The Meadows Texts Jump From Politics To Pop Culture

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

Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler

Indulge me at least one more day of poring through our coverage of the Meadows Texts, which have crossed the barrier between politics and pop culture. Late night talk show treatment? Here we go.

The Latest Installments

What we published on Day 2 of the series:

• Rep. Rick Allen Shared ‘Wild’ Romanian YouTube Conspiracy Theories As He Challenged The 2020 Election
• Inside Team Trump’s Chaotic Attempts To Overturn The 2020 Vote In Georgia
• Texts Reveal Four Trump Allies Mixed Requests For Pardons With Big Lie Boosterism

Fallout From The Meadows Texts

We started to feel some of the impact of the Meadows Text series:

The White House condemned Rep. Ralph Norman’s call for “Marshall Law” first revealed by TPM:

“Plotting against the rule of law and to subvert the will of the people is a disgusting affront to our deepest principles as a country,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Andrew Bates told TPM. “We all, regardless of party, need to stand up for mainstream values and the Constitution, against dangerous, ultra MAGA conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric.”

Responding to the Meadows Texts, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) told The State newspaper that he called for “Marshall Law” out of “frustration” and took the opportunity to spell “martial law” correctly:

“Obviously, Martial Law was never warranted,” Norman said. “That text message came from a source of frustration, on the heels of countless unanswered questions about the integrity of the 2020 election, without any way to slow down and examine those issues prior to the inauguration of the newly elected president.”

CNN, which first documented some of the Meadows’ texts earlier this year, reports that the Justice Department has fought in secret court proceedings to obtain the text messages from Rep. Scott Perry’s phone, which was seized by the FBI. As TPM reported this week in the Meadows Texts series, Perry was deeply involved in the scheme to overturn the 2020 election.

The Justice Department has tried to gain access to Republican Rep. Scott Perry’s text messages as part of a criminal investigation into 2020 election interference, facing off with his lawyers in a secret court proceeding after seizing his phone, CNN observed at the courthouse and sources familiar with the investigation said.

All Politics Is Local

Local outlets picked up on the involvement of area members of Congress:

• Alabama: “Mo Brooks reportedly described as ‘ringleader’ of effort to overturn election in Mark Meadows texts”
• North Carolina: “In the latest disclosure, the website Talking Points Memo obtained some 450 texts between Meadows and Republican members of Congress — including Reps. Ted Budd and Greg Murphy of North Carolina — and published many on Monday.”
• South Carolina: “SC’s Ralph Norman faces calls to resign over martial law text message to Mark Meadows”
• Tennessee: “Rep. Mark Green Messaged Mark Meadows About Efforts to Overturn 2020 Election”
• Pennsylvania: “Report: Meadows’ Texts Show Perry, Keller, Kelly Efforts To Reverse Trump 2020 Defeat”

TPM On TV

It was a full day of TV hits by your favorite TPMers on the Meadows Texts.

Hunter Walker led off Morning Joe:

Josh Kovensky on Deadline: White House with Nicole Wallace:

Hunter Walker on Joy Reid’s The ReidOut:

Josh Marshall on All In With Chris Hayes:

Josh Kovensky on Alex Wagner Tonight:

Other Coverage Of The Meadows Texts

Hunter Walker joined Molly Jong-Fast On her podcast Fast Politics.

Ari Melber’s The Beat did a segment with NYU law professor Melissa Murray and journalist Emily Bazelon:

The Bulwark editor Jonathan V. Last had a concise reaction: “holy motherforking shirtballs.”

The Atlantic weighed in … twice.

So did Esquire’s Charlie Pierce: So THAT’s Why Mark Meadows Fought Congress’ Subpoena

Wonkette: If You Have 1,000 Extra Hours, TPM Is Publishing All Mark Meadows’s Dirty Naughty Coup-Plotting Sexts

Oh boy. Howard Kurtz gives the TPM series the Fox News gloss.

We Busted Through The Politics-Pop Culture Barrier

Jimmy Kimmel included the Meadows Texts in his opening monologue: “Thank God this coup wasn’t planned by people who could solve the Wordle. We’d all be in a lot of trouble right now.”

So did Stephen Colbert: “These members of Congress communicating with Meadows were — and it’s not my place to editorialize — stupid, evil traitors who were trying to do crimes against democracy, for which they should be punished with decades of jail time.”

Climate Change In The Arctic

The Washington Post has a good summary of the federal government’s 2022 Arctic Report Card, which finds that the past seven years in the Arctic have been the hottest seven years since 1900:

• Fires and heat waves lengthen summer conditions
• Rain is replacing snow
• Low sea ice is affecting human activity

Hawaii Volcanoes Cease Eruptions

After a spectacular few weeks of dueling eruptions between Mauna Loa and Kilauea, the USGS announced Tuesday that eruptive activity at both volcanoes had stopped.

‘Plants Are Adequate If Not Thriving’

Room Rater strikes!

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