The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”

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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Friday
Feb042022

February 5, 2022

Afternoon Update:

** The Great American Criminal Investigation. Michael Schmidt & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House select committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol is borrowing techniques from federal prosecutions, employing aggressive tactics typically used against mobsters and terrorists as it seeks to break through stonewalling from... Donald J. Trump and his allies and develop evidence that could prompt a criminal case. In what its members see as the best opportunity to hold Mr. Trump and his team accountable, the committee -- which has no authority to pursue criminal charges -- is using what powers it has in expansive ways in hopes of pressuring Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to use the Justice Department to investigate and prosecute them." Former federal prosecutors are running the investigation.

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump tore up briefings and schedules, articles and letters, memos both sensitive and mundane.... Interviews with 11 former Trump staffers, associates, and others ... reveal that Trump's shredding of paper was far more widespread and indiscriminate than previously known and -- despite multiple admonishments -- extended throughout his presidency, resulting in special practices to deal with the torn fragments.... The ripping was so relentless that Trump's team implemented a set of protocols to try to ensure that Trump was abiding by the Presidential Records Act. Typically, aides ... would come in behind Trump to retrieve the piles of torn paper he left in his wake.... Then, staffers from the White House Office of Records Management were generally responsible for jigsawing the documents back together, using clear tape.... One senior Trump White House official said he and other White House staffers frequently put documents into 'burn bags' to be destroyed, rather than preserving them, and would decide themselves what should be saved and what should be burned."

If you'd like to see more of what the Republican party believes comprises "legitimate political discourse," CNN aired new video which the House January 6 committee has just released.

Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Former President Trump responded to former Vice President Mike Pence's remarks that he did not have the authority to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. 'Just saw Mike Pence's statement on the fact that he had no right to do anything with respect to the Electoral Vote Count, other than being an automatic conveyor belt for the Old Crow Mitch McConnell to get Biden elected' President as quickly as possible," Trump said in a statement through his Save America PAC late Friday night. 'Well, the Vice President's position is not an automatic conveyor if obvious signs of voter fraud or irregularities exist.'... Trump's remarks against Pence were uncharacteristically measured, avoiding a more harsh criticism of his former vice president."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "A trucker-led protest against pandemic measures that has paralyzed Canada's capital for a week was expected to expand on Saturday with the arrival of hundreds more trucks in Ottawa. Police forces and officials in Toronto, Canada's largest city, and Quebec City, that province's capital, braced for similar demonstrations. What began as a convoy of trucks and cars that set out from the province of British Columbia to protest a vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers has grown into a general protest against pandemic restrictions and a range of other political causes, including opposition to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau."

Not Just a Covid Denier, But a Racist, Too. Ben Sisario of the New York Times: "As pressure has intensified on Spotify and its star podcaster Joe Rogan, listeners reported that the company had quietly removed dozens of episodes of his show, while Rogan apologized early Saturday for his use of a racial slur in past episodes. In an Instagram video, Rogan -- whose talk show, 'The Joe Rogan Experience,' is Spotify's most popular podcast, and has been available there exclusively for more than a year -- addressed what he called 'the most regretful and shameful thing that I've ever had to talk about publicly.' A compilation video showed Rogan using the slur numerous times in past episodes of his show...." ~~~

     ~~~ In case you were wondering just what "racial slur" Rogan used ~~~

     ~~~ Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Joe Rogan apologized Saturday for the many previous instances in which the host used the n-word on his Spotify podcast." Just to clarify, Rogan said "he never used the n-word 'to be racist because, I'm not racist.'" MB: Good to know, Joe. The AP's story is here.

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Delta Air Lines has asked the Justice Department to help set up a national 'no-fly' list of unruly passengers that would bar them from boarding any commercial air carrier, amid a surge in 'air rage' incidents during the pandemic. In a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland on Thursday, the Atlanta-based company's chief executive, Edward H. Bastian, said such a list would reduce the number of future incidents involving disruptive passengers. It also would 'serve as a strong symbol of the consequences of not complying with crew member instructions,' he wrote."

Morocco. Vivian Yee, et al., of the New York Times: "A Moroccan boy trapped in a well for four days did not survive, Moroccan state-run media reported after rescuers pulled out his body on Saturday. The reports carried a statement from the royal court which said the king of Morocco called the boy's parents to express his condolences."

U.K. Queen Camilla. Caroline Davies of the Guardian: "The Queen has expressed her 'sincere wish' that the Duchess of Cornwall becomes Queen Consort when Charles becomes king. In a candid message marking the 70th anniversary of her accession, the monarch made clear her desire, unambiguously paving the way for Queen Camilla. When the duchess married the Prince of Wales in 2005, it was made clear by Clarence House that she would carry the title of HRH The Princess Consort. It has long been speculated that this was a title of convenience at a time when the duchess was seen to be less popular in the polls, due to her relationship with Charles when he was married to Diana, Princess of Wales. Charles is understood to have long harboured a firm desire his wife should carry the title of Queen Consort, and be thus crowned and anointed, when he becomes king. The Queen made clear she supported this in a written message released on Saturday before Sunday’s Accession Day. In it, the Queen thanked the nation for the 'loyalty and affection' she had received over her long reign."

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Democracy dies by a thousand cuts. On February 4, 2022, the Republican party officially dealt U.S. democracy a deep wound.

Josh Dawsey & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "In an extraordinary rebuke, the Republican National Committee on Friday voted Friday to condemn Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), the two Republican members of a House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The censure resolution passed overwhelmingly on a voice vote with no debate or discussion. It said the behavior of Cheney and Kinzinger 'has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic.'" This also is an update to a story by Josh Dawsey, linked earlier today. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Then there's this in the WashPo report: Ronna Romney "McDaniel said she was particularly upset when an elderly, recently widowed friend of hers was subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee after it was reported the friend was an alternate elector at the campaign's behest. She declined to name the friend." Marcy Wheeler got to wondering who the elderly widow might be: "It took me 3 Google searches to find [Kathy (& her deceased husband) Dean] Berden..., and unlike me, Dawsey has the support of an entire newsroom.... So Dawsey let McDanie's claim that she was taking action to censure (and possibly fund the opponent of) Liz Cheney because of some nice little old lady, without mentioning that that nice little old lady is by definition someone being criminally investigated by the FBI for her role in an effort to steal the election. Dawsey also didn't mention that that nice little old lady might also have information that would implicate McDaniel personally in that crime..., a 'multi-state conspiracy.'..." MB: Yeah, you can see where Ronna Romney's motives were totally compassionate. ~~~

     ~~~ Other reports, like this one from NPR, give Ronna the benefit of the doubt. Sweet.

The Party of Violent Traitors

WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaging in legitimate political discourse ... -- from the RNC's censure resolution

     ~~~ ** Jonathan Weisman & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it 'legitimate political discourse,' and rebuked two lawmakers in the party who have been most outspoken in condemning the deadly riot and the role of Donald J. Trump in spreading the election lies that fueled it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNN's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: This is extraordinary. We have not seen anything like it since the Civil War. What remains a national political party has embraced violent revolution against the federal government, murder of top officials -- "Hang mike pence" "Oh, Naaaaaaancy." -- battering of tens of police officers, destruction of federal property, all with the goal to overturn the results of a presidential election and keep the loser in power. Republicans describe all this as "legitimate political discourse." ~~~

~~~ As Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said on MSNBC Friday, rewriting the history of January 6 to be 'legitimate political discourse' is a fascist tactic.

Two weeks ago on @DeadlineWH I said the Republicans were no longer a party but a dime store front for the terrorist MAGA movement. They're publicly admitting it now. The question is will the administration pivot to address the GOP as an open threat to Democracy[.] -- Prof. Jason Johnson in a tweet (via a commenter on No More Mr. Nice Blog)

When somebody says something about Republicans that you think is an exaggeration, wait a few weeks. It won't take Republicans long to prove the allegation. -- Marie

Brett Wilkins of Common Dreams posts a few more tweet-o-pinions from politicians, pundits & organizations.

Sarakshi Rai of the Hill: "Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Friday criticized the Republican National Committee's (RNC) effort to censure Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), saying he considered the move by their fellow Republicans shameful. Romney ... said in a tweet that 'shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol.' He praised them for seeking answers despite the professional and personal consequences.... 'Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost,' he [said]. Romney's statements stand in stark contrast to those of his niece, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who spoke in favor of the resolution that was passed by the resolutions committee on Thursday. McDaniel has previously condemned her uncle for criticizing Trump." A Washington Post report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Seer. Given my experience working for Mr. Trump, I fear that if he loses the election in 2020, that there will never be a peaceful transition of power. And this is why I agreed to appear before you today. -- Michael Cohen, testimony before the House Oversight Committee, February 27, 2019

Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday offered his most forceful rebuke of Donald Trump, saying that Mr. Trump is 'wrong' that Mr. Pence had the legal authority to change the results of the 2020 election and that the Republican Party must accept the outcome and look toward the future.... 'The truth is there's more at stake than our party or our political fortunes,' he said. 'If we lose faith in the Constitution, we won't just lose elections -- we'll lose our country.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mariana Alfaro & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Pence said the presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone, and appeared to suggest that calls for him to overturn the results of the election were 'un-American.' 'Frankly there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American President,' Pence said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) NPR's report is here.

     ~~~ Marie: There's nothing heroic about a guy who waits more than a year to tell the truth about an incident in which he could have lost his life. Moreover, he has scarcely told the whole truth, as he surely knows much more about the plot to overturn the presidential election, a plot that would have ensured he had his cushy job for at least four more years. And where was pence before the fact? Why didn't he notifiy the DOJ & other law enforcement authorities of the insurrection in the offing? He could have saved lives & limbs.

Or Maybe Bill Barr Did Know. Time to Find Out. Mike Lillis & Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Democrats are amping up the pressure on William Barr to testify before the panel investigating the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021, saying the former attorney general has a unique window into the thoughts and actions of former President Trump leading up to the violent siege. Barr has been in informal talks with the special investigative committee, according to the chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). But recent news reports have added layers of detail to Barr's one-on-one interactions with Trump in late 2020, as the former president sought ways to use the powers of the administration to overturn his election defeat. Those revelations have sparked new interest on Capitol Hill for Barr to brief the committee again -- this time in a more formal setting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ AND Here's a Conspirator Who's Been Lying about His Part in the Coup Plot. Ryan Nobles, et al., of CNN: "The House select committee investigating the Capitol insurrection is now in possession of White House records that provide new details about a phone call Donald Trump made to Republican Rep. Jim Jordan on January 6, 2021.... Two sources who have reviewed the call records tell CNN that Trump spoke on the phone at the White House residence with Jordan for 10 minutes on the morning of January 6. That afternoon, Jordan took to the House floor to object to the certification of President Joe Biden's Electoral College win, and pro-Trump supporters attacked the US Capitol.... Since Jordan acknowledged last summer that he spoke to Trump on the phone that day, the Ohio Republican and Trump loyalist has waived off questions about it or been inconsistent in his answers.... At a House Rules Committee hearing in October, Chairman Jim McGovern, a Democrat from Massachusetts, specifically asked Jordan when he spoke with Trump that day. 'I talked to the President after the attack,' Jordan said at the time. When McGovern pressed Jordan again and asked him to confirm that the call did not occur before or during the attack, Jordan replied: 'Right. And I've been clear about that.'" Jordan has since gone into I-can't-recall mode.

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Weeks after the 2020 election, Donald Trump reviewed a draft executive order that authorized the national guard to seize voting machines and verbally agreed to appoint Sidney Powell, a campaign lawyer and conspiracy theorist, as special counsel to investigate election fraud.... Trump never followed through with issuing a formal executive order authorizing the seizure of voting machines or appointing a special counsel. But four sources with detailed knowledge of what transpired during the 18 December meeting described to the Guardian how close he came to doing so.... Trump was handed the document [-- which authorized the Department of Homeland Security to seize the voting machines --] when he sat down with four informal advisers -- Powell, Trump's former national security advisor Michael Flynn, former Trump aide Emily Newman and former Overstock chief executive Patrick Byrne -- who had arrived at the White House unannounced." Read on. There's lots more.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "On Friday..., one Jan. 6 defendant ... and his lawyer asked a federal judge for permission to subpoena the former president and several of his allies to testify as witnesses at his trial. 'It is anticipated that, when called as a witness, Donald J. Trump will testify that he and others orchestrated a carefully crafted plot to call into question the integrity of the 2020 presidential election and the validity of President Biden's victory,' the lawyer, Samuel H. Shamansky, said in court papers filed on behalf of his client, Dustin Thompson. 'Moreover, it will be established at trial that Mr. Trump and his conspirators engaged in a concerted effort to deceive the public, including defendant, into believing that American democracy was at stake if Congress was permitted to certify the election results,' the papers said.... At a hearing last month, the judge in Mr. Thompson's case, Reggie B. Walton of Federal District Court in Washington, expressed skepticism about the notion of a former president and members of his inner circle being placed by force on the witness stand." Read on.


Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Friday touted the January jobs report that was significantly better than what most economists had predicted, given the rapid surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. 'Our country is taking everything that Covid has to throw at us and we'v come back stronger,' Biden said, speaking from the White House." See related story linked under Friday's Ledes. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

Pick a White Man! Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "People keep saying that the point of a pledge of the kind President Biden made [-- to choose a Black woman for the Supreme Court --] is not to treat people differently because of the group they belong to but to stop treating people differently because of the group they belong to.... I'm disgusted that we would settle for anything less than picking the most qualified candidate for the job! And that's what I fear we're doing, because we aren't picking a White man. Astonishingly, every other possible selection is just there for reasons of enforced diversity, whereas White men are there because they deserve it!... We must pick the most qualified person, and the only way we can be sure we aren't influenced by traits is if this person is a formless mind floating in a void. Or the next best thing, a White man." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Justice Neil M. Gorsuch is speaking to the conservative Federalist Society as part of a political lineup of former vice president Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Donald Trump's onetime press secretary [Kayleigh McEnany], an appearance that comes as his fellow justices repeatedly dismiss criticism that the Supreme Court is partisan.... While Gorsuch will not ... share a stage with the GOP leaders, his attendance with major figures close to Trump has stirred questions about the court's impartiality and the insistence of the justices that it remains nonpartisan." MB: Gorsuch cannot be doing anything wrong. He is not just a Supreme Court justice. He is a White Man. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "After deliberations that stretched across three days and appeared at one point to be headed toward an impasse, jurors convicted [lawyer Michael] Avenatti of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft, agreeing with accusations that he used a bogus letter to trick [his former client Stormy] Daniels's literary agent into sending him almost $300,000 in publisher's payments meant for her." Avenatti indicated he would appeal the verdict. An AP report is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) 

Julie Bosman & Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "More than 2,600 Americans are dying from Covid-19 each day, an alarming rate that has climbed by 30 percent in the past two weeks. Across the United States, the coronavirus pandemic has now claimed more than 900,000 lives. Yet ... the number of new coronavirus infections is plummeting, falling by more than half since mid-January. Hospitalizations are also declining, a relief to stressed health care workers who have been treating desperately ill coronavirus patients for nearly two years. All that has created a disorienting moment in the pandemic: Though deaths are still mounting, the threat from the virus is moving, for now, farther into the background of daily life for many Americans."

Send THIS to Your Freeedumb-Loving Friends. Emily Van de Reit of Gray News: "Unvaccinated people are 97 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than those who are fully vaccinated and boosted, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.... CDC Director Rochelle Walensky presented the data Wednesday at a White House COVID-19 response team meeting."

Virginia. Hannah Natanson, et al., of the Washington Post: "An Arlington judge on Friday barred enforcement of Gov. Glenn Youngkin's [R] mask-optional order for schools -- a major victory for the seven school boards that sued to stop it, and a sharp rebuke for the new governor. In her 10-page order, Arlington Circuit Court Judge Louise DiMatteo offered a check to Youngkin's assertion of gubernatorial authority, writing that the Virginia Constitution gives authority to local school boards to make safety and health decisions -- including masking -- for their students. She also wrote that a state law passed over the summer requiring school districts to comply with federal health guidance makes Youngkin's mask-optional order impossible to carry out, because it, too, delegates authority over decisions such as masking to local school boards." DiMatteo issued a temporary restraining order against Youngkin, whose office said he would appeal. The AP's report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Jesus Jiménez & Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolis on Friday announced a moratorium on no-knock warrants one day after the Police Department released body camera footage of its SWAT team fatally shooting a man who was lying on a couch under a blanket during an early-morning raid. The man who was killed, Amir Locke, 22, had a gun in his hand, but it is unclear whether he was aware that police officers had entered the apartment shortly before 7 a.m. Keith Ellison, the attorney general of Minnesota, who led the prosecutions of former police officers in the killings of George Floyd and Daunte Wright, said his office would join a review of the police shooting.... [Police] Chief [Amelia] Huffman said that officers had a warrant for three locations in the apartment complex, and that Mr. Locke was not named in the original warrant." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would not have picked Minneapolis as having one of the worst police departments in the nation, but the cops there sure do kill Black men.

North Carolina. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday upended Republican efforts to lock in political dominance in the state, saying that congressional and state legislative maps were partisan gerrymanders that violated the State Constitution. The ruling requires the Republican-controlled legislature not only to submit new maps to the court, but to offer a range of statistical analyses to show 'a significant likelihood that the districting plan will give the voters of all political parties substantially equal opportunity to translate votes into seats' in elections.... The justices' 4-3 decision, split along party lines, not only sets a precedent for judging the legality of future maps in the state, but could play an important role in the struggle for control of the House of Representatives in elections this November. The Republican-drawn maps had effectively allotted the party control of at least 10 of the 14 House seats the state will have in the next Congress, even though voters statewide are roughly equally divided between the two parties." Politico's report is here.

News Ledes

The New York Times' live updates of Olympics events are here. The Washington Post's highlights blog is here. CNN's live updates are here.

Comments Off
Thursday
Feb032022

February 4, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday offered his most forceful rebuke of Donald Trump, saying that Mr. Trump is 'wrong' that Mr. Pence had the legal authority to change the results of the 2020 election and that the Republican Party must accept the outcome and look toward the future.... 'The truth is there's more at stake than our party or our political fortunes,' he said. 'If we lose faith in the Constitution, we won't just lose elections -- we'll lose our country.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mariana Alfaro & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Pence said the presidency belongs to the American people, and the American people alone, and appeared to suggest that calls for him to overturn the results of the election were 'un-American.' 'Frankly there is almost no idea more un-American than the notion that any one person could choose the American President,' Pence said."

Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Friday touted the January jobs report that was significantly better than what most economists had predicted, given the rapid surge of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus. 'Our country is taking everything that Covid has to throw at us and we've come back stronger,' Biden said, speaking from the White House." See related story linked under today's Ledes. ~~~

Sarakshi Rai of the Hill: "Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) on Friday criticized the Republican National Committee's (RNC) effort to censure Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), saying he considered the move by their fellow Republicans shameful. Romney ... said in a tweet that 'shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol.' He praised them for seeking answers despite the professional and personal consequences.... 'Honor attaches to Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for seeking truth even when doing so comes at great personal cost,' he [said]. Romney's statements stand in stark contrast to those of his niece, RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who spoke in favor of the resolution that was passed by the resolutions committee on Thursday. McDaniel has previously condemned her uncle for criticizing Trump." A Washington Post report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Josh Dawsey & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "In an extraordinary rebuke, the Republican National Committee on Friday voted Friday to condemn Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), the two Republican members of a House committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by a pro-Trump mob. The censure resolution passed overwhelmingly on a voice vote with no debate or discussion. It said the behavior of Cheney and Kinzinger 'has been destructive to the institution of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Republican Party and our republic.'" This also is an update to a story by Josh Dawsey, linked earlier today. ~~~

The Party of Violent Insurrection

WHEREAS, Representatives Cheney and Kinzinger are participating in a Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens engaging in legitimate political discourse ... -- from the RNC's censure resolution

     ~~~ ** Jonathan Weisman & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "The Republican Party on Friday officially declared the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol and events that led to it 'legitimate political discourse,' and rebuked two lawmakers in the party who have been most outspoken in condemning the deadly riot and the role of Donald J. Trump in spreading the election lies that fueled it." ~~~

~~~ Marie: This is extraordinary. We have not seen anything like it since the Civil War. What remains a national political party has embraced violent revolution against the federal government, murder of top officials -- "Hang mike pence" "Oh, Naaaaaaancy." -- battering of tens of police officers, destruction of federal property, all with the goal to overturn the results of a presidential election and keep the loser in power. Republicans describe all this as "legitimate political discourse."

Calling Bill Barr. Mike Lillis & Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Democrats are amping up the pressure on William Barr to testify before the panel investigating the Capitol attack of Jan. 6, 2021, saying the former attorney general has a unique window into the thoughts and actions of former President Trump leading up to the violent siege. Barr has been in informal talks with the special investigative committee, according to the chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.). But recent news reports have added layers of detail to Barr's one-on-one interactions with Trump in late 2020, as the former president sought ways to use the powers of the administration to overturn his election defeat. Those revelations have sparked new interest on Capitol Hill for Barr to brief the committee again -- this time in a more formal setting."

Pick a White Man! Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "People keep saying that the point of a pledge of the kind President Biden made [-- to choose a Black woman for the Supreme Court --] is not to treat people differently because of the group they belong to but to stop treating people differently because of the group they belong to.... I'm disgusted that we would settle for anything less than picking the most qualified candidate for the job! And that's what I fear we're doing, because we aren't picking a White man. Astonishingly, every other possible selection is just there for reasons of enforced diversity, whereas White men are there because they deserve it!... We must pick the most qualified person, and the only way we can be sure we aren't influenced by traits is if this person is a formless mind floating in a void. Or the next best thing, a White man." ~~~

~~~ Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Justice Neil M. Gorsuch is speaking to the conservative Federalist Society as part of a political lineup of former vice president Mike Pence, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and Donald Trump's onetime press secretary [Kayleigh McEnany], an appearance that comes as his fellow justices repeatedly dismiss criticism that the Supreme Court is partisan.... While Gorsuch will not ... share a stage with the GOP leaders, his attendance with major figures close to Trump has stirred questions about the court's impartiality and the insistence of the justices that it remains nonpartisan." MB: Gorsuch cannot be doing anything wrong. He is not just a Supreme Court justice. He is a White Man.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Katie Glueck, et al., of the New York Times: "Amid a rise in murders in cities across the nation, and intense Republican efforts to paint Democrats as hostile to law enforcement, President Biden on Thursday traveled to New York City to assert his party's public safety credentials, affirming his support for law enforcement and detailing his administration's plans to work with the city to confront gun violence. Flanked by elected officials including Mayor Eric Adams -- a former police captain whose messaging around crime and justice has been embraced by some national Democrats -- Mr. Biden highlighted his calls to increase federal investments in policing and pledged that the Justice Department would focus on so-called ghost guns, firearms that are easily assembled from kits but are not regulated by federal gun laws." A related story by Matt Viser of the Washington Post is here.

~~~ Eric Schmitt & Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "A risky predawn raid by U.S. Special Operations forces that resulted in the death of the Islamic State's leader on Thursday was set in motion months ago with a tip that the top terrorist was hiding out on the top floor of a house in northwest Syria. In brief remarks at the White House, President Biden said the decision to send about two doze helicopter-borne commandos to capture or kill the leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi, was made to minimize the risk of civilian harm. Military officials said attacking with a bomb or a missile would have been safer for the troops but could have endangered more than a dozen civilians in the house, including several children."

** When the President gave a briefing & the President* gave a "briefing" on military takedowns of ISIS leaders. MB: I doubt anyone has forgotten what an ignorant dolt Trump is, but this juxtaposition of briefings on similar operations is stunning:

Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The United States has acquired intelligence about a Russian plan to fabricate a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine using a faked video that would build on recent disinformation campaigns, according to senior administration officials and others briefed on the material. The plan -- which the United States hopes to spoil by making public -- involves staging and filming a fabricated attack by the Ukrainian military either on Russian territory or against Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday.)

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The National Archives decided on Tuesday that it will turn over former Vice President Mike Pence's records to the House Select Committee early next month, after ... Donald Trump said he wanted to keep secret more than 100 documents. This is the first set of records related to Pence's office that the Archives has cleared for release after House investigators sought them and comes as top officials around Pence on January 6 testify to the panel." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "In a body full of MAGA sycophants and Ivy League-educated senators spewing anti-elite rhetoric, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) manages to stand out. From his fist-pumping approval of the Jan. 6 mob to his whining that his canceled book deal amounts to censorship, Hawley has specialized in inflammatory stunts and victimhood to shove himself to the front of the line of wannabe MAGA cult leaders who seek to follow defeated ... Donald Trump. So no one can be surprised when Hawley adopts the talking points of Trump's favorite dictator, Russian President Vladimir Putin. As President Biden draws a tough stance against Putin's designs on Ukraine and deploys troops to our NATO allies, Hawley has taken Putin's side in the central dispute. Does Ukraine have a right to determine its alliance? Hawley's answer: Nyet!" (Also linked yesterday.)

S. V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Former Vice President Mike Pence on Friday is expected to rebut, again, claims by Donald Trump that Pence 'could have overturned the election' to let Trump remain in power despite having lost in 2020 by more than 7 million votes. Pence had already been scheduled to speak at the conservative Federalist Society's conference in Florida, and advisers have indicated in recent days that he is likely to respond there to Trump's latest attacks." MB: Gosh, will pence say Trump is a lying, whining loser or that uninformed sources misled the Greatest President* Ever?

Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders forged an agreement this week to potentially fund a challenger to Rep. Liz Cheney in Wyoming, and party members are expected to formally condemn her for her work on the Jan. 6 committee Friday, an unprecedented rebuke of an incumbent member of Congress. As the party met in Salt Lake City this week, the leaders of the Wyoming GOP privately signed a special letter that would allow the national party to financially support Harriet Hageman, Cheney's primary challenger. The letter officially recognizes Hageman as the presumptive nominee for the seat."

Old Generals Never Die; They Just Fade Away Waging Fake Wars. Robert Draper in the New York Times Magazine: When Donald Trump granted Michael Flynn a full pardon, Flynn was already deep into pushing military-backed plans to overturn the 2020 presidential election. "One year since Trump's departure from office, his Make America Great Again movement has reconstituted itself as a kind of shape-shifting but increasingly robust parallel political universe, one that holds significant sway over the Republican Party but is also beyond its control. It includes MAGA-centric media outlets...; well-attended events...; its own personalities and merchandise; and above all, its shared catechism -- central to which is the false claim that Trump was the legitimate victor in 2020. In this world, Flynn is probably the single greatest draw besides Trump himself.... In the year since Flynn sought to enlist the military in overturning the election, he has continued to fight the same battle by other means. He has been a key figure in spreading the gospel of the stolen election."

Coral Marcos of the New York Times: "Stocks on Wall Street tumbled on Thursday, with Meta, the parent company of Facebook, leading the way with a drop of 26.4 percent, its worst one-day loss ever and one that erased more than $230 billion off its market value."

Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "... the trial that opened on Thursday morning, pitting the [New York] Times against former Alaska governor Sarah Palin in a high-stakes showdown over First Amendment principles, could put [media legal] protections to the test.... In his opening statements to the jury, an attorney for the New York Times tried to turn down the temperature of the debate, casting the matter as a simple error in presentation that the paper's editors moved 'as quickly as possible' to correct."

Michael Grynbaum & John Koblin of the New York Times: CNN on-air personalities met Wednesday with Warner Media CEO Jason Kilar after Kilar fired CNN CEO Jeff Zucker. The stars were not aligned with Kilar. "It was as if a year's worth of frustrations and pressures had came pouring out: unease over CNN's corporate ownership; the firing of the anchor Chris Cuomo in an embarrassing ethics scandal; a looming merger with Discovery Inc.; and now the sudden exit of a leader who had remade the network, to some praise and some criticism, over his nine-year tenure.... [Jake] Tapper asked about the perception that Mr. Cuomo had successfully used Mr. Zucker's relationship to force him to resign. 'Jeff said we don't negotiate with terrorists, and Chris blew the place up,' Mr. Tapper said.... 'For a lot of us,' [Dana Bash] said, 'the feeling is that, for Jeff, the punishment didn't fit the crime.'" MB: This is just big boys with marbles and no morals playing keepsies. When all the players are bully boys, some will be losers. ~~~

~~~ ** Remembering Zucker. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: Jeff "Zucker's relationship with Donald Trump will define his legacy. Zucker, as much as any other person in the world, created and burnished the Trump persona -- first as a reality-TV star who morphed into a worldwide celebrity, then as a candidate for president who was given large amounts of free publicity.... Zucker created Trump the TV sensation, which was the necessary foundation for Trump the candidate.... CNN infamously took his campaign speeches live, sometimes going so far as to broadcast images of an empty lectern with embarrassing chyrons such as 'Breaking News: Standing By for Trump to Speak.'... Zucker also brought on the air Trump surrogates who should have had no place on a national news network: ... Corey Lewandowski..., Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$: "Margaret Sullivan points out that Jeff Zucker played a crucial role ... in transforming Donald Trump from a washed up bit of cultural detritus from the least appetizing parts of 1980s celebrity culture into an utterly fake tycoon, who was given a media launching pad he would use to eventually destroy democracy in America[.]... The most perverse aspect of the infotainment world that [Paddy Chayefsky's film] Network foresaw and that we're living through now is that it destroys any sense in the public that running a government actually requires some real expertise...." Campos goes on to look at why people would vote for a complete incompetent like Trump, and Campos' take is interesting. Also, a short read.

News You Can Use. Maybe. Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "Amazon is raising the price of its Prime membership in the U.S. from $119 to $139 annually, the first time the company has boosted the price of its popular subscription service since 2018. The new prices will go into effect Feb. 18 for new members, and beginning after March 25 for people who already have a membership. The monthly cost will also jump, from $12.99 to $14.99."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A broad and bipartisan group of senators is coalescing around legislation to create a high-level independent commission, modeled after the one that examined the Sept. 11 attacks, with broad powers to investigate the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and the response across the Trump and Biden administrations. Under a plan proposed by the top Democrat and Republican on the Senate Health Committee -- Senators Patty Murray of Washington and Richard M. Burr of North Carolina -- a 12-member panel would have subpoena power to 'get a full accounting of what went wrong during this pandemic,' Ms. Murray said in an interview, and make recommendations for the future." MB: Let's have Sens. Ron Johnson & Rand Paul co-chair the commission.

Beyond the Beltway

Courts Likely to Undo Some GOP Gerrymandering. Ally Mutnick of Politico: "The redistricting wars are shifting into a new arena: the courtroom. Most states have finished their maps already, but state and federal courts will direct the drawing of some 75 congressional districts in at least seven states in the coming months, marking a new phase in the process before the first 2022 primaries begin. In the next few weeks alone, North Carolina, Ohio and Pennsylvania courts are likely to impose new maps blocking Republican legislators' attempts to relegate Democrats to small slivers of those congressional delegations.... So far, the decisions have validated the [Democratic] party's state-by-state legal strategy and, critically, offered a surprising reprieve from several Republican gerrymandering attempts before a single election could be held under the new lines."

Alabama. Noam Scheiber & Karen Weise of the New York Times: "On Friday, the National Labor Relations Board will mail out ballots to workers at [Amazon's Bessemer, Ala.,] warehouse in a so-called re-run election, which the agency ordered after finding that Amazon behaved improperly during the last campaign.... For this election, which runs through March 25, the labor movement is pulling few punches. Several national unions have collectively sent dozens of organizers to Bessemer to help rally workers. And organizers and workers have spent the past several months going door-to-door to build support for the union.... Turnover at Amazon is high -- over 150 percent a year even before a recent surge of quitting nationwide -- and could introduce uncertainty because it';s unclear how new workers will respond to arguments on either side."

Arizona. Andy Rose and Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "A Republican bill that would have overhauled elections in Arizona -- including giving the state legislature the power to reject election results -- proved to be too much even for state GOP leaders this week. Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, a Republican, quietly doomed House Bill 2596 on Tuesday with an unusual parliamentary maneuver. The speaker assigns all new bills to a committee for consideration before they can have full House votes, a choice that often has a great effect on a measure's chance of success. But on Tuesday, Bowers took the unprecedented step of ordering all 12 House committees to consider the elections bill, virtually ensuring it will never reach the floor. The bill's lead sponsor, Republican state Rep. John Fillmore, referred to the move as a '12-committee lynching' in an interview with CNN affiliate KPHO/KTVK." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Charming the way the sponsor of a bill designed to deprive minority voters of their rights describes the bill's defeat as a "lynching." Co-opting words designed to describe real atrocities is a GOP specialty.

Florida. Madison Czopek of Politifact: "After the Biden administration announced that the new bipartisan infrastructure law would provide $1.1 billion to protect and restore the Everglades in South Florida, Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., visited the region to celebrate the investment. '... [I] am proud that Senator Rubio and I were able to help secure an unprecedented $1 billion for Everglades restoration, the largest single amount ever allocated by the federal government.' But Scott didn't vote for the law that's funding the Everglades project. Neither did Sen. Marco Rubio, the Florida colleague he shared the credit with.... That makes Scott part of [a] growing political tradition: lawmakers claiming credit for things made possible by legislation they opposed." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead.

Maryland AG Race. Ovetta Wiggins of the Washington Post: "A former Anne Arundel County Council member who once had ties to the League of the South, an Alabama-based organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center has classified as a hate group, is running to become Maryland's next attorney general. Michael Anthony Peroutka, an attorney, served on the council from 2014 to 2018 and was elected chairman in his final year on the board. During his 2014 run, Peroutka said he opposed same-sex marriage, believes in creationism and favors the dismantling of public education, which he has called 'a plank in the Communist Manifesto.' At a League of the South conference in 2012, he sang 'Dixie,' calling it 'the national anthem.'" MB: Look for a Trump endorsement any day now.

New Jersey. Matt Friedman of Politico: "A Republican challenge to the new congressional district map has failed. The New Jersey Supreme Court on Thursday voted 5-0 to side with Democrats and dismiss a GOP lawsuit that asked the court to remand the map to the redistricting commission for further consideration and require the tie-breaker commissioner, former Supreme Court Justice John Wallace, to recuse himself. The state's highest court ruled that for all the Republicans' complaints about the process, the lawsuit did not challenge the map itself as unlawful or unconstitutional."

Texas Voting Restrictions Law Is "Already a Clusterfuck." Sam Levine of the Guardian: "Officials in Texas are rejecting thousands of mail-in ballots ahead of the first 2022 midterm primary votes next month, raising serious alarm that a new Republican law is going to disenfranchise droves of eligible voters. The state's 1 March primary is being closely watched as the first important test of one of the dozens of voting restrictions GOP-controlled state legislatures enacted in 2021. Last August, Texas Republicans passed a sweeping new voting law, SB 1, that imposes new identification requirements in the mail-in voting process, prohibits election officials from soliciting mail-in ballots, provides partisan poll watchers with more autonomy at the polls and outlaws 24-hour and curbside voting.... 'It's already a clusterfuck,' said Charlie Bonner, a spokesperson for Move Texas, a group that works on voter mobilization in Texas."

Way Beyond

China/Russia, etc.. Andrew Jeong & Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader Xi Jinping met Friday on the sidelines of the Beijing Winter Olympics in a show of solidarity amid a spiraling crisis over the Kremlin's military buildup around Ukraine that could further complicate the diplomatic standoff. In a rambling joint statement to mark the occasion, Moscow and Beijing espoused shared views on a range of geopolitical issues but avoided mentioning the crisis by name. Instead they expressed opposition to NATO enlargement and called out 'forces representing a minority on the world stage' who 'continue to advocate unilateral approaches to solving international problems.' Xi, who has not met another foreign leader in person in almost two years, said the two sides 'firmly support each other in safeguarding their core interests,' according to a summary of the meeting by the state news agency Xinhua." ~~~

     ~~~ An AP story is here. The New York Times has a liveblog of the meeting, & presumably, of reactions to it.

U.K. Bye-Bye Boris. Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "An exodus of senior officials from 10 Downing Street on Thursday deepened the crisis engulfing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, as he fought to hold on to power in the wake of a scandal over get-togethers that breached lockdown restrictions. Mr. Johnson's chief of staff, private secretary, communications chief, and head of policy all resigned, leaving the top of British government rudderless at a time when Mr. Johnson is struggling to avert a mutiny in the ranks of his Conservative Party. About a dozen party lawmakers have called publicly for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister. Some of the departures fulfilled Mr. Johnson's promise to overhaul the Downing Street operation, following the release of a government report on Monday that criticized the office for 'excessive' workplace drinking, citing 16 social gatherings.... But ... his policy chief, Munira Mirza..., sent the prime minister a sharply critical letter...." A related AP story is here; the headline describes Johnson as being in "a weakened position."

U.K. Danica Kirka of the AP: "The woman who became Queen Elizabeth II will mark 70 years on the throne Sunday, an unprecedented reign that has made her a symbol of stability as the United Kingdom navigated an age of uncertainty. From her early days as a glamorous young royal in glittering tiaras to her more recent incarnation as the nation's grandmother, the queen has witnessed the end of the British Empire, the advent of multiculturalism, the rise of international terrorism, and the challenges posed by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic. In a world of relentless change, she has been a constant -- representing the U.K.'s interests abroad, applauding the nation's successes and commiserating in its failures, and always remaining above the fray of politics." Includes a short history of her reign, with photos.

News Ledes

CNBC: "Payrolls rose far more than expected in January despite surging omicron cases that seemingly sent millions of workers to the sidelines, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 467,000 for the month, while the unemployment rate edged higher to 4%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Dow Jones estimate was for payroll growth of 150,000 and a 3.9% unemployment rate. The stunning gain came a week after the White House warned that the numbers could be low due to the pandemic."

New York Times: "A tenacious winter storm that has already canceled flights, closed schools and created slick roadways across the South and the Midwest was expected on Friday to dump snow, sleet and ice upon the Northeast. Heavy snow is projected in northern parts of New York and New England, with ice the primary concern farther south, said Rich Otto, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's prediction center." ~~~

~~~ Washington Post: "More than 300,000 customers from Texas to Pennsylvania were without power Thursday night as a major winter storm continued moving east across the United States, bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain to Midwest and eastern U.S. The National Weather Service warned of 'impossible' travel conditions, and local authorities urged drivers to stay off the roads."

The New York Times has live updates of the Winter Olympics here: "With seamless footwork and high-flying quadruple jumps, Nathan Chen, the gold medal favorite in figure skating's men's singles event, easily finished first on Friday in the men's short program of the team event, giving the U.S. team an edge to win an early medal at the Beijing Games." The Washington Post's liveblog is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times also is liveblogging the Olympics opening ceremonies.

Comments Off
Wednesday
Feb022022

February 3, 2022

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The United States has acquired intelligence about a Russian plan to fabricate a pretext for an invasion of Ukraine using a faked video that would build on recent disinformation campaigns, according to senior administration officials and others briefed on the material. The plan -- which the United States hopes to spoil by making public -- involves staging and filming a fabricated attack by the Ukrainian military either on Russian territory or against Russian-speaking people in eastern Ukraine."

**Remembering Zucker. Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: Jeff "Zucker's relationship with Donald Trump will define his legacy. Zucker, as much as any other person in the world, created and burnished the Trump persona -- first as a reality-TV star who morphed into a worldwide celebrity, then as a candidate for president who was given large amounts of free publicity.... Zucker created Trump the TV sensation, which was the necessary foundation for Trump the candidate.... CNN infamously took his campaign speeches live, sometimes going so far as to broadcast images of an empty lectern with embarrassing chyrons such as 'Breaking News: Standing By for Trump to Speak.'... Zucker also brought on the air Trump surrogates who should have had no place on a national news network: ... Corey Lewandowski..., Jeffrey Lord and Kayleigh McEnany...."

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The National Archives decided on Tuesday that it will turn over former Vice President Mike Pence's records to the House Select Committee early next month, after ... Donald Trump said he wanted to keep secret more than 100 documents. This is the first set of records related to Pence's office that the Archives has cleared for release after House investigators sought them and comes as top officials around Pence on January 6 testify to the panel."

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "In a body full of MAGA sycophants and Ivy League-educated senators spewing anti-elite rhetoric, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) manages to stand out. From his fist-pumping approval of the Jan. 6 mob to his whining that his canceled book deal amounts to censorship, Hawley has specialized in inflammatory stunts and victimhood to shove himself to the front of the line of wannabe MAGA cult leaders who seek to follow defeated ... Donald Trump. So no one can be surprised when Hawley adopts the talking points of Trump's favorite dictator, Russian President Vladimir Putin. As President Biden draws a tough stance against Putin's designs on Ukraine and deploys troops to our NATO allies, Hawley has taken Putin's side in the central dispute. Does Ukraine have a right to determine its alliance? Hawley's answer: Nyet!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Sarah Dadouch, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden said Thursday that a U.S. Special Operations forces counterterrorism mission overnight in northwestern Syria had killed the leader of the Islamic State militant group. The raid killed thirteen people, including children, local first responders said. No U.S. casualties were reported in the operation, which left a U.S. helicopter destroyed on the ground. In a statement Thursday, Biden said: 'Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place. Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi -- the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation.'... A U.S. official with knowledge of the situation said the civilian casualties were caused by a man in the targeted compound who detonated explosives, killing multiple women and children." ~~~

     ~~~ Ghaith Alsayed, et al., of the AP: "U.S. special forces landed in helicopters and assaulted a house in a rebel-held corner of Syria, clashing for two hours with gunmen, witnesses said. Residents described continuous gunfire and explosions that jolted the town of Atmeh near the Turkish border...." The New York Times is liveblogging developments.

Dan Lamothe, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden is dispatching additional U.S. military personnel to Eastern Europe at the recommendation of the Pentagon, and about 3,000 service members are expected to deploy in the coming days, U.S. officials said Wednesday. The deployments of U.S. troops from Germany and Fort Bragg, N.C., are temporary moves intended to reassure NATO allies, according to two U.S. officials in Washington who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... The moves reflect concerns that Russia is preparing to invade Ukraine, and other service members could also be ordered to go and remain on a heightened alert status, the officials said." An AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Republican senators are unmoved by Tucker Carlson's relentless warpath against support for Ukraine -- even as it widens an existing rift in their party. The Fox News prime time host and others on the far-right have excused and even rationalized Russia's aggression toward Ukraine and downplayed its relevance to U.S. national security. And while GOP senators are shrugging off his name-and-shame campaign, Carlson's views are permeating the GOP base in a way that could undermine Republicans' efforts to emphasize cross-party unity as they seek to deter a Russian invasion of Ukraine." (Also linked yesterday.) But it looks like Josh loves Tucker. ~~~

     ~~~ Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "The White House on Wednesday pushed back against Sen. Josh Hawley's suggestion that the United States would be worse off if Ukraine were admitted to NATO, accusing the Missouri Republican of 'parroting Russian talking points.' Ukraine is not a member of NATO, the military alliance of 30 mainly Western countries -- including the United States -- united by a mutual defense treaty. But as Russia once again threatens to invade Ukraine, NATO members have been sending troops and other reinforcements to the region, and the question of the country's potential admission to the alliance has risen to the forefront."

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "President Biden unveiled a plan on Wednesday to reduce the death rate from cancer by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years -- an ambitious new goal, he said, to 'supercharge' the cancer 'moonshot' program he initiated and presided over five years ago as vice president. Mr. Biden, joined by his wife, Jill Biden, and Vice President Kamala Harris, also announced a campaign to urge Americans to undergo screenings that were missed during the coronavirus pandemic. And he said he would create a new 'cancer cabinet' to center the fight against cancer inside the White House." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.)

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "The White House is formally tapping three outside advisers who are veterans of politics and communications to help shepherd President Biden's eventual Supreme Court pick through the Senate confirmation process. The new team is led by former senator Doug Jones (D-Ala.), whose selection as the Supreme Court nominee's guide was made public this week. The two others are Minyon Moore, political director in the Clinton White House who is tasked with mobilizing a nationwide constellation of outside groups to build support for Biden's nominee, and Ben LaBolt, who served as both campaign and White House spokesman for former president Barack Obama. LaBolt will be advising on communications and messaging."

Anna Phillips & Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration launched a last-minute push Wednesday to derail the U.S. Postal Service's plan to spend billions of dollars on a new fleet of gasoline-powered delivery trucks, citing the damage the polluting vehicles could inflict on the climate and Americans' health.... The EPA and the White House Council on Environmental Quality sent letters to the Postal Service on Wednesday that urge it to reconside plans to buy mostly gas-powered vehicles and conduct a new, more thorough technical analysis. The EPA also asked the Postal Service to hold a public hearing on its fleet modernization plans, a request the agency had rejected when California regulators made it Jan. 28.... Over the past week, environmentalists and California's top air quality regulator have called on the EPA to block the Postal Service from moving forward with what they described as a poorly thought-out purchase...." ~~~

~~~ Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Representative Gerald Connolly, the Virginia Democrat who leads the House subcommittee overseeing the United States Postal Service..., called on Wednesday for the resignation of Louis DeJoy, the postmaster general, saying he flouted President Biden's plan to electrify the federal fleet by placing a multibillion-dollar order for mostly gasoline-powered vehicles.... The order, for up to 165,000 trucks, would be the Postal Service's first large-scale vehicle purchase in three decades, according to a statement from Oshkosh Defense. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the White House Council on Environmental Quality wrote to Mr. DeJoy on Wednesday to say that the Postal Service had made the wrong decision to buy gasoline powered trucks based on a flawed environmental analysis.... Other Democrats said they wanted the board that oversees the post office to remove Mr. DeJoy.... The E.P.A. estimated the climate damages that would be caused by the new fleet at $900 million."

Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: A December 18, 2020 memo that circulated among Trump allies advocated that "Donald Trump should invoke the extraordinary powers of the National Security Agency and Defense Department to sift through raw electronic communications in an attempt to show that foreign powers had intervened in the 2020 election to help Joe Biden win. Proof of foreign interference would 'support next steps to defend the Constitution in a manner superior to current civilian-only judicial remedies.'... The previously unreported proposal, whose provenance remains murky, in some ways mirrors other radical ideas that extremists who denied Biden's victory were working to sell to Trump.... By law, the NSA cannot target a U.S. person's communications without a court order." The story goes on to describe a meeting at the Trump hotel, organized by MyPillow Guy Mike Lindell & attended by several Republican senators & some goofy "self-styled technical consultants and intelligence experts ... [who] laid out a variety of baseless conspiracy theories that included foreign powers such as China and Venezuela hacking voting machines...."

Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Fifteen days after Election Day in 2020, James R. Troupis, a lawyer for the Trump campaign in Wisconsin, received a memo setting out what became the rationale for an audacious strategy: to put in place alternate slates of electors in states where ... Donald J. Trump was trying to overturn his loss.... The memos show how just over two weeks after Election Day, Mr. Trump's campaign was seeking to buy itself more time to undo the results. At the heart of the strategy was the idea that their real deadline was not Dec. 14, when official electors would be chosen to reflect the outcome in each state, but Jan. 6, when Congress would meet to certify the results.... The plan to employ alternate electors was one of Mr. Trump's most expansive efforts to stave off defeat, beginning even before some states had finished counting ballots and culminating in the pressure placed on Mr. Pence...."

There's Witness Tampering & There's Witness Suppression. Tara Palmeri of Politico: "In the final days of his presidency, Donald Trump seriously considered issuing a blanket pardon for all participants in the Jan. 6 riot, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter. Between Jan. 6 and Joe Biden's inauguration on Jan. 20, Trump made three calls to one adviser to discuss the idea.... 'Is it everybody that had a Trump sign or everybody who walked into the Capitol' who could be pardoned? Trump asked, according to [another] adviser. 'He said, "Some people think I should pardon them." He thought if he could do it, these people would never have to testify or be deposed.'... Trump's consideration of preemptive pardons quickly hit a wall. It was unclear how he could pardon an entire class of people that hadn't been charged." Emphasis added. MB: IOW, Trump's "compassion & generosity" were once again merely means to ensure that none of the hundreds of co-conspirators & actors in the coup plot would testify against him.

Holmes Lybrand, et al., of CNN: "Former Department of Justice official Jeffrey Clark and his attorneys met with the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection for nearly two hours on Wednesday, two months after the panel voted to hold him in contempt for his lack of cooperation.... [Committee chair Bennie] Thompson [D-Miss.] said he had not gotten a readout of the proceedings and could not say if Clark plead the Fifth Amendment, as he had previously said he would.... Clark is key to the panel's investigation as he was one of the officials within the Justice Department pushing to pursue unfounded claims of voter fraud in the weeks after the 2020 election, and, according to officials who interacted with him was in touch with ... Donald Trump repeatedly."

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee has subpoenaed the phone records of Arizona GOP Chair Kelli Ward and her husband, Michael Ward, who both signed documents falsely claiming to be among their state's presidential electors in 2020.... T-Mobile indicated it would turn over the records by Feb. 4 unless the Wards filed suit.... The Wards filed suit Tuesday against the House panel in federal court in Arizona seeking to block the couple's phone provider, T-Mobile, from sharing their records with the committee. The lawsuit was initially assigned to U.S. District Court Judge Susan Brnovich -- the wife of Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, who is running for Senate and is an ally of ... Donald Trump -- but she quickly recused herself from the matter." MB: Kelli Ward was the driving force behind the Cyber Ninja's "fraudit" of Maricopa County 2020 ballots.

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Retired Army Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who served on the National Security Council and emerged as a star witness against ... Donald Trump during the 2019 Ukraine impeachment, is suing Donald Trump Jr., Rudy Giuliani and former Trump White House staffers, alleging they conspired against him. Vindman, in a new lawsuit filed in DC District Court, said Trump's family, his lawyers, right-wing media and others in the White House tried to intimidate and retaliate against him because he was willing to testify against the President, calling out Trump's entreaties of Ukraine for his personal political gain. He bluntly called the efforts to intimidate him obstruction. And the lawsuit, articulating over 73 pages Vindman's saga in Trump's first impeachment, aims to capture the plight whistleblowers face after standing up to a powerful political machine." (Also linked yesterday.)

Antonio Planas & Ron Allen of NBC News: "Six 'tech savvy' juveniles have been identified as persons of interest by the FBI in threats to historically Black colleges and universities that appear to be racially motivated. More than a dozen historically Black colleges and universities received bomb threats on Tuesday, the first day of Black History Month.... A law enforcement official ... says [the teens used] sophisticated methods to try to disguise the source of the threats, which appear to have a racist motivation."

Oh Dear. Zucker Rhymes with.... Michael Grynbaum & John Koblin of the New York Times: "Jeff Zucker resigned on Wednesday as the president of CNN and the chairman of WarnerMedia's news and sports division, writing in a memo that he had failed to disclose to the company a romantic relationship with another senior executive at CNN.... The abrupt end of his nine-year tenure immediately throws into flux the direction of CNN and its parent company, WarnerMedia, which is expected to be acquired later this year by Discovery Inc. in one of the nation's largest media mergers. In a memo to colleagues that was obtained by The New York Times, Mr. Zucker wrote that his relationship came up during a network investigation into the conduct of Chris Cuomo.... [Mr. Zucker had a relationship with] Allison Gollust..., one of the highest-ranking leaders of the network.... Ms. Gollust said in a statement on Wednesday that she was remaining in her role at CNN." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report, by Brian Stelter & Oliver Darcy, is here. MB: I don't think Zucker really had to resign. Gollust would have been required to reveal the relationship, too. She didn't, and she's staying. Neither was married & they had worked together for years prior to beginning their relationship, so the so there's no fake "scandal." It all seems perfectly natural to me. Seems to me Zucker is using his failure to report the affair when it began as an excuse to "explore other opportunities." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Dominic Patten & Ted Johnson of Deadline: "... the relationship itself is not what triggered WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar's call to Zucker in recent days informing him that he had to exit or face termination, we've learned. Rather, it was Zucker's failure to disclose the relationship, in violation of WarnerMedia policy. Mere days afte Kilar was informed of Zucker's omissions by outside lawyers probing the now-fired Chris Cuomo's stint at CNN, the exec called Zucker and told him, 'You can't remain here.'... Discovery's largest shareholder, John Malone, a critic of CNN, made it known that corporate procedures had to be followed to the letter in regards to Zucker, we hear. Being that WarnerMedia's standards of business conduct require disclosure of relationships that develop with a boss and subordinate, Zucker's goose was officially cooked." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, I was wrong. This was other men's excuse for getting rid of Zucker.

Lachlan Markay of Axios: "Some big-name 2022 [Republican] candidates are cutting checks to high-profile backers who endorsed their campaigns, records show.... Key endorsements are a known boon to campaigns battling for support, especially among ideologically committed primary voters. The payments raise the specter of a quid pro quo." MB: It would be a surprise if Donald Trump wasn't getting in on this "paid endorsement" racket.

Groundhog Day News. As previously reported in yesterday's Comments, Amanda Watts of CNN also reports, "Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Wednesday, meaning that if you believe in a groundhog's ability to predict the weather -- we're in for six more weeks of winter." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here.

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The Army said Wednesday it will immediately begin discharging soldiers who have refused to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine, putting more than 3,300 service members at risk of being thrown out soon. The Army's announcement makes it the final military service to lay out its discharge policy for vaccine refusers. The Marine Corps, Air Force and Navy have already discharged active-duty troops or entry-level personnel at boot camps for refusing the shots. So far, the Army has not discharged any."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Michael Wilson of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, 12 days after he was trapped in a bullet-fueled attack in a Harlem hallway..., [NYPD] officer Wilbert D. Mora, who at 27 impressed his seniors with his diligence and quiet manner in just three years on the job, was laid to rest before thousands at a funeral under the soaring arches of St. Patrick's Cathedral."

New York. Benjamin Weiser & Troy Closson of the New York Times: "A Brooklyn man was charged on Wednesday with selling a deadly dose of fentanyl-laced heroin to the actor Michael K. Williams, who was best known for his portrayal of the gay stickup man Omar Little in the television series 'The Wire.' The man who was charged, Irvin Cartagena, and three others were accused of being part of a drug-trafficking crew that continued to sell the drug even after knowing it had killed Mr. Williams -- operating in broad daylight amid apartment buildings in Brooklyn and Manhattan, according to a criminal complaint. The sale of the fatal dose to Mr. Williams in a hand-to-hand transaction in Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood on Sept. 5, 2021, was captured on security video, the authorities said.... The other men charged along with Mr. Cartagena, 39, were Hector Robles, 57; Luis Cruz, 56; and Carlos Macci, 70. All are from Brooklyn, the government says."

Texas. A Conspiracy of Butterflies. Sharon Pruitt-Young of NPR: "The National Butterfly Center in Mission, Texas, has announced that it's closing its doors 'for the immediate future' after ongoing harassment directed at employees and the center itself. The center, a nonprofit nature reserve nestled near the U.S.-Mexico border, unwittingly became the subject of conservative conspiracy theories and political conflict in recent years, having been locked in a years-long legal battle with the Trump administration and We Build the Wall regarding a planned border wall.... The National Butterfly Center filed a lawsuit in 2017 after the Trump administration allegedly began construction of a wall, using chainsaws to destroy trees and other plant life, on center-owned property without permission." ~~~

     ~~~ Sneha Day of the Texas Tribune: "The National Butterfly Center, along the U.S.-Mexico border in Mission, has long been the target of QAnon conspiracy theories falsely tying the organization to human trafficking. The center is a 20-year-old nature conservatory for wild butterflies. There are no law enforcement investigations into the organization or its staff for human trafficking.... In 2019, Brian Kolfage, a supporter of ... Donald Trump, tweeted out false rumors accusing Treviño-Wright of human trafficking. The National Butterfly Center responded by suing Kolfage and his organization, We Build the Wall, for defamation and disparagement in state court. Kolfage and others were indicted in 2020 over allegedly redirecting funds from We Build the Wall to personal expenses.... The harassment escalated in late January when a right-wing congressional candidate from Virginia, Kimberly Lowe, visited the nature conservatory, [center director Marianna] Treviño-Wright said. Lowe demanded the center give her access to the river 'to see all the illegals crossing on the raft.' Treviño-Wright said Lowe tackled her when she asked Lowe to leave the premises."

Washington State, etc. Mike Baker of the New York Times: "Among the thousands of mail-in ballots that were rejected in Washington State during the 2020 election, auditors have found that the votes of Black residents were thrown out four times as often as those of white voters. The rejections, all of them because of problematic signatures, disqualified one out of every 40 mail-in votes from Black people -- a finding that already is causing concern amid the national debate over voter access and secure balloting. Washington, a state with broad experience in mail-in balloting, found that rejection rates were also elevated for Native American, Hispanic, and Asian and Pacific Islander voters.... The findings in Washington State mirror mail-ballot research that has been conducted in other states in recent years, including Georgia and Florida."

Way Beyond

Canada. Amanda Coletta & Annabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "Ottawa police said Wednesday that a 'significant element' from the United States has been involved in the participation, funding and organization of a self-described 'Freedom Convoy' that has for several days jammed streets in the capital to protest public health measures and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 'They have converged in our city, and there are plans for more to come,' said Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly. He said that the participants, who also include locals and other Canadians, are 'putting our city and our residents, our partners and our officers at great risk.'... Some protesters carried Confederate flags, and at least one flag with a swastika drawn on it could be seen.... Meanwhile, media reported that there had been a breakthrough in a blockade of a busy U.S.-Canada border crossing in southern Alberta, with protesters agreeing to open up one lane of traffic in each direction, citing lawyers working with the group." MB: This takes the bad behavior of American tourists abroad to a whole 'nother level. Congrats, confederate Nazis.

~~~ Netherlands. The Dutchman Definitely Would Not Recognize Rotterdam Now. Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "Rotterdam has agreed to temporarily dismantle part of its historic Koningshaven Bridge so that Jeff Bezos's 417-foot-long, three-mast yacht can pass through the waterway sometime this summer, according to a spokeswoman for the city. The Dutch company Oceano has been building the massive vessel for an estimated $500 million in the nearby city of Alblasserdam. Once completed this year, the ship, known as Y721, will be the world's largest sailing yacht, according to Boat International. But to reach the open seas it must first pass through Rotterdam -- considered the maritime capital of Europe -- and the city's historic steel bridge, locally known as De Hef, which has a clearance of just over 131 feet.... It was decommissioned in 1994 after being replaced by a tunnel, but later declared a national monument. The bridge underwent a major restoration from 2014 to 2017, after which the city said it would not be dismantled again, according to the Dutch broadcaster Rijnmond.... Oceano and Bezos will pay to dismantle the bridge, Rijnmond reported."

News Ledes

Market Watch: “New requests for U.S. unemployment benefits fell for the second week in a row to 238,000, as the record omicron wave receded and more people were able to go back to work. Initial jobless claims declined by 23,000 from a revised 261,000 in the prior week, the Labor Department said Thursday."

Washington Post: Tens of thousands of customers in Texas were without power Thursday morning as a major winter storm continued moving east across the United States, bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain to Midwestern and Southern states. Nearly 53,000 power outages were reported in Texas early Thursday, along with about 15,000 in Arkansas, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages nationwide." ~~~

~~~ CNN: "A triple whammy of sleet, snow and ice has bombarded more than 2,000 miles in the eastern US -- and many are now stuck in the storm with no electricity. More than 100 million people in 25 states stretching from the Mexican to Canadian borders were under winter weather alerts Thursday, CNN meteorologist Monica Garrett said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating storm developments here.

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