Lawyers for the individual voters and organizations challenging Louisiana’s congressional map tried to impress upon a skeptical 5th Circuit Court of Appeals panel Friday that the state’s actions all drive in one direction: delaying the process so long that it has to use the likely unconstitutional map in 2024.
Continue reading “Lawyers Try To Convince Resistant 5th Circuit That Louisiana Is Slow-Walking Map Process On Purpose”Is The MSM Suddenly Discovering Itself?
Something funny is happening. A bit out of the blue the country’s big media organizations have started noting something peculiar. Ex-President Trump’s rhetoric has grown increasingly violent over the course of 2023 with an escalating round of threats against his perceived political enemies. Those messages go out loud and clear to his supporters. But they’re either muted or ignored by much of the mainstream press which has focused on discussions about President Biden’s age, Kamala Harris’s experience and popularity and the like. This isn’t a new observation. We’ve noted this dynamic repeatedly, as recently as a couple weeks ago. But suddenly the bigs themselves are noting it.
Continue reading “Is The MSM Suddenly Discovering Itself?”DCCC Officially Endorses Jim Jordan (Kidding! Not Kidding)
One thing that is becoming clear from the tip sheets is that at least some GOP conference members are waking up and smelling the coffee on Jim Jordan’s record from that college wrestler molestation scandal.
To refresh your memory: Before Jordan got into politics he was an assistant wrestling coach (1987-1995) at Ohio State. He claims he didn’t know the team doctor was sexually molesting team members. But apparently it was an open secret and a number of team members from the time claim Jordan knew. They go on TV and say it.
Continue reading “DCCC Officially Endorses Jim Jordan (Kidding! Not Kidding)”We’ve Finally Solved The Mystery Of George Santos’ Mysterious Fortune
The world knows a lot about Rep. George Santos (R-NY). His backstory is full of lies and his campaign finance reports were studded with extraordinary irregularities. However, amid a cascade of revelations about Santos’ extraordinary deceptions and unusual election operation over the last few months, one mystery remained.
According to his campaign’s filings with the Federal Election Commission, Santos helped power his House bid with personal loans of more than $500,000. Santos’ financial disclosures suggested the sum came as he enjoyed a massive surge in income with a seven-figure salary and more than one million in the bank. It was never quite clear how Santos went from making $55,000 to having a vast personal fortune in the span of a matter of months.
But on Thursday, as Nancy Marks, Santos’ campaign treasurer pleaded guilty to a fraud conspiracy charge related to her work on his team, we got an answer. Federal prosecutors said Santos’ fortune never existed at all.
Continue reading “We’ve Finally Solved The Mystery Of George Santos’ Mysterious Fortune”Trump: You Can’t Prosecute Me Because I Did It All While POTUS
Donald Trump on Thursday asked for the first time that the D.C. election interference case against him be dismissed, saying that everything he was accused of was covered by his “absolute immunity” as President.
Continue reading “Trump: You Can’t Prosecute Me Because I Did It All While POTUS”Listen To This: Vacant
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate process the House Republican circus after Kevin McCarthy lost his gavel.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Murray Suddenly Finds Herself Second In Line To The Presidency
When the gavel came crashing down Tuesday afternoon, declaring the Office of the Speaker of the House vacant, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the Senate president pro tempore, found herself one step higher on the ladder of presidential succession.
Continue reading “Murray Suddenly Finds Herself Second In Line To The Presidency”Let’s Talk about ‘PodiumGate’
You probably haven’t heard of “Podiumgate.” I’ve been kicking myself for the last week or so because there’s been so much going on and this story is so convoluted that I haven’t made time to write about it. But it’s the kind of story I’ve always loved. And it’s a big story, even if, for the moment, it’s almost entirely contained within Arkansas. So in this post I’m going to try to give you the outline, to catch you up so we can keep tabs on it going forward. It’s so convoluted that I may get some points wrong or at least get some points of emphasis wrong. But bear with me because you’ll be glad you did.
It all starts back in June when Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders of Arkansas takes a trade delegation to Paris, France to drum up business for Arkansas. She was visiting an aerospace trade show and aerospace and defense actually make up a significant amount of the state’s exports. (And yes, I’m withholding some details about what went down in Paris to build up dramatic tension. You have to keep reading.)
Continue reading “Let’s Talk about ‘PodiumGate’”Judges Order Alabama To Use Special Master’s Map After State Refused To Un-Gerrymander Its Own
A panel of federal judges Thursday ordered Alabama to conduct its 2024 congressional elections under a map crafted by a special master, a necessity after state lawmakers refused to draw a court-ordered second Black opportunity district.
It’ll likely mean the election of an additional Democratic congressperson in 2024. That reality helps illuminate why Republican state officials across multiple states are fighting tooth and nail to keep their biased maps, no matter what the courts tell them to do.
Continue reading “Judges Order Alabama To Use Special Master’s Map After State Refused To Un-Gerrymander Its Own”If Louisiana’s Next Election Uses Gerrymandered Maps, It’ll Be The 5th Circuit’s Doing
After the Supreme Court knocked down Alabama’s gerrymandered map in June, court watchers, redistricting experts and those invested in which party controls the House of Representatives did quick napkin math to figure out where that decision would redound.
One obvious answer was Louisiana, where a district court had enjoined the congressional maps as a likely VRA violation last summer. The Supreme Court froze that case in place in June 2022, pending the outcome of the very similar Alabama one.
Now the case is moving again. But the Louisiana litigants — and the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals — are working to scuttle the automatic redistricting fix many expected. They seem to be procedurally walking in slow motion, trying to delay producing a map that empowers Black voters and would likely give Democrats a House seat until they butt up against the 2024 elections and run out of time.
Continue reading “If Louisiana’s Next Election Uses Gerrymandered Maps, It’ll Be The 5th Circuit’s Doing”