(A)Political Newsletter - Volume 3

U.S. Political News & Election Updates

Friday, August 4th, 2023

Good morning everyone,

It’s the third week of the (A)Political Newsletter, and by all accounts, it is smooth sailing. Hopefully you are enjoying the content, and if you are not or would like to see some changes, please be sure to leave a comment or review telling us!
Now, let’s jump right into the news. There are also no polls this week as there have not been significant changes; however, there are major updates in congressional stock trading that indicate many high-level moves.

In today’s edition:

  • Donald Trump Faces Third Indictment

  • Gavin Newsome and Ron DeSantis Set to Debate

  • Dem Rep. Gallego leading competitors in Arizona Polling

CONGRESSIONAL STOCK WATCHER

  • Representative Virginia Foxx recently revealed an additional stock purchase in the tobacco company Altria Group, $MO.

    • Her investment in the cigarette manufacturer now amounts to up to $245K.

    • Altria ranks among the highest lobbying spenders, having exerted its influence with over $12M on legislation last year.

  • In last week’s newsletter, we highlighted Representative Michael McCaul's disclosure of purchasing up to $345K worth of Oshkosh Corporation stock, $OSK, on July 24th.

    • Oshkosh Corporation stands as one of the largest American defense contractors.

    • McCaul chairs the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

    • He met with Zelensky in February.

    • Since the trade, $OSK has surged by 10% and exceeded earning expectations.

  • Senator Thomas Carper has taken a stance against big tech.

    • He disclosed purchases of up to $60K of $PSQ, the ProShares Short QQQ ETF. For those that want to learn more, Read more about short selling here.

    • This short position means he is predicting the Nasdaq to fall in the near future. 

  • Senator Thomas Carper disclosed a purchase of Fidelity National Financial stock, $FNF, today.

    • Carper sits on the Senate Committee on Finance.

Be on the lookout: Elon Musk is said to be laying the groundwork for an investment trading hub that will operate on the X platform – moving closer to realizing his vision of transforming the site, formerly known as Twitter, into a one-stop shop "everything app."

The billionaire tech mogul has approached a financial data company to construct the stock trading hub within X. Imagine how much that would change congressional stock trading if everyone could see their investments and committee assignments in real-time.

We are working on an article about that. Stay tuned.

Former President Faces Third Indictment

(Photo - Win McNamee/Getty Images)

August 3, 2023: Former President Trump announced Tuesday afternoon that he would be indicted by Special Counsel Jack Smith on his social media platform, Truth Social. Trump stated that "Deranged Jack Smith, in order to interfere with the Presidential Election of 2024, will be putting out yet another Fake Indictment of your favorite President, me, at 5:00 P.M." Trump’s alleged attempts to subvert the results of the 2020 election have been the subject of an investigation by Special Counsel Jack Smith for over a year. These indictments are the culmination of that investigation.

Trump was arraigned Thursday afternoon in the E. Barrett Prettyman United States Courthouse in Washington, D.C. Special Counsel Jack Smith himself was present at the indictment, and Trump pleaded not guilty to all four counts as follows: conspiracy to defraud the United States, obstructing an official proceeding, conspiring to do so, and conspiracy against rights. Six other "co-conspirators" were cited but not indicted. Leaving them out of the indictment is seen by analysts as a way for them to cooperate with the indictment against Trump. The Trump legal team is expected to follow the same strategy it used against all other trials: delay. They will attempt to delay the judicial process as much as possible to better assist in his campaign, and in the event that Trump wins the election, the indictment will be effectively squashed.

The indictments themselves revealed new conversations that had not been public before, such as Trump telling his former Vice President, Mike Pence, that he was "too honest." This was in response to Pence stating that he could not reject electoral votes, which Trump was pushing Pence to do.

FROM THE LEFT

Democrats have celebrated the indictment as final justice for a president that they feel put their lives on the line during Jan 6. and attempted to subvert democracy. Rep. Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), one of the representatives trapped in the Capitol Gallery during the attack, said she “recognize[s] how essential justice and accountability for those crimes are for the well-being of our country.” A poll found that 89% of Democrats think Trump should be charged. Democratic politicians are hoping that a continued spotlight on Jan. 6 would hurt Trump in the election, if he were to be the nominee.

FROM THE RIGHT

Republican lawmakers lambasted the indictment, near universally calling it a partisan attack on the most likely challenger against President Biden. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, that "Everyone in America could see what was going to come next: DOJ’s attempt to distract from the news and attack the frontrunner for the Republican nomination, President Trump." The news, as he said, likely refers to the Hunter Biden scandal. Jim Jordan (R-IN.), one of Trump’s strongest House allies, wrote on X that "President Trump did nothing wrong." Republican voters are more hesitant; one poll, reported by Axios, found that 52% would not vote for Trump if he were sent to prison by Election Day, and 45% stated they would not vote for him if he were convicted of a felony.

Ron DeSantis Set to Debate Gavin Newsome on Fox News

(Photo - via Fox News)

The Florida Republican Governor and California Democratic Governor have been known to engage in frequent disagreements regarding policies in their respective states. Each politician represents opposite ends of the ideological divide in the United States.

Last week, Newsom's office formally invited Fox News, extending a request to hold a debate either on November 8 or November 10. The proposal suggested a 90-minute forum on Fox News, with pundit Sean Hannity as the sole moderator. The debate would be broadcast live without an in-studio audience.

DeSantis currently lags behind former President Donald Trump in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. Meanwhile, Newsom, a Democrat, has chosen not to address his own highly anticipated presidential aspirations.

A debate between the two would bring a welcome relief to the DeSantis campaign, following weeks of dropping in the polls, staffer layoffs, and an all-around shaky start to the successful governor’s presidential ambitions. For Gavin Newsome, he has an opportunity to stomp out a potential major threat to President Biden’s reelection campaign. It would throw him back into the limelight of the Democratic Party and potentially open his own path to the presidency or party leadership.

It’s unknown the exact topics of the debate; however, both governors took polar opposite stances on Covid-19 enforcement, have heavy differences in abortion and social policy, and will no doubt be forced to defend the actions of their respective leadership, Trump and Biden.

Rep. Ruben Gallego Beating Competitors Sinema, Kari Lake, in Polling

(Photo - Noble Predictive Insights)

Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) is currently leading his two most likely opponents in a hypothetical lineup by approximately 8 points against Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) and 9 points against former news host Kari Lake. The poll, conducted by Noble Predictive Insights, shows that both Sinema and Lake have to gain in order to topple Gallego. The poll found that 15% of people were undecided about the race. Arizona is one of the most important battleground states in the Senate’s 2024 election.

Sinema, who ran as a Democrat in her last election, upended Senate politics by switching her party affiliation to independent. She effectively dared a primary challenge from a Democratic opponent, and it was thought this could possibly siphon votes and allow the Republican Party to win the general election. However, the new polling data shows this may be incorrect.

Lake almost won the 2022 race for Arizona Governor. After losing, Lake continually tried to overturn that loss due to what she saw as election fraud. She has also flirted with running for Sinema’s seat and remains a serious threat to the incumbent.

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