The Hill’s Morning Report —Trump: More DOJ charges would be ‘election interference’

by Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch - 07/19/23 6:44 AM ET

Editor’s note: The Hill’s Morning Report is our daily newsletter that dives deep into Washington’s agenda. To subscribe, click here or fill out the box below.

There is no U.S. precedent that comes close to a former president who wants voters to return him to the White House while facing charges that he placed U.S. national security at risk and allegedly schemed to try to cling to power.

Former President Trump has pleaded not guilty to multiple felony charges. Through his lawyers he says he prefers to go to trial after voters cast their ballots next year and boasts during his campaign appearances that he’s on the path to becoming the Republican nominee to challenge President Biden in 2024.

On Tuesday, Trump announced a new hurdle: He received a target letter from federal prosecutors who have been investigating Republican efforts to try to overturn the 2020 election results (The Hill).

“I got the letter on Sunday night. Think of it. I don’t think they’ve ever sent a letter on Sunday night,” Trump said Tuesday during a town hall in Iowa with Fox News host and ally Sean Hannity. “And they’re in a rush because they want to interfere. It’s interference with the election. It’s election interference. Never been done like this in the history of our country, and it’s a disgrace” (The Hill and USA Today).

Trump’s disclosure suggests he will soon face felony charges tied to the election he lost. According to some legal experts, and based on news reporting since Jan. 6, 2021, he could be charged with alleged conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruction of an official proceeding (the 2021 certification of Biden’s Electoral College victory) (The New York Times).

As The Hill’s Niall Stanage writes, anticipation that Trump will face a new federal indictment means the public spotlight temporarily shifts toward the former president and his campaign, and away from his primary rivals. Trump is leading the GOP primary field, according to recent polls, and his supporters applaud his false assertions that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him.

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel last week told CNN it’s hypothetical to imagine her party nominating “a convicted felon.”

“It’s up to the voters,” she said during an interview. “They’re going to make their decision. They’re going to hear this and they’re going to decide if this is an issue for them come November or come the primary process.” 

Lawfare blog: “A third indictment appears to be forthcoming,” Brookings Institution senior fellow Benjamin Wittes wrote on Tuesday, referring to a target letter Trump said he received with a deadline if he wishes to appear before a grand jury in Washington, D.C. “It’s reasonable to expect the grand jury to act as early as the end of this week.”

The Hill: GOP senators hold back on defending Trump as he faces new indictment. 

Trump in April was criminally charged in Manhattan with 34 felonies related to filing false business documents, and separately charged by federal prosecutors in June with 37 counts including conspiracy and violations of the Espionage Act tied to his possession of classified documents removed from the White House to his Florida estate. 

The former president pleaded not guilty to all charges after his indictments in Manhattan and South Florida and continues to claim he’s the victim of a Democratic “witch hunt” staged across multiple judicial jurisdictions.

In the documents case, a federal judge on Tuesday held a pretrial hearing in South Florida with Trump’s lawyers, who want his trial to begin after Election Day next year. Prosecutors have asked to start the trial at the end of this year. Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, said she will issue a written order “promptly” (The New York Times).

Pending in Georgia is a separate investigation of Republican actions to try to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. This week, Trump failed to block the Georgia probe in court (The Associated Press). 

CNN: Trump strategized Tuesday with House allies including the Speaker and chair of the GOP conference to go on offense to defend him and assail the Justice Department investigation. 

Related Articles

▪ NBC News: Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) on Tuesday charged 16 “false electors” with felony counts including forgery, alleging they engaged in a GOP scheme to try to overturn the 2020 election.

▪ The New York Times: A target letter does not formally charge a person, but indicates that an investigation is nearing its end and prosecutors are actively considering charging the recipient.

▪ NewsNation: Former Vice President Mike Pence said he is “not convinced” Trump’s Jan. 6 actions were criminal.

▪ Haaretz: Israeli art antiquities initially on loan in Washington, D.C., went missing for three years. They’ve been found at Mar-a-Lago and Israel says they’re “stuck” and have not been returned.

LEADING THE DAY

➤ POLITICS

© The Associated Press / Sean Rayford | Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis during a news conference in West Columbia, S.C., on Tuesday.

DeSantis on Tuesday brushed aside concerns about the state of his presidential campaign, continued to downplay the conflict in Ukraine and steered clear of supporting national abortion restrictions similar to the six-week ban he recently signed in Florida. The Hill’s Julia Manchester reports that the governor, during an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper, said Trump “could’ve come out more forcefully” to stop the insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. “I don’t think it serves us good to have a presidential election focused on what happened four years ago in January.”

“I want to focus on looking forward. I don’t want to look back,” DeSantis continued. “I do not want to see him — I hope he doesn’t get charged. I don’t think it’ll be good for the country. But at the same time I’ve got to focus on looking forward, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

With his polling numbers sagging and his opponents on the attack, DeSantis defended his struggling campaign, saying he had been “taking fire nonstop” but was putting together the political operation he needed to win the early primary states next year. The conversation with Tapper marked a rare interview with the mainstream media that seemed intended to reset his White House campaign after weeks of second-guessing from critics (Politico).

Fox News: Trump’s lead over DeSantis in New Hampshire, a key early primary state, has narrowed, according to a new poll released on Tuesday.

Politics roundup: A super PAC backing presidential contender Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) is making a $40 million TV and digital ad buy timed to run between autumn to January and covering Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Cable channel ads will begin in September (The New York Times). … Scott told a New Hampshire town hall audience Tuesday that he believes he can unify a divided America as president (WMUR). Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy said Tuesday that Trump “should be held accountable at the ballot box” (NewsNation). … Republicans are bracing for a rough and possibly bruising primary as they look to unseat Democrat Sherrod Brown in next year’s closely watched Ohio Senate race. Secretary of State Frank LaRose (R) became the latest Republican to announce his candidacy, joining a crowded field that includes businessman Bernie Moreno and state Sen. Matt Dolan (R) (The Hill). … Despite record temperatures across the country, the GOP frontrunners have little to say on climate change (The Hill). … House Democrats may have enough GOP support to adopt a formal censure of Rep. George Santos’s (R-N.Y.) campaign fabrications (Politico). … The GOP will put its claims of unequal justice at center stage today, bringing IRS whistleblowers before the public to blast the government’s investigation into Hunter Biden (The Hill).

IN FOCUS/SHARP TAKES

➤ INTERNATIONAL

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is in Washington this week, meeting with Biden Tuesday and scheduled to address a joint session of Congress today. Biden and Herzog stressed their countries’ close ties Tuesday despite U.S. tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. Tensions between Biden and Netanyahu’s right-wing government have persisted for months, in part over contentious plans for a judicial overhaul and what Biden regards as extremist positions taken by members of the government. Israel’s moves to expand settlements in the occupied West Bank have also drawn criticism from Washington (CNN).

Biden on Monday invited Netanyahu to visit Washington — though not necessarily the White House — before the end of the year (The New York Times).

A handful of Democratic lawmakers have said they would not attend Herzog’s address to Congress. Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), the first Palestinian American House member, said on Twitter she would be boycotting Herzog’s address. “I urged all Members of Congress who stand for human rights for all to join me,” she said, with a picture of herself holding a “Boycott Apartheid” sign on the steps of the Capitol (Reuters).

As head of state, Herzog plays a largely ceremonial role in his country’s politics, and on Tuesday, he praised Biden as “a huge friend” of Israel. “There are some enemies of ours that sometimes mistake the fact that we may have some differences as impacting our unbreakable bond,” Herzog said.

▪ The Hill: The House on Tuesday approved a GOP-sponsored, pro-Israel resolution after the outcry over Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s (D-Wash.) comments.

▪ The Hill: These nine House Democrats voted against the pro-Israel resolution.

▪ Times of Israel: Herzog tells Biden Israel’s democracy is “resilient,” as protests over judiciary overhaul rage at home.

▪ Axios: Inside Biden’s Monday call with Netanyahu.

Meanwhile, U.S. special envoy for climate John Kerry emphasized efforts to stabilize the bilateral relationship with China Tuesday as he visited Beijing, in the third high-level U.S. official’s visit to the country in about a month.

“Now we’re in a place where because of the efforts of President Biden and President Xi [Jinping] to try to stabilize the relationship, we can now, I hope, make progress between now and the meeting in the UAE, in December, of COP 28,” Kerry said in opening remarks at a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang.

About a week earlier, Li met with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen in the same building. In late June, Secretary of State Antony Blinken also met there with Xi. Following the latest U.S. senior official visits to Beijing, high-level Chinese officials are expected to visit the U.S. at an unspecified date (CNBC).

Russia carried out a wave of attacks across southern and eastern Ukraine overnight, in what it called a retaliation for Monday’s deadly explosion on the Crimean Bridge, connecting Russia to the illegally annexed peninsula. According to a Ukrainian official in the city of Odesa, which is home to a major grain port, part of the port’s infrastructure was damaged (The Associated Press and Reuters). 

Meanwhile, Moscow’s withdrawal from the Black Sea grain deal earlier this week has been immediately visible, said U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby, adding Monday that prices for “corn, soybean and wheat all shot up today as a result of this decision.” The initiative had helped reduce food prices by more than 23 percent since March 2022 and ensured the safe passage of 32 million metric tons of food from Ukrainian ports, according to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres.

Kenyan foreign affairs minister Korir Sing’Oei called Russia’s decision to leave the deal “a stab on the back” that “disproportionately impacts countries in the Horn of Africa already impacted by drought,” while French President Emmanuel Macron said Tuesday that Russian President Vladimir Putin effectively decided to “weaponize food” and made a “huge mistake” (The Washington Post).

▪ The Washington Post: In Central Asia, a hidden pipeline supplies Russia with banned tech.

▪ NBC News: A U.S. soldier detained in North Korea was being sent home before bolting over the border.

▪ The Hill: U.S. soldier detained in North Korea: What you need to know.

▪ The Associated Press: The U.S. deployed a nuclear-armed submarine to South Korea in a show of force against North Korea.

▪ The Guardian: The United Nations is unable to feed 100,000 Haitians this month amid “catastrophic” conditions.

© The Associated Press / Andrew Kravchenko | An excavator loads grain into a cargo ship in Izmail, Ukraine, in April.

➤ ADMINISTRATION 

Artificial intelligence: Advances in AI technology are amplifying concerns over how campaigns spread false information, and a partisan deadlock at the Federal Election Commission (FEC) is hindering a progressive-led push to put guardrails in place. As The Hill’s Rebecca Klar reports, the FEC is facing a second request led by the progressive consumer advocacy organization Public Citizen to clarify that its law on fraudulent misrepresentation applies to use of AI. This time, after the group’s first push for the clarification was defeated by the commission’s three Republican members, Democrats in the House and Senate are throwing their weight behind the pressure campaign. 

Treasury and climate change: A forthcoming guidance from the Treasury Department could have major implications for climate change and is sparking fierce debate in Washington. As The Hill’s Rachel Frazin reports, the guidance will set the rules for the hydrogen energy industry as it looks to take advantage of a lucrative tax credit provided by the Inflation Reduction Act. But climate activists say that if the policy is done wrong, it could be a disaster for the warming planet. On the other hand, some industry players say the policies favored by the climate movement could stifle the nascent hydrogen industry. 

NPR: The Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission double down on their antitrust strategy.

OPINION

■ Trump’s conspirators are racing the music, finally, by Norm Eisen and Ryan Goodman, guest essayists, The New York Times.

■ The old consensus on U.S. foreign policy is dead, by Fareed Zakaria, columnist, The Washington Post.

WHERE AND WHEN

The House will meet at 9 a.m. A joint session of Congress will hear a speech from Israeli President Isaac Herzog in the House chamber.

The Senate will convene at 9:45 a.m. and resume consideration of the Senate’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act.

The president will receive the President’s Daily Brief at 12:15 p.m. in the Oval Office, along with Vice President Harris. Biden at 3 p.m. will meet with the White House Competition Council in the State Dining Room, focused on agriculture and food prices, and lower costs for renters. Biden and first lady Jill Biden at 6 p.m. will host the annual Congressional Picnic at the White House.                          

The vice president will preside over a joint session of Congress to hear Herzog speak at 11 a.m. She will hold a meeting with Herzog in the vice president’s ceremonial office at 3:50 p.m. Harris will attend the White House picnic for members of Congress and guests this evening.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is in Hanoi, Vietnam, where later this week she will focus on bilateral economic, climate and currency issues. 

Secretary Blinken will meet with Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit at the State Department.

Special climate envoy John Kerry is in Beijing this week for discussions about limiting greenhouse gas emissions and battling the effects of the climate “crisis” (The New York Times).

The first lady will join a call at 11:30 a.m. with Deputy Director Danielle Carnival of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, community health leaders and patient advocates to discuss a proposed Medicare rule intended to help cancer patients navigate services and support. It’s part of the Biden Cancer Moonshot. The first lady at 11:45 a.m. will make remarks during a White House gathering of state leaders and legislators representing 41 states who are focused on making quality child care more affordable and accessible, with improvements for child care workers.  

Second gentleman Doug Emhoff is in New Zealand with a U.S. delegation. The itinerary Wednesday included a reception hosted by Tom Udall, U.S. ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1 p.m.

ELSEWHERE

➤ UNIONS

Spirits are high among the International Brotherhood of Teamsters as negotiations with shipping giant UPS stay frozen ahead of a July 31 contract negotiation deadline, writes The Hill’s Tobias Burns. If the Teamsters strike, some 340,000 drivers, warehouse workers and other employees could walk off the job in one of the largest labor actions in U.S. history. 

The potential strike comes amid surging labor activity in the U.S. and around the world as a result of elevated inflation and as companies have been raking in record profits during the recovery from the pandemic, changing the distribution of value in the economy from labor payments to returns on investment. Teamsters president Sean O’Brien told The Hill this needs to change, that UPS needs to start forking over more of its profits to increase the livelihoods of its workers as opposed to returning them to shareholders. 

“I want to see them reward their people,” O’Brien said Friday at a demonstration outside of a UPS facility in Brooklyn, N.Y. “I want to see them give them their biggest raise increase they’ve ever had, because they’ve made the biggest profits they’ve ever had.”

▪ Forbes: The UPS strike could cost the U.S. economy billions — here’s how it would impact consumers and businesses.

▪ CNN: Why celebrities are participating in the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes: The average pay for actors may surprise you.

▪ Yahoo Entertainment: Should you cancel Netflix during Hollywood’s historic double strike? Here’s what writers and actors say.

▪ CNBC: The media industry is in turmoil, and that’s not changing anytime soon.

➤ HEAT, FLOODS, FIRES 

© The Associated Press / Matt York | A digital billboard displays an unofficial temperature in Phoenix on Monday.

A historic heat wave set a new benchmark Tuesday in Phoenix when temperatures reached 110 degrees on a 19th consecutive day. Two hours later, the temperatures hit 116 and 118 later in the day, according to preliminary National Weather Service data. The hot streak — which broke a high-temperature record from 1974 — is not expected to end soon (The Washington Post).

The record-breaking temperatures come during what has already been a summer of extreme heat for the southern half of the United States, from California to Texas to Florida. Some 58 million people in the country were expected to experience triple-digit temperatures this week. The forecasts follow a global pattern of heat waves scorching parts of Europe, Asia and the United States, with the World Meteorological Organization warning of an increased risk of deaths linked to excessively high temperatures.

Tokyo smashed a 150-year-old heat record. Rome recorded its hottest temperature ever. June was already the hottest on record, and 10 of the hottest days of the year were in July (Bloomberg News).

The U.S. is facing a medley of extreme weather, from blazing heat in Texas and Southern California to smoke-choked air wafting into the Midwest from Canada’s ongoing wildfires. Flood warnings were issued for Vermont towns that were inundated just last week, while Tropical Storm Calvin was expected to hit Hawaii on Tuesday (Reuters).

▪ AzCentral: Record temperatures prompt Arizona to start inspecting workplaces for heat-related safety.

▪ The Atlantic: When will the Southwest become unlivable?

▪ The Wall Street Journal: The world bakes under extreme heat.

▪ CNET: Here is a list of heat safety tips for pets.

▪ The New York Times: Heat waves grip three continents as climate change warms the earth.

THE CLOSER

© The Associated Press / Fernando Llano | Australian sailor Timothy Shaddock on Tuesday in Manzanillo, Mexico, after his accidental rescue 1,200 miles from land in the Pacific Ocean following three months adrift aboard his incapacitated catamaran with his dog, Bella.

And finally … Australian sailor Timothy Shaddock, 51, and his dog, Bella, survived for nearly three months aboard a damaged catamaran adrift in the Pacific Ocean and were accidentally discovered over the weekend by a helicopter scanning the sea for tuna. Shaddock, bearded and thin, said from a port in Mexico after his return to land that he and his dog survived on raw fish and rainwater. There were times, he said, that he wasn’t sure they were going to make it (USA Today). 

“I did enjoy being at sea. I enjoyed being out there,” he told reporters Tuesday during a news conference in Manzanillo, Mexico (CBS News). “But when things get tough out there, you know, you have to survive. And then when you get saved, you feel like you want to live. So, I’m very grateful.”

Shaddock, who was trying to reach French Polynesia before a storm knocked out his electronics and crippled his boat, got lucky, thanks to a tuna trawler. No one had been searching for him 1,200 miles from land. He and Bella plan to return to Australia.

Stay Engaged

We want to hear from you! Email: Alexis Simendinger and Kristina Karisch. Follow us on Twitter (@asimendinger and @kristinakarisch) and suggest this newsletter to friends!