I disagree with TPM Reader SR on this. But I post it here to add to and advance our broader discussion of the issue.
Those same gutless government lawyers mentioned in the edblog email today also put an end to a LOT of stupid shit long before the public gets a whiff of it. “Big shouldered” tough-guy dummies in the last admin were stopped dead in their tracks more often than not. They were literally too stupid for their own good. Which, was good for the rest of us.
The same starting point of what is the statutory/const authority for doing this action is an equal opportunity roadblock. The difference is that the republicans say thanks and do it anyway by finding some political lawyer hack to overrule. The dems piss and moan about the laudable goals(often true) and ask to rethink it 5 times and then gnash and wail forever. But don’t do it.
House Jan. 6 Committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-WY) made it clear that she and her committee will not be steamrolled by Trump or any of his allies’ efforts to try to interfere with the panel’s investigation or to try to intimidate witnesses. Today was the second time she’s publicly revealed that Trump and people close to him are clearly watching the hearings — and might be getting spooked.
The House Jan. 6 Committee kicks off its seventh public hearing today at 1:00 p.m. ET. Led by Reps. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL) and Jamie Raskin (D-MD), the session will focus on Trump and his allies’ ties to far-right extremists groups and how those relationships helped fuel the Capitol insurrection.
One of the highlights of today’s Jan. 6 Committee hearing was a text exchange between Kylie Jane Kremer, an Ellipse rally organizer, and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell. In the text Kremer said to Lindell, “we are having a second stage at the Supreme Court again after the Ellipse.”
You may remember Josh Kovensky had the scoop on the story of a second planned rally outside SCOTUS back in December. You can read that TPM exclusive here.
Learn about this confirmation and more in a new Twitter Space conversation between Josh Kovensky and Matt Shuham, where they make sense of today’s hearing. Listen below and follow us on Twitter @TPM to tune in to the next live chat:
In granular new detail, the Jan. 6 committee showed how a freshly enraged President Trump targeted his own vice president through a series of edits to his speech on the morning of the attack.
I want you to read this TPM Reader email. If you care about Roe, Dobbs or what seems like a White House response that’s just not up to the challenge of the moment, you should really read this. It’s not exculpatory. But it explains the nature of the breakdown, the outdated model they appear to be stuck in. I won’t be identifying the TPM Reader, even by initials. Suffice it to say TPM Reader TL, as I’ll call them, has longtime professional experience that allows them to give this perspective and render these judgments.
Yesterday afternoon, you retweeted the Politico story on the White House lawyers’ conservative approach to post-Dobbs fixes saying “If this is true it shows a total misunderstanding of the current political moment.”
That is exactly the problem.
For decades, lawyers for the Executive Branch, in both DoJ and the White House, have urged their “clients”—agencies and the President—not to be overly aggressive in exercising their authority for fear that agency action would be invalidated in court.
A rally scheduled for Friday in North Carolina featuring appearances by former President Trump and his family has been rescheduled, according to local reports.
A county judge in Georgia has ruled that Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) must testify in front of the special grand jury in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ 2020 election investigation, per the judge’s order filed on Monday.
