In today’s edition … Of the Post Office Jeff Stein AND Danielle Douglas-Gabriel The report that President Biden is close to a decision on canceling $10,000 in student loans as his allies squabble … The latest on the legal maneuverings surrounding the Mar-a-Lago documents… but first…
New York voters weigh appeal to have Trump investigator in Congress
Today’s Democratic primary for an open seat in New York City has turned into a bruising campaign between them Dan Goldmana former federal prosecutor who has contributed nearly $4 million to his campaign, and a number of other Democrats who have accused him of trying to buy the seat, including Rep. Monday Jones (DN.Y.).
But the race will also test whether Democrats will reward candidates whose business cards are playing a role in the investigation. Donald Trump as the former president teases another run for the White House as he faces a series of legal troubles, including the recent FBI raid of his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Goldman, 46, is running on his experience as a top Democratic adviser during Trump’s first impeachment. One of his TV ads includes a video of him testifying before the House Judiciary Committee and boasts that “Dan Goldman made the case against Trump.”
AND New York Times cited the guilt of Goldman’s impeachment when its editorial board approved it this month — a coveted award in New York’s 10th Congressional District, which includes some of the wealthiest and most liberal boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn.
“Dan, from the beginning, has run this race on the premise that the biggest concern we face right now is an authoritarian Republican Party.” Simon Kanter, a spokesman for the Goldman campaign told The Early. “The fight that took place during the impeachment — in which Dan played a starring role — is an ongoing fight that will become even more widespread if (a) Donald runs again and (b) Republicans win the majority in November.”
Candidates running for dismissal, investigations
Goldman is one of a small handful of House and Senate candidates this cycle who played a central role in Trump’s impeachment or investigation — though not all have made their experience a central theme of their campaign.
Rap Jerry Nadler (DN.Y.), who is facing a tough primary today vs Rep. Carolyn Maloney (DN.Y.) and Suraj Patela lawyer and former White House aide, reminded voters of his role in impeaching Trump twice as chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.
AND John Wood, a former senior investigative counsel to the House committee investigating the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, is running a long campaign for an open Senate seat in Missouri. He is trying to appeal to voters who are unhappy with the state Attorney General Eric Schmittthe Republican nominee, who led a friendly meeting that supported a lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020 election.
“The old saying is ‘all elections are local,’ but I don’t really buy that,” the former senator said. John Danforth (R-Mo.), who is supporting Wood. “There are a lot of people who think — and rightly so — that something terrible has happened to American politics.”
Wood has praised Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee’s vice chair Jan. 6, who lost her re-election last week and has criticized Schmitt as “totally beholden to Donald Trump.”
While the economy and other issues are “extremely important” to voters, Wood told Early, “long term, I think protecting our democracy and protecting our Constitution and healing our country are the most important things.”
The most important issue?
Goldman is running against a diverse field of fellow Democrats, including Carlina Riveraa New York City Councilwoman; Yuh-Line Niou, a state assemblywoman; and Jones, who recently moved to the district after his district was redrawn by redistricting.
Goldman’s rivals are betting that Democratic voters want more than a Trump enemy, and they have attacked him as a wealthy centrist who used his ties to the Sulzberger family to secure the support of the Times, which benefited his campaign.
“I don’t want to forget what’s affecting other people and the communities that raised me,” Rivera said, adding that “we need people who are really talking about abortion access and our lack of housing as well.”
Some Democrats also noted that voters may prefer a representative who reflects the diversity of the district, which is more than 20 percent Asian American and about 20 percent Hispanic.
“You’re running in a district, for example, that has a large Latino population that is concerned about gentrification and a large Asian population that has been the focus of some very violent anti-Asian attacks over the past couple of years. . Basil A. Smikle Jr.a Democratic strategist and former chief executive of New York State Democratic Committeesaid The Early.
Goldman isn’t the only candidate running for the seat touting his impeachment experience. ex Rap Liz Holtzman (DN.Y.), who represented another New York City district from 1973 to 1981, has defended her role in impeachment. Richard Nixon almost 50 years ago.
“I’ve already helped take down a president — and he stayed down — and I’m ready to take you down, too,” Holtzman tweeted last weekaddressing Trump.
Holtzman recalled a conversation Friday with a voter who only wanted to talk about Trump’s “attack on the rule of law.”
“A constituent was walking past me on the subway and she was very concerned about Trump coming back and what he’s doing to democracy and what the Republicans are doing to democracy,” she said. “He didn’t talk about housing, health [or the] the environment.”
Of course, all Democrats in the primaries have made clear their opposition to Trump and what he stands for, and Goldman has campaigned on issues beyond confronting Trump. But his main selling point is his role in the former president’s impeachment trial.
“To attack Trump or to have strong credentials against him mitigates the explanation of anything else about yourself,” he said. Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime New York Democratic operative. “So Dan Goldman can run as Trump’s nemesis, as the man who got Trump, and not have to explain the fact that he has no roots in the district, except that he lives there.”
Biden nears decision to cancel $10,000 in student loans as allies wrangle
To cancel or not to cancel: “Close White House allies are squabbling over whether the administration should write off up to $10,000 in student debt for millions of American borrowers, as President Biden is approaching a decision after months of delay”, our colleagues Jeff Stein AND Danielle Douglas-Gabriel report.
- White House officials “face an Aug. 31 deadline, which is when loan payments are set to resume after a pause caused by the pandemic. Internal White House discussions have focused on temporarily extending this pause and at the same time canceling the $10,000 per borrower for those below the income threshold, but the president has not yet communicated a final decision.
- Other criteria: “White House officials previously discussed limiting debt forgiveness Americans who earned less than $150,000 in the previous year, or $300,000 for married couples filing jointly … [and] the measure is expected to be implemented only for university debtand Democratic officials have discussed further limiting eligibility for participants COUNTRY school.” The announcement may come as early as tomorrow, per CNN’s MJ Lee AND Phil Mattingly.
Here’s what White House allies are saying.
Case for annulment: Larry Summers, a prominent Democratic economist who served in the Clinton and Obama administrations argues that extensive student loan forgiveness it would worsen inflation by increasing overall spending.
Case against annulment: Lake Celinda, a Democratic pollster who has worked for Biden, told our colleagues that “the president must act to arrest his weak turnout among young voters, who she said have been largely mobilized by three issues — the climate; abortion rights; and student debt — but see only the first two as a reason to go Democratic.”
- “We have two of the legs – we need the third,” Lake told Stein and Douglas-Gabriel. “It’s important to do something about the young voters who are not as mobilized to turn out to vote, but are our best voting group.”
The documents first obtained by Trump “in January included more than 150 marked as classified, a number that sparked intense concern at the Justice Department and helped launch the criminal investigation that led FBI agents into Mar- a-Lago this month looking to recover. more”, to New York TimesS ‘ Maggie Haberman, Jodi Cantor, Adam Goldman AND Ben Protesta report.
- “In total, the government has recovered more than 300 classified documents from Mr. Trump since he left office. [people briefed on the matter told the Times]: the first set of documents returned in January, another set provided by Mr. Trump’s aides to the Justice Department in June, and material seized by the FBI in this month’s search.”
- “The previously unreported volume of sensitive material found in the former president’s possession in January helps explain why the Justice Department moved so urgently to track down any other classified material he might have.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s legal team “on Monday asked a federal judge to appoint a special master to oversee the review of classified documents and other materials seized from Mar-a-Lago this month and sought to compel the Department of Justice to give a more complete explanation. why the research was necessary”, our colleagues Perry Stein, Carol Leonnig, Rosalind Helderman AND John Wagner report.
Life after Roe, visualized: “Two months after the overthrow of the Supreme Court Roe v. Wadean estimated 20.9 million women have lost access to nearly all elective abortions in their home states, and a set of strict new laws expected to take effect in the coming days will shut out even more,” our colleagues Katie Shepherd, Rachel Roubein AND Caroline Kitchener report.
- “Texas, Tennessee and Idaho have existing restrictions on abortion, but laws scheduled to take effect Thursday would either outlaw the procedure entirely or increase penalties for doctors who perform an abortion, contributing to a seismic shift in who can access abortion in their home states.
Tom Cruise has 24 hours to respond.
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