The Conversation -- November 16, 2024

Michael Shear of the New York Times: “President Biden expressed concern on Friday about what he called 'dangerous and destabilizing cooperation' between North Korea and Russia, as he met with the leaders of South Korea and Japan at the global summit of Asia Pacific leaders in Peru. In a joint statement, Mr. Biden, Shigeru Ishiba, the prime minister of Japan, and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea, said they 'strongly condemn' the cooperation between North Korea and Russia, including the decision by North Korea to send thousands of troops to Russia to help President Vladimir V. Putin in his war with Ukraine.... Flanked by Mr. Ishiba and Mr. Yoon, Mr. Biden expressed confidence in new security and economic cooperation that the three nations announced during a summit last year at Camp David.... He did not mention the possible impact of ... Donald J. Trump’s return to the White House, but he noted that Friday’s meeting would be his last with the group.”

Michael Kranish, et al., of the Washington Post: “Senior officials on ... Donald Trump’s transition team on Friday weighed the future of Pete Hegseth, Trump’s choice to lead the Defense Department, amid new revelations that police investigated an allegation that he sexually assaulted a woman in 2017.... Monterey[, California,] police confirmed that they investigated Hegseth over an allegation of 'alleged sexual assault' in 2017 and that the incident did not result in criminal charges. The transition team was caught by surprise by the detailed allegations and now fears more negative revelations about Hegseth, said the person familiar with the complaint. 'There’s a lot of frustration around this,' the person said. 'He hadn’t been properly vetted.'... 'No private firm vetted him, according to a person familiar with the matter....” ~~~

~~~ Oh, and here's something Patrick mentioned in a comment earlier this week: 

“Hegseth has been married three times.... He married his first wife, Meredith, in his early 20s and they divorced in 2009, according to Minnesota court filings. The couple agreed that the reasons for the split were an 'irretrievable breakdown' of the marriage and Hegseth’s 'infidelity,' according to a filing in their divorce case.... He married his second wife, Samantha, in 2010. Hegseth fathered a child with another woman, Jennifer Rauchet, then a Fox News producer, in August 2017, during that marriage. According to court records, Samantha Hegseth ... filed for divorce in September — a month after the child was born. Following his second divorce, Hegseth married Rauchet.” MB: As Patrick wrote, “Why, he's like the son DiJiT never had!” And that's why I'm surprised a sexual assault allegation is of any concern to Team Trump.

Michael Gold of the New York Times: “... Donald J. Trump announced on Friday that he had chosen Karoline Leavitt, who worked in his administration and served as his campaign’s press secretary, to be his White House press secretary. Ms. Leavitt, 27..., will be the youngest person ever to assume the role.... Throughout the campaign, Ms. Leavitt adopted Mr. Trump’s disdain for the mainstream media in frequent appearances on major television networks and conservative outlets.”

Jess Bidgood of the New York Times: “With his early selections for cabinet and other high-level posts..., Donald Trump is taking the bomb-throwing, hyper-macho and preternaturally online energy that infused his campaign and seeking to inject it directly into Washington’s veins.... It’s effectively government by bro — and it seems that the more you’ve trolled the establishment, the better your chances are of being invited by the president-elect to join it. Trump’s presidential campaign was a celebration of masculine kitsch.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A reminder that when the MAGA movement boys rail against "woke," they are expressing more than their racism, xenophobia & homophobia. They are equally anti-feminist -- nay, anti-woman. Trump frequently said on the campaign trail, in a lewd manner, "I love women." That is the second Big Lie. He hates women. He loves to use women; he loves to manipulate women; he loves to berate women; he loves to abuse women. He won election on the wings of a thousand lies, but underpinning those lies was his bet that misogyny and racism would beat out decency and democracy. He won that bet, and I think we should look at Trump voters not just as dupes of the right-wing media but as hateful, vengeful pricks.  

Julie Tsirkin & Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: “House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Friday that he would 'strongly request' that the House Ethics Committee not release a report detailing its investigation into former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla.... There is precedent for releasing ethics reports after or on the same day that a lawmaker resigns from Congress.... Johnson returned to Washington, D.C., early Friday morning after meeting with Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday. Johnson declined to say whether he spoke to Trump about the Ethics report. The bipartisan, 10-member Ethics panel had been scheduled to meet Friday to discuss the report on Gaetz and whether to release it to the public, but a source with direct knowledge had said on Thursday that the meeting was canceled.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Maybe the reason Trump doesn't like dogs is that he finds it so much easier to train human pets to lie down & roll over. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Meryl Kornfield, et al., of the Washington Post: “The comments marked a stunning reversal for Johnson, who just Thursday told Fox News that the speaker’s role is not to get 'involved in what happens in Ethics. Lots of important reasons for that.'... Intervening at the conclusion of an investigation — into someone seeking to be the nation’s chief law enforcement officer — has no modern precedent.... Several Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans have publicly asked for the House Ethics panel to release its report — or at least transmit it privately to the committee — so they can adequately prepare to question Gaetz in a confirmation hearing....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So the sequence is (1) Bible Mike tells Fox News Thursday morning that there are "lots of important reasons" not to get involved in House Ethics Committee decisions; (2) Mike spends Thursday night at Mar-a-Lardo; (3) Mike says at midday Friday that he would "strongly request the Ethics Committee not issue the report." The only mystery here is why Trump's team is supposedly so concerned about Pete Hegseth's alleged sexual misdeeds when obviously the boss wants to cover up Gaetz's suspected proclivities.

Leana Wen of the Washington Post: “The reason [Robert] Kennedy [Jr.] is uniquely unfit compared with past nominees is that his approach to scientific inquiry is as an activist, not a scientist. The clearest example of this is his repeated assertions that childhood immunizations are harmful. Kennedy is one of the most prominent promoters of disinformation that vaccines cause autism, despite dozens of rigorously conducted medical studies that have debunked the claim.... In the face of overwhelming evidence, he is unwilling to change his views. Instead, he doubles down on his advocacy and asserts opinions as facts. He is either unable to understand the scientific process that forms the basis of modern medicine or he purposefully ignores the research when conclusions don’t support his preconceived notions.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: On the plus side, RFK Jr. is (allegedly!) an infamous serial/concurrent philanderer.

M. Gessen of the New York Times makes some observations and predictions about what Trump is up to, based largely on her knowledge of what Viktor Orban & Vladmir Putin have done as well as by Trump's actions during his first term. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kate Christobek of the New York Times: “The editor in chief of Scientific American, the oldest continuously published magazine in the United States, has resigned more than a week after she posted comments on social media that called some supporters of ... Donald J. Trump 'bigoted' and 'fascists.' On election night, Laura Helmuth, who served as editor in chief of the publication for more than four years, posted a series of expletive-laden comments on Bluesky, a social platform. In one comment, she apologized to younger voters for Generation X being full of 'fascists.' In another, she wrote, 'Solidarity to everybody whose meanest, dumbest, most bigoted high-school classmates are celebrating early results.'... Her resignation announcement, which she shared on Bluesky, did not reference her previous posts. Ms. Helmuth had previously apologized for her posts.... She attributed her comments to 'shock and confusion about the election results' and said that they did not reflect the position of Scientific American or her colleagues.... Earlier this year, Scientific American published an editorial endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No, no. Helmuth was right. She should not have resigned. Her every public statement does not need to reflect an editorial board consensus. she is allowed to be a person; she should be allowed to tell the truth. The people she denounced are “mean, dumb & bigoted fascists.” And I'm not resigning.

Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: “Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, the two Georgia poll workers defamed by Rudolph W. Giuliani after the 2020 election, received his watch collection, a ring and his vintage Mercedes-Benz on Friday. The deliveries, which Mr. Giuliani’s lawyer, Joseph Cammarata, reported to the court on Friday, were a long time coming for the women, who are mother and daughter. It was also a small down payment on what the former New York City mayor owes them.... [Mr. Giuliani has missed a number of deadlines to turn over certain assets to the women.] Earlier this week, Mr. Giuliani’s lawyers asked the judge for permission to withdraw as his counsel, citing ethical concerns.... Mr. Trump owes Mr. Giuliani about $2 million in unpaid legal fees. Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss are looking to collect that as well.” Oh, and get this: ~~~

~~~ “A trial set for January in New York is to determine whether Mr. Giuliani can claim his $3.5 million Palm Beach condo as his primary residence, which, under Florida law, would keep it from being seized by Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss. In [a] letter to the court on Friday, Mr. Cammarata requested a delay for the trial so that his client could attend ... Trump’s inauguration on Jan. 20.”

It Didn't Take Long for a Judge to Put Out My One Tiny Candle. Laura Wagner of the Washington Post: “A federal bankruptcy judge has paused the Onion’s acquisition of Alex Jones’s Infowars pending a court review of the auction process, after lawyers for Jones and the company affiliated with him complained that the satirical news site had put in a bid of $3.5 million.... Judge Christopher Lopez said Thursday that he had concerns about how the bidding process played out and ordered a hearing for next week to review how the auction was conducted.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Carlos Greaves in McSweeney's (Nov. 6), sees the presidential election results in Swiftian (or, more accurately, in Lucasian terms): “It might seem completely delusional to be optimistic about the Empire retaking control of the galaxy, given that Palpatine’s mind has become so ravaged by the power of the Sith that he spends most of his day stumbling around screaming, 'They’re eating the Ewoks!' and pretending to fellate Darth Vader’s lightsaber.... The rebel alliance may be shocked at this sudden reversal of fortune, but the truth of the matter is that the Empire has always been popular.... Relax. This resurgence of the Empire will likely be a temporary blip in the course of the galaxy, much like the last time the Empire was in control. Unless, of course, you’re on one of the planets that gets blown to pieces.” Thanks to RAS for the link.

Victoria Bisset of the Washington Post: “A former linebacker for the Detroit Lions was arrested Thursday in Georgia for allegedly assaulting law enforcement officers during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, in one of the first Capitol riot cases brought by prosecutors since Donald Trump won the 2024 presidential election. Leander Antwione Williams, who is 31 and from Savannah, Georgia, was charged with a felony offense of assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers and obstruction of law enforcement during a civil disorder, the U.S. attorney’s office for the District of Columbia said in a statement Thursday. He is also charged with misdemeanor offenses including entering and remaining in a restricting building or grounds, and disorderly and disruptive conduct. Williams was a fifth-round pick by the Detroit Lions in the 2016 NFL draft, and was released the following year. He played under the name Antwione Williams.”

He's B-a-a-ack! Dan Diamond & Rachel Roubein of the Washington Post: “Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) on Thursday announced he would lead the Senate’s government oversight panel and prioritize investigations into the coronavirus pandemic, repeating his allegation that federal officials participated in a 'covid coverup' related to the possible origins of the virus. The libertarian senator has long maintained that government leaders have not been forthcoming about U.S. ties to virus research conducted in Wuhan, China, where the coronavirus outbreak was first detected in 2019. In combative congressional hearings, infectious-disease experts such as Anthony S. Fauci, the longtime National Institutes of Health official who retired from government service in 2022, have insisted to Paul and other Republicans that while NIH funded the virus research, the work could not have sparked the pandemic. Paul has rejected those explanations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I feel so relieved knowing that two wacky conspiracy theorists -- RFK Jr. & Li'l Randy -- are looking out for my health concerns.

~~~~~~~~~~

Texas. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: “A Texas judge has ruled that Melissa Lucio is innocent of killing her daughter in 2007 and recommended that her death sentence be overturned, according to a filing made public Thursday. The finding by Cameron County Judge Arturo Nelson puts Lucio’s fate in the hands of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which has the final authority to overturn the conviction and sentence.... Nelson cited findings that the original prosecutors in Lucio’s case withheld evidence that her 2-year-old daughter died after an accidental fall, rather than of abuse.... Nelson’s ruling, which was written Oct. 16 and made public Thursday, comes months after a rare agreement between defense attorneys and the prosecutor that the office of the original district attorney who prosecuted Lucio’s case withheld evidence that would have been favorable to the defense.... [In April,] Nelson made his first recommendation that the appeals court overturn Lucio’s conviction and sentence. In June, the appeals court directed Nelson to first review the other claims for relief filed by Lucio’s attorneys.”