A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
C-O-N-T-E-M-P-T
I’ve mentioned before that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s move of continuing to make some filings in the Jan. 6 case even while it’s on hold is a little stunt-ish. But leave it to Donald Trump to out-stunt anyone.
The latest gambit from Trump asks U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan to hold Smith and his team in contempt of court, arguing that the filings are an “outrageous” end-run around Chutkan’s order staying the case. It should be noted here that Smith has been open in previous filings to the court about what he planned to do, and Chutkan didn’t attempt to head it off.
Most legal observers think this motion is going nowhere, but that’s probably not the point of this exercise. As Ryan Reilly noted, the Trump motion “appears intended to get ‘Jack Smith’ and ‘contempt’ in a bunch of headlines.” It worked:
Headline Fail Of The Week
The worst headline of the week belongs to … [drum roll] … the Associated Press:
One attack, two interpretations: Biden and Trump both make the Jan. 6 riot a political rallying cry
Congratulations!
The Pounding Was Brutal
One attack, two interpretations: Bush and Bin Laden both make the Sept. 11 attacks a political rallying cry.https://t.co/QtiOTBBxw0
— Eric Columbus (also on Bluesky and 🧵) (@EricColumbus) January 4, 2024
Keep An Eye On SCOTUS Today
The Supreme Court could decided as early as today whether to take up the Colorado Disqualification Clause case. A good rundown from Roger Parloff on what to look for.
What Will SCOTUS Do With The DQ Case?
- TPM’s Josh Kovensky on how the Supreme Court is constrained in the Colorado Disqualification Clause case.
- Aaron Blake runs through the high court’s options.
More Disqualification Clause Cases In the Pipeline
Free Speech For People, one of the groups spearheading the movement to use the Disqualification Clause to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot, has initiated proceedings in two new states:
Video Of Trump Co-Defendant’s Earlier Arrest
Before Trump co-defendant Harrison Floyd was indicted in the Georgia RICO case, he had already been arrested in Maryland for allegedly assaulting two FBI agents who tried to served a subpoena on him as part of Special Counsel Jack Smith investigation. Politico has obtained the body cam footage of that arrest:
The Emoluments That Keep On Giving
Democrats on the House Oversight Committee put out a new report showing that Donald Trump’s businesses received nearly $8 million from foreign governments while he was in office. If you enjoy irony, this is for you.
Merit Is Code For Power
The always-essential Tressie McMillan Cottom, on Claudine Gay and the debacle at Harvard:
Academicians and practitioners know that you cannot operationalize merit. But historians know that there is powerful evidence about merit in the archives of our nation’s elite institutions. Whenever politicians, activists and investors agree that there is a merit crisis at Harvard, it signals that a battle rages, not over rigor, but over power.
What The Most Right-Wing Appeals Court Hath Wrought
TPM’s Kate Riga: The 5th Circuit Will Not Have The Last Word On Abortion In Emergency Rooms
Florida May Be Next Abortion Battleground
Florida advocates are on the verge of securing enough signatures to get a proposed constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights on the 2024 general election ballot.
‘We Should Not Ignore It’
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) on a roll:
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
