May 12, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Many audience members at CNN's town hall with ... Donald Trump on Wednesday were 'disgusted' and 'bewildered' by the spectacle, but were told to be respectful and not to boo, according to a report. 'The floor manager came out ahead of time and said, Please do not boo, please be respectful. You were allowed to applaud,' claimed Republican political consultant Matthew Bartlett in an interview with Puck News senior political correspondent Tara Palmeri on Thursday.... He estimated that while around half of the audience expressed vocal support for Trump, the other half sat in silence. Bartlett also alleged that Trump repeatedly 'lost the audience' when he spoke about topics like January 6 or the results of the 2020 election, despite the appearance on CNN that the audience was consistently on his side." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If it's true the show's floor manager went out of his way to make the audience look more into Trump than they actually were, CNN looks even worse.

New York. Hurubie Meko & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Daniel Penny, the Marine veteran who choked and killed Jordan Neely, a homeless man, on the subway last week, surrendered on Friday to face a charge of second-degree manslaughter. Mr. Penny, 24..., walked through the front doors of the Police Department's Fifth Precinct at around 8 a.m. Hands cuffed behind his back, Mr. Penny was led out of the precinct at 10:38 a.m. He was put into a waiting black police car to be taken to Manhattan Criminal Court, where he was to be arraigned later Friday."

~~~~~~~~~~

Reyes Mata & Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "Illegal border crossings have topped 10,000 per day this week, the highest levels ever, as the Title 42 border policy expired at 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Thousands of migrants forded the Rio Grande into the Brownsville, Tex., area, or arrived elsewhere, including more than 800 miles away on the dusty strip of U.S. land between the riverbanks and the border wall east of downtown El Paso. With Border Patrol stations and processing centers maxed out, officials authorized the release of migrants without court dates at locations where facilities exceeded 125 percent of their holding capacity or other thresholds were surpassed. But a federal judge stepped in late Thursday to block the release plan, granting a temporary restraining order sought by Florida's attorney general....

"As the midnight expiration time passed, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas posted a video statement to Twitter, warning that 'people who arrive at the border without using a lawful pathway will be presumed ineligible for asylum.' He also warned that 24,000 Border Patrol agents and officers and thousands of troops and contractors are on hand to enforce the policy. 'Do not believe the lies of smugglers,' he said. 'The border is not open.'" ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "U.S. officials were striving to maintain order on Thursday along the nearly 2,000-mile border with Mexico as migrants waded across the Rio Grande, lined up at international bridges, filled federal immigration processing centers and huddled on the sidewalks of American border towns. The images of desperate migrants and overburdened border facilities played out in the hours before the lifting of a Covid-era policy, known as Title 42, that for more than three years has allowed the government to swiftly expel many people who crossed the border before they could apply for asylum. The order was set to expire along with the national Covid health emergency at 11:59 p.m. Eastern time." This was the pinned item on a liveblog. Also published in Spanish. ~~~

~~~ Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "House Republicans pushed through a sweeping border security bill on Thursday that would crack down on unlawful immigration, blowing past solid Democratic opposition and narrowly avoiding an embarrassing mutiny within their own ranks on one of their signature midterm campaign promises. Republicans timed approval of the measure, which has no chance in the Democratic-led Senate, to spotlight their hard-line stance on immigration just as President Biden is facing a potential border surge with Thursday night's expiration of Title 42, the pandemic-era rule allowing for swift expulsion of migrants. The bill would revive and codify a variety of border policies championed during the Trump administration, including construction of a border wall, the 'Remain in Mexico' practice of keeping migrants seeking asylum either in detention facilities or on the opposite side of the border and expedited deportation of unaccompanied children. It also would mandate that companies verify their employees are legally eligible to work in the United States through a program known as E-Verify, and criminalize visa overstays of more than 10 days."

Carl Hulse, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden and top congressional leaders on Thursday postponed a second meeting on the debt limit crisis to give staff members more time to explore a budget deal before the two sides convened again. People familiar with the decision cast the move as a positive development. Preliminary budget talks among senior White House officials and congressional aides have been underway for two days, with both sides attempting to find a path to an agreement on lifting the government's debt limit and avoiding a default." An NPR story is here.

Exhibit 1: Fraudster George Santos. Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: "House Republicans passed a symbolic bill Thursday that would clamp down on unemployment insurance fraud. And one of the bill's sponsors, Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.), demonstrated the need for the legislation by getting indicted for unemployment insurance fraud this week.... The legislation, which is unlikely to pass the Senate, would give prosecutors more time to bring fraud charges against bogus unemployment claimants and create stronger incentives for state workforce agencies to claw back bogus benefits."

Santos Confesses. Grace Ashford & Leonardo Coelho of the New York Times: George Anthony Devolder "Santos and Brazilian prosecutors on Thursday agreed to resolve a criminal charge that involved a pair of shoes and a stolen checkbook. Mr. Santos, who appeared remotely, accepted responsibility for his actions and agreed to pay 24,000 Brazilian reais (about $4,850), some of which will go to the victim, and some to charity, according to documents viewed by The New York Times. In exchange for his confession, prosecutors dropped the case against him, according to his lawyer and another person familiar with the case." The Hill has a report here. MB: Hey, Brazil. Get a cashier's check.

Supremes Continue to Encourage Public Corruption. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "In a pair of unanimous decisions in cases involving defendants convicted of fraud for actions during Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration in New York, the Supreme Court on Thursday again limited federal prosecutions of public corruption. One case concerned Joseph Percoco, a former aide to Mr. Cuomo convicted of taking illicit payments to benefit a Syracuse-area developer. The other involved Louis Ciminelli, the owner of a Buffalo construction firm convicted of fraud in a bid-rigging scandal in connection with Buffalo Billion, a development project championed by Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat. The rulings were the latest in a series of setbacks for prosecutors from a court that has become increasingly skeptical of federal charges of public corruption in state government." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Judge Rules That What This Country Needs Is More Kids with Guns. Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A judge in Virginia has struck down federal laws blocking handgun sales to buyers over 18 and under 21, in a ruling that might augur the rollback of regulation prompted by the Supreme Court's sweeping expansion of gun rights last year. Judge Robert E. Payne of Federal District Court in Richmond, Va., ruled on Wednesday that statutes and regulations put in place over the past few decades to enforce age requirements on sales of handguns, like the semiautomatic Glock-style pistols, by federally licensed weapons dealers were 'not consistent with our nation's history and tradition' and therefore could not stand. A citizen's Second Amendment rights do not 'vest at age 21,' he added. In his 71-page ruling, Judge Payne, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, repeatedly cited the majority opinion in the landmark case New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen, which struck down a New York State law that put tight limits on carrying guns outside the home.... The Justice Department is expected to appeal the ruling.... 'This decision is not a surprise...,' said Jonathan Lowy, a lawyer and gun violence activist.... 'Bruen gave license to any judge who has an inclination to strike down any gun law.'" CNN's report is here.

Marie: Maybe the DOJ doesn't have time to prosecute Donald Trump because it is still too busy defending him in court: ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department said Thursday that it will ask a U.S. appeals court to stop former president Donald Trump from being questioned under oath on May 24 by attorneys for two former senior FBI employees who have alleged that they were targeted for retribution after the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The decision was disclosed in an urgent court filing in which department attorneys wrote that U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth B. Prelogar on Thursday approved an appeal unless U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson revisits her decision. On Feb. 23, the judge allowed Trump and FBI Director Christopher A. Wray to be deposed by attorneys for former senior FBI agent Peter Strzok and former FBI lawyer Lisa Page, who exchanged politically charged text messages criticizing Trump while they were having an affair. Strzok seeks reinstatement and back pay over what he alleges was his unfair termination. Page alleges officials unlawfully released the trove of messages to reporters."

Michael Sisak of the AP: "Donald Trump was ordered Thursday to appear by video at a May 23 hearing in his Manhattan criminal case after a judge this week set rules barring him from using evidence in the case to attack witnesses. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan scheduled the hybrid hearing -- the former president on a TV screen, his lawyers and prosecutors in court -- to go over the restrictions with Trump and to make clear that he risks being held in contempt if he violates them. The case is continuing in state court even as Trump's lawyers seek to have it moved to federal court. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is considering the transfer request, issued an order this week setting paperwork deadlines and a hearing for late June. Merchan, still in charge while that drama plays out, agreed to instruct Trump on the rules by video, rather than in person, after a prosecutor reminded him last week that bringing Trump to court would present mammoth security and logistical challenges." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, this is 4th-grade stuff, wherein the judge plays the school principal & the former POTUS* is the class bully: "Now, Donnie, if you say bad things about the other kids, we're going to have to give you detention." It is my person hope that Donnie gets detention. And if the Secret Service guys don't care for the detention facilities, well, they deserve the discomfort for deleting all the insurrection-related messages from their devices.

Confessions of a Classified Docs Thief. OR Jack Smith Gets a Break in the Case. Alan Feuer & Maggie Hamberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump admitted more directly than before on Wednesday that he knowingly removed government records from the White House and claimed that he was allowed to take anything he wanted with him as personal records, appearing to misstate the law and undercut some assertions by his own lawyers.... Answering questions from the CNN host Kaitlan Collins, Mr. Trump appeared at times to be kicking up sand as he offered an array of excuses for -- and distractions from -- the key issue of whether he improperly held on to sensitive government records after he left the White House. 'I took the documents; I'm allowed to,' he told Ms. Collins at one point, asserting that he had 'the absolute right' to do so under the Presidential Records Act. The law, enacted in 1978 after the Watergate scandal, gave control of presidential records to the government itself -- not to individual presidents....

"'When we left Washington, we had the boxes lined up on the sidewalk outside for everybody,' he said. 'People are taking pictures of them. Everybody knew we were taking those boxes.'... In a letter [to Congress] last month..., [Trump's] lawyers argued that 'White House institutional processes,' not 'intentional decisions by President Trump,' were responsible for sensitive material being hauled away.... When Ms. Collins asked Mr. Trump if he had ever shown classified documents to anyone after leaving the White House, he said, 'Not really.' When she pressed him on what he meant, Mr. Trump gave an equivocating answer: 'Not -- not that I can think of.'" An NBC News story is here.

Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: Donald "Trump, in response to questions from the CNN moderator about the Manhattan jury's verdict Tuesday, called [E. Jean] Carroll a 'wack job' and said her civil trial was 'a rigged deal.' The audience had been drawn primarily from Republican groups, and his comments drew applause and laughter.... Ms. Carroll, 79, is now weighing whether to file a new defamation lawsuit against Mr. Trump, said her lawyer, Roberta A. Kaplan. In addition to the case that ended Tuesday, Ms. Carroll has an earlier defamation suit against Mr. Trump, 76, that is still pending. Mr. Trump has argued in that case that he cannot be sued because he made those comments in his official capacity as president." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Just sue the SOB once a week or so. Kaplan can create a standard form complaint & each week fill in the dates and venues where Trump defamed Carroll. Kaplan will only occasionally have to change the defamatory remarks in each new complaint, because Trump is not good at coming up with original material. ~~~

     (~~~ MEANWHILE. Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump has begun the process of appealing the $5 million verdict reached Tuesday in a sexual abuse and defamation lawsuit by advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. A notice of appeal was filed late Thursday afternoon by Trump's attorney, Joe Tacopina, less than 24 hours after Trump denounced Carroll during a CNN town hall as a 'whack job' who peddled 'a fake story.'")

Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "In little over an hour, Donald J. Trump suggested the United States should default on its debts for the first time in history, injected doubt over the country's commitment to defending Ukraine from Russia's invasion, dangled pardons for most of the Capitol rioters convicted of crimes, and refused to say he would abide by the results of the next presidential election. The second-term vision Mr. Trump sketched out at a CNN town-hall event on Wednesday would represent a sharp departure from core American values that have been at the bedrock of the nation for decades: its creditworthiness, its credibility with international allies and its adherence to the rule of law at home.... His performance ... signaled an escalation of his bid to bend the government to his wishes as he runs again for the White House, only this time with a greater command of the Republican Party's pressure points and a plan to demolish the federal bureaucracy."

Here's the full transcript of CNN's Trump Show.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Paul Farhi & Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "CNN's prime-time broadcast of a raucous town hall with Donald Trump propelled a tsunami of criticism from inside and outside the network Thursday -- and renewed questions about how the news media will handle the challenge of covering the serial falsehoods of the Republican Party's leading candidate going into the 2024 election.... The telecast proved to be a ratings disappointment, with Nielsen reporting just 3.1 million viewers overall.... It also raised questions about the future prospects of chief executive Chris Licht.... Licht defended the decision to host Trump in this format during his regular morning meeting with network staff on Thursday.... Licht defended the decisions that led to a cheering, partisan audience: 'That was also an important part of the story because the people in that audience represent a large swath of America. And the mistake the media made in the past is ignoring those people exist.'... 'I can't believe anyone thought this was a good idea,' said one staffer...." A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Licht seems to be of the misapprehension that giving a demagogue & his followers an hour-plus of free air-time is "journalism." The actual journalism you're seeing in relation to the CNN Trump debacle are the reports, analyses & critiques of Licht's bad-faith charade.

The indispensable Dan Froomkin of Press Watch posts some tips on how to handle a lying demagogue like Donald Trump: "You cannot treat Trump like a normal politician, no matter how he is doing in the polls. You can't ignore him. But you can't let him play by his rules, either. The next president of CNN should learn from [CNN CEO Chris] Licht's mistakes." ~~~

~~~ Oliver Darcy of CNN: "It's hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.... It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump's unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage.... Trump frequently ignored or spoke over [Kaitlan] Collins throughout the evening as he unleashed a firehose of disinformation upon the country, which a sizable swath of the GOP continues to believe. A professional lie machine, Trump fired off falsehoods at a rapid clip while using his bluster to overwhelm Collins, stealing command of the stage at some points of the town hall.... CNN and new network boss Chris Licht are facing a fury of criticism -- both internally and externally over the event." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Most commentators are giving Kaitlan Collins props for trying (but failing!) to fact-check Trump. To that, I say bull. If Collins wanted a thumbs-up from me -- and I first thought this anticipating the fiasco, not after the fact -- she would have had to tell Licht she was not going to sit there as Trump & the Gang's patsy & punching bag. No real journalist would have agreed to participate in that forum in that format with that audience.

~~~ Conser-vo-tive Charlie Sykes of the Bulwark: "Critics had worried that giving the indicted, twice-impeached, coup-plotting, chronically lying sexual predator an unedited, live television forum might turn out badly. The reality, however, was far ghastlier: a sh*tshow for the ages, and a moment that captured the thorough degradation of both our politics and the media. 'It was a f**king nightmare,' remarked one savvy observer, 'and it was programmed to BE a f**king nightmare.'... As Mehdi Hasan writes today, the 'ridiculous town hall format and an audience seemingly recruited "from the Mar-a-Lago parking lot"', put its own anchor in a position to fail.' Her bosses at CNN should have known that, but they made it clear last night that they had learned nothing. Or simply didn't care. Increasingly, Chris Licht is to CNN what Elon Musk is to Twitter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What Mehdi Hasan said, perhaps in jest, was apparently true. Some pundit on the teevee said today that he recognized some of the audience members as former Trump operatives & campaign workers. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump said a lot more horrible things than this, but the one that got me was his claim that he had finished the wall. A wall is a physical thing, and the vast spaces between the few shoddily-built sections of border wall that went up during Trump's reign of terror are irrefutable proof that he did not finish the wall. He barely began it. Moreover, a lot of ink was spilled over the failures to build a wall (or to build any structure that was in any way a practical deterrent to unauthorized immigrants). The wall was not built. The wall is not there. Yet Trump just says it is there, and for his hallucinating MAGA masses, apparently it is there. This is an insane expression and acceptance of authoritarianism at its most stark.

Presidential Race 2024. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Sen. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.) said Thursday that he does not plan to support Donald Trump for the Republican presidential nomination, citing Trump's refusal to call Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal during a televised town hall and broader concerns about the former president's ability to win another general election. 'Where do I begin?' Young, a veteran lawmaker who previously led the Senate GOP's campaign arm, told reporters at the Capitol when asked about his reservations about Trump.... To date, 11 of the Senate's 49 senators have publicly expressed support for Trump's return to the White House."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "Daniel Penny, the 24-year-old Marine veteran who choked and killed a homeless man on the subway last week, will face a charge of second-degree manslaughter and is expected to appear in Manhattan Criminal Court on Friday.... Mr. Penny encountered [Jordan] Neely, 30, on an F train on May 1 and placed him in a chokehold, killing him. Witnesses told the police that Mr. Neely had been shouting at passengers, but there has been no indication that he physically attacked anyone." The AP report is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Wagner head Yevgeniy Prigozhin shared conflicting reports on the much-anticipated Ukrainian spring counteroffensive, with Zelensky saying his country needed to wait for more equipment to arrive.... Prigozhin, meanwhile, said the Ukrainians were 'in full swing,' attacking his forces' flanks in Bakhmut. 'Unfortunately, in some places they are successful,' Prigozhin, meanwhile, said the Ukrainians were 'in full swing,' attacking his forces' flanks in Bakhmut. 'Unfortunately, in some places they are successful,' Prigozhin said. Prigozhin said.... The U.S. ambassador to South Africa on Thursday accused his host country of shipping weapons to Russia in December, in violation of its self-proclaimed policy of nonalignment.... In a first, the U.S. Justice Department has transferred millions of dollars seized from a Russian oligarch for use in rebuilding Ukraine. The funds were taken from a U.S. bank account traceable to sanctions violations by Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev, the Justice Department said." ~~~

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

May 11, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Michael Sisak of the AP: "Donald Trump was ordered Thursday to appear by video at a May 23 hearing in his Manhattan criminal case after a judge this week set rules barring him from using evidence in the case to attack witnesses. Judge Juan Manuel Merchan scheduled the hybrid hearing -- the former president on a TV screen, his lawyers and prosecutors in court -- to go over the restrictions with Trump and to make clear that he risks being held in contempt if he violates them. The case is continuing in state court even as Trump's lawyers seek to have it moved to federal court. U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein, who is considering the transfer request, issued an order this week setting paperwork deadlines and a hearing for late June. Merchan, still in charge while that drama plays out, agreed to instruct Trump on the rules by video, rather than in person, after a prosecutor reminded him last week that bringing Trump to court would present mammoth security and logistical challenges." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, this is 4th-grade stuff, wherein the judge plays the school principal & the former POTUS* is the class bully: "Now, Donnie, if you say bad things about the other kids, we're going to have to give you detention." It is my person hope that Donnie gets detention. And if the Secret Service guys don't care for the detention facilities, well, they deserve the discomfort for deleting all the insurrection-related messages from their devices.

Supremes Continue to Encourage Public Corruption. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "In a pair of unanimous decisions in cases involving defendants convicted of fraud for actions during Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's administration in New York, the Supreme Court on Thursday again limited federal prosecutions of public corruption. One case concerned Joseph Percoco, a former aide to Mr. Cuomo convicted of taking illicit payments to benefit a Syracuse-area developer. The other involved Louis Ciminelli, the owner of a Buffalo construction firm convicted of fraud in a bid-rigging scandal in connection with Buffalo Billion, a development project championed by Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat. The rulings were the latest in a series of setbacks for prosecutors from a court that has become increasingly skeptical of federal charges of public corruption in state government."

Oliver Darcy of CNN: "It's hard to see how America was served by the spectacle of lies that aired on CNN Wednesday evening.... It felt like 2016 all over again. It was Trump's unhinged social media feed brought to life on stage.... Trump frequently ignored or spoke over [Kaitlan] Collins throughout the evening as he unleashed a firehose of disinformation upon the country, which a sizable swath of the GOP continues to believe. A professional lie machine, Trump fired off falsehoods at a rapid clip while using his bluster to overwhelm Collins, stealing command of the stage at some points of the town hall.... CNN and new network boss Chris Licht are facing a fury of criticism -- both internally and externally over the event." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Most commentators are giving Kaitlan Collins props for trying (but failing!) to fact-check Trump. To that, I say bull. If Collins wanted a thumbs-up from me -- and I first thought this anticipating the fiasco, not after the fact -- she would have had to tell Licht she was not going to sit there as Trump & the Gang's patsy & punching bag. No real journalist would have agreed to participate in that forum in that format with that audience.

~~~ Conser-vo-tive Charlie Sykes of the Bulwark: "Critics had worried that giving the indicted, twice-impeached, coup-plotting, chronically lying sexual predator an unedited, live television forum might turn out badly. The reality, however, was far ghastlier: a sh*tshow for the ages, and a moment that captured the thorough degradation of both our politics and the media. 'It was a f**king nightmare,' remarked one savvy observer, 'and it was programmed to BE a f**king nightmare.'... As Mehdi Hasan writes today, the 'ridiculous town hall format and an audience seemingly recruited "from the Mar-a-Lago parking lot"', put its own anchor in a position to fail.' Her bosses at CNN should have known that, but they made it clear last night that they had learned nothing. Or simply didn't care. Increasingly, Chris Licht is to CNN what Elon Musk is to Twitter." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What Mehdi Hasan said, perhaps in jest, was apparently true. Some pundit on the teevee said today that he recognized some of the audience members as former Trump operatives & campaign workers. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know Trump said a lot more serious horrible things, but the one that got me was his claim that he had finished the wall. A wall is a physical thing, and the vast spaces between the few shoddily-built sections of border wall that went up during Trump's reign of terror are irrefutable proof that he did not finish the wall. He barely began it. Moreover, a lot of ink was spilled over the failures to build a wall (or to build any structure that was in any way a practical deterrent to unauthorized immigrants). The wall was not built. The wall is not there. Yet Trump just says it is there, and for his hallucinating MAGA masses, apparently it is there. This is an insane expression and acceptance of authoritarianism at its most stark.

~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Baker & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "President Biden sought to drive a wedge among Republicans in their escalating dispute over spending and debt on Wednesday, effectively reaching out to moderates in hopes of convincing them to break away from Speaker Kevin McCarthy rather than risk triggering a national default that could throw the economy into a tailspin. Appearing in a competitive suburb with a vulnerable House Republican in his sights, Mr. Biden accused Mr. McCarthy of pursuing a radical strategy at the behest of the "extreme" wing of his party loyal to ... Donald J. Trump, putting the country in economic jeopardy in a way that he said reasonable Republicans of his own era in the Senate would not have done."

Jared Gans of the Hill: "President Biden trolled former President Trump on Wednesday over a contentious appearance at a CNN town hall on Wednesday, with Biden asking for supporters to donate to his reelection campaign if they don't want 'four more years of that.'... The White House press pool traveling with Biden reported that the president did not watch the town hall while on Air Force One on his way back from a trip to New York. The report indicated that televisions were tuned in to CNN on the plane's flight to the destination earlier on Wednesday but were switched to MSNBC on the way back." ~~~

Marie: Today is hardly the first day I've had to weigh which GOP reprobate gets top billing.

They were there proud. They were there with love in their heart. That was unbelievable and it was a beautiful day. -- Donald Trump, CNN appearance May 10, 2023, speaking of January 6, 2021, insurrection ~~~

~~~ Shane Goldmacher & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald Trump is still Donald Trump. His 70 minutes onstage in New Hampshire served as a vivid reminder that the former president has only one speed.... CNN's decision to give him an unfiltered prime-time platform was a callback to the 2016 campaign, even as the moderator, Kaitlan Collins, persistently interjected to try to cut him off or correct him.... The audience's regular interruptions on behalf of Mr. Trump were like a laugh track on a sitcom. It built momentum for him in the room -- and onscreen for the television audience -- and stifled Ms. Collins as she repeatedly tried to interrupt him with facts and correctives.... 'You're a nasty person,' Mr. Trump said to her at one point.... No matter how vulgar, profane or politically incorrect Mr. Trump was, the Republican crowd in New Hampshire audibly ate up the shtick of the decades-long showman." Worth reading, if you have the stomach for it. Best section: the one headlined, "He deepened his legal jeopardy with comments on investigations." ~~~

     ~~~ The Party of Misogynists. Abigail Weinberg of Mother Jones: "As soon as journalist Kaitlan Collins mentioned the verdict [in the E. Jean Carroll case] during this evening's CNN town hall with the former president, the audience of Republican-leaning New Hampshire voters started to laugh. 'I never met this woman. I never saw this woman,' Trump said, before launching into a mocking retelling of Carroll's allegations about what Trump did to her in a New York department store. 'What kind of a woman meets somebody and brings them up and within minutes you're playing hanky-panky in a dressing room?' Trump swore 'on my children' that the alleged attack never happened, despite a jury of nine people unanimously finding otherwise. He also repeated an insult he has frequently lobbed at Carroll, calling her a 'wack-job,' to rapturous laughter from the audience." ~~~

     ~~~ In case you're interested but refuse to watch, the New York Times liveblogged Donald Trump's CNN fake town-hall appearance, which he lied his way through. ~~~

     ~~~ Akhilleus, in yesterday's thread: "Please tell me what kind of town meeting excludes all members of one of the two major political parties? That's not a town meeting, that's a rally. I heard that CNN was inviting Rape and Treason Boy because they wanted to hear 'all sides'. If you invite only Republicans and the chimerical independents, how is that getting all sides?" ~~~

     ~~~ Erik Wemple of the Washington Post: "John King, the network's veteran political analyst, hinted at the emptiness of the evening: 'He is who he is, and he is who he was.'... This is what CNN does. Town halls, debates, live coverage on location -- CNN is a breaking-news colossus that loves nothing more than making its own breaking news.... [Their] team of top-notch professionals, as it turns out, can't design a format that does two things at once: present a live interview with Trump while at the same time providing viewers with a comprehensive inventory of true and false claims." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Adam Gabbatt of the Guardian: "Appearing at a CNN town hall, Donald Trump immediately launched into a series of debunked, nonsense claims about election fraud, speaking nearly non-stop for more than five minutes. Trump steamrolled over attempted interruptions from Kaitlan Collins, the CNN interviewer, as the town hall immediately turned into what many had feared: an opportunity for Trump to lie about dozens of topics, almost completely unfettered, across 60 minutes of primetime television. From 8pm to just after 9pm, there was never a moment when CNN or Collins had any semblance of control. Trump lied about election fraud and about the January 6 insurrection. He obfuscated on trade tariffs and the aims of abortion advocates, and claimed, wrongly, that he had 'finished' the wall.... According to CNN, the audience in Manchester, New Hampshire, was made up of 'New Hampshire Republicans and undeclared voters', but in reality the crowd [-- almost all men and mostly white --] might as well have been scooped up from a Trump campaign rally. They laughed, whooped and applauded as Trump dished out a stream of his greatest hits." ~~~

     ~~~ David Smith of the Guardian: "The nausea came gradually, then suddenly, and with disconcerting familiarity. We had been flung back in time to the political hellscape of 2016. Only the second time around, it was somehow worse. Donald Trump..., appearing on CNN for the first time since that fateful election year, lied and lied and lied. He was a leviathan of lying, a juggernaut of junk, an ocean liner of mendacity that left little boats of truth spinning and overturning in its wake.... What may have come as a rude awakening to the pundit class is that many in the audience in Manchester, New Hampshire, were lapping it up and cheering him on." MB: Even though I didn't watch the Trumpfest, reading about it makes me feel sick, too.

Trump Is Still Defaming Carroll. Lola Fadula of the New York Times: "'This is another scam,' Mr. Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social platform, one of a series of posts that continued into Wednesday morning. 'It's a political witch hunt.' Mr. Trump said in the video that Ms. Carroll had been financed 'by Democrat operatives,' and that 'she totally lied about it.' He appeared to be referring to Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn who has a long history of funding Democratic candidates and causes, and who helped pay for certain costs and fees associated with Ms. Carroll's lawsuit.... Mr. Trump also criticized Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court, who presided over the case, calling him a 'terrible person' who was 'completely biased, and should have recused himself.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

The New York Times' main story on George Anthony Devolder Santos' indictment, by Grace Ashford & Michael Gold, is here. ~~~

~~~ ** Adrienne Vogt & Aditi Sangal of CNN: "Rep. George Santos has been charged on a 13-count indictment, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. The charges include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.... Santos is now in federal custody, according to a spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York. Santos was taken into custody in Melville, Long Island, where the FBI is housed, a law enforcement source tells CNN. From there, he was taken to the courthouse in Central Islip." One item in this liveblog includes a facsimile of the grand jury indictment. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Saving George Anthony's Vote. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Since the day he set foot in Washington, Representative George Santos of New York has been shunned by some of his fellow Republicans and protected by Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has consistently defended his right to serve in Congress despite the fictional persona he created and the geyser of falsehoods he told to win election. His wide-ranging indictment on Wednesday, in which Mr. Santos was charged with wire fraud, money laundering, stealing public funds and lying to Congress in federal disclosure forms, did nothing to change that dynamic. Some rank-and-file Republican lawmakers intensified their calls for his resignation, but Mr. McCarthy and other House G.O.P. leaders, operating with a slim and fractious majority, said Mr. Santos should be allowed to continue to serve in Congress." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Because George Santos is the kind of guy you want to have making decisions for the American people. ~~~

~~~ From the New York Times liveblog: "[Rep. George] Santos, 34, pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing in federal court on Long Island on Wednesday afternoon.... Santos was released on $500,000 bond secured by three individuals, whose identities are not public. He will be confined to New York, Washington, D.C., and places in between. He may travel to other places with advance approval." The liveblog includes a copy of the indictment. ~~~

~~~ Rebecca O'Brien: "Broadly, George Santos has been charged in three schemes outlined in the indictment: First, a fraudulent political contribution solicitation scheme, in which prosecutors say Santos and an unnamed Queens-based political consultant induced donors to give money to an LLC he controlled. He then used the money for personal expenses, including to buy designer goods and to pay off personal debts. Second, an unemployment insurance fraud scheme: Prosecutors say that in June 2020, in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Santos applied for government assistance in New York, even though he was at the time employed by a Florida-based investment firm and drew an annual salary of $120,000. And, finally, the indictment says Santos misled the House of Representatives about his financial condition. In May 2020 -- during his first, unsuccessful campaign -- he is accused of overstating one source of income while failing to disclose his investment firm salary. And in September 2022, when he ran a second time, Santos is accused of including a number of falsehoods in his financial disclosure form." ~~~

~~~ Grace Ashford: "Away from the prying eyes of reporters in a secure wing of the federal courthouse, Santos is getting the full perp treatment. Likely that includes fingerprinting, photographs and a preliminary interview. He will be arraigned at 1 p.m." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Brazil. Grace Ashford & André Spigariol: "... Brazilian law enforcement authorities will conduct a hearing on Thursday on an allegation of check fraud. The matter, which stemmed from an incident in 2008 regarding a stolen checkbook, had been suspended for the better part of a decade because the police were unable to locate him. The case was revived earlier this year and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Scott Lemieux notes that not only has the greatest volleyball player in CUNY history been indicted, he is counting on Matt Taibbi "to get to the bottom of this Deep State conspiracy." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Steven Attewell in LG&$: "There's nothing novel or complicated ... about these crimes: in all these cases, Santos just lied to people about money and then when they gave him money, he took it and spent it. The campaign finance scheme is depressingly basic -- rather than playing the usual (and these days pretty much legalized by the Supreme Court) game of using no-show 'consultant' positions and the like to turn campaign finance dollars into personal funds, Santos just lied to people that a shell company was a 501(c)(4) independent expenditure organization, got them to wire money to that shell company, and then spent the money on himself. The Unemployment Insurance fraud is both deeply ironic -- Congressman Santos is a co-sponsor of a bill to crack down on UI fraud [MB: see Tony Romm's report, linked below] -- and similarly unoriginal. Santos had a no-show job that paid him $125k a year and then lied to the Department of Labor and the state of New York in order to collect a comparatively piddling $24 grand. He couldn't even manage to pull off a proper PPP scam like the cool kids in Congress." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I'd like to point out to Merrick Garland that the New York Times first raised questions about George Santos' fake biography on December 19, 2022; this is, fewer that five months ago. Later reporting by the Times and other outlets brought to light some of Santos' suspect financial stunts. So five months ago, Garland's DOJ knew nothing about the matters on which it led a grand jury to indict him yesterday. That is to say, the DOJ can move fairly quickly to bring indictments against elected officials. So how come, Merrick, we're still not seeing any indictments against Donald Trump for leading an open rebellion against the United States -- a rebellion viewed by millions of people around the world -- two years and five months ago? ~~~

~~~ Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "The House is preparing to vote this week on a Republican-backed bill that would clamp down on fraud in the nation's unemployment insurance program, mere days after Rep. George Santos &-- ... a co-sponsor of the legislation -- was indicted in federal court for allegedly bilking the benefits. The Republican proposal seeks to empower government officials to recover funds stolen during the coronavirus pandemic, when criminals laid siege to historically generous federal jobless aid, contributing to an estimated $190 billion in taxpayer losses. While Democrats share a desire to combat fraud, they largely oppose the GOP measure, arguing that it is likely to harm innocent Americans. The White House, meanwhile, has threatened to veto the proposal, which for weeks had not garnered much attention in a capital that finds itself enmeshed in a fiscal crisis."

Bupkis on Biden. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "After four months of investigation, House Republicans who promised to use their new majority to unearth evidence of wrongdoing by President Biden acknowledged on Wednesday that they had yet to uncover incriminating material about him, despite their frequent insinuations that he and his family have been involved in criminal conduct and corruption. At a much-publicized news conference on Capitol Hill to show the preliminary findings of their premier investigation into Mr. Biden and his family, leading Republicans released financial documents detailing how some of the president's relatives were paid more than $10 million from foreign sources between 2015 and 2017.... But ... their presentation underscored how little headway top G.O.P. lawmakers have made in finding clear evidence of questionable transactions they can tie to Mr. Biden, their chief political rival." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Asked directly by reporters whether there was any evidence of the president's involvement, [House Oversight Committee Chair James] Comer [R-Ky.] fell back on insinuations. 'We're pretty confident that the president was very knowledgeable of what his family was doing,' he claimed at one point -- which, of course, is very different from Biden's being a beneficiary of foreign contributions himself. If it's even true, which Comer didn't assert.... Then, of course, there's the question of [Donald] Trump and his family. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington estimates that Trump's various business interests pulled in as much as $160 million when he was president, cash mostly flowing in through overseas properties. But there was also foreign money coming in domestically, as when Saudi interests repeatedly booked large blocks of rooms at his hotels.... That's just Trump himself, mind you. His family also benefited from that spending.... In articulating the nefarious things Hunter Biden allegedly did, they can't help but demonstrate how Trump and his family engaged in similar behavior."

Look! A White Hood Perfectly Fits Mr. Potatohead! Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said people identified as 'white extremists' and 'white nationalists' should be allowed to serve in the U.S. armed forces. 'We are losing in the military, so fast, our readiness in terms of recruitment,' Tuberville told radio station WBHM in an interview published online Monday. 'I can tell you why. Because the Democrats are attacking our military, saying we need to get out the white extremists, the white nationalists' and others who do not believe in President Biden's 'agenda.' In response, the reporter asked Tuberville, 'Do you believe they should allow white nationalists in the military?' Tuberville said, 'Well, they call them that. I call them Americans.'... [Later,] Steven Stafford, a spokesman for Tuberville, wrote in an email to The Post that the senator 'resents the implication that the people in our military are anything but patriots and heroes.'" An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) said Wednesday that he does not support Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) blanket hold on more than 180 non-political military promotions, which Democrats say is keeping qualified people out of key roles. 'I don't support putting a hold on military nominations, I don't support that,' McConnell told reporters.... Asked whether there is a way to resolve the impasse, McConnell said: 'You'll have to ask Sen. Tuberville about that.'... The GOP leader's comments came after seven former secretaries of Defense sent a letter to the Senate last week warning the hold on promotions is 'harming military readiness and risks damaging U.S. national security.'"

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Jim Rutenberg & Steven Myers of the New York Times: "Fox News was hit on Wednesday with another defamation lawsuit, this one from a woman who said the network promoted lies about her that generated serious threats to her safety and harmed her career prospects. The suit was filed on behalf of Nina Jankowicz, the former executive director of a short-lived Department of Homeland Security division assigned with coordinating efforts to monitor and address disinformation threats to national security. Right-wing pundits and politicians falsely portrayed her group as part of an Orwellian bid to control the speech and thought of ordinary Americans. Ms. Jankowicz, a prominent specialist in Russian disinformation and online harassment, became the primary subject of their attacks. In 300 mentions over eight months on Fox last year, she was repeatedly demeaned and defamed in highly personal language, the lawsuit asserts. Hosts including Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo and Sean Hannity said her job was 'to silence anyone who criticizes the Biden administration' and possibly even, as Mr. Carlson warned, 'get men with guns to tell you to shut up.'" An NBC News story is here.

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday that the benefits of making a birth control pill available without a prescription outweigh the risks, a significant step in the decades-long push to make oral contraception obtainable over the counter in the United States. If the F.D.A. approves nonprescription sales of the medication, called Opill, this summer, it could significantly expand access to contraception, especially for young women and those who have difficulty dealing with the time, costs or logistical hurdles involved in visiting a doctor, reproductive health experts say. Approval is not a foregone conclusion, however." Read on if you're a potentially affected person. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukraine needs more time before launching its long-anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russian forces, President Volodymyr Zelensky said. Speaking to the BBC and European public broadcasters, Zelensky said the offensive could proceed now 'and be successful' but would incur an 'unacceptable' level of loss. Ukraine has reclaimed more than a mile of territory near Bakhmut, military officials said Wednesday, marking a crucial breakthrough after months of pitched battles for control of the besieged front-line city.... Donald Trump refused to say whether he wants to see Ukraine or Russia triumph.... The former president also claimed he would end the war in a single day if he were reelected to the White House." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump says he wants to end the war so people will stop dying. Good reason, and very humanitarian, especially for a guy who doesn't care about anyone but himself. Now, if you had a viable idea about how to abruptly end a war so people would "stop dying" (-- an idea might even garner you that Nobel Peace Prize you've obsessively coveted! --) wouldn't you rush your idea to the real President, to the Pentagon, to the editorial pages, to anyone in authority who would listen? Yes, you would. Even without the Nobel Prize incentive.

News Lede

AP: "The chief suspect in the unsolved 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway is poised to face charges linked to the young woman's vanishing for the first time after the government of Peru authorized his extradition to the United States.... [Dutch citizen Joran] Van der Sloot is in a maximum-security prison in the Andes serving a 28-year sentence for the murder of a Peruvian woman. Holloway, who lived in suburban Birmingham, Alabama, was 18 when she was last seen during a trip with classmates to the Caribbean island of Aruba.... She was last seen leaving a bar with van der Sloot, who was a student at an international school on the island. Van der Sloot was identified as a suspect and detained weeks later, along with two Surinamese brothers. Holloway's body was never found, and no charges were filed in the case. A judge later declared Holloway dead. [U.S.] federal charges filed in Alabama against van der Sloot stem from an accusation that he tried to extort the Holloway family in 2010, promising to lead them to her body in exchange for hundreds of thousands of dollars. A grand jury indicted him that year on one count each of wire fraud and extortion, each of which is punishable by up to 20 years in prison. Also in 2010, van der Sloot was arrested in Peru for the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores, who was killed five years to the day after Holloway's disappearance."

May 10, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "A panel of advisers to the Food and Drug Administration voted unanimously on Wednesday that the benefits of making a birth control pill available without a prescription outweigh the risks, a significant step in the decades-long push to make oral contraception obtainable over the counter in the United States. If the F.D.A. approves nonprescription sales of the medication, called Opill, this summer, it could significantly expand access to contraception, especially for young women and those who have difficulty dealing with the time, costs or logistical hurdles involved in visiting a doctor, reproductive health experts say. Approval is not a foregone conclusion, however." Read on if you're a potentially affected person.

From the New York Times liveblog, also linked below: "[Rep. George] Santos, 34, pleaded not guilty to all charges at a hearing in federal court on Long Island on Wednesday afternoon.... Santos was released on $500,000 bond secured by three individuals, whose identities are not public. He will be confined to New York, Washington, D.C., and places in between. He may travel to other places with advance approval." ~~~

~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who has made no move to penalize or marginalize Representative George Santos even in the face of mounting allegations of misconduct and lies by the first-term New York Republican, has signaled that Mr. Santos will be allowed to continue to serve in Congress even after being indicted on federal charges. 'I'll look at the charges,' Mr. McCarthy told reporters on Tuesday, before an indictment charging Mr. Santos with wire fraud, money laundering, theft of public funds and lying to Congress was unsealed. 'If a person is indicted, they're not on committees. They have the right to vote, but they have to go to trial.'... 'He was already removed from all his committees,' Representative Steve Scalise, Republican of Louisiana and majority leader, said during a morning news conference.... Other top Republicans in the House ... said Wednesday that they were focused instead on rooting out unemployment fraud during the pandemic." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now, wait a minute. Those "other Republicans" are confusing me. They can't think about George Santos because they're "focused instead on rooting out unemployment fraud during the pandemic"? But among the charges against Santos are that he engaged in "an unemployment insurance fraud scheme" under a Covid-19 unemployment benefit program. (See Rebecca O'Brien's item, linked below.) Even their excuses aren't excuses.

** Adrienne Vogt & Aditi Sangal of CNN: "Rep. George Santos has been charged on a 13-count indictment, according to court documents unsealed Wednesday. The charges include seven counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering, one count of theft of public funds, and two counts of making materially false statements to the House of Representatives.... Santos is now in federal custody, according to a spokesperson for the Eastern District of New York. Santos was taken into custody in Melville, Long Island, where the FBI is housed, a law enforcement source tells CNN. From there, he was taken to the courthouse in Central Islip." One item in this liveblog includes a facsimile of the grand jury indictment. ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. It also includes a copy of the indictment. ~~~

~~~ Rebecca O'Brien: "Broadly, George Santos has been charged in three schemes outlined in the indictment: First, a fraudulent political contribution solicitation scheme, in which prosecutors say Santos and an unnamed Queens-based political consultant induced donors to give money to an LLC he controlled. He then used the money for personal expenses, including to buy designer goods and to pay off personal debts. Second, an unemployment insurance fraud scheme: Prosecutors say that in June 2020, in the early months of the Covid-19 pandemic, Santos applied for government assistance in New York, even though he was at the time employed by a Florida-based investment firm and drew an annual salary of $120,000. And, finally, the indictment says Santos misled the House of Representatives about his financial condition. In May 2020 -- during his first, unsuccessful campaign -- he is accused of overstating one source of income while failing to disclose his investment firm salary. And in September 2022, when he ran a second time, Santos is accused of including a number of falsehoods in his financial disclosure form." ~~~

~~~ Grace Ashford: "Away from the prying eyes of reporters in a secure wing of the federal courthouse, Santos is getting the full perp treatment. Likely that includes fingerprinting, photographs and a preliminary interview. He will be arraigned at 1 p.m." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Brazil. Grace Ashford & André Spigariol: "... Brazilian law enforcement authorities will conduct a hearing on Thursday on an allegation of check fraud. The matter, which stemmed from an incident in 2008 regarding a stolen checkbook, had been suspended for the better part of a decade because the police were unable to locate him. The case was revived earlier this year and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday."

~~~ Scott Lemieux notes that not only has the greatest volleyball player in CUNY history been indicted, he is counting on Matt Taibbi "to get to the bottom of this Deep State conspiracy." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I'd like to point out to Merrick Garland that the New York Times first raised questions about George Santos' fake biography on December 19, 2022; this is, fewer that five months ago. Later reporting by the Times and other outlets brought to light some of Santos' suspect financial stunts. So five months ago, Garland's DOJ knew nothing about the matters on which it led a grand jury to indict him yesterday. That is to say, the DOJ can move fairly quickly to bring indictments against elected officials. So how come, Merrick, we're still not seeing any indictments against Donald Trump for leading an open rebellion against the United States -- a rebellion viewed by millions of people around the world -- two years and five months ago? ~~~

Trump Is Still Defaming Carroll. Lola Fadula of the New York Times: "'This is another scam,' Mr. Trump said in a video posted on his Truth Social platform, one of a series of posts that continued into Wednesday morning. 'It's a political witch hunt.' Mr. Trump said in the video that Ms. Carroll had been financed 'by Democrat operatives,' and that 'she totally lied about it.' He appeared to be referring to Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn who has a long history of funding Democratic candidates and causes, and who helped pay for certain costs and fees associated with Ms. Carroll's lawsuit.... Mr. Trump also criticized Judge Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court, who presided over the case, calling him a 'terrible person' who was 'completely biased, and should have recused himself.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Sleaziest President* Ever Found Liable for Sexual Battery & Defamation

** Benjamin Weiser, et al., of the New York Times: "A Manhattan jury on Tuesday found ... Donald J. Trump liable for sexually abusing and defaming E. Jean Carroll and awarded her $5 million in damages. More than a dozen women have accused Mr. Trump of sexual misconduct over the years, but this is the only allegation to be affirmed by a jury. In the civil case, the federal jury of six men and three women found that Ms. Carroll, 79, a former magazine writer, had sufficiently proved that Mr. Trump sexually abused her nearly 30 years ago in a dressing room of the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan. The jury did not, however, find he had raped her, as she had long claimed. The jury, in returning the verdict shortly before 3 p.m., also found that Mr. Trump ... defamed Ms. Carroll in October when he posted a statement on his Truth Social platform calling her case 'a complete con job' and 'a Hoax and a lie.' His lawyer said he intended to appeal." The NBC News report is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: The jury voted no on rape, but yes on sexual assault. Jury awarded Carroll $2MM + $1MM + $1.7MM + $20KK + $280KK. You do the math, but looks like about $5MM. ~~~

** ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates are here: "Donald Trump, who did not testify or show up in court, wrote on his social media platform: 'I HAVE ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA WHO THIS WOMAN IS. THIS VERDICT IS A DISGRACE -- A CONTINUATION OF THE GREATEST WITCH HUNT OF ALL TIME!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The New York Times live updates are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Obviously I'd rather have a president that isn't found liable for battery. It's not a disqualifier, but it's certainly not a check in the plus column. -- Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.)

-- [Trump has] been amazing in his ability to weather these sorts of attacks and the American public has been amazing in their support through it. -- Bill Haggerty (R-Tenn.)

Politico has more reactions. ~~~

Then there's Mitt, who is nearly unique among elected Republicans in being unafraid to stand up to Trump:

I hope the jury of the American people reach the same conclusion about Donald Trump. He just is not suited to be president of the United States and to be the person who we hold up to our children and the world as the leader of the free world.... At some point when the people who work with you, your cabinet secretaries, and juries conclude that you've done something severely wrong, it's time for us to recognize that the great majority of those who've worked with him are right and he's wrong. -- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah)

~~~ Dasha Burns & Jonathan Allen of NBC News: "Former Vice President Mike Pence subtly defended ... Donald Trump in an interview Tuesday, hours after a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation. 'I would tell you, in my 4½ years serving alongside the president, I never heard or witnessed behavior of that nature,' he said.... Pence sidestepped the question of whether the jury's verdict affects his view of Trump's fitness for the presidency. 'I think that's a question for the American people,' Pence said. 'I'm sure the president will defend himself in that matter.' Pence was in Cincinnati to speak at a gala for the Center for Christian Virtue." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: No surprise that pence is a two-faced chickenpoop who has decided it's strategically advantageous to defend a sexual batterer and liar. But what's this about a gala for an outfit labeling itself a model of Christian virtue? While there are various lists of what constitute the seven Christian virtues, "temperance" makes all the lists. A gala is, by definition, more bacchanalia than temperate gathering. It's almost as if these people are hypocrites.

Michael Chapman of the Raw Story: "Following the verdict..., one-time White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham opened up on CNN's 'OutFront' Tuesday about an incident she first described in her book in which she had to go out of her way to prevent one of her staffers from being put in situations where Trump could sexually harass the staffer.... 'There was one specific staffer that worked for me, and [Trump] would request for her to be on constant trips when it wasn't her turn -- I would rotate the staffers to go on foreign trips, especially,' said Grisham. 'He one time had one of my other deputies bring her back "so that they could look at her ass" is what he said to him.... I tried everything I could to ensure she was never alone with him.... I did take it to a couple of different chiefs of staff, including Mark Meadows.... And I think, at the end of the day, what could they do other than go in there and say, this isn't good, sir, and Donald Trump will do what Donald Trump wants to do.'"

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The #MeToo movement is why E. Jean Carroll wrote the memoir in which she revealed that Trump violated her in a Bergdorf Goodman changing room in the mid-1990s.... The movement is the reason that in 2022, New York passed the Adult Survivors Act, which created a window during which sexual assault survivors could sue their attackers even beyond the statute of limitations.... Because of the #MeToo movement, the man who started it all gets some measure of comeuppance.... Trump's lawyer Joseph Tacopina ... tried the case as if #MeToo hadn't happened."

~~~ Sara Boboltz of the Huffington Post: "... Donald Trump cast aside a federal judge's stern warning by claiming falsely on Tuesday that he was 'not allowed to speak or defend' himself in court against E. Jean Carroll's battery and defamation allegations, when he actually declined the chance to testify days earlier. Judge Lewis Kaplan had warned Trump's attorneys that posting to social media about the case could end up hurting him. Defense lawyer Joe Tacopina said last month that he would ask the 2024 presidential candidate to 'refrain' from posting about the case, according to the legal news site Law & Crime.... [But] As Kaplan prepared to instruct jurors..., Trump took to Truth Social to complain, saying he was 'waiting for a jury decision on a False Accusation.'... Trump continued: 'I will therefore not speak until after the trial, but will appeal the Unconstitutional silencing of me, as a candidate, no matter the outcome!'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't think Trump is precisely lying as Boboltz claims. He thinks he should be allowed to say whatever he wants about the trial and the principals outside of court. And Judge Kaplan said he could not. Trump did not claim, as Boblotz asserts, that he was not allowed to defend himself in court. Trump believes he should be able to tell his lies in the manner he sees fit, unfettered by court control or in the form of cross-examination.

Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden and Speaker Kevin McCarthy emerged from a critical meeting at the White House on Tuesday with no consensus on how to end their impasse over the federal debt and spending just weeks before the nation is set to default on its obligations for the first time. With the economy hanging in the balance, the two leaders stuck to their opening positions, with Mr. Biden demanding that Congress raise the debt ceiling unconditionally to avoid a default and Mr. McCarthy insisting such a move be accompanied by serious spending restraints. But the two agreed to have aides meet later in the day and to reconvene themselves on Friday.... 'I made clear during our meeting that default is not an option,' Mr. Biden said after the session in the Oval Office. 'I repeated that time and again. America is not a deadbeat nation. We pay our bills and avoiding default is a basic duty of the United States Congress.... I'm prepared to begin a separate discussion about my budget and spending priorities but not under the threat of default.'" ~~~

~~~ Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico: "President Joe Biden on Tuesday said he was 'considering' the use of the 14th amendment as a means to circumvent the debt ceiling standoff he currently finds himself in with House Republicans. But he cast some doubt on whether it could work, saying it would 'have to be litigated and in the meantime without an extension it'd still end up in the same place.' The president said he would look at the issue of invalidating the debt ceiling through the 14th amendment 'months down the road.' The amendment states that the public debt of the United States 'shall not be questioned.' Biden also refused to rule out a short-term debt limit increase. 'I said I would come back and talk,' he said. 'The one thing I'm ruling out is default, and I'm not going to pass a budget that has massive cuts.'" A New York Times story is here.

** Mark Morales, et al., of CNN: "Federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against New York Rep. George Santos, the Republican lawmaker whose astonishing pattern of lies and fabrications stunned even hardened politicos, according to three sources familiar with the matter. Santos is expected to appear as soon as Wednesday at federal court in New York's eastern district, where the charges have been filed under seal. The exact nature of the charges couldn't immediately be learned but the FBI and the Justice Department public integrity prosecutors in New York and Washington have been examining allegations of false statements in Santos' campaign finance filings and other claims.... House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said he will look at the charges before determining if he thinks Santos should be removed from Congress." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times' story is here.

Morgan Rimmer & Manu Raju of CNN: "Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who has been away from the Senate since February while recovering from shingles, will return to Washington on Tuesday, according to a spokesperson." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Ian Millhiser of Vox: "The Supreme Court could hand down a decision any day now in National Association for Gun Rights v. City of Naperville, a case that could legalize assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in all 50 states. The case challenges a Naperville, Illinois, ordinance and a similar Illinois state law, both of which ban assault weapons, which the state law defines to include certain semiautomatic rifles such as AR-15s and AK-47s. Additionally, the state law prohibits the sale of a 'large capacity ammunition feeding device,' which the statute defines as long gun magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition, or handgun magazines that hold more than 15 bullets. The plaintiffs, which include a gun shop owner and a gun rights group, claim the two statutes violate the Second Amendment. Should the Supreme Court accept that argument and overturn these laws, it would have sweeping implications for the entire country. That decision would need to be followed throughout the entire nation -- which would most likely mean that neither any state nor the US Congress could ban assault rifles or high-capacity magazines."

Emily Guskin of the Washington Post: "Two-thirds of Americans say the abortion drug mifepristone, used in the majority of abortions in the United States, should remain on the market, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll. The poll finds that 66 percent of U.S. adults say mifepristone should remain on the market, while 24 percent say it should be taken off the market. Just under half, 47 percent, say access to mifepristone should be kept as is; 12 percent say it should remain on the market but be more restricted than it is now.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Somehow I don't think the three-judge panel of the Fifth Circuit, which is hearing an appeal of the decision to radically curb the availability of mifepristone, will care about public opinion. ~~~

~~~ Susan Rinkunas of Jezebel, republished by Yahoo! News: "We regret to inform you that the nonsense abortion pill lawsuit ... will be heard next on May 17 by a very unfortunate group of judges -- including James Ho, who has connections to both Justice Clarence Thomas and his Republican megadonor benefactor, Harlan Crow. Ho is the Federalist Society/MAGA darling of Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals who's written very aggressive opinions, including one from 2019 in which he said that 'abortion is the immoral, tragic, and violent taking of innocent human life.'... Donald Trump nominated the Texas judge to the appeals court in 2017, and Ho was sworn in in January 2018 by Justice Thomas himself -- in Crow's private library.... The other two judges on the panel are Trump appointee Cory Wilson, who voted for a six-week abortion ban as a Mississippi state lawmaker, and George W. Bush nominee Jennifer Elrod, who said Obamacare was a 'fraud on the American people.'" Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

A detail from our story today: Ted Cruz tweeted this photo of Clarence Thomas swearing in 5th Circuit Judge James Ho. Turns out this is in billionaire Harlan Crow's private library, and flight records show Crow's jet dispatched to DC and back to Dallas before + after this event https://t.co/IwNjkwRsS6

— Justin Elliott (@JustinElliott) April 6, 2023

     ~~~ Marie: After a leisurely tour of the gardens where they admired the tastefully-placed statues of brutal dictators, the party returned to the Crows' palatial dining room to enjoy a light lunch served on Adolf Hitler's personal dinner plates. During the luncheon, Sen. Cruz reminisced about his father's part in the assassination of President Kennedy not far from the site of Mr. Crow's stately Dallas home.

Thomas Pays Up. Julia Rock & Andrew Perez of the Lever: "Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas changed his position on one of America's most significant regulatory doctrines after his wife reportedly accepted secret payments from a shadowy conservative network pushing for the change. Thomas' shift also came while he was receiving lavish gifts from a billionaire linked to other groups criticizing the same doctrine -- which is now headed back to the high court. The so-called 'Chevron deference' doctrine stipulates that the executive branch -- not the federal courts -- has the power to interpret laws passed by Congress in certain circumstances. Conservatives for years have fought to overturn the doctrine, a move that would empower legal challenges to federal agency regulations on everything from climate policy to workplace safety to overtime pay. Thomas wrote a landmark Supreme Court opinion upholding the doctrine in 2005, but began questioning it a decade later, before eventually renouncing his past opinion in 2020 and claiming that the doctrine itself might be unconstitutional. Now, Thomas could help overturn the doctrine in a new case the high court just agreed to hear next term. Groups within the conservative legal movement funded by Leonard Leo's dark money network and affiliated with Thomas' billionaire benefactor Harlan Crow have organized a concerted effort in recent years to overturn Chevron."

Kenny Stancil of Common Dreams: "The Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday sent a letter asking Harlan Crow ... to provide a full accounting of his financial ties to [Clarence] Thomas and any other judges on the high court. It comes as 'no surprise' that none of the panel's nine Republicans signed the letter, Accountable.US declared Tuesday, because they have collectively accepted nearly half a million dollars in campaign cash from Crow since the turn of the century.... Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee ... have attempted to downplay the seriousness of the court's growing crisis of legitimacy.... '[During a hearing last week, Sen. Ted] Cruz claimed the hearing was not about judicial ethics, but instead, was an attempt to attack Justice Thomas for having rich friends," [Accountable.US said.]" Crow has given Cruz $23,500 in campaign donations....

"... as Common Dreams reported last week, an Americans for Tax Fairness analysis of campaign finance data shows that after Thomas provided a deciding vote in the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission case, the Crow family's average annual campaign contributions soared by 862%, from $163,241 before 2010 to $1.57 million since. This massive increase ... underscores how the 5-4 ruling that effectively legalized unlimited political spending has strengthened the wealthy's ability to shape electoral outcomes, further undermining U.S. democracy." ~~~

~~~ BUT. Benjamin Guggenheim of Politico: "Senate Finance Chair Ron Wyden on Tuesday accused billionaire Harlan Crow of 'stonewalling' for refusing to comply with a request for a complete accounting of Crow's gifts to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.... Ryan Carey, a spokesperson for Wyden (D-Ore.), said the Senate tax chief received an 'obstructive letter' from a lawyer for Crow late Monday night declining to answer a series of questions about the billionaire's financial arrangements with Thomas that Wyden posed to Crow in an April 24 letter.Wyden had asked for details on the gifts Crow lavished on Thomas for over two decades, as reported by ProPublica.... The committee's next steps could include subpoenaing Crow for the requested records or using a section of the tax code that vests the chairs of Congress' tax committees with the authority to obtain a private citizen's tax returns directly from Treasury...."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Jeremy Peters, et al., of the New York Times: "The former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, declaring, 'We're back,' said on Tuesday that he was starting a new show on Twitter, a sign that negotiations to reach an amicable separation with the network, where he is still under contract, had broken down. Mr. Carlson offered no details of when his new program would begin or what kind of content it would have. The many unanswered questions highlighted the uncertainties surrounding his future -- a career in which he would be deprived of a prime-time platform on Fox News. Among the possibilities: Fox could ultimately block any attempt by the host to return to a prominent role in conservative media.... Mr. Carlson's remarks on Tuesday, posted on Twitter -- a platform run by Elon Musk, a provocateur in a similar mold as the combative, contrarian host -- consisted of a three-minute monologue delivered directly to the camera ..., [which] could violate the terms of his contract with Fox...." ~~~

     ~~~ Jeremy Barr, et al., of the Washington Post: "Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted late Tuesday that there was no deal with Carlson...."

Presidential Race 2024. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Former congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who has vowed to do everything she can to keep Donald Trump from returning to the White House, launched a television ad Tuesday warning viewers that the former president 'is a risk America can never take again.' The ad is running on CNN before and during a high-profile town hall scheduled Wednesday night on CNN featuring Trump -- now a 2024 candidate -- taking questions from voters in New Hampshire. The 60-second spot, which Cheney narrates but in which she does not appear, is funded by her political action committee." ~~~

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Sarah Mervosh & Dana Goldstein of the New York Times: "Florida has rejected dozens of social studies textbooks and worked with publishers to edit dozens more, the state's education department announced on Tuesday, in the latest effort under Gov. Ron DeSantis to scrub textbooks of contested topics, especially surrounding contemporary issues of race and social justice."

Texas Senate Race. Amy Wang & Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: "Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D), a longtime lawmaker whose district includes Uvalde, Tex., intends to join the U.S. Senate race to challenge Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) in 2024, according to three people familiar with Gutierrez's plans who spoke on the condition of anonymity because a formal announcement has not yet been made.... Gutierrez would become the second Democrat to join the race, after Rep. Colin Allred (D-Tex.) announced his campaign last week."

Utah. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "When she published a children's book almost a year after her husband's death, Kouri Richins wanted to help kids struggling to cope with the loss of a loved one. The Utah mother of three was facing her own grief when she wrote the picture book after her husband, Eric Richins, died in March 2022, she said. 'It completely took us all by shock,' Richins said in April while promoting her book, 'Are You With Me?' In an interview with KTVX, an ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City, she added: 'It's -- you know -- explaining to my kid just because he's not present here with us physically, doesn't mean his presence isn't here with us.' But after a month of praise from local media for helping children deal with grief, Richins's story took a dark turn. She has been charged with her husband's murder, accused of poisoning him with a lethal dose of fentanyl."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Yevgeniy Prigozhin, the leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group that has been engaged in intense combat against Ukrainian forces in Bakhmut, added to a string of videos attacking Russian military leaders, accusing their soldiers of fleeing the battlefield and causing hundreds of Wagner casualties. A Ukrainian assault brigade later posted on Telegram, saying Russia's 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade had escaped from the city.... In Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly promised continued support for Ukraine regardless of the outcome of Kyiv's anticipated counteroffensive.... The United States announced a fresh $1.2 billion military assistance package for Ukraine." ~~~

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

Anushka Patil of the New York Times: "A video journalist working for Agence France-Presse, the French news agency, was killed by rocket fire near the town of Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine, Agence France-Presse said on Tuesday. Some of the heaviest battles of the war are being fought in and around the nearby city of Bakhmut. The journalist, Arman Soldin, 32, and four colleagues were with Ukrainian soldiers when they came under a Grad rocket attack on Tuesday afternoon, the agency said. Mr. Soldin was killed. No one on the rest of the team, which included a security adviser, was injured. Mr. Soldin is the 17th journalist to be killed in Ukraine since 2022, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists."

News Lede

New York Times: "Inflation slowed for a 10th straight month in April, a closely watched report on Wednesday showed, good news for American families struggling under the burden of higher costs and for policymakers in Washington as they try to wrangle rapid price increases. The Consumer Price Index climbed 4.9 percent in April from a year earlier, less than the 5 percent that economists in a Bloomberg survey had expected Inflation has come down notably from a peak just above 9 percent last summer, though it has remained far higher than the 2 percent annual gains that were normal before the pandemic." This is part of a liveblog.