;)
The Conversation -- October 21, 2023
Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "America's federal budget deficit effectively doubled in the 2023 fiscal year as slumping tax receipts rising interest rates and persistent demand for expiring pandemic relief benefits strained the nation's finances. The latest Treasury Department figures showed a budget deficit of $1.7 trillion in 2023, up from $1.37 trillion in 2022. Those numbers make the deficit look smaller than it actually was last year, because of an accounting mirage related to a student-loan forgiveness program that President Biden proposed last year. That program was struck down by the Supreme Court this summer and never took effect. But the Treasury recorded it as a cost in 2022, which inflated that year's deficit. After the court killed the program, the Treasury recorded it as savings, which artificially reduced this year's deficit.... When factoring ... out [the student loan effect], the deficit jumped to $2 trillion in 2023 from about $1 trillion in 2022, administration officials confirmed in a call with reporters on Friday." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Of course I have a solution to reduce the deficit: raise taxes on the rich & super-rich. While the report does mention in Para. 9 that Republicans helped run up the deficit with tax cuts when they were in power, the reporters don't mention that this is SOP for Republicans: cut taxes for their friends when a Republican is president or president*, demand deep cuts in social services while a Democrat is president. As RAS pointed out a few weeks ago, this is no accident; it's a well-worn plan, etched into posterity as the "Two Santa Claus Theory." But, you know, thanks anyway to the NYT for sounding the alarm -- this is, BTW, a Tankersley specialty; he's a long-time deficit hawk, even during recessions when the feds should be spending no matter what the deficit.
Another Day at the Races
(Yes, It's a Marx Brothers Sequel, But With More Mayhem)
Joan Greve & Rachel Leingang of the Guardian: "Jim Jordan of Ohio was forced out of the House speakership race on Friday after his Republican colleagues voted against his continued bid for the seat in a secret ballot after his third failed attempt to corral enough support to win the gavel.... There's a deadline of Sunday at noon for candidates to announce interest in the speakership. The conference is expected to return on Monday evening to hear from candidates for the speakership, with voting set for Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: I heard on the teevee that Jordan got only 86 votes in the basement ballot.
The New York Times liveblogged developments Friday in the Headless House story (also linked yesterday):
Luke Broadwater: "Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio made it clear on Friday morning that he was not giving up in his faltering campaign to be House speaker just ahead of a 10 a.m. vote in which he was expected to fail for a third time. At a brief news conference at the Capitol, Mr. Jordan ... emphasized the need for the House to elect a new leader so the chamber could resume its business...."
Broadwater: "Top Democrats are holding a news conference to denounce Jordan's candidacy. 'Jim Jordan is a clear and present danger to our democracy,' says Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, referring to how Jordan attempted to overturn the 2020 election on behalf of former President Trump."
Broadwater: "Former Speaker Kevin McCarthy is giving Jordan's nominating speech.... 'Jim Jordan is an effective legislator,' McCarthy says, prompting laughter and jeers from the Democrats in the chamber. Jordan has not been the lead sponsor on any bill that has been signed into law during his 16 years in Congress. But McCarthy is arguing he shepherded many bills through the Judiciary Committee."
Robert Jimison: "Representative Katherine M. Clark of Massachusetts, the No. 2 House Democrat, starts her nomination speech of Hakeem Jeffries by highlighting the solid unity of the 212 members who haven't wavered in voting for Jeffries ballot after ballot this year."
Broadwater: "Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio failed for a third time on Friday morning to win election as House speaker, leaving his party with no consensus on a way forward and the chamber paralyzed in the face of growing pressure to get back to business. Mr. Jordan had pushed ahead with the vote despite clear signs that he would fall short, and the outcome showed that he had actually lost ground, with 25 Republicans opposing him compared to the 22 who voted against him on his last try on Wednesday. Needing 215 votes to win, he received 194. Three Republicans from swing districts won by President Biden -- Representative Marc Molinaro of New York, Representative Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Representative Tom Kean of New Jersey -- abandoned Mr. Jordan after supporting him earlier. What happens next is unclear."
Jimison: "The eight Republicans led by Matt Gaetz of Florida, left, who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker have sent a letter to their colleagues saying they are willing to accept some form of punishment if that will move holdouts to vote in favor of Jim Jordan." MB: I don't know, but I kinda think these old boys would enjoy "some form of punishment." I'm seeing a dominatrix thing happening here.
Broadwater: "House Republicans are about to meet behind closed doors in the basement to try to figure out next steps."
Broadwater: "Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio lost an internal vote to continue as his party's nominee for speaker on Friday, plunging the House into further uncertainty and sending Republicans searching for a new leader."
Catie Edmondson: "Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida says Jordan was 'knifed by secret ballot, anonymously, in a closed-door meeting in the bowels of the Capitol.' Gaetz says, 'This was truly swamp tactics on display.'"
Edmondson: "About a dozen lawmakers have said they are running or strongly considering a run for the speakership...."
~~~ CNN's live updates for Friday are here: "Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said 'we're in a very bad place' after Jim Jordan again failed to win the speakership during the third round of voting. 'I think we'll go to conference here shortly and see which direction we go in,' McCarthy said while talking to reporters following the third vote for speaker. 'It's a problem for the party that we're in this place to begin with. And it's 4 percent, eight members here, crazy members led by Gaetz, that put us in a bad situation,' McCarthy said...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: "Rep. Steve Womack (R-AK) raised a smile from CNN's Jake Tapper Friday when discussing why the GOP is mired in such chaos while trying to choose a House speaker.... Womack said. 'Sometimes we can be slow learners. It is kind of ironic that we're doing this interview in the shadows of the Will Rogers statue from Oklahoma right behind me. And you remember what will said about this whole business of learning: ... people learn by reading, people can learn by observation, and sometimes people learn by just peeing on the electric fence for themselves.... So, that is a situation that is reminiscent of House Republicans right now....' [Tapper replied,] 'I also know Will Rogers said, "I'm not a member of an organized political party, I'm a Democrat." And maybe that was true of the Democratic Party at the time, but it sure describes your party right now....'"
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Now, the leaderless and rudderless Republicans will start all over again. The earliest they could vote on the next nominee, their third, would be Tuesday, a full three weeks since they ousted Kevin McCarthy and shut down the House of Representatives.... 'Back to the drawing board,' a grim McCarthy said after Friday afternoon's conference meeting. McCarthy (Calif.) blamed the seemingly endless chaos on the Republicans who ousted him, saying 'the amount of damage they have done to this party and to this country is insurmountable.'... Jordan ... made the divisions much deeper, first by kneecapping Republicans' first nominee to succeed McCarthy, Steve Scalise (La.), and then by launching an intimidation campaign against opponents that led to death threats against fellow Republicans and their families.... Incredibly, Rep. Scott Perry (Pa.), a Jordan ally, belittled the death threats. 'All of us in Congress receive death threats,' he told reporters at Jordan's Friday morning news conference. 'That's nothing new. That is another red herring.'"
Trumpity Doo-Dah
** The Chese Cops a Plea. Marshall Cohen, et al., of CNN: "Kenneth Chesebro, a Donald Trump-aligned attorney who helped craft the 2020 fake elector plot, is pleading guilty in the Georgia election subversion case. The plea deal is another major victory for Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged Trump and 18 others in the effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results. Thursday, former Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell also pleaded guilty. Chesebro is pleading guilty to one felony -- conspiracy to commit filing false documents. Fulton County prosecutors are recommending that Chesebro serve 5 years of probation and pay $5,000 in restitution. He agreed to testify at any future trials in the sprawling election subversion case and write an apology letter. The plea came shortly after jury selection began Friday. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee had met with the pool of prospective jurors Friday and told them the trial could last four to five months." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Richard Fausset & Christian Boone of the New York Times: "... Mr. Chesebro's plea has added to a sudden sense of momentum in favor of prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga. As part of his plea deal, Mr. Chesebro agreed to 'truthfully testify' against the remaining co-defendants, as did [Sidney] Powell and Scott Hall, an Atlanta bail bondsman who accepted a plea deal in the case in late September. These developments spell only bad news for [Donald] Trump and his 15 remaining co-defendants, including Rudolph W. Giuliani, his former personal lawyer, and Mark Meadows, his former White House chief of staff, who are set to be tried at a later date." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Mr. Chesebro's deal could present a ... serious threat to Mr. Trump ... given that he pleaded guilty to a conspiracy count that involved both the former president and some of his closest allies. Mr. Chesebro also maintained an extensive correspondence with other pro-Trump lawyers charged in the case and played a central role in one of Mr. Trump's chief plans to stay in office: a scheme to create slates of pro-Trump electors in states like Georgia, which Mr. Trump had actually lost.... The electors scheme became a vital part of the end game strategy pursued by Mr. Trump.... If and when Mr. Chesebro takes the stand in Georgia, he could give an insider's perspective ... on ... the roles that other lawyers, including John Eastman and Rudolph W. Giuliani, played in the fake elector scheme.... If Mr. Chesebro were to testify that Mr. Trump's lawsuits challenging his loss were not designed to win, but merely as ploys to sow doubt about the election, it could cut against Mr. Trump's possible plan to use a so-called advice of counsel defense. That strategy involves blaming one's lawyers for giving bad advice."
Kara Scannell & Sabrina Souza of CNN: "The judge overseeing Donald Trump's civil fraud trial admonished the former president's attorneys for a 'blatant violation' of a gag order and suggested that violations could result in 'imprisonment.' Judge Arthur Engoron said despite his clear order to take down a social media post attacking his clerk, 'I learned that the subject post was never removed from the website.... And, in fact, had been on that website for the past 17 days. I understand that it was removed late last night but only in response to an email,' Engoron said. The post was removed from Truth Social right after the gag order was issued but not from Trump's campaign website, DonaldJTrump.com.... 'I will now provide defendants an opportunity to explain why this blatant violation of this gag order should not result in serious sanctions including financial penalties ... and or possibly imprisonment.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Michael Sisak of the AP: "... Donald Trump was fined $5,000 on Friday after a disparaging social media post about a key court staffer in his New York civil fraud case lingered on his campaign website for weeks after the judge ordered it deleted. Judge Arthur Engoron avoided holding Trump in contempt, for now, but reserved the right to do so -- and possibly even put the 2024 Republican front-runner in jail -- if he again violates a limited gag order barring people participating in the case from personal attacks on court staff. Engoron said in a written ruling that he is 'way beyond the "warning" stage,' but that he was only fining Trump a nominal amount because this was a 'first time violation' and Trump's lawyers said the website's retention of the post had been inadvertent." (Also linked yesterday.)
Devan Cole & Piper Blackburn of CNN: "US District Judge Tanya Chutkan on Friday temporarily froze the gag order she issued on Donald Trump in the former president's federal 2020 election subversion criminal case. In a brief order, Chutkan ... said she was issuing the administrative stay of the gag order entered earlier this week to give the parties more time to brief her on the former president's request to pause the order while his appeal of it plays out. Chutkan also said that the Justice Department has until Wednesday to respond to Trump's request for a longer pause on the gag order and that Trump would have until the following Saturday to reply to the government's filing. Trump has already appealed the gag order to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals and in a 33-page filing on Friday, his attorneys urged Chutkan to pause the order while that appeal plays out." MB: Great! Now Trump can go back to threatening court and DOJ staff as well as potential witnesses.
Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "In a double serving of what could arguably be described as doses of one's own medicine, special counsel Jack Smith plucked apart Donald Trump's latest efforts to throw out criminal conspiracy charges against him in Washington, D.C., by citing two arguments the former president would seem hard pressed to deny -- one from the U.S. Supreme Court justice he appointed, Brett Kavanaugh, and the other from Trump's own mouth when he was impeached for the second time.... In Kavanaugh's 2020 concurring opinion for Trump v. Vance, the justice affirmed that no one is above the law and that this concept 'applies, of course, to a president.' And as for former presidents, Smith wrote Thursday, there are no 'duties' nor any 'leadership role' that a former president could have interfered with as the result of charges being brought or convictions being sought. [Although Trump claimed that his second impeachment trial centered on January 6 & therefore any other proceeding would constitute double jeopardy, he also argued that the Senate trial] was ... meritless and without jurisdiction."
Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "A personal aide to ... Donald J. Trump and co-defendant in the classified documents case told a federal judge on Friday that he wanted to keep his lawyer despite a potential conflict of interest that could be problematic for his defense. The aide, Walt Nauta, is accused of conspiring with Mr. Trump to obstruct efforts to retrieve highly sensitive government documents after he left office. His lawyer, Stanley Woodward Jr., previously represented a key witness in the case. The hearing appeared to bring to an end a monthslong back and forth between the prosecution and defense over whether the co-defendants in the case, including Mr. Nauta, understood that their lawyers had possible conflicts.... On Friday, Judge [Aileen] Cannon spent nearly an hour making sure Mr. Nauta understood the 'potential perils' that could affect his defense." CNN's report is here.
Betsy Swan of Politico: "The federal prosecutors who have brought charges against hundreds of Jan. 6 rioters are seeing an uptick in violent threats and harassment directed toward their office, the office's lead prosecutor told congressional investigators. Matthew Graves, the U.S. attorney for Washington, said the threats come from around the country and have become 'pervasive,' though he did not elaborate on their substance or whether any law enforcement agency is investigating them. Graves' comments ... came in a closed-door interview on Oct. 3 with the House Judiciary Committee about the Hunter Biden probe.... Graves repeatedly declined to name subordinates in his office who were involved in the decision last year not to team up with David Weiss, the Delaware prosecutor who has long been investigating Hunter Biden on tax and gun issues. Linking his deputies to Weiss' probe could put them at risk, Graves said." ~~~
~~~ Marie: You don't want to give Jim Jordan -- who chairs the House Judiciary Committee -- and his ilk any names of people Jordan would like to be harassed & threatened. Because the people will be harassed & threatened.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday allowed Biden administration officials to continue to contact social media platforms to combat what the officials say is misinformation, pausing a sweeping ruling from a federal appeals court that had severely limited such interactions. The justices also agreed to hear the administration's appeal in the case, setting the stage for a major test of the role of the First Amendment in the internet era -- one that will require the court to consider when government efforts to limit the spread of misinformation amount to censorship of constitutionally protected speech." Politico's story is here.
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court refused on Friday to reinstate an expansive Missouri law that restricted state and local law enforcement agencies from enforcing federal gun laws and allowed private lawsuits against law enforcement agencies that violated the state's understanding of the Second Amendment. The court's brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications asking them to intervene in an early stage of litigation. An appeal of a judge's ruling striking down the law will proceed, and the case could again reach the Supreme Court after that appeal is decided. Justice Clarence Thomas dissented, giving no explanation." Politico's report is here.
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Florida. Michelle Watson of CNN: "A former Florida state lawmaker who acquired more than $150,000 in Small Business Administration loans by lying on applications was sentenced Thursday to four months in federal prison, the US Attorney's office for the Northern District of Florida said. Former state Rep. Joseph Harding, a Republican, pleaded guilty in March to wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements in connection with Covid-19 relief fraud. Following his prison term, he will face two years of supervised release, a court record said. CNN affiliate WKMG reports that Harding tearfully addressed the court, saying he had 'no one to blame but myself.'... Harding has drawn the national spotlight before, as a sponsor of the controversial ... 'Don't Say Gay' law." (Also linked yesterday.) Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. See also his commentary in yesterday's thread.
Maryland. Jay Croft of CNN: "Baltimore has agreed to pay $48 million to three men who were wrongfully convicted of murder as teenagers and spent 36 years in prison. 'These are men who went to jail as teenagers and came out as young grandfathers in their 50s,' Baltimore Police Department chief legal counsel Justin Conroy told the city's Board of Estimates before the panel approved the payment on Wednesday. Alfred Chestnut, Ransom Watkins and Andrew Stewart were 16 when they were arrested on Thanksgiving Day 1983, according to the federal lawsuit they filed after being freed. They were charged in the murder of DeWitt Duckett, 14, allegedly killed for his jacket in school. They were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison. But they were declared innocent decades later, after Chestnut filed a public records request. He discovered new evidence that was kept from his attorneys during trial and contacted Baltimore's Conviction Integrity Unit, which was reviewing old convictions."
Ohio. Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Federal agents found more than two dozen minors illegally working inside a poultry plant in Kidron, Ohio, earlier this month, according to local immigration advocates who spoke to NBC News on the condition of anonymity. The children, mainly from Guatemala, according to the advocates, were working in meat processing and sanitation in a plant run by Gerber's Poultry, which produces Amish Farm Chicken...."
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Israel/Palestine
The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas conflict are here: "A convoy of 20 trucks carrying aid moved through the Rafah border crossing into Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, according to the United Nations and images shown on Egyptian state television, after days of diplomatic wrangling to get food, water and medicine into the blockaded enclave where essential supplies were running out and hospitals were nearing collapse. The convoy carrying 'life-saving supplies' will be received in Gaza by the Palestinian Red Crescent with the support of the United Nations, the U.N. spokesman, Stéphane Dujarric, said. Four of the trucks carried medicine and other health-related essentials, the World Health Organization confirmed, which warned that Saturday's deliveries would 'barely begin to address the escalating health needs' in Gaza."
Vivian Yee: "Opening a summit of world leaders in Cairo, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi of Egypt called for more aid to flow into Gaza and for the world to stand against the violence against civilians in Gaza. He expressed 'bewilderment and amazement at the silent stance that the entire world is embodying.' The world's reaction to Palestinian suffering, he said, revealed 'discrimination or double standards.'... He again rejected the idea of Palestinian refugees from Gaza being evacuated to Egypt...."
CNN's live updates for Saturday are here.
Alex Marquardt, et al., of CNN: "Hamas released two American hostages, Judith Tai Raanan and her 17-year-old daughter, Natali Raanan, on Friday after they abducted around 200 people from Israel in a deadly attack on October 7. The US citizens were handed over at the border with Gaza and are now in the care of the Israel Defense Forces, IDF spokesperson Daniel Hagari said on Friday. They are currently on their way to an Israeli military base to be reunited with family, according to the office for Israel's prime minister. The Raanans are from Chicago and had been visiting relatives in Nahal Oz, a farming community in southern Israel, when they were taken, according to their family. The two were handed over to the Red Cross and are 'on their way out,' a source familiar with negotiations for their release said earlier on Friday. They are being released on 'humanitarian grounds' because the mother is in poor health, the same source said. The release was the result of negotiations between Qatar and Hamas." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: The release of the Raanans was clearly a public relations ploy by Hamas. The two women were visiting Americans (though at least one report says they also hold Israeli citizenship), Natali is particularly photogenic, Judith is reportedly ailing and their plight has been well-publicized on television by their cousin, former NBC News Middle East correspondent Martin Fletcher.
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Reader Comments (5)
“Judge” Loose Cannon has taken months to consider a conflict of interest in the Marred a Lardo stolen documents case? And then spent an hour “making sure” Trump’s co-crook, Walt Nauta, understands his legal jeopardy by keeping Fatty’s paid-for attorney??
It should have been 5 minutes, tops: “Dude, you could end up in the slammer using this guy as your lawyer. You get that? Okay. And you still want to keep him? Alright then. Let’s move on.”
But noooo, like everything else with this case, what should take minutes takes days, what should take days takes months. All to help the Fat Traitor. Disgusting.
I get that the prosecution wants to appeal-proof the proceedings, but Trump appeals everything, and then appeals the appeal ruling if loses there as well. Get on with it.
Speaking of glacial trials, I was wondering if that weasel John Eastman had been disbarred yet in California. I seem to recall that a hearing began what seems like months ago, so I looked it up. Here’s what I found:
“The trial originally scheduled for eight days has stretched this week into 24 days, with additional days possible for closing arguments. State Bar Court Judge Yvette Roland said she can allow up to 21 days for post-trial briefing. The judge will issue her decision within 90 days under the Rules of Procedure of the State Bar of California. Eastman can appeal the ruling to the Hearing Department, which acts as an appellate court.
The ultimate decision on Eastman’s law license rests with the California Supreme Court, which oversees attorney discipline and admission.
Still to testify are character witnesses, including former circuit Judge Janice Rogers Brown, now a fellow at University of California Berkeley.”
This bullshit could go on for years. There’s no way this slimy douchebag should still have a license to malpractice the law. If this were some black lawyer who cut corners representing a BLM protester, his disbarment hearing would take twenty minutes and he’d already be put in jail for something, something, something black. But a slimeball who tried to help a fat fascist overthrow election results? The Manhattan Project took less time to build an atomic bomb and drop two of them on Japan than it will take to finish off this disgrace to the legal profession.
Oh noes, not the budget deficit!
I'm so old I remember when a Democratic President balanced the budget. Then a Republican President came in and squandered that surplus on a one-time payment of ~$500 to all taxpayers, and permanent (it's still in effect) payment to the investor class in the form of a lowered capital gains tax rate.
I won't try to calculate the value to investors of that cut, but I'd bet folding money it averages far more than $500 per investor, and they've been getting it every year for a couple decades now. I'd further bet that putting the capital gains tax rate back to where it was before Bush Junior screwed the budget pooch would go a long long way towards balancing our nation's finances.
Full disclosure: In the years since Bush cut the capital gains rate I've retired. Not old enough for SS yet, I'm living off my investments. I am part of the investor class now and benefit from that cut. A hike in the capital gains rate would hit me directly in the wallet. For the record: I'd be perfectly OK voting for a President Biden or Harris that promised to shore up the budget by making me pay taxes like I should.
MB: Regarding Californis's disbarment proceedings there's a German saying that sums it up perfectly. "Why make it simple when it can be so beautifully complicated?"
Wish of the Day
Patrick Healy, Kristen Soltis Anderson and Adrian J. Rivera in New York Times:
I always fall for these interviews of republicans explaining why they like the orange monster but end up just as puzzled as ever at the absurdity of the idea that djt (or RFK jr) will address their concerns and solve their problems.
"Even though I didn’t care for Trump’s approach, I felt as though he cared about the well-being of our country....He started getting things done in a quick and expeditious fashion from the moment he hit the pavement as president....He unbalanced a system that’s very corrupt, and that’s one of the good things....What I’m looking for is someone who has the strength and the business background that Trump has. "
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