See You Next Tuesday: Trump Is Spending His Weekend Preparing to Face Criminal Charges

This content comes from the latest installment of our weekly Breaking the Vote newsletter out of VICE News’ D.C. bureau, tracking the ongoing efforts to undermine the democratic process in America. Sign up here to get it in your inbox every Friday.

Big, admittedly dense newsletter this week. There’s a lot to get to. Aside from, um, the obvious:

-  Mark Meadows might be cooperating with prosecutors

- The Supreme Court issued a shocker in a major voting rights case

- CNN’s CEO is out in a story with big implications for democracy and the media

Welp, it happened. Donald Trump’s been indicted in the Mar-a-Lago documents case and is due to appear next Tuesday to surrender and be arraigned. 

This morning’s news is that CNN has a transcript of the Bedminster recording from 2021 where Trump acknowledges holding a classified document of an Iran war plan (that’s, legally, what they call a “defense information,” folks) and also acknowledges he used to have the power to declassify it, but doesn’t any more. Something to keep top of mind as MAGA GOPs shout “witch hunt” on TV and social media.

As of this writing at least seven charges described in media reports are still sealed. But various sources, including Trump lawyer Jim Trusty, have cited some of the laws Trump’s accused of breaking. They include willful retention, destruction or concealment of defense information (18 USC 1519), obstruction (18 USC 1519), false statements and… according to Trusty on CNN last night, even witness tampering. (Trusty, to the shock of legal experts, may have even let slip that a witness might have pled guilty and flipped on Trump.) 

Here’s a helpful, legally rich guide to how Trump could be prosecuted. This model “pros memo” predicts many of the same crimes Trump appears to be charged with. 

Trump went into full attack mode, though he thankfully didn’t threaten or encourage any violence. The Trumpist House GOP, on cue, rushed to shield him by attacking prosecutors and the DOJ—without seeing a single charge or fact in evidence (here’s that transcript link again, BTW).

We may know more about specific charges before Tuesday if prosecutors successfully petition the court to unseal the indictment. Otherwise, enjoy the first weekend after a former president has been charged with federal crimes. 

V-RA Day

Even the Roberts Court can surprise you. The Voting Rights Act got a shocking victory in the Supreme Court yesterday when justices struck down the Alabama Republican congressional map that shrunk Black representation down to a single, gerrymandered district. 

Justices ruled 5-4 that the map violates Section 2 of the VRA, which prohibits race discrimination in voting laws or practices. Now, Alabama will have to redraw the map to likely include two Black-represented districts instead of one. 

To call this one a stunner is an understatement. The Roberts Court has shown consistent hostility to voting rights legislation in general, and the Voting Rights Act in particular. In 2013 it gutted Section 5, which limited the ability of historically racist jurisdictions to enforce discrimination through elections. In 2021 it eviscerated Section 2 when it upheld Arizona GOP restrictions on ballot counting that impacted indigenous Americans and other minorities most, while severely restricting their ability to challenge restrictions in court. 

All that was really left of section 2 was the partisan redrawing of congressional maps known as gerrymandering. Chief Justice John Roberts conceded in his majority opinion that conservatives may be right that the VRA “impermissibly elevates race” as a factor in dividing up political power. Only, that’s not what played out in Alabama, he wrote. 

The decision could have implications for other Southern states with large Black voting populations and diluted and gerrymandered districts, including Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Mississippi. 

It’s a rare expansion of voting power in a grim era, but people may not be celebrating for long. We’re still waiting for the court to rule on Moore v Harper and its right-wing assertion of “independent state legislature” theory. That one could put partisan ideologues in charge of voting and federal elections with no ability for governors, courts or anyone else to stop them. 

Suddenly it all Licht

There’s bad news and good news in Chris Licht’s firing as head of CNN this week. I don’t work at CNN, and as a mere viewer and reader I don’t have an important opinion on whether he should have kept his job after The Atlantic’s devastating profile of his brief tenure. (Definitely read it, if you haven’t yet.)

A couple weeks ago I wrote about CNN’s terrible decision to air a live Trump town hall. It was by no means the only decision that led to Licht’s weakening and eventual firing. But it was a very important, visible, and salient one. 

What’s important from a “news media and democracy” perspective are the impulses that led Licht and his bosses at Warner Bros. Discovery to try to boost CNN’s ratings by mollifying and courting Trump voters, and Trump himself. The town hall was just one symptom of the strategy. 

Licht was looking to make CNN a “fairer’ and friendlier place to Trump supporters. Under his vision it would be a place where voters who think the election was stolen and that their leader is a victim of political witch hunts, rather than a legitimate target of prosecutors, would see their views reflected. 

The bad news is that CNN’s top execs believed, and likely still do, that Trumpism’s systematic lying and institution-killing can be appeased in this way. That responsible journalism, based on parsing truth from lies, can also present the “balanced” view at the halfway point between facts and propaganda.

That’s the spirit that engendered the town hall, the one that led to some very dubious panel guest decisions, and the very one that led Licht to encourage CNN journalists to treat Trump’s antidemocratic campaign like he was “any other candidate.”

The good news is that CNN journalists revolted against that view. Again, the town hall wasn’t the only thing that got Licht in trouble with employees. But Tim Alberta’s Atlantic profile, and lots of reporting since, show that CNN journalists largely opposed the town hall specifically, and the strategy of “all-sides-ing” politics to please Trump and MAGA Republicans generally.

That’s a sign that journalists who want to do their jobs well and responsibly (CNN is full of them) understand that when reporting on an anti-democratic candidate, “balance” cannot be a stand-in for truth. 

All the president’s fen

Once former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows had his executive privilege claims blown up, it was clear he’d eventually have to testify before a grand jury. That’s apparently happened. But between the dual Special Counsel probes, now the questions are: which grand jury did Meadows talk to (Mar-a-Lago/documents? Jan. 6/coup attempt? Both?) and why was he answering questions? 

That second one matters a lot, especially since Meadows refused to cooperate after a certain point with the January 6 committee, and took the Fifth in the Fulton County grand jury. If Meadows has now answered questions instead of invoking his right against self-incrimination, did he do it under an immunity deal? Has he flipped on Trump, secretly pleading guilty and agreeing to cooperate with investigators? Does he just feel really rotten and wants to come clean to make up for all that coup-plotting? (LOL.) 

Meadows’ profile has been so low since the Special Counsel got appointed that it’s making Trumpworld nervous.

Either way, as we always say, Meadows’ testimony is going to be a big, big deal in the coup attempt investigation. He was the 2000-texting switchboard and operative for every aspect of the plan and was an eye-witness to Trump’s actions and statements up to and including Jan. 6. Oh… and he burned documents, according to his assistant! As for the documents case, Meadows might know something about the classified war document Trump bragged about at Bedminster in 2021.

God of War room

The grand jury investigating the coup attempt would like a word with Steve Bannon. Bannon, facing trial next May for felony fraud and money laundering in New York, and a federal prison sentence for contempt (if his appeal fails), was subpoenaed last month for documents and testimony in the Jan. 6 probe. Recall that Bannon predicted in October, 2020 that Trump would claim victory and cry “stolen election” if he lost in November. He predicted on Jan. 5 that “all hell is going to break loose” the next day. He was also at the center of the infamous Willard Hotel ‘War Room” on Jan. 5, where he fielded calls from Trump and helped coordinate the attempt to keep Trump in power by delaying certification.

Run that bias again

Here’s a rundown of how Republicans in Washington plan to defend Trump from likely federal charges. Does it include attacking prosecutors, fomenting conspiracy theories, and undermining the justice system? Yup! Does it contain any fact-based assertions that Donald Trump is actually innocent? Nope! 

Arrested malevolent

Remember Jimmy Pesto, the dickish restaurant bro who trolls hapless Bob in “Bob’s Burgers” on Fox? The actor who plays him just got picked up for a Jan. 6-related felony. Jay Johnston was arrested and charged with felony obstruction of officers and several misdemeanors for alleged actions at the Capitol on Jan. 6. Johnson had already been banned from the show after acknowledging being present at the Capitol. 

Johnston’s been in a bunch of great shows, including “Better Call Saul”, “Arrested Development”, and “Mr. Show.” Now it looks like he’s landed a bit part in the largest prosecution in American history.

Feel the Bernier

A former conservative Wisconsin GOP lawmaker who quit the state Senate after refusing to support MAGA Republican election conspiracy theories is back. Kathy Bernier, who once told VICE that Trump was “lying” about winning the 2020 election, is now heading up a non-partisan group geared toward educating voters about election procedures like registration and tabulation. That bone-dry stuff is now at the center of endless conspiracy theories, so the hope is that some education will take the edge off for all but the most committed partisan BS artists. 

Here’s Cam Joseph’s VICE interview with Bernier last year, where she described herself as “cuss-word angry” at MAGA attacks on her. 

“I believe that anyone who puts themselves over the Constitution should never be president of the United States.”

— Mike Pence, speaking about Donald Trump at his presidential campaign kickoff Wednesday. 

“I will absolutely support the Republican nominee for president in 2024.”

— Pence on Fox News, soon after. 

Indiana phones

Most of the political violence we cover comes from the emboldened far right, because that’s where the majority of it originates. But not all. An Indiana man was charged after threatening GOP Congressman Jim Banks. Aaron L. Thompson allegedly called Banks’ offices several times in April and left messages threatening Banks and his children with violence. “Here’s the choice. Your daughters grow up without their dad or you grow old without your daughters,” Thompson allegedly said in one message. He told investigators he disagreed with Banks’ political views.

Hand-crafted conspiracy 

Did Fox news melt America’s brain? When it comes to voting machines, the evidence is mounting that the answer is yes. The latest comes from the good ol’ Arizona GOP, which is moving to count all 2024 presidential election votes by hand. 

GOP supervisors in Mohave County, in the northwest corner of the state, are being egged on in the hand-count effort by MAGA Republicans, like white nationalist state Sen. Wendy Rogers. Sec. of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat, wrote to the supervisors this week warning that the plan is unsecure, prone to errors, and illegal. Republicans across the state in Cochise county also have a hand-count plan, but it's being blocked by the courts. 

Kari catchup 

Losing Ariz. governor candidate and MAGA propagandist Kari Lake had a busy week (she likes to stay visible to donors and the base). Lake appeared with antisemitic weirdo Mel Gibson, who’s fixing to make a four-part docu-series on child sex trafficking. Earlier, she straight up lied about a favorite conspiracy theory she’s helped foster: The one where a US Postal Service driver hauled a trailer full of mail-in ballots from New York to Pennsylvania in October, 2020. A US Postal Service Inspector General report says there’s no evidence that ever happened, and the driver identified the wrong trailer. Kari don’t care!

The GOP’s authoritarian acceleration. 

FROM NEW YORK MAGAZINE

How the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud.

FROM NPR

How Pat Robertson created today’s Christian Nationalist GOP.

FROM THE WASHINGTON POST