Axios Sneak Peek

April 28, 2024
Welcome back to Sneak. Today's edition is 725 words, a 3-minute read.
โก๏ธ Situational awareness: Former President Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met this morning in Miami, Axios' Alex Thompson reports.
๐งจ 1 big thing: Swing state trials
Donald Trump leaving court in Manhattan on Friday. Photo: Curtis Means/Daily Mail via Getty Images
Look past the former president's promising day at the Supreme Court, and you'll see the groundwork to deter pro-Trump election plots in 2024.
Why it matters: Trump's delay, delay, delay strategy appears to be working for him, but many loyalists are facing stiff consequences from civil and criminal cases.
- Even a dragged-out process on presidential immunity after Thursday's Supreme Court hearing โ which has frozen his federal Jan. 6 case โ could avoid a verdict before the election.
But for Trump's allies in the alleged schemes to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, there's no such luck.
- Pro-Trump lawyers have faced sanctions and censure, and Rudy Giuliani risks being disbarred in the backlash to the efforts.
- In a civil settlement in Wisconsin, former Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis agreed to never participate in future schemes.
Zoom out: At least four of the seven swing states have active criminal cases against pro-Trump fake electors.
- Arizona: 11 pro-Trump electors were indicted Wednesday. Seven other people were unnamed defendants.
- Georgia: Trump is the star defendant in the Fulton County indictment of 15 people. Trial is scheduled to begin in August.
- Michigan: During pretrial hearings on Wednesday, Trump was identified as an unindicted co-conspirator in the sweeping state case against 16 fake electors charged last July.
- Nevada: Six people were indicted in December โ including the Nevada GOP chair โ for being fake electors. A trial won't begin before 2025.
- Wisconsin: State Attorney General Josh Kaul won't say whether his office is investigating the 10 pro-Trump fake electors from 2020.
The bottom line: "I don't think a lot of people will want to sign up for that again," Michael Teter, the managing director of the 65 Project, which pursues legal discipline against lawyers involved in the fake electors' efforts, told AP.
2. Scoop: Cornyn flexes fundraising muscle
Sen. John Cornyn at the Capitol last week. Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) has raised a whopping $18.3 million this cycle to help GOP incumbents and candidates โ putting him ahead of his leadership opponent Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), Axios' Stef Kight has learned.
- Thune has raised $13.1 million for Republicans in the same period, according to a source familiar with his fundraising operation.
Why it matters: Sen. Mitch McConnell has long been a formidable fundraiser as Senate GOP leader.
- Proving they can rake in the cash is critical for both Johns vying to replace McConnell.
By the numbers: Cornyn pulled in $5.6 million in just the first three months of the year for Republican candidates, a source tells Axios. He uniquely helps fellow Republicans raise money directly to their campaigns.
- Thune is the No. 2 fundraiser for the National Republican Senatorial Committee โ behind Chair Steve Daines (R-Mont.), a source tells us.
- Thune has also participated in more than 200 events with other candidates or the NRSC to Cornyn's 45.
Between the lines: The totals include funds raised through joint fundraising committees and to the NRSC, as well as directly for Republican senators and candidates.
Read more here.
3. Where Dems are embracing Trump's narrative


Surprising percentages of Democrats are expressing support for some of Trump's immigration plans, a major problem for President Biden, Stef reports.
The big picture: 53% of Democrats said there is a real crisis at the border, rather than it being a politically-driven media narrative, according to a new Axios Vibes survey by The Harris Poll.
- 59% said "illegal" immigration was a problem.
- 30% would at least somewhat support "ending automatic citizenship for children born in the U.S."
- 42% would support mass deportations of undocumented immigrants, another Trump plan.
Between the lines: Of Democrats who said illegal immigration was a problem, 40% said they think so because it "undermines the rule of law" and is unfair to people who arrive legally.
- A quarter cited migrants bringing drugs and committing crimes โ a narrative repeatedly pushed by Republicans, despite little to no evidence.
The bottom line: The survey results point to a chasm between how people view immigrants who cross the border illegally versus those who use legal pathways.
- Go deeper: See the methodology ... America warms to mass deportations
4. Zelensky's invitations to Ukraine
Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said today he has invited House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to travel to Ukraine after the New York Democrat played a key role in the foreign aid fight, Axios' Andrew Solender reports.
- The invitation comes several days after Zelensky said he invited Speaker Mike Johnson to visit.
This newsletter was edited by Arthur MacMillan
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