A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Dodging A Nightmare (For Now)
District Attorney Gocha Allen Ramirez of Starr County, Texas announced on Sunday that he wouldn’t be pursuing prosecution of a woman who had been indicted for murder after allegedly being involved in a “self-induced abortion.”
- The circumstances of the alleged incident remain unclear, including whether the woman was inducing her own abortion or assisting in someone else’s.
- Ramirez said the woman “cannot and should not be prosecuted for the allegation against her” after he reviewed her case. The prosecutor still defended her arrest, however, saying that the county sheriff’s office “did their duty in investigating the incident brought to their attention by the reporting hospital.”
- The woman was arrested on Friday. It’s unclear how far along the pregnancy was or under which statue she was indicted, given that none of Texas’ new anti-abortion bans directly target people actually carrying the fetus.
- Both abortion rights groups and some anti-abortion advocates hailed the decision not to prosecute.
Ginni Grifted During Meeting Between Clarence Thomas And Trump
President Trump hosted a private lunch with the Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni a week after the 2018 midterms, during which she pushed the president to install her far-right allies and fellow activists at the White House as part of her reportedly “insane” hiring/firing recommendations, according to a new CNN report.
Utah GOPers Catch Voter Frauding At Own Convention
Two men were caught trying to vote more than once as the votes in the Republican primary race for Salt Lake County clerk were being counted at the Salt Lake County GOP Convention on Saturday.
- Their attempt at stuffing the ballot boxes came after the county GOP chair claimed during the same meeting that paper ballots for the primary election would be “safest.” “But look—we fixed it, right?” the chair responded when asked about the clear self-own.
Alabama Guv Goes All In On Trump’s Big Lie
In case you missed it, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey (R) put out a campaign ad last week claiming that “fake news, Big Tech and blue state liberals stole the election” from Trump–”but not here in Alabama,” she proudly declared of her state, as if it were ever in question that Alabama would vote for Trump.
Key Analysis
“So, Let’s Talk About Republicans and Sex Crimes” – Slate
Virginia GOP Official Resigns After Calling Secretary of Defense The N-Word
David Dietrich, the Republican chair of the Electoral Board in Hampton, Virginia, heeded calls from his own party for his resignation on Saturday over his racist post about Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and retired Gen. Russel Honoré, whom House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) had appointed to investigate the security failures of the Jan 6. insurrection.
- Dietrich had directed the N-word at Austin and Honoré in a Facebook rant posted in February last year but which only recently came to light.
- Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) had publicly demanded earlier on Saturday that Dietrich resign. The official agreed to do so after that, the governor’s office told WAVY-TV, after reportedly ignoring calls from the Hampton GOP to quit.
Third Biden Cabinet Member Gets COVID
Several days after Attorney General Merrick Garland and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo revealed that they had come down with COVID-19, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced on Saturday that he too had tested positive for COVID-19. All three had attended the Gridiron dinner last weekend, after which at least 67 people (including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi) got infected.
MAGALand Is Big Mad After Trump Endorsed Dr. Oz
The ex-president endorsed fellow TV star Dr. Mehmet Oz in the Pennsylvania Senate race on Saturday, incensing some of Trump’s top supporters in right-wing media and conservative circles.
- They compared Oz to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), apparently believing that the TV doctor isn’t MAGA enough to be worthy of Trump’s support.
- Trump was clearly dazzled by Oz’s celebrity, declaring during a rally on Saturday that being on TV as long as Oz has (18 years) was “like a poll” and “means people like you.”
Elon Musk Decides Not To Join Twitter Board
Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who recently became Twitter’s biggest shareholder after buying a 9.2% stake in the company, won’t be joining Twitter’s board of directors, Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal announced on Sunday.
- Agrawal didn’t explain exactly why Musk decided not to join the board, but apparently the move was “for the best,” according to the Twitter chief.
- Republicans had been hoping that Musk’s appointment to the board would lead to Trump’s Twitter account being restored given the Tesla leader’s previous complaints about the social media giant supposedly stifling “free speech” by banning elected officials.
A Palate Cleanser
Do you like Morning Memo? Let us know!
