7 Things: New Hampshire reshuffles Democratic field, Jones needs Alabama but targets New York and California, voter suppression charges without victims and more …

7. Jussie Smollett in big trouble

Former television star Jussie Smollett concocted a fake hate crime hoax that he thought would bring him fame and make the supporters of President Donald Trump look bad. That hoax could cost Smollett his freedom after a special prosecutor has announced charges against him.
Special prosecutor Dan Webb has indicted Smollett on six counts of disorderly conduct for lying to police about an incident where the “Empire” actor claimed he was beaten, doused in bleach, had a noose hung around his neck and was taunted him with claims that Chicago was “MAGA country.”

6. Alabama Democratic Conference backing Michael Bloomberg

After former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg visited Alabama, the Alabama Democratic Party announced that they’d be endorsing Bloomberg in the 2020 Democratic presidential primary.
ADC chairman Joe L. Reed said Bloomberg “has shown a keen interest in the ADC. He has visited the state twice in the last two months.” The ADC referenced Bloomberg’s business success and experience as mayor in their reasoning for endorsing him.

5. Attorney General Barr acting like Eric Holder and Loretta Lynch is apparently not OK

The American media has been warning you for years that President Donald Trump’s presidency would be the “end of America,” and now they really mean it because the president is not happy about the sentencing suggestions for Trump confidant Roger Stone.
Barr has now taken control of multiple investigations at the Department of Justice, leading to multiple prosecutors resigning from the case. The American media is outraged, and Democrats are demanding investigations. so things are moving on exactly as they have for years.

4. Grocery tax continues to be an issue

State Senator Andrew Jones (R-Centre) has filed a bill to eliminate the grocery tax, which he said was “a regressive tax which penalizes hardworking families in Alabama.”
Jones also noted that “38 states and the District of Columbia have full or partial sales tax exemptions for groceries.” He also said if there’s a cap placed on the federal income tax deduction that people can file for, it would be the equivalent to what the grocery tax currently generates.

3. Alabama doesn’t have an issue with voter suppression

The Southern Poverty Law Center released a report that accused Alabama of suppressing minorities’ ability to vote, but Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said that the report was just a way “to help them raise financial resources to promote their liberal agenda.” Merrill mentioned how voter registration and participation records have been broken in Alabama.
According to the SPLC, the ways that Alabama suppressed votes was through requiring photo ID to vote, “maintaining a burdensome and discriminatory restoration scheme for those with felony convictions, closing polling places in predominantly Black counties, and purging hundreds of thousands of voters from the voter rolls.”

2. Doug Jones running ads in states not called Alabama

After the impeachment vote, U.S. Senator Doug Jones (D-AL) tried to use the way he voted to raise money for his reelection campaign through Facebook ads targeted mostly at people outside of Alabama.
In total, Jones spent $59,902 on 166 Facebook ads. Only 18% of the ads were targeted at Alabamians, while 21% of the ads were displayed to those in New York and California; the rest was spent in various states.

1. Bernie wins, Buttigieg second, Klobuchar surprises, Warren and Biden fall

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) won the first primary, eeking out a victory over former Mayor Pete Buttigieg. U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) surprised onlookers by finishing third, which deals significant blows to the presidential campaigns of once frontrunners former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-MA).
As these races continue, the field of legitimate contenders appears to be growing with Klobuchar and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg making noise and problems while showing that there are two likely outcomes ahead: a bloody fight that could end in a brokered convention, or a Bernie Sanders/Donald Trump battle.