Aug. 3: Moreno reveals that he covered up Rep. Max Miller’s abuse for two years, only without putting it like that … Blanche folds on Jan. 6 slush fund and IRS immunity — or does he? … An epic list of just some recent Trump losses … Senate bill could head off September shutdown …
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Well, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) just threw some hot scalding water on the campaign hopes of Rep. Max Miller (R-OH), Moreno’s son-in-law.
On Sunday, Moreno appeared to confirm that Miller had abused his ex-wife, Moreno’s daughter, and their daughter, Moreno’s granddaughter. And, no, there’s no way to write that sentence without it being confusing.
“Miller needs serious psychological help,” Moreno said. “He is a danger to my daughter, and I hold my breath every minute he has custody of my granddaughter.” Moreno also declared Miller unfit to serve in the House of Representatives, which is truly saying something, considering all the people Moreno doesn’t say that about.
Moreno said he has known about this for two years and “Out of concern for the safety of my family, I hoped to keep this matter private.” By “this matter” he meant his daughter accusing Miller of throwing hot water on her, holding a gun to her head, shoving her into a wall, and apparently breaking their daughter’s collarbone.
And by “private” he meant this was a member of the U.S. House of Representatives he was covering up for.
Moreno’s two-year coverup out of concern for his family began out of lack of concern for Ohio voters and America, since Moreno kept this shit secret the last time Miller was on the ballot, two years ago.
Still, in Moreno’s defense, he spoke out the instant the allegations against Miller were revealed by Mother Jones reporter Abby Vesoulis. And by “the instant” I mean “the two weeks later.” And only after Miller posted a video, denying everything, that was so terrible it pretty much confirmed everything.
Of course, there’s no way Republicans could have known about Miller. It’s not as if he was known in Pres. Donald Trump’s first White House term for his “weird, macho, tough-guy energy.” And that’s compared to the rest of the Trump White House.
And it’s not as if Republicans had reason to stop Miller from running for Congress in the first place, unless they had Googled Miller and read what Politico and the Washington Post reported:
Charged with assault, disorderly conduct, and running from police while a senior in high school after assaulting the back of a guy’s head with his fist, disorderly conducting himself, and running from police.
Capped off senior year with a charge of underage drinking.
Drew another disorderly conduct charge after a fight in which he punched through a glass door, leaving a trail of blood for police and Republican primary voters to follow.
Charged with driving under the influence. Not of Zen Buddhism.
Allegedly grabbed girlfriend Stephanie Grisham, Trump’s former White House press secretary, and shoved her into a wall. And slapped her.
Allegedly shoved a girl in high school after she rejected his advances.
“Had an anger problem,” which was also a problem for people near him.
“…always kind of the head of the conversation … trashing girls.”
“Went out of his way to make negative comments … Especially about girls, especially about their appearance.”
“Super misogynistic,” which didn’t used to be a superpower.
“Not the guy you wanted to be alone in a room with,” if you were a girl.
How is this guy not on the Supreme Court?
In 2021, Miller explained all this to Politico by saying that his primary rival at the time was trying “to use things from when I was a teenager.” As Politico noted, Miller was a 21-year-old teenager in the ninth year of his teens when he punched the window.
And he was a mere toddler of 22 when he drove his car into a lamp post at 8:55 in the morning after a night of beers and shots and waking up, as he explained to the arresting officer, “in urine-soaked pants.” His, I hope.
Anyway, that’s the guy Moreno walked his daughter down the aisle to and then covered up for. In fairness, it’s not like Miller is a real monster like former National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, the guy Moreno just last week asked, “Who the fuck did you think you were?” for saving lives.
Congressional Republicans had no choice but to vouch for Miller: He had the endorsement of the predator-in-chief. “Really great guy, Max Miller,” Pres. Donald Trump said in 2021 after Miller had worked for him and abused a woman who worked for him.
So now what? Republicans are freaking out, referring to Miller as “Graham Platner on steroids.” Except Miller can’t blame PTSD, unless you swap the “T” from “Traumatic” to “Trump.”
Who said on Sunday that he’s “gonna look at it.” Stand by for rigorous analysis!
Wednesday is the last day to call a special election to replace Miller on the ballot. Otherwise, next Monday is the last day the Republican committee could certify a replacement for him.
But Miller says he’s not dropping out. And if he doesn’t, pretty much any Democratic poindexter will beat him.
Which is good news for Miller’s Democratic rival, Brian Poindexter, an ironworker endorsed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT). Which should throw cold water on Republican hopes of holding the seat.
Oh, and guess who’s still covering up for Miller? Sen. Jon Husted (R-OH), who’s being challenged this year by former Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH).
Both Husted and Moreno tried to cover up just last year for Jeffrey Epstein with votes against releasing The Epstein Files™ of Trump files, because Epstein and Trump didn’t personally abuse their daughter for two years.
Poindexter’s campaign site is here. Brown’s is here.
Blanche Bails on Trump Threat
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Sunday night announced a deal to end his career in acting.
Senators Thom Tillis (R-NC) and John Cornyn (R-TX) had blocked Blanche’s nomination to serve as Pres. Donald Trump’s personal attorney general, because the Department of Justice (DOJ) wouldn’t say in writing that it was killing the plan to use taxpayer funds to pay Trump’s Jan. 6 temp workers, and that the IRS wouldn’t illegally immunize Trump against prosecution for his presumptively myriad tax crimes.
Then Trump pouted that he’d keep Blanche as his acting personal attorney general forever and ever, if he couldn’t have what he wanted.
But then, Sunday night, Blanche released DOJ documents killing the $1.776 (get it!) billion Jan. 6 slush fund and the IRS immunity. Cornyn is now on board to confirm Blanche, with Tillis presumably to follow suit.
But now, because this is The Fucking News, it’s time for nitpicking, loopholing, and ninth-part-of-a-hair caviling!
The DOJ statement, yes, kills the order creating the slush fund. What it doesn’t do is prohibit the DOJ from re-slushing in the future. Like, one (1) day in the future after Blanche’s confirmation.
Even less clear than that or an algae-covered reflecting pool is the status of what I always figured was Trump’s real Golden Ticket here: Immunity from IRS prosecution.
The AP seems to say that Trump will still get immunity for his myriad tax crimes, just not future tax crimes. I’m seeing conflicting analyses, so we might have to wait for clarity there. Ideally that’ll be soon since Blanche’s Judiciary Committee vote is set for Tuesday.
But if Blanche really wants to clinche the deal, all he has to do is promise to open the Strait of Hormuz.
The Year of Losing Dangerously
We are not, today, at a milestone moment. But we are on a precipice. Next month, both chambers of Congress will be back in session. The general-election midterm campaigns will heat up. The traditional summer news slumber (used to be a thing, I swear) will give way to even more frantic panicked clickbait storms than we have now.
So let’s review.
Pres. Donald Trump has failed. Yes, he’s wounded every institution that makes up the complicated, annoying engine of a functioning democracy. But the courts still stand, Congress is poised to change hands, independent media thrives (thank you!), academia yet lives, law firms and state bar associations breathe still.
Trump has damaged every federal agency, but they’ve all survived. (Yes, I see you raising your hand, Education Department. See me after class for some remedial work.)
Point being: Nothing can’t be fixed.
We need a Democratic Party committed to radical change, to treating compromise as last resort rather than internalized starting position.
But it’s also important to brace for the possibility that Trump, challenged by a new Congress with vital signs, might do worse than he has so far, further corrupting and degrading and exploiting the executive branch. Always darkest, etc.
So as we head into not just the midterms but the potential cornered-ferret second half of the worst Trump presidency, I wanted to steel you Newsfuckers with some reminders of how much he’s losing, inspired by Scott Dworkin’s own list, some of which I’ve cadged here.
A judge killed a New Hampshire law requiring a passport or birth certificate to vote the way the founding fathers didn’t even though they had voting, passports, and birth.
Another judge ordered the release of a witness to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) killing.
Another other judge blocked Trump’s plan to have the U.S. Postal Service end ballot delivery in states that don’t do what he says.
Two more judges raised the number of failed Trump attempts to force states to turn over voter rolls to 21. That’s right, state victories over Trump can now drink.
And Dworkin’s best: Trump had 25 days to seek a Supreme Court rehearing of his failure to kill birthright citizenship. He forgot.
Substacker Don Moynihan caught polling showing that more than a fifth of MAGA, 22%, felt “personal attachment to leader / agenda” in August 2024 but it’s 17% now. That’s a drop of just five percent, but it’s also a drop of more than 20% of what it used to be.
In fact, MAGA hatred of government bureaucrats is fading, down from 43% to 38%. Maybe they don’t like waiting on hold to get their benefit cuts.
And then there’s Trump’s reflecting pool. Trump this weekend called out U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro for dropping the vandalism charges. But he also conceded that there were some contractor issues. And he didn’t defend the Interior Department, which as I explained in a Saturday TFN Bonus Story, Pirro came thisclose to accusing of lying to federal prosecutors about the pool:
Pirro is the only person required by law not to lie about the reflecting pool, which is why she’s the only person not lying about the reflecting pool.
Now, let’s give right-wing media their own section for losing, shall we? The New York Times looked at — but hopefully didn’t touch — 12 right-wing influencers and found their views plummeting.
I’ve seen shitty, unsafe rollercoasters with gentler drops.
I saved one for last because, obviously, it confirms something I’ve long said: Politics is Newtonian. Our system remains robust enough that Republican attempts to thwart it yield consequences not only unintended but icky. For them.
Which brings us to GOP racial gerrymandering. And by al I mean ist. And by mandering I mean klandering.
First, Presidents Bush, Bush, and Trump put some racist fascist fucks on the Supreme Court. Those fucks then freed state-level racist fascist fucks to redraw racist fascist congressional districts to divide Black voters with such mathematical precision that they would effectively have no power.
Or so the racist fascist theory went.
A new study by VoteHub of Black turnout before and after the most recent racist fascist Supreme Court ruling found that these racist fascist gerryklandering fucks have awoken a sleeping giant. Who is Black. (h/t)
Mississippi and North Carolina, for instance, had their primaries before the Louisiana v. Callais ruling. Turnout in Black-majority counties there was 1.1% higher than average.
But after Callais? The racists have experienced a callaimity.
Black people in Louisiana make up 32.1% of the voting population, but accounted for 35.7% of primary voters. Alabama counties had even more stunning turnout numbers.
Here’s The Guardian’s summary of VoteHub’s findings:
“…[racist fascist gerryklanders] have only motivated Black voters in the 78 Black belt counties it tracked. All but one shifted left in partisan turnout compared with 2024. Further, majority-Black counties that voted after Louisiana v Callais … had a surge in voter participation.”
And that’s for the primaries.
Democrats Move to Deny Trump a, um, Loss?
The federal fiscal year ends in September. Barely more than a month before the midterm elections.
In theory, Democrats could demand everything they want at a time when Republicans will be desperate not to be blamed for a shutdown right before the midterms. Instead, Democrats are doing the not that.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), the Senate’s top appropriators, announced Sunday that they’ve struck a deal to fund the government into December. Meaning, no shutdown until after the midterms, when it’s politically useless.
The good news: The House still has to sign off in September. The gooder news?
The Senate bill includes something Pres. Donald Trump and therefore House Republicans will hate. The bill would block Trump’s plan to let his political appointees approve federal grants, a major switch from past practice, which was to let grownups do it.
Agency grants are supposed to align with what Congress has tasked agencies with doing. Trump wants the grants to align with whatever Steve Doocy’s talking about.
Point being, a law that would require Trump to follow the law might be too onerous for House Republicans to enact into law. So even though the Senate is set to pass this bill this week, it still might not head off a shutdown.
Election Watch
MICHIGAN The state holds its primaries Tuesday, including the closely watched fight between Rep. Haley Stevens (D-MI) and former public-health official and still-current Muslim Abdul El-Sayed, who wildly enough is leading in the polls. While El-Sayed has been grilled about past remarks by his supporter, alleged antisemite Hasan Piker1, I wrote on Saturday that media gave Stevens a free pass for who’s backing her. Namely Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), participant in an antisemitic Bible study.
Two Quickies
Good news / bad news on climate change. The good news is the world might soon have good reason to get serious about it. The bad news is why. Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL) just posted that “ballrooms and reflecting pools and inflation and Iran and Venezuela and Epstein and crypto grift and the moral rot of the GOP” will all be forgotten soon because “Shit is about to get real.” Namely, climate shit + El Niño shit:
FBI Director Kash Patel has now spent six months searching for Savannah Guthrie’s mom. With Patel on the kase, there are no suspects, no leads, and no sign of Nancy Guthrie. Even though Pres. Donald Trump promised full FBI cooperation, and some elements of the crime make it federal, the FBI says hey, it’s the state’s investigation. Because if there’s anything the FBI is famous for, it’s deferring to local law enforcement. And the Wall Street Journal just put together a thorough account of how both the FBI and the locals teamed up to fuck it up.
TCB
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Thank you. E pluribus fuckem.
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Go get ‘em, kids! Hey, when’s the last time you heard a Republican politician mention Lindsey Graham? Yeah. That’s what I thought.
TFN creator and writer Jonathan Larsen co-created Up w/ Chris Hayes and wrote for Countdown with Keith Olbermann at MSNBC, helped launch CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360° and Air America Radio, and has also worked at The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and The Young Turks. He is a member of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation advisory board.
My former colleague at The Young Turks.
“The DOJ statement, yes, kills the order creating the slush fund. What it doesn’t do is prohibit the DOJ from re-slushing in the future. Like, one (1) day in the future after Blanche’s confirmation.”
Regardless of what the DOJ document does or doesn’t say, Neville Chamberlain had a piece of paper, too.
I’d love for you to be right re: the ability of the federal government to recover and rebuild after 2 years of thousands following the Project 2025 cookbook to get its aims done.
Given how many good people left the federal government, it’ll take far longer than the 1-1.5 years it took Biden to get the reins back to most of the federal apparatus. Some areas (postal) never came under his control in four years because republicans kept blocking nominations, no?
Note also how effectively and consistently the right wing of SCOTUS delivered on canceling any popular Biden initiative. Any democratic president will have their work cut out for them because SCOTUS can make them ineffective at the stroke of a pen and with ZERO accountability.