Legal experts are having a busy morning in the world of Trump court cases. 

First, a federal judge overseeing the case against former President Trump’s alleged election interference just set the trial date for March 4, 2024. 

• Back story: Special counsel Jack Smith had requested a Jan. 2, 2024, trial for the election interference case, while Trump’s team wanted to hold off until April 2026. Primer on that case, via CNN  

Second, former President Trump’s arraignment has been scheduled for next Wednesday, Sept. 6, in the Georgia election interference case. Trump will be the first of the 19 defendants to appear for the hearing. 

• Timing: Each defendant will appear for their own arraignment hearing on Sept. 6, in 15-minute increments. The full list of defendants’ arraignment times 

And finally, former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is attempting to move his Georgia charges to federal court so he can assert immunity. His lawyers are battling with prosecutors in a courtroom today over this matter. 

• What this means for Meadows’s co-defendants: “Although Monday’s hearing technically regards only Meadows, the proceeding could have implications for the other co-defendants. If Meadows succeeds, Trump and the others could automatically go to federal court along with Meadows. Even if not, the same judge will soon consider similar removal requests from other defendants, and the judge on Monday could provide insights into his thinking on the issue.” The Hill’s Zach Schonfeld wrote a helpful explainer on this next stage of the Trump case. 

It’s Monday of the last week of August. The U.S. Open tennis tournament begins today! 🎾  I’m Cate Martel with a quick recap of the morning and what’s coming up. Did someone forward this newsletter to you? Sign up here. 

“Former President Trump attacked federal officials connected to the Biden administration as ‘fascist thugs’ just ahead of a Monday morning hearing before a judge who previously warned Trump that ‘inflammatory statements’ would compel her to speed up his trial.” 

From Trump’s Truth Social post: “It has just been reported that aides to TRUMP prosecutor, Deranged Jack Smith, met with high officials at the White House just prior to these political SleazeBags Indicating me OVER NOTHING.” Read the full post 

Oct. 23: Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is aiming to begin the trial for all 19 Georgia co-defendants on Oct. 23 after one co-defendant requested a speedy trial. Trump’s team has asked to sever his case from that co-defendant.  

March 25: The trial in the hush money case against former President Trump 

May 20: The trial in the case of Trump’s handling of classified documents 

In an interview on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (D) described the scene outside the Fulton County jail ahead of former President Trump’s surrender. 

From Bottoms: “There was a lot of anger, a lot of hatred in the air. When I pulled up, many of those outside the jail thought that I was the [Fulton County] District Attorney Fani Willis. They began to angrily … chant, ‘Lock her up, lock her up’ … And so, it was something that I’ve never seen before outside of the jail.” More on the scene in Georgia 

“Americans Still Put Their Trust in Juries. Will Trump’s Trials Break That Faith?” (The New York Times) 

House Republicans are demanding bold spending cuts and other concessions from Democrats, but Senate Republicans are signaling they have no appetite for House conservatives’ requests. 

Why Senate Republicans are motivated to avoid a shutdown: The 2024 battle for control of the Senate is beginning to heat up.   

How House conservatives’ requests fit into the saga: Congressional leaders negotiate the spending numbers. Conservative members of the House Freedom Caucus have a few proposals that could hold things up but will have a harder negotiation stance without support from Senate Republicans.  

Former senior Senate GOP aide David Cleary explains why: “Shutdowns do not accrue to the benefit of Republicans. There’s been one instance when Chuck Schumer tried to shut down the government that it blew back on him a little bit … [But] every other time that the government is shut down, it’s Republicans’ fault, especially when Republicans go out and crow about the government being shut down.”    

How this could play out, via The Hill’s Alexander Bolton 

Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) has offered two amendments to defund various prosecutions of former President Trump, reports The Hill’s Emily Brooks. Details 

Tropical storm Idalia is intensifying and is expected to make landfall in Florida on Wednesday. The Weather Channel forecast 

The storm could become a Category 3 storm, according to The National Weather Service. 

Map of the storm with timing estimates, from My Fox Hurricane  

Tidbit: President Biden spoke with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Monday to offer federal assistance for the storm. 

DeSantis’s message to Floridians: Be prepared. DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 46 counties, warned of power outages and told residents to be vigilant even outside of the cone. (The Hill) 

• ‘2024 Republicans want to eliminate the Education Department. What would that look like?’: (The Hill) 
  
  
• ‘Pandemics Don’t Really End—They Echo’: (Time) 
  
  
• ‘Remote workers’ connection to companies’ missions hits record low’: (Axios) 
  
  
• ‘What Your Insurer Is Trying to Tell You About Climate Change’: “Insurers are trying to send a message. The government is trying to suppress it.” From The Atlantic’s Juliette Kayyem 

Politico’s Kyle Cheney noted that “it may be late August, but the courthouse in DC is a jammed.” List of who has been spotted in the building today

Now, *this* is August recess energy:

The House and Senate are out. President Biden and Vice President Harris are in Washington, D.C.  

• 🎾 Today: The U.S. Open tennis tournament begins (!) 
• 💼 10:15 a.m.: President Biden received his daily briefing. 
• ✏️ Noon: Biden and first lady Jill Biden visit a public school in Washington, D.C., to welcome students back. 
• 🎤 12:45 p.m.: Vice President Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen hold a press call to make an announcement on empowering workers. 
• 📺 1 p.m.: White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and director of the office of public engagement Stephen Benjamin hold a press briefing. Livestream 
• 📺 6 p.m.: Biden delivers remarks at a reception for the 60th anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. Livestream 
• 🗓️ Sept. 5: The Senate returns. Senate calendar 
• 🗓️ Sept. 12: The House returns. House calendar  

All times Eastern.

Today is National Cherry Turnover Day and National Red Wine Day! 

Agence France-Presse reports that France is paying more than $200 million to destroy surplus wine to help demand and pricing for struggling producers. Read the full story in The Guardian 

And because you made it this far, here’s a kitten who thinks he’s a rabbit. Shhh, don’t ruin it for him! 

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