SERVING HIM: Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis says she plans to try all 19 defendants together in her Georgia election interference case, but the legal maneuvering has already begun.

  Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has asked to have his case switched to federal court so he can then move to have it dismissed. His filing in US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia argues that he is entitled to bring a federal immunity defense because the Georgia charges stem from his conduct as then-President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.

  Trump, who faces 13 charges in Georgia, also is expected to try to move his case to federal court.

  Trump and his allies are dismissing this latest indictment as political. Speaking to Fox News Digital Trump said, “This politically-inspired indictment, which could have been brought close to three years ago, was tailored for placement right smack in the middle of my political campaign, where I am leading all Republicans—by a lot—and beating Joe Biden soundly in almost all polls.”

  He added: “The real criminals here are the people who have brought this case forward both directly and indirectly.”

  Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani said on WABC radio in New York,

“I woke up this morning more excited than I have in weeks.”

  Giuliani, who as a federal prosecutor used racketeering laws to put away mobsters, is charged with violation of the Georgia racketeering act; trying to get a public official to lie; making false statements; conspiracy to impersonate a public officer; conspiracy to commit forgery; and more.

  “I got a fight on my hands,” Giuliani said on WABC. “And a justifiable one. We’re going to beat these fascists into the ground.”

  Texas Sen. Ted Cruz said on Fox News, “We’ve never once indicted a former president, or a candidate or a leading candidate for president and this is Joe Biden, and this is the Democrats weaponizing the justice system because they’re afraid of the voters.”

  South Carolina Sen. Lindsay Graham said, “This should be decided at the ballot box and not in a bunch of liberal jurisdictions trying to put the man in jail. They’re weaponizing the law in this country. They’re trying to take Donald Trump down.”

  And finally, lawyer Jenna Ellis, one of the 18 indicted, posted on Twitter/X, “I am resolved to trust the Lord and I will simply continue to honor, praise, and serve Him.’’ 

PARADISE LOST: The number of dead in the Lahaina wildfire on Maui has risen to 106 with about 30 percent of the burn area having been searched. As many as 1,300 are still unaccounted for and only five of the bodies have been identified.

  The dead have been found in and under automobiles, on sea walls, and in the Pacific. The governor said, “If you’re lucky, you get to see fingerprints.”

  Wildfires are still burning on the island with the winds of Tropical Storm Greg and Hurricane Fernanda approaching the Hawaiian Islands. Authorities are still calling for volunteers armed with shovels, trucks, chainsaws, gloves, and fire extinguishers to put out hot spots.

OVER THE BORDER: North Korea says that Travis King, the US soldier who ran over the border on July 18^th, wants refuge there or in another country because of “inhuman maltreatment and racial discrimination” in the US and the military. 

King made a run into the North while on a civilian tour of the Joint Security Area on the heavily fortified border. 

  King had pleaded guilty to assault, served some time in military detention, and was scheduled to be returned to the US for further disciplinary action.

BABY IT’S HOT: Warnings have been issued for a dangerous heat wave expected to blanket the Pacific Northwest to the northern Rocky Mountains this week. Both high and low temperatures could tie or break records. The National Weather Service has urged people in parts of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Northern California to prepare for dangerous triple-digit temperatures this week. 

THE BRACKET: Australia is playing England this morning to determine which will face Spain in the finals of the Women’s World Cup on Sunday. The loser will face Sweden in the match for third place on Saturday. 

THE SPIN RACK: Deja Taylor, the mother of the 6-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Newport News, Virginia, pleaded guilty yesterday to child neglect.  The charge for leaving a loaded gun accessible to her son was dropped. — A Texas woman has been awarded $1.2 billion in damages from her former boyfriend in her lawsuit accusing him of sending intimate images of her to her family, friends and co-workers … so called “revenge porn” … from fake online accounts. — Lawyers representing Alabama were in court Monday defending the state’s decision to ignore the Supreme Court’s order for the legislature to establish a second Black-dominated congressional district. They appeared before the same three-judge federal panel that ruled in 2021 that Alabama’s congressional map violated the Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of Black voters. One of the state lawyers said drawing a district with race primarily in mind “is as close as you can get without violating the Constitution.” — Great Britain has arrested three Bulgarians, two men and a woman, suspected of being spies for Russia. The Brits say the trio were in possession of documents including passports, identity cards, and other documents for the UK, Bulgaria, France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia, Greece, and the Czech Republic.

BELOW THE FOLD: With homelessness and crime plaguing San Francisco, the owner of Gump’s San Francisco, the 166 year-old department store, wrote an open letter to Governor Newsom, and other leaders saying this could be the store’s last season if the city isn’t cleaned up. JohnChachas said San Francisco is “unlivable for its residents, unsafe for our employees, and unwelcoming to visitors from around the world.”

-30-