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Greg Bovino Emerges as Trump’s Man For Conjuring Up a Blue-City Insurrection

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 12h

Greg Bovino Emerges as Trump’s Man For Conjuring Up a Blue-City Insurrection talkingpointsmemo.com/news/greg-bo...

Elected officials, activists, and at least one former high-ranking Department of Homeland...

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

Morning Memo, your weekday chronicle of the depredation of the Trump II presidency:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Bondi’s Wedding Ring Made Trump Bleed … And Other DOJ Absurdities

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

As w/ all things in the Trump era, the absurdism is an inextricable part of the corruption, retribution, and destruction. As historically significant as the ruination of the DOJ is and as seriously as we must take it, it’s important to remember it’s been gutted by clowns and imbeciles. Absurdly.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

"He works from an office dubbed the 'Freedom Suite' on one end of a hallway on the deputy attorney general’s fourth floor, which visitors have described as being decorated with oversize photos of Trump and a small cup of holy water on the wall."

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

“This summer, Pulte visited the White House and gave Trump an elaborate presentation with visuals that included why the New York attorney general should be charged.”

PLUS: No story on the absurdist Trump DOJ is complete without a cameo from Ed Martin:

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

~ Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte, who has ginned up the mortgage fraud allegations against New York AG Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA), went farther than previously reported in getting the bogus allegations in front of Trump:

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

That's one of several absurdist nuggets from a WSJ story on the Trump DOJ:

~ Officials confirmed that Trump’s social media post demanding that Bondi hurry up and indict former FBI Director Jim Comey already was meant to be a direct message to her and not intended to put her on public blast.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 13h

Say what you want about disgraced AG John Mitchell, but he never made Richard Nixon’s hand bleed w/ his wedding ring: "Trump occasionally reminds aides about an incident last year in which Trump cut his hand on Bondi’s large wedding ring, causing him to bleed."
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

The Median Experience Of Tyranny

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

Exceptional essay from @brianbeutler.bsky.social:

"If the politics of tyranny were self-discrediting, we wouldn't need mantras like 'never again.'"

"Despotism doesn’t impose itself on everyone all at once. It creeps inward from the margins of society."

www.offmessage.net/p/the-median...

If the politics of tyranny were self-discrediting, we wouldn't need mantras like "never again."

www.offmessage.net

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule newrepublic.com/article/2014... via @newrepublic.com

Inside Stephen Miller’s Secret Plan to Normalize Trump’s Dictator Rule

He wants to supercharge searing civil tensions to get low-information voters to embrace their inner authoritarian. Exactly two Democrats appear to fully grasp this.

newrepublic.com

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

Morning Memo, chronicling the Trump II depredations each weekday:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Key Witness Undercuts Trump DOJ’s Witch Hunt Against Jim Comey

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

Final point: Halligan is still likely to face a challenge to the validity of her appointment as interim USA, same as Trump interim USAs in NJ and NV. If Comey or another EDVA defendant wins, it would likely nullify the Comey indictment that Halligan personally presented to the grand jury.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

(3) It confirms that the point of Trump’s politically motivated prosecutions is to damage the target’s reputation, force them to spend time and money defending themselves, and wrong-foot them on the political playing field. A successful conviction is just icing; it’s not the ultimate objective.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

What’s it all mean?

(1) It reinforces Halligan’s prosecutorial misconduct in seeking an indictment against Comey despite the fatal flaws with the case already identified and spelled out by prosecutors.

(2) It shows how vulnerable the case will be to dismissal before it ever gets to trial.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

As I read the ABC News story, the quoted phrases “problematic” and “likely insurmountable problems” are directly from the memo declining to prosecute:

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

ABC News has consistently had good sources seemingly from within the EDVA USAO. Its sources for the latest story are familiar with the contents of the internal memo in which career prosecutors laid out the reasons for not seeking an indictment of Comey.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 1d

Prior reporting had suggested that a key witness in the bogus prosecution of former FBI Director Jim Comey was not helpful to prosecutors, but ABC News has a new story out that expands on the obstacle the witness presents to interim USA Lindsey Halligan’s case.
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 2d

Morning Memo, your go-to for only the essential political news in the topsy-turvy Trump II era:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Lindsey Halligan Will Have to Overrule Career Prosecutors to Indict Letitia James

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 2d

Investigators in the D.C. USAO had scrutinized Comey for years without finding any chargeable offenses.

After two months, Virginia prosecutors came to the same conclusions, ABC News reported.

But Halligan rebuffed the decision not to charge Comey and personally brought the case to a grand jury.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 2d

Meanwhile, ABC News reported that former Special Counsel John Durham “told federal prosecutors investigating James Comey that he was unable to uncover evidence that would support false statements or obstruction charges against the former FBI director.”

Durham wasn’t alone.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 2d

The exact timing of the unfolding clash remain unclear. MSNBC reported that Yusi expects to present her declination decision in the James case to newly installed interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan “in the coming weeks.”

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 2d

With from President Trump to charge James, the refusal by Elizabeth Yusi in the EDVA has attorneys in the office bracing for her firing, MSNBC reports. The Guardian subsequently confirmed the gist of the MSNBC report that Yusi doesn’t believe she has probable cause to charge James.

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 2d

A career federal prosecutor in Virginia is reportedly poised to decline to bring a criminal case against New York Attorney General Letitia James on bogus mortgage fraud charges drummed up by the Trump administration.

talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

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David Kurtz @davidkurtz.bsky.social · 3d

And none of that qualified for as the craziest story of the weekend. Catch up on what you missed with today's Morning Memo:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.