June 29, 2023

Marie: Very late start this morning.

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Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Florida. Mirna Alsharif & Minyvonne Burke of NBC News: "A former school security officer was found not guilty Thursday over a failure to confront the gunman who massacred 17 people at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, in 2018. Scot Peterson, who was a Broward County sheriff's deputy and worked as a resource officer at Marjory Stoneman Douglas, was charged in 2019 with seven counts of neglect of a child and three counts of culpable negligence and one count of perjury."

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Three weeks after ... Donald J. Trump was indicted on charges of illegally retaining national security records and obstructing the government's efforts to reclaim them, a federal grand jury in Miami is still investigating aspects of the case.... In recent days, the grand jury has issued subpoenas to a handful of people who are connected to the inquiry.... Post-indictment investigations can result in additional charges against people who have already been accused of crimes in the case. The investigations can also be used to bring charges against new defendants."

Trump's Investors Are Crooks, Feds Allege. Matt Egan & Kara Scannell of CNN: "Federal prosecutors arrested three investors on Thursday on insider trading charges related to a deal to take ... Donald Trump's media business public. According to the indictment, the three individuals together made more than $22 million in October 2021 by illegally trading on nonpublic knowledge of Digital World Acquisition Corporation's secret plan to buy Truth Social owner Trump Media & Technology Group. The defendants allegedly tipped off friends and colleagues, who also purchased securities in Digital World before the blank-check firm's Trump Media deal became public. Once the deal was announced, the value of those securities spiked. The defendants and individuals they tipped off then sold their securities for a significant profit, according to prosecutors. The three men charged in the indictment are Michael Shvartsman, Gerald Shvartsman and Bruce Garelick, who served as a director on Digital World's board of directors.... There is no allegation that Donald Trump had any involvement at all in the alleged insider trading."

President Biden speaks against the Supreme Court's decision to effectively end affirmative action in college admissions: ~~~

~~~ Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down admissions programs at Harvard and the University of North Carolina that relied in part on racial considerations, saying they violate the Constitution. The vote split along ideological grounds, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts writing for the conservative members in the majority, and the liberals dissenting.... As recently as 2016, the court upheld an affirmative action program at the University of Texas, concluding for the third time that educational diversity justifies the consideration of race as one factor in admission decisions." This is a developing story. The New York Times story, which currently appears in a liveblog, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ You have to scroll all the way down to Page 140 of the opinions to get to Justice Sotomayor's dissent, and on to Page 209 to get to Justice Jackson's dissent, which even more than Sotomayor's, calls the majority ignoramuses:

"With let-them-eat-cake obliviousness, today, the majority pulls the ripcord and announces 'colorblindness for all' by legal fiat. But deeming race irrelevant in law does not make it so in life. And having so detached itself from this country's actual past and present experiences, the Court has now been lured into interfering with the crucial work that UNC and other institutions of higher learning are doing to solve America's real-world problems. No one benefits from ignorance.... The best that can be said of the majority's perspective is that it proceeds (ostrich-like) from the hope that preventing consideration of race will end racism.... Ultimately, ignoring race just makes it matter more.... The Court's meddling not only arrests the noble generational project that America's universities are attempting, it also launches, in effect, a dismally misinformed sociological experiment." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's what really pisses me off about this decision. When I was applying for admission to colleges and university in late 1961 and 1962, a number of southern schools -- like the University of Texas -- required me to include my picture as part of my application. I didn't apply to the schools that required the photo because it was obvious to me why they wanted the picture: to make sure I was white. I'm sure that for many years, many schools excluded applicants based on their race. So white people no doubt had their own "affirmative action" program for decades. The whole purpose of affirmative-action programs -- in education and other fields -- was to make up for the long-standing discrimination against people of color.

     ~~~ Marie: I just heard a clip of mike pence applauding the decision. Of course quoted the only sentence he knows among Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s many famous remarks: "... they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character," of course misappropriating Dr. King's intention. There is no occasion in which mike pence opens his mouth that I don't want to forcefully put my fist in it. ~~~

Aw, but this is sweet: ~~~

~~~ Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday strengthened protections for religious rights in the workplace, siding in part with a Sabbath-observant mail carrier who quit the U.S. Postal Service after he was forced to deliver packages on Sundays. Gerald Groff, the former postal worker, had asked the justices to overturn a decades-old Supreme Court decision, which his lawyers said undermines religious protections by allowing employers to deny accommodations that would cause them more than a minor inconvenience. In a unanimous decision, authored by Justice Samuel A. Alito, the justices declined to get rid of past precedent, and instead clarified that employers must meet a higher standard to reject a workers' request related to religious observance." See also Jeanne's comment below.

** Supreme Court Expected to Make Major Decision Based on Fake Case. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "Attorneys for a Colorado web designer using her personal Christian beliefs to sue over the state's anti-discrimination law have reportedly included in their court filings a claim that a man, after their case was initially filed in 2016, asked her to create a website for his upcoming same-sex wedding. The case, 303 Creative vs. Elenis, went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which heard oral arguments in December and likely will hand down its decision Friday. The web designer, Lorie Smith, says she wants to expand her business to make wedding websites, but says she can't because rejecting a same-sex couple's request could violate Colorado law, and her religious beliefs do not support same-sex marriage.... After the case was filed, a same-sex couple named Stewart and Mike, according to court documents as The New Republic reports, [asked] Smith for a wedding website. Stewart's name, email address, phone number, and even his website URL were included in the filings, yet no reporter appears to have ever contacted him to verify his story. Until now. He says it's false.... [Melissa] reports Stewart says his contact information is accurate, but 'he never sent this form, he said, and at the time it was sent, he was married to a woman.'" Moreover, Stewart himself is a web designer living in California, so it doesn't make much sense for him to ask a Colorado web designer to design his wedding website. MB: This is really is extraordinary.

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Michael Shear & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden began a concerted campaign on Wednesday to claim credit for an economic revival in America, powered by policies that he said represent a fundamental break from the Republican approach 'that has failed America's middle class for decades.' Flanked by blue signs with the word 'Bidenomics,' Mr. Biden delivered to a Chicago crowd what aides called a cornerstone speech of his presidency. In it, he hailed the impact of his economic agenda as the 2024 campaign cycle heats up.... Mr. Biden asserted that his willingness to plunge the American government more directly into supporting key industries like silicon chips has revitalized manufacturing. He said investments in rebuilding crumbling infrastructure have begun to pave the way for growth. And he insisted that spending billions of dollars on programs like student debt relief will let more people find their way to a comfortable, middle-class life." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "A number of congressional Republicans who voted against the bipartisan infrastructure law are now spotlighting and at times celebrating how it will fund broadband expansion in their home states. And President Biden is mocking them for touting money they opposed.... Hours after [releasing the tweet below]..., during a speech on his economic agenda, Biden kept at it, calling out [Sen. Tommy] Tuberville [R-Ala.] by name.... 'There's a guy named Tuberville ... senator from Alabama,' who 'strongly opposed the legislation,' Biden told the crowd. 'Now, he's hailing its passage.' The Biden administration's plan aims to deliver reliable broadband to the entire country by 2030. Alabama is among the 10 states receiving the most funding through the plan -- $1.4 billion. In 2021, Tuberville argued that he could not vote for the infrastructure legislation, saying it 'fails to give Alabama a fair slice of the pie while also saddling Alabama taxpayers with even more debt.'" ~~~

See you at the groundbreaking. https://t.co/1kJZ2h3JZW

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 28, 2023

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

~~~ Thanks, GOP! Jonathan Weisman & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... in a speech on Wednesday in Chicago about the economy, Mr. Biden ... put a renewed focus on the two most significant bipartisan legislative accomplishments of his term, the infrastructure bill and the CHIPS and Science Act. He hopes these measures will help brand him as the cross-aisle deal maker he sold to voters in 2020, appeal to political moderates who formed a core of his winning electoral coalition and impress upon tuned-out voters what he has done in office. One significant benefit for Mr. Biden: Republicans helped pass those bills.... Mr. Biden's infrastructure bill won votes from 19 Republican senators and 13 Republican House members. Sixteen Senate Republicans and 24 Republicans in the House voted for the semiconductor legislation. It will be difficult for Republicans to land criticism when they themselves are taking credit for the same achievements."

Glenn Thrush & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "... House Republicans released testimony last week from a senior Internal Revenue Service investigator on the [Hunter Biden] case that appeared to contradict [Attorney General Merrick] Garland's assurances to [Sen. Chuck] Grassley and others that [U.S. Attorney David] Weiss had all the freedom and authority he needed to pursue the case as he saw fit. The I.R.S. official, Gary Shapley, oversaw the agency's role in the investigation of Mr. Biden's taxes and says his criticism of the Justice Department led to him being denied a promotion. He told the House Ways and Means Committee that Mr. Weiss had been rebuffed by top federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Washington when he had raised the prospect of pursuing charges against the president's son in those jurisdictions.... Mr. Shapley gave Republicans a fresh opening to raise questions about the case and to cast doubt on the Justice Department's repeated statements that Mr. Weiss[, a Trump appointee,] had complete control of the investigation with no political interference. But it remains unclear how much of the difference in the accounts reflects possible factors like miscommunication, clashing substantive judgments..., or personal enmity among officials.... Investigators like Mr. Shapley whose job it is to uncover evidence often have different perspectives from prosecutors who have to take into account how to treat defendants fairly and present cases to juries." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times have more on Rudy Giuliani's interview with prosecutors: "The voluntary interview, which took place [last week] under what is known as a proffer agreement, was a significant development in the election interference investigation led by Jack Smith, the special counsel, and the latest indication that Mr. Smith and his team are actively seeking witnesses who might cooperate in the case. The session with Mr. Giuliani, the people familiar with it said, touched on some of the most important aspects of the special counsel's inquiry into the ways that Mr. Trump sought to maintain his grip on power after losing the election.... A proffer agreement is an understanding ... that can precede a formal cooperation deal. The subjects agree to provide useful information to the government ... to stave off potential charges or to avoid testifying under subpoena before a grand jury. In exchange, prosecutors agree not to use those statements against them in future criminal proceedings unless it is determined they were lying. Prosecutors working for Mr. Smith asked Mr. Giuliani about a plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in key swing states that were actually won by Mr. Biden....

"They focused specifically on the role played in that effort by John Eastman, another lawyer who advised Mr. Trump about ways to stay in office after his defeat. Mr. Giuliani also discussed Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was briefly tied to Mr. Trump's campaign and who made baseless claims about a cabal of foreign actors hacking into voting machines.... Prosecutors further asked Mr. Giuliani about the scene at the Willard Hotel days before the attack on the Capitol." (Also linked yesterday.)

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "One of the top advisers on Donald Trump's 2024 campaign is among the individuals identified but not named by special counsel Jack Smith in his indictment against the former president for allegedly mishandling classified documents after leaving the White House and obstructing the government's efforts to retrieve them, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. Susie Wiles, one of Trump's most trusted advisers leading his second reelection effort, is the individual singled out in Smith's indictment as the 'PAC Representative' who Trump is alleged to have shown a classified map to in August or September of 2021, sources said.... Sources have also further identified some of the other figures mentioned by Smith's team in the indictment. Hayley Harrison and Molly Michael are said to be 'Trump Employee 1' and 'Trump Employee 2,' respectively. The indictment details their text messages back and forth about moving Trump's boxes out of the business center as his Mar-a-Lago estate to create room for staff to work. Michael, whose name was previously reported as an individual identified in the indictment, is Trump's former executive assistant who no longer works for him, while Harrison is currently an aide to Trump's wife, Melania Trump."

"My Documents." David McAfee of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump continued asking his attorneys for 'my boxes' and 'my documents' back from the DOJ, even as they warned him he was about to be indicted, according to ... the Rolling Stone's new report. 'Last month, Donald Trump's lawyers told him he was on the cusp of a federal indictment in the classified documents case. But the former president still wanted "my documents" and "my boxes" back, asking some of his lawyers if they could get them from the federal government, according to a source...,' the outlet wrote. 'It's one of many such conversations Trump has had over the past few months, the sources say. In these conversations, Trump also claimed it was "illegal" that he could no longer have the documents seized in the Mar-a-Lago raid...."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post listens closely to Trump's Bedminster confessional tape and hears this: "'Trump: Declassify. See, as president I could have declassified it. Now I can't, you know. But this is classified.'... The 'but this is classified' does not comport with existing transcripts.... If Trump said 'this is still a secret,' [as the government's transcript has it,] he has some wiggle room on denying that he was showing his audience a document that was legally protected under classification rules. If he said 'this is classified,' that goes out the window. It's Trump admitting that he had something that was classified in his hand, at that moment -- and was showing it to people." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The article includes an audio clip. What I heard from the Bump's clip incorporated in his tweet what I heard was, "... this is classi...." But that clip doesn't tells the whole story. When I listened to the Guardian's audio of the whole conversation, what I heard Trump say was, "this is highly classified, (inaudible) secret. This is secret information." The government of course would have to get expert testimony, but I feel the expert would hear more or less what I heard, not what the transcript in the indictment says. Let me know what you hear.

Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Legendary journalist Bob Woodward tore into ... Donald Trump in an interview on CNN Wednesday evening, calling him the largest threat to national security he had ever seen from any U.S. government official.... 'Bob, you've interviewed the former president a lot,' said anchor Anderson Cooper. "... What stands out to you about this latest recording?' 'Well, it really shows that Donald Trump is an alarming, dangerous threat to national security,' said Woodward, who ... has recently been caught up in a legal battle with Trump over White House transcripts. "In the book, "Peril" that I did with Robert Costa, we recount two National Security Council meetings where Trump, not General Milley or the Defense Department, was agitating for a possible attack on Iran. And he is pushing it. And General Milley, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, the number one military man in the country, is telling Trump, you don't want a war. If you start a war, you're going to get into a conflict that you can't get out of.'"

Eeew! Adam Nichols of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump made sexual comments about his daughter Ivanka that were so lewd he was rebuked by his Chief of Staff, former Trump official Miles Taylor writes in a new book.... 'Aides said he talked about Ivanka Trump's breasts, her backside, and what it might be like to have sex with her, remarks that once led (former Chief of Staff) John Kelly to remind the president that Ivanka was his daughter,' Taylor writes. 'Afterward, Kelly retold that story to me in visible disgust. Trump, he said, was "a very, very evil man."'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

Neil Vigdor & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "It was a photo op intended to turbocharge Republican voters, one showing Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida posing in front of a helicopter on Sunday at the southern border in Texas. But the display is creating an unwanted spotlight for Mr. DeSantis: The helicopter is funded by Texas taxpayers, raising questions about the political nature of the flight and its cost. Federal law requires presidential candidates to pay the fair-market rate for noncommercial air travel and reimburse providers of flights.... Additionally, ethics rules in Texas bar officials there from using state resources in support of political campaigns. Mr. DeSantis's office suggested that he was visiting the border in a dual capacity, as both governor and presidential candidate, but his official schedule as governor omitted mention of it.... Mr. DeSantis's campaign shared the helicopter photo on Twitter on Monday, the same day that he proposed a series of hard-right immigration policies in a campaign speech in Eagle Pass, a small Texas border city." More on Ron's very shady spending linked below under "Florida."

Jonathan Allen, et al., of NBC News: "... in interviews with more than a half-dozen advisers, it was clear that -- even in his private conversations -- [Donald] Trump is leaning heavily toward skipping [the first GOP presidential] debate. Trump is also exploring options for counterprogramming during the first debate, according to people familiar with his deliberations. Trump's absence would deprive the RNC, Fox News and GOP primary voters of the Republican Party's most compelling -- and most powerful -- figure. And Trump knows he can keep attention on himself by making his appearance conditional, at best." (Also linked yesterday.)

Rachel Bade of Politico: Donald Trump and his "inner circle" are still flipping out over My Kevin's remark Tuesday that he wasn't sure if Trump was the best GOP candidate for president*, even though McCarthy made excessive efforts to atone for his infidelity. MB: Fine with me. I hope this leads to a GOP House revolt. (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Charles Blow of the New York Times: "Republicans' anti-woke, anti-vote crusade has crashed into the Constitution.... Across states, we're seeing promising signs that the judiciary may wind up serving as a check on the relentless Republican campaign to disempower and disenfranchise. G.O.P. attempts to impose a kind of semi-fascist federalism is being trumped by our own constitutional democracy." ~~~

~~~ Kentucky, Tennessee. Anna Betts & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Federal judges in two states intervened on Wednesday to temporarily block laws that would ban gender-transition care for minors, the latest instances where legislation targeting transgender people have been halted by the judiciary. The separate rulings in Kentucky and Tennessee came days before key provisions of the laws were set to go into effect, as a wave of legislation aimed at curbing L.G.B.T.Q. rights has cleared Republican-controlled legislatures across the country this year. Several of those laws either remain tangled in legal battles, or have been ruled unconstitutional by federal judges."

** Florida. Michael Scherer, et al., of the Washington Post: "The administration of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) steered $92 million last year in leftover federal coronavirus stimulus money to a controversial highway interchange project that directly benefits a top political donor, according to state records. The decision by the Florida Department of Transportation to use money from the 2021 American Rescue Plan for the I-95 interchange at Pioneer Trail Road near Daytona Beach fulfilled a years-long effort by Mori Hosseini, a politically connected housing developer who owns two large tracts of largely forested land abutting the planned interchange. The funding through the DeSantis administration, approved shortly after the governor's reelection, expedited the project by more than a decade, according to state documents.... Since the money arrived in Florida, he has used it for favored projects unrelated to the pandemic, including using interest from the federal funds to pay for the flight of mostly Venezuelan migrants from Texas to Martha's Vineyard last year." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Read on to see just how corrupt the entire enterprise is. I think the federal government should begin now to claw back the Covid grant. DeSantolini is trying to make the Most Corrupt President* in U.S. History look like a piker.

Way Beyond

China. Matt Seyler & Jon Haworth of ABC News: "The Chinese spy balloon that was shot down over the Atlantic Ocean in early February was built -- at least partly -- using American off-the-shelf parts, a U.S. official has confirmed to ABC News. A second U.S. official was also able to confirm that the balloon did not appear to have transmitted any of the data it collected on its journey above North America, as was initially reported by the Wall Street Journal.... [One] official could not say whether any of the American gear was sold illicitly to China but said determining whether any of it came from illegal trade was a topic of serious concern among officials since some items -- like chips -- are forbidden to sell to certain markets." At 9:00 am ET, this is a developing story.

France. The New York Times' live updates of developments in the unrest in France following the shooting of a teenager are here: "French prosecutors on Thursday urged that a police officer be placed under investigation for voluntary homicide after the deadly shooting of a 17-year-old driver set off violent riots in more than a dozen cities overnight, with protesters burning cars, lighting buildings on fire and setting off fireworks for the second day in a row. President Emmanuel Macron, convening a crisis meeting on Thursday morning, called the violent protests 'absolutely unjustifiable' and appealed for calm after the death of the teenager, who has been identified only as Nahel M. Gérald Darmanin, France's interior minister, said on Thursday that 180 people had been arrested nationwide and that 170 officers had been injured in what he called 'a night of intolerable violence against symbols of the Republic.' Police stations were vandalized or targeted with fireworks in cities including Trappes, near Paris, and Rouen, in the north. In Clamart, a Paris suburb, a tramway was briefly set ablaze."

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Rescue efforts ended in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk after a 12th body was pulled from the rubble of a popular restaurant hit by a Russian missile strike on Tuesday. Three Colombians who were in the country to increase Latin American support for Ukraine were among the dozens of people injured.... The possible relocation of the Wagner troops to Belarus has provoked anxiety among nations in NATO's eastern flank. Visiting Kyiv on Wednesday, President Andrzej Duda of Poland called the potential transfer of Wagner fighters to Belarus a threat." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "Russian President Vladimir Putin made a rare public appearance, traveling to the southern city of Derbent in an apparent bid to demonstrate the strength of his support. State media outlets reported that Putin received an enthusiastic reception from residents.... Belarus said it agreed to establish joint military training centers with Russia on its territory." ~~~

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

Liz Sly of the Washington Post: "The weekend mutiny by the Wagner Group and its chaotic aftermath have jeopardized [Vladimir Putin's image as a strongman], jolting many assumptions about Putin's autocratic credentials, Russia's stability and the likely course of the war in Ukraine. With events continuing to unfold, it is still too early to tell how badly Putin has been weakened, analysts caution. The Wagner Group could be dismantled and its leader, Yevgeniy Prigozhin, now in exile in neighboring Belarus, could end up detained or killed. Putin may yet launch a broad crackdown against all his critics that could leave him more firmly in control than he was before. But the Russian leader's failure so far to take a tough stance against the mercenaries, or punish those involved in the mutiny, is denting the cultivated image that he always controls events..., said Dmitri Alperovitch, a foreign-policy analyst who heads the Silverado Policy Accelerator think tank." ~~~

~~~ BUT. Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "As President Vladimir V. Putin seeks to assert control in Russia, he is moving to punish people who enabled the mercenary boss Yevgeny V. Prigozhin's rebellion over the weekend, but Mr. Prigozhin's deep connections with the ruling elite are complicating those efforts. The question of who gets punished for the mutiny carries high stakes for the Russian leadership, especially because some of Mr. Prigozhin's key allies and sympathizers are believed to be inside the military and the government. There was intense focus in Moscow about the fate of Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a senior military official whom Mr. Prigozhin praised publicly and who is said to have known about the rebellion in advance; he has not been seen publicly since early Saturday.... Mr. Putin fed speculation about a broader crackdown on Tuesday evening in a closed-door meeting with Russian media figures at the Kremlin. In the meeting, he presented himself as a leader in total control, and said he was delving into Mr. Prigozhin's business contracts with the Russian Defense Ministry."

Christoph Koetti, et al., of the New York Times: "Satellite imagery shows that Belarus is rapidly building what appear to be temporary structures at a deserted military base, revealing a possible location for Wagner fighters who were given the option of relocating to the country after the group's failed mutiny against President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. The construction was first visible in satellite images taken on Monday by Planet Labs, a private company with a network of shoebox-size satellites, two days after Wagner forces suddenly stopped their march on Moscow."

News Ledes

New York Times: "An oppressive heat wave that baked Texas and Oklahoma last week, contributing to several deaths, is raising the heat index to dangerous levels from Kansas City, Mo., to the Florida Keys. Temperatures will climb up to 20 degrees above normal for much of the region through at least the weekend, reaching the high 90s or low 100s in many places The heat index -- a measure of how heat and humidity make the air feel -- will be even higher." This is a liveblog.

Washington Post: “Much of the United States felt like a blazing inferno on Wednesday, as record heat attacked the South like a blowtorch, thick smoke from Canadian wildfires blanketed the Great Lakes region, and triple-digit temperatures threatened to wallop California for the first time this year. Scientists said climate change helped shape the weather conditions that were causing misery and putting lives at risk from Mexico to Canada. There was no disputing the impact: If it wasn't way too smoky, it was way too hot." This is a liveblog.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Alan Arkin, who won a Tony Award for his first lead role on Broadway, received an Academy Award nomination for his first feature film, and went on to have a long and diverse career as a character actor who specialized in comedy but was equally adept at drama, died on Thursday in San Marcos, Calif. He was 89."

New York Times: "At least 10 states from the Midwest to the Northeast on Friday were again facing smoky conditions created by raging wildfires in Canada, capping a week in which millions of people struggled to cope with poor air quality.Smoke that has obscured skylines and made it difficult for some to breathe was expected to linger into the long Fourth of July weekend, according to the National Weather Service. However, the air quality was expected to slowly improve as thunderstorms help disperse the smoke and possibly clear the way for Independence Day firework celebrations." ~~~

     ~~~ This site will tell you the air quality in your area.

June 28, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Michael Shear & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden began a concerted campaign on Wednesday to claim credit for an economic revival in America, powered by policies that he said represent a fundamental break from the Republican approach 'that has failed America's middle class for decades.' Flanked by blue signs with the word 'Bidenomics,' Mr. Biden delivered to a Chicago crowd what aides called a cornerstone speech of his presidency. In it, he hailed the impact of his economic agenda as the 2024 campaign cycle heats up.... Mr. Biden asserted that his willingness to plunge the American government more directly into supporting key industries like silicon chips has revitalized manufacturing. He said investments in rebuilding crumbling infrastructure have begun to pave the way for growth. And he insisted that spending billions of dollars on programs like student debt relief will let more people find their way to a comfortable, middle-class life."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times have more on Rudy Giuliani's interview with prosecutors: "The voluntary interview, which took place [last week] under what is known as a proffer agreement, was a significant development in the election interference investigation led by Jack Smith, the special counsel, and the latest indication that Mr. Smith and his team are actively seeking witnesses who might cooperate in the case. The session with Mr. Giuliani, the people familiar with it said, touched on some of the most important aspects of the special counsel's inquiry into the ways that Mr. Trump sought to maintain his grip on power after losing the election.... A proffer agreement is an understanding ... that can precede a formal cooperation deal. The subjects agree to provide useful information to the government ... to stave off potential charges or to avoid testifying under subpoena before a grand jury. In exchange, prosecutors agree not to use those statements against them in future criminal proceedings unless it is determined they were lying. Prosecutors working for Mr. Smith asked Mr. Giuliani about a plan to create fake slates of pro-Trump electors in key swing states that were actually won by Mr. Biden....

"They focused specifically on the role played in that effort by John Eastman, another lawyer who advised Mr. Trump about ways to stay in office after his defeat. Mr. Giuliani also discussed Sidney Powell, a lawyer who was briefly tied to Mr. Trump's campaign and who made baseless claims about a cabal of foreign actors hacking into voting machines.... Prosecutors further asked Mr. Giuliani about the scene at the Willard Hotel days before the attack on the Capitol."

See you at the groundbreaking. https://t.co/1kJZ2h3JZW

— President Biden (@POTUS) June 28, 2023

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.

Glenn Thrush & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "... House Republicans released testimony last week from a senior Internal Revenue Service investigator on the [Hunter Biden] case that appeared to contradict [Attorney General Merrick] Garland's assurances to [Sen. Chuck] Grassley and others that [U.S. Attorney David] Weiss had all the freedom and authority he needed to pursue the case as he saw fit. The I.R.S. official, Gary Shapley, oversaw the agency's role in the investigation of Mr. Biden's taxes and says his criticism of the Justice Department led to him being denied a promotion. He told the House Ways and Means Committee that Mr. Weiss had been rebuffed by top federal prosecutors in Los Angeles and Washington when he had raised the prospect of pursuing charges against the president's son in those jurisdictions.... Mr. Shapley gave Republicans a fresh opening to raise questions about the case and to cast doubt on the Justice Department's repeated statements that Mr. Weiss[, a Trump appointee,] had complete control of the investigation with no political interference. But it remains unclear how much of the difference in the accounts reflects possible factors like miscommunication, clashing substantive judgments..., or personal enmity among officials.... Investigators like Mr. Shapley whose job it is to uncover evidence often have different perspectives from prosecutors who have to take into account how to treat defendants fairly and present cases to juries."

Jonathan Allen, et al., of NBC News: "... in interviews with more than a half-dozen advisers, it was clear that -- even in his private conversations -- [Donald] Trump is leaning heavily toward skipping [the first GOP presidential] debate. Trump is also exploring options for counterprogramming during the first debate.... Trump's absence would deprive the RNC, Fox News and GOP primary voters of the Republican Party's most compelling -- and most powerful -- figure. And Trump knows he can keep attention on himself by making his appearance conditional, at best."

Rachel Bade of Politico: Donald Trump and his "inner circle" are still flipping out over My Kevin's remark Tuesday that he wasn't sure if Trump was the best GOP candidate for president*, even though McCarthy made excessive efforts to atone for his infidelity. MB: Fine with me. I hope this leads to a GOP House revolt.

Eeew! Adam Nichols of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump made sexual comments about his daughter Ivanka that were so lewd he was rebuked by his Chief of Staff, former Trump official Miles Taylor writes in a new book.... 'Aides said he talked about Ivanka Trump's breasts, her backside, and what it might be like to have sex with her, remarks that once led (former Chief of Staff) John Kelly to remind the president that Ivanka was his daughter,' Taylor writes. 'Afterward, Kelly retold that story to me in visible disgust. Trump, he said, was "a very, very evil man."'"

~~~~~~~~~~

S.V. Date of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump on Tuesday ramped up his attack on the federal prosecutor whose charges against him could put him behind bars, this time including in his tirade special counsel Jack Smith's family, as well ― potentially increasing his exposure to federal prison. 'COULD SOMEBODY PLEASE EXPLAIN TO THE DERANGED, TRUMP HATING JACK SMITH, HIS FAMILY, AND HIS FRIENDS, THAT AS PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, I COME UNDER THE PRESIDENTIAL RECORDS ACT, AS AFFIRMED BY THE CLINTON SOCKS CASE, NOT BY THIS PSYCHOS' FANTASY OF THE NEVER USED BEFORE ESPIONAGE ACT OF 1917,' Trump wrote on his personal social media site early Tuesday in the all-capitals style he favors when he is particularly agitated." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Date doesn't say so, but as usual, Trump's screaming post contains a potful of lies. Here's just one: "The Espionage Act is routinely relied upon to prosecute individuals for willful retention or dissemination of national defense information. While the law's name makes one think it only concerns actual spying, its provisions are far broader than that narrow concept and have been upheld by the courts time and time again,' said Bradley Moss, a national security lawyer in private practice." And Trump himself has recently acknowledged that "The Espionage Act has been used to go after traitors and spies."

Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "... Bedminster, where Mr. Trump spends his summers, has turned out ... to have been a focus of investigators [link fixed], a flashpoint in the conflict between prosecutors and Mr. Trump's lawyers, and the scene of a central episode in Mr. Trump's indictment: a meeting in which he was recorded showing off what he described as a 'highly confidential' plan to attack Iran.... Previously unreported details of the investigation show that prosecutors working for Mr. Smith have subpoenaed surveillance footage from Bedminster, much like they did from Mar-a-Lago, and fought a pitched battle with Mr. Trump's lawyers late last year over how best to search the New Jersey property. At one point in the early fall of last year, investigators went so far as to discuss executing a search warrant at Bedminster.... Investigators were concerned that more documents were stashed at the club.... But one of the people [briefed on the matter] said the Justice Department lacked probable cause to obtain a warrant from a judge....

"In an interview with Semafor and ABC News aboard his private plane later on Tuesday, Mr. Trump again insisted he had no classified document in the Bedminster meeting, saying his remarks were simply 'bravado,' and he offered a new explanation for what the documents may have been and why he had mentioned 'plans' to Fox News. 'Did I use the word plans?' he said. 'What I'm referring to is magazines, newspapers, plans of buildings. I had plans of buildings. You know, building plans? I had plans of a golf course.'" Read on. MB: The absurdity of Trump's defenses grows by the day. Is it possible that even the dumbest Trump staffer would look at a sheaf of golf course plans and mistake them for a document Mark Meadows claimed Gen. Mark Milley had personally typed? ~~~

Jacqueline Alemany and other Washington Post reporters tell a related story here: "... current and former advisers said Trump regularly transported boxes of government documents to and from Bedminster, where he holds residence each year for the summer.... Advisers said he was personally attached to and hyper-aware of the boxes, instructing that at least some of them accompany him from place-to-place, and appeared aware of what was inside.... Bedminster is not a private home. Rather, it is a club frequented by hundreds of visitors and a destination for large events.... There, he installed a makeshift office among the luxury cottages that surround the club's 25-meter swimming pool and has resided in a separate cottage in the same complex, where he stores his belongings.... At least some of his prized 'beautiful mind paper boxes' ... usually trailed close behind him, staying in his private cottage.... The [Bedminster confessional] recording, according to people familiar with the investigation, was discovered late in the probe and is viewed as one of the government's strongest pieces of evidence." The story identifies those present at the meeting: staffers Margo Martin & Liz Harrington, publisher Kate Hartson & Sean McGowan, both of whom were working on Mark Meadows' fake autobiography.

I had a whole desk full of lots of papers, mostly newspaper articles, copies of magazines, copies of different plans, copies of stories, having to do with many, many subjects, and what was said was absolutely fine. I don't do things wrong. I do things right. I'm a legitimate person. -- Donald Trump, during a Fox "News" interview aired Tuesday (from the NYT article linked above)

Steve Benen of MSNBC: "Late last week, The Wall Street Journal reported that there were some disagreements among Justice Department and FBI officials about how best to handle Donald Trump's classified documents scandal. 'What turned the tide,' the article added, 'was an audio tape.' The Journal went on to report that 'momentum shifted' in the probe when investigators obtained an audio recording in which Trump 'could be heard showing' people working on former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' autobiography 'a document that laid out a U.S. plan to attack Iran.' The tape, the report added, 'gave prosecutors direct evidence that Trump knew what he was doing was wrong.'... On Monday night..., Trump turned to his social media platform to declare that what appears to be a highly incriminating audio recording 'is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe. 'This is one of the former president's underappreciated tells: When he uses the word 'exonerated,' it means he's found himself in real trouble and feels the need to try to gaslight the public."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post recounts how Sean Hannity, having just received notice of the damning Bedminster tape, tried to explain away Trump's cavalier and unlawful dissemination of information contained in a classified document. (It's not clear from the tape whether or not Trump handed the doc to his little audience or held it up to them at a readable distance.) Hannity's original plan was to center his Fox show on The Great Hunter Biden Scandal. The pivot was, well, awkward. Bump admits that some of Hannity's rants and hypotheses will be lost in translation to those of us who live in the reality-based world. So it probably would help to read David Firestone's explanation -- linked below -- of how the right defines crime. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I probably should have highlighted Josh Dawsey & Devlin Barrett's WashPo report (linked first yesterday) on the scope of Jack Smith's investigation into efforts to overturn the election because the reporters include quite a few details indicating that top Trump officials didn't believe what campaign operative Jason Miller called "the bullshit being beamed down from the mothership." (Also linked yesterday.)

Paula Reid & Sara Murray of CNN: "Former Donald Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani has been interviewed by federal investigators as part of the special counsel's investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election results, multiple sources familiar with the meeting told CNN. The meeting between Giuliani, his attorney Robert Costello, and investigators took place in recent weeks. The sources declined to say what investigators' questions focused on during the meeting, which has not been previously reported."

Justice Delayed. Blayne Alexander, et al., of NBC News: "Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will be interviewed by investigators from special counsel Jack Smith's office Wednesday in Atlanta, his office confirmed to NBC News. Raffensperger's interview with the special counsel's office will be his first with the Justice Department." MB: Well, that's just great. It's been more than two-and-a-half years since Raffensperger released audio of Trump's infamous call pleading with Raffensperger to "find" 11,780 Trump votes: enough to overturn Georgia's presidential election results and flip the win from Biden to Trump. (Also linked yesterday.)

Hannah Rabinowitz, et al., of CNN: "Walt Nauta, an aide charged alongside ... Donald Trump for the alleged mishandling of classified documents from the White House, had an arraignment hearing rescheduled after his flight to Florida was canceled due to storms. Nauta had been set to be arraigned on Tuesday, but the judge postponed the date after Nauta did not make it to Miami for the court hearing.... In addition, Nauta still does not have a local attorney who can practice in the Southern District of Florida, [Nauta's lawyer Stanley] Woodward said. At Tuesday's brief hearing, the magistrate judge told Woodward to make July 6 'your drop-dead deadline to get somebody on board,' referring to the need for Nauta to hire an attorney who can practice in southern Florida." MB: Why can't Walt get a Florida lawyer? It's been two weeks since Trump's arraignment. Trump (or rather his small donors! [NYT link]) is paying Woodward; is he not paying for a Florida-barred lawyer for Nauta? This is odd. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian explains Nauta's lawyer problem: Walt Nauta "was forced to abandon his top choice Florida lawyer over a dispute about legal fees, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Two weeks [after Donald Trump's arraignment], Nauta remains without a lawyer admitted to practice in the southern district of Florida after the person at the top of the shortlist drawn up by Nauta's defense team decided he needed to charge higher fees to represent him the night before the arraignment.... The reason for the rate hike was not clear, but at least one Florida lawyer who had seriously considered representing Nauta decided several days ago that the reputational and legal risks of working with Trump's co-defendant ... were too great... And [since Trump's PAC Save America is paying Nauta's legal fees,] anyone Nauta retains would also need the blessing of Trump and his own defense team, who see no need to make a decision quickly." Lowell also points out that (1) Nauta was not required to appear in person at the arraignment, (2) the judge could have assigned him a public defender, and (3) the real reason for his failure to find an attorney may have been to delay the trial. ~~~

     ~~~ Marcy Wheeler backs up Lowell's reporting on Points 1-3 and she chastises media for buying into the bad-weather excuse.

Kara Scannell of CNN: "Donald Trump has sued E. Jean Carroll for defamation after a jury found he sexually abused the former magazine columnist and defamed her. In a counter claim filed Tuesday night, Trump alleges that Carroll defamed him when she appeared on CNN the morning after the jury awarded her $5 million in damages. Carroll was asked about the verdict finding Trump sexually abused Carroll but did not rape her as she alleged. Carroll said, 'Oh, yes he did.' In response to the new claim, Carroll's lawyer Roberta Kaplan said in a statement, 'Donald Trump again argues, contrary to both logic and fact, that he was exonerated by a jury that found that he sexually abused E. Jean Carroll.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: I have a new birther conspiracy theory, and unlike the perps behind the Obama birther theory, I have evidence! Here's my theory: Donald Trump was not born in the United States and therefore is not eligible to be president*.

     (1) The most prominent purveyor of the Obama birther story was Donald Trump. Trump is infamous for projecting his own misdeeds onto others; that is, when he accuses someone else of committing some bad act, it's almost always the case that the bad act in question is one he himself committed. Ergo, Trump's enthusiasm for the Obama birther nonsense is effectively an admission he was not born in the U.S. But there's more:

     (2) Donald Trump is not a native English speaker. Many have commented on Trump's limited vocabulary and weird sentence constructions. He has been defensive about this shortcoming: he famously said, again speaking in the childish construction employed by those unfamiliar with the language he's speaking: "I know words, I know the best words." I was struck again today by a peculiar remark he made twice in the Bedminister confession tape: "They presented me this." Except in the way doctors sometimes use "presented," (where it has a slightly different meaning) "present" is a transitive verb; that is, it requires an object. So we always say, "They presented this to me, not "They presented me this." Native speakers don't have to think about this. But Donald Trump, who was born in and spent his early years in, say, Germany, doesn't know this. So he routinely makes unusual grammatical mistakes and has a limited English vocabulary.

     Of course I'm not serious about my Trump birther theory, but it's way better than the Obama theory. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: See Forrest M.'s comment below for Proof No. 3.

~~~~~~~~~~

** Supremes Decide States Legislatures Are Not Invincible. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected ... the 'independent state legislature' theory ... that would have radically reshaped how federal elections are conducted by giving state legislatures largely unchecked power to set all sorts of rules for federal elections and to draw congressional maps warped by partisan gerrymandering. The vote was 6 to 3, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. writing the majority opinion. The Constitution, he said, 'does not exempt state legislatures from the ordinary constraints imposed by state law.' Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.... The case, Moore v. Harper, No. 21-1271, concerned a voting map drawn by the North Carolina Legislature that was initially rejected as a partisan gerrymander by the state's Supreme Court....

"The composition of the North Carolina Supreme Court changed after elections in November, favoring Republicans by a 5-to-2 margin. In what a dissenting justice called a 'shameful manipulation of fundamenta principles of our democracy and the rule of law,' the new majority reversed course, saying the Legislature was free to draw gerrymandered voting districts as it saw fit. Many observers had expected the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the case in light of that development. But Chief Justice Roberts concluded that the Supreme Court retained jurisdiction over the case." The Washington Post's report is here. MB: Neither report makes clear where the decision leaves North Carolina. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I didn't know till I listened to the teevee that Neal Katyal argued (and won) this case for Common Cause. In an appearance on MSNBC, Katyal credited retired conservo-judge Michael Luttig for his help. Luttig, appearing on CNN, reiterated his view that this was the most important case for American democracy in our history. He also remarked that the independent state legislature theory, the wacky legal premise tested in this North Carolina case, was precisely the theory that Donald Trump employed (thanks to John Eastman) when he attempted to overturn the 2020 presidential election results with his fake elector hoohah. The idea was that pence would accept or at least acknowledge the fake elector slates, whereupon Republican state legislatures -- they whom no court can police -- would certify the fake electors and overturn the voters' choice. ~~~

~~~ Update. As I Was Saying. Zach Montellaro, et al., of Politico: "The Supreme Court’s rejection of a controversial election theory may also have another huge political consequence for future presidential contests: It obliterated the dubious fake elector scheme that Donald Trump deployed in his failed attempt to seize a second term. That scheme relied on friendly state legislatures appointing 'alternate' slates of pro-Trump presidential electors -- even if state laws certified victory for Joe Biden. Backed by fringe theories crafted by attorneys like John Eastman, Trump contended that state legislatures could unilaterally reverse the outcome and override their own laws and constitutions to do so.... Eastman and other Trump allies argued that state legislatures could determine unilaterally that Trump was the rightful winner, appointing their own electors to be counted on Jan. 6, 2021. No state legislatures embraced Eastman's calls, and the effort collapsed when then-Vice President Mike Pence refused a simultaneous pressure campaign to single-handedly postpone the counting of electoral votes."

Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the conviction of a man who made extensive online threats to a stranger, saying free speech protections require prosecutors to prove the stalker was aware of the threatening nature of his communications. In a 7-2 ruling authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the court emphasized that true threats of violence are not protected by the First Amendment. But to guard against a chilling effect on non-threatening speech, the majority said states must prove that a criminal defendant has 'disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence.' Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. The case concerned a Colorado law used to convict Billy Raymond Counterman of stalking and causing 'emotional distress' for Coles Whalen, a singer-songwriter he had never met.... The case now returns to the lower courts, where prosecutors could decide to retry the case under the new standards set by the Supreme Court's decision." (Also linked yesterday.)

Glenn Thrush & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a cell with a bedsheet tied around his neck in 2019, died by suicide, not foul play -- following a cascade of negligence and mismanagement at the now-shuttered federal jail in Manhattan where he was housed, according to the Justice Department's inspector general. The inspector general, who released a report on Tuesday after a yearslong investigation, found that the leadership and staff members at the jail, the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center, created an environment in which Mr. Epstein, a financier charged with sex trafficking, had every opportunity to kill himself. The inspector general, Michael Horowitz, referred two supervisors at the facility responsible for ensuring Mr. Epstein's safety for criminal prosecution by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York after they were caught falsifying records and lying to investigators. But prosecutors declined to bring charges." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Election 2024

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday declared Donald J. Trump the 'strongest political opponent' against President Biden, rushing to make clear his loyalty to the former president just hours after suggesting in a televised interview that Mr. Trump might not be the Republican presidential candidate best positioned to prevail in the 2024 election.... His latest difficulties began on Tuesday morning when, during an interview with CNBC, Mr. McCarthy wondered whether it would be good for the party to have Mr. Trump as its presidential nominee given his legal troubles. 'Can he win that election? Yeah, he can win that election,' Mr. McCarthy said. 'The question is, is he the strongest to win the election; I don't know that answer.'... Mr. McCarthy also called Mr. Trump Tuesday, according to three people familiar with the exchange, two of whom characterized the conversation as an apology."

Gideon Rubin of the Raw Story: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday suggested that vaccine research was responsible for the HIV and the Spanish flu, among other illnesses, Rolling Stone reports.... Kennedy also attributed Lyme disease to the list of illnesses he blames on vaccine research." MB: I'm feeling a bit logy this morning. It could be for want of sleep, but it's probably because of vaccine research.

Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) on Tuesday celebrated his state getting more than $1 billion for broadband efforts, thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ― a bill he voted against. 'Broadband is vital for the success of our rural communities and for our entire economy,' Tuberville tweeted, along with a link to an article about his state getting $1.4 billion for expanding broadband access to underserved areas. 'Great to see Alabama receive crucial funds to boost ongoing broadband efforts.'... [President] Biden's investment in broadband builds on funding provided by the American Rescue Plan, which Tuberville also voted against.... Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) similarly tweeted about his state getting $3.3 billion for broadband expansion. And just like Tuberville, he voted against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act."

Here's a bizarre story I missed last week: ~~~

     ~~~ Hey, Let's Just Pretend Those Impeachments Never Happened! David Morgan of Reuters (June 23): "Two of Donald Trump's staunchest allies in the U.S. Congress have introduced legislation aimed at expunging the former president's two impeachments, a legislative maneuver without precedent in U.S. history. Representative Elise Stefanik, the No. 4 House of Representatives Republican, and hardline Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced a pair of resolutions that if enacted would aim to change the record 'as if such articles had never been passed.' Republicans control the House 222-212."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Jeffery Mays of the New York Times: "Yusef Salaam, one of the so-called Central Park 5, wrongfully convicted of the rape and assault of a female jogger, held a commanding lead over two Assembly members in what would be a major upset in the Democratic primary for a Harlem City Council seat. Mr. Salaam had nearly twice the number of votes of his closest competitor, Assemblywoman Inez Dickens, 73, who conceded defeat on Tuesday night, according to her spokeswoman. It was not clear if Mr. Salaam had drawn more than 50 percent of the votes; if he fell short of that threshold, voters' ranked choices would be tabulated next week." The article includes other City primary results. MB: My only regret is that Salaam's district does not include Trump Tower.

New York. Remi Tumin of the New York Times: "For 20 years, a Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute professor had been working on what the university described as potentially groundbreaking work. It all ended with the accidental flip of a switch. The university is seeking $1 million in damages from Daigle Cleaning Systems in Albany, N.Y., for breach of contract and for failing to properly train a janitor who turned off a circuit breaker in September 2020, cutting power to the freezer and destroying its contents, according to a lawsuit filed this month in Rensselaer County Supreme Court."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is trying to recast last weekend's brief uprising as an affirmation of the country's unity, even as he seeks to contain the fallout from the aborted rebellion.... U.S. officials briefed on American intelligence said on Tuesday that Gen. Sergei Surovikin, a senior Russian general and former top commander of Moscow's forces in Ukraine, had advance knowledge of the rebellion, raising the possibility of support for the uprising inside the top ranks of the military.... The [Wagner] group's leader, Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, arrived in neighboring Belarus on Tuesday as part of an agreement that secured his amnesty in exchange for exile. President Aleksandr G. Lukashenko of Belarus said that Mr. Putin had entertained the possibility of killing Mr. Prigozhin. But the Belarusian leader, a loyal Putin ally, said he had talked Mr. Putin out of doing so, while also warning Mr. Prigozhin that Mr. Putin could 'squash him like a bug.'...

"Missiles struck a crowded restaurant in the eastern Ukrainian city of Kramatorsk late Tuesday, killing at least nine people and injuring dozens more. The city, in the Donbas region, has suffered several deadly attacks by Russian forces throughout the war. In Ukraine, heavy fighting was reported in the south and east on Tuesday, with Kyiv claiming incremental progress around the devastated city of Bakhmut. The Pentagon said it was sending an additional $500 million in weapons to Ukraine, including 55 Bradley and Stryker armored vehicles, and equipment for clearing minefields." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Wednesday is here: "The Wagner Group received more than $1 billion over the past year from the Russian government, Russia's state-owned Tass news agency reported Tuesday. Putin said the funds were for paying fighters' salaries, incentives and insurance. He also said Wagner's owner, the Concord company, received just under $1 billion to supply food to the army. The comments were a break from previous Kremlin efforts to disavow state links to Wagner and obscure the cost of the war in Ukraine.... Russia has arbitrarily detained hundreds of people in occupied Ukraine during its invasion, according to a report from the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights." ~~~

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

News Ledes

Washington Post: "Lowell P. Weicker Jr., a three-term senator from Connecticut who became one of President Richard M. Nixon's boldest Republican adversaries during the Watergate affair and who engineered dramatic increases in medical research funding despite President Ronald Reagan's efforts to slash domestic spending, died June 28 at a hospital in Middletown, Conn. He was 92."

AP: "Debris from the Titan submersible has been returned to land after a fatal implosion during its voyage to the wreck of the Titanic captured the world's attention last week. The return of the debris to port in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, is a key piece of the investigation into why the submersible imploded, killing all five people on board. Twisted chunks of the 22-foot submersible were unloaded at a Canadian Coast Guard pier on Wednesday." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. New York Times: "Debris and presumed human remains from the Titan submersible have been recovered and returned to land, the U.S. Coast Guard announced Wednesday night, nearly a week after an international search-and-rescue operation ended and the vessel's five passengers were presumed dead. At a Canadian Coast Guard pier in St. John's, Newfoundland, on Wednesday, crews unloaded what appeared to be the Titan's 22-foot hull, crinkled and twisted with exposed wires and cables. Images from The Canadian Press showed what looked to be a piece of the hull's siding and other debris being unloaded from the Horizon Arctic, a vessel that had deployed a remotely operated vehicle to search the ocean floor for the submersible. The debris will be taken to a U.S. port where the Marine Board of Investigation will do further analysis and testing. United States medical professionals 'will conduct a formal analysis of presumed human remains that have been carefully recovered within the wreckage at the site of the incident,' the Coast Guard said in a statement."

New York Times: "A smoky haze from Canadian wildfires blanketed Chicago and much of the upper Midwest early Wednesday, a day after a sudden decline in air quality forced many residents of America's third-largest city to don masks when they ventured outside.... Nearly 500 active wildfires were burning in Canada early Wednesday, according to the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre." The story includes air quality indices of several cities and a link to a site where you can look up air quality measurements in your area. This is a liveblog.

New York Times: "Julian Sands, a versatile British actor..., was pronounced dead on Tuesday, more than five months after disappearing while hiking alone on a trail on Mount Baldy in the San Gabriel Mountains in Southern California. He was 65. On Sunday, authorities recovered human remains near the mountain where search crews had been looking for Mr. Sands. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department said it had been contacted by hikers who had found human remains in the Mount Baldy wilderness.... The coroner's office identified the remains as Mr. Sands on Tuesday. It added that the cause of his death remained under investigation."

June 27, 2023

Late Morning Update:

Marie: I probably should have highlighted Josh Dawsey & Devlin Barrett's WashPo report (linked below) on the scope of Jack Smith's investigation into efforts to overturn the election because the reporters include quite a few details indicating that top Trump officials didn't believe what campaign operative Jason Miller called "the bullshit being beamed down from the mothership."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected ... the 'independent state legislature' theory ... that would have radically reshaped how federal elections are conducted by giving state legislatures largely unchecked power to set all sorts of rules for federal elections and to draw congressional maps warped by partisan gerrymandering. The vote was 6 to 3, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. writing the majority opinion. The Constitution, he said, 'does not exempt state legislatures from the ordinary constraints imposed by state law.' Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and Neil M. Gorsuch dissented.... The case, Moore v. Harper, No. 21-1271, concerned a voting map drawn by the North Carolina Legislature that was initially rejected as a partisan gerrymander by the state's Supreme Court....

"The composition of the North Carolina Supreme Court changed after elections in November, favoring Republicans by a 5-to-2 margin. In what a dissenting justice called a 'shameful manipulation of fundamental principles of our democracy and the rule of law,' the new majority reversed course, saying the Legislature was free to draw gerrymandered voting districts as it saw fit. Many observers had expected the U.S. Supreme Court to dismiss the case in light of that development. But Chief Justice Roberts concluded that the Supreme Court retained jurisdiction over the case." The Washington Post's report is here. MB: Neither report makes clear where the decision leaves North Carolina.

Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday reversed the conviction of a man who made extensive online threats to a stranger, saying free speech protections require prosecutors to prove the stalker was aware of the threatening nature of his communications. In a 7-2 ruling authored by Justice Elena Kagan, the court emphasized that true threats of violence are not protected by the First Amendment. But to guard against a chilling effect on non-threatening speech, the majority said states must prove that a criminal defendant has 'disregarded a substantial risk that his communications would be viewed as threatening violence.' Justices Clarence Thomas and Amy Coney Barrett dissented. The case concerned a Colorado law used to convict Billy Raymond Counterman of stalking and causing 'emotional distress' for Coles Whalen, a singer-songwriter he had never met.... The case now returns to the lower courts, where prosecutors could decide to retry the case under the new standards set by the Supreme Court's decision."

Justice Delayed. Blayne Alexander, et al., of NBC News: "Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will be interviewed by investigators from special counsel Jack Smith's office Wednesday in Atlanta, his office confirmed to NBC News. Raffensperger's interview with the special counsel's office will be his first with the Justice Department." MB: Well, that's just great. It's been more than two-and-a-half years since Raffensperger released audio of Trump's infamous call pleading with Raffensperger to "find" 11,780 Trump votes: enough to overturn Georgia's presidential election results and flip the win from Biden to Trump.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post recounts how Sean Hannity, having just received notice of the damning Bedminster tape, tried to explain away Trump's cavalier and unlawful dissemination of information contained in a classified document. (It's not clear from the tape whether or not Trump handed the doc to his little audience or held it up to them at a readable distance.) Hannity's original plan was to center his Fox show on The Great Hunter Biden Scandal. The pivot was, well, awkward. Bump admits that some of Hannity's rants and hypotheses will be lost in translation to those of us who live in the reality-based world. So it probably would help to read David Firestone's explanation -- linked below -- of how the right defines crime.

Hannah Rabinowitz, et al., of CNN: "Walt Nauta, an aide charged alongside ... Donald Trump for the alleged mishandling of classified documents from the White House, had an arraignment hearing rescheduled after his flight to Florida was canceled due to storms. Nauta had been set to be arraigned on Tuesday, but the judge postponed the date after Nauta did not make it to Miami for the court hearing.... In addition, Nauta still does not have a local attorney who can practice in the Southern District of Florida, [Nauta's lawyer Stanley] Woodward said. At Tuesday's brief hearing, the magistrate judge told Woodward to make July 6 'your drop-dead deadline to get somebody on board,' referring to the need for Nauta to hire an attorney who can practice in southern Florida." MB: Why can't Walt get a Florida lawyer? It's been two weeks since Trump's arraignment. Trump (or rather his small donors! [NYT link]) is paying Woodward; is he not paying for a Florida-barred lawyer for Nauta? This is odd.

Glenn Thrush & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Jeffrey Epstein, who was found dead in a cell with a bedsheet tied around his neck in 2019, died by suicide, not foul play -- following a cascade of negligence and mismanagement at the now-shuttered federal jail in Manhattan where he was housed, according to the Justice Department's inspector general. The inspector general, who released a report on Tuesday after a yearslong investigation, found that the leadership and staff members at the jail, the federal Metropolitan Correctional Center, created an environment in which Mr. Epstein, a financier charged with sex trafficking, had every opportunity to kill himself. The inspector general, Michael Horowitz, referred two supervisors at the facility responsible for ensuring Mr. Epstein's safety for criminal prosecution by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York after they were caught falsifying records and lying to investigators. But prosecutors declined to bring charges." The AP's report is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

** Lordy, There Is a Tape! Jeremy Herb of CNN: "CNN has exclusively obtained the audio recording of the 2021 meeting in Bedminster, New Jersey, where ... Donald Trump discusses holding secret documents he did not declassify.... The recording, which first aired on CNN's 'Anderson Cooper 360,' includes new details from the conversation that is a critical piece of evidence in special counsel Jack Smith's indictment of Trump over the mishandling of classified information, including a moment when Trump seems to indicate he was holding a secret Pentagon document with plans to attack Iran." The article includes a clear audio recording of the brief conversation among Trump, an unidentified staffer and an unidentified writer. There is more to the conversation than appeared in the transcript, and the last line is pretty funny. MB Bottom Line: it sure does sound like Trump is sharing classified pages with the kids in the room. ~~~

     ~~~ This YouTube video has good-quality audio of the conversation: ~~~

     ~~~ Update: The New York Times currently (5:30 am ET Tuesday) has the audio on its front page. It also appears in this NYT story by Maggie Haberman & Alan Feuer about the tape: "Last week, in an interview with the Fox News host Bret Baier, Mr. Trump insisted that he was not presenting classified material in the meeting, which was recorded at Mr. Trump's golf club at Bedminster, N.J. Mr. Trump said he was not referring to any 'secret' or 'highly confidential' documents, but was rather talking about 'newspaper stories, magazine stories and articles.' But the audio recording of the full encounter suggests that Mr. Trump was referring not to secondhand accounts, but instead to a specific piece of paper, or papers, in front of him.... 'Wow,' a woman in the room can be heard saying, followed by a rustling of papers. 'Let's see here,' Mr. Trump says, adding, 'Look.' There is a brief pause, during which he appears to show people in the room something, and they start to laugh.... The full clip undercuts arguments made by some of Mr. Trump's allies that he was simply blustering and exaggerating or mischaracterizing the material he described in the recording.” MB: Bear in mind that the classified document in question is an American plan on how to miliarily attack Iran. Apparently, the Pentagon routinely prepares such broad contingency plans against U.S. adversaries. ~~~

     ~~~ Update 2. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump claimed on Monday that a recording of him allegedly showing off 'highly confidential' and 'secret' Iran documents to guests was 'actually an exoneration.'... 'The Deranged Special Prosecutor, Jack Smith, working in conjunction with the DOJ & FBI, illegally leaked and "spun" a tape and transcript of me which is actually an exoneration, rather than what they would have you believe,' he wrote. 'This continuing Witch Hunt is another ELECTION INTERFERENCE Scam. They are cheaters and thugs!'" MB: Lame "defense." Where's the "exoneration" exactly? Since no one in DOJ agreed to comment at all, Smith or others in the Department did not "spin" the audio tape. Also, it's highly unlikely Smith or his team leaked the recording. News media consistently get their scoops on the Trump cases from witnesses and Trump's allies and lawyers, except in the cases where Trump himself releases information, such as he did when the FBI executed a search warrant on Mar-a-Lardo.

Andrew Weissmann, appearing on MSNBC Tuesday night said that the prosecution could, but won't necessarily, introduce at trial some of the lies -- a/k/a "false exculpatory statements" -- Trump has told publicly in his shifting defenses.

Cannon Rules Against Prosecution. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The federal judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's prosecution on charges of illegally holding on to sensitive national security documents denied on Monday the government's request to keep secret a list of witnesses with whom Mr. Trump has been barred from discussing his case. The ruling by Judge Aileen M. Cannon, in the Southern District of Florida, means that some or all of the list of 84 witnesses could at some point become public, offering further details about the shape and scope of the case that the special counsel Jack Smith has brought against Mr. Trump.... Mr. Trump's lawyers had not taken a position on the request to seal the list. Then on Monday, a group of news media companies including The New York Times filed their own motion asking Judge Cannon to make the list public, saying that the case against Mr. Trump was 'one of the most consequential criminal cases in the nation's history.'... In her ruling, Judge Cannon said the petition by the news media was moot, given that she had denied the government's request to seal.... Judge Cannon also scheduled a hearing for July 14 for the parties to discuss how to handle the significant amount of highly sensitive material involved in the case under a law known as the Classified Information Procedures Act. That hearing will be conducted mostly, if not entirely, under seal."

Josh Dawsey & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department's investigation of efforts by Donald Trump and his advisers to overturn the 2020 election results is barreling forward on multiple tracks, according to people familiar with the matter, with prosecutors focused on ads and fundraising pitches claiming election fraud as well as plans for 'fake electors' that would swing the election to the incumbent president.... A key area of interest is the conduct of a handful of lawyers who sought to turn Trump's defeat into victory by trying to convince state, local, federal and judicial authorities that Joe Biden's 2020 election win was illegitimate or tainted by fraud. Investigators have sought to determine to what degree these lawyers -- particularly Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, John Eastman, Kurt Olsen and Kenneth Chesebro, as well as then-Justice Department lawyer Jeffrey Clark -- were following specific instructions from Trump or others, and what those instructions were...."

Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "About half a dozen Secret Service agents have testified before the grand jury that will decide whether to indict ... Donald Trump for his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol and efforts to interfere in the peaceful transfer of the presidency, according to two sources familiar with their testimony. Roughly five or six agents have appeared, the sources said, in compliance with subpoenas they received. It is not known what the agents' proximity to Trump was on Jan. 6 or what information they may have provided to the grand jury.... Secret Service agents who were close to Trump on Jan. 6 may be able to confirm, deny or provide more details on a story first told by former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson to the now-defunct Jan. 6 committee in Congress."

Ryan Nobles & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee released a report Tuesday concluding that federal law enforcement agencies failed to correctly analyze a wide range of intelligence showing the potential for violence on Jan. 6, 2021. The report, authored by the committee's chair, Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and staff, provides specific examples of threats of violence and plans for an attack on the Capitol, which were collected by agencies in the lead-up to Jan. 6, including the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A). The report concludes that the agencies consistently downplayed the potential for violence and, as a result, the government did not prepare the proper security apparatus for Washington, D.C., that day.... 'What was shocking is that this attack was essentially planned in plain sight in social media,' Peters said in an interview, 'And yet it seemed as if our intelligence agencies completely dropped the ball.'... Tuesday's report ... does not absolve ... Donald Trump for his role in fueling the violence that occurred on that day." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story is here. The New York Times story is here. The report is here.

Roger Parloff in Lawfare on why Donald Trump's theft and retention of classified documents is nothing like Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server on which some classified information was discussed. "... the crux of Clinton's case, unlike Trump's, was about gradations of carelessness, recklessness, and gross negligence -- states of mind that can constitute felonies only in rare situations.... Trump is accused of acting 'with intent,' 'knowingly,' 'willfully,' and 'corruptly,' and of doing so over a period of 18 months.... While that evidence [against Clinton] is by no means flattering, it is ... radically different [from Trump's].... Investigators [into Clinton's conduct] found that Clinton's 'extreme carelessness' did not meet [the] standard [required for prosecution]....

"The second factor favoring non-prosecution of Clinton, according to the [investigative] team, was that her emails were always used for official purposes. Every one of [the 337 documents Trump stole] was, by definition, removed for an unofficial, non-governmental purpose. Indeed, Trump has publicly emphasized this point, declaring in interviews that the documents were his personal property and that he had every right to take them. A third factor ... was the absence of direct proof that Clinton knew her emails contained classified information.... Trump or his surrogates have repeatedly admitted publicly that he knew he possessed documents that were marked as classified." Moreover, there's no evidence anyone expressed concern about Clinton's relaying or receiving classified information, whereas Trump was repeatedly warned he could not retain the classified docs. And Clinton did not set up her server for the purpose of conveying classified information, whereas Trump [allegedly!] engaged in an intentional and rococo 18-month scheme to remove and retain classified information from proper storage." Parloff gives a fairly detailed account of the Clinton email saga. ~~~

~~~ BUT Parloff totally misses the point! David Firestone of the New York Times provides "a handy guide to the Republican definition of a crime." With illustrative graphics. Firestone's helpful explanations would be funny if they weren't true.

** Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "The last 30 detainees at Guantánamo Bay, including the men accused of plotting the Sept. 11 attacks, are being held by the United States under circumstances that constitute 'cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment under international law,' a United Nations human rights investigator said on Monday. Fionnuala Ni Aolain, a law professor in Minnesota serving as special rapporteur on counterterrorism and human rights, included the finding in a report drawn from a four-day visit to the prison in February, which included meetings with an undisclosed number of detainees and interviews with lawyers and former prisoners. She issued the report one month before her term as rapporteur ends. She specifically cited the cumulative effects of inadequate health care, solitary confinement, restraints and use of force to remove prisoners from their cells as contributing to her conclusions. She said the conditions at the prison 'may also meet the legal threshold for torture.'"

Nobody Loves Margie. Olivia Beavers of Politico: "House Freedom Caucus members took a momentous vote Friday on Marjorie Taylor Greene's future with the group, according to three people familiar with the matter -- but it's not yet clear whether she's been officially ejected.... Greene's close alliance with Speaker Kevin McCarthy, and her accompanying criticism of colleagues in the group, has put her on the opposite side of a bloc that made its name opposing GOP leadership. While her formal status in the conservative group remains in limbo, the 8 a.m. Friday vote -- which sources said ended with a consensus against her -- points to, at least, continued strong anti-Greene sentiment."

Tierney Sneed of CNN: "The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the Louisiana congressional map to be redrawn to add another majority-Black district. The justices reversed plans to hear the case themselves and lifted a hold they placed on a lower court's order for a reworked redistricting regime. There were no noted dissents. 'Today's decision follows on the heels of the court's 5-4 ruling earlier this month holding that Alabama also has to re-draw its congressional district maps to include a second majority-minority district,' said Steve Vladeck, a CNN Supreme Court analyst.... 'And like the Alabama ruling, it doesn't explain why the court nevertheless had issued emergency relief to allow Louisiana to use its unlawful maps during the 2022 midterm cycle,' Vladeck added. 'It puts the court's interventions last year into ever-sharper perspective.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Tobi Raji, et al., of the Washington Post: "Newly released and previously unreported court documents that belonged to Justice John Paul Stevens, who led the [Supreme Court]'s liberal wing, show just how aware the justices were of charges that the appearance of impropriety could shake the public's faith in the institution. They also show just how quick they were to push back against these concerns." MB: The reporters fail to point out one jarring difference between then and now: even when the confederate justices back then decided their own ethics were absolutely fabulous, they at least debated issues of recusal with their colleagues. Clarence & Sam take their filthy lucre in secret, then decide all on their own that they're above reproach -- at least as far as we know. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024

President DeSantolini Would Order Border Patrol to Commit Atrocities. David Goodman & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday proposed a host of hard-right immigration policies, floating the idea of using deadly force against suspected drug traffickers and others breaking through border barriers while 'demonstrating hostile intent.... Of course you use deadly force,' Mr. DeSantis said after a campaign event on a sweltering morning in Eagle Pass, a small Texas border city. 'If you drop a couple of these cartel operatives trying to do that, you're not going to have to worry about that anymore,' he added. He said they would end up 'stone-cold dead.' He did not clarify how Border Patrol officers or other law enforcement authorities might determine which people crossing the border were smuggling drugs."

Will McDuffie & Hannah Demissie of ABC News: "Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Monday that he would seek to eliminate the constitutional guarantee of citizenship to children of undocumented immigrants born in the United States. So-called 'birthright citizenship' has long been considered protected under the 14th Amendment, which guarantees citizenship to all individuals 'born or naturalized in the United States.'... In a detailed list of immigration objectives he released on Monday, DeSantis, who also spoke to supporters and reporters in the Texas border town of Eagle Pass, pledged to take action to end the idea that the children of illegal aliens are entitled to birthright citizenship if they are born in the United States.'... Donald Trump in 2018 promised an executive order to eliminate it, a threat on which he never followed through. Trump, the current frontrunner in the Republican primary, has again promised to strike the protection if elected." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We get that you fascists don't think you have to obey the Constitution, your oath to protect the Constitution notwithstanding. But the clear language of the 14th Amendment on this point gives you no wiggle-room. You'll have to suspend the Constitution and declare marshal law to pull this off.

"Decimation!" Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Former President Trump railed against the electric vehicle industry during a speech to Michigan Republicans on Sunday, warning them that the state's auto industry is at risk under President Biden. 'Biden is a catastrophe for Michigan and his environmental extremism is heartless and disloyal and horrible for the American worker and you're starting to see it,' Trump said in a keynote address to Oakland County Republicans in Michigan on Sunday. 'Driven by his ridiculous regulations, electric cars will kill more than half of U.S. auto jobs and decimate the suppliers that they decimated already -- decimate the suppliers, and it's going to decimate your jobs and it's going to decimate more than anybody else, the state of Michigan,' he added. 'It's is going to be decimation. It's going to be at a level that that people can't even imagine.... The state of Michigan is going to be decimation,'...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sure Trump's "concern" about Michigan's "decimation" has nothing whatever to do with his and Jared's ties to Saudi Arabia and other oil-rich countries. Never mind that Michigan's auto workers are quite as capable of building EVs as they are of building gas-guzzlers. See also Forrest M.'s comment in yesterday's thread.

DAR Moves Slowly, Slowly Forward into the 19th Century. Corrine Dorsey of the Washington Post (June 25): "In 1980, Lena Ferguson [-- a Black woman --] ... aimed to join the Daughters of the American Revolution. But after multiple attempts, she was denied by a local D.C. chapter. It led to a fight to make the organization more inclusive of Black and other women of color.... Four decades later, Ferguson is being recognized with a tribute plaque in the memorial garden at DAR National Headquarters.... In addition, the DAR renamed a nursing scholarship this year in Ferguson's honor. Ferguson sought to join the DAR after being encouraged by a nephew, Maurice Barboza, who had connected the family's lineage to the Revolutionary War, a requirement for membership. Her ancestor is Jonah Gay, a member of the town committee of Friendship, Maine, that supported the war effort. But her attempts to become a member of a Washington chapter of the DAR were initially rebuffed because of her race. In 1983, Ferguson was admitted as an at-large member of the national DAR but was unable to join a local chapter until the next year. Ferguson's fight drew media attention and even a threat to revoke the DAR's tax-exempt status."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona Book Report. Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "In a new book, the Trump ally and potential running mate Kari Lake blows a 'birther' racist dog whistle to supporters, claiming Barack Obama had a 'mysterious past' when he ran for president -- but does not mention that she donated to Obama in 2008 and reportedly campaigned for him door-to-door." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This isn't a very important story, but I wanted to point to one sentence (the third paragraph) in the report: "Rightwing extremist Lake, who supports Trump's lie about voter fraud in 2020 and maintains despite repeated court defeats that her defeat for Arizona governor last year was also the result of cheating...." Oh why can't the U.S. MSM be more like the Guardian? I don't think I've ever read a U.S. MSM story about Lake (or similar loons, for that matter) that matter-of-factly describes her as a "rightwing extremist." And U.S. media seldom call Trump's lies "lies," even when the reports bother to refute the lies. By constantly portraying Lake and Trump and DeSantis, et al., as normal politicians, the U.S. media probably comprise the most significant factor in permitting & normalizing these "rightwing extremists." I blame the media for Trump's 2016 win, and they haven't learned much since. If our next president* is a Republican, blame it on the New York Times, CNN, the Washington Post and local straight-news papers throughout the country.

Florida. John Yoon of the New York Times: "A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting a neighbor after a dispute with her children this month will not face murder charges, a prosecutor said Monday in a carefully worded statement explaining his reasoning in the divisive case. The woman, Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, was instead charged with one count of manslaughter with a firearm and one count of assault, said Bill Gladson, the state attorney for the Fifth Judicial Circuit of Florida. She could face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted on the charges. The family of the dead woman, Ajike Owens, 35, a mother of four, had asked for a murder charge, which would be punishable by up to life in prison. But Mr. Gladson said that there was not enough evidence to prove the crime."

Idaho. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Mike Baker of the New York Times: "Prosecutors in Idaho said they planned to seek the death penalty against the man accused of murdering four University of Idaho students in a home near campus last fall.... Bill Thompson, the top prosecutor in Latah County, wrote in a court filing on Monday that the nature of the November killings -- stabbings that occurred in the middle of the night and went unsolved for several weeks -- met the standard for the kind of aggravating factors that warrant seeking the death penalty. Among them, he said: The suspect, Bryan Kohberger, is charged with committing multiple murders; the killings were 'especially heinous, atrocious or cruel'; and Mr. Kohberger had 'exhibited utter disregard for human life.'"

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Russian authorities dropped an investigation into Yevgeny V. Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner mercenary group, for leading an armed rebellion that saw his troops get to within 125 miles from Moscow on Saturday before he abruptly called off his short-lived mutiny, Russian state media reported on Tuesday. Mr. Prigozhin's whereabouts remained unclear early Tuesday.... President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, who visited frontline positions on Monday, projecting unity with his troops, said Ukrainian forces had 'advanced in all directions' over the past day. 'This is a happy day,' he said." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Tuesday is here: "In a televised address Monday, [Vladimir Putin] confirmed earlier reports that Russian jets had been downed and pilots killed by Wagner's mercenaries." ~~~

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

Kevin Liptak of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Monday sought to distance the United States from the weekend rebellion in Russia, insisting in his first public remarks since the episode that the West had nothing to do with the mutiny. Speaking from the White House, Biden suggested it was too early to say how the situation would unfold going forward. And he said he may speak again with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to coordinate their response after conferring in a phone call Sunday.... Biden's statement reflected a carefully calibrated American response to the brief uprising by the Wagner Group that amounted to the biggest threat in years to Russian President Vladimir Putin.... In his remarks Monday, Biden laid out the thinking behind his approach, which some Republicans have criticized as overly cautious. 'We had to make sure we gave Putin no excuse to blame this on the West or to blame this on NATO. We made clear that we were not involved. We had nothing to do with it. This was part of a struggle within the Russian system,' Biden said." (Also linked yesterday.)

AP: "Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday blasted organizers of a weekend revolt as 'traitors' who played into the hands of Ukraine's government and its allies.... Putin said the nation had stood united, and he praised the rank and file mercenaries for not letting the situation descend into 'bloodshed.' Earlier in the day, the rebellion's leader, mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, defended his short-lived insurrection. He taunted Russia's military, but said he hadn't been seeking to stage a coup against Putin. Putin did not name Prigozhin in his televised address but said organizers of the mutiny had tried to force the group's soldiers 'to shoot their own.' Putin blamed 'Russia's enemies' and said they 'miscalculated.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Valerie Hopkins of the New York Times: "A visibly angry Vladimir V. Putin on Monday denounced as 'blackmail' a weekend rebellion by the Wagner mercenary group even as he defended his response to the mutiny and hinted at leniency for those who took part, saying that 'the entire Russian society united' around his government.... Throughout the day, the Kremlin had sought to project an air of normalcy, unity and stability, despite Mr. Putin's absence from public view after perhaps the most serious crisis of his two-decade rule. When he finally emerged, the Russian leader skirted a host of unanswered questions left by the revolt....

"[Yevgeny] Prigozhin, until recently a vital ally of Mr. Putin, said in an 11-minute, stream-of-consciousness voice memo posted on the messaging app Telegram on Monday that the government was trying to destroy Wagner, which he said would effectively have to disband by this coming Saturday.... It was not clear where Mr. Prigozhin was, or how he would be handled by a system that criminalizes mere dissent, much less armed rebellion. The Kremlin statement over the weekend that he would be allowed to go into exile was contradicted on Monday by reports in multiple state-controlled news outlets that he still faced investigation and a very real possibility of prosecution. Nor was it clear what would happen to his tens of thousands of fighters...."

News Lede

New York Times: "A teenage boy and his stepfather hiking in Big Bend National Park in Texas died as temperatures there rose to 119 degrees Fahrenheit on Friday -- the second-highest mark ever recorded in the state -- during a triple-digit heat wave that was forecast to spread to the Southeast this week. 'We are in extreme heat right now,' said Thomas VandenBerg, a park ranger at Big Bend, near the U.S. border with Mexico, where another hiker recently died of heat-related causes. The dangerous early-summer heat wave has broken daily temperature records across Texas and strained the state's independent power grid. In Oklahoma, the heat scorched a state battered by storms that left tens of thousands, mostly in the Tulsa area, without electricity for much of last week.... The system is forecast to shift slowly to the east during the week, extending the brutally hot weather to Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama."