Living in 2024, one of the big questions we have to ask ourselves is: why aren’t there flying cars? And where’s our colony on Mars? If I wanted to break the moment of levity I could ask: why do people still die of cancer? There’s actually a whole debate about whether and why the pace of invention — or, relatedly, scientific breakthroughs — has slowed compared to the first half of the 20th century. But let me not get ahead of myself.
These questions occurred me because I’ve been working on a project that requires some research on family history. And yesterday as I was putting my iPhone in a locker at my gym, this occurred to me: how would I explain the iPhone to my mother, who died in 1981?
When I thought of this I was thinking about photos and social media and a third, really big thing that is made up of many other, little things — not huge individually but vast and ubiquitous taken together — that we do with this small device. What analogues would I use to explain it?
The Supreme Court forced the state of Colorado to keep Donald Trump on the presidential ballot after the state’s Supreme Court found that the Constitution’s Disqualification Clause barred him from running for office.
Reports out this morning that former Trump Org CFO Allen Weisselberg will plead guilty today for testimony he gave in the New York civil fraud trial of Donald Trump:
Mr. Weisselberg, 76, is now expected to concede that he lied to investigators from the New York attorney general’s office when they were investigating Mr. Trump for fraud. The attorney general, Letitia James, had accused Mr. Trump of wildly inflating his net worth to obtain favorable loans and other benefits.
ABC News reported in February that Weisselberg was in plea talks. The exact terms of the plea are not yet public.
Weisselberg’s trial testimony that he didn’t think much about the size and value of Trump’s Fifth Avenue Manhattan triplex, which was wildly inflated, was blown up by a subsequent article in Forbes.
The perjury had a de minimis effect on the trial, which still resulted in a $450 million judgment and a ban on Trump doing real estate business in New York. Weisselberg is not expected to be a witness in the upcoming hush money criminal trial, though he was a key figure in that scheme.
SCOTUS Watch: DQ Clause Decision Expected Today
The Supreme Court over the weekend announced an unusual last-minute addition to its calendar, strongly suggesting that it will issue its ruling in the Disqualification Clause case against Donald Trump at 10 a.m. ET.
It comes with Trump set to be on the Colorado GOP primary ballot tomorrow. The Supreme Court is widely expected to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court decision that would have kept Trump off the ballot. But how the Supreme Court does it, what it suggests (if anything) about Trump’s insurrectioning, and what it says about how the Disqualification Clause should be enforced will all bear watching.
Irony Alert
Today was originally supposed to be the start of Donald Trump’s Jan. 6 trial in DC. Instead, the Supreme Court has taken up his immunity claim, further delaying the trial, and will likely issue a big win for him in the Disqualification Clause case.
Aileen Cannon Keeps Aileen Cannoning
With court hearings in Florida and Georgia, Friday held the prospect of providing some additional clarity to the Trump trial calendar for the rest of the year, but it did not deliver.
In the all-day Mar-a-Lago hearing, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon did nothing to suggest this case will be normal. Among the tidbits:
Cannon did not set a trial date but suggested that Special Counsel Jack Smith’s proposed July 8 trial date was “unrealistic.”
In a potentially alarming development, Cannon seemed open to the possibility of a broader definition of the “prosecution team” that could open the door for Trump to get more discovery from additional executive branch agencies, further slowing down the proceedings.
Cannon seemed largely unmoved about the prosecution’s concerns about protecting witness identities at this stage of the proceedings:
Notable moment from Trump classified docs hearing today when Judge Cannon asked prosecutor David Harbach when they would publish their witness list: Jack Smith sat upright in his seat, sharply raising his eyebrows w the most alarmed look. Harbach said now was not the time.
Judge Expects Decision On DQing Willis In Two Weeks
The Georgia RICO hearing, where the lawyering has been painful to watch, yielded no new revelations of note. Judge Scott McAfee said to expect a decision from him in two weeks. This one could still go either way, but I lean toward him not disqualifying her.
Media Criticism That Writes Itself
Kristen Welker says that Trump "allegedly" tried to overturn the 2020 election. No, he really tried to do that. We lived through it! pic.twitter.com/MUDxFL3P7m
NBC News: ‘Trump Bucks’ promise wealth for MAGA loyalty. Some lose thousands.
MAGA Mean Girl?
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) gets the WaPo Style section treatment, and I’m left wondering if the breezy, droll political profile has outlived its dubious usefulness in the Trump era.
The Polls
A weekend flurry of new surveys show Trump leading Biden nationally.
The likely GOP nominee for governor in North Carolina after tomorrow will be Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson, whom TPM’s Hunter Walker profiled last year as a “Facebook brawler whose posts railed against gays, Blacks, and Jews.”
I can’t immediately recall a less consequential Super Tuesday on the presidential side. Down ballot, here’s what to watch.
WV-Sen: Coal baron and ex-con Don Blankenship, a longtime Republican, is seeking the Democratic nomination to succeed Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
TN-07: In case you missed it, House Homeland Security Committee Chair Mark Green (R-TN) has reversed course on retiring and will run for re-election after prodding from Trump.
At horrible cost, Ukraine is fulfilling the entire mission of NATO, thereby sparing all other NATO members any risk of loss of territory or of life. The NATO economies are about two-hundred and fifty times as big as the Ukrainian economy. If they exploit a tiny fraction of their economic power, they could easily sustain the Ukrainian armed forces. Unfortunately the largest by far of these NATO members, the United States, is doing nothing. Should this continue, and should Russia win its war in Ukraine, then further war in Europe becomes not only possible, but likely.
The Cruelty Is The Point
A judge has temporarily blocked Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton from obtaining records on transgender care for minors from an LGBTQ organization as part of his investigation into whether the state ban on medical care for gender transition has been violated.
Go Cole Go
Almost two months ago, Morning Memo shared with you the remarkable story of single-handed sailor Cole Brauer, 29, and her attempt to become the first American woman to race solo around the world.
On March 3, 1969 the Apollo 9 mission began with its successful launch into orbit from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission was part of NASA’s Apollo program and was the first flight of the full Apollo Spacecraft including the command and service module (CSM) and the lunar module (LM). During the ten-day mission, the three-man crew tested systems and procedures critical to the future Apollo 11 Moon landing.
The Apollo 9 Space vehicle is launched from Kennedy Space Center
The Apollo 9 (Spacecraft 104/Lunar Module 3/Saturn 504) space vehicle is launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, of Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island, Florida, 3rd March 3, 1969. The Apollo 9 mission will evaluate spacecraft lunar module systems performance during manned Earth-orbital flight. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Archive Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Commander James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott And Russell L. Schweickart during the Apollo 9 prelaunch countdown
The Apollo 9 crew leaves the Kennedy Space Center’s Manned Spacecraft Operations Building during the Apollo 9 prelaunch countdown, 3rd March 1969. Leading is commander James A. McDivitt, followed by command module pilot David R. Scott and lunar module pilot Russell L. Schweickart. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
Vice President Spiro Agnew talks to NASA officials Dr. Werner von Barun And Dr. George Mueller prior to the Apollo 9 launch
Engineers at Grumman’s Plant 25, who were instrumental in the lunar module development, watch it perform on TV
Bethpage, N.Y.: Engineers at Grumman’s Plant 25 who were instrumental in the Lunar Module development watch it perform during the flight of Apollo 9 from an overhead television in the first live broadcast on March 5, 1969 in Bethpage, New York. (Photo by Dick Kraus/Newsday RM via Getty Images)
Apollo 9 astronaut Russell Schweickart during extra-vehicular activity
Apollo 9 astronaut Russell Schweickart photographed during extra-vehicular activity (EVA), March 1969. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
Docked Apollo 9 CSM Beyond and the LM Spider on the left with Earth in the background
6th March 1969: Docked Apollo 9 command service module beyond and the lunar module spider on the left with Earth in the background. A preparatory mission for the moon landing it was the first to feature the Saturn rocket in full lunar configuration. This photograph was taken from the porch of the ‘Spider’ on the 4th day of the earth -orbital mission with astronaut David R Scott undertaking extravehicular activity. (Photo by Russell L. Schweickart/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
Astronaut Russell Schweickart shoots photographs during the 10-day Earth-orbital mission
Apollo 9 astronaut Russell Schweickart shoots photographs during the 10-day Earth-orbital mission March 3-13, 1969. (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)
Astronaut David Scott is photographed standing in the open hatch of the command module
Apollo 9 astronaut david Scott is photographed during E, V, A, by Astronaut Russell Schweickart from the porch of LEM, Scott stands in the open hatch of the Command Module (March 6, 1969). (Photo by Photo12/UIG/Getty Images)
Docked Command Module with Earth in the background
(Original Caption) Excellent view of the docked Apollo 9 Command/ service Module and Lunar “Spider” with Earth in background, during astronaut David R. Scott’s extra vehicular activity on the fourth day of the mission. Scott, command module pilot, is standing in the open hatch of the Command Module pilot, took this photograph from the porch of the spider. Inside the Spider was Astronaut James Mcdivitt, Apollo 9 commander. Land area in center of picture is the Mississippi River Valley.
The CSM (Command and Service Modules) as seen from the Lunar Module
The Apollo 9 CSM (Command and Service Modules) as seen from the Lunar Module ‘Spider’ on the fifth day of NASA’s Apollo 9 earth-orbital mission, 7th March 1969. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
The Apollo 9 CSM ‘Gumdrop’ as seen from the Lunar Module
The Apollo 9 Command/Service Module (CSM) ‘Gumdrop’ as seen from the Lunar Module ‘Spider’ on the fifth day of the Apollo 9 earth-orbital mission, 7th March 1969. (Photo by Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
The Apollo 9 spacecraft approaches touchdown in the Atlantic recovery area
(13 March 1969) — The Apollo 9 spacecraft, with astronauts James A. McDivitt, David R. Scott, and Russell L. Schweickart aboard, approaches touchdown in the Atlantic recovery area. Splashdown occurred at 12:00:53 p.m. (EST), March 13, 1969, only 4.5 nautical miles from the prime recovery ship, USS Guadalcanal.(Photo by: Hum Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
Three large parachutes guide the Apollo 9 spacecraft to a safe landing
(Original Caption) 3/13/1969-Apollo 9 Atlantic Recovery Area- Three large parachutes guide the Apollo 9 spacecraft to a safe landing at 12:01 p.m., EST, March 13, 1969, 780 nautical miles southeast of Cape Kennedy. The spacecraft, carrying astronauts James A. McDivitt; David R. Scott; and Russelll L. Scweickart, impacted 4.5 miles from the USS Guadalcanal, the main recovery ship. The astronauts spent 10 days in Earth orbit verifying a lunar module spacecraft in preparation for a scheduled lunar landing this year. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) directs the Apollo program.
The event began on Feb. 21, 2024, in National Harbor, Maryland, with Steve Bannon’s routine, untrue banter about how President Joe Biden stole the 2020 election, and it peaked with an angry speech from Trump three days later. In between, I sat among the MAGA masses listening to speaker after speaker express outrage about American decline – and their hope for Trump’s reelection.
The two month saga of Trumpworld’s attempt to disqualify Fulton County DA Fani Willis is drawing to a close after Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee heard closing arguments in the case on Friday.
We recently asked if you’d help us out by answering some survey questions. First of all, thank you to everyone who did. These are massively helpful in terms of helping us decide how to improve TPM and better serve all of you.
There’s one particular piece of feedback I saw going through the thousands of results that I thought I’d address here. Several people asked if we’d bring back free or reduced-rate memberships for senior citizens and/or students. So here’s the good news: We still have free memberships for seniors and students. In fact, anyone who can’t afford a membership can apply for a community-sponsored membership here.
In my post yesterday, I said Israel’s campaign in Gaza has reached a point of diminishing returns, even on its own terms, and that the U.S. needs to help Israel, even in spite of itself or at least in spite of the current government, to bring it to a halt. A friend of mine got in touch with me and asked basically, how precisely can the U.S. do that? He meant this not in a challenging way but literally, what power does the U.S. have to make this happen? This led to an interchange that helped me think through why the U.S. has been doing what it has been doing, what it can do and what it can’t.
First, why is the U.S. sending arms and munitions to Israel at all? Israel has an incredibly powerful military and huge stockpiles of weapons of all sorts. Set aside the policy or moral questions. Why is it even necessary? At the very beginning of the conflict the U.S. provided fulsome support and arms in part simply to signal support, that the U.S. was backing Israel to the hilt after October 7th. But beneath that messaging and symbolism there was something much more concrete.
Two notable hearings scheduled for today in the various prosecutions of Donald Trump.
The more significant of the two comes in the Mar-a-Lago case, where U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon is set to consider the trial date and hear other pre-trial matters. Trump himself is expected to attend the hearing at the courthouse in Ft. Pierce, Florida, at 10 a.m. ET.
In filings late yesterday, Special Counsel Jack Smith and Trump proposed dueling trial dates. Smith targeted July 8. Trump unexpectedly offered up a trial date of before the election: Aug. 12. Now, to be clear, Trump emphasized that any trial this year would premature, unfair, etc. But he ultimately did resign himself to Cannon’s order to provide a date.
One twist here, as commentators have observed, is that the Jan. 6 case in DC – delayed again this week when the Supreme Court decided to review Trump’s claim of immunity from prosecution – might need the August window. By seeking to schedule the Mar-a-Lago case then, he may preclude U.S. District Tanya Chutkan from scheduling her trial before the election.
But that is probably too speculative to call clever or devious because so much remains in flux. For example, Trump is raising an immunity claim in the Mar-a-Lago case that could cause similar delays to the Jan. 6 case. On top of that, the classified discovery disputes in the Mar-a-Lago case could result in appeals before trial. All of which means the August date Trump is proposing may not really hold.
Some bad news: Judge Cannon’s hearing will not be able to be covered live. So we’ll be limited to what reporters in person relay after the fact. Still, this will be her first real substantive hearing in the case in open court, so we may get a better read on her disposition. She’s been a real wild card, but two rulings this week were in line with the law and what you would expect in a “normal” classified documents case. So it’ll be worth watching to see if she continues to jerk around prosecutors or takes a more neutral stance.
The hearing in Florida is scheduled to go all day.
The Georgia RICO Sideshow
The Fani Willis romance that has bogged down the Georgia RICO case comes to a semi-conclusion today with final arguments scheduled for 1 p.m. ET on the motion to disqualify her from the case.
Nothing much satisfying about this whole saga. I wouldn’t expect a ruling today from the bench, but we might get to take Judge Scott McAfee’s temperature. He’s pretty transparent.
Willis made one last bid yesterday to shore up her case, offering testimony from a winery worker in California that she paid cash on a trip there with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.
More On SCOTUS And Immunity For Trump
Aziz Huq: Why Is Trump Getting Special Treatment From the Supreme Court?
TPM’s Josh Kovensky: SCOTUS Tees Up Trump Question That Could Take A Lot Of Mulling To Answer
Lee Kovarsky: Trump Should Lose. But the Supreme Court Should Still Clarify Immunity.
Mitch McConnell is one of those perhaps historic figures for whom the greatness of his skill and impact are matched only in inverse by the malignity of his impact on our politics. To put it more brashly, McConnell was great at doing political evil. There is now a kind of rearguard effort to remake McConnell as an institutionalist, a last vestige of the pre-Trumpian GOP. And on that last point, being a vestige, there’s some truth. On being an institutionalist, not at all.
Philip Bump: Hunter Biden gives House Republicans the rebuttal they didn’t want
Good Read
WSJ: FBI Informant in Hunter Biden Case Left Trail of Broken Promises
Accused Discord Leaker Expected To Plead Guilty
Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira is expected to plead guilty Monday to posting classified documents on Discord.
US Diplomat To Plead Guilty To Spying For Cuba
Manuel Rocha told a federal judge he will plead guilty to working as a secret agent for Cuba for decades while serving as a career diplomat for the United States.
