The Trump II Retribution Begins In Earnest
INSIDE: John Bolton ... Ross Ulbricht ... Elon Musk
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
We Saw It Coming
While Trump’s retribution tour is performative, it is also substantive. Real people and real values hurt by the vengeful and vindictive policies and actions that thrill his supporters. A quick rundown of the most notable developments:
“The Trump administration has removed and reassigned several top career officials in the Justice Department’s national security and criminal divisions, according to multiple people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters.”–WaPo
“Within hours of taking office, President Donald Trump terminated the Secret Service detail that was assigned to his former national security adviser John Bolton, Bolton confirmed to CNN on Tuesday.”–CNN
Coast Guard commandant terminated over border lapses, recruitment, DEI focus”–Fox News
“Trump orders all federal diversity, equity and inclusion employees placed on paid leave starting Wednesday.”–NBC News
It is way too early to know what else has transpired across the vast expanse of the federal government in the first 36 hours since Trump took office. Stay tuned.
Jan. 6 Pardons: Day 1
Simply an astounding reversal to the rule of law, the constitutional order, and civil society, with the mass release of hundreds of people convicted of what amounts to political violence:
“As of Tuesday, 211 people—every clemency recipient—who had been in federal Bureau of Prisons custody had been released, officials said, a process that took roughly 12 hours.”–WSJ
A rogue’s gallery of some of the most violent Jan. 6 rioters pardoned by Trump via NBC News
Trump’s pardons led to the dismissal of a pending case against an alleged rioter who harassed police officers testifying in Jan. 6 cases.
Witnesses in the Jan. 6 cases, including police officers, began getting automatic notifications from the Justice Department that the defendants they had testified against are being released from prison. In some instances, that meant multiple notifications for a single witness.
Outside the DC jail, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) angled to be the first member of Congress to offer released Jan. 6 rioters “a guided tour of the Capitol.”
Reax To The Jan. 6 Pardons
NBC News: “People in the Justice Department and legal scholars are calling the move an unprecedented and dangerous use of the pardon power that dealt a crushing blow not just to federal law enforcement, but also to the U.S. justice system. They say it makes a mockery of years of work by FBI agents, prosecutors and federal judges, some of whom Trump appointed, after an effort that included charges against 1,583 defendants, more than 1,000 guilty pleas and more than 200 convictions at trial. Some worry it signals open season for political violence — given that 608 of those charged were accused of assaulting, resisting or impeding law enforcement agents or officers — while others fret about the marker laid down for future presidents.”
Randall Eliason: “This is a blueprint for a lawless administration that knows it will not be held accountable for criminal acts. That would include, of course, crimes committed to interfere with the next presidential election to allow the party, if not Trump himself, to stay in power. Trump’s team came very close to overturning the 2020 election. No doubt they have learned some lessons and will not repeat the same mistakes.”
Mapping The Jan. 6 Cases
A final rundown on the geographic dispersion of the Jan. 6 defendants.
A New Corrupt Trump Pardon
In pardoning Ross Ulbricht, the founder of the illegal online drug marketplace the Silk Road, Donald Trump openly admitted to ill motives, declaring that he was doing it in part to honor the “Libertarian Movement, which supported me so strongly.”
The Proud Boys Are Back
“The cascading effects of pardoning some 1,500 insurrectionists remain to be seen. But to researchers, activists and reporters covering extremism in America, the implication was clear: Political violence will be tolerated, and even rewarded, when it’s carried out on behalf of Trump.”–HuffPost
Elon Musk Watch
Take it from right-wing extremists: They loved, in the muted language of the Associated Press, Elon Musk’s “straight-arm gesture.”
Aileen Cannon Still At It
On the first full day of the Trump administration, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon blocked the Justice Department from sharing the Mar-a-Lago volume of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s report with members of Congress.
Trump II Clown Show
WSJ: Hegseth Routinely Passed Out From Alcohol Abuse, Witness Says
NYT: Senate Questionnaire Sheds Light on Kash Patel’s Early Years
Quote Of The Day
“We are, quite frankly, the dominant predator…”–Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN), on Fox Business talking about America’s Manifest Destiny to obtain Greenland
Making Sense Of The Trump Executive Orders
Mark Nevitt at Just Security: Unpacking Trump’s Executive Order on National Emergency at the Southern Border
Charlie Savage: “[Trump] not only revived some of the same expansive understandings of executive authority that were left unaddressed [from Trump I], but went even further with new claims of sweeping and inherent constitutional clout.”
WSJ: “Pentagon officials are planning options for using federal troops to secure the U.S.-Mexico border against drug traffickers, human smugglers and migrants, a potentially major shift in military priorities ordered by President Trump, officials said Tuesday.”
Pushing Back Against Trump
States and advocacy groups have already filed four lawsuits to block implementation of Trump’s executive order purporting to end birthright citizenship.
The first hearing in those cases is likely to be in Seattle in front of U.S. District Judge John Coughenour, an 83-year-old Reagan appointee.
The National Treasury Employees Union has sued to block Trump’s executive order reimposing Schedule F and limiting civil service protections.
Memorable
Mariann Edgar Budde, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C., addressed President Trump directly during a prayer service Tuesday at National Cathedral, beseeching him to show mercy to the people he is marginalizing, including immigrants and people who identify as LGBTQ:
Vice President J.D. Vance’s squirming and sneering was notable, as was the refusal of his wife to engage with him.
Trump went off on the bishop overnight, calling her “ungracious,” “nasty,” and “not compelling or smart.”
It was the reaction of Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA), though, that was most indicative of the current moment: He publicly called for the bishop to be deported.
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David Kurtz - thank you for this post. So many things that we need to know cited here. I must say that reading this gave me the unpleasant sensation in my stomach that one gets when faced with serious danger. I was aware of some of these abominations, but had not heard about his requirement that any DEI Federal employees be put on leave. OMG!!! And how is he going to determine who is a DEI employee? If they're African American, Mexican immigrants, LGBTQ? And on top of the nasty names that he called Bishop Budde, he has the unmitigated gaul to demand an apology from her. He's wasting no time in destroying any semblance of decency left in this country.....and the Republic.
For the first time ever, I can’t bear to read this all in one sitting. Thank you for your work and moral courage.