-Joe Manchin, lost soul

The architects of Donald Trump’s attempted coup continue to faceplant over their claims that they were never really planning anything, suggesting that a) this whole January 6 investigation was a pretty good idea, and b) the folks working to undermine future elections might not be kidding around, either.
 

• The January 6 committee plans to subpoena John Eastman, the conservative lawyer who drafted a memo outlining how then-Vice President Mike Pence could overturn the election results in six easy steps. Eastman did his best to distance himself from that strategy in a recent interview with the National Review, claiming he had been asked to lay out a harebrained scheme he didn’t agree with: “Anybody who thinks that that’s a viable strategy is crazy.”
   
• That act fell apart in under a week. In a recorded conversation at a Claremont Institute gala over the weekend, Eastman stood by his legal reasoning and blamed Pence for being too much of an “establishment guy” to carry out the plan. Eastman also said that Donald Trump had planned to go to the Capitol on January 6, before launching into baseless conspiracy theories about the riot. 
   
• While Republicans have been dishonestly downplaying a violent insurrection, threats against the secretaries of state targeted by Trump have only increased, with some officials forced to contract their own security. During a Tuesday Senate hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) cited a survey that found nearly one in three election workers had felt unsafe because of their job, while nearly one in six had experienced threats of violence. With so many GOP candidates making the Big Lie a central plank of their campaigns, election officials expect the threats to continue getting worse.

A new formal partnership between far-right GOP candidates and wealthy conspiracy theorists probably won’t help.
 

• Nevada secretary of state candidate Jim Marchant announced at a weekend QAnon convention that he’s launched a coalition of MAGA candidates running for the top elections position in their states. The group includes Kristina Karamo in Michigan, Rep. Jody Hice (R-GA), and Mark Finchem in Arizona, all three of whom have Trump’s endorsement in their primaries. It’s unclear exactly what this nameless coalition is supposed to “be” or “do,” but it’s backed by MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell and Overstock.com founder Patrick Byrne, who could pour a whole bunch of money into those races.
   
• In a sign of how thoroughly conspiracies and extremism have permeated the GOP, a hacked list of Oath Keepers members revealed 48 current and former state or local government officials, all Republicans, as well as a number of candidates for elected office. Edward Duffy Jr., an Oath Keeper who was outside the Capitol on January 6, is running for the New Jersey State Assembly as a Republican in next week’s elections. He doesn’t stand a chance in his overwhelmingly liberal district, but his name on the ticket is a sign of how the far-right fringe has bled into the mainstream Republican Party, even in Democratic strongholds.
   

There’s no big mystery about what Donald Trump hoped to accomplish on January 6—his own lawyer just proudly confessed it to an undercover reporter. The most pressing unknown is whether Congress and the Justice Department will hold Trump’s allies accountable and enact new democracy protections before a radicalized GOP can set him up for a second try.

You’re not going to want to miss this week’s X-Ray Vision episode! This week, Jason Concepcion recaps the world of Frank Herbert’s Dune as brought to life in Denis Villeneuve’s new film. Plus, Jason Goldman & Haitch from Dunepod join to dive deep into the history of Herbert’s novels. Shea Serrano also joins to give his take on Dune and discuss his new book Hip Hop (And Other Things). Follow X-Ray Vision on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Democrats absolutely, positively must reach an agreement on the reconciliation package before President Biden leaves for the U.N. climate summit on Thursday, so there’s like a 50-50 chance they get there! Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) rejected the billionaire tax plan on Wednesday, which means it’s either definitely dead or still on the table, depending on whom you ask. Here are the latest rumblings: Paid family and medical leave has reportedly taken permanent leave of the package, but Manchin seems to have lost his terrible fight to impose a work requirement on the child tax credit. The proposed Medicare expansion is still up in the air. Biden will be in a much stronger leadership position at the climate summit if Democrats can finalize a historic climate investment before he goes, but the real deadline to pass both infrastructure bills (or another stopgap bill, lol) is Sunday, when surface-transportation funding expires once again.

• Texas has become the latest state to pass a law that targets trans youth by prohibiting them from playing on school sports teams that align with their gender identity.
   
• Former New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof has announced he’s running for governor of Oregon, and it looks like New York Attorney General Letitia James is about to announce her own gubernatorial campaign.
   
• Donald Trump will head to Virginia to stump for GOP candidate Glenn Youngkin on an undisclosed date, whether or not The Egg Man actually wants him there.  
   
• A South Texas special election for an open state House seat will be the latest test of GOP efforts to gain ground with Latino voters.
   
• An analysis of Twitter data revealed a targeted harassment campaign against Meghan Markle, with just 83 users (not bots) responsible for 70 percent of the hateful content about her.
   
• An analysis of other Twitter data suggests that the platform amplifies right-wing politicians disproportionately because the rest of us can’t stop dunking on them. Remember: Screenshot the dumb Ted Cruz post before making fun of it, never quote-tweet.
   
• It turns out Elizabeth Holmes is an American hero who fleeced the DeVos family out of $100 million and we all owe her a deep-voiced apology.
   
• GOP Rep. Devin Nunes’s actual mom (distinct from @devinnunesmom) has been making a mess of his campaign-finance reports for 17 years.
   
• A lost hiker on a Colorado mountain ignored calls from rescuers because they didn’t recognize the phone number, heralding an exciting new phase of the Unregulated Robocall Era. 

The parent company of the Democratic data firm TargetSmart has also been profiting off of helping elect far-right Republican candidates, unbeknownst to the Democratic organizations that rely on it. TargetSmart provides key services, including databases for voter-contact programs, to the DNC, state Democratic parties, and progressive groups across the country. The company states on its website that it’s devoted to serving the Democratic ecosystem and “does not work with Republican candidates.” But TargetSmart’s founders also own a company that rakes in millions to help elect Republicans, including pro-insurrection GOP state legislators, raising serious questions about whether Democrats should be trusting them with critical data operations and continuing to enrich them. 

Cometeer is the most delicious coffee that's brewed better through science. It’s frozen, pre-brewed coffee, in pocket sized recyclable capsules and you MELT to MAKE, no equipment needed. With Cometeer you're always just a minute away from barista-quality coffee and lattes.

Cometeer has discovered a new way to brew coffee. After the brew process the coffee is flash-frozen to lock in all the aromas and freshness. You melt to make; just add the frozen coffee to a cup of hot water  and for an iced coffee just pour the melted coffee into water with ice — yes, it’s iced coffee in 10 seconds flat. And lattes are just as easy.

Not only are they the first fast, high-quality delicious coffee, but also the first-fully recyclable capsule. Cometeer arrives each month to your home and features the BEST regional specialty roasters with enough capsules for 32 cups. It’s the kind of delicious variety you've always wanted.

For a limited time, you can get $20 off your first order, 10 free cups, and shipping is always free - but only when you visit cometeer.com/CROOKED.

Merck announced a licensing deal that will allow drug makers in developing countries to make and sell its coronavirus pill cheaply.

The Dutch pension fund ABP announced that it will divest $17.5 billion of investments in fossil fuels by 2023.

The Senate has confirmed Myrna Perez, the former director of voting rights and elections programs at the Brennan Center, as a judge on the Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

The State Department has issued its first U.S. passport with an “X” gender marker.