(And yes, Trump emails are always poorly formatted.)

Three-quarters of the Republican voters in Georgia who supported lame duck president Donald Trump in the November election believe that President-elect Joe Biden’s victory was not legitimate, according to a new poll from the Associated Press.

Even though scores of lawsuits have been thrown out of the courts and dozens of members of GOP leadership have recognized Biden’s victory, Trump supporters overwhelmingly have rejected rational reviews of facts and instead believe the conspiracies expounded by Trump.

The number of people who doubt the integrity of the US election system has skyrocketed since the November election and the Republican campaign to undermine the election results.

The City of Detroit has filed a motion in court seeking sanctions against the two lawyers who led the Kraken lawsuits, L. Lin Wood and Sidney Powell, that tied up city resources in an attempt to disenfranchise hundreds of thousands of voters, Brad Heath of Reuters reports.

The lawsuit says the “conduct of Plaintiff’s counsel in knowingly asserting false and frivolous claims while seeking relief with massive implications for our democracy warrants the strongest possible disciplinary action.”

According to Heath, the city is not only asking the Court to levy fines and sanctions against the lawyers, but will also be seeking the pair be disbarred from practicing in Michigan.

The dreaded needle makes its comeback on the Times’ website for the Georgia Senate runoff returns Tuesday night. While it is widely considered a bad omen after Election Night 2016, the national one was ditched in favor of three separate Florida, North Carolina, and Georgia needles on election night 2020 – the last of which accurately foretold of a Biden win after initially going red and then being readjusted for some faulty data.

“On the Tuesday before Christmas, Donald Trump welcomed Kellyanne Conway for lunch at the White House. Conway had resigned from the administration in August after her then 15-year-old daughter Claudia became an internet sensation for posting intimate details about the Conways’ marriage to social media. According to a source familiar with the lunch, Trump appeared to be wistful to see Conway back in the West Wing. The source said Trump spent much of the meal nostalgically reliving the thrill of his 2016 campaign. He also insisted that he had rightfully won reelection in November, but admitted that his bid to overturn the results was doomed. He even said he would attend Joe Biden’s inauguration. Conway did not respond to a request for comment; the White House declined to comment” reports Vanity Fair’s Gabe Sherman.

“If Trump was moved by the Christmas spirit to accept the reality of his situation, it was fleeting. On the eve of Wednesday’s Congressional vote to certify the 2020 election, Trump is escalating his scorched-earth campaign against American democracy. On Sunday, The Washington Post published audio of Trump’s phone call to Georgia’s Republican secretary of state Brad Raffensperger during which Trump possibly committed a crime by telling Raffensperger to ‘find 11,780 votes’ and deliver the state to Trump. Earlier today, Trump tweeted that Vice President Mike Pence has the power ‘to reject fraudulently chosen electors,’ a claim that’s baseless.

New York Post: “Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are over. Multiple sources tell Page Six that ‘divorce is imminent’ for the Hollywood couple, with Kardashian hiring divorce attorney to the stars, Laura Wasser. ‘They are keeping it low-key but they are done,’ says a source. ‘Kim has hired Laura Wasser and they are in settlement talks.’ Kim, 40, hasn’t been seen wearing her wedding ring, and Kanye, 43, remained at his $14 million Wyoming ranch over the holidays instead of spending it with the Kardashian klan, who drew criticism for their extravagant celebrations. ‘Kim got Kanye to go up there [Wyoming] so they could live separate lives and quietly get things sorted out to separate and divorce. She’s done,’ the source continued.”

Missouri Republican Senator Josh Hawley jumped on Twitter this morning to scream about a group of “antifa scumbags” he claimed were terrorizing and vandalizing his house in suburban Virginia while his poor wife and infant daughter were inside?

““Tonight while I was in Missouri, Antifa scumbags came to our place in DC and threatened my wife and newborn daughter, who can’t travel. They screamed threats, vandalized, and tried to pound open our door. Let me be clear: My family & I will not be intimidated by leftwing violence,” Hawley tweeted.

Police were called to the scene and informed the group of about 15 people–who stayed on public streets and sidewalks except to place a copy of the Constitution on the front door–that they were in violation of three local ordinances, according to the Kansas City Star.

“We are encouraged by reports of high voter turnout across the state – particularly so in North Georgia, where President Trump rallied Republicans last night. But make no mistake about it: this is going to a very close election and could come down to the difference of just a few votes in a few precincts across the state. We continue to encourage every Georgian to get out and vote and call, text, and email their friends, family, and neighbors to do the same. This generational election will be decided by the votes cast in the next few hours – no one should be sitting on the sidelines. Go Vote!” – joint statement from the Loeffler and Perdue campaigns via NBC’s Jacob Rubashkin.

“On the ground in Georgia today, I’ve noticed polling places have been pretty sparse in attendance. Republicans might be interpreting that as cause for alarm” GOP pollster Frank Luntz said in a reply.

I hope the Democrats, and even more importantly, the weak and ineffective RINO section of the Republican Party, are looking at the thousands of people pouring into D.C. They won’t stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen. @senatemajldr @JohnCornyn @SenJohnThune

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 5, 2021

Cleta Mitchell, an election lawyer whose involvement in lame duck president Donald Trump’s effort to undermine the Georgia presidential election was disclosed when a recording of the call was made public by the Washington Post on Sunday, has resigned from the law firm in which she was a partner, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports.

“Cleta Mitchell has informed firm management of her decision to resign from Foley & Lardner effective immediately,” said a statement from Dan Farrell, spokesman for the firm.  “Ms. Mitchell concluded that her departure was in the firm’s best interests, as well as in her own personal best interests.  We thank her for her contributions to the firm and wish her well.”

The law firm had previously announced that it was “concerned” about Mitchell’s previously undisclosed involvement with the Trump campaign, given that the partners in the firm had voted to avoid any representation of candidates in the November election.

Republicans in the Pennsylvania State Senate refused to seat an incumbent Democrat who won a tight race certified by the Commonwealth’s Secretary of State, thrusting the chamber into chaos that resulted in Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman being ousted as presiding officer, KDKA CBS-2 reports.

The issue stems from a challenge to the victory of Democrat Jim Brewster, who represents the state’s 45th Senatorial District, by his Republican challenger, Nicole Ziccarelli, who lost the race by just 69 votes out of more than 132,000 cast.

Although the ballots were recounted and certified by elections officials, Ziccarelli has pressed her case in federal court, claiming that more than 2,000 mail-in ballots in Allegheny County were illegal because they did not have the date written on the security envelope.

Here’s a handy dandy guide to which side your least favorite Republicans in Congress are on in what’s been branded the “Republican Civil War” by the media. Since the actual lists are long and a lot of them are nobodies, we’ll keep it only to recognizable names.

Kenosha County (Wisconsin) District Attorney Michael Graveley announced Tuesday afternoon that his office will not file any criminal charges against the officers involved in the shooting of Jacob Blake, an unarmed Black man who was shot seven times in the back while leaning into an SUV where his children sat, CNN reports.

Blake had moved away from officers to the driver’s side of his SUV and leaned into the car with officer Rusten Sheskey having a hold of his t-shirt.  Sheskey shot Blake seven times in the back from point-blank range, paralyzing Blake.  None of the other officers on the scene fired a shot.  Sheskey claimed that he shot in self-defense because he was in fear for his safety.

Blake’s shooting set off a number of protests in the Kenosha area and around the country, as it was another example of police using lethal force against unarmed Black people who evidently posed no threat. 

“If this election was stolen then the slogans ‘trust the plan’ and ‘enjoy the show’ are just deliberate attempts to control you through inaction. Nothing suits the enemy more than patriot inaction. *If* they circumvented controls against fraud, and therefore the election result has been falsified, then a) the republic has failed and b) the implicit right to revolt, tyranny having rested freedom from our grip, is hereby invoked. Let’s hope tump, the military, and space force do their duties. But if Biden is left standing on Jan 21st then it’s up to the patriots. In fact, if it’s Biden and the patriots remain silent then we are complicit; it’s just as if we voted for him.”

“If tump doesn’t invoke martial law, and temporarily suspend regular order then he isn’t really trying. The only thing that could stave off civil war is, you know, if we’re wrong or something and Biden actually did win. But that’s impossible, right? So if they move to swear him in then it’s civil war time. Or, patriots, you can suck Nancy Pelosi’s dick. No other options. Judging from the past: get ready to suck a lot of dick” – 8kun user Civil Whores and no, I’m not linking it. Take my word for it.

About 500 people showed up for the first announced event for Trump supporters looking to disenfranchise millions of American voters, video from WUSA CBS-9 local reporter Mike Valero shows.

https://youtu.be/8NZhS_U-zKc

The video, posted at 2 p.m. ET, shows Freedom Plaza, the site of the first event that started at 1 p.m., with a sparse crowd covering less than half of the area, which can hold up to 7,000 people during a crowded rally.

And this issue in Columbia Co. was resolved hours ago and our office informed the public about it in real time. The votes of everyone will be protected and counted. Sorry you received old intel Mr. President. https://t.co/qqGmnIqwsM

— Gabriel Sterling (@GabrielSterling) January 5, 2021

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, announced his resignation Tuesday to join a law firm in the private sector, marking the second US Attorney to resign prior to lame duck president Donald Trump’s exit from the White House, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports.

While it’s customary for US Attorneys to submit their resignations at a switch in administrations, having them exit their positions prior to the inauguration of the new President and the naming of a successor so that the prosecutors can ensure a smooth transition of cases.

Byung J. “BJay” Pak, the US Attorney for Northern Georgia, abruptly resigned Monday after a recording of a discussion between Trump and Georgia election officials was released.  On the recording, Trump calls Pak, a Trump appointee, a “never Trumper.”

Kyle Rittenhouse, the Illinois teen who shot three people, killing two, after he traveled to Kenosha, Wisconsin ostensibly to protect people’s property during unrest following the police shooting of an unarmed Black man, has pleaded not guilty to all charges in a court hearing Tuesday, the Associated Press reports.

Rittenhouse is expected to claim he was acting in self-defense after he shot and killed Joseph Rosenbaum and Anthony Huber and wounding Gaige Grosskreutz with an AR-15 assault rifle he illegally obtained after having a friend in Wisconsin buy it in a strawman purchase.

Rittenhouse is facing numerous charges, including intentional murder, assault with a deadly weapon, attempted murder and gun possession charges.  He is out on bail after right-wing media have characterized his actions as heroic and raised $2 million in cash to get him out of jail.

Daily Beast: “Sen. Kelly Loeffler’s husband is renting out an airport hangar to the U.S. Marshals Service for what appears to be a domestic surveillance operation – at a very nice profit – in a deal shrouded in secrecy. That operation, a nationwide cell phone monitoring campaign first reported by The Wall Street Journal in 2014, provoked outcry from Loeffler’s colleagues from Oregon last year, after local media discovered that a Marshals Service plane had circled for hours over an anti-racist protest in Portland on June 13.”

“Three days later, flight records show that exact plane touched down at Fulton County Airport in Atlanta, Georgia – where the Marshals Service leases space from Fulton County Hangar Services, part of the vast business empire run by Loeffler’s husband, Jeffrey Sprecher. The federal government renewed its rental relationship with the company the same month. The hangar at 4165 South Airport Rd. Northwest, which Loeffler identified as one of her husband’s holdings in her first financial disclosure after her appointment to the Senate last year, sits along a scarred service route at the Fulton County Airport, off the main artery of Martin Luther King Drive. The General Services Administration, which rents space on behalf of other federal agencies, confirmed to The Daily Beast that it has paid Fulton County Hangar Services almost $250,000 a year for the location since 2014, when Loeffler was still an executive at her husband’s company, Intercontinental Exchange, which also owns the New York Stock Exchange. The GSA added that it extended the lease for another three years last summer. But the details of the arrangement are enveloped in layers of government and corporate opacity. Fulton County Hangar Services is a registered federal contractor, but its contracts are not available to view in any public database.”

The number of bankruptcies filed in 2020 hit a 26-year low, a counterintuitive statistic given the negative financial impact of the national coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reports.

In a report from Epiq AACER, a firm that tracks data related to bankruptcies, the number of bankruptcies filed in US courts numbered just over 526,000, compared to an average of 800,000 in recent years.  Chapter 11 bankruptcies, which are used to large corporations to reorganize debt while continuing to operate, increased by 29% in 2020 to 7,128, compared to 5,158 in 2019.

Economists credit the rapid deployment of federal financial aid to reducing the number of personal bankruptcies filed during the early stages of the pandemic.  In comparison, during the Great Recession, the US saw 2.4 million bankruptcies in 2010 when there was no substantive financial assistance to individuals and families, although there was significant help for businesses.