A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Over the past month, a team of reporters, editors and designers at TPM has been hard at work putting together a landmark series on the text messages that Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows turned over to the Jan. 6 committee.
First. I don’t have a cat. Read the Perry texts. He swallowed the Kraken.
This is great reporting. Here are elected and appointed leaders - dozens of them - caught up in an utterly lawless fantasy. It’s absolutely dazzling.
Perhaps the most positive interpretation of the recent moves by the DOJ and the Special Counsel is that they are ‘castling’ https://www.chess.com/article/view/how-to-castle-in-chess: it’s a special move you can make in chess to protect your king before starting a major offensive. Castling looks like a defensive move, but it also literally ‘places you in a corner’, which makes it highly likely that a decisive battle will ensue. I have often criticized AG Garland and the DOJ for moving so slowly, but I think they are proceeding in a prudent manner now.
Rep. Ralph Norman (R-SC) text calling for “Marshall law”
Who is this Marshall Rethugliklans appear to be so familiar with and what is his law?
The only Marshall I’m familiar with makes amplifiers. And the only law associated with them, which is mostly informal, is: “If you turn it up to 11 your ears will likely bleed.”
Is this other Marshall Law somehow related to the The Dunning-Kruger effect?
Winners are good and losers are bad!
I’m rooting for Jack Smith to nail trump et. al. It isn’t like there is no evidence of crimes committed.
And hats off to Hunter Walker and team for the Meadows series.
You know, if you thought about it for just a few minutes, you could probably come up with a way to solve that issue. Moreover, you can just post a random cat picture; it’s not like anyone would know.
O/T but this really pisses me off
Former top Twitter official forced to leave home due to threats amid ‘Twitter Files’ release | CNN Business
Roth has since been the subject of criticism and threats following the release of the Twitter Files. However, things took a dark turn over the weekend when Musk appeared to endorse a tweet that baselessly accused Roth of being sympathetic to pedophilia — a common trope used by conspiracy theorists to attack people online.
A person familiar with Roth’s situation told CNN threats made against the former Twitter employee escalated exponentially after Musk engaged in the pedophilia conspiracy theory.
His law is simple: PLAY IT LOUD!
Elsewhere:
I suspect we’ll have more on this later today, but this is an even bigger deal than a Trump prosecutor indicting an obscure Clinton lawyer on trivial charges and bucking the odds and not even getting a conviction.
OT - Although one corrupt Florida judge has been put in her place by an appeals court, there is still one in DC who can do much more damage to the rule of law…
ETA - took out the quoting of the US Code, because no story on the event states which statute is involved. I originally included 1505, but now think that it must be 1512(c)(2)?
( c ) Whoever corruptly—
(2) …obstructs, influences, or impedes any official proceeding, or attempts to do so,
shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.
Hundreds of prosecutions in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot were hanging in the balance as a panel of federal judges on Monday debated the constitutionality of the Justice Department’s lead felony charge.
Three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit will decide the scope of a felony obstruction charge that members of Congress and a federal judge have suggested could be used to prosecute former president Donald Trump. Two of the judges on the panel were appointed by Trump. The other was appointed by President Biden.
The law punishes “whoever corruptly alters, destroys, mutilates or conceals a record, document or other object … or otherwise obstructs, influences or impedes any official proceeding.” Prosecutors have used the charge against nearly 300 people they say intentionally tried to delay, prevent or block Congress from formally counting electoral votes as required on Jan. 6, such as by entering sensitive areas like the Senate chamber.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/12/12/jan6-obstruction-charge-appeal/
Is it Josh Marshall from TPM? I never trusted that guy!
Would be interesting to compare the members of Congress who were trying to get a pardon against their texts to Meadows. Hope Mr Smith goes to Washington is keeping an eye on these texts.
Oooooh, I LOVE Martial amps!!!
Still another waiting game.
Stay tuned later today!
Music to my ears.
