Threat to Democracy: Hours after Donald Trump’s lawyers argued in federal court over the government documents seized from his Florida home, President Joe Biden spoke in Philadelphia attacking the former President’s influence on American politics, saying Trump’s political extremism threatens democracy.

  It was a speech that was somewhere between an appeal to the nation to return to its senses and the opening of his 2024 campaign.

  Speaking on the steps of Constitution Hall, Biden said, “Too much of what’s happening in our country today is not normal,” and that “Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent an extremism that’s threatens the very foundations of our Republic.”

  “MAGA,” of course is short for the Trump slogan, “Make America Great Again.”

Biden was careful to point out that not every Republican is a MAGA Republican who embraces the Trump ideology.

 But he said, “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution. They do not believe in the rule of law. They do not respect the will of the people. They refuse to accept the results of a free election.”

  In a reference to the January 6^th insurrection, Biden said, “History tells us, the blind loyalty a single leader, and the willingness to engage in political violence, is fatal to democracy.

Overdue:  The federal judge in Florida considering whether to appoint a “special master” to oversee the documents seized by FBI agents from Donald Trump’s home reserved judgment yesterday.

  During the hearing, Judge Aileen Cannon pressed the government to explain what might be the harm in appointing the special master requested by Trump’s lawyers. Justice Department lawyer Jay Bratt said the introduction of another party would slow the government’s assessment of the national security risk caused by the documents being unguarded in Trump’s home.

  Trump’s lawyers dismissed the seriousness of Trump holding many documents marked “Top Secret.” Attorney James Trusty compared it to having an “overdue library book.”

  And the former president on his social media page continued to claim he had declassified the documents despite how they were marked. He posted on his Truth Social site:

“Terrible the way the FBI, during the

Raid of Mar-a-Lago, threw

documents haphazardly all over the

floor (perhaps pretending it was me

that did it!), and then started taking

pictures of them for the public to

see. Thought they wanted them

kept Secret? Lucky I Declassified!”

Supreme Pressure: In an example of what President Biden was talking about last night, Ginni Thomas, the conservative activist and wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, pressed lawmakers to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory not only in Arizona, as previously reported, but also in Wisconsin, the Washington Post reports according to emails obtained under public-records law.

  While the Post has already reported the pressure Thomas put on Arizona lawmakers to appoint an unelected slate of electors to vote for Donald Trump, new emails reveal that Thomas also leaned on two Republican lawmakers in Wisconsin.

  The paper reports that Thomas sent state Sen. Kathy Bernier, who was then chair of the Senate elections committee, and state Rep. Gary Tauchen, a nearly identical copy of the email sent to the Arizona legislators. It says, “Please stand strong in the face of media and political pressure.” The email goes on, “Please reflect on the awesome authority granted to you by our Constitution. And then please take action to ensure that a clean slate of Electors is chosen for our state.”

  The electors are chosen by voters, not legislatures. 

Clean and Green: In a major effort to go green, The California legislature has approved a massive $54 billion in climate spending along with sweeping new restrictions on oil and gas drilling as well as a requirement that California stop adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by 2045.

  They also voted to tack five years onto the life of the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant, California’s last, in a move disappointing to environmentalists. Proponents said that in the midst of record heat and a struggle to keep the lights and AC going, the state needs pollution-free power until it can replace it with wind and solar. 

  The state’s Democratic governor Gavin Newsom, a potential presidential candidate, said in a statement, “Together with the Legislature’s leadership, the progress we make on the climate crisis this year will be felt for generations and the impact will spread far beyond our borders.” 

Close Call: Argentina’s Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner survived an attempted assassination in the midst of a crowd when the gunman’s pistol jammed. A still picture shows the pistol only about a foot from de Kirchner’s head. A 35-year-old Brazilian man, Fernando Andres Sabag Montiel, was taken into custody.

   President Alberto Fernández said it was the “most serious incident to happen since we recovered democracy.” 

Center Court:  Venus and Serena Williams last night lost what was probably their last appearance as doubles partners at the US Open in New York.  Lucie Hradecka and Linda Noskova of the Czech Republic took the match in two sets.  

  The Williams sisters have won 14 major titles as a doubles pair. Serena plays tomorrow in the third round of the women’s singles. 

The Spin Rack: Russian President Vladimir Putin is skipping the funeral of his predecessor,  Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union. Putin says he’s too busy, but he hated Gorby for letting the empire dissolve. — 
Former New York City Police Department officer Thomas Webster was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison, the longest sentence meted out to any defendant in the January 6^th insurrection. He was caught on video trying to gouge out the eyes of a Capitol police officer. 

Carpool: A pregnant Texas woman ticketed for driving in the carpool lane with no evident passengers has been ticketed a second time. Brandy Bottone says that under the Texas ban on abortion her fetus counts as a person.  She said she pointed to her belly and told the arresting officers, “My baby girl is right here.” 

-30-