NEW YORK — He’s nowhere to be seen at Donald Trump’s New York criminal trial, but he’s everywhere: Michael Cohen, the former president’s ex-fixer.
Continue reading “Latest Witness Is Leaving A Michael Cohen-Shaped Hole In Description Of Hush Money Scheme”Decoding Trump Bullshit: Foreign Defense Budget Edition
Everyone is publishing their bills of particulars about all the horrible things Donald Trump will do if he becomes president again. That’s become even easier with Time magazine’s publication today of a lengthy interview with Trump in which he expands on the list and provides quotes that make them more specific. (Get ready for your pregnancy ankle bracelet and fetal monitor if you get pregnant in a red state.) But there’s one item on these litanies that’s not really correct. And we should understand what it actually means more clearly.
Continue reading “Decoding Trump Bullshit: Foreign Defense Budget Edition”Some 2024 Mail-In Ballots In Critical Pennsylvania At Risk After New Court Ruling
The Third Circuit Court of Appeals will not rehear an election case out of Pennsylvania, leaving voting rights lawyers to pick between dwindling options to prevent mail-in ballots from being tossed out during a critical election.
Continue reading “Some 2024 Mail-In Ballots In Critical Pennsylvania At Risk After New Court Ruling”NY Judge Holds Trump In Contempt For Attacking Witnesses, Threatens Jail
NEW YORK — New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan threatened to incarcerate Donald Trump on Tuesday if he continues to flout a gag order imposed to block him and others from attacking witnesses in his criminal case.
Continue reading “NY Judge Holds Trump In Contempt For Attacking Witnesses, Threatens Jail”Ken Chesebro Has A Whole Lotta ‘Splaining To Do
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
New Warrants Issued For Chesebro’s Social Media Accounts
As TPM first reported in February, Trump campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebro had an anonymous Twitter account under the handle Badger Pundit that he used in the run-up to Jan 6. Shortly thereafter, CNN reported that Chesebro had failed to tell prosecutors with whom he was cooperating about the social media accounts.
That partial truthiness now seems to have landed Chesebro in additional hot water in the Michigan fake electors probe, CNN now reports:
Google and X, formerly Twitter, recently provided hundreds of files to Michigan prosecutors for their 2020 election subversion probe, complying with search warrants that investigators obtained after CNN revealed secret social media accounts belonging to pro-Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, who played a major role in the fake electors plot. …
The search warrants to Google and X were executed in March, shortly after CNN reported that Chesebro had concealed some of his social media accounts from prosecutors during his cooperation session last year. Chesebro has not been charged in Michigan, and he has pleaded guilty in Georgia’s election interference probe.
It’s not clear if the Michigan probe is now targeting Chesebro, turning his would-be cooperation into a new avenue of legal jeopardy for him. Chesebro’s lawyer, speaking after the new CNN report, played down the latest development and suggested they didn’t fight the warrants. “There is no legal jeopardy — we have been cooperating the whole time,” Manny Arora said on MSNBC.
Trump Trial Resumes Today
It’s going to be a herky-jerky week in the Trump hush money trial, with trial only today, Thursday, and Friday. TPM’s Josh Kovensky will be covering the trial for us all week.
Deserved
Philip Bump: Bill Barr doesn’t mind a little autocracy if your politics are right
Michael Cohen Wins Retraction From OAN
The far-right One America News cable net has retracted a false claim it published that it was Michael Cohen who had actually had a dalliance with porn star Stormy Daniels. Cohen had recently retained a defamation lawyer to handle the March 27 OAN report.
Hunter Biden Threatens To Sue Fox News
Lawyers for the president’s son have told Fox News that they plan to sue the network “imminently” over its coverage of him:
Biden has hired attorney Mark Geragos and his firm to represent him in the Fox litigation efforts. The letter is the second outreach to Fox this month. An earlier letter was hand-delivered to Fox’s counsel two weeks ago, and the network asked for more time to respond, according to a source familiar with Biden’s legal efforts. The network has not yet responded to the letter sent April 23, which included a Friday evening, April 26, deadline to respond, according to Geragos. The letter is signed by Tina Glandian, a partner at Geragos & Geragos working on the case.
The plan to sue Fox News has been in the works for a while, NBC News reports, but was reinvigorated by the indictment of former FBI informant Alexander Smirnov for making false claims about the Bidens. Many of Smirnov’s bogus bribery claims against the Bidens were laundered through House Republicans and Fox News.
Campus Protests Watch
- At Columbia University, students protesting over Israel-Gaza took over and barricaded themselves in an academic building overnight after the school began suspending students who refused to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment on campus.
- At Virginia Tech, more than 80 protesters, 53 of whom were students, were arrested Sunday night into Monday morning.
- The WaPo has a rundown on which campuses nationwide have seen arrests.
Student Revolt And The Curtailing Of Critical Speech
And yet, in the face of such outrageous suppression of protest through state agents, the powerful phalanx of elite opinionists who have told us for about a decade now that the “free speech crisis” on college campuses is a clear and present danger to freedom and democracy has had nary a critical word to offer. On the contrary, the crackdown at Columbia, specifically, has garnered an enthusiastic response from such prominent members of the “free speech crisis” industrial complex as Caitlin Flanagan and John McWhorter who have sided unequivocally with the authorities. The same circles who have been presenting themselves as uncompromising fighters for free speech, imploring us to understand that speech must not be curtailed just because you (on the Left!) may disagree with it, are now fully on board with speech they don’t like being suppressed by the state. Weird, huh?
Bad All Around
Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) qualified for re-election two months ago, then on the last day of qualifying a GOP ally of his quietly filed to run in the primary against him, and when the filing deadline passed at noon, Posey dropped out of the race and endorsed his ally for his seat.
These kinds of shenanigans around qualifying for elections have been going on forever, but I still loath them. They were real common in the South when elected Democrats were switching en masse to the Republican Party: Switch parties right before qualifying and deprive both parties of the chance of challenging your big move. Now these schemes are usually more geared to letting electeds or their parties pick successors and install them without the chance to muster any opposition.
‘I’ve Decided To Bring Kitara Out Of The Closet’
The Hill: George Santos hawking Cameo videos with his drag queen alter ego
It’s Go Time NOW
With time of the essence to transition to a carbon-free energy economy, the Biden administration is moving to speed up regulatory approval for clean energy projects while giving greater scrutiny to projects with potential damaging climate effects.
Go Grizzlies!
The federal government is planning to restore grizzly bears to their native range in the North Cascades, where the last confirmed grizzly sighting was in 1996.
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Trump Is Souring On Kari Lake
The Washington Post published a new story Monday revealing that Donald Trump has all but ruled out choosing Arizona Senate candidate and election denier Kari Lake as his running mate, despite months of speculation that she may be one of his top choices for VP. And his reason for souring on the loyal MAGA extremist is about as Trumpian as it gets.
Continue reading “Trump Is Souring On Kari Lake”Sunken Town In The Philippines Reemerges Due To Drought
In the 1970s, the construction of a dam in Nueva Ecija province, Philippines, submerged the town of Pantabangan. In recent weeks drought conditions have depleted water levels in the dammed reservoir, revealing the submerged town and drawing visitors who battle the heat to see the ruins. This marks the sixth time the nearly 300-year-old town has made an appearance since its disappearance in the 1970s.
Arial view of sunken town
Ruins revealed as Pantabangan dries out
Clear outlines of structures revealed by receding water
Arial view of the cemetery of Pantabangan
Arial view of church ruins
Tombstones from the cemetery in sunken town
Arial view of cemetery
Tourists are drawn to the ruins
Remnanats of Pantabangan’s church
The cross from the ruins of the church still stands
Ruins largely hidden since the 1970s dry out in drought
People visit the ruins despite extreme heat
Some structures are still partially standing in the submerged town
Tombstones revealed by receding waters
Tourists explore the remains of the old town of Pantabangan
Collapsed structures in old sunken town appear for the sixth time since the 1970s
Ruins of Pantabangan, submerged since the 1970s, reemerges during Philipines drought
Tourists explore the remains of the old town of Pantabangan
Visitors take photos of the rarely seen town of Pantabangan
A Few Thoughts on the Situation in Israel-Palestine and on the Campuses
I wanted to share a few thoughts on the ongoing crisis and mess in Israel-Palestine and also on America’s elite college campuses.
First, a thought on the campus situation and this question of whether these protests are tainted by anti-Semitism. I know most about the situation at Columbia, which certainly isn’t to say I’m an expert on it. To me it seems clear that non-students operating on the periphery of the campus have been responsible for the most egregious comments or incidents that almost no one would deny are anti-Semitic. There’s been some of that from students on campus, usually in heated instances when visibly Jewish students are in the proximity of protesters.
Continue reading “A Few Thoughts on the Situation in Israel-Palestine and on the Campuses”Federal Judge Directs His Scorn At Trump’s Courtroom Behavior
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
A Little Housekeeping
I promised to circle back on some of the notable news last week that was drowned out by the major stories of the day. This is an effort to sweep up some of those loose ends.
Judge Puts Trump On Full Blast
With all the other news last week, you may have missed the withering treatment Donald Trump received from the federal judge in the E. Jean Carroll defamation case.
U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan rejected Trump’s motion for a new trial and upheld the $83 million damages award in Carroll’s favor. In doing so, the judge raked Trump over the coals for his ongoing defamation of Carroll, his repeated instances of defamation, and his demeanor during the trial.
The full opinion is here.
The judge rejected Trump’s use of comparable cases to argue that the compensatory damages awarded Carroll were excessive: “None of these prior examples involved publication of defamations as widespread and destructive as Mr. Trump’s defamation of Ms. Carroll, and none involved a publisher of defamation who was a president of the United States or anyone nearly as high-profile.”
But it was Trump’ conduct in court that drew the most ire from the judge. In finding that the punitive damages awarded Carroll were appropriate, the judge wrote:
But beyond his out-of-court statements disparaging Ms. Carroll during trial — many of which were introduced in evidence — the jury could have found that Mr. Trump’s demeanor and conduct in the courtroom itself put his hatred and disdain on full display. Mr. Trump could be heard repeatedly complaining to his counsel about the proceedings, so much so that plaintiff’s counsel twice requested that the Court instruct him to stop. In particular, during Ms. Carroll’s testimony, the jury could have found, Mr. Trump could be heard making audible comments that Ms. Carroll’s testimony was false, that the proceedings were a “witch hunt” and a “con job,” and most notably, that his earlier statements disparaging Ms. Carroll were “true.” And, most dramatically, mere minutes after plaintiff’s counsel began her closing argument, Mr. Trump conspicuously stood and walked out of the courtroom for no apparent reason save to evidence his disapproval, though he was present again when Court resumed later that morning and remained for his own counsel’s entire summation.
This case will be wending its way through appeals for a while, so don’t expect Carroll to begin collecting on her judgment any time soon.
No Trump Trial Today
The hush-money trial resumes Tuesday.
Meanwhile, TPM’s Josh Kovensky assesses the two days of cross examination of former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker by Trump lawyer Emil Bove.
Arizona Fake Elector Elected To RNC
CNN: “Arizona state Sen. Jake Hoffman, one of the so-called fake electors charged in the Arizona 2020 election subversion case, announced Saturday that he’s been elected as a Republican National Committee national committeeman for the state.”
Trump II Takes Aim At The Fed, Too
WSJ: “Donald Trump’s allies are quietly drafting proposals that would attempt to erode the Federal Reserve’s independence if the former president wins a second term, in the midst of a deepening divide among his advisers over how aggressively to challenge the central bank’s authority.”
What Being A Target Of Trump Looks Like
Lisa Page, the former FBI attorney whose affair with Peter Strzok became endless fodder for Donald Trump delegitimization of the Mueller investigation, was in court last week trying to convince a judge to do more to protect her from a stalker about whom the FBI had allegedly failed to warn her:
In mid-December, Mr. Perez showed up at least four times at Ms. Page’s house in Washington, making a bizarre claim that she had been witness to his childhood sexual abuse, even though the two had never met, according to a warrant from the Metropolitan Police Department. During one visit, he interacted with Ms. Page’s 11-year-old son.
The man pleaded guilty to misdemeanor stalking and was barred from the DC area for six months and ordered to attend six therapy sessions.
ICYMI …
Mother Jones: “In a little-noticed court filing earlier this month, federal prosecutors described Steve Bannon as a “co-conspirator” in a massive criminal fraud and racketeering case against a flamboyant, far-right Chinese fugitive, compounding the legal headaches of the former Donald Trump adviser.”
‘Turning The Oval Office Into The Seat Of Criminal Activity’
Still reeling over that insane Supreme Court argument on presidential immunity Thursday. Two moments standout as especially jarring, for totally opposite reasons.
The first is Justice Samuel Alito going to the unthinkable place that without immunity presidents may just never leave the Oval Office:
The second is Ketanji Brown Jackson fully appreciating the real impact of Alito’s ahistorical line of thinking:
Others also still sifting through the rubble of that oral argument:
- Steve Vladeck: “I’m worried because there appear to be five or more justices who think that they have an obligation to do more than is required in the instant case—apparently without regard for the very real institutional and political costs such a move could (and, I fear, would) incur.”
- Politico: Trump immunity fight turns Supreme Court textualists topsy-turvy
- Marty Lederman: A few preliminary reactions to the oral argument in Trump v. United States
An Especially Chilling Death Penalty Case
Chris Geidner reports on an unusual case where the Republican attorney general of Oklahoma can’t convince a state court to throw out a death row inmate’s conviction, despite admitted prosecutorial misconduct, so is now seeking relief from the Supreme Court.
2024 Ephemera
- WaPo: “Former president Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis met privately Sunday morning in Miami, according to people familiar with the matter, breaking a years-long chill between the presumptive Republican nominee and his onetime chief primary rival.
- MI-Sen: Former Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) has dropped out of the GOP primary for U.S. Senate.
- NYT: Donald Trump Has Never Sounded Like This
- Sign of the times:
Strange Times
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UAW Wins Big At Volkswagen In Tennessee – Its First Victory At A Foreign-Owned Factory In The South
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.
A decisive majority of the Volkswagen workers employed at a factory in Chattanooga, Tennessee cast their ballots in favor of joining the United Auto Workers union, the German automaker announced on April 19, 2024.
Continue reading “UAW Wins Big At Volkswagen In Tennessee – Its First Victory At A Foreign-Owned Factory In The South”