A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Get It Together
House Jan. 6 Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told reporters on Monday that the committee won’t be making criminal referrals against Trump or his other cronies to the Justice Department because “that’s not our job”–but that was apparently news to the other committee members.
- The panel “has not issued a conclusion regarding potential criminal referrals,” vice chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) tweeted on Monday night.
- Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told CNN that he and his fellow panel members “haven’t had a discussion about that” and that he thought the committee was waiting until after the investigation was over to make a final decision.
- Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA) tweeted that it is, in fact, the committee’s “responsibility” to report any criminal activity it finds in the investigation, and that it has yet to vote on the issue.
- A committee spokesperson walked back Thompson’s comment later Monday, saying that the panel will, “if warranted,” make criminal referrals.
Garland Promises He’s Watching The Jan. 6 Hearings
Attorney General Merrick Garland said on Monday that he’s been attuned to the House Jan. 6 Committee’s hearings and “I can assure you the Jan. 6 prosecutors are watching all of the hearings, as well.” Whether that actually means anything in the way of, like, prosecuting something is another story.
Catching Up On Yesterday’s Hearing
No worries if you couldn’t watch the House Jan. 6 Committee’s second hearing yesterday morning (which actually did air on Fox News this time since it wasn’t during primetime and therefore not a disruption to Tucker Carlson’s propaganda campaign). Here’s how you can get up to speed:
- Check out our liveblog.
- Read TPM reporter Matt Shuman’s story on the committee’s focus on Trump ripping off donors by fundraising off his lies about the 2020 election via an “Election Integrity” fund that didn’t exist.
- Read TPM reporter Josh Kovensky’s story on the so-called “Team Normal” and “Team Crazy” factions of Trump’s orbit that were playing tug-o-war over the then-president’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results. Josh also wrote a Prime post laying out that no matter how hard ex-Attorney General Bill Barr tries to pretend otherwise, his fingerprints are still all over Trump’s efforts to undermine the election before he officially resigned.
Must Read
“How the Watergate scandal broke to the world: A visual timeline” – The Washington Post
Another Election Denier For Secretary Of State On Today’s Ballot
It’s Primary Day in Maine, Nevada, North Dakota, and South Carolina.
- And yes, there’s yet another Republican election conspiracy theorist running for secretary of state today: Jim Marchant in Nevada has said he wouldn’t have certified the 2020 election if he were secretary of state at the time.
Texas Cops Argue Releasing Uvalde Body Cam Footage Would Expose ‘Weakness’
The Texas Department of Public Safety is urging state Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) to withhold police body cam footage that recorded law enforcements’ failed response to the Uvalde elementary school shooting, according to Vice.
- The department argued in a letter to Paxton’s office that releasing the footage would supposedly enable criminals to “anticipate weakness in law enforcement procedures” and “alter their methods of operation in order to avoid detection and apprehension.”
- Except there’s at least one “weakness” in the Uvalde officers’ response to the shooting that’s already been well established at this point: The officers not doing anything to stop the gunman.
Herschel Walker Keeps Saying He Did Stuff He Didn’t Do
GOP Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker has claimed several times that he used to work in law enforcement: In 2017, he said he worked with the Cobb County Police Department, and in 2019 he claimed he was an FBI agent.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has found that neither of those things are true.
- So now we can add “fake cop” to the ever-growing list of things Walker’s claimed to have been and/or achieved, along with: fake high school valedictorian, fake University of Georgia graduate, fake owner of an upholstery manufacturer and fake owner of the largest minority-owned food company. On the other hand, Walker was a legit hypeman for a fake COVID-19 spray cure.
SEC Probe Into Trump’s Fake Twitter App Grows
The Securities and Exchange Commission has expanded its investigation into the merger between Trump’s TRUTH Social app and the app’s main financing vehicle, Digital World Acquisition Corp.
- In other TRUTH Social news, the former president’s off-brand Twitter is being used as a bullhorn for QAnon gospel.
Binders Full Of Trump Not Being Racist
Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany is proud to say that she kept a full record of the moments when her boss said racism was bad:
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I could almost imagine that the “walk back” was a planned strategy — Thompson the Dem says, no, we won’t be referring, and Liz the R says, hey, wait not so fast, we might be.
A spin-off of “good cop, bad cop” — where the GOPer makes the “threat”.
ETA: Frist!!one!! Two days running!
ETA #2: Kayleigh McInerny is a lying bimbo bitch. May her tongue turn black and fall out of her lying face.
This is really good
At a debate today, Lindsey Graham laughed off a warning from Bernie Sanders about the danger of “authoritarianism” brought on by Trump’s “Big Lie.”
I dunno, me, I wouldn’t have planned to do that. I think that’s something he should have checked on with everyone before he opened his mouth. That’s how the cool kids do it.
In other news (not really news) Trump has issued forth a 12-page collection of gobbledeygook in response to our favorite select committee’s flensing of him. It’s about what you’d expect. Blah blah blah distraction from the starving babies yadda yadda. He doesn’t really directly address how he’s full of shit in literally everything he ever says.
He’s working harder hating the committee than he ever did as president.