Fulton County Superior Court is holding the second day of its hearing on whether to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the Donald Trump election interference RICO case over allegations that she received an improper financial benefit via a relationship with an attorney she contracted to prosecute the case.
Continue reading “Willis’ Father, Wade’s Divorce Lawyer Take Stand In 2nd Day Of Fulton County DQ Hearing”Glutton for Punishment: Let’s Look at Some Poll Numbers
Let me share some numbers with you. And let me preface this by saying that I am also very concerned about how perceptions of Joe Biden’s age and mental acuity are going to affect the outcome of this election. Emerson just released a new presidential poll which has Donald Trump up by 1 point over Joe Biden. It’s 45% to 44%. That’s in line with polls over the last month or so which show a very slight move back in Biden’s direction. (All margin of error but across numerous polls means a touch more.) It’s also a “registered voters” screen. And there’s decent evidence that those polls are understating Biden’s strength. They also polled Harris, Whitmer and Newsom. They were down, respectively, 3 points, 12 points and 10 points. Trump’s support was basically identical in every case. 45% with Biden and Whitmer, 46% with Harris and Newsom.
Importantly, this poll is generally in line with other polls going back many months. Most others I’ve seen don’t show Whitmer and Newsom quite that far back. But they’re consistent in showing the other top tier contenders to be no stronger than Biden and usually weaker.
Continue reading “Glutton for Punishment: Let’s Look at Some Poll Numbers”War Time School Board—There’s More!
I’m tempted to say, TPM gets results! But it’s not quite that simple, at least in terms of mainstream chronology.
But it’s still super good. So hold tight.
Yesterday I brought you the news of the war time school board of Douglas County, Nevada, which culminates in the hiring of a new superintendent who has the kind of rap sheet that might normally get you expelled from a public high school as a student. All true!
But I’d missed the latest development.
As I explained, last week, the Douglas County School District school board formally offered the job of superintendent to John Ramirez, Jr., by a 4-to-3 vote, notwithstanding the fact that, according to this article at local news site Carson Now and other reports, he has a long list of bad acts, misuse of school credits cards, alleged frauds and multiple formal complaints of sexual harassment. Even more dirty laundry came out in subsequent days. Then on Tuesday of this week a new board meeting was held.
It was a pretty raucous affair.
Continue reading “War Time School Board—There’s More!”Can You Help Us Out?
Do you have five minutes to answer a few questions? We aren’t offering any gift card drawings, but on your deathbed you will receive total consciousness – which is nice – and you will help us learn more about how we can improve and adapt TPM to this increasingly volatile news environment. All answers are confidential and used only for internal research. Thank you!
The Dogs (And Cats) Of War In Ukraine
Through two years of war, the people of Ukraine have kept their pets close despite challenging conditions.
A Ukrainian serviceman and a husky during a training session
Ukrainian soldier in a trench with his dog
Ukrainian tank crew with a dog nearby
A woman caring for abandoned pets in a frontline city
Woman walking her dog past her destroyed building
A woman walks her dogs next to damaged buildings
A Ukrainian soldier seen befriending a stray dog
A Ukranian police officer with his sniffer dog at a checkpoint
A girl sits with her dog and cat in a subway station
A man and his dog sheltering in an underground metro station
A girl is seen with her puppy in a railway station
Army sergeant plays with a dog while on duty in the Bakhmut district
A Ukranian soldier seen with a dog along the front line
A Ukrainian soldier plays with dogs as he holds his position at the front line
A man holds his dog while standing in front of a house in ruins
A woman and her dog asess the damage to their home following an attack
Fani Willis Endures Disrespect, Racist Tropes, And Public Humiliation
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
The District Attorney And Race
The smoldering confrontation in an Atlanta courtroom between District Attorney Fani Willis and the coterie of Trump co-defendants had so many layers of gender, race, and power dynamics that it felt like a theatrical production in which the playwright got a little too exuberant and ended up with an over-the-top script.
Any playwright would die for Willis’ meme-a-minute dialogue, throwing off lines so memorable and original that it was hard to keep up:
“A man is not a plan.”
“I’m not going to emasculate a black man.” (Oh, but she did.)
“I’m not a hand holder.”
The hearing was ostensibly about whether her romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she hired to manage the RICO election interference case was disqualifying. But that was a thin veil over the roiling cauldron of disrespect, racist tropes, and public humiliation that the defendants were indulging in.
Willis came in red hot, literally running from her office to the courtroom when it was her time to testify. She took over the room. She raised and waived objections from the witness chair. She refused to be led down primrose paths by defense counsel. She talked over everyone: defense counsel, the judge, and her own team. I couldn’t help but think that Trump himself would secretly admire her command and bravura.
But it wasn’t the performative high dudgeon that Bill Clinton patented and every politican since has doubled down with. It was the seething, barely controlled anger of a Black woman put in a position none of her white male counterparts have had to endure, at the hands of a criminal defendant no less. White prosecutors have used the power of the law to torment Black people for centuries, but a Black woman becomes prosecutor and finds herself tormented by white criminal defendants.
The most telling moment of the day for me came midway through her testimony, when Rudy Giuliani’s local attorney Allyn Stockton took his turn. He politely introduced himself to Willis and addressed her as “Madam District Attorney” and “Madam DA.” It was a modicum of respect. It was properly deferential to her position and role. Don’t be confused: He was adverse to her, and he proceeded to go after her, in a measured and professional way. But that show of cordiality and basic respect seemed to me to make Willis’ face relax, her body language loosen, her volume go down, and transformed her argumentativeness into a more conversational tone. He gave her deference she had earned, deserved, and was demanding for herself.
I personally think Willis erred by becoming involved with Wade. It put the prosecution of her career at risk. Maybe that would be the conversation to have if white male DAs who boink people in their office were dragged into court by criminal defendants on the regular. Not saying it’s never happened, but I’ve never seen it.
Most of the news coverage elided the racial and gender power dynamics at play. But Black people recognize this modern day spectacle of demeaning and dehumanizing treatment: Willis’ personal life scrutinized, her sex life exposed to public ridicule, her ways of handling money and relationships treated not as a difference of culture or social class but as unethical and disqualifying. And racists recognize it, too! Fox News was beside itself with the spectacle. To take one example, actually just one word: “pedigree.”
If Black people know what’s going on here and racists know what’s going on here, then why is everyone else content to leave their heads in the sand?
What Happens Next
The Georgia hearing continues today. Willis is due to continue her testimony, but I’ll be curious to see if her team declines to ask her any questions given her strong performance yesterday and instead just proceed straight to its case.
As for the judge, I suspect he’s looking for any way not to disqualify her. She’s the elected DA! Her office handles thousands of criminal cases a year. Judges don’t want to open the door to criminal defendants seeking to delve into the personal propriety of the prosecutor. It would be a nightmare beyond this historically important case.
There was one strong witness against Willis, a former friend of hers who was fired as an employee of the DA’s office who testified that the Willis-Wade relationship began before she hired him in the RICO case. That upsets the timeline to which Willis’ has staked her defense. But Willis’ own testimony was compelling (and to a degree so was Wade’s). My own sense was that by the end of the day the judge was satisifed with the explanation and has found himself a way out of this mess.
Don’t expect a ruling today. The judge said it would come later.
Trump’s First Criminal Trial Is All Set
The other significant news in Trump prosecution world yesterday was in the Stormy Daniels hush money case, where the judge denied Trump’s motions to dismiss and kept the March 25 trial date. Jury selection is a little over a month away.
Waiting On SCOTUS
Following Trump’s reply filing late yesterday, the Supreme Court could announce as early as today whether it will take Trump’s immunity appeal up in the Jan. 6 case. Stay tuned.
BREAKING …
Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, 47, has died in prison, according to a statement from the federal penitentiary service for the region where he was incarcerated.
Big, Big, Big Deal
An unexpected surprise indictment from Special Counsel David Weiss, Hunter Biden’s tormentor: The ex-FBI informant who was at the center of the GOP’s bogus Burisma allegations against the Bidens was charged with the fabricating his claims.
It’s an unbelievable turn of events for Rep. James Comer (R-KY), Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA), and the far-right media-propaganda complex who had trumped up Alexander Smirnov’s allegations. Philip Bump grapples with the implications for the Bidens’ accusers (and what a fantastic kicker to Bump’s story – be sure to click on it).
How’d it play on Fox News? It didn’t.
2024 Ephemera
- MT-Sen: After one week in the race, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-MT) has dropped his bid for the GOP nomination to take on Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT). Rosendale was totally screwed when Donald Trump endorsed NRSC-backed GOP candidate Tim Sheehy on the same day Rosendale announced his candidacy. The move does put Republicans in a stronger position to unseat Tester.
- WI-Sen: Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) will be challenged by Republican businessman Eric Hovde.
- Nikki Haley: Trump’s court “chaos” will sink Republicans in November.
Have A Great Holiday Weekend!
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Willis Takes The Stand At Dramatic Disqualification Hearing
Fulton County Superior Court held a hearing Thursday to address whether District Attorney Fani Willis should be removed from prosecuting the Donald Trump election interference RICO case.
Over a full day of dramatic testimony, Willis and prosecutor Nathan Wade both took the stand, facing questions from lawyers for Trump operative Mike Roman, for Trump himself, and for other defendants in the RICO case. The day concluded with two hours of questions in which Willis mounted a fiery rebuttal to the accusations about her and Wade’s relationship, repeatedly accusing Roman’s lawyer of lying.
Continue reading “Willis Takes The Stand At Dramatic Disqualification Hearing”DeSantis Wants To Water Down Book Ban Now That He’s No Longer Running For President
Back in Florida after a humiliating run against Donald Trump, Gov. Ron DeSantis is trying to do some clean up.
Continue reading “DeSantis Wants To Water Down Book Ban Now That He’s No Longer Running For President”A Small Nevada County Finally Got a Wartime School Board
When I got interested in taking a second look at some of the many school boards that were taken over by far-right “anti-woke” activists in 2022, it was hard to know where to start. You know about threesomer and Moms for Liberty Cofounder Bridget Ziegler and “Cool Mom” Clarice Schillinger, who will soon stand trial for the underage keggers she allegedly held in her home before decking various high school students who left too early. But there are so many other cases across the country. Most examples aren’t so lurid, eye-popping or hilarious. But they give those high flyers a run for their money. There is a common theme. It’s not all right-wing politics and bans on transgender students in sports. There is also a common pattern of taking over school boards and then pulling up stakes from the mundane but critical task of overseeing local public schools and instead refashioning the office into what amounts to a jurisdictional castle from which traditionalist culture warriors sally forth into the local community on various right-wing power trips, usually spending tons of money and violating numerous laws in the process.
Continue reading “A Small Nevada County Finally Got a Wartime School Board”Listen To This: The 213th Democrat
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Kate and Josh discuss Tom Suozzi’s win in the special election to replace George Santos, the Hur report heard ’round the world and Mike Johnson’s foreign aid pickle.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.