July 11, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Dennis Overbye & Kenneth Chang of the New York Times: "President Biden is set to unveil a deep field image [photographed by the James Webb space telescope]. The first image will be revealed Monday at 5 p.m. by President Biden at the White House on NASA TV or the agency's YouTube channel. The New York Times will also provide a live video feed."

Judge Throws Bannon Out of Court. Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Monday refused to delay Stephen K. Bannon's trial next week after the Justice Department called an offer by the former Trump aide to testify before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection a 'last-ditch attempt to avoid accountability' on charges of criminal contempt of Congress. 'I see no reason for extending this case any longer,' U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols said after a hearing in which he rejected a host of Bannon's defenses -- including claims that Bannon thought his appearance was covered by executive privilege. The judge narrowed Bannon's defenses at trial mainly to whether he understood the deadlines for answering the House's demands to appear and to produce documents.... In an overnight filing, U.S. prosecutors urged Nichols to keep Bannon's trial on track for July 18 and to withhold from jurors Bannon's 'sudden wish to testify,' which they called an 11th-hour ploy to airbrush away the conduct that spurred his prosecution.... When Bannon attorney David I. Schoen ... [asked], 'What's the point of going to trial if there are no defenses?' Nichols simply answered, 'Agreed.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is pretty hilarious. Nichols is a Trump appointee. He left Bannon with pretty much no defense except, "I don't know how to read a calendar." Good luck with that, Steve-o. I guess you could throw yourself on the mercy of the court, but this judge seems short on mercy. For you, anyhow.

Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Top lawmakers are preparing to question IRS Commissioner Charles Rettig privately in the coming days over reports that the tax agency may have targeted two of ... Donald Trump's political enemies with extensive and rare audits. The moves by the Capitol's key tax-focused panels -- the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee -- come amid growing concerns that the IRS improperly subjected James B. Comey, the former director of the FBI, and Andrew McCabe, his top deputy, to unusual scrutiny after they led investigations into Trump and his 2016 campaign."

María Paúl of the Washington Post: "Two days after Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh fled abortion rights protesters at a Morton’s steakhouse in D.C., Chasten Buttigieg -- husband of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg -- tweeted..., 'Sounds like he just wanted some privacy to make his own dining decisions.'... The tweet drew criticism from some conservatives, including former Trump adviser Stephen Miller, who decried what he called an endorsement of 'the use of mob intimidation tactics' as 'wildly irresponsible.' But Pete Buttigieg defended his husband's remarks.... 'Any public figure should always, always be free from violence, intimidation and harassment but should never be free from criticism or people exercising their First Amendment rights,' Buttigieg said in a 'Fox News Sunday' appearance. He added that officials 'should expect' public protests -- especially after 'an important right that the majority of Americans support was taken away.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: That's a rich criticism coming from Stephen Miller, who developed cruel anti-immigration policies (like separating immigrant children from their parents) -- the purpose of which was to intimidate potential immigrants -- and whose degenerate boss suggested officers could just shoot protesters in the legs.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here.

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A New View of the Universe. Denise Chow of NBC News: "President Joe Biden will unveil the much-anticipated first full-color image from NASA's James Webb Space Telescope on Monday, agency officials confirmed. The image, known as 'Webb's First Deep Field,' will be the deepest and highest-resolution view of the universe ever captured, showing myriad galaxies as they appeared up to 13 billion years in the past, according to NASA. The agency and its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency, are set to release a separate batch of full-color images from the Webb telescope on Tuesday, but Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and the public will get a sneak peek a day early.... NASA will unveil more images in an event streamed live Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. ET." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The adage "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" is certainly true of Donald Trump. But I have noticed again & again how nimble Joe Biden is, and we're not just talking about showing off amazing outer space photos. Biden's willingness to try new solutions for old problems has surprised me, as I didn't give him credit for being so flexible. I was mistaken.

Mark Mazzetti & Ronen Bergman of the New York Times: "A team of executives from an American military contractor quietly visited Israel numerous times in recent months to try to ... [purchase] NSO Group, the cyber hacking firm that is as notorious as it is technologically accomplished. The impediments were substantial for the team from the American company, L3Harris, which also had experience with spyware technology.... The United States government had put NSO on a blacklist just months earlier because the Israeli firm's spyware, called Pegasus, had been used by other governments to penetrate the phones of political leaders, human rights activists and journalists.... But five people ... said that ... American intelligence officials ... quietly supported [the company's] plans to purchase NSO.... [When word of the potential sale leaked last month,] White House officials said they were outraged to learn about the negotiations, and that any attempt by American defense firms to purchase a blacklisted company would be met by serious resistance. Days later, L3Harris, which is heavily reliant on government contracts, notified the Biden administration that it had scuttled its plans to purchase NSO...." It isn't clear whether or not some U.S. officials backed the deal without the White House's knowledge.

Amy Wang & Oliver Knox of the Washington Post: "'Big protest in D.C. on January 6th,' [Donald] Trump tweeted [on December 19, 2020]. 'Be there, will be wild!' That tweet would serve as an invitation to far-right militant groups such as the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers as well as other violent extremists who were part of the pro-Trump mob[.]... Tuesday's [public hearing of the January 6 committee] will focus on Trump's connections to those far-right and political extremist groups.... The next hearing will also focus on 'the fundamental importance' of a Dec. 18, 2020, meeting of Trump allies that took place at the Willard hotel in downtown Washington, according to [Rep. Jamie] Raskin [(D-Md.) who will lead the hearing with Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.)]." ~~~

     ~~~ Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Raskin is expected to first touch on the immediate events before the tweet: a contentious White House meeting on 18 December 2020 where Trump weighed seizing voting machines and appointing conspiracy theorist Sidney Powell as special counsel to investigate election fraud. The meeting involved Trump and four informal advisers, the Guardian has reported, including Trump's ex-national security adviser, Michael Flynn, ex-Trump campaign lawyer Sidney Powell, ex-Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne and ex-Trump aide Emily Newman.... After the Flynn-Powell-Byrne-Newman plan for him to overturn the election fell apart, the select committee will say, he turned his attention to January 6 as his final chance and sent his tweet. The response to Trump's tweet was direct and immediate, the panel will show...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It sounds as if the committee does not have a smoking-gun clip or testimony, where Trump says explicitly, "I'm sending in the goons to hang Mike Pence." However, based on Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony about Mark Meadows & on remarks Steve Bannon made on his podcast (or whatever it is), both Meadows & Bannon knew before-the-fact that the insurrection was coming down. It's hard to believe either of these two is the Oracle of Delphi. They had prior knowledge.

Robert Draper of the New York Times on why the January 6 committee rushed the testimony of Cassidy Hutchinson: "The day before Cassidy Hutchinson was deposed for a fourth time by the Jan. 6 committee, the former Trump White House aide received a phone message...: 'let me know you have your deposition tomorrow. He wants me to let you know he's thinking about you. He knows you're loyal. And you're going to do the right thing when you go in for your deposition.' At Ms. Hutchinson's deposition the next day, committee members investigating the attack on the Capitol were so alarmed by what they considered a clear case of witness tampering -- not to mention Ms. Hutchinson's shocking account of ... Donald J. Trump's behavior on Jan. 6, 2021 -- that they decided in a meeting on June 24, a Friday, to hold an emergency public hearing with Ms. Hutchinson as the surprise witness the following Tuesday. The speed ... was for two crucial reasons: Ms. Hutchinson was under intense pressure from Trump World, and panel members believed that getting her story out in public would make her less vulnerable.... The committee also had to move fast ... to avoid leaks of some of the most explosive testimony ever heard on Capitol Hill." The story includes a brief bio of Hutchinson.

Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "With his criminal trial for contempt of Congress approaching, Stephen K. Bannon, an ally of ... Donald J. Trump's who was involved in his plans to overturn the 2020 election, has informed the House committee investigating the Capitol attack that he is now willing to testify.... His decision is a remarkable about-face for Mr. Bannon, who until Saturday had been among the most obstinate and defiant of the committee's potential witnesses.... But with the possibility of two years in jail and large fines looming on the horizon, Mr. Bannon has been authorized to testify by Mr. Trump, his lawyer told the committee late on Saturday in a letter.... In recent days, as several witnesses have come forward to offer the House panel damning testimony about his conduct, Mr. Trump has grown frustrated that one of his fiercest defenders has not yet appeared before the committee, people close to him said.... It remains to be seen how Mr. Bannon's new posture will affect the criminal proceeding, and how forthcoming he will be." The Guardian's earlier report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ How the committee should politely respond to Mr. Blimpy's lawyer: Dear Mr. Costello: We wish to inform you and your client Stephen K. Blimpy that Mr. Trump is no longer president*. Mr. Trump lost the election in 2020 by more than 7 million votes, and President Joe Biden also trounced him in the Electoral College 306-232. Mr. Biden became president January 20, 2021 -- 18 months ago -- and therefore Mr. Trump has not had a claim to executive privilege since that date. We understand that Mr. Blimpy runs some sort of home-made radio show where he purports to cover current affairs; therefore, it is surprising that he seems unaware of Mr. Trump's decisive loss. Please try to assist your client in getting in touch with these facts; otherwise, we do not see how his testimony will amount to anything more than the wild gibberish of a lunatic. Nevertheless, we plan to continue to press a criminal case against your client for failing to comply with a lawful subpoena.

David Smith of the Guardian: "A documentary film scrutinised by the congressional January 6 committee exposes divisions between the ... Donald Trump and his children over the deadly insurrection at the US Capitol. Released to the public on Sunday, Unprecedented portrays Trump's 2020 election campaign as a family affair and features interviews with him and his inner circle before, during and after the vote. [In interviews for the film,] Trump reverts to his lies about widespread voter fraud.... But when [filmmaker Alex] Holder then puts the same question to three of Trump's children, they are less forthcoming. His son Eric says: 'Yeah, let's skip the 6th.' Son Don Jr and daughter Ivanka also decline to comment on the incendiary subject, as does vice-president Mike Pence."

     ~~~ Thanks to a friend for this gen-u-ine photo. You Floridians be on the lookout.

Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Former House Speaker Paul Ryan was 'sobbing' as he watched the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol unfold on television, a new book [by Mark Leibovich] reports.... Noting Ryan's role on the board of the Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, and alluding to the times as speaker that Ryan didn't stand up to Trump, Leibovich writes that Ryan was 'not inclined to grapple with questions of complicity' in the attack." MB: Of course he didn't. Paul was crying for himself, not for what he did. Ryan told Leibovich, "I spent my whole adult life in that building.... And I saw my friends, a lot of cops, some of my old security detail -- I'm still friends with a bunch of those guys. It really disturbed me, foundationally." This was not a moment when Paul asked himself, "Lord, what have I done?!" That moment is not likely to come.

Laurence Tribe, Dennis Aftergut & Norman Eisen in a Washington Post op-ed (July 9): "At center stage [in Sen. Lindsey Graham's (R-S.C.) attempt to evade a Georgia subpoena] is a set of rules from the Constitution's speech and debate clause. It provides that in all cases 'except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace,' senators and representatives 'shall not be questioned' outside of Congress 'for any Speech or Debate in either House.'... But the immunity those rules confer is limited.... The Supreme Court has long held that the provision's specific language means that lawmakers such as Graham cannot use the clause as a pass to avoid testifying about crimes.... Graham's precise role [in the attempt to overturn Georgia's presidential election results] remains unclear.... [Georgia Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger asserted that he understood the South Carolina senator to mean [in a phone call Graham made to him on November 23, 2020,] that [Raffensperger] should '"[l]ook hard and see how many ballots you could throw out.'... By calling Raffensperger, Graham looks to have been engaging in political activity well outside any proper legislative function and, therefore, beyond the privilege's protection."

Michael Moore would repeal & replace the Second Amendment. MB: Not going to happen, but a good idea. OR rather, not going to happen because it's a good idea.

"The Uber Files: A Global Investigation." Faiz Siddiqui & Joseph Menn of the Washington Post: "Regulators entered Uber's offices [in Amsterdam, the Netherlands,] only to see computers go dark before their eyes.... Uber's use of what insiders called the 'kill switch' was a brazen example of how the company employed technological tools to prevent authorities from successfully investigating the company's business practices as it disrupted the global taxi industry, according to the documents.... As Uber's valuation was surging past $50 billion, government raids occurred with such frequency that the company distributed a Dawn Raid Manual to employees on how to respond.... That document ... [is] part of the Uber Files, an 18.7-gigabyte trove of data obtained by the Guardian and shared with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, a nonprofit newsroom in Washington that helped lead the project, and dozens of other news organizations, including The Washington Post.... Far from simply developing software to connect drivers and customers seeking rides, Uber leveraged its technological capabilities in many cases to gain a covert edge over authorities." ~~~

     ~~~ Harry Davies, et al., of the Guardian: "A leaked trove of confidential files has revealed the inside story of how the tech giant Uber flouted laws, duped police, exploited violence against drivers and secretly lobbied governments during its aggressive global expansion. The unprecedented leak to the Guardian of more than 124,000 documents -- known as the Uber files -- lays bare the ethically questionable practices that fuelled the company's transformation into one of Silicon Valley's most famous exports. The leak spans a five-year period when Uber was run by its co-founder Travis Kalanick, who tried to force the cab-hailing service into cities around the world, even if that meant breaching laws and taxi regulations. During the fierce global backlash, the data shows how Uber tried to shore up support by discreetly courting prime ministers, presidents, billionaires, oligarchs and media barons."

Bryan Pietsch of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has tested positive for the coronavirus, his spokesman said in a statement late Sunday. The positive result came 'as a part of his regular testing regimen,' said the spokesman, Justin Goodman. Schumer is fully vaccinated and 'double boosted' and is experiencing very mild symptoms, Goodman said." Politico's report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Marisa Iati & Meena Venkataramanan of the Washington Post: "A wildfire burning in the southern part of Yosemite National Park more than doubled in size over the weekend, the latest blaze to threaten the world's largest trees as climate change increases the intensity of fires. The Mariposa Grove, home to more than 500 mature giant sequoias and the largest of its kind in the park, closed Thursday after visitors reported spotting smoke from the Washburn Fire near a trail. As of Sunday evening, the fire had grown to just above three square miles."

Texas. Edgar Sandoval of the New York Times: Arnulfo Reyes, "a teacher who survived the mass shooting [in a Uvalde Grade school,] recounts the harrowing attack and desperate wait for a rescue." A very disturbing read.

Way Beyond

Japan. Motoko Rich of the New York Times: }Two days after Japan's former prime minister Shinzo Abe was gunned down at a campaign stop on Friday, his Liberal Democratic Party and its allies swept to victory in a parliamentary election that gave them a chance to pursue Mr. Abe's long-held ambition of revising Japan's pacifist Constitution. It was the clearest sign that Mr. Abe, Japan's longest-serving prime minister, remained a guiding political force. Even before his death, he was no longer leader of the country or its governing party, but his legacy shaped voters' choices at the ballot box and his party's vision for the future. 'I have the responsibility to take over the ideas of former Prime Minister Abe,' the current prime minister, Fumio Kishida, told a crowd west of Tokyo on Saturday, the day after Mr. Abe's killing, as he campaigned for their party's candidates for the Upper House of Parliament."

Sri Lanka. Emily Schmall & Mujib Mashal of the New York Times: "Sri Lanka's political and economic crisis offered a peculiar tableau Sunday after a day of high drama: The protesters were everywhere, cooking in the prime minister's garden and even lounging in the president’s bedroom while the leaders were nowhere to be seen. With President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe both in hiding after indicating they would resign, it was not clear who was running the country.... For months [Sri Lankans] had felt they were on their own anyway as they queued up for hours -- often in vain -- for fuel and cooking gas, pared down their meals and scrambled for lifesaving medicine. Opposition leaders clamored to decipher Mr. Rajapaksa's intentions. Would he actually quit on Wednesday, as officials have said, or was his silence a sign that he was gauging his options for a protracted fight? Discussions on who might succeed him were also taking shape, with the speaker of the Parliament viewed as the likely choice as interim president." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The "tableau" doesn't look "peculiar" to me: some of the photos look very much like those picturing the January 6 insurrectionists as they stormed the U.S. Capitol, roamed the halls, and made themselves comfy in the Senate & House chambers & in Congressional offices. Sri Lanka (Ceylon) may be a small island country run by incompetent, corrupt politicians, but the Trumpists have made out own country look a lot like Sri Lanka. There is one essential difference: Sri Lanka's protesters were fighting a corrupt government; our criminal "protesters" were fighting for a corrupt government.

Saudi Arabia. Scott Pelley of "60 Minutes" interviews former Saudi spymaster Saad Aljabri, who says that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is a psychopath who sent a second team of Saudi assassins to kill Aljabri after he fled to Canada. With video. MB: Joe Biden had better have a helluva security detail when he goes to Saudi Arabia this week. And he should bring his own food & beverages.

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Monday are here: "European countries are on edge after the flow of gas from Russia into Germany through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline stopped Monday for a 10-day scheduled maintenance period. German officials fear Russia will extend this period so as to put pressure on Europe.... In Ukraine, Russian airstrikes in the east and north early Monday killed 21 people and injured at least 28, officials from these regions said. Two dozen people remained trapped under the rubble of two high-rise apartment buildings in Chasiv Yar, a city in the Donetsk region, that local officials said were struck by Russian missiles.... Ukraine's defense minister said the country's forces have proved they can use American long-range artillery systems effectively. Oleksii Reznikov told the Wall Street Journal that they still need 'more armor, more weaponry from our partners.' Players in the WNBA All-Star Game in Chicago on Sunday all wore jerseys bearing the name and number of Brittney Griner, the basketball star detained in Russia on drug crime charges." ~~~

~~~ You Want Fries with That? Sorry, We're Out. Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "The recently opened Russian alternative to McDonald's -- which left the country in May over Russia's war in Ukraine -- is both a fast-food chain and a currency in Moscow's propaganda campaigns. In a shortage wrought with symbolism, Vkusno i Tochka, which translates as 'Tasty and that's it,' is limiting the sale of fries this summer because it is unable to source enough potatoes, the company told Russian state news agency Tass Friday. The Russian franchise said it is running low on the menu's country-style potatoes, its thicker-cut cousin of the Americanized french fry, because of supply chain disruptions in part caused by war and Western sanctions.... a poor potato harvest last year left Russia with limited stock, Vkusno i Tochka told Tass, and the company has been unable to fill the gap with imports...."

July 10, 2022

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: To shore up U.S. & European economies & to prevent a global food crisis, "U.S. officials have latched on to a never-before-tried plan aimed at depressing global oil prices -- one that would complement European sanctions and allow critical flows of Russian crude onto global markets to continue but at a steeply discounted price.... The potential for another oil shock to puncture the global economy, and perhaps [President] Biden-s re-election prospects, has driven the administration's attempts to persuade government and business leaders around the world to sign on to a global price cap on Russian oil. It is a novel and untested effort to force Russia to sell its oil to the world at a steep discount. Administration officials and Mr. Biden say the goal is twofold: to starve Moscow's oil-rich war machine of funding and to relieve pressure on energy consumers around the world who are facing rising fuel prices.... Even some skeptics say that the price cap could, if nothing else, keep enough Russian oil pumping to avoid a recession-triggering price spike."

President Biden, in a Washington Post op-ed, on why he's going to Saudi Arabia: "I know that there are many who disagree with my decision to travel to Saudi Arabia. My views on human rights are clear and long-standing, and fundamental freedoms are always on the agenda when I travel abroad, as they will be during this trip, just as they will be in Israel and the West Bank.... The Middle East I'll be visiting is more stable and secure than the one my administration inherited 18 months ago.... When I meet with Saudi leaders on Friday, my aim will be to strengthen a strategic partnership going forward that's based on mutual interests and responsibilities, while also holding true to fundamental American values.... Next week, I will be the first president to visit the Middle East since 9/11 without U.S. troops engaged in a combat mission there. It's my aim to keep it that way." Worth reading for the details on developments in the Middle East.

Hannah Natanson of the Washington Post: "Hundreds of people protested for abortion rights Saturday by marching to the White House and planting themselves in front of the building for about an hour, defying D.C. law and risking arrest.... No arrests were made, according to spokespeople for the U.S. Park Police and the Secret Service.... The demonstration was organized by the Women's March, a movement that drew millions to the streets in the nation's capital and across the country the day after Donald Trump was inaugurated as president in 2017. The group has called for a 'Summer of Rage' in response to the Supreme Court's overturning last month of Roe v. Wade.... The Women's March is also urging President Biden to declare a national emergency that would allow the federal government to dedicate additional funds for abortion procedures. Other actions requested by the group include new federal guidance increasing access to abortion pills and the leasing of federal land to abortion providers." ~~~

~~~ New York Times Editors: "There are several steps the federal government can take now, with laws that are already on the books, to fortify abortion services in states where they are legal, support doctors facing legal and logistical quandaries and help women who may need to cross state lines or secure abortion pills online. The executive order [President Biden] signed Friday does little more than direct the health and human services secretary to look for ways to better enforce these existing laws, and report back.... The most urgent step for the federal government to take is to ensure access to medication abortion, the most common method of abortion.... The F.D.A. should follow the attorney general's lead and say, unequivocally, that the agency's approval of and regulatory decisions around prescription drugs, including abortion pills, pre-empt any state-level regulations or statutes.... The agency should also take immediate steps to loosen constraints on medication abortion that experts have long said are unnecessary.... The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should also make clear, publicly, that all hospitals receiving federal funds for Medicare and Medicaid (meaning nearly all hospitals and clinics) are required to provide all F.D.A.-approved drugs ... in a medical emergency."

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration on Friday said it will terminate its four-decade-old tax treaty with Hungary over that country's resistance to implementing a global minimum tax, as the United States seeks to create a global tax floor for large multinational corporations. In a statement on Friday, the Treasury Department said the United States is ending the treaty with Hungary because 'the benefits are no longer reciprocal,' citing a loss of tax revenue for the United States and little return for American investment in the country. Hungary, which has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in Europe, is currently blocking the European Union's implementation of the global minimum tax agreement. World leaders have agreed on a 15 percent corporate tax floor, championed as a top priority by Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen.... When the treaty was agreed to, Hungary's tax rate was 50 percent; it is now 9 percent -- less than half the U.S. rate."

Ramon Vargas of the Guardian: "The US army has suspended a retired three-star general [-- Gary Volesky --] from a lucrative consultant's role after a social media post appearing under his name taunted first lady Jill Biden's support of abortion rights.... 'For nearly 50 years, women have had the right to make our own decisions about our bodies,' the Democratic first lady's statement said about the [Supreme Court] ruling, which in effect outlawed abortions in more than half the country. 'Today, that right was stolen from us.' An account under Volesky's name replied: 'Glad to see you finally know what a woman is.' Some on the platform interpreted the remark as a verbal potshot at the Biden White House's support for the transgender community." MB: Volesky will probably get a more lucrative job as a Fox "News" talking head. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story is here. It more clearly explains that Volesky held a "mentoring" role in his consultancy. Some mentor, especially since -- as I believe Patrick pointed out a few weeks ago -- the Supreme Court's ruling is extremely problematic for the military, inasmuch as many young military women are stationed in states that restrict or disallow abortions.

[The committee] received critical testimony on nearly every major topic in its investigation, reinforcing key points regarding Donald Trump's misconduct and providing highly relevant new information that will play a central role in its upcoming hearings. This includes information demonstrating Donald Trump's supreme dereliction of duty.... The testimony also corroborated key elements of Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony. -- Tim Mulvey, spokesman for the House panel who questioned Pat Cipollone Friday ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times have more on Pat Cipollone's testimony before House committee investigators: "Pat A. Cipollone, who served as White House counsel for ... Donald J. Trump, was asked detailed questions on Friday about pardons, false election fraud claims and the former president's pressure campaign against Vice President Mike Pence, according to three people familiar with his testimony.... The panel did not press him to either corroborate or contradict some specific details of explosive testimony by Cassidy Hutchinson.... Mr. Cipollone ... invoked certain privileges in declining to answer some of the committee's questions."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "The governor of Arizona has signed a measure into law that makes it illegal for people to record videos within eight feet of police activity, limiting efforts to increase transparency around law enforcement operations. The law, signed by Gov. Doug Ducey on Wednesday, goes into effect in September. Many civil rights groups and news media organizations have criticized the measure.... ​​There are exceptions for people on private property, in a vehicle stopped by the police, or those who are the subjects of police contact, as long as they do not interfere with officers' actions. There are no exceptions for journalists.... The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet ruled on whether recording a video of a police officer in public while they are on duty is protected under the First Amendment. The action is recognized as a constitutional right in most federal appeals courts, including the Ninth Circuit, which covers Arizona." MB: Sure seems to me to violate the First Amendment. This isn't peeping-Tom stuff; it's public officials engaging in official acts. And the public has every right to know what's going on in their names.

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here: "Rescuers are searching for more than 24 people feared trapped under rubble, after Russian missiles hit a residential block in the eastern Ukrainian town of Chasiv Yar, the regional governor says. Fifteen people are so far confirmed dead from the Saturday evening strike, in what Ukrainian presidential adviser Andriy Yermak called 'another terrorist attack by the terrorist country.' Elsewhere in Donetsk region, Russian forces continue offensive operations, with unsuccessful assaults northwest of the city of Slovyansk, according to analysts.... Ukrainian officials also appear to be preparing for conflict in the south as they seek to recapture territory from Moscow.... Following the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday criticized China's 'alignment' with Russia since the invasion of Ukraine, questioning how any country could be neutral in the face of such aggression."

Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: Russian officials "'need more soldiers, desperately, and are already using what some analysts call a 'stealth mobilization' to bring in new recruits without resorting to a politically risky national draft. To make up the manpower shortfall, the Kremlin is relying on a combination of impoverished ethnic minorities, Ukrainians from the separatist territories, mercenaries and militarized National Guard units to fight the war, and promising hefty cash incentives for volunteers.... Vladimir V. Putin hobbled the mobilization effort from the beginning, experts said, by refusing to put Russia on a war footing that would have allowed the military to start calling up reserves. Hence, the Kremlin has tried to glue together replacement battalions through other means.'" The article goes a long way toward explaining why Russian forces have seemed, at times, to be so ineffective.

Sri Lanka. New York Times: "President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, whose family has dominated politics in Sri Lanka for much of the past two decades, has agreed to resign after months of protests accusing him of running the island nation's economy into the ground through corruption and mismanagement, the speaker of the country's parliament said on Saturday. Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena, the parliamentary speaker and an ally of the president, announced the development at the end of a chaotic day. Protesters entered the president's residence and office, ​and thousands ​more ​descended on the capital, Colombo, to register their growing fury over his government's inability to address a crippling economic crisis. As the demonstrations swelled, the country's political leaders urged Mr. Rajapaksa to step down." This is a liveblog. ~~~

     ~~~ In an update, the Times report that Rajapaksa, according to Abeywardena, will resign Wednesday. But Rajapaksa remains in hiding and "hasn't been seen or heard from publicly since protesters stormed his official residence Saturday in Colombo...." So somebody with less in the way of guts than Boris Johnson, who at least managed to emerge from Downing Street to say, "Them's the breaks." But maybe more guts than Donald Trump, who still doesn't have the bare-minimal sense to decency to concede.

     ~~~ Do you suppose anybody has ever had the guts to say to Donald Trump, directly, "You lost. You lost big. Not because Joe Biden cheated. Not because crooked poll workers rigged the machines. Not because half the voters were non-citizens. You lost because millions more bona fide Americans voted for Biden than voted for you. Millions more Americans preferred Joe to you. I can tell you, if the situation had been reversed, Joe Biden would have had the balls to concede. You're a limp dick. Mr. President.*"

July 9, 2022

Michael Shear & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Under pressure to do more to respond to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, President Biden on Friday issued an executive order that aimed to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception while preparing for legal fights to come. But the order is vague about how the president hopes to accomplish those goals, leaving the details largely to Xavier Becerra, his secretary of health and human services, who has said the administration has 'no magic bullet' that can restore access to abortion. And Mr. Biden's order stops far short of demands from abortion rights advocates, who have criticized him for failing to move quickly to take action after the court's decision two weeks ago.... 'For God's sake, there's an election in November. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote,' the president said [before signing the order], noting that the justices in the majority 'practically dares' women to assert their political power to put in place laws that restore abortion rights. 'Consider the challenge accepted, court. But in the meantime, I'm signing this important executive order.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Politico report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the language of President Biden's executive order, via the White House.

Eileen Sullivan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Border Patrol agents on horseback used 'unnecessary' force in September against Black migrants who crossed into Del Rio, Texas, en masse, amid a humanitarian crisis that exposed the Biden administration's struggle to manage a record number of southwestern border crossings. In the absence of clear instructions from their supervisors, the agents took commands from the Texas state police and improperly 'used force or the threat of force' to drive migrants back into the Rio Grande. These findings and others came from an extensive review of the events of Sept. 19, when about 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants had gathered in squalid conditions underneath a bridge in Del Rio after crossing into the country from Mexico.... While four agents are facing disciplinary action for the events of that day, the report disclosed deeper problems within the agency.... Among those issues are the conflicting objectives between federal and local officers, a situation that is poised to get worse after Texas on Thursday ordered even more local law enforcement involvement in enforcing immigration laws."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, the venerable Gallup organization reported that just 27 percent of Americans expressed confidence in their institutions -- the lowest level of trust since the questions were first asked half a century ago. On Wednesday, Mitch McConnell showed us why Americans feel this way.... McConnell [pulled out of talks on a bill to help U.S. manufacturers compete with China's semi-conductor industry in retribution for Democrats' planning to use ] 'reconciliation' to pass [a] prescription-drug bill by a simple majority vote.... To stop Americans from getting cheaper prescriptions, he is willing to sabotage American manufacturers (and therefore assist China).... This cynicism has destroyed Americans' faith in their government.... For three decades, as the Republicans transitioned from a limited-government party to an anti-government party, GOP leaders have seen political advantage in undermining Americans' confidence in their institutions, and in sabotaging the functions of government.... McConnell played a major part in the sabotage...."

Nicholas Wu & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone spent over eight hours meeting with the Jan. 6 select committee.... Cipollone huddled with committee investigators in a closed-door conference room of the Tip O'Neill House Office Building, emerging about half a dozen times to hold sidebar conversations with his attorney in a separate room.... Details of Cipollone's testimony remained concealed late Friday but a source familiar with the interview indicated the committee found his testimony 'very helpful.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "Two people familiar with former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone's testimony Friday told CNN that the House select committee ... did not ask him if he told then-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson the day of the attack that they would 'get charged with every crime imaginable' if they went to the US Capitol.... It is unclear if Cipollone corroborated other parts of Hutchinson's testimony.... [A] source ... [said] that no one has refuted any of Hutchinson's testimony under oath.... When asked specifically if Cipollone confirmed testimony from Hutchinson, [Rep. Zoe] Lofgren [D-Calif.] said, 'Not contradicting is not the same as confirming.'... 'Mr. Cipollone provided a great deal of new information relevant to the select committee's investigation, which further underscores President Trump's supreme dereliction of duty,' [a] source said. 'The committee will show much of this to the American people in the days ahead.'"

What Are the Con Men Doing Now? ~~~

     ~~~ (1) (a) & (b) Isaac Stanley-Becker, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is considering sending a letter to Stephen K. Bannon saying that he is waiving his claim of executive privilege, potentially clearing the way for his former chief strategist to testify before the House select committee investigating the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.... The letter would reiterate that Trump invoked executive privilege in September 2021, when Bannon was first subpoenaed by the House committee. But it would say that the former president is now willing to give up that claim -- which has been disputed -- if Bannon can reach an agreement on the terms of an appearance before the panel.... Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress in November 2021 for refusing to comply with the subpoena. A trial on those charges is scheduled to begin July 18, though Bannon has sought to delay the proceedings." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ (2) Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes says he will waive his Fifth Amendment rights and testify to the Jan. 6 select committee if they permit him to testify in person. Rhodes, who is currently incarcerated while awaiting trial on seditious conspiracy charges for his role in the breach of the Capitol, says he wants the committee to arrange with the U.S. Marshals Service to permit him to appear in person at the Capitol complex rather than testify from the jail...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) For news about another busy con man, see the report on Elon Musk, linked below. ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "U.S. prosecutors leveled new accusations Friday against the leader of the Oath Keepers [Stewart Rhodes] and alleged members who have been charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, saying one co-conspirator came to Washington with explosives and detailing allegations that a co-defendant kept a 'death list' with the name of a Georgia election official. The allegations came days before the Jan. 6 House committee is set to hold its next hearing Tuesday, which is expected to explore connections between extremist groups accused of playing key roles in the violence at the Capitol and ... Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election.... In a 28-page filing, prosecutors said a law enforcement search on Jan. 19, 2021, of the home of charged co-defendant Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Berryville, Va., recovered a document that included the words 'DEATH LIST' handwritten across the top with the name of a Georgia election official and a purported family member of the official. Both were targets of baseless accusations that they were involved in voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, prosecutors said." CNN's report is here.

** Tom Jackman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The full picture of how many among the crowd [at the January 6, 2021, insurrection] were armed before the riot occurred is unclear, but court records, trial testimony and accounts from police officers and rioters have supplied growing evidence that multiple people brought firearms to Washington for Jan. 6, 2021. Six men were arrested that day for having guns in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol, and a seventh who arrived after the riot ended was arrested the following day. Despite some instances in which alerts about people with guns turned out to be false alarms, accounts from police officers and rioters indicate that many firearms were spotted on Jan. 6 but were not seized as law enforcement focused more on defending the Capitol than on arresting gun-law violators.... ~~~

~~~ "U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, whose pursuit by a mob inside the Capitol was the subject of a viral video, has said that but for police restraint in the use of force, the riot 'could have easily been a bloodbath,' a sentiment echoed by several officers on the witness stand in Jan. 6 criminal trials. Defendants have said as much as well. In video evidence played at his trial, Guy Reffitt of Wylie, Tex., said that as he stood near the front of the mob on the west side of the Capitol, he counted eight firearms carried by five people." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Read the whole report. And these, of course, are just the firearms authorities learned about. Surely there were many more. MB: I'm still amazed there wasn't more of an exchange of gunfire with large loss of life.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a House committee is entitled to a wide array of records on ... Donald Trump's finances and business practices, but the court further narrowed aspects of the subpoena.... If the decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stands, Trump's former accounting firm Mazars will have to give the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee five years of records on potential inaccuracies in the financial statements of Trump or his business and a little more than two years of records related to the lease with the federal government for the former Trump International Hotel in Washington. Mazars will also have to provide records from 2017 and 2018 on transactions between the Trump Organization and any foreign, local or state government or official. Trump could ask the full bench of the D.C. Circuit to rehear the case or petition the Supreme Court to take it up again. Two years ago to the day from Friday's ruling, the justices issued an opinion rejecting Trump's sweeping claims of executive privilege but declared that lower courts did not do enough to scrutinize the House panel's purported needs for the information and whether the subpoena was tailored to those needs." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Looks to me as if Trump will be able to extend the judicial wrangling till next January, at which time Republicans are likely to take over the House & drop the case.

The Stupid Cruelty of MTG. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has promoted several very different responses over the past few hours to the July 4 mass shooting that left seven people dead, scores injured, and a two-year-old boy orphaned. The Republican from Georgia went from promoting the right wing's latest talking points, that antidepressants are to blame for the massacre, and demanding to see the alleged shooter's medical records, to claiming it 'sounds like' a false flag operation, 'designed to persuade Republicans to go along with' gun control.... Police have offered no indication anyone except the alleged shooter planned the Independence Day massacre, and have said he spent weeks doing so. 'I mean, after all, remember we didn't see that happen at all the Pride parades in the month of June,' she lamented angrily, ignoring all the right-wing violence at Pride celebrations this year." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To suggest, obviously with no evidence whatsoever, to the many victims of this massacre that they were nothing more than convenient pawns in a liberal political campaign is the height of cruelty against innocent victims of the extremist gun policies she promotes. I hope someone will stand up in Congress & condemn her remarks.

Peter Canellos & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The former leader of a religious right organization said he recruited and coached wealthy volunteers including a prominent Dayton, Ohio, evangelical couple to wine, dine and entertain conservative Supreme Court justices while pushing conservative positions on abortion, homosexuality, gun restrictions and other issues. Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister who headed the Faith and Action group headquartered near the Supreme Court from 1995 to 2018, said he arranged over the years for about 20 couples to fly to Washington to visit with and entertain Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and the late Antonin Scalia.... The calculated nature of Faith and Action's efforts shows how outside actors can use social activities and expensive dinners to penetrate the court's highly sealed environment.... Faith and Action became a part of Liberty Counsel in 2018 and is now known as Faith and Liberty. Its vice president, Peggy Nienaber, was quoted earlier this week as praying with Supreme Court justices.... Schenck told [Rolling Stone] magazine that he began the prayer sessions as a way of building rapport with conservative justices."

     ~~~ Marie: Last month, following the Supremes' decision to overturn Roe, Rachel Maddow warned that it won't be long before anti-abortionists "bring a 'fetal personhood' case before the Supreme Court in a bid to totally shut down abortion nationwide. Such a case would aim to define a fetus as a human being, and an abortion as murder." I think Rachel is right, but I'm here to tell you there's an upside to the Extremes' likely ruling on the matter, especially for urban professional women who might find themselves in an unwelcome family way: ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "... a pregnant woman in Plano, [Texas,] Brandy Bottone, told a police officer who pulled her over in the carpool lane that in light of the Roe v. Wade rescission, her fetus counted as a passenger.... According to [a Dallas Morning News] report, the officer ... issued [Bottone] a $215 citation" for violating the HOV law that limits the use of the lane to vehicles carrying more than one person. That mean officer won't be able to ticket nice ladies like Brandy when Clarence Thomas has his way.

Jackson Richman of Mediaite: "Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh exited a Washington, D.C., steakhouse this week through the back door due to protesters, reported Politico. The outlet's Playbook newsletter reported on Friday that Kavanaugh 'was dining at Morton's downtown D.C. location' as 'protesters soon showed up out front, called the manager to tell him to kick Kavanaugh out and later tweeted that the justice was forced to exit through the rear of the restaurant.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) MB: I'm so sorry Bart & his friends had their meal interrupted. Now let's ask how the inconvenience of steakus interruptus compares with the inconvenience of carrying, birthing & rearing the child of one's rapist. ~~~

     ~~~ The Constitution Does Not Guarantee the Right to Dinner. Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "The right to congregate and eat dinner is actually not to be found anywhere in the Constitution.... [Brett Kavanaugh] might want his old freedom back, or ask for someone to escort him through the gantlet of protesters who want him to feel bad about his choices, which after all don't affect anyone other than millions of people whose lives are going to be fundamentally changed and whom he is consigning to a status lower than that of full person with the bodily autonomy and right to direct their lives that this entails.... But there is no right, however seemingly basic, that cannot vanish away like a ghostly mist the second someone remembers that there might be a medieval text, somewhere, out there that disagrees." MB: Nice to see Alexandra feels as bad about Bart's interrupted outing as I do.

Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: Pennsylvania's GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug "Mastriano's ascension in Pennsylvania is perhaps the most prominent example of right-wing candidates for public office who explicitly aim to promote Christian power in America. The religious right has long supported conservative causes, but this current wave seeks more: a nation that actively prioritizes their particular set of Christian beliefs and far-right views and that more openly embraces Christianity as a bedrock identity. Many dismiss the historic American principle of the separation of church and state.... Their presence reveals a fringe pushing into the mainstream."

Speaking of Con Men. Gerrit de Vynck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk is terminating his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, according to a filing the billionaire made with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday. Musk's lawyers sent a letter to Twitter saying he is 'terminating their merger agreement,' according to the filing. In the letter, Musk argues he has a right to drop out of the deal because Twitter hasn't given him enough information about the company's business." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A CNBC report is here. MB: Wait, wait, Elon. I thought you were buying Twitter to make sure (dangerous, untruthful) free speech prevailed for those of us who can cram all our brilliant, independent thoughts into 280 characters. ~~~

     ~~~ Ari Hawkins & Josh Sisco of Politico: "Elon Musk officially terminated a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter on Friday, a move that would appear to dash the hopes of ... Donald Trump and his supporters that the social media platform would loosen content restrictions that have frustrated conservatives. The move spurred fresh attacks on Twitter's existing management, including from Donald Trump Jr., who said it showed that censorship is going to be alive and well.... [Twitter] vowed to take legal action and complete the merger for the original price, according to a statement from chair Bret Taylor."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Louisiana. Ava Sasani & Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "A judge in Louisiana allowed state laws banning nearly all abortions to take effect on Friday, lifting an earlier court decision that had temporarily blocked them. Abortions were immediately outlawed starting at conception, with an exception for a threat to the life of a pregnant woman, but with no exceptions for rape or incest. Under one Louisiana law, abortion providers face possible jail time of 10 or 15 years, depending on when the pregnancy was terminated."

North Carolina. War on Electricity. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "North Carolina Republican state Rep. Ben Moss has filed legislation that takes aim at free electric vehicle charging stations, both those constructed by private businesses and those constructed by towns and cities. Rep. Moss's bill bans state and local governments from providing free electric vehicle charging stations unless they also provide gasoline, including diesel, 'through a pump to the public at no charge.' Moss also wants to require businesses that provide privately owned electric vehicle charging stations that are free to the public -- say, ones in a store or mall parking lot -- to print on every receipt how much of that person's purchase goes to pay for the free electricity.... Car and Driver's Ezra Dyer, who happens to be Rep. Moss' constituent, says his state representative has 'decided that his animating principle is Being Mad at Electricity.'"

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley, now of the Washington Post: "A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court barred the use of most ballot drop boxes on Friday and ruled voters could not give their completed absentee ballots to others to return on their behalf, a practice that some conservatives disparage as 'ballot harvesting.' It's a ruling feared by voting rights proponents, who said ahead of time such a decision would make it harder for voters -- particularly those with disabilities -- to return their absentee ballots.... The 4-3 ruling came a month before the state's Aug. 9 primaries.... For years, ballot drop boxes were used without controversy across Wisconsin. Election clerks greatly expanded their use in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.... The decision fell along ideological lines, with the justices elected with support from Republicans in the majority and justices elected with support from Democrats in dissent.... In a dissent, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley called the majority 'dangerous to democracy.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you read the full report, I think you'll find it pretty much falls in the "both-sides" school of journalism. I didn't notice this of Marley's reporting when he worked for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but he seems to go out of his way to promote the pretense that Republicans' opposition to drop boxes is all about their concern for election integrity. See also Patrick's commentary in yesterday's thread.

Way Beyond

U.K., et al. Fintan O'Toole in the Guardian: "It is hard to think of a figure at once so fatuous and so consequential [as Boris Johnson], so flippant and yet so profoundly influential. His reign was short -- its malign hangover will last long.... The soundtrack to Johnson's political career is the crash of breaking glass as he chucks rocks over the walls of the neighbours across the Irish Sea and the Channel.... The worst aspect of this is his reckless sabotaging of the Good Friday agreement.... He deliberately trivialised the problems of the Irish border.... He introduced legislation deliberately designed to make Northern Ireland a source of open-ended conflict with the EU.... [This] brought relations between Britain and Ireland to their lowest point for decades. And it thrilled autocrats everywhere. Johnson made the rule of law and the honouring of treaties into another of his bad jokes."