This new piece by Hunter and Josh is a reminder of what your subscriptions, what being a member of club TPM, accomplishes. George Santos was just indicted (a new set of felony indictments) for charging people’s credit cards for contributions they never intended to make. Just straight up fraud. TPM was the first to break that story way back in January. If you’re a member: you did this. If you’re not, join us today.
House Republicans Bet On Divine Intervention
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
‘I’ll Pray On It’
In a bid to appear functional, House Republicans are expected to take at least one step toward possibly, potentially, maybe electing a speaker today. How those procedural votes will actually pan out is anyone’s guess — and the D.C. tip sheets have plenty of ‘em — but plugged-in observers say a rule change vote expected today will serve as a proxy vote on the nominees. Most of the GOP conference is rallying around either House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) or Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-OH).
Continue reading “House Republicans Bet On Divine Intervention”Santos Indicted Over Credit Card Scheme That Was First Reported By TPM
In January, TPM broke the story that donors to Rep. George Santos’ (R-NY) 2022 campaign were charged for contributions they didn’t intend to give. On Tuesday, roughly nine months after that story, federal prosecutors in New York charged Santos with credit card fraud and identity theft related to a “scheme” that mirrors the allegations first revealed in TPM’s reporting.
Continue reading “Santos Indicted Over Credit Card Scheme That Was First Reported By TPM”Georgia Republicans Put Their Yearslong Fani Willis Payback Scheme Into Motion
A handful of Georgia Senate Republicans filed a complaint against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis with the state’s Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission, a new state-run panel with authority to investigate and oust local district attorneys that officially formed at the beginning of the month.
The commission was created when it was signed into law earlier this year on the heels of a broader movement by Republican governors last summer, who pushed for new policy to enact control over district attorneys whose enforcement they didn’t like. The trend began in Florida when Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) fired a local prosecutor for, among other things, stating publicly he wouldn’t prosecute people seeking abortions.
But in Georgia, the panel initiative was pushed into law over the course of the last year for a bigger, riper purpose, too: as a line of defense for Donald Trump, who, at the time of the bill’s introduction in the state legislature, was being investigated by Willis. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) said as much of the bill’s introduction.
While the complaint against Willis filed by eight Georgia Senate Republicans does not specifically mention Trump, the Republican lawmakers linked a recent uptick in deaths in the Fulton County Jail to Willis’ 2020 election investigation and decision to “empanel a special grand jury to investigate her political adversaries,” a line straight out of the Trumpian playbook.
“The integrity of our justice system is at stake, and the trust of the community in the District Attorney’s Office has been severely eroded,” the Republicans wrote, according to the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, which obtained a copy of the document. The letter was signed by Georgia Senate Majority Leader Steve Gooch and state Sen. Jason Anavitarte, per the AJC.
As one of the few Republicans who has managed to survive the wrath of Trump after he refused to embrace his 2020 election overturning efforts in the state, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) has repeatedly refused to disparage Willis for her investigation. But he did in recent weeks suggest that her timing was bad.
“I haven’t seen anything that she has done that has broken the law or the procedures that we have. And I’ve been very honest with people about that,” Kemp told AJC in a recent interview. “It may be a political action she’s taken in some ways, with timing and other things, but it doesn’t mean it’s illegal.”
I wrote about this particular long game Trump retribution crusade here a few months back, but the tl;dr: Despite Kemp’s hands-off approach to the Willis investigation, he’s backed the creation of this panel — with its anti-Willis intentions that other Georgia Republicans have long acknowledged more candidly — from the start.
The Best Of TPM Today
Here’s what you should read this evening:
Don’t Let Trump Repeat His New York Case Social Posts, Government Says
George Santos Dismisses His Latest Rival As Democrats Line Up To Take Him On
Idaho Banned Abortion. Then It Turned Down Supports For Pregnancies And Births.
ICYMI: How House Republicans Fought Ukraine Aid Like They Fight The Social Safety Net
Yesterday’s Most Read Story
Was There A Warning? — Josh Marshall
What We Are Reading
Conservative PAC leader’s meeting with white supremacist Nick Fuentes leads to condemnations, escalates GOP infighting — Texas Tribune
North Carolina Republicans override governor’s veto on key election law — WaPo
Putin Offers Muted Response to Attack on Israel. That Speaks Volumes. — New York Times
Key Trump Attorney Fights To Have 2020 Coup Arguments Legitimized
Three years on, and the defense remains the same: whatever happened in 2020 was justified, and the rules then still apply now.
Continue reading “Key Trump Attorney Fights To Have 2020 Coup Arguments Legitimized”World Gone Mad Miscellany
LecternGate Goes from Strength to Strength!
OnlyKevin Movement takes flight in the House!
More from PodiumLecternGate: It seems rather quaint at the moment. But I wanted to flag to your attention that the blogger/FOIAer/gadfly/lawyer, Matt Campbell, who has close to singlehandedly made the podiumlecterngate into the story it is, has now unearthed pretty incontrovertible documentary evidence of document tampering by the Office of the Governor in Arkansas. Specifically, a representative of the office tried to get a state employee to change document to match the Governor’s cover story.
Don’t Let Trump Repeat His New York Case Social Posts, Government Says
Special counsel Jack Smith asked a D.C. federal judge on Tuesday to stop Donald Trump from harassing jurors before he has the opportunity to do so.
Continue reading “Don’t Let Trump Repeat His New York Case Social Posts, Government Says”Waiting for a Unity Government
I want to reiterate what I wrote two days ago in my first post about the current conflict in Israel. If you’re looking for information on the coordinated Hamas attacks in southern Israel I recommend this Twitter list of (mostly) English language news sources from Israel, if you’re on Twitter. The Times of Israel, the English language version of Haaretz and Ynet are also good. Obviously there are many good sources of information. This isn’t meant to be exhaustive. These are some of the first places I go when I’m looking for the latest information.
With a story like this we’re not going to break new information. I see our role as helping sift through the flurry of new details and the often-chaotic stream of information we’re seeing.
Continue reading “Waiting for a Unity Government”George Santos Dismisses His Latest Rival As Democrats Line Up To Take Him On
On Tuesday morning, New York Democrat Tom Suozzi, a former congressman, made it official: He’s running for the House seat currently filled by scandalized Rep. George Santos (R-NY). In an announcement posted to social media, Suozzi cited the “absurdity” of Santos’ continued presence on Capitol Hill.
“Today, I’m filing a committee to run for Congress in November 2024. The Madness in Washington, DC, and the absurdity of George Santos remaining in Congress is obvious to everyone,” Suozzi said.
Suozzi is a high profile opponent. Santos’ seat is the product of redistricting maps that took effect last year, but it includes much of the district Suozzi represented for three terms. Suozzi previously beat Santos in the old district in 2020. That race was Santos’ first. However, in text messages to TPM, Santos brushed off his once-and-future rival and suggested Suozzi will not be able to emerge from the crowded field of Democrats who are eyeing the seat amid the legal drama and scandals that have consumed Santos since he was elected late last year.
“He won’t clear his primary,” Santos said of Suozzi.
Suozzi, who has said he will discuss the race further after local elections next month, declined to comment on this story.
Asked to elaborate, Santos cited the unsuccessful gubernatorial bid Suozzi mounted last year. In that race, Suozzi was defeated by the current governor, Democrat Kathy Hochul, by over 50 points.
“He pissed off every New York Democrat by running against Kathy and smearing her,” Santos said of Suozzi.
Santos also pointed out that Suozzi lost to Hochul in the Long Island county where much of his district is located.
The 2022 gubernatorial race came after longtime Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned amid his own series of scandals. Suozzi’s decision to enter that race meant vacating his House seat – a move that paved the way for Santos.
Santos’ success — and the lack of scrutiny his candidacy received – was enabled, in part, by the fact that last year was an unusual one in New York politics. Along with Cuomo’s shock resignation, there was a court fight over the House district lines that saw them announced effectively in the middle of the cycle. The shifting lines scrambled the candidates on Long Island and contributed to a favorable climate for Republicans. While Hochul won the race thanks to support from the overwhelmingly Democratic residents of New York City, she performed poorly in the Long Island suburbs and Republicans won a slew of races there.
Amid all of the chaos and without an incumbent, Santos and his campaign did not receive much scrutiny. Local papers had pointed out some of the issues with Santos’ candidacy, but the fact that he had lied about his resume, had ties to an alleged pyramid scheme, and had campaign finance reports studded with irregularities did not garner widespread attention until after he won the seat last November.
Along with negative headlines, since taking office Santos has been consumed by legal drama. Santos was indicted in May on fraud and money laundering charges related to unemployment benefits he obtained and an accusation from prosecutors that he “pocketed campaign contributions and used that money to pay down personal debts and buy designer clothing.” Last week, Nancy Marks, Santos’ campaign treasurer, pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge related to her work on his team. The indictment against Marks suggested that she and Santos participated in a scheme to file false reports in order to help him qualify for financial and logistical support from Republican organizations.
While Santos was not charged along with Marks, the case raised the specter of further legal drama for the embattled congressman. Though he has admitted to lying about his past, Santos has vowed to fight the charges against him and cast them as attacks from “the political establishment elites and corrupt bias media.”
Despite Santos’ desire to fight, the wild drama and legal trouble has attracted a handful of Democrats eager to take his place. Suozzi’s entry into the field makes five Democratic candidates who have announced bids for the seat and more are rumored to be considering entering the fray.
Though Santos is insisting he will not resign, his rivals are widely considered to be preparing for a potential special election in the event of his ouster. Democrats may be prepping for Santos to be removed, but House Republican leadership, which is, of course, in flux, has previously signaled he would not be forced out of office despite his unprecedented suite of problems.
Even as he is squarely in the spotlight, facing a court case, and surrounded by rivals, Santos is projecting confidence and being bullish about his chances. As he dismissed Suozzi, Santos hinted at his internal poll numbers and suggested the former congressman was only considering the race because none of the other Democrats have a chance.
“If he’s jumping in,” Santos told TPM of Suozzi. “I’m sure it’s because he’s seeing the same polling I am …”
Dem Rep. Clyburn’s Role In Redrawn Congressional Maps Becomes Key in Supreme Court Redistricting Case
This article was originally published at ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom.
Democratic Rep. James Clyburn’s role in South Carolina’s 2022 redistricting has emerged as a central point of contention between Democrats and Republicans in a racial gerrymandering case to be argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Continue reading “Dem Rep. Clyburn’s Role In Redrawn Congressional Maps Becomes Key in Supreme Court Redistricting Case”