July 28, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "The U.S. economy shrank again for a second straight quarter, at an annual rate of 0.9 percent, raising concerns the country may be heading into recession and compounding the Biden administration's political challenges as it grapples with decades-high inflation. The new figures, released Thursday by the Bureau of Economic Analysis, come at a tumultuous time for the economy, though economists disagree on the likelihood of a full-fledged slump. In the past, six months of contraction have usually indicated a recession. The official determination is made by a separate panel of experts, though recessions aren't typical when unemployment is near record lows." The AP's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Lydia DePillis of the New York Times highlights significant details: "Consumer spending, which powers the majority of the economy, rose 1 percent on an annualized basis, a marked slowdown from previous months.... Home construction, also referred to as residential fixed investment, sagged 14 percent at an annual rate.... Inventories, which measure the amount of stuff that's been produced or imported but not yet sold, depressed the overall number by more than two percentage points on an annual basis.... Business construction, known as fixed investment in nonresidential structures, dove by 11.7 percent on an annual basis.... Federal government spending shrank 3.2 percent on an annual basis.... Final sales to domestic purchasers ... sank 0.3 percent." Emphasis original. ~~~

~~~ President Biden's statement on the GDP report is here.

Marianne Levine & Anthony Adragna of Politico: "Democrats convened for a private caucus meeting Thursday morning to discuss the stunning Wednesday deal announced by Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.). During the meeting, Schumer touted the agreement and urged his caucus to pull out all the stops in order to get the bill passed before leaving D.C. for Congress' usual summer recess.... In a sign that Republicans will put up a tough fight against the package, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Democrats have 'an absolute monstrosity, and we're going to be really aggressively in opposition.'... On top of the parliamentarian's scrubbing [to comply with rules that will allow the bill to pass via a simple majority vote (reconciliation)], Democrats will need full attendance from their 50-member caucus in order to pass the bill. Underscoring how difficult that will be to pull off, Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) tested positive for Covid Thursday; the caucus hasn't had all 50 members voting since the start of the month. And it's still not clear whether the entire caucus is on board with the Manchin-blessed deal. Moderate Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) has not yet backed it or publicly commented and did not attend the caucus meeting Thursday morning."

Mychael Schnell & Emily Brooks of the Hill: "House Republican leadership is urging members of its conference to vote against a bill to bolster the domestic chip manufacturing industry and fund scientific research, a reversal from its position earlier in the day that comes hours after Senate Democrats struck a deal on a multibillion-dollar reconciliation package. In a memo to all House GOP offices Wednesday night, leadership recommended that Republican lawmakers vote against the CHIPS-Plus bill, which passed the Senate in a bipartisan vote earlier in the day.... [The agreement between Chuck Schumer & Joe Manchin] agreement that appears to be driving House GOP's opposition to CHIPS-Plus."

Melanie Zanona of CNN: "Former acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney was seen by reporters arriving for his interview Thursday with the House select committee investigating January 6, 2021. Mulvaney resigned from his position as special envoy to Northern Ireland in the aftermath of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol. He previously served as ... Donald Trump's acting chief of staff until March 2020, when the President replaced him with Mark Meadows."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee has formalized a path to share witness transcripts and evidence with the Justice Department, its chair Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told Politico Thursday.... Agreement on evidence-sharing would mark a significant milestone as the DOJ inquiry into efforts by Donald Trump and others to overturn the 2020 election enters a more public-facing phase. Federal investigators have sought to access the congressional committee's 1,000-plus witness interview transcripts since April, but the select panel has resisted as its probe continued to generate extraordinary new evidence and witness testimony.... In a wide-ranging interview, Thompson said the select committee is entering an intense period of closed-door work to handle 'housekeeping' matters -- such as how to handle the five GOP members of Congress the panel subpoenaed but who have refused to comply. He said the panel is still mulling decisions about whether to formally request testimony from Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence."

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol is working to secure testimony from a growing number of officials in ... Donald Trump's Cabinet, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. Trump's former Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who reportedly discussed the possibility of invoking the 25th Amendment as a vehicle to remove Trump from office with then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, recently sat with committee investigators for a transcribed interview, the sources said. ABC News previously reported that Pompeo is expected to speak with the committee in the coming days, though his interview is not officially scheduled."

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 Washington Post's live briefings for Thursday are here: "Russia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday that no concrete result has been achieved in U.S.-Russian prisoner exchange negotiations, after Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States made a 'substantial proposal' to Moscow for the release of WNBA star Brittney Griner and security consultant Paul Whelan. In Ukraine, air raid sirens blared as strikes were reported outside the capital, Kyiv, and in several other regions. Here's the latest on the war and its global impact."

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has offered to free the imprisoned Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout to secure the release of Brittney Griner and Paul N. Whelan, two Americans imprisoned in Russia who the State Department says were wrongfully detained, according to a person familiar with the negotiations. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said Wednesday that the United States had 'put a substantial proposal on the table' and that he would soon press for the Americans&' return in his first conversation with his Russian counterpart since Russia invaded Ukraine five months ago. Mr. Blinken's comments represented the first time that the United States had confirmed that it had made a formal proposal to persuade Russia to release Ms. Griner, an American basketball star who has been detained for months on drug charges, and Mr. Whelan, a former U.S. Marine who was sentenced in Russia in 2020 to 16 years in prison on espionage charges." CNN's report, which broke the news, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose there will be great celebrations all around if this lopsided trade goes through. As for me, I expect Griner to apologize for freeing the so-called "Merchant of Death," largely on account of her hubris (she went to Russia after the State Department advised Americans against it) & carelessness (she says she accidentally packed the hash). I won't be all surprised if the apology never comes.

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase as it seeks to tamp down runaway inflation without creating a recession. In taking the benchmark overnight borrowing rate up to a range of 2.25%-2.5%, the moves in June and July represent the most stringent consecutive moves since the Fed began using the overnight funds rate as the principal tool of monetary policy in the early 1990s." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times report is here.

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top adviser to ... Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, has recently cooperated with the Department of Justice investigation into the events of Jan. 6, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Justice Department reached out to her following her testimony a month ago before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the sources said." MB: Gosh, Former President* Bullyboy, maybe it was a bad idea to diss Hutchinson after her earlier testimony. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The Justice Department revealed on Wednesday that it had obtained a new search warrant to access the contents of attorney John Eastman's phone, which it seized from the pro-Trump lawyer last month before transporting it to a lab in Virginia. The development, filed in court via Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Windom, came in response to a legal effort by Eastman to block investigators from 'rummaging' through his files. The Justice Department had indicated that it would obtain a warrant that would limit investigators' access to 'evidence of specific federal crimes or specific types of material.' Windom indicated in the filing that the new warrant -- dated July 12 -- included a 'filter protocol' to prevent investigators from accessing privileged material, and that the details of that process had been communicated to Eastman's attorneys.... [An earlier] warrant [obtained in June] did not permit investigators to actually examine the emails, text messages or text devices on those electronics [it seized]."

Spencer Hsu & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "One of two men charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, chemical-spray assault on three police officers at the U.S. Capitol, including Brian D. Sicknick, pleaded guilty to reduced charges Wednesday. West Virginia sandwich shop owner George Tanios, 40, admitted to two counts of misdemeanor trespassing and disorderly conduct on restricted Capitol grounds, a reduction from an earlier 10-count indictment that included felony charges of rioting, assaulting law enforcement officers and obstructing of Congress's certification of President Biden's 2020 election victory. Guidelines call for a sentence of up to a year behind bars; he has already served five months. He will be sentenced Dec. 6.... Neither Tanios [n]or [his co-defendant] is alleged to have caused Sicknick's death."

Norman Lear, in a New York Times op-ed: "Well, I made it. I am 100 years old today.... Reaching my own personal centennial is cause for a bit of reflection on my first century -- and on what the next century will bring for the people and country I love.... I don't take the threat of authoritarianism lightly. As a young man, I dropped out of college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. I flew more than 50 missions in a B-17 bomber to defeat fascism consuming Europe. I am a flag-waving believer in truth, justice and the American way, and I don't understand how so many people who call themselves patriots can support efforts to undermine our democracy and our Constitution.... If Archie [Bunker] had been around 50 years later, he probably would have watched Fox News. He probably would have been a Trump voter. But I think that the sight of the American flag being used to attack Capitol Police would have sickened him. I hope that the resolve shown by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and their commitment to exposing the truth, would have won his respect." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)>

Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "In a forthcoming memoir, Jared Kushner alleges that ... Donald Trump's second chief of staff, John F. Kelly, was viewed within the White House as a bully with a 'Jekyll-and-Hyde' demeanor who once shoved his wife, Ivanka Trump, out of his way after a volatile Oval Office meeting. Kelly denies the allegation." According to Kushner, Kelly later visited Trump in her office and offered "a meek apology, which she accepted." Parker obtained statements that corroborated Kushner's account (one of them from Ivanka Trump), but as she points out, "Many of Trump's staffers also were known for offering competing versions of the same event, often making it difficult to determine the truth of what happened."

Rick Noack of the Washington Post: "Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is facing backlash after a speech arguing that Europeans should not 'become peoples of mixed race,' although the far-right leader is still slated to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas next week. In the same speech, Orban also appeared to joke about Nazi gas chambers, saying in the context of a European Union proposal to ration natural gas: 'the past shows us German know-how on that.'... 'Let's listen to the man speak,' [CPAC] conference organizer Matt Schlapp told Bloomberg News, even as criticism of the Hungarian leader mounted." (See also story linked under Beyond the Beltway below.) ~~~

~~~ ** Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Thank you, Viktor Orban, for showing us where the American right is heading.... [Orban] has enjoyed a fawning interview and favorable broadcasts from Budapest by Fox News's Tucker Carlson, and he has been invited as a featured speaker to next week's Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas alongside a who's who of Republican senators, governors and members of Congress, as well as ... Donald Trump himself. Several such luminaries addressed a CPAC gathering in Hungary in May, at which Trump described Orban as 'a great leader, a great gentleman.'... At its core, Orban's rule has been about sustaining, and being sustained by, white nationalism."

** Emily Cochrane, et al., of the New York Times: "Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia ... announced on Wednesday that he had agreed to include hundreds of billions of dollars for climate and energy programs and tax increases in a package to subsidize health care and lower the cost of prescription drugs, less than two weeks after abruptly upending hopes for such an agreement this summer. The package would set aside $369 billion for climate and energy proposals, the most ambitious climate action ever taken by Congress, and raise an estimated $451 billion in new tax revenue over a decade, while cutting federal spending on prescription drugs by $288 billion, according to a summary circulated Wednesday evening. The product of a deal announced by Mr. Manchin and Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, it would reduce the federal deficit by about $300 billion, while seeking to push down the cost of health care, prescription medicines and electricity....

"It was not clear what had changed Mr. Manchin's mind since he said not even two weeks ago that he could not support such a package until he saw inflation numbers for July, which are not scheduled to be issued for two more weeks.... His embrace of the plan did not guarantee it would move forward. Several senators declined to comment on the deal upon hearing of it on Wednesday evening until they learned more about it. That included Senator Kyrsten Sinema, an Arizona Democrat who has been another holdout on her party's domestic policy measure." Politico's story is here.

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday passed an expansive $280 billion bill aimed at building up America's manufacturing and technological edge to counter China, embracing in an overwhelming bipartisan vote the most significant government intervention in industrial policy in decades. The legislation reflected a remarkable and rare consensus in an otherwise polarized Congress in favor of forging a long-term strategy to address the nation's intensifying geopolitical rivalry with Beijing, centered around investing federal money into cutting-edge technologies and innovations to bolster the nation's industrial, technological and military strength. It passed on a lopsided bipartisan vote of 64 to 33, with 17 Republicans voting in support." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Days after being publicly insulted by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Twitter, Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old abortion rights advocate, wrote him a tongue-in-cheek thank-you note on the platform. 'Dear Matt, Although your intentions were hateful, your public shaming of my appearance has done nothing but benefit me,' she wrote after his tweet about her spurred a load of harassment -- as well as a flood of donations to her reproductive rights advocacy organization. In just about a day, she's helped raise approximately $115,000 for the nonprofit Gen Z for Change. At a rally last weekend in Tampa, Gaetz had mocked abortion rights activists, calling them 'disgusting..., [ugly] and overweight.' Olivia Julianna ... criticized the remarks on Twitter, noting the sex-trafficking allegations against Gaetz. In apparent retaliation, Gaetz then tweeted an image of her next to a news story that mentioned his [disparaging] comments from the rally." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marie: Wherein I am forced to admit that Ted Cruz got something half-right:

Abby Livingston of the Texas Tribune: "U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz ... told The Dallas Morning News that Texas should repeal its now-dormant law that bans gay sex. 'Consenting adults should be able to do what they wish in their private sexual activity, and government has no business in their bedrooms,' Cruz's spokesperson told the newspaper. The Texas Legislature passed the law decades ago. It hasn't been enforceable since 2003, when the U.S. Supreme Court decided in a landmark ruling [-- Lawrence v. Texas --] that it violated the Constitution. There have been regular attempts by Democrats to repeal the law since, but they have repeatedly failed in the Legislature.... But ... Justice Clarence Thomas had suggested that the court reconsider the Lawrence precedent.... [AND] In recent weeks, Cruz has reiterated his opposition to that decision.... Recently on his podcast, Cruz reiterated his belief that the decision [i.e., Lawrence] was 'clearly wrong' on the grounds that states, not the enacting of a federal standard, should govern gay marriage policy." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So what Cruz is saying is that even though gay sex is not a Constitutional right & the Supremes should overturn their ruling that it is, Texas (according to Ted's spokesman) should not ban gay sex. As I said, half-right.

Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has canceled plans to teach a seminar this fall at George Washington University's law school, a few weeks after the private university in the nation's capital had defended the conservative jurist's position on its faculty. The GW Hatchet, a student newspaper, first reported Thomas's withdrawal from the fall teaching assignment Wednesday.... Thomas ... has taught at the D.C. law school since 2011.... [After Thomas wrote his concurring opinion on Dobbs], thousands signed a petition that called for Thomas to be removed from the law school faculty. University leaders resisted those demands...." The co-leader of the seminar, Judge Gregory E. Maggs of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces & a former Thomas clerk, will lead the seminar solo. An AP story is here. None of the articles says whether or not this is a required course, but a statement from Maggs suggests maybe it's an elective.

Smug Punk Loses Defamation Lawsuits Against Media. Aaron Keller of Law & Crime: "After years of politically charged litigation, former Covington Catholic High School student Nick Sandmann has lost a round of high-profile defamation lawsuits against five mainstream media companies at the summary judgment stage.... Sandmann's cases against ABC News, Rolling Stone magazine, CBS News, newspaper and television station owner Gannett, and The New York Times are now officially listed as 'terminated' on the court record. Sandmann sued the five organizations in question -- and a few others, including CNN and NBC -- on March 2, 2020. The lawsuits alleged that various articles and broadcasts defamed Sandmann by characterizing his actions toward Nathan Phillips, a Native American activist, on Jan. 18, 2019 in Washington, D.C., as nefarious.... [Federal District Judge William] Bertelsman suggested that the press did little more than to report Philips' version of the events. Phillips' version of the events were opinions, not facts, the judge concluded." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Did I mention that Sandmann & some of his friends were wearing MAGA caps during the confrontation? They were wearing MAGA caps. Speaking of doomed defamation suits ... ~~~

~~~ Litigious J. Trump Threatens to Sue Media. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Wednesday said he planned to file a lawsuit against CNN, alleging the network has repeatedly defamed him dating back to his 2016 campaign for the presidency. 'I have notified CNN of my intent to file a lawsuit over their repeated defamatory statements against me,' Trump said in a statement. 'I will also be commencing actions against other media outlets who have defamed me and defrauded the public regarding the overwhelming evidence of fraud throughout the 2020 Election. I will never stop fighting for the truth and for the future of our Country!' The 282-page letter from Trump's attorneys to CNN executives, dated July 21, calls for the network to retract or correct numerous on-air statements and published articles about Trump that the lawyers allege are false and defamatory. The letter goes on to cite dozens of examples, many of which relate to the network's coverage of Trump's repeated claims that the 2020 presidential election was fraudulent." ~~~

~~~ Gosh, why would a money-grubbing cheapskate like Trump spend money on lawyers to bring such a frivolous lawsuit? ~~~

~~~ Oh. Jonathan Karl & Soo Rin Kim of ABC News: "Republican leaders who worry that Donald Trump could hurt their midterm chances by announcing a presidential run too soon are hoping he'll be dissuaded from doing so by the prospect of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal payments, according to an RNC official. Since October 2021, the Republican National Committee has paid nearly $2 million to law firms representing Trump as part of his defense against personal litigation and government investigations. But an RNC official told ABC News that as soon as Trump would announce he is running for president, the payments would stop because the party has a 'neutrality policy' that prohibits it from taking sides in the presidential primary.... RNC officials would not comment on the record for this story." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't know that the RNC is paying Trump's lawyers for suits he initiates, but maybe. And maybe that suit against CNN will come to an abrupt end if Trump declares himself a candidate in the perhaps futile hope of foreclosing any DOJ criminal case against him.

David McCabe & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday filed for an injunction to block Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, from buying a virtual reality company called Within, potentially limiting the company's push into the so-called metaverse and signaling a shift in how the agency is approaching tech deals. The antitrust lawsuit is the first to be filed under Lina Khan, the commission's chair and a leading progressive critic of corporate concentration, against one of the tech giants. Ms. Khan has argued that regulators must stop violations of competition and consumer protection laws when it comes to the bleeding edge of technology, including virtual and augmented reality, and not just in areas where the companies have already become behemoths. The F.T.C.'s request for an injunction puts Ms. Khan on a collision course with Mark Zuckerberg, Metas chief executive, who is also named as a defendant in the request. He has poured billions of dollars into building products for virtual and augmented reality, betting that the immersive world of the metaverse is the next technology frontier. The lawsuit could crimp those ambitions." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peter Baker & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden returned to the Oval Office with a triumphant flair on Wednesday after testing negative for Covid-19, boasting that his mild case was evidence of the progress his administration had made in stemming the pandemic. The president's staff staged a pep rally of sorts in the Rose Garden to celebrate the end of his five-day isolation, welcoming Mr. Biden to the lectern with a rendition of 'Hail to the Chief' and a crowd of cheering aides. Wearing his signature aviator sunglasses, the president removed his mask and declared his personal victory against the coronavirus." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Joel Achenbach of the Washington Post: "The coronavirus pandemic began in separate viral spillovers -- at least two but perhaps as many as two dozen -- from live animals sold and butchered in late 2019 at the Huanan Seafood Market in Wuhan, China, according to two papers published Tuesday in the journal Science. The publication of the papers, which underwent five months of peer review and revisions by the authors, is unlikely to quell the rancorous debate about how the pandemic began and whether the virus emerged from a Chinese laboratory. And the authors acknowledge there are many unknowns requiring further investigation -- most notably, which animals were involved." MB: Looks like a case where scientists can demonstrate that a conspiracy theory -- that a Wuhan lab either purposely or carelessly developed the coronavirus -- is unlikely but cannot disprove it.

Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "Easing a shortfall that has plagued the fight against monkeypox for weeks, the Food and Drug Administration announced on Wednesday that it had cleared nearly 800,000 additional doses of vaccine for use. The Biden administration said it would announce allocations for states and jurisdictions on Thursday. The new doses should greatly expand the supply in the United States, but some experts questioned whether they would be enough to meet the demand. Since May, the country has confirmed 3,600 cases, among the highest tallies in the world, and the figure is almost certainly an underestimate."

Beyond the Beltway

Pennsylvania Gubernatorial Race. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "Doug Mastriano, the Republican nominee for governor of Pennsylvania, is under increasing scrutiny over his connections to the far-right social media platform Gab and its founder, who has repeatedly made antisemitic remarks defending their ties. Early this month, news emerged that Mr. Mastriano's campaign had paid Gab, a haven for white nationalists and users banned from other platforms, $5,000 for 'consulting,' according to a state filing that was first uncovered by Media Matters for America.... Since then, Mr. Mastriano, a far-right state senator who has falsely argued that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and who rarely speaks to traditional news outlets, has ignored criticism of his association with Gab.... Recent polls have shown [Mastriano] running an unexpectedly close race against the Democratic nominee, Josh Shapiro." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Whether or not Mastriano wins the election, the fact that millions of Americans apparently will vote for him makes pretty clear we already are living in a country where neo-Nazis hold great sway. And, no, I don't think this is a glib & baseless reductio ad Hitlerum. This is where we are, and it's terrifying.

Wisconsin Senate Race. Scott Bauer of the AP: "Wisconsin Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes emerged Wednesday as the clear favorite in what had been a crowded Democratic field seeking to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, as his nearest rival dropped out and threw his support behind Barnes. Milwaukee Bucks executive Alex Lasry, who polls showed had been running tight with Barnes, explained his surprising move by saying Barnes had pulled ahead in recent weeks and there was no way he could catch him in the hotly contested primaryfor what is expected to be one of the most hard-fought Senate races this year.... On Monday, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson dropped out of the race and endorsed Barnes. Even though Lasry and Nelson are ending their campaigns this week, both of their names will remain on the primary ballot." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know most Republicans won't understand this, but many Democrats run for public office because they are patriots rather than because they want to wield power. Therefore, they are willing to withdraw their candidacies -- even if, like Lasry, they've spent their own millions in their campaigns -- if they believe sacrificing their own efforts could produce a better outcome. And who could argue that dispatching Ron Johnson would not constitute a better outcome?

News Lede

New York Times: "Tony Dow, who became a star at 12 as Wally Cleaver, the barely teenage older brother on the popular 1950s and '60s comedy series 'Leave It to Beaver,' died on Wednesday at his home in Topanga, Calif. He was 77."

July 27, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "The Federal Reserve on Wednesday enacted its second consecutive 0.75 percentage point interest rate increase as it seeks to tamp down runaway inflation without creating a recession. In taking the benchmark overnight borrowing rate up to a range of 2.25%-2.5%, the moves in June and July represent the most stringent consecutive moves since the Fed began using the overnight funds rate as the principal tool of monetary policy in the early 1990s."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday passed an expansive $280 billion bill aimed at building up America's manufacturing and technological edge to counter China, embracing in an overwhelming bipartisan vote the most significant government intervention in industrial policy in decades. The legislation reflected a remarkable and rare consensus in an otherwise polarized Congress in favor of forging a long-term strategy to address the nation's intensifying geopolitical rivalry with Beijing, centered around investing federal money into cutting-edge technologies and innovations to bolster the nation's industrial, technological and military strength. It passed on a lopsided bipartisan vote of 64 to 33, with 17 Republicans voting in support." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Quiz. GOP Senators who voted against the bill did so, they said, because

(a) an itty-bitty thing like a microchip should not cost $280BB;
(b) the Internet is a series of tubes & there are already too many people talking into the tubes;
(c) Chuck Schumer;
(d) I don't know anything about it so I'm against it (hint: think Tom Cotton);
(e) all of the above.
Update: More very good reasons below. See Patrick's comment.

Peter Baker & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden returned to the Oval Office with a triumphant flair on Wednesday after testing negative for Covid-19, boasting that his mild case was evidence of the progress his administration had made in stemming the pandemic. The president's staff staged a pep rally of sorts in the Rose Garden to celebrate the end of his five-day isolation, welcoming Mr. Biden to the lectern with a rendition of 'Hail to the Chief' and a crowd of cheering aides. Wearing his signature aviator sunglasses, the president removed his mask and declared his personal victory against the coronavirus." ~~~

Norman Lear, in a New York Times op-ed: "Well, I made it. I am 100 years old today.... Reaching my own personal centennial is cause for a bit of reflection on my first century -- and on what the next century will bring for the people and country I love.... I don't take the threat of authoritarianism lightly. As a young man, I dropped out of college when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and joined the U.S. Army Air Forces. I flew more than 50 missions in a B-17 bomber to defeat fascism consuming Europe. I am a flag-waving believer in truth, justice and the American way, and I don't understand how so many people who call themselves patriots can support efforts to undermine our democracy and our Constitution.... If Archie [Bunker] had been around 50 years later, he probably would have watched Fox News. He probably would have been a Trump voter. But I think that the sight of the American flag being used to attack Capitol Police would have sickened him. I hope that the resolve shown by Representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, and their commitment to exposing the truth, would have won his respect."

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Cassidy Hutchinson, a former top adviser to ... Donald Trump's chief of staff Mark Meadows, has recently cooperated with the Department of Justice investigation into the events of Jan. 6, according to sources familiar with the matter. The Justice Department reached out to her following her testimony a month ago before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack, the sources said." MB: Gosh, Former President* Bullyboy, maybe it was a bad idea to diss Hutchinson after he earlier testimony.

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Days after being publicly insulted by Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Twitter, Olivia Julianna, a 19-year-old abortion rights advocate, wrote him a tongue-in-cheek thank-you note on the platform. 'Dear Matt, Although your intentions were hateful, your public shaming of my appearance has done nothing but benefit me,' she wrote after his tweet about her spurred a load of harassment -- as well as a flood of donations to her reproductive rights advocacy organization. In just about a day, she's helped raise approximately $115,000 for the nonprofit Gen Z for Change. At a rally last weekend in Tampa, Gaetz had mocked abortion rights activists, calling them 'disgusting..., [ugly] and overweight.' Olivia Julianna ... criticized the remarks on Twitter, noting the sex-trafficking allegations against Gaetz. In apparent retaliation, Gaetz then tweeted an image of her next to a news story that mentioned his [disparaging] comments from the rally."

David McCabe & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "The Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday filed for an injunction to block Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, from buying a virtual reality company called Within, potentially limiting the company's push into the so-called metaverse and signaling a shift in how the agency is approaching tech deals. The antitrust lawsuit is the first to be filed under Lina Khan, the commission&'s chair and a leading progressive critic of corporate concentration, against one of the tech giants. Ms. Khan has argued that regulators must stop violations of competition and consumer protection laws when it comes to the bleeding edge of technology, including virtual and augmented reality, and not just in areas where the companies have already become behemoths. The F.T.C.'s request for an injunction puts Ms. Khan on a collision course with Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's chief executive, who is also named as a defendant in the request. He has poured billions of dollars into building products for virtual and augmented reality, betting that the immersive world of the metaverse is the next technology frontier. The lawsuit could crimp those ambitions."

~~~~~~~~~~

** Merrick the Unready Is Ready Now. Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department is investigating ... Donald Trump's actions as part of its criminal probe of efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, according to four people familiar with the matter. Prosecutors who are questioning witnesses before a grand jury -- including two top aides to Vice President Mike Pence -- have asked in recent days about conversations with Trump, his lawyers, and others in his inner circle who sought to substitute Trump allies for certified electors from some states Joe Biden won, according to two people familiar with the matter.... The prosecutors have asked hours of detailed questions about meetings Trump led in December 2020 and January 2021; his pressure campaign on Pence to overturn the election; and what instructions Trump gave his lawyers and advisers about fake electors and sending electors back to the states, the people said. Some of the questions focused directly on the extent of Trump's involvement in the fake-elector effort led by his outside lawyers, including John Eastman and Rudy Giuliani, these people said. In addition, Justice Department investigators in April received phone records of key officials and aides in the Trump administration, including his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows, according to two people familiar with the matter. That effort is another indicator of how expansive the Jan. 6 probe had become, well before the high-profile, televised House hearings in June and July on the subject." A CBS News report is here. ~~~

~~~ Ken Dilanian & Corky Siemaszko of NBC News: "The Justice Department plans to prosecute anyone who was 'criminally responsible for interfering with the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to another,' Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday, speaking more expansively than he has previously about a federal criminal investigation that appears to have moved far beyond the rioters who attacked the Capitol. In an exclusive interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Lester Holt, Garland said that the televised hearings by the House Jan. 6 committee highlighted 'the truth of what happened ... and what a risk it meant for our democracy.' And he acknowledged that Justice Department investigators learned things from the congressional testimony.... 'We intend to hold everyone, anyone who was criminally responsible for the events surrounding Jan. 6, for any attempt to interfere with the lawful transfer of power from one administration to another, accountable. That's what we do. We don't pay any attention to other issues with respect to that,' [Garland told Holt]." Here's the whole NBC Nightly News segment, for those of you who like to read tea leaves: ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times in a summary report of developments related to a DOJ criminal investigation of Donald Trump: "Asking questions about Mr. Trump in connection with the electors plot or the attack on the Capitol does not mean the Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into him...."

Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Previously undisclosed emails provide an inside look at the increasingly desperate and often slapdash efforts by advisers to ... Donald J. Trump to reverse his election defeat in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack, including acknowledgments that a key element of their plan was of dubious legality and lived up to its billing as 'fake.' The dozens of emails among people connected to the Trump campaign, outside advisers and close associates of Mr. Trump show a particular focus on assembling lists of people who would claim -- with no basis -- to be Electoral College electors on his behalf in battleground states that he had lost. In emails reviewed by The New York Times and authenticated by people who had worked with the Trump campaign at the time, one lawyer involved in the detailed discussions repeatedly used the word 'fake' to refer to the so-called electors, who were intended to provide Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. Trump's allies in Congress a rationale for derailing the congressional process of certifying the outcome. And lawyers working on the proposal made clear they knew that the pro-Trump electors they were putting forward might not hold up to legal scrutiny." The article includes many incriminating details of the email exchanges. (Also linked yesterday.) The Raw Story has a summary report here. ~~~

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... both when they were designated on Dec. 14, 2020, and since, these fake electors have almost always been described as a contingency plan.... The idea was supposedly that they needed to be in place just in case the election results were changed before Jan. 6.... Evidence [that surfaced in the NYT report (linked above)], though, suggests that at least some involved might have understood the fake-elector plan differently -- from very early in the process.... The idea was apparently that the slate of fake electors would somehow be kept secret before Jan. 6 and then be sprung on an unsuspecting political world when Congress counted the electoral votes. Precisely why isn't clear, but it's certainly a remarkable plot to overturn democracy." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Based on Blake's reporting, it appears to me that the fake electors started out as a contingency plan in case courts or state legislatures made decisions favorable to Trump. But along the way, some of those involved in the plot forgot about the contingency part. At the last minute, for instance, an argument broke out between the Trump campaign & Pennsylvania's fake electors. One fake Pennsylvania elector told CNN "the Trump campaign wanted no contingency, but the fake electors insisted upon it.

Annie Grayer of CNN: "Former acting Defense Secretary Chris Miller told the House select committee investigating the Capitol Hill insurrection that ... Donald Trump never gave him a formal order to have 10,000 troops ready to be deployed to the Capitol on January 6, 2021, according to new video of Miller's deposition released by the committee. 'I was never given any direction or order or knew of any plans of that nature,' Miller said in the video. Miller later said in the video definitively, 'There was no direct, there was no order from the President.'... Trump has previously said that he requested National Guard troops be ready for January 6. He released a statement on June 9 that he 'suggested & offered' up to 20,000 National Guard troops be deployed to Washington, DC, ahead of January 6 claiming it was because he felt 'that the crowd was going to be very large.' The committee released Miller's testimony after already revealing that Trump did not make calls to military personnel or law enforcement to intervene as the Capitol attack was unfolding." ~~~

To remove any doubt: Not only did Donald Trump fail to contact his Secretary of Defense on January 6th (as shown in our hearing), Trump also failed to give any order prior to January 6 to deploy the military to protect the Capitol.

Here is Secretary Miller’s testimony— pic.twitter.com/joucnUHvBB

— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) July 26, 2022

Carol Leonnig & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "A pair of key congressional Democrats called on Department of Homeland Security Inspector General Joseph Cuffari to step aside from his office's investigation into the Secret Service on Tuesday, saying the Trump appointee knew earlier than has been reported that the agency deleted text messages from around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Reps. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), who heads the House committee that oversees inspectors general, and Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), chairman of the Jan. 6 committee and the Homeland Security Committee, said the inspector general's office admitted in congressional briefings that it became aware that agents' text messages were erased in December 2021 [[ two months earlier than reported. But Cuffari did not report that to Congress until this month. The lawmakers said these and other omissions have broken their faith in Cuffari's ability to lead the investigation, and they urged the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an independent entity in the executive branch, to appoint another inspector general to handle the Secret Service probe."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A District man who assaulted three police officers and shattered a riot shield with a pole was sentenced to 63 months in prison Tuesday, matching the longest sentence handed down to a defendant convicted in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. Mark K. Ponder, 56, admitted to fighting with police in video-recorded confrontations between 2:31 p.m. and 2:48 p.m. that day in the area of the lower west terrace of the Capitol, which was overrun by a violent mob angered by President Donald Trump's false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. Ponder pleaded guilty April 22 to one count of assaulting an officer using a dangerous weapon. 'He was leading the charge,' U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said...." The AP's report is here.

Presidential Race 2024

Michael Bender of the New York Times: "In addresses from two hotel ballrooms less than a mile apart in Washington, [Donald] Trump and Mike Pence, the vice president whom he had left at the mercy of a mob of his supporters during the Capitol riot, put on clear display one of the most uncomfortable splits inside their party. The competing speeches on the same day would have been inconceivable for a former president and his own vice president not long ago.... In his 90-minute speech, Mr. Trump repeatedly veered off script to complain about 'hoax' investigations, boast about surviving two impeachments and lie about his 2020 election loss. Mr. Pence, by contrast, urged the party to look ahead and unite for the next political battles." ~~~

     ~~~ Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC noted that Fox "News" carried none of Trump's speech; Fox played 17 minutes of Pence's remarks.

Yada Yada Yada. Jill Colvin of the AP: "... Donald Trump returned to Washington for the first time since leaving office Tuesday, vigorously repeating his false election claims that sparked the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nearby Capitol. 'It was a catastrophe that election. A disgrace to our country,' he said, insisting despite all evidence that he had won in 2020. 'We may just have to do it again,' he said, repeating as he does in all recent appearances the ever-clearer hints that he will run again in 2024. He [received] frequent applause and cheers from his audience, a meeting organized by a group of former White House officials and Cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump term." MB: Such a shame that Garland & the WashPo ruined Trump's triumphal return to his very temporary home. (Also linked yesterday.)

Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Marc Short, a top aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for telling a crowd ... at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit ... over the weekend that Pence could never be president.... 'Well, I don't know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don't think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that,' Short told [CNN's Erin] Burnett. 'In fact, I'd be surprised if he was still voting, it's more likely he'll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024.... And I'm actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that, so I'm not too worried about Matt Gaetz,' he added, referring to the event being attended by young conservative students." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which has been repeatedly green-lit by Congress and every president since its passage in 2000. The House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly to reauthorize the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act, which has been repeatedly green-lit by Congress and every president since its passage in 2000.... All 20 votes against the measure were cast by Republicans, including Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who, according to a report last year is under investigation by the Department of Justice as to whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old who may have been trafficked for the purpose of engaging in sex." The usual suspects also voted against the bill. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Other than Gaetz, who has a vested interest in limiting the reach of sex trafficking laws, it's hard to understand why the usual suspects also seem to favor sex trafficking. Either they voted in solidarity with Matt, or they hope to encourage Hillary & the other Democrats who they think are trafficking in children or something at the Comet Ping Pong Pizza place in D.C.

Hawley's Also-Ran Hopes Dashed. Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "According to a report from the New Republic's Alex Shepard, any hope that Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) had of becoming a star in the Republican Party firmament has decidedly crashed to earth and burned as he has become a pathetic object of ridicule -- particularly after being publicly humiliated the House committee investigating the Jan 6th riot. As Shepard notes, the enduring image of Hawley -- the author of the upcoming 'Manhood: The Masculine Virtues America Needs' -- running away from violent Trump fans he encouraged on Jan 6th will haunt him the rest of his political career.... [Shepard wrote,] 'In February, [Hawley] received 0.2 percent of the vote when the Conservative Political Action Conference held its annual presidential straw poll.'" strong> MB: That's not two percent; that's two-tenths of one percent. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$ publishes a couple of excerpts of Shepard's article. The New Republic essay, which is firewalled, is here.

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Widespread drug abuse, substandard medical and mental health care, out-of-control violence and horrific sanitary conditions are rampant at a federal prison in Atlanta, a new congressional investigation into the federal Bureau of Prisons has found. The problems plaguing the medium-security prison, which holds around 1,400 people, are so notorious within the federal government that its culture of indifference and mismanagement is derisively known among bureau employees as 'the Atlanta way.' But whistle-blowers, including two top prison officials, documented the depth of dysfunction at U.S. Penitentiary Atlanta during a Senate subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, describing dozens of violent episodes -- and the systematic effort to downplay and cover up the crisis -- over the past few years.... The conditions at the prison, while extreme, reflect wider problems in the bureau's sprawling network of 122 facilities housing about 158,000 inmates. The system has suffered from chronic overcrowding, staffing shortages, corruption, sexual violence and a culture that often encourages senior officials to minimize the extent of the problems."

Joan Biskupic of CNN: "Chief Justice John Roberts privately lobbied fellow conservatives to save the constitutional right to abortion down to the bitter end, but May's unprecedented leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade made the effort all but impossible, multiple sources familiar with negotiations told CNN. It appears unlikely that Roberts' best prospect -- Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- was ever close to switching his earlier vote, despite Roberts' attempts that continued through the final weeks of the session. New details obtained by CNN provide insight into the high-stakes internal abortion-rights drama that intensified in late April when justices first learned the draft opinion would soon be published.... [Roberts' plan was to] would vote to uphold Mississippi's ban on abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy. But the chief justice believed the court should put off a full reconsideration of the constitutional right to abortion for earlier stages of pregnancy." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Paul Campos, in LG&$: "Alito himself leaked the draft, to lock in Kavanaugh." Campos explains his rationale in a deeply satisfying, if speculative essay. (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

New York. How Conveeeenient! Jonah Bromwich & Jay Root of the New York Times: "Hours after [a man attacked Rep. Lee Zeldin during a campaign event] last week, Mr. Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York whose criticism over the Democrat-led changes to the bail statute has been a key issue in his campaign, said on Twitter that he expected the man arrested in the attack, David Jakubonis, to go free. He then spoke at length when his prediction came true, emphasizing in news conferences and television appearances how Mr. Jakubonis's release without bail exemplified the issues with the bail law. But almost immediately..., many Democrats seized on the relationship between the candidate and the Monroe County district attorney, Sandra Doorley, who as recently as this week was listed on Mr. Zeldin's website as a campaign co-chair. They noted that the sheriff who filed the charge against Mr. Jakubonis, Todd K. Baxter of Monroe County, was also a vocal opponent of the bail law. And finally, they wondered why Mr. Jakubonis had been charged with second-degree attempted assault, a charge that is not bail-eligible, virtually guaranteeing that he would be released as Mr. Zeldin had predicted." ~~~

     ~~~ According to Chris Hayes of MSNBC, Doorley attended the event where Zeldin was attacked with a plastic key chain fob. Marie: Was this even a real attack? Or did somebody put Jakubonis up to it?

Way Beyond

Hungary. Shaun Walker & Flora Garamvolgyi of the Guardian: "A longstanding adviser to Viktor Orbán [-- Zsuzsa Hegedüs --] has resigned in protest at 'a pure Nazi speech' the Hungarian prime minister gave that was 'worthy of Goebbels'.... Orbán has made anti-migration rhetoric a key part of his political platform since 2015, and frequently uses far-right language, but his speech on Saturday -- in which he spoke out against 'race mixing'-- was extreme even by his standards. In the speech, Orbán said mixing between Europeans was acceptable, but Europeans mixing with non-Europeans created 'mixed race' people. 'We are willing to mix with one another, but we do not want to become peoples of mixed race,' said Orbán. He added that countries where this was seen as acceptable are 'no longer nations'... Next week Orbán is due to travel to Dallas, where he will open CPAC Texas, a gathering of US conservatives. Orbán counts the former US president Donald Trump among his many admirers on the American right." Emphasis added.

Ukraine, et al.

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Wednesday is here: "Phoenix Mercury player Brittney Griner returned to court this week, as her defense team called witnesses to support its case for leniency. She has pleaded guilty to carrying cannabis oil into Russia in a trial denounced by the United States, and her lawyers expect more hearings before the trial ends, including a key session on Wednesday, when Griner will take the stand and face questions from the prosecutor and judge."

Mary Ilyushina & Christian Davenport of the Washington Post: "Russia on Tuesday announced it will withdraw from the International Space Station (ISS) project after 2024, signaling an end of an era in one of the last remaining areas of cooperation between Russia and the United States. Russia's newly appointed head of space agency Roscosmos announced the decision in a meeting with ... Vladimir Putin on Tuesday, saying that the agency will instead focus on building its own orbital station. 'We will fulfill all our obligations to our partners, but the decision to leave this station after 2024 has been made,' the space agency chief Yuri Borisov said. Russian officials have discussed leaving the project since at least 2021, citing aging equipment and growing safety risks. The countries involved in the ISS agreed to use the station until 2024 and NASA plans to use the station until 2030."

Jennifer Rankin of the Guardian: "The EU has been forced to water down its plan to ration gas this winter in an attempt to avoid an energy crisis generated by further Russian cuts to supply. Energy ministers from the 27 member states, except Hungary, backed a voluntary 15% reduction in gas usage over the winter, a target that could become mandatory if the Kremlin ordered a complete shutdown of gas to Europe. After days of fraught negotiations, ministers agreed opt-outs for island nations and possible exclusions for countries little connected to the European gas network, which will blunt the overall effect in the event of a full-blown gas crisis."

News Lede:

New York Times: "Just three days ago, the River Des Peres, which carries storm water from the city of St. Louis, was 'almost bone dry,' the city's fire chief said, as Missouri experienced what the governor called increasingly dry conditions and the growing threat of serious drought. Then came record rainfall early Tuesday, drenching parts of St. Louis and other areas of Missouri with up to a foot of rain that quickly transformed interstates and neighborhood streets into roaring rivers that collapsed roofs and forced residents to flee their homes in inflatable boats."

July 26, 2022

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Previously undisclosed emails provide an inside look at the increasingly desperate and often slapdash efforts by advisers to ... Donald J. Trump to reverse his election defeat in the weeks before the Jan. 6 attack, including acknowledgments that a key element of their plan was of dubious legality and lived up to its billing as 'fake.' The dozens of emails among people connected to the Trump campaign, outside advisers and close associates of Mr. Trump show a particular focus on assembling lists of people who would claim -- with no basis -- to be Electoral College electors on his behalf in battleground states that he had lost. In emails reviewed by The New York Times and authenticated by people who had worked with the Trump campaign at the time, one lawyer involved in the detailed discussions repeatedly used the word 'fake' to refer to the so-called electors, who were intended to provide Vice President Mike Pence and Mr. Trump's allies in Congress a rationale for derailing the congressional process of certifying the outcome. And lawyers working on the proposal made clear they knew that the pro-Trump electors they were putting forward might not hold up to legal scrutiny." The article includes many incriminating details of the email exchanges.

Yada Yada Yada. Jill Colvin of the AP: "... Donald Trump returned to Washington for the first time since leaving office Tuesday, vigorously repeating his false election claims that sparked the Jan. 6 insurrection at the nearby Capitol. 'It was a catastrophe that election. A disgrace to our country,' he said, insisting despite all evidence that he had won in 2020. 'We may just have to do it again,' he said, repeating as he does in all recent appearances the ever-clearer hints that he will run again in 2024. He recent frequent applause and cheers from his audience, a meeting organized by a group of former White House officials and Cabinet members who have been crafting an agenda for a possible second Trump term."

Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Marc Short, a top aide to former Vice President Mike Pence, slammed Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for telling a crowd ... at the Turning Point USA Student Action Summit ... over the weekend that Pence could never be president.... 'Well, I don't know if Mike Pence will run for president in 2024, but I don't think Matt Gaetz will have an impact on that,' Short told [CNN's Erin] Burnett. 'In fact, I'd be surprised if he was still voting, it's more likely he'll be in prison for child sex trafficking by 2024.... And I'm actually surprised that Florida law enforcement still allows him to speak to teenage conferences like that, so I'm not too worried about Matt Gaetz,' he added, referring to the event being attended by young conservative students."

Joan Biskupic of CNN: "Chief Justice John Roberts privately lobbied fellow conservatives to save the constitutional right to abortion down to the bitter end, but May's unprecedented leak of a draft opinion reversing Roe v. Wade made the effort all but impossible, multiple sources familiar with negotiations told CNN. It appears unlikely that Roberts' best prospect -- Justice Brett Kavanaugh -- was ever close to switching his earlier vote, despite Roberts' attempts that continued through the final weeks of the session. New details obtained by CNN provide insight into the high-stakes internal abortion-rights drama that intensified in late April when justices first learned the draft opinion would soon be published.... [Roberts' plan was to] would vote to uphold Mississippi's ban on abortions at 15 weeks of pregnancy. But the chief justice believed the court should put off a full reconsideration of the constitutional right to abortion for earlier stages of pregnancy." ~~~

~~~ Paul Campos, in LG&$: "Alito himself leaked the draft, to lock in Kavanaugh." Campos explains his rationale in a deeply satisfying, if speculative essay.

~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden on Monday denounced ... Donald J. Trump's refusal to decisively intervene to stop the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, declaring that his predecessor 'lacked the courage to act' and betrayed the police officers he claimed to support. Mr. Biden, who has largely avoided discussing the former president or the Jan. 6 investigation by a House select committee, weighed in during a statement to an organization representing Black law enforcement leaders." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Biden went off on Trump, but he missed the point. Trump did not "lack the courage to act"; he purposely incited and encouraged the insurrection. It wasn't until it became evident that his insurrection would fail that he came out & gave his I-love-you-go-home statement, and only then at the insistence of his staff, Fox "News"' & family. As Baker writes, "... testimony [presented at last Thursday's January 6 House committee hearing] showed, Mr. Trump spent the afternoon watching the violence unfold on Fox News and resisting aides who kept imploring him to take = action. A call from a Pentagon official to coordinate a response = initially went unanswered because 'the president didn't want anything = done,' according to a White House lawyer whose account was presented during the hearing. The tweets and video he ultimately did issue did not condemn the attack and in some cases seemed to add fuel to the fire." ~~~

     ~~~ AND, as Lindsay Beyerstein in Commentary AlterNet, republished in the Raw Story, concluded, "The committee's many streams of evidence gelled into a clear closing argument for this phase of the investigation: Trump refused to quell the mob because the mob was doing exactly what he wanted them to do. The mob was his instrument to overturn the election. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: On the other hand, I'll admit that accusing Trump of cowardice might trick him into confessing: "I'm no coward, you sick sleepy loser. I wanted those goons to hang mike pence & stop the certification." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I've heard a number of pundits on the teevee ask, "Why now?" Here's a clue: ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Allen of NBC News: "President Joe Biden slammed ... Donald Trump on Monday for lacking 'the courage to act' as police defending the U.S. Capitol suffered through 'medieval hell' on Jan. 6, 2021 -- a rare and direct attack pre-empting Trump's plan to deliver a law-and-order-themed speech Tuesday in the nation's capital." ~~~

     ~~~ NEW. President Biden's full remarks to the Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives are here.

DOJ Appears to Initiate Criminal Probe of Trump and/or the Trumpettes. Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "The former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence appeared last week before a federal grand jury investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Marc Short was caught by an ABC News camera departing D.C. District Court on Friday alongside his attorney, Emmet Flood. Short appeared under subpoena, sources said. Short would be the highest-ranking Trump White House official known to have appeared before the grand jury." MB: Since there's no reason to think the grand jury is investigating pence or his staff for criminal behavior, it is reasonable to assume that the subjects of the questioning were Trump & Co. IOW, this is a BFD. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Mr. Short's appearance was the latest indication that the Justice Department's criminal investigation into the events surrounding and leading up to the events of Jan. 6 is intensifying amid growing questions about the urgency the department has placed on examining Mr. Trump's potential criminal liability.... Mr. Short's grand jury appearance marks the first time it has become publicly known that a figure with firsthand knowledge of what took place inside the White House in the tumultuous days leading up to Jan. 6 has cooperated with federal prosecutors.... Mr. Short ... previously gave a[n] interview to the House select committee in which he described Mr. Trump's campaign to pressure Mr. Pence into disrupting the normal tally of Electoral College votes on Jan. 6.... Mr. Short also informed Mr. Pence's lead Secret Service agent on Jan. 5, 2021, that Mr. Trump was about to turn publicly on Mr. Pence, potentially creating a security risk." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The NYT story has been updated. New Lede: "Two top aides to former Vice President Mike Pence testified last week to a federal grand jury in Washington investigating the events surrounding the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, the highest-ranking officials of the Trump administration so far known to have cooperated with the Justice Department's widening inquiry into the events leading up to the assault. The appearances before the grand jury of the men -- Marc Short, who was Mr. Pence's chief of staff, and Greg Jacob, who was his counsel -- were the latest indication that the Justice Department's criminal investigation into the events surrounding and preceding the riot is intensifying after weeks of growing questions about the urgency the department has put on examining ... Donald J. Trump's potential criminal liability."

Devlin Barrett & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Grand jury subpoenas issued last month to two Arizona state lawmakers show the breadth of the criminal investigation by the U.S. attorney's office in Washington into efforts by supporters of Donald Trump to use 'false electors' to try to undo Joe Biden's 2020 election victory.... The subpoenas [-- released under a public-records request --] issued to Karen Fann, president of the Arizona Senate, and Sen. Kelly Townsend also seek communications 'relating to any effort, plan, or attempt to serve as an Elector' in favor of the then-president and then-vice president.... The documents released Monday cast a wide net for any communications that Fann and Townsend may have had with any member of the executive or legislative branch of the federal government...."

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump didn't want to disavow the rioters who had stormed the U.S. Capitol in his name on Jan. 6, 2021, and he removed lines from prepared remarks the following day calling for their prosecution, according to new evidence released by a member of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) posted a video Monday on Twitter showing previously unpublicized testimony from several people close to Trump, centered on a speech he was supposed to give Jan. 7, 2021.... During the hearing on Thursday, former deputy White House press secretary Sarah Matthews testified that Trump 'did not want to include any sort of mention of peace' in a tweet that aides urged him to send as the Capitol riot was unfolding." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

It took more than 24 hours for President Trump to address the nation again after his Rose Garden video on January 6th in which he affectionately told his followers to go home in peace.

There were more things he was unwilling to say. pic.twitter.com/cJBIX5ROxs

— Rep. Elaine Luria (@RepElaineLuria) July 25, 2022

~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Appearing on MSNBC, former top federal prosecutor Andrew Weissmann highlighted a line that was left in Trump's January 7 speech: "I immediately deployed the National Guard and federal law enforcement to secure the building and expel the intruders." Burris writes, "The statement is a lie. Trump never deployed the National Guard or law enforcement." Weissmann views the false assertion as a piece of a cover-up, intended to falsely portray Trump as having opposed the coup. Weissmann suggests DOJ subpoena Jared Kushner & Stephen Miller as to how such a false statement got into the prepared speech. (MB: According to Kushner's committee testimony, he & Miller worked together, beginning on the evening of January 6, to put together the elements of the speech.)

Marie: A few days ago we learned that Melanie Trump was busy taking pictures of a rug during the insurrection. So, while we're singing a song of sixpence, let's find out where Jared was: ~~~

     ~~~ Jared: I Was Taking a Shower. Washington Post live hearing updates (July 21): "Kushner told the House panel investigating the riot that he was in the shower when he heard his phone ring and saw it was the minority leader [Kevin McCarthy]. 'He told me it was getting really ugly over at the Capitol and said, "Please, you know, anything you can do to help, I would appreciate it,"' Kushner recalled. 'I got the sense that they were scared,' he added." (MB: According to Jonathan Karl, Kushner did not get back from Saudi Arabia until about 4 pm ET: "His plane landed at Joint Base Andrews at about four p.m., but he went straight home, later telling people the Secret Service had told him it would be dangerous to go to the White House. He made no public statement about the riot.") ~~~

The king was in the dining room, cheering on his coup,
The queen was in the parlor, snapping photos of the rugs,
The prince was in the shower, hiding from the troops,
When along came McCarthy and cried about the thugs.

As the Worms Turn. Alex Henderson of AlterNet, in the Raw Story: "... on Sunday, July 24, Fox News' Bret Baier\>spoke candidly about the hearing that had been held during prime-time viewing hours [but not aired on Fox] on Thursday, July 21 -- and acknowledged that the evidence presented made ... Donald Trump 'look horrific.'... Baier, discussing the 187-minute period the committee examined on July 21, told his colleagues, 'Laying out all these 187 minutes makes him look horrific, it really does.... To hear it and see it in that chronological order can be very powerful.'" Baier noted that "all of these people who have been testifying" had been Trump supporters.

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Jared Kushner..., Donald J. Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, was diagnosed with thyroid cancer while he was serving in the West Wing, he wrote in an upcoming memoir set to be published next month.... The cancer in Mr. Kushner's thyroid was detected in October 2019, as he was involved in discussions over a trade deal with China. Mr. Kushner wrote that the cancer was caught 'early' but required removing a 'substantial part of my thyroid' and that he was warned that there could be lingering damage to his voice. His illness was one of the few pieces of information that did not leak out of one of the leakiest White Houses in modern memory." The Hill has a summary report here.

Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "In an embarrassing blow to the prosecutor investigating election interference by ... Donald J. Trump, an Atlanta judge has disqualified District Attorney Fani T. Willis of Fulton County from developing a criminal case against one Trump ally, citing a conflict of interest. Ms. Willis had recently notified State Senator Burt Jones, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor in Georgia, that he could face indictment. But on Monday, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court barred her from pursuing a case against Mr. Jones because she had headlined a June fund-raiser for his Democratic rival in the race. Mr. Jones was one of 16 pro-Trump 'alternate electors' in Georgia.... The ruling on Monday does not affect any other portion of the sprawling investigation that Ms. Willis's office is conducting with a special-purpose grand jury. Ms. Willis's office, the judge wrote, will still be able to ask witnesses about Mr. Jones's role 'in the various efforts the state Republican Party undertook to call into question the legitimacy of the results of the election.' However, he wrote, the decision 'as to whether any charges should be brought, and what they should be, will be left to a different prosecutor's office.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: McBurney's ruling seems reasonable to me. Willis made a serious error in judgment, which undermined the impartiality of the proceedings, but McBurney did not let Jones off the hook.

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "A forgotten co-defendant of the Central Park Five, who, like them, was charged with the rape of a jogger in a case that shook New York City and the nation, is expected to have a related conviction overturned Monday. The case against the Five -- teenagers of color who were innocent of the 1989 sexual assault on a white woman but who were convicted on the basis of false confessions that the police elicited -- continues to shape attitudes surrounding racism in the criminal justice system, the media and society writ large. But the story of the sixth man -- Steven Lopez -- had previously been all but ignored. Mr. Lopez, who was arrested when he was 15, struck a deal with prosecutors just before his trial two years later to avoid the more serious rape charge, instead pleading guilty to robbery of a male jogger.... [Unlike the Exonerated Five,] Mr. Lopez, now 48, has not received any settlement money or media attention, and his story is far less well-known.... [Shortly after the teens' arrests & false confessions, Donald Trump] placed full-page ads in the city's newspapers calling for them to face the death penalty." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump is never wrong. In June 2019 -- five year after the city settled $41 million on the men for violation of their civil rights -- Trump refused to apologize for the ads or for remarks he made at the time. He said, "You have people on both sides of that.... They admitted their guilt. If you look at Linda Fairstein [-- once the top city sex crimes prosecutor --] and if you look at some of the prosecutors, they think that the city never should have settled that case -- so we'll leave it at that." (NYT link)

Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times: "The far-right conspiracy broadcaster Alex Jones spread lies for years about the Sandy Hook school shooting, saying it was staged by the government and that the families of the victims were complicit in the hoax. Juries will now decide in three separate trials how much Mr. Jones must pay for the suffering he caused. The first trial begins on Tuesday in Austin, where Mr. Jones and his Infowars website are based. Neil Heslin and Scarlett Lewis, the parents of Jesse Lewis, 6, who died at Sandy Hook, will testify to the torment they suffered after Mr. Jones implied on his show in 2017 that Mr. Heslin's televised recollection of cradling Jesse's body shortly after the shooting was false. The family has since endured years of accusations and threats. Lenny Pozner and Veronique De La Rosa, the parents of Noah Pozner, the youngest Sandy Hook victim, are scheduled to testify at a second trial in September in Austin. That same month, the families of eight other Sandy Hook victims will testify at the third trial, in Connecticut. The trials come after the families of the 10 victims won defamation lawsuits against Mr. Jones last year, when judges ruled him liable by default for repeatedly failing to provide court-ordered documents and testimony. Those rulings set the stage for the upcoming trials, in which juries will award monetary damages...."

** Everytown Research: "In an average year, gun violence in America kills 40,000 people, wounds twice as many, and has an economic consequence to our nation of $557 billion.... This $557 billion problem represents the lifetime costs associated with gun violence, including three types of costs: immediate costs starting at the scene of a shooting, such as police investigations and medical treatment; subsequent costs, such as treatment, long-term physical and mental health care, earnings lost to disability or death, and criminal justice costs; and cost estimates of quality of life lost over a victim's life span for pain and suffering of victims and their families.... The large variation in rates of gun deaths and injuries in the 50 states and Washington, DC, translates into substantial differences in the economic burden from this violence.... The average annual cost for overall gun violence in the United States is $1,698 for every resident in the country. However, in states with stronger gun laws, the economic toll of gun violence is less than half this amount.... This report doesn't try to put a price on human lives." Emphasis original. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is something I have wondered about from time to time. I think I would have stuck to direct costs and would not have figured in quality-of-life costs, which is the bulk of the estimate ($489.1BB) in the report. But the remainder is plenty, and it is wasted money, money that could have gone into your pocket or into some level of government's pockets to attain something of value: a safer bridge, a better high school, a new public library. I don't know why Democrats running for office don't mention the cost of gun violence every day on the campaign trail. ~~~

~~~ Shawn Boburg & Jon Swaine of the Washington Post: "Daniel Defense, the maker of the gun used in the Uvalde shooting..., employed aggressive marketing tactics to sell AR-style rifles.... An examination of Daniel Defense's marketing, based on court filings, interviews, internal documents and other records, shows how the gunmaker over the past decade devised publicity stunts, paid for favorable coverage in newsstand magazines and employed other aggressive tactics to entice Americans to buy its AR-style semiautomatic rifles." The company bought an ad to run during Super Bowl 2014, for instance, knowing the NFL had a policy against running gun ads. So they developed Plan A -- to have people complain to liberal media if the ad ran -- and Plan B -- to have an NRA official complain about censorship if it didn't. The NFL rejected the ad. "The online commentator's video fiercely criticizing the NFL went viral, and the story about the banned Super Bowl ad reached tens of millions of people after it was featured on Fox News's signature programs...." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "The Disney-backed streaming service Hulu is refusing to run political ads on central themes of Democratic midterm campaigns, including abortion and guns, prompting fury from the party's candidates and leaders. The streaming service popular among younger voters, which has a policy against running content deemed controversial, is like other digital providers in not being bound by the Communications Act of 1934, a law that requires broadcast television networks to provide politicians equal access to the airwaves.... The blocked ads do not use violent or jarring imagery." MB: What the story doesn't address, and it should, is whether or not Hulu is allowing Republicans to run ads about, say, the horrors of inflation. All political ads are by nature controversial, even ones that show nothing but amber waves of grain over a patriotic soundtrack, so in theory Hulu could not run any political ads.

of the Washington Post: "Elaine Riddick was 13 years old when she says she was raped by a neighbor in Winfall, N.C. Nine months later, in 1968, she was involuntarily sterilized in the hospital while delivering her first and only child.... North Carolina had labeled Riddick 'feebleminded' -- the same justification that had been used in 1924 to authorize the sterilization of Carrie Buck, a Virginia woman who had also been raped as a minor. Buck's case went to the Supreme Court, which in its 1927 ruling in Buck v. Bell upheld mandatory sterilizations of people considered unfit to bear and raise children. That decision has never formally been overturned.... For many activists and legal experts, [the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision last month] isn't a far cry from Buck, which used similar legal reasoning to allow the government to prevent certain people from becoming pregnant in the first place.... The Buck case paved the way for thousands of forced sterilizations throughout the 20th century. Today, these sterilizations continue, primarily affecting people with disabilities.... Justice Clarence Thomas cited Buck in a 2019 opinion on two Indiana abortion laws...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

You Can't Make Up This Stuff. Zachary Schermele of NBC News: "A Republican lawmaker attended his gay son's wedding just three days after joining the majority of his GOP colleagues in voting against a House bill that would codify federal protections for same-sex marriage. The gay son of Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., confirmed to NBC News on Monday that he 'married the love of [his] life' on Friday and that his 'father was there.'... Thompson's press secretary, Maddison Stone, also confirmed the congressman was in attendance." MB: I'm glad Thompson got to go to the kids' wedding. Now, why can't the Congressman make sure all Americans have the same rights his son and his husband enjoy now?

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. Jaden Edison of the Texas Tribune: "The Uvalde school board is formally urging Gov. Greg Abbott to call state lawmakers back to Austin so they can raise the legal age to buy assault rifles from 18 to 21, more than two months after a gunman used such a weapon to kill 19 elementary school students and two teachers days after he turned 18. Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District trustees approved the largely symbolic resolution in a unanimous vote on the same night they voted to delay the start of the school year. Trustees moved the first day of school from Aug. 15 to Sept. 6 so that more security improvements can be made to campuses and district staffers can receive trauma-informed training."

Texas. Jesus Jiménez & Steve Cavendish of the New York Times: "A 37-year-old woman was taken into custody on Monday after she fired several rounds inside Dallas Love Field Airport in Texas and was shot and injured by a police officer, the authorities said. No other injuries were reported, the police said, but the shooting sent travelers scrambling for cover and delayed several flights. The woman was dropped off at the airport just before 11 a.m. and appeared to change her clothes in a restroom before emerging and opening fire inside the airport, Chief Eddie Garcia of the Dallas Police Department said at a news conference on Monday afternoon. A Dallas police officer inside the airport shot her, striking her 'in the lower extremities,' and she was arrested and taken to a hospital, Chief Garcia said. Her condition was not immediately clear on Monday afternoon. It was unclear whom or what the woman was aiming at when she fired. Chief Garcia said that the officer fired several rounds at her after she began shooting. In a later update, the Police Department identified the woman as Portia Odufuwa...."

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "Four disabled people are asking a federal judge to ensure they can vote this fall after the Wisconsin Supreme Court limited how absentee ballots can be cast. In a 4-3 ruling this month, the state's high court ruled voters could not give their completed absentee ballots to someone else to turn in for them. That policy will make it impossible or extremely difficult for some voters to cast ballots, according to the lawsuit filed Friday in a federal court in Madison. The lawsuit asks the federal court to allow disabled voters to give their ballots to others to return for them, arguing that the new regimen in Wisconsin violates the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act, the Civil Rights Act and the Americans With Disabilities Act.... The state Supreme Court ruling from this month also banned the use of absentee ballot drop boxes. The lawsuit does not seek to overturn that part of the decision."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Tuesday are here: "Russia targeted the region of Odessa with missiles early Tuesday, Ukrainian authorities said == mere days after a strike on the Black Sea port threw into question a deal between Moscow and Kyiv to allow stockpiles of grain destined for exportation out of the region. Ukrainian officials also reported attacks on Kharkiv in the north, and Mykolaiv in the south.... Russian authorities defended Saturday's strike on the southern port, saying it only hit 'military infrastructure.' But the British Defense Ministry said Tuesday 'there is no indication that such targets were at the location the missiles hit.'... Russia's state energy company will halve the natural gas sent to Germany via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline. The Monday announcement from Gazprom deepened European countries' state of uncertainty as they scramble to build up energy supplies for winter. Brittney Griner is set to testify this week in her Moscow trial on drug charges."

Susie Blann of the AP: "Russia's top diplomat said Moscow's overarching goal in Ukraine is to free its people from its 'unacceptable regime,' expressing the Kremlin's war aims in some of the bluntest terms yet as its forces pummel the country with artillery barrages and airstrikes.The remark from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comes amid Ukraine's efforts to resume grain exports from its Black Sea ports.... 'We are determined to help the people of eastern Ukraine to liberate themselves from the burden of this absolutely unacceptable regime,' he said [at an Arab League summit in Cairo Sunday]. Apparently suggesting that Moscow's war aims extend beyond Ukraine's industrial Donbas region in the east, Lavrov said: 'We will certainly help the Ukrainian people to get rid of the regime, which is absolutely anti-people and anti-historical.'... Lavrov's remarks contrasted with the Kremlin's line early in the war, when it repeatedly emphasized that Russia wasn't seeking to overthrow President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's government, even as Moscow's troops closed in on Kyiv." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Canada/Vatican. Chico Harlan & Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "Pope Francis on Monday began a long-sought act of reconciliation in Canada, decrying the country's 'catastrophic' residential school system for Indigenous children and asking forgiveness for the 'evil committed by so many Christians.... I am deeply sorry -- sorry for the ways in which, regrettably, many Christians supported the colonizing mentality of the powers that oppressed the Indigenous peoples,' Francis said in his native Spanish. He addressed his comments to several thousand residential school survivors in a grass field encircled by a small grandstand on the first full day of a trip aimed at penitence for one of Canada's greatest tragedies: a school system that forcibly removed Indigenous children from their parents and tried to assimilate them into Euro-Christian society -- often brutally. Students were forbidden from speaking their native languages or practicing traditional customs; many were physically or sexually abused." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Italy. Ishaan Tharoor of the Washington Post: "When voters elect a new government on Sept. 25 -- a consequence of last week's dramatic collapse of the coalition led by technocratic Prime Minister Mario Draghi -- they may confirm [neo-fascist Georgia] Meloni as the country's first female prime minister.... Meloni counts some of Mussolini's descendants as her direct allies and still uses the same emblem once adopted by the inheritors of his politics.... Meloni and her party are now polling ahead of all other rivals in Italian politics."

News Lede

New York Times: "Paul Sorvino, the tough-guy actor -- and operatic tenor and figurative sculptor -- known for his roles as calm and often courteously quiet but dangerous men in films like 'Goodfellas' and television shows like 'Law & Order,' died on Monday. He was 83."