A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
It’s Okay To Laugh And Cry
The appearance of FBI Director Chris Wray on the Hill Wednesday offered another bracing example of how far off the rails the House GOP has gone.
Obsessed with conspiracy theories, performative politics, and pugilism, the worst of the House Republicans show little interest in governing but have enormous appetites for getting in front of cameras.
It’s bad every single day, but it comes into stark relief during committee hearings, when serious, well-informed witnesses with expertise and responsibilities are used as would-be punching bags. Bewildered, confused, not up to speed on the latest bogus conspiracy theories, the witnesses are often left grasping for what the members are even talking about.
So it went yesterday with Wray …
Ghost Buses?!?!
Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) has DONE … HIS … OWN … RESEARCH, y’all.
His latest conspiracy theory is that conspicuously white buses were used to transport FBI personnel and informants disguised as pro-Trump protestors to the Jan. 6 attack.
Higgins made a fool of himself quizzing FBI Director Chris Wray about it in a congressional hearing yesterday:
Priceless
As bad as it was, Higgins’ foolishness was not the peak insanity of the Wray hearing:
Santos Ethics Report Could Drop At Any Minute
The House Ethics Committee is expected to release an initial report on Rep. George Santos (R-NY) by the end of week. It will not recommend sanctions. Proponents of expelling Santos are expected to use the report to push for another expulsion vote.
Getting To Know Mike Johnson
- Politico: Mike Johnson is a board member of a Christian publishing house that called ‘monkeypox’ a penalty for being gay
- NBC News: Speaker Mike Johnson says separation of church and state is a ‘misnomer’
- Politico on Mike Johnson’s House: ‘Same clown car with a different driver’
The Latest In The Georgia RICO Case
- Expect a protective order soon from the judge overseeing Fani Willis’ RICO case after all the parties came to a broad agreement during a hearing yesterday on what it should say.
- The incipient protective order comes after proffer videos of defendants who had pleaded guilty were leaked to the press. A lawyer for one of the Coffee County scheme defendants admitted to the judge during the hearing that he had been a source of the leak.
- Willis is moving to revoke the bail of one of the more flamboyant RICO defendants for allegedly repeatedly violating the terms of his release.
- NYT: Why Georgia Republicans Are Protecting the D.A. Who Indicted Trump
Rudy G Faces A $$$ Reckoning
Former Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss will seek between $15.5 million and $43 million from Rudy Giuliani at a defamation trial slated to begin next month in a Washington, D.C., federal court, attorneys for the mother and daughter wrote in court documents filed Tuesday.
Day Late And Dollar Short?
Nevada’s attorney general is now investigating Trump’s fake electors scheme.
Watch Trump Sweat
Marcy Wheeler: Trump Continues To Disavow The Mob That Sacrificed Their Lives For Him
Closing Arguments In Colorado DQ Clause Case
After closing arguments late yesterday in the Colorado Disqualification Clause case against Trump, the judge said she plans to release her decision Friday.
Meanwhile, a Michigan judge has allowed Trump to stay on the ballot for the GOP presidential primary.
Arrest Made In Pro-Palestinian Protest Outside DNC HQ
About 150 pro-Palestinian demonstrators surrounded the Democratic National Committee headquarters near the Capitol Wednesday evening, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark and Pete Aguilar, the third-ranked Democratic leader were inside.
Capital Police reported that one person was arrested for assault on a police officer, and six officers were treated for injuries “ranging from minor cuts to being pepper sprayed to being punched.”
As is often the case in such situations, there’s quite a bit of dispute over what exactly happened. Semafor’s Dave Weigel…
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