A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
Day 944: "Unprecedented weaponization."
Today in one sentence: The House Freedom Caucus threatened to oppose a stopgap funding bill, which would avert a government shutdown at the end of September; the Justice Department is seeking between 27 and 33 years in federal prison in the cases of four Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy; Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond in the Georgia criminal case accusing him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 presidential election results in the state; Trump requested that his criminal trial on charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election be delayed until April 2026; 62% of likely Republican voters said they'd renominate Trump for the 2024 race today; and 42% of likely Republican Iowa caucusgoers say Trump in their first choice.
1/ The House Freedom Caucus threatened to oppose a stopgap funding bill, which would avert a government shutdown at the end of September. After Kevin McCarthy floated the idea of a stopgap bill last week, the ultraconservative House lawmakers are now demanding that any short-term spending bill increase the number of Border Patrol agents, require the Homeland Security Secretary to resume building the border wall, address “the unprecedented weaponization” of the Justice Department and FBI, and end “woke” Defense Department policies. Congress, however, is unlikely to pass all 12 appropriations bills by the Sept. 30 deadline, which would then force a shutdown of many federal government services. (Axios / NBC News / Politico)
2/ Trump confirmed that he’ll skip the first Republican presidential primary debate on Wednesday and instead sit for an interview with Tucker Carlson, which he’s reportedly already recorded. “The public knows who I am & what a successful Presidency I had,” Trump wrote on his personal social network. “I WILL THEREFORE NOT BE DOING THE DEBATES!” Trump is one of 10 Republican presidential candidates who have met the polling and fundraising criteria to qualify for the debate. Trump, however, has refused sign a loyalty pledge committing to support the eventual GOP nominee, which is required to secure a spot on the debate stage. (New York Times / NBC News / CNN)
3/ The Justice Department is seeking between 27 and 33 years in federal prison in the cases of four Proud Boys convicted of seditious conspiracy. Prosecutors are seeking 33 years in federal prison for Enrique Tarrio and Joseph Biggs, 30 years for Zachary Rehl, and 27 years for Ethan Nordean. Dominic Pezzola was acquitted of the seditious conspiracy charge but found guilty of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers. Prosecutors are seeking 20 years for Pezzola. (NBC News / Associated Press)
- A Florida Proud Boy convicted on seven counts stemming from his actions during the Jan. 6 riot is missing. An arrest warrant has been issued for Christopher Worrell. (NBC News)
4/ Trump agreed to a $200,000 bond in the Georgia criminal case accusing him of conspiring to overturn his 2020 presidential election results in the state.Under the terms of the “consent bond order,” Trump agreed to “perform no act to intimidate any person known to him or her to be a codefendant or witness in this case or to otherwise obstruct the administration of justice” – including on social media – and explicitly includes “posts on social media or reposts of posts made by another individual on social media.” Two of Trump’s co-defendants, John Eastman and Kenneth Chesebro, both agreed to a $100,000 bond. (NBC News / Associated Press / CNBC / Axios)
5/ Trump requested that his criminal trial on charges that he tried to overturn the 2020 election be delayed until April 2026 – nearly a year and a half after the 2024 election in which he is the Republican front-runner. Special counsel Jack Smith office, however, said delaying the criminal election subversion case until 2026 would “deny the public its right to a speedy trial.” Smith’s team has proposed a Jan. 2, 2024 trial date. (CNN / NBC News / Wall Street Journal / Associated Press)
poll/ 62% of likely Republican voters said they’d renominate Trump for the 2024 race today. The next closest rival is Ron DeSantis at 16%. (CBS News)
poll/ 42% of likely Republican Iowa caucusgoers say Trump in their first choice, while 19% picked Ron DeSantis. (New York Times / Wall Street Journal / NBC News)
A political newsletter for normal people
WTF Just Happened Today? is a sane, once-a-day newsletter helping normal people make sense of the news. Curated daily by Matt Kiser and delivered to 200,000+ people every afternoon around 3 pm Pacific.
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