There seems to be some confusion on TPM Reader JO’s part about Prime AF. You don’t have to convince anyone that Prime AF stands for Prime As F*ck. That’s actually always what it stood for. Seriously, the double meaning in the usage was chosen intentionally for that from the start.

Supreme Court Justices with some frequency recuse themselves from cases to which they have relatively limited connection. How is it that Justice Thomas can possibly review any case tied to January 6th or the larger conspiracy surrounding it when his wife was party to that conspiracy?

It’s as if four particularly loud-mouthed Republicans knew the extent to which they were being watched.

Thank you to everyone who has joined as a member this week. But we really need to close the second week of our drive strong. So, please, if you’re considering becoming a member, make it today. Just click here. I put stuff like this off too. But it will be a great assist to us if you could take a moment, literally right now, and sign up. It will just take you two or three minutes. And your membership will play a big role in making what we do possible. It’s a big, big deal. Your memberships are what fund this operation.

Last night TPM Reader ES sent me this Newsweek article on the Ukraine War that he was puzzling about. I read it and found it quite interesting. Let me premise this by anticipating some responses. Yes, Newsweek is trash. By any fair standard the Newsweek most of us grew up with doesn’t exist anymore. The magazine or rather the title is now owned and operated by yet another rightwing cult – the kind that always seems interested in buying publications. So yes, Newsweek is trash. But I decided to read it because I noticed the byline: William Arkin. Arkin is not trash. He’s a longtime national security reporter with a good, if perhaps idiosyncratic, reputation. I note all this simply to say that you shouldn’t dismiss it because of Newsweek’s current and deserved reputation.

How TPM Reader JO finds his joy:

Dahlia Lithwick puzzles over Judiciary Committee Democrats’ “chilling unwillingness to go to the mat” for Ketanji Brown Jackson:

I wanted to make sure you saw Cory Booker bringing Ketanji Brown Jackson to tears yesterday:

All signs continue to point to SCOTUS issuing a ruling this summer that could dismantle Roe, tossing the decision of whether or not individuals can obtain abortions into the salivating hands of Republican state elected officials.

I will note again that we should treat all these reports of troop movements and battles as tentative. Our ability to see what is happening is blurry at best. But I wanted to update you on my post below about Ukrainian counter offensives. At a Pentagon briefing today, reporters heard that Russian forces to the northwest of Kyiv have started building defensive positions. So they don’t seem to be going anywhere. However, to the east, where Russian forces were within 15 to 20 kilometers of the city center are now 55 kilometers away after a counter-offensive by Ukrainian Army forces.