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INAUGURATION 2029

Commencement ceremonies are joyous occasions, and Steve Carell made sure that was true this past weekend (mid-June) at Northwestern's commencement:

~~~ Carell's entire commencement speech was hilarious. The audio and video here isn't great, but I laughed till I cried.

CNN did a live telecast Saturday night (June 7) of the Broadway play "Good Night, and Good Luck," written by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, about legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow's effort to hold to account Sen. Joe McCarthy, "the junior senator from Wisconsin." Clooney plays Murrow. Here's Murrow himself with his famous take on McCarthy & McCarthyism, brief remarks that especially resonate today: ~~~

     ~~~ This article lists ways you still can watch the play. 

New York Times: “The New York Times Company has agreed to license its editorial content to Amazon for use in the tech giant’s artificial intelligence platforms, the company said on Thursday. The multiyear agreement 'will bring Times editorial content to a variety of Amazon customer experiences,' the news organization said in a statement. Besides news articles, the agreement encompasses material from NYT Cooking, The Times’s food and recipe site, and The Athletic, which focuses on sports. This is The Times’s first licensing arrangement with a focus on generative A.I. technology. In 2023, The Times sued OpenAI and its partner, Microsoft, for copyright infringement, accusing the tech companies of using millions of articles published by The Times to train automated chatbots without any kind of compensation. OpenAI and Microsoft have rejected those accusations.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have no idea what this means for "the Amazon customer experience." Does it mean that if I don't have a NYT subscription but do have Amazon Prime I can read NYT content? And where, exactly, would I find that content? I don't know. I don't know.

Washington Post reporters asked three AI image generators what a beautiful woman looks like. "The Post found that they steer users toward a startlingly narrow vision of attractiveness. Prompted to show a 'beautiful woman,' all three tools generated thin women, without exception.... Her body looks like Barbie — slim hips, impossible waist, round breasts.... Just 2 percent of the images showed visible signs of aging. More than a third of the images had medium skin tones. But only nine percent had dark skin tones. Asked to show 'normal women,' the tools produced images that remained overwhelmingly thin.... However bias originates, The Post’s analysis found that popular image tools struggle to render realistic images of women outside the Western ideal." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters seem to think they are calling out the AI programs for being unrealistic. But there's a lot about the "beautiful women" images they miss. I find these omissions remarkably sexist. For one thing, the reporters seem to think AI is a magical "thing" that self-generates. It isn't. It's programmed. It's programmed by boys, many of them incels who have little or no experience or insights beyond comic books and Internet porn of how to gauge female "beauty." As a result, the AI-generated women look like cartoons; that is, a lot like an air-brushed photo of Kristi Noem: globs of every kind of dark eye makeup, Scandinavian nose, Botox lips, slathered-on skin concealer/toner/etc. makeup, long dark hair and the aforementioned impossible Barbie body shape, including huge, round plastic breasts. 

New York Times: “George Clooney’s Broadway debut, 'Good Night, and Good Luck,' has been one of the sensations of the 2024-25 theater season, breaking box office records and drawing packed houses of audiences eager to see the popular movie star in a timely drama about the importance of an independent press. Now the play will become much more widely available: CNN is planning a live broadcast of the penultimate performance, on June 7 at 7 p.m. Eastern. The performance will be preceded and followed by coverage of, and discussion about, the show and the state of journalism.”

No free man shall be seized or imprisoned, or stripped of his rights or possessions, or outlawed or exiled, or deprived of his standing in any other way, nor will we proceed with force against him, or send others to do so, except by the lawful judgment of his equals or by the law of the land. -- Magna Carta ~~~

~~~ New York Times: “Bought for $27.50 after World War II, the faint, water stained manuscript in the library of Harvard Law School had attracted relatively little attention since it arrived there in 1946. That is about to change. Two British academics, one of whom happened on the manuscript by chance, have discovered that it is an original 1300 version — not a copy, as long thought — of Magna Carta, the medieval document that helped establish some of the world’s most cherished liberties. It is one of just seven such documents from that date still in existence.... A 710-year-old version of Magna Carta was sold in 2007 for $21.3 million.... First issued in 1215, it put into writing a set of concessions won by rebellious barons from a recalcitrant King John of England — or Bad King John, as he became known in folklore. He later revoked the charter, but his son, Henry III, issued amended versions, the last one in 1225, and Henry’s son, Edward I, in turn confirmed the 1225 version in 1297 and again in 1300.”

NPR lists all of the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winners. Poynter lists the prizes awarded in journalism as well as the finalists in these categories.

 

Contact Marie

Email Marie at constantweader@gmail.com

Constant Comments

Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolvesEdward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns

I have a Bluesky account now. The URL is https://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.

Friday
Jul262019

The Commentariat -- July 27, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

"Not Normal." David Nather of Axios "looked through all of [Trump's] public comments and tweets for this week, and found an avalanche of personal attacks, complaints, and statements at odds with reality. One came close to setting off a diplomatic crisis.... The sheer volume of incidents -- and the distance they've created from a normal presidency -- are definitely worth your attention." Read on.

... Nathan's list doesn't include today's entry: ...

... Nicholas Wu of USA Today: "On Saturday morning..., Donald Trump vented on Twitter about a political adversary, Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., and assailed an American city, Baltimore. 'Rep. Elijah Cummings has been a brutal bully, shouting and screaming at the great men & women of Border Patrol at the Southern Border, when actually his Baltimore district is FAR WORSE and more dangerous,' Trump wrote. Trump continued by saying conditions on the border were 'clean, efficient & well run, just very crowded,' whereas Cummings' district was 'a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.' Trump did not present evidence for this claim about the district.... Trump made similar comments in January 2017 when attacking another black congressman, Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. Trump had called the civil rights icon's district 'in horrible shape and falling apart (not to mention crime infested)' after Lewis said he would be skipping Trump's inauguration." Cummings' district includes part of Balto & part of the burbs. ...

     ... In a later tweet, Trump wrote of Baltimore, "No human being would want to live there." Mrs. McC: No doubt Trump is assuming that everyone who lives in Balto is black (which of course isn't true: Baltimore city is 30% white & Cummings' district is 35% white). Thus, he is implying that black people are not human beings. He means that.

** Roger Cohen of the New York Times: "... I cannot forget Trump's recent treatment of Nadia Murad, a Yazidi woman who won the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her campaign to end mass rape in war. The Islamic State, or ISIS, forced Murad into sexual slavery when it overran Yazidi villages in northern Iraq in 2014. Murad lost her mother and six brothers, slaughtered by ISIS.... Trump sits there at his desk, an uncomprehending, unsympathetic, uninterested cardboard dummy. He looks straight ahead for much of the time, not at her, his chin jutting in his best effort at a Mussolini pose.... He cannot look at her.... When Murad says, 'They killed my mom, my six brothers,' Trump responds: 'Where are they now?'... 'They are in the mass graves in Sinjar,' Murad says.... Murad is a woman, and she is brown, and he is incapable of empathy, and the Trump administration recently watered down a United Nations Security Council resolution on protecting victims of sexual violence in conflict.... [There's more, and it doesn't get better.] This president is inhuman. Something is missing. In his boundless self-absorption, he is capable of anything.” Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link.

~~~~~~~~~~

Back in commission. Many thanks to safari, PD Pepe & Ken W. for linking to relevant stories & opinion pieces yesterday. BTW, if you watched the video of Stephen Colbert's monologue, which PD Pepe linked, you now know that during a speech introducing our brand-new Secretary of Defense this week, Trump also introduced two new words into the lexicon: "infantroopin" and "lawmurkers." Despite Colbert's best guess, I'd say "infantroopin" means "infantrymen" (which -- due to credit to Trump -- does sound pretty good in the original German), & "lawmurkers" means those elected officials whose place of business is the U.S. Capitol building (they do "murk," don't they?). -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

"Impeachment" Just Became Official. Nicholas Fandos & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The House Judiciary Committee on Friday asked a federal judge to unseal grand jury secrets related to Robert S. Mueller III's investigation, using the court filing to declare that lawmakers have already in effect launched an impeachment investigation of President Trump. In a legal maneuver that carries significant political overtones, the committee told a judge that it needs access to the grand jury evidence collected by Mr. Mueller as special counsel -- such as witness testimony -- because it is 'investigating whether to recommend articles of impeachment' against the president.... By declaring that his committee was in effect conducting such an inquiry, [Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY)] was heading off a politically difficult vote in the committee or the full house to pursue impeachment.... 'We're now crossing a threshold with this filing, and we are now officially entering into an examination of whether or not to recommend articles of impeachment,' Representative Veronica Escobar, Democrat of Texas, declared." ...

... Dan Friedman of Mother Jones: "The House Judiciary Committee is 'in effect' already conducting an impeachment inquiry, the panel's chairman, Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), said during a press conference, referring to hearings it has conducted regarding former special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Nadler said that impeaching Trump is among the actions that Democrats are weighing to address the president's misconduct -- despite the fact that there has been no House vote to initiate an impeachment inquiry. Nearly 100 House Democrats have already said they support opening an impeachment inquiry...." ...

We are continuing an investigation of the president's malfeasances. And we will consider what we have to consider, including whether we should recommend articles of impeachment to the House. That's the job of our committee. -- House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY), Friday

We will proceed when we have what we need to proceed -- not one day sooner, the California Democrat said at her weekly press conference. -- House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Friday ...

... Sarah Ferris & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "House Democrats on Friday took a major step forward in their legal fight against ... Donald Trump -- one that looks much like the beginning of impeachment, even as Speaker Nancy Pelosi continues to resist a formal inquiry. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler's announcement on Friday that the House is formally seeking special counsel Robert Mueller's grand-jury information complicates the far more cautious message on impeachment coming from Pelosi and her top deputies.... Seven lawmakers have come out in favor since Mueller's testimony, including House Democratic Caucus vice-chair Katherine Clark (D-Mass.). Reps. Ann Kuster (D-N.H.), a senior Democrat, and Mike Levin (D-Calif.), a freshman in a battleground district, both announced their support Friday afternoon." ...

... Reps. Mary Gay Scanlon, David Cicilline, Pramila Jayapal & Veronica Escobar in the Atlantic on "why we're moving forward with impeachment.... At this point, it is up to Congress to act on the evidence of multiple counts of obstruction of justice committed by the president, and to continue our investigation into whether he has committed other high crimes and misdemeanors.... We have now filed a petition in court to obtain the grand-jury documents referenced in the special counsel's report. In that filing, we have made clear that we will utilize our Article I powers to obtain the additional underlying evidence, as well as enforce subpoenas for key witness testimony, and broaden our investigations to include conflicts of interest and financial misconduct." ...

... Andrew Prokop of Vox summarizes the debate within the House over impeachment.

I watched Bob Mueller, and they have nothing. There's no collusion there's no obstruction they have nothing. It's a disgrace. -- Donald Trump, Friday

More than one lie here. The smaller one: Trump said Tuesday he wouldn't be watching the hearings. Now he says he did. The bigger one: even if Trump watched only "a little bit," as he said he might, he could not have missed Mueller's repeated confirmations that the report did not give Trump a pass on either conspiracy or obstruction. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

We want to find out what happened with the last Democrat president. Let's look into Obama the way they looked at me from day one. They've looked into everything that we've done. They could look into the book deal that President Obama made. Let's subpoena all of his records. -- Donald Trump, Friday ...

... Air-Conditioning! Trump Goes off Deep End in Response to Impeachment Investigation. Bruce Haring of Deadline: "Frustrated by continued efforts by the Democratic congress to find a reason to impeach him, ... Donald Trump fought back [Friday], saying that an investigation should be mounted on the book deals signed by former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle. The $65 million in multiple book deals spawned a best-seller for Michelle Obama, with Barack Obama's memoir scheduled for some time next year. Trump, speaking in the White House Oval Office on Friday, also called for an investigation into the Clinton Foundation, and put in a jab against Obama for ruining the White House air conditioning system, which he says can't maintain a comfortable temperature." Mrs. McC: If you can't take the heat, Donnie, get the hell out of the kitchen. ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Like many criminals, Trump believes that everybody is a crook and views demands that he follow the law as mere hypocrisy. Here he pivots immediately from his rage that he is being asked to comply with basic ethical norms -- in this same interview Trump threatened to raise tariffs on French wine, a move that would benefit Trump's own winery -- to insinuations that President Obama probably committed financial crimes, too. Trump's claim that Republicans never investigated Obama is especially bizarre.... Trump, reaching for evidence that Obama probably did something just as unethical as Trump did, comes up with ... Obama's book. You can almost see the wheels turning in Trump's brain as he tries to summon some damning piece of evidence about his predecessor.... 'Writing books' has to be some kind of scam, right?"

Josh Kovensky of TPM: "... Calling [former White House counsel Don] McGahn 'the main fact witness' of former special counsel Robert Mueller's report, [Rep. Jerry] Nadler told CNN's Anderson Cooper that a lawsuit to enforce a subpoena for McGahn's testimony would be filed early next week."

Ted Hesson of Politico: "... Donald Trump said Friday that the United States had struck an asylum agreement with Guatemala. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump told reporters he had reached a safe third country deal with the Central American nation.... Trump has railed at Guatemala in recent days for allegedly backing out of asylum negotiations with the U.S. The Guatemalan government earlier this month called off a meeting between Trump and Guatemalan President Jimmy Morales amid litigation in that country's top court challenging the asylum discussions. In a tweet this week, Trump said his administration was weighing retaliation against Guatemala that included a possible travel ban, tariffs, and a fee on remittances -- a significant source of economic activity in that country.... Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, ripped the pact as 'cruel and immoral' in a written statement. 'Simply put, Guatemala is not a safe country for refugees and asylum seekers,' he said, adding that he expected the move to be challenged in court.... Pro-migrant groups have blasted the idea that asylum seekers will be protected in Guatemala, which had a murder rate more than five times that of the U.S. in 2016." ...

... Liar, Liar. Obed Manuel of the Dallas Morning News (July 25): "A U.S. Border Patrol chief on Thursday testified before the House Judiciary Committee that 18-year-old Francisco Erwin Galicia never claimed to be a U.S. citizen when he was in Border Patrol custody for 23 days. But that contradicts a notice to appear in immigration court served to Galicia in which the Department of Homeland Security accused him of falsely claiming to be a U.S. citizen while in custody.... During the oversight hearing on family separations and short-term custody, Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, asked [Brian Hastings, Chief of Law Enforcement at the U.S. Border Patrol,] why Galicia was held in custody for more than three weeks. Galicia was released less than 24 hours after The News broke the story. Lieu, citing The News' reporting in which Galicia said that he lost 26 pounds in 23 days and wasn't allowed a shower during that time, asked Hastings if he could explain why Galicia was detained. Hastings replied that at the Falfurrias checkpoint where Galicia and his younger brother Marlon Galicia were taken into custody, Francisco 'claimed to be a Mexican National who was born in Reynosa, Mexico.' 'Throughout the process, and while he was with Border Patrol, he claimed to be a citizen of Mexico with no immigration documents to be in or remain in the U.S.,' Hastings told the members of Congress.... '[Hastings'] statement is incorrect,' [Claudia Galan, Galicia's attorney,] said Thursday. 'At the moment he was stopped, he showed them his documents and he kept saying he was a U.S. citizen.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The House should give Hastings an opportunity to "clarify" his testimony. If he declines, or "clarifies" with another lie, the House should cite him for perjury. BTW, it wasn't clear to me until today that the Galicia brothers were detained while minding their own business inside the U.S., not while they were trying to re-enter from Mexico. ...

... Dennis Romero of NBC News: Francisco Galicia describes "inhumane" conditions in the U.S. Customs & Border Patrol facility where he was held. One quote (translated from Spanish: ""We were about 60 people in one small room." Mrs. McC: So if 60 people were concentrated in one small room, isn't it accurate to call the facility a "concentration camp"? I suppose a Trumpie might argue that a facility comprised of what look like permanent or semi-permanent buildings are not literally "camps," in which case I would settle for "concentration facility."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Friday gave President Trump a victory in his fight for a wall along the Mexican border by allowing the administration to begin using $2.5 billion in Pentagon money for the construction. In a 5-to-4 ruling, the court overturned an appellate decision and said that the administration could tap the money while litigation over the matter proceeds. But that will most likely take many months or longer, allowing Mr. Trump to move ahead before the case returns to the Supreme Court after further proceedings in the appeals court. While the order was only one paragraph long and unsigned, the Supreme Court said the groups challenging the administration did not appear to have a legal right to do so. That was an indication that the court's conservative majority was likely to side with the administration in the end." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: You'll have to read the whole report, but it appears Liptak is right. The Court's confederates seem to accept the argument that the litigants, who are environmental advocates, don't have standing. But the House also has filed a suit, & another lower court judge ruled in that case that the judiciary "should generally resolve disputes between the other two branches as only a last resort." This seems to give a president* the power of appropriation, despite the Constitution's unambiguous language conveying that responsibility to the Congress. So forget Article I; Trump does "have Article II," as he has said, an article which he has repeatedly interpreted to mean, "I can do whatever I want."

When "Executive Time" Means "Sexual Assault." Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Col. Kathryn A. Spletstoser says ... Air Force Gen. John E. Hyten, the commander of United States Strategic Command..., pulled her to him and kissed her on the lips while pressing himself against her, then ejaculated, getting semen on his sweatpants and on her yoga pants .... on the night of Dec. 2, 2017.... 'The two were attending the annual Reagan National Defense Forum in California." According to Spletstoser, Hyden knocked on her hotel room door because "he wanted to speak to her.... The military’s itinerary of General Hyten's movements that day in Simi Valley, which was viewed by The New York Times, said he was having 'executive time.'... In April, President Trump nominated General Hyten to be the next vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. If confirmed, he would become the country's No. 2 military officer.... An Air Force official charged with investigating her complaint declined in June to refer General Hyten to a court-martial."

Shane Croucher of Newsweek: "The hashtag #MoscowMitch was trending on Twitter on Friday morning after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked two election bills designed to deter interference by Russia and other states, claiming it was 'partisan legislation' by the Democratic Party.... Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough used the moniker 'Moscow Mitch' in reference to McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, multiple times during his MSNBC show on Friday, and tore into the congressional leader for several minutes." ...

... Nicole Goodkind of Newsweek: "McConnell said he wouldn't allow a vote on the bills because they were 'so partisan,' but, as previously reported, earlier this year McConnell received a slew of donations from four of the top voting machine lobbyists in the country.... The plans would likely burden the two largest electronic voting machine vendors in the United States, Election Systems & Software and Dominion Voting Systems, with new regulations and financial burdens.... McConnell's actions seemed even more out of balance with his party, as the Senate Intelligence Committee -- led by Republicans⁠ -- released a report later on Thursday claiming Russians have targeted voting systems in all 50 states in 2016. Though there was no evidence votes were changed, in Illinois 'Russian cyberactors were in a position to delete or change voter data.' In 2018, there were 14 states that used electronic voting systems in 2018 with no paper trail, that means that if votes were inaccurately tallied or machines malfunctioned, there would be no way to investigate or recover those votes. Voting machine companies are not currently subject to any federally-mandated security standards." ...

... Nancy LeTourneau of the Washington Monthly: "If the House bills are partisan, the question should be whether the majority leader is currently working on bipartisan efforts to secure our elections. We all know that the answer is 'no.' The fact that McConnell claims that mandating the use of paper ballots is an attempt 'to give Democrats the political upper hand' in 2020 is an outrageous assertion, demonstrating that the majority leader has no interest in fair elections, or even giving voters reason to believe that they are fair. It is also telling that McConnell assumes that having paper ballots that can be manually counted would give Democrats an advantage.... Just as we've seen with Trump, he is sending a message to Vladimir Putin that he welcomes another attack.... The invitation also goes out to other foreign adversaries.... You have to wonder why McConnell would be so confident that ... it would be to benefit Republicans. And if the only way for the GOP to survive politically is to invite foreign interference in our elections, the party of Lincoln has been completely corrupted."

... Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank slammed Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Friday after the GOP leader blocked two election security measures this week. In an op-ed published by The Post, Milbank accused McConnell of 'doing Russian President Vladimir Putin's bidding' and labeled the GOP leader 'a Russian asset.'... 'Russia attacked our country in 2016. It is attacking us today. Its attacks will intensify in 2020. Yet each time we try to raise our defenses to repel the attack, McConnell, the Senate majority leader, blocks us from defending ourselves,' Milbank continued. Let's call this what it is: unpatriotic. The Kentucky Republican is, arguably more than any other American, doing Russian President Vladimir Putin's bidding,' he wrote.... The columnist accused McConnell of 'aiding and abetting Putin's dismantling of Americans' self-governance,' adding, 'A leader who won't protect our country from attack is no patriot.'"

Presidential Race 2020

David Jackson of USA Today: "A day after praising a Fox News poll that reflected confidence in his economic record, Trump attacked another Fox News poll that shows him losing the 2020 race to former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden. '@FoxNews is at it again,' Trump said in a tweet.... He added another barb: 'Now new Fox Polls, which have always been terrible to me (they had me losing BIG to Crooked Hillary), have me down to Sleepy Joe.'" ...

... Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "Fox News' Shepard Smith [Friday] afternoon fired back at ... Donald Trump after he blasted the network for their 'terrible' polls. The polling shows Joe Biden beating the president by 10%. As Smith put it, 'Same spread as last month and outside the margin of error.'... 'The Fox News poll did have President Trump losing the popular vote to Hillary Clinton and the Fox News poll was accurate,' Smith said. 'The final survey was done November 3-6 of that year. Among both registered and likely voters, the poll predicted Hillary Clinton would beat Trump by 4 percentage points.... So Clinton would win the popular vote by a margin of between 1.5% and 6.5%. She did. Her margin of victory was 2.1%. Close to three million voters. The polls were accurate.'"

Big Setback for a Frivolous Lawsuit. Max Londberg & Cameron Knight of the Cincinnati Enquirer: "The $250 million lawsuit filed by Nick Sandmann against the Washington Post has been dismissed by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge William Bertelsman, who heard oral arguments earlier this month, issued the ruling on Friday in the case that garnered national attention. Nick became embroiled in a divisive response to an encounter between him, his Covington Catholic High classmates and Native Americans on the National Mall.... The Sandmann family plans to appeal Bertelsman's ruling, according to a statement sent to The Enquirer by Nick's attorneys...."

Why Do We Need "Medicare for All" When Things Are Going So Well? Phil McCausland of NBC News: "More than 10,000 people in Appalachia will sigh with relief this month after two donors from the region helped nonprofit RIP Medical Debt purchase and forgive $10 million of medical debt. But it's just a drop in the bucket of the $88 billion of medical debt racked up in the United States over the past year.... Antico said the $100,000 donation, which buys the $10 million debt for pennies on the dollar, came from two individuals -- Jim Branscome, a former journalist who became the managing director of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, and author and journalist Bill Bishop. The two men approached RIP Medical Debt in May and said they wanted to focus on Central Appalachia with their personal donation. The 10,000 people affected are sprawled across 70 counties in West Virginia, Virginia and Kentucky. The nonprofit is unable to pinpoint individuals, but is able to purchase groups of people's debt in bulk from the debt market, which they did in this case."

Beyond the Beltway

New York. Bridget Read of New York: "The battle over the outcome of last month's highly publicized Queens district attorney race between Tiffany Cabán and Melinda Katz is waging on.... Cabán ... declared victory, with their candidate ahead by 1,100 votes ... until Katz quietly pulled ahead by just 20 votes, as last-minute affidavit and absentee ballots were counted.... Since then, the razor-thin margin between contenders has remained too close to call, after Katz's narrow comeback prompted a manual recount. Volunteers from both camps had been counting roughly 91,000 paper ballots for two weeks before they finished yesterday, after which Katz was still ahead by only 60 votes. The Board of Elections plans to certify the results next week, and Cabán plans to challenge them in court."

Thursday
Jul252019

The Commentariat -- July 26, 2019

I will be out of commission until late tomorrow afternoon. It's possible I'll be able to post a few links tonight, but after that, nada. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Juliegrace Brufke & Niv Elis of the Hill: "The House passed a two-year budget deal Thursday that lifts the debt ceiling and boosts government spending by $320 billion. The legislation would suspend the debt limit through July 2021 and increase spending caps for the next two years, putting the U.S. on track to add an estimated $1.7 trillion to the deficit over the next decade when compared with the billions in automatic spending cuts that would otherwise kick in. Lawmakers passed the package in a 284-149 vote. Sixty-five Republicans voted against the measure, as did 16 Democrats. The legislation now heads to the Senate, which is expected to pass it next week before senators leave town for the August recess. The bill's passage comes just days after President Trump signed off on a deal reached between administration officials, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other congressional leaders."

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "The Senate will vote Monday evening to try to override President Trump's vetoes of resolutions blocking his arms deal with Saudi Arabia. Senators locked in the override votes Thursday as they wrapped up their work for the week.... The veto override attempts are widely expected to fall short after the initial resolutions of disapproval passed with 51 and 53 votes -- well short of the 67 votes needed to override a veto. Trump vetoed the three resolutions of disapproval on Wednesday." ...

... Dan De Luce & Robert Windrem of NBC News list 11 "favors" Trump has done for Saudi Arabia since he's becomes president*. Some are very consequential. Mrs. McC: Of course in the most quid-pro-quo, White-House-for-sale Trumpy tradition, the Saudis are doing & have done plenty of favors for Trump, too.

Senate Republicans Oppose Everything about Fair Elections. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader (R-Ky.) blocked two election security measures on Thursday, arguing Democrats are trying to give themselves a 'political benefit.' The move comes a day after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned about election meddling in 2020, saying Russia was laying the groundwork to interfere in the 2020 election 'as we sit here.' Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had tried to get consent Thursday to pass a House bill that requires the use of paper ballots and includes funding for the Election Assistance Commission. It passed the House 225-184 with one Republican voting for it. But McConnell objected, saying Schumer was trying to pass 'partisan legislation.'... Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also asked for consent to pass legislation that would require candidates, campaign officials and their family members to notify the FBI of assistance offers from foreign governments. McConnell also objected to that bill." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I am beginning to think this is part of a GOP plot not only to erode voters' confidence in election results but also to give Republicans a fake "basis" to challenge results that go against them. There is no good reason to oppose ballot-box security. Therefore, Republicans' motivations must be self-serving & malevolent. Mitch's remark about the bills giving Democrats a "political benefit" certainly implies he sees election chaos to be a "political benefit" to Republicans. We live in dangerous times. ...

... Zachary Basu & Joe Uchill of Axios: "The Senate Intelligence Committee on Thursday released the first part of its redacted report on Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, focusing on 'Russian efforts against election infrastructure.'... The committee found that the Russian government, beginning in at least 2014 and continuing through at least 2017, directed 'extensive activity' targeting state and local election infrastructure. The committee did not find 'indications that votes were changed, vote tallying systems were manipulated, or that any voter registration data was altered or deleted.'... Michael Daniel, former cybersecurity coordinator for the White House, told the committee that by late August 2016, he had 'already personally concluded that the Russians had attempted to intrude in all 50 states, based on the extent of the activity and the apparent randomness of the attempts.'" ...

     ... The New York Times report, by David Sanger & Catie Edmondson, is here.

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The House Oversight and Reform Committee voted on Thursday to authorize subpoenas for senior White House officials' communications via private email accounts and messaging applications, a significant escalation in a years-long, bipartisan effort to learn more about potential violations of federal record-keeping laws. Thursday’s vote by the Democrat-led panel came after the White House refused to turn over the messages voluntarily earlier this month -- including senior adviser Jared Kushner's WhatsApp communications with foreign officials, senior adviser Ivanka Trump's use of a private email account to conduct official business, and former chief strategist Stephen Bannon's use of a personal mobile device for White House business." (Also linked yesterday.)

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump's answers [to the special counsel's questions], submitted in writing and under oath, are receiving new scrutiny after Mr. Mueller agreed in his closely watched congressional testimony this week that some of the president's responses were untruthful.... Mr. Mueller's answer to [Val] Demings [(D-Fla.) regarding Trump's written answers were] a rare moment in which he went beyond his report.... Mr. Trump's answers are becoming additional fodder for the internal debate among House Democrats about whether to open an impeachment inquiry into Mr. Trump, congressional aides said. Notably, one of the two articles of impeachment against President Bill Clinton accused him of lying under oath." Savage summarizes other matters Democrats are considering as areas of inquiry. Worth a read.

Jonathan Chait: In the last minutes of the Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday, "Mueller confirmed that Russia had blackmail leverage over Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign." Chait runs through the lines of questioning that establish Russia's ability to compromise Trump. Mrs. McC: I suspect Russia's got more on Trump than Schiff & Mueller highlighted. If so, I'll bet Trump knows it. (Also linked yesterday.)

John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "With Republicans united behind the President, Democrats uncertain about how to proceed, and Mueller reluctant to the last to come straight out and say that the President committed impeachable offenses, it looks like Trump's blitzkrieg tactics of demonizing anyone who challenges him, terrorizing potential dissidents on his own side, and relentlessly spouting propaganda over social media may have worked. If so, he will have recorded a historic victory over the bedrock American principles of congressional oversight and equality before the law.... The wanton disrespect that these elected Republicans [on the House committees] showed Mueller was perhaps the most alarming testament yet to Trump's total conquest of the Party." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Tom Nichols in USA Today: "The Republicans once prided themselves on being the toughest opponents of America's enemies. They have now been reduced to inane babbling about conspiracy theories, excusing the Russians, whitewashing the hostile foreign intelligence service called WikiLeaks, and attacking a man of indisputable honor and probity -- a fellow Republican, no less -- all in the name of covering Donald Trump's tracks.... I have never been prouder to be an ex-Republican." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... ** David Corn of Mother Jones: "The former special counsel did not drop any new revelations about the Trump-Russia affair. Yet in a simple but important manner, he reiterated the basics of this scandal -- perhaps the most consequential political scandal in American history.... Russia attacked, and Trump denied the attack happened -- which provided cover for Moscow -- yet attempted to benefit from it. This is a profound act of betrayal. It is the essence of the scandal: A presidential candidate aiding and abetting an assault on the United States.... This is the narrative that Trump has desperately wanted to obstruct and smother since the campaign. He was elected president partly due to the Russian intervention he has refused to fully acknowledge and address.... Whether or not Trump engaged in active collusion with Vladimir Putin's regime, he gained the presidency with covert foreign assistance and then abandoned his most fundamental duty: to protect the United States. Arguably, this is more significant than the obstruction issue, for Trump has permitted a foreign power to get away with perverting the foundation of American democracy." --s

** Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The federal government will resume executions of death-row inmates after a nearly two-decade moratorium, Attorney General William P. Barr said Thursday. The announcement reverses what had been essentially a moratorium on the federal death penalty. The federal government has not executed an inmate since 2003, though prosecutors still seek the death penalty in some cases, including for Dylann S. Roof, an avowed white supremacist who killed nine African-American churchgoers in 2015, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber.... Mr. Barr said that Hugh Hurwitz, the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons, has scheduled executions in December and January for five men convicted of murder. They will take place at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., and additional executions will be scheduled later, Mr. Barr said." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: How to divert attention from Mueller's denunciation of Barr & Trump: execute somebody.

Andrew Napolitano of Fox "News": "When [Trump] loudly called for four members of Congress ... to go back to the places from which they came, he unleashed a torrent of hatred.... Nativist hatred is an implication of moral or even legal superiority that has no constitutional justification in American government... [W]hen the president defies these moral and constitutional norms and tells women of color to 'Go back,' he raises a terrifying specter. The specter is hatred not for ideas he despises but for the people who embrace those ideas. The specter is also a dog whistle to groups around the country that hatred is back in fashion and is acceptable to articulate publicly.... Hatred is so volatile and destructive that, once unleashed, it takes on a life of its own. It is cover for our deepest and darkest instincts." --s

Andrew Kaczynski & Nathan McDermott of CNN: "... Donald Trump's pick for the top spokeswoman job at the Treasury Department repeatedly spread conspiracy theories that suggested then-President Barack Obama was secretly a Muslim who was sympathetic to America's enemies. Monica Crowley, who was appointed by Trump last week as assistant treasury secretary for public affairs, made multiple comments spreading these false claims on her personal blog and in at least one tweet between 2009 and 2015, according to a review by CNN's KFile team. Crowley also endorsed a story claiming Obama was an 'Islamic community organizer' trying to conform the United States to Sharia law and claimed conspiracy theories about Obama's birth certificate were 'legitimate concerns.'... Crowley, formerly a syndicated radio host, columnist and Fox News contributor, was originally chosen by Trump in December 2016 to be the senior director of strategic communications for the National Security Council. She withdrew herself from consideration for that position after CNN's KFile team uncovered extensive plagiarism in her book and doctoral thesis." Mrs. McC: She seems perfect for Team Trump.

Juan Cole: "The House of Representatives on Thursday passed by a 398-17 margin a resolution condemning the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel. In so doing, they weakened the US First Amendment of the Constitution, which forbids Congress to censor political speech.... Moreover, this attempt to ban or punish boycotts is a stance of the Far Right and has an ugly history in the white nationalist backlash against the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s.... If Congress had its way and could outlaw boycotts of all the causes and businesses dear to their campaign donors, American democracy would be in peril...Economic boycotts have been part and parcel of American political striving for liberty from the beginning. I have three words for you: Boston Tea Party." --s

Tierney Sneed of TPM: "Census Bureau Director Steven Dillingham couldn't say on Wednesday whether the citizenship data his agency is helping to collect will be used to drastically change the way political power is doled out across the country to favor the Republican Party...[Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA)]... asked Dillingham several questions related to [President Trump's recent executive order directing the government to assemble citizenship data from existing records.]. Dillingham repeatedly struggled to respond and appeared altogether unprepared to answer basic questions about the Census Bureau's plans in following Trump's directive.... Dillingham agreed to respond in writing within 10 days to Pressley's question about apportionment." --s

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is now working for some of the same oil and mining companies he regulated while at the helm of the Department of Interior, according to Bloomberg.... He has dismissed accusations of corruption and conflict of interest, telling Bloomberg that probes into his actions as secretary are 'BS.'... Federal law blocks government officials from lobbying for a year after they leave their post, and an executive order from President Trump bars such actions for five years after leaving federal service. Zinke said he's abiding by the law because he is advising companies but not lobbying." --s

Tom Porter of Business Insider: "... Donald Trump took to the stage at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to deliver a speech to thousands of young, cheering supporters at the Turning Point USA conference. But ... no one seemed to notice that there was something subtly different about the presidential seal that was being shown on the screen behind him. Instead of the bald eagle featured in the official seal of the president of the United States, the image featured a double-headed eagle, which bears a striking resemblance to the one on the official coat of arms of the Russian Federation.... And instead of clutching arrows in its left claw, the eagle in the altered image held golf clubs...." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Betsy Klein of CNN: "An audiovisual aide for conservative student group Turning Point USA was fired this week after ... Donald Trump appeared on a stage in front of a parody image of the presidential seal at its Teen Student Action Summit.... TPUSA had event branding on the screens, but during a run through ahead of Trump's remarks a few hours before the event, the team was told they had to change the branding to a presidential seal...." Mrs. McC: "was told?" By whom? I'd guess it was some crack advance person at the White House. And instead of sending over a high-res image of the seal, the White House guy (I'm guessing) left it to a TPUSA AV aide to punt. He did. And he got fired for his trouble. (Also linked yesterday.)

Congressional Race 2020. This Is Going Well. Jon Swaine of the Guardian: "A pro-Trump Republican candidate for Congress who is aiming to unseat Ilhan Omar in Minnesota has been charged with a felony after allegedly stealing from stores. Danielle Stella was arrested twice this year in Minneapolis suburbs over allegations that she shoplifted items worth more than $2,300 from a Target and goods valued at $40 from a grocery store. She said she denied the allegations. Stella, a 31-year-old special education teacher, was reported this week to be a supporter of the baseless 'QAnon' conspiracy theory about Donald Trump battling a global cabal of elite liberal paedophiles.... In a series of text messages, Stella said:'I am not guilty of these crimes....'"

GOP Embraces Socialism. Reuters: "The US government will pay American farmers hurt by the trade war with China between $15 and $150 per acre in an aid package totaling $16bn with farmers in the South poised to see higher rates than in the midwest.... The assistance, starting in mid-to-late August, follows the president's $12bn package last year that was aimed at making up for lower farm good prices and lost sales." --s

Coral Davenport & Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "Four of the world's largest automakers have struck a deal with California to reduce automobile emissions, siding with the state in its fight with President Trump over one of his most consequential regulatory rollbacks. In coming weeks, the Trump administration is expected to all but eliminate an Obama-era regulation designed to reduce vehicle emissions that contribute to global warming. California and 13 other states have vowed to keep enforcing the stricter rules, potentially splitting the United States auto market in two. With car companies facing the prospect of having to build two separate lineups of vehicles, they opened secretive talks with California regulators in which the automakers -- Ford Motor Company, Volkswagen of America, Honda and BMW -- won slightly less restrictive rules that they can apply to vehicles sold nationwide."

Way Beyond the Beltway

U.K. Thomas Colson of Business Insider: "Prime Minister Boris Johnson's opponents have accused him of creating a 'Cabinet from hell' after he appointed a home secretary with a history of supporting the death penalty, a deputy who has called feminists 'obnoxious bigots,' and multiple ministers who voted against legislation for same-sex marriage. Johnson, who became prime minister on Wednesday, conducted the most brutal cabinet purge in modern UK political history, as ministers who backed his rival Jeremy Hunt were thrown out of Cabinet.... Pledging to deliver Britain's exit from the European Union by October 31, with 'no ifs or buts,' Johnson fired 17 Cabinet ministers and gave many top jobs to members of Parliament who had been involved in the Vote Leave [pro-Brexit campaign]." ...

... Heather Stewart, et al., of the Guardian: "Brussels has roundly rebuffed Boris Johnson after he laid down tough conditions for the new Brexit deal he hopes to strike over the summer.... The European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, signalled the EU27's determination to stick with the deal negotiated with Theresa May's government.... In a speech [before Parliament] that was loudly cheered by many Conservative MPs, [Johnson] said all members of his new cabinet were committed to leaving the EU on 31 October 'whatever the circumstances -- and to do otherwise would cause a catastrophic loss of confidence in our political system'."

News Lede

USA Today: "A large asteroid 'narrowly' missed the Earth overnight Wednesday, astronomers announced. According to NASA, the space rock was an estimated 187 to 427 feet wide. 'The closest it came to Earth was just under 45,000 miles, a safe distance, but still much less than the distance between the Earth and moon,' Astronomy magazine said. The moon is about 239,000 miles from the Earth. The rock was a shock: 'It snuck up on us pretty quickly,' Michael Brown, an associate professor in Australia..., told the Washington Post. 'People are only sort of realizing what happened pretty much after it's already flung past us.'"

Wednesday
Jul242019

The Commentariat -- July 25, 2019

Afternoon Update:

** Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The federal government will resume executions of death-row inmates after a nearly two-decade moratorium, Attorney General William P. Barr said Thursday. The announcement reverses what had been essentially a moratorium on the federal death penalty. The federal government has not executed an inmate since 2003, though prosecutors still seek the death penalty in some cases, including for Dylann S. Roof, an avowed white supremacist who killed nine African-American churchgoers in 2015, and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the Boston Marathon bomber.... Mr. Barr said that Hugh Hurwitz, the acting director of the Bureau of Prisons, has scheduled executions in December and January for five men convicted of murder. They will take place at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Ind., and additional executions will be scheduled later, Mr. Barr said." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: How to divert attention from Mueller's denunciation of Barr & Trump: execute somebody.

Senate Republicans Oppose Everything about Fair Elections. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) blocked two election security measures on Thursday, arguing Democrats are trying to give themselves a 'political benefit.' The move comes a day after former special counsel Robert Mueller warned about election meddling in 2020, saying Russia was laying the groundwork to interfere in the 2020 election 'as we sit here.' Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) had tried to get consent Thursday to pass a House bill that requires the use of paper ballots and includes funding for the Election Assistance Commission. It passed the House 225-184 with one Republican voting for it. But McConnell objected, saying Schumer was trying to pass 'partisan legislation.'... Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also asked for consent to pass legislation that would require candidates, campaign officials and their family members to notify the FBI of assistance offers from foreign governments. McConnell also objected to that bill." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I am beginning to wonder if this is part of a GOP plot not only to erode voters' confidence in election results but also to give Republicans a fake "basis" to challenge results that go against them.

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The House Oversight and Reform Committee voted on Thursday to authorize subpoenas for senior White House officials' communications via private email accounts and messaging applications, a significant escalation in a years-long, bipartisan effort to learn more about potential violations of federal record-keeping laws. Thursday's vote by the Democrat-led panel came after the White House refused to turn over the messages voluntarily earlier this month -- including senior adviser Jared Kushner's WhatsApp communications with foreign officials..., Ivanka Trump's use of a private email account to conduct official business, and ... Stephen Bannon's use of a personal mobile device for White House business."

Jonathan Chait: In the last minutes of the Intelligence Committee hearing yesterday, "Mueller confirmed that Russia had blackmail leverage over Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign." Chait runs through the lines of questioning that establish Russia's ability to compromise Trump. Mrs. McC: I suspect Russia's got more on Trump than Schiff & Mueller highlighted. If so, I'll bet Trump knows it.

John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "With Republicans united behind the President, Democrats uncertain about how to proceed, and Mueller reluctant to the last to come straight out and say that the President committed impeachable offenses, it looks like Trump's blitzkrieg tactics of demonizing anyone who challenges him, terrorizing potential dissidents on his own side, and relentlessly spouting propaganda over social media may have worked. If so, he will have recorded a historic victory over the bedrock American principles of congressional oversight and equality before the law.... The wanton disrespect that these elected Republicans [on the House committees] showed Mueller was perhaps the most alarming testament yet to Trump's total conquest of the Party." ...

... Tom Nichols in USA Today: "The Republicans once prided themselves on being the toughest opponents of America's enemies. They have now been reduced to inane babbling about conspiracy theories, excusing the Russians, whitewashing the hostile foreign intelligence service called WikiLeaks, and attacking a man of indisputable honor and probity -- a fellow Republican, no less -- all in the name of covering Donald Trump's tracks.... I have never been prouder to be an ex-Republican."

Tom Porter of Business Insider: "... Donald Trump took to the stage at the Marriott Marquis hotel in Washington, DC, on Tuesday to deliver a speech to thousands of young, cheering supporters at the Turning Point USA conference. But ... no one seemed to notice that there was something subtly different about the presidential seal that was being shown on the screen behind him. Instead of the bald eagle featured in the official seal of the president of the United States, the image featured a double-headed eagle, which bears a striking resemblance to the one on the official coat of arms of the Russian Federation.... And instead of clutching arrows in its left claw, the eagle in the altered image held golf clubs...." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ...

... Betsy Klein of CNN: "An audiovisual aide for conservative student group Turning Point USA was fired this week after ... Donald Trump appeared on a stage in front of a parody image of the presidential seal at its Teen Student Action Summit.... TPUSA had event branding on the screens, but during a run through ahead of Trump's remarks a few hours before the event, the team was told they had to change the branding to a presidential seal...." Mrs. McC: "was told?" By whom? I'd guess it was the crack White House advance team. And instead of sending over a high-res image of the seal, the White House guy (I'm guessing) left it to a TPUSA AV aide to punt. He did. And he got fired for his trouble.

~~~~~~~~~~

Grace Segers of CBS News: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi shied away from advocating for impeachment in response to former special counsel Robert Mueller's testimony before the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees.] The American people now realize more fully the crimes that were committed against our Constitution,' Pelosi said in the Capitol of Mueller's testimony. 'It is a crossing of a threshold in terms of the public awareness of what happened,' she later said during a news conference following Mueller's testimony. But she stopped short of advocating for impeachment right now. 'My position has always been, whatever decision we made in that regard would have to be with our strongest possible hand, and we still have some matters outstanding in the courts,' Pelosi said, arguing that Democrats needed more information before considering impeachment." Mrs. McC: For what it's worth, I thought she got a little closer to impeachment than she has in the past. Later in the day, some opinionators backed me up, including Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), who I think is a long-time friend of Pelosi's. ...

     ... Update. John Bresnahan, et al., of Politico: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler pushed to launch impeachment proceedings against ... Donald Trump during a closed-door meeting Wednesday, only to be rebuffed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, according to four sources familiar with the discussions. At a caucus meeting following the hotly anticipated testimony of special counsel Robert Mueller, Nadler suggested that several House committee chairs could begin drafting articles of impeachment against Trump. Pelosi called the idea premature, said the sources."

Politico fronts with a banner headline: "'Euphoria': White House, GOP exult after a flat Mueller performance." Eliana Johnson & Melanie Zanona: "The tense opening moments of former special counsel Robert Mueller's much-anticipated testimony on Capitol Hill gave way to an early sense of relief at the White House, where aides were quietly celebrating what they viewed as disjointed questioning from Democrats and a weak performance from the star witness himself. Mueller, whose steely reputation has cast a long shadow over the Trump's tenure, proved -- at least in th early offing -- a less formidable witness in the flesh than Democrats had hoped, offering up clipped, monosyllabic responses and repeatedly asking lawmakers to repeat their questions. Watching from the White House, at least one Trump aide said the former FBI director, who spent some 22 months investigating the president, simply seemed past his prime and incapable of doing Trump much harm.... 'We had a very good day today, the Republican Party,' Trump told reporters as he prepared to depart for a fundraiser in West Virginia. 'There was no defense of what Robert Mueller was trying to defend.... There was no defense to this ridiculous hoax, this witch hunt.'" ...

     ... Mrs. Bea MCrabbie: White House staff isn't wrong about Mueller's performance, but they seem to be forgetting the House isn't finished.

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Here's snippet from Adam Schiff's closing questions to Bob Mueller:

Adam Schiff: ... From your testimony today, I gather than knowingly accepting assistance from a foreign government is an unethical thing to do. ...

Robert Mueller: And a crime. [pause] Given certain circumstances.

... Mrs. McCrabbie: You can hear the full exchange in this video which Schiff posted on YouTube. Mueller volunteered, unbidden, that accepting help from foreign governments was a crime, an assertion he quickly qualified. The Mueller report details & Mueller agreed in testimony yesterday, Donald Trump repeatedly sought & received campaign help from Russians. The Mueller report explains that Don Jr., Jared Kushner & even Paul Manafort were too damned dumb to know that they were breaking the law when they met with Russians to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. BUT. We know Donald Trump, Sr. thought this meeting was at least dodgy because he went to some lengths to concoct a series of lies about it. On August 17, 2016, Trump Sr. received an FBI briefing warning him he could be a target of Russian spies. "Trump would have been told, 'If you see these kinds of contacts please let us know about them so we can keep you updated on the threat picture,' said Frank Montoya, a former FBI counterintelligence agent...." Trump apparently never contacted the FBI, and he absolutely knew about Russian contacts because Michael Cohen was regularly briefing him on the Moscow Tower deal up until June 2016 & possibly until November 2016, & Trump also knew in advance about the Russia/Wikileaks dumps. So didn't Mueller just spontaneously tell us Donald Trump committed another crime?

Mrs. McCrabbie: It seems to me Democrats did the best job possible with a very reluctant witness, who refused even to read from his own report & declined to answer questions at least 200 times over the course of the day. As a number of you have suggested or said outright, the last act of Bob Mueller, American hero, was a great disservice to the country.

Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) opened the Intelligence Commitee session with impressive remarks about "the story of the 2016 election":

... Schiff subsequently questioned Mueller:

In the Intel Committee hearing, Mueller told Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) that Trump's repeated public embrace of WikiLeaks -- which he had identified earlier as "a hostile foreign entity" -- was more than problematic: "Problematic is an understatement in terms of what it displays, giving some hope or some boost to what is and should be illegal activity."

... Also in the Intel Committee hearing, Rep. Sean Maloney (D-NY) asked Mueller why he didn't pursue a subpoena of Trump. A very interesting exchange:

... Another highlight of the afternoon hearing: PBS: "... Robert Mueller told Rep. Val Demings, D-Fla., that ... Donald Trump did not answer many questions that were asked as part of the Russia investigation. 'Isn't it fair to say that the president's written answers were not only inadequate and incomplete, because he didn't answer many of your questions, but where he did that his answers showed he wasn't always being truthful?' Demings asked Mueller. 'I would say generally,' Mueller said":

Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Towards the end of Robert Mueller's testimony before the House Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, the former special counsel indicated that the FBI is currently investigating matters of blackmail and compromise involving those [who] were in ... Donald Trump's orbit. During his allotted time, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-IL) noted that because it was outside the Mueller investigation's purview, the final report did not reach any counterintelligence conclusions regarding 'any Trump administration officials who may be vulnerable to compromise or blackmail by Russia.'... The Illinois lawmaker [later] noted that Mueller had charged former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn with making false statements about his conversations with Russian officials. 'Since it was outside the purview of your investigation, your report did not address how Flynn's false statements could pose a national security risk, because the Russians knew the falsity of those statements, right?' Krishnamoorthi wondered. 'I cannot get into that, mainly because there are many elements that the FBI are looking into different aspects of that issue,' Mueller said in response. 'Currently?' Krishnamoorthi quizzically replied. 'Currently,' the one-time FBI chief confirmed." Includes video. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Julie Davis & Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times assert in their lede in the Times' top story that "Robert S. Mueller III offered no new revelations on Wednesday into Russia's interference in the 2016 elections or President Trump's attempts to derail his probe." But I think the revelation that the FBI is still investigating Trump's associates -- and maybe Trump himself -- as security risks because of their international entanglements is pretty explosive. I hope Jared was watching.

Jerry Nadler began the questioning of Robert Mueller, in what was a highlight of Wednesday morning's Judiciary Committee hearing:

... Ted Lieu elicits the most significant response from Mueller re: obstruction:

     ... Ted Lieu is one of the sharpest tacks on the board. Update: Mueller tried to clean up his response to Lieu during the afternoon session before the House Intelligence Committee, "correcting" his answer to say he "did not make a determination" on obstruction. So Wow! followed by "never mind." ...

     ... Here are Andrew Desiderio & Kyle Cheney of Politico on the correction: "Mueller, however, corrected himself during the second portion of his testimony before the House Intelligence Committee, saying, 'That is not the correct way to say it.' Mueller clarified his response by noting instead that the Justice Department policy that prohibits the indictment of a sitting president meant that he 'did not reach a determination as to whether the president committed a crime.'" That's not quite a reversal of his initial testimony. P.S. The Politico report is a pretty good summary of what's transpired so far. Matt Ford, in his column linked below suggested Mueller may have reworded his answer because he realized "that he had let something slip past his shield of impartiality." ...

     ... Dahlia Lithwick of Slate: "... the one bit of news that seemed to have been news has been clarified back into the same exact legal language as was carefully crafted in the report. It was a misstep that was misunderstood and then retracted, a perfect capsule performance of how dragging an unwilling witness into a polemical hearing was never going to go well."

... Jonathan Chait: "Democrats tried fruitlessly to lead Mueller to his own conclusions. Two Democrats on the Judiciary Committee, Hakeem Jeffries and Ted Lieu, walked the witness through the three stated elements of an obstructive act defined in the Mueller report: an obstructive act, a nexus with an official proceeding, and corrupt intent. Jeffries went sequentially through the elements, getting Mueller to agree that Trump's actions had fulfilled each one. But then Mueller interjected, 'Let me just say, if I might, I don't subscribe necessarily to your -- the way you analyzed that. I'm not saying it's out of the ballpark, but I'm not supportive of that analytical charge.' He agreed that it was 1 + 1 + 1, but would not agree that it added up to 3. He was not denying, it either -- merely hewing to his ultrafastidious conception of a uniquely constrained prosecutor who could lay out the constituent pieces of a crime but could only leave it to Congress to name the final product. This was a key vulnerability Republicans used against Mueller.... Despite the copious evidence he produced, the lack of bottom-line conclusion allowed Republicans to define it as exoneration and dare Mueller to disagree." Mrs. McC: I highlighted that one clause only because I think it's fine writing. ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "... because Mueller had decided at the outset of his report that he could not and would not charge the president with crimes, thanks to Justice Department guidance and in the interest of fairness, Mueller did not make the otherwise obvious jump from laying out the ways that Trump's behavior met the three-prong test to actually stating that Trump obstructed justice. During [Wednesday's] House Judiciary Committee hearing, Democratic Representative Hakeem Jeffries sought to demonstrate the disconnect by walking Mueller through the three-prong test.... Mueller, seeing the trick, tried to cut it off.... During the next round of Democratic questions, Representative Ted Lieu executed a similar maneuver, and Mueller once again tried to put the cat back in the bag.... But by then, the point was made: Mueller himself had acknowledged all the ways that Trump's behavior met all three prongs of the test for obstruction of justice."

Almost Everything You Need to Know about Republicans' Interrogations. Eric Levitz of New York: "... in questioning the former special counsel Wednesday morning, Republicans cast their president as the victim of an illegitimate, partisan witch hunt -- which nevertheless totally exonerated him of all wrongdoing. Specifically, GOP lawmakers asserted that the Mueller investigation had concluded that neither Trump nor anyone in his campaign 'colluded, collaborated or conspired with the Russians'; that this finding was inevitable, since the entire investigation was triggered by a fraudulent dossier; that Trump knew he was entirely innocent and therefore could have legitimately ended Mueller's probe if he'd wished; that Trump nevertheless graciously refrained from impeding the investigation; and that Mueller ultimately betrayed Trump's good-faith cooperation by releasing an 'extra prosecutorial' analysis of the president's potential acts of obstruction, in defiance of Justice Department regulations and the core principles of the American legal system. All of which were lies." [Levitz writes] "a quick debunking of the five false premises in the GOP's counternarrative[.]"

David Corn of Mother Jones: "Whether or not Trump engaged in active collusion with Vladimir Putin's regime, he gained the presidency with covert foreign assistance and then abandoned his most fundamental duty: to protect the United States. Arguably, this is more significant than the obstruction issue, for Trump has permitted a foreign power to get away with perverting the foundation of American democracy.... A US election was hijacked. Trump stood by as it happened and profited from it. And ever since he has attempted to cover up this original sin of his presidency. At the hearing..., in the quiet way of an institutionalist who respects norms and rules, Mueller made it clear: Trump engaged in treachery. This is not news. But it remains a defining element of the Trump presidency that deserves constant attention."

Politico Magazine rounds up some legal experts' opinions on the effects of the hearings.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump started shouting on Twitter before 7 a.m. on Wednesday, venting about what he called the 'Greatest Witch Hunt in U.S. history' as Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel, was headed to Capitol Hill to testify in the Russia inquiry.... By 8:10, the president had posted seven more times, delivering a kind of Twitter greatest hits -- punctuated by capital letters and exclamation points -- in which he portrayed himself as the innocent victim of an illegal crusade by Mr. Mueller, Democrats and the country's intelligence community. He said that his accusers were part of an 'illegal and treasonous attack on our Country.'... On Tuesday, Mr. Trump had shrugged off the impending testimony, telling reporters that he would not watch the hearings on Wednesday, then admitting that 'maybe I'll see a little bit of it.' But the president's early morning online activities betrayed his real intentions, indicating once again that Mr. Trump appeared consumed by the investigation that had dominated much of his presidency.... Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump appeared to threaten Mr. Mueller with prosecution for lying to Congress if the special counsel claimed during his testimony that he did not apply for the job of F.B.I. Director the day before he was appointed to lead the Russia probe. 'Hope he doesn't say that under oath in that we have numerous witnesses to the interview, including the Vice President of the United States!.'..." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: On that last point, it looks as if Mueller's friend Bill Barr will be prosecuting him. During the hearing, Louie Goemert asked a question predicated on the assertion that Mueller applied to Trump for the FBI job. Though Goemert was talking over Mueller, I believe Mueller said something to the effect of "I didn't apply for the job." Update: Later, Greg Steube (R) asked Mueller about applying for the FBI job, & Mueller said he did not. He said the purpose of the interview with Trump was to inform Trump about what the FBI director's job involved (paraphrase). Get out your handcuffs, Sheriff Bill. ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: One thing I found funny: a Democrat (I forget who) asked Mueller to put his conclusions on obstruction in plain English so the American people could understand what-all he found. Mueller's response: "The president was not exculpated for the acts that he allegedly committed." Exculpated? Really? What percentage of voters knows what that means? Plain English for thee, Bob, but not for me.

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times writes a fairly good summary of "what we learned" from the hearings.

On substance, Democrats got what they wanted: that Mueller didn't charge Pres. Trump because of the OLC guidance, that he could be indicted after he leaves office, among other things. But on optics, this was a disaster. -- Chuck Todd, in a tweet, Wednesday ...

... Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Maria Bustillos in the Columbia Journalism Review: "... Chuck Todd managed to demonstrate, with uncharacteristic brevity, his basic misunderstanding of the requirements of his job[.]... Todd's focus on the 'entertainment' aspect of politics coverage is often in evidence -- for example, in his own recent performance as moderator in the Democratic presidential debate. He managed to talk more than all but three of the candidates, even as he demanded that they keep their own answers brief.... For Chuck Todd all the political world's a stage, and he's the star. And it's not just Todd. Other MSNBC anchors reacted to the Mueller hearings similarly, finding fault with the Democrats', and Mueller's, lack of pizazz as performers." ...

... It Wasn't Just Chuck & the Gang. Matt Ford of the New Republic: "Even before Robert Mueller's appearance before Congress on Wednesday reached the halfway point, some [D.C. reporters] concluded that it was a major setback for impeaching ... Donald Trump.... The focus on congressional theatrics and [Mueller's] demeanor misses the point. In substantive terms, the former special counsel in the Russia investigation affirmed several key interpretations of his report and its findings.... While the political press was busy lamenting that Mueller didn't break character and accuse the president of impeachable crimes, it missed the news: Mueller, in his own way, underscored the case for Trump's impeachment.... It's no surprise that those who view impeachment as a cable-news narrative saw little of value in Mueller's hearing. There were no bombshells to be found, but that's largely because the bombs have already gone off." ...

... Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times has more on pundits' analysis of the Mueller's "performance." Mrs. McC: But I think the problems were not his sometimes shaky grasp of the particulars of the report (and that time he couldn't remember the word "conspiracy"), but his self-imposed limitations on his own testimony. There were no doubt some matters Mueller could not discuss for valid reasons like ongoing investigations & national security considerations. But, as Matthew Miller said (cited by Grynbaum), "It would have been better for him to come to Congress ready to answer questions about the president's conduct and how it should be interpreted, rather than punting over and over again." Exactly.

Senate GOP Responds to Mueller's Warnings about Foreign Election Interference. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Republicans blocked two election security bills and a cybersecurity measure on Wednesday in the wake of ... Robert Mueller warning about meddling attempts during his public testimony before congressional lawmakers. Democrats tried to get consent to pass two bills that would require campaigns to alert the FBI and Federal Election Commission about foreign offers of assistance, as well as a bill to let the Senate Sergeant at Arms offer voluntary cyber assistance for personal devices and accounts of senators and staff. But Sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) blocked each of the bills. She didn't give reason for her objections, or say if she was objecting o behalf of herself or the Senate GOP caucus." Mrs. McC: Apparently GOP senators are assuming all the foreign hacking & fake Facebook posts will inure to their benefit.


Zachary Cohen & Betsy Klein
of CNN: "... Donald Trump has vetoed three joint resolutions prohibiting arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, the White House announced Wednesday, rejecting an attempt by congressional lawmakers to halt the controversial weapons transfers. In messages to the Senate, Trump announced he was returning the bipartisan bills that would have blocked licensing for certain arms sales in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, the UK, France, Spain and Italy."

Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The Justice Department will not bring criminal charges against Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross after the Democrat-led House voted last week to hold them in contempt. In a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Wednesday, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen said the Cabinet officials' defiance of congressional subpoenas seeking information about the 2020 census 'did not constitute a crime.' Lawmakers never expected the Justice Department to prosecute its own leader and another cabinet official, but Rosen's letter represented the department's formal response to a House vote that, in effect, referred Barr and Ross for criminal prosecution."

Andrew Harris of Bloomberg: "... Donald Trump asked a federal judge for an emergency order keeping House Democrats from getting -- or even asking for -- his New York State tax returns. One day after the president sued to block the House Ways and Means Committee from obtaining those records under a newly enacted New York State law, he petitioned the court to stifle any such request before it's made by Committee Chairman Richard Neal [D-Mass.]... U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington set a July 25 hearing on Trump's request. Neal hasn't committed to asking for the returns. They were placed within reach by the TRUST Act, a measure signed into law by Governor Andrew Cuomo earlier this month. It compels the state's tax department to comply with the House committee records requests. Trump wants the court to invalidate the law too."

Camilo Montoya-Galvez of CBS News: "Delivering a painful defeat to the Trump administration's most sweeping effort to single-handedly overhaul the asylum system without Congress, a federal judge on Wednesday blocked a rule that made most migrants from Central America and other countries ineligible for asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border. Judge Jon Tigar of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California agreed to issue a temporary injunction halting the policy while he reviews the merits of a legal challenge spearheaded by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). In his order, Tigar seemed to agree with the concerns raised by the plaintiffs that policy could result in the U.S. government sending asylum seekers back to dangerous circumstances just because they did not seek protection in countries like Mexico." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Jonathan Dienst & Tom Winter of NBC News: "Jeffrey Epstein, the millionaire financier who is being held on federal sex trafficking charges, was found injured and in a fetal position in his cell at a New York City jail, sources close to the investigation told NBC News on Wednesday night. Epstein, 66, was found semi-conscious with marks on his neck in his cell at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan some time in the last two days, the sources said. Epstein is on suicide watch, two sources said. Two sources told NBC News that Epstein may have tried to hang himself, while a third source cautioned that the injuries weren't serious, questioning whether Epstein might have staged an attack or a suicide attempt to get a transfer to another facility."

Beyond the Beltway

** Puerto Rico. Patricia Mazzei & Frances Robles of the New York Times: "Gov. Ricardo A. Rosselló of Puerto Rico announced his resignation on Wednesday night, conceding that he could no longer credibly remain in power after an extraordinary popular uprising and looming impeachment proceedings had derailed his administration. In a statement posted online just before midnight, Mr. Rosselló, 40, said he would step down on Aug. 2. He said his successor for the moment would be the secretary of justice, Wanda Vázquez, a former district attorney who once headed the island's office of women's affairs. Ms. Vázquez was next in line under the commonwealth's Constitution because the secretary of state, who would have succeeded Mr. Rosselló as governor, resigned last week when he also was caught up in a chat scandal that enveloped the administration."

Way Beyond

So Boris Johnson -- the "Britain Trump," according to the United States Trump -- is now the Britain Prime Minister. He has been to London to visit the Queen. ...

... Maybe Elizabeth will like him, because "her people" picked him out. Joe Roberts of U.K. Metro News: "Boris Johnson has been elected as prime minister by 92,000 people who are predominately male, white, middle-class pensioners. It's not the first time a prime minister has been elected without a general election, but many are questioning why our new leader should be chosen by 0.14 per cent of Britain's population. Experts have looked closely at the Conservative membership and found it is 'entirely unrepresentative' of the general population based on gender, wealth, ethnicity and their hard-line attitudes against Brussels. Research has confirmed that 70% of party members are male and 97% are white British. The average age is 57, although over 40% of the group is aged 65 or above." Eighty-six percent are wealthy.

News Lede

New York Times: "Never in recorded history has Paris been hotter than it was on Thursday. The same was true of Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands, as temperatures rose and records tumbled one by one across Western Europe, scorching the continent and sending residents scrambling to seek relief from a dangerous heat wave. In Paris, the temperature soared to 42.6 degrees Celsius (108.7 Fahrenheit), breaking a record set in 1947, 40.4 degrees Celsius, according to the French national weather service, which said the temperatures could rise further. Some 20 million people in northern France were expected to be affected by the heat."