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MORNING REPORT

Thursday, August 3

by Alexis Simendinger & Kristina Karisch

Trump to face historic third arraignment

Former President Trump this afternoon is expected to be arraigned in a Washington, D.C., federal courthouse on four criminal charges of conspiring to subvert the results of the 2020 election to try to remain in power. 

Trump and his lawyers have publicly argued he's a victim of a vast left-wing political vendetta and that his political speech is protected by the First Amendment and should not be criminally prosecuted. Trump will plead not guilty, but his lawyers have not countered the government's specific narrative of an alleged illegal scheme, abetted by six unnamed and unindicted co-conspirators (CBS News).

I could now face a combined 561 YEARS in prison from the Left's witch hunts," Trump told supporters Wednesday in a fundraising message. 

The Hill: Trump prepares for his first D.C. court appearance after Tuesday's indictment.
The Washington Post: At the heart of the government's Jan. 6 criminal case: What did Trump intend?

The Justice Department's 45-page indictment presented new details about the former president's conduct and actions taken by allies allegedly roped into a scheme to overturn the election, as well as information from former Trump administration officials who witnessed events and conversations in the weeks leading up to and following the 2020 election (The Hill).

The fresh revelations include "co-conspirators," who are not named in the indictment but appear to be John Eastman, Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Jeffrey Clark and Ken Chesebro, based on descriptions or confirmations provided by their lawyers. Another detail is the existence of contemporaneous notes by former Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 4, 2021, during conversations with Trump. 

According to Pence's notes, Trump made knowingly false claims about election fraud, including, "Bottom line—won every state by 100,000s of votes," and, "We won every state," and asked about a claim that Justice Department officials previously told Trump was false, including about "205,000 votes more in PA than voters?"

Pence, who initially challenged providing testimony in the government's investigation, appeared before the grand jury. The indictment details several other conversations between the former vice president and Trump in which the former president pressured Pence not to certify Joe Biden as president. Trump did not mask his displeasure on Jan. 6 during public remarks when he urged the then-vice president to "do the right thing," knowing that Pence intended to certify Biden's victory. 

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Efforts to overturn the 2020 Georgia election are outlined in the Trump indictment.
The New York Times: How Rudy Giuliani became "co-conspirator 1."
The New York Times: Can Trump still run for president if he is convicted? 
Reuters: Stanley Woodward, a lawyer for Trump aide Walt Nauta, may have conflicts of interest in the classified documents case, prosecutors told a judge Wednesday.

Leading the Day

➤ POLITICS

The indictment against Trump in the federal Jan. 6 probe is just the latest set of charges threatening to eclipse his Republican primary opponents as they struggle to gain traction in the polls. As The Hill's Julia Manchester reports, Tuesday's indictment has given Trump's campaign another opportunity to turn his legal woes into a campaign spectacle, and has left the other candidates having to figure out how to respond without giving Trump even more oxygen, while at the same time trying to make headlines of their own. 

"It's a net positive every single time because it thrusts him back to the top of the news cycle as a martyr," one Republican strategist told The Hill. "The base is certainly energized by having a fight to engage. They see the DOJ and the Biden administration as waging a war against the former Republican president." 

At a private lunch with Biden earlier this summer, former President Obama voiced concern about Trump's political strengths, The Washington Post reports, underlining his worry that Trump could be a more formidable candidate than many Democrats realize. Recent polling suggests that Trump has a significant lead over his GOP rivals and that he and Biden are essentially tied in a hypothetical rematch.

The Hill: Trump to deliver remarks in New Hampshire next week.
Politico: Could third-party candidates tip the scales in Trump's favor, again?
The New York Times: See where Republican candidates stand on the Trump indictments.
The Wall Street Journal: Indict, rally, repeat: The reactions to the latest Trump charges follow a familiar script.

Meanwhile in Congress, Trump's indictment has been met with somber silence from many Republican senators, writes The Hill's Alexander Bolton. In the aftermath of Jan. 6, seven Senate Republicans voted to convict the former president on impeachment charges of inciting an insurrection. Notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) lambasted Trump on the Senate floor two years ago for his efforts to overturn the results of the general election, and many Republicans view the most recent indictment as the most serious alleged criminal charge of the 78 felony counts Trump now faces.

"There is no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of that day. No question about it," McConnell said in prepared remarks in 2021. "The people who stormed this building believed they were acting on the wishes and instructions of their president."

The indictment has also thrust Pence and his actions following the 2020 election back into the spotlight, The Hill's Brett Samuels reports. It's a complicated subject for the former vice president, who initially fought cooperating with the Justice Department's investigation, but ended up surrendering information mentioned throughout the 45-page Trump indictment released on Tuesday that alleges a criminal conspiracy, including six unnamed collaborators — a list that does not include Pence. Many observers in both parties say they appreciated the former vice president's actions on Jan. 6. Pence, who is campaigning as a conservative alternative to Trump in the 2024 GOP primary, says he's proud of his decisions to heed the Constitution and laws. 

The Washington Post: Pence told reporters in Iowa on Wednesday that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were misguided because he was "surrounded by a group of crackpot lawyers that kept telling him what his itching ears wanted to hear."

Looking down-ballot in 2024, some Republicans complain that a number of failed GOP midterm candidates aligned with Trump could cost them key Senate races next year. As The Hill's Jared Gans reports, former GOP Nevada secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant, who has been tied to the QAnon conspiracy theory and refused to concede his loss last year, has thrown his hat into the ring for Sen. Jacky Rosen's (D-Nev.) seat. Former Arizona GOP gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who also refused to concede her loss to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), has strongly hinted that she is considering a run for the state's Senate seat. A few others who have stirred controversy are also considering Senate bids in critical states such as Wisconsin and Montana, leading some Republicans to worry that they could prove a liability as the party looks to flip the upper chamber. 

The Hill: A House COVID-19 panel requests a briefing from the new director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine plans this fall. 

In Focus / Sharp Takes

© The Associated Press / Sergei Bobylev, TASS Host Photo Agency pool | Burkina Faso's Capt. Ibrahim Traore and Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Russia Africa Summit in St. Petersburg, Russia, on July 27.

Not everyone is hostile to the coups in Niger and other African nations that have worried the West in the past few years. In the "family photo" during last week's Russia-Africa Summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood next to Ibrahim Traore, the young military officer who seized power in Burkina Faso in September, marking an uncomfortable moment for many leaders elsewhere in Africa. 

Now, Burkina Faso and Mali, another military junta-led country friendly with Russia, have taken the unusual step of declaring that foreign military intervention in Niger would be considered a declaration of war against them, too. They are defying the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which said Sunday it could use force if Niger's coup leaders don't reinstate Mohamed Bazoum, the democratically elected president, within a week. Neighboring Guinea in a separate statement supported Niger's junta and urged ECOWAS to "come to its senses" (The Associated Press). ECOWAS sent a delegation to Niger on Wednesday to negotiate with the military officers who seized power in last week's coup, while regional defense chiefs began a two-day meeting in neighboring Nigeria (Al Jazeera).

"The military option is the very last option on the table, the last resort, but we have to prepare for the eventuality," said Abdel-Fatau Musah, ECOWAS commissioner for political affairs, peace and security. "There is a need to demonstrate that we cannot only bark but can bite."

The Biden administration is holding back on calling the takeover a "coup," as it maintains around $200 million of humanitarian and economic support in the country, which would be in jeopardy if the parlance is changed. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Bazoum on the phone Wednesday, and the State Department said in a statement that the U.S. is "dedicated to finding a peaceful resolution that ensures that Niger remains a strong partner in security and development in the region" (Al Arabiya).

The Associated Press: Niger's civil society mobilizes the nation to fight for freedom from foreign interference.
The Hill: The U.S. ordered a partial evacuation of its embassy in Niger following the military takeover.
CNN: Europeans evacuated from Niger as neighboring West African juntas warn against intervention.

Ukraine has increased its tempo of drone attacks against Moscow as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this week that the "war was returning to Russia." As The Hill's Brad Dress reports, Kyiv is threatening more strikes are on the horizon, hoping that small but consistent strikes will confuse and divide Russia. The drone strikes inside Moscow, which began in May, have targeted military sites and business districts in what analysts say is likely a strategy to place heightened pressure on Russian oligarchs and elites. Moscow was hit by two drone strikes within the span of two days this week, both of which the Kremlin referred to as terrorist attacks. 

Russia attacked a key river port in southern Ukraine Wednesday, again targeting vital infrastructure used to export grain from the country. The river port across the Danube from Romania had become the primary route for grain exports since Moscow pulled out of a year-long agreement to enable shipments to continue in the Black Sea (CBS News and The Associated Press).

The New York Times: Ukraine's army has for now set aside U.S. fighting methods and reverted to tactics it knows best.
CNN: "Nowhere to hide": The question troubling Ukrainian troops amid a grinding counteroffensive.
Time magazine: Ukraine's civilian volunteers are the unsung heroes of the war.
The New York Times: Under fire and understaffed: The fight to save Ukraine's wounded.

Mongolia will deepen cooperation with Washington to mine rare earths, the country's Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene said during a Wednesday visit to Washington where he met with Vice President Harris, but warned that a "new Cold War" between the U.S. and China would harm the global economy (Reuters).

➤ ADMINISTRATION

A report from two human rights nonprofit organizations claims that U.S. border patrol agents frequently treat migrants poorly and that Customs and Border Protection, the county's largest law enforcement agency, has systemic problems. A database has listed more than 400 incidents of abuses against migrants encountered by CBP in the field or in custody since 2020, including physical violence, withholding of food and medicine and racial profiling.

"(CBP) has a persistent problem of human rights abuse without accountability," reads the report compiled by the Washington Office on Latin America and the Kino Border Initiative. "Many, if not most, CBP officers, and agents in CBP's Border Patrol agency are professionals who seek to follow best practices. However, the frequency and severity of abuse allegations indicate that a substantial number of officers and agents don't meet that standard."

The report comes after the case of Anadith Danay Reyes Alvarez, an 8-year-old Panamanian girl who died in the government's care in May. She was denied critical heart medication and her death was recently classified as "preventable" (The Hill).

The Associated Press: The Pentagon is pulling 1,100 troops from the U.S.-Mexico border mission.
NBC News: Are the Biden administration's "processing centers" for migrants in Latin America doing any good? They were designed to cut border crossings by letting migrants apply for U.S. entry without trekking north. So far they may not have fostered legal travel to the U.S. for anyone.

Opinion

The Trump indictment's main finding: Do you want this person as your president? by The Washington Post editorial board.
Vivek Ramaswamy dives into swamp land, by The Wall Street Journal editorial board.
Authoritarianism threatens a Nobel winner, by Patrick Pexton, opinion contributor, The Hill.

Where and When

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

The Senate is out until Sept. 5 and will hold a pro forma session at 12 noon on Friday.

The president has no public schedule and is spending the week enjoying R&R at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

The vice president will travel to Pleasant Prairie, Wis., with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and meet up with Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) to highlight federal investments in broadband and affordable connectivity. Harris will attend a campaign fundraiser in the afternoon before returning to Washington.

The secretary of state at 10 a.m. EDT will chair a U.N. Security Council event focused on famine and conflict-induced global food insecurity and deliver remarks at New York City's United Nations headquarters. Blinken will meet with U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. The secretary will lead a roundtable discussion at 1:15 p.m. about food security and agriculture at the Rockefeller Foundation in New York. 

Elsewhere

➤ BY THE NUMBERS

50: U.S. federal executions carried out since 1927 (the last one by lethal injection occurred on Jan. 16, 2021). On Wednesday, federal jurors sentenced a Pittsburgh synagogue mass shooter to death.

$1.8 million: What investors think they need to retire, according to a Charles Schwab survey. Wallet check: $113,000 was the average savings in a U.S. retirement account in 2022, according to Vanguard.

61: Percentage of Americans who told Reuters/Ipsos pollsters that leaders who are older often have valuable experience and should not be discounted just because of their age. On the other hand, two-thirds in the survey supported the idea of cutoffs for aging presidents and House and Senate lawmakers.  

200 tons: Estimated weight of a newly discovered ancient whale that may have drifted passively through shallow waters 39 million years ago. 

➤ HEALTH & WELLBEING

Federal health officials announced Wednesday that Jeanne Marrazzo, director of the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will be the new head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases beginning this fall. The announcement comes about eight months after former Director Anthony Fauci retired after serving for nearly 40 years.

Marrazzo, who has a background in HIV research and female reproductive tract infections, will start her job at the $6.3 billion agency just as Congress begins working through the 2024 budget and as some Republicans are eyeing sharp funding cuts across the board (The Hill). The administration said in May that it intends to nominate cancer surgeon Monica Bertagnolli to lead the National Institutes of Health, which is the largest biomedical research agency in the world.

🦠 Echoing patterns in prior years, COVID-19 infections are slowly ticking up in parts of the country, the harbinger of a possible fall and winter wave. But the numbers remain low for now, and are unlikely to reach the highs seen in previous winters, experts told The New York Times.

"We are in a very different place, but COVID is still a thing," said Katelyn Jetelina, a public health expert and author of the widely read newsletter, "Your Local Epidemiologist." "I think we do the public a disservice by saying that it's over and let's move on, because it is going to be disruptive this winter, and it will cause a number of people to die."

The Hill: COVID-19 summer surge: These areas just saw hospitalizations triple.
CNN: Central Florida is a hotspot for leprosy, report says.

The Closer

Take Our Morning Report Quiz

And finally … It's Thursday, which means it's time for this week's Morning Report Quiz! Aware that the summer is speeding past us, we're eager for some smart guesses about the youthful employment adventures of some former U.S. presidents.

Be sure to email your responses to asimendinger@thehill.com and kkarisch@thehill.com — please add "Quiz" to your subject line. Winners who submit correct answers will enjoy some richly deserved newsletter fame on Friday.

Which of these summer jobs did former President Obama once hold?