Donald Trump nudged Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) to speak up on his behalf about how great his golf game is, according to a new book, Insider reports.
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 187
Bad Instincts
Trial Balloon · Ep. 187: Bad Instincts
White House Doubles-Down on Title 42
“The White House had started preparing a more aggressive defense around its plan for lifting the Trump-era deportation policy known as Title 42, when a federal judge issued a Monday decision that likely changes the Biden administration’s plans for a full-court press,” Politico reports.
McConnell Was ‘Exhilarated’ After Capitol Riot
“Hours after a mob ransacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in a bid to block the certification of the 2020 presidential election, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described himself as ‘exhilarated’ about the potential damage to President Donald Trump,” the Washington Post reports.
Said McConnell, to one of the authors of This Will Not Pass: “I feel exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself.”
He added: “He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Couldn’t have happened at a better time.”
January 6 Committee Should Stop Dragging Its Feet
Jonathan Bernstein: “The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has once again delayed its public hearings; the latest estimate is that they’ll happen in June.”
“It’s possible that there’s a good reason that the committee has been so slow. I’ve speculated that its members mistakenly think that their report is more important than it is, or that they think they need to have every piece of the puzzle solved before moving on to public hearings. But maybe there’s something else that we don’t know.”
“What I can say is that there are real costs to waiting.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Free speech is the bedrock of a functioning democracy, and Twitter is the digital town square where matters vital to the future of humanity are debated. I also want to make Twitter better than ever by enhancing the product with new features, making the algorithms open source to increase trust, defeating the spam bots, and authenticating all humans. Twitter has tremendous potential I look forward to working with the company and the community of users to unlock it.”
— Elon Musk, on acquiring Twitter.
I’m very interested in what “authenticating all humans” means.
Inside Merrick Garland’s Rocky First Year
New York Times: “By most accounts, becoming attorney general was a tough adjustment for a former appeals judge who had last worked at the Justice Department in the late 1990s. But more than a year into his tenure, colleagues say that a cautious leader has found some footing, more a prosecutor now than a deliberator.”
“In interviews, a dozen administration officials and federal prosecutors, all of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal discussions, said Mr. Garland, 69, initially ran his office like a judge’s chambers, peppering even Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta with the kind of granular questions that clerks might expect while writing his opinions. But the slow pace that characterized Mr. Garland’s early months has somewhat quickened. Decisions that took weeks at the outset can now take a day. And with more top officials confirmed, he can be less directly involved in the department’s day-to-day work.”
Whether he likes it or not, Merrick Garland’s legacy will be defined by how he handles Donald Trump.
Biden Officials Worry Trump Will Be Back on Twitter
“White House officials and Democratic strategists are privately worrying how Elon Musk’s $44 billion hostile takeover of Twitter will affect the 2024 presidential election — especially whether the billionaire will allow former President Donald Trump return to the platform,” CNBC reports.
“Members of Biden’s inner circle and party strategists are concerned about an increase in misinformation on the platform under Musk’s leadership and ahead of the 2024 presidential election, which could pit Biden against the former president in a rematch.”
Cedric Richmond to Leave the White House
President Joe Biden’s senior adviser Cedric Richmond is expected to leave his post as the director of the Office of Public Engagement in the coming weeks, CNN reports.
Trump Says He Won’t Return to Twitter
Former President Donald Trump told Fox News that he will not return to Twitter, even as Elon Musk purchases the social media company and reinstates his account, instead using his own Truth Social as the sole platform for his voice.
Said Trump: “I am not going on Twitter, I am going to stay on Truth. I hope Elon buys Twitter because he’ll make improvements to it and he is a good man, but I am going to be staying on Truth.”
Trump said he will start using his own social network within the next week.
Twitter Agrees to Be Acquired by Elon Musk
Twitter’s board has accepted an offer from billionaire Elon Musk to buy the social media company for $44 billion and take it private, CNBC reports.
“Assuming the deal closes and Musk takes ownership of Twitter, the company will be controlled by the world’s richest person and someone who’s been a heavy critic of the platform while using it in legally contentious ways, mostly through sensitive posts about his car manufacturer, Tesla.”
Axios: “This is an earthquake in global media and politics, where Twitter hosts the discourse. It’s sure to be criticized by those who disagree with Musk’s laissez-faire views on content moderation and cheered by those who believe Twitter has been too heavy-handed with its block button.”
Vanity Fair: Trump’s Truth Social appears officially fucked.
Tillis Super PAC Goes After Madison Cawthorn
“A super PAC aligned with Sen. Thom Tillis is spending six-figures on a hard-hitting ad going after his fellow North Carolina Republican, freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn,” Axios reports.
Democrats Struggle with a Midterm Message
Washington Post: “Biden is beginning to put the pieces together for an aggressive campaign to help limit Democratic losses in November. But it’s an effort some in the party say is long overdue, and despite Biden’s ramped-up efforts, there is no finalized, comprehensive strategy for the midterms inside the White House.”
“There’s no overarching document that outlines the president’s involvement in key races, nor a set message that will carry the party through November, according to multiple people familiar with the situation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk candidly.”
Sweden and Finland to Submit NATO Applications
Sweden and Finland have agreed to submit simultaneous membership applications to the US-led NATO alliance as early as the middle of next month, The Guardian reports.
Ukrainian Women Were Raped Before Being Killed
“Forensic doctors carrying out postmortem examinations on bodies in mass graves north of Kyiv say they have found evidence some women were raped before being killed by Russian forces,” The Guardian reports.
GOP Lawmaker Sent Texts to Child Porn Suspect
North Dakota state Sen. Ray Holmberg (R) announced that he will resign from the state Legislature following a report that he exchanged 72 text messages with a man accused of child pornography crimes, the Fargo Forum reports.
Holmberg was North Dakota’s longest-serving state senator.
Flashback Quote of the Day
“In our private chat with only Members, several are saying the only way to save our Republic is for Trump to call for Marshall law. I don’t know on those things. I just wanted you to tell him. They stole this election. We all know. They will destroy our country next.”
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), in a text message to then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021.
Greene apparently does not know how to spell “martial law.”
2,319 Text Messages from Mark Meadows Published
CNN: “The vast trove of texts offers the most revealing picture to date of how Trump’s inner circle, supporters and Republican lawmakers worked behind the scenes to try to overturn the election results and then reacted to the violence that effort unleashed at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.”
“The texts include everything from plans to fight the election results to surprising and unexpected reactions on January 6 from some of Trump’s staunchest allies.”
Judge Holds Trump in Contempt
“A New York judge on Monday held Donald Trump in contempt of court for failing to turn over documents to the state’s attorney general, an extraordinary rebuke of the former president,” the New York Times reports.
“The judge, Arthur Engoron, ordered Mr. Trump to comply with a subpoena seeking records and assessed a fine of $10,000 per day until he satisfies the court’s requirements. In essence, the judge concluded that Mr. Trump had failed to cooperate with the attorney general, Letitia James, and follow the court’s orders.”
