Andrew C. McCarthy of National Review writes: “[Donald] Trump’s legal team has asked the Appellate Division-First Department to accept a $100 million bond for the purposes of enabling him to appeal the civil-fraud judgment against him and of stopping New York attorney general Letitia James from beginning to execute that judgment—i.e., to start seizing his property if he can’t pay up in cash. The problem, of course, is that the judgment against him is $450 million—with interest, which continues to accrue at about $112,000 per day.” You can read more here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2024/02/trump-tells-new-york-appeals-court-he-cant-post-full-bond/
Jess Bravin of The Wall Street Journal writes: “The Supreme Court agreed to consider whether Donald Trump must stand trial on charges he plotted to overturn the 2020 election, after lower courts rejected his claim that he is entitled to absolute immunity because he was president at the time. The court’s move means it will have final say on an issue the judiciary never confronted before Trump. But it also means the former president has bought himself at least another couple of months before any trial, which had been scheduled to start in early March before the immunity battle scuttled those plans.” You find more on this developing story here: https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/supreme-court-to-say-if-donald-trump-must-stand-trial-in-2020-election-conspiracy-case-1b7f4e3f
On Wednesday, President Joe Biden had his annual physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center—though, he received no cognitive test. During her White House press briefing, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre insisted that Biden “passes a cognitive test everyday” as president. You can read more here: https://www.wsj.com/politics/president-biden-gets-annual-physical-amid-concerns-about-age-76a608c9?mod=hp_lead_pos3
While appearing on CNN with Erin Burnett, former Obama Administration Advisor Van Jones reacted to the idea that Robert Kennedy Jr. might be able to win traditionally Democrat voters in swing states who may be unhappy with President Joe Biden’s policies. Jones noted that Kennedy is “on track to be in enough states to cost Joe Biden the presidency.”
From his Truth Social account, former President Donald Trump said: “Legal Scholars are extremely thankful for the Supreme Court’s Decision today to take up Presidential Immunity. Without Presidential Immunity, a President will not be able to properly function, or make decisions, in the best interest of the United States of America. Presidents will always be concerned, and even paralyzed, by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office. This could actually lead to the extortion and blackmail of a President. The other side would say, ‘If you don’t do something, just the way we want it, we are going to go after you when you leave office, or perhaps even sooner.’” You can find the post here: https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/112011584636454428
On Wednesday, during a speech from the Senate floor, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced that he would be stepping down from his leadership position at the end of the term in November. Though, he does not plan to resign from the Senate. McConnell, now 82-years-old, has served in the U.S. Senate for nearly 40-years and has been the leader of the Senate Republican Conference since 2007. You can read more here: https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4494536-mcconnell-to-step-down-as-senate-gop-leader/