The Conversation -- April 19, 2024

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The House took a critical step on Friday toward approving a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, as Democrats supplied the crucial votes to push the legislation past Republican opposition so that it could be considered on the floor. The 316-94 vote cleared the way for the House to bring up the aid package, teeing up separate votes on Saturday on each of its parts. But passage of those measures, each of which enjoys bipartisan support from different coalitions, was not in doubt, making Friday's action the key indicator that the legislation will have the backing needed to prevail. The rule for considering the bill -- historically a straight party-line vote -- passed with more Democratic than Republican support, but it also won a majority of G.O.P. votes, making it clear that despite a pocket of deep resistance from the far right, there is broad bipartisan backing for the $95.3 billion package.

"The vote was an enormous victory in the long effort to fund to Ukraine as it battles against Russian aggression, a major priority of President Biden that has met with bitter resistance from the right. It was a triumph against the forces of isolationism within the G.O.P. and a major moment of bipartisan consensus in a Congress that for the past year has been mostly defined by its dysfunction."

Jonathan Edwards, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than 100 people protesting the war in Gaza were cleared off Columbia University's campus, arrested and charged with trespassing on Thursday. The arrests came a day after the university's president pledged during a congressional hearing on antisemitism to balance students' safety with their right to free speech. Having been summoned by Columbia President Minouche Shafik in what she described as 'an extraordinary step' to keep the campus safe, New York Police Department officers in riot gear entered the encampment with zip ties in the early afternoon and systematically arrested protesters, who offered little resistance.... Columbia's gates have been closed all week, so only people with a university identification can get in; it was a peaceful student protest, [student body president Tejasri Vijayakumar] said.... Students who participated in the encampment would be suspended, Shafik said in a letter to New York police." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Apparently strongly committed to not being the latest pelt for angry donors, Columbia's leadership appeared before Congress yesterday and agreed to various investigations and firings without even suggesting that academic freedom might be an important consideration in the process. Today, they demonstrated that they got the campus free speech 'speech members of Congress disagree with' message[.]... If there's any evidence that this protest was a threat to student 'safety' that would justify an immediate and recently unprecedented crackdown by armed police, the administration certainly doesn't seem to be providing it." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Moira Donegan of the Guardian: At the GOP-run House hearing, "Minouche Shafik, the Columbia University president..., made only tepid defenses of academic freedom, instead favoring wholehearted condemnations of the protesters, assents to bad-faith mischaracterizations of the students as antisemitic and genocidal, and public, apparently on-the-spot, personnel decisions that removed some pro-Palestinian faculty and staff from their positions.... The police raid against Columbia students that followed the next day can be seen as an extension of the policy of appeasement and pre-emptive compliance with the anti-Palestinian, anti-student Republican right that Shafik adopted in her testimony.... It is worth stating plainly what happened at Columbia: the raid was nothing less than the product of collusion between a university administration and rightwing politicians to suppress politically disfavored speech." Thanks to RAS for the link. See also the discussion in Friday's Comments thread. ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, and this from Donegan's column: "The arrested students were charged with 'trespassing' on the campus that they are charged more than $60,000 a year to attend."

Nate Schweber & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "A man set himself on fire on Friday afternoon near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where jurors were being chosen for the criminal trial of ... Donald J. Trump. The man doused himself with accelerant at around 1:35 p.m. in Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse. Onlookers screamed and started to run, and soon, bright orange flames engulfed the man. It was unclear what motivated his action. People rushed over to try to extinguish the fire, but the intensity of the heat could be felt several hundred feet away. After a few minutes, dozens of police officers rushed over and tried to smother the flames. The man, who appeared to be alive, was loaded into an ambulance and rushed away." MB: In a press conference, following publication of this story, NYC fire officials said the man, who is in his 30s, was from St. Augustine, Florida.

New York Times reporters liveblog developments on Day 4 of the Trump 2016 criminal election interference case brought by the Manhattan district attorney. What with Trump's hair all messy and his nodding off minutes after he landed in his comfy leatherette nap-time chair, Bedtime for Bonzo started awfully early today:

Maggie Haberman: "Trump spoke in the hallway before re-entering the hold room. Apparently without a sense of irony, he told reporters, 'They've taken away my constitutional rights to speak and that includes speaking to you.'"

Haberman: "Trump has taken his seat. His hair is uncharacteristically messy. Like the wind hit it on the way into court."

Haberman: "Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again. It happened several times just now. His eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice." [MB: There must be something physically/psychologically wrong with Trump to cause him to fall asleep when most people would be wide-awake and engaged.]

Kate Christobek: "So far this morning, we've lost two potential jurors who were excused after they said they could not be fair and impartial."

Jonah Bromwich: "It may be slow going. Lawyers on each side have many challenges to spend now that we are in the alternate phase: 12 each, in fact. We could lose as many as 24 prospective alternates during voir dire."

[MB: If you can, scan the liveblog. I skip a lot of the "color," but it's often worth reading, at least for the fun of it. For instance, there's this, which is the type of remark I'm skipping: ~~~]

~~~ Wesley Parnell: "Because technology use is limited -- and phone calls are strictly prohibited in the hallways and courtrooms -- reporters who need to make phone calls have resorted to using the 15th floor bathrooms. They're using them to relay information to their editors and, in one case this morning, to patch into a live radio hit from inside a stall. The reporter did not convey on live air that he was inside the men's lavatory, instead conducting himself with aplomb."

Bromwich: "Multiple jurors have started crying as they have opened up about their lives in front of the judge and the former president. A very intense Friday as we near the end of jury selection."

Haberman, et al.: "Prosecutors and defense lawyers interviewed 22 prospective jurors during a Friday morning session to see if they could pick an additional five to serve as alternates, to add to the 12 jurors and one alternate who were selected a day earlier."

Jesse McKinley: "We now have a complete panel. 12 jurors and six alternates."

Bromwich: "... some part of the afternoon will be devoted to a hearing known as a Sandoval hearing, in which the judge will determine what questions prosecutors could ask Trump in cross-examination were he to testify. It's an important hearing and will almost certainly inform whether the former president testifies.... The judge confirms there will be a Sandoval hearing at 3:15.... Prosecutors will seek permission to cross-examine Trump about lawsuits he's lost, women he&'s attacked and a judge who found him to have testified in a 'hollow and untrue' manner during his civil fraud trial last year."

Schweber: "Al Baker, a spokesman for the court system, says the trial schedule would not be affected by the man setting himself on fire [near the courthouse]." ~~~

~~~ Matthew Haag: "The pamphlets the man threw into the air before he lit himself on fire appeared to be published online before the incident. The documents espoused anti-government conspiracy theories as well as criticisms of New York University."

Bromwich: "And now the Sandoval hearing has begun.... Justice Merchan is not weighing in on the individual issues, merely letting the lawyers fight them out, then moving down the list prosecutors provided."

Bromwich: "Justice Merchan just read another judge's determination aloud, from a case in which Trump sued Hillary Clinton. That judge found that the lawsuit was 'completely frivolous, both factually and legally,' and 'was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose.' Justice Merchan reads another quote from the judge in that suit, in which he labeled Trump a 'sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries.' The judge said: 'He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer.' Justice Merchan sounds inclined to allow prosecutors to cross-examine Trump on this matter."

Haberman: "Justice Merchan is warning the defense not to keep blitzing the court with motions to reconsider matters that have been settled. The defense is literally targeting his decisions one by one, Merchan says: 'There comes a point where you accept my rulings.'"

Bromwich: "'You won't' delay the trial, the judge says sharply to the defense, as we seem close to wrapping up for the day."

McKinley: "'Sir, can you please have a seat?' the judge says to Trump, as he rises before court is adjourned."

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 19, 2020: "Sloppy laboratory practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caused contamination that rendered the nation's first coronavirus tests ineffective, federal officials confirmed on Saturday."

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Marie: I've had an extraordinary amount of trouble this morning, not the least of which was a bot (or person) who "wrote" dozens of fake comments in the middle of the night. I've deleted them, but I don't feel confident that this is the end of the mischief, which seems to come with every presidential election year. If the site breaks down, it's probably not because I broke down.

Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "Future oil and gas drilling will be limited across more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation's largest expanse of public land, under a sweeping Biden administration plan aimed at protecting sensitive ecosystems and wildlife. The Interior Department's final rule represents one of President Biden's most significant steps to curb fossil fuel development on federal lands. It could help the president's reelection campaign court young voters, a key Democratic constituency, after many youth climate activists criticized the administration's approval of a massive drilling project on Alaska's North Slope last year. In a separate move, Interior announced Friday that it will block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat. Together, the two decisions are aimed at safeguarding some of Alaska's last wild places from development."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "House Republicans took a critical step late Thursday night toward bringing up the long-stalled foreign aid bill for Ukraine and Israel, after being forced to rely on Democratic votes to move a plan to consider it out of a key committee and onto the floor. The 9-to-3 vote in the critical Rules Committee was an early step in the convoluted process the House is expected to go through over the next couple of days to approve the $95 billion aid package. It reflected the extent of far-right anger over Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to push through the legislation over the opposition of ultraconservative Republicans, and underscored how heavily the speaker will have to rely on Democrats to push it across the finish line. In a spasm of anger, three far-right Republicans on the panel, which controls what legislation comes to the House floor, refused to back the rule needed to bring up the foreign aid bill, putting it on track to die in committee. But Democrats on the panel stepped in to save it in an extraordinary breach of custom." ~~~

~~~ Luckily, Miss Margie has come up with some amendments to these bills which will make them all better, not the least of which is -- wait for it -- one funding Jewish space lasers. Yes, really, Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite reports that MTG filed: "an amendment to the Israel funding bill that included 'such sums as necessary shall be used for the development of space laser technology on the southwest border.'... She also filed an amendment to the Ukraine bill that requires '[a]ny Member of Congress who votes in favor of this Act' to 'conscript in the Ukraine military.'... Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) reacted to Greene's latest amendments by tweeting that he had '[j]ust submitted an amendment ... appointing MTG as Putin's Special Envoy to the United States Congress.'" ~~~

     ~~~ AND Philip Bump of the Washington Post has some thoughts on MTG's Jewish space lasers amendment.

The Trials of Trump & the Trump Gang

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "At 4:34 p.m. on Thursday, a jury of 12 citizens was selected to determine the fate of an indicted former president for the first time in American history.... 'We have our jury,' Justice Juan M. Merchan proclaimed as the 12th juror was added.... The selection of the 12 capped a seesaw day in which the judge first excused two people who had been seated earlier in the week...." NPR's report is here.

David Bauder & Larry Neumeister of the AP: "The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial ordered the media on Thursday not to report on where potential jurors have worked and to be careful about revealing information about those who will sit in judgment of the former president. Judge Juan Merchan acted after one juror was dismissed when she expressed concern about participating in the trial after details about her became publicly known.... On Fox News Channel Wednesday night, host Jesse Watters did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were 'stealth liberals' who would be out to convict Trump."

     ~~~ Marie: The AP reporters seem to have missed the significance of Watters' commentary. Merchan reluctantly dismissed the juror, saying she would have "been a very good juror." As Maggie Haberman wrote in the NYT's liveblog of yesterday's courtroom events, "[A prosecutor] notes that Trump posted on social media quoting Jesse Watters on Fox News appearing to attack the jurors, saying they were activists trying to get on the jury to harm Trump. He underscores that they are asking Justice Merchan to hold Trump 'in contempt.'" Both sides in the case are limited to ten peremptory challenges to jurors (and two 12 to alternates), and they were using them up fast. So Trump and Watters went around the restriction and frightened a juror into asking to be excused. That is, Trump & Watters bought Trump an extra peremptory strike. There would be a different jury today had Trump not intimidated a juror. Lock him up.

Yesterday, New York Times reporters ran a live-blog of courtroom developments as they happened. The liveblog is here. Yesterday's Conversation includes a number of the reporters' entries.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Thursday rejected ... Donald J. Trump's attempt to delay a group of civil lawsuits that are seeking to hold him accountable for inspiring the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Trump had sought to have the suits put on hold until after the completion of his federal criminal trial connected to many of the same events. But in a nine-page ruling, the judge, Amit P. Mehta, decided that the civil lawsuits could move forward without running the risk that Mr. Trump might damage his chances in the criminal case by revealing his defense strategy prematurely or making statements that prosecutors might use against him. Last month, when lawyers for Mr. Trump first asked Judge Mehta to postpone the civil cases, it was the latest example of the former president seeking to pit his multiple legal matters against one another in an effort to delay them." Politico's story is here.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The federal judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's classified documents case on Thursday denied initial attempts by Mr. Trump's two co-defendants to have the charges against them dismissed. The ruling by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was the first time she had rejected dismissal motions by the two men, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, both of whom work for Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida.... Judge Cannon has still not reached a decision on several other dismissal motions filed by Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta, and she has yet to set a new date for the trial, which was originally scheduled to begin next month but now seems unlikely to start before midsummer." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Another no-brainer. Obviously, the argument "I didn't know what was in the boxes" is meant to be made at trial, not in a pretrial motion.

Presidential Race

Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times: "The elaborate rollout of a Kennedy family endorsement of President Biden on Thursday -- talk-show interviews, a campaign event with the president -- was the most powerful sign yet of rising concern in the Biden camp that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent White House bid presents a serious threat to the president's re-election prospects. Members of this prominent Democratic family, including most of Mr. Kennedy's siblings, had already signaled their support for Mr. Biden. Mr. Kennedy's estrangement from much of his family had grown increasingly apparent over the years, as he became a leading spokesman against Covid vaccines and promoted conspiratorial theories about the 1968 assassination of his father, Robert F. Kennedy.... Democratic worries about Mr. Kennedy have grown as he has turned up his attacks on the president and worked to win ballot lines in critical battleground states. Michigan election officials announced on Thursday that he had secured a spot as a member of a little-known third party."

Trump Takes a Cut from Down-ballot Candidates. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "In a letter received by Republican digital vendors this week, the Trump campaign is asking for down-ballot candidates who use his name, image and likeness in fundraising appeals to give at least 5 percent of the proceeds to the campaign." Extra credit for giving more than 5%! Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "Donors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign are not only helping to pay his massive legal bills as he faces an onslaught of criminal charges but they are also helping prop up his businesses at a time when he is facing financial difficulties. According to new campaign filings, reported ... by USA Today's Zac Anderson and Erin Mansfield, four checks written between February and March went to Trump's Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral Miami for nearly a half million dollars from his joint campaign committee.... This is not something new, as the report notes that 'the Trump campaign and affiliated political committees paid businesses owned by Trump at least $4.9 million since the start of 2023.... Most of that money -- $4.1 million -- went to TAG Air, Inc. for air travel. The report also added that 'Trump's various campaign committees and a super PAC controlled by his supporters also spent at least $809,000 at his properties since the beginning of last year.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

You Can't Make up This Stuff. Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: “A top leader of the national conservative group Turning Point Action, which has amplified false claims of election fraud by ... Donald Trump and others, resigned Thursday after being accused of forging voter signatures on official paperwork so that he could run for reelection in the Arizona House. State Rep. Austin Smith (R) -- who was senior director at Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA -- was accused by a Democratic activist of submitting petition sheets with rows of voter names, addresses and signatures that 'bear a striking resemblance' to Smith's handwriting, according to a complaint. Smith 'personally circulated multiple petition sheets bearing what appear to be forged voter signatures,' the complaint said."

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Louisiana. Yes, Republicans Are Cruel, Sick SOBs. James Finn of the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: "A Louisiana House committee voted Thursday to repeal a law requiring employers to give child workers lunch breaks and to cut unemployment benefits -- part of a push by Republicans to remove constraints on employers and reduce aid for injured and unemployed workers.... First-term state Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, who sponsored the child labor measure and owns Smoothie King franchises across the Deep South, said he filed the bill in part because children want to work without having to take lunch breaks." MB: Yeah, that's what I figured. Kids hate lunch.

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israeli military carried out a strike inside Iran in retaliation for a barrage of missiles and drones launched last weekend, an Israeli official said Friday. It was not clear what damage the apparently limited strike caused, but the official ... said it was intended to signal to Iran that Israel had the ability to strike inside the country. A second person familiar with an Israeli briefing on the attack ... said the strike was 'carefully calibrated.'... There was no damage to Iran's nuclear sites, including those in Isfahan, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday morning. Isfahan is the site of Iran's largest nuclear research complex; the area is home to a military base. Iranian state media said air defenses intercepted 'three small drones' in Isfahan province in central Iran." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Friday are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.

Yonette Joseph of the New York Times: "The United States blocked the U.N. Security Council on Thursday from moving forward on a Palestinian bid to be recognized as a full member state at the United Nations, quashing an effort by Palestinian allies to get the world body to back the effort. The vote was 12 in favor of the resolution and one -- the United States -- opposed, with abstentions from Britain and Switzerland."

Brett Murphy of ProPublica: "A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses. But Blinken has failed to act on the proposal in the face of growing international criticism of the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza, according to current and former State Department officials. The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Conversation -- April 18, 2024

Trump Takes a Cut from Down-ballot Candidates. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "In a letter received by Republican digital vendors this week, the Trump campaign is asking for down-ballot candidates who use his name, image and likeness in fundraising appeals to give at least 5 percent of the proceeds to the campaign." Extra credit for giving more than 5%! Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below.

Brett Murphy of ProPublica: "A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses. But Blinken has failed to act on the proposal in the face of growing international criticism of the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza, according to current and former State Department officials. The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "Donors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign are not only helping to pay his massive legal bills as he faces an onslaught of criminal charges but they are also helping prop up his businesses at a time when he is facing financial difficulties. According to new campaign filings, reported ... by USA Today's Zac Anderson and Erin Mansfield, four checks written between February and March went to Trump's Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral Miami for nearly a half million dollars from his joint campaign committee.... This is not something new, as the report notes that 'the Trump campaign and affiliated political committees paid businesses owned by Trump at least $4.9 million since the start of 2023.... Most of that money -- $4.1 million -- went to TAG Air, Inc. for air travel. The report also added that 'Trump's various campaign committees and a super PAC controlled by his supporters also spent at least $809,000 at his properties since the beginning of last year.'"

Oh, gosh. RAS found a (middle school?) history teacher who didn't think Trump's reflections on the Battle of Gettysburg were pure poetry:

Teaching my first History course this semester has been rewarding but I don’t know what to do with this student pic.twitter.com/uYfUCRPOdL

— elijah's final semester (@EdwardVersaii) April 17, 2024

It's springtime for Hitler. And another beautiful day in the neighborhood of Fuckface von Clownstick. Unfortunately, on account of a tiny percentage of his many criminal antics, Fuckface is downtown, figuratively chained to a leatherette chair in a drab, windowless courtroom, forced to follow orders from a guy who was born in one of those shithole countries. New York Times reporters are here to keep you up-to-the-minute (or close):

Well, actually the weather is not so lovely:

Jesse McKinley: "Unlike previous days, when spring had sprung in Lower Manhattan, it is gloomy, misty and cold."

[MB: And those who hoped to see the Trumpster Dumpster in all his fleshiness, had to settle for an NYPD stand-in:]

Nate Schweber: "Two onlookers in ponchos stood in the park across the street hoping for a glimpse. They, and news crews, all had their view blocked by a large NYPD dump truck that parked in the intersection minutes before Trump's arrival."

[MB: Judge Merchan has excused a juror who was selected Tuesday because] ~~~

~~~ Jonah Bromwich: "The juror is worried about what has been reported about her publicly. She said she had friends, colleagues and family conveying to her that she had been identified as a potential juror."

Bromwich: "The judge says the question about employers is necessary. But he directs that the answers be redacted from the transcript and that reporters not report them."

[MB: Bear in mind that all this secrecy about jurors and others associated with the trial is necessary because Criminal Defendant No. 1 encourages his followers to harass and even harm them.]

Kate Christobek: "Christopher Conroy, one of the prosecutors, is now arguing that Trump has continued to violate the gag order that was placed on him. 'It's ridiculous and has to stop,' he says." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman: "Conroy notes that Trump posted on social media quoting Jesse Watters on Fox News appearing to attack the jurors, saying they were activists trying to get on the jury to harm Trump. He underscores that they are asking Justice Merchan to hold Trump 'in contempt.'" ~~~

~~~ Bromwich: "Merchan makes no immediate ruling on possible violation of the gag order, saying he will wait for a hearing scheduled for April 23, early next week."

Bromwich: "A prosecutor, Joshua Steinglass, said that juror 4 or someone with their name seems to have been arrested in the 1990s in Westchester for tearing down political advertisements. After some additional research, he says, they also found that the juror's wife was previously involved in a corruption inquiry and cooperated with the D.A.'s office. This means that the juror, if they've identified the right person, lied in response to one of the questions on the questionnaire, Steinglass says."

Bromwich: "We are in a remarkable situation: Covering an unprecedented case of immense public interest and blocked in many ways from reporting on the constitution of the jury. The trial is not televised and we are the public's eyes and ears, but at the moment, we are limited in what we can relay."

[MB: The next group of 96 prospective jurors enters the courtroom.] ~~~

~~~ Bromwich: "Overall, 48 prospective jurors left because they said they could not be fair and impartial, and nine more were excused for other reasons without explanation. Thirty-nine are left in this group."

Bromwich: "Merchan ... is excusing juror #4. We are down to five seated jurors."

McKinley: "Defense currently challenging, for cause, a potential juror who has some anti-Trump posts online, including one from 2020 that says 'Trump is an anathema to everything I was taught about love.' Merchan is questioning her about this.... In the post, she called Trump racist, sexist and a narcissist. [As she reads this aloud,] she stops and says 'Oops. That sounds bad.'... Merchan dismisses this prospective juror, and calls it 'a close call.'"

Bromwich: "We now have 12 jurors.... Jury selection will continue, so that alternates can be chosen. The judge had said he wanted as many as six alternates."

McKinley: "'We have our jury,' says Justice Merchan."

Haberman: "The jurors who were seated today and are present were just sworn in for service on the panel. They look serious as they take the oath to render a fair and impartial verdict in the case. They stare at Justice Merchan as he addresses them."

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Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday told Republicans that the House would vote Saturday evening on his foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine, pushing through resistance in his own party to advance a long-stalled national security spending package for U.S. allies. His announcement came amid a crush of opposition from Republicans who are vehemently against sending more aid to Ukraine, and have vented for days as congressional aides race to write the legislation Mr. Johnson proposed on Monday.... The legislative package Mr. Johnson is trying to advance roughly mirrors the $95 billion aid bill the Senate passed two months ago with aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other American allies, but broken into three pieces that would be voted on individually. There would be a fourth vote on a separate measure containing other policies popular among Republicans, including conditioning Ukraine aid as a loan and a measure that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban.... After Mr. Johnson released the text of the aid plan on Wednesday afternoon, President Biden endorsed it in a statement and urged its swift passage." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's almost official: Johnson appears to have resigned from the Putin party.

** Senate Democrats Quash Fake Impeachment. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday dismissed the impeachment case against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, voting along party lines before his trial got underway to sweep aside two charges accusing him of failing to enforce immigration laws and breaching the public trust. By a vote of 51 to 48, with one senator voting 'present,' the Senate ruled that the first charge was unconstitutional because it failed to meet the constitutional bar of a high crime or misdemeanor. Republicans united in opposition except for Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the lone 'present' vote, while Democrats were unanimous in favor. Ms. Murkowski joined her party in voting against dismissal of the second count on the same grounds; it fell along party lines on a 51-to-49 vote. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, moved to dismiss each charge, arguing that a cabinet member cannot be impeached and removed merely for carrying out the policies of the administration he serves." (Also linked yesterday.) The Guardian's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN live-blogged the proceedings here. (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~ Marie: Earlier in the day, however, it was impossible not to acknowledge that in our nation's capitol, the circus was in town. ~~~

~~~ Ring 1. Akhilleus wrote in yesterday's Comments, "Hey, nice parade in the Capitol building. A whole bunch of lazy, do nothing traitors got off their asses and did a circus parade to present the Senate with their lazy nothing burger impeachment thingies against a cabinet secretary for ... um ... foooorrr.... ahh ... I dunno, drinking coffee too late at night? Using a split infinitive in a report? Putting an empty milk carton back in the fridge? Not putting the toilet seat back down? Who knows?" Then RAS found video of the clowns' parade, video which includes the audio missing in earlier taped versions. Most enjoyable to watch:

(The same day, a similar incident occurred in Butte, Montana, where a trained elephant temporarily escaped a different traveling circus:)

~~~ MEANWHILE, in Ring 2. Nicholas Fandos and Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Columbia University's president is facing tense questioning from a Republican-led House committee on Wednesday about what they called a pervasive pattern of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism from students and faculty on its campus since the Israel-Hamas war began. Republicans accused the university of tolerating antisemitic chants from student protesters and remarks glorifying Hamas from professors. It was the latest in a campaign to try to prove that college campuses have done little to combat bias against Jews. In her testimony, Nemat Shafik, Columbia's president, tried to reassure the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that she was changing policies and punishing offenders, while also protecting free speech. It was a stark contrast to the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, who in a Dec. 5 hearing struggled to answer whether students would be punished if they called for the genocide of Jews. That failure helped lead to their resignations." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You might think it strange that a political party slavishly devoted to a Hitler-admiring wannabe-dictator with antisemitic proclivities would be so vexed by antisemitic and suspected antisemitic expressions on university campuses. Well, it is. Republicans fail Scott Fitzgerald's test of a first-rate intelligence; instead, they hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time because they have lost the ability to function in the real world. In fairness to the lunatics, I'll admit there is some measure of consistency in their attacks on the universities: (1) as Thom Hartmann pointed out in an essay linked yesterday, wingers hate universities and the "liberal educations" they are presumed to provide; (2) Republicans are truly antisemitic; their support of Israel is based solely on the ludicrous religious belief that on Judgment Day, Jesus will land in Israel and beam up to the Promised Land all Christians who ever lived in this world, including the Israelites who convert to Christianity (for those who remain Jews, sorry, it's an eternity of hellfire and brimstone). BTW, read Hartmann.

Over in Ring 3, Scott Lemieux in LG&$ notices that House Republicans are threatening Speaker Mike "Johnson with loss of [his] speakership for being insufficiently pro-Putin." (This possible fate relates back to Johnson's promise to push through funding for Ukraine, and therefore for democracy at the edge of Europe.) (Also linked yesterday.)

I know more about courts than any human being on Earth. -- Donald Trump, November 2015 ~~~

~~~ Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "Donald Trump complained Wednesday that his lawyers were not given 'unlimited' chances to reject prospective jurors at his New York criminal hush money trial.... 'I thought STRIKES were supposed to be "unlimited" when we were picking our jury?' Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. 'I was then told we only had 10, not nearly enough when we were purposely given the 2nd Worst Venue in the Country.'... Trump has received the correct number of strikes given the type of criminal charges he faces: 10 peremptory strikes for jurors, plus another two for every alternate juror.... Samantha Chorny, a criminal defense lawyer in New York City, told CNBC that if there were unlimited peremptory strikes, as Trump wants, 'I mean, no one would ever pick a jury.' Trump's complaint on Truth Social demonstrates 'his willful ignorance of the law,' said Jeremy Saland, another New York criminal defense attorney."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Donald Trump could have cleared up confusion and hastened the arrival of National Guard troops to quell the Capitol riot if he'd called Pentagon leaders on Jan. 6, 2021, according to recent closed-door congressional testimony by two former leaders of the D.C. guard. Michael Brooks, the senior enlisted leader of the D.C. guard at the time of the riot, and Brigadier Gen. Aaron Dean, the adjutant general of the D.C. guard at the time, told House Administration Committee staffers that if Trump had reached out that day -- which, by all accounts, he did not -- he might have helped cut through the chaos amid a tangle of conflicting advice and miscommunication." (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "Speaking at the headquarters of the United Steelworkers union, President Biden on Wednesday announced an array of efforts to protect the steel industry in this battleground state, seeking to paint himself as a champion of the middle class and draw a contrast to Donald Trump.... He said Trump ... had supported corporations and the wealthy over everyday Americans. 'He opposed the increase in the overall federal minimum wage,' Biden said. 'He put union-busters on the National Labor Relations Board.'"

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 18, 2020: "President Trump on Friday openly encouraged right-wing protests of social distancing restrictions in states with stay-at-home orders, a day after announcing guidelines for how the nation's governors should carry out an orderly reopening of their communities on their own timetables." MB: You may see the seeds of the insurrection in Trump's call for protests against governors trying to address the needs of their citizens. As the succeeding months proved, right-wing protests are less about clever home-made signs and peaceful marches than about menacing, gun-toting militiamen disrupting legislatures and threatening state officials. ~~~

~~~ April 17, 2020. Nicholas Kristof: "... lines of cars stretch for miles to pick up groceries from a food pantry; jobless workers spend days trying to file for unemployment benefits; renters and homeowners plead with landlords and mortgage bankers for extensions; and outside hospitals, ill patients line up overnight to wait for virus testing. In an economy that has been hailed for its record-shattering successes, the most basic necessities -- food, shelter and medical care -- are all suddenly at risk. The latest crisis has played out in sobering economic data and bleak headlines -- most recently on Thursday, when the Labor Department said 5.2 million workers filed last week for unemployment benefits." (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I purposely have ignored the "turmoil at NPR" over an essay former NPR business editor Uri Berliner wrote in an online publication, criticizing NPR for being too liberal. Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post covers the developments. I predict that the upshot will be more navel-gazing leading to even more outrageous both-sider "journalism," perhaps engendering road rage and higher traffic accident rates. Nothing good can come from this. All things considered.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The right wing's fear of "liberal education" does not stop at the college gate, of course:

Hannah Natanson & Anumita Kaur of the Washington Post: "Legislators in 22 mostly blue states have proposed 57 ... bills [to protect librarians from harassment & libraries from book bans] so far this year, and two have become law.... But the library-friendly measures are being outpaced by bills in mostly red states that aim to restrict which books libraries can offer and threaten librarians with prison or thousands in fines for handing out 'obscene' or 'harmful' titles. At least 27 states are considering 100 such bills this year, three of which have become law.... That adds to nearly a dozen similar measures enacted over the last three years across 10 states."

Arizona. Elizabeth Dias & Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "State House Republicans in Arizona on Wednesday scuttled another effort to repeal the state's 1864 law banning abortion, defying pressure from prominent Republicans, including ... Donald J. Trump, who had urged them to toss the ban that many voters viewed as extreme and archaic. 'The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times,' House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, said as he blocked an effort to vote on the repeal. The Arizona Supreme Court's ruling last week to uphold the Civil War-era near-total abortion ban infuriated supporters of abortion rights, exhilarated abortion opponents and set off a political firestorm in Arizona." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated: "Only hours after Republicans in the State House scuttled another effort to repeal the ban, which was upheld by a State Supreme Court ruling last week, a handful of Republicans in the State Senate sided with Democrats and allowed them to introduce a bill to repeal it." The Arizona Republic's story is here.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel 'will make our decisions ourselves' on how to respond to Iran's attack, after top diplomats from Britain and Germany along with the United States called for restraint to avoid a wider war. Iran's foreign minister said his country has sent Washington messages 'through diplomatic channels mentioning that we are not looking for the escalation of tension in the region.'... A Hezbollah attack injured 18 Israeli soldiers on Wednesday after Israeli strikes killed three members of the militant group a day earlier. Cross-border attacks and Israeli strikes deeper into Lebanon have heightened fears of a broader conflict during the Gaza war. The European Union will impose further sanctions on Iran, targeting its drone and missile production, European Council President Charles Michel said after a meeting in Brussels. Washington also said earlier it plans to impose new Iran sanctions." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here.

News Lede

Washington Post: "Indonesia's Mount Ruang has erupted at least three times this week, forcing the evacuation of hundreds of people. On Wednesday evening local time, the volcano's eruption shot ash nearly 70,000 feet high, possibly spewing aerosols into the stratosphere, the atmosphere's second layer." Includes spectacular imagery.

The Conversation -- April 17, 2024

Arizona. Elizabeth Dias & Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "State House Republicans in Arizona on Wednesday scuttled another effort to repeal the state's 1864 law banning abortion, defying pressure from prominent Republicans, including ... Donald J. Trump, who had urged them to toss the ban that many voters viewed as extreme and archaic. 'The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times,' House Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, said as he blocked an effort to vote on the repeal. The Arizona Supreme Court's ruling last week to uphold the Civil War-era near-total abortion ban infuriated supporters of abortion rights, exhilarated abortion opponents and set off a political firestorm in Arizona."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson on Wednesday told Republicans that the House would vote Saturday evening on his foreign aid package for Israel and Ukraine, pushing through resistance in his own party to advance a long-stalled national security spending package for U.S. allies. His announcement came amid a crush of opposition from Republicans who are vehemently against sending more aid to Ukraine, and have vented for days as congressional aides race to write the legislation Mr. Johnson proposed on Monday.... The legislative package Mr. Johnson is trying to advance roughly mirrors the $95 billion aid bill the Senate passed two months ago with aid to Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and other American allies, but broken into three pieces that would be voted on individually. There would be a fourth vote on a separate measure containing other policies popular among Republicans, including conditioning Ukraine aid as a loan and a measure that could lead to a nationwide TikTok ban.... After Mr. Johnson released the text of the aid plan on Wednesday afternoon, President Biden endorsed it in a statement and urged its swift passage." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's almost official: Johnson has resigned from the Putin party.

** Senate Democrats Quash Fake Impeachment. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday dismissed the impeachment case against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, voting along party lines before his trial got underway to sweep aside two charges accusing him of failing to enforce immigration laws and breaching the public trust. By a vote of 51 to 48, with one senator voting 'present,' the Senate ruled that the first charge was unconstitutional because it failed to meet the constitutional bar of a high crime or misdemeanor. Republicans united in opposition except for Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, the lone 'present' vote, while Democrats were unanimous in favor. Ms. Murkowski joined her party in voting against dismissal of the second count on the same grounds; it fell along party lines on a 51-to-49 vote. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, moved to dismiss each charge, arguing that a cabinet member cannot be impeached and removed merely for carrying out the policies of the administration he serves." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Okay, I'm back from my "out-sick" day, and I see Congress has not let me down in my hour of need: they're up to their usual stunts. ~~~

~~~ Earlier: Well, senators are working on trying Secretary Mayorkas. You can consult Akhilleus' commentary in today's thread in search of "reasons" for Mayorkas' impeachment, but good luck. As to how this will play out, here's CNN's best guess as of about 1:20 pm ET: ~~~

~~~ "Senators should be at their desks on the Senate floor at 1 p.m. ET for a live quorum... The chamber will proceed to consider the articles of impeachment.... Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the most senior Republican, will administer the oath to the President Pro Tempore, Senator [Patty] Murray of Washington, the most senior Democrat. Murray will administer the oath to all senators in the chamber.... The clerk will call the names in groups of four, and senators will present themselves at the desk to sign the oath book. The Sergeant at Arms will make [a formal] proclamation.... Democrats could pass a motion to dismiss or table the articles on a simple majority vote.... Senate Republicans are seeking to reach a time agreement with Democrats that would allow floor debate and for GOP senators to have votes on procedural motions. If a time agreement is not reached, it's unclear clear how long the process will take as Republicans could attempt any number of procedural delays, although at some point the presiding officer could rule those efforts dilatory and cut them off." This is a liveblog. ~~~

"Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer made a motion to table or kill the first impeachment article against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandr Mayorkas because 'it does not allege conduct that rises to the level of a high crime or misdemeanor' as required in the Constitution. The Senate will vote soon to kill that first article but it remains to be seen if Republicans will try to delay the vote."

"An amendment to debate the articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a closed session has failed on a party-line vote. Sen. Ted Cruz proposed the motion. The final vote was 49-51."

"The Senate voted to kill the first article of impeachment against Alejandro Mayorkas. He still faces one other article in the Senate. The vote on the Schumer motion to kill Article 1 passed 51 to 48 to 1. Notably, centrist Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted 'present' a sign of discontent with the impeachment effort but for some reason not deciding to vote no."

[Republicans made at least three motions to adjourn (to dates in April, May & November], all of which failed.]

"The Senate voted to kill the second and final article of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. Lawmakers voted 51 to 49 on party lines. The chamber voted to kill the first article of impeachment earlier today."

"The Senate voted to end Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' impeachment trial on a party-line vote of 51-49."

~~~ Ring 1. As Akhilleus wrote today, "Hey, nice parade in the Capitol building. A whole bunch of lazy, do nothing traitors got off their asses and did a circus parade to present the Senate with their lazy nothing burger impeachment thingies against a cabinet secretary for ... um ... foooorrr ....ahh ...I dunno, drinking coffee too late at night? Using a split infinitive in a report? Putting an empty milk carton back in the fridge? Not putting the toilet seat back down? Who knows?" Then RAS found video of the clowns' parade which includes the audio missing in earlier taped versions:

~~~ MEANWHILE, Ring 2. Nicholas Fandos and Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Columbia University's president is facing tense questioning from a Republican-led House committee on Wednesday about what they called a pervasive pattern of antisemitic assaults, harassment and vandalism from students and faculty on its campus since the Israel-Hamas war began. Republicans accused the university of tolerating antisemitic chants from student protesters and remarks glorifying Hamas from professors. It was the latest in a campaign to try to prove that college campuses have done little to combat bias against Jews. In her testimony, Nemat Shafik, Columbia's president, tried to reassure the House Committee on Education and the Workforce that she was changing policies and punishing offenders, while also protecting free speech. It was a stark contrast to the presidents of the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard, who in a Dec. 5 hearing struggled to answer whether students would be punished if they called for the genocide of Jews. That failure helped lead to their resignations." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You might think it is strange that a political bloc that is slavishly devoted to a Hitler-admiring wannabe-dictator with antisemitic proclivities would be so worried about antisemitic and suspected antisemitic expressions of university campuses. Well, it is. Republicans fail Scott Fitzgerald's test of a first-rate intelligence; instead, they hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time because they have lost the ability to function in the real world.

And Over in Ring 3, Scott Lemieux in LG&$ notices that House Republicans are threatening Speaker Mike "Johnson with loss of [his] speakership for being insufficiently pro-Putin."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Donald Trump could have cleared up confusion and hastened the arrival of National Guard troops to quell the Capitol riot if he'd called Pentagon leaders on Jan. 6, 2021, according to recent closed-door congressional testimony by two former leaders of the D.C. guard. Michael Brooks, the senior enlisted leader of the D.C. guard at the time of the riot, and Brigadier Gen. Aaron Dean, the adjutant general of the D.C. guard at the time, told House Administration Committee staffers that if Trump had reached out that day -- which, by all accounts, he did not -- he might have helped cut through the chaos amid a tangle of conflicting advice and miscommunication."

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 17, 2020. Nicholas Kristof: "... lines of cars stretch for miles to pick up groceries from a food pantry; jobless workers spend days trying to file for unemployment benefits; renters and homeowners plead with landlords and mortgage bankers for extensions; and outside hospitals, ill patients line up overnight to wait for virus testing. In an economy that has been hailed for its record-shattering successes, the most basic necessities -- food, shelter and medical care -- are all suddenly at risk. The latest crisis has played out in sobering economic data and bleak headlines -- most recently on Thursday, when the Labor Department said 5.2 million workers filed last week for unemployment benefits."

~~~~~~~~~~~

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is expected to deny permission for a 211-mile industrial road through fragile Alaskan wilderness to a large copper deposit, handing a victory to environmentalists.... The Interior Department intends to announce as early as this week that there should be 'no action' on the federal land where the road known as the Ambler Access Project would be built.... A formal denial of the project would come later this year, they said. The road was essential to reach what is estimated to be a $7.5 billion copper deposit buried under ecologically sensitive land. There are currently no mines in the area and no requests for permits have been filed with the government; the road was a first step." Politico's story is here.

Jacqueline Alemany & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "House Republicans delivered articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, commencing what is likely to be a brief trial in the upper chamber that could conclude as soon as Wednesday. Led by 11 impeachment managers appointed by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), House Republicans have demanded a full trial, while Senate Democrats, who hold a 51-49 majority, are planning to band together to dismiss or table the trial. Most Senate Republicans, despite previously voicing concerns about the substance of the two articles of impeachment..., have echoed the lower chamber's calls for the Senate to adhere to precedent and hold a trial." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Miss Margie looked elegant as she accompanied the articles across the hall, resplendent in an outfit that would be appropriate for a quick trip to Walmart. Video included with WashPo story.

Marianna Sotomayor & Leigh Ann Caldwell of the Washington Post: "Two far-right members are now threatening to oust House Speaker Mike Johnson just as the embattled Republican leader has introduced a complex plan intended to fund key foreign allies during wartime. Johnson (La.) introduced a four-part proposal Monday night to decouple aid for Israel, which faced a barrage of missiles and drone threats from Iran over the weekend, and help for Ukraine in its fight against Russia, along with two other measures. But his right flank is also vowing to sink a procedural vote allowing any of the measures to be considered on the floor. During a weekly Republican meeting Tuesday morning, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) stood up and called on Johnson to resign after signing on to Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-Ga.) plan to depose him, known as a motion to vacate. That means that if Democrats choose not to rescue Johnson, Republicans would need just a simple majority to oust their second speaker in six months...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Screw the First Amendment. GOP Senator Promotes Violence Against Protesters. Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, on Monday urged people whose routes were blocked by pro-Palestinian protesters to 'take matters into your own hands' and confront the offenders, endorsing the use of physical force against peaceful demonstrators. In a series of social media posts after protesters shut down traffic in cities across the country..., Mr. Cotton called those responsible 'pro-Hamas' and 'criminals.' He also shared a clip of himself during a recent interview in which he said that if protesters had disrupted public roads in his home state of Arkansas, they would have been met with force from citizens." An NBC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ God Bless the Second Amendment. Not to Be Outdone. Chris Cameron & Kellen Browning of the New York Times: "Kari Lake, a top ally of Donald J. Trump who is running for a Senate seat in Arizona, called on her supporters on Sunday to arm themselves ahead of ... the [November] election.... 'The next six months is going to be intense,' Ms. Lake said during a rally in Lake Havasu City. 'We're going to strap on our seatbelt. We're going to put on our helmet -- or your Kari Lake ball cap. We are going to put on the armor of God. And maybe strap on a Glock on the side of us just in case.' The crowd roared its approval, and she continued, 'You can put one here,' gesturing to the side of her hip, 'and one in the back or one in the front. Whatever you guys decide. Because we're not going to be the victims of crime. We're not going to have our Second Amendment taken away. We're certainly not going to have our First Amendment taken away by these tyrants.'"

Marie: You cannot expect to live in peace in a country where leading politicians, in defiance of the rule of law, endorse and encourage violence against people who disagree with them.

** Thom Hartmann on Republicans' weird antipathy to relieving student debt: "Forgiving student debt is ... righting a moral wrong inflicted on millions of Americans by Ronald Reagan and his morbidly rich Republican buddies. Student debt is evil. It's a crime against our nation, hobbling opportunity and weakening our intellectual infrastructure. It maintains and in many cases rigidifies the racial and class caste systems today&'s Americans inherited from our eras of slavery and indenture. Combine this decision with the six Republicans on the Court ending affirmative action and legalizing discrimination and it's clear this is exactly what the rightwing billionaires who put them on the Court and support their lavish vacations and lifestyles want." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "The daunting work of selecting a jury for the first criminal trial of a former American president rapidly gained momentum on Tuesday as seven New Yorkers were picked to sit in judgment of Donald J. Trump, accelerating a crucial phase of the case that many had expected to be a slog.... The first seven members of the panel ... were picked in short order after the lunch break. The lawyers quizzed them on their politics, views about the former president and ability to remain impartial in a case that could offend their sensibilities. And Mr. Trump's lawyers examined their digital footprints, bringing several jurors into the courtroom one by one to ask them about past social media posts that seemed as if they could betray a negative opinion of the former president.... [The selected jurors] include a man originally from Ireland who will serve as foreman, an oncology nurse, a grandfather originally from Puerto Rico, a middle-school teacher from Harlem, two lawyers and a software engineer for Disney." ~~~

~~~ On Day 2 at the Trump Sleepy Time Day Care Center in lower Manhattan, New York Times reporters were there to keep us abreast of developments. (Also linked yesterday.) See yesterday's Conversation for some citations of reporters' remarks. ~~~

~~~ Jesse McKinley & Kate Christobek of the New York Times with five takeaways from Day 2.

#SleepyDon pic.twitter.com/2S2VBqBzhZ

— Biden-Harris HQ (@BidenHQ) April 15, 2024

Linda Qiu of the New York Times: Donald Trump "has described the cases against him with colorful hyperbole, defended his conduct with faulty comparisons and lobbed false attacks and baseless accusations at opponents and adjudicators alike. Asked for evidence of Mr. Trump's claims, the campaign did not directly address the matter but continued to insist, with no evidence, that Mr. Trump was the target of a 'witch hunt' led by the Democratic Party. Here's a fact-check of some of his most repeated claims."

Michael Kranish & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "Representatives for the firm that posted a $175 million bond for Donald Trump pushed back against objections raised by New York's attorney general, saying in a court filing late Monday that the deal is 'adequately secured' by the former president's cash. The filing sets the stage for a court hearing next week in Trump's New York civil fraud case, where Justice Arthur Engoron will decide whether the bond has met state requirements -- allowing Trump to appeal a massive civil judgment and preventing state authorities from seizing his properties in the meantime. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) on April 4 raised concerns about the arrangement, including whether Knight Specialty Insurance Company, whose owner is billionaire Trump supporter Don Hankey, is properly licensed in the state. Knight and Trump's representatives said in the new filing that the bond is backed by Trump's Charles Schwab brokerage account, which has just over $175 million in cash. The filing also argues that Knight is properly licensed, including a statement from New York's former superintendent of insurance, Gregory V. Serio, that Knight is qualified to do business in the state."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Marshall Cohen & Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Voting technology company Smartmatic and the far-right network One America News said Tuesday that they had settled a defamation lawsuit stemming from the outlet's lies about the 2020 election.... Both parties declined to share details about the settlement.... Smartmatic filed its lawsuit against OAN in 2021, alleging that the right-wing conspiracy network 'victimized' the company and spread lies about its role in the 2020 election to 'increase viewership and revenue.'... Smartmatic still has pending lawsuit[s] against Fox News, the smaller conservative channel Newsmax, and several pro-Trump figures who also pushed lies about the election." MB: Looks as if the right-wing news business model is to lie first and settle later. Surely there's some kind of payoff for investors in these smaller outlets.

Presidential Race

If Trump';s stock in Truth Social -- his company -- drops any lower, he might do better under my tax plan than his. -- President Biden, in Scranton yesterday ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "President Biden delivered a flurry of attacks on ... Donald J. Trump during a Tuesday speech in Pennsylvania about taxes and economic policy, painting his Republican rival as a puppet of plutocrats who had ignored the working class. Visiting his hometown, Scranton, in a top battleground state that he has visited more often than any other, Mr. Biden laid out his vision for a fairer tax code, including raising rates on the wealthy and corporations and using the money to expand the economy and help working families. But in a speech that signaled the Biden campaign's intention to make the 2024 election a referendum on his polarizing Republican opponent, the president returned again and again to Mr. Trump. His jabs at his predecessor took aim at the former president's wealthy upbringing, his friendships with billionaires and his 2017 tax cuts that disproportionately benefited America's upper crust." ~~~

~~~ President Biden visits his modest childhood home in Scranton during a campaign swing through Pennsylvania:

Supreme Extremists. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court seemed wary on Tuesday of letting prosecutors use a federal obstruction law to charge hundreds of rioters involved in the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021. A decision rejecting the government's interpretation of the law could not only disrupt those prosecutions but also eliminate half of the charges against ... Donald J. Trump in the federal case accusing him of plotting to subvert the 2020 election." MB: It's wrong, see, to prosecute violent protesters who are on our side. ~~~

     ~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox: "The Supreme Court spent about an hour and a half on Tuesday morning arguing over whether to make it much harder for the Justice Department to prosecute hundreds of people who joined the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. It appears, after Tuesday's arguments, that a majority of the justices will side with the insurrectionists -- though it is far from clear how those justices will justify such an outcome.... Approximately 330 [insurrectionists] have been charged under the obstruction statute at issue in Fischer. One of them is Donald Trump. As a federal appeals court held in its decision in this case, the obstruction statute is pretty darn clear that it applies to an effort to obstruct any congressional proceeding intended to certify the result of a presidential election -- like the proceeding that the January 6 rioters attacked.... The obstruction statute's plain text clearly applies to January 6 defendants, but it's unlikely that's going to matter...." Read on. MB: It's sad, the contortions the extremist Supremes have endure to get their way.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The states' rights case for determining abortion access -- let the people decide -- falters on the fact that in many states, the people cannot shape their legislature to their liking. Packed and split into districts designed to preserve Republican control, voters cannot actually dislodge anti-abortion Republican lawmakers." (Also linked yesterday.)

Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "Bob Graham, a Florida Democrat who as a little-known state senator cleaned stables and waited on tables in a clever populist strategy that helped to boost him into the governorship, the United States Senate and a run for the presidency, has died. He was 87."

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Michigan. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: "Michigan Democrats started 2023 with full control of state government for the first time since the 1980s. They ended the year in a political bind after two House members left to become mayors of suburbs, leaving that chamber with an even partisan split and making it impossible for Democrats to pass bills without Republican support. On Tuesday, five months after their House majority evaporated, Democrats won two special elections to reclaim those seats and full control at the Michigan Capitol. The Associated Press said the Democrats Mai Xiong, a Macomb County commissioner, and Peter Herzberg, a Westland City Council member, defeated their Republican opponents."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Western nations are weighing fresh sanctions against Iran after its unprecedented weekend attack against Israel. The United States plans to impose new sanctions in the coming days, according to national security adviser Jake Sullivan, who said the aim was to 'degrade Iran's military capacity.' The European Union is also considering increasing sanctions, said Josep Borrell, its top diplomat.... British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock were in Israel on Wednesday and met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. Baerbock also met with families of hostages held by Hamas, Germany's ambassador to Israel said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here.