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The Conversation -- June 11, 2024
ProPublica Cracks the IRS. Jesse Eisenger, et al., of ProPublica: “ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth -- sometimes, even nothing.... The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America's titans.... It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits. Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can -- perfectly legally -- pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Although the specifics here may make for blockbluster news (and surely somebody's head will roll), as the authors themselves note, "Experts have long understood the broad outlines of how little the wealthy are taxed in the United States...." Trump and Republicans, of course, want to cut these billionaires' tax liability even more (and, yes, less than zero is possible), while Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and President Biden (and even billionaire Warren Buffett) want to tax the rich and ultra-rich more. If you want a good example of stupid, you will find it animated in the form of "typical Republican voter."
Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A jury in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday found Hunter Biden, President Biden's long-troubled son, guilty of three felony counts of lying on a federal firearms application in 2018, a grievous personal blow to the Biden family as his father enters the final months of a brutal re-election campaign. He could face up to 25 years in prison, but first-time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit a violent crime typically receive no jail time." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. Here are some other items in the thread: ~~~
Zach Montague: "The verdict came after just over three hours of deliberations split between Monday and Tuesday."
Thrush: "Jill Biden tried to enter the building with her sister-in-law Valerie Owens Biden a few minutes before the jury entered the courtroom to read the verdict, but they did not make it through in time, according to bystanders."
Katie Rogers: "In a statement, President Biden ... says...: 'As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal....'"
Eileen Sullivan: "Hunter Biden just released a statement. 'I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome,' he said, referring to his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden. 'Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time.' He says he has been sober since mid-2019."
Thrush: "David Weiss, the special counsel, flanked by Leo Wise and Derek Hines, the two prosecutors who oversaw the trial, reiterated that he brought the case because nobody 'is above the law' -- but also suggested the government would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case.... Weiss, who signed off on a plea deal for Hunter Biden last July that would have resulted in no criminal prosecution, expressed sympathy with people with addiction but said the purchase of a gun made his conduct 'dangerous' and worthy of prosecution."
Rogers: "President Biden has changed his schedule and will leave for Wilmington, where Hunter is, at around 3 p.m. today. The president is scheduled to leave Wednesday for the Group of 7 summit in Italy."
Nicholas Nehamas: "During an address to the nation's largest gun control group on Tuesday, President Biden did not mention his son Hunter Biden's felony convictions for lying on a federal firearms application. The White House is also not holding a press briefing this afternoon."
Montague: "A juror said that even as some members of the jury sympathized with Hunter Biden's struggles with addiction, the verdict was ultimately grounded in a close review of the evidence and that the political climate surrounding the trial was never discussed. 'Politics was not even spoken about,' the man, who identified himself as Juror No. 10, said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. 'The first family was not even spoken about -- it was all about Hunter.'"
Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: Samuel "Alito has long made clear his special solicitude for religious claims, whether before the court or on the flagpole outside his house. Still, it should shock us to hear him lay out his worldview so bluntly -- and to a woman he never met before. It shows an utter lack of regard for the court's delicate posture of neutrality in the constitutional system and American society.... He is also in good company in the upper reaches of government. Recall that House Speaker Mike Johnson ... told an interviewer..., 'Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That's my worldview.' Perhaps we should be grateful that these aspiring theocrats have fully ripped off the mask. Why submit to the sinful compromises demanded by a pluralistic society when you can just impose your (and God's) will by fiat? In that regard, this is really the Alito court." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is a good place to emphasize that Bible Mike doesn't know WTF he's talking about. If he did "go pick up a bible off the shelf and read" more than a few passages, he would know that the Christian Bible does not by any stretch express a single, definable worldview. It is a book with many authors, many editors, written and revised over centuries, with all the contradictions and oddities one would expect of such a miscellany. And the contradictions are not a neat dichotomy between the Old Testament and the New. Within each testament, indeed, often within a single book, there appears a god of diverging attributes and attitudes, a savior messiah disagreeing with something he supposedly said in the previous chapter, and so on. If Bible Mike "goes and picks up a bible off the shelf and reads it," his worldview will depend upon the verse he lands on.
Elahe Izadi & Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post use the front page for some navel-gazing: "What [owner Jeff] Bezos wants from and for The Post has remained the compelling question through a week of internal turmoil, during which his handpicked new publisher and CEO, William Lewis, abruptly replaced the newspaper's first female executive editor and announced a reorganization of the newsroom -- the exact plans for which remain unclear -- in a bid to boost earnings."
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Merrick Garland, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... heinous threats of violence have become routine in an environment in which the Justice Department is under attack like never before. In recent weeks, we have seen an escalation of attacks that go far beyond public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. They are baseless, personal and dangerous.... Using conspiracy theories, falsehoods, violence and threats of violence to affect political outcomes is not normal. The short-term political benefits of those tactics will never make up for the long-term cost to our country.... It is absurd and dangerous that public servants, many of whom risk their lives every day, are being threatened for simply doing their jobs and adhering to the principles that have long guided the Justice Department's work." ~~~
~~~ Marie: For some strange reason, the Post has chosen to accompany the op-ed with a photo of Garland testifying before Congress; behind him in the photo is a jumbo screen of Matt Gaetz speaking, presumably to Garland.
Steve Benen of MSNBC: Last week, "45 House Republicans -- representing roughly a fifth of the GOP conference -- thought it'd be a good idea to defund NATO as members prepared to recognize the anniversary of D-Day.... [This] is a reminder of just how far contemporary Republicans -- the party's so-called 'Putin wing' -- have strayed from where the party stood until the recent past." Marjorie Taylor Greene sponsored the bill.
National Crime Blotter
Mariana Alfaro & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump met with his probation officer via a video conference call Monday, a routine step following a verdict in the Manhattan hush money trial that found him guilty on 34 counts. The interview with the New York City Department of Probation was 'uneventful and lasted less than thirty minutes,' according to a person familiar with the proceedings.... Trump received special dispensation to hold the meeting virtually and was in Palm Beach, Fla. He was also allowed to have one of his lawyers appear alongside him, an exception granted to him by Justice Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial.... In a statement, a group of public defender groups including the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders said that the exceptions made for Trump 'are not typically afforded to low-income defendants.'" The AP's report is here. MB: I heard on the teevee that Trump's probation officer is a woman and that -- in another unusual aspect of the interview -- a supervisor was in the room with her.
Wayne Parry of the AP: "New Jersey's attorney general's office is looking into whether Donald Trump's recent felony convictions in New York make him ineligible to hold liquor licenses at his three New Jersey golf courses. A spokeswoman for the office said Monday that it is reviewing whether Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts involving payment of hush money to a porn star and falsifying business records in an attempt to hide it should impact the former president's continued ability to hold liquor licenses. State law prohibits anyone from holding a liquor licenses who has been convicted of a crime 'involving moral turpitude.'" MB: Has Trump ever demonstrated anything other than "turpitudity"?
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Monday slightly narrowed the classified documents case against ... Donald J. Trump, saying prosecutors cannot charge him based on an episode in which he is said to have shown a highly sensitive military map to a political adviser months after leaving office. The decision by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was more of a swipe at prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, who brought the case than a major blow to the allegations against Mr. Trump. Even though Judge Cannon technically removed the incident from the 53-page indictment, prosecutors may still be able to introduce evidence of it to the jury if the case finally goes to trial.... Judge Cannon ... left untouched a similar allegation that ... the former president showed a classified battle plan to a group of people who had come to interview him for a memoir being written by his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows." MB: IOW, Cannon has decided it's way unfair to demonstrate that Trump is careless with the classified documents he (allegedly!) stole.
Benjamin Weiser & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Jose Uribe, the businessman who has said he bribed Senator Robert Menendez [D-N.J.] in return for his help in quashing a criminal investigation involving two people close to him, testified on Monday that he had asked the senator directly for his help and that Mr. Menendez had said he would 'look into it.'... At the senator's request, Mr. Uribe wrote down the names of two friends and two companies he believed were under investigation. Mr. Menendez then took the paper, folded it and placed it in his pants pocket.... [The next day,] Mr. Menendez met with New Jersey's attorney general to discuss the matter.... But Mr. Uribe also said the men never discussed the thousands of dollars in car payments Mr. Uribe had been making for a Mercedes-Benz convertible that, months earlier, he had provided to Ms. Menendez."
Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: "Jurors in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial began deliberations late Monday after prosecutors concluded their case with an exhaustive inventory of evidence they presented over the past week in hopes of proving that Mr. Biden knowingly falsified a firearms application in 2018. During an hourlong closing argument, Leo J. Wise, the lead prosecutor in the case, connected dozens of evidentiary dots seeking to show that Mr. Biden ... lied when he filled out the gun form by claiming to be drug-free when he was addicted to crack cocaine, tearing his family apart in the process. Abbe Lowell, Mr. Biden's lawyer, countered with a 90-minute closing argument that attacked the credibility of the government's main witnesses. He accused prosecutors of peddling 'suspicion' and 'conjecture,' and suggested that the trial had less to do with justice than punishing a remorseful and sober man for the crime of drug addiction." This is an update of a story linked yesterday.
Presidential Race
Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden warned on Monday of 'old ghosts in new garments trying to take us back' in remarks commemorating Juneteenth, the national holiday that marks the freedom of the last enslaved people in America, and vowed that his administration was committed to protecting Black history and civil rights. Speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, where he held a concert in honor of the upcoming holiday, Mr. Biden assailed efforts to erase Black history through book bans, limit opportunities through attacks on diversity programs and chip away at freedoms like the right to vote."
Choices. Donald Trump, a shark, and a powerful battery are sinking in the ocean. You can either save the former president or shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo; do you select high contrast color film, or do you go with the classic simplicity of black and white? -- Sundae Gurl, in a tweet ~~~
~~~ Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump ... rants like someone you'd cross the street to avoid. We in the media have failed by becoming inured to Trump's verbal incontinence -- not just the rapid-fire lies and revenge-seeking threats, but also the frightening glimpses into a mind that is, evidently, unwell.... His rally on Sunday in Las Vegas offered a grim smorgasbord of examples, but the obvious standout (and not in a good way) is the story he told about being aboard a hypothetical electric-powered boat." Read on. Robinson cites Trump's whole crazy story in which we once again are presented with Trump's fear of sharks. Oh, and about that time Trump cancelled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France, because he didn't want his hair mussed in a light rain? Trump thinks he went. ~~~
~~~ Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill (Jan. 9): "Former President Trump defended his supporters who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and called them 'warriors' at a Nevada rally on Sunday. 'Those J6 warriors -- they were warriors -- but they were really, more than anything else, they're victims of what happened,' Trump said at the rally, speaking to a crowd of supporters. 'All they were doing is protesting a rigged election. That's what they were doing,' Trump continued, repeating his false claims that the 2024 presidential election was rigged against him. Trump also falsely claimed police welcomed rioters into the Capitol and, Trump said, told the rioters, 'Go in, go in, go in, go in.'" ~~~
~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC: "The result is an increasingly head-spinning political dynamic without precedent in the American tradition: A convicted criminal, who's surrounded himself with other convicted criminals, is running on a presidential platform of championing the interests of still other convicted criminals.... President Joe Biden's re-election campaign recently enlisted three police officers from Jan. 6 -- Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, Officer Harry Dunn and Officer Danny Hodges — to hit the campaign trail as surrogates, warning voters about the threat Trump poses to our system of government. The result is a dynamic in which the former Republican president is siding with those who committed acts of violence against police officers, while the incumbent Democratic president is aligned with the officers themselves."
Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post puts into historical context part of Trump's plans for 2025: "One plan that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention ... is Trump's desire to replace the professionalized civil service of today with his own version of the 19th-century 'spoils system.' He's already tried. Near the end of his presidency, Trump issued an executive order making it possible for him to fire tens of thousands of civil servants in policymaking positions and to install political allies in their places. It was to be done through a newly created status known as 'Schedule F.' President Biden reversed that order shortly after his inauguration.... In the eyes of Trump and his compatriots, [the civil service] system has become the reviled 'deep state.'... The bureaucracy is undeniably ripe for reform. If Trump has his way, however, what Americans will get is the worst outcome of all -- a civil service composed of amateurs and ideologues, and one that is accountable only to him."
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump pledged Monday to walk 'side by side' with the Danbury Institute, a coalition of Christian groups that opposes abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, and has called the procedure 'child sacrifice.'... [in taped remarks played Monday,] he told the group that it was time to 'defend religious liberty, free speech, innocent life, and the heritage and traditions that built America into the greatest nation in the history of the world.'... [President] Biden's campaign repeatedly called out Trump's plans to speak to the group, highlighting a section on the Danbury Institute's website that states: 'Abortion must be ended. We will not rest until it is eradicated entirely.'"
Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told a woman posing as a Catholic conservative last week that compromise in America between the left and right might be impossible and then agreed with the view that the nation should return to a place of godliness. 'One side or the other is going to win,' Justice Alito told the woman, Lauren Windsor, at an exclusive gala at the Supreme Court. 'There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised,' ... according to the edited recordings of Justice Alito and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., which were posted and distributed widely on social media on Monday. 'Like, people in this country who believe in God have got to keep fighting for that, to return our country to a place of godliness.' 'I agree with you, I agree with you,' [Alito] responded. The justice’s comments appeared to be in marked contrast to those of Chief Justice Roberts, who ... who pushed back against Ms. Windsor’s assertion that the court had an obligation to lead the country on a more 'moral path' [and that the U.S. is a 'Christian nation.']” ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: “Newly released audio recordings of Justice Samuel Alito appear to capture him speaking candidly about the limits of the investigation the Supreme Court conducted into the leak of his draft majority opinion in the 2022 case that ended the federal constitutional right to abortion.... Asked how the country can become less polarized, Alito responded: 'I wish I knew. I don’t know. It’s easy to blame the media, but I do blame them because they do nothing but criticize us. And so they have really eroded trust in the court. … American citizens in general need to work on this to heal this polarization because it’s very dangerous.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Somebody should have asked Alito a long time ago his thoughts on the First Amendment. Clearly, he opposes the establishment clause, and he doesn't seem to favor a free press, either. ~~~
~~~ You can listen to Lauren Windsor's audio recording of Sam Alito & John Roberts here, on X. Her recording of her conversation with Martha-Ann Alito is here.
~~~ William Vaillancourt of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, complained about the Pride flag, ranted about 'feminazis,' and explained a flag design that she has been creating in her head in anticipation of when her husband is 'free of this nonsense,' according to undercover audio released by a journalist and documentary filmmaker Monday on X. 'I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag, because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month,' Alito griped at one point.... After stating her need for a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag, Alito described her husband’s reaction. 'He’s like, “Oh please don’t put up a flag.” I said, “I won’t do it because I’m deferring to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I’m putting it up and I’m going to send them a message every day. Maybe every week, I’ll be changing the flags.”'... Alito’s comments were recorded undercover June 3 at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner by Lauren Windsor, who was playing the role of a conservative activist.”
Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "MSNBC on Monday aired never-before-seen footage of an irate Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanding to know why the National Guard had not yet been deployed to secure the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021 after a pro-Trump mob attacked the building and forced lawmakers to evacuate.... Donald Trump has long spread the roundly debunked falsehood that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked his order to send the National Guard to the Capitol ahead of January 6th. Trump’s own acting defense secretary told Congress under oath that Trump never gave any such order. Furthermore, the president is the commander-in-chief of the District of Columbia National Guard and a congressional leader could not prevent it from being deployed.... Schumer can then be heard saying, 'D.C. has requested the National Guard, and it’s been denied by DoD. I’d like to know a good fucking reason why it’s been denied. We need them fast.... We’re like a third-world country here. We had to run and evacuate the Capitol.'” ~~~
~~~ Jordan Carney & Kyle Cheney of Politico (June 9): "The [footage was] shot by the former speaker’s daughter, documentarian Alexandra Pelosi, and recently provided to congressional investigators by HBO upon a request by Republicans pushing to undermine the findings of the previous Jan. 6 select committee.... The new footage does not bolster GOP claims of [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi being at fault. Instead, it largely aligns with and adds depth to previous snippets of Alexandra Pelosi’s footage released by the Jan. 6 select committee and in an HBO documentary that was released in 2022."
Paul Krugman of the New York Times: “After Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, the Heritage Foundation — a right-wing think tank that has, among other things, produced the Project 2025 agenda, a blueprint for policy if Trump wins — flew an upside-down American flag, which has become an emblem for support of MAGA in general and election denial in particular.... Heritage’s embrace of what amounts to an attack on democracy is a useful symbol of one of the really troubling developments of this election as it heads into the final stretch. Heritage presents itself as a defender of freedom, but its real mission has always been to produce arguments — frequently based on shoddy research — for low taxes on rich people. And its tacit endorsement of lawlessness illustrates the way many of America’s plutocrats — both in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street — have, after flirting with the crank candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., been rallying around Trump.”
Davone Morales & Meredith Deliso of ABC News: "Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was involved in a crash on a Maryland interstate over the weekend, police and his office confirmed on Monday. The two-vehicle crash occurred on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, according to Maryland State Police. Fetterman, 54, was driving a Chevrolet Traverse west on I-70 when, 'for unknown reasons,' his vehicle struck the rear of a Chevrolet Impala, according to preliminary information from state police. Fetterman's wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman was also in the vehicle, according to the senator's office. Both were evaluated at a local hospital "out of abundance of caution' and the senator was treated for a bruised shoulder, according to his office. Both were discharged Sunday afternoon."
Paul Valentine of the Washington Post: “The Rev. James M. Lawson, a United Methodist minister who became a principal tactician of nonviolent protest during the civil rights movement, leading sit-ins, marches and Freedom Rides that withstood attacks by mobs and police throughout the 1960s, died June 9. He was 95.... Among the student recruits for his sit-ins were John Lewis, who later became a Georgia congressman; future D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry; and future civil rights leaders and activists Diane Nash, James Bevel and Bernard Lafayette. Rev. Lawson was among the first Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, Miss., in 1961, as the activists sought to integrate interstate bus and train travel. During the 'Bloody Sunday' clash of March 1965, he was among the protesters beaten by authorities at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., during a march for voting rights.”
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Georgia. All the Best Candidates. Jeff Amy of the AP: "A Georgia congressional candidate convicted of a misdemeanor for illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, walked out of a televised debate with a fellow Republican on Sunday ahead of a June 18 primary runoff. It was the latest volatile turn in southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, where Chuck Hand and Wayne Johnson are competing for the GOP nomination to take on 16-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop in November. Hand is one of at least four people convicted of Jan. 6 crimes running for Congress this year, all as Republicans. He was sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation. At the beginning of a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Hand said he was refusing to debate Johnson after Michael Nixon, who finished third in the four-way May 21 primary, gave a news conference last month endorsing Johnson."
Maryland. Michael Laris of the Washington Post: “After a colossal cleanup effort, federal and state authorities fully reopened the main shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore on Monday, transforming a site of ferocious destruction into a symbol of resilience after an errant container ship downed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March and killed six workers.... [Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott] credited a partnership that included [Gov. Wes] Moore, President Biden, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, and officials from federal, state, county and city governments.” MB: It is not coincidental that the three politicians who led the effort to reopen the shipping channel are Democrats.
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
The New York Times' liveblog of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.
Farnaz Fassihi, et al., of the New York Times: “The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip with only Russia abstaining, a sign of the growing frustration among the world’s major powers over the war and the desire to bring it to an end. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told members of the Security Council that Israel had already agreed to the deal laid out in the resolution — although Israel has so far resisted taking a public position on it — and she urged Hamas 'to do the same.'”
Jamey Keaten of the AP: “The U.N. human rights office is citing possible war crimes by Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in connection with a deadly raid by Israeli forces that freed four hostages over the weekend and killed hundreds of Palestinians.... [Spokesman Jeremy] Laurence said Palestinian armed groups who are holding hostages in densely populated areas are putting the lives of nearby civilians and the hostages at 'added risks' from the hostilities.”
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