WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

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1/ Trump’s Jan. 6 White House records are missing seven hours and 37 minutes of phone logs. The gap, which extends from a little after 11 a.m. to about 7 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2021, corresponds with the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump’s supporters. The lack of an official White House record also stands in contrast to public reporting about conversations Trump had during the attack, which included calls with Sen. Tommy Tuberville, Sen. Mike Lee, and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection has subpoenaed the phone records of more than 100 people and is now investigating whether Trump communicated that day through backchannels, including the phones of aides or “burner phones.” (Washington Post / CBS News / Associated Press / CNN)

2/ Two dozen Democratic lawmakers demanded that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas “promptly recuse himself” from future cases related to the attack on the Capitol or efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The group urged Thomas to “immediately issue a written explanation for his failure to recuse himself” from such cases following reports that his wife had pressured Trump’s chief of staff, Mark Meadows, to try to overturn Biden’s victory and was involved in the “Stop the Steal” movement. Thomas was the only justice to dissent in Trump’s request to block documents from being released to the committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. The lawmakers also called on Chief Justice John Roberts to create “a binding Code of Conduct for the Supreme Court” that would require all justices to “issue written recusal decisions.” (Washington Post / CNBC)

3/ The Jan. 6 committee urged Attorney General Merrick Garland to criminally charge Mark Meadows for contempt of Congress, saying “the Department of Justice has a duty to act on this referral and others that we have sent.” In December, the full House voted to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress over his refusal to cooperate with the committee’s investigation. Adam Schiff warned that “without enforcement of congressional subpoenas, there is no oversight, and without oversight, no accountability.” Rep. Elaine Luria added: “Attorney General Garland, do your job so we can do ours.” The committee, meanwhile, voted to hold former Trump aides Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with subpoenas. The full House is expected to vote to send both of those referrals to the Justice Department later this week. (Politico / Washington Post)

4/ The New York attorney general’s office said it has “uncovered significant evidence” suggesting that Trump “falsely and fraudulently valued” real estate assets for more than a decade. The potentially misleading valuations “and other misrepresentations” were used by the Trump Organization “to secure economic benefits, according to a court filing by New York Attorney General Letitia James. The filing was made in response to Trump, Trump Jr., and Iv...

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