Trend – The Big Lie
How U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson helped derail a fight against election lies
Back in July, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. A federal court had recently granted a temporary injunction, in Missouri v. Biden, finding that the Biden administration had violated the First Amendment by coercing social media companies to remove content, related both to elections and the COVID-19 vaccine, that […]
Republicans who have spent years lying about ‘rigged’ elections now need your vote to win
She told you the 2020 election was rigged. She claimed that thousands of “illegal ballots” counted in 2022 meant that your vote didn’t matter. And now she wants you to vote for her in 2024. Kari Lake, the leading Republican candidate for U.S. senator from Arizona, spent the last year fighting unsuccessful court battles to […]
One year out: how a free and fair 2024 presidential election could be under threat
The last time America elected a president, it led to a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol and a failed coup that gravely damaged the political system and marred the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in U.S. history. A year from now, the nation’s voters will decide another presidential contest — likely […]
State and local election workers quitting amid abuse, officials tell U.S. Senate panel
State and local election officials face threats and intimidation, driving experienced workers out of the profession, a panel of election officials told a U.S. Senate committee Wednesday. Conspiracy theories have fueled a more hostile environment for election workers, which has led many to quit, creating more challenges for the inexperienced new leaders, the top election […]
Who is Mike Johnson? New U.S. House speaker belongs to GOP’s religious conservative wing
Before a relatively short time in elected office, new U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana was a constitutional lawyer deeply involved in religious causes. Prior to a short stint in the Louisiana Legislature, Johnson spent two decades as a public interest lawyer mainly representing clients in so-called religious liberty litigation, he said in an […]
‘Kraken’ Trump lawyer Sidney Powell flipped her plea to guilty in 2020 election RICO case
Texas attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to election interference charges in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday, one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin for her trial. As part of the plea deal, Powell was sentenced to six years of probation for conspiring to interfere with the performance of election duties for orchestrating […]
‘Where’s Celia?’: Arizona elections official becomes the target of a GOP virtual manhunt
They started searching for her in late January. “Where’s CELIA NABOR?” one member of the angry online mob wrote. “Find her,” another wrote. Track her phone, credit cards, social security number, and social media, others suggested. It was time for her to “face the music.” “COULD SHE BE AT HOME????” someone wrote, posting her address. […]
Trump’s trial will be televised. That transparency comes with a cost.
The first of the televised sessions in former President Donald Trump’s conspiracy trial in Georgia aired Sept. 5, and it was dull as a butter knife: Two of the 19 alleged conspirators arguing to have their cases separated from the mob and from each other. It was an inauspicious start to what is potentially the […]
Maricopa County GOP wants the cash-strapped AZGOP to fund a costly presidential primary
The Arizona Republican Party is basically broke, but that’s not stopping the Maricopa County GOP from attempting to force it to run a hand-count presidential primary election this spring with a price tag of up to $15 million. The Maricopa County Republican Committee voted on Saturday to send a resolution to the state party asking […]
‘I just hope it ends’: Maricopa official shares emotional story as harasser sentenced to prison
Maricopa County Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman held it together in a federal courtroom in Phoenix on Monday until it was about his family. Hickman told a judge that he remembers the night in 2020 that dozens of protesters — propelled by lies about the fairness of the county’s presidential election — came to his home […]
Trump supporters, detractors face off outside jail as he’s booked on Georgia racketeering charges
Former President Donald Trump was booked and quickly released at the Fulton County Jail Thursday evening during a trip from New Jersey to Atlanta that played out on primetime TV and capped a drama-filled day outside the facility. Trump’s sprawling motorcade arrived at the jail at about 7:30 p.m. And he was released after about […]
The Trump indictments: a seven-year timeline of key developments
Former President Donald Trump is a defendant in three criminal proceedings. Two cases are federal, brought after investigations by Special Counsel Jack Smith. The other case is in New York state court and is being prosecuted by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. A fourth indictment, on state charges in Georgia related to Trump’s efforts to […]