Big-Brained Newsmax Host Claims KBJ Is SCOTUS Leaker Somehow

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

Megamind Theory

Newsmax host Grant Stinchfield, making a fascinating attempt to Frankenstein two sources of manufactured conservative outrage into one, on Wednesday accused future Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who is not on the Supreme Court yet, of leaking Justice Samuel Alito’s draft opinion on dismantling Roe v. Wade. In fact, Jackson is Stinchfield’s “first suspect”!

• Stinchfield suggested that Jackson – did I mention she is not on the Supreme Court yet? – had her law clerks steal a copy of the draft so she could leak it because she’s a “radical left-wing activist.”
• Only four groups of people would’ve had access to the apparently physical copy Politico obtained, as reported by TPM’s Josh Kovensky: Justices’ clerks and assistants, plus Supreme Court aides, and of course, the justices themselves.

Uh Oh, The Tapes Are Still A-Comin’

New York Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns on Wednesday released more recorded audio of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) frantic private calls to fellow House GOP leaders explicitly acknowledging that Trump was responsible for the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

• McCarthy fretted during a Jan. 8 call that the process of potentially getting rid of Trump via the 25th Amendment “takes too long,” according to the new tape.
• McCarthy also floated reaching out to President-elect Joe Biden to ensure a smooth transition of power, the audio reveals.

Alito Cancels First Public Appearance Since Roe Opinion Leak

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito has ditched plans to attend the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals’ judicial conference that begins today after a copy of his draft opinion striking down Roe v. Wade got leaked to Politico earlier this week.

• The Supreme Court’s spokesperson didn’t explain to Reuters why Alito wasn’t going to the conference.
• Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and John Roberts are scheduled to speak at the judicial conference for the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals this week.

Meet Your 2022 GOP House Candidates

GOP nominee J.R. Majewski, who is seeking to unseat Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) in November, doesn’t just advance Trump’s Big Lie about the 2020 election: He was also in D.C. on Jan. 6 for the pro-Trump protests that preceded the Capitol attack (though he denies being involved in the violence), claims that the violence that unfolded that day was “driven” by the FBI and was “a stage show,” and has sympathized and rubbed shoulders with QAnon believers.

Don Jr. Testifies Before Jan. 6 Panel

The ex-president’s eldest son, Don Trump Jr., had an interview with the House Jan. 6 Committee on Tuesday for several hours, according to multiple outlets. He had agreed to do it without a subpoena.

After Roe, Anything Goes

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) told a right-wing radio host on Wednesday that he may “resurrect” a decades-old Supreme Court challenge that ended with the high court ruling in the 1982 case Plyler v. Doe that undocumented immigrants must be allowed to have a public education regardless of their citizenship status.

• Abbott said it was time to bring back the challenge because “the times are different than when Plyler v. Doe was issued many decades ago.” Not really subtle about the fact that the GOP governor feels emboldened to “resurrect” anything now that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority has been shown to be perfectly willing to throw precedents like Roe v. Wade into the wood chipper.

Must Read

“‘I Can’t Have This Baby’: A Lone Abortion Clinic on the Border” – The New York Times

Secretary Of State Blinken Tests Positive For COVID

The State Department announced Wednesday that Secretary of State Antony Blinken had tested positive for COVID-19 earlier that day and was experiencing mild symptoms. He hasn’t seen President Biden in person for several days, according to the department.

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