[guest post by Dana]

Let’s go!

First news item

Kamala Harris’ campaign is right:

Former President Donald Trump said Sunday that he had “every right” to interfere with the 2020 election, even as two criminal cases involving those allegations hang over him. On Monday, Kamala Harris’ campaign charged that the comments were evidence that Trump believed he was “above the law.”

. . .

Trump marveled that the criminal charges did nothing but boost his poll numbers, because, he surmised, his supporters didn’t buy them in the first place.

“Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it, you get indicted, and your poll numbers go up?” Trump said. “When people get indicted, your poll numbers go down. But it was such, such nonsense.”

Second news item

Russians behind media company that hired and paid right-wing personalities :

They have millions of followers online. They have been major players in right-wing political discourse since Donald Trump was president. And they worked unknowingly for a company that was a front for a Russian influence operation, U.S. prosecutors say.

An indictment filed Wednesday alleges a media company linked to six conservative influencers — including well-known personalities Tim Pool, Dave Rubin and Benny Johnson — was secretly funded by Russian state media employees to churn out English-language videos that were “often consistent” with the Kremlin’s “interest in amplifying U.S. domestic divisions in order to weaken U.S. opposition” to Russian interests, like its war in Ukraine.

Another influencer, Lauren Chen, was an “independent contractor” at Blaze Media. She and her husband David founded the media company linked to the influencers named above. It has been reported that Chen has been fired.

I find it amusing that The Blaze has fired Lauren Chen.

The Blaze is run by Glenn Beck, who appears with Tucker "The Nazis Were Good, Actually" Carlson on September 7 in Salt Lake City.

And Lauren Chen promoted Nick Fuentes's take on Israel/Hamas. That was OK with the Blaze.

— Patterico (@Patterico) September 6, 2024

Third news item

Again, putting the onus on Israel and not Hamas (ostensibly because it is a vile terrorist organization, and yet there seems to be this wacky belief that the same terrorist organization will abide by a ceasefire agreement and even a two-state solution…):

“Well, I think first and foremost what we saw on October 7 was a horrific act of violence against the people of Israel. They have certainly, and the vice president said it, I’ve said it, have the right to defend themselves and the United States will always stand by that,” the Minnesota governor says.

“But we can’t allow what’s happened in Gaza to happen. The Palestinian people have every right to life and liberty themselves. We need to continue, I think to put the leverage on to make sure we move towards a two-state solution,” Walz says. “I think we’re at a critical point right now. We need the Netanyahu government to start moving in that direction.”

Walz says that people in Michigan are speaking out “for all the right reasons. It’s a humanitarian crisis. It can’t stand the way it is.”

“We need to find a way that people can live together in this and we’ve said it and continue to say it, getting a ceasefire with the return of the hostages and then moving towards a sustainable two-state solution is the only way forward,” Walz says.

It should not have to be said: but what is happening with the Palestinians is horrible on an epic scale. But until Hamas is completely erased, the Palestinians will never be able to live in freedom.

Note: “people” in Michigan includes a “100,000-strong Arab-American community.”

Fourth news item

Alleged school shooter and father makes court appearance. This after the father was arrested for having been the one to purchase the gun used in the school shooting for his then-13 year old son:

Colin Gray, the father of 14-year-old Georgia school shooting suspect Colt Gray, appeared in court Friday and learned he could spend the rest of his life behind bars if convicted.

Gray, 54, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder, four counts of involuntary manslaughter and eight counts of cruelty to children after Wednesday’s mass shooting, which killed two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School…

On Friday, Judge Currie Mingledorff told the father he would face the following maximum penalties if convicted:

Up to 30 years in prison for each count of second-degree felony murder
Up to 10 years in prison for each count of involuntary manslaughter
Up to 10 years in prison for each count of cruelty to children
The judge said if Colin Gray is convicted on all counts, he could face a maximum prison sentence of 180 years.

Also, Judge Mingledorff on the 14-year old suspect’s possible sentencing:

Judge Currie Mingledorff just called 14-year-old Apalachee High School shooting suspect Colt Gray back into the courtroom to correct on the record that the teen would not be eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted, because he is under 18 years old.

Gray could face a maximum sentence of life in prison with or without the possibility of parole, the judge said.

Fifth news item

Trump supporters: make this make sense, thank you:

Q: What specific legislation will you commit to to make child care affordable?

Trump: Well, I would do that and we're sitting down, you know, I was, somebody, we had Marco Rubio and my daughter, Ivanka… But I think when you talk about the kind of numbers that I'm talking about… pic.twitter.com/v8gqLUHS2v

— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) September 5, 2024

Sixth news item

Helping Trump:

Judge Juan Merchan decided to postpone former President Trump’s sentencing in New York v. Trump until after the November presidential election.

Trump’s sentencing date is now scheduled for Nov. 26. The original date was set for Sept. 18.

It could be argued that had the date been before the election, Trump could’ve used that to campaign on, and perhaps blame an election loss on. But it really doesn’t matter, because if he loses, there will be a litany of excuses given for his loss. Made up or not.

Have a great weekend.

–Dana