Tuesday, August 5, 2025
Good morning, and welcome to RedState’s “Morning Minute” — a brief glimpse at which stories are trending at the moment and a look ahead at what the day may bring. Consider this your one-stop shop for news to kickstart your day.
TOP O’ THE MORNIN’
Red-Hot at RedState
“There is no room in this country for hyphenated Americanism,” the quote reads. “Americanism is a matter of the spirit and of the soul. Our allegiance must be purely to the United States. We must unsparingly condemn any man who holds any other allegiance.”
Smartmatic Accused of Bribing Top Election Official, Using Bribery As a ‘Routine Business Practice’
Federal prosecutors in Miami have accused Roger Piñate, co-founder of the Florida-based voting technology company Smartmatic, of bribing a top Venezuelan election official to secure a contract.
This is the same woman who claims violence doesn’t come from the left side of the political aisle.
Trending Across Townhall Media
The Notorious School Shooting That No Assault Weapon Ban Would Have Stopped
Perhaps the most famous of these earlier massacres, as part of my apparent series looking at past massacres, is the University of Texas Tower Shooting back in 1966.
Politico: Newsom Forced to Suck Up to Big Oil As Refineries Close
Newsom and Democrats enthusiastically created the conditions they now seek to reverse, while notably refusing to accept responsibility for the outcomes of their war on fossil fuels.
Wait, Is That a Kaaba at Ground Zero?
Did the jihadis get their victory monument after all?
If That’s Where the Russian Collusion Hoax Grand Jury Is Being Impaneled, the Dems Are Screwed
Any Democrat who isn’t totally delusional should lawyer up and expect a mountain of legal bills.
Let’s be honest, she looks like she smelled a fart.
WHAT’S ON TAP?
Today on Capitol Hill…
The critters, of course, are on recess until after Labor Day, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t still keeping busy. Senate Democrats have been jockeying to see who will replace the retiring Dick Durbin (IL) as minority whip. It looks as though they have their answer: Hawaii’s Brian Schatz.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz has secured commitments from a majority of Democratic senators in his bid to become their next whip, including a crucial new endorsement from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Schatz has locked up support from a “comfortable majority” of the 47-member Senate Democratic Caucus, according to a source familiar with the matter. This puts the 52-year-old Schatz on a glide path to becoming his party’s No. 2 leader in the Senate beginning in 2027.
The news, combined with Schumer’s support, also makes Schatz the favorite to eventually succeed the New York Democrat as the party’s Senate leader. Schumer, 74, is up for reelection in 2028.
I would simply like to take this opportunity to note the following: If you think Chuck Schumer (NY) and Dick Durbin are odious, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. Mark my words.
Meanwhile, their House colleague Jasmine Crockett (TX) is once again covering herself in glory.
White House What’s Up
President Donald Trump is set to sign an executive order Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 PM.
Vice President JD Vance may be heading to Indianapolis on Thursday to encourage Indiana Republicans on the redistricting front.
NEWS: VP JD Vance is weighing a Thursday trip to Indianapolis to press Gov. Mike Braun & GOP leaders on redrawing Indiana’s congressional map, per multiple sources familiar.
More from @allymutnick, @bresreports, @JakeSherman & @heatherscope—https://t.co/M1a2ceQUjq
— Punchbowl News (@PunchbowlNews) August 5, 2025
Full Court Press…
Sean “Diddy” Combs won’t be going anywhere ahead of his October sentencing. On Monday, Judge Arun Subramanian denied Combs’ renewed request for release pending sentencing.
⚖️ In U.S. v. Combs (transportation to engage in prostitution), Judge Arun Subramanian (Southern District of New York) DENIES Combs’ motion for release pending sentencing.https://t.co/uRNgXqeHGn
— Susie Moore ⚾️🌻🐶 (@SmoosieQ) August 5, 2025
There’s no way to say for sure when it will rule, but there’s a fully briefed application for stay before the Supreme Court on a pair of related cases — American Public Health Association v. NIH and Commonwealth of Massachusetts v. Kennedy — involving denial/termination of federal grants. Massachusetts District Court Judge William Young granted judgment in favor of the plaintiffs in both cases. It will be interesting to see what SCOTUS does with this one.
And, of course, the big news on Monday was that the Department of Justice has ordered an as-yet-unidentified U.S. Attorney to present evidence to a grand jury on Russiagate — much speculation as to the venue on that, as many (understandably) are skeptical that, for instance, a D.C. grand jury would actually issue an indictment as to any of the key players. While D.C. is the natural assumption, there are, in fact, several possibilities here if we’re talking about the locus of criminal acts in furtherance of the conspiracy, including the Eastern District of Virginia…and even, potentially, the Southern District of Florida (where, coincidentally, Jason Reding Quinones was just confirmed as U.S. Attorney on Saturday). Due to the nature of grand jury proceedings, we won’t know more…until we do. But we’ll be keeping a close eye on that.
READ MORE: BIG: Bondi Orders DOJ to Take Evidence to Grand Jury on Russia Collusion Hoax
COMING ATTRACTIONS
As noted above, Vice President Vance may be heading to Indy. Apparently, the next big battle in the American political landscape is going to be (or already is being) fought on the redistricting front.
MORNING MUSING
I have a confession: Though most of the time, I do not miss my former profession, lately, there are occasional twinges. Watching (and writing on) all the various legal wrangling in relation to Trump administration policies, and now watching the unraveling of Russiagate, I do feel a teeny-tiny spark of envy for the lawyers in the thick of it all. I see Attorney General Pam Bondi and Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon out there doing battle, and I remember the adrenaline rush that comes with notching legal wins.
Then again, I remember the stress of it all, and I realize I’m probably much better off where I am. Not that this gig doesn’t have its share of stress — believe me, it does. But…it’s a different sort of stress, and it doesn’t generally hang over my head 24/7 the way high-stakes litigation necessarily does. And it’s fun in its own right.
Still, when I see tweets like that of my fellow NU alum, Jonathan Turley…yes, there is a sense of FOMO (fear of missing out). But I’ll get over it. 😊
Half of the lawyers in Washington just went under retainer…and it seems like the other half are retaining them. https://t.co/ZihTaKl9fH
— Jonathan Turley (@JonathanTurley) August 4, 2025
LIGHTER FARE
Whee!
Pure joy..🐕🐾😅 pic.twitter.com/GmZ8K2xCUW
— 𝕐o̴g̴ (@Yoda4ever) August 4, 2025
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