A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. Sign up for the email version.
Bomb Squad On The Scene
With closing arguments set for today in the New York civil fraud trial against Donald Trump and his biz empire, law enforcement was dispatched to the Long Island home of the judge for a reported bomb threat.
NYT:
A spokesman for the Nassau County police department confirmed that there was an investigation at the house of the judge, Arthur F. Engoron, who in several hours is expected to hear closing arguments in Mr. Trump’s case. Two people with knowledge of the matter said that the threat involved a bomb and that the bomb squad came to the house.
The latest threat to public servants involved in Trump-related cases comes after swatting attempts at the homes of Special Prosecutor Jack Smith and U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan.
But it’s part of a larger pattern which reaches back years: Election administrators vilified and hounded from the their jobs over Trump’s false claims of election fraud; public health officials abused and threatened over COVID conspiracies and lies; law enforcement suddenly in the sights if they investigate Trump; librarians and school administrators targeted and ridiculed for doing their jobs.
Government employees have been on the front lines of this low-level conflict for literally years now. It is a hallmark of the Trump era. Their careers on the line. Their income in jeopardy. Their personal safety sometimes at risk. And, as we see this morning, in some cases their families and homes targeted.
Most of the rest of us are shielded from the reality of this conflict. That makes it feel remote and distant, something that happens to other people. We may not be easy targets, but government employees, especially low- and mid-level personnel, are vulnerable. And they’re being made to feel their vulnerability in real and direct ways.
The promise of Trump II is retribution against government employees at every level. It’s a corrosive and toxic environment which erodes independence of thought and action, undermines the measured and regular administration of public functions, scares people out of the government workforce, and encourages the worst of the worst.
It’s not a sustainable situation for a open and free democracy.
What A Joke
Donald Trump made a big show of wanting to deliver his own closing arguments today in the New York civil fraud trial against him and his biz empire – but then balked at the conditions laid down by the judge.
Trump’s Shell Game On Immunity
NYT: Trump’s Argument for Immunity in 2024 Is the Opposite of His Stance in 2021
Sometimes You Gotta Laugh
Huzzah!
Timothy Snyder:
Yet Americans who should know better are choosing fear over the Constitution, finding excuses to ignore what it says. Indeed, they are choosing to fear the Constitution. Far too many politicians and other media commentators respond to our present situation — a real insurrectionist who has tried to overthrow the Constitution while in office, a real Constitutional ban on insurrectionists running for office a second time — by saying that it is the Constitution that must yield.
Quote Of The Day
Josh Marshall:
[Trump’s] evil and he wants to diminish and degrade anyone and everyone who challenges his rule of the GOP. All the rest are caught between wanting to defeat Trump by somehow being his friend and never criticizing him and hoping through some inexplicable alchemy they will defeat him by becoming him, replacing him. Did you get that? No wonder they seem clumsy and inept, constantly stepping on their own toes. Imagine a man trying to run in three directions at once and doing it with any grace or dignity. Sad!
2024 Ephemera
- Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), whose long-shot run for president always seemed intended primarily to extended his viability as cable news talking head, dropped out of the race Wednesday, not even lasting until the Iowa caucus.
- South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) faced off in a surreal one-on-one debate in Iowa over who should be the second place finisher behind Donald Trump, who did not participate.
- In an appearance on Fox News, Donald Trump teased his vice presidential pick like a chintzy product launch: “I mean, I know who it’s going to be.”
Vindication
A Florida state prosecutor was improperly removed from office by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), a federal appeals court ruled Thursday. DeSantis was retaliating against Democratic prosecutor Andrew Warren for his public comments opposing criminalizing abortion and for his reform-minded approach to his job. The appellate court stopped short of reinstating Warren but sent the case back to the trial court for further proceedings.
The House GOP Is Starting To Eat Itself Again
With a tiered government shutdown looming, Speaker Mike Johnson is struggling to hold his 2-seat majority together to pass needed funding bills.
Fired Up
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