The Commentariat -- February 6, 2021

Afternoon Update:

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

MSNBC has reported on-air that the White House has clarified that whether or not Loose Lips Trump receives intelligence briefings remains under review. President Biden has expressed his preference and trusts that intelligence agencies "will make the right decision."

This video Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) cut a couple of days ago has Nebraska Trumpbots hopping mad, Politico report: ~~~

Tankless Toilets? Felicia Sonmez & Derek Hawkins of the Washington Post: “Two Republican House members have been fined $5,000 for bypassing the security screening that was set up outside the House chamber in the wake of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol by a pro-Trump mob, a senior Democratic aide said Friday. Reps. Louie Gohmert (Tex.) and Andrew S. Clyde (Ga.) appear to be the first members punished under a new rule approved by the House on Tuesday night. Spokespeople for Gohmert and Clyde did not respond to requests for comment, but Gohmert issued a statement Friday night, explaining that he had stepped out to use the restroom and did not know that he needed to be rescreened on his way back in. 'Unlike in the movie The Godfather, there are no toilets with tanks where one could hide a gun, so my reentry onto the House floor should have been a non-issue,' Gohmert said in the statement.... Gohmert called the policy 'unconstitutional' and vowed to appeal the fine, citing ... the speech or debate clause..." of the Constitution. MB: Apparently, Louis thinks taking a piss is a form of speech. I leave it to you to try to follow his "logic."

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Jim Tankersley & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "President Biden, spurred on by a lackluster January jobs report and Democratic support for his $1.9 trillion economic aid proposal, said on Friday that the economy was in need of urgent help and that Republicans should either get on board with a robust stimulus package or expect his plan to pass without their support.... His remarks at the White House came only hours after the Senate endorsed the president's $1.9 trillion stimulus package along party lines, and over unified Republican opposition. Vice President Kamala Harris cast her first tiebreaking vote to approve a budget blueprint, 51 to 50, that will allow the proposal to move forward. The House quickly followed suit on Friday, passing the budget resolution 219 to 209. House committee heads and Democratic leaders met on Friday morning with the president at the White House to discuss legislative strategy.... Representative James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, the majority whip, told reporters that the package 'absolutely' had enough Democratic votes to pass the House. Mr. Biden, emboldened by that support, essentially told Republicans in his most stark terms to date to either suggest changes to the plan that could earn bipartisan support, or prepare for Democrats to bypass them and approve a package that is popular with voters." ~~~

Leaving on a Jet Plane. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "President Biden has served in elected office for almost four decades.... But not all of the accouterments of power are old hat for the country's oldest president. When he [flew] on Air Force One on Friday afternoon to go home to Wilmington, Del., for the weekend, it [was] his first flight aboard the presidential jet in more than two decades, according to more than a half-dozen administration officials and former Biden aides. As President Barack Obama's vice president, Mr. Biden was prohibited from flying on the Boeing VC-25 that is known as Air Force One. For security reasons, the vice president and the president never fly together.... Mr. Biden rode on Air Force One on Friday afternoon, but not the one that has so delighted his predecessors. He jogged up the stairs of the Boeing 757-200, which is a smaller, narrow-body jet used for smaller airports like the one Mr. Biden was set to arrive at in Wilmington."

Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The Senate endorsed President Biden’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package just before sunrise on Friday, voting along party lines over unified Republican opposition to approve a budget blueprint that would allow Democrats to enact it with no G.O.P. support. After a 15-hour voting session that stretched overnight, Vice President Kamala Harris arrived early in the morning to the Senate dais, where she cast her first tiebreaking vote. The Senate adopted the budget measure by a vote of 51 to 50 at about 5:30 a.m. In the marathon session -- known as a vote-a-rama and for which more than 800 amendments were drafted -- Senate Democrats maneuvered through a series of politically tricky amendments that Republicans sought to attach to their budget plan." This is an update of a report also linked early yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Biden Makes a Prudent National Security Decision. David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Friday that he would bar his predecessor, Donald J. Trump, from receiving intelligence briefings traditionally given to former presidents, saying that Mr. Trump could not be trusted because of his 'erratic behavior' even before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. The move was the first time that a former president had been cut out of the briefings, which are provided partly as a courtesy and partly for the moments when a sitting president reaches out for advice. Currently, the briefings are offered on a regular basis to Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Mr. Biden, speaking to Norah O'Donnell of CBS News, said Mr. Trump's behavior worried him 'unrelated to the insurrection' that gave rise to the second impeachment of Mr. Trump.... 'What value is giving him an intelligence briefing?' Mr. Biden [said]. 'What impact does he have at all, other than the fact he might slip and say something?' The White House said this week that it had been reviewing whether the former president, whose impeachment trial in the Senate begins on Tuesday, should receive the briefings.... The question of how Mr. Trump handles intelligence came up several times during his presidency.... But there was a deeper worry about how Mr. Trump could use intelligence now...." ~~~

     ~~~ Or Maybe Not. An AP story, by Aamer Madhani & Zeke Miller presents Biden's remarks as "should not" rather than "would not": "President Joe Biden said Friday that Donald Trump's 'erratic behavior' should prevent him from receiving classified intelligence briefings, a courtesy that historically has been granted to outgoing presidents. Asked in an interview with CBS News what he feared if Trump continued to receive the briefings, Biden said he did not want to 'speculate out loud' but made clear he did not want Trump to continue getting them." MB: So it's not clear that barring Trump from receiving classified briefings is a done deal. Sanger does not indicate in his NYT report that he has confirmed that Biden had made a decision.

Miriam Jordan & Max Rivlin-Nadler of the New York Times: "President Biden's first immigration crisis has already begun as thousands of families have surged toward the southwestern border in recent weeks, propelled by expectations of a friendlier reception and by a change in Mexican policy that makes it harder for the United States to expel some of the migrants. More than 1,000 people have been allowed to enter the country in recent days in a swift reversal from the Trump administration's near shutdown of the border. Many more are gathering in Mexico in hopes of a similar chance to cross.... The surge poses the first major test of Mr. Biden's pledge to adopt a more compassionate policy along America's border with Mexico. The prospect of large numbers of migrants entering the country during a pandemic could create a strong public backlash for Mr. Biden...."

Katherine Faulders & Benjamin Siegel of ABC News: "Congressional investigators preparing for ... Donald Trump's impeachment trial are zeroing in on the actions of the president and his associates around the insurrection at the Capitol.... The House impeachment managers and their team of lawyers are examining materials, including videos, photos and social media posts, for possible links between individuals close to Trump and some involved in the riot at the Capitol.... Examining the actions of Trump, his aides and allies before and during the riot could help House impeachment managers make their case that the 45th president's comments to supporters at a Jan. 6 rally outside the White House were the culmination of a weekslong effort to overturn the election results.... At least fourteen individuals who stormed the Capitol building have since said they were following Trump's encouragement. Democrats also are working to piece together what Trump did behind closed doors the day of the insurrection...." ~~~

~~~ Legal Scholars Trash Trump's Impeachment Defense. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Claims by ... Donald J. Trump's lawyers that his conduct around the Jan. 6 Capitol riot is shielded by the First Amendment are 'legally frivolous' and should do nothing to stop the Senate from convicting him, 144 leading First Amendment lawyers and constitutional scholars from across the political spectrum wrote in a new letter circulated on Friday.... The lawyers argued that the constitutional protections do not apply to an impeachment proceeding, were never meant to protect conduct like Mr. Trump's anyway and would likely fail to shield him even in a criminal court.... The public retort came after Mr. Trump's lawyers, Bruce L. Castor Jr. and David Schoen, indicated this week that they planned to use the First Amendment as part of their defense when the trial opens on Tuesday.... Among the 144 lawyers, scholars and litigants who signed the letter, a copy of which was shared with The New York Times, were Floyd Abrams, who has fought marquee First Amendment cases in court; Steven G. Calabresi, a founder of the conservative Federalist Society; Charles Fried, a solicitor general under Ronald Reagan; and pre-eminent constitutional law scholars like Laurence Tribe, Richard Primus and Martha L. Minow.... Many of the signatories to Friday's letter had signed onto a previous one pushing back on another key argument in Mr. Trump;s defense: the assertion that the Senate does not have jurisdiction to try a former president because the Constitution does not explicitly grant it that power." ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the letter, including the names & institutional affiliations of the signers, via the NYT.

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump is receiving money from his unsuccessful re-election campaign as he faces over $1 billion in debt. 'Donald Trump's reelection campaign, which never received a cent from the former president, moved an estimated $2.8 million of donor money into the Trump Organization -- including at least $81,000 since Trump lost the election,' Forbes reported Friday. 'In addition, one of the campaign's joint-fundraising committees, which collects money in partnership with the Republican Party, shifted about $4.3 million of donor money into Trump's business from January 20, 2017, to December 31, 2020 -- at least $331,000 of which came after the election,' Forbes reported." MB: Yeah, well, he needs the money since Biden may not give him any secret intelligence to sell.

Ryan Mac & Rosie Gray of BuzzFeed News: "The Trump Organization negotiated on behalf of ... Donald Trump to make Parler his primary social network, but it had a condition: an ownership stake in return for joining.... Parler offered a 40% stake in the company.... The deal was never finalized, but legal experts said the discussions alone, which occurred while Trump was still in office, raise legal concerns with regards to anti-bribery laws. Talks between members of Trump's campaign and Parler about Trump's potential involvement began last summer, and were revisited in November by the Trump Organization.... [Former Trump campaign manager Brad] Parscale and Trump campaign lawyer Alex Cannon met with Parler CEO John Matze and shareholders Dan Bongino and Jeffrey Wernick at Trump's Florida club Mar-a-Lago in June 2020 to discuss the idea. But the White House counsel's office soon put a stop to the talks..., ruling that such a deal while Trump was president would violate ethics rules.... Discussions were revived in the weeks following the election..., but the deal fell apart after the Capitol invasion. Following that event, Apple and Google removed Parler from their app stores, and Amazon kicked the company off its cloud hosting service, forcing the site offline."

Worst President* Ever Granted Worst Pardons Ever. Beth Reinhard, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Constitution gives the president the virtually unchecked power to grant clemency. Trump's use of that power reflected how he viewed the presidency through the prism of his own interests and as a way to reward friends and spite enemies, according to longtime clemency advocates and people who participated in the process. His transactional approach largely sidelined low-level offenders who had waited years after filing petitions through the Justice Department and elevated those with personal connections to the White House -- or the money to pay someone with those connections. Even Trump allies who advised the White House on clemency say they were startled and disappointed by who was on the final list. In all, Trump granted 237 pardons and commutations, according to the Justice Department, the majority of which he issued in a frantic final session with White House lawyers during his last night as president.... 'Along with the devastating harm Trump wrought upon clemency as an institution are the unfathomable injustices of Trump diverting the power from those critically needing and warranting clemency to his menagerie of undeserving recipients,' said Larry Kupers, who ran the pardon office at the beginning of the Trump administration.... A cottage industry emerged of lawyers and lobbyists who sought to leverage their access to the White House for clients seeking pardons." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Friday she was glad to be booted from her House committee assignments -- slinging a series of sharply partisan attacks while also conceding that she was 'sorry' for her past conspiratorial statements. In remarks to reporters outside the Capitol, the Georgia Republican claimed she had 'been freed' by the bipartisan vote on Thursday that stripped her of her seats on the House Budget and the House Education and Labor panels." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ MTG Calls Colleagues "Morons." New York Times: "Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, lashed out at Democrats on Friday in her first comments after the House voted to strip her of her committee assignments. 'I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time,' she wrote on her personal Twitter account, referring to the slim margin by which Democrats control the House. 'In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway,' she said, adding, 'Oh this is going to be fun!'... Her defiance erased even the slim hopes of House Republican leaders that Ms. Greene, empowered by her devotion to Mr. Trump, would quiet down in the name of party unity after her rebuke." From the Times' political updates Friday. MB: She won't think it's so much fun when Trump get mad at her for all the attention she's getting. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Cristina Marcos & Mike Lillis of the Hill name the eleven Republican "morons" who voted to expel Marjorie Greene from House committees: Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Fred Upton (Mich.); Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar, all from Florida; Reps. and John Katko, Chris Jacobs, & Nicole Malliotakis, all from New York; Rep. Chris Smith (N.J.); Rep. Young Kim (Calif.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.). (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times writes about Hillary Clinton and "Frazzledrip," an insane QAnon theory. "The lurid fantasy of Frazzledrip refers to an imaginary video said to show Hillary Clinton and her former aide, Huma Abedin, assaulting and disfiguring a young girl, and drinking her blood. It holds that several cops saw the video, and Clinton had them killed. When [Marjorie] Greene posted a picture of Donald Trump with the mother of the slain N.Y.P.D. officer Miosotis Familia on Facebook, one of her commenters described Frazzledrip and wrote, 'This was another Hillary hit.' Greene replied, 'Yes Familia..., I post things sometimes to see who knows [sic.] things....'" Goldberg interviews Clinton for her thoughts on the attacks on her, which as soon as Bill Clinton entered public life. Hillary Clinton described Frazzledrip as "'a Salem Witch Trials line of argument against independent, outspoken, pushy women. And it began to metastasize around me.' In this sense, Frazzledrip is just a particularly disgusting version of misogynist hatred she's always contended with.... Nothing about QAnon or Marjorie Taylor Greene is entirely new. Social media has just taken the dysfunction that was already in our politics, and rendered it uglier than anyone ever imagined."

~~~ Tim Egan of the New York Times has a plan that he thinks would improve the quality of Republicans the party sends to Washington, D.C.: Take the nominating process away from the party "activists and give it to the people. We already have a way to make it work. In Washington, along with California, the top two vote-getters in a congressional primary, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election." This makes representatives more accountable to their constituents than to their party. "The downside of the top-two system is that it might leave, say, a majority-Democratic district without a Democratic candidate in the general election. If something like a half-dozen Democratic candidates were to split the primary vote equally, it could allow two Republicans to get just enough to make the general.... [And] in a heavily one-party state, this system probably wouldn't save a profile in courage.... Liz Cheney, now under ferocious attack by Trumpers in Wyoming for her vote to impeach, might be doomed in a state that Trump took by 43 points." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: With all of the sky-is-falling wailing about how we have to save the Republican party to save the two-party system, a more sensible alternative could be to figure out how we can re-jig voting systems to at least limit the percentage of nutjobs who wind up in Congress. Some states, including Maine, with its ranked-choice voting is one method. (The system got rid of former wingnut Gov. Paul LePage.) The Founders did not envision a two-party system, and ending up with a system that more resembled parliamentary governments in which it is often necessary for parties to get together in a coalition to "form a government" might lead to a less noxious Congress. This would mean, for instance, assuming that 30 percent of voters were Trumpist types, the number of Trumpy members of Congress would not exceed about 30 percent.

Matthew Mosk, et al., of ABC News: "A new video has surfaced showing ... Donald Trump's longtime adviser Roger Stone in Washington, D.C., on the morning of Jan. 6, flanked by members of the Oath Keepers militia group just hours before the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building. In the video, which was obtained and reviewed by ABC News, Stone takes pictures and mingles with supporters outside a D.C. hotel as Oath Keepers hover around him.... 'So, hopefully we have this today, right?' one supporter asks Stone in the video, which was posted just after 10 a.m. on the morning of the rally. 'We shall see,' Stone replies. It is not known to what they were referring.... Whether men seen standing with Stone on Jan. 6 were participants in the mob assault on the Capitol is unclear.... In recent weeks, photos have surfaced online showing several people involved in the assault on the Capitol posing at various events with Stone.... Oath Keepers were known to be providing security for Stone during his D.C. visit." (See also ABC News story, linked above, re: Trump's impeachment trial.)

Mixed Messages. Mark Mazzetti & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "On Jan. 4, the intelligence division of the United States Capitol Police issued a report listing all the groups known to be descending on the city and planning to rally for ... Donald J. Trump two days later, such as the Prime Time Patriots, the MAGA Marchers and Stop the Steal. The dispatch ... gave low odds that any of the groups might break laws or incite violence, labeling the chances as 'improbable,' 'highly improbable' or 'remote.' But the document ... never addressed the odds of something else happening: that the groups might join together in a combustible mix leading to an explosion of violence. But just a day earlier the same office had presented a slightly more ominous picture. The Capitol Police's intelligence division ... warned of desperation about 'the last opportunity to overturn the results of the presidential election' and the potential for significant danger to law enforcement and the public. The documents show how the police and federal law enforcement agencies produced inconsistent and sometimes conflicting assessments of the threat from American citizens marching on the Capitol as Mr. Trump sought to hold on to power. That lack of clarity in turn helps explain why the government did not bring more urgency to security preparations for a worst-case outcome." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

In this Reuters photo, you can clearly see a DC officer (MPDC) defending the Capitol.

~~~ ** They Can Protect & Serve, But They Can't Vote. Colbert King of the Washington Post: "... on Jan. 6, when the U.S. Capitol was invaded by a rampaging pro-Trump mob, it was the District's Metropolitan Police Department that rode to the rescue.... Within minutes, D.C. police responded to the distress signal with a force that, at the height of the attack, numbered 850 officers -- nearly one-quarter of the MPD.... Sixty-five MPD officers suffered injuries.... 'MPD's police officers were engaged in a literal battle for hours. Many were forced into hand-to-hand combat,' acting police chief Robert J. Contee III testified to the House Appropriations Committee on Jan. 26.... Congress, to this day, has not delivered formal recognition of the District of Columbia's heroic role in saving the Republic.... But District residents are not allowed a vote in Congress or have the authority to spend our locally raised tax dollars without congressional approval. We can help save the Capitol complex and the Supreme Court, but we can't appoint our own judges."

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "A woman who federal prosecutors say was directing a mob with a bullhorn during the riot at the Capitol last month was arrested on Thursday and charged with multiple federal crimes. Rachel Marie Powell was arrested in Pennsylvania, according to documents posted on the Department of Justice's website. Powell is facing five charges, including depredation of government property, entering a restricted area with a dangerous weapon and obstruction of an official proceeding, an offense that carries a possibility of up to 20 years in prison.... The FBI identified Powell as a woman who was seen in viral social media and news footage blaring instructions to rioters who were breaching the Capitol building on January 6.... [An FBI] affidavit shows pictures of a woman wearing a pink hat helping to use a large pipe as a battering ram to break into the Capitol building." A related CBS Pittsburgh story, also linked yesterday, said neighbors claimed Powell & her children had not been at home for at least a week "and are apparently hiding in an unknown location...."

Florists Are the Nicest Insurrectionists. Marshall Cohen of CNN: "A Texas florist charged in connection with the US Capitol insurrection will be allowed to go to Mexico later this month, a federal judge ruled Friday. The case involving Jenny Cudd got national attention this week after she wrote to a judge asking for permission to visit Riviera Maya, Mexico, for a four-day retreat this month. On Friday, Judge Trevor N. McFadden of the DC District Court granted her request. McFadden, a Trump appointee, noted that the Justice Department did not oppose Cudd's request to visit Mexico. 'The Court also notes (Cudd) has no criminal history and there is no evidence before the Court suggesting the Defendant is a flight risk or poses a danger to others,' McFadden wrote in a written order.... In court filings, the Justice Department has described Cudd as unrepentant for her role in the insurrection, citing her comments in Facebook posts and interviews shortly after the riot. 'F--- yes, I am proud of my actions, I f---ing charged the Capitol today with patriots today. Hell, yes, I am proud of my actions,' Cudd said in the Facebook video, according to court records."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "Two New York Times journalists who had recently attracted scrutiny for their past conduct -- and, in one case, sparked an outcry from staff against management -- have left the organization, according to notes sent to the newsroom by top Times editors Friday evening. High-profile science reporter Donald G. McNeil Jr.'s departure comes after the Daily Beast reported that he had repeated a racial slur during a 2019 trip to Peru for high school students. The Times also confirmed that McNeil, who has been a key reporter covering the coronavirus pandemic, 'had used bad judgment by repeating a racist slur in the context of a conversation about racist language.' McNeil initially responded to the report by telling The Washington Post, 'don't believe everything you read,' without elaborating. The other departure is Andy Mills, whose past behavior and employment status came under scrutiny by his colleagues and his peers in the podcasting world after the collapse of 'Caliphate,' which he helped produce and host along with star Times reporter Rukmini Callimachi." The New York Times story, by Marc Tracy, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ A Daily Beast story, by Blake Montgomery & Lachlan Cartwright, describes McNeil's "departure" as an "ouster." There's a difference.

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Lou Dobbs, one of ... Donald J. Trump's most loyal media supporters, abruptly lost his pulpit on Friday when Fox Business canceled his weekday television show, which had become a frequent clearinghouse for baseless theories of electoral fraud in the weeks after Mr. Trump lost the 2020 presidential race. Mr. Dobbs's decade-long tenure at the network ended with little warning -- a guest host filled in for his Friday slot -- only a day after the election technology company Smartmatic filed a defamation lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corporation and Fox News. The suit, which seeks damages of at least $2.7 billion, also named Mr. Dobbs as an individual defendant along with two other Fox anchors, Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirro. Smartmatic specifically cited Mr. Dobbs's program, which by late last year had become so packed with falsehoods about Mr. Trump's defeat that Fox Business was forced to run a fact-checking segment debunking some of its own anchor's assertions. Executives at Fox did not elaborate on Friday about why they had canceled Mr. Dobbs's program, which was the top-rated show on Fox Business...." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Brendan Karet & Nikki Ramirez of Media Matters: "Lou Dobbs had joined Fox after his birtherism led to him being forced out at CNN, became known at Fox for his over-the-top pro-Trump propaganda." ~~~

     ~~~ Oliver Darcy of CNN: "... Smartmatic's suit poses real threat to Fox. University of Georgia media law professor Jonathan Peters noted on Twitter that 'libel law makes it difficult to prevail where the plaintiff is a public figure and/or where the speech involved a matter of public concern....' But, Peters added that he believed the 'smart money' is on Smartmatic. That seemed to be the general consensus among legal experts who commented on the case Thursday. Despite Fox describing the suit as 'meritless,' [defendant Sidney] Powell calling it a 'political maneuver,' and [defendant Rudy] Giuliani saying he looked forward to discovery, most legal experts believed it to have some bite. This lawsuit is a legitimate threat -- a real threat,' CNN legal analyst Ellie Honig said. 'There is a real teeth to this.'" ~~~

~~~ James Poniewozik of the New York Times: "TV's latest, most outrageously paranoid conspiracy-thriller has arrived. It has everything: cyberespionage, evil vote-stealing machines, wicked media cabals. And it aired Friday on One America News Network. It is 'Absolute Proof,' a two-hour-plus disinfomercial made and hosted by Mike Lindell, the chief executive of the MyPillow company and a fervent advocate of the myth that the 2020 election was stolen from Donald J. Trump and handed to President Biden. Mr. Lindell paid OANN to air it multiple times starting Friday.... Even OANN, which has courted election truthers, seemed to realize that 'Absolute Proof' was volatile content. A mammoth disclaimer before the broadcast emphasized that Mr. Lindell purchased the airtime and that 'the statements and claims expressed in this program are presented at this time as opinions only.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Kellen Browning & Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times debunk three false claims Mike Lindell makes in his excellent foray into fantasy journalism. ~~~

     ~~~ Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: "... it looks like a defamation lawsuit is incoming regardless [of OAN's extensive disclaimer] -- one that could prove financially ruinous for the upstart conservative outlet.... The lead attorney for one of Lindell's targets says that disclaimer is not nearly enough to escape liability for airing the Lindell program. Thomas Clare represents Dominion in a series of lawsuits against high-profile Trump adherents, attorneys and others who promoted those false conspiracy theories. Dominion recently put OAN on notice that their broadcasts were relevant to the company's pending legal actions and previously warned OAN and others that defamation lawsuits are 'imminent' over the continued promotion of those unsupported vote-swapping claims. '"Nice try" by OAN, but it definitely does not relieve them of liability,' Clare told Law&Crime. 'To the contrary, we warned them specifically and in writing that they would be broadcasting false and defamatory statements of fact if they broadcast the program, and they made the affirmative decision to disregarded that warning and broadcast it anyway.'"

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Carolyn Johnson & William Wan of the Washington Post: "A trial of an experimental coronavirus vaccine detected the most sobering signal yet that people who have recovered from infections are not completely protected against a variant that originated in South Africa and is spreading rapidly, preliminary data presented this week suggests.... In the placebo group of the trial for Novavax's vaccine, people with prior coronavirus infections appeared just as likely to get sick as people without them, meaning they weren't fully protected against the B.1.351 variant that has swiftly become dominant in South Africa.... The finding, though far from conclusive, has potential implications for how the pandemic will be brought under control, underscoring the critical role of vaccination, including for people who have already recovered from infections.... Anthony S. Fauci ... noted that it appears a vaccine is better than natural infection in protecting people, calling it 'a big, strong plug to get vaccinated' and a reality check for people who may have assumed that because they have already been infected, they are immune."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "A splintered Supreme Court on late Friday night partly lifted restrictions on religious services in California that had been prompted by the coronavirus pandemic. The court ruled in cases brought by South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista and Harvest Rock Church in Pasadena. The churches said restrictions imposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, violated the Constitution's protection of the free exercise of religion.... In a brief, unsigned opinion, the court blocked that total ban but left in place a 25 percent capacity restriction and a prohibition on singing and chanting. Justices Clarence Thomas and Neil M. Gorsuch said they would have blocked all of the restrictions. Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented, saying they would have left all of the restrictions in place." Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

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

Ben Leonard of Politico: "Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered more than 1,000 active-duty troops to help speed up state Covid-19 vaccination efforts, Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to the White House's Covid response team, announced Friday. Some of the military members will arrive for deployment in California within the next 10 days, beginning around Feb. 15, with more missions 'to come,' Slavitt said at a White House Covid response briefing on Friday. Austin approved a Federal Emergency Management Agency request to help 'augment and expedite vaccinations across the country,' Slavitt said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration announced a handful of initiatives Friday aimed at accelerating mass inoculations against the coronavirus and expanding production of rapid tests and surgical gloves to help control the pathogen. In the most immediate action, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin approved a request from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to deploy 1,110 troops to support vaccination sites.... Biden has vowed to stand up 100 new sites in 30 days.... As of Thursday, there were 175 federally supported vaccination sites throughout the country, according to a FEMA leadership brief.... Federal support includes the National Guard, whose services some states enlisted from the outset of the immunization campaign late last year. In a bid to boost supplies of the shots and of other critical equipment, the Biden administration also said Friday that it was taking several steps under the Defense Production Act.... The [Biden] administration will expand the priority ratings [granted to Pfizer] to include more equipment..., [to include] filling pumps and filtration units as examples.... The new ratings for Pfizer, along with moves to expand the supply of at-home coronavirus tests and surgical gloves, marked the Biden administration's first formal use of the Defense Production Act.... The administration was using powers under the Defense Production Act to boost domestic manufacturing of at-home coronavirus tests." The story is free to nonsubscribers.

Red State Quackery

Iowa. KCCI Des Moines: "Gov. Kim Reynolds [R] has eliminated most of her COVID-19 restrictions in the latest health proclamation. According to the Governor's Office, the proclamation removes indoor mask requirements in public spaces, gathering limits and restrictions on businesses starting 12:01 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 7.... This comes the same week Iowa was ranked No. 47 in the country for its vaccine distribution, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is worse than all other states except Idaho and Missouri. Reynolds addressed this in a press conference earlier this week."

Missouri. Summer Ballentine of the AP: "A Missouri state lawmaker refused to resign after being indicted on federal fraud charges for falsely claiming a treatment she sold contained stem cells that could help with COVID-19 and other illnesses. Rep. Tricia Derges [R] in an email to the House speaker this week wrote that her'innocence will prevail.' The Republican from the southeastern Missouri city of Nixa said her lawyer 'has this handled.'... Fellow Republican House Speaker Rob Vescovo stripped Derges of all her committee assignments on Monday, when a 20-count indictment against her was unsealed. The federal indictment by a grand jury also accuses the 63-year-old of illegally providing prescription drugs to clients and making false statements to federal agents investigating the case. Vescovo on Wednesday asked Derges to step down. Derges told Vescovo that she'll continue representing her constituents' by voting even though she no longer serves on committees." ~~~

     ~~~ Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post (Feb. 3): "Derges, a 63-year-old Republican who was elected to the state House in November, now faces 20 criminal charges, including wire fraud and distribution by means of the Internet without a valid prescription, a federal grand jury indictment unsealed on Tuesday revealed.... Derges, a licensed assistant physician from Nixa, Mo., has run Ozark Valley Medical Clinic since 2014, and operates three locations in southwest Missouri.... Derges claimed her Regenerative Biologics stem cells could treat patients suffering from 'tissue damage, kidney disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ('COPD'), Lyme Disease, erectile dysfunction, and urinary incontinence,' according to the indictment.... Despite [a] warning [that the concoction she sold contained no live stem cells], she continued to run promotional seminars and market her product to patients as containing stem cells, according to federal prosecutors.... In total, Derges's patients paid her approximately $191,815 [for the fake cure.]... Derges also claimed the treatment could cure covid-19 and promoted it on Facebook."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Christopher Plummer, the prolific and versatile Canadian-born actor who rose to celebrity as the romantic lead in perhaps the most popular movie musical of all time, was critically lionized as among the pre-eminent Shakespeareans of the past century and won an Oscar, two Tonys and two Emmys, died on Friday at his home in Weston, Conn. He was 91.... For years..., Mr. Plummer disparaged ... the beloved 1965 musical 'The Sound of Music' in which he starred ... as saccharine claptrap, famously referring to it as 'S&M' or 'The Sound of Mucus.'... '...That damn movie follows me around like an albatross.'"

New York Times: "Leon Spinks, who scored one of boxing's greatest upsets when he defeated Muhammad Ali to capture the heavyweight championship in February 1978, but lost his crown in a rematch seven months later and never again found glory in the ring, died on Friday night in Henderson, Nev. He was 67."

The Commentariat -- February 5, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Ben Leonard of Politico: "Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin has ordered more than 1,000 active-duty troops to help speed up state Covid-19 vaccination efforts, Andy Slavitt, a senior adviser to the White House's Covid response team, announced Friday. Some of the military members will arrive for deployment in California within the next 10 days, beginning around Feb. 15, with more missions 'to come,' Slavitt said at a White House Covid response briefing on Friday. Austin approved a Federal Emergency Management Agency request to help 'augment and expedite vaccinations across the country.'..."

Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The Senate endorsed President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package just before sunrise on Friday, voting along party lines over unified Republican opposition to approve a budget blueprint that would allow Democrats to enact it with no G.O.P. support. After a 15-hour voting session that stretched overnight, Vice President Kamala Harris arrived early in the morning to the Senate dais, where she cast her first tiebreaking vote. The Senate adopted the budget measure by a vote of 51 to 50 at about 5:30 a.m. In the marathon session -- known as a vote-a-rama and for which more than 800 amendments were drafted -- Senate Democrats maneuvered through a series of politically tricky amendments that Republicans sought to attach to their budget plan." This is an update of a report also linked below.

Worst President* Ever Granted Worst Pardons Ever. Beth Reinhard, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Constitution gives the president the virtually unchecked power to grant clemency. Trump's use of that power reflected how he viewed the presidency through the prism of his own interests and as a way to reward friends and spite enemies, according to longtime clemency advocates and people who participated in the process. His transactional approach largely sidelined low-level offenders who had waited years after filing petitions through the Justice Department and elevated those with personal connections to the White House -- or the money to pay someone with those connections. Even Trump allies who advised the White House on clemency say they were startled and disappointed by who was on the final list. In all, Trump granted 237 pardons and commutations, according to the Justice Department, the majority of which he issued in a frantic final session with White House lawyers during his last night as president.... 'Along with the devastating harm Trump wrought upon clemency as an institution are the unfathomable injustices of Trump diverting the power from those critically needing and warranting clemency to his menagerie of undeserving recipients,' said Larry Kupers, who ran the pardon office at the beginning of the Trump administration.... A cottage industry emerged of lawyers and lobbyists who sought to leverage their access to the White House for clients seeking pardons."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said Friday she was glad to be booted from her House committee assignments -- slinging a series of sharply partisan attacks while also conceding that she was 'sorry' for her past conspiratorial statements. In remarks to reporters outside the Capitol, the Georgia Republican claimed she had 'been freed' by the bipartisan vote on Thursday that stripped her of her seats on the House Budget and the House Education and Labor panels." ~~~

~~~ MTG Calls Colleagues "Morons." New York Times: "Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia, lashed out at Democrats on Friday in her first comments after the House voted to strip her of her committee assignments. 'I woke up early this morning literally laughing thinking about what a bunch of morons the Democrats (+11) are for giving some one like me free time,' she wrote on her personal Twitter account, referring to the slim margin by which Democrats control the House. 'In this Democrat tyrannical government, Conservative Republicans have no say on committees anyway,' she said, adding, 'Oh this is going to be fun!'... Her defiance erased even the slim hopes of House Republican leaders that Ms. Greene, empowered by her devotion to Mr. Trump, would quiet down in the name of party unity after her rebuke." From the Times' political updates Friday. MB: She won't think it's so much fun when Trump get mad at her for all the attention she's getting. ~~~

~~~ Cristina Marcos & Mike Lillis of the Hill name the eleven Republican "morons" who voted to expel her from House committees: Reps. Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Fred Upton (Mich.); Reps. Mario Diaz-Balart, Carlos Gimenez and Maria Elvira Salazar, all from Florida; Reps. and John Katko, Chris Jacobs, & Nicole Malliotakis, all from New York; Rep. Chris Smith (N.J.); Rep. Young Kim (Calif.) and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.).

Mixed Messages. Mark Mazzetti & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: ";On Jan. 4, the intelligence division of the United States Capitol Police issued a report listing all the groups known to be descending on the city and planning to rally for ... Donald J. Trump two days later, such as the Prime Time Patriots, the MAGA Marchers and Stop the Steal. The dispatch ... gave low odds that any of the groups might break laws or incite violence, labeling the chances as 'improbable,' 'highly improbable' or 'remote.' But the document ... never addressed the odds of something else happening: that the groups might join together in a combustible mix, leading to an explosion of violence. But just a day earlier the same office had presented a slightly more ominous picture. The Capitol Police's intelligence division ... warned of desperation about 'the last opportunity to overturn the results of the presidential election' and the potential for significant danger to law enforcement and the public. The documents show how the police and federal law enforcement agencies produced inconsistent and sometimes conflicting assessments of the threat from American citizens marching on the Capitol as Mr. Trump sought to hold on to power. That lack of clarity in turn helps explain why the government did not bring more urgency to security preparations for a worst-case outcome."

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

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Crowley & Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "President Biden outlined a sweeping vision of restored American global leadership on Thursday, announcing an end to U.S. support for Saudi Arabia's military campaign in Yemen and vowing to confront Russia and China. He also promised to work with allies to combat issues like the pandemic and climate change and announced a freeze on ... Donald J. Trump's planned troop redeployments from Germany. After two weeks of emphasis on domestic issues, Mr. Biden visited the State Department to turn his focus to foreign policy and make good on campaign promises to revitalize American diplomacy, alliances and moral authority. Speaking to diplomats at the Harry S. Truman Building in Washington, Mr. Biden said he intended to 'send a clear message to the world: America is back.'" ~~~

     ~~~ State Department video of Biden's speech is here. He begins at about 3:15 minutes in. ~~~

     ~~~ David Sanger & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "President Biden on Thursday ordered an end to arms sales and other support to Saudi Arabia for a war in Yemen that he called a 'humanitarian and strategic catastrophe' and declared that the United States would no longer be 'rolling over in the face of Russia's aggressive actions.' The announcement was the clearest signal Mr. Biden has given of his intention to reverse the way ... Donald J. Trump dealt with two of the hardest issues in American foreign policy. Mr. Trump regularly rejected calls to rein in the Saudis for the indiscriminate bombing they carried out in their intervention in the civil war in Yemen as well as for the killing of a dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, on the grounds that American sales of arms to Riyadh 'creates hundreds of thousands of jobs' in the United States. And he repeatedly dismissed evidence of interference by President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia in American elections and Russia's role in a highly sophisticated hacking of the United States government.... The administration has also announced a review of major American arms sales to the United Arab Emirates." ~~~

     ~~~ Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Pledging to rebuild international alliances and bolster the United States' moral standing, President Biden on Thursday outlined plans to 're-engage the world.' But first, he sought to win over the diplomats whose job it is to carry out his vision. With State Department employees tuning in from around the country and overseas, Mr. Biden promised 'to have your back' in a speech directed at career diplomats and Civil Service staff members who struggled under ... Donald J. Trump to promote American values abroad while they were under assault at home.... But with political appointees beginning to fill the top ranks at the State Department, career diplomats who said they stuck it out during the Trump administration expressed frustration about being passed over by loyalists to Mr. Biden." ~~~

~~~ Abigail Hauslohner of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Thursday said he plans to sign an executive order to rebuild the United States' refugee resettlement program 'to help meet the unprecedented global need' after four years of rollbacks under ... Donald Trump. 'It's going to take time to rebuild what has been so badly damaged,' Biden said during a speech at the State Department. The United States admitted 11,814 refugees between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020 -- lower than any other year since the start of the refugee program decades ago.... Biden said Thursday that he would raise the annual cap on refugee admissions to 125,000 for the fiscal year that starts Oct. 1...."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "President Biden is freezing plans to withdraw 12,000 American troops from Germany, administration officials said on Thursday, and has ordered the Pentagon to conduct a review of how American forces are deployed around the world. The move would halt a Trump administration plan -- which many national security experts had viewed as punitive -- to bring some American troops home from Germany and to shift other units to Belgium and Italy. That plan, which came last summer, rankled European leaders and angered both Democratic and Republican lawmakers, who view the presence of American troops in Europe, and especially in Germany, as a cornerstone of the post-World War II order."

Annie Linskey of the Washington Post: "At last year's National Prayer Breakfast..., Donald Trump brandished newspapers headlined 'Trump acquitted' and simply 'ACQUITTED' to boast of his recent impeachment victory; aimed thinly veiled attacks at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah); and challenged the notion that Christians should strive to love their enemies. At this year's online version of the event on Thursday, President Biden took a far lower-key approach, citing the recent assault on the Capitol to criticize violence and urge bipartisanship. 'We know now we must confront and defeat political extremism, White supremacy and domestic terrorism,' Biden said. Biden's message -- and the return of the event's historically lofty tone -- highlighted the president's effort to restore Washington institutions to their traditional, pre-Trump form. For nearly seven decades, the breakfast had marked a respite from Washington's partisan warfare, but after Trump's barb-filled blast last year, some supporters of the event even suggested suspending it."

HHS Grounds ICE Deportation Flight. Julian Borger of the Guardian: "US immigration and customs enforcement (Ice) canceled a deportation flight to west Africa because of allegations of brutality by Ice agents in the treatment of the deportees, the agency has said in a statement. The statement emailed to the Guardian and the cancellation of the deportation flight, so that would-be deportees can be interviewed as witnesses, marks a dramatic change in tone by the agency, which has hitherto deflected and denied earlier allegations of human rights abuses. The change suggests that the newly confirmed secretary for homeland security, Alejandro Mayorkas, may have begun to exert control over what some critics have described as a 'rogue agency'. A plane carrying Cameroonian, Angolan and Congolese asylum seekers was due to take off from Alexandria, Louisiana, at 3pm on Wednesday but was canceled with minutes to spare. Two days before the flight, a coalition of immigration advocacy groups published affidavits by Cameroonian detainees saying they had been assaulted by Ice officers and forced to put their fingerprints on documents authorising their own deportation to a country where they believed they risked prison, torture or extrajudicial killing."

Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "As lawmakers advanced President Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package on Thursday, the Senate dealt a setback to a major tenet of the plan: raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour. By a voice vote, senators backed an amendment from Senator Joni Ernst, Republican of Iowa, to 'prohibit the increase of the federal minimum wage during a global pandemic.' It was a signal that the wage hike would be difficult to pass in an evenly split Senate, where at least one Democrat, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, was on record opposing it. 'A $15 federal minimum wage would be devastating for our hardest-hit small businesses at a time they can least afford it,' Ms. Ernst said on the Senate floor.... The Senate's leading proponent of the $15 minimum wage, Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, seemed unfazed. He said that his plan was to carry out the wage increase over five years and that he had never wanted to raise it during the pandemic." Includes info on several other votes the Senate took this morning re: amendments to the package. They were still going at 5 am ET.

Katie Lobosco of CNN: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren once again called on President Joe Biden to use executive authority to cancel student debt on Thursday -- but the President wants Congress to act first. 'The President has and continues to support canceling $10,000 of federal student loan debt per person as a response to the Covid crisis,' White House press secretary Jen Psaki said at a briefing. She added that that the President is 'calling on Congress to draft the proposal,' and 'looks forward to signing it.'... But some Democratic lawmakers are hoping for more. Schumer and Warren, along with Massachusetts Rep. Ayanna Pressley, led dozens of other Democrats in reintroducing a bicameral resolution Thursday that calls on Biden to cancel $50,000 per borrower -- something they argue that he has the executive power to do. A similar resolution was introduced last year calling on the Trump administration to forgive student loan debt -- but former Education Secretary Betsy DeVos slammed that proposal as 'government gift giving.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Warren was on the teevee last night arguing that a $50,000 student debt cancellation would pay for itself. I haven't seen any analyses by independent economists, but there's a good chance she's right. Freeing young people from crushing debt could give them room to advance their careers in more risky -- and more profitable -- ventures. Assuming that the tax structure is fair -- ha ha ha -- that would increase the tax base.

Julian Barnes & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The Senate Intelligence Committee will examine the influence of Russia and other foreign powers on antigovernment extremist groups like the ones that helped mobilize the deadly attack on the Capitol last month, the panel's new chairman said in an interview this week. As the executive branch undertakes a nationwide manhunt to hold members of the mob accountable, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, said it would be vitally important for the influential committee to do a 'significant dive' into antigovernment extremism in the United States, the ties those groups have to organizations in Europe and Russia's amplification of their message. With the power-sharing agreement between Democrats and Republicans in place, Mr. Warner took over this week as the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, after four years as its vice chairman. In an interview on Wednesday, Mr. Warner outlined his priorities, such as the spread of disinformation, the rise of antigovernment extremist groups, Chinese domination of key technologies, Russia's widespread hacking of government computer networks and strengthening watchdog protections in the intelligence agencies."

Invitation to a Perjury Rap. Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The House impeachment managers are requesting ... Donald Trump testify before or during his Senate impeachment trial, making the request in a letter Wednesday that raises the stakes of the trial scheduled to begin next week.... Lead impeachment manager Rep. Jamie Raskin sent a letter to Trump's attorney Thursday requesting that Trump testify before or during the upcoming impeachment trial, which begins on Tuesday, arguing that his testimony was needed after he disputed the House's allegations that he incited the insurrection at the Capitol.... But Trump's legal team quickly responded by rejecting the invitation in a terse response to the House impeachment team, putting the decision back on the Democrats over whether to try to compel Trump's testimony with a subpoena.... 'Two days ago, you filed an Answer in which you denied many factual allegations set forth in the article of impeachment,' Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, wrote. 'You have thus attempted to put critical facts at issue notwithstanding the clear and overwhelming evidence of your constitutional offense. In light of your disputing these factual allegations, I write to invite you to provide testimony under oath, either before or during the Senate impeachment trial, concerning your conduct on January 6, 2021.'... Raskin ... [responded], 'We reserve any and all rights, including the right to establish at trial that your refusal to testify supports a strong adverse inference regarding your actions.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Andrew Desiderio & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "Donald Trump will not testify in the Senate's upcoming impeachment trial, a spokesman for the former president said Thursday, explicitly rejecting a request from House Democrats.... Bruce Castor and David Schoen, Trump's lawyers for the trial, called Raskin's letter a 'public relations stunt' and said it confirms that 'you cannot prove your allegations' against Trump.... A senior aide on the House impeachment team said the request for Trump's testimony came in response to claims by Castor and Schoen earlier this week that the former president never 'intended to interfere with the counting of Electoral votes' on Jan. 6, and never 'made any effort to subvert the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times report on Raskin's request & Trump's refusal to testify is here.

** "Movie at the Ellipse." Jason Stanley in Just Security: "On January 6, Trump supporters gathered at a rally at Washington DC's Ellipse Park, regaled by various figures from Trump world, including Donald Trump Jr. and Rudy Giuliani. Directly following Giuliani's speech, the organizers played a video To a scholar of fascist propaganda, well-versed in the history of the National Socialist's pioneering use of videos in political propaganda, it was clear, watching it, what dangers it portended. In it, we see themes and tactics that history warns pose a violent threat to liberal democracy. Given the aims of fascist propaganda -- to incite and mobilize -- the events that followed were predictable." Stanley outlines the principal tenets of fascism, & then describes -- sometimes frame-by-frame -- how the movie at the Ellipse mimics 20th-century fascist propaganda. Just reading about the film may creep you out. "The message of the video is clear. America's glory has been betrayed by treachery and division sown by politicians seeking to undermine and destroy the nation. To save the nation, one must restore Trump's rule.... How much of a role the White House or Trump himself may have played in deciding to show the video and sequencing it immediately after Giuliani's speech, we don't know. But it is worth noting that the New York Times recently reported that by early January, 'the rally would now effectively become a White House production' and, with his eye ever on media production, Trump micromanaged the details."

Matt Stevens & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Facing a union disciplinary hearing over his role in the attack on the Capitol..., Donald J. Trump resigned from the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists on Thursday, assailing the group in a grievance-filled letter. 'I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership,' Mr. Trump wrote in the letter to the union. 'Who cares!' He went on to say that he was resigning immediately.... Mr. Trump ... had been charged by the union with 'inciting the attack on the U.S. Capitol' on Jan. 6. and of 'sustaining a reckless campaign of misinformation aimed at discrediting and ultimately threatening the safety of journalists, many of whom are SAG-AFTRA members,' according to a statement released last month by the union." Here's Politico's story. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump's resignation letter, posted by SAG-AFTRA, is a fun read, & the epitome of unintentionally-funny Trumpy. it is possible, BTW, that Trump's self-exile from SAG-AFTRA, could make it impossible for him to pursue some of his media performance dreams. I doubt you can star, for instance, in an NBC show "Presidential* Apprentice" if you're not a union member.

Daniel Lippman & Gabby Orr of Politico: "Former Vice President Mike Pence is joining the Heritage Foundation as a distinguished visiting fellow, the conservative think tank announced on Thursday. He will advise the organization's experts on issues as well as give a number of policy addresses at Heritage, according to the announcement. He will also write a regular column for the think tank's news outlet, the Daily Signal." MB: I suppose those columns will be as valuable as the ones he used to write, like how "smoking doesn't kill" & how "only the theory of intelligent design provides even a remotely rationale explanation for the known universe." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "The House voted largely along party lines Thursday to remove Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from her two committee assignments, a precedent-shattering move by Democrats to rebuke a Republican who has espoused extremist beliefs that she publicly renounced in part just hours before the vote.... The vote was 230-199, with 11 Republicans voting with Democrats to strip Greene of her committees. The vote came after Greene renounced some of her most egregious past remarks on the House floor, in a 10-minute speech that was more explanation than apology -- one that doubled down on her attacks against the media and her political enemies while omitting some of her most recent behavior.... 'I was allowed to believe things that weren't true, and I would ask questions about them and talk about them, and that is absolutely what I regret,' she said.... She went on to describe the uproar about her comments as a 'cancel culture' attack on the free speech of conservatives.... While Republicans have suggested this week that partisan action against Greene would create a slippery slope -- endangering the rights of Democratic members in a future GOP-majority House -- [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi said she had no such concerns: 'If any of our members threaten the safety of other members, we'd be the first ones to take them off a committee. That's it.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The Hill's story is here. The New York Times' story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What this tells you is this: The vast majority of House Republicans are good with encouraging the murder of their Democratic colleagues & leaders. Greene, BTW, did not express "remorse" for approving "a bullet to the head" of Pelosi and others, only that she "was allowed to believe" certain untrue things. What does "allowed to believe" even mean? Even political prisoners are "allowed to believe" whatever may be in their heads. An authority may be able to stop certain behavior, but it can't stop thought (although some Republicans seem to believe that Democrats are capable of "brainwashing" Americans in "re-education camps" or whatever). ~~~

~~~ Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) in a dramatic address Thursday displayed a poster of a social media post from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) holding a gun next to three progressive Democrats during floor debate on a resolution to remove her from committees, warning that such rhetoric puts their lives in danger.... Hoyer walked from the Democratic side of the aisle to the well in the center of the chamber and held the poster up high to ensure that Republicans could see it.... 'I ask my colleagues on the other side of the aisle when they take this vote: Imagine your faces on this poster. Imagine it's a Democrat with an AR-15. Imagine what your response would be and would you think that that person ought to be held accountable?' Hoyer said.... Greene posted the photo on Facebook in September of herself next to images of Democratic Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.) with the caption "Squad's Worst Nightmare.' Facebook removed the image for violating its policies." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Republicans, including Kevin McCarthy , have tried to justify placing & retaining Margie Q on the education & budget committees by saying that her incendiary comments were made before she was a member of Congress, so she should not be held accountable now. But she has stood by them since being sworn in, and the fact that she thought picturing herself holding an assault weapon to the heads of sitting members of Congress (all women of color) was a good way to run for Congress, obliterates the GOP argument. ~~~

~~~ Michael Gerson of the Washington Post: "On the morning of Feb. 3, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) sat in the Capitol Rotunda for a service honoring fallen U.S. Capitol Police Officer Brian D. Sicknick, who died during the Jan. 6 attack by domestic terrorists. On the evening of Feb. 3, McCarthy asserted that the big tent of the Republican Party should include those who have advocated political violence. All in a day's work for the United States' most disgraceful political leader.... [Speaking on the House floor, Marjorie Taylor Greene made what] might best be called a false-flag apology -- conceding just enough reality to sound sane, while leaving plenty of wiggle room for conspiratorial insanity. Greene's admission that the 9/11 attacks 'happened,' for example, did not include conceding a plane crashed into the Pentagon (which Greene has denied).... It [was] enough for McCarthy to declare a united Republican front, reaching all the way from Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.), who voted for Trump's impeachment, to Greene, who supported the execution of Trump's enemies."

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "Since Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the New York Democrat, took to Instagram Live on Monday to describe what the Jan. 6 riot was like from inside the Capitol complex, critics have claimed that she wasn't where she said she was, or that she couldn't have experienced what she described from her location. These claims are false. While Ms. Ocasio-Cortez was not in the main, domed Capitol building when the rioters breached it, she never said she was. She accurately described being in the Cannon House Office Building, which is part of the Capitol complex and is connected to the main building by tunnels.... The false claims about her statements have spread widely online, much of the backlash stemming from an article on the ... RedState blog and a livestream from the right-wing commentator Steven Crowder. On Thursday, Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, tweeted, 'I'm two doors down from @aoc and no insurrectionists stormed our hallway.' But Ms. Ocasio-Cortez never said insurrectionists had stormed that hallway, and Ms. Mace herself has described being frightened enough to barricade her own door." The AP's fact-check is here.

Shia Kapos of Politico: "Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger got hit with his first formal rebuke late Wednesday from Republican officials in his district for voting to impeach ... Donald Trump. The LaSalle County Republican Central Committee overwhelmingly passed a resolution censuring the GOP congressman for taking actions 'contrary to the values' of the party...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Meet Your Typical Insurrectionist. Sarah Nir of the New York Times: "For $150, Brad Holiday's customers could purchase and download a package of dating tips and tricks he called his 'Attraction Accelerator.' The batch of files featured advice from Mr. Holiday, a self-styled Manhattan dating coach, about things like the best facial serums and pickup lines, and his thoughts on the viciousness of the opposite sex. But tucked between videos denigrating women and reviews of height-boosting shoes were other guides: how to defeat Communists, expose what he claimed were government pedophilia cabals, and properly wield a Glock. On Jan. 20, F.B.I. agents arrested the man, whose real name is Samuel Fisher, outside his apartment on the Upper East Side in connection with his involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Stashed in his Chevrolet Tahoe, parked on East 88th Street, investigators found a shotgun, machetes and more than a thousand rounds of ammunition, according to court records. Like many of the roughly 175 people arrested after the riot, Mr. Fisher left a trail of social media posts about his exploits. 'People died,' but it was great, Mr. Fisher wrote online after the attack, according to court records. 'Seeing cops literally run ... was the coolest thing ive ever seen in my life.' After his arrest, Mr. Fisher was ordered held without bail...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Isn't it amazing how many of Trump's supporters are virulent misogynists? As Nir writes, "Among [the Jan. 6 mob] were [was!] a handful of men like Mr. Fisher, whose large online footprint suggests a fierce devotion to a hypermasculine ethos of chauvinism, grievance and misogyny.... Some experts said men like Mr. Fisher were particularly attracted to Mr. Trump because they see him as emblematic of a certain kind of masculinity." Uh, yeah, the (alleged) rapist kind. ~~~

~~~ Then Again, There's Trump's Molly Pitcher. Andy Sheehan of CBS Pittsburgh: "The FBI raided the home of Rachel Powell, a Mercer County mother of eight suspected of playing a role in the assault on the U.S. Capitol. Agents swarmed the vacant house Thursday.... Neighbors say Powell and some of the younger children have not been seen for a week or more and are apparently hiding in an unknown location.... Powell can clearly be seen in videos taking a battering ram to the Capitol in the Jan. 6 assault. She's become known as the lady with the bullhorn, seeming to have knowledge of the Capitol building's floor plan, instructing insurrectionists where to go." ~~~

~~~ AND These Fun Jet-setters, Who Took a Jaunt to D.C. to Stage a Rebellion. Kevin Krause of the Dallas Morning News: "A third member of a group of North Texas real estate professionals who took a private plane to Washington, D.C., for a Donald Trump rally has been charged in federal court in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol. Frisco real estate agent Jason Lee Hyland is accused, along with Frisco real estate broker Jennifer 'Jenna' Ryan and Colleyville real estate agent Katherine 'Katie' Schwab, of being in a mob that breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, federal court records show. Hyland, 37, is at least the 11th North Texan to be charged after the violent Washington uprising."

Marie: While I have completely ignored the breathless GameStop short-sale stories that grabbed the front pages of every news outlet, here's Paul Krugman of the New York Times to explain what the hoohah was all about: "... despite four years of Donald Trump, our society remains remarkably gullible. And it is not just members of the public who believe what they see on social media; far too many influential people still keep falling for fake populism."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd.

Jonah Bromwich & Ben Smith of the New York Times: "In the latest volley in the battle over disinformation in the presidential election, Rupert Murdoch's Fox Corporation has been sued by an obscure tech company that has accused his cable networks of defamation and contributing to the fervor that led to the siege of the Capitol. The suit pits Smartmatic, which provided election technology in one county, against Donald J. Trump's longtime favorite news outlet and three Fox anchors, Maria Bartiromo, Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro, all ardent supporters of the former president. A trial could reveal how Mr. Trump's media backers sought to cast doubt on an election that delivered a victory to Joseph R. Biden Jr. and a loss to an incumbent who refused to accept reality. Filed in New York State Supreme Court, Smartmatic's suit seeks at least $2.7 billion in damages. In addition to Mr. Murdoch's Fox Corporation, Fox News and the three star anchors, it targets Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sidney Powell, lawyers who made the case for election fraud as frequent guests on Fox programs...." CNN's story is here.

Once Again, NYT Management Is Remarkably White-guy-oriented. Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "Tempers are once again flaring between staff and management at the New York Times, this time over the publication's handling of inappropriate comments allegedly made by high-profile science reporter Donald G. McNeil, Jr. during a trip to Peru for high school students in 2019. In response to a letter from staffers 'outraged' because they believe the paper didn't take the McNeil incident seriously enough, top managers replied late Wednesday that they 'largely agree' with staff sentiment and promised to 'examine the way we manage behavioral problems among members of the staff,' according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.... Last week, following a damning report in the Daily Beast, the Times acknowledged that McNeil 'had used bad judgment by repeating a racist slur in the context of a conversation about racist language' during the trip.... More than 150 staffers ... wrote to management on Wednesday saying they 'feel disrespected' by McNeil's actions.... They said they want a further investigation of what happened and an apology from McNeil." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The odd thing about this is that Dean Baquet, the Times' executive editor, is black. But that doesn't seem to be enough to get the NYT to overcome its white-guy bias. I've been aware of their problem ever since 1981 when the Times sent reporters to hide in the bushes to spy on Patricia Bowman, who had accused William Kennedy Smith of violently raping her after they had been bar-hopping with Smith's uncle Ted Kennedy & Ted's son Patrick. Times management (i.e., white guys) was way surprised that its female reporters were enraged by the paper's treatment of Bowman. Because girls. I don't think the Times problem started in '81.

Pillow Fight. Ursula Perano of Axios: "March for Our Lives co-founder David Hogg tweeted on Thursday that he and software developer William LeGate are launching a pillow company to compete against MyPillow, which is led by Trump supporter CEO Mike Lindell.... Hogg wrote that he and LeGate hope to 'sell $1 million of product within our first year' and to launch in about six months. '[W]e would like to do it sooner but we have strict guidelines on sustainability and [U.S.] based Union producers,' Hogg added."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "U.S. deaths from the coronavirus topped 454,000 Friday, even as cases declined nationwide amid a White House push for a more robust vaccine effort. New infections in the United States have dropped 17 percent over the past week but the daily death toll remains high. Public health officials have warned Americans to avoid large gatherings for the Super Bowl on Sunday."

Carolyn Johnson & Laurie McGinley of the Washington Post: "harmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson submitted its single-shot coronavirus vaccine to U.S. regulators Thursday afternoon for emergency use authorization after the vaccine was shown to be robustly effective against illness in a global trial -- and especially at preventing severe disease and death.... If the vaccine receives regulatory clearance by the Food and Drug Administration, it would be the third authorized shot in the United States -- a much-needed addition to the tools public health officials have to build immunity as virus variants spread. FDA officials announced that outside experts would discuss the vaccine at a public meeting three weeks from now, on Feb. 26. In a news release last week, the company announced its vaccine was 66 percent effective overall at preventing moderate to severe illness in a global clinical trial. It offered the best protection against severe cases of disease, proving 85 percent effective. There were no hospitalizations or deaths among people who received the vaccine. That result held up even in the South Africa portion of its trial...." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' story is here. Politico's story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Virginia. Reid Wilson of the Hill: "Virginia legislators appear poised to abolish the death penalty in the coming days, a step that would make it the first Southern state to end the practice of capital punishment. A bill to end capital punishment passed the state Senate on Wednesday by a 21-17 margin. The state House of Delegates is set to take up companion legislation as early as Friday. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) supports an end to the death penalty." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

CNBC: "Job growth returned to the U.S. in January, with nonfarm payrolls increasing by 49,000 while the unemployment rate fell to 6.3%, the Labor Department said Friday in the first employment report of the Biden administration."

The Commentariat -- February 4, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Invitation to a Perjury Rap. Jeremy Herb of CNN: "The House impeachment managers are requesting ... Donald Trump testify before or during his Senate impeachment trial, making the request in a letter Wednesday that raises the stakes of the trial scheduled to begin next week. This story is breaking and will be updated." Marie: My man Chuck Todd reported (at 1:16 pm ET) that Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the lead House impeachment manager, has written to Trump asking him to testify at his impeachment trial, giving Trump till 5 pm tomorrow to reply. No link.

Daniel Lippman & Gabby Orr of Politico: "Former Vice President Mike Pence is joining the Heritage Foundation as a distinguished visiting fellow, the conservative think tank announced on Thursday. He will advise the organization's experts on issues as well as give a number of policy addresses at Heritage, according to the announcement. He will also write a regular column for the think tank's news outlet, the Daily Signal." MB: I suppose those columns will be as valuable as the ones he used to write, like how "smoking doesn't kill" & how "only the theory of intelligent design provides even a remotely rationale explanation for the known universe."

Shia Kapos of Politico: "Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger got hit with his first formal rebuke late Wednesday from Republican officials in his district for voting to impeach ... Donald Trump. The LaSalle County Republican Central Committee overwhelmingly passed a resolution censuring the GOP congressman for taking actions 'contrary to the values' of the party...."

Virginia. Reid Wilson of the Hill: "Virginia legislators appear poised to abolish the death penalty in the coming days, a step that would make it the first Southern state to end the practice of capital punishment. A bill to end capital punishment passed the state Senate on Wednesday by a 21-17 margin. The state House of Delegates is set to take up companion legislation as early as Friday. Gov. Ralph Northam (D) supports an end to the death penalty."

~~~~~~~~~~

Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "The United States formally extended a critical nuclear accord with Russia on Wednesday for five years, opting to prolong limits on the arsenals of both nations two days before the treaty's expiration date and bringing a measure of stability to U.S.-Russia relations on nuclear matters. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the extension of the New START accord ensures verifiable limits will remain on Russian intercontinental ballistic missiles, submarine launch ballistic missiles and heavy bombers until 2026, and keeps in place a mutual verification regime that gives the United States greater insight into Russia's nuclear posture." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jessica Corbett of Common Dreams: "In another early win for organized labor, President Joe Biden on Tuesday requested that all 10 members of a key federal panel -- who were appointed by his predecessor-- immediately resign, and then fired the two appointees who refused to do so. As Government Executive noted..., Donald Trump had stacked the Federal Service Impasses Panel (FSIP), which handles disputes between agencies and unions during collective bargaining negotiations, 'with anti-labor partisans, most of whom lacked experience in labor-management relations or conflict resolution.'"

Judge-a-palooza. Ann Marimow & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden's top advisers have spent months building an extensive pipeline of judicial nominees to fill court vacancies throughout the country, attempting to swiftly remake portions of the judiciary and undo one of his predecessor's most significant achievements.... Donald Trump dramatically reshaped the courts over his four-year term with a record pace of nominations, and now Biden -- who took part in hundreds of confirmations as the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee -- is eager to leave his mark with nominees of his own. More than a third of judges nationwide serving on federal appeals courts one level below the Supreme Court are eligible to step back from active service. With Democrats narrowly controlling the Senate -- and with the prospect that they could lose control during the 2022 midterms -- Biden intends to move quickly to fill openings that arise on courts affecting significant policies, including environmental regulations, gun laws and immigration." (Also linked yesterday.)

Brian Faler of Politico: "A federal judge on Wednesday granted the Biden administration's request for another month to decide how to proceed in a long-running court fight over ... Donald Trump's tax returns. In a court filing, the administration asked Judge Trevor McFadden to give it until March 3 to consider the case, pointing to the 'still-ongoing transition to new leadership at the Department of the Treasury and the Department of Justice.'... The new administration could simply hand over the documents to its allies in Congress, possibly without Trump even knowing."

Lauren Lumpkin of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department has dropped a lawsuit that accused Yale University of discriminating against Asian and White applicants, according to a federal court filing. The decision, announced Wednesday, is a reversal from the stance the Justice Department took under the Trump administration, which repeatedly challenged the issue of race in admissions. The lawsuit filed against Yale in October accused the Ivy League university of favoring certain applicants based on race, rather than using other means to achieve diversity in its student population." (Also linked yesterday.) An NBC News story is here.

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have reached a deal on the organizing resolution for running a 50-50 Senate.... 'We will pass the resolution through the Senate today, which means that committees can promptly set up and get to work with Democrats holding the gavels,' Schumer [said.]... The new agreement comes after the Senate has been stuck in limbo since Jan. 20, the day Democrats took over the chamber's majority. Though Democrats have controlled the floor, Republicans still wielded power in Senate committees because the chamber hadn't passed a new organizing resolution for the 117th Congress." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "The Senate Has Become a Dadaist Nightmare." Ezra Klein of the New York Times: "Budget reconciliation reveals the truth of how the Senate legislates now. To counter the minority's abuse of the filibuster rule, the majority abuses another rule, ending in a process that makes legislation systematically and undeniably worse. The world's greatest deliberative body has become one of its most absurd.... Suffice to say, in a closely divided Senate, with highly polarized parties, it's almost impossible to get 60 votes on major legislation. But there's a workaround, and that workaround is getting both wider and dumber.... [Because of limits imposed on reconciliation in 1974 -- when it was created -- & in 1990,] when Congress writes laws through budget reconciliation, it writes them with one arm tied behind its back.... Even worse is the way budget reconciliation quietly decides which kinds of problems the Senate addresses, and which it ignores, years after year.... You can also only do a limited number of budget reconciliation packages each fiscal year. That forces legislators to craft giant bills that jam every legislative priority into one rushed package.... No one would ever design a legislative body that worked this way...."

A New York Times story, covering the closed-door GOP House meeting yesterday afternoon & evening is here. ~~~

~~~ Juliegrace Brufke, et al., of the Hill: "The establishment wing of the GOP won a rare and dramatic victory Wednesday night, when Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) beat back an attempt by Donald Trump's staunchest allies to knock her from power as retribution for voting to impeach the former president just three weeks earlier. The 145-61 vote, conducted by secret ballot, followed a marathon, closed-door 'family discussion' in the basement of the Capitol Visitors Center, where dozens of House Republicans lined up to voice their frustrations with the Wyoming Republican, the most powerful GOP woman in Congress, and called for her removal as conference chair, a role that entails leading the party's messaging efforts. The critics' resolution -- led by House Freedom Caucus Chairman Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) -- maintained that Cheney, by attacking the Republicans standard-bearer, had forfeited her right to represent the party at the leadership table.... House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who had previously voiced 'concerns' over Cheney's impeachment vote..., rose to defend her in an impassioned speech during Wednesday's meeting. McCarthy said he wanted to end the internal feud and that his leadership team should remain intact."

~~~ Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: "Rep. Liz Cheney, the No. 3 House Republican, defended her support for impeachment vote as a vote of her conscience during a contentious closed-door GOP conference meeting Wednesday, a person in the room told CNN. 'I won't apologize for the vote,' Cheney told the House Republican conference.... Cheney delivered an eight-minute speech near the beginning of the Wednesday meeting, two people in the room said, offering what was described as a calm yet firm defense of the Constitution." No standing O.

~~~ The Party of Q. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "In a statement released as he addressed his members behind closed doors [Wednesday], House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) condemned [Marjorie] Greene's comments questioning the veracity of school shootings, encouraging political violence and promulgating anti-Semitic falsehoods. But he said he would not bow to demands that she be removed from her committee assignments and accused Democrats of pursuing a 'partisan power grab' by seeking to control the minority party's internal decision-making and following a double standard on member conduct.... As Republicans met..., the Democratic-run House Rules Committee voted to advance a measure stripping Greene of her committees, setting up a floor vote Thursday." MB: QAnon is not the sideshow any more. The Hill's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Hours before the meeting, McCarthy was on the teevee pretending to honor the memory of Brian Sicknick, the Capitol policeman killed by Trump's Raiders, who arrived with the support of McCarthy, Greene & more than half of the House GOP caucus. ~~~

     ~~~ Standing O for Q. Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) apologized for her past controversial remarks and embrace of the QAnon conspiracy theory during a heated closed-door House GOP conference meeting -- and received a standing ovation at one point from a number of her colleagues." ~~~

~~~ Mike Lillis of the Hill: "House Democratic leaders are gearing up to vote Thursday on legislation stripping Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) of her committee spots -- unless Republican leaders do it first. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) spoke with his counterpart, Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), about Greene's fate Wednesday morning, with Hoyer suggesting afterwards that the GOP leader is not ready to remove the controversial conservative firebrand from a pair of top committees." ~~~

     ~~~ MTG Headed Hate Group. David Corn of Mother Jones: "Before she was elected to the House of Representatives as a member from Georgia, Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Trumpy, QAnon-friendly, conspiracy-toting, gun-lovin', mass-shooting-denying, assassination-promoting lightning-rod Republican, was a top official of the Family America Project, a right-wing outfit. In that capacity, she served as one of a handful of moderators of the group's Facebook page, which has provided a forum for death threats against Democrats, bigoted attacks on the Obamas and others, and assorted conspiracy theories.... Greene's official congressional biography proudly identifies her as the onetime national director of the Family America Project, which describes itself as a 'national umbrella organization connecting, uniting, and informing statewide grassroots groups and activists; working together and mobilizing to support President Trump [and] American roots and culture.'" MB: Yeah, that "American roots and culture" is the tell. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's my prediction (and I'm as often wrong as I am right): MTG is a flash-in-the-pan who will soon fall out of favor, not because her colleagues will see the error of their ways (they won't) but because Donald Trump probably already is irritated by all the attention she is receiving. Deprived of his job & his various megaphones, the Man of Mar-a-Lardo is getting second billing to MTG even as his impeachment trial looms. I hope Time puts Mizz Marjorie on its cover, to goose the moment Trump dumps Marge. ~~~

~~~ In Case You Think the "Party of Q" Is an Exaggeration. Margaret Talev of Axios: "Conspiracist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is far more popular than Rep. Liz Cheney among Americans who align with the Republican Party, according to a new Axios-SurveyMonkey poll." Greene got a net favorability rating of 10; Cheney's was -28 (that's "minus 28"). MB: The last time Republicans held primaries, their voters strongly preferred Trump & Cruz over less insane candidates like Kasich, Jeb! & Christie, none of whom registered more than blips in the early primaries & dropped out fast. That wasn't a fluke. And it's clear from the Axios survey that those voters didn't get over it. There is only one major political party that makes sense, and millions of voters who prefer the one that doesn't.

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "More than 370 Democratic congressional aides issued an unusual public appeal on Wednesday, imploring senators -- in some cases their own bosses -- to convict ... Donald J. Trump for inciting a violent 'attack on our workplace' that threatened the peaceful transition of power. In a starkly personal letter, the staff members describe ducking under office desks, barricading themselves in offices or watching as they witnessed marauding bands of rioters who 'smashed' their way through the Capitol on Jan. 6. Responsibility, they argue, lies squarely with Mr. Trump and his 'baseless, monthslong effort to reject votes lawfully cast by the American people.'... Despite tentative interest from some, people familiar with the effort said, no Republican aides ultimately signed on."

Shut Down This Guy. Eric Geller of Politico: "CISA may have made a mistake by aggressively combating disinformation that was popular with conservatives during the 2020 election, the agency's acting director suggested on Wednesday. 'This agency has long benefited from broad bipartisan support in this country and with our colleagues on the Hill, and I think that future political leadership will not want to jeopardize that,' Brandon Wales said during the National Association of Secretaries of State's winter conference. 'And so I think we need to look at the appropriate role that CISA plays when it comes to countering disinformation.'" Wales is a career employee who took over after Trump fired the agency's Trump appointee Christopher Krebs. "Asked to clarify Wales' remarks, a[n anonymous] CISA spokesperson said the agency remained proud of its work on its Rumor Control fact-checking page and described it as 'an example of where CISA was able to add value during the 2020 election by successfully debunking disinformation.'" MB: An "anonymous" spokesman? What the hell does that mean?

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Social media posts by a Washington state member of the Proud Boys arrested Wednesday indicate that he and others were planning in advance to organize a group that would attempt to overwhelm police barricades and breach the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, U.S. prosecutors alleged. Ethan Nordean, 30, and others appeared motivated in part by what they perceived to be an insufficient police response to the stabbing of one of their members who attended a December pro-Trump demonstration in Washington, D.C., the FBI said in charging papers. Nordean, also known as Rufio Panman, was charged with attempting to obstruct Congress's certification of President-elect Joe Biden's electoral college victory, punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as well as additional counts, the Justice Department said.... ~~~

~~~ "Separately on Wednesday, U.S. authorities announced an indictment with new accusations against two previously charged men, self-described Hawaii Proud Boys founder Nicholas R. Ochs, 34, and Nicholas DeCarlo, 30, of Burleson, Tex. A seven-count indictment accuses the men of conspiring to plan, raise money and travel to Washington to disrupt Congress, posting images and video of the incursion in real-time, and defacing the U.S. Capitol's Memorial Door with the words 'MURDER THE MEDIA,' the name of their social media video collective." The New York Times story is here.

Mark Hosenball & Sarah Lynch of Reuters: “The U.S. Justice Department is considering whether to charge members of far-right groups involved in the deadly Jan. 6 storming of the Capitol under a federal law usually used against organized crime, according to two law enforcement sources. The Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, known as RICO, enables prosecutors to combat certain ongoing racketeering crimes such as murder, kidnapping, bribery and money laundering. The 1970 statute provides for hefty criminal penalties including up to 20 years in prison and seizure of assets obtained illegally through a criminal enterprise." MB: Rudy Giuliani helped make the RICO act famous when he was a federal prosecutor. Maybe now he'll be charged under it.

Canada. Andy Blatchford of Politico: "Canada has branded the Proud Boys a terrorist entity, saying its members 'played a pivotal role' in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol that left five people dead. The announcement Wednesday by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government puts the far-right group in the same category as the Islamic State, al Qaeda, al Shabaab, Boko Haram and the Taliban."

Nick Miroff & Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post: "The Mexican government has stopped taking back Central American families 'expelled; at the U.S. border under a Trump-era emergency health order related to the coronavirus, a shift that has prompted U.S. Customs and Border Protection to release more parents and children into the U.S. interior, according to five U.S. officials. The change, which has not been publicly disclosed, raises concerns in U.S. border communities and at the Department of Homeland Security because the large-scale release of parents and children into the United States has triggered previous waves of unauthorized migration. In a statement, CBP spokesperson Stephanie Malin acknowledged an increase in the number of families released after crossing the border.... 'Mexico is only accepting single adults now, not families or children,' said one U.S. official who, like others, was not authorized to speak publicly about the change."

Scottish Parliament Votes Against Imposing Trump "McMafia" Order. William Booth & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "Scotland's Parliament on Wednesday voted against a proposal to urge an investigation into the finances of ... Donald Trump's Scottish golf courses -- saying such questions should be left to police, without political pressure. Trump owns two golf courses in Scotland, and he has invested more than $289 million into them without ever turning a profit. Some Scottish lawmakers want their government to seek an 'unexplained wealth order' -- a tool used to fight money laundering -- to investigate where Trump got the money. But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland's leader, has said those decisions should be made by law enforcement officials. On Wednesday, as expected, Scotland's Parliament agreed with Sturgeon."

Michael Forsythe & Walt Bogdanich of the New York Times: "McKinsey & Company, the consultant to blue-chip corporations and governments around the world, has agreed to pay $573 million to settle investigations into its role in helping 'turbocharge' opioid sales, a rare instance of it being held publicly accountable for its work with clients. The firm has reached the agreement with attorneys general in 47 states, the District of Columbia and five territories, according to five people familiar with the negotiations. The settlement comes after lawsuits unearthed a trove of documents showing how McKinsey worked to drive sales of Purdue Pharma's OxyContin painkiller amid an opioid epidemic in the United States that has contributed to the deaths of more than 450,000 people over the past two decades."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here.

** Joe Davidson of the Washington Post: "A government watchdog study ... amounts to a wide-reaching condemnation of ... Donald Trump's botched response to the covid-19 pandemic. The 346-page Government Accountability Office document, much longer than most, outlines broad Trump administration failures so alarming that the normally circumspect auditors pronounced themselves 'deeply troubled.' That constitutes an anguished cry from an office that prides itself on just-the-facts, albeit dull, reports. Almost 90 percent -- 27 of 31 -- of the GAO's recommendations from June, September and November 'remained unimplemented' as of Jan. 15, less than a week before Trump left office. The document was released last week.... The report details a bungled Trump administration response to a virus that has killed over 445,000 Americans, far more than in any other nation." MB: I don't see why this report didn't make the front page of the papers.

David McSwane of ProPublica: "An amateur mask broker who was awarded more than $38 million in federal contracts to provide N95 masks has pleaded guilty to defrauding three different federal agencies as part of a scheme to profit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Robert Stewart Jr., 35, pleaded guilty to three counts of making false statements, wire fraud and theft of government funds Wednesday in U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia, including charges that he lied to the Department of Veterans Affairs in April in order to win a $34.5 million no-bid deal to supply personal protective equipment to nurses and doctors in a sprawling health system serving 9 million veterans. He similarly acknowledged lying to the Federal Emergency Management Agency when he stated he had masks 'stored securely in our climate control warehouse located in VA and PA,' according to his plea agreement."

Beyond the Beltway

Ohio. Will Wright of the New York Times: "A Columbus police officer who was fired after fatally shooting a Black man in December was arrested and charged with murder on Wednesday, Attorney General Dave Yost of Ohio announced. The officer, Adam Coy, a 19-year veteran who is white, was also charged with felonious assault and two counts of dereliction of duty. Mr. Coy shot Andre Hill four times after responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle. When he and another officer arrived at the scene, Mr. Coy found Mr. Hill in a garage and opened fire within seconds.... Mayor Andrew Ginther of Columbus, who demoted the city's police chief last week, thanked the grand jury for its service. 'The indictment does not lessen the pain of his tragic death for Mr. Hill's loved ones, but it is a step towards justice,' he wrote on Twitter."

Wisconsin. Hannah Knowles & Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Kenosha County, Wis., prosecutors on Wednesday sought a new arrest warrant and higher bond for Kyle Rittenhouse, who is charged with fatally shooting two people amid protests in Kenosha last summer, alleging that the 18-year old from Illinois failed to notify authorities of a change in address. In the three-page motion filed late Wednesday afternoon, prosecutors alleged Rittenhouse had 'minimal incentive to comply with his bond conditions' because his $2 million bond had been paid by a 'dubious Internet fundraising campaign.' Rittenhouse is accused of killing two men and injuring a third during unrest in Kenosha following the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man. Championed by some gun rights groups and conservatives as a hero who shot in self-defense and wanted to protect the community from rioting, Rittenhouse left custody last fall with bail raised by a right-wing nonprofit." ~~~

     ~~~ Brad Evans of WISN News Milwaukee: "Prosecutors filed a motion Wednesday saying the court was unable to deliver a hearing notice for Rittenhouse at the address he listed as his home on his release paperwork. The notice was returned to the court because a forwarding address was not known. Prosecutors wrote in their filing Rittenhouse failed to notify the court of a change of address or telephone number within 48 hours."