Here's the latest from the 2024 campaign trail:
- The first sanctioned Democratic presidential primary takes place this Saturday in South Carolina, where President Joe Biden is a heavy favorite.
- Republicans turn to Nevada next week: Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley is competing in the state-run primary, while former President Donald Trump is participating in the party-run caucus.
- House Democrats endorsed their first slate of candidates to take on Republicans in some of the most competitive districts on the map this fall.
E. Jean Carroll: 'We don't need to be afraid' of Trump
In an interview with MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show," E. Jean Carroll said she realized during the defamation damages trial this month that there was no need to be afraid of Trump as she sat in the witness stand and faced him.
"Amazingly, I looked out, and he was nothing. He was nothing. He was a phantom. It was the people around him who were giving him power. He himself was nothing," Carroll told Maddow. "It was an astonishing discovery for me. He's nothing. We don't need to be afraid of him. He can be knocked down, twice."
Carroll also said she "absolutely" would sue Trump again if her lawyers said there was another defamation case to be made.
Carroll spoke the same day Haley told Fox News that she trusted the jury's decision in awarding Carroll more than $83 million in damages.
"I think there have been politics played with prosecutors that have brought on some of these cases. I think there’s been politics played even with the judges. But I do think American juries still get it right," Haley said. "They listen to the evidence. They make the decision based on the evidence, and I do still trust it."
Haley made a similar remark yesterday on NBC's "Meet the Press" as she ramps up her criticism of Trump. She had previously declined to criticize her GOP rival when she was asked in a CNN interview this month to comment on Trump's being held liable for sexually abusing Carroll.
Donald Trump Jr., Brian Kemp and Glenn Youngkin to headline Washington and Lee mock convention
Donald Trump Jr., Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will be among the speakers appearing at Washington and Lee University’s Mock Convention next month — a student event that has often hosted future presidents and presidential candidates.
The event, which occurs at the university in Lexington, Virginia, every four years, models itself after the nominating convention for the out-of-power party seeking a return to the White House. The last day of “Mock Con,” which will be held Feb. 9-10, features a prediction by students of who will be nominated at the actual Republican convention in Milwaukee this year.
Also headlining this year’s event are former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo; former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who ran for president but dropped out this month; former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, a Fox News host; Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk; and conservative activist Candace Owens.
Cyberattack hits Georgia county where Trump faces election interference charges
A cyberattack that hit government systems in Fulton County, Georgia, over the weekend affected the offices of the district attorney who is prosecuting Trump on election interference charges, local officials said today.
All desktop phones, intranet and devices using county servers are down for all departments, including District Attorney Fani Willis’ office, said a county official with knowledge of the situation.
County employees received an email notification about the outage today, the official said.
NBC News campaign embed Alex Tabet spoke with hundreds of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire about why they're supporting Trump in the presidential primary.
Former IRS contractor sentenced to 5 years in prison for leaking Trump tax records
WASHINGTON — The former IRS contractor who leaked Trump's tax records to The New York Times, as well as the tax records of billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to ProPublica, was sentenced today to five years in prison.
Charles Littlejohn pleaded guilty in October, and prosecutors sought the statutory maximum of five years in federal prison, saying he “abused his position by unlawfully disclosing thousands of Americans’ federal tax returns and other private financial information to multiple news organizations.” Prosecutors said Littlejohn “weaponized his access to unmasked taxpayer data to further his own personal, political agenda, believing that he was above the law.”
U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes sentenced Littlejohn at a hearing at the federal courthouse in Washington. He will also have to pay a $5,000 fine.
“You can be an outstanding person and commit bad acts,” Reyes said. “What you did in targeting the sitting president of the United States was an attack on our constitutional democracy.”
Reyes compared Littlejohn’s actions to other recent attacks and threats against elected officials, as well as to Jan. 6 defendants she has recently sentenced. She described his actions as a deliberate, complex, multiyear criminal scheme but said she believed he “sincerely felt a moral imperative” to act as he did.
Littlejohn’s attorney argued that he committed the offense “out of a deep, moral belief that the American people had a right to know the information and sharing it was the only way to effect change” and that he believed he was right at the time.
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito endorses Trump
Sen. Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia announced her endorsement of Trump today.
Capito, a member of Senate GOP leadership, cited Trump's record on the economy and immigration in a tweet explaining her endorsement.
She joins the majority of Senate Republicans who have endorsed the former president for 2024.
Biden hit the campaign trail over the weekend in South Carolina ahead of the state’s primary and delivered some of his most direct attacks on Trump yet. Politico’s Eugene Daniels joins "Morning Joe" to discuss.
Biden campaign brings on alums of N.H. write-in effort
While the Biden campaign and White House pretended like last week's Democratic primary in New Hampshire did not exist, they were clearly pleased with the results. They're hiring two people who were involved with the write-in effort on his behalf.
Biden's name was not on the ballot Tuesday because the primary was held in violation of Democratic National Committee rules. But he was buoyed by the write-in campaign self-organized by a group of New Hampshire Democratic officials. With no input or funding from the DNC or Biden HQ, they helped the president win 65% of the vote as a write-in.
Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., the 55-year-old Talenti Gelato co-founder, finished second with 20%. Self-help author Marianne Williamson finished third with 4%. Both had decided to place their names on the ballot.
Fresh off the win, the Biden campaign announced Sunday it is hiring Aaron Jacobs and Liz Purdy, who helped run the write-in effort, the Union Leader first reported.
Jacobs was one of only two paid staffers on the official write-in campaign, serving as spokesperson. It was a critical role since the shoe-string campaign could not afford TV ads and depended on generating free media attention.
Purdy aided the allied super PAC, which ran digital ads and sent direct mail to likely New Hampshire Democratic primary voters explaining how to write-in Biden's name on the ballot.
As Kyrsten Sinema negotiates on border, potential Arizona opponents have their say
PHOENIX — Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona hasn’t yet said whether she will run for re-election in 2024. But the Democrat-turned-independent’s potential opponents are chiming in with their views on the big border deal Sinema is trying to negotiate.
Republican Kari Lake is staunchly against it. Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego said a bipartisan compromise is a good idea and used the proposal as an opportunity to hit out at former President Donald Trump, who is against the idea — and with whom Lake has closely aligned herself since she jumped into politics in recent years.
The full details of the bill to reduce migrant crossings and change the asylum system haven’t even been released yet. But the battle lines getting drawn in Arizona illustrate the dynamics of a potential three-way Senate race there in the fall.
Haley reveals new details of the ‘awful’ swatting incident at her home
Haley on Sunday revealed new details of the recent swatting incident that occurred at her home in South Carolina.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Haley said that while she was not home when the incident occurred, her parents, ages 87 and 90, along with their caregiver were in the house.
“I will tell you that the last thing you want is to see multiple law enforcement officials with guns drawn pointing at my parents and thinking that something happened,” the former South Carolina governor said. “It was an awful situation.”