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Report: Mike Pence to Resist Special Counsel Subpoena

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Mike Pence via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Former Vice President Mike Pence is reportedly planning to fight a subpoena for testimony as part of a Justice Department special counsel’s investigation into former President Donald Trump.

Multiple sources close to Pence informed Politico that the former VP, who is rumored to be planning to announce a 2024 White House run, will likely address his plans to resist the subpoena during a visit to Iowa on Wednesday.

The aides told Politico that Pence’s decision to challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request has little to do with executive privilege, instead, he plans to argue that his former role as president of the Senate — therefore a member of the legislative branch — shields him from certain Justice Department demands.

Pence allies say he is covered by the constitutional provision that protects congressional officials from legal proceedings related to their work — language known as the “speech or debate” clause. The clause, Pence allies say, legally binds federal prosecutors from compelling Pence to testify about the central components of Smith’s investigation. If Pence testifies, they say, it could jeopardize the separation of powers that the Constitution seeks to safeguard.

“He thinks that the ‘speech or debate’ clause is a core protection for Article I, for the legislature,” said one of the two people familiar with Pence’s thinking, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss his legal strategy. “He feels it really goes to the heart of some separation of powers issues. He feels duty-bound to maintain that protection, even if it means litigating it.”

That’s because the legal question of whether the vice president draws the same “speech-or-debate” protections as members of Congress remains largely unsettled, and constitutional scholars say Pence raising the issue will almost certainly force a court to weigh in. That could take months.

“It is admittedly a constitutionally murky area with no clear outcome,” said Mark Rozell, a George Mason University political scientist who specializes in executive privilege. “Since there is a legislative function involved in the vice president presiding over the Senate, a court very well could decide that it must address the scope of the speech or debate privilege and whether it would apply in this case.”

Last week, Smith’s office moved to subpoena Pence in one of its most aggressive moves to date as its inquiries into Trump’s alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election accelerate. (RELATED: Special Counsel Overseeing Trump Criminal Probe Subpoenas Mike Pence)

Notably, the Justice Department has previously argued in civil litigation that the “speech or debate” clause protects the vice president when working on Senate business. The department explicitly asserted in 2021 that Pence was shielded by the “speech or debate” clause in a civil lawsuit related to his role presiding over Congress’ Jan. 6 session.

Democrat Announces Revenge Campaign Against MAGA Congresswoman

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

Lauren Boebert is already facing a challenger in 2024’s campaign for what would be her third term in Congress.

On Tuesday, Adam Frisch, the Democrat who came within half a percentage point of unseating the conservative lawmaker, announced his 2024 campaign.

“November’s election results show us that Boebert is weak and will be defeated, which is why I have decided to launch my 2024 congressional campaign,” Frisch said in a statement.

Frisch drew widespread headlines in November for his unexpectedly close race against Boebert. According to The Hill, Frisch led the incumbent by 64 votes at one point during the race despite his lack of political experience.

“Lauren Boebert is everything that’s wrong with Congress,” he said in his announcement video, zeroing in on her vote against certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election and her stance against abortion.

“She’s part of the anger-tainment circus that’s tearing our country apart,” he said. “I’ll put Colorado first — Colorado energy, Colorado water and Colorado jobs.”

Despite Frisch’s early entrance to the race, a spokesperson for Boebert touted her legislative record

“The entire country watched as Congresswoman Lauren Boebert helped fearlessly lead the way in making historic improvements to how Congress operates,” Boebert spokesman Ben Stout said. “In just a matter of weeks since then, Congresswoman Boebert has cosponsored and helped pass 6 bills and authored 4 amendments, each one passing on the House floor with bipartisan support.”

Trump Tied with DeSantis in New Poll of GOP Voters

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The latest Monmouth University poll shows that former President Donald Trump is tied with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis as the leading choice for the Republican Party’s 2024 presidential nominee.

According to The Hill, the Monmouth University poll found a third of Republican voters saw Trump, who kicked off his campaign in November, as their top presidential pick, and another third favored DeSantis, who has yet to formally announce he’s running.

Former president Mike Pence scored just 2 percent support and Nikki Haley — who is set to become the only other big-name Republican officially in the ring with Trump — earned just 1 percent.

Trump closed the gap with DeSantis from a similar poll back in December that put the Florida governor ahead by 13 points, with 39 percent support compared to 26 percent for the former president. Trump has since climbed 7 points, and DeSantis has fallen 6 points.

But despite the uptick in voters backing Trump for the GOP nomination, DeSantis takes the win in a hypothetical primary matchup between the two, earning 53 percent to Trump’s 40 percent.

“Both Trump and DeSantis are well-liked by the party’s rank and file, but it’s likely that voter opinion of Trump is more firmly set than it is for DeSantis right now. The unknown factor is whether DeSantis can maintain this early edge if and when he gets on the campaign trail,” Monmouth University Polling Institute director Patrick Murray said in a report.

The Florida governor is said to be close to his final decision on whether he’ll run in 2024 and is widely expected to jump in the ring.

Joe Manchin Reignites 2024 White House Speculation

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Joe Manchin via Wikimedia Commons

A Democrat Senator isn’t ready to give up his presidential aspiration quite yet.

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin signaled that his interest in potentially launching his own presidential campaign has not been deterred by President Biden’s reported re-election plans.

While speaking with Semafor’s Steve Clemmons, Sen. Manchin declined to rule out a bid for higher office. 

“I don’t know what the next chapter will be, I don’t know [where] the future lies, I really don’t,” Manchin said when asked if he would run for president next year during a question-and-answer session hosted by Clemons.  

“I can tell you one thing: I feel, like most Americans, we’ve got to come together. Americans want to be united, they want to be together and right now we’re going further apart,” he said.  

He predicted that voters are going to be looking for “somebody” to bring the country together but didn’t say whether he would be the politician to do that as the next president.  

“I’m not saying I have any aspirations” to run for the White House, he said, adding a caveat: “I’ve been [in Washington] 12 years. I don’t like what I see; I don’t the direction we’re going and I’m going to work and commit myself to try to get people who want to do the right thing to find the pathway forward, bringing the country back together.” 

Manchin has recently criticized Democratic leaders for refusing to negotiate with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) over a package of fiscal reforms to attach to legislation raising the debt limit.

“It’s unreasonable for any senator, any congressperson representing the United States government to say, ‘I’m not going to negotiate,’” he told reporters on Capitol Hill. “If you can’t communicate and you won’t talk to each other, you got a problem.”   

Hillary Clinton Thinks Kamala Harris Lacks ‘Political Instincts’ to Win Primary

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(Los Angeles - EUA, 09/06/2022) Presidente da República Jair Bolsonaro, durante Sessão Plenária de Abertura da IX Cúpula das Américas..Foto: Alan Santos/PR

Nobody can stand Kamala Harris, even her own party.

According to a New York Times report, former Secretary of State and 2016 presidential nominee Hillary Clinton doesn’t think the vice president has what it takes to survive a presidential primary

“Members of Congress, Democratic strategists and other major party figures all said she [Harris] had not made herself into a formidable leader,” a Monday article from The New York Times read.

“Two Democrats recalled private conversations in which former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton lamented that Ms. Harris could not win because she does not have the political instincts to clear a primary field,” the Times reported.

Nick Merrill, a Clinton spokesman pointed to their “strong bond,” but the Times didn’t quote him issuing a specific denial of Clinton’s reported private thoughts of the VP.

“They have built and maintained a strong bond. Any other characterization is patently false,” Merrill said on Clinton’s behalf.

He also claimed the two held discussions focused on their separate experiences of being “a woman in power” and, according to the Times, reiterated that Clinton remains “strongly supportive” of her.

The Times article noted that many Democrats close to the first female vice president have been disappointed by her inability to establish her own political legacy outside of being as many “firsts” – the first African-American, Asian-American and woman to serve as vice president in U.S. history. 

“Even some Democrats whom her own advisers referred reporters to for supportive quotes confided privately that they had lost hope in her,” the article stated.

Harris has faced intense criticism since being elected, largely for her lack of action at the U.S.-Mexico border despite being charged with the mission at the start of the Biden administration. RealClearPolitics reports the vice president’s approval rating is also underwater at 51.8 percent.

Trump Endorses Jim Banks for Indiana Senate Seat

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It’s never too early for Trump to dole out an endorsement.

On Wednesday, Trump formally endorsed Rep. Jim Banks’s campaign for the Indiana Senate primary in what is the latest sign the GOP is warming up to his candidacy in the race.

“Jim Banks is running for the United States Senate from the Great State of Indiana. I know Jim well, have seen him tested at the highest and most difficult levels, and WIN!” Trump wrote on TruthSocial. “Strong on the Border, Crime, our Military and our Vets, Jim will fight for low taxes and regulations, Sanity in Government, and our under siege 2nd Amendment.” 

“Jim Banks is respected by all, will never let you down, and has my Complete & Total Endorsement!” he added. 

Trump’s endorsement comes a day after former Indiana governor Mitch Daniels announced he would not pursue a Senate campaign.

“After what I hope was adequate reflection, I’ve decided not to become a candidate for the U.S. Senate. With full credit and respect for the institution and those serving in it, I conclude that it’s just not the job for me, not the town for me, and not the life I want to live at this point,” Daniels wrote. 

“I have never imagined that I would be well-suited to legislative office, particularly where seniority remains a significant factor in one’s effectiveness, and I saw nothing in my recent explorations that altered that view,” Daniels said, adding that if he had run, he would only have done so for one term.

Daniels stressed in his announcement that he would have worked to lower the “personal vitriol” and temperature across the nation’s political sphere.

“I would have tried to work on these matters in a way that might soften the harshness and personal vitriol that has infected our public square, rendering it not only repulsive to millions of Americans, but also less capable of effective action to meet our threats and seize our opportunities,” he said. 

Trump Labels DeSantis a ‘RINO Globalist’ in Latest Tirade

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Donald Trump is escalating his attacks against Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

On Wednesday, Trump accused DeSantis of being a “RINO Globalist” as he criticized his response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“The real Ron is a RINO GLOBALIST, who closed quickly down Florida and even its beaches,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social. “Loved the Vaccines and wasted big money on ‘Testing.’ How quickly people forget!”

RINO, one of Trump’s go-to insults for his fellow Republicans, stands for “Republican in Name Only.”

According to The Hill, Trump’s latest insult comes after a series of weekend campaign stops in New Hampshire and South Carolina where he cautioned against DeSantis’s potential White House bid.

“If he runs, that’s fine. I’m way up in the polls. He’s going to have to do what he wants to do, but he may run,” Trump said. “I do think it would be a great act of disloyalty because, you know, I got him in. He had no chance. His political life was over.”

However, despite Trump’s insults, it seems DeSantis is managing to stay above the fray.

As Great American News Desk previously reported:

“I roll out of bed. I have people attacking me from all angles,” the Florida governor said at a press conference on Tuesday. “It’s been happening for many, many years.”

“When you’re an elected executive, you have to make all kinds of decisions. You got to steer that ship,” DeSantis said. “And the good thing is, is that the people are able to render a judgment on that — whether they reelect you or not.”

“And I’m happy to say, you know, in my case, not only did we win reelection, we won with the highest percentage of the vote that any Republican governor candidate has in the history of the state of Florida,” he added.

Kristi Noem Addresses 2024 Speculation

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem isn’t rushing toward the presidential debate stage anytime soon.

Despite the Republican’s rising national profile, Gov. Noem told CBS News reporter Robert Costa that she’s “not convinced” she should pursue the Oval Office.

“’I’m not convinced that I need to run for president,” Noem said according to The Hill.

Costa continued to press the Governor if she is looking ahead to future elections. Noem has been floated as a potential presidential contender or even as a potential VP choice for Trump’s campaign.

Do you not feel a rush, governor, to make a decision on 2024?” he asked.

“I don’t, Bob, at all. No, I think it’s important that people focus on governing rather than going out and making big, broad statements and going out and taking action for their own political futures,” Noem said.  

Noem was endorsed in her reelection bid by former President Trump and said last summer that she’d support Trump’s latest White House campaign. However, after the midterms, the South Dakota lawmaker said that the former president does not “offer the best chance” for the GOP. 

Progressive Democrat Announces Challenge to High-Profile Arizona Senator

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Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America

Democrats are turning up the heat in Arizona.

On Friday, new reports indicated Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is set to officially launch his Senate campaign to unseat Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) in 2024.

According to Newsweek, Gallego is preparing to release a video announcing his campaign. The video was shot in the congressman’s home district and will be released in English and Spanish on Monday.

Gallego, the chair of BOLD PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, plans to make the announcement via a video in English and Spanish that was shot in his home district, which includes parts of Phoenix, according to three sources briefed by the campaign.

The progressive lawmaker and outspoken critic of Sinema has hinted at launching the Senate bid for some time. According to Fox News, Gallego told reporters last month that he was being encouraged by “some senators” to announce his Senate campaign.

“There have been some senators that have encouraged me to run,” Gallego said. “There are some senators, some of Sen. Sinema’s colleagues, that are encouraging me to run.” 

Gallego did not identify which of Sinema’s colleagues are telling him to run, but predicted they would “absolutely” support him in a Senate race next year.

Last year, Sinema stunned everyone when she announced her detraction from the Democrat Party and switched to Independent. (RELATED: Kyrsten Sinema Leaves Democratic Party)

“Americans are told that we have only two choices – Democrat or Republican – and that we must subscribe wholesale to policy views the parties hold, views that have been pulled further and further toward the extremes,” Sinema wrote in the op-ed announcing her decision.

“Most Arizonans believe this is a false choice, and when I ran for the U.S. House and the Senate, I promised Arizonans something different,” she continued. “I pledged to be independent and work with anyone to achieve lasting results. I committed I would not demonize people I disagreed with, engage in name-calling, or get distracted by political

GOP Governor Stops Short of Endorsing Donald Trump

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Photo via Gage Skidmore Flickr

Despite Donald Trump’s early entrance to the 2024 presidential campaign, some Republicans are dedicated to taking the “wait and see” approach to the next election.

Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, who also previously served as Trump’s press secretary, told Fox News’s Shannon Bream that she isn’t focused on 2024 yet and declined to endorse her old boss publicly.

According to The Daily Wire, Bream asked the newly sworn-in governor, “Your bio, on your official page as Governor, describes you as a ‘trusted confidant of President Trump. Have you talked to him about his ’24 run? Will you endorse him in that?”

“I love the president, have a great relationship with him,” Sanders responded. “I know our country would be infinitely better off if he was in office right now instead of Joe Biden. But right now, my focus isn’t 2024. It’s focusing here in Arkansas and doing what we can to empower the people of this state, and make sure that I’m delivering on the promises that I laid out over the course of the last two years.”

“My focus isn’t on 2024,” Sanders answered. “It’s on what we can deliver in this legislative session. I’m not going to set an arbitrary timeline. I’m not really focused on that at all.”

Bream also pressed Sanders on her own ambitions.

“I feel the pressure of delivering this legislative session,” Sanders said. “That’s the only thing that our team, and that I am focused on, is delivering on what we laid out to do.”

Sander’s refusal to outwardly endorse Trump underscores speculation that Republicans are preparing to steer away from the former president and support another candidate in the 2024 election. Numerous polls have reported Trump trailing behind other potential contenders such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.