July 23, 2022

Ian Bassin & Erica Newland in the New York Review of Books on why it's not Merrick Garland's job to decide whether or not it's "in the national interest" to indict & prosecute a former president*: "As in 1974, the Department of Justice has a responsibility here, but so does the president, and neither may interfere with the other. The president cannot tell the department whether or not to indict. And if the department determines there is sufficient evidence to convict Trump of criminal acts and the principles of federal prosecution counsel in favor of an indictment, DOJ has no jurisdiction to do anything other than indict. It would be beyond its proper powers to weigh whether indicting would be in the national interest. That is a decision reserved to the president through the power to withhold or issue a pardon.... The Watergate prosecution team raised this point to [Special Prosecutor Leon] Jaworski in 1974, writing in a memo that when 'familiar factors of prosecutorial discretion ... uniformly dictate prosecution,' prosecutors have an obligation to rely on this 'traditional compass' rather than to 'try to make a decision based on a mixture of perceived public sentiment and long-range public policy choices.'" The article is firewalled, and I can't read most of it, but the general principle, outlined in the first few grafs is worth thinking about. Somebody with a NYRB subscription should mail it to Merrick the Unready. And here's something else for Merrick to chew on: ~~~

~~~ Trumpolini Plans to Install a Loyal State. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Former President Trump's top allies are preparing to radically reshape the federal government if he is re-elected, purging potentially thousands of civil servants and filling career posts with loyalists to him and his 'America First' ideology, people involved in the discussions tell Axios. The impact could go well beyond typical conservative targets such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Internal Revenue Service. Trump allies are working on plans that would potentially strip layers at the Justice Department -- including the FBI, and reaching into national security, intelligence, the State Department and the Pentagon, sources close to the former president say.... The heart of the plan is derived from an executive order known as 'Schedule F.' developed and refined in secret over most of the second half of Trump's term and launched 13 days before the 2020 election.... [The plan] It would effectively upend the modern civil service, triggering a shock wave across the bureaucracy." ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Campos, in LG&$, finds Swan's report "pretty terrifying": "Maybe this story will come across Merrick Garland's desk as he continues his very very very very very very meticulous investigation of whether Donald Trump and his top lieutenants should be held legally responsible in some way for their actions between November of 2020 and January of 2021. One thing that investigation ought to take into account is that the coup attempt is very much ongoing, and if Trump is re-elected, or 're-elected,' it will succeed. At which point there will be no more investigations, except those conducted by Trump loyalists of the countless traitors in our midst. One of these traitors is going to be Merrick Garland, of course."

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: The House January 6 committee is "crafting a story about Jan. 6 as a battle between Republican heroism and Republican villainy. It seems intended to create a permission structure for Trump supporters to move on without having to disavow everything they loved about his presidency, or to admit that Jan. 6 was the logical culmination of his sadistic politics.... There is a difference, however, between a smart narrative and an accurate one. In truth, you can't cleave Trump and his most shameless antidemocratic enablers off from the rest of the Republican Party, because the party has been remade in his image.... Whatever they say now, the witnesses who worked for Trump enabled his mounting authoritarianism."

Marie: Donald Trump sits for friendly interviews quite often. Since Trump can do no wrong, why doesn't one of the friendly interviewers just ask him, "What were you doing during those 187 minutes?"?? The answer could be newsworthy.

A Bad Day for a Couple of Trumpettes

That Didn't Take Long. Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Stephen K. Bannon, the right-wing podcaster and longtime confidante of ... Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of contempt of Congress for his refusal to provide documents or testimony to a House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. The trial, which lasted a week and only featured two witnesses, tested a rarely-used criminal statute meant to ensure that people comply with congressional subpoenas. Earlier this month as he prepared for trial, Bannon had vowed to go 'medieval' on his enemies. But most of his legal arguments were rejected by the trial judge, and Bannon ended up calling no witnesses.... The jury deliberated for just two and a half hours before announcing its verdict.... U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols scheduled sentencing for Oct. 21. Each of the two misdemeanor charges is punishable by at least 30 days and up to one year in jail." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Guardian's report is here.

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "A disciplinary board is moving to penalize Jeffrey Clark, the former Justice Department official who worked to undo the results of the 2020 election, including the possibility of disbarment. A complaint filed this week by the D.C. Bar's Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which governs lawyers in Washington, accused Mr. Clark of interfering in the administration of justice in his bid to keep ... Donald J. Trump in power." The Law & Crime story, which broke the news, is here.

Lateshia Beachum of the Washington Post: "A Pennsylvania woman who entered the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot and later recorded herself saying she wanted to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi 'in the frigging brain' has been sentenced to 60 days behind bars. Dawn Lee Bancroft, 59, of Doylestown was also sentenced to three years probation and 100 hours of community service and ordered to pay a restitution of $500.... Bancroft, however, was never charged with making a threat.... In May, Bancroft won a primary race to be the Republican candidate for committeeperson in Doylestown Borough's 2nd District." MB: You can see how civic-minded Bancroft is.

Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "A far-right internet personality pleaded guilty Friday to joining the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol, where he streamed live video that incriminated him and other rioters, according to a court filing. Anthime Gionet, known as 'Baked Alaska' to his social media followers, faces a maximum sentence of six months imprisonment after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor count of parading, demonstrating or picketing inside a Capitol building. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan is scheduled to sentence Gionet on Jan. 12, 2023." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I don't understood why it should take six months to sentence someone for a misdemeanor. Why, this guy died (by his own hand) while awaiting sentencing: ~~~

~~~ John Beauge of the (Harrisburg, Pa.) Patriot-News: "A Lycoming County man awaiting sentencing for illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, has died. The death Wednesday of Mark R. Aungst, 47, of South Williamsport, was ruled a suicide, Coroner Charles E. Kiessling Jr. said.... Aungst and co-defendant Tammy A. Bronsburg, who pleaded guilty to the same charge, traveled by bus to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021 for President Trump's 'stop the steal' rally. They then joined others and marched to the Capitol. [They entered the building together & took photos & videos on their cell phones.]... Neither assaulted a police officer nor stole or damaged government property, the prosecutor had said at a previous court proceeding."

The New York Times is running I-was-wrong "confessionals" by its columnists. Here's one: ~~~

~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "By the time [Sen. Al] Franken [D-Minn.] resigned, eight women had accused him of either groping or trying to forcibly kiss them. Even if you dismiss [the initial complaint of sexual harassment], it seems to me overwhelmingly likely that he acted in a way that left women who'd admired him confused and humiliated. Nevertheless, I regret calling for Franken to resign without a Senate investigation..... Carried away by the furious momentum of #MeToo, I let myself forget that transparent, dispassionate systems for hearing conflicting claims are not an impediment to justice but a prerequisite for it.... Senator Kirsten Gillibrand's 2020 presidential campaign was derailed in part by bitterness about the role she played in pushing Franken out."

Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times: "It was not constitutional analysis but religious doctrine that drove the opposition to Roe. And it was the court's unacknowledged embrace of religious doctrine that has turned American women into desperate refugees fleeing their home states in pursuit of reproductive health care that less than a month ago was theirs by right. To be sure, the Supreme Court has not outlawed abortion. Justice Samuel Alito left that dirty work to the states...[.] Justice Alito actually had the gall to write that 'we do not pretend to know how our political system or society will respond to today's decision.'... Justice Alito took pains to present the majority's conclusion as the product of pure legal reasoning engaged in by judges standing majestically above the fray...."

Annie Palmer of CNBC: "Amazon is acquiring One Medical for $18 a share, an all-cash deal that values the primary health-care provider at roughly $3.9 billion, the companies said Thursday.... One Medical, which went public in 2020, operates a network of boutique primary-care practices, and also offers a range of telemedicine services." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The New York Times' live updates for Covid-19 developments Friday are here. They include news about President Biden's progress. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

California. Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a bill into law that allows private citizens to bring civil action against anyone who manufactures, distributes, transports or imports assault weapons or ghost guns, which are banned in the state. California Senate Bill 1327 is modeled after a Texas law that allows private citizens to bring civil litigation against abortion providers or anyone who assists a pregnant person in obtaining an abortion after as early as six weeks of pregnancy. The US Supreme Court in December allowed Texas' six-week abortion ban to remain in effect, which prompted Newsom, who has been supportive of abortion rights and pro-gun control, to say he was 'outraged' by the court's decision and direct his staff to draft a similar bill to regulate guns."

Despite the fact that voter fraud is rare, there are a few of innovative ways to commit it. Now, I'm not saying this is what happened in Colorado. Not saying that at all. But let's say your spouse tells you she is going to vote for a candidate you don't like. You have a little discussion about it, but she won't budge. So, okay, you kill her, then when her ballot comes in the mail, you fill it out with your favorite candidate and send it in. ~~~

~~~ Colorado. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: Barry Morphew, "the husband of a Colorado woman [Suzanne Morphew,] who has been missing for more than two years, pleaded guilty on Thursday to casting her mail-in ballot for Donald J. Trump during the 2020 election, telling F.B.I. agents [he did so], '... Just because I wanted Trump to win.'... [Suzanne disappeared in May 2020.] Prosecutors charged Mr. Morphew with first-degree murder last year, but then, in April, they dropped all charges against him related to her disappearance after a judge imposed sanctions on them for violating discovery rules." Thanks to Patrick for the link. The AP's report is here. Suzanne went missing on Mothers Day.

Maryland Gubernatorial Race. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Wes Moore, a celebrity author and former nonprofit executive who campaigned as a political outsider, has won the Democratic primary for governor of Maryland. Three days after voting concluded, The Associated Press declared Mr. Moore the winner late Friday.... Mr. Moore, a best-selling author who for a time hosted a show on Oprah Winfrey's cable network, cast himself as a dynamic newcomer in a race in which his top rivals were all veterans of Maryland or national politics. In addition to an endorsement from Ms. Winfrey, he had the backing of the Democratic leaders of both chambers of the Maryland legislature and three members of the state's congressional delegation -- a strong showing for a first-time candidate. Mr. Moore, who would become Maryland's first Black governor if he wins, will be a heavy favorite in the general election against Dan Cox, a Republican state legislator who was endorsed by former President Donald J. Trump. Mr. Cox has amplified an array of election conspiracy theories, and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, he called Vice President Mike Pence 'a traitor.'"

New York. Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "An attempted assault on Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, inflamed a fierce debate over the state's public safety laws on Friday, hours after a man accused of charging the candidate with a pointed weapon was released without bail. Mr. Zeldin has long made public safety a centerpiece of his campaign against Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat. But he and his allies argued on Friday that the episode viscerally drove home the need to increase policing and tighten New York's bail laws to make it easier for judges to hold people charged with certain crimes.... Since 2020, under New York law, judges have been barred from setting bail on the charge of attempted assault...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: How is it attempted assault when the assailant lays hands on a victim? I supposed this is a codified definition. If not, it's a charging error. In fact, the reporters write, "In [this] case..., the Monroe County district attorney could have chosen to charge him with a violent felony, which would have qualified the case for potential bail, and pushed to keep him behind bars." In my view, an assailant need not succeed in doing bodily harm to have committed an assault.

Texas. Rebekah Riess & Tina Burnside of CNN: "Former sports star Bo Jackson covered all funeral expenses for the families of the victims of the Uvalde school massacre 'so they would have one less thing to worry about as they grieved,' according to a statement from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott. Uvalde Mayor Don McLaughlin told CNN that Jackson flew in and presented a check for $170,000 to Abbott while in Uvalde to cover the expenses."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

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

Ayse Wieting & Suzan Fraser of the AP: "Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements Friday with Turkey and the United Nations clearing the way for exporting millions of tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain -- as well as Russian grain and fertilizer -- ending a wartime standoff that had threatened food security around the globe. The deal will enable Ukraine -- one of the world's key breadbaskets -- to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to Russia's invasion. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it 'a beacon of hope' for millions of hungry people who have faced huge increases in food costs." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

July 22, 2022

Marie: My computer is acting up. If I don't post anything, I'm fine. It's my computer that's sick.

Afternoon Update:

That Didn't Take Long. Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "Stephen K. Bannon, the right-wing podcaster and longtime confidante of ... Donald Trump, was convicted Friday of contempt of Congress for his refusal to provide documents or testimony to a House committee probing the Jan. 6, 2021 attack. The trial, which lasted a week and only featured two witnesses, tested a rarely-used criminal statute meant to ensure that people comply with congressional subpoenas. Earlier this month as he prepared for trial, Bannon had vowed to go 'medieval' on his enemies. But most of his legal arguments were rejected by the trial judge, and Bannon ended up calling no witnesses.... The jury deliberated for just two and a half hours before announcing its verdict.... U.S. District Judge Carl J. Nichols scheduled sentencing for Oct. 21. Each of the two misdemeanor charges is punishable by at least 30 days and up to one year in jail."

I meant to post this earlier, for those of you who prefer to see the humor in the news:

If you missed the January 6 committee, you can see it here, on the committee's Website.

Annie Palmer of CNBC: "Amazon is acquiring One Medical for $18 a share, an all-cash deal that values the primary health-care provider at roughly $3.9 billion, the companies said Thursday.... One Medical, which went public in 2020, operates a network of boutique primary-care practices, and also offers a range of telemedicine services."

The New York Times' live updates for Covid-19 developments Friday are here. They include news about President Biden's progress.

Ayse Wieting & Suzan Fraser of the AP: "Russia and Ukraine signed separate agreements Friday with Turkey and the United Nations clearing the way for exporting millions of tons of desperately needed Ukrainian grain -- as well as Russian grain and fertilizer -- ending a wartime standoff that had threatened food security around the globe. The deal will enable Ukraine -- one of the world's key breadbaskets -- to export 22 million tons of grain and other agricultural products that have been stuck in Black Sea ports due to Russia's invasion. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres called it 'a beacon of hope' for millions of hungry people who have faced huge increases in food costs."

~~~~~~~~~~

** Amy Gardner & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Eleven minutes after he returned to the White House from his speech on the Ellipse urging supporters to march on the U.S. Capitol..., Donald Trump learned that the Jan. 6, 2021, protest had turned violent, according to new details presented Thursday by the House committee investigating the attack that day. But instead of harnessing the power of the Oval Office by ordering military or police intervention or exhorting the rioters to go home, Trump continued to fan the flames of discord -- and remained focused on trying to overturn the 2020 election, even as his aides implored him to stop the violence. He demanded a list of senators' phone numbers to cajole them not to certify the forthcoming electoral college count. He resisted aides' entreaties that he make a public statement condemning the insurrection. And at 2:24 p.m., the same moment members of his national security staff were learning how close rioters had come to Vice President Mike Pence, Trump tweeted that his second-in-command was a 'coward.'"

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "For 13 minutes on Jan. 6, 2021, as smoke clouded the air and Vice President Mike Pence hid from rioters in his office adjacent to the Senate chamber, his Secret Service detail scrambled -- in increasingly frantic radio messages -- to clear a path for Pence to flee the Capitol. On Thursday, the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack revealed harrowing video and audio that showed just how perilously close Pence and his protective detail came to danger, detailing how the protesters whom ... Donald Trump had riled up turned their anger on the man he blamed for failing to overturn the results of the 2020 election.... A White House security official who was monitoring the [radio] traffic told the committee that agents were 'starting to fear for their own lives.... There were calls to say goodbye to family members, so on and so forth,' the security official said in audiotaped testimony. 'For whatever the reason was on the ground, the VP detail thought that this was about to get very ugly.'... The witness said he could tell the danger that Pence and Secret Service agents were in because some agents were yelling and screaming, and some sent 'very personal' messages to have colleagues tell their families goodbye for them."

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times has five takeaways from the hearing. "The committee documented how, over 187 minutes, Mr. Trump remained in a small dining room off the Oval Office, watching the violence on television and rebuffing pleas by aides, congressional Republicans and family members to call off the mob even as he continued to call senators in the hopes of convincing them to stop the certification of his Electoral College defeat.... The president, after learning of the Capitol breach, resisted putting out a tweet saying 'Stay peaceful.' 'He told Mark Meadows that the rioters were doing what they should be doing and the rioters understood they were doing what President Trump wanted them to do," [Rep. Adam] Kinzinger said.... Mr. Trump never reached out to the heads of any law enforcement or national security department or agency in the government to seek help in responding to quell the violence.... A day after the assault, Mr. Trump taped an address, but he still could not bring himself to say that the election was over." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Over the past several days listening to the teevee, I have heard more than one legal expert explain that while most Americans do not have a legal duty to try to stop a crime in progress we may witness, the POTUS does. The presidential oath of office, which is prescribed in the Constitution, includes the clause, "... and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." The presidential (and vice-presidential) oath is unique in that regard.

As bone-chilling as synched video & audio of the efforts to save Mike Pence & his party was, there was one moment during the hearing that raised a laugh: ~~~

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "The House January 6 committee on Thursday played Capitol security footage which showed the Missouri Republican senator Josh Hawley, who famously raised a fist to protesters outside, running for his safety once those protesters breached the building.... [During the hearing, Rep. Elaine Luria (D-Va.) flashed a photo of Hawley raising his fist in support of the soon-to-be-rioters and said,] 'As you can see in this photo, he raised his fist in solidarity with protesters already amassing at the security gates.'... 'Later that day, Senator Hawley fled after those protesters he helped to rile up stormed the Capitol. See for yourself.' The committee then played video of Hawley trotting across a corridor and hurrying down a staircase next to an escalator.... In the room, the clips were greeted with laughter.... Luria said: ''We spoke with a Capitol police officer who was out there at the time. She told us that Senator Josh Hawley's gesture riled up the crowd and it bothered her greatly because he was doing it in a safe space, protected by the officers and the barriers.' The senator has also used the [raised-fist] image for fundraising purposes.... Online...., one user scored the footage of Hawley running to a soundtracks including Stayin' Alive by the BeeGees, Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen and the Benny Hill theme.... The Lincoln Project, a group of anti-Trump conservatives, said: 'Hawley's legacy will forever be fleeing from the same mob he helped incite.'" Includes Twitter clips.

Yahoo! News: During the hearing Thursday, two witnesses corroborated Cassidy Hutchinson's earlier testimony regarding a heated exchange in an SUV between Donald Trump & Secret Service personnel on January 6 after the Secret Service people told Trump they would not take him to the Capitol.

New York Times reporters liveblogged news about/from the House January 6 select committee hearing Thursday night.

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "What was the most shocking and disgraceful moment in the White House that day? The committee highlighted the tweet Trump posted at 2:24 p.m., when he knew the mob had already breached the Capitol's defenses. Instead of trying to calm his followers, he incited them -- and put a target on his own vice president's back. 'Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify,' Trump tweeted."

Mark Mazzetti & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "As the House committee investigating Jan. 6 uses its prime-time hearing on Thursday to document ... Donald J. Trump's lack of forceful response to the attack on the Capitol by his supporters, it will again raise one of the enduring mysteries of that day: Why did it take so long to deploy the National Guard? The hearing is unlikely to answer that question, but it could shed light on what Mr. Trump and his top aides did or did not do to send troops to assist police officers who were overrun by an angry mob determined to halt the certification of the 2020 presidential election. The mobilization and deployment of National Guard troops from an armory just two miles away from the Capitol was hung up by confusion, communications breakdowns and concern over the wisdom of dispatching armed soldiers to quell the riot. It took more than four hours from the time the Capitol Police chief made the call for backup to when the D.C. National Guard troops arrived, a gap that remains the subject of dueling narratives and finger-pointing." (Also linked yesterday.)

Not only have we learned more about what Trump was doing during the insurrection -- trying to get the insurrectionists to kill the Vice President and chatting with Rudy & members of Congress -- but now we also know what Mrs. Trump was doing! ~~~

~~~ Melanie: I Was Taking Pictures of a Rug! Kate Bennett of CNN: "Former first lady Melania Trump said in a new interview with Fox that she was 'unaware' of the ongoing riot on January 6, 2021, because she was too busy photographing a rug in the White House. 'On January 6, 2021, I was fulfilling one of my duties as First Lady of the United States of America, and accordingly, I was unaware of what was simultaneously transpiring at the US Capitol Building,' she said.... Trump's response comes several weeks after Stephanie Grisham, her former chief of staff, revealed a text message exchange in which the former first lady responded to a tweet Grisham had drafted calling for the violence on Capitol Hill to stop as it was happening. The then-first lady responded with the word, 'no,' declining to send a statement condemning the insurrection.... [As for her 'duty'] to archive the contents of the White House..., the White House curator and the White House Historical Association are predominantly responsible for keeping a record of the contents of the official White House collection.... Trump waited until five days after the riot to tweet a condemnation of the violence." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Griffith called Melanie's excuse "bullshit." Melanie claimed during the Fox interview that, had she known about the violence, she would have condemned it. Griffith could be more charitable & acknowledge that the White House a lot of rugs, and it could take days to rearrange the furniture & such to take all those pictures.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. During Hearing, Fox "News" Outraged by President Trump Biden. Andrew Lawrence of the Guardian: "On Thursday night as the Congressional hearings into the January 6 Capitol riot drew to a close, Tucker Carlson directed his outrage at a president he felt had lied and was not being held accountable for falsehoods that shook popular faith in the American democratic system. But he wasn't talking about Donald Trump inciting rioters to storm the Capitol. He was talking about Joe Biden getting Covid. Whilemillions of people last night tuned into America's other TV news channels and heard testimony about what Trump did, or rather did not do, during the hours when the rioters stormed the Capitol, Fox News viewers saw the network's primetime stars Carlson and Sean Hannity chide the 'twice jabbed, double-boosted' president for contracting the virus they say he alleged couldn't be caught with a vaccine."

Missing Texts Likely to Be Subject of Criminal Investigation. Zolan Kanno-Youngs & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security directed the Secret Service to halt its internal search for purged texts sent by agents around the time of Jan. 6 so that it does not 'interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation,' according to a letter reviewed by The New York Times.... The mention of a potential criminal investigation into the deleted texts of Secret Service personnel sought by Congress and the inspector general suggested the growing seriousness of the scrutiny into the agency's handling of records from around the time of the attack on the Capitol. The inspector general's office cannot alone bring criminal charges but is required to refer the case to the Justice Department if it discovers criminality through an investigation.... The officials [whose text messages are missing] identified by the inspector general included 'mostly people operationally involved with Jan. 6,' including [James] Murray, the agency's director, and members of ... Donald J. Trump's protection detail, such as Robert Engel, Mr. Trump's lead agent, according to an administration official familiar with the investigation. Anthony M. Ornato, a deputy White House chief of staff under Mr. Trump who had previously been in charge of Mr. Trump's protective detail, was not one of the 24 officials.... House committee officials said that some members of the Secret Service have hired private lawyers. A person familiar with the statement said that Mr. Ornato was one of those who did." CNN's report which broke the news of the potential criminal inquiry, is here.

Ryan Reilly & Daniel Barnes of NBC News: "Closing arguments in Steve Bannon's contempt of Congress trial are set for Friday after the former Donald Trump adviser declined to put up a defense argument or present evidence to the jury. Federal prosecutors rested their case against Bannon on Wednesday, and Bannon's team indicated Thursday that they would not call any witnesses or present a defense case. Much of the day Wednesday was spent on discussions away from the jury, including talk about a defense motion for acquittal and discussion of the final instructions that will be delivered to the jury before they begin deliberations." MB: What Bannon had warned would be "the misdemeanor from hell" in which he would use the trial to pulverize his perceived enemies turned out to be a big nothing. Nothing at all.

Ryan Reilly of NBC: News: "A Tennessee man and self-described 'loudmouth,' who filmed himself screaming 'WE IN THIS B----' as he stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, had a difficult time explaining his actions this week to a jury. Matthew Bledsoe, of Memphis, was convicted Thursday on a felony count of obstruction of an official proceeding as well as four misdemeanors, including entering or remaining in a restricted building and disorderly and disruptive conduct. Bledsoe, the seventh Jan. 6 defendant to face a jury trial, took the stand as a witness on Wednesday.... [Despite a good deal of evidence to the contrary, Bledsoe claimed on the stand] that he was unaware that Congress was certifying Joe Biden's 2020 election win when he stormed the Capitol."

Sean Keenan & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "A Georgia judge on Thursday criticized the Atlanta prosecutor leading an investigation into election interference by Donald J. Trump and his allies, calling her decision to host a fund-raiser for a political rival of one of the targets of her inquiry a 'what-are-you-thinking moment.' But the judge, Robert C. I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court, did not rule on a motion to disqualify the prosecutor, Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, and he also denied a motion to quash subpoenas sent to 11 bogus electors who filed paperwork falsely claiming that Mr. Trump won the 2020 election.... 'The optics are horrific,' [the judge] said, adding that it created at least an appearance problem."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday passed legislation to codify access to contraception nationwide, moving over almost unanimous Republican opposition to protect a right that is regarded as newly under threat after the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade. The measure is almost certain to fail in the evenly divided Senate, where most Republicans are also likely to be opposed.... The measure passed 228 to 195, with eight Republicans joining Democrats in support. It would protect the right to purchase and use contraception without government restriction. The legislation drew only slightly more Republican support than two bills that the House passed last week, which aimed to ensure access to abortion in the post-Roe era; almost all Republicans were united in opposition." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Are Republicans now asserting that life begins with a twinkle of a man's eye? Why the hell would they be opposed to contraception? (Yeah, I scanned the whole article, and the excuses Republicans gave were ridiculous.)

Confederate Justices Do Whatever They Want. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court handed Texas and Louisiana a temporary victory on Thursday, allowing a federal judge to block immigration enforcement guidelines issued by the Biden administration that he said allowed the release of undocumented immigrants with criminal records. In a brief order, the court gave no reasons, which is typical when the justices act on emergency applications, but it said it would take up an appeal of the case and hear arguments this year. Four justices dissented: Justice Amy Coney Barrett and the three liberal members. That included Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who recorded her first vote since she was sworn in last month." A Texas Tribune report is here. MB: The courts are supposed to show deference to the other branches except when it appears the executive or Congress is violating the Constitution or the law. (In fairness, the district judge did rule that the Biden plan violates federal law.) That concept is so over.

Nick Ehli & Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Liberal Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan said Thursday that it would be a 'dangerous thing' for the court and for democracy if the justices stray too far from public sentiment and lose the confidence of Americans. Kagan, who dissented when the court last month overturned Roe v. Wade's guarantee of a constitutional right to abortion, said the court's legitimacy is threatened when long-standing precedent is discarded and the court's actions are seen as motivated by personnel changes among the justices."

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Biden tested positive for the coronavirus on Thursday and is experiencing mild symptoms, the White House announced in a statement.... 'This morning, President Biden tested positive for COVID-19. He is fully vaccinated and twice boosted and experiencing very mild symptoms. He has begun taking Paxlovid. Consistent with CDC guidelines, he will isolate at the White House and will continue to carry out all of his duties fully during that time,' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement." A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ President Biden reassures Americans that he is doing all right despite having Covid:

     ~~~ Dr. Jill Biden told the press Thursday morning that she had tested negative for the virus. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. Included are updates on the President's health. (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "A former Minneapolis police officer who held George Floyd';s legs as he begged for breath beneath Derek Chauvin's knee was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in prison Thursday for violating the Black man's federal civil rights. Thomas K. Lane was the first of three former officers at the scene with Chauvin to be sentenced for his role in Floyd's fatal May 2020 arrest."

Mississippi. Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press: "The Mississippi Board of Education voted [Thursday] to remove a policy that barred individuals with enhanced concealed carry permits from carrying guns in the state's elementary and secondary public schools, revising a 1990 policy that previously prohibited anyone other than 'duly authorized law enforcement officials' from doing so. The board made the change as part of an ongoing review of its policies to bring them into compliance with state law.... Though the prohibitions are gone, a temporary policy still requires 'each local school district (to) have a policy concerning weapons on school premises.' Districts will be able to make policies allowing teachers and administrators with permits to carry guns on campus."

Mississippi. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "A police chief in Mississippi was fired Wednesday after a leaked recording showed that the official had bragged about killing 13 people in the line of duty and used the n-word repeatedly, including to describe one Black person the White man says he shot at least 119 times. The racist, homophobic and expletive-laden remarks that Sam Dobbins, the chief in the small town of Lexington, made during an April conversation with an officer caused an uproar this week in the Mississippi Delta community. The roughly 16-minute conversation, which was first reported by the Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, was recorded by Robert Lee Hooker, a Black man who resigned as an officer from the Lexington Police Department last week due to what he described as a toxic work environment."

New York. Nicholas Fandos & Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "Representative Lee Zeldin, the Republican candidate for governor of New York, was attacked on Thursday at a campaign event outside Rochester by a man with a pointed weapon who dragged him to the ground before being subdued by several other men, according to officials and videos of the attack. Mr. Zeldin was not injured, a campaign representative said. The videos show Mr. Zeldin, standing on the bed of a truck, addressing supporters gathered outside a V.F.W. hall in Fairport, N.Y., when a man approaches him slowly from the right, grabs him by the arm and brandishes a weapon. Mr. Zeldin responds by grabbing the man's wrist and is then joined by several men in containing the attacker.... Mr. Zeldin said the man had been taken into custody, but local law enforcement agencies did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Information about the man's identity and potential motivation was not immediately forthcoming Thursday night." A CNBC report is here.

Texas. Amanda Holpuch of the New York Times: "A federal grand jury indicted two men on Wednesday in connection with a human smuggling operation that left 50 adults and three children dead in and around an abandoned tractor-trailer on the outskirts of San Antonio last month, officials said.... Homero Zamorano Jr., 46, of Pasadena, Texas, and Christian Martinez, 28, of Palestine, Texas, were indicted on counts of conspiracy to transport and transportation of migrants illegally resulting in death, and o conspiracy to transport and transportation of migrants illegally resulting in serious injury, said the U.S. attorney for the Western District of Texas, in San Antonio.... Attorney General Merrick Garland will decide whether to pursue the death penalty before the trial."

Way Beyond

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Friday are here: "Turkey announced that a deal involving Russia, Ukraine, Turkey and the United Nations will be signed Friday to resume Ukraine's stalled grain exports. An estimated 22 million tons of grain are waiting to be shipped, unable to be moved since Russia's invasion in February. However, neither Ukraine nor Russia has confirmed that a deal is ready to be signed.... Russia's military campaign in Ukraine is likely to 'run out of steam' in the coming weeks, amid materiel and personnel shortages, the chief of Britain's intelligence service said Thursday."

The Plot Lengthens

Largely because we learned bit-by-bit the elements of Donald Trump's plot to overturn the 2020 election, and also because of the ragtag band of wacky, unscrupulous characters who helped him carry out his plot, many of us thought Trump's attempts to retain power were the last-minute, haphazard endeavors of a desperate lunatic who could not "face" the loss he had suffered. But as the House's January 6 select committee hearings have brought into focus, Trump had developed a multi-faceted approach to overturning the election. So we can forget Rudy Giuliani's press conference in the Four Seasons Total Landscaping parking lot and all the other laughably inept post-election shenanigans. As it turns out, Donald Trump had planned at least some of his nefarious scheme for six months.

As early as May 2020, Trump kicked in one part of his plot to overturn the election if he lost in November. He began repeatedly badmouthing mail-in ballots. This was much to the consternation of Republican operatives who knew that many older Republicans voted by mail, that voting by mail was generally fair and safe, and that Trump's opposition to vote-by-mail would depress Republican vote totals. Some Republicans attempted to explain this to Trump and urged him to embrace vote-by-mail. But he remained adamantly opposed to mail-in ballots and declared them an important element in an election-year "fraud" and "hoax." No one understood why. At first he was claiming that "foreign countries" were flooding the system with counterfeit ballots, which would result in a "rigged" (or "RIGGED") election. By early September, Trump was repeatedly claiming that Democrats were mailing out 80 million unsolicited ballots.

Recently, we learned from an audio recording which Dan Friedman of Mother Jones obtained that on October 31, 2020 -- a few days before the election -- Steve Bannon told a group that Trump would declare victory late on voting-day night, whether or not the AP & television networks had called the election. Bannon explained that Trump knew that early counts in close, key states would show Trump ahead of Joe Biden -- precisely because masses of Democrats had voted by mail, and that their ballots would take days to tally. Friedman notes that other reporting backs up Bannon's claim about Trump's strategy. ~~~

Trump did just what Bannon had predicted. In the wee hours of the morning following the election, he stepped to a White House podium and announced he had won. He carried his declaration a step further: he called for all vote-counting to stop. "We don't want them to find any ballots at 4 o'clock in the morning," Trump said. On Thursday of that week, he tweeted, "STOP THE COUNT!" The AP & networks would call the national race for Biden two days later, on Saturday.

So now we understand Trump's opposition to mail-in-ballots. It had nothing to do with voting integrity, of course. It was part of his plot to "win" even if he lost. And he set it in motion way back in the spring of 2020.