Another Alleged Attempt At An Election System Breach Tied To Lindell’s Cyber Clown Show

Note: We won’t have a Morning Memo tomorrow or on Friday.

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.

Curious Coincidences

John Hamercheck, the GOP president of the Lake County Board of Commissioners in Ohio, on Tuesday denied knowing anything about an attempt to breach the local election board’s computer system in May.

• A private laptop that was plugged into the county network inside Hamercheck’s office captured network traffic — not election data, according to investigators. But the traffic, TPM reported in September, was presented at MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell’s “Cyber Symposium,” the goofy event that claimed to show evidence of election fraud in the 2020 race (it did not).
  • Investigators have determined that the breach did not lead to sensitive data getting leaked.
• Hamercheck had been privately discussing election fraud conspiracy theories with one of Lindell’s cronies prior to the attempted breach, according to the Washington Post.
• This all sounds mighty familiar, doesn’t it?

Theater Kid Goes Extreme

A Broadway actor who’s starring in the traveling tour of the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” was arrested yesterday for allegedly joining a dozen members of the far-right militia known as the Oath Keepers as they broke into the Capitol on Jan. 6., the Justice Department announced.

• James Beeks, who plays Judas in the show and is billed as James T. Justis on the tour’s website, was arrested in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where the show was slated to perform that day.
• The feds “observed” Beeks by watching some of his performances in San Francisco and Los Angeles, according to the FBI’s complaint.
• Beeks is also a Michael Jackson impersonator, and he allegedly wore a Michael Jackson “BAD” world tour jacket on the day of the insurrection, the complaint says.
  • The complaint helpfully includes photos of the replica of the jacket.
• Beeks has also performed in the Broadway musicals “Kinky Boots,” “Aida,” “Ragtime” and “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” according to his biography.

County GOP Chair Pleads Guilty To Making Threatening And Bizarre Phone Call

Matthew Smith, the chair of the Genesee County Republican Party in Michigan, pleaded guilty on Monday to making a malicious phone call to a county clerk last year.

• The clerk alleged that Smith called her at 1:00 a.m. and, pretending to be a TV production worker, asked to film her at home. When she said no, Smith allegedly claimed he worked on the show “Hoarders” and said that her home and office were messy.
• Smith also allegedly threatened to poison and kill her dogs, the clerk said.
• The clerk’s GOP political opponent admitted to law enforcement that he had listened in on the call but denied that Smith had threatened to kill the clerk’s dog.

Jan. 6 Trump Rally Organizers Used Burner Phones To Talk To POTUS’ Inner Circle

Kylie and Amy Kremer, the conservative activists who organized the pre-insurrection Trump rally on the White House Ellipse on Jan. 6, used burner phones to communicate with the then-president’s top goons, according to Hunter Walker in Rolling Stone.

• Said goons allegedly included then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, Trump’s son, Eric, Eric’s wife Lara, plus Katrina Pierson, a Trump campaign consultant.
• Those burner phones were crucial to planning the rally with Trumpland, a source told the Rolling Stone. Any conversation Kylie Kremer had with the White House or Trump’s family was allegedly through the burners.

Oklahoma GOP Leader Demands RNC Chair’s Resignation For Being Too Nice To The Gays

Oklahoma Republican Party chair John Bennett wrote a 1,100-word screed on Tuesday demanding that Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel resign for greenlighting a “RNC Pride Coalition” with Log Cabin Republicans, aka LGBTQ+ conservatives.

• The official Republican platform still rejects marriage equality, which Bennett pointed out in his letter.
• Bennett also complained about the Log Cabin’s call for a ban on conversion therapy for minors.

Must-Read

“Under Trump, ICE aggressively recruited sheriffs as partners to question and detain undocumented immigrants” – The Washington Post

“NASA Launches New Mission: Crash Into Asteroid, Defend Planet Earth” – The New York Times

NYC Poised To Allow 800k Non-Citizens To Vote In Local Races

Lawful permanent residents and green card holders in New York City will be allowed to vote in local elections under a new bill that is expected to be passed by the New York City Council on December 9.

• The bill also extends to non-citizens who’ve been authorized to work in the U.S., including Dreamers (aka undocumented immigrants who were brought to the country as children).
• About 808,000 New Yorkers will be affected by the measure.

Kinzinger Talks Potential Gubernatorial Bid

Trump critic Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) said during a podcast interview yesterday that he believes he’s the only candidate who could beat incumbent Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D).

• Kinzinger hinted at a gubernatorial or Senate bid in an interview with CNN earlier this month. The GOP lawmaker said he’d “probably” make a decision on whether or not to run for either by January.
  • He’d be up against Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) if he decided to go for the Senate in 2022.

• Kinzinger running for governor would be an uphill climb: First he’d have to win a GOP primary with a deeply pro-Trump base, then he’d have to defeat a Democrat in a blue state.

Is Boris Johnson Okay?

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s speech at the Confederation of British Industry conference on Monday was….something:

Today’s Cat Content

It’s finally starting to get cold here in New York, so it’s time to post this especially warm subway kitten:

Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!