July 9, 2022

Michael Shear & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Under pressure to do more to respond to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, President Biden on Friday issued an executive order that aimed to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception while preparing for legal fights to come. But the order is vague about how the president hopes to accomplish those goals, leaving the details largely to Xavier Becerra, his secretary of health and human services, who has said the administration has 'no magic bullet' that can restore access to abortion. And Mr. Biden's order stops far short of demands from abortion rights advocates, who have criticized him for failing to move quickly to take action after the court's decision two weeks ago.... 'For God's sake, there's an election in November. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote,' the president said [before signing the order], noting that the justices in the majority 'practically dares' women to assert their political power to put in place laws that restore abortion rights. 'Consider the challenge accepted, court. But in the meantime, I'm signing this important executive order.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Politico report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the language of President Biden's executive order, via the White House.

Eileen Sullivan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Border Patrol agents on horseback used 'unnecessary' force in September against Black migrants who crossed into Del Rio, Texas, en masse, amid a humanitarian crisis that exposed the Biden administration's struggle to manage a record number of southwestern border crossings. In the absence of clear instructions from their supervisors, the agents took commands from the Texas state police and improperly 'used force or the threat of force' to drive migrants back into the Rio Grande. These findings and others came from an extensive review of the events of Sept. 19, when about 15,000 mostly Haitian migrants had gathered in squalid conditions underneath a bridge in Del Rio after crossing into the country from Mexico.... While four agents are facing disciplinary action for the events of that day, the report disclosed deeper problems within the agency.... Among those issues are the conflicting objectives between federal and local officers, a situation that is poised to get worse after Texas on Thursday ordered even more local law enforcement involvement in enforcing immigration laws."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "On Tuesday, the venerable Gallup organization reported that just 27 percent of Americans expressed confidence in their institutions -- the lowest level of trust since the questions were first asked half a century ago. On Wednesday, Mitch McConnell showed us why Americans feel this way.... McConnell [pulled out of talks on a bill to help U.S. manufacturers compete with China's semi-conductor industry in retribution for Democrats' planning to use ] 'reconciliation' to pass [a] prescription-drug bill by a simple majority vote.... To stop Americans from getting cheaper prescriptions, he is willing to sabotage American manufacturers (and therefore assist China).... This cynicism has destroyed Americans' faith in their government.... For three decades, as the Republicans transitioned from a limited-government party to an anti-government party, GOP leaders have seen political advantage in undermining Americans' confidence in their institutions, and in sabotaging the functions of government.... McConnell played a major part in the sabotage...."

Nicholas Wu & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Former White House counsel Pat Cipollone spent over eight hours meeting with the Jan. 6 select committee.... Cipollone huddled with committee investigators in a closed-door conference room of the Tip O'Neill House Office Building, emerging about half a dozen times to hold sidebar conversations with his attorney in a separate room.... Details of Cipollone's testimony remained concealed late Friday but a source familiar with the interview indicated the committee found his testimony 'very helpful.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "Two people familiar with former Trump White House counsel Pat Cipollone's testimony Friday told CNN that the House select committee ... did not ask him if he told then-White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson the day of the attack that they would 'get charged with every crime imaginable' if they went to the US Capitol.... It is unclear if Cipollone corroborated other parts of Hutchinson's testimony.... [A] source ... [said] that no one has refuted any of Hutchinson's testimony under oath.... When asked specifically if Cipollone confirmed testimony from Hutchinson, [Rep. Zoe] Lofgren [D-Calif.] said, 'Not contradicting is not the same as confirming.'... 'Mr. Cipollone provided a great deal of new information relevant to the select committee's investigation, which further underscores President Trump's supreme dereliction of duty,' [a] source said. 'The committee will show much of this to the American people in the days ahead.'"

What Are the Con Men Doing Now? ~~~

     ~~~ (1) (a) & (b) Isaac Stanley-Becker, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is considering sending a letter to Stephen K. Bannon saying that he is waiving his claim of executive privilege, potentially clearing the way for his former chief strategist to testify before the House select committee investigating the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.... The letter would reiterate that Trump invoked executive privilege in September 2021, when Bannon was first subpoenaed by the House committee. But it would say that the former president is now willing to give up that claim -- which has been disputed -- if Bannon can reach an agreement on the terms of an appearance before the panel.... Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress in November 2021 for refusing to comply with the subpoena. A trial on those charges is scheduled to begin July 18, though Bannon has sought to delay the proceedings." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ (2) Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes says he will waive his Fifth Amendment rights and testify to the Jan. 6 select committee if they permit him to testify in person. Rhodes, who is currently incarcerated while awaiting trial on seditious conspiracy charges for his role in the breach of the Capitol, says he wants the committee to arrange with the U.S. Marshals Service to permit him to appear in person at the Capitol complex rather than testify from the jail...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) For news about another busy con man, see the report on Elon Musk, linked below. ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "U.S. prosecutors leveled new accusations Friday against the leader of the Oath Keepers [Stewart Rhodes] and alleged members who have been charged with seditious conspiracy in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack, saying one co-conspirator came to Washington with explosives and detailing allegations that a co-defendant kept a 'death list' with the name of a Georgia election official. The allegations came days before the Jan. 6 House committee is set to hold its next hearing Tuesday, which is expected to explore connections between extremist groups accused of playing key roles in the violence at the Capitol and ... Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election.... In a 28-page filing, prosecutors said a law enforcement search on Jan. 19, 2021, of the home of charged co-defendant Thomas Caldwell, a retired Navy intelligence officer from Berryville, Va., recovered a document that included the words 'DEATH LIST' handwritten across the top with the name of a Georgia election official and a purported family member of the official. Both were targets of baseless accusations that they were involved in voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election, prosecutors said." CNN's report is here.

** Tom Jackman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The full picture of how many among the crowd [at the January 6, 2021, insurrection] were armed before the riot occurred is unclear, but court records, trial testimony and accounts from police officers and rioters have supplied growing evidence that multiple people brought firearms to Washington for Jan. 6, 2021. Six men were arrested that day for having guns in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol, and a seventh who arrived after the riot ended was arrested the following day. Despite some instances in which alerts about people with guns turned out to be false alarms, accounts from police officers and rioters indicate that many firearms were spotted on Jan. 6 but were not seized as law enforcement focused more on defending the Capitol than on arresting gun-law violators.... ~~~

~~~ "U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, whose pursuit by a mob inside the Capitol was the subject of a viral video, has said that but for police restraint in the use of force, the riot 'could have easily been a bloodbath,' a sentiment echoed by several officers on the witness stand in Jan. 6 criminal trials. Defendants have said as much as well. In video evidence played at his trial, Guy Reffitt of Wylie, Tex., said that as he stood near the front of the mob on the west side of the Capitol, he counted eight firearms carried by five people." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Read the whole report. And these, of course, are just the firearms authorities learned about. Surely there were many more. MB: I'm still amazed there wasn't more of an exchange of gunfire with large loss of life.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal appeals court ruled Friday that a House committee is entitled to a wide array of records on ... Donald Trump's finances and business practices, but the court further narrowed aspects of the subpoena.... If the decision from the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals stands, Trump's former accounting firm Mazars will have to give the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee five years of records on potential inaccuracies in the financial statements of Trump or his business and a little more than two years of records related to the lease with the federal government for the former Trump International Hotel in Washington. Mazars will also have to provide records from 2017 and 2018 on transactions between the Trump Organization and any foreign, local or state government or official. Trump could ask the full bench of the D.C. Circuit to rehear the case or petition the Supreme Court to take it up again. Two years ago to the day from Friday's ruling, the justices issued an opinion rejecting Trump's sweeping claims of executive privilege but declared that lower courts did not do enough to scrutinize the House panel's purported needs for the information and whether the subpoena was tailored to those needs." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Looks to me as if Trump will be able to extend the judicial wrangling till next January, at which time Republicans are likely to take over the House & drop the case.

The Stupid Cruelty of MTG. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has promoted several very different responses over the past few hours to the July 4 mass shooting that left seven people dead, scores injured, and a two-year-old boy orphaned. The Republican from Georgia went from promoting the right wing's latest talking points, that antidepressants are to blame for the massacre, and demanding to see the alleged shooter's medical records, to claiming it 'sounds like' a false flag operation, 'designed to persuade Republicans to go along with' gun control.... Police have offered no indication anyone except the alleged shooter planned the Independence Day massacre, and have said he spent weeks doing so. 'I mean, after all, remember we didn't see that happen at all the Pride parades in the month of June,' she lamented angrily, ignoring all the right-wing violence at Pride celebrations this year." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To suggest, obviously with no evidence whatsoever, to the many victims of this massacre that they were nothing more than convenient pawns in a liberal political campaign is the height of cruelty against innocent victims of the extremist gun policies she promotes. I hope someone will stand up in Congress & condemn her remarks.

Peter Canellos & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "The former leader of a religious right organization said he recruited and coached wealthy volunteers including a prominent Dayton, Ohio, evangelical couple to wine, dine and entertain conservative Supreme Court justices while pushing conservative positions on abortion, homosexuality, gun restrictions and other issues. Rob Schenck, an evangelical minister who headed the Faith and Action group headquartered near the Supreme Court from 1995 to 2018, said he arranged over the years for about 20 couples to fly to Washington to visit with and entertain Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and the late Antonin Scalia.... The calculated nature of Faith and Action's efforts shows how outside actors can use social activities and expensive dinners to penetrate the court's highly sealed environment.... Faith and Action became a part of Liberty Counsel in 2018 and is now known as Faith and Liberty. Its vice president, Peggy Nienaber, was quoted earlier this week as praying with Supreme Court justices.... Schenck told [Rolling Stone] magazine that he began the prayer sessions as a way of building rapport with conservative justices."

     ~~~ Marie: Last month, following the Supremes' decision to overturn Roe, Rachel Maddow warned that it won't be long before anti-abortionists "bring a 'fetal personhood' case before the Supreme Court in a bid to totally shut down abortion nationwide. Such a case would aim to define a fetus as a human being, and an abortion as murder." I think Rachel is right, but I'm here to tell you there's an upside to the Extremes' likely ruling on the matter, especially for urban professional women who might find themselves in an unwelcome family way: ~~~

     ~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "... a pregnant woman in Plano, [Texas,] Brandy Bottone, told a police officer who pulled her over in the carpool lane that in light of the Roe v. Wade rescission, her fetus counted as a passenger.... According to [a Dallas Morning News] report, the officer ... issued [Bottone] a $215 citation" for violating the HOV law that limits the use of the lane to vehicles carrying more than one person. That mean officer won't be able to ticket nice ladies like Brandy when Clarence Thomas has his way.

Jackson Richman of Mediaite: "Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh exited a Washington, D.C., steakhouse this week through the back door due to protesters, reported Politico. The outlet's Playbook newsletter reported on Friday that Kavanaugh 'was dining at Morton's downtown D.C. location' as 'protesters soon showed up out front, called the manager to tell him to kick Kavanaugh out and later tweeted that the justice was forced to exit through the rear of the restaurant.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) MB: I'm so sorry Bart & his friends had their meal interrupted. Now let's ask how the inconvenience of steakus interruptus compares with the inconvenience of carrying, birthing & rearing the child of one's rapist. ~~~

     ~~~ The Constitution Does Not Guarantee the Right to Dinner. Alexandra Petri of the Washington Post: "The right to congregate and eat dinner is actually not to be found anywhere in the Constitution.... [Brett Kavanaugh] might want his old freedom back, or ask for someone to escort him through the gantlet of protesters who want him to feel bad about his choices, which after all don't affect anyone other than millions of people whose lives are going to be fundamentally changed and whom he is consigning to a status lower than that of full person with the bodily autonomy and right to direct their lives that this entails.... But there is no right, however seemingly basic, that cannot vanish away like a ghostly mist the second someone remembers that there might be a medieval text, somewhere, out there that disagrees." MB: Nice to see Alexandra feels as bad about Bart's interrupted outing as I do.

Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: Pennsylvania's GOP gubernatorial nominee Doug "Mastriano's ascension in Pennsylvania is perhaps the most prominent example of right-wing candidates for public office who explicitly aim to promote Christian power in America. The religious right has long supported conservative causes, but this current wave seeks more: a nation that actively prioritizes their particular set of Christian beliefs and far-right views and that more openly embraces Christianity as a bedrock identity. Many dismiss the historic American principle of the separation of church and state.... Their presence reveals a fringe pushing into the mainstream."

Speaking of Con Men. Gerrit de Vynck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk is terminating his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, according to a filing the billionaire made with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday. Musk's lawyers sent a letter to Twitter saying he is 'terminating their merger agreement,' according to the filing. In the letter, Musk argues he has a right to drop out of the deal because Twitter hasn't given him enough information about the company's business." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A CNBC report is here. MB: Wait, wait, Elon. I thought you were buying Twitter to make sure (dangerous, untruthful) free speech prevailed for those of us who can cram all our brilliant, independent thoughts into 280 characters. ~~~

     ~~~ Ari Hawkins & Josh Sisco of Politico: "Elon Musk officially terminated a $44 billion deal to buy Twitter on Friday, a move that would appear to dash the hopes of ... Donald Trump and his supporters that the social media platform would loosen content restrictions that have frustrated conservatives. The move spurred fresh attacks on Twitter's existing management, including from Donald Trump Jr., who said it showed that censorship is going to be alive and well.... [Twitter] vowed to take legal action and complete the merger for the original price, according to a statement from chair Bret Taylor."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Louisiana. Ava Sasani & Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "A judge in Louisiana allowed state laws banning nearly all abortions to take effect on Friday, lifting an earlier court decision that had temporarily blocked them. Abortions were immediately outlawed starting at conception, with an exception for a threat to the life of a pregnant woman, but with no exceptions for rape or incest. Under one Louisiana law, abortion providers face possible jail time of 10 or 15 years, depending on when the pregnancy was terminated."

North Carolina. War on Electricity. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "North Carolina Republican state Rep. Ben Moss has filed legislation that takes aim at free electric vehicle charging stations, both those constructed by private businesses and those constructed by towns and cities. Rep. Moss's bill bans state and local governments from providing free electric vehicle charging stations unless they also provide gasoline, including diesel, 'through a pump to the public at no charge.' Moss also wants to require businesses that provide privately owned electric vehicle charging stations that are free to the public -- say, ones in a store or mall parking lot -- to print on every receipt how much of that person's purchase goes to pay for the free electricity.... Car and Driver's Ezra Dyer, who happens to be Rep. Moss' constituent, says his state representative has 'decided that his animating principle is Being Mad at Electricity.'"

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley, now of the Washington Post: "A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court barred the use of most ballot drop boxes on Friday and ruled voters could not give their completed absentee ballots to others to return on their behalf, a practice that some conservatives disparage as 'ballot harvesting.' It's a ruling feared by voting rights proponents, who said ahead of time such a decision would make it harder for voters -- particularly those with disabilities -- to return their absentee ballots.... The 4-3 ruling came a month before the state's Aug. 9 primaries.... For years, ballot drop boxes were used without controversy across Wisconsin. Election clerks greatly expanded their use in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.... The decision fell along ideological lines, with the justices elected with support from Republicans in the majority and justices elected with support from Democrats in dissent.... In a dissent, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley called the majority 'dangerous to democracy.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you read the full report, I think you'll find it pretty much falls in the "both-sides" school of journalism. I didn't notice this of Marley's reporting when he worked for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but he seems to go out of his way to promote the pretense that Republicans' opposition to drop boxes is all about their concern for election integrity. See also Patrick's commentary in yesterday's thread.

Way Beyond

U.K., et al. Fintan O'Toole in the Guardian: "It is hard to think of a figure at once so fatuous and so consequential [as Boris Johnson], so flippant and yet so profoundly influential. His reign was short -- its malign hangover will last long.... The soundtrack to Johnson's political career is the crash of breaking glass as he chucks rocks over the walls of the neighbours across the Irish Sea and the Channel.... The worst aspect of this is his reckless sabotaging of the Good Friday agreement.... He deliberately trivialised the problems of the Irish border.... He introduced legislation deliberately designed to make Northern Ireland a source of open-ended conflict with the EU.... [This] brought relations between Britain and Ireland to their lowest point for decades. And it thrilled autocrats everywhere. Johnson made the rule of law and the honouring of treaties into another of his bad jokes."

July 8, 2022

Afternoon Update:

What Are the Con Men Doing Today? ~~~

     ~~~ (1) Gerrit de Vynck, et al., of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk is terminating his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter, according to a filing the billionaire made with the Securities and Exchange Commission Friday. Musk's lawyers sent a letter to Twitter saying he is 'terminating their merger agreement,' according to the filing. In the letter, Musk argues he has a right to drop out of the deal because Twitter hasn't given him enough information about the company's business." ~~~

     ~~~ (2) (a) & (b) Isaac Stanley-Becker, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump is considering sending a letter to Stephen K. Bannon saying that he is waiving his claim of executive privilege, potentially clearing the way for his former chief strategist to testify before the House select committee investigating the pro-Trump riot at the Capitol.... The letter would reiterate that Trump invoked executive privilege in September 2021, when Bannon was first subpoenaed by the House committee. But it would say that the former president is now willing to give up that claim -- which has been disputed -- if Bannon can reach an agreement on the terms of an appearance before the panel.... Bannon was charged with contempt of Congress in November 2021 for refusing to comply with the subpoena. A trial on those charges is scheduled to begin July 18, though Bannon has sought to delay the proceedings." ~~~

     ~~~ (3) Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes says he will waive his Fifth Amendment rights and testify to the Jan. 6 select committee if they permit him to testify in person. Rhodes, who is currently incarcerated while awaiting trial on seditious conspiracy charges for his role in the breach of the Capitol, says he wants the committee to arrange with the U.S. Marshals Service to permit him to appear in person at the Capitol complex rather than testify from the jail...."

Michael Shear & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Under pressure to do more to respond to the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, President Biden on Friday issued an executive order that aimed to ensure access to abortion medication and emergency contraception while preparing for legal fights to come. But the order is vague about how the president hopes to accomplish those goals, leaving the details largely to Xavier Becerra, his secretary of health and human services, who has said the administration has 'no magic bullet' that can restore access to abortion. And Mr. Biden's order stops far short of demands from abortion rights advocates, who have criticized him for failing to move quickly to take action after the court’s decision two weeks ago.... 'For God's sake, there's an election in November. Vote. Vote. Vote. Vote,' the president said [before signing the order], noting that the justices in the majority 'practically dares' women to assert their political power to put in place laws that restore abortion rights. 'Consider the challenge accepted, court. But in the meantime, I'm signing this important executive order.'" A Politico report is here.

Jackson Richman of Mediaite: “Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh exited a Washington, D.C., steakhouse this week through the back door due to protesters, reported Politico. The outlet's Playbook newsletter reported on Friday that Kavanaugh 'was dining at Morton's downtown D.C. location' as 'protesters soon showed up out front, called the manager to tell him to kick Kavanaugh out and later tweeted that the justice was forced to exit through the rear of the restaurant.'" MB: I'm so sorry Bart & his friends had their meal interrupted. Now let's ask how the inconvenience of steakus interruptus compares with the inconvenience of carrying, birthing & rearing the child of one's rapist.

** Tom Jackman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The full picture of how many among the crowd [at the January 6, 2021, insurrection] were armed before the riot occurred is unclear, but court records, trial testimony and accounts from police officers and rioters have supplied growing evidence that multiple people brought firearms to Washington for Jan. 6, 2021. Six men were arrested that day for having guns in the vicinity of the U.S. Capitol, and a seventh who arrived after the riot ended was arrested the following day. Despite some instances in which alerts about people with guns turned out to be false alarms, accounts from police officers and rioters indicate that many firearms were spotted on Jan. 6 but were not seized as law enforcement focused more on defending the Capitol than on arresting gun-law violators.... ~~~

~~~ &"U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman, whose pursuit by a mob inside the Capitol was the subject of a viral video, has said that but for police restraint in the use of force, the riot 'could have easily been a bloodbath,' a sentiment echoed by several officers on the witness stand in Jan. 6 criminal trials. Defendants have said as much as well. In video evidence played at his trial, Guy Reffitt of Wylie, Tex., said that as he stood near the front of the mob on the west side of the Capitol, he counted eight firearms carried by five people." Read the whole report. And these, of course, are just the firearms authorities learned about. Surely there were many more. MB: I'm still amazed there wasn't more of an exchange of gunfire with large loss of life.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley, now of the Washington Post: "A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court barred the use of most ballot drop boxes on Friday and ruled voters could not give their completed absentee ballots to others to return on their behalf, a practice that some conservatives disparage as 'ballot harvesting.' I's a ruling feared by voting rights proponents, who said ahead of time such a decision would make it harder for voters -- particularly those with disabilities -- to return their absentee ballots.... The 4-3 ruling came a month before the state's Aug. 9 primaries.... For years, ballot drop boxes were used without controversy across Wisconsin. Election clerks greatly expanded their use in 2020 during the coronavirus pandemic.... The decision fell along ideological lines, with the justices elected with support from Republicans in the majority and justices elected with support from Democrats in dissent.... In a dissent, Justice Ann Walsh Bradley called the majority 'dangerous to democracy.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you read the full report, I think you'll find it pretty much falls in the "both-sides" school of journalism. I didn't notice this of Marley's reporting when he worked for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, but he seems to go out of his way to promote the pretense that Republicans' opposition to drop boxes is all about their concern for election integrity.

~~~~~~~~~~

WashPo: "Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe ... died after being shot at a campaign event Friday...." Stories linked below.

Seung Min Kim & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden will take executive action Friday to protect access to abortion, according to three people familiar with the matter, as he faces mounting pressure from Democrats to be more forceful on the subject after the Supreme Court ended a constitutional right to the procedure two weeks ago. Biden will speak Friday morning 'on protecting access to reproductive health care services,' the sources said. The actions he was expected to outline are intended to try to mitigate some potential penalties women seeking abortion may face after the ruling, but are limited in their ability to safeguard access to abortion nationwide. Biden is expected to formalize instructions to the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to push back on efforts to limit the ability of women to access federally approved abortion medication or to travel across state lines to access clinical abortion services." A Washington Post story is here.

Eugene Scott & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Thursday awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, to 17 people in a wide variety of endeavors, including gymnast Simone Biles, Academy Award-winning actor Denzel Washington and, posthumously, inventor Steve Jobs and former senator John McCain. Biden's list of recipients, his first as president, reflected his personal and political identity, ranging from a labor leader, the late AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka, to a gun control activist, former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. He named several Republicans known for working across the aisle, those who came from average backgrounds to do extraordinary things -- and, in true Biden form, a Catholic nun [Sister Simone Campbell]. 'This,' Biden said at the conclusion of the event, 'is America.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I stopped what I was doing -- still hanging that stair rail (it's complicated!) -- and watched the ceremony. It was moving, and returns the Medal of Freedom to being a meaningful award given to deserving recipients. You may remember Trump's "honorees": From the WashPo story: "During his four years in office..., Donald Trump honored 24 people, a list populated by practitioners of his favorite sport, golf -- Tiger Woods, Gary Player and Annika Sorenstam -- and some of his fiercest political allies, such as radio host Rush Limbaugh and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio)."

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service faces a new onslaught of questions after a report Wednesday showed that two foes of ... Donald Trump had been selected for a rare audit during Trump's administration. Charles Rettig, whose elevation by Trump to lead the service in 2018 surprised many tax professionals..., faced new scrutiny after the New York Times revealed that both former FBI director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe, were the subject of highly unusual audits that the IRS says was selected at random.... [Rettig] started out as a Trump ally..., shielding the former president's tax returns from public view in the face of a House Democratic lawsuit. But Rettig has proved a willing partner for the Biden administration, as well, supporting its efforts to close the gap between what taxpayers owe and what they pay, and implementing expansive new stimulus measures.... The revelation [about Comey & McCabe] will also bring new scrutiny to former Trump treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, since Treasury oversees the IRS." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~\

     ~~~ Update. Kara Scannell of CNN: "The head of the Internal Revenue Service has asked a watchdog to investigate the decision to conduct rare tax audits of former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the agency announced Thursday. 'The IRS has referred the matter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for review. IRS Commissioner (Charles) Rettig personally reached out to TIGTA after receiving a press inquiry,' the IRS said in a statement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: I've been hoping somebody would do this: ~~~

~~~ "What Are the Odds?" Francesca Paris & Josh Katz of the New York Times: "The New York Times has reported that the Internal Revenue Service gave one of its most rigorous types of audits to James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and to Andrew G. McCabe, his former deputy.... What are the odds?... If this problem were to appear in a textbook about probability, it might read like this: If there are 154 million marbles (the approximate number of tax returns filed each year) in a giant urn, and some small number of them are red (those representing Mr. Comey and Mr. McCabe among them), what are the chances that you will draw two or more red marbles if you randomly draw a few thousand from the urn (the number of audits in that year)?... If we limit the exercise to only Mr. McCabe and Mr. Comey -- this equation yields a probability of roughly one in 950 million. Those are considerably steeper odds than your chances of winning the Powerball." Emphasis added. The writers go on to suggest some other factors which reasonably would increase the odds of Comey's & McCabe's audits: like the fact that the IRS tends to choose high-earners (i.e., like Comey & McCabe) more often than others for the special audit. But still. (Also linked yesterday.)

Dan Lamothe & Craig Whitlock of the Washington Post: "Michael Flynn, the retired Army general and onetime adviser to ... Donald Trump, was cited by the Defense Department inspector general for failing to disclose lucrative speaking engagements and other business arrangements with foreign entities, prompting the U.S. government to pursue tens of thousands of dollars in penalties against him.... Investigators determined that Flynn received nearly $450,000 from Turkish and Russian interests in 2015, including for an appearance in Moscow alongside President Vladimir Putin, but found no records that he had sought government approval beforehand. Their findings are detailed in a January 2021 memo to the Army released through the Freedom of Information Act on Thursday. The Army notified Flynn in a May 2 letter ... that it would seek to recoup $38,557.06 from him, zeroing in on money and in-kind compensation he received for a gala dinner celebrating the 10th anniversary of RT, the Kremlin-run news agency.... It was not clear why the Army sanctioned Flynn for the Moscow visit but not his other work." The money can be recouped from Flynn's retirement pay.

Sahil Kapur & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Senate Democrats have reached an agreement to raise taxes on some high earners who they say are abusing a loophole to slash their tax bills, two sources familiar with the discussions said. The lawmakers, the sources said, plan to close the tax break for those earning more than $400,000 a year, requiring them to pay 3.8% in taxes on certain income from pass-through businesses, in what is effectively a slimmed-down package after the Build Back Better Act stalled last year. They project that closing the tax loophole would raise about $200 billion over a decade, a source said, which would be used to pay for Medicare through 2031 in an effort to keep the federal health care program from going bankrupt."

K.K. Ottesen of the Washington Post Magazine interviews civil war expert Barbara Walter on right-wing extremeist plans for civil war against the U.S.: "What we're heading toward is an insurgency, which is a form of a civil war. That is the 21st-century version of a civil war, especially in countries with powerful governments and powerful militaries, which is what the United States is.... An insurgency tends to be much more decentralized, often fought by multiple groups. Sometimes they're actually competing with each other. Sometimes they coordinate their behavior. They use unconventional tactics. They target infrastructure. They target civilians. They use domestic terror and guerrilla warfare. Hit-and-run raids and bombs." ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "A new Monmouth University poll ... shows more Republicans regard Jan. 6 as a 'legitimate protest' than a 'riot' [much less an 'insurrection].... Whereas more Republicans once said it was a 'riot' than a 'legitimate protest,' by a 15-point margin, that has been flipped, with Republicans favoring the 'legitimate protest' label by 16 points. A majority of Republicans no longer even regard Jan. 6 as a 'riot.'"

Charles Blow of the New York Times on showing the carnage: "... on some level, not allowing the public access to some version of the gore is extending a form of disinformation, permitting a warped, naïve or incorrect impression to persist when it could be corrected.... We need to see these images not for shock value but for truth value." MB: At the top of his column, Blow describes some observations by Dr. David Baum, an obstetrician who was on the scene at Highland Park because he was attending the parade with his family. Baum, according to Blow, has taken to calling the scene "horrific" & "unspeakable," but when I heard him on cable news a short time after the mass murder, Dr. Baum described heads partially blown away & body cavities open to expose torn-up organs. Pictures of the Uvalde massacre, mostly of little children, some of whom had to be identified by their clothing because their faces were blown away, would be even more horrible. These are the pictures that should go on every Republican legislator's desk. Then let them talk about prairie dogs. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Last week, the Supreme Court announced it would hear arguments in Moore v. Harper, a challenge to North Carolina's new congressional map.... A Republican victory at the Supreme Court would, according to the election law expert Rick Hasen, '... could essentially neuter the ability of state courts to protect voters under provisions of state constitutions against infringement of their rights.'... This radical interpretation of the Elections Clause of the Constitution [-- called 'the independent state legislature doctrine --] also extends to the Presidential Electors Clause, such that during a presidential election year, state legislatures could allocate Electoral College votes in any way they see fit.... Under the independent state legislature doctrine, the next time Trump tries to overturn the results of an election he lost, he won't need a mob."

Erin Griffith of the New York Times: "Ramesh Balwani, a former top executive at Theranos, was found guilty on Thursday of 12 counts of fraud, in a verdict that was more severe than that of his co-conspirator, Elizabeth Holmes, and that solidified the failed blood-testing start-up as the ultimate Silicon Valley cautionary tale. Mr. Balwani and Ms. Holmes, who together pushed Theranos to soaring heights with a promise to revolutionize health care, are the most prominent tech executives to be charged with and convicted of fraud in a generation. A jury of five men and seven women took 32 hours to produce a verdict, convicting Mr. Balwani, known as Sunny, of all 10 counts of wire fraud and two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud." The Guardian's story is here.

Quelle Surprise. Faiz Siddiqui & Gerrit De Vynck  of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk's deal to buy Twitter is in serious jeopardy, three people familiar with the matter say, as Musk's camp concluded that Twitter's figures on spam accounts are not verifiable. Musk's team has stopped engaging in certain discussions around funding for the $44 billion deal, including with a party named as a likely backer, one of the people said.... The spam accounts are not the only reason Musk might try to wriggle out of the deal. Twitter's share price has fallen dramatically since his takeover bid in April, leading to the impression that he is overpaying." A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Elon seems to love the publicity, but maybe this latest reluctant-suitor story is an attempt to change the focus from this story:

     ~~~ Sara O'Brien of CNN: "Elon Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO and world's richest man, welcomed twins last year with an executive at one of his other companies, Neuralink, Insider reported on Wednesday. Musk, who posted a tweet on May 24 saying 'USA birth rate has been below min sustainable levels for ~50 years' and pinned it to the top of his more than 100 million-follower Twitter account, quietly fathered the children with Shivon Zilis, who works for Musk at the company which hopes to develop an implantable computer chip for the human brain, according to documents obtained by Insider.... On Thursday morning, Musk appeared to acknowledge the story on Twitter by reiterating his stance about birth rates. 'Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis,' he tweeted. 'A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona Gubernatorial Race. Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Thursday endorsed real estate developer Karrin Taylor Robson in the battleground state's GOP primary race for governor, arguing that she is best positioned to succeed him over a Trump-backed candidate. The endorsement puts Ducey, a two-term governor who is head of the national Republican Governors Association, head-to-head against ... Donald Trump and his favored candidate, former TV anchor Kari Lake.... The leading candidate for the Democratic nomination is Secretary of State Katie Hobbs." CNN's report is here.

Arizona Senate Race. Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Blake Masters, a Republican candidate for the Senate in Arizona who won the endorsement of ... Donald J. Trump, has been dogged by a trail of youthful writings in which he lamented the entry of the United States into the First and Second World Wars, approvingly quoted a Nazi war criminal and pushed an isolationism that extended beyond even Mr. Trump's.... As a candidate, Mr. Masters, now 35, takes a position diametrically opposed to that of his younger self and in line with Mr. Trump's views: He favors militarizing the border and ending what he calls an 'invasion' by immigrants entering the country illegally.... Mr. Masters has also been denounced for contemporary statements, like his April 11 remark that America's gun violence problem boiled down to 'Black people, frankly,' and his apparent embrace of the 'replacement theory; promulgated by white supremacists...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Masters' "trail of youthful writings" traces back to the days he was a student at Stanford, a prestigious school. I have been wonderling for some time about our supposedly prestigious universities. When a liberal educational institution keeps producing nitwits like Masters and most of the confederate Supremes, how useful is the curriculum, how effective the professors? I think a lot of departments, run by dotty deans, think they're showing how open-minded they are by throwing academic robes around the shoulders of right-wing hacks, but in fact those right-wing hacks are giving ideas and cover to the narrow-minded, privileged little snots who increasingly run our government.

Georgia Senate Race. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "A person described as a 'closely connected adviser' to [Herschel] Walker's Senate campaign has shared internal campaign messages with the [Daily Beast] that show a chaotic candidate who is mistrusted by his own campaign staff, who also express concerns that he 'isn't mentally fit for the job.' This adviser ... tells The Daily Beast that Walker tells lies 'like he's breathing' and further said that 'he's lied so much that we don't know what's true.' The adviser came forward ... after The Daily Beast reported on multiple undisclosed children that Walker has fathered over the years. According to the adviser, Walker lied to his own staff about the children, which led the campaign to put out claims about them that were later shown to be false."

Georgia. Livia Albeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "An explosive device that 'unknown individuals' detonated early Wednesday destroyed a granite monument in Georgia that was built under mysterious circumstances more than four decades ago and promoted by state officials as 'America's Stonehenge,' the authorities said. The monument, known as the Georgia Guidestones, which was built about nine miles north of Elberton, Ga., had four granite slabs connected to a center pillar, with a capstone on top.... It is unclear why the 19-foot granite slabs were there, or what they meant...." Some right-wing conspiracy theorists, including Alex Jones, have described the stones as designed to send some dire or satanic message. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's more from Amy Cheng of the Washington Post: "In a 2008 documentary, [Alex Jones] pointed to the granite slabs as evidence that global elites were plotting to enslave most of the world.... Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) ... told Jones in an interview Wednesday that the monument represented a future of 'population control' as envisioned by the 'hard left.'... Educator Kandiss Taylor, who finished a distant third ... [in the state's GOP gubernatorial primary], pledged to dismantle the monument and fight the 'Luciferian Cabal' that she suggested was behind it." MB: Is it really a "documentary" when it's all pure fantasy? I thought a documentary was supposed to document facts.

Jay Senter & Shaila Dewan of the New York Times: "A white Minneapolis police officer whose murder of a Black man outside a convenience store touched off protests around the world was sentenced to 21 years in federal prison on Thursday.... The former officer, Derek Chauvin, 46, was sentenced for using excessive force under color of law against both George Floyd, the man who died in the encounter, and a 14-year-old boy, also Black, who was injured in an unrelated, though similar, incident. With time already served deducted, Mr. Chauvin's sentence amounts to 20 years and five months, near the lower end of the range of 20 to 25 years prescribed by the sentencing guidelines. His federal and state sentences are to be served concurrently." The Guardian's story is here.

Pennsylvania. Christine Chung of the New York Times: "Two days after Timothy Loehmann, the former Cleveland police officer who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice in 2014, was sworn in as a police officer for a rural Pennsylvania community, he left the position, the borough of Tioga announced on Thursday. It came after a public outcry in response to the Williamsport Sun-Gazette article that revealed his hiring. David Wilcox, the mayor of Tioga, appeared on Wednesday at a community protest against Mr. Loehmann's hiring.... He stood atop a pickup truck and told residents that he had 'zero knowledge of the candidate that we just hired for our police department,' according to a video posted by The Wellsboro Gazette.... But Henry Hilow, a lawyer for Mr. Loehmann, called Mr. Wilcox’s statement disingenuous. He said the mayor had been aware of Mr. Loehmann's history. According to Mr. Hilow, Mr. Loehmann decided to resign because he did not want to be part of 'infighting' between the Tioga borough board and its mayor."

Texas. Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: "Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered state National Guard soldiers and law enforcement officers Thursday to apprehend and return migrants suspected of crossing illegally back to the U.S.-Mexico border, testing how far his state can go in trying to enforce immigration law -- a federal responsibility. The order comes days after a group of right-wing Texas officials -- alongside a few former Trump administration leaders and U.S. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Tex.) -- asked the Republican governor to invoke the state and U.S. constitutions in declaring an 'invasion' at the southwest borde and to use his powers to repel it. The leaders of the sparsely populated counties near the border with Mexico complain that they have been overrun by smuggling attempts and increasing numbers of migrants evading detection.:

Way Beyond

** Japan. Michelle Lee of the Washington Post: "Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe was shot at a campaign event Friday, public broadcaster NHK reported, citing Japanese police sources. Party officials cited in Japanese media said Abe is unconscious. He was giving a speech in Nara to support a campaigner, according to NHK. A short time later, NHK reported that Abe was showing no vital signs. At least two gunshots were heard on-site. The incident comes ahead of elections Sunday for Japan's upper house of parliament." This is all there is to the story at 11:20 pm ET Thursday. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update: "Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a towering political figure at home and abroad, died after being shot at a campaign event Friday, doctors said, shocking a nation where firearms laws are among the world's strictest and gun violence is rare. Abe, 67, was stumping for a fellow politician from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in Nara, near Osaka, on Friday morning when a gunman opened fire with what police described as a homemade weapon. Hidetada Fukushima, head of the emergency center at the Nara Medical University Hospital, said Abe arrived at the hospital at 12:20 p.m. Friday without vital signs. Doctors found two gunshot wounds to the neck, and one of the bullets had reached the heart, Fukushima said.... The assassination of Japan's longest-serving prime minister, and a staunch U.S. ally, sent shock waves throughout the country ahead of elections for the upper house of parliament on Sunday. Police arrested a suspect, a man from Nara in his 40s named Tetsuya Yamagami, and seized a gun. Yamagami was a member of the Japan Maritime Self Defense Forces for three years, defense officials told Japanese media."

     ~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's story is here. The Guardian's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ Japan Times: "Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe -- one of the most consequential leaders in Japan's post-war history -- was shot in the chest while he was making a stump speech on a street in the city of Nara on Friday in what appears to be an assassination attempt. He is reportedly under cardiopulmonary arrest. He was unconscious when he was rushed to a hospital and was bleeding from the chest. The police have arrested the man suspected of attacking Abe.... Abe was transported via a medical helicopter to Nara Medical University in the city of Kashihara, south of central Nara, according to NHK, who quoted ambulance officials." ~~~

     ~~~ Abe's New York Times obituary, by Motoko Rich, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here.

Mexico. Mary Sheridan & Gabriela Martínez of the Washington Post: "Mexican prosecutors are investigating former president Enrique Peña Nieto in a case involving the suspicious movements of millions of dollars, authorities said Thursday. It was the first announcement of a corruption probe into the ex-leader. Pablo Gómez, head of the Treasury Ministry's financial crimes unit, told reporters that officials had detected 'a scheme through which a former president received economic benefits.' He said the findings had been handed over to the attorney general's office, which has opened an investigation. Peña Nieto has not been charged with a crime.... Gómez said the ex-leader had received 26 million pesos -- around $1.3 million -- in transfers in 2019 and 2021 from a relative who was making large deposits and withdrawals of cash from a bank account."

Netherlands. The Woes of Bezos. Claire Moses of the New York Times: "Jeff Bezos will not be able to sail a new, more than 400-foot-long superyacht through the waters of the Dutch city of Rotterdam anytime soon. The port city faced an uproar months ago as it considered dismantling a section of a 95-year-old bridge to allow the Amazon founder's yacht to pass. But now the boat's builder, the Dutch company Oceanco, has decided to refrain from applying for a permit, according to a Rotterdam City Council member. It was unclear how Mr. Bezos' yacht would leave the area or whether Oceanco would finish the boat.... The yacht was supposed to sail through the Koningshaven Bridge, known locally as 'De Hef,' over the summer and was on track to become the largest sailing yacht in the world at 417 feet, according to the superyacht industry publication Boat International."

U.K. The Guardian is live-updating developments Friday in Boris Johnson's long good-bye. ~~~

~~~ Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Pippa Crerar of the (U.K.) Daily Mirror: "... the Prime Minister and wife Carrie have planned a lavish bash at the grace-and-favour country home to mark their marriage. The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in front of just a handful of guests in May 2021. They then celebrated in the Downing Street garden but were only allowed 30 guests because of Covid restrictions in place at the time. The couple's Chequers do, planned for July 30, is expected to be a much bigger and more glamorous affair. Two separate sources told the Mirror that Mr and Mrs Johnson were keen to go ahead with the party, to which they have invited many of their family and friends.... The PM, who has finally announced that he would resign, would have to cancel the lavish do if he leaves office immediately." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ In a comment early yesterday, this is what Akhilleus predicted would happen. Chequers is the country home of the PM, so if Boris quit right off, as the Mirror sez, he could not hold the "lavish bash." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Freedland of the Guardian: "Lies and a brazen contempt for the rules powered [Boris Johnson's] rise; lies and a brazen contempt for the rules brought his fall.... What began as defects in the personality of one man ended as defects in his party and his government, inflicting great damage on the entire country.... The last, fatal lie was his claim that he had not been told directly of complaints of sexual misconduct committed by the former deputy chief whip Chris Pincher, a claim rapidly exposed as false in a rare intervention from a former permanent secretary at the Foreign Office, Simon McDonald. It turned out that Johnson had indeed been briefed about Pincher.... But though that newest dishonesty was the last straw first for Sajid Javid, then minutes later for Rishi Sunak, and, over the dizzying 36 hours that followed, dozens of others, triggering a wave of resignations and withdrawals of backbench support that ultimately brought Johnson's removal, it was hardly what broke the Johnson premiership.... Dishonesty has been the one constant through Johnson's career. Famously, he was sacked from his first job, at the Times, for making up a quote, and later he was sacked from Michael Howard's frontbench for lying to the then party leader about an affair." And so forth. ~~~

~~~ Sarah Lyall of the New York Times: "After a lifetime of swaggering and dissembling his way through one scandal after another on the strength of his prodigious political skills -- a potent mix of charm, guile, ruthlessness, hubris, oratorical dexterity and rumpled Wodehousian bluster -- Boris Johnson has finally reached the end. It seems that the laws of gravity apply to him after all.... Over the years, he has routinely been described as mendacious, irresponsible, reckless and lacking any coherent philosophy other than wanting to seize and hold on to power.... In contrast to ... Donald J. Trump..., Mr. Johnson's approach has rarely been to double down on his lies or to delude himself for consistency's sake into acting as if they were true. Rather, he recasts them to fit new information that comes to light, as if the truth were a fungible concept, no more solid than quicksand.... His government weathered scandal after scandal, much of it centered on Mr. Johnson's own behavior.... His resignation speech, in which he vowed to remain in office until the Conservatives could choose a new leader, was notable for its lack of self-awareness and its misreading of the curdled mood of his former supporters."

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates in developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here: "The governor of Ukraine’s Luhansk region, which is now almost completely under Russian control, said Friday that the city of Severodonetsk is facing a 'humanitarian disaster.'... [U.S.] Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged Russia to end its blockade of Ukrainian grain exports in a contentious closed-door session of Group of 20 foreign ministers in Indonesia on Friday. It is the first time top Russian diplomat Sergei Lavrov has been face to face with many of his Western counterparts since the war began, though many have refused to meet with him alone. Meanwhile, the U.N. World Food Program warned of a 'looming hunger catastrophe' because of the war.... Vladimir Putin said Thursday that the war is just getting started, as he dared Ukraine's Western partners to fight his troops on the battlefield.... Blinken said he would not relent until 'wrongfully detained' WNBA star Brittney Griner is freed from Russian detention." ~~~

~~~ Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "American WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to carrying cannabis oil on the second day of a trial in Moscow that could see her sentenced to 10 years in prison. 'I'd like to plead guilty, Your Honor,' Griner said, according a Reuters reporter in the court. 'But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law.' She then asked to give her testimony at a later date, saying she needed time to prepare, and the court adjourned." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

CNBC: "Job growth accelerated at a much faster pace than expected in June, indicating that the main pillar of the U.S. economy remains strong despite pockets of weakness. Nonfarm payrolls increased 372,000 in the month, better than the 250,000 Dow Jones estimate and continuing what has been a strong year for job growth, according to data Friday from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The unemployment rate was 3.6%, unchanged from May and in line with estimates."

New York Times: "Tony Sirico, the actor who played the eccentric gangster Paulie Walnuts on 'The Sopranos,' died Friday in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. He was 79."

July 7, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Marie: I forgot this one this morning, but if Democrats wanted Joe Biden to be more forceful, apparently he delivered in Cleveland yesterday:

     ~~~ Seth Richardson of Cleveland.com: "President Joe Biden said Wednesday during a Cleveland stop touting a Democratic-backed fix to multiemployer pension funds that social security, Medicare and Medicaid could be in jeopardy if Republicans take back control of Congress and the White House. During an afternoon appearance at Max S. Hayes High School on the West Side, Biden trumpeted provisions to the American Rescue Plan to keep at-risk pensions solvent through at least 2051 while also using the official White House visit to knock GOP lawmakers for refusing to support the legislation. He also warned that Republicans could target cuts to other benefits programs.... The pension fix, which was originally introduced as the Butch Lewis Act before being included in Biden and the Democrats' economic stimulus plan, will help stave off any cuts to the pension plans that could have come about as the PBGC, which insures pension plans, was barreling toward insolvency in 2026.... Biden also criticized Republicans in Washington for voting against the plan. Members of the party called the pensions 'ratholes' as it moved through Congress, he said."

Marie: I've been hoping somebody would do this: ~~~

~~~ "What Are the Odds?" Francesca Paris & Josh Katz of the New York Times: "The New York Times has reported that the Internal Revenue Service gave one of its most rigorous types of audits to James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director, and to Andrew G. McCabe, his former deputy.... What are the odds?... If this problem were to appear in a textbook about probability, it might read like this: If there are 154 million marbles (the approximate number of tax returns filed each year) in a giant urn, and some small number of them are red (those representing Mr. Comey and Mr. McCabe among them), what are the chances that you will draw two or more red marbles if you randomly draw a few thousand from the urn (the number of audits in that year)?... If we limit the exercise to only Mr. McCabe and Mr. Comey -- this equation yields a probability of roughly one in 950 million. Those are considerably steeper odds than your chances of winning the Powerball." Emphasis added. The writers go on to suggest some other factors which reasonably would increase the odds of Comey's & McCabe's audits: like the fact that the IRS tends to choose high-earners (i.e., like Comey & McCabe) more often than others for the special audit. But still. ~~~

~~~ Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service faces a new onslaught of questions after a report Wednesday showed that two foes of ... Donald Trump had been selected for a rare audit during Trump's administration. Charles Rettig, whose elevation by Trump to lead the service in 2018 surprised many tax professionals..., faced new scrutiny after the New York Times revealed that both former FBI director James B. Comey and his deputy, Andrew McCabe, were the subject of highly unusual audits that the IRS says was selected at random.... [Rettig] started out as a Trump ally..., shielding the former president's tax returns from public view in the face of a House Democratic lawsuit. But Rettig has proved a willing partner for the Biden administration, as well, supporting its efforts to close the gap between what taxpayers owe and what they pay, and implementing expansive new stimulus measures.... The revelation [about Comey & McCabe] will also bring new scrutiny to former Trump treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin, since Treasury oversees the IRS." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Kara Scannell of CNN: "The head of the Internal Revenue Service has asked a watchdog to investigate the decision to conduct rare tax audits of former FBI Director James Comey and former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe, the agency announced Thursday. 'The IRS has referred the matter to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for review. IRS Commissioner (Charles) Rettig personally reached out to TIGTA after receiving a press inquiry,' the IRS said in a statement."

Charles Blow of the New York Times on showing the carnage: "... on some level, not allowing the public access to some version of the gore is extending a form of disinformation, permitting a warped, naïve or incorrect impression to persist when it could be corrected.... We need to see these images not for shock value but for truth value." MB: Blow describes some observations by Dr. David Baum, an OB/GYN who was on the scene at Highland Park because he was attending the parade with his family. Baum, according to Blow, has taken to calling the scene "horrific" & "unspeakable," but when I heard him on cable news a short time after the mass murder, Dr. Baum described heads partially blown away & body cavities open to expose torn-up organs. These are the pictures that should go on every Republican legislator's desk. Then let them talk about prairie dogs.

Georgia. Livia Albeck-Ripka of the New York Times: "An explosive device that 'unknown individuals' detonated early Wednesday destroyed a granite monument in Georgia that was built under mysterious circumstances more than four decades ago and promoted by state officials as 'America's Stonehenge,' the authorities said. The monument, known as the Georgia Guidestones, which was built about nine miles north of Elberton, Ga., had four granite slabs connected to a center pillar, with a capstone on top.... It is unclear why the 19-foot granite slabs were there, or what they meant...." Some right-wing conspiracy theorists, including Alex Jones, have described the stones as designed to send some dire or satanic message.

U.K. Boris Johnson said in a speech in front of 10 Downing Street that he would resign as prime minister, but not until a new PM is in place. Stories linked under Way Beyond the Beltway. ~~~

~~~ Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Pippa Crerar of the (U.K.) Daily Mirror: "... the Prime Minister and wife Carrie have planned a lavish bash at the grace-and-favour country home to mark their marriage. The couple tied the knot in a secret ceremony at Westminster Cathedral in front of just a handful of guests in May 2021. They then celebrated in the Downing Street garden but were only allowed 30 guests because of Covid restrictions.... The couple's Chequers do, planned for July 30, is expected to be a much bigger and more glamorous affair. Two separate sources told the Mirror that Mr and Mrs Johnson were keen to go ahead with the party, to which they have invited many of their family and friends.... The PM, who has finally announced that he would resign, would have to cancel the lavish do if he leaves office immediately." ~~~

     ~~~ In a comment earlier today, this is what Akhilleus predicted would happen. Chequers is the country home of the PM, so if Boris quit right off, as the Mirror sez, he could not hold the "lavish bash."

Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "American WNBA star Brittney Griner pleaded guilty to carrying cannabis oil on the second day of a trial in Moscow that could see her sentenced to 10 years in prison. 'I'd like to plead guilty, Your Honor,' Griner said, according a Reuters reporter in the court. 'But there was no intent. I didn't want to break the law.' She then asked to give her testimony at a later date, saying she needed time to prepare, and the court adjourned." The AP's report is here.

~~~~~~~~~~

Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Kate Bedingfield, the White House communications director, will step down from her position this summer, White House aides said on Wednesday, marking the latest departure of a senior adviser from the Biden administration. Ms. Bedingfield is a longtime aide to President Biden who helped shape the messaging strategy for his campaign and during his presidency. She is expected to assist the White House from outside the administration, although her next position remained unclear. Ron Klain, the president's chief of staff, credited Ms. Bedingfield with helping Mr. Biden win the 2020 election, pass the coronavirus stimulus and infrastructure packages, and secure the Supreme Court nomination of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson." A CBS News story is here.

Ashley Parker & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "In the view of many distraught Democrats, the country is facing a full-blown crisis on a range of fronts, and [President] Biden seems unable or unwilling to respond with appropriate force. Democracy is under direct attack, they say, as Republicans change election rules and the Supreme Court rapidly rewrites American law. Shootings are routine, abortion rights have ended and Democrats could suffer big losses in the next election. Biden's response is often a mix of scolding Republicans, urging Americans to vote Democratic and voicing broad optimism about the country. For some Democrats, that risks a dangerous failure to meet the moment.... [Illinois Gov. J.B.] Pritzker mocked the notion that 'you have a constitutional right to an assault weapon with a high-capacity magazine' -- something Biden has done previously -- and California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been displaying a notably pugnacious spirit." Newsom is running an anti-DeSantis ad -- in Florida. A related Politico story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Here's the deal, Democrats: You need to give Joe Biden a break. For weeks, Democrats have arrayed themselves in traditional circular firing formation, complaining about the president's failure to channel outrage about mass shootings, the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade and MAGA Republicans' assaults on democracy.... There's just one problem with the too-cool-Joe complaints: Biden has been saying -- heatedly and repeatedly -- exactly that which he is accused of avoiding. Biden has been hammering [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis, for example, for his 'hateful' 'don't say gay' bill, for 'book burnings' and 'trying to ban books, even math books,' and for a 'dangerous' abortion bill eroding 'women's constitutional rights.'... The fratricide is likely stoked by the press, which likes a 'Dems-in-disarray' story and would love a presidential primary." ~~~

     ~~~ Yes, Dana, but Joe doesn't yell enough. I'm thinking he needs an "anger translator" like the one Barack Obama eventually took on. (WashPo link)

Tyler Pager & Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "President Biden had planned to nominate a conservative opponent of abortion rights to a lifetime federal judgeship in Kentucky, according to newly released emails, prompting criticism of the White House from some fellow Democrats. After facing opposition from Democrats in Kentucky, the White House has not put former state solicitor general Chad Meredith's name forward as a nominee. A round of federal judicial nominations released last week did not include Meredith. It was unclear Wednesday whether the White House would ever move forward with nominating him. But the episode has underscored the impassioned responses from Democrats in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down Roe v. Wade.... On June 23, White House official Kate Marshall emailed Coulter Minix, the director of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's office in Washington. 'To be Nominated tomorrow,' the message read, followed by the qualifications and experience of Meredith.... The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade the next day.... An email that followed a few days later included what appeared to be an effort to contain potential fallout. 'Marshall wrote.] '... the email I sent was pre-decisional and privileged information....'"

Maggie Haberman & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel to ... Donald J. Trump who repeatedly fought back against Mr. Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, has reached a deal to testify by Friday before the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack, according to people familiar with the inquiry. The agreement was a breakthrough for the panel, which has pressed for weeks for Mr. Cipollone to cooperate -- and issued a subpoena to him last week.... Mr. Cipollone was a witness to pivotal moments in Mr. Trump's push to invalidate the election results, including discussions about seizing voting machines and sending false letters to state officials about election fraud. He was also present in the West Wing on Jan. 6, 2021, as Mr. Trump reacted to the violence at the Capitol when his supporters attacked the building in his name.... Mr. Cipollone will sit for a transcribed interview, according to a person familiar with the discussions. He is not expected to testify publicly." The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

** An A-mazing Coincidence. Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: James Comey, "the former F.B.I. director, and his deputy [Andrew McCabe], both of whom ... Donald J. Trump wanted prosecuted, were selected for a rare audit program that the [I.R.S.] says is random.... The minuscule chances of the two highest-ranking F.B.I. officials ... being randomly subjected to a detailed scrub of their tax returns a few years after leaving their posts presents extraordinary questions.... The I.R.S. commissioner, Charles P. Rettig, who was appointed to the post by Mr. Trump in 2018, declined to be interviewed about the audits.... Unlike a typical audit that asks individuals to explain a specific part of their taxes, these audits comb through the full return, forcing taxpayers in some cases to go to great lengths to essentially recreate their finances for the year in question." MB: This would be a good time to fire Rettig, so no more of these a-mazing coincidences occur. Like next up: Liz Cheney & Nancy Pelosi. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$ republishes a chuck of Schmidt's report and notes that Republicans have finally found a use for the IRS.

Jason Morris & Sara Murray of CNN: "Attorneys representing Republican South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham say that he intends to challenge the subpoena that he was issued by an Atlanta-area special grand jury investigating ... Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.... Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' special grand jury wants to hear from Graham because the Republican senator allegedly made two calls to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his staff in the wake of the 2020 election. According to court filings, Graham 'questioned Raffensperger and his staff about reexamining certain absentee ballots cast in Georgia in order to explore the possibility of a more favorable outcome for former President Donald Trump.'"

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "A right-wing activist whose organization wrote a brief that was cited by the United States Supreme Court in its decision to overturn Roe v. Wade also posted a video in which she boasted of praying with the justices. Rolling Stone is reporting that Peggy Nienaber, who serves as the executive director of a ministry that falls under Liberty Counsel's umbrella organization, boasted that she and her associates are 'the only people' who get an opportunity to pray with sitting Supreme Court justices.... Rolling Stone notes that this could be a conflict of interest for the justices who chose to pray with Nienaber."

Emily Czachor of CBS News: "Gun violence spiked over Fourth of July weekend, with shootings reported in nearly every U.S. state that killed a total of at least 220 people and wounded close to 570 others, according to the Gun Violence Archive.... Of all gun violence incidents accounted for during the holiday weekend, at least 11 were classified as mass shootings by the Gun Violence Archive. Any situation where four or more people, excluding the shooter, are killed or wounded by gunshots is considered a mass shooting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Illinois. Mike Smith & Robert Chiarito of the New York Times: "An Illinois man charged in the killing of seven people at a Fourth of July parade was ordered held in jail without bond on Wednesday, as questions continued to mount about why he was allowed to buy guns despite alarming police encounters.... In court, Ben Dillon, a prosecutor, described in the fullest detail yet how officials say the attack unfolded on Monday.... Mr. Dillon said that Mr. Crimo confessed to the shooting after his arrest on Monday evening.... Investigators believed that [the suspect] fled to Madison, Wis., after the attack, but then returned to Illinois, where he was arrested. [Deputy] Chief [Christopher] Covelli [of the Lake County sheriff's office] said the police believed [the suspect] saw a holiday celebration in Madison and considered using a second rifle that he had with him in the car to carry out another shooting there, but decided against it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I was wondering why the family of the Highland Park shooter didn't raise a stink when he started buying guns. So here's the answer, and it isn't a good one: ~~~

     ~~~ The Irresponsible Parent. Russ Thebault & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "The Illinois State Police confirmed on Tuesday that the father of the Highland Park parade shooting suspect sponsored his son's application for a gun permit months after relatives reported that Robert E. Crimo III had threatened to 'kill everyone,' and that authorities had 'insufficient basis' to deny the application.... Because Crimo was under 21 at the time [he wished to purchased a gun -- December 2019 --], state law required him to have the consent of a parent or guardian before he could own a firearm or ammunition.... State police had received a 'clear and present danger report' on Crimo after the September [2019] incident, but because at the time he did not have a pending application or an active permit, known as a FOID card, the agency ruled there was no action it could take. When reviewing Crimo's application less than six months later, state police officials once again decided there was nothing they could do -- this time, the agency said, because Crimo had a sponsor." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ According to the report, the numerous knives the police confiscated from the young man were returned when the father claimed the knives belonged to him. So Dad is an all-around ass. I doubt he can be held responsible for aiding & abetting, but that's what he did.

New York. It Happens. Ana Ley of the New York Times: An audit has found that the New York City ferry system has lost track of $224 million. "The agency in charge of running New York City's ferry system failed to report nearly a quarter-billion dollars in costs during the administration of Mayor Bill de Blasio, the city comptroller announced on Wednesday in a 50-page audit.... The report details record-keeping problems at the city's Economic Development Corporation, a semi-independent agency that runs the ferry network with the private company Hornblower. According to the audit, the E.D.C. made excessive payments to Hornblower and failed to hold the operator accountable to the contract it signed.... [The agency] has denied overpaying Hornblower by $12 million, which the comptroller had calculated based on its audit." MB: Surely from time to time you've lost a quarter of a billion dollars, then found it just where you left it.

Pennsylvania. 5 News Cleveland: "Former Cleveland Police Officer Timothy Loehmann [-- who shot and killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice --] has been hired as the one and only officer of Tioga, a small borough in Pennsylvania with a population of around 700 people, according to Mayor David Wilcox. Wilcox said he was unaware of Loehmann's background as hiring and firing is done by borough council -- something the mayor said the council president led him to believe had been done and there were no issues." MB: Loehmann's name is well-known; he received national attention. This tells you that many officers who lose their jobs for cause in one locality are able to move on to other police jobs.

Texas. Eric Neugeboren of the Texas Tribune: "An Uvalde police officer asked for a supervisor's permission to shoot the gunman who would soon kill 21 people at Robb Elementary School in May before he entered the building, but the supervisor did not hear the request or responded too late, according to a report released Wednesday evaluating the law enforcement response to the shooting.... 'A reasonable officer would conclude in this case, based upon the totality of the circumstances, that use of deadly force was warranted,' according to the report....The report [by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center at Texas State University in San Marcos --] provides a host of new details about the May 24 shooting, including several missed opportunities to engage or stop the gunman before he entered the school."

Way Beyond

U.K. Danica Kirka, et al., of the AP: "British Prime Minister Boris Johnson resigned Thursday, acknowledging that it was 'clearly the will' of his party that he should go. He stepped down immediately as leader of his Conservative Party but plans to remain as prime minister while the leadership contest is held. He said he has appointed a new Cabinet following a multitude of resignations, but many are calling for him to go now." ~~~

~~~ Rowena Mason & Jessica Elgot of the Guardian: "Boris Johnson is to resign on Thursday as Conservative leader but will push to stay on as prime minister until autumn after his chancellor, Nadhim Zahawi, called on him to go and a string of cabinet ministers walked out. His resignation brings to an end an extraordinary standoff after multiple cabinet ministers pressed him to resign and more than 50 ministers quit because of his mishandling of a string of scandals. A No 10 spokesperson said: 'The prime minister will make a statement to the country today.' However, he is expected to push to stay on as prime minister until the autumn while a Conservative leadership contest takes place. He is likely to face intense pressure from his cabinet and MPs to go further and resign as prime minister as well, making way for a caretaker leader such as Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, or Theresa May, Johnson's predecessor." MB: Gosh, it's difficult to get this guy out the door. ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates are here. Quite a few Tory ministers are saying Boris must resign as PM. ~~~

     ~~~ If you need an American translation, the New York Times' live updates are here. For instance, I completely missed this tidbit: "Mr. Johnson's latest troubles erupted last week after a Conservative lawmaker, Chris Pincher, became drunk at an exclusive London club, where, it was alleged, he groped two men. Mr. Johnson had appointed Mr. Pincher to a senior party position in February despite earlier complaints of inappropriate behavior against Mr. Pincher."

Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "His support crumbling, his government in disarray, his alibis exhausted, Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain tried frantically on Wednesday to salvage his position, even as a delegation of cabinet colleagues traveled to Downing Street to plead with ... [him] to step down. More than 30 government ministers or aides quit, multiple Conservative Party lawmakers urged Mr. Johnson to resign, and he got a withering reception in Parliament, where backbenchers jeered, 'Bye, Boris!' as he left by a side door after a merciless grilling over his handling of the party's latest sex-and-bullying scandal.... Mr. Johnson vowed to fight on, insisting he had a mandate from voters to steer Britain into its post-Brexit future...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: BTW, if you think you may recognize a former American president* in Boris, the NYT report closes with this: "'Unlike most leaders, he doesn't care how much damage he does on his way out the door,' said Jonathan Powell, who served as chief of staff to a former prime minister, Tony Blair. 'There isn't anyone in our history who's had this kind of nature. Our system is not built for something like this.'" ~~~

~~~ Kieran Devine, et al., of Sky News: "More than 20 ministers have resigned from the cabinet since Tuesday, and the list of overall government resignations over the past few days is now above 50.... Boris Johnson's premiership has now been marked by more ministerial resignations and at a faster rate than all other Prime Ministers in modern history."

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "Western artillery pieces that have been flowing into Ukraine since spring are 'working very powerfully' and starting to make a difference on the battlefield..., Volodymyr Zelensky said in his Wednesday night address.... But after weeks of fighting, outgunned Ukrainians have ceded most of Luhansk, Ukraine's easternmost region, to Russian forces, the area's governor said. The Kremlin's troops are also closing in on the Donetsk city of Slovyansk. Two U.S. lawmakers who have urged Washington to accelerate the pace of weapons deliveries to Kyiv arrived in the Ukrainian capital Thursday, where they are expected to meet with Zelensky. Sens. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also visited Bucha and Borodyanka -- suburbs of Kyiv particularly affected by the war." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So maybe this is why Graham is way too busy to submit to a subpoena. ~~~

~~~ John Wagner & David Sheinin of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Wednesday told the wife of WNBA star Brittney Griner, who has been detained in Russia since February on drug charges, that he is working to secure the basketball player's release 'as soon as possible,' the White House said. During the call, Biden also read Cherelle Griner a draft of a letter that he was planning to send to Brittney Griner later Wednesday, according to the White House, which said Vice President Harris also participated."

News Lede

New York Times: "James Caan, who built a durable film career in varied roles across six decades but was forever identified most closely with one of his earliest characters, the quick-tempered, skirt-chasing Sonny Corleone in the original 'Godfather' movie, died on Wednesday. He was 82."