Wray’s Resignation Clears The Way For Trump To Corrupt The FBI

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.

He Took The Easy Wray Out

It’d be a little precious for me to sit here at my keyboard and proclaim that FBI Director Chris Wray should have made Donald Trump go through the process of actually firing him and pay the political price for doing so rather than deciding to resign in advance and avoid the blood bath.

It’s impossible to guarantee that if Wray had forced the issue it would have raised national awareness of Trump’s corruption, cost Trump politically, put Republican senators in more of an awkward bind over Kash Patel’s nomination for FBI director, and generally made the MAGA GOP pay down political capital on this fight that it then wouldn’t have available to use elsewhere.

But it’s guaranteed now that none of those things will happen.

In the Washington of old, there was a reasonable argument that if a presidential appointee had lost the president’s confidence, they should resign. But this isn’t the old days. Trump and the man he wants to replace Wray have loudly and proudly proclaimed their intentions to corrupt the FBI. Removing Wray before the end of his 10-year term is the first step in executing that corrupt plan.

The essential corruption here is two-fold: (i) using the powers of the state through DOJ and FBI to target people who are a threat to Trump, without regard to the law; and (ii) protecting Trump and his minions from investigation and prosecution for actual violations of the law.

I don’t want to lose focus on what this is all about, but like you I am eager to see some real-world examples of people who are in positions to do so standing up to the Trump II corruption even when it comes at a high personal price. Not for the theater of it, not to satisfy some vague sense of hitting back, not because it will by itself work some miracle. But rather because we need some real-world models for how to conduct ourselves in this unprecedented new period of history.

Inside The Effort To Save Pete Hegseth … For Now

The NYT goes deep on the Trump transition’s decision to keep Pete Hegseth’s nomination for defense secretary on life support:

The campaign to revive Mr. Hegseth’s nomination was led internally by Mr. Vance and orchestrated externally by a small group of Mr. Trump’s most aggressive allies.

The group included his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., and MAGA media figures who are seen as most effective at quickly whipping up the base, chief among them Stephen K. Bannon; the radio host Charlie Kirk; and the Breitbart reporter Matt Boyle. A key behind-the-scenes operator in the pressure campaign has been Arthur Schwartz, who has been serving as Mr. Hegseth’s media adviser and who is a close ally of Mr. Vance and Donald Trump Jr.

Kari Lake To Head Voice Of America?

Arizona election denier Kari Lake was as recently as two days ago under consideration for ambassador to Mexico. That would have been better than this: Trump now wants her to lead Voice of America.

But it’s a little more complicated than that. The president doesn’t directly make that pick. The president does pick the head of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees VOA. Trump suggested he will direct his soon-to-be-announced pick for UASGM to install Lake at VOA. In addition, there is a presidentially appointed USAGM board that is “empowered … to approve appointments or dismissals of any network heads.”

Here’s how CNN put it:

First, Trump has to nominate someone to run the U.S. Agency of Global Media. Then, that person and the advisory board will consider the VOA position. The board’s makeup will tilt in the GOP’s favor next year because one member will come from Trump’s State Department. But the other board members have terms that somewhat insulate them from political pressure.

So the upshot is probably going to be the same: Lake at VOA. But the process is more convoluted than it may appear on the surface and already suggests a high level of White House interference. Stay tuned.

Why Even Have A Senate?

Tommy Tuberville: "The people of Alabama gave a referendum to me. They said, 'You vote for whatever Donald Trump wants.' And that's exactly what I'm doing."

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— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) December 11, 2024 at 11:23 AM

Generational Change

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) has secured the support of a majority of the Democratic members of the House Oversight Committee and is poised to become its new ranking member, Politico reports.

About That Alleged Assault On Rep. Nancy Mace …

A foster care advocate arrested for allegedly assaulting virulently anti-trans Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on the Hill pleaded not guilty. Witnesses disputed that he assaulted her, calling it a brief handshake during which he urged her to support transgender foster youth.

The charging documents in the case offered some new details on the incident:

In an account of the incident filed Wednesday in D.C. Superior Court, police said a member of Congress reported that McIntyre “took her hand with both of his hands and shook her arm up and down in an exaggerated, aggressive hand shaking motion” that lasted three to five seconds.

According to the charging document, she told police that she tried to withdraw her arm but could not and that “she was experiencing pain in her wrists, arm and armpit/shoulder due to the incident.” She declined medical treatment, the responding officer wrote.

Trans Rights Watch

• Pro: The Montana Supreme Court upheld a preliminary injunction blocking the state’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors from going into effect.
• Con: The House passed the annual defense authorization bill that included a provision slipped in by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) that bans gender-affirming care for the children of military service members.

NC GOP Completes Its Lame-Duck Power Grab

Before its supermajority comes to an end in January, the GOP-controlled legislature in North Carolina completed its brazen move to strip power from newly elected Democratic officeholders by overriding Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto.

Biden Commutes The Sentences Of 1,500 People

“President Joe Biden is commuting the sentences of roughly 1,500 people who were released from prison and placed on home confinement during the coronavirus pandemic and is pardoning 39 Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes. It’s the largest single-day act of clemency in modern history.”–AP

Rebuke Of Hunter Biden Pardon From Unlikely Source

Former senior Biden White House adviser Anita Dunn: ““I do not agree with the way it was done, I don’t agree with the timing, and I don’t agree, frankly, with the attack on our judicial system.”

Sign Of The Times

Three Republican members of Congress have joined in inviting a Jan. 6 felon still on probation to Trump’s inauguration, a trip that requires a judge’s approval.

Oligarch Watch

• Elon Musk became the first person with a net worth north of $400 billion.
• Departing from its past practice, Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta Platforms has contributed $1 million to Donald Trump’s inaugural fund.

The Recent Wave Of Immigration Really Was Historic

A NYT analysis of recent immigration to the United States shows just how remarkable the recent influx has been:

• The pace of immigration from 2021-23 was faster than at any previous period in U.S. history, including the peak of Ellis Island.
• As a share of total U.S. population, the average annual change in the foreign-born population went up faster than any period since at least the 1850s.
• The percentage of the U.S. population born in another country reached a new high of 15.2 percent in 2023. The previous high was 14.8 percent in 1890.

Painful To Witness

"You're okay, you're okay."

A remarkable moment as CNN's @clarissaward and her team find a Syrian prisoner left behind in a secret prison, alone and unaware the Assad regime was no more. pic.twitter.com/Cz6TBWHvts

— Lauren Cone (@LConeCNN) December 11, 2024

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