A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Why Hyphens Matter
The Miami Herald discovered that Miami Beach police officers were giving city police fliers to drivers they’d pulled over that had a website link to an online Trump 2024 store. The fliers contained instructions on how to resolve traffic tickets online at the Clerk of Court’s website (miami-dadeclerk.com).
- But the information sheets also gave a link with the address misspelled as “miamidadeclerk.com” without the hyphen–and that link redirected to a store with Trump 2024 flags, hats, sweaters and other merchandise.
- After the Miami Herald reported on the Trump retail link on Tuesday, miamidadeclerk.com was changed to redirect to the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission’s website instead. It’s unknown who switched it.
- A Miami Beach police spokesperson said the department wasn’t aware of the wrong link until the Miami Herald asked about it, nor does the agency know how it happened. He said officers have since been instructed to stop handing out those fliers and provided newly corrected ones.
Oath Keepers Leader Says He Still Thinks Biden’s Win Was Fake, According To Lawyer
Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes’ defense lawyer said during a hearing on Wednesday that Rhodes, who’s been charged with seditious conspiracy, had told the House Jan. 6 Committee in an interview that he still believes the 2020 election was “illegitimate.”
- But that’s totally fine, the lawyer argued, because Republican lawmakers are saying the same thing.
- Anyway, Rhodes’ and the other Oath Keepers’ plan to deploy armed “Quick Reaction Forces” to the Capitol would’ve been legal if Trump had invoked the Insurrection Act, Rhodes’ attorney told the judge. But Trump didn’t do that, so off to Olive Garden they went.
More Meadows Jan. 6 Text Deets
The Washington Post reported on details of the texts former White House chief of Staff Mark Meadows had received from various Trump allies before, during and after the Capitol insurrection. The texts were obtained by the House Jan. 6 Committee.
New Dem SuperPAC Targets MAGA Election Deniers
American Bridge, a Democratic opposition group, is going on the offensive with a campaign against pro-Trump Republicans’ push to take over state and local government offices that oversee elections.
- American Bridge is launching a $10 million superPAC to take down GOP candidates in those races who promote Trump’s lies about the 2020 election. The group is called Bridge to Democracy.
- The campaign, which has already hired 22 researchers, won’t just focus on big races like secretary of state, the New York Times reports. It’s also targeting more under-the-radar election administration roles like county boards of supervisors or boards of canvassers.
- The campaign is targeting elections in 12 states: Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wisconsin.
CDC To Loosen Masking Guidelines Soon
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is expected to update its guidance on mask requirements as early as next week to relax the recommendations, according to NBC News.
Must Read
“Lawyers and Lobbyists Fight for Their Slice of $3.5 Billion in Afghan Money Seized by the Biden Administration” – The Intercept
Pro-Trump Tennessee Preacher Threatens To Expose Witches In His Tent Church
Greg Locke, a pastor of a Tennessee non-denominational church who says people who think Biden won the 2020 election are “crack-smoking, demon-possessed leftists,” warned his congregation on Sunday that six witches had infiltrated the church–and that three of them were sitting in that very room (well, tent. The service was being held in a tent on the church’s property)!!
- A demon had given him the first and last names of the alleged witches during an exorcism, Locke said. This helpful demon even provided an address for one of them, according to the pastor.
- Locke screamed that he would expose the alleged witches right then and there under the tent if they “so much as cough wrong.”
- Speaking of coughing, Locke (who’s told churchgoers not to get vaccinated) also claimed that some of the congregants had gotten sick because they “befriended” one of the witches.
? Morning Memo Radio ?
Missouri GOP Candidate Has A Sad About Hawley’s Endorsement Snub
After Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) endorsed Rep. Vicky Hartzler in the Missouri Senate race for outgoing Sen. Roy Blunt’s (R-MO) seat, Senate candidate Rep. Billy Long (R-MO) posted a Twitter rant on Wednesday accusing Hawley of lying to him about his endorsement plans:
Trump Hogging GOP Fundraising Efforts, Strategists Complain
Axios reports that top Republican officials have been privately grousing over Trump bombarding GOP donors with emails and texts asking for cash for himself, which could cause problems for the party’s efforts to boost other candidates.
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