The Conversation -- February 1, 2025
⭐David Lynch, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Saturday imposed tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China, the nation's three largest trading partners, invoking emergency economic powers in a high-stakes bid to compel them to crack down on illegal immigration and drugs reaching the United States. The president signed three executive orders establishing the measures, the first official actions of his second-term trade war, according to a White House official who briefed reporters. They drew sharp replies from the leaders of Canada and Mexico, as well as immediate opposition from business and labor groups, which warned of profound upheaval throughout the economy. For the typical U.S. household, the tariffs will mean a loss of about $1,200 in annual purchasing power...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't believe for a minute Trump imposed the tariffs to force crackdowns on immigrants & drugs coming into the U.S. He did it because he's a stupid, mean, narcissist, and he doesn't give a flying fuck if he further straps families who can ill-afford to spend another $1,200 a month to purchase necessities. This is a shameful, petty, self-indulgent act. ~~~
~~~ Danielle Kaye of the New York Times: "The three countries [-- Canada, Mexico & China --] account for more than a third of the products brought into the United States, supporting tens of millions of American jobs.... All goods imported from Canada and Mexico will be subject to a 25 percent tariff, except Canadian energy products, which will face a 10 percent tariff, according to the executive orders. The orders also placed a 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods.... In the United States, the largest risks are to farming, fishing, metal and auto production.... Analysts at Goldman Sachs have said that if Mr. Trump proceeds with across-the-board tariffs, it would both raise prices in the United States and slow economic growth. Most economists expect that fresh trade barriers could lead to a temporary burst of higher inflation. The Canadian government has made plans to target orange juice from Florida, whiskey from Tennessee and peanut butter from Kentucky, while Mexico's president, Claudia Sheinbaum, has said her country is prepared to respond with retaliatory tariffs."
Andrew Duehren, et al., of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gave representatives of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency access to the federal payment system late on Friday, according to five people familiar with the change, handing Elon Musk and [his] team ... a powerful tool to monitor and potentially limit government spending. The new authority follows a standoff this week with a top Treasury official who had resisted allowing Mr. Musk's lieutenants into the department's payment system, which sends out money on behalf of the entire federal government. The official, a career civil servant named David Lebryk, was put on leave and then suddenly retired on Friday after the dispute, according to people familiar with his exit. The system could give the Trump administration another mechanism to attempt to unilaterally restrict disbursement of money approved for specific purposes by Congress, a push that has faced legal roadblocks." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This Friday-night heist is far more dangerous than the tariffs Trump just imposed. (1) Most voters probably will not even hear about this, or if they do, it won't register as nearly as important as the tariffs Trump just imposed. (2) If people ever get up-in-arms about this, it won't be till they miss their first Social Security check or can't get their EBT cards (food stamps). (3) The tariffs are monumentally stupid, but Trump can legally impose them. Giving non-government employees access to the nation's checkbook, with an eye toward tearing it up, is illegal and unconstitutional. (4) This is a revolutionary act, a piece of the (so far) bloodless coup in which Trump's buddies are taking over another branch of government. Oh, and don't think that the kleptocrats won't write themselves checks. They probably won't do it right away, but if they get comfy enough controlling the purse strings, they'll find a little somethin' somethin' in it for their troubles. ~~~
~~~ P.S. I know many of you think I must look pretty silly running around with my hair on fire. But Trump told us many of the terrible things he would do, and now he has the impulse and the means to do most of them. Remember that many a monstrous dictator took control of his country by legal means (Hitler) and with a great deal of public support (Mussolini).
Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "The director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Rohit Chopra, was fired on Saturday, prematurely ending a five-year term that was scheduled to run through late 2026.... Mr. Chopra expected to be fired immediately after President Trump took office, but he improbably hung on for nearly two weeks, even as the president ousted scores of other agency leaders. He used that time to impose a $2 million fine on a money transmitter and release reports on auto lending costs, specialty credit reporting companies and rent payment data. When Congress created the consumer bureau in 2011 -- to increase oversight of mortgage loans and other financial products in the aftermath of the Great Recession -- it included guardrails to protect the agency's independence and shield it from shifting political tides. But the Supreme Court ruled in 2020 that the president was free to fire the agency's director without cause, which cleared the way for the bureau's leadership to change with each presidential administration." MB: Once again: thanks, Supremes!
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Marie: What we are experiencing is the third American revolution. The first was a radical left-wing war against a government owned & operated by Great Britain. It succeeded. The second was a radical right-wing war against the government in Washington, D.C. It failed in fact but not in the imaginations of the losers and their progeny. The third is a right-wing war in the image of the second. So far, this third war is a bloodless coup. If it succeeds, forget the Gulf of America. It will henceforth be the Trump Ocean. If Greenland falls to us, it will cease to be Greenland. The Greenlanders, like the rest of us, will be living in Trumpland.
The Times article that follows paints a picture of where we seem to stand now. Articles published yesterday, linked below the NYT story, get us there.
⭐Adam Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: "The Trump administration plans to scrutinize thousands of F.B.I. agents involved in Jan. 6 investigations, setting the stage for a possible purge that goes far beyond the bureau's leaders to target rank-and-file agents, according to internal documents and people familiar with the matter. The proposal came on a day that more than a dozen prosecutors at the U.S. attorney's office in Washington who had worked on cases involving the Jan. 6 riot were told that they were being terminated. The moves were a powerful indication that Mr. Trump has few qualms deploying the colossal might of federal law enforcement to punish perceived political enemies, even as his cabinet nominees offered sober assurances they would abide by the rule of law. Forcing out both agents and prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases would amount to a wide-scale assault on the Justice Department. On Friday, interim leaders at the department instructed the F.B.I. to notify more than a half-dozen high-ranking career officials that they faced termination, according to a copy of an internal memo obtained by The New York Times."
Donald Trump Is All Surprised That This Happened. Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: "Trump administration officials have forced out all six of the FBI's most senior executives and multiple heads of FBI field offices across the country, current and former FBI officials told NBC News. They included the high-profile leader of the Washington, D.C., field office, which was involved in the prosecutions of ... Donald Trump. The Justice Department also fired multiple federal prosecutors who conducted criminal investigations of Jan. 6 rioters, sources said. A congressional aide said the number of prosecutors impacted is roughly two dozen. And in a memo to the FBI workforce sent out Friday night, the bureau's acting director, Brian J. Driscoll, Jr., informed employees that the acting Deputy Attorney General asked him to provide a list of all FBI employees who worked on January 6 cases for 'a review process to determine whether any additional personnel actions are necessary.' 'We understand that this request encompasses thousands of employees across the country who have supported these investigative efforts,' Driscoll wrote. 'I am one of those employees, as is acting Deputy Director Kissane.'
"Asked by a reporter about the removals on Friday afternoon, Trump said he was not aware of them. 'No, but we have some very bad people over there. It was weaponized at a level that nobody has ever seen before,' Trump said. 'They came after a lot of people like me, but they came after a lot of people. No, I wasn't involved in that. I'll have to see what is exactly going on after this is finished.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Evan Perez & Josh Campbell of CNN: "The Trump administration is set to expand a purge of career law enforcement officials, with dozens of FBI agents who worked on January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack and Trump-related investigations as well as some supervisors being evaluated for possible removal as soon as the end of Friday, according to people briefed on the matter. The changes highlight how the new administration has moved quickly to deliver on ... Donald Trump's vow to strike back at the Justice Department and FBI that he claims have been weaponized against him. Trump has falsely accused agents of abuse in their court-ordered search of his Mar-a-Lago home and of their treatment of Capitol rioters. Interim leaders at the Justice Department have spent the past week drawing up lists of people whose work at the bureau has earned disfavor with Trump for a variety of reasons. Agent and analysts have been warned by FBI leadership that they may be asked to resign or face termination." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Roebuck, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's administration has launched a sweeping effort to potentially fire a large number of FBI agents across the country who worked on investigations targeting the president and his supporters, three people familiar with the plan said Friday.... Officials are working to identify potentially hundreds for possible termination, said the people.... Of specific interest in their review were agents who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's investigations into Trump's alleged efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and his alleged mishandling of classified documents.... One person said agents involved in building cases against rioters in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol also were being considered for termination.
"A former law enforcement official familiar with the situation said FBI employees at the bureau's downtown Washington headquarters have been asked to turn over internal files of the election-interference and Mar-a-Lago documents investigations. The Trump administration is reviewing those files for the names of FBI case agents and supervisors who were involved, to make lists of personnel they plan to fire, this person said. The FBI's acting director, Brian Driscoll, a veteran agent who Trump appointed to run the bureau until a permanent director is confirmed, refused to endorse the effort...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Spencer Hsu & Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: "Interim D.C. U.S. attorney Edward R. Martin, Jr., on Friday dismissed about 30 federal prosecutors who have worked on Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot cases over the past four years, undertaking a housecleaning of the top prosecutor's office in Washington, while preparing to extend the office's scrutiny to top Democratic leaders and former Justice Department officials, people close to Martin said.... In his first 11 days in office, Martin, 54, has moved quickly to align the office with ... Donald Trump's political views -- and drawn significant criticism in the process. Since being appointed on Jan. 20, Martin has ordered top supervisors in the office to investigate their colleagues' handling of the Capitol riot prosecutions in the wake of Trump's mass pardons and threatened subordinates who disclose or criticize his actions. And he ... [sent] what he called a 'letter of inquiry' to Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) about his quickly walked-back statement in a March 2020 rally that two of Trump's recently nominated Supreme Court justices, Neil M. Gorsuch and Brett M. Kavanaugh, would 'pay the price' for a vote against abortion rights." Politico's story is here.
[Trump] is the executive of the executive branch, and, therefore, he has the power to fire anyone within the executive branch that he wishes to. -- Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt ~~~
~~~ The Lord High Executioner. Joe Davidson of the Washington Post: "Less than a fortnight in office..., Donald Trump['s] roiling actions have generated workplace fear, confusion and anger -- never good traits for any organization. The breathtaking scope and sudden implementation of his moves, some with dubious legality, stunned workers and citizens alike, as Trump tries to significantly and controversially expand the powers of the presidency.... His administration's retaliation for supposed wrongs against Trump is going well beyond officials with whom he has a particular beef -- fired Justice Department lawyers, for example -- and includes civil servants who are baffled by their looming ousters.... Labor organizations, including the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, and the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU) have filed lawsuits challenging what AFGE called Trump's 'efforts to politicize the civil service through illegal executive orders.'"
Marie: So what could Donald Trump do to mess up your day today? Chances are, you will not immediately or directly affected by Trump's dismantling of the Department of Justice. There is a higher likelihood that some of his other stunts o' the week (like trying to access [for the purpose of stopping] Social Security checks, IRS refunds, etc.) will harm or inconvenience you. But there's nearly a 100 percent chance that you and I will feel this one: ~~~
~~~ David Lynch, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Friday dramatically expanded his global trade war, confirming that he will impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China on Saturday and announcing plans for additional import taxes on European goods, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, steel, aluminum, copper, and oil and gas. The comprehensive roster of products that may soon become noticeably more expensive for American consumers and businesses runs from industrial metals and commodities to wine, beer, lumber and medicine.... If implemented as permanent measures, [Trump's tariffs] would dramatically reshape U.S. commercial ties with other countries and hamstring the global economy.... Trump's sole concession to potential sticker shock from his plans for higher import taxes was to say that he would 'probably' set the tariff on Canadian oil imports at 10 percent rather than 25 percent." The AP's report is here. MB: Donald Trump wants everyone here and around the world to know that he has the power to diminish our lives, even if only by a little bit. For starters.
Marie: It turns out Trump eventually did (sort of) cause the U.S. military to invade California to turn on the water spigot -- although he had not done so when he first claimed he did, and Army Corps of Engineers officials nearly flooded two river basins when they did act on his careless order: ~~~
~~~ Camille Von Kaenel & Annie Snyder of Politico: "... Donald Trump declared victory on Friday in his long-running water war with California, boasting he sent billions of gallons south -- but local officials say they narrowly prevented him from possibly flooding farms. 'Today, 1.6 billion gallons and, in 3 days, it will be 5.2 billion gallons. Everybody should be happy about this long fought Victory! I only wish they listened to me six years ago -- There would have been no fire!' he said in a post on his social media site. Local officials had to talk the Army Corps of Engineers down after it abruptly alerted them Thursday afternoon it was about to increase flows from two reservoirs to maximum capacity -- a move the agency said was in response to Trump directing the federal government to 'maximize' water supplies. Before the Corps ratcheted down its plan, local authorities scrambled to move equipment and warn farms about possible flooding, said Victor Hernandez, who oversees water management on one of the rivers.... A former senior [U.S.] Bureau of Reclamation official ... [said,] 'Something really bad could happen because of their nonsensical approach.'"
Mattathias Schwartz of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Friday ordered the Trump administration to keep taxpayer dollars flowing to 22 Democratic-leaning states for all congressionally approved government programs, including those that could run afoul of ... [Donald] Trump's ideological tests. The decision, signed by Judge John J. McConnell Jr., is a temporary but significant victory for the Democratic attorneys general from those states and the District of Columbia, who sued the administration in U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island. The order applies only to the states that filed the lawsuit. It requires the administration not to 'pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate' taxpayer money already allocated by Congress. The 13-page order, for which Judge McConnell did not specify an expiration date, adds an obstacle to Mr. Trump's plans to aggressively reshape the government around his own agenda.... [The order] may create a divide between Democratic states that will continue to have funds flowing and Republican states that will still face uncertainty. "The linked order comes via the court system, so is not subscriber-firewalled. (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here.
Roni Rabin & Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "Federal and state health officials and staff members scrambled on Friday to comply with a 5 p.m. deadline by the Trump administration to terminate any programs that promote 'gender ideology,' and to withdraw documents and any other media that may do so. Federal workers had already been ordered to halt diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, to scrub public references to those efforts and to place employees involved in them on administrative leave.... The directives 'risk dismantling programs that have been built up over decades to serve the needs of Americans,' said Jennifer Nuzzo, director of the Pandemic Center at Brown University School of Public Health.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: We already knew how cruel, offensive, counterproductive and confusing the "new rules" were, but as you read through this article, you'll also see how downright stupid and nonsensical they are.
A Victim of Trump's Bigotry Speaks Out. Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "Jo Ellis, a helicopter pilot in the Virginia Army National Guard, was falsely identified as the captain of the crashed Black Hawk helicopter in thousands of social media posts this week. The flurry of falsehoods were so extreme that Ms. Ellis, who is transgender, posted a 'proof of life' video to Facebook clarifying that she is alive and had not flown the crashed chopper. The falsehoods, which tried to tie Ms. Ellis's transgender identity to the tragedy, spread online shortly after President Trump and his allies attempted to tie the crash in Washington, D.C., to so-called 'D.E.I. programs,' an array of initiatives meant to boost diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace. There is no evidence that such programs played any role in the crash.... Ms. Ellis said in a video posted to her Facebook account[,] 'It is insulting to the families to try to tie this to some sort of political agenda. They don't deserve that. I don't deserve this.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Kate Kelly of the New York Times: "In a mass email sent to federal employees just before 8:30 p.m. -- almost exactly 24 hours after an air crash in Washington that killed 67 people -- the Office of Personnel Management encouraged F.A.A. workers, including air traffic controllers, to look for new jobs outside of government, where they might have an opportunity to be more productive. 'We encourage you to find a job in the private sector as soon as you would like to do so,' stated the email, which was reviewed by The New York Times. 'The way to greater American prosperity is encouraging people to move from lower productivity jobs in the public sector to higher productivity jobs in the private sector.' The message, in the form of 'F.A.Q.s' -- or Frequently Asked Questions -- suggested that if the employees agreed to depart, they could take a second job or travel to their 'dream destination' while still on the public payroll for months before leaving permanently. But employees have been informed over the years that it is illegal for them to take a second job while working for the federal government, raising questions about whether the government can deliver on that offer." (Also linked yesterday.)
⭐Tim Reid of Reuters: "Aides to Elon Musk charged with running the U.S. government human resources agency have locked career civil servants out of computer systems that contain the personal data of millions of federal employees, according to two agency officials. Since taking office 11 days ago..., Donald Trump has embarked on a massive government makeover, firing and sidelining hundreds of civil servants in his first steps toward downsizing the bureaucracy and installing more loyalists.... The systems include a vast database called Enterprise Human Resources Integration, which contains dates of birth, Social Security numbers, appraisals, home addresses, pay grades and length of service of government workers, the officials said.... Officials affected by the move can still log on and access functions such as email but can no longer see the massive datasets that cover every facet of the federal workforce." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: This is extraordinary. I doubt the Muskovites have security clearances or legal access to these systems that contain the personal information of millions of federal workers. Still, they have managed to goose-step their way into federal offices & forced authorized personnel away from their desks and the data they need to do their jobs. ~~~
~~~ Mike Masnick of TechDirt: "... last fall, I highlighted two devastating patterns in Musk's management: his authoritarian impulse to (sometimes literally demolish systems without understanding them, and his tendency to replace existing, nuanced solutions with far worse alternatives (even when those older systems probably did require some level of reform). Those same patterns are now threatening the federal government's basic functions.... A private citizen with zero Constitutional authority is effectively seizing control of critical government functions. The Constitution explicitly requires Senate confirmation for anyone wielding significant federal power -- a requirement Musk has simply ignored as he installs his loyalists throughout the government while demanding access to basically all of the levers of power, and pushing out anyone who stands in his way.... For all of Musk and fans whining about the hiring of 'unqualified' people (which has been very clearly coded to mean non-white, non-male, non-cisgender), the fact that he's hired a kid whose experience is 'camp counselor into a high-level position is fucking insane. But this isn't just about personnel changes. It's about systematically dismantling government institutions from the inside out." (MB: This camp counselor, though probably just barely of legal age, is so young that Zoe Schiffer of Wired did not feel comfortable revealing his name.) Thanks to safari for the link. See also his commentary, republished in today's thread. ~~~
~~~ Zoe Schiffer of Wired: "Elon Musk's minions -- from trusted sidekicks to random college students and former Musk company interns -- have taken over the General Services Administration, a critical government agency that manages federal offices and technology. Already, the team is attempting to use White House security credentials to gain unusual access to GSA tech, deploying a suite of new AI software, and recreating the office in X's image, according to leaked documents obtained by Wired. Some of the same people who helped Musk take over Twitter more than two years ago are now registered as official GSA employees." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Knowing what I know now, I would lock these SOBs out of my office if I had a government job. This is an insurrection.
It's alarming that Elon Musk is attempting to gain access to the Federal Government's critical payment system, which is responsible for delivering Social Security checks, tax refunds, and Medicare benefits to Americans across the country. It is equally alarming that Musk and the Trump Administration drove out the most senior career official at Treasury as the agency is already taking extraordinary measures to avoid a US default. -- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), in a statement ~~~
~~~ Katelyn Polantz, et al., of CNN: "Through a series of specific requests, Trump's landing team attempted to lift the hood on the [Treasury D]epartment's Bureau of the Fiscal Service, an arcane branch that distributes nearly 90 percent of all federal payments, including Social Security benefits, tax refunds and payments to federal workers and contractors. That adds up to a billion annual transactions totaling more than $5 trillion.... The top civil servant at the Treasury Department, David Lebryk, is leaving unexpectedly after Trump-affiliated officials expressed interest in stopping certain payments made by the federal government, according to three people familiar with the situation.... Trump-affiliated employees had asked about Treasury's ability to stop payments. But Lebryk's pushback was, 'We don't do that,'... 'They seem to want Treasury to be the chokepoint on payments, and that's unprecedented,' [a] person [with knowledge] added, emphasizing that it is not the bureau's role to decide which payments to make -- it is 'just to make the f-ing payments.'... Lebryk's exit was first reported by the Washington Post [and linked here], but the full scale of the tension inside the Treasury Department has not been previously reported."
Jennifer Jacobs, et al., of CBS News: "The Trump administration plans to scrub some federal government websites in order to remove content contrary to the president's thinking, administration officials told CBS News, and word spread quickly throughout Washington about actions that might be taken to alter the websites.... Guidance had been sent to agencies instructing them to remove 'gender ideology'-related content from their websites by 5 p.m. Friday. However, the administration doesn't plan to shut down websites that have not complied, said McLaurine Pinover, communications director for the Office of Personnel Management, or OPM.... [Donald] Trump, asked by reporters in the Oval Office Friday if websites would be shut down to remove diversity-related content, replied, 'If they want to scrub the websites, that's OK with me.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Dangerous, Hateful & Absurd. Will Stone & Selena Simmons-Duffin of NPR: "At the direction of the Trump administration, the federal Department of Health and Human Services and its agencies are purging its websites of information and data on a broad array of topics -- from adolescent health to LGBTQ+ rights to HIV. Several webpages from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with references to LGBTQ+ health were no longer available. A page from the HHS Office for Civil Rights outlining the rights of LGBTQ+ people in health care settings was also gone as of Friday. The website of the National Institutes of Health's Office for Sexual & Gender Minority Research Office disappeared. (Most of these pages could still be viewed through the Internet Archive.)" (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's story is here.
Stupid. Zack Colman & Marcia Brown of Politico: "Agriculture Department employees have been ordered to delete landing pages discussing climate change across agency websites and document climate change references for further review, according to an internal email obtained by Politico. The directive from USDA's office of communications ... could affect information across dozens of programs including climate-smart agriculture initiatives, USDA climate hubs and Forest Service information regarding wildfires, the frequency and severity of which scientists have linked to hotter, drier conditions fueled by climate change. And it is reminiscent of moves made during the first Trump administration to remove references to climate change from federal government websites." (Also linked yesterday.)
Stupid & Childish. Selina Wang, et al., of ABC News: "Employees at multiple federal agencies were ordered to remove pronouns from their email signatures by Friday afternoon, according to internal memos obtained by ABC News that cited two executive orders signed by ... Donald Trump on his first day in office seeking to curb diversity and equity programs in the federal government. 'Pronouns and any other information not permitted in the policy must be removed from CDC/ATSDR employee signatures by 5.p.m. ET on Friday,' according to one such message sent Friday morning to CDC staff. Federal employees with the Department of Transportation received a similar directive on Thursday, the same day the department was managing the fallout from the D.C. plane crash near Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.... Employees at the Department of Energy who received a similar notice Thursday were told this was to meet requirements in Trump's executive order calling for the removal of DEI 'language in Federal discourse, communications and publications.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
"Ethics," Trump-Style. Eric Lipton of the New York Times: The Trump administration has "released letters that lay out negotiated agreements between the members of the new administration and federal ethics officials. These letters, and associated financial disclosures, illustrate the extraordinary wealth of Mr. Trump's cabinet picks, as well as the uncharacteristically large list of potential conflicts of interest with which they enter the government.... To outside ethics lawyers, this is a minefield of potential problems, and reason to be apprehensive, given that during Mr. Trump's first term, several of his cabinet members failed to honor ethics promises they made.... [Mr.] Trump, as well, has already made clear that he sees nothing wrong with taking official government acts that could benefit his family's finances, such as appointing a crypto-friendly lawyer to oversee the Securities and Exchange Commission, just as his sons helped start two different cryptocurrency businesses."
Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "Venezuela released six detained Americans Friday after Richard Grenell..., Donald Trump's special missions envoy, traveled to Caracas to meet with Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Grenell's trip was believed to be the first direct meeting between a U.S. official and the autocrat since 2022.... The names of the people freed Friday were not publicized." MB: Yes, I know it's hard to believe, but this seems like a good thing the Trump administration did.
What It Cost Elon to Buy Stupid Hitler. Trisha Thadani, et al., of the Washington Post: "Billionaire Elon Musk spent at least $288 million to help elect ... Donald Trump and other Republican candidates, according to a Washington Post analysis of new Federal Election Commission filings that offered an end-of-year snapshot of what was spent during the 2024 election cycle.... The staggering 2024 political spending by Musk and the extent of his influence over Trump, as well as the levers of the federal government, cap a remarkable transformation for the richest man in the world, who had only dabbled in politics before being welcomed into Trump's inner orbit last year."
Andy Borowitz's Borowitz Report (now on Substack): "Amid the chaos of his first days in office, on Thursday Donald J. Trump accidentally signed an executive order deporting himself to Panama. Elon Musk reassured reporters that Trump's imminent departure to the Central American nation would have 'no effect whatsoever' on the running of the White House, adding, 'I got this.' But news of Trump's deportation drew an angry response from Panama's President Jose Raul Mulino, who accused the U.S. of 'trying to offload felons to our shores.'" Thanks to a friend for the lead. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: As is often the case, Borowitz's satirical "report" gets closer to the truth than we might think. According to Rachel Maddow, the Trump goons meant to make the FBI's current acting director Brian Driscoll the deputy acting director, and they meant to make the current acting deputy director Robert Kissane the acting director. But they screwed up and accidentally switched their names. According to the Times lead article on the DOJ debacle, linked above, "Instead of correcting the error, officials kept it in the hope that a new director would be quickly confirmed, The Wall Street Journal earlier reported." So is it possible that the worst president* in U.S. history could mistakenly deport himself? Sure. What is happening is horrible. But "Springtime for Stupid Hitler" is bound to have its humorous moments, too.
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Louisiana/New York. Sara Cline & Geoff Mulvihill of the AP: "An arrest warrant has been issued for a New York doctor indicted on Friday by a Louisiana grand jury for allegedly prescribing abortion pills online to a pregnant minor in the Deep South state, which has one of the strictest near-total abortion bans in the country. Grand jurors at the District Court for the Parish of West Baton Rouge unanimously issued an indictment against Dr. Margaret Carpenter; her company, Nightingale Medical, PC; and the minor's mother. All three were charged with criminal abortion by means of abortion-inducing drugs, a felony. In addition to Carpenter, an arrest warrant was issued for the mother, who has not been publicly identified to protect the identity of the minor. District Attorney Tony Clayton told The Associated Press that the mother turned herself in to police on Friday.... New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a video posted on social media, 'I will never, under any circumstances, turn this doctor over to the state of Louisiana under any extradition requests,' signaling a potential legal battle between the states." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I urge Dr. Carpenter to cancel her plans to go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras next month
New Jersey. Annals of Journalism, Ctd. An Obituary. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "In its heyday, The Star-Ledger, New Jersey's longtime paper of record, boasted the nation's largest State House bureau, an enviable circulation and enough editorial clout to alter the trajectory of the region's defining infrastructure projects and environmental preservation efforts.... On Sunday, The Ledger's nearly century-long run as New Jersey's dominant newspaper will come to an end when it prints its final edition and shifts to an online-only format. Its editorial board will vanish, as will its clippable sports photos and pages of printed obituaries. Its sister publication, The Jersey Journal, one of the earliest holdings in the Newhouse media family's now-vast empire, will cease to exist in print or online, leaving Hudson County, N.J. -- a hotbed for political corruption -- without a daily newspaper. Three other affiliated papers, The Times of Trenton, The South Jersey Times and The Hunterdon County Democrat, will stop printing and offer only digital news."
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Israel's Wars. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Israel's wars are here: "Hamas released three more hostages and Israel freed a group of Palestinian prisoners on Saturday as part of an ongoing cease-fire deal, in a quick process that was a stark contrast to a chaotic and drawn-out transfer earlier this week.... Israel was releasing about 180 Palestinians from custody, according to the Palestinian prisoners' commission.... The exchange was the fourth in a multiphase cease-fire deal that Israel and Hamas agreed to last month."
News Lede
Washington Post: "Air traffic controllers twice alerted the crew of a U.S. Army helicopter to the presence of an inbound American Airlines jet, with the first warning issued two minutes before the aircraft collided Wednesday night near Reagan National Airport, radio transmissions show. While the quality makes it difficult to hear the audio recordings, aviation experts who reviewed the communications for The Washington Post said that a member of the Black Hawk helicopter crew responded each time by saying that he could see the plane and requested 'visual separation,' meaning the helicopter crew would maintain a safe distance. Each time, the request was approved. At about 8:48 p.m., roughly 12 seconds after the second alert from the control tower, the aircraft collided several hundred feet above the Potomac River....
"The radio transmissions indicate that the helicopter had more than enough time to take action to avoid the plane, according to three aviation experts. That the helicopter crew said it would do so but did not, experts told The Post, suggests that the crew may have seen something else -- such as another aircraft in the area -- and not the American Airlines flight flagged twice by the air traffic controller."
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