Supreme Court comes up empty in leak probe

March For Life returns after huge Court win

Jan 20, 2023

Also in today’s edition of ‘Regular Order’ for January 20, 2023:

Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) out of intensive care.
Dems absolutely pummel GOP’s ‘FairTax.’
It never ends for Rep. George Santos (R-NY).

COURT LEAK. On the eve of an annual pro-life march in Washington, D.C., the U.S. Supreme Court announced that an internal investigation did not determine who leaked a draft ruling on abortion last year, which foreshadowed the decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Read the 23-page report at this link.

FINDINGS. "After months of diligent analysis of forensic evidence and interviews of almost 100 employees...the team has to date been unable to identify a person responsible by a preponderance of the evidence," the report states. No hints were given on who might have been under suspicion.
REPORT. Reading between the lines, it doesn't seem that the Justices were interviewed - which doesn't really sound like a complete investigation. On the other hand, leak investigations tend to fail most of the time.
REACTION. "This is either pure incompetence or willful conduct to hide the leaker," said Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ), as many Republicans believe the leak came from a liberal Justice. Democrats meanwhile pointed the finger at Justice Samuel Alito. Neither side has the evidence to prove it.
NEW LAW. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) yesterday renewed his call for a new law that expressly prohibits such leaks. That's all fine and dandy, but if you can't find the leaker, it doesn't matter what penalties are available.
TRUMP. Former President Donald Trump called for a reporter, editor, and publisher at Politico to be jailed - unless they confess the name of the leaker. That doesn't sound very First Amendment-y to this reporter.

MARCH FOR LIFE. The annual March For Life returns today in Washington - to mark the anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973 - but it takes on a much different feel after last summer’s Supreme Court ruling. After almost 50 years of trying to get rid of Roe v. Wade, what's next for the pro-life movement?

STATES. "There is an urgent need to make our voices heard in our state capitals," said Jeanne Mancini, who is the head of the March For Life. "We must also continue to advocate for the unborn at the federal level."
VOTES. It’s unclear how far Republicans will go on abortion legislation in Congress now that they have the majority in the House. Last week, a bill to prohibit taxpayer funded abortions was on the schedule - but was not debated.
CONGRESS. While the House and Senate are not in session today, I would still expect a number of GOP lawmakers to show up and speak at the March For Life rally, as they celebrate last year’s Supreme Court decision.

STEUBE. Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) was moved out of intensive care on Thursday, a day after he fell about 25 feet off a ladder while cutting tree limbs. No details were released on what his office said were ‘several serious injuries.’ “We will have more to say as details become clear about the timeline for his recovery.”

MCCARTHY. Speaker Kevin McCarthy spoke with Steube on Thursday, and said he was 'in good spirits.' But McCarthy was also thinking about work. "I informed him he will serve on the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government," McCarthy added.
PROXY. I had to chuckle a bit when Speaker McCarthy sent out a tweet earlier on Thursday celebrating the end of a rule which would have helped Steube. "No more proxy voting," McCarthy tweeted. "Members of Congress have to show up to work if they want their vote to count."
NEAR TERM. The nature of Steube's injuries remains unclear, but any amount of time that he is away from Capitol Hill makes the House GOP majority even more tenuous. The House is back for votes next week.

EXTRAORDINARY. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen officially notified Congress on Thursday that the U.S. has hit the legal debt limit of just under $31.4 trillion. The feds now will use what are known as 'extraordinary measures' to prevent default - as lawmakers have about four months to figure out a way forward.

DEBT LIMIT. While most Republicans are demanding budget cuts and spending reforms as part of any debt limit deal, the GOP has not put forward anything close to a detailed plan on what they would do. Some want to roll back spending to 2022, but there’s nothing official.
GOP. "We simply cannot continue exacerbating our national debt without making significant spending reforms," said Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-GA). But what do those entail? Republicans haven't been specific, especially when it comes to spending for Social Security and Medicare.
TRUMP. Meanwhile, Democrats were digging up old statements by Donald Trump. "I can't imagine anybody ever even thinking of using the debt ceiling as a negotiating wedge," Trump said in July 2019. Trump signed three debt limit increases, with no strings attached.

REGULAR ORDER. This Congress evidently isn’t going to slow down anytime soon. Give yourself or someone you know the gift of straight news with my newsletter, and support independent journalism in the halls of Congress.

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BORDER BATTLE. House Republicans have announced their first hearing about illegal immigration and the southern border with Mexico - it will happen the week of February 6 before the House Oversight Committee. That announcement sends messages on two fronts that I want to flesh out.

ONE. The lead committee on oversight of the border should be the Homeland Security Committee - but that panel is being pushed back to let Rep. James Comer (R-KY) and Oversight take the lead. Comer's panel is also planning hearings and investigations into other items related to President Biden.
TWO. Another note is that having a big hearing the week of February 6 means it will be overshadowed by President Biden's State of the Union Address on February 7. Obviously, Republicans want to get out their message. But there is only so much news oxygen around a President’s speech.

FAIRTAX. Democrats in Congress have quickly joined President Biden in pummeling the FairTax, which will get a House vote after a deal between Speaker McCarthy and the Freedom Caucus. If you're not familiar with this GOP plan, it gets rid of income taxes, and replaces that with a national sales tax.

DEMS. The decision to breathe life into the FairTax has handed a gift to Democrats. "The Republicans' "Fair Tax Plan" is really a 30% sales tax to help out the rich and greedy," said Rep. Sydney Kamlager (D-CA), as Democrats started calling it a ‘Republican Tax Bomb.’
TAXES. I wrote earlier this week that the Democrats would demagogue the living crap out of the FairTax. Yep. That's what's going on. "House Republicans' plan to tack a 30% national sales tax on every good from gas to groceries would skyrocket costs," said Sen. Jon Tester (R-MT).
GEORGIA. The FairTax has always had very devoted followers - but it has also struggled to get support among Republicans. And nothing has changed on that front. That's my column this week for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

VIVA DE LA SANTOS. This was not a quiet break week for Rep. George Santos (R-NY). On Thursday, Santos said it was 'categorically false' that he had dressed up as a drag queen. A few hours later, the New York Post bellowed, "Video shows drag-denier George Santos dressed in drag, boasting about drag shows."

DOG MONEY. Of course, there was more. "The reports that I would let a dog die is shocking & insane," Santos tweeted. But Rich Osthoff, a U.S. military veteran, said Santos had run off with $3,000 meant to treat Osthoff's dog, which had cancer. "How do you lie about that?" Osthoff told CNN.
LONG ISLAND. In Newsday, the blaring headline was about bigger troubles, as court records showed Santos - surprise, surprise - inflated his role at a financial investment firm.
MOCKERY. A particle physicist, Rep. Bill Foster (D-IL) mocked Santos. "I'm thrilled to be joined on the Science Committee by my Republican colleague Dr. George Santos, winner of not only the Nobel Prize, but also the Fields Medal - the top prize in Mathematics - for his groundbreaking work with imaginary numbers."
ETHICS. Presumably, the House Ethics Committee will finally get members next week - which may mean more bad headlines for Santos.

LAWSUIT. A federal judge in Florida last night handed down nearly $938,000 in sanctions against Donald Trump and his lawyers - for filing a frivolous lawsuit against Hillary Clinton and a series of other government officials. "This case should never have been brought," wrote U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks in an absolutely scathing 46 page decision. Read it.

FOX NEWS. The judge filled his order with transcripts of Trump's lawyer Alina Habba on Fox News, and repeatedly skewered both of them. "I find that the pleadings here were abusive litigation tactics," Middlebrooks wrote, saying Trump was only trying to 'advance a political narrative.'

RAP SHEET. Court documents released yesterday show three active duty Marines were arrested on Wednesday - charged with being part of the mob of Donald Trump supporters who entered the U.S. Capitol on January 6. All three were identified by other Marines and their military identification cards.

DUTY STATION. One of the Marines is stationed at Quantico, Virginia. Another is at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina. FBI charging documents don't list a base for the third man - but the website military.com says he is stationed at Fort Meade, Maryland - which is home to the National Security Agency.

MUSIC. Thursday brought the news of the death of musician David Crosby. He was part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young - a band which created maybe the most powerful American political protest song.

KENT STATE. Two weeks after the National Guard killed four students at Kent State in 1970, Crosby showed Neil Young a news magazine about the tragedy. The photos enraged Young, who immediately wrote the song 'Ohio.'
OHIO. Young said that Crosby cried when the band finished recording. Their record label rushed the song out in less than two weeks. Crosby called the direct mention of President Nixon 'the bravest thing I ever heard.'
LYRICS. Tin soldiers and Nixon’s coming, We're finally on our own, This summer, I hear the drumming, Four dead in Ohio.

MUSE OF HISTORY. January 20, 1824. On this date, the House approved a resolution welcoming the idea of a visit to the United States by the Marquis de Lafayette. "At present General Lafayette is the only surviving General officer of the Revolutionary War," said Rep. Edward Livingston of Louisiana. "He has expressed a desire once more to visit the country he so eminently contributed to render free and happy." Lafayette arrived six months later, beginning a hero's welcome in all 24 states.

LEGISLATIVE PROGRAM:

The House next has votes on Tuesday.

The Senate next has votes on Monday.

President Biden’s daily schedule link.

Follow me on Twitter @jamiedupree. Email me at jamiedupree@substack.com