March 4, 2023

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden and Chancellor Olaf Scholz of Germany on Friday showed a united front on the war in Ukraine, vowing to keep Western support intact amid mounting concerns that China could move to supply weapons to Moscow. Speaking to reporters before a private meeting in the Oval Office, Mr. Biden said that both leaders would work in 'lock step' for as long as it takes to provide military support to Kyiv.... In a statement on Friday, the White House said that the two leaders discussed their 'commitment to impose costs on Russia for its aggression for as long as necessary,' and that they 'exchanged perspectives on other global issues,' without naming China.... Still, Mr. Scholz arrived in Washington hours after speaking to the German Parliament and directly calling on Beijing -- his country's largest trading partner -- to 'use your influence in Moscow to press for the withdrawal of Russian troops.'... Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said on Friday that 'every step China takes toward Russia makes it harder for China with Europe and other countries around the world.'" ~~~

~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Attorney General Merrick B. Garland made an unannounced visit to Ukraine on Friday to reaffirm America's commitment to help hold Russia responsible for war crimes, a Justice Department spokeswoman said. Mr. Garland held several meetings with President Volodymyr Zelensky and foreign law enforcement officials in Lviv, while attending the United for Justice Conference, the department said in an email. During the conference, Mr. Garland 'reaffirmed our determination to hold Russia accountable for crimes committed in its unjust and unprovoked invasion against its sovereign neighbor,' the email said." More on Russia's war against Ukraine linked below under Way Beyond the Beltway. CNN's report is here.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Nearly 60 years after one of the first Black officers in the Special Forces was nominated -- and then overlooked -- for the nation's highest military honor, President Biden on Friday awarded the Medal of Honor to that officer, Col. Paris Davis, for exemplifying 'everything our nation is at our best.... Brave and big hearted. Determined and devoted. Selfless and steadfast. American,' Mr. Biden said of Colonel Davis, who refused to leave behind his fellow soldiers in the midst of battle after suffering multiple gun shot injuries.... Arriving in Vietnam just a month after the bloody civil rights march in Selma, Ala., Colonel Davis and three other Special Forces troops led South Vietnamese volunteers to strike an enemy camp on June 18, 1965, when they came under fire. Even after a grenade blasted off part of his trigger finger and several other soldiers were shot down, he kept fighting. When reinforcements arrived and he was ordered to evacuate, he refused to leave before saving his medic. All four of the Special Forces soldiers made it out alive." ~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden had a cancerous lesion removed from his chest during his physical last month, the president's doctor said Friday. The existence of the lesion was included in the summary of Mr. Biden's physical at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in mid-February. On Friday, Dr. Kevin C. O'Connor, the president's longtime physician, said a biopsy confirmed that it was basal cell carcinoma, a common and relatively unaggressive form of skin cancer." An AP story is here.

Joe Jacquez of the Hill: "Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized President Biden's handling of a GOP-led resolution that would overturn parts of a District of Columbia crime bill, decrying that he should have given Democrats 'a heads up.' 'If he was going to do it I wish he would've told us first, because this was a hard vote for the House members,' Pelosi said at a University of Chicago event on Friday, after being asked whether she agreed with Biden on the bill. 'And it's a hard vote for the Senate members. And the mayor of District of Columbia even differed from the legislators who passed it, so it wasn't that clear.'... But if the president's going to do it, hey, could you give us a heads up too in the House?'"

Hannah Dreier & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Members of Congress are pressing for stricter laws to prevent and penalize the use of child labor and tougher vetting by the Biden administration of adults who take custody of unaccompanied migrant children, as revelations about the exploitation of underage migrants by employers have prompted outrage among policymakers. Days after an investigation by The New York Times revealed the explosive growth of migrant child labor in the United States, federal and state enforcement agencies have begun a crackdown on companies that employ children, and the Biden administration is under pressure to make broader changes to the way it deals with minors who arrive in the country without their parents. Top Senate Democrats sent a letter Friday demanding answers from the secretaries of the federal health and labor agencies by April 1, saying they were 'deeply disturbed' that 'large numbers of unaccompanied noncitizen children are being placed with exploitative sponsors and working long hours in dangerous conditions.'... Senator Richard J. Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee..., and other Democrats also are proposing tough new legislation to increase maximum civil fines and criminal penalties for violations of child labor laws, as well as make it more difficult for employers to get around existing prohibitions against hiring minors."

First, Indict All the Lawyers. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election have asked witnesses extensive questions about the actions of Rudy Giuliani.... Investigators looking into classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago ... have sought to force testimony from another Trump lawyer, Evan Corcoran, by saying there is evidence that the former president used the attorney's legal services in furtherance of a crime. And prosecutors have repeatedly sought information on the actions of yet another Trump lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, in connection with both classified documents and Trump's false electors scheme.... They have quizzed multiple Trump attorneys involved with the documents case...."

Judge Curbs McCarthy Plan to Aid & Abet Insurrectionists. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge on Friday denied a Jan. 6 defendant's request to delay her imminent trial in order to review thousands of hours of security footage recently made available by Speaker Kevin McCarthy. U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg said he understood why Sara Carpenter -- who is facing two felony charges for her actions at the Capitol -- would like time to review the material. But he said she had failed to explain why any additional footage of her movements inside the building would be exculpatory, particularly when prosecutors had already turned over footage of the vast majority of Carpenter's 34 minutes inside the building. Boasberg ... -- who is set to become Washington D.C.'s chief district court judge later this month -- ... worried that widely permitting Jan. 6 defendants to slow down their criminal proceedings in order to review this footage could 'derail dozens of trials that are set in the next few months.'"

Casey Gannon of CNN: "A New York man who assaulted former Washington, DC, Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone during the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol pleaded guilty on Friday to several felony charges. Thomas Sibick, 37, pleaded guilty to assaulting, resisting or impeding of an officer and two counts of theft. On January 6, Sibick, along with others, attacked Fanone and forcibly took his badge and radio. Prosecutors said that Sibick falsely claimed to the FBI that he tried to help Fanone and used the emergency button on the radio to signal help. Yet evidence showed that Sibick did not press the button until 16 minutes after Fanone was escorted to safety.... Prosecutors also said that Sibick was not truthful about what he did with Fanone's badge and radio following the attack on the Capitol. While he told law enforcement he threw Fanone's badge in a dumpster in Buffalo, New York, investigators later learned that Sibick had buried Fanone's badge in his backyard. The badge was ultimately returned to investigators covered in dirt."

Daniella Silva of NBC News: "The U.S. Capitol Police confiscated an assault-style 'ghost gun' and a handgun capable of automatic fire during the arrests of two people near the Capitol, police said Friday. Police said they found the M4-style 'ghost gun' and a 'Glock handgun with a full auto switch' on Thursday during the arrests of two suspects while patrolling the complex.... Kwame T. Keith, 24, of Hyattsville, Maryland, and Justin B. Campos, 19, of Landover, Maryland, were arrested after police encountered them while they were in a stolen car, police said. 'The arrests were made a short walk from the Congressional Buildings and across the street from television studios Members of Congress frequently use,' [a police] statement said."

Jane Timm of NBC News: "Two progressive groups want the Federal Election Commission to investigate Fox Corp. and ... Donald Trump's 2020 campaign for breaking campaign finance laws. On Friday, End Citizens United PAC filed a complaint with the FEC arguing that Fox Corp. chair Rupert Murdoch broke the law when he shared Joe Biden's campaign ad and debate strategy with Trump adviser Jared Kushner.... According to a [Dominion Voting system] filing citing Murdoch's sworn deposition, the Fox boss admitted to providing a preview of the ads with Kushner before they were public, as well as sharing Biden's debate strategy during the 2020 campaign.... 'Fox Corporation's blatant and cavalier act is a prohibited corporate contribution. The commission must immediately investigate,' wrote End Citizens United President Tiffany Muller.... Media Matters for America also filed an FEC complaint Friday against the two entities, alleging that Fox made 'illegal corporate in-kind contribution.'"

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. "Mostly Crickets."Katie Robertson & Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "Over the past two weeks, legal filings containing private messages and testimony from Fox hosts and executives revealed that many of them had serious doubts that Democrats stole the 2020 presidential election through widespread voter fraud, even as those claims were made repeatedly on Fox's shows. The revelations, made public in a defamation lawsuit against Fox brought by Dominion Voting Systems, have generated headlines around the world. But in the conservative media world? Mostly crickets. On 26 of the most popular conservative television news networks, radio shows, podcasts and websites, only four -- The National Review, Townhall, The Federalist and Breitbart News == have mentioned the private messages from Fox News hosts that disparaged election fraud claims since Feb. 16, when the first batch of court filings were released publicly, according to a review by The New York Times. The majority -- 18 in all, including Fox News itself -- did not cover the lawsuit at all with their own staff. (Some of those 18 published wire stories originally written by The Associated Press or other services.)... One of those, The Gateway Pundit, published three articles that included additional unfounded allegations about Dominion...."

From the Gossip Page. Oli Coleman & Ian Mohr of the New York Post's Page Six: "Page Six hears that Kellyanne Conway, the longtime advisor to ... Donald Trump, and George Conway, the longtime tormentor of President Trump, have decided to divorce after 22 years of marriage."

Vaugh Hillyard & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Nick Fuentes, the antisemitic white nationalist provocateur who dined with ... Donald Trump last year, was 'removed' from the premises of the Conservative Political Action Conference in Maryland, the chair of the group that stages the event said Friday. 'We removed Nick Fuentes from his attempt to attend our conference. His hateful racist rhetoric and actions are not consistent with the mission of CPAC,' Matt Schlapp said in a statement posted on Instagram."

Presidential Race 2024

Isaac Arnsdorf & Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley stepped into the hallway after speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday to supporters asking for selfies and autographs -- and, from others, a less friendly greeting. 'We love Trump, we love Trump!' a crowd around her started chanting. Some Haley supporters shouted her name back as the former U.N. ambassador escaped with staff to an elevator. The dust-up showed the risks of taking the primary fight to what has clearly become Trump's home turf. Though CPAC has long been seen as a big-tent forum for the conservative movement and a mandatory cattle call for presidential hopefuls, the annual conference has increasingly grown into a stomping ground for the 45th president and his 'Make America Great Again' wing of the GOP. Trump will speak at the event Saturday." The report goes on to describe the Trumpy scene at the "conference."

The Jerk Who Dares Not Say His Name. Aarone Blake of the Washington Post: "... Mike Pompeo tested quite a message [at CPAC] Friday. 'Don't hand that government more power under the guise of conservatism,' the likely GOP presidential contender and former secretary of state said. 'We shouldn't look for larger-than-life personalities, but rather we should fight power in the rooms like this one.' Pompeo continued: 'We can't become the left, following celebrity leaders with their own brand of identity politics -- those with fragile egos who refuse to acknowledge reality.... We can't shift blame to others, but must accept the responsibility that comes to those of us who step forward and lead.'" Blake goes on to break down Pompeo's very personal attack on Donald Trump.

Larry Neumeister of the AP: "A former U.S. Army private from Kentucky who was devoted to a violent extremist group seeking to erode or destroy Western civilization was sentenced to the maximum 45 years in prison Friday for plotting a murderous terrorist attack on his paratrooper unit. Ethan Melzer's hands trembled as the judge said he deserved the maximum because of the lasting harm he caused by sharing U.S. military secrets with other followers of a radical violent group known as the Order of Nine Angles, or 09A, and other terrorist groups. U.S. District Judge Gregory H. Woods rejected the 24-year-old's claim to be a remorseful, reformed man, saying it was more likely he was 'playing another role' in pursuit of leniency just as he had 'played soldier' so he could conspire to try to murder fellow paratroopers."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Andrew Kaczynski, et al., of CNN: "An appointee to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis&' new oversight board in control of Disney's special tax district called homosexuality 'evil' last year and shared a baseless conspiracy theory that tap water could be making more people gay. On Monday, the Republican governor appointed Ron Peri, an Orlando-based former pastor and the CEO of The Gathering -- a Christian ministry focused on outreach to men -- as one of five people who will now oversee the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the government body that has given Disney unique powers in Central Florida for more than half a century." MB: In case you were wondering what a DeSantis administration would look like. I know it's wrong to laugh at people who are so dangerous & hateful, but it's hard not to suspect Peri is having an affair with the Culligan man.

Ohio. What Could Possibly Go Wrong? Tom Perkins of the Guardian: "Contaminated soil from the site around the East Palestine train wreck in Ohio is being sent to a nearby incinerator with a history of clean air violations, raising fears that the chemicals being removed from the ground will be redistributed across the region. The new plan is 'horrifying', said Kyla Bennett, a former Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official now with the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility non-profit. She is one among a number of public health advocates and local residents who have slammed Norfolk Southern and state and federal officials over the decision.... Environmental researchers say the combustion of vinyl chloride almost certainly created dioxins, a highly toxic chemical that can remain in the environment for years. However, the EPA has resisted calls to test for it, and the agency removed from its website the results of its in-depth soil analyses, so it's unclear which chemicals are in the soil.... The ground also likely contains PFAS, informally called 'forever chemicals' because they do not naturally break down, and no human-made method to destroy the compounds has been fully developed."

South Carolina. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughts & Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "A judge sentenced Alex Murdaugh to life in prison on Friday for the murders of his wife and son, condemning the once-wealthy and influential Southern lawyer to spend the remainder of his life behind bars, a powerful rebuke from the rural South Carolina legal system that his family dominated for more than a century. Judge Clifton Newman handed down the sentence after berating Mr. Murdaugh for nearly 20 minutes, urging the lawyer he had previously encountered in courtrooms to come clean about the shocking crime and the lies he said Mr. Murdaugh had told to cover it up."

Utah. Sam Metz of the AP: "Utah Gov. Spencer Cox [R] said Friday that he plans to sign a measure that would effectively ban abortion clinics from operating in the state, meaning hospitals will soon be the only places where they can be provided in the state. After passing through the [Republican-controlled] state Senate on Thursday with minor amendments, it returned to the [Republican-controlled] Utah House of Representatives Friday morning, where it was approved and then sent to the governor for final approval. The move comes less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision, returning the power to regulate abortions to states."

Wyoming. Joanna Slater of the Washington Post: "Lawmakers in Wyoming approved measures on Thursday that will make it nearly impossible to terminate a pregnancy, part of a dramatic reshaping of laws governing abortion across the country in the post-Roe v. Wade era. The two bills prohibit abortions, with narrow exceptions including cases of rape and incest, and criminalize the use of medications to cause abortions. The bills were passed by both houses of the state legislature and await the signature of Gov. Mark Gordon (R), who has approved antiabortion measures in the past."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Law enforcement officials from the United States, the European Union, Britain and other jurisdictions met Friday in Lviv, including U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, who traveled to the Ukrainian city unannounced.... The United States signed an agreement designed to expand information-sharing regarding alleged Russian war crimes, involving Ukraine, Lithuania, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Slovakia and Romania, Garland said. Meanwhile, American prosecutors are aiding their Ukrainian counterparts to build cases against war criminals.... The United States announced a new $400 million military assistance package for Ukraine that includes more ammunition for artillery, armored vehicles and High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS.... In Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces appeared to be still in control of some parts of the city, despite claims by pro-Kremlin forces that they had encircled the town, The Washington Post reported. ~~~

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

March 3, 2023

Marie: I will be away for most of the day today.

Late Morning, Afternoon Update:

First, Indict All the Lawyers. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election have asked witnesses extensive questions about the actions of Rudy Giuliani.... Investigators looking into classified documents taken to Mar-a-Lago ... have sought to force testimony from another Trump lawyer, Evan Corcoran, by saying there is evidence that the former president used the attorney's legal services in furtherance of a crime. And prosecutors have repeatedly sought information on the actions of yet another Trump lawyer, Boris Epshteyn, in connection with both classified documents and Trump's false electors scheme.... They have quizzed multiple Trump attorneys involved with the documents case....

From the CNN liveblog on the Murdaugh murders: "Alex Murdaugh was sentenced to two life sentences without the possibility of parole, for the murders of his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, and hiss son Paul Murdaugh."

~~~~~~~~~~

Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "President Joe Biden told Senate Democrats on Thursday that he would not veto a GOP-backed bid to repeal changes to the D.C. criminal code, raising the stakes of an upcoming Senate vote on the proposal. Biden's plans not to veto, relayed by three attendees at the party meeting, leave Republicans on track to roll back the new D.C. law when the Senate takes up the House-passed measure as soon as next week. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) had already said he will support the disapproval bid, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) backed it on Thursday and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is on an extended leave for health issues, eliminating the margin for error in the 51-49 Senate." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Al Weaver & Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "House Democrats were infuriated and taken aback by President Biden's announcement on Thursday that he will sign a resolution to nix the District of Columbia's crime bill. The crime bill has come under heavy criticism from Republicans and centrist Democrats. But last month, 173 House Democrats voted along with what they thought was the White House's stance that Biden would veto the resolution in an attempt to stand up for the District's 'home rule.'... The crime bill passed the D.C. City Council unanimously in January. After Washington D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser (D) vetoed it, the city council overrode it 12-1. Among other things, the bill would eliminate most mandatory sentences and lower penalties for a number of violent offenses, including carjackings and robberies. It would also expand the requirement for jury trials in most misdemeanor cases."

Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken and his Russian counterpart on Thursday held the first private, face-to-face exchange between a U.S. cabinet member and a top Kremlin official since the [Russian] invasion [of Ukraine], and Mr. Blinken said he used the encounter to demand that Russia end its war on Ukraine. The unscheduled encounter with Sergey V. Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, at an international conference in New Delhi showed that the Biden administration saw a need to reestablish in-person diplomatic contacts with Moscow so the two governments can discuss the year-old war as well as issues beyond it. Mr. Blinken said at a news conference on Thursday night that in addition to calling for Russia to halt its 'war of aggression' in Ukraine, he told Mr. Lavrov that Russia should return to the New START nuclear arms control treaty it withdrew from last month and comply with its terms. And he once again urged Moscow to free Paul Whelan, an American citizen who the State Department says is wrongfully imprisoned on espionage charges." ~~~

~~~ John Hudson & Karishma Mehrotra of the Washington Post: "The foreign ministers of the world's 20 largest economies failed on Thursday to reach consensus on a wide-reaching agenda addressing poverty, corruption and counterterrorism because of persistent disagreements over the war in Ukraine, a blow to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had urged nations to set aside their differences.... In a document summarizing the meeting, the Indian government said 'most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine and stressed it is causing immense human suffering and exacerbating existing fragilities in the global economy.' It noted, however, that there were 'other views' as well as a recognition that 'the G-20 is not the forum to resolve security issues.'"

Ida Lieszkovszky & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The Environmental Protection Agency said on Thursday that it had instructed the operator of the freight train that derailed near the Ohio-Pennsylvania state line to test for dioxins, toxic pollutants that could have formed after officials decided to burn the train's cargo of vinyl chloride in order to avert the threat of an explosion. The increased testing mandate came ahead of a meeting at East Palestine High School on Thursday evening that was expected to be the largest public confrontation yet between the community and officials from Norfolk Southern, the train operator, nearly one month after the derailment on Feb. 3." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "Frustrations boiled over on Thursday night in the largest public confrontation yet between the people of East Palestine and the operator of the freight train that derailed nearly a month ago, with angry residents in an emotional town hall lashing out at the lone representative from Norfolk Southern who took questions at the meeting. As Darrell Wilson, a top government relations official for Norfolk Southern, tried repeatedly to apologize to the community and outline the company's recovery efforts, residents interrupted and shouted over him, demanding that he commit to getting them out of the area, and that the company 'do the right thing.'" Politico's story on the dioxin testing is here.

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "... FBI Director Christopher A. Wray ... is not doing his job when it comes to threats from right-wing authoritarianism.... The Government Accountability Office issued a report this week concerning the performance of multiple agencies and police units regarding the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. Among its findings: The FBI 'did not consistently follow agency policies or procedures for processing tips or potential threats because they did not have controls to ensure compliance with policies.' The extent to which the FBI was aware of credible threats but did not prepare is breathtaking: '... Specifically, the FBI did not process all relevant information related to potential violence on January 6.... While the FBI identified and shared threat information, it did not process certain referrals from social media platforms according to policies and procedures and, as a result, it failed to share critical information with all relevant partners.' Worse, the bureau has not undertaken the kind of systematic self-evaluation needed to correct glaring inadequacies.... The failure of leadership in the Jan. 6 case is inexcusable. Yet Wray has never been held to account for this delinquency.... The Post's recent report concerning FBI's foot-dragging at Mar-a-Lago raises additional red flags.... Why is Wray still there?" Emphasis original. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I could not agree more. Ask Chris for his resignation, Joe.

Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it had opened an investigation into Representative George Santos, the embattled Republican from New York under scrutiny for lies about his background and questions about his campaign finances. The inquiry will cover several areas where Mr. Santos has been accused of financial or sexual misconduct. The committee said in a statement that it would seek to determine whether Mr. Santos had failed to properly disclose information on his House financial disclosures, violated federal conflict of interest laws or engaged in other unlawful activity during his 2022 congressional campaign. It will also examine an allegation of sexual misconduct from a prospective congressional aide who briefly worked in Mr. Santos's office. The action began on Tuesday when the 10-member body, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, voted unanimously to create an investigative subcommittee to scrutinize Mr. Santos...." NPR's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ A statement by the chairman & ranking member of the Ethics Committee is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Oh, Horrors. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "House Ethics Committee said Thursday that it extended its investigation into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) after a watchdog found that she might have violated House rules by accepting 'impermissible gifts' when she attended the Met Gala in New York in 2021.... 'While Rep. Ocasio-Cortez appears to have now paid for the rental value of the attire she wore to the Met Gala and for the goods and services she and her partner received in connection with this September 2021 event, payment for these goods and services did not occur until after the OCE contacted her in connection with this review,' the [Ethics Committee] statement ... said.... The Met Gala is a charitable event that raises money for the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute.... Ocasio-Cortez drew widespread attention when she attended the event wearing a white dress that said in red letters along the back, 'Tax the Rich.' In its report, the OCE said Ocasio-Cortez received 'a couture dress, handbag, shoes, and jewelry' as well as services for her hair, makeup, transportation and hotel accommodations. It said her partner 'received a bowtie and shoes in advance of the event.'"

** Gym Jordan's Weaponization of (Paid-for) Right-wing Nuts & Malcontents. Luke Broadwater & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "House Republicans have spent months promising to use their majority to uncover an insidious bias against conservatives on the part of the federal government, vowing to produce a roster of brave whistle-blowers who would come forward to provide damning evidence of abuses aimed at the right. But the first three witnesses to testify privately before the new Republican-led House committee investigating the 'weaponization' of the federal government have offered little firsthand knowledge of any wrongdoing or violation of the law, according to Democrats on the panel who have listened to their accounts. Instead, the trio appears to be a group of aggrieved former F.B.I. officials who have trafficked in right-wing conspiracy theories, including about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the Capitol, and received financial support from [Kash Patel,] a top ally of ... Donald J. Trump. The roster of witnesses, whose interviews and statements are detailed in a 316-page report compiled by Democrats..., suggests that Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, the chairman of the panel, has so far relied on people who do not meet the definition of a whistle-blower and who have engaged in partisan conduct that calls into question their credibility." ~~~

     ~~~ A related CNN report, which does not cite the Democrats' report, is here.

Remy Tumin of the New York Times: "Senator Marco Rubio [R] of Florida reintroduced the Sunshine Protection Act in the Senate on Wednesday, months after the same bill, which the Senate passed unanimously last March, died in the House at the end of the last session. The bill would end the practice of turning the clocks back one hour to standard time every November and make daylight saving time, which currently begins in March, last throughout the year.... Proponents of the bill have argued that a permanent change would make people more productive, well-rested and happy, as some research has suggested. The retail and leisure industries have argued that more daylight could mean more spending hours. Others, including many farmers, find the time change counterproductive, but favor making standard time permanent."

Manu Raju of CNN: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the 89-year-old Democrat from California, announced Thursday that she was hospitalized and receiving treatment for shingles, hoping to return to Washington later this month. Feinstein's absence could influence Democratic strategy in the chamber as the Democratic Caucus controls the Senate by a 51-49 margin, and Sen. John Fetterman has also been hospitalized since last month for treatment for depression."

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday called for more briefing on whether it should still decide one of the term's most important cases, involving whether state legislators may manipulate congressional district lines and set federal voting rules without any oversight from state courts. The case is one of the most important and potentially far-reaching of the term. Justices said they want to know how a decision by the North Carolina Supreme Court to rehear the lawsuit affects the high court's proceedings. At issue is [MB: far-right] 'independent state legislature theory,' which holds that the U.S. Constitution gives exclusive authority to state legislators to structure federal elections, subject only to intervention by Congress. That is true, those who favor the theory say, even if those plans result in extreme partisan voting maps for congressional seats and violate voter protections enshrined in state constitutions."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on Thursday that it should reject ... Donald J. Trump's claims that he is absolutely immune from being sued over his actions related to the attack on the Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. Members of Congress and Capitol Police officers have contended in a lawsuit that Mr. Trump incited the attack, including by delivering a fiery speech falsely claiming that the 2020 election had been stolen and urging his supporters to march on the Capitol. In a 23-page brief, lawyers for the Justice Department's civil division urged the appeals court to allow their lawsuit to proceed.... The Justice Department&'s filing was notable in part because the department usually takes a broad view of executive power and defending the prerogatives of the presidency. But its brief asserted that if Mr. Trump did incite violence then the speech fell outside a president's legally shielded official responsibilities." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

OMG! Zach Everson of Forbes: "Donald Trump and a group of individuals incarcerated for their alleged involvement in the Jan. 6 riot have collaborated on a song called 'Justice for All.' It will debut Thursday at midnight on streaming services.... The track interpolates Trump reciting the Pledge of Allegiance into 'The Star-Spangled Banner,' which is performed by a group of about 20 inmates, called the J6 Prison Choir, housed at the Washington, D.C. jail. The song ends with the inmates chanting, 'USA!' Profits are slated to benefit the families of people imprisoned for their alleged roles in the Capitol riots...." MB: The video has dropped, and it's here. I hope some of the people who are suing Trump can use this as evidence of his collaboration with the insurrectionists.

Sad! Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "Fox News has imposed a 'soft ban' on Donald Trump appearing on the channel, his inner circle is reportedly complaining, even as the broadcaster extends a warm invitation to other Republican hopefuls in next year's presidential election. The news startup Semafor reports that the cooling of relations between the former president and his once-beloved cable news channel has gone so far that a 'soft ban' or 'silent ban' is now holding Trump at arm's length. The former US president has not made a weekday showing on Fox News since he chatted with his closest friend among the network's star hosts, Sean Hannity, in September."

Democratic Wives Are Abusive Harridans. Monica Hesse of the Washington Post: "In a Tuesday evening segment, [Tucker] Carlson and Candace Owens discussed President Biden and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who is seeking inpatient treatment for clinical depression while simultaneously recovering from a stroke. Carlson doesn't believe either man should be in office.... But the point of that particular segment wasn't to blame the politicians. It was to blame their wives.... Carlson demanded, asserting that a 'a woman, a spouse, who loved her husband' would keep her husband away from campaigns.... 'Absolutely,' Owens agreed. 'These women are monsters.' 'Jill Biden and Gisele Fetterman should be ashamed of themselves,' Laura Ingraham declared on air a few weeks ago. 'Who's the bigger elder abuser, Jill Biden or Gisele Fetterman?' radio host Jesse Kelly tweeted a couple of days after that. 'Jill Biden and Gisele Fetterman are failing their husbands,' read the headline of a recent Washington Examiner column, the body of which went on to claim that 'both of these men are arguably victims of terrible women.'... The attacks on Gisele, in particular, are dizzying in scope and ambition.... Women are to blame."

Alice Ollstein of Politico: "The nation's second-largest pharmacy chain confirmed Thursday that it will not dispense abortion pills in several states where they remain legal -- acting out of an abundance of caution amid a shifting policy landscape, threats from state officials and pressure from anti-abortion activists. Nearly two dozen Republican state attorneys general wrote to Walgreens in February, threatening legal action if the company began distributing the drugs, which have become the nation's most popular method for ending a pregnancy.... The list includes several states where abortion in general, and the medications specifically, remain legal -- including Alaska, Iowa, Kansas and Montana."

The Pandemic, Ctd. Melody Schreiber of the Guardian: "Covid was the top cause of death in the line of duty for American law enforcement for the third year in a row in 2022, according to a recent report, though the pace has slowed.... The total number of Covid deaths in 2022 was significantly lower than the previous two years, with 70 deaths in the line of duty, but it still outpaced all other causes of mortality on the job, according to a report from the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund (NLEOMF).... As emergency measures enacted during the pandemic end, a key way of counting line-of-duty deaths from Covid will soon disappear, making it harder to discern the virus's toll. It will also signal the loss of benefits for families of officers who die because they contract Covid in the course of their duties."

Presidential Race 2024

Tyler Pager & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden's team is moving quickly to build a 'national advisory board' stocked with Democratic governors, senators and other political stars who will travel and speak on Biden's behalf during his expected reelection campaign, an early effort to unify party leaders and minimize the chance of dissent. The group, which will be housed at the Democratic National Committee and formally announced this month, is among steps Biden aides are taking to prepare for the president's likely reelection bid, which he is expected to announce in April. In joining the operation, the political leaders will be asked to travel, attend events, appear on television and perform other duties as high-level surrogates for the Democratic Party, at first, and then Biden once he launches his campaign."

Pamela Paul of the New York Times: "Astonishingly, some people still see Nikki Haley as one of the 'good' Trump cabinet members, the future of a more tolerant and accepting Republican Party. Like those anti-Trumpers who willfully interpreted each casual flick of Melania's wrist as a prospect of rebellion, Haley hopefuls want to believe that a conscience might yet emerge from Trump's Team of Liars.... This requires listening to only half of what Haley says.... Even in short-term-memory Washington..., the serene hypocrisy of Nikki Haley stands out. She wants it both ways -- and she wants it her way most of all.... It's on voters to decide, when choosing between her and those Republican candidates who are ideological to their core, whether they prefer a candidate with no core at all." Paul provides specifics.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Sam Sachs of WFLA Tampa: "Florida Sen. Jason Brodeur (R-Lake Mary) wants bloggers who write about Gov. Ron DeSantis, Attorney General Ashley Moody, and other members of the Florida executive cabinet or legislature to register with the state or face fines. Brodeur's proposal, Senate Bill 1316: Information Dissemination, would require any blogger writing about government officials to register with the Florida Office of Legislative Services or the Commission on Ethics.... For blog posts that 'concern an elected member of the legislature' or 'an officer of the executive branch,' monthly reports must disclose the amount of compensation received for the coverage, rounded to the nearest $10 value. Explicitly, the blogger rule would not apply to newspapers or similar publications, under Brodeur's proposed legislation." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I was happy to see that Alex Wagner of MSNBC & Jelani Cobb, Dean of Columbia's journalism school, agreed that it was appropriate to call DeSantis & Co. "fascists" as opposed to "cultural warriors" or something of that nature. We've been doing that here for a while.

New York. Maria Cramer of the New York Times: "As a corrections officer stood outside his cell door in November 2020, Ryan Wilson took a long white bedsheet, looped it around a light fixture, tied it around his neck and stood on a small stool. He began counting down from five. The officer ran to find Capt. Rebecca Hillman, the supervisor on duty at the Manhattan Detention Complex, and told her what was happening. How a jury interprets what she did during the ensuing 15 minutes will determine the outcome of her trial on one count of criminally negligent homicide, which opened Thursday in Manhattan Criminal Court. Prosecutors say that when Captain Hillman walked to the cell, she saw Mr. Wilson, his head hanging at an unnatural angle, his arms dangling and his feet grazing the floor. She did not call for help, and when the officer, Oscar Rojo, pleaded with her to go into the cell and cut him down, she refused, said Matthew Sears, a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney's office."

South Carolina. Jeffrey Collins & James Pollard of the AP: "Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial that pulled back the curtain on the once-prominent lawyer's fall from grace. The judge said sentencing would take place at 9:30 a.m. Friday. Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole for each murder charge." (Also linked yesterday evening.)~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times has a liveblog here. (Also linked yesterday evening.)~~~

     ~~~ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "Twelve jurors began deliberating on Thursday afternoon over whether Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son, weighing the prominent South Carolina lawyer's fate after listening to nearly six weeks of testimony in a closely watched trial. Before the jury began deliberating, Mr. Murdaugh's lawyer, Jim Griffin made the case in his closing argument that the police had become so fixated on the idea that Mr. Murdaugh himself was the killer that they 'fabricated' evidence and a dubious theory about his possible motive." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The story has been updated to reflect the jury's verdict.

Tennessee. Livia Albeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "Tennessee on Thursday became the first state to sharply restrict drag performances as the state's governor, Bill Lee, signed a bill banning the shows on public property and in places where they could be watched by minors.... The new law came amid attacks by Republicans on the rights of transgender and L.G.B.T.Q. Americans across the country. On Thursday, Mr. Lee, a Republican, also signed a separate bill banning gender-affirming care for transgender youth.... According to the A.C.L.U., the language of the law, which will restrict performances that are 'harmful to minors,' is narrow, covering only extreme sexual or violent content that has no artistic value. According to the organization, drag performances do not fall into this category and are protected by the First Amendment.... [Stella] Yarbrough [of the Tennessee A.C.L.U.] said the A.C.L.U. would challenge any enforcement of the law used to punish drag performers or to shut down family-friendly events." An NPR story is here. MB: Now let's see if any librarians dare to cross the yahoos & schedule "drag queen story time."

Texas. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Tex.) is facing a censure vote this weekend from the Texas Republican Party for actions including voting in favor of a bipartisan gun-control package during the last Congress after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, which is in his district. The state party's expected censure would follow a similar move by a county party in Texas, which also cited Gonzales's support for same-sex marriage legislation in the last Congress and votes against a House rules package and border legislation in this Congress. The censure resolution by the Medina County Republicans concluded that Gonzales has been 'a poor representative' of his constituents.... To pass, the effort would need the support of three-fifths of the 64 committee members. If successful, the state GOP's move could encourage other Republicans to run against Gonzales in a primary next year or deny him party funding."

Way Beyond

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Friday are here: "... President Biden will welcome German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to Washington for a working visit Friday, which will involve discussions about Ukraine, among other national security topics.... Wagner boss Yevgeniy Prigozhin said 'the pincers are closing' on Bakhmut, in a video posted on Telegram Friday where he claimed to be speaking from a rooftop in the city. He paraded three men who appeared to be captured locals on camera and said Ukrainian forces should withdraw to 'give them a chance to leave the city.'"

Canada. Norimitsu Onishi of the New York Times: "Nearly 40,000 migrants crossed unlawfully into [Canada] last year -- more than double the number in 2019 -- and the number arriving monthly has spiked recently, including almost 5,000 people in January. Facing labor shortages, Canada is actually opening its doors much wider to legal migrants and recently committed itself to significantly raise the number of legal immigrants and accept 1.5 million newcomers by 2025. But an extraordinary pandemic-era movement of migrants across the world, fueled by economic misery and growing insecurity in many countries, has put Canada in an unusual position. Shielded by geography, strict immigration policies favoring the educated and skilled, and its single border with the United States, Canada is now being forced to deal with an issue that has long bedeviled other wealthy Western nations: mass illegal border crossings by land."

Greece. Monika Pronczuk & Sarah Hurtes of the New York Times: "The Greek government was supposed to install a safety system nearly three years ago that was designed to prevent the kind of head-on train collision that resulted this week in the worst railway disaster in the nation's history. As a freight train and a passenger train barreled toward each other at high speeds on the same track late Tuesday night, railway officials had to rely on a system that was far less sophisticated than those used in many other European countries, according to railroad and union officials and records. But even that more rudimentary system was not fully operational, with lights and signals out of service, union and safety officials said on Thursday as Greek investigators searched for more bodies amid the wreckage. That confluence of delays, warnings and mistakes left Greece's busiest rail corridor vulnerable to what every safety system is designed to prevent: human error.... Officials and experts agreed on one thing: If a modern safety system had been in place as planned, it would have been all but impossible for a freight train to end up on the same track as a crowded passenger train."

Iran. Karen DeYoung & Joby Warrick of the Washington Post: "The discovery in Iran of a small quantity of uranium enriched to near bombmaking level has increased U.S.-Iranian tensions already stretched tight by moribund nuclear talks and Tehran's aid to Moscow's war effort in Ukraine. The nuclear alarm also comes as the Biden administration -- walking a diplomatic tightrope in criticizing domestic policies of Israel';s new far-right government while maintaining strong security cooperation -- appears to have softened its public resistance to potential Israeli military action against Iran. Uranium 'particles' enriched to nearly 84 percent purity were detected during a routine sampling by inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency at Iran&'s Fordow nuclear site last month, the agency said in a restricted report circulated Wednesday among IAEA member states. The particles are only slightly below the 90 percent enrichment level regarded as weapons-grade, or suitable for use in nuclear weapons."

Turkey. Kareem Fahim, et al., of the Washington Post: "Again and again, over at least a decade, engineers, architects and planners had raised concerns about buildings that were shoddily constructed, built before inspection standards were tightened or erected on unsteady agricultural land in Adiyaman[, Turkey,] -- a southern city of more than 290,000 people that sits along one of the world's most active fault lines. But by the time the ground began to shake on Feb. 6, local and national authorities had done little to protect people who lived in some of the city's most vulnerable structures, residents and engineers said -- despite evidence that disaster relief officials were keenly aware of the danger. More than 6,000 people were killed in Adiyaman province, the government has said, most in the city itself. More than 1,200 buildings collapsed. An additional 3,000 to 4,000 buildings -- or more than 10 percent of the city's stock -- were 'heavily damaged,' Suleyman Kilinc, Adiyaman's mayor, told The Washington Post."

March 2, 2023

Afternoon/Evening Update:

South Carolina. Jeffrey Collins & James Pollard of the AP: "Disgraced South Carolina attorney Alex Murdaugh was convicted of murder Thursday in the shooting deaths of his wife and son in a case that chronicled the unraveling of a powerful Southern family with tales of privilege, greed and addiction. The jury deliberated for less than three hours before finding Murdaugh guilty of two counts of murder at the end of a six-week trial that pulled back the curtain on the once-prominent lawyer's fall from grace. The judge said sentencing would take place at 9:30 a.m. Friday. Murdaugh, 54, faces 30 years to life in prison without parole for each murder charge." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times has a liveblog here. ~~~

     ~~~ Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "Twelve jurors began deliberating on Thursday afternoon over whether Alex Murdaugh murdered his wife and son, weighing the prominent South Carolina lawyer's fate after listening to nearly six weeks of testimony in a closely watched trial. Before the jury began deliberating, Mr. Murdaugh's lawyer, Jim Griffin made the case in his closing argument that the police had become so fixated on the idea that Mr. Murdaugh himself was the killer that they 'fabricated' evidence and a dubious theory about his possible motive."

Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "President Joe Biden told Senate Democrats on Thursday that he would not veto a GOP-backed bid to repeal changes to the D.C. criminal code, raising the stakes of an upcoming Senate vote on the proposal. Biden's plans not to veto, relayed by three attendees at the party meeting, leave Republicans on track to roll back the new D.C. law when the Senate takes up the House-passed measure as soon as next week. Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) had already said he will support the disapproval bid, Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) backed it on Thursday and Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) is on an extended leave for health issues, eliminating the margin for error in the 51-49 Senate."

Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "The House Ethics Committee announced Thursday that it had opened an investigation into Representative George Santos, the embattled Republican from New York under scrutiny for lies about his background and questions about his campaign finances. The inquiry will cover several areas where Mr. Santos has been accused of financial or sexual misconduct. The committee said in a statement that it would seek to determine whether Mr. Santos had failed to properly disclose information on his House financial disclosures, violated federal conflict of interest laws or engaged in other unlawful activity during his 2022 congressional campaign. It will also examine an allegation of sexual misconduct from a prospective congressional aide who briefly worked in Mr. Santos's office. The action began on Tuesday when the 10-member body, split evenly between Republicans and Democrats, voted unanimously to create an investigative subcommittee to scrutinize Mr. Santos...." NPR's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ A statement by the chairman & ranking member of the Ethics Committee is here.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Justice Department told a federal appeals court on Thursday that it should reject ... Donald J. Trump's claims that he is absolutely immune from being sued over his actions related to the attack on the Capitol by his supporters on Jan. 6, 2021. Members of Congress and Capitol Police officers have contended in a lawsuit that Mr. Trump incited the attack, including by delivering a fiery speech falsely claiming that the 2020 election had been stolen and urging his supporters to march on the Capitol. In a 23-page brief, lawyers for the Justice Department's civil division urged the appeals court to allow their lawsuit to proceed.... The Justice Department's filing was notable in part because the department usually takes a broad view of executive power and defending the prerogatives of the presidency. But its brief asserted that if Mr. Trump did incite violence then the speech fell outside a president's legally shielded official responsibilities." The AP's report is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Confederates Behaving Badly. And Other Ancillary News:

Despicable Jim. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.) criticized a Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for not prosecuting President Biden's late son when he was still alive, a notion the White House slammed as 'despicable.' Comer, the chairman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, suggested Monday on a right-wing podcast that U.S. Attorney David Weiss had sat on his hands when it came to campaign finance investigations of the Bidens. Weiss was appointed by ... Donald Trump to serve as the U.S. attorney for the District of Delaware in 2018, and had previously prosecuted Christopher Tigani, a Biden donor who was sentenced in 2012 for illegally funneling contributions to campaigns. Weiss is now supervising a federal investigation of the president's younger son, Hunter Biden.... On Monday's episode of the podcast 'The Great America Show with Lou Dobbs,' Comer suggested without evidence that Joe Biden and his elder son, Beau Biden -- the former Delaware attorney general who died in 2015 of brain cancer -- should have been indicted along with Tigani.... Beau Biden, then Delaware's attorney general, recused himself from the investigations into his father's campaign donations. A subsequent report by a special prosecutor found no credible evidence that the Bidens had been aware of Tigani's fraudulent campaign reimbursements. When asked Wednesday on [MSNBC's 'Morning Joe,'] about Comer's comments, White House communications director Kate Bedingfield ... [said,] 'It's despicable. And frankly it says quite a lot -- none of it good -- about Jim Comer.'..."

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Republicans subjected Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to a four-hour grilling before the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, a harbinger of the fights that loom ahead as the party targets the Justice Department in the months leading up to the 2024 election. One by one, Republican senators accused Mr. Garland -- testifying before Congress for the first time since appointing special counsels to investigate ... Donald J. Trump and President Biden -- of politicizing the department by aggressively investigating Republicans and conservative activists while shielding Democrats. They also rebuked Mr. Garland over a range of policy and law enforcement issues, including his response to the fentanyl and immigration crises as well as the court's decision in June to end the constitutional right to an abortion.... As the day wore on and the questioning intensified, Mr. Garland, a former federal judge, seemed increasingly impatient." ~~~

~~~ John Wagner & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "Today, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he has stood by his promise not to interfere in an ongoing federal investigation of the finances of Hunter Biden, President Biden's son. His comments came as members of the Senate Judiciary Committee peppered him with questions on multiple controversies during Garland's first testimony before the new Congress. Other members are expected to question the department's decision to conduct a surprise search at former president Donald Trump's Florida property to try to recover classified documents." This is part of a politics liveblog. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ MSNBC ran clips of Ted Cruz, Foghorn Leghorn & Josh Hawley ripping into Garland that was, well, embarrassing. Joe Scarborough suggested the senators needed acting lessons. MB: I'll look for the clip later; it isn't up yet.

Yasmine Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republicans are seizing on the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, to ramp up their attacks against Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, saying he is promoting his own agenda at the expense of families who are grappling with a toxic chemical accident in their backyard. The Transportation Department does not have primary responsibility for the cleanup, and Buttigieg and his supporters are firing back, suggesting the GOP has other motives for its focus on him. The secretary ... has taken the unusual step of responding directly to some of his critics, including Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.)..., Donald Trump and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.). The result is an unusually personal and, on occasion, vitriolic back-and-forth ... -- far from the usual technocratic and logistical debates that surround the Transportation Department.... Rubio tweeted that Buttigieg is 'an incompetent who is focused solely on his fantasies about his political future & needs to be fired.' McConnell said on the Senate floor that Buttigieg is 'more interested in pursuing press coverage for woke initiatives and climate nonsense than in attending to the basic elements of his day job.'" ~~~

~~~ Stephanie Lai of the New York Times: "A group of Republicans and Democrats in the Senate has proposed legislation to mandate that the Transportation Department tighten safety rules for freight rail, the first glimmer of bipartisan activity on the issue since a train carrying hazardous materials derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, last month. The measure by Senators Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, and J.D. Vance, a Republican, both of Ohio, would strengthen notification and inspection requirements for trains carrying hazardous materials, increase fines for safety violations by rail carriers and authorize $27 million for research on safety improvements. But it would stop short of dictating major regulatory changes, leaving the matter to the Transportation Department. The bipartisan nature of the bill -- which is co-sponsored by Senators Marco Rubio of Florida and Josh Hawley of Missouri, both Republicans -- indicates that it may be able to gain traction in the Senate.... But it is not clear whether the measure can draw support in the Republican-led House." ~~~

     ~~~ Dominic Pino of the right-wing National Review complains: "Republican senators have been outspoken about their feelings on Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg. On February 14, Senator J. D. Vance (R., Ohio) said, 'Yesterday, Pete Buttigieg had the opportunity to address this problem. He instead talked about the excessive amount of -- this is not a joke -- too many white men in the construction industry.... The secretary of transportation needs to focus on real problems, not fake problems.' On February 16, Senator Josh Hawley (R., Mo.) said, 'Yes, my gosh, [Buttigieg] should have resigned after the rail strike. He should certainly resign now.' Hawley has reiterated his call for Buttigieg's resignation since then.... Yet Vance, Hawley, and [Marco] Rubio are now joining with Democrats to expand Buttigieg's power and make significant portions of his response to the recent East Palestine, Ohio, train crash into federal law.... In many cases..., [the bill] does ... exactly ... [what] Buttigieg wants." Firewalled. ~~~

~~~ Alicia Lozano of NBC News: "Western Pennsylvania residents living near the Ohio border say they have been left out of recovery efforts following the Feb. 3 Norfolk Southern train derailment in neighboring East Palestine, Ohio.... Pennsylvania residents say they are frustrated by a lack of information about the lasting risks from the disaster and demand more transparency from state and federal leaders, who they say are focused too narrowly on recovery efforts within a 2-mile radius surrounding the derailment, a designation set by the EPA.... Last week, [Pennsylvania] Gov. Josh Shapiro [D] met with residents in Darlington who received water testing through the state's Department of Environmental Protection. The department has also been working closely with the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency and the state departments of health to monitor developments in East Palestine.... On Monday, Shapiro announced the opening of a health clinic in Beaver and Lawrence counties that closely mirrors one created for East Palestine residents."

Stephanie Lai of the New York Times: "Congress on Wednesday cleared a measure to block a Labor Department rule that allows retirement plan managers to incorporate climate and social considerations into their investment decisions, setting up a veto fight with President Biden over an otherwise obscure regulation that has become a flash point in the culture wars. The Senate passed the resolution by a vote of 50 to 46 after two Democrats, Senators Jon Tester of Montana and Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, joined every Republican. Coming the day after the House approved the measure on a mostly party-line vote, that cleared the measure to be sent to the White House, where Mr. Biden's advisers have said he plans to veto it. The vote was the latest piece of a broader Republican political strategy to portray Mr. Biden's policies as extreme liberalism run amok, and to characterize his administration's actions as attempts to force progressive values into every area of American life." CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ David Gelles of the New York Times: "... Republicans around the country say Wall Street has taken a sharp left turn, attacking what they term 'woke capitalism' and dragging businesses, their onetime allies, into the culture wars. The rancor escalated this week as Congress entered the fray. Republicans used their new majority in the House on Tuesday to vote, 216 to 204, to overturn a Department of Labor rule that allows retirement funds to consider climate change and other factors when choosing companies in which to invest." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. See also Ken's commentary below.

Daniel Dale of CNN: “Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia falsely claimed Tuesday that the Biden administration is responsible for the fentanyl deaths of two young men who actually died during the Trump administration -- and her congressional spokesperson profanely dismissed questions about the false claim as irrelevant.... 'Listen to this mother, who lost two children to fentanyl poisoning, tell the truth about both of her son's murders because of the Biden administrations refusal to secure our border and stop the Cartel's from murdering Americans everyday by Chinese fentanyl,' Greene tweeted.... [Greene spokesperson Nick ]Dyer responded in an email by asking whether CNN thinks the many Americans who have died from drugs under Biden 'care about the details' of this particular case. He added, 'Do you think they give a f**k about your bullsh*t fact checking?'...

"At a Tuesday meeting of congressional Republicans' caucus on 'election integrity,' Greene castigated a Georgia Republican election official, Gabriel Sterling, who has repeatedly vouched for the integrity of the 2020 election in the state. Greene's comments, which she also posted on Twitter, featured a variety of lies that were long ago debunked by Sterling and many others. Greene falsely claimed that 'Trump won Georgia,' though he lost by 11,779 votes, fair and square, in a state with a Republican governor, Republican elections chief and Republican-controlled legislature. She falsely claimed that there were 'thousands of dead voters in Georgia,' though Georgia elections officials have found only four such cases in the 2020 election to date and Trump allies' claims about various other supposedly deceased voters have been disproven by CNN and others. And she falsely claimed that a video showed workers in Atlanta's Fulton County doing something nefarious while counting ballots, though the workers were simply doing their jobs and though false claims about the video have been debunked not only by Sterling but by Trump's deputy attorney general and a Trump-appointed former US attorney in Georgia, among others."

** Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "Months of disputes between Justice Department prosecutors and FBI agents over how best to try to recover classified documents from Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club and residence led to a tense showdown near the end of July last year, according to four people familiar with the discussions. Prosecutors argued that new evidence suggested Trump was knowingly concealing secret documents at his Palm Beach, Fla., home and urged the FBI to conduct a surprise raid at the property. But two senior FBI officials who would be in charge of leading the search resisted the plan as too combative and proposed instead to seek Trump's permission to search his property, according to the four people.... Prosecutors ultimately prevailed in that dispute, one of several previously unreported clashes in a tense tug of war between two arms of the Justice Department over how aggressively to pursue a criminal investigation of a former president....

"Starting in May, FBI agents in the Washington field office had sought to slow the probe, urging caution given its extraordinary sensitivity, the people said.Some of those field agents wanted to shutter the criminal investigation altogether in early June, after Trump's legal team asserted a diligent search had been conducted and all classified records had been turned over, according to some people with knowledge of the discussions." Read on. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IMO, some of these FBI agents were corrupt and worked to halt an investigation that yielded tens of classified documents by pretending to believe that the Big Liar had turned over all documents to the authorities, despite evidence to the contrary. ~~~

     ~~~ digby republishes a chunk of an a firewalled column by Adam Serwer of the Atlantic. Serwer writes, "The way conservatives tell it, the Federal Bureau of Investigation is a hive of anti-Trump villainy, filled with agents looking for any excuse to hound the former president with investigative witch hunts. But the thing to understand about Donald Trump's legal troubles is that they exist not because federal agents are out to get him, but despite the fact that the FBI is full of Trump supporters who would really like to leave him alone." digby concurs: "The idea that the poor FBI agents are terrified of Trump -- who is just a private citizen living in Florida at the moment -- is absurd. These agents are Trumpers and they want to protect him. Of course they do."

Sean Piccoli, et al., of the New York Times: "Kellyanne Conway, who managed the final months of Donald J. Trump's 2016 campaign, met with prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's office on Wednesday, the latest sign that the office is ramping up its criminal investigation into the former president. The prosecutors are scrutinizing Mr. Trump's role in a hush money payment to a porn star, Stormy Daniels, who has said she had an affair with him. The $130,000 payment was made by Mr. Trump's longtime fixer, Michael D. Cohen, in the closing days of the 2016 campaign, and Mr. Trump ultimately reimbursed him. Mr. Cohen has said that Ms. Conway played a small yet notable role in the payment: she was the person Mr. Cohen alerted after making the payment, he wrote in his 2020 memoir." An ABC News story is here.

** A Supreme Crook. Heidi Przybyla of Politico: "A Politico investigation based on dozens of financial, property and public records ... found that [right-wing judicial activist Leonard] Leo's lifestyle took a lavish turn beginning in 2016, the year he was tapped as an unpaid adviser to ... Donald Trump on Supreme Court justices. It's the same period during which he erected a for-profit ecosystem around his longtime nonprofit empire that is shielded from taxes. Leo was executive vice president of The Federalist Society at the time.... A network of political non-profits formed by ... Leo moved at least $43 million to a new firm he is leading, raising questions about how his conservative legal movement is funded. Leo's own personal wealth appeared to have ballooned as his fundraising prowess accelerated since his efforts to cement the Supreme Court's conservative majority helped to bring about its decision to overturn abortion rights. Most recently, Leo reaped a $1.6 billion windfall from a single donor in what is likely the biggest single political gift in U.S. history.... Spending by Leo's aligned nonprofits on his for-profit business ... shows how campaign-style politics -- and the generous paydays that go along with it -- are now adjacent to the Supreme Court, the one U.S. institution that's supposed to be immune to it."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Starbucks committed 'egregious and widespread' violations of federal labor law while trying to halt union campaigns, ruled a federal administrative law judge, who ordered the coffee giant to reopen closed stores and reimburse backpay and damages to employees who launched a nationwide organizing drive at the company. Starbucks showed 'a general disregard for the employees' fundamental rights,' Judge Michael A. Rosas wrote in a 220-page order released Wednesday. In resolving an extensive case that combined 33 unfair labor practices charges from 21 stores in the Buffalo area, Rosas held that the company retaliated against employees affiliated with Starbucks Workers United as they began a union drive in 2021. Since then, 268 of the roughly 9,000 company-owned U.S. stores have voted to unionize, and Starbucks's interim chief executive Howard Schultz has drawn the ire of liberal political leaders."

Shane Harris & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The mysterious ailment known as 'Havana syndrome' did not result from the actions of a foreign adversary, according to an intelligence report that shatters a long-disputed theory that hundreds of U.S. personnel were targeted and sickened by a clandestine enemy wielding energy waves as a weapon. The new intelligence assessment caps a years-long effort by the CIA and several other U.S. intelligence agencies to explain why career diplomats, intelligence officers and others serving in U.S. missions around the world experienced what they described as strange and painful acoustic sensations.... Seven intelligence agencies participated in the review of approximately 1,000 cases of 'anomalous health incidents.'..."

Presidential Race 2024. Scott Wong & Kate Santaliz of NBC News: "President Joe Biden hasn't announced whether he's running for a second term yet, but his address to a gathering of House Democrats [in Baltimore] Wednesday sounded a lot like a 2024 stump speech. Biden dared House Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California to reveal Republicans' budget full of spending cuts, mocked GOP Sen. Rick Scott's reversal on targeting Social Security and Medicare and knocked 'MAGA Republicans' like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia. an acolyte of ... Donald Trump who recently called for a 'national divorce' between red states and blue states....

"Biden also claimed credit for drugmaker Eli Lilly's announcing Wednesday that it would cap the cost of insulin at $35 a month. '... I called on the prescription drug companies to bring down the price of insulin to $35 to everyone -- not just seniors. And today, Eli Lilly, the largest manufacturer of insulin in the United States of America, agreed to do just that: 35 bucks,' Biden said. 'But guess what that means? Every other company making insulin is going to have to lower their prices to 35, because they can't compete.'" ~~~

~~~ Marie: "Claimed credit"? He deserves credit.

Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "Former Vice President Mike Pence still won't say whether he's running for president next year, and he won't speak ill of ... Donald Trump. But in an interview with CBS News in Michigan on Wednesday, he also twice declined to commit to supporting Trump if he is the Republican presidential nominee. Instead, Pence said he believes voters in 2024 will choose 'wisely again,' as they did in 2016. But said he thinks 'different times call for different leadership.'" MB: The headline here is "Pence won't commit to supporting Trump if he's the nominee." It should be "Pence won't commit to anything." He deflected most of the interviewer's questions. What a sissy.

The Pandemic, Ctd. Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "Nearly three years after criminals first set their sights on the government's generous coronavirus aid programs, President Biden on Thursday called on Congress to approve $1.6 billion to combat fraud, hoping to empower federal prosecutors and prevent such historic theft from targeting taxpayer money again. The new request for funds foreshadows the years of costly and complicated work now ahead of Washington, after malicious actors set their sights on the more than $5 trillion that lawmakers intended for workers, families and businesses amid the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. But the push from the White House could still face familiar political obstacles on Capitol Hill. Seeking to punish criminals and secure new savings at a moment of rising deficits, lawmakers long have expressed alarm about the vast sums stolen during the pandemic -- yet they have done little to address the root causes of the problem." The AP's report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Michigan. Michelle Watson, et al., of CNN: "A Michigan man allegedly threatened on social media to kill Jewish members of the Michigan government, the FBI said, and state Attorney General Dana Nessel says she was among those targeted. The incident adds to recent concerns about threats against public officials as well as reports of increasing antisemitic incidents across the country. It also evokes the plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as well as the at-times threatening demonstrations against Covid-19 protocols. On February 18, the FBI National Threat Operations Center told the Detroit FBI office that a person on Twitter by the handle of 'tempered_reason' said he was heading to Michigan and 'threatening to carry out the punishment of death to anyone that is Jewish in the Michigan govt.' Any attempt to 'subdue' him would 'be met with deadly force in self-defense,' the user said. Authorities traced the Twitter handle to a man named Jack Eugene Carpenter III, who had a protection order against him and had previously been arrested by state police, according to the complaint filed in US District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Carpenter also had three 9mm handguns registered in Michigan's Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN), the complaint said."

Pennsylvania. April Rubin of the New York Times: "A 40-year-old man was arrested this week on federal charges after he checked a suitcase containing an explosive for a flight to Florida at a Pennsylvania airport, the F.B.I. said. The suitcase checked by Marc Muffley, of Lansford, Pa., at an Allegient Air counter at Lehigh Valley International Airport for a flight to Orlando, Fla., on Monday was flagged by an alarm during a Transportation Security Administration screening, Eddie Garcia, a special agent with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said in a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.... The F.B.I. said that Mr. Muffley, who was paged over the airport's speaker system at about 11:40 a.m. on Monday after the T.S.A. screening, left the airport five minutes after being asked to report to the security desk, security camera footage shows. He was arrested late Monday night and charged with possession of an explosive in an airport and possessing or attempting to place an explosive or incendiary device on an aircraft."

South Carolina. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The prosecutor seeking to convict Alex Murdaugh of murdering his wife and son said in his closing argument on Wednesday that a 'gathering storm' had been threatening to expose Mr. Murdaugh's thefts of millions of dollars, leading him to kill his family in a last-ditch effort to preserve his legacy and wealth. Creighton Waters, the prosecutor, argued that evidence in the case could only lead jurors to conclude that Mr. Murdaugh, a fourth-generation lawyer in South Carolina, had carried out the June 2021 murders to halt the expanding inquiries into his finances and reported thefts from clients and his law firm.... The closing arguments took place on the 27th day of a trial that lasted far longer than expected. Over five weeks, prosecutors outlined an extensive case against Mr. Murdaugh, accused of killing his wife, Maggie Murdaugh, 52, and their younger son, Paul Murdaugh, 22.... One of Mr. Murdaugh's lawyers was to deliver the defense's closing argument on Thursday morning, and 12 jurors will then begin deliberations. Earlier on Wednesday, the jury toured the Murdaughs' rural hunting estate, known as Moselle, where the victims were found dead near dog kennels on the property."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "The Russian Volunteer Corps, a group of anti-Kremlin fighters, claimed responsibility for an attack on their country on Thursday. The claim comes after Russia's federal police force said that 'armed Ukrainian nationalists' had entered Bryansk after unconfirmed reports suggested that Russian civilians were being held hostage while others were shot. Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, called the Russian report a 'classic deliberate provocation.' Secretary of State Antony Blinken briefly met Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the sidelines of the Group of 20 meeting of foreign ministers in New Delhi. It is their first face-to-face encounter since Russia's war on Ukraine.... Blinken and Lavrov's encounter lasted less than 10 minutes, in which Blinken urged Russia to reverse its decision to suspend cooperation in the New START nuclear arms treaty, and to accept a U.S. proposal for the release of American citizen Paul Whelan, said a senior State Department official familiar with the discussion. Russia's war on Ukraine is expected to dominate the agenda at the G-20 meeting.... Ukrainian authorities will exhume a newly discovered burial ground in Bucha, the area near Kyiv where alleged atrocities last spring set off worldwide outrage last year.... Russian forces are making advances in Bakhmut, the besieged city in eastern Ukraine, where fighting has intensified...." ~~~

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

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments at the G-20 meeting.

Edward Wong & Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken came to Central Asia to press his case that the region should hold the line against Russian efforts to seek economic aid as Moscow grapples with Western sanctions. Within hours of landing in Astana, the snow-draped capital of Kazakhstan, he received a sign that the United States had some leverage. The Kazakh president stood next to Mr. Blinken in the blue-domed presidential palace and thanked the Americans for their support of his nation's 'independence, territorial integrity and sovereignty.' The president, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, has not criticized Russia's war, and neither have leaders of the four other Central Asian nations, former Soviet republics with decades-long ties with Moscow. But his pointed statement suggested that, after the invasion of Ukraine, also a former Soviet republic, there was concern that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia could try to seize parts of their own nations or encourage separatists."

U.K. King Evicts Harry & Meghan. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, have been asked to move out of Frogmore Cottage, their five-bedroom Georgian house on the grounds of Windsor Castle, the couple's press secretary said, in a further sign of the bitter rupture between them and the British royal family since they withdrew from royal duties and left Britain. Queen Elizabeth II offered the house to the couple, known as the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, at the time of their wedding in 2018. It has served as their home base on infrequent visits to Britain since they relocated to Montecito, Calif.... The Sun, a British tabloid..., said that King Charles III had made the decision shortly after the publication of Harry's memoir, 'Spare,' which is replete with scorching accounts of Harry's dysfunctional relationship with Charles, his father; and with his brother, Prince William. Buckingham Palace has declined to comment on the report...."

News Ledes

Hong Kong. New York Times: "A 42-story building under construction in Hong Kong caught fire late Thursday, showering a bustling shopping district with sparks and debris and lighting up the nighttime sky. Onlookers flocked to the waterfront neighborhood of Tsim Sha Tsui to take in the spectacle, as the flames made their way through the skyscraper and the scaffolding around it and explosions pierced the air. News reports put the number of people injured at two, and firefighters were still batting the blaze early Friday.... Several nearby buildings also caught fire, but firefighters were able to douse those flames."

New York Times: "Wayne Shorter, the enigmatic, intrepid saxophonist who shaped the color and contour of modern jazz as one of its most intensely admired composers, died on Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 89."

Washington Post: "With as much as 12 feet of new snow over the past week, and seasonal totals surpassing 41 feet, California's Sierra Nevada is buried. So much snow has fallen that homes are engulfed and roads resemble canyons. More is on the way this weekend, with the National Weather Service office in Sacramento forecasting an additional three to four feet. 'Expect disruptions to daily life including dangerous/impossible driving conditions with road closures and whiteout conditions at times,' the agency tweeted. 'MOUNTAIN TRAVEL IS HIGHLY DISCOURAGED![']"