A lot happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s morning memo. Sign up for the email version.

DOJ’s darkest era

Matt Gaetz as Attorney General.

Todd Blanche, Trump’s personal attorney, who Deputy Attorney Generalthe second in command who runs the Department of Justice on a day-to-day basis.

Emil Bove, another of Trump’s personal lawyers, installed as number 3.

It is a devastating mix of incompetence, disregard for the rule of law, conflicts of interest and divided loyalties that would send the Justice Department down a wrong and uncertain course perhaps only seen once before, in the darkest days of Watergate.

What will become of the Gaetz ethics report?

The House Ethics Committee was to meet privately this morning, but that meeting has reportedly now been interrupted. That leaves further doubt about the committee’s finished report on the now-former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) and his alleged sexual abuse will be released either publicly or to senators considering his nomination for attorney general.

Meanwhile, ABC News reports that the underage woman Gaetz allegedly had sex with testified to the House Ethics Committee that she was 17 when their meeting took place.

Hegseth had previous allegations of sexual assault

The nomination of Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense already faced all kinds of problemsbut Vanity Fair’s Gabe Sherman reports that the Trump transition team was caught off guard by a sexual assault allegation stemming from a 2017 incident in Monterey, California:

According to the transition source, the allegation is serious enough that Wiles and Trump’s lawyers spoke with Hegseth about it on Thursday. A source with knowledge of the meeting said Hegseth said the allegation was consensual and characterized the episode as he said, she said.

On Thursday night, Hegseth’s attorney Timothy Parlatore said, “This allegation has already been investigated by the Monterey Police Department and they found no evidence of it.”

Trump II Clown Show Continues…

• Robert F. Kennedy Jr: Secretary of Health and Human Services, who includes CDC, NIH, FDA,

• Former SEC Chairman Jay Clayton: United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York

• Govt. Doug Burgum (R-ND): Secretary of the Interior

Fun times

TPM’s Josh Kovensky: Friend Don Jr. as Hawk’s Trump Merch to run the White House staff office

Don’t forget Tulsi Gabbard

WSJ: “President-elect Donald Trump’s picks to lead powerful U.S. spy agencies have often appeared to embrace Washington’s adversaries and cast doubt on key U.S. intelligence services, raising concerns among veteran intelligence officials and the broader national security establishment.”

Let’s not kid ourselves about Senate Republicans

Is the Gaetz nomination in real trouble? Perhaps:

• WSJ: Gaetz nomination seen as doomed by some Senate Republicans

• WaPo: Republican senators say Matt Gaetz has ‘steep’ climb to nomination

But take this report from CBS News Robert Costa:

What I’m hearing privately from some key GOP senators: yes, they prefer not to have a messy fight over Gaetz. Not their favorite. But they also don’t have much energy to push back. Trump runs the show, they say. If Gaetz can reassure them, they are open to supporting him.

Low energy! That suggests spending the next three months pining over whether the Republican-controlled Senate will block any of Donald Trump’s nominees for his new administration seems like wasted energy on a fool’s errand. That’s true not only because GOP senators aren’t eager to have a deal with Trump, but because there’s no indication that Trump’s replacement for any failed nominations will be much better.

Quote of the day

Late. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), to other senators: “Vote with President Trump, this is the last chance we’re going to have to save this country, and if you want to stand in the way, fine, but we’re going to try to get you out out of the Senate too, if you do.”

More low-energy respect for Trump

In a first, two federal judges in DC delayed key deadlines in the case Jan. 6 in anticipation of Trump being able to pardon the defendants. The resolutions were to explain “Why bother?” although other federal judges have declined to derail cases based on speculation and guesswork about what Trump will do. How long will the two judges who ordered delays wait to see what Trump does?

This comes against the backdrop of Attorney General nominee Matt Gaetz doing as much as anyone rewrite history on January 6.

Elon Musk watch

One of the key narratives to track in the Trump II presidency will be whether corporate America holds the line, as it largely did in his first term, or begins to collapse into crony capitalism. Even before Trump’s victory, Elon Musk predicted an erosion in corruption, favoritism and pay-to-play:

• NEW: Elon Musk met with Iran’s UN ambassador, Iranian officials say

• Politico: Musk’s influence over Trump could destroy electric vehicles — except his own

• NEW: Elon Musk helped elect Trump. What does he expect in return?

GREAT READING

M. Gessen:

For those confused about why so many Americans apparently voted against the values ​​of liberal democracy, Balint Magyar has a helpful formulation. “Liberal democracy,” he says, “offers moral constraints without problem solving” — lots of rules, not much change — while “populism offers problem solving without moral constraints.” Magyar, a scholar of autocracy, is not interested in calling Donald Trump a fascist. He sees the president-elect’s appeal in terms of something more primal: “Trump promises you don’t have to think about other people.”

No joke

WaPo: Go bags, passports, foreign assets: Preparing to be a target for Trump’s revenge

Makes you want to cry

The editorial in this Political story just flipped the script of political journalism about the economy, without batting an eye: “Joe Biden and Kamala Harris couldn’t sell voters on the strength of the economy. Now Donald Trump is poised to enter the White House with booming markets and solid growth. Expect him to reap the political rewards.”

2024 Ephemera

• PA-Sen: An automatic recalculation was was triggeredwith Sen. Bob Casey (D) following Dave McCormick (R) by fewer than 25,000 votes statewide.

• AZ-Sen: GOP nominee Kari Lake is still not admitting that she lost to rep. Ruben Gallego (D).

• WI Sen: GOP nominee Eric Hovde still haven’t conceded to Sen. Tammy Baldwin and is considering seeking a recount.

• WaPo: Within the Republican false flag attempt to turn off Kamala Harris voters

You can’t make this up

The onion purchased Alex Jones InfoWars out of bankruptcy and almost immediately switch off the conspiracy website. Proceeds from the auction sales will go to the families of the Sandy Hook victims to satisfy their $1.5 billion judgment against Jones for claiming the school shooting was a hoax.

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