Legal AF by MeidasTouch - TOP GOP Lawyers TURN AGAINST Trump at KEY TIME

Episode Date: August 27, 2024

The dam of Republican presidential lawyers now endorsing VP Harris since the convention is about to drown Trump’s campaign, and Fox News knows it. Michael Popok reports on 11 former REPUBLICAN WHITE HOUSE LAWYERS who have come together to call Trump a DANGER TO OUR DEMOCRACY and UNFIT FOR OFFICE, as Fox News starts to quietly quit Trump and report on this development as the serious news event it is. Go to GetSoul.com and use code LEGALAF to get 30% OFF your order! Visit https://meidastouch.com for more! Join the Legal AF Patreon: https://Patreon.com/LegalAF Remember to subscribe to ALL the MeidasTouch Network Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/meidastouch-podcast Legal AF: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/legal-af MissTrial: https://meidasnews.com/tag/miss-trial The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-politicsgirl-podcast The Influence Continuum: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-influence-continuum-with-dr-steven-hassan Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/mea-culpa-with-michael-cohen The Weekend Show: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/the-weekend-show Burn the Boats: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/burn-the-boats Majority 54: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/majority-54 Political Beatdown: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/political-beatdown Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/lights-on-with-jessica-denson On Democracy with FP Wellman: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/on-democracy-with-fpwellman Uncovered: https://www.meidastouch.com/tag/maga-uncovered Coalition of the Sane: https://meidasnews.com/tag/coalition-of-the-sane Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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That's the powerful backing of American Express. Terms and conditions apply. Visit mx.ca.com. This is Michael Popak, Legal AF. The dam of Republican leadership support for Kamala Harris is about to break all over Donald Trump. We've got some new reporting and it's shaken Donald Trump to his core. And maybe Fox News is starting to quietly quit the Trump campaign because they were one of the first ones

to publish a new letter written by over 11 former White House lawyers for Republican administrations led by J. Michael Ludwig and one of my law partners, Nicholas Rostow, who signed along with 11 others who used to work for everybody from Reagan through both Bushes to say that Donald Trump presents a clear and present danger to this constitutional republic, that he's unfitit for office and that they're not just not voting for him as lifelong Republicans. They are voting and endorsing Kamala Harris because they see it as a binary choice. There's only one person in the race that's fit for office. In their view there's only one party in the race that's fit for office and that's the Democrats. Adam

Kissinger said it right at the Democratic National Convention, one of several Republicans or former Trumpers to give speeches at the convention for a reason. When he said voting for Kamala Harris is not what a Democrat does, it's what a patriot does. And that's what these 11 or so new lawyers, again, shout out to my law partner, Nicholas

Rostow, who also signed this letter. Now, this group has banded together in the past and they filed a number of amicus curi, friends of the court briefs with the United States Supreme Court, urging them to do the right thing, which they often did not do, to stop Donald Trump's assault on our constitutional republic and to stop what Judge Ludwig has said on my show, during interviews with me, as he saw it as the un-souling of America. Well, now they're standing up.

They're getting off the sidelines and they're getting rid of the Republican stripes. They're donning their patriot capes and they are endorsing Kamala Harris. Let me read to you, and this is gonna be odd, I'm gonna read to you from the Fox News website, because they're the ones that sort of broke the story. Here it is right here. White House lawyers who advise Reagan Bush endorse Harris over Trump in 2024 showdown. I mean, this is just news for them, written by Paul Steinhauser for Fox News. But the fact that Fox News is even

running this, a Rupert Murdoch-owned and controlled paper media outlet, is remarkable. Listen, I'll just read it almost straight from Fox News. A dozen Republican White House lawyers who served in the administrations of then presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush are endorsing Kamala Harris in her race against GOP nominee former President Donald Trump. Quote, here's how the letter starts. We endorse Kamala Harris and support her election as president because we believe that returning former President Trump to office would threaten American democracy and undermine the rule of law in our country. and undermine the rule of law in our country. That is a remarkable statement by by 11 or so men who took an oath to support the Constitution and protect and

defend and to support the presidency under Republican administrations. This letter came out after the DNC closed and I think the timing of it was just exquisite, exquisitely chosen by these Republican leaders and lawyers. The signatories to the letter, as Fox News reports, quote, we urge all patriotic Republicans, former Republicans, conservative and center-right citizens and independent voters to place love of country above party and ideology and join us in supporting Kamala Harris. For them, this goes deeper than party. It's not red versus blue. It's red, white and blue. These are people who have, since they were in law school, have fought to and are scholars around

defending the Constitution, our Constitutional Republic, and our democracy. And they see Donald Trump through that lens, those eyes, those wise eyes as mandarins of the Constitution, if you will, and of our Republic to say this person is a clear and present danger to our Constitutional Republic, to our way of life, to our democracy, and the choice is binary. You must vote for Kamala Harris to save our country." That's not some fevered pitch from the Democratic National Convention or the Kamala Harris website, or even from Midas Touch. That's from Republicans and conservatives who are worried about this country. The letter noted the following, Donald Trump's own Vice

President Pence and multiple members of administration and White House staff, John Bolton, ambassador to the United Nations, thumbs up on that, even Bill Barr, Attorney General, and many, many others, including those that all testified to the Jan 6 committee, many of them voluntarily. All the White House counsel there have already declined to endorse his reelection, they noted. Those signing the letter point to what they called

the profound risks presented by Trump's potential return to public office. Indeed, Trump's own attorney general, Bill Barr, and national security adviser have said unequivocally that Donald Trump is unfit for office, dangerous and detached from reality. This is again reported by Fox News. And pointing to the then president's attempts to reverse the results of a 2020 election, the letter continues.

Trump's attempt to prevent the peaceful transfer of power after losing the election proved beyond any reasonable doubt his willingness to place his personal interests above the law and values of our constitutional democracy. And that's all these guys care about, our constitutional democracy and the protection of it. We cannot go along with other former Republican officials, the letter continues, who have condemned Trump with these devastating judgments, but are still not willing to vote for Harris. We believe this election presents a binary choice, and Trump is utterly disqualified.

And they charge Trump with, and again, this is from the Fox News report of the letter, that Trump was guilty of grave wrongdoing to our Constitution, democracy, and rule of law, and who remains unfit. Trump remains unfit, dangerous, and detached from reality. This is signed by the fall, just so you know, besides J. Michael Ludwig, Sixth Circuit appellate judge, he'd be, to put this clear, before 2020, his face would have been chiseled into the Mount Rushmore of Federalist, Conservative, Republican judges, constitutional scholars. There's no other way to put it.

This is who, let me give you the signatories for this, because I think that's important as well. Here's, I'll give it to you from Fox News, of the letter and the letter alphabetically. John Bellinger, senior associate counsel and legal advisor under George Bush. Phil Bradley, deputy counsel to Reagan. Benedict Cohen, associate counsel to Reagan. Peter Keisler, associate counsel to Reagan. Benedict Cohen, Associate Council to Reagan. Peter Keisler, Associate Council to Reagan. Robert Krueger, Associate Council to Reagan.

John Mitnick, Associate Council President and Deputy Council White House Homeland Security Council under Bush, W. Bush. Alan Rall, Associate Council to the President under Reagan and general counsel, office of management and budget under Reagan and H.W. Bush. Nicholas Rostow, yay, my law partner, special assistant to the president for national security affairs and legal advisor to the national security counsel under Reagan and H.W. Bush. By the way, Nick Rostow, I interviewed Nick Rostow about the Mar-a-Lago case about a year and a half ago here on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. A little plug for Nick. Peter J.

Rustofen, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan. David Waller, Senior Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan. And Wendell Wilkie II, Associate Counsel to the President under Reagan. What kind of night is it? Is it a single? Double. A triple? I'm not talking about alcohol. I'm talking about Sol's out of office micro dose THC gummies in three strengths, plus no hangover. Out of office gummies come in 1.5 milligram,

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gotten off the sidelines into our participatory contact sport of protecting our democracy and who better situated than people who swore an oath to support the presidency. These are presidential and constitutional scholars all, and Republicans and conservatives and members of the Federalist Society that are telling America the bridge is out ahead on the Trump road, and you're hurtling towards it at 100 miles an hour,

and you should stop the car, pump the brakes, and that there's only one choice, not because they wanted to vote for a Democrat, because they see no other choice and they're not gonna be cowards of history. Cowards of history and just say, we can't support Trump, but we're not gonna vote that day.

No, they're endorsing Kamala Harris as the only protector of the beacon of our democracy and our constitutional republic. There is no other choice. You are fooling yourself. For those that still remain on the fence, get off the fence. For those that are still undeciding, start to decide. For those that say they're independent and they're going to wait till the very last minute,

you're at the very last minute and the choice is clear. If you don't believe me, believe other Republicans who see Donald Trump for what he is, the charlatan, the snake oil salesman, the two-bit union buster, the very small, unserious man that is Donald Trump, the incredible shrinking presidential candidate. He's shrinking before our very eyes. He went from, I don't know, six foot whatever. Right now he's about three foot tall and shrinking. You know, and the sign of a desperate man deciding that his only way to win the presidency is to embrace and marry or whatever they just did JFK Jr. JFK Jr. nobody wanted him in the Democratic party or the independent party because he's too

crazy, too nuts, too wacko, too anti-vax, too conspiracy theorist and that's who Donald Trump thinks is going to shore up his campaign, desperate for any vote he can find. Not going to help. That's not a drip, drip, drip of Republican support. It is a dam that has broken against Donald Trump. He's a drowning man. And all people are throwing him, rightfully so, are anvils and anchors. JD Vance here. How's that helping your campaign? You're not very buoyant if you

ask me. If you thought JD Vance was a bad idea. So the two, let's just let me just end the hot take this way. Besides the fact the Fox News is obviously throwing an anchor at Donald Trump. Let's just report as straight news the story of all of these Republican leaders against Donald Trump. That's the quiet quitting of Rupert Murdoch. Do you hear it? Let's just go through the two main three major decisions that you've seen Donald Trump do since whatever happened in Butler, Pennsylvania happened to his head. And I'm not even sure what that was. As I've joked before, I've seen people that have had ear piercing gone awry, that have had more bandages for a longer period of time and after care than what Donald Trump just had. But let's say whatever

happened in Butler, Pennsylvania happened just for, you know what, and giggles. Okay. He made three major decisions since that period of time. So if his noggin wasn't already rattled, here's the three major judgment calls that Donald Trump made since Butler, Pennsylvania. JD Vance as his selection, which will go down, I believe, as the worst pick of a vice presidential candidate as a last gasp chance to save a campaign

since John McCain and Sarah Palin. I didn't think anybody could get worse than Sarah Palin. Apparently you can. And it's in the guise of JD Vance or the disguise of JD Vance. That's one. The second major decision was the convention, how to run the convention, what the convention would look like. And what was that as show that we just watched for that Republican convention?

Or to paraphrase, since we're talking about Bush supporters, to paraphrase George W. Bush, that's some crazy s-word going on there. That's what he said during the inaugural speech of Donald Trump back in 2016. Yeah, okay. So that's his second major decision, how to run that campaign. And his third was to embrace RFK Jr. I don't know if he made that decision after the bear cub killing, leaving it for dead in Central Park or the brain worm, or the conspiracy theories or any of that. I don't know. I'll tell you who's at the heart of both of two of those three decisions at least if not all three is Don Jr. Don Jr. had a bromance with with with JD Vance and he became vice president. Don Jr. brokered RFK

Jr. after RFK Jr. was jilted by Kamala Harris. She said, No way, I don't need you or your votes or your craziness. And I'm not giving you a cabinet position. And then he came running over to Donald Trump. I just did a hot take on that. So, so none of this is going to help and look at the Republicans. Now, what I think this letter has done this letter by Judge Ludic and the others, including my partner, Nick Rostow, is to give license and permission to Republicans to be patriots again and reject MAGA

without worrying about repercussions. That's what I think. It's giving license and permission to people to be patriots again, to love this country and to have joy. Joy comes in the morning, as Psalms tells us. So we're gonna continue to follow all of this. This won't be my last hot take on the issue of a senior Republican official endorsing Kamala Harris and we'll continue to bring it on the Midas Touch Network and on Legal AF. We sit at the intersection of law and politics so you don't have to. We do a show. Here it is. Legal AF. See it? Can you see it? It's every Wednesday and Saturday at 8 PM Eastern time. You like to watch your YouTube live podcast being

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before Labor Day. I'm updating my request. It used to be Election Day. It's Memorial Day. Hello, where am I? It's Labor Day. Get them there. No outside investors. It's completely independent. No censorship, obviously. Nobody tells me what to say. I barely know what I'm going to say before I say it. So until my next hot take, until my next Legal AF, this is Michael Popock reporting. Heary, heary. Legal AF Law Breakdown is now in session. Go beyond the headlines and get a deep dive into the important legal concepts you need to know and we discuss every day on Legal AF. Exclusive content you won't find anywhere else, all for the price of a couple of cups of coffee. Join us at patreon.com slash Legal AF.

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