;)
The Conversation -- November 4, 2023
Edith Lederer of the AP: "The average Palestinian in Gaza is living on two pieces of Arabic bread made from flour the United Nations had stockpiled in the region, yet the main refrain now being heard in the street is 'Water, water,' the Gaza director for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Friday. Thomas White, who said he traveled 'the length and breadth of Gaza in the last few weeks,' described the place as a 'scene of death and destruction.' No place is safe now, he said, and people fear for their lives, their future and their ability to feed their families." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Seems to me a rational person with no skin in the game would say, "This is not working. Bombing people to death, starving the survivors or letting them die of thirst is not going to win any hearts & minds. Maybe we should try something different, like rounding up the Hamas fighters, trying them as the terrorists we say they are, and doing all we can to make life paradise on earth for the rest of people of Gaza." Sometimes there is no choice but to go to war; given the history, this does not seem to be one of them.
~~~~~~~~~~
Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "On Friday..., [President] Biden huddled privately with the families of those killed or injured during last month's rampage that claimed the lives of 18 people at a bar and a bowling alley in [Lewiston, Maine,] about an hour north of Portland. He also met with nurses, local officials and the law enforcement officers who spent two days in a manhunt for the killer. 'Jill and I are here on behalf of the American people to grieve with you, and make sure you know that you're not alone,' Mr. Biden said after stopping by a makeshift memorial in Lewiston with his wife, Jill Biden."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Ladies and gentlemen, the People's House is back in business. In the nine days since Republicans pulled Mike Johnson from the back benches, the new speaker has presided over a second failed attempt to expel indicted Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), the introduction of not one but two resolutions to censure [Rep. Rashida] Tlaib [D-Mich.], and a resolution to censure Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) for pulling a fire alarm during a vote. Johnson managed to turn an area of near-unanimous support into a partisan brouhaha by making funds to help Israel defend itself against Hamas contingent on a provision making it easier for the wealthy to cheat on their taxes. With just two weeks to go until the federal government runs out of funding, Johnson is floating a cockamamie 'laddered' approach that would replace the looming shutdown threat with 12 new shutdown threats." Includes a number of hilarious tweets among House GOP Bickersons.
Corrections
Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) appeared to get his words mixed up in one of his first fundraising emails since taking the top House job last week. Johnson capped a standard fundraising message Friday with a new turn on a familiar phrase: 'I refuse to put people over politics.'... Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) took an indirect shot at Johnson just after the email made the rounds online Friday afternoon. 'House Democrats will continue to put people over politics,' Jeffries said on X.... 'Why is that an issue for our Republican colleagues?" MB: Numerous reporters have written that one of Johnson's greatest challenges as speaker will be fundraising for GOP House members, inasmuch as he has not been a stellar fundraiser even for himself, and fundraising is one of the most important jobs of Houses leaders. So here again, Mike is off to an awkward start.
Rep. Jamie Raskin marked up George Santos' letter thanking him for voting not to expel him from Congress: "P.S. It's not shameful to resign-" pic.twitter.com/Mybjw7oKZM
— Andrew Solender (@AndrewSolender) November 3, 2023
~~~ Via the Huffington Post.
The Empire Is Back. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: While presiding over the House Friday, Rep. Nick Lalota (R-NY) "sought to recognize Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez (D-NM).... 'For what purpose does the gentleman from --' Lalota began, before correcting himself while committing another error 'Excuse me, the gentlewoman from Mexico seek recognition?' 'From New Mexico, Mr. Speaker,' Leger Fernandez told him with a grin." MB: Various Republicans, including Miss Margie & Florida Gov. Puss N. Boots, think it would be a good idea for the U.S. to attack Mexico in order to catch drug cartel members; I guess Lalota figures that while we're invading, we might as well take control of the whole country.
The Trials of Trump, Ctd.
Devan Cole of CNN: "A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily froze the limited gag order issued against Donald Trump in the former president's election subversion criminal case in Washington, DC. In a brief order, a three-judge panel at the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals said they were pausing the gag order issued by District Judge Tanya Chutkan to give them more time to consider Trump's request to pause the order while his appeal plays out before the court. This story is breaking and will be updated." MB: Neal Katyal, appearing on MSNBC, says this is not a "win" for Trump but merely an "administrative stay," and it does not address the merits of the case. (Also linked yesterday.)
Not Ready for His Closeup, the Public Be Damned. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "Special Counsel Jack Smith told the United States District Court for the District of Columbia that his office opposes an effort by media outlets to allow cameras in the courtroom for Donald Trump's trial.... In a filing on Friday night, the special counsel cited a longstanding rule (LCrR 53.1.1[)], which bans banning cameras of any kind from the courthouse[.]"
Jonah Bromwich & Kate Christobek of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's legal team on Friday repeatedly attacked a law clerk during the former president's civil fraud trial, overshadowing Eric Trump's second day on the witness stand and prompting the judge to bar the lawyers from making public statements about his private communications with his staff. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, works closely with the clerk, Allison Greenfield, and the two often speak and pass notes on the bench. Ms. Greenfield previously worked as a trial attorney in New York City's law department, and the judge appears to rely on her expertise when considering rules of evidence and other matters. But the former president has taken issue with her involvement in the monthlong trial -- Ms. Greenfield is a Democrat and Mr. Trump believes she is biased against him -- and his lawyers have complained about her regularly. On Friday, one of Mr. Trump's lawyers, Christopher M. Kise, continued those objections, saying that the communications between the judge and clerk had created a 'perception of bias.' After court had ended for the day, Justice Engoron issued a written order prohibiting the lawyers from making public statements, in or out of court, about his private communications with Ms. Greenfield, including their conversations and notes." (Also linked yesterday.)
~~~ Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The judge presiding over Donald Trump's $250 million civil fraud trial on Friday imposed a partial gag order on members of the former president's legal team after he said they made 'on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks' about his principal law clerk. Judge Arthur Engoron's order said that Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba, lawyers for the former president and his adult sons, 'are prohibited from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me.'... He said in his order that the three lawyers made remarks about his clerk, 'falsely accusing her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial.'... He also stated that since the beginning of the bench trial, his chambers have been 'inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters and packages.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: NYT reporter Susanne Craig appeared on MSNBC Friday and outlined the defenses the Trump boys have made over the past few days. (1) They didn't know anything about appraisals, as executives at their level did not delve into such minor matters. (2) They relied on professional accountants and lawyers to determine the appraised values of Trump properties; that is, they had nothing to do with making the appraisals. (3) Even if they did have input into the appraisals (as the prosecution demonstrated), the appraisals were far too low; the Trump properties were worth more than the stated appraised valuations. If you find these arguments contraditory, that's because they are. Besides being self-contradictory, evidence presented in court and previously presented to the judge also contradicts the boys' claims.
If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell. -- Carl Sandburg
Donald Trump seems to have modified Sandburg's old saw: If the law and the facts are against you, attack the courts, the prosecutors and the witnesses often and in all-caps. -- Marie Burns
Larry Neumeister of the AP: “A New York federal judge cited ... Donald Trump's 'repeated public statements' Friday among reasons why a jury will be anonymous when it considers damages stemming from a defamation lawsuit by a writer who says Trump sexually abused her in the 1990s. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan issued an order establishing that the jury to be chosen for the January trial in Manhattan will be transported by the U.S. Marshals Service." The New York Times story is here.
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A California judge made a 'preliminary finding' Thursday that attorney John Eastman breached professional ethics when he aided Donald Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election, a significant milestone in the lengthy proceedings over whether Eastman should lose his license to practice law. Eastman said Thursday that the extensive disbarment proceedings -- which delved deeply into his allegations of election fraud and irregularities, as well as his fringe theories about the vice president's power to unilaterally choose the winner of the presidential election -- had strengthened his belief that the 2020 election was tainted. Now, state bar officials are preparing to present 'aggravation' evidence aimed at justifying their call to strip Eastman, a veteran conservative attorney who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, of his law license." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Andrew Weissmann, appearing on MSNBC, said that while no one was looking, what the Eastman case laid out was a version of the federal case against Donald Trump. All John Eastman had to do was demonstrate that he had a good-faith reason to believe that the 2020 presidential election results were fraudulent. This, Weissmann, said was a very low bar. And the judge has "preliminarily determined" that Eastman could not reach it.
Trump Won, I'm Innocent! Amy Gardner & Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "... a novel defense has been emerging from two of Trump's remaining 14 co-defendants in Georgia, where prosecutors allege there was a vast conspiracy to steal the 2020 election through a pressure campaign.... The argument? The 2020 election really was stolen. Lawyers for one of those defendants, Harrison Floyd, appeared in court Friday morning to argue that their client is entitled to thousands of pages of election records from Fulton County and the Georgia secretary of state.... To [make that case], Floyd's lawyers argued, they must be allowed access to some of the same material for which election conspiracy theorists have been clamoring for years: cast-vote records from voting machines, ballot reports, every envelope received with absentee ballots, every absentee ballot application and much more.... On Friday, [Judge Scott] McAfee appeared torn between the rights of defendants facing potential prison sentences to compel the production of evidence that could prove innocence and the burden that such production could generate -- not just on government agencies but on the private citizens whose personal information could be revealed.And lawyers for another co-defendant in the Georgia case, Robert Cheeley, also signaled in a recent filing that litigating claims about Georgia's 2020 presidential election is likely to be key to his defense."
Ha! Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The publisher of Mark Meadows’s book is suing the former White House chief of staff, arguing in court filings Friday morning that he violated an agreement with All Seasons Press by including false statements about former President Trump's claims surrounding the 2020 election. 'Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff under President Donald J. Trump, promised and represented that "all statements contained in the Work are true and based on reasonable research for accuracy" and that he "has not made any misrepresentations to the Publisher about the Work,"' the publishing company writes in its suit, filed in court in Sarasota County, Fla.... The suit comes after ABC News reported that Meadows received immunity to testify before a grand jury convened to hear evidence from special counsel Jack Smith, reportedly contradicting statements he made in his book." MB: So he lied in the book, then he lied about lying in the book. I'm not sure how great a witness Meadows will be. Seems a bit impeachable.
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A former Donald Trump political appointee at the State Department who tried to storm the Capitol and assaulted law enforcement officers on Jan. 6 was sentenced to 70 months in prison on Friday. Federico Klein was arrested in March 2021 and convicted of eight felonies as well as misdemeanor offenses by U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, also a Trump appointee, in July 2023 following a bench trial.... Klein was represented by attorney Stanley Woodward, who represents several Trump aides who have been caught up in federal investigations surrounding the former president." (Also linked yesterday.)
In a post faulting New York Times reporters for failing to account for the way Donald Trump politicized his administration while in office, Marcy Wheeler outlines some of the instances where Trump and his minions tried to exact or succeeded in exacting revenge against Trump's perceived "enemies." Favorite visual evocation: [Bill] "Barr didn't just pressure John Durham to prosecute high-level people: He skipped, hand-in-hand, with Durham as they used Russian intelligence to fabricate an attack on Hillary Clinton...." I'm seeing Tweedledee & Tweedledum skipping merrily, merrily, merrily around Europe in search of a conspiracy. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2024
Marie: I meant to raise this yesterday, but forgot. It's an important reminder of what a truly dangerous person Trump is: ~~~
~~~ Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News: "In 'Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Old Party,' excerpts of which were first released in The Atlantic on Thursday, [ABC News' Jonathan] Karl reports that Trump's campaign message has its apparent roots in an old Confederate code.... At the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in early March 2023..., [Trump declared,] 'In 2016, I declared "I am your voice." Today I add: "I am your warrior. I am your justice, and for those who have been wronged and betrayed, I am your retribution,'" Trump said at the time, roughly a month after his first indictment. It was a language his longtime adviser Steve Bannon told Karl was his 'Come Retribution' speech, according to the excerpts in The Atlantic.... 'What I didn't realize was that "Come Retribution," according to some Civil War historians, served as the code words for the Confederate Secret Service's plot to take hostage -- and eventually assassinate -- President Abraham Lincoln,' Karl writes.... Later that month, on March 25, Trump held the first rally of his 2024 campaign in Waco, Texas.... 'We're the Trump Davidians,' Bannon told him 'with a laugh,' according to the excerpts." ~~~
~~~ The excerpt of Karl's book in the Atlantic is here; it is firewalled. Here's Karl discussing the story on MSNBC: ~~~
Patrick Marley & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "A Colorado judge is weighing whether Donald Trump incited an insurrection and is barred from running for president again. During a hearing this week, she has heard about 19th-century constitutional debates, how and when the National Guard is deployed, free speech rights and jokes cracked by Trump advisers about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.... Denver District Judge Sarah B. Wallace is expected to rule this month, as cases in other states move along briskly. On Monday, Trump filed a lawsuit in Michigan after a judge declined to let him intervene in a case seeking to prevent him from appearing on the ballot there. On Wednesday, a federal judge threw out a challenge in New Hampshire. And on Thursday, the Minnesota Supreme Court heard arguments over his ability to run there." ~~~
~~~ Marie: When you think about it, the Fourteenth Amendment restriction on candidates for office is more vital to democracy than other Constitutional requirements for the presidency. If a candidate was otherwise qualified to be president but was 33 years old or was born in Canada, s/he would not be a threat to nation. But someone who has "engaged in insurrection" is an obvious threat, inasmuch as he has already posed a threat.
Lawrence Hurley of NBC News: "The Supreme Court on Friday stepped into a new gun rights battle by agreeing to weigh whether a Trump-era ban on so-called bump stocks, which allow semi-automatic rifles to fire more quickly, is lawful. The justices were asked by both the Biden administration and gun rights activists to take up the issue, with lower courts reaching differing conclusions on it."
~~~~~~~~~~
Lisa Lerer & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Abortion has emerged as a defining fault line of this year's elections, with consequential contests in several states on Tuesday offering fresh tests of the issue's political potency nearly 18 months after the Supreme Court ended a federal right to an abortion.... The issue is ... on the ballot, both explicitly and implicitly, in races across the country."
New York Congressional Race 2024. Clare Foran & Aaron Pellish of CNN: "Indicted Rep. George Santos says he plans to run for his seat in 2024 even if he's expelled from Congress and insisted that fabricating large parts of his life story would not have any impact on voters next year. In a wide-ranging interview with CNN's Manu Raju on Friday, Santos, a New York Republican, argued that his constituents didn't vote for him based on his biography and said he would 'absolutely' run in 2024 if he is expelled -- something that could happen as soon as this month if the House Ethics committee recommends the chamber take such a dramatic step. Santos, who is under investigation by the Ethics Committee, has pleaded not guilty to 23 federal charges...."
~~~~~~~~~~
Israel/Palestine
The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. CNN's live updates are here: "US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is meeting key Middle Eastern powers today, including Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati, at a summit in Jordan.... Israel admitted responsibility for an attack outside a Gaza hospital Friday that witnesses say killed and wounded dozens, with videos showing people bloodied and strewn across the ground. Israel said it targeted an ambulance being used by Hamas. The Hamas-controlled healt ministry in Gaza has rejected the assertion. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'horrified' by the ambulance strike, reiterating his calls for a ceasefire and condemnation of Hamas while saying the bombardment of Gaza 'must stop.'"
Times of Israel: "In a brief televised statement before the start of Shabbat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he rejects any temporary halt to the fight against Hamas that does not include 'the release of our hostages.['] He also says Israel 'will not enable the entry of fuel to Gaza.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Michael Birnbaum & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday appeared to reject a push by Secretary of State Antony Blinken for a pause in his country's assault on Gaza, saying he would relent only after Hamas frees all of its hostages. The unusually public split between the top U.S. diplomat and Israel's leader came after a day of tense meetings in Tel Aviv, with Blinken and his deputies pushing Israeli officials to be mindful of the rising civilian toll from their effort to expunge the militant group responsible for last month's brutal cross-border attack.... Although the terms have varied in recent weeks, Hamas has indicated most recently that it would release all civilian hostages in exchange for a five-day pause, according to diplomats familiar with the discussions...."
Annals of Journalism? Ctd. Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Jazmine Hughes, an award-winning New York Times Magazine staff writer, resigned from the publication on Friday after she violated the newsroom's policies by signing a letter that voiced support for Palestinians and protested Israel's siege in Gaza. Jake Silverstein, the editor of The New York Times Magazine, announced Ms. Hughes's resignation in an email to staff members on Friday evening. 'While I respect that she has strong convictions, this was a clear violation of The Times's policy on public protest,' Mr. Silverstein wrote. 'This policy, which I fully support, is an important part of our commitment to independence.'"
Share Article The Conversation -- November 3, 2023
Devan Cole of CNN: "A federal appeals court on Friday temporarily froze the limited gag order issued against Donald Trump in the former president's election subversion criminal case in Washington, DC. In a brief order, a three-judge panel at the US DC Circuit Court of Appeals said they were pausing the gag order issued by District Judge Tanya Chutkan to give them more time to consider Trump's request to pause the order while his appeal plays out before the court. This story is breaking and will be updated." MB: Neal Katyal, appearing on MSNBC, says this is not a "win" for Trump but merely an "administrative stay," and it does not address the merits of the case.
The Trump Org fraud case has adjourned for the day. Here is the New York Times' liveblog of developments. And here is CNN's liveblog. The law clerk-bashing thread seems to have won the day. ~~~
~~~ Update. Jonah Bromwich & Kate Christobek of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's legal team on Friday repeatedly attacked a law clerk during the former president's civil fraud trial, overshadowing Eric Trump's second day on the witness stand and prompting the judge to bar the lawyers from making public statements about his private communications with his staff. The judge, Arthur F. Engoron, works closely with the clerk, Allison Greenfield, and the two often speak and pass notes on the bench. Ms. Greenfield previously worked as a trial attorney in New York City's law department, and the judge appears to rely on her expertise when considering rules of evidence and other matters. But the former president has taken issue with her involvement in the monthlong trial -- Ms. Greenfield is a Democrat and Mr. Trump believes she is biased against him -- and his lawyers have complained about her regularly. On Friday, one of Mr. Trump's lawyers, Christopher M. Kise, continued those objections, saying that the communications between the judge and clerk had created a 'perception of bias.' After court had ended for the day, Justice Engoron issued a written order prohibiting the lawyers from making public statements, in or out of court, about his private communications with Ms. Greenfield, including their conversations and notes."
~~~ Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The judge presiding over Donald Trump's $250 million civil fraud trial on Friday imposed a partial gag order on members of the former president's legal team after he said they made 'on the record, repeated, inappropriate remarks' about his principal law clerk. Judge Arthur Engoron's order said that Christopher Kise, Clifford Robert and Alina Habba, lawyers for the former president and his adult sons, 'are prohibited from making any public statements, in or out of court, that refer to any confidential communications, in any form, between my staff and me.'... He said in his order that the three lawyers made remarks about his clerk, 'falsely accusing her of bias against them and of improperly influencing the ongoing bench trial.'... He also stated that since the beginning of the bench trial, his chambers have been 'inundated with hundreds of harassing and threatening phone calls, voicemails, emails, letters and packages.'"
Marie: NYT reporter Susanne Craig appeared on MSNBC Friday and outlined the defenses the Trump boys have made over the past few days. (1) They didn't know anything about appraisals, as executives at their level did not delve into such minor matters. (2) They relied on professional accountants and lawyers to determine the appraised values of Trump properties; that is, they had nothing to do with making the appraisals. (3) Even if they did have input into the appraisals (as the prosecution demonstrated), the appraisals were far too low; the Trump properties were worth more than the stated appraised valuations. If you find these arguments contradictory, they are. Besides being self-contradictory, evidence presented in court and previously presented to the judge also contradicts the boys' contentions.
If the facts are against you, argue the law. If the law is against you, argue the facts. If the law and the facts are against you, pound the table and yell like hell. -- Carl Sandburg
Donald Trump seems to have modified Sandburg's old saw: If the law and the facts are against you, attack the courts, the prosecutors and the witnesses often and in all-caps. -- Marie Burns
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A California judge made a 'preliminary finding' Thursday that attorney John Eastman breached professional ethics when he aided Donald Trump's bid to overturn the 2020 election, a significant milestone in the lengthy proceedings over whether Eastman should lose his license to practice law. Eastman said Thursday that the extensive disbarment proceedings -- which delved deeply into his allegations of election fraud and irregularities, as well as his fringe theories about the vice president's power to unilaterally choose the winner of the presidential election -- had strengthened his belief that the 2020 election was tainted. Now, state bar officials are preparing to present 'aggravation' evidence aimed at justifying their call to strip Eastman, a veteran conservative attorney who once clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, of his law license." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Andrew Weissmann, appearing on MSNBC, said that while no one was looking, what the Eastman case laid out was a version of the federal case against Donald Trump. All John Eastman had to do was demonstrate that he had a good-faith reason to believe that the 2020 presidential election results were fraudulent. This, Weissmann, said was a very low bar. And the judge has "preliminarily determined" that Eastman could not reach it.
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A former Donald Trump political appointee at the State Department who tried to storm the Capitol and assaulted law enforcement officers on Jan. 6 was sentenced to 70 months in prison on Friday. Federico Klein was arrested in March 2021 and convicted of eight felonies as well as misdemeanor offenses by U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden, also a Trump appointee, in July 2023 following a bench trial.... Klein was represented by attorney Stanley Woodward, who represents several Trump aides who have been caught up in federal investigations surrounding the former president."
In a post faulting New York Times reporters for failing to account for the way Donald Trump politicized his administration while in office, Marcy Wheeler outlines some of the instances where Trump and his minions tried to exact or succeeded in exacting revenge against Trump's perceived "enemies." Favorite visual evocation: [Bill] "Barr didn't just pressure John Durham to prosecute high-level people: He skipped, hand-in-hand, with Durham as they used Russian intelligence to fabricate an attack on Hillary Clinton...." I'm seeing Tweedledee & Tweedledum skipping merrily, merrily, merrily around Europe in search of a conspiracy. Thanks to RAS for the link.
Times of Israel: "In a brief televised statement before the start of Shabbat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he has told visiting US Secretary of State Antony Blinken that he rejects any temporary halt to the fight against Hamas that does not include 'the release of our hostages.['] He also says Israel 'will not enable the entry of fuel to Gaza.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday confirmed three more senior military officers in its latest move to bypass an expansive blockade on President Biden's nominees imposed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in a bid to gain leverage in a fight over the Pentagon's travel policy for troops seeking abortions. Approved by lopsided margins were Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Biden's choice to lead the Navy, who will become the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. David W. Allvin, nominated to lead the Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, who will be promoted to four-star general, become the Marine Corps's No. 2 officer and step in as the caretaker commandant in the absence of Gen. Eric Smith, who suffered apparent cardiac arrest on Sunday. Smith, 58, was in stable condition on Wednesday evening with an unclear long-term prognosis. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon's No. 2 political appointee, appeared to link the hold on Thursday directly to Smith's condition[:] 'We have seen tragic effects of that stress, but we've also seen stress at the individual human level. And I think that's been well-communicated on Capitol Hill.'" (Also linked yesterday.)&
Jacob Bogage & Abigail Hauslohner of the Washington Post: "The Republican-controlled House on Thursday approved legislation to send roughly $14 billion in emergency aid to Israel and cut about the same amount from the Internal Revenue Service, in a deeply divided vote on a measure that Senate leaders say they won't take up and President Biden has already threatened to veto.... New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) chose to split the Israel funding off from the rest of the aid and declared the House would cut the budget to pay for the spending to keep the federal deficit from growing. But the cuts to the IRS would actually cost taxpayers money, meaning the aid for Israel would add to the deficit even more than just borrowing the $14 billion Biden wants to send, according to a nonpartisan analysis by the Congressional Budget Office." (Also linked yesterday.)
The Trials of Trump, Ctd.
Jonah Bromwich & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Eric and Donald J. Trump Jr. ... stepped out of their father's shadow and into a legal minefield on Thursday, tiptoeing around potentially damaging evidence as they testified in a trial that threatens their family business. Donald Trump Jr. was mostly calm but often evasive as he blamed outside accountants for any errors in company financial statements during nearly two hours on the stand.... His younger brother, Eric, who now runs the Trump Organization, was more precise in his answers but more combative in his tone. He acknowledged his central role within the company but denied direct involvement with the documents. At one point, Eric Trump erupted in anger at questioning from a lawyer with the New York attorney general's office about whether he was aware of the financial statements in question....
"Toward the end of the day, [state prosecutor Andrew] Amer also drilled down on the value of the family's golf club in Westchester County, N.Y., seeking to show that Eric Trump had ignored an independent appraisal when advising an employee on how much the property was worth. Mr. Trump disputed that he paid much attention to appraisals, despite Mr. Amer's showing several emails in which he had corresponded with an appraiser about appraisals. The testimony was combative throughout, a stark contrast from his brother, who appeared to take his stint on the stand in stride. At one point, Donald Trump Jr. told a courtroom sketch artist to 'make me look sexy,' the artist told reporters." (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Judge Arthur Engoron accused former President Donald Trump's lawyer Chris Kise of misogyny and warned him not to refer to [the] court clerk again during a tense exchange on Thursday.... Engoron snapped at Kise for repeatedly referring to Engoron's principal law clerk Allison Greenfield as a 'female principal law clerk.'... [This] reportedly prompted Kise to 'adamantly' deny he was a misogynist.... Engoron then reportedly warned Kise, 'All joking aside, do not refer to my staff again.... The person sitting along side me is a civil servant, doing what I ask her to do.' Engoron also reportedly threatened to expand Trump's gag order to Kise and other Trump lawyers if they continued to refer to court staffers." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Herb of CNN: "A higher court on Thursday denied Ivanka Trump's request to postpone her upcoming testimony in her father's civil fraud trial, shortly after she claimed she'd suffer 'undue hardship' if forced to appear during a school week.... With the appeal, Trump sought to block New York Judge Arthur Engoron's previous order for her to testify until an appeal could be heard by the New York appellate court." MB: IOW, a person who was previously happy to globetrot any day of the week ending in "y," cannot appear in court during the school year lest her children, who -- unlike most children, certainly have a nanny -- would suffer too much. In future, all court cases in which any participant is a mother with young children must be held during the summer months. How odd the appeals court denied Ivanka's plea. Sorry she has to suffer so much. ~~~
~~~ Stephen Collinson of CNN: "... even before Donald Jr. and Eric had wrapped up an unconvincing day of testimony in a New York civil fraud trial, their father erupted. 'So sad to see my sons being PERSECUTED in a political Witch Hunt by this out of control, publicity seeking, New York State Judge, on a case that should have NEVER been brought,' ... Donald Trump posted on his Truth Social. 'Legal Scholars Scream Disgrace!'"
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge has scheduled jury selection to begin Feb. 9 in ... Donald Trump's Washington, D.C., trial on charges of seeking to subvert the results of the 2020 election. U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan set the date for hundreds of District residents to be summoned to the federal courthouse to complete a written questionnaire about the case."
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump filed an emergency request to a federal appeals court on Thursday seeking to lift the gag order imposed on him in the criminal case in which he stands accused of trying to overturn the 2020 election. The lawyers asked the appeals court to keep the pause of the order in place until it reaches a final decision on whether the order should have been issued in the first place.... Mr. Trump's lawyers, by contrast, have sought, without evidence, to portray the gag order as an attempt by President Biden to 'silence' his chief opponent in 2024 election as the campaign heats up. The former president's lawyers have argued that the order undermines Mr. Trump's First Amendment rights to freely express his belief that the election interference prosecution is, in fact, political persecution -- despite the fact that Judge [Tanya] Chutkan has expressly allowed him to criticize the case, Mr. Biden and his administration." ~~~
~~~ Marie: IOW, according to Trump, an alleged criminal out on bail cannot run for elective office without, say, threatening the children of court staff or recommending the death penalty for potential witnesses. ~~~
~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Thursday referred to those jailed over their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol as 'hostages' during a rally with supporters in Texas.... [To conclude the rally,] a song in which Trump collaborated with a chorus of inmates detained on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection began to play, and the former president stood saluting."
Don't Be a Silly Girl, Judge Aileen. Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Prosecutors with special counsel Jack Smith's office have accused ... Donald Trump's legal team of seeking to manipulate the courts in their bid to delay his trials past the 2024 presidential election. Fresh off a Florida hearing where Trump appeared to gain traction in his effort to delay one of his criminal trials, his attorneys asked Wednesday night for a second trial he faces next year in Washington, DC, to be put on hold. But Trump's emboldened attempts to delay facing federal juries -- on his national security records mishandling and 2020 election cases -- while he is running for president were quickly called out by prosecutors who accuse him of manipulating the courts. 'Defendant Trump's actions in the hours following the hearing ... confirm his overriding interest in delaying both trials at any cost. This Court should [not] allow itself to be manipulated in this fashion,' the Justice Department said in a court filing Thursday with Judge Aileen Cannon in Ft. Pierce, Florida." MB: Reminds me of a father urging his impressionable daughter not to let the football captain turn her head.
Eli Tan & Tory Newmyer of the Washington Post: "A jury on Thursday convicted FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, the culmination of a month-long trial that saw the former crypto mogul take the stand in his own defense after his inner circle of friends-turned-deputies provided damning testimony against him. The decision was reached after a few hours of deliberation by a jury of nine women and three men, who found Bankman-Fried guilty of two counts of wire fraud, four counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The conviction cements Bankman-Fried as one of the largest financial fraudsters in history, whose victims suffered nearly $10 billion in losses after FTX misappropriated customer funds to spend lavishly on luxury real estate, investments, and 'dark money' political donations, all at his direction, the jury found." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's report is here.
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New York. William Rashbaum , et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are conducting a broad public corruption investigation into whether Mayor Eric Adams's 2021 election campaign conspired with the Turkish government to receive illegal foreign donations, according to a search warrant obtained by The New York Times. The investigation burst into public view on Thursday when federal agents conducted an early-morning raid at the Brooklyn home of the mayor's chief fund-raiser, Brianna Suggs. Investigators also sought to learn more about the potential involvement of a Brooklyn construction company with ties to Turkey, as well as a small university in Washington, D.C., that also has ties to the country and to Mr. Adams. According to the search warrant, investigators were also focused on whether the mayor's campaign kicked back benefits to the construction company's officials and employees, and to Turkish officials."
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Israel/Palestine
The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. CNN's live updates are here.
Kevin Liptak, et al., of CNN: "President Joe Biden and his top advisers are warning Israel with growing force that it will become increasingly difficult for it to pursue its military goals in Gaza as global outcry intensifies about the scale of humanitarian suffering there. Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Secretary of State Antony Blinken -- who departed Thursday for Israel with a message on protecting civilian lives -- have all explicitly pressed the case in recent private conversations with the Israelis, telling them that eroding support will have dire strategic consequences for Israel Defense Forces operations against Hamas. Behind the scenes, American officials also believe there is limited time for Israel to try to accomplih its stated objective of taking out Hamas in its current operation before uproar over the humanitarian suffering and civilian casualties -- and calls for a ceasefire -- reaches a tipping point."
Zoe Richards of NBC News: "President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a 'pause' was needed in the Israel-Hamas war.... 'I think we need a pause, Biden said in response to a question from a protester who interrupted him at a campaign reception in Minnesota. Asked to clarify what a pause meant, he said: 'A pause means give time to get the prisoners out....' Negotiations to free 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, have continued since Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack killed about 1,400 people in Israel. After Hamas breached Israel's border wall, other groups from Gaza seized additional captives. The protester, who identified herself as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, said she wanted Biden to call for a cease-fire." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will urge the Israeli government to agree to a series of brief cessations of military operations in Gaza to allow for hostages to be released safely and for humanitarian aid to be distributed, White House officials said on Thursday. The message comes as President Biden revealed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had previously agreed to halt shelling briefly on Oct. 20 to allow for the release of two Americans, Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, 17. The push for what American officials call 'humanitarian pauses' is one of several subjects Mr. Blinken will raise with Mr. Netanyahu and other officials when he arrives in Israel on Friday for another round of diplomacy..." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
CNBC: "The U.S. economy saw job creation decelerate in October, confirming persistent expectations for a slowdown and possibly taking some heat off the Federal Reserve in its fight against inflation. Nonfarm payrolls increased by 150,000 for the month, the Labor Department reported Friday, against the Dow Jones consensus forecast for a rise of 170,000. The United Auto Workers strikes were primarily responsible for the gap as the impasse meant a net loss of jobs for the manufacturing industry."
The Conversation -- November 2, 2023
Jonah Bromwich & Ben Protess of the New York Times: "Eric and Donald J. Trump Jr. ... stepped out of their father's shadow and into a legal minefield on Thursday, tiptoeing around potentially damaging evidence as they testified in a trial that threatens their family business. Donald Trump Jr. was mostly calm but often evasive as he blamed outside accountants for any errors in company financial statements during nearly two hours on the stand.... His younger brother, Eric, who now runs the Trump Organization, was more precise in his answers but more combative in his tone. He acknowledged his central role within the company but denied direct involvement with the documents. At one point, Eric Trump erupted in anger at questioning from a lawyer with the New York attorney general's office about whether he was aware of the financial statements in question....
"Toward the end of the day, [state prosecutor Andrew] Amer also drilled down on the value of the family's golf club in Westchester County, N.Y., seeking to show that Eric Trump had ignored an independent appraisal when advising an employee on how much the property was worth. Mr. Trump disputed that he paid much attention to appraisals, despite Mr. Amer's showing several emails in which he had corresponded with an appraiser about appraisals. The testimony was combative throughout, a stark contrast from his brother, who appeared to take his stint on the stand in stride. At one point, Donald Trump Jr. told a courtroom sketch artist to 'make me look sexy,' the artist told reporters." ~~~
~~~ Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Judge Arthur Engoron accused former President Donald Trump's lawyer Chris Kise of misogyny and warned him not to refer to [the] court clerk again during a tense exchange on Thursday.... Engoron snapped at Kise for repeatedly referring to Engoron's principal law clerk Allison Greenfield as a 'female principal law clerk.'... [This] reportedly prompted Kise to 'adamantly' deny he was a misogynist.... Engoron then reportedly warned Kise, 'All joking aside, do not refer to my staff again.... The person sitting along side me is a civil servant, doing what I ask her to do.' Engoron also reportedly threatened to expand Trump's gag order to Kise and other Trump lawyers if they continued to refer to court staffers."
Jacob Bogage & Abigail Hauslohner of the Washington Post: "The Republican-controlled House on Thursday approved legislation to send roughly $14 billion in emergency aid to Israel and cut about the same amount from the Internal Revenue Service, in a deeply divided vote on a measure that Senate leaders say they won't take up and President Biden has already threatened to veto.... New House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) chose to split the Israel funding off from the rest of the aid and declared the House would cut the budget to pay for the spending to keep the federal deficit from growing. But the cuts to the IRS would actually cost taxpayers money, meaning the aid for Israel would add to the deficit even more than just borrowing the $14 billion Biden wants to send, according to a nonpartisan analysis by the Congressional Budget Office."
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Thursday confirmed three more senior military officers in its latest move to bypass an expansive blockade on President Biden's nominees imposed by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) in a bid to gain leverage in a fight over the Pentagon's travel policy for troops seeking abortions. Approved by lopsided margins were Adm. Lisa Franchetti, Biden's choice to lead the Navy, who will become the first woman on the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Gen. David W. Allvin, nominated to lead the Air Force; and Lt. Gen. Christopher J. Mahoney, who will be promoted to four-star general, become the Marine Corps's No. 2 officer and step in as the caretaker commandant in the absence of Gen. Eric Smith, who suffered apparent cardiac arrest on Sunday. Smith, 58, was in stable condition on Wednesday evening with an unclear long-term prognosis. Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, the Pentagon's No. 2 political appointee, appeared to link the hold on Thursday directly to Smith's condition[:] 'We have seen tragic effects of that stress, but we've also seen stress at the individual human level. And I think that's been well-communicated on Capitol Hill.'" ~~~
~~~ The AP report is here. Last night, some GOP senators railed against Tuberville's holds: ~~~
Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will urge the Israeli government to agree to a series of brief cessations of military operations in Gaza to allow for hostages to be released safely and for humanitarian aid to be distributed, White House officials said on Thursday. The message comes as President Biden revealed on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel had previously agreed to halt shelling briefly on Oct. 20 to allow for the release of two Americans, Judith Raanan, 59, and her daughter, Natalie Raanan, 17. The push for what American officials call 'humanitarian pauses' is one of several subjects Mr. Blinken will raise with Mr. Netanyahu and other officials when he arrives in Israel on Friday for another round of diplomacy...."
Zoe Richards of NBC News: "President Joe Biden said Wednesday that a 'pause' was needed in the Israel-Hamas war.... 'I think we need a pause, Biden said in response to a question from a protester who interrupted him at a campaign reception in Minnesota. Asked to clarify what a pause meant, he said: 'A pause means give time to get the prisoners out....' Negotiations to free 239 hostages, including children and the elderly, have continued since Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack killed about 1,400 people in Israel. After Hamas breached Israel's border wall, other groups from Gaza seized additional captives. The protester, who identified herself as Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg, said she wanted Biden to call for a cease-fire."
Edward Moreno of the New York Times: "A jury of nine women and three men began deliberating a verdict on Thursday afternoon in the criminal fraud trial of Sam Bankman-Fried, the disgraced entrepreneur who has been accused of stealing as much as $10 billion in customer funds from his FTX crypto exchange.... Federal prosecutors have accused Mr. Bankman-Fried of taking billions of dollars in customer deposits from FTX to fund investments, political donations and luxury real estate. The exchange failed last year, leaving many customers unable to recover their money, and turning Mr. Bankman-Fried's case into a referendum on the excesses of the volatile crypto industry.... Jurors are deciding whether to convict Mr. Bankman-Fried on seven charges of fraud and conspiracy.... All 12 jurors must agree to convict or acquit Mr. Bankman-Fried on each of the seven charges." The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ UPDATE. Eli Tan & Tory Newmyer of the Washington Post: "A jury on Thursday convicted FTX co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried of fraud, conspiracy and money laundering, the culmination of a month-long trial that saw the former crypto mogul take the stand in his own defense after his inner circle of friends-turned-deputies provided damning testimony against him. The decision was reached after a few hours of deliberation by a jury of nine women and three men, who found Bankman-Fried guilty of two counts of wire fraud, four counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. The conviction cements Bankman-Fried as one of the largest financial fraudsters in history, whose victims suffered nearly $10 billion in losses after FTX misappropriated customer funds to spend lavishly on luxury real estate, investments, and 'dark money' political donations, all at his direction, the jury found."
CNN is liveblogging developments in today's New York State case to determine the amount of damages the Trump Org must pay for defrauding the state and lenders. Donald Trump, Jr., is back on the stand. MB: He seems to be pleading ignorance to many of the questions of the prosecuting attorney. Which, in his case, is totally believable. He's even anticipating some of the questions; after being asked about a 2017 fraudulent financial statement, he said his answer would be the same for every year, so "... we can save ourselves a lot of time" by not wading through other statements he signed off on. "Rinse and repeat," he said. He seems to pride himself on being a waste of space. ~~~
~~~ Update. The New York Times is liveblogging the "children's" testimony. Eric is on the stand this afternoon.
Marie: looked for this earlier; just found it, via Salon:
Judge Cannon’s decision goes straight for the capillaries. Almost pointless discussion, when so many real issue are left undecided. And her language is far too snarky for a federal judge. https://t.co/CGkd8D68gJ
— Andrew Weissmann (weissmann11 on Threads)🌻 (@AWeissmann_) November 1, 2023
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Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday while keeping alive the possibility of a future increase, striking a cautious stance as rapid inflation retreats but is not yet vanquished."
Dan Lamothe & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "The war in Gaza and a serious medical emergency suffered by the Marine Corps' top officer has forced into the open months of simmering Republican frustration with Sen. Tommy Tuberville's expansive hold on President Biden's military nominees, driving several of his colleagues to publicly denounce the gambit and urge Senate leaders to take immediate action to end the impasse.... On Wednesday night, a remarkable scene unfolded on the Senate floor as several Republicans, including Sens. Dan Sullivan (Alaska), Joni Ernst (Iowa) Todd C. Young (Ind.) and Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.) confronted Tuberville, imploring him to lift his hold for the sake of national security and proposing votes on individual officers whose promotions have been delayed. Tuberville rebuffed them one by one, blocking each proposed nominee as his colleagues' frustration continued to rise.” ~~~
~~~ Conor O'Brien & Joe Gould of Politico: “During the lengthy floor fight Wednesday, [Sen. Dan] Sullivan [R-Alaska] or one of his colleagues would call up each nominee by name -- 61 in all -- extolling their qualifications and, finally, ask for consent to vote to confirm them. Sullivan noted several times that Tuberville had previously said he'd agree to votes on individual nominees.... He called the holdup 'a national security suicide mission.'"
Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "'Over the course of seven years, [Mike] Johnson has never reported a checking or savings account in his name, nor in the name of his wife or any of his children, disclosures show. In fact, he doesn't appear to have money stashed in any investments, with his latest filing -- covering 2022 -- showing no assets whatsoever,' reported Roger Sollenberger [of the Daily Beast], noting that he probably does have a bank account, but just doesn't have enough money in it to trigger reporting requirements. 'House Ethics Committee filing guidelines state that members must disclose bank accounts they have at every financial institution, as long as the account holds at least $1,000 and the combined value of all accounts -- including those belonging to their spouse and dependent children -- exceeds $5,000,' the report continued." Thanks to RAS for the link to the Beast's story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yesterday, I wrote in the Comments that Mike's failure to report any bank balances was pretty implausible. But I think I've figured it out, and I've posted my new theory at the top of today's Comments.
Mike Johnson, Troll. David Firestone of the New York Times: "It didn't take long for the new House speaker, Mike Johnson, to demonstrate to the world that he will not be a serious partner for American allies or for those who still believe that governing is not a petty little game.... Making sense isn't really Mr. Johnson's game.... By throwing ... the I.R.S. cut [in funding into an appropriations bill to fund aid to Israel (and cutting out Ukraine war funding)], he gets to show the same extremists who deposed his predecessor that he can play rough with the White House." (Also linked yesterday.)
Amanda Marcotte of Salon has some thoughts on Mike Johnson's "covenant" marriage and why he's trying to keep his "Stepford wife" Kelly out of sight. Interesting read. (Also linked yesterday.)
Long Island Man Keeps His House Seat. Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "A Republican-led effort to expel Representative George Santos of New York failed on Wednesday night, after a group of lawmakers from Mr. Santos's home state could not persuade enough of their colleagues that his admitted lies and federal indictment were sufficient grounds to oust him." ~~~
~~~ Scott Wong, et al., of NBC News: "The expulsion resolution, which was led by his fellow New York Republicans and says Santos is 'not fit to serve,' needed support from a supermajority, or at least two-thirds of the voting lawmakers, to pass. The final tally did not even crest the simple majority threshold: 179 voted in favor of expulsion, 213 against and 19 voting present. Thirty one Democrats voted with 182 Republicans against expulsion, while 24 Republicans voted with 155 Democrats to remove Santos."
Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "The House on Wednesday turned aside a Republican effort to formally reprimand Representative Rashida Tlaib, Democrat of Michigan, for her participation in a recent pro-Palestinian protest in which she accused Israel of genocide, as a solid bloc of Republicans joined Democrats to reject the move. The vote was 222 to 186 to table, or kill, a censure resolution against Ms. Tlaib, the only Palestinian American member of Congress, offered by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia. The measure accused Ms. Tlaib of 'antisemitic activity' and referred to the Oct. 8 protest as an 'insurrection.' Twenty-three Republicans broke with their party in voting to kill it.... Following the vote on censuring Ms. Tlaib, the House had planned to turn to an effort to formally rebuke Ms. Greene for 'racist rhetoric and conspiracy theories, citing her past antisemitic statements, anti-L.G.B.T.Q.+ remarks and her praise and support for those charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. But that measure was dropped abruptly after the censure of Ms. Tlaib failed." The Hill's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Somebody might tell Miss Margie that Palestinians are Semites, so it would be odd if Tlaib were antisemitic.
Jonah Bromwich & Kate Christobek of the New York Times: "Donald Trump Jr. testified on Wednesday that he had no involvement in annual financial statements that his family's business gave banks and insurers despite language in the statements themselves suggesting that he was partially responsible for them.... Asked whether he worked on one such statement, from 2017, Mr. Trump was clear: 'I did not. The accountants worked on it. That's what we pay them for.' He soon clarified that his conversations with others at the company may have informed the financial statement.... The attorney general's office has argued that his signature on letters affirming his responsibility for the financial statements links him directly to fraud." The AP's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Andrew Weissmann noted on MSNBC Wednesday that one of the documents prosecutors identified during Junior's testimony was a declaration, which Donald Trump Sr. signed on January 15, 2021, while he was still president*, indicating he was reclaiming control of the Trump Org., after having relinquished the top job (at least on paper) while he was president*. Weissmann sees this as an important indicator that Trump knew he had lost the 2020 election. Weissmann opined that Jack Smith could use the admission in the election interference case.
Perry Stein & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The judge overseeing Donald Trump's indictment for allegedly mishandling national security secrets suggested Wednesday that she might push back the planned trial timeline.... U.S. District Judge Aileen M. Cannon listened to prosecutors argue at a hearing for keeping the schedule she set earlier this year, which includes a trial in May 2024. Lawyers for the former president insisted they needed more time to prepare.... [Prosecutors] said that all the classified materials are now available to review in Florida." CNN's report is here.
Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Close allies of Donald J. Trump are preparing to populate a new administration with a more aggressive breed of right-wing lawyer, dispensing with traditional conservatives who they believe stymied his agenda in his first term.... At the start of Mr. Trump's term, his administration relied on the influential Federalist Society, the conservative legal network whose members filled key executive branch legal roles and whose leader helped select his judicial nominations. But in a striking shift, Trump allies are building new recruiting pipelines separate from the Federalist Society." ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "It is not only in the legal realm that this effort is underway, however.... This plan from the pro-Trump right runs in parallel with Trump's intent to overhaul the protections that government employees enjoy, making it easier to fire people who might object to the injection of partisan priorities.... It's a recipe for a second term in which the guardrails battered during Trump's first term are removed completely."
Former Guy to "Rebrand" USA as USA. Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post, republished in Yahoo! News: "In a new post on his Truth Social website, Donald Trump ... made a strange claim about the name of the country if he wins next year's election. 'We're gonna have a great country. It's gonna be called the United States of America,' he said, neglecting the obvious fact that the country is already called the United States of America.... Last week, Trump said he noticed for the first time that the abbreviation for the United States also spells the word 'us.' 'I just picked that up. Has anyone ever thought of that? I just picked that up,' he said in New Hampshire, then complained he probably won't get the credit he deserves for making the 'us' discovery. 'Now, if we say something genius, they'll never say it,' Trump said." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. In yesterday's Comments, RAS posits that Trump is hoping to earn branding credit for the name, a move he may think could earn him billions. (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2024
Minnesota. Steve Karnowski & Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: "Efforts to use the Constitution's 'insurrection' clause to prevent ... Donald Trump from running again for the White House turn to Minnesota on Thursday with oral arguments before the state Supreme Court.... In the Minnesota case, the plaintiffs are asking the state's highest court to declare that Trump is disqualified and direct the secretary of state to keep him off the ballot for the state's March 5 primary. They've also broached the possibility of the court ordering an evidentiary hearing, which would mean further proceedings and delay a final resolution, something Trump's legal team opposes.... [Steve] Simon, the [Minnesota] secretary of state, has asked the court to rule quickly so he can send instructions to local election officials about Minnesota's March primary no later than Jan. 5."
Colorado. Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "A Colorado judge on Wednesday refused a request from lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump to throw out a case challenging his eligibility to hold office again, saying she was not yet prepared to decide on what she called 'significant legal issues, many of which have never been decided by any court.' The decision by the judge, Sarah B. Wallace, means the trial will continue through Friday before a final ruling.... Over two and a half days starting Monday, lawyers for those voters called a series of witnesses. They included two experts intended to build the case that Mr. Trump incited far-right extremists to attack the Capitol and that this constituted 'engaging in insurrection,' as those words were understood when the 14th Amendment was ratified in 1868....
"Among other sources, Professor [Gerard] Magliocca cited congressional debate records; court rulings; legal analyses written by the attorney general at the time; and two instances after the Civil War, but shortly before the 14th Amendment was ratified, in which Congress refused to seat members. One had written a letter to the editor calling for violence against Union troops. The other had given $100 to a son who was going to fight for the Confederacy.... The defense then began calling witnesses on Mr. Trump's behalf. That testimony is expected to run through Friday." An AP story is here.
Michigan. Elle Meyers of CBS News: "The fight over whether ... Donald Trump should be allowed on the 2024 ballot in Michigan continues. This week, lawyers for the former president filed suit, arguing Trump didn't engage in the events that occurred on Jan. 6, 2021. 'An insurrection -- that's an attempt to take over the government; I've never seen a government taken over without guns,' said Terry Johnson, an attorney with Kirsch Daskas Law Group. 'There was not an attempt to overthrow the government. No one took anyone hostage. No one had firearms, rifles, or anything along these lines. This was a riot.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Among the arguments Trump's legal team and other Trumpeteers s are making is that the states should "let the voters decide" who the GOP presidential* nominee will be & forget about allowing or ordering state election officials to remove Trump from their ballots. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), appearing on Joy Reid's MSNBC show Tuesday night, contended that that is a silly argument, inasmuch as states would routinely deny a declared presidential candidate on their ballots if s/he did not meet other Constitutional requirements for the presidency; for instance, if the candidate was 20 years old or was a naturalized citizen.
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New York. Elizabeth Wolfe & Zenebou Sylla of CNN: "Cornell University has canceled classes Friday to acknowledge the 'extraordinary stress' its campus has been under as one of its students is accused of making violent antisemitic threats against Jewish people at the college, where unease over the Israel-Hamas war has been escalating for weeks. A junior at the university, 21-year-old Patrick Dai, has been arrested and federally charged in connection with a series of online posts over the weekend which threatened to kill and harm Cornell's Jewish students, New York prosecutors say.... Since the conflict ignited last month, Jews, Palestinians and Muslims in the US have expressed growing fear over a reported spike in hate-motivated attacks -- including a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents recorded by the Anti-Defamation League in the days after Hamas raided Israel on October 7."
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Israel/Palestine
The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. CNN's live updates are here.
Miriam Berger, et al., of the Washington Post: "A group of foreign passport holders and injured Palestinians left Gaza for Egypt on Wednesday in the war's first such passage to safety even as Israel carried out another deadly strike on the Jabalya refugee camp, the third in less than 24 hours, Palestinian officials said.... Egyptian state media said 361 foreigners and 45 injured Palestinians crossed to Egypt, but it was not immediately clear whether everyone had been admitted to the country. At least five Americans who worked for international organizations were among those evacuated, according to a U.S. official.... A spokesman for the Gaza side of the border said it would be opened again on Thursday for further evacuations. But the movement at Rafah remains woefully insufficient given a humanitarian crisis in the enclave far past the point of desperation, aid workers said."