WTF Just Happened Today

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

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1/ Chief Justice John Roberts temporarily blocked a House committee from accessing Trump’s tax records. On Monday, Trump asked the Supreme Court to intervene in the case, claiming the Ways and Means Committee doesn’t have a valid legislative purpose for obtaining his tax documents. Lower courts, however, have ruled that the committee has broad authority to obtain tax returns and rejected Trump’s claims that it was overstepping. Roberts said the case would remain on hold until the Supreme Court acts. He asked the committee to respond by noon on Nov. 10. (New York Times / Washington Post / NPR / CNN / Associated Press / NBC News)

2/ The Supreme Court refused to block a Georgia grand jury subpoena seeking Lindsey Graham’s testimony about efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state. Graham had asked the Supreme Court to block the subpoena, claiming that his efforts in Georgia were part of his official legislative duties and therefore shielded from questioning. Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, however, wrote in a petition seeking to compel his testimony that Graham made two calls to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after the election and asked about “reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.” The court’s order was a paragraph long with no noted dissents. Graham’s testimony is currently scheduled for Nov. 17. (CNN / USA Today / CBS News / New York Times / NBC News / Washington Post / Politico)

• A federal judge rejected Mark Meadows challenge to a subpoena from the Jan. 6 committee, concluding that the former White House chief of staff was constitutionally barred from bringing it in the first place. Meadows, however, will likely appeal the ruling, effectively putting his testimony out of reach for the committee, which is slated to dissolve at the end of the year. (Politico / USA Today)

3/ The Justice Department said “vigilante ballot security efforts” in Arizona “raise serious concerns of voter intimidation” and likely violate the federal Voting Rights Act. The statement from the Justice Departme...

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