A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
‘Strive To Resist Numbness’
In the same way that the United States is not immune from the ravages of political violence, it has no special ability to put the toothpaste of political violence back in the tube once it’s unleashed.
Make no mistake: It has been unleashed.
“Trump’s real, enduring legacy is his successful introduction of violence, the threat of violence, and targeted harassment into the dynamics of our political system, as if they were all just a natural extension of democratic disagreement,” Juliette Kayyem rightly observed in The Atlantic this summer.
The past few days have reinforced how unhinged Trump has continued to become and how political violence is the core of his message and for many his central appeal. Since Friday, Trump has:
- Suggested the country’s top general should be executed for treason;
- Threatened retaliation against one of the country’s largest media companies for “Country Threatening Treason“;
- Urged Republicans in Congress to shut down the government, as “the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots,” and later ominously said: “It’s time Republicans learned how to fight!” against “the Radical Left Marxists, Fascists and Thugs – THE DEMOCRATS.”
The Trump of today is not the same as the Trump of 2019 or even the Trump of Jan. 6. He is cornered, under indictment, facing the deprivation of his liberty if convicted – and winning the presidency is his only way out. He will stop at nothing, do anything, and tear down everything to protect himself.
I don’t usually find myself pointing you to Nick Catoggio, but he had a thoughtful post on these developments:
Strive to resist numbness. Because despite all the blather about Biden and Trump being the two most known “known quantities” in politics, we actually don’t know how dangerous and destabilizing Trump might prove to be as his mind bends under the strain of an election and four indictments. Or whether it’ll break entirely once he’s back in power and surrounded by the most obsequious fascist toadies he can find.
Esper Shreds Trump’s False Attack On Milley
Cassidy Hutchinson’s Book Tour
With Maddow, Part I:
With Maddow, Part II:
On CBS Sunday Morning:
Cassidy Hutchinson’s Mom More On Top Of It Than The FBI
What’s Aileen Cannon Up To Now?
After weeks of delay, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon has finally scheduled a Garcia hearing in the Mar-a-Lago case to address the conflicts of interest of defense counsel. But she did so in a way that renews concerns about her experience, competence, and diligence:
- Cannon set the hearing for Oct. 12, meaning an additional delay of 2 1/2 weeks plus whatever time she needs after that to issue a ruling. Not having the witnesses or standby counsel present at the hearing risks further delays if she later decides she does need their participation.
- Cannon denied Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request for the witnesses who have conflicted counsel to appear for the hearing.
- Cannon denied Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request to have standby counsel available for defendants with conflicted counsel to confer.
Big picture is these are routine matters that are usually handled expeditiously, and they’re not here. More granularly, Cannon seems grudging and resistant to even routine moves by the special counsel’s team. (For a deeper dive, read Joyce Vance.)
In this instance, the prosecutor is trying to protect his case and the court’s resources from an attack on the verdict later by one of the defendants on the grounds that they had insufficient legal representation under the Sixth Amendment, so how she handles it is important even if it is, or should be, routine.
Trump Lawyers Are Legal Filings
Donald Trump responded formally to Special Counsel Jack Smith’s request for a limited gag order on him in the Jan. 6 case, and it’s remarkable to watch his attorneys using legal filings to launder Trump’s attacks on the Biden administration, the Justice Department, prosecutors, and others. These aren’t legal arguments; they’re political invective.
The new filing:
- indulges Trump by referring to him as “President”;
- accuses the “Biden administration” of charging Trump, instead of the Justice Department;
- adopts and advocates for Trump’s bogus contention that the charges are a political vendetta against him by Biden himself and that the gag order is merely a way of muzzling Biden’s chief opponent in the midst of the election.
Lawyers owe Trump a vigorous defense. They don’t owe him participating in his misinformation campaign, delegitimizing the court, or propounding wild-ass conspiracy theories.
A Closer Look At Judge Tanya Chutkan
Politico’s Kyle Cheney sat in on the first Jan. 6 trial that U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has presided over since she was assigned the Trump case in DC.
Hunter Biden Sues Rudy Giuliani
Hunter Biden has filed a lawsuit in federal court in Los Angeles today against Rudy Giuliani, former Giuliani attorney Robert Costello, and various Giuliani companies over the alleged hacking of his electronic devices. Biden alleges that they violated the federal Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, the California Computer Data Access and Fraud Act, and state law prohibiting unfair and unlawful business activities. (I should note that Costello is currently suing Giuliani for more more than $1 million in unpaid attorney fees.)
Menendez Refuses To Resign
Under indictment a second time for public corruption, but this time with a national security twist to the charges, Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) held a press conference in which he rebuffed calls for his resignation and boldly declared that the $480,000 in cash found in his home was his emergency fund. At least one fellow Democratic senator was bemused:
2024 Ephemera
- Former Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR) failed to make the cut for Wednesday’s GOP presidential debate.
- Trump admired a Glock handgun during a campaign stop at a gun store — but apparently stopped short of buying it, despite what his campaign spokesperson tweeted.
- President Biden is on the UAW picket lines in Michigan today.
GOP Shutdown Watch
Both chambers return to DC today, with no clear path forward to avert a House GOP-imposed government shutdown by the end of the week.
Peak Oil Can’t Come Fast Enough
A new International Energy Agency report predicts fossil fuel usage will peak this decade but the energy transition remains slow and uneven.
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
