The Commentariat -- December 24, 2020

Trump-Free Zone. Marie: I don't care if Donald Trump hangs himself from a Mar-a-Lago chandelier or goes out & shoots sightseers on Palm Beach's Worth Avenue, he gets no mention tomorrow.

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (R-Ohio) rebuked President Trump over his criticism of a $2.3 trillion package to provide coronavirus relief and fund the government. Gonzalez said Trump was misleading the public when he criticized the bill earlier this week, suggesting it was funding too many overseas projects and that it did not provide large enough stimulus checks to American families. 'If @realDonaldTrump didn't want money going to foreign countries, he shouldn't have asked for it. 100% of the items he complained about last night were either a lie (i.e. illegals aren't getting $1800) or things in HIS budget (all the foreign aid),' the Ohio Republican tweeted.... 'The @HouseGOP has stood by him for 4 years. If he thinks going on twitter and trashing the bill his team negotiated and we supported on his behalf is going to bring more people to his side in this election fiasco, I hope he's wrong, though I guess we'll see,' he said."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "A massive government funding and coronavirus relief package is being sent to Florida on Thursday afternoon, where President Trump is mulling whether to sign it into law. The legislation was enrolled on Thursday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tweeted. A person familiar with the matter confirmed it will be sent to Mar-a-Lago, where Trump is spending the holidays. White House officials have declined to comment on whether the president intends to sign or veto the package."

Messages from the People. Heather Long & Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "Millions of Americans ... have a simple plea to President Trump and Congress: Please help us. The Washington Post has been inundated with messages and phone calls from people on the verge of losing their homes and cars and going hungry this holiday who are stunned that President Trump and Congress cannot agree on another emergency aid package. Several broke down crying in phone interviews. Some blamed Trump for torpedoing a $900 billion relief package at the last minute. Others agreed with Trump that the proposed $600 checks for over 150 million American households was too little, too late and should be raised to at least $2,000. Others blamed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not taking a deal in August. But most told The Post they are 'not political people' and are struggling to understand why Congress and the president would be able to celebrate Christmas when 14 million Americans are slated to lose unemployment aid on Saturday, the government is set to shut down on Tuesday, and an eviction moratorium that has prevented millions from losing their homes during a pandemic ends on New Year's Eve." ~~~

~~~ Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "Congressional leaders are clambering to avoid a disastrous government shutdown a day before Christmas after ... Donald Trump rejected their $900 billion stimulus deal that would provide relief to millions of Americans. And as Trump single-handedly halts hundreds of billions of dollars in coronavirus aid, even some Republicans are urging him to drop the matter.... Both parties are now stranded with a Trump-driven crisis on Christmas Eve -- uncertain how to deliver quick relief to millions of Americans suffering in the pandemic-battered economy, let alone keep the government funded.... 'The best way out of this is for the president to sign the bill and I still hope that's what he decides to do,' Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the No. 4 GOP leader, said on Thursday. But Blunt conceded he had 'no idea' what Trump will do.... Trump, meanwhile..., hit the golf course." Emphasis added. MB: Peace on earth, blah blah; I'd like to do bodily harm to that fat bastard.

Marie: Remember how the now-departed Bill Barr said that Donald Trump was right that there was some voter fraud but not enough to change the results of the presidential election? Well, here's an example of that isolated fraud: ~~~

     ~~~ Davey Alba of the New York Times: “... Pennsylvania officials say one of the names [of dead people] held up by the Trump campaign was used to cast a vote in the election.... Authorities say the fraudulent vote was cast for Mr. Trump. This week, Jack Stollsteimer, the district attorney of Delaware County, accused Bruce Bartman of Marple Township, Pa., of illegally voting in place of his deceased mother in the general election. In addition to his mother, Mr. Bartman registered his mother-in-law, Elizabeth Weihman, who died in 2019, as a voter, according to the district attorney's office, but is not accused of voting for her. He also cast a ballot under his own name. 'This is the only known case of a "dead person" voting in our county, conspiracy theories notwithstanding,' Mr. Stollsteimer said in a statement."

John Eligon of the New York Times: "Susan Moore, [a Black] patient, said the white doctor at the hospital in suburban Indianapolis where she was being treated for Covid-19 had downplayed her complaints of pain. He told her that he felt uncomfortable giving her more narcotics, she said, and suggested that she would be discharged. 'I was crushed,' she said in a video posted to Facebook. 'He made me feel like I was a drug addict.' In her post, which has since circulated widely on social media, she showed a command of complicated medical terminology and an intricate knowledge of treatment protocols as she detailed the ways in which she had advocated for herself with the medical staff. She knew what to ask for because she, too, was a medical doctor.... On Sunday, just more than two weeks after posting the video, Dr. Moore died of complications from Covid-19, said her son, Henry Muhammed."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "Seizing on President Trump's implicit threat to reject a $900 billion stimulus compromise unless Congress more than than tripled the $600 direct payments, Democrats attempted to call his bluff on Thursday with legislation that would send Americans $2,000 checks. Republicans rejected the move and tried to counter with a motion to force their own changes to foreign policy spending. Attempted and rejected in less than two minutes, the efforts to amend a $2.3 trillion spending package that overwhelmingly passed both chambers on Monday after weeks of bicameral negotiations were more theater than legislating. They came after Mr. Trump implicitly threatened to reject the measure in a four-minute video on Tuesday night. He has since gone silent, leaving both parties to wonder if he really would veto long-delayed coronavirus relief that is attached to a larger bill to keep the government funded past Monday." ~~~

     ~~~ The headline on the WashPo story is a classic: "House Republicans block Democrats' effort to advance $2,000 stimulus checks pushed by Trump." ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M. explains the ratonale behind the headline: "Sure, they're denying desperately needed cash to voters and defying the president, but 'Always be loyal to Trump' is a rule that has one exception: It's okay to defy to Trump if your defiance owns the libs."

** Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Britain and the European Union struck a hard-fought trade agreement on Thursday, settling a bitter divorce that stretched over more than four years and setting the terms for a post-Brexit future as close neighbors living apart, according to British officials. The deal, which must be ratified by the British and European Parliaments, came together in Brussels after 11 months of grinding negotiations, culminating in a last-minute haggle over fishing rights that stretched into Christmas Eve, just a week before a year-end deadline. Despite running to thousands of pages, the agreement leaves critical parts of the relationship to be worked out later. And it will not prevent some disruption to trade across the English Channel, since British exports will still be subjected to some border checks, adding costs for companies and causing potential delays at ports." The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Sylvia Hui of the AP: "Trucks inched slowly past checkpoints at the English port of Dover and headed across the Channel on Thursday to the French port of Calais, after France partially reopened its borders with Britain following a scare over a rapidly spreading new coronavirus variant. Only a small fraction of the thousands of frustrated truck drivers and travelers have so far made it through the mass gridlock at Dover on Christmas Eve, held up by slow delivery of the coronavirus tests now demanded by France. One by one, trucks passed toward ferries and trains that link Britain with France, as authorities checked that drivers had the negative virus tests required to cross.... Officials warned the backlog could take days to clear.... French Ambassador Catherine Colonna said two dozen French firefighters have been sent to Dover, bringing 10,000 coronavirus tests for drivers desperate to get home for Christmas. British Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said British and French authorities have agreed to keep the border between the countries open throughout Christmas...."

DeJoy to the World, Your Gift's De-layed. The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Paul Murphy of CNN: "A historic amount of packages and rising employee Covid-19 rates are causing significant backlogs at US Postal Service processing facilities before Christmas. All the shopping and shipping Americans have done in the last few weeks has inundated the system with what the USPS says is a "historic volume" of mail and packages. 'The packages are up to the ceiling' in Philadelphia, local American Postal Workers Union president Nick Casselli told CNN. 'I've been in postal for 35 years, I've never seen what I'm seeing.' He says there are so many new packages -- upwards to 250,000 a day at the largest processing facility -- that the USPS opened a fourth annex just to store them all. There are so many incoming packages the postal workers can't process them in time, Casselli said.... Union presidents and postal workers across the US -- in Illinois, Michigan, California, Florida, Maine and New York -- say they, too, are seeing record volumes of packages and backlogs. Efforts to clear the backlog, they say, are being undercut by rising number of Covid-19 cases and quarantined postal employees." ~~~

~~~ Jacob Bogage & Hannah Denham of the Washington Post (Dec. 21): "Competing crises are slamming the U.S. Postal Service just days before Christmas, imperiling the delivery of millions of packages, as the agency contends with spiking coronavirus cases in its workforce, unprecedented volumes of e-commerce orders and the continuing fallout from a hobbled cost-cutting program launched by the postmaster general. Nearly 19,000 of the agency's 644,000 workers are under quarantine after testing positive for the virus or after a close exposure, according to the American Postal Workers Union. Meanwhile, packages have stacked up inside some postal facilities, leading employees to push them aside to create narrow walkways on shop floors."

Missy Ryan & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration has formally notified Congress that it intends to sell nearly $500 million in precision bombs to Saudi Arabia, a transaction that is likely to fuel criticism from lawmakers who object to arming the Persian Gulf nation over its record of human rights abuses and stifling dissent and role in the war in Yemen."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Another Gross Abuse of Power. Trump Pardons Criminal Friends, Family & Allies. Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "President Trump doled out clemency to a new group of loyalists on Wednesday, wiping away convictions and sentences as he aggressively employed his power to override courts, juries and prosecutors to apply his own standard of justice for his allies. One recipient of a pardon was a family member, Charles Kushner, the father of ... Jared Kushner. Two others who were pardoned declined to cooperate with prosecutors in connection with the special counsel's Russia investigation: Paul Manafort, his 2016 campaign chairman, and Roger J. Stone Jr., his longtime informal adviser and friend. They were the most prominent names in a batch of 26 pardons and three commutations disclosed by the White House after Mr. Trump left for his private club in Palm Beach, Fla., for the holiday. Also on the list released on Wednesday was Margaret Hunter, the estranged wife of former Representative Duncan D. Hunter, Republican of California[, whom Trump pardoned the previous day].... Of the 65 pardons and commutations that Mr. Trump had granted before Wednesday, 60 have gone to petitioners who had a personal tie to Mr. Trump or who helped his political aims, according to a tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith.... 'This is rotten to the core,' said Senator Ben Sasse, Republican of Nebraska." CNN's story is here. Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The Court forced Manafort to forfeit tens of millions of dollars. Manafort will not get that money back. As Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC, "You can't pardon your way out of a civil forfeiture." ~~~

~~~ On the Other Hand: Don & Bill's "Killing Spree." Isaac Arnsdorf of ProPublica: "In its hurry to use its final days in power to execute federal prisoners, the administration of ... Donald Trump has trampled over an array of barriers, both legal and practical, according to court records that have not been previously reported. Officials gave public explanations for their choice of which prisoners should die that misstated key facts from the cases. They moved ahead with executions in the middle of the night. They left one prisoner strapped to the gurney while lawyers worked to remove a court order. They executed a second prisoner while an appeal was still pending, leaving the court to then dismiss the appeal as 'moot' because the man was already dead. They bought drugs from a secret pharmacy that failed a quality test. They hired private executioners and paid them in cash. The unprecedented string of executions is often attributed to Attorney General William P. Barr, and his role was instrumental: It was Barr's signature that authorized the use of a new lethal injection drug, his quotes that trumpeted the execution announcements and his position as attorney general that holds the ultimate authority in capital cases.... But... the push to resume federal executions for the first time since 2003 long predates Barr, with groundwork beginning as far back as 2011 and accelerating after Trump took office in 2017. It could not have happened without the help of Justice Department lawyers; officials at the Bureau of Prisons; two professors who endorsed the government's injection method; conservative Supreme Court justices who dismissed final appeals; and Trump himself, who encouraged the executions and declined to commute them." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case your dumb uncle reads this story & becomes outraged, tell him this does not mean that Trump should commute the sentences as he did Paul Manafort's & let mass murderers walk among us to kill again. Rather, it means that Trump could commute the death sentences to something like life without possibility of parole.

Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "With four weeks left in President Trump's term, he is at perhaps his most unleashed -- and, as events of the past few days have demonstrated, at the most unpredictable point in his presidency.... He spends his days flailing for any hope, if not of actually reversing the outcome of the election then at least of building a coherent case that he was robbed of a second term. When he has emerged from his relative isolation in recent days, it has been to suggest out of the blue that he would try to blow up the bipartisan stimulus package, driving a wedge through his party in the process, and to grant clemency to a raft of allies and supporters, mostly outside the normal Justice Department process. On Wednesday, he vetoed a defense bill backed by most of his party. He has otherwise sequestered himself in the White House, playing host to a cast of conspiracy theorists.... He is almost entirely disengaged from leading the nation...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For all this mess, I blame mike pence & Trump's Cabinet members for allowing him to remain in office. They know Trump is crazy dangerous -- everybody knows he's crazy dangerous -- and they have done nothing to stop him. In a clearly 25th Amendment moment, all have been derelict in their Constitutional duties. Update: I see where Paul Campos thought of the 25th, too. Campos worked out how pence could invoke the Amendment this Sunday, and "This, in effect, means that Pence could become acting president on Sunday, December 27, and would remain in the position for the rest of the current administration's term in office, as long as House Democrats acceded to the new status quo." ~~~

~~~ Kevin Liptak of CNN: Donald Trump is "more erratic than ever. Though he has all but disappeared from public view, Trump is wielding what executive powers he has left to rancorous effect, ensuring his presence is felt even as he holes up in virtual isolation. Instead of off-the-cuff rallies or shouting underneath his helicopter, Trump is holding forth in pre-produced videos and, as always, tweeting. His actions all seem designed to offer the other co-equal branches of government a taste of what he can do -- and what damage he can inflict -- in the days he is still President. By pardoning convicted liars, corrupt loyalists and war criminals, Trump has reminded the judiciary that, if he wants to, he can reverse its work. Issuing a surprise and vague attack on carefully crafted stimulus legislation lets lawmakers know he's still a player, even if he sat out the negotiations entirely and seemed confused about what, exactly, he is opposing." Read on.

Why? Because He Can. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "President Trump made good Wednesday on his repeated threats to veto a $741 billion defense spending bill, setting up what is expected to be the first successful veto override of his presidency during his last weeks in office. The House and Senate each passed the bill earlier this month with strong veto-proof majorities, rejecting Trump's insistence that it be changed to meet his oftentimes shifting demands. Both chambers are expected to sustain the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president's veto. In his veto message, Trump complained that the legislation includes 'provisions that fail to respect our veterans' and military's history' -- a seeming reference to instructions that the Defense Department change the names of installations commemorating Confederate leaders. He also scorned the bill as a &'"gift" to China and Russia,' slammed the bill for restricting his ability to draw down the presence of U.S. troops in certain foreign outposts, and excoriated lawmakers for failing to include an unrelated repeal of a law granting liability protections to technology companies that Trump has accused, without significant evidence of anti-conservative bias." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One or more of these possibilities explains the veto beyond Trump's just showing off his power: (1) screw up already screwed-up the holidays of Members of Congress who failed to bend to his will; (2) screw up the federal government; (3) further reduce U.S. influence around the world, thus sending an actual -- and intended -- gift to China & Russia.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "President Trump on Tuesday unexpectedly threatened to reject a far-reaching, catchall spending package that includes $900 billion in coronavirus relief and funding for the government through Sept. 30. The threat in effect dropped a depth charge on the Republican Party, but beyond politics, the coming days will determine whether his actions actually deny or delay relief to struggling Americans and shut down the government.... In a video posted online on Tuesday, Mr. Trump conflated the $900 billion relief package with the routine funding portion running alongside it.... Many of the items he objected to [in the video] came straight from his own budget proposal." ~~~

~~~ Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump's last-minute move to reject a sweeping coronavirus relief package is escalating confusion and panic among Republicans while setting the stage for an uncomfortable confrontation Thursday that could lead GOP lawmakers to object to their own president's demand for larger stimulus checks for Americans. The chaos is unfolding against the backdrop of another threatened government shutdown, with funding set to lapse starting Tuesday unless a spending bill to keep federal operations running is signed into law.... While the president hasn't explicitly threatened a veto, his defiance of a deal negotiated by his own administration could spark a standoff that could conceivably last until Joe Biden is inaugurated Jan. 20.... Trump could veto the coronavirus relief and spending bill by doing nothing -- the bill has yet to be transmitted to Trump, meaning the 10-day veto window will expire after the current Congress adjourns on Jan. 3.... But multiple congressional aides said their real deadline of concern was Monday at midnight, when a temporary government funding bill expires. If the standoff is not resolved by then, the aides said, an extended government shutdown could potentially continue until Biden's inauguration.... The fight also handed Democrats in two vital Senate races in Georgia a fresh political weapon against their GOP opponents, with Trump undercutting Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler as they took a victory lap over securing the $600 checks." ~~~

~~~ "Complete Clusterfuck." Anita Kumar, et al., of Politico: "On Tuesday night, Trump blindsided all of Washington -- including his own staff -- with a series of eleventh-hour demands to amend coronavirus relief and government funding legislation that his own administration had helped carefully craft and supported.... No one on either side of Pennsylvania Avenue appears to know what Trump's plan is -- or even if there is one. House Republicans held a brief conference call Wednesday afternoon, where they received little clarity on the situation. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told Republicans he spoke to Trump, but that the president hasn't committed to anything yet, according to two people on the call. The White House, meanwhile, did not respond to questions about the legislation.... Yet Trump left town Wednesday afternoon without saying a word about the bill, departing for his South Florida Mar-a-Lago resort, where he plans to stay through the new year. And no one seems to know what will happen next.... 'Complete clusterf---,' summarized one top Republican Hill aide."

Another Fool's Errand. Kate Riga of TPM: "White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made a mostly pointless pilgrimage to Cobb County, Georgia Tuesday to 'get to the truth' of the signature matching audit. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Meadows showed up flanked by secret service, but wasn't let into the room where the voter signatures from ballot envelopes are being matched to the signatures on file." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "A defamation law firm representing Dominion Voting Systems has sent letters to White House counsel Pat Cipollone and ... Donald Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani instructing them to preserve all records related to the company at the center of Trump's conspiracy theories and warning Giuliani that legal action is 'imminent.' Through two well-known defamation attorneys, Dominion Voting Systems sent letters to Cipollone and Giuliani Tuesday, demanding Giuliani stop making 'defamatory claims against Dominion' and ensure there is 'no confusion about your obligation to preserve and retain all documents relating to Dominion and your smear campaign against the company.' The attorneys told Cipollone their preservation request is vast and includes conversations White House officials had with attorneys like Giuliani or Sidney Powell regarding Dominion." MB: This, of course, is a civil suit. Trump can't pardon it away. ~~~

     ~~~ In a Separate Matter. Veronica Stracqualursi of CNN: "An executive for a voting machine company that has been the target of conspiracy theories in the aftermath of Donald Trump's 2020 election loss and been baselessly accused of swinging the results against the President is suing his campaign and conservative media figures for defamation. Trump has called Dominion Voting Systems 'a disaster,' and his supporters have pushed the conspiracy theory that the company deleted votes for Trump on its voting equipment and that Dominion's director of product strategy and security, Eric Coomer, helped subvert the election. There is no evidence that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, and his administration and election officials have called it the 'most secure' election in US history." MB: Let's hope that on January 21, the plaintiffs in both of these cases will add Trump personally as a defendant.

Where's Jared? Asawin Suebsaeng, et al., of the Daily Beast: "As ... Donald Trump tries to nullify the 2020 election, pardons perpetrators of one of the most infamous atrocities of the Iraq War, and throws a last-minute wrench into government funding and COVID relief legislation, his most trusted adviser has been half a world away. Jared Kushner ... has spent a significant amount of time after the election overseas, including championing the work he's done in the Middle East. He's planted an olive tree at the Jerusalem Grove of Nations, elbow-bumped with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu, and taken the first direct flight between Morocco and Israel, after orchestrating a formal detente between the two nations -- a detente lubricated by arms sales and a de facto go-ahead for territorial annexation of Palestinian land.... [The trip has struck people] back home as wildly, almost comically, ill-timed; and, they suspect, deliberately so. Jared, after all, has a habit of getting out of dodge at the most problematic moments and few times are as problematic as the current one. 'This is just what Jared does,' said one senior Trump aide."

Never Mind. Quint Forgey & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Conflicting internal memos created confusion inside the White House on Wednesday about when staffers in the Executive Office of the President should begin preparing to leave work ahead of the transition next month. In an email Wednesday morning from the White House Management Office, EOP staffers were instructed to 'please disregard' an earlier memo that had been sent Tuesday informing them that they 'will start departing' on the week of Jan. 4.... The Tuesday memo also included information pertaining to outgoing employees' payroll, benefits, sick leave, records, ethics debriefing and security clearance.... The initial White House communication sent Tuesday had contradicted the ongoing public effort by ... Donald Trump and his top aides to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election." MB: So the fantasists have trumped the realists. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI has concluded that Iran was behind online efforts earlier this month to incite lethal violence against the bureau's director, a former top U.S. cyber expert and multiple state elections officials who have refuted claims of widespread voter fraud promoted by President Trump and his allies, federal and state officials said Tuesday. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and ousted Homeland Security Department official Christopher Krebs were among more than a dozen people whose images, home addresses and other personal information were posted on a website titled 'Enemies of the People.' Crosshairs were superimposed over the photos." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

Anneken Tappe of CNN: "Claims for unemployment benefits fell across most categories in Wednesday's Labor Department report. Still the job market recovery has stalled while more than 20 million Americans need aid to make ends meet. Another 803,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was a drop off from the week before but still nearly four times the claims during the same period in 2019, and yet another sign that the US job recovery has run into serious trouble." (Also linked yesterday.)

Katie Thomas & Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "When federal regulators approved two antibody treatments last month for emergency use in high-risk Covid-19 patients, doctors worried there would not be enough to go around.... Early trial data had shown the treatments could keep people at risk of severe disease out of the hospital if administered soon after infection with the coronavirus. But in a surprising turn of events, the treatments are sitting unused in hospital refrigerators around the country, just when they might do the most to help patients and relieve the burden on overwhelmed hospitals as cases and deaths surge to record levels.... The federal government has on hand nearly 532,000 doses of the two drugs, and 55 percent of that has been shipped out, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But early data collected from hospitals by the federal government suggest that they have given only about 20 percent of their supply to patients.... Administrators have struggled to identify people who should get the antibody drugs because of delays in testing and a lack of coordination between testing sites and hospitals." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

Another Good Reason to Stay Home for Christmas. CNN: "A large winter storm that brought blizzard conditions to the Midwest on Wednesday night is set to hit much of the East Coast on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, bringing snow to parts of the South and heavy rain across the East Coast. The combination of heavy rain and existing melting snow from last week's storm could lead to flooding from the mid-Atlantic to New England. New York City, for example, will be under a high wind warning and a flood watch from Thursday night into Friday morning, with winds forecast to be 20-30 mph and gusts up to 60 mph."

The Commentariat -- December 23, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Why? Because He Can. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "President Trump made good Wednesday on his repeated threats to veto a $741 billion defense spending bill, setting up what is expected to be the first successful veto override of his presidency during his last weeks in office. The House and Senate each passed the bill earlier this month with strong veto-proof majorities, rejecting Trump's insistence that it be changed to meet his oftentimes shifting demands. Both chambers are expected to sustain the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president's veto. In his veto message, Trump complained that the legislation includes 'provisions that fail to respect our veterans' and military's history' -- a seeming reference to instructions that the Defense Department change the names of installations commemorating Confederate leaders. He also scorned the bill as a '"gift" to China and Russia,' slammed the bill for restricting his ability to draw down the presence of U.S. troops in certain foreign outposts, and excoriated lawmakers for failing to include an unrelated repeal of a law granting liability protections to technology companies that Trump has accused, without significant evidence of anti-conservative bias." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One or more of these possibilities explains the veto beyond Trump's just exercising his power: (1) screw up already screwed-up the holidays of Members of Congress who didn't bend to his will; (2) screw up the federal government; (3) further reduce U.S. influence around the world, thus sending an intended gift to China & Russia.

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

Anneken Tappe of CNN: "Claims for unemployment benefits fell across most categories in Wednesday's Labor Department report. Still the job market recovery has stalled while more than 20 million Americans need aid to make ends meet. Another 803,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was a drop off from the week before but still nearly four times the claims during the same period in 2019, and yet another sign that the US job recovery has run into serious trouble."

Katie Thomas & Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "When federal regulators approved two antibody treatments last month for emergency use in high-risk Covid-19 patients, doctors worried there would not be enough to go around.... Early trial data had shown the treatments could keep people at risk of severe disease out of the hospital if administered soon after infection with the coronavirus. But in a surprising turn of events, the treatments are sitting unused in hospital refrigerators around the country, just when they might do the most to help patients and relieve the burden on overwhelmed hospitals as cases and deaths surge to record levels.... The federal government has on hand nearly 532,000 doses of the two drugs, and 55 percent of that has been shipped out, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But early data collected from hospitals by the federal government suggest that they have given only about 20 percent of their supply to patients.... Administrators have struggled to identify people who should get the antibody drugs because of delays in testing and a lack of coordination between testing sites and hospitals."

Never Mind. Quint Forgey & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Conflicting internal memos created confusion inside the White House on Wednesday about when staffers in the Executive Office of the President should begin preparing to leave work ahead of the transition next month. In an email Wednesday morning from the White House Management Office, EOP staffers were instructed to 'please disregard' an earlier memo that had been sent Tuesday informing them that they 'will start departing' on the week of Jan. 4.... The Tuesday memo also included information pertaining to outgoing employees' payroll, benefits, sick leave, records, ethics debriefing and security clearance.... The initial White House communication sent Tuesday had contradicted the ongoing public effort by ... Donald Trump and his top aides to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election." MB: So the fantacists have trumped the realists.

Another Fool's Errand. Kate Riga of TPM: "White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made a mostly pointless pilgrimage to Cobb County, Georgia Tuesday to 'get to the truth' of the signature matching audit. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Meadows showed up flanked by secret service, but wasn't let into the room where the voter signatures from ballot envelopes are being matched to the signatures on file."

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI has concluded that Iran was behind online efforts earlier this month to incite lethal violence against the bureau's director, a former top U.S. cyber expert and multiple state elections officials who have refuted claims of widespread voter fraud promoted by President Trump and his allies, federal and state officials said Tuesday. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and ousted Homeland Security Department official Christopher Krebs were among more than a dozen people whose images, home addresses and other personal information were posted on a website titled 'Enemies of the People.' Crosshairs were superimposed over the photos."

~~~~~~~~~~

Trump Begins His Pardon Binge. See stories linked below.

~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden upbraided ... Donald Trump on Tuesday over his response to a massive cyberattack that's affected numerous government agencies. 'The attackers succeeded in catching the federal government off-guard and unprepared,' Biden said at an event in Wilmington, Delaware. 'The truth is this: the Trump administration failed to prioritize cybersecurity.'... Biden said based on the details that are publicly known thus far, the breach 'certainly fits Russia's long history of reckless disruptive cyber-activities.' He called on Trump to officially attribute the attack and hold those responsible for it accountable. 'This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch,' Biden said. 'It is still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks.... His failure will land on my doorstep,' he said. Biden said the Pentagon and other parts of the Trump administration need to keep his transition team in the loop about the cyberattack, which he said 'they haven't been doing.'" ~~~

     ~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. accused President Trump on Tuesday of 'irrational downplaying' of the widespread hack of the federal government and American industries, saying that the current administration was denying him intelligence and warning Russia that he would not allow the intrusion to 'go unanswered' after he takes office. 'This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch when he wasn't watching,' Mr. Biden said.... 'It is still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks, but rest assured that even if he does not take it seriously, I will.' The direct critique was a remarkable departure from tradition, in which incoming presidents are careful about not second-guessing the actions of the incumbent. But Mr. Trump's refusal to recognize Mr. Biden's election victory, and his effort to subvert the results, has clearly poisoned elements of the transition process."

Miriam Jordan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "In a message intended to prevent a rush to the southwestern border, the incoming Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it would not immediately reverse restrictions imposed by President Trump that have effectively halted asylum and left thousands of migrants stranded outside the United States.... At an event in Wilmington, Del., the president-elect told reporters that he would enact a more 'humane policy' at the borders but that his administration would need 'probably the next six months' to rebuild a system to process migrants and secure funding for immigration judges. Changing Mr. Trump's policies immediately, he warned, would be 'the last thing we need' because it might lead to having 'two million people on our border.'"

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to nominate Miguel A. Cardona, Connecticut's education commissioner, to serve as his education secretary, tapping a Latino to be the nation's highest education policymaker, according to two officials familiar with his plans. Dr. Cardona, if confirmed by the Senate, would be tasked with bringing the elementary, secondary and higher education systems back from the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and repairing the considerable damage done.... The selection of Dr. Cardona would fulfill Mr. Biden's campaign promise to appoint a diverse cabinet and a secretary of education with public school experience -- a blunt juxtaposition to President Trump's billionaire private-school champion Betsy DeVos." MB: Time for an op-ed condemning Dr. Cardona for using that honorific. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Alex Padilla, California's secretary of state, has been appointed to fill the Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday, capping months of intense political jockeying among Democratic factions in the state. The son of Mexican-born immigrants who settled in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, Mr. Padilla, 47, will be the first Latino senator from California, where Latinos are about 40 percent of the population." MB: Because in a state with a population of about 20 million women, the majority of them citizens, Gavin couldn't find one who was qualified to do the job. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Consolation Prize. Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday tapped Assemblywoman Shirley Weber to serve as secretary of state after he picked Alex Padilla to join the Senate. Weber has served in the state legislature since 2012 and is the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus."

Thomas Kaplan, et al., of the New York Times: "A day after Congress approved a hard-fought $900 billion stimulus package, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. called the measure a 'down payment' on Tuesday and vowed to enter office next month asking lawmakers t return to the negotiating table. 'Congress did its job this week,' he said, 'and I can and I must ask them to do it again next year.' In a year-end news conference in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Biden remained vague about the specifics of his plan. But he appeared to be laying the groundwork for how he will handle the country's economic recovery, signaling that another major economic relief package would be a priority." ~~~

~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "... the agreement on a new pandemic aid package showed the ascendance of moderates as a new force in a divided Senate and validated President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s belief that it is still possible to make deals on Capitol Hill.... The group of moderates was essential to the outcome, pushing Senate and House leaders of both parties into direct personal negotiations that they had avoided for months, and demonstrating how crucial they are likely to be to Mr. Biden.... Given the slender partisan divides that will exist in both the Senate and House next year, the approach could provide a road map for the Biden administration if it hopes to break through congressional paralysis, especially in the Senate, and pass additional legislation. Mr. Biden has said another economic relief plan will be an early priority.... He was also not an idle bystander in the negotiations.... Mr. Biden on Dec. 2 threw his support behind the $900 billion plan being pushed by the centrist group." ~~~

~~~ ** BUT. "So, So Dumb." Rachel Siegel, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Tuesday night asked Congress to amend the nearly $900 billion stimulus and spending bill passed by the Senate just one day before, describing the legislation as 'a disgrace' and suggesting he would not immediately sign off on aid for millions of Americans. In a video posted to Twitter, Trump called on Congress to increase the 'ridiculously low' $600 stimulus checks to $2,000 and outlined a list of provisions in the final legislation that he described as 'wasteful spending and much more.' He did not mention that the $600 stimulus check idea came from his treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. 'I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package, and maybe that administration will be me,' Trump said.... His own aides were stunned. Congressional aides were stunned. And the implications for what happens next could be severe. If he refuses to sign the bill, the government will shut down on Dec. 29. The $900 billion in emergency economic aid will be frozen.... 'So dumb,' one administration official said. 'So, so dumb.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Even though Trump's threat appears to come out of nowhere, it's worth bearing in mind that even crazy people do stuff "for a reason." In this case, I'd guess that Trump watched Joe Biden's press conference yesterday, and the threat is Trump's response to Biden's "down payment" remark (something he has said before). Trump likely feels compelled to respond to any perceived "mine's bigger than yours" challenge. The fact that a veto would stall or perhaps obliterate aid to desperate Americans evidently did not figure into his "thinking." ~~~

     ~~~ Kelly Hooper of Politico: "Trump said the package provides too much funding to foreign countries and should include more for American families and small businesses.... 'For example, among the more than 5,000 pages in this bill, which nobody in Congress has read because of its length and complexity, it's called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,' Trump said.... House Democrats quickly capitalized on Trump's demand for $2,000 checks, announcing plans Tuesday night to try to pass a bill later this week doing just that." Both Speaker Pelosi & Leader Schumer tweeted support for a $2,000 payment. The New York Times' story is here. MB: Trump appears to be so out of it that he is unaware the bill is not just "a Covid relief bill," but funds the government through next September -- which is why so much of it "has almost nothing to do with Covid." I suspect his staff tried to explain this to him, but he isn't bright enough to pick up on a little $1.4 trillion detail. ~~~

~~~ Yeganeh Torbati of the Washington Post: "... tucked in the [big federal spending] bill was over $110 billion in tax breaks that strayed far from the way the bill was marketed to many Americans. These giveaways include big tax cuts for liquor producers, the motorsports entertainment sector, and manufacturers of electric motorcycles. Tax experts and good governance advocates have criticized such short-term tax relief extensions, arguing they hide the true cost of the cuts and advantage industries with the most well-connected lobbyists." MB: Thanks, Congress, because I'm so happy to subsidize NASCAR. Vroom, vroom. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peggy McGlone of the Washington Post: "The 5,500-page spending and relief bill that Congress passed Monday night includes the authorization of two Smithsonian museums -- one focused on American Latinos, the other on American women -- that pave the way for the world's largest museum complex to become even more diverse. The omnibus bill calls on the Smithsonian to begin the lengthy process of creating the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum by giving the quasi-federal institution permission to hire staff members, collect objects and present programs aimed at telling the stories unique to the groups. The proposed museums would be the first new Smithsonian facilities since the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016. Like that $540 million project, the new museums would be financed with 50 percent federal funding and 50 percent private donations."

Laurel Wamsley of NPR: "The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Walmart on Tuesday, alleging that the retail giant unlawfully dispensed controlled substances from pharmacies it operated nationwide. The government says that, between the actions of the company's pharmacies and its distribution centers, Walmart helped to fuel America's ongoing opioid crisis. Damages in the civil case could total in the billions of dollars, the Justice Department said. 'As one of the largest pharmacy chains and wholesale drug distributors in the country, Walmart had the responsibility and the means to help prevent the diversion of prescription opioids,' Jeffrey Bossert Clark, acting assistant attorney general of the Civil Division, said in a statement. 'Instead, for years, it did the opposite -- filling thousands of invalid prescriptions at its pharmacies and failing to report suspicious orders of opioids and other drugs placed by those pharmacies,' he added." The New York Times story is here.

Reset to Zero. Victoria Bekiempis of the Guardian: "Joe Biden will not inherit Donald Trump's millions of followers on the official president of the United States and White House Twitter accounts when he assumes the presidency, marking a departure from past social media practice, the Democratic president-elect's team said on Tuesday. In 2017 Barack Obama's administration insisted that Twitter transfer not only these accounts to Trump when he left the White House that January, but the accounts' followers as well and the social media giant appeared to do just that, per Business Insider." MB: Trust me, Joe. You don't want the majority of those followers.

Mike Stobbe of the AP: "This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time -- due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year, or at least 400,000 more than in 2019. U.S. deaths increase most years, so some annual rise in fatalities is expected. But the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15%, and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "The Pulitzer Prize Board said on Tuesday that it would no longer recognize the New York Times podcast 'Caliphate' and a related article as a 2019 Pulitzer finalist. The board stripped The Times of its finalist status four days after the news organization announced that the 2018 audio series did not meet its standards for accuracy.... A statement from The Times on Tuesday said, 'Given our conclusion that core portions of "Caliphate" did not live up to our editorial standards, we felt the right thing to do was to offer to return the Pulitzer finalist citation.'" The AP's story is here.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

** Trump Grants Pardons, Clemency to Criminal Pals, Mass Murderers. Rosalind Helderman & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to 20 people, including three former Republican members of Congress and two people who were convicted of crimes as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.... Trump gave a full pardon to George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to his 2016 campaign who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its Russia investigation.... Trump also pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who had worked with Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort in work related to Ukraine and pleaded guilty to lying to Mueller's team.... Trump's other pardons on Tuesday included grants of clemency to former Republican members of congress Steve Stockman, Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins. He also pardoned four military contractors convicted of killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. [MB: The contractors worked for Trump pal Erik Prince at the time.]" ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "In an audacious pre-Christmas round of pardons, President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to two people convicted in the special counsel's Russia inquiry, four Blackwater guards convicted in connection with the killing of Iraqi civilians and three corrupt former Republican members of Congress.... And Mr. Trump granted full pardons to two former Border Patrol agents whose sentences for their roles in the shooting of an alleged drug trafficker had previously been commuted by President George W. Bush.... A tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith found that of the 45 pardons or commutations Mr. Trump had granted up until Tuesday, 88 percent aided someone with a personal tie to the president or furthered his political aims. And by nullifying the legal consequences of convictions in the Russia inquiry, Mr. Trump escalated a long campaign, aided by his outgoing attorney general, William P. Barr, to effectively undo the investigation by [Robert] Mueller, discredit the resulting prosecutions and punish those who instigated it in the first place." Politico's story is here. The AP's story is here.

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump is plotting a final stand in Congress on Jan. 6, casting it as the ultimate loyalty test in his quest to remain in power and shutting out anyone who won't get in line. Trump has been strategizing in recent days with a band of his fiercest congressional supporters about the effort, which will involve lodging objections during the typically pro forma congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.... The objections will ... force Republicans in Congress to go on record voting to affirm Biden's victory.... It's a preview of the burgeoning rift between two groups of Trump supporters: Those who will stand with him to subvert the outcome of the election, no matter what, and those who are accepting the results of the democratic process." ~~~

~~~ Manu Raju & Daniella Diaz of CNN: "Alabama GOP Rep. Mo Brooks and fellow House conservatives met privately on Monday with ... Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as the lawmakers prepared to mount a long-shot bid in January to overturn the Electoral College results that made Joe Biden the official winner of the election." MB: We'll have to see if pence makes any unusual moves when he presides over the Congress's formal count of Electoral College votes. ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M. says pence has to join Trump in this kamikaze mission, as his political future depends on it: "Sure, we all know he's not crazy enough to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, even if no member of the Trump family runs, but for now he polls well when President Trump isn't included in the surveys. If Pence fails to back this challenge, his chances instantly drop to zero." ~~~

~~~ Nevertheless. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.... Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.... Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal --; and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House.... Pence's role on Jan. 6 has begun to loom large in Trump's mind, according to people who've discussed the matter with him. Trump would view Pence performing his constitutional duty -- and validating the election result -- as the ultimate betrayal." Swan has obtained secret tapes from inside the White House: (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

I'm losing friends and family over a straight-up cult based on anti-Semitism, fantasy and just bizarre made-up tripe. It's an idiocracy based on a digital prophet. -- Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Ben Collins of NBC News: "With Trump's days in office dwindling, QAnon influencers have become increasingly restless and militant, urging the president to'#crosstherubicon,' the hashtag a reference to Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon river after the Roman Senate explicitly told him not to, effectively kick-starting the Roman civil war and Caesar's dictatorship." Interesting reading. ~~~

~~~ AND Forrest M. uncovered this video of a meeting Down Under of QAnon Anonymous:

David Enrich of the New York Times: "President Trump's longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to his company, is stepping down from the bank. Rosemary Vrablic, a managing director and senior banker in Deutsche Bank's wealth management division, recently handed in her resignation, which the bank accepted, according to a bank spokesman, Daniel Hunter. The reasons for Ms. Vrablic's abrupt resignation were not clear. Deutsche Bank in August opened an internal review into a 2013 real estate transaction between Ms. Vrablic and a company owned in part by Jared Kushner..., a client of Ms. Vrablic's. Dominic Scalzi, a longtime colleague of Ms. Vrablic's who played a role in that transaction, will also leave the bank." CNN's report is here.

Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Federal prosecutors have discussed making a legal request for Rudy Giuliani's electronic communications, two sources familiar with the probe tell NBC News, a sign that the investigation into ... Donald Trump's personal attorney remains active and may soon be ramping up. Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have been in communication with Justice Department officials in Washington about gaining access to Giuliani's emails, the two sources said. The Southern District needs Washington's approval before its prosecutors can ask a judge to sign a search warrant for materials that may be protected by attorney-client privilege, according to department policy. It is not known whether Washington has been granted that approval." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Sharon LaFraniere & Katie Thomas of the New York Times: "The Trump administration and Pfizer are close to a deal under which the pharmaceutical company would bolster supply of its coronavirus vaccine for the United States by at least tens of millions of doses next year in exchange for a government directive giving it better access to manufacturing supplies, people familiar with the discussions said. An agreement, which could be announced as early as Wednesday, would help the United States at least partly offset a looming vaccine shortage that could leave as many as 110 million adult Americans uncovered in the first half of 2021." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Zack Budryk of the Hill: "The Trump administration has ordered another 100 million doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine, Pfizer announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, Pfizer and BioNTech will supply a total of 200 million doses to the U.S., the company said in a statement. The deliveries are expected to be completed by the end of July 2021." At 7:50 am ET, this was a developing story.

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

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "A cohort of the federal government's top health officials received shots of the coronavirus vaccine on stage Tuesday alongside a half-dozen frontline health care workers. The event was equal parts a public endorsement of the safety of the vaccines, two of which have been authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration this month, and a celebration of the National Institutes of Health's influential role in developing the inoculation created by U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna.... In addition to [HHS Secretary Alex] Azar, the list of dignitaries included National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.... Fauci was introduced as 'America's doctor' by the event's master of ceremonies -- NIH Office of Research Services Director Colleen McGowan, who also received a shot Tuesday...."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, indicated in an interview Tuesday that she would soon retire from government service, suggesting a recent report on her personal travel had taken a toll on her family. Asked whether she would stay on to assist President-elect Joe Biden's pandemic response, Birx told the U.S. news network Newsy that she wants the incoming administration 'to be successful,' and that she 'will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in. And then I will retire.'... Birx's remarks ... came after the Associated Press reported Monday that on the day after Thanksgiving, she traveled to one of her vacation properties on Delaware's Fenwick Island, accompanied by three generations of her family from two households.... While Biden has named [Anthony] Fauci ... as his chief medical adviser in the incoming administration, the president-elect's team has hesitated to bring Birx on board -- with critics voicing concerns about her credibility and accusing her of at times being overly deferential to Trump."

U.K. William Booth, et al., of the Washington Post: "France agreed Tuesday to reopen its borders to travelers from Britain and get trade flowing again, but it may take days to clear out the thousands of cargo trucks snarled while a travel ban was in place, prompted by fears of a fast-spreading coronavirus mutation in England. More than 50 countries have enacted restrictions on arrivals from Britain, disrupting passenger air service between the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. But France's ban was particularly disruptive, halting transit along one of the most crucial trade routes in Europe. The French government on Tuesday announced a reopening, starting Wednesday, for European Union citizens and residents if they provide a negative coronavirus test from the previous 72 hours. Truck drivers of all nationalities will be permitted entry as long as they, too, can provide evidence of a test if asked." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A CNN on-air report I heard early this morning said that some 7,000 trucks are stuck in Southeast England waiting to cross the Channel. These truckers were stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with no facilities & no food, some of them for days. And of course the drivers have no way to get the coronavirus tests that may be required for passage. According to CNN, France had let through only two trucks.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Israel. Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post: "Israel's fractious coalition government collapsed Tuesday night, forcing the country into its fourth round of national elections in less than two years. The immediate cause was the failure of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, to pass an annual budget by a midnight deadline, one of many basic acts of lawmaking that have gone undone since right-wing and centrist parties reached an unwieldy power-sharing agreement in the spring. In the upcoming elections, automatically scheduled for March 23, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face an usually strong right-wing challenge. Major defections from the dominant Likud party could imperil the record-long rule of Netanyahu, whose popularity has plummeted as the coronavirus has devastated the Israeli economy." The AP's report is here.

The Commentariat -- December 22, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to nominate Miguel A. Cardona, Connecticut's education commissioner, to serve as his education secretary, tapping a Latino to be the nation's highest education policymaker, according to two officials familiar with his plans. Dr. Cardona, if confirmed by the Senate, would be tasked with bringing the elementary, secondary and higher education systems back from the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and repairing the considerable damage done.... The selection of Dr. Cardona would fulfill Mr. Biden's campaign promise to appoint a diverse cabinet and a secretary of education with public school experience -- a blunt juxtaposition to President Trump's billionaire private-school champion Betsy DeVos." MB: Time for an op-ed condemning Dr. Cardona for using that honorific.

Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Alex Padilla, California's secretary of state, has been appointed to fill the Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday, capping months of intense political jockeying among Democratic factions in the state. The son of Mexican-born immigrants who settled in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, Mr. Padilla, 47, will be the first Latino senator from California, where Latinos are about 40 percent of the population." MB: Because in a state with a population of about 20 million women, the majority of them citizens, Gavin couldn't find one who was qualified to do the job.

Yeganeh Torbati of the Washington Post: "... tucked in the [big federal spending] bill was over $110 billion in tax breaks that strayed far from the way the bill was marketed to many Americans. These giveaways include big tax cuts for liquor producers, the motorsports entertainment sector, and manufacturers of electric motorcycles. Tax experts and good governance advocates have criticized such short-term tax relief extensions, arguing they hide the true cost of the cuts and advantage industries with the most well-connected lobbyists." MB: Thanks, Congress, because I'm so happy to subsidize NASCAR. Vroom, vroom.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.... Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.... Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal -- and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House.... Pence's role on Jan. 6 has begun to loom large in Trump's mind, according to people who've discussed the matter with him. Trump would view Pence performing his constitutional duty -- and validating the election result -- as the ultimate betrayal." Swan has obtained secret tapes from inside the White House: ~~~

Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Federal prosecutors have discussed making a legal request for Rudy Giuliani's electronic communications, two sources familiar with the probe tell NBC News, a sign that the investigation into ... Donald Trump's personal attorney remains active and may soon be ramping up. Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have been in communication with Justice Department officials in Washington about gaining access to Giuliani's emails, the two sources said. The Southern District needs Washington's approval before its prosecutors can ask a judge to sign a search warrant for materials that may be protected by attorney-client privilege, according to department policy. It is not known whether Washington has been granted that approval."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: I added a few links before 10 am ET. They're marked by "NEW." You can find them easily with a search for NEW.

Rejoice. Now, and for roughly the next six months, the days are growing longer.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congress on Monday night overwhelmingly approved a $900 billion stimulus package that would send billions of dollars to American households and businesses grappling with the economic and health toll of the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said hundreds of dollars in direct payments could begin reaching individual Americans as early as next week. The long-sought relief package was part of a $2.3 trillion catchall package that included $1.4 trillion to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. It included the extension of routine tax provisions, a tax deduction for corporate meals, the establishment of two Smithsonian museums, a ban on surprise medical bills and a restoration of Pell grants for incarcerated students, among hundreds of other measures.... Lawmakers hustled on Monday to pass the bill, nearly 5,600 pages long, less than 24 hours after its completion and before virtually anyone had read it. At one point, aides struggled simply to put the measure online because of a corrupted computer file.... In the Senate, the bill passed 92 to 6, with Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rick Scott of Florida, all Republicans, voting no." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story is here. Both papers gave the story banner headlines online. The AP story by Andrew Taylor, is here: "... the House approved the COVID-19 package by another lopsided vote, 359-53." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post has an interactive feature that allows you to plug in some numbers to calculate what, if anything, you should expect to receive from the package. The article, by Heather Long & others, answers some frequently-asked questions.

Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on live television Monday afternoon and reassured Americans of the vaccine's safety. The shot, which Biden received in his left arm, was administered at ChristianaCare's Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, by Tabe Mase who is a nurse practitioner and the head of employee health services at the hospital, according to the Biden transition team. 'We owe these folks an awful lot,' Biden said, thanking those involved in the vaccine's development and distribution and front-line health care workers. Biden said the Trump administration deserved 'some credit' for Operation Warp Speed, the federal government's vaccine program, and their role in making coronavirus vaccinations possible. '... I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the& vaccine. There's nothing to worry about. I'm looking forward to the second shot; so is Jill,' Biden said. 'She's had her shot earlier today. She loves shots, I know,' he said, taking his wife's hand as she laughed. Biden noted that the vaccine rollout was in beginning stages and cautioned Americans about the long road ahead. 'It's going to take time,'..." ~~~

More Real News

But the Emails! David Sanger & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The Russian hackers who penetrated United States government agencies broke into the email system used by the Treasury Department's most senior leadership, a Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee said on Monday, the first detail of how deeply Moscow burrowed into the Trump administration's networks.... The Treasury Department ranks among the most highly protected corners of the government because of its responsibility for market-moving economic decisions, communications with the Federal Reserve and economic sanctions against adversaries. [Sen. Ron] Wyden [D-Oregon] said the hackers had gained access to the email system by manipulating internal software keys. The department learned of the breach not from any of the government agencies whose job is to protect against cyberattacks, but from Microsoft, which runs much of Treasury's communications software, Mr. Wyden said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While I'm dismayed the Russians might be able to manipulate our data (though if all they gained access to were emails, that's unlikely), let's hope Putin got hold of Trump's tax returns & will publish them.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The House Oversight Committee intends to reissue a subpoena for ... Donald Trump's financial records next year, House Counsel Douglas Letter said in a federal court filing Monday. The House has been pursuing Trump's financial documents form his accounting firm, Mazars USA, since Democrats took power in early 2019 but the effort has been tied up in the courts. The case landed before the Supreme Court this year, and the justices determined that the lower courts had failed to scrutinize the subpoena closely enough, kicking it back to them for further review."

Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol overnight. The statue has stood with America's first president, George Washington, as the state of Virginia's contribution to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the Capitol for more than 100 years. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, announced on Monday the state will seek to have it replaced with a statue of civil rights icon Barbara Johns.... Earlier this year, a state commission recommended the removal of the statue [of Lee] from the Capitol. The commission, led by state Sen. Louise Lucas (D), voted unanimously to remove it.... The statue will be transported to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Northam's office said." Here's the Wikipedia entry for Barbara Johns. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

"It's Scary." Kevin Liptak & Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "... Donald Trump has turned to a fringe group of advisers peddling increasingly dubious tactics to overturn the results of the election, creating a dire situation that multiple senior officials and people close to the President say has led to new levels of uncertainty at how Trump will resist the coming end to his tenure.... Conspiracist lawyer Sidney Powell, disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, onetime chief strategist Steve Bannon, hawkish trade adviser Peter Navarro and the eccentric founder of the retail website Overstock have all recently found themselves in the Oval Office or on the telephone advising Trump on new last-ditch efforts to reverse his loss. That's in addition to Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who has been feeding the President's conspiracy theories for weeks and who, along with Powell, was seen again at the White House on Monday.... Trump has mostly shunned those working inside the government.... Trump has mostly abandoned the day-to-day running of government. At a Cabinet meeting last week, he spent much of the time complaining about his suspicions of voter fraud, according to a person familiar with the matter, leaving some attendees puzzled at the point of the gathering.... 'It's scary, said [an] administration official, who added that Trump appears 'obsessed' with far-flung scenarios to overturn the election results...."

Coup du Jour.* Joe Walsh of Forbes: "... Donald Trump met with several House Republicans Monday and reportedly discussed a plan to contest President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College votes when they're counted in Congress next month, a longshot gambit tacitly endorsed by Trump last week as he continues to deny his electoral loss. These representatives -- including Trump allies like Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) -- discussed whether to object to slates of pro-Biden electors when the Electoral College's votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, Fox News reported, a far-flung idea some House members have already publicly floated." *Thanks to Adam Silverman for the headline. ~~~

~~~ Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "With his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud rejected by dozens of judges and GOP leaders, President Trump has turned to a ragtag group of conspiracy theorists, media-hungry lawyers and other political misfits in a desperate attempt to hold on to power after his election loss. The president's orbit has grown more extreme as his more mainstream allies, including Attorney General William P. Barr, have declined to endorse his increasingly radical plans to overturn the will of the voters. Trump's unofficial election advisory council now includes a pardoned felon [Michael Flynn], adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a White House trade adviser [Peter Navarro] and a Russian agent's former lover [former Overstock chief executive Patrick Byrne].... After meeting with his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani on Monday, Trump met in the Oval Office with a group of Republicans from the House Freedom Caucus, including Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a public supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory whose campaign was marked by racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic statements. That was followed by a second meeting in the Cabinet Room among Giuliani, the House lawmakers and Vice President Pence, an administration official said.... Monday's meeting at the White House followed an Oval Office gathering Friday that was one of the most contentious yet of Trump's seven-week post-election push to reverse his fate.... 'They dropped hundreds of thousands of ballots in each state. It's all documented,' the president claimed falsely in a call Monday to a gathering of the pro-Trump youth organization Turning Point USA in West Palm Beach, Fla." ~~~

     (NEW. ~~~ About Those Turning Point Kids. Paulina Villegas & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "Conservative student group Turning Point USA held two large events in Florida this weekend, including one at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's private club, allegedly violating local coronavirus restrictions and disregarding authorities' pleas to avoid such massive gatherings. Turning Point on Friday night held its annual winter gala at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. The party was attended by hundreds of students, organizers and GOP notables such as South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Mike Lindell, otherwise known as the 'MyPillow Guy.' Then on Saturday, thousands of students gathered indoors at the organization's 'Student Action Summit,' where they heard from conservative GOP speakers, including Donald Trump Jr., and cheered loudly as women shot money into the crowd with a cannon. Photos posted on social media showed Friday's maskless gala crowd mingling in apparent violation of Palm Bach County's coronavirus protocols, which require that face coverings be worn inside 'all businesses and establishments.'")

The Saboteur. Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, the list of crises he will face includes a massive cyber intrusion, a still-raging global pandemic, a slowing economic recovery and a lingering reckoning over the nation's racial tensions. President Trump is not making his job any easier and, in several ways, appears to be actively making it harder -- going to extraordinary lengths to disrupt and undermine the traditional transition from one administration to another despite the nation's many crises.... In his final weeks in office, Trump is making a series of moves aimed at cementing his legacy and handicapping Biden's presidency -- from abruptly pulling troops from war zones to cracking down on Iran to encouraging the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies. The result is a situation without precedent in American history: One president ending his term amid crisis is seeking to delegitimize a successor and floating the prospect of mounting a four-year campaign to return to power." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Some day somebody may find some compelling evidence that reveals the probable answer to the question: was Trump (a) a purposeful, traitorous Manchurian president* or (b) just a consummate asshole & flaming ignoramus? I don't know the answer, but I believe there is one, and it would not surprise me if (a) were the answer.

Covid-19 Is a Plot Against Trump. Emily Czachor of Newsweek: "... Trump has routinely referenced a nonspecific Democratic plot to oust him from office when discussing the election's outcome. After posting a series of messages to Twitter that quickly earned fact-checking labels from the social media platform, Trump retweeted a video on Sunday that showcased a number of conspiracy theories related to the election.... In addition to holding media coverage, polling data and voting software responsible for Trump's failure to secure another term in the White House, the video suggests that COVID-19, and its consequences, were engineered to taint his reputation." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: There was a Democratic plot to oust Trump. We usually call it "an election," an exercise where two or more people vie for the same political job. Only one can win, and the way to win, usually, is to get the most votes. That's what one Democrat did.

Trump Trashes Mitch. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump lashed out at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday night for acknowledging Joe Biden won the election, sending a slide to Republican lawmakers taking credit for saving McConnell's career with a tweet and robocall.... It's an extraordinary broadside against McConnell by the sitting president and most popular Republican in the party, ahead of a crucial runoff election in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate. 'Sadly, Mitch forgot,' reads the top of the slide sent to Republican senators by Trump's personal assistant, written in red for emphasis. 'He was the first one off the ship.'... [The message] also carried a subtle warning to other Republicans who may follow suit as the president grasps at the last straws of his election-fraud claim." MB: Uh, not so subtle.

Beautiful!Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump decreed on Monday that all new US federal buildings should be 'beautiful', in a long-expected executive order which excoriated architectural modernism but stopped short of demanding that all such projects should be in the classical style. The Pulitzer prize-winning architectural critic Paul Goldberger said the order was 'mostly symbolic' and 'just a chance [for Trump] to lob another grenade on his way out the door'. When a draft of the order first surfaced, in February, critics reacted with horror to its promise to 'make federal buildings beautiful again' by mandating a return to 'the classical architectural style'.... Given his career in real estate developments marked by a love for gold, gilt, black marble and baroque excess, not to mention the brutal treatment of beloved old buildings, Trump's professed love for classicism has attracted critical comment."

Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump has taken to asking some aides and advisers about the process of naming airports after former U.S. presidents, according to two people who've heard him recently inquiring on this. One of the two sources relayed that, in the past three weeks, Trum mentioned that 'no president' wants an American airport that has a bad reputation or crumbling infrastructure named after them. The other knowledgeable source said that Trump had, at one point since the 2020 election, offhandedly asked what kind of 'paperwork' was necessary to get an airport named after a former president." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I can't think of an airstrip or heliport insignificant enough to name after Trump. The Naval Air Station Lakehurst in Manchester Township, N.J., where the airship Hindenburg exploded, came to mind. However, I don't wish to be disrespectful to the actual victims of the Hindenburg explosion, so maybe a cattlefield in Kansas where someone once made a successful emergency landing would be more appropriate. Possible souvenirs: gold-plated cowpies. ~~~

     ~~~ As Forrest M. pointed out in yesterday's Comments, "It appears there are already a number of airports named after Trump. Deadhorse Airport in Alaska; Shafter Airport in California; Eek Airport in Alaska; and if he moved to Argentina, Moron Airport."

On His Way Out the Door. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he saw no reason to appoint special counsels to oversee the Justice Department's ongoing criminal investigation into Hunter Biden ... or to investigate President Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, again undercutting Mr. Trump's efforts to bend the department to his political will and to overturn the results of the election. At a news conference to announce charges in an unrelated terrorism case, Mr. Barr said that he did not 'see any reason to appoint a special counsel' to oversee the ongoing investigation into the younger Mr. Biden. 'I have no plan to do so before I leave,' Mr. Barr said. 'To the extent that there is an investigation, I think that it's being handled responsibly and professionally.' He also said that he would name a special counsel to oversee an inquiry into election fraud if he felt one was warranted. 'But I haven't and I'm not going to,' Mr. Barr said. He added that he saw 'no basis' for the federal government to seize voting machines." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "During a final news conference at Justice Department headquarters Monday, Barr did little if anything to hide his disagreements with the president.... With Trump mulling extreme actions to investigate claims of widespread voter fraud, including the use of an executive order to seize voting machines the president's lawyers say are likely to contain evidence of manipulation, Barr made clear he isn't on board." (Also linked yesterday.)

NEW. Spencer Hsu & Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government is weighing a request to declare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immune from a federal lawsuit accusing him of targeting for assassination a former top intelligence officer who could disclose damaging secrets about the prince's ascent to power, according to legal documents related to the case. The Saudi government has asked that the prince be shielded from liability in response to a complaint brought by Saad Aljabri, a former Saudi counterterrorism leader and longtime U.S. intelligence ally now living in exile in Canada. A State Department recommendation could also lead to the dismissal of the prince as a defendant in other cases recently filed in the United States, including ones accusing him of directing the death and dismemberment of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018; and of targeting a hack and leak operation to discredit an Al Jazeera news anchor, Ghada Oueiss, in retaliation for her critical reports on Mohammed and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates."

Sarah Burris of RawStory: "The son of a billionaire friend of President Donald Trump's scored a no-bid contract in Florida thanks to a favor from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). According to the Florida Bulldog, DeSantis's administration handed more than $4 million in no-bid, COVID-19-related contracts to a New York City social media startup founder. Hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz's son 'Diesel,' 27, scored a $2.75 million contract for Twenty Labs, LLC in June for a customer relationship management platform to do contact tracing." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Kansas/Missouri. Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Mike Fannin, editor & publisher of The Kansas City Star: "Today we are telling the story of a powerful local business that has done wrong. For 140 years, it has been one of the most influential forces in shaping Kansas City and the region. And yet for much of its early history -- through sins of both commission and omission -- it disenfranchised, ignored and scorned generations of Black Kansas Citians. It reinforced Jim Crow laws and redlining. Decade after early decade it robbed an entire community of opportunity, dignity, justice and recognition. That business is The Kansas City Star.... It still pains me personally to know that in The Star's monopolistic heyday -- when it had the biggest media platform in the region -- the paper did little to unify the city or recognize the inherent rights of all Kansas Citians. But our history doesn't have to own us. We are grateful for how far we've come. We are humbled by how far we still have to go." --safari: Imagine the contribution to rewriting the wrongs of history if every state's major newspaper took on a similar project.

NEW. New York State. Tom Vanden Brook of USA Today: "More than 70 cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point were accused of cheating on a math exam, the worst academic scandal since the 1970s at the Army's premier training ground for officers. Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them have been enrolled in a rehabilitation program and will be on probation for the remainder of their time at the academy. Others resigned, and some face hearings that could result in their expulsion. The scandal strikes at the heart of the academy's reputation for rectitude, espoused by its own moral code, which is literally etched in stone: 'A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If I were the kids, I'd plead the Trump: "West Point made us come back to the Academy to listen to Donald Trump, and he's the biggest cheat in the world. He told a lot of lies during the speech. He lied about running down a ramp, when we could see he barely managed to totter down it. Donald Trump is the Commander-in-Chief. We were just following in his footsteps, so to speak."

Oregon. Winston Ross & Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: A group of about 300 demonstrators attempted to force their way into two separate entrances of the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, outraged lawmakers were holding a special session closed to the public. The crowd was a loose collection of members of the Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer and other far-right groups, many of them are armed with pistols and rifles." Chaos ensued. "Despite the chaotic protest, some protesters managed to continue selling pro-Trump merchandise at a tent set up outside the Capitol -- including 'Stop The Steal' sweaters.... The state government's agenda dealt with pandemic relief and whether to allow restaurants and bars to serve cocktails to go, both touchy subjects for a crowd that calls restrictions enacted by local lawmakers and Gov. Kate Brown 'tyranny.'"

Way Beyond

Israel. Reuters: "Facebook has taken down content that spread lies in Israel about coronavirus vaccinations, the Israeli justice ministry has said, as the government sought to drum up support for its vaccination programme. On Saturday, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, became the first person to be vaccinated in Israel. Opinion polls show two-thirds of the public want to follow suit.... Such 'fake news' included arguments that vaccines would be used to plant government tracking chips in recipients' bodies; to poison them; or to subject them to medical experimentation, the ministry said." --s

** Russia. Navalny Pwned Underpants Poisoner. Tim Lister, et al., of CNN: "A Russian agent sent to tail opposition leader Alexey Navalny has revealed how he was poisoned in August -- with the lethal nerve agent Novichok planted in his underpants. The stunning disclosure from an agent who belonged to an elite toxins team in Russia's FSB security service came in a lengthy phone call following the unmasking of the unit by CNN and the online investigative outfit Bellingcat last week. In what he was told was a debriefing, Konstantin Kudryavtsev also talked about others involved in the poisoning in the Siberian city of Tomsk, and how he was sent to clean things up. But the agent was not speaking to an official in Russia's National Security Council as he thought. He was talking to Navalny himself, who almost died after being poisoned in August. Navalny has long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places and campaigning against the ruling United Russia party. Putin essentially confirmed last week that FSB agents tailed Navalny but said if Russia had wanted him dead, 'they would've probably finished it.'" MB: Cannot help but think of John le Carré, who died a little more than a week ago. An amazing true spy story, if not so well told as in a novel by le Carré. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As a going-away present, couldn't Putin at least send Trump -- ruthless, murderous dictator to would-be dictator -- a pair of underpants steeped in poison ivy?

~~~ Sean Ingle of the Guardian: "Athletes and anti-doping groups have reacted with outrage after a four-year ban on Russia for state-sponsored doping offences was halved -- and its athletes were told they could compete at next year's Olympics and the 2022 World Cup wearing red shirts with the word Russia on them.... Under the ruling, official Russia teams will still be barred from next summer's Olympics in Tokyo, as well as the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as a punishment for covering up a massive state-sponsored doping programme." --s