A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Art Of The Dodge
Nearly a thousand University of Florida students and faculty protested when Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE), the sole finalist to serve as the university’s next president, visited the campus on Monday.
- Sasse was quick to make himself scarce in the face of the protests after holding a Q&A, as seen here:
- The protests focused on Sasse’s anti-LGBTQ record, specifically his opposition to same-sex marriage and the Supreme Court decision that legalized it, Obergefell v. Hodges. During the Q&A at the school on Monday, the GOP senator said that Obergefell “is the law of the law” and that he wants everyone at UF to “feel included.”
Cassidy Hutchinson Cooperates With Georgia DA
Cassidy Hutchinson, a former aide to Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows who was a bombshell witness in one of the House Jan. 6 Committee’s public hearings, is cooperating in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into Trump’s election meddling, according to CNN.
- Willis plans to start indicting people as soon as December, per a previous CNN report.
- As for Meadows himself, Willis’ office has been trying to get the ex-chief of staff to testify in the probe.
Zelensky To Hold Emergency G-7 Meeting After Russian Strikes On Kyiv
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is set to address G-7 leaders of the U.S., U.K., Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan in a virtual emergency meeting today to discuss Russia’s bombardment of civilian infrastructures in Ukraine on Monday.
Ye
Faced with the antisemitic outbursts of the man formerly known as Kanye West, many Republicans and conservative media personalties chose to backpedal furiously from the praise they had heaped upon the rapper. Others stuck to their guns.
- That or they pretended it just straight-up didn’t happen, like Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who’d given Yeezy a big bullhorn on his show last week. On Monday night, Carlson boosted the rapper again-but mysteriously didn’t mention West tweeting that he was “going death con 3” on “JEWISH PEOPLE.”
- Twitter deleted West’s screed and temporarily locked him out of his account. The rapper seems to be doubling down to the best of his ability without getting banned again, though, tweeting “Who you think created cancel culture?” on Sunday after his time-out.
Must Read
“The Vulnerability of John Fetterman: Inside this year’s highest-stakes Senate race.” – Rebecca Traister in New York Magazine
“Election deniers infiltrate ranks of poll watchers and election judges ahead of November midterms, Colorado clerks warn” – The Denver Post
Ranting Man Pays Dominion Voting Machine Company A Visit
Both the company’s CEO and a Denver police sergeant said in affidavits that they saw the man, who showed up at the Dominion offices ranting about election security, with a scope and rifle case on two different occasions, according to Denver NBC affiliate 9News. A judge granted a temporary restraining order against the man on Friday.
Trump’s Legal Team Scrambles To Toss One Another Under The Bus
OAN host-turned-Trump lawyer Christina Bobb spoke to federal investigators Friday and explained how she ended up signing a statement certifying that, “based upon the information that has been provided to me,” all sensitive records in Trump’s possession had been returned to the government, NBC’s Marc Caputo reports.
- Evan Corcoran drafted the statement and told Bobb to sign it, Bobb reportedly told investigators.
- “People made [Bobb] the fall guy — or fall gal, for what it’s worth — and it’s wrong,” an unnamed source told Caputo. “Yes, she signed the declaration. No one disputes that. But what she signed is technically accurate … The people who told her to sign it should know better.”
Tuberville Swaps Dog Whistle For Bullhorn
Speaking at a Trump rally over the weekend, Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) declared that Democrats want reparations for “the people that do crime.”
- The full quote: “They’re not soft on crime,” Tuberville said of Democrats. “They’re pro-crime. They want crime. They want crime because they want to take over what you got. They want to control what you have. They want reparation because they think the people that do the crime are owed that.”
- Doug Jones: “Is it a racist rant or is it ignorance? I decided it’s probably both.”
In Case You Missed It
During that same series of weekend rallies, Trump offered a new explanation for the FBI raid on Mar-a-Lago:
He also married his fixation on crowd sizes with the insurrection, to cheers from the audience.
