The Conversation -- November 29, 2023

From Wednesday's CNN liveblog on the Israel/Hamas war, also linked earlier: "The sixth round of hostages has been handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross, the Israeli military said, citing the organization. This includes 10 Israelis and four Thai nationals, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The hostages are still in Gaza and are on their way to Israeli territory, the IDF said. This handover is separate from the two hostages released earlier that were not part of Israel's hostage deal with Hamas. Those two released had immigrated to Israel from Russia, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum in Israel."

Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "Democrats, for very good reason, have been in a poll-induced panic for weeks now. Despite a relatively successful presidency and a booming economy, Joe Biden is falling behind Donald Trump in the polls, often by downright startling margins.... But this week, a small ray of hope has opened up, because Trump has indicated that he plans to run an incredibly stupid campaign, focused on two of his least popular political views: the Big Lie and his wish to strip health care away from millions of Americans. Even better, his approach to these two toxic issues suggests that, despite his team's efforts to normalize Trump, his psychotic levels of narcissism will always drag the campaign straight back to his ego obsessions, reminding voters what they most dislike about Trump."

Ian Millhiser of Vox: "Ordinarily, [Elon Musk/X's] lawsuit [against Media Matters] would be the kind of stunt that legal observers could probably ignore.... But the case was just reassigned to Judge Reed O'Connor, a notoriously partisan former Republican Senate staffer, known for handing down poorly reasoned opinions giving major policy victories to right-wing litigants. O'Connor is frequently reversed by the Supreme Court, even though this Court is also quite conservative.... O'Connor's decisions appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a far-right court dominated by Trump appointees and other MAGA loyalists who share O'Connor's penchant for manipulating the law to achieve right-wing results." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in today's thread.

This New York Times page has a lot of photos of Rosalynn Carter from the time she was a baby until two years ago.

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Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter emerged from hospice care to join some of his successors and every living presidential spouse on Tuesday to honor Rosalynn Carter, his wife and partner of more than three-quarters of a century and the nation's first lady from 1977 to 1981.... The former president was unable to address the gathering and so left it to others to express his own feelings. Speaking from the pulpit, family and friends honored Mrs. Carter as her husband's alter ego and most important confidant, with her own strong will behind a shy exterior and a determined commitment to helping the world's most vulnerable." (This is an update of a story linked earlier yesterday.) The AP's story is here. ~~~

Nick Robertson of the Hill: In a floor speech Tuesday, "Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) made it clear to House colleagues Tuesday that he will not resign his seat, choosing instead to face an expulsion vote this week which he said 'undermines and underscores the precedent we've had in this chamber.' Santos is set to face a third expulsion attempt this week after Rep. Robert Garcia\ (D-Calif.) introduced a privileged resolution on the House floor Tuesday to advance a vote on the matter.... The congressman survived two previous attempts at expulsion, including a vote early this month."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden, the president's son, who is the subject of an investigation by House Republicans into his family, told Congress on Tuesday that he was willing to testify -- but only publicly so that Republicans cannot twist or selectively leak what he says. In a letter to Congress, Abbe D. Lowell, Mr. Biden's lawyer, criticized the Republican inquiry as a 'partisan crusade,' and said he has watched as Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has used 'closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public.'... Mr. Comer quickly rejected the offer, insisting that Mr. Biden first speak to the oversight panel behind closed doors, but said that he could still testify publicly down the road." See also Akhilleus' commentary below. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trials of Trump

The View from Under the Bus: Vlad Gets the Trump Treatment. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "For years..., Donald Trump has avoided agreeing with intelligence assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Most infamously, Trump rejected the American intelligence community's assessment about Russia's actions at a press conference in Helsinki, Finland where he stood next to Putin and said, 'President Putin says it's not Russia, I don't see any reason why it would be.' [But in a legal filing in the federal election interference case against Trump, his] attorneys this week ... dispute special counsel Jack Smith's claims that Trump has damaged Americans' faith in the electoral system by essentially arguing that Putin did it first. [Politico's Kyle Cheney notes in an X post, 'Trump wants people to know that it was Russia, not him, who caused Americans to distrust the election system. He will make this case by relying on intelligence community assessments he and his allies have constantly maligned and disputed.']" Thanks to RAS for the link to the Raw Story post. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Attorneys representing ... Donald Trump are trying to undermine former Vice President Mike Pence's credibility by suggesting he may be in cahoots with Biden administration prosecutors. In a filing flagged by Politico's Kyle Cheney, Trump attorneys suggested that Pence may have felt incentivized to turn on Trump because of leverage held over him by government prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents. 'In January 2023, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly turned over at least a "dozen" documents bearing classification markings,' the attorneys argue. 'In February 2023, the FBI found at least one additional classified document at Vice President Pence's home.... The potential charges faced by Vice President Pence gave him an incentive to curry favor with authorities by providing information that is consistent with the Biden Administration's preferred, and false, narrative regarding this case.' In fact, most legal experts predicted that Pence would face no charges at all for his retention of classified documents because, unlike Trump, he cooperated with investigators and did not try to obstruct law enforcement officials...." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Plot Thickens. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "ABC News reported Tuesday that on Christmas Eve 2020, [Vice President] Pence had momentarily decided against presiding [over the Electoral College vote count].... ABC also reported that Pence has testified that Trump personally suggested that he recuse. 'Not feeling like I should attend electoral count,' Pence wrote in notes obtained by special counsel Jack Smith, according to ABC. 'Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election.' Pence testified that he reversed course after a conversation with his son, who cited the vice president's constitutional duty, according to ABC." Trump's (or rather Ken Chesebro & John Eastman's) idea was to have Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) preside and reject critical states' votes, thus supposedly insulating the administration from the coup. The ABC News story, also linked below, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

See Y'all in Court, Fellas. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Fulton county prosecutors do not intend to offer plea deals to Donald Trump and at least two high-level co-defendants charged in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to two people familiar with the matter, preferring instead to force them to trial. The individuals seen as ineligible include Trump, his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Aside from those three, the Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis has opened plea talks or has left open the possibility of talks with the remaining co-defendants in the hope that they ultimately decide to become cooperating witnesses against the former president, the people said. The previously unreported decision has not been communicated formally and could still change...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "In her new book, former Rep. Liz Cheney paints a scathing portrait of the Republican Party, condemning her former colleagues and party leaders as 'enablers and collaborators,' who after the 2020 election were 'willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump...', who she calls 'the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office.'... Throughout 'Oath and Honor,' Cheney describes how she saw her Republican colleagues go from condemning Trump to falling back in line and supporting his claims of election fraud. Cheney reveals for the first time that [Kevin] McCarthy told her just two days after Election Day that he had talked to Trump and that Trump acknowledged he had lost the 2020 election. 'He knows it's over,' McCarthy said, according to the book. 'He needs to go through all the stages of grief.'... Cheney is also critical of McCarthy's successor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who 'appeared especially susceptible to flattery from Trump and aspired to being anywhere in Trump's orbit,' she writes."

Presidential Race 2024

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The Biden campaign on Tuesday seized on former President Trump's assertion that he was 'seriously looking at alternatives' to the Affordable Care Act, warning a second Trump presidency could harm millions of Americans with preexisting conditions. President Biden's reelection team, in a memo first shared with The Hill, cautioned that repealing ObamaCare would strip protections from up to 135 million Americans with preexisting conditions. The 2010 law barred health insurance companies from denying coverage to patients with such conditions 'Whether you have cancer or diabetes, or are simply a woman, Trump's plan means insurance companies would again be able to deny coverage for no reason at all -- other than the fact that they can,' Seth Schuster, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. 'But Donald Trump doesn't care, because like everything in his life, he only cares about himself -- and turns out, a billionaire doesn't have to worry about his health insurance.'"

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to be the top rival to ... Donald J. Trump." The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nikki Is Coming After Your Social Security. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "So it seems worth looking at what [Nikki] Haley stands for. From a political point of view, one answer might be: nothing. A recent Times profile described her as having 'an ability to calibrate her message to the moment.'... 'Flip-flopping' doesn't really convey the sheer cynicism with which she has shifted her rhetoric and changed her positions.... That said, Haley has shown some consistency on issues of economic and fiscal policy. And what you should know is that her positions on these issues are pretty far to the right.... On fiscal and economic policy, she's a hard-right advocate of tax cuts for the rich and benefit cuts for the working class.... In particular, she seems exceptionally explicit, even among would-be Republican nominees, in calling for an increase in the age at which Americans become eligible for Social Security -- a bad idea that seems to be experiencing a revival."

Better Than Haley. Alison Main of CNN: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday he would not sign a six-week federal abortion ban as president because he does not believe such legislation aligns with the views of the American public.... Christie has said that he personally opposes abortion and that he would only sign a federal bill restricting the procedure if it represented a national consensus, something he acknowledges would be difficult in a divided Congress."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Major news outlets devoted dramatically less coverage to ... Donald Trump describing his political enemies as 'vermin' earlier this month than they provided then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2016 'basket of deplorables' remark in the week following those respective comments."

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "As the host of global climate talks that begin this week, the United Arab Emirates is expected to play a central role in forging an agreement to move the world more rapidly away from coal, oil and gas. But behind the scenes, the Emirates has sought to use its position as host to pursue a contradictory goal: to lobby on oil and gas deals around the world, according to an internal document made public by a whistle-blower.... The ... details in the nearly 50-page document -- obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC -- have cast a pall over the climate summit, which begins on Thursday. They are indications, experts said, that the U.A.E. is blurring the boundary between its powerful standing as host of the United Nations climate conference, and U.A.E.'s position as one of the world's largest oil and gas exporters." The BBC's story is here. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Robertson of the Hill: "A co-founder of the Students for Trump supporter group was arrested last week on domestic violence charges in North Carolina, according to court documents. Ryan Fournier, who co-founded the organization as a Campbell University student in 2016 and now leads conservative activist group Radical Alert, was charged with assault of a woman and assault with a deadly weapon after an incident last Tuesday. According to court records, Fournier grabbed his girlfriend by the arm and hit her in the head with a handgun." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You may have noticed that I post links to many more articles about Republicans behaving badly than about Democrats behaving badly. That's not because I ignore stories that shine a bad light on Democrats; I don't. I try to post the stories that make the news, no matter the political party of the perp. But the fact is, as far as I can tell, that more Republicans violate the law and/or societal norms than do Democrats. I suspect that's because people drawn to the Democratic party are more geared toward societal interests while Republicans are more apt to be selfish pricks. Just sayin'.

Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk voiced support Tuesday for Pizzagate, the long-debunked conspiracy theory that led a man to fire a rifle inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant in 2016. The far-right theory, a predecessor to QAnon, alleged that the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders ran a secret satanic child sex ring in a D.C. pizzeria known as Comet Ping Pong.... Musk ... posted a meme on Tuesday implying that the expert who debunked Pizzagate 'went to jail for child porn.' Musk said that 'does seem at least a little suspicious.' The post was viewed more than 15 million times before being deleted at around 2 p.m., less than an hour after this story was published. The meme itself is based on a fabricated headline that suggests Pizzagate was debunked by one person, the disgraced former ABC reporter James Gordon Meek, who pleaded guilty last year to possessing child sexual abuse images and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Meek covered national security and appeared to have mentioned Pizzagate only once...." ~~~

     ~~~ Ben Goggin of NBC News: "Since Nov. 20, Musk has responded to tweets referring to pizzagate four other times."

     ~~~ Marie: The amazing thing here is that Musk seems to think random tweeters are reliable news sources. Every high-school student should know better. How smart is Elon? One has to wonder.

Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "Robert De Niro has accused the organizers of a film awards ceremony of editing his speech without permission, removing critical remarks of ... Donald Trump and other political comments. De Niro was presenting the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award at the Gotham Awards on Monday when, mid-speech, he paused and looked confused as he read off the teleprompter. De Niro continued with his speech, then said: 'I just want to say one thing. The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, I didn't know about it. And I want to read it.' The 80-year-old star, who was presenting an honor for the film 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' in which he stars, then reached for his phone and began reading from what appeared to be the original, unedited script." The Guardian's story is here.

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "As the humanitarian pause in combat in Gaza entered its fifth day Tuesday and more Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, international mediators pushed for an even longer break in the conflict. The two sides have agreed to a 48-hour extension of the initial four-day pause in exchange for the release of 20 more Israeli hostages and 60 Palestinian prisoners. Aid organizations hope the break will allow for the delivery of additional desperately needed supplies to the besieged Palestinian enclave, where the humanitarian situation is worsening as winter weather sets in." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a New York Times op-ed: "Today, too many Americans are exploiting arguments against Israel and leaping toward a virulent antisemitism. The normalization and intensifying of this rise in hate is the danger many Jewish people fear most.... Too often in Jewish history, legitimate criticism of Israeli policies or even older disputes over religious, economic and political issues have often crossed over into something darker, into attacking Jewish people simply for being Jewish."

Ukraine. et al. Marc Santora & Maria Varenikova of the New York Times: "The wife of Ukraine's military intelligence chief has been poisoned and is recovering in a hospital, Ukrainian intelligence officials said on Tuesday, an incident that has led to widespread speculation that Russia was stepping up efforts to target Ukraine's senior leadership. Andriy Chernyak, an official from the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, said that Marianna Budanova had been poisoned and was receiving treatment. Her husband, Kyrylo Budanov, is the head of the agency known as G.U.R. and is one of the country's most senior military leaders."

Vatican to Evict Cardinal. Jason Horowitz & Ruth Graham of the New York Times: Pope "Francis told a meeting of high-ranking Vatican officials that he intended to throw [U.S.] cardinal [Raymond Burke] out of his Vatican-subsidized apartment and deprive him of his salary as a retired cardinal." Burke has been Francis' chief critic inside the church.

News Lede

AP: "A U.S. Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed during a training mission Wednesday off of the country's southern coast, killing at least one of the eight crew members, the Japanese coast guard said."

Readings for the Trump Library

Last week, Charles Hollon, a court official of New York State's Judicial Threats Assessment unit, entered into the record (see Exhibit E) of the state's civil trial against the Trump Organization & certain of its officers, a selection of emails and telephone messages from Donald Trump supporters directed at Judge Arthur Engoron and his law clerk. Monday night, Lawrence O'Donnell read aloud a few of the written and oral messages.

Marie: I thought it would be nice to share some of the Trump backers' contributions to give the Trump Presidential* Library (currently empty, as far as I know) a sampling of authentic, certified, pro-Trump literature. I do apologize for all the asterisks; according to a footnote in the exhibit, "The software used to transcribe the voicemails censors profanity. The asterisks contained in the transcriptions are used in place of the profanity."

You know. I'm not going to. Call you too many names. Today, I mean, it's clear. You're you're little fruit cake. You like to abuse children, I'm sure. And your shirtless pictures. Very inappropriate. I mean, you're so inappropriate. But you're clearly. A ******* dork. 1 Massive quant. I mean everything about you screams little fagot dork. So again. I hope they. ******* bury your ugly ***. You and that fat ******* ***** ******* planet of the apes ******* star letisha the ******* ****. Little ******* Jews and. Filthy little Jews and. That's you. And I hate that word. And I hate. Putting people under group but you are filthy little Jews and. And you make everything about. This ****, you ******* hateful, divisive. I mean, honestly, you should be assassinated. You should be killed. You should be not assassin executed. You should be executed. But on trial executed for your crimes. You sick ******* pig and yOU shut it there and laugh as you ******* abuse this system because you abuse people you. ******* tyrant. And play this for the FBI and you can all **** yourself, you little *******. Please call me, you ******* losers. ******* stupid *****. I mean, it's. Clear. I've talked to. A bunch of you ******* dumb *************. J mean the stupidity. I mean, if we ever want to come for you. But Ebi will be eliminated in a ******* day. Bunch of ******* morons. To listen if any of you silly little **** want to talk, go ahead and call me, you ******* * ****

Yes, Arthur, you are a corrupt Nazi and one of the ugliest people to ever walk the face of the earth. And your clerk, who's also corrupt Nazi is a fat ***** who blew Chuck Schumer and everybody knows it. You are such a lowlife. No one would ever want to sleep with you. You look like ****. You're corrupt. You're going to get overturned and I hope you get gonorrhea from letisha James the fat grimace ************

Resign now, you dirty, treasonous piece of trash snake. We are going to get you and anyone of you dirty, backstabbing, lying, cheating American. You are nothing but a bunch of communists. We are coming to remove you permanently.

Trust me. Trust me when I say this. I will come for you. I don't care. Ain't nobody gonna stop me either. I'll send every hacker in the world after every little file on you. And they will expose you. Any little dirty secret you have, you will not hide from me. I do not stand with Joseph Biden or what you are doing. I stand with the 12 houses of Israel. And in Good we trust. Is the American way. Know that the blood runs red.

You little ******* dork with your little ******* Jew girl. ******* helper, *****. You ******* stupid ****. God, I hope you ******* die. I hope they ******* come for you and ******* string you up. All you little *******. Watch you **** your pants and **** yourself before it happens. You think you're untouchable. God, I hope they ******* come for you again. Not a threat. I don't hurt anybody. I don't have. A voice other than to. ******* call and tell you that I'll be rooting for the people that come for you. I'll be cheering on your death or your demise. And because to the point where you forced us, I'll ******* bite you. But you'll have to make it so I'm starving, and I'll again be the ones telling people how to **** with you because. 1 believe in God. I don't believe in hurting people, but you've made it to the point where I hope you get hurt because you're ******* pathetic. You look so *******. What a little fagot. You don't realize what a dork you are, do you? Probably wasn't fun on the school ground for little. Egghead and a little Jewish *****. But that chick is fat and ugly and you're. Very offensive of her. She stuck your. ****, but she sucks your little ******* micro penis, doesn't she, judge ******7 Look, ******* bunch of losers. By losers? Geeks, freaks. *******. And dirty Jews. And I love Jewish. People. But there's dirty Jews like you. Just like 4 there's dumb. I love black people. But you know what? You guys want to make it all about. Identity and you know. What dirty Jews and stupid? Go die. I hope you all die. We're not going to kill you. I'm not going to kill you. I don't want anybody else to kill you because I don't want them to get in trouble. I just hope you die of like. You're stupidity. We'll probably get you killed, you lazy ******* filthy ****. Goodbye, 1 hope you. Have another horrible day? Ohh Trump made you. Look like a *****. What a little ******* whiny. Did she eat? Understand. Everybody sees what a little fagot you are. A little dork and freak Trump owns you, *****. I'm sure your aid. Would love to get that daddy Trump ******* planting that **** right up her ***. Freaky ******* ***** Your little ******* clerk. Humors, you know, was it her boyfriend? Probably just sucked his balls too. F. Oh, and Allison, you are. I mean, there's nothing you can do. About that ugly face. But he look at his raeli women, Israeli Jews and beautiful in shape. And then there's ******* pig. Jews like you. Fat ******* stupid *******. 1 mean, lay off the Twinkies, you *****. You're clearly a ***** and a child molester. You ******* pedophilic *****. Anyway, listen. You look like ****. You're ******* filthy. Ugly. Dirty. I bet your ***** smells like a ******* garbage disposal. Guaranteed. Anyway, lose some ******* weight. Have a little pride in yourself, you fat *****. G. Arthur, you lowlife ***** ** ****. Violating people's civil rights. You ******* scumbag ***** ** ****. You and lalita. James with your witch hunt. The funny thing is, once this or with remember, for every action there's a reaction. So don't get mad when you come. ******* hunt down. ******* we witch hunt. You and your family. We're going to take you to court. Take your kids, drag them in ******* court. How your parents are probably turning over in their ******* grave. ******* liberal ***** ** ****. You should be more worried about your ******* city and all the ******* robberies and ******* stabbings and then ******* murders and carjackings, but you're jealous of Donald Trump, you ******* scumbag. Pieces of ******* ****. You're ******* low. Like Arthur. I'll be calling you back again, you ******* ***** ** **** You ******* scumbag ************ Qfo yeah, you're ******* clerk Alison ******* Greenfield. She's a ***** ** **** Yfiat's that ***** too. Lilita. James, you fat ******* **** You can't even ******* make sense when you go, girl. Girl, girl, Merrill, Merrill. Peril. We got real peril. Meryl guy. You're a ******* ******** ***** (Oo, you fat ****....

Jesus! What a bunch of ********, and *******. Who expresses themselves like that? They're *************. -- Forrest M. in today's Comments

The Conversation -- November 28, 2023

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter emerged from hospice care to join some of his successors and every living presidential spouse on Tuesday to honor Rosalynn Carter, his wife and partner of more than three-quarters of a century and the nation's first lady from 1977 to 1981.... The former president was unable to address the gathering and so left it to others to express his own feelings. Speaking from the pulpit, family and friends honored Mrs. Carter as her husband's alter ego and most important confidant, with her own strong will behind a shy exterior and a determined commitment to helping the world's most vulnerable." This is an update of a story linked earlier today.

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "As the host of global climate talks that begin this week, the United Arab Emirates is expected to play a central role in forging an agreement to move the world more rapidly away from coal, oil and gas. But behind the scenes, the Emirates has sought to use its position as host to pursue a contradictory goal: to lobby on oil and gas deals around the world, according to an internal document made public by a whistle-blower.... The ... details in the nearly 50-page document -- obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC -- have cast a pall over the climate summit, which begins on Thursday. They are indications, experts said, that the U.A.E. is blurring the boundary between its powerful standing as host of the United Nations climate conference, and U.A.E.'s position as one of the world's largest oil and gas exporters." The BBC's story is here. Thanks to RAS for the link.

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden, the president's son, who is the subject of an investigation by House Republicans into his family, told Congress on Tuesday that he was willing to testify -- but only publicly so that Republicans cannot twist or selectively leak what he says. In a letter to Congress, Abbe D. Lowell, Mr. Biden's lawyer, criticized the Republican inquiry as a 'partisan crusade,' and said he has watched as Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has used 'closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public.'... Mr. Comer quickly rejected the offer, insisting that Mr. Biden first speak to the oversight panel behind closed doors, but said that he could still testify publicly down the road." See also Akhilleus' commentary below.

The View from Under the Bus: Vlad Gets the Trump Treatment. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "For years..., Donald Trump has avoided agreeing with intelligence assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Most infamously, Trump rejected the American intelligence community's assessment about Russia's actions at a press conference in Helsinki, Finland where he stood next to Putin and said, 'President Putin says it's not Russia, I don't see any reason why it would be.' [But in a legal filing in the federal election interference case against Trump, his] attorneys this week ... dispute special counsel Jack Smith's claims that Trump has damaged Americans' faith in the electoral system by essentially arguing that Putin did it first. [Politico's Kyle Cheney notes in an X post, 'Trump wants people to know that it was Russia, not him, who caused Americans to distrust the election system. He will make this case by relying on intelligence community assessments he and his allies have constantly maligned and disputed.']" Thanks to RAS for the link to the Raw Story post.

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Attorneys representing ..." Donald Trump are trying to undermine former Vice President Mike Pence's credibility by suggesting he may be in cahoots with Biden administration prosecutors. In a filing flagged by Politico's Kyle Cheney, Trump attorneys suggested that Pence may have felt incentivized to turn on Trump because of leverage held over him by government prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents. 'In January 2023, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly turned over at least a "dozen" documents bearing classification markings,' the attorneys argue. 'In February 2023, the FBI found at least one additional classified document at Vice President Pence's home.... The potential charges faced by Vice President Pence gave him an incentive to curry favor with authorities by providing information that is consistent with the Biden Administration's preferred, and false, narrative regarding this case.'... Most legal experts predicted that Pence would face no charges at all for his retention of classified documents because, unlike Trump, he cooperated with investigators and did not try to obstruct law enforcement officials...." Thanks to RAS for the link.

The Plot Thickens. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "ABC News reported Tuesday that on Christmas Eve 2020, [Vice President] Pence had momentarily decided against presiding [over the Electoral College vote count].... ABC also reported that Pence has testified that Trump personally suggested that he recuse. 'Not feeling like I should attend electoral count,' Pence wrote in notes obtained by special counsel Jack Smith, according to ABC. 'Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election.' Pence testified that he reversed course after a conversation with his son, who cited the vice president's constitutional duty, according to ABC." Trump's (or rather Ken Chesebro & John Eastman's) idea was to have Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) preside and reject critical states' votes, thus supposedly insulating the administration from the coup. The ABC News story, also linked below, is here.

See You in Court, Fellas. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Fulton county prosecutors do not intend to offer plea deals to Donald Trump and at least two high-level co-defendants charged in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to two people familiar with the matter, preferring instead to force them to trial. The individuals seen as ineligible include Trump, his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Aside from those three, the Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis has opened plea talks or has left open the possibility of talks with the remaining co-defendants in the hope that they ultimately decide to become cooperating witnesses against the former president...."

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to be the top rival to ... Donald J. Trump." The AP story is here.

From Tuesday's CNN liveblog of the Israel/Hamas war: "Twelve hostages, comprising 10 Israelis and two Thai citizens, were released by Hamas on Tuesday, according to officials. Thirty Palestinians were also freed from Israeli prisons, officials said." An entry lists the names of those released.

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Marie: Late state today; still posting at 8:45 9:00 am ET.

Rebecca Piccioto of CNBC: "President Joe Biden took aim at corporations Monday for charging prices he said were artificially high even though the rate of inflation has slowed and some shipping costs have fallen. 'Any corporation that has not brought their prices back down, even as inflation has come down, even as the supply chains have been rebuilt, it's time to stop the price gouging,' Biden said at the launch of a new White House supply chain initiative. 'Give the American consumer a break.'... Consumers, said Biden, 'feel like they're being played for suckers. Which they are.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Here's a White House-issued fact sheet on the supply-chain initiative.

Lisa Friedman & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times (Nov. 26): "resident Biden will not attend a major United Nations climate summit that begins Thursday in Dubai, skipping an event expected to be attended by King Charles III, Pope Francis and leaders from nearly 200 countries, a White House official said Sunday." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah, well, President Biden is busy this week, saving Israeli & Palestinian lives AND ~~~

~~~ Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter will emerge from hospice care to join some of his successors and every living presidential spouse on Tuesday to honor Rosalynn Carter, his wife and partner of more than three-quarters of a century and the nation's first lady from 1977 to 1981, the Carter Center said. Mr. Carter, who turned 99 last month and has rarely been seen in public since entering hospice care in February, made the 140-mile journey from the couple's home in Plains, Ga., to Atlanta for a tribute at Glenn Memorial United Methodist Church at Emory University. President Biden, former President Bill Clinton and all five living first ladies will attend as well." ~~~

     ~~~ Danielle Paquette of the Washington Post: "Yet before any of the stars arrived, everyday admirers rushed to see [Rosalynn] Carter's motorcade at each stop of its journey, waving signs broadcasting thanks and love. Crowds formed at the hospital when the hearse carrying her body departed Monday morning. Later, at Carter's alma mater, Georgia Southwestern State University in Americus, students laid wreaths of white flowers by a bronze statue of the former first lady perched on a bench.... Monday evening was the public's biggest chance to pay respects to a first lady.... Mourners included Republicans and Democrats, preteens and retirees, locals and tourists.... Teachers, nurses, accountants and soldiers crammed into shuttle buses outside St. Luke's Episcopal Church that ferried people to the repose site at the Carter Center for four straight hours. Anyone could step aboard one of the Leisure Time charters lining Peachtree Street. Signs taped to the windshields read: CARTER GUEST."

Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) on Monday said he spoke with Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) 'at some length' during the holiday recess 'about his options' as the embattled lawmaker faces a likely third vote on his expulsion.... Santos, for his part, thinks he will be expelled when a vote hits the floor as soon as this week, which would make him just the sixth House member to be ousted from office in history. 'I know I'm going to get expelled when this expulsion resolution goes to the floor,' Santos said during a conversation on X Spaces on Friday night. 'I've done the math over and over, and it doesn't look really good.'"

Shawn Boburg, et al., in the Washington Post: "After a years-long investigation, U.S. authorities charged [businessman Wael Hana] in September with paying bribes to Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) and his wife, Nadine Menendez, in exchange for actions that benefited Egypt, including Menendez's promise to help keep military aid flowing to the North African nation. Hana, 40, lavished the couple with gold bars, checks and household furnishings between 2018 and 2022, prosecutors allege, while helping to introduce the senator to Egyptian military and intelligence officers and serving as a go-between for their communications. A Washington Post examination, based on records and interviews with dozens of people who know or have worked with Hana, found that his connections to the Egyptian government go back further and are more extensive than previously reported. Those connections help explain how Hana was in a position to capitalize on his relationship with Menendez, until recently the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee....

Spencer Hsu & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "Attorneys for Donald Trump have asked a federal judge in Washington to allow them to investigate several U.S. government agencies about their handling of investigations into him and allegations of voter fraud three years ago.... In court papers filed Monday, Trump's legal team sought permission to compel prosecutors to turn over information about the FBI, national security and election integrity units of the Justice Department, as well as the intelligence community and Department of Homeland Security's response to foreign interference and other threats to the 2020 election, in what appeared to be an attempt to resuscitate his unfounded allegation that President Biden's election victory was 'stolen.'... Trump's requests Monday are a legal long-shot.... Courts give U.S. prosecutors broad discretion to decide which evidence reasonably may be helpful to the defense and thus must be turned over. Their obligation to produce evidence is also limited to information available to the prosecution team -- not everything known to the U.S. government at large....

"Separately Monday, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan denied an earlier Trump request to subpoena House members, the National Archivist, and attorneys for Biden and the Homeland Security Department in pursuit of purported 'missing materials' related to a House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.... 'The broad scope of the records that Defendant seeks, and his vague description of their potential relevance, resemble less "a good-faith effort to obtain identified evidence" than they do a general "fishing expedition,"' that the law does not allow, Chutkan wrote." An NBC News story on Chutkan's ruling is here.

     ~~~ Marie: Experts appearing on MSNBC Monday afternoon & evening noted that Chutkan also pointed out that prosecutors had previously turned over many of the records Trump's lawyers asked for and that Chutkan suggested the Trumpy lawyers do their homework before blindly filing frivolous motions.

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal appeals court mulling Donald Trump's legal liability for Jan. 6 violence is approaching a conspicuous anniversary of inaction. Nearly a year ago, the court considered three lawsuits brought by Capitol Police officers and members of Congress accusing Trump and his allies of inciting the attack that threatened their lives and the government they were sworn to protect.... The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals typically decides cases within four months of oral arguments, but the trio of Trump lawsuits has been sitting on the court's docket with no ruling since they were argued last December.... The three-judge panel, consisting of Obama-appointed Chief Judge Sri Srinivasan, Clinton appointee Judith Rogers and Trump appointee Gregory Katsas, heard oral arguments in the case on Dec. 7, 2022."

Pence Fingers Trump. Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Speaking with special counsel Jack Smith's team earlier this year, former Vice President Mike Pence offered harrowing details about how, in the wake of the 2020 presidential election..., Donald Trump surrounded himself with 'crank' attorneys, espoused 'un-American' legal theories, and almost pushed the country toward a 'constitutional crisis,' according to sources familiar with what Pence told investigators. The sources said Pence also told investigators he's 'sure' that -- in the days before Jan. 6, 2021..., he informed Trump he still hadn't seen evidence of significant election fraud, but Trump was unmoved, continuing to claim the election was 'stolen' and acting 'recklessly' on that 'tragic day.'... Speaking with Smith's team behind closed doors, Pence also offered previously-undisclosed anecdotes and details.... Sources said that in at least one interview with Pence, Smith's investigators pressed the former vice president on personal notes he took after meetings with Trump and others, which investigators obtained from the National Archives." Read on.

Presidential Race 2024

Trump Assists Biden Re-election Campaign. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... over the holiday weekend [Donald Trump wrote] that he was 'seriously looking at alternatives' to the 13-year-old Affordable Care Act, and that his fellow Republicans should 'never give up' seeking its repeal.... Mr. Trump's social media post surprised even his own aides, who have not developed a plan to alter the country's health care law.... The [Biden] campaign will air TV ads this week in Las Vegas and on national cable that contrast legislation passed by [President] Biden that lowered prices on some prescription drugs with Mr. Trump's proposal to repeal the Affordable Care Act, said Michael Tyler, the campaign's communications director.... 'My predecessor once again called for cuts that could rip away health insurance for tens of millions of Americans,' Mr. Biden said [Monday]. 'They just don't give up.' Mr. Biden's campaign is in the process of arranging surrogates for the 2024 race -- particularly in North Carolina, a presidential battleground that on Friday will become the 40th state to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act." Thanks to RAS for the link. The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Jared Ortaliza, et al., of the Kaiser Family Foundation: "A key takeaway from this [KFF] analysis is that as [Affordable Care Act] Marketplace enrollment has reached record highs with enhanced premium assistance, fewer people are buying coverage off-Marketplace...." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Supremes Grant Teensy-Weensy Tiny Little Boost for Voting Rights. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court ruled on Monday that two Arizona lawmakers must testify about their reasons for supporting state laws requiring proof of citizenship for voting in federal elections. The court's brief order gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications. No dissents were noted. The Justice Department, the Democratic National Committee, civil rights groups and others had challenged the state laws, saying they violated federal laws and had been enacted with a discriminatory purpose.... Lawmakers are ordinarily shielded by a legislative privilege from inquiries into their motives for sponsoring or voting for legislation. In September, Judge Susan R. Bolton, of the Federal District Court in Arizona, ruled that a different analysis applied when lawmakers voluntarily injected themselves into a litigation. At first, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit blocked Judge Bolton's ruling but later lifted its stay, allowing depositions of the men to proceed. [Top Arizona] lawmakers [-- who brought the suit --] then asked the Supreme Court to intervene."

A "Gigantic Global Sewer." Liz Alderman of the New York Times: "Anne Hidalgo, the mayor of Paris, announced Monday on X ... that she was quitting the social media site because it had devolved into a 'gigantic global sewer' for disinformation, hatred, anti-Semitism and racism, and a 'tool for destroying our democracies.' Without naming Elon Musk directly, she added: 'This platform and its owner intentionally exacerbate tensions and conflicts.' In recent weeks, dozens of advertisers paused their campaigns on X after Mr. Musk endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory this month, and the company could lose as much as $75 million in ad revenue by the end of the year. Mr. Musk has strenuously denied that he is antisemitic or that the site supports disinformation, and visited Israel on Monday in an apparent bid to repair the damage. He met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who took him to an Israeli kibbutz where dozens of people were killed during the Hamas terrorist attack on Oct. 7. Mr. Musk was scheduled to meet later with President Isaac Herzog to discuss 'the need to act to combat rising antisemitism online.' Israel also appeared to reach an understanding to deploy Starlink, the satellite internet service Mr. Musk owns, in Gaza for aid agencies to use amid cellular and internet blackouts."

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Molly Hennessy-Fiske of the Washington Post: "Despite long advocating small government and local control, Republican governors and legislators across a significant swath of the country are increasingly overriding the actions of Democratic cities -- removing elected district attorneys or threatening to strip them of power, taking over election offices and otherwise limiting local independence. State lawmakers proposed nearly 700 bills this year to circumscribe what cities and counties can do, according to Katie Belanger, lead consultant for the Local Solutions Support Center.... The group's tracking mostly found 'conservative state legislatures responding to or anticipating actions of progressive cities,' she said, with many bills designed to bolster state restrictions on police defunding, abortion, and LGBTQ and voting rights. As of mid-October, at least 92 had passed....

"The urban areas in the crosshairs are mostly majority-minority, with many mayors and district attorneys of color.... The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution at its annual gathering this summer 'to undertake an all-out campaign' against state preemption, which it identified as racist and punitive." MB: Oh, surely not.

New York. Justice Delayed. But Still. Andy Newman & Nate Schweber of the New York Times: "[Two] men who were convicted were exonerated [Monday] at a Manhattan courthouse. They are the latest in a long string of New Yorkers, overwhelmingly Black and Hispanic, who have had their names cleared after decades in prison. One of the men, Jabar Walker, 49, was convicted of shooting two men in a parked car in 1995 and remained incarcerated even though a man who had testified that he heard Mr. Walker confess recanted in an affidavit. The other, Wayne Gardine, also 49, was convicted in a case where the only evidence against him was the word of a drug dealer who changed his story several times, described the killer as six feet tall when Mr. Gardine is only 5-foot-8, and was known for providing police with information in attempts to get his own criminal cases minimized. Mr. Gardine's case was overseen by a detective who later pleaded guilty to a drug trafficking conspiracy.... Since 1989, at least 115 murder convictions in New York City have been overturned, a substantial portion of the nearly 1,300 overturned nationwide, according to the National Registry of Exonerations."

Puerto Rico. Omaya Pasqual, et al., in the Washington Post: "Health services across ... [Puerto Rico] have been deteriorating for years, contributing to a surge in deaths that reached historic proportions in 2022, an investigation by The Washington Post and Puerto Rico's Center for Investigative Journalism has found.... Puerto Rico, with a population of 3.3 million people, experienced more than 35,400 deaths last year. That's nearly 3,300 more than researchers would ordinarily expect based on historic patterns.... This 'excess mortality' ... resulted in part from a covid spike early last year that killed more than 2,300 people, health data shows. But elevated death rates continued in the months after covid subsided, indicating a broader breakdown as the island lost medical staff and services and younger Puerto Ricans moved away, leaving behind a population that is increasingly elderly and facing age-related health complications." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I tried to figure out just what health insurance coverage was available to Puerto Ricans, and to make a short story shorter, I failed. Puerto Ricans apparently cannot purchase insurance via the ACA Marketplace, and I gather that private insurers are not subject to the requirements Obamacare imposes on them. I'm not even sure if the Medicaid expansion and CHIPS are available, as some now-dated stories indicate Congress has not funded the programs for Puerto Ricans. Eligible Puerto Ricans are covered by Medicare.

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel has identified an additional 50 female Palestinian prisoners who may be released in exchange for more hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, as a fragile pause in fighting stretched into a fifth day. The four-day combat pause mediated by Qatar was extended by 48 hours and could be renewed again.... Since the pause began Friday, 150 Palestinians, 51 Israelis and 18 foreign nationals have been released, the United Nations said, including one American, 4-year-old Abigail Edan. About eight Americans remain in Hamas's hands, according to White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. A senior Biden administration official said 'it is extremely important' that Israel avoid 'significant displacement' of civilians when the pause ends. Israel has said it plans to resume its assault in southern Gaza after the pause.... Eleven hostages were released Monday in exchange for 33 prisoners, according to Qatari officials and the Red Cross, which said it returned some detainees to the West Bank about 2 a.m. Tuesday." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Tuesday are here.

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "CIA Director William J. Burns arrived in Qatar on Tuesday for secret meetings with Israel's spy chief and Qatar's prime minister aimed at brokering an expansive deal between Israel and Hamas, said three people familiar with the visit. Burns is pushing for Hamas and Israel to broaden the focus of their ongoing hostage negotiations, thus far limited to women and children, to encompass the release of men and military personnel, too. He is also seeking a longer multiday pause in fighting while taking into account the Israeli demand that Hamas release at least 10 people for every day there is a break in the war, those familiar with the matter said on the condition of anonymity to detail sensitive discussions. Crucially, Burns is pushing for the immediate release of American hostages held by Hamas. U.S. officials put the number of those hostages at eight or nine."

Russia. Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "A Moscow court on Tuesday extended the detention of the Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich until at least Jan. 30, prolonging his imprisonment since March on charges of spying, which he, his employer and the State Department forcefully deny. It is the third time Gershkovich's detention has been extended since Federal Security Service (FSB) agents seized him from a restaurant in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals where he was on a reporting trip. Gershkovich then was flown to Moscow and has been in Lefortovo high security prison since." The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As horrifying as the Russian system is, don't think this doesn't or can't happen in our own system. To some extent, it's happening now: People who cannot afford bail, even though they are innocent until proved guilty, sometimes fester in jail for months or years awaiting trial in our overextended criminal "justice" system. Although debtors' prisons have been illegal since 1833, debtors can be and are still thrown in jail with no realistic "get out of jail" card. And if you think Donald Trump won't toss you in jail (privately-owned by the Kushner Klan or some deep-pockets Trump bribers) & throw away the key for no crime at all, let me remind you that our beloved President Abraham Lincoln, and later the Congress, suspended habeas corpus for the duration of the Civil War. So Welcome to the Gulag, U.S.A.