In a way we’ve gone down a bit of a rabbit hole in our recent discussions of Starlink, Elon Musk and Ukraine. But it’s a fascinating one and – unlike a rabbit hole proper, which is judged to be beguiling yet ultimately pointless – it actually connects up with many of the most critical issues of our time. TPM Reader VN followed up with more about Starlink and its very real military applications even for the United States. The subject matter gets dense and sometimes technical below. But it’s worth following along. Because it touches on some really big, big issues.
Continue reading “Drones, Artillery and Connectivity”Listen To This: If At First You Don’t Succeed, Impeach
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate discuss Wisconsin Republicans’ authoritarian bender, Kevin McCarthy’s newest debacle and the panic around President Joe Biden’s age.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Aileen Cannon Finally Does Something!
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Time Keeps On Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin’
I wrote in Monday’s Morning Memo about the slow pace of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in the Mar-a-Lago case, but I anticipated we might finally see some movement this week. Here’s what happened:
- Cannon held a sealed hearing under CIPA on Tuesday that wasn’t scheduled on the docket in which she apparently heard arguments on the protective order the government was seeking to govern the handling of classified information in the case.
- On Wednesday, she finally entered the protective order under CIPA. The government’s motion for the protective order had been pending for months. Now prosecutors can finally begin turning over classified discovery to Trump’s legal team.
- On balance, her protective order was normal. It didn’t grant Trump’s insane request to re-install a SCIF at Mar-a-Lago, and it didn’t give his co-defendants unbridled access to classified information since they weren’t charged with mishandling it.
- One weird wrinkle was she issued a separate order asking for extensive briefing on the parameters of CIPA, and it’s not clear what issue(s) she’s trying to address with that request.
Despite the movement, let’s not forget two things: 1) The government had been poised since mid-July to turn over classified discovery to Trump but Cannon’s lack of a ruling stalled that discovery production for more than two months; and 2) Cannon still hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the government’s Garcia motion to address the conflicts of interest of two defense counsel.
The clock keeps ticking.
Things Are Moving Fast For Mark Meadows
Yesterday’s developments in the Georgia RICO case include:
- The federal judge who declined to remove Mark Meadows’ case from state court refused to pause that ruling while Meadows appeals.
- The 11th Circuit moved quickly to consider Meadows’ request for a pause, setting oral arguments for this Friday.
What To Make Of Scott Perry’s Phone?
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals publicly released its previous ruling on whether Special Counsel Jack Smith can access the contents of the phone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA). It’s mostly a bad ruling for Smith under the Speech or Debate Clause, but with two caveats: 1) It may not be quite as bad as we thought when the docket entry on the sealed ruling first came out; and 2) It’s still not clear how critical Perry and his phone are to the broader investigation.
2024 Ephemera
- WaPo: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) will not seek re-election
- Politico: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) ditches the MAGA thing back home
- Washington Post-Monmouth University poll of South Carolina GOP primary: Trump 46%, Haley 18%, Scott 10%, DeSantis 9%.
- WaPo: DeSantis took undisclosed private flights and lodging through wealthy donors
Mitt With His Finger On the Pulse Pre-Jan. 6
Oy …
The accounts of the conduct of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) before she was escorted out of a weekend performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical in Denver are amazing, as is this surveillance video compilation:
Paxton’s Mistress Ends Up Not Testifying
Quite a lede from the WaPo:
AUSTIN — The star witness swept into the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, red coat and flashy Balenciaga-emblazoned handbag tucked under her arms, her white sheath, red lipstick and signature platinum pixie all a dramatic contrast from the somber-suited individuals who have testified for the past week in the historic impeachment trial of state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Until Laura Olson, it had mostly been former Paxton staffers and law-enforcement-turned-whistleblowers on the stand in the Senate, recounting the actions that led to him being charged with bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of office. Olson served a different role in his life: former mistress.
Oof …
The FBI has stood up a new unit to investigate threats against agents and prosecutors for not being tough enough on Hunter Biden, NBC News reports.
Photos From Morocco Earthquake
We’ve compiled some of the best photojournalism of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Morocco:
Reckoning With The Devastation In Libya
The death toll from this week’s flood is estimated to be as high as 20,000:
SCOOP!
WSJ: Inside Exxon’s Strategy to Downplay Climate Change
55% Chance Warming Will Top 1.5C This Year
It depends on which baseline for pre-industrial warming you’re using, but by one such measure there’s a slightly-better-than-even chance earth will bust through the 1.5C degree barrier in 2023:
65 countries had their warmest August on record, including (among others): Brazil, China, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, and Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/QcHyoVhDwv
— Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath) September 13, 2023
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
Wisconsin Voters Don’t Want Their Election Results Overturned
Republicans in Wisconsin’s GOP-dominated state legislature are pulling out all the stops to keep their state’s new liberal-majority Supreme Court from weighing in on two redistricting cases brought before the court quickly after Justice Janet Protasiewicz was sworn in this year.
Continue reading “Wisconsin Voters Don’t Want Their Election Results Overturned”Dems Mock McCarthy For Not Being Able To Muster The Votes To Launch Bogus Biden Impeachment Inquiry
A handful of House Democrats are making it clear that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) — who previously said he wouldn’t launch an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden without a House vote — went back on his word because he doesn’t have the support of his caucus.
On Wednesday they were not shy about taking shots at McCarthy and the House Republican caucus for it.
Continue reading “Dems Mock McCarthy For Not Being Able To Muster The Votes To Launch Bogus Biden Impeachment Inquiry”Rep. Peltola’s Husband Dies in Plane Crash
Freshman Rep. Mary Peltola’s husband Eugene died this morning in a plane crash in Alaska. He was the only pilot and there were no passengers. He was 57.
Any premature death is tragic. But it is hard to overstate how many Alaska politicians and their spouses have died in plane accidents. And that’s just a particular window into the dangers of air transportation in the state. Peltola was elected after the death of long serving Rep. Don Young (R). Young was elected after his predecessor, Rep. Nick Begich (D) died in a plane crash in 1972. Also killed in that crash was then-House Majority Leader Hale Boggs. In fact, while “crash” is basically certain neither the plane nor any of its four occupants were ever found, even after one of the biggest searches in US history.
Continue reading “Rep. Peltola’s Husband Dies in Plane Crash”The Benefits of Lying – with a Compliant Press
We have a new Quinnipiac poll out today. No big surprises. About where the rest of recent polls have been: Biden 47%, Trump 46%. But it’s this paragraph down in the poll release that has my attention.
Half of voters think Joe Biden was involved in Hunter Biden’s business dealings with China and Ukraine, while 40 percent think Joe Biden was not involved. Thirty-five percent of voters believe Joe Biden was involved and did something illegal, while 13 percent believe he was involved and did something unethical but nothing illegal, 1 percent believe he was involved but he did not do anything wrong, 11 percent did not offer an opinion, and 40 percent of voters believe Joe Biden was not involved.
At the risk of stating the obvious, Republicans have produced no evidence whatsoever to show that President Biden was involved in any of his son’s business dealings and there’s quite a bit of contrary evidence. But by simply repeating the accusations often enough it shapes public opinion in clear and damaging ways.
We know this but it never stops being worth noting it.
Jack Smith’s Deputy In Jan. 6 Case Is A ‘Lawman Type’ Who’s Taken On Trumpworld Before
As he has pursued the unprecedented and complex case against former President Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election, Special Counsel Jack Smith has had help from a longtime colleague. Joseph “J.P.” Cooney is a veteran federal prosecutor with a deep distaste for corruption and a hard charging approach.
Continue reading “Jack Smith’s Deputy In Jan. 6 Case Is A ‘Lawman Type’ Who’s Taken On Trumpworld Before”Evers Condemns Wisconsin GOP’s Newest Gambit To Entrench Its Control Permanently
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz’s landslide April victory continues to be an existential threat to state Republicans, who have gerrymandered the state so aggressively as to be assured permanent legislative control no matter who voters choose.
Continue reading “Evers Condemns Wisconsin GOP’s Newest Gambit To Entrench Its Control Permanently”Get Real and Get Focused
Back on July 28th I wrote about Eliot Cohen’s piece in The Atlantic arguing Biden should step aside and let another Democrat be the nominee for 2024. That Cohen piece seems to have become almost a genre in itself, a set piece even down to the same outline making the same point. David Ignatius wrote almost the identical piece last night in the Post.
It’s become a latter-day wise man formula: Biden has done a great job. He had a historic achievement in stopping Trump in 2020. But now because he’s so old he could squander that achievement by losing to Trump. So he should bow out and let someone else run.
Since it’s basically the identical piece, albeit brisker and to the point, you can see my take from July. But I wanted to note one addition Ignatius makes to the argument. While first suggesting the absurd idea that Biden should soft-heave-ho Kamala Harris and “encourage a more open vice-presidential selection process” he has a realization: “breaking up the ticket would be a free-for-all that could alienate Black women, a key constituency. Biden might end up more vulnerable.”
Ya think?
Continue reading “Get Real and Get Focused”