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Upholding Kacsmaryk’s Decision Would Invite Challenges To Vaccines, Contraception, Experts Warn
U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s ruling staying the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of abortion drug mifepristone will almost certainly end up at the Supreme Court in some form.
Continue reading “Upholding Kacsmaryk’s Decision Would Invite Challenges To Vaccines, Contraception, Experts Warn “Can We Go Back To How BAD The Abortion Pill Ruling Was?
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Intellectually Dishonest
Before we move on to the aftermath of the abortion pill ruling from Friday, it needs to sink in how bad U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk’s opinion was by any objective standard of intellectual honesty.
I don’t mean bad in the sense of wrong on the standing issue, or the administrative law issues, or the timeliness issue (the FDA approved the drug TWO decades ago). All that too! But bad in a way that exposes the foundational corruptness of Kacsmaryk’s approach.
TPM’s Kate Riga in her initial story already pointed out how the opinion whole-heartedly adopted loaded anti-abortion catchphrases:
His decision is peppered with anti-abortion language and sentiment. “Because mifepristone alone will not always complete the abortion, FDA mandates a two-step drug regimen: mifepristone to kill the unborn human, followed by misoprostol to induce cramping and contractions to expel the unborn human from the mother’s womb,” he writes. He also refers to providers as “abortionists” throughout.
Insider has a good rundown on some of the other failings of the ruling: “Kacsmaryk in the ruling cited multiple studies to back up claims that have been widely scrutinized or do not hold up to scientific consensus.”
I would also refer you to Insider’s initial write-up:
In addition to citing the Wikipedia definitions for both “pregnancy” and “disease” in his ruling, Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk falsely claimed abortion medication “ultimately starves the unborn human until death” and made sweeping generalizations about the psychological impact of abortions on women who receive them — which health care providers told Insider aren’t accurate.
It should be obvious why conservative activists and Republican attorneys general flock to Kacsmaryk’s Amarillo courtroom.
What DOJ Says
The Justice Department has asked the conservative Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals to stay Kacsmaryk’s decision pending its appeal. In doing do, it tackled some of the intellectual dishonesty of the decision:
DOJ takes a moment to respond, politely, to one of the more egregious arguments in Kacsymaryk’s order. https://t.co/uRiYSJi0Q1 pic.twitter.com/FsSNygd0xB
— Micah Schwartzman (@mjschwartzman) April 10, 2023
How Bad Was Kacsmaryk’s Decision?
It’s so bad that the 6-3 conservative majority on the Supreme Court may be reluctant to seize on this case as a vehicle for advancing its anti-abortion, anti-administrative state agenda, Adam Liptak reports in the NYT:
[L]egal scholars said on Monday that the poor quality, breathtaking sweep and unknown collateral consequences of the Texas decision might cause at least some of the Supreme Court’s conservative justices to wait for a case that would allow them to take more measured steps.
The OTHER Abortion Pill Ruling
The Justice Department is seeking clarification from the federal judge in Seattle who issued a contrary abortion pill ruling Friday a mere 20 minutes after Kacsmaryk’s decision.
Meanwhile, The White House says it won’t heed calls to ignore Kacsmaryk’s ruling.
Blue States Stockpile Abortion Pills
California, Washington, and Massachusetts are among the blue states stocking up on abortion pills to ensure medium term availability of the drugs for women in their states.
Can Senate Dems Rise To The Occasion?
Keep an eye on how aggressive Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-IL) is on the Clarence Thomas scandal. This is a start, but it’s a pretty tepid. There’s no need to wait for Chief Justice John Roberts to conduct his own investigation.
Jim Jordan Uses Taxpayer Funds To Defend Trump
House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordon (R-OH) is taking his committee on the road to NYC to further interfere with and undermine the state prosecution of Donald Trump.
Big Showdown on Executive Privilege
Former President Donald Trump is taking the next step to try to block former Vice President Mike Pence from testifying to the DC federal grand jury investigating Jan. 6. At issue is Trump’s claim that executive privilege shields him and by extension Pence from having to testify. A federal district judge has rejected that argument as to Pence. It’s also been rejected as to other former Trump White House aides and officials. Reminder: All of this is proceeding under grand jury secrecy rules so the filings are sealed and our visibility into the arguments and rulings is limited.
Trump To Be Deposed Thursday
Donald Trump will sit down in NYC Thursday for a deposition in New York Attorney General Letitia James big lawsuit against the Trump Org, Trump himself and three of his adult children.
Proud Boys Trial Nears End
Time to get reading for closing arguments and jury deliberations as soon as this week in the long-running seditious conspiracy trial of the Proud Boys.
Sign O’ The Times
NBC News: Hounded by baseless voter fraud allegations, an entire county’s election staff quits in Virginia
Breaking
The Biden administration has started giving the congressional “Gang of Eight” access to the classified documents that were recovered from the homes of former President Donald Trump, President Joe Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, according to sources familiar with the matter.
What A Self Own By Tennessee GOPers
Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones was appointed to the House seat he was expelled from last week and was immediately sworn back in. The same is expected to happen as soon as Wednesday for Justin J. Pearson, the other expelled lawmaker.
Texas Solon Accused Of Inappropriate Relationship With Intern
An internal complaint filed against state Rep. Bryan Slaton, R-Royse City, alleges that he was engaging in a potentially “inappropriate relationship” with an intern. The complaint came after an incident in which Slaton and the staffer allegedly met up at his Austin apartment last weekend. …
A source with direct knowledge of the incident told the Tribune that Slaton drank alcohol with the intern, who was under 21.
In a sign of the seriousness of the matter, Slaton had a criminal defense attorney issue a statement about the “false claims.”
Buckle Up For The Arizona Senate Race
Whackadoodle Sheriff Mark Lamb has thrown his hat into the GOP primary for Sen. Kristen Sinema’s seat. Kari Lake is also expected to run on the GOP side. Sinema, who of course left the Democratic Party to become an independent, hasn’t officially declared. Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) is seeking the Dem nom.
Trump’s Hidden Advantage In The GOP Primary
Ron Brownstein: “Since Trump’s emergence as the GOP’s dominant figure in 2016, the college-educated voters generally most skeptical of him have declined as a share of all GOP primary voters, while the voters without a college degree generally most sympathetic to him have increased, an array of public and private polls indicate.”
Level That Playing Field
With $80 billion in new funding, the IRS is aiming to ramp up audits of wealthy taxpayers and large corporations.
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Tennessee Dem Justin Jones Reappointed To His House Seat By Vote Of 36–0
The Nashville Metro Council voted to reappoint Tennessee Democratic Rep. Justin Jones to the state House on Monday, with a 36–0 vote.
Continue reading “Tennessee Dem Justin Jones Reappointed To His House Seat By Vote Of 36–0”Congress Members Announce Hearing, Demand Chief Justice Investigate Clarence Thomas’ Trips
This story first appeared at ProPublica. ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox.
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday announced plans to hold a hearing in the coming days “regarding the need to restore confidence in the Supreme Court’s ethical standards,” citing ProPublica’s reporting on over 20 years’ worth of luxury travel accepted by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas from a billionaire Republican megadonor.
The planned hearing is detailed in a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts and follows comments made by the committee chair, Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, last week in which he called for an “enforceable code of conduct” for the justices.
If “the Court does not resolve this issue on its own, the Committee will consider legislation to resolve it,” the letter said.
Monday’s letter echoed a call from 22 Democratic lawmakers last week for Roberts to launch an investigation into Thomas’ trips and his failure to report them. That group included members of both the House and Senate judiciary committees.
In their separate letter to Roberts, those lawmakers — including Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson — wrote that as chief justice, Roberts is duty-bound to conduct a “swift, thorough, independent and transparent investigation” in order to “safeguard public faith in the judiciary.”
Both letters hinted at congressional action to strengthen the court’s rules around ethics and disclosure. The court “has barely acknowledged, much less investigated” the details reported by ProPublica, the lawmakers wrote Friday, citing their alarm over “allegations of unethical, and potentially unlawful, conduct at the Supreme Court.”
“Should the Supreme Court continue to refuse to act swiftly on these matters,” the letter added, “we will continue to press Congress to act to restore accountability and ethics at the highest Court in the land.”
The flurry of activity by the lawmakers comes in response to ProPublica’s report revealing that for years, Thomas had accepted luxury trips from Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow without disclosing them. The trips included international cruises on Crow’s superyacht, flights on Crow’s private jet and regular summer getaways at Crow’s private lakeside resort in the Adirondacks.
A Supreme Court spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letters.
In a brief statement on Friday, Thomas cited “guidance from my colleagues and others in the judiciary” that “this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the Court, was not reportable.”
Crow previously told ProPublica that he and his wife never discussed a pending case with Thomas and had “never sought to influence Justice Thomas on any legal or political issue.” He also said that he is “unaware of any of our friends ever lobbying or seeking to influence Justice Thomas on any case, and I would never invite anyone who I believe had any intention of doing that.”
An ethics law passed after the Watergate scandal requires justices and other federal officials to disclose most gifts to the public. That law, legal ethics experts told ProPublica, clearly mandates that gifts of transportation, including private jet flights, be reported.
Urging the court to adopt stricter rules on Monday, Senate Judiciary Committee members noted that justices’ “ethical standards” have raised concerns before. They pointed to a series of articles in 2011 that revealed some of the close ties between Thomas and Crow.
“This problem could have been resolved then. Instead, according to ProPublica’s reporting, Mr. Crow’s dispensation of favors escalated in secret during the years that followed. Now the Court faces a crisis of public confidence in its ethical standards that must be addressed,” they wrote.
In the letter sent last week, the Democrats — whose ranks include Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York and Rep. Adam Schiff of California — cited a pressing need for updated rules for the court. “It is well past time for the Supreme Court to align with the rest of government in a proper code of ethics enforced by independent investigation and reporting,” they wrote.
The lawmakers also questioned Thomas’ defense, noting that the so-called personal hospitality exemption to the law is “not meant to allow government officials to hide from the public extravagant gifts by wealthy political interests.”
And they raised concerns around the broader ethical implications of a Supreme Court justice taking undisclosed trips with other guests, calling for more robust disclosure and ethics rules for the court. In one instance detailed in ProPublica’s report, Thomas was joined at Crow’s Adirondacks resort by corporate executives, major Republican donors and one of the leaders of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank.
Whitehouse and others have already introduced a bill this year aimed at tightening the court’s rules, among other reforms.
Spokespeople for Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the Republican chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
White House Says It Won’t Heed Calls To Ignore Kacsmaryk’s Mifepristone Ruling
Dueling federal rulings Friday night — one staying the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) approval of abortion drug mifepristone, and one ordering the FDA to maintain the status quo of the drug’s availability for more than a dozen states involved — stirred up a flurry of speculation and lobbying regarding the Biden administration’s next steps.
Continue reading “White House Says It Won’t Heed Calls To Ignore Kacsmaryk’s Mifepristone Ruling”Justice Department Asks For ‘Clarification’ After Dueling Mifepristone Rulings
The Justice Department asked a federal judge in Washington for “clarification” after he handed down a ruling Friday at odds with one out of Texas — and just 20 minutes after the Texas decision.
Continue reading “Justice Department Asks For ‘Clarification’ After Dueling Mifepristone Rulings “Please Do This Today
I’ve alluded a few times to the fact that TPM Publisher Joe Ragazzo and I went into this year’s Annual TPM Membership drive with no little trepidation. But the response has been pleasantly surprising and gratifying. We’re more than half way toward our goal for the drive after one week. If you’d considered joining please take a moment to do so today. Like, if you’re considering it, literally take a moment right now, take out your wallet and click here. It’s easy, will take you a couple minutes tops and you’ll be glad you did.
Trump Appeals Order That Requires Pence To Testify In DOJ Jan 6 Probe
Donald Trump is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that would require former Vice President Mike Pence to testify in special counsel Jack Smith’s investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
Continue reading “Trump Appeals Order That Requires Pence To Testify In DOJ Jan 6 Probe”Kari Lake Fancies Her Gubernatorial Loss A Political Litmus Test For 2024 Candidates
Kari Lake, who ran an unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign during last year’s midterm elections, has found a new use for her: She is now a — perhaps the? — GOP political litmus test.
Or at least, that’s how she’d have it.
Continue reading “Kari Lake Fancies Her Gubernatorial Loss A Political Litmus Test For 2024 Candidates”