December 17, 2022

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Friday delivered a series of emotional remarks that were centered on new benefits available to veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals, but also focused on his own personal experiences and channeled moral outrage that the country hasn't always lived up to its 'sacred obligation' of caring for its troops. The remarks were given at a National Guard facility named after his late son, whose death Biden has come to believe was a result of his military service near toxic burn pits in Kosovo and Iraq. The visit to the Major Joseph R. 'Beau' Biden III National Guard/Reserve Center in New Castle, Del., is part of more than 90 events that the Department of Veterans Affairs has been holding around the country to encourage veterans to utilize new benefits available to them as a result of a law Biden signed in August."

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Biden plans to appoint Joe Kennedy III, a former Democratic congressman from Massachusetts and a scion of the nation's most famous Irish American political family, as his special envoy to Northern Ireland, two people with knowledge of the White House's plans said on Friday. The White House's announcement, which could come as early as Monday, would fill a post that has been vacant since the departure of Mick Mulvaney, a former acting chief of staff to ... Donald J. Trump, in 2021. The White House is calculating that Mr. Kennedy, 42, a grandson of Robert F. Kennedy who was once viewed as the family's next political star, will bring a marquee name to the job of drumming up business for Northern Ireland, which has long struggled to shake off the legacy of sectarian violence known as the Troubles. But Mr. Kennedy will not have the broad mandate of some of his predecessors, one person said, limiting his focus to economic development and investment promotion rather than thornier political or trade issues." CNN's report is here.

Maria Sachetti & Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court on Friday cleared the way for the Biden administration to end a covid-related policy that allows officials to expel migrants from U.S. borders, rejecting a push by Republican officials to keep enforcing the removals. The decision means the policy known as Title 42 started by the Trump administration, will end Dec. 21, unless the Supreme Court intervenes. The GOP officials had signaled in court records that they would appeal to the Supreme Court. The court ruling represents a victory for immigration advocates in their quest to fully reopen the borders to asylum seekers who have been expelled without a chance to plead their cases, and for the Biden administration, which agrees that the hard-line policy should end. But the Department of Homeland Security is straining to manage an influx of migrants that could balloon in the coming weeks and overwhelm the Border Patrol, as well as cities and towns that are hosting the newcomers."

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday instructed federal prosecutors to end sentencing disparities in cases involving the distribution of crack and powder cocaine after decades of law enforcement policy disproportionately treating crack offenders more punitively. Garland's move effectively seeks to eliminate the significant difference in the amount of powder cocaine relative to crack cocaine that is required to be in a suspect's possession to trigger mandatory minimum federal sentences if convicted. Critics of the longtime policy have said it is a relic of the Washington's misguided war-on-drugs era that targeted Black and Brown communities, resulted in overpopulated prisons and strained federal and local resources at the expense of more effective strategies." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

William Broad of the New York Times: "The Secretary of Energy on Friday nullified a 1954 decision to revoke the security clearance of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a top government scientist who led the making of the atomic bomb in World War II but fell under suspicion of being a Soviet spy at the height of the McCarthy era. In a statement, the Energy Secretary, Jennifer M. Granholm, said the decision of her predecessor agency, the Atomic Energy Commission, to bar Oppenheimer's clearance was the result of a 'flawed process' that violated its own regulations. As time has passed, she added, 'more evidence has come to light of the bias and unfairness of the process that Dr. Oppenheimer was subjected to while the evidence of his loyalty and love of country have only been further affirmed.'" The Hill's story is here.

Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A new office at the Pentagon is scrutinizing hundreds of reports of unidentified objects in air, sea, space and beyond, senior U.S. defense officials said Friday, and while it has discovered no signs of alien life, the search is set to expand. The issue has taken on increasing seriousness as a bipartisan group of lawmakers presses the Defense Department to investigate instances of unidentified phenomena and disclose publicly what they learn. Established in July, the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office is evaluating recent reports and soon could evaluate accounts that date back decades, officials said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: They're looking in the wrong places. They should check out those lawmakers who empowered them. I'm not sure members of Congress are all of this Earth. ~~~

We're Christmas season. A talk of the majority right now who wants to put a small continuing resolution to bump all the members up two days before Christmas, to try to vote on a package they cannot read, written by two individuals who will not be here, on spending for the entire government.... And to walk through to pass the largest bill that we passed throughout the year in the last days before Christmas, where they won't even tell you what the baseline is now, the two people who will not be here are held accountable to their constituents, that they're going to determine this? -- Kevin McCarthy, saying some words on the House floor ~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post is worried about Kevin McCarthy: "A group of House Republican moderates (yes, a few specimens still survive in the wild) met with Kevin McCarthy this week to help him right his listing bid for the speakership. In a show of support, they passed out pro-McCarthy lapel buttons: stars on a field of blue with a red band in the middle that proclaimed, simply, 'O.K.' The letters were meant to signify 'Only Kevin,' CNN's Melanie Zanona reported, as a rejoinder to the Never-McCarthy hard-liners on the right. But the message had an unfortunate double meaning that highlighted the doubts about the always-a-bridesmaid-never-a-bride candidate for speaker. McCarthy is just that: Okay. As in: not great. Not even above average. Just okay.... McCarthy has a knack for garbled messages.... Deep in his brain there seems to be a syntax scrambler...." Read on.

Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to vote on urging the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against ... Donald Trump, including insurrection. The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to Politico by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government. It's unclear whether the select committee's final report will recommend additional charges for Trump beyond the three described to Politico, or whether it will urge other criminal charges for other players in Trump's bid to subvert his 2020 loss. The document, according to the people familiar, includes an extensive justification for the recommended charges." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "A House committee is expected to vote on Tuesday on whether to make public six years of ... Donald J. Trump's tax records, in what would be a significant act of transparency in the waning days of Democratic control of the House. The Ways and Means Committee gave notice on Friday that it would meet behind closed doors at 3 p.m. on Tuesday for what is expected to be a vote on whether to release some data from Mr. Trump's tax returns from 2015 to 2020, including the possibility of sharing the filings. The panel obtained the information from the Treasury Department last month. Such a vote, which Republicans are likely to oppose, would be the culmination of a nearly four-year battle stemming from Mr. Trump's decision to break with modern precedent and refuse to disclose his personal financial information as a presidential candidate and then as a sitting president. For now, lawmakers remain constrained by law about what they can say about the matter.... By law, the committee generally must keep that information confidential, but if the panel votes to report the information to the full House, it would become lawful to make it public, too." ~~~

     ~~~ Brian Faler of Politico: "House Democrats will likely unmask new details about ... Donald Trump's long-hidden taxes following a key meeting now set for next week.... [The Ways & Means Committee could vote to] release Trump's entire returns or perhaps something more limited, such as a summary."

Anjali Singhgi, et al., of the New York Times have created (a somewhat cumbersome-to-navigate, IMO) graphic demonstration of how close random guests came to classified documents Donald Trump & his aides had stored at Mar-a-Lardo. They stashed many docs in a not-very-secure closet. "Photos from some of these events show the arched doors [leading from a public outdoor patio surrounding the pool to the storage area] being partially or fully open, suggesting that guests may have had access to the storage area.... Federal agents seized documents, including ones labeled as 'Top Secret,' from a small room within the storage area, a space where cleaning supplies, beach chairs and umbrellas were also kept." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The article also shows photos of many, many guests at fundraisers & such milling near the storage area. There are also photos of guests, some of them foreigners & some as sleazy as Kyle Rittenhouse & Lauren Boebert, standing around Trump's office where he stashed other classified documents. "The staircase leading to the office has no obvious permanent barriers. The Times found photos that show people roaming freely nearby." The office is right off a ballroom, which hosts various events packed with guests. "It is unclear what additional security separates ballroom guests from Mr. Trump's office." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Filthy Lucre. Cam Thompson of Coin Desk: "... Donald Trump's non-fungible token (NFT) digital trading card collection sold out early Friday, the day after its initial release. According to data from OpenSea, at time of writing [12/16 @11:22 am ET], the collection's trading volume is 900 ETH, or about $1.08 million. Its floor price is about 0.19 ETH, or about $230 -- more than double the original price of $99. Some tokens are selling for much higher prices. The one-of-ones, the rarest of the NFTs, which comprise 2.4% of the 45,000 unit collection (roughly 1,000), are selling for as much as 6 ETH at the time of writing. One of these rare trading cards, of the 45th president standing in front of the Statue of Liberty holding a torch, is currently listed at 20 ETH, or about $24,000." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Taylor of the Guardian: "Despite being widely mocked online..., Donald Trump's collection of digital trading cards have sold out in less than a day, netting US$4.5m in sales."

Jacob Kornbluh of the Forward: "... Donald Trump didn't mention his dinner with two prominent antisemites figures last month in an address to a Jewish group Friday morning, his first public speech since the controversy ensued. But speaking at a weekend conference by Torah U'Mesorah, an Orthodox educational group from New York, at his National Doral club in Miami, Trump claimed to be 'the best ally' the Jewish people 'have ever had.'... Trump spent most of his 30-minute speech -- posted on YouTube -- citing a recent article by Rabbi Doy Fischer, detailing 'the things I have done for my Jewish friends and the Jewish people, and for Israel.' He earned the biggest round of applause when he mentioned his commutation of the jail sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, a kosher meat executive who was found guilty in 2009 of 86 counts of bank fraud and sentenced to 27 years in prison in December 2017. Rubashkin, whom Trump referred to as 'the rabbi from Iowa' even though he was not a rabbi, had become a cause célèbre in some parts of the Orthodox community."(Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "A federal judge revealed Friday that earlier this year she granted Justice Department investigators access to emails between three Trump-connected attorneys and Rep. Scott Perry as part of the federal investigation into election subversion efforts by the former president and others. At the request of DOJ, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell unsealed a June opinion in which she determined that 37 emails sent among Trump-era Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, his aide Ken Klukowski and conservative attorney John Eastman and Perry (R-Pa.) -- another top Donald Trump ally who chairs the House Freedom Caucus -- were not protected by attorney-client privilege.... Howell also unsealed a second opinion, issued in September, in which she determined that 331 documents from Clark -- whom Trump nearly installed as acting attorney general as part of his bid to seize a second term -- were similarly not protected by attorney-client privilege." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Among the documents were 331 drafts of [Jeffrey] Clark's autobiography outline, which he had saved in his Google account, according to a court filing.... Earlier this year, Clark declined to answer questions to several investigative teams, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, and had marked on his autobiography drafts that they were attorney work-product, implying he wanted them to remain confidential.... Six chapters were about the 2020 election, Howell's opinion added." MB: According to the Politico story linked above, "The outline included a description of a pivotal Jan. 3, 2021, meeting between Trump and senior DOJ officials where almost the entire top echelon of the department threatened to resign if the then-president put Clark in charge." MB: He wrote an autobiography subject to attorney-client privilege? Bizarre. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Patriotic" Insurrectionist. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Tennessee man already facing charges of assaulting a police officer during the storming of the Capitol last year was charged on Friday with plotting to assassinate several of the federal agents who had investigated him and to attack the F.B.I.'s field office in Knoxville, Tenn. The plot by the man, Edward Kelley, 33, of Maryville, Tenn., was foiled this week by a witness who cooperated with the authorities and recorded him and a co-conspirator, Austin Carter, 26, of Knoxville, according to court papers filed in the case. Mr. Kelley and Mr. Carter were charged with conspiracy, retaliating against a federal official, interstate communication of a threat and solicitation to commit a crime of violence. Both men were denied bail at a hearing on Friday in Federal District Court in Knoxville, the Justice Department said." Read on.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A self-described 'poster boy' for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who led a mob pursuit of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison after a judge said he led events that could have caused mass bloodshed. Douglas Jensen, 43, of Des Moines became one of the most recognized riot participants in widely shared video showing him wearing a black QAnon 'Eagle' T-shirt and leading a crowd following Goodman up two flights of stairs inside the Capitol while searching for the evacuated Senate chamber.... U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ... noted that Jensen traveled to Washington with others carrying military-style rifles, was one of the first 10 people who breached the Capitol and 'waved on' and encouraged others to join him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Senate late Thursday confirmed seven judges to D.C.'s local courts, a move that partly addresses a spate of judicial vacancies that District officials, in recent appeals directly to Congress and the White House, said was causing significant slowdowns in the city's justice system.... Because D.C. is not a state, Congress can decide what authorities D.C. can have, and in the case of its judicial system, it has almost none. The city must rely on the president to nominate judges to its local court system and the Senate to confirm them. But the Senate has routinely allowed the nominations to languish, at times using the judges as political bargaining chips...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Tania Ganguli of the New York Times: Brittney "Griner, an American basketball star, on Friday left the military base in San Antonio where she spent the eight days since her release from imprisonment in Russia. She said on Instagram that she planned to spend the holidays at home [in Phoenix, Arizona,] with her family and that she would play basketball for her Mercury when the W.N.B.A. season begins in May.

The Lord Taketh Away & the Lord Giveth Back. Yan Zhuang of the New York Times: "Elon Musk said Twitter was reinstating the accounts of several journalists whose accounts were suspended after he had accused them of violating the social media platform's rules on personal privacy. Mr. Musk reinstated most of the accounts, which had been deactivated on Thursday, after a majority of respondents in his informal Twitter survey voted that the suspensions should be lifted immediately.... By the early hours of Saturday, most of the accounts had been reinstated. But the @ElonJet account was still suspended, as was the account of Keith Olbermann, a former MSNBC and ESPN host, and that of Linette Lopez, a Business Insider columnist whose work covering Mr. Musk&'s businesses in recent years had included documenting alleged manufacturing issues at Tesla." The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Elon Picks Up His Audio Toy & Goes Home. Matt Novak of Gizmodo: "Twitter Spaces, the audio feature that allows people to participate in group chats using the social media platform, has been disabled and it's not clear whether it will ever return. The move comes after Elon Musk joined a group chat hosted by BuzzFeed reporter Katie Notopoulos on Thursday night, where the Twitter CEO spoke incoherently about his new rules around what the billionaire called 'doxxing.'... Musk ... left [the conversation] because he was flustered by getting asked real questions, rather than the more typical Twitter Space conversation where far-right Twitter users tell him how great he is.... Musk has recently claimed that someone was stalking his 2-year-old son, even posting a video of someone he claimed had stopped his car, and has tried to suggest this was a direct result of the ElonJets account[, which used publicly-available information to track the locations of private jets]. But open-source intelligence researchers have located where the video was taken, noting it was nowhere near an airport and roughly a day later than any flight by Musk's private jet." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I checked my translations dictionary and found out "elon" is Afrikaans for "thin-skinned." (More obviously, "musk" is Afrikaans for "bloated stinkbomb."

"Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "The union organizing Starbucks workers declared a strike at dozens of stores on Friday, the latest escalation in its campaign to secure a labor contract. The strike is intended to last for three days at many of the stores, according to Workers United, the union representing the workers. It follows a one-day strike at roughly 100 stores last month. Workers involved in the strike say they are protesting the company's slow pace of bargaining and its recent closing of unionized stores, including one near Broadway and Denny Way in Seattle. They also complain about understaffing and cuts to their hours." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Etc., Ctd.

Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "Updated booster shots have bolstered Americans' defenses against serious Covid, reducing the risk of hospitalization by roughly 50 percent compared with certain groups inoculated with the original vaccines, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in a pair of studies published on Friday. The research represents the agency's first look at how the reformulated boosters, tailored to protect against recent Omicron variants, are performing in the prevention of severe consequences of infection with the virus, including emergency department visits and hospitalizations."

Akilah Johnson of the Washington Post: "As the coronavirus pandemic approaches its third full winter, two studies reveal an uncomfortable truth: The toxicity of partisan politics is fueling an overall increase in mortality rates for working-age Americans. In one study, researchers concluded that people living in more-conservative parts of the United States disproportionately bore the burden of illness and death linked to covid-19. The other, which looked at health outcomes more broadly, found that the more conservative a state's policies, the shorter the lives of working-age people. The reasons are many, but, increasingly, it is state -- and not just federal -- policies that have begun to shape the economic, family, environmental and behavioral circumstances that affect people's well-being. Some states have expanded their social safety nets, raising minimum wages and offering earned income tax credits while using excise taxes to discourage behaviors -- such as smoking -- that have deleterious health consequences. Other states have moved in the opposite direction." See Akhilleus's comment below.

Amy Walker of the New York Times: "R.S.V., or respiratory syncytial virus, has made so many young children ill this fall that weekly pediatric hospitalizations for R.S.V. are the highest recorded. Influenza, which normally peaks in February, has driven up hospitalization rates to the highest level for this time of year in more than a decade, surpassing hospitalizations from Covid-19. And while Covid illness is lower than it was the last two Decembers, it, too, is climbing. Public health officials have been warning for weeks that a 'tripledemic' of Covid-19, flu and R.S.V. would strain an already weary health care system. Hospitalizations from the three viruses have been rising together. Nationally, R.S.V. appears to have peaked, and flu is peaking in a few parts of the country, but infections from the two viruses are expected to plateau at high levels."

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia. All the Best People. Wayne Ford of the Athens Banner-Herald: “A longtime businessman in Barrow County who was elected unopposed in November to the state House Representative in District 116 was arrested Thursday after authorities said he burglarized a residence at a Winder retirement complex where he works. Daniel E. Rampey, 67, of Statham was arrested at Magnolia Estates of Winder Assisted Living Center, where his political website shows he has managed its operation for the past 38 years. Rampey, a Republican, was scheduled to take office on Jan. 9, 2023. In the Republican Primary, he defeated Marcus Ray by receiving nearly 83% of the vote.... 'We had a couple of instances of him on video taking the items and today we had one as well. We actually filmed him going into the residence and taking the items,' Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith said. The stolen drugs involved prescription narcotics, Smith said."

Illinois. Mitch Smith & Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "Prosecutors in suburban Chicago charged the father of a man accused of killing seven people at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ill., with felonies on Friday, claiming that he acted recklessly when he signed onto his son's application for a gun ownership permit. The seven counts of reckless conduct filed against the father, Robert Crimo Jr., mark at least the second time in recent years that a parent of an accused mass killer has faced charges for their actions leading up to the attack, and it could signal increased willingness by prosecutors to seek punishment for family members who may have ignored warning signs or provided access to weapons." A CBS News/AP story is here.

North Carolina. Eugene Scott, et al., of the Washington Post: "The North Carolina Supreme Court on Friday struck down a state voter identification law, ruling that Republican lawmakers acted unconstitutionally to minimize Democratic voters' power with a law that intentionally discriminated against Black voters.... Senate Bill 824 required every voter to present one of a few specific forms of photo identification, a measure the justices ruled was passed in part to discriminate against Black voters.... The state Supreme Court also upheld a lower court's earlier ruling that congressional districts drawn by state legislators "fell short of constitutional standards." The decision also overturned a lower court's decision to approve state Senate districts that also were drawn by state lawmakers."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefings of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Water supplies returned to residents of Ukraine's capital on Saturday and the metro system resumed, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said, and the city began to recover from a barrage of Russian missile strikes Friday, pummeling critical infrastructure. A third of people in Kyiv remain without energy and emergency power shutdowns were scheduled, he added. Damaged cities -- including Kharkiv, Sumy, Poltava and Dnipro -- reported power outages after the strikes.... A protective shield is being installed over spent nuclear waste at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, a Russian-installed official, Vladimir Rogov, said Saturday on Telegram. The 'protective dome' will stop the hazardous waste from being targeted by drones or missile strikes, he said.... CIA assesses that Russia is unlikely to enter 'a real negotiation' to end the war, said director William J. Burns.... The CIA sees the tempo of fighting in Ukraine slowing amid the onset of winter, Burns told PBS.

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

Michael Schwirtz, et al., of the New York Times on why Putin is losing the war against Ukraine: "Putin associates said he spiraled into self-aggrandizement and anti-Western zeal, leading him to make the fateful decision to invade Ukraine in near total isolation, without consulting experts who saw the war as pure folly.... The Russian military, despite Western assumptions about its prowess, was severely compromised, gutted by years of theft.... Once the invasion began, Russia squandered its dominance over Ukraine through a parade of blunders.... Stretched thin by its grand ambitions, Russia seized more territory than it could defend, leaving thousands of square miles in the hands of skeleton crews of underfed, undertrained and poorly equipped fighters.... Mr. Putin divided his war into fiefs, leaving no one powerful enough to challenge him.... [The military were inflexible & lacked agility to respond timely to changing situations.... The Wagner group] became one of Mr. Putin's shadow armies in Ukraine, often acting as a rival to the Russian military." A very long piece with many specifics.

Peru. Mitra Taj of the New York Times: "The death toll in protests that have convulsed Peru rose above 20 on Friday, with tensions centered in the highland city of Ayacucho, where eight people were killed in clashes between anti-government demonstrators and military officers. The demonstrations and ensuing violence have hampered efforts by the new president, Dina Boluarte, to establish control over the country, with two ministers in her government resigning on Friday and protesters in the streets chanting 'Dina! Murderer!' Despite authorizing the military to help restore order this week, Ms. Boluarte has struggled to contain the violent protests sparked by the abrupt downfall of her democratically elected predecessor, Pedro Castillo, who tried to illegally seize control of Congress and the courts last week. The protests have shuttered regional airports, choked off roads across large swaths of the country, and resulted in curfews being imposed on several provinces."

U.K. Adam Taylor of the Washington Post: "A prominent British royal aide who resigned from her role at Buckingham Palace after asking a Black British charity director where she was 'really from' has met with the activist to apologize and pledged to learn from the incident, according to a joint announcement released on Friday. Lady Susan Hussey, 83, who was a long-standing lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth II and godmother to royal heir Prince William, met with Ngozi Fulani, a British activist and chief executive of domestic abuse charity Sistah Space, on Friday at Buckingham Palace, where she apologized. Hussey 'pledged to deepen her awareness of the sensitivities involved and is grateful for the opportunity to learn more about the issues in this area,' according to the statement, which noted that Fulani had 'unfairly received the most appalling torrent of abuse on social media and elsewhere.' Fulani accepted the apology and said 'that no malice was intended.'" MB: Fulani is one gracious woman.

December 16, 2022

Afternoon Update:

David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "Attorney General Merrick Garland on Friday instructed federal prosecutors to end sentencing disparities in cases involving the distribution of crack and powder cocaine after decades of law enforcement policy disproportionately treating crack offenders more punitively. Garland's move effectively seeks to eliminate the significant difference in the amount of powder cocaine relative to crack cocaine that is required to be in a suspect's possession to trigger mandatory minimum federal sentences if convicted. Critics of the longtime policy have said it is a relic of the Washington's misguided war-on-drugs era that targeted Black and Brown communities, resulted in overpopulated prisons and strained federal and local resources at the expense of more effective strategies."

Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "The Jan. 6 select committee is preparing to vote on urging the Justice Department to pursue at least three criminal charges against ... Donald Trump, including insurrection. The report that the select panel is expected to consider on Monday afternoon, described to Politico by two people familiar with its contents, reflects some recommendations from a subcommittee that evaluated potential criminal referrals. Among the charges that subcommittee proposes for Trump: 18 U.S.C. 2383, insurrection; 18 U.S.C. 1512(c), obstruction of an official proceeding; and 18 U.S.C. 371, conspiracy to defraud the United States government. It's unclear whether the select committee's final report will recommend additional charges for Trump beyond the three described to Politico, or whether it will urge other criminal charges for other players in Trump's bid to subvert his 2020 loss. The document, according to the people familiar, includes an extensive justification for the recommended charges."

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "A federal judge revealed Friday that earlier this year she granted Justice Department investigators access to emails between three Trump-connected attorneys and Rep. Scott Perry as part of the federal investigation into election subversion efforts by the former president and others. At the request of DOJ, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Beryl Howell unsealed a June opinion in which she determined that 37 emails sent among Trump-era Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, his aide Ken Klukowski and conservative attorney John Eastman and Perry (R-Pa.) -- another top Donald Trump ally who chairs the House Freedom Caucus -- were not protected by attorney-client privilege.... Howell also unsealed a second opinion, issued in September, in which she determined that 331 documents from Clark -- whom Trump nearly installed as acting attorney general as part of his bid to seize a second term -- were similarly not protected by attorney-client privilege." ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Among the documents were 331 drafts of [Jeffrey] Clark's autobiography outline, which he had saved in his Google account, according to a court filing.... Earlier this year, Clark declined to answer questions to several investigative teams, citing his Fifth Amendment rights, and had marked on his autobiography drafts that they were attorney work-product, implying he wanted them to remain confidential.... Six chapters were about the 2020 election, Howell's opinion added." MB: According to the Politico story linked above, "The outline included a description of a pivotal Jan. 3, 2021, meeting between Trump and senior DOJ officials where almost the entire top echelon of the department threatened to resign if the then-president put Clark in charge." This is all pretty bizarre.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A self-described 'poster boy' for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot who led a mob pursuit of U.S. Capitol Police Officer Eugene Goodman was sentenced Friday to five years in prison after a judge said he led events that could have caused mass bloodshed. Douglas Jensen, 43, of Des Moines became one of the most recognized riot participants in widely shared video showing him wearing a black QAnon 'Eagle' T-shirt and leading a crowd following Goodman up two flights of stairs inside the Capitol while searching for the evacuated Senate chamber.... U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly ... noted that Jensen traveled to Washington with others carrying military-style rifles, was one of the first 10 people who breached the Capitol and 'waved on' and encouraged others to join him."

Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Senate late Thursday confirmed seven judges to D.C.'s local courts, a move that partly addresses a spate of judicial vacancies that District officials, in recent appeals directly to Congress and the White House, said was causing significant slowdowns in the city's justice system.... Because D.C. is not a state, Congress can decide what authorities D.C. can have, and in the case of its judicial system, it has almost none. The city must rely on the president to nominate judges to its local court system and the Senate to confirm them. But the Senate has routinely allowed the nominations to languish, at times using the judges as political bargaining chips...."

Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "The union organizing Starbucks workers declared a strike at dozens of stores on Friday, the latest escalation in its campaign to secure a labor contract. The strike is intended to last for three days at many of the stores, according to Workers United, the union representing the workers. It follows a one-day strike at roughly 100 stores last month. Workers involved in the strike say they are protesting the company's slow pace of bargaining and its recent closing of unionized stores, including one near Broadway and Denny Way in Seattle. They also complain about understaffing and cuts to their hours."

Filthy Lucre. Cam Thompson of Coin Desk: "... Donald Trump's non-fungible token (NFT) digital trading card collection sold out early Friday, the day after its initial release. According to data from OpenSea, at time of writing [12/16 @11:22 am ET], the collection's trading volume is 900 ETH, or about $1.08 million. Its floor price is about 0.19 ETH, or about $230 -- more than double the original price of $99. Some tokens are selling for much higher prices. The one-of-ones, the rarest of the NFTs, which comprise 2.4% of the 45,000 unit collection (roughly 1,000), are selling for as much as 6 ETH at the time of writing. One of these rare trading cards, of the 45th president standing in front of the Statue of Liberty holding a torch, is currently listed at 20 ETH, or about $24,000."

Jacob Kornbluh of the Forward: "... Donald Trump didn't mention his dinner with two prominent antisemites figures last month in an address to a Jewish group Friday morning, his first public speech since the controversy ensued. But speaking at a weekend conference by Torah U'Mesorah, an Orthodox educational group from New York, at his National Doral club in Miami, Trump claimed to be 'the best ally' the Jewish people 'have ever had.'... Trump spent most of his 30-minute speech -- posted on YouTube -- citing a recent article by Rabbi Doy Fischer, detailing 'the things I have done for my Jewish friends and the Jewish people, and for Israel.' He earned the biggest round of applause when he mentioned his commutation of the jail sentence of Sholom Rubashkin, a kosher meat executive who was found guilty in 2009 of 86 counts of bank fraud and sentenced to 27 years in prison in December 2017. Rubashkin, whom Trump referred to as 'the rabbi from Iowa' even though he was not a rabbi, had become a cause célèbre in some parts of the Orthodox community."

Anjali Singhgi, et al., of the New York Times have created (a somewhat cumbersome-to-navigate, IMO) graphic demonstration of how close random guests came to classified documents Donald Trump & his aides had stored at Mar-a-Lardo. They stashed many docs in a not-very-secure closet. "Photos from some of these events show the arched doors [leading from a public outdoor patio surrounding the pool to the storage area] being partially or fully open, suggesting that guests may have had access to the storage area.... Federal agents seized documents, including ones labeled as 'Top Secret,' from a small room within the storage area, a space where cleaning supplies, beach chairs and umbrellas were also kept." ~~~

     ~~~ The article also shows photos of many, many guests at fundraisers & such milling near the storage area. There are also photos of guests, some of them foreigners & some as sleazy as Kyle Rittenhouse & Lauren Boebert, standing around Trump's office where he stashed other classified documents. "The staircase leading to the office has no obvious permanent barriers. The Times found photos that show people roaming freely nearby." The office is right off a ballroom, which hosts various events packed with guests. "It is unclear what additional security separates ballroom guests from Mr. Trump's office."

~~~~~~~~~~

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The Senate on Thursday gave final approval to an $858 billion military policy bill that would rescind the Pentagon's mandate that troops receive the coronavirus vaccine, defying President Biden's objections and sending to his desk a bill that paved the way for a massive increase in spending on the military. The vote was 83 to 11, an overwhelmingly bipartisan margin that reflected support in both parties for boosting the Pentagon's budget by $45 billion over Mr. Biden's request, as lawmakers in both parties argued that the protracted war in Ukraine and an emboldened China had changed the nation's security posture. With Republicans set to take control of the House in January, it essentially locked in the kind of large boost to the military budget that Mr. Biden and many Democrats had sought to avoid while they had unified control of government. Negotiated by Democrats and Republicans in both chambers, the legislation would grant a 4.6 percent raise to military personnel, and provide $800 million in new security aid to Ukraine and billions to Taiwan. It includes changes sought by lawmakers to the military's policy for handling sexual assault cases, a major victory that its proponents had labored for years to secure." The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "The House on Thursday passed a bill that would allow Puerto Ricans to decide their future governing status, a long-sought goal on the island territory. The vote was 233-to-191, with 16 Republicans breaking ranks and joining Democrats in backing the measure. The legislation would authorize a vote in Puerto Rico to chose whether to become a state, an independent nation, or a country 'in free association with the United States.' The island has been a territory since 1898, and residents there were granted citizenship in 1917. The White House signaled its strong support for the bill earlier Thursday, but the measure is unlikely to make it through the Senate, where 60 votes would be required for it to advance, by the end of the year. And prospects for passage in the House next year, with Republicans in control, are significantly diminished." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case it's slipped your mind that the Great American Grifter was once the Worst U.S. President* Ever: when I was looking for a "free" story about the House vote on Puerto Rico, I came upon a 2018 AP story with this headline: Donald Trump: "Absolute no" on statehood for Puerto Rico."

Another Plan to Save "Dreamers" (Etc.) Fails. Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News: "Negotiations in the Senate to forge a bipartisan compromise on U.S. immigration and border policy failed to gain enough traction to pass before the end of this session of Congress, dooming yet another effort to reform a system that has not been updated in decades, congressional officials familiar with the matter told CBS News. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, an independent who until last week was a Democrat, and GOP Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina had been discussing a potential deal that would have included the legalization of a subset of the millions of unauthorized immigrants living in the U.S., as well as certain measures aimed at reducing illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border. But Sinema and Tillis did not strike a deal that would have been able to secure the necessary 60 votes in the evenly divided Senate during the lame-duck session...."

Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "Beginning in late January 2020, U.S. intelligence agencies reported to senior Trump administration officials that the coronavirus spreading in China threatened to become a pandemic and spark a global health crisis. But then-President Trump's public statements over the next two months 'did not reflect the increasingly stark warnings coursing through intelligence channels,' including the president's daily brief, available to Trump and senior members of his administration, according to a report issued Thursday by the House Intelligence Committee.... [The report,] written by the Democrats..., broadly praises the work of intelligence analysts for providing early warning about the virus for policymakers. But the report also faulted the intelligence community for not being better prepared to provide comprehensive early warning based on exclusive intelligence." Politico's report, by Erin Banco, puts the onus of failure on the intelligence community. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The trouble is, as long as at least some parts of the government apparatus are not accommodating a crisis, there is little individual Americans can do about it. Had you called your office on Feb. 1, 2020, and said you'd be working from home on account of the pandemic, your boss would have fired you, And if you couldn't pay the rent, you & the kiddies would have been out on the street on a cold winter's night. An early public warning from an obscure intelligence unit, even if it received a bit of press attention, would have done nothing to avert the coming pandemic, what with Trump & Co. pretending a catastrophic health crisis wasn't in the offing.

Michael Levelson & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "The federal government on Thursday released a fresh trove of documents related to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, a turning point in American history and the subject of persistent conspiracy theories, despite the official government conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald, acting alone, shot him to death. Historians and researchers said they were just beginning to comb through the 13,173 documents containing newly released information, hoping they might shed further light on one of the most closely scrutinized murders in recent history and on the government's actions before and after it. The documents included records relating to Oswald's trip to Mexico City several weeks before Kennedy's assassination in 1963; Oswald's trip to Finland in 1959, the year he defected to the Soviet Union; and images of his Cuban visa application. Some of the documents -- including one about Operation Mongoose, a covert government campaign to rid Cuba of Fidel Castro -- included redactions. Many of the documents had been released previously but now have fewer redactions or none at all, researchers said."; An NBC News story is here.

Kevin Collier of NBC News: "A former Twitter employee found guilty of spying on users on behalf of the Saudi royal family has been sentenced to three and a half years in prison. Ahmad Abouammo, a dual U.S.-Lebanese citizen who helped oversee media partnerships for Twitter in the Middle East and North Africa, was part of a scheme to acquire the personal information of users, including phone numbers and birth dates, for a Saudi government agent. He was sentenced Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. The Justice Department has said it believes that another former Twitter employee accused of accessing user accounts and a man accused of helping the Saudi government with the scheme have fled to Saudi Arabia to evade American authorities. The Saudi government severely penalizes anti-government expression on social media sites like Twitter."

Kris Rhim of the New York Times: "The N.C.A.A., which has struggled to govern the shifting landscape of college sports amid rapid changes involving endorsement deals, large media contracts and conference realignment, on Thursday named Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts as the organization's next president. Baker, a Republican, has been the governor of Massachusetts since 2015, with his second term ending in January. He will take over as president of the N.C.A.A. in March 2023. Baker will replace Mark Emmert, who will serve as a consultant to the N.C.A.A. until June 2023. Baker has some familiarity with college sports. He played basketball at Harvard, including eight games for the varsity team in the 1977-78 season. His wife, Lauren, was a gymnast at Northwestern, and their two sons played Division III football." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An ESPN report is here.

Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post lists 2022's top Pinocchio prizes.

Rich Guys Behaving Badly

Michael Bender & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump's political opponents have long criticized him as something of a cartoon character. On Thursday, the former president made himself into one -- but with the aim of turning a profit. In his first significant public move since opening his 2024 presidential campaign last month, Mr. Trump announced an online store to sell $99 digital trading cards of himself as a superhero, an astronaut, an Old West sheriff and a series of other fantastical figures. He made his pitch in a brief, direct-to-camera video in which he audaciously declared that his four years in the White House were 'better than Lincoln, better than Washington.'... But Mr. Trump's campaign won't earn any money from the digital cards, which he describes as akin to baseball cards but are actually nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, that effectively allow a person to claim ownership of a digital file. Money from the digital cards will instead be pocketed by Mr. Trump under a licensing deal.... Mr. Trump's direct pitch for the trading cards underscored how secondary his campaign for president has seemed to his personal efforts over the last month." A related Guardian story is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: I am really, really sad I had to be away all morning because -- oh nos! -- I missed Trump's Major Announcement! ~~~

Remember, Christmas is coming, and this makes a great Christmas gift. -- Donald Trump, in a video accompanying the Major Announcement ~~~

Pretty sure he meant "great Christmas grift." He's not that good at reading a teleprompter. -- Marie

     ~~~ Eileen Connelly of Yahoo! News: "The reveal Thursday morning came after Trump teased a 'major] announcement' on his Truth Social platform Wednesday. The post had fans and critics speculating that he was going to announce a running mate for his third campaign for president or perhaps even drop out as he sags in early polls." But no! "... Trump on Thursday revealed a new foray into NFT sales, sharing a website that offers a series of what he called 'digital trading cards' for $99 each. On a website called CollectTrumpCards.com, the 45th president is selling a series of artworks featuring likenesses of himself depicted as a superhero with laser eyes, an astronaut, a John Wayne-like cowboy and a golfer -- along with, of course, a dark-suited Trump surrounded by gold bars.... Trump's launch comes at a time when the NFT market has stagnated, with prices dropping 97% since the start of the year.(I really cannot stress enough how bad the Photoshopping is here.) (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS & others for reminding me what a loser I am for not being right on top of Trump's exciting Major Announcement. I was surprised this Major Announcement wasn't the banner headline on the NYT. Maybe the Times reporters extended their one-day strike just to fix Trump.

Joe Mocks TFG:

I had some MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENTS the last couple of weeks, too…

✔️ Inflation’s easing
✔️ I just signed the Respect for Marriage Act
✔️ We brought Brittney Griner home
✔️ Gas prices are lower than a year ago
✔️ 10,000 new high-paying jobs in Arizona

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) December 15, 2022

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post expends a whole post mocking Trump's latest enterprise: "(I really cannot stress enough how bad the Photoshopping is here.)" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: All in all, you have to concede that it's better for a disgraced, twice-impeached former president* to go back to being a cheesy carnival huckster than to being a racist, misogynist Nazi who hangs out with fellow Nazis. So the NFT grift is, in its way, a step up for this pathetic guy.

I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means. -- Elon Musk, April 2022 ~~~

~~~ Elon Escalates His "Absolute Free Speech" Rampage. Mike Isaac & Kate Conger of the New York Times: "Twitter suspended the accounts of roughly half a dozen prominent journalists on Thursday, the latest change by the social media service under ... Elon Musk. The accounts suspended included Ryan Mac of The New York Times; Drew Harwell of The Washington Post; Aaron Rupar, an independent journalist; Donie O'Sullivan of CNN; Matt Binder of Mashable; Tony Webster, an independent journalist; Micah Lee of The Intercept; and the political journalist Keith Olbermann. It was unclear what the suspensions had in common; each user's Twitter page included a message that said it suspended accounts that 'violate the Twitter rules.' The moves came a day after Twitter suspended more than 25 accounts that tracked the planes of government agencies, billionaires and high-profile individuals, including that of Mr. Musk.... Many of the accounts were operated by Jack Sweeney, a 20-year-old college student.... After his suspension from Twitter, Mr. Sweeney turned to Mastodon, an alternative social network. After Mastodon used Twitter to promote Mr. Sweeney's new account on Thursday, Twitter suspended Mastodon's account. As some journalists shared the news of Mastodon's suspension, their own accounts were suspended." ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "... Elon Musk accused the reporters of posting 'basically assassination coordinates' for him and his family.... Musk suggested on Twitter, without evidence, that the journalists had revealed private information about his family, known as doxxing.... 'It's impossible to square Twitter's free speech aspirations with the purging of critical journalists' accounts,' American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony D. Romero said in a statement.... [Thursday night, Musk] took a Twitter poll on when he should reinstate the accounts -- but restarted it after a plurality of respondents said he should do so immediately." Musk joined a Twitter chat with some journalists late Thursday but bailed out as the reporters confronted him with, well, facts. A Guardian report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Ed Pilkington of the Guardian: "... in America [2022] was the year of the botched execution. In its annual review of US capital punishment, the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) reveals the astonishing statistic that 35% of the 20 execution attempts carried out this year were visibly problematic. Several were agonisingly drawn out as officials tried to secure a vein through which to inject lethal drugs, leading lawyers to describe the process as a form of torture. Others were carried out in violation of state protocols. Some went ahead even though there were defects in those protocols themselves." The New York Times report is here.

Louisiana. Rick Rojas & McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "More than three years after Ronald Greene died in the custody of the Louisiana State Police, five law enforcement officers were charged on Thursday in connection with the violent encounter captured on video, in which Mr. Greene, a Black man, was put in a chokehold and punched repeatedly by officers as he cried out for help. The charges -- which include a single count of negligent homicide for one of the five officers -- came from an indictment handed up by a state grand jury in Louisiana.... The charges are the first to emerge in a case that has mobilized activists and drawn widespread scrutiny of the state police, as an initial description of Mr. Greene resisting arrest after a high-speed chase was unraveled by body-camera footage." CNN's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A horror story from beginning to end. The charges described don't sound nearly severe enough, IMO. My favorite sentence in the report: "Colonel Davis said on Thursday that the case had already spurred 'fundamental improvements to our operations, training and administration' inside the state police." What? What? They're going to add a graf or two in some manual that says, "Don't bludgeon detainees to death" and "Don't repeatedly Tase detainees at close range"?

Massachusetts. But Can She Outmaneuver the Supremes? Stephanie Saul & Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Harvard University announced on Thursday that its new president would be Claudine Gay, the dean of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences. She will be the first Black leader of Harvard, and the second woman to hold the position.... Dr. Gay will take office in July 2023, just as the university faces a pivotal Supreme Court decision that may force it to revise its longstanding admissions processes, which have been criticized for considering factors that favor white and wealthy candidates while also using affirmative action to bolster enrollment by Black and Hispanic students. As a proponent of increased diversity in hiring, as well as an expert o minority representation and political participation in government, Dr. Gay may be ideally suited to the task, supporters said." The Harvard Gazette's release is here.

Michigan. Eliza Fawcett of the New York Times: "Three men convicted of aiding a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in 2020 were sentenced on Thursday to lengthy sentences that could put them in prison for at least seven years. The three men, Paul Bellar, 24, Joseph Morrison, 28, and Pete Musico, 45, were convicted in October of aiding a plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer, a Democrat, as part of a right-wing backlash over her role in the state's Covid restrictions. The men, all Michigan residents, were found guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegal gang membership, as well as felony firearms charges. The trial was one in a series of cases that grew out of a sprawling domestic terrorism investigation into the kidnapping plot. Federal prosecutors have delivered mixed results, with some convictions and other acquittals. As a whole, the cases have been seen as underscoring the rising threat of political violence in America." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The AP's report is here.

Way Beyond

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

Greg Miller, et al., of the Washington Post: The 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade combat unit was "... considered one of Russia's most formidable ... until it sent its best fighters and weapons to Ukraine this year and was effectively destroyed.... The brigade's collapse in part reflects the difficulty of its assignment in the war and the valiant performance of Ukraine's military. But a closer examination of the 200th shows that its fate was also shaped by many of the same forces that derailed Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion plans -- endemic corruption, strategic miscalculations and a Kremlin failure to grasp the true capabilities of its own military or those of its adversary. After months of ceding territory and losing thousands of troops, Putin is now trying to salvage his grandiose aims with an entire force that resembles the 200th: badly depleted, significantly demoralized, and backfilled with inexperienced conscripts."

December 15, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "The House on Thursday passed a bill that would allow Puerto Ricans to decide their future governing status, a long-sought goal on the island territory. The vote was 233-to-191, with 16 Republicans breaking ranks and joining Democrats in backing the measure. The legislation would authorize a vote in Puerto Rico to chose whether to become a state, an independent nation, or a country 'in free association with the United States.' The island has been a territory since 1898, and residents there were granted citizenship in 1917. The White House signaled its strong support for the bill earlier Thursday, but the measure is unlikely to make it through the Senate, where 60 votes would be required for it to advance, by the end of the year. And prospects for passage in the House next year, with Republicans in control, are significantly diminished."

Kris Rhim of the New York Times: "The N.C.A.A., which has struggled to govern the shifting landscape of college sports amid rapid changes involving endorsement deals, large media contracts and conference realignment, on Thursday named Gov. Charlie Baker of Massachusetts as the organization's next president. Baker, a Republican, has been the governor of Massachusetts since 2015, with his second term ending in January. He will take over as president of the N.C.A.A. in March 2023. Baker will replace Mark Emmert, who will serve as a consultant to the N.C.A.A. until June 2023. Baker has some familiarity with college sports. He played basketball at Harvard, including eight games for the varsity team in the 1977-78 season. His wife, Lauren, was a gymnast at Northwestern, and their two sons played Division III football."

Marie: I am really, really sad I had to be away all morning because -- oh nos! -- I missed Trump's Major Announcement! ~~~

Remember, Christmas is coming, and this makes a great Christmas gift. -- Donald Trump, in a video accompanying the Major Announcement ~~~

Pretty sure he meant "great Christmas grift." He's not that good at reading a teleprompter. -- Marie

     ~~~ Eileen Connelly of Yahoo! News: "The reveal Thursday morning came after Trump teased a 'major announcement' on his Truth Social platform Wednesday. The post had fans and critics speculating that he was going to announce a running mate for his third campaign for president or perhaps even drop out as he sags in early polls." But no! "... Trump on Thursday revealed a new foray into NFT [non-fungible token] sales, sharing a website that offers a series of what he called 'digital trading cards' for $99 each. On a website called CollectTrumpCards.com, the 45th president is selling a series of artworks featuring likenesses of himself depicted as a superhero with laser eyes, an astronaut, a John Wayne-like cowboy and a golfer -- along with, of course, a dark-suited Trump surrounded by gold bars.... Trump's launch comes at a time when the NFT market has stagnated, with prices dropping 97% since the start of the year." ~~~

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS & others for reminding me what a loser I am for not being right on top of Trump's exciting Major Announcement. I was surprised this Major Announcement wasn't the banner headline on the NYT. Maybe the Times reporters extended their one-day strike just to fix Trump.

Michigan. Eliza Fawcett of the New York Times: "Three men convicted of aiding a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in 2020 were sentenced on Thursday to lengthy sentences that could put them in prison for at least seven years. The three men, Paul Bellar, 24, Joseph Morrison, 28, and Pete Musico, 45, were convicted in October of aiding a plot to kidnap Governor Whitmer, a Democrat, as part of a right-wing backlash over her role in the state's Covid restrictions. The men, all Michigan residents, were found guilty of providing material support for terrorist acts and illegal gang membership, as well as felony firearms charges. The trial was one in a series of cases that grew out of a sprawling domestic terrorism investigation into the kidnapping plot. Federal prosecutors have delivered mixed results, with some convictions and other acquittals. As a whole, the cases have been seen as underscoring the rising threat of political violence in America."

~~~~~~~~~~

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Marking a decade since the Sandy Hook school massacre, President Joe Biden said Wednesday the United States must do more to tackle the nation's gun violence epidemic and people should have 'societal guilt' for taking too long to address it.... '... We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again,' he said. 'We owe it to the courageous, young survivors and to the families who lost part of their soul ten years ago to turn their pain into purpose.' The president touted the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act that he signed into law in June, the most sweeping& legislation aimed at preventing gun violence in 30 years.... 'Still, we must do more,' Biden said. 'I am determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like those used at Sandy Hook and countless other mass shootings in America.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Lois Beckett of the Guardian: "In the 10 years since the mass shooting at Sandy Hook elementary school, the US gun safety movement has gained some political power, while the National Rifle Association has been weakened by internal disputes and legal battles. At the same time, overall gun ownership in the US appears to have grown. People who choose to own guns are still a minority of the US population, with about a third of Americans saying they personally own a gun, and fewer than half saying they live in a house with a gun, according to survey estimates.... Americans bought an estimated 150m guns in the past decade.... The leading cause of gun death is gun suicide...."

Peter Baker & Declan Walsh of the New York Times: "President Biden sought to revitalize America's listless relationship with Africa on Wednesday, promising a grab bag of economic initiatives to make up for a predecessor who had denigrated the continent and catch up with strategic competitors like China that have expanded their influence. Assembling most of Africa's leaders in Washington for the first time since 2014, Mr. Biden vowed to invest what aides calculated will be $55 billion on the continent over the next three years while supporting its ambitions for greater global leadership and bolstering efforts to transform it into a more prosperous, healthier and technologically advanced region."

Christopher Rugaber of the AP: "The Federal Reserve reinforced its inflation fight Wednesday by raising its key interest rate for the seventh time this year and signaling more hikes to come. But the Fed announced a smaller hike than it had in its past four meetings at a time when inflation is showing signs of easing. The Fed boosted its benchmark rate a half-point to a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, its highest level in 15 years.... The policymakers also forecast that their key short-term rate will reach a range of 5% to 5.25% by the end of 2023. That suggests that the Fed is poised to raise its benchmark rate by an additional three-quarters of a point and leave it there through next year." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.

Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "A generation of congressional leaders fought back tears on Wednesday as they unveiled the official portrait of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the first woman to hold the chamber's gavel, and the first to have her likeness immortalized in the Speaker's Lobby. In her remarks, Pelosi thanked her colleagues for helping her craft such a storied congressional career, noting that she made history as the first female House speaker only because her caucus 'had the courage to elect a woman.... I'm honored to be the first, but it will only be a good accomplishment if I'm not the last,' Pelosi said. Figures including former House speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) joined Pelosi in the Capitol's Statuary Hall to celebrate her portrait and speakership." ~~~

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Congress on Wednesday gave final approval to legislation to remove from the Capitol a statue of Roger Brooke Taney, the Supreme Court justice who wrote the racist Dred Scott decision, and replace it with a bust of Thurgood Marshall, a civil rights icon and the first Black man to serve as a justice on the nation's highest court. The legislation, sponsored by Senator Benjamin L. Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, passed the House by a voice vote after it passed the Senate last week without a recorded vote, a procedure used for bills to which nobody objects. It now advances to President Biden's desk for his signature. It was a significant victory for lawmakers who have tried for years to remove Confederate statues and other symbols of racism from the Capitol, and an example of how quickly legislation can move through Congress in a bipartisan manner during a so-called lame-duck session after the year's political campaigns have ended."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The House on Wednesday approved a weeklong spending bill to avert a government shutdown this weekend, as top lawmakers rushed to cement an emerging deal on a sprawling spending package to keep federal programs running into next fall. The measure, which passed 224 to 201 and largely on party lines, would buy time to finalize an agreed-upon outline announced late Tuesday by three senior lawmakers in both parties, backed by party leaders, for a longer-term package expected to total roughly $1.7 trillion.... Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the minority leader who hopes to become speaker and is toiling to win over far-right colleagues who oppose government spending, has instructed his members to vote against any such funding package.... Nine Republicans broke with their party to support the measure, most of whom are leaving Congress at the end of the year." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.)

Olga Rodriguez & Stefanie Dazio of the AP: "The man accused of attacking the husband of U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said ... he was looking to harm Pelosi because she is second in line for the presidency, a San Francisco police investigator testified Wednesday. The suspect, David DePape, broke into the couple's San Francisco home Oct. 28, seeking to kidnap the speaker -- who was out of town -- and instead beat her 82-year-old husband, Paul Pelosi, with a hammer, authorities said. The violence sent shockwaves through the political world. San Francisco Superior Court Judge Stephen Murphy ruled that prosecutors had shown enough evidence during a preliminary hearing to move forward with a trial on the state charges, including attempted murder. DePape is due back in state court on Dec. 28." The Washington Post's story is here.

Josh Kovensky & Hunter Walker of TPM: "Within two hours of protesters breaking the first barricades at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, right-wing politicians and media figures were already texting President Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to lay blame on far-left 'antifa' agitators. The first message to mention the group came from Fox New host Laura Ingraham.... Members of Congress were key proponents of this conspiracy theory despite the fact they were present at the Capitol as Trump supporters brawled with police and smashed through the building. In the wake of a massive FBI investigation that is the largest in the bureau's history and has resulted in hundreds of arrests of people who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, there has been no credible evidence of any widespread far-left presence.... Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Louie Gohmert (R-TX) ... piped in as the attack unfolded with suggestions that 'antifa' were the real perpetrators."

2020's No. 1 Voter Fraudster. Hannah Sschoenbaum of the AP (Dec. 13): "The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation said it has submitted to state prosecutors the findings of its voter fraud probe into Mark Meadows, a former White House chief of staff to ... Donald Trump, who was simultaneously registered to vote in North Carolina and two other states earlier this year.... Prosecutors with the attorney general's office will determine whether criminal charges are appropriate, the bureau said in a statement. Meadows, a former Republican North Carolina congressman..., had listed a mobile home Scaly Mountain, North Carolina, that he never owned as his physical address weeks before casting an absentee by-mail ballot in the state for the 2020 presidential election. Trump won the Southern swing state that year by just over 1 percentage point."

Andy Kroll of ProPublica, and Aditi Ramaswami of the Lever: "Flush with money after receiving the largest-known political advocacy donation in U.S. history, conservative activist Leonard Leo and his associates are spending millions of dollars to influence some of the Supreme Court's most consequential recent cases, newly released tax documents obtained by ProPublica and The Lever show. The documents detail how Leo, who helped build the Supreme Court's conservative majority as an adviser to ... Donald Trump, has used a sprawling network of opaque nonprofits to fund groups advocating for ending affirmative action, rolling back anti-discrimination protections and allowing state legislatures unreviewable oversight of federal elections. The records also show that the Leo-aligned nonprofits paid millions of dollars to for-profit entities connected to Leo.... The money flowed mostly through so-called dark money groups...." MB: And of course we can credit the confederate Supremes' ruling in favor of Citizens United for the proliferation of dark money. Funny how that worked out.

Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "Twitter owner Elon Musk's boosting of far-right memes and grievances has injected new energy into the jumbled set of conspiracy theories known as QAnon.... The billionaire has spread bogus theories about the violent attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband to his 120 million followers, and he called for the criminal prosecution of infectious-disease expert Anthony S. Fauci. He has thrown around baseless accusations about adults sexualizing children.... And on Tuesday, he tweeted a message with an emoji that many ... QAnon believers saw ... as a wink to one of their foundational icons.... Among QAnon promoters..., the message was clear: Musk was speaking to them.... Musk has become so popular in QAnon circles that some regard him, not Trump, as the savior-like figure they had been waiting on to usher in 'the Storm,' a quasi-biblical moment in which the cabal that runs the American government, media, technology industry and education system would be vanquished through public executions."

Amanda Silberling of Tech Crunch: "The Twitter account @ElonJet, which uses publicly available data to track the whereabouts of Elon Musk’s private jet, has been permanently suspended from Twitter. 'My commitment to free speech extends even to not banning the account following my plane, even though that is a direct personal safety risk,' Musk tweeted on November 6. Over the last month, it seems Musk changed his mind." Musk removed the account without explaining why, briefly reinstated it, then banned it again "to prohibit sharing live location information."

Drew Harwell & Faiz Siddiqui of the Washington Post report the back-and-forth and inconsistencies in Twitter's new "absolute free-speech policy" that has a very special carveout for Elon.

Adam Cancryn & David Lim of Politico: "The Biden administration plans to reopen a partnership with the U.S. Postal Service to mail free at-home Covid-19 tests to households that request them.... The revival of one of the government's most popular and widely used pandemic programs comes as the administration prepares for another potential winter surge. Biden officials paused the USPS program in early September over concerns that the high demand for free tests had put the administration on pace to deplete its stockpile before winter. They warned at the time the government could not afford to purchase more tests absent new funding from Congress, and needed to preserve the 'limited remaining supply' for future Covid-19 surges." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Here's the link to the USPS page to order the home test kits. According to the page, orders will ship beginning December 19. Thanks to Forrest M. for the link.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Laura Strickler & Rich Schapiro of NBC News: "A Florida pastor and his son were arrested Wednesday on charges of fraudulently obtaining more than $8 million in federal Covid relief funds and attempting to use some of the money to buy a luxury home near Walt Disney World. Evan Edwards and his son, Josh, 30, were taken into custody five months after an NBC News report raised questions over why they hadn't been charged in the alleged scam, which federal prosecutors first identified in court papers in December 2020." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When this pastor asked himself, "What Would Jesus Do?" the answer that came up was, "Get in your Mercedes, flee up I-75 with 'shredded documents in the vehicle, as well as suitcases full of financial records and ... electronic devices stuffed into so-called Faraday bags, which block radio frequencies to keep ... from being tracked.'"

Georgia. What if you are a segregationist & you don't want Black people to vote but you can no longer use the jelly-bean-count voter-rights method so you put in a system that makes it less likely for Black people to vote but the Black people keep on voting anyway and keep on electing their preferred candidates why even Black candidates? What to do? ~~~

~~~ Kate Brumback & Jeff Amy of the AP: "Georgia's top elections official urged lawmakers on Wednesday to end general election runoffs -- this month's bitter Senate contest was the latest example -- but offered no specific proposals, saying there is a 'wide range of options.' The push by Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to discard the unusual format for general elections comes after high-profile Senate races went into overtime this year and in 2020, with Democrats winning each time.... Raffensperger said in a statement that Georgia is 'one of the only states that always seems to have a runoff' and that the legislature should 'consider reforms.' Georgia is one of four states that have runoffs in general elections, though only Georgia and Louisiana use them for all races. Nine states hold runoffs in primaries, though the rules vary." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.

New Hampshire & New Jersey. What Are My Neighbors Doing Today? Julianne MoShane of NBC News: "A New Hampshire man and a New Jersey man have been arrested and charged in connection with the smuggling of military equipment to Russia, according to a federal indictment unsealed Tuesday. Alexey Brayman, 35, of Merrimack, New Hampshire, and Vadim Yermolenko, 41, of Upper Saddle River, New Jersey, could face up to 30 years in prison, according to the 16-count indictment filed in the U.S. District Court for Eastern New York, which names five other Russian nationals -- Yevgeniy Grinin, Aleksey Ippolitov, Boris Livshits, Svetlana Skvortsova and Vadim Konoshchenok -- as defendants.... The group is alleged to have 'unlawfully sourced, purchased and shipped millions of dollars' worth of electronic components used to develop nuclear and hypersonic weapons and for other military means on behalf of two Moscow-based machinery and equipment companies ... in violation of multiple federal laws, the indictment says." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to an on-air report, Brayman & his wife had a small business selling novelty lamps at fairs & on Etsy. But, gosh, some of the stuff they were mailing out was not Superman night lights for kids in Peoria but electronic components to a guy in Estonia who was forwarding the merch on to Russia.

Way Beyond

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

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefings for Thursday are here: "The United States plans to send Ukraine advanced 'smart bomb' equipment that would allow it to target Russian military positions with better accuracy, senior U.S. officials said, another significant step by Washington to help Ukraine fight off invading Russian forces. The Joint Direct Attack Munition, or JDAM, uses global positioning devices for precision and can be bolted to other weapons. The move comes as officials also said this week that the Pentagon was preparing to provide Ukraine with a Patriot missile system, the U.S. military's most sophisticated air defense weapon."

Victoria Bisset, et al., of the Washington Post: "A U.S. Air Force veteran captured by Russian forces in Ukraine this year has been released from occupied territory as part of a prisoner swap between Moscow and Kyiv, a senior Ukrainian official and the detainee's family said Wednesday. Suedi Murekezi, a native of Rwanda who has lived in Ukraine since 2018, was detained in June. He had been working in the technology industry and decided not to leave after Russia invaded, his family said. His captors accused him of taking part in pro-Ukrainian protests, and he is not believed to have been involved in the fighting, they said. Andriy Yermak, the head of Ukraine's presidential office, wrote on Twitter that Murekezi was released alongside 64 Ukrainian prisoners of war who had been fighting in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. He described Murekezi as 'a U.S. citizen who helped our people.'"

Peru. Mitra Taj & Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: "The government of Peru said on Wednesday that it would declare a nationwide state of emergency as it sought to control widespread violence resulting from the ouster of the country's elected president, an extraordinary measure even in a country accustomed to political upheaval and protest. The measure, which has not yet been published into law, would suspend the rights of assembly and freedom of transit, among other civil liberties, for 30 days, said Alberto Ótarola, the country's defense minister. The move is the most significant government response to a crisis that erupted last Wednesday when the president, Pedro Castillo, tried to dissolve Congress, which he had been feuding with since taking office last year. Within hours, Peru's Congress impeached him and Mr. Castillo was arrested, setting off waves of angry protests by supporters who believe his removal was illegitimate." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

CNN: "A severe weather system cutting through the South has left a trail of destruction in Louisiana, killing at least three people and injuring dozens of others as violent tornadoes touched down, collapsing homes, turning debris into projectiles and knocking out power. The deaths attributed to storm-related events include a 56-year-old woman who died after a tornado hit her home in the Killona area in St. Charles Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Health."0000