Former President Trump refused to answer multiple questions on if he would sign a federal abortion ban into law if he were to win the 2024 presidential election during CNN’s disastrous Wednesday night town hall, a move reflective of the party’s broader flailing on the issue heading into the primaries.
Continue reading “Trump Fumbles On Abortion As GOP Flails, Refuses To Stake Out A Position”Subpoena By Social Media: Judge Orders Jenna Ellis Be Served Through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram DMs
A federal judge ordered that former Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis, who lawyers say has been dodging their attempts to subpoena, may find herself served through an unorthodox channel: her social media direct messages.
Continue reading “Subpoena By Social Media: Judge Orders Jenna Ellis Be Served Through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram DMs”Santos Aligned Himself With Fellow Alleged NY Fraudster Days Before Indictment
Among the many explanations for his federal indictment yesterday, Rep. George Santos, the embattled New York Republican who’s been charged with fraud, has come up with a particularly novel one: He’s being targeted due to his vocal support of exiled Chinese billionaire and fellow alleged scammer Miles Guo.
Continue reading “Santos Aligned Himself With Fellow Alleged NY Fraudster Days Before Indictment”CNN Primetime Trump Fest Was Of Course A Disaster
`A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Don’t Blame Kaitlan Collins
The CNN “town hall” with Trump in New Hampshire was at least as bad as expected for all the reasons that anyone with a brain could have foreseen.
The culprit here wasn’t Kaitlan Collins, who was hopelessly hamstrung by the format. The culprit is the CNN honchos trying to repair its imagined breach with conservative viewers (or is it “its breach with imagined conservative viewers”?). The format doomed the interview from the start. It was a public disservice, a journalistic failure, and repeat of the fundamental misunderstanding of how to cover Trump that has plagued the civic square for going on almost a decade now.
I’m not going to burden you here with a complete recap. If you want one, Aaron Rupar has you covered:
A Total Bloodbath
Reaction to the CNN made-for-TV event was universally caustic:
Jeremy Barr: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins tried, and tried, to rebut Trump’s election lies
Erik Wemple: Donald Trump steamrolls CNN’s town hall
Even Joe Biden Piled On
I Have No Idea What To Say About This
Is Trump recounting her version of events? His own? Does it even matter? WTF:
Maybe Jean Carroll Can Sue Trump For Defamation AGAIN
The former president went on a rage bender on Truth Social over the $5 million E. Jean Carroll verdict.
RIP Family Values Party
Trump’s putative GOP foes give him a pass on Carroll verdict.
So Much George Santos Material!
Our team did a great job unpacking the federal indictment of George Santos. I’m not going to rehash all that again here, but if you want to go deeper on the charges, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance is there for you.
The George Santos Defense
Facts Beat Fiction Every Time
I can’t make this up.
— Jamie Dupree (@jamiedupree) May 10, 2023
Rep. George Santos R-NY is charged with unemployment benefits fraud.
The House is slated to vote this week on a bill to help states recover fraudulent COVID unemployment payments.
**Santos is a co-sponsor of that bill.** https://t.co/DMiTxnFsCW
Fashion Criminal
Someone had to cover the fashion angle to George Santos’ alleged criming.
Still A Lot Of Questions
Mother Jones: Santos Indictment Leaves Many Lies, Mysteries, and Scandals Unaddressed
The Mystery Of Andrew Olson
Does Santos’ current campaign treasurer even exist?
Good Point
Emptywheel: Some Of George Santos’ Alleged Crimes Resemble Trump’s Suspected Crimes
Santos Indictment Not Good For Herschel Walker
The George Santos indictment accuses him of taking what were ostensibly political contributions to his campaign and funneling them to one of his LLCs instead. That sounds awfully familiar after last week’s Daily Beast scoop that failed Senate nominee Herschel Walker (R-GA) had a wealthy donor, who thought he was donating to the Walker campaign, wire more than half a million to a Walker LLC.
Feinstein Back In DC
The senior senator from California will be working a reduced scheduled. It’s not clear how quickly her return will clear up the Senate Judiciary Committee bottleneck on Biden judicial nominations.
Welp …
Asked if white nationalists should be allowed to serve in the military, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL): “They call them that. I call them Americans.”
Missouri Jumps On The Anti-Trans Bandwagon
The state is poised to enact anti-transgender bans on gender-affirming care for minors and women in sports.
I’d Like To Thank The Academy …
Tips for Morning Memo? Let us know!
Where Things Stand: There’s No Shiny Musk-Carlson Deal
At least, that’s what the billionaire is claiming.
Just shortly after Tucker Carlson announced in a video lauding Elon Musk’s social media platform as the only safe space left for Truth Tellers like himself that he’d be taking his “show” to Twitter, the billionaire set the record straight.
Musk — who’s been doing favors for white nationalists and giving far-right extremist rhetoric an elevated platform since his Twitter takeover — tweeted to clarify that there’s no deal with Tucker and also to maintain that he, the founding father of free speech, is not playing favorites.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: There’s No Shiny Musk-Carlson Deal”George Santos Charged With Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, False Statements
Federal prosecutors hit Rep. George Santos (R-NY), the freshman congressman who’d become mired in scandal when much of his resume was exposed as fraudulent, with a 13 count indictment, including seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.
He was arrested Wednesday morning, and appeared in court Wednesday afternoon, entering a plea of “not guilty.”
Follow along below:
Watchdog Files New Complaint With FEC Alleging There’s Reason To Believe Santos’ Treasurer Doesn’t Exist
A watchdog group has accused Rep. George Santos (R-NY), who was arraigned at a Long Island federal courthouse on fraud charges this afternoon, of fabricating his campaign treasurer’s identity.
Continue reading “Watchdog Files New Complaint With FEC Alleging There’s Reason To Believe Santos’ Treasurer Doesn’t Exist”2024 Republican Prospects Largely Scamper Away From Trump’s Rape Trial Verdict
The group of Republican candidates and potential candidates for president in 2024 joined together to forcefully condemn and renounce former President Donald Trump after he was found liable for sexual abuse and defamation on Tuesday.
Just kidding.
Continue reading “2024 Republican Prospects Largely Scamper Away From Trump’s Rape Trial Verdict”Feinstein Says She’s Back in DC But Will Work A ‘Lighter Schedule’ Per Doctor Advisement
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) is officially back to work in D.C. after a nearly three-month absence as she recovered from shingles.
Continue reading “Feinstein Says She’s Back in DC But Will Work A ‘Lighter Schedule’ Per Doctor Advisement”Maligned Election Workers Accuse Jenna Ellis Of Dodging Subpoena In Newest Act Of Giuliani Circus
Yakety Sax might as well be playing behind the newest filings in the court case where former Georgia election workers are suing Rudy Giuliani.
Continue reading “Maligned Election Workers Accuse Jenna Ellis Of Dodging Subpoena In Newest Act Of Giuliani Circus”