March 22, 2023

Marie: My Internet service was down for hours and now the Reality Chex site is behaving badly, so don't expect much today. If you post a comment, please SAVE it, as there's a high likelihood it will "be disappeared." Thanks for your patience. I have contacted the host Squarespace, but their tech services are extremely limited & take forever.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "A day after meeting with cast members from the hit show 'Ted Lasso,' [President] Biden bestowed National Medals of Arts and National Humanities Medals to a passel of acclaimed actors, musicians and writers including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Bruce Springsteen, Gladys Knight, Amy Tan and Colson Whitehead. 'The work of our honorees is as diverse as the nation that celebrates with them today,' Mr. Biden said at a ceremony in the East Room of the White House. 'But common threads weave them together in many ways in the very fabric of America -- the pursuit of excellence, the drive to create, the yearning to connect and the boldness to be truth tellers, bridge builders and change seekers. Above all, you're masters of your craft.'... As he recognized Mr. Whitehead, Mr. Biden noted that he is the only writer to have won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for back-to-back works.... 'Pretty good, man,' said ... [Mr. Biden]. 'I'm kind of looking for back-to-back myself.'" The article lists the other honorees. ~~~

     ~~~ Video of the ceremony is here.

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve's decision on Wednesday on whether to raise rates at a precarious moment carries risks not just for the central bank, but also for President Biden. Mr. Biden was already relying on the Fed to maintain a delicate balance with its interest rate decisions, simultaneously taming rapid price growth while avoiding plunging the economy into recession. Now, he also needs the Fed chair, Jerome H. Powell, and his colleagues to avert a misstep that could hasten a full-blown financial crisis. Economists and investors are watching Wednesday's decision closely, after the Fed and the administration intervened this month to shore up a suddenly shaky regional banking system following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank."

"Ready for His Perp Walk"

Michael Bender & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump claims he is ready for his perp walk. Behind closed doors at Mar-a-Lago, the former president has told friends and associates that he welcomes the idea of being paraded by the authorities before a throng of reporters and news cameras. He ... is said to have described the potential spectacle as a fun experience.... There is no indication, even if Mr. Trump is charged, that the authorities would have him take part in [a perp walk].... Mr. Trump has been both invigorated and angered by the prospect of being arrested, according to those who have spoken with him. And he has also entertained a certain amount of magical thinking.... He has discussed the prospect that his recent pressure campaign -- a series of personal, unproven and provocative attacks he has unleashed against investigators, Democrats and fellow Republicans -- might persuade Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, to walk away from the case. That notion, according to legal experts, is highly unlikely, but Mr. Trump has a long history of believing he can bend external events to his will, and has sometimes succeeded."

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Prosecutors in the special counsel's office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that former President Donald Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to sources who described its contents to ABC News. U.S. Judge Beryl Howell, who on Friday stepped down as the D.C. district court's chief judge, wrote last week that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office had made a 'prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,' according to the sources, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers could therefore be pierced. In her sealed filing, Howell ordered that Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Trump, should comply with a grand jury subpoena for testimony on six separate lines of inquiry over which he had previously asserted attorney-client privilege. Sources added that Howell also ordered Corcoran to hand over a number of records tied to what Howell described as Trump's alleged 'criminal scheme,' echoing prosecutors." (Also linked yesterday evening.) ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC that "If Donald Trump's own attorney testifies that Trump misled him about documents he (Trump) still had in his possession, and the attorney then communicated that misleading info to federal officials, therein is a clear case of obstruction. ~~~

~~~ Lawyers Ordered to Work All Night. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stayed [Judge] Howell's order temporarily on Tuesday night, ordering an extraordinarily rapid series of filings in a matter of hours -- including one from [Donald] Trump's team by midnight Tuesday. The appeals court's order -- from Judges Cornelia Pillard, J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, all Democratic appointees -- doesn't identify [Trump attorney Evan] Corcoran or the case at issue but makes clear that the government was on the winning side of the case in Howell's court. The three-judge panel is asking Trump's attorneys to specify the precise set of documents at issue by midnight and for [DOJ special counsel Jack] Smith's team to respond by 6 a.m. Wednesday to the Trump team’s demand for a longer stay of Howell's ruling.... The appeals court order followed the filing by Trump-linked attorneys of a pair of appeals and stay requests tied to Howell's decision, which came on the final day of her seven-year tenure as chief judge of the federal District Court in Washington.... Trump's 2024 presidential campaign issued a statement Tuesday attacking special counsel Jack Smith and ... [Judge] Howell." Classy.

Kristen Holmes & Tierney Sneed of CNN: "Communications between adult-film star Stormy Daniels and an attorney who is now representing ... Donald Trump have been turned over to the Manhattan district attorney's office, Daniels' lawyer told CNN. The exchanges -- said to date back to 2018, when Daniels was seeking representation -- raise the possibility that the Trump attorney, Joe Tacopina, could be sidelined from his defense of the former president in a case pertaining to Trump's alleged role in a scheme to pay hush money to Daniels. Daniels' communications with Tacopina and others at his firm include details relating to Daniels' situation, according to her current attorney Clark Brewster, who believes the communications show a disclosure of confidential information from Daniels. Tacopina denies that there is a conflict or that confidential information was shared with his office. He says he neither met nor spoke to Daniels.... But legal ethics experts CNN spoke with said they could lead to limits being placed on the role Tacopina can play at trial or even his disqualification." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Years ago, when I was a party to a lawsuit, the defendants wanted to use one lawyer after another with whom I had had contact. In each case, I had to provide only the flimsiest evidence of my contact with the lawyers to have them struck from the case. Admittedly, it was the lawyers themselves who agreed to step away. Tacopina clearly has no such scruples.

Trump's Call for Protests Is Not Going Well. Wesley Parnell of Politico: "Demonstrators who want a Donald Trump indictment far outnumbered MAGA supporters Tuesday morning outside the Manhattan Criminal Court, where the former president is expected to be charged as early as Wednesday.... Across the street from the [20-person] anti-Trump rally, five supporters of the former president walked around holding signs including one that highlighted liberal billionaire George Soros support for [Manhattan D.A. Alvin] Bragg, a common right-wing talking point. Trump has seized on a $500,000 donation to Bragg from a political action committee funded by Soros that was part of a nationwide effort to help elect progressive district attorneys.... Tuesday morning, a non-credible bomb threat was made to nearby courthouses, including one where a hearing was underway in New York Attorney General Tish James' $250 million lawsuit accusing Trump and his real estate firm of financial fraud."

Marianna Sotomayor, et al., of the Washington Post: "As House Republicans gathered [in Orlando, Florida,] this week for their annual issues conference, one man loomed large: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Republicans contorted themselves when pressed on Bragg's possible criminal case against ... Donald Trump, avoiding addressing a range of inquiries about the 2024 presidential candidate's legal woes.... Bragg has pushed back against Republican criticism, calling attacks 'baseless accusations' and saying in a statement Monday that his office 'will not be intimidated by attempts to undermine the justice process.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters note that Republicans have been enthusiastic about "talking points connecting Bragg to out-of-control crime in New York City." What the report doesn't say on even imply is that New York City crime has dropped since Bragg became DA & that NYC's crime rate is lower than those of other major U.S. cities, according to assertions I heard multiples times on MSNBC. I'll admit that Bragg probably has little or nothing to do with reducing the crime rate, but if it is lower, the reporters should say so.

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, is warning that Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) arresting former President Trump would 'blow up our country.'" Graham made his comments in a "Fox & Friends" interview. MB: See digby's commentary under "Presidential Race 2024." It isn't Alvin Bragg who would "blow up our country."

Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "A Delaware judge overseeing Dominion Voting Systems' $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News said in a pretrial hearing on Tuesday that he was still weighing whether to issue a summary judgment for either side in the case. In a hearing in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday, lawyers for Fox News and Dominion both pushed the judge, Eric M. Davis of the Delaware Superior Court, to rule on the case without a jury. Dominion, an election technology company, is accusing Fox of spreading false claims of widespread vote-rigging in the 2020 presidential election. 'I haven't made a decision,' Judge Davis said.... On Tuesday, Dominion argued that a trove of internal communications and depositions it had obtained showed that Fox executives and hosts had known that some of the claims about election fraud were false but had given them airtime anyway. Fox asked Judge Davis to dismiss the case outright, saying its actions were protected by the First Amendment. A trial is scheduled to begin on April 17." ~~~

     ~~~ Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "A Delaware judge threw cold water on some arguments made by a lawyer representing Fox News on Tuesday, less than a month before a trial is expected to begin in Dominion Voting System's $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against the network. As both Fox and Dominion made their arguments for summary judgment and pleaded for an early victory that might preclude a jury trial, Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis pushed back on assertions from both sides during the day-long hearing. But the judge seemed particularly skeptical of Fox's claims that its hosts were merely voicing opinions -- not asserting false facts -- when they suggested to viewers that Dominion may have manufactured fraudulent votes for Joe Biden in the 2020 election."

Never Mind. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "One day after suing Tucker Carlson's producer, Fox News quickly retreated on Tuesday with a brief indicating, without explanation, that the network dropped its case. The filing gives Fox News the option to refile the case, if it so chooses."

Presidential Race 2024. Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the closest prospective rival to Donald J. Trump in early polls of the 2024 Republican presidential primary, pressed forward with questions about the former president's character and pointed to himself as a low-drama 'winner' in an interview this week with the British media personality Piers Morgan. The interview, which Mr. Morgan wrote about Tuesday for The New York Post, was striking in terms of how expansive Mr. DeSantis was.... In the interview with Mr. Morgan, Mr. DeSantis took clear aim at Mr. Trump's often-criticized penchant for chaos and for hiring people who were at odds with his professed policy interests and who often leaked information to the news media.... Mr. Morgan wrote in The Post that when he asked a question about the conduct of leaders, Mr. DeSantis responded, 'You really want to look to people like our founding fathers, like what type of character? It's not saying that you don't ever make a mistake in your personal life, but I think what type of character are you bringing?' He pointed to George Washington -- who 'always put the Republic over his own personal interest' — as an example.... Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Mr. Trump, slammed Mr. DeSantis for the interview. 'Ron DeSantis has finally shown his true colors,' he wrote on Twitter. 'An establishment Never Trumper who despises the MAGA base and was faking it the entire time.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Contrasting the last U.S. president* with the first president is fraught. I'd say that young George's apocryphal declaration "I cannot tell a lie; I did it with my little hatchet" might be contrasted with a boast from Trump like, "I cannot tell a lie; I always tell two or three lies at a time."

digby cites a USA Today story which notes that Donald Trump will hold his next rally in Waco, Texas: "The rally, planned for Saturday, will fall during the 30th anniversary of the siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco. Federal agents, aiming to arrest cult leader David Koresh, surrounded his walled compound in an armed standoff that lasted more than a month. Itended in a botched raid that left 76 people, including 25 children, dead." digby responds, "... you can bet that the violent, anti-government extremists in this country -- and there are many -- will see this as a signal.... I don't know if it will immediately result in violence but it's a clear directive to 'stand back and stand by.' I guess, as usual, there's no one around him to tell him how dangerous this is. In fact, someone obviously told him to do it -- he didn't know anything about the Waco standoff anniversary. But the wingnuts sure do."

The Pandemic, Ctd. Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "On Jan. 12, 2020, Chinese investigators combing a market for clues about the outbreak of a mysterious new illness in the city of Wuhan swabbed a cart. It was the kind typically used for transporting animal cages, and it came back positive for the coronavirus. Three years later, a team of international experts has sifted through the genetic contents of that swab, which were quietly uploaded to an international database and made public only this year. In a report released on Monday night, the scientists described in detail for the first time evidence from the swab that they say strengthens the case that illegally traded wild animals ignited the coronavirus pandemic.... Along with genetic signatures of the coronavirus, the swab from the cart contained more than 4,500 lengthy fragments of genetic material from raccoon dogs, the report said. It had none from humans."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Why Are So Many Republicans Crooks? Jamiel Lynch & Chenelle Woody of CNN: "A former Florida lawmaker pleaded guilty Tuesday to wire fraud, money laundering and making false statements in connection with Covid-19 relief fraud, according to a news release from the Department of Justice. Former Republican state Rep. Joseph Harding acquired more than $150,000 in Small Business Administration loans by lying on loan applications, the department said. Harding is scheduled to be sentenced on July 25, the release said.... The Florida Republican has drawn the national spotlight before, as a sponsor of the controversial legislation that banned certain instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in the classroom that opponents dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' law." MB: Now let's see if he gets picked up before sentencing for soliticing a Cub Scout in a school zone.

Oklahoma. Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "The Oklahoma Supreme Court overturned part of the state's near-total abortion ban, ruling in a 5-to-4 decision that the procedure would be lawful if there is a reasonable chance that a pregnancy could threaten a pregnant person's life. Oklahoma's constitution protects the right to an abortion if 'the woman's physician has determined to a reasonable degree of medical certainty' that continuing 'the pregnancy will endanger the woman's life,' the court's justices said in Tuesday's ruling. 'Absolute certainty' that the pregnancy will be life-threatening isn't required, but 'mere possibility or speculation' is insufficient, they added." The Oklahoman's report is here.

Wisconsin. Adam Edelman & Alexandra Marquez of NBC News: "In the only debate of the closely watched race that will determine ideological control of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, liberal judge Janet Protasiewicz hammered her conservative opponent, Daniel Kelly, as a 'true threat to democracy' over his ties to a scheme to overturn the 2020 election.... Protasiewicz criticized Kelly for having advised Republicans on legal efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential race through the use of 'fake electors.'"

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Chinese leader Xi Jinping departed Russia on Wednesday, wrapping up a three-day trip that underscored Beijing and Moscow's desire to reshape the global order against Western power but that offered little concrete progress on China's pledge to promote peace in the Ukraine conflict.... Xi reiterated that China has an 'impartial position' on the war in Ukraine. The United States later accused China of 'parroting the Russian propaganda.'... The United States sees 'no indication' that China is 'fixing to provide lethal weapons' to Russia, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Tuesday.... Kyiv has asked Beijing to endorse a Ukrainian peace formula to end the conflict, [Ukraine's President] Zelensky told reporters alongside Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who was in Kyiv on Tuesday. The peace formula calls for the restoration of Ukraine's internationally recognized borders and a withdrawal of Russian troops.... Drone attacks hit Kyiv overnight, killing three and injuring at least seven, according to Kyiv's regional military administration.... The Pentagon is accelerating shipment of M1 tanks to Ukraine, moving up deliveries to the fall, after earlier saying it could take a year or more to get them battle-ready. 'This is about getting this important combat capability into the hands of the Ukrainians sooner rather than later,' Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, told reporters." ~~~

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

Marc Santora of the New York Times: "As swarms of Russian soldiers stormed Ukrainian lines in furious assaults around two cities in the east on Tuesday, Ukraine set the stage for its own advance by making strikes deep behind Russian lines, including what appeared to be a drone attack on a vital logistical hub in the occupied Crimean Peninsula. Russian forces have gained ground in recent days around the Ukrainian stronghold of Avdiivka in the eastern Donbas region, but the Ukrainians say Moscow is paying a heavy price in blood for every inch of ground it claims in its bid to encircle the long-battered city."

Valerie Hopkins & Chris Buckley of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia and China's top leader, Xi Jinping, declared an enduring economic partnership on Tuesday, promising to bring more Russian energy to China and more Chinese companies to Russia as the two leaders sought to insulate their countries from Western sanctions and other consequences of the war in Ukraine.... Mr. Putin's economic outreach this week was a clear sign that Beijing was gaining leverage over Russia even as it gave its neighbor help, said Alexander Gabuev, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.... As [Xi and Putin] met on Tuesday, Japan's prime minister, Fumio Kishida, visited Kyiv in a show of support that put the geopolitical fault lines created by Russia's invasion into even sharper relief."

UK. Boris: "In My Defence, I Had No Idea What I Was Doing." BBC: "Boris Johnson has accepted he misled Parliament over Covid rule-breaking parties in Downing Street, but denied he did it on purpose.The former prime minister has published a 52-page defence of his actions ahead of a grilling by MPs on Wednesday.In it, he says his assurances to MPs that lockdown rules had been followed were made in 'good faith'. Mr Johnson faces being suspended or even expelled from Parliament, if MPs decide he deliberately misled them."

March 21, 2023

Evening Update:

Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Prosecutors in the special counsel's office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that former President Donald Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to sources who described its contents to ABC News. U.S. Judge Beryl Howell, who on Friday stepped down as the D.C. district court's chief judge, wrote last week that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office had made a 'prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,' according to the sources, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers could therefore be pierced. In her sealed filing, Howell ordered that Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Trump, should comply with a grand jury subpoena for testimony on six separate lines of inquiry over which he had previously asserted attorney-client privilege. Sources added that Howell also ordered Corcoran to hand over a number of records tied to what Howell described as Trump's alleged 'criminal scheme,' echoing prosecutors." ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC that "If Donald Trump's own attorney testifies that Trump misled him about documents he (Trump) still had in his possession, and the attorney then communicated that misleading info to federal officials, therein is a clear case of obstruction.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke Miller of the AP: “President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control of the House in January.... Biden sought to kill a Republican-authored measure that would ban the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for people's retirement plans. In a video released by the White House, Biden said he vetoed the measure because it 'put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country.' His first veto represents a more confrontational approach at the midway of Biden's term in office, as he faces a GOP-controlled House that is eager to undo parts of his policy legacy and investigate his administration and his family." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Carmen Paun of Politico: "President Joe Biden signed into law Monday a bill to declassify intelligence on the origins of Covid-19, offering the public a chance to review information that government agencies say is inconclusive. The legislation, called the Covid-19 Origin Act of 2023, which passed the Senate and House with unanimous support earlier this month, orders the Director of National Intelligence to declassify within 90 days of enactment all information relating to potential links between China's Wuhan Institute of Virology and Covid-19. The director is then to submit the information in a report to Congress."

The Woes of Trump, Ctd.

Rachel Maddow delivers a (kind of fun) civics lesson:

Alexander Burns of Politico argues against the journalists, pundits & politicians who have produced a genre of opinionation (nice word, hey?) that Trump's legal woes will boost his popularity & re-election prospects: "For all his unusual strengths, Trump is defined these days more by his weaknesses -- personal and political deficiencies that have grown with time and now figure to undermine any attempt to exploit the criminal case against him. His base of support is too small, his political imagination too depleted and his instinct for self-absorption too overwhelming for him to marshal a broad, lasting backlash. His determination to look inward and backward has been a problem for his campaign even without the indictment.... The question before Republicans is whether they need another lesson from the electorate in the perils of running on a version of Trumpism that is all about Trump. A campaign about Jan. 6 and Stormy Daniels is not one that is likely to end well for Republicans." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You may have been wondering why the Justice Department never brought charges against Donald Trump, a/k/a Individual No. 1, after Michael Cohen was convicted of various charges in participating, at Trump's behest, in the very same scheme to induce Stormy Daniels to hide her (alleged!) sexual relationship with Trump. Here's a partial answer, which does not explain why Merrick the Unready has -- as far as we know -- done absolutely nothing: ~~~

~~~ Ryan Goodman & Andrew Weissmann, professors at N.Y.U. Law, in a New York Times op-ed: "... it is a mistake to assess the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Donald Trump by comparing its relative severity with those of myriad other crimes possibly committed by him.... It would be anathema to the rule of law not to prosecute the principal for the crime when a lower-level conspirator [-- Michael Cohen --] has been prosecuted. [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg, however, has had to pick up the slack, since federal prosecutors have not pursued such charges, for reasons that were clear under the corrupt influence of William Barr. Barr is reported to have shut down any follow-up investigation of Mr. Trump, but it remains murky as to why a criminal investigation or indictment of Mr. Trump has not been pursued under the current administration (Attorney General Merrick Garland has not explained publicly any reason for not pursuing this investigation)." The writers go in to detail some aspects of a case against Trump.

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "In a last-ditch effort to stave off the indictment of Donald J. Trump, a witness on Monday appeared before a Manhattan grand jury at the request of the former president's lawyers, providing testimony aimed at attacking the credibility of the prosecution's star witness. The man who testified, Robert J. Costello, who was once a legal adviser to Michael D. Cohen, the crucial witness for the Manhattan district attorney's office in its investigation of Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trump's former fixer, has already spent hours testifying before the grand jury. Mr. Costello and Mr. Cohen had a falling out a few years ago, and Mr. Trump's lawyers hoped that Mr. Costello's grand jury appearance on Monday would undercut Mr. Cohen's testimony.... In an interview after his appearance, Mr. Costello attacked the prosecutors, saying they had withheld evidence from the grand jury.... Addressing Mr. Cohen's credibility, he said, 'I told the grand jury that this guy couldn't tell the truth if you put a gun to his head.' Prosecutors had summoned Mr. Cohen to the courthouse where the grand jury meets, thinking he might be useful in rebutting Mr. Costello's testimony. They did not call him into the grand jury on Monday, however...." ~~~

     ~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Ackerman, speaking on MSNBC Monday with Michael Cohen & host Ari Melber, opined that Robert Costello's testimony, along with other evidence gathered by Robert Mueller's team, subjected Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani & perhaps Costello himself to charges of witness-tampering. The men discussed the various attempts Trump and others are known to have made to discourage Cohen from speaking truthfully about the payment to Stormy Daniels. "Giving D.A. Alvin Bragg access to Costello, Akerman said, gives him the opportunity to bring up 'all the conversations Costello had with Michael. All the conversations Costello had with Rudy Giuliani. What Rudy Giuliani said that Donald Trump said and what he conveyed to Donald Trump. And then I would end up indicting Donald Trump for witness tampering and obstruction of justice....'"

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday broke his silence about the potential indictment of his state's most famous resident..., Donald J. Trump, attacking the Manhattan district attorney pursuing the case but also pointedly noting the personal conduct over which Mr. Trump is being investigated.... 'I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,' Mr. DeSantis said to chuckles from the crowd at the event. 'I just, I can't speak to that,' he said. 'But what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago, to try to use something about porn star hush-money payments, you know, that's an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office.' ...

"In a post on his social media site ... later in the day, Mr. Trump fired back at Mr. DeSantis in personal terms, mockingly raising questions about the governor's sexuality. 'Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future..., when he's unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are "underage" (or possibly a man!)...,' Mr. Trump wrote. It was a second effort after Mr. Trump deleted a shorter version. His longer post appeared to refer to an earlier insinuation by Mr. Trump that Mr. DeSantis -- who is married to a woman -- was inappropriately involved with students when he was a teacher in his early 20s." ~~~

~~~ Soros, Soros, Soros. Natasha Korecki of NBC News: "After remaining silent over the weekend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took shots at the 'Soros-funded prosecutor' in Manhattan involved in an ongoing hush money case against ... Donald Trump. 'I have no interest in getting involved in some manufactured circus by some Soros-DA,' DeSantis said at a news conference Monday, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 'He's trying to do a political spectacle. He's trying to virtue signal for his base. I've got real issues I got to deal with here in the state of Florida. I don't know what's going to happen but I do know this: the Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor,' he added." MB: Have you got that now? A Jewish man has funded a Black D.A., see. And that can only be bad news. (I have no idea if Bragg received a political contribution from Soros or from a Soros-funded PAC. And I'm not going to look it up, because I really, really don't care.) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update: According to Haberman & Swan of the New York Times (linked above), Bragg received "indirect financial support the district attorney received in his 2021 campaign from George Soros...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One cannot exaggerate how disgusting it is for a politician to use Trump's demand for a response to his possible indictment as a platform to send a screeching dogwhistle to the vast bigot branch of the GOP about the fake "international cabal of rich Jews attempting to control the world." That DeSantis also manages to suggest that a Black person is a pawn of that cabal compounds this bigoted response, and I'm sorry there has been no wide condemnation of DeSantis. DeSantis is a Nazi kind of fascist. Between DeSantis' response to Trump & Trump's response to DeSantis suggesting DeSantis may have been involved in gay sex with his minor students, these two are among the lowest of lowlifes.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... if there's no voter Trump could lose if he stood in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shot somebody, as Trump famously said, there are probably no leading Republican politicians who would leave his camp, either. Hell, they might even say the victim deserved it."

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Republicans on Monday braced for the impact of the impending indictment of ... Donald J. Trump, with his allies on Capitol Hill flexing their investigative powers to target the prosecutor pursuing Mr. Trump while the leading rival for the 2024 G.O.P. presidential nomination, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, took his first swipe at Mr. Trump's personal conduct.... With police barricades going up outside the Criminal Courts Building in Manhattan on Monday, prominent Republicans, including Mr. Trump's allies, were divided over whether to encourage mass protests.... Three Republican House committee chairmen ... Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, James R. Comer of Kentucky and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin ... made an extraordinary pre-emptive strike on Monday against the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, demanding that he provide communications, documents and testimony about his investigation, a rare attempt by Congress to involve itself in an active criminal inquiry."

Don Lemon & Jason Morris of CNN: "Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Investigators have a large volume of substantial evidence related to a possible conspiracy from inside and outside the state, including recordings of phone calls, emails, text messages, documents, and testimony before a special grand jury. Their work, the source said, underscores the belief that the push to help Trump was not just a grassroots effort that originated inside the state." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump filed a motion in a Georgia court on Monday seeking to quash the final report of a special grand jury that investigated whether Mr. Trump and some of his allies interfered in the 2020 election results in Georgia. The motion also seeks to 'preclude the use of any evidence derived' from the report, and asks that the office of Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, be disqualified from the case." (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's report, by Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein, is here. MB: Waah, waaah, waaaah. Good luck with this one, Donald. You're just aggravating the judge who has to rule on such a waste-of-time motion. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Constitutional law expert Laurence Tribe, appearing on MSNBC, said the 480-page filing was "nothing but air," and -- invoking Gertrude Stein, said, "There's no there there."

Alan Feuer & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "Four people who marched with the Oath Keepers militia into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were convicted on Monday of conspiracy to obstruct the work of Congress, bringing an end to the third and final trial examining the role that members of the far-right group played in the attack. The four defendants -- Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs -- were also found guilty of an array of other charges, including destruction of government property and conspiracy to prevent members of Congress from discharging their duties by certifying the results of the 2020 election. Two other people charged in the case -- Ms. Parker's husband, Bennie Parker, and Michael Greene, a close associate of Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers -- avoided conviction on conspiracy charges, but were both found guilty of illegally entering and remaining on the Capitol grounds." (Also linked yesterday.) A CNN report is here.

The Woes of the Murdochs, Ctd. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times produces a timeline of what happened inside Fox "News" when company executives & personalities went into a panic over Joe Biden's win & fear of losing viewers. Peters' reporting is based largely on revelations from Dominion Systems' filings in its suit against Fox. And there's this: ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Confessore & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "A Fox News producer who has worked with the hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson filed lawsuits against the company in New York and Delaware on Monday, accusing Fox lawyers of coercing her into giving misleading testimony in the continuing legal battle around the network's coverage of unfounded claims about election fraud. The producer, Abby Grossberg, said Fox lawyers had tried to position her and Ms. Bartiromo to take the blame for Fox's repeated airing of conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems and its supposed role in manipulating the results of the 2020 presidential election. Dominion has filed a $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox. Ms. Grossberg said the effort to place blame on her and Ms. Bartiromo was rooted in rampant misogyny and discrimination at the network.... Ms. Grossberg says she and other women endured frank and open sexism from co-workers and superiors at the network.... Ms. Grossberg accuses lawyers for Fox News of coaching her in 'a coercive and intimidating manner' before her September deposition in the Dominion case....

"On Monday afternoon, Fox filed its own suit against Ms. Grossberg, seeking to enjoin her from filing claims that would shed light on her discussions with the company's lawyers. A judge has not yet ruled on Fox's suit. Later on Monday, according to her lawyer, Parisis G. Filippatos, Fox also placed Ms. Grossberg on forced administrative leave." CNN's report, by Oliver Darcy, is here.

And now we break from the news of the day to turn to the gossip page: ~~~

~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Rupert Murdoch, four times married and divorced at 92..., said he plans to marry a fifth time. Murdoch announced he is engaged once again, this time to Ann Lesley Smith, 66, a former model, singer-songwriter, radio talk-show host, and police chaplain in San Francisco. The couple met last year. Murdoch is fresh off his divorce from Jerry Hall, the model and actress he married in 2016. Murdoch divorced Hall, the mother of four of Mick Jagger's children, last year. Murdoch broke the news of his engagement in the New York Post, the tabloid that helped launch his foray into the American and global media market when the Australian immigrant bought it in 1976."

Kylie Atwood of CNN: "An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by terrorists has been released, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday. 'I'm gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over 6 years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him. I thank so many across our government who've worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom,' Sullivan tweeted. Jeffery Woodke is now being offered support and transport. He was released outside of Niger in the Mali-Burkina Faso area, [a senior administration] official said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Karen Weise of the New York Times: "Amazon plans to lay off 9,000 corporate and tech workers by the end of April, adding to the 18,000 roles it already cut late last year and this January, Andy Jassy, the company's chief executive, said in a note to employees on Monday. The new layoffs, which amount to less than 3 percent of its corporate work force, will target workers in some of Amazon's most profitable divisions, which had previously been spared, including Amazon's cloud computing business and advertising operations."

Brad Plumer of the New York Times: "Earth is likely to cross a critical threshold for global warming within the next decade, and nations will need to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating dangerously beyond that level, according to a major new report released on Monday. The report, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, offers the most comprehensive understanding to date of ways in which the planet is changing. It says that global average temperatures are estimated to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels sometime around 'the first half of the 2030s,' as humans continue to burn coal, oil and natural gas. That number holds a special significance in global climate politics: Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, virtually every nation agreed to 'pursue efforts' to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Beyond that point, scientists say, the impacts of catastrophic heat waves, flooding, drought, crop failures and species extinction become significantly harder for humanity to handle."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Kurtis Lee & Soumya Karlamangla of the New York Times: "Tens of thousands of Los Angeles school employees will begin a three-day strike starting on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of campuses to close and canceling classes for 422,000 students. The union that represents 30,000 support workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District is seeking a 30 percent pay increase, saying that many employees make little more than the minimum wage and struggle to afford the cost of living in Southern California. The Los Angeles teachers' union has asked its 35,000 members to walk out in solidarity and to avoid crossing the support workers' picket lines."

California. Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "A federal judge is blocking a California law that would mandate certain safety features for semiautomatic handguns. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney on Monday ruled in favor of the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) and four individuals who had said the law violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms since no new guns being manufactured complied with it, Reuters reported. The plaintiffs noted that gun buyers in California were de facto limited to purchasing models from before 2013, the year when the law fully took effect." Carney is a George W. Bush appointee.

Minnesota. Nina Masih of the Washington Post: "Minnesota has advanced legislation that would shield local providers and their out-of-state patients from action by states that punish those seeking or providing abortions, as Democratic lawmakers move to establish the state as a Midwestern haven for reproductive rights.If it becomes law, the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act would expand on an executive order issued last year by Gov. Tim Walz (D) that shields abortion patients and providers from other states' laws. The bill passed Monday by 68 to 62 votes in the state's Democratic-controlled House and will now need to clear the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority."

Virginia. Salvador Rizzo, et al., of the Washington Post: "As many as 10 sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at Virginia's Central State Hospital can be seen piling on top of a shackled Irvo N. Otieno for approximately 11 minutes until he stops moving, according to new video showing the encounter that led to the 28-year-old Black man's death. The hospital surveillance video, which has no sound, shows Otieno's final moments on March 6, from the time Henrico County sheriff's deputies drag him into a hospital admissions room in handcuffs and leg irons, to the 11 minutes in which they restrain Otieno on the ground, to the moment when they release Otieno's limp body around 4:40 p.m. Minutes later, video shows workers beginning to apply chest compressions and a defibrillator machine to Otieno's upper body, before a medical technician drapes him with a white sheet at 5:48 p.m. A Virginia prosecutor has charged seven Henrico County sheriff's deputies and three staff members at the hospital with second-degree murder in Otieno's death, and has said she expects more arrests and charges." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I won't be watching the video, but a screenshot reveals that most of the people involved in Otieno's killing appear to be Black. If this is a hate crime, it's a hate crime against a mentally-disturbed person.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Beijing has billed [Xi Jinpeng's] state visit as a peace mission. But officials around the world are watching warily for signs it could embolden Putin by signaling China's tacit approval of his aggression, as the two men position themselves as the leaders of a new global order opposed to the United States and its allies.... Beijing has portrayed itself as a potential negotiator over the Ukraine conflict, although its 12-point proposal for ending the conflict includes no demands for Moscow to withdraw its troops -- a position that sets it at odds with Ukraine, which wants to reclaim all of its territory. [U.S.] Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Washington on Monday that any truce that doesn't force Russian troops to withdraw from internationally recognized Ukrainian territory 'would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest.'"

Valerie Hopkins, et al., of the New York Times: "Standing side by side in a show of partnership unshaken by Russia's yearlong war in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin and China's top leader, Xi Jinping, began talks in Moscow on Monday with boasts of their close ties and only understated mention of the conflict itself. Though the war and the schisms it has exposed hung over the meeting, the public comments about it from Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin were muted.... The leaders went to great lengths to flatter each other and project unity in a series of meticulously choreographed events.... They sat by a small fireside table, a far more intimate setting than the extremely long room where Mr. Putin held tense meetings with Western leaders before Russia invaded Ukraine. But behind the display of friendship was a backdrop of hardheaded geopolitics. China and Russia both oppose a global order dominated by the United States and its allies, and that appears to outweigh any objections that Mr. Xi may have about Mr. Putin's invasion of Ukraine."

France. Dalel Mawad, et al., of CNN: "Two no-confidence votes against French President Emmanuel Macron's government have failed in the country's parliament, clearing the way for his hugely unpopular pension reforms to be implemented and sparking new protests in Paris. The government triggered special constitutional powers last Thursday to push through controversial legislation that would raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 for most workers. Lawmakers critical of the move called the no-confidence votes that were held on Monday. The first motion was brought forward by the small parliamentary group 'LIOT,' which represents various small parties, and was seen as the most likely of the two to threaten the government. It received 278 votes -- just nine short of the 287 majority needed to pass. The second vote -- tabled last week by far-right party National Rally -- drew less support, with only 94 lawmakers voting in favor. The government's narrow survival will exacerbates the legitimacy crisis that Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's cabinet and Macron's presidency are facing." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

U.K. Bryan Pietsch of the Washington Post: "Racism, misogyny and homophobia are running rampant in London's Metropolitan Police force, an official review of the institution found, recommending that the force undergo a dramatic overhaul to address deep-seated issues that it said have been exacerbated by a culture of 'defensiveness and denial.' The Met, as the force is commonly called, 'has failed over time to ensure the integrity of its officers and therefore of the organisation,' Louise Casey, a British government official, wrote in the report released Tuesday. The Met commissioned the review after an officer admitted to kidnapping, raping and murdering a woman in 2021."

News Lede

Washington Post: "A deadly and highly-drug resistant fungus is spreading at 'an alarming rate' in long-term care hospitals and other health facilities caring for very sick people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday. Fungal infections from the yeast strain known as Candida auris tripled nationally from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, according to CDC data. Cases where a person carries the fungus but is not infected nearly quadrupled from 1,077 to 4,040 in the same time period. Preliminary data suggests the numbers have continued to rise.Scientists believe the fungus is not a threat to healthy people whose immune systems can fight it off. But it poses a danger to medically fragile people, including nursing home patients on ventilators and cancer patients on chemotherapy. Between 30 to 70 percent of hospitalized people who develop bloodstream infection."

March 20, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control of the House in January.... Biden sought to kill a Republican-authored measure that would ban the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for people's retirement plans. In a video released by the White House, Biden said he vetoed the measure because it 'put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country.' His first veto represents a more confrontational approach at the midway of Biden's term in office, as he faces a GOP-controlled House that is eager to undo parts of his policy legacy and investigate his administration and his family."

Dalel Mawad, et al., of CNN: "Two no-confidence votes against French President Emmanuel Macron's government have failed in the country's parliament, clearing the way for his hugely unpopular pension reforms to be implemented and sparking new protests in Paris. The government triggered special constitutional powers last Thursday to push through controversial legislation that would raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 for most workers. Lawmakers critical of the move called the no-confidence votes that were held on Monday. The first motion was brought forward by the small parliamentary group 'LIOT,' which represents various small parties, and was seen as the most likely of the two to threaten the government. It received 278 votes -- just nine short of the 287 majority needed to pass. The second vote -- tabled last week by far-right party National Rally -- drew less support, with only 94 lawmakers voting in favor. The government's narrow survival will exacerbates the legitimacy crisis that Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's cabinet and Macron's presidency are facing."

Alan Feuer & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "Four people who marched with the Oath Keepers militia into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were convicted on Monday of conspiracy to obstruct the work of Congress, bringing an end to the third and final trial examining the role that members of the far-right group played in the attack. The four defendants -- Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs -- were also found guilty of an array of other charges, including destruction of government property and conspiracy to prevent members of Congress from discharging their duties by certifying the results of the 2020 election. Two other people charged in the case -- Ms. Parker's husband, Bennie Parker, and Michael Greene, a close associate of Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers -- avoided conviction on conspiracy charges, but were both found guilty of illegally entering and remaining on the Capitol grounds."

Don Lemon & Jason Morris of CNN: "Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Investigators have a large volume of substantial evidence related to a possible conspiracy from inside and outside the state, including recordings of phone calls, emails, text messages, documents, and testimony before a special grand jury. Their work, the source said, underscores the belief that the push to help Trump was not just a grassroots effort that originated inside the state." ~~~

~~~ Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump filed a motion in a Georgia court on Monday seeking to quash the final report of a special grand jury that investigated whether Mr. Trump and some of his allies interfered in the 2020 election results in Georgia. The motion also seeks to 'preclude the use of any evidence derived' from the report, and asks that the office of Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, be disqualified from the case." MB: Waah, waaah, waaaah. Good luck with this one, Donald. You're just aggravating the judge who has to rule on such a waste-of-time motion.

Soros, Soros, Soros. Natasha Korecki of NBC News: "After remaining silent over the weekend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took shots at the 'Soros-funded prosecutor' in Manhattan involved in an ongoing hush money case against ... Donald Trump. 'I have no interest in getting involved in some manufactured circus by some Soros-DA,' DeSantis said at a news conference Monday, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 'He's trying to do a political spectacle. He's trying to virtue signal for his base. I've got real issues I got to deal with here in the state of Florida. I don't know what's going to happen but I do know this: the Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor,' he added." MB: Have you got that now? A Jewish man has funded a Black D.A., see. And that can only be bad news. (I have no idea if Bragg received a political contribution from Soros or from a Soros-funded PAC. And I'm not going to look it up, because I really, really don't care.)

Kylie Atwood of CNN: "An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by terrorists has been released, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday. 'I'm gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over 6 years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him. I thank so many across our government who've worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom,' Sullivan tweeted. Jeffery Woodke is now being offered support and transport. He was released outside of Niger in the Mali-Burkina Faso area, [a senior administration] official said."

~~~~~~~~~~

Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a phone call on Sunday that democratic values -- including 'genuine checks and balances' -- had to remain a pillar of the U.S.-Israel relationship, a veiled warning to Netanyahu about his incendiary plan to overhaul the country's judicial system. During the phone call between the two leaders, Biden expressed 'concern' about Netanyahu's plan in a 'candid and constructive conversation' that lasted about 45 minutes, according to a senior administration official...."

DOJ Tries to Curtail Judge-Shopping. Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has challenged three high-profile lawsuits filed in Texas against Biden administration policies, accusing state politicians of choosing small, conservative federal court divisions that have little relevance to their cases but nearly guarantee them a sympathetic judge. It's part of the administration's first concerted effort to fight what some legal experts say is a growing problem of 'forum shopping' -- a strategy in which plaintiffs are alleged to cherry-pick judges they want to hear their cases, bucking the random assignment of judges that is considered a tenet of the American legal system. One of the requests was denied. The other two are pending. In the fall, the Justice Department succeeded in convincing a Texas judge in a fourth case -- involving a death-row prisoner -- that he had no jurisdiction to rule on the matter.... Even the perception of judge shopping, the federal government argued, could erode public trust in the justice system.... Most federal court divisions across the country include multiple judges, who are assigned at random to cases as they are filed.... [But] according to legal experts, the opportunity to judge shop in Texas is unique because of just how many single-judge divisions there are, most of them in rural, heavily Republican areas."

The Woes of Trump, Ctd.

So Much Crime, (So Little Time). Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The investigations [into Donald Trump's various (alleged!) criminal acts] are confronting prosecutors with tough choices. They must decide whether and how to charge not just Mr. Trump, but also associates who could face jeopardy for actions to which he was not a direct party.... The publicly known understanding of the evidence is incomplete. It is not clear, for example, in several instances what facts investigators have been able to gather about Mr. Trump's personal knowledge, directions and intentions related to several of the matters. Here is a look at some of the criminal laws that different prosecutors appear to be weighing and how they might apply to Mr. Trump's actions." ~~~

~~~ Apparently some MAGA Republicans can learn: ~~~

~~~ Eric Tucker & Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "... Donald Trump's calls for protests ahead of his anticipated indictment in New York have generated mostly muted reactions from supporters, with even some of his most ardent loyalists dismissing the idea as a waste of time or a law enforcement trap. The ambivalence raises questions about whether Trump, though a leading Republican contender in the 2024 presidential race who retains a devoted following, still has the power to mobilize far-right supporters the way he did ... before the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. It also suggests that the hundreds of arrests that followed the Capitol riot, not to mention the convictions and long prison sentences, may have dampened the desire for repeat mass unrest.... The New York Young Republican Club has announced plans for a protest at an undisclosed location in Manhattan on Monday, and incendiary but isolated posts surfaced on fringe social media platforms from supporters calling for an armed confrontation with law enforcement at Trump's Florida estate, Mar-a-Lago. But ... there were few signs his appeal had inspired his supporters to organize and rally around an event like the Jan. 6 gathering."

Olivia Beavers & Jordain Carney of Politico: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Sunday pushed back on Donald Trump's calls for protests if he is ultimately indicted.... 'I don't think people should protest this, no,' McCarthy told reporters during [at press conference held] the first night of the House GOP's three-day annual issues retreat. 'We want calmness out there.'... But the top House Republican sought to smooth over Trump's wording, in a throwback to a frequent GOP tactic during his four years in the White House, suggesting he likely meant to 'educate' people about the actions by [Manhattan D.A. Alvin] Bragg. '... He's not talking in a harmful way, and nobody should.'" MB: Hey, kids, are you educated yet?

Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "... the frenzied posts from [Donald] Trump reflected his deep panic and anxiety over the imminence and likelihood of criminal charges..., the sources said, not least because he is powerless to stop the district attorney's office from moving forward with a case that will take the US into new legal territory as Trump revs up his 2024 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Trump and his allies have suggested in recent days that an indictment in the hush money case could benefit him politically..., but it is also true that Trump himself is deeply fearful of criminal charges. Trump discussed the hush money case every day last week.... Trump has expressed interest in appearing in person at the Manhattan criminal court, where he believes he can turn proceedings into a spectacle before a gaggle of reporters, sources said, and raised the prospect on Saturday afternoon...."

Jonathan Swan & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump's political operation is trying to use the news of his expected indictment by a Manhattan grand jury to turn the strident base of the Republican Party against his expected rival for the 2024 presidential nomination, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. Immediately after the former president predicted on Saturday that his arrest was imminent, Mr. Trump's operatives and friendly media outlets began publicly pressuring Mr. DeSantis to condemn the law enforcement officials in New York, portraying his silence on the matter as bordering on treason.... An aide to Mr. DeSantis did not respond to a request for comment.... Nikki Haley, the former United Nations ambassador and South Carolina governor who entered the presidential race last month, and Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina have not said a word."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "A Manhattan grand jury that is expected to vote soon on whether to indict Donald J. Trump may hear testimony Monday attacking the prosecution's star witness, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The testimony would come from a lawyer, Robert J. Costello, who would appear at the request of Mr. Trump's lawyers, the people said. Mr. Costello was once a legal adviser to Michael D. Cohen, Mr. Trump's former fixer, who has been a key witness for the Manhattan district attorney's office. Mr. Costello and Mr. Cohen had a falling out, and Mr. Costello would appear solely to undermine Mr. Cohen's credibility, the people said.... Mr. Trump's lawyers have asked that Mr. Costello testify, but the final decision rests with the grand jury; it is unclear whether they have made a decision." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: At about the same time the linked NYT story above dropped, Michael Cohen appeared on MSNBC & said that the Manhattan D.A.'s office has asked him to be available Monday to appear as a "rebuttal" witness before the grand jury. Cohen did not know (or did not reveal) any details, including whose testimony he might be called upon to rebut. An NBC story, which mirrors the NYT & AP reports, is here. It does not mentions Cohen's appearance on MSNBC but includes video of the MSNBC interview (I guess; the video never loaded for me).

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Marcy Wheeler: "... on Saturday morning, on his failing social media platform, [Donald Trump] tweeted out incitement that included the following, in all caps: An unsubstantiated claim about illegal leaks probably based on Fox News reporting about efforts to prepare for potential violence as a response to a Trump indictment next week; An attack on Alvin Bragg's record on crime; A claim Bragg is funded by George Soros, the kind of coded antisemitism Trump is including in virtually all his communications these days; An assertion that he would be charged on something that 'numerous other prosecutors!' had debunked as a fairy tale; An overstatement of the degree to which he is leading in polls and an admission that he is the 'former' President; A day, Tuesday, when he would be 'arrested' A call to 'protest,' invoking one of the same cries used to incite a coup attempt on January 6, 'take our country back.'

"The response was almost instantaneous, with one after another journalist screen-capping the tweet in its entirety.... It's like Pavlov's dogs, pure reflexive behavior at this point: The more incendiary Trump's tweets, the more quickly journalists rush to disseminate them unfiltered on Twitter.... The most newsworthy detail in Trump's tweet (beyond the incitement) -- the day he would be charged -- was just made up, a guess based off the same information all the rest of us have.... Trump's team simply guessed what day he'll be charged so as to make a call to fight newsworthy enough for kneejerk journalists to help it go viral for him.... He made the presidential race about him again, exclusively about him.... Finally, all this was done without any mention of the actual facts of the case."

Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "Former Vice President Mike Pence faced an intense interview from ABC News's Jon Karl -- during which he was forced to directly respond to Donald Trump defending his supporters who wanted to hunt him down and execute him.... In one part of the conversation, Karl asked Pence about Trump attempting to blame him for the siege Trump's supporters launched on the U.S. Capitol.... [After Pence responded,] Karl followed up by rolling audio from an interview he conducted with Trump back in 2021 -- during which Trump defended the Capitol rioters chanting 'Hang Mike Pence' because the vice president refused Trump's unconstitutional demand that he overturn his 2020 election defeat.... [Pence responded,] '... There is no excuse for the violence that took place at the Capitol on January 6th, and I'll never diminish it as long as I live....'" Includes video of the interview. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Sunday called on Congress to lift the federal insurance levels for bank deposits above $250,000, a week after the Biden administration announced it would protect all depositors at Silicon Valley Bank, regardless of how much money they had in the failing institution. Currently, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, or FDIC, insures only up to $250,000 in deposits at banks. On CBS's 'Face the Nation,' Warren, a member of the Senate Banking Committee and a commercial and bankruptcy law expert, suggested raising that figure to anywhere from $2 million to $10 million. 'Small businesses need to be able to count on getting their money to make payroll, to pay the utility bills,' she said. 'Nonprofits need to be able to do that. These are not folks who can investigate the safety and soundness of their individual banks. That's the job the regulators are supposed to do.'"

The Fed Repeatedly Warned SVB It Had Serious Weaknesses. Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Silicon Valley Bank's risky practices were on the Federal Reserve's radar for more than a year -- an awareness that proved insufficient to stop the bank's demise. The Fed repeatedly warned the bank that it had problems, according to a person familiar with the matter. In 2021, a Fed review of the growing bank found serious weaknesses in how it was handling key risks. Supervisors at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, which oversaw Silicon Valley Bank, issued six citations. Those warnings, known as 'matters requiring attention' and 'matters requiring immediate attention,' flagged that the firm was doing a bad job of ensuring that it would have enough easy-to-tap cash on hand in the event of trouble. But the bank did not fix its vulnerabilities. By July 2022, Silicon Valley Bank was in a full supervisory review -- getting a more careful look -- and was ultimately rated deficient for governance and controls. It was placed under a set of restrictions that prevented it from growing through acquisitions.... It became clear to the Fed that the firm was using bad models to determine how its business would fare as the central bank raised rates.... By early 2023..., [a Fed] checkup identified additional deficiencies -- but at that point, the bank's days were numbered." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Sorkin, et al., of the New York Times: "UBS has agreed to buy Credit Suisse, its beleaguered rival, the Swiss government said on Sunday, in a hastily arranged deal meant to shore up the global financial sector after a week of turmoil. Swiss government leaders and regulators said that the deal was the most effective way of reassuring investors after Credit Suisse's shares tumbled following the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank earlier this month.... Credit Suisse's troubles were largely of its own making, tied to years of scandals and financial missteps that have cost it billions of dollars in trading losses and legal fines." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Althea Legaspi of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! Entertainment: "A man was arrested outside 'Drag Story Hour NYC' hosted by New York Attorney General Letitia James on Sunday following a clash between more than 100 protesters, New York Post reports.... [The] event took place at The Center, an LGBTQ+ community center on West 13th Street, where video footage shows a man in a gold mask being arrested outside after protesters purportedly clashed over drag performers reading stories to kids, and tax dollars helping fund the event.... Video appearing to be filmed from outside the event depicts at least one person wearing a far-right Proud Boys sweatshirt who was in attendance and was told to 'get the fuck out of here' by opposing protesters. The man was joined by another, who appeared to have blood on his face...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All I could find about this altercation came from poorly-written stories. As nearly as I can tell, the Proud Boys got in an altercation with supporters of the event, and the Proud Boys got the worst of it. I don't know what the Proud Boys expected; they were in the West Village, for pete's sake, not far from the Stonewall Inn. I'm totally against violence, of course, but I'm not all that broken up about drag queen supporters getting the better of a gang of bigots.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Guardian's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

The New York Times is liveblogging developments in Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Moscow. the Washington Post's live updates are here.