A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Let The Gaslighting Begin
After she and her fellow GOP senators killed legislation codifying abortion rights, Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) insisted via Twitter on Wednesday night that overturning Roe v. Wade “would not ban abortion,” just “send the decision back to your state.”
- Except overturning Roe would absolutely ban abortion in several states, including Blackburn’s. Tennessee and a dozen other states have “trigger laws” in place to ban the procedure once the Supreme Court strikes down Roe.
- Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) tried a similar line several days ago, claiming that “angry leftists” are going to realize that “‘Wait, nothing about my life changed.'”
Senate Fails To Pass Abortion Rights Protection
As expected, Senate Democrats’ effort to enshrine abortion rights into law via the Women’s Health Protection Act reached a dead end yesterday after all their Republican colleagues and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) voted against it.
- Not that Democrats were under any illusion that the bill would actually make it: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) explained as he was announcing the vote last week that it was about putting every senator “on record” in the face of Roe v. Wade’s impending demise.
Judge Lifts Contempt Order Against Trump
New York state Judge Arthur Engoron released the ex-president from a civil contempt order on Wednesday, a little over two weeks after the judge held him in contempt for stalling the New York attorney general’s investigation. Under the order, Trump had to pay $10,000 every day until he complied with the attorney general’s subpoena.
- The judge ruled on Wednesday that Trump still had to pay the $110,000 in fines that he had accrued up to that point.
- The judge warned Trump that the contempt order would be reinstated if he didn’t comply by May 20 and that he’d be retroactively required to pay the $10,000 per day penalty.
Genius Insurrectionist Accidentally Blows Up Plea Deal
Baked Alaska (real name Anthime Joseph Gionet), the far-right internet troll who livestreamed his break-in at the Capitol on Jan. 6, appeared in court on Wednesday to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge. But first he let the judge know that he was, in fact, totally innocent and that he was only pleading guilty because that was “probably the better route” than going to trial like he wanted.
- So the judge threw out the plea deal instead of accepting a guilty plea from a guy who claimed not to be guilty as he was pleading guilty.
- Gionet is now slated to go to trial next year because if he “wants to go to trial, he’ll get a fair trial,” the judge said.
- Mr. Ice Cream Cake insisted during a stream later on Wednesday that he tanked the plea deal on purpose because God said so and that the whole thing definitely wasn’t a massive self-own.
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While we wait to get our 🍿 on, we can all marvel at this pure cringe from Baked Alaskapic.twitter.com/gWm7WhTv9L
— 𝚃𝚘𝚡𝚒𝚌 𝚆𝚘𝚘𝚍𝚎𝚗 𝚆𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚗🌙 (@Autre_Vierge) May 11, 2022
Judge Rules Against DeSantis’ Gerrymandered Map
A Florida state judge found that Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) congressional district map was unconstitutional because “it diminishes African Americans’ ability to elect the representative of their choice.”
- The map is now placed on hold while the judge draws up his written decision, which he said he hoped to release by Thursday.
Must Read
“Catching Up With the Woman Who Had an Abortion at 32 Weeks” – Jezebel
Chris Christie Gets Spicy With Trump
After a livid Trump accused Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R), Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) and ex-New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) of being “RINOs” for supporting Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R), Christie posted a snide tweet jabbing at the “insightful commentary” from “a former President who lost to Joe Biden” about three governors who served more than one term in office.
- “Maybe the ‘R’ in RINO really stands for re-elected,” Christie wrote.
- The ex-New Jersey governor might still have some hard feelings about Trump infecting him with COVID-19 in 2020, which landed Christie in a hospital intensive care unit.
Biden Approves Release Of More Jan. 6-Related WH Docs
Biden has once again declined to claim executive privilege over the White House records the House Jan. 6 Committee is seeking in its investigation, meaning the National Archives and Records Administration is now authorized to hand over an eighth batch of documents as Trump desperately tries to stonewall the probe.
Satan For Women’s Bodily Autonomy
Jim Hoft, the founder of far-right website Gateway Pundit, sounded the alarm over demons that appeared to protest the end of abortion rights and remember when GOP lawmakers took this guy seriously?
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