The Daily Signal - Lawmakers, Presidential Candidates React to Former President Trump’s Third Indictment, Harris Won’t Meet with DeSantis, Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Sentenced to Death | August 2

Starting point is 00:00:01 I'm Samantha Sherris. I'm Virginia Allen. And this is the Daily Signal, top news for Wednesday, August 2nd. Here are today's headlines. Former President Donald Trump was indicted for the third time on Tuesday over the former president's efforts challenging the 2020 election results. Our colleague Fred Lucas reports. Special counsel, Jack Smith, who has led the investigation into the former president's actions after the 2020 election, said on Tuesday, today and indeed. indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with conspiring to defraud the United States, conspiring to disenfranchise voters, and conspiring and attempting to obstruct an official proceeding. Smith also said the attack on our nation's capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy. As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructed.

Starting point is 00:01:11 a bedrock function of the U.S. government. The nation's process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election. Trump will reportedly be arraigned in Washington, D.C., federal court on Thursday. The four-count 45-page indictment accuses Trump of three criminal conspiracies. One is a conspiracy to defraud the United States using dishonesty, fraud and deceit. Another alleges a conspiracy to corruptly obstruct and impede the January 6th, 2021 congressional certification of votes. The third alleges a conspiracy against the right to vote.

Starting point is 00:01:50 Trump's 2024 presidential campaign said in a statement, this is nothing more than the latest corrupt chapter in the continued pathetic attempt by the Biden crime family and their weaponized Department of Justice to interfere with the 2024 presidential election, in which President Trump is the undisputed frontrunner and leading by substantial margins. The same man also asks, why did they wait two and a half years to bring these fake charges right in the middle of President Trump's winning campaign for 2024? Why was it announced the day after the big crooked Joe Biden scandal broke out from the halls of Congress? Virginia spoke with Steve Bradbury Heritage Foundation Distinguished Fellow for tomorrow's podcast show, And here's the snippet of him discussing any predictions he has for the results of this indictment.

Starting point is 00:02:43 Well, I will go out on a limb and predict that there are some issues here, including those First Amendment issues of free speech and petitioning the government and also question of when a president might be criminally liable for how he directs and supervises, subordinates, and what he asked them to do, et cetera. Those are some far-reaching questions that I could imagine would wind their way to the Supreme Court. And it's even conceivable that the president and his legal team might attempt to challenge the indictment on its face, raising those legal arguments in some kind of preliminary way and attempt to get those questions up to the Court of Appeals or potentially even the Supreme Court before there's a jury trial.

Starting point is 00:03:42 I don't know if they could be successful at that, but it's conceivable that that might happen, and you could even get potentially a ruling on the sufficiency of this indictment, the availability of these types of charges based on this kind of evidence against the former president by the Supreme Court in advance of a jury trial. Potentially, though I think it's unlikely in advance of the election. I think more likely if it did get to the Supreme Court that you'd ultimately get a ruling on these questions after the election. And one might raise the question of whether that is in fact the tactic or the strategy, in mind by the government here.

Starting point is 00:04:28 You can catch Virginia's full interview with Steve Bradbury tomorrow morning. Well, thanks, Sam, for plugging that interview. It is an interesting discussion that I had with Steve Bradbury, who really breaks down what is in this indictment and why former President Donald Trump has been indicted, Sam, like you said, for a third time. So be sure to check out that interview tomorrow morning. But speaking of Trump's indictment, lawmakers and 2024, presidential candidates are weighing in on the news.

Starting point is 00:04:58 House GOP conference chairwoman Elise Stefani tweeted this morning that despite the DOJ's illegal attempt to interfere in the 2024 election on behalf of Joe Biden, President Trump continues to skyrocket in the polls and will defeat Joe Biden and be sworn in as president of the United States in January 2025. Texas Representative Chip Roy tweeted, if you profess to care about preserving the republic, you must firmly reject a flimsy political indictment of a former president and political challenger

Starting point is 00:05:31 of a current president immersed in a bribery and corruption scandal. And when it comes to the 2024 presidential candidates, Florida Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, said in a tweet on Tuesday that as president, I will end the weaponization of government, replace the FBI director and ensure a single standard of justice for all Americans. While I've seen reports, I have not read the indictment. I do, though, believe we need to enact reforms so that Americans have the right to remove cases from Washington, D.C., to their home districts.

Starting point is 00:06:08 And Republican Vivek Ramoswamy announced last night that he filed a lawsuit against the Justice Department following its failure to substantively respond to My Freedom of Information Act or a FOIA request to uncover what White House officials, including President Joe Biden, communicated to Merrick Garland and Jack Smith about the unprecedented indictment in the classified document case of a former U.S. president and one of Biden's political opponents in the 2024 presidential election. Ramoswami said in the same tweet that I'm often, filing a separate FOIA request with the DOJ to uncover any similar communications related to the just-issued January 6th Trump indictment.

Starting point is 00:06:54 We should demand accountability and transparency, according to Ramoswamy. Democrat candidate, Marion Williamson, tweeted he was indicted again, just shocking. On the other side of the aisle among lawmakers, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California said the charges alleged in the indictment. indictment are very serious and they must play out through the legal process, peacefully, and without any outside interference. Like every criminal defendant, the former president is innocent until proven guilty. Our founders made clear that in the United States of America, no one is above the law, not even the former president of the United States. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries issued a joint statement that reads in part,

Starting point is 00:07:43 This indictment is the most serious and most consequential thus far and will stand as a stark reminder to generations of Americans that no one, including a president of the United States, is above the law. The legal process must continue to move forward without any outside interference. Vice President Kamala Harris does not have plans to meet with Governor Ron DeSantis after he offered to meet with her to discuss the state. new black history standards. Harris spoke on Tuesday while in Orlando, Florida. Let's take a listen to some of what she said via the White House's YouTube. Right here in Florida, they plan to teach students that enslaved people benefited from slavery. They insult us in an attempt to gaslight us, in an attempt to divide and distract our nation with unnecessary debates. And now they attempt to legitimize these unnecessary debates

Starting point is 00:08:58 with a proposal that most recently came in of a politically motivated roundtable. Well, I'm here in Florida. Tell you, there is no roundtable, no lecture, no invitation we will accept to debate an undeniable fact. There were no redeeming qualities of slavery. The standards under fire were approved by education officials in the Sunshine State last month, and read in part that instruction includes how slave develop skills, which, in some instances, could be applied for their personal benefit.

Starting point is 00:09:49 Harris's comments come after DeSantis invited her on Monday to Florida to discuss the standards. In a letter to Harris, DeSantis wrote in part, in Florida, we are unafraid to have an open and honest dialogue about the issues, and you clearly have no trouble ducking down to Florida on short notice. So, given your grave concern, which I must assume is sincere, about what you think our standards say, I am officially inviting you back down to Florida to discuss our African-American history standards. We will be happy to host you here in Tallahassee.

Starting point is 00:10:25 Dr. William Allen helped to develop the standards and served as chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. He told ABC News, the only criticism I've encountered so far on the new curriculum is a single one that was articulated by the vice president, and which was an error. As I stated in my response to the vice president, it was categorically false. It was never said that slavery was beneficial to Africans.

Starting point is 00:10:53 The shooter responsible for killing 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in October of 2018 has received the death penalty. As you'll recall, the shooter was convicted of 63 criminal counts in June. Those included hate crimes resulting in death and obstruction of the free exercise of religion resulting in death, according to Fox News. The family of one of the victims, 97-year-old Rose Mollinger, said in a statement reported by WTAE that returning a sentence of death is not a decision that comes easy, but we must hold accountable those who wish to commit such terrible acts of anti-Semitism, hate, and violence.

Starting point is 00:11:36 USA Today reports that this is the first federal death sentence to be imposed during the Biden administration. And today's final story is about the U.S. economy. Reuters is reporting that Fitch, a rating agency, downgraded the U.S. government's top credit rating. The rating agency said on its website that in Fitch's view, there has been a steady deterioration in standards of governance over the last 20 years, including on fiscal and debt matters, notwithstanding the June bipartisan agreement to suspend the debt limit until January 20. Fitch's website also said the repeated debt limit political standoffs and last-minute resolutions have eroded confidence in fiscal management. In addition, the government lacks a medium-term

Starting point is 00:12:26 fiscal framework, unlike most peers, and has a complex budgeting process. Mike Falkinder, chief economist at the America First Policy Institute, weighed in on the news saying in a Wednesday statement that yesterday's downgrade by Fitch ratings reminds the American people of the horrendous consequences of Bidenomics. With the addition of $5 trillion in federal spending since he took office, the resulting 40-year high inflation, and now the highest interest rates in 22 years, the Biden administration's failed policies have weakened our nation's economy. Florida governor Ronda Santis tweeted about the news, saying Fitch ratings downgrade of the nation's credit rating from AAA to AA plus is a result of frivolous spending and ballooning national debt

Starting point is 00:13:16 for programs like the CARES and Inflation Reduction Acts. Florida's AAA rating remains the standard bearer, serving as the nation's blueprint for fiscal responsibility. And that's going to do it for today's episode. Thank you for listening to The Daily Signal's top news. And if you haven't had the chance, be sure to check out our morning show. As we mentioned earlier, tomorrow morning, I am sitting down with Stephen Bradbury to discuss the details of this third indictment of former president Donald Trump. He breaks down what is and surprisingly isn't within the indictment. This is a conversation that you don't want to miss. You can also find the full interview on the Daily Signal's YouTube.

Starting point is 00:13:57 Also, make sure you subscribe to the Daily Signal wherever you get your podcasts and help us reach even more listeners. By leaving a five-star rating and review. We read and appreciate all of your feedback. Thanks again for listening. We hope you all have a lovely evening. We'll see you right back here tomorrow morning for my conversation with Stephen Bradbury on for President Trump's third indictment. The Daily Signal podcast is brought to by more than half a million members of the Heritage Foundation.

Starting point is 00:14:27 Executive producers are Rob Luey and Kate Trinko. Producers are Virginia Allen and Samantha Asheras. Sound designed by Lauren Evans, Mark Geinney, and John Pop. To learn more, please visit Daily Signal. dot com.

The Daily Signal - Lawmakers, Presidential Candidates React to Former President Trump’s Third Indictment, Harris Won’t Meet with DeSantis, Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooter Sentenced to Death | August 2

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