Cawthorn Spouts Pro-Russia Attack Lines Against Zelensky Yet Again

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

Regurgitating Russia’s Imperialist Narratives To Own The Libs

Far-right Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) refused over the weekend to walk back his attack on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as a “thug,” the Asheville Citizen-Times reported.

• Instead, Cawthorn once again accused Ukrainian government of being “corrupt” and spreading misinformation on the conflict. (He provided zero evidence of this. Meanwhile, Russia’s disinformation campaign on its attack on Ukraine has been well established).
• The Republican congressman also said he wasn’t ready to call Russian leader Vladimir Putin a war criminal as Russian forces bomb hospitals, schools and residential neighborhoods in Ukrainian cities.

KBJ Takes Questions

Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson faces her first day of questioning from the Senate Judiciary Committee today, and we’ll be liveblogging it all. Stay tuned!

• One of the things we learned from yesterday’s hearings: Republicans are still very mad about the Kavanaugh confirmation process (you know, the one that ended in them getting everything they wanted). Here are our other main takeaways.
• We did a liveblog yesterday, which you can read here.

Visuals Of Jackson’s Broad Experience

Turning Point founder and eminent right-wing grifter Charlie Kirk called SCOTUS nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson an “affirmative action pick” (and called Vice President Kamala Harris the same) yesterday.

• Yes, Kirk is a racist, water is wet, sky is blue etc. so the only reason I’m bringing this up is to direct y’all to the Washington Post’s infographic laying out Jackson’s sweeping educational and career experience compared to the current Supreme Court justices:

Greitens’ Ex-Wife Accuses Him Of Domestic Abuse

Sheena Greitens, the ex-wife of Senate Missouri candidate Eric Greitens, filed court documents on Monday that laid out in horrendous detail multiple instances of the candidate allegedly abusing her and their young children during and after the sex scandal that led to his resignation as Missouri governor in 2018.

• One instance included Eric Greitens allegedly cuffing their three-year-old son across the face. Greitens also allegedly threatened to commit suicide multiple times.
• The documents are part of a bitter custody battle in wake of the Greitens’ divorce in March 2020.
• The accusations against the Senate candidate emerged four months after another GOP Senate hopeful, Sean Parnell of Pennsylvania, ended his campaign over similar domestic abuse allegations from his estranged wife.

Secret Service Took Pence To Loading Dock On Jan. 6, Official Testifies

During a trial of one of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrectionists on Monday, Secret Service inspector Lanelle Hawa testified that the Secret Service took then-Vice President Mike Pence to a loading dock, a restricted area underneath the plaza on the Senate side of the Capitol, as the pro-Trump mob ransacked the building.

Must-Reads

“​​20 days in Mariupol: The team that documented city’s agony” – The Associated Press

“Nearly one-third of American workers make less than $15 an hour, study finds” – CNN

Oh God, Palin’s Hinting At Running For Don Young’s Seat

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin told Newsmax on Monday that she was considering a bid to succeed the late Rep. Don Young (R-AK), who died on Friday.

Palin said she would say yes “in a heartbeat” if she were “asked” to fill Young’s seat. (Alaska will hold a special election to pick a temporary replacement, so Palin wouldn’t be asked to do anything. Does she know that?)

Ohio GOP Guv Has Beef At Beef Expo

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) and his Republican primary challenger, Joe Blystone, nearly got into a scuffle at the Ohio Beef Expo in Columbus on Saturday after Blystone “debate me, coward”-ed the governor, who allegedly told the challenger he’d kick his ass.

Permanent Daylight Savings Bill Faces Cloudy Future

The bill to make daylight savings permanent that the Senate passed unexpectedly (and by accident for some senators) last week might be in trouble in the House: Both Democratic and Republican House lawmakers want to pump the brakes on the legislation and do more research before taking it up in their chamber.

Finland Has Detained 21 Yachts Potentially Belonging To Russian Oligarchs

Finnish customs officials have put a freeze on more than 20 luxury yachts docked or stored in Finland suspected to belong to Russian oligarchs, according to Helsingin Sanomat, Finland’s largest newspaper.

You can follow our “Yacht-Watch” here.

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