The Ledes

Friday, September 27, 2024

New York Times: “Maggie Smith, one of the finest British stage and screen actors of her generation, whose award-winning roles ranged from a freethinking Scottish schoolteacher in 'The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie' to the acid-tongued dowager countess on 'Downton Abbey,' died on Friday in London. She was 89.”

The Washington Post's live updates of developments related to Hurricane Helene are here: “Hurricane Helene left one person dead in Florida and two in Georgia as it sped north. One of the biggest storms on record to hit the Gulf Coast, Helene slammed into Florida’s Big Bend area on Thursday night as a Category 4 colossus with winds of up to 140 mph before weakening to Category 1. Catastrophic winds and torrential rain from the storm — which the National Hurricane Center forecast would eventually slow over the Tennessee Valley — were expected to continue Friday across the Southeast and southern Appalachians.” ~~~

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

Mediaite: “Fox Weather’s Bob Van Dillen was reporting live on Fox & Friends about flooding in Atlanta from Hurricane Helene when he was interrupted by the screams of a woman trapped in her car. During the 7 a.m. hour, Van Dillen was filing a live report on the massive flooding in the area. Fox News viewers could clearly hear the urgent screams for help emerging from a car stuck on a flooded road in the background of the live shot. Van Dillen ... told Fox & Friends that 911 had been called and that the local Fire Department was on its way. But as he continued to file the report, the screams did not stop, so Van Dillen cut the live shot short.... Some 10 minutes later, Fox & Friends aired live footage of Van Dillen carrying the woman to safety, waking through chest-deep water while the flooding engulfed her car in the background[.]”

The Wires
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The Ledes

Thursday, September 26, 2024

The New York Times:' live updates of Hurricane Helene developments today are here. “Hurricane Helene was barreling through the Gulf of Mexico on Thursday en route to Florida, where residents were bracing for extreme rain, destructive winds and deadly storm surge ahead of the storm’s expected landfall. The storm could intensify to a Category 4, if not higher, before making landfall late Thursday, and forecasters warned Helene’s anticipated large size could make its impacts felt across an extensive area. Areas as distant as Atlanta and the Appalachians are at risk for heavy rains.... Many forecast models show the storm making landfall late Thursday near Florida’s Big Bend Coast, a sparsely populated stretch....” ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post has forecasts for some cites in Florida, Georgia, North Carolina & Tennessee that are in or near the probable path of Helene. ~~~

     ~~~ This morning, an MSNBC weatherperson said Tallahassee (which is inland) would experience wind gusts of up to 120 m.p.h. and that the National Weather Service said expected 20-foot storm surges near the coast would be “unsurvivable.”

Help!

To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

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OR here's a link generator. The one I had posted died, then Akhilleus found one, but it too bit the dust. He found yet another, which I've linked here, and as of September 23, 2024, it's working.

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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns


Friday
Jun092023

June 9, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** The indictments of Donald Trump and Walt Nauta have been unsealed. Special counsel Jack Smith is to make a statement at 3:00 pm ET today. ~~~

     ~~~ ** You can read the indictment on CNN's liveblog. (At 1:45 pm ET, it's at the top of the page.) Wow, Wow and Wow! BTW, there are not seven counts against Trump; there are thirty-seven counts against him. ~~~

     ~~~ The indictment includes a number of photos of piles of boxes of documents Trump & Nauta had stashed in various places around Mar-a-Lago, including, you know, the ballroom. Trump's staff, including Nauta, took the pictures. The photos are difficult to see in the indictment itself, but NBC5-Dallas has reproduced color versions of the photos here.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the Trump stolen documents case is here.

The Washington Post has a developing story, by Devlin Barrett & others, covering some of the documents case developments reported in stories linked here.

Evan Perez, et al., of CNN: "An aide to ... Donald Trump has been indicted in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the mishandling of classified documents from the Trump White House, two sources familiar with the indictment tell CNN. Walt Nauta's indictment is the second in the special counsel's investigation after Trump was indicted on seven counts on Thursday.... Nauta was with Trump at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf club this week.... Trump responded to Nauta's indictment on his social media Friday, writing, 'They are trying to destroy his life, like the lives of so many others, hoping that he will say bad things about "Trump." He is strong, brave, and a Great Patriot. The FBI and DOJ are CORRUPT!'"

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Two of Donald Trump's top lawyers abruptly resigned from his defense team on Friday, just hours after news broke that he and a close aide were indicted on charges related to their handling of classified documents. Jim Trusty and John Rowley, who helmed Trump's Washington, D.C.-based legal team for months and were seen frequently at the federal courthouse, indicated they would no longer represent Trump in matters being investigated and prosecuted by special counsel Jack Smith.... In their place, Trump indicated that Todd Blanche -- an attorney he recently retained to help fight unrelated felony charges brought by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg in April -- would lead his legal team, along with a firm to be named later."

OMG! Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "The summons sent to ... Donald Trump and his legal team late Thursday indicates that U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon will be assigned to oversee his case, at least initially, according to sources briefed on the matter.... The 42-year-old judge [-- a Trump appointee --] was appointed last year as a 'special master' to review those materials seized from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. Legal experts accused Cannon of handing Trump a series of head-scratching victories over the course of those proceedings.... In one instance..., Cannon's order was ultimately thrown out in its entirety by an 11th Circuit Court of appeals panel, which found she overstepped in exercising her jurisdiction in the probe. In addition to Cannon, Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart's name also appeared on the summons sent to Trump on Thursday, the sources said. Reinhart ... is also familiar with the proceedings against Trump: he signed off on the initial search warrant of Mar-a-Lago last year and later ruled to unseal the search affidavit -- decisions that made him the target of antisemitic jabs on the internet." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Judge Aileen will throw out the whole case with prejudice without even batting an eye. If this woman is assigned to the Trump case, there will not be a Trump case. The government can't appeal every one of her decisions. Can it? ~~~

     ~~~ Update: In case you think I'm exaggerating, Katy Tur of MSNBC asked Andrew Weissmann what the vulnerabilities of the government's case against Trump were. Instead of talking about some possible weakness in the evidence, Weissmann said, "The judge."

Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "People Sure Think Marjorie Taylor Greene Just Admitted To A Crime On Live TV.... Greene said she read a document inside a SCIF ― a sensitive compartmented information facility ― related to bribery allegations Republicans have made against President Joe Biden but have yet to provide evidence for. Then, she described that document while speaking to Laura Ingraham on Fox News[.]... Greene said the document was 'unclassified,' but a SCIF is typically used only for very sensitive information. Lawmakers generally must check all electronic devices before entering, and cannot take notes while inside. And usually, information revealed in the SCIF can't be repeated outside of it. But Greene ... said she copied as much as she could once she left the SCIF.... 'I wrote down everything that I had just read so that I could come out and tell the American people what I read,' she said." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below. Update: Scroll on down to see also Patrick's commentary re: the "Law Enforcement Sensitive" doc Miss Margie shared with Laura & the Foxbots. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Originally (though after extended negotiations) FBI Director Chris Wray allowed the committee chairman Jim Comer (R) & ranking member Jamie Raskin (D) to read the document but not the committee members. For Wray's refusing access to members, Comer drew up a resolution to hold Wray in contempt of Congress. With that, Wray relented (or "caved," as Comer put it), and Comer withdrew his contempt resolution. It took about 24 hours for MTG to prove that Wray was right to withhold the document from a careless, loose-lipped committee member.

Ukraine, et al. Aamer Madhani of the AP: "Iran is providing Russia with materials to build a drone manufacturing plant east of Moscow as the Kremlin looks to lock in a steady supply of weaponry for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine, according to a U.S. intelligence finding released by the White House on Friday. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that U.S. intelligence officials believe a plant in Russia's Alabuga special economic zone could be operational early next year. The White House also released satellite imagery taken in April of the industrial location, several hundred miles east of Moscow, where it believes the plant 'will probably be built.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

** Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said Thursday night that he's been charged by the Justice Department in connection with the discovery that hundreds of classified documents were taken to his Mar-a-Lago home after he left the White House -- a seismic event in the nation's political and legal history. A seven-count indictment has been filed in federal court naming the former president as a criminal defendant, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe a case that has yet to be unsealed. The charges include willful retention of national defense secrets, obstruction of justice and conspiracy, which carry the potential of years in prison if Trump is found guilty." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post is running a liveblog today. ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump is expected to surrender to the authorities on Tuesday, according to a person close to him and his own post on his social media platform, Truth Social.... The former president added that he was scheduled to be arraigned in federal court in Miami at 3 p.m. on Tuesday." Both the NYT & Wash Po stories garnered banner headlines on their main online pages. ~~~

~~~ ** Yesterday, the New York Times liveblogged developments here. MB: I'm leaving up the link, which I posted last evening a few minutes after the Times put up the page, as some of the remarks by reporters are interesting. ~~~

"The indictment, filed in Federal District Court in Miami, is the first time in American history a former president has faced federal charges. It puts the nation in an extraordinary position, given Mr. Trump's status not only as a onetime chief executive but also as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to face President Biden, whose administration will now be seeking to convict his potential rival. It was not immediately known what specific charges Mr. Trump is facing." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman: "Our understanding from two sources is that the seven counts against Trump include conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of documents." ~~~

~~~ Shane Goldmacher: "In a video filmed in his Bedminster office that Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday evening, he declared: 'I'm an innocent man. I'm an innocent person.'" ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman: "A third charge is false statements, according to sources familiar with the indictment." ~~~

~~~ Luke Broadwater: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged on Twitter that House Republicans would 'hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.' He falsely claimed that Trump had been indicted by President Biden rather than a grand jury made up of American citizens...."

~~~ Charlie Savage: "On CNN, Trump's lawyer Jim Trusty said that Trump's legal team had not been shown the indictment itself, but that the summons commanding Trump to appear in court had 'some language in it that suggests what the seven charges would be.' He mentioned the Espionage Act, multiple false-statement charges and 'several obstruction-based type charges.' Specifically, he mentioned Section 1519 (which relates to obstructing an official effort and was widely expected because it was listed on the F.B.I. search warrant affidavit), but also a new one: Section 1512, which criminalizes witness tampering or other means of obstructing an official proceeding." ~~~

~~~ CNN's liveblog is here. It's a continuation of yesterday's liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.)

** Paula Reid & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "... Donald Trump acknowledged on tape in a 2021 meeting that he had retained 'secret' military information that he had not declassified, according to a transcript of the audio recording obtained by CNN. 'As president, I could have declassified, but now I can't,' Trump says, according to the transcript. CNN obtained the transcript of a portion of the meeting where Trump is discussing a classified Pentagon document about attacking Iran. In the audio recording, which CNN previously reported was obtained by prosecutors, Trump says that he did not declassify the document he's referencing, according to the transcript.... The transcript of the audio recording suggests that Trump is showing the document he's discussing to those in the room. Several sources have told CNN the recording captures the sound of paper rustling.... 'Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this,' Trump says at one point, according to the transcript. 'This was done by the military and given to me.'... Trump continues: 'All sorts of stuff -- pages long, look. Wait a minute, let's see here. I just found, isn't that amazing? This totally wins my case, you know. Except it is like, highly confidential. Secret. This is secret information. Look, look at this.'"

Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "Republican officials are rallying around former President Trump in the moments after he claimed that he has been indicted by the Justice Department (DOJ) in the classified documents probe." Includes remarks from the usual suspects and others. MB: Official support for a person who (allegedly!) has endangered national security, obstructed justice & violated the Espionage Act is mind-boggling. This is not an impeachment, which is a political process, but a supposedly-politically-neutral indictment for violating U.S. criminal law. Yes, innocent till proved guilty, yada yada, but cheering on possible multiple felonies? Denegrating the U.S. system of justice and undermining national security? That's something else. These Republicans are endorsing the equivalents of acts of treason.

Marie: Lawrence O'Donnell of MSNBC reported on air that Merrick Garland had nothing to do with the decision to indict Donald Trump. According to NBC News, the DOJ person who "reviewed" Jack Smith's charging decisions was the highest-level career person (i.e., not a political appointee) in the Justice Department. So it turns out all we've said about Merrick the Unready was correct. For instance, earlier on Indictment Day, Akhilleus was wondering where Merrick was: "Where is he? He's what? At home watching a marathon of 'Be Careful! Be Very Careful' horror movies on Netflix? And he's not answering the phone?" Assuming the NBC reporting is correct, Akhilleus was right. (Also linked yesterday.)

Scott Lemiuex of LG&$: "To be Scrupulously Fair, here's a very compelling defense of Trump by someone with a law degree: 'Ben Shapiro says Trump mishandled classified documents "not for any nefarious purpose, but because Trump likes things and so he takes them"' [-- Jason Campbell].... 'Your honor, I didn't steal my neighbor's Porsche for any nefarious purposes, I just like driving nice cars.' Well, OK then!"

Marie: Akhilleus, who was traveling and didn't hear the news, brought a stack of 45s to our abbreviated Indictment Watch Party. An excellent selection:

I Fought the Law (and the law won): Bobby Fuller Four
Chain Gang: Sam Cooke
Jailhouse Rock: Elvis
Back on the Chain Gang: Pretenders
Fish in the Jailhouse: Tom Waits
Folsom Prison Blues: Johnny Cash
Johnny 99: Bruce Springsteen
Crime in the City: Neil Young
Riot in Cell Block #9: the Robins
Police Dog Blues: Blind Blake

Lawyer for Walt Nauta Accuses DOJ of Prosecutorial Misconduct. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "The lawyer for Donald Trump's valet, under scrutiny in the Mar-a-Lago documents investigation, has submitted court papers describing a meeting at which a top federal prosecutor brought up his application to be a judge when they tried to gain the valet's cooperation last year." Lawyer Stanley Woodward & his client, Trump valet Walt Nauta, were meeting last year with prosecutors, including chief of the counterintelligence section, Jay Bratt. While urging Nauta to cooperate, according to Woodward's complaint, Bratt turned to Woodward and said "he knew Woodward had submitted an application to be a judge at the superior court in Washington DC that was currently pending.... The allegation, in essence, is that Bratt suggested Woodward's judicial application might be considered more favorably if he and his client cooperated against Trump.... 'Even if it's true, it would not rise to the level of prosecutorial misconduct,' former US attorney Joyce Vance said. 'Prosecutors don't have any influence over judicial applications and all the parties to the conversation would have known that.'"

Sara Murray of CNN: "Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. This story is breaking [@ 6:45 pm ET Thursday] and will be updated." MB: Everybody Donald Trump knows is creepy. (Also linked yesterday.)

Zachary Cohen & Paula Reid of CNN: "A key former White House official was interviewed earlier this year by special counsel prosecutors investigating the handling of classified materials by both ... Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.... The former career official, who was in charge of advising the Trump and Obama administrations on the declassification process, is the only known witness to be interviewed by both teams of prosecutors investigating Trump and Biden. During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes. While prosecutors in the Trump case aggressively focused on any first-hand interactions with the former president, including conversations about how to properly declassify documents, prosecutors in the Biden case were more concerned with the mechanics of packing and moving boxes.... The former official said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office.... The former official provided names of former Trump officials who spoke directly to the former president about the declassification process while in office. That includes [National Security lawyer John] Eisenberg, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former White House chief of staff John Kelly." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose it's not too likely these top officials told Trump he could declassify documents with his mind and not tell anybody else about it, because that's what the Presidential Records Act says. Nevertheless, that's exactly what Trump has been claiming.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge has cleared the way for District of Columbia Bar authorities to resume long-stalled disciplinary proceedings against Jeffrey Clark, a top ally in Donald Trump's bid to undermine the results of the 2020 presidential election. Clark, an assistant attorney general in Trump's Justice Department ... had tied up those proceedings for nearly eight months as he sought to transfer the battle to federal court. But U.S. District Court Judge Rudolph Contreras rejected Clark's effort on Thursday, issuing a 36-page opinion concluding that federal courts have no jurisdiction over disciplinary proceedings meant to be managed by the D.C. Bar and local courts. D.C. Bar authorities charged Clark in July 2022 with engaging in 'dishonest' conduct and seeking to 'seriously interfere with the administration of justice' when he embarked on a weekslong effort to help Trump sow doubt about the results of the 2020 election."

In Other News:

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Biden forcefully pushed back Thursday against a rash of 'cruel' state laws curtailing the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals, including transgender youths, saying the measures are being adopted by 'prejudiced people' and pledging that his administration will stand up for those being targeted.... Biden made his comments during a joint news conference with British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. Earlier in the day, the White House unveiled several new initiatives aimed at bolstering the LGBTQ+ community."

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Last fall, President Biden vowed to impose 'consequences' on Saudi Arabia for its decision to slash oil production amid high energy prices and fast-approaching elections in the United States. In public, the Saudi government defended its actions politely via diplomatic statements. But in private, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman threatened to fundamentally alter the decades-old U.S.-Saudi relationship and impose significant economic costs on the United States if it retaliated against the oil cuts, according to a classified document obtained by The Washington Post. The crown prince claimed 'he will not deal with the U.S. administration anymore,' the document says, promising 'major economic consequences for Washington.' Eight months later, Biden has yet to impose consequences on the Arab country and Mohammed has continued to engage with top U.S. officials...."

Ryan Nobles of NBC News: "Garret O'Boyle, an FBI agent who was presented in a public hearing by House Republicans as a whistleblower, was suspended by the bureau because internal investigators had concluded that he leaked sensitive investigative information to the right-wing group Project Veritas, according to a bureau official. House Democrats now accuse O'Boyle of lying to the committee and are referring the matter to Attorney General Merrick Garland, according to a letter obtained by NBC News. Lawmakers learned about the reason for O'Boyle's suspension, which was previously unreported, in testimony that Jennifer Moore, the FBI's executive assistant director for human resources, provided to the House Judiciary Committee's Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government.... In the letter [to Garland], Rep. Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., and Del. Stacey Plaskett, D-Virgin Islands, detail several instances when O'Boyle, in interviews with committee staff and in the panel's public hearing, denied that he had leaked FBI information to the media." MB: Gee, Gym Jordan's "whistleblower" turns out to be nothing but a right-wing, disgruntled, disgraced, suspended FBI agent.

Jacqueline Sweet & David Corn of Mother Jones: "George Santos, the lying and indicted GOP congressman from Queens, New York, has steadfastly refused to say where he was on January 6, 2021, while pro-Trump rioters were attacking the US Capitol to prevent the certification of Joe Biden's electoral victory. He was filmed that day in the VIP section for the Donald Trump rally at the Ellipse that preceded the assault, but his post-rally whereabouts remain a mystery. Yet newly uncovered photos and video footage of January 6 show that his attorney, Joseph Murray, was in the angry pro-Trump mob that trespassed on Capitol grounds. Archived footage obtained by Mother Jones ... traces the movements of Murray and Angela Ng, who is identified on the website of Murray's law firm as its office manager, as they marched from the Ellipse to the Capitol. Both Murray and Ng are retired New York police officers. Ng is also currently listed as working for Santos in his Queens district office as a constituent services representative.... Murray has represented Santos, ever since Santos' surprise election to Congress last year triggered an avalanche of controversies and probes."

Too Obviously Racist for Even John Roberts. Sam Levine of the Guardian: "Alabama discriminated against Black voters when it drew its seven congressional districts last year, the supreme court has ruled, a decision that is a major victory for the Voting Rights Act. The decision in the case, Allen v Milligan, means that Alabama will have to draw its congressional map to include a second majority-Black district. Black voters currently comprise a majority of the voting age population in just one district, despite making up a quarter of the state's population. Alabama could have easily drawn a second majority-Black district, the challengers in the case argued. They offered several sample maps with possible configurations of how to do so. Last year, a three-judge panel unanimously agreed with that argument and ordered the state to do so. The panel, which included two judges appointed by Donald Trump, said the question of whether the state had violated the law was 'not a close one.'" MB: The article doesn't say how each justice ruled, but the decision just came down, so we should learn that later. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court, in a surprise decision, ruled that Alabama had diluted the power of Black voters by drawing a congressional voting map with a single district in which they made up a majority. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 5-to-4 ruling. He was joined by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and the court's three liberal members, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson." MB: But not too obviously racist for Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch & Barrett. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nick Corasaniti & Rick Rojas of the New York Times: "When the Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that Alabama's congressional map had diluted the power of Black voters, it was a long-sought victory for voting rights activists, who had grown increasingly alarmed at the court's previous decisions that have hollowed out the Voting Rights Act. The decision also is likely to reverberate across the South, and could force multiple states with pending Voting Rights Act challenges to redraw their own maps.... In Louisiana, where Black voters make up one-third of the population, a case before the Supreme Court had been put on hold pending the Alabama decision. Now a second majority-Black district could be drawn.... The Supreme Court decision is also expected to send legislators in Georgia back to the drawing board for their congressional maps. On Thursday, a federal judge in a pending Georgia case asked both parties to provide supplemental materials in light of the new ruling. And in Texas, where Republicans drew an aggressive gerrymander that could lock in power for a decade, nine cases in the federal court system could be affected by Thursday's decision, according to a tracker kept by the Brennan Center for Justice, a think tank."

Impeach Justice Jackson! Mark Sherman & Jessica Gresko of the AP: "Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disclosed Wednesday that she received a $1,200 congratulatory floral display from Oprah Winfrey and $6,580 in designer clothing for a magazine photo shoot in her first months as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. The details of gifts given to Jackson were among the reports provided by most members of the court in their annual filings, which give a partial window onto their finances. The reports were released Wednesday.... Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she received nearly $150,000 in royalties for two children's books last year and another $12,000 in payments for possible stage and video versions of 'Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You.' The book, intended for kids age 4 to 8, introduces readers to children who face what Sotomayor, who was diagnosed with diabetes as a child, calls 'life challenges.'" MB: It's clear Oprah is trying to take over the Justice System, and I expect Gym Jordan to haul her before Congress and grill her during the Jackson impeachment proceedings. P.S. That must have been some floral arrangement. (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race 2024. Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "As Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida begins to aggressively attack ... Donald J. Trump, his campaign has spread three images of the former president embracing Dr. Anthony S. Fauci that forensic experts say are almost certainly realistic-looking 'deepfakes' generated by artificial intelligence. The images -- which at first glance appear genuine and are interspersed with real photographs in a campaign video -- show Mr. Trump hugging and kissing Dr. Fauci.... A Twitter account run by Mr. DeSantis's campaign posted the images, part of a video attacking Mr. Trump, on Monday. The news agency Agence France-Presse first reported that they appeared fake on Wednesday." An NPR story is here. MB: What? DeSantis is an underhanded slimeball? Who could have guessed? Anyhow, could not have turned on a more deserving person. ~~~

~~~ Oh. He's Long Been an Underhanded Slimeball. Matt Dixon of NBC News: "Gov. Ron DeSantis' chief of staff was among the biggest political fundraisers helping launch DeSantis' presidential campaign, an unusual instance of a highly influential taxpayer-funded aide's doubling as a top political bundler. And part of the way he raised that money was by having other government officials help him solicit cash from lobbyists. The move, besides being out of the ordinary, raises ethical questions, and it shocked many of those Republican lobbyists here in Florida's capital who felt pressured to donate because they have business before the administration. It also underscores the extent to which DeSantis has used the state government to further his ambitions."


Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "James G. Watt, who as President Ronald Reagan's first Interior secretary tilted environmental policies sharply toward commercial exploitation, touching off a national debate over the development or preservation of America's public lands and resources, died on May 27 in Arizona. He was 85."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Curt Anderson of the AP: "A white Florida woman accused of shooting and killing her Black neighbor told investigators she had been threatened by the victim for months leading up to the slaying, according an arrest report.... The report from the Marion County Sheriff's Office came out shortly before Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, made her initial appearance in court Thursday by video. She has been charged with the first-degree felony of manslaughter with a firearm, as well as culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement.... The day of the shooting, Lorincz told investigators she had a headache and that 'neighbors were outside screaming and yelling, kids were running around' in a grassy area separating two apartment quadruplex buildings, including hers. One child told deputies that the night of the shooting, Lorincz 'came out of her house and gave the children the middle finger' and also said this: 'Get away from my house, you Black slave,' according to the report. Lorincz admitted to detectives that she called the children 'the n-word.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. David Goodman & Edgar Sandoval of the New York Times: "The state of Texas will place a 1,000-foot floating barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande to prevent migrants from entering the United States, Gov. Greg Abbott said on Thursday, the latest in a series of escalating maneuvers by state leaders to address illegal crossings. Mr. Abbott said the barrier, a floating border wall made up of four-foot-wide buoys, would be first placed in the water off the city of Eagle Pass, an already heavily fortified section of the border.... Though the floating barrier would cover only a small section of the 1,254-mile border in Texas, Mr. Abbott said the buoys could be moved to other hot spots and expanded in the future.... Immigration advocates in Texas said Gov. Abbott's plans to add a barrier in the middle of the Rio Grande amounted to another political stunt at the expense of desperate people."

Texas. James Barragan, et al., of the Texas Tribune: "Nate Paul, the Austin real estate developer central to allegations of illegal conduct by Ken Paxton, Texas' now-suspended attorney general, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday. Paul was booked into the Travis County Jail at 4:25 p.m. on a federal warrant, said Kristen Dark, a spokesperson for the Travis County Sheriff's Office. The nature of the charges against him have not been publicly disclosed."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that 'very tough battles' were occurring in the eastern Donetsk region. 'But there is a result, and I am grateful to everyone who ensures this result!' he said in the address released early Friday, without elaborating. 'Bakhmut -- well done. Step by step,' he added, referring to the embattled city that has been a focus for Ukrainian and Russian forces for months.... The offensive is expected to unfold over months and serve as a test of a U.S.-led strategy to prepare Ukrainian forces with increasingly advanced weapons and tactics.... The situation at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant remains 'precarious,' according to Rafael Mariano Grossi, the director general of the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency.... At least one woman was killed while 17 other people were injured by shells in the flooded town of Kherson, said Oleksandr Prokudin, Ukraine's governor of the area. The injured included two workers from Ukraine's state emergency services.... Ukraine's ambassador to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, expressed 'profound concerns' about reports that Russia has been shelling Kherson, as people there flee flooding. The statement was delivered on behalf of the United States and 13 other delegations."

Eric Schmidt & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Ukrainian forces mounted a major attack in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia on Thursday, taking the offensive against the invading Russians in multiple places in the east and south, but there was no indication of a breakthrough in an operation that carries high stakes for Kyiv and its Western allies. Three senior U.S. officials, as well as military analysts, said that a long-awaited major Ukrainian counteroffensive appeared to be underway, after months spent mobilizing and training new units, and arming them with advanced Western weapons. A strong indication, they said, was the Ukrainians' use in combat on Thursday of German Leopard tanks and American Bradley fighting vehicles."

China/Cuba. Karoun Demirjian & Edward Wong of the New York Times: "China is planning to build a facility in Cuba that U.S. officials are concerned could be capable of spying on the United States by intercepting electronic signals from nearby U.S. military and commercial facilities, according to three U.S. officials familiar with the agreement.Beijing has built listening outposts elsewhere and has a military presence in Cuba, but an eavesdropping station could give China a foothold about 100 miles from the Florida coastline...."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Dr. Harald zur Hausen, a German virologist who won the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008 for his discovery that the seemingly benign human papillomavirus, known for causing warts, also caused cervical cancer, died on May 29 at his home in Heidelberg, Germany. He was 87."

New York Times: "Canada on Friday was once again threatened by relentless and potentially lethal wildfires that for weeks have convulsed the country, displaced tens of thousands of people and stoked alarm over the perils of climate change as hazardous smoke billowed into the United States. The fires, which have stretched from British Columbia in the west to Nova Scotia in the east, have destroyed homes and livelihoods, diminished air quality and, at times, transformed part of the skies over Ottawa, Montreal, and Toronto into a smoggy haze. As the smoke poured into the United States, disrupting life around the Northeast, both countries were reminded that no border can stop a spreading environmental threat. The haze began to lift around the Mid-Atlantic on Thursday, bringing relief to millions who had breathed dangerously polluted air for two days. But the plume was still spreading, threatening cities to the south and west." This is a liveblog.

CNN: "Joran van der Sloot will be asked Friday to enter a plea in US federal court where he is accused of extorting tens of thousands of dollars from the mother of Natalee Holloway, whose disappearance while on a trip celebrating her high school graduation in 2005 became an international mystery. Van der Sloot, who was one of the last people seen with the 18-year-old Holloway before she vanished, never to be found, was transferred Thursday from Peru to Birmingham, Alabama, in the company of a team of FBI special agents. The Dutch national is set to be represented by a federal public defender at his arraignment at 11 a.m. CT (noon ET)."

Comments Off
Thursday
Jun082023

June 8, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

** Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump said Thursday night that he's been charged by the Justice Department in connection with the discovery that hundreds of classified documents were taken to his Mar-a-Lago home after he left the White House -- a widely anticipated but also seismic event in the nation's political and legal history. Several Trump advisers confirmed the charges. Trump said he has been summoned to appear in federal court in Miami on Tuesday at 3 p.m. A seven-count indictment has been filed in federal court naming the former president as a criminal defendant, according to people familiar with the matter.... This is a developing story." ~~~

~~~ ** The New York Times is liveblogging developments here: "The indictment, filed in Federal District Court in Miami, is the first time in American history a former president has faced federal charges. It puts the nation in an extraordinary position, given Mr. Trump's status not only as a onetime chief executive but also as the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination to face President Biden, whose administration will now be seeking to convict his potential rival. It was not immediately known what specific charges Mr. Trump is facing." ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman: "Our understanding from two sources is that the seven counts agains Trump include conspiracy to obstruct and willful retention of documents." ~~~

     ~~~ Shane Goldmacher: "In a video filmed in his Bedminster office that Trump posted on his Truth Social platform on Thursday evening, he declared: 'I'm an innocent man. I'm an innocent person.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman: "A third charge is false statements, according to sources familiar with the indictment." ~~~

     ~~~ Luke Broadwater: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged on Twitter that House Republicans would 'hold this brazen weaponization of power accountable.' He falsely claimed that Trump had been indicted by President Biden rather than a grand jury made up of American citizens...."

     ~~~ Charlie Savage: "On CNN, Trump's lawyer Jim Trusty said that Trump's legal team had not been shown the indictment itself, but that the summons commanding Trump to appear in court had 'some language in it that suggests what the seven charges would be.' He mentioned the Espionage Act, multiple false-statement charges and 'several obstruction-based type charges.' Specifically, he mentioned Section 1519 (which relates to obstructing an official effort and was widely expected because it was listed on the F.B.I. search warrant affidavit), but also a new one: Section 1512, which criminalizes witness tampering or other means of obstructing an official proceeding." ~~~

~~~ CNN's liveblog is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Lawrence O"Donnell of MSNBC reported on air that Merrick Garland had nothing to do with the decision to indict Donald Trump. According to NBC News, the DOJ person who "reviewed" Jack Smith's charging decisions was the highest-level career person (i.e., not a political appointee) in the Justice Department. So it turns out all we've said about Merrick the Unready was correct. For instance, earlier on Indictment Day, Akhilleus was wondering where Merrick was: "Where is he? He's what? At home watching a marathon of 'Be Careful! Be Very Careful' horror movies on Netflix? And he's not answering the phone?" Assuming the NBC reporting is correct, Akhilleus was right. ~~~

~~~ Students react to Trump's indictment:

Sara Murray of CNN: "Former Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich testified Thursday before a federal grand jury investigating January 6, 2021, according to a person familiar with the matter. This story is breaking [@ 6:45 pm ET Thursday] and will be updated." MB: Everybody Donald Trump knows is creepy.

Zachary Cohen & Paula Reid of CNN: "A key former White House official was interviewed earlier this year by special counsel prosecutors investigating the handling of classified materials by both ... Donald Trump and President Joe Biden.... The former career official, who was in charge of advising the Trump and Obama administrations on the declassification process, is the only known witness to be interviewed by both teams of prosecutors investigating Trump and Biden. During those voluntary interviews, the former official told CNN there was a distinct difference in the line of questioning from prosecutors in the two probes. While prosecutors in the Trump case aggressively focused on any first-hand interactions with the former president, including conversations about how to properly declassify documents, prosecutors in the Biden case were more concerned with the mechanics of packing and moving boxes.... The former official said he told federal prosecutors that Trump knew the proper process for declassifying documents and followed it correctly at times while in office.... The former official provided names of former Trump officials who spoke directly to the former president about the declassification process while in office. That includes [National Security lawyer John] Eisenberg, former White House counsel Don McGahn and former White House chief of staff John Kelly." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose it's not too likely these top officials told Trump he could declassify documents with his mind and not tell anybody else about it, because that's what the Presidential Records Act says. Nevertheless, that's exactly what Trump has been claiming.

Too Obviously Racist for Even John Roberts. Sam Levine of the Guardian: "Alabama discriminated against Black voters when it drew its seven congressional districts last year, the supreme court has ruled, a decision that is a major victory for the Voting Rights Act. The decision in the case, Allen v Milligan, means that Alabama will have to draw its congressional map to include a second majority-Black district. Black voters currently comprise a majority of the voting age population in just one district, despite making up a quarter of the state's population. Alabama could have easily drawn a second majority-Black district, the challengers in the case argued. They offered several sample maps with possible configurations of how to do so. Last year, a three-judge panel unanimously agreed with that argument and ordered the state to do so. The panel, which included two judges appointed by Donald Trump, said the question of whether the state had violated the law was 'not a close one.'" MB: The article doesn't say how each justice ruled, but the decision just came down, so we should learn that later. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court, in a surprise decision, ruled that Alabama had diluted the power of Black voters by drawing a congressional voting map with a single district in which they made up a majority. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 5-to-4 ruling. He was joined by Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh and the court's three liberal members, Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson." MB: But not too obviously racist for Thomas, Alito, Gorsuch & Barrett.

Impeach Justice Jackson! Mark Sherman & Jessica Gresko of the AP: "Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson disclosed Wednesday that she received a $1,200 congratulatory floral display from Oprah Winfrey and $6,580 in designer clothing for a magazine photo shoot in her first months as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. The details of gifts given to Jackson were among the reports provided by most members of the court in their annual filings, which give a partial window onto their finances. The reports were released Wednesday.... Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she received nearly $150,000 in royalties for two children's books last year and another $12,000 in payments for possible stage and video versions of 'Just Ask! Be Different, Be Brave, Be You.' The book, intended for kids age 4 to 8, introduces readers to children who face what Sotomayor, who was diagnosed with diabetes as a child, calls 'life challenges.'" MB: It's clear Oprah is trying to take over the Justice System, and I expect Gym Jordan to haul her before Congress and grill her during the Jackson impeachment proceedings. P.S. That must have been some floral arrangement.

Florida. Curt Anderson of the AP: "A white Florida woman accused of shooting and killing her Black neighbor told investigators she had been threatened by the victim for months leading up to the slaying, according an arrest report.... The report from the Marion County Sheriff's Office came out shortly before Susan Louise Lorincz, 58, made her initial appearance in court Thursday by video. She has been charged with the first-degree felony of manslaughter with a firearm, as well as culpable negligence, battery and two counts of assault Sheriff Billy Woods said in a statement.... The day of the shooting, Lorincz told investigators she had a headache and that 'neighbors were outside screaming and yelling, kids were running around' in a grassy area separating two apartment quadruplex buildings, including hers. One child told deputies that the night of the shooting, Lorincz 'came out of her house and gave the children the middle finger' and also said this: 'Get away from my house, you Black slave,' according to the report. Lorincz admitted to detectives that she called the children 'the n-word.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Okay, against my better judgment, and with a feeling that this possibly lengthy celebration will end badly, we're going to have an ~~~

~~~ Indictment Watch Party

** Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors formally informed Donald Trump's lawyers last week that the former US president is a target of the criminal investigation examining his retention of national security materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort and obstruction of justice, according to two people briefed on the matter.... Trump's lawyers were notified before they met on Monday with the special counsel Jack Smith leading the Mar-a-Lago documents case and the senior career official in the deputy attorney general's office and made the case that prosecutors should not indict the former president in the matter." The New York Times now has the story. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said on MSNBC, when a prosecutor sends out a target letter, that means an indictment is coming. ~~~

~~~ Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "...Donald Trump told New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman on Wednesday he has no information regarding an impending federal indictment, despite reports to the contrary. 'Trump tells me minutes ago he has NOT been told he's getting indicted when contacted. "It's not true," he said, adding again he hasn't done anything wrong,' Haberman tweeted on Wednesday.... 'Trump';s statement came amid a report from one of his allies that he has been told this. NYT, CNN, WaPo, and other outlets have all reported federal officials have been building toward a likely indictment, including with witnesses in Miami before a grand jury today,' [Haberman wrote in her tweet].... Trump's own Truth Social platform sent out a push alert insisting that Trump would be indicted on Wednesday as well. Trump himself took the platform to deny the claim." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ ** BUT. Marie: A bit later Wednesday afternoon Haberman tweeted, Trump "Demurred when asked if he has been told he is a target." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Weissmann & Ryan Goodman in a Washington Post op-ed: "... the rule of law requires that Trump be charged, based on the wealth of publicly available facts and the history of the Justice Department charging people who did far less.... If special counsel Jack Smith hands down an indictment, we will be keeping an eye on many open issues that might indicate how strong a case the government believes it has. Here is what is on our checklist of things to note[.] Look to see whether the charges include not just illegal 'retention' of national defense information, but also a separate allegation of 'dissemination.'... This indictment could (and should) be what is known as a 'speaking indictment' and lay out specific obstruction evidence.... We will be keeping a close eye for how highly sensitive the information in the government documents Trump kept was.... Will Trump be the sole defendant or will others be charged?" MB: I've copied only some of the writers' concerns, and I've copied only parts of what they wrote about each. Read the whole op-ed.

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Justice Department prosecutors are planning to bring a significant portion of any charges stemming from the possible mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, the home of ... Donald Trump, at a nearby federal court in south Florida, according to people familiar with the matter. The legal rationale for such a move is that the bulk of the conduct at issue in the investigation occurred in the southern district of Florida, in and around Trump's Palm Beach residence and private club, even if much of the investigation -- led by special counsel Jack Smith -- has been handled by a grand jury in D.C., these people said. That approach by prosecutors does not rule out the possibility of some charges, such as perjury or false statements, being filed in Washington in connection with grand jury appearances or law enforcement interviews that took place there.... If Trump is charged on his home turf, he could face a significantly different [MB: and more sympathetic] jury pool than the one in Washington." (Also linked yesterday.)

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed multiple witnesses to testify before a previously unknown grand jury in Florida in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump's handling of national security materials and obstruction of justice, according to people familiar with the matter.... Questioning was expected to be led by Jay Bratt, the justice department's counterintelligence chief detailed to the special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times:"A federal grand jury in Miami continued hearing from witnesses on Wednesday in the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's possession of hundreds of classified documents and other presidential records at his private club in Florida after he left office. Among those who appeared for questions was Taylor Budowich, a former spokesman to Mr. Trump who now is a top adviser at the super PAC supporting Mr. Trump's presidential candidacy. One matter that prosecutors were interested in asking about was a [false] statement that Mr. Trump had his aides draft shortly after news broke that National Archives officials had recovered 15 boxes of material from him in January 2022. Mr. Budowich was Mr. Trump's spokesman at the time. The statement that Mr. Trump initially wanted to send, according to two people briefed on the matter, said that he had returned all the presidential material he had.... Prosecutors have [the] draft statement.... The statement that Mr. Trump actually sent out after the return of the 15 boxes in early 2022 did not assert that he had returned all the government material in his possession. After his grand jury appearance ended, Mr. Budowich posted a message on Twitter ... [which] described the grand jury inquiry as 'a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to "get" Trump.'" CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jonathan Deinst of NBC News: "Former Trump White House official Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in connection with special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Jan. 6 and ... Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office, according to two sources.... The subpoena, for documents and testimony, was sent out in late May, the sources said.... Bannon ... was previously charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate after he received congressional subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee, and was convicted of two charges in July 2022 following a jury trial. In October, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Bannon tofour months in federal prison, but suspended the sentence while Bannon pursued appeals." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "An actor and comedian known for his role on the cult HBO comedy 'Mr. Show,' as well as roles on 'Better Call Saul,' 'Arrested Development' and 'Bob's Burgers,' has been arrested and charged with felony civil disorder for taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jay Johnston ... is also accused of disorderly conduct, trespassing and blocking passage through the Capitol area. Prosecutors say he took part in a mass push against police in a tunnel on the west side of the Capitol, where some of the worst violence of the riot occurred. Johnston 'participated with other rioters in a group assault on the officers' guarding that entrance, according to an FBI agent's affidavit." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The owner of a Long Island funeral home was charged on Wednesday with spraying an insecticide at police officers guarding the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The man, Peter G. Moloney, 58, was arrested in the Justice Department's sprawling investigation of the mob attack. He was also accused of attacking members of the news media outside the Capitol, according to charging documents unsealed in Federal District Court in Washington. Prosecutors say that Mr. Moloney, of Bayport, N.Y., showed up at the Capitol in a bicycle helmet and protective eyewear, carrying a canister of Black Flag Wasp, Hornet and Yellow Jacket Killer. After he approached a line of officers arrayed behind metal barricades on the west side of the building, prosecutors said, he sprayed several of them with the insecticide." (Also linked yesterday.)


Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Wednesday vetoed a Republican-led resolution that would have struck down his controversial plan to forgive more than $400 billion in student loans. In a statement on Wednesday, the president said the resolution -- which the Senate approved on a 52-46 vote Thursday under the Congressional Review Act, a week after the House passed the measure -- would have kept millions of Americans from receiving 'the essential relief they need as they recover from the economic strains associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.'... In his statement, the president said it is 'a shame for working families across the country that lawmakers continue to pursue this unprecedented attempt to deny critical relief to millions of their own constituents, even as several of these same lawmakers have had tens of thousands of dollars of their own business loans forgiven by the Federal Government.'" Politico's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's full statement, via the White House, is here.

Amy Wang, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House remained in a stalemate Wednesday, recessing minutes after the session began, as hard-right Republicans defied GOP leadership and blocked legislation. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met Wednesday afternoon with several members of the House Freedom Caucus to negotiate on their demands after 11 hard-right lawmakers -- still angry over McCarthy's handling of the debt ceiling bill -- voted with Democrats against passing a rule for consideration of several bills this week. A resolution has yet to be struck, though ongoing negotiations now involve possibly scheduling votes on key bills the Freedom Caucus prioritizes. McCarthy admitted Wednesday he had been 'blindsided' by Tuesday's events, which was the first rule vote to fail since November 2002, but insisted that the Republican caucus would emerge stronger." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: "... the rebellion has left [Kevin McCarthy], at least for now, as speaker in name only, deprived of a governing majority." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The first GOP bill that went down as a result of the House's winger revolt was one that would prevent President Biden from outlawing gas-powered ranges in homes. As Alex Wagner of MSNBC pointed out, (1) President Biden has not proposed to outlaw gas stoves; and (2) Republicans brought this bill to make sure we had more carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, & other pollutants in our homes during the midst of the worst East-Coast air-quality crisis in decades. Irony upon irony. And these people are very upset we're laughing at them.

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "House Republicans will no longer vote to hold FBI Director Christopher A. Wray in contempt of Congress this week, saying that they reached a last-minute agreement with the director late Wednesday to reveal more details related to FBI documents that contain allegations against Joe Biden. House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) had planned to hold a contempt vote in his committee Thursday and has publicly derided Wray for failing to comply with a subpoena that demanded he hand over in full an FBI document that contained unsubstantiated allegations about Biden and his family. The allegations predated Biden's presidency.... The FBI fought to stave off the contempt vote and said it had been making 'extraordinary accommodations' to comply with the subpoena while still protecting its sources." CNN's story is here.

The Dog Ate Their Homework. Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "Justice Clarence Thomas delayed releasing his annual financial disclosure form with the justices on Wednesday after recent revelations cast scrutiny on his travel, gifts and real estate dealings with a conservative billionaire donor from Texas. Like Justice Thomas, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. also asked for a 90-day extension to file the forms, which detail gifts, investments and other financial holdings, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which handles the financial forms and the database where they are publicly disclosed." An ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Douglas Martin of the New York Times: "Pat Robertson, a Baptist minister with a passion for politics who marshaled Christian conservatives into a powerful constituency that helped Republicans capture both houses of Congress in 1994, died on Thursday at his home in Virginia Beach, Va. He was 93." The AP's obituary is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Adi-Adios. John Koblin & Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: "Chris Licht, the former television producer who oversaw a brief and chaotic run as the chairman of CNN, is out at the network. David Zaslav, the chief executive of CNN's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, informed staff on Wednesday morning that he had met with Mr. Licht and that he was leaving, effective immediately. Mr. Licht's 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another.... Mr. Zaslav said that an interim group of leaders -- the CNN veterans Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling, as well as the newly appointed chief operating officer, David Leavy -- would take over before a permanent leader was installed." CNN's story, by Oliver Darcy, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "Fox News accused its former host Tucker Carlson of breaching his contract with a new show on Twitter. The network claimed in a letter that Carlson's new show, the first episode of which dropped on Tuesday, is a violation of his contract, setting up a potential legal battle between the cable news giant and one the biggest voices in conservative media.... [Carlson] is currently hamstrung by a noncompete in his contract, which runs until January 2025. Fox reportedly offered him $25 million to serve out the rest of his contract in silence, an offer he rejected. His lawyers have since declared war on Fox, accusing the network of fraud and breach of contract in an attempt to escape the terms of his agreement." ~~~

~~~ TuKKKer = Better-Dressed Alex Jones. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Six weeks after Fox News unceremoniously canned Tucker Carlson..., Fox's ratings have tanked and Carlson's new Twitter-based show is a mess -- yet none of their rivals have stepped up to fill the vacuum.... Carlson;s Tuesday night debut of 'Tucker on Twitter,' a version of his show recorded specifically for the platform, went poorly. Over the course of a 10-minute monologue well-leavened with his typical dishonesty, Carlson hit familiar themes from his Fox show about the perfidy of the media and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Carlson's anti-semitic overtones were somewhat more pronounced and his conspiracy theories wilder (there was a tangent about the media covering up evidence of aliens).... Carlson became an influential force because he was able to bring the most extreme elements and narratives of the far-right to a more mainstream Fox audience. On Twitter, he's just Alex Jones in jacket-and-tie." ~~~

     ~~~ Aidan McLaughlin [linked above] pointed out, "At one point [in his first Twitter show], he described Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is Jewish, as 'a persecutor of Christians' as well as 'shifty, dead-eyed' and 'sweaty and ratlike.'" MB: Yeah, you might say that's antisemitic.

Presidential Race 2024

Mike Pence Changes Course. Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his presidential campaign in Iowa on Wednesday with a repudiation of Donald J. Trump, portraying his former boss -- and now rival -- as unfit for the presidency and going further than ever before in condemning the character and values of the man he loyally served for four years. Before a crowd of several hundred on the campus of the Des Moines Area Community College, Mr. Pence focused on something that many in his party have tried to desperately avoid: Mr. Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021. 'Jan. 6 was a tragic day in the life of our nation,' Mr. Pence said. 'But thanks to the courage of law enforcement, the violence was quelled, we reconvened the Congress. The very same day, President Trump's reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol.' He added: 'But the American people deserve to know on that fateful day, President Trump also demanded I choose between him and our Constitution. Now voters will be faced with the same choice. I chose the Constitution, and I always will.'... Most elected Republicans have contorted themselves to avoid ever talking about that day.... A growing number of Republicans are going even further, trying to falsely reframe the attack on the Capitol as an inside job by the F.B.I. or by leftist groups pretending to be Trump supporters." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Yeah But. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former Vice President Mike Pence on Wednesday said he hopes the Justice Department 'thinks better' of indicting ... Donald Trump, arguing it would be too divisive for the country. 'Number one, I think it would be terribly divisive to the country,' Pence said during a CNN town hall, citing issues like inflation that are more pressing for much of the public. 'This kind of action by the DOJ would only fuel further division in the country.'" MB: I would like to remind mikey that his good friend the Turtle said that the Senate's convicting Trump in an impeachment proceeding would be so wrong but that Trump "could still be held accountable within the criminal justice system." Uh, not if you preclude indictments.

And This Guy Looked in the Mirror and Saw a POTUS. Maeve Reston of the Washington Post: "Entering a GOP field on Wednesday that has largely focused on polarizing debates involving gender, race, abortion and the politics of outrage, [Gov. Doug Burgum (R) who is] not widely known outside North Dakota was attempting to bridge [a] ... divide as he evangelized about how 'big cities could use more ideas and more values from small towns right now.' In his bid, he is trying to shift the GOP debate away from culture war issues and grievances to economic matters that 'touch every American's life,' he told The Washington Post -- even as he has signed legislation restricting abortion and transgender rights. In his announcement in Fargo on Wednesday morning, he acknowledged that he is a long shot in a growing GOP field where ... Donald Trump has dominated and two other candidates joined the race this week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Outrage Sells." Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: "Ron DeSantis's decision to send migrants from near the Mexico border to the capital city of California is at first glance the latest in a series of escalating clashes between the Florida governor and his Democratic counterpart, Gavin Newsom. But the performative gambit in the early days of Mr. DeSantis's 2024 presidential run is better understood as an opening bid to prove to Republican primary voters that he can be just as much a provocateur, and every bit as incendiary, as ... Donald J. Trump. For Mr. DeSantis, the flights illustrate the broader bet he has made that the animating energy in the Republican Party today has shifted from conservatism to confrontationalism."


The New York Times is running an air-quality liveblog: "A plume of Canadian wildfire smoke rapidly darkened the skies over New York City and around the Northeast on Wednesday, making the air dangerous to breathe and disrupting life across the region. By afternoon, Midtown Manhattan was plunged into a deep hazy orange and smoky clouds obscured visibility across the five boroughs and the region, canceling some flights. Earlier in the day, commuters donned masks used amid the Covid-19 pandemic while walking the streets, children stayed indoors at recess, some schools closed and officials warned people against going outside. The smoke forced the cancellation of three big theater productions, 'Hamilton,' 'Camelot' and a free Shakespeare in the Park production of 'Hamlet,' as well as games hosted by the Yankees and the Liberty of the W.N.B.A. Flight delays of one to two hours caused by low visibility continued into Wednesday night at La Guardia and Newark Liberty International Airports." ~~~

     ~~~ NBC News has a liveblog here.

Beyond the Beltway

Louisiana. Rick Rojas of the New York Times: "Louisiana lawmakers have voted to make the state the latest to prevent transgender minors from having access to gender-transition care, advancing legislation that would ban hormone treatments, puberty blockers and surgeries for young people. It was unclear on Wednesday how Gov. John Bel Edwards would respond to the legislation, or if his input would make a difference. Mr. Edwards, the lone Democratic governor in the Deep South, has voiced opposition, yet the bill passed through the Republican-controlled State Legislature by a wide-enough margin to override a veto."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of develoments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "The Ukrainian military's long-anticipated counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces has begun, opening a phase in the war aimed at restoring Ukraine's territorial sovereignty and retaining Western support in the war. Ukraine's troops intensified their attacks on the front line in the country's southeast, according to four individuals in the country's armed forces.... Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is asking international humanitarian agencies to ramp up their response to the flooding that has followed the Kakhovka dam collapse, which inundated swaths of the southern Kherson region. He called the situation 'absolutely catastrophic' and urged aid agencies to do more.... International aid groups have been assisting with the evacuations on the Ukrainian-controlled side of the Dnieper River."

Isobel Koshiw & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "Flood victims in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine described scenes of panic and desperation Wednesday as residents remained trapped in their homes and there was no sign of emergency responders coming to their rescue.... Some entire towns and villages were submerged or washed away by the gushing and still-rising waters released by the catastrophic collapse of the Kakhovka dam Tuesday.... The misery unfolding in Oleshky and at least seven other Russian-occupied towns and villages downstream from the dam reflected the damage of nearly 15 months of brutal war and the chaos in a region now governed by officials installed by the Kremlin officials after Ukrainian authorities were ousted. 'The authorities there are not helping,' [resident?] Yaroslav Vasyliev said. 'They are just impeding the process as they are not letting buses and boats that we paid for go through to volunteers.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)


U.K. Jim Waterson of the Guardian: “Prince Harry appeared to fight back tears as he finished giving evidence in the phone-hacking trial at the high court, saying there was 'hard evidence' that he had been illegally targeted by Mirror Group Newspapers. The prince spent eight hours in the witness box across two days, breaking with protocol as he became the first royal to be cross-examined in a court since 1891. He told the court that British newspapers had illegally targeted him all his life and then gone to 'extreme lengths to cover their tracks'."

Comments Off
Tuesday
Jun062023

June 7, 2023

Afternoon Update:

** Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors formally informed Donald Trump's lawyers last week that the former US president is a target of the criminal investigation examining his retention of national security materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort and obstruction of justice, according to two people briefed on the matter.... Trump's lawyers were notified before they met on Monday with the special counsel Jack Smith leading the Mar-a-Lago documents case and the senior career official in the deputy attorney general's office and made the case that prosecutors should not indict the former president in the matter." The New York Times now has the story. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti said on MSNBC, when a prosecutor sends out a target letter, that means an indictment is coming. ~~~

~~~ Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "...Donald Trump told New York Times political reporter Maggie Haberman on Wednesday he has no information regarding an impending federal indictment, despite reports to the contrary. 'Trump tells me minutes ago he has NOT been told he's getting indicted when contacted. "It's not true," he said, adding again he hasn't done anything wrong,' Haberman tweeted on Wednesday.... 'Trump's statement came amid a report from one of his allies that he has been told this. NYT, CNN, WaPo, and other outlets have all reported federal officials have been building toward a likely indictment, including with witnesses in Miami before a grand jury today,' [Haberman wrote in her tweet].... Trump's own Truth Social platform sent out a push alert insisting that Trump would be indicted on Wednesday as well. Trump himself took the platform to deny the claim." ~~~

     ~~~ ** BUT. Marie: A bit later Wednesday afternoon Haberman tweeted, Trump "Demurred when asked if he has been told he is a target."

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Justice Department prosecutors are planning to bring a significant portion of any charges stemming from the possible mishandling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, the home of ... Donald Trump, at a nearby federal court in south Florida, according to people familiar with the matter. The legal rationale for such a move is that the bulk of the conduct at issue in the investigation occurred in the southern district of Florida, in and around Trump's Palm Beach residence and private club, even if much of the investigation -- led by special counsel Jack Smith -- has been handled by a grand jury in D.C., these people said. That approach by prosecutors does not rule out the possibility of some charges, such as perjury or false statements, being filed in Washington in connection with grand jury appearances or law enforcement interviews that took place there.... If Trump is charged on his home turf, he could face a significantly different [MB: and more sympathetic] jury pool than the one in Washington."

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed multiple witnesses to testify before a previously unknown grand jury in Florida in the criminal investigation into Donald Trump's handling of national security materials and obstruction of justice, according to people familiar with the matter.... Questioning was expected to be led by Jay Bratt, the justice department's counterintelligence chief detailed to the special counsel Jack Smith, who is leading the investigation."

Jonathan Deinst of NBC News: "Former Trump White House official Steve Bannon has been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Washington, D.C., in connection with special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into Jan. 6 and ... Donald Trump's efforts to stay in office, according to two sources.... The subpoena, for documents and testimony, was sent out in late May, the sources said.... Bannon ... was previously charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate after he received congressional subpoenas from the Jan. 6 committee, and was convicted of two charges in July 2022 following a jury trial. In October, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols sentenced Bannon to four months in federal prison, but suspended the sentence while Bannon pursued appeals."

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "A federal grand jury in Miami continued hearing from witnesses on Wednesday in the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's possession of hundreds of classified documents and other presidential records at his private club in Florida after he left office. Among those who appeared for questions was Taylor Budowich, a former spokesman to Mr. Trump who now is a top adviser at the super PAC supporting Mr. Trump's presidential candidacy. One matter that prosecutors were interested in asking about was a [false] statement that Mr. Trump had his aides draft shortly after news broke that National Archives officials had recovered 15 boxes of material from him in January 2022. Mr. Budowich was Mr. Trump's spokesman at the time. The statement that Mr. Trump initially wanted to send, according to two people briefed on the matter, said that he had returned all the presidential material he had.... Prosecutors have [the] draft statement.... The statement that Mr. Trump actually sent out after the return of the 15 boxes in early 2022 did not assert that he had returned all the government material in his possession. After his grand jury appearance ended, Mr. Budowich posted a message on Twitter ... [which] described the grand jury inquiry as 'a bogus and deeply troubling effort to use the power of government to "get" Trump.'" CNN's report is here.

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "An actor and comedian known for his role on the cult HBO comedy 'Mr. Show,' as well as roles on 'Better Call Saul,' 'Arrested Development' and 'Bob's Burgers,' has been arrested and charged with felony civil disorder for taking part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Jay Johnston ... is also accused of disorderly conduct, trespassing and blocking passage through the Capitol area. Prosecutors say he took part in a mass push against police in a tunnel on the west side of the Capitol, where some of the worst violence of the riot occurred. Johnston 'participated with other rioters in a group assault on the officers' guarding that entrance, according to an FBI agent's affidavit."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The owner of a Long Island funeral home was charged on Wednesday with spraying an insecticide at police officers guarding the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The man, Peter G. Moloney, 58, was arrested in the Justice Department's sprawling investigation of the mob attack. He was also accused of attacking members of the news media outside the Capitol, according to charging documents unsealed in Federal District Court in Washington. Prosecutors say that Mr. Moloney, of Bayport, N.Y., showed up at the Capitol in a bicycle helmet and protective eyewear, carrying a canister of Black Flag Wasp, Hornet and Yellow Jacket Killer. After he approached a line of officers arrayed behind metal barricades on the west side of the building, prosecutors said, he sprayed several of them with the insecticide."

Amy Wang, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House remained in a stalemate Wednesday, recessing minutes after the session began, as hard-right Republicans defied GOP leadership and blocked legislation. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met Wednesday afternoon with several members of the House Freedom Caucus to negotiate on their demands after 11 hard-right lawmakers -- still angry over McCarthy's handling of the debt ceiling bill -- voted with Democrats against passing a rule for consideration of several bills this week. A resolution has yet to be struck, though ongoing negotiations now involve possibly scheduling votes on key bills the Freedom Caucus prioritizes. McCarthy admitted Wednesday he had been 'blindsided' by Tuesday's events, which was the first rule vote to fail since November 2002, but insisted that the Republican caucus would emerge stronger."

The Dog Ate Their Homework. Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "Justice Clarence Thomas delayed releasing his annual financial disclosure form with the justices on Wednesday after recent revelations cast scrutiny on his travel, gifts and real estate dealings with a conservative billionaire donor from Texas. Like Justice Thomas, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. also asked for a 90-day extension to file the forms, which detail gifts, investments and other financial holdings, according to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, which handles the financial forms and the database where they are publicly disclosed." An ABC News story is here.

Adi-Adios. John Koblin & Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: "Chris Licht, the former television producer who oversaw a brief and chaotic run as the chairman of CNN, is out at the network. David Zaslav, the chief executive of CNN's parent, Warner Bros. Discovery, informed staff on Wednesday morning that he had met with Mr. Licht and that he was leaving, effective immediately. Mr. Licht's 13-month run at CNN was marked by one controversy after another.... Mr. Zaslav said that an interim group of leaders -- the CNN veterans Amy Entelis, Virginia Moseley and Eric Sherling, as well as the newly appointed chief operating officer, David Leavy -- would take over before a permanent leader was installed." CNN's story, by Oliver Darcy, is here.

Presidential Race 2024. Mike Pence Changes Course. Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Former Vice President Mike Pence announced his presidential campaign in Iowa on Wednesday with a repudiation of Donald J. Trump, portraying his former boss -- and now rival -- as unfit for the presidency and going further than ever before in condemning the character and values of the man he loyally served for four years. Before a crowd of several hundred on the campus of the Des Moines Area Community College, Mr. Pence focused on something that many in his party have tried to desperately avoid: Mr. Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021. 'Jan. 6 was a tragic day in the life of our nation,' Mr. Pence said. 'But thanks to the courage of law enforcement, the violence was quelled, we reconvened the Congress. The very same day, President Trump's reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol.' He added: 'But the American people deserve to know on that fateful day, President Trump also demanded I choose between him and our Constitution. Now voters will be faced with the same choice. I chose the Constitution, and I always will.'... Most elected Republicans have contorted themselves to avoid ever talking about that day.... A growing number of Republicans are going even further, trying to falsely reframe the attack on the Capitol as an inside job by the F.B.I. or by leftist groups pretending to be Trump supporters."

And This Guy Looked in the Mirror and Saw a POTUS. Maeve Reston of the Washington Post: "Entering a GOP field on Wednesday that has largely focused on polarizing debates involving gender, race, abortion and the politics of outrage, [Gov. Doug Burgum (R) who is] not widely known outside North Dakota was attempting to bridge [a] ... divide as he evangelized about how 'big cities could use more ideas and more values from small towns right now.' In his bid, he is trying to shift the GOP debate away from culture war issues and grievances to economic matters that 'touch every American's life,' he told The Washington Post -- even as he has signed legislation restricting abortion and transgender rights. In his announcement in Fargo on Wednesday morning, he acknowledged that he is a long shot in a growing GOP field where ... Donald Trump has dominated and two other candidates joined the race this week."

Ukraine. Isobel Koshiw & Mary Ilyushina of the Washington Post: "Flood victims in Russian-occupied areas of southern Ukraine described scenes of panic and desperation Wednesday as residents remained trapped in their homes and there was no sign of emergency responders coming to their rescue.... Some entire towns and villages were submerged or washed away by the gushing and still-rising waters released by the catastrophic collapse of the Kakhovka dam Tuesday.... The misery unfolding in Oleshky and at least seven other Russian-occupied towns and villages downstream from the dam reflected the damage of nearly 15 months of brutal war and the chaos in a region now governed by officials installed by the Kremlin officials after Ukrainian authorities were ousted. 'The authorities there are not helping,' [resident?] Yaroslav Vasyliev said. 'They are just impeding the process as they are not letting buses and boats that we paid for go through to volunteers.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Witness for the Prosecution. Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows, the final White House chief of staff under ... Donald J. Trump and a potentially key figure in inquiries related to Mr. Trump, has testified before a federal grand jury hearing evidence in the investigations being led by the special counsel's office, according to two people.... Mr. Meadows is a figure in both of the two distinct lines of inquiry being pursued by the special counsel appointed to oversee the Justice Department's scrutiny of Mr. Trump, Jack Smith. One inquiry is focused on Mr. Trump's efforts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election, culminating in the attack by a pro-Trump mob on the Capitol.... The other is an investigation into Mr. Trump's handling of hundreds of classified documents after he left office and whether he obstructed efforts to retrieve them. It is not clear precisely when Mr. Meadows testified or if investigators questioned him about one or both of the cases." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Sources tell ABC News that Meadows answered questions on both [new link] Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election and Trump's alleged mishandling of classified documents." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Neither the NYT report nor the brief ABC News report addresses whether or not Meadows provided documents and other material to the DOJ investigation, but I presume Smith subpoened those materials. Reading between the lines of a statement Meadows' attorney George Terwillinger gave to the NYT -- "... Mr. Meadows has maintained a commitment to tell the truth where he has a legal obligation to do so" -- it's a reasonable guess that Meadows complied with all aspects of the subpoena. (Of course we should bear in mind that according to Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony to the House January 6 special committee, Meadows regularly burned documents in his White House office fireplace.) Kyle Cheney of Politico, speaking on MSNBC, noted that Meadows provided thousands of text messages to the House's January 6 committee, a treasure trove that provided the committee with a road map to Trump's instigation of the January 6 attack. And these messages, Cheney said, were ones Meadows believed were not protected by executive privilege. Meadows withheld material that he determined were privileged, but Trump lost his bid to bar Meadows and other staff from testifying in matters the DOJ was investigating. So if Meadows is cooperating with the DOJ, he may be the Department's star witness. ~~~

~~~ Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "The latest twist in the inquiry into ... Donald J. Trump's handling of classified documents is the surprise revelation that a previously unknown federal grand jury in Florida has recently started hearing testimony in the case. The grand jury in Florida is separate from the one that has been sitting for months in Washington.... Among those who have appeared before the Washington grand jury in the past few months or have been subpoenaed by it ... are more than 20 members of Mr. Trump's Secret Service security detail.... It is an open question why prosecutors impaneled the Florida grand jury -- which is sitting in Federal District Court in Miami -- and whether it is now the only one hearing testimony.... Legal experts and people familiar with the inquiry suggested that there could be a number of reasons Mr. Smith may have chosen to use a grand jury in Florida for at least some elements of the case....

"A Florida jury might prove to be more sympathetic to Mr. Trump than a Washington jury. And the judges in the Southern District of Florida -- among them Aileen M. Cannon, who made an unusual decision to pause the investigation in its early stages to have an outside arbiter review the documents seized at Mar-a-Lago -- might be more inclined to rule in Mr. Trump's favor than those in Washington." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ A CNN story about the Florida grand jury is here. "A grand jury based in southern Florida has heard testimony from multiple witnesses in recent weeks as part of the federal investigation into ... Donald Trump's handling of classified documents, sources told CNN. Another witness is expected to appear Wednesday at the federal courthouse in Miami as the investigation continues to develop, and the grand jury is expected to hear from at least one additional witness after that." ~~~

     ~~~ An NBC News story about the Secret Service agents' testimony is here. NBC News puts the number of agents who testified at 24. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Two dozen Secret Service agents testified? Hmm. Those guys are professional observers. And they were, by the nature of their jobs, close to Donald Trump at every moment. Unless they have the short memories best characterized by their quick deletion of texts surrounding the January 6 insurrection, they too should have plenty to tell. No wonder Trump and his team think Trump will be indicted.


Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the New York Times: "A group of hard-line Republicans hijacked the House floor on Tuesday, grinding legislative business to a halt for several hours in a striking display of ire at Speaker Kevin McCarthy for making a deal with President Biden to suspend the debt limit and banding together with Democrats to muscle it to passage. The mutiny, staged by nearly a dozen members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus as leaders sought to bring up legislation to guard against restrictions on gas stoves and other federal regulations, reflected the bitter acrimony lingering in the Republican ranks after passage of the debt limit measure last week. It indicated that, even as right-wing lawmakers suggest they are not yet inclined to try to oust Mr. McCarthy from his post over the compromise, they plan to use their clout in the closely divided House to make the speaker's job impossible unless he bows to their will." A Politico story is here.

Ali Vitali of NBC News: “House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, a top Trump ally, is calling on the Justice Department to provide lawmakers with internal documents laying out the scope of special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into the former president's handling of classified documents found last year at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. In a letter first reported by NBC News, Jordan told Attorney General Merrick Garland that his committee was requesting 'an unredacted copy of the memorandum outlining the scope of Mr. Smith's probes regarding President Trump and any supporting documentation related to his appointment as special counsel.'"

Jim Jordan, et al., v. Facts & Truth. Naomi Nix & Joseph Menn of the Washington Post: "Republican House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and his allies in Congress are demanding documents from and meetings with leading academics who study disinformation, increasing pressure on a group they accuse of colluding with government officials to suppress conservative speech.... The push caps years of pressure from conservative activists who have harangued such academics online and in person and filed open-records requests to obtain the correspondence of those working at public universities. The researchers who have been targeted study the online spread of disinformation, including falsehoods that have been accelerated by ... Donald Trump and other Republican politicians.... The pressure has forced some researchers to change their approach or step back, even as disinformation is rising ahead of the 2024 election."

Nicholas Fandos & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "A federal magistrate judge on Long Island on Tuesday ruled against Representative George Santos's request to keep private the identities of people who guaranteed his $500,000 bail bond last month, but delayed their release to allow the New York congressman time to appeal. The decision by the judge, Anne Y. Shields, came after media organizations, including The New York Times, requested their release.... Mr. Santos's lawyer had firmly opposed disclosing the names of the so-called sureties.... Prosecutors had not objected to identifying them."

From the Lincoln Project:

Presidential Race 2024. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Chris Christie, the former governor of New Jersey who was eclipsed by Donald J. Trump in the 2016 presidential primaries, filed paperwork on Tuesday saying that he would seek the 2024 Republican nomination, setting up a rematch with the former president and expanding the field of G.O.P. candidates. In making a second run for the presidency, Mr. Christie, 60, has positioned himself as the person most willing to attack both Mr. Trump, his former friend turned adversary, and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who has been in second place in nearly every public Republican primary poll for months.... Mr. Christie, who is set to announce his run at a town-hall-style event in New Hampshire Tuesday evening, has already begun laying out an aggressive case against Mr. Trump...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Later That Same Day. Trip Gabriel & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Mr. Christie, who declared his run on Tuesday evening at a town-hall-style event in New Hampshire, set himself apart from all other Republicans running by going directly after Mr. Trump. He called him 'a bitter, angry man,' said his record in office was a failure and, in an unusually personal attack, accused Mr. Trump and family members of profiting off the presidency.... 'The grift from this family is breathtaking," Mr. Christie said. 'It's breathtaking. Jared Kushner and Ivanka Kushner walk out of the White House and months later get $2 billion from the Saudis?... That's your money he stole,' he continued, adding, 'That makes us a banana republic.' Over more than two hours, Mr. Christie also chided other Republicans in the race as being too timid to criticize Mr. Trump by name." ~~~

~~~ Christie made his announcement at St. Anselm's College in Goffstown, New Hampshire, just across the bridge, as it were, from Manchester, the state's largest city. Near the end of yesterday's Comments, Akhilleus tells us a little about Saint Anselm himself, who, Akhilleus says, "would have seen Trump as the scheming dissembler he is." ~~~

~~~ AND contributor Elizabeth reminds us of the original "time for some traffic problems" on the George Washington Bridge:

Marie's Sports Report. Rick Maese & Matt Bonesteel of the Washington Post: "After months of acrimony that stretched from tee boxes to court rooms, the PGA Tour and its deep-pocketed Saudi-funded rival, LIV Golf, announced Tuesday they are merging operations, bringing an end to a bitter feud that divided the golf world and revamped the economics underpinning the sport. The stunning announcement came after months of pointed rhetoric and heated debate about the human rights record of the breakaway tour's Saudi backers. It also came amid ongoing litigation between LIV and the PGA Tour.... The two sides have agreed to mutually end 'all pending litigation between the participating parties,' the organizations said in a Tuesday morning statement announcing the agreement, which also includes the DP World Tour, a Europe-based league. The three organizations will combine to create a new for-profit commercial entity...." ~~~

     ~~~ Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "The new company came together so quickly that it does not yet even have a name and is referred to in the agreement documents simply as 'NewCo.' It would be controlled by the PGA Tour but significantly financed by the Saudi government's Public Investment Fund. The fund's governor, Yasir al-Rumayyan, will be the new company's chairman. The deal, coming when Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking to assert itself on the world stage as something besides one of the world's largest oil producers, has implications beyond sports. The Saudi money will give the new organization greater clout, but it comes with the troubling association of the kingdom's human rights record, its treatment of women and accusations that it was responsible for the 2018 murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a leading critic." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments here. Andrew Das wrote in an item, "A group of relatives of people killed on Sept. 11 issued a blistering criticism of the planned merger between the Saudi-backed LIV Golf series and the PGA Tour, calling the tour and its commissioner 'paid Saudi shills' for agreeing to it.... Critics of Saudi Arabia frequently deride its investments in teams and leagues as 'sportswashing' and say it is a thinly veiled effort to rehabilitate the kingdom's reputation amid accusations that it has financed terrorism and murdered a Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi. [9/11 Families United chair Terry] Strada criticized [PGA Commissioner Jay] Monahan for 'co-opting' the 9/11 community last year in the PGA Tour&'s initial and strident opposition to the Saudi-backed golf tour, only to cut a merger deal this week. 'Mr. Monahan talked last summer about knowing people who lost loved ones on 9/11, then wondered aloud on national television whether LIV golfers ever had to apologize for being a member of the PGA Tour,' Strade wrote. 'They do now -- as does he. PGA Tour leaders should be ashamed of their hypocrisy and greed.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Like all professional sports organizations, the PGA is a for-profit corporation. Corporations may be people, my friend, but like many people, they only pretend there's such a thing as "corporate morality," and it exists, in the most malleable of forms, only insofar as it's convenient. If you encourage your children or others to participate in or "root for" a sports team, you are encouraging them to fail -- to fall for a careless, avaricious gang whose corporate model is designed to betray them. Oh, and in the case of the PGA or whatever it may be called, you're also helping out Donald Trump: ~~~

     ~~~ Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "The surprising deal on Tuesday ending a civil war in the world of professional golf stands to produce benefits for ... Donald J. Trump's family business by increasing the prospect of major tournaments continuing to be played at Trump-owned courses in the United States and perhaps abroad. The outcome is the latest example of how the close relationship between Mr. Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, and Saudi Arabia, whose sovereign wealth fund is the force behind the upheaval in the golf world, has proved beneficial to both sides even as it has prompted intense ethical scrutiny and political criticism.... Since the establishment of LIV Golf..., Mr. Trump and his family have aligned themselves with LIV against the PGA Tour at a time when the golf establishment in the United States and Britain had moved to shut Trump courses out of major professional competitions, a trophy that the Trump family had long sought....

"Mr. Trump ... and his family have had unusually close ties with Saudi Arabia and the royal family there. His first foreign trip as president was to Riyadh, where he received a lavish welcome.... After Mr. Trump left office, that relationship continued in the form of a $2 billion commitment by the Public Investment Fund -- led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler -- to an investment fund set up by Jared Kushner, Mr. Trump's son-in-law. The Saudi fund also put $1 billion into a firm run by Steven Mnuchin, who had been Mr. Trump's Treasury secretary. LIV Golf is backed by the same Saudi fund.... Already, the Justice Department, as part of its investigation into the handling of classified documents by Mr. Trump, has subpoenaed the Trump Organization, seeking records pertaining to Mr. Trump's dealings with LIV Golf.... On Truth Social, Mr. Trump's social media platform and personal megaphone, he wrote: 'Great news from LIV Golf. A big, beautiful, and glamorous deal for the wonderful world of golf.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Florida, California. Nicholas Nehamas & Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "After days of silence, officials in Florida confirmed on Tuesday that the administration of Gov. Ron DeSantis had orchestrated two recent charter flights that carried groups of migrants from New Mexico to Sacramento. The flights had generated an immediate outcry from leaders in California, who promised to initiate criminal and civil investigations, saying that the migrants had been deceived into boarding the planes. They also sharply criticized Mr. DeSantis, a Republican presidential candidate."

Florida. Brendan Farrington of the AP: "A federal judge temporarily blocked portions of a new Florida law championed by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis that bans transgender minors from receiving puberty blockers, saying in a Tuesday ruling that gender identity is real and the state has no rational basis for denying patients treatment. Judge Robert Hinkle issued a preliminary injunction, saying three transgender children can continue receiving treatment.... Hinkle's ruling was narrowly focused on the three children whose parents brought the suit.... DeSantis's office issued a statement saying ... the law will be enforced for all except the three children."

Florida. Academic Freedom? Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Naomi Feinstein of the Miami New Times: Richard Corcoran, the DeSantis-appointed interim president of New College in Sarasota, declined to renew the contract of the college's only U.S. history professor Erik Wallenberg after Wallenberg invited outspoken Black history emeritus professor Marvin Dunn to lecture at the college. Both Wallenberg & Dunn have criticized Ron DeSantis.

New Hampshire. David Enrich of the New York Times reports on how Lauren Chooljian, a journalist at New Hampshire Public Radio (NHPR) and her editor Dan Barrick have been subjected to threats, harassment, home vandalism and a lawsuit after "Ms. Chooljian had published an investigation into alleged sexual misconduct by Eric Spofford, the founder of New Hampshire's largest network of addiction rehabilitation centers.... Ms. Chooljian's sources, meanwhile, were under pressure from Mr. Spofford's lawyers.... In September, Mr. Spofford filed a 90-page libel lawsuit against NHPR, Ms. Chooljian, Mr. Barrick and others, including three of the sources in the March article.... F.B.I. agents and federal prosecutors in Boston are investigating the vandalism, according to three people with knowledge of their efforts. They are looking into Mr. Spofford's potential involvement...."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "The United Nations is calling the destruction unleashed by damage to southern Ukraine's Kakhovka dam 'monumental.' More than 1,400 people in the Ukrainian-controlled Kherson region were evacuated from their homes, local officials said. Although they added that the intensity of flooding was now decreasing, officials said almost 2,000 homes had been inundated. The head of Kherson's Russian occupation administration, Vladimir Saldo, said Wednesday that as many as 40,000 people were affected, according to Russian media.... The damage to the Soviet-era dam and hydroelectric power plant -- controlled by Russia since the start of the war -- poses strategic challenges to both sides, experts say.... The United States cannot conclusively say what led to the breach of the dam, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters at a briefing on Tuesday.... The devastation caused by the Kakhovka dam breach is likely to lead to long-term environmental consequences for the region, The Washington Post reported....

"The United States learned of a Ukrainian military plan to carry out a covert attack on the Nord Stream gas pipeline, leaked military documents say. The previously undisclosed documents, first leaked on the chat platform Discord, suggest that details about the plan collected by a European intelligence service were shared with the CIA in June 2022, The Post reported.... Russian ally Belarus lost its bid for a temporary spot at the U.N. Security Council, the Associated Press reported. While five countries were elected unopposed, Slovenia beat Belarus...."

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Courtney Kube & Abigail Williams of NBC News: "The United States government has intelligence that is leaning toward Russia as the culprit of the attack on the dam in Ukraine, according to two U.S. officials and one Western official. President Joe Biden's administration was working to declassify some of the intelligence and share it...." MB: Why can't President Biden just declassify the intel in his mind?


U.K. Mark Landler & Megan Specia of the New York Times: "Prince Harry finally got his day in court against the British tabloid press that he has long reviled, taking the stand in London on Tuesday to accuse the Mirror Newspaper Group of hacking his cellphone more than a decade ago. Through five hours of polite but persistent grilling, Harry stood by his claims that the Mirror Group's reporters intercepted his voice mail messages and used other unlawful means to dig up personal information about him.... Harry is one of four plaintiffs in this case, one of only two civil suits rooted in the phone hacking scandal of 2011 that has made it all the way to trial. He is the first senior royal to testify in court since 1891, when the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII, testified in the case of a man accused of cheating at a game of baccarat." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian is liveblogging Harry's testimony today (Wednesday).

News Ledes

CNN: "Pope Francis will have surgery on his abdomen and remain in a Rome hospital for several days, the Vatican said Wednesday, sparking renewed fears over the 86-year-old's fragile health. The pope was forced to cancel several work commitments in late May after he was debilitated by a fever. He was also hospitalized in March for bronchitis but responded well to antibiotics.... Technically called a laparotomy, Wednesday's procedure involves general anesthesia and is intended to repair a hernia that the Vatican said was causing 'recurrent, painful and worsening' symptoms. According to medical sources, the intervention is likely related to the surgery Francis experienced in 2021 to remove half of his colon." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Washington Post: "Pope Francis underwent intestinal surgery Wednesday and finished the three-hour procedure without complications, the Vatican said, though the episode raised fresh concerns about the health of the 86-year-old pontiff. Francis will remain in the hospital for at least five to seven days, his doctor said. The Vatican canceled his meetings until June 18, while also promoting his planned trip to Portugal in August."

Washington Post: "Smoke and haze from the wildfires ravaging swaths of Canadian forest have reached the eastern United States. Hazardous fine particles have degraded air quality in regions as far away as South Carolina, turning the skies gray and brown. In New York City, which is now behind only New Delhi for poor air pollution levels worldwide, officials told the most vulnerable people to wear high-quality masks if they go outside. As of early Wednesday, Canadian officials reported more than 400 active fires, with more than 240 listed as 'out of control.'" This is a liveblog.

Washington Post: "National Transportation Safety Board investigators spent Tuesday at a Virginia crash site, combing through the wreckage of a plane linked to a sonic boom heard across Washington as a picture emerged of the pilot as an experienced, safety-focused former airline captain.... Experts say publicly available data indicates the plane might have lost pressurization, leaving the pilot and passengers unconscious and the jet on autopilot until it ran out of fuel.... [Pilot Jeff] Hefner was a retired Southwest Airlines captain and former member of its pilots union's board of directors.... Hefner's flight history ... included 25 years and more than 25,000 flight-hours with Southwest. He also was certified as an aircraft mechanic..., ]a friend said]."

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