CNBC: “The U.S. economy added far more jobs than expected in September, pointing to a vital employment picture as the unemployment rate edged lower, the Labor Department reported Friday. Nonfarm payrolls surged by 254,000 for the month, up from a revised 159,000 in August and better than the 150,000 Dow Jones consensus forecast. The unemployment rate fell to 4.1%, down 0.1 percentage point.”
To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.
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Public Service Announcement
Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."
Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion —reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.
Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”
New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~
~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”
New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”
Click on photo to enlarge.
~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI."
Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”
New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”
From today's New York Times live updates of developments in the Ukraine/Russia crisis: "U.S. intelligence learned last week that the Kremlin had given the order for Russian military units to proceed with an invasion of Ukraine, information that prompted President Biden to announce that President Vladimir V. Putin had made the decision to attack, U.S. officials said." The updates also were linked earlier (below).
About Those Swiss Bank Accounts. Jesse Drucker & Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "... an extraordinary leak of data from Credit Suisse, one of the world's most iconic banks, is exposing how the bank held hundreds of millions of dollars for heads of state, intelligence officials, sanctioned businessmen and human rights abusers, among many others. A self-described whistle-blower leaked data on more than 18,000 bank accounts, collectively holding more than $100 billion, to the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. The newspaper shared the data with a nonprofit journalism group, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, and 46 other news organizations around the world, including The New York Times. The data covers accounts that were open from the 1940s until well into the 2010s but not the bank's current operations.... The leak shows that Credit Suisse opened accounts for and continued to serve not only the ultrawealthy but also people whose problematic backgrounds would have been obvious to anyone who ran their names through a search engine. Swiss banks have long faced legal prohibitions on taking money linked to criminal activity, said Daniel Thelesklaf, the former head of Switzerland's anti-money laundering agency. But, he said, the law generally hasn't been enforced." ~~~
Rats! Anabelle Timsit of the Washington Post: "A rodent infestation at a Family Dollar warehouse has prompted the discount store chain to recall a wide range of products sold at hundreds of stores throughout the southern United States. Health concerns about the rat infestation at an Arkansas distribution center have also led to the temporary closure of more than 400 stores in six states. Family Dollar, which is owned by the retail giant Dollar Tree, announced a voluntary recall late Friday of some products that came from the West Memphis facility."
Oregon. Sergio Olmos, et al., of the New York Times: "One person was killed and five others were wounded in a shooting on Saturday night during a protest in Portland against killings by police officers. The Portland Police Bureau said a woman was dead when officers arrived. Two men and three other women were taken to a nearby hospital, the police said. Information on their conditions was not immediately released. The shooting took place near a park in Portland that has been the staging ground for a number of protests against police killings in recent years."
Canada. Natalie Kitroeff & Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "Police officers on Saturday cleared out the central area of a sprawling demonstration in Ottawa, moving from truck to truck and arresting protesters as they continued to subdue the occupation that has disrupted the Canadian capital for weeks." This is an update of a story linked below.
~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times' live updates of developments in Ukraine are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here. The Guardian's live updates are here.
Souad Mekhennet, et al., of the Washington Post: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyforcefully demanded stronger actions from world leaders as the threat of full-scale attack by Russia intensifies amid increased shelling in the eastern separatist regions of his country. 'The security architecture of our world is brittle, it is obsolete,' Zelensky said on Saturday during a defiant speech at a security conference in Munich. He accused governments of 'egotism,' 'arrogance' and 'appeasement' as he urged Western leaders to publicly state their plans for sanctions on Russia, saying that after the war begins would be too late. 'Action is needed,' he insisted, adding that 'this is not about war in Ukraine, this is about war in Europe.'"
Lori Hinnant & Jim Heintz of the AP: "Hundreds of artillery shells exploded along the contact line between Ukrainian soldiers and Russia-backed separatists, and thousands of people evacuated eastern Ukraine, further increasing fears Sunday that the volatile region could spark a Russian invasion." ~~~
~~~ Isabelle Khurshudyan & Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post: "For the Ukrainians living in the eastern Donbas region, where conflict between Ukrainian government forces and the separatists they say are Russian proxies has been a daily reality since 2014, the threat of a fresh invasion didn't faze them much. But the sharp upswing in firing from the separatists' side over the past three days has shaken even the war-weary. They now fear that the Russian-backed forces will continue to hammer their homes as a way to provoke Ukrainian troops, who are under instruction not to open fire.... 'We have no doubt in our minds where this shelling is coming from and who is firing it,' [resident Diana] Levenets said, pointing to the hills where the separatist forces are posted. 'We can literally see where it's coming from.' The shelling in the government-controlled side of the Donbas region has increased 'tenfold' since Thursday, the Ukrainian Armed Forces said in a statement."
Jim Heintz, et al., of the AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing a sharp spike in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia plans to invade, on Saturday called for Russian PresidentVladimir Putin to meet him and seek resolution to the crisis. 'I don't know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,' Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference, where he also met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Zelenskyy said Russia could pick the location for the talks. 'Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement.' There was no immediate response from the Kremlin.' (Also linked yesterday.)
Holy Guacamole! Avocado War Ends! Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: “The United States lifted a temporary ban on avocados from Mexico on Friday, allowing exports of the fruit to resume, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said. The ban had been issued on Feb. 11 after a verbal threat was made to a U.S. inspector working in the country. That prompted the U.S.D.A. to warn that the suspension would 'remain in place for as long as necessary to ensure the appropriate actions are taken' to secure the safety of inspection service personnel working in Mexico" MB: That would be me, standing out in front of Market Basket in the cold, waving tiny American & Mexican flags in celebration of the Avocado Peace Accord of 2022.
Josh Dawsey & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's company is angling to host events at his golf courses for the controversial Saudi golf league, according to three people familiar with the matter, potentially handing Trump a lucrative business partnership with an oppressive regime he defended as president. At least two of Trump's courses in Bedminster, N.J., and Doral, Fla., could be named as sites for the nascent tour.... As president, Trump frequently defended the Saudi government even as it committed a wide range of human right abuses, including the 2018 murder of Washington Post contributing columnistJamal Khashoggi and the imprisonment and execution of gay citizens."
Fox “News": All the Crap That's Fit to Pull from Social Media. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "Jesse Watters Primetimeran with a fake story involving the U.S. ambassador to Germany that actually drew two members of Congress into a Twitter spat on Friday. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) quote-tweeted a video of Ambassador Amy Gutmann at a meeting in Germany. It ... features overlaying text claiming she is being told to stand between the U.S. and German flags, but that 'she doesn't know which flag is the U.S. flag.' The idea that Gutmann doesn't know which flag is the U.S. one is obviously absurd. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) seized upon the tweet and called out Banks, saying, 'You can't be a bigger ass than this guy.'... Nevertheless, Jesse Watters ran with the story on his Fox News primetime show." Somehow, Swalwell & Watters changed the story to assert that Gutmann couldn't ID the German flag, still absurd because Gutmann's father is a native of Germany. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: I wish some news show would invite Jim Banks on the teevee and make him explain how a U.S. Congressman, someone we're supposed to respect, would try to humiliate a U.S. ambassador abroad by posting an unsubstantiated lie about her. Give that SOB a "homina, homina" moment. The quality of our representatives mirrors the quality of the people who elect them, and for the most part, the Republicans are, well, as Hillary might say, deplorable.
QWho? A Couple of Loons. David Kirkpatrick of the New York Times: "... two teams of forensic linguists say their analysis of the Q texts shows that [South African software developer Paul] Furber, one of the first online commentators to call attention to the earliest messages of Q, actually played the lead role in writing them.... [QAnon booster Ron] Watkins appears to have taken over from Mr. Furber at the beginning of 2018. Both deny writing as Q. The studies provide the first empirical evidence of who invented the toxic QAnon myth, and the scientists who conducted the studies said they hoped that unmasking the creators might weaken its hold over QAnon followers.... QAnon has been linked to scores of violent incidents, many of the attackers who stormed the Capitol last year were adherents, and the F.B.I. has labeled the movement a potential terrorist threat."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
New Mexico, et al. The Teacher Wore Camo. Erica Green of the New York Times: "For the last month, dozens of soldiers and airmen and women in the New Mexico National Guard have been deployed to classrooms throughout the state to help with crippling pandemic-related staff shortages. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has also enlisted civilian state employees -- herself included -- to volunteer as substitute teachers. New Mexico has been the only state to deploy National Guard troops in classrooms. But since the fall, when districts around the country began recruiting any qualified adult to take over classrooms temporarily, several other states have turned to uniformed personnel. National Guard members in Massachusetts have driven school buses, and last month, police officers in one city in Oklahoma served as substitutes."
Katherine Huggins of Mediaite: "Rep. Yvette Herrell (R-NM) compared Canada's handling of vaccine mandate protesters to 'an authoritarian regime like Venezuela' and said she will introduce legislation to temporarily grant asylum to Canadians protesting vaccine requirements." MB: Here I thought I'd never be one to protest against asylum-seekers. This country doesn't need more white wingers & nutters. ~~~
~~~ Canada. Get Out! Rob Gillies & Robert Bumsted of the AP: "Police aggressively pushed back protesters in Canada's besieged capital on Saturday, seizing control of trucks and clearing the streets in front of Parliament, the heart of the protests. Scores of trucks left under the increasing pressure, raising authorities' hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country's COVID-19 restrictions and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Authorities took control of the street in front of Parliament Hill which has been occupied by protesters and their trucks since late last month and had been turned into a carnival on weekends." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Natalie Kitroeff & Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "Canadian police officers advanced on demonstrators [in Ottawa] at gunpoint, smashing truck windows and arresting protesters in front of the country's Parliament building, an aggressive escalation in the government's effort to finally end the protests that have roiled the nation's capital for three weeks. Officers in riot gear, brandishing batons and rifles, pushed to regain the area around Parliament, expanding an operation that began on Friday to remove parked trucks that have blocked the city's downtown core. In the heart of the encampment, the police pushed people back with batons, and toppled over a table displaying dubious information about vaccine injury. They advanced methodically truck by truck, shoving protesters back, some people getting pushed over by the police, as demonstrators shouted, 'Shame on you!'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
U.K. Guardian: "The Queen [Elizabeth II] has contracted Covid, Buckingham Palace has announced. The monarch, 95, has tested positive for the virus and is experiencing 'mild cold-like symptoms' but expects to continue carrying out light duties this week." At 7 am ET, this is a breaking story; it will be updated.
Beyond the Beltway
Texas, et al. Freeedumb Does Not Include Academic Freedom. Nick Anderson & Susan Svrluga of the Washington Post: "Appalled at efforts to limit what they can teach about race and other sensitive subjects, faculty leaders at prominent public universities around the countryhave rallied in recent weeks behind resolutions to reaffirm academic freedom and denounce legislation that would undermine it[.]... The latest skirmish has erupted in Texas. On Monday, the Faculty Council of the University of Texas at Austin approved, on a 41-to-5 vote with three abstentions, a resolution rejecting 'any attempts by bodies external to the faculty to restrict or dictate the content of university curriculum on any matter, including matters related to racial and social justice.'... PEN America, an organization that advocates the freedom to write, is tracking 113 bills across the country that it describes as proposed 'educational gag orders.' More than 40 touch on higher education. How many will be enacted is unclear."
Way Beyond
France. Timothy Bella & Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: "Jean-Luc Brunel, the former head of a French model agency who was accused of rape in the 1990s and later of supplying young girls to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, was found hanged in his Paris prison cell early Saturday, French prosecutors confirmed to local media. The 76-year-old was found dead in his cell at around 1 a.m. Saturday during an overnight check by guards at La Santé prison in Paris, prosecutors told Le Monde. Brunel was being held as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged rape of minors and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. Several models had accused him of sexual assault and rape, and French police had interviewed many potential witnesses in the case. Brunel had denied the allegations.... Brunel's attorneys ... told Le Monde that the apparent suicide of their client 'was notdriven by guilt, but by a deep sense of injustice.'" The Guardian's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
News Lede
AP: "The terrarium of a Winter Games that has been Beijing 2022 came to its end Sunday, capping an unprecedented Asian Olympic trifecta and sending the planet's most global sporting event off to the West for the foreseeable future, with no chance of returning to this corner of the world until at least 2030.... On Sunday night, Xi [Jinping] and International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach stood together as Beijing handed off to Milan-Cortina, site of the 2026 Winter Games. 'Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star' echoed as dancers with tiny, fiery snowflakes glided across the stadium...."
Jim Heintz, et al., of the AP: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing a sharp spike in violence in and around territory held by Russia-backed rebels and increasingly dire warnings that Russia plans to invade, on Saturday called for Russian PresidentVladimir Putin to meet him and seek resolution to the crisis. 'I don't know what the president of the Russian Federation wants, so I am proposing a meeting,' Zelenskyy said at the Munich Security Conference, where he also met with U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris. Zelenskyy said Russia could pick the location for the talks. 'Ukraine will continue to follow only the diplomatic path for the sake of a peaceful settlement.' There was no immediate response from the Kremlin."
Canada. Get Out! Rob Gillies & Robert Bumsted of the AP: "Police aggressively pushed back protesters in Canada's besieged capital on Saturday, seizing control of trucks and clearing the streets in front of Parliament, the heart of the protests. Scores of trucks left under the increasing pressure, raising authorities' hopes for an end to the three-week protest against the country's COVID-19 restrictions and the government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Authorities took control of the street in front of Parliament Hill which has been occupied by protesters and their trucks since late last month and had been turned into a carnival on weekends." ~~~
~~~ Natalie Kitroeff & Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "Canadian police officers advanced on demonstrators [in Ottawa] at gunpoint, smashing truck windows and arresting protesters in front of the country's Parliament building, an aggressive escalation in the government's effort to finally end the protests that have roiled the nation's capital for three weeks. Officers in riot gear, brandishing batons and rifles, pushed to regain the area around Parliament, expanding an operation that began on Friday to remove parked trucks that have blocked the city's downtown core. In the heart of the encampment, the police pushed people back with batons, and toppled over a table displaying dubious information about vaccine injury. They advanced methodically truck by truck, shoving protesters back, some people getting pushed over by the police, as demonstrators shouted, 'Shame on you!'"
Timothy Bella & Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: "Jean-Luc Brunel, the former head of a French model agency who was accused of rape in the 1990s and later of supplying young girls to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein, was found hanged in his Paris prison cell early Saturday, French prosecutors confirmed to local media. The 76-year-old was found dead in his cell at around 1 a.m. Saturday during an overnight check by guards at La Santé prison in Paris, prosecutors told Le Monde. Brunel was being held as part of an ongoing investigation into the alleged rape of minors and trafficking of minors for sexual exploitation. Several models had accused him of sexual assault and rape, and French police had interviewed many potential witnesses in the case. Brunel had denied the allegations.... Brunel's attorneys ... told Le Monde that the apparent suicide of their client 'was not driven by guilt, but by a deep sense of injustice.'" The Guardian's report is here.
Fox "News": All the "News" That's Fit to Pull from Social Media. Michael Luciano of Mediaite: "Jesse Watters Primetimeran with a fake story involving the U.S. ambassador to Germany that actually drew two members of Congress into a Twitter spat on Friday. Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN) quote-tweeted a video of Ambassador Amy Gutmann at a meeting in Germany. It ... features overlaying text claiming she is being told to stand between the U.S. and German flags, but that 'she doesn't know which flag is the U.S. flag.' The idea that Gutmann doesn't know which flag is the U.S. one is obviously absurd. Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) seized upon the tweet and called out Banks, saying, 'You can't be a bigger ass than this guy.'... Nevertheless, Jesse Watters ran with the story on his Fox News primetime show." Somehow, Swalwell & Watters changed the story to assert that Gutmann couldn't ID the German flag, still absurd because Gutmann's father is a native of Germany.
~~~~~~~~~~
The New York Times' live updates of the Ukraine crisis are here. The Washington Post's live updates are here.
Vladimir Isachenkov, et al., of the AP: "U.S. President Joe Biden said Friday that he is 'convinced' Russian President Vladimir Putinhas decided to invade Ukraine, including an assault on the capital, Kyiv, as tensions spiked along the militarized border with attacks that the West called 'false-flag'operations meant to establish a pretext for invasion. In Ukraine, a humanitarian convoy was hit by shelling, and pro-Russian rebels evacuated civilians from the conflict zone. A car bombing hit the eastern city of Donetsk, but no casualties were reported. After weeks of saying the U.S. wasn't sure if Putin had made the final decision to invade, Biden said that assessment had changed, citing American intelligence. 'As of this moment I'm convinced he's made the decision,' Biden said. 'We have reason to believe that.' He reiterated that the assault could occur in the 'coming days.' Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced massive nuclear drills to flex its military muscle, and Putin pledged to protect Russia's national interests against what it sees as encroaching Western threats." The Washington Post's report is here. ~~~
Katie Lillis & Kevin Liptak of CNN: "Multiple US and western government officials tell CNN that the US has intelligence that Russia has drawn up lists of current political figures that it would target for removal in the event it invades Ukraine and topples the current government in Kyiv. Sources familiar with the intelligence say the target lists are part of Russian planning to replace the current administration in Kyiv with a more Russia-friendly government, bolstering a previous disclosure by the British government identifying pro-Moscow figures it said Russia planned to install. The most likely outcome for those politicians and public figures whom Moscow has targeted to be ousted in the event Kyiv falls, these sources say, is jail or assassination."
Constituent Service. President Biden tells attendees at a National Association of Counties meeting about a time when he was a county official:
Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The Federal Reserve on Friday overhauled its trading rules for policymakers and staffers, rewriting previous guidelines that central bankers said were insufficient amid the resignations of three top policymakers. The rules mirror a general outline offered by Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powellin October. But the additional details reflect tougher standards and the culmination of a review that sought to regain public trust after the financial activities of top officials -- including regional bank presidents Eric Rosengren and Robert Kaplan, and Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida -- came under heightened scrutiny."
Lock Him Up. Luke Broadwater & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The National Archives confirmed on Friday that it had found classified information among documents that ... Donald J. Trump had taken with him to his home in Florida from the White House and that it had consulted with the Justice Department about the matter.... The National Archives said in its letter [to Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), chair of the House Oversight Committee,] on Friday that the Trump White House had failed to turn over records that included 'certain social media records.' [The national archivist David] Ferriero also wrote that 'some White House staff conducted official business using nonofficial electronic messaging accounts that were not copied or forwarded into their official electronic messaging accounts.' The archives said it was in the process of obtaining some of those records.... The former president's use of cellphones to conduct official business also could have led to large gaps in the official White House logs of his calls on Jan. 6, 2021.... If Mr. Trump did not preserve cellphone records and failed to turn them over to the National Archives, that could also be a violation of the law." An AP story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: No doubt if you had waltzed away with 15 boxes of government property, including classified docs, you'd be wearing an orange jumpsuit today. On the other hand, you probably would not have had a "staff" you could blame for the theft nor lawyers who might keep you out of jail until you croaked.
Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "Civil lawsuits seeking to hold Donald Trump accountable for the January 6, 2021, insurrection can move forward in court, a federal judge said Friday in a ruling outlining how the former President could conceivably be responsible for inciting the attack on the US Capitol. Trump's statements to his supporters before the riot 'is the essence of civil conspiracy,' Judge Amit Mehta wrote in a 112-page opinion, because Trump spoke about himself and rallygoers working 'towards a common goal' of fighting and walking down Pennsylvania Avenue. 'The President's January 6 Rally Speech can reasonably be viewed as a call for collective action,' Mehta said." ~~~
~~~ Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News: "The ruling, which Trump is expected to appeal, preserves a trio of lawsuits filed by Democrats in Congress and US Capitol Police officers that accuse Trump of conspiring to disrupt Congress's certification of the Electoral College results and interfere with the peaceful transfer of power." ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: In deciding that lawsuits brought by members of Congress against Donald Trump could go forward, D.C. District Judge Amit Mehta wrote, "'... the court concludes that the Complaints establish a plausible §1985(1) conspiracy involving President Trump. That civil conspiracy included the Proud Boys, the Oath Keepers, [Proud Boys leader Enrique] Tarrio, and others who entered the Capitol on January 6th with the intent to disrupt the Certification of the Electoral College vote through force, intimidation, or threats.'... [Mehta pointed out that] in November and December, Trump supporters came to Washington to protest and, each time, scattered incidents of violence broke out afterward.... '... '[I]t is at least plausible to infer that, when he called on rally-goers to march to the Capitol, the President did so with the goal of disrupting lawmakers' efforts to certify the Electoral College votes,' Mehta writes."
Bad Hair Day Week.Jill Colvin of the AP: "... Donald Trumpfaced one legal setback after another this week as a judge ruled he must sit for a deposition in New York to answer questions about his business practices, his accounting firm declared his financial statements unreliable, another judge rejected his efforts to dismiss conspiracy lawsuits and the National Archives confirmed that he took classified information to Florida as he left White House. Whatever happens, said Jeffrey Jacobovitz, a Washington lawyer..., 'I think the weeks will get worse for him.'"
George Conway in the Washington Post: "... maybe, just maybe, this time will be different. On Thursday, a judge in New York ordered [Donald] Trump, along with his daughter Ivanka and his son Donald Jr., to testify within 21 days at civil depositions in the New York attorney general's investigation of potential fraud at the Trump Organization ... because[, the judge noted,] prosecutors have unearthed 'copious evidence of possible financial fraud' in Trump's business.... [The accounting firm] Mazars said that 10 years of Trump's financial statements, from 2011 to 2020, 'should no longer be relied upon,' and that Trump should tell that to the people he gave them to.... [Mazars'] letter was an unmitigated disaster for Trump.... All this could threaten Trump;s livelihood -- his all-important mogulhood -- in a way no setback ever has before.... Could this be, at long last, the beginning of the end for Trump? As always, don't bet on it -- but this time, don't be surprised if it is."
Chauncey DeVega of Salon: "Donald Trump ... continues to threaten his 'enemies' with lethal violence.... His threats should be taken seriously.... Last Saturday..., Donald Trump ... literally threaten[ed] Hillary Clinton and her campaign staff with death.... How did the American mainstream news media respond to Trump's latest death threats? With some polite fact-checking, but largely with silence. That amounts to permission or even encouragement of more such threats.... In many respects, Trumpism thrives on encouraging all kinds of anti-social and destructive behavior, up to and including murder and mob violence.... As a group, the millions of Americans who voted for Trump in 2016 and 2020 -- and there were even more the second time -- were searching for a type of liberation through destruction." ~~~
~~~ Marie: DeVega is right. I found Trump's threat against Hillary, et al., on a "back page" of the NBC News site. The writer, Steve Benen, cited the threat but did not comment on it. I never saw it on an MSM front-page story. (That doesn't mean it wasn't there; I don't always read entire stories, and the threat could have been down there in Graf 13.)
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A second federal judge has ordered Stewart Rhodes -- founder and leader of the extremist group Oath Keepers -- to remain jailed pending trial on a charge of seditious conspiracy for allegedly guiding a months-long effort to use political violence to prevent the swearing-in of President Biden. U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta of Washington on Friday denied Rhodes's renewed request for bond pending a July trial, calling his case the most serious brought against nearly 750 federal defendants charged in connection with the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.... 'He presents a clear and continuing danger in my view,' Mehta said...." ~~~
~~~ Hannah Rabinowitz, et al., of CNN: "... on Friday ... prosecutors revealed new Signal app messages where Rhodes allegedly called January 6 'the final nail in the coffin of our republic' and instructed his followers to prepare for violence. The messages from the encrypted app, which were presented during hearings Wednesday and Friday, allegedly show how Rhodes advocated for ... Donald Trump to invoke the Insurrection Act. If Trump didn't, prosecutors allege, Rhodes repeatedly suggested that his followers should be ready to act without Trump's support.... Prosecutors used the messages as evidence that Rhodes is too dangerous to be let out of jail while he awaits trial."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether the Biden administration can end a Trump-era immigration program that forces asylum seekers arriving at the southwestern border to await approval in Mexico. The court put the case on a fast track, scheduling arguments for April. A decision will probably arrive by the end of the court's current term in late June or early July.... After the policy was put in place at the beginning of 2019, tens of thousands of people waited in unsanitary tent encampments for immigration hearings. There have been widespreadreports of sexual assault, kidnapping and torture. Soon after he took office, President Biden sought to end the program. Texas and Missouri sued.... Last August, Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas, in Amarillo, ruled [against the Biden administration].... The Biden administration promptly asked the Supreme Court to intervene, but it refused to block Judge Kacsmaryk's ruling, which required it to restart the program."
Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The wife of a Navy engineer pleaded guilty Friday to helping her husband try to sell secrets about U.S. nuclear submarines to a foreign country -- a high-profile espionage case that will send her to prison for up to three years, significantly less time than her husband faces. The guilty plea by Diana Toebbe, 46, was expected after her husband, Jonathan Toebbe, pleaded guilty Monday in the same case. His plea deal calls for a prison sentence of roughly 12 to 17½ years. Both pleaded guilty to conspiring to communicate restricted data, a charge that carried a potential life prison sentence."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Michael Grynbaum, et al., of the New York Times: Before then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-N.Y.) sat for an interview about Covid-19, he "had told a senior CNN executive, Allison Gollust, about subjects that he'd like to be asked about on air, according to several people familiar with the matter. Ms. Gollust, CNN's longtime chief of communications and marketing and a former top aide of the governor, passed along the topics to CNN producers and then reported back to the governor. 'Done,' she wrote. On Tuesday, Ms. Gollust was forced to resign from CNN after an internal investigation found a trove of written communications between her and Governor Cuomo.... Jeff Zucker, who at the time was CNN's president, was aware of many of the communications between Ms. Gollust and the governor.... It is unusual ... for a senior executive to be involved in that pre-interview process -- especially when that executive previously worked for the person who's being interviewed."
Richard Goldstein of the New York Times: "When [Gail] Halvorsendied on Wednesday at 101, he was remembered as the original 'Candy Bomber' of the [Berlin] airlift, a defiance of Soviet power by the United States, Britain and France that also symbolized reconciliation between the German people and the Allies in the wake of World War II.... Lieutenant Halvorsen and his two crewmen joined with fellow American airmen to drop a total of 23 tons of candies, chocolate and chewing gum wrapped in tiny parachutes from their planes while preparing to touch down at Tempelhof airfield with vast quantities of other supplies in an effort to break a Soviet land blockade of Berlin's Allied-occupied western sectors.... The airlift, which continued for 15 months, claimed the lives of 31 American airmen and 39 British fliers in accidents, but it thwarted the Soviet leader Joseph Stalin's attempts to drive the West from the city. By the time it ended in September 1949 (the Soviet blockade had been lifted the previous May), Allied pilots had flown more than 277,000 missions, sometimes buzzed by Soviet fighters, to supply the city's western sectors with 2.3 million tons of food, flour, coal, medicine and construction equipment."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Canada. Miriam Berger, et al., of the Washington Post: "Ottawa's Interim Police Chief Steve Bell told reporters that authorities had arrested at least 100 people [participating in the so-called 'Freedom Convoy'] for various offenses, including mischief, as of Friday afternoon. They included several convoy organizers and boosters. Police said they also had towed 21 vehicles. Bell said officers were carrying out a 'methodical and well-resourced plan' and would work until 'the residents and community have their entire city back.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is very bad news for Mike Lindell & his Parachuting Pillows Plan (see yesterday's page).
Beyond the Beltway
Minnesota. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "The former police officer [Kimberly Potter] who fatally shot Daunte Wright during a traffic stop was sentenced to two years in prison on Friday, far less than the standard of about seven years for manslaughter, after a judge said leniency was warranted because the officer had meant to fire her Taser and not her gun.... It is quite likely that Ms. Potter will be released from prison after about 14 months.... Mr. Wright's relatives said they were outraged by the leniency of the two-year sentence Ms. Potter received.... 'They were so tied up into her feelings and what's going on with her that they forgot about my son being killed,' [Mr. Wright's father Arbuey Wright] said.... Ben Crump, a lawyer representing Mr. Wright's family, said many people have been sentenced to longer terms in prison for selling marijuana." ~~~
~~~ Marie: CNN played video of the judge, Regina Chu, fighting back tears because she had to sentence good-hearted Kim to any prison time. She had no tears for Daunte.
Minnesota. Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "Representative Jim Hagedorn, a second-term Minnesota Republican who was a staunch ally of ... Donald J. Trump and who joined with other members of his party in seeking to overturn the election of Joseph R. Biden Jr., died on Thursday. He was 59."
Nebraska. Paul Hammel & Aaron Sanderford of the Nebraska Examiner: "State Sen. Mike Groeneannounced that he was resigning Friday afternoon, just a couple of hours after denying accusations that he took sexually inappropriate photographs of a female legislative aide.... Groene, 66, said that he is dropping out of the race for University of Nebraska Board of Regents, a campaign he announced only two days ago.... The Nebraska Sunrise News reported that Kristina Konecko, who had worked on and off for Groene for six years, had lodged a complaint over photos of herself that she had discovered on Groene's laptop computer.... 'The pictures appeared to have been taken by Groene and then emailed from him to other parties with email captions of a sexual nature,' the website reported."
Texas. Neena Satija of the Washington Post: "At least 19 Austin police officers ... are facing criminal charges for allegedly using excessive force on protesters during the summer of 2020, according to their union president -- an unusually high number that reflects District Attorney José Garza's year-old effort to crack down on police misconduct.... Before Garza took office, fewer than half a dozen Austin officers had been indicted in the previous 20 years."
Wisconsin. Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Assembly Republicans sought Friday to jail the chairwoman of the state Elections Commission, Racine's mayor and other officials as part of their months-long review of the 2020 presidential election. The court filing marked the latest shift in approach for Michael Gableman, a former state Supreme Court justice who is leading the review for the Republicans.... On Friday Gableman intensified his efforts, telling Waukesha County Circuit Judge Ralph Ramirez he should incarcerate those mayors and others if they don't sit for interviews with him behind closed doors. The officials have said they are willing to talk to Gableman but don't believe he should be able to do so out of the view of the public." MB: It's almost as if these public officials think Judge Gableman is a partisan hack who will mischaracterize their responses. ~~~
~~~ Where the Cheeseheads Are Crackpots. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... more than 15 months after ... Donald J. Trump lost the state by 20,682 votes, an increasingly vocal segment of the Republican Party is getting behind a new scheme: decertifying the results of the 2020 presidential election in hopes of reinstalling Mr. Trump in the White House.... The Republican effort to overturn the election results here is picking up steam ... and spiraling further from reality as it goes. The latest turn, which has been fueled by Mr. Trump, bogus legal theories and a new candidate for governor, is creating chaos in the Republican Party.... If Wisconsin pulls back its electoral votes, [state representative & gubernatorial candidate Timothy] Ramthun said, other states may follow." MB: Somehow, I don't think the Bidens are packing their bags.
News Ledes
CNN's live Olympics coverage is here. The AP's live updates are here.
President Biden will address the nation at 4 pm ET on the crisis in Ukraine.
To the privileged, equality feels like oppression. -- Origin various, via Aliza Worthington of Crooks & Liars
The New York Times' live updates of developments in the Ukraine crisis Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates Friday are here.
Andrew E. Kramer & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "... exchanges of artillery fire with Russian-backed separatists reached their most intense level in months [Thursday], an ominous development amid Western fears that Russia might use the fighting as a pretext to invade Ukraine. As the United States and Russia traded conflicting accounts over whether Russian forces were really pulling back from the Ukrainian border, as Moscow has insisted, the separatists claimed they had come under fire from the Ukrainians. That is precisely the sort of incident Western officials have warned Russia might try to use to justify military action. At the White House, President Biden said 'every indication we have is they're prepared to go into Ukraine, attack Ukraine.' He said the United States had 'reason to believe' that Russia was 'engaged in a false flag operation to have an excuse to go in.' Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken made an unscheduled trip to New York, where he told the United Nations Security Council that American intelligence 'indicates clearly' that Russian forces surrounding the country from three sides 'are preparing to launch an attack against Ukraine in the coming days.'" ~~~
~~~ Nahal Toosi & Mackenzie Wilkes of Politico: "In a surprise appearance at the United Nations, Secretary of State Antony Blinkenlaid out the potential, 'theatrical' steps American officials expect the Kremlin to take. Blinken and his Russian counterpart are expected to meet next week as the U.S. keeps urging a diplomatic solution.... American national security officials held multiple meetings overnight and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield asked Blinken to speak at a U.N. Security Council meeting on Thursday on his way to the Munich Security Conference.... Blinken went step-by-step to predict how Moscow would approach the situation, all part of an ongoing effort by the Biden administration to counter Russi's disinformation and propaganda in as close to real time as possible." The report lays out Blinken's suppositions. ~~~
~~~ Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "U.S. officials have obtained intelligence that Russia's announced military pullback from Ukraine's border was a deliberate ruse to mislead the United States and other world powers, four officials said Thursday, as President Biden offered a bleak warning that the Kremlin will launch an attack 'in the next several days.'"
Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly Thursday to show unwavering support for an independent Ukraine and 'condemn' Russian military aggression toward its neighbor as fresh fears emerged of a possible invasion that could spiral toward a European war.... The resolution from the senators does not carry the force of law but puts the U.S. legislative body on record with 'unwavering United States support for a secure, democratic, and independent Ukraine' and 'denounces the Russian military buildup' on Ukraine's border. The vote was unanimous, without objection or the formal roll call." ~~~
~~~ BUT Earlier That Same Day. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) warned on Thursday that he will block quick passage of a symbolic resolution supporting Ukraine and sending a warning to Russia unless it incorporates changes he wants.... Because the bipartisan group is trying to pass the resolution by unanimous consent, they need buy-in from every senator to allow the resolution to pass quickly. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said that he was in talks with Paul. 'We're working through it,' Portman said." Evidently they did. MB: Everything is all about Randy, isn't it? Ever the whiney little prick.
Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "Russia expelled a senior U.S. diplomat last week, the State Department said on Thursday.... A State Department spokesperson confirmed the expulsion of Deputy Chief of Mission Bart Gorman, the No. 2 diplomat at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, and described it as 'unprovoked.' But while news of his expulsion broke on Thursday, the spokesperson said that Gorman departed from his position in Moscow last week. Russian state media was the first to report on Gorman's expulsion. Russia did not offer a reason for the decision to expel Gorman. The State Department said he had a valid visa and that his tour had not ended." (Also linked yesterday.)
Haley Ott & Tucker Reals of CBS News: "Ukraine's military and the Russian-backed separatists it has battled for eight years in the country's eastern Donbas region both accused the other side of opening fire on Thursday in violation of ceasefire agreements that have been shaky, at best, since they were signed seven years ago.... America and its allies have also warned for weeks that Russia could try to stage a 'false-flag' incident -- including a faked attack by Ukrainian forces on the rebels in Donbas -- to use as a pretext to invade Ukraine. On Thursday, amid the claims of shelling from both sides, NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg said the alliance was 'concerned' that Russia was trying to do just that." (Also linked yesterday.)
** David Rothkopf in Haaretz: "A repulsive and depraved trio, Josh Hawley, Tucker Carlson and Donald Trump, are active partners in Putin's efforts to gaslight the West on Ukraine -- and to undermine the United States itself[.]
I can honestly say, President Biden, you have done more good works to benefit this region already and into the future with the passage of the Rescue and Infrastructure and Jobs acts than any other president whom I have walked alongside as a member of Congress. -- Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-Ohio), who has served in Congress since 1983, in remarks Thursday ~~~
~~~ John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Biden visitedOhio on Thursday to tout $1 billion in funding from the bipartisan infrastructure bill passed last year that will be used to clean and restore environmentally degraded sites around the Great Lakes, a major source of drinking water in the region." ~~~
~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... if [President] Biden emphasizes the [good news about the U.S. economy,] he will have reality on his side. I've been arguing for a while that the economy is doing much better than either consumer surveys or polling suggest. And two important new studies reinforce that case.... Americans aren't suffering big declines in real wages, and they see inflation as temporary, not a runaway phenomenon. Why, then, hasn't the good economic news on other fronts made them more upbeat? Maybe because, for whatever reason, they haven't heard that good news. There are many indicators of a large divergence between what people say about their own situation -- which they rate as pretty good, financially and otherwise -- and what they say about what's happening to the nation as a whole.... [Biden] should tout the good things that have happened on his watch. After all, if he won't, who will? A good economy won't sell itself."
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "John H. Durham, the Trump-era special counsel scrutinizing the investigation into Russia's 2016 election interference, distanced himself on Thursday from false reports by right-wing news outlets that a motion he recently filed said Hillary Clinton's campaign had paid to spy on Trump White House servers. Citing a barrage of such reports on Fox News and elsewhere based on the prosecutor's Feb. 11 filing, defense lawyers for a Democratic-linked cybersecurity lawyer, Michael Sussmann, have accused the special counsel of including unnecessary and misleading information in filings 'plainly intended to politicize this case, inflame media coverage and taint the jury pool.' In a filing on Thursday, Mr. Durham defended himself, saying those accusations about his intentions were 'simply not true.'" A related UPI story is here.
Can Kicked. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congress gave final approval on Thursday to a bill to fund the government through March 11, averting a shutdown this week and giving lawmakers more time to cement a deal on spending for the remainder of the fiscal year. Passage of the short-term measure in the Senate came less than 48 hours before government funding was sent to lapse, as lawmakers rushed to leave Washington for a weeklong recess. It passed 65 to 27, just over a week after the House approved it. The legislation, which will keep the government funded through March 11, now heads to President Biden's desk. He is expected to sign it."
Wherein Dick Durbin Gets the Best of Tom Cottonhead. Aliza Worthington of Crooks & Liars: During a Senate confirmation hearing, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Bonehead, Ark.) berated judicial nomineeNina Morrison for freeing convicts to roam among us. That's because Morrison "spent years as an attorney for The Innocence Project, helping to free 30 innocent people from prison and death row." That's right; as far as Cotton is concerned, once you're convicted (especially if you're Black!), innocence is no excuse. Cotton then went on to complain about the bipartisan prison reform bill: "'It's your party that voted in lockstep for the First Step Act. That let thousands of violent felons back on the street, who have now committed innumerable violent crimes,' whined Cotton. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) ... jumped in, 'First Step Act? The Democrats did the First Step Act? The Republicans were in the majority. It was a bill sponsored by Senator Grassley, Durbin, Lee, and many others, and who signed it into law? Donald Trump signed it into law, this so-called Democratic measure.'" Emphasis original. MB: As I recall, Young Jared pushed the First Step Act, no doubt because he anticipated his friends would be going to jail (see related story linked yesterday) just as his father did. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Akhilleus asks, in yesterday's Comments, "What do these fuckers do all day long? Do any of them even bother to pay attention? Or is it all just coming up with new outrages with which to pad Faux's nightly litany of horrors against Trump World denizens?" Alas, Akhilleus's questions are rhetorical, and we all know the answers.
** No Lease, No Deal. Kara Scannell & Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The House Oversight Committee is asking the General Services Administration to consider terminating the lease for the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, before the former president's business can sell it, in light of allegations that the Trump Organization submitted false financial statements to the federal government. The Democratic-led committee said false statements or certifications may constitute a breach of the lease of the Old Post Office, the historic, government-owned building the Trump Hotel occupies. The committee request comes as the Trump Organization stands to make a profit of $100 million from the sale of the hotel lease to a Miami-based investment group for $370 million, according to a letter from the panel to the GSA. The agency is reviewing that pending deal.... A spokesperson from the GSA said in response to the House Oversight request on Thursday that the agency will have a thorough 'and appropriate' review of the lease transfer for the downtown Washington building." ~~~
~~~ A Washington Post story, which covers the letter to the GSA as well as the judicial ruling on the Trump family depositions in the New York case, is here. The bad news: "If recent history is any guide, there is little reason to expect the [GSA] will take action in response to the letter...."
Hugh Lowell of the Guardian: "The House select committee investigating the Capitol attack is considering issuing a subpoena to Ivanka Trump to force her cooperation with the inquiry into Donald Trump's efforts to return himself to power on 6 January, according to a source familiar with the matter.... Members on the select committee are not confident that Ivanka Trump would appear on her own volition, the source said, and the discussion about a subpoena reflected how important they consider her insight into whether Trump oversaw a criminal conspiracy on 6 January." (Also linked yesterday.)
Peter Hermann & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "A D.C. police lieutenant in the intelligence branch has been put on leave amid an investigation into alleged improper contacts with a prominent member of the extremist group Proud Boys, according to four law enforcement officials with knowledge of the case. The officials identified the officer as Shane Lamond, a 22-year veteran. Law enforcement officials said there is evidence suggesting communications between Lamond and Henry 'Enrique' Tarrio, who described himself as the former chairman of the group." (Also linked yesterday.)
Ryan Lizza of Politico interviewed super-conservative retired JudgeMichael Luttig who appears to have been instrumental in thwarting Donald Trump's attempt to roll over Mike Pence in the Big Coup Plot. The story is rather clumsily told, interview-style, but it's still an interesting footnote to history. The old guy had to learn to tweet, & he didn't get much help, in his telling.
** Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "The New York attorney general can interviewDonald J. Trump and two of his adult children under oath as part of a civil inquiry into his business practices, a judge ruled on Thursday, rejecting the former president's effort to block the questioning. The inquiry by the attorney general, Letitia James, and a parallel criminal investigation led by the Manhattan district attorney are examining whether Mr. Trump improperly inflated the value of his assets to receive favorable loans. Lawyers for the Trump family had sought to prohibit Ms. James, a Democrat, from interviewing Mr. Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump. They had argued that she was politically biased against Mr. Trump and was inappropriately using her civil inquiry to aid the district attorney's criminal investigation, which she is also participating in. But the judge, Arthur F. Engoron, ruled in favor of Ms. James's lawyers...." An AP report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Can't they just refuse to answer? Isn't that what Eric Trump did 500 times? -- Justice Arthur Engoron, to an attorney for Ivanka Trump & Donald Junior, during a hearing Thursday ~~~
~~~ Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "... Donald Trump's attorney argued in court on Thursday that New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) is going after her client 'probably because he can win again in '24.' Throughout the attorney general's probe, Trump and his family have claimed that they are being targeted for political prosecution based on James's remarks on the campaign trail. James boasted about her record for suing Trump and called him an 'illegitimate president.' Trump attorney Alina Habba said that James rhetorically convicted Trump of a crime for which he had never been charged when she said on the campaign trail: 'We need to find out where he's laundered money.'... Habba cast her client Trump as ... a man being persecuted because of his 'protected class,' a phrase that legally refers to such categories as race, sex, religion, and color. [Justice Arthur] Engoron noted that that does not describe Trump...."
Thanks, Republicans, Joe Manchin. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The number of American children in poverty spiked dramatically in January after the expiration of President Biden's expanded child benefit at the end of last year, according to new research released on Thursday. The Center on Poverty and Social Policy at Columbia University said that the child poverty rate rose from 12 percent in December 2021 to 17 percent last month, an approximately 41 percent increase. The study found that an additional 3.7 million children are now in poverty relative to the end of December, with Black and Latino children seeing the biggest percentage point increases.... The White House was unable to secure an extension of the program amid a disagreement over its broader economic proposal with Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who raised multiple objections to the child benefit.... Virtually all Republicans have also opposed Biden's expanded Child Tax Credit...." ~~~
~~~ Our Twisted Values, Ctd. Katherine Rosman, et al., of the New York Times: "In May 2020, after an intense courtship, Spotify announced a licensing agreement to host [Joe] Rogan's show exclusively. Although reported then to be worth more than $100 million, the true value of the deal that was negotiated at the time, which covered three and a half years, was at least $200 million, with the possibility of more, according to two people familiar with the details...." ~~~
~~~ Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: "It is not really surprising that the three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery, a Black man whose fatal mistake was jogging through a White neighborhood, would share a racist worldview. But the casual virulence of their racism -- revealed in a Georgia courtroom this week -- is truly shocking.... [Robinson cites a number of the racist comments prosecutors found on social media & text messages.] I'm highlighting the vile words of Arbery's killers for the elucidation of anyone who might believe that this kind of raw, unapologetic racism is a thing of the past.... The recent controversy over richer-than-Croesus podcaster Joe Rogan, who used the n-word repeatedly, missed the point. It's not that he spewed racism.... It's that there is an audience of millions of listeners who can't wait to lap that stuff up." ~~~
~~~ And Another Thing. Marie: As far as I can tell, Arbery's assassins are not poor whites who foolishly & falsely believe Black people are somehow the cause of their economic woes. Rather, they are middle-class whites who hate Black people for the sake of hate itself. Hate to the point of murder.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. How NBC Handled the Valieva Meltdown. Badly. Cindy Boren of the Washington Post: "One of the most stunning moments in the history of Olympic defeats unfolded Thursday after Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old Russian figure skater largely expected to waltz to a gold medal, fell twice during her free skate to finish in fourth place. Centered around a youngster who had been under intense scrutiny after she was allowed to compete despite testing positive for a banned substance, the scene on NBC's broadcast on the USA Network was excruciating to watch and quickly devolved into teary disbelief and chaos that was unlike anything in recent Olympic memory." ~~~
The adults in the room left her alone. Portrayed by some this week as the villain, by others as the victim, she is, in fact, the victim of the villains. The coaches and National Olympic Committee surrounding Kamila Valieva, whether they orchestrated, prescribed or enabled all of this is unclear, but what is certain: They failed to protect her. -- Mike Tirico of NBC
~~~ Better. Emily Giambalvo of the Washington Post: "NBC Olympics host Mike Tiricocalled on the International Olympic Committee to take action after Russian figure skating coaches 'failed to protect' Kamila Valieva, the 15-year-old star at the center of a doping scandal that dominated the second half of the Beijing Games. Valieva's free skate was marred by the raw, stunning collapse of the teenage gold medal favorite, who has been heavily scrutinized for the last week and a half after the results of drug test in December revealed a prohibited substance in her system."
Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "A pair of whistleblower complaints filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission this month allege Facebook misled investors about its efforts to combat climate change and covid-19 misinformation, according to redacted copies of the documents viewed by The Washington Post. Filed by Whistleblower Aid, a nonprofit representing former Facebook employee Frances Haugen, the complaints allege that the company made 'material misrepresentations and omissions in statements to investors' about its efforts to combat misinformation. The complaints, which have not been previously reported, build on Haugen's congressional testimony and filings her lawyers submitted to the financial regulator last year, and they draw from thousands of internal documents that she took before leaving the company in May."
Google Makes Millions on Fake Ads for Fake Government Handouts. Jesselyn Cook of the Huffington Post: "Behind [a] Google ad [for a fake 'Senior Booster Program'], and hundreds of others like it, is 1111 LLC, a little-known affiliate marketing company run by a former pro MMA fighter from the Canadian prairies. The firm, which also operates a network of pro-Trump news sites and MAGA merch e-shops, has quietly erupted into one of Google's top-performing and highest-spending political advertisers. 1111 LLC has pumped out a deluge of slickly produced videos via Google ads in recent months that promote entirely fabricated government handouts.... Many of these ads are designed to look like news segments, with miscontextualized footage of President Joe Biden at his desk appearing to sign documents related to the bogus payouts. Some ads even display falsified CNBC articles with headlines restating the ads' hoaxes.... 1111 LLC's ads are part of a sprawling scheme to drive web traffic and harvest people's personal details, including their phone numbers and emails.... Google and other online intermediaries are shielded from legal responsibility for user-generated content, including ads, by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Cook doesn't say so, but it is obvious that many of the people who fall for the false promise of big government handouts will have even less confidence in a government that never puts the checks in the mail. I've never seen these ads, but they come up right in the top row of recommended videos when I call up the YouTube page, as I do every day.
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.
David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "The large number of unvaccinated residents in Ocean County[, New Jersey,] has led to a horrific amount of Covid illness and death. Nearly one out of every 200 residents has died from the virus.... What explains the vaccine skepticism in Ocean County? Politics, above all. The county is heavily Republican.... Only after the vaccines became widely available, in early 2021 -- and liberals were much more willing to get shots than conservatives -- did Covid become a disproportionately Republican illness. By the summer of 2021, the gap was soaring.... A new study by four Harvard epidemiologists estimates that 135,000 unvaccinated Americans died unnecessarily in the last six months of last year.... There is one big new development. One, the availability of highly effective post-infection treatments ... has been expanding.... Two, red America has probably built up more natural immunity to Covid -- from prior infections -- than blue America.... Sure enough, the partisan gap in Covid deaths is no longer growing as fast it had been.... [But] the gap ... is still growing." Emphasis added.
Brooks Barnes of the New York Times: "After much internal discussion, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has come to an agreement on coronavirus safety measures for attendees of the 94th Oscars, which will be held on March 27 in Los Angeles: The audience of 2,500 invited guests -- including all nominees -- will be required to show proof of vaccination against the coronavirus and at least two negative P.C.R. tests. Performers and presenters also must undergo rigorous testing -- but those people will not need to show proof of vaccination, a decision that an academy spokeswoman said on Thursday was in keeping with virus safety protocols on some television sets and return-to-work standards set by Los Angeles County."
Canada. Rob Gillies of the AP: Ottawa "Police began arresting protesters Friday in a bid to break the three-week, traffic-snarling siege of Canada's capital by hundreds of truckers angry over the country's COVID-19 restrictions. Officers, some carrying automatic weapons and wearing tactical unit uniforms, were seen going door to door along a line of trucks, campers and other vehicles parked on Ottawa's snow-covered streets. Some protesters surrendered and were taken into custody, police said. Some were seen being led away in handcuffs.... The capital represented the movement's last stronghold after three weeks of demonstrations and blockades that shut down border crossings into the U.S., caused economic damage to both countries and created a political crisis for Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau." ~~~
~~~ Amanda Coletta, et al., of the Washington Post: Ottawa "Police began arresting organizers of the self-styled 'Freedom Convoy' demonstrations Thursday night, according to a spokesperson for one group involved in arranging the protests, hours after law enforcement pledged to to bring an 'imminent' end to the demonstrations that have have paralyzed Canada's capital for weeks.... Interim Police Chief Steve Bell said police were hardening the perimeter around the city and had designated a large area as a secure zone where access would be limited to residents, workers and police officers." A CTV (Canada) News report is here. ~~~
~~~ From the You-Can't-Make-This-Up Department. Cristina Cabrera of TPM: "After Canadian authorities blocked [MyPillow Guy Mike] Lindell's truck delivery at the border on Tuesday because he was unvaccinated and didn't have proof of a negative COVID-19 test, the pillow tycoon told the Daily Beast on Wednesday that he had a new strategy: Fly a helicopter over Canada to airdrop the pillows attached to 'little parachutes.' Lindell insisted that the Daily Beast made sure to mention the little parachutes. '[M]ake sure you put that part in, or it could be dangerous,' he said.... He claimed that he had 'confirmed' with an unnamed helicopter company a plan to deliver them at 11 a.m. local time on Thursday." Apparently the MyPillow Guy has seen that "WKRP" Thanksgiving turkey drop episode I embedded a short while back. (Also linked yesterday.)
See Victoria's commentary in yesterday's thread on "those cognitive/emotional changes due to covid."
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Caroline Kitchener of the Washington Post: "Florida's House of Representatives early Thursday approved a Republican bill to ban abortion after 15 weeks, as the Supreme Court weighs whether to roll back or overturn the landmark decision that established a woman's right to an abortion. The measure heads to a Florida Senate committee meeting on Monday and could be passed by both chambers as early as next week. Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has signaled his support for the legislation and is widely expected to sign the bill into law. The bill mirrors the Mississippi law currently before the U.S. Supreme Court that bans almost all abortions after 15 weeks. It is the most direct challenge to abortion rights in decades."
Kentucky. Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "Louisville mayoral candidate Craig Greenberg said Thursday that he and his family have been further traumatized after the activist charged with his attempted murder was released on bail just days after the shooting.... Quintez Brown, 21, was released Wednesday with the help of the Louisville Community Bail Fund, a group co-founded by Black Lives Matter Louisville organizer Chanelle Helm, put up the $100,000 bail. Brown faces a charge of attempted murder and four counts of first-degree wanton endangerment. Brown pleaded not guilty at his arraignment on Tuesday.... Greenberg said Thursday that mental health issues are not a valid reason to release a murder suspect from jail.... In remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) assailed Black Lives Matter for helping bail out Brown." A Louisville Courier Journal report is here.~~~
~~~ Marie: Shame on Black Lives Matter Louisville for making me agree, in part, with Mitch McConnell. If Louisville can't keep Brown in jail, it should move immediately to effect his extended involuntary commitment to a mental institution.
New Jersey. Azi Paybarah of the New York Times: "... when the police arrived [at New Jersey's Bridgewater Commons mall on Saturday] and pulled ... apart [two scuffling teenagers], one teenager, who is Black, was placed in handcuffs. The other one, who is white, was allowed to sit unrestrained on a couch. The fight ... was captured in a video that has been viewed more than 1.8 million times on Twitter. 'The appearance of what is racially disparate treatment,' Gov. Philip D. Murphy of New Jersey said at a news conference on Wednesday, 'is deeply, deeply disturbing.' On Monday, the Bridgewater Police Department wrote on Facebook, 'We recognize that this video has made members of our community upset and are calling for an internal affairs investigation.' In a letter to residents on Tuesday, the mayor of Bridgewater said that the township's police chief had asked the Somerset County Prosecutor's Office to look into the matter." In the video, it appears the white kid started the fight.
New York. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "A female state trooper who says former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo touched her inappropriately when she was a member of his protective detail sued him, his longtime top aide and the New York State Police on Thursday, accusing them of discrimination and retaliation. The filing of the lawsuit ... was a reminder that he still faces potential legal jeopardy over the events that hastened his resignation last August. The trooper appears to be the first of 11 women who have accused Mr. Cuomo of sexual misconduct to sue him." The AP's report is here.
Oregon Gubernatorial Race. Mike Baker of the New York Times: "Nicholas Kristof, a former New York Times columnist who left the newspaper to run for governor of Oregon, does not qualify to appear on the ballot this year, the state's Supreme Court ruled on Thursday. Justices said that while Mr. Kristof had extensive ties to the state, including a farm that he operates outside of Portland, elections officials were within their right to determine that he did not meet the state's three-year residency requirement, ruling that he had maintained his New York connections until December 2020. 'He remained registered to vote in New York and retained a New York driver's license until late 2020, actions that are at odds with an intent to change his domicile to Oregon a year or more earlier,' the justices wrote." (Also linked yesterday.) The Oregonian's story is here.
Texas. Alexa Ura of the Texas Tribune: "Thousands of applications for mail-in ballots submitted by Texas voters have been delayed -- and some voters may ultimately not receive ballots -- because Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick's campaign instructed eligible voters to send requests for absentee ballots to the Texas secretary of state's office instead of their local elections offices. A mass mailing by Patrick went out to Republican voters across the state in January, ahead of the March primary, and included a two-page letter emblazoned with the seal of his office.... The lieutenant governor's campaign said it used the secretary of state's address because 'many Republican voters are rightly suspicious of Blue County election officials.'... The delayed delivery could put voters' requests for mail-in ballots at risk as counties continue to see higher-than-normal rejection rates of applications under new ID requirements enacted by Republicans last year. Any issues with defective applications must be resolved by Friday so voters can receive a mail-in ballot." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Shall we stipulate that if a Democratic candidate for re-election had pulled a stunt like this, Republican screams of voter suppression would be deafening.
~~~ The Cult of Trump. Or Not. David Siders of Politico: "... fractious [Republican] primaries will unfold across the electoral map in the coming months, cementing a more populist orientation for the GOP and Donald Trump's status as the party's lodestar, or setting a more traditionally conservative course. These aren't simple match-ups between Trump and anti-Trump forces, or isolated intraparty feuds. Safely ensconced Republican officeholders are being bombarded by challengers from coast to coast, in many cases spurred on by Trump directly. Redistricting and retirements have further scrambled the established order in many places, opening up seats and drawing fields filled with combative candidates eager to move the party in a different direction. Combine that with high levels of energy -- and anger -- in the party base, and it's a recipe to remake the party from the ground up." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is a battle for the heart & soul of the Republican cult that has neither heart nor soul. So an impossible task.
Wyoming Congressional Race. The Kevin Kave, Ctd. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "... Kevin McCarthy, the House Republican leader, on Thursday endorsed Representative Liz Cheney's G.O.P. rival for Wyoming's sole congressional seat, taking the unusual step of intervening in a party primary to oust a onetime ally who has become the prime political target of ... Donald J. Trump. Mr. McCarthy said he was backing Harriet Hageman, a pro-Trump candidate who has repeated the former president's false claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, in a race that has become a prominent test for the Republican Party." A Politico report is here.
News Ledes
CNN's live updates of the Winter Olympics are here. The AP's live updates are here.
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