February 7, 2024

Vol. 13, No. 2107

CITIZEN TRUMP: A federal appeals panel in Washington unanimously rejected Donald Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution for actions taken while in office, ruling that he must go to trial on criminal charges that he illegally attempted to overturn the 2020 election of President Biden.

  Trump on his Truth Social website called the decision “nation-destroying” and that, “A President will be afraid to act for fear of the opposite Party’s Vicious Retribution after leaving Office.” 

  Trump will no doubt appeal this to the Supreme Court, asking the justices for the first time to decide whether presidential immunity is absolute even for crimes committed while in office. This has never been an issue because no other former president has ever been indicted.

  Despite losing this round, further delay is a winner for Trump. His March 4 federal trial is on hold while this issue is litigated.

  “For the purpose of this criminal case, former President Trump has become citizen Trump, with all of the defenses of any other criminal defendant,” the appeals panel wrote. “But any executive immunity that may have protected him while he served as president no longer protects him against this prosecution.”

  The judges wrote, “We cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter.” And they said, “Nor can we sanction his apparent contention that the Executive has carte blanche to violate the rights of individual citizens to vote and to have their votes count.”

RESPONSIBLE PARENTING: The mother of a Michigan teenager who killed four students at his high school was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter yesterday for failing to deal with her son’s emotional troubles and head off the attack with a gun bought for the boy only four days before the incident.

  Ethan Crumbley was 15 when he carried out the shooting two years ago and is now serving life in prison.

  The jury convicted Jennifer Crumbley, 45, of one count for each of the teenagers her son killed. She was led away in handcuffs and faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. Her husband, James, faces trial next month.

  It’s a unique case with a parent held at least partly responsible for their child carrying out a mass shooting. Judge Cheryl Matthews in Pontiac, Michigan told the jury, “We all know that this is one of the hardest things you’ve ever done.” 

BORDERLINE POLITICS: President Biden yesterday blamed Donald Trump for congressional opposition to the $118 billion border and military aid bill, calling on Republicans to “show some spine.”

  Noting the stiffening opposition in the House to a bill hatched by both parties in the Senate, Biden said, “Why? A simple reason. Donald Trump. Because Donald Trump thinks this is bad for him politically.” Biden went on, “He’d rather weaponize this issue than actually solve it” and that, “It looks like they’re caving. Frankly, they owe it to the American people to show some spine and do what they know to be right.”

  The bill Biden backs would provide money for Israel and Ukraine defense, Taiwan, and US border control. It gives Republicans most of what they want for border protection but they are opposing it.

  “If this bill fails, I want to be absolutely clear about something,” Biden said. “The American people are going to know why it failed. I’ll be taking this issue to the country.”

GAZA: Hamas has given a “positive” response to a deal offering weeks of cease fire in exchange for hostages, according to the prime minister of Qatar. There were no other details.

  At least 136 Israelis have been listed as still in captivity since October 7^th, but intelligence officers say they have concluded that at least 30 of those have died. “We have informed 31 families that their captured loved ones are no longer among the living and that we have pronounced them dead,” a military spokesman said.

  Some of the hostages died of wounds suffered on October 7^th and others are reported to have died since.

THE WAR ROOM: Ukraine has released video taken from a swarm of sea drones that sank a Russian naval corvette. It’s another major blow to Russia’s Black Sea fleet by a country that doesn’t have a navy.

  Ukraine says that six of 10 drones, remote-control speedboats loaded with 500 pounds of explosives, breached the hull of the Ivanovets and sank it. The video shows one drone punching into a hole in the ship’s hull left by an earlier hit. The video shows massive explosions.

VICTORY AND DEFEAT: The House last night voted down the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas by a narrow vote of just 216-214 with four Republicans crossing the party line to vote “no.” It was a defeat and embarrassment for Speaker Mike Johnson, who claimed he had the votes for impeachment.

  Republicans wanted Mayorkas out for failing to close down the southern border even while they block a legislative effort to do just that.

THE SPIN RACK: The National Transportation Safety Board says four bolts that held the door plug that blew out of an Alaska Airlines flight in midair last month “missing” at the time of the incident. They seem to say the bolts were never installed. — Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee under pressure from former President Trump plans to quit after the South Carolina primary.  

BELOW THE FOLD: Fired Fox News host Tucker Carlson is in Moscow and the Kremlin says he has interviewed Russian President Vladimir Putin. It is Putin’s first interview with a western reporter since he invaded Ukraine and the Carlson interview is seen as an effort to reach American political conservatives.

  Carlson has a history of saying favorable things about Putin and denouncing Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky as a “dictator.” He once said, “We should probably take the side of Russia if we have to choose between Russia and Ukraine.”

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