A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Uhhhh Democracy Is Real Now! I’m Electable, I Swear!
During a debate with fellow GOP New Hampshire Senate hopefuls last month, retired Gen. Don Bolduc, the proud election truther who won the nomination this week, bragged about signing a letter falsely claiming Trump won the 2020 election. Then Bolduc declared that “dammit, I stand by” the letter and “I’m not switching horses, baby!”
- Yesterday, Bolduc chucked the horse into a volcano and announced on Fox that “the election was not stolen,” something he discovered after having “done a lot of research on this.”
NY AG Shoots Down Trump’s Settlement Offer
New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is now reportedly laying the groundwork to sue Trump in her civil investigation into the Trump Organization: She reportedly rejected a settlement offer from the ex-president’s attorneys earlier this month, according to the New York Times and ABC News.
- James is also reportedly mulling a lawsuit against one of Trump’s adult children who helped him run the business: Eric, Don Jr. and Ivanka Trump. It’s unclear which one James is looking at for a potential suit, though.
- There’s still a chance James and Trump reach an agreement, so a lawsuit isn’t a given at this point.
Senate Punts Marriage Equality Vote Until After Midterms
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the chief sponsor of the Senate’s same-sex marriage bill, announced on Thursday that the legislation will be put to a vote sometime after the midterm elections instead of next week, as Democrats had initially planned.
- The bill doesn’t have the 10 GOP votes needed to break the filibuster right now. Only four Republicans currently back the legislation: Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Susan Collins (R-ME), Thom Tillis (R-NC) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
- Democrats are hoping that more Republicans will get on board once they don’t have to sweat over backlash from their conservative voters. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) said yesterday that the bill would get more votes in November and December than it would on Monday.
- The bipartisan group of senators who’ve been working on the bill said on Thursday that they’re “confident” it’ll pass when it reaches the Senate floor for a vote.
DeSantis Spox Brags About Boss Trafficking Humans Like Cartels
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) sent two chartered planes carrying Venezuelan migrants to Martha’s Vineyard earlier this week in a blatantly political MAGA display to impress GOP donors.
- Lawyers for the migrants say their clients were lied to about having jobs and shelter waiting for them there.
- It appears as though the migrants didn’t even come from Florida and that DeSantis actually had them picked up from Texas (imagine how happy Texas Gov. Greg Abbot, who’s been trying to pull similar stunts, would be about that).
- And DeSantis’ genius deputy press secretary tried to defend the grotesque gambit yesterday by essentially agreeing that yes, his boss was, in fact, doing a human trafficking.
Here’s some relevant history:
Georgia DA Floats Prison Time For Election Probe Targets
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, the Georgia prosecutor who’s been investigating Trump’s 2020 election meddling crusade in her state, told the Washington Post that the extent of the criminal activity she’s uncovered in her probe means that people may face prison sentences.
- But it’ll be months before Willis’ office decides to indict anyone.
- There are at least 17 targets in Willis’ investigation right now, and the prosecutor told the Post there will be more.
Cannon Serves Trump More Special Justice
Federal Judge Aileen Cannon is still blocking the DOJ’s investigation into Trump hoarding White House records (some of which were classified) at Mar-a-Lago: On Thursday, she rejected the Justice Department’s request to use the classified documents in its probe.
- Cannon also appointed a special master to review the documents that were seized from Mar-a-Lago, as Trump requested. The judge chose Judge Raymond Dearie, one of Trump’s proposed candidates whom the DOJ said it would accept as the special master.
Must Read
“28 Freight Rail Workers Tell Us What They Want You to Know About Their Lives” – Vice
“By the end of my 10 years, it didn’t matter how much money they threw at me. That job changed me. I didn’t feel like I was even a person anymore. I’d lost my hobbies, my friends, and my fiancée. More importantly, I’d lost any reason to live.”
McCarthy Plans To Expose Jan. 6 Call Leaker
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) told Politico yesterday that he knows who recorded and leaked his damning post-Jan. 6 calls with other GOP leaders about asking Trump to resign. The California Republican also said he plans on unmasking the culprit sometime in the future. Dun dun dun!
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
