GOP Senator Admits His Party Cares More About Election Than Gun Control

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.

No Points For Honesty On This One

As a bipartisan group of senators hammer out legislation on modest gun control measures, which is slated to include “red flag” laws, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) told reporters straight-up on Tuesday that his party cares more about winning the midterms than addressing gun violence.

• “I think we’re more interested in the red wave than we are in red flags, quite honestly, as Republicans, and we have a pretty good opportunity to do that,” he said.

Trump White House Lawyer Warned Eastman To Get A Criminal Defense Lawyer

The House Jan. 6 Committee on Tuesday released a clip of ex-White House lawyer Eric Herschmann testifying that he told then-Trump legal adviser and coup architect John Eastman after Jan. 6, “I’m going to give you the best free legal advice you’re ever getting in your life: Get a great fucking criminal defense lawyer.”

Nevada Election Denier Wins Secretary Of State Nod

Big Lie proponent Jim Marchant, who’s said he wouldn’t have certified the 2020 election, won the GOP nomination for secretary of state in Nevada on Tuesday.

• We now have three states where the Republican nominee to be the top election official is an election denier. The other two are Audrey Trujillo of New Mexico and Kristina Karamo of Michigan.
• On the other hand, two election-denying secretary of state hopefuls have lost in GOP primaries: Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA) of Georgia and John Adams of Ohio.

Pro-Impeachment Rep. Rice Loses Primary

Rep. Tom Rice (R-SC) became the first of the 10 Republicans who voted to impeach Trump to lose his or her primary race on Tuesday. Four others aren’t running for reelection.

Herschel Walker Admits To Having Secret Son

Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker on Tuesday confirmed the Daily Beast’s report that revealed the ex-NFL star had fathered a son a decade ago whom he’s never publicly acknowledged and doesn’t play an active role in his life aside from sending Christmas and birthday gifts.

• Walker has loudly spoken out against deadbeat dads in the Black community, as the Daily Beast notes.

NY Court Kills Trump’s Last Hope To Dodge Testimony

The New York Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, rejected the ex-president’s last appeal to get out of testifying in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (D) civil investigation into the Trump Organization.

• Trump and his two eldest kids, Ivanka and Don Jr., will have to testify under oath beginning July 15, per their agreement with James’ office.

No Jan. 6 Public Hearing Today

The House Jan. 6 Committee has postponed the hearing that was scheduled to take place today. Committee member Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) signaled on Tuesday that the panel was biting off more than it could chew with the video exhibits, which are an “exhausting exercise for our very small video staff.”

• Today’s hearing was going to examine how Trump tried to exploit the Justice Department to both advance the Big Lie and to steal the election, with a special focus on the Jeffrey Clark scheme.
• The committee will hold its Thursday hearing as scheduled. That session will focus on how Trump and his goons tried to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence into hijacking the electoral vote count.

Cop Who Decorated Door With Nazi Symbol Resigns Via $1.5M Golden Parachute

Derek Kammerzell, an assistance police chief in Kent, Washington, is getting $1.5 million from the city for his resignation after he put up a Nazi insignia representing the rank of Obergruppenführer, a senior SS official, on his office door.

• The city claimed it couldn’t fire Kammerzell due to “double jeopardy principles.” The officer had already been “disciplined” over the incident last year with a two-week suspension, but the case was reopened in response to backlash over Kammerzell’s slap on the wrist. 
• Kammerzell, who also allegedly told jokes about his grandfather being a Nazi, told investigators that he wasn’t pro-Nazi and that “Obergruppenführer” was his nickname inspired by his German background. He claimed that he just found the insignia when he Googled Obergruppenführer, and decided to print it out without understanding the Nazi connection (it’s literally impossible to Google that word without “Nazi” or “Third Reich” appearing in the results).

Trump Autographed Gaetz’s Denial Of Being Involved In Child Sex Trafficking

TIME Magazine reporter Molly Ball noted in her profile of Trump footsoldiers Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Matt Gaetz (R-FL) that Gaetz keeps a special note from Trump in a glass display case in his office. The note says “Matt, This is Great – Keep fighting – You will WIN!” and it’s written on a Washington Examiner article about the congressman defending himself against a federal child sex trafficking investigation.

Something special to pass down to the grandkids!

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