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Thursday

Jul272023

July 27, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors investigating ... Donald J. Trump on charges of illegally handling classified documents unsealed charges on Thursday against a new defendant -- a maintenance worker at Mar-a-Lago.... The worker, Carlos De Oliveira, who is the head of maintenance at the property and also once parked cars there, was charged with conspiracy to obstruct efforts to retrieve the documents. He was joined to a pre-existing indictment filed in Florida last month accusing Mr. Trump and the aide, Walt Nauta, of a conspiracy to obstruct the government's repeated attempts to retrieve the material.... Mr. De Oliveira was caught on a surveillance camera moving boxes into a storage room at Mar-a-Lago ... in the days between the issuance of a grand jury subpoena demanding all remaining classified material in Mr. Trump's possession and a visit by federal prosecutors to see Mr. Trump's lawyers and enforce the subpoena. Phone records show that Mr. De Oliveira also called an information technology worker at Mar-a-Lago last summer. The call caught the government's attention because it was placed shortly after prosecutors issued a subpoena to Mr. Trump's company, the Trump Organization, demanding the footage from the surveillance camera near the storage room." ~~~

~~~ Earlier. Marie: Okay, Ken Delanian of NBC News now is reporting that special counsel lawyers filed a superceding indictment and that it contains not only charges against Carlos De Oliveira but also additional charges for Donald Trump and Walt Nauta. Two of the three new charges against Trump are for obstruction related to deleting surveillance footage. Uh, wow!

~~~ You can read the new indictment, via CNN, here. MB: The section labeled "The Attempt to Delete Security Camera Footage" (begins at page 26) is a hoot. The guys walk through dark tunnels with flashlights & hold clandestine meetings in the bushes next door to Mar-a-Lardo and in a windowless closet. They sound like mobsters, telling an IT employee he had better delete the footage because "the boss" wanted it done; then Walt's checking with another employee because "someone [MB: i.e., Trump] just wants to make sure Carlos is good," and that person assuring Walt that Carlos is loyal. Trump then calls Carlos to tell him not to worry as He Trump would pay for Carlos' lawyer. Oh, and the upshot of all this is that neither the Frick & Frack team nor "the boss" get the IT guy to delete the surveillance footage. The life of Trump will make a couple of decent "B" mob movies. Better yet, let's hope the Coen brothers are taking notes. ~~~

~~~ From CNN's liveblog: "Special counsel Jack Smith has brought additional charges against ... Donald Trump in the case surrounding his alleged mishandling of classified documents after leaving the White House, according to the court docket. Trump has been charged with three new counts, including one additional count of willful retention of national defense information and two additional obstruction counts, related to alleged attempts to delete surveillance video footage at the Mar-a-Lago resort in summer 2022." You'll have to scroll down to read this content. AND ~~~

~~~ "... Smith has filed an additional charge against ... Donald Trump for willfully retaining a top-secret document about Iran attack plans, which he discussed with biographers during a taped meeting at his Bedminster golf club in New Jersey in July 2021, according to the indictment." Scroll down.

Tierney Sneed of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith has charged a third defendant, Carlos De Oliveira, in the Trump Mar-a-Lago classified documents case, according to court files.... De Oliveira was the maintenance worker who helped Nauta move boxes of classified documents around Mar-a-Lago after the Justice Department first subpoenaed Trump for classified documents last May." MB: Ken Delanian of MSNBC said that De Oliveira's "name has been added to the docket," which doesn't necessary mean he has been charged.

Marie: Early Thursday, I wrote in the Comments, "Like Dianne Feinstein, Mitch should retire." The next thing you know ~~~

~~~ Kristin Wilson of CNN: &"Sen. Dianne Feinstein had to be corrected and told to vote during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Thursday.... During Thursday's hearing, Feinstein was meant to cast her vote on the Defense Appropriations bill, requiring her to say 'Aye' or 'Nay,' when her name was called. When she didn't answer, Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington state tried to prompt her. 'Say aye,' she said, repeating herself three times to Feinstein. Feinstein then started to read from prepared remarks, and was interrupted by an aide whispering in her ear. 'Yeah,' Murray said once again. 'Just say "aye."' 'OK, just,' Feinstein replied. 'Aye,' Murray repeated once more. Then Feinstein sat back in her chair. 'Aye,' she said, casting her vote."

**Uh-oh. Josh Dawsey, et al., of the Washington Post: "Lawyers for ... Donald Trump were meeting Thursday morning with prosecutors from special counsel Jack Smith's office, more than a week after Trump said he received a letter from the Justice Department telling him he could face criminal charges in connection with his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. The meeting, confirmed by a person familiar with the matter..., is another sign that Smith could be close to seeking an indictment of Trump in the Justice Department's long-running elections probe." At 8:35 am ET, this was a developing story. ~~~

~~~ Update: Adam Reiss & Vaughn Hillyard of NBC News (at 11:14 am ET): "Trump's attorneys Todd Blanche and John Lauro have met with prosecutors in Smith's office, according to three sources. The lawyers were told to expect an indictment, two sources said." This is part of a liveblog. You'll have to scroll down. ~~~

~~~ Update 2: Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "... Donald Trump posted on Truth Social saying his lawyers met on Thursday to appeal to special counsel Jack Smith that 'an indictment would only further destroy the country.' Trump's attorneys went into their meeting with the special counsel Thursday not to argue the facts of the case against indicting Trump, but instead with a broader appeal that indicting him would only cause more turmoil in the country's political environment, two sources familiar with the meeting said." This is part of a liveblog. You'll have to scroll down.

David Nakamura & Mark Berman of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department on Thursday opened a sweeping civil rights investigation into allegations that the Memphis Police Department systematically used excessive force and discriminated against Black residents, dramatically escalating federal oversight seven months after the police beating death of Tyre Nichols. Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke said the probe is not based on any single instance of misconduct but was launched after the department's broad review of public records and information provided by community members."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday cleared the way to complete a controversial Mid-Atlantic natural gas pipeline, agreeing that Congress greenlighted the project as part of a behind-the-scenes deal to raise the nation's debt ceiling. Without comment, the justices lifted a lower court's halt on the remaining construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, which will stretch 300 miles through rugged mountains in West Virginia and Virginia. Environmentalists claim that the pipeline threatens lands, water resources and endangered species along the way, and have found some success blocking final approval at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond. But much of the pipeline is already built. During the tense negotiations earlier this summer to keep the nation from defaulting on its debts, House Republicans and Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia wrangled a deal with the Biden administration to cut the courts out of the process. The bill ... expressly stripped courts of jurisdiction to review 'any action' by a federal agency granting authorization for the construction and operation of the pipeline." Politico's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Now, there's a great way to avoid judicial review. Just tuck into every bill a "mitts off, judges" clause. And Democrats could sweeten their bills with, "no Republican-appointed judges may review or rescind any part of this law." If Bibi Netanyahu had thought of this, he could have avoided all those problems with his effort to neuter Israel's judiciary.

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Former Michigan Republican gubernatorial candidate Ryan Kelley pleaded guilty to a federal crime on Thursday in connection with the attack on the U.S. Capitol. Kelley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of entering and remaining on restricted grounds.... Kelley ran for governor in Michigan in 2022 as a Republican, He was arrested last June, before the Republican primary, and was, for a time, leading in the polls." MB: Too bad it's just a misdemeanor. Kelley probably won't get jail time. And I was thinking he would have made a nice simpatico cellmate for Donald Trump.

Manu Raju of CNN: "Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who froze during a news conference Wednesday and earlier this year suffered a concussion after falling down, has also endured two other falls this year, according to multiple people familiar with the matter," once in Finland in February & earlier this month at Reagan International while deplaning.

Erica Green & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President Biden will announce new measures on Thursday aimed at helping communities across the country deal with extreme weather, as rising temperatures scorch much of the country and amplify alarms about the climate crisis. The announcement, to be made in an auditorium on the White House grounds, will come on a day when the National Weather Service is warning that temperatures in the nation's capital could hit triple digits for the first time in nearly seven years. White House officials said the new measures would include funding to improve weather prediction, grants to help ensure clean drinking water across the West and protections for workers who are most vulnerable to heat deaths." MB: I sure hope this invalidates the Texas legislature/Greg Abbott's law outlawing water breaks for construction workers. ~~~

~~~ Update. Marie: Here are some measures President Biden announced, via NPR. It doesn't appear he has precluded enforcement of Texas' no-water-breaks-for-workers law, which goes into effect in September.

~~~ Raymond Zhong of the New York Times: "Weeks of scorching summer heat in North America, Europe, Asia and elsewhere are putting July on track to be Earth's warmest month on record, the European Union climate monitor said on Thursday, the latest milestone in what is emerging as an extraordinary year for global temperatures. Last month, the planet experienced its hottest June since records began in 1850. July 6 was its hottest day. And the odds are rising that 2023 will end up displacing 2016 as the hottest year. At the moment, the eight warmest years on the books are the past eight."

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Bryan Mena of CNN: "The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark lending rate by a quarter point Wednesday, lifting interest rates to their highest level in 22 years. It's the 11th rate increase since the Fed began its inflation fight in March 2022, and comes just one month after the central bank hit pause in order to assess the state of the economy after the failures of three regional banks since the spring. Fed officials are estimating one more rate hike this year, according to their latest set of projections. Inflation's steady slowdown in recent months has been encouraging for American consumers and businesses, but officials reiterated in their post-meeting statement that 'inflation remains elevated' and that the Fed 'remains highly attentive to inflation risks.'..."

John Sakellariadis of Politico: "The Biden administration has tapped former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley to head the Social Security Administration, the White House announced Wednesday. O'Malley, a Democrat, will require Senate confirmation to take over at the agency, which oversees a $1 trillion budget and is responsible for distributing benefits to older adults and disabled people." (Also linked yesterday.)

Rebecca Shabad & Liz Brown-Kaiser of NBC News: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell suddenly stopped speaking during a weekly Republican leadership press conference on Wednesday afternoon, appearing to freeze, and then went silent and was walked away. McConnell, R-Ky., had been making his opening remarks and suddenly stopped talking. His Republican colleagues asked if he was okay and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., escorted McConnell away from the cameras and reporters.... A few minutes later, McConnell walked back to the press conference by himself. When asked about his health, he said he was fine." This is painful to watch: (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Even by the extraordinary standards of contemporary political theater, Wednesday's House Oversight subcommittee hearing on U.F.O.s stood out. There, in a somber chamber of the Rayburn House Office Building, a former national intelligence official told elected representatives that the U.S. government is sheltering alien spacecraft.... David Grusch..., in sworn testimony..., said that longstanding covert programs within the U.S. government possess materials of nonhuman origin that were taken from crash sites.... A succession of lawmakers rebuked what they characterized as decades of unnecessary secrecy in government programs that studied unexplained phenomena. Representative Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, lamented a 'cover-up' that he said stretched far beyond partisan politics.... Under pressure from Congress, the Pentagon and intelligence agencies have gathered hundreds of reports of unexplained phenomena. Officials have said that most of the incidents involved airborne trash, Chinese spying efforts or weather balloons, and that none of the videos or other material collected provides evidence of alien visitation."

A Liar AND [Allegedly!] a Crook. Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "In the years since [Rep. George] Santos [R-N.Y.] first ran for the House in 2020, he has become adept at finding ways to extract money from politics. He founded a political consulting group that he marketed to other Republicans. He sought to profit from the Covid crisis, using campaign connections. And he solicited investments for and from political donors, raising ethical questions.... Mr. Santos ... has not been charged with personal use of campaign funds. But a review of his political career found several previously unreported examples of how he sought to use the connections he made as a candidate for public office to enrich himself." The writers open with a Santos scheme that sounded to the mark a lot like the fake Nigerian prince email scam. (Also linked yesterday.)

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Wednesday delayed accepting a plea deal for President Biden's son Hunter, saying the terms as written by prosecutors and defense lawyers may not be constitutional, but also signaling the agreement could be approved in the future. The deal that had been struck in June began to unravel near the start of the three-hour hearing. U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika asked a series of questions that revealed a disagreement between federal prosecutors and Biden's lawyers over whether the agreement -- in which he would plead guilty to two tax misdemeanors and likely avoid jail time -- would protect him from the possibility of additional criminal charges. The complications marked another twist in a case that has been clouded for years by questions about possible political bias, prosecutorial delay, and debate over whether Hunter Biden was being treated too harshly or too gently because of his father's status as a former vice president and, later, president." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. The Guardian's story is here.

How to Become a Multimillionaire on a Justice's Measly $285K Salary. Steve Eder, et al., of the New York Times: Book "deals have become highly lucrative for [Supreme Court] justices, including for those who have used court staff members to help research and promote their books.... Other federal judges are bound by the Code of Conduct for United States Judges.... One of the tenets ... says that 'a judge should not to any substantial degree use judicial chambers, resources or staff to engage in extrajudicial activities.'... The Times reported earlier this year that justices have heavily relied on their staff to support other paid outside work, including teaching, despite a judicial advisory opinion -- which the justices say they voluntarily follow -- that staff members should not help 'The Times reported earlier this year that justices have heavily relied on their staff to support other paid outside work, including teaching, despite a judicial advisory opinion -- which the justices say they voluntarily follow -- that staff members should not help 'in performing activities for which extra compensation is to be received.'"

Rebecca Shabad & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Wednesday that it seems like Donald Trump's final White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, might be cooperating with the federal probe into the former president. Christie was reacting to a brief exchange captured on video Wednesday morning in Washington between Meadows and an NBC News reporter, who asked Meadows whether he has testified before a federal grand jury. 'I don't talk about anything J6-related,' Meadows said.... 'Watching that video,' Christie said in an interview on MSNBC's 'Andrea Mitchell Reports,' 'that looks to me like somebody who is cooperating with the federal government.' Christie [-- a former U.S. attorney --] said witnesses who testify before grand juries can talk publicly about it if they want to. 'The only time you can't do it is when the government has a cooperation agreement with you and they say, "No talking about this; the only time we want to hear you talking is when you're on the witness stand,"' he said."

Jack, Call Mo. Vaughn Hillyard of NBC News: "Former Rep. Mo Brooks is 'mildly surprised' that special counsel Jack Smith's office has not sought a meeting with him to discuss his accusations that ... Donald Trump urged him to help 'rescind' the 2020 election.... Brooks, a Republican who represented an Alabama district in Congress, said in an interview that he would meet with prosecutors if they ask.... 'I was shocked [Trump] was so blatant about it -- illegal conduct.'... Brooks previously said Trump had made requests to overturn the 2020 election as late as September 2021.... 'Donald Trump wanted me to do four things: advocate rescinding the election, advocate physically removing Joe Biden from the White House, advocate reinstating Donald Trump as president of the United States and advocate a new special election for president of the United States -- all of which violate the U.S. Constitution and federal law,' Brooks said. 'And after I got done explaining that to him, he withdrew his endorsement and endorsed my opponent [in a primary race for a U.S. Senate seat].'" ~~~

~~~ Marie: It's possible that the reason Jack hasn't called Mo is that Jack has spoken to a dozen other members of Congress who told him the same thing: that Donald Trump told them to overturn the election in any number of ways that were clearly illegal or unconstitutional.

Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "As Donald Trump considered another White House run last year, his company's finances were at risk of spiraling into crisis. The former president's longtime lender and several banks with his deposits had cut ties in the days around the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by his supporters, at a time when Trump had hundreds of millions in loans coming due. In February 2022, the accounting firm that had worked for him for two decades dropped Trump and advised against relying on his 'statement of financial condition,' a metric banks use to evaluate the risks of a loan.... One day after the warning ... became public..., -- a Republican donor named Gregory Garrabrants [-- the blunt-spoken president and CEO of Axos, a little-known online-only financial company] -- signed off on a $100 million loan for Trump Tower.... Three months later, Garrabrants approved a second deal that provided $125 million for Trump's Doral resort.... Axos also financed part of a loan that helped facilitate the $375 million purchase of Trump's D.C. hotel by a group of investors. The Axos loans to Trump were vital to stabilizing his post-presidential finances and enabling him to mount [his 2024] campaign."

Thief-in-Chief to Return Artefacts to Israel. Michael Sainato of the Guardian: "Donald Trump will finally return ancient artifacts sent to the US by Israel in 2019 after the items had a lengthy stay at Mar-a-Lago. Israel sent the items to the US in December 2019 for a Hanukkah event at the White House.... ended up [at Mar-a-Lago] when Republican donor Saul Fox gave them to the then president Trump at a [December] 2021 Hanukkah party at Mar-a-Lago. The items were entrusted to Fox after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed retrieval of the items as the Israel Antiquities Authority did not want to entrust the items to a shipping company. Fox told the Wall Street Journal that he thought the items were to be given to Trump permanently. Previous efforts by senior Israeli officials to retrieve the artifacts over the past several months had failed." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: According to the story, Fox gave the artifacts to "then president Trump" at a December 2021 Hanukkah party. But Trump was not president* (except maybe in his own mind) in December 2021. Weird. Here's a New York Times backstory that doesn't pretend Trump was still president* when Fox "gave" him the artifacts.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Rudolph W. Giuliani has admitted that while acting as a lawyer for ... Donald J. Trump, he made false statements in asserting that two Georgia election workers had mishandled ballots while counting votes in Atlanta during the 2020 election. The admission by Mr. Giuliani came in court papers filed on Tuesday night as part of a defamation lawsuit that the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, had brought against him in Federal District Court in Washington in December 2021. The suit accused Mr. Giuliani and others of promoting a video that purported to show Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss -- who are mother and daughter -- of manipulating ballots while working at the State Farm Arena for the Fulton County Board of Elections.... But Mr. Giuliani, insisting that he still had 'legal defenses' in the case, said that he continued to believe his accusations about Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss were 'constitutionally protected' under the First Amendment. He also refused to acknowledge that his statements had caused the women any damage...." Giuliani said he was making his admissions to save litigation costs. Politico's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: Yesterday MSNBC & CNN repeatedly played a video of false accusations Giuliani made against the women after the 2020 election. In the video, Rudy accuses them of "passing around USB ports," making the accusation even more ludicrous than intended. A "USB port" is where you dock a USB "flash drive" or "stick." That is, it's an outlet in the computer itself where you plug in a USB stick or other connector. If the women were passing around "ports," they would have had to surreptitiously hand off big ole computers. Just stupid.

Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "A Kentucky man who was part of a mob smashing windows to the House Speaker's Lobby in the Capitol on Jan. 6, which led to Ashli Babbitt trying to climb through before being fatally shot by police, was convicted Thursday of two felonies and seven misdemeanors, including obstruction of an official proceeding and destruction of government property. Chad Barrett Jones, 45, of Mount Washington, Ky., was captured on video as part of a group of Donald Trump supporters cursing U.S. Capitol Police officers who were standing outside the glass doors to the Speaker's Lobby while members of Congress were preparing to evacuate as rioters neared."

Nicholas Kristof of the Washington Post has a fairly good column on the inequality inherent in college admissions policies.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukraine has launched a new push against Russian lines, achieving some gains in the south, Kyiv said. A U.S. official said it was unclear 'what the purpose' of these moves may be.... The goal of Ukraine's latest military push is to reach the Sea of Azov.... Swedish officials accused the Kremlin of backing a disinformation campaign to discredit Stockholm -- which is set to join NATO soon -- in the eyes of Muslims. Copies of the Quran have been burned at demonstrations in the country, triggering outrage among Muslims, including in Turkey, a NATO member country that was slow to agree to Sweden's accession to the transatlantic alliance.... The White House is exploring 'less efficient' land routes to export grain from Ukraine, after Russia withdrew from the Black Sea grain deal last week." ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "President Biden has quietly ordered the U.S. government to begin sharing evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine with the International Criminal Court in The Hague, according to officials familiar with the matter, signaling a major shift in American policy. The decision, made by Mr. Biden in recent days, overrides months of resistance by the Pentagon, which had argued that it could pave the way for the court to prosecute American troops, according to the officials." The Guardian's story is here.

Israel. Patrick Kingsley & Aaron Boxerman of the New York Times: "Israel's Supreme Court said Wednesday that it would begin in September to review a contentious new law that diminishes the court's own role, setting the stage for a constitutional crisis and renewed social turmoil if the judges then overturn the legislation. The decision sets up a looming clash between the executive branch of government and the highest court in the land. The Supreme Court must now decide whether to reassert its dominance over Prime Minister Benjamin's Netanyahu's government -- or it must accept the move to reduce its own power. Either conclusion is likely to provoke widespread anger, since the issue has become a proxy for a much broader battle over Israel's character." (Also linked yesterday.)

U.K. Emine Sinmaz of the Guardian: "Kevin Spacey wept and said he was humbled after being cleared of sexual assault in one of the UK's most high-profile #MeToo trials. The 64-year-old Oscar-winning actor sobbed in the dock as he was found not guilty on Wednesday of sexually assaulting four men after a four-week trial at Southwark crown court." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

Washington Post: "Charles Wurster, a scientist whose battle to ban pesticides helped save the bald eagle and other endangered bird species, and led to the founding of the Environmental Defense Fund, one of America's premier environmental groups, died July 6 at his daughter's home in Arlington, Va. He was 92."

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Tuesday

Jul252023

July 26, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in a court proceeding in which Hunter Biden is expected to plead guilty to two misdemeanor tax charges. ~~~

~~~ Clusterfuck! The deal appears to blow up: "... the judge who must approve the deal, Maryellen Noreika, questioned whether it meant that [Hunter] Biden would be immune from prosecution for other possible crimes -- including violations related to representing foreign governments -- in perpetuity. When a top prosecutor in the case said it would not, Chris Clark, Mr. Biden's lead lawyer, responded by saying the agreement was 'null and void.'" ~~~

~~~ Michael Schmidt: "As we wait to see whether the deal is salvaged, it's important to remember that it was negotiated over weeks in which there were lengthy back and forths about every inch of the deal. The idea that this issue was not resolved seems extraordinary." ~~~

~~~ According to CNN's liveblog, "The Hunter Biden plea proceedings have restarted and the president's son has agreed to a limited agreement that covers 2014 to 2019 and only includes conduct related to tax offenses, drug use and gun possession. President Joe Biden's son will still plead guilty to the tax misdemeanors for 2017 and 2018, but the agreement will also cover his tax-related conduct for the three years prior. The two sides have agreed that this deal does not shield him from potential future charges." That's a whole different story from what Hunter's lawyers have been saying over the past weeks. Commentators on MSNBC were aghast that such a "misunderstanding" on so fundamental a matter could have occurred in such a high-profile case. ~~~

~~~ And Then: "US District Judge Maryellen Noreika said she was not ready to accept the plea deal, and the hearing ended with Hunter Biden pleading not guilty for the time being. The judge asked the sides to file additional briefs explaining the plea deal's legal structuring."

Thief-in-Chief to Return Artefacts to Israel. Michael Sainato of the Guardian: "Donald Trump will finally return ancient artefacts sent to the US by Israel in 2019 after the items had a lengthy stay at Mar-a-Lago. Israel sent the items to the US in December 2019 for a Hanukkah event at the White House.... ended up [at Mar-a-Lago] when Republican donor Saul Fox gave them to the then president Trump at a [December] 2021 Hanukkah party at Mar-a-Lago. The items were entrusted to Fox after the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic delayed retrieval of the items as the Israel Antiquities Authority did not want to entrust the items to a shipping company. Fox told the Wall Street Journal that he thought the items were to be given to Trump permanently. Previous efforts by senior Israeli officials to retrieve the artifacts over the past several months had failed." ~~~

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Erica Green of the New York Times: "On Tuesday..., President Biden established a national monument honoring Emmett Till and his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, a fierce advocate for her son who insisted on an open coffin at his funeral so the country could bear witness to the brutality he suffered. The Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Monument includes three protected sites, in Illinois, where Emmett was born 82 years ago to the day on Tuesday, and in Mississippi, where he was tortured and killed after being accused of whistling at a white woman. The monument comes as Mr. Biden has made the case for reckoning with the legacy of racism in America, even as some Republicans try to restrict how Black history is taught. 'At a time when there are those who seek to ban books, bury history, we&'re making it clear -- crystal, crystal clear: While darkness and denialism can hide much, they erase nothing,' he said during a ceremony at the White House, which was attended by Vice President Kamala Harris as well as members of the Till family." ~~~

~~~ In 1955, Mrs. Till telegrammed President Eisenhower (R) pleading that "justice is meted out to all persons involved in the beastly lynching of my son." No one in the Eisenhower administration responded.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "One of President Biden's dogs has bitten several Secret Service agents, and even sent one to the hospital, part of a series of at least 10 incidents of 'aggressive behavior,' according to internal emails recently obtained by a conservative watchdog group. The correspondence shows that Commander, the nearly 2-year-old German shepherd, has struggled to adjust to life at the White House, where he arrived in 2021, and Delaware, where the Bidens own two homes.... The Bidens have partnered with the Secret Service for 'additional leashing protocols and training' to rein in Commander, according to ... a White House spokeswoman." MB: It seems the measures taken were not adequate.

Take That, Supremes! Michael Shear & Anemona Hartocollis of the New York Times: "The Education Department has opened a civil rights investigation into Harvard University's legacy admissions policy, inserting the federal government directly into a fierce national debate about wealth, privilege and race after the Supreme Court gutted the use of affirmative action in higher education. The inquiry into one of the nation's richest and most prestigious universities will examine allegations by three liberal groups that Harvard's practice of showing preference for the relatives of alumni and donors discriminates against Black, Hispanic and Asian applicants in favor of white and wealthy students who are less qualified. The Education Department's Office of Civil Rights has powerful enforcement authority that could eventually lead to a settlement with Harvard or trigger a lengthy legal battle like the one that led to the Supreme Court's decision to severely limit race-conscious admissions last month, reversing a decades-long approach that had increased chances for Black students and those from other minority groups."

Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in California on Tuesday struck down the Biden administration's temporary restrictions on migrants seeking asylum, ruling that the government's plan to reduce illegal crossings on the southern border violated federal law. U.S. District Judge Jon S. Tigar ruled against a system the Biden administration imposed more than two months ago to penalize migrants who crossed the border illegally and reward those who scheduled appointments to seek asylum instead. Tigar granted the government's request to delay the ruling from taking effect for 14 days to allow time for officials to appeal." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

They Have No Shame. Luke Broadwater & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "On the eve of Hunter Biden's court appearance to enter into a plea deal for misdemeanor tax crimes that would allow him to avoid prison time, House Republicans and conservative groups sought to intervene in the case, urging a judge to throw out the agreement he reached with prosecutors. The highly unusual legal maneuvering -- which experts said was unlikely to succeed -- illustrated the lengths that House Republicans and their allied groups have been willing to go to as they have tried to use Mr. Biden's legal and personal troubles to inflict political damage on his father, President Biden. Representative Jason Smith of Missouri, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, filed a brief in Federal District Court in Wilmington, Del., where Hunter Biden's plea deal is to be considered by a judge on Wednesday."

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post: "For nearly a decade, [Sen. Tommy] Tuberville [R-Ala.] has described the World War II exploits of his father, Charles R. Tuberville Jr., in a relatively consistent way -- that he was a tank commander, that he earned five Bronze Stars, that he participated in the D-Day landing and that he lied about his age to join the army. News organizations have tended to accept Tuberville's version and either reprint or broadcast it. Yet an examination of army histories, newspaper reports and other materials calls into question many of the claims put forth by Tuberville, who sits on both the Senate Armed Services and Veterans' Affairs committees and is now in a high-profile battle with the Biden administration over a Defense Department policy offering time off and travel reimbursement to service members who need to go out of state for abortions." Each of these claims is either demonstrably false or dubious. MB: This is Mr. Potato Head's attempt to bathe himself in heroism-by-proxy. There's no such thing.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Tuesday wiped out the conviction and sentence of Bowe Bergdahl, the former Army sergeant who walked off a base in Afghanistan in 2009 only to be held captive by the Taliban for five years, and whose release in a prisoner swap prompted intense controversy. In a 63-page ruling, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia vacated all the court-martial proceedings against Sergeant Bergdahl after October 2017. At the time, the military judge in the case, Jeffery R. Nance, then an Army colonel, applied for a job with the Justice Department under President Donald J. Trump, a step he did not disclose. Mr. Trump had repeatedly railed against the sergeant, calling him a traitor and suggesting that he be executed. The ruling could lead to a second trial before a new judge.... Colonel Nance had earlier rejected a ... motion [to throw out the case], and he had submitted that ruling as a writing sample with his job application at the Justice Department." ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu & Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The judge [MB: which judge? Walton or the original trial judge?] rejected Bergdahl's claim that Donald Trump exercised unlawful influence as the military's commander in chief by vilifying him during the case as a 'dirty rotten traitor' deserving of execution. In 2015, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), then the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, called Bergdahl 'clearly a deserter' and offered to hold a committee hearing if he was not punished. Without referring to either Trump or McCain by name, [Judge Walton] bluntly chided political officeholders and candidates who 'express their desired verdict and punishment of individuals merely accused of committing criminal offenses,' saying doing so violates the principle that the accused are innocent until proved guilty." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Walton -- a Dubya appointee -- holds Trump in low regard. According to the WashPo report, "After a trial involving a Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot defendant last year, Walton described Trump as a 'charlatan' who 'doesn't, in my view, really care about democracy but only about power. And as a result of that, it's tearing this country apart.'"

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "United Parcel Service announced Tuesday that it had reached a tentative deal on a five-year contract with the union representing more than 325,000 of its U.S. workers, a key step in averting a potential strike next month.... The union, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, reported in June that its UPS members had voted to authorize a strike after the expiration of the current agreement on Aug. 1, with 97 percent of those who took part in the vote endorsing the move.... The Teamsters said that under the tentative agreement, current full- and part-time UPS employees represented by the union would receive a $2.75-an-hour raise this year, and $7.50 an hour in raises over the course of the contract.... The deal, if ratified, removes a serious threat to the U.S. economy.... A 10-day UPS strike would cost the U.S. economy about $7 billion, according to an estimate from the Anderson Economic Group." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "In recent weeks, [special prosecutor Jack] Smith's team has pushed forward in collecting new evidence and in arranging new interviews with witnesses who could shed light on [Donald] Trump's mind-set in the chaotic postelection period or on other subjects important to the inquiry. At the same time, word has emerged of previously undisclosed investigative efforts, hinting at the breadth and scope of the issues prosecutors are examining.... Among the previously unknown steps taken by Mr. Smith's team was an interview conducted about three months ago with Richard P. Donoghue, a former top official in the Justice Department at the end of Mr. Trump's time in office.... Prosecutors under Mr. Smith have asked questions as to when and how federal officials went about securing the election, and how they coordinated those efforts with secretaries of state in various states.... Prosecutors have also sought to determine how regularly the White House was briefed on election security measures." MB: If you haven't kept up with recent news stories on the nature of Smith's inquiries, this article provides a good review.

One Way or Another, She's Gonna Getcha, Getcha, Getcha. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia in recent weeks has weighed several potential statutes under which to charge, including solicitation to commit election fraud and conspiracy to commit election fraud..., as well as solicitation of a public or political officer to fail to perform their duties and solicitation to destroy, deface or remove ballots..., according to two people briefed on the matter.... The district attorney is also seeking to charge at least some of the Trump operatives who were involved in accessing voting machines and copying sensitive election data in Coffee county, Georgia, in January 2021 with computer trespass crimes, the two people said.... The move by the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, to identify a list of potential charges marks a major juncture in the criminal investigation and suggests prosecutors are on course to ask a grand jury to return indictments next month." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I was watching a German teevee series this morning, and in one scene, a neo-Nazi gang leader said that if Germany didn't get rid of Muslim immigrants, "we won't have a country anymore." This is precisely -- almost word-for-word -- what Donald Trump says, in various contexts, about the U.S. I don't think that's a coincidence. Trump does not just tolerate neo-Nazis; he takes inspiration from them. Some might say Trump is a neo-Nazi.

Tucker Carlson Is a Victim Again. Just Ask Him. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Tucker Carlson 'knows' he was fired by Fox News in April as a condition of the $787.5m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems regarding the broadcast of Donald Trump's lie about election fraud, the former host says in a new book. 'They agreed to take me off the air, my show off the air, as a condition of the Dominion settlement,' Carlson tells his biographer, Chadwick Moore. 'They had to settle this; Rupert [Murdoch, the 92-year-old Fox News owner] couldn't testify. I think that deal was made minutes before the trial started. I mean, I know it was.'"

A Trumpish Swindler Goes to Jail. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "A Colorado man convicted last year of conspiring to defraud people who donated money to build the kind of border wall championed by Donald J. Trump was sentenced Tuesday to five years and three months in prison. The defendant, Timothy Shea, began raising money for a wall between the United States and Mexico in late 2018, working with a disabled veteran named Brian Kolfage. In early 2019 Stephen K. Bannon, the former Trump adviser, and Andrew Badolato, a financier from Florida, joined them to form a group called We Build the Wall. The group raised more than $25 million, saying that everything it took in would go toward the wall.... Prosecutors said that instead the defendants stole more than a million dollars from the group, spending some on jewelry, boat payments and cases of a Trump-themed energy drink that claimed to contain 'liberal tears.'" The Hill's story is here.

Jeremy Merrill & Hanna Koslowska of the Washington Post: "While the legitimacy of the gold retirement investment industry is the subject of numerous lawsuits -- including allegations of fraud by federal and state regulators against ... companies [that sell gold and silver coins] -- its advertising has become a mainstay of right-wing media. The industry spends millions of dollars a year to reach viewers of Fox, Newsmax and other conservative outlets, according to a Washington Post analysis of ad data and financial records, as well as interviews with industry insiders.... An analysis by The Post of political newsletters, social media, podcasts and a national database of television ads collected by the company AdImpact found that pitches to invest in gold coins are a daily presence in media that caters to a right-wing audience and often echo conservative talking points about looming economic and societal collapse. The Post found no similar ads for gold retirement investments in mainstream or left-wing media sources in the databases." The coins these sellers offer have high mark-ups, far higher than typical coin dealers charge. Among the promoters of the rip-offs: Rudy Giuliani & Ted Cruz. MB: I'll bet that surprises you. (Also linked yesterday.)

On the Theory of Barbie. (1) Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "This summer's two biggest entertainment phenomena, the movie 'Barbie' and Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, have a lot in common. Both feature conventionally gorgeous blond women who alternately revel in mainstream femininity and chafe at its limitations, enacting an ambivalence shared by many of their fans. Both, beneath their slick, exuberant pop surfaces, tell female coming-of-age stories marked by existential crises and bitter confrontations with sexism.... The film's blunt feminism -- its villain is, literally, patriarchy -- has prompted an enjoyably impotent right-wing backlash.... An obvious lesson from the gargantuan success of both 'Barbie' and the Eras Tour is that there is a huge, underserved market for entertainment that takes the feelings of girls and women seriously.... For the most part, unfortunately, it appears as if the lesson Hollywood is going to take from the success of 'Barbie' is not to make more stories for women, but to make more movies about toys." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

On the Theory of Barbie. (2) Jessica Bennett of the New York Times: "Barbie [the Mattel doll] has been a protest slogan ('I am not your Barbie'), a bimbo (remember 'Math class is tough' Barbie?), an eating disorder accelerant.... But Barbie has also been a lawyer, a pilot, an astronaut and the president. She has never married, lives alone and does not have children. The movie seemed as full of contradictions as the doll. It was promoted through a marketing campaign that had more licensing deals than Barbie has outfits.... But it also had a director -- Greta Gerwig -- with indie street cred, and early reviews focused on the film's subversiveness.... [Feminist writer Susan Faludi, who views the film with Bennett, told her,] 'It seems to me that a big theme underlying the movie is shock and horror over what happened to us -- what happened to women -- from 2016 on, with the double whammy of Trump and then Dobbs. And in particular, I thought abortion was the subtext to a lot.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign is expanding the number of staff it's cutting to include more than a third of his payroll as the Florida governor looks to get his primary bid back on track. The cuts, which were confirmed by advisers, will amount to a total of 38 jobs shed across an array of departments." MB: In case you're feeling sad that some nice kids lost their jobs, bear in mind that the "nice kids" are probably a lot like this one: ~~~

~~~ Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's presidential campaign fired a staffer this week who promoted Nazi imagery in a pro-DeSantis video.... [Nate] Hochman was a speechwriter on the campaign and previously worked at the conservative publication The National Review. Axios reported on Tuesday that Hochman created a video that featured DeSantis at the center of Florida's state seal that morphs into a Sonnenrad, which is an ancient European symbol that was used by the Nazis in their imagery and propaganda." ~~~

~~~ Marie: A guest on MSNBC pointed out last night that Florida's education departmental teaching guidelines -- unlike their rosy picture of slavery -- portray the Holocaust as the horror it was. I would like to think that's because Ron DeSantis has an ounce of decency, but it's more likely because he is trying to appeal to Jewish voters.

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and members of his team were involved in a car accident Tuesday morning but are uninjured, his campaign said.... 'We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail,' [campaign spokesperson Bryan Griffin said in a statement]." MB: I don't wish car crashes on anyone, but "well wishes of the nation"? What a presumptuous twit. And I'll be damned if I'll get down on my knees and thank the lord for protecting DeSantolini while he's out among the dimwits hustling votes. (Also linked yesterday.)

Musk's "X" Obsession. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: In 2000, Elon Musk wanted to change the name of PayPal to X.com, the name of a company he owned & which merged with the company that owned PayPal. Musk became CEO of the combined companies. But focus groups thought X.com connoted a porn website. The board ousted Musk. Now, with Musk's decision to kill the Twitter bird and rebrand the company "X," "critics on Twitter have joked that the logo for the rebranded X -- one that Musk promises to make into an 'everything app' 00 is indistinguishable from the logos of severa pornography sites." ~~~

These are all porn except one. That one's Twitter. pic.twitter.com/VYUWOFsFTv
— Jesse McLaren (@McJesse) July 24, 2023

~~~ Marie: Oddly, the messages one writes on the Site-Formerly-Known-as-Twitter are still called "tweets." ~~~

~~~ Oh, Wait. There's More. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: "The name of [Musk's] son ... is X Æ A-12. Nearly 25 years ago, Musk founded the online bank X.com, which eventually became PayPal. In 2002, Musk introduced his spacecraft manufacturing company, SpaceX. And in 2015, the Tesla founder and CEO released the Model X crossover vehicle." ~~~

~~~ And There's a Little Legal Problem. Blake Brittain of Reuters: "Billionaire Elon Musk's decision to rebrand Twitter as X could be complicated legally: companies including Meta ... and Microsoft ... already have intellectual property rights to the same letter. X is so widely used and cited in trademarks that it is a candidate for legal challenges - and the company formerly known as Twitter could face its own issues defending its X brand in the future. 'There's a 100% chance that Twitter is going to get sued over this by somebody,' said trademark attorney Josh Gerben, who said he counted nearly 900 active U.S. trademark registrations that already cover the letter X in a wide range of industries." MB: But hey, Elon, I'm sure you wouldn't be a multi-billionaire but for your great ideas, so I'm sure you thought this through.

Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "The Gulf Stream system could collapse as soon as 2025, a new study suggests. The shutting down of the vital ocean currents, called the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (Amoc) by scientists, would bring catastrophic climate impacts. Amoc was already known to be at its weakest in 1,600 years owing to global heating and researchers spotted warning signs of a tipping point in 2021. The new analysis estimates a timescale for the collapse of between 2025 and 2095, with a central estimate of 2050, if global carbon emissions are not reduced. Evidence from past collapses indicates changes of temperature of 10C in a few decades, although these occurred during ice ages.... Amoc carries warm ocean water northwards towards the pole where it cools and sinks, driving the Atlantic's currents. But an influx of fresh water from the accelerating melting of Greenland's ice cap and other sources is increasingly smothering the currents. A collapse of Amoc would have disastrous consequences around the world, severely disrupting the rains that billions of people depend on for food in India, South America and west Africa." ~~~

~~~ Dani Anguiano of the Guardian & Agencies: "The surface ocean temperature around the Florida Keys soared to 101.19F (38.43C) this week, in what could be a global record as ocean heat around the state reaches unprecedented extremes.... Normal water temperatures for the area this time of year should be between 73F and 88F (23C and 31C), according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa). The level of heat recorded this week is about the same as a hot tub.... The south Florida coast has been grappling with an extreme heatwave that threatens marine life and ocean ecosystems.... The temperatures in Florida also pose a threat to human food supplies and livelihoods for those whose work is tied to the water." MB: Yeah, and no going for a dip to cool off.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post (July 24): "Florida's decision to teach in schools that slavery in this country was of 'personal benefit' to some enslaved people is obscene revisionism.... One of my great-great-grandfathers, enslaved in Charleston, S.C., was indeed compelled to learn to be a blacksmith. But he had no ability to 'parlay' anything, because his time and labor were not his own. They belonged to his enslaver. He belonged to his enslaver.... He was sold like a piece of livestock at least twice that I know of. To say he 'developed skills,' as if he had signed up for some sort of apprenticeship program, is appallingly ahistorical. As was true for the millions of other enslaved African Americans, anything he achieved was in spite of his bondage." ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post examines the recent history of how right-wing extremists got to extolling the benefits slaves derived from captivity.

Idaho. Kirk Siegler of NPR: "A jury has ordered anti-government extremist Ammon Bundy and associates to pay more than $50 million in damages to Idaho's largest hospital in connection with armed protests last year that led to a security lockdown. The decision handed down late Monday follows a ten day civil trial in which Bundy was a no show and where attorneys with St. Luke's Hospital outlined what they called an extensive campaign of bullying, intimidation and disinformation directed at doctors and medical staff that they say continues today.... The drama goes back to March of 2022 when Bundy led a series of tense protests against the hospitalization of one of his associate's infant grandkids who state social workers said was malnourished. According to court documents, protesters, some armed, tried to force their way into the hospital's locked exits. Some held 'wanted' signs naming individual doctors and nurses and even blocked an ambulance entrance as car horns blared.... Meanwhile, it's unclear how much if any of the $50 million in damages, half of them punitive, will ever get paid."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "In Russia, the lower house has passed legislation that will raise the country's maximum draft age from 27 to 30 as Moscow scrambles to find fighters for its war in Ukraine. The changes will be enacted on Jan. 1, according to an official Telegram channel. Current Russian law requires men between 18 and 27 to complete one year of military service.... Russia's conscription bill also cracks down on draft dodging by preventing men who have received a draft notice from leaving the country, local media reported. The bill is expected to be approved by the upper chamber and signed into law by President Vladimir Putin. Russia's Black Sea Fleet has changed position 'in preparedness to enforce a blockade on Ukraine,' Britain's Defense Ministry said Wednesday, noting the change since Moscow pulled out of the grain deal earlier this month.... The United States will send Ukraine an additional $400 million in security assistance, the Pentagon announced." ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Anushka Patin & Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Trevor Reed, the former U.S. Marine who was detained in Russia for nearly three years and later freed in a prisoner swap, was injured while fighting in Ukraine, the State Department said on Tuesday. Mr. Reed's condition was not immediately clear. He is receiving medical care in Germany, said Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesman.... Mr. Reed's decision to return to the region [after Russia released him] and become a volunteer fighter for Ukraine created some 'exasperation' within the Biden administration, an administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters said on Tuesday."

News Ledes

BBC News: "Irish singer and activist Sinéad O'Connor has died at the 'age] of 56." O'Connor's New York Times obituary is here.

New York Times: "A construction crane partially collapsed in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, injuring six people, New York City officials said. The crane collapsed around 7:30 a.m., and it was unclear whether it was occupied at the time, Officer Antonio Antenucci said. Traffic was closed around 10th and 11th Avenues between 41st and 42nd Streets, near Hudson Yards. Four civilians and two firefighters received minor injuries, officials said. Photos and video on social media appeared to show the car of the crane on fire before the arm collapsed, slamming into an adjacent building as it fell. People on the street ran as the crane fell."

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Monday

Jul242023

July 25, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

One Way or Another, She's Gonna Getcha, Getcha, Getcha. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The Fulton county district attorney investigating Donald Trump;s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia in recent weeks has weighed several potential statutes under which to charge, including solicitation to commit election fraud and conspiracy to commit election fraud..., as well as solicitation of a public or political officer to fail to perform their duties and solicitation to destroy, deface or remove ballots..., according to two people briefed on the matter.... The district attorney is also seeking to charge at least some of the Trump operatives who were involved in accessing voting machines and copying sensitive election data in Coffee county, Georgia, in January 2021 with computer trespass crimes, the two people said.... The move by the Fulton county district attorney, Fani Willis, to identify a list of potential charges marks a major juncture in the criminal investigation and suggests prosecutors are on course to ask a grand jury to return indictments next month."

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and members of his team were involved in a car accident Tuesday morning but are uninjured, his campaign said.... 'We appreciate the prayers and well wishes of the nation for his continued protection while on the campaign trail,' [campaign spokesperson Bryan Griffin said in a statement]." MB: I don't wish car crashes on anyone, but "well wishes of the nation";? What a presumptuous twit. And I'll be damned if I'll get down on my knees and thank the lord for protecting DeSantolini while he's out among the dimwits hustling votes.

~~~~~~~~~~

Seung Min Kim of the AP: "President Joe Biden is tapping Shuwanza Goff -- a veteran congressional aide who also served as his main point of contact to the House at the start of the administration -- as his new director of legislative affairs, making her the first Black woman to be the White House's chief emissary to Capitol Hill. Goff succeeds Louisa Terrell in the role, a position that is especially vital for a president who spent more than three decades in Congress and takes pride in his connections to lawmakers. Goff comes into the job with deep relationships not just with Democrats but with Republicans, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that were honed over more than a decade on Capitol Hill. In a statement announcing the hire, Biden called Goff a 'proven leader and trusted voice on both sides of the aisle' who played a key role in the biggest legislative accomplishments from the first two years of his presidency ... as well as the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson." (Also linked yesterday.)

Fatima Hussein of the AP: "The Internal Revenue Service said Monday it is ending its decades-old policy of making unannounced home and business visits, in an effort to help keep its workers safe and to combat scammers who pose as IRS agents. Effective immediately, revenue agents will no longer make unplanned visits to taxpayers' homes and businesses 'except in a few unique circumstances,' the Treasury Department said in a statement. The agency will instead mail letters to people to schedule meetings."

Impeachment! Emily Brooks of the Hill: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said that he expects the House GOP's investigations into the foreign business activities of President Biden's family to rise to the level of an impeachment inquiry[.]... McCarthy's impeachment inquiry tease comes days after Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) released an FBI form that documented unverified allegations of corruption stemming from Hunter Biden's work with Ukrainian energy company Burisma. It also comes as the New York Post reported Monday that former Hunter Biden associate Devon Archer plans to tell the House Oversight and Reform Committee in a closed-door interview this week that Hunter Biden would put then-Vice President Biden on speakerphone during meetings with foreign business partners." ~~~

~~~ Emily Brooks & Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Democrats on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee are poking holes in GOP arguments that President Biden is corrupt, claims that are founded on unverified allegations from an FBI form released [by Chuck Grassley & Jim Comer] in controversial fashion last week.... The form documents information that a confidential human source relayed to an FBI agent, but does not assess that information.... The FBI last week admonished Comer and Grassley for releasing the form.... The Democratic memo also quoted numerous Republicans -- including Grassley -- casting doubt on the veracity of the claims in the memo."

Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "The handiwork of Hunter Biden ... was purchased by a Democratic donor and Biden commission appointee, according to a new report from Business Insider. Elizabeth Hirsh Naftali, a Democratic donor who hosted a fundraiser for Vice President Kamala Harris last year, purchased Biden's paintings, which debuted at extraordinarily high prices sometimes stretching up to and well past six figures in 2021. Hunter Biden's lawyer Abbe Lowell confirmed that [presumably Hunter] Biden was aware that Hirsh Naftali had bought some of his paintings because she is friends with Biden and had told him as much. According to the report, Hirsh Naftali was appointed to the Commission for the Preservation of America's Heritage Abroad in July 2022, and 'it is unclear whether Hirsh's purchase of Hunter Biden's artwork occurred before or after that appointment.'... An administration official claimed that Hirsh Naftali had been recommended [for the appointment] by Nancy Pelosi."

Sean Lyngaas, et al., of CNN: "Special counsel Jack Smith's office has asked former US officials about a February 2020 Oval Office meeting where ... Donald Trump praised improvements to the security of US elections, according to multiple people familiar with the matter. In the meeting with senior US officials and White House staff, Trump touted his administration's work to expand the use of paper ballots and support security audits of vote tallies. Trump was so encouraged by federal efforts to protect election systems that he suggested the FBI and Department of Homeland Security hold a press conference to take credit for the work.... Details from the February 2020 Oval Office meeting are likely relevant to Smith's election interference investigation because they speak to Trump's 'knowledge and intent' around the security of US elections, said Elie Honig, a former federal prosecutor and CNN legal analyst. Those details offer a stark contrast to the voter-fraud conspiracy theories Trump began spreading publicly just weeks later and continued to use to question the 2020 election results."

Paula Reid, et al., of CNN: "Among the materials turned over to special counsel Jack Smith about supposed fraud in the 2020 election are documents that touch on many of the debunked conspiracies and unfounded claims of widespread voter fraud peddled by former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani. The documents had been withheld by former New York Police Commissioner Bernie Kerik, who claimed they were privileged, only to be handed over to Smith on Sunday.... The files include affidavits claiming there were widespread 'irregularities,' shoddy statistical analyses supposedly revealing 'fraudulent activities,' and opposition research about a senior employee from Dominion Voting Systems that are central to civil litigation and a federal criminal probe stemming from a voting systems breach in Colorado. The documents turned over by Kerik also connect him and other members of the Trump legal team to the efforts to smear a Dominion Voting Systems executive -- efforts that are now the subject of both civil litigation and the Colorado state criminal investigation."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A truck driver who assaulted a police officer with a flagpole at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced on Monday to 52 months in federal prison. The attack by the driver, Peter Stager, produced one of the most disturbing images to emerge from the Capitol attack. Mr. Stager, 44, of Conway, Ark., was captured on video beating the officer, Blake Miller, with the flagpole in a fit of rage as Officer Miller lay facedown in a mob of other rioters with 'no means of defending himself,' prosecutors wrote in court papers."

Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "Conversations have started with North Korea's military about Travis King, a U.S. soldier who was detained after he intentionally crossed from South Korea, Lt. Gen. Andrew Harrison, a British deputy commander of the U.S.-led multinational command that oversees the Korean War truce, said at a news conference Monday."

Twitter Isn't Twitter Anymore. Noam Scheiber & Ryan Mac of the New York Times: "Elon Musk has made one of the most visible changes to Twitter since he took control of the social media company last fall: replacing its widely recognized bird logo.... A stylized, black-and-white X appeared on the company's website in place of the blue bird logo. Twitter's corporate accounts also adopted the new branding, which was projected onto the side of the company's headquarters in San Francisco overnight.... 'X' is a term for what Mr. Musk has described as an 'everything app' that could combine social media, instant messaging and payment services, akin to the popular Chinese app WeChat." This is an update of a story linked below. The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Andrew Lawrence of the Guardian: "On Sunday, in a series of posts that surely won't be called tweets for much longer, Elon Musk reasoned that his company's new logo, a badly rendered letter X, embodies 'the imperfections in us all that make us unique'. What does he mean by that? He, of course, has no idea. This is a man with a terrible, terrible history for naming things." MB: I'm tellin' ya, Musk should have picked from the great list of new names Akhilleus suggested yesterday. And it would have cost billionaire Musk a mere $75MM. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Wikipedia already is referring to Twitter in the past tense.

** Another Way the Rich Are Different from You & Me: Preferential Admissions to Elite Universities. Aitish Bhatia, et al., of the New York Times: "Elite colleges have long been filled with the children of the richest families: At Ivy League schools, one in six students has parents in the top 1 percent. A large new study, released Monday, shows that it has not been because these children had more impressive grades on average or took harder classes. They tended to have higher SAT scores and finely honed résumés, and applied at a higher rate -- but they were overrepresented even after accounting for those things. For applicants with the same SAT or ACT score, children from families in the top 1 percent were 34 percent more likely to be admitted than the average applicant, and those from the top 0.1 percent were more than twice as likely to get in. The study -- by Opportunity Insights, a group of economists based at Harvard who study inequality -- quantifies for the first time the extent to which being very rich is its own qualification in selective college admissions.... The result is the clearest picture yet of how America's elite colleges perpetuate the intergenerational transfer of wealth and opportunity." Emphasis added. ~~~

~~~ Marie: The graph embedded in the story is stunning. The study also renders quaint the bribery scandal of several years ago, where wealthy parents were accused of gaming the admissions system. But it's so wrong to give disadvantaged minorities a leg up. And we know this because the Supreme Court sez so. If you think playing by the rules & "being the best you can be" is the best way to excel in your life's path, think again. The odds are against you.

We Have Met the Culprits and They Are Us. Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "The analysis by the World Weather Attribution network, a coalition of scientists that conducts rapid analyses to determine how the warming atmosphere influences extreme weather events, examined weather data and computer model simulations to compare the climate as it is today, having experienced warming of about 1.2 Celsius (2.2 Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s, with the climate of the past. The results came with a sobering reminder: Once unfathomable heat waves are ... becoming more common.... The findings support a growing consensus among researchers: The warmer the world gets, the more likely regions are to experience crippling heat waves, stronger storms and other climate-fueled disasters.... The heat waves that baked the Southwest and southern Europe would have almost no chance of happening in a world without climate change.... Human-caused greenhouse gas emissions made the heat wave hotter than it would otherwise have been...." The Guardian's report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Texas. Chris Boyette & Priscilla Alvarez of CNN: “Texas Gov. Greg Abbott will not be ordering floating barriers to be removed from the Rio Grande, in defiance of the US Department of Justice. 'Texas will fully utilize its constitutional authority to deal with the crisis you have caused,' Abbott wrote in a letter to President Joe Biden following last week's DOJ request to remove the barriers. He added, 'Texas will see you in court, Mr. President.' The showdown between Abbott and the federal government comes as Texas' treatment of migrants who attempt to cross into the US illegally faces increased scrutiny. Biden administration officials have grown increasingly concerned in recent months about Abbott's measures, which have disrupted US Border Patrol operations in the region and put migrants at risk." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Way Beyond

Israel

Tia Goldenberg & Isaac Scharf of the AP: "Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved a key portion of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's divisive plan to reshape the country's justice system despite massive protests that have exposed unprecedented fissures in Israeli society. The vote came after a stormy session in which opposition lawmakers chanted 'shame' and then stormed out of the chamber. It reflected the determination of Netanyahu and his far-right allies to move ahead with the plan, which has tested the delicate social ties that bind the country, rattled the cohesion of its powerful military and repeatedly drawn concern from its closest ally, the United States.... In Monday's vote, lawmakers approved a measure that prevents judges from striking down government decisions on the basis that they are 'unreasonable.' With the opposition out of the hall, the measure passed by a 64-0 margin." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I couldn't figure out precisely why the opposition "stormed out of the chamber" and was "out of the hall" for the vote, but according to the NYT liveblog, also linked below, "... members of the opposition left the chamber, boycotting the vote they had no chance of winning."

The New York Times' live updates of developments are here.

Isabel Kershner & Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "Israeli lawmakers on Monday approved the contentious plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to restrict the influence of the Supreme Court, defying a wide array of opposition movements that have threatened to shut down large parts of the country with protests. The plan limits the ways in which the Supreme Court can overturn government decisions.... The decision to press ahead with the overhaul could disrupt Israel's economy, further strain the country's relations with the Biden administration, and lead thousands of military reservists, a core part of Israel's armed forces, to refuse to volunteer for duty. Israel's president, Isaac Herzog, has warned that the schism could lead to civil war."~~~

~~~ Marie: The article attempts to tell you "what you need to know" about the new law. But it doesn't cover this essential information, which former Obama national security expert Ben Rhodes laid out on MSNBC Monday: Israel has a one-house legislature, so there's no possibility of bicameral checks and balances. In addition, the prime minister is chosen by the party or parties that form a majority of the house or the Knesset, so they form a sort of "unit". So there's no possibility of checks and balance there. Now, as this "unit" guts the judiciary, there are no checks and balances there. As Israel does not have a federal system, so there are no states that share aspects of governance. And it has no constitution to which the Knesset is supposed to adhere. Ergo, one (theoretically) cohesive, central political entity controls the entire government, with no checks on it anywhere.

Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "Once again, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has pushed the limits, defying a nationwide protest movement to win new curbs on the Israeli judiciary's power to pose a check to his far-right coalition government. But after years of brinkmanship and chaos management by the Israeli leader, this feels different. Such is the rancor and rupture caused by this particular Netanyahu victory that many Israelis wonder whether the damage to society might not be fixable -- and whether Mr. Netanyahu will be able to manage the aftermath of a showdown he set in motion."

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Tuesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Tuesday is here: "Experts found land mines on the periphery of Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant during a walk-through this week, International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Mariano Grossi said. The mines were spotted in a buffer zone between the site's internal and external perimeter barriers.... Talks on resuming the Black Sea grain initiative are not happening, Russia's deputy foreign minister Sergei Vershinin said Tuesday, according to Reuters.... Putin has signed legislation that bans people from gender-affirming procedures."

The Little Despot Who Couldn't. Catherine Belton, et al., of the Washington Post: “When Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the head of the Wagner mercenary group, launched his attempted mutiny on the morning of June 24, Vladimir Putin was paralyzed and unable to act decisively, according to Ukrainian and other security officials in Europe. No orders were issued for most of the day, the officials said. The Russian president had been warned by the Russian security services at least two or three days ahead of time that Prigozhin was preparing a possible rebellion.... 'Putin had time to take the decision to liquidate [the rebellion] and arrest the organizers' said ... a European security official.... The lack of orders from the Kremlin's top command left local officials to decide for themselves how to act.... Many on the local level could not believe the Wagner rebellion could be happening without some degree of agreement with the Kremlin.... The disarray in the Kremlin also reflects a deepening divide inside Russia's security and military establishment over the conduct of the war in Ukraine, with many including in the upper reaches of the security services and military supporting Prigozhin's drive to oust Russia's top military leadership...."

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