A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.

It’s been a reasonable inference for more than five years now that whoever planted the pipe bombs at both national party headquarters on the eve of Congress’ certification of the 2020 presidential election was probably not someone who was excited that Joe Biden had won.

As the case languished, however, it bizarrely became the subject of a host of right-wing cover-up conspiracies — some touted by people who became top FBI officials in the Trump II presidency. So it was more than a little awkward when the Trump Justice Department finally announced an arrest in the case.

That may explain in part why after initially hailing the arrest, things have been rather muted from the White House and Justice Department. But it’s becoming increasingly hard not to think that the alleged pipe bomber’s affinities — for Trump and the 2020 Big Lie — may be playing a part in the Trump administration acting very much out of character by being … subdued about the case.

After the arrest of Brian Cole Jr. in connection with the pipe bombs, initial reports said he subscribed to the Big Lie that the election was stolen. Now the WSJ reports, citing unnamed sources, that Cole told investigators he supported Trump:

In a four-hour interview with investigators, Cole acknowledged placing the bombs, people familiar with the probe said. He expressed support for Trump and said he had embraced conspiracy theories regarding Trump’s 2020 election loss, the people said. … Cole hasn’t entered a plea, and his lawyer didn’t respond to requests for comment.

The other significant scoop in the WSJ story is about how the FBI finally broke the case open and ultimately arrested Cole — which indirectly offers another tell:

For four years, a tranche of cellphone data provided to the FBI by T-Mobile US sat on a digital shelf because investigators couldn’t figure out how to read it, people familiar with the matter said. The data turned out to be essential to cracking the case, the people said, a breakthrough that happened only recently when a tech-savvy law-enforcement officer wrote a new computer program that finally deciphered the information. That move led to the arrest of 30-year-old Brian Cole Jr. at his home in Northern Virginia, where he had been quietly living with his mother and other relatives.

The tell is that this is the kind of thing you’d expect any administration to tout loudly and proudly — unless, say, the alleged pipe bomber was a gung-ho supporter trying to do your bidding to halt the certification of your opponent’s victory over you.

Normally in the early stages of the prosecution of a major case like this, most of the characterizations of the accused and his alleged crimes and the purported evidence come from leaks from the government, directly or indirectly.