It was (yet another) tumultuous week for Donald Trump's lawyers, with a seemingly endless deluge of setbacks, roadblocks, and full-blown losses, beginning with the target letter Trump received from prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the 2020 election and Jan. 6, 2021, signaling that a third indictment — and a significant one — could be imminent for the former president.
But the "prosecutorial feeding frenzy" into Trump's alleged 2020 election crimes doesn't end there. On Tuesday, Michigan's attorney general filed criminal charges against 16 pro-Trump fake electors. In addition to being the first charges of their kind ever filed, the fake electors could be facing both state and federal charges, a development which doesn't bode well for the former president they were attempting to reinstate. Meanwhile, things weren't looking much brighter in Georgia where Trump's lawyers tried and failed in spectacular fashion to derail District Attorney Fani Willis' probe, as charging decisions are expected to be determined in the next few weeks. In Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon set Trump's classified documents trial for May 2024, putting it on a direct collision course with his 2024 campaign calendar.
With their current GOP frontrunner under increasingly perilous legal scrutiny, House Republicans wasted no time displaying their loyalty with a series of headline-generating hearings described by House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as a "malignant clown show." This included a theatrical — and indecorous — session with IRS whistleblowers discussing Hunter Biden, and propping up antisemitic conspiracy theorist and Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. before the House "weaponization" committee to spout vaccine misinformation with a Trumpian echo.
Missed something? Don't worry. Here are our select columns and videos from the week. And don't forget to check out MSNBC.com for more.
