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[Video: Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention?]

I have a lawyer acquaintance who said it could be very difficult to defend even the most upstanding citizen when so many different bad things seem to have happened to his business.

"How many times can you say you didn't know the gun was loaded?"

Today, two leaders of the Republican Party — though each would probably not like being lumped in with the other — are warning of ugly incidents to come if they don't get their way. And trying to claim it won't be their fault.

— Donald Trump Warns of 'Riots' if Party Blocks Him at Convention — Maggie Haberman | The New York Times

"Donald J. Trump warned of 'riots' around the Republican National Convention should he fall slightly short of the 1,237 delegates he needs to clinch the nomination and the party moves to select another candidate. ..."

" ... The comments came days after Mr. Trump was the subject of widespread criticism for his violent words against protesters at his rallies. His event in Chicago on Friday night was canceled as his supporters and people protesting him scuffled inside a University of Illinois at Chicago arena. ..."

— White House notes Hatch called Supreme Court nominee a 'consensus' pick in 2010 — Thomas Burr | The Salt Lake Tribune

" ... Hatch's office, meanwhile, pushed back immediately, blasting out a Time magazine op-ed where Hatch says any Supreme Court nomination in the current polarized climate would "undermine the court's independence."

" 'There is simply no way that a new justice can be confirmed in the current election-year climate without his or her nomination becoming a political firestorm,' Hatch wrote. 'Any hearings or debates on the nomination will become little more than an opportunity for both sides to air grievances and to engage in a proxy war over the presidential campaign. Both parties will inevitably use the nomination to try to position their side favorably for November and to score political points against opponents.'..."

Anybody else think the guys complaining about riots and firestorms have some responsibility for starting them in the first place?

— 'Get him out!' Racial tensions explode at Donald Trump's rallies — Jose A. DelReal | The Washington Post

"Fayetteville, N.C. • Local police are escorting a young black protester out of a massive Donald Trump rally here when an older white man suddenly punches him in the face. The officers throw the young man - not his assailant - to the ground, pinning him down.

"At a campaign event in Louisville, Ky., a young black woman is holding on to her anti-Trump sign as she is violently shoved by several white men amid a sea of supporters. Around her, she hears people calling her a n——- and a c—-. Security seems unable to stop them.

"And in Orlando, two protesters - one black and the other Latino - tussle with the crowd after shouting at the candidate a few feet away from his lectern. The audience, thousands strong, breaks into chants as a man attempts to tackle them: 'USA! USA! USA!'

"Trump, the clear front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination, is known for his massive, raucous rallies - part campaign events, part media spectacles, part populist exaltations for his most loyal supporters. But for protesters, who arrive to voice their disapproval, the events increasingly are ending suddenly and violently. ..."

— North Carolina officials looking at Trump's rally behavior — The Associated Press | The Salt Lake Tribune

"Fayetteville, N.C. • Authorities in North Carolina say they are looking at Donald Trump's behavior as they continue their probe of a violent altercation at one of his rallies last week.

"The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office said in a Monday statement that it's investigators are continuing to look at the rally last Wednesday in Fayetteville, during which a man was hit in the face while being escorted out.

" 'We are continuing to look at the totality of these circumstances ... including the potential of whether there was conduct on the part of Mr. Trump or the Trump campaign which rose to the level of inciting a riot,' the statement said...."

— Breitbart reporter involved in Donald Trump incident resigns — The Associated Press | The Salt Lake Tribune

"New York • The Breitbart News reporter allegedly roughed up last week at a Donald Trump press conference has resigned from the conservative website, saying that she can't work for an organization that doesn't support her. ..."

— Obama Urges Rejection of Violence at Campaign Rallies — Michael D. Shear and Gardiner Harris | The New York Times

"WASHINGTON — President Obama said on Tuesday that the violent scenes playing out at rallies for Donald J. Trump threatened to tarnish 'the American brand,' and he called on politicians in both parties to reject them....

— Authoritarian hold music: How Donald Trump's rally playlist scores a toxic American moment — Chris Richards | The Washington Post

At least Hatch can't do anything to interfere with this:

— President Obama makes his Final 4 picks; Kansas as champs — The Associated Press | The Salt Lake Tribune