Raw Story

A former federal prosecutor revealed the "atmospheric damage" that President Donald Trump's latest move could cause if it is successful.

The Trump administration recently raided the home of his former national security advisor, John Bolton, over claims that Bolton mishandled classified information. Glenn Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. Attorney, said on a recent episode of his podcast, "Justice Matters," that Trump may be emboldened to prosecute more of his rivals if Bolton is convicted of a crime.

"Here's what keeps me up at night," Kirschner said. "Maybe he committed some actual crimes and gets prosecuted for it, as he should be. That will breathe life into every Donald Trump assertion that all of these other people on his enemies list committed crimes and need to be held accountable, even though John Bolton may be the only one."

"So I think it could do such atmospheric damage in that way that you know that is one of my main concerns if Bolton is successfully prosecuted, though he still needs to be if he committed crimes," he continued.

Kirschner noted that the troubles between Trump and Bolton over classified information go back to Trump's first administration. Bolton published a memoir about his time in the White House called "The Room Where It Happened." Trump's first administration accused Bolton of publishing classified information in the book.

Bolton's case is also similar to that of retired Gen. David Petraeus. Petraeus was charged with mishandling classified information after his memoir was published. Petraeus pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor charge.

Watch the entire episode below or by clicking here.

Donald Trump's newest push to reform voting mechanisms is getting poor marks from a fellow Republican in politics.

Trump late Saturday night posted a statement on Truth Social about his plans to change the ways that Americans vote.

"Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote. NO EXCEPTIONS! I Will Be Doing An Executive Order To That End!!! Also, No Mail-In Voting, Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military. USE PAPER BALLOTS ONLY!!! President DJT," the president wrote.

Stephen Richer, who ran elections in Arizona's largest county and sued Kari Lake for defamation, took apart Trump's plan on X on Sunday.

"For those who want to take this seriously," Richer said, first highlighting Trump's comment about "paper ballots only."

"Some form of paper ballot is used by about 97% of American voters. This represents the high-water mark in the past twenty years," he said. "Why is this important? Because use of paper ballots means that you will always an immutable, auditable paper trail. Worried about hacking? No problem. Just check the paper. Worried about tabulation machines getting the count wrong? No problem. Just check the paper. Worried about electronic Armageddon? Well, at least we still have the unchanged paper ballots."

Tackling Trump's comment that "Voter I.D. Must Be Part of Every Single Vote," Richer said, "Most states require some form of identification to vote. The complication is when we parse it out by type of ID. Does it have to be a photo ID? This poses a problem with a lot tribes. Can it be a signature? (this is what is done for a lot of mail ballots). Will the government issue new IDs? (This is a big no no with civil libertarians)."

On Trump's mail-in voting remark, Richer said, "This was the focus of the President's previous tweet on election administration. As I mentioned two weeks ago, it would almost certainly be unlawful to do this by executive order. And if it was done by Congress, it would represent a significant departure in how we've done election law in the past (largely left to the states). It would also be a humongous administration shift. States like Washington, Oregon, California, Colorado, Utah, etc. would have to rebuild pretty much their entire in-person voting infrastructure."

Richer then quoted Trump saying, "Except For Those That Are Very Ill, And The Far Away Military," and asked, "Does his caps automatically come on at the beginning of every word? Otherwise it's weird to think he's pressing the upper case button on his phone at the beginning of every word."

"This part represent a bit of a retreat from his absolute ban in his previous tweet. Federal law (UOCAVA) currently requires that military and overseas voters be eligible to vote by some form of remote delivery, beginning 45 days before Election Day. This is not limited to the 'Far Away' military," according to Richer. "It can be military living in the United States. The President's tweet would seemingly attempt to abolish that practice. The 'Very Ill' part seems like an administrative nightmare. Would election administrators require doctors' notes? That seems ludicrous. Doesn't make any exception for the temporarily away (e.g. a heck of a lot of Arizonans aren't in town on Election Day for the primary in the middle of summer). Doesn't make any exceptions for the old. Or for those who can't drive."

Richer also offered to go on MAGA news channel Newsmax, where he said he would explain "the facts as the exist on the ground and why an executive order would almost certainly be unlawful!"

See more here.

Following a mass shooting in Minnesota, Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) insisted he couldn't remember why he opposed a bill to increase school safety.

In a Sunday interview on ABC, Emmer attacked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) for not giving schools enough resources to prevent a shooting that killed two children in Minneapolis last week.

"It's going to be very important that the schools have the resources," he said.

"You talk about what can be done," host Martha Raddatz noted. "After mass shootings in Buffalo and in Uvalde, Texas, Congress passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. It provided hundreds of millions of dollars for schools to expand mental health services, enhance safety measures. You did not vote for that bill. Why?"

"I don't remember the reasons that I didn't vote for that bill," Emmer replied. "I got to tell you, we did a lot for Uvalde, but you can't replace those children, Martha, you can't. And you can't help that community. We're talking about getting on the front end, Martha. We're talking about we need to have the resources."

"This bill sounds like it might have done that," Raddatz pointed out.

Watch the video below from ABC or click the link.

President Donald Trump celebrated the "true character" of former NFL coach Jon Gruden despite his resignation over reports that he used racist, sexist, and anti-gay slurs.

"Great playing Golf with Jon Gruden — A really nice guy, and true character!" Trump wrote on Sunday. The president included a photo of himself shaking hands with Gruden on a golf course.

Gruden resigned as head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders in 2021 after The New York Times unearthed emails that contained slurs.

In one email, the coach reportedly complained that NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith had "lips the size of michellin tires."

Gruden later told ESPN that the remark meant that Smith was a liar.

"I'm ashamed I insulted De Smith. I never had a racial thought when I used it," he insisted. "I'm embarrassed by what's out there. I certainly never meant for it to sound that bad."

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson made it crystal clear during a press conference on Saturday that Donald Trump and his appointees should not expect any help from the local police and city workers if the president makes good on his threat to send in the National Guard to back up masked-ICE agents snatching immigrants off the streets.

Stating he had “no time to waste,” Johnson signed his own executive order, mirroring Trump’s favorite pastime, instructing city officials on how to deal with the coming militarization of another U.S. city.

With Chicago expected to be the next targeted city, Johnson pointed said the Chicago Police Department will not “collaborate” and will instead protect Chicagoans from “federal overreach.”

According to the mayor, his executive order will “... protect ourselves from the threats and actions of this out-of-control administration. We will protect our Constitution. We will protect our city, and we will protect our people. We do not want to see tanks in our streets. We do not want to see families ripped apart. We do not want grandmothers thrown into the back of unmarked vans. You don't want to see homeless Chicagoans harassed or disappeared by federal agents. We don't want to see Chicagoans arrested for sitting on their porch.”

“That's not who we are as a city, and that's not who we are as a nation,” he continued. “My team and I have spoken with the governor, the county president, and with our federal delegation, and we are in complete alignment. The time for action is now.”

You can watch below or at the link.

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Ashli Babbitt, the pro-Trump Air Force veteran who was fatally shot by Capitol Police during the Jan. 6 Captal riot, is now set to receive full military funeral honors, a decision that has left one retired general livid, and condemning the move as “obscene.”

“I am infuriated that the Air Force plans to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt,” wrote Retired Army Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling in an op-ed published Saturday in The Bulwark. “She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it.”

Hertling, whose active duty service spanned from 1975 to 2013, recounted his own history of swearing his oath to defend the Constitution, done many times throughout his career. Babbitt, having served in the Air Force for 12 years, and was deployed at least eight times, would have taken that same oath.

Hertling went on to recall his time serving in Iraq, with one memory in particarly standing out to him: the death of his colleague, a “young soldier,” who died by suicide bomber while standing at his post at a military base entry gate.

“The soldier died at his post, saving lives by giving his own; that is service, that is sacrifice,” Hertling wrote.

“...(Babbitt) was not protecting lives at a gate in Iraq; she was forcing her way through windows in the Capitol to stop the peaceful transfer of power, one of the most sacred traditions of our Republic. To pretend that her death deserves the same recognition as the young soldier at the gate is obscene. It is a betrayal of the oath she once swore and a desecration of the sacrifice made by so many who kept faith with theirs.”

Babbitt has become something of a martyr for the MAGA movement, including for President Donald Trump himself, who called the Capitol Police officer who shot Babbitt – Lt. Michael Byrd – a “thug.” Other MAGA-aligned figures have also condemned her shooting.

The military funeral honors for Babbitt were previously denied under the Biden administration, a decision that Air Force Secretary Matthew Lohmeier, appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate last month, called an “incorrect determination.”

“After reviewing the circumstances of Ashli’s death, and considering the information that has come forward since then, I am persuaded that the previous determination was incorrect,” Lohmeier wrote in a letter to Babbitt’s family, and shared on social media. “Additionally, I would like to invite you and your family to meet me at the Pentagon to personally offer my condolences.”