Justices on the Minnesota Supreme Court greeted arguments to disqualify President Trump from the ballot with a mixture of skepticism and interest at a Thursday hearing, leaving the path forward for the effort an open question.
Continue reading “Minnesota Justices Stay Coy On Whether They Can DQ Trump”Here’s All The People Who Have Flipped on Trump (So Far)
In August of 2023, Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in Georgia in a sweeping RICO case arising from various attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Since then, several defendants have reached plea agreements. We’ve noted them here and will continue to update this list.
1. Georgia Bail Bondsman Scott Hall
Scott Hall’s Mugshot
2. Attorney Kenneth Chesebro
Chesebro’s Mugshot
3. Attorney Sidney Powell
Unleash the Kraken
Sidney Powell Mugshot
4. Attorney Jenna Ellis
The Battle Hymn Of The Republic
Jenna Ellis’s Mugshot
Listen To This: Off Year, On Message
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate discuss Mike Johnson’s early days on the job and major upcoming elections in Ohio and Virginia.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Loose Cannon Is Making A Mess Of The Mar-a-Lago Case
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
The Only Judge Donald Trump Doesn’t Criticize
A series of developments in the Mar-a-Lago case over the last 24 hours don’t bode well for the rule of law in general or the prosecution of Donald Trump for blatant mishandling of classified information in particular.
In a hearing on Trump’s request for a trial delay, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon signaled that she was open to pushing back the trial date from May 2024. She promised to issue a revised schedule as soon as possible. As of this morning, she hasn’t ruled yet. Delay until he can win re-election and make all this go away is the core of Trump’s defense strategy, which isn’t a legal strategy at all but rather a political one.
But fresh off that apparent victory, Trump may have gotten too cute by half. In the afternoon hearing, he argued to Cannon that she should delay the Mar-a-Lago trial because the Jan. 6 case against him in DC scheduled for March 2024 posed a schedule conflict. But later in the day, he filed a new motion in the DC case seeking to put it entirely on pause until his claims of absolute presidential immunity are resolved.
Get it? He told one judge that he can’t possibly go to trial in Florida in May because he has a trial in DC in March, then turned around and tried to delay the DC trial, too.
Special Counsel Jack Smith seized on Trump’s rope-a-dope and flagged it to Cannon in a filing early this morning, urging her not to allow herself “to be manipulated in this fashion.”
Disqualification Clause Watch
- Colorado: Judge denies Trump motion to dismiss in Disqualification Clause case
- Colorado: “The effort to ban former President Donald Trump from the ballot under the Constitution’s “insurrection clause” turned to distant history on Wednesday, when a law professor testified about how the post-Civil War provision was indeed intended to apply to presidential candidates.”
- Minnesota: Oral arguments begin today in Disqualification Clause case against Trump
I’m Glad Someone Finally Did This
Aaron Blake debunks Donald Trump’s go-to claim that prosecutors timed their indictments of him to interfere with his presidential campaign, the comical implication being that Trump would have been fiiine with the prosecutions if they had come sooner.
What To Make Of Jenna Ellis’ Guilty Plea In Georgia?
Circling back on the implications of Jenna Ellis pleading guilty last week in the Georgia RICO case:
- Norman Eisen and Amy Lee Copeland: Jenna Ellis Could Become a Star Witness Against Trump
- Ellis’ lawyer talked about the guilty plea on a legal podcast hosted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution. It’s an interesting account of how the plea agreement came together, but I was struck by what he had to say about Rudy Giuliani:
Asked if Giuliani, who is charged with RICO and 12 other counts, should be worried, Hogue said, “I think he should be.”
But not necessarily because of Ellis, Hogue said. “I think there’s enough for Mayor Giuliani to worry about that wouldn’t have anything to do with Jenna Ellis. I mean, she wouldn’t be a help to him, I don’t think, if she was to be called as a witness. But I think his troubles extend far beyond her.”
GOP Is Rationalizing Cruelty Toward Gaza
Will Saletan looks at what the GOP presidential candidates told the Republican Jewish Coalition over the weekend:
What the Republican candidates are advocating, in sum, is an abandonment of morals. They’re rationalizing bigotry and cruelty—withholding humanitarian aid, barring child refugees, bombing Gaza without limits—and they’re grounding America’s loyalty to Israel in Jewish and Christian scripture. This isn’t the way to build an alliance against terrorism. It’s the way to feed a religious war.
It’s not just the GOP’s presidential candidates. Here’s Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL) on the House floor:
Senate GOP Fed Up With Tuberville
Sen. Tommy Tuberville’s long-running and unprecedented blockade of President Biden’s military nominees over abortion politics finally hit the limit for Senate Republicans Wednesday night.
Using antiquated Senate rules (for which the Senate has itself to blame), Tuberville has blocked hundreds of military promotions since February to protest the Pentagon policy that reimburses service members for travel expenses where abortions are difficult to obtain.
- WaPo: Senate Republicans erupt in anger over Tuberville’s military freeze
On Wednesday night, a remarkable scene unfolded on the Senate floor as several Republicans, including Sens. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Joni Ernst (Iowa) Todd C. Young (Ind.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) confronted Tuberville, imploring him to lift his hold for the sake of national security and proposing votes on individual officers whose promotions have been delayed. Tuberville rebuffed them one by one, blocking each proposed nominee as his colleagues’ frustration continued to rise.
- AP: Republicans confront Tuberville over military holds in extraordinary showdown on Senate floor
Republican senators angrily challenged Sen. Tommy Tuberville on his blockade of almost 400 military officers Wednesday evening, taking over the Senate floor for more than four hours to call for individual confirmation votes after a monthslong stalemate.
Republican defense hawks unleashed their fury on Tuberville. They spent four-plus hours haranguing him as they tried to confirm dozens of the more than 300 military promotions the Alabama GOP senator has been blocking over his opposition to the Pentagon’s abortion policy.
All George Santos All The Time
- Rep. George Santos (R-NY) survived an expulsion vote in the House Wednesday.
- TPM exclusive: Santos Campaign Meltdown Attracts Interest From House Investigators
- TPM: How George Santos Left NYC Republicans Feeling Scammed
Red Alert
Speaker Mike Johnson has hired disgraced Fox executive Raj Shah to be his spokesperson and run messaging for the House GOP.
Does Speaker Mike Johnson Have a Bank Account?
Poverty is not a vice, and Speaker Mike Johnson wouldn’t be the first member of Congress living paycheck to paycheck, but it’s pretty unusual for a financial disclosure report to show zero assets, not even a bank account:
Over the course of seven years, Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn’t appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing—covering 2022—showing no assets whatsoever.
2024 Ephemera
- I’ve been wondering for a while what the heck happened to Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) that turned him from a teabagger into a relative voice of reason over the past several weeks. I guess this answers that: Buck announced yesterday that he won’t seek re-election next year.
- Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX), chair of the House Appropriations Committee, will not run again in 2024, she announced.
- NYT: Ron DeSantis Leans Into Vaccine Skepticism to Energize Struggling Campaign
US Infant Mortality Rises For First Time In 20 Years
WSJ: The U.S. rate is double that of many developed countries.
What A Scene
Sean Hannity interviews Speaker Mike Johnson with the House GOP conference as a backdrop:
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Speakership Circus Was Too Much For Some House Republicans To Stomach
Two House Republicans who voted against Rep. Jim Jordan’s (R-OH) multiple failed bids for the speakership announced their retirements on Wednesday, with one specifically citing the last several weeks and the Republican Party “lying to America” as rationale.
Continue reading “Speakership Circus Was Too Much For Some House Republicans To Stomach”Judge Cannon Signals More Delay In MAL Case
After pushing back deadlines in Trump’s Mar-a-Lago prosecution, and leaving room for more delays, the judge in the case is complaining that the former president doesn’t have enough time to prepare for trial.
Continue reading “Judge Cannon Signals More Delay In MAL Case”When Your Country Has Its Back Against the Wall
Recently I’ve been thinking about a story I first read decades ago. In his mid-50s Winston Churchill wrote an autobiography covering his life through his mid-20s: “My Early Life, A Roving Commission.” Churchill was born well past third base. He was the nephew of Lord Marlborough, one of the most exalted British noblemen, and ended up a commoner only by a small accident of birth. But in his own world he was something of a reject. And that gives his account a sympathetic or emotional approachability it might otherwise not have.
Churchill’s father found him a disappointment, not bright enough for anything but a career in the army. It was a judgment he took little trouble to hide. When Randolph Churchill sent his eldest son to the Sandhurst military academy, the young Churchill thought his father had great expectations for him as a heroic warrior. He only later realized his father doubted he had any ability for anything else. Churchill’s mother, an American heiress, also had little time for him and spent much of her life in serial affairs. Only later did she take much interest in him, using her accumulated friendships with powerful men to give him critical assists in his improbable ascent. So Churchill is packed off to military school and ends up in India on his first deployment.
In India, he’s generally bored. He begins reading a lot and gets it in his head to be a journalist. Over the next few years, in large part through his mother’s connections and their deepening relationship, he gets a mix of military leaves, postings and journalistic assignments that lead him on a kind of grand tour of the conflict zones of the world. Over a couple years he’s in Cuba for the Cuban war of independence; he’s in Africa for the reconquest of the Sudan after the Mahdi rebellion; he catches one military expedition on what is now the border of Pakistan and Afghanistan.
Continue reading “When Your Country Has Its Back Against the Wall”In Massive Shock, Republicans’ IRS-Slashing ‘Offset’ Adds To Deficit And Loses Revenue
In a Shyamalanian twist no one – by which I mean everyone – could have predicted, the CBO estimated Wednesday that House Republicans taking an ax to the IRS would both add to the deficit and decrease revenue.
Continue reading “In Massive Shock, Republicans’ IRS-Slashing ‘Offset’ Adds To Deficit And Loses Revenue”In A Second Trump Term, The Rule Of Law Will Be The Enemy
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Be Very, Very Afraid
The NYT has a two-part look at what the lawyers staffing a Trump II presidency would look like. It won’t shock you that it looks very, very bad, especially for the rule of law:
Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term.
Normally, a presidency starts with an A team, and by the end of the first term you’re down to the B team. A second term can often struggle with C-team-caliber talent. But as we all know, Trump started his first term with, at best, B-team-level talent that quickly was supplanted by C-team players and cycled through them so rapidly that by the end, some D teamers were at the top of the ranks. But in MAGA world, that’s a feature not a bug!
All of which means that Trump II would start with the D team and go downhill from there. I’m not being flip. It’s almost impossible to imagine how bad it will be – and the implications are dire.
Here’s a point of reference for you. By the end of Trump I, a D-teamer – 30something John McEntee – was the director of the White House personnel office, an important gatekeeper who oversees the political appointee process throughout the executive branch. Here’s what McEntee is up to now, according to the NYT:
At Project 2025, a well-funded effort by the Heritage Foundation to prepare personnel and policy for the next conservative administration, John McEntee, one of Mr. Trump’s most trusted aides, is part of a team searching for potential lawyers.
McEntee and Stephen Miller are among those leading the charge on stocking a Trump II administration with more radical Trump loyalists.
What are they looking for exactly? While it won’t surprise you that the consequences of four more years of D-teamers and worse would be a disaster for the country, it might catch your attention that the Trump loyalists involved in these efforts see the Federalist Society as too timid and traditional:
People close to the former president say they are seeking out a different type of lawyer committed to his “America First” ideology and willing to endure the personal and professional risks of association with Mr. Trump. They want lawyers in federal agencies and in the White House who are willing to use theories that more establishment lawyers would reject to advance his cause. This new mind-set matches Mr. Trump’s declaration that he is waging a “final battle” against demonic “enemies” populating a “deep state” within the government that is bent on destroying America.
It’s a whole new world, y’all.
All Things Disqualification Clause
- The Colorado Disqualification Clause hearing enters its third day.
- Bloomberg: Trump Sues to Block Efforts to Keep Him Off Michigan 2024 Ballot
- Laurence H. Tribe and Dennis Aftergut: Why courts should rule Trump can’t serve as president again.
- WSJ: Trump Disqualification Challenges Face Tests in Two States
Meanwhile, In The MAL Case …
Donald Trump for the first time visited a SCIF to view the classified evidence Special Counsel Jack Smith has amassed against him.
A Viewer’s Guide
Here’s the latest on when to expect the Trump kids to take the stand in the NY fraud case:
Donald Jr., 45, is up first, scheduled to appear on Wednesday; Eric Trump, 39, is scheduled to appear the following day, and Ivanka Trump, 42, on Nov. 8. Trump himself is scheduled to testify on Monday.
Anti-Semitism Unleashed
- FBI Director Christopher Wray: Anti-Semitism is reaching a “historic level” in the United States. “In fact, our statistics would indicate that for a group that represents only about 2.4% of the American public, they account for something like 60% of all religious-based hate crimes,” Wray told a House committee Tuesday.
- NYT: For Europe’s Jews, a World of Fear
- Cornell student charged with threatening to massacre Jewish students.
Israel-Gaza Watch
- WaPo: Israeli strikes on Jabalya refugee camp kill and injure hundreds in Gaza
- Bloomberg: First Foreigners Exit Gaza Via Egyptian Border
- NYT: At least a quarter of buildings in northern Gaza are damaged, analysis estimates
- Senate confirms Jack Lew as U.S. ambassador to Israel
Ukraine Funding Hangs In The Balance
- WSJ: House, Senate Brace for Showdown on Israel Aid
- Punchbowl: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is struggling to hold on to GOP support for Ukraine funding.
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) insists on pairing aid to Ukraine and Israel together:
2024 Ephemera
- Political editors remain so enamored of America’s rural idyll that their reporters unconsciously spew stories like this all the damn time: “Biden tries to staunch Democratic losses in rural America.” How often do you see stories on Republicans trying to staunch their losses in urban America?
- Politico: Democrats have two big governor races in Trump states next week
- WSJ: Why a 2023 Virginia Election Is a Proving Ground for 2024
For The Olds
Anne Lamott: We are all on borrowed time
‘It Was Always Going to End Badly’
Brian Stelter: The Untold Story of Tucker Carlson’s Ugly Exit From Fox News
Deep Cut
Yeah, it’s a moronic goof. But also: When you’re brain is so besotted from decades of Clinton conspiracizing that you’re making Webb Hubbell jokes in 2023:
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How George Santos Left NYC Republicans Feeling Scammed: ‘He Would Have Bled Me Dry’
On his way to a seat in Congress, George Santos made a whirlwind journey through New York political circles that left anger and disappointment among fellow Republicans in his wake.
Santos, who found himself in the spotlight after winning a congressional race last year and subsequently being exposed as a serial fabulist who lied about his life and career on the campaign trail, is now facing multiple investigations and a pile of criminal charges related to his personal finances and campaign operation. As TPM first reported on Tuesday, a House Ethics Committee probe that is focused on Santos amid calls for his expulsion, is looking into his dealings with another New York candidate, far-right House hopeful Tina Forte. According to Forte’s former campaign manager, Santos steered the first-time congressional candidate to a consulting firm that earned a six-figure sum from her campaign without disclosing the fact that he was involved in the company. Other Republican candidates in New York had a similar experience with Santos and were left feeling burned.
The Daily Beast and New York Times both have reported on Santos’ wild run through the New York City GOP. TPM dug into the mess and found further details of how it all played out including surreal Zoom calls where Santos allegedly pretended not to know his business associates. Santos’ foray into the realm of political consulting left behind lingering resentments as he and his associates used what one source described as “sketchy” tactics to insinuate themselves into the campaigns of two other first-time GOP candidates in New York City. Multiple sources said Santos’ failure to disclose his relationship to the firms he recommended left behind hurt feelings and resentment as they racked up tens of thousands of dollars in fees.
One GOP state Senate candidate who says he fell victim to Santos told TPM that the experience left him feeling like Santos would “gladly step on other people to get ahead in life.”
Santos has consistently denied any wrongdoing as he has faced criminal prosecutions and growing scrutiny over his campaign operations. He did not respond to a request for comment on this story.
Stefano Forte was a 23-year-old first-time candidate for the New York state Senate in Queens when he worked with Santos last year. Forte, who is not related to Tina Forte, is one of three other Republicans in the five boroughs who said they unwittingly ended up doing business with Santos.
Forte and Santos had known each other through New York City Republican circles before the two both geared up to run in different races in the 2022 election. Forte told TPM that after he entered the 2022 state Senate race, Santos swooped in to offer advice and praise for a “great company” that had done work for him. However, there was a problem: Santos did not reveal his own role in the firm.
“I would call him a partner I didn’t know that I had because he didn’t disclose it,” Forte said, adding that he believes Santos would have “bled him dry” had he stayed with the firm.
Public records show that Forte, who ultimately lost his race, paid over $15,000 last year to “Redstone Strategies LLC,” a firm that is part of a network of Florida companies that have links to Santos and his associates. Redstone was identified as “Company #1” in the superseding indictment against Santos that was filed earlier this month.
Corporate filings indicate Redstone Strategies was incorporated on Nov. 1, 2021, three months before it received the first payment from Forte’s campaign. The company’s management structure included Santos’ “Devolder Organization,” which he has described as his family’s company, and a firm run by Jayson Benoit, who worked with Santos at Harbor City, a Florida investment firm. The SEC has said Harbor City Capital Corp. operated as a “classic Ponzi scheme.” The Daily Beast first reported that Santos recommended the company to Forte without disclosing his tie to the firm.
After bringing Redstone into the fold, Santos took the fledgling state Senate campaign for a ride, Forte said. He recalled having to write his own copy, produce images, and edit for Facebook advertising that Redstone Strategies was supposed to create. Forte said he watched as the fundraising efforts led by the firm slowed to a trickle over the course of several months while it collected a monthly retainer that began to exceed the amount of contributions his campaign was bringing in. In Forte’s telling, Redstone Strategies was pushing him into the red.
Forte, still not knowing that Santos was behind the firm, terminated his contract in June 2022 via Benoit, who was his contact at the company. He quickly heard from Santos, who suggested that Forte was disrespecting a well-established political force by severing ties with the seven-month-old business.
“George called me in a huff,” Forte recalled, before mimicking the now-congressman: “I put my reputation on the line for you, you can’t just do this to a fundraising company of this caliber.”
“No one is going to help you in the party after this, this is not good,” Forte recalled Santos telling him.
The relationship with Redstone Strategies was over, but after Forte lost the race in November 2022, he decided to contact donors to thank them for contributing to his campaign. Forte asked Benoit, his Redstone Strategies contact, for the address of one donor. Benoit, who did not respond to multiple requests for comment, apologetically responded that he couldn’t help.
Forte last spoke with Santos in December. Santos, who had been elected one month prior, wanted to offer Forte a job in his new congressional office.
Of course, two things had happened in the intervening time: Forte had learned that Santos was part of the Redstone Strategies management structure, and the New York Times had revealed that the congressman-elect was a serial fabricator.
“I was like, ‘George, you’ve got to be honest with me: Who are you?’” Forte recalled.
Santos responded by minimizing the issue with boasts about his connections and apparently fictional fortune. It was quintessential Santos. Forte said Santos claimed that Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who was speaker of the House at the time, would “make this all go away.” Santos also said he planned to contribute $1 million to the NRCC to smooth things over.
Forte then brought up Redstone Strategies and said he knew Santos hadn’t disclosed his relationship with the company. Santos’ alleged response relied on the murky and dizzying array of corporate paperwork involved in the management of the Florida firms, which can all be linked to Santos and his former Harbor City colleagues.
“And he said no, no no, I’m an owner in Redstone Strategies. This is just Red Strategies. So, it’s a different company entirely,” Forte recalled.
Like Redstone Strategies, the similarly named Red Strategies USA LLC had companies connected to Santos, Benoit, and other former Harbor City executives in its management structure.
Forte told TPM that he hasn’t spoken to Santos since.
Records show the two Santos-linked companies took on a wide variety of campaign tasks that are often handled by separate, specialized firms. Federal, state, and local campaign finance reports indicate the businesses billed candidates for different services including robocalls, video production, and fundraising.
Along with Stefano Forte’s experience with Redstone Strategies, Red Strategies worked with at least three other New York City candidates. Their stories paint a picture of Santos aggressively steering relatively inexperienced politicians towards his business associates and often leaving them dissatisfied with the work.
A Republican source familiar with Santos’ involvement in campaigns, who requested anonymity due to the ongoing investigations, described how he would recommend the consultancy. According to the source, whenever a candidate came to Santos with a problem, Red Strategies was the answer.
Tina Forte’s campaign made over 76 payments totaling over $110,000 to Red Strategies USA, LLC during her failed House campaign last year. Along with being upset at Santos for not disclosing his role in the firm, Tina Forte’s former campaign manager blamed the company for producing shoddy paperwork and allegedly trying to obscure how much money it drew from her campaign.
In 2021, Jordan Hafizi was a Republican New York City Council candidate who, records show, paid $22,450 to Red Strategies USA LLC for services including video production. Hafizi, who lost his race, did not exactly offer an endorsement of the firm’s work when reached by TPM.
“I was looking around for places and I was asking people for recommendations and they were someone that was recommended,” Hafizi said. “Was I satisfied? No comment.”
The Republican source familiar with Santos’ involvement in local campaigns said the future congressman presented himself as someone interested in “helping” Hafizi, who was a 21-year-old first-time candidate. According to the source, Santos promised to get Hafizi a “good deal” for an ad with Red Strategies, and bragged about its ties to Tina Forte. But when the ad came through, it was a disappointment. The result looked “cheesy,” the source said.
Records also show that Red Strategies USA LLC received $4,213.52 in 2021 from the campaign of Vickie Paladino, a Republican who won a seat on the City Council that year. Vickie Paladino referred questions about the firm’s work on her race to her son, Tom Paladino, who was a consultant on his mother’s team and also worked in a similar capacity for Stefano Forte.
“A big part of what Santos seems to have been doing is not telling anybody that this was his company. … Like he got on Zoom calls with people pretending to … make a neutral introduction to this company, meanwhile he was actually one of the owners of it, or the founder, whatever he was,” Tom Paladino told TPM. “I had no idea that this was his company. We didn’t know.”
Despite the unusual circumstances, Paladino said Red Strategies “did the work.”
Red Strategies helped run “a couple of weeks of robocalls” for his mother, Paladino said. They felt it was “a legit service.”
Santos was perhaps able to involve himself with other candidates because he projected an air of success, Paladino suggested. That included his association with Marks, who Paladino said was known as “the gold standard” in New York GOP circles. Santos also bolstered his standing with claims of wealth that, according to prosecutors, were fueled with lies and ill-gotten gains.
Santos’ ability to charm his fellow Republicans was also, in Paladino’s view, aided by the fact the party has traditionally struggled to gain footing in the New York City area.
“He built himself up in a way that made himself seem very impressive,” Paladino said. “Nobody really wanted to look below the surface because Republicans in New York in general are very happy to have candidates who seem like they have a shot.”