Since Jack Smith and his prosecutors dropped a multicount federal indictment against President Trump, multiple grounds have surfaced warranting dismissal of the embarrassing prosecutorial sideshow in South Florida. 

Already, Smith’s indictment faces multiple legal challenges.

The Presidential Records Act, the big red elephant in the room ignored by Smith, at 44 USC §2205 (3), gives a former president unrestrained access to the presidential records which he declares to be his and gives his designated agents also access to such records.  Yes, the National Archives can take control of those records, after consultation with the former President, and any disagreement on the designation of a record is to be resolved by a United States District Court in a civil proceeding, not a criminal prosecution.

But the Presidential Records Act simply does not create an exception prohibiting the former President’s access to records marked as secret, classified, or confidential. Under the Presidential Records Act, Trump, even as a former president, has all the access he wants to all his presidential records, even those which may have been classified, and may give such access to his designated agents.  End of story.

The Espionage Act, even if it controlled over the Presidential Records Act, which it does not, does not apply to records that have been declassified by a president, who has an absolute right to declassify any document he wants. This is Trump's secondary argument against the “Espionage Act” charges, that he in fact declassified all documents in his possession before leaving Washington. But Trump doesn’t even need that argument, because the Presidential Records Act (PRA) trumps the Espionage Act on the topic of classified materials. Trump can take and designate what he wants, classified or not -- and give designated agents access to records - classified or not.  Plus, the notion of Trump spying for a foreign power -- the original heart of the purpose of the Espionage Act -- is beyond ludicrous.

Since Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis officially jumped into the 2024 GOP presidential primary, the Republican Twittersphere has devolved into a giant cluster of insanity.

Take a trip to your favorite right-wing account, and you’re likely to find an untold number of tweets trashing either former President Donald Trump or DeSantis, accompanied by a lengthy explanation of why his or her preferred candidate will be the one to take down Joe Biden in the 2024 general election. The back-and-forth between Trump and DeSantis supporters — which continued into Memorial Day, a day when we’re supposed to honor those who have paid the ultimate price for our freedoms — has largely lacked any real substance. The insults thrown around have become so petty and personal, it feels like watching an episode of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”

While it’s completely understandable to be on the lookout for a potential nominee given Biden’s disastrous presidency thus far, overzealously focusing on a primary we won’t be voting in until February, at the earliest, distracts from current issues and plays into Democrats’ hands. There will be plenty of time between now and then to decide who becomes the 2024 GOP presidential candidate. But that time is not right now.

At this given moment, we have highly-politicized U.S. intel agencies targeting conservatives and protecting Democrats, federal departments and left-wing nonprofits interfering in our elections, an establishment trying to drag us into World War III, major corporations glorifying gender dysphoria, so-called “red” states acting like blue states, leftists indoctrinating and “trans-ing” children, a Congress spending taxpayer money like drunken Marxists, a wide open southern border, Democrats attempting to destroy the Supreme Court, an inflated economy, and a dying military.

We are now enduring the usual competing ads from another primary election.  A trend has developed in Republican primaries that sees candidates call each other "RINOs" (Republicans in Name Only).  An incumbent GOP candidate insists that his challenger is a RINO.  The challenger says the same thing about the incumbent.  Republicans argue over who are the "real" RINOs.  These accusations appear in local races as much as congressional and Senate contests.  Even the RINOs appear to oppose the RINOs. 

Some commenters implore both sides to stop using this term because it is easy to make and impossible to prove.  But is it really impossible? 

Only some of the accusing candidates are lying.  RINOs do appear in many races and sometimes win.  They stop key legislation or join with Democrats to create oppressive new levels of government bureaucracy.  They repeat Democrat talking points. They denounce conservative elected officials while providing momentum for Democrat efforts to derail conservative initiatives.  It takes only two or three RINOs to derail a bill or nomination when a legislative body is held by a slim majority.  Their presence at all levels of government demoralizes the Republican base and depresses GOP voter turnout.  Many GOP voters have simply given up because GOP officials appear to carry out the same policies that the base has voted against.

But should we give up?  Not if we understand certain RINO characteristics that make it easier to identify them before we vote.  No one characteristic is always decisive by itself.