A few days ago, investigative journalist Vicky Ward published an account which claimed to explain just why Jared Kushner was able secure that $2 billion investment from a Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund for his freshly hatched investment fund, Affinity Partners. Her explanation also claims to explain why Kushner was successfully prevented from receiving a top level security clearance while he was in government.
Continue reading “Princelings and War Crimes”My Visit To The Massive Steel Mill Where Mariupol Is Making Its Last Stand
The fighting in Mariupol is ending at a massive steel mill: the Azovstal factory.
Potentially hundreds of Ukrainian fighters — along with what they say are up to 1,000 sheltering civilians — are holed up in the factory, a maze of tunnels, pipes, and channels for molten steel, frozen now for the first time since World War Two.
I visited Azovstal in July 2017 while I was reporting a series of stories that I wrote about the war in the Donbas. At Azovstal, I was interested in the connections that had endured across what was then called the contact line — the division between territory held by the Ukrainian government, and that controlled by Russian-backed separatists.
Continue reading “My Visit To The Massive Steel Mill Where Mariupol Is Making Its Last Stand”Judge Greenlights Bid To Get MTG Scrubbed From Ballot
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Now She’ll Have To Testify
A federal judge in Georgia shot down Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) effort to block a challenge to her candidacy for re-election, allowing the bid to get the far-right lawmaker kicked off the ballot to continue. That means the voters will be able to present their challenge in front of a state administrative law judge on Friday.
- The judge will then decide whether to recommend Greene’s disqualification for her alleged role in the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, under the 14th Amendment’s Disqualification Clause.
- Greene, who’s been subpoenaed in the case, will be required to testify. She expressed her displeasure over that particular development on Fox News host Tucker Carlson’s show last night:
Abbott Vows To Press On With Migrant Bus Gimmick
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made it clear on Monday night that he isn’t dropping his bizarre stunt of sending buses carrying migrants who had crossed the Texas border to D.C. In fact, Abbott just might start sending them to Biden’s home state of Delaware, the governor told Fox News host Sean Hannity.
- But, uh, the way Abbott’s bragging about it makes this whole thing look like a human trafficking operation. While he’d previously claimed that the migrants on the buses were there voluntarily, his response on Monday when Hannity asked him if he’ll be sending “every illegal immigrant that you find” was “We’re gonna load ’em up and send them into Washington, D.C.”
- Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has similarly suggested that he’ll send migrants to Delaware.
Trump Judge Strikes Down CDC Mask Mandate
U.S. District Judge Kathryn Kimball Mizelle, a Trump appointee who was given a “not qualified” rating by the American Bar Association when she was nominated, ruled on Monday that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) didn’t have the authority to issue mask mandates for air travel and other public transportation.
Alex Jones Insists Infowars Isn’t Declaring Bankruptcy After Infowars Files For Bankruptcy
The far-right conspiracy theorist wanted everyone to know on Monday that his media outlet, Infowars, was absolutely not declaring bankruptcy after Infowars (plus two of his other businesses) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the face of all the Sandy Hook defamation suits Jones has lost.
- Jones claimed he was just trying to prove that he has “less than $3 million cash” with the filings in the Connecticut and Texas lawsuits from the families of the Sandy Hook shooting victims.
Biden Admin Extends Protections For Ukrainian Refugees Fleeing Russian Invasion
The Department of Homeland Security extended eligibility for Temporary Protected Status to more Ukrainian refugees on Monday by allowing those who entered the U.S. by April 11 to apply for 18 months of protection against deportation. The previous date was March 1.
Former Cawthorn Campaign Staffer Reportedly Files Complaint
Lisa Wiggins, a former staffer on Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s (R-NC) campaign, said in a leaked recording of a call with an anti-Cawthorn organization, which published the recording on Monday, that she was filing a worker’s complaint against the GOP congressman.
- Wiggins alleged in the call that Cawthorn denied her family leave when her uncle died and her husband had a heart attack in the same week. The North Carolina Republican is “a habitual liar,” “doesn’t care about his constituents” and is overall “just a bad person,” according to Wiggins.
- Cawthorn’s spokesperson denied Wiggins’ allegations on Monday and claimed she was working for one of Cawthorn’s primary opponents.
Key Analysis
“Anti-Trans Laws Aren’t Symbolic. They Seek to Erase Us From Public Life” – them.
JD Vance Once Compared Trump To Hitler
Ooof: Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance got to bask in Trump’s forgiveness and endorsement for about three days before his ex-college roommate and Georgia Senate candidate Josh McLaurin (D) came crashing through the walls like Kool-Aid Man with screenshot on Monday of an alleged text from Vance dated 2016 showing the hillbilly elegist fretting that Trump could be “America’s Hitler”:
Kimberly Guilfoyle Meets With Jan. 6 Panel
Ex-Trump campaign adviser Kimberly Guilfoyle, who’s now engaged to eldest Trump son Don Jr., had a do-over interview on Monday with the House Jan. 6 Committee, which had subpoenaed Guilfoyle after her voluntary interview fell apart for a very stupid reason in February.
- The stupid reason: Guilfoyle apparently wasn’t aware that members of the committee would be participating in the discussion, and upon discovering that shocking fact, angrily stormed out of the session, according to several reports. The Trump adviser was reportedly under the impression that she’d only be speaking to the committee’s lawyers for some reason.
- Anyway, it’s unclear if Guilfoyle was helpful on Monday or if she just informed the investigators that “THE BEST. IS YET. TO COME” and then pleaded the Fifth the rest of the time.
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Now That The GOP Is Proudly Wearing His Tin Foil Hat, Who Needs Alex Jones?
Alex Jones is not the star he once was.
Banned from most major content platforms in 2018, Jones’ “InfoWars” network has now declared bankruptcy. The most prolific conspiracy theorist in America over the past decade is on the defensive against the parents of children slain in the Sandy Hook Elementary School mass shooting, who Jones infamously described as liars and crisis actors.
Continue reading “Now That The GOP Is Proudly Wearing His Tin Foil Hat, Who Needs Alex Jones?”Where Things Stand: Warren Tries To Revive Drowsy Dems Ahead Of Midterms
If you’re a lifer, you probably know Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-MA) origin story, at least as it relates to TPM.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: Warren Tries To Revive Drowsy Dems Ahead Of Midterms”GA State Sen Hopeful Says Ex-Roomie Vance Feared Trump Is ‘America’s Hitler’
The newly Trump-endorsed Ohio GOP Senate candidate J.D. Vance allegedly feared that the former president could be “America’s Hitler,” Vance’s former college roommate and Georgia Senate candidate Josh McLaurin (D) claims in a tweet posted Monday of a text exchange they allegedly had in 2016.
Continue reading “GA State Sen Hopeful Says Ex-Roomie Vance Feared Trump Is ‘America’s Hitler’”How The Image Of A Besieged And Victimized Russia Came To Be So Ingrained In The Country’s Psyche
This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was first published at The Conversation.
The range of anti-Russian measures taken by countries around the world since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is virtually unprecedented and hearkens back to the darkest days of the Cold War.
Continue reading “How The Image Of A Besieged And Victimized Russia Came To Be So Ingrained In The Country’s Psyche”Trump-Appointed Judge Finds That CDC Lacks Power To…Control Spread Of Disease
A Trump-appointed district court judge found Monday that in issuing its mask mandate for travel on public transportation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) overstepped its authority.
Continue reading “Trump-Appointed Judge Finds That CDC Lacks Power To…Control Spread Of Disease”Update
According to Ukrainian defense officials, Russia has begun a major new offensive in the east of the country. So far these statements are from the head of the Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council and also the General Staff.
There seems to be some definitional disagreement on this. The U.S. appears less clear that this is actually the beginning of the major offensive, as opposed to preliminaries to set the stage for it. Again, perhaps a definitional or semantic question.
Raskin Says Trump’s Attempt At A Coup Will Be Focus Of Jan. 6 Panel’s Public Hearings
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), who serves on the Jan. 6 Select Committee, said then-President Trump’s efforts to incite a coup will be front and center in the panel’s upcoming public hearings.
Continue reading “Raskin Says Trump’s Attempt At A Coup Will Be Focus Of Jan. 6 Panel’s Public Hearings”