Continuing the Debate Over 'America First'

Things are starting to heat up when it comes to former President Donald Trump's legal cases.

Trump's ballot access case reached the U.S. Supreme Court last Thursday, and it couldn't have possibly gone any better for Team Trump. I now expect that case, Trump v. Anderson, to come out either 8-1 or (even likelier) 9-0 unanimous in Trump's favor. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit also ruled (as predicted) against Trump's constitutional claim of sweeping presidential immunity, the effect of which would be to foreclose Special Counsel Jack Smith's criminal probe there when it comes to the 2020 election and its aftermath; Trump has since sought an emergency stay at the Supreme Court. Trump was also physically present in federal court in Florida on Monday when there were pretrial hearings about Jack Smith's other case, the classified documents retention case involving files Trump brought back to Mar-a-Lago after his presidency. Finally, there will be a huge evidentiary hearing tomorrow in Fulton County, Georgia, regarding the possible disqualification of District Attorney Fani Willis and her illicit lover and prosecutorial colleague, Nathan Wade, from their sprawling racketeering case in Georgia state court.

Confused yet? Stay tuned and buckle in because it's only going to get more interesting (and crazy!) from here. Let's take a look at else what is going on out there.

I was off from my column last week, but not from "The Josh Hammer Show." In the episode that aired on our radio affiliates airwaves last weekend and also went out as a podcast Monday morning, I explained the proper definition of "America First" and an "America First" foreign policy before being joined by Jonny Daniels, founder of the wonderful From the Depths organization, to provide an update on the state of the Israel-Hamas war on the ground in Gaza. I also was able to pay tribute to one of my very favorite country music artists, taken from us far too soon after a fight against cancer: the great Toby Keith. You can listen to that episode on Apple, Spotify, or here. I also have an additional bonus episode out this morning on the current state of the 2024 presidential election, including a deep dive into all of the thorny legal issues threatening to upend the Trump-Biden presidential rematch. You can listen to that brand-new episode on Apple, Spotify, or here.

To keep up with all my media hits, make sure to follow me on Twitter/X, Instagram, and Facebook! In case you missed it, I also recently launched a new legal-themed podcast with the conservative network The First! The new daily podcast—which is of course distinct from "The Josh Hammer Show"—is called "America on Trial," and you can subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Regarding public events, I have a Zoom panel tonight (February 14) on the future of Jewish life in America; you can find all the relevant information here if you are interested in joining. I will also be returning to CPAC this year! My panel at the Washington, D.C.-based conference will be next Thursday, February 22, and you can get your tickets here. I will also be in Boston later this month for some Federalist Society speaking engagements at a few law schools in the area.

Our additional highlighted right-leaning Newsweek op-eds from the past week include selections from Ken Blackwell, Kristen Waggoner, Will Chamberlain, Marjorie Dannenfelser, and Delano Squires.

Thanks for reading and subscribing! See you next week.