A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Time Keeps On Slippin’, Slippin’, Slippin’
I wrote in Monday’s Morning Memo about the slow pace of U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon in the Mar-a-Lago case, but I anticipated we might finally see some movement this week. Here’s what happened:
- Cannon held a sealed hearing under CIPA on Tuesday that wasn’t scheduled on the docket in which she apparently heard arguments on the protective order the government was seeking to govern the handling of classified information in the case.
- On Wednesday, she finally entered the protective order under CIPA. The government’s motion for the protective order had been pending for months. Now prosecutors can finally begin turning over classified discovery to Trump’s legal team.
- On balance, her protective order was normal. It didn’t grant Trump’s insane request to re-install a SCIF at Mar-a-Lago, and it didn’t give his co-defendants unbridled access to classified information since they weren’t charged with mishandling it.
- One weird wrinkle was she issued a separate order asking for extensive briefing on the parameters of CIPA, and it’s not clear what issue(s) she’s trying to address with that request.
Despite the movement, let’s not forget two things: 1) The government had been poised since mid-July to turn over classified discovery to Trump but Cannon’s lack of a ruling stalled that discovery production for more than two months; and 2) Cannon still hasn’t scheduled a hearing on the government’s Garcia motion to address the conflicts of interest of two defense counsel.
The clock keeps ticking.
Things Are Moving Fast For Mark Meadows
Yesterday’s developments in the Georgia RICO case include:
- The federal judge who declined to remove Mark Meadows’ case from state court refused to pause that ruling while Meadows appeals.
- The 11th Circuit moved quickly to consider Meadows’ request for a pause, setting oral arguments for this Friday.
What To Make Of Scott Perry’s Phone?
The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals publicly released its previous ruling on whether Special Counsel Jack Smith can access the contents of the phone of Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA). It’s mostly a bad ruling for Smith under the Speech or Debate Clause, but with two caveats: 1) It may not be quite as bad as we thought when the docket entry on the sealed ruling first came out; and 2) It’s still not clear how critical Perry and his phone are to the broader investigation.
2024 Ephemera
- WaPo: Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) will not seek re-election
- Politico: Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) ditches the MAGA thing back home
- Washington Post-Monmouth University poll of South Carolina GOP primary: Trump 46%, Haley 18%, Scott 10%, DeSantis 9%.
- WaPo: DeSantis took undisclosed private flights and lodging through wealthy donors
Mitt With His Finger On the Pulse Pre-Jan. 6
Oy …
The accounts of the conduct of Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) before she was escorted out of a weekend performance of the “Beetlejuice” musical in Denver are amazing, as is this surveillance video compilation:
Paxton’s Mistress Ends Up Not Testifying
Quite a lede from the WaPo:
AUSTIN — The star witness swept into the Texas Capitol on Wednesday, red coat and flashy Balenciaga-emblazoned handbag tucked under her arms, her white sheath, red lipstick and signature platinum pixie all a dramatic contrast from the somber-suited individuals who have testified for the past week in the historic impeachment trial of state Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Until Laura Olson, it had mostly been former Paxton staffers and law-enforcement-turned-whistleblowers on the stand in the Senate, recounting the actions that led to him being charged with bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of office. Olson served a different role in his life: former mistress.
Oof …
The FBI has stood up a new unit to investigate threats against agents and prosecutors for not being tough enough on Hunter Biden, NBC News reports.
Photos From Morocco Earthquake
We’ve compiled some of the best photojournalism of the aftermath of the devastating earthquake in Morocco:
Reckoning With The Devastation In Libya
The death toll from this week’s flood is estimated to be as high as 20,000:
SCOOP!
WSJ: Inside Exxon’s Strategy to Downplay Climate Change
55% Chance Warming Will Top 1.5C This Year
It depends on which baseline for pre-industrial warming you’re using, but by one such measure there’s a slightly-better-than-even chance earth will bust through the 1.5C degree barrier in 2023:
65 countries had their warmest August on record, including (among others): Brazil, China, Colombia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Morocco, Peru, Philippines, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Tanzania, Turkey, and Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/QcHyoVhDwv
— Zeke Hausfather (@hausfath) September 13, 2023
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