Trump’s lawyers—who described themselves as an “elite strike force” on Thursday—have fallen into complete disarray. An affidavit released by the Trump team on Michigan’s results began to crumble when it became clear the affidavit mistook Minnesota data for Michigan’s. After Giuliani’s son tested positive for COVID-19 on Friday, the entire legal team realized they had likely been exposed. On Sunday, Giuliani and Ellis issued a press release saying that Sidney Powell—whom Trump announced as a member of his “truly great team” last week—is “not a member of the Trump Legal Team.” (Last week, the Republican National Committee tweeted out a video of Powell that referred to her as a “Trump Campaign Lawyer.”)
The Morning Dispatch: The Wheels Are Coming Off - The Morning Dispatch
In dismissing the Trump campaign’s [Pennsylvania] action, [Judge Matthew Brann … a conservative who had been involved in the NRA, the Federalist Society, and the Pennsylvania GOP prior to being nominated to the bench in 2012] noted that the plaintiffs were essentially asking the Court to “disenfranchise” seven million voters. “One might expect that when seeking such a startling outcome, a plaintiff would come formidably armed with compelling legal arguments and factual proof of rampant corruption such that this Court would have no option but to regrettably grant the proposed injunctive relief despite the impact it would have on such a large group of citizens,” Brann wrote. “That has not happened. Instead, this Court has been presented with strained legal arguments without merit and speculative accusations, unpled in the operative complaint and unsupported by evidence. In the United States of America, this cannot justify the disenfranchisement of a single voter, let alone all the voters of its sixth most populated state. Our people, laws, and institutions demand more.”
The Morning Dispatch: The Wheels Are Coming Off - The Morning Dispatch
If you file a complaint with so sweeping a prayer for relief, you’d better deliver the goods or expect a good reaming out — conservative Republican judge or not.
We’re beginning to look like we’re a banana republic.
Chris Christie, quoted by CNN - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos
“Beginning”?!
Over the past four years, Donald Trump staged a hostile takeover of the Republican Party. Even now, Republican officials remain shockingly complicit in his refusal to accept defeat. That makes it tempting to write off the Republican Party—to believe that the health of American democracy depends on ensuring this party never again occupies the White House.
But in a two-party system, it is neither likely nor healthy for one party to be in power indefinitely. For democracy to thrive, we need a right-of-center party committed to the rules and norms of our republic. This is why Persuasion will be publishing a series of essays on the future of the Republican Party, what it could become, and what is should become. I hope you will enjoy the series and see its value, even if (like me) you are left-of-center.
Yasha Mounck, The Future of the Republican Party - Persuasion
Unfortunately, I didn’t think this first-in-series delivered much punch.