Trump Will Regret Endorsing Paxton
Democrat James Talarico may win - and the president weakened his hold over the GOP

Several of President Donald Trump's recent judicial nominees have displayed a "disqualifying" pattern of behavior that has alarmed a legal expert. In hearing after hearing, Democrats have asked Trump's judicial nominees: Who won the 2020 general election? Yet several nominees have refused to explicitly say that former President Joe Biden won the election, and have instead deflected, according to Andrew Weissmann, a former federal prosecutor. Weissmann said on a new episode of the "Court of History" podcast on Wednesday that the nominees' refusal to say Biden won the election should be "disqualifying" at least. "There is no credible evidence," Weissmann said. "There's right-wing conspiracy talk, but there is no credible evidence of any material fraud in the 2020 election. And that to me would have been a perfectly legitimate thing to say." Trump has routinely claimed that the election was rigged against him, even though his lawyers failed to prove that in more than 60 court cases, and some of whom have been disbarred for their involvement in Trump's efforts to overturn the results.Weissmann noted that the nominees who refuse to acknowledge that there was no material evidence of fraud in the 2020 general election pose a significant danger to the American judiciary going forward. "This is so dangerous that you have people who have lifetime appointments, if they are confirmed, who are going to be operating if they're consistent with how they're behaving in their confirmation hearing, as they will be on the bench. That is corrupting one of the few checks and balances that are still functioning in this country right now."
Democrat James Talarico may win - and the president weakened his hold over the GOP
The Texas Senate race has officially been set, between notoriously scandal-plagued state Attorney General Ken Paxton on the Republican side and Presbyterian minister and state legislator James Talarico on the Democratic side.But already, Texas Republicans are sounding off a message of fear, NBC News reported, because of the impending money problems the race will cause for them."Paxton, with Trump’s endorsement, handily defeated four-term Sen. John Cornyn in the runoff. Democrats largely viewed Paxton as the weaker candidate because of his many controversies. But his fundraising struggles are also raising alarm bells among Republicans," said the report. "'Economically, it’s a disaster. Texas is extremely expensive,' said a GOP consultant working on Senate races, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly about party resources."Republicans already spent over $100 million in the primary, with much of it going to the unsuccessful attempt to prop up Cornyn — but that's just the beginning, the report said."So far, Paxton’s fundraising has paled in comparison with that of the Democratic nominee, state Rep. James Talarico, who has raised more than $40 million — though he spent most of it in a hotly contested primary. But Talarico is expected to raise millions more; he pulled in $600,000 in just two hours following Paxton’s win, according to Talarico’s campaign. The haul was first reported by Politico," said the report. "Paxton has raised $7.6 million, and his campaign had $2.3 million left to spend as of May 6."A deeply expensive contest in Texas could further strain resources on the National Republican Senatorial Committee and GOP megadonors, who might otherwise put that funding toward more obvious tossup races like Georgia and Maine."George Seay, one of Cornyn’s longtime friends and donors, declined to comment when NBC News asked him whether he would also donate to boost Paxton," noted the report. "But he said that Paxton as the nominee meant the state was now 'definitely in play' and a tougher climb for Republicans to win. 'Is Paxton going to raise a lot of money? Probably not,' Seay said, though he said that wasn’t necessarily a death knell."
A group of former federal judges on Wednesday asked a federal court to reopen President Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), arguing that the administration circumvented the court by negotiating a settlement with the president and creating a $1.776 billion fund for those who believe that the government has wronged them. The group…
Former White House ethics chief Norm Eisen was beside himself with fury on CNN over news that the Trump administration is pursuing a criminal investigation into former advice columnist E. Jean Carroll, who claimed President Donald Trump raped her in a Manhattan department store in the 1990s.A jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation after he left office the first time; he has maintained his innocence and fought furiously in appeal after appeal to get the verdict and damages thrown out."So, Norm, first off, what's your reaction to the DOJ launching this criminal investigation into E. Jean Carroll?" asked Anderson Cooper."Anderson, it's so outrageous," said Eisen."Every American should be appalled at this pattern of Donald Trump utilizing the most fearsome power of our president, the investigation and possible prosecution of individuals whom he perceives to be his adversaries," said Eisen. "First, it was Tish James. That case was thrown out. Then Jim Comey. That case was thrown out. He's going after Comey again. That case is going to meet the same fate.""This is garbage," he added. "And it is alarming because it is a classic sign of authoritarians. Dictators would blush at Donald Trump's abuse of his criminal powers. And it's not American." - YouTube www.youtube.com
US president sends contradictory messages about ending war at cabinet meeting with call to bolster Abraham accordsDonald Trump has accused Iran of trying to stall on making a peace agreement by running down the clock before November’s US midterm elections in the hope of getting better terms.“They thought they were going to outwait me, you know, ‘we’ll outwait him, he’s got the midterms’,” the US president told a meeting of his cabinet at the White House on Wednesday. Continue reading...
"Balance of Power: Late Edition" focuses on the intersection of politics and global business. On today's show, Dana Stroul, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy Research Director, discusses President Trump denying an Iranian report on a drafted deal to re-open the Strait of Hormuz, Jessica Taylor, Cook Political Report US Senate and Governors Editor, talks about the Texas Republican primary race where Attorney General Ken Paxton defeated incumbent Senator John Cornyn, and Representative Joe Morelle (D-NY), Ranking Member of the House Administration Committee and Vice Ranking Member of the House Appropriations Committee, says New York Democrats are considering two constitutional redistricting options in response to GOP-led map changes in states like Texas. (Source: Bloomberg)
Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) on Wednesday fired back at President Trump after the president attacked the Texas Democrat following Green’s primary loss the night before. Green on Tuesday lost the Democratic primary runoff for the Houston-based 18th Congressional District to Rep. Christian Menefee. “Congratulations to the Dumocrat Party!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “Al Green,…
On today’s Big Take podcast, host Sarah Holder and Bloomberg reporters Chris Strohm and Erik Wasson track the bipartisan backlash to the Justice Department’s $1.776 billion Anti-Weaponization Fund which some lawmakers have called a slush fund for Trump loyalists. (Source: Bloomberg)