Welcome to the RedState Weekly Briefing  — where we take a quick look at the week’s most viewed stories in case you missed any of them. Grab a cup of coffee and sit down with this 21st Century Weekend Edition of your favorite (online) publication!

#1 – Harriet Hageman Accused of Lying About Liz Cheney Concession, Then She Released the Voicemail — by Bonchie

The story here is that Hageman said she received a “two-second” voicemail from Cheney that didn’t mention a concession. In a petty fit of rage, the Cheney camp ran to give a recording to Politico purporting to be the voicemail which included a concession. That led Stephen Hayes, who was just salivating to have his priors confirmed, to launch into a rant about how Hageman is a liar who is just out seeking “MAGApplause.”

Of course, that was a completely unfair characterization of Hageman, who spent her campaign focusing on the issues people care about in Wyoming while Cheney played for the cameras in Washington. Hayes didn’t care about that context, though, instead seeking to paint her as some mindless Trump-loving zombie.

#2 – Trump Accused of Lying Over FBI-Seized Passports, Then He Dropped the Receipts — by Bonchie

So let me get this straight. The FBI did indeed seize Trump’s passports, which seems incredibly improper given what was legally allowed to be taken by the warrant, and that’s somehow his fault? A passport is not something you just accidentally grab, thinking it’s a presidential record. It’s the kind of thing that an agent purposely took and knew exactly what they were taking. Yet, the big gotcha here is that Trump was wrong about the expiration date on one of the passports. It’s absurd.

The big story here is that the FBI took the passports in the first place. It is not that Trump shared an email that ended up embarrassing the bureau’s leadership, who were apparently content to keep lying about the matter via leaks until the former president exposed them. Now, the mainstream media wants to pretend like the seizure was just an honest mistake that shouldn’t be held against the FBI. Yeah, that’s not how any of this works.

#3 – Report: Surprising Private Message Trump Sent to Merrick Garland After Mar-a-Lago Raid Revealed — by Mike Miller

Why did the FBI raid Mar-a-Lago just two months after Trump secretly received a grand jury subpoena for classified documents belonging to the National Archives, and then voluntarily cooperated by turning over the asked-for documents? He also surrendered security surveillance footage of his private storage locker and aided federal agents and a senior Justice Department lawyer in searching the locker, according to multiple people present, some of whom said Trump cooperated extensively.

What changed over the course of two months?

If Trump willingly and extensively cooperated, and the DOJ later decided to seek additional information, including, perhaps, documents Trump failed to provide the first time, why not issue a second subpoena rather than conduct a full-blown raid? These are legitimate questions, while a bit rhetorical, as well, given the past unacceptable tactics of former FBI head James Comey against Trump.

#4 – New Georgia Poll Is Bad News for Stacey Abrams, Worse for Raphael Warnock — by Joe Cunningham 

The Democrats have a ceiling in Georgia that is just exacerbated by the current political climate. That 43 percent or so that Warnock and Abrams are picking up is probably the true Democratic voter segment. The true Republican voter segment is likewise in the mid to high 40s. Warnock cannot distance himself from Biden enough and show that he’s for Georgia voters enough to pick up more independents right now. Walker, however, can benefit from the deteriorating position of the Democrats across the country, especially in a southern state like Georgia, and can pick up more independent voters without having to do a lot more than he’s doing right now.

Warnock won on a very strange fluke in a very strange year. He can’t recreate those circumstances. He can win some independents back (there is still plenty of time for him to do so), but the national Democratic scene and the economy don’t offer him any assistance.

#5 – Liz Cheney Just Got the Endorsement She Needs (Try Not to Laugh Too Hard) — by Nick Arama

But she does have some Democrats coming out trying to cover her action. She just got an endorsement that’s sure to put her over the top now — disgraced former Democratic senator Al Franken.

I’ve decided to endorse @RepLizCheney for the Republican nomination for the House seat In Wyoming it’s my first time endorsing in a GOP primary. But I think Al Franken’s support will carry a lot of weight with WY Republicans.

— Al Franken (@alfranken) August 13, 2022

I’ll leave the door open to the possibility that this is an attempt at comedy since that’s what Franken is allegedly doing now, since the groping scandal and leaving the Senate. An endorsement from Franken not going to help Cheney. If it had any effect at all, it would make any remaining person on the fence in Wyoming race over to Hageman. But it’s like adding one more thing on the list of why not to vote for Cheney.