[guest post by Dana]

Conducting an investigation into whether former President Trump and his cronies committed crimes after the 2020 election in Georgia, the Fulton County DA has now issued subpoenas:

An Atlanta-area grand jury investigating former President Donald Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has subpoenaed a handful of key Trump allies, including his former attorney Rudy Giuliani and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, according to court filings.

The subpoenas also cover a handful of Trump’s other former legal advisers, including John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and Kenneth Chesebro.

From the subpoenas:

“The witness will be required to be in attendance and testify before the Special Purpose Grand Jury on July 12, 2022, and continuing through and until the conclusion of the witness’s testimony on or before August 31, 2022, at the Superior Court of Fulton County,” each of the subpoenas said.

All subjects of the subpoenas were ordered to testify before the special grand jury on July 12. The subpoenas were filed Tuesday and signed by Fulton Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, a move that was needed because the subjects were from out of state…

About the focus of the subpoenas:

Eastman was a key witness at one of the December 2020 legislative hearings that were led by Giuliani. Willis’ office said in its subpoena to Eastman that during the hearing, he had “advised lawmakers that they had both the lawful authority and a ‘duty’ to replace the Democratic Party’s slate of presidential electors, who had been certified as the duly appointed electors for the State of Georgia after the November 2020 election, due to unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud within the state.”

They called the appearance part of a “multistate, coordinated plan by the Trump campaign to influence the results of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.”

The subpoena also noted that Eastman “drafted at least two memoranda to the Trump Campaign and others detailing a plan through which Vice President Mike Pence, as president of the Senate, could refuse to count some of President Joe Biden’s electoral votes” on Jan. 6 — a plan that was rejected by Pence.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to tease a 2024 run:

Former President Trump is holding discussions about announcing a 2024 campaign, sources told The Hill, with some current and former advisers believing it is a matter of when, not if, Trump will launch a third White House bid.

Multiple sources told The Hill that a campaign announcement as early as this summer has already been discussed, but cautioned the situation remains fluid and it’s unclear when the former president might actually jump into the race.

“I think there are people pulling him in that direction, and he’s open to it,” one former adviser said of an announcement before the midterms.

One source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, argued there’s no rush for Trump to declare his candidacy. Trump remains the most popular and influential figure in the Republican Party, the source said, and the former president could afford to wait until he has a clearer campaign infrastructure in place before throwing himself fully into a White House campaign.

The report notes some possible advantages for Trump if he announces early:

The former president’s desire to announce a campaign sooner rather than later is driven in no small part by a growing sense that such a move could help insulate him from the work of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to one Trump World source.

Declaring a campaign for the White House would make it easier for Trump to cast the committee’s work as a partisan hit job designed to damage him before he ever has the chance to respond, the source said.

…

An early entry into the 2024 race would also likely make it more difficult for social media outlets like Twitter to uphold existing bans on Trump — something both Democrats and Republicans have acknowledged.

However, there is a distinct disadvantage to announcing early, and it’s no small potatoes:

Formally declaring his candidacy would trigger Federal Election Commission requirements about disclosing financial information, and it would limit how much Trump could raise from individual donors before November 2024.

Meanwhile, the Jan. 6 Committee remains a thorn in his side. Last week, he said that the Committee is just trying to keep him from running in 2024:

During an interview with Newsmax last week, Trump was asked how much of the Jan. 6 committee proceedings were about “preventing you from running again in 2024?”

“I think a lot of it is,” Trump responded. “I am leading in all the polls — against Republicans and Democrats. I am leading in the Republican polls in numbers that no one has ever even seen before. And against Biden, and anyone else they run, I am leading against them.”

I suppose, too, he wants to get the jump on his (likely) main competitor, Ron DeSantis, because another day not having assumed the position as the GOP’s forerunner candidate gives DeSantis another day to up his game and try to increase his popularity before he announces.

I’m not offering much commentary on this because the mere thought of Trump running and all the guaranteed chaos and craziness that will ensue is just exhausting. Already… Before it’s even happened…

–Dana

[guest post by Dana]

After the horrific shooting at the 4th of July parade in Highland Park, Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of Lake County Sheriffs office said this morning that the shooter’s guns had been legally purchased:

The suspect bought the rifle used in the attack in Illinois, and it appeared to have been purchased legally, Chief Covelli said. He also bought a second rifle that was found in his mother’s car, which he was driving when he was taken into custody on Monday evening, the chief said.

We now know that the shooter had posted a number of disturbing videos with violent imagery under the under the pseudonym Awake the Rapper. However, it doesn’t appear that they raised any red flags. Also, authorities said this morning that the gunman planned the attack several weeks in advance. And as it so often goes, the gunman’s relatives never saw any signs that would cause concern:

The suspect’s uncle, Paul A. Crimo, was “heartbroken” to learn his nephew was believed to be responsible for Monday’s shooting, telling CNN,” There were no signs that I saw that would make him do this.”

The suspect lived in an apartment behind a house in Highwood, Illinois, owned by his father, said Paul Crimo, who also lives at the house. He last saw his nephew Sunday evening, he said, sitting on a recliner in the house and looking on his computer.

“Everything was as normal,” he said.

To his knowledge, Crimo did not have a job, Paul Crimo told CNN, though he worked at Panera Bread before the Covid-19 pandemic. Paul Crimo said he had never seen the suspect engage in violence or concerning behavior. He didn’t know of his nephew’s political views, either, describing him as a “quiet” person.

“He’s usually on his own. He’s a lonely, quiet person. He keeps everything to himself.”

Highland Park Mayor Nancy Rotoring who knew the gunman years ago, expressed shock at what occurred:

Rotering knew the suspect years ago, when she was his Cub Scout pack leader, she said, telling CNN, “Many years ago, he was just a little boy, a quiet little boy that I knew.”

“It breaks my heart. I see this picture and through the tattoos, I see the little boy,” she said. “I don’t know what got him to this point.”

Covelli also said that they “have been “in discussions” with the gunman and have still not “developed a motive” for the shooting. Law enforcement believe the shooting was random and no specific groups were targeted. Also, the gunman is believed to have acted by himself, with no one else involed.

Tragically, this wasn’t the only shooting weekend:

It also occurred during a weekend that saw at least 57 people shot in the Windy City, nine fatally, NBC Chicago reported…

In New York City, 13 people were shot and three killed in six incidents across the city, NBC New York reported.

In Kansas City, Missouri, six people were shot in three separate incidents overnight Monday and two people died in the violence, according to the Kansas City Star. A shooting following a concert at the T-Mobile Center near the Power and Light District left four people wounded just after midnight. Two others were shot in separate shootings in the city, the newspaper reported.

In Richmond, Virginia, six people — four men and two women — were shot early Monday on West Broad Street, NBC affiliate WWBT of Richmond reported.

In Haltom City, Texas, three officers and one civilian were injured in a shooting Saturday night in the 5700 block of Diamond Oaks Drive North, according to the city’s police department. The three officers, who suffered non-life threatening injuries, were later said to be stable. The suspect died by a self-inflected gunshot wound, police said.

One person was killed and four others were injured in Kenosha, Wisconsin, when gunfire erupted around 10:20 p.m. in the 6300 block of 25th Avenue, according to the Kenosha Police Department.

In Indianapolis, an 8-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy playing in a bounce house were shot during a Fourth of July cookout near East 38th Street and North Arlington Avenue just before 7 p.m., NBC affiliate WTHR reported, citing police.

–Dana