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 | TUE, AUG 31, 2021 | | | Hello, After 20 years, the U.S. war in Afghanistan ended Monday, less than two weeks before the 9/11 anniversary. Top Republican donors are shunning Donald Trump, so far, as he fuels speculation that he will run again in 2024. And a lawyer defending 17 people charged in the Capitol riot has disappeared, prosecutors say. Here are some key developments we're tracking at CNBC.com: - Biden embraces the end in Afghanistan: In remarks Tuesday, President Biden issued another full-throated defense of America's withdrawal from its longest war. The president, in his first speech since the last U.S. troops left Kabul on Monday, said the withdrawal was the best choice for America. "It was time to be honest with the American people again," he said. "We no longer had a clear purpose in an open-ended mission in Afghanistan."
Biden has faced heavy criticism for how U.S. forces pulled out. The criticism intensified after a suicide bomber killed 13 U.S. service members and over 100 Afghans last week. Poll numbers show that Americans disapprove of how Biden handled the pullout even as they back the withdrawal itself. The president answered his critics by emphasizing that the evacuation was the biggest airlift in American history – U.S. forces helped evacuate about 124,000 people from Kabul in just over two weeks.
- Donors dump Trump, for now: Several of the biggest, most influential donors in the Republican Party are ignoring the former president, reports CNBC's Brian Schwartz. High rollers like previous Trump backers Stephen Ross and Larry Ellison have avoided giving Trump's political organization big bucks, opting instead to throw their money toward the GOP's midterm election efforts and campaigns for other possible 2024 presidential contenders, such as Sen. Tim Scott of South Carolina and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Even without these big financiers' help, though, Trump has raised tons of cash, mainly from small-dollar donors and loyalists such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, who has also pushed lies about the 2020 election being stolen. Big GOP donors have questions about where all that money is going – Trump PACs had $100 million on hand after the first half of this year. "Donors don't contribute out of the goodness of their heart," said one connected Republican strategist. "And right now they're being asked to donate to an organization that has no other purpose than pumping cash into someone who doesn't need it and isn't using it."
- Capitol riot lawyer goes missing: An attorney representing several defendants in cases stemming from the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol is nowhere to be found. Federal prosecutors said in a court filing that John Pierce, who has 17 cases related to the insurrection, has avoided court appearances. Pierce's excuse is that he has been hospitalized with Covid, although there is some doubt clouding that claim. Prosecutors also said the man who has substituted for Pierce, Ryan Marshall, isn't a licensed attorney and is facing separate felony cases against himself.
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