Former White House adviser Peter Navarro was sentenced to four months in prison Thursday for criminal contempt of Congress after he defied subpoenas for testimony from the House Jan. 6 select committee when it was investigating the attack on the Capitol in 2022, according to Politico and AP reporters in the room.
Continue reading “Navarro Sentenced To 4 Months In Prison For Refusing To Comply With Jan 6 Subpoena”Romney: Trump Killing Immigration Deal To Keep Using Border Against Biden ‘Appalling’
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), armed with the candor of a politician nearing the end of his career, on Thursday denounced Donald Trump’s efforts to wave Republican senators off an immigration deal so the former president can keep using the border as a cudgel against President Joe Biden.
Continue reading “Romney: Trump Killing Immigration Deal To Keep Using Border Against Biden ‘Appalling’”Trump Wants Haley Gone Like Yesterday. Did He Mention That?
Conventional wisdom can evolve in unexpected and unpredictable ways. Conventional wisdom isn’t necessarily valid, of course. The “conventional” label hints that it’s probably not, or at least that it’s incomplete. But conventional wisdom, regardless of its merits, can shape how real world events are perceived and thus the reality of how they unfold. I say all this as preface to note that the day-after reactions to the New Hampshire primary results seemed a bit different from what we heard and saw that night.
Kate Riga mentioned this in the podcast episode we recorded yesterday. We heard all these wild things on Tuesday night about Trump’s resounding victory, how the nomination race is essentially over. And of course it is over if we’re talking about whether or not Trump is going to be the nominee. But I’m seeing more and more comment from the insider commentators and newsletters finally getting around to the idea that while these results almost certainly lock down the nomination, they show general election weakness rather than strength.
Continue reading “Trump Wants Haley Gone Like Yesterday. Did He Mention That?”Ralph Norman Has No Regrets About His Call For ‘Marshall Law’
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Ralph ‘Marshall Law’ Norman Is Still At It
It’s been more than a year since TPM first revealed the now-infamous “Marshall Law” text that Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) sent Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows three days before Biden’s inauguration – and Norman can’t seem to get his story straight.
In December 2022, when we first reported on the text, Norman asked us to send him the text to review then never got back to us.
In January 2023, Norman told a local newspaper in South Carolina, “Obviously, Martial Law was never warranted.”
But then yesterday on CNN, Norman said his only regret about the text was misspelling “martial.”
Peter Navarro To Be Sentenced Today
Prosecutors are seeking a six-month sentence today for Trump White House official Peter Navarro’s contempt of Congress conviction. Navarro failed to comply with a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee.
Trump May Testify Today
Donald Trump may in fact testify today in the defamation trial against him by E. Jean Carroll.
Trump Prosecutions In Holding Pattern
With the DC Circuit Court of Appeals taking its own sweet time handing down its decision on whether presidents have immunity from criminal prosecution, Judge Aileen Cannon slow-rolling the Mar-a-Lago documents case, and Fani Willis’ Georgia case plodding along, the Stormy Daniels hush money trial set for March 25 is looking more likely to be Trump’s first criminal trial.
Trump Threatens, Bullies, And Ices Out Haley Donors
As I noted Monday, Donald Trump isn’t just capturing the GOP nomination, he’s consolidating absolute power within the party. Here’s his threat to Nikki Haley donors:
Anybody that makes a ‘Contribution’ to Birdbrain, from this moment forth, will be permanently barred from the MAGA camp. We don’t want them, and will not accept them, because we Put America First, and ALWAYS WILL!
Fun, Fun, Fun
In his bankruptcy proceeding, Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to testify in person next month about the state of his finances.
4 More Years Of Sketchy Trump Biz Dealings?
- WSJ: Trump’s Golf-Course Tax Break Could Reach $323 Million
- Miami Herald: Russian investor made millions off insider trading tied to Trump Media, court docs say (for the record, Trump is not implicated in this alleged scheme)
Hate To See It
The House Ethics Committee probe of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) over allegations that led to a federal investigation but no criminal charges against him is ramping up, ABC News reports.
Kari Lake Still Sowing Chaos In Arizona
WaPo:
Arizona Republican Party Chairman Jeff DeWit announced his resignation Wednesday after a recording was made public that appeared to show him attempting to entice Republican Kari Lake to sit out the 2024 election for the state’s U.S. Senate seat.
GOP Bails On Border Bill To Help Trump
Donald Trump and the GOP would rather have the border as an issue to flog Joe Biden with during this year’s campaign than actually pass a border bill in which Democrats agree to give them big concessions. Mitch McConnell conceded as much yesterday. More importantly, a collapse of border bill negotiations leaves Ukraine aid high and dry with no clear path forward to overcome Republican opposition.
[Sponsored] An Inside Story Of The Democratic Party At A Moment Of Great Peril
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What Politicizing The Border Looks Like
At the same time the border bill was foundering on the Hill, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott released one of the most inane, over-the-top, secession-esque statements I’ve ever seen:
It’s not just Abbott. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ratified the move.
For those keeping score at home, Abbott is cartoonishly claiming his state is being invaded and left defenseless by the federal government as a justification for nullifying federal law (and basically abandoning the entire structure of federalism) while at the exact same time Trump and the GOP writ large are torpedoing border legislation so they can use racist and xenophobic rhetoric more effectively against Joe Biden for their own partisan electoral aims. Good times.
!!!
Texas saw an estimated 26,313 rape-related pregnancies during the 16 months after the state outlawed all abortions, with no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Of Course They Did
Philip Bump does a public service by comparing a just-released transcript of a witness interview in the House GOP’s Hunter Biden jihad to the misstatements, half-truths, and spin that the Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and his ilk put on the closed-door testimony between the time it happened and the transcript was released.
Ohio Bans Gender-Affirming Care
Overriding a veto by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine, the Ohio legislature has banned gender-affirming care and transgender girls from playing on school sports team for girls and women.
Florida Is Still In The Grip Of DeSantis Fever
NYT:
Students can no longer take sociology to fulfill their core course requirements, Florida’s state university system ruled on Wednesday. Instead, its board of governors approved “a factual history course” as a replacement.
Jon Stewart’s Swan Song
In a fitting tribute to the two old white guys beyond their prime running for president, the Daily Show is bringing back Jon Stewart to host – but a full schedule is too much at this stage of his career, so he’ll only host on Mondays. Too acerbic?
In honor of the moment, the most-watched Stewart segment on YouTube:
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DeSantis’ Lackluster Campaign Unleashed Campaign Finance’s Nightmare Scenario
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis.
There’s already ample evidence that the presidential campaign Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis largely outsourced to a super PAC was among the worst in history. But wait, there’s more! DeSantis’ super-PAC games may well have unleashed federal campaign finance’s nightmare scenario.
Continue reading “DeSantis’ Lackluster Campaign Unleashed Campaign Finance’s Nightmare Scenario”Abbott Doubles Down On ‘Invasion’ Rhetoric That Sidesteps Specifics
Texas Republicans have been using the Supreme Court’s decision this week — to allow federal officials to cut through Texas’ razor wire that is currently blocking border patrol agents from accessing parts of the U.S.-Mexico border — to fantasize about a new “civil war.” They’ve also repeatedly characterized immigration as an “invasion” — one of their few electoral talking points heading into the 2024 elections, and a claim that Texas hopes to deploy as a legal argument in court.
Continue reading “Abbott Doubles Down On ‘Invasion’ Rhetoric That Sidesteps Specifics”Swagger and Menace: The Story of Mr. 50%
Let’s come back to last night’s result. We’ve now had two contests on the Republican side. Donald Trump won 51% of the vote in Iowa (on the GOP side it’s not actually a caucus, just a straight vote) and 54% in New Hampshire. These are at best a thin showing for a former president who remains head of his party. David Kurtz is right that it’s hard to know just what the standard should be when the whole situation is so unprecedented and absurd. The rule in modern American politics is that when you lose a presidential election your career in politics is over. Add to that trying to overthrow the government and facing about a hundred felony indictments and you’d think that would be enough. But that’s obviously not the case. This is the world we’re living in.
Continue reading “Swagger and Menace: The Story of Mr. 50%”The First Winter Olympics, 100 Years Ago
The first Winter Olympic Games were held between January 25 and February 5, 1924, in the French town of Chamonix. Competitors from 16 countries convened to show their strengths in events including speed skating, ice hockey, figure skating, ski jumping, and bobsleigh.
The first-ever Winter Olympics poster
Speed skaters train in Chamonix for the first Winter Olympic Games
A goalkeeper for the US ice hockey team practices before the games
Figure skater Sonja Henie of Norway, the youngest competitor at the winter games
A speed skating event begins in Chamonix
An American speed skater competes in the men’s 500 meter event in Chamonix
American speed skaters practice in Chamonix for the Winter Olympics
Delegates gather in Chamonix for the opening ceremony
French athletes at the opening of the first Winter Olympics
Italian athletes at the inaugural parade for the first Winter Olympics
A Norwegian ski jumper competes in Chamonix
Bobsleigh competitors en route to the starting point
A British four-man bobsleigh team navigates a turn
Bringing down the injured after a bobsleigh crash
Canada vs. USA hockey final at the first Winter Olympics
The Canadian hockey team after they beat team USA
Figure skaters at the first Winter Olympics in Chamonix
Belgian figure skater training ahead of the Winter Olympic Games
Norwegian figure skaters competing in the first Winter Olympics
Figure skaters posing during a practice session for the Winter Olympics in Chamonix
The British curling team competes in Chamonix
A poster for the first Winter Olympics
There Was A Second Race in New Hampshire Last Night
While the Republican primary got the most attention last night, there was a Democratic contest too.
So let’s look at those results.
President Biden didn’t campaign in the state because New Hampshire refused to abide by the DNC’s new primary calendar which put South Carolina and Nevada at the front of the nomination line. His name didn’t appear on the ballot either. He appears on track to get a bit over 65% of the vote as a write-in. He’s likely one of the few and possibly only presidential candidate ever to win a primary as a write-in.
Continue reading “There Was A Second Race in New Hampshire Last Night”Trump’s Extraordinary Win In New Hampshire And The Painful Road Ahead
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
The Historic Moment
While last night’s coverage of New Hampshire reinforced that political journalism is not up to the task of covering the 2024 election, I should confess that I have no real idea how to cover a presidential campaign where the presumptive major party nominee is a former president who auto-couped, faces criminal indictments in four jurisdictions, promises to abuse the powers of the office he seeks to exact retribution against his perceived enemies, has no real policy interests or platform, and is bent on strongman rule if re-elected.
This is uncharted territory, and the usual campaign and election coverage is not suited to navigating it, fails to appreciate the seriousness of the moment, reinforces and celebrates Trump’s worst tendencies, and leaves voters ill-informed and under the illusion that this is somehow all normal.
Parsing Trump’s margin of victory in New Hampshire is absurdism. As my colleague Josh Marshall put it yesterday: “We’re talking about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin when there actually is no pin.” But political journalists held a goddamned hoedown last night on the head of that imaginary pin.
So let me just run through a quick list of things that made Trump’s victory in New Hampshire last night extraordinary:
- In the modern era (and with rare exceptions, throughout U.S. history), presidents who lose re-election have no future political viability. The fact that Trump was able to maintain control of the GOP after his 2020 loss and has all but re-won his party’s nomination is highly unusual. Be skeptical anytime you see Trump called the “de facto incumbent.” That’s not normally how this works.
- As the NYT points out, no Republican presidential candidate who was not a sitting president has ever won the Iowa caucus and the New Hampshire primary back-to-back like Trump just did.
- Trump narrowed the primary field to one opponent after Iowa, and then beat Nikki Haley by double digits in a New Hampshire primary with record turnout. New Hampshire was Haley’s best chance of winning anywhere, and she is now running on fumes with no clear path ahead. Who was the last non-incumbent to lock up the nomination this soon?
Those are just the purely political metrics. They don’t include the criminal charges for couping, mishandling classified documents, obstruction of justice, and cheating to win in 2016 by covering up his dalliance with a porn star. Good god.
On top of all of that, the criminal justice system is struggling mightily to hold Trump to account for the rule of law before the election. Its inability to respond to the current moment — even when its own very existence is potentially at stake — is something future generations will find bewildering. Let the record show that the current generation is bewildered, too.
Whatever Haley does in the short term, we’re in general election mode now. In some ways that is clarifying. It sharpens the mind on the choices before us. It eliminates clutter and sideshows. But political journalism is not ready for this. Neither is our court system. It’s going to be a long, bumpy, painful road to November.
No Dignity Left To Give
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) leaves all his dignity on the field:
South Carolina is NOT Nikki Haley’s Firewall
I’d be a little surprised if Nikki Haley sticks around to take it on the chin in her home state on Feb. 24. She’s trailing badly in the polls, and the pressure on her to drop out will only increase over the next month. To-wit:
RNC Ready To Move On To General Election
I Detect A Theme
Emphasis mine:
- WSJ: Trump Won New Hampshire, but There Are Warning Signs for November
- Politico: Trump’s New Hampshire win had some bright red warning signs
- WSJ (same story): “Moreover, Trump in New Hampshire was carrying 33% of independent voters who chose to cast ballots in the GOP primary, another yellow warning light for his candidacy.”
2024 Ephemera
- President Biden won the write-in vote in New Hampshire after the DNC desanctioned its primary at Biden’s behest to elevate South Carolina into “first primary” status.
- O’Malley Dillon and senior adviser Mike Donilon are moving from the White House to top positions on Biden’s re-election campaign.
- The Biden campaign is treating Trump’s win in new Hampshire as the kickoff of the general election campaign.
[Sponsored] An Inside Story Of The Democratic Party At A Moment Of Great Peril
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Trump’s Gag Order In Jan. 6 Case Survives Appeal
The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals declined to rehear Donald Trump’s appeal of the gag order imposed on him in the Jan. 6 case.
Disqualification Clause Status Check
- Massachusetts: Citing jurisdictional and procedural reasons, the Massachusetts State Ballot Law Commission dismissed a challenge to Donald Trump’s candidacy in the GOP primary under the Constitution’s Disqualification Clause.
- Maine: The state’s highest court appears skeptical that it has jurisdiction to hear an appeal at this stage by Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, whose decision to remove Trump from the GOP primary ballot under the Disqualification Clause has been blocked by a lower court.
Interesting …
With New York Attorney General Letitia James seeking to ban Donald Trump for life from the New York real estate industry, she seized on a Second Circuit Court of Appeals ruling yesterday upholding a similar ban she won against Martin Shkreli in the pharmaceutical industry.
James immediately informed the judge in Trump’s civil trial of the ruling, which could be a factor as he considers his verdict in the just-finished trial, which is expected by the end of January.
Charles Osgood, 1933-2024
A quirky man from a different time. A proud anachronism. A reminder of what radio and TV could offer before it was polished to an homogenous sheen:
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