In New York, Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for Friday — a decision Trump is urging the Supreme Court to block. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is pushing to release special counsel Jack Smith’s final report following Judge Aileen Cannon’s ruling blocking its release.

“There is no question that Merrick Garland is going to release Special Counsel Jack Smith’s final report, quite possibly for the same reason that Judge Juan Merchan is going to sentence President-Elect Trump this Friday — to get in a last-minute dig just before Trump’s inauguration,” John Malcolm, vice president of the Heritage Foundation’s Institute for Constitutional Government, told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Malcolm noted it remains an “open question” whether Smith has authority to write the report after Cannon found his appointment unconstitutional.

The DOJ indicated in a filing Wednesday that the first part of Smith’s report concerning the 2020 election investigation would be released, noting it is “in furtherance of the public interest in informing a co-equal branch and the public regarding this significant matter.”

Smith already handed off his entire report, which consists of two volumes, to Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to a filing at the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Garland determined he would not release volume two of the report, which focuses on Trump’s classified documents case, while proceedings for Trump’s co-defendants are ongoing.

Both of Smith’s cases against Trump were dismissed after he won the election, though the DOJ did not drop charges against Trump’s co-defendants in the classified documents case.

Cannon blocked the DOJ on Tuesday from releasing Smith’s report until the Eleventh Circuit issues a ruling.

Trump, who is no longer directly a party to the case, filed an amicus brief Wednesday arguing that Garland “cannot issue a report of an unconstitutionally appointed and funded Special Counsel.” Releasing the final report now would also violate the Presidential Transition Act, his attorneys wrote in the brief.

“In sum, public release of the Final Report threatens the same, if not more, stigma and opprobrium as an indictment and, thus, represents an equal, if not greater, infringement on the exercise of the executive power, and completely disregards Congress’s intent in the Presidential Transition Act,” the brief explains.

Former federal prosecutor Andrew Cherkasky told the DCNF that “transparency is vital, but it must not come at the cost of justice or constitutional order.”

“In light of the unique national interests at stake, including the ongoing presidential transition and the need to restore public confidence, the Attorney General should exercise prudence and defer any release until a proper review is conducted by the incoming administration,” he told the DCNF.

Cherkasky said he is also concerned about “the emergency nature of rushing a complex and novel legal issue.”

“There is no pulling back the report once it is released, and to do so before the court, and appellate courts are able to weigh in with due time and consideration is shortsighted and obviously political given the few days AG Garland has before he leaves his post,” he said. ‘This is lawfare of the highest order in cases that have been dismissed. It is outrageous to think Smith didn’t seek to release this report while the cases were pending (prosecutors rarely would release such because it gives away their strategy).”

Fromer AG Meese & Professor Calabresi file amicus in Trump's petition to Supreme Court for Stay. Denying stay just got that much harder.

— Margot Cleveland (@ProfMJCleveland) January 9, 2025

‘One County Prosecutor’

If Trump wants to avoid a sentencing hearing in New York set for 9:30 a.m. EST on Friday, the Supreme Court will likely need to rule on Thursday, after his other effort to block the hearing was shot down by a judge on New York’s highest court.

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg urged the justices Thursday to let the hearing proceed, writing there is “no basis” for taking the “extraordinary step of intervening in a pending state criminal trial.”

“It is axiomatic that there is only one President at a time,” Bragg’s brief states. “Non employees of the government do not exercise any official function that would be impaired by the conclusion of a criminal case against a private citizen for private conduct.”

Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III and Northwestern law professor Steven G. Calabresi wrote in an amicus brief that it is “intolerable that one county prosecutor in one State could besmirch a President’s reputation and reduce his effectiveness in carrying out his extensive duties at this time.”

“Today, moreover, there are fifty states with roughly 2,300 county prosecutors, some of them quite partisan,” they wrote. “This Court should not allow such a prosecutor to impair the President’s or congressionally certified President-Elect’s ability to perform his
duties.”

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Democratic strategist James Carville argued in a New York Times opinion piece Thursday that Harris’ loss was solely attributable to economic factors. Halperin, on “2WAY Tonight,” said Carville represents the prevailing sentiment of Democrats, but contended that they are overlooking other critical factors, potentially setting themselves up for failure in 2028.

“On the Democratic side, I think that there is still a search for a comfortable place to land on saying why was Trump able to win. And you’ve got the dominant school, which James Carville gave voice to over the weekend, that said it was all the economy,” Halperin said. “The economy was bad, voters did not buy what was being sold by [President] Joe Biden first and then by Kamala Harris. And Trump, people remembered the Trump economy more fondly.”

“I credit that as a big part of what happened, but I think if Democrats want to go with just that, they’re missing what a lot of my sources say are also extremely important variables, some with applicability to the future, some not, just with applicability towards historical understanding,” he continued. “There’s almost no public discussion amongst Democrats about the role Joe Biden played and Kamala Harris played in her defeat. And you saw [Democratic Senate Majority Leader] Chuck Schumer on ‘Meet the Press’ basically deny that there was an acuity problem, deny that Biden’s acuity problem played a role in the loss. These are extremely important parts of why I believe, and my sources believe, Harris lost.”

Schumer also said Sunday on ‘Meet the Press’ that voters not “realiz[ing] how much” the Democratic Party had done for them over the last four years played a key role in his party’s losses.

“If you just focus on the economy and leave out Afghanistan and the forever wars, you leave out immigration, you leave out the cultural issues. I’ve said it before: [Former President Ronald] Reagan’s three-legged stool to me is the right metaphor here — national security, economics and cultural/social issues,” Halperin added. “And so the Carville school says we just didn’t talk about the economy well enough and that’s basically what Schumer said too.”

“Even if you go a step further and say it’s not just a comms problem, ‘we don’t have the right policies that resonate on economics,’ even then, my sources that I trust in terms of their judgment, they don’t have what I believe is a global view of what happened,” he continued. “And of course, the only way to come up with a solution to not lose the next presidential election, even though it won’t be against Donald Trump, is to understand what happened in 2024.”

Comedian Bill Maher on Sunday challenged actor Jon Cryer when he asserted Harris’ defeat was due to inflation, arguing that Cryer’s reasoning would lead Democrats to further losses.

“You can blame them all you want. I believe, again, that there was a worldwide reaction to the inflation bump after COVID … As I said, Americans hate inflation,” Cryer said.

“You keep telling yourself that and you’ll lose the next one too,” Maher fired back.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

President-elect Donald Trump scored a historic win for Republicans in November, winning both the Electoral College and the popular vote, while Vice President Kamala Harris failed to even match the numbers President Joe Biden had received in 2020. On “Meet the Press,” NBC host Kristen Welker questioned Schumer about his thoughts on the “root cause” of the Democrats’ loss, noting that Democratic strategist James Carville had blamed the state of the economy under the Biden-Harris administration.

“I told my caucus and I’ll say it here, too. We should regard this election, certainly it was a loss, but it’s also a challenge, and we did some things right against very severe headwinds. We kept four of those seven contested Democratic seats, but we did some things wrong and we have to look in the mirror and see what we did wrong,” Schumer said.

“Then there’s some things we didn’t do that we should have done. One of the things we have to do is we must focus on the working families of America,” Schumer added. “We believe in them and we passed all kinds of legislation that helped them with the infrastructure bill which made our economy stronger and employed lots of people.”

Following Harris’ loss to Trump, Democratic lawmakers and political pundits questioned the pushback against their party from voters.

Election results showed that Trump not only gained 2.5 million more votes than in 2020, but also dealt a serious blow to Democrats’ hold on certain slices of the electorate, as Harris earned 7 million fewer votes than Biden in the 2020 race, according to The New York Times. While the vice president may have found some counties where she met or exceeded Biden’s vote totals, she failed to match Trump’s gains, falling short in three of the seven key swing states and in 80% of counties nationwide.

Schumer continued to list how Democrats helped push through the CHIPS Plus Act in 2022, a bill that included $52 billion for semiconductor manufacturing through 2025, $200 billion for federal science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) research and tax credits for U.S. semiconductor manufacturing. The Democratic Senate majority leader additionally noted his party’s push to lower the cost of prescription drugs, a point Biden touted during his 2024 campaign.

The lawmaker went on to admit to Welker that while Democrats failed to show “empathy and concern,” voters also “didn’t realize” how the party had cared for them, stating that it’s an area Democrats will focus on in the future.

“But all too often Kristen we talked about the mechanics of the legislation and the details of the legislation and we really didn’t show the kind of empathy and concern to average or show enough of it to average working families who didn’t realize how much we had done and how much we care for them,” Schumer continued.

“So what we’re going to do is spend a lot of time talking to working families showing them how much we care about them and not just talk about legislation, but talk about the conditions that have made so many working families worried about their futures,” Schumer said. “That’s going to be a significant change, and obviously it will make a difference.”

After Biden announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race and instead endorsed Harris in July 2024, some Democrats questioned whether the party would hold a primary, with major figures like former President Barack Obama initially withholding their endorsement of the vice president. However, despite never winning any delegates, Harris secured enough support from Democratic National Convention (DNC) delegates to become the party’s presumptive presidential nominee two days after Biden withdrew from the race.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Harris, who became the Democratic nominee in 2024 after President Joe Biden abruptly dropped out of the race, lost the Nov. 5 presidential election when former President Donald Trump secured the 270 electoral votes necessary to win the presidency. Bruce said that Harris became “a star” due to the lack of alternatives for Democrats.

“Some people are professional candidates. Now, she has won office, right? I mean, she has done well, inexplicably. She did — it continues to concern me that she received as many votes as she did, but that is something that the legacy media contributes to, and party loyalty contributes to, but all Americans across the board are waking up,” Bruce told “Varney and Company” guest host Ashley Webster. “But this is a woman who, because of the weakness of the Democratic bench, she becomes a star. And if the Democratic bench expands, if Democrats vote people in who know what they’re doing and can explain a vision, then the value of someone like Kamala Harris or the appeal of her will wane.”

“But, you know, in California you can — I suppose she might have a shot at something, if she wants to run for governor, but she’s not going to go and do something new,” Bruce continued. “Many people forget to think about that, you know, maybe you should try something else. There are other things in life. But, you know, for politicians at her level, there’s really nothing else in their minds that they can do, so it’s going to be up to the Democrats. But if they had a bigger bench and a stronger bench, she would not, I think, be in the position she’s in.”

Despite losing to Trump, Harris is the leading candidate for the Democratic nomination in 2028 based on polls curated by 538.com, leading Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom of California.

Harris and her running mate, Democratic Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, largely avoided interviews and press conferences after Biden announced he would not seek reelection July 21 before they began a media blitz campaign in October. One liberal pundit said the strategy may have been a factor in a poor performance by Walz during the Oct. 1 vice-presidential debate.

Harris also declined an invitation to attend the Al Smith Dinner in person, instead creating a video with former “Saturday Night Live” cast member Molly Shannon that was played at the charity event in her absence. She notably did not sit for an interview with podcaster Joe Rogan, reportedly due to fears of a backlash among her campaign staff, which apparently cost her votes.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

The DNC is slated to elect a chair, vice chairs, treasurer, secretary and national finance chair, according to a committee press release on Nov. 25. Wright Rigueur, on “CNN This Morning,” argued that Sanders and Abrams have consistently aligned with the priorities of Democratic voters, making them strong candidates to assist in shaping the party’s leadership.

“As you hear somebody like [DNC chair candidate] Marianne Williamson, who kind of emerges every four years to say these things, we have to remember that Marianne Williamson’s biggest endorsers have been billionaires,” Wright Rigueur said. “And that’s not actually very much in touch with where the Democratic base wants to be right now, as they said resoundingly, in this last election cycle. The person, the people actually, that they should be listening to are Bernie Sanders and Stacey Abrams.”

“Those are the two people who have been very consistent and very in touch with the American public that have been related to the Democratic Party,” she continued. “Those are the people that are going to help pick the leadership of the Democratic Party, or at the very least, should be helping to pick the leadership of the Democratic Party as we move forward into this next election cycle.”

Outgoing DNC chair Jaime Harrison and the DNC staff will remain neutral and avoid endorsements or campaign efforts for any of the candidates, according to the release.

“The DNC is committed to running a transparent, equitable, and impartial election for the next generation of leadership to guide the party forward,” Harrison said.

Sanders wrote a statement posted to X on Nov. 6, suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris’ loss to President-elect Donald Trump was attributable to the Democratic Party neglecting working-class voters.

“It should come as no great surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them,” he wrote. “First, it was the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well. While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change. And they’re right.”

Abrams served in the Georgia House of Representatives between 2007 and 2017. She subsequently lost in her two gubernatorial bids to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in 2018 and 2022, but she maintained after the 2018 election that she was victorious.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Carville’s remarks follow Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts calling out his party on Nov. 10 for attempting to “cancel people rather than having debates about issues that Americans care about” following backlash to his comments regarding transgender athletes competing in female sports. Carville, on “Politics War Room,” accused Democrats of enforcing a tyrannical adherence to their “philosophy” that undermines the party’s electability.

LISTEN:

“Anybody that questions the absolute, unquestionable benefits of transition surgery is going to be called this equivalent of being against civil rights or being against women having the right to vote … somebody can fact-check me, it’s banned in Nordic countries,” Carville said. “I think the liberal Labor government of Britain just passed legislation on that question.”

Norway, Finland, Sweden and the UK have all restricted or banned sex change surgeries, hormones and puberty blockers for children, due to finding that there is insufficient evidence that the benefits outweigh the costs. The UK, which was the latest to ban the use of so-called puberty-blocking drugs on Dec. 11 did so after medical experts warned of an “unacceptable safety risk.”

“But you can’t — if you say the border, we should have had something different — well, that makes you a racist. If you say that we should proceed with caution on this transition surgery … then you’re slammed. And the tyranny of the left is tyranny. And not only tyranny that it causes people grief, it loses us elections, people,” Carville said. “And I got to tell you … there are people that think this, and I’m increasingly agreeing with them.”

“There are a substantial number of people in the Democratic Party — almost exclusively coastal, almost exclusively white, almost exclusively higher-educated — that would rather lose and feel superior about themselves than have to go through the trouble to do the stuff it takes necessary to win an election,” he continued. “And as long as that philosophy is part of the Democratic coalition, it is going to continue to cause unbelievable damage to our electoral prospects. I cannot say it any simpler than that.”

Moulton also said on Dec. 3 that he anticipates he will face a primary challenge due to his criticism of Democrats’ position on transgender athletes, thus failing what he referred to as the “liberal litmus tests.”

“We seem to have a set of liberal litmus tests, and if you don’t meet those litmus tests, then you’re not even allowed to share your opinion,” Moulton said. “I mean, this is the attitude that a lot of Americans feel the Democratic Party takes to the entire country. If you don’t agree with us, then not only are you wrong, but you’re a bad person and these things are not up for debate.”

“I probably will be primaried, and that’s — that just proves my point, is that you can’t speak a sentence that’s out of line and not get backlash from the left, but that’s okay,” he added.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].

Duggan’s decision to run outside the Democrat label comes at a time when the party’s policies are under fire for economic mismanagement, rising crime rates, and what conservatives argue is an overreach in social policies. His move has sparked frustration among Michigan Democrats, with some like Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson arguing that true leaders should stay and address issues within their party, not flee. This sentiment reflects a broader critique that Democrat leaders often abandon ship when the going gets tough, leaving voters with more questions than answers.

The twist in this race has led to speculation about whether Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg might be coaxed into running as the Democrat standard-bearer. Known for his appearances on conservative media, Buttigieg has been praised by some for his willingness to engage with different political audiences. However, his potential candidacy is viewed with skepticism by those who see him as a puppet of the Biden administration’s policies, which many argue have exacerbated issues like inflation and infrastructure neglect.

Critics are quick to point out that Buttigieg’s record at the Department of Transportation has been less than stellar, with delays in infrastructure projects and mismanagement during crises like supply chain disruptions. His entry into the race could be perceived by some as an attempt by Democrats to inject a “fresh face” into a tarnished narrative, but one that might not resonate with Michigan voters who are increasingly turning away from the Democrat establishment.

Furthermore, the independent run by Duggan could split the Democrat vote, providing an unprecedented opportunity for Republicans to capture the governorship. This scenario is seen as a potential backlash against years of progressive policies that many argue have led Michigan down a path of economic stagnation and social division.

As the race unfolds, voters are watching closely, hopeful that this upheaval might lead to a Republican victory, emphasizing traditional values, economic freedom, and state rights over what they describe as the overreaches of federal control and progressive agendas.

The political landscape in Michigan, therefore, is not just about choosing a new governor but is a referendum on the direction of the state’s policy in the wake of national Democrat governance.

This development in Michigan’s gubernatorial race underscores the fluidity and unpredictability of politics, especially in swing states where every vote counts, and every political calculation can shift the balance of power.

Article generated from corporate media reports.

“How Many Celebrities Backed Kamala Because of the Diddy Arrest?”

https://twitter.com/JDRucker/status/1868661177376821543

The region has been a Democratic stronghold since Texas became a state in 1836. The majority of residents and voters in south Texas are Hispanic. For the first time in Texas history, nearly all border counties voted for Donald Trump, including Webb County.

Webb County Judge Tano Tijerina this week announced he was leaving the Democratic Party, saying like many others before him that “the party left me, and the people of South Texas, behind.”

In a Facebook post, he said, “As Webb County Judge, I have fought to protect our shared values here in South Texas – hard work, faith, family, and freedom. Unfortunately, the radical National Democrat party no longer stands for these values, and I want to be a part of a party that not only stands for these values but also protects them.

“South Texas spoke loudly in the last election, with President Trump winning Webb County. Now and always, I am standing with my fellow South Texans, proudly declaring that I no longer want to be associated with the radical national Democrats. I will continue to fight for what matters most in our community in order to build a bright future for South Texas.”

In response, Gov. Greg Abbott said, “This is excellent. Democrats in South Texas are switching to the party that aligns with their values – the Republican Party. South Texas Hispanics in particular are joining the party of faith, family, freedom & common sense – the Republican Party. Welcome!”

In an interview with Fox News, Tijerina said he left the Democratic Party because over the years he saw it drift “further left, embracing policies that don’t reflect the values of our community,” adding that the “radicalization” of the party “pushed me away a long time ago.”

Tijerina highlighted issues of importance to him and his constituents.

“We need to have border security,” he said, in a county where law enforcement is participating in Abbott’s border security mission, Operation Lone Star.

A recent poll found that the majority of Hispanic Texans surveyed want illegal border crossers deported. U.S. Rep. Monica De La Cruz, a Republican from Edinburg, has long argued that President Joe Biden and the Democratic Party doesn’t understand Hispanic Texans living in border communities.

“Parents want the best for our children, but under Biden everything is more difficult at the border,” she said earlier this year. “We see the disaster that Biden has caused. At the beginning of his term, he stopped enforcing the laws and now the cartels and many criminals enter our country. … What’s humane about allowing someone to kill our people? Republicans want to stop this.”

Tijerina also took issue with the Biden administration attacking the oil and gas industry, saying, “The oil and gas industry has been threatened here in South Texas.”

The industry is leading U.S. oil and natural gas production and job creation. Major projects in south Texas include expanding the port of Brownsville for liquified natural gas exports, extensive infrastructure and other support jobs for the industry in the region, The Center Square reported.

Tijerina also pushed back against “the woke movements,” including boys playing in girls’ sports, which Hispanic Texans overwhelming oppose. The Democratic Party’s chair was forced to resign after devastating losses in November and after he argued the party went too far pushing a transgender agenda, The Center Square reported.

Multiple high-level Texas Democrats also endorsed U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, a Houston Republican, also claiming the Democratic Party no longer represented their values. Texas border counties also overwhelmingly voted for Cruz.

Tijerina joins former state Rep. Shawn Thierry of Houston, who left the Democratic Party in August and who also said the party left her and embraced a radical, far left agenda. Thierry took a stand against a medical industry profiting off of gender mutilation of minors, voting with Republicans to ban the practice in Texas.

Last year, Dallas’s former mayor, Eric Johnson, also left the Democratic Party citing fiscal responsibility, as did State Rep. Ryan Guillen from Rio Grande City in Starr County. Starr County also flipped in November, voting for Trump, and for a Republican for the first time in 132 years.

The data, spanning from 1990 to 2021, indicates that California and New York have lost an astonishing 4.6 million residents each, with many relocating to states like Florida and Texas, which have lower taxes, less regulation, and policies more aligned with conservative values. Edward J. Pinto, a Senior Fellow at AEI, points out that this migration trend is not just about people; they’re taking their incomes with them, further straining the tax bases of the states they leave behind.

States like Illinois, New Jersey, and Massachusetts have also seen substantial outbound migration, with the collective loss of residents from these states amounting to 13 million over the studied period. In contrast, states like Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, and South Carolina have benefited from this influx, gaining both population and economic activity.

This migration reflects a broader dissatisfaction with the governance and policy direction of blue states, where high taxes and regulatory burdens are seen as pushing residents out. The conservative argument has long been that such policies deter economic growth, make daily living more expensive, and ultimately lead to a less prosperous environment, which this data appears to confirm.

Critics of blue state policies argue that the exodus is a vote with one’s feet against progressive governance, which often prioritizes social agendas over fiscal responsibility. As these blue states struggle with budget deficits, pension crises, and crime, the data suggests that conservative states, with their focus on limited government and economic freedom, are becoming the new havens for those seeking a better quality of life and economic opportunity.

This migration pattern, supported by IRS data, underscores a significant political and economic shift, where conservative states are not only gaining population but also becoming economic powerhouses, attracting businesses and individuals alike with their more business-friendly environments.

Article generated from corporate media reports.