After twisting federal criminal and national security law to help former President Trump fend off the Mar-a-Lago investigation, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon for the Southern District of Florida has given him another boost.
Continue reading “Judge Cannon Does Trump Another Solid”Listen To This: The Smorgasbord Episode
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate discuss a charcuterie tray of a Supreme Court case, the latest hijinks of the two most infamous Democratic senators and some recent shifts in midterm polls.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Five Alarm Fire
The DC insider sheets are already buzzing about the exciting news: House Republicans plan a new round of debt limit hostage taking next year. Of course, this is all treated as somehow totally normal, as opposed to an unconstitutional form of legislative terrorism. This piece in Axios walks through the ins and outs of it, noting the following ….
The debt limit turning into a “political football” has become a “pattern in divided government,” particularly with a Democratic president, Neil Bradley, chief policy officer for the U.S. Chamber of Congress, told Axios.
This is a crock. Let’s be honest. Only Republicans do this. It only happens with Democratic presidents. Perhaps understandably, the head of the pro-business Chamber — which is, paradoxically, somewhat reviled now in the Trumpite GOP — can’t say this directly. But journalists don’t have to repeat their nonsense. The leading contender for the key committee chairmanship that would call the shots on this is already being clear on what Republicans will do. Tell the President that he has to repeal his 2021-22 legislation or the country has to declare national bankruptcy.
Continue reading “Five Alarm Fire”Fed Agencies Outline Plans To Prevent More Missing Texts After Jan. 6 Debacle
The mystery of the missing text messages from January 6th hasn’t unraveled just yet. Since several federal agencies admitted that they hadn’t retained any text messages from key figures surrounding the attack on the Capitol complex, officials have taken steps to prevent it from happening again.
Continue reading “Fed Agencies Outline Plans To Prevent More Missing Texts After Jan. 6 Debacle”Missed Chances
If you look at recent polls, there’s definitely a drift away from Democrats in a number of key races. The shifts are tiny if you look at the race averages. They may simply be the sloshing back and forth of poll numbers which is essentially noise. My best guess, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere, is that Republicans have gotten back on the airwaves in a number of key races and been helped by a few weeks or ominous economic news — market declines which create a backdrop of disquiet even for people who have little or no direct exposure to equities markets. These things are mostly beyond Democrats’ and individual Senate candidates’ control. But what campaigns do control or have some real impact on is what an election is about. And it is always critical to make the election “about” whatever it is on which you have the strongest hand. In this case, for Democrats, that’s on abortion rights.
Continue reading “Missed Chances”Ginni Thomas Will Testify In Front Of Jan. 6 Panel This Week
Ginni Thomas, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, will have her voluntary interview with the House Jan. 6 Committee this week, according to committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS).
Continue reading “Ginni Thomas Will Testify In Front Of Jan. 6 Panel This Week”Mastriano Turns To Fasting And Jesus To Rescue Drowning Campaign
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Thoughts And Prayers
Today is the start of GOP Pennsylvania gubernatorial nominee Doug Mastriano’s “40 days of fasting and prayer” campaign that’s set to end on Election Day, as you can see here:
- But you can’t really blame Mastriano for turning to divine intervention at this point: His (non-fasting) campaign isn’t doing so hot polling-wise and money-wise to the point where, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer, he’s going on podcasts and asking Americans living abroad to send him cash.
Jan. 6 Panel To Meet With Ginni Thomas This Week
House Jan. 6 Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told CNN yesterday that the panel is set to meet with far-right activist Ginni Thomas, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife, for her voluntary interview sometime this week (he didn’t give an exact date).
- Thompson also said that the committee hasn’t figured out a new date for its next hearing, which got postponed due to Hurricane Ian. He did say he doubted it’ll happen next week, though.
- Thomas’ lawyer announced that his client had agreed to a voluntary interview last week, several months after the attorney told the committee that it needed a “better justification” to get Thomas’ testimony.
Damage Assessment Begins After Hurricane Ian
We’re just now getting the first post-storm reports from Southwest Florida, where Category 4 Hurricane Ian swept ashore.
- In a sobering but unconfirmed early report, the Lee County sheriff said on national TV that while he doesn’t have confirmed numbers, “fatalities are in the hundreds” and thousands of people are awaiting rescue.
- Sanibel is cut off from the mainland after a section of the causeway was wiped out.
- About 2.5 million Floridians are currently without power.
- Ian brought record levels of storm surge and inland flooding.
- Here, warm your heart with some hurricane animal rescue content:
Trump Uses Hurricane To Dodge Deposition
The ex-president, facing a class-action lawsuit accusing him and the Trump Organization (and his adult children) of a fraudulent marketing scheme, insisted on doing his Friday deposition at Mar-a-Lago, and oh no, look at that, there’s a major hurricane keeping the plaintiffs’ lawyers from flying down to hold the deposition! Now the deposition deadline is Oct. 31! Darn!
Alito Can’t Believe Anyone Would Question SCOTUS’ Legitimacy
After gleefully dismantling Roe, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Tuesday harrumphed at fellow Justice Elena Kagan’s warning that the high court is at risk of losing its legitimacy when justices make their decisions based on their personal beliefs.
- “Saying or implying that the court is becoming an illegitimate institution or questioning our integrity crosses an important line,” Alito complained to the Wall Street Journal.
- Also, Alito, a devout Catholic, held a Q&A at the Catholic University of America on Tuesday in which the justice said his faith made him aware of how SCOTUS’ decisions have a “real impact on the world.”
Must Read
“‘Putin Is a Fool’: Intercepted Calls Reveal Russian Army in Disarray” – The New York Times
New Mind-Boggling Trump Tales Brought To You By Maggie Haberman
Here are some of the fever dream moments in New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman’s upcoming book about Trump (per outlets that have received the book in advance, including CNN, the Washington Post, the Daily Beast, and Rolling Stone):
- He told then-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) in 2016 that he didn’t want to disavow white supremacist supporters (i.e. David Duke) too quickly because he was worried about losing their support. “A lot of these people vote,” Trump said.
- Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-MI) suspected in 2019 that Trump had called her while pretending to be a Washington Post reporter. The call came soon after Trump had publicly attacked Dingell’s recently deceased husband, and the purported journalist–whose voice sounded like Trump’s–asked the congresswoman if she wanted an apology from the then-president.
- He proposed bombing drug labs in Mexico as a way to crack down on drug smuggling at the border. He proposed it several times, in fact.
- He declared in 2019 that he would “just sue” Congress if it impeached him over his Ukraine aid pressure campaign.
- He almost fired his own daughter, Ivanka Trump, and her husband, Jared Kushner, as White House advisers via Twitter at one point. Then-White House chief of staff John Kelly convinced Trump to hold off on canning his own family over social media, and he urged the then-president to speak to Ivanka and Kushner directly (he never did).
Katie Couric Announces Breast Cancer Diagnosis
Reporter Katie Couric revealed on Wednesday that she was diagnosed with Stage 1 breast cancer in July and had the tumor removed several weeks afterward. She said she finished her last round of radiation on Tuesday.
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
Another One Bites the Dust: Dr. Oz Takes Back His Election Denial
Yet another election denier on the campaign trail has reversed his position as the general elections inch closer. TV personality-turned-Senate hopeful Mehmet Oz announced that he doesn’t actually think the 2020 election was illegitimate, despite courting true believers in the past.
Oz has been running to represent Pennsylvania in the Senate against Democrat John Fetterman, partially through an online tete-a-tete using Internet memes (to varying effect). The Republican nominee has also been winking at denying the results of the 2020 election to curry favor with Trump supporters, while trying not to alienate swing voters at the same time.
At a Pennsylvania Senate debate back in April, he said that “we cannot move on” from the election, and that it was a “tragedy” that Republican voters in the state should have to question the results.
He also gave a noncommittal response when asked directly whether he believed the election was stolen on Fox News earlier this month. “There’s lots more information we have to gather in order to determine that and I’d be very desirous of gathering some,” he said.
He’s notably refused to clarify his beliefs on the topic—that is, until Wednesday.
According to the new book from New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman, Trump’s support of the fellow celebrity has been calculated from the start: He once told his advisers that he needs people like Oz in office in case the 2024 election is challenged or Congress tries to impeach him again.
Oz already hadn’t been very keen on accepting Trump’s endorsement throughout his campaign, but on Wednesday he finally decided to fess up.
“Doctor Oz has made it clear that he would have voted to certify the results of the 2020 election, and that he’ll accept the results of the 2022 election,” Oz spokeswoman Brittany Yanick told a Politico reporter when asked for comment.
It’s not just Oz. As we inch closer towards the general election, several election deniers who launched their political careers on the back of the Big Lie have similarly reversed their stances on the 2020 election.
Tiffany Smiley, the Republican Senate candidate in Washington state, erased statements about election integrity from her website soon after she won her August 2 primary. Retired general Don Bolduc took it a step further and rescinded his views on national television soon after his primary as well, despite signing an open letter endorsing the Big Lie a year earlier—and boasting about it throughout his campaign.
Justice Department Takes Jabs At Trump For FBI Claims, Unsavory Business Practices
The Justice Department turns a scornful eye towards team Trump in its new filing, suggesting that it should be forced to make good on its baseless claims about the FBI planting evidence and taking swipes at the former President’s infamous business practices.
Continue reading “Justice Department Takes Jabs At Trump For FBI Claims, Unsavory Business Practices”Right-Wing Groups Want To Make Tina Peters a Big Lie Poster Child
Looks like Tina Peters might get a golden parachute: A far-right group recently tried to raise money to send the local Colorado election clerk around the country spreading the Big Lie.
Peters, the Mesa County clerk under indictment for alleged election security breaches in her office, did not seek re-election and lost her bid for the GOP nomination to be Colorado’s secretary of state.
What’s a soon-to-be out-of-work, criminally charged election official to do? A nationwide speaking tour to tout the Big Lie, of course!
“[W]e’re looking forward to contracting with her right after the first of the year to go out and speak on the same thing she’s speaking about now, when she’s not an elected official any longer,” Americans for America Regina Thomson told the Colorado Times Reporter.
It’s unclear how much money they raised for Peters’s contract, and it may just end up a hopeful pet project. Peters told the outlet that she knew nothing about the planned contract.
Last week, Peters attended screenings for a documentary that she starred in called “Selection Code.” The hour-long film, with an ominous Left Behind-esque synopsis, argues that both the 2020 election and a local municipal election back in 2021 were rigged against conservatives.
The screenings were sponsored by two Colorado-based right-wing organizations: Colorado Christian University and the Independence Institute. But Americans for America (A4A), a third organization with openly anti-Muslim sentiments, collected money to fund a hoped-for contract to send Peters across the country spreading the Big Lie through talks and seminars.
A4A’s website gives you a glimpse into their underlying ideology: The organization boasts partnerships with Understanding the Threat, another far-right group that accuses the Council on American Islamic relations of operating on behalf of the militant Palestinian group Hamas, and with Katie Hopkins, the British media personality most known for hating on trans people, immigrants, and Meghan Markle.
The group was founded by former Colorado State Senate President John Andrews, who also had some unfavorable views towards Muslims, including that a “good and faithful Muslim” can’t also be a “good and faithful American.”
Thomson, the group’s president, told the local outlet: “She’s one of our upcoming projects to go out and speak on election integrity. “It’s all legal and above board, it’s just that we don’t want her to have a target on her back any bigger than she does until she’s out of office.”
Peters is scheduled to face trial next year on the state election security charges. She also faces civil contempt of court charges. Meanwhile, a federal investigation related to the election security breaches is also underway, and has snared alleged co-conspirators like the MyPillow guy, Mike Lindell.
Peters has denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in the state criminal case.