There is already a flood of lawsuits in response to this cycle of redistricting — an inevitable outcome of the high-stakes game of drawing political maps that ensues every ten years. But this time around, some long-standing questions might get settled.
Continue reading “Another Circuit Court May Break Silence On Key Question For Minority Voters”Why Trump Pantsing Graham Once Again Matters for 2022
I confess to some feelings of pessimism (something I’m usually characterologically and ideologically opposed to) and drift about the current political moment. But despite the frequent and understandable claims that none of it matters, there’s more going on than people maybe realize with ex-President Trump and the January 6th investigators. Here I don’t mean specifically what the investigators are coming up with — though I think there’s a lot going on there too. I’m talking about Trump’s efforts to manage the Republican response to those findings and its on-going work.
Continue reading “Why Trump Pantsing Graham Once Again Matters for 2022”Trump Is ‘Absolutely’ Witness Tampering By Dangling Pardons, Jan. 6 Panel Member Says
Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA), who sits on the House Jan. 6 Select Committee, on Wednesday morning accused former President Donald Trump of tampering with witnesses in the panel’s investigation by promising potential pardons for the Capitol insurrectionists.
Continue reading “Trump Is ‘Absolutely’ Witness Tampering By Dangling Pardons, Jan. 6 Panel Member Says”Trump’s PAC Handed Out $1M To Meadows’ Employer Just Weeks After Jan. 6 Panel Was Formed
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.
Luck Be A Crony
According to newly filed campaign finance records, the ex-president’s “Save America” political action committee gave $1 million to the Conservative Partnership Institute, a non-profit where former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows works as a senior partner, on July 26 last year.
- The donation came less than a month after the House formed the chamber’s select committee on investigating the Capitol insurrection.
- Meadows was one of the first Trump foot soldiers to get subpoenaed by the committee, which later slapped the ex-White House official with a criminal contempt referral for halting his cooperation.
- That cash made up the lion’s share of the $1.35 million the PAC gave out to candidates and groups overall in the second half of 2021. Most of the PAC’s contributions want to candidates that espoused the big lie, CNN found.
Some Corporations Go Back To Donating To GOPers Who Tried To Overturn 2020 Election
Comcast and Goldman Sachs have ended their post-Jan. 6 insurrection pause on donations to the 174 congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 election results last year.
Sinema Wooed GOP Donors While Vowing To Keep Filibuster
The day before she and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) sided with Republicans to keep the filibuster as is and, in so doing, block the path forward for voting rights legislation, Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) went to a Texas fundraiser and told an assembled group of donors that included top fossil fuel executives to “rest assured” that she would vote against any changes to the filibuster, according to one executive who spoke to the Guardian.
New York AG Digs Into Trump’s DC Hotel
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) has subpoenaed the General Services Administration (GSA) for information on Trump International Hotel in D.C., the Washington Post reports.
- James is reportedly looking into the GSA’s decision to lease the federally owned Old Post Office to the Trump Organization for it to be developed into the hotel. It’s part of her civil investigation into allegations that Trump inflated the value of his assets to secure prime loans and leases.
- The House Oversight Committee found that Trump’s hotel made $3.75 million from foreign governments in the first three years of his presidency.
Another Ex-Pence Aide Meets With Jan. 6 Committee
Greg Jacob, who served as then-Vice President Mike Pence’s general counsel, met with the House Jan. 6 Select Committee yesterday.
- Former Trump legal adviser John Eastman had emailed him in the middle of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection to say that the insurrection was actually Jacob and Pence’s fault because they failed to help Trump steal the 2020 election.
- Marc Short, Pence’s former chief of staff, has also reportedly spoken to the Jan. 6 committee.
Dem Senator Hospitalized For Stroke
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) is currently being treated for a stroke at an Albuquerque hospital, the senator’s office announced on Tuesday, which leaves the Senate Democratic caucus with just 49 available votes at the moment. Luján is “expected to make a full recovery,” according to his office.
Must Read
“Fear, anxiety follow third wave of bomb threats targeting HBCUs” – The Washington Post
Youngkin Trying To Tap Trump Goon As Top Virginia Official
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) has appointed Andrew Wheeler, the coal lobbyist-turned-EPA chief who worked for the Trump administration, to join his Cabinet as secretary of natural resources. Wheeler’s nomination could be approved if at least one Democratic state senator sides with Republicans, and state Sen. Joe Morrissey (D) has said he’s open to it.
Biden Chooses Doug Jones As SCOTUS Nominee Guide
Former Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) will be working as a Senate “sherpa” for whomever Biden picks to replace outgoing Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, the New York Times reports. That means Jones will introduce the nominee to senators and guide her through her confirmation hearings.
Tucker Carlson Donated To MTG
The Fox News host gave $250 to far-right Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) campaign last fall as part of her raffle for a gun that “TRIGGERS the Fake News Media and Democrats all across the country,” according to the campaign.
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Where Things Stand: A Few Layers Of Intrigue To This Conservative Event Gorsuch Is Headlining
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Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch is set to headline the Federalist Society’s annual conference in Florida over the weekend. It’s closed to the press. And while it may not be a great look for a sitting Supreme Court justice to speak at an ideological event, it’s not uncommon. Gorsuch has spoken at Federalist Society events in the past. In fact, all of the conservative justices on the Court currently have ties, in some form or another, to the conservative organization.
But part of what makes this year’s confab so intriguing are the prominent conservative names he will be sharing the program with.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: A Few Layers Of Intrigue To This Conservative Event Gorsuch Is Headlining”McConnell Doesn’t Share Trump’s Eagerness To Pardon Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrectionists
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Tuesday said that he disagrees with former President Trump’s comments dangling pardons for the mob of his supporters who participated in the deadly Capitol insurrection last year.
Continue reading “McConnell Doesn’t Share Trump’s Eagerness To Pardon Jan. 6 Capitol Insurrectionists”Biden Gets The Ball Rolling For His Supreme Court Nominee
Your briefing on developments in the Supreme Court confirmation battle.
President Joe Biden has begun the niceties associated with selecting his Supreme Court nominee, meeting with key senators to hear their priorities and ask for any input.
Continue reading “Biden Gets The Ball Rolling For His Supreme Court Nominee”Democratic Senator Ben Ray Luján Hospitalized For Stroke
Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-NM) has been hospitalized for a stroke but is expected to make a full recovery, according to a statement from his office.
Last week, after he started experiencing dizziness and fatigue, the statement said, he checked himself into a hospital in Santa Fe.
“He was then transferred to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque for further evaluation,” it continued. “Senator Luján was found to have suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, affecting his balance. As part of his treatment plan, he subsequently underwent decompressive surgery to ease swelling.”
While Luján recovers, there will be just 49 members available to vote in the Senate Democratic caucus.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), a member of Senate leadership, was candid with reporters Tuesday about the precariousness of the Democrats’ bare Senate majority, thrown into sharp relief by Luján’s illness.
“That’s just what we live with every day in a 50-50 Senate,” she said. “We’re all human beings and something could happen to someone at any time.”
Luján, age 49, is incredibly young by Senate standards, where the median age is 64.3 years old.
Democrats’ slim Senate majority has often been mentioned in tandem with its members’ advanced age, particularly as the chamber rushes to confirm whomever President Joe Biden nominates to fill Justice Stephen Breyer’s seat on the Supreme Court.
Stabenow added that she doesn’t expect Luján’s recovery to disrupt the confirmation.
“It’s not like we’re going to be voting in the next couple of weeks on the floor,” she said, pointing to the time it takes to get a nominee through the process.
“We look forward to his speedy return to the Senate and I believe the Senate will be able to carry forward in its business,” added Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) later in the day.
Read the full statement from Luján’s office here:
Early Thursday morning, Senator Luján began experiencing dizziness and fatigue. He checked himself into Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital in Santa Fe. He was then transferred to UNM Hospital in Albuquerque for further evaluation. Senator Luján was found to have suffered a stroke in the cerebellum, affecting his balance. As part of his treatment plan, he subsequently underwent decompressive surgery to ease swelling.
He is currently being cared for at UNM Hospital, resting comfortably, and expected to make a full recovery. The Senator’s offices remain open and will continue providing constituent services to all New Mexicans without any interruption. The Senator and his family would like to thank the wonderful doctors and staff at both UNM Hospital and Christus St. Vincent Regional Hospital for their excellent care during this time. Senator Luján looks forward to getting back to work for the people of New Mexico. At this time, he and his family would appreciate their privacy, and ask for your continued prayers and well wishes.
Trump Is Now Urging Jan. 6 Committee To Investigate Pence For Not Overturning The Election
Former President Trump is leaning into his recent, frank admission that he wanted his former VP Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election results.
Continue reading “Trump Is Now Urging Jan. 6 Committee To Investigate Pence For Not Overturning The Election”Hawley’s Big ‘Gotcha’: Biden Hasn’t Rubber-Stamped Every Single Black Nominee Ever
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) wants to know: If President Joe Biden is so committed to appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court, then why hasn’t he supported every Black judicial nominee ever, hmmmm?
Continue reading “Hawley’s Big ‘Gotcha’: Biden Hasn’t Rubber-Stamped Every Single Black Nominee Ever”