The Week Ahead (12.11.23)
Trump chickens out while his enablers enable, Giuliani faces the music in court, Texas highlights the abortion care crisis, and Zelenskyy and Orbán come to Washington
I’m following five stories as we go into this week. We start, regrettably, with Donald Trump and we end with an improbable D.C. visit by a foreign meddler.
Trump reverses himself… again
One of the most predictable things in the news in 2023 has been this: Trump blusters about a big appearance or even upcoming testimony, but then when it comes time to actually show up, he backs out entirely. That’s exactly what happened Sunday as Trump reversed himself on the question of his testimony in the New York civil fraud action, which was scheduled to occur later today.
“I have already testified to everything & have nothing more to say other than this is a complete & total election interference (Biden campaign!) witch hunt,” Trump wrote in a post on his Orwellianly-named “Truth Social” platform. He posted it in ALL CAPS but I’m sparing your eyes here. “I will not be testifying on Monday,” he concluded. Shocker.
His lawyers may have talked him out of testimony that could worsen his case or even expose him to criminal liability. The best way to control what Trump says in court, after all, is to not have him show up to testify at all. Plus, it’s likely the defense team already sees the writing on the wall. The judge has shown little patience or interest in their witnesses, even the bankers who said they did not rely on the false financial statements and were paid back in full.
That’s besides the point, after all. The law forbids the making of false statements to banks in order to keep the system clean and free of fraud and to protect consumers. If fraudsters like the Trumps can get sweetheart deals based on falsely inflated values, this robs other borrowers of that available money, while giving the Trumps better interest rates than they could have otherwise gotten.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James had been prepared for his about-face and seemed unfazed by the possibility. She had noted in a public post,
Donald Trump already testified in our fraud case against him.
Whether or not he testifies again tomorrow, we have already proven that he committed years of financial fraud and unjustly enriched himself.
No matter how much he tries to distract from reality, the facts don’t lie.
This behavior mirrored what Trump’s son Eric did. The younger and somehow even dumber Trump also withdrew his appearance on the stand, having already testified to the same matters in deposition.
We’re in the home stretch now on witnesses. The state will likely call a few rebuttal witnesses before the holiday break, and then Judge Engoron will render his ruling. I expect the Trumps won’t like this one at all.
Quick pledge break! Today is a great day to upgrade to a paid account if you haven’t already.
Retribution and the Day One Dictator
Trump’s allies were busy trying to explain and walk back recent comments, made by the former president to Fox’s Sean Hannity, that he would be a dictator on Day One of his second term. He doesn’t really want to be a dictator after that day, they claimed. And besides, he was just joking.
Was he? Trump clarified then doubled down on his dictator talk in a speech before the New York Young Republicans’ 111th Annual Gala dinner on Saturday night. “[Peter] Baker today in the New York Times said that I want to be a dictator,” Trump said to the adoring crowd. “I didn’t say that. I said I want to be a dictator for one day. You know why I wanted to be a dictator? Because I want a wall, and I want to drill, drill, drill.”
“Build the wall,” they chanted.
“We did,” Trump lied.
What Trump isn’t backing down from at all is his now oft-repeated claim that he will use the Office of the President to exact retribution on his political enemies. From his infamous “I am your retribution” speech to CPAC earlier this year, to his statements on Saturday, Trump has laid it all out quite clearly. “On Day One, I will break up the Biden administration’s illegal censorship machine and any official who has violated Americans constitutional rights will be held very, very accountable,” Trump said on Saturday.
And his acolytes are out spreading the word. Before Trump took the stage on Saturday, the club’s 29-year old president Gavin Wax remarked as follows:
Since I know the deep state is listening tonight, once President Trump is back in office, we won’t be playing nice anymore.
It will be a time for retribution. All those responsible for destroying our once-great country will be held to account after baseless years of investigations and government lies and media lies against this man. Now it is time to turn the tables on these actual crooks and lock them up for a change.
“Gavin, that was an excellent speech,” Trump said. “That was an excellent speech, wow.”
The GOP is already trying to normalize and downplay this terrifying prospect. “What President Trump needs to do in this campaign, it needs to be about rebuilding, restoring, renewing America. It can’t be about revenge,” said former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, still foolishly arguing that Trump can be constrained or reasoned with. This was during an interview with CBS’s Robert Costa that aired Sunday, in which McCarthy endorsed the former president—because with McCarthy there is no moral bottom.
Rudy goes to court
Rudy Giuliani faces up to a $43.5 million judgment as his trial for defamation proceeds to court this week. Election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss sued Giuliani for smearing their names and reputations with false accusations of election fraud, and a judge has already found that Giuliani is liable. The only question that remains is by how much.
The trial for damages is set to begin today, but it is only one among many of Giuliani’s woes. As the Washington Post put it,
He faces state prosecution in Georgia, in part for his dissemination of the false claims about Freeman and Moss. He’s also considered an unindicted co-conspirator in Trump’s indictment on federal charges for obstruction of the 2020 election. He and one of his lawyers are being sued by Hunter Biden for allegedly mishandling the presidential son’s laptop, and that lawyer is accusing Giuliani of not paying legal bills. Giuliani also faces suit from a former employee accusing him of wage theft and sexual harassment.
(I should note, the Post gets it wrong when it comes to the question of Hunter Biden’s “laptop.” The suit is for breaching and stealing the younger Biden’s data and then passing it off as if they got it from his laptop. The laptop story has never passed the smell test, in my view.)
It will be interesting to see Giuliani seated at the defense table near his accusers, whom he put through hell. His false claims about them, repeated before Georgia legislators, led to racist death threats by MAGA extremists and to Freeman and Moss having to hide for their own safety.
Giuliani honestly may not have many funds left to pay on any judgment. He has already put his apartment in New York up for sale, and he allegedly has not paid his lawyer’s bills. So this may largely be a symbolic victory for the plaintiffs. But it still carries significant historic and deterrent value.
Texas Supreme Court puts an abortion ruling on hold
It was bad enough that Kate Cox, 31, had to seek approval from a court to obtain an abortion, where not only was the fetus nearly certainly non-viable, but where the pregnancy itself could cause the mother grave harm and leave her unable to have other children.
It grew many times worse when Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton then warned doctors and hospitals that if they performed the abortion, they would be held criminally liable under Texas’s strict anti-abortion ban, which permits the procedure only in cases where the life of the mother is at risk.
Things actually got even worse from there. Late Friday, the Texas Supreme Court weighed in and put a hold on the lower court’s order, keeping Cox in a state of limbo and psychological torture with increasing risks to her health. While the state’s high court has not ruled on the merits of the case, there are justices on the court who are very publicly anti-abortion. These include Justice John Devine, who has previously bragged about breaking the law to prevent women from obtaining abortions at clinics in the state. He is unlikely to recuse himself, but he is up for re-election in 2024, by the way.
The Texas case is viewed widely as a test for how far extremists will push their anti-woman, anti-abortion agenda. This is the first instance where an attorney general, who himself is under federal indictment for securities fraud and facing trial next spring, has threatened health providers with jail time and penalties if they violate a state’s draconian anti-abortion laws. Paxton very much wants to make an example of Cox, and for her not to prevail.
Zelenskyy and Orbán come to Washington
It’s a time of great anxiety for Ukraine, as its war with Russia stalls out and support in the U.S. for continued aid weakens, particularly among Republican voters who receive constant messaging on this from the far-right. This reality is now reflected in stymied aid legislation. In the Senate, anti-migrant forces are holding a multi-faceted $110 billion aid package for Ukraine, Israel, Gaza and Taiwan hostage until new draconian border measures are included in the deal.
Against this backdrop, President Zelenskyy arrived in D.C. to meet with White House and congressional leaders. But his reception there now lacks the full-throated endorsement of both parties, with a new Speaker who has voted in the past with far-right, pro-Putin elements in the House to block aid to Ukraine.
To help bolster Zelenskyy, Biden will host the Ukrainian president at the White House on Tuesday “to underscore the United States’ unshakable commitment to supporting the people of Ukraine as they defend themselves against Russia’s brutal invasion,” Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. “As Russia ramps up its missile and drone strikes against Ukraine, the leaders will discuss Ukraine’s urgent needs and the vital importance of the United States’ continued support at this critical moment.”
It is unclear whether an aid package for Israel and Ukraine will pass this year at all, given the impasse over border measures. And that could leave Ukrainian forces depleted and vulnerable at a dangerous point in the war. The White House is hoping that the aid package will eventually get pushed through, ending the issue at least for this year and leaving the future fate of Ukraine in the hands of U.S. voters in the fall.
But opposition to Ukrainian aid is gathering steam, led by the Heritage Foundation in deep partnership with Hungarian president Viktor Orbán. According to reporting by The Guardian, Orbán will meet with Republican leaders in D.C. to press for an end to Ukrainian aid, mirroring his efforts to block aid to Ukraine from the E.U. Why Orbán is busy doing the bidding of Vladimir Putin here in the U.S.—and why this isn’t a bigger deal—remains unclear. For its part, the Heritage Foundation has been a vocal opponent of continued aid to Ukraine, claiming it “puts America last.”
Pentagon and military experts disagree strongly. Military dollars spent on behalf of Ukraine are doing more to degrade the power of the Russian military and to deter its further advances than anything in history. It is money well spent. By contrast, allowing Putin to prevail in Ukraine would raise the price tag for further defense of the West considerably. Even putting aside our moral duty to help an ally turn back the murderous Russian army, it is in the economic self interest of the U.S. to provide aid early, much like simpler, preventative medical procedures could stop a cancer from spreading.
My heart breaks for Kate Cox. NOBODY should have to go through that!
Kate Cox is the perfect poster woman for Freedom of Choice. She meets the Texas tests of white, married, already a mother, and relatively affluent. Even with all of her privileges, the State STILL interfered with her personal need to end her pregnancy for well-documented medical reasons. No matter how this is resolved -- and I desperately hope Ms. Cox is able to manage her health as she sees fit -- her story is a crucial FREEDOM v. DICTATORSHIP demonstration for the 2024 election. We are all in her shoes, one way or another, unless we stand up at the voting booth.