February 16, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Zeke Miller & Chris Megerian of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing 'sharper rules' to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country. The president has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an 'interagency team' to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Biden said the U.S. now believes are most likely 'benign' objects launched by private companies or research institutions. While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help 'distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.'"

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to receive treatment for clinical depression, his office said on Thursday.... [Mr. Fetterman's spokesman] said that after undergoing an evaluation on Monday by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress, Mr. Fetterman followed the recommendation for inpatient care at Walter Reed." An AP story is here.

CNN is live-updating developments in the Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The judge in the matter released a partial grand jury report late this morning:

"A judge in Fulton County, Georgia, has made public some parts of a report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election in the state.... The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.... The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election 'unanimously' concluded that there wasn't widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump's conspiracy theories after hearing 'extensive testimony' from election officials, poll workers and other experts." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: The portions of the report that have been released are very short. You can read them here, where they are attached as exhibits to the judge's order.

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Jim Tankersley & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The United States is on track to add nearly $19 trillion to its national debt over the next decade, $3 trillion more than previously forecast, the result of rising costs for interest payments, veterans' health care, retiree benefits and the military, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday. The new forecasts project a $1.4 trillion gap this year between what the government spends and what it takes in from tax revenues. Over the following 10 years, deficits will average $2 trillion annually as tax receipts fail to keep pace with the rising costs of Social Security and Medicare benefits for retiring baby boomers."

Peter Nicholas, et al., of NBC News: "President Joe Biden plans to deliver his most extended public remarks yet -- as early as Thursday -- about the unidentified objects that the U.S. military has been shooting down, three people familiar with the matter said. Biden will explain how he has tasked his administration with setting parameters about how to deal with aerial balloons and other objects spotted in the future."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "As the new Republican-led panel tasked with investigating the weaponization of government continued this week to issue new subpoenas, those who orchestrated the inquiry that its leaders have claimed as a model are warning the chairman against allowing his work to veer into partisan territory. More than two dozen staff members from the panel formed in the 1970s that came to be known as the Church Committee sent an open letter on Wednesday to Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the Judiciary Committee and its powerful new subcommittee, offering advice for how he could follow in the footsteps of their panel, which uncovered decades of intelligence and civil liberties abuses under presidents of both parties and set the gold standard in Congress for scrutinizing the executive branch. The counsel is simple: Pursue a bipartisan inquiry, follow the facts, don't attempt to interfere with ongoing investigations and operate in good faith." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Anyone who thinks Jim Jordan is capable of, or even wants to, conduct a sensible, useful inquiry almost certainly has another think coming.

Paula Reid of CNN: "The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "... a letter filed with ethics watchdogs in the House of Representatives requesting an investigation into whether [Rep. George] Santos has violated federal immigration laws [when he married a Brazilian woman years ago]. The request was made by Malcolm Lazin, an L.G.B.T.Q. rights activist and former federal prosecutor, to the House Ethics Committee and Office of Congressional Ethics.... During the marriage, Mr. Santos's wife obtained citizenship through her husband, a United States citizen. Immigration officials have given no indication that the marriage raised any red flags.... Still, friends, former roommates and co-workers said in interviews that Mr. Santos identified as gay for his entire adult life and that he wa dating men during the period in which he was married to his ex-wife."

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "A senior Democrat on Tuesday renewed a request to Jared Kushner for documents outlining how the former White House official received $2 billion from a Saudi investment fund, writing that Kushner had failed to respond to an earlier inquiry and raising new questions about whether he had 'improperly traded' on his government work to benefit his financial interests. The letter from Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, cited a Washington Post story published online Saturday and other reports that he said raised disturbing questions about Kushner's relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."

Rachel Weiner, et al., of the Washington Post: “The leader of a right-wing extremist group learned days in advance that he would be arrested for his actions after a pro-Trump rally through his conversations with a D.C. police lieutenant, according to testimony in federal court Wednesday. Enrique Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, for his part in burning a Black Lives Matter flag stolen from a historic African American church weeks earlier.... [Shane] Lamond [-- a 22-year veteran of the D.C. police who in 2021 was head of the department's intelligence unit --] was suspended with pay from the D.C. police a year ago and is under federal investigation for his contacts with Tarrio; he has not been charged with a crime.... According to the court record, by [Jan. 4, 2021,] Lamond had been giving Tarrio inside information for at least six months....

"On Nov. 7, 2020, when news networks declared that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election over Donald Trump, Lamond offered a tip about the right-wing social media site Parler. 'Alerts are being sent out to law enforcement that Parler accounts of your people are talking about mobilizing and taking back the country and getting people spun up,' Lamond wrote. Later that day, Lamond added, 'Just giving you a heads up. Let's keep this between you and me.' Lamond said that he and Tarrio needed to talk on an encrypted application." An AP story is here. Politico's story is here.

Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating the former president and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Special counsel Jack Smith's office is seeking documents and testimony related to January 6, and Meadows received the subpoena sometime in January, the source said. An attorney for Meadows declined to comment."

Mike's Got a Secret. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday that he was willing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court a bid by special counsel Jack Smith to force him to testify about Donald Trump's effort to subvert the 2020 election. 'It's unconstitutional,' Pence said during a press availability amid a trip to Iowa. He swiped at what he called the 'Biden DOJ subpoena' and said his role as president of the Senate -- which he was fulfilling on Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol -- makes him immune from the criminal grand jury proceedings Smith is leading." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Under pence's theory of the law, no one can ever question him about anything. For the purposes of evading a DOJ subpoena, pence has suddenly decided to become a member of the Senate. BUT when the January 6 committee requested his cooperation, pence refused, citing his position in the executive branch: "... the very notion of a committee on Congress, in Congress, summoning a vice president to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House, I think, would violate that separation of powers. And I think it would erode the dynamic of the office of president and vice president for many years to come."

David French of the New York Times: "... It is beyond the 'proper powers' of the Department of Justice 'to weigh whether indicting [a former president*] would be in the national interest.' Weighing the national interest is the president's purview, and the path to avoiding prosecution for the sake of national stability is through a presidential pardon, not through an exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Presidents can pardon federal crimes. They cannot pardon state crimes. But even if President Biden could pardon Trump, he should not. If the evidence clearly indicates that Trump committed a crime, he should face a jury, and if the jury convicts, he should go to prison. After the Senate failed to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, the criminal justice system is one of the last lines of defense against this malignant man and his malignant mob." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: David French is a conservative, anti-gay opinionator who used to write for the National Review. As I recall, he's also a never-Trumper. He recently got a gig as a columnist at the so-called liberal NYT.

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A judge in Atlanta is expected to release portions of a report on Thursday detailing the findings of a special purpose grand jury that examined whether ... Donald J. Trump and some of his allies violated Georgia law in their efforts to overturn Mr. Trump's 2020 election loss in the state. Special grand juries cannot issue indictments, but they can recommend whether criminal charges should be sought. Earlier this week, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court ruled that much of the jury's final report should not be disclosed until after Fani T. Willis, the local district attorney, makes her own charging decisions. Still, he ordered the report's introduction and conclusion to be made public, along with a section detailing the special grand jury's concerns about witnesses lying under oath."

Larry Neumeister of the AP: "... Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he didn't rape a longtime magazine advice columnist, a federal judge said Wednesday, clearing away a potential roadblock to an April trial. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected the 11th-hour offer by Trump's legal team to provide a DNA sample to rebut claims E. Jean Carroll first made publicly in a 2019 book. Kaplan said that lawyers for Trump and Carroll had over three years to make DNA an issue in the case and that both chose not to do so. He said it would almost surely delay the trial scheduled to start April 25 to reopen the DNA issue four months after the deadline passed to litigate concerns over trial evidence and just weeks before trial."

Paula Reid of CNN: "The FBI has conducted two searches at the University of Delaware in connection with the investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN. The previously undisclosed searches were conducted in recent weeks, with the consent and cooperation of the president's legal team, the source said. The library at the University of Delaware, Biden's alma mater, is home to an extensive collection of papers from the president's time in the Senate, according to its website." The New York Times story is here.

The Bible Tells Him So. Chris McGreal of the Guardian: "Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, has defended Israel's decades-long control of the Palestinian territories by claiming that the Jewish state has a biblical claim to the land and is therefore not occupying it. Pompeo told the One Decision podcast that his religious beliefs, US strategic interests and his view of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as a 'known terrorist' underpinned his support as the Trump administration's top diplomat for the shift in US policy away from mediating a two-state solution and toward more openly siding with Israel. '[Israel] is not an occupying nation. As an evangelical Christian, I am convinced by my reading of the Bible that 3,000 years on now, in spite of the denial of so many, [this land] is the rightful homeland of the Jewish people,' he said."

Beyond the Beltway

Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: There is "a growing effort among state election officials, lawmakers and private-sector advocates -- most of them Democrats -- to push back against the wave of misinformation and mistrust of elections that sprang from ... Donald Trump's false claim that his 2020 defeat was rigged.... 'We want to protect the people who protect democracy,' said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who is working with state lawmakers in Lansing to toughen penalties for threatening election officials or releasing private information about them. Benson is also drafting legislation that would make it a crime to knowingly spread misinformation about elections. Later this week, at a conference of secretaries of state in Washington, she and her counterparts from Minnesota and Arizona will promote those ideas among officials from other states."

Alabama. Maham Javaid of the Washington Post: "An Alabama man probably froze to death after being restrained in a jail's walk-in freezer or similarly frigid environment, says a lawsuit filed by the man's family, which cites footage shared by a corrections officer who spoke out against the incident. Anthony Mitchell, 33, was arrested after allegedly firing a gun during a wellness check. He was then jailed for 14 days until he was taken unconscious to the Walker Baptist Medical Center in the back seat of a police car on Jan. 26, according to the lawsuit and footage. Upon arrival, Mitchell's body temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit."

Florida, Etc. Tim Craig, et al., of the Washington Post: "As [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis (R) gears up for a potential presidential run in 2024, Black activists and political strategists around the country are organizing, protesting and preparing to highlight the particular danger they say he and his anti-'woke' movement pose to civil rights and to their push to tackle racism as a systemic issue. Some say they are determined not to repeat what they consider a tepid and belated response to ... Donald Trump's rise in 2016, and argue that DeSantis's political strategy is even more rooted in racial division than Trump's." MB: "Anti-woke" is a euphemism for homophobic racist bigotry.

New York. Jesse McKinley & Jack Higgins of the New York Times: "The gunman in a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket last year was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on Wednesday, after apologizing for his attack amid a torrent of raw emotions from the victims' families, including one man who lunged at him in court. 'You will never see the light of day as a free man again,' the judge, Susan Eagan, said after reading a statement about the harmful effects of institutional racism and white supremacy, calling it an 'insidious cancer on our society and nation.' The sentence reflected the outcome of a guilty plea to 10 counts of first-degree murder and a single count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment without parole. He was the first person in New York convicted of that domestic terrorism charge." The NBC News story is here.

Pennsylvania/Ohio. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: "Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) chastised Norfolk Southern for putting emergency responders and community members at risk by not working with state leaders two weeks ago when one of the company's trains derailed, unleashing highly toxic chemicals and causing the train cars to catch fire, displacing residents. Shapiro's letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is the most prominent finger-pointing since the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which is near the Pennsylvania border.... Chemicals from the controlled release have killed about 3,500 fish in local waterways and crews are digging out a 1,000-foot 'grossly contaminated' area near the tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.... [Ohio Gov. Mike] DeWine [R] announced Wednesday that tests indicated it was safe for residents on the municipal system to drink the water -- one day after Ohio officials had recommended residents drink bottled water until they had results from tests of the public system." ~~~

~~~ Campbell Robinson & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Hundreds of Ohio residents gathered in a school gym on Wednesday night to demand answers about the ongoing fallout from a derailed train carrying hazardous chemicals, transforming what had been billed as an informational meeting into a heated town hall where officials with the railroad company didn't even show up.... Many residents were angry that officials had changed what had been billed as a town hall meeting to an 'informational' session with representatives from state, county and local agencies, who sat at separate tables and fielded individual questions.... Norfolk Southern officials ... pulled out hours earlier, infuriating some residents who said they wanted answers from the company."

Virginia. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "The Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, appears to have thwarted an attempt to stop law enforcement obtaining menstrual histories of women in the state. A bill passed in the Democratic-led state senate, and supported by half the chamber's Republicans, would have banned search warrants for menstrual data stored in tracking apps on mobile phones or other electronic devices. Advocates feared private health information could be used in prosecutions for abortion law violations, after a US supreme court ruling last summer overturned federal protections for the procedure. But Youngkin, who has pushed for a 15-week abortion ban to mirror similar measures in several Republican-controlled states, essentially killed the bill through a procedural move in a subcommittee of the Republican-controlled House."

Way Beyond

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 for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "Russia launched a 'barrage' of missile strikes against critical infrastructure overnight, Ukrainian officials said. Dozens of missiles were fired at Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said Thursday, while critical infrastructure in Lviv was hit, according to the regional governor. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Germany ahead of an annual meeting of international political, intelligence and defense leaders at the Munich Security Conference, where they will discuss their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will also attend the meeting before traveling to Turkey and Greece.... Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country will only join Russia's war if Ukraine attacks Belarus.... Russia has lost about half of its prewar fleet of modern battle tanks in the Ukraine conflict, according to ... the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and is instead turning to older vehicles to maintain its fleet."

Marc Santora of the New York Times: "As Moscow steps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, weeks of failed attacks on a Ukrainian stronghold have left two Russian brigades in tatters, raised questions about Russia's military tactics and renewed doubts about its ability to maintain sustained, large-scale ground assaults. The battle for the city of Vuhledar, which has been viewed as an opening move in an expected Russian spring offensive, has been playing out since the last week of January, but the scale of Moscow's losses there is only now beginning to come into focus. Accounts from Ukrainian and Western officials, Ukrainian soldiers, captured Russian soldiers and Russian military bloggers, as well as video and satellite images, paint a picture of a faltering Russian campaign that continues to be plagued by battlefield dysfunction."

Italy. Colleen Barry of the AP: "Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged 'bunga bunga' parties he held at his villa near Milan while he was in office. The six-year-old trial is the third and likely final one in a scandal that made headlines around the world in 2010 when Berlusconi -- as a sitting premier -- faced charges of having paid for sex with an underage girl. He was eventually acquitted." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

February 15, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Paula Reid of CNN: "The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter." At 12:45 pm ET Wednesday, this is a breaking story.

Italy. Colleen Barry of the AP: "Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged 'bunga bunga' parties he held at his villa near Milan while he was in office. The six-year-old trial is the third and likely final one in a scandal that made headlines around the world in 2010 when Berlusconi -- as a sitting premier -- faced charges of having paid for sex with an underage girl. He was eventually acquitted."

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Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "By the time a Chinese spy balloon crossed into American airspace late last month, U.S. military and intelligence agencies had been tracking it for nearly a week, watching as it lifted off from its home base on Hainan Island near China&'s south coast. U.S. monitors watched as the balloon settled into a flight path that would appear to have taken it over the U.S. territory of Guam. But somewhere along that easterly route, the craft took an unexpected northern turn, according to several U.S. officials, who said that analysts are now examining the possibility that China didn't intend to penetrate the American heartland with their airborne surveillance device." A CBS News story is here.

Justin Gomez & Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News: "White House spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday the intelligence community is 'considering as a leading explanation' that the three objects shot down over the weekend 'could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose.' But Kirby told reporters the U.S. is still not able to call them anything other than 'objects' at this point, adding that officials are 'pretty comfortable' ruling out that the objects belonged to the U.S. government." MB: If these UFOs were legitimately floating the friendly skies, don't you suppose the owners would squawk, in the form of a lawsuit, for having their expensive projects shot down? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Michael Shear & Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: [John Kirby] "said that no company or other organization had contacted the government to say they were the owners of the objects that were shot down.... Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is the chairman of the committee, said the government's tracking of airborne objects launched for legitimate purposes needs to be improved.... Mr. Warner said the administration needed to be 'much more aggressive' about ensuring 'a much better notification process with the authorities' to register legitimate scientific, weather and other craft so officials would know which outliers were potentially cause for alarm." (Also linked yesterday evening.)

Amy Wang & Adrian Blanco of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Biden's 100th judicial nominee, marking a significant milestone in Democrats' efforts to remake the courts, after ... Donald Trump filled more than 200 judicial openings during his term in office.... On Monday night, the Senate confirmed Cindy K. Chung to be the U.S. circuit judge for the 3rd Circuit. On Tuesday, in a 54-45 vote, the Senate confirmed Gina R. Mendez-Miró to be the U.S. district judge for the District of Puerto Rico." MB: Take a look at the diversity chart embedded in the article. Not a fair comparison because Clinton served eight years & Biden only two, but Biden has appointed only five white men; Clinton appointed 197. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has agreed to brief top congressional leaders at the end of this month about the classified documents that were improperly in the custody of ... Donald J. Trump, President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, officials said on Tuesday. The deal for a Justice Department briefing with the so-called Gang of Eight, a select group of House and Senate members with whom the most sensitive intelligence is shared, may ease long-simmering tensions over bipartisan demands by the Senate Intelligence Committee to see the files. Still, the briefing would include only the top two members of the committee and not its rank-and-file members.... And while the Justice Department has agreed to reveal additional information about the nature of the records to the Gang of Eight, it is resisting providing access to the documents themselves, which it considers key evidence in continuing investigations. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the panel's chairman, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, said the details of what would be shared remained 'a work in progress.'" (Also linked yesterday evening.)

Farnoush Amiri & Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "House Republicans are kicking off an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by requesting documents and testimony for current and former Biden administration officials. The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight Committee and the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic are seeking information, including from Dr. Anthony Fauci, concerning the idea that the coronavirus leaked accidentally from a Chinese lab.... Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the oversight committee, said Republicans will 'follow the facts' and 'hold U.S. government officials that took part in any sort of cover-up accountable.'" MB: One major problem with this so-called investigation: no normal person will give any credence to the committees' supposed findings.

Josh Marshall of TPM: "... Republicans are now aghast that anyone would be claiming they want to cut Social Security. But last year the Republican Study Committee -- a House caucus which includes about 75% of all House Republicans -- released a proposed 2023 budget which included basically every kind of Social Security cut on offer. The Blueprint to Save America proposed raising the eligibility age at first to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; it proposed cutting (or in their words 'modernizing') the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; means-testing Social Security benefits; including work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts -- aka 'retirement freedom.'... RSC members are out hitting the airwaves now claiming that none of this ever happened. In fact, new RSC Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (OK), who oversaw the creation of the Blueprint, says this: 'There is NO Republican in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives or the Senate, that wants to CUT the benefits for seniors on Social Security and Medicare. That's a falsehood. That's a lie.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A far-right pro-Trump activist from Southern California pleaded guilty Tuesday to using a Taser on D.C. police officer Michael Fanone as he was dragged down the steps of the U.S. Capitol in one of the most violent assaults in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Daniel Rodriguez, 40, of the Los Angeles area, admitted to shocking Fanone in the base of his neck as he was pulled out of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel and into the crowd. Fanone lost consciousness and was stripped of his badge and gun; he suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.... Rodriguez pleaded guilty to five felony counts including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon."

Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's handling of classified documents are seeking to pierce assertions of attorney-client privilege and compel one of his lawyers to answer more questions before a grand jury, according to two people.... The prosecutors have sought approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime. The fact that prosecutors invoked the exception in a sealed motion to compel the testimony of the lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, suggests that they believe Mr. Trump or his allies might have used Mr. Corcoran's services in that way.... After his [recent] appearance in front of the grand jury, Mr. Corcoran received notice that the Justice Department was seeking to use the exception to break through his assertions of privilege [on certain questions]...." (Also linked yesterday evening.) ~~~

     ~~~ Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN put the DOJ's assertion more bluntly: "To overcome the shield of attorney-client privilege, prosecutors alleged in writing to the judge that the former president used his attorney in furtherance of a crime or fraud, according to one source."

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Three lawyers for Donald Trump recently appeared before a federal grand jury as part of the special counsel investigation into his possible retention of national security materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The lawyers -- Evan Corcoran, Christina Bobb and most recently, Alina Habba -- were involved in efforts to compile documents that had been subpoenaed. They remain among a small number of people to have searched Mar-a-Lago. Habba appeared before the grand jury in the documents case in recent weeks, the sources said, a notable development given she is not a member of the legal team defending Trump in that criminal matter and has represented the former president in civil suits."

Off with Their Heads! Alex Griffing of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump had been widely discussing with 'close associates' ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign bringing back the death penalty, expanding the execution methods used by the federal government, and even broadcasting executions as a means to deter violent crime and drug dealers, Rolling Stone reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources close to Trump.... 'Trump has talked about bringing back death by firing squad, by hanging, and, according to two of the sources, possibly even by guillotine. He has also, sources say, discussed group executions.'" MB: I'm opposed to the death penalty, but if whatever will be will be, I can think of one traitor we could use to test the guillotine, even though the subject I have in mind is kind of a no-neck. And yes, in the national interest, broadcast the execution. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A New York appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a $110,000 fine on ... Donald Trump that a judge imposed last spring after he was found in contempt for failing to turn over documents to the state attorney general's office as part of an investigation of his company. The panel of five justices ruled that Trump's contempt fine for not complying with a subpoena for the records was a 'proper exercise' of the discretionary power of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron. The panel also said the fine of $10,000 per day 'was not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Jared Kushner's dealings with the Saudi kingdom are creating a highly dubious situation. As The Post reports, just after his father-in-law's presidency ended, Kushner entered into a lucrative business arrangement that ultimately involved the Saudi crown prince. Ethics experts note that this potentially conflicted relationship appears to be continuing while Donald Trump runs for president again. This situation cries out for congressional scrutiny, and Senate Democrats are trying to provide it. But they're facing an unexpected obstacle: The Biden administration, they say, has been resistant to provide them with the documents they need to carry out that investigation.... [Senate aides] tell me they've received strong indications that administration officials are worried about the disconnect between cooperating with the probe of Kushner's Saudi-related activities and resisting myriad House GOP investigations.... The day after leaving as White House senior adviser, Kushner created a company that became a private equity fund with $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.... [The Post's Michael] Kranish reports that a big question remains unanswered: whether Kushner 'talked to Mohammed during the administration about doing business with him afterward.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Frankly, I don't see that White House records would be much help. Kushner, like all crooks, has more than one means of communication, and it's unlikely he made his deal with the Saudis on his White House phone and on White House stationery.

Mass Murder, USA. Juslie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As gunshots erupted on the vast Michigan State University campus late on Monday, killing three students and injuring five others, many on campus felt a chilling sense of familiarity.... For a generation of young Americans, mass shootings at schools or colleges once considered sanctuaries for learning have become so painfully routine that some of them have lived through more than one by their early 20s.... In one TikTok video, a [Michigan State] student who was at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting said it was 'incomprehensible' to have lived through two mass shootings in her 21 years.... Being keenly aware of the possibility of gun violence has become a trademark of the generation of adults who grew up after the Columbine High School attack of 1999...." This article also contains some information on the murder victims & the shooter.

Beyond the Beltway

California Senate Race 2024. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced she would not seek reelection in 2024, putting to rest uncertainty over whether she would seek a sixth full term as the oldest sitting senator. Feinstein, 89, said she would instead focus on accomplishing 'as much for California as I can through the end of next year' when her term ends.... Two California Democrats -- Reps. Katie Porter, 49, and Adam B. Schiff, 62 -- have already launched campaigns to fill Feinstein's seat. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), 76, has told colleagues that she intends to run for the Senate seat as well." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Florida. Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened Tuesday to withdraw state support for Advanced Placement programs and expand other methods of awarding college credit to high school students, escalating a highly unusual clash that burst into public last month when his administration rejected plans for a new AP African American studies course.... DeSantis said he supports opportunities for high school students to earn college credit. 'Does it have to be done by the College Board?' he asked. 'Or can we utilize some of these other providers who I think have a really, really strong track record?' He added: 'It's not clear to me that this particular operator' -- referring to the College Board -- 'is the one that's going to need to be used in the future.'"

Ohio. Nick Keppler, et al., of the Washington Post: "Eleven days after a train derailed, spilling toxic chemicals and causing a massive fire [in East Palestine, Ohio], officials told residents Tuesday to use bottled water until testing could confirm whether the local water supply was safe to drink -- heightening concern among some locals who were already wary of returning to their homes.... The disaster's still-emerging list of effects [has become] more clear: Water officials are tracking a large plume of contamination flowing down the Ohio River; about 3,500 fish in local waterways have been killed by the chemical release; and cleanup crews are excavating a 'grossly contaminated' 1,000-foot area around the train tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.... Many residents pondered their options as a strong odor of chemicals continued to hang over the town.... [Gov. Mike DeWine (R)] called on Congress to reexamine regulations for trains carrying toxic substances, something some environmental advocates have long pushed for." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Good luck with that, Mike. As Chris Hayes pointed out on MSNBC last night, Congressional Republicans' answer to the problem is not to more strictly regulate railroads but to complain that the Transportation Secretary is gay. Also see Akhilleus' comment below, wherein we learn that Majorie Taylor Greene has become an environmentalist and pro-corporate-regulation enthusiast.

NEW. Virginia. The Dimwits of Madison County. Grace Brooks of the (Charlottesville) Daily Progress: "The Madison County School Board recently removed 22 books from the high school library in enacting a policy last fall against sexually explicit content. The banned titles included Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye,' 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood and Stephen King's tale of Pennywise the clown, 'It.' Board member Christopher Wingate proposed the policy, an extension of a mandate passed down the Governor Glenn Youngkin. In April, Youngkin signed a bill requiring the Virginia Department of Education to develop model policies to ensure parents are notified if students are being taught sexually explicit materials in the classroom. The bill requires local school boards to adopt the policies based on the model policies' minimum requirements." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Glad to read parents will be able to spend a whole year deciding what books are available for free at the school library and they can veto trash by Nobel-Prize-winning authors and other acclaimed writers. Now the kids can get more of their sexually-explicit content on actual trash Internet sites. Great!

Wisconsin. Anger Management Issues. Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "The Wisconsin woman who made global headlines after being accused of the particularly gruesome meth-fueled decapitation of her lover one year ago attacked her own defense lawyer in court Tuesday when the judge in the case suggested a trial delay was necessary." MB: I have never watched a boxing match of any sort (okay, except the fictional ones in "Rocky I"), but I guess I could be compelled to watch a match-up between this woman and Marjorie Taylor Greene. My money would be on Miss Margie.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Moscow is 'preparing for more war' and Ukraine's allies should send more ammunition to help Kyiv fight off the assault, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Brussels, where member nations' defense ministers were meeting to discuss Ukraine.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also traveled to Brussels to host a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes more than 50 nations. He echoed the NATO chief's calls to help Ukraine 'meet this crucial moment in the course of the war.'... Washington and allies have 'a lot to get done' to position Ukrainian troops to use advanced weapon systems promised by the West ahead of Russia's offensive, Austin said.... Officials focused heavily on getting ammunition to Ukraine.... Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting a coup in her country to install a pro-Kremlin administration and put the Eastern European nation at the disposal of Moscow's war in Ukraine, citing intelligence provided by neighboring Ukraine.... U.S. officials on Tuesday said that Iran was supplying Russia with lethal drones for use in Ukraine and that Iran hoped to become a more dominant supplier on the global stage." ~~~

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

Haiti/U.S. Maria Abi-Habib, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal agents arrested four men whom they accused of playing key roles in the assassination of Haiti's former president, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest step in an investigation that has implicated several American citizens. Federal court documents also stated that several 'conspirators' in the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti met with the F.B.I. a few months before the killing, and tried to draw agents 'into a discussion about regime change in Haiti.' In response, an agent told the men 'that the F.B.I. could not help them because Haiti had to solve its own political problems." The revelation raised troubling questions about how much the United States government knew in advance of the killing. In court records, the government denied that it had any advance notice of a criminal plot."

Scotland. Severin Carrell of the Guardian: "Nicola Sturgeon will stand down as first minister of Scotland, she has announced at a press conference. In a shock decision, Scotland's longest-serving first minister said she had instructed the Scottish National party (SNP) to begin the process of electing a new leader and would remain in office until her successor is chosen. The SNP leader has had a series of political setbacks recently, including the UK supreme court defeat of her plans for a fresh independence referendum and a damaging row over a double rapist being sent to a female jail after announcing she was a trans woman.... There had been growing speculation that Sturgeon was preparing to stand down at the next Scottish parliamentary election, but not so abruptly."

News Ledes

CNN: "One person is dead and three others injured after a shooting Wednesday evening at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, according to police. Two men are in custody and there is no longer a threat to the public, interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said at a news conference Wednesday night."

New York Times: "strong>Raquel Welch, the voluptuous movie actress who became the 1960s' first major American sex symbol and maintained that image for a half-century in show business, died on Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82."

February 14, 2023

Afternoon/Evening Update:

Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's handling of classified documents are seeking to pierce assertions of attorney-client privilege and compel one of his lawyers to answer more questions before a grand jury, according to two people.... The prosecutors have sought approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime. The fact that prosecutors invoked the exception in a sealed motion to compel the testimony of the lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, suggests that they believe Mr. Trump or his allies might have used Mr. Corcoran's services in that way.... After his [recent] appearance in front of the grand jury, Mr. Corcoran received notice that the Justice Department was seeking to use the exception to break through his assertions of privilege [on certain questions]...."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has agreed to brief top congressional leaders at the end of this month about the classified documents that were improperly in the custody of ... Donald J. Trump, President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, officials said on Tuesday. The deal for a Justice Department briefing with the so-called Gang of Eight, a select group of House and Senate members with whom the most sensitive intelligence is shared, may ease long-simmering tensions over bipartisan demands by the Senate Intelligence Committee to see the files. Still, the briefing would include only the top two members of the committee and not its rank-and-file members.... And while the Justice Department has agreed to reveal additional information about the nature of the records to the Gang of Eight, it is resisting providing access to the documents themselves, which it considers key evidence in continuing investigations. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the panel's chairman, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, said the details of what would be shared remained 'a work in progress.'"

Justin Gomez & Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News: "White House spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday the intelligence community is 'considering as a leading explanation' that the three objects shot down over the weekend 'could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose.' But Kirby told reporters the U.S. is still not able to call them anything other than 'objects' at this point, adding that officials are 'pretty comfortable' ruling out that the objects belonged to the U.S. government." MB: If these UFOs were legitimately floating the friendly skies, wouldn't the owners would squawk, in the form of a lawsuit, for having their expensive projects shot down? ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Michael Shear & Karou Demirjian of the New York Times: [John Kirby] "said that no company or other organization had contacted the government to say they were the owners of the objects that were shot down.... Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is the chairman of the committee, said the government's tracking of airborne objects launched for legitimate purposes needs to be improved.... Mr. Warner said the administration needed to be 'much more aggressive' about ensuring 'a much better notification process with the authorities' to register legitimate scientific, weather and other craft so officials would know which outliers were potentially cause for alarm."

Amy Wang & Adrian Blanco of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Biden's 100th judicial nominee, marking a significant milestone in Democrats' efforts to remake the courts, after ... Donald Trump filled more than 200 judicial openings during his term in office.... On Monday night, the Senate confirmed Cindy K. Chung to be the U.S. circuit judge for the 3rd Circuit. On Tuesday, in a 54-45 vote, the Senate confirmed Gina R. Mendez-Miró to be the U.S. district judge for the District of Puerto Rico." MB: Take a look at the diversity chart embedded in the article. Not a fair comparison because Clinton served eight years & Biden only two, but Biden has appointed only five white men; Clinton appointed 197.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced she would not seek reelection in 2024, putting to rest uncertainty over whether she would seek a sixth full term as the oldest sitting senator. Feinstein, 89, said she would instead focus on accomplishing 'as much for California as I can through the end of next year' when her term ends.... Two California Democrats -- Reps. Katie Porter, 49, and Adam B. Schiff, 62 -- have already launched campaigns to fill Feinstein's seat. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), 76, has told colleagues that she intends to run for the Senate seat as well." CNN's report is here.

Josh Marshall of TPM: "... Republicans are now aghast that anyone would be claiming they want to cut Social Security. But last year the Republican Study Committee -- a House caucus which includes about 75% of all House Republicans -- released a proposed 2023 budget which included basically every kind of Social Security cut on offer. The Blueprint to Save America proposed raising the eligibility age at first to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; it proposed cutting (or in their words 'modernizing') the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; means-testing Social Security benefits; including work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts -- aka 'retirement freedom.'... RSC members are out hitting the airwaves now claiming that none of this ever happened. In fact, new RSC Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (OK), who oversaw the creation of the Blueprint, says this: 'There is NO Republican in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives or the Senate, that wants to CUT the benefits for seniors on Social Security and Medicare. That's a falsehood. That's a lie.'"

Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump had been widely discussing with 'close associates' ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign bringing back the death penalty, expanding the execution methods used by the federal government, and even broadcasting executions as a means to deter violent crime and drug dealers, Rolling Stone reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources close to Trump.... 'Trump has talked about bringing back death by firing squad, by hanging, and, according to two of the sources, possibly even by guillotine. He has also, sources say, discussed group executions.'" MB: I oppose the death penalty, but if whatever will be will be, I can think of one traitor we could use to test the guillotine, even though the subject I have in mind is kind of a no-neck. And yes, in the national interest, broadcast the execution.

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A New York appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a $110,000 fine on ... Donald Trump that a judge imposed last spring after he was found in contempt for failing to turn over documents to the state attorney general's office as part of an investigation of his company. The panel of five justices ruled that Trump's contempt fine for not complying with a subpoena for the records was a 'proper exercise' of the discretionary power of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron. The panel also said the fine of $10,000 per day 'was not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Balloonapalooza:

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The Biden administration is forming an interagency group with the goal of addressing the recent spate of objects in the skies above North America, the White House announced Monday. 'The president, through his national security adviser, has today directed an interagency team to study the broader policy implications for detection, analysis, and disposition of unidentified aerial objects that pose either safety or security risks,' National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a White House press briefing. 'Every element of the government will redouble their efforts to understand and mitigate these events,' he added." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Zachary Cohen & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The unidentified flying object shot down in Canadian airspace on Saturday appeared to be a 'small, metallic balloon with a tethered payload below it,' according to a Pentagon memo sent to lawmakers on Monday and obtained by CNN. The memo offers the first official details of one of the three objects shot down in recent days that was previously described as a 'cylindrical object.' The object crossed near 'US sensitive sites' before it was shot down, the memo said. Defense officials also wrote in the memo to lawmakers that the object shot down over Lake Huron, in Michigan on Sunday, 'subsequently slowly descended' into the water after impact." This confirms what Forrest M. pointed out in yesterday's Comments: that these UFOs are not so much "unidentified flying objects" as they are "unidentified floating objects."

Luis Martinez of ABC News: "A crane ship on the scene where a Chinese surveillance balloon went down in waters off South Carolina has raised from the ocean bottom a significant portion of the balloon's payload, a U.S. official said Monday. Officials have said the payload measured as much as 30-feet-long and had all of [the] craft's tech gear and antennas.... With regard to other object shot down Friday and over the weekend, the official said the U.S. military continues to look for the remnants from the take out of the sky off the coast of Alaska.... The U.S. wants to pinpoint the exact location before it places personnel in dangerous icy conditions, the official said. A Navy P-8 search plane was in the sky looking for debris. Concerning the object shot down over Canada, the official said, that country's government is taking the lead but has not yet located the debris. And about the object shot down Sunday afternoon over Lake Huron in Michigan, the official said, the U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian authorities are still looking for the debris that landed on water." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lily Quo of the Washington Post: "China's Foreign Ministry on Monday said the United States has sent at least 10 unsanctioned balloons into Chinese airspace since last year, as the two countries feud over a Chinese airship discovered and shot down by the U.S. military this month. The United States denied the allegation.... Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said in a press briefing that it was 'common' for U.S. high-altitude balloons to fly into other countries' airspace." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Victoria Guida & Ben White of Politico: "President Joe Biden will tap Federal Reserve Vice Chair Lael Brainard for the White House's top economic policy job as the U.S. braces for a high-stakes fight over the debt ceiling and a possible recession, according to two administration officials. Brainard will replace Brian Deese as director of the National Economic Council, becoming the first woman to head the agency since 1996. Jared Bernstein, a longtime adviser to Biden, will likely become the president's chief economist, according to the officials...."

Stephanie Lai of the New York Times: "President Biden on Monday fired J. Brett Blanton, the federal official responsible for the maintenance and operation of the Capitol complex, amid bipartisan calls for his resignation, after an investigative report accusing him of misusing his position and revelations that he avoided the Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack. Mr. Blanton, who was appointed in 2019 as the architect of the Capitol, had been under scrutiny for more than a year after a report by the inspector general of his office in 2021 documented evidence supporting serious allegations against Mr. Blanton, including that he had misused his office vehicle, misled investigators and impersonated a police officer on multiple occasions. But concerns among lawmakers in both parties intensified at a 90-minute hearing on Friday in which Mr. Blanton gave noncommittal and at times contradictory answers about his conduct, including his decision to stay away from the Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot. On Monday morning, Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Twitter that Mr. Blanton 'no longer has my confidence to continue in his job,' and should resign or be removed by Mr. Biden." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Don't let that passive voice "was appointed" fool you. Blanton "was appointed" by Donald Trump, although it does not appear he had any relationship with Trump.

Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... many Republicans do >want to eviscerate [Social Security and Medicare]. To believe otherwise requires both willful naïveté and amnesia about 40 years of political history.... First, Republicans have tried to make deep cuts to Social Security and Medicare every time they thought there might be a political window of opportunity. Second, on each occasion they've done exactly what they're doing now: claiming that Democrats are engaged in smear tactics when they describe G.O.P. plans using exactly the same words Republicans themselves used.... Soon after taking office [in 1981] Ronald Reagan proposed major cuts to Social Security.... [When Newt Gingrich shut down the government in 1995, his] key demand was that President Bill Clinton agree to large cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. After Republicans gained control of the House in 2010, Paul Ryan began pushing for major cuts in spending. One key element was converting Medicare ... to a system offering people fixed sums of money to be applied to the purchase of private insurance.... Before becoming Florida's governor, [Ron] DeSantis enthusiastically endorsed Ryan's Medicare voucher proposal and declared that allowing seniors to retire in their late 60s was 'unsustainable.'"

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Mike Pence is preparing to resist a grand jury subpoena for testimony about ... Donald Trump's push to overturn the 2020 election, according to two people familiar with the former vice president's thinking. Pence's decision to challenge Special Counsel Jack Smith's request has little to do with executive privilege, the people said. Rather, Pence is set to argue that his former role as president of the Senate -- therefore a member of the legislative branch -- shields him from certain Justice Department demands. Pence allies say he is covered by the constitutional provision that protects congressional officials from legal proceedings related to their work -- language known as the 'speech or debate' clause.... The legal question of whether the vice president draws the same 'speech-or-debate' protections as members of Congress remains largely unsettled, and constitutional scholars say Pence raising the issue will almost certainly force a court to weigh in....

"DOJ has, notably, argued in civil litigation that the 'speech or debate' clause protects the vice president when working on Senate business. The department explicitly asserted in 2021 that Pence was shielded by the 'speech or debate' clause in a civil lawsuit related to his role presiding over Congress' Jan. 6 session.... [But] 'The literal language is that this applies to "senators and representatives,"' said [Neil] Eggleston, who advised former President Barack Obama from 2014 to 2017." MB: However the courts shake this out, pence's decision to fight the subpoena is a chicken-shit, self-serving move.

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A Georgia judge said on Monday that he would disclose parts of a grand jury report later this week that details an investigation into election interference by ... Donald J. Trump and his allies, though he would keep the jury's specific recommendations secret for now. In making his ruling, the judge, Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court, said the special grand jury raised concerns in its report 'that some witnesses may have lied under oath during their testimony.' But the eight-page ruling included few other revelations about the report, the contents of which have been carefully guarded, with the only physical copy in the possession of the district attorney's office." Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race 2020. Dylan Wells of the Washington Post: "Nikki Haley, who served as U.N. ambassador and governor of South Carolina, announced Tuesday that she is running for president, becoming the first major rival to officially challenge Donald Trump for the GOP nomination in 2024. Haley released an online video saying, 'It's time for a new generation of leadership.... I'm Nikki Haley, and I'm running for president.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Florida Man Gets Temp Job That Pays $700K + Benefits. Jacob Ogles of Florida Politics: "Richard Corcoran has been offered a contract with a nearly $699,000 salary to become New College of Florida's interim President. The board of trustees for the Sarasota university approved a major compensation package weeks after firing former President Patricia Okker. In addition to the hefty salary, the school will offer an $84,000 housing allowance and a $12,000 auto allowance. That puts the entire package worth around $795,000 to lead a school with about 700 students enrolled.... The school will begin a national search for President as well, and Corcoran is expected to pursue the long-term position.... Student Trustee Grace Keenan notably raised Sunshine Law concerns about the hiring. Corcoran's lobbying firm announced his hire as the interim President of New College before trustees met. She said the sequence of events 'gives the impression' the board was doing business behind closed doors."

Way Beyond

Israel. Patrick Kingsley & Isabel Kershner of the New York Times: "A battle over the future of Israel's judiciary -- perceived by many as a fight for the soul of Israel's democracy -- grew more fraught and fractious on Monday as roughly 100,000 protesters from across the country filled the streets outside Parliament in Jerusalem in one of the biggest-ever demonstrations in the city.... The demonstrators gathered to oppose a sweeping judicial overhaul proposed by Israel's new government -- the most right-wing and religiously conservative in the country's history -- that has bitterly divided Israelis. The changes, envisioned by the governing coalition led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, would reduce the Supreme Court's ability to revoke laws passed in Parliament and give the government greater influence over who gets to be a judge.... To critics, the proposals would instead damage Israeli democracy by giving too much power to the government; endangering minority rights; and removing limits on Mr. Netanyahu's ability to enact legislation that might allow him to escape punishment in his ongoing corruption trial. Mr. Netanyahu denies that the proposals are for his personal benefit." MB: Yeah, even if it happens to work out that way.

Ukraine, et al.

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

Yasmeen Abutaleb & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "As the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine nears, U.S. officials are telling Ukrainian leaders they face a critical moment to change the trajectory of the war, raising the pressure on Kyiv to make significant gains on the battlefield while weapons and aid from the United States and its allies are surging. Despite promises to back Ukraine 'as long as it takes,' Biden officials say recent aid packages from Congress and America's allies represent Kyiv's best chance to decisively change the course of the war. Many conservatives in the Republican-led House have vowed to pull back support, and Europe's long-term appetite for funding the war effort remains unclear."

Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Poorly trained Russian soldiers captured by Ukraine describe being used as cannon fodder by commanders throwing waves of bodies into an assault.... The New York Times interviewed ... Russians at a detention center near Lviv in Ukraine's west, where many captured enemy soldiers are sent.... The soldiers ... were recruited from penal colonies by the private military company known as Wagner.... Using infantry to storm trenches, redolent of World War I, brings high casualties. So far, the tactic has been used primarily by Wagner in the push for Bakhmut.... Russia's regular army this month began recruiting convicts in exchange for pardons, shifting the practice on the Russian side in the war from the Wagner private army to the military.... On Sunday, the British defense intelligence agency said that over the past two weeks, Russia had probably suffered its highest rate of casualties since the first week of the invasion." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

CNBC: "Inflation turned higher to start 2023, as rising shelter, gas and fuel prices took their toll on consumers, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. The consumer price index, which measures a broad basket of common goods and services, rose 0.5% in January, which translated to an annual gain of 6.4%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for respective increases of 0.4% and 6.2%."

New York Times: "A gunman killed three people and wounded five others at Michigan State University on Monday, setting off a police manhunt and forcing students to hide in their dormitories at one of America's largest university campuses.The gunman, a 43-year-old man, eventually died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said.... The five wounded people were in critical condition as of early Tuesday morning and were being treated at Sparrow Hospital.... The suspect had no connection to the university...." This is a liveblog. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The purpose of the Second Amendment, not clearly specified therein, is to allow Americans -- especially if they're white men -- to express their personal difficulties by randomly murdering people they don't know, then killing themselves. Thank you, Supremes, for clearing that up. And quit complaining that you also are in danger of being attacked by unhappy gunmen.