Hi there, everyone. Happy Monday. It's four o'clock in New York this afternoon. The United States

appears to be sinking more fully into a dark new frontier in Donald Trump's malign campaign

of political retribution. With all the subtlety of a jackhammer

over the weekend, Donald Trump shared on social media, what was essentially a personal referral for

criminal prosecution, targeting the former Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland,

his deputy, Lisa Monaco, the former director of the FBI, Christopher Ray, and special counsel,

Jack Smith, without providing a scrap of evidence or even naming any of the laws he believes

they broke. Donald Trump alleged that those four officials, quote, spite on, members of Congress,

quote, taped to those lawmakers' phone calls, and, quote, rig the 2020 election, quote, taped to those lawmakers' phone calls and, quote, rig the 2020 election.

Quote, misleading is one word for Trump's accusations, fake, false, cockamamie, or a few others,

we can say on TV.

Because they have to do with the FBI's entirely lawful collection of tolling data.

That's basic incoming and outgoing call

information of certain Republican lawmakers in the time immediately surrounding the January 6th

insurrection. Last week, Jack Smith insisted that the subpoena for those records was entirely

proper and consistent with DOJ policy,

but Republican lawmakers have refused to let the matter go.

They are now using it as a political bludgeon

to suggest that they were somehow improperly targeted by the FBI,

which again was run by Chris Ray.

It's an entirely upside down and backwards situation. It is punctuated by the fact

that Republicans seeking Jack Smith's testimony want to interview him behind closed doors, while Jack

...