A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Neigh
An upcoming book by New York Times reporter David Enrich includes an amazing story of Trump trying to stiff a lawyer (to whom he owed $2 million) by offering to give him a deed to a stallion that was supposedly worth $5 million instead.
However, the lawyer apparently refused to accept live animals as payment, telling Trump that “this isn’t the 1800s” and “you can’t pay me with a horse.”
Judge Approves Trump’s Special Master Request
Federal District Judge Aileen Cannon, who was appointed by Trump, ordered on Monday that a third-party special master be appointed to sift through the materials the FBI seized from Mar-a-Lago.
- A DOJ spokesperson didn’t say what prosecutors’ next move will be, only that the DOJ would be “examining the opinion and will consider appropriate next steps.”
- Legal experts tore into Cannon’s order, including one lawyer who said the judge “basically did Trump’s lawyers’ work for them.”
The States With Abortion On Ballot
Voters in California, Kentucky, Montana and Vermont will vote on state constitutional amendments or legislative referendums on abortion access this November.
- California: A vote on amending the state’s constitution to confirm that the state “shall not deny or interfere with an individual’s reproductive freedom in their most intimate decisions, which includes their fundamental right to choose to have an abortion and their fundamental right to choose or refuse contraceptives.”
- Kentucky: A vote on amending the state’s constitution to say explicitly that Kentuckians don’t have a constitutional right to abortion care.
- The proposed language: “To protect human life, nothing in this Constitution shall be construed to secure or protect a right to abortion or require the funding of abortion.”
- Montana: A legislative referendum on the “Born-Alive Infant Protection Act,” an anti-abortion law that defines a fetus that was born alive after an attempted abortion as a legally protected person (abortion is still legal in Montana for now).
- Vermont: A vote on amending the state’s constitution to codify the right to an abortion.
- The proposed language: “That an individual’s right to personal reproductive autonomy is central to the liberty and dignity to determine one’s own life course and shall not be denied or infringed unless justified by a compelling State interest achieved by the least restrictive means.”
US Ambassador To Russia Retires
John Sullivan, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, left his post on Sunday due to his wife’s illness, according to Politico. She died of cancer on Monday.
Russia Buying Weapons From North Korea, US Intel Reports
The Kremlin is buying millions of rockets and artillery shells from North Korea to aid its brutal attack against Ukraine, according to U.S. intelligence officials.
Liz Truss To Replace Boris Johnson As UK Prime Minister
British foreign secretary Liz Truss won the Conservative Party’s leadership election to replace scandal-plagued Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday. Johnson’s parting gift to her: economic disaster. Welcome aboard, Liz!
Must Read
“Police supervisor chatted up Patriot Front poser who recorded it all” – The Washington Post
Politico’s New Owner Wanted To Hold Group Prayer For Trump To Win In 2020
The Washington Post reports that Mathias Döpfner, the German billionaire who bought Politico last year, sent an email to his closest executives weeks before the 2020 election asking if they wanted to gather on Election Day to “pray that Donald Trump will again become President of the United States of America.”
- “No American administration in the last 50 years has done more,” Döpfner wrote.
- Döpfner publicly claims he’s all ’bout that nonpartisan media life: “We want to prove that being nonpartisan is actually the more successful positioning,” he told the Post.
A Finnish Earthquake
My trip to Finland took place during the height of a massive political scandal that was shaking the nation to its core: Leaked videos revealed that Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin had danced at a party, and the tabloids were having an absolute field day:
It was just surreal to be in an political environment in which a leader was under fire for dancing while the ex-leader of the country I just had left stole classified government documents and hoarded them at his tacky Florida resort.
Dam!
“It Was War. Then, a Rancher’s Truce With Some Pesky Beavers Paid Off.” – The New York Times
A Cat With Precisely Two (2) Brain Cells
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Was going to post a picture of a horse, but decided neigh.
Politico’s New Owner Wanted To Hold Group Prayer For Trump To Win In 2020
OK, completely done with them.
Willlllbbbbuuuurrrrr don’t touch me!!!
The special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) that agreed to merge with Donald Trump’s post-Twitter social-media company has been unable to secure a one-year extension needed to complete the deal, according to a report. Citing unnamed parties familiar with the embattled merger, Reuters says Digital World Acquisition Corp. failed to secure enough shareholder support to approve the extension. A reported $1.3 billion cash injection for Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) is said to be a sticking point for the deal, which was agreed last October. Digital World had also hoped that the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is reviewing disclosures relating to the merger, would have given approval for the transaction to go ahead by now. The SPAC needs 65 percent of shareholders to approve the extension, with the results of the vote to be unveiled at a special meeting of shareholders on Tuesday.