As of April 2019 - we now know from Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s report that there was no collusion between the Trump campaign and the Russian government during the 2016 election.

However, there are indications that as early as 2017 special counsel prosecutors knew that evidence would not establish the Trump campaign "conspired or coordinated" with the Russian.

Even a Democratic governor recognizes the National Popular Vote movement is problematic.

On Thursday, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak announced he is vetoing Nevada’s “National Popular Vote” bill. Governor Sisolak stated:

Once effective, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact could diminish the role of smaller states like Nevada in national electoral contests and force Nevada’s electors to side with whoever wins the nationwide popular vote, rather than the candidate Nevadans choose.

Last week, President Trump authorized Attorney General Bill Barr to declassify documents related to the surveillance of the Trump campaign in 2016.

Today, the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) submitted a public comment to the United States Election Assistance Commission (EAC) regarding the proposed Voluntary Voting Systems Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0 Principles and Guidelines.

While Democrats are likely all talk and no action, in the scenario that they actually follow through on impeachment threats – Republicans in the Senate are ready to “quickly quash” those efforts.

There is a new, troubling trend among 2020 Democratic Presidential candidates this cycle: advocating and promoting a “litmus test,” or judicial philosophy benchmark, for judicial and Supreme Court candidates if he or she happens to be elected President of the United States.

Such a trend goes against the history of judicial nominations and threatens the principle of judicial independence. Some even call the implementation of a judicial litmus test as breaking the “political taboo.”

This is another installment of an ongoing series of posts summarizing 2020 Democratic presidential candidates' views on judges and the courts.  All posts in this series can be viewed here.

On Brett Kavanaugh: On September 27^th, 2018, ahead of the impending Senate vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, Mayor Buttigieg stated on his Twitter account, “Today is a grim and dramatic living enactment of the relationship between a Congressional GOP obsessed by tactics and power, and the anguished human beings they govern.” [1]

On September 28^th, 2018, following a statement by then-Senator Joe Donnelly that he would not be voting to confirm Brett Kavanaugh, Mayor Buttigieg Tweeted in support of Donnelly’s decision, “Indiana’s @SenDonnelly has made a very politically difficult decision. He is on the ballot this year. Will he be rewarded, or punished, for his principled stand? The choice is yours. Vote.”[2]

On Neil Gorsuch: In a January 31^st, 2017 posting on Twitter, Mayor Buttigieg stated, “Let's be sure the nomination of Judge Gorsuch is handled with the same fairness that Senate Republicans showed Judge [Merrick] Garland.”[3]

His Opposition to Trump’s Nominees: In a July 9^th 2018 posting on Twitter following the announcement of Brett Kavanaugh as nominee to the Supreme Court, Mayor Buttigieg stated, “This is what we’ve come to: An unpopular president, under investigation, bids an even more unpopular GOP Senate to confirm to the highest court a judge who has argued that presidents should be immune to criminal investigation.”[4]

Recently, Congress has been focusing on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and election cybersecurity by holding hearings.  Lawyers Democracy Fund (LDF) has been covering these hearings on its blog and Twitter feed.

Yesterday, Congressman Doug Collins, Republican Leader and Ranking Member on the House Judiciary Committee, entered into the Congressional Record nine more transcripts of closed-door interviews with senior officials from the Department of Justice and Federal Bureau of Investigation under the Obama-Biden Administration. They all relate to the Clinton investigation and origins of the Trump probe and so-called "campaign collusion" investigation.

This is the latest in Representative Collins's effort to offer clear and transparent information to the American public about possible bias against Mr. Trump. Previously, Representative Collins released scores of other transcripts, include the troubling testimony by Peter Strzok and Lisa Page.

Last night, Representative Collins tweeted his House Floor speech where he entered this information to the record:

Today, the media was buzzing with stories focusing on the President’s power to nominate judges and how that is going to impact the 2020 election.  Democrat Presidential candidates have been talking about a wide variety of issues from Citizens United, Roe v. Wade litmus tests for nominees, to strategies aiming to fill the Supreme Court with liberal Justices.  Meanwhile, Senate Republicans keep confirming more judges and cementing President Trump’s legacy.