2% in federal spending every year.” (BBC)

LAFFEY (L)

The former Mayor of Cranston, RI is vague on issues but insists “we must directly confront our problems." BBC notes his “lack of name recognition or statewide or federal experience” and failed 2006 campaign for the Senate.

BURGUM (M)

Governor of a cold and obscure state, Burgum has an ace up his sleeve… lots and lots of money. (Like Batman answering a question on what his super power was and saying “I’m rich.”) He is also “hard to pin down ideologically” (538) and promises to focus “less on culture war grievances and more on the economy, energy policy and national security.” (NBC)

and, apropos the last and, in fact the others...

THE MONEY (N)

Early filings show that Trump, usurprisingly, leads in fundraing but Ramaswamy and Johson are surprisingly solvent. The candidate with the most “cash on hand” is Scott, And, reports 538, Burgum could pour as much as $50 million into the campaign, which makes him “a candidate to watch”.

A somewhat shorter list was provided by the New York Times as Attachments Eight (A) and (B)... A: a “who’s running” tease featuring the Dynamic Duo plus four Second Tierers (Pence, Christie, Haley, Scott) with Hutchinson, Ramaswamy & Elder briefly noted, and B: a “run up” confined to Trump and DeSantis.

And then there is the aforementioned round-up of the whole f***ng elephant herd (as well as a bunch of donkeys, some outliers, cockroaches, jagged edges and Donald Junior... wielding his elephant gun) rampaging through the politiverse – as provided by Ballotpedia (back again as Attachment the Last - below).

The Polls...

The usual suspects in this corner... Five Thirty Eight, Real Clear Politics and the numerous fair and unfair polls from the likes of Quinnipiac and Monmouth to the right-leaning Rasmussen... have been hard at work for months now, almost since Biden’s twenty twenty election and the One Six that followed.

RCP’s most recent poll of polls (Attachment Nine A) showed the former President stronger after indictment, well ahead of DeSantis and the rest and close to (or in a few cases leading) President Joe. Pence was starting to move up.

And Over at Five Thirty Eight (Attachment Nine B) more of the same.

The Indictment...

Sick and tired as they might be of The Donald and his recent penchant for losing ventures (the 2022 Congressional contests where Trump’s handpicked outsiders like Kari Lake in Arizona, Herschel Walker in Georgia and the irrepressible Doctor Oz in Pennsylvania all exploded like a Chinese blimp, were it filled with combustible hydrogen instead of dull old helium), his challengers... even Pence and DeSantis... have been reticient about the frontrunner’s legal troubles, Only former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has dared defy the Donald... and more significantly, his base – speaking at the Georgia Repulican convention in defiance of the base-liness of the base and the dictate “we don’t talk about Donald”.

The old adage about not attempting to strike at a King unless you succeed in killing him, has never been more prescient.

President Joe was reported to be “staying mum” by the U.S. News and World Report (June 9^th, Attachment Ten).

“I have no comment," Biden told reporters while visiting a community college in North Carolina.

Biden also said he hasn’t spoken with Attorney General Merrick Garland about the case.

“And I’m not going to speak with him,” Biden added. 

On the flight to the state, principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said the White House won't comment out of respect for the independence of the Justice Department and to protect "the integrity of their processes."

Biden was asked at a news conference Thursday how he would convince Americans they can trust the independence of the Justice Department when Trump repeatedly attacks it.

“Because you notice I have never once − not one single time − suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do, relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge,” Biden said. “I'm honest.”

Christie finally ventured that Ol’ 45’s conduct had been “irresponsible”.

Michael UnHanged, while stopping short of an “I told you so!” moment despite his own exoneration on charges of document dipping after apologizing and donning the dunce cap to wheedle his way into prosecutorial clemency, did go so far as to say that he did not believe Djonald UnWanted should ever be President again. (Who should, he inferred, was obvious.)

The others took the dark and cloudy road of obscure euphamisms and detours - mindful of the fact that pre-indictment polls showed Biden’s 2024 rematch with The Donald (DeSantis, too) to be a toss-up and that laying down the martyr card was already paying dividends to The Exile in the form of support amongst the base, cold, hard cash (and more promises of more and the same to come) and even a few intimations of overcharging from some of the normally anti-Trump media.

Trump not only called the indictment by his usual accusation... “the witch hunt”... he added that Jack’s case amounted to political warfare, prosecuted by “Them”. Whether they were the Democrats, jealous Republicans, the Deep Space or the pizza parlour pedophiles wielding Jewish space lasers was not specified; the hint of persecution has always served him well with the base, and the base remains large enough to secure him the nomination, even if election would be harded task and managing a second Presidency from a jail cell harder even.

No matter. Trump tweeted, he ranted and raved awhile, they he went down to New Jersey to play golf – leaving the details to his trusty new attorney (literally, in fact, his being James Trusty) who proposed that the persecution had put the stamp of reality upon a situation that “was not real.”

Then he went to Columbus GA for the Republican state convention where he looked forward to squaring off against his nemesis... well, one of his nemesii... Gov. Kemp in the third of his four legal matters; except that the Guv (perhaps on the advice of Georgia Prosecutor Fani Willis in the wake of Alvin Bragg and Jack Smith) chose not to attend. There, he delivered what the liberal Daily Beast called a “bonkers” speech.

He called Special Counsel Jack Smith “deranged”, Georgia prosecutor Fani Wallis “a lunatic Marxist” and Mike Pence “nasty”… ending his discourse with what Isabella Ramirez called “a bizarre and far from inspirational” remark; “Everybody’s being murdered and beat up and mugged. We’re not going to let it happen. Thank you very much everybody, it’s a great honor to be here,” he concluded. (June 10^th, Attachment Eleven

The Columbus Convention Center, coincidentally, was to host the Miss Georgia beauty pageant as soon as the Republicans left, or said they did... during the overlapping registration period, long-legged lovelies were sprouting everywhere, much to the delight of dirty old elephants. Much to the dismay of Melania, who undoubtedly wagged a finger at her still-husband as soon as she learned of the intersection. Trump spoke his mind… his fabulous mind!... then, after stopping off at a Waffle House, hastened to fly off to North Carolina where he’d do the same thing all over again,

Deny the election, deny the angry women – well, why not deny reality? Don Jones, likely as not, will view the whole kerfluffle as one of those doctored dramas dreamt up by the AI people, putting words never spoken into people’s mouths, and showing people doing things they never did. All that the former President has to do, in the cause of keeping the base happy (and angry) and the money flowing.

For those obsessives or Joneses merely disgusted with the likeliest candidates, here and now, at this transition between King Deficit (who has not really been slain nor even banished at all, simply sent upon a secret mission between now and the end of 2024) the Indictment proceedings and the upcoming months-long Run For the Republican Rush, here are a few hundred candidates for the White House Occupancy, with perhaps a dozen undercored as more likely to obtain their Residency and, then, the handful deemed capable of earning their full, first class, presorted notices.

For your consideration: Ballotpedia’s list of all the wishers and hopers who have filed with the Federal Elections Commission – hundreds of the hopeful, the hopeless and the just plug-ugly (those being the ones whom other media sources have given at least a Chi... well, to be PC, a Xi-tistic’s... chance). See their names and parties at Attachment the Last. Joe Biden is on that cattle call (adjacent to a mysterious “Joe Exotic”... BP admitting that some of the filers used stage names, pseudonyms or just plain lied – but if the FEC accepted their filing… no problemo). So are Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis – and so are some Greens and Libertarians and Independents as well as, for the nostalgic, a handful of Peace and Freedoms, American Independents and one... only one?... Reform – as well as candidates from an assortment of political parties that exist, like Mister Trump’s definition for declassification, only in their minds.

Toss in repeat billionaire liberal Tom Steyer (not even noted in the polls this time round), a “Barak” (Zilbergerg, not Obama), an Arthur (but not Leslie) Van Houten, a Franklin Delano (but Rutherford, not Roosevelt), a Michael (but not Steve) Bannon, and a Robert (no “E”) Lee. The population of obviously joke-ish names has dropulated considerably (have they raised their fees or getting “woke”?) but there is still an I. Curious, a “Sexy Vegan”, some royalty: a (purportedly genuine) Princess Khadijah M. Pres Jacob-Fambro, and, for the religious, a Christianm tho’ Democratic “Saint Jermaine Endeley” to accompany Saint Ron and, for the from-India Indians suspicious of Nikki and Ramaswamy, there’s Shiva (the Hindi Destroyer) Ayyadurai.

He’s a registered Independent, because Destroyers don’t suck up to anybody. Not even Transformers (not yet a registered party – but wait!).

We’ll take a further look at these aspiring aspirants in the near or far future, when things that really matter to Don Jones... like more Trump indictments, Fed interest rate hikes or polluted orange skies... cut the DJI some summer slack.

	June Fifth through Eleventh, 2023
Monday, June 5, 2023 Dow: 33,562.86	It is (was) Default Day. Also, begins National Dairy Month. The battle of the budget settled ‘til whomever coaxes the voters is elected and prepared to take office in 2025 is revealed, Don and Ron have more competition... the former applauding, the later quaking. There’s bad news for Trump... Special Counsel Jack Smith confers with attorneys on the docs case (as opposed to the riot case, the Georgia ballot case and Stormy)... and more bad news for DeSantis (California DA Rob Bonta calls his transfer of migrants to the Golden State a crime, making the top two Republican office-seekers likely to have to pardon themselves to get out of the Big House and serve their term in the White House). And what have they got on Nikki? Autopsy Annies and Arnies seek and ponder on last week’s disasters... the building collapses in Connecticut and Iowa, the DC plane and, in India, the killer trainwreck. Bad Mommas summoned to face the music... the parent of unnamed six year old school shooter arrested, as is the other who let her kids die in a car fire at the mall while she was inside, shoplifting. They’ll need lawyers... but not the corporate attorney extradited from Wall Street, New York, to Boston for at least four old rapes.
Tuesday, June 6, 2023 Dow: 33,573.28	It’s the 79^th anniversary of D-Day. Also, for whatever reason given, Gay Pride night. Somebody (Bad Vlad and Old Volod trade accusations) blows up Ukrain’s largest dam, flooding the land west of the Dnipro as Russian snipers pick off rescue workers trying to save drowning civilians. Nukrainers say that the battered Zaporizha atomic plant is safe... for now. First Lady Olena Zelenska warns the West: “Don’t get used to our pain.” Candidate Ramaswany agrees, promising to cut off all aid and let Putin take Kyev, then Moldova, Poland, the Baltics... and on to Berlin. Apple’s Tim Cook cites his new Vision Pro glasse that allow you to step into any streaming scenario from the Metaverse, whether the soldiers fighting and dying on TV or actors in old movies want you there or not. “You’ll step into tomorrow today,” he promises purchasers of the $3,500 glasses... rich, lonely men are also plotting to invade old porn movies. Speaking of Hollywood and AI, the Directors’ Guild settles their strike but actors join the writers on the picket line. So, with neither side budging on the issue of robotic replacements, maybe Don Jones will do as predicted in “Savage Saturday” and read books with his entertainment options cut to game shows and cartoons, voiced by foreign actors. (Speaking of which, the live to toon Spiderman spears the toon to live Litle Mermaid to capture box office honors.) In the real world, a Graduation Day gunman shoots seven, kills two in Richmond, including a teen graduate twenty minutes after receiving his diploma. Maybe the Metaverse is a better place, after all.
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 Dow: 33,666.02	Anniversaries rock! Pence (Mike) turns 64, Prince (Posthumous) turns 65. Prince Harry takes the stand and complains that the British tabloids ruined his pre-Meghan love life by publicizing his predilection for lap dancing. Mike is only the first of two new Trump-hating candidates (above), saying he should never be President again while ex-Jersey Guv and TV talking head Chris Christie saying that Djonald is “obsessed” with the mirror. There’s also mysterious Don Burgum (from North Dakota!) joining the race. Dangerous air quality from Canadian wildfires drifts down into Detroit and New York City, turning the skies as orange as the old song by Love. Air quality controllers ranking pollution on a scale of 1 to 500 say NYC’s index is 484... worst in the world, leading even (Old) Delhi at 160 and Shanghai at 125. People who spent two years wearing masks indoors now wear them indoors. President Joe blame (surprise!) climate change as the toxic smoke drifts south towards Washington. More media and tech troubles as Twitter is accused of spying on Saudi dissidents and ratting them out to the hit squads, Reddit cuts its staff by 5% and CNN purges now-unwanted CEO Chris Licht. Hey... Tucker Carlson’s available.
Thursday, June 8, 2023 Dow: 33,833.61	Toxic smoke drifts down to D.C. causing respiratory distress and bringing back the masking all the way West to Chicago. Weatherpeople blame the Omega Block – cool air on the coasts, warm in the middle. Harrisburg PA tops NYC’s record pollution index of 484 (above) with 491. President Joe sends firepeople and gear to Canada to fight the wildfires. Jack Smith sends Trump a “warning letter” that the talking heads say is a precursor to indictment. And so it is. Djonald UnBowed reiterates that he is an innocent man because former Presidents, like current ones, can declassify any documents they wish. And he can even do it with his mind. In landmark voting rights case, Justice Bret “Beerman” Kavanaugh joins Chief Justice Roberts and the three liberals to overturn Alabama’ s gerrymandered Congressional districts as disenfranching black voters. And RIP to preacher and politician Pat Robertson who ran for President on a platform of making America a theocracy and blaming God’s anger at tolerance of gays for Nine Eleven.
Friday, June 9, 2023 Dow: 33,876.78	Special Counsel Smith indicts Trump in a 49 page document citing 37 charges including espionate and conspiracy (see above). Trump denies it all, pens some angry tweets on social media and then goes off to play golf, leaving the details to his trusted attorney, James Trusty. Wahington DC declares Code Purple on toxic air quality as NYC slowly improves, losing its “burnt orange eclipse” TV weatherman Sam Champion declares: “We are not going to get those fires out.” Children are in crisis as more childcare centers are closing due to the lingering effects of the plague and the low wages that are causing caregivers to seek better jobs. A good Samaritaness contributes money to help pay off student lunch debts, which had left many kiddies hungry. And in more good juvenile news, four kids (13, 9, 7 and 1) survive forty days wandering the jungle in Colombia after a plane crash kills their parents. Mom died on the fourth day, telling them to be strong and so they ate local fruits and vegetables, drank rainwater and were found three miles from the crash site.
Saturday, June 10th, 2023 Dow: (Closed)	Cloud Code Purple and its orange skies drift slowly southwards, provoking air quality alerts in twenty states and cancellations at workplaces, schools, outdoor events and sports. Not helping are a few health care providers including clinics and hospitals who kick clients with outstanding debts out into the streets to deal with whatever on their own, or die. Crime is not impacted. Mass shooter targets three in San Francisco, more target six at Houston nightclub. Colorado cops kill teenager shoplifting vape cartridges who displayed a pellet gun. “Pellet guns are dangerous,” say police spokesmen. In next door Utah, white homeowner who killed black mom with noisy kids is arrested after reports circulate that she told neighborhood children that they were “slaves”. Strike one off the list – Unabomber Ted Kaczynski found dead in prison. Officials agree that it was suicide and never is heard a discouraging word. And another... Soviet (that’s the old Russia, before Putin) spy Robert Hansen also kicks the bucket, plunging down to join Ted on a bench while the Devil figures out what to do with them. (This assumes, of course, that Heaven and Hell are uniquely and partisanly American.)
Sunday, June 11th, 2023 Dow: (Closed)	Sunday talkshows feature Sunday Trumpbros (Sen. Lindsey Graham and former NY Congressman Lee Zelkind) and a few more Trump-nos (the usual suspects). See above. Less speculation about the details of Tuesday’s arrest... the perp walk, the handcuffs, the mugshot, the merch. Latest intelligence has the former President being “driven underground” at the Miami courthouse, where he will be taken into custody in abasement. (A basement.) Waiting for arrest, Don Jones muses old cold cases: remembers Unabomber Ted and his manifesto, ponders the murderous fentanyl wife in Utah, this guy in Idaho, that other guy in Virginia, the Vanderpumps, the Van der Sloot and all the rest on Justice’s island. Ukrainians said to have begun spring offensive, driving Russian troops out of villages in the south and the east, but the destruction of the gigantic Kakhovka Dam has flooded the West Bank of the Dnipro, causing a shortage of potable water, destroying crops and creating 700,000 more refugees. Putin also shells Odessa with Iranian missiles and transports nukes to Belarus. President Joe hosts a Gay Pride party at the White House. Russians aren’t the only grizzlies on the march... a black bear joins the swimmers (and sharks) at a Destin, Florida beach, another prowls Washington D.C. – perhaps looking for votes, or garbage.
The Don fell back again, almost sliding to parity with our debut nearly ten years ago – solely on the catastrophic balance of trade for May. Don Jones bought foreign stuff – foreign roses for Mother’s Day, foreign fireworks for Memorial Day (and stocking up for July Fourth) while American factories, exporters and biznessmen slacked off. Blame the orange skies, blame the Democrats or Congress, blame the indictments (two now set, two more pending) of Donald Trump or Trump, or the donkeys before and after; or, as ever, those damn Chinese for making so much stuff that Americans can’t resist shoving into their shopping carts... whatever the cause, the United States is in decline and, as there is no debt ceiling on credit card bills, it’ll only get worse. The Debtclock index of individual per capita consumer debt is up to about $75,000 (some of that in mortages, as those rates are rising too with the money disappearing into the pockets of Dark Finance) and the collective tab is nearing $100 billion. That’ll be a glass ceiling (or basement floor) whose shattering will be an historic (if unpleasant) event. (As to that future, with Hollywood entertainmen exports shut down by one strike and the West Coast ports shut down by another (container ships bearing imports still swarming in but, like roaches to a bait trap, nothing going out again... the prospects of anything better for a while seem bleak. Until the furriners cut off our credit.)

THE DON JONES INDEX

CHART of CATEGORIES w/VALUE ADDED to EQUAL BASELINE of 15,000

(REFLECTING… approximately… DOW JONES INDEX of June 27, 2013)

See a further explanation of categories here…

ECONOMIC INDICES (60%)

CATEGORY	VALUE	BASE	RESULTS			SCORE		OUR SOURCES and COMMENTS
INCOME	(24%)	6/17/13 & 1/1/22	LAST	CHANGE	NEXT	LAST WEEK	THIS WEEK
Wages (hrly. Per cap)	9%	1350 points	6/5/23	+0.42%	6/23	1,434.50	1,434.50	https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/wages   28.62 nc
Median Inc. (yearly)	4%	600	6/5/23	+0.28%	6/19/23	607.99	608.16	http://www.usdebtclock.org/   35,880
Unempl. (BLS – in mi)	4%	600	5/8/23	nc	6/23	616.52	616.52	http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000/ 3.7
Official (DC – in mi)	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.11%	6/19/23	289.62	289.94	http://www.usdebtclock.org/      5,492
Unofficl. (DC – in mi)	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.29%	6/19/23	335.52	336.51	http://www.usdebtclock.org/     9,505
Workforce Particip. Number Percent	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.031% -0.014%	6/19/23	303.29	303.25	In 162,450 Out 99,971 Total: 262,421 http://www.usdebtclock.org/ 61.904
WP % (ycharts)*	1%	150	2/27/23	nc (3 mos.)	5/23	151.19	151.19	https://ycharts.com/indicators/labor_force_participation_rate 62.60
OUTGO	15%	Biggest jump: used cars
Total Inflation	7%	1050	5/22/23	+0.4%	6/23	991.90	991.90	http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0.4
Food	2%	300	5/22/23	nc	6/23	278.78	278.78	http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     +0 0
Gasoline	2%	300	5/22/23	+3.0%	6/23	246.77	246.77	http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm    +3.0
Medical Costs	2%	300	5/22/23	-0.1%	6/23	296.67	296.67	http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm     -0.1
Shelter	2%	300	5/22/23	+0.4%	6/23	278,25	278,25	http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm    +0.4
WEALTH	6%
Dow Jones Index	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.34%	6/19/23	277.44	278.38	https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/index/ 33,876.78
Home (Sales) (Valuation)	1% 1%	150 150	5/1/23	-3.60% +3.49%	6/23	134.58 283.40	134.58 283.40	https://www.nar.realtor/research-and-statistics Sales (M):  4.28 Valuations (K):  388.8
Debt (Personal)	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.092%	6/19/23	273.96	273.71	http://www.usdebtclock.org/    74,328
NATIONAL	(10%)
Revenue (trilns.)	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.04%	6/19/23	391.29	391.46	debtclock.org/       4,670
Expenditures (tr.)	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.10%	6/19/23	334.45	334.12	debtclock.org/       6,152
National Debt tr.)	3%	450	6/5/23	+0.05%	6/19/23	424.07	423.87	http://www.usdebtclock.org/    31,840 (The debt ceiling... now kicked forward to 1/1/25... had been 31.4)
Aggregate Debt (tr.)	3%	450	6/5/23	+0.09%	6/19/23	418.42	418.04	http://www.usdebtclock.org/    96,513
GLOBAL	(5%)
Foreign Debt (tr.)	2%	300	6/5/23	+0.069%	6/19/23	344.48	344.72	http://www.usdebtclock.org/   7,269
Exports (in billions)	1%	150	5/22/23	-2.41%	7/23	159.13	154.66	https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 249.0
Imports (bl.)	1%	150	5/22/23	-6.725%	7/23	170.48	159.02	https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 343.5
Trade Deficit (bl.)	1%	150	5/22/23	+13.94%	7/23	308.61	265.59	https://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/current/index.html 74.6
SOCIAL INDICES (40%)
ACTS of MAN	12%
World Affairs	3%	450	6/5/23	-0.2%	6/19/23	450.37	449.47	Manly Russians send nukes to Belarus and Chinese chicken fighters provoke and threaten WW3; wimpy President Joe and NSAs Jake Sullivan counsel diplomacy. With French retirement strikes still going on, unions promise a “Day of Action” – set les flics on fire. Deposed and disgraced BoJo further humiliated by having to resign his seat in Parliament for throwing those plague parties.
Terrorism	2%	300	6/5/23	-0.4%	6/19/23	291.32	290.15	Ukrainian dam blown up, causing massive flooding – Russian snipers shoot first responders trying to save drowning victims. President Joe promises $2B more in aid to the Ukes. “Bob’s Burgers” actor Jay (Jimmy Pesto) Johnston arrested as One Six rioter.
Politics	3%	450	6/5/23	nc	6/19/23	480.15	480.15	House Repubs, diverting attention from Trump doc debacle, threaten to indict FBI Director Wray over one Biden document, but fizzle out. Joe, meanwhile, hosts a Gay Pride party and signs a bill enhancing bennies for military spouses. Blacktivist Cornel West announces 3^rd party run for President, Trump smile grows even broader as the pre-arrest martyr-money pours in.
Economics	3%	450	6/5/23	-0.2%	6/19/23	430.48	429.62	TV writers and actors still on strike, now Barnes & Noble bookstore employees walk off too. Spotify and Reddit slash jobs. CEOs purged, Chris Licht of CNN, Matthew Furlong of GameStop, Mortgage rates slide down for the first time in months; ending of plague moratoria causes spike in foreclosures and evictions (as well as homelessness).
Crime	1%	150	6/5/23	+0.1%	6/19/23	257.10	257.36	Stand Your Ground woman accused of killing neighbor because of her noisy kids. FTC cracks down on crypto-crooks. Mass stabbing of children on French playground and shooters shooting – although fewer than in past weeks.
ACTS of GOD	(6%)
Environment/Weather	3%	450	6/5/23	-0.5%	6/19/23	413.51	411.44	Canadian wildfires send toxic smoke south over America create killer Code Purple Alerts and hyper-toxic readings of 484 in New York (more than three times any other world smogtown like Delhi or Shanghai), only to be topped by a 491 in Harrisburg, Pa.
Disasters	3%	450	6/5/23	+0.7%	6/19/23	436.37	439.42	Four children from 13 down to one rescued by Colombian searchers after plane crash and forty days wandering the jungle. 20 fairgoers rescued after Delaware carnival ride malfunctions.
LIFESTYLE/JUSTICE INDEX			(15%)
Science, Tech, Educ.	4%	600	6/5/23	nc	6/19/23	626.59	626.59	Airlines roll out new seating configurations – wider seats for wheelchair users and First Classers, double, even triple decker cramptoriums for the peasants. Apple’s Tim Cook pimps weird and expensive new glasses that help you escape this worldly Kakiverse and enter his new Somethingverse. MicroSoft settles suit for children’s privacy violations. Twitter accused of spying on Saudi dissidents.
Equality (econ/social)	4%	600	6/5/23	+0.5%	6/19/23	612.40	615.46	SCOTUS surprise: Alabama gerrymandering overturned. Arcangelo wins the Belmont States making Jena Antonucci the first female Triple Crown trainer.
Health	4%	600	6/5/23	+0.2%	6/19/23	470.15	471.09	Pope Frank undergos successful intestinal surgery. Northest air quality tanks w/ Canadian fires. TV docs predict a new, mutated virus for summer. 125 get plain old norovirus on a cruise ship. Ford recalls 125K trucks with fiery engines. TVdocs and victims’ parents say marijuana KILLS.
Freedom and Justice	3%	450	6/5/23	+0.2%	6/19/23	465.00	466.83	Bad sex raps follow a NY corporate lawyer from New York to Boston, actor Cuba Gooding Junior and J. P. Morgan (he’s long dead but his company, having had something to do with Jeffrey Epstein, pays off victims), NBC pollsters report declines in American’s patriotism, religious belief and confidence in the future.
MISCELLANEOUS and TRANSIENT INDEX					(7%)
Cultural incidents	3%	450	6/5/23	+0.2%	6/19/23	494.90	495.89	Jokers run wild as Novak Djokovic wins French Open and Nikola Jokic leads Denver to a 3-1 lead over Miami in the NBA. Vegas leads Florida in the NHL PGA and Saudi LIV in surprise merger... golfers conflicted over the human rights thingy. Soccer star Lionel Messi to play “normal football” for Miami. Rose Zhang wins LPGA match in her professional debut, 13 year old loses, but is congratulated anyway. Taylor Swift eats a bug onstage in Chicago and Billy Joel says that he’ll retire (in a year or so). Transgenders (2) rule the Tonys, and Transformers (164 or something overtakes) Spidertoon and fishy girl at the Box Office Boffies. RIP Astrid Gilberto, the Girl from Ipanema; WWE rassler Iron Shiekh; track star Jim Hines; pianist George Winston; religious right leader Pat Robertson. RIHell Robert Hansen, FBI traitor and Ted Kaczynski, Unabomber.
Misc. incidents	4%	450	6/5/23	+0.3%	6/19/23	479.75	481.39	Dadeville shooting victim goes home to learn to walk and talk again after two months in hospital; one month in coma. Black bears take a swim in Destin, Fl. and mosey through neighborhood in Washington DC (above) without incident. Florida oceanic researcher emerges after 100 days underwater, having survived sharkless and bearless.

The Don Jones Index for the week of June 5^th through June 11^th, 2023 was DOWN 50.25 points

The Don Jones Index is sponsored by the Coalition for a New Consensus: retired Congressman and Independent Presidential candidate Jack “Catfish” Parnell, Chairman; Brian Doohan, Administrator. The CNC denies, emphatically, allegations that the organization, as well as any of its officers (including former Congressman Parnell, environmentalist/America-Firster Austin Tillerman and cosmetics CEO Rayna Finch) and references to Parnell’s works, “Entropy and Renaissance” and “The Coming Kill-Off” are fictitious or, at best, mere pawns in the web-serial “Black Helicopters” – and promise swift, effective legal action against parties promulgating this and/or other such slanders.

Comments, complaints, donations (especially SUPERPAC donations) always welcome at feedme@generisis.com or: speak@donjonesindex.com.

ATTACHMENT ONE – From the New York Times

TEXT of the FEDERAL INDICTMENT AGAINST DONALD TRUMP

(With commentary by the NYT)

The Justice Department on Friday unveiled an indictment charging former President Donald J. Trump with 37 criminal counts. They relate to Mr. Trump’s hoarding of sensitive government documents after he left office and his refusal to return them, even after being subpoenaed for all remaining records in his possession that were marked as classified.

31 counts

Related to withholding national defense information

One count against Mr. Trump for each document he was alleged to have kept in his possession.

5 counts

Related to concealing possession of classified documents

Among them are counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice and withholding documents and records, levied against both Mr. Trump and an aide, Walt Nauta.

2 counts

False statements

Related to statements to the F.B.I. by Mr. Trump and an aide, Walt Nauta.

The Donald Trump Classified Documents Indictment, Annotated ›

49 pages

A list of charges against Donald Trump.

The New York Times annotated the indictment.

Download the original PDF to access notes, updates and photographs

1.

New York Times Analysis

Next »

1 Although law enforcement officials conducted most of the investigation using a grand jury in Washington, the special counsel chose to bring the case in Florida. That avoided a potential legal fight over venue, but it carried the risk that the case would be assigned to Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who was appointed by former President Donald J. Trump and who has issued a series of rulings unusually favorable to him. Judge Cannon will indeed take the case, according to people familiar with the matter.

2.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

2 The indictment lays out the potential danger of the classified information in the documents Mr. Trump kept at his Mar-a-Lago estate.

3.

4.

5.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

3 As has been recently reported, the special counsel, Jack Smith, has apparently obtained an audio recording of Mr. Trump acknowledging that he knew a document in his possession was still classified. That stands at odds with Mr. Trump’s public claims that he had declassified all the materials he took from the Oval Office. (No credible evidence has emerged to support that claim, which his lawyers had declined to repeat in court, where there are professional consequences for lying.)

4 This section of the indictment outlines another incident in which Mr. Trump is accused of having shown a classified document to someone while acknowledging that it was still secret. It does not refer to a recording, raising the possibility that the unidentified representative of his political action committee provided this account to investigators.

5 The indictment lays out five specific actions by Mr. Trump that it says were illegal obstruction.

6.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

6 Mr. Trump’s aide Walt Nauta was also indicted and is described in this filing as a co-conspirator in the crimes.

7.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

7 The indictment emphasizes how many people were wandering in and out of Mr. Trump’s estate in Florida, implying that improperly storing classified documents there risked their disclosure.

8.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

8 The indictment uses Mr. Trump’s words from the 2016 campaign, attacking his rival, Hillary Clinton, over her use of a private email server while she was secretary of state, to show he understood the importance of protecting classified information.

9.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

9 The indictment includes a photograph showing that some of the boxes Mr. Trump had taken from the White House were stored for a time in a ballroom in Mar-a-Lago where guests had access.

10.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

10 The indictment includes a photograph by Mr. Nauta that shows boxes spilling classified documents onto the floor of a storage room.

11.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

11 The existence of this recording came to public light this month. Mr. Trump claimed the document was written by Gen. Mark A. Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

12.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

12 In this recording, Mr. Trump acknowledged that he had a document that was still classified and was showing it to three other people who did not have security clearances and were not authorized to see it.

13.

14.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

13 The indictment again uses Mr. Trump’s own words to condemn him.

14 Throughout the investigation, reporting suggested that investigators were examining the movement of boxes in and out of the storage room at Mar-a-Lago after Mr. Trump knew the government wanted the documents back.

15.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

15 The indictment accuses Mr. Nauta of lying to the F.B.I. about moving the boxes.

16.

17.

18.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

16 The details of this description of Mr. Nauta moving a box from the storage room, after a subpoena in May requested the return of the documents, most likely come from Mar-a-Lago security camera footage. Investigators also subpoenaed that footage.

17 Trump Attorney 1 remains unnamed in the document, but the designation appears to refer to Evan Corcoran, who played a key role in handling Mr. Trump’s responses to the government over its repeated requests for the return of the documents. Mr. Corcoran made a lengthy and detailed voice memo about his conversations with Mr. Trump. Mr. Smith fought a legal battle to obtain that material, and a federal judge ruled that the so-called crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege applied.

18 The indictment inserts this anecdote, apparently about personal emails on Mrs. Clinton’s private server that her lawyer had destroyed, without comment. The insinuation may be that Mr. Trump was implying, without directly asking, his lawyer to destroy classified documents he found problematic.

19.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

19 The special counsel appears to be connecting phone records and surveillance footage to show a link between Mr. Trump’s and Mr. Nauta’s actions.

20.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

20 The indictment suggests that Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta hid boxes of documents from Mr. Corcoran, who would soon tell the Justice Department that there were no other files responsive to the subpoena — which was not true.

21.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

21 Here is another instance presented as Mr. Trump asking, without directly asking, for Mr. Corcoran to destroy classified documents rather than turn them over to the government.

22.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

22 The lawyer who signed a statement stating that a diligent search had been conducted and that all known classified information had been returned to the government was Christina Bobb, who was serving as the formal custodian of records for Mr. Trump’s office. The indictment makes clear she did not know the statements in the attestation were false.

23.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

23 The narrative ends with the F.B.I. search that turned up 103 classified documents.

24.

25.

26.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

24 Trump has been charged with violating a provision of the Espionage Act, a 1917 law that makes it a crime to hold onto secret government documents without authorization. This provision was enacted before the advent of the modern classification system, and it does not require prosecutors to prove that the secret documents had been deemed classified. Trump has claimed that he declassified everything that he took from the White House, although no credible evidence has emerged to support that claim. The penalty is up to 10 years per offense.

25 Only Mr. Trump – not Mr. Nauta – is charged with violations of the Espionage Act.

26 The indictment lists 31 documents, each of which is the subject of a separate count of Espionage Act violation.

27.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

27 Mr. Trump has been charged with violating a law that makes it a crime to corruptly impede an official proceeding. The penalty is up to 20 years per offense.

28.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous Next »

28 Mr. Trump has been charged with violating a law that makes it a crime to conceal records to obstruct an official effort. The penalty is up to 20 years per offense.

29.

30.

New York Times Analysis

« Previous

29 Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta have each been charged with one count of violating a law that makes it a crime to issue false statements to federal investigators. Although Trump said little directly to law enforcement officials — instead communicating through his lawyers — people can be held liable for a crime if they induce other people to commit the action. The penalty is up to five years per offense.

30 Trump Attorney 3 appears to refer to Ms. Bobb. Mr. Trump is charged as the principal for the false statements made to the government in Ms. Bobb’s certification because he is accused of having induced them.

Correction:

June 9, 2023

An earlier of an annotation on this page misstated the number of documents listed in the indictment that are subject to Espionage Act violations. There are 31 listed, not 38.

ATTACHMENT TWO (A) – From the Las Vegas Review

DONALD TRUMP’S 2024 ELECTION BETTING ODDS IMPROVE AMID INDICTMENT

By Todd Dewey Las Vegas Review-Journal April 4, 2023 - 12:50 pm

Donald Trump surrendered to authorities Tuesday at a Manhattan courthouse after he became the first former U.S. president to be indicted last week.

But the indictment hasn’t hurt Trump’s betting odds to be the Republican 2024 presidential nominee. In fact, his odds have improved at United Kingdom-based Betfair Exchange since his indictment.

Trump has climbed from a -120 favorite on March 27 to -128 on Tuesday at Betfair to win the nomination, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has seen his odds worsen from +200 to +245.

“Remarkably, Donald Trump hasn’t lost any support in the 2024 US election betting markets since news broke of his indictment,” Betfair spokesperson Sam Rosbottom said in an email. “In fact, he’s even gained some backing and improved his chances of being on the ballot in 2024.

“(Bettors) continue to side with Trump despite the news and it’s had an impact on Ron DeSantis’ odds of becoming the candidate in the red corner.”

Subtitles Off

President Joe Biden remains the 2-1 favorite to win re-election in 2024. Trump is the +295 second choice. DeSantis is +440.

A positive number represents how much you would profit on a $100 bet. In this case, a bettor would win $295 on a $100 bet on Trump to win the 2024 election.

Biden is the heavy -250 favorite to be the Democrat nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris is 13-1, and California Gov. Gavin Newsom is 14-1.

A negative number represents how much a person would need to bet to profit $100. In this case, a bettor would have to wager $250 to win $100 on Biden to win the nomination.

Betting on politics isn’t permitted at U.S. sportsbooks.

ATTACHMENT TWO (B) – From Draft Kings

2024 ELECTION ODDS

Candidate (Party)	Odds
Joe Biden (Dem)	+150
Donald Trump (GOP)	+240
Ron DeSantis (GOP)	+450
Robert Kennedy Jr (Dem)	+1800
Kamala Harris (Dem)	+2500
Michelle Obama (Dem)	+2500
Nikki Haley (GOP)	+3500
Gavin Newsom (Dem)	+3500
Pete Buttigieg (Dem)	+4000
Gretchen Whitmer (Dem)	+5000
Mike Pence (GOP)	+5000
Tucker Carlson (GOP)	+6500
Hillary Clinton (Dem)	+6500
Liz Cheney (GOP)	+8000
Bernie Sanders (Dem)	+10000
Dwayne Johnson (TBD)	+10000
Tulsi Gabbard (Dem)	+10000
Josh Hawley (GOP)	+10000
Kristi Noem (GOP)	+10000
Mike Pompeo (GOP)	+10000
Amy Klobuchar (Dem)	+10000
Andrew Yang (Dem)	+10000
Elizabeth Warren (Dem)	+10000
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Dem)	+10000

Odds as of  May 23, 2023, at DraftKings Sportsbook.

ATTACHMENT THREE – From the British Broadcasting Company

US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 2024: TRUMP'S TOP REPUBLICAN CHALLENGERS

Donald Trump is the front-runner - but for how long?

By Sam Cabral BBC News, Washington

The race for the 2024 Republican White House nomination is about to heat up as two long-tipped contenders enter the fray.

Former US Vice-President Mike Pence has officially joined the increasingly crowded field. Ex-New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is poised to follow.

It places a big political target on the back of the current front-runner, former President Donald Trump, setting the stage for what promises to be an acrimonious contest.

The eventual winner looks likely to challenge President Joe Biden, a Democrat, in the election of November next year.

Mr Pence officially launched his campaign with a speech on 7 June, putting him on a collision course with his former boss.

The speech offered his most forceful repudiation of Donald Trump to date, accusing the ex-president of being unfaithful to the US constitution and of abandoning conservative values.

It was a far cry from his role as a loyal deputy to Mr Trump as his vice-president for four years - until 2021's Capitol riot splintered their relationship.

The son of a Korean War veteran, Mr Pence began his career in conservative politics as a talk radio host.

He was elected to the House in 2000 and served until 2013, describing himself as a "principled conservative" and aligning with the Tea Party movement.

He also served as governor of Indiana from 2013-17. In that role, he passed the largest tax cut in state history, and signed bills to restrict abortion and protect religious freedom.

Mr Pence, 64, is a born-again evangelical Christian and his addition to the 2016 presidential ticket is credited with helping mobilise the crucial voting bloc on behalf of Mr Trump.

Calm and soft-spoken, he was seen as an effective surrogate to the bombastic president. But Mr Trump turned on him for lacking "courage" after he refused to help overturn the 2020 election results.

Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021 and were heard chanting "Hang Mike Pence!". At one point, they were reportedly within 40ft (12m) of the vice-president.

Chris Christie

According to multiple sources, the former New Jersey governor plans to announce his candidacy on 6 June at a town hall event in New Hampshire, where the first Republican primary election will be held.

After his own 2016 presidential bid failed, Mr Christie allied himself with Mr Trump, leading the incoming president's transition team and preparing him for debates against Mr Biden in 2020.

But he has become a vociferous critic of Mr Trump since the US Capitol riots.

The sharp-tongued Mr Christie previewed an attack line on Mr Trump at a New Hampshire town hall in April, saying: "Donald Trump is a TV star, nothing more, nothing less. Let me suggest to you that in putting him back in the White House, the re-runs will be worse than the original show."

Mr Christie served two terms as New Jersey governor from 2010-18. His time in office was overshadowed by a political scandal involving bridge lane closures - part of an alleged political vendetta against a Democratic mayor.

Before being elected as governor, Mr Christie served as New Jersey's top prosecutor under President George W Bush from 2002-08.

Ron DeSantis

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has worked hard to emulate Mr Trump, and is viewed as the candidate most capable of defeating him in a head-to-head race.

Boosted to the governorship by Mr Trump's endorsement, he romped to re-election in last year's midterms by more than 1.5 million votes, the largest margin in the state in more than four decades. Under his tenure, Republican voters outnumber Democrats in the state for the first time.

At 44 years old, the Harvard and Yale-educated lawyer is still a relative newcomer in US politics.

He once served in the US Navy, including a tour in Iraq. He was also a little-known member of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.

But Mr DeSantis has seen his star rise considerably since he became governor in 2019, a role in which he has positioned himself as an enthusiastic culture warrior.

· Six ways it's harder for Trump this time

· WATCH: Five things to know about Ron DeSantis

He has backed legislation to defund diversity and inclusion programmes, to ban teaching on gender identity in public schools, ban drag shows and gender-affirming care for minors, and restrict abortions and loosen gun laws. He is also mired in an escalating legal battle with Walt Disney World.

The governor has touted his record as a "blueprint" for conservative leadership, and supporters have touted him as a drama-free alternative to re-nominating the former president.

Mr Trump appears to be paying very close attention and has attacked him almost daily on social media.

Tim Scott

Senator Tim Scott has a decades-long career in South Carolina politics and entered the race in May with nearly $22m (£18m) - more than his rivals - in cash on hand.

The only black man to ever serve in both chambers of Congress, the 57-year-old has represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2013.

Mr Scott is the grandson of a cotton field worker and the son of a single mother, and he has often spoken of how his family rose "from cotton to Congress" in a lifetime.

He launched his 2024 bid vowing to turn around "a nation in retreat" and revive America's "culture of greatness".

Well-liked among his colleagues, he quickly earned endorsements from two fellow senators, including John Thune, the chamber's second highest-ranking Republican.

But he's not the only top South Carolina Republican with a hat in the ring.

Nikki Haley

Nikki Haley announced her bid for the presidency in mid-February, becoming the first major Republican candidate to commit to taking on Mr Trump.

Once considered one of the Republican Party's brightest young prospects, Ms Haley, 51, has kept a lower profile in recent years.

Born in South Carolina to Punjabi Sikh immigrants, Ms Haley became the youngest governor in the country in 2009.

She earned national attention in 2015 after calling for the removal of the Confederate flag from the South Carolina Capitol.

Despite saying she was "not a fan" of Mr Trump in 2016, she later accepted his nomination to be the US ambassador to the United Nations, a tenure marked by her dramatic exit from a UN Security Council meeting as a Palestinian envoy was speaking.

Her campaign, which includes a call for mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75 years old, stresses the need for "a new generation" of US leaders.

Vivek Ramaswamy

Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, launched his dark-horse White House bid during a late February appearance on the Fox News channel.

An Indian-American biotech entrepreneur with no previous political experience, he was a regular fixture on Fox host Tucker Carlson's daily programme, formerly the most-watched cable news show in the US.

The Harvard and Yale graduate argues the country is in the midst of a national identity crisis driven by a decline in faith, patriotism and meritocracy.

He ran a pharmaceutical company from 2014 to 2021, then co-founded Strive Asset Management, which shirks the "divisive" environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) framework and offers itself as an alternative to large firms like Blackrock.

Mr Ramaswamy is also the author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam.

Asa Hutchinson

Former two-term Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson announced his run for president during an April interview with ABC News just days after Mr Trump was indicted on criminal charges in New York.

Mr Hutchinson, 72, called the case "a sideshow and distraction" that should prompt Mr Trump to withdraw from the race.

The former attorney and businessman was the youngest federal prosecutor in the nation under the Ronald Reagan administration.

He also served two terms in the US House of Representatives, including as a prosecutor in Bill Clinton's impeachment trial, and was George W Bush's Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) chief.

Presenting himself as a "non-Trump" candidate with experience and a record of leadership across multiple roles, he has vowed to lean into "common sense, consistent conservatism".

Larry Elder

The conservative talk radio host launched an unsuccessful campaign for California governor in 2021, pledging to repeal mask and vaccine mandates.

A lawyer who grew up in Los Angeles' South Central neighbourhood, Mr Elder, 71, has slammed Democrats' "woke" agenda and the idea of systemic racism.

He announced his long-shot bid by tweeting: "America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable."

Glenn Youngkin

Glenn Youngkin thrilled the Republican Party when he won the governor's race in Virginia in 2021. A political novice who spent 25 years at the Carlyle Group private equity firm, he beat a man who had been in Democratic politics since the 1980s.

In a state that has trended toward Democrats in recent years, Mr Youngkin criticised partisan politics as "too toxic" and campaigned on a tone of bipartisanship.

But the 55-year-old has waded into hot-button topics since his first day in charge, from revoking the state's Covid-19 restrictions to banning the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

After saying he would not join the 2024 presidential race, Mr Youngkin is reportedly reconsidering a run amid donor interest in a non-Trump candidate.

Perry Johnson

Perry Johnson, a 75-year-old businessman who tried to run for Michigan governor last year but was disqualified, joined the race in March.

He is touting a plan to reignite the economy by shaving 2% in federal spending every year.

Doug Burgum

The former software executive and current North Dakota governor confirmed a run for the White House on 7 June saying: "If you want more small-town common sense in Washington and our big cities, we'll make that happen."

The New York Times assessed his candidacy: "As the leader of his deep-red state, Mr Burgum has overseen a period of significant economic expansion, but he has also assented to staunchly conservative social policies, even as he has downplayed his role in them."

Others who could run

Francis Suarez: Miami's Cuban-born mayor, the first US politician to take their salary in cryptocurrency, is mulling a bid and has described himself as "someone who needs to be better known by this country".

Will Hurd: The former Texas congressman, who retired from the US House of Representatives in 2021, says a 2024 rematch between Mr Trump and President Joe Biden is a "rematch from hell" that few Americans want to see.

Liz Cheney: The daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney was once a rising star in the party but lost her seat in the House of Representatives in 2021 over her fierce opposition to Mr Trump.

Greg Abbott: The Texas governor has routinely waded into national debates on immigration, abortion and gun rights.

Who is not running?

Chris Sununu: The moderate Republican, who has been a popular governor for the state of New Hampshire since 2017, said he will not seek his party's nomination.

Larry Hogan: The moderate former governor of Democrat-friendly Maryland said he did not want to be part of a crowded field that helps elect Mr Trump again.

Ted Cruz: The Texas senator placed second in the Republican primary for the 2016 presidential election behind Mr Trump but has said he will run for re-election to the Senate in 2024.

Rick Scott: The Florida senator has frequently exchanged vitriol with President Biden but says he too will run for re-election to the Senate.

ATTACHMENT FOUR – From go.com (A subsidiary of ABC)

WHO'S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2024 AND WHO MIGHT RUN

The list of candidates includes Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis and more.

ByABC NEWS June 5, 2023, 3:38 PM

The 2024 presidential race is taking shape, with former President Donald Trump mounting a comeback bid for the White House, facing GOP competition from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott and others.

Here's an updated list of who is running for president in 2024 and a brief look at the potential contenders who have not yet confirmed their plans.

This list also includes those politicians who have definitively ruled out a campaign.

President Joe Biden announces he's running again

President Joe Biden has announced he will seek a second term in office, confirming a reelection bid he has long previewed -- as he faces a possible rematch with Trump next November.

Biden announced his 2024 campaign in a pre-recorded video on April 25, the four-year anniversary of his 2020 announcement.

"The question we are facing is whether in the years ahead we have more freedom or less freedom. More rights or fewer," he said in the video, titled "Freedom," which was posted to his social media account.

"This is not a time to be complacent. That's why I'm running for reelection."

Biden, 80, has repeatedly said he intended to run in 2024 barring some major issues such as his health.

"[M]y intention has been from the beginning to run. But there's too many other things we have to finish in the near term before I start a campaign," he told ABC News anchor David Muir at the White House in February.

Biden told Muir in December 2021 that the possibility of a rematch with Trump wouldn't dissuade him.

"Why would I not run against Donald Trump for the nominee? That'll increase the prospect of running," he said.

Donald Trump, Republican

Trump, 76, formally launched his third bid for the White House on Nov. 15, following the 2022 midterms, which did not meet Republican expectations.

Trump announced his campaign from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. It didn't come as a surprise, given that Trump had been hinting for months that he would make a run.

"America's comeback starts right now," he said, describing the U.S. as "in decline" and touting his administration as a "golden age."

However, Trump's third run for the White House comes as he faces multiple investigations -- he denies wrongdoing -- and has become increasingly estranged from some other leading figures in the GOP in the wake of Jan. 6, his 2020 election lies and other controversies and scandals.

While polling shows he remains popular with many voters in the party, others say they want another nominee.

Ron DeSantis, Republican

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on May 24 filed paperwork with the Federal Election Commission to run for president.

DeSantis, 44, was reelected to second term by a near 20-point margin in November. He enters the GOP primary field as Trump's biggest rival, according to observers and voter surveys, though Trump has still led in early polling.

A recent ABC News/Washington Post poll found that among the six best-known candidates, Trump clinched 51% support from Republicans and GOP-leaning independents while DeSantis garnered 25%. Still, a majority of those voters said they'd be satisfied with either Trump (75%) or DeSantis (64%) as their presidential nominee.

MORE: DeSantis' brand as a 'fighter' on the line as Trump throws haymakers

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Democrat

Kennedy, 69, announced his bid for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination at the Boston Park Plaza in Boston on April 19.

"I've come here today to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States," he during his campaign launch, noting that the aim of his campaign, and presidency, would be to "end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power."

As the child of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, the younger Kennedy, an attorney and activist, has been discussing the possibility of a run with the benefit of built-in name recognition, given his family's legacy within the Democratic Party.

However, he is also likely to bring a dose of controversy to the campaign trail given his well-documented efforts to discredit vaccine use. Online, he has fueled conspiracies regarding vaccine mandates throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and publicly voiced polarizing positions at an anti-vaccine mandate rally in Washington, D.C.

The candidate has espoused vaccine hesitancy since the 2000s, has become one of the most prominent voices in the anti-vaccine movement, according to experts, as the founder of Children's Health Defense, a nonprofit organization known mainly for its anti-vaccine efforts.

Nikki Haley, Republican

Haley, 51, announced her presidential bid in a video released on Feb. 14, a day ahead of a formal kickoff on Feb. 15 in Charleston.

Haley, who also served as a U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in the Trump administration, is the first high-profile Republican to challenge Trump.

In her announcement video, Haley, the daughter of immigrants, highlighted her heritage as a South Asian woman and touted her hopeful view of what America can offer.

"My mom would always say, 'Your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities.' My parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America," Haley said.

She underscored her credentials as a former leader of the Palmetto State, stressing its resilience, but most of all she said there was a major need for change in the GOP's candidates.

"Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. … It's time for a new generation of leadership," she said.

Haley was elected as the first female governor of South Carolina in 2010, stepping down in 2017, during her second term, to serve as a Trump ambassador until 2018.

Vivek Ramaswamy, Republican

Ramaswamy, a 37-year-old multimillionaire entrepreneur who founded a major biotech company, announced on Feb. 21 that he is running for president as a Republican.

"We are in the middle of this national identity crisis, Tucker, where we have celebrated our diversity and our differences for so long that we forgot all the ways we're really just the same as Americans, bound by a common set of ideals that set this nation into motion 250 years ago," Ramaswamy told Fox News' Tucker Carlson.

When asked what his message to voters will be, Ramaswamy said that "we need to put merit back into America in every sphere of our lives" -- which includes immigration policy and affirmative action, the latter of which he argued was "a national cancer."

In a campaign video shared on Twitter, he said: "We still agree on our nation's most fundamental principles, at least most of us do. Yet the goal of the ruling party in this country is to convince us that we are divided."

The Indian-American entrepreneur is also the author of "Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam."

Chris Christie, Republican

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie plans on announcing a 2024 Republican bid for the presidency on June 6.

Christie allies launched a super PAC to support his bid ahead of his planned announcement at St. Anselm College on June 6 at 6:30 p.m. during a town hall event.

Christie, who also ran in 2016, has made the argument that he might very well be the only Republican willing and able to bring the force needed to knock off Trump, who is enjoying a sizable lead in the race for the nomination.

"In American politics, if you want to beat somebody, you've got to go get them, and you got to make the case," Christie told a group of New England voters in April. "So what I'm saying tonight, I think, is the beginning of the case against Donald Trump. And that's the first task for Republican primary voters -- decide who we're going to nominate. And if we are willing to put up with that level of policy, and character failure, then we're going to get what we deserve."

Larry Elder, Republican

Edler, 70, a conservative talk radio host, announced on April 20 that he was seeking the Republican nomination for president.

The long shot candidate first ran for elected office in 2021 in the recall election to replace California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom survived the recall effort by a wide margin, but Elder placed first among the replacement candidates.

In a tweet, Elder said, "America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there. That's why I'm running for president."

Marianne Williamson, Democrat

Williamson, 70, first wrote in an email to donors on Feb. 26 that would formally announce on March 4 that she is running for president as a Democrat, in a long shot primary challenge to Biden.

Williamson is a bestselling self-help book author who first ran for president in 2020 on a pacifist and progressive platform.

She dropped out of that race before any primaries were held, but she outlasted several other serious contenders with impressive electoral resumes, including now-Vice President Kamala Harris, who at the time was a senator from California.

Williamson has advocated for solving foreign conflicts without military intervention and embraced progressive platforms like so-called "Medicare for All" and a $15 minimum wage.

She also became a viral sensation for infusing her campaign with language from her career as an author, warning Trump in 2020 that "I'm going to harness love for political purposes. I will meet you on that field, and sir, love will win."

"We're all here because we care about this country. But we're all here, or at least many of us are, because we are upset about this country, we're worried about this country," she said in her launch speech. "It is our job to create a vision of justice and love that is so powerful, that it will override the forces of hatred and injustice and fear."

Williamson also noted the conventional wisdom that she will face a nearly impossible task of unseating Biden in a primary, casting herself as a fighter against the establishment.

"I'm not naive about the forces which have no intention of allowing anyone into this conversation who does not align with their predetermined agenda," she said.

Asa Hutchinson, Republican

Hutchinson, 72, announced he would run for president on April 2 during an interview on ABC's "This Week" but said an official launch would not take place until later in April in his home state.

"I am going to be running. And the reason is, I've traveled the country for six months, I hear people talk about the leadership of our country. I'm convinced that people want leaders that appeal to the best of America, and not simply appeal to our worst instincts," Hutchinson told "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl.

The former governor has emerged as a Trump skeptic within the Republican Party, and indicated to Karl that he would seek to veer away from culture wars and return to a party centered around the idea of small government -- though he insisted he's not "anti-Trump," despite calling on the former president to drop out of the race over his indictment in New York City.

"When I say 'non-Trump', I want to be able to speak to the Trump voters. I want to be able to speak to all of the party and say, 'This is the leadership that I want to provide, and I think that we need to have border security. I think we need to have a strong America; we need to spend less at the federal level.' These are the values that I represent," Hutchinson said.

Hutchinson expressed hope that his personal style in early primary states could pay dividends.

"It's still about retail politics in many of these states and also, this is one of the most unpredictable political environments that I've seen in my lifetime. So my message of experience, of consistent conservatism and hope for our future in solving problems that face Americans, I think that that resonates," Hutchinson told Karl.

Tim Scott, Republican

Scott, 57, formally announced his candidacy on May 22 at his alma mater Charleston Southern University.

Scott, South Carolina's first Black senator and the Senate's sole Black Republican, shared an optimistic message of faith in the American dream as he launched his campaign.

MORE: Tim Scott joins the 2024 Republican race for president

"We live in the land where it is possible for a kid raised in poverty by a single mother in a small apartment to one day serve in the People's House and maybe even the White House," Scott said.

He joined the race with more cash on hand than all his Republican competitors, but was polling in the low single digits.

Perry Johnson, Republican

A 75-year-old Michigan businessman, Johnson launched his presidential campaign for the 2024 Republican nomination amid the 2023 Conservative Political Action Conference that began on March 1.

Johnson took third in CPAC's straw poll for presidential picks, with nearly 5% of the vote. While he polled behind Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, he was ahead of Haley and others.

While Johnson has no experience in elected office, he has a long career in business in Michigan. with almost 30 years of experience in the quality standards field. Two of his companies -- Perry Johnson Registrars, and Perry Johnson, Inc. -- both can certify businesses as meeting certain industry standards.

Before CPAC, his most notable political bid was when he ran for governor in Michigan in 2022 but was removed from the ballot before the Republican primary due to what state officials found to be fraudulent and invalid petition signatures.

Steve Laffey, Republican

The former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Steve Laffey announced his candidacy for president on Feb. 2.

In a statement, he said he wanted to confront the country's issues.

"Our country has done the equivalent of using Band-Aids in place of major surgery. Somehow, we have 'gotten by,'" he said. "For the first time in a generation, we must directly confront our problems."

Laffey is a long shot for the Oval Office, given his relative lack of name recognition or statewide or federal experience.

He previously made a run for Senate in 2006 in Rhode Island, against Republican Lincoln Chafee, who was ultimately defeated by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.

Cornel West, third party

Philosopher and political activist Cornel West, 70, announced on June 5 that he's running for president with the left-wing, populist People's Party.

While he acknowledged that his bid is a long shot, he said in a Twitter announcement video that "I have decided to run for truth and justice."

"I enter in the quest for truth. I enter in the quest for justice. And the presidency is just one vehicle to pursue that truth and justice, what I've been trying to do all of my life," he said.

West's major issues include broadening government-provided health care under "Medicare-for-all" and ending foreign military aid.

A look at potential and expected presidential candidates

Former Vice President Mike Pence has filed paperwork to run for president ahead of an expected announcement on June 7.

Pence broke with Trump over his ability to overturn the 2020 election results. Pence told ABC News' Muir last year that he was thinking about a bid and has been traveling to early primary states with a message focused largely on social issues.

"I think the American people long for leadership at the highest level that's focused on the issues that are affecting their lives. And also, I think they longed for leadership that will keep faith with our highest traditions," Pence told ABC "This Week" co-anchor Jonathan Karl in March.

Meanwhile, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is teasing his own candidacy, which is set to be announced on June 6.

Another Republican in Florida is also angling to possibly join the 2024 race, along with Trump and DeSantis: Miami Mayor Francis Suarez is weighing a bid for the White House, recently telling ABC affiliate WMUR that he would be making a decision "shortly" on whether to run.

Suarez has visited multiple early nominating states, including a visit last week to New Hampshire where he spoke at the Institute of Politics at Saint Anselm College, a staple venue for many mulling a presidential campaign.

As he takes some of the typical early steps before running for president, Suarez is previewing his case to occupy a potential third lane in a Republican primary that has so far largely featured Trump and DeSantis' conservative styles.

Who isn't running

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan on March 5 became the first major Republican mulling a presidential bid to say he will not run in 2024.

Hogan said in a statement that he would not "risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination," as Trump did in 2016 when he won the GOP nomination amid a splintered field.

Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on April 14 became another high-profile Republican to announce he wouldn't be seeking the party's nomination.

"It is simplest, and most accurate, to say that this decision is personal," Pompeo said in a statement. "This is not the right time for me and my family."

"There remain many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary," he continued.

And on June 5, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu said he will not run -- in order to keep the field of Republican candidates less crowded so Trump is less likely to win.

"The stakes are too high for a crowded field to hand the nomination to a candidate who earns just 35 percent of the vote, and I will help ensure this does not happen," Sununu wrote in a column in The Washington Post.

ATTACHMENT FIVE – From Ballotpedia

The Whole f*@#ing elephant herd...

2024 Presidential Election
Date: November 5, 2024

---

Presidential candidates • Electoral College in the 2024 presidential election • PredictIt markets • Presidential debates • Timeline of announcements • Important dates • Presidential election by state • Campaign finance • Endorsements • Logos and slogans • Key staffers

---

Democratic nomination

Democratic National Convention, 2024 • Delegate rules

---

Republican nomination

Republican National Convention, 2024 • Delegate rules • Campaign travel

---

Use the dropdown menu below to read more about noteworthy candidates

Submit

---

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage
2024 • 2020 • 2016

The United States will hold a presidential election on November 5, 2024. This will be the 60th presidential election in United States history, and the first to be held after the reallocation of electoral college votes following the 2020 redistricting cycle.^[1]

As of June 2023, Ballotpedia has identified three noteworthy Democratic presidential candidates and 10 noteworthy Republican candidates. We identify noteworthy primary candidates based on previous or current officeholder status, previous presidential ballot access, media coverage, and primary debate polling and fundraising thresholds. To read more about our noteworthy candidate criteria, click here.

In addition to noteworthy candidates, this page also provides the names of all candidates who have filed with the Federal Election Commission and the names of politicians and public figures discussed as potential presidential contenders in 2024 by national media outlets.

Click the links below to navigate to:

· A timeline of presidential candidate announcements

· Notable declared candidates

· Comparison of announcement timelines in previous cycles

· Possible Democratic presidential candidates

· Possible Republican presidential candidates

· List of registered 2024 presidential candidates

Timeline

· June 6, 2023: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) filed to run for president.^[2]

· June 5, 2023: Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (R) filed to run for president.^[3]

· May 24, 2023: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced his candidacy.^[4]

· May 22, 2023: Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced his candidacy.^[5]

· May 1, 2023: Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) said he did not plan to declare a presidential candidacy in 2023.^[6]

· April 25, 2023: President Joe Biden (D) announced his re-election campaign.^[7]

Click here to view more events through November 2022

Notable declared candidates and exploratory committees

See also: Defining noteworthy presidential candidates (2024), How we order candidate lists

The following noteworthy candidates have filed to run for president with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) or announced exploratory committees. Click here to view a full list of all candidates who have filed with the FEC.

Democratic candidatesList of Democratic candidates

· Joe Biden (D), incumbent president of the United States, announced he would run for re-election on April 25, 2023.^[7]

· Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D), a lawyer and author, announced he would run on April 5, 2023.^[11]

· Marianne Williamson (D), 2020 presidential candidate and author, announced she would run on February 23, 2023.^[14]

Republican candidates

List of Republican candidates

· Chris Christie (R), former governor of New Jersey, filed to run for president on June 6, 2023.^[2]

· Ron DeSantis (R), the governor of Florida, announced his candidacy on May 24, 2023.^[4]

· Larry Elder (R), a talk radio host and 2021 California gubernatorial candidate, announced his candidacy on April 20, 2023.^[8]

· Nikki Haley (R), former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor, announced she would run on February 14, 2023.^[16]

· Asa Hutchinson (R), former Arkansas Governor, announced he would run on April 2, 2023.^[12]

· Mike Pence (R), former vice president of the United States, filed to run for president on June 5, 2023.^[3]

· Vivek Ramaswamy (R), entrepreneur and political commentator, announced his campaign on February 21, 2023.^[15]

· Tim Scott (R), a United States senator from South Carolina, announced his candidacy.^[5]

· Corey Stapleton (R), former Montana Secretary of State, announced he would run on November 11, 2022.^[19]

· Donald Trump (R), former U.S. President, announced he would run on November 15, 2022.^[18]

Comparison of announcement timelines in previous cycles

The chart below shows noteworthy presidential campaign announcements in the odd years before the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections.

Possible Democratic presidential candidates

As of June 2023, the following politicians and public figures had been discussed in the media as potential candidates for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

Democratic politicians

· Stacey Abrams, former Georgia state representative and 2022 gubernatorial candidate^[20]

· Eric Adams, mayor of New York City, New York^[21]

· Michael Bennet, U.S. senator from Colorado^[22]

· Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky^[20]

· Cory Booker, U.S. senator from New Jersey^[22]

· Sherrod Brown, U.S. senator from Ohio^[23]

· Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation^[22]

· Hillary Clinton, 2016 presidential candidate^[24]

· Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina^[25]

· Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York^[20]

· Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States^[22]

· Jay Inslee, governor of Washington^[26]

· Joe Kennedy, former U.S. representative from Massachusetts^[22]

· Ro Khanna, U.S. representative from California^[23]

· Amy Klobuchar, U.S. senator from Minnesota^[22]

· Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans^[25]

· Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico^[26]

· Joe Manchin, U.S. senator from West Virginia^[27]

· Chris Murphy, U.S. senator from Connecticut^[28]

· Phil Murphy, governor of New Jersey^[29]

· Gavin Newsom, governor of California^[20]

· Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. representative from New York^[20]

· J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois^[26]

· Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce^[29]

· Nina Turner, former Ohio state representative and 2021 congressional candidate^[30]

· Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts^[25]

· Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan^[26]

Independent politicians

· Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont^[31]

Democratic business executives and public figures

· Joe Sanberg, entrepreneur and investor^[30]

· Oprah Winfrey, philanthropist and media executive^[22]

· Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and philanthropist^[32]

· Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States^[33]

Possible Republican presidential candidates

As of June 2023, the following politicians and public figures had been discussed in the media as potential candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Republican politicians

· Greg Abbott, governor of Texas^[34]

· Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota^[35]

· Liz Cheney, former U.S. representative from Wyoming^[36]

· Bob Corker, former U.S. senator from Tennessee^[37]

· Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas^[38]

· Daniel Crenshaw, U.S. representative from Texas^[39]

· Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas^[40]

· Doug Ducey, former governor of Arizona^[37]

· Mike DeWine, governor of Ohio^[26]

· Joni Ernst, U.S. senator from Iowa^[39]

· Josh Hawley, U.S. senator from Missouri^[20]

· Adam Kinzinger, former U.S. representative from Illinois^[41]

· Mike Lee, U.S. senator from Utah^[34]

· Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota^[42]

· Rand Paul, U.S. senator from Kentucky^[43]

· Rick Perry, former governor of Texas and 2016 Republican presidential primary candidate^[44]

· Mitt Romney, U.S. senator from Utah^[45]

· Marco Rubio, U.S. senator from Florida^[46]

· Ben Sasse, former U.S. senator from Nebraska^[34]

· Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida^[47]

· Elise Stefanik, U.S. representative from New York^[39]

· Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia^[48][49]

Republican business executives and public figures

· Tucker Carlson, Fox News anchor^[50]

· Candace Owens, conservative activist^[39]

· Donald Trump Jr., businessman and political adviser^[20]

· Ivanka Trump, businesswoman and political adviser^[38]

Did not run for the Republican nomination

· Larry Hogan, former governor of Maryland^[13]

· Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state^[9]

· Chris Sununu, governor of New Hampshire^[51]

And see ATTACHMENT the LAST for the cattle call of registered wannabees!

ATTACHMENT SIX – From Politico

THE 2024 GOP FIELD: HOW THEY WIN, HOW THEY LOSE

By STEVEN SHEPARD | March 20, 2023, 4:00 a.m. EDT | Updated June 6, 2023, 3:19 p.m. EDT

The race for the GOP presidential nomination has a set of historic firsts: a criminally indicted former president seeking an Oval Office comeback, a vice president who refused to go along with a plot to steal the last election, the most politically accomplished woman ever to run as a Republican — and an already-popular governor waiting in the wings.

Who ultimately wins out will take on President Joe Biden — and potentially secure the White House.

There are also other candidates and would-be candidates, too. We've put the entire field into three categories — based roughly on their chances to capture the nod — along with full scouting reports for everything that could go right or wrong along the road to the 2024 convention in Milwaukee.

THE FAVORITES

The most likely nominee(s). The Favorites have established major campaign infrastructure — plenty of money, staff in key states, outside groups ready to bombard the airwaves with advertising — built broad coalitions in polling and garnered endorsements from party leaders.

DECLARED

Ron DeSantis

Since his election as Florida's governor in 2018, DeSantis has positioned himself as a national figure by championing far-right causes — and successfully turned the nation's largest swing state a distinct shade of red.

🏆 WINNING PATH

DeSantis doesn’t want to be the anti-Trump, but rather a more effective (and less scandalous) continuation of the former president’s political movement. By the numbers, it could be a winning primary coalition to combine Trump fans with loyal Republicans who are skeptical about a third straight Trump nomination. But it requires DeSantis to go at Trump directly — without alienating too many of his supporters — and position himself as a more electable alternative.

❌ LOSING PATH

His pre-launch struggles have exposed some of his liabilities: There’s the perception that he’s an awkward campaigner, and his efforts to sell Trump Lite to voters who want the full-calorie version have fizzled so far. Trump has attacked him from the left on abortion and entitlements, a strategy meant to undermine DeSantis’ electability arguments.

DECLARED

Donald Trump

The former president — who has refused to accept his 2020 defeat — is seeking to become only the second man in history to return to the Oval Office after his ouster.

🏆 WINNING PATH

Trump remains popular among the Republican base despite numerous scandals and the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol that punctuated his turbulent presidency. His false claim that he was the rightful winner of the 2020 election has given his comeback bid a patina of grievance to add to his appeal to return to the policies of his administration. With only a few exceptions, Trump's likely rivals have refrained from criticizing his time in office or behavior outside of it.

❌ LOSING PATH

Trump fatigue. Trump has dominated American politics — in both parties — since he first became a candidate in 2015. Unlike his first campaign, when the field against him was split, Trump could face a single competitor who serves as a counterweight in DeSantis. And legal jeopardy on multiple fronts — including criminal charges in New York — could convince enough GOP primary voters to turn the page and look to the future, even if they like Trump and his record as president.

THE CONTENDERS

In the ballgame, but not top-tier candidates. The Contenders are running credible campaigns, with enough money and staff to be competitive, but haven’t gained as much traction. Still, a Contender has enough support in a key early state or among a segment of the GOP electorate to build upon as the primaries approach — or potentially play king- (or queen-) maker down the road.

DECLARED

Nikki Haley

Haley combines executive experience, foreign policy chops, a tie to Trump’s administration, home-field-advantage in an early state and a historic candidacy.

🏆 WINNING PATH

As the alternative to a months-long Trump-DeSantis food fight. A win in South Carolina’s primary — third after Iowa and New Hampshire — would go a long way to vaulting Haley into the top tier. Already, Haley is the most politically accomplished woman — as a twice-elected governor and cabinet member — to enter a Republican presidential primary field. Despite the gender gap between the parties, women make up nearly half of the GOP primary electorate.

❌ LOSING PATH

Like all of the candidates below the top tier, Haley risks getting drowned out in a primary where Trump and DeSantis suck up most of the oxygen. And Haley’s seemingly shifting views of Trump after the Jan. 6 riot threaten her credibility in taking on her former boss.

DECLARED

Mike Pence

Pence spurned Trump when he honored the results of the 2020 election, and the former vice president has been persona non grata with Trump since.

🏆 WINNING PATH

He probably doesn’t. But if he can survive the early caucuses and primaries as the candidate of choice of the GOP’s small but real “never-Trump” bloc, he could be a powerbroker in the heart of primary season to steer his voters toward an alternative.

❌ LOSING PATH

The danger for Pence is being a non-factor in the race. Other candidates will hit Trump, too, though perhaps not with the solemnity of the former vice president. And those in that group — DeSantis, Haley, among others — won’t have Pence’s low ceiling.

RULED OUT

Ted Cruz

The 2016 runner-up is foregoing another campaign, instead choosing to seek a third term in the Senate.

ADVERTISEMENT

THE LONG SHOTS

Not a factor — at least not yet. The Long Shots barely register in polling, nationally and in the early states. There’s always the possibility of catching fire, especially in one of the early states, to propel you into the next tier. But there’s an even greater likelihood of an ignominious, early dropout.

DECLARED

Ryan Binkley

A Dallas-area businessman and non-denominational pastor, Binkley is concentrating his early efforts in Iowa, where he went up with TV ads in early May 2023.

🏆 WINNING PATH

Binkley's opening ad hit inspirational notes, promising to renew a country that is "strong, unified and reconciled to God and each other."

❌ LOSING PATH

A first-time candidate with little national profile, Binkley is betting big on an Iowa-first strategy that could easily flame out.

DECLARED

Chris Christie

Once a Trump ally, the former New Jersey governor wants to be the field's leading (and loudest) critic of the former president.

🏆 WINNING PATH

A successful Christie campaign probably hinges on Republican primary voters making a hard turn on the Trump era. He is clearly hoping to engineer that himself, by attacking the former president directly and clearing the path for an alternative. Christie did effectively end Marco Rubio's 2016 campaign on the debate stage, but Trump commands a much more loyal base.

❌ LOSING PATH

In 2012, Christie seemed to to have a real shot at the nomination during his first term as governor — but he missed his moment when he decided not to run. By the 2016 race, he was unpopular at home and never gained traction. This time, it's dubious whether GOP primary voters want to hear Christie's version of truth-telling about Trump's conduct and personality.

DECLARED

Larry Elder

The former conservative media personality, who first took the plunge when he campaigned to replace California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a failed 2021 recall effort, is going national.

🏆 WINNING PATH

Elder worked for decades as a talk-radio host, and he could be a strong communicator, including on a debate stage. Despite African Americans making up a very small slice of the Republican primary electorate, each of the past two contested primaries have seen Black candidates surge to the top tier (Herman Cain and Ben Carson, respectively), though subsequently decline before the voting began.

❌ LOSING PATH

A lot of ink was spilled about Elder’s effort to topple Newsom mid-term, but the 2021 recall failed spectacularly, 62 percent to 38 percent. Elder was also accused by his ex-fiancee of abuse during their relationship last decade.

DECLARED

Asa Hutchinson

After a lengthy career in public office — as a U.S. attorney, congressman (and Bill Clinton impeachment manager), DEA administrator and two-term Arkansas governor — Hutchinson says he’s mounting an underdog presidential bid.

🏆 WINNING PATH

Hutchinson has expressed misgivings about the GOP’s direction during the Trump era, but selling a return to the conservativism of the 1990s and 2000s is an uphill climb. He says Trump should drop out of the race following his indictment in New York — far from a majority opinion in the party.

❌ LOSING PATH

He could end up like two of Trump’s 2016 rivals — former New York Gov. George Pataki or another former Arkansas governor, Mike Huckabee — who barely register after their political moments have already passed them by.

DECLARED

Perry Johnson

Johnson failed to qualify for the ballot in his last campaign — for Michigan governor in 2022 — but the businessman and self-described “quality guru” has already been running cable-TV ads in Iowa.

🏆 WINNING PATH

Actually getting on the ballot would be a good start. Johnson was disqualified in 2022 due to signature fraud — he blamed a vendor — rendering the more than $7 million he loaned his campaign wasted. His early-state advertising could get him on a debate stage, however, if he starts to register in polls.

❌ LOSING PATH

Like other self-funding long shots, there's a limit to how much of their own money someone would spend if they aren't going anywhere.

DECLARED

Vivek Ramaswamy

The investor and former pharmaceutical company CEO has launched an outsider campaign based largely on a critique of “wokeness” among corporations and other institutions.

🏆 WINNING PATH

If his pet issue is vaulted to the fore, especially in primary debates, where it will compete with a more traditional GOP issue set of the economy, crime, foreign policy and immigration. But he also won’t be the only loud voice against “wokeness” if DeSantis is in the race. He’s wealthy and can afford to jump-start his campaign out of his own checkbook.

❌ LOSING PATH

Self-funding candidates often tire of spending millions of dollars if they aren’t catching on among the electorate.

DECLARED

Tim Scott

The South Carolina senator is a favorite of the party’s donor class and hails from an early-primary state.

🏆 WINNING PATH

By selling primary voters on a sunnier vision for the country than Trump’s “retribution” tour or DeSantis’ war on liberalism. Scott won’t have to worry about money — he’s one of the Senate GOP’s strongest fundraisers and has connections to well-heeled conservatives like Oracle’s Larry Ellison and the Koch network. And showing strength in South Carolina could vault him into contention elsewhere.

❌ LOSING PATH

If Republican voters are more attracted to the bellicose rhetoric from the current frontrunners. And if both Scott and Haley are still on the ballot in South Carolina, it could dilute their favorite-son and -daughter candidacies.

MAYBE

Doug Burgum

Only three states have a smaller population than North Dakota, which has elected Burgum, a former tech executive, to two terms as governor.

🏆 WINNING PATH

Burgum has a reputation as a conservative technocrat, a profile typically more sought after among governors than presidential candidates. If he can turn the focus to governing, he may get some traction in a field otherwise mostly focused on Trump.

❌ LOSING PATH

Without any national profile, Burgum is counting on making an impression in the party's primary debates — if he qualifies. While North Dakota voters enacted term limits on the ballot in 2022, a grandfather clause would still allow Burgum to seek a third term in 2024 if a presidential bid doesn't work out.

MAYBE

Mike Rogers

Rogers gave up the gavel of the House Intelligence Committee in 2014 to become a talk-radio personality. Now he says he’s considering a political comeback.

🏆 WINNING PATH

The Michigan Republican is a frequent cable-news guest, so he has a slightly higher profile than anyone else who hasn’t been on a ballot in more than a decade. In addition to being a former intel chair in Congress, he was an FBI agent before running for office — an interesting profile in today’s GOP.

❌ LOSING PATH

As a TV pundit and all-around Republican wise man, Rogers has occasionally been critical of Trump, even though he served on Trump’s 2016 transition time and was briefly mentioned as a possible James Comey replacement as FBI director in 2017.

UNLIKELY

Greg Abbott

Abbott was just elected to a third term as Texas governor and has been one of Republicans’ top fundraisers anywhere in the country.

UNLIKELY

Kristi Noem

UNLIKELY

Marco Rubio

Since being hailed as the potential future of the GOP eight years ago, Rubio has been eclipsed by a fellow Floridian in DeSantis.

UNLIKELY

Glenn Youngkin

The term-limited Virginia governor is sometimes floated as an electable conservative candidate.

RULED OUT

Tom Cotton

The Arkansas senator said in November 2022 he wouldn’t run for president.

RULED OUT

Larry Hogan

The former Maryland governor — one of Trump’s top GOP critics — chose not to enter the race.

RULED OUT

Mike Pompeo

After a monthslong flirtation, Trump’s former CIA director and secretary of state announced in April that "the time is not right" for him to launch a presidential campaign in 2024.

RULED OUT

Rick Scott

After an eventful four years in the Senate — including a fruitless cycle as NRSC chairman and an unsuccessful effort to topple Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — Scott chose a bid for a second term over a presidential campaign.

RULED OUT

Chris Sununu

The popular governor of the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire made the rounds in the national media, dismissing Trump as the GOP’s leader, before announcing he wouldn't run.

ATTACHMENT SEVEN – From Various (as listed)

Leaders of the Pack...

Donald Trump ATTACHMENTS 7A

1) From the BBC 7A1

Much noticed and referenced her, the BBC simply explained the former President’s lead upon formally launching his third bid for the White House on Nov. 15,

"America's comeback starts right now," he said, describing the U.S. as "in decline" and touting his administration as a "golden age."

Ron DeSantis ATTACHMENTS 7B

1) From the BBC 7B1

FLORIDA GOVERNOR RON DESANTIS HAS WORKED HARD TO EMULATE MR TRUMP, AND IS VIEWED AS THE CANDIDATE MOST CAPABLE OF DEFEATING HIM IN A HEAD-TO-HEAD RACE.

Boosted to the governorship by Mr Trump's endorsement, he romped to re-election in last year's midterms by more than 1.5 million votes, the largest margin in the state in more than four decades. Under his tenure, Republican voters outnumber Democrats in the state for the first time.

At 44 years old, the Harvard and Yale-educated lawyer is still a relative newcomer in US politics.

He once served in the US Navy, including a tour in Iraq. He was also a little-known member of the House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.

But Mr DeSantis has seen his star rise considerably since he became governor in 2019, a role in which he has positioned himself as an enthusiastic culture warrior.

• Six ways it's harder for Trump this time
• WATCH: Five things to know about Ron DeSantis

He has backed legislation to defund diversity and inclusion programmes, to ban teaching on gender identity in public schools, ban drag shows and gender-affirming care for minors, and restrict abortions and loosen gun laws. He is also mired in an escalating legal battle with Walt Disney World.

The governor has touted his record as a "blueprint" for conservative leadership, and supporters have touted him as a drama-free alternative to re-nominating the former president.

Mr Trump appears to be paying very close attention and has attacked him almost daily on social media.

FROM TIME (7B2)

SOME IN GOP SEE 'WOKE' RHETORIC AS LAZY. THEN THERE'S RON DESANTIS

By Phillip Elliott

Fear is one of the most animating factors in politics. It inspires paranoia, it nurtures grievance. It can also usher voters and policymakers to a shared conclusion. In the wake of 9/11, fear drove players to surrender civil liberties for the sake of perceived security. As the economy melted down in 2008, insecurity bred bailout. And with Covid-19 at the fore, massive spending came in waves with support from both parties.

But in 2023, the Republican Party is at odds with itself on whether Wokeness is America’s new boogeyman, and whether it can serve as an amorphous catch-all for things they don’t like through the 2024 elections.

“So we will wage a war on the woke,” Ron DeSantis said recently in Iowa. “We will fight the woke in education, we will fight the woke in the corporations, we will fight the woke in the halls of Congress. We will never, ever surrender to the woke mob.”

Asked to define the term, DeSantis leaned hard into his perceptions: “It’s a form of cultural Marxism. It’s about putting merit and achievement behind identity politics, and it’s basically a war on the truth.”

DeSantis is the most relentless 2024 contender in his Wokness bashing (his wife, Casey, even rocked a black leather jacket featuring an outline of Florida and the slogan “Where Woke Goes To Die”), but he is far from alone. Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina, and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum have all invoked the buzzword to varying degrees, and varying definitions.

And yet there are signs that Woke has worn out its welcome in the GOP. When former Vice President Mike Pence, a culture warrior from the start, announced by video on Wednesday he was seeking the party’s presidential nomination, he didn’t once use the word woke. It was also not at the fore of his message when he spoke to Iowa voters north of Des Moines, either.

Similarly, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who joined the race a day earlier, dismissed the culture war rhetoric as a sideshow best ignored. He said the field features contenders who are wasting voters’ time when “talking about issues that are so small that sometimes it’s hard to even understand them.”

So is the Republican Party finally done beating the woke horse? And why have they clung so strongly to a word that broke through among people protesting racial injustices, and who now use it far less often than their critics?

Well, the answer to that depends largely on whether you think America is sufficiently inclusive. In that query, you may well understand why Republicans are tripping over themselves to be the most anti-woke candidate in the mix, and maybe even tripping themselves up come next November.

At its most basic, Wokeness demands we maintain vigilance to unconscious biases about race and gender. That consciousness can safeguard against subtle discrimination and more overt bigotry alike, and demands bystanders to confront inequalities in real time. At the core of it is a call to be a good neighbor and not to be a jerk about it.

Pretty benign stuff, right?

Well, as with so much of our politics right now, the partisan leanings of the beholder color the eye on how that actually plays out. Wokeness for progressives means to look in all corners for instances of accidental exclusion. To them, it’s an acknowledgement of privilege and a call to remedy past wrongs as culture evolves. It’s the cultural equivalent of NATO’s Article 5: an attack on one is an attack on all.

For conservatives, Wokeness is the ultimate pejorative of the moment and has incorporated a whole lot more than its initial remit. It means inclusion run amok to the detriment of whites and men. It is a shorthand for Critical Race Theory, an academic framework occasionally used to discuss institutional racism in the law but seen as a nefarious creep into classrooms disguised as Black history curriculum. It is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programs in H.R. and Environmental, Social and Governance-focused best practices in the boardrooms. Wokeness is, in short, the embodiment of a changing nation where agenda-pushing players are conspiring to deny whites their historical power.

Wokeness’ history is one that has compelled social scientists, historians, activists, and, yes, politicians to debate its very origin. It doesn’t stretch credulity to trace the term all the way back to a 1904 editorial in the Baltimore Afro-American editorial urging Black readers to “wake up, wake up!” Marcus Garvey followed in 1923: “Wake up, Ethiopia! Wake up, Africa!” The New York Times in 1962 published a piece on Black idioms from William Melvin Kelley under the headline “If You’re Woke You Dig It.” The Oxford English Dictionary credited Kelley by name when it added “woke” to its tomes in 2017.

But as it stands now inside conservative spaces, Wokeness is anything—and everything—unideal. It’s akin to Communism during the Cold War or Political Correctness in the tribal era that followed. That imprecision carries enormous potency—and maybe some votes in Republican primaries.

As Vivek Ramaswamy, a tech investor running for the White House with the culture wars as his footing, put it in Woke, Inc., his first of three books on political Wokeness, the term now encapsulates “progressive identity politics today. … Basically, being woke means obsessing about race, gender, and sexual orientation. Maybe climate change too.”

Although most Americans—56%, according to USA Today’s polling—define the term as an awareness of social injustices, Republicans are overwhelmingly opposed to what they believe it represents. A full 60% of Republicans told USA Today’s pollsters that they view woke as an insult, and 56% of them said the word represents too much political correctness and policing of thought.

So that explains why contenders are rushing to mangle the basics about what Wokeness is and is not. “I don’t like the term woke,” ex-President Donald Trump said last Thursday in Iowa. “Because I hear woke, woke, woke—it’s just a term they use. Half the people can’t define it; they don’t know what it is.”

It’s often unclear if the candidates themselves get it, either.

From Guardian UK 7B3

FLORIDA TAXPAYERS PICK UP BILL FOR RON DESANTIS’S CULTURE WAR LAWSUITS

Governor’s Disney battle and extremist policies are met with costly lawsuits covered by ‘blank check’ from Republican legislature

By Maya Yang Sun 4 Jun 2023 06.00 EDT

Since Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis, took office in 2019 and embarked on his culture wars, lawsuits from various communities whose rights have been violated have been stacking up against the far-right Republican.

As DeSantis fights the lawsuits with what critics have described as a blank check from the state’s supermajority Republican legislature, the mounting legal costs have come heavily at the expense of Florida’s taxpayers.

Ron DeSantis thanks then attacks heckler who called him a fascist

In recent years, DeSantis’s ultra-conservative legislative agenda has drawn ire from a slew of marginalized communities as well as major corporations including Disney. The so-called “don’t say gay” bill, abortion bans and prohibition of African American studies are just a few of DeSantis’s many extremist policies that have been met with costly lawsuits in a state where residents are already struggling with costs of living.

“The list of legal challenges precipitating from DeSantis’s unconstitutional laws is endless,” the Democratic state senator Lori Berman said.

“We’ve seen Floridians rightly sue many if not all of the governor’s legislative priorities, including laws that restrict drag shows for kids, prohibit Chinese citizens from owning homes and land in Florida, suppress young and Black and brown voters, ban gender-affirming care and threaten supportive parents with state custody of their children, and of course, all the retaliatory legislation waged against Disney for coming out in support of the LGBTQ+ community,” she said.

As a result of the mounting lawsuits against DeSantis, the governor’s legal costs, which the Miami Herald reported last December amounted to at least $16.7m, have been soaring.

In DeSantis’s legal fight against Disney following the corporation’s condemnation of his anti-LGBTQ+ laws, it is going to cost the governor and his handpicked board nearly $1,300 per hour in legal fees as they look into how the corporation discovered a loophole in DeSantis’s plan to acquire governing rights over Disney World, Insider reports.

“Disney is a perfect example. It doesn’t hurt any Floridians. There is nothing. It’s creating a legal issue out of nowhere and now Disney sued so they have to respond and that is going to cost taxpayers’ money. The whole Disney case is just because of DeSantis’s ego and his hurt feelings,” the Democratic state senator Tina Polsky said.

“Taxpayers are paying to foot the bills to pass unconstitutional bills and to keep up with his petty vengeance,” she said, adding: “I don’t think they’re aware at all … They’re too brainwashed at this point that they wouldn’t even care.”

Meanwhile, in another case covered by the Orlando Sentinel, DeSantis’s administration has turned to the elite conservative Washington DC-based law firm Cooper & Kirk to defend the governor against his slew of “anti-woke” laws. The firm’s lawyers charge $725 hourly, according to contracts reviewed by Orlando Sentinel. As of June 2022, the state authorized nearly $2.8m for legal services from just Cooper & Kirk alone, the outlet reports.

With mounting taxpayer-funded legal costs against DeSantis’s legislative agenda, critics ranging from civil rights organizations to the state’s Democratic lawmakers have lambasted DeSantis’s policies as unconstitutional and mere political stunts designed to propel him to the frontlines of the GOP primary.

“DeSantis went to Harvard for his [law degree]. This is someone who should understand the constraints placed on him and the state by the United States constitution and the Florida constitution. He knows those constraints, but he doesn’t care. His goal is to intentionally pass unconstitutional laws and set up legal challenges in order for the conservative supreme court to overturn long-held protections,” Berman said.

Bob Jarvis, a law professor at Nova Southeastern University, echoed similar sentiments, comparing DeSantis to his main competition and current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, both of whom he said are cut “from the same cloth”.

Ron DeSantis says he will ‘destroy leftism’ in US if elected president

“Ron DeSantis is a Harvard law school graduate. He is a lawyer. Whereas Donald Trump at least could make the argument, ‘I’m just the layperson, I don’t know’ if … something is deemed illegal or unconstitutional … DeSantis does not have that defense,” Jarvis said.

Nevertheless, DeSantis appears unfazed.

“DeSantis knows very well that … what he is doing is unconstitutional and illegal … Lawyers by training are very cautious so this is quite remarkable to have a lawyer-politician who not only knows better, but does not care,” said Jarvis.

To DeSantis, it does not matter whether he wins or loses the legal battles as he knows he “ultimately controls the Florida supreme court”, according to Jarvis.

“He is playing a ‘heads, I win, tails, you lose’ game. If he gets one of these crazy policies passed and they’re challenged and the court upholds him … he can say to the press and to the public, ‘I was right and the proof is in the pudding because the courts agreed with me,’” he explained.

“But even better for DeSantis when they rule against him … DeSantis is able to stand up and say, ‘These crazy judges want our children to watch drag shows, they want our children to be taught to be gay, they want Disney to be this terrible company. That’s why you need a strong governor and why you will benefit from having me as president because I will make sure to get rid of these judges and replace them with judges that have traditional American morals,’” Jarvis added.

As DeSantis continues to fight his costly legal battles, the state’s supermajority Republican legislature appears to encourage him wholly.

“We’re in a litigious society,” the state senate president, Kathleen Passidomo, told the Tallahassee Democrat while the senate budget chair, Doug Broxson, told the outlet: “We want the governor to be in a comfortable position to speak his mind.”

With Republicans rushing to DeSantis’s defense, perhaps the most glaring example of the legislature’s endorsement of his legal wars is the $16m incorporated into the state’s $117bn budget to be used exclusively for his litigation expenses.

Speaking to the Guardian, the state’s Democratic house leader, Fentrice Driskell, called the budget a “carte blanche” from Republicans and the result of zero accountability.

DeSantis’s limp start to 2024 race delights Trump but battle is not over

“The legislature is supposed to be a check on executive power. By giving him a carte blanche to go and fight these wars in court, it’s basically just saying that there are no checks and balances when it comes to the state government in Florida,” said Driskell.

“It’s a waste … They are just allowing this single person to impose his will on the state of Florida and they’re willing to waste taxpayer dollars to do it,” she said, adding: “Most Floridians can’t afford their rent and property insurance rates are through the roof. We could have redirected that money towards affordable housing.”

Driskell went on to describe Medicaid iBudget Florida, a waiver that provides disabled Floridians with access to certain services and which currently has a waitlist of more than 22,000 residents.

“It’s very difficult for them to get off that waitlist because the Republicans underfund Medicaid. We could put that money towards funding the waitlist and getting people off of it. I think there’s only $2m that was put in the budget for that this year. If we added the $16m that was added for these culture wars, my goodness, that’s $18m. Presumably we could help get nine times more people off of the waitlist,” said Driskell.

As DeSantis remains embroiled in his legal woes at the expense of Florida taxpayers, there is perhaps a single group of people that have benefited the most out of all the legal drama, Jarvis told the Guardian.

“The lawyers who got that $16.7m, that’s money from heaven. That’s money that fell into their laps … Anytime there’s a loser, and the loser here is the Florida taxpayer, there is a winner. The winners here are the lawyers who are collecting those enormous fees. The more that plaintiffs file lawsuits and the more they fight these crazy policies, you know that’s just money in the bank for these lawyers,” Jarvis said.

“DeSantis has been God’s gift to lawyers,” he added.

The contenders...

Nikki Haley

From the BBC (Attachment 7C1)

Haley, 51, announced her presidential bid in a video released on Feb. 14, a day ahead of a formal kickoff on Feb. 15 in Charleston.

Haley, who also served as a U.S. ambassador to the U.N. in the Trump administration, is the first high-profile Republican to challenge Trump.

In her announcement video, Haley, the daughter of immigrants, highlighted her heritage as a South Asian woman and touted her hopeful view of what America can offer.

"My mom would always say, 'Your job is not to focus on the differences but the similarities.' My parents reminded me and my siblings every day how blessed we were to live in America," Haley said.

She underscored her credentials as a former leader of the Palmetto State, stressing its resilience, but most of all she said there was a major need for change in the GOP's candidates.

"Republicans have lost the popular vote in seven of the last eight presidential elections. … It's time for a new generation of leadership," she said.

Haley was elected as the first female governor of South Carolina in 2010, stepping down in 2017, during her second term, to serve as a Trump ambassador until 2018.

From Vox (Attachment 7C2)

NIKKI HALEY’S NEW STRATEGY TO TAKE DOWN TRUMP AND DESANTIS

Haley is a political “chameleon.” Will Republican voters respond?

By Nicole Narea Jun 5, 2023, 2:50pm EDT

Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley may look like a long shot for the nomination next to former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis: Together, the two men have the support of more than two-thirds of GOP primary voters. Now, as she tries to distinguish herself from the two frontrunners, Haley has increasingly been trying to carve out her own lane by leaning into culture wars.

In a CNN town hall Sunday night, Haley staked out a distinct approach to issues including Ukraine, the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the US Capitol, and federal benefits programs. And on the campaign trail recently, she’s started talking about her anti-abortion stance and embracing anti-trans rhetoric, seemingly moving away from her initial strategy of running as a moderate in a bid to meet Republican primary voters where they are right now.

“Nikki’s a professional chameleon. She is whatever she needs to be at that moment in time,” said Boyd Brown, a South Carolina Democratic strategist who previously served with Haley in the state legislature. “She’ll do whatever it takes to win an election, even if it’s selling out her true self, who might be a mainstream Republican.”

Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign is a throwback to the pre-Trump GOP

It’s still early in the 2024 campaign season, and Haley’s resume as Trump’s US ambassador to the United Nations and a former South Carolina governor gives her a weighty record to run on. Still, she has a lot of ground to make up: She’s polling at about 4 percent on average, in a distant third place behind Trump and DeSantis.

How Haley is contrasting herself with Trump and DeSantis

Like former Vice President Mike Pence, who entered the presidential race Monday, Haley is in the difficult position of having to distance herself from her former boss while refraining from alienating Republican voters who still overwhelmingly approve of him.

On Sunday, she did so by breaking with Trump on the Ukraine war, which he pledged to end within 24 hours of taking office if elected. Her stance puts her on firm footing with the grassroots. According to a May University of Chicago/NORC poll, 69 percent of Republican voters believe that Russia’s actions are an unjustified attempt to gain territory. She said in the town hall that this is a war “about freedom and it’s one we have to win” or else suffer even greater geopolitical consequences. She also said that the war is not a mere “territorial dispute,” referencing comments from DeSantis that he later walked back.

She also drew a red line on January 6. She called it “a terrible day” while dispelling Trump’s false conspiracy theories about 2020 election fraud, declaring that “President Biden is the president.”

All the Republicans running for president in 2024, explained

She criticized Trump and DeSantis’s promises not to slash funding for Medicare and Social Security, claiming that they were not being realistic about cuts she deems necessary to keep the programs solvent. Haley’s position on the issue seems to be more about putting some distance between herself and the frontrunners than winning over voters: cuts are broadly unpopular, with 84 percent of Republicans against them, according to a March Axios/Ipsos poll. She supports reducing benefits for Americans currently in their 20s and limiting payouts for the wealthy.

However, she joined with Trump in criticizing DeSantis’s approach to his long-running feud with Disney over its opposition to his “Don’t Say Gay” law, which prevents teachers from talking about LGBTQ+ issues or people. She accused him Sunday of squandering public funds to take the fight to court. DeSantis has suffered loss after loss after loss in that fight, and his opponents on both the left and the right will likely continue to target him for it.

Haley is embracing the culture wars

Haley has historically eschewed culture wars, which she once said have “done nothing but to divide America.” And when she launched her campaign in February, she portrayed herself as a moderate who can win in a general election amid concerns about both Trump and DeSantis’s electability, calling for a “new generation of leadership.”

But recently, she’s been trending more MAGA than moderate. At a campaign event in May, she went on a rant against a trans influencer who partnered with Bud Light. That collaboration ultimately resulted in a widespread conservative boycott of the brand. Repeating anti-trans rhetoric during the town hall, she asked, “How are we supposed to get our girls used to the fact that biological boys are in their locker room? And then we wonder why a third of our teenage girls seriously contemplated suicide last year.”

Will there be any presidential debates in 2024?

She has also declared herself to be “unapologetically pro-life,” leaning into a hardline position that many Republicans believe caused them to underperform in the midterms and that Democrats predict will continue to prove potent in 2024. At the town hall, Haley suggested banning late-term abortions, incentivizing adoption, expanding access to contraceptives, and ensuring that women who have abortions are not criminalized. However, she has not committed to banning abortions after any particular point in pregnancy.

Brown expects that Haley will continue to turn to the right as she tries to siphon off some of Trump and DeSantis’s supporters.

“I bet she’s going to get in the far right lane at some point in the near future, just because she’s going to try to be relevant in the primary before she runs out of money,” he said. “She might not be in the Trump lane, but she’s probably going to be closer to Trump than Asa Hutchinson,” he added, referencing the former Arkansas governor and vocal Trump critic who announced his 2024 campaign in April.

Mike Pence

From the BBC (Attachment 7D1)

Mr Pence officially launched his campaign with a speech on 7 June, putting him on a collision course with his former boss.

The speech offered his most forceful repudiation of Donald Trump to date, accusing the ex-president of being unfaithful to the US constitution and of abandoning conservative values.

It was a far cry from his role as a loyal deputy to Mr Trump as his vice-president for four years - until 2021's Capitol riot splintered their relationship.

The son of a Korean War veteran, Mr Pence began his career in conservative politics as a talk radio host.

He was elected to the House in 2000 and served until 2013, describing himself as a "principled conservative" and aligning with the Tea Party movement.

He also served as governor of Indiana from 2013-17. In that role, he passed the largest tax cut in state history, and signed bills to restrict abortion and protect religious freedom.

Mr Pence, 64, is a born-again evangelical Christian and his addition to the 2016 presidential ticket is credited with helping mobilise the crucial voting bloc on behalf of Mr Trump.

Calm and soft-spoken, he was seen as an effective surrogate to the bombastic president. But Mr Trump turned on him for lacking "courage" after he refused to help overturn the 2020 election results.

Pro-Trump rioters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021 and were heard chanting "Hang Mike Pence!". At one point, they were reportedly within 40ft (12m) of the vice-president.

From the New York Times (Attachment 7D2)

MIKE PENCE FORMALLY ENTERS 2024 RACE, CHALLENGING TRUMP

Mr. Pence, who filed paperwork declaring his candidacy, was once a stalwart supporter and defender of Donald J. Trump, but split with his former boss after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

By Maggie Haberman

June 5, 2023

Former Vice President Mike Pence filed paperwork on Monday declaring his presidential candidacy, embarking on a long-shot campaign against the former president he served under, Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Pence, who filed the necessary papers to run with the Federal Election Commission, has polled in the single digits in every public survey taken so far, well behind Mr. Trump, who has reshaped the Republican Party over the last seven years.

The former vice president is expected to formally announce his campaign at a rally outside Des Moines on Wednesday, a day after former Gov. Chris Christie is expected to enter the race and the same day Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota is set to join.

Mr. Pence is planning to campaign extensively in Iowa, the first nominating state and a place where his hard-line conservative positions on issues like abortion could appeal to evangelical voters.

Advisers to Mr. Pence, a former governor of Indiana, see Iowa as geographically hospitable to the brand of conservatism he practiced before the Trump era. And he is making the bet that enough vestiges of the old Republican Party remain to give his message broad appeal.

Mr. Pence, whom the celebrity-obsessed Mr. Trump used to refer to as “out of central casting,” was a stalwart supporter and defender of Mr. Trump over the latter half of the 2016 presidential campaign as his running mate, at a time when Mr. Pence was facing a difficult re-election effort in Indiana.

He was Mr. Trump’s most loyal advocate throughout their time in office together.

But Mr. Trump began a pressure campaign on Mr. Pence to thwart Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s Electoral College victory from being certified after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 election. Mr. Pence refused to use his ceremonial role overseeing the certification at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to advance Mr. Trump’s aims.

That day, a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol, with some of Mr. Trump’s supporters chanting, “Hang Mike Pence!” Since then, the split between the two has become irrevocable.

Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent and the author of “Confidence Man: The Making of Donald Trump and the Breaking of America.” She was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for reporting on President Trump’s advisers and their connections to Russia. 

From the BBC (Attachment 7D3)

THE ONE THING MIKE PENCE NEEDS TO BEAT HIS OLD BOSS IN 2024

How Mike Pence became a villain in Trump world

By Anthony Zurcher & Sam Cabral

In a traditional American political world, Mike Pence's 2024 presidential campaign would have a lot going for it.

A politician with experience in both Congress and as a state governor. A former vice-president who had multiple high-profile administration roles and four years to build connections with his party's grass-roots. A methodical but reasonably charismatic public speaker who has a track record of strong debate performances and a stint as a popular conservative radio host.

This is not, however, a normal political world anymore - and it hasn't been since Donald Trump barrelled his way to the Republican presidential nomination and the White House in 2016.

Instead, 2024 will be yet another precedent-setting moment in modern American politics - the first time a former vice-president and his former president will compete for their party's presidential nomination.

· Ex-Vice-President Mike Pence joins White House race

"Pence is a traditional conservative," says David Oman, former chair of the Iowa Republican Party. "He's just not a loud one."

For the moment, Mr Pence's former boss has almost all the advantages. He has a massive campaign war chest, high approval ratings among Republican voters and unwavering support from roughly 30% of his party's voters.

That loyal Trump base also views Mr Pence with scepticism that veers toward animosity. They consider his decision not to back the former president's attempt to overturn their 2020 electoral defeat an error at best and, frequently, as a betrayal.

Last month, Mr Pence was compelled to testify before a federal grand jury investigating the former president's role in the January 6th attack on the US Capitol and efforts to reverse the 2020 results.

And in March, Mr Pence said that Mr Trump's "reckless words" put his family in danger on that day, adding that "history will hold Donald Trump accountable".

For the moment, however, it appears Mr Trump's supporters are the ones passing judgement on Mr Pence.

Pence's narrow path to the White House

To succeed in his presidential bid, Mr Pence will need the former president to falter. But if that happens it is much more likely that his supporters go to someone like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

There is an area where Mr Pence has an edge over his former running mate, however.

As a devout Christian, the Indiana politician has a long history of close ties to the US evangelical community. One of the reasons Mr Trump chose him for his 2016 ticket was because his campaign advisers believed Mr Pence would assuage the concerns of Christian voters who might be reluctant to support the thrice-married New Yorker with considerable personal baggage.

Mr Pence was effectively the Trump administration's ambassador to the Christian right, touting wins on high-profile cultural issues like abortion and religious freedom.

Now he hopes to capitalise on that history and peel away the former president's evangelical voters. That's particularly important in Iowa, the state that holds the first Republican presidential nomination contest and where Christian conservatives hold considerable sway.

"It's a good bloc of 30 plus percent of the Republican voters who will show up on caucus night in early 2024," says Mr Oman. "So it's a bloc that candidates have to take seriously."

· Who are the Republican hopefuls not named Trump?

· Can Ron DeSantis really beat Donald Trump?

The challenge for Mr Pence is there will be other candidates also competing for the evangelical vote. They include Mr DeSantis - who has championed conservative cultural issues in Florida - and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott. The more the field is crowded and divided, the greater the chance that no one will be able to defeat Mr Trump.

"Pence starts off with a decent part of a Republican base that will not support him," Mr Oman says. "He has to talk about the kind of governor he was, be among those who talk about ideas for the future, someone who can show some common sense and give people a credible alternative to his former partner, Donald Trump."

Mr Pence has been manoeuvring for a presidential bid for more than a year - well before Mr Trump made his White House ambitions clear. And given that another former vice-president currently sits in the Oval Office, his presidential dreams are not unimaginable - even if the path he would have to take to get to the White House is without precedent.

Tim Scott

From the BBC (Attachment 7E1)

Senator Tim Scott has a decades-long career in South Carolina politics and entered the race in May with nearly $22m (£18m) - more than his rivals - in cash on hand.

The only black man to ever serve in both chambers of Congress, the 57-year-old has represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2013.

Mr Scott is the grandson of a cotton field worker and the son of a single mother, and he has often spoken of how his family rose "from cotton to Congress" in a lifetime.

He launched his 2024 bid vowing to turn around "a nation in retreat" and revive America's "culture of greatness".

Well-liked among his colleagues, he quickly earned endorsements from two fellow senators, including John Thune, the chamber's second highest-ranking Republican.

But he's not the only top South Carolina Republican with a hat in the ring.

From NPR (Attachment 7E2)

REPUBLICAN SEN. TIM SCOTT IS OFFICIALLY RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT

By Don Gonyea Updated May 22, 20234:08 PM ET 

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott announced his run for the Republican presidential nomination Monday morning in North Charleston, S.C.

The senator, who has represented South Carolina in the Senate since 2013, portrays himself as a true conservative with a positive story to tell.

"We need a president who persuades not just our friends and our base," he told supporters in his hometown. "We have to have a compassion for people who don't agree with us. We have to believe that our ideas are so strong and so powerful and so persuasive that we can actually take it to the highest points in the world and be successful but we also have to be able to take it all the way down to places that today are hopeless and prove that who we are works for all Americans."

As for his own upbringing, being raised by a single mother, Scott says they found strength in faith and family and a determination to succeed — all things he accused Democrats of working to destroy.

"From the time the sun goes down until the sun comes up, Joe Biden and the radical left are attacking every single rung of the ladder that helped me climb. And that's why I'm announcing today that I am running for president of the United States of America," he said.

In his 40-minute announcement speech, Scott highlighted his rise from poverty to prosperity and said that America is not a racist country. Scott is the only Black Republican senator in the U.S. Senate.

In defending the founding fathers of this country, Scott told his audience: "We need to stop cancelling our founding fathers and start celebrating them for the geniuses that they were. They weren't perfect, but they believed that we could become a more perfect union."

Despite his stature in the Senate, Scott enters this race with little name recognition nationally

In recent polling he ranks well back in the pack of current and potential candidates, earning support in the low single digits. In contrast, former President Donald Trump's support sometimes tops 40 or even 50 percent.

The first caucuses and primaries are still more than eight months away, so candidates looking to gain on Trump have some time. But in his announcement speech, Scott chose not to even mention Trump or any of his other rivals. He has said Americans want to hear from a candidate who expresses a positive and optimistic view of America. Presumably that won't preclude launching political attacks, but there were no such broadsides Monday.

Scott also unveiled what will be one of the recurring applause lines in his campaign stump speech. With the focus for now squarely on Biden and the Democrats, he's not shy about entering into the culture war battles that have been so prominent in recent years.

"I will lead a revolution for excellence in our schools. Less C-R-T and more ABCs," adding a pitch for school choice for parents. "No child and no child should be forced to attend failing schools simply because they live in the wrong zip code."

2024 Republican presidential candidates: A list of who is or may be running

He is the second South Carolina Republican to enter the race for the GOP nomination

Scott joins former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who declared her candidacy in February. It was Haley who just over a decade ago appointed him to the Senate to fill a vacancy. Both are very popular in their home state, which is a pivotal early voting state for both Republicans and Democrats. The South Carolina primary is the first in the South and often sets a candidate on a path for the nomination. Even so, an April poll by Winthrop University shows both Haley and Scott doing better than they do nationally, but even in South Carolina both still trail Trump by a wide margin.

Scott did pick up one key endorsement as he begins his campaign. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota — the No. 2 Republican in the chamber — is backing his friend and colleague. Thune also appeared at the kickoff rally in North Charleston.

Asa Hutchinson

From CBS News (Attachment 7F1)

ASA HUTCHINSON, EX-ARKANSAS GOVERNOR, LAUNCHES BID FOR 2024 GOP PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION

BY KATHRYN WATSON, FIN GÓMEZ APRIL 26, 2023 / 12:19 PM / CBS NEWS

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson formally launched his long-shot bid for the Republican Party's 2024 presidential nomination on Wednesday, making the case that his "mettle has been tested" and he's ready to take on President Biden.

The former governor, congressman, administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and border security official had previously said he would run for president, and formally launched his campaign with a speech in Bentonville, Arkansas, his birthplace. 

"Today, I am announcing that I am a candidate for president of the United States," Hutchinson told supporters. "In this campaign for president, I stand alone in terms of my experience, my record and leadership. From Congress to the DEA to Homeland Security, I have served our country in times of crisis. As governor of Arkansas, we cut taxes and created record surpluses. We increased pay for teachers. We reduced regulations; recruited industry, and the private sector grew by over 100,000 jobs. My mettle has been tested."

· Who's running for president in 2024? Meet the candidates — and likely candidates — vying for your vote

Hutchinson, 72, focused his remarks on his and Mr. Biden's records, rather than taking aim at potential and declared GOP candidates. His campaign faces a steep uphill climb given Republican voters' continued support for former President Donald Trump. Hutchinson did not mention Trump in his remarks on Wednesday, but has been one of the few Republicans willing to criticize the former president, who enjoys a large lead in GOP primary polls.

As the governor of Arkansas during the COVID-19 pandemic, Hutchinson said he demonstrated how to lead without shuttering all businesses and schools, and knows how to balance a budget. He also argued the U.S. must secure its southern border and must not yield to China, pledging that the U.S. will "stand with our friends" and allies around the world under his leadership. 

"Isolation only leads to weakness, and weakness leads to war," Hutchinson said, adding that the best way to secure peace is to have the best military in the world. 

Hutchinson said he doesn't want an "unending" war in Ukraine, and the best way to avoid that is to help Ukraine "today."

He also vowed to support law enforcement, while saying he wants to scale back the FBI to focus on counterterrorism. And he emphasized the need to put Social Security and Medicare on a more sustainable path. 

Hutchinson said "the United States of America has been challenged in every generation from threats abroad to civil unrest at home. And when we are tested, we grow stronger."

"We have learned that in times of turmoil, uncertainty, and division, America has always benefited from leaders who challenge us and give us hope," Hutchinson continued. "I am confident that America is ready to seek new frontiers; and that we are ready to channel the restless waves of our democracy into more freedom and more prosperity for those who follow after us."

Hutchinson's formal announcement comes one day after Mr. Biden announced he's running for a second term. In an interview with CBS News over the weekend, Hutchinson said Mr. Biden would be "a very tough opponent" in the general election if Trump is the nominee. He argued that the Republican Party has to have "someone different than Donald Trump running for president." 

"Well, he would be a very tough opponent, if Donald Trump is the nominee. That's [Democrats'] best wish, is that you have a repeat of 2020," Hutchinson said. "So our best opportunity is to have a new face, someone with consistent conservative leadership that's go experience in a broad arena that can appeal to the working class of America. And so, that's our opportunity." 

Still, Hutchinson said Mr. Biden as an incumbent is a "formidable opponent" and "you'd have to take that seriously." 

"While we see all of the fractures in his leadership and his vision for the future as a weak America, both energy, both security and globally, we have to make our case every day and we have to present a candidate that can attract independents and suburban voters in the fall," Hutchinson said. 

Chris Christie

From the BBC (Attachment 7G1)

According to multiple sources, the former New Jersey governor plans to announce his candidacy on 6 June at a town hall event in New Hampshire, where the first Republican primary election will be held.

After his own 2016 presidential bid failed, Mr Christie allied himself with Mr Trump, leading the incoming president's transition team and preparing him for debates against Mr Biden in 2020.

But he has become a vociferous critic of Mr Trump since the US Capitol riots.

The sharp-tongued Mr Christie previewed an attack line on Mr Trump at a New Hampshire town hall in April, saying: "Donald Trump is a TV star, nothing more, nothing less. Let me suggest to you that in putting him back in the White House, the re-runs will be worse than the original show."

Mr Christie served two terms as New Jersey governor from 2010-18. His time in office was overshadowed by a political scandal involving bridge lane closures - part of an alleged political vendetta against a Democratic mayor.

Before being elected as governor, Mr Christie served as New Jersey's top prosecutor under President George W Bush from 2002-08.

From the Guardian U.K. (Attachment 7G2)

CHRIS CHRISTIE SAYS HE’S ANTI-TRUMP – BUT DID HE SECURE A PRESIDENTIAL PARDON FOR A CRONY?

Ethics expert says ex-New Jersey governor must answer questions over George Gilmore, pardoned on Trump’s last day in office

By Martin Pengelly  Thu 8 Jun 2023 08.00 EDT

A leading US ethics expert said the former New Jersey governor Chris Christie, who this week launched a presidential campaign aimed at taking down Donald Trump, owes the American public an explanation of why and how he secured a pardon for a powerful New Jersey Republican, issued on Trump’s last day in the White House.

“We just don’t know the answer to that,” Noah Bookbinder, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), said. “And I think we should.”

Trump is the clear Republican frontrunner to face Joe Biden next year. But Christie says Trump is not fit to return to the White House, given his scandal-plagued time in office and his incitement of the January 6 Capitol attack.

Christie has said he has not spoken to Trump since before 6 January 2021, the day Trump sent supporters to the Capitol in a deadly attempt to stop the certification of his defeat by Biden.

But 14 days after the attack, on Trump’s last day in power, a 143-strong list of pardons and commutations included a name supported by Christie.

Alongside Trump allies Steve Bannon and Ken Kurson, and the rapper Lil Wayne, was George Gilmore, a lawyer and Republican party chair in Ocean county, New Jersey.

Gilmore was indicted on federal tax charges in January 2020. He denied wrongdoing, his attorney claiming his lavish spending on collectibles was evidence of a hoarding disorder. Nonetheless, Gilmore was sentenced to a year and a day in prison and three years of supervised release, a conviction upheld on appeal that December.

Gilmore avoided prison time. Announcing his pardon, the White House saluted his “important civic contributions over his career in New Jersey”. It also listed his supporters. The first two named were Christie and Bill Stepien.

Stepien managed Trump’s re-election campaign. Before that, he worked in New Jersey for Christie, including when Christie narrowly won in 2009 and during his landslide re-election in 2013.

By the time Christie left office, though, he and Stepien were under the shadow of the Bridgegate scandal, concerning political payback against a Democratic mayor.

Notably, Christie ran for president in 2016 but failed to make an impact. Swiftly endorsing Trump, he stuck with him even after being fired from Trump’s transition, which Christie says was due to bad blood with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and adviser.

Chris Christie endorses Donald Trump for president Guardian

Stepien, Politico said, saw his own career threatened by Bridgegate but “kept a lifeline of income from the [Republican] super pac GOPAC, thanks to Gilmore’s help. That connection helped secure Gilmore the Trump pardon.”

Stepien also worked in the Trump White House. He is now a founding partner of a consultancy, National Public Affairs, whose website features Trump allies including Markwayne Mullin, an Oklahoma senator; Harriet Hageman, who defeated Liz Cheney in 2022 for her Wyoming House seat; and Ronny Jackson, a White House doctor turned Texas congressman.

In February, Politico described Gilmore’s own political resurrection, including a return as Ocean county Republican chair made possible, the site said, because Gilmore “had … a key connection to Trump world”.

Stepien told Politico that Gilmore would once again play a key role in elections in New Jersey: “One out of every seven votes will come out of Ocean county in the next statewide primary. So if you’re not spending time trying to build a relationship with George and his team, I have to question your strategy.”

Christie, who became an analyst for ABC and wrote two books, has made his political strategy clear: he is going to take the game to Trump.

Bookbinder said: “I think it’s a good thing that Christie is calling out Donald Trump on his role in inciting an insurrection and on his undercutting of democracy. For that to be coming from people who were insiders is powerful.

“That said, I think Chris Christie needs to answer for his [having been] someone who was close to Trump when Trump’s abuses were very much apparent, really from the beginning, and from before Donald Trump became president, and in carrying through to the end of the presidency.

“We don’t know when Christie made [or supported the pardon] request [for Gilmore]. It certainly may be that all contacts were before January 6, when Christie at least says that he cut off Trump completely. But we just don’t know the answer to that,” he added.

“And I think we should, because to the extent that he is saying he was outraged by Trump’s anti-democratic abuses and had nothing to do with them, that would not be consistent with continuing to ask for favours that might seem to go around the normal pardon process. And that’s something that I think it’s appropriate for the public to have answers to.”

The pardon power, Bookbinder said, is “meant to be broad, as a check on runaway prosecutorial power”. Pardons and acts of clemency as a president leaves office are common.

But Trump’s pardons proved as controversial as his presidency, amid reports of aides including Rudy Giuliani seeking to profit and with those pardoned including the likes of Bannon and Roger Stone, who might otherwise have testified against Trump.

Pointing to the need to lessen abuse of the pardon power, Bookbinder said: “You can’t see Donald Trump as an existential threat to democracy, which I believe he is, while also still having dealings with him and his circle. You can’t do both at once.

“And so it is reasonable to ask Chris Christie if that’s what he is doing, or if that’s what he has been doing – [if he has] a good answer to that. We should, at least, have a right to know that answer.”

A Christie spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.

From NY Times (Attachment 7G3)

FOR CHRISTIE, WINNING WOULD BE GREAT. BEATING TRUMP WOULD BE A CLOSE SECOND.

The former New Jersey governor’s presidential bid is a long shot. But if he takes out Donald J. Trump along the way, Chris Christie may consider it a victory.

By Shane Goldmacher June 6, 202 Updated 5:35 p.m. ET

Chris Christie is embarking on a mission that even some of his fiercest allies must squint to see ending in the White House.

But Mr. Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who is now 60 and more than five years removed from holding elected office, has been undeterred, talking up an undertaking that he frames as almost as important as winning the presidency: extricating the Republican Party from the grip of Donald J. Trump.

“You need to think about who’s got the skill to do that and who’s got the guts to do it because it’s not going to end nicely no matter what,” Mr. Christie said in March at the same New Hampshire college where he plans to announce his long-shot bid on Tuesday.

“His end,” he said of the former president, “will not be a calm and quiet conclusion.”

Mr. Christie, who filed the paperwork for his campaign on Tuesday afternoon, has cast himself as the one candidate unafraid to give voice to the frustrations of Republicans who have watched Mr. Trump transform the party and have had enough — either of the ideological direction or the years of compounding electoral losses.

For Mr. Christie — who lent crucial legitimacy to Mr. Trump’s then-celebrity campaign by endorsing him after his own 2016 presidential campaign failed — it is quite the reversal. After helping to fuel Mr. Trump’s rise, Mr. Christie has now set out to author his downfall.

The question is whether there is any market for what he is selling inside a Republican Party with whom Mr. Trump remains overwhelmingly popular.

“Just being like ‘I’m the kamikaze candidate’ — I’m not sure that’s going to play,” said Sean Spicer, the former White House press secretary to Mr. Trump. “For those people who don’t like Trump because of the mean tweets, are they going to like the guy who is mean about Donald Trump?”

Mr. Christie’s flaws as an anti-Trump messenger are manifest. For almost all of Mr. Trump’s four years in the White House, Mr. Christie stood by the president — even catching a near-fatal Covid-19 infection during debate preparations in the fall of 2020 — only breaking with him over his stolen election lie and then the violence of Jan. 6, 2021.

The coming campaign, then, is expected to be something of a redemption tour. Pulled by the allure of the presidency for more than a decade — his decision not to run in 2012 at the peak of his popularity has been the subject of widespread second-guessing — he begins another run unburdened by expectations.

Yes, he is trying to win. He has said he would not run unless he saw a pathway to victory. (“I’m not a paid assassin,” he told Politico.) But he also wants to turn the party from Mr. Trump.

“He won’t like it, but he’s a loser. It’s that simple,” Mr. Christie said of Mr. Trump in an interview last year, shortly after the disappointing midterm election for Republicans.

It’s the kind of quotable line and anti-Trump message that has turned a number of breakaway Republicans into CNN commentators or MSNBC stars and also made them former elected officials.

Central to Mr. Christie’s pitch to disaffected Republicans is his debating skill. The most memorable achievement of his 2016 bid was his takedown of Senator Marco Rubio of Florida.

“You’d better have somebody on that stage who can do to him what I did to Marco,” he said at his March event, regaling the crowd with the story of his bruising confrontation with Mr. Rubio. “Because that’s the only thing that’s going to defeat Donald Trump.”

The first challenge for Mr. Christie, however, won’t be facing Mr. Trump. It will be qualifying for the debate stage. The Republican National Committee’s threshold of 40,000 donors across 20 states could prove especially arduous for a candidate without a small-donor following and whose anti-Trump message seems more likely to lure Democratic contributors than conservative ones.

So far, Mr. Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Vivek Ramaswamy, a self-funding businessman, have announced that they have hit that threshold. (There is also a 1 percent polling requirement.)

Mr. Spicer, who later hosted a program on Newsmax, the right-wing cable network, noted that Mr. Christie “hasn’t exactly been on conservative media” to maintain a following on the right. “He’s hanging out on ABC,” Mr. Spicer said of the mainstream news network where Mr. Christie has been a paid commentator.

Quick with a quote and savvy about the media — Mr. Christie turned snapping at reporters into a selling point for the G.O.P. base a decade before Mr. DeSantis — he may be banking on the thirst of news organizations for a frontal and colorful fight with Mr. Trump.

After Mr. Trump’s recent town hall on CNN, when he would not say whether he was hoping Ukraine would win the war against Russia, Mr. Christie slashed him as “a puppet of Putin.”

Yet even the relatively small faction of Republicans opposed to returning Mr. Trump to power may be leery of Mr. Christie. He not only provided a key early endorsement in 2016, he led his presidential transition, and was passed over for some top jobs while serving as an informal adviser and debate coach through the 2020 election.

“Now you found Jesus?” questioned Rick Wilson, who was an outspoken Republican critic of Mr. Trump before leaving the party entirely. “And now you’re going to be the guy to take the fight to Trump?”

“The credibility factor of Christie as a Trump antagonist is somewhere around zero,” Mr. Wilson said.

Early polling shows that Mr. Christie faces perhaps an even steeper uphill climb than other candidates who are polling with low single-digit support. He received 2 percent in a late May CNN poll, for instance, tied for fifth place with Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina.

But of all the Republican candidates in the poll, the highest share — 60 percent — said Mr. Christie was someone they would not support under any circumstance. That figure was 15 percent for Mr. DeSantis and 16 percent for Mr. Trump.

“You look at it objectively, it’s hard to see a clear lane for Chris Christie, being a Trump opponent and then a Trump acolyte and now a Trump opponent again,” said Neil Newhouse, a Republican pollster who is unaligned in the 2024 race, though some partners at his firm are working with Mr. DeSantis. “There’s not a lot of room in the Republican electorate for that right now.”

Still, in an increasingly crowded field of Republicans — former Vice President Mike Pence and Gov. Doug Burgum of North Dakota are also expected to join the race this week — the Christie team sees opportunity by being the lone candidate interested in breaking so clearly with Mr. Trump.

Other lower-polling candidates have avoided criticizing the former president aggressively, in an attempt not to turn off his supporters. Some, like Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and governor of South Carolina, have preferred to take shots at Mr. DeSantis, vying to emerge as the leading Trump alternative by tackling him first. But Mr. Christie’s advisers see the path to the nomination running through Mr. Trump.

His supporters have organized a super PAC, Tell It Like It Is, led by a number of veteran Republicans operatives. And Mr. Christie’s decision to begin in New Hampshire is a sign of the state’s central role in his political calculus, where he also based much of his 2016 campaigning, when he held more than 100 town halls. On Tuesday, he is expected to flesh out his vision for the nation in greater detail.

But there are widespread doubts about how far Mr. Christie’s designs go beyond knocking down Mr. Trump. In an editorial on the eve of his kickoff, The Wall Street Journal’s editorial board wondered if the candidate might have an unintended impact on the race.

“If Mr. Christie isn’t a guided missile aimed at Mr. Trump, is he an unguided one, liable to blow up, say, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis?” the editorial board wrote.

Sean Hannity, the influential Fox News host, recently questioned whether he even wanted to give Mr. Christie airtime. “You’re only getting in this race because you hate Donald Trump and want to bludgeon Donald Trump,” Mr. Hannity said on air. “I don’t see Chris Christie actually wanting to run and win the nomination. He views it as his role to be the enforcer and to attack Trump.”

Mr. Trump posted the clip on his social media site, Truth Social.

Maggie Haberman contributed reporting.

Shane Goldmacher is a national political reporter and was previously the chief political correspondent for the Metro desk. Before joining The Times, he worked at Politico, where he covered national Republican politics and the 2016 presidential campaign. 

From the Guardian U.K. (Attachment 7G4)

CHRIS CHRISTIE JUST WANTS TO ‘BLUDGEON’ TRUMP, FOX NEWS’S HANNITY COMPLAINS

Sean Hannity says ex-New Jersey governor lacks ‘inspiring agenda’ as he prepares new presidential run

By Martin Pengelly in New York Sun 4 Jun 2023 01.00 EDT

Chris Christie has promised to take the fight to Donald Trump when he launches a long-shot Republican presidential campaign next week, but he seems likely to have to do so without help from one key voice at Fox News.

The former New Jersey governor just wants to “bludgeon” Trump, the prime-time host and close Trump ally Sean Hannity said on Friday, adding that he did not want to give Christie any airtime.

“I have no problem giving airtime to any of the candidates who want to come on and give their point of view,” Hannity said.

“But I’m looking at Chris Christie, he left office as governor of New Jersey, 13% approval rating, 14% in another poll, and I’m looking at this and I’m saying, ‘OK, you’re only getting in this race ’cause you hate Donald Trump and want to bludgeon Donald Trump.’

“I don’t see Chris Christie actually wanting to run and win the nomination. He views it as his role to be the enforcer and to attack Trump.

“That’s not a very inspiring agenda, and I don’t even know if I’m interested in facilitating or listening to him babble on when he left office with nobody in New Jersey even liking him.”

Hannity facilitated a friendly hearing for Trump this week, hosting a recorded Iowa town hall.

As broadcast, the event did not reference Trump’s $5m penalty for sexual abuse and defamation of the writer E Jean Carroll or his lies about electoral fraud, the broadcast of which cost Fox $787.5m in a suit brought by Dominion Voting Systems and which remains at issue in a suit from Smartmatic, another election machines company.

Christie took office in New Jersey in 2009 but suffered in Republican eyes first when he was seen to be too close to Barack Obama after Superstorm Sandy, then when he became ensnared in the “Bridgegate” scandal over political payback.

On leaving office in 2015, Christie’s approval ratings were at historic lows. He ran for president in 2016 but only made an impact with a debate-stage destruction of the Florida senator Marco Rubio.

Quick to endorse Trump, Christie stayed loyal even after he was fired from planning the White House transition which Christie has said was over bad blood with Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law whose father Christie helped jail.

Christie became an ABC analyst and wrote two books, a memoir and a prescription for how Republicans could win back power. He broke from Trump after the deadly January 6 Capitol attack, which Trump incited in service of his lie that the 2020 election was stolen.

In his second book, Republican Rescue, Christie said his party needed to “renounce the conspiracy theories and truth deniers, the ones who know better and the ones who are just plain nuts”.

Republicans have not done so. Trump dominates polling despite unprecedented legal jeopardy including criminal charges in New York, over a hush-money payment, and potential indictments in state and federal investigations of his election subversion.

Though Christie has denied he is a “paid assassin”, aiming to take Trump down, he has made plain that he hopes to put his pugilistic political skills to good use.

Trump, Christie told Politico, “can’t be a credible figure on the world stage; he can’t be a credible figure interacting with Congress; he will get nothing done”.

Trump’s vulnerabilities, Christie said, needed to be “called out … by somebody who knows him. Nobody knows Donald Trump better than I do.”

An unnamed former Republican candidate said: “No one else has the balls to do it.”

The pretenders...

Vivak Ramaswamy (H)

From the BBC (Attachment 7H1)

Vivek Ramaswamy, 37, launched his dark-horse White House bid during a late February appearance on the Fox News channel.

An Indian-American biotech entrepreneur with no previous political experience, he was a regular fixture on Fox host Tucker Carlson's daily programme, formerly the most-watched cable news show in the US.

The Harvard and Yale graduate argues the country is in the midst of a national identity crisis driven by a decline in faith, patriotism and meritocracy.

He ran a pharmaceutical company from 2014 to 2021, then co-founded Strive Asset Management, which shirks the "divisive" environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) framework and offers itself as an alternative to large firms like Blackrock.

Mr Ramaswamy is also the author of Woke, Inc.: Inside Corporate America's Social Justice Scam.

From the NPR (Attachment 7H2)

WHO IS VIVEK RAMASWAMY, THE 37-YEAR-OLD ENTREPRENEUR AND GOP PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL?

By Susan Davis and Asma Khalid May 19, 20235:00 AM ET

Vivek Ramaswamy, a political newcomer and former pharmaceutical executive, describes himself as a nationalist who believes that America needs to rebuild its sense of civic pride.

"I will unapologetically embrace and advance the ideals that this nation was founded on," Ramaswamy said in a conversation with The NPR Politics Podcast. "That is distinct from an opposite movement in this country, which increasingly wishes to apologize for a nation founded on those ideals, to apologize or moderate free speech or meritocracy or the rule of law evenly applied, or the idea that citizens can be trusted to sort out their differences on questions like climate change or racial equity."

"Maybe you would classify me as a nationalist," he said. "I think it's a label I'm willing to wear. I don't think that that has to be a bad word. As long as it's a nationalism built around the ideals that set a nation into motion, that can actually unite us as a country."

Here are some key takeaways from the conversation, which has been edited for length and clarity.

Interview Highlights

Born and raised in Ohio to parents who emigrated from India, Ramaswamy says seeking the presidency is about reviving a sense of national identity.

I'm not looking at this as building my own career. I'm looking at a need in our country and a job that needs to be done that I see very few people stepping up to actually deliver, which is to answer what it even means to be an American today — to revive our missing national identity, especially in the next generation of Americans.

We have completely lost our sense of civic pride, civic identity, civic duty, what it means to be a citizen of this nation. We have lost all sense of that. And I think a lot of our economic struggles and our foreign policy struggles start from that loss of American identity, that loss of civic pride. And so the reason I'm running for president is I do have a vision of what it means to be a citizen of this country. I've lived the full arc of the American dream.

2024 Republican presidential candidates: A list of who is or may be running

He rejects the notion that "diversity is our strength" and believes that society has become too focused on race and sexual identity.

The thing about American identity that's beautiful to me is that it calls upon our distinctive humanity. The thing that makes us a human being rather than an animal is the fact that we can embrace ideals. I think that this alternative worldview of identity — grounded not in the ideals that we share in common, but rather in the genetic attributes we inherit on the day we're born — causes us to see ourselves as less than human, as just the sum total of those genetic attributes. And I just believe that — for us as human beings, for us as Americans — there is more to us.

The most interesting part of us is not our gender identity or the shade of melanin that we have on a given day. It is the set of values that unite us together as a people. And so I grew up into a generation where I was taught — we were all taught, I think — to believe that diversity is our strength. I reject that vision. I don't think our diversity is our strength. I think our strength is what unites us across that diversity. That is not America to me. And it's the America I see sometimes today. But it's not the America I know. It's not the America that I learned to pledge allegiance to as a kid.

Ramaswamy acknowledges that racist policies have existed at times in American history and he's "open to discussing" what role the government should play in addressing enduring social and racial inequality.

You'd have to have your head in the sand to read our history and not understand that there have been many points in our national history when we have been less than perfect and living up to our ideals. I mean, we had slavery in this country, right? We had even a period after slavery in the Reconstruction Era where voting rights weren't fully secured for Black Americans, for women, until, you know, that was constitutionally ordained in the later amendment. So, of course. I mean, this is obvious. I don't think there's an American today who believes these things to be false. I think that we all agree on this.

However, I think that at some point we're going to have to decide how we move on as a nation. And I think something peculiar has happened in the last few years in particular — it's when we get closest to the promised land that we become even more vehement in our claims that somehow we're systemically racist and misogynistic and homophobic and transphobic, right?

If you went back to 1860, if you went back to 1960 and then fast forwarded to a state of affairs today where no matter what your skin color is, who you marry, if you marry, whatever you choose to wear, whether you're a man or a woman, you can still vote in this country. You can still enjoy civil rights in this country. They would say we have reached the promised land.

He says as a practicing Hindu, he shares a set of Judeo-Christian values with evangelical voters.

I'm not here to convince you that I'm a Christian because I'm not. But what I am here to convince you of is the truth that we still share those same Judeo-Christian values in common. And I live my life accordingly.

I was raised in a two-parent household with the focus on education, with a focus on God, with a nuclear family, as the unit of governance that mattered most to us. That showed us that the love of family opens you, opens your heart up to the love of God. And we raise our two children, my wife and I do, in the same way. We live our lives according to Christian values.

And I'm not running to be somebody's pastor. I'm running to be the president. But I'm running to be a president who recognizes that we are one nation under God, that recognizes the Judeo-Christian values on which this country was founded. Values that I also deeply share.

More than half of Republicans support Christian nationalism, according to a new survey

I can stand up for those values without anybody accusing me of being a Christian nationalist or whatever labels one might use. I think that that actually puts me in a better position to represent the values that undergird this country, including Judeo-Christian values that we share in common better than someone who's shy about it or feels pressure to apologize for it, because it's not popular in our culture to be a Christian.

What I tell people is that actually I think I can make it cool to revive those values, those Christian values, family values in our culture again, because even as a religious Hindu, we grew up subscribing to those same values grounded in what it means to be a member of a family, a father and a household.

He acknowledges that President Biden was lawfully elected, but he is upset about information censored by social media companies ahead of the election.

I think that in the technical sense of that word, [Joe Biden is] obviously the lawfully elected president.

Facebook And Twitter Limit Sharing 'New York Post' Story About Joe Biden

I'm deeply bothered by the Hunter Biden laptop story suppression that really was in the name of suppressing misinformation, actually created misinformation across the news media. I have a lot of issues with the suppression of information by social media companies and internet companies that led up to that election.

But in the technical sense of, you know, do I think that there was large-scale ballot fraud or whatever that changed the election outcome based on how the votes were counted? I have seen no evidence of that.

No federal abortion restrictions — the self-described "pro-life" candidate says it is an issue for the states.

I would not [sign federal abortion restrictions into law]. But I am pro-life.

For years, I was an opponent of Roe v. Wade. I think it was constitutionally wrongly decided. I think Dobbs was correct to overturn it because the federal government has no business here. Murder laws are governed by the states. So if abortion is a form of murder, which is the pro-life position, and I am pro-life, then it would make no sense for that to be the one law that was still governed at the federal level.

But a federal ban violates the constitutional principle that led us to actually overturn Roe v. Wade, which is why I would not sign a federal abortion ban.

Ramaswamy is pushing to amend the Constitution to increase the voting age to 25 – with earlier ballot access in exchange for service and civic engagement

I think we have a loss of civic pride in our country. I think people, young people included, do not value a country that they simply inherit. I think we value a country that we have a stake in building. And I think that asking a young person, asking any citizen to know something about the country before voting, I think is a perfectly reasonable condition.

We already ask immigrants to know this, by the way, so it's not making up some new test — no matter your skin color. If you've been a taxpaying green card holder for 10 years, you still have to pass that test to vote. I don't think it's unreasonable to ask a young American to do the same thing, or else if they don't want to do that, to at least serve for six months in the military or a first responder role or else to have some life experience as an adult, at least by the age of 25.

And the good news is it requires a constitutional amendment which would require broad, widespread national consensus to ever get passed which I think is appropriate. But I'm looking to actually elevate that debate because our revival of civic pride and civic duty isn't going to happen automatically. It's going to happen because we make it so.

Will he support another Republican nominee? Time will tell.

I have to think about it. I want to see the conditions of who's under what commitments, you know, the conditions for the debate stage. So I'm going have to think about that.

He wants to expand the "America First" movement beyond Donald Trump

I wouldn't call myself a disciple of Donald Trump, no. I would embrace the label of "America First" to point out that America first is bigger than Donald Trump. It does not belong to Donald Trump. It doesn't belong to me. Ronald Reagan used the phrase, others have used it throughout American history, too.

It's about reviving the ideals that the country was founded on and to actually advance those in the forms of policy. And so I think I am taking that far further than Trump did. But I also expect and hope to unite the country in the process if we're doing it based on principled footing rather than vengeance and grievance. And I just truly do believe that we don't have to be a nation in inevitable national decline. And we don't have to be Rome. We don't have to be Carthage.

I think we as a nation are just a little young, actually going through our own version of adolescence, figuring out who we're going to be when we grow up. So that national identity crisis then becomes natural, unsurprising. You go through an identity crisis when you go through adolescence, so too it is for our nation. But when you view it that way, I think it just becomes obvious that I think it's possible our best days can still truly actually be ahead of us, that we might not be in decline.

This conversation was edited by Eric McDaniel and Muthoni Muturi. It was produced by Elena Moore and Casey Morell.

Larry Elder (I)

From the BBC (Attachment 7I1)

The conservative talk radio host launched an unsuccessful campaign for California governor in 2021, pledging to repeal mask and vaccine mandates.

A lawyer who grew up in Los Angeles' South Central neighbourhood, Mr Elder, 71, has slammed Democrats' "woke" agenda and the idea of systemic racism.

He announced his long-shot bid by tweeting: "America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable."

From Reuters (Attachment 7I2)

RIGHT-WING RADIO HOST ELDER ANNOUNCES 2024 REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL BID

April 21, 2023 9:22 AM EDT Updated 2 months ago

WASHINGTON, April 21 (Reuters) - Right-wing U.S. radio host Larry Elder, a Black lawyer who has denied there is systemic racism in America, has announced his candidacy for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

"America is in decline, but this decline is not inevitable. We can enter a new American Golden Age, but we must choose a leader who can bring us there," Elder said in a Twitter post late on Thursday.

Elder emerged as the most serious challenger in California's 2021 recall election with a message that Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom had botched his response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Newsom handily beat back a Republican campaign to oust him from office in the deeply Democratic state.

Elder defines himself as "an American who is Black" rather than African American, telling The Hill in a 2019 interview: "The idea that there's systemic racism against Black people is a lie."

He has said his views grew out of his parents' contention that he could overcome racism with hard work and determination.

Elder calls himself the "Sage from South Central," referring to a largely African American district of Los Angeles. He left Los Angeles after high school, attended Brown University in Rhode Island and earned a law degree at the University of Michigan.

After practicing law in Cleveland, he returned to Los Angeles in the 1990s and began his career as a radio host, later becoming syndicated nationwide.

He joins a handful of Republicans who have announced their candidacies as they seek to win the White House back from Democrat Joe Biden, who is expected to make a formal announcement on his re-election bid next week.

They include former President Donald Trump, Former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, investor Vivek Ramaswamy and former Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Tim Scott of South Carolina, the only Black Republican serving in the U.S. Senate, has formed an exploratory committee.

Reporting by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Nick Macfie

Glenn Youngkin (J)

From the BBC (Attachment 7J1)

Glenn Youngkin thrilled the Republican Party when he won the governor's race in Virginia in 2021. A political novice who spent 25 years at the Carlyle Group private equity firm, he beat a man who had been in Democratic politics since the 1980s.

In a state that has trended toward Democrats in recent years, Mr Youngkin criticised partisan politics as "too toxic" and campaigned on a tone of bipartisanship.

But the 55-year-old has waded into hot-button topics since his first day in charge, from revoking the state's Covid-19 restrictions to banning the teaching of critical race theory in schools.

After saying he would not join the 2024 presidential race, Mr Youngkin is reportedly reconsidering a run amid donor interest in a non-Trump candidate.

Perry Johnon (K)

From the BBC (Attachment 7K1)

Perry Johnson, a 75-year-old businessman who tried to run for Michigan governor last year but was disqualified, joined the race in March.

He is touting a plan to reignite the economy by shaving 2% in federal spending every year.

Steve Laffey (L)

From the BBC (Attachment 7L1)

The former mayor of Cranston, Rhode Island, Steve Laffey announced his candidacy for president on Feb. 2.

In a statement, he said he wanted to confront the country's issues.

"Our country has done the equivalent of using Band-Aids in place of major surgery. Somehow, we have 'gotten by,'" he said. "For the first time in a generation, we must directly confront our problems."

Laffey is a long shot for the Oval Office, given his relative lack of name recognition or statewide or federal experience.

He previously made a run for Senate in 2006 in Rhode Island, against Republican Lincoln Chafee, who was ultimately defeated by Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse.

Doug Burgum (M)

From 538 (Attachment 7M1)

WHY DOUG BURGUM COULD SURPRISE IN THE 2024 REPUBLICAN PRIMARY

By Nathaniel Rakich JUN. 7, 2023, AT 10:39 AM

It’s high season for glossy campaign videos and American flag bunting. In the last 16 hours, three Republicans have announced they’re running for president — an unfortunate syzygy for candidates whose meticulously crafted messages are now in danger of getting drowned out. And with his virtually nonexistent national profile, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum likely has the most to lose from sharing the news cycle with former Vice President Mike Pence and former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. On the other hand, he may not care too much: Thanks to his deep pockets (and the other candidates’ lackluster prospects), Burgum may have the most upside of the three.

You could be forgiven for never having heard of Burgum before. He’s governor of the nation’s fourth-smallest state by population, and until a couple weeks ago, virtually no one outside of North Dakota was talking about him as a potential future president. (Those reading in-state media, though, were hip to it as early as March.) The first polls to include him as an option in the primary were released on May 24 (he received 1 percent in one and 0 percent in the other), and Morning Consult’s latest poll found that only 23 percent of potential Republican primary voters knew enough about him to form an opinion of him.

So why does Burgum think he has a shot at the White House? Maybe because he’s gone from anonymous dark horse to Republican primary winner once before. In 2016, everyone assumed that then-North Dakota Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem would be the state’s next governor. He led Burgum 59 percent to 10 percent in a February poll of the GOP primary, and he received the official endorsement of the North Dakota Republican Party at the party convention in April. But in the June primary, Burgum defeated Stenehjem 59 percent to 39 percent.

How did he pull it off? A big part of it was money. Burgum is a software executive — and a very successful one. He was an early investor in Great Plains Software, which he sold to Microsoft in 2001 for $1.1 billion. With the help of one William Gates of Seattle, Washington, he outraised Stenehjem at least $966,000 to $752,000 in that 2016 primary. And we say “at least” because that number doesn’t include whatever Burgum self-funded — at the time, North Dakota law didn’t require candidates to disclose contributions they made to their own campaign.

Burgum is reportedly going to use the same playbook in 2024: A source told ABC News that he will self-fund his presidential campaign. Considering that his net worth as of last year was reportedly more than $1 billion, he could probably pump several million dollars into the race without breaking a sweat. And that would immediately make him one of the primary’s top fundraisers. It was a couple months ago, but as of March 31, only two Republicans had raised more than $12 million or had at least that much money in the bank.¹ (See Attachment 7N1, On The Money below)

Who Is Doug Burgum, The North DakotaGovernor Running For President?

According to political science research, the connection between spending money and winning elections isn’t automatic — just ask former New York City mayor and 2020 presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg. But one of the contexts in which campaign cash can be very helpful is early on in a primary when the candidate is not very well known. This, of course, is exactly Burgum’s situation. His lack of name recognition is actually an asset when paired with his fat wallet; it will allow him to define himself however he wants for a national audience. As governor, Burgum has been a bit hard to pin down ideologically, and it will be interesting to see how he defines himself once he enters the GOP race. Will we get the wonky, temperate Burgum who geeks out over energy policy and once called an anti-LGBTQ+ resolution “hurtful and divisive”? Or the rock-ribbed conservative Burgum who signed multiple pieces of anti-transgender legislation and one of the strictest abortion bans in the country?

Now, let’s not get carried away: Burgum is very unlikely to win the actual nomination. (As you may have heard, there’s this guy named Donald Trump who has a dominant lead in both polls and endorsements, both of which have historically been pretty predictive.) But Burgum could spend enough to have a meaningful impact on the race. 

Let’s say Burgum really commits to the bit and kicks in $50 million of his own money before the end of the year. The list of presidential candidates who have raised the equivalent of $50 million in 2023 dollars by that point in the cycle is full of notable names. If they didn’t win the nomination, most of them were at least an important part of the narrative of the election cycle in which they ran.

From NBC (Attachment 7M2)

A NORTH DAKOTA GOVERNOR RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT? YOU BETCHA

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum is close to launching a campaign for president. And while he doesn't speak ill of Donald Trump or Ron DeSantis, he offers sharp contrasts.

By Henry J. Gomez May 26, 2023, 5:00 AM EDT

ARTHUR, North Dakota — The last time Doug Burgum took such a colossal risk, the software company he bought into by borrowing money against his family’s farm eventually turned into a billion-dollar deal with Microsoft that would seed his venture into politics.

Now a two-term North Dakota governor, Burgum has something even more audacious in mind: running for president in a Republican primary field that this week gained another popular two-term governor — one with a much higher profile, Florida’s Ron DeSantis.

Burgum, who is expected to launch his campaign in the coming weeks, would enter the race somewhere between afterthought and asterisk. One poll this week placed him at 1%, far behind DeSantis and front-running former President Donald Trump. 

The challenges and doubts he faced 40 years ago when he bet the farm on software aren’t unlike those Burgum, 66, faces today. Back then, there were more competitors and fewer customers than he had realized. Burgum wrestled with those parallels this week before leading a tour to the small rural town in which he grew up where his family has operated a grain elevator since 1906.

“The number of competitors in some ways was noise, because some were good, some were bad, some were whatever,” Burgum, riding shotgun in an SUV, said in an interview with NBC News — his first since his interest in a White House bid became known. “The signal was that software was going to change the world. So I had the signal right.”

Burgum’s probable candidacy — an announcement is scheduled for June 7 in Fargo, a source familiar with the plan said Friday — follows DeSantis’ struggles to assert himself as the GOP’s strongest alternative to Trump. Undeterred by a field that could soon grow even wider, Burgum has begun assembling a staff and collecting video footage that could be used for ads that the multimillionaire said he is prepared to self-fund.

“I’ve always had my own skin in the game,” Burgum said. “I’ve always felt like I would never ask others to invest if I weren’t always investing.”

Though he sidestepped questions about his would-be rivals, he made clear his message would differ from theirs and that he sees a path for himself by focusing less on culture war grievances and more on the economy, energy policy and national security.

“Everything else,” he said, “gets better if we solve those problems.”

And Burgum — who hands out medallions bearing the seal of North Dakota and a promise of gratitude and humility — consciously or not presented several sharp contrasts with the combative DeSantis.

Both governors recently signed legislation limiting abortion — North Dakota’s bill, a near-total ban with exceptions for rape and incest up to six weeks and for health of the mother after that, is more restrictive than Florida’s — and the rights of transgender people. Both also have veto-proof GOP majorities in their legislatures. But Burgum doesn’t ordinarily emphasize such topics, while DeSantis championed a bill that banned teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in classrooms up to third grade. Critics branded it the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

“Cultural issues can be handled by states, and they can be handled by school boards and local libraries and city commissions,” Burgum said. “And there are certain things that the federal government has to focus on, and that’s what our campaign is going to be about.”

At another point, Burgum recalled his defense of masks during the height of the pandemic as a plea for empathy at a time when the country had “devolved into a little bit of neighbors fighting neighbors.” (DeSantis once mocked students for wearing masks at a news conference.) Burgum also bragged about North Dakota’s youthful population gains — a testament, he said, to young families finding opportunity in the state. (DeSantis often brags about Florida being the warm-weather destination of choice for older retirees.)

Burgum prefers fashionably dark jeans to slacks and talks passionately about architecture and urban planning. From the rooftop patio of the Fargo development firm he founded, he offered a virtual tour of the city’s downtown, pointing out where power lines had been moved underground and how parking areas could be built to make better use of retail and residential space. 

While riding between Fargo and Arthur, he described himself as the kind of traditional pro-business, anti-regulation Republican that thrived more before Trump’s takeover of the party. Even so, he resisted any urge to draw more explicit distinctions and over nearly four hours never mentioned Trump.

“You wouldn’t enter a market as someone with 0% market share and lead off with criticism of the others,” he said, acknowledging his lack of name recognition. “You basically have to make the case as to why people should pay attention, why people should invest some time in getting to understand what the alternatives are.”

'What's software?'

Arthur, population 328, is little more than a half-hour drive from Fargo and takes up but a dusty 1.5 square miles.

Burgum’s family has controlled the grain elevator that towers over Main Street since Theodore Roosevelt’s presidency. It remains, after all these years, the centerpiece of a business portfolio that has ranged from the area’s first electric company to the modern advent of Big Green Egg grills and smokers.

Early on, Burgum shared his family’s entrepreneurial spirit while also asserting his independence. Drawn by the mystique of the outdoors, he spent two months hitchhiking to and around Alaska in the summer after his sophomore year at North Dakota State University. 

Senior year, with energy costs rising, he borrowed a friend’s red 1947 Chevy pickup and started a chimney-sweeping service that brought in at least $40 per job. A local newspaper published photos of him scrambling around rooftops in a top hat and tuxedo, looking like Dick Van Dyke in “Mary Poppins.” Impressed by his hustle, one of Burgum’s professors encouraged him to apply to business schools.

A family photo with Doug Burgum standing in front of his mother, Katherine Kilbourne Burgum, who had served on the Republican National Committee in the late 1960s; Burgum hitchhiking solo from Arthur to Alaska; and Burgum playing basketball.Courtesy Doug Burgum

“I did not know what an MBA was,” Burgum said. “Like, in February of my senior year, I never had heard of it.”

Each of the six schools he applied to accepted him, Burgum added. He recalled choosing Stanford University because “the brochure had palm trees on it,” and he later learned that the photos of him cleaning chimneys that he had included in his application packet had clinched his admission.

It was there, in the gateway to Silicon Valley, where he met Steve Ballmer, who would soon drop out of Stanford to join Microsoft, where he would later become CEO and preside over the company’s 2001 acquisition of Burgum’s Great Plains Software Inc.

Few could see that $1.1 billion stock deal coming in the early 1980s when Burgum made his initial investment in the Fargo-based company, which specialized in accounting software for small businesses. 

“What’s software?” cousin Rick Burgum, a longtime executive with the family’s Arthur-based companies, recalled wondering at the time.

Burgum plowed ahead. Soon other relatives, flush from the recent sale of a seed company, joined him as investors and bought out Great Plains from the original owners. Skeptics remained, and Burgum received plenty of puzzled looks as he worked to grow his business in Fargo — a backwater compared to the bubbling tech scenes in Seattle and Silicon Valley.

“You sound like an oyster fisherman trying to get a loan in Kansas City,” Burgum recalled Alan Greenspan, then the chairman of the Federal Reserve, telling him at a conference. 

Over time, the location became an easier icebreaker. “Fargo” — the 1996 film by Ethan and Joel Coen — became an instant classic with regional colloquialisms like “You betcha” and darkly comic beats that included the use of a wood chipper to dispose of a body. The movie landed around the same time that Burgum was preparing to take Great Plains through an initial public stock offering, and he couldn’t get through a meeting with prospective investors without someone asking whether it had accurately captured life in the upper Midwest.

It got to the point where “one of us would say, ‘Yeah we don’t even have paper shredders in the office — we just use wood chippers,’” Burgum said.

But the meetings were successful. Great Plains enjoyed a strong stock market debut. And by the time Ballmer and Microsoft swooped in a few years later, Great Plains had annual revenue of about $195 million and a staff of more than 2,000, Marino Eccher wrote in “Vistas and Visions: Microsoft in Fargo,” an e-book published in 2011 by The Forum, a local newspaper. Burgum stayed with the company for several years as a senior vice president. The company still maintains a large campus in Fargo. 

“People said you cannot build a software company in Fargo,” Burgum said. “So many times in my life … the risk that I’ve taken has been something where people said it can’t be done.”

Defying conventional wisdom

Until he began angling to be governor, politics had been more of a behind-the-scenes game for Burgum. His late mother, Katherine Kilbourne Burgum, was Republican National Committee member in the late 1960s, and Burgum recalls passing out her buttons — “K’s OK” — at a 1968 convention. He also served as student government president at North Dakota State.

Many doubted that Burgum would succeed. He entered the 2016 race a severe long shot, trailing badly in polls and watching the GOP establishment coalesce around a sitting attorney general. But he spent big time on the trail — making efforts to visit any town of more than 1,000 people — and big money on his campaign, easily winning the primary and general election. He was re-elected by 40 points in 2020, beating his Democratic opponent by a larger margin than Trump beat President Joe Biden in the state.

Now eyeing a presidential race already dominated by Trump, himself a wealthy businessman, and DeSantis, who has strayed from traditional GOP orthodoxy by picking fights with private-sector giants like Disney, Burgum chose his words carefully when asked about both. 

“I am not in a position to pass judgment on what other governors are doing or not doing,” Burgum said when asked about how DeSantis has talked about building a prison near Disney’s Florida theme park and other forms of retribution in a clash over LGBTQ issues. “I would say from my perspective, in North Dakota, coming from a business background, the folks that are willing to invest capital in our state, the folks that are creating the jobs in our state, the innovators and the entrepreneurs — that’s what’s driving our country forward.”

Burgum reserved his most pointed attacks for Biden, whom he called a “career politician for 50 years” and whose policies he directly criticized as anti-business. He dodged, though, when asked why he doesn’t believe Trump should be nominated again in 2024.

“The cool thing about elections in America is voters get to decide that,” he said. He added that he would back Trump if the former president wins the nomination.

“I will support anyone who’s not Joe Biden,” Burgum said.

While he has acknowledged self-funding his campaigns for governor, North Dakota filings available online don’t provide a full picture of how much Burgum contributed or loaned to the efforts. He also declined to say how much he might spend on a White House bid or how hard he plans to work a network of wealthy tech executives he’s known for years. Leaning into those connections carries risk, given that Burgum made his fortune in a Big Tech industry that today's Republican Party has vilified. (Ballmer, who now owns the Los Angeles Clippers, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who has spoken fondly of his relationship with Burgum, did not respond to requests for comment.)

“It might be a little early to talk about campaign finance questions,” Burgum said, noting that he is not an officially declared candidate.

He seemed eager, though, to once again test his entrepreneurial confidence. 

“I’ve just gotten used to the idea of people saying, ‘Well, if you’re from North Dakota, if you’re from a rural state, if you’re from someplace where it isn’t the conventional wisdom, it can’t be done,’” Burgum said. “But conventional wisdom often is not the predictor of the future that’s coming next.”

Show Us the Money (N)

From 538 (Attachment 7N1)

Only a few presidential candidates are flush with cash

Fundraising total receipts and cash on hand for Republican presidential candidates as of March 31, 2023

CANDIDATE	TOTAL RECEIPTS	CASH ON HAND
Donald Trump	$18,272,903	$13,931,948
Vivek Ramaswamy	11,418,449	9,367,288
Nikki Haley	5,125,431	4,069,549
Perry Johnson	3,763,396	2,036,476
Tim Scott	1,646,202	21,912,915

Asa Hutchinson and Ron DeSantis have not yet reported raising any money to the FEC.

SOURCE: FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Free-spending candidates do well in presidential primaries

Democratic and Republican candidates who have raised at least $50 million (in 2023 dollars) in incumbent-less presidential primaries before Jan. 1 of election years since 2000 and where they eventually finished in the primary, based on delegates won

CANDIDATE	PARTY	YEAR	TOTAL RECEIPTS	SELF-FUNDED	FINISH
Tom Steyer	D	2020	$244.8m	$240.3m	T-8th
Michael Bloomberg	D	2020	237.7	237.5	4th
Hillary Clinton	D	2008	173.1	0.0	2nd
Barack Obama	D	2008	151.9	0.0	1st
Hillary Clinton	D	2016	147.9	0.5	1st
Mitt Romney	R	2008	131.8	0.1	3rd
Steve Forbes	R	2000	129.8	120.3	4th
Bernie Sanders	D	2020	129.0	0.0	2nd
George W. Bush	R	2000	125.0	0.0	1st
Elizabeth Warren	D	2020	97.3	0.0	3rd
Bernie Sanders	D	2016	96.0	0.0	2nd
Rudy Giuliani	R	2008	90.2	0.0	T-8th
Mitt Romney	R	2012	77.0	0.0	1st
Joe Biden	D	2020	72.4	0.0	1st
Ben Carson	R	2016	69.2	0.0	5th
Howard Dean	D	2004	68.2	0.0	3rd
John Edwards	D	2008	64.8	0.0	3rd
John McCain	R	2008	61.6	0.0	1st
Ted Cruz	R	2016	60.3	0.0	2nd
Al Gore	D	2000	52.7	0.0	1st
Marco Rubio	R	2016	50.6	0.0	3rd
Bill Bradley	D	2000	50.6	0.0	2nd

Dollar figures are adjusted for inflation. Steyer and Giuliani tied for 8th place with zero delegates each.

SOURCES: FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION, DAVE LEIP’S ATLAS OF U.S. PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

The 2024 Republican primary already has a clear front-runner in Trump and a clear main alternative in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. But after that, the field is wide open; according to FiveThirtyEight’s polling average, the third-place candidate nationally right now is former Vice President Mike Pence with only 5 percent support. Burgum would need his money to give him only about a 5-percentage-point boost to become the main alternative to the main alternative. And given that DeSantis has faced questions about his awkwardness and political skills — coinciding with his national polling average falling from 30 percent on March 21 to 21 percent today — that could be a valuable place to be. 

That, to be clear, is Burgum’s best-case scenario. He may not spend $50 million — and even if he does, he may not surpass DeSantis, or even Pence. But his first barrage of spending — whether it comes immediately or in several months — will be worth watching closely. In politics, candidates who spend a ton of money eventually encounter diminishing returns — in other words, Burgum’s first $20 million spent will get him further than dollars 100-120 million. Once we see how much he is willing to spend and where he ends up once he has spent the first wave of it, we’ll know a lot more about whether Burgum is a candidate to watch.

ATTACHMENTS EIGHT (A and B) – From the New York Times

A: WHO’S RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT IN 2024?

The race begins. Four years after a historically large number of candidates ran for president, the field for the 2024 campaign is starting out small and is likely to be headlined by the same two men who ran last time: President Biden and Donald Trump. Here’s a look at some of the contenders who have entered the race so far:

President Biden. The president has cast himself as a protector of democracy and a stabilizing force after the upheaval of the Trump administration. Biden is running for re-election as the oldest person ever to hold the presidency, a subject of concern among many Democrats, though the party has publicly set aside those worries and rallied around him.

Donald Trump. The former president is running to retake the office he lost in 2020. Though somewhat diminished in influence within the Republican Party — and facing several legal investigations — he retains a large and committed base of supporters, and he could be aided in the primary by multiple challengers splitting a limited anti-Trump vote.

Ron DeSantis. The combative governor of Florida, whose official entry into the 2024 race was spoiled by a glitch-filled livestream over Twitter, has championed conservative causes and thrown a flurry of punches at America’s left. DeSantis is Trump’s strongest Republican challenger since 2016.

Mike Pence. The former vice president filed paperwork on June 5 declaring his candidacy, embarking on a long-shot campaign against Trump, his former boss. Pence was once a stalwart supporter and defender of Trump but split with him after the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

Chris Christie. The former governor of New Jersey filed paperwork on June 6 saying that he would seek the Republican nomination, setting up a rematch with Trump. In making a second run for the presidency, Christie has positioned himself as the G.O.P. hopeful who is most willing to attack the former president.

Nikki Haley. The former governor of South Carolina and U.N. ambassador under Trump has presented herself as a member of “a new generation of leadership” and emphasized her life experience as a daughter of Indian immigrants. She was long seen as a rising G.O.P. star but her allure in the party has declined amid her on-again, off-again embrace of Trump.

Tim Scott. The South Carolina senator, who joins a growing number of Republicans running as alternatives to Trump, is the first Black Republican elected to the Senate from the South since Reconstruction and has been one of his party’s most prominent voices on matters of race.

More candidates. On the G.O.P. side, Asa Hutchinson, Vivek Ramaswamy and Larry Elder are also making a run for the White House, while Marianne Williamson and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. have launched campaigns for the Democratic nomination. Cornel West announced a third-party bid. Read more about the 2024 candidates.

B: THE RUN-UP TO THE 2024 ELECTION

Ron DeSantis

· Following his ill-fated presidential debut on Twitter, the Florida governor carried out a far more traditional campaign tour in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Here are five takeaways from his trip.

· After absorbing months of attacks from former President Donald Trump, DeSantis is beginning to fire back — but carefully.

Donald Trump

· The rapidly ballooning Republican field represents a grave threat to DeSantis’s ability to consolidate the non-Trump vote. But for the former president, the more candidates the better.

· Trump used a raucous town hall meeting broadcast live on CNN to sketch out a provocative vision for what his second term in office would be like.

ATTACHMENT NINE (A) - from RCP

Latest Polls

Election Polls | GOP 2024 Polls | Dem 2024 Polls | Senate Polls | House Polls | Governor Polls | State of Union Polls

Tuesday, June 13

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	USA Today/Suffolk	Trump 48, DeSantis 23, Pence 4, Haley 4, Scott 6, Ramaswamy, Christie 2, Youngkin, Burgum 0, Elder 1, Hutchinson 1	Trump +25
2024 California Republican Presidential Primary	Emerson	Trump 53, DeSantis 19, Pence 10, Cheney, Haley 6, Scott 4, Ramaswamy 2, Christie 2, Burgum 1	Trump +34
2024 California Democratic Presidential Primary	Emerson	Biden 72, Kennedy 17, Williamson 7	Biden +55
President Biden Job Approval	Rasmussen Reports	Approve 44, Disapprove 54	Disapprove +10
President Biden Job Approval	USA Today/Suffolk	Approve 40, Disapprove 54	Disapprove +14
Direction of Country	USA Today/Suffolk	Right Direction 21, Wrong Track 66	Wrong Track +45

Monday, June 12

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	Reuters/Ipsos	Trump 43, DeSantis 22, Pence 7, Haley 3, Scott 2, Ramaswamy 3, Christie 2, Youngkin, Burgum 1, Elder, Hutchinson 0	Trump +21
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	I&I/TIPP	Trump 55, DeSantis 19, Pence 6, Haley 3, Scott 3, Ramaswamy 2, Christie 1, Youngkin 1, Burgum, Elder 0, Hutchinson 1	Trump +36
2024 Democratic Presidential Nomination	I&I/TIPP	Biden 68, Kennedy 12, Williamson 4	Biden +56
2024 Democratic Presidential Nomination	USA Today/Suffolk	Biden 58, Kennedy 15, Williamson 6	Biden +43
California Senate - Open Primary	Emerson	Schiff 15, Porter 14, Lee 6, Early 3, Resendez 3, Pierce 2	Schiff +1
Direction of Country	Rasmussen Reports	Right Direction 32, Wrong Track 61	Wrong Track +29

Sunday, June 11

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	CBS News/YouGov	Trump 61, DeSantis 23, Pence 4, Haley 3, Scott 4, Ramaswamy 1, Christie 1, Youngkin, Burgum 1, Elder 1, Hutchinson 1	Trump +38
President Biden Job Approval	CBS News/YouGov	Approve 41, Disapprove 59	Disapprove +18

Thursday, June 8

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Iowa Republican Presidential Caucus	American Greatness	Trump 39, DeSantis 24, Haley 4, Pence 4, Scott 5, Christie 2, Ramaswamy 1, Hutchinson 0	Trump +15
2024 Wisconsin Republican Presidential Primary	PPP (D)	Trump 41, DeSantis 25, Pence 8, Haley 5, Scott 5, Ramaswamy 2	Trump +16
Wisconsin Senate - Republican Primary	PPP (D)	Clarke 40, Gallagher 20, Tiffany 10, Hovde 3	Clarke +20

Wednesday, June 7

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Maine Republican Presidential Caucus	Critical Insights	Trump 59, DeSantis 27, Cheney 10, Pence 5, Haley 3, Ramaswamy 1	Trump +32
2024 Utah Republican Presidential Primary	Deseret News/Hinckley Inst.	Trump 27, DeSantis 26, Cheney 7, Haley 5, Pence 5, Ramaswamy 4, Scott 3, Hutchinson 1	Trump +1
President Biden Job Approval	Reuters/Ipsos	Approve 41, Disapprove 54	Disapprove +13

Tuesday, June 6

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Virginia Republican Presidential Primary	Roanoke College	Trump 48, DeSantis 28, Pence 7, Haley 7, Youngkin, Scott 1, Elder 1, Hutchinson 1	Trump +20
2024 California Republican Presidential Primary	PPIC	Trump 50, DeSantis 21, Pence 10, Cheney 7, Haley 3, Scott 2, Noem 2, Ramaswamy 1, Christie 1	Trump +29
California: Trump vs. Biden	PPIC	Biden 58, Trump 25	Biden +33
Virginia: Trump vs. Biden	Roanoke College	Biden 54, Trump 38	Biden +16
President Biden Job Approval	Rasmussen Reports	Approve 45, Disapprove 54	Disapprove +9

Monday, June 5

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
General Election: DeSantis vs. Biden	Rasmussen Reports	DeSantis 44, Biden 44	Tie
President Biden Job Approval	IBD/TIPP	Approve 40, Disapprove 51	Disapprove +11
Direction of Country	Rasmussen Reports	Right Direction 33, Wrong Track 60	Wrong Track +27

Friday, June 2

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Nevada Republican Presidential Caucus	American Greatness	Trump 53, DeSantis 21, Haley 3, Scott 2, Ramaswamy 2, Pence 1, Hutchinson 0, Sununu 0	Trump +32
Kentucky Governor - Cameron vs. Beshear	Cygnal (R)	Beshear 47, Cameron 47	Tie

Wednesday, May 31

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
General Election: Trump vs. Biden	Economist/YouGov	Trump 40, Biden 43	Biden +3
President Biden Job Approval	Economist/YouGov	Approve 42, Disapprove 54	Disapprove +12
Congressional Job Approval	Economist/YouGov	Approve 17, Disapprove 60	Disapprove +43
Direction of Country	Economist/YouGov	Right Direction 22, Wrong Track 68	Wrong Track +46

Tuesday, May 30

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 West Virginia Republican Presidential Primary	East Carolina U.	Trump 54, DeSantis 9, Pence 5, Scott 4, Haley 3, Ramaswamy 2, Hutchinson 2	Trump +45
West Virginia Senate - Republican Primary	East Carolina U.	Justice 53, Mooney 12, Rose 4	Justice +41
West Virginia Senate - Manchin vs. Justice	East Carolina U.	Justice 54, Manchin 32	Justice +22
West Virginia Senate - Manchin vs. Mooney	East Carolina U.	Mooney 41, Manchin 40	Mooney +1

Monday, May 29

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
Direction of Country	Rasmussen Reports	Right Direction 28, Wrong Track 67	Wrong Track +39

Sunday, May 28

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 California Republican Presidential Primary	LA Times/Berkeley IGS	Trump 44, DeSantis 26, Pence 4, Cheney 4, Haley 3, Scott 1, Noem 1, Ramaswamy 2, Christie 1	Trump +18

Friday, May 26

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 South Carolina Republican Presidential Primary	American Greatness	Trump 43, DeSantis 18, Haley 10, Scott 12, Pence 1, Sununu 1, Hutchinson 1, Ramaswamy 1	Trump +25
2024 Democratic Presidential Nomination	CNN	Biden 60, Kennedy 20, Williamson 8	Biden +40
Recommendedre from Real Clear
President Biden Job Approval	FOX News	Approve 42, Disapprove 58	Disapprove +16
President Biden Job Approval	Gallup	Approve 39, Disapprove 57	Disapprove +18
Congressional Job Approval	Gallup	Approve 20, Disapprove 77	Disapprove +57

Thursday, May 25

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Iowa Republican Presidential Caucus	Emerson	Trump 62, DeSantis 20, Haley 5, Pence 5, Ramaswamy 2, Scott 3, Hutchinson 1, Sununu 1	Trump +42
2024 Iowa Democratic Presidential Caucus	Emerson	Biden 69, Kennedy 11, Williamson 10	Biden +58
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	FOX News	Trump 53, DeSantis 20, Haley 4, Pence 5, Ramaswamy 4, Scott 2, Youngkin 1, Sununu 1, Christie 0, Elder 0, Hutchinson 0	Trump +33
2024 Democratic Presidential Nomination	FOX News	Biden 62, Kennedy 16, Williamson 8	Biden +46
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	Marquette	Trump 46, DeSantis 25, Haley 5, Pence 2, Ramaswamy 3, Scott 1, Youngkin, Sununu 1, Christie 0, Elder 1, Hutchinson 0	Trump +21
2024 Democratic Presidential Nomination	Marquette	Biden 53, Kennedy 12, Williamson 7	Biden +41
General Election: Trump vs. Biden	Marquette	Trump 52, Biden 47	Trump +5
General Election: DeSantis vs. Biden	Marquette	DeSantis 52, Biden 48	DeSantis +4
Iowa: Trump vs. Biden	Emerson	Trump 49, Biden 38	Trump +11
Iowa: DeSantis vs. Biden	Emerson	DeSantis 45, Biden 38	DeSantis +7
California Senate - Open Primary	LA Times/Berkeley IGS	Early 18, Porter 17, Schiff 14, Lee 9	Early +1
North Carolina Governor - Robinson vs. Stein	Civitas/Cygnal (R)	Robinson 42, Stein 41	Robinson +1
North Carolina Governor - Walker vs. Stein	Civitas/Cygnal (R)	Stein 39, Walker 37	Stein +2
North Carolina Governor - Folwell vs. Stein	Civitas/Cygnal (R)	Stein 39, Folwell 34	Stein +5
President Biden Job Approval	Marquette	Approve 40, Disapprove 60	Disapprove +20
Congressional Job Approval	Marquette	Approve 26, Disapprove 74	Disapprove +48

Wednesday, May 24

Race/Topic   (Click to Sort)	Poll	Results	Spread
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	CNN	Trump 53, DeSantis 26, Haley 6, Pence 6, Ramaswamy 1, Scott 2, Youngkin, Sununu 1, Christie 2, Elder 0, Hutchinson 1	Trump +27
2024 Republican Presidential Nomination	Quinnipiac	Trump 56, DeSantis 25, Haley 3, Pence 2, Ramaswamy 1, Scott 2, Youngkin 1, Sununu 1, Christie 2, Elder 1, Hutchinson 0	Trump +31
General Election: Trump vs. Biden	Quinnipiac	Trump 46, Biden 48	Biden +2
General Election: DeSantis vs. Biden	Quinnipiac	DeSantis 47, Biden 46	DeSantis +1
President Biden Job Approval	Quinnipiac	Approve 38, Disapprove 57	Disapprove +19
President Biden Job Approval	Monmouth	Approve 42, Disapprove 54	Disapprove +12
President Biden Job Approval	Economist/YouGov	Approve 48, Disapprove 50	Disapprove +2
Congressional Job Approval	Economist/YouGov	Approve 27, Disapprove 53	Disapprove +26
Congressional Job Approval	Monmouth	Approve 18, Disapprove 74	Disapprove +56
Direction of Country	Monmouth	Right Direction 16, Wrong Track 74	Wrong Track +58
Direction of Country	Economist/YouGov	Right Direction 31, Wrong Track 61	Wrong Track +30

Polling Data

Poll	Date	Trump	DeSantis	Haley	Pence	Ramaswamy	Scott	Youngkin	Sununu	Christie	Elder	Hutchinson	Spread
RCP Average	5/8 - 5/22	53.2	22.4	4.4	3.8	2.6	1.6	1.0	1.0	1.0	0.5	0.4	Trump +30.8
FOX News	5/19 - 5/22	53	20	4	5	4	2	1	1	0	0	0	Trump +33
Quinnipiac	5/18 - 5/22	56	25	3	2	1	2	1	1	2	1	0	Trump +31
CNN	5/17 - 5/20	53	26	6	6	1	2	--	1	2	0	1	Trump +27
Harvard-Harris	5/17 - 5/18	58	16	4	4	4	1	--	--	--	--	1	Trump +42
Marquette	5/8 - 5/18	46	25	5	2	3	1	--	1	0	1	0	Trump +21
Rasmussen Reports	5/11 - 5/15	62	17	5	6	2	--	--	--	--	--	3	Trump +45
Reuters/Ipsos	5/9 - 5/15	49	21	4	5	4	1	1	1	1	--	0	Trump +28
I&I/TIPP	5/3 - 5/5	55	17	4	6	4	2	--	0	0	1	1	Trump +38
ABC News/ Wash Post	4/28 - 5/3	53	25	6	6	--	4	--	--	--	--	1	Trump +28
CBS News/ YouGov	4/27 - 4/29	58	22	4	5	5	1	--	--	2	2	1	Trump +36
Emerson	4/24 - 4/25	62	16	3	7	3	--	--	--	2	--	2	Trump +46
FOX News	4/21 - 4/24	53	21	4	6	3	2	1	1	1	1	0	Trump +32
Reuters/Ipsos	4/21 - 4/24	49	23	3	6	2	--	--	1	0	1	0	Trump +26
Cygnal (R)	4/18 - 4/20	46	26	5	5	2	2	--	--	--	--	1	Trump +20
Harvard-Harris	4/18 - 4/19	55	20	4	7	2	1	--	--	--	--	0	Trump +35
NBC News	4/14 - 4/18	46	31	3	6	2	3	--	--	--	--	3	Trump +15
Wall Street Journal	4/11 - 4/17	48	24	5	1	2	3	1	1	0	--	0	Trump +24
Reuters/Ipsos	4/5 - 4/6	58	21	1	4	1	--	1	0	0	--	1	Trump +37
Reuters/Ipsos	3/31 - 4/3	48	19	6	5	--	--	0	1	2	--	--	Trump +29
Trafalgar Group (R)	3/31 - 4/2	56	23	4	4	1	1	1	0	--	--	--	Trump +33
InsiderAdvantage	3/31 - 4/1	57	24	5	4	1	0	0	1	2	--	--	Trump +33
Yahoo News**	3/30 - 3/31	52	21	5	3	1	--	0	--	2	--	--	Trump +31
I&I/TIPP	3/29 - 3/31	47	23	4	5	1	--	--	0	1	--	--	Trump +24
Cygnal (R)	3/26 - 3/27	42	29	4	6	1	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +13
FOX News	3/24 - 3/27	54	24	3	6	1	0	0	1	1	--	1	Trump +30
Quinnipiac	3/23 - 3/27	47	33	4	5	1	1	1	1	1	--	0	Trump +14
Harvard-Harris	3/22 - 3/23	50	24	5	7	0	2	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +26
Trafalgar Group (R)	3/22 - 3/25	44	30	5	5	0	1	1	0	--	--	--	Trump +14
Marquette	3/12 - 3/22	40	35	5	5	--	0	--	1	0	--	0	Trump +5
Monmouth	3/16 - 3/20	44	36	6	7	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +8
Yahoo News**	3/16 - 3/20	44	28	5	4	--	--	2	--	1	--	--	Trump +16
Reuters/Ipsos	3/14 - 3/20	44	30	3	5	--	--	1	0	--	--	--	Trump +14
Trafalgar Group (R)	3/14 - 3/19	44	32	5	5	1	2	2	1	--	--	--	Trump +12
Quinnipiac	3/9 - 3/13	46	32	5	3	0	1	0	1	1	--	0	Trump +14
CNN	3/8 - 3/12	37	39	7	6	--	2	1	2	--	--	1	DeSantis +2
I&I/TIPP	3/1 - 3/3	51	22	4	7	1	--	--	0	0	--	--	Trump +29
Yahoo News**	2/23 - 2/27	45	29	4	2	--	--	0	--	0	--	--	Trump +16
Emerson	2/24 - 2/25	55	25	5	8	--	--	--	0	--	--	--	Trump +30
Susquehanna	2/19 - 2/26	29	27	10	6	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +2
FOX News	2/19 - 2/22	43	28	7	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	0	Trump +15
Harvard-Harris	2/15 - 2/16	46	23	6	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +23
Quinnipiac	2/9 - 2/14	42	36	5	4	--	1	--	--	--	--	0	Trump +6
Reuters/Ipsos	2/6 - 2/13	43	31	4	7	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +12
Economist/YouGov	2/4 - 2/7	42	32	5	8	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +10
Yahoo News**	2/2 - 2/6	37	35	5	4	--	--	1	--	2	--	--	Trump +2
I&I/TIPP	2/1 - 2/3	50	27	1	7	--	--	--	0	1	--	--	Trump +23
Emerson	1/19 - 1/21	55	29	3	6	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +26
Harvard-Harris	1/18 - 1/19	48	28	3	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +20
Economist/YouGov	1/14 - 1/17	44	32	4	5	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +12
Yahoo News**	1/12 - 1/16	37	36	1	5	--	--	0	--	3	--	--	Trump +1
Cygnal (R)	12/12 - 12/14	40	35	4	7	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +5
Harvard-Harris	12/14 - 12/15	48	25	4	6	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +23
Economist/YouGov	11/26 - 11/29	36	30	3	8	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +6
Politico/Morning Consult	11/18 - 11/20	45	30	2	7	--	0	--	--	0	--	--	Trump +15
Emerson	11/18 - 11/19	55	25	3	8	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +30
Harvard-Harris	11/16 - 11/17	46	28	2	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +18
Politico/Morning Consult	11/10 - 11/14	47	33	1	5	--	0	--	--	0	--	--	Trump +14
Politico/Morning Consult	10/28 - 10/31	49	24	3	9	--	0	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +25
Harvard-Harris	10/12 - 10/13	55	17	2	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +38
NY Times/Siena	10/9 - 10/12	49	26	3	6	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +23
Politico/Morning Consult	9/16 - 9/18	52	19	2	8	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +33
I&I/TIPP	9/7 - 9/9	54	15	2	8	--	1	--	--	0	--	--	Trump +39
Harvard-Harris	9/7 - 9/8	59	17	2	9	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +42
Politico/Morning Consult	8/19 - 8/21	57	18	3	8	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +39
Politico/Morning Consult	8/10 - 8/10	56	18	2	8	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +38
I&I/TIPP	8/2 - 8/4	53	17	1	10	--	0	--	--	2	--	--	Trump +36
Harvard-Harris	7/27 - 7/28	52	19	5	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +33
USA Today/Suffolk	7/22 - 7/25	43	34	3	7	--	--	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +9
Politico/Morning Consult	7/15 - 7/17	53	23	2	7	--	1	--	--	0	--	--	Trump +30
Politico/Morning Consult	7/8 - 7/10	52	21	3	8	--	0	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +31
NY Times/Siena	7/5 - 7/7	49	25	6	6	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +24
Harvard-Harris	6/28 - 6/29	56	16	4	7	--	2	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +40
Emerson	6/28 - 6/29	55	20	3	9	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +35
Politico/Morning Consult	6/24 - 6/26	51	23	2	8	--	0	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +28
Politico/Morning Consult	6/4 - 6/5	51	18	4	12	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +33
Harvard-Harris	5/18 - 5/19	41	12	4	7	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +29
I&I/TIPP	4/4 - 4/6	49	15	3	13	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +34
Harvard-Harris	4/20 - 4/21	58	13	3	8	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +45
Harvard-Harris	3/23 - 3/24	59	10	3	11	--	2	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +48
Politico/Morning Consult	3/18 - 3/21	54	14	5	10	--	0	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +40
Rasmussen Reports	2/21 - 2/22	47	20	3	5	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +27
Politico/Morning Consult	1/22 - 1/23	49	14	2	13	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +35
Harvard-Harris	1/19 - 1/20	57	12	--	11	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +45
Reuters/Ipsos	12/13 - 1/17	54	11	4	8	--	--	--	--	2	--	--	Trump +43
I&I/TIPP	12/1 - 12/4	60	11	3	9	--	1	--	--	1	--	--	Trump +49
Harvard-Harris	11/30 - 12/2	67	8	4	9	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +58
Harvard-Harris	10/27 - 10/28	47	10	6	9	--	3	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +37
Politico/Morning Consult	10/8 - 10/11	47	12	3	12	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +35
Harvard-Harris	9/15 - 9/16	58	9	3	13	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +45
Emerson	8/30 - 9/1	67	10	7	6	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +57
Politico/Morning Consult	5/14 - 5/17	48	8	4	13	--	2	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +35
Harvard-Harris	2/23 - 2/25	42	--	8	18	--	3	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +24
Politico/Morning Consult	2/14 - 2/15	53	--	6	12	--	--	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +41
Politico/Morning Consult	1/8 - 1/11	42	--	5	16	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +26
Politico/Morning Consult	11/21 - 11/23	54	--	4	12	--	1	--	--	--	--	--	Trump +42

ATTACHMENT NINE (B) - from Five Thirty Eight

Polls ending yesterday

Joe Biden Approval

AVG.

Jun.6-12

1,500

LV

B Rasmussen Reports

Miranda Devine's "Laptop from Hell"

Approve

44%

54%

Disapprove

Disapprove

+10

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

Jun.9-12

337

A

B- Ipsos

Reuters

Trump

43%

22%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+21

June 11, 2023

President: general election, 2024

Jun.9-11	6,000	RV	B- Morning Consult	Biden	43%	39%	DeSantis	Biden	+4
Jun.9-11	6,000	RV	B- Morning Consult	Biden	42%	42%	Trump		EVEN

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

Jun.9-11

3,419

RV

B- Morning Consult

Trump

59%

19%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+40

June 10, 2023

Joe Biden Approval

AVG.

Jun.7-10

2,480

A

B+ YouGov

CBS News

Approve

41%

59%

Disapprove

Disapprove

+18

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

Jun.7-10

586

LV

B+ YouGov

CBS News

Trump

61%

23%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+38

Donald Trump Favorability

AVG.

Jun.9-10

910

A

B- Ipsos

ABC News

Favorable

31%

56%

Unfavorable

Unfavorable

+25

June 9, 2023

Joe Biden Approval

AVG.

Jun.5-9

1,000

RV

A- Suffolk University

USA Today

Approve

40%

54%

Disapprove

Disapprove

+14

President: general election, 2024

Jun.5-9	1,000	RV	A- Suffolk University	USA Today	Biden	33%	26%	DeSantis	Biden	+7
Jun.5-9	1,000	RV	A- Suffolk University	USA Today	Biden	34%	32%	Trump	Biden	+2

President: Democratic primary, 2024

Jun.5-9

293

LV

A- Suffolk University

USA Today

Biden

58%

15%

Kennedy

More

Biden

+43

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

Jun.5-9

245

LV

A- Suffolk University

USA Today

Trump

48%

23%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+25

June 8, 2023

President: general election, Washington, 2024

Jun.7-8	773	LV	A- Public Policy Polling	Northwest Progressive Institute	Biden	51%	39%	DeSantis	Biden	+12
Jun.7-8	773	LV	A- Public Policy Polling	Northwest Progressive Institute	Biden	53%	36%	Trump	Biden	+17

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

Jun.6-8

2,476

RV

B- Morning Consult

Trump

59%

19%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+40

Generic ballot, 2024

Jun.6-8

800

LV

B/C OnMessage

Senate Opportunity Fund

Democrat

42%

47%

Republican

Republican

+5

May 30-Jun.5

1,500

LV

B Rasmussen Reports

Matt Palumbo's "The Man Behind the Curtain"

Approve

45%

54%

Disapprove

Disapprove

+9

June 4, 2023

President: general election, 2024

Jun.2-4	6,000	RV	B- Morning Consult	Biden	43%	40%	DeSantis	Biden	+3
Jun.2-4	6,000	RV	B- Morning Consult	Biden	43%	41%	Trump	Biden	+2

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

Jun.2-4

3,545

RV

B- Morning Consult

Trump

56%

22%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+34

June 2, 2023

Joe Biden Approval

AVG.

May 31-Jun.2

1,358

A

A- TIPP Insights

Investor's Business Daily

Approve

40%

51%

Disapprove

Disapprove

+11

June 1, 2023

Joe Biden Approval

AVG.

May 29-Jun.1	1,496	RV	B/C Premise	Approve	36%	58%	Disapprove	Disapprove	+22
May 29-Jun.1	1,911	A	B/C Premise	Approve	33%	57%	Disapprove	Disapprove	+24

President: general election, 2024

May 30-Jun.1	1,012	LV	B Rasmussen Reports	Biden	44%	44%	DeSantis		EVEN
May 29-Jun.1	1,496	RV	B/C Premise	Biden	39%	38%	DeSantis	Biden	+1
May 29-Jun.1	1,911	A	B/C Premise	Biden	35%	36%	DeSantis	DeSantis	+1
May 29-Jun.1	1,496	RV	B/C Premise	Biden	42%	44%	Trump	Trump	+2
May 29-Jun.1	1,911	A	B/C Premise	Biden	38%	44%	Trump	Trump	+6

President: Democratic primary, 2024

May 29-Jun.1	706	RV	B/C Premise	Harris	24%	17%	Sanders	More	Harris	+7
May 29-Jun.1	850	A	B/C Premise	Harris	26%	16%	Sanders	More	Harris	+10

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

May 30-Jun.1			B Rasmussen Reports	Trump	58%	30%	DeSantis		Trump	+28
May 30-Jun.1	2,476	RV	B- Morning Consult	Trump	57%	23%	DeSantis	More	Trump	+34
May 29-Jun.1	563	RV	B/C Premise	Trump	72%	15%	T. Scott		Trump	+57
May 29-Jun.1	686	A	B/C Premise	Trump	73%	14%	T. Scott		Trump	+59
May 29-Jun.1	563	RV	B/C Premise	Trump	60%	31%	DeSantis		Trump	+29
May 29-Jun.1	686	A	B/C Premise	Trump	63%	28%	DeSantis		Trump	+35
May 29-Jun.1	563	RV	B/C Premise	Trump	54%	23%	DeSantis	More	Trump	+31
May 29-Jun.1	686	A	B/C Premise	Trump	57%	20%	DeSantis	More	Trump	+37

President: Republican primary, Nevada, 2024

May 30-Jun.1

500

LV

A/B National Research

American Greatness

Trump

53%

21%

DeSantis

More

Trump

+32

Ron DeSantis Favorability

AVG.

May 30-Jun.1

1,012

LV

B Rasmussen Reports

Favorable

49%

43%

Unfavorable

Favorable

+6

May 31, 2023

Joe Biden Approval

AVG.

May 31	1,500	RV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Approve	37%	51%	Disapprove	Disapprove	+14
May 27-31	1,313	RV	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Approve	42%	54%	Disapprove	Disapprove	+12
May 27-31	1,500	A	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Approve	40%	54%	Disapprove	Disapprove	+14

President: general election, 2024

May 31	1,207	LV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Harris	42%	43%	Trump	Trump	+1
May 31	1,207	LV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Biden	48%	33%	DeSantis	Biden	+15
May 31	1,207	LV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Biden	45%	41%	Trump	Biden	+4
May 31	1,500	RV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Harris	38%	39%	Trump	Trump	+1
May 31	1,500	RV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Biden	43%	30%	DeSantis	Biden	+13
May 31	1,500	RV	B/C Redfield & Wilton Strategies		Biden	40%	37%	Trump	Biden	+3
May 27-31	1,313	RV	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Biden	43%	40%	Trump	Biden	+3
May 27-31	1,500	A	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Biden	39%	39%	Trump		EVEN

President: Republican primary, 2024

AVG.

May 27-31

397

A

B+ YouGov

The Economist

Trump

52%

27%

DeSantis

Trump

+25

Donald Trump Favorability

AVG.

May 27-31	1,313	RV	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Favorable	40%	57%	Unfavorable	Unfavorable	+17
May 27-31	1,500	A	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Favorable	40%	56%	Unfavorable	Unfavorable	+16

Nikki Haley Favorability

AVG.

May 27-31	1,313	RV	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Favorable	32%	37%	Unfavorable	Unfavorable	+5
May 27-31	1,500	A	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Favorable	31%	35%	Unfavorable	Unfavorable	+4

Ron DeSantis Favorability

AVG.

May 27-31	1,313	RV	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Favorable	41%	48%	Unfavorable	Unfavorable	+7
May 27-31	1,500	A	B+ YouGov	The Economist	Favorable	38%	46%	Unfavorable	Unfavorable	+8

Polls from firms that are banned by FiveThirtyEight are not shown. Pollsters that did not release any horse-race polls within three weeks of an election since 1998 do not have a grade and are treated as a C+ by the grade filter.

When the dates of tracking polls from the same pollster overlap, only the most recent version is shown.

Notice any bugs or missing polls? Send us an email.

Design and development by Ryan Best, Aaron Bycoffe, Christopher Groskopf, Ritchie King, Ella Koeze, Dhrumil Mehta, Jasmine Mithani, Mary Radcliffe, Anna Wiederkehr and Julia Wolfe. Andrea Jones-Rooy, Dhrumil Mehta, Mary Radcliffe, Nathaniel Rakich, Derek Shan and Julia Wolfe contributed research. Editing by Sarah Frostenson. Copy editing by Jennifer Mason, Andrew Mangan and Curtis Yee.

Why Is Biden Moving To The Political Center?

The Polls Got It Right In 2022. Here Are The Pollsters To Trust.

The Polls Were Historically Accurate In 2022

Will Democrats Rally Behind President Biden In 2024?

The Model Always Had Its Doubts About The Red Wave

ATTACHMENT TEN - from USA Today

BIDEN STAYING MUM ON TRUMP INDICTMENT OVER CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS

By Maureen Groppe USA TODAY

WASHINGTON − President Joe Biden on Friday declined to weigh in on the federal indictment of Donald Trump, Biden's predecessor and the front runner for the GOP nomination to challenge his re-election bid.

“I have no comment," Biden told reporters while visiting a community college in North Carolina.

Biden also said he hasn’t spoken with Attorney General Merrick Garland about the case.

“And I’m not going to speak with him,” Biden added. 

On the flight to the state, principal deputy press secretary Olivia Dalton said the White House won't comment out of respect for the independence of the Justice Department and to protect "the integrity of their processes."

"Look, the rule of law is a bedrock principle of our democracy, and we're going to respect that," she said.

Dalton said Biden and his top aides had no advance notice of the indictment and found out about it from news reports.

Trump declared his innocence in a video statement and in posts on social media.

More than 300 classified documents were recovered more than a year after Trump left the White House, most under subpoena in June 2022 or during an FBI search in August 2022. Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith has been investigating the potential mishandling of national defense records.

A special counsel is still investigating the handling of  classified documents found at a former office space used by Biden and at his home in Wilmington, Delaware.

In Biden's case, the White House has maintained that the documents, numbering about 10, were returned to the archives the day after they were discovered by the president's lawyers.

By contrast, Trump repeatedly resisted efforts by the National Archives to recover his material, including failing to fully respond to a subpoena issued for the records by federal law enforcement authorities. That prompted the FBI to lead an unprecedented search of Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate, resulting in the seizure of the classified documents and thousands of other government records.

The indictment steps up the extraordinary situation of the Justice Department of a president seeking re-election trying to convict the current front-runner for the GOP nomination.

Biden was asked at a news conference Thursday how he would convince Americans they can trust the independence of the Justice Department when Trump repeatedly attacks it.

“Because you notice I have never once − not one single time − suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do, relative to bringing a charge or not bringing a charge,” Biden said. “I'm honest.”

Contributing: Bart Jansen

ATTACHMENT ELEVEN – From the Daily Beast

TRUMP LASHES OUT AT ‘NASTY’ PENCE IN BONKERS POST-INDICTMENT SPEECH

“Every time I fly over a blue state, I get a subpoena,” he said.

By Isabella Ramirez Published Jun. 10, 2023 7:38PM ET 

For a twice-indicted man with mounting legal woes, Donald Trump does not know how to keep his mouth shut.

In his first public appearance since his latest indictment, the former president bounced from his typical Trumpisms to ramblings on the numerous investigations against him as the Georgia Republican Convention crowd erupted in cheers on Saturday.

The federal probes, which permeated his whole speech, seemed to serve as political leverage to rally voters ahead of a packed race for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination.

“Everytime I fly over a blue state, I get a subpoena,” Trump joked. “We want him before the grand jury!”

Trump faces a 37-count indictment for seven different federal crimes over his alleged mishandling of classified documents, which were found in “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room” at Mar-a-Lago, according to the indictment.

He did not skip a beat in calling the indictment “fake” and “a political hit job,” describing the Espionage Act—one of the feds’ seven accused violations—as something that “sounds terrible” because “I’ve got a box.” As for Jack Smith, the special counsel behind the indictment, Trump labeled him “deranged” and “a thug who is in charge.”

“I was impressed. It looked so orderly and nice,” Trump said, referring to the stacks of boxes found all over his estate. “Somehow somebody turned over one of the boxes. Did you see that? I wonder who did that, did the FBI do that? Because they also did something where they put documents all over the floors and they took pictures. And they tried to pretend like I did it.”

On the 34-count indictment in Manhattan for his alleged hush-money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels, he claimed “there is no crime” and “they just want to get Donald Trump”—before going on a rant about the “Deep State” and “Communists.”

The 2024 contender also turned to the very state of his speech, Georgia, where federal prosecutors could slam him with a third indictment for meddling with the state’s 2020 presidential election votes. In a phone call, Trump allegedly pressed Georgia’s secretary of state to miraculously “find 11,780 votes” so he could overtake President Joe Biden’s lead.

Trump described the district attorney presiding over the case, Fanni Willis, as “a lunatic Marxist” who is “coming after me over a perfect phone call.”

“I had every right to complain that the election in Georgia was in my opinion rigged, that the election in Georgia was a disaster,” Trump declared as the crowd let out claps and cheers.

The election ramble ended when he summoned Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to the stage, calling her “a warrior” and “beautiful” before she gave brief fawning remarks about the 2024 Republican top-runner.

He also took a few swipes at his GOP opponents Ron DeSantis and Mike Pence. “These are sick, sick, sinister people,” Trump said of his foes. “No wonder the swamp is getting truly desperate.”

“Pence has gone down [in the polls], … sadly, because he’s a nice person, he’s trying to get nasty though so we may have to fight a different way,” Trump said of his former vice president. “All of a sudden he got a little bit nasty, Mike.”

After hopping through every cultural flashpoint possible, from “illegal aliens” to “transgender insanity” to “concealed carry,” Trump ended his speech on a bizarre and far from inspirational remark.

“Everybody’s being murdered and beat up and mugged. We’re not going to let it happen. Thank you very much everybody, it’s a great honor to be here,” he concluded.

ATTACHMENT TWELVE - From Time

DONALD TRUMP WAS JUST INDICTED IN THE CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE. HERE'S WHAT TO KNOW

BY BRIAN BENNETT  UPDATED: JUNE 8, 2023 9:30 PM EDT | ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: JUNE 8, 2023 8:05 PM EDT

Former President Donald Trump has been indicted on federal charges for his handling of classified documents and told to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday afternoon, he said on his Truth Social account Thursday night. ABC News broke into regular TV programming shortly after 7 p.m. to report that a grand jury in Florida had voted to indict Trump on multiple federal charges.

It is the first time a former president has faced federal charges. In a separate case, Trump is facing local charges in a Manhattan court for hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels made during his 2016 campaign. Trump has been told he is facing seven charges in the federal case, according to a source in contact with him. The exact charges were unclear.

Trump, who is running for another term as president and remains the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, wrote on his social media site at 7:21 pm on Thursday that he has been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m.

“The corrupt Biden Administration has informed my attorneys that I have been Indicted, seemingly over the Boxes Hoax,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I AM AN INNOCENT MAN!”

Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed Jack Smith as a special counsel in November to oversee the investigation into whether Trump broke the law by taking sensitive national-security documents when he moved out of the White House in January 2020, or obstructed the government’s efforts to retrieve them.

The FBI obtained a search warrant in August to enter Mar-a-Lago and found more than 100 classified documents. The discovery came after Trump’s advisors had said they had already conducted a “diligent search” of the property and turned over “any and all” papers marked classified. Federal officials had been negotiating with Trump for more than a year by then over the return of government documents he had taken with him to his Mar-a-Lago Club.

The federal indictment is the latest addition to Trump’s mounting legal troubles. Smith is also overseeing a separate investigation into Trump’s role in trying to overturn the 2020 election results and encourage a violent mob of supporters to enter the Capitol Building on Jan. 6, 2021, to interrupt the certification of the election results.

In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is moving forward with a case looking at Trump’s effort to reverse his 2020 loss in Georgia by encouraging state election officials to “find” votes. New York Attorney General Letitia James sued Trump in November, alleging he fraudulently overvalued his properties to insurers and bank lenders. And in Manhattan court, District Attorney Alvin Bragg, has charged Trump with 34 felony counts of falsification of business records that Bragg says were designed to hide payments intended to keep quiet his alleged affair with Daniels in the weeks before the 2016 election. Trump has called all of the investigations against him hoaxes designed to hurt him politically.

Trump has made claims that he is the victim of a politically-motivated conspiracy to keep him from returning to office an animating force of his political movement. Both while in office and in the years afterward, he used two impeachments and Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russia’s effort to help Trump win the 2016 election to energize his supporters. The top of his social media feed on Truth Social reads: “THEY’RE NOT COMING AFTER ME, THEY’RE COMING AFTER YOU—I’M JUST STANDING IN THEIR WAY!” When he was indicted in Manhattan in April, Trump raised more than $1 million in campaign funds off the news.

Within minutes of the news breaking Thursday evening, Trump’s campaign was fundraising off his latest indictment. “This is nothing but a disgusting act of Election Interference by the ruling party to ELIMINATE its opposition and amass total control over our country,” read one campaign email with the subject line “BREAKING: INDICTED” and paid for by Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee.

Trump’s allies were quick to defend the former President, and claim that the federal indictment was a play by President Joe Biden to torpedo Trump’s campaign. Earlier Thursday, Biden was asked at a press conference how he can restore Americans’ trust in the Department of Justice with Trump attacking it. “Because you’ll notice, I’ve never once, not one single time, suggested to the Justice Department what they should do or not do relative to bringing a charge or not bring a charge. I’m honest.” Biden tapped the podium twice for emphasis and walked out.

A trial date for the Manhattan case has been set for March 2024, right in the middle of the presidential campaign season. That means that Trump, who announced his intention to take back the White House in November, will be campaigning across the country while defending himself in court against two ongoing criminal cases.

Some legal experts have argued Trump is particularly vulnerable to prosecution in the documents case. “I think this one is the most damaging because not only is there so much evidence, but it goes directly to the heart of his ability to be the leader of our country,” Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School, recently told TIME. “It’s truly a complete undermining of his job if he really took government documents that don’t belong to him, if he showed people government documents that could have put our country at risk, and if he obstructed justice by not complying with a subpoena.”

Even if Trump is convicted by the special counsel, the charges against him won’t disqualify him from the presidency, according to legal experts. Under the Constitution, all natural-born citizens who are at least 35 years old and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years can run for president. There is no legal impediment to Trump continuing his presidential campaign while facing criminal charges—even if he were jailed.

“Indictment is absolutely no legal bar to him running,” says Levinson. “And a conviction is not a legal bar to him serving.”

At least two candidates with criminal convictions have run for president in the past, albeit unsuccessfully. In 1920 a candidate named Eugene Debs ran for president while in a federal prison in Atlanta as the nominee of the Socialist Party. Debs was convicted of violating the Espionage Act over an anti-war speech, and won more than 3% of the vote nationally. Lyndon LaRouche ran for president in every election between 1976 and 2004. LaRouche, a fringe candidate who embraced conspiracy theories, was convicted of tax and mail fraud in 1988 and ran his 1992 campaign from prison.

But the legalities become murkier if Trump were to win the presidency while facing impending charges or a conviction. Mishandling of classified government materials is a felony crime punishable up to 10 years in prison. Obstruction of justice is also a felony crime, with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The general view among constitutional scholars is that the need for a duly elected president to fulfill the duties of their office would take precedence over a criminal conviction and require the prison sentence to at least be put on hold. Trump could even try to pardon himself immediately upon taking office.

Trump is scheduled to appear at the Georgia Republican Convention in Columbus on Saturday. He is expected to still attend.

-With reporting from Eric Cortellessa and Nik Popli

ATTACHMENT thirteen - from the Associated Press

WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT THE TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS PROBE AS CHARGING DECISION NEARS

BY NIK POPLI  JUNE 7, 2023 2:08 PM EDT

The Justice Department may be nearing an end to its long-running investigation into former President Donald Trump’s handling of classified documents after he left the White House. A decision about whether to seek charges is expected in the coming days or weeks, former Department officials and legal experts say.

Trump’s lawyers on Monday met with Justice Department officials after requesting a meeting to discuss their concerns about the investigation. Following the visit, Trump posted a message on his social media platform, Truth Social, inveighing against a possible indictment. “How can DOJ possibly charge me, who did nothing wrong,” he wrote in all capital letters.

00:10 / 00:15

The probe, led by Justice Department Special Counsel Jack Smith, focuses on whether Trump broke the law by mishandling sensitive national-security documents after his election defeat or obstructed the government’s investigation into the matter.

In recent months, Smith’s team has reportedly concentrated on several key pieces of evidence, including an audio recording in which Trump allegedly acknowledged he kept a classified Pentagon document about a potential attack on Iran, and notes from one of his lawyers about their private interactions, which a federal judge ordered be given to investigators. A federal grand jury is expected to meet this week in Florida to hear the evidence, NBC reported.

...

It’s not clear whether prosecutors have made a decision about whether to seek a federal indictment of Trump, an unprecedented step to take against a former President. Trump is currently facing four separate criminal investigations, including another inquiry by Smith’s team into attempts by Trump and his allies to overturn his 2020 election loss, as well as his role in the events that led to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is exploring Trump’s efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election win in the state, where Trump and his allies made unfounded allegations of voter fraud.

In April, Trump became the first former President in U.S. history to face criminal charges after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg charged him with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, in connection with hush-money payments to a porn star designed to suppress information that could damage his electoral prospects in 2016. Trump has denied wrongdoing in each of the matters.

Some legal experts believe Trump is particularly vulnerable to prosecution in the documents case. “I think this one is the most damaging because not only is there so much evidence, but it goes directly to the heart of his ability to be the leader of our country,” says Jessica Levinson, a professor at Loyola Law School. “It’s truly a complete undermining of his job if he really took government documents that don’t belong to him, if he showed people government documents that could have put our country at risk, and if he obstructed justice by not complying with a subpoena.”

Here’s what to know about the inquiry:

What is the Justice Department investigating?

The Justice Department is investigating how classified documents got to the Florida home of former President Trump, and whether he sought to impede the government’s efforts to secure those documents after a subpoena was issued in May 2022 demanding their return.

The Justice Department has moved in recent months to develop a fuller picture of how the documents were stored, who had access to them, and what Trump told aides and his lawyers about the material he had and where they were kept.

The investigation stems from the discovery of more than 100 classified documents at Mar-a-Lago after Trump’s advisers said they had conducted a “diligent search” of the property in response to a subpoena and had turned over “any and all” documents with classified markings. Some of the documents seized by the FBI in a raid of his home reportedly contained extremely sensitive information.

At the heart of the investigation are two potential crimes: Possible obstruction of justice for not complying with the Justice Department’s subpoena, and possible mishandling of national security secrets for keeping classified documents in an unauthorized location.

Read More: Inside Trump’s Strategy To Turn Legal Woes Into Political Advantage.

The Washington Post reported in May that two of Trump’s employees moved boxes of papers at Mar-a-Lago the day before FBI agents and a prosecutor arrived to retrieve the documents collected in response to the subpoena.

Trump has argued repeatedly that he could take records with him after leaving the White House, even though the Presidential Records Act gives ownership to the National Archives and Records Administration. He has also claimed, without evidence, that he had “automatically” declassified the documents he took with him. “I took the documents; I’m allowed to,” Trump said at a recent CNN town hall. “I have the absolute right to do whatever I want with them.”

What evidence does the Justice Department have?

Federal prosecutors reportedly possess a recording from 2021 of the former President allegedly discussing a sensitive military document he claimed to have kept after leaving the White House. On the audio tape, Trump signaled that he was aware of his inability to declassify the document because he had already left office, according to CNN, which cited anonymous sources familiar with the investigation.

The special counsel’s office also has notes from Trump’s former lawyer, Evan Corcoran, who recorded recollections of his legal work for the former President, The New York Times has reported. The notes, which were shared with the Special Counsel, provide the Justice Department with a rare look into a lawyer’s private dealings with their client. Such interactions are typically shielded by attorney-client privilege, but a federal judge ordered Corcoran to hand over the notes because prosecutors claimed they had sufficient evidence of a crime.

Read More: The Major Investigations Into Donald Trump.

Smith’s team has other evidence at its disposal. A maintenance worker told federal prosecutors that he helped move boxes into a storage room at Mar-a-Lago a day before a Justice Department official came seeking the return of classified material, according to The New York Times. Prosecutors also subpoenaed a software company that handles all of the surveillance footage for the Trump Organization to hand over tapes from Mar-a-Lago after footage from a storage camera was found missing or unavailable.

“The leaked evidence in the hands of Special Counsel Jack Smith is pretty extraordinary,” says Kim Wehle, a professor at the University of Baltimore School of Law and former assistant U.S. attorney. “And the foregoing is just some of what we know publicly.”

Why this matters for Trump

Mishandling classified information is a federal crime that could lead to prison time. Any charges, if filed, would likely come at a politically inopportune time for Trump, who leads the pack of contenders in the 2024 Republican presidential primary.

The documents case is no slam dunk, legal experts say. To win a conviction on an obstruction-related crime, the law states that prosecutors would have to prove that Trump or his aides intentionally mishandled the material and that he did so to impede the official work of a federal investigation, which carries a high legal bar.

“Intent and knowledge on Trump’s part is what’s hard to prove,” Wehle says. “His defense would have to poke holes in the case by arguing, for example, that his employees did it without his knowledge or consent or that he believed he could declassify in his mind, possibly even after leaving office.”

Read More: The Historic—And Entirely Predictable—Indictment of Donald Trump.

The Justice Department has also alleged that Trump may have violated part of the Espionage Act—a criminal statute that protects national defense information—by keeping classified documents at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump, writing on Truth Social, called the investigation a “hoax” and claimed he did “nothing wrong.” He also compared his case with that of President Biden, who was also found to have had classified documents in his possession from his time as vice president. (A separate special counsel has been investigating how and why classified documents ended up at Biden’s home and office.)

Could Trump still run for President if convicted?

Even if Trump is convicted by the special counsel, the charges against him won’t disqualify him from the presidency, according to legal experts. Under the Constitution, all natural-born citizens who are at least 35 years old and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years can run for president. There is no legal impediment to Trump continuing his presidential campaign while facing criminal charges—even if he were jailed.

“Indictment is absolutely no legal bar to him running,” says Levinson, the law professor. “And a conviction is not a legal bar to him serving.”

At least two candidates with criminal convictions have run for president in the past, albeit unsuccessfully. In 1920 a candidate named Eugene Debs ran for president while in a federal prison in Atlanta as the nominee of the Socialist Party. Debs was convicted of violating the Espionage Act over an anti-war speech, and won more than 3% of the vote nationally. Lyndon LaRouche ran for president in every election between 1976 and 2004. LaRouche, a fringe candidate who embraced conspiracy theories, was convicted of tax and mail fraud in 1988 and ran his 1992 campaign from prison.

But the legalities become murkier if Trump were to win the presidency while facing impending charges or a conviction. Mishandling of classified government materials is a felony crime punishable up to 10 years in prison. Obstruction of justice is also a felony crime, with a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.

The general view among constitutional scholars is that the need for a duly elected president to fulfill the duties of their office would take precedence over a criminal conviction and require the prison sentence to at least be put on hold. Trump could even try to pardon himself immediately upon taking office.

ATTACHMENT FOURTEEN – from Guardian U.K.

WHAT IS THE TRUMP MAR-A-LAGO CASE ABOUT AND WHY IS IT SIGNIFICANT?

Former president for the first time faces federal criminal charges over his handling of classified documents

By Sam Levine Thu 8 Jun 2023 21.34 EDT

Donald Trump has been criminally charged over his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, one of the most significant legal developments for the former president since leaving the White House.

The case marks the first time the justice department has charged Trump and adds to the mounting legal troubles Trump faces as he seeks to return to the presidency. Here’s a breakdown of where things stand:

What is this case about?

When Donald Trump left the White House, he took documents related to his presidency with him to Mar-a-Lago, his residence in Florida. Federal law requires presidential documents to be turned over to the National Archives and Records Administration (Nara). In May of 2021, Nara discovered it was missing records from Trump’s presidency and began requesting that the former president return them. Trump’s attorneys later turned over 15 boxes of records that included 184 documents that were classified in some way. Nara referred the matter to the justice department, and the FBI began investigating in February of 2022.

Over the next few months, the FBI and justice department went about trying to retrieve additional classified documents from Mar-a-Lago. In June of 2022, Trump’s lawyers turned over 38 additional documents with classified markings. In August of 2022, the FBI conducted a raid on Mar-a-Lago and found more than 100 documents with classified markings.

The justice department has been investigating whether classified material was mishandled and whether there was obstruction of its investigation in the matter.

What is Trump charged with?

Trump is charged with wilful retention of national defense information, conspiracy to obstruct justice, withholding a document, corruptly concealing a document, concealing a document in a federal investigation, engaging in a scheme to conceal and false statements, people familiar with the matter told the Guardian.

Why are these charges significant?

This is the first time that Trump has faced federal criminal charges. The other criminal matters pending against Trump are in state courts.

The justice department is generally extremely careful when it chooses to bring cases and so the fact that prosecutors felt confident enough to indict Trump, knowing the political maelstrom that would result, is a signal of the strength of the case against him.

Where do the other criminal cases and investigations against Trump stand?

Trump was indicted by a Manhattan grand jury in March and also faces criminal charges in New York over hush money payments to Stormy Daniels.

The district attorney in Fulton county, Georgia, is also investigating Trump’s efforts to overturn the election there and has signaled charges could come this summer.

What’s some of the strongest evidence in the classified documents case?

Prosecutors obtained a 2021 recording of Trump in which he discusses a classified document in his possession dealing with a military confrontation with Iran, CNN reported earlier this month. On the recording, Trump reportedly acknowledges that the document is classified. That admission is significant because it could undercut a key defense from Trump’s team – the idea that he declassified the documents while he was president.

Prosecutors have also obtained roughly 50 pages of dictated notes from Evan Corcoran, one of Trump’s attorneys, that shed light on Trump’s response to a justice department subpoena demanding the return of any classified documents. In one instance, Corcoran recounted warning Trump that he was obligated to return every classified document in his possession.

The notes also detail Corcoran’s attempt to locate the documents at Mar-a-Lago. As he recounted, Trump employees suggested that he search the storage room at the property. When Corcoran asked if he should look anywhere else, the Guardian has reported, he was told that should be sufficient – advice that turned out to be flawed when the FBI later found classified material also in Trump’s office.

How has Trump responded?

Trump has decried the investigation as politically motivated and downplayed the significance of handling the documents. He has said he had the right to take some documents from office and did nothing different than Joe Biden and Mike Pence, both of whom had classified documents in their possession after leaving office. A separate special prosecutor is looking into Biden’s handling of classified material and justice department officials have said they will not charge Pence.

Who is leading the investigation?

The attorney general, Merrick Garland, appointed a special counsel, Jack Smith, to take over the investigation in November. Smith is a former chief prosecutor of the Hague. He is also the former head of the justice department’s public integrity section and a former federal prosecutor with experience in public corruption cases.

Is this related to January 6?

No. Smith is separately overseeing an investigation into Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Does a federal indictment prevent Trump from running for president?

No. Neither the indictment itself nor a conviction would prevent Trump from running for or winning the presidency in 2024.

And as the New York case showed, criminal charges have historically been a boon to his fundraising. The campaign announced that it had raised over $4m in the 24 hours after that indictment became public, far smashing its previous record after the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

Associated Press contributed reporting

ATTACHMENT FIFTEEN – from Time

WHAT’S IN THE TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS INDICTMENT?

BY BRIAN BENNETT JUNE 9, 2023 5:59 PM EDT

The staff at Mar-a-Lago called them his “beautiful mind boxes.”

When Donald Trump lost re-election and left the White House in January 2021, he took to his home in Palm Beach, Florida an assortment of boxes stuffed with a hodgepodge of personal mementos mixed in with the country’s closest held secrets, prosecutors alleged in a 44-page federal indictment against Trump unsealed Friday.

Trump kept hundreds of classified documents in the cardboard boxes, including information on “defense and weapons capabilities” of the U.S. military and foreign militaries, “United States nuclear programs”, “potential vulnerabilities” of the US and allies to military attack, and “plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” the indictment states.

Trump stored boxes with classified documents in “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom and a storage room,” the indictment states. When federal officials tried to get all the government documents back, Trump allegedly refused. That set off a chain of events that led to Trump becoming the first former President to be indicted on federal charges.

Trump now faces 37 counts including charges for 31 separate instances of the “willful retention of national defense information”. He is also charged with conspiracy to obstruct justice, and multiple counts related to withholding or concealing documents from a federal investigation, and a charge of making “false statements and representations.” Also charged with Trump is his long time U.S. Navy valet, Walt Nauta, who prosecutors described as a “co-conspirator”

The federal indictment includes photographs of apparently classified documents spilled on the floor at the Mar-a-Lago Club, allegations of showing secret war plans to visitors at his New Jersey club, and detailed descriptions of him allegedly working with others to hide papers from federal investigators.

Trump faces maximum sentences adding up to at least 100 years in prison and millions of dollars in fines, if convicted of the charges.

After news of the indictment broke, Trump said he is innocent and, in a message on his social media site Truth Social, called the charges part of “Greatest Witch Hunt of all time.”

Special Counsel Jack Smith made a rare appearance in front of reporters on Friday to address the unsealed charging document. He said that the decision to indict Trump was voted on by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and he invited “everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and gravity of the crimes charged.”

Smith said that violations of laws protecting national defense information “put our country at risk.” Smith pointed to the fact that Trump’s status as a former president shouldn’t factor into a decision to bring a charge, saying, “We have one set of laws in this country and they apply to everyone.”

The indictment alleges that when he moved out of the White House, Trump “caused scores of boxes, many of which contained classified documents, to be transported to The Mar-a-Lago Club” in Palm Beach, Florida where he lived. Prosecutors describe Mar-a-Lago as “an active social club” that “hosted events for tens of thousands of members and guests” in the year and a half after Trump left the White House.

The documents were produced by some of the most secretive agencies in all of government, including the CIA, the National Security Agency, the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency that analyzes images generated by the country’s most closely guarded satellite capabilities, and the Department of Energy that is responsible for safeguarding the country’s nuclear weapons stockpile.

A text exchange between two Trump employees in April 2021 appears to show that Trump had employees moving the boxes around his Mar-a-Lago Club in an apparently ad hoc and haphazard way. One employee asked if some boxes could be moved out of the Mar-a-Lago business center to make room for staff to use the room as an office. “There is a little room in the shower where his other stuff is,” wrote one Trump employee. “Anything that’s not the beautiful mind paper boxes can definitely go to storage,” wrote another employee. In December 2021, a photo allegedly taken by Nauta shows documents marked secret spilled out of the boxes on the floor of a storage room.

In one of the most potentially damning sections of the indictment, prosecutors allege that Trump showed classified documents to others on two occasions, and appeared to know that what he was showing off were government secrets. An audio recording from July 2021, has Trump telling a writer and publisher meeting with him at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, that he was showing them a plan of attack prepared by the Department of Defense. Trump says that plan is “secret” and “highly confidential.” During the conversation, Trump says “as president I could have declassified it” and “Now I can’t, you know, but this is still a secret.”

The indictment also describes a moment in August or September 2021 at Trump’s Bedminster club when Trump let a political supporter look at a classified military map. Trump showed a “representative of his political action committee a classified map related to a military operation and told the representative that he should not be showing it to the representative and that the representative should not get too close,” the indictment states.

Prosecutors also lay out details of how Trump allegedly tried to hide the documents once federal officials started to take steps to get them back, including allegedly moving some to keep them out of reach from his own lawyers looking to retrieve classified material, and allegedly causing false statements about the documents to be submitted to the FBI and grand jury.

After a grand jury issued a formal subpoena to Trump in May 2022 to produce all classified documents, the indictment describes a Trump attorney finding 38 documents marked classified after spending two and a half hours in early June 2022 sorting through boxes in a Mar-a-Lago storage room. The attorney then sealed what was found into a Redweld file folder with clear duct tape. But Trump had directed Nauta to move many boxes before the attorney’s June search, the indictment alleges.

In his remarks to reporters Friday, special counsel Smith said that the “defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.”

“My office will seek a speedy trial on this matter, consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused,” Smith said.

ATTACHMENT SIXTEEN – From Time

The Trump Classified Documents Investigation: A Timeline

BY ZOE TILLMAN / BLOOMBERG JUNE 9, 2023 1:00 AM EDT

The indictment brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith against Donald Trump marks the culmination of a two-year effort to figure out what government documents went with the former president when he left the White House — and whether any crimes were committed.

Filed under seal in federal court in Miami, the indictment was announced by Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform Thursday evening and confirmed by people familiar with the matter.

The unprecedented FBI search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home on Aug. 8, 2022, came after National Archives officials spent months trying to claw back records still in his possession. Trump’s lawyers and the U.S. Justice Department then wrangled in court over whether prosecutors could use the seized materials at all. A federal appeals court ended the fight in December, siding with the government.

Trump’s campaign filing in November signaling a third White House run prompted Attorney General Merrick Garland to appoint Smith as special counsel that month. As Smith settled in, the first half of 2023 saw a procession of grand jury witnesses, sealed subpoena fights and shakeups on Trump’s legal defense team.

Here are key milestones leading up to the indictment filed in federal court in Miami Thursday, as documented in public court filings and previous reports by Bloomberg News:

2021

Jan. 20
President Joe Biden is sworn in and Donald and Melania Trump depart Washington for their Mar-a-Lago resort home in Palm Beach, Florida.

May 6
The National Archives notifies former Trump White House lawyers of missing presidential records.

December
Trump representatives inform the National Archives that at least a dozen boxes of documents are ready to be picked up.

2022

Jan. 18
National Archives staff receives 15 boxes of White House records from Mar-a-Lago.

Feb. 9
A National Archives official alerts the Justice Department that documents marked as classified are mingled with other files in the boxes.

Feb. 18
The Archivist of the United States David Ferriero notifies the House Oversight Committee of the discovery of classified records.

April 12
The National Archives tells a Trump representative of its intent to share records with FBI.

April 29
Trump attorney Evan Corcoran requests the National Archives delay providing material to the FBI.

May 10
The National Archives rejects the request by Trump’s counsel to postpone producing records to the FBI.

May 11
Trump, through his attorney Corcoran, accepts service of a federal grand jury subpoena seeking any classified material in his possession.

May 16-18
FBI agents conduct a preliminary review of the 15 boxes retrieved from Mar-a-Lago in January, identifying 184 documents with classified markings.

May 25
Trump lawyer Corcoran writes a letter to a DOJ official defending the former president’s “good faith” effort to work with National Archives and disputing the grounds for a criminal investigation.

Read More: Classified Documents Get Misplaced All the Time. A Former National Archives Official Explains Why

June 3
Jay Bratt, the Justice Department’s counterintelligence chief, arrives at Mar-a-Lago with three FBl agents to retrieve a folder containing 38 more classified documents. They also tour a storage room, but aren’t allowed to look in boxes.

June 8
Bratt sends a letter to Trump’s counsel asking that the storage room holding the documents be secured.

June 24
The Trump Organization Inc., the former president’s company, receives a federal grand jury subpoena for surveillance camera footage from Mar-a-Lago.

Aug. 5
The Justice Department applies to U.S. Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart in Florida for a warrant to search Mar-a-Lago.

Aug. 8
FBI agents execute the warrant at Mar-a-Lago, removing 27 boxes and several other document collections containing 11 sets of classified materials.

Aug. 22
Trump files a request in federal court in Florida for a third-party special master to review the seized materials.

Sept. 5
U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in Florida enters an order temporarily barring DOJ from using the seized materials and granting Trump’s request for an outside review. U.S. District Judge Raymond Dearie in New York is later named special master.

Sept. 21
The 11th Circuit partially lifts Cannon’s injunction, allowing federal investigators to regain access to the classified documents but not the rest of the seized material.

Nov. 15
Donald Trump formally announces he is running for president in the 2024 election.

Read More: A Defiant Donald Trump Enters the Arena for Another Fight

Nov. 18
Attorney General Garland announces the appointment of Jack Smith as special counsel to lead the classified documents probe and a separate federal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

Dec. 1
The 11th Circuit reverses Judge Cannon’s appointment of a special master and lifts the remaining injunction on DOJ’s use of the material seized from Mar-a-Lago.

December 2022/January 2023
Trump attorneys discover more documents with classified markings and turn them over to the Justice Department.

2023

January
Trump attorney Corcoran appears before a federal grand jury in Washington in connection with the classified documents probe.

Jan. 12
Following the discovery of classified records in Joe Biden’s Washington office and Delaware home, Garland announces the appointment of Robert Hur as another special counsel.

Read More: What to Know About the Special Counsel Investigation Into Biden Over Classified Documents

March 22
The D.C. Circuit rejects efforts by Trump and Corcoran to block the special counsel’s requests for Corcoran’s testimony and written work product.

March 24
Corcoran appears again before a federal grand jury in Washington. He recuses himself from work for Trump related to the criminal probe of alleged mishandling of classified documents.

April 26
Trump’s attorneys send a letter to the House Intelligence Committee requesting legislative intervention to halt the Justice Department investigation.

May 16
Trump attorney Tim Parlatore leaves the defense team.

May 23
Trump shares a letter on his Truth Social platform from his attorneys requesting a meeting with the attorney general.

Read More: Inside Trump’s Strategy to Turn Legal Woes Into a Political Advantage

June 5
Three of Trump’s lawyers — James Trusty, John Rowley, and Lindsey Halligan — go to the Justice Department headquarters in Washington for a meeting with senior officials, including Special Counsel Jack Smith, to discuss the status of the classified documents probe. Garland and Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco aren’t present.

June 8
Trump maintained his innocence in a Thursday night post on his Truth Social platform and said that he’s been summoned to appear at the federal courthouse in Miami on Tuesday.

“I never thought it possible that such a thing could happen to a former President of the United States,” he wrote.

LATERAL PIVOTS and COLLATERAL DAMAGE

ATTACHMENT sevenTEEN – from GUK

LAWYER FOR TRUMP VALET IN MAR-A-LAGO DOCUMENTS CASE ALLEGES MISCONDUCT

Exclusive: The lawyer said in letter that prosecutors brought up his application to become judge when seeking valet’s cooperation

By Hugo Lowell in Miami Thu 8 Jun 2023 16.38 EDT

The lawyer for Donald Trump’s valet, under scrutiny in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation, has submitted court papers describing a meeting at which a top federal prosecutor brought up his application to be a judge when they tried to gain the valet’s cooperation last year, according to three people familiar with the matter.

The allegation, described in a letter filed under seal with the chief US judge in Washington, James Boasberg, could affect the investigation just as prosecutors are considering whether to bring charges.

Even though prosecutors have no control over the success of judicial applications, the fact that it was raised in the context of trying to persuade a lawyer for a witness to recommend cooperating could give the appearance of coercion in one of the justice department’s most high-profile cases.

At issue is an incident that took place last year, around November, when prosecutors were trying to gain the cooperation of valet Walt Nauta, who has been under scrutiny because prosecutors suspected he helped the former president conceal classified documents that had been subpoenaed.

Nauta had already spoken to prosecutors in the investigation when they called his lawyer Stanley Woodward and summoned him to a meeting at justice department headquarters for an urgent matter that they were reluctant to discuss over the phone, the letter said.

When Woodward arrived at the conference room, he was seated across from several prosecutors working on the investigation, including the chief of the counterintelligence section, Jay Bratt, who explained that they wanted Nauta to cooperate with the government against Trump, the letter said.

Nauta should cooperate with the government because he had given potentially conflicting testimony that could result in a false statements charge, the prosecutors said according to the letter. Woodward is said to have demurred, disputing that Nauta had made false statements.

Bratt then turned to Woodward and remarked that he did not think that Woodward was a “Trump guy” and that “he would do the right thing”, before noting that he knew Woodward had submitted an application to be a judge at the superior court in Washington DC that was currently pending, the letter said.

The allegation, in essence, is that Bratt suggested Woodward’s judicial application might be considered more favorably if he and his client cooperated against Trump. The letter was filed after Trump’s lawyers submitted a motion on Monday seeking grand jury transcripts, because of what they viewed as potential misconduct.

The justice department’s characterization of the meeting is unclear – a spokesperson declined to comment – though a more innocent explanation for the exchange could be, for instance, that Bratt was genuinely surprised to see the application and raised it as an aside.

Prosecutors also regularly collect background information about lawyers they meet with, including prior interactions with the justice department and cases they have argued, and it is not unusual for them to make small talk with defense lawyers about other projects they are involved in.

The extent of any potential impact to the case is similarly unclear, since it does not appear to have directly affected any testimony Nauta gave to prosecutors, and Bratt would not have the ability to influence such an application, which is handled by the White House counsel’s office.

“Even if it’s true, it would not rise to the level of prosecutorial misconduct,” former US attorney Joyce Vance said. “Prosecutors don’t have any influence over judicial applications and all the parties to the conversation would have known that.”

But the exchange is said to have unnerved Woodward, who recounted the exchange to associates after leaving the meeting. He also promptly informed the justice department at the time they would have no further communications unless Nauta was getting charged or an immunity deal.

The development comes as prosecutors formally told Trump’s lawyers last week that the former president had been designated a “target” in the criminal investigation into his handling of national security information and obstruction of justice, the Guardian previously reported.

The move – the clearest sign yet that Trump is on course to be indicted – dramatically raises the stakes for Trump, as the investigation nears its conclusion after taking evidence before a grand jury in Washington and a previously unknown grand jury in Florida.

Trump’s lawyers were sent a “target letter” days before they met on Monday with the special counsel and the senior career official in the deputy attorney general’s office, where they asked prosecutors not to charge the former president in part because of potential misconduct.

The development comes as prosecutors have obtained evidence of criminal conduct occurring at Mar-a-Lago and decided that any indictments should be charged in the southern district of Florida, where the resort is located, rather than in Washington, according to people familiar with the matter.

To that end, prosecutors last month started issuing subpoenas to multiple Trump aides that compelled them to testify before a new grand jury in Florida, impaneled around the time that the grand jury in Washington stopped taking new evidence, the Guardian previously reported.

ATTACHMENT eighTEEN – from Time

DETAILS IN MUELLER REPORT DRAW INTEREST OF SPECIAL COUNSEL IN TRUMP CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS CASE

BY BRIAN BENNETT JUNE 7, 2023 9:44 PM EDT

As Jack Smith, a special counsel for the Justice Department, closes in on the end of an investigation into former President Donald Trump’s possession of hundreds of classified documents, his team has made use of the work of another special counsel who previously investigated Trump’s ties to Russia, according to a person familiar with the investigation.

A lengthy section of the Mueller Report, which examined ties between Russia and Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, has been instructive to the current inquiry’s prosecutors, who are viewing Trump’s actions around federal requests to return the classified documents as part of a broader pattern, the person said.

00:11 / 00:30

Robert Mueller, a former director of the FBI, released his highly anticipated report in April 2019, shortly after then-Attorney General William Barr released a short summary of the report that was viewed by many in hindsight as downplaying the report’s findings.

Prosecutors have looked closely at Section II of the Mueller report, titled “Factual Results of the Obstruction Investigation.” That 142-page section goes into vivid detail, with extensive footnotes and copies of emails and text messages, about Trump taking steps to thwart the work of federal prosecutors investigating Russia’s effort to influence the 2016 election.

That part of the report details how Trump tried to get the FBI to drop its investigation of Michael Flynn, Trump’s first national security advisor, for lying to FBI agents about meetings he had with Russia’s Ambassador to the U.S. weeks before Trump took office. Flynn eventually pled guilty to lying to the bureau and was later pardoned by Trump.

The section also showed Trump deciding to fire his first FBI director, James Comey, who was overseeing the investigation into the campaign’s ties to Russia, because Comey would not say publicly that Trump himself wasn’t under investigation. But Trump instructed his press office to falsely tell reporters that it was senior leaders at the Department of Justice who had first recommended Comey be fired.

The report also detailed Trump’s efforts to fire Mueller as special counsel after press reports showed that Mueller was investigating whether Trump obstructed the investigation.

And it illustrated how Trump responded in June 2017 when he learned about an email from his 2016 campaign setting up a meeting for Trump’s son Don Jr. with Russians. Those Russian nationals were claiming to offer negative details about Hillary Clinton as “part of Russia and its government’s support for Mr. Trump,” according to an email to Don Jr. As he flew aboard Air Force One back to Washington from a summit in Germany, Trump dictated a statement to his aide Hope Hicks to be attributed to Don Jr. saying that the meeting was about Russia’s policy toward Americans adopting Russian children.

It is unclear if the special counsel’s office has decided to use any material from Mueller’s investigation in building their case. There are limits to how prosecutors can use evidence from prior investigations. Called 404(b) evidence, information from a previous criminal investigation can be used to show a target’s motive, intent or that an action wasn’t a mistake or accident. But, under the Federal Rules of Evidence, prosecutors cannot submit evidence from previous bad actions in order to show that a person acted consistent with certain character traits.

The Mueller investigation would be helpful for prosecutors in learning how to deal with Trump, said a former federal prosecutor who worked on a similar case, and requested anonymity to speak more freely. But using evidence from the Mueller investigation or pointing out sections of the Mueller Report to grand jurors could be an unnecessary tangent, given how heated the political debate around Mueller’s investigation became. “Any association with Mueller is not going to be helpful for Jack Smith,” the former prosecutor said.

Even before the Mueller report was released, Trump’s allies pointed to Barr’s summary of it to insist that Trump had done nothing wrong. But Mueller did not rule out that Trump committed a crime in obstructing his investigation. His report established that even a person who wasn’t guilty of a crime being investigated could still have committed a criminal act by interfering with the investigation.

Mueller’s report concluded that then-President Trump “launched public attacks on the investigation and individuals involved in it who could possess evidence adverse to the President, while in private, the President engaged in a series of targeted efforts to control the investigation.” Mueller also said his investigation “found multiple acts by the President that were capable of exerting undue influence over law enforcement investigations, including the Russian-interference and obstruction investigations.”

A lawsuit seeking the unredacted version of the Mueller report led a federal judge in 2020 to criticize Barr’s actions around the report’s release. Judge Walton, an appointee of President George W. Bush, said the differences between the report and Mr. Barr’s public description of it raised questions as to “whether Attorney General Barr made a calculated attempt to influence public discourse about the Mueller report in favor of President Trump despite certain findings in the redacted version of the Mueller report to the contrary.”

Trump currently faces four separate criminal investigations. In addition to the classified documents case, Special Counsel Smith is also running a separate investigation into Trump’s role in trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and the violent siege of the Capitol Building on Jan. 6.

Trump was indicted in April by the Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg and pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts related to hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 campaign. That trial is scheduled to begin in March 2024. Trump is also being investigated by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in Atlanta over his alleged effort to pressure Georgia state officials to reverse his loss in that state.

On top of that, New York Attorney General Letitia James filed a lawsuit in September against Trump alleging he lied to insurers and bank lenders by overvaluing his properties.

Trump has called these inquiries “scams and witch hunts” and, without evidence, said they are part of a broad campaign of “election interference” to hurt his effort to win back the White House in 2024.

Trump’s criticisms of the classified documents investigation and others echo those he made during the Mueller investigation. In recent public court filings, he has attacked the classified documents investigation as politically motivated, contradicted his earlier statements, and seemingly admitted that he withheld government documents when asked repeatedly by the federal government to return them.

Read More: Inside Trump’s Strategy To Turn Legal Woes Into Political Advantage.

Others have noted a similarity between Trump’s pattern of actions responding to the classified documents investigation and how he acted when he was under investigation by Mueller.

During an interview on CBS Mornings on Tuesday, Barr said that Smith’s investigation “is the most dangerous legal risk” facing Trump, and that risk has been compounded by Trump’s actions after federal officials asked for the classified documents to be returned.

“This would have gone nowhere had the President just returned the documents, but he jerked them around for a year and a half,” Barr said. “The question is did he deceive them?”

Trump wants to feed his ego, Barr said, by “conducting risky, reckless acts to show that he can sort of get away with it.”

“It’s part of asserting his ego and he’s done this repeatedly at the expense of all the people who depend on him to conduct the public’s business in an honorable way,” he added.

Trump’s actions have been in contrast to Mike Pence’s response when classified documents were found in his possession. Pence contacted authorities and allowed federal investigators to conduct a search without a lengthy negotiation. The Department of Justice said in a statement in May that Pence will not be charged.

President Biden is also under investigation for his handling of classified documents at a University of Pennsylvania office he used in DC after he was Vice President, and at his home in Wilmington, Del.

Smith is currently convening two separate grand juries—one in Washington, D.C., and another in Florida—related to the Trump classified documents investigation, according to The Washington Post. After a separate report on Wednesday alleged that prosecutors had notified Trump that he was a target of their investigation and was likely to be indicted soon, Trump wrote on his Truth Social site, “No one has told me I’m being indicted, and I shouldn’t be because I’ve done NOTHING wrong.”

ATTACHMENT NINETEEN – From Atlanta Daily World

DONALD TRUMP TO VISIT GEORGIA AS FANI WILLIS PREPS FOR POSSIBLE INDICTMENTS IN ELECTION PROBE

By A.R. Shaw June 8, 2023

This weekend, Donald J. Trump will return to the state of Georgia. The former U.S. President will arrive in Columbus, Georgia via Trump Force One on June10 to attend the Georgia GOP State Convention. 

Trump will serve as the headliner and deliver a speech with the hopes of gaining more traction for a return to the White House. The convention will feature several pro-Trump politicians including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. 

Ironically, Georgia could be the state that hinders Trump’s presidential run. 

Ninety miles north of Columbus, Trump is facing a legal issue spearheaded by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. 

For the past two years, Willis has investigated Trump and several of his cohorts in connection to overturn the 2020 Presidential Election. And Willis could announce indictments in the upcoming months. 

Willis recently sent a letter to judges in Fulton County and made indications that decisions to present charges in the probe could come in August. She requested remote workdays for her staff and asked judges to refrain from in-person hearings during that time.

“I respectfully request that judges not schedule trials and in person hearings during the weeks beginning Monday, August 7 and Monday, August 14,” Willis wrote in the letter. 

Willis has pushed back the dates of announcing charges to request more security and to grant immunity deals. 

Trump is on record asking former Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp to help overturn the election on separate occasions. He asked Raffensperger during a phone call to help him secure over 11,000 votes, the amount in which he trailed Joe Biden in Georgia. During a recorded call that took place on Jan. 2, 2021, Trump told Raffensperger, “All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state.”

Willis is examining if suspects in the case are guilty of criminal solicitation to commit election fraud, making false statements to state and local governmental officials, involvement of violence or threats related to election administration and racketeering.

If Willis chooses to charge Trump with a RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations), he could face 20 years of imprisonment.

Willis could present her findings to a panel at that point and choose to indict the former president.

Trump will seek to inspire his base at the GOP State Convention this weekend. But his next trip to the state of Georgia may not be as encouraging. 

ATTACHMENT TWENTY – From GUK

TRUMP EXPECTED TO SURRENDER TO MIAMI AUTHORITIES ON TUESDAY AFTER INDICTMENT

Former president prepares for his second arraignment after federal charges filed over mishandling of classified documents

Joan E Greve in Washington and Hugo Lowell in Miami Fri 9 Jun 2023 12.20 EDT

Donald Trump is preparing for his second arraignment in two months after learning he would face seven federal charges in connection to his mishandling of classified documents.

The former US president and current 2024 candidate is expected to surrender himself to authorities in Miami on Tuesday at 3pm ET, although the exact charges he will face are still unclear, as the seven-count indictment remains under seal. On Fox News Digital on Thursday night, he said he would plead not guilty.

It also emerged that Trump’s valet and aide Walt Nauta was indicted alongside him. Nauta is a former military valet who worked for Trump at the White House before accompanying him to a job at his Florida resort of Mar-a-Lago after Trump left office.

In a typically punchy social media post Trump said: “They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about Trump.”

Could Trump go to prison? Federal charges over classified docs show momentum is building

After news of the indictment broke, Trump’s allies rallied to his defense as the US braced for the unprecedented spectacle of a former president forced to defend himself against federal criminal charges.

The development comes just two months after Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 counts of falsifying business records in an unrelated case over hush-money payments during the 2016 election.

The charges filed by the office of special counsel Jack Smith in federal district court in Miami include the willful retention of national defense information, obstruction of justice, conspiracy, false statements and concealment under title 18 of the US criminal code, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Smith, appointed by the attorney general, Merrick Garland, has been investigating for more than a year whether Trump knowingly retained classified information at his Mar-a-Lago resort and attempted to conceal those documents from the justice department after authorities issued a subpoena for their return.

Trump himself confirmed the indictment in a Thursday evening post on his social media platform Truth Social, writing: “This is indeed a DARK DAY for the United States of America.”

In a video posted to the platform shortly afterwards, Trump denied any culpability and lashed out against his political rivals. “I am an innocent man,” Trump said in the video. “I did nothing wrong.”

Meanwhile, two lawyers representing Trump, Jim Trusty and John Rowley, said they had quit working for him. In a joint statement the pair said they had “tendered our resignations as counsel to President Trump, and we will no longer represent him on either the indicted case or the January 6 investigation”.

They added: “It has been an honor to have spent the last year defending him, and we know he will be vindicated in his battle against the Biden administration’s partisan weaponization of the American justice system.”

Though the exact nature of the charges remained unclear, Trump’s Republican allies on Capitol Hill quickly rallied to his defense, attacking the investigation as a case of political persecution. Many Republicans raced to note that Joe Biden is also under investigation by a special counsel over the alleged mishandling of classified papers, but they neglected to mention that Trump, unlike Biden, received a subpoena for classified documents amid concerns that he had willfully withheld some materials from federal authorities.

“Today is indeed a dark day for the United States of America,” Kevin McCarthy, the Republican House speaker, said on Twitter on Thursday evening. “I, and every American who believes in the rule of law, stand with President Trump against this grave injustice. House Republicans will hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.”

Trump’s most competitive rival for the Republican ticket, Governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, also denounced the justice department’s actions.

“The weaponization of federal law enforcement represents a mortal threat to a free society,” he said on Twitter. “We have for years witnessed an uneven application of the law depending upon political affiliation. Why so zealous in pursuing Trump yet so passive about Hillary or Hunter?”

But Democrats viewed the news as confirmation that authorities were again seeking to hold Trump accountable for his illegal conduct.

“Trump’s apparent indictment on multiple charges arising from his retention of classified materials is another affirmation of the rule of law,” Congressman Adam Schiff, a Democrat from California, said on Twitter. “For four years, he acted like he was above the law. But he should be treated like any other lawbreaker. And today, he has been.”

Later on Friday morning, it emerged that a federal judge appointed by Trump, who last year drew scrutiny for a ruling that was seen as deferential to the former president, may oversee proceedings in the case over his possession of classified documents, a source familiar with the summons told the Guardian.

The US district judge Aileen Cannon has been listed on the summons sent to Trump’s lawyers, the source said. The Florida-based jurist last year granted a request from Trump’s attorneys to appoint a special master to review the records federal agents seized from Mar-a-Lago that August, sparking uproar and disapproval among some legal experts.

The special master review delayed the justice department’s investigation into the materials and how they ended up at Trump’s south Florida property, but in December, Cannon’s decision was overturned by the unanimous decision of a federal appeals court.

Meanwhile, on Friday morning CNN revealed a transcript it had obtained of an audio tape in which Trump admits he had not declassified a military document about Iran he had retained. The existence of the tape in which he boasts about retaining the document emerged last month.

“As president, I could have declassified, but now I can’t,” Trump says, according to the transcript reported by CNN. The transcript offers further detail about the tape recording the former president talking at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club in July 2021 about his retention of national security papers. Federal prosecutors have the tape.

The latest indictment means Trump will face charges in at least two jurisdictions as he seeks to return to the White House next year. Trump continues to lead in polls of the Republican primary field, even after he was indicted in the hush-money case earlier this year.

As of now, there is no sign that Republican primary voters are prepared to abandon Trump en masse, despite his many legal liabilities. The country will soon find out if the threat of a federal conviction is enough to rob Trump of his status as the frontrunner in the Republican primary.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY ONE – From GUK

WHO IS AILEEN CANNON, THE JUDGE ASSIGNED IN TRUMP’S MAR-A-LAGO CASE?

The Florida district judge was appointed by the ex-president three years ago and there’s no certainty she will remain on the case but her name is on the summons

By Richard Luscombe Sat 10 Jun 2023 06.00 EDT

·

·

·

Aileen Cannon, the Florida district judge assigned to oversee Donald Trump’s classified documents case, initially at least, was appointed to the federal bench by the former president three years ago, and gave him a favorable ruling at an earlier hearing last year.

But Cannon was later rebuked by an appeals court panel for granting Trump’s request for an independent special master to review the documents. That action slowed the justice department’s investigation and prompted questions over her impartiality.

On Thursday, Cannon’s name was listed on the summons sent to Trump’s lawyers announcing his indictment, indicating she will be in charge of the timing and progression of hearings.

There is no certainty she will remain on the case. And next Tuesday’s first hearing in Miami is expected to be held in front of magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart, who signed the original warrant authorizing an FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, Trump’s Florida home.

But while she is the assigned jurist, Cannon, 42, will have broad authority to control almost every aspect, including which evidence is admissible, the ability to slow down or speed up proceedings, and even the legal viability of the justice department’s case.

Analysts will look for clues in Cannon’s handling of the special master episode, which drew criticism from many quarters, including Trump’s former attorney general William Barr.

In calling the law “pretty clear”, Barr said Cannon’s ruling to accede to the request from Trump’s lawyers was “deeply flawed” because it removed the ability of FBI and justice department investigators to review the documents in question, at least until the 11th circuit court of appeals struck down her decision in December.

Cannon, a member of the conservative Federalist Society, had relatively little experience as a lawyer when nominated by Trump and confirmed in November 2020 by the Senate, which was then controlled by Republicans.

Born in Cali, Colombia, in 1981, Cannon grew up in Miami and attended a private school in the city. She graduated from the University of Michigan Law School in 2007.

Her appointment to the federal bench came only 12 years after she was first admitted to practice law, the minimum experience the American Bar Association requires nominees should have.

Cannon was a clerk for an appellate judge in Iowa after graduating law school, and was then an associate at the Gibson Dunn law firm in Washington DC.

Between 2013 and her nomination by Trump, she was federal prosecutor in Fort Pierce, Florida. The New York Times spoke last year to a defense lawyer in West Palm Beach who called her “thorough, meticulous and often willing to rule against the government”.

Valentin Rodriguez Jr told the newspaper: “The general feeling that I’ve gotten from her is, ‘I don’t buy everything the government has to tell me.’

“You can’t expect that if you and the government have some sort of agreement, over sentencing or a plea, that that’s necessarily going to convince [her]. In that sense, you could call her something of a freethinker.”

Cannon, who is married with two children, is a registered Republican, according to the Times, and donated $100 to Ron DeSantis’s political campaign in 2018 when he was elected to his first term as governor of Florida.

Reuters contributed reporting

ATTACHMENT TWENTY TWO – From GUK

Donald Trump uses his legal woes to plead for money from supporters – again

Following his indictment, Trump asked supporters to ‘make a contribution to peacefully defend our movement from the neverending witch hunts’

By Mary Yang in Washington Sat 10 Jun 2023 06.00 EDT

Federally indicted Donald Trump, newly charged with multiple counts over his mishandling of classified documents, is using his legal woes to plead for money – again.

The sweeping 37-count felony indictment paints a damaging portrait of Trump’s treatment of sensitive documents, accusing him of defying justice department demands to return papers he had taken to his Florida home of Mar-a-Lago, and even storing some of them in a shower.

But the indictment’s existence did not stop the Trump campaign pleading for money on the back of it.

In a series of messages on Thursday night and Friday morning, Trump appealed to his supporters by declaring the indictment an attack by “the Deep State” on the “forgotten, hardworking men and women of this country”, and asking them to donate to his campaign.

“Please make a contribution to peacefully DEFEND our movement from the never-ending witch hunts – and together, even during these darkest of times, we will prove that our movement is truly UNBREAKABLE,” said in one email Trump sent to supporters on Friday morning.

The barrage of requests mirrors Trump’s fundraising strategy following his first indictment at the end of March, when a Manhattan court charged the former US president with falsifying business records over hush-money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in 2016.

Trump, who is set to appear in a federal court in Miami on Tuesday, has maintained he is an “innocent man” though he could face prison if convicted.

“Joe Biden’s Department of Justice has INDICTED me even though I did NOTHING wrong,” said another Friday morning email.

The email ended with links asking supporters for donations of varying amounts, from $25 to $250, pooled by the Trump Save America Joint Fundraising Committee, the main fundraising arm of the ex-president’s 2024 campaign.

Those links directed supporters to an online donation portal, which displays another message with more pleas for donations.

“President Trump will NEVER SURRENDER our mission to save America. And he knows you won’t either!” reads part of the message online.

It adds: “(But if you’re struggling – like far too many Americans are right now – please ignore the rest of this message, don’t contribute, and take care of your family and yourself.)”

Yet another request immediately followed: “Please make a contribution to SAVE OUR COUNTRY – for 1,500% impact.”

The Trump campaign raised $12m in the week following his first indictment, according to the New York Times. About a quarter of those who donated in the two weeks following it had never contributed to his campaign before, according to Politico.

Special prosecutor Jack Smith, who led the documents investigation, is also heading a federal investigation into Trump’s role in the January 6 US Capitol attack.

Trump is also facing charges in Georgia where prosecutors say they expect to reach a decision on the former president and his allies’ interference with the 2020 election results in the state.

In a four-minute video emailed to supporters and posted to Truth Social, Trump repeatedly called the documents investigation a “boxes hoax” and “election interference” as he seeks the 2024 Republican nomination.

Trump is the first former American president to be charged with a federal crime by the government he once oversaw.

“I AM AN INNOCENT MAN. THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION IS TOTALLY CORRUPT. THIS IS ELECTION INTERFERENCE & A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME,” Trump said in the post on Thursday night.

Trump also appears to be using the indictment to criticize the press.

“During an unprecedented moment like this, most politicians would give their first spoken remarks to the Fake News Media. But not me. My loyalty lies with my fiercest defenders like YOU,” Trump wrote supporters.

“Our country is going to hell, and they come after Donald Trump, weaponizing the justice department, weaponizing the FBI.”

Calling other investigations against him, including two impeachments, as hoaxes.

“I’m an innocent man. I did nothing wrong.”

SATURDAY’S MEET n’GREETS

ATTACHMENT TWENTY THREE – From the San Diego Tribune

TRUMP SET FOR FIRST PUBLIC APPEARANCES SINCE FEDERAL INDICTMENT WITH SPEECHES TO GOP CONVENTIONS

BY BILL BARROW, JEFF AMY, JILL COLVIN AND MEG KINNARD JUNE 10, 2023 11:10 AM PT

COLUMBUS, Ga. —  

Former President Donald Trump on Saturday is set to make his first public appearances since his federal indictment, speaking to friendly Republican audiences in Georgia and North Carolina as he tries to rally supporters to his defense.

Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes, is expected to use speeches at two state party conventions to rail against the charges and amplify his assertions that he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch hunt” by Democratic President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.

The indictment unsealed Friday charged him with 37 felony counts in connection with his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump is accused of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence. The indictment includes allegations that he stored documents in a ballroom and bathroom at his resort, among other places.

The most serious charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years each, but first-time offenders rarely get anywhere near the maximum sentence and the decision would ultimately be up to the judge.

For all that, Trump can expect a hero’s welcome this weekend as he rallies his fiercest partisans and aims to cement his status as his party’s leading presidential candidate.

“Trump is a fighter, and the kinds of people that attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump’s White House campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

Trump has insisted he committed no wrongdoing, saying, “There was no crime, except for what the DOJ and FBI have been doing against me for years.”

The indictment arrives at a time when Trump is continuing to dominate the primary race. Other candidates have largely attacked the Justice Department — rather than Trump — for the investigation. But the indictment’s breadth of allegations and scope could make it harder for Republicans to rail against these charges compared with an earlier New York criminal case that many legal analysts had derided as weak.

A Trump campaign official described the former president’s mood as “defiant” before the state visits. But aides were notably more reserved after the indictment’s unsealing as they reckoned with the gravity of the legal charges and the threat they pose to Trump beyond the potential short-term political gain.

The federal charging document alleges that Trump not only intentionally possessed classified documents but also boastfully showed them off to visitors and aides. The indictment is built on Trump’s own words and actions as recounted to prosecutors by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses, including his professing to respect and know procedures related to the handling of classified information.

The indictment includes 31 counts that pertain to the willful retention of national defense information. The others relate to alleged conspiracy, obstruction and false statements.

Trump is due to make his first federal court appearance Tuesday in Miami. He was charged alongside valet Walt Nauta, a personal aide whom prosecutors say moved boxes from a storage room to Trump’s residence for him to review and later lied to investigators about the movement. A photograph included in the indictment shows several dozen file boxes stacked in a storage area.

The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump. In March, he was indicted in New York in a hush money scheme stemming from payouts made to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign, and he faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges.

But among the various investigations he has faced, the documents case has long been considered the most perilous threat and the one most ripe for prosecution.

Trump’s continued popularity among Republican voters is evident in how gingerly his primary rivals have treated the federal indictment.

Mike Pence, whose appearance in North Carolina marked the first shared venue with his former boss since the ex-vice president announced his own campaign this past week, condemned the “politicization” of the Justice Department and urged Attorney General Merrick Garland “to stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people” to explain the basis for the federal investigation into Trump.

“A former president of the United States facing an unprecedent indictment by a Justice Department run by the current president of the United States and a potential political rival,” Pence said to loud applause. Pence said it was important to hear Trump’s defense, “then each of us can make our own judgment. ... Be patient. Know that we will soon know the facts.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s leading GOP rival, decried the “weaponization of federal law enforcement” and “an uneven application of the law.” Without offering any specific allegation, DeSantis took aim at two favorite Republican targets — Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden — and suggested they have escaped federal accountability because of such “political bias.”

In remarks at the North Carolina convention Friday night, DeSantis didn’t mention Trump by name but again made the comparison to Clinton.

“Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” DeSantis asked. “I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country. ... At the end of the day, we will once and for all end the weaponization of government under my administration.”

Kari Lake, a Trump loyalist who lost the governor’s race in Arizona last year, used her speech to Georgia Republicans on Friday night to repeat Trump’s false claims of a rigged 2020 election and she suggested that the indictment was another way to deny him the presidency.

“He’s doing so well in the polls that they decided they can’t stop him. So what do they do? They indict him on completely bogus charges,” Lake said. “The illegitimate Biden administration wants to lock our beloved President Trump for more than 200 years. Wow.”

Among the declared Republican contenders, only Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson had explicitly called for Trump to end his candidacy. Hutchinson did not mention Trump in remarks at a Georgia convention breakfast Saturday, but told reporters afterward that the Republican Party “should not lose its soul” in defending Trump and said the evidence so far suggested that the former president treated national secrets “like entertainment tools.”

ATTACHMENT TWENTY FOUR – From

From the BBC

Donald Trump: Former president to make first speech since federal charges announced

By Oliver Slow

BBC News

Former US President Donald Trump will today make his first public appearance since being indicted on federal charges for his handling of classified documents.

He will speak at a Republican Party convention in Georgia on Saturday afternoon local time, then later in North Carolina.

A 37-count indictment made public on Friday accuses him of keeping sensitive documents at his Mar-a-Lago property.

Mr Trump denies any wrongdoing.

He has been charged with mishandling hundreds of classified documents, including some about US nuclear secrets and military plans.

The indictment accused him of keeping the files at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida estate, in a ballroom and a shower.

It alleges that he lied to investigators and tried to obstruct the investigation into his handling of the documents.

They are the first-ever federal charges against a former US president.

Mr Trump, who is running for the White House again in 2024, has reacted angrily to the indictment, calling it a politically-motivated "scam".

He has also claimed he "had nothing to hide" and supplied the documents "openly".

In a series of posts, as well as a video on his social media platform Truth Social, Mr Trump repeatedly said he was innocent and described the indictment as "political warfare" against him before the 2024 election.

Special counsel Jack Smith, who oversaw the investigation, said: "We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone."

· Donald Trump faces seven charges over secret files

· Could Donald Trump go to prison over secret files?

· How Biden, Trump and Pence secret files cases compare

As momentum starts to build towards the 2024 election, Mr Trump will first speak at a Republican Party convention in Columbus, Georgia at around 14:30 local time (18:30 GMT), before moving onto another Republican Party event in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he is scheduled to speak at 18:00 EDT (22:00 GMT).

Mr Trump is currently the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican nomination.

His former vice president Mike Pence - who this week was highly critical of his former boss when announcing his own run for the presidency - spoke earlier at the North Carolina event, although the pair are not expected to cross paths.

Georgia is likely to be a key battleground in the race for the White House, and is where Mr Trump narrowly lost to current President Joe Biden in 2020 - it could also be the scene of further legal jeopardy for the former president.

Officials in the state are currently looking into whether Mr Trump broke the law when he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" the exact number of votes he needed to flip the vote in his favour.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY FIVE – From

From 11alive.com

Notes of discord start Georgia GOP convention

Former President Donald Trump will give a keynote speech Saturday in Columbus.

Author: Doug Richards

Published: 6:37 PM EDT June 9, 2023

Updated: 8:20 PM EDT June 9, 2023

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Former President Donald Trump will appear Saturday before a convention of Georgia Republicans with a lot on its plate – not the least of which is the future of what’s now a very divided party.  

Republicans in Columbus will vote Saturday on its state party leadership and will set the stage on how the party aims to try to shape the 2024 presidential election.

"I’m here to yell at the Republicans 'get off your behind and fight back.' The country’s in grave danger. What are you doing?" said Bob Kunst, who was in Columbus to cajole Georgia Republicans to support Trump and not Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.  

It’s not a heavy lift in a convention that’s rife with updated support for the embattled former president  -- in a place where Trump himself will give a keynote speech Saturday.

But some Republicans are saying, enough already.  

"Really, Donald Trump doesn’t have anything I need to hear him say," said former Cobb County Republican chair Jason Shepherd, who was en route to Columbus where he plans to staff a booth for DeSantis and then probably leave before Trump speaks.

"I think we’re seeing a party that’s moving to the extreme," Shepherd said. "The fact of the matter is that Donald Trump may be the only candidate running for president that Joe Biden can beat."

Republicans Gov. Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr are among the Republicans declining to appear at this weekend's convention.  Both successfully scuttled Trump's effort to change Georgia's electoral votes in 2020 from Biden to Trump, saying the switch would be illegal after Biden won the state's popular vote. 

READ | Georgia Republican Party’s state convention: Trump will be there, Kemp will not

Asked if this is a convention of extremists, GA GOP chairman David Shafer noted "it’s the biggest (GA GOP) convention ever. It’s got something for everybody."

Shafer will leave the chairman’s spot Saturday.  Shafer was a stout Trump backer in 2020  - and has been among those targeted in a Fulton County criminal investigation into Trump’s effort to overturn that election.

Former state senator Josh McKoon, also a fan of Trump, is running to replace Shafer.  

"I absolutely want this job," McKoon said. "You can feel the energy in this crowd. People are really excited about putting the adults back in charge in Washington D.C. And I’m excited to have a role to play in doing that."

ATTACHMENT TWENTY SIX – From

From GUK
Donald Trump heads to Georgia for first speech since federal indictment

Former president, who faces 37 charges related to retention of secret documents, will also speak later in North Carolina

Maya Yang

Sat 10 Jun 2023 11.50 EDT

·

·

·

Donald Trump is set to deliver his first public address on Saturday in Columbus, Georgia, following the announcement of his federal indictment this week.

The former president is scheduled to take the stage at the state GOP convention in Georgia in the afternoon before heading to Greensboro, North Carolina, for another address in the evening.

Trump’s two speeches had been planned before the justice department indicted him on Thursday evening with 37 criminal charges regarding his alleged illegal retention of classified government documents after leaving office in 2021.

According to advisers who spoke with the Washington Post, Trump is expected to launch a tirade against the FBI and the justice department over his prosecution, which he has repeatedly called a “witch-hunt” and a “hoax”.

The sweeping indictment which was unsealed on Friday accuses Trump of mishandling classified documents as well as obstructing justice, making him the first US president to be federally indicted.

According to the indictment, Trump stored classified documents in “a ballroom, a bathroom and shower, an office space, his bedroom, and a storage room” at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.

It also added that Trump directed Walt Nauta, his valet and aide, to move boxes of records to “conceal them from Trump’s attorney, the FBI, and the grand jury”. Nauta also faces a count of conspiracy to obstruct justice, said the indictment.

The documents that Trump allegedly possessed “included information regarding defense and weapons capabilities of both the United States and foreign countries; United States nuclear programs; potential vulnerabilities of the United States and its allies to military attack, and plans for possible retaliation in response to a foreign attack,” said the indictment.

Thursday’s indictment comes just two months after a Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump for his alleged role in a hush-money payment scandal involving the adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Trump, who has repeatedly maintained his innocence, lashed out against the latest indictment on Thursday night. In a video released on his social media platform Truth Social, the GOP’s most popular presidential candidate said, “It is election interference at the highest level … I’m an innocent man, I’m an innocent person … we’ll fight this out.”

He then turned to his supporters for money, writing in an email on Friday morning, “Please make a contribution to peacefully DEFEND our movement from the never-ending witch hunts – and together, even during these darkest of times, we will prove that our movement is truly UNBREAKABLE.”

Trump is expected to appear in a federal court in Miami on Tuesday and may face prison if convicted.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY SEVEN– From

From the Washington Post

Trump to speak Saturday as he and allies escalate attacks on law enforcement

The former president is slated to address state GOP conventions in Georgia and North Carolina in the wake of a federal indictment

By Isaac Arnsdorf and Hannah Knowles Updated June 10, 2023 at 11:43 a.m. EDT| Published June 10, 2023 at 8:55 a.m. EDT

COLUMBUS, Georgia — Donald Trump, the only former president to ever face criminal charges, will make his first public remarks Saturday since the release of a federal indictment accusing him of mishandling classified information, as he and his allies issue inflammatory calls to action and escalating attacks on law enforcement.

Trump encouraged supporters to assemble on Tuesday in Miami, where he is scheduled to appear in court. “SEE YOU IN MIAMI ON TUESDAY!!!” he posted late Friday on his Truth Social platform. Specific plans for that day are still being developed, according to a Trump campaign aide.

The former president did not elaborate on his message. His social media messages have in the past inspired his supporters to action. On Dec. 19, 2020, he tweeted, “Big protest in D.C. on January 6th. Be there, will be wild!” Evidence presented by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol showed that Trump’s tweet inspired extremist groups to plan to disrupt the certification of President Biden’s electoral victory. Leaders of the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys were later convicted of seditious conspiracy.

Trump’s call on his supporters to protest his indictment in New York did not materialize in major demonstrations.

Advisers said the former president will use his speech on Saturday, appearing before the Georgia state Republican convention, to position himself as a victim and aggressively attack the FBI and the Justice Department for prosecuting him but not President Biden’s son, Hunter, who is under federal investigation on allegations of tax evasion and lying in the purchase of a gun. The campaign’s goal, one adviser said, is to use the indictment to solidify Trump’s political support among his base in coming weeks. The advisers spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe strategy.

From Georgia Trump is set to travel to North Carolina for that state’s GOP convention. He’ll address the gathering of party activists hours after former vice president Mike Pence, who recently entered the 2024 presidential race, challenging his former boss in the GOP primary and arguing Trump is no longer qualified for the presidency.

The Trump campaign almost immediately started soliciting donations as soon as Trump announced on Thursday that he had been notified of the indictment, though a campaign official declined to reveal how much had been raised.

Ahead of Trump’s speech here, Arizona Republican Kari Lake delivered a keynote on Friday in which she suggested Trump’s prosecution could be met with violence. Lake has said she will go to Miami to “support” Trump on Tuesday.

“If you want to get to President Trump, you’re going to have to go through me and you’re going to have to go through 75 million Americans just like me,” Lake told the GOP convention on Friday to roaring cheers and a standing ovation. “Most of us are card-carrying members of the NRA,” the National Rifle Association gun lobby. “That’s not a threat, that’s a public service announcement.”

The Secret Service, federal court marshals and Miami law enforcement have met to discuss security around Trump. Local police are preparing additional officers to deploy, amid the prospect of demonstration and a crush of media descending on the city.

Earlier in the day, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) told convention-goers that Trump’s indictment was meant to distract from House Republicans’ claims that Biden and his son Hunter accepted bribes from a Russian oligarch — allegations that the FBI already concluded investigating without bringing charges.

“I don’t care how you feel about President Trump, you need to understand that what they’re doing to President Trump is exactly what they will do to any one of us when they deem us a threat,” she said. On Saturday Greene announced she was flying to the convention with Trump on his private plane.

Long-shot presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who pledged that if elected he would pardon Trump, also spoke on Friday to decry the charges.

“We are not some banana republic, where the party in power uses the police to arrest its political opponents,” he said at the convention. “We are finally going to end that corrupt administrative police state in America, starting with the FBI.”

Trump picked up another congressional endorsement on Saturday from Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.). “He will help save this nation from the radical left-wing wackos, from the socialists and the corrupt bureaucrats who want to eliminate our country,” Clyde said.

One Republican breaking ranks to call on Trump to withdraw his candidacy was former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson. Speaking to a breakfast here on Saturday, Hutchinson did not mention Trump, a tacit acknowledgment of his audience’s tilt.

The convention was notable for the absence of Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, who split with Trump over his demands to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. That pressure campaign is now the subject of a separate criminal probe by an Atlanta-area district attorney.

Though Trump’s team had practice at responding to an indictment from the charges earlier this year in New York, arising from hush money payments to an adult film actress in 2016, and the campaign was expecting charges in the documents case after the former president’s lawyers met with prosecutors on Monday, advisers acknowledged surprise at the level of detail of the evidence against him in Friday’s indictment.

Some Trump supporters here also said they were rethinking their initial dismissiveness of the charges based on the specific allegations. Laurie Webster from Hull, Ga., said she grew more concerned after hearing some of the details on conservative host Erick Erickson’s radio show.

“It sounded worse than what they were saying last night,” she said. “If he runs and is more popular I’m going to vote for him and support him. If not Trump, we need somebody like Trump,” she said, explaining that she’s now deciding between him and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

DeSantis and other rivals for the GOP presidential nomination have joined Trump in denouncing the alleged “weaponization” of the Justice Department but they’ve steered clear of the specifics of the case or commitments to pardon Trump.

“The weaponization of these agencies strikes at the heart of what it means to have a free society. It’s not just affecting people at the top, it’s affecting people all throughout our country,” DeSantis told the North Carolina GOP Convention on Friday night in Greensboro, repeating his promise to oust the FBI director right away if elected. DeSantis, who runs second to Trump in early primary polling, said presidents have long been “derelict in their duty” to rein in the federal bureaucracy.

Pence similarly accused the Justice Department of years-long “politicization” and told reporters on Friday that he still found officials’ search of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate last year “deeply troubling.” Former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley made a vague statement on Friday that criticized the prosecution and called to “move beyond the endless drama and distractions.”

The other presidential hopeful who more forcefully criticized Trump was recent entrant Chris Christie, the former New Jersey governor and Trump adviser. Christie said blaming the prosecutors is to ignore Trump’s behavior at issue in the case.

“These facts are devastating,” he said in a CNN interview on Friday, drawing on his own experience as a federal prosecutor. “Is this the type of conduct that we want from someone who wants to be president of the United States? … This is irresponsible conduct.”

Knowles reported from Greensboro, N.C. Josh Dawsey in Washington contributed to this report.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY EIGHT – From

From the Associated Press

Trump set for first public appearances since federal indictment with speeches to GOP conventions

By BILL BARROW, JEFF AMY, JILL COLVIN and MEG KINNARD14 minutes ago

COLUMBUS, Ga. (AP) — Former President Donald Trump on Saturday is set to make his first public appearances since his federal indictment, speaking to friendly Republican audiences in Georgia and North Carolina as he tries to rally supporters to his defense.

Trump, who remains the front-runner for the 2024 GOP nomination despite his mounting legal woes, is expected to use speeches at two state party conventions to rail against the charges and amplify his assertions that he is the victim of a politically motivated “witch hunt” by Democratic President Joe Biden’s Justice Department.

The indictment unsealed Friday charged him with 37 felony counts in connection with his hoarding of classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. Trump is accused of willfully defying Justice Department demands to return classified documents, enlisting aides in his efforts to hide the records and even telling his lawyers that he wanted to defy a subpoena for the materials stored at his residence. The indictment includes allegations that he stored documents in a ballroom and bathroom at his resort, among other places.

·

Trump campaigns after indictment unsealed | Live updates

·

Trump's GOP defenders in Congress leap into action on charges after months of preparation

·

A timeline of events leading to Donald Trump's indictment in the classified documents case

·

Indictment takeaways: Trump's alleged schemes and lies to keep secret papers

The most serious charges carry potential prison sentences of up to 20 years each, but first-time offenders rarely get anywhere near the maximum sentence and the decision would ultimately be up to the judge.

For all that, Trump can expect a hero’s welcome this weekend as he rallies his fiercest partisans and aims to cement his status as his party’s leading presidential candidate.

“Trump is a fighter, and the kinds of people that attend these conventions love a fighter,” said Jack Kingston, a former Georgia congressman who supported Trump’s White House campaigns in 2016 and 2020.

Trump has insisted he committed no wrongdoing, saying, “There was no crime, except for what the DOJ and FBI have been doing against me for years.”

The indictment arrives at a time when Trump is continuing to dominate the primary race. Other candidates have largely attacked the Justice Department — rather than Trump — for the investigation. But the indictment’s breadth of allegations and scope could make it harder for Republicans to rail against these charges compared with an earlier New York criminal case that many legal analysts had derided as weak.

A Trump campaign official described the former president’s mood as “defiant” before the state visits. But aides were notably more reserved after the indictment’s unsealing as they reckoned with the gravity of the legal charges and the threat they pose to Trump beyond the potential short-term political gain.

The federal charging document alleges that Trump not only intentionally possessed classified documents but also boastfully showed them off to visitors and aides. The indictment is built on Trump’s own words and actions as recounted to prosecutors by lawyers, close aides and other witnesses, including his professing to respect and know procedures related to the handling of classified information.

The indictment includes 31 counts that pertain to the willful retention of national defense information. The others relate to alleged conspiracy, obstruction and false statements.

Trump is due to make his first federal court appearance Tuesday in Miami. He was charged alongside valet Walt Nauta, a personal aide whom prosecutors say moved boxes from a storage room to Trump’s residence for him to review and later lied to investigators about the movement. A photograph included in the indictment shows several dozen file boxes stacked in a storage area.

The case adds to deepening legal jeopardy for Trump. In March, he was indicted in New York in a hush money scheme stemming from payouts made to a porn actor during his 2016 campaign, and he faces additional investigations in Washington and Atlanta that also could lead to criminal charges.

But among the various investigations he has faced, the documents case has long been considered the most perilous threat and the one most ripe for prosecution.

Trump’s continued popularity among Republican voters is evident in how gingerly his primary rivals have treated the federal indictment.

Mike Pence, whose appearance in North Carolina marked the first shared venue with his former boss since the ex-vice president announced his own campaign this past week, condemned the “politicization” of the Justice Department and urged Attorney General Merrick Garland “to stop hiding behind the special counsel and stand before the American people” to explain the basis for the federal investigation into Trump.

“A former president of the United States facing an unprecedent indictment by a Justice Department run by the current president of the United States and a potential political rival,” Pence said to loud applause. Pence said it was important to hear Trump’s defense, “then each of us can make our own judgment. ... Be patient. Know that we will soon know the facts.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump’s leading GOP rival, decried the “weaponization of federal law enforcement” and “an uneven application of the law.” Without offering any specific allegation, DeSantis took aim at two favorite Republican targets — Hillary Clinton and Hunter Biden — and suggested they have escaped federal accountability because of such “political bias.”

In remarks at the North Carolina convention Friday night, DeSantis didn’t mention Trump by name but again made the comparison to Clinton.

“Is there a different standard for a Democratic secretary of state versus a former Republican president?” DeSantis asked. “I think there needs to be one standard of justice in this country. ... At the end of the day, we will once and for all end the weaponization of government under my administration.”

Kari Lake, a Trump loyalist who lost the governor’s race in Arizona last year, used her speech to Georgia Republicans on Friday night to repeat Trump’s false claims of a rigged 2020 election and she suggested that the indictment was another way to deny him the presidency.

“He’s doing so well in the polls that they decided they can’t stop him. So what do they do? They indict him on completely bogus charges,” Lake said. “The illegitimate Biden administration wants to lock our beloved President Trump for more than 200 years. Wow.”

Among the declared Republican contenders, only Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson had explicitly called for Trump to end his candidacy. Hutchinson did not mention Trump in remarks at a Georgia convention breakfast Saturday, but told reporters afterward that the Republican Party “should not lose its soul” in defending Trump and said the evidence so far suggested that the former president treated national secrets “like entertainment tools.”

___

Colvin and Kinnard reported from Greensboro, North Carolina. Associated Press writers Eric Tucker in Washington; Thomas Beaumont in Marshalltown, Iowa; and Holly Ramer in Derry, New Hampshire, contributed to this report.

ATTACHMENT TWENTY NINE – From

From WTVM, Columbus Georgia

By Josiah Berry

Published: Jun. 10, 2023 at 12:54 PM EDT|Updated: 8 minutes ago

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - Former president Donald Trump arrived in Columbus just before 1:30PM ET.

President Trump spent 10 minutes with fans who had crowded at the airport prior to departing for the Columbus Trade Center.

The former president is scheduled to speak later at the Georgia GOP convention at 2:30 p.m.

This is the first time Trump will speak at a convention since his indictment.

News Leader has crews on location at the Trade Center, and will be livestreaming the former president’s speech on Facebook and our website.

ATTACHMENT THIRTY – From

From the New York Post

Trump set to speak live in Georgia in first appearance since indictment

By 

Mary Kay Linge

June 10, 2023 12:33pm 

MORE ON:DONALD TRUMP

· Newsom gushes over ‘incredible relationship’ with Trump during pandemic

· Secret Service will not seek ‘special accommodations’ for Trump’s Miami court appearance

· Donald Trump’s indictment case has a looming 2024 end date

· Trump faces a maximum of 400 years in prison, $9M fine over federal indictment

Former President Donald Trump was set to take the stage in Georgia Saturday for his first live comments since the unsealing of a 49-page, 37-count federal indictment accusing him of mishandling classified documents.

More than 3,500 Republican state party delegates and guests are expected to pack the Columbus Convention and Trade Center in Columbus, Ga. to hear Trump speak at their annual GOP convention — sans Gov. Brian Kemp, a longtime Trump critic.

It is the first of two campaign-style stops for Trump, who remains the front-runner in the Republican presidential primary race despite his cascading legal woes.

The federal case unsealed in Miami on Friday came after a federal grand jury heard evidence that Trump illicitly retained classified documents and kept them at his Mar-a-Lago home.

The charges, including the willful retention of national defense documents and conspiring to obstruct justice, follow Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s April indictment for Trump’s alleged falsification of business records.

Those two cases may soon be joined by additional indictments: in Georgia over accusations of election interference, and in Washington, D.C. for the former president’s actions surrounding the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

In messages to supporters Saturday, Trump sought to use the prosecutions as fuel for his quest to win the Republican presidential nomination once again.

“I could throw in the towel tomorrow, close down my 2024 presidential campaign, and all charges against me would magically be dropped!” he wrote in a fundraising email.

Doing so, he added, “would be turning my back on our country” — casting his expected Tuesday arraignment as an attack on America itself.

Meanwhile, Trump made a string of posts on social media, including one all-caps missive claiming that “AMERICA WENT TO SLEEP LAST NIGHT WITH TEARS IN ITS EYES” over the indictment, which some Republicans have denounced as a politically motivated power grab.

But Kemp’s pointed absence signaled rifts within the Republican Party over Trump’s candidacy, particularly in the must-win swing state of Georgia, which the former president narrowly lost to President Biden in 2020.

A poll released Friday by Kemp’s Hardworking Americans PAC found that Trump would have the support of just 42% of likely Georgia voters in a rematch against Biden — fully six points less than the 48% support that a generic Republican candidate would receive in such a race.

The statewide survey of 600 voters, taken before news of the indictment dropped, found that Trump would barely edge out Biden 42% to 41% if the presidential election was held today, while any other GOP candidate would beat the incumbent by 10 points, 48% to 38%.

See the Post Peanut Gallery here

The poll had a 4% margin of error.

After the Georgia speech, Trump was scheduled to head to North Carolina to campaign at that state’s annual Republican convention.

ATTACHMENT THIRTY ONE – From

From WRBL, Columbus Georgia

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WRBL)— Two days after former president Donald Trump was indicted with federal charges, he flew into Columbus to speak to delegates and supporters from across the state of Georgia.

Several hours before his speech, leaders from local and state levels of the NAACP spoke out against Donald Trump’s appearance in the Fountain City.

“On behalf of the 3.3 million black people and all of the people of color in this state, we have one message for Donald Trump. Get out of Georgia,” Georgia State NAACP President Gerald Griggs said.

The 37-count indictment accuses the former president, and current presidential candidate, of mishandling classified documents. Some of which were marked ‘top secret,’ with information relating to nuclear weapons and military planning.

“We speak up on behalf of people of color around this state who believe that is important, that people have good moral values, that individuals abide by the law, that individuals do not incite violence, that individuals do not keep sensitive government documents in bathrooms,” Griggs said.

Members of the local, state, and national board of the NAACP joined together on the steps of the Government Center just hours ahead of Trump’s speech, condemning city leaders for allowing the former president to address Columbus, and the state of Georgia.

“Let’s be clear we are not talking politics. We are talking about character. By allowing Trump an individual under indictment with questionable character to speak at a community event sends a message that the community tolerates and even condones unhealthy behaviors and unethical actions,” Columbus NAACP President Wane Hailes said. “We have to stand strong and stand up and say for our African-American community, we are 48% of this community. So, we are saying that this is not right and that we do not condone his behavior or the fact that he’s coming to our community.”

The NAACP believes by allowing the former president to speak freely, city leaders are placing economic benefits above morality and ethics.

“Are we a city that really wants to embrace persons who have a lack of character, a person who has actually shown a lack of integrity, a person who is basically shown a lack of honesty throughout this country?” President of the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance Rev. J. H. Flakes, III asked. “Is that what we truly want to be associated with, Columbus?”

Trump plead not guilty to 34 criminal counts of falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to an adult entertainment star earlier this year.

“An individual that has now suffered a civil verdict for sexual assault is not welcome in Georgia,” Griggs said. “And an individual that potentially is a threat to our national security is not welcome in Georgia.”

Now he is facing an additional 37 federal criminal charges of mishandling classified documents after he left office.

“Those are very serious allegations,” Griggs said. “We should take a step back, allow the criminal justice process to play itself out and not invite somebody on a political podium to speak to the people of Georgia.”

While Trump has not been convicted of any wrongdoing thus far, members still believe allowing his presence will have lasting negative impacts in our community.

“We must stand up and have the courage to bring this to the forefront, to raise the awareness so that our children do not get the mixed message that it’s okay to incite violence when we are reeling and rocking within our own city with crime,” Rev. Flakes said.

Griggs says he believes the Fulton County District Attorney will be speaking soon on the investigation into Trump’s alleged efforts to undermine the presidential election in 2020.

Trump is the first former president to be facing criminal charges in history.

ATTACHMENT THIRTY TWO – From the Columbus Ledger Enquirer

Marjorie Taylor Greene and Georgia GOP convention goers sound off about Trump indictment BY MARK RICE UPDATED JUNE 10, 2023 8:10 AM Trump indictment hot topic at GA GOP convention in Columbus As the Georgia Republican Party 2023 State Convention opened Friday in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center, the first speaker set the scene. “We’re not living in normal times,” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the delegates. “We’re not living in a just country run by a just government. We’re living in very dangerous times.” That summarizes the viewpoint the Ledger-Enquirer heard from a sampling of Georgia Republicans attending the convention when they were asked about Trump. Here are highlights from those interviews: As the Georgia Republican Party 2023 State Convention opened Friday in the Columbus Convention & Trade Center, the first speaker set the scene. “We’re not living in normal times,” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the delegates. “We’re not living in a just country run by a just government. We’re living in very dangerous times.” Greene was referring to the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump, who leads polls among GOP candidates for the 2024 election, compared to the FBI investigation of alleged bribery scheme involving President Joe Biden. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-GA., speaks Friday afternoon at the Georgia GOP state convention in Columbus, Georgia. 06/09/2023 Mike Haskey mhaskey@ledger-enquirer.com “I don’t care how you feel about President Trump,” Greene said. “You need to understand that what they’re doing to President Trump is exactly what they will do to any one of us when they deem us a threat.” TOP VIDEOS Top Videos 00:27 01:30 First female Muscogee GOP chairhelps host Georgia convention That summarizes the viewpoint the Ledger-Enquirer heard from a sampling of Georgia Republicans attending the convention when they were asked about Trump. Here are highlights from those interviews: CLIFF RHODES, 45, PHARMACIST, BREMEN, GEORGIA Cliff Rhodes. 06/09/2023 Mike Haskey mhaskey@ledger-enquirer.com Reaction to the Trump indictment: “I think it’s the wrong thing. I think a lot of people are waking up to the fact that we have a two-tiered system of government. We’re starting to realize that a lot of institutions in America like the DOJ, the FBI, CIA, IRS — I could go on with the entire alphabet with our agencies and how they’ve been weaponized towards conservatives. . . . Our government has been overthrown by people that do not like us. A lot of people are saying it’s a Marxist revolution, and I believe it.” How the Trump indictment will affect his candidacy: “I think it will only help him. A lot of people are seeing that when Trump speaks, he’s speaking the truth. … Especially with conservatives, he’s had our best interests – and everybody’s best interests, including the radical left. Look at his policies. Actions speak louder than words. … Look at his actions instead of what he says. We had lower gas prices. We had a secure border, which is a huge issue with Fentanyl and MS-13. You’ve got human sex trafficking. It’s a mess.” What he wants to hear from Trump’s speech: “I think it’s a witch hunt. I hope he does touch on that a little bit. … I’d like for him to go into some of his policies too because I think they’re really strong.” PATRICIA KANI, 67, RETIRED FROM IT SERVICES, NEWNAN, GEORGIA Reaction to Trump indictment: “When you can indict a former sitting president for nothing, things have got to change, and you need somebody who’s going to fight, and Trump will fight. … The documents that he declassified already, that every president before him has had possession of, is that a crime? No, it isn’t.” Get unlimited digital access Try 1 month for $1 CLAIM OFFER Why she continues to support Trump: “Results. When he was president, he delivered results. … I loved his foreign policy. He had China in their box. He had North Korea in their box. He had Russia in their box. I love his tax cuts. I loved his trade deals. I loved the way he stood up to NATO. I loved the way he was securing the border. I’m trying to think of something he did that I didn’t like, and it hasn’t hit my brain yet. The economy was great. I mean, what’s to complain about? I don’t care about his personality. I care about results, and Trump delivered.” KARON FICKEY, 66, RETIRED HIGH SCHOOL PSYCHOLOGY TEACHER, RABUN COUNTY, GEORGIA Karon Fickey. 06/09/2023 Mike Haskey mhaskey@ledger-enquirer.com How the Trump indictment affects her opinion about him: “I still feel the same about him. I feel like he’s been treated unfairly. I’m not a Trumper necessarily, but it’s so obvious that the system is treating him extremely – there’s a double standard. … When you have a sitting president right now that has done the exact same thing, and yet he is excused, excused, excused. It is like a witch hunt.” Her concerns about Trump: “If he does win the nomination, we all need to be behind him 100%. Don’t allow someone’s disdain or dislike for Trump be more important than your love for this country. … I think his personality turns people off, a little brash.” Why she might support another candidate: “I think there’s some really good people running I don’t know that (Trump) will be able to unite the Republican Party. That’s my biggest concern. . . . Tim Scott’s excellent, Ron DeSantis. I want to see who’s out there.” JONATHAN LEDWELL, 43, WORKS FOR BOILER TUBE MANUFACTURER, CHATOOGA COUNTY, GEORGIA Reaction to Trump indictment: “It’s all a hoax. Look at it from the beginning. They tried to jam him up on everything. So far it’s all turned out to be false. They just keep jamming him. They don’t want him to run again.” Why he thinks that: “Because he’s not the establishment. He don’t play by the rules. He don’t go along. He’s not part of the bird. Right wing, left wing -- same bird. He’s not with it.” Impact of Trump indictment: “I’m going to vote for Trump. … Anything the news comes out with ain’t going to change my mind because I don’t believe nothing that’s on the news anyway.” What he likes about Trump: “Let’s start with the gas prices. Let’s start with the grocery prices. When he was in there, you can go on down the line. Our country was doing real good. My bank account looked pretty good, and I wasn’t make as much money then as I’m making now, and my bank account is shorter because my grocery bill is higher and my gas bill is higher.” Today’s top headlines Sign up for the Afternoon Update and get the day’s biggest stories in your inbox. SIGN UP This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. On biggest mistake Trump has made: “He let Fauci talk him into shutting our country down during COVID. They used that as a weapon against us. It affected our economy. … Don’t force me to do anything. I’m an American.” JIMMY FISHER, 84, DAHLONEGA, GEORGIA Jimmy Fisher Mike Haskey mhaskey@ledger-enquirer.com Why he supports Trump: “There’s nobody else that can do what he can do. Our country is in bad shape right now.” Reaction to Trump indictment: “It’s fake. … He is so innocent, and they hate him for it.” What he wants to hear from Trump’s speech: “Just be honest. … Don’t say anything you can’t do. If he wants to win, he will win. … He’s become a Christian, but he won’t admit it now or tell people about it because they’ll put him down; they’ll kill him. All the Christians are being killed today.” DONNA EVATT, 57, SEMI-RETIRED FROM HUSBAND’S HVAC COMPANY, ROSSVILLE, GEORGIA Why she supports Trump: “He made people realize that we had the power. It’s not just the elites up in Washington. … Don’t sugarcoat it. Don’t beat around the bush. Just tell me the truth. That’s pretty much what he does.” Reaction to the Trump indictment: “The indictment shows me that he scares them because the indictment came down the same day there’s proof that there’s Biden was taking bribes from Burisma (Ukranian natural gas firm). It’s just unprecedented that they would attack a political opponent like that. It’s very sad.” This story was originally published June 9, 2023, 5:38 PM.

Read more at: https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/politics-government/article276270541.html#storylink=cpy

SUNDAY’S MEAN (and sometimes meaningful) TWEETS and TALK SHOW CHATTER

The Week brought out Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) who called the indictment “overcharging” and said what the Clintons had done was worse (citing Hunter Biden and Anthony Weiner). “You may hate his guts,” he told liberal moderator (and Slick Willie factotum) George Stephanopolous, “but Donald Trump is not a spy.”

And then Chris Coons, from President Joe’s home state of Delaware, said that Trump “had nobody to blame but himself” and then launched into a protracted listing of Biden’s virtues and accomplishments.

ATTACHMENT the LAST – From Ballotpedia

The Whole f#@%ing elephant herd... all the Donkeys in the stable... and a smattering of unpartied participants.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form

DONATE

Click here for June 6 election results

Presidential candidates, 2024

2024 Presidential Election
Date: November 5, 2024

---

Presidential candidates • Electoral College in the 2024 presidential election • PredictIt markets • Presidential debates • Timeline of announcements • Important dates • Presidential election by state • Campaign finance • Endorsements • Logos and slogans • Key staffers

---

Democratic nomination

Democratic National Convention, 2024 • Delegate rules

---

Republican nomination

Republican National Convention, 2024 • Delegate rules • Campaign travel

---

Use the dropdown menu below to read more about noteworthy candidates

Submit

---

Ballotpedia's presidential election coverage
2024 • 2020 • 2016

The United States will hold a presidential election on November 5, 2024. This will be the 60th presidential election in United States history, and the first to be held after the reallocation of electoral college votes following the 2020 redistricting cycle.^[1]

As of June 2023, Ballotpedia has identified three noteworthy Democratic presidential candidates and 10 noteworthy Republican candidates. We identify noteworthy primary candidates based on previous or current officeholder status, previous presidential ballot access, media coverage, and primary debate polling and fundraising thresholds. To read more about our noteworthy candidate criteria, click here.

In addition to noteworthy candidates, this page also provides the names of all candidates who have filed with the Federal Election Commission and the names of politicians and public figures discussed as potential presidential contenders in 2024 by national media outlets.

Click the links below to navigate to:

· A timeline of presidential candidate announcements

· Notable declared candidates

· Comparison of announcement timelines in previous cycles

· Possible Democratic presidential candidates

· Possible Republican presidential candidates

· List of registered 2024 presidential candidates

Timeline

· June 6, 2023: Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie (R) filed to run for president.^[2]

· June 5, 2023: Former U.S. Vice President Mike Pence (R) filed to run for president.^[3]

· May 24, 2023: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) announced his candidacy.^[4]

· May 22, 2023: Senator Tim Scott (R-S.C.) announced his candidacy.^[5]

· May 1, 2023: Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) said he did not plan to declare a presidential candidacy in 2023.^[6]

· April 25, 2023: President Joe Biden (D) announced his re-election campaign.^[7]

Click here to view more events through November 2022

Notable declared candidates and exploratory committees

See also: Defining noteworthy presidential candidates (2024), How we order candidate lists

The following noteworthy candidates have filed to run for president with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) or announced exploratory committees. Click here to view a full list of all candidates who have filed with the FEC.

Democratic candidatesList of Democratic candidates

· Joe Biden (D), incumbent president of the United States, announced he would run for re-election on April 25, 2023.^[7]

· Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (D), a lawyer and author, announced he would run on April 5, 2023.^[11]

· Marianne Williamson (D), 2020 presidential candidate and author, announced she would run on February 23, 2023.^[14]

Republican candidates

List of Republican candidates

· Chris Christie (R), former governor of New Jersey, filed to run for president on June 6, 2023.^[2]

· Ron DeSantis (R), the governor of Florida, announced his candidacy on May 24, 2023.^[4]

· Larry Elder (R), a talk radio host and 2021 California gubernatorial candidate, announced his candidacy on April 20, 2023.^[8]

· Nikki Haley (R), former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Governor, announced she would run on February 14, 2023.^[16]

· Asa Hutchinson (R), former Arkansas Governor, announced he would run on April 2, 2023.^[12]

· Mike Pence (R), former vice president of the United States, filed to run for president on June 5, 2023.^[3]

· Vivek Ramaswamy (R), entrepreneur and political commentator, announced his campaign on February 21, 2023.^[15]

· Tim Scott (R), a United States senator from South Carolina, announced his candidacy.^[5]

@get?

· Corey Stapleton (R), former Montana Secretary of State, announced he would run on November 11, 2022.^[19]

· Donald Trump (R), former U.S. President, announced he would run on November 15, 2022.^[18]

Comparison of announcement timelines in previous cycles

The chart below shows noteworthy presidential campaign announcements in the odd years before the 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential elections.

Possible Democratic presidential candidates

As of June 2023, the following politicians and public figures had been discussed in the media as potential candidates for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

Democratic politicians

· Stacey Abrams, former Georgia state representative and 2022 gubernatorial candidate^[20]

· Eric Adams, mayor of New York City, New York^[21]

· Michael Bennet, U.S. senator from Colorado^[22]

· Andy Beshear, governor of Kentucky^[20]

· Cory Booker, U.S. senator from New Jersey^[22]

· Sherrod Brown, U.S. senator from Ohio^[23]

· Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Secretary of Transportation^[22]

· Hillary Clinton, 2016 presidential candidate^[24]

· Roy Cooper, governor of North Carolina^[25]

· Andrew Cuomo, former governor of New York^[20]

· Kamala Harris, vice president of the United States^[22]

· Jay Inslee, governor of Washington^[26]

· Joe Kennedy, former U.S. representative from Massachusetts^[22]

· Ro Khanna, U.S. representative from California^[23]

· Amy Klobuchar, U.S. senator from Minnesota^[22]

· Mitch Landrieu, former mayor of New Orleans^[25]

· Michelle Lujan Grisham, governor of New Mexico^[26]

· Joe Manchin, U.S. senator from West Virginia^[27]

· Chris Murphy, U.S. senator from Connecticut^[28]

· Phil Murphy, governor of New Jersey^[29]

· Gavin Newsom, governor of California^[20]

· Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, U.S. representative from New York^[20]

· J.B. Pritzker, governor of Illinois^[26]

· Gina Raimondo, U.S. Secretary of Commerce^[29]

· Nina Turner, former Ohio state representative and 2021 congressional candidate^[30]

· Elizabeth Warren, U.S. senator from Massachusetts^[25]

· Gretchen Whitmer, governor of Michigan^[26]

Independent politicians

· Bernie Sanders, U.S. senator from Vermont^[31]

Democratic business executives and public figures

· Joe Sanberg, entrepreneur and investor^[30]

· Oprah Winfrey, philanthropist and media executive^[22]

· Andrew Yang, entrepreneur and philanthropist^[32]

· Michelle Obama, former first lady of the United States^[33]

Possible Republican presidential candidates

As of June 2023, the following politicians and public figures had been discussed in the media as potential candidates for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

Republican politicians

· Greg Abbott, governor of Texas^[34]

· Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota^[35]

· Liz Cheney, former U.S. representative from Wyoming^[36]

· Bob Corker, former U.S. senator from Tennessee^[37]

· Tom Cotton, U.S. senator from Arkansas^[38]

· Daniel Crenshaw, U.S. representative from Texas^[39]

· Ted Cruz, U.S. senator from Texas^[40]

· Doug Ducey, former governor of Arizona^[37]

· Mike DeWine, governor of Ohio^[26]

· Joni Ernst, U.S. senator from Iowa^[39]

· Josh Hawley, U.S. senator from Missouri^[20]

· Adam Kinzinger, former U.S. representative from Illinois^[41]

· Mike Lee, U.S. senator from Utah^[34]

· Kristi Noem, governor of South Dakota^[42]

· Rand Paul, U.S. senator from Kentucky^[43]

· Rick Perry, former governor of Texas and 2016 Republican presidential primary candidate^[44]

· Mitt Romney, U.S. senator from Utah^[45]

· Marco Rubio, U.S. senator from Florida^[46]

· Ben Sasse, former U.S. senator from Nebraska^[34]

· Rick Scott, U.S. senator from Florida^[47]

· Elise Stefanik, U.S. representative from New York^[39]

· Glenn Youngkin, governor of Virginia^[48][49]

Republican business executives and public figures

· Tucker Carlson, Fox News anchor^[50]

· Candace Owens, conservative activist^[39]

· Donald Trump Jr., businessman and political adviser^[20]

· Ivanka Trump, businesswoman and political adviser^[38]

Did not run for the Republican nomination

· Larry Hogan, former governor of Maryland^[13]

· Mike Pompeo, former secretary of state^[9]

· Chris Sununu, governor of New Hampshire^[51]

@from ballotpedia

List of registered 2024 presidential candidates

See also: List of registered 2024 presidential candidates

The following table lists candidates who filed with the FEC to run for president. Some applicants used pseudonyms; candidate names and party affiliations are written as they appeared on the FEC website on the date that they initially filed with the FEC.^[52][53]

This list was last updated on May 30, 2023. The list is sorted alphabetically by first name. Scroll down in the table below to view the full list.

Candidates who have filed for the 2024 presidential election
Candidate	Party
Aaron Avouris	Libertarian Party
Aaron Day	Republican Party
Aaron Grotta	Nonpartisan
Aaron M. He	Democratic Party
Aaron Taylor	Nonpartisan
A.C. Toulme	One Earth Party
Adam Charles Lewis	Nonpartisan
Adam Hennessey	Independent
Adam Hollick	Green Party
Adam McBride	Independent
Adam Michael Dunn	Republican Party
Adam Michael Hougland	Republican Party
Adam Nicholas Paul	Independent
Adam Ouariti	Democratic Party
Ade Oba Olukore	American People's Freedom Party
Ahmad Saide	Nonpartisan
Ajay Thaliath	Democratic Party
Alander Pulliam	Independent
Alan Huddleston	Democratic Party
Alan Spears	Republican Party
Albert Harshaw	Republican Party
Alec Jude Wilson	Independent
Alexander David Hooper	Nonpartisan
Alexander Joseph Sean Heidenreich	Independent
Alexander Jule	Nonpartisan
Alex Barrella	Independent
Alexis Jean Cloute	Nonpartisan
Alice Yancy Teague	Independent
Alida Felton	Democratic Party
Amanda Dunavant	Nonpartisan
Amber Byers	Independent
Andreas Lerma	Nonpartisan
Andre Nero	Independent
Andrew Ashley	Independent
Andrew Heartdoc Chung	Independent
Andrew Joseph O'Donnell	Unaffiliated
Andrew Kantor	Independent
Andrew L. Everett	Republican Party
Andrew Robert Kwiatkowski	Republican Party
Andrew Smreker	Independent
Andrew Townsend	Independent
Angela Dwyer	Independent
Angela Glass	Independent
Angela Marie Walls-Windhauser	Republican Party
Angela Redovian	Republican Party
Angel Michael Crockford	Republican Party
Anita Belle	Green Party
Anna Marie Carter	Nonpartisan
Ann Yeager	Nonpartisan
Anthony Jason Hudson	Republican Party
Anthony Llanes	Republican Party
Anthony Primo Darpino	Republican Party
Antonio Gagnon	Libertarian Party
Antonio Marco Pantalo	Democratic Party
Antony Handal	Unaffiliated
Armando Perez-Serrato	Democratic Party
Arse Vincent Cysewski	Democratic Party
Arthur Van Houten	Nonpartisan
Asa Hutchinson	Republican Party
Ashaki Noni Nichols	Nonpartisan
Ashley Powell	Democratic Party
Audrey Conrad	Republican Party
Ava C. Solomon	Republican Party
Azeem Hussein	Democratic Party
Barak Zilberberg	Republican Party
Barbara Stone	People's Party
Beau Lindsey	Libertarian Party
Benjamin Garcia	Democratic Party
Benjamin Stewart	Nonpartisan
Bradley Scott Hartliep	Republican Party
Brandon Gonce	Republican Party
Brandon Hugh Parker	Unaffiliated
Brandon Jamal Shipman	Nonpartisan
Bret Popp	Unaffiliated
Brett Allen Dillon	Independent
Brian Cox	Independent
Brian Friend	Republican Party
Brian Jerral Wesson	Republican Party
Brian Korn	Nonpartisan
Brian Mannix	Nonpartisan
Brian Matthew Owen	Democratic Party
Brian Patrick Stack	Republican Party
Brittany A. Mckown	Democratic Party
Brittany Nichole Jones	Unaffiliated
Bruce Burbridge	Independent
Bruce John Kenneway	Nonpartisan
Bryan Daniel Procuk	Nonpartisan
Bryan James	Democratic Party
Byron K. Ross	Republican Party
Caleb James Guay	Republican Party
Caleb McKean	Nonpartisan
Carlos Antonio De Bourbon-Montenegro	Independent
Carmelo Pinnavaria	Nonpartisan
Carmine Marranzino	Republican Party
Carrie Mae Marcy	Republican Party
Carson Loveless	Democratic Party
Casey Hardison	Other
Chad Knight	Independent
Chad Lottenville	Nonpartisan
Chad S. Larkey	Independent
Chance Trahan	Nonpartisan
Charles Chun Pang	Nonpartisan
Charles Junior Hodge	Independent
Charles Moss	Republican Party
Charles Todd Sullivan	Nonpartisan
Chase Oliver	Libertarian Party
Cherunda Lynn Fox	Republican Party
Chez Mann	Nonpartisan
Chris Adam Valentine	Nonpartisan
Chris Merrill De La Torre	Nonpartisan
Christen Erika Johnson	Unaffiliated
Christian John DeMarco	Nonpartisan
Christina Greathouse	Nonpartisan
Christine Charyton	Nonpartisan
Christin Noel Powers	Democratic Party
Christopher Alan Selke	American Independent Party
Christopher Campbell	Democratic Party
Christopher Dennis Hull	Unaffiliated
Christopher Florquist	Unaffiliated
Christopher Garrity	Nonpartisan
Christopher Gillen	American Independent Party
Christopher Hansen	Independent
Christopher Johnson	Independent
Christopher J. Olkowski	Republican Party
Christopher Lee Dias	Independent
Christopher Pettenaro	Republican Party
Christopher Price Lytle	Nonpartisan
Christopher Robert Jones	People Over Politics Party
Christopher Robert Russell	Republican Party
Christopher Stried	Independent
Christopher Tillis	Republican Party
Chris Welton	Republican Party
Clayton Ressler	Independent
Clifford Griffin	Independent
Cody Hoover	Republican Party
Colton Hawk	Independent
Corey Stapleton	Republican Party
Craig Paxson	Nonpartisan
Crusificio Gambino	Republican Party
Dale Webb	Republican Party
Dana R. Bradley	Unaffiliated
Daniel Albert Ohlson	Independent
Daniel Behrman	Unaffiliated
Daniel Clark	Independent
Daniel Isler	Independent
Danielle Delouise Dixon	Independent
Daniel Louis Levine	Nonpartisan
Daniel Paul Francis	Nonpartisan
Daniel R. Schaller	Republican Party
Dan Knight	Other
Danny Ray Vasquez	Nonpartisan
Dantwan Samuel Watkins	Democratic Party
Darin Johnson	Republican Party
Darryl Cedric White	Nonpartisan
David Bardol	Nonpartisan
David Barnard	Democratic Party
David Bounds	Independent
David Cash	Democratic Party
David Dunlap	Libertarian Party
David Emerson	Republican Party
David Gibson	American Independent Conservative Party
David Jon Sponheim	Nonpartisan
David Kay	Nonpartisan
David Klotzbuecher	Independent
David Lee Shoup	Republican Party
David Michael Darnell	Independent
David Murdock	Peace and Freedom Party
David Raphael	Nonpartisan
David Raphael Herz	Republican Party
David Reed DeSilva	Libertarian Party
David Terpening	Republican Party
David Tuxhorn	Nonpartisan
David Wayne Touchet	Republican Party
Dawn Wentworth	Republican Party
DC Jefferson	Democratic Party
Debbie Wilson	Independence Party
Debra Vanessa White	Nonpartisan
Dennis A. Diaz	Independent
Dennis Kevin Cox Jr.	Nonpartisan
Dennis Lory Lane	Independent
Dennis Mulins	Conservative Party
Dennis Torii Jr.	Independent
Dennis Vandusen-Torres	Nonpartisan
Deonna Dieter	Republican Party
Derek Chowen	Republican Party
Desmond Moore	Republican Party
Diana Chika	Independent
Donald Faulknor Jr.	Republican Party
Donald Frayer	Republican Party
Donald Mays Kjornes	Republican Party
Donald Trump	Republican Party
Donnis Griffin	Independent
Dorsey Porter	Democratic Party
Doug Jenkins	Nonpartisan
Douglas G. Hayward	American Independent Party
Dustin Arron Monroe	Republican Party
Dustin James Horst	Independent
Dustin James Mahurin	Independent
Dustin Rorex	Democratic Party
Dykeba Lecole Rogers	Democratic Party
Dylan Valenti	Nonpartisan
Dyron Marcus Wash	American Independent Party
Earl Davis	Democratic Party
Eduardo Uvalle	Nonpartisan
Edward Carlton Jewell Sr.	Independent
Edward Lee Brinkley	Republican Party
Edward Lee Nash	Independent
Efrain DeJesus	Republican Party
Eliud Resendez	Other
Emory Vaughn	Independent
Eric Atkinson	Independent
Eric Bolin	Nonpartisan
Eric Jatod Edmond	American Independent Conservative Party
Eric Jon Boerner	Republican Party
Erick Cid	Republican Party
Eric Kryzenske	Nonpartisan
Erick Toks Ekundayo	Independent
Eric L. Mortimore	Republican Party
Eric Meiring	Independent
Eric Scott Cavanagh	Republican Party
Eric Walleck	Republican Party
Erik Leckner	Democratic Party
Ernest Deering	Nonpartisan
Ethan R. Richards	Nonpartisan
Ethan Witzling Hamby	Democratic Party
Eugene Hunt Jr.	Republican Party
Evette Rechelle Tippett	Democratic Party
Fareed Anderson	Republican Party
Felipe Rios	Republican Party
Flory Louis Seidel	Republican Party
Floyd Neal Petri	Republican Party
Francis Lorenz	Nonpartisan
Frank Castellucci III	Nonpartisan
Frank J. Lozada	Democratic Party
Franklin Deleno Rutherford III	Nonpartisan
Frederick Santiago	Independence Party
Frederick Taylor Patterson	Independent
Fuad Abdullahi	American Independent Party
Gary Davis	Democratic Party
Gary Lambert Jr.	Nonpartisan
Gavin Bonney	Independent
George Brucato	Democratic Party
George Wilson	American Independent Party
Georgia Juliette Bartylla-Bernard	Independent
Gerald Defelice	Republican Party
Gerald John Jennings	Republican Party
Gerry Coleman	Democratic Party
Gibran Nicholas	Democratic Party
Glenda Jo Woodward	Nonpartisan
Glenn Scott Allistair Simpson	Independent
Glynndeavin von Fox	Independent
Gott Lally	Independent
Greg Litman Sembower	Republican Party
Gregory Litzenberg	Independent
Gregory Marcus Carter	Independent
Gregory Marquis Thomas	Democratic Party
Gregory Scott Van Huisen	Republican Party
Greg Walton	Republican Party
Halloran Leonard Yeah	Nonpartisan
Harold Demby	Independence Party
Harrison Reinbeck	Republican Party
Harvey Brown	Nonpartisan
Heather Alexandra Nunn	Nonpartisan
Heather Munoz	Democratic Party
Heath R. Gorney	Nonpartisan
Herbert Ezekiel Zeke Smyth	Democratic Party
Hope Dir	American People's Freedom Party
Howard Dotson	Democratic Party
Howard Russell Cohen	Independent
Howie Hawkins	Other
Hubert Sean Francisco	Independent
Hudson Theodore Zoller	Democratic Party
Hugo Aguilar	Republican Party
Hugo Valdez Garcia	Libertarian Party
Huhnkie Lee	Independent
Hung Huynh Chan	Democratic Party
Ian Netupsky	Independent
Insley Evans	Nonpartisan
Irina D'Amato	Independent
Isaiah Reid	Democratic Party
Islam Karam Mossaad	Republican Party
Ivory Patton	Nonpartisan
Jackie Knight	Nonpartisan
Jackie Tate	Green Party
Jackson Stewart	Peace and Freedom Party
Jack Sparks	Republican Party
Jacob Hornberger	Libertarian Party
Jacob Matthew Parker	Independent
Jacob Meiers	Republican Party
Jacob Stephen Levine	Moderate Party
Jacob Suarez	Independent
Jacob Taiwo Familoni	Republican Party
Jacob William McKenzie	Republican Party
Jade Velarde	Nonpartisan
Jaha Hughes	Nonpartisan
Jamall Ali Chestnut	Republican Party
James Altucher	Nonpartisan
James B. Bouton	Republican Party
James Bills	Independent
James Brandon Garretson	Independent American Party
James Earle Fudge	Nonpartisan
James Everett Aguilar	Republican Party
James Goodale	Independent
James J. Dunn	Republican Party
James Martinez	Nonpartisan
James Meroney	Republican Party
James Nixon	Democratic Party
James Orlando Ogle III	Democratic Party
James Paris Firmani	Republican Party
James Peterson	Republican Party
Janet Parker	Nonpartisan
Jaquan Curry	Independent
Jared Huffman	Republican Party
Jasen Lemar Edwards	Nonpartisan
Jasmine Sherman	Nonpartisan
Jason Alaniz	American People's Freedom Party
Jason Hershey	Nonpartisan
Jason J. Gambert	Nonpartisan
Jason John Juarez	Nonpartisan
Jason Michael Kidd	Nonpartisan
Jay P. Pridmore	Republican Party
Jease Gladden	Concerned Citizens Party of Connecticut
Jeffory Heath	Republican Party
Jeff Paul	Unaffiliated
Jeffrey Magner	Nonpartisan
Jeffrey Wiebens	Republican Party
Jennifer Alameda	Republican Party
Jennifer Astello	Democratic Party
Jennifer Gillis	Nonpartisan
Jennifer Hidrogo	Republican Party
Jennifer Lee Ann Ney	Democratic Party
Jennifer McMurray	Democratic Party
Jeremiah Newman	Republican Party
Jeremy J. Kluesner	Republican Party
Jeremy Kelly	Republican Party
Jeremy Kinman	Republican Party
Jeremy Shane Bernheisel	Independent
Jerry Leon Carroll	Nonpartisan
Jesse Corson	Independent
Jesse Dwight Gladden	Nonpartisan
Jesse Streeter	Republican Party
Jessica Brown	Republican Party
Jesus B. Torres	Republican Party
Jesus Torres	Republican Party
Jim Alexander Norris	Republican Party
Jimmy Edward Harvey	Nonpartisan
Joanne Noto	Independent
Jodie Smithson	Democratic Party
Jody Daniel King	Republican Party
Joe Biden	Democratic Party
Joe D. Shepard	Republican Party
Joe Exotic	Democratic Party
JoeLarry Hunter	Independent
Joel Larson	Republican Party
Joe Schaufele	Nonpartisan
Johnathan Merkwan	Communist Party
John Brubaker	Independent
John Daly	American Independent Party
John Fischer	Republican Party
John Franklin Wadley	Republican Party
John Gabriel Dvorak	Republican Party
John Gagliardi	Democratic Party
John Gwin Jr.	Independent
John Keehner	Independent
John McGlover	Independent
John Philip Lograsso	Nonpartisan
John Roco	Republican Party
John Roy Brooks	Independent
John Schiess	Republican Party
John Washington III	Democratic Party
Jojo Camp	Independent
Jonathan Fitzpatrick	Independent
Jonathan Hardin	Nonpartisan
Jonathan Mitchell	Republican Party
Jonathan Rosen	Republican Party
Jonathan Thomas Bailey	Nonpartisan
Jonathan Tuan Tran	Democratic Party
Jonathan Wesberry	Republican Party
Jonathon Ramos	Federalist Party
Jon Castenada	Independent
Jon Edward Stasevich	Independent
Jon Stewart @him?	Libertarian Party
Joselito Santiago-Matias	Republican Party
Joseph Anthony Gervasio	Republican Party
Joseph Arthur Stetson	Republican Party
Joseph Collins	Republican Party
Joseph Foreman	Independent
Joseph Hoinski	Republican Party
Joseph Jay Manger	Democratic Party
Joseph Luis Gonzaga III	Nonpartisan
Joseph Martin	Unaffiliated
Joseph Zedan	Independent
Jose Santos Cortes	Republican Party
Joshua Aron Fritz	Nonpartisan
Joshua Chiartas	Independent
Joshua David Usera	Other
Joshua Gray	Independent
Joshua Rodriguez	Libertarian Party
Joshua R. Schmitz	Republican Party
Juan Rullan	Nonpartisan
Judah B. Wilson	Unaffiliated
Julian Bishop Lewis	Independent
Julie Jones	Democratic Party
Julie Meyer	Republican Party
Justin Byrd	Republican Party
Justin C. Robbins	Republican Party
Justin Don Phillips	American Independent Party
Justin Edward Hamilton	Independent
Justin Thompson	Republican Party
Kacey Nicole Samples	Democratic Party
Kandy Kaye Horn	Republican Party
Kanye Dewayne Wilkerson	Democratic Party
Karen Elaine Shafford	Republican Party
Katie Roedersheimer	D.C. Statehood Green Party
Keira Anne Walker	Democratic Party
Keith Charles Shaffer	Republican Party
Keith S. Jacobs	Nonpartisan
Keith Smith	Democratic Party
Kelan Farrell-Smith	Democratic Party
Kelvin Brewton	Independent
Kelvin Gerad Davis	Independent
Kerry Simmons	Nonpartisan
Kevin Alexander Davies	Nonpartisan
Kevin Babicz	Libertarian Party
Kevin Eugene St John	Republican Party
Kevin Gilroy	Democratic Party
Kevin Palmer Smith	Independent
Kevin Tucker	Libertarian Party
Kevin West	Independent
Khistina Dejean	Independent
Kristie Shaver	Nonpartisan
Kristopher Lee Davis	Democratic Party
Kurios I	Independent
Kurry John Seymour	Republican Party
Kwame Khary Boyd	Republican Party
Kyle Alexander Sherman	Independent
Kyle Kenley Kopitke	Independent
Kyle Kennedy	Republican Party
Lance Brookins	Unaffiliated
Lanormaya Williams	People Over Politics Party
La'Rasha Washington	Independent
Larry D. Azevedo	Democratic Party
Larry Elder	Republican Party
Larry Johnson	Nonpartisan
Larry Vanpool	Nonpartisan
Lars Mapstead	Libertarian Party
Lashondra Dionne Winters	Nonpartisan
Laurah Guillen	Nonpartisan
Lee Mercer Jr.	Democratic Party
Lee Rhodes	Democratic Party
Liam Sutman	Republican Party
Lincoln Chambers Adams	Republican Party
Lindsay Kelch	Democratic Party
Lisa Miel Matejka	Independent
Lonnie Wills	Republican Party
Loreal Richey	Nonpartisan
Loren Charles Janosky	American Party
Lori Ann Henriques	Democratic Party
Lucy Liao Master	Republican Party
Luis Jimenez	Republican Party
Malcolm Alexander-Neal	U.S. Taxpayers Party
Marc Rosenkrans	People Over Politics Party
Marcus Alexander Branch	Democratic Party
Marcus Eric Byrd	Nonpartisan
Marianne Williamson	Democratic Party
Mark Alan Eberwine	Nonpartisan
Mark Bamundo	Unaffiliated
Mark Charles Fitzgerald	Independent
Mark Duane Jacobs	Republican Party
Mark Grauwelman	Republican Party
Mark Robert Marcellini	Nonpartisan
Mark Stewart Greenstein	Democratic Party
Marlaina Whitney Gedes	Nonpartisan
Marte Cooksey	Republican Party
Martin Blake	Independent
Marty Errin Snider	Nonpartisan
Marty Moss	Republican Party
Mary Clement	Democratic Party
Mary Tadeshe	Independent Conservative Democratic Party
Mary Villaverde Morse	Republican Party
Mason Vicent Cysewski	Green Party
Mathew Lee Tyler	Independent
Matt Guilland	Unaffiliated
Matthew Austin Imholte	Nonpartisan
Matthew Coe Buchanan	Nonpartisan
Matthew Dolan	Independent
Matthew D. Pinnavaia	Nonpartisan
Matthew Duane Rasey	Republican Party
Matthew Harding	Independent
Matthew Jackson	Unaffiliated
Matthew Joseph Murphy	Republican Party
Matthew Madsen	Republican Party
Matthew Walter Chandler	Jewish/Christian National Party
Mattie Joy Johnson	Republican Party
Mattie Preston	Democratic Party
Maximillian Hill	Independence Party
Melinda Daugherty	Nonpartisan
Melissa Biondi	Libertarian Party
Melissa Milhorn	Independent
Michael Alan Vivroux	Republican Party
Michael Anderson	Nonpartisan
Michael Banks	Veterans Party of America Party
Michael Bannon	Republican Party
Michael Bickelmeyer	Republican Party
Michael Busa	Unaffiliated
Michael Charles Stoll	Republican Party
Michael Clark	American Independent Conservative Party
Michael Curtis	Republican Party
Michael David Anthony	Independent
Michael D'Ottavio	Democratic Party
Michael D. Swing	Democratic Party
Michael Edward Jorgensen	Independent
Michael Floyd	Other
Michael Gaul	Conservative Party
Michael Harbour	Nonpartisan
Michael Hood	Independent
Michael Jeffrey Ruoho	Republican Party
Michael Jenkins	Nonpartisan
Michael Landingham	Democratic Party
Michael Lemon	Conservative Party
Michael Matthew Gibbons	Republican Party
Michael Morini	Nonpartisan
Michael Palmer	Republican Party
Michael Robert Fusco	Nonpartisan
Michael Sigmon	Progressive Party
Michael Soetaert	Democratic Party
Michael Tillinghast	Democratic Party
Michael W. Barbine	Nonpartisan
Michael Zayas	Independent
Michele Lynn Jakubowski	Republican Party
Michelle A. Miser	Independent
Michelle Hudson Hale	Democratic Party
Miguel Rosales	Nonpartisan
Mike Ledbetter	Republican Party
Mike Martisko	Other
Mike Pence	Republican Party
Mike ter Maat	Libertarian Party
Mikey Lane	Democratic Party
Mitchell Ebata	Nonpartisan
Mohammad Kabir	Other
Monique Laurette Spalding	Republican Party
Morris Thompson	Unaffiliated
Mykal Anstrom	Independent
Nancy Elizabeth Rodriguez	Democratic Party
Naresh Vissa	Freedom Party
Natia Langston-Valenzuela	Independent
Nicholas Biller	Nonpartisan
Nicholas Gray	Nonpartisan
Nicholas Joseph Rains Anoai	Republican Party
Nicholas Lance	Independent
Nicholas Luppino	Independent
Nicholas Mantanona	Other
Nicholas Parham	Independent
Nicholas Samuel Gonzales	Republican Party
Nick Marks	Nonpartisan
Nicolae Bunea	Democratic Party
Nikki Haley	Republican Party
Nikolette Hastings	Independent
Nita Mildred Rice	Democratic Party
Obioku Bassey Obotette	Republican Party
Omar Jamil Boulos	Nonpartisan
Paij Boring	Republican Party
Pamela M. Pinkney Butts	Other
Pamela Rocker	Independent American Party
Patricia Nicklaus	Republican Party
Patrick Beck	Nonpartisan
Patrick Chapman	Nonpartisan
Patrick Dean Johnson	Independence Party
Patrick Henry Fourroux	Republican Party
Paul Alexander Bravo	Republican Party
Paul B. Collingwood	Nonpartisan
Paul Manion	Independent
Paul Matthew Brough	Independence Party
Paul Robert Miller	Republican Party
Pedro J. Velez	Democratic Party
Perry Johnson	Republican Party
Peter Quaglia	Nonpartisan
Peter Sharma	Nonpartisan
Phillip Drake	Independent
Phillip Emerson	Independent
President Boddie	Independent
Preston Tyler Struve	Republican Party
Princess Khadijah M. Pres Jacob-Fambro	Independent
Quartterrio Morgan	American People's Freedom Party
Rachel Hannah Swift	Republican Party
Rafael Jones	Republican Party
Ralph Anthony Pelusi	Republican Party
Ralph Tingle	Resource Party
Ramon Navarro	Nonpartisan
Ramon William Tripp	Nonpartisan
Randall Wick	Democratic Party
Randy Gerber	Republican Party
Randy Toler	Green Party
Raoul Kennedy	Nonpartisan
Raymond Dude Wagner	Libertarian Party
Raymond Lynn Stahle	Nonpartisan
Rebecca Gail Abair	Republican Party
Regina D. DiSilvestro	Independent
Richard Blake Rogers	Republican Party
Richard C. Hoefer	Republican Party
Richard C. Mcsorley	Republican Party
Richard Curtiss	Republican Party
Richard Hale Nelson	Democratic Party
Richard James Casey	Nonpartisan
Richard John Walters	Independent
Richard Kale Fitzgerald	Nonpartisan
Richard Lee Matheson	Nonpartisan
Rico Cortez Dukes	American Independent Party
Riki Prado	Democratic Party
Robert Allen Weeks Jr.	New Alliance Party
Robert Chapman	Nonpartisan
Robert Cooke IV	Green Party
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.	Democratic Party
Robert Francis Lungo	Independent
Robert Humphrey	Independent
Robert Ion Moldafsky	Democratic Party
Robert James Walker	Communist Party
Robert Lee	Independent
Robert Malone	Republican Party
Robert McMurrer	Independence Party
Robert Michael Duncan	Republican Party
Robert Sherwood	Republican Party
Robert Wells	Independent
Robert Wendell Smith	Independent
Robin Mitchell	Independent
Rocky Dean Crawford	Nonpartisan
Rodger Lee Roose	Democratic Party
Rod Mack	Independent
Rodney Lee Lammers	Republican Party
Rodolfo Pina Jr.	Nonpartisan
Roelin Lee Davis	Nonpartisan
Roger Lee Hughes	Republican Party
Roger Welton	American Independent Conservative Party
Roland Kwadwo Dela Agorkle	Democratic Party
Rollan Roberts	Republican Party
Romero Awtro Crawford	Independent
Ronaliseya Renea Stoudemire	Independent
Ron DeSantis	Republican Party
Ron S. Bull	Democratic Party
Royce Marie Patton	Nonpartisan
Russell DeLeon	Libertarian Party
Ryan Binkley	Republican Party
Ryan David Novak	Republican Party
Ryan Kocak	Nonpartisan
Ryan McCarty	Democratic Party
Ryan P. Kirkpatrick	Democratic Party
Ryan Stephen Ehrenreich	Republican Party
Sae Hoon Park	Democratic Party
Sahmon Mustafa	Democratic Party
Saint Jermaine Endeley	Democratic Party
Sam Dependahl	Unaffiliated
Sammy Garret	Independent
Samuel B. Hoff	Independent
Samuel D'Amico	Democratic Party
Samuel Levi Hurt	Republican Party
Samuel Lyndell Powell	Independent
Saul Remi Hernandez	Republican Party
Saundra Lou Edgell	Independent
Scott Aiden Gardner	Independent
Scott Alan Stratman	Republican Party
Scott Allen Himrod	Nonpartisan
Scott Conroy Palmer	Nonpartisan
Scott Earnest Saunders	American Independent Conservative Party
Scott Milam Townsend	Republican Party
Scott Preston Schafer	Republican Party
Scott Wayne Nelson	Independent
Sean McGuire	Democratic Party
Sebastian Stewart	Republican Party
Serrice Holman	Republican Party
Seth Stewart	Democratic Party
Sexy Vegan	Nonpartisan
Seymour Art Lee	Libertarian Party
Shabadjot Bharara	Democratic Party
Sharon E. Brooks	Independent
Shaun Savage	Republican Party
Shawna Lyn Mccallister	Republican Party
Shawn Asberry	Republican Party
Shayne Matthew Robinson	Nonpartisan
Shear'Ree Shear'Ree	Independent
Sheila Robinson	Independent
Shelley Faye Holy	Republican Party
Shiloh Shiloh	American Independent Party
Shinae Ahn	Democratic Party
Shiva Ayyadurai	Independent
Shmuel Goldstein	Republican Party
Shontrell Johnson	Republican Party
Simone Dickson	Nonpartisan
Skyles Fitzgerald McAuley	Democratic Party
Sorinne Ardeleanu	Independent
Spencer Brandkamp	Nonpartisan
Stanley Clint Beatty	Republican Party
Stefan Lowe	Republican Party
Stephanie Noelle Denny	Republican Party
Stephen Alan Leon	Democratic Party
Stephen Bradley Comley Sr.	Republican Party
Stephen Glass	Republican Party
Steve Laffey	Republican Party
Steven Fleck	Democratic Party
Steven Hudson	Democratic Socialists of America
Steven Kross	Republican Party
Stuart Farber	Democratic Party
Susan Resch	Republican Party
Suzzanna V. Tanner	Independent
Sykema Powell	Democratic Party
Talalupe Fonzie Vavao	Republican Party
Tamerlane Bey	Independence Party
Tamiko Powell	Independent
Tanya Pearson	Independent
Tara Frost	Nonpartisan
Taylor Sullivan	Unaffiliated
Temperance Lance-Council	Nonpartisan
Terrance Abraham	Independent
Terrance James Harvey	Republican Party
Tevin Handford	Liberal Party
Thomas Daly	Democratic Party
Thomas Edward Burton	Independent
Thomas Erickson	Nonpartisan
Thomas Francis Winterbottom	Democratic Party
Thomas James Kidd	Independent
Thomas Sheppard	Republican Party
Tiffany Gayle Keller	Democratic Party
Tiffany Shawn Ford	Independent
Timothy Michael Villari	Republican Party
Timothy Neil Rushing	Constitutional Party
Timothy Paul Jackson Jr.	American Independent Conservative Party
Timothy Rachal	Republican Party
Tim Scott	Republican Party
Tina Jayne Hahn	Republican Party
Tina Rose	Independent
TJ Elgin	Independent
TJ Wallace	Republican Party
Toby Martini	Independent
Todd J. Ashcraft	Democratic Party
Tommie Lee Allen IV	Nonpartisan
Tonya Michelle Jennings	Nonpartisan
Tony Jones	Reform Party
Tony Zorc	Independent
Traci Ann Sandrick	Republican Party
Travis Keith Lang	Republican Party
Trenita Walker	Democratic Party
Tyler Gray	Green Party
Tyrone Jamison	Republican Party
Valentine Vidal	Democratic Party
Valerie Coleman	Republican Party
Valma Kitt Paul	Republican Party
Vanderelmo James Acevedo Diaz	Nonpartisan
Van Kent	Independent
Victoria Dawn Zieg	Democratic Party
Vincent Cordova	Independent
Vincent Wallace	American Independent Conservative Party
Vivek Ramaswamy	Republican Party
Walter Douglas Clapp	Republican Party
Washington Blask	Republican Party
Wayne J. Villines	Democratic Party
Wayne Pope	Democratic Party
Wenona Gardner	Independent
Wesley Todd Inselman	Independent
Whitney Medearis	Democratic Party
William Anderson Beauford	Republican Party
William Anthony Fera	Communist Party
William Cody Nalbach	Nonpartisan
William Farms	Independent
William Gailey	Democratic Party
William G. Jackson	Independent
William Lambert	Nonpartisan
William Robert Connors	Nonpartisan
William Wallace	Independent
Willie Carter	Democratic Party
Willita Bush-Boyd	Independent
Wilson Jack	Nonpartisan
Wisdom Zerit Teklay	Nonpartisan
Wyatt Endres	Independent
Zachary Krueger	Nonpartisan
Zachary Michael Burell	Unaffiliated
Zane Baize	Unaffiliated

See also

· Presidential election, 2024

· List of registered 2024 presidential candidates

Footnotes

1. ↑ 270 to Win, "Historical Presidential Elections," accessed January 17, 2023

2. ↑ ^{Jump up to:2.0 2.1} The New York Times, "Chris Christie Formally Enters ’24 Race, as He Takes Square Aim at Trump," June 6, 2023

3. ↑ ^{Jump up to:3.0 3.1} FEC, "Statement of Candidacy - Mike Pence," June 5, 2023

4. ↑ ^{Jump up to:4.0 4.1} Federal Election Commission, "Statement of Organization," accessed May 24, 2023

5. ↑ ^{Jump up to:5.0 5.1} C-SPAN, "Sen. Tim Scott Announces Presidential Campaign," May 22, 2023

6. ↑ Politico, "Glenn Youngkin says he’s not running for president ‘this year’," May 1, 2023

7. ↑ ^{Jump up to:7.0 7.1} YouTube, "Joe Biden Launches His Campaign For President: Let's Finish the Job," April 25, 2023

8. ↑ ^{Jump up to:8.0 8.1} Associated Press, "Larry Elder announces bid for 2024 Republican presidential nomination," April 20, 2023

9. ↑ ^{Jump up to:9.0 9.1} The Hill, "Pompeo won’t run for president in 2024," accessed April 14, 2023

10. ↑ Twitter, "Tim Scott on April 12, 2023," accessed April 12, 2023

11. ↑ ^{Jump up to:11.0 11.1} CNN, "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. files paperwork to run for president as a Democrat," April 5, 2023

12. ↑ ^{Jump up to:12.0 12.1} Politico.com, "Asa Hutchinson announces presidential bid, says Trump should withdraw from race," April 2, 2023

13. ↑ ^{Jump up to:13.0 13.1} Washington Post, "Larry Hogan, former Maryland governor and Trump critic, won’t run for president," March 5, 2023

14. ↑ ^{Jump up to:14.0 14.1} The Hill, "Marianne Williamson confirms she will run for president in 2024," February 23, 2023

15. ↑ ^{Jump up to:15.0 15.1} Politico, "Vivek Ramaswamy announces he will run for president," February 21, 2023

16. ↑ ^{Jump up to:16.0 16.1} Twitter, "Nikki Haley on February 14, 2023," accessed February 14, 2023

17. ↑ The Post and Courier, "It’s official: Nikki Haley running for president. Formal announcement Feb. 15," January 31, 2023

18. ↑ ^{Jump up to:18.0 18.1} The New York Times, "Trump, ignoring the midterms’ verdict on him, announces a 2024 run, November 15, 2022"

19. ↑ ^{Jump up to:19.0 19.1} CBS 17, "Former Montana Secretary of State Corey Stapleton Says 'Pay It Forward', Announces Bid for U.S. President 2024," November 11, 2022

20. ↑ ^{Jump up to:20.0 20.1 20.2 20.3 20.4 20.5 20.6}

21. ↑ The Washington Times, "NYC Mayor Eric Adams exemplifies the surge of the ‘anti-woke’ Democrat," May 22, 2022

22. ↑ ^{Jump up to:22.0 22.1 22.2 22.3 22.4 22.5 22.6} Axios, "2024 lookahead poll: Democrats see diverse future," January 5, 2020

23. ↑ ^{Jump up to:23.0 23.1} The Hill, "Five under-the-radar Democrats who could run for president in 2024," June 27, 2022

24. ↑ The Hill, "Hillary 2024? Given the competition, she may be the Dems' best hope," December 15, 2021

25. ↑ ^{Jump up to:25.0 25.1 25.2} The Washington Post, "The top 10 non-Biden Democrats for president in 2024, ranked," December 19, 2021

26. ↑ ^{Jump up to:26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4} Politico, "How the coronavirus is shaping the 2024 presidential race," April 2, 2020

27. ↑ Lootpress, "Joe Manchin for President 2024?" May 19, 2022

28. ↑ CNN, "Ranking the 2024 Democratic field," June 20, 2022

29. ↑ ^{Jump up to:29.0 29.1} CNN, "11 Democrats who could replace Joe Biden in 2024," December 13, 2021

30. ↑ ^{Jump up to:30.0 30.1} Politico, "The left is already looking to 2024. Some want to see a Biden primary challenge.," January 1, 2022

31. ↑ Washington Post, "Sanders ‘has not ruled out another run for president’ if Biden doesn’t," April 20, 2022

32. ↑ Rolling Stone, "Andrew Yang Is Already Talking About Running for President in 2024," February 7, 2020

33. ↑ Atlanta Daily World, "Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama Emerge As Top Candidates For 2024 Election," November 30, 2021

34. ↑ ^{Jump up to:34.0 34.1 34.2} Twitter, "Perry Bacon Jr.," October 16, 2020

35. ↑ CBS News, "North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum likely to run for president," May 18, 2023

36. ↑

37. ↑ ^{Jump up to:37.0 37.1} Politico, "Diminished Trump leaves a vacuum for 2024 hopefuls," January 15, 2021

38. ↑ ^{Jump up to:38.0 38.1} CNN, "The fight to be Trump's political heir is on," June 9, 2020

39. ↑ ^{Jump up to:39.0 39.1 39.2 39.3} Tucson.com, "24 possible GOP presidential candidates in 2024," March 31, 2021

40. ↑ The Hill, "Republicans give 2024 tryouts at CPAC," February 29, 2020

41. ↑ Independent, "Anti-Trump Republicans lining up for 2024 shadow primary," March 14, 2022

42. ↑ Politico, "The GOP’s choice in 2024: Trump Ultra, Trump Lite or Trump Zero," February 25, 2021

43. ↑ Fox News, "2024 watch: CPAC attendees choose favorite presidential candidate as Trump, DeSantis remain popular," August 5, 2022

44. ↑ CNN, "Rick Perry teases possible presidential bid, declines to support Trump campaign," May 15, 2023

45. ↑ Deseret News, "Perspective: Romney 2024 — The Third Time’s A Charm?" March 10, 2022

46. ↑ Politico, "Marco Rubio finds his next act," April 6, 2020

47. ↑ Politico, "‘The starting gun for 2024’: Florida senator drops Iowa bomb on Biden," January 28, 2020

48. ↑ Youngkin said he did not plan to declare a presidential campaign in 2023, but did not rule out a declaration in 2024.

49. ↑ Fox News, "Youngkin 2024 speculation swirls after stunning Virginia election victory," November 3, 2021

50. ↑ Politico, "Tucker Carlson 2024? The GOP is buzzing," July 2, 2020

51. ↑ Politico, "Sununu passes on presidential campaign," June 5, 2023

52. ↑ FEC, "Candidates for President," accessed June 14, 2021

53. ↑ Candidates with apparent fraudulent, fictitious, or duplicative filings are not included.

Only the first few references on this page are shown above. Click to show more.