WTF Just Happened Today

Monday, September 26, 2022

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1/ An Arizona judge ruled that a 1864 ban on nearly all abortions in that state can be enforced, lifting a 1973 injunction that had barred enforcement of Arizona’s pre-statehood ban. The 1864 law mandates a two- to five-year prison sentence for anyone who helps a woman obtain an abortion and makes no exception for victims of rape or incest. The law was updated and codified in 1901. Judge Kellie Johnson cited the Supreme Court’s decision in June to overturn Roe v. Wade, which established a constitutional right to abortion as rationale for lifting the injunction. Johnson’s ruling came a day before Arizona’s 15-week ban on abortion was slated to go into effect. Biden, meanwhile, vowed to codify the right to an abortion into law if voters “give me two more senators in the United States Senate.” (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN / CNBC / The Guardian)

2/ Trump’s attorneys are attempting to assert attorney-client and executive privilege over grand jury testimony to prevent witnesses from sharing information in the Justice Department’s Jan. 6 criminal investigation. Earlier this month, the federal grand jury issued more than 40 subpoenas to former Trump aides seeking information about the role Trump played in the attempt to overturn the 2020 election, including the plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in swing states that were won by Biden. The legal dispute, which is under seal, will determine how much evidence prosecutors can use from Trump’s conversations in the West Wing and with attorneys as he tried to overturn the 2020 election. (CNN / New York Times)

3/ Mark Meadows texted with an election denier in late December 2020 about attempts to gain access to voting systems in Arizona and Georgia. Phil Waldron, a retired Army colonel with ties to Michael Flynn, helped draft language for an executive order directing the Pentagon and Homeland Security to seize voting machines, as well as sending Meadows an “Options for 6 Jan” PowerPoint presentation that outlined a plan for overturning the election. Meadows recently complied with a Justice Department subpoena for information about the 2020 election, including these text messages. (CNN)

• The White House switchboard dialed a cell phone registered to a Capitol rioter who had stormed the building on Jan. 6. The call was placed at 4:34 pm – shortly after Trump posted a video message on social media telling the rioters at the Capitol, “go home, we love you, you’re very special.” It lasted for nine seconds. (CNN / CBS News /