September 15, 2022

Late Morning Update:

Josh Boak & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden announced Thursday that a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a nationwide strike that could have been devastating to the economy before the pivotal midterm elections.... The president brought business and union leaders to the Oval Office on Thursday morning, then hailed the deal in remarks in the White House Rose Garden. 'This agreement is validation of what I've always believed, unions and management can work together -- can work together -- for the benefit of everyone,' Biden declared." This is an update of a story linked earlier today. ~~~

Priscilla Alvarez, et al., of CNN: "Two buses carrying migrants arrived Thursday at the US Naval Observatory -- the vice president's residence in Washington, DC -- from Texas, surprising volunteers who were not prepared to receive them there, volunteers in the district said. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, who has been busing migrants to the nation's capital to protest the Biden administration's immigration policies, said Thursday in a tweet that his state intentionally sent the buses to Vice President Kamala Harris' residence.... Thursday's passengers included families and young men. Around 70% to 80% of the migrants are from Venezuela, according to volunteers. They had a few belongings in trash bags and some documents.... SAMU First Response, one of the groups helping migrants in Washington, was not provided a heads up, according to the group's managing director, Tatiana Laborde." A photo accompanying the story shows migrants left sitting on the sidewalk outside the Observatory. MB: Republican cruelty knows no bounds. P.S. Vote Beto!

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Jim Tankersley & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "President Biden, desperate to avert a damaging freight rail strike that could exacerbate rapid inflation, is pushing rail companies and unions to reach an agreement ahead of a Friday deadline, while exploring whether he can do anything unilaterally to assuage workers' concerns. Mr. Biden and his economic team have been inserting themselves into final-hour negotiations between rail unions and large rail companies, which are at loggerheads over scheduling and sick time. Labor groups have insisted that employees be able to take unpaid time off for physician appointments, a request railroad companies have been unwilling to grant. On Wednesday, in anticipation of a strike, Amtrak said it would cancel all long-distance passenger trains beginning on Thursday in order to avoid possibly stranding people given that many of its trains run on tracks operated and maintained by freight carriers. Also on Wednesday, members of a small rail union, whose leaders had reached a tentative deal with freight companies, voted down the agreement, signaling more difficulty in negotiations to come." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Josh Boak & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that a tentative railway labor agreement has been reached, averting a strike that could have been devastating to the economy before the pivotal midterm elections. Railroads and union representatives had been in negotiations for 20 hours at the Labor Department on Wednesday to hammer out a deal, as there was a risk of a strike starting on Friday that could have shut down rail lines across the country. Biden made a key phone call to Labor Secretary Marty Walsh at 9 p.m. as the talks were ongoing after Italian dinner had been brought in, according to a White House official.... The president told the negotiators to consider the harm to families, farmers and businesses if a shutdown occurred.... [The] tentative agreement that will go to union members for a vote after a post-ratification cooling off period of several weeks." The New York Times story is here. ~~~

These rail workers will get better pay, improved working conditions and peace of mind around their healthcare costs, all hard-earned. The agreement is also a victory for railway companies who will be able to retain and recruit more workers for an industry that will continue to be part of the backbone of the American economy for decades to come. I think the unions and rail companies for negotiating in good faith and reaching a tentative agreement that will keep our critical rail system working and avoid disruption of our economy. -- President Joe Biden, on the tentative agreement

CBS News/AP: "President Biden, a gearhead with his own vintage Corvette, showcased his administration's efforts to promote electric vehicles during a visit Wednesday to the Detroit auto show, where he announced hundreds of millions of dollars to build roughly 500,000 charging stations across dozens of states. Mr. Biden arrived at the massive North American International Auto Show to plug the huge new climate, tax and health care law that offers tax incentives for buying electric vehicles. He toured a mix of American-manufactured hybrid, electric and combustion vehicles from Chevrolet, General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis on a closed-off convention center floor, and greeted union workers, CEOs, and local leaders.... In Detroit, Mr. Biden announced approval of the first $900 million in infrastructure money to build EV chargers across 53,000 miles of the national highway system and 35 states." ~~~

Kylie Atlwood of CNN: "President Joe Biden plans to nominate Lynne Tracy, a career diplomat currently serving in Armenia, as the next US ambassador to Russia, according to three sources.... Tracy, who speaks Russian and was the No. 2 diplomat in Moscow from 2014 to 2017, would be the first female to serve in the role. She has been ambassador to Armenia since 2019." (Also linked yesterday.)

As the Noose Tightens. Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "Former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows has complied with a subpoena from the Justice Department's investigation into events surrounding January 6, 2021, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, making him the highest-ranking Trump official known to have responded to a subpoena in the federal investigation. Meadows turned over the same materials he provided to the House select committee investigating the US Capitol attack, one source said, meeting the obligations of the Justice Department subpoena, which has not been previously reported.... In addition to Trump's former chief of staff, one of Meadows' top deputies in the White House, Ben Williamson, also recently received a grand jury subpoena, another source familiar with the matter tells CNN. That subpoena was similar to what others in Trump's orbit received. It asked for testimony and records relating to January 6 and efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Williamson previously cooperated with the January 6 committee."

Tierney Sneed & Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The Justice Department is investigating felony violations of false statements, conspiracy and obstruction as part of its January 6, 2021, probe that led to a recent search of former Trump administration official Jeffrey Clark's home, according to an account of the criminal investigation made public Wednesday in a separate proceeding. Clark's legal team wrote that on June 20 'approximately a dozen armed agents of the Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General executed a criminal search warrant at [Mr. Clark's] home at around 7 a.m. and seized his electronic devices' as part of an investigation into violations of laws concerning false statements, conspiracy and obstruction, according to a report published Wednesday by a committee of the DC Bar's Board on Professional Responsibility. This is the first time a document has named the specifics of what the Justice Department is considering as possible crimes.... Separate from the criminal investigation -- in which Clark has not been charged -- the DC Bar's disciplinary counsel brought an ethics complaint against Clark for the role he played in seeking to use his department to promote Trump's bogus election fraud claims at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021. This is the first time a document has named the specifics of what the Justice Department is considering as possible crimes, as it looks at the top circle of political players around ... Donald Trump before January 6."

An Offer She Could Refuse. Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "The New York attorney general's office has rebuffed an offer from Donald J. Trump's lawyers to settle a contentious civil investigation into the former president and his family real estate business, setting the stage for a lawsuit that would accuse Mr. Trump of fraud, according to three people with knowledge of the matter. The attorney general, Letitia James, is also considering suing at least one of Mr. Trump's adult children, the people said. Ivanka, Eric and Donald Trump Jr., have all been senior executives at Mr. Trump's company, the Trump Organization."

Donald Trump, International Diplomat. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "President Trump once offered what he considered 'a great deal' to Jordan's King Abdullah II: control of the West Bank, whose Palestinian population long sought to topple the monarchy.... The unreported offer to Abdullah is among the startling new details about Trump's chaotic presidency in the book 'The Divider: Trump in the White House 2017-2021' by Peter Baker, chief White House correspondent for the New York Times, and Susan Glasser, staff writer for the New Yorker.... The offer to Abdullah of the West Bank -- which is bordered by Israel and Jordan, and which Trump had no control over -- came in January 2018. Trump thought he would be doing the Jordanian king a favor, not realizing that it would destabilize his country, according to the book." The article runs down a number of other Trump disasters.

Here's one I missed: ~~~

~~~ John Bowden of the Independent, republished by Yahoo! News (Sept. 12): "Donald Trump was spotted on the greens of his Virginia golf course on Monday.... Pictures appeared to indicate that Mr Trump was inspecting or giving a tour of his club's golf course with Trump Organization figures.... [Nixon whistleblower John Dean tweeted,] 'This is much like a mob meeting, right out of the movies! Golf shirts so no wires. Move around so no unseen electronic fixes. Way out of camera range so no lip reading.'... 'So, Donnie Soprano and da boys got together at da Banda Bing golf club to sort though some ... problems,' quipped Glenn Kirschner, an MSNBC legal analyst.... [Trump's one-time fixer Michael Cohen tweeted,] '... My sources say he was meeting with 2 lawyers in secrecy and didn't trust being at their offices. Notice there are no golf clubs on the cart!!!'...."

Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: John "Durham appears to be winding down his three-year inquiry without anything close to the [explosive] results [Donald] Trump was seeking. The grand jury that Mr. Durham has recently used to hear evidence has expired, and while he could convene another, there are currently no plans to do so, three people familiar with the matter said.... Over the course of his inquiry, Mr. Durham has developed cases against two people accused of lying to the F.B.I..., but he has not charged any conspiracy or put any high-level officials on trial.... After Mr. Durham's team completes its report [on the inquiry], it will be up to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to decide whether to make its findings public.... Mr. Durham and his team used a grand jury in Washington to indict Michael Sussmann, a prominent cybersecurity lawyer with ties to Hillary Clinton's campaign.... Mr. Sussmann was acquitted.... A grand jury based in the Eastern District of Virginia last year indicted a Russia analyst who had worked with Christopher Steele.... The analyst, Igor Danchenko, who is accused of lying to federal investigators, goes on trial next month.... In the third case, Mr. Durham's team negotiated a plea deal with an F.B.I. lawyer..., [which] resulted in no prison time." See also yesterday's Comments. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Solender of Axios: "The chair of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack said Wednesday that the panel has received 'thousands of exhibits' from Secret Service agents in response to its July subpoena of the agency.... Uncovering information from the Secret Service has been a major focus for the panel since testimony during its public hearings in June and July revealed the agency's role in key events on Jan. 6.... Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters that the materials obtained are 'a combination of a number of text messages, radio traffic ... thousands of exhibits.' Thompson said the the materials consist "primarily" of texts from agents on Jan. 5 and 6, but declined to go into further detail because the committee is still reviewing them."

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A man who wore a 'Trump 2020' hat as he beat one officer and dragged another down the steps of the Capitol on Jan. 6 has pleaded guilty, admitting telling officers 'you're gonna die tonight' and repeatedly assaulting law enforcement. Jack Wade Whitton, 32, from Georgia, bragged in a message obtained by the government that he had 'fed' a cop 'to the people.' He pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a felony charge of assaulting, resisting or impeding officers with a dangerous weapon, which carries a maximum of 20 years in federal prison.... Whitton admitted that he hit an officer with a crutch when the officer was on the ground, kicked another officer and then dragged the officer he'd hit with a crutch down the stairs in a prone position. Other rioters then beat the officer with a flagpole and baton. Whitten then returned to the police line about 20 minutes later, kicked at officers, kicked a riot shield held by an officer, and yelled 'you're gonna die tonight,' he acknowledged in his plea." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Perhaps Whitton is one of the people Donald Trump says has "been treated very, very unfairly." ~~~

~~~ Maroosha Muzaffar of the Independent, republished by Yahoo!: "... Donald Trump spoke to the mother of Ashli Babbitt on speakerphone on Tuesday as she rallied for Jan 6 defendants outside of a Washington DC jail.... 'Its a terrible thing that has happened with a lot of people that have been treated very, very unfairly. We love Ashli and so horrible what happened to her.... We are with you. We are working with a lot of different people on this. We can't let this happen,' he can be heard saying in the video. 'You look at all of the riots that took place -- for a long period of time, not just 2020, the last long period of time, and almost nothing has happened to those people,' he continued." MB: Yeah, "those people." They get away with everything, don't they?

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court said on Wednesday that it would let stand for now a ruling that Yeshiva University must recognize an L.G.B.T. student group. The vote was 5 to 4, with the majority saying that the university, a Modern Orthodox Jewish institution in Manhattan, must first pursue challenges to the ruling in state court. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr., writing for the four dissenters, said that further challenges were pointless and that the majority had inflicted grave harm on the university's right to religious freedom. 'A state's imposition of its own mandatory interpretation of Scripture is a shocking development that calls out for review,' he wrote.... Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett joined Justice Alito's dissent.... The order dissolved an interim stay entered last week by Justice Sotomayor." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm not going to seek out & read the background material, so I could be wrong here. But I'd be mighty surprised if the trial judge actually based her decision on Scripture she had "interpreted." From the Times report, it appears -- as you would expect --that what she interpreted was existing law. Update: The Washington Post's story suggests I'm right: it was the university, not the court that interpreted the Torah. Alito, et al., seem to be blinded by religious fervor. ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "On Monday, [Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan] let loose a burst of refreshing clarity during a talk at Temple Emanu-El in New York. 'Judges create legitimacy problems for themselves ... when they instead stray into places where it looks like they're an extension of the political process or when they're imposing their own personal preferences,' she said. She added that the public has a right to expect that 'changes in personnel don't send the entire legal system up for grabs.' That's as clear an indictment of the six right-wing justices as you are going to hear. Indeed, Kagan made a few irrefutable points while eviscerating Roberts's feigned cluelessness.... The dissenters [in Dobbs -- Kagan, Sotomayor & Breyer --] called the majority opinion for what it is: partisan hackery. 'The majority has overruled Roe and Casey for one and only one reason: because it has always despised them, and now it has the votes to discard them,' they wrote. 'The majority thereby substitutes a rule by judges for the rule of law.'" ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Justice Elena Kagan warned again on Wednesday that unsound reasoning and politically convenient conclusions have infected the Supreme Court's recent opinions and are doing damage to the court's standing with the American public. 'When courts become extensions of the political process, when people see them as extensions of the political process, when people see them as trying just to impose personal preferences on a society irrespective of the law, that's when there's a problem -- and that's when there ought to be a problem,' Kagan said during an event at Northwestern University School of Law.... The recent criticisms from Kagan ... now seem more pointed because they come just days after Chief Justice John Roberts expressed concern publicly that the court's reputation is being unfairly battered."

David Gelles of the New York Times: "A half century after founding the outdoor apparel maker Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard, the eccentric rock climber who became a reluctant billionaire with his unconventional spin on capitalism, has given the company away. Rather than selling the company or taking it public, Mr. Chouinard, his wife and two adult children have transferred their ownership of Patagonia, valued at about $3 billion, to a specially designed trust and a nonprofit organization. They were created to preserve the company's independence and ensure that all of its profits -- some $100 million a year -- are used to combat climate change and protect undeveloped land around the globe.... Because the Chouinards donated their shares to a trust, the family will pay about $17.5 million in taxes on the gift....

"Barre Seid, a Republican donor, is the only other example in recent memory of a wealthy business owner who gave away his company for philanthropic and political causes. But Mr. Seid took a different approach in giving 100 percent of his electronics company to a nonprofit organization, reaping an enormous personal tax windfall as he made a $1.6 billion gift to fund conservative causes, including efforts to stop action on climate change."

Sonia Rao & Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "A Chicago jury on Wednesday convicted R. Kelly of multiple child pornography and child sex abuse charges in the second federal trial looking into sexual assault allegations against him, according to the Associated Press. In June, the 55-year-old former R&B singer received a 30-year prison sentence from a Brooklyn judge."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Graeme Massie of the Independent, republished by Yahoo! News: "Florida governor Ron DeSantis has sent two planes of undocumented migrants to Martha's Vineyard.... Florida&'s Republican-controlled state legislature has handed the governor $12m to remove migrants from the state and transport them elsewhere." Update: The New York Times story is here.

Joe Henderson of Florida Politics: Sen. "Marco Rubio ... is a co-sponsor of a bill from U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham for a national abortion ban after 15 weeks of pregnancy.... Key Republicans, including Mitch McConnell, don't even support this bill. McConnell said most GOP Senators 'prefer this be handled at the state level.' That makes Rubio's decision to wade into this lava-hot issue even more puzzling.... A Florida Atlantic University poll in May showed 67% of Floridians believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases.... Rubio routinely calls Democrat Val Demings an extremist on the issue, but it's not hard to imagine thousands of Florida women saying, 'Yeah? And your point?'"

Indiana. Poppy Noor of the Guardian: "A sweeping abortion ban went into effect in Indiana on Thursday, containing only extremely narrow exceptions for medical emergencies, rape and incest and making it the latest state to largely outlaw the procedure in the US. The ban is being challenged in court by the ACLU and several abortion care providers, with hearings set to start on 19 September. Indiana lawmakers passed the legislation during a special legislative session in early August, with a six-week pause before it came into effect."

Massachusetts. McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "A package exploded inside a campus building at Northeastern University on Tuesday night, injuring an employee and spreading fear among Boston's many college campuses, the police said. Officers were called just after 7:15 p.m. to Holmes Hall at 39 Leon Street, which houses the writing center on the private university's campus, for a suspicious package that had detonated, the authorities said. A further search revealed a second package, which was rendered safe by the Boston Police Department's bomb squad." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Local Boston TV news is reporting that the bomb may have been a hoax, perpetrated by the person who was injured.

Mississippi. Cindy Boren of the Washington Post: "Former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant helped Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre obtain welfare funds to help build a volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi, according to an investigative report by Mississippi Today.... The texts allegedly show Favre, New and Bryant conferring on how to divert at least $5 million for a volleyball stadium at Southern Miss, where Favre played college football and his daughter played volleyball at the time some texts were sent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

New Hampshire Senate Race. Colby Itkowitz & DaveWeigel of the Washington Post: "Republican primary voters nominated Don Bolduc for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, selecting a far-right candidate over an establishment-backed rival to challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in a key midterm battleground. Bolduc has echoed Donald Trump's false claims that the former president won the 2020 election; he has voiced openness to abolishing the FBI; and he has accused party leaders of 'rigging' a 2020 primary that he narrowly lost. The retired U.S. Army brigadier general defeated state Senate President Chuck Morse -- an outcome that was a blow to Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and an outside group with ties to Senate Republican leadership, which sought to elevate the state Senate president." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Sweden. Christina Anderson & Isabella Kwai of the New York Times: "Sweden's right-wing parties combined to win a remarkable, if slim, election victory on Wednesday, buoyed by surging support for a far-right nationalist party, the Sweden Democrats, an electoral convulsion expected to shake national politics and likely end eight years of rule by the center-left. With over 99 percent of ballots counted, the Swedish Election Authority reported that the right-wing bloc had won 176 of the 349 seats in Parliament. The Swedish Social Democratic Party, the main party in the current governing coalition, grabbed the highest percentage votes as an individual party, but together with its allies, had secured 173 seats in Parliament, not enough to stay in power.... The new government is expected to be led by Ulf Kristersson, head of the Moderates, who would become prime minister in a minority administration." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Thursday are here: "Russia is warning the United States not to supply Ukraine with long-range missiles, saying such an act would make Washington a 'direct party to the conflict' and breach a 'red line.' European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has arrived in Kyiv to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. In a somewhat personal retaliation amid Ukraine's stunning counteroffensive, Russian forces hit Zelensky's hometown of Kryvyi Rih in central Ukraine overnight, shelling a dam and leaving hundreds of homes flooded and citizens without water, according to Ukrainian authorities.... Zelensky said the dam hit in his hometown had 'no military value at all.'... Zelensky was in a car crash Wednesday but did not sustain major injuries, press secretary Sergii Nykyforov said in a statement on Facebook.... Zelensky made a surprise visit to Izyum, a strategic city in the northeastern Kharkiv region, on Wednesday, which he said was mostly recaptured from Russian control. He said in remarks overnight that there have been reports of 'murders, tortures and abductions by the occupiers' and that some of the scenes being uncovered were similar to what was found in Bucha, where Ukrainian civilians suffered some of the worst atrocities of the war at the hands of Russian troops.... Vladimir Putin met with President Xi Jinping of China in Uzbekistan, signaling the strength of their ties."

U.K. "The Queue." Isabella Kwai of the New York Times: "Thousands of people waited in line -- a very long line -- to pay homage at the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II, who will lie in state until her funeral on Monday.... On Wednesday night, and into Thursday morning, [the queue] was three miles long and ever-moving, with initial waits as long as 30 hours, officials warned, making it a feat of endurance, an all-night and all-day marathon." ~~~

~~~ Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Borne on a gun carriage and saluted by the boom of artillery cannons and the tolling of Big Ben, the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II was carried on Wednesday from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster, a last transfer of the sovereign's body from her family to the British state.... The queen will lie ... in state [at Westminster Hall] until her funeral on Monday. King Charles III, in dress uniform and carrying a field marshal's baton, walked behind the coffin, joined by his sister, Princess Anne, and their two brothers, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward. His elder son and heir, Prince William, newly named as the Prince of Wales, walked behind him, next to his brother, Prince Harry."

September 14, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Christina Anderson & Isabella Kwai of the New York Times: "Sweden's right-wing parties combined to win a remarkable, if slim, election victory on Wednesday, buoyed by surging support for a far-right nationalist party, the Sweden Democrats, an electoral convulsion expected to shake national politics and likely end eight years of rule by the center-left. With over 99 percent of ballots counted, the Swedish Election Authority reported that the right-wing bloc had won 176 of the 349 seats in Parliament. The Swedish Social Democratic Party, the main party in the current governing coalition, grabbed the highest percentage votes as an individual party, but together with its allies, had secured 173 seats in Parliament, not enough to stay in power.... The new government is expected to be led by Ulf Kristersson, head of the Moderates, who would become prime minister in a minority administration."

Kylie Atlwood of CNN: "President Joe Biden plans to nominate Lynne Tracy, a career diplomat currently serving in Armenia, as the next US ambassador to Russia, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Tracy, who speaks Russian and was the No. 2 diplomat in Moscow from 2014 to 2017, would be the first female to serve in the role. She has been ambassador to Armenia since 2019."

Cindy Boren of the Washington Post: "Former Mississippi governor Phil Bryant helped Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre obtain welfare funds to help build a volleyball center at the University of Southern Mississippi, according to an investigative report by Mississippi Today.... The texts allegedly show Favre, New and Bryant conferring on how to divert at least $5 million for a volleyball stadium at Southern Miss, where Favre played college football and his daughter played volleyball at the time some texts were sent."

Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: John "Durham appears to be winding down his three-year inquiry without anything close to the [explosive] results [Donald] Trump was seeking. The grand jury that Mr. Durham has recently used to hear evidence has expired, and while he could convene another, there are currently no plans to do so, three people familiar with the matter said.... Over the course of his inquiry, Mr. Durham has developed cases against two people accused of lying to the F.B.I..., but he has not charged any conspiracy or put any high-level officials on trial.... After Mr. Durham's team completes its report [on the inquiry], it will be up to Attorney General Merrick B. Garland to decide whether to make its findings public.... Mr. Durham and his team used a grand jury in Washington to indict Michael Sussmann, a prominent cybersecurity lawyer with ties to Hillary Clinton's campaign.... Mr. Sussmann was acquitted.... A grand jury based in the Eastern District of Virginia last year indicted a Russia analyst who had worked with Christopher Steele.... The analyst, Igor Danchenko, who is accused of lying to federal investigators, goes on trial next month.... In the third case, Mr. Durham's team negotiated a plea deal with an F.B.I. lawyer..., [which] resulted in no prison time." See today's Comments below.

Massachusetts. McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "A package exploded inside a campus building at Northeastern University on Tuesday night, injuring an employee and spreading fear among Boston's many college campuses, the police said. Officers were called just after 7:15 p.m. to Holmes Hall at 39 Leon Street, which houses the writing center on the private university's campus, for a suspicious package that had detonated, the authorities said. A further search revealed a second package, which was rendered safe by the Boston Police Department's bomb squad." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Local Boston TV news is reporting that the bomb may have been a hoax, perpetrated by the person who was injured.

New Hampshire Senate Race. Colby Itkowitz & DaveWeigel of the Washington Post: "Republican primary voters nominated Don Bolduc for the U.S. Senate in New Hampshire, selecting a far-right candidate over an establishment-backed rival to challenge Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan in a key midterm battleground. Bolduc has echoed Donald Trump's false claims that the former president won the 2020 election; he has voiced openness to abolishing the FBI; and he has accused party leaders of 'rigging' a 2020 primary that he narrowly lost. The retired U.S. Army brigadier general defeated state Senate President Chuck Morse -- an outcome that was a blow to Gov. Chris Sununu (R) and an outside group with ties to Senate Republican leadership, which sought to elevate the state Senate president."

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Zach Montague of the New York Times: "On Tuesday evening, President Biden voted. The process involved a hasty announcement to the press, multiple motorcades and two jet flights. In a last-minute move that demonstrated how the presidency complicates even the most mundane of tasks, Mr. Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, flew home from the White House to Wilmington, Del., arriving at the polls less than an hour before voting in the state's primary contests ended at 8 p.m. About an hour after they landed, they climbed back aboard Air Force One and jetted back to Washington. The trip had not been on the president's publicly released schedule.... The one contested primary for a statewide office in Delaware on Tuesday was for state auditor -- a race in which Lydia York, a lawyer, defeated Kathleen K. McGuiness, the scandal-plagued incumbent." The AP's report is here.

Bret Stephens of the New York Times: "... the staggering gains Ukrainian forces have made against Russia are a victory for Joe Biden, too." MB: You could knock me over with a feather, Bret.

If we take back the House and Senate, I can assure you that we'll have a vote on our bill. -- Lindsey Graham on his proposed abortion-ban bill, Tuesday ~~~

~~~ Amy Wang & Caroline Kitchener of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday introduced a bill that would ban abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy nationwide, the most prominent effort by Republicans to restrict the procedure since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.... The White House criticized the bill, saying it is 'wildly out of step with what Americans believe.'... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) called the bill the 'latest, clearest signal of extreme MAGA Republicans' intent to criminalize women's health freedom in all 50 states and arrest doctors for providing basic care.'... The timing of Graham's announcement is curious -- two months before the midterm elections, after abortion has already shown to be a galvanizing issue for some Democratic voters." Politico's report is here. MB: Maybe Lindsey wants to help Democrats win the midterms, which is very bipartisan of him. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Thanks, Lindsey! Christopher Cadelago & Jonathan Lemire of Politico: "So obvious was the apparent ill-timing of the bill's introduction that one White House aide said a Republican lobbyist friend joked that Graham appeared to be working for the Biden administration.... 'Dems might need to send gift baskets and champagne to Graham and other Republicans for their selfless act of service today,' another Democratic official told Politico.... There was widespread anticipation that the Graham bill would quickly find its way into Democratic fundraising solicitations.... The immediate response to Graham's legislation, which would not just establish a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy but also allow states to keep and pass more restrictive laws, was a microcosm of the way abortion politics has wholly upended the midterm sprint." ~~~

     ~~~ Lisa Lerer & Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: "... when Senator Lindsey Graham came ahead on Tuesday with a proposed 15-week national abortion ban intended to unite his party, the result was only more division. Mr. Graham's Senate allies swiftly distanced themselves from the plan, reflecting a lack of consensus in the party, as well as deep resistance to being drawn into any debates over abortion while economic issues hold more sway with swing voters. The rapid rejection of Mr. Graham's gambit was the latest misfire in the party's struggle to unite behind a clear strategy on an issue that has reshaped campaigns across the country. Despite decades of Republican efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, when the Supreme Court ultimately took that step in June, the G.O.P. was caught flat-footed, with no unified national abortion strategy ready to put into place.... When pressed on the details of Mr. Graham's bill, [minority leader Mitch] McConnell sought to distance himself, saying, 'You'll have to ask him about it.'... [Sen. McConnell] told reporters on Tuesday that he thought the issue should be left up to the states and that most members of his conference agreed."

Kate Kelly, et al., of the New York Times: Ninety-seven "current senators or representatives ... reported trades by themselves or immediate family members in stocks or other financial assets that intersected with the work of committees on which they serve, according to an extensive analysis of trades from the years 2019 to 2021 by The New York Times. The potential for conflicts in stock trading by members of Congress -- and their choice so far not to impose stricter limits on themselves -- has long drawn criticism, especially when particularly blatant cases emerge. But the Times analysis demonstrates the scale of the issue: Over the three-year period, more than 3,700 trades reported by lawmakers from both parties posed potential conflicts between their public responsibilities and private finances.... Both the House and the Senate have been trying to develop legislation to tighten the rules, but whether a bill will be passed by both chambers and make it to President Biden's desk this year remains in doubt, despite rare bipartisan support." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tierney Sneed, et al., of CNN: "Justice Department criminal prosecutors are now examining nearly every aspect of ... Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election -- including the fraudulent electors plot, efforts to push baseless election fraud claims and how money flowed to support these various efforts -- according to sources and copies of new subpoenas obtained by CNN. The investigation is also stretching into cogs of the sprawling Trump legal machine that boosted his efforts to challenge his electoral loss -- with many of the recipients of 30-plus subpoenas that were issued in recent days being asked to turn over communications with several Trump attorneys.... The Justice Department previously obtained grand jury testimony, conducted searches and nabbed extensive documents about rally organization and fundraising, about efforts in and around the White House to pressure then-Vice President Mike Pence to block certification of the election results, and about the fake electors. This new round of subpoenas drills down with more specific requests about the baseless claims of mass election fraud that were being peddled to legislators, law enforcement and others." ~~~

~~~ Katie Benner & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "From outside the walls of the Justice Department, the sprawling investigation into efforts to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election seems only to be accelerating, with prosecutors last week subpoenaing about 40 associates of ... Donald J. Trump and seizing phones from at least two of his aides. But that flurry of activity should not be mistaken for a signal that Mr. Trump will imminently be prosecuted for his attempts to remain in office or the impact that those actions had on the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, according to two people familiar with the investigation. They noted that prosecutors are still going through evidence and are far from determining whether any charges could be brought against the former president.... The department could consider potential charges against Mr. Trump much sooner in the documents case than in the Jan. 6 investigation, the people familiar with the inquiries said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I see no reason why investigation of Trump, other high-level schemers & organizers of efforts to overturn the election results was not started at least a year ago. It's as if the DOJ brass never read the newspapers, had no idea what-all was going on & finally got a vague clue from watching the January 6 special committee hearings. The "bottom-up" theory of investigative techniques is not an excuse. With a few exceptions, the dopes who stormed the Capitol had no idea of the general plot orchestrated by Trump & Co., and therefore could not reveal it or flip during their interrogations.

Kelly Weill & Zachary Petrizzo of the Independent, republished by Yahoo! News: "MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell told The Daily Beast on Tuesday night that the FBI seized his cellphone while he was at a Hardee's restaurant. Lindell also posted on social media a grand jury subpoena from a federal prosecutor in Colorado and what appears to be a search warrant. 'They took my phone,' Lindell told The Daily Beast on Tuesday evening via phone. 'The FBI did!'... Lindell also expounded on his legal situation in a Tuesday night video. 'The FBI came after me and took my phone,' he said on Facebook. 'They surrounded me in a Hardee's and took my phone that I run all my business, everything with. What they've done is weaponize -- the FBI, it's disgusting. I don't have a computer. Everything I do [is] off that phone. Everything was on there. And they told me not to tell anybody. Here's an order: "Don't tell anybody!" "OK, I won't!" Well, I am.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Charles Homans, et al., of the New York Times: "Mike Lindell, a prominent promoter of 2020 election misinformation, was served with a search warrant, and his cellphone was seized, by F.B.I. agents who questioned him about his ties to a Colorado county clerk who is accused of tampering with voting machines, Mr. Lindell said. Tina Peters, the county clerk in Mesa County, Colo., is under indictment on state charges related to a scheme to download data from election equipment after the 2020 presidential contest. Ms. Peters has pleaded not guilty to the charges.... It is not clear if Mr. Lindell is a target of the investigation.... A letter handed to Mr. Lindell by the F.B.I. asked that he not tell anyone about the investigation, but he displayed a copy of the letter and the search warrant on his online TV show Tuesday evening, reading portions of it aloud." According to Lindell, FBI agents surrounded him in several vehicles at the drive-through windows at a Hardee's in Mankato, Minnesota, as Lindell was returning from a duck-hunting trip to Iowa.

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The National Archives has informed congressional aides that it is still unsure whether ... Donald J. Trump has surrendered all of the presidential records he removed from the White House as required, even after months of negotiations, a subpoena and a search of his Florida property, Mar-a-Lago, according to the House Oversight Committee. The archives staff 'recently informed the committee that the agency is not certain whether all presidential records are in its custody,' Representative Carolyn B. Maloney, Democrat of New York and the chairwoman of the committee, wrote in a letter on Tuesday to Debra Steidel Wall, the acting national archivist.... In her letter, Ms. Maloney requested a formal assessment from the archives of what presidential records, if any, removed from the White House by Mr. Trump remain unaccounted for and whether the archives believes they are potentially still in his possession." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know he hasn't returned them all, because I saw his staff moving the papers around this past Sunday. (Okay, a slight exaggeration.) See note attached to Independent story linked yesterday.

Rachel Weiner & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Four men were convicted Tuesday of assaulting or impeding police officers in some of the most violent attacks in the Jan. 6, 2021, siege at the U.S. Capitol, including a case in which one D.C. officer was pinned to a door and another in which an officer was dragged down steps and beaten with poles and sticks. Three of the men were convicted at a bench trial in front of U.S. District Judge Trevor N. McFadden but had other counts against them dropped, making McFadden the first federal judge in Washington to acquit members of the mob of felony charges. He found that while all three battled police, only one was clearly intending to obstruct Congress as it met to confirm President Biden's election victory. In a separate case, a fourth man pleaded guilty to assault.... The judge ... directed blame at political leaders as well as the rioters, opining that the trial showed 'the chaos and violence that can occur when senior government leaders fail to support law enforcement officers,' and suggesting that police should have been more aggressive and had more support on Jan. 6." MB: McFadden is a Trump appointee.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Ken Starr, the independent counsel whose investigation uncovered a White House sex scandal that riveted the nation and led to President Bill Clinton's impeachment for lying under oath and obstructing justice, died on Tuesday at a hospital in Houston. He was 76." The AP's Starr obituary is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Iowa. Is This Justice??? Margery Beck of the AP: "A teenage human trafficking victim who was initially charged with first-degree murder after she stabbed her accused rapist to death was sentenced Tuesday in an Iowa court to five years of closely supervised probation and ordered to pay $150,000 restitution to the man's family." The story leaves the details somewhat hazy, but the girl claimed the man she stabbed to death had raped her several times. Prosecutors argued that killing the man meant "leaving his kids without a father." Well, yes.

New Hampshire & Delaware. The New York Times' live updates of primary election results in these states are here.

New York. Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "Former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo filed a lengthy state ethics complaint on Tuesday against Letitia James, the New York State attorney general, accusing her of deliberately mishandling the investigation that found he sexually harassed multiple former and current government employees. Mr. Cuomo, who resigned in August 2021 shortly after Ms. James unveiled the investigation's findings, filed the complaint with a committee in the state's court system tasked with disciplining lawyers found to have violated professional conduct rules. The committee could dismiss the complaint because of insufficient evidence, move to investigate the charges or even initiate disciplinary proceedings. Disciplinary actions could range from a confidential or public letter of admonishment to censure, disbarment or suspension from practicing law." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York Election Fraud. Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "A Rensselaer County elections official was arraigned on Tuesday, accused by federal authorities of fraudulently obtaining absentee ballots last year, using personal information of voters without their consent. The indictment of Jason Schofield, a Republican elections commissioner, emerged from a lengthy federal inquiry into potential ballot fraud across Rensselaer County, just east of Albany. The indictment accused Mr. Schofield or an employee acting at his direction of using an online portal to apply for absentee ballots on behalf of at least eight people in 2021, when county elections were being held for Rensselaer county executive, clerk and legislature, as well as for the mayor of the City of Rensselaer and the Troy City Council. The charging papers contain details on four of those absentee ballots prosecutors say Mr. Schofield obtained. Mr. Schofield did not 'ask or permit' the voters to weigh in, other than to have them sign the back of the ballots -- which would have allowed him to fill them out himself. The ballots were then delivered back to the Rensselaer County Board of Elections for processing." Schofield's alleged fraudulent activities came to light when he allegedly helped another Republican, a former Troy city councilwoman, cast three absentee ballots in other people's names.

West Virginia. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "The West Virginia legislature Tuesday passed a bill to prohibit nearly all abortions, making it the second state to pass a new ban since the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June. The state Senate passed the bill 22-7, after a brief debate Tuesday. The state House concurred and passed the bill in a 78-17 vote. The ban will take effect 90 days after passage.... Abortion had been legal up to 20 weeks in West Virginia since July, when a state judge blocked a pre-Roe ban that dated back to the 19th century.... The bill they passed, which now goes to Republican Gov. Jim Justice's desk, bars abortion from implantation with narrow exceptions to save the pregnant person's life or in cases of rape or incest, so long as the victim reports the crime. Justice has indicated that he will sign a bill tightening state restrictions on abortion."

Way Beyond

Russia. Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Russia has secretly funneled at least $300 million to foreign political parties and candidates in more than two dozen countries since 2014 in an attempt to shape political events beyond its borders, according to a new U.S. intelligence review. Moscow planned to spend hundreds of millions of dollars more as part of its covert campaign to weaken democratic systems and promote global political forces seen as aligned with Kremlin interests, according to the review, which the Biden administration commissioned this summer. A senior U.S. official ... said the administration decided to declassify some of the review's findings in an attempt to counter Russia's ability to sway political systems in countries in Europe, Africa and elsewhere." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll bet the still-secret part of the report implicates Trump & Co..

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Wednesday are here: "The European Union will push ahead with emergency measures to tackle the energy crisis, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said during the annual State of the European Union address Wednesday -- where Ukraine's first lady Olena Zelenska was a guest of honor.... Ukraine has made 'significant progress' in the war, according to President Biden but he cautioned, 'I think it's going to be a long haul.'... Around 8,000 square kilometers (over 3,000 square miles) of land has been 'liberated' in northeast Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a nightly address -- nearly the size of Puerto Rico. He added that 'collaborators' were being detained and security restored in the areas."

United Kingdom

The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in events following Queen Elizabeth's death are here. The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Megan Specia of the New York Times: "King Charles III continued his tour of the nations of the United Kingdom on Tuesday with a visit to Northern Ireland before a planned return to London in the evening to meet Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Buckingham Palace alongside other members of the royal family." (Also linked yesterday.)

"You're Fired!" Pippa Crerar & Caroline Davies of the Guardian: "Dozens of Clarence House staff have been given notice of their redundancy as the offices of King Charles and the Queen Consort move to Buckingham Palace after the death of the Queen, the Guardian has learned. Up to 100 employees at the King's former official residence, including some who have worked there for decades, received notification that they could lose their jobs just as they were working round the clock to smooth his elevation to the throne. Private secretaries, the finance office, the communications team and household staff are among those who received notice during the thanksgiving service for the Queen, at St Giles' Cathedral in Edinburgh on Monday, that their posts were on the line." (Also linked yesterday.)

A Poem for Putin

Marie: President Zelensky sent this challenge to Vladimir Putin “after Russian troops, in retreat, struck Ukrainian power plants.” Copied from the Sydney Morning Herald & slightly abridged & punctuated. Rachel Maddow read Zelensky's message to Putin, and it struck me as poetic. Maddow said Zelensky sent it with video of a Ukraine power plant engulfed in flames. I'm not sure in what language the message went to Zelensky, but this tweet, which reproduces part of the message, indicates it has been published in English.

By Volodymyr Zelensky

Do you still think you can intimidate, break us?

Did you really not understand anything?
Didn’t you understand who we are?
What we stand for?
What we are talking about?

Read my lips:

Without gas or without you? Without you.
Without light or without you? Without you.
Without water or without you? Without you.
Without food or without you? Without you.

Cold, hunger, darkness and thirst,
For us are not as scary and deadly
As your ‘friendship and brotherhood.’

History will put everything in its place.
And we will exist with gas, lights, water and food,
And WITHOUT you!

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