Trump’s Old Lawyers Aren’t Extreme Enough for Him Anymore. That’s Terrifying.

The hard-line conservative Federalist Society attorneys who worked for Donald Trump are apparently no longer extreme enough for the former president.

Trump allies have been working overtime to stock Trump’s potential second term with staff even further right on the political spectrum, reported The New York Times. The effort is intended to stifle any political dissent amongst Trump’s top legal aides, who at times objected to harsher immigration policies or the former president’s desire for a tighter grip on the Justice Department, according to the outlet.

Leading the effort are Stephen Miller and John McEntee, both of whom advised Trump during his last presidency and are expected to play key roles should Trump reclaim the Oval Office. McEntee, in particular, has prior experience rooting out obstructive staffers—in 2020, he was appointed to sniff out those working against Trump’s agenda, as Trump’s personnel chief.

Trump’s administration turned to the Federalist Society to staff executive branch legal roles in the opening days of his presidency—but that will no longer be the case. Instead, his allies are looking for a new style of lawyer to serve as executive branch gatekeepers, turning to different recruitment pipelines to supply Trump with more radical voices should he win a second term.

The Federalist Society, a conservative standby baked into the crust of D.C., was infamously behind the Supreme Court’s hard-right turn. Five of the high court’s current justices were part of the organization, with its co-chairman, Leonard Leo, behind the nomination and confirmation of Justices Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Other members include Senators Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, and Todd Young.

Leo is also under investigation by the D.C. attorney general for transferring funds to the tune of $73 million from his nonprofit groups to one of his for-profit companies.

House Speaker Mike Johnson makes hundreds of thousands of dollars a year but apparently does not have a bank account, a new report revealed Wednesday.

Johnson was first elected in 2016 and has served on the Hill ever since. In all seven financial disclosure forms he submitted for those years, he has not mentioned holding a single bank account, The Daily Beast reported.

The House Ethics Committee requires members of Congress to disclose all of their household’s bank accounts if the accounts each hold at least $1,000 and have a combined value of more than $5,000. Johnson has made at least $174,000 per year from the combination of his representative salary and any additional payments he received, such as from a teaching appearance. Johnson’s wife has two streams of income, from two different employers.

But on his financial disclosures, Johnson has listed only one asset: a retirement account. In 2016, he listed a state government Fidelity account valued between $1,000 and $15,000. He transferred those savings to a Thrift Savings plan, a federal program, the following year. Johnson appears to have cashed out the entire account in 2021, because he lists no assets at all on his 2022 form.

Johnson’s disclosure forms are remarkably sparse. He lists almost no travel reimbursements or gifts, and relatively little external income.

But Johnson does owe a lot of money. Every year, he has listed a mortgage on which he owes hundreds of thousands of dollars and a personal loan on which he owes tens of thousands. In 2019, he opened up a home equity line of credit, also worth tens of thousands of dollars.

It is, of course, possible that Johnson really has no bank accounts and just keeps all his money in sacks of cash hidden under his mattress. Another explanation could be that he has selective amnesia and has forgotten to disclose his assets for seven years. But several ethics experts offered another reason: Johnson is terrible at managing the money he makes and may be in massive debt.

“He owes hundreds of thousands of dollars between a mortgage, personal loan, and home equity line of credit, so where did that money go?” Jordan Libowitz, the communications director for the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told The Daily Beast. “If he truly has no bank account and no assets, it raises questions about his personal financial wellbeing.”

A Republican Michigan state representative has given a legislative tribute honoring the “courage” of two men who were acquitted in the failed attempt to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

Brothers William and Michael Null were two of 14 men who tried to kidnap Whitmer in 2020, in opposition to her Covid-19 safety policies. The brothers were acquitted in mid-September on a weapons charge and charges of allegedly supporting a terrorist act.

State Representative Rachelle Smit gave a legislative tribute to the Nulls and their lawyers on Friday. Michael Null’s attorney Tom Siver posted a photo of the brothers’ awards on Facebook.

The certificates said the men were being “honored for [their] courage, unflagging spirit, and dedication to our State and the founding principles of our beloved Nation.”

Smit’s tribute accused the state government of unjustly imprisoning the Nulls, as well as the dozen other men who were charged with trying to kidnap the governor. The tribute also accused Whitmer of weaponizing the government’s “secret police,” as well as of corruption and tyranny.

The Null twins are among five men who were acquitted of the kidnap plot. The other nine were convicted or accepted plea deals.

Whitmer’s office slammed Smit’s tribute as “disturbing.”

“This goes beyond the pale,” spokeswoman Stacey LaRouche said. “These types of actions normalize and incite violence against our political figures, and only serve to shake our faith in our values and our institutions.”

“This tribute will further encourage and embolden radical extremists trying to sow discord and harm public officials or law enforcement.”

There have been increasing attacks on political officials, many of which can be linked directly back to violent rhetoric from Donald Trump and his allies. Targets often include politicians who either embrace progressive causes or appear to oppose Trump in some way.

In addition to the kidnapping plot, Whitmer also appeared on the hit list of a gunman who is accused of fatally shooting a retired Wisconsin county judge. The list featured Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers, a Democrat, and Kentucky Senator Mitch McConnell.

Donald Trump appeared to be having a bit of a meltdown online, just hours ahead of his sons’ testimony in their New York bank fraud trial.

Trump and his two sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, are defendants in the $250 million case brought forward by New York Attorney General Letitita James with hopes of barring the three from running New York businesses. So far, Judge Arthur Engoron has ruled that the trio committed fraud and has stripped the Trump Organization of its business certificates. Trump is also fighting hard to appeal that decision.

Trump Jr. is set to testify in the case on Wednesday afternoon, and Eric is set to take the stand on Thursday.

Despite having received two gag orders already in the case, along with $15,000 in combined fines, Trump chose Truth Social to let off some steam, attacking the judge, the attorney general, and witnesses.

In one post late into Tuesday night, Trump accused James, a Black woman, of being “racist” and former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, who provided bombshell testimony last week on how Trump lied about his assets, a “sleazebag lawyer.”

Above all, Trump seemed concerned with damage control around his perceived net worth.

“Additionally, however, the Financial Statements Values are Conservative (LOW!), Mar-a-Lago is worth MUCH MORE than $18,000,000, there is a 100% Disclaimer Clause on the [first] page of the Statements, the Banks and Insurance Companies were paid in full, no defaults, they all made money, and there is no Victim (except me!),” Trump posted.

“Leave my children alone, Engoron. You are a disgrace to the legal profession!” he added.

Hours later, Trump was awake and posting again, this time upset that the prosecution had brought up a “low ball offer” he made in 2014 to buy the Buffalo Bills.

“Someone else offered much more, so what? Now they come up with something called ‘disgorgement.’ I never even heard of the term. WITCH HUNT!!! ELECTION INTERFERENCE!!!” Trump wrote.

In a final post that seemed to conclude his rant, Trump lambasted Engoron for being biased due to the gag order and the lack of a jury, both things that were Trump’s own doing. Trump also seemed upset that the trial hadn’t experienced more delays, likening the swiftness of the trial’s onset to being “railroaded.”

“Engoron is crazy, totally unhinged, and dangerous—Our Judicial System has gone to HELL,” Trump posted.

The Supreme Court will hear arguments Wednesday about whether a California man can trademark a phrase mocking Donald Trump as “too small.”

Labor lawyer Stephen Elster created a line of T-shirts that describe Trump as “too small” on a variety of social and political issues, with a healthy dose of innuendo thrown in. The slogan refers to an exchange during a 2016 presidential debate, when Marco Rubio accused Trump of having small hands. Trump, who is notoriously thin-skinned, has been unable to escape the barb since.

Elster tried to trademark the phrase “Trump too small” in 2018, but the Patent and Trademark Office denied his request. Wednesday’s lawsuit hinges on the question of whether a trademark can refer to a person. Federal law prohibits trademarks that refer to a person without that person’s consent. But last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled that that law was in violation of the First Amendment, because it limits “speech critical of government officials or public figures.”

The Supreme Court has previously avoided taking up cases related to Trump, denying his request to intervene when Congress sought his tax records or when he lost the 2020 election, among other instances. But clearly, the justices can’t ignore Trump much longer.

Trump isn’t even a party in the Elster case—it just includes his name. But Trump himself is facing down a barrage of legal issues that will likely reach the level of the nation’s highest court.

Trump’s legal team may appeal the gag order recently imposed by Judge Tanya Chutkan in his trial for trying to overturn the 2020 election. Trump has also repeatedly argued that he has presidential immunity from prosecution, and the Supreme Court may need to weigh in on that matter. Two lawsuits seek to bar Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot, and both are expected to reach the Supreme Court, as well.