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Disgraced New York congressman George Santos (R) has lied about nearly every aspect of his life — from his education to his heritage to his mother’s cause of death. It’s no surprise that Santos also faces credible accusations that he falsified campaign finance filings.
Continue reading “George Santos’ Campaign Finance Violations Are His Most Dangerous Lies”A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Rep. Jim Jordan’s supposed “whistleblowers” who were going to expose the FBI’s role in various Deep State conspiracies have turned out to be as bogus as his so-called investigations:
But the first three witnesses to testify privately before the new Republican-led House committee investigating the “weaponization” of the federal government have offered little firsthand knowledge of any wrongdoing or violation of the law, according to Democrats on the panel who have listened to their accounts. Instead, the trio appears to be a group of aggrieved former F.B.I. officials who have trafficked in right-wing conspiracy theories, including about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, and received financial support from a top ally of former President Donald J. Trump.
Not surprising, of course. But what is notable is House Democrats flexing big time to pre-empt Jordan’s circus.
In what appears to be a well-orchestrated campaign to counter Jordan’s misinformation, House Democrats have released an extensive report on the first three witnesses interviewed in private by Jordan’s special Judiciary subcommittee. Based on how the news emerged last evening, it appears some news outlets where given advanced notice of the report or its findings. CNN and Rolling Stone had stories up early in the evening, I believe before the report was published by the NYT. Nothing wrong with that per se. It just shows Democrats aren’t sitting back and letting themselves and the public be led around by the nose by Jordan.
The early reports:
Rolling Stone: Inside Jim Jordan’s Disastrous Search for a ‘Deep State’ Whistleblower
CNN: Jim Jordan’s first FBI whistleblowers face scrutiny from skeptical Democrats
Forbes: Trump And Jan. 6 Prisoners Collaborate On New Song Called ‘Justice For All’
It’s been a dicey spot for the Justice Department, which generally defends the presidency as having expansive powers.
The DC Circuit Court of Appeals gave DOJ an opportunity to weigh in on whether it agrees with former President Donald Trump that he is absolutely immune from civil liability in a lawsuit brought against him by Capitol Police officers and members of Congress for his role in allegedly inciting the Jan. 6 rioters.
In a sign of its discomfiture, DOJ had asked for two deadline extensions to file its brief in the case.
Yesterday, DOJ finally weighed in against Trump. But it did so in a measured, we-really-don’t-want-to-have-to-do-this kind of way. It agreed that immunity applied for official acts by the president, but said that there is an outer limit to what constitutes official acts, and that inciting third parties to private violence, as alleged in this lawsuit, is outside those bounds. But DOJ asked the court to keep its decision on presidential immunity very narrow.
A notable footnote to the DOJ brief:
The House Ethics Committee has formally opened an investigation into serial fabulist George Santos.
For his part, Santos claimed that he IS the House Ethics Committee and has exonerated himself. Okay, I made that up.
The House Ethics Committee is extending its review of whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) impermissibly accepted gifts associated with the 2021 Met Gala, where she memorably wore a “Tax the Rich” dress.
AOC has expressed regret for delays in making reimbursement for some of the goods and services she received for the event but denies violating House rules.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), 89, is in the hospital in San Francisco with shingles.
With Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) undergoing inpatient treatment for depression, the narrow 2-vote Democratic majority is under some strain. Vice President Kamala Harris, as president of the Senate, has had to cast three tie-breaking votes in recent days.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) tells TPM’s Kate Riga that Chief Justice John Roberts crossed the line during oral arguments over Biden’s student loan debt relief plan.
A not-unexpected-development in the Supreme Court case on the wacky independent state legislature theory.
Michigan man charged with threatening to kill all the state’s Jewish elected officials.
The nation’s second-largest pharmacy chain confirmed Thursday that it will not dispense abortion pills in several states where they remain legal — acting out of an abundance of caution amid a shifting policy landscape, threats from state officials and pressure from anti-abortion activists.
More than a decade after it could have expanded Medicaid under Obamacare, the North Carolina legislature has reached a tentative deal on finally doing it.
The District of Columbia is howling over President Biden’s decision not to veto a GOP-led move to block a new local crime bill in the nation’s capital. It would be the first time Congress intervened in the District in this way in more than 30 years.
WaPo:
President Biden’s team is moving quickly to build a “national advisory board” stocked with Democratic governors, senators and other political stars who will travel and speak on Biden’s behalf during his expected reelection campaign, an early effort to unify party leaders and minimize the chance of dissent.
2022 Nobel Peace Prize winner Ales Bialiatski has been sentenced to 10 years in prison by a court in Belarus.
“The Sacramento Dildo Saleswoman Behind A Neo-Nazi Network Advocating For Mass Shootings“
Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA) of all people:
Perry’s phone was seized by the FBI in August as part of the federal investigation into Jan. 6. He is fighting tooth and nail to keep the Justice Department from accessing the phone’s contents. Perry is of interest to investigators because he played a key role in introducing then-President Trump to a little-known DOJ official named Jeffrey Clark, who Trump toyed with appointing as attorney general to further the Big Lie scheme.
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The legal team representing family members of the slain civil rights leader Malcolm X claims to have “new corroborating testimony” and evidence related to his assassination 58 years ago. Attorney Ben Crump, who is one of the lawyers for Malcolm X’s family members in a planned $100 million wrongful death suit, spoke with TPM about the case.
Continue reading “Attorney Ben Crump Says His Team Has Obtained ‘Consequential New Evidence’ Related To Malcolm X’s Death”After 19 young children and two teachers were murdered in a massacre at an elementary school in his district last year, Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) joined a bipartisan effort to pass gun control legislation that expanded criminal background checks and banned some domestic abusers from purchasing guns.
His home state Republican Party is now punishing him for it.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: Texas GOP Votes To Censure One Of Their Own For Reacting Sanely To Elementary School Shooting”Governor Ron DeSantis (R-FL) is taking another page out of Donald Trump’s playbook for his burgeoning presidential campaign: harnessing his own media echo-chamber.
Continue reading “DeSantis Appears To Be Building His Own Trumpian Media Circuit”The Supreme Court asked for additional briefs Thursday as it figures out how to go forward with a major elections case out of North Carolina, a redistricting case centered around a popular right-wing idea: the independent state legislature theory.
Continue reading “In Newest Twist, Supreme Court Requests Further Briefing On Major Election Case”As the GOP primary begins to take shape, there’s been some questions lately around if and when President Biden will be announcing his bid for the 2024 presidential election.
In December, reporting indicated that the president would announce his plans shortly after the holidays. But months into the new year, it seems he is still deciding. Or, at least, waiting for the right moment to share the news.
Continue reading “Biden Cheekily Clarifies That He’ll Announce His 2024 Candidacy…Whenever He Announces It “From TPM Reader CR …
Continue reading “Readers on the “Lab Leak Theory” #6″You got good advice from readers in your Lab Leak posts #1 – #3. The last one, not so much.
I do think it could be significant that the lab leak nonsense is surfacing in the same week as rather hawkish Congressional hearings and some weapon-rattling by usual suspects, but in a different way than correspondent #4. Namely, that the hawkish faction wants to stir things up, and Lab Leak is one of their tools. Is it possible that Chris Wray is just a little bit hawkish? Hm?
From TPM Reader AS …
Continue reading “Readers on the “Lab Leak Theory” #5″I am a neurobiologist PhD, not a virologist, but I may be able to provide some perspective on what is spilling into your inbox.
I don’t know COVIDs ultimate origins and neither do the people writing in to tell you that various studies “proved” this came from the wildlife market. First, it is entirely possible that a lab leak occurred at WIV but COVID began circulating more widely in humans through the market. If so, it would not be that big of a coincidence – there is a reason tightly packed commercial spaces are considered hotspots for the spread of pathogens and there is no requirement that a disease spread widely at the point of spillover.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) criticized Chief Justice John Roberts’ fixation on the “fairness” of the Biden administration’s student debt relief plan Thursday, which he and his right-wing peers brought up repeatedly during oral arguments earlier this week.
Continue reading “Warren Accuses John Roberts Of Acting As ‘Super Legislator’ During Student Debt Oral Arguments”
