A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
He Didn’t Go To Law School For That!
Responding to this hilarious Washington Post report on how nobody wants to be Trump’s lawyer now, David Schoen, one of the defense attorneys who represented Trump during his second impeachment trial, insisted on CNN yesterday that “it’s a great honor for anyone to represent” Trump. And yes, Schoen was “approached a couple of months ago about being a liaison with the Justice Department,” he told CNN.
But alas:
- “It wasn’t for me. It doesn’t suit my skill set. I wasn’t particularly interested in that,” the attorney said.
- Also, “it’s not my skill set to sift through boxes and sort of liaison with the Justice Department.”
Here’s a fun lil nugget from that WaPo piece:
“One lawyer told a story from early in Trump’s presidency of his legal team urging him against tweeting about the Mueller probe, only to find he’d tweeted about it before they got to the end of the West Wing driveway.”
Texas County Left Without Any Election Officials After Resignations
All three election officials in Texas’ Gillespie County have resigned amid violent threats against election workers that’ve been skyrocketing ever since the 2020 election.
- This is in spite of the fact that Trump, who’s been stoking the fury and mistrust toward election workers, won the county by 59 points in the election.
- The county’s (now-ex) election administrator, who resigned on Tuesday, told the Fredericksburg Standard-Radio Post that she was being both threatened and stalked in wake of the election due to “dangerous misinformation.”
- Early voting for the November midterms begins in about two months, and the county doesn’t have anyone to oversee it.
- The Texas secretary of state’s office will send specialists to train staffers of the county clerk and tax assessor-collector to administer the elections.
DOJ Ordered To Redact Mar-a-Lago Affidavit For Potential Release
Federal magistrate judge Bruce Reinhart on Thursday told the Justice Department to redact portions of the FBI affidavit that supported the Mar-a-Lago search warrant, then submit those redactions to him for review.
- Reinhart said he’ll review those proposed redactions and decide whether or not to unseal the affidavit. He gave the DOJ until Thursday to submit them.
- Don’t expect a whole lot to come out of this. The DOJ’s been fighting tooth and nail to keep the affidavit sealed, and they’ll likely use their redaction pens pretty liberally here.
MAL Raid Warrant Judge Now Has Security Detail
CBS News reports that the U.S. Marshals are providing a security detail for Reinhart, who’s been facing a deluge of anti-Semitic threats for approving the Mar-a-Lago search warrant.
Almost 20 Ex-Trump Officials Call Bullshit On Trump’s ‘Standing Order’ Claim
Eighteen former senior Trump administration officials, including former White House chiefs of staff John Kelly and Mick Mulvaney, told CNN that they never heard of Trump’s so-called “standing order” to declassify any White House documents that get taken to his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Alabama County GOP Apologizes For Using KKK Image
The Lawrence County Republican Party in Alabama had an oopsie moment earlier this week after accidentally posting an image of a GOP elephant that was drawn with hooded Klansmen between its legs on Facebook.
- A party official apologized for the post, saying the KKK stuff does “not represent the views or beliefs” of the local group.
Weisselberg Pleads Guilty And Has To Testify Against Trump Org
Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s ex-chief financial officer, pleaded guilty on Thursday in the Manhattan district attorney’s tax fraud case against him, and he admitted to conspiring in the 15-year-long tax evasion scheme with the Trump Organization.
- Weisselberg will be required to testify at the upcoming criminal trial of the Trump Organization if prosecutors call on him to do so under the terms of the plea deal. If he does, he’ll be given a prison sentence of just five months (compared to the maximum 15-year sentence he was facing before).
- But Weisselberg won’t be required to testify against Trump or the Trump family personally.
Must Read
“Russia’s spies misread Ukraine and misled Kremlin as war loomed” – The Washington Post
Cue ‘Jaws’ Theme Music
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