WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, March 28, 2022

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1/ A federal judge asserted that Trump “more likely than not” committed felony obstruction in his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. “Based on the evidence, the Court finds it more likely than not that President Trump corruptly attempted to obstruct the Joint Session of Congress on January 6, 2021,” U.S. District Court Judge David Carter wrote, ordering the release of 101 emails from Trump adviser John Eastman to the Jan. 6 committee. The committee had subpoenaed Eastman’s university email account, which he used to send key legal memos aimed at overturning Biden’s victory, but Eastman sued to prevent the committee from obtaining his emails from the school, claiming attorney-client privilege. “The illegality of the plan was obvious,” Carter wrote, rejecting Eastman’s effort to shield the documents, saying Eastman and Trump “launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history […] it was a coup in search of a legal theory.” The ruling has no direct role in whether Trump will be charged criminally. (Washington Post / CNN / New York Times / Politico / ABC News / Associated Press / NBC News)

2/ Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ wife sent 21 text messages to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows imploring him to take steps to overturn the 2020 election in the weeks after Election Day. Virginia Thomas (who goes by Ginni) regularly checked in with Meadows to encourage him to push claims of voter fraud and work to overturn the election. Thomas also shared several false QAnon-related conspiracy theories, including that Trump had deliberately “watermarked” mail ballots to find potential voter fraud. In February 2021, the Supreme Court rejected Trump’s effort to block a Jan. 6 committee subpoena for White House records related to the certification of the election and the Capitol insurrection. Instead of recusing himself from the case, Thomas wrote in a dissent that it was “baffling” and “inexplicable” that the majority had decided against hearing the cases. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection said it will seek an interview with Virginia Thomas. (Washington Post / CBS News / CNN / New York Times / The Guardian / Business Insider / Wall Street Journal /