A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Stepping Back For A Moment …
Trump threatening to throw NATO allies to the Russian wolf and the MAGA-driven House refusing to consider Ukraine aid are part and parcel of the same pro-Putin politics that have animated Trump for almost a decade now. It leaves Europe on edge, Ukraine more isolated, and Russia emboldened.
For my money, the Republican Party’s abandonment of its traditional defense of liberty abroad (as flawed and disastrous as it sometimes was in practice) is the biggest tectonic shift in American politics since WWII. Am I overstating it? I can’t think of another comparable seismic movement in the past 80 years.
Senate Passes Ukraine Aid
After an all-night session, the Senate passed the foreign aid bill earlier this morning that includes additional support for Ukraine. But on the House side, under pressure from Trump, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has vowed not to let the Senate bill on the floor for a vote.
Quote Of The Day
Everyone should be scared as hell. Anybody who cares about American leadership, anyone who cares about protecting democracy, anybody who wants to take on authoritarians around the world should be scared to death by the fact that Donald Trump is telling us that if he was reelected president, he would throw our NATO allies to Putin.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD)
Trump Goes To SCOTUS On Immunity
Trump’s far-fetched claim that the president has immunity from criminal prosecution has reached the Supreme Court.
We’re in a pretty weedy, procedural phase of this process. If you’re into that, University of Texas law professor Steve Vladeck has a handy cheat sheet on the options the court had for how to handle this case (scroll down to “III. What Happens at the Supreme Court?”).
New From TPM!
We are rolling out a series of stories this week based on (1) a trove of documents from December 2020-January 2021 turned over to Michigan prosecutors by one-time Trump codefendant Kenneth Chesebro; and (2) an audio recording of an interview Chesebro did last year with those same prosecutors, who are investigating the fake electors scheme in the state. TPM’s Josh Kovensky obtained both source materials and is the lead reporter on the series.
The series launched yesterday with:
- An introductory piece: New Documents Reveal How Trump Lawyers Sought ‘Chaos’ to Force SCOTUS, or Whoever Else, to Anoint Trump.
- The first installment: Docs Obtained by TPM Show Trump Lawyers’ Plan To Make Jan. 6 Last For Days On End
More coming today and tomorrow.
Fani Willis Gonna Have Some Explaining To Do
Atlanta District Attorney Fani Willis failed in her effort yesterday to get the trial judge in the Georgia RICO case to cancel an evidentiary hearing scheduled for Thursday about her romantic relationship with Nathan Wade, one of the special counsels she hired.
In a preliminary hearing over various disputed subpoenas issued in advance of the Thursday showdown, the judge showed only passing interest in the romantic relationship itself but did find there to be enough of a factual question over whether Willis is financially benefitting from the prosecution to proceed with the evidentiary hearing.
“Because I think it’s possible that the facts alleged by the defendant could result in disqualification, I think an evidentiary hearing must occur to establish the record on those core allegations,” state court Judge Scott McAfee said in open court.
As for the relationship itself, McAfee said:
McAfee said the evidentiary hearing needs to establish “whether a relationship existed, whether that relationship was romantic or non-romantic in nature, when it formed and whether it continues.”
”And that’s only relevant because it’s in combination with the question of the existence and extent of any personal benefit conveyed as a result of their relationship,” he said.
Stay tuned.
Make Nepotism Great Again
Donald Trump is backing his daughter-in-law Lara Trump for co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. If Trump gets his way (and he will), she would serve alongside Michael Whatley, current chair of the North Carolina GOP, who would replace Ronna McDaniel as the RNC’s top official. In the expected RNC shakeup, Trump also wants longtime GOP operative Chris LaCivita to serve as the RNC’s COO, while retaining his role as co-campaign manager of the Trump campaign.
2024 Ephemera
- NY-03: It’s special election day to fill the seat vacated by the serial fabulist George Santos – and the district is under a Winter Storm Warning.
- CA-Sen: Ahead of the March 5 open primary, the California Senate candidates held their second TV debate last night.
- AZ-Sen: Despite everything, the National Republican Senatorial Committee is backing Kari Lake (R).
- Nikki Haley turns Trump’s attack on her husband into the centerpiece of her campaign.
RIP Bob Edwards
The longtime host of NPR’s Morning Edition has died at 76.
Funny?
Judge for yourself:
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As far as the cult’s putin love goes, when was the last time you heard a republican state that they love democracy?
Election today NY snowstorm in progress, Whatever you do GOP, Do not vote early
Also Yea Florida
Florida Insurance Companies Plan Over 50 Percent Rate Rises (msn.com)
T wo private home insurance companies operating in Florida are proposing to raise their rates by over 50 percent, a move that could bring even higher premiums for homeowners in the state, who are already paying for the most expensive coverage in the entire country.
The two insurers are Castle Key—a subsidiary of Allstate—and Amica Mutual Insurance, which are trying to increase their rates by 53 percent or 54 percent, as reported by local broadcaster Bay News 9. Newsweek contacted Amica’s and Allstate’s media teams for comment by email on Tuesday morning, outside normal business hours.
If approved by regulators, the hikes could be disastrous for Floridians, who are paying $4,218 a year on average in home insurance costs, according to Insurance.com. The national average is $2,777. Others, including CNN and Fox 13, have reported Florida’s home premiums to be even higher, for an average of $6,000 a year.
Rmoney ends up being one of the few to stand up to tfg. Maybe he can be forgiven for driving with a dog on the roof of his car.
In the secret lives of dog dept…this is neighborhood dog Chena. She’s a hitchhiking dog, who gets around town. Driving her home after a play date with our shi tzu…
New RNC Chair Can’t Raise Money But Cheats Like A Trumper | Crooks and Liars
How Whatley is supposed to improve that situation isn’t quite clear. A former Senate staffer and energy lobbyist, he might be expected to have some contacts in his old industry, but those guys have already laid out the money for Trump. It’s not a coincidence that Trump says when he becomes dictator “on Day One,” he will declare, “Drill, baby, drill.”
Whatley may not give the party a cash infusion, but he does offer one thing that Trump finds irresistible: full support of the Big Lie.
By Mark Sumner — February 13, 2024
Ronna McDaniel’s position as chair of the Republican National Committee has been on life support for some time. The Republican Party took in only $87.2 million in donations during 2023, compared with $176.6 million in 2022, ending the year with a scant $8 million in the bank. That’s barely enough to run one 30-second Super Bowl ad, much less power Donald Trump through his 2024 election. It certainly won’t cover his legal bills.
Trump’s heavy-handed hints finally drove McDaniel to call it quits at the end of the Republicans’ no good, very bad day on Tuesday. That leaves the party with the top seat sitting empty at a time when primaries are already underway and the general election is rapidly approaching. This is not the best time for a round of musical chairs in the party hierarchy.
Trump reportedly has a new pick in mind. His choice is Michael Whatley, the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and also head of “elections integrity” efforts at the RNC. Whatley has repeated many of the “Big Lie” top 10, including claiming that there was “massive fraud” around the county, even if Trump could produce no evidence.
And Whatley already has an election to inspect over possible issues of fraud: The election of Michael Whatley.
That Republicans are running way behind in 2023 could be related to how they canned their best fundraiser last year. Ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy raised more than $40 million for the RNC in the last election cycle. More than $20 million out of that anemic total for 2023 came from McCarthy. Now he’s not only been sidelined, he’s gone from the House.
The Associated Press reports that McCarthy spent years flying around the country, raising cash, and building political relationships. It wouldn’t be surprising to find that those brought into the fold by McCarthy were less excited about donating to a party that forced him into early retirement.
As Trump has made “MAGA” and “Republican” synonymous, he’s raked in massive donations. That doesn’t just include small-money donors, but industries like oil and gas that might have previously donated to the party rather than a single candidate. Trump and his PACs raised just under $200 million in the past year. That would be good … except that they spent $210 million.
In a year when more than $10 billion could be spent on campaigns, Republicans are off to a very slow start in gathering funds. Trump is hoovering up the cash, the party’s well is dry, and what other candidates are going to do is anyone’s guess.
How Whatley is supposed to improve that situation isn’t quite clear. A former Senate staffer and energy lobbyist, he might be expected to have some contacts in his old industry, but those guys have already laid out the money for Trump. It’s not a coincidence that Trump says when he becomes dictator “on Day One,” he will declare, “Drill, baby, drill.”
Whatley may not give the party a cash infusion, but he does offer one thing that Trump finds irresistible: full support of the Big Lie.
He repeated false claims that Republican observers in Michigan and Pennsylvania were shut out of polling stations. Whatley claimed there was widespread voter fraud in Detroit, Milwaukee, and Philadelphia. And he accused Democrats of going to court to overturn recounts—when all those recounts actually upheld Joe Biden’s victory. It was Trump who took the results to court.
Following Jan. 6, Whatley also made false claims that those arrested ”were not necessarily Republican voters” or Trump supporters.
Though Whatley complained about the possibility of the elections being settled in the courts in 2020, he had changed his mind a few months later, telling fellow Republicans that lawsuits (or at least threats of lawsuits) are the “key to fair elections.”
But it may have been something else that endeared Whatley to Trump. Because if you Google “Michael Whatley election fraud,” something more than his current role at the RNC pops up. That something is that Whatley himself cheated to win the top position in the North Carolina RNC.
Like many state parties, North Carolina Republicans elect their officers at a convention. To cast a vote at that convention, delegates have to be on the floor of the convention center when the vote is cast. But in 2023, Republicans built a mobile app allowing delegates to cast their votes electronically rather than dealing with paper ballots or a hand count. Whatley’s opponent for the state chairmanship says the use of the app “violated several rules blatantly.”
The three delegates suing Whatley claim that the app was built so that delegates not on the floor could still slip in a vote. And, taking Whatley’s advice, they launched a lawsuit last June saying that Whatley was not duly elected and shouldn’t be in the role.
All of this may make Whatley more valuable to Trump. McDaniel’s replacement may not know how to raise cash, but he knows how to cheat. In 2024, Trump may believe that’s more important.
Morning Puppy!