It’s confirmed: Hardline election denier Tina Peters, the indicted Mesa County clerk in Colorado, lost the GOP primary for secretary of state — and lost by a whole lot.
Continue reading “Surprise! Indicted MAGA Clerk’s $255k Primary Recount Goes Nowhere”Kyrsten Sinema—Still Completely Terrible
You’ve probably seen the news that Kyrsten Sinema has signed on to the Schumer/Manchin climate and inflation deal. She did so in exchange for nixing the carried interest loophole fix, an almost comically mercenary demand — a payoff to working families in the venture capital and private equity businesses. She also ramped back the corporate minimum tax with some depreciation tweaks. On the plus side, they seem to have made up the revenue and added a bit more with a small surtax on stock buybacks. A modest additional amount of spending goes to drought mitigation, which is of course a big deal for the Southwest.
Continue reading “Kyrsten Sinema—Still Completely Terrible”Sinema Finally On Board, Dems Now Less At Risk Of Heart Attack
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Time For A Nice, Deep Breath
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) announced on Thursday night that she had reached a deal with her Democratic colleagues and is ready to “move forward” on the reconciliation bill for climate investments, drug pricing and taxes, aka the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The Democrats agreed to “remove the carried interest tax provision, protect advanced manufacturing, and boost our clean energy economy” in the legislation, according to Sinema.
- The final version of the bill will be introduced on Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced (D-NY).
Trump’s Legal Team In Talks With DOJ About Jan. 6 Probe
The ex-president’s lawyers are in communication with prosecutors at the U.S. attorney’s office in D.C. who are heading the Justice Department’s investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, CNN reports.
- Their discussions have reportedly focused on Trump’s claims of executive privilege and whether they could cover his communications with witnesses in the White House.
- Trump’s lawyers have warned their client that he may face indictments, according to CNN.
Kari Lake Wins GOP Nod For Arizona Governor
Trump-backed Kari Lake, a Big Lie fanatic and voter fraud conspiracy monger, is now projected to win the GOP Arizona gubernatorial primary after several days of the race being too close to call.
- Lake no longer sees voter fraud in her race, even though she was “already detecting some stealing going on” on Monday! Interesting! After her victory became official on Thursday night, Lake bragged that “Arizonans who have been forgotten by the establishment just delivered a political earthquake.”
- We know there wasn’t any voter fraud in Lake’s primary because, as she told reporters on Tuesday, “If we don’t win, there’s some cheating going on.” So now we can safely say there was no cheating!
Biden Still Positive For COVID
White House physician Kevin O’Connor reported on Thursday that the President tested positive for COVID-19 again that morning in a case of rebound positivity. However, O’Connor also reported that Biden was feeling “very well” and that his “very occasional cough” was improving.
Kansas GOP Sens. Baffled By Abortion Vote
Sens. Roger Marshall (R-KS) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) are struggling to wrap their heads around the fact that a majority of voters in their red state flatly rejected Republicans’ effort to strip away abortion rights in the state constitution on Tuesday.
- Marshall described the vote as “quite a gut punch” that left him “absolutely shocked.”
- Moran admitted he “never can predict elections.” “I never know how they’re going to turn out,” he told Politico on Thursday.
- Other Republican senators, such as Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Thom Tillis (R-NC) were similarly shell-shocked.
Trump Offspring Finally Sit For Depositions In NY AG Probe
Ivanka Trump and Don Jr. have recently given depositions in New York Attorney General Letitia James’ (D) civil investigation into the Trump Organization, according to CNN and ABC News, after the family spent months fighting the subpoenas.
- Their depositions were delayed after their mother, Ivana Trump, died.
- Don Jr. answered the questions during his deposition and didn’t invoke the Fifth Amendment, according to CNN.
Monkeypox A Public Health Emergency
Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared the monkeypox outbreak a public health emergency on Thursday.
Hearing For Giuliani’s Potential De-Lawyering Scheduled
An attorney discipline panel in D.C. has scheduled Rudy Giuliani’s ethics hearing for Oct. 24, where the disgraced former New York mayor could potentially face law license suspension (his license in New York was already suspended) or even disbarment for using the courts to spew voter fraud lies about the 2020 election.
- Giuliani apparently plans on defending himself by blaming the local lawyers he worked with in the B.S. election lawsuits. According to Giuliani’s attorney, those local lawyers had given the ex-mayor false info that he took at face value because he “came in at the 11th hour” to work on the cases and was too dang busy to do his own research.
- This hearing is only the first step in disciplining Giuliani in D.C. From there, the proceedings will move up to the full discipline board and the D.C. Court of Appeals.
WTF Story Of The Day
“How a Dem Congressional Staffer Faked Being an FBI Agent and Became a Fugitive” – The Daily Beast
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Sinema Gets On Board With Reconciliation Deal
Senate Democrats appear to have a deal that all 50 members of the caucus will support — including Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ).
Here’s Sinema in a statement a few minutes ago:
Continue reading “Sinema Gets On Board With Reconciliation Deal”We have agreed to remove the carried interest tax provision, protect advanced manufacturing, and boost our clean energy economy in the Senate’s budget reconciliation legislation. Subject to the Parliamentarian’s review, I’ll move forward.
Report: Trump’s Legal Team And DOJ Are In Talks About Jan. 6 Probe
Former President Trump’s attorneys are reportedly in touch with Justice Department officials for the first time as the DOJ’s Jan. 6 probe expands into Trump’s orbit, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
Continue reading “Report: Trump’s Legal Team And DOJ Are In Talks About Jan. 6 Probe”DOJ Charges Louisville Police Officers In Connection With Breonna Taylor’s Death
Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday announced that the Justice Department has charged four former and current Louisville police officers in connection to the death of Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman who was shot and killed by officers carrying out a search warrant in her home.
Continue reading “DOJ Charges Louisville Police Officers In Connection With Breonna Taylor’s Death”Sandy Hook Attorney Says Jan. 6 Panel And The Feds Are Requesting Alex Jones’ Phone Records
An attorney representing the parents of Sandy Hook shooting victims on Thursday confirmed that the Jan. 6 Select Committee is requesting two years-worth of records from the phone of far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and claimed other federal entities were also interested in the records. The news comes a day after Rolling Stone reported on the development.
Continue reading “Sandy Hook Attorney Says Jan. 6 Panel And The Feds Are Requesting Alex Jones’ Phone Records”Maloney Says Her Remark About Biden Not Running Again Was Just Her ‘Personal Belief’
Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) on Wednesday maintained her belief that President Joe Biden won’t run for reelection in 2024 days after setting off a firestorm during a primary debate when she first expressed doubt about a potential Biden reelection bid.
Continue reading “Maloney Says Her Remark About Biden Not Running Again Was Just Her ‘Personal Belief’”DOJ Sues Navarro To Force Him To Hand Over Official WH Records On Personal Email Account
What Do You Say?
Yesterday TPM Reader NN wrote in to ask what exactly it makes sense to say if you’re calling a Senate office about Roe and Reform. I thought others might be interested too. So here’s the gist of what I told her.
First, whenever I’m operating in this mode there’s always a balance between journalism and advocacy, one in which I’m leaning a bit out of my comfort zone. In a case like this I’m not trying to convince you to do one thing or another. It is rather one of a handful of cases over the last couple decades where I believe my experience and knowledge of American politics gives me some insight into how a lot of people’s very strongly held beliefs can be applied successfully to the mechanics and idiosyncrasies of American politics. There’s no shortage here of passion or intensity of belief. But how to work the levers of our political and electoral structure can be less clear.
Continue reading “What Do You Say?”