David Kurtz

 Have a tip? Send it Here!
David Kurtz is TPM's executive editor and Washington Bureau chief. He oversees the news operations of TPM.

This Should Focus The Mind

I missed this post-debate assessment yesterday from David Sanger of the New York Times:

But what worried American intelligence and homeland security officials, who have been assuring the public for months now that an accurate, secure vote could happen, was that Mr. Trump’s rant about a fraudulent vote may have been intended for more than just a domestic audience.

They have been worried for some time that his warnings are a signal to outside powers — chiefly the Russians — for their disinformation campaigns, which have seized on his baseless theme that the mail-in ballots are ridden with fraud. But what concerns them the most is that over the next 34 days, the country may begin to see disruptive cyberoperations, especially ransomware, intended to create just enough chaos to prove the president’s point.

5-Alarm Fire!

The big hearing in the Flynn case just took a dramatic turn when the judge demanded to know whether Flynn’s lawyer had discussed the case with President Trump.

Buckle Up. It’s Getting Wild Already

Nothing at all reassuring here about the role Barr’s DOJ will play in the election. You gotta see this.

Overlooked News Of The Day

California will outlaw the sales of all new gasoline-powered passenger cars and trucks by 2035.

!!!

GOP is now claiming Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) made it too easy to vote.

In McConnell’s Grasp

Lindsey Graham is exactly who we knew him to be. Susan Collins? She’s not as she usually is, notoriously concerned. But let’s wait and see.

Susan Collins: Ginsburg Seat Should Be Filled By The President Elected Nov. 3
McConnell Trashes McConnell Rule

Mitch McConnell just consigned the McConnell Rule to the same trash bin of history as the non-precedential Bush v. Gore ruling. Another shoddy expedience momentarily gilded until it was no longer expedient.

Monumental News

Justice Ginsburg is dead, and one can barely utter the words without thinking of the battle to fill her seat, not out of disrespect for her and her enormous imprint on the course of American legal history, but because of how quickly Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump will move – tonight – to lock down that Trump will fill the seat before his term ends. The mourning will inevitably be colored by the rush to lock in a historic conservative majority on the court.

Intentional

Federal judge rips Trump’s USPS “reforms” as a clearly intentional effort to undermine the pandemic election.

Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: