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Today’s edition of quick hits.
* Late-breaking SCOTUS news: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to decide whether former President Donald Trump can claim presidential immunity over criminal election interference charges, adding a new hurdle to a trial taking place. ... The order said the court would hear the case the week of April 22."
* Fortunately, the judge’s mail is pre-screened: “Judge Arthur Engoron, who handed down a $355 million ruling against former President Donald Trump in his civil fraud trial, was sent an envelope containing white powder on Wednesday, causing an emergency response at his New York City courthouse, a source with direct knowledge of the incident confirmed to NBC News. “
* If you genuinely believed Donald Trump was as wealthy as he claimed to be, I have some bad news: “ Former President Donald Trump’s attorneys want an appeals court to delay enforcement of the $464 million judgment against him, his sons and his company, and allow him to post a $100 million bond instead of the statutorily required full amount.”
* The latest Jan. 6 sentence: “A Donald Trump enthusiast who believed the former president’s lies about the 2020 election was sentenced on Wednesday to more than three years in federal prison for assaulting law enforcement officers with a hockey stick during the brutal battle at the lower west tunnel of the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 attack.”
* In Texas: “Wildfires are spreading across the Texas Panhandle, threatening towns, forcing evacuations and cutting off power to thousands of homes and businesses. A fire at Smokehouse Creek, north of Amarillo, has burned through 850,000 acres and is only 3% contained. It has quickly become the second-largest wildfire in Texas history.”
* Yellin’s idea: “Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Tuesday offered her strongest public support yet for the idea of liquidating roughly $300 billion in frozen Russian Central Bank assets and using them for Ukraine’s long-term reconstruction.”
* Was this a ruling from a Trump-appointed judge? Of course it was: “A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday ruled that a $1.7 trillion government funding bill was unconstitutionally passed in 2022 through a pandemic-era rule that allowed lawmakers in the House of Representatives to vote by proxy rather than in person.”
* Perhaps Tuberville’s reputation would improve if he made less misplaced commentary? “On Tuesday, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) tweeted some thoughts on crime in New York before being promptly slapped with a community note pointing out his home state is much more dangerous.”
See you tomorrow.