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MORNING REPORT

Monday, August 28

by Alexis Simendinger

Legal strategies take shape for Trump, allies

A former president who is fighting 91 criminal charges under four indictments must have a legal strategy. Perhaps several.

Donald Trump, the only current or former president to be in such a predicament, on Sunday leaned into a PR defense in which one of his lawyers went on "Fox News Sunday" to say her client is "not concerned."

"President Trump is not your average person. He's incredibly intelligent and he knows the ropes. He also knows the facts because he lived them," said lawyer Alina Habba when asked how her client will prepare.

Trump's campaign slogan since his Thursday arrest in Georgia is "never surrender," a perspective he hopes his supporters will adopt in next year's early primary contests.

▪ The New York Times: The start of a long legal process for Trump.

▪ The New York Times: Trump could face an extraordinary trial schedule next year.

In the meantime, his collaborators and accused co-conspirators are developing their own legal strategies they hope can succeed with judges and juries. That process is underway. Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, indicted in the Fulton County, Ga., prosecution that includes Trump and 18 defendants, wants to move his case from state to federal court.

Politico: Meadows is represented by lawyer Robert Bittman, a veteran of Kenneth Starr's independent counsel team during the Clinton administration.

District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is expected to appear today at an Atlanta court hearing on that question. Meadows's legal strategy is to assert immunity because he served the president at the time the alleged events took place (The Hill and CBS News and Politico).

Three of the defendants indicted in Fulton County — Trump, Meadows and former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark — were federal officials at the time of the election. If the motions for removal of the Georgia case are successful, the defendants would probably then argue in federal court that they should not be charged for state crimes (The New York Times). They could base that argument on the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which says that federal laws generally take precedence over state laws.

MSNBC: Clark is scheduled for an evidentiary hearing Sept. 18 on his petition to move his case from state to federal court. His attempt is likely to fail.

News consumers may soon lose track of the dueling prosecutions of Trump allies who allegedly helped him try to overturn the 2020 election results and others who allegedly helped him squirrel away classified materials that belonged in the National Archives. Prosecutors hope some of Trump's allies will cooperate. They may be dependent on his super PAC's financial help for legal bills and his megaphone, if his innocence in court relies on theirs.  

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Some indicted in the Georgia election case say they acted at Trump's direction.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: How Trump could attack Georgia RICO prosecution.

▪ The Washington Post: At a hearing today, U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan is expected to set a trial date in the federal prosecution brought against Trump in the 2020 elections case. The Justice Department proposed Jan. 2; Trump says he cannot be ready and wants an April 2026 trial.

👉 Morning Report's Kristina Karisch is on leave. 

Reuters: Trump trials: A unique challenge for President Biden's reelection campaign.
The Associated Press: Trump's drumbeat of lies about the 2020 election keeps getting louder. Here are the facts. 
Daily Mail and CBS News: The merch! Trump's website is selling mugs, T-shirts and bumper stickers. Other entrepreneurs are selling T-shirts with Trump's mugshot and his Fulton County, Ga., arrest number, P01135809.

Leading the Day

➤ POLITICS

© The Associated Press / Fulton County Sheriff's Office via AP | Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is challenging two criminal charges in Fulton County, Ga., where he surrendered to authorities last week.

The GOP presidential debate is more than four days in the rearview mirror, and Trump, the candidate who blew it off, remains the frontrunner, according to polls. He continues to lead, has reported raising $4.18 million for his campaign on Friday, the day after his Thursday arrest in Georgia, and seems nonplussed about any of the Republican competitors in the race, including 38-year-old Vivek Ramaswamy, who attracted interest from conservative voters and praise from Trump.

Former South Carolina Nikki Haley's debate performance earned high marks from never-Trump Republicans who dubbed her independent views as "truth telling" about the abortion debate, the GOP's culpability when it comes to adding to federal spending and debt, Trump's unpopularity beyond his base, and the value of backing Ukraine (The Hill). Her twists on conservative pragmatism fly in the face of primary strategy, but she captured weekend media coverage and perhaps new donor attention.

On Sunday, Haley shifted her gaze from her own party and took aim at the Democratic ticket. "We have to make sure we have a new generational leader who will bring in not only Republicans, but Independents, suburban women, Hispanics, and the Asian community," she told Fox News Business, zeroing in on a worry voiced by independent and some Democratic voters. "We have to make sure we win this because the thought of Kamala Harris being president should send a chill up every American's spine."

▪ NBC News: Ramaswamy says he would have certified the 2020 election results.

▪ The Hill: Ramaswamy sparred Sunday with CNN over his remarks likening the views of Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), who is Black, to "grand wizards of the modern KKK."

▪ MSNBC: Ramaswamy faces ridicule over his ironic history fail during the debate.

Presidential candidates during their debate on Wednesday vowed to do away with the Education Department, a familiar conservative battle cry and perhaps shorthand for "parents' rights" in schools. The Hill's Lexi Lonas explores the realities of trying to delete that federal department.

"Let's shut down the head of the snake, the Department of Education," Ramaswamy said last week. Former Vice President Mike Pence, a former Indiana governor who is trying to attract the support of evangelical Christian conservatives, added, "Take that $80 billion, put it in the hands of parents across this country."  

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a 2024 presidential candidate, and Virginia Gov. Glen Youngkin, a potential future GOP presidential candidate, have each made names for themselves based on their education platforms.

Congress watch: GOP tensions between the Senate and House increase the odds of a government shutdown after Sept. 30 (The Hill). … Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) says he doesn't want short-term funding to butt up to the holidays (The Hill). … House Republicans barrel toward a Biden impeachment inquiry — but some hesitate. "It's a must," Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) told The Hill in an interview. "I mean, if not now, when?" (The Hill). … McCarthy told Sunday Morning Futures on Fox that a Biden impeachment inquiry is a "natural step forward" following GOP probes (The Hill). … Prosecutors weigh charges against Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) (The Wall Street Journal). … Access to health care is again a problem for states, the White House, Congress and politicians everywhere because 5.5 million people recently lost Medicaid coverage, including some 1 million children (The Hill). … Congress eyes college sports fixes. Are student-athletes on board? (The Hill). 

More 2024 politics: 👉 Biden is too old to be an effective president in a second term, according to public appraisals in a new AP-NORC poll released today (The Associated Press). … Democrats stress a need to appeal to Black voters: "We have to be very clear about the barrier" (The Hill). … Climate activists call on Biden to take more forceful action (The Hill). … Progressives see promise in more diverse candidates, voters ahead of 2024 (The Hill). … How "disaster politics" could help make or break California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's future (The Hill). … Arizona readies for Trump ally Kari Lake as a potential, and contentious, Senate race (The Hill).

In Focus / Sharp Takes

➤ ADMINISTRATION

Biden and Vice President Harris reacted to Saturday's mass shooting in Jacksonville, Fla., which were described by authorities as racially motivated and resulting in the deaths of three Black shoppers at a Dollar General store and a 21-year-old, masked white gunman, who took his own life (The Associated Press). "America is experiencing an epidemic of hate," Harris said in a Sunday statement that urged Congress to ban assault weapons and adopt other "common sense gun safety legislation." Biden spoke by phone on Sunday with Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan (D) and Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters and offered "his full support to the people of Jacksonville," according to the White House. Separately, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department is investigating the murders as hate crimes and acts of racially motivated violent extremism.

🌏 Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo arrived in Beijing on Sunday with plans to talk business with her Chinese counterparts and with corporate representatives. She'll also visit Shanghai before departing China on Wednesday. 

The secretary — a former governor of Rhode Island and respected member of Biden's economic team who has left the door open to a future White House bid — is the fourth senior U.S. official to travel to China in less than three months. Her trip signals continued U.S. concerns about strained relations, gaps in bilateral communications and global risks involving China. 

The New York Times reports on the issues that may dominate the trip.

Relations between the two largest economies are in part aggravated by the U.S. clampdown on China's access to technology, which the U.S. fears could aid China's military. China's economy is slowing and Beijing has been trying to woo more foreign investment, while tightening its scrutiny of foreign businesses.

Both U.S. and Chinese officials have hinted that while many of the large issues probably can't be resolved in meetings this week, there are perhaps a few areas where the two sides might move closer to agreement.

"I like to run things. I like putting a team together, to run things, to get things done," Raimondo said during a WPRI12 interview in February.

▪ The Wall Street Journal: Everyone wants to talk to Raimondo, even the Chinese. 

▪ The New York Times: What China's economic woes mean for the United States.

▪ Bloomberg News: Raimondo seeks to seize the moment with a China visit focused on business.

▪ South China Morning Post: As tensions persist, Raimondo's "reality check" in China is seen as paving the way toward a meeting this year between President Xi Jinping and Biden.

▪ The Wilson Center sat down with Raimondo for a conversation a month ago about the "Indo-Pacific Economic Framework."

Opinion

How China's downturn could save the world, by David Finkling, columnist, Bloomberg Opinion.
A fitting final gift from Jimmy Carter, by Daniela J. Lamas, opinion contributor, The New York Times.
Entering the age of artificial truth, by Michael P. Ferguson, opinion contributor, The Hill.

Where and When

The House will convene for a pro forma session Tuesday at 11 a.m. Lawmakers return to Washington Sept. 11. 

The Senate is out until Sept. 5 and will hold a pro forma session on Tuesday at 11:45 a.m. 

The president will receive the President's Daily Brief at 10:15 a.m. Biden and first lady Jill Biden will visit a Washington, D.C., public middle school at noon to mark the beginning of the fall 2023 academic year. The president will deliver remarks at 6 p.m. during a White House reception to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the founding of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and greet relatives of the late Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. (The Hill).

Vice President Harris and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at 12:45 p.m. will convene a press call about Bidenomics and release of a new report that analyzes unions' contributions to the middle class.

The White House daily press briefing is scheduled at 1 p.m. and will include Stephen Benjamin, director of the White House Office of Public Engagement.

© The Associated Press / Andrew Harnik | A participant who attended Saturday's March on Washington commemoration at the Lincoln Memorial held a photo of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., where the late civil rights leader delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech 60 years ago.

Elsewhere

➤ INTERNATIONAL

A ground war that began with an invasion and has largely been anchored inside Ukraine's borders during the past year has gradually included Ukraine's drone attacks inside Russian air space. On Sunday, Russia's Ministry of Defense accused Ukraine of firing a string of drones over the weekend in an attempt to attack border regions as well as capital Moscow in the latest strikes deep inside Russian borders. The claims were not independently verified.

Russian defense officials said forces intercepted Ukrainian drones overnight in the regions of Bryansk and Kursk on the border with Ukraine. The border region of Belgorod also was attacked by drones over the weekend, according to the Russian authorities (The New York Times). 

Since July, Russian officials have reported more than two dozen drones have targeted the Moscow region alone. The strikes are a form of retaliation, but also aimed at challenging President Vladimir Putin's war strategy by shaking his version of events communicated to the Russian people. 

Throughout the summer, the intensifying drone attacks have hit buildings in central Moscow's financial district and a supersonic bomber aircraft stationed south of St. Petersburg, the Times reports. Though the scale of the destruction pales in comparison to the devastation wrought by Russia's aerial attacks in Ukraine, the assaults have caused damage and disruption.

Russian authorities on Sunday confirmed the death Wednesday of Wagner Group chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, putting to rest any doubts about whether the mercenary leader turned mutineer was on a plane that crashed, killing all on board (The Associated Press).

The New York Times: Russia's Wagner Group faces an uncertain future.

The Closer

And finally … 🐼 What China giveth, China taketh away. 

Tian Tian, the 26-year-old, crowd-pleasing giant panda at the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, celebrated his birthday on Sunday with an icy fruit treat and the mournful realizations from fans that panda contracts between the United States and China carry expiration dates. 

Tian Tian, his longtime mate Mei Xiang, age 25, and cub, Xiao Qi Ji, now 3, must depart the United States for good by early December (WUSA9). To say it will be a loss in the nation's capital, and for visitors is an understatement. The public farewell celebration organized by the zoo is scheduled Sept. 23 through Oct 1.

Under the zoo's current breeding agreement with China, long viewed as a big-ticket feature of international diplomacy, cubs are raised in Washington for four years and are then sent to China.

▪ Foreign Policy: The panda party's almost over. Giant pandas have been a fixture of the National Zoo and a symbol of U.S.-China friendship for more than five decades.

▪ CBS News Sunday Morning (2022 video): Xiao Qi Ji, the "pandemic panda." 