April 18, 2024 - Daily Digest

Today is April 18, 2024, and here are the critical stories that you may have missed from today. If you enjoy this content and want access to more, exclusive content or to support my work, then consider becoming a monthly subscriber below:

1) United States Imposes New Sanctions On Iran

Today, the Biden Administration has announced that it will be imposing new sanctions on the Iranian regime after last week's attack on Israel. Last week, Iran launched hundreds of drones and missiles at Israel in response to an Israeli strike on an Iranian consulate in Syria which saw the death of a top Iranian official. 

Today's sanctions specifically target leaders and entities that have a connection to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Iranian Defense Ministry, and the regime's missile and drone program. As part of today's announcement, the Administration noted that other regional partners will join the United States in announcing new sanctions against Iran. 

2) Donald Trump Asks To Delay The Mar A Lago Documents Case

This morning, on day three of Donald Trump's hush money trial in New York City, his attorneys filed a reply in south Florida asking Judge Cannon to delay the upcoming deadlines for Trump's expert disclosures and CIPA Notice for an additional three weeks after he conclusion of Trump's New York trial. The primary reason for the delay is because Trump's attorneys, namely Todd Blanche, are focused on the New York trial and need additional time to make filings in south Florida. 

In his reply, Trump says that the New York trial is moving "expeditiously" and that jury selection could be completed this week. The trial in New York is estimated to take 6-8 weeks.

3) Mayorkas Impeachment Fails In the Senate

The impeachment effort of Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has officially failed in the United States Senate. Previously, House Republicans authorized two articles of impeachment against the Secretary alleging that he committed high crimes and misdemeanors in relation to his actions at the southern border. Today, after the articles were officially transmitted to the United States Senate, Democrats successfully dismissed the articles. 

The first article of impeachment was dismissed as unconstitutional for failing to state a viable impeachable offense, and the article was shot down by a vote of 51-48 with one abstention from Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski.

The second article of impeachment also failed after Senators, via a 51-49 vote, voted that the article failed to state an impeachable offense and was therefore unconstitutional to remain. 

4) Michigan Democrats Score Major Victories

Michigan Democrats scored major victories in two special elections that have allowed them to take back control over the Michigan House of Representatives. In Michigan's 13th District, Mai Xiong scored a win, while in the 25th district, Democrat Peter Herzberg won. While both candidates ran in districts that lean heavily Democratic, their wins allow Michigan Democrats to take back control of the House chamber, which has, up until recently, been tied with 54 Democrats and 54 Republicans holding control. 

Back in November, Michigan Democrats scored a trifecta in the state government for the first time in over 40 years, by reelecting Governor Gretchen Whitmer and winning the majority in both the House and the Senate. The House majority shrunk after two of the Democrats resigned following wins in local mayoral races. Thanks to the Democratic trifecta, the Michigan state government has had one of its most productive sessions in recent memory, with Democrats overhauling the state's gun laws and passing sweeping legislation that benefits the people of Michigan. 

5) Conservative Justices Appear Skeptical Of January 6th-Related Charge

This week, the United States Supreme Court heard oral argument in a case that concerned a January 6th defendant's appeal. The issue on appeal dealt with the "obstructing an official proceeding" charge that has been asserted by the Justice Department in more than 300 January 6th-related cases. Justice Department prosecutors have argued that the charge relates to the obstruction of the counting of the electoral votes in Congress. 

During oral argument, the six conservative Justices on the Supreme Court appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's use of the charge in the January 6th context. The January 6 defendant, Joseph Fischer, is a former Pennsylvania officer who appealed the case to the Supreme Court arguing that the intention of the law was to prevent witness tampering in an official proceeding, not in relation to a riot. 

The conservative Justices seemed to agree, with Justice Kavanaugh at one point even asking: "Why aren’t those six counts good enough from the Justice Department's perspective?"

If the Supreme Court were to issue a decision against the Justice Department, it could have wide-ranging impacts on hundreds of January 6-related cases where the obstruction charge was brought, including two of the federal obstruction charges against Donald Trump. If the obstruction charge does not apply in the case of riots, then many of these defendants, who have been convicted of the charge, would see the charge dismissed. 

While many January 6th defendants have also been charged with other offenses, unrelated to the obstruction charge, this could impact their sentences and how the Justice Department prosecutes future January 6th-related cases, and other riot matters generally. 

A decision from the Supreme Court is expected in June of this year.