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Trump’s immunity fight kept the federal election case paused
As of Jan. 13, 2024, the Washington election case against Donald Trump remained paused while his immunity appeal was pending, delaying any move toward the March 4 trial date.
Edition · January 13, 2024
The Daily Fuckup: January 13, 2024
A backfill look at the Trump-world messes that were landing on January 13, 2024, from courtroom chaos to political whiplash.
On this date, the Trump orbit was still doing what it did best: turning legal peril into a full-time messaging disaster. The strongest stories centered on the mounting pressure from the federal election-interference case, the E. Jean Carroll saga, and the broader pattern of Trump’s allies and lawyers treating every defeat like a motivational poster for denial. The day’s screwups were not all equally huge, but together they showed a campaign and legal operation that could not stay off the defensive, could not stop creating new liabilities, and could not make the calendar work in its favor.
Closing take
The Trump operation’s deepest problem on January 13, 2024, was not any one ruling or quote. It was that almost every move fed the same narrative: delay, deny, attack, repeat, and hope the court docket gets tired first. On a day like this, the brand looked less like political strength than like a litigant trying to scream its way out of gravity.
Ranked by how bad the fuckup was
5 stars means maximum fallout. 1 star means a smaller self-own.
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Trump’s Carroll case was still on deck as the Jan. 15 trial approached
As of Jan. 13, 2024, the second defamation trial in E. Jean Carroll’s case against Donald Trump was set to begin two days later in federal court in Manhattan. The case followed a 2023 jury finding that Trump had sexually abused Carroll and defamed her, and it remained a live campaign distraction heading into the new trial phase.
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Trump turns another legal loss into a grievance machine
A New York judge ordered Donald Trump to pay nearly $400,000 in legal fees after dismissing his lawsuit against The New York Times and three reporters. The ruling added to a pile of legal setbacks his political operation was already trying to recast as proof of persecution.