Welcome to the online version of From the policy deskevening bulletin that brings you the latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill from the NBC News Politics team.
In today’s edition, senior political reporter Jonathan Allen looks at how Donald Trump, under gag order, is leaning on allies to launch attacks on the quiet money court.
Plus, we examine why tomorrow’s Democratic Senate primary vote in Maryland carries more weight than ever. And senior political editor Mark Murray breaks down the latest polls showing the path to victory narrowing for Joe Biden.
Sign up here to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday.
Trump is under a gag order, so his allies are launching test attacks for him
By Jonathan Allen
Donald Trump is taking risks a visit to the prison if he attacks witnesses in a New York hush-hush trial. But his allies are not covered by his gag order repeatedly violated – and they are increasingly launching broad platforms that Trump has not been able to.
Monday, as a former Trump “fixer.” Michael Cohen testified Sens. JD Vance, R-Ohio, and Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., blasted Cohen, alleging that the former president was directly involved in a plot to kill negative stories about him during the 2016 election.
Do you have news? Let us know
“He’s a convicted felon,” Tuberville said of Cohen at a news conference outside the courthouse. “I mean, this guy gives an acting scene.”
“Cohen can’t remember how old his son was or how old he was when he started working for Trump, but I’m sure he remembers the tiniest details from years ago!” Vance, who is fighting to be chosen as Trump’s candidate, wrote ironically. A tweet storm at X. “Michael Cohen admitted that he secretly recorded his employer. Totally normal behavior, right? The best part is that he said he only did it once and only for Trump’s benefit. Stand-up guy!”
Cohen in 2018 He pleaded guilty to lying to Congress About the Trump project in Moscow. During his testimony, he remained committed to the work he had been doing for a long time.
The friends and family loophole was used by lawmakers and Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, who attended parts of the hearing. Neither has been charged with any wrongdoing in the case, which involves whether the presumptive Republican presidential nominee falsified business records to help his 2016 election chances by covering up affairs he denied took place.
Trump has often criticized the gag order, describing it as an attempt to silence his political speech as he campaigns to return to the Oval Office. Judge Juan Merchan found that he violated the order 10 timesfined him and warned him in no uncertain terms that further violations could result in imprisonment.
Trump said he is willing to testify in his own defense at trial, but many legal experts note that his lawyers may advise against it.
In addition to the two senators, Rep. Nicole Malliotakis, RN.Y. and Republican attorneys general of Iowa and Alabama, Brenna Bird and Steve Marshall, went to the courthouse on Monday to support Trump.
Read more about the strategy →
And watch Cohen’s testimony from the 16th day of the Trump trial →
Maryland Democrats are fighting for the future of the party and control of the Senate
By Julie Tsirkin, Kate Santaliz, Bridget Bowman and Ben Kamisar
SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Maryland Senate race was supposed to be a battle for the soul of the Democratic Party. Instead, it turned into something else: a primary race for the Senate majority.
Former GOP Gov. Larry Hogan’s decision to run for an open state Senate seat has sparked panic, and now Democrats competing in Tuesday’s primary are not just arguing what type of Democrat should be in the Senate. They each argue they are better candidates to face Hogan in November — if Hogan wins his first on Tuesday.
Democratic Rep. David Trone has poured more than $60 million of his personal wealth into his battle against Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks, who is running to become the state’s first black senator and one of the few black women ever to serve. in the upper chamber.
“The main argument you hear for Tron to be in a better position is his resources,” said D-Md., who endorsed Alsobrooks. “And the main argument you’ll hear about Alsobrooks being in a better position is that he’s building a coalition of people across the state who can defeat that kind of money.”
“So in a sense, the core is a good testing ground for both of these theories,” Raskin said.
Read more ahead of tomorrow’s primary election →
New battleground polls show Biden narrower path to victory
By Mark Murray
Key takeaways from the latest round New York Times/Siena College battleground state polls The 2024 presidential race between Joe Biden and Donald Trump remains competitive and tight.
But the polls, as well as other polls from top states, point to what appears to be a narrower path for Biden to win the necessary 270 electoral votes with less than six months to go.
In the Times/Siena poll, Trump leads Biden among registered voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada and Pennsylvania, while Biden narrowly leads in Wisconsin.
All results are within the margin of error except for Georgia and Nevada, where Trump’s lead is outside the margin of error.
Arizona: Trump 49%, Biden 42%
Georgia: Trump 49%, Biden 39%
Michigan: Trump 49%, Biden 42%
Nevada: Trump 50%, Biden 38%
Pennsylvania: Trump 47%, Biden 44%
Wisconsin: Biden 47%, Trump 45%
The numbers among likely voters are similar, although results vary in Michigan (Biden 47%, Trump 46%) and Wisconsin (Trump 47%, Biden 46%).
There are two takeaways from these findings in states that Biden won four years ago. First, the races in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin are all very close, which is consistent with other polls we’ve seen in those three states.
The second is that the races in Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada are not that close — Trump has leads either outside the margin of error or close to it. Again, this is consistent with other states’ surveys.
whom CNN’s Harry Enten saysBiden is running back in the Sun Belt while attending a game in the Great Lakes states.
So what does it all mean? If you remove Arizona, Georgia and Nevada from the Democrats, Biden would need to win all three of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to reach 270 electoral votes. (That’s assuming he sticks to it An electoral vote in Nebraskathat’s a story for another day.)
Trump, meanwhile, would need to win just one of the Great Lakes states to put him above 270 under that scenario.
It’s a doable path for Biden. In fact, the main reason for his 2020 candidacy was that he was the only Democrat who could restore the “blue wall” after Hillary Clinton lost Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to Trump in 2016.
But it’s also a narrower path to victory—there’s no margin for error in these three Great Lakes states.
🗞️ The best stories of the day
- ⚖️ Another test: The selection of the jury was made by Senator DN.J., who was accused of receiving “hundreds of thousands of dollars” in bribes, including gold bars, in exchange for official acts. It started in the federal criminal trial of Bob Menendez. More →
- 🏆 The Apprentice, 2024 season: Several Republican congressmen seeking to become Trump’s vice president are busy flaunting their MAGA credentials on Capitol Hill. More →
- 🚗 Full steam ahead: A prominent fuel industry group is launching a new $6.6 million ad campaign criticizing Biden and Senate Democratic candidates over the administration’s emissions rules. More →
- 💣 Can this backfire? Politico reports that some pro-abortion rights advocates worry that aligning their ballot measure efforts too closely with Democratic candidates could cost them support from independents and Republicans. More →
- 🚧 Withdraw: After appearing to catch his running mate off guard by saying he supported access to abortion at any point in pregnancy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he only supported access “up to a certain number of weeks” without any specifics. More →
- 📦 Dropbox battle: The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal justices appeared poised to overturn a ruling banning the use of most ballot boxes in a combat zone. More →
- 👬 Three friends: Here’s the inside story on how GOP Sens. Lindsey Graham and Markwayne Mull teamed up with Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer to help push the Ukraine aid deal to the finish line. More →
For now, that’s it from The Politics Desk. If you have feedback – whether you like it or not – please email us politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com
If you are a fan, please share with anyone and everyone. They can register here.