Matt Gaetz AG nomination: Timeline

(ORLAND PARK, IL) — A 24-year-old Illinois man has been arrested after allegedly causing a disturbance in a voting line before punching an election judge in the face, police said.

The incident occurred on Sunday at approximately 11 a.m. when Orland Park police officers were dispatched to the Orland Park Township Office in Illinois due to a man — later identified as 24-year-old Daniel Schmidt — “causing a disturbance in the voting line,” police said.

“Officers on scene learned that Schmidt entered the township building and walked past numerous other voters waiting in line to enter the voting area,” the Orland Park Police Department said in a press release detailing the incident. “An election judge posted at the entrance told Schmidt to go to the back of the line and wait his turn, which Schmidt refused.”

Police said that another election judge was called at that point to help assist in the disturbance and Schmidt was once again instructed to go to the back of the line, which Schmidt declined to do.

“Schmidt attempted to push past that election judge and was prevented from entering by that judge and several other employees,” authorities said. “Schmidt began to yell profanities and punched the election judge in the face, knocking their glasses off.”

Several other patrons jumped in and managed to restrain Schmidt until officers arrived and found him inside the Township office where he tried to resist arrest, police said.

“At Orland Park Police Headquarters, the Cook County States Attorney’s Office was contacted and approved (2) counts of Aggravated Battery to a victim over 60 (Class 3 Felony), (2) counts of Aggravated Battery in a public place (Class 3 Felony), (5) misdemeanor counts of Resisting Arrest and one misdemeanor count of Disorderly Conduct,” said the Orland Park Police Department.

Schmidt was held overnight and transported to Bridgeview Courthouse for a detention hearing and the investigation is currently ongoing.

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(WASHINGTON) — An alleged private message from Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife Ginni to the leader of First Liberty Institute, which describes itself as the nation’s largest religious liberty organization, has triggered a wave of criticism from top Democrats, including a new call for the justice to recuse himself from future cases involving that organization.

First Liberty frequently petitions the high court and is behind a number of landmark conservative victories, including those protecting the ability of public school teachers to pray on the job; helping families obtain state funding to attend religious schools; and, forcing private employers to be more accommodating of religious observance.

On a late July conference call with supporters, according to a recording obtained by ProPublica, First Liberty CEO Kelly Shackelford is heard reading aloud an email from Ginni Thomas cheering on the group’s efforts to oppose a White House push to legislate Supreme Court term limits and an enforceable ethics code, prompted in part by controversy last year over her husband’s previously undisclosed financial ties and luxury travel with a GOP billionaire.

“YOU GUYS HAVE FILLED THE SAILS OF MANY JUDGES,” Ginni Thomas apparently wrote to First Liberty head Kelly Shackelford, according to ProPublica. “CAN I JUST TELL YOU, THANK YOU SO, SO, SO MUCH.”

Critics said the message suggests Clarence and Ginni Thomas are beholden to First Liberty and benefit directly from its advocacy.

“The reported comments by Ginni Thomas are deeply problematic,” said Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., in a statement Monday. “She’s testified before Congress that she and Justice Thomas do not discuss each other’s work. That defense now rings hollow. Whether she’s inflating her knowledge of judges’ views on ethics reform or telling the truth, her apparent comments on behalf of judicial officers create a clear appearance of impropriety for Justice Thomas.”

Durbin, who has previously called on Thomas to sit out cases stemming from the Jan. 6 Capitol riot because of his wife’s activism, newly demanded the senior conservative justice also recuse himself from future cases involving First Liberty.

The couple did not respond to ABC News’ request for comment. The justice has previously declined to address Democrats’ demands for recusal. First Liberty Institute does not currently have an active case under consideration by the Supreme Court.

Ginni Thomas and the couple’s Republican allies believe Justice Thomas has been the target of a left-wing smear campaign aimed at undermining the conservative-majority court’s credibility. They oppose changes to the Supreme Court’s structure and function and insist the institution must remain insulated from lawmaker meddling.

“People in the progressive, extreme left, upset by just a few cases,” want to change the Court to “really destroy the court, the Supreme Court,” Shackelford says in the recording.

Two members of the court this summer — Justice Elena Kagan and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson — publicly came out in favor of adopting an enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with the ethics code. Chief Justice John Roberts opposes such a step on constitutional grounds but said publicly last year the matter should be studied. His position has not changed.

“The path forward is clear: Chief Justice Roberts can use his existing power to implement binding ethics reforms,” Durbin said. “Until he does, I will continue pushing to pass our [Supreme Court Ethics, Reform and Transparency] Act and deliver the ethics reforms that the American people—and our democracy—demand.” 

The measure cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee in 2023 but has not yet received a vote by the full Senate.

While Justice Thomas signed on to the court’s ethics code in late 2023 — which says a justice must avoid the mere appearance of a conflict of interest — it does not apply to spouses, who are not forbidden from engaging in political activity as private citizens. Ginni Thomas has spent decades publicly advocating for conservative causes and was a high-profile supporter of the “Stop the Steal” effort to overturn results of the 2020 presidential election.

Some legal scholars have pointed out that Ginni Thomas was taking a position on court-related legislation long shared — and publicly expressed — by members of the court from both ends of the ideological spectrum.

Neither the recording nor Ginni Thomas’ email has been independently obtained by ABC News.

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(WASHINGTON) — Democrats have long said that they remain competitive in Florida and Texas, two erstwhile swing states that have jolted right in recent election cycles.

Now, they’re putting their money where their mouth is.

The Democratic National Committee on Friday announced a six-figure investment of over $400,000 for get out the vote efforts in Florida to boost Vice President Kamala Harris and former House member and Senate nominee Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, the party first told ABC News. And Senate Democrats’ campaign arm announced Thursday a “multi-million dollar” advertising investment in Florida and Texas, where GOP Sen. Ted Cruz is facing Democratic Rep. Colin Allred.

The DNC also is rolling out a new $2.5 million investment in state parties to provide funding to all 57 states and territories for the first time ever in one election cycle.

“[F]lorida is in play,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said in a statement. “With Vice President Harris at the helm and record-breaking investments in the Florida coordinated campaign, we have the momentum to finish strong and deliver wins for Democrats up and down the ballot.”

“Senate Democrats are expanding the map and going on offense,” Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee Chair Sen. Gary Peters said in a separate statement. “All cycle long the DSCC has been preparing to take advantage of Sens. Cruz and Scott’s damaged standings in their states — and now our efforts in Texas and Florida are accelerating.”

Democrats in Washington had long insisted to the media that Florida and Texas were still competitive for president and Senate, though Democrats have been burned in each state before.

Florida, once a swing state that former President Barack Obama won twice, has sharply moved toward Republicans, handing former President Donald Trump back-to-back wins and reelecting GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis by over 19 points in 2022. Texas has been a white whale for Democrats who have been bullish that the state’s diversifying electorate make it primed for gains but have failed to pull off any major wins there and have actually lost ground in the Rio Grande region.

The world of campaign finance is large but finite, and Democrats are also spending money to protect Senate incumbents in red and purple states like Michigan, Montana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and more. On top of that, both Florida and Texas are massive, packed with expensive media markets.

However, Democrats appear increasingly in need of offense as they try to protect their 51-49 Senate majority. West Virginia Independent Sen. Joe Manchin is retiring, handing Republicans a nearly guaranteed flip, and polls are painting a dour picture for Montana Sen. Jon Tester’s reelection chances, so any chance to win a GOP-held seat could be key to a future Democratic majority.

“Now [Florida and Texas] are not cheap states. They’re big states, but the investment is something that we’re very excited about,” Michigan’s Peters said Thursday at the National Press Club. “We have an opportunity with fundraising and money coming in that we feel comfortable now these are good investments. We’re making multimillion dollar investments in Florida and Texas, and with that, we have a real shot at winning those states.”

The news is music to Florida Democrats’ ears, who had been clamoring for resources since the beginning of the election cycle, warning that ignoring the state would set Democrats even further back on their path back to relevance. Both Florida and Texas had been included in previous tranches of support, but they were far from a focus of Democrats’ money machine.

“Debbie is a very strong and likable candidate that connects well with voters. She’s relatable. It’s hard to relate to Scott,” one Florida Democratic strategist said, of Scott, who is one of Congress’ wealthiest members. “So, yes, I think another $400K matters, and hopefully more is coming. Every penny matters.”

Polling has indicated the races are somewhat close. The polling averages from 538 show Scott ahead by under 5 points and Cruz leading by under 4 points, though neither has ever trailed.

Still, Cruz is battle tested and fended off tough challenges in the past, and Scott throughout his career has refused to be outspent, often dipping into his personal fortune to help bolster his successful campaigns for governor and Senate. When Scott first ran for the Senate in 2018, he dumped $64 million from his own coffers into his campaign, helping swamp Democrats in the spending war.

“In case anyone has any doubt, if national Democrats decide to spend in Florida, Rick Scott will spend more. [Democratic Senate Leader] Chuck Schumer has been through this before. If he wants to sacrifice Bob Casey and Sherrod Brown on a doomed Florida strategy, he’s welcome to try,” said one source close to Scott, referencing Democratic senators in tough reelection fights in Pennsylvania and Ohio, respectively.

And it’s still unclear just what the impact of the investment will have.

The pushes from the DNC and DSCC come with about 40 days to go to the election, and ballots are already being sent to military voters and voters overseas who are registered in Florida.

“Some people say that it’s better late than never, but in this case, it’s really hard to justify given the fact that voters are, in essence, already voting in the state of Florida,” said one Florida Democratic pollster. “It would have to be a dynamic where the polling shows the race literally on the knife’s edge for a million-dollar investment at this eleventh hour to make a difference. And I don’t think the polling shows that.”

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