House Dems Finally Have Trump’s Tax Returns

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

A Pyrrhic Victory

Back in early 2019, after Democrats won the House and were poised to start holding Donald Trump accountable, I cautioned our staff that these things take time, so don’t be impatient and don’t rush to judge the pace of accountability.

At the time there was growing public pressure on House Ways and Means Chair Richard Neal (D-MA) to immediately obtain Trump’s tax returns from the IRS. A lot of people thought Neal was being too cautious and too slow. I was dubious. Give the guy a half a second to get his feet under him and sort out an order of priorities. Tax returns are one avenue for accountability … blah blah blah.

I was wrong.

Congressional Democrats across the board were slow, they weren’t ready on Day One for the legal and political warfare ahead, and it cost them and the country.

And so it is that almost four years later, with one month left before Dems lose control of the House, Richie Neal finally obtained Trump’s vaunted tax returns with too little time left to do much about them.

A New Investigative Angle on Jan. 6?

A federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., has subpoenaed raw video footage of Jan. 6 from filmmaker Alex Holder in what Playbook calls “a new avenue” in the Justice Department’s criminal investigations of the Jan. 6 attack. “The new subpoena … does not appear to be related to the DOJ’s criminal investigation of Trump himself,” Playbook reports.

Stanley Woodward Is Not A Household Name

Politico: Meet the legal nerd who MAGA bigwigs are turning to for help.

How Bad Is It Going To Be? Very Bad

Just a taste of the corrosive, toxic, retaliatory, and absurd approach to politics the House GOP will bring to the last two years of the Biden presidency:

How Bad Again?

Kevin McCarthy is the passive-aggressive flip-side to Jim Jordan’s undisguised aggression. McCarthy sent Jan. 6 committee chair Bennie Thompson a pissy, disrespectful letter yesterday demanding that he preserve all records from the panel’s work. It hits all the notes of a troll in the Fox News comments section.

Jan. 6 Committee Is Done With Witnesses

As the Jan. 6 committee winds down, it completed its last witness interviews Wednesday, according to panel char Bennie Thompson (D-MS). The final witness was Wisconsin House Speaker Robin Vos (R). Also interviewed this week: Kellyanne Conway and former Secret Service agent Tony Ornato.

It’s Gettin’ Good Down In Georgia

The chair of the Georgia GOP was so central to the 2020 fake electors scheme that he can’t share defense counsel with the other fake electors caught up in the investigation by Fulton County DA Fani Willis, a state judge ruled.

Keep An Eye On This One

Closing arguments begin today in the New York criminal trial of the Trump Org.

Here’s a good cheat sheet on a key issue jurors will have to resolve.

We’re Down To One Holdout In Arizona

The last Pennsylvania county holding out on certifying the 2022 elections has relented. I believe that leaves Cochise County, Arizona, as the only laggard in the country.

Irony of All Ironies

The game GOP-controlled Cochise County is playing in Arizona could cost Republicans a House seat.

Secretary of State Katie Hobbs is warning in filings made in her lawsuit against Cochise County that if it doesn’t certify the results by Dec. 8, the ballots from the county will not be included in the final count. That would be enough to flip the results of the House race in the AZ-06.

That would flip the results of the race for Arizona’s Sixth Congressional District, where Republican Juan Ciscomani holds a 5,232-vote lead over Democrat Kirsten Engel in unofficial results, as well as the race for state Superintendent of Public Instruction, where the Republican candidate has a narrow lead.

Greenberg To Be Sentenced Today

Rep. Matt Gaetz’s old running buddy Joel Greenberg is scheduled to be sentenced in his sex trafficking case today. Greenberg pleaded guilty and cooperated with investigators, who are trying to give him some credit for his cooperation when its comes to sentencing, but in a surprise development the sentencing judge expressed deep skepticism toward both sides in a hearing Wednesday. The judge seems to think Greenberg deserves a stiffer sentence than range prosecutors and the defendant came up with. “The parties are under agreement about something I don’t agree with,” the judge reportedly said.

House Wades Into Railroad Labor Dispute

The House intervened in the labor dispute between railroads and workers, trying to avert a nationwide rail strike during the holidays. The 290-137 vote to impose a new labor agreement comes at a steep price for workers. The bill’s future in the Senate is very uncertain.

On Point

Axios: The Republicanization of Elon Musk

Great Read

My PR Day of Yes: I accepted every publicist pitch I got for a full day. If only I knew what I’d done.

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