;)
April 7, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Mike DeBonis, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Senate voted Thursday to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, felling one of the most significant remaining racial barriers in American government and sending the first Democratic nominee to the high court in 12 years. Jackson, a daughter of schoolteachers who has risen steadily through America's elite legal ranks, will become the first Black woman to sit on the court and only the eighth who is not a White man. She will replace Associate Justice Stephen G. Breyer after the Supreme Court's term ends in late June or early July. Thursday's 53-47 vote represents the culmination of a six-week whirlwind confirmation process for the 51-year-old federal appeals judge." This is an update of a story linked earlier. Politico's story is here.~~~
~~~ Marie: That doofus Rand Paul held up the vote for a good ten minutes while he was finishing his lunch or vacuuming his head rug or something. Update: It turns out the "real reason" Li'l Randy couldn't show up to cast his vote, according to Ari Melber of MSNBC, was just as ridiculous of the ones I made up: he wasn't wearing a tie, and well, the gentlemen of the Senate must wear ties in the chamber. Is in possible that every male Senate page & staffer roaming the halls of power dislikes Rand Paul so much that not one would lend him a tie? Is it possible Dandy Randy doesn't keep an extra tie or two in his office in case he dribbles Senate bean soup on the one he is wearing? Is it possible it takes Rand ten minutes to tie his tie? Or what? ~~~
~~~ The New York Times live-updated proceedings here: "Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black woman to hold the position and one of just 11 Black senators in American history, presided over the vote to confirm Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court -- one historic figure presiding over the elevation of another. But no Black woman had the opportunity to vote for the barrier-breaking nominee: None is currently a member of the 100-person chamber, which includes three Black men.... ~~~
~~~ "Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, used his floor time before the votes on Thursday to argue against confirming Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson.... 'alas, Judge Jackson was the court-packers' favorite pick for the vacancy, and she ... said she'd be thrilled to be one of however many -- one of however many.'... The context, which Mr. McConnell omitted, was that she pointed out that Congress, not the judiciary, decides how many seats should be on the Supreme Court.... 'I don't think it's appropriate for me as a nominee to comment on a political matter that is in the province of Congress,. she said.... She also noted that Justice Amy Coney Barrett had similarly evaded answering the question during her confirmation hearing in 2020, citing the same rationale. Several other Republican senators who are not expected to make floor arguments on Thursday -- like Richard M. Burr of North Carolina -- have also justified their decision to vote against her by raising alarms about her demurral when asked whether she would personally support expanding, or 'packing,' the Supreme Court." MB: What dickheads!
Erin Doherty of Axios: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday that he won't commit to hearings for a potential Supreme Court nominee if he's the Senate Majority Leader leading up to the 2024 election.... The Senate minority leader told Axios' Jonathan Swan that he won't 'put the cart before the horse,' but would expect President Biden to moderate if Republicans retake Congress." MB: Gosh, I'm sure Mitch will play fair.
Anita Hill in a Washington Post op-ed: "The shameful spectacle of the Senate Judiciary Committee during the confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson makes clear: The confirmation process is broken and the panel must act to restore people's faith in it.... A confirmation hearing should be about learning how a person will judge, not how well she handles specious browbeating.... I know something about being mistreated by the Senate Judiciary Committee. During the confirmation hearing for Justice Clarence Thomas in 1991, I was subjected to attacks on my intelligence, truthfulness and even my sanity when I testified about my experience working for the nominee.... Critics of Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan were also allowed to lob racially and gender-tinged attacks during their hearings." MB: Sorry, Prof. Hill, as long as there are Republicans on the Judiciary Committee, there will be a "shameful spectacle."
Isaac Stanley-Becker & Vanessa Guinan-Bank of the Washington Post: "Germany's foreign intelligence service claims to have intercepted radio communications in which Russian soldiers discuss carrying out indiscriminate killings in Ukraine. In two separate communications, Russian soldiers described questioning Ukrainian soldiers as well as civilians and then shooting them, according to an intelligence official familiar with the findings who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. The findings, first reported by the German magazine Der Spiegel and confirmed by three people briefed on the information, further undermine Russia's denials of involvement in the carnage. Russia has claimed variously that atrocities are being carried out only after its soldiers leave occupied areas or that scenes of massacres of civilians are 'staged.'... The radio traffic suggests that members of the Wagner Group, the private military unit with close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin and his allies, have played a role in attacks on civilians.... Reliance by Russian troops on nonsecure communication devices, including smartphones and push-to-talk radios, has left their units vulnerable to targeting, Western defense and intelligence officials say." ~~~
~~~ Here's the Der Spiegel story, in English translation.
DOJ Thinking of Taking Top-Secret Boxes Out of Basement Broom Closet. Matt Zapotosky & Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has begun taking steps to investigate ... Donald Trump's removal of presidential records to Mar-a-Lago -- some of which were labeled 'top secret,' people familiar with the matter said. The people ... said the probe remained in the very early stages.... The department is facing increasing political pressure to disclose its plans in the case. On Thursday, House Oversight Committee Chairwoman Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) accused the Justice Department of obstructing her committee's investigation into the 15 boxes of records Trump took to his estate in Palm Beach, Fla.... In her letter [to the DOJ] Thursday, Maloney said her committee needed further explanation as to why the Justice Department was blocking its request for an inventory of the records."
It's All Nancy's Fault (Except the Part That's Muriel's Fault). Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump voiced regret Wednesday over not marching to the U.S. Capitol [link fixed] the day his supporters stormed the building.... 'Secret Service said I couldn't go. I would have gone there in a minute,' he said.... And he defended his long silence during the attack by claiming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others were responsible for ending the deadly violence. 'I thought it was a shame, and I kept asking why isn't she doing something about it? Why isn't Nancy Pelosi doing something about it? And the mayor of D.C. also. The mayor of D.C. and Nancy Pelosi are in charge,' Trump said of the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in a 45-minute interview with The Washington Post. 'I hated seeing it. I hated seeing it. And I said, "It's got to be taken care of," and I assumed they were taking care of it.'... In the interview, [Trump] struck a defiant posture, refusing to say whether he would testify before a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault. Trump said he didn't remember 'getting very many' phone calls that day, and he denied removing call logs or using burner phones." ~~~
~~~ Jacqueline Alemany & Theodoric Meyer of the Washington Post highlight the lowlights of Dawsey's interview of the Conde de Mar-a-Lardo: "Trump blamed Pelosi for the events of Jan. 6, falsely claiming she was in charge of security at the Capitol, on at least a dozen occasions during Josh's 45-minute interview with him.... 'The former president praised organizers of the rally, some of whom have now received subpoenas from federal authorities, and repeatedly bragged about the size of the crowd was on the Ellipse when questioned about the events of Jan. 6,' Josh reports.... '[Trump said] he had offered [Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner] 'privilege' [so they would not have to testify before the January 6 committee] if they wanted it. They declined, Trump said.'... He claimed Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban ... had called him this week and credited him for Orban's election victory on Sunday, 'After I endorsed him, he went up like a rocket ship,' Trump said."
Momentary anguish and I walk away / To fall in love ten times a day -- from a poem by Donald Trump's lawyer
Hey, it must be poetry; it rhymes, dunnit? -- Marie Burns, literary critic ~~~
~~~ Corbin Barthold of the Bulwark: "... a curious aspect of [Donald] Trump's latest legal publicity stunt, a civil racketeering action in which the former president alleges that Hillary Clinton, the Democratic National Committee, John Podesta, and James Comey, among many others, conspired to rig the 2016 election ... is that Trump's lawyer .... chose to file the complaint in Fort Pierce, Florida, [not in West Palm Beach, the division of the judicial district where Trump lives & where the two judges were appointed by Democrats].... Trump apparently wanted a judge appointed by Trump.... The attorney who signed the complaint has repeatedly been suspended from practicing law. At his website -- no kidding: www.legalbrains.com -- you will find a selection of his poetry.... MB: FYI, Fort Pierce is about 68-1/2 miles, via I-95, from Mar-a-Lardo. So definitely not as convenient as WPB, which is right across a little bridge that spans the Intercoastal Waterway.
Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday cleared a months-long partisan impasse over how to respond to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, sending multiple bills aimed at punishing Russia and aiding Ukraine to the House for final action. The direct impact of the bills on the course of the conflict is likely to be negligible. They largely reinforce moves that President Biden has already made to ban energy imports and remove trade preferences from Russia. But they represent a significant gesture signaling ongoing bipartisan interest in supporting Ukraine's quest to maintain its independence amid deadly aggression from its larger neighbor. While Congress delivered nearly $14 billion in military and humanitarian aide to Ukraine as part of a recent government-wide spending bill, it has not passed any stand-alone legislation pertaining to the conflict. Efforts to draft a sanctions bill before the invasion as a deterrent fell apart, and post-invasion legislation has not been much easier."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has tested positive for the coronavirus and is currently asymptomatic, her office said Thursday. Pelosi, 82, is the first in congressional leadership to test positive and the latest among a raft of Washington officials who have come down with the virus in recent days. 'The Speaker is fully vaccinated and boosted, and is thankful for the robust protection the vaccine has provided,' Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said. 'The Speaker will quarantine consistent with CDC guidance, and encourages everyone to get vaccinated, boosted and test regularly.'" CNN's report is here.
Michigan. Zach Montellaro & Alice Ollstein of Politico: "Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer filed a lawsuit Thursday challenging her state's 1931 law banning abortion -- the latest move in a flurry of state activity preparing for the possible overturning of Roe v. Wade in a few months. The Michigan law bans abortion at any stage of pregnancy, with an exception for the health of a woman but not for cases of rape or incest. It has remained on the books for decades despite the 1973 Roe decision rendering it unenforceable and establishing the right to abortion nationally. But with the Supreme Court expected to rule this summer on Mississippi's ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, both sides of the abortion debate anticipate that the justices will either completely reverse or significantly roll back Roe. That would allow pre-Roe bans in Michigan and a swath of other states to go back into effect and give states a green light to pass new ones...."
Share Article April 6, 2022
Late Morning Update:
The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "A day after President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine demanded a tougher global response to mounting evidence of atrocities by Russian forces, European Union and NATO leaders were meeting on Wednesday to consider additional sanctions against Moscow and military assistance to Ukraine. E.U. leaders were weighing a ban on buying Russian coal and a ban on Russian vessels in European ports, and deliberations were extended by a day to Thursday." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's updates for Wednesday are here: "The Biden administration is escalating efforts to punish Russia amid global alarm over civilian deaths, imposing new sanctions that will include two of the country's largest banks as well as ... Vladimir Putin's adult children, said White House National Economic Council Director Brian Deese. The announcement comes as NATO foreign ministers are gathering in Brussels beginning Wednesday for discussions that include how to continue support for Ukraine, and to end fighting."
The Three Fs. Erin Doherty of Axios: "Democratic National Committee chair Jaime Harrison on Wednesday slammed the Republican Party, saying "it is a party built on fraud, fear and fascism" in an interview on MSNBC's Morning Joe. MB: I don't think Harrison likes Sen. Tom Cotton (Rrrr-Ark.) that much, either; Harrison described Cotton as a "little maggot-infested man."
This is a pretty helpful video; Chris Hayes explains the GQP. Thanks to RAS for the link. Related stories linked below: ~~~
Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A longtime aide and spokesperson for Steve Bannon was interviewed by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection this week. Alexandra Preate, who has been described as Bannon's 'consigliere' and reportedly worked with Donald Trump's White House staff on communications, was photographed at the 'Stop the Steal' rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol, and two sources confirmed that she met with congressional investigators, reported Rolling Stone." The Rolling Stone story is firewalled.
Matt Egan of CNN: "The Federal Reserve's fight against inflation will spark a recession in the United States that begins late next year, Deutsche Bank warned on Tuesday. The recession call -- the first from a major bank -- reflects growing concern that the Fed will hit the brakes on the economy so hard that it will inadvertently end the recovery that began just two years ago."
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David Smith & Jon Henley of the Guardian: "Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has given the UN security council a harrowing account of atrocities in his country and demanded that Russian leaders be 'brought to justice for war crimes'. A day after Joe Biden called for Putin to be held to account, Zelenskiy said there should be an international tribunal similar to the Nuremberg trials of Nazis after the second world war. There has been global revulsion at apparently deliberate civilian killings by Russian troops in Ukraine. Zelenskiy visited the town of Bucha on Monday after officials said the bodies of 410 civilians had been recovered from Kyiv-area towns after Russian troops withdrew. 'There is not a single crime that they would not commit there,' Zelenskiy said via video link and an interpreter. 'The Russians searched for and purposely killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses. They killed entire families -- adults and children -- and they tried to burn the bodies.': (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Karen DeYoung & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of war crimes Tuesday in a remote appearance before the U.N. Security Council that included gruesome video of dead bodies, challenging diplomats to take bold action or risk exposing the world body as a hollow institution."
Malachy Browne & Dmitriy Khavin of the New York Times: "New video has emerged that adds to mounting evidence of atrocities carried out while Russia's military occupied the suburban town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv. The video shows a cyclist moving along a street in Bucha, dismounting and walking a bicycle around the corner onto a street occupied by Russian soldiers. As soon as the cyclist rounds the turn, a Russian armored vehicle fires several high-caliber rounds along the thoroughfare. A second armored vehicle fires two rounds in the direction of the cyclist. A plume of dust and smoke rises from the scene. The video is aerial footage recorded by Ukraine's military in late February, when Russian forces still held the town. It has been independently verified by The New York Times. Weeks later, after Russia withdrew from Bucha, a body in civilian clothes was filmed beside a bicycle in this precise location in a second video verified by The Times."
Oh, TuKKKer! Max Boot of the Washington Post: "Only someone born yesterday would be remotely surprised by the atrocities revealed in Bucha, Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has been committing war crimes since the day he took office. That makes it all the more sinister and enraging that he retains an influential rooting section of right-wing voters in the United States. The Pew Research Center finds that the number of Republicans expressing confidence in the Russian tyrant has, mercifully, declined from 37 percent in 2006 to just 7 percent today. But some of the loudest and most influential voices in the MAGA movement still refuse to support Ukraine or stop pushing Russian propaganda.... The worst offenders are also the most influential: ... Donald Trump and Fox 'News' host Tucker Carlson. Hey, Tucker, are you still rooting for Russia over Ukraine -- as you said you were in 2019?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The House Putin Caucus. Peter Weber of the Week: "The House on Thursday evening passed a nonbinding resolution reaffirming its 'unequivocal support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as an alliance founded on democratic principles,' and calling on President Biden 'to use the voice and vote of the United States to establish a Center for Democratic Resilience within NATO headquarters,' to underscore the alliance's 'support for shared democratic values and committed to enhancing NATO's capacity to strengthen democratic institutions within NATO member, partner, and aspirant countries.' The resolution passed 362 to 63, with all 63 no votes coming from Republicans...." ~~~
~~~ William Saletan of the Bulwark: "After years of defending a pro-Putin American president and dismissing Russia's interference in American elections, Republicans have returned to their old shtick: accusing Democrats of being soft on Russia. Their hypocrisy is galling, but the bigger problem is that their depiction of the two parties is backward. In polls, Republicans are more dovish on Russia ... than Democrats are. And in Congress, the purveyors of isolationism, appeasement, and Russian propaganda are on the right, not the left.... [Twenty-one House Republicans have] swallowed a cocktail of isolationism, defeatism, partisan paranoia, and Russian disinformation. Here are the main pillars of their reasoning[.]"
Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Former President Barack Obama returned to the White House on Tuesday, the first visit he had made since departing in January 2017, to celebrate a new policy that expands coverage under the Affordable Care Act, his signature domestic policy achievement.... The visit gave Mr. Obama and [President] Biden a moment or two to engage in the sort of light ribbing that appeared downright quaint by current Washington standards.... 'I intended to get health care passed even if it cost me re-election, which, for a while, looked like it might,' Mr. Obama said.... On Tuesday, the Biden White House announced a new policy that will fill one of the major remaining holes in coverage under the health law. The change, proposed as a new regulation, would allow the relatives of people with health coverage through their employer to qualify for financial assistance if they buy insurance on the Obamacare marketplaces."
Alex Gangitano & Hanna Trudo of the Hill: "The Biden administration is expected to announce another extension to the student loan pause this week, multiple sources told The Hill. The announcement could come as soon as Wednesday and would extend the moratorium on federal student loan payments and interest accrual past the current May 1 expiration date. "
DOJ Gets Around to Broadening Its Investigation of Insurrection. Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "According to a subpoena issued by the grand jury, [Justice Department] prosecutors are asking for records about people who organized or spoke at several pro-Trump rallies after the election. They presumably include two events in Washington in November and December 2020 that preceded the gathering on the Ellipse near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, where ... Donald J. Trump told the crowd to descend on the Capitol. The subpoena is also seeking records about anyone who provided security at those events and about those who were deemed to be 'V.I.P. attendees.' Moreover, it requests information about any members of the executive and legislative branches who may have taken part in planning or executing the rallies, or tried to 'obstruct, influence, impede or delay' the certification of the presidential election."
Ivanka Speaks!. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Ivanka Trump..., Donald J. Trump's eldest daughter, who served as one of his senior advisers, testified for about eight hours on Tuesday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to people familiar with the matter. It was not immediately clear how revelatory her testimony was for the committee, but those familiar with the interview said Ms. Trump did not seek to invoke any privilege -- such as executive privilege or the Fifth Amendment, as other witnesses have done -- and broadly, if not garrulously, answered the panel's questions.... Ms. Trump and [her husband Jared] Kushner are among the highest-ranking Trump White House officials to testify before the committee. The interviews have been closed to the public as the panel conducts its work in secret." This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.
Katelyn Polantz & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has obtained a cache of emails that right-wing lawyer John Eastman had sought to keep secret. The 101 emails -- exchanged between January 4 and January 7, 2021 -- were released to the committee after Judge David Carter ruled that Eastman had not made a sufficient claim to attorney-client privilege. One email, a draft memo for Rudy Giuliani, was obtained by the committee because the judge decided it was potentially being used to plan a crime. The memo recommended that then-Vice President Mike Pence reject some states' electors during the January 6 congressional meeting." The content of this story also is covered in Luke Broadwater's report on Ivanka Trump's testimony, linked above.
Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A Virginia state court has disbarred Jonathon Moseley, an attorney who has represented a slew of high-profile Jan. 6 defendants, including a member of the Oath Keepers charged with seditious conspiracy, as well as several targets of the House select committee investigating the attack on the Capitol.... Moseley's troubles with the Virginia State Bar could imperil his ability to continue as an attorney for ... an array of other Jan. 6 litigation.... Moseley spent several years as a manager at the U.S. Department of Education, beginning in the Reagan Administration, and later worked for the conservative legal organization Judicial Watch, his website said." The Virginia Bar Association's Website listed violations against numerous professional rules. Moseley will appeal the decision.
Marie: Looks as if the Comte de Mar-a-Lardo sorta kinda accidentally admitted he lost the 2020 election: ~~~
~~~ Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: In that same Zoom interview with the historians -- story linked below -- "Describing his attempts to make South Korea pay more for US military assistance, Trump said Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, was among the 'happiest' world leaders after the 2020 US election put Joe Biden in the White House. 'By not winning the election,' Trump said, 'he was the happiest man -- I would say, in order, China was -- no, Iran was the happiest. [Moon] was going to pay $5bn, $5bn a year. But when I didn't win the election, he had to be the happiest -- I would rate, probably, South Korea third- or fourth-happiest.' Trump also said 'the election was rigged and lost'." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
New Hampshire Congressional Race. Sam Levine of the Guardian & Agencies: "A former Trump administration official now running for Congress in New Hampshire voted twice during the 2016 primary election season, possibly violating federal voting law and leaving him at odds with the Republican party's intense focus on 'election integrity'. Matt Mowers, a leading Republican primary candidate hoping to unseat the Democratic representative Chris Pappas, cast an absentee ballot in New Hampshire's 2016 presidential primary, voting records show. At the time, Mowers served as the director of former New Jersey governor Chris Christie's presidential campaign.... Four months later, after Christie's campaign fizzled, Mowers cast another ballot in New Jersey's Republican presidential primary, using his parents' address to re-register in his home state.... Mowers ... was a senior adviser in Donald Trump's administration and later held a state department post...." MB: Senior advisor? What was his advice? "Vote early and often"?
The GQP. Donald Moynihan in a Washington Post Outlook opinion piece: "Republican senators questioning Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson at her Supreme Court nomination hearing didn't explicitly mention QAnon or its putative oracle, Q.... They didn't have to.... All Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) had to do to set the stage for the hearing was allege in tweets beforehand that Jackson's record on sex offender policies 'endangers our children.' Never mind that Hawley's attacks have been fact-checked and found wanting or that they were never raised in previous nomination hearings, for Jackson or for Trump judicial nominees with similar records.... The goal was to portray Jackson, and by extension Democrats, as players in the QAnon narrative that public institutions are overrun with child predators.... A spokeswoman for [Florida] Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) [was using Q language, too, when he] reframed [the 'Don't Say Gay' law] as an 'Anti-Grooming' bill. If you oppose the bill, 'you are probably a groomer,' she said.... No target is too big. 'Disney Goes Groomer' is the headline on a new article by Rod Dreher in the American Conservative." ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Upon learning that three moderate Republican senators -- Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Susan Collins (Maine) and Mitt Romney (Utah) -- would support the Supreme Court nomination of Ketanji Brown Jackson, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) offered the most derogatory, simplistic disparagement she could muster. 'Murkowski, Collins, and Romney are pro-pedophile,' Greene wrote on Twitter. 'They just voted for #KBJ.'... To the second point, the Senate has not yet taken the vote to formally consent to Jackson's nomination. Nor is a vote in support of Jackson 'pro-pedophile' in any rational sense.... Before being elected to Congress, [Greene] was active in promoting the extremist QAnon ideology, a centerpiece of which is based on false claims that there's a cabal of powerful people who are engaged in abusing children.... Donald Trump Jr. claim[ed] the Jackson hearings show that Democrats are 'really doing their best to secure the pedophile vote for future elections.'... Fox News is now talking about pedophiles and child porn more than it is about socialists...." And Federalist loon Mollie Hemingway implied Mitt Romney might be into pedophilia because he voted against Jackson's confirmation as an appeals court judge and"[t]he only new info since he voted against her a few months ago was increased awareness of her 'soft-on-pedos' approach."
Welcome Back, Liars. Kate Conger, et al., of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, Twitter announced that [the world's richest man, Elon] Musk, 50, would be appointed to its 11-person board in a term that expires in 2024. That followed the revelation on Monday that Mr. Musk had accumulated a 9.2 percent stake in Twitter, making him its biggest shareholder. Mr. Musk has agreed not to own more than 14.9 percent of Twitter's stock or take over the company, which is based in San Francisco, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.... The addition of one of Twitter's most powerful users to its board has implications for a social network where world leaders, lawmakers, celebrities and more than 217 million users conduct their daily public discourse. Unlike some other Twitter board members, Mr. Musk did not sign an agreement that forbade him from influencing the company's policies. That could allow him to work with Mr. Agrawal on a futuristic vision for 'decentralized' social networking.... The plan jibes with Mr. Musk's, [Twitter co-founder Jack] Dorsey's and [Twitter CEO Parag] Agrawal's beliefs in unfettered free speech."
Eeeew, Ctd. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Tuesday, The Daily Beast reported new details about Lauren Handy, the anti-abortion activist who was found with five fetuses in her home after authorities arrested her for obstructing patients for accessing a clinic in Washington, D.C.... Her group alleges that there were 110 more fetuses that they took from the facility -- and gave burial rites. They also allege that their actions aren't really theft. 'At a crowded Tuesday press conference, activists -- including Randall Terry, founder of the extremist anti-abortion group Operation Rescue -- said they wished to set the record straight about the fetuses that made national headlines last week,' reported Pilar Melendez. '"During the five days they were under my stewardship, the 115 victims of abortion violence were given funeral mass for upbaptized children and 110 ... were given a proper burial in a private cemetery," said Handy....' The five fetuses found in Handy's home, the group claims, were not buried because they supposedly had wounds that indicated a violent crime and they wanted to deliver them to the district medical examiner. The Daily Beast story, which is here, is firewalled.
Jessica Contrera of the Washington Post: Vaughn Smith, a carpet cleaner in the D.C. area, speaks eight languages fluently and can carry on conversations in another 37.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Republicans Hold Hostage Covid Bill. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "An election-year dispute over immigration policy emerged on Tuesday as the latest obstacle to quick approval of a $10 billion coronavirus response bill, as Senate Republicans refused to advance the measure without a vote to keep in place pandemic-era border restrictions that President Biden has moved to lift. While lawmakers in both parties have said they support the money for vaccines, testing and therapeutics, Republicans blocked action on it on Tuesday, insisting that the chamber first vote to maintain the immigration policy, known as Title 42, which has restricted immigration at U.S. land borders since the beginning of the pandemic."
Beyond the Beltway
Michigan Congressional Race. Paul Kane of the Washington Post: Rep. Fred Upton, one of ten Republicans who voted to impeach Donald Trump last year, is retiring from Congress following a Michigan redistricting decision that would have pitted him against another Republican congressman.
Missouri Senate Race. Blake Hounshell & Leah Askarinam of the New York Times: "Lurid allegations of blackmail, sexual misconduct and child abuse would doom most politicians. Not Eric Greitens. Or at least not yet. Until recently, the former Missouri governor was the undisputed leader of the state's Senate race, despite facing years of scandals. Republicans have urged him to drop out amid fears that his possible victory in the Aug. 2 primary could hand a seat in the chamber to Democrats -- or at least force the G.O.P. to stomach an unpalatable candidate in a state that should be undisputed Republican turf. Pressure has grown on Greitens in recent weeks over allegations made in court filings by his ex-wife, Sheena Chestnut Greitens. In a statement to a Missouri judge first published on Tuesday, she said he had become 'unhinged' and 'threatening.'"
New York. Ed Shanahan & Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "A New York State judge whose home was searched by law enforcement authorities last month against the backdrop of the federal prosecution of one of his former clients killed himself on Tuesday, one of his lawyers said. The judge, John L. Michalski, an acting justice of the State Supreme Court, was found dead at his home in Amherst, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb, shortly before noon, said the lawyer, Terrence Connors.... He had not been charged with any crime, but he had drawn the authorities' attention because of his ties to Peter Gerace Jr., the owner of a strip club in Cheektowaga, another Buffalo suburb."
Oklahoma. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Lawmakers in Oklahoma on Tuesday approved a near-total ban on abortion, making it the latest Republican-led state to forge ahead with stringent abortion legislation as the Supreme Court weighs a case that could overturn Roe v. Wade later this year. The measure, Senate Bill 612, would make performing an abortion 'except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency' a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $100,000." MB: Those who voted for this law are twisted. Overt expressions of hatred for women & efforts to punish our sexuality are stunning. One need not be "pro-abortion" (I'm not) to see this.
News Lede
New York Times: "Bobby Rydell, a Philadelphia-born singer who became a teenage idol in the late 1950s and, with his pleasant voice, stage presence and nice-guy demeanor, maintained a loyal following on tours even after both he and his original fans were well past retirement age, died on Tuesday in Abington, Pa. He was 79."
April 5, 2022
Afternoon Update:
David Smith & Jon Henley of the Guardian: "Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, has given the UN security council a harrowing account of atrocities in his country and demanded that Russian leaders be 'brought to justice for war crimes'. A day after Joe Biden called for Putin to be held to account, Zelenskiy said there should be an international tribunal similar to the Nuremberg trials of Nazis after the second world war. There has been global revulsion at apparently deliberate civilian killings by Russian troops in Ukraine. Zelenskiy visited the town of Bucha on Monday after officials said the bodies of 410 civilians had been recovered from Kyiv-area towns after Russian troops withdrew. 'There is not a single crime that they would not commit there,' Zelenskiy said ia video link and an interpreter. 'The Russians searched for and purposely killed anyone who served our country. They shot and killed women outside their houses. They killed entire families -- adults and children -- and they tried to burn the bodies.'"
Oh, TuKKKer! Max Boot of the Washington Post: "Only someone born yesterday would be remotely surprised by the atrocities revealed in Bucha, Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has been committing war crimes since the day he took office. That makes it all the more sinister and enraging that he retains an influential rooting section of right-wing voters in the United States. The Pew Research Center finds that the number of Republicans expressing confidence in the Russian tyrant has, mercifully, declined from 37 percent in 2006 to just 7 percent today. But some of the loudest and most influential voices in the MAGA movement still refuse to support Ukraine or stop pushing Russian propaganda.... The worst offenders are also the most influential: ... Donald Trump and Fox 'News' host Tucker Carlson. Hey, Tucker, are you still rooting for Russia over Ukraine -- as you said you were in 2019?"
Ivanka Speaks. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Ivanka Trump..., Donald J. Trump's eldest daughter, who served as one of his senior advisers, plans to testify on Tuesday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a person familiar with the matter. Ms. Trump was one of several aides who tried to persuade the president to call off the violence that ultimately injured more than 150 police officers and sent lawmakers and Vice President Mike Pence fleeing for safety, according to evidence gathered by the committee. The schedule for her testimony, which was reported earlier by NBC, comes days after her husband, Jared Kushner, who was also a top adviser to Mr. Trump, sat for an interview and provided what one member of the panel described as 'valuable' and 'helpful' information."
Marie: Looks as if the Conde de Mar-a-Lardo sort of accidentally admitted he lost the 2020 election: ~~~
Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: In that same Zoom interview with the historians -- story linked below -- "Describing his attempts to make South Korea pay more for US military assistance, Trump said Moon Jae-in, the South Korean president, was among the 'happiest' world leaders after the 2020 US election put Joe Biden in the White House. 'By not winning the election,' Trump said, 'he was the happiest man -- I would say, in order, China was -- no, Iran was the happiest. [Moon] was going to pay $5bn, $5bn a year. But when I didn't win the election, he had to be the happiest -- I would rate, probably, South Korea third- or fourth-happiest.' Trump also said 'the election was rigged and lost'."
~~~~~~~~~~
Putin's War Crimes, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "The U.N. Security Council will meet on Tuesday as the United States and Europe threaten to further isolate President Vladimir V. Putin and demand that he be held accountable for possible war crimes by Russian forces outside the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. France, the United States and Britain are likely to present evidence that atrocities were committed in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, where more than 300 bodies have been found since Russian forces retreated last week. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine traveled there on Monday and called out Europe's leaders for not doing enough to stop Russia. He said he expected the civilian death toll to rise as officials cleared more homes. But it will be difficult for the council to agree on any concrete measures because of the veto power held by Russia and China." ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Tuesday are here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to demand greater help from world powers at a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday to battle Russia and hold its forces accountable over mounting evidence of civilian killings near Kyiv that have sparked global outrage.... In southern Ukraine -- where Moscow appears to be shifting its military focus, along with parts of the east -- a Red Cross team seeking to evacuate people from the battered port city of Mariupol was released overnight. A Ukrainian official accused Russian forces of detaining the aid workers trying to reach trapped residents struggling to survive a brutal siege." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Tuesday are here.
Allie Malloy of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Monday called the atrocities allegedly committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Ukraine, a 'war crime' and called for a trial to take place against ... Vladimir Putin.... [Biden] said he was looking into additional sanctions against Russia.... US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the State Department would help document any attacks by Russian troops against Ukrainian civilians. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called the deaths of civilians in Bucha a 'brutality' and said 'I strongly welcome' an investigation by International Criminal Court, which has opened an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed the extensive footage of dead civilians in Bucha was 'fake' and that 'not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions' during Russia's occupation of the town." MB: Second only to the atrocities themselves is the audacity of the Defense Ministry to mock its victims by declaring their dead bodies "fake." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Malachy Browne et al., of the New York Times: "An analysis of satellite images by The New York Times rebuts claims by Russia that the killing of civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, occurred after its soldiers had left the town.... In a Telegram post on Sunday, the ministry suggested that the bodies had been recently placed on the streets after 'all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha' around March 30. Russia claimed that the images were 'another hoax' and called for an emergency U.N. Security Council meeting on what it called 'provocations of Ukrainian radicals' in Bucha. But a review of videos and satellite imagery by The Times shows that many of the civilians were killed more than three weeks ago, when Russia's military was in control of the town." ~~~
~~~ Eliot Higgins of bellingcat: "... open source evidence exists that appears to run counter to claims of elaborate fakes and staged productions, as well as calling into question the apparent timeline of events as depicted by Russia in recent days." Although Higgins doesn't cite satellite imagery, he does lay out quite a bit of other evidence against Moscow's preposterous claims.
A Census of War Crimes. Robert Klemko of the Washington Post: Ukraine's "prosecutor general's office estimates the country is using about 50,000 investigators from five different law enforcement agencies to investigate war crimes. They are conducting interviews across the country and meticulously documenting evidence that they hope to use in war crimes prosecutions against ... Vladimir Putin and the military force he sent to invade Ukraine.... They have fanned out across Ukraine, addressing small groups of mostly female and elderly displaced people in churches, classrooms and auditoriums...."
Carlotta Gall of the New York Times: "Badly frightened and hungry, residents of Nova Basan, a town east of Kyiv, emerged from their cottages and farmhouses on Monday, and described living through the terrifying ordeal of the Russian occupation -- detentions, threats and a strict curfew that confined them to their homes with no outside communication for more than a month. Nova Basan, about 60 miles east of the Ukrainian capital, is one of a stretch of towns and villages retaken from Russian control after battles through the last week of March, and just now coming back to life.... Mykola Dyachenko, the official responsible for the administration of the town and surrounding villages..., said he was among some 20 men who were held prisoner by Russian troops for 25 days during the occupation.... He said he had been put through what he called a mock execution 15 times while being questioned about local Ukrainian territorial defense forces and ammunition stored in the area."
Bethan McKernan of the Guardian: "Women across Ukraine are grappling with the threat of rape as a weapon of war as growing evidence of sexual violence emerges from areas retaken from retreating Russian forces.... As Russian troops have withdrawn from towns and suburbs around the capital in order to refocus the war effort on Ukraine's east, women and girls have come forward to tell the police, media and human rights organisations of atrocities they have suffered at the hands of Russian soldiers. Gang-rapes, assaults taking place at gunpoint, and rapes committed in front of children are among the grim testimonies collected by investigators.... Rape and sexual assault are considered war crimes and a breach of international humanitarian law, and both Ukraine's prosecutor general and the international Criminal Court have said they will open investigation into reported sexual violence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Francisco Ubilla, et al., of the AP: "The U.S. government on Monday seized a 254-foot yacht in Spain owned by an oligarch with close ties to ... Vladimir Putin, a first by the Biden administration under sanctions imposed after the Kremlin's invasion of Ukraine and targeting pricey assets of Russian elites. Spain's Civil Guard and U.S. federal agents descended on the Tango at the Marina Real in the port of Palma de Mallorca, the capital of Spain's Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Associated Press reporters at the scene saw police going in and out of the boat.... The yacht is among the assets linked to Viktor Vekselberg, a billionaire and close Putin ally who heads the Moscow-based Renova Group, a conglomerate encompassing metals, mining, tech and other assets, according to U.S. Treasury Department documents." MB: Gosh, I hope all us taxpayer-owners get to go yachting on our new luxury vessel. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Adam Cancryn of Politico: "The Biden administration is planning on Tuesday to propose a long-sought change to the Affordable Care Act aimed at lowering health insurance costs for millions of Americans, four people with knowledge of the matter told Politico. The new policy is designed to close a loophole in the ACA known as the 'family glitch' that's prevented an estimated 5 million people from qualifying for subsidized health plans -- even when they can't find affordable coverage elsewhere." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~
~~~ I Like What You've Done with the Place. Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "... Tuesday afternoon..., [President] Obama [will step] into the White House for the first time since he vacated the premises in 2017.... The immediate reason for Tuesday's visit is for Obama to witness President Biden signing an executive order strengthening the Affordable Care Act, Obama's landmark domestic achievement. But Obama's appearance will also take place against the backdrop of low poll numbers for Biden, dim electoral prospects for Democrats and an urgent search for a spark by party leaders."
Marie: I did not read this "Garland Under Pressure" story when it first came out, as I previously had linked quite a few similar articles. But I noticed today that the NYT story does contain one interesting tidbit: ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times (April 2): "As recently as late last year, [President] Biden confided to his inner circle that he believed ... Donald J. Trump was a threat to democracy and should be prosecuted, according to two people familiar with his comments. And while the president has never communicated his frustrations directly to [Attorney General Merrick] Garland, he has said privately that he wanted Mr. Garland to act less like a ponderous judge and more like a prosecutor who is willing to take decisive action over the events of Jan. 6." MB: Bear in mind that this is the kind of stuff leaders like to have "confidentially" leaked. But Merrick Garland can read, and it sends him a sotto voce message from the guy who appointed him.
Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "A nearly unified wall of G.O.P. opposition to Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson cracked slightly on Monday as two more Senate Republicans said they would side with Democrats in supporting her, paving the way for her confirmation as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. Senators Mitt Romney of Utah and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska joined a third Republican, Susan Collins of Maine, in lending their support to Judge Jackson, defying deep resistance in their party to the nominee. The G.O.P. opposition was underscored anew on Monday when all 11 Republicans on the Judiciary Committee voted against the nomination. That prompted Democrats to use an unusual procedure to force the nomination out of the deadlocked panel with a vote of the full Senate, which agreed to the move by a vote of 53 to 47.... [Murkowski's & Romney's] support came after another contentious day in the Judiciary Committee, during which Republicans spent hours vehemently reiterating their opposition to her elevation. The N.A.A.C.P. called the resulting deadlock in the panel a 'stain' on the committee." ~~~
~~~ Mary Jalonick & Kevin Freking of the AP: "The Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked, 11-11, Monday on whether to send Ketanji Brown Jackson's Supreme Court nomination to the Senate floor. But President Joe Biden's nominee is still on track to be confirmed this week as the first Black woman on the high court. The committee's tie vote was expected, as there is an even party split on the panel and all of the Republicans are opposing Jackson&'s nomination to replace retiring Justice Stephen Breyer. But it was still a blow to Democrats who had hoped for robust bipartisan support -- and it was the first time the committee has deadlocked on a Supreme Court nomination in three decades. In order to move forward, Democrats planned a new vote to 'discharge' Jackson's nomination from committee Monday evening and then take a series of procedural steps in the coming days to wind it through the 50-50 Senate. With the support of at least one Republican, Maine Sen. Susan Collins, Jackson is on a glidepath toward confirmation by the end of the week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Loose Lips Lindsey Says the Quiet Part Out Loud. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) indicated on Monday that Senate Republicans wouldn't have accepted Ketanji Brown Jackson as a Supreme Court pick if they controlled the Senate and sent a warning shot about how Republicans will treat any Supreme Court nominees in 2023 or 2024. 'If we get back the Senate and we're in charge of this body and there is judicial openings, we will talk to our colleagues on the other side. But if we were in charge, she would not have been before this committee. You would have had somebody more moderate than this,' Graham said during a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting." ~~~
~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Judging by the numbers, Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are obsessed with child pornography. In four days of Supreme Court confirmation hearings for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, the phrase 'child porn' (or 'pornography' or 'pornographer') was mentioned 165 times. There were also, according to transcripts, 142 uses of 'sex' ('sexual abuse,' 'sexual assault,' 'sexual intercourse,' 'sex crimes'), 15 of 'pedophile,' 13 of 'predators,' 18 of 'prepubescent' and nine of general pornography. There were only 30 mentions of the First Amendment and 12 of the Bill of Rights. The Republican fixation on pornography continued during Monday's round of statements by senators before the committee advanced Jackson's nomination to the Senate floor.... In fairness, child pornography wasn't Republicans' only obsession. The phrases 'critical race theory' or 'CRT' came up 66 times during the hearing."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court ruled on Monday in favor of a Brooklyn man who said he had been falsely accused by police officers of resisting arrest, saying he could sue for malicious prosecution under a federal civil rights law. The vote was 6 to 3, with the majority deciding only the narrow question of what the man, Larry Thompson, had to show to meet a requirement that there was a favorable termination of the prosecution against him."
Alex Henderson of Alternet: In September 2021, Donald Trump showed up on a Zoom conference with Princeton history professor Julian Zelizer & some other historians who were writing a book about his presidency* to give them his take on what a great job he had done & how the 2020 election was stolen from him. MB: Apparently Trump's experience with rubes has led him to believe that he can persuade anyone with his lies.
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Lawyers for ... Donald Trump are asking a federal judge [-- Donald Middlebrooks --] appointed by President Bill Clinton to step aside from a suit Trump filed last month claiming that Hillary Clinton and her political allies engaged in a racketeering conspiracy to falsely accuse Trump of colluding with Russia to gain support in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.... Motions to recuse based on the identity or party of the president who appointed a judge are rarely granted. In a largely two-party system, federal judges are virtually certain to have been appointed by the political rivals of a president or his political allies."
Ha Ha. Meridith McGraw & Emily Birnbaum of Politico: "Top executives from ... Donald Trump's social media venture, Truth Social, have departed the company as the site has struggled to gain traction with users. Three top executives quit Truth Social, including chief technology officer, Josh Adams and Billy Boozer, the head of the company's product development, and chief legal officer, Lori Heyer-Bednar, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Trump launched the Truth Social app as a way to take on 'Big Tech.' He and his allies argued it would rival major social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook, which both removed the former president from their platforms following the Jan. 6 riots on Capitol Hill.... Trump himself has only posted once on the app. He had 827,000 followers as of Monday morning. Former Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) quit his job in Congress in order to serve as CEO of Truth Social." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) See Akhilleus' commentary below. ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE, Over at the Competition. Michelle Chapman & Tom Krisher of the AP: "Tesla CEO Elon Musk acquired a 9% stake in Twitter to become its largest shareholder at a time when he is questioning the social media platform's dedication to free speech and the First Amendment. The ultimate aim of Musk's 73.5 million share purchase, worth about $3 billion, is not known. Yet in late March Musk, who has 80 million Twitter followers and is very active on the site, questioned free speech on Twitter and whether the platform is undermining democracy. It's unclear just when Musk bought the stake." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Although Musk "has a track record of silencing critics with threats of lawsuits and firing employees who disagree with him," [Business Insider link; BI is firewalled] he claims to be a "free speech absolutist." Stephanie Ruhle of MSNBC suggested that might cause Twitter's biggest shareholder to demand that Donald Trump & other misinformation and lie factories be allowed back on the platform.
AND There Will Be No Free Speech at Amazon. Ken Klippenstein of the Intercept: "Amazon will block and flag employee posts on a planned internal messaging app that contain keywords pertaining to labor unions, according to internal company documents reviewed by The Intercept. An automatic word monitor would also block a variety of terms that could represent potential critiques of Amazon's working conditions, like 'slave labor,' 'prison,' and 'plantation,' as well as 'restrooms' -- presumably related to reports of Amazon employees relieving themselves in bottles to meet punishing quotas. 'Our teams are always thinking about new ways to help employees engage with each other,' said Amazon spokesperson Barbara M. Agrait. 'This particular program has not been approved yet and may change significantly or even never launch at all.'";
Josh Margolin, et al., of ABC News: "Hunter Biden is apparently spending his father's presidency living in luxury in Malibu -- and so is his taxpayer-funded security detail. The Secret Service detail protecting the president's controversial son has been paying more than $30,000 a month to rent out a swanky Malibu, California, mansion for nearly a year, sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News. The agency ... selected the property in order to be located as close as possible to Biden's own rented mansion where he is paying about $20,000 a month according to property listings, sources told ABC News.... The Spanish-style estate that the Secret Service has rented sits on a 0.7-acre lot above the Malibu coast and also features 'gorgeous ocean views,' according to its listing.... Hunter Biden's California lifestyle is coming into focus just as the federal probe into his tax affairs has intensified, as sources familiar with the matter recently told ABC News." MB: Gosh, you wouldn't expect Secret Service agents to stay in more humble digs back in the Malibu hills, would you? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "There are four elements ... that make Fox News a uniquely damaging part of the American news landscape: its strength on the political right, the demonstrated way in which it shapes its viewers' beliefs, its grip on Republican power and the views of its leadership." Bump writes in response to a report that President Biden had privately called Rupert Murdoch "the most dangerous man in the world," and that the President felt Fox "News" was "one of the most destructive forces in the United States."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "Senators announced a deal on a $10 billion coronavirus aid package on Monday to provide additional aid for domestic testing, vaccination and treatment efforts, after dropping a push to include billions for the global vaccination effort.... The package was announced by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, and Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah. Both have led negotiations in recent days. In a statement, Mr. Schumer said that President Biden supported the agreement, even though it was less than half of the White House's original $22.5 billion request.... The domestic spending is paid for largely by repurposing unspent money that was approved in March 2021 in the $1.9 trillion pandemic law that Democrats pushed through without any Republican votes, as well as some funds from the $2.2 trillion law approved under the Trump administration, a key Republican demand."
Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky announced plans Monday to revamp the agency that has come under blistering criticism for its performance leading the U.S. response to the coronavirus pandemic, saying, 'it is time to step back and strategically position CDC to support the future of public health.' In an agencywide email sent shortly after 1 p.m., Walensky said she has hired a senior federal health official outside of the Atlanta-based agency to conduct a one-month review to 'kick off an evaluation of CDC's structure, systems, and processes.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: Gov. Ron "DeSantis escalated his attacks on Disney amid its criticism of the law he signed limiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity. But DeSantis's war on Disney will soon face a reckoning. A big question is whether DeSantis will seek to revoke Disney's state tax incentives as a weapon in the war over that measure, which opponents call the 'Don't Say Gay' law.... Some on the right, particularly the new nationalists seeking to build a post-Trump Trumpism, actually do believe the state should be weaponized to fight the culture wars as aggressively as possible.... One prominent right-wing activist explicitly told Michelle Goldberg [of the New York Times] that attacks on Disney are all about teaching it 'the lesson' that 'they should stay out of politics.' The goal is to wield state power to dissuade corporations from empowering the enemy known as social liberalism." ~~~
~~~ As Jonathan Chait of New York writes, in an article I can't link because it's firewalled, DeSantis' attack on Disney "is what post-Trump authoritarianism looks like."
Florida, Where the Sun Don't Shine. Mike DeForest of WKMG Orlando: "In a move criticized by advocates of Florida's open government laws, Gov. Ron DeSantis’ staff intervened in a public records request related to a former appointee who is reportedly connected to a federal sex trafficking investigation, documents obtained by News 6 show. The governor's secondary 'review' of state spending records delayed the release of those documents for more than two months, records confirm. That delay may have violated Florida's public records ['sunshine'] laws, according to some legal experts familiar with the matter. News 6 submitted a public records request last year seeking spending reports from Halsey Beshears, the former head of Florida's business licensing agency. According to Politico, Beshears and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz were named in a grand jury subpoena related to an ongoing federal sex trafficking investigation.... According to Politico, Beshears traveled to the Bahamas with Gaetz in September 2018, just months before Beshears was named DBPR secretary. At the time, Beshears was serving in the Florida legislature. That Bahamas trip has been scrutinized by federal investigators as part of its probe into possible sex trafficking, according to CBS News."
Maryland. Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: "Gov. Larry Hogan of Maryland on Monday signed into law a new congressional map drawn by Democrats, a little more than a week after a judge called their previous effort an 'extreme gerrymander' and threw it out. Mr. Hogan, a Republican, agreed to approve the maps after Democrats dropped their appeal of the judge's ruling. He described the deal as 'a tremendous victory for democracy and for free and fair elections in Maryland' and said the new map was 'a huge improvement' over the original one. The new map will most likely result in a congressional delegation that will look a lot like the current one." An AP story is here.
New York. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "A New York appellate judge on Monday hit the brakes on a sweeping lower-court decision that invalidated newly drawn legislative districts favorable to Democrats and threatened to throw the state's election season into turmoil. Justice Stephen K. Lindley of New York's Fourth Appellate Department in Rochester issued the temporary stay after state Democratic leaders formally contested the lower court's opinion last week that the maps were unconstitutional and, in some cases, gerrymandered for partisan gain. He did not address the merits of the case but indicated that he hoped to expedite his own ruling on whether the lines were constitutional."
Way Beyond
Sudan. Marlise Simons of the New York Times: "A brutal campaign against a rebellion in Western Sudan displaced millions and left the world aghast. Two decades later, the first and only war crimes trial has gotten underway.... On Tuesday..., [a man named Ali Kushayb] went on trial at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, where he is charged with 32 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity, including persecution, pillaging, murder and rape, all of which he denies. Mr. Kushayb is the first suspect to be tried on charges of playing a major role in the bloody campaign that took more than 200,000 lives and drove more than two million people from their homes. His lawyer has said the court has the wrong Kushayb. But prosecutors say they have evidence that the man on trial is the same one who was indicted in 2007 for his role in more than 300 murders and the expulsion of some 40,000 civilians in 2003 and 2004."
News Lede
Guardian: "Police in the California state capital [Sacramento] have made an arrest in connection with Sunday's mass shooting that left six people dead and at least a dozen others injured. In the hours after the bloodshed, police say they have received more than 100 videos or photos from the scene and executed search warrants on three homes."