WASHINGTON — If it’s Wednesday .... The Justice Department says it seized more than 100 unique classified documents during Aug. 8 FBI search, per new legal filing. ... The DoJ also alleges it has evidence the documents were “likely concealed and removed” prior to the search. ... The Alaska Division of Elections announces it will livestream ranked-choice tabulation of special Alaska-At Large race Wednesday night. ... Rhetoric in Pennsylvania Senate becomes even more brutal… And Mikhail Gorbachev dies at age 91.
But first: It was on Aug. 8 when the FBI searched former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home, setting off a political earthquake and a debate over whether the FBI and Justice Department overstepped their bounds regarding a former president.
Three weeks later, however, the investigation looks so much worse for Trump and his allies.
In a late-night filing responding to Trump’s request to appoint a special master to review documents, the Justice Department:
- Revealed that it seized more than 100 unique classified documents — beyond what Trump’s team initially turned over in Jan. 2022 and then later in June.
- Argued that Trump’s legal team intentionally misled investigators — by signing a letter stating that the documents turned over in June were part of a “diligent” effort to locate and produce “any and all documents” in question.
- Alleged that after further investigation, the government discovered new evidence that “records were likely concealed and removed from the Storage Room and that efforts were likely taken to obstruct the government’s investigation."
- Explained that the location of the Trump passports the FBI seized (and later returned) was evidence of “unauthorized retention and mishandling of national defense information.”
- And, it produced an actual photo of all the seized documents bearing markings “TOP SECRET/SCI” and “SECRET/SECRET SCI.”
Shortly after the FBI search on Aug. 8, we asked why Attorney General Merrick Garland and the Justice Department hadn’t released more information justifying that action against a former president.
Well, Garland and Justice Department are now speaking — through briefs and filings like last night’s.
And here’s the thing to watch today: Do any Republicans come out and defend Trump after this filing?
Or do they remain silent or deflect — as they’ve been doing over the last couple of weeks as more and more information has come out about the search and its findings?
Tweet of the day
Data Download: The number of the day is … 36
That’s how many candidates backed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., or Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., have won their primaries so far this year. Thirteen candidates backed by one or both senators lost their primaries.
Of the 31 candidates Warren has endorsed in statewide or congressional races, 21 have won their primaries. And 15 of the 22 contenders that had Sanders’ backing won their primaries. Three of Warren’s endorsed candidates are facing primaries next month in Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
Sanders and Warren especially wielded their influence in open seat races, and a majority of their endorsements came in seats that the Cook Political Report rates Solidly Democratic.
Read more about how their preferred candidates fared in primaries on the Meet the Press Blog.
Other numbers to know:
55%: Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s approval rating in the new Roanoke College poll, a mixture of telephone and online responses.
115 degrees: The potential high in Los Angeles this week amid an expected record heat wave.
91: How old former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev was when he died on Tuesday.
More than 1,000: The number of people dead after historic flooding in Pakistan.
35%: The share of employers offering paid maternity leave beyond legal requirements, down from 53% in 2020, per a new survey reported on by the Wall Street Journal.
$75,000: How much three Republicans, including Arizona GOP Rep. Paul Gosar and secretary of state nominee Mark Finchem, have to pay a former Democratic lawmaker to cover her attorney fees after the Republicans filed a defamation suit against her, which was dismissed.
Midterm roundup: Rhetoric boils over in Pennsylvania Senate
The rhetoric in Pennsylvania’s Senate race has been brutal these last few days. About a week after Republican Mehmet Oz’s campaign said “if [Democratic Lt. Gov.] John Fetterman had ever eaten a vegetable in his life, then maybe he wouldn’t have had a major stroke,” Oz told KDKA radio on Tuesday he has “tremendous empathy” for his opponent.
When asked if his campaign’s rhetoric was appropriate, Oz distanced himself from his own campaign staff.
“The campaign’s been saying lots of things, both of them. My position is, I can only speak to what I’m saying, is that: John Fetterman should be allowed to recover fully,” Oz said, also calling on Fetterman to debate.
A few hours later, Oz’s campaign said in an email it would be willing to “pay for any additional medical personnel [Fetterman] might need to have on standby” if he agrees to next week’s KDKA-TV debate.
Fetterman’s campaign responded by saying he won’t be debating the first week of September (he still hasn’t confirmed he’ll participate in any debate) and admonishing Oz.
“My recovery may be a joke to Dr. Oz and his team, but it’s real for me,” Fetterman said in a statement.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail:
Georgia Senate: A Democratic group is launching a new TV ad that highlights Republican Herschel Walker’s threats against his ex-wife, NBC News’ Henry Gomez reports.
Iowa Senate: Retired Admiral Mike Franken is up with his first ad of the general election, highlighting his military service and using disagreements with Presidents George W. Bush and Obama to argue he “speaks truth to power.”
Ohio Senate: Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman wrote an op-ed outlining his support for Republican Senate nominee J.D. Vance, saying “the choice is clear.”
New Hampshire Senate: An online University of New Hampshire survey found retired Brigadier Gen. Don Bolduc leading the GOP Senate primary with 43% to state Sen. Chuck Morse’s 22%.
Nevada Senate: Republican Adam Laxalt, the state’s former attorney general, encouraged a county official to audit the 2020 election results after he launched his 2022 Senate campaign, the Nevada Independent reports.
Arizona Governor: Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is out with a new ad featuring Santa Cruz County Sheriff David Hathaway (who serves in a border country) defending Hobbs’ record on the border.
Florida Governor: Democratic Rep. Charlie Crist plans to resign from Congress Wednesday as the governor’s race ramps up, the Tampa Bay Times reports.
Ohio Governor: Former Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley is running a new ad the evokes the story of the 10-year-old girl who crossed state lines to get an abortion after she was raped.
Pennsylvania Governor: Former Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff, a Republican, is backing Democratic Attorney General Josh Shapiro’s gubernatorial campaign.
South Carolina Governor: Republican Gov. Henry McMaster is up with a new ad criticizing his Democratic opponent, former Rep. Joe Cunningham, for supporting legalizing marijuana and calling him a “frat boy.”
Iowa-01: Republican Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks is making her first ad buy of her general election campaign, a $433,000 TV buy per AdImpact.
Iowa-03: Former Vice President Mike Pence’s non-profit is running cable and digital ads in the 3rd District, where Republican state Sen. Zach Nunn is running against Democratic Rep. Cindy Axne.
Ad Watch: Democrats defend themselves on crime
In Pennsylvania and Wisconsin this week, Democrats took to the airwaves counter GOP attacks that they support defunding the police or are soft on crime.
In a new ad, Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, the Democratic nominee for Senate, tells voters, “We knew the other side would make up lies about me to scare you. Now, they’re claiming I want to defund the police and abolish ICE. That’s a lie.”
In Pennsylvania, Lt. Gov. John Fetterman, the Democratic nominee for Senate, highlighted his time reducing gun violence while he was the mayor of Braddock, Pennsylvania.
“We did whatever it took to fund our police and stopped gun deaths for five years,” Fetterman said in his ad.
This all comes as President Joe Biden visited Wilkes Barre, Pa. on Tuesday and spoke about the gun law he signed earlier this year and the importance of funding the police. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, the Democratic nominee for governor, joined Biden in Wilkes Barre. Fetterman, notably, did not.
ICYMI: What else is happening in the world
NASA’s Artemis 1 rocket launch has been rescheduled for Saturday, after Tuesday’s launch was halted due to a problem with the rocket’s engines.
South Carolina’s House passed an abortion ban with certain exceptions after initially rejecting a bill that banned abortion outright.
Trump shared a multitude of messages on his social media platform Tuesday that promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, among others.
Attorney General Merrick Garland is prohibiting high level Justice Department employees from participating in “partisan political activities,” in a new policy change.
