American Bridge 21st Century Weekly Recap: August 18, 2023
Our top moments of the week
This week, Republican candidates:
✅ Got indicted for a fourth time
✅ Shrugged off sexual harassment claims
✅ Accused Planned Parenthood of human trafficking
Here are our biggest moments of the week:
1. This F*cking Guy: Trump Indicted (4x)
On Monday, Donald Trump was indicted yet again.
This latest indictment involves charges of felony racketeering and numerous conspiracy charges. It is the second of Trump’s four indictments revolving around his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, which he lost overwhelmingly.
In response, American Bridge spokesperson Monica Venzke released the following statement:
“Trying to steal an election and overthrow the will of the people has consequences. I’m glad Donald Trump is facing them. Let’s see if the fourth time is the charm!”
2. Sexual Harassment in Daniel Cameron’s Office
In response to a new report from the Daily Beast detailing abuse and sexual harassment complaints inside the Kentucky GOP gubernatorial nominee Daniel Cameron’s office of the Attorney General, Cameron said: “we have had a wonderful working environment.”
The complaints Cameron is responding to include:
- “Employee complaints describing ‘hostile,’ ‘cruel,’ ‘threatening,’ and ‘demeaning’ treatment from senior officials under the Republican’s [Cameron’s] purview.”
- “‘Immoral conduct,’” ‘use of intoxicants off-duty,’ and capturing ‘zoomed in’ photos of a detective’s breast.”
- Cameron and his office being sued for “employment discrimination, hostile work conditions, and workers’ compensation retaliation.”
Cameron has turned a blind eye to sexual abuse before, saying previously he was still “honored” to have Trump’s endorsement after the former president was found liable for sexual abuse.
3. Donald Trump’s Georgia Lawyer Donated to Democrats and Georgia DA
This week, Rolling Stone was the first to report that Drew Findling, one of Trump’s lawyers in Georgia, has donated to several Democratic candidates, including President Joe Biden and Fani Willis — the Georgia DA that indicted Trump.
“Findling donated $1,440 to Willis’ district attorney bid in July of 2020, according to campaign disclosure reports flagged by American Bridge 21st Century, a Democratic research outfit.”
The Daily Beast, HuffPost, Independent, and Forbes also reported on Findling’s donations to Democrats.
4. Austin Knudsen Suggests Planned Parenthood is Human Trafficking
According to a new report from Jezebel, Montana GOP Attorney General Austin Knudsen implied Planned Parenthood is trafficking human beings on a conservative talk radio show.
“There are numerous instances where Planned Parenthood has flagrantly violated, state law and not reported rape cases, even statutory rape cases, and intentionally falsified records in order to protect people and not to tell the state…I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this could be happening with human trafficking victims.”
As Jezebel reported, “Planned Parenthood — which is not even the largest abortion provider in the country — has been dogged for years with baseless trafficking accusations by right-wing activists.”
5. AB21 President Pat Dennis on DeSantis Oppo
On Thursday, Politico’s Florida Playbook covered American Bridge’s collection of opposition research against GOP Governor Ron DeSantis. American Bridge 21st Century President Pat Dennis discussed DeSantis’ record of failure in the Sunshine State:
“A lot of our public records really are focused around Florida itself and whether he has done a good job in governing it…We cast a very wide net.”
You can visit our DeSantis Research Book to read more about DeSantis’ disasters.
