The Commentariat -- August 4, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Spencer Hsu of the Washngton Post: "Attorneys for Donald Trump on Wednesday blasted a Justice Department ruling that directed the Treasury Department to turn over his tax returns to Congress, formally asking a court to block their release and arguing that records of former presidents as well as presidents should be similarly protected from subpoenas by lawmakers. Trump lawyers called last week's decision by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel the latest effort at partisan retaliation against him by Democrats, and denied that the House Ways and Means Committee sought six years of his tax returns out of a legitimate interest in closing tax loopholes exploited by wealthy Americans."

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

Dana Hedgpeth, et al., of the Washington Post: "Authorities have identified the assailant who killed a police officer Tuesday morning in an attack at the bus platform outside the Pentagon as a Georgia man who had briefly enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps. A law enforcement official speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss details of the ongoing investigation and the Associated Press identified him as Austin William Lanz, 27. Officials at the Pentagon Force Protection Agency identified the slain police officer as George Gonzalez, 37. He had been promoted twice and attained the rank of senior officer in 2020. Officials said Gonzalez had served previously with the U.S. Army and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal for his service in Iraq." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been substantially updated, with a new lead reporter, Justin Jouvenal: "... a Georgia man stepped off a bus outside the Pentagon Tuesday, stabbed a police officer and struggled with him, the FBI said. During the melee, Austin Lanz shot Pentagon officer George Gonzalez with the officer's service weapon, before turning the gun on himself, the FBI said. Other Pentagon officers engaged Lanz and he was killed. The officer later died. The account released Wednesday was the first detailed description of the encounter, which prompted a lockdown of the Pentagon and drew a massive response from police and fire agencies. Officials said a bystander was injured. The FBI statement did not shed light on what prompted the horrific attack and the agency said the investigation into the incident was ongoing, but Lanz had been ordered for a mental health evaluation by a judge in Georgia and had acted violently and erratically in recent months, court and police records show."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday advanced legislation to repeal decades-old authorizations for U.S. military missions in the Middle East, a first-time step in a larger effort in Congress to reclaim lawmakers' war powers from the executive branch. A bipartisan majority of the panel voted 14 to 8 in favor of repealing authorizations Congress passed in 1991 and 2002 to approve of hostilities against Saddam Hussein's erstwhile regime, first to push Iraqi troops out of Kuwait and later to depose him. That legislative coalition all but guarantees that when the measure comes to the Senate floor --- which Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) has promised will happen this year -- it will pass."

Reese Oxner of the Texas Tribune: "A federal judge on Tuesday blocked Gov. Greg Abbott and the state of Texas from ordering state troopers to pull over drivers transporting migrants 'who pose a risk of carrying COVID-19.' U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone granted a temporary restraining order against Abbott's move, meaning it will be blocked while the case continues to unfold. The U.S. Justice Department sued Abbott and Texas on Friday, a day after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland threatened to take legal action if Abbott didn't rescind his order, calling it 'dangerous and unlawful.'"

Jade Jackson of KTHV Little Rock: "Governor Asa Hutchinson [R-Ark.] on Tuesday expressed regret for signing Act 1002 into Arkansas law. The new law bans the state and local officials from enacting any mask mandates. During a press conference, Hutchinson answered questions about why he signed the proposal into law. He said that when he initially approved it a few months ago, both COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations were at a 'low point' in Arkansas and were declining. Now as the delta variant is causing a new wave in the state along with low vaccination rates, Hutchinson said that in hindsight he wishes that Act 1002 had not become law.... Hutchinson expressed his support for an amendment to the mask mandate ban to allow for school districts to enact mask wearing rules."

Karen DeWitt of WAMC Radio Albany: "The New York State Assembly Judiciary Committee held its first meeting of an impeachment inquiry into Governor Andrew Cuomo Tuesday, over allegations that he sexually harassed several women, as well as other controversies. But the chair of the committee, Democrat Charles Lavine, says it could be quite a while before it reaches any conclusions.... Lavine laid out the scope of the investigation, which will include charges by multiple women of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior by the governor, and whether Cuomo and his aides covered up nursing home COVID death numbers and safety concerns over the Thruway's Mario M. Cuomo bridge."

Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "The district attorneys for Manhattan and Westchester County asked New York Attorney General Letitia James on Wednesday for evidence related to her office's bombshell report accusing Gov. Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Westchester DA Mimi Rocah, in a letter obtained by NBC News, told James she plans to conduct an inquiry into whether the alleged sexual misconduct by Cuomo that occurred in her jurisdiction was 'criminal in nature.' A spokesperson for Manhattan DA Cyrus Vance Jr. told NBC later Wednesday that, 'When our office learned yesterday that the Attorney General's investigation of the Governor's conduct was complete, our office contacted the Attorney General's Office to begin requesting investigative materials in their possession pertaining to incidents that occurred in Manhattan.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: MSNBC reports on-air that the Nassau County (Long Island) D.A. also is requesting documents.

** The Coup. Philip Bump of the Washington Post puts together the pieces of Trump's plot to overthrow the election: "In recent months..., we've learned that Trump's most direct effort to steal the election unfolded ... over the last few days of 2020. On Tuesday, ABC News published a letter circulated by the then-acting head of the Department of Justice's civil rights division, a man named Jeffery Clark.... [ABC News story linked below.] [Clark's letter] was ... a road map to overthrowing the will of voters. The amount of detail given to the mechanism for handing the electors to Trump was matched by the dearth of specificity about the alleged 'irregularities' in the state.... [Richard] Donoghue's lengthy response, one likely written with an eye toward it eventually being read by external eyes..., made all of the points you might expect. The purported 'irregularities amounted to nothing more than a few ticky-tack questions about individual votes.... 'I do not think the Department's role should include making recommendations to a State legislature about how they should meet their Constitutional obligation to appoint Electors.' In other words: it is not DOJ's place to tell states how to overturn election results.... Clark's letter was almost certainly not something that occurred independently of Trump.... [Clark was] talking to Trump directly." Worth reading it all.

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "In early January 2021, one top Justice Department official was so concerned that ... Donald Trump might fire his acting attorney general that he drafted an email announcing he and a second top official would resign in response. The official, Patrick Hovakimian, prepared the email announcing his own resignation and that of the department's second-in-command, Richard Donoghue, as Trump considered axing acting attorney general Jeff Rosen. At the time, Hovakimian was an associate deputy attorney general and a senior adviser to Rosen. But Trump didn't fire Rosen, and Hovakimian's draft email -- a copy of which was obtained by Politico -- remained unsent.... 'This evening, after Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen over the course of the last week repeatedly refused the President's direct instructions to utilize the Department of Justice's law enforcement powers for improper ends, the President removed Jeff from the Department,' Hovakimian wrote in his never-sent email. 'PADAG Rich Donoghue and I resign from the Department, effective immediately.'"

Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) is suing NBCUniversal for defamation, citing comments made by MSNBC host Rachel Maddow in March regarding his dealings with an individual sanctioned by the U.S. government. The lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Texas alleges that Maddow and the network 'harbor an institutional hostility, hatred, extreme bias, spite and ill-will' toward Nunes. The congressman's lawyers argue that Maddow's criticisms of Nunes are based on his 'emergence as the most prominent skeptic in Congress of Maddow's marquee news narrative from 2017 to 2019: that the Trump campaign colluded with Russians to hack the 2016 presidential elections.'" MB: Maybe Rachel should have a drink with Devin Nunes' Cow & the two can discuss how sorry they are for making fun of Devin.

Eduardo Castillo of the AP: "The Mexican government sued United States gun manufacturers and distributors Wednesday in U.S. federal court, arguing that their negligent and illegal commercial practices have unleashed tremendous bloodshed in Mexico. The unusual lawsuit was filed in U.S. federal court in Boston. Among those being sued are some of the biggest names in guns, including: Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc.; Barrett Firearms Manufacturing, Inc.; Beretta U.S.A. Corp.; Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC, and Glock Inc. Another defendant is Interstate Arms, a Boston-area wholesaler that sells guns from all but one of the named manufacturers to dealers around the U.S." The Washington Post's story is here.

David Gilbert of Vice: "Facebook has made good on its threat to kick out a group of researchers who've been among the platform's biggest critics. The Cybersecurity for Democracy project at New York University has revealed major flaws in Facebook political ad transparency tools and highlighted how Facebook's algorithms were amplifying misinformation. Most recently, it helped track vaccine disinformation.... Despite the obvious benefits of the work being done by these researchers, on Tuesday evening, the company cut the cord. 'This evening, Facebook suspended my Facebook account and the accounts of several people associated with Cybersecurity for Democracy, our team at NYU,' Laura Edelson, one of the researchers at NYU, tweeted.... Edelson's colleague Damon McCoy called Facebook's decision 'disgraceful' at a time when the disinformation around COVID-19 and vaccines is literally costing lives."

The New York Times' live Olympics games updates Wednesday are here.

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David Edwards of the Raw Story: "White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki responded to Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy on Tuesday by taking a shot at ... Donald Trump's administration. During a press briefing, Doocy asked multiple questions about the breaking news regarding sexual harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY). [Finally, he asked,] 'Does the administration want the Justice Department to initiate a civil rights investigation into these harassment allegations revealed today?'... Psaki replied: 'We do something new here that feels foreign from the last four years and allow the Justice Department to act independently on investigations.'"

John Ismay of the New York Times: "An attack on a Pentagon police officer at the building's Metro entrance on Tuesday morning left two people dead, an officer and one other person, according to a law enforcement official briefed on the matter.... The [Pentagon's police] force provides security at the complex, which was locked down for about 75 minutes after the shooting." ~~~

     ~~~ Justin Jouvenal, et al., of the Washington Post: "The officer's apparent assailant also was killed in the encounter, according to two law enforcement officials.... The officials said there was nothing to indicate terrorism was a motive. But the circumstances of what transpired remained murky.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin issued condolences in a statement after the agency's announcement. He ordered flags at the Pentagon to half-staff to honor the officer." CNN's story is here.

Luke Broadwater & Shaila Dewan of the New York Times: "Congress moved on Tuesday to honor police officers who responded to the Capitol attack, clearing a bill to give them the Congressional Gold Medal just days after word emerged that two more officers who were there on Jan. 6 had taken their own lives. The unanimous vote of the Senate, which cleared the bill for President Biden, came after back-to-back announcements from District of Columbia police officials this week about the suicides of two of the force's officers who were at the Capitol on the day of the riot, bringing to four the known number of officers who have killed themselves in its aftermath."

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Donald Trump's legal team signaled Monday that it will not immediately try to block testimony from former Justice Department officials who have been called before Congress, potentially clearing a roadblock from multiple investigations touching on the former president's tenure. In a letter to one of six Trump-era DOJ officials whose cooperation is being sought in congressional oversight efforts, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), a member of Trump's legal team, suggested that it would not try to block testimony by those six. The letter's unusual verbiage makes Trump's position slightly opaque, but Collins also indicated that the former president's team would try to contest all attempts to secure testimony from ex-DOJ officials if Congress sought cooperation from more than those six." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Katherine Faulders & Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "Top members of the Department of Justice last year rebuffed another DOJ official who asked them to urge officials in Georgia to investigate and perhaps overturn President Joe Biden's victory in the state.... The emails, dated Dec. 28, 2020, show the former acting head of DOJ's civil division, Jeffrey Clark, circulating a draft letter -- which he wanted then-acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen and acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue to sign off on -- urging Georgia's governor and other top officials to convene the state legislature into a special session so lawmakers could investigate claims of voter fraud. 'The Department of Justice is investigating various irregularities in the 2020 election for President of the United States,' the draft letter said. '... at this time we have identified significant concerns that may have impacted the outcome of the election in multiple States, including the State of Georgia.'... Clark attached the draft letter in an email to Rosen and Donoghue telling them 'I think we should get it out as soon as possible.'... In the days after the exchange..., both Rosen and Donoghue thwarted an attempt by Clark to have Trump appoint him acting attorney general." Includes the full letter. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Clark pulled this stunt the day after Trump told Rosen & Donoghue they should issue a statement that the election was "corrupt" and "leave the rest" to him & Congressional Republicans. IOW, the proposed letter is part & parcel of the same scheme to have the DOJ falsely challenge the integrity of the election as a pretext for "R. Congressmen" to throw out the Electoral College results & leave the election to the House to decide. Under the Constitution, each state would have a single vote, and since Republicans control more state House delegations than do Democrats, presumably Trump would have "won." The plot had a chance of succeeding.

Meredith McGraw of Politico: "... having whipped his supporters into a frenzy with pledges to overturn the election and promises to support Republican candidates in the midterms, [Donald Trump] is not spending his campaign money on either. A review of election filings from Make America Great Again PAC, Save America PAC, and the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee show that not a single penny was transferred or contributed from those Trump-affiliated entities to GOP candidates or committees involved in the midterm elections. Nor did Trump's various groups write a check to support the audit in Arizona.... He used some of his funds on things like salaries for aides and political advisers, as well as events, travel expenses and fundraising outreach.... He also spent more than $8 million in legal fees paid to various firms and attorneys to advance his attempts to change the results of the 2020 election and defend himself in a second impeachment trial. The one expenditure Trump did make to an outside group was to one in his own orbit: a $1 million contribution to America First Policy Institute, the think tank a handful of his former aides launched when he lost the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The party plans had been months in the making and many invitees had already arrived on Martha's Vineyard when former President Barack Obama belatedly announced he was canceling his huge 60th birthday bash scheduled for Saturday. 'Due to the new spread of the Delta variant over the past week, the President and Mrs. Obama have decided to significantly scale back the event to include only family and close friends,' Hannah Hankins, a spokeswoman for the former president, said in a statement Wednesday morning.... Hundreds of former Obama administration officials, celebrities and Democratic donors had been planning to attend the party at Mr. Obama's island mansion."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Understanding Tucker. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Tucker Carlson's "surreal forays into conspiracy-mongering ... are simply tactics meant to drag his audience into his universe, where he can stoke their frustrations about his true passion: the purported threat posed by immigrants polluting the United States.... To hear Carlson tell it, the country is imperiled by immigration at an existential level, at risk of seeing its essence diluted, and increased procreation by Americans is less a good in and of itself than as a bulwark against change. He frames this -- in the same way that many white nationalists do -- as a broad battle between Western civilization and outsider hordes encouraged by a cabal of elites who are eager to see traditional values collapse.... This week, Carlson is broadcasting from Hungary. In his broadcast on Monday, he praised the increasingly illiberal country for its success on the metrics Carlson cares about.... Carlson's framing of [Hungary's prime minister Viktor] Orban is uniformly positive and almost entirely centered on his pro-native-Hungarian policies. He even readily echoes Orban's framing."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Tuesday denounced Republican officials who have blocked efforts to mandate vaccines, as he encouraged cities and states to require that individuals show proof of vaccination to visit restaurants and other public spaces. In a notable toughening of his message, the president called out Republican governors who have banned businesses and universities from requiring vaccines or defied masking guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 'I say to these governors: Please help. But if you aren't going to help, at least get out of the way,' Biden said. 'The people are trying to do the right thing. Use your power to save lives.' When asked specifically about Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas, Biden said that 'their decisions are not good for their constituents.' DeSantis signed an executive order last week that prohibits schools from requiring masks, and Abbott signed an order that bans local governments and state agencies from mandating vaccines." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The sound isn't very good on any of the videos available. This one, produced by the White House, appears to be the best.

Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration announced a temporary ban on evictions across most of the country on Tuesday, a move that bent to intense pressure from liberal House Democrats but that President Biden acknowledged may not prove constitutional. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a moratorium on evictions for 60 days for U.S. counties with 'substantial and high levels of community transmission' of the coronavirus, according to an agency news release. About 90 percent of the country will be covered by the ban as the virus's delta variant spreads quickly throughout the country, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement. The 19-page order lists criminal penalties including fines and jail time if someone is found to have violated the eviction moratorium. The Biden administration had previously said it had no legal authority to extend a separate national eviction moratorium that lapsed over the weekend." ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Wu, et al., of Politico: Rep. "Cori Bush [D-Mo.] ... has led a one-woman protest on the Capitol steps over the last several days that forced the eviction crisis to the top of the nation's agenda even after the House left town without taking action on the issue. Under intense pressure from the left, President Joe Biden on Tuesday afternoon announced a short-term fix to prevent millions of families from losing their homes despite questioning the constitutionality of doing so.... 'This is why this happened. Being unapologetic. Being unafraid to stand up,' Bush told reporters as Biden made his announcement Tuesday after she'd spent several days sleeping, mostly sitting up, on the building's steps.... As Bush continued her protest through Tuesday, she got a boost from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who was pushing Biden privately.... After the Capitol sit-in by Bush, who has experienced homelessness after eviction, millions of Americans will see at least a temporary reprieve from the same threat."

Nick Miroff & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration is preparing to begin offering coronavirus vaccine to migrants in U.S. custody along the Mexico border, where illegal crossings are at their highest levels in over two decades and health officials are struggling with soaring numbers of infections, according to two Department of Homeland Security officials with knowledge of the plan. Until now, only a limited number of migrants have received vaccine while held in longer-term U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention facilities. Under the broad outlines of the new plan, DHS would vaccinate migrants soon after they cross into the United States as they await processing by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Vaccine would be provided to those facing deportation as well as migrants likely to be released into the United States pending a court hearing, said one of the two officials...."

Sharon LaFraniere & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "... the Food and Drug Administration has accelerated its timetable to fully approve Pfizer-BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine, aiming to complete the process by the start of next month, people familiar with the effort said.... The F.D.A.'s unofficial deadline is Labor Day or sooner, according to multiple people.... Giving final approval to the Pfizer vaccine -- rather than relying on the emergency authorization granted late last year by the F.D.A. -- could help increase inoculation rates at a moment when the highly transmissible Delta variant of the virus is sharply driving up the number of new cases. A number of universities and hospitals, the Defense Department and at least one major city, San Francisco, are expected to mandate inoculation once a vaccine is fully approved. Final approval could also help mute misinformation about the safety of vaccines and clarify legal issues about mandates."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday morning that New York City will require proof of vaccination for people participating in indoor activities, including at restaurants, gyms and performances, his latest attempt to spur more vaccinations. The mandate also applies to workers at those places. The policy is similar to mandates issued in France and Italy last month and is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States has shipped more than 110 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to over 60 countries across the world, the White House said in a statement Tuesday, calling it a 'major milestone.' 'The United States will be an arsenal of vaccines for the world and is acting with the same urgency to combat the virus abroad as here at home,' the statement said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Alex Azar, in a New York Times op-ed, finally makes himself useful: "I know the [Covid-19] vaccines' features intimately because as secretary of Health and Human Services, I oversaw their development, testing, approval and distribution from April of 2020 until January of this year.... Any claims that the vaccines are unsafe or ineffective, or that corners were cut are not true.... The vaccines [developed during Operation Warp Speed] produced remarkable protection against Covid-19 and were extremely safe.... We did not predict the politicization of vaccines that has led so many Republicans to hold back.... I'm glad former President Trump got vaccinated, but it would have been even better for him to have done so on national television so that his supporters could see how much trust and confidence he has in what is arguably one of his greatest accomplishments." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Azar goes on to ask President Biden to show some "political graciousness" and "acknowledge the historic achievement of the Trump administration in expediting these vaccines." Really, Alex? Show graciousness to the least gracious person in American political history? To the person who tried to frame Biden & then to steal the election from him? Who continues to disparage & lie about Biden? I don't think so. (BTW, if you think "turning the other cheek" should apply here, let me remind you that the whole idea of turning the other cheek was to shame the person who slapped you. Donald Trump cannot be shamed.)

Margaret Talev of Axios: "Americans place the most blame for rising COVID-19 cases and the spread of new variants on the unvaccinated, people from other nations traveling to the U.S. and Donald Trump, according to the latest installment of the Axios/Ipsos Coronavirus Index.... The findings expose a surreal gap between the views of the vaccinated and the unvaccinated, showing how tough getting to herd immunity could be -- and providing new evidence that mandates could make a difference.... The unvaccinated cited as their top five targets of blame people from other countries traveling to the U.S. (37%), mainstream media (27%) Americans traveling internationally (23%), Biden (21%) and the unvaccinated (10%)."

Florida. "Freedom"'s Just Another Word for "White Privilege." Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... Florida is in the grip of a Covid surge worse than it experienced before the vaccines.... At every stage of the pandemic [Gov. Ron] DeSantis has effectively acted as an ally of the coronavirus, for example by issuing orders blocking businesses from requiring that their patrons show proof of vaccination and schools from requiring masks. More generally, he has helped create a state of mind in which vaccine skepticism flourishes and refusal to take precautions is normalized.... Above all, he has been playing the liberal-conspiracy-theory card, with fund-raising letters declaring that the 'radical left' is 'coming for your freedom.'... When people on the right talk about 'freedom' what they actually mean is closer to 'defense of privilege' -- specifically the right of certain people (generally white male Christians) to do whatever they want.... As you watch DeSantis invoke 'freedom' to escape responsibility for his Covid catastrophe, remember, when he says it, that word does not mean what you think it means." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Tori Powell of CBS News: "Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Tuesday that his state will not shut down again despite a record-breaking influx of COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, making the Sunshine State the nation's new virus epicenter.... 'These interventions have failed time and time again throughout this pandemic, not just in the United States but abroad. They have not stopped the spread. And particularly with Delta, which is even more transmissible, if it didn't stop it before, it definitely ain't going to stop it now.' DeSantis said Tuesday that 'the media fixates on cases,' while perpetuating 'hysteria' and 'fear-mongering.' 'Our hospitals are open for business,' he said. But over the past month, several major hospitals have postponed elective surgeries in the state to accommodate growing COVID-related hospitalizations."

Missouri. How to "Disappear" Covid Deaths. Jake Kincaid & Derek Kravitz of the Kansas City Star & Cameron Barnard of the Brown Institute for Media Innovation, in the Star: "Macon County Coroner Brian Hayes handles the death certificates [for the county].... And in some cases, it has meant excluding COVID-19 from death certificates." Hayes omitted Covid-19 on at least half a dozen death certificates where another cause of death, like pneumonia, could be substituted.

Beyond the Beltway

** New York. Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees, creating a hostile work environment for women in violation of state and federal law, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday. James released the results of a months-long investigation and interviews with 179 individuals, including women who accused the governor of misconduct, Cuomo himself and a coterie of his top advisers.... The 165-page report laid out a devastating portrait of behavior by the Democratic governor, substantiating an allegation that Cuomo embraced an executive assistant and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. Investigators said witnesses also described an environment in the governor's office that was abusive and vindictive, in which one of the women who came forward was targeted for retaliation through the release of her personnel file. In all, the investigation found that Cuomo harassed 11 women, including a state trooper whom the governor arranged to be put on his detail." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times report, in the form of live updates, is here. Politico's report is here. Marie: This was a civil investigation, and neither the independent investigators nor the Attorney General were charged with contemplating or bringing criminal charges. During the press conference, one of the lead investigators, Anne Clark, said that one woman had filed a complaint with the Albany district attorney. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Matt Flegenheimer of the New York Times: The AG's report "is at once the fullest accounting yet of his executive misdeeds and a meticulous rendering of how that conduct was permitted to fester in the first place. To exist as a woman in Mr. Cuomo's orbit, the report suggested, was to live 'the dichotomy between fear and flirtation,' a space where the boss could toggle between intimate and intimidating and where his senior-most aides seemed to operate with a singular focus on the governor's reputation and personal comfort. In fact, the report says, as Mr. Cuomo sexually harassed women inside and outside his government, greater pains were taken to protect him from himself.... The composition of his circle, in the report's telling, was likewise intended to minimize exposure for Mr. Cuomo and accentuate a culture of fear around confronting him, with access granted chiefly to those with 'a proven, personal loyalty.'" ~~~

~~~ Update. Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is under criminal investigation, the Albany County district attorney said Tuesday.... Shortly after the [New York Attorney General's] report was released, [David] Soares [-- the Albany County D.A. --] issued a statement saying that his office was conducting an investigation into Mr. Cuomo's behavior and that it would be requesting investigative materials that the attorney general's office had obtained. Mr. Soares encouraged other victims to come forward to aid in the inquiry. It was not immediately clear when Mr. Soares had opened his investigation or exactly which behavior he was looking into." ~~~

~~~ President Biden says Gov. Cuomo should resign:

~~~ Jordan Williams of the Hill: "The entire Democratic congressional delegation of New York has called on Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign after an independent investigation by the state attorney general's office found he had sexually harassed multiple women. House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and Reps. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) and Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) issued a statement Tuesday, saying 'the time is right' for Cuomo to resign after an investigation found that he sexually harassed multiple women.... Most of the 19 Congressional Democrats previously called for Cuomo to resign in in March. At the time, Jeffries, Meeks, and Suozzi were the only three New York House Democrats who did not. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.) also called for Cuomo to resign at the time." ~~~

~~~ Michael Sisak & Marina Villeneuve of the AP: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faced mounting pressure Tuesday to resign, including from ... [House Speaker Nancy Pelosi] and other onetime Democratic allies.... The leader of the state Assembly, which has the power to bring impeachment charges, said it was clear Cuomo could no longer remain in office. Speaker Carl Heastie, a Democrat, said he would move to complete an impeachment inquiry 'as quickly as possible.' Cuomo remained defiant, saying in a taped response to the findings that 'the facts are much different than what has been portrayed' and that he 'never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.'" ~~~

~~~ Right Out of the Old Liars & Bullies' Playbook. Maeve Sheehy of Politico: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday denied the findings of his state's attorney general that he sexually harassed women and fostered a toxic work environment, alleging that his accusers had misconstrued what he claimed were well-intentioned gestures and comments."

Illinois. What This Country Needs Is More Blago. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Former Illinois governor and felon Rod R. Blagojevich (D) on Monday sued the state, demanding that his right to run for state and local elected office-- which was yanked by the Illinois legislature in 2009 -- be restored. 'I'm back from the dead. And it's good to be alive again,' Blagojevich, who served eight years in prison before his 14-year sentence was commuted by ... Donald Trump in 2020, told reporters outside a Chicago federal courthouse. 'It's about the people's right to choose their own leaders.'" (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here.

Missouri. Eduardo Medina & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "A St. Louis couple who gained prominence last year after they were filmed pointing guns at social justice demonstrators in front of their house were pardoned last week by Gov. Mike Parson. Mr. Parson's decision, made last week and announced in a news release on Tuesday, came more than a month after the couple, Patricia and Mark McCloskey, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges over the confrontation.... Mark McCloskey, who is running for a U.S. Senate seat from Missouri, pleaded guilty to fourth-degree assault and was fined $750. Patricia McCloskey pleaded guilty to second-degree harassment and was fined $2,000.... Mr. McCloskey agreed with prosecutors earlier this year that he had put the protesters in danger. 'That's what the guns were there for,' he said, 'and I'd do it again anytime the mob approaches me.'" Many of the protesters who marched past the McCloskeys' fancy home were Black. Politico's story is here.

Ohio Special Congressional Elections.

     ~~~ Ally Mutnick of Politico: "The Democratic establishment dealt a crushing blow to the progressive movement Tuesday, with Shontel Brown, the preferred candidate of party stalwarts, triumphing over Nina Turner, a face of the insurgent left, in a special congressional primary election. Turner conceded shortly after 10 p.m. with a biblical reference: 'On this night, we will not cross the river.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Eric Bradner of CNN: "Mike Carey, a coal lobbyist who was endorsed by ... Donald Trump, will win the Republican special primary in Ohio's 15th Congressional District, CNN projects. Carey's win over a crowded primary field that included better-established candidates showcased Trump's power within the party at a key moment." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times has full results here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jeremy Peters of the New York Times: "A Democratic candidate backed by the party establishment and a Republican endorsed by ... Donald J. Trump won two primary races for open House seats in Ohio on Tuesday, an assertion of dominance for the leadership of both political parties as they face questions over unity in their ranks."

Oklahoma. DeNeen Brown of the Washington Post: "The bodies of 19 people exhumed from a mass grave that may be connected to the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre were reinterred Friday, despite objections from some descendants. The reburial at the city-owned Oaklawn Cemetery sparked an angry protest from some members of the Tulsa Mass Graves Public Oversight Committee, which is charged with overseeing the search for mass graves connected to one of the worst episodes of racial violence in American history. The committee voted last week to delay reburial until the city delivers its report on the mass grave, where the skeletal remains of a Black man with multiple gunshot wounds to his head and shoulder were among those discovered in June. But the city ignored the vote, said Chief Egunwale Amusan, a committee member and massacre victim descendant, who accused officials of 'a coverup.'"

News Lede

~~~ New York Times: "Col. Dave Severance, the commander of the Marine company that raised a huge American flag over the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in World War II, inspiring the photograph that thrilled the American home front and became an enduring image of men at war, died on Monday at his home in the La Jolla section of San Diego. He was 102." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As you may know, the iconic photo was sort of a fake. First, "The flag-raising atop Mount Suribachi on Feb. 23, 1945, captured by an Associated Press photographer, Joe Rosenthal, was taken when the battle for Iwo Jima was far from over." Second, "In midmorning, a group of Marines from Easy Company raised a flag at the summit, a ceremony photographed by Sgt. Louis Lowery of the Marine magazine Leatherneck. When James Forrestal, the secretary of the Navy, who was on the beach below, saw the flag, he requested that it be kept as a memento. After it was returned to the beach, Colonel Severance sent another group of his Marines to bring a larger flag to the mountaintop. It was the raising of the second flag that was portrayed in Mr. Rosenthal's dramatic photograph. Both flags are now at the National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. Frayed by strong winds, the second flag flew above Mount Suribachi for the remainder of the Iwo Jima campaign. The Joe Rosenthal photograph is in the National Archives."

The Commentariat -- August 3, 2021

Late Morning Update:

Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo sexually harassed current and former state employees, creating a hostile work environment for women in violation of state and federal law, state Attorney General Letitia James announced Tuesday. James released the results of a months-long investigation and interviews with 179 individuals, including women who accused the governor of misconduct, Cuomo himself and a coterie of his top advisers.... The 165-page report laid out a devastating portrait of behavior by the Democratic governor, substantiating an allegation that Cuomo embraced an executive assistant and reached under her blouse to grab her breast. Investigators said witnesses also described an environment in the governor's office that was abusive and vindictive, in which one of the women who came forward was targeted for retaliation through the release of her personnel file. In all, the investigation found that Cuomo harassed 11 women, including a state trooper whom the governor arranged to be put on his detail." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times report, in the form of live updates, is here. Politico's report is here Marie: This was a civil investigation, and neither the independent investigators nor the Attorney General were charged with contemplating or bringing criminal charges. During the press conference, one of the lead investigators, Anne Clark, said that one woman had filed a complaint with the Albany district attorney.

Meredith McGraw of Politico: "... having whipped his supporters into a frenzy with pledges to overturn the election and promises to support Republican candidates in the midterms, [Donald Trump] is not spending his campaign money on either. A review of election filings from Make America Great Again PAC, Save America PAC, and the Save America Joint Fundraising Committee show that not a single penny was transferred or contributed from those Trump-affiliated entities to GOP candidates or committees involved in the midterm elections. Nor did Trump's various groups write a check to support the audit in Arizona.... He used some of his funds on things like salaries for aides and political advisers, as well as events, travel expenses and fundraising outreach.... He also spent more than $8 million in legal fees paid to various firms and attorneys to advance his attempts to change the results of the 2020 election and defend himself in a second impeachment trial. The one expenditure Trump did make to an outside group was to one in his own orbit: a $1 million contribution to America First Policy Institute, the think tank a handful of his former aides launched when he lost the White House."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "Mayor Bill de Blasio announced Tuesday morning that New York City will require proof of vaccination for people participating in indoor activities, including at restaurants, gyms and performances, his latest attempt to spur more vaccinations. The mandate also applies to workers at those places. The policy is similar to mandates issued in France and Italy last month and is believed to be the first of its kind in the United States." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of Covid10 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States has shipped more than 110 million doses of coronavirus vaccines to over 60 countries across the world, the White House said in a statement Tuesday, calling it a 'major milestone.' 'The United States will be an arsenal of vaccines for the world and is acting with the same urgency to combat the virus abroad as here at home,' the statement said."

"Freedom''s Just Another Word for "White Privilege." Paul Krugman of the New York Times: &"... Florida is in the grip of a Covid surge worse than it experienced before the vaccines.... At every stage of the pandemic [Gov. Ron] DeSantis has effectively acted as an ally of the coronavirus, for example by issuing orders blocking businesses from requiring that their patrons show proof of vaccination and schools from requiring masks. More generally, he has helped create a state of mind in which vaccine skepticism flourishes and refusal to take precautions is normalized.... Above all, he has been playing the liberal-conspiracy-theory card, with fund-raising letters declaring that the 'radical left' is 'coming for your freedom.'... When people on the right talk about 'freedom' what they actually mean is closer to 'defense of privilege' -- specifically the right of certain people (generally white male Christians) to do whatever they want.... As you watch DeSantis invoke 'freedom' to escape responsibility for his Covid catastrophe, remember, when he says it, that word does not mean what you think it means."

Betsy Swan & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "Donald Trump's legal team signaled Monday that it will not immediately try to block testimony from former Justice Department officials who have been called before Congress, potentially clearing a roadblock from multiple investigations touching on the former president's tenure. In a letter to one of six Trump-era DOJ officials whose cooperation is being sought in congressional oversight efforts, former Rep. Doug Collins (R-Ga.), a member of Trump's legal team, suggested that it would not try to block testimony by those six. The letter's unusual verbiage makes Trump's position slightly opaque, but Collins also indicated that the former president's team would try to contest all attempts to secure testimony from ex-DOJ officials if Congress sought cooperation from more than those six."

Jeremy Peters of the New York Times on what to watch for in the two Ohio Congressional primaries.

What This Country Needs Is More Blago. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "Former Illinois governor and felon Rod R. Blagojevich (D) on Monday sued the state, demanding that his right to run for state and local elected office -- which was yanked by the Illinois legislature in 2009 -- be restored. 'I'm back from the dead. And it's good to be alive again,' Blagojevich, who served eight years in prison before his 14-year sentence was commuted by ... Donald Trump in 2020, told reporters outside a Chicago federal courthouse. 'It's about the people's right to choose their own leaders.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Eileen Sullivan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "With the number of migrants crossing the southern border surging and the pandemic proving to be far from over, the Biden administration has decided to leave in place for now the public health rule [made during the Trump administration] that has allowed it to turn away hundreds of thousands of migrants, officials said. The decision, confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday, amounted to a shift by the administration, which had been working on plans to begin lifting the rule this summer, more than a year after it was imposed by the Trump administration. The C.D.C. said allowing noncitizens to come over the border from either Mexico or Canada 'creates a serious danger' of further spread of the coronavirus.... On Monday, the American Civil Liberties Union said it would move forward with a lawsuit seeking to force the administration to lift the public health order for migrant families after months of negotiations with the 'ultimate goal' of ending the policy, one of the group's lawyers said."

Ellie Silverman of the Washington Post: "Prominent civil rights leaders the Revs. Jesse L. Jackson and William J. Barber II were among about 200 people arrested outside the U.S. Capitol on Monday while protesting for Congress to end the filibuster, protect voting rights and raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour.... On Sunday night, Barber and Rev. Liz Theoharis -- co-chairs of the Poor People's Campaign -- also joined Rep. Cori Bush (D-Mo.) outside the Capitol to protest the expiration of the federal eviction moratorium.... More than 100 state legislators from more than 20 states also converged in Washington on Monday to urge the Senate and President Biden to support voting rights legislation and are scheduled to rally outside the Capitol on Tuesday."

Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump plans to fight the release of his tax returns to Congress, a lawyer for Mr. Trump said on Monday. The comments from the lawyer, Ronald P. Fischetti, came days after a legal opinion was issued by the Justice Department that said that the Treasury Department must turn over six years of the former president's tax returns to congressional investigators." The Hill's story is here.

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "When legal gurus and former prosecutors discuss a potential criminal investigation and indictment of ... Donald Trump concerning efforts to stage an insurrection, the biggest hurdle they cite is 'intent.'... Former House Intelligence Committee counsel Dan Goldman tells me, 'Trump's statements to [then-acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen, [his deputy Richard] Donoghue -- and likely others -- demonstrate that he knew he did not have true concerns about the legitimacy of the election but he simply wanted to corruptly overturn it without any factual basis.' Goldman explains, 'By asking DOJ to lie so he and the Republican congressmen can use the lie to reverse the outcome of the election, Trump plainly intended to corruptly overturn the election....'... Through his admission in his conversation with the Justice Department attorneys 'that he's very familiar with what is on the Internet, Trump helps prosecutors show that he knew of [the insurrections'] plans when he incited the crowd to 'fight' and go to the Capitol on January 6....'... As constitutional scholar Laurence H. Tribe tells me, 'Everything he said and did after that Dec. 27 conversation [with Rosen], including strong-arming [Georgia Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger and pressuring [Vice President Mike] Pence, appears in a different and more damning light.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) "suggested in a private conversation Saturday, without evidence, that the FBI knew more about the planning before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot than it has revealed so far, according to a video obtained by The Washington Post.... Right-wing websites first claimed in June that undercover FBI agents or informants were among those who breached the Capitol.... No credible evidence has emerged that the FBI had detailed foreknowledge of a violent assault on the Capitol or that its agents or operatives played a role in fomenting it. No specific claim of FBI involvement has surfaced in court filings made in the hundreds of cases filed against alleged Capitol assailants. But the allegations have persisted in recent weeks as Republican supporters of ... Donald Trump ... have consistently sought to finger other culprits for the breach of the Capitol.... In the recording captured Saturday, Johnson explained his view that 'by and large those folks were peaceful protesters' and that the news media and Democrats are 'painting 75 million Americans who voted for Trump as attached with domestic terrorists.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Johnson seems to base his conspiracy theory on the word of some of the alledged would-be kidnappers/killers of Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, whose defense is to blame the FBI for entrapping them. We've had some mighty rotten senators over the years, but I don't think we've ever had one who aligned himself with a gang of backwoods aspiring assassins. Remarkable.

Whitney Wild & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "A DC police officer who responded to the US Capitol insurrection has died by suicide, according to the Metropolitan Police Department. 'Officer Gunther Hashida, assigned to the Emergency Response Team within the Special Operations Division, was found deceased in his residence on Thursday, July 29,' department spokesperson Kristen Metzger told CNN in a statement. Hashida joined the Metropolitan Police Department in 2003 and responded to the Capitol on January 6, Metzger said.... This is the third known suicide of an officer who responded to the Capitol during the attack, and it is the second known suicide by a DC officer specifically." ~~~

~~~ Joseph Choi & Brooke Seipel of the Hill: "A fourth law enforcement officer who responded to the Capitol on Jan. 6 has died by suicide, the Metropolitan Police Department confirmed to The Hill on Monday. A department spokesman said Officer Kyle DeFreytag, who had been with the department since November 2016, was found dead on July 10. He was 26 years old. Police confirmed DeFreytag was among a host of MPD officers who were sent to the Capitol in response to the riot. WUSA9, a CBS affiliate in Washington, D.C. was the first to report that DeFreytag died by suicide last month."

Rick Hasen says that Jane Mayer's New Yorker article on "The Big Money Behind the Big Lie" is a must-read. Marie: I can't access it, but Hasen has the link. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nobody's ever seen a number like this! -- Donald Trump, on the GDP, at a rally in October 2020 ~~~

~~~ John Wright of the Raw Story: "Across Trump's four years in office, the nation recorded its lowest overall rate of GDP growth -- at 1.6 percent -- since President Herbert Hoover's administration during the Great Depression, according to a new report from Bloomberg.... Noting that the comparison may seem unfair due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [Bloomberg writer Justin] Fox tried adjusting the GDP numbers backward and forward by one quarter. He also averaged them with another key indicator -- gross domestic income -- and corrected them for population growth, but things didn't get much better for Trump, who remained at or near the bottom of the pack."

Lateshia Beachum of the Washington Post: "Former president Barack Obama will join the sexagenarian club with an outdoor birthday bash on Martha's Vineyard this weekend as the delta variant spreads among the nation's unvaccinated, leading to the renewal of coronavirus safety protocols. The Obamas are asking that guests be vaccinated and get coronavirus tests, news reports say. The birthday party comes shortly after Massachusetts tweaked its face-covering guidelines for indoor settings per federal recommendations and after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that three-quarters of people infected during a coronavirus outbreak in Provincetown, Mass., charged by the delta variant were fully vaccinated." An Independent story, republished in Yahoo! News, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Biden will not be attending former President Obama's 60th birthday party on Martha's Vineyard, a White House official confirmed." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Fox "News," Still a Great Place to Work. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "A Fox News associate producer claimed in a lawsuit on Monday that Judge Andrew Napolitano sexually harassed him and 'numerous young male employees,' allegations that he claims exposes the so-called 'zero tolerance policy' announced by CEO Suzanne Scott as a 'fraud.' Fox disclosed in a statement that the network has 'parted ways' with Napolitano. An associate producer for Larry Kudlow's show, John Fawcett also claims that, in the 'worst-kept secret at Fox News,' the network falsely denied that its president Jay Wallace had an affair with a female subordinate, even though 'numerous female employees' overheard 'romantic phone conversations' she had with him inside a bathroom stall of the women's restroom.... Fawcett's complaint accuses Fox of the same old practices of protecting their stars like Napolitano and Kudlow, the latter of whom Fawcett claims to have overheard using 'ethnic slurs' and 'sexually inappropriate comments about women.'... In the wake of #MeToo scandals that brought down Roger Ailes, Bill Shine, and Bill OReilly, Fox News hired Scott to clean up shop in 2018."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Jay Greene of the Washington Post: "Amazon improperly pressured Alabama warehouse workers to vote against joining the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and should hold a new union election, according to recommendations from a National Labor Relations Board hearing officer. The NLRB had not released the filing, but the union and Amazon put out statements confirming the recommendation.... The recommendation stems from the fiercely contested election at a warehouse that ended in April with a resounding defeat for the union.... The recommendation will now move to the NLRB's regional director in Atlanta, which oversaw the election, to issue a ruling.... Amazon, the nation's second-largest private employer behind Walmart, has fiercely opposed efforts by its American warehouse workers to organize."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Adela Suliman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The United States reached a milestone of getting at least one coronavirus vaccine dose to 70 percent of adults on Monday, almost a month after President Biden's original July 4 goal. The news came as the highly contagious delta variant is driving a coronavirus surge, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday reporting more than 100,000 daily cases. It was a number not seen since February, when vaccines were not widely available." This article is free to nonsubscribers.

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

Anti-Vax? It Might Cost Ya. Elisabeth Rosenthal & Glenn Kramon in a New York Times op-ed: "In 2020, before there were Covid-19 vaccines, most major private insurers waived patient payments -- from coinsurance to deductibles -- for Covid treatment. But many if not most have allowed that policy to lapse.... Why should patients be kept financially unharmed from what is now a preventable hospitalization, thanks to a vaccine that the government paid for and made available for free?... Insurers could try to do more, like penalizing the unvaccinated. And there is precedent. Already, some policies won't cover treatment that results from what insurance companies deem risky behavior, such as scuba diving and rock climbing."

Max Hauptman, et al., of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham announced Monday that he has tested positive for the coronavirus, a development that comes after he recently attended GOP and Senate functions without wearing a mask, including a gathering Saturday aboard Sen. Joe Manchin III's boat. Graham (R-S.C.), who was vaccinated against the coronavirus in December, said he started experiencing flu-like symptoms Saturday evening and saw the House physician Monday morning. He said he will be isolating for the next 10 days.... 'I am very glad I was vaccinated because without vaccination I am certain I would not feel as well as I do now. My symptoms would be far worse,' [Graham tweeted]." CNN's story is here.

Elinor Aspegren & Steven Vargas of USA Today: "Florida on Sunday broke its record for coronavirus hospitalizations a day after the state recorded the most daily COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. More than 10,200 people in Florida are hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The previous record of 10,170 hospitalizations was from July 23, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations started becoming widespread, according to the Florida Hospital Association. Florida leads the nation in per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This sort of makes sense. At a time of year when people in more northerly climes are going outside for their recreational activities, Floridians tend to stay inside more during the hottest, most humid months of the year.

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. The Never-ending Fraudit. Joseph Choi of the Hill: "Maricopa County and Dominion Voting Systems have both refused to comply with a subpoena from the GOP-controlled Arizona state Senate demanding that representatives from the county and the company produce materials as part of its audit of the 2020 presidential election."

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní, et al., of the New York Times: On Saturday, July 17, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) sat for an 11-hour "interview" by two lawyers whom the state attorney general, Letitia James, deputized. in regard to sexual harassment allegations brought by female state employees. The investigation into the allegations appears to be coming to an end.

Ohio Special Elections Today. Gregory Krieg & Eric Bradner of CNN: "A pair of special election primaries in Ohio on Tuesday will put the spotlight on tough questions facing both parties ahead of next year's midterm elections. In the state's heavily Democratic 11th Congressional District, centered in Cleveland, voters are poised to choose between a progressive champion with close ties to Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders [Nina Turner] and a moderate county party leader [Shontel Brown] backed by the national establishment. Down in the GOP-leaning 15th Congressional District, Republicans are looking at a possible replay of last week's special election in Texas, where ... Donald Trump's endorsement wasn't enough to sway the race to his chosen candidate. Trump is, once again, facing a test of his influence -- especially with suburban voters -- and questions over his decision to wade into the race at all."

Way Beyond

Belasrus. Radina Gigova, et al., of CNN: "Vitaly Shishov, the head of a Kiev-based organization helping Belarusians flee abroad, was found dead on Tuesday, a day after he went missing, according to Ukraine's National Police. Shishov, the head of Belarusian House in Ukraine (BDU), 'was found hanged today in one of Kiev's parks, not far from his place of residence,' said police in a statement. 'Vitaly's mobile phone and personal belongings were removed from the scene.' Police have launched a criminal case into the suspected 'premeditated murder and will investigate all possibilities, including the possibility that it was 'murder disguised as suicide,' said the statement." ~~~

~~~ Graham Dunbar of the AP: "Poland granted a visa Monday to a Belarusian Olympic sprinter who said she feared for her safety and that her team's officials tried to force her to fly home, where the autocratic government was accused of diverting a flight to arrest a dissident journalist. An activist group that is helping athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya told The Associated Press that it bought her a plane ticket to Warsaw for the coming days."

Haiti. Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: "A judge and two court clerks who collected evidence for the investigation into the killing of President Jovenel Moïse said in interviews and in formal complaints to the prosecutors' office that unknown callers and visitors had pressured them to modify witnesses' sworn statements. If they failed to comply, they were told, they could 'expect a bullet in your head.' Their requests for help from the authorities were ignored, said the clerks, Marcelin Valentin and Waky Philostène; and the justice of the peace, Carl Henry Destin, leaving their lives at risk. The threats also further jeopardized an investigation that experts claim had been marred from the start by irregularities -- and which many Haitians fear will not reveal the truth about the killing, despite vows by the country's current leaders to enact swift justice." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Russia. Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "Scientists have long been worried about what many call 'the methane bomb' -- the potentially catastrophic release of methane from thawing wetlands in Siberia's permafrost. But now a study by three geologists says that a heat wave in 2020 has revealed a surge in methane emissions 'potentially in much higher amounts' from a different source: thawing rock formations in the Arctic permafrost. The difference is that thawing wetlands releases 'microbial' methane from the decay of soil and organic matter, while thawing limestone -- or carbonate rock -- releases hydrocarbons and gas hydrates from reservoirs both below and within the permafrost, making it 'much more dangerous' than past studies have suggested."

Japan. The New York Times' live updates of the Olympics games Tuesday are here: "... on the final day of artistic gymnastics at the Tokyo Games, after skipping all but one competition because of a mental health issue, [Simone Biles] appeared on the balance beam and performed well enough to win the bronze medal. With a complicated routine performed with grace, China's Guan Chenchen won the gold. Tang Xijing, also of China, won the silver."

The Commentariat -- August 2, 2021

Afternoon Update:

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

Lateshia Beachum of the Washington Post: "Former presiden Barack Obama will join the sexagenarian club with an outdoor birthday bash on Martha's Vineyard this weekend as the delta variant spreads among the nation's unvaccinated, leading to the renewal of coronavirus safety protocols. The Obamas are asking that guests be vaccinated and get coronavirus tests, news reports say. The birthday party comes shortly after Massachusetts tweaked its face-covering guidelines for indoor settings per federal recommendations and after a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study showed that three-quarters of people infected during a coronavirus outbreak in Provincetown, Mass., charged by the delta variant were fully vaccinated." An Independent story, republished in Yahoo! News, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Alex Gangitano of the Hill: "President Biden will not be attending former President Obama's 60th birthday party on Martha's Vineyard, a White House official confirmed."

Elinor Aspegren & Steven Vargas of USA Today: "Florida on Sunday \broke its record for coronavirus hospitalizations a day after the state recorded the most daily COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. More than 10,200 people in Florida are hospitalized with confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to data reported to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. The previous record of 10,170 hospitalizations was from July 23, 2020, more than a half-year before vaccinations started becoming widespread, according to the Florida Hospital Association. Florida leads the nation in per capita hospitalizations for COVID-19." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This sort of makes sense. At a time of year when people in more northerly climes are going outside for their recreational activities, Floridians tend to stay inside more during the hottest, most humid months of the year.

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "When legal gurus and former prosecutors discuss a potential criminal investigation and indictment of ... Donald Trump concerning efforts to stage an insurrection, the biggest hurdle they cite is 'intent.'... Former House Intelligence Committee counsel Dan Goldman tells me, 'Trump's statements to [then-acting AG Jeffrey] Rosen, [his deputy Richard] Donoghue -- and likely others -- demonstrate that he knew he did not have true concerns about the legitimacy of the election but he simply wanted to corruptly overturn it without any factual basis.' Goldman explains, 'By asking DOJ to lie so he and the Republican congressmen can use the lie to reverse the outcome of the election, Trump plainly intended to corruptly overturn the election....'... Through his admission in his conversation with the Justice Department attorneys 'that he's very familiar with what is on the Internet, Trump helps prosecutors show that he knew of [the insurrections'] plans when he incited the crowd to 'fight' and go to the Capitol on January 6....'... As constitutional scholar Laurence H. Tribe tells me, 'Everything he said and did after that Dec. 27 conversation [with Rosen], including strong-arming [Georgia Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger and pressuring [Vice President Mike] Pence, appears in a different and more damning light.'"

Rick Hasen says that Jane Mayer's New Yorker article on "The Big Money Behind the Big Lie" is a must-read. Marie: I can't access it, but Hasen has the link.

Nobody's ever seen a number like this! -- Donald Trump, on the GDP, at a rally in October 2020 ~~~

~~~ John Wright of the Raw Story: "Across Trump's four years in office, the nation recorded its lowest overall rate of GDP growth -- at 1.6 percent -- since President Herbert Hoover's administration during the Great Depression, according to a new report from Bloomberg.... Noting that the comparison may seem unfair due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [Bloomberg writer Justin] Fox tried adjusting the GDP numbers backward and forward by one quarter. He also averaged them with another key indicator -- gross domestic income -- and corrected them for population growth, but things didn't get much better for Trump, who remained at or near the bottom of the pack."

Haiti. Anatoly Kurmanaev of the New York Times: "A judge and two court clerks who collected evidence for the investigation into the killing of President Jovenel Moïse said in interviews and in formal complaints to the prosecutors' office that unknown callers and visitors had pressured them to modify witnesses' sworn statements. If they failed to comply, they were told, they could 'expect a bullet in your head.' Their requests for help from the authorities were ignored, said the clerks, Marcelin Valentin and Waky Philostène; and the justice of the peace, Carl Henry Destin, leaving their lives at risk. The threats also further jeopardized an investigation that experts claim had been marred from the start by irregularities -- and which many Haitians fear will not reveal the truth about the killing, despite vows by the country's current leaders to enact swift justice."

~~~~~~~~~~

Matthew Lee of the AP: "The Biden administration on Monday expanded its efforts to evacuate at-risk Afghan citizens from Afghanistan as Taliban violence increases ahead there of the U.S. military pullout at the end of the month. The State Department said it is widening the scope of Afghans eligible for refugee status in United States to include current and former employees of U.S.-based news organizations, U.S.-based aid and development agencies and other relief groups that receive U.S. funding. Current and former employees of the U.S. government and the NATO military operation who don't meet the criteria for a dedicated program for such workers are also covered. The State Department said the move will mean that 'many thousands' of Afghans and their immediate families will now have the opportunity to be permanently resettled in the U.S. as refugees."

Myah Ward of Politico (July 30): "The Biden administration on Friday resumed fast-track deportation flights to Central America following another spike in families crossing the border into the Rio Grande Valley of Texas. The administration announced plans to resume the expedited removals on Monday, responding to building pressure on the White House to increase enforcement at the Southern border as the Covid Delta variant spreads in Texas and across the U.S. 'Families apprehended by Customs and Border Protection were removed via U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Air Operations to their home countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras,' a statement from the Department of Homeland Security said. 'The expedited removal process is a lawful means to securely manage our border, and it is a step toward our broader aim to realize safe and orderly immigration processing.'"

Carol Davenport, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's battle against climate science -- his appointees undermined federal studies, fired scientists and drove many experts to quit or retire continues to reverberate six months into the Biden administration. From the Agriculture Department to the Pentagon to the National Park Service, hundreds of jobs in climate and environmental science across the federal government remain vacant. Scientists and climate policy experts who quit have not returned. Recruitment is suffering, according to federal employees, as government science jobs are no longer viewed as insulated from politics. And money from Congress to replenish the ranks could be years away. The result is that President Biden's ambitious plans to confront climate change are hampered by a brain drain."

Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats and Republicans unveiled on Sunday a roughly $1 trillion proposal to improve the country's roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections, setting in motion a long-awaited debate in the chamber to enact one of President Biden's economic policy priorities. The package arrives after weeks of haggling among a bipartisan bloc of lawmakers, who muscled through late-night fights and near-collapses to transform their initial blueprint into a roughly 2,700-page piece of legislation. The fate of their labors now rests in the Senate, where proponents of infrastructure reform have little margin for error as they race to adopt the sort of bill that has eluded them for years. Virtually no part of the U.S. economy is untouched by the plan chiefly put together by Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.). Roughly half of its $1 trillion overall price tag constitutes new federal spending, with the rest coming from existing, planned investments in the country's roads, highways and bridges, according to details released in recent days by lawmakers and the White House, which supports the proposal." The AP's report is here.

Julia Cherner & Davone Morales of ABC News: "Rep. Adam Kinzinger [R] said Sunday he supports issuing subpoenas to anyone who has information about the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol and what action ... Donald Trump took -- even members of his own party, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy. 'I would support subpoenas to anybody that can shed light on that, if that's the leader that's the leader,' Kinzinger told ABC 'This Week' co-anchor Jonathan Karl. 'Anybody with parts of that information, with inside knowledge, can probably expect to be talking to the committee.' 'I would expect to see a significant number of subpoenas for a lot of people, Kinzinger added."

Moron Thinks Battering Elderly Grandma with Oversized Wooden Hammer Is Funny. Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: :House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) joked over the weekend that it would be hard for him not to hit Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calf.) with a gavel if the GOP wins control of the lower chamber in next year's midterm elections. At a dinner on Saturday evening, members of Tennessee's Republican congressional delegation gave McCarthy an oversized gavel with the words 'Fire Pelosi' on it." ~~~

     ~~~ Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Several Democrats are calling on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) to apologize or resign after he said it would 'be hard not to hit' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) with the gavel if he becomes speaker.... Democrats immediately denounced McCarthy's remarks as misogynistic,' 'disgraceful' and 'no laughing matter,' especially given that Pelosi was a target of the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. Several Democrats demanded that McCarthy apologize, while others -- including Reps. Eric Swalwell and Ted Lieu of California -- said McCarthy should resign, linking such rhetoric to the political violence that was on display Jan. 6." ~~~

     ~~~ McCarthy Promotes Violence Against Women. Dean Obeidallah in a CNN opinion piece: "Nothing like joking about wanting to hit a woman to get some GOP donors laughing. After all, this is the same GOP that mostly still loves Trump -- a man who himself has been accused of abuse of women (he calls his accusers 'liars') and who has defended other men accused of abusive behavior. McCarthy joking about hitting a woman is even more despicable given that he did not vote in March with his 29 fellow House Republicans to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act designed to protect women from domestic violence. McCarthy's message seems to be that it's OK to vote against laws to protect women from violence and then joke about hitting them.... In Tennessee, where McCarthy spoke Saturday night, shockingly nearly 40% of women 'experience intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner rape and/or intimate partner stalking in their lifetimes.'"

Stephen Collinson of CNN: Donald Trump's "huge war chest, nearly all amassed within six months of leaving office, was built on his ravenous calls for cash from supporters bought into his delusional lie that the 2020 election was stolen. It is the latest sign, along with trips to win his favor by GOP candidates and his party's incessant efforts to wipe the history of his crimes against the Constitution, that Trump's threat to basic political freedoms is far from over.... He has made acceptance of his massive election confidence trick the entry point for many Republican candidates seeking his valuable endorsement in the midterm elections next year. The House Republican Party has become a vassal for his extremism, including with its absurd, whitewashing claim that Speaker Nancy Pelosi, rather than Trump, was responsible for the worst attack on the US Capitol in 200 years.... If anything, the peril [Trump] poses to democracy has grown in the last six months, as much of the Republican Party itself has turned against cherished bedrock political values."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Oklahoma. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "On Friday, John Bennett, the chairman of the Oklahoma Republican Party, posted on the group's Facebook page and made a striking comparison: Private companies requiring employees to get the vaccine, he said, are just as bad as the Nazis forcing Jews to sew the yellow Star of David onto their clothes. 'Those who don't KNOW history, are DOOMED to repeat it,' read the caption, below an image of the Star of David patch with 'Unvaccinated' written across the top.... The post triggered swift condemnations from top state Republicans and Jewish organizations in Oklahoma. But on Sunday, Bennett doubled down on his comments in a nearly seven-minute video he shared to the party's Facebook page.... [Bennett, formerly a state legislator,] has a history of making hateful comments, specifically about Muslims, according to the Oklahoman."

Tennessee. Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "A Tennessee legislator who went from unmasked gatherings with fellow legislators to being placed on ventilator days later has emerged with a message for constituents after a harrowing eight-month experience with long-haul covid-19: Take the coronavirus seriously....State Rep. David Byrd (R)..., 63, described an ordeal that included 55 days on a ventilator in which covid-19 ravaged his memory, his muscles and his organs -- it led to him having a liver transplant in June; his condition was so grave that his family at least once began planning for his funeral. Stressing that covid-19 is real and 'very dangerous,' Byrd encouraged people to get vaccinated.... Before Byrd became ill around Thanksgiving, his attitude about the novel coronavirus, which can cause the disease covid-19, included a June 2020 vote for a resolution that accused the 'mainstream media' of sensationalizing pandemic coverage." This story is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Once again, a Republican has to be directly affected by a well-publicized condition before he notices it's real. Had Bryd had a mild case, he would be pooh-poohing the virus. He's just another Anecdotal Man, a lunkhead who can't see beyond the nose on his face.

Australia. Rachel Pannett of the Washington Post: "Rupert Murdoch's Sky News Australia has been banned from posting new videos and live-streaming on YouTube for a week after violating the platform's policies by sharing clips that allegedly spread misinformation about the coronavirus pandemic. The ban comes amid growing concern among some Australian political and media commentators about the way in which the once-niche pay TV station, which some have called the 'Fox News of Australia,' has expanded its reach on social media by adopting methods that have helped make the Murdoch-controlled Fox News successful in the United States. These include featuring some right-wing personalities that discourage viewers from taking the coronavirus threat seriously."

Canada. Andrea Salcedo of the Washington Post: "Before two passengers flew from the United States to Toronto last month, they submitted required copies of their vaccination cards and negative coronavirus test results to a portal reviewed by Canadian authorities. But it wasn't until they arrived in Canada the week of July 18 that officials discovered the documents the pair presented were fraudulent.... Now, each passenger must pay fines totaling nearly $16,000 (about $20,000 Canadian) for submitting 'false documentation' and failing to comply with quarantine and testing requirements.... Both travelers were Canadian citizens, the country's health agency told Newsweek in an email."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Carol Pogash of the New York Times (July 29): "A California court this week ruled that Works Progress Administration frescoes depicting the life of George Washington cannot be removed from a local high school without an environmental review, thwarting the San Francisco Board of Education's plans to cover up the hotly debated artwork. Painted in the 1930s by Victor Arnautoff, a onetime assistant to Diego Rivera, the 'Life of Washington' murals dominate the entryway to the school and have been the subject of debate for years. Critics, including parents and students, have said that high school students should not be forced to see the racism in the murals' portrayal of enslaved African Americans and Native Americans. They wanted the frescoes painted over. Mural supporters, who included art historians, said that destroying them would be equivalent to book burning." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To me, there's an easy solution. Since the work is a fresco, it can't be removed easily from the school & put someplace else. But art is art, and it's a reflection of cultural history, whether good, bad or indifferent. So if this work of art is sufficiently offensive to those who have no choice but to view it regularly, cover it up and allow viewings once or several times a year during non-school hours. Is that so difficult? BTW, this weekend, the WashPo ran a story on the enduring popularity of Bob Ross, the PBS "artist" who died in 1995. I find his "teaching" offensive because it's such awful stuff and completely misleads viewers about what art is and about how to paint landscapes. My local station still carries his shows. If PBS, to whom I very occasionally make generous contributons, ever asks me about Bob -- and the network has not -- I'll tell them what I think. In the meantime, the solution to my "problem" is to not watch the shows.

Way Beyond

Germany. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "A 100-year-old man who allegedly served as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp during World War II will stand trial in October for alleged complicity in the murder of over 3,500 people during the conflict, German media reported Sunday. German prosecutors in February charged the man. who hasn't been identified by authorities due to the country's privacy laws, for being an accessory to murder. He is accused of working at the Sachsenhausen concentration camp, located roughly 20 miles north of Berlin, from 1942 to 1945, according to the Welt Am Sonntag newspaper. (The camp held 11,000 Jewish prisoners in 1945.)"

Japan. The New York Times' live Olympics games updates Sunday are here. ~~~

~~~ Guardian & Agencies: "The Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya has called on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to intercede after claiming her criticisms of the national team's coaches have led to her being dropped from the team and taken, against her wishes, to Tokyo airport. Tsimanouskaya, who was due to compete in the women's 200m on Monday, told Reuters she did not plan to return to her country, adding that she had sought the protection of Japanese police at Haneda airport on Sunday so that she would not have to board the flight. 'I will not return to Belarus,' the 24-year-old athlete told Reuters in a message over Telegram.... She also asked the IOC to step in, saying she was in danger of being bundled out of Japan." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Graham Dunbar of the AP: "A Belarusian Olympic sprinter plans to seek asylum in Poland after alleging that officials tried to force her home, where she feared for her safety, an activist group said Monday. Athlete Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is applying for a visa at the Polish embassy in Tokyo, according to Vadim Krivosheyev, of the Belarusian Sport Solidarity Foundation. He told The Associated Press that the group has bought her a plane ticket to Warsaw for Aug. 4.... Many critics of Belarus' government have fled to Poland. Deputy Foreign Minister Marcin Przydacz said on Twitter that Tsimanouskaya has been offered a 'humanitarian visa and is free to pursue her sporting career in Poland if she so chooses.'"