Alleged Trump co-conspirator Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff, has filed a motion to move the RICO trial involving multi-indicted former President and seventeen other defendants to a federal court, ABC News reports.  A federal rule allows for a case to move from state to federal court if the defendant is supposedly acting “under color” of an official position.

Defense attorneys believe Trump and his henchmen stand a better shot with a jury pool that is less Democratic than Idaho.  Fulton County is far too liberal and… um… ethnic to be fair to Republicans.

(UPDATE 8:50 p.m. ET)  Thanks to an appearance from journalist Anna Bower on Chris Hayes’s MSNBC show:  The request to change venue to a federal court means a physical change of venue down the Atlanta street to the federal court building.  Georgia law will still apply; Fulton Co. DA Fani Willis and her team will still prosecute; and the sentence will be done via Georgia law, meaning it is not directly pardonable by the governor.  Major difference is that largely federal filing procedures are followed, and a federal jury pool rules will apply.

We must note that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is indeed prosecuting a rapist.

“Communist gangsters raised 100 fraudulent charges against president Trump to deny the American people their choice for a president, Donald J Trump. This is not just election interference, it is seditious conspiracy and treason” – The current top comment on the Breitbart story “Donald Trump and 18 Co-Defendants Indicted on 41 Charges.” The American people’s choice in 2020 was Biden.

“Better question. Why hasn’t some conservative county in GA indicted her? How are we supposed to fight this, if nobody even bothers to show? It is time to start throwing them in jail. Make them beg us to quit. Then and only then does it stop” – The current top comment on a TownHall.com opinion piece titled “Why Isn’t ‘Stolen Election’ Conspirator Stacey Abrams Behind Bars?”

“Says the cheater who stole his own seat. How’d he win if Biden won GA?” – The current top comment on the Gateway Pundit article “Dirtbag Governor Brian Kemp Responds to President Trump’s Upcoming Press Conference on Election Fraud: ‘The 2020 Election in Georgia was Not Stolen’,” which obviously sort of contradicts the assertion by the previous commenter at TownHall.

“If anyone is smart enough to read all charges, federal and state, you will find that every single one is a charge that Joe Biden, James Biden, and Hunter Biden have committed in spades. Extra treason charges for Joe for the invasion, drug, human, and sex trafficking. As he is Squatter in Chief” – The current top comment on the Fox News article “Trump says Georgia indictment comes during ‘dark period’ for US, vows to fix it by winning,” and man that is almost kind of sad. Almost.

“Let’s go ahead with this indictment a-and let’s go ahead with, with eh, y’know, trying to remove him from office.  We’re not going to, but we oughta, we oughta hang it around his neck,” Republican Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett on the third-tier conservative cable propaganda network.  “Y’know, they haven’t even proved, the IRS hasn’t even shown where they’ve paid any taxes.  Twenty-two million dollars and no taxes?  Hell, you and I g- spend $600 worth of sales on ebay and guess what, we get a letter from the freakin’ IRS.  This is ridiculous.  The American public needs to be irate about and they should, and shame on th-the old school media, they’re just a bunch of lapdogs to the left wing a-and that’s why their ratings are in the tank and your-all’s are soaring.”

Twenty-two million dollars?  Just two months ago, Republicans couldn’t find their witness–a Chinese agent currently wanted for illegal arms dealing–who was definitely going to show Biden took a $5 million bribe.  Now they have evidence of a $22 million bribe?  Perhaps they should disclose this information, if it’s so solid and y’know… national security is at stake and all that.

A Georgia state agency will seek to name a special prosecutor to investigate Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones, a total MAGA asshole who served as a fake Trump 2020 elector but was spared from Monday’s RICO charges after a judge forced Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to recuse over her campaigning with Jones’s Dem opponent prior to the 2022 election, the AP reports.

“Ultimately, the special prosecutor will make the decision about whether or not to file any charges,” Georgia Prosecuting Attorneys Council executive director Pete Skandalakis told the AP about the pending investigation. Jones is clearly listed as unindicted co-conspirator 8 in the charges.

A Harris County, Texas jury awarded a woman more than one billion dollars in a lawsuit against an ex-boyfriend who posted compromising photos of the woman online in a case of revenge porn, the BBC reports.

The ex went way beyond just putting them up on a website.  He emailed the photos to her family and friends.  He inserted them into a Dropbox folder her family used to share photos.  He gained access to the victim’s social media account, and he posted them on her profiles.  He also compromised her home security system, capturing videos and photos of her and distributing them as well.

Lawyers for the plaintiff asked the jury for a $100 million judgment; the jury came back at $1.1 billion.  “While a judgment in this case is unlikely to be recovered, the compensatory verdict gives DL back her good name,” said attorney Bradford Gilde, adding “We hope the staggering amount of this verdict sends a message of deterrence and prevents others from engaging in this despicable activity.”

Fresh off his latest indictment, Donald Trump took to his failing social media platform to announce that President Joe Biden is a “Manchurian candidate” who, it’s “been proven,” took $20 million to change US policy.  Trump–who failed to disclose money in Chinese banks, who paid China more income tax than he paid the US Treasury, and whose daughter was granted a series of valuable Chinese trademarks while they worked in the White House–claims China has compromised Biden because they know where all the money is.

Saying “Joe Biden’s greed and criminality is going to get us into World War III–we’re gonna be in World War III with this guy,” Trump goes on to declare the David Weiss, the Special Counsel investigating Hunter Biden, “wasn’t picked in that position by President Trump,” but that in fact the two Democratic Senators made the selection via “blue slip”; this, of course, is a lie.

Trump declares that as soon as he’s elected, he “would appoint a real special counsel, or maybe you’ll call it a special prosecutor … to look at all these bribes, kickbacks and other crimes as well as the shameless attempt at a coverup.”  No evidence of anything claims in the video exists.

One of the more interesting passages of the Georgia indictment of Donald Trump and 18 co-conspirators is a referral of a meeting at the White House in mid-December 2020 in which key players discussed the coup plan.  As Newsweek reports, one of the people listed in the meeting, reported as Act 90, is identified as “unindicted co-conspirator Individual 20”:

Click on a link to the New York Times, Substack or Facebook when you’re on Twitter, the platform Elon Musk wants to rebrand as “X” because he’s a nihilist, and you’ll wait… and wait… and wait for the connection.  Okay, it’s only around five seconds, but when surfing the internet, that seems like an eternity.

As the Washington Post points out, links using the t.co truncated links on Twitter connecting to media outlets the immature and petulant Musk dislikes are being delayed, apparently intentionally, in a petty effort to make people annoyed with the sites that he perceives have been unfair to him, a billionaire who regularly discloses fantasies of autocracy and control.

While it’s simply an annoyance to users, Musk presumably believes that this childish jab at people he believes are unfair to him are merited–much like a certain indicted former president believes urging violence from his supporters is justified–because of some slight he felt.

“Well, I tell ya, I-I-I honestly think Iowans are becoming desensitized to this. I don’t even know that they are paying attention to if it’s the third indictment, the fourth indictment.  What I’m doing here at my town halls, going county to county in Iowa is that Iowans see that there are two systems of justice.  There is one if your name is Trump, and there is one if your name is Biden. But again, it just seems to be politically motivated that Iowans just throw up their hands anymore.”

Yep, that’s true:  the Biden who’s having legal issues, Hunter, worked with investigators to clear up charges related to unpaid taxes and a gun purchase made when he was in the depths of addiction, and he is working his way through the justice system, complying with court orders.  Trump, on the other hand, blocked law enforcement’s efforts and repeatedly lied about national security documents he possessed and shared while he was not authorized to possess them.  Democrats understand Hunter needs to face justice; Republicans claim Trump is above the law.  So yeah, “two systems.”

The FBI arrested an unnamed 17-year-old Philadelphia boy who had been in contact with Islamic jihadist extremist groups, assembling materials to make bombs as members of the groups instructed him, USA Today reports. The FBI announced they are still searching for two people connected with the teen.

Using WhatsApp and Instagram accounts, the boy allegedly communicated with Katibat al Tawhid wal Jihad, an Islamic extremist group that conducted attacks in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2017 and at the Chinese Embassy in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan in 2016.  In April and May 2023, the boy used the platforms to get instructions on how to build improvised explosive devices.  On August 7th, he collected the chemicals and other materials needed to build it.  The following day, he received 14 international shipments of military and tactical gear at his home.

Having finally secured an appropriate lawyer who can practice in a federal court in Florida, Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira entered a “not guilty” plea in the federal indictment charging him with four felonies including trying to destroy evidence, ABC News reports.

De Oliveira retained Donnie Murrell, a Palm Beach County criminal defense attorney who appears to run a one-person firm.  With a tagline “When Freedom Is In The Balance,” Murrell’s website describes his career:  “For more than 25 years, the law firm of Donnie Murrell has specialized in handling state and federal criminal defense cases. The firm is also known for its post-conviction work. Attorney Murrell is a Florida Bar Board Certified Criminal Defense Attorney with a reputation for his courtroom abilities and outstanding commitment to his clients.”  [Original emphasis.]

Democratic Hawaii Governor Josh Green advised state officials to protect citizens against profiteers swooping in to make a quick buck off the suffering locals recovering from a deadly wildfire, Newsweek reports, specifically looking at ways to stop real estate speculators from grabbing up destroyed properties.

“I’ve reached out to the Attorney General to explore options to do a moratorium on any sales of properties that have been damaged or destroyed,” Green said in a press release. “Moreover, I would caution people that it’s going to be a very long time, before any growth, or housing can be built. And so, you would be pretty poorly informed if you try to steal land from our people and then build here.”

While the fires on the island are now largely contained, they are still massive:  the 678-acre Upcountry/Kula fire is currently 65% contained while the Lahaina fire has grown to around 2,170 acres and is currently 85% contained.

Perhaps confirming the notion that his fans are illiterate dupes, freelance hate-monger Tucker Carlson’s highly-hyped biography “Tucker” by conservative writer Chadwick Moore has sold just 3,227 copies in its first week of sales, the Guardian reports.

After being fired by Fox Corporation following a $787.5 million settlement in the Dominion Voting Machine defamation case when his sexist and bigoted communications were disclosed, Carlson has been trying to rebuild his brand by partnering with aspirational oligarch Elon Musk’s Twitter X platform, which has its own self-created image issues.  It’s been less-than-successful:  after racking up tens of millions of views for his initial online offerings, his recent long-form posts have been struggling to regain his audience, with recent posts getting less than 10% of the initial audience on Twitter.

The average water temperature in the Gulf of Mexico reached 88ºF, the highest recorded, creating an ecosystem that has resulted in record-high temperatures throughout Gulf coast states, the Washington Post reports.  Gulf waters hit an average temperature of 88ºF, a degree higher than previously calculated and more than 2.5 degrees higher than its typical average.

Besides hitting daily high temperature records, temperatures on land have being skyrocketing:  several Louisiana cities including Alexandria, New Iberia, and Natchitoches reached all-time high temperatures in the past week.  Heat indexes are expected to reach 110º to 120º in Louisiana this week.

In the environmental and cultural hellhole of Texas, temperatures in Houston and College Station reached all-time highs for average weekly temperature last week.  And in backwoods Florida, temperatures at the National Weather Service office recorded a 100ºF level for the first time since 1976, when the data start.

The mother of the 6-year-old Virginia boy who shot his teacher at a Newport News elementary school with a gun he brought from home has pleaded guilty to state charges of felony child neglect charges, CNN reports.

Deja Taylor’s lawyers claim that she had the gun, fixed with a trigger lock, stored on the top shelf of a bedroom closet.  As part of the plea agreement, Taylor will also plead guilty to federal gun charges.  She faces up to five years in prison when she is scheduled to be sentenced in late October.

Donald Trump’s spokeslawyer Alina Habba downplays the reaction cited by Fox’s Steve Doocy that the Fulton County indictment is Trump’s “most perilous threat,” claiming they have “inside information”

We do not agree that it is a perilous threat because we actually have inside information so– I love when people–  Well, the inside information, Steve… well, you know, you used to love Trump [uncomfortable laughter] I gotta tell you, I mean– this is something, I’m not gonna breach.  I have confidentiality and I have ethics and I’m gonna continue.  I think you need to understand something.  When somebody is given a report, and he has reports, that showed that there was interference, and you can be advised by one lawyer that says, ‘oh, I don’t think so,’ and you could have another lawyer that says, ‘no, I do think so,’ and here’s some reports and we know that there are issues in Fulton County, right?  We know!  It’s not a question.  There was election issues and the integrity of our election is in question at this very moment. Um, and when he says, ‘I wanna look into it. I don’t trust it. We need to look into it.’ That’s his obligation as a president.”

No, there is no question about the integrity of the election.  All 50 states certified their results.  It’s over, Alina.  It’s been over for nearly three years.  And Trump’s obligation as a President was to honor the electors as certified by the various states, not try to extort and threaten Georgia election officials, nor try to undermine the integrity of the Constitution by submitting fake electors to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power after an election he lost.

Any DA in Texas!
Any state AG and DA in the whole country for that matter!!!

DO IT!!! https://t.co/LrOKw2IR4M

— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 15, 2023

Less than a day after the titular head of the Republican Party was criminally indicted in a fourth case, Republicans like Marjorie Taylor Greene are urging the complete weaponization of local prosecutors offices to protect Republican political power.  Marge herself is likely on the targeting grid of Special Counsel Jack Smith for her December 2020 meeting at the White House where, in her own words, she helped plan Trump’s “January 6th objection” to his election loss which, we see now, included illegal activities.

Marge, Stephen Miller and various GOP officials, both elected and out of office, are calling for Republican prosecutors to weaponize their offices to politically target President Joe Biden and others in pure retribution for the legit indictment, post-investigation, of Trump for documented actions.

Christopher Clark, Hunter Biden’s longtime attorney who handled the various investigations into the President’s son, will withdraw from the case because he is a potential witness in an investigation into the drafting of Biden’s plea agreement, CNN reports.

“Based on recent developments, it appears that the negotiation and drafting of the plea agreement and diversion agreement will be contested, and Mr. Clark is a percipient witness to those issues,” Biden’s legal team wrote in the filing.

Biden withdrew from the plea deal after prosecution lawyers clarified that the deal would not shield Biden from future prosecution regarding the issues already under investigation, a term of the agreement sought to prevent a potential future GOP president from targeting him, as Donald Trump has promised.

Florida Republican Governor and campaign trainwreck Ron DeSantis signaled Monday that his culture war battle with Disney, the largest private employer in the state, is over and everyone should just forget about it because it was really nothing and Disney was going to lose the First Amendment lawsuit that they filed so they should just drop it before it goes further and besides DeSantis just wants Disney, the company that pioneered destination package vacations in his state, to be treated like the other companies in the same industry like SeaWorld. As school districts start to understand the harm DeSantis did to them, and as Florida residents realize the horrific financial and cultural shape the state is in, DeSantis is trying to patch up his mistakes before rebooting his national campaign, again.