Here are this week’s SWAJ Research Links, compiled by SWAJ Team Member Mark Kurth.
National Inquiries
Special counsel Jack Smith pushes back on Trump’s immunity claim
Smith’s response to Trump’s immunity claim in the federal election subversion case comes ahead of oral arguments before a US appeals court in Washington, DC, which are scheduled for January 9.
“The defendant asserts (Br.1) that this prosecution ‘threatens … to shatter the very bedrock of our Republic.’ To the contrary: it is the defendant’s claim that he cannot be held to answer for the charges that he engaged in an unprecedented effort to retain power through criminal means, despite having lost the election, that threatens the democratic and constitutional foundation of our Republic,” Smith wrote in the new filing.
Trump doesn't have immunity from Jan. 6 civil suit brought by U.S. Capitol Police officers, appeals court says
The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit based its decision on a ruling in a separate case brought by two Capitol Police officers and a group of House Democrats that was handed down earlier this month. In its Dec. 1 opinion, the D.C. Circuit rejected Trump's claim that he is shielded from civil liability because his alleged actions in connection to the Jan. 6 attack fell within the official functions of the presidency.
In its unsigned opinion Friday, the three judges said the case before them is "indistinguishable" from the other dispute and said Trump's argument that he has immunity "fails."
America is ‘full,’ Lindsey Graham says
The surge of migrants arriving at the southern border and claiming asylum has left a record number of them in legal limbo as they wait for their cases to be resolved.
Graham said the best solution is to ship large numbers of migrants back to where they came, something he said would discourage others from attempting to enter the country: “1.7 million people are ready to be deported. Let’s deport them before we let new people in.”
He also said President Joe Biden should utilize the Title 42 authority that was used during the Covid years to expedite the removal of undocumented immigrants. “It’s not complicated,” Graham said, twice in a row.
Majority in new poll say Jan. 6 was attack on democracy that should never be forgotten
In the poll, 55 percent of respondents said the Capitol riot was an “attack on democracy that should never be forgotten,” but 43 percent said “too much is being made” of the riot and that it is “time to move on.”
Thirty-seven percent of respondents said former President Trump bears “a great deal” of responsibility for the Capitol riot, and 16 percent said he bears a “good amount” of responsibility for it.
Trump’s actions on the day of the riot nearly three years ago are center stage in the race for the White House.
One-third of adults in new poll say Biden’s election was illegitimate
As of last month, 62 percent of U.S. adults say they believe Biden was legitimately elected, down from 69 percent overall in the 2021 poll.
The biggest drop in those who said the 2020 election results were legitimate came from Republicans — 31 percent in 2023, down from 39 percent two years earlier.
Among Democrats, 91 percent say Biden was legitimately elected, a slight dip from 94 percent two years ago, and 66 percent of independents say the incumbent was legitimately elected, down from 72 percent in December 2021.
Bomb threats force evacuation of state capitols across U.S.
Bomb threats targeting state institutions rippled across the country for a second day in a row on Thursday, one day after multiple state capitols were forced to evacuate due to similar threats.
Why it matters: Paired with a recent spate of swatting calls targeting lawmakers, the incidents suggest this could be a raucous year for lawmakers and other officials across the country.
Threats against public officials at various levels of government — including lawmakers and federal judges — have been rising in recent years.
One attack, two interpretations: Biden and Trump both make the Jan. 6 riot a political rallying cry
Former President Donald Trump will spend Saturday’s third anniversary of the Capitol riot by holding two campaign rallies in leadoff-voting Iowa in his bid to win back the White House.
To mark the moment, President Joe Biden plans to visit a site near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, on Friday where George Washington and the struggling Continental Army endured a tough winter during the American Revolution. Biden’s advisers say the stop in a critical swing state will highlight Trump’s role in the Jan. 6 siege and give the Democrat a chance for him to lay out the stakes of this year’s election. Weather concerns led Biden to move up his appearance from Saturday.
States Fights
Unarmed guard held at gunpoint in Colorado Supreme Court building breach
A man has been arrested after allegedly breaking into the Colorado Supreme Court building early Tuesday morning after a nearby crash.
According to the Denver Police Department, officers responded to a call at 1:15 a.m. about a two-car crash in the area of 13th Avenue and Lincoln Street. One of the drivers allegedly pointed a handgun at the other.
A short time later, the Colorado State Patrol said the same suspect shot out a window on the first floor of the east side of the Colorado Supreme Court building known as the Ralph L. Carr Judicial Center located at 2 E. 14th Ave.
The suspect then breached the building and came in contact with an unarmed security guard with the Colorado State Patrol Capitol Security Unit.