It's been a huge week for all of former President Donald Trump's legal cases. It looks like Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis's case against Trump and his codefendants is sputtering out, but a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also just denied Trump's claim of sweeping presidential immunity that would foreclose Special Counsel Jack Smith's federal D.C. probe pertaining to the 2020 election and the events of January 6, 2021. (Trump will, of course, appeal the denial of immunity to the full D.C. Circuit sitting en banc, or perhaps directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.) What's more, there is a huge oral argument at the Supreme Court this Thursday on the separate legal question of Trump's ability to access the ballot this fall—something his opponents are challenging on constitutional grounds via the "Insurrection Clause" of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Don't worry—if you're having a hard time keeping up with all of the various cases, it's not just you!

Crazy stuff, truly. These are unprecedented times and uncharted waters. There has really never been a presidential election cycle like this one. In any event, let's look at what else is going on out there.

My column last week weighed in on the roiling debate over what it means, in the post-2016 Trump era of the Republican Party and conservative movement, to be "America First." My column argued that "America First" is a fairly straightforward, national interest-centric analytical prism through which to assess many different types of public policy debates. In other words, I argued, "America First" is something of a sober, emotionally detached means—and not a preordained ideological end, such as moralistic neoconservatism or doctrinaire isolationism (in the context of our foreign policy debates). Unfortunately, many misunderstand this—including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson (who has been off this week in Moscow, of all places, to interview Vladimir Putin). Some praised my column, but it was also met by some less-than-enthusiastic responses—including a meandering, pedantic screed written by a writer named Hunter DeRensis. I responded to DeRensis' essay in The American Conservative, in turn, with a thread on Twitter/X.

There have been two episodes of "The Josh Hammer Show" since our last newsletter. First, I analyzed the recent U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee grilling of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and other Big Tech oligarchs on the issue of sexual exploitation of minors on social media, blasted the Biden administration's latest failures in the Middle East, and assessed the state of former President Trump's various legal cases. You can listen to that first episode on Apple, Spotify, or here. Second, I unpacked the terrible so-called "border" bill—which is really just a Trojan horse for more unpopular and unaccountable mass funding of Ukraine (and Hamas)—that was introduced in the U.S. Senate on Sunday and which is wholly unworthy of conservative support. (Thankfully, there is no chance the legislation passes.) You can listen to that second episode on Apple, Spotify, or here. As a reminder, if you are a radio station programming director interested in bringing my show to your station, please email Jesse Edwards: j.edwards@newsweek.com.

I have done a lot of media since our last newsletter—some highlights include Megyn Kelly, Karol Markowicz, and Jesse Kelly. 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 entirely 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 an upcoming Zoom panel on February 14, open to the public, on the future of Jewish life in America; you can find all the relevant information here. I will also be returning to CPAC later this month! My panel at the huge Washington, D.C.-based conference will be on 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 law schools in the area.

Our additional highlighted right-leaning Newsweek op-eds from the past week includes selections from Rod Dorilás, Kevin Sabet, Duncan Braid, John A. Burtka, and Kevin Roberts.

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