Trump Team Pretends To Be Horrified As Pretext To Target Comey

Numerous events occurred recently. Here are some highlights. This is TPM’s Morning Memo. For the email version, you can subscribe.
The entire Trump administration swiftly united on Thursday to criticize, threaten, and scrutinize former FBI Director James Comey. Comey’s dismissal by President Trump during his first term led to the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel, marking a significant turning point in history.
What unfolded was the following:
Comey came under fire after he shared a picture on social media depicting shells arranged on sand to spell out “86 47,” with “86” commonly associated with restaurant kitchens, indicating items not available. Additionally, it can be used as a verb meaning “to eliminate,” as in “86 the chateaubriand.”
As Trump is the 47th president, this was a shorthand way of saying to get rid of him. However, insinuating removal in a mob context? Trump administration officials, starting from the White House, promptly reacted yesterday to transform Comey’s post into a right-wing controversy.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Taylor Budowich suggested that it could be viewed as a threat against the sitting U.S. President. Current FBI Director Kash Patel and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees the Secret Service, responsible for investigating genuine threats against the president, announced that they are probing Comey’s “threat.”
Nevertheless, Tulsi Gabbard went even further by advocating for Comey’s imprisonment:
Jesse Watters: Do you believe Comey should be in jail?Tulsi Gabbard: I do. […] I’m very concerned for the president’s life. We’ve already seen assassination attempts. I’m very concerned for his life, and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.
Comey eventually removed his post, though it made little difference.
Presenting this type of right-wing outrage eruption in a “neutral” manner misses the point. The New York Times headline – “Ex-F.B.I. Chief Being Investigated Over Social Media Post About Trump” – is accurate but overlooks the layers of intimidation, cult-like loyalty displays, and sheer absurdity. It also requires presenting Trump world as genuinely appalled, which hardly anyone believes is true.

In other Trump DOJ News…
If You Don’t Investigate Public Corruption, You Won’t Find It: The FBI disbanded an elite public corruption unit based at its Washington Field Office, as first reported by NBC News.
Sword Faller: Danielle Sassoon, the acting U.S. Attorney in Manhattan who resigned after the Trump DOJ inappropriately dropped the prosecution of NYC Mayor Eric Adams, made a low-key public appearance this week.
Ed Martin lolz: Ed Martin, a Trump DOJ official, oddly disclosed in a farewell email to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in DC that he was under an ethics investigation, complaining that the DC ethics investigator had sent notification of the probe to his home and office to embarrass him. According to WaPo sources, such notifications typically occur when a lawyer fails to respond to an ethics complaint as required.

The Purge: Truth-Tellers Edition
VOA purge: Under the Trump Administration, hundreds of Voice of America employees were terminated, and the VOA building was put up for sale despite a court order preventing the dismantling of the government broadcaster.
Misinformation: The Trump administration has significantly expanded its crackdown on experts tracking misinformation and other harmful content online, abruptly canceling numerous scientific research grants at universities nationwide, as reported by the Now Reports.
Quote Of The Day: “Firing the leadership of the National Intelligence Council because its analysis does not support policy is a serious error in judgment. The message to the workforce is one of intimidation. In the future, the president will not get the quality of intelligence every president deserves.” – former NIC chairman Christopher Kojmon DNI Tulsi Gabbard firing top intel officials over an assessment that contradicted President Trump’s rationale for invoking the Alien Enemies Act

Wisconsin Judge Dugan Pleads Not Guilty
Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan pleaded not guilty in federal court in Milwaukee on charges that she assisted an undocumented immigrant in evading federal arrest. A trial date has been set for July 21, with Dugan already filing a motion to dismiss the indictment using judicial immunity as a defense.

The Women On SCOTUS Seem To Understand
The conservative majority on the Roberts Court did not hesitate to exploit President Trump’s unconstitutional executive order on birthright citizenship to further their agenda on limiting nationwide injunctions. Justice Amy Coney Barrett appeared to be a moderating force among the conservative majority, but they hold a definitive five votes even without her.

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