The three-judge court that blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to exclude undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment said Tuesday that it would not put that ruling on hold while the government appeals it.
Debate Live Blogging
9:47 PM: One critical thing to remember here is that President Trump is behind. He needs to shift the dynamic. Even at its best for Trump this is not changing any dynamic.
9:32 PM: That part from a few moments with Biden saying can you believe him after all his lies, how he hasn’t leveled with you about how he blew it at the beginning. That was the clearest part of the whole debate.
9:25 PM: I’m seeing a lot of people complaining about Chris Wallace, saying Trump is dominating the debate. That’s not what I’m seeing. Trump is taking up more time. But I don’t think he’s helping himself.
9:05 PM: And here we go … Trump hard mad mugging from the start.
9:03 PM: He’s been decent in debates. But can’t forget that this first off debate is hosted by the top host from Fox News.
Judge Suggests Ross Violated Her Order Extending Time To Finish Census Counting
A federal judge on Tuesday suggested that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross may have violated her order blocking the administration from rushing the 2020 census count. The judge has ordered briefing on the matter.
Among U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh’s concerns was Ross’ announcement on Monday of a new “target date” for the census to complete its field counting operations by next week – an announcement which was apparently based on the very schedule she had previously blocked.
Continue reading “Judge Suggests Ross Violated Her Order Extending Time To Finish Census Counting”
DNI Ratcliffe Dumps A Batch Of Russian Disinfo On Clinton Hours Before Debate
Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe released Russian disinformation hours before the presidential debate Tuesday, declassifying the information without vetting or disavowing it.
Continue reading “DNI Ratcliffe Dumps A Batch Of Russian Disinfo On Clinton Hours Before Debate”
Trump’s Rhetoric Breeds Radicals Who Think They’ve Been Anointed By POTUS To Fight
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
America’s continuing slide towards violence, chaos and political division has cracked the thin enamel disguising society’s deep cleavages. Of course, the façade of America as a shining beacon of democracy perpetuated inequalities, human right abuses and subjugation, allowed these deep wounds to ache. Social protests related to racial inequities, the COVID-19 pandemic, a crushing crescendo of conspiracies and a flood of online disinformation has magnified the collective cognitive dissonance that torments neighbors, friends and families.
Courtroom Showdown: DOJ Tries To Defend Decision To Drop Charges Against Trump Buddy Flynn
This is the moment we’ve been waiting for. It’s a rare instance when politicization and corruption at Attorney General Bill Barr’s Justice Department see their day in court, and where a federal judge has the chance to block the DOJ’s unprecedented decision to drop a damaging case brought against a close ally of President Trump’s.
Sorry Mike Flynn, Judge Still Not Ready To Dismiss Your Case
Tuesday’s long-anticipated hearing in Michael Flynn’s ongoing legal drama did not bring the one thing Flynn and the President Trump’s Justice Department deeply desire: a dismissal of the Flynn case.
Continue reading “Sorry Mike Flynn, Judge Still Not Ready To Dismiss Your Case”
The Poverty of Debating. Especially This One.
Our whole team will be bringing you full coverage of tonight’s debate. And I will too. I confess though I find it a funny thing to cover. Biden is a policy-knowledgable, well-meaning guy who’s been in elected office most of his adult life. Trump is a compulsive liar with little interest in or knowledge about any policy question currently working to delegitimize the election itself.
Both will play to form because neither are capable of doing otherwise.
This means that what we are watching, what we are all collectively evaluating are the possibilities of unpredictable events and the general optics and how those impact the very small number of voters who are not strongly committed to either candidate. It’s almost impossible that any of these ‘events’ will have any substantive bearing on how either man would serve as President.
And yet, as we know they can have a big impact.
Continue reading “The Poverty of Debating. Especially This One.”
Cruz: ‘Entire Reason’ For Quick Confirmation Is So Barrett Can Weigh In On Election Issues
Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said Tuesday that a potential dispute of election results is why the Senate should move quickly to confirm Trump nominee to the Supreme Court, Judge Amy Coney Barrett.
“The entire reason the Senate should act and should act promptly to confirm a ninth justice is so that the Supreme Court can resolve any cases that arise in the wake of the election,” Cruz told reporters.
Earlier on Tuesday, Cruz told NPR that a Supreme Court as it stands with a seat left vacant by the recent death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “lacks the constitutional authority to decide anything,” Cruz said. “And so we could have multiple conflicting opinions from multiple courts of appeals and weeks or months of chaos and uncertainty.”
Cruz told NPR’s Steve Inskeep that he thinks Barrett — the ideological heir of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and former Trump pick who was confirmed to the U.S. District’s 7th Circuit — would be a “strong justice.”
The comments come after some Democrats, including Sen. Cory Booker (NJ) have said that while they were open to meeting with Barrett as she met with GOP senators during an appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that it was important from Barrett to recuse herself from rendering any judgment related to upcoming election results.
“If she does not recuse herself, I fear that the court will be further delegitimized,” Booker, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” on Sunday.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) made a likeminded suggestion before Trump had formally announced Barrett, similarly telling NPR Thursday that given the “arguable ethical complication” of a justice confirmed so close to the election, Trump’s nominee “should recuse herself” from weighing in on election issues.
The concerns raised by Democratic leaders follow President Trump’s remarks last week during a White House briefing, telling reporters when asked, that he may not be committed to a peaceful transfer of power if he faces electoral defeat in November.
“I think this [the election] will end up in the Supreme Court, and I think it’s very important that we have nine justices,” Trump said on Wednesday.
The President appeared to double down on that message during a campaign rally Friday. He told crowds in Newport News, Virginia, that while he wanted “a smooth, beautiful transition,” he would only relent if the results were borne of a “honest vote,” adding amid an ongoing effort to delegitimize mail-in voting that the election which is just weeks away is a “disaster waiting to happen.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a tweet Tuesday that he would decline a meeting with Barrett amid what he called an “illegitimate process.”
He said that the effort by Republicans to jam through a confirmation put at risk the health care of roughly 23 million Americans who are insured under provisions of the Affordable Care Act– an Obama-era policy that faces its latest challenge before the high court in November — just a week after the presidential election and shortly after Barrett is confirmed if all goes as planned.
What If The Elections Office Has To Quarantine? Officials Are Training For Nightmare Scenarios
Picture this: You’re an elections official in a small town, wading through the most unusual balloting process of your career. It’s Nov. 1, two days from the “official” Election Day, but hundreds or thousands of mail-in ballots have already arrived at your workplace.