Rocky Mountain Voice

Politico

Where’s Hunter? President’s son in court today to begin case of illegal gun possession
Approved, National, Politico

Where’s Hunter? President’s son in court today to begin case of illegal gun possession

By BETSY WOODRUFF SWAN and HAILEY FUCHS | Politico As Hunter Biden walks into court Monday to go on trial, he’ll pass a familiar sight: a large photo of his father, sporting a reassuring grin. The photo — hanging prominently in the lobby of a federal courthouse in dilapidated downtown Wilmington — is a vivid reminder of how the president’s political career and now his son’s legal travails both run through this struggling port city. For years, Hunter Biden has drawn scrutiny for his links to controversial Ukrainian, Chinese and Romanian business ventures. Congressional Republicans and former President Donald Trump have accused him of influence-peddling and corruption. But the trial — which opens Monday morning with jury selection — isn’t about any of that. Instead, its focus is ...
Libertarians pick Chase Oliver as presidential nominee, rejecting RFK, Jr., and Trump
Approved, National, Politico

Libertarians pick Chase Oliver as presidential nominee, rejecting RFK, Jr., and Trump

By BRITTANY GIBSON | Politico The Libertarian Party selected former Georgia Senate candidate Chase Oliver as their presidential nominee on Sunday, spurning appeals for support over the weekend from both Donald Trump and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The selection of Oliver, who has described himself as “armed and gay” and whose third-party candidacy helped force a runoff in the Georgia Senate race in 2022, came a day after Trump suggested he would be the best nominee for the party, drawing a sustained chorus of boos. The former president was deemed ineligible for the nomination by the Libertarian Party chair — Trump wrote on his social media platform that, as the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee, he could not have accepted the nomination, anyway — while Kennedy was eliminated in the...
Barron Trump to enter political arena as Florida delegate at GOP convention
Approved, National, Politico

Barron Trump to enter political arena as Florida delegate at GOP convention

By KIMBERLY LEONARD | Politico Barron Trump hasn’t graduated high school yet. But he’s already headed into the political big leagues. The Republican Party of Florida on Wednesday night picked the 18-year-old youngest son of former President Donald Trump as one of the state’s at-large delegates to the Republican National Convention, per a copy of the results viewed by POLITICO. The state party also selected other Trump children as delegates, including Eric Trump as its delegation chair — meaning he’ll place his father’s name in for the nomination — and Donald Trump Jr. and Tiffany Boulos, formerly Trump, and her husband Michael Boulos as other at-large delegates. READ THE FULL STORY AT POLITICO
‘There’s vote-buying going on at a scale like we have never seen before’
Approved, National, Politico

‘There’s vote-buying going on at a scale like we have never seen before’

By DAVID COHEN | Politico North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum on Sunday supported the election integrity allegations made by former President Donald Trump, claiming on CNN: “I think it’s clear that there’s vote-buying going on at a scale like we have never seen before.” Burgum, who is considered to be a possible Trump vice-presidential pick, was responding on “State of the Union” to questions about statements made by the presumptive GOP presidential nominee during a weekend donor retreat in Florida. Trump, never shy about alleging uncorroborated malfeasance by Democrats, said his rivals use “welfare” as an enticement to get people to vote for them. “Don’t underestimate welfare. They get welfare to vote, and then they cheat on top of that — they cheat,” Trump said in his remarks on Satur...
Teddy Roosevelt: Our most macho President owed everything to women
Approved, National, Politico

Teddy Roosevelt: Our most macho President owed everything to women

By EDWARD F. O’KEEFE | Politico When you’re born in North Dakota, you get a few idols to choose from: Peggy Lee, Lawrence Welk, Roger Maris — or Theodore Roosevelt. For me the choice was easy. When I was a child, my family would take summer road trips to Medora, North Dakota, where Roosevelt rediscovered himself after the tragic loss of his wife and mother on the same day in 1884, to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park. On those long car rides, I read and reread Edmund Morris’ Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece, The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, so many times that its pages are tattered and torn. When I first considered writing my own history of my childhood idol, my intention had been to tell the story of how North Dakota saved Roosevelt’s life. After those tragic deaths,...
Donald Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in New York trial
Approved, National, Politico

Donald Trump held in contempt for violating gag order in New York trial

By BEN FEUERHERD and ERICA ORDEN | Politico Donald Trump was held in contempt by Justice Juan Merchan Tuesday morning for social media posts and other statements the former president made that violated a gag order imposed in his Manhattan criminal case. The judge ordered Trump to pay a $9,000 fine — $1,000 for each violation. And he warned Trump that additional violations could land him in jail. “Defendant is hereby warned that the Court will not tolerate willful violations of its lawful orders and that if necessary and appropriate under the circumstances, it will impose an incarceratory punishment,” the judge wrote in an eight-page decision. READ THE FULL STORY AT POLITICO
How much do we really know about the composition of the Trump jury?
Approved, National, Politico

How much do we really know about the composition of the Trump jury?

By CALDER MCHUGH | Politico The first week of former President Donald Trump’s criminal trial has concluded, and a full jury has been chosen — twelve jurors and six alternates. Beginning next week, they’ll put to the test Trump’s contention that he can’t get a fair trial in liberal Manhattan. What we’ve learned after a week filled almost entirely with the process of jury selection is that the jurors appear to represent a reasonable cross section of the kind of people you generally find in Manhattan. There’s a salesperson from West Harlem, an engineer from the Upper West Side, a businessperson from Murray Hill, two lawyers, two people who work in education and two people who work in finance. That’s in addition to a health care worker, a product manager and a tech worker. Many of the...
Trump, RNC raised $65.6 million in March, outpacing March 2020; has $93.1 million in cash on hand
Approved, National, Politico

Trump, RNC raised $65.6 million in March, outpacing March 2020; has $93.1 million in cash on hand

By ALEX ISENSTADT | POLITICO Former President Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee raised $65.6 million in March and ended the month with $93.1 million in cash on hand, according to figures provided to POLITICO. Trump’s allies hope the amount will ease concerns about his fundraising and the cash deficit he is facing against President Joe Biden. The figure — which covers a number of fundraising vehicles that will all have to disclose their activities to the Federal Election Commission later this month — outpaces the $62 million that Trump raised in March 2020, when he was running for reelection. Biden’s political operation has yet to announce its March fundraising haul, though it has said it raised $25 million during a New York City fundraiser last week that was atten...
Why Mike Johnson’s perch has suddenly grown precarious with the walls closing in on the Speaker
Approved, National, Politico

Why Mike Johnson’s perch has suddenly grown precarious with the walls closing in on the Speaker

By RACHAEL BADE | Politico To hear Mike Johnson tell it, he’s not having much fun as speaker. He has complained about the long hours and constant travel, according to those who have recently spoken to him, and a series of escalating internal clashes have made the job a joyless slog. At least there’s this: Many of his colleagues don’t believe he’ll be doing it much longer. Five months after replacing the deposed Kevin McCarthy, the Louisiana Republican now finds himself acutely vulnerable to a right-wing revolt of his own after governing in conjunction with Democrats, pushing through twin bipartisan spending packages and making way for a Ukraine funding vote later this month. READ THE FULL STORY AT POLITICO
He’s just Ken: Ex-Rep. Buck talks Boebert and his Freedom Caucus firing
Approved, National, Politico

He’s just Ken: Ex-Rep. Buck talks Boebert and his Freedom Caucus firing

By Olivia Beavers | Politico Ken Buck faced fire from two unlikely corners as he left Congress last week — ejected from the Trump-aligned House Freedom Caucus and taking blows from Rep. Lauren Boebert, who is running to replace him. But the Colorado Republican isn't retaliating. In an interview with POLITICO Friday, the last day he was a congressman, Buck continued to insist he was leaving due to the House’s dysfunctional and toxic environment, describing it as the worst he’s seen over the course of his five terms in office. That hasn’t stopped Boebert from publicly speculating that he had another motivation for an early exit: She has indicated on the online video platform Rumble that he wanted to screw up her chances of winning his seat in November. The timing of his retirement u...