A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Code Red
Georgia GOP Senate nominee and ex-NFL star Herschel Walker–a supposedly anti-abortion hardliner who’s argued that there should be “no exceptions” to abortion bans–paid for a woman’s abortion when he impregnated her in 2009, the Daily Beast found.
- The woman (who was not named in the story) has literal receipts: She provided the Daily Beast with a receipt from the abortion clinic and a bank deposit receipt from a signed $700 check Walker had given her for the procedure.
- Most amazing of all, the woman also had the “get well” card Walker had sent her with the check:
- Walker tweeted on Monday night that he denies the report “in the strongest possible terms.” The former NFL star also vowed to sue the Daily Beast for defamation.
- Walker’s 23-year-old son, Christian Walker (one of the ex-NFL star’s four known children but the only one who was known publicly), tore into his father via Twitter with accusations of domestic violence several hours later. Declaring that he was “done” with his father, Christian alleged that the Senate candidate had threatened to kill him and his mother, forcing them to move “over 6 times in 6 months running from your violence.” Christian Walker’s mother, Cindy Grossman, has previously accused the ex-NFL player of domestic abuse.
Planned Parenthood Launches Plan For Mobile Abortion Clinic
Planned Parenthood announced yesterday that it’ll soon open a mobile abortion clinic in Illinois in the form of a 37-foot RV that will travel along the borders of neighboring states that have banned abortion.
- The clinic will move along Illinois’ borders in the areas of southeastern Missouri and western Kentucky after it arrives this month, according to Planned Parenthood. It’s expected to be fully operational by the end of this year.
- The clinic will start by offering abortion pills for the first 11 weeks of pregnancy, then will begin providing surgical abortions several months later.
Russia Doesn’t Even Know Where Its Annexed Ukraine Borders Are
Even as the Russian Parliament rubber-stamps Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s illegal annexation of four Ukrainian regions, the Kremlin admitted on Monday that it hasn’t actually determined the borders of the annexed areas, none of which are under Russia’s control.
Must Read
“What Video Footage Reveals About the Protests in Iran” – The New York Times
Jan. 6 Panel’s Tentative Date For Hearing Next Week
The House Jan. 6 Committee has tentatively set its next public hearing for Oct. 13, according to Bloomberg.
In Case You Missed It: Woman Who Lured Migrants To Martha’s Vineyard Identified
The New York Times and CNN have unmasked the woman who allegedly tricked Venezuelan migrants in Texas into boarding planes chartered by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) with false promises of food and housing before the planes took the migrants to Martha’s Vineyard: Perla Huerta, an ex-combat medic and counterintelligence agent in the U.S. Army.
- Huerta was discharged in August after having served for more than 20 years.
- The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office in Texas is scrutinizing Huerta in its investigation into DeSantis’ stunt, according to the New York Times.
Young Activist MTG Kicked To File Ethics Complaint
Gen Z advocacy group Voters of Tomorrow announced on Monday that it would be filing a complaint with the Office of Congressional Ethics against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for apparently kicking one of its activists as she tried to ask the far-right congresswoman about gun control.
- Speaking of Greene, her husband moved to make their divorce proceedings public record yesterday.
SCOTUS Pooh-Poohs Mr. Pillow’s Push To Toss Defamation Suit
MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on Monday failed to convince the Supreme Court to throw out Dominion’s $1.3 billion defamation lawsuit against him.
OAN Brags About Airing Debunked Election Conspiracy Movie
Trump’s arguably most devoted propaganda machine proudly announced yesterday that it had secured the “television premiere” of “2000 Mules,” a fake documentary about non-existent voter fraud in the 2020 election. The movie, which is the brainchild of far-right crank Dinesh D’Souza, has been debunked over and over and over and over and over*.
I, for one, am looking forward to seeing if we’ll be treated to this helpful and legally thorough disclaimer again:
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