October 16, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Colleen Long & Zeke Miller of the AP: "Two years ago, candidate Joe Biden loudly denounced ... Donald Trump for immigration policies that inflicted 'cruelty and exclusion at every turn,' including toward those fleeing the 'brutal' government of socialist Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. Now, with increasing numbers of Venezuelans arriving at the U.S.-Mexico border as the Nov. 8 election nears, Biden has turned to an unlikely source for a solution: his predecessor's playbook. Biden last week invoked a Trump-era rule known as Title 42 -- which Biden's own Justice Department is fighting in court -- to deny Venezuelans fleeing their crisis-torn country the chance to request asylum at the border. The rule, first invoked by Trump in 2020, uses emergency public health authority to allow the United States to keep migrants from seeking asylum at the border, based on the need to help prevent the spread of COVID-19."

Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Over eight oral arguments, [Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson] dominated the questioning and commentary, speaking twice as much as her next most loquacious colleague. It is likely a record for a new justice.... Her contributions ranged from the sweeping -- a rejection of an originalist interpretation of a colorblind Constitution that provoked swoons from the liberal legal community -- to the kind of mundane minutiae upon which even Supreme Court decisions turn."

Arizona. Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake sparred with CNN's Dana Bash over unfounded claims of mass election fraud in 2020 during an interview on Sunday. 'You called the 2020 election corrupt, stolen, rotten and rigged, and there was no evidence of any of that presented in a court of law or anywhere else that any of those things are true. So why do you keep saying that?' Bash asked Lake on CNN's 'State of the Union.'... A series of investigations into Arizona's 2020 elections failed to find evidence of substantial fraud that would have overturned President Biden's victory in the state. Lake went on to portray the media as covering only 'one side' of the issue, while Bash repeatedly contested Lake's claims of electoral fraud.... During a subsequent interview on 'State of the Union' with Lake's opponent, Katie Hobbs, the Arizona Democrat lambasted Lake's position. 'This is disqualifying,' Hobbs said. 'This is a basic core of our democracy, and she has nothing else to run on.'"

Ohio. Cleveland Plain Dealer Editors Endorse Democrat Tim Ryan for U.S. Senate: "There is not much question as to what the state would get from either of the two candidates -- Ryan, as a congressman, having voted with Democrats virtually all of the time and [Republican J.D.] Vance having signed on to Donald Trump's Big Lie and extremist approach to politics after being highly critical of the former president during the 2016 campaign and afterward.... During his [20] years in Congress, Ryan has shown himself to be an able collaborator who is willing to work across the aisle, an important quality in a deeply divided Senate.... The pragmatic grasp he showed in discussing the need to stand firm against the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the potential threat of China doing the same with Taiwan add up to a strong argument for Ryan to replace [Rob] Portman [R] in the Senate.... Who can forget [Vance's] initial reaction to the Russian invasion: 'I don't really care what happens to Ukraine one way or another.' Unfortunately, Vance elected not to appear before our editorial board to explain his indefensible embrace of Trump's Big Lie or clarify where he stands on Ukraine, abortion restrictions, domestic violence against women or other matters."

Pennsylvania. Julia Mueller of the Hill: "The Philadelphia Inquirer on Sunday endorsed Pennsylvania Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) in the state's Senate race after declining to endorse him in his party's primary earlier this year. 'There is no reason Fetterman cannot serve effectively after his stroke,' the editorial board wrote, noting that the Democrat struggles with slightly delayed auditory processing after suffering a stroke shortly before the primary but contending that the lag of a 'couple of moments ... should not significantly impair him' from serving as a senator. The editors added that 'Fetterman knows what his values are and is capable of communicating them. The same cannot be said for his opponent, Mehmet Oz, a man wholly unprepared to be Pennsylvania's U.S. senator.' Republican nominee Mehmet Oz, a former cardiothoracic surgeon-turned-television personality, has mocked his opponent's stroke and painted Fetterman as unfit."

Ukraine, et al. Charlotte Higgins & Artem Mazhulin of the Guardian: "Russian soldiers have shot dead a Ukrainian musician in his home after he refused to take part in a concert in occupied Kherson, according to the culture ministry in Kyiv. Conductor Yuriy Kerpatenko declined to take part in a concert 'intended by the occupiers to demonstrate the so-called 'improvement of peaceful life' in Kherson', the ministry said in a statement on its Facebook page.... Kerpatenko, who was also the principal conductor of Kherson's Mykola Kulish Music and Drama Theatre, had been posting defiant messages on his Facebook page until May. The Kherson regional prosecutor's office in Ukraine has launched a formal investigation 'on the basis of violations of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder'.... Condemnation by Ukrainian and international artists was swift."

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Betsy Klein & Shawna Mizelle of CNN: "President Joe Biden said on Saturday the video and testimony shared at the January 6 hearing this week was 'devastating' and said the committee overall has made an 'overwhelming' case. Asked his thoughts on the hearing during an unannounced stop at a Baskin-Robbins in Portland, Oregon, Biden said, 'I think the testimony, the video are absolutely devastating. And I've been going out of my way not to comment, see what happens, but it's just -- I think it's been devastating.'"

** Whistleblower Outs Trump's Media "Empire." Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "Will Wilkerson, [once] an executive at ... Donald Trump's start-up Trump Media & Technology Group..., [has turned over] hundreds of previously unreported company messages, documents, photos and audio recordings ... in connection with a whistleblower submission [that] reveals a stunning portrait of the animosity that has built up inside Trump Media since its high-profile debut last year.... Inside the company, Wilkerson said..., plans [to create a media empire] gave way to bitter infighting, technical failures and a chaotic jockeying for power among Trump allies that undermined its potential.... Wilkerson, who was fired from his job Thursday ... after he spoke to The Post, filed the whistleblower complaint with the SEC in August.... Wilkerson is cooperating with investigations into Trump Media by the SEC and federal prosecutors from the Southern District of New York, said his attorneys...." In an anecdote cited at the top of the story, Trump telephoned Andy Litinsky, a co-founder of Trump Media, & demanded that Litinsky turn over some of his corporate shares to Melania Trump. Five months later, Litinisky was removed from the board of directors in a move Litinsky claimed "was payback for his refusal to turn over a small fortune to the former president's wife."

Kyle Cheney of Politico (Oct. 14): "A federal judge on Friday denied an effort by John Eastman, the attorney who helped devise Donald Trump's last-ditch effort to subvert the 2020 election, to reclaim his phone from the Justice Department. New Mexico-based Senior U.S. District Court Judge Robert Brack ruled that Eastman had failed to show that the government's seizure of his phone -- by FBI agents who confronted him outside a restaurant in June -- had caused 'irreparable harm.' Brack noted that Eastman had obtained a replacement phone and that his desire to bar the government from combing the contents of his seized phone was not a sufficient reason to reclaim it from the Justice Department." MB: Brack is a Bush II appointee.

November Elections. Mainstreaming Bigotry. Liz Gooswin of the Washington Post: "As the campaign heats up in the final weeks before November's midterm elections, so have [Republicans'] overt appeals to racial animus and resentment. And the toxic remarks appear to be receiving less pushback from Republicans than in past years, suggesting that some candidates in the first post-Trump election cycle have been influenced by the ex-president's norm-breaking example.... 'Here's the difference between Democrats and MAGA Republicans. When a Democrat says something racist or antisemitic, we hold Democrats accountable,' said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. 'When a MAGA Republican says something racist or antisemitic, they are embraced by cheering crowds.'... 'It is not new to see antisemitism or overt racism in politics,' [Jonathan] Greenblatt [of the Anti-Defamation League] said. 'What is new is after years ... in which it was clear that to be credible in public life politicians had to reject prejudice, it's now been normalized in ways that are really quite breathtaking.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. More DeSantis Stunts in the Works. AP: "The Republican governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, plans to continue flying undocumented migrants to Democratic strongholds, his spokeswoman said on Saturday, a day after released records showed the state paid nearly $1m to arrange two sets of flights to Delaware and Illinois. Documents released on Friday showed that the planned flights will transport about 100 migrants. They were scheduled for before 3 October but were halted or postponed. The contractor hired by Florida extended the window for the trips until 1 December, according to memos released by the state transportation department."

Michigan. AP: "A judge has dismissed a young woman from the jury hearing the trial of three men in connection with a 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer after attorneys accused her of flirting with one of the defendants. Judge Thomas Wilson announced Friday that the woman has been removed from the jury, two days after attorneys raised concerns the juror was having too much non-verbal communication with defendant Paul Bellar, the Jackson Citizen Patriot reported."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Sunday are here: "Russia's effort to limit Ukrainian counteroffensives by pounding Kyiv and other cities with missiles and mobilizing more troops is unlikely to shift the dynamics of the conflict, which is now clearly tilting in favor of Ukraine, Western intelligence assessments and military experts say.... [Ukrainian President] Zelensky says the Russian death toll is 'approaching 65,000.'... The Kremlin is still conducting massive, forced deportations of Ukrainians, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War said -- and it may be replacing them with imported Russian citizens."

Piper Sauer of the Guardian: "At least 11 people were killed and 15 more wounded at a military training ground in the Belgorod region in south-western Russia on Saturday when two volunteers opened fire on other troops, the Russian defence ministry has said. The ministry said in a statement that the two shooters were nationals from a former Soviet republic and had been shot dead after the attack. The ministry called the incident a terrorist attack."

Robyn Dixon & Natalia Abbakumova of the Washington Post: "In cities and towns across Russia, men of fighting age are going into hiding to avoid the officials who are seizing them and sending them to fight in Ukraine. Police and military press-gangs in recent days have snatched men off the streets and outside Metro stations."

AFP: "Elon Musk on Saturday announced that his company would continue to pay for Starlink satellite internet in war-torn Ukraine, a day after suggesting he could not keep funding the project. 'The hell with it,' the world's richest man wrote on Twitter. 'Even though Starlink is still losing money & other companies are getting billions of taxpayer $, we'll just keep funding Ukraine govt for free.' Musk had said on Friday that SpaceX would not be able to pay for Starlink in Ukraine indefinitely, as the US military confirmed it was communicating with the billionaire's company about funding for the key network."

China. Christian Shepherd & Lily Kuo of the Washington Post: "Chinese leader Xi Jinping pledged Sunday to turn China into a 'great modern socialist country' that represents a 'new choice' for humanity, as he opened a Chinese Communist Party meeting where he is expected to secure a precedent-breaking third term. From a lectern onstage at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, Xi spoke without a mask for an hour and 45 minutes to open the twice-per-decade meeting that sets the national agenda for the next five years." ~~~

     ~~~ Helen Davidson & Emma Graham-Harrison of the Guardian: “Xi Jinping celebrated China's crushing of Hong Kong's autonomy and warned Taiwan that the 'wheels of history are turning towards Beijing taking control of the island democracy in his speech opening the Communist party congress. The most important gathering in the five-year Chinese political cycle is expected to hand Xi another five-year term running China, cementing his position as the most powerful leader since Mao Zedong." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments related to the party congress.

Haiti, et al. Danica Coto of the AP: "The U.S. and Canada sent armored vehicles and other supplies to Haiti on Saturday to help police fight a powerful gang amid a pending request from the Haitian government for the immediate deployment of foreign troops. A U.S. State Department statement said the equipment was bought by Haiti's government, but it did not provide further details on the supplies flown on military aircraft to the capital of Port-au-Prince."

Iran. Sarah Dadouch & Babak Denghanpisheh of the Washington Post: "A massive fire broke out Saturday night in Iran's notorious Evin prison, which holds hundreds of dissidents and has detained hundreds more during the past month of street protests. Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that eight people were injured in the fire and that it was under control by Sunday morning, while citing officials who insisted there was no link between the blaze and the recent demonstrations." A BBC report is here.

U.K. Toby Helm & Michael Savage of the Guardian: "Senior Conservatives will this week hold talks on a 'rescue mission' that would see the swift removal of Liz Truss as leader, after the new chancellor Jeremy Hunt dramatically tore up her economic package and signalled a new era of austerity. A group of senior MPs will meet on Monday to discuss the prime minister's future, with some wanting her to resign within days and others saying she is now 'in office but not in control'. Some are threatening to publicly call on Truss to stand down after the implosion of her tax-cutting programme. In a rearguard action to prop up the prime minister, her cabinet allies tonight warned MPs they would precipitate an election and ensure the Tories were 'finished as a party' if they toppled a second leader in just a few months."

However, support for Truss is also evaporating inside the cabinet, with members keeping in close touch with her critics.

News Ledes

New York Times: "A man the police described as a 'potential serial killer' who terrorized residents in California's Central Valley in a string of fatal shootings was arrested early on Saturday while he was 'out hunting' for more victims, the authorities said. The man, Wesley Brownlee, 43, was arrested in Stockton after an investigation that connected five fatal shootings across Stockton along with a killing about 70 miles away." The Guardian's report is here.

AP: "A 15-year-old boy alleged to have killed five people and injured two in a shooting rampage in Raleigh, North Carolina, will be charged as an adult, authorities said.... 'In this situation, there's no question the mass loss of life, in my opinion, this case be transferred and tried in superior court,' [Wake County D.A. Lorrin] Freeman said at a press conference on Friday."

Washington Post: "Widespread flooding caused by extreme rainfall and the release of excess water from a dam in neighboring Cameroon has left 1.4 million Nigerians displaced and claimed 500 lives, according to government officials. The floods also injured 1,546 people, inundated 70,566 hectares of farmland and 'totally damaged' 45,249 homes, said Nasir Sani-Gwarzo, the permanent secretary in Nigeria's Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development."

October 15, 2022

Kristen Holmes & Sara Murray of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Friday does not say whether he will comply with the subpoena by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, in a lengthy response to the committee posted on Truth Social. In a letter addressed to committee chairman Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the former President doubles down on fraudulent claims that the 2020 election was stolen and insists the committee should have instead looked into these claims.... Trump lays blame on DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not utilizing the National Guard. As CNN has previously reported, the speaker of the House is not in charge of Capitol security. That's the responsibility of the Capitol Police Board...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Hint to Orange Jesus: If you want to contact Bennie Thompson, you might send a letter through Louis DeJoy's faltering outfit; I would guess Rep. Thompson does not have a subscription to Liars Social. And just as an aside, it's likely you won't convince Thompson that Nancy Pelosi is the perp here. P.S. I guess you didn't see the tape of Pelosi running the show, trying to get your pathetic made guys off their asses. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The letter [Donald Trump] released on Friday -- a conspiracy theory-filled rehash of his many grievances and false assertions -- underscored the risks for the [January 6] committee of giving Mr. Trump an unfettered public platform. 'The presidential election of 2020 was rigged and stolen!' the letter began in all capital letters. Mr. Trump dedicated page after page to repeating that lie about the 2020 election.... Instead of providing what he claimed was evidence, he included appendices filled with assertions of widespread election irregularities that have been debunked, some by his own former attorney general, William P. Barr, and other top Justice Department officials.... He ... again complained of what he claimed was media censorship that downplayed the size of the crowd [on January 6]." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's a detail in the story. In the video Alexandra Pelosi compiled, Nancy Pelosi is heard conferring with Mike Pence several times. At one point, she advises Pence, "Don't tell anyone where you are." Broadwater & Haberman report, "Mr. Trump never attempted to check on Mr. Pence.... But in a ... phone call sometime that afternoon, Mr. Pence's chief of staff, Marc Short, reached out Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff.... But when Mr. Meadows asked where the vice president was, Mr. Short declined to provide specifics, saying only that they were around the Capitol." Seems Pence took Pelosi's advice. ~~~

~~~ Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "Trumpworld sources tell New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman that ... Donald Trump says he'll testify before the January 6 Committee if he can do it live -- and at least one of his lawyers is on board." MB: I don't hold much stock in this story; it sounds like something Trump is throwing out there so he can (1) get more attention and (2) later say, "I wanted to testify, but my lawyers insisted the committee would be too unfa-a-a-ir." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~ Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "Never-before-seen video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other congressional leaders on Jan. 6, 2021, offers strikingly vivid evidence undermining ... Donald Trump's long-debunked claim that the failure to adequately protect the Capitol from a pro-Trump mob lay not with him but with Pelosi. In the video shown Thursday by the House committee investigating the attack, Pelosi is on the phone pleading with Trump administration officials for help to stop the violence and secure the Capitol as U.S. Capitol Police were overmatched by the hundreds of rioters storming the building -- including some who demanded her head. Getting nowhere with the officials, she contacts Virginia's governor and says she will contact the D.C. mayor....

"Trump often has suggested that Pelosi failed to do her job, that the breach of the Capitol was her fault and ... not that of the commander in chief. He has falsely claimed that Pelosi rejected his order for 10,000 National Guard troops -- something that never happened. The former president, in a statement posted online Friday responding to the committee, wrote, 'I fully authorized' deployment of National Guard troops, but, he added falsely, the request was refused by officials who answer to Pelosi.... Trump's false claims were echoed by Republican lawmakers, including some who -- according to the newly released video -- were literally in the room when Pelosi and others were calling in reinforcements." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Nancy Pelosi is our Churchill, without the Churchill baggage. ~~~

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post debunks GOP claims that Nancy Pelosi either refused aid from the National Guard or at least "hesitated" when it was offered. In one instance, videotape shows one of the perps -- Minority Whip Steve Scalise -- looking on while Pelosi was on the phone trying to secure assistance from the Guard.

Julia Ainsley & Ali Vitali of NBC News: "The House Committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection has asked the Secret Service for records of all communications between the far-right Oath Keepers group and Secret Service agents prior to and on the day of the attack, after a preliminary accounting by the agency indicated multiple contacts in 2020, according to a Secret Service spokesman. The spokesman said the Congressional request follows a short telephonic briefing from the Secret Service to committee staff, in which the agency said an agent from its protective intelligence division had 'numerous' contacts with Oath Keepers leader Stewart Rhodes and other group members prior to Trump rallies in fall 2020, but that they were all part of common practice to inform the group of security protocols to follow."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department asked an appeals court on Friday to end a special master review of thousands of documents that the F.B.I. seized from ... Donald J. Trump's Florida estate, arguing that a federal judge had been wrong to intervene in its investigation into Mr. Trump's hoarding of sensitive government records. In a 53-page brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, the Justice Department broadly challenged the legal legitimacy of orders last month by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who blocked investigators from using the materials and appointed an independent arbiter to sift them for any that are potentially privileged or Mr. Trump's personal property. The Justice Department already succeeded in persuading a panel of the Atlanta-based court to exempt about 100 documents marked classified from Judge Cannon's move -- a decision the Supreme Court declined to overturn this week. In its new filing, the Justice Department asked the appeals court to reverse her order for the remaining 11,000 or so documents." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's report is here.

Sadie Gurman & Alex Leary of Market Watch. The Wall Street Journal is reporting: "Federal investigators contacted at least two aides to ... Donald Trump months before the FBI searched his Mar-a-Lago resort and have sought to talk to them again in recent weeks, people familiar with the matter said, as the Justice Department examines possible obstruction of its efforts to retrieve hundreds of government and classified documents. The aides, Walt Nauta and Will Russell, are witnesses in the Justice Department's investigation into the handling of presidential and classified records taken from the White House but aren't formally cooperating with the probe.... Russell hasn't personally spoken to investigators, who are communicating with his counsel.... [Russell] served in the Trump White House, including as a coordinator of presidential travel, and went on to work for the former president in Florida after he left office." ~~~

~~~ “Better Check Bedminster.” Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "As many as nine boxes that Donald Trump's aides hauled from his home in Florida this year to his New Jersey resort are raising new questions about the ex-president's hoarding of secret government documents. Video published May 9 by the Trump-friendly Daily Mail with an article about Trump decamping from Mar-a-Lago in the hot weather and settling in at Bedminster, New Jersey, for the summer shows aides loading boxes onto a private plane ferrying Trump. The cartons appear similar to those that FBI agents confiscated at Mar-a-Lago in August with a search warrant. 'Better check Bedminster,' former FBI official Peter Strozok tweeted last month as the video made the rounds on social media.... The National Archives ... has said it believes members of Trump's administration still have failed to turn over documents and electronic records." (Also linked yesterday.)

Why Marc Short Went Back to a Grand Jury. Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "A former top aide to Vice President Mike Pence returned before a grand jury Thursday to testify in a criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election after federal courts overruled ... Donald Trump's objections to the testimony, according to people familiar with the matter. In a sealed decision that could clear the way for other top Trump White House officials to answer questions before a grand jury, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled that former Pence chief of staff Marc Short probably possessed information important to the Justice Department's criminal investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that was not available from other sources, one of those people said. Trump appealed, but the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to postpone Short's appearance while the litigation continues, the people said, signaling that attempts by Trump to invoke executive privilege to preserve the confidentiality of presidential decision-making were not likely to prevail.... Other senior Trump White House officials could also be affected by the outcome of the court ruling...." (Also linked yesterday.)

digby republishes a big chunk of a Daily Beast story: "In new exclusive footage obtained by The Daily Beast, a yet-to-be-released documentary captured [Roger] Stone's meltdown after learning on President Joe Biden's inauguration day that he wouldn't be granted a second coveted legal protection, this time to shield from any Jan 6 legal fallout. (Trump issued a pardon to Stone in December 2020.)... 'Fuck you and your abortionist bitch daughter,' he concluded,referring to Ivanka Trump, according to the filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen who said there was 'no doubt' who Stone was ranting about. According to the filmmakers, the video clip above was one of the few videos hand-selected by the Jan 6th Committee, but, in the end, the committee elected not to play the clip.... Guldbrandsen ... told The Daily Beast that the tense scene was from inauguration day on Jan. 20, 2021, and recorded in Fort Lauderdale.... 'Aside from Donald Trump, he also held Jared Kush[n]er responsible as being the guy who was the point man on the pardon,' he said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Another Setback for John Durham. (It Depends on What the Meaning of "Talk" Is.) Matthew Barakat of the AP: "A judge on Friday tossed out one of five counts against a think-tank analyst charged with lying to the FBI about his role in the creation of a flawed dossier about ... Donald Trump. The remaining four counts against Igor Danchenko will go to a jury Monday after prosecutors and the defense rested their cases Friday. But Judge Anthony Trenga reserved the right to toss out the other four counts regardless of what the jury decides. In the count that was tossed out, prosecutors alleged that Danchenko lied to the FBI when he told an agent that he never 'talked' with a Democratic operative named Charles Dolan about the information in the dossier[, but the two had communicated via email].... Danchenko is being prosecuted by Special Counsel John Durham, who was appointed by then-Attorney General William Barr to investigate any misconduct in the FBI's investigation of the Trump campaign and its alleged ties to Russia.... Testimony this week at trial has highlighted Durham's difficulty in proving his allegations. Two key FBI witnesses for the prosecution ended up providing testimony that was highly favorable to Danchenko, resulting in the unusual spectacle of Durham seeking to eviscerate the credibility of his own witnesses on re-direct."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: In most cases, according to Article III of the Constitution, the Court has “appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make." So, Bouie writes, "If Congress can regulate the appellate jurisdiction of the Supreme Court, then it can determine which cases it can hear, the criteria for choosing those cases and even the basis on which the court can make a constitutional determination. Congress could say, for instance, that the court needs more than a bare majority to overturn a federal statute.... In the same way that it takes a supermajority of Congress to propose a constitutional amendment, it should probably take a supermajority of the court to say what the Constitution means, especially when it relates to acts and actions of elected officials.... Disputes over the Supreme Court's power of judicial review are not new."

Lauren Hirsch & Julie Creswell of the New York Times: "The grocery giant Kroger announced plans on Friday to acquire Albertsons in a deal that could reshape the supermarket landscape in the United States, uniting the country's largest supermarket chains at a time when rising costs and competition from Walmart and Amazon squeeze the industry. But the deal, which values Albertsons at about $24.6 billion including debt, is likely to invite intense scrutiny from regulator who are focused on the potential for large companies to affect prices, and have a history of blocking deals that may directly impact consumers. Even before the deal was announced Friday, consumer advocates had raised objections to its possibility." (Also linked yesterday.)

November Elections

Georgia Senate. Natalie Allison of Politico: "In his first and likely only debate with Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, [Herschel] Walker maintained he is still 'pro-life' and criticized the incumbent for supporting abortion rights. But he said that he agrees with the state of Georgia's law that allows exceptions for rape, incest and the mother's life while prohibiting abortion after six weeks, a position that differs from Walker's remarks earlier this year.... Despite Walker's accusations that Warnock had not prioritized the people of Georgia in office, Warnock told stories about working to solve his constituent' problems and concerns.... Throughout the debate, both men were repeatedly chastised for interrupting each other. At one point, Walker was reprimanded for bringing a prop to the debate, which appeared to be an identification badge -- likely one showing he was once a 'special deputy sheriff' in Cobb County." ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times reporters liveblogged the debate & pulled out some key moments.

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Jonathan Cooper of the AP: "Arizona's Republican attorney general, Mark Brnovich, on Friday asked the FBI and IRS to look into [MB: a right-wing] election integrity group that claimed to have uncovered widespread fraud in the 2020 election but never provided evidence. True the Vote, a nonprofit organization, has raised 'considerable sums of money' on its claim that it had evidence of widespread fraud and may have broken federal tax laws, Reggie Grigsby, a criminal investigator in Brnovich's office, wrote to federal authorities. Leaders from True The Vote promised repeatedly over the course of a year to provide data supporting their claim that people illegally collected ballots and delivered them to drop boxes during the 2020 election, Grigsby wrote. The claim was at the center of '2,000 Mules,' a debunked film that was aggressively promoted by ... Donald Trump.... But True the Vote ... never provided the data they promised to the attorney general's office despite claiming publicly that they had, Grigsby wrote. In June, they told state investigators they had given their data to the FBI while telling the FBI that the materials were given to the attorney general's office."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Saturday are here: "Air raid sirens rang across much of Ukraine early Saturday, hours after Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested that a days-long barrage of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine was over, saying at a Friday news conference that there was 'no need for massive strikes, at least now' after his military hit most of its targets. Putin defended his decision to invade Ukraine, but also appeared to acknowledge growing discontent with the war at home. He assured Russians that his unpopular partial mobilization of military reservists, which has prompted tens of thousands of men to flee the country, would end in two weeks.... The United States on Friday announced an additional $725 million in security assistance for Ukraine.... Ukrainian officials are urging people across the country to conserve energy and warning of a difficult winter after Russia pummeled critical infrastructure."

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Throughout this week, the Russian military fired its most intensive barrage of missiles at Ukraine since the start of the war in February, killing three dozen civilians, knocking out electricity and overwhelming air defenses. One thing the missiles did not do was change the course of the ground war. Fought mostly in trenches, with the most intense combat now in an area of rolling hills and pine forests in the east and on the open plains in the south, these battles are where control of territory is decided -- and where Russia's military continued to lose ground, despite its missile strikes. 'They use their expensive rockets for nothing, just to frighten people,' Volodymyr Ariev, a member of Ukraine's Parliament, said.... 'They think they can scare Ukrainians. But the goal they achieved is only making us angrier.'"

Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "... eight months after Russia invaded Ukraine, [Belarus's strongman leader, Aleksandr] Lukashenko's Russian-enabled grip on power risks slipping as Moscow pressures him to get more involved in the faltering military campaign next door in Ukraine.... With his forces now largely bogged down or in retreat, President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is looking to Mr. Lukashenko for more robust support. After a meeting with Mr. Putin in St Petersburg last weekend, Mr. Lukashenko on Monday told military and security officials that Ukraine, Poland and NATO were 'trying to drag us into a fight.... We must not let them drag us into a war.'..."

U.K. Peter Walker of the Guardian: "Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as Liz Truss's new chancellor, in a stunning reversal of political fortune and a sign that the beleaguered prime minister wants to reach out to other sections of the Conservative party. Hunt, the former foreign secretary and health secretary, who has twice tried unsuccessfully to become Conservative leader, was named chancellor after Kwasi Kwarteng, in the job for just over five weeks, was sacked by Truss ahead of another U-turn over tax cuts." (Also linked yesterday.) 

October 14, 2022

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department asked an appeals court on Friday to end a special master review of thousands of documents that the F.B.I. seized from ... Donald J. Trump's Florida estate, arguing that a federal judge had been wrong to intervene in its investigation into Mr. Trump's hoarding of sensitive government records. In a 53-page brief before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, in Atlanta, the Justice Department broadly challenged the legal legitimacy of orders last month by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, who blocked investigators from using the materials and appointed an independent arbiter to sift them for any that are potentially privileged or Mr. Trump's personal property. The Justice Department already succeeded in persuading a panel of the Atlanta-based court to exempt about 100 documents marked classified from Judge Cannon's move -- a decision the Supreme Court declined to overturn this week. In its new filing, the Justice Department asked the appeals court to reverse her order for the remaining 11,000 or so documents."

Kristen Holmes & Sara Murray of CNN: "... Donald Trump on Friday does not say whether he will comply with the subpoena by the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol Hill insurrection, in a lengthy response to the committee posted on Truth Social. In a letter addressed to committee chairman Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the former President doubles down on fraudulent claims that the 2020 election was stolen and insists the committee should have instead looked into these claims.... Trump lays blame on DC Mayor Muriel Bowser and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for not utilizing the National Guard. As CNN has previously reported, the speaker of the House is not in charge of Capitol security. That's the responsibility of the Capitol Police Board...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Hint to Orange Jesus: If you want to contact Bennie Thompson, you might send a letter through Louis DeJoy's faltering outfit; I would guess Rep. Thompson does not have a subscription to Liars Social. And just as an aside, it's likely you won't convince Thompson that Nancy Pelosi is the perp here. P.S. I guess you didn't see the tape of Pelosi running the show, trying to get your pathetic made guys off their asses. ~~~

~~~ Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "Never-before-seen video of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other congressional leaders on Jan. 6, 2021, offers strikingly vivid evidence undermining ... Donald Trump's long-debunked claim that the failure to adequately protect the Capitol from a pro-Trump mob lay not with him but with Pelosi. In the video shown Thursday by the House committee investigating the attack, Pelosi is on the phone pleading with Trump administration officials for help to stop the violence and secure the Capitol as U.S. Capitol Police were overmatched by the hundreds of rioters storming the building -- including some who demanded her head. Getting nowhere with the officials, she contacts Virginia's governor and says she will contact the D.C. mayor....

"Trump often has suggested that Pelosi failed to do her job, that the breach of the Capitol was her fault and ... not that of the commander in chief. He has falsely claimed that Pelosi rejected his order for 10,000 National Guard troops -- something that never happened. The former president, in a statement posted online Friday responding to the committee, wrote, 'I fully authorized' deployment of National Guard troops, but, he added falsely, the request was refused by officials who answer to Pelosi.... Trump's false claims were echoed by Republican lawmakers, including some who -- according to the newly released video -- were literally in the room when Pelosi and others were calling in reinforcements."

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "Trumpworld sources tell New York Times correspondent and CNN analyst Maggie Haberman that ... Donald Trump says he'll testify before the January 6 Committee if he can do it live -- and at least one of his lawyers is on board." MB: I don't hold much stock in this story; it sounds like something Trump is throwing out there so he can (1) get more attention and (2) later say, "I wanted to testify, but my lawyers insisted the committee would be too unfa-a-a-ir."

"Better Check Bedminster.” Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "As many as nine boxes that Donald Trump's aides hauled from his home in Florida this year to his New Jersey resort are raising new questions about the ex-president's hoarding of secret government documents. Video published May 9 by the Trump-friendly Daily Mail with an article about Trump decamping from Mar-a-Lago in the hot weather and settling in at Bedminster, New Jersey, for the summer shows aides loading boxes onto a private plane ferrying Trump. The cartons appear similar to those that FBI agents confiscated at Mar-a-Lago in August with a search warrant. 'Better check Bedminster,' former FBI official Peter Strozok tweeted last month as the video made the rounds on social media.... The National Archives ... has said it believes members of Trump's administration still have failed to turn over documents and electronic records."

Why Marc Short Went Back to a Grand Jury. Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "A former top aide to Vice President Mike Pence returned before a grand jury Thursday to testify in a criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election after federal courts overruled ... Donald Trump's objections to the testimony, according to people familiar with the matter. In a sealed decision that could clear the way for other top Trump White House officials to answer questions before a grand jury, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled that former Pence chief of staff Marc Short probably possessed information important to the Justice Department's criminal investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol that was not available from other sources, one of those people said. Trump appealed, but the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit refused to postpone Short's appearance while the litigation continues, the people said, signaling that attempts by Trump to invoke executive privilege to preserve the confidentiality of presidential decision-making were not likely to prevail.... Other senior Trump White House officials could also be affected by the outcome of the court ruling...."

digby republishes a big chunk of a Daily Beast story: "In new exclusive footage obtained by The Daily Beast, a yet-to-be-released documentary captured [Roger] Stone's meltdown after learning on President Joe Biden's inauguration day that he wouldn't be granted a second coveted legal protection, this time to shield from any Jan 6 legal fallout. (Trump issued a pardon to Stone in December 2020.)... 'Fuck you and your abortionist bitch daughter,' he concluded, referring to Ivanka Trump, according to the filmmaker Christoffer Guldbrandsen who said there was 'no doubt' who Stone was ranting about. According to the filmmakers, the video clip above was one of the few videos hand-selected by the Jan 6th Committee, but, in the end, the committee elected not to play the clip.... Guldbrandsen ... told The Daily Beast that the tense scene was from inauguration day on Jan. 20, 2021, and recorded in Fort Lauderdale.... 'Aside from Donald Trump, he also held Jared Kush[n]er responsible as being the guy who was the point man on the pardon,' he said."

Lauren Hirsch & Julie Creswell of the New York Times: "The grocery giant Kroger announced plans on Friday to acquire Albertsons in a deal that could reshape the supermarket landscape in the United States, uniting the country's largest supermarket chains at a time when rising costs and competition from Walmart and Amazon squeeze the industry. But the deal, which values Albertsons at about $24.6 billion including debt, is likely to invite intense scrutiny from regulators who are focused on the potential for large companies to affect prices, and have a history of blocking deals that may directly impact consumers. Even before the deal was announced Friday, consumer advocates had raised objections to its possibility."

Peter Walker of the Guardian: "Jeremy Hunt has been appointed as Liz Truss's new chancellor, in a stunning reversal of political fortune and a sign that the beleaguered prime minister wants to reach out to other sections of the Conservative party. Hunt, the former foreign secretary and health secretary, who has twice tried unsuccessfully to become Conservative leader, was named chancellor after Kwasi Kwarteng, in the job for just over five weeks, was sacked by Truss ahead of another U-turn over tax cuts."

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Lisa Mascaro, et al., of the AP: "The House Jan. 6 committee voted unanimously Thursday to subpoena Donald Trump, demanding the former president's personal testimony as it unveiled startling new video from his closest aides describing his multi-part plan to overturn his 2020 election loss that resulted in the assault on the U.S. Capitol.... In the committee's 10th public session, just weeks before the congressional midterm elections, the panel summed up Trump's 'staggering betrayal' of his oath of office.... To illustrate what it said were 'purposeful lies,' the committee juxtaposed repeated instances in which top administration officials recounted telling Trump the actual facts with clips of him repeating the exact opposite at his pre-riot rally at the Ellipse on Jan. 6.... In never-before-seen Secret Service messages, the panel produced evidence that extremist groups provided the muscle in the fight for Trump's presidency, planning weeks before the attack to send a violent force to Washington. The Secret Service warned in a Dec. 26, 2020, email of a tip that members of the right-wing Proud Boys planned to outnumber the police in a march in Washington on Jan. 6." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Washington Post's report is here.

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post pulls out five takeaways from the January 6 committee hearing that seem spot on. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The New York Times' live updates of the January 6 committee hearing are useful. ~~~

~~~ Catie Edmondson & Aishvarya Kavi: "Chilling new footage shared by the select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol showed for the first time how Congress's top leaders scrambled on Jan. 6 to try to secure the building as it came under attack. The tense video underscored how deeply they feared for the safety of their colleagues and staff members. As they watched the rioters' assault on television, [Nancy] Pelosi and Senator Chuck Schumer ... implored governors of nearby states to dispatch their national guards to protect lawmakers still in the building.... The footage, shot by Ms. Pelosi's daughter, Alexandra, also showed top Democratic and Republican officials -- including Senator Mitch McConnell ... -- huddling on the phone with Pentagon officials, mapping out how they could quickly certify President Biden's electoral victory....

Maggie Haberman: "This behind-the-scenes footage of the congressional leaders desperately trying to get help from the Trump administration is stunning....

Charlie Savage: Adam "Schiff seems to be accusing witnesses of perjury: 'The Secret Service and other agencies knew of the prospect of violence well in advance of the president's speech at the Ellipse. Despite this, certain White House and Secret Service witnesses previously testified that they had received no intelligence about violence that could potentially threaten any of the protectees on Jan. 6, including the vice president. Evidence strongly suggests that this testimony is not credible.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Marshall Cohen of CNN: "Never-before-seen footage, obtained exclusively by CNN, shows in vivid new detail how congressional leaders fled the US Capitol on January 6 and transformed a nearby military base into a command center, where they frantically coordinated with Vice President Mike Pence and Trump Cabinet members to quell the insurrection and finish certifying the 2020 election. The January 6 select committee aired snippets of the footage at its public hearing on Thursday, but CNN has obtained roughly an hour of additional material that wasn't presented by the panel.... The extended raw footage shines a devastating light on ... Donald Trump's inaction during the riot. Lawmakers are seen working around Trump to secure any help they could get -- from the National Guard, federal agencies and local police departments -- to defeat the mob he incited.... In [a] shocking moment, Schumer and Pelosi are seen chewing out the acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen. In a heated phone call, Schumer told Rosen that federal authorities should 'make arrests, starting now,' but Rosen only offered a halting, non-committal response." Worth reading the whole article. ~~~

   ~~~ Marie: Unlike the clips the committee showed, CNN's footage included audio of the responses to Trump's Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Army & Attorney General. The Congressional leaders urged these men to immediately send military & law enforcement personnel to the Capitol to aid the Capitol Police, who were vastly outnumbered by the mob. You have never heard more stonewalling, hemming & hawing & double-speaking from government officials. They seemed petrified. ~~~

      ~~~ To me, this was the most shocking news of the day: that the top U.S. military & law enforcement officials were unable or unwilling to save the Capitol from the mobs whom their boss Donald Trump had sent to attack it. Meanwhile, of course, Trump was gleefully watching TV & egging on the mob. To add insult to injury, Trump, Kevin McCarthy & other House leaders later blamed Pelosi for not protecting the Capitol. Nothing could be further from the truth. She, Chuck Schumer & House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer took the lead in pressing for reinforcements for the Capitol Police. And while the Congressional leaders were explaining the urgency of the situation to men who also could watch TV coverage of what was going on, these top administrative officials were mumbling about "coordinating" and "planning" & "waiting to secure authority" to act. Pathetic!

Petula Dvorak of the Washington Post: As insurrectionists ran through the Capitol hallways on January 6 seeking to capture & assassinate Nancy Pelosi, Pelosi was in action. She was a battle general in taupe heels, making calls to move troops, to quell the ambush, to secure a peaceful transfer of power. This was the scene America finally saw in the video played at the Jan. 6 select committee's hearing Thursday. Calm, cool and focused, Pelosi was the leader that American democracy needed that day. Tell me again: How are women too emotional to be in charge?"

Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "The Secret Service had warnings earlier than previously known that supporters of ... Donald Trump were plotting an armed attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, according to records revealed in a congressional hearing Thursday. Secret Service agents in charge of assessing the risks around the protests had been tracking online chats on pro-Trump websites and noted that rallygoers were vowing to bring firearms, target the Capitol for a siege and even kill Vice President Mike Pence. As early as Dec. 26, Secret Service officials were sharing one tipster's warnings about extremist groups coming to the Capitol with murderous plans. 'They think they will have a large enough group to march into DC armed and will outnumber the police so they can't be stopped,' the tip read.... The evidence presented at the hearing adds the Secret Service to a long list of national security agencies who received prescient warnings about the assault protesters planned for Jan. 6, yet failed to respond with urgency or cohesion to prevent the insurrection." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is the other shocking revelation from Thursday's hearing. The Secret Service, the White House & Trump himself knew of the plans for violence on January 6. And they knew on January 6 that many of the insurrectionists were armed (rendering ridiculous Trump's later attempts to blame antifa adherents for the siege). In the past we have heard that the attack was the result of "a failure of intelligence." But it turns out law enforcement had the intelligence all along & they chose to suppress it and not share it with, say, the Capitol police or Congressional leadership.

Casey Gannon of CNN: "Two former Trump administration officials were seen Thursday at the Washington, DC, federal courthouse where the grand jury investigating the January 6 US Capitol attack meets. Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, was compelled to testify to the January 6 grand jury on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the matter. It was his second time testifying.... Short previously testified this summer in front of the grand jury investigating the attack on the Capitol. His appearance at the court Thursday also comes as the Justice Department and attorneys for Trump are engaged in a secret court fight to stop a federal grand jury from getting information from former Trump administration officials. Trump adviser and former national security aide Kash Patel was also seen walking into an area where the grand jury meets."

Ryan Reilly & Ken Delanian of NBC News: "A week after the Jan. 6 attack, a person familiar with FBI operations informed a top bureau manager that 'there is, at best, a sizeable percentage of the employee population that felt sympathetic to the group that stormed the Capitol,' according to an email just released under the Freedom of Information Act.... The unnamed emailer said many FBI agents believed Jan. 6 'was no different than (Black Lives Matter) protests of last summer. Several also lamented that the only reason this violent activity is getting more attention is because of "political correctness."'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Supremes Brush Off Trump. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a request from ... Donald J. Trump to intervene in the litigation over documents seized from his Florida estate. The court';s order, which was a sentence long, was a stinging rebuke to Mr. Trump. There were no noted dissents, and the court gave no reasons, saying only: 'The application to vacate the stay entered by the United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit on Sept. 21, 2022, presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the court is denied.'" Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "A key witness in the ongoing Justice Department and FBI investigation of Donald Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents is a Navy veteran who followed the former president to Florida after serving as a valet in the Trump White House, people familiar with the matter said. Walt Nauta is the witness in question, according to these people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss an ongoing investigation.... The information Nauta provided to FBI agents, and the footage described to The Post, offer the most direct account to date of Trump's actions and instructions leading up to the FBI's Aug. 8 search of his Florida property.... When FBI agents first interviewed Nauta, he denied any role in moving boxes or sensitive documents, the people familiar with the situation said in interviews before Nauta's name became public. But as investigators gathered more evidence, they questioned him a second time and he told a starkly different story -- that Trump instructed him to move the boxes, these people said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Nauta is the person the New York Times identified Wednesday; the Times reporters were not sure he was the same Mar-a-Lago worker described in the WashPo 's Wednesday article; now we know he was. The Times story was updated Thursday.

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Days before the New York attorney general filed a lawsuit accusing Donald J. Trump and his company of fraud and seeking to shut down some of their business in the state, Mr. Trump's lawyers created a new company in Delaware.... On Sept. 21, the day the suit was filed, the new Delaware company filed paperwork in New York, seeking to be recognized there as the Trump Organization II. Those maneuvers were detailed for the first time in a court filing on Thursday from the attorney general, Letitia James, who raised the prospect that Mr. Trump was seeking an end run around some of her lawsuit's harshest potential punishments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Mother Jones report is here.

Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Guardian: "A financial firm that operates billions of dollars in real estate properties around the world is facing new questions from the powerful chairman of the Senate finance committee about whether Qatar was secretly involved in the $1.2bn (£1bn) rescue of a Fifth Avenue property owned by Jared Kushner's family while Kushner was serving in the White House. Ron Wyden, the Oregon Democrat who leads the finance committee, has given the chief executive of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management until 24 October to answer a series of detailed questions about a 2018 deal in which Brookfield paid Kushner Companies for a 99-year lease on the family's marquee 666 Fifth Avenue property.... In a statement on Thursday, Wyden accused Brookfield of stonewalling his committee and refusing to answer questions about the transaction, including whether Brookfield 'intentionally misled' the public...."

Lori Konish of CNBC: "Amid record high inflation, Social Security beneficiaries will get an 8.7% increase to their benefits in 2023, the highest increase in 40 years. The Social Security Administration announced the change on Thursday. It will result in a benefit increase of more than $140 more per month on average starting in January. The average Social Security retiree benefit will increase $146 per month, to $1,827 in 2023, from $1,681 in 2022." (Also linked yesterday.)

Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "A veteran F.B.I. counterintelligence agent testified on Thursday that the Trump Justice Department's decision in 2020 to release sensitive documents about a bureau informant to a Senate committee examining the bureau's Russia investigation had damaged national security. The agent told jurors at the trial of Igor Danchenko, who is charged with lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation about matters related to the anti-Trump Steele dossier, that Mr. Danchenko, a Russia analyst, had provided extraordinary assistance for years as a paid F.B.I. informant. Internet sleuths managed to piece together Mr. Danchenko's identity after Attorney General William P. Barr directed the F.B.I. to declassify a redacted report about its three-day interview of Mr. Danchenko in 2017 and give it to Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee at the time.... The testimony by [agent Kevin] Helson, a witness for the prosecution, seemed to be another setback for the special counsel investigation...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marshall Cohen of CNN: "The final expected trial of special counsel John Durham's probe took an unexpected turn Wednesday, with Durham grilling and rebuking his own witness after the witness seemed to bolster the defense of Igor Danchenko, a key Steele dossier source.... The special counsel opened his case with testimony from Brian Auten, a senior FBI intelligence analyst who oversaw part of the FBI's early investigation into possible Trump-Russia collusion. Over two days, Auten helped prosecutors by saying there was information that Danchenko didn't share with the FBI about his dossier.... But the situation shifted when the defense got to cross-examine Auten. Danchenko's lawyers highlighted Auten's previous testimony, given years ago to the Justice Department inspector general and to the Senate Judiciary Committee, which contradicted some of Durham's claims. Auten previously said Danchenko was 'truthful' and 'assisted' the Russia probe. He also said securing Danchenko as an FBI source was 'one of the best things that came out of' the Russia probe. This undercuts the core of Durham's indictment.... Durham returned for a final round of questioning.... Durham sounded angry at times, and many of Auten's responses were adversarial, clearly not giving Durham the answers that fit his narrative." Durham tried to impeach his own witness.

James Barragan of the Texas Tribune: "Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar on Thursday certified that 49 migrants who were flown to Martha’s Vineyard by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis last month were victims of a crime. The move clears a pathway for those migrants to get a special visa to stay in the country that they otherwise would not have received." The criminal? Why, DeSantolink, of course.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Terry Spencer of the AP: "Florida school shooter Nikolas Cruz will be sentenced to life without parole for the 2018 murder of 17 people at Parkland's Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, after the jury said Thursday that it could not unanimously agree that he should be executed -- a decision that left some parents in tears as they exited the courtroom. The jury's recommendation came after seven hours of deliberations over two days, ending a three-month trial that included graphic videos, photos and testimony from the massacre and its aftermath, heart-wrenching testimony from victims'family members and a tour of the still blood-spattered building. Under Florida law, a death sentence requires a unanimous vote on at least one count. Circuit Judge Elizabeth Scherer will formally issue the life sentences Nov. 1. Relatives, along with the students and teachers Cruz wounded, will be given the opportunity to speak at the sentencing hearing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Friday are here: "A Russian-installed official in Kherson is urging citizens to evacuate to Russia, as Ukrainian forces conduct a counteroffensive and appear to make gains in the southern region that Moscow illegally declared it annexed last month. Ukraine says it has reclaimed more than 600 settlements from Russian control so far, including in the regions of Kherson, Donetsk and Luhansk. Kyiv has criticized the International Committee of the Red Cross, saying it should do more to ensure the safety of Ukrainian citizens and fighters held in Russian captivity. President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the ICRC to visit the Olenivka prisoner of war camp, thought to house hundreds of Ukrainian detainees. The humanitarian agency says it has not been granted access to the prison, which is run by Russia. A blast at the camp in the separatist-controlled Donetsk People's Republic in the east is reported to have killed at least 50 people in July."

Alex Marquardt of CNN: "Since they first started arriving in Ukraine last spring, the Starlink satellite internet terminals made by Elon Musk's SpaceX have been a vital source of communication for Ukraine's military, allowing it to fight and stay connected even as cellular phone and internet networks have been destroyed in its war with Russia. So far roughly 20,000 Starlink satellite units have been donated to Ukraine, with Musk tweeting on Friday the 'operation has cost SpaceX $80 million and will exceed $100 million by the end of the year.'... SpaceX has warned the Pentagon that it may stop funding the service in Ukraine unless the US military kicks in tens of millions of dollars per month.... Last month Musk's SpaceX sent a letter to the Pentagon saying it can no longer continue to fund the Starlink service as it has. The letter also requested that the Pentagon take over funding for Ukraine's government and military use of Starlink, which SpaceX claims would cost more than $120 million for the rest of the year and could cost close to $400 million for the next 12 months."