December 10, 2022

Michael Sisak & Michael Balsamo of the AP: “The AP has spent months investigating [Thomas Ray Hinkle, a high-ranking federal Bureau of Prisons official].... Together, [records] show that while the Bureau of Prisons has vowed to change its toxic culture in the wake of Dublin and other scandals -- a promise recently reiterated by the agency's new director, Colette Peters -- it has continued to elevate a man involved in one of the darkest, most abusive periods in its history.... Hinkle's rise is a stark example of what Bureau of Prisons employees call the agency's 'mess up, move up' policy -- its tendency to promote and transfer troubled workers instead of firing them.... The Bureau of Prisons responded to detailed questions about Hinkle with a statement from Peters defending him and the agency's decisions to promote him."

Natasha Bertrand, et al., of CNN: "Russia refused to release Paul Whelan alongside Brittney Griner unless a former colonel from Russia's domestic spy organization currently in German custody was also released as part of any prisoner swap, US officials told CNN, even as the US offered up the names of several other Russian prisoners in US custody that they would be willing to trade. The US was unable to deliver on the request for the ex-colonel, Vadim Krasikov, because he is serving out a life sentence for murder in Germany.... US officials made quiet inquiries to the Germans about whether they might be willing to include Krasikov in the trade, a senior German government source told CNN earlier this year. But ultimately, the US was not able to secure Krasikov's release."

First, Save All the White People! Jonathan Weisman & Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "There was a time when the release of American citizens who had been unjustly imprisoned by a foreign adversary was a moment for bipartisan relief and celebration.... Those moments felt like sepia-toned artifacts on Friday as Brittney Griner ... slipped quietly into a military base in Texas.... Within hours of Ms. Griner's release, much of the right wing was in full outrage mode.... A considerable amount of attention was ... paid to who Ms. Griner is: a Black woman, a celebrity, a married lesbian and, though it had gone largely unnoticed until now, an assertive liberal.... Tucker Carlson led his top-rated Fox News show on Thursday night with a diatribe, accusing Ms. Griner of being unpatriotic and suggesting that [Paul] Whelan had been left behind because of his politics. 'Whelan is a Trump voter, and he made the mistake of saying so on social media,' Mr. Carlson said in his monologue. 'He's paying the price now. Brittney Griner is not. She has very different politics. Brittney Griner despises the United States.... ;Brittney Griner is not white, and she's a lesbian.'"

Doktor Zoom of Wonkette tries to figure out when it's okay for a Democratic president to negotiate a prisoner swap. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: I know one thing for sure: if the American is not a white guy, preferably an ex-Marine (apparently even one who has been dishonorably discharged), it is never okay.

Valerie Hopkins, et al., of the New York Times: "After almost 10 months of war, sanctions, nuclear threats and the constant monitoring of the Russian security state, some American and European citizens continue to live and work in Russia, drawn in many cases by professional opportunities and higher salaries..., but there are also examples of Americans who made Russia their home for political reasons.... Athletes have long provided one of the biggest streams of prominent Westerners to Russia.... These athletes have stayed despite warnings from the State Department, which is advising all Americans to leave Russia immediately, weighing the risks of playing in Russia against professional and financial opportunities in a major sports market."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders have all but abandoned the idea of acting to raise the debt ceiling this month before Democrats lose control of the House, punting the issue to a new Congress when Republicans have vowed to fight the move, and setting up a clash next year that could bring the American economy to the brink of crisis.... Senior Republicans, particularly in the House, have repeatedly signaled that they plan to leverage any vote to avoid a default to force President Biden and congressional Democrats to accept a series of fiscal overhauls, deep cuts to federal spending and potentially reductions to Social Security and Medicare.... [BUT] In an institution where action is driven largely by legislative and political deadlines, focus instead remains on avoiding a government shutdown Dec. 16, when a stopgap spending bill lapses." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah But. This is not just kicking the can down the road; it's kicking a can of worms down the road till it ends up right at the feet of Kevin McCarthy, who will pick it up & force-feed you the worms.

Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times: "The one constant in Senator Kyrsten Sinema's political career, from her start as a left-wing rabble rouser and Ralph Nader aide to her announcement on Friday that she was leaving the Democratic Party to become an independent, is her boundless ability to draw attention to herself.... In Arizona's Democratic circles, distaste for the senator runs deep, and her announcement immediately shifted the spotlight to the 2024 race for her Senate seat.... Democrats in Arizona signaled on Friday that they still planned to support a candidate against Ms. Sinema.... A Civiqs survey conducted shortly before Election Day found she had an approval rating of just 7 percent among the state's Democrats, 27 percent among Republicans and 29 percent among independents." ~~~

~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "This is who [Kyrsten Sinema has] always been. The content of Sinema's politics has changed over time, from Green Party progressivism to pro-corporate centrism. Her approach to elected office as a vehicle for the refinement of the self has not.... 'One of her deep flaws is that she doesn't realize our actions have impacts every day on people who need our help,' said Ruben Gallego, a Democratic Arizona congressman who'd been considering a primary campaign against Sinema.... [Sen. Mark Kelly's (D-Az.) win] meant Sinema could no longer hold the rest of the Democratic caucus hostage, or argue that only Democrats who defy their base are electable in her state.... Sinema wouldn't need to get that many swing voters [in the 2024 Arizona Senate race] to thwart a Democrat. But ... she doesn't have a winning coalition herself." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sinema would make a great running-mate for Donald Trump. They're peas in a pod -- a couple of rudderless narcissists who have no political philosophy and no party loyalty. ~~~

~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$ republishes part of a post by New York's Jonathan Chait: "Sinema's declaration of independence from the party is a ploy to avoid the primary and keep her job. Democrats could still run a candidate against her in the general election, of course, but they would face an extremely difficult prospect of winning. So her calculation in leaving the party is that she can bluff it into sitting out the campaign altogether, endorsing her as the lesser-evil choice against the Republican nominee.... It would be more accurate to say she is playing a game of chicken.... In a three-way race, Sinema would almost certainly finish a very distant third." Lemieux responds that he would be "pretty strongly inclined to call her bluff." ~~~

~~~ Paul Campos speculates in LG&$ on Kyrsten Sinema's (del>D-I-Az.) future: "My favorite detail in this is that she won't commit to caucusing with the Democrats, but she expects to keep all her committee assignments!... I do wonder what this means for the 2024 election: Is Arizona going to have an 'independent' on the ballot, along with Democratic and Republican candidates -- a circumstance that would surely hand the seat to the GOP?... Or maybe she's delusional enough to run as the No Labels/Forward reactionary centrist grift candidate for president two years from now, although she would probably have to wrestle Andrew Yang for that particular prize. Maybe the most likely outcome of all this is that she's just going to bail from electoral politics altogether and take an eight-figure bribe from some VC outfit to thank her for her service. Yeech." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Robert Farley in LG&$: "... Krysten Sinema has the firm grip on political reality that one would expect of a former member of the Green Party[.]... A fitting end to a pretty useless political career." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ mister mix of Balloon Juice is equally impressed with gentlelady from Arizona: :Krysten Sinema (Clown-AZ) has issued letters patent declaring that she will no longer sully herself with the grimy trappings of partisanship and is therefore a no-labels 'independent'.... Sinema's actions make a seat that was never a gimme an even harder reach for a party that already has an extremely constrained path to holding the Senate in 2024.... I could go on and on about this feckless clown, but instead I;ll give Arizona Democrats a suggestion: ask for your money back.... Democrats in Arizona should start a campaign against her now, to drive her negatives to the bottom of the god damned ocean. Her campaign as an 'independent' will end only when her corporate backers get the message that giving her money is throwing it away." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo, whose post is topped with a big piece of toast: "Like Donald Trump, the only team she plays for is her own.... Perhaps all the attention Sen. Raphael Warnock has received has starved her of attention.... The switch may shore up her flagging leverage in the Democrats' 51-seat Senate majority. Plus, give her (in her mind) the only hope for hanging onto her seat in 2024. Kari Lake isn't going away." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Washington on Friday ended a hearing without acting on a Justice Department request to find representatives of Donald J. Trump's post-presidential office in contempt of court for failing to comply fully with a subpoena demanding that he return all classified documents he had taken with him when he left office, two people familiar with the matter said. They said that the judge left it to the Justice Department and Mr. Trump's team to resolve the department's concerns about whether the former president might have more classified documents at his properties after more than a year of efforts by the federal government to retrieve them. It was unclear after the closed-door proceeding if the judge, Beryl A. Howell, had left open the possibility of ruling on the matter at a future date. Several news outlets filed a letter asking the judge to unseal the proceedings, including The New York Times.... The hearing was not open to the public because of grand jury secrecy rules." (This is an update of a story also linked yesterday afternoon.) An ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have heard judges tell attorneys to "get your client under control." I'm not talking about clients who were disrupting the courtroom but ones who were otherwise not complying with court orders. It seems to me that "get your client under control" would be appropriate here, albeit impossible for the attorneys to manage.

Rachel Weiner & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Three men who prepared for violence in advance of the Jan. 6, 2021 riot, fought or confronted police protecting the U.S. Capitol and then celebrated by smoking inside the building were sentenced Friday to years in prison and ordered to forfeit money they had raised off their prosecution. Ronald Sandlin, 35, a tech entrepreneur from Las Vegas who brought a gun to Washington and assaulted police, received the longest sentence of the three at 63 months.... Nicholas Ochs, 36, of Honolulu, and Nicholas DeCarlo, 32, of Fort Worth, are both affiliated with the far-right Proud Boys movement. Neither expressed contrition.... Chief U.S. District Court Judge Beryl A. Howell ... sentenced them both to four years in prison." MB: It's worth reading about these reprobates, especially Sandlin.

** New York Times Editors: "'The most important case for American democracy' in the nation's history -- that's how the former appeals court judge J. Michael Luttig described Moore v. Harper, an extraordinary lawsuit that the Supreme Court considered in oral arguments Wednesday morning. Judge Luttig, a conservative and a widely respected legal thinker, is not one for overstatement.... It is essential that people understand just how dangerous this case is to the fundamental structure of American government, and that enough justices see the legal fallacies and protect our democracy." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The irony here is that the headline is, "This Case Should Never Have Made It to the Supreme Court." And it should not have, as the editors explain: "To be clear, this is a political power grab in the guise of a legal theory. Republicans are trying to see if they can turn state legislatures -- 30 of which are controlled by Republicans -- into omnipotent, unaccountable election bosses with the help of the conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court." I suppose it's because I so despise Alito, but I wanted to scream -- I could have, no one would hear me, but I didn't -- when I read the bit about that arrogant SOB complaining about state justices being political actors, thus falsely implying that he -- of all the hacks in all the world -- is not.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. David Corn of Mother Jones: "The day after Donald Trump ... called for the 'termination' of provisions of the US Constitution governing elections and essentially demanded that he be declared the 'rightful winner' of the 2020 election, neither the New York Times nor the Washington Post ran a front-page story reporting Trump's call for ripping up portions of the nation's founding document. No mention of this even appeared in the Times that day. Trump's unprecedented and dangerous statement was not deemed a big deal.... The coverage [of other recent Trump debacles also] does not seem to capture fully the danger posed by a wannabe-tyrant validating forces of hatred and irrationality.... [The media] followed the same-old/same-old formula: Trump does outrageous thing X; friends and foes say Y. Rinse. Repeat.... Even against the steady stream of Trump excesses over the past seven years, a demand to burn the Constitution stood out.... Like climate change, a pandemic, or a financial crisis, Trump, a would-be, Constitution-defying autocrat, and those enabling and supporting him jeopardize the nation. He and his movement ought to be covered not as yet another subject for the politics section but as a direct danger to American democracy." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The MSM are deluding themselves if they think the dangers Trump poses will go away when he does. DeSantolini, Kari Lake and dozens of dangerous elected Republicans -- not to mention the majority of Supremes -- will still be around when Trump bites the dust, and these Republicans will keep this brand of fascism alive.

Derrick Taylor of the New York Times: "The Keystone pipeline system was shut down Wednesday night after its operator, TC Energy, said it had detected an oil spill in northern Kansas. Federal environmental officials said the public was not at risk. An estimated 14,000 barrels of oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kan., south of the Nebraska border, TC Energy said in a statement on Thursday. Washington County has a population of about 5,500, according to government data. The Washington County Emergency Management Office said on Facebook on Thursday that residents in and around the county had reported waking up to the smell of gas." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona Gubernatorial Election. Alexandra Berzon, et al., of the New York Times: "Kari Lake, the losing Republican candidate for governor of Arizona, filed a lawsuit Friday contesting the results of an election that was certified by the state this week. Ms. Lake's lawsuit came after she had spent weeks making a series of public statements and social media posts aimed at sowing doubt in the outcome of a contest she lost by more than 17,000 votes to her Democratic opponent, Katie Hobbs. That loss was certified in documents signed on Monday by Ms. Hobbs, who currently serves as secretary of state.... 'If the process was illegitimate, then so are the results,' Ms. Lake said on Twitter on Friday evening after announcing her lawsuit.... Ms. Hobbs called Ms. Lake's suit 'baseless' in a post of her own on Twitter, describing it as the 'latest desperate attempt to undermine our democracy and throw out the will of the voters.'"

Florida. Matt Dixon of Politico: "Kent Stermon, a prominent Jacksonville-area Republican donor and friend of Gov. Ron DeSantis found dead in his car Thursday night, was under 'active investigation' by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.... Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters ... said that because the investigation remains active, there is 'limited information available to release at this time.' The Florida Times-Union reported, citing unidentified law enforcement sources, that authorities were examining allegations of sexual misconduct. Stermon was president of Jacksonville-area defense contractor Total Military Management." According to A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics, Stermon's death "is being treated as a suicide."

Florida. Steve Benen of MSNBC: "The pattern is unmistakable: Cases from Gov. Ron DeSantis' election crimes office keep ending up in court, and as The Miami Herald reported, they keep collapsing.... In October, a Miami judge tossed out a criminal case against a Floridian accused by DeSantis' election fraud force. A month later, prosecutors in Tampa dropped the case against another defendant. This week, a judge threw out a third case." Benen points out that the cases are likely to fail because the law requires that the voters intended to break the law. MB: But here's the thing: when an elections official tells a person it is legal for him to vote, then he votes, then the DeSantis Squad comes out & arrests him, that seems to me more like entrapment than intent. If there's any intent here, it's DeSantis's "intent to commit publicity stunt at other's expense," which probably is not a crime. But maybe it should be.

Tennessee. Jonathan Mattise of the AP: "The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a former Tennessee state senator who pleaded guilty last month to violating federal campaign finance laws. The court suspended former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey's law license Thursday at the request of the Board of Professional Responsibility, pending further orders by the court. The state Supreme Court cited its own rules requiring the suspension because of Kelsey's guilty plea. The board, which oversees regulates the practice of law in Tennessee, said it will hold formal proceedings to determine the final discipline against Kelsey. Kelsey had previously pleaded not guilty to the campaign finance charges in the case related to his failed 2016 congressional campaign, calling them a 'political witch hunt' and claiming he was 'totally innocent.' He then changed his plea in front of a federal judge late last month." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. Pamela Constable of the Washington Post: "The Taliban regime, stepping up the pace and severity of Islamic punishments, carried out its first public execution this week since taking power 15 months ago. A convicted murderer was shot Wednesday, followed a day later by the lashing of 27 men and women in a soccer stadium on charges that included adultery, theft, drug use and running away from home. The man put to death in western Farah province was not identified, but officials said he was accused of murder five years ago and found guilty after three recent court hearings. Under the Islamic legal tenet of 'qisas,' which allows personal retribution for crimes, the father of the murder victim carried out the death sentence as a crowd watched, shooting the killer three times."

Israel. Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "Benjamin Netanyahu, struggling for more than a month to form a coalition government, on Friday was granted another 10 days to do so. But his hopes rest on a contentious quest: shepherding in a new law that would allow convicted criminals who have suspended jail terms to serve in his cabinet. The latest development shows the precariousness of the task ahead for the former Israeli prime minister -- who himself faces prosecution. The proposed new law would allow Aryeh Deri -- a key Netanyahu ally recently convicted of tax fraud -- to hold three ministerial positions, including the important position of interior minister." MB: Congrats to Israeli voters, who picked a pack of pathetic pikers to run their government.

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefings of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russia is adding to its nuclear stockpiles, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Friday, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested his country's military doctrine could be changed to allow for a preemptive first strike. [NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg] had earlier said he was worried the conflict in Ukraine could spread 'into a major war.'... Russia is 'modernizing and expanding its nuclear arsenal,' Austin said Friday at a ceremony at the Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, where the U.S. Strategic Command oversees the country's nuclear operations. He said the United States was on the verge of facing 'two major nuclear powers as strategic competitors,' as China was also increasing and updating its nuclear forces."

December 9, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Last night Chris Hayes remarked on something that we also noticed here yesterday:

     ~~~ Marie: It's worth noting, of course, that Trump & his violent revolutionary troops had many co-conspirators who wore nice suits to the insurrection: eight Republican senators & 139 Republican representatives voted to reject the Arizona's and/or Pennsylvania's lawfully-chosen Electors. When a vast number of the very people elected to uphold our democracy choose to upend it, we cannot be all surprised that our country does not do as good a job as Germany or Peru in putting down attempted coups.

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Washington was set to hear arguments at a closed-door hearing on Friday about whether to force a representative of Donald J. Trump's presidential office to swear under oath that there are no more classified documents at any of Mr. Trump's properties, according to two people familiar with the matter. The judge, Beryl A. Howell, is also being asked to decide whether to impose financial penalties or issue a contempt finding if no one from Mr. Trump's office agrees to formally vow that, to the best of their knowledge, all of the classified materials he took from the White House when he left office last year have been returned to the government. The hearing, in Federal District Court in Washington, is being held at the request of federal prosecutors who asked Judge Howell in recent days to declare Mr. Trump in contempt of court for failing to obey a grand jury subpoena that was issued in May seeking the return of all of the classified records in his office's possession. The request by the government came after months of frustration with the former president and his lawyers, who have repeatedly made assurances to prosecutors that the sensitive materials had all been returned -- only to find out there were more."

Paul Campos speculates in LG&$ on Kyrsten Sinema's (D-I-Az.) future: "My favorite detail in this is that she won't commit to caucusing with the Democrats, but she expects to keep all her committee assignments!... I do wonder what this means for the 2024 election: Is Arizona going to have an 'independent' on the ballot, along with Democratic and Republican candidates -- a circumstance that would surely hand the seat to the GOP?... Or maybe she's delusional enough to run as the No Labels/Forward reactionary centrist grift candidate for president two years from now, although she would probably have to wrestle Andrew Yang for that particular prize. Maybe the most likely outcome of all this is that she's just going to bail from electoral politics altogether and take an eight-figure bribe from some VC outfit to thank her for her service. Yeech." ~~~

~~~ Robert Farley in LG&$: "... Krysten Sinema has the firm grip on political reality that one would expect of a former member of the Green Party[.]... A fitting end to a pretty useless political career." ~~

~~~ mister mix of Balloon Juice is equally impressed with gentlelady from Arizona: "Krysten Sinema (Clown-AZ) has issued letters patent declaring that she will no longer sully herself with the grimy trappings of partisanship and is therefore a no-labels 'independent'.... Sinema's actions make a seat that was never a gimme an even harder reach for a party that already has an extremely constrained path to holding the Senate in 2024.... I could go on and on about this feckless clown, but instead I'll give Arizona Democrats a suggestion: ask for your money back.... Democrats in Arizona should start a campaign against her now, to drive her negatives to the bottom of the god damned ocean. Her campaign as an 'independent' will end only when her corporate backers get the message that giving her money is throwing it away." ~~~

~~~ Tom Sullivan of Hullabaloo, whose post is topped with a big piece of toast: "Like Donald Trump, the only team she plays for is her own.... Perhaps all the attention Sen. Raphael Warnock has received has starved her of attention.... The switch may shore up her flagging leverage in the Democrats' 51-seat Senate majority. Plus, give her (in her mind) the only hope for hanging onto her seat in 2024. Kari Lake isn't going away."

Derrick Taylor of the New York Times: "The Keystone pipeline system was shut down Wednesday night after its operator, TC Energy, said it had detected an oil spill in northern Kansas. Federal environmental officials said the public was not at risk. An estimated 14,000 barrels of oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kan., south of the Nebraska border, TC Energy said in a statement on Thursday. Washington County has a population of about 5,500, according to government data. The Washington County Emergency Management Office said on Facebook on Thursday that residents in and around the county had reported waking up to the smell of gas."

Tennessee. Jonathan Mattise of the AP: "The Tennessee Supreme Court has suspended the law license of a former Tennessee state senator who pleaded guilty last month to violating federal campaign finance laws. The court suspended former Republican Sen. Brian Kelsey's law license Thursday at the request of the Board of Professional Responsibility, pending further orders by the court. The state Supreme Court cited its own rules requiring the suspension because of Kelsey's guilty plea. The board, which oversees regulates the practice of law in Tennessee, said it will hold formal proceedings to determine the final discipline against Kelsey. Kelsey had previously pleaded not guilty to the campaign finance charges in the case related to his failed 2016 congressional campaign, calling them a 'political witch hunt' and claiming he was 'totally innocent.' He then changed his plea in front of a federal judge late last month."

~~~~~~~~~~

Niha Masih of the Washington Post: "WNBA star Brittney Griner landed in [San Antonio, Texas] early Friday after being released in a prisoner swap with Russia.... Her wife, Cherelle Griner, and her parents are expected to meet the Olympic gold medalist at a medical facility in San Antonio where she will be taken upon arrival, a senior administration official told CNBC on Thursday." ~~~

~~~ No doubt you remember way back when all Americans celebrated the return of POWs & other Americans detained by adversaries, even if we often held our noses at the compromises the U.S. had to make to get those detainees back home. Well, as Akhilleus pointed out at the end of yesterday's thread, that was then. This is now: ~~~

     ~~~ Lydia O'Connor of the Huffington Post: "Republicans and right-wing media figures have found a litany of reasons to be mad about the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who was freed in a prisoner swap Thursday after nearly a year in the Kremlin's clutches. Much of their rhetoric centers on the bigoted assertion that Griner ― a Black, gay athlete who has been vocal about police brutality and racial justice ― is anti-American for being outspoken in politics, and therefore unworthy of rescue by the Biden administration.... Donald Trump had one of the most aggressive attacks Thursday, writing on his social media platform ... that Griner is 'a basketball player who openly hates our Country' and that it was a '"stupid" and unpatriotic embarrassment for the USA' to free her in exchange for Viktor Bout, a notorious Russian arms dealer. His comments were a not-so-subtle reference to Griner's participation in protests against police brutality.... Others suggested Griner was less worthy of release than Paul Whelan, an ex-Marine who has been detained in Russia since 2018 on accusations of being a spy.... 'Why wasn't former Marine Paul Whelan included in this totally one-sided transaction? He would have been let out for the asking,' insisted Trump, who stayed silent on Whelan throughout his presidency. [MB: Russia refused to release Whelan under any conditions.] 'So [Biden] just traded an enemy who smuggles guns and helps shoot Americans for an American who smuggles drugs and shoots basketballs, all while a former US Marine, Paul Whelan, rots in a Russian prison,' Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) tweeted." ~~~

~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "The White House stressed on Thursday that it is committed to bringing home former Marine Paul Whelan and will remain vigilant over Viktor Bout's release amid a backlash of criticism over a prisoner swap deal that released WNBA star Brittney Griner from months of detention in Russia.... When asked if Russia got a better deal in the swap, [press secretary Karine] Jean-Pierre said, 'Our choice was Brittney or no one at all.'... In an interview with CNN from a Russian prison, Whelan said he was surprised he was not included in the swap but seemed to agree that it was because Russia is holding him to a different standard because of the espionage charges against him."

On Pearl Harbor Day, President Biden welcomed World War II veterans to the White House:

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday gave final approval to legislation to mandate federal recognition for same-sex marriages, with a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voting in favor of the measure in the waning days of the Democratic-led Congress. With a vote of 258-169, the landmark legislation cleared Congress, sending it to President Biden to be signed into law and capping an improbable path for a measure that only months ago appeared to have little chance at enactment. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the tally triumphantly, banging the gavel repeatedly as if to applaud as members of the House cheered." An NBC News report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an $858 billion defense policy bill that would rescind the Pentagon's mandate that troops receive the coronavirus vaccine, pushing past the objections of the Biden administration as lawmakers in both parties united behind another huge increase in military spending." ~~~

     ~~~ Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration fumed Wednesday at the near-certainty that Congress will strip away the Defense Department's requirement that all military personnel be vaccinated against the coronavirus, upending a politically divisive policy that has led to the dismissal of nearly 8,500 service members and numerous lawsuits disputing its fairness. The agreement, brokered as part of the Pentagon's next spending bill, was celebrated by Republicans as a victory for individual choice. It comes despite opposition from President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who characterized the vaccine mandate as a way of protecting troops from covid-19 and preventing sprawling outbreaks that sideline entire units, undermine the military's readiness and endanger national security.... One senior defense official said that when service members 'inevitability get sick, and if they should die, it will be on the Republicans who insisted upon this.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ann Marimow & Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "Evangelical minister Robert L. Schenck recruited wealthy Christian couples to serve as 'stealth missionaries' at the Supreme Court for about two decades, forging friendships with conservative justices to 'bolster' their views, particularly on abortion, Schenck told the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday. 'Our overarching goals were to gain insight into the conservative justices' thinking and to shore up their resolve to render solid, unapologetic opinions,' Schenck said, describing the mission of the influence campaign he dubbed 'Operation Higher Court.' In written testimony, Schenck, who in recent years has broken with the religious right over issues including abortion and gun rights, said he encouraged his recruits to use tactics like donations to the Supreme Court Historical Society to meet justices -- and to parlay those encounters into deeper relationships to achieve their objectives. Some recruits wrote amicus briefs in cases before the court, his testimony says.... He was subpoenaed to testify as part of an effort by Democrats on the Judiciary Committee to strengthen ethics rules for justices, who -- unlike lower court judges -- are not bound by any code of conduct and are responsible for policing themselves." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That last bit isn't precisely true, according to Laurence Tribe, who appeared on Lawrence O'Donnell's MSNBC show last night. Tribe cited two statues that do "bind justices to a code of conduct"; the problem is that there is no enforcing mechanism & no penalty when a justice refuses to abide by the statute. Tribe said that the solution is to "get better justices."

Senate's Drama Queen Retains Her Crown. Jeremy Herb of CNN: "Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema is leaving the Democratic Party and registering as a political independent, she told CNN's Jake Tapper in an ... interview.... Sinema's move away from the Democratic Party is unlikely to change the power balance in the next Senate. Democrats will have a narrow 51-49 majority that includes two independents who caucus with them: Sens. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine. While Sanders and King formally caucus with Democrats, Sinema declined to explicitly say that she would do the same. She did note, however, that she expects to keep her committee assignments -- a signal that she doesn't plan to upend the Senate composition, since Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer controls committee rosters for Democrats.... Sinema wrote an op-ed in the Arizona Republic released Friday explaining her decision, noting that her approach in the Senate has 'upset partisans in both parties.'" MB: Oh, somewhere Mitch is smiling.

Charlie Savage & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court on Thursday brought to an end a special master's review of sensitive documents the F.B.I. had seized from ... Donald J. Trump's private club and residence in Florida, concluding a court fight that had delayed the Justice Department's investigation for nearly three months. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in Atlanta acted after Mr. Trump's lawyers chose not to contest its decision last week shutting down a lawsuit by Mr. Trump that had imposed a special master. The court had given him a week to challenge the decision before it took effect. The move ended the special master's review and lifted an injunction that had blocked prosecutors from using the seized materials as evidence. The step formally removed a significant obstacle to the inquiry...." CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It may seem surprising that Trump didn't appeal the court's decision just to delay the inevitable. After all, it's a ploy he has used innumerable times. But Trump declared his presidential candidacy a few weeks ago, & the RNC has said it could no longer pay his legal bills. Sure, there are tens of millions available to Trump in some scam PACs. But Trump likely considers the PAC money his own, so he's less enthusiastic about squandering it. And maybe he's noticed even the special master is costing him. According to the Times report, Trump already has to pay for three month's of his work, as well as ancillary costs.

Basta! Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors have urged a federal judge [-- Beryl Howell --] to hold Donald Trump's office in contempt of court for failing to fully comply with a May subpoena to return all classified documents in his possession, according to people familiar with the matter -- a sign of how contentious the private talks have become over whether the former president still holds any secret papers.... One of the key areas of disagreement centers on the Trump legal team's repeated refusal to designate a custodian of records to sign a document attesting that all classified materials have been returned to the federal government.... If the judge were to agree [to hold Trump's team in contempt], the most likely scenario would be a daily fine until the demands of the contempt motion are met." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Stephen Ryan, a defense lawyer, told the WashPo that a normal business has a records custodian, but Trump doesn't have one: "The department is in effect asking for something that doesn't exist," Ryan said. Marie: But really, no matter what, would you agree to be Trump's "custodian of records"? What if somebody found, say, top-secret designs for the stealth bomber down at the West Palm Beach U-Stor after the "custodian of records" had signed a sworn affidavit that all classified materials had been returned to the DOJ? A perfectly plausible scenario, frankly. Maybe Trump thought the pictures were cool. Maybe he wanted to share him with one of his children or some Saudi friends. Seems to me the custodian could be charged with a crime or fined and if a custodian were a lawyer, she would lose her law license.

Lock 'em Up. Annie Grayer, et al., of CNN: "The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, insurrection is considering criminal referrals for at least four individuals in addition to ... Donald Trump, multiple sources told CNN. The panel is weighing criminal referrals for former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, right wing lawyer John Eastman, former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani...."

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The 2022 election was more or less a status-quo election. But the small shifts had some rather significant consequences. The nine seats House Republicans gained was modest, compared with midterms over the past century, but it was enough for the party to reclaim the chamber. And in the Senate, Democrats surprised most everyone by actually gaining a seat.... But perhaps nowhere were small, targeted victories as key as they were in the battle for state government. As in the Senate, Democrats notched important victories that allowed them to expand their control, despite an environment that narrowly tilted in the GOP's favor. And in the end, Democrats are now in better shape in state government than at any point since the 2010 election.... Despite Republicans winning slightly more seats overall, it was Democrats who were able to flip chambers. They took over four: both chambers in Michigan, and the state Houses in both Minnesota and Pennsylvania."

Mark Maske, et al., of the Washington Post: "Washington Commanders owner Daniel Snyder evaded questions by saying more than 100 times that he did not know or could not recall information and gave 'misleading' answers when he testified remotely in July as part of a congressional investigation of his team's workplace, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform said Thursday in its final report after a nearly 14-month probe. The 79-page report on the Democratic-led investigation gave the strongest indication yet that the team or someone working on its behalf leaked the inflammatory emails that prompted Congress to get involved in October 2021. According to the report, former team president Bruce Allen testified to the committee that a top NFL official told him the team's 'side' leaked the emails that led to Jon Gruden's resignation as coach of the Las Vegas Raiders."

Oliver Darcy of CNN: "A 24-hour strike at The New York Times, a historic demonstration in which more than 1,100 employees are expected to participate, began Thursday at midnight, after management and the union representing staffers failed to reach an agreement for a new contract after more than a year and a half of negotiating.... The NewsGuild of New York, which represents journalists and other staffers at The Times, said in a statement that the walkout was 'due to the company's failure to bargain in good faith, reach a fair contract agreement with the workers, and meet their demands.' The act of protest, which has not been staged by employees at the newspaper of record in decades, will leave many of its major desks depleted of their staff, creating a challenge for the news organization that millions of readers rely on." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A new examination by Senate Democrats of how the federal government bungled its early response to the coronavirus pandemic faults ... Donald J. Trump and his administration for numerous missteps while also laying blame on 'multiple systemic problems' that long predated his time in office. The 241-page report, released on Thursday, was produced by the Democratic staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.... The report cited inadequate funding, supply chain vulnerabilities, overlapping government roles and other problems that it said 'have been flagged by experts and oversight agencies for years, yet have been largely overlooked by all branches of the federal government.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Colorado. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "The person accused of opening deadly fire in an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub in Colorado last month had earlier felony charges dropped because family members who the authorities say had been threatened with weapons, ammunition and a homemade bomb would not cooperate with prosecutors, the chief prosecutor in Colorado Springs said on Thursday.... Asked if a red-flag order last year could have prevented the defendant from legally buying more weapons, [D.A. Michael] Allen noted that an initial, temporary order lasts only 14 days. Securing a yearlong order requires meeting a higher burden of proof. 'I don't think based on the conduct of the witnesses in this case that they would have been successful on that,' he said."

Florida. Zoë Richards of NBC: News: "The Florida state representative who sponsored legislation opponents dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill resigned Thursday, a day after he was accused of fraudulently obtaining tens of thousands of dollars from a federal Covid-relief program. State Rep. Joseph Harding, a Republican, said his resignation would be 'effective immediately.' He has been indicted on a slew of charges, including wire fraud, money laundering, making false statements and other crimes."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefings of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russian President Vladimir Putin doubled down on attacks on energy infrastructure in Ukraine. He accused Kyiv of provoking the strikes, which have battered the country's power grid. 'Yes, we are doing this. But who started it?' Putin asked Thursday, highlighting the attack on Russia's prized Crimea Bridge. International condemnation 'will not prevent us from completing our military objectives,' he said." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

U.K. Megan Specia of the New York Times: "Anne Sacoolas, an American who fled Britain in 2019 after fatally striking a teenager with her car, has been handed an eight-month suspended sentence, which likely means she will never face time behind bars. Ms. Sacoolas, who was a U.S. government employee at the time of the crash, was driving on the wrong side of the road in Croughton in central England on Aug. 27, 2019, when she struck 19-year-old Harry Dunn, who was riding a motorcycle. He died a short time later at the hospital. Ms. Sacoolas pled guilty by video link in October to causing Mr. Dunn's death by careless driving."

December 8, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Basta! Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors have urged a federal judge [-- Beryl Howell --] to hold Donald Trump's office in contempt of court for failing to fully comply with a May subpoena to return all classified documents in his possession, according to people familiar with the matter -- a sign of how contentious the private talks have become over whether the former president still holds any secret papers.... One of the key areas of disagreement centers on the Trump legal team's repeated refusal to designate a custodian of records to sign a document attesting that all classified materials have been returned to the federal government.... If the judge were to agree [to hold Trump's team in comtempt], the most likely scenario would be a daily fine until the demands of the contempt motion are met." ~~~

     ~~~ Stephen Ryan, a defense lawyer, told the WashPo that a normal business has a records custodian, but Trump doesn't have one: "The department is in effect asking for something that doesn't exist," Ryan said. Marie: But really, would you agree to be Trump's "custodian of records"? What if somebody found, say, top-secret designs for the stealth bomber down at the West Palm Beach U-Stor after the "custodian of records" had signed a sworn affidavit that all classified materials had been returned to the DOJ? A perfectly plausible scenario, frankly. Maybe Trump thought the pictures were cool. Maybe he wanted to share him with one of his children or some Saudi friends. Seems to me the custodian could be charged with a crime or fined and if a custodian were a lawyer, she would lose her law license.

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday gave final approval to legislation to mandate federal recognition for same-sex marriages, with a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers voting in favor of the measure in the waning days of the Democratic-led Congress. With a vote of 258-169, the landmark legislation cleared Congress, sending it to President Biden to be signed into law and capping an improbable path for a measure that only months ago appeared to have little chance at enactment. Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced the tally triumphantly, banging the gavel repeatedly as if to applaud as members of the House cheered." An NBC News report is here.

Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration fumed Wednesday at the near-certainty that Congress will strip away the Defense Department's requirement that all military personnel be vaccinated against the coronavirus, upending a politically divisive policy that has led to the dismissal of nearly 8,500 service members and numerous lawsuits disputing its fairness. The agreement, brokered as part of the Pentagon's next spending bill, was celebrated by Republicans as a victory for individual choice. It comes despite opposition from President Biden and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who characterized the vaccine mandate as a way of protecting troops from covid-19 and preventing sprawling outbreaks that sideline entire units, undermine the military's readiness and endanger national security.... One senior defense official said that when service members 'inevitability get sick, and if they should die, it will be on the Republicans who insisted upon this.'"

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A new examination by Senate Democrats of how the federal government bungled its early response to the coronavirus pandemic faults ... Donald J. Trump and his administration for numerous missteps while also laying blame on 'multiple systemic problems' that long predated his time in office. The 241-page report, released on Thursday, was produced by the Democratic staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.... The report cited inadequate funding, supply chain vulnerabilities, overlapping government roles and other problems that it said 'have been flagged by experts and oversight agencies for years, yet have been largely overlooked by all branches of the federal government.'"

Oliver Darcy of CNN: "A 24-hour strike at The New York Times, a historic demonstration in which more than 1,100 employees are expected to participate, began Thursday at midnight, after management and the union representing staffers failed to reach an agreement for a new contract after more than a year and a half of negotiating.... The NewsGuild of New York, which represents journalists and other staffers at The Times, said in a statement that the walkout was 'due to the company's failure to bargain in good faith, reach a fair contract agreement with the workers, and meet their demands.' The act of protest, which has not been staged by employees at the newspaper of record in decades, will leave many of its major desks depleted of their staff, creating a challenge for the news organization that millions of readers rely on."

~~~~~~~~~~

Eric Tucker, et al., of the AP: "President Joe Biden says WNBA star Brittney Griner is safe in American custody and on her way home after being released from Russia in an extraordinary prisoner swap. Biden said in an address from the White House on Thursday that these 'past few months have been hell for Brittney' but that she was in good spirits. Griner was freed in an exchange in which the United States released convicted Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.... Even so, the fact that the deal was a one-for-one swap was a surprise given that U.S. officials had for months expressed their their determination to bring home both Griner and Paul Whelan, a Michigan corporate security executive jailed in Russia since December 2018 on espionage charges that his family and the U.S. government has said are baseless." ~~~

~~~ Earlier: CNN is reporting on-air that Brittney Griner is free & has been swapped with that Russian arms dealer. No word about Paul Whelan. I'll get up a print report when something becomes available. Update: President Biden is scheduled to speak at 8:30 am ET. Griner is on a plane which has landed in Abu Dhabi.

One Would Think a Screw-up-a-Day -- or More -- Would Rid Us of This Meddlesome Beast:

** Why, Lookie Here. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "Lawyers for ... Donald Trump found at least two items marked classified after an outside team hired by Trump searched a storage unit in West Palm Beach, Fla., used by the former president, according to people familiar with the matter. Those items were immediately turned over to the FBI, according to those people.... A person familiar with the matter said the storage unit had a mix of boxes, gifts, suits and clothes, among other things.... There was no cataloguing of what was put in the storage unit, Trump advisers said...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon. Related stories also were linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "Incredible" & "Unbelievable": Hobnobbing with the Crazy. Olivia Rubin, et al., of ABC News: "A prominent adherent of the QAnon and 'Pizzagate' conspiracy theories posed for photos with ... Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago resort Tuesday night after speaking at an event hosted at the club, according to photos and videos posted to social media.... Videos and photos posted to social media appear to show Liz Crokin, a prominent promoter of QAnon and pro-Trump conspiracy theories, speaking at an event at Mar-a-Lago and later posing for photos with Trump. In one photo, the duo make a 'thumbs up' sign together.... The event was billed as a fundraiser in support of a 'documentary' on sex trafficking -- one of the pillars of the QAnon conspiracy theory.... The film ... includes multiple falsehoods and claims of mass sex-trafficking in Hollywood.... 'You are incredible people, you are doing unbelievable work, and we just appreciate you being here and we hope you're going to be back,' Trump said in remarks to the crowd, according to a video of his speech." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's unusually early announcement of a third presidential campaign ... [has] highlight[ed] his vulnerabilities and giv[en] considerable ammunition to those in the G.O.P. arguing to turn the page on him. Since emerging from the November election with a string of humiliating losses to show for his pretensions to be a midterm kingmaker, Mr. Trump has entertained a leading white supremacist and a celebrity antisemite at his South Florida mansion. He has suggested terminating the Constitution -- the one that a president swears to preserve, protect and defend -- in furtherance of his long-running lie that the 2020 election was stolen from him. His business was just convicted on all 17 counts in a tax-fraud case in New York City. And his handpicked candidate for the Senate in Georgia -- Herschel Walker, the football star Mr. Trump employed in a brief stint as a pro football team owner in the 1980s -- went down to defeat Tuesday night after a campaign that will be remembered as a string of scandals and self-inflicted wounds." ~~~

~~ Jonathan Weisman & Maya King of the New York Times: "The Democrats' capstone re-election victory of Senator Raphael Warnock ... quickly had Republican fingers pointing every which way: at Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader accused by detractors of abandoning or belittling embattled Republican Senate candidates; at Senator Rick Scott of Florida, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, who many feel badly mismanaged the Senate Republicans' campaign arm; and at [GOP challenger Herschel] Walker himself, for hiding and lying about his past.... For a handful of Republicans, newly emboldened by re-election or retirement to say so aloud, the biggest culprit was [Donald] Trump. In increasingly biting terms, they slammed him for promoting flawed candidates, including Mr. Walker, dividing his party and turning many swing voters against the G.O.P. for the third election cycle in a row. 'I think he's less relevant all the time,' Senator John Cornyn, a Republican of Texas, said of the former president...."

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "Democrats on a pair of congressional committees have launched an aggressive new effort to obtain information about whether Jared Kushner's actions on U.S. policy in the Persian Gulf region as a senior White House adviser were influenced by the bailout of a property owned by his family business. Citing previously undisclosed emails and other documents related to ... Donald Trump's son-in-law, the committees on Monday night sent letters to the State and Defense departments requesting material that they say could shed new light on whether 'Kushner's financial conflict of interest may have led him to improperly influence U.S. tax, trade and national security policies for his own financial gain.' The letters ... focus on efforts by Kushner and his father, Charles Kushner, to bail out a troubled 41-story Fifth Avenue office building in New York City. The Kushner company in 2018 made a deal with a Canadian company, Brookfield Asset Management, which invested $1.2 billion for a 99-year lease. As a result, the Kushner family company avoided defaulting on a loan that was due the following year. Democrats have long raised questionsabout the deal because the Qatar Investment Authority, a sovereign wealth fund, had a stake in one of Brookfield's investment arms." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court seemed splintered on Wednesday about whether to adopt a legal theory that would radically reshape how federal elections are conducted, giving state legislatures largely unchecked power to set all sorts of election rules and draw congressional maps warped by partisan gerrymandering. The justices' questioning over three hours of arguments suggested that they were roughly divided into three camps. The three most conservative justices appeared prepared to embrace an expansive version of the theory, while the three liberal justices were adamant that it should be rejected. The remaining members of the court -- Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett -- seemed to be searching for a compromise under which state supreme courts would generally have the last word on disputes over state laws governing federal elections but be subject to oversight from federal courts in rare cases. The case concerned the 'independent state legislature' theory, which is based on a reading of the Constitution's Elections Clause, which says, 'The times, places and manner of holding elections for senators and representatives, shall be prescribed in each state by the legislature thereof.'" (This is a major update of a story also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's analysis, by Zach Montellaro & Josh Gerstein, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: By hook or by crook, if we're to save this semi-democracy & preserve or reinstate its democratic values, we have to neuter the right-wing hegemony of this Supreme Court. They have shattered all the glass of the Overton window & have jumped to the Far Side now. ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Wines of the New York Times has more on the "independent state legislature theory" & the facts behind the case before the Court. "Both legal scholars and respected political figures, including prominent conservative legal figures who have warned against adopting the theory, are calling the case the most important debate over federalism in decades, if not in the nation's history."

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Sitting alongside leaders of the Jewish community on Wednesday, Doug Emhoff, the husband of Vice President Kamala Harris, described the rising tide of antisemitism in the United States as an 'epidemic of hate.' Mr. Emhoff, the first Jewish spouse of a vice president or president, has in recent weeks become one of the federal government's more forceful voices against violence and hate speech directed at Jews. 'Words matter,' Mr. Emhoff said at a round table of government officials, rabbis and leaders of advocacy groups to discuss the extremist acts. 'People are no longer saying the quiet parts out loud. They are literally screaming them.' The event took place in an atmosphere of heightened alarm about antisemitism, two weeks after ... Donald J. Trump's dinner with the white supremacist Nick Fuentes and the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, who has recently heaped praise on Adolf Hitler."

Shayna Greene of Politico: "The Biden administration is appealing a judge's ruling against the Title 42 border expulsion policy, which the Trump administration instituted during the coronavirus pandemic and the Biden administration continued on a more limited basis over the past nearly two years.... The administration's strategy is to ask the D.C. Circuit Court to pause the appeal until the New Orleans-based 5th Circuit in Louisiana has decided on a separate case involving Title 42 - a process that could take months and perhaps more than a year. The Trump administration used provisions in Title 42 of the U.S. Code to rapidly expel migrants at the border on the grounds of health concerns when the pandemic first began, although critics said the public health benefits were dubious."

Glenn Thrush & Serge Kovaleski of the New York Times:"A remarkable succession of administrative errors, gross incompetence and health system failures inside the federal prison system led to the bludgeoning death of James (Whitey) Bulger hours after he was transferred to a West Virginia prison in 2018, the inspector general of the Justice Department has found. The inspector general determined that officials in the federal Bureau of Prisons approved the downgrading of Mr. Bulger's medical condition -- even though they had determined he suffered from a life-threatening cardiac condition -- for the sole purpose of moving him out of a secure unit in a Florida prison to the Hazelton federal penitentiary after he threatened a nurse. They took minimal security precautions even though Mr. Bulger, 89, was widely known to have been a federal informant, which put him at heightened risk; they subsequently allowed word of his arrival to spread to hundreds of prison staff and eventually to the inmates who have been charged with beating him to death with a heavy padlock as he sat defenseless in his wheelchair, the report found. Mr. Bulger's death was preventable..., the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, concluded in the damning 65-page report." (Also linked yesterday.)

U.S. Border Patrol's "Rising Star" Is a Serial Killer. Edgar Sandoval of the New York Times: "A jury in San Antonio convicted a former Border Patrol agent on Wednesday in the shooting deaths of four women he had encountered in the city of Laredo. The jury returned its verdict after five hours of deliberations, finding Juan David Ortiz, 39, a former supervisory intelligence officer with the U.S. Border Patrol, guilty of capital murder after a nearly two-week trial. Mr. Ortiz faces life in prison. Prosecutors told jurors that Mr. Ortiz had picked up prostitutes over the course of 12 days in the fall of 2018 and had taken them to a remote area. The prosecutors said he used his service weapon to kill them. The killings rattled the border city of Laredo and led to an intense manhunt. Investigators caught a break in the case after a woman who worked as a prostitute told the police that a client had threatened her with a gun and that she narrowly escaped with her life. The woman, Erika Peña, identified her attacker as Mr. Ortiz.... Mr. Ortiz had been a rising star in the Border Patrol...."

Peter Hermann, et al., of the Washington Post: "An off-duty FBI agent fatally shot a man Wednesday evening during an altercation on a Red Line train platform at the Metro Center station, D.C. police said. The incident occurred about 6:30 p.m..., prompting delays and brief panic. Passengers in the station ducked or hit the ground after hearing gunshots, and they said that a train sped through, apparently to avoid danger. D.C. Executive Assistant Chief of Police Ashan M. Benedict said the person who was shot assaulted the agent, and the two got into an altercation. He said one grabbed the other, and they tumbled over a wall that runs along the edge of the platform, away from the tracks. They fell about eight feet, he said. Benedict said the agent fired his gun at some point during the struggle."

Mary Jalonick of the AP: "The House is set to give final approval Thursday to legislation protecting same-sex marriages in federal law, a monumental step in a decadeslong battle for nationwide recognition of such unions that reflects a stunning turnaround in societal attitudes. A law requiring all states to recognize same-sex marriages would come as a relief for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since the Supreme Court's 2015 decision that legalized those marriages nationwide. The bipartisan legislation would also protect interracial unions by requiring states to recognize legal marriages regardless of 'sex, race, ethnicity, or national origin.' President Joe Biden backs the bill and said he will 'promptly and proudly' sign it into law." ~~~

     ~~~ Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a Washington Post op-ed: "Since the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges seven years ago, same-sex couples have enjoyed the same marriage protections as other couples. But right now, that fundamental freedom is under real, direct and urgent threat. In June..., Justice Clarence Thomas took explicit aim at marriage equality: urging the court to reconsider Obergefell and upend the lives of countless families across the country. While his legal reasoning is twisted and unsound, we must take Justice Thomas -- and the extremist movement behind him -- at their word. Our Respect for Marriage Act combats this threat by requiring states to recognize same-sex marriages, as long as they are valid in the state where they were performed. It also finally repeals the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act, so that no future MAGA majority in Congress or president in the White House can wield this policy as a weapon of bigotry.... There remains more work ahead."

Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "The House Ethics Committee said it's investigating Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) in a statement this Wednesday, Forbes reports.... 'Wednesday's statement, attributed to acting Chair Susan Wild (D-Penns.) and Ranking Member Michael Guest (R-Miss.), says the disclosure of the investigation "does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred, or reflect any judgment on behalf of the committee."'"

Kalley Huang of the New York Times: "Ramesh Balwani, the former chief operating officer of the failed blood testing start-up Theranos, was sentenced on Wednesday to nearly 13 years in prison for defrauding investors and patients about the company's business and technology. Mr. Balwani, 58, and his convicted co-conspirator, Elizabeth Holmes, 38, the founder of Theranos, had promised that the start-up would revolutionize health care with machines and tests that could detect some illnesses using just a few drops of blood. But those claims were false, and Theranos became a tale of Silicon Valley's ambition and hype run amok. Mr. Balwani, also known as Sunny, was convicted in July of 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Candice Ortiz of Mediaite: "Barstool Sports star Francis Ellis has appeared multiple times on Fox News, particularly on the 7 p.m. show hosted by Jesse Watters. But his true feelings about the top-rated cable news network were revealed on an apparent hot mic, where Ellis blasted the network's top hosts as hateful. During an episode of Barstool Rundown published Tuesday, an editing error captured Ellis dishing on the network he said is 'just trafficking in hate.'" MB: Gosh, I guess Ellis has ended his brilliant career at Fox.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "A Republican state lawmaker from Florida who sponsored a law that critics have nicknamed 'Don't Say Gay' was indicted for defrauding a federal loan program designed to help small businesses during the coronavirus pandemic, federal officials said on Wednesday. State Representative Joe Harding of Ocala, Fla., illegally obtained or tried to obtain more than $150,000 in pandemic loans from the Small Business Administration for two corporate entities that had been dormant until he applied for the funds, according to a six-count federal indictment. He was charged with two counts of wire fraud, two counts of making false statements and two counts of money laundering." Politico's story is here. MB: Funny how the fake morality squad is so (allegedly) corrupt.

New York. Jeffery Mays, et al., of the New York Times: "... Sofia Quintanar, a former aide to [New York State Attorney General Letitia] James, said in an interview that she decided to come forward [with her sexual harassment claim] because she believed that the attorney general was protecting her longtime chief of staff, Ibrahim Khan, and withholding any public finding of wrongdoing rather than aggressively pursuing the investigation.... She said ... she believed that Ms. James's office took more care to protect Mr. Khan than the women who accused him of abuse, allowing him to quietly submit his resignation in November with his reputation intact.... Ms. Quintanar, who served as a deputy press secretary in the attorney general's office, said she believed that its approach to her complaint had been far less aggressive than its treatment of harassment allegations against former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo." Politico's story is here.

Way Beyond

Germany. Aristocrat at the Gates. Christopher Schuetze of the New York Times: "Prince Heinrich XIII of Reuss, a descendant of a 700-year-old noble family that once reigned over a tiny state in eastern Germany, was a relatively obscure figure -- until Wednesday, when he was named as one of the leaders of a group accused of plotting to overthrow the German government.... He was arrested in Frankfurt, where he has both an apartment and offices in the exclusive West End neighborhood.... The House of Reuss reigned until 1918 in a principality around Gera, in present-day Thuringia, that was incorporated into the German Empire. In modern Germany, hereditary nobles have no special legal standing; their titles carry no formal weight.... A Russian citizen identified as Vitalia B., who according to German news outlets was the prince's life partner, and another co-conspirator identified as Norbert G., were arrested closer to the ancestral home of the prince in the vicinity of Bad Lobenstein, in Thuringia. Police officers also raided his castle there, where conspirators occasionally met, MDR [-- a local public broadcaster --] reported. The prince is said to have funded some of the group's activities, according to media reports."

Peru. A Presidential Coup Attempt Goes Awry. Mitra Taj of the New York Times: "It was a day on which much of Peru was focused on Congress, where an impeachment vote was planned against the president on corruption charges. But shortly before noon, the Peruvian leader addressed the country in a surprise televised address. He announced the dissolution of Congress and the installation of an emergency government, stunning political leaders across the spectrum, including his own allies, by effectively trying to carry out what was widely condemned as an attempted coup to cling to power. Government officials resigned en masse. The top court declared the move unconstitutional. And the country's armed forces and the national police issued a joint statement suggesting they would not support him. By day's end, Pedro Castillo, 53, was ousted from power and under arrest. His vice president was sworn in as president and became the first woman to lead Peru." CNN's report is here.

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Thursday are here: "Russia's invasion of Ukraine was a 'brutal wake-up' for Europe, which lacks the capabilities needed to defend itself from 'higher level threats,' European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Thursday at the annual conference of the European Defense Agency.... The Biden administration will meet with oil and gas executives on Thursday to discuss U.S. support for Ukrainian energy infrastructure, ahead of winter and following devastating missile attacks on civilian infrastructure.... A U.N. report found that Russian forces extrajudicially killed at least 441 civilians outside Kyiv during the first weeks of the invasion, in what probably amounts to war crimes. The actual number of civilians summarily killed is likely to be 'considerably higher,' the report found.... Four Ukrainian policemen were killed and four more seriously injured in the Kherson region after a Russian land mine detonated near their patrol, law enforcement officials said Wednesday.... Russian shelling killed 10 people in the city of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region, [President] Zelensky said Wednesday."

Andrew Roth of the Guardian: "Vladimir Putin has admitted Russia's war in Ukraine could turn into a 'long-term process' as he sought to defend an invasion in which Russian troops have been forced to retreat and even airbases deep inside Russia have come under attack. Speaking to members of his personal human rights council on Wednesday, Putin claimed that Russia would not use nuclear weapons first in any conflict, denied that Russian troops were deserting en masse from the field of battle, and claimed he would not need to mobilise more troops, a process that has caused considerable upheaval in Russia. But mainly the Russian president defended the 'special military operation' -- his preferred term for what he openly admitted was a Russian war of conquest that he compared with the territorial ambitions of former Russian tsars." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Putin certainly didn't mention that, as reported in the Guardian's Ukraine liveblog for today, "More than 93,000 Russian personnel have been killed since 24 February, a post on Facebook by [Ukraine's] general staff of the armed forces said.... Russia's published statistics show much lower numbers of losses."