Even power needs a day off.
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POLITICO illustration by Emily Scherer/Photos by AP, Getty Images, iStock | | It didn’t take long after he was indicted on election subversion charges for former President Donald Trump to go on the attack — only this time, his target wasn’t a political rival or the media or even a judge, but the potential jury pool that would hear his case in Washington, D.C. Trump and his lawyers claim that he could never get a fair trial in a city he’s called a “filthy and crime-ridden embarrassment to our nation,” and his legal team is trying to get the trial moved elsewhere. Does he have a point? Former federal prosecutor and POLITICO Magazine contributor Ankush Khardori asked professional jury consultants whether D.C. was really poisoned against Trump from a legal perspective — and how they’d advise him if they were on his legal team. What they had to say might surprise you, and even offer a bit of unexpected hope for Trump. Sure, finding Trump-sympathizers in a Democratic stronghold might be like panning for gold in the Potomac. But juries are surprising, one consultant said. And Trump only needs one holdout to conclude his trial with a hung jury — and a powerful campaign talking point to boot. Read the story.
| | | |  | He sounds like an auctioneer with a head injury, just repeating all the unhinged buzzwords you hear on Fox News without any of the content. Can you guess who said this about Rep. Jim Jordan? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.**
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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer following a meeting with a bipartisan group of senators at the U.S. Capitol on Sept. 21, 2023 in Washington, D.C. | Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images | A Surprising Way to Save Aid for Ukraine … When it comes to boosting support for military and humanitarian aid, the conventional wisdom has been that Democrats go for kumbaya talk, while conservatives stick to “cold, hard American interests” like economic and national security. But lessons from the Tea Party era prove the contrary: Republicans, too, can be wooed with promises of unity and shared values — especially when those values are religious. Michael Schaffer breaks down that piece of advice for lawmakers who are divided over military assistance for Ukraine.
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| | Rep. George Santos is facing 23 federal charges — prosecutors unveiled an updated indictment on Tuesday that added 10 new charges to the original 13 from May — but for what? Stealing from a sick dog? Brokering a deal on a $19 million superyacht? Here’s POLITICO’s guide to talking about which of the wild allegations connected to the congressman are actually charged crimes (from POLITICO’s Erica Orden): - People around you might be saying, “So what did Santos even do?” Tell them to think basic fraud: He’s accused of charging his donors’ credit cards, taking unemployment insurance funds when he had a job, using donor contributions to buy himself luxury designer goods. - There are no charges for a GoFundMe scheme involving a disabled U.S. Navy veteran’s dying service dog, no charges about helping his donors reach a deal on a $19 million boat and no charges involving his claim that he was a star of the Baruch College volleyball team. - If you want to sound like you have a direct line to Santos’ PR team, highlight his changing defense strategy. The first time he was charged, Santos went with the now-classic “witch hunt” retort, saying: “I’m going to fight the witch hunt. I’m going to take care of clearing my name.” The second time, he went with the so-called Shaggy defense and blamed his fundraiser, who recently pleaded guilty to helping him falsify reports to the FEC. “I’m just saying it wasn’t me,” Santos said. “I didn’t handle the finances. That is why you pay treasurers and fundraisers.” - Could he face more charges for, say, any of the crazier stuff? Yep. Prosecutors are continuing to investigate Santos, and they’re in plea talks with one of his former associates, meaning that guy could end up cooperating against the congressman.
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| |  A billboard on a bus stop in Washington, D.C. advertises a message from the Federal Bureau of Investigation seeking information related to violence at the U.S. Capitol. | Al Drago/Getty Images | The Insurrection Hunters … By day, he works for a publicly traded company. By night, he hunts Jan. 6 insurrectionists, armed with only a laptop and a trackball mouse to ease his carpal tunnel. We’ll call him Josh; he’s part of a group of online investigators that has scoured social media for evidence of Jan. 6 crimes, an endeavor that’s led to hundreds of arrests — and identified more than 700 participants that have yet to be arrested. In this excerpt from his new book, Sedition Hunters: How January 6th Broke the Justice System, NBC News justice reporter Ryan J. Reilly tells the story of the internet detectives doing the FBI’s job — for fun.
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Israeli soldiers work on their tank near the border with the Gaza Strip in southern Israel, on Oct.12, 2023. | Ohad Zwigenberg/AP | GOP Beware … Political polarization compromised Israel’s national security. Netanyahu and his allies brushed off concerns about increased settler violence as propaganda by the deep state — and now the country is paying a steep price. That should be a warning for the U.S., writes Daniel W. Drezner, because Republicans are also reducing entire national security institutions to rubble to achieve their desired ends, just like their Israeli hard-line peers.
| | | **Who Dissed answer: It was Seth Meyers during his late night show on Monday. The host mocked Jordan, who Trump endorsed for House Speaker, for appearing on Fox News for almost 600 times over the last six years. politicoweekend@email.politico.com
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