;)
April 14, 2023
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. issued a temporary stay on Friday ensuring that a common abortion pill would remain widely available while the Supreme Court decides whether to grant a formal stay. The interim stay will expire at midnight on Wednesday. Such a stay is meant to preserve the status quo while the justices study the briefs and lower court rulings, and it did not forecast how the justices would ultimately rule. Justice Alito, the member of the court responsible for overseeing the appeals court whose ruling is at issue, ordered the groups challenging the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the pill to file their brief by Tuesday at noon." MB: It isn't immediately clear to me what the "status quo" is. I'll try to find out. ~~~
~~~ Update. Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post make it more clear: "The Supreme Court on Friday temporarily restored full access to a key abortion medication, putting on hold a lower court's decision suspending government approval of the pill used in more than half of all abortions in the United States."
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Democratic lawmakers are calling for an investigation into Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas after ProPublica revealed Thursday that he had failed to report real estate deals made with Harlan Crow, a Dallas business executive and influential Republican donor to causes related to the law and judiciary.... Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) called on the Judicial Conference, the federal court system's policymaking body, to refer Thomas to the U.S. attorney general for potential ethics violations. In addition to the justice's unreported gifts and real estate deals, the lawmakers noted that Thomas admitted in 2011 he had failed to report $680,000 of his wife's income from a conservative think tank.... Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.) called on Thomas to resign, after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said last week that the House should impeach the justice. Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) said Thomas 'must resign or be impeached.' Other lawmakers vented their frustration at a lack of accountability.... On Friday, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a civil and criminal complaint against Thomas...."
Mariya Manzhos, and Devlin Barrett & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guard member suspected of leaking a trove of classified military intelligence, was charged by the federal government Friday with retention and transmission of national defense information and willful retention of classified documents. Teixeira, 21, appeared shortly after 10 a.m. Eastern before Magistrate Judge David Hennessy of the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts in Boston. The two criminal charges carry a maximum of 15 years in prison. Teixeira did not enter a plea and is detained pending a hearing on Wednesday. The government is seeking continued detention.... The complaint alleges that Teixeira even used his top secret clearance to try to figure out if the leak hunters were on to him." ~~~
~~~ The CBS News story is here. The story also includes a copy of the criminal complaint. ~~~
~~~ Or you can read a full-page version here. ~~~
~~~ Rose Horowitch of NBC News "Former Rep. Liz Cheney said Thursday that GOP firebrand Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene should not have a security clearance after Greene defended the Air National Guardsman suspected of leaking a trove of classified documents. Cheney ... said Greene's comments made clear that she 'cannot be trusted' with national security information.... Greene [is] a member of the Homeland Security Committee...." Related story linked below.
Lindsay Whitehurst & Christopher Sherman of the AP: "The Justice Department on Friday charged 28 members of Mexico's powerful Sinaloa cartel, including sons of notorious drug lord Joaquin 'El Chapo' Guzman, in a sprawling fentanyl-trafficking investigation. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges alongside Drug Enforcement Administration chief Anne Milgram and other top federal prosecutors. The charges were filed against cartel leaders, as well alleged chemical suppliers, lab managers, fentanyl traffickers, security leaders, financiers and weapons traffickers.... The indictments also charge Chinese and Guatemalan citizens accused of supplying precursor chemicals required to make fentanyl.... In outlining the charges Friday, Garland described the violence of the Sinaloa cartel and how its members have tortured perceived enemies, including Mexican law enforcement officials. In some cases, cartel members have also fed victims, some some still alive, to tigers owned by Guzman's sons, Garland said. Eight of those charged in Friday's case have been arrested and remain in the custody of law enforcement officials outside the U.S. The U.S. government is offering rewards for several others charged in the case."
The New York Times is live-updating developments in the Discord leaks case.
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "In reading ... defenses of [Harlan] Crow..., I was struck by how each defender takes the billionaire's rationalization as his own. Each one seems to accept, without question, that an enemy of tyranny would keep mementos of the tyrants to remind himself of his hatred.... When we want to memorialize an atrocity or a crime -- when we want to remember the consequences and costs of evil -- we focus on the victims.... Even in the privacy of your own home, it does not make sense to honor victims of tyranny with statues of the tyrants or knickknacks from their regimes."
France. Claire Parker of the Washington Post: "A top French court on Friday approved controversial legislation to raise the retirement age, clearing the way for the change to become law and giving a victory to French President Emmanuel Macron, even as opponents vowed to continue protests that have rocked the country for months. In its much-anticipated decision, the Constitutional Council, France's highest constitutional authority, validated a measure to raise the minimum retirement age from 62 to 64 -- a proposed change that has sparked the most significant unrest France has seen in years.... Opposition to the reform shows no signs of abating, with protests already underway across France on Friday...."
~~~~~~~~~~
News About (Alleged!) Criminals
** Haley Willis, et al., of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. arrested a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard on Thursday in connection with the leak of dozens of highly classified documents containing an array of national security secrets, including the breadth of surveillance the United States is able to conduct on Russia. Airman First Class Jack Douglas Teixeira was taken into custody to face charges of leaking classified documents after federal authorities said he had posted batches of sensitive intelligence to an online gaming chat group, called Thug Shaker Central. As reporters from The New York Times gathered near the house on Thursday afternoon, about a half-dozen F.B.I. agents pushed into the home of Airman Teixeira's mother in North Dighton, with a twin-engine government surveillance plane keeping watch overhead. Some of the agents arrived heavily armed. Law enforcement officials learned before the search that Airman Teixeira was in possession of multiple weapons..., and the F.B.I. found guns at the house....
In Washington, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, in a brief statement, announced the arrest and said Airman Teixeira would be arraigned at the Federal District Court in Massachusetts. Mr. Garland said he was arrested in connection with the 'unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information,' a reference to the Espionage Act.... The arrest raised questions about why such a junior enlisted airman had access to such an array of potentially damaging secrets, why adequate safeguards had not been put in place after earlier leaks and why a young man would risk his freedom.... The F.B.I. had been zeroing in on Airman Teixeira for several days, tracking its own investigative clues as well as some of the same information that The Times and The Washington Post had developed.... As reporters uncovered more information, law enforcement officials had to speed up their investigation." Read on. Earlier versions of this story were linked yesterday.
~~~ Dan Lamothe & others of the Washington Post profile Jack Teixeira. ~~~
~~~ John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Biden said Thursday that an investigation into the leak of a massive trove of classified U.S. military documents is 'getting close' to a resolution and downplayed the fallout from secrets that have exposed U.S. spying on allies and revealed the grim prospects for Ukraine's war with Russia, among other things. 'There is a full-blown investigation going on, as you know, with the intelligence community and the Justice Department, and they're getting close,' Biden told reporters in Dublin, [Ireland]..., when asked if he could provide an update on the investigation. Biden did not elaborate on the status of the investigation beyond that, saying he was not in a position to do so." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Miss Margie Burrows Further Down the Rabbit Hole. Zoë Richards of NBC News: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday defended the man arrested in connection with a high-profile investigation into leaked classified documents. In a tweet just hours after the FBI arrested Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, 21, Greene, R-Ga., praised his alleged actions.... 'Jake Teixeira is white, male, christian, and antiwar. That makes him an enemy to the Biden regime. And he told the truth about troops being on the ground in Ukraine and a lot more,' Greene, a member of the Homeland Security Committee, said on Twitter. 'Ask yourself who is the real enemy?'" MB: This is of course the representative of the people who calls the insurrectionists "prisoners of war." Besides, if Donald Trump is showing classified docs to his friends, there's nothing wrong with a nice "white, male, christian" showing a few top-secret war plans and such to his friends.
** The Thomas-Crow Affair, Ctd. Justin Elliott, et al., of ProPublica: "In 2014, one of Texas billionaire Harlan Crow's companies purchased a string of properties on a quiet residential street in Savannah, Georgia.... What made [the sale] noteworthy were the people on the other side of the deal: Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and his relatives. The transaction marks the first known instance of money flowing from the Republican megadonor to the Supreme Court justice.... [Crow] now owned the house where the justice's elderly mother was living. Soon after the sale was completed, contractors began work on tens of thousands of dollars of improvements on the two-bedroom, one-bathroom home.... A federal disclosure law passed after Watergate requires justices and other officials to disclose the details of most real estate sales over $1,000. Thomas never disclosed his sale of the Savannah properties. That appears to be a violation of the law, four ethics law experts told ProPublica." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Your move, John Roberts. There is now no plausible excuse not to push Thomas out the door. Don't worry; he can get a job with one of Ginni's disreputable outlets. Or maybe working for Harlan Crow: polishing Hitler's silverware, for instance. ~~~
~~~ Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Democrat from Rhode Island, said in a statement that he would call on the policymaking body for the federal courts to refer Justice Thomas to the attorney general for potential violations of government ethics law.... He said ... that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. should open an ethics investigation into Justice Thomas's financial ties to [Harlan] Crow and his 'apparent brazen disregard for disclosure laws.'" The article points to some of the largesse Crow has bestowed on the Supreme Court & institutions and organizations of significance to Clarence & Ginni Thomas. ~~~
~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: Clarence "Thomas's relationship with [Harlan] Crow and the accuracy of his financial disclosure reports must now be fully scrutinized by the Judicial Conference of the United States, which oversees the federal judiciary and may refer the matter to the Justice Department for additional action. As Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. surely understands, this is a problem not just for Thomas but also for the court and its public legitimacy.... Crow told [ProPublica] that the transaction was 'at market rate.' The year before, he bought two other properties -- a vacant lot and a house on the same block for $40,000. Thomas, in earlier financial disclosure forms, listed his one-third interest in 'rental property' in Savannah at $15,000 or less." Crow purchased the property for $133,363, and then made substantial improvements on the house Clarence's mother occupied. Crow also pays the property taxes on it. "Thomas's obligation to report the real estate deal couldn't be clearer. He had reported the property as an asset. Selling it was a transaction that necessitated disclosure."
The Biggest Loser Is Losing. Alan Feuer & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "After nearly nine months of behind-the-scenes clashes, [Donald] Trump's lawyers have largely lost their battle to limit testimony from some of his closest aides to a federal grand jury. The decisions, in a string of related cases, represent an almost total failure by Mr. Trump to constrain the reach of the inquiry and have strengthened the position of Jack Smith, the special counsel overseeing the investigation, as he builds an accounting of the former president's efforts to retain power after his defeat at the polls.... On Thursday, it was John Ratcliffe, the former director of national intelligence. The process could culminate near the end of this month with an appearance by former Vice President Mike Pence." ~~~
~~~ Zachary Cohen, et al., of CNN: "Former acting Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell testified Thursday before a grand jury investigating Donald Trump's handling of classified documents.... Grenell was subpoenaed to testify in special counsel Jack Smith's ongoing criminal probe, according to a source.... While serving in the administration, Grenell embarked upon an effort to declassify documents that were of interest to Trump because the then-president believed they could delegitimize the Russia investigation. Grenell remained in Trump's orbit even after the former president left office and has been seen at his Mar-a-Lago resort as recently as last week.... Grenell ... told NBC News [in August 2022]: 'There is no approval process for the president of the United States to declassify intelligence. There is this phony idea that he must provide notification for declassification but that's just silly. Who is he supposed to notify? I think it's the height of swampism to think the president should seek bureaucrats' approval.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: So here's Trump's defense in the documents case: Before I left office, I declassified every document that would remain in my possession. So I neither possessed classified documents after I temporarily moved to Mar-a-Lago nor did I show or otherwise disseminate classified documents to unauthorized persons. While it's true I retained some documents, these were merely copies of documents the National Archives would already have obtained. In this entire hoax of a "case," there's no there there.
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump was questioned under oath on Thursday in a civil fraud lawsuit brought by Attorney General Letitia James of New York, the latest in a series of legal predicaments entangling the former president, who also faces a separate 34-count criminal indictment unsealed last week. Ms. James's civil case, which was filed in September and is expected to go to trial later this year, accuses Mr. Trump, his family business and three of his children of a 'staggering' fraud for overvaluing the former president's assets by billions of dollars.... Mr. Trump was questioned for much of the day on Thursday.... People with knowledge of the proceeding said that Mr. Trump answered questions without asserting his right against self-incrimination. The session was neither overly combative nor polite, they said, but Mr. Trump provided some substantive answers. In a statement Thursday evening, Alina Habba, one of Mr. Trump's lawyers, said that he had answered every question." This is an update of a story linked yesterday.
Rachel Weiner & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A D.C. court has refused to decide whether Donald Trump was doing presidential work when he denied raping a woman, leaving unresolved whether his alleged victim can sue for defamation. The decision-less decision on the matter issued by the D.C. Court of Appeals on Thursday leaves in limbo a trial originally planned for this month. But a second suit brought by the same woman, based on statements Trump made after leaving office, is set for trial in less than two weeks. That lawsuit also accuses Trump of battery, a claim made possible by changes in New York sexual assault law.... Adopting the Justice Department's position would end [E. Jean] Carroll's suit because the federal government cannot be sued for defamation. A federal court in New York, unable to reach a decision, asked for the D.C. appellate court to interpret the city's employment law. The court declined.... The case will be sent back to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit for an ultimate ruling on whether the case will go forward. The D.C. court did clarify its understanding of the employment law in ways that are generally helpful to Carroll. 'Elected officials speaking to the press' are not always acting 'within the scope of that official's employment,' the court said.... The court said that a professional motivation can be so 'insignificant' that it does not count as work." The ABC News report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Benjamin Weiser & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Reid Hoffman, the co-founder of LinkedIn and a harsh critic of ... Donald J. Trump, has helped pay for a lawsuit by E. Jean Carroll, the New York magazine writer who sued Mr. Trump for rape and defamation, according to newly filed court papers in the case. Mr. Hoffman's support for Ms. Carroll's lawsuit, which was first disclosed in a letter to a judge on Thursday by Mr. Trump's lawyers, has sparked a sharp dispute in the case, which is scheduled for trial in federal court in Manhattan on April 25. Mr. Trump's lawyers, writing to the judge..., said the disclosure raised 'significant questions' about Ms. Carroll's credibility and whether her allegations against Mr. Trump were, as he has claimed, a 'hoax' brought 'to advance a political agenda.' They asked for a one-month postponement so they could investigate the funding issue. The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan, on Thursday evening said he would allow Mr. Trump's lawyers the opportunity to conduct a narrow inquiry into the funding issue, but he declined to delay the case." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yeah, not fair because defendant Trump has only millions & millions of dollars which he raised by scamming the rubes.
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "... Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is set to chair a Judiciary Committee hearing in New York City on Monday that will target Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's indictment of ... Donald Trump. But the emerging details are already shining a harsh light on what you might call the 'governing by Fox News' problem, in which Republicans use committee hearings to create right-wing media boomlets but ultimately run into the buzz saw of outside scrutiny.... Democrats ... plan to use the proceedings to amplify the message that Republicans have no business griping about crime when they refuse action on gun safety in the wake of one horrific mass shooting after another.... Committee Democrats, led by Rep. Jerrold Nadler (N.Y.), also plan to push back against lurid and widely debunked GOP claims about Bragg, New York City and crime.... And Democrats plan to highlight potential coordination between Trump's defense team and Republicans. CNN reports that Trump has been in direct contact with Republicans on committees that are trying to investigate Bragg's office to 'shore up support.'..." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
AND A Couple of Convicted Criminals. Salvador Rizzo of the Washington Post: "A convicted Jan. 6 rioter who expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler and studied high-profile killers was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday for possessing firearm silencers that he did not register with authorities. A federal judge said Hatchet M. Speed, 41, a former Navy reservist who held a top-secret security clearance, betrayed 'everything he pledged to protect' and posed a danger to society because of his extremist views on political violence and his stockpile of firearms." Emphasis added. MB: It sure looks easy for right-wing nuts to get top security clearances. ~~~
~~~ Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A former bodybuilder and romance novel cover model who dragged a police officer down the stairs of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was sentenced to three years on Thursday by US District Judge Rudolph Contreras. Logan Barnhart, a 42-year-old from Michigan, was identified by online sleuths who used facial recognition to turn up images of him at bodybuilding competitions. He was arrested in August 2021. Barnhart pleaded guilty in September 2022 to assaulting, resisting or impeding certain officers using a dangerous weapon. 'During the course of this attack, Barnhart grabbed an officer's neck and torso and dragged him in a prone position from the police line, out of the Archway, and down a set of stairs into the violent mob, where the officer was further attacked with weapons, including a flagpole and a baton, and sustained physical injuries,' prosecutors wrote." MB: No bodice-ripping for a while, fella. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Normal-ish News
Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "President Biden highlighted the strength of the ties between Ireland and the U.S. in a speech before the Irish Parliament on Thursday after his meeting with Irish President Michael Higgins in Dublin. The trip has afforded Mr. Biden the opportunity to combine diplomacy with a little exploration of his Irish ancestry. 'Today, you are amongst friends, because you are one of us,' said Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghaíl, effectively the speaker of the lower chamber, addressing Mr. Biden before his speech." Video of the full speech is here. ~~~
Lauren Gurley & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "President Biden's nomination of Julie Su for Labor Department secretary is at risk of failing, according to a person familiar with the matter. Even as the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee is scheduled to take the first step toward her confirmation to head the Labor Department on April 20, Su faces a tough road. Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) has expressed strong concerns to the White House about her, according to the person familiar with the situation.... If one more Democrat votes against her, or even misses the vote, there would not be enough support for her to be confirmed."
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The F.B.I. was examining whether a foreign government had targeted a Republican lawmaker for an intelligence operation when the bureau conducted botched searches for information about him within messages swept up under an expiring warrantless surveillance law, according to people familiar with the matter. The disclosure helps clarify the circumstances surrounding the scrutiny of the lawmaker, Representative Darin LaHood of Illinois, and carries policy implications as Congress debates whether to reauthorize the surveillance law, known as Section 702.... Last month..., Mr. LaHood said at a House Intelligence Committee hearing that he had concluded that he was the lawmaker.... The F.B.I..., people [familiar with the matter] said, did not suspect Mr. LaHood of any wrongdoing." (Also linked yesterday.)
No Surprise Here. Ryan Nobles, et al., of NBC News: "Senate Republicans are not inclined to offer Democrats an easy off-ramp to replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., on the Judiciary Committee as she remains on medical leave with no timeline to return, aides tell NBC News.... Replacing Feinstein on the panel, even on a short-term basis, would require approval from the full Senate.... There appears to be broad consensus [among Republicans] that [Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer [D-N.Y.] and his colleagues will need to negotiate some sort of deal that Republicans would be willing to go along with, according to the [five GOP] aides.... A spokesperson for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declined to comment.... A failure by Democrats to secure a temporary replacement for Feinstein could reignite pressure for her to step down."
** Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "The Justice Department said on Thursday that it would [ask] the Supreme Court to block a ruling by a federal appeals panel that limited the distribution and access to the abortion pill mifepristone.... 'The Justice Department strongly disagrees with the Fifth Circuit's decision' Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement Thursday, adding that the Biden administration would 'defend the F.D.A.]s scientific judgment and protect Americans' access to safe and effective reproductive care.'... Danco Laboratories, which makes Mifeprex, the brand-name version of mifepristone, will also petition the court for emergency relief, planning to file Friday, a lawyer for the company, Jessica Ellsworth, said...." This is an update of a story linked yesterday. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "Do not be confused by headlines that a federal appeals court has allowed the abortion drug mifepristone to remain available. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit's action is a defeat for the rule of law, for scientific expertise and for reproductive health. The bottom line -- if the order stands ... -- is that mifepristone will be available only through seven weeks of pregnancy, not the 10 weeks that the Food and Drug Administration has said is safe and effective. Women won't be able to obtain the medication through the mail, and will be able to get it only after in-person office visits -- not one but three. Only physicians will be allowed to dispense it. This is judicial activism cloaked in compromise clothing...."
Danielle Douglas-Gabriel of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday refused a request by a group of colleges to block a $6 billion settlement that will cancel the student loans of about 200,000 borrowers who say they were defrauded by their schools. The court denied the application for an emergency stay of the settlement without comment or dissent. The case is unrelated to President Biden's broader effort to forgive up to $20,000 in student debt for tens of millions of borrowers, which the justices are set to rule on in the coming months. But opponents of that sweeping policy had hoped a successful challenge to the $6 billion settlement could undermine an alternate route for Biden to cancel other debt if the court shuts down the relief plan."
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Matt Dixon of NBC News: "Florida's Republican-dominated Legislature on Thursday passed a ban on most abortions after six weeks, sending the bill to Gov. Ron DeSantis. He has said he would sign the measure into law. Final passage came after a marathon floor hearing in the state House, which passed the proposal largely along party lines in a 70-40 vote after the state Senate passed the bill on April 3. Democrats in the chamber forcefully opposed the legislation but were vastly outnumbered by Republican supermajorities in both chambers. GOP House Speaker Paul Renner had to close the public viewing galleries after protesters threw what appeared to be paper on the House floor.... The measure bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, with new exceptions for rape and incest up until 15 weeks. The measure does not change the exceptions for the life and health of the mother up until 15 weeks that are in current law." ~~~
~~~ Update. Signing Away Women's Rights in the Dark. Matt Dixon of NBC News: "Gov. Ron DeSantis quietly signed legislation Thursday that would ban most abortions after six weeks in Florida, a move that will weigh on his likely 2024 presidential bid." The Washington Post's story is here. MB: DeSantis's office announced the signing just after 11 pm yesterday. Gosh, Ron, ? Gosh, Ron, after 11 pm? No big, celebratory signing ceremony on a sunny afternoon? How come? Maybe because it dawned on you that denying women access to healthcare is a super-loser in a general election? Just guessing. ~~~
~~~ "Make America Florida." Washington Post Editorial Board: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) describes his state as 'a citadel of freedom,' 'freedom's linchpin' and 'freedom's vanguard.'... The ongoing 60-day state legislative session in Tallahassee, which Mr. DeSantis is treating as a springboard to announce a presidential bid, shows the hollowness of his rhetoric. Backed by GOP supermajorities in both chambers, Mr. DeSantis is waging frontal assaults on press freedom, reproductive freedom, free enterprise and academic freedom. Meanwhile, in the name of protecting gun rights, he has scaled back prudent safety rules. And now he's poised to target undocumented immigrants, including 'dreamers,' with what will be some of the cruelest policies in America.... Now Mr. DeSantis wants to go national. He promises to 'Make America Florida.' If the bullying coming out of Tallahassee is an indication of what that means, we think most Americans won't want what he is offering."
Tennessee. Judd Legum of Popular Information: "Tennessee Speaker Cameron Sexton (R) secretly bought a home in Nashville for nearly $600,000 in September 2021 through an anonymous trust.... The revelation raises serious new questions about whether Sexton can legally represent Crossville, which is nearly two hours from Nashville. If Sexton is not a 'qualified voter' in Crossville, he is ineligible to represent Crossville under Article II, Section 5a of the Tennessee Constitution.... Sexton went to considerable lengths to obscure his purchase of his home in Nashville. He established an anonymous trust, the Beccani Trust, to buy the property. Cameron Sexton's name does not appear anywhere on the documents memorializing the sale and the mortgage. A financial advisor based in Utah, Bret Bryce, was appointed trustee and signed most of the documents. But Sexton's wife, Lacey Sexton, signed the warranty deed for the property as the 'affiant.'... Sexton owned a similarly well-appointed home in Crossville, but sold it in 2020 and purchased a small two-bedroom condo in a retirement community. Sexton's Nashville home is well over twice as big and more than three times as expensive as his Crossville condo. Last week, in response to Popular Information's reporting, Sexton admitted that he and his family [live year-round] in Nashville -- even though the legislature is only in session for four months." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Sexton is the guy who was so outraged by three Democratic legislators participating in a gun-safety protest from the floor of the House that he tried to engineer -- and partially succeeded in engineering -- their expulsion. The legislators' "good trouble" seems pretty innocuous when compared to Sexton's violation of the state's constitution by living far outside the district he supposedly represents.
Way Beyond
France. Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "Hundreds of thousands of protesters marched across France on Thursday on the eve of a crucial ruling over President Emmanuel Macron's decision to raise the legal age of retirement to 64, from 62, a step that could pave the way for the measure's final implementation, even if it does little to dispel persistent popular opposition.... According to the French authorities, protests on Thursday attracted about 380,000 people, though labor unions said that the number was one million to 1.5 million.... The two sides have refused to back down, and all eyes are now on the Constitutional Council, which reviews legislation to ensure it conforms to the French Constitution, to see if it will break the stalemate.... The size of the protests and the number of strikers in key sectors like transportation and education have fallen recently, but opposition to the pension law remains strong, with surveys consistently indicating that about two-thirds of French people oppose it."
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "A leak of U.S. military files has revealed close-held assessments of the Ukraine war: that the fighting has gutted Russian commando units and that China had agreed to provide Moscow with weapons. The trove of classified files, first shared on the chat app Discord and obtained by The Washington Post, has offered a window into U.S. intelligence. U.S. officials have assessed that Russian commanders over-relied on the clandestine spetsnaz forces who were deployed alongside infantry formations that, like Ukrainians, suffered big losses at the front lines, The Post reported.... It could take Moscow years to rebuild the commando units, according to the U.S. assessments, which range in date from late 2022 to earlier this year....
"A U.S. official said Washington has not seen evidence of a weapons transfer from China to Russia, after an intercept of Russian intelligence showed that China approved a delivery to Russia earlier this year, The Post's Karen DeYoung and Missy Ryan reported.... China will not sell weapons to parties involved in the conflict in Ukraine, its foreign minister said Friday.... Russia can only consider a prisoner swap of detained U.S. journalist Evan Gershkovich after a trial, according to Russian news agencies, citing Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov.... President Biden maintained Western support for Ukraine in a speech to the Irish Parliament on Thursday...."
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Pjotr Sauer of the Guardian: "Alexei Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition politician, has been grappling with severe stomach pain in jail that could be the result of slow-acting poison, a close ally said on Friday. Ruslan Shaveddinov said an ambulance was called last week to the maximum security IK-6 penal colony at Melekhovo, about 155 miles (250km) east of Moscow, where he is being held. 'His situation is critical, we are all very concerned,' Shaveddinov told the Guardian in a phone interview. 'We understand that the situation must have been very bad if an ambulance was called,' he said, adding that prison authorities refused to have Navalny admitted to hospital."
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Reader Comments (10)
After digesting this weeks news (no indigestion; I take a pill for that)
it's difficult to decide if a greater percentage of crooks in this country
are politicians, or if a greater percentage of politicians are crooks.
It's a tossup.
From yesterday's RC: "The Feds Get Their Man"
Ah, but I've seen his picture. Maybe the Feds got their boy. He sure seems young, certainly not mature enough to build those necessary walls in his head between video games and a more complicated reality.
Guess, tho', you don't have to be very old to be a Right Wing Nut Job, especially when your world is telling you all you need is a gun to be a Man.
Both sad and frightening.
More on Judd Legum:
According to Heather Cox Richardson, this clown has also since 2021 "claimed $92,071 in (travel) expenses (to his 'home' district), likely enough to cover his mortgage."
Seems almost dishonest, don't it?
And, Forrest, about all those politician/crooks that confuse us:
Does seem the majority of the confusion resides on the red side of the aisle.
Maybe it goes with a common pathology that tells you that you are so special, anointed by God or some such, that rules don't apply to you....or maybe you're just a greedy, privileged lowlife.
To: the American public
From: Little Johnny (getting littler by the day) Roberts
Re: Corruption in the Supreme Court
Dear suckers, er, I mean, friends. I understand some people are concerned about all the criming going on in my court, especially regarding this business of piddling amounts of money—pocket change, really—used to “influence” our good buddy Clarence. I’ve spoken to him and he assures me that everything is kosher. K?
Now go back to sleep.
Nothing will happen to Clarence (Coke can pubic hair) Thomas. Zip, zero, zilch, nada. This court is completely corrupt and John Roberts has lost all control, if he ever had any to begin with, which if he did, was ceremonial at best.
What we have now is a bunch of far, far right extremists, two sexual predators, two theocratic nut jobs, a corporate shill who believes Americans should lay down their lives for wealthy bosses, and a Reaganite go along to get along, wishy-washy Chief Justice.
And it’s not only Thomas who has his nose in the trough, Roberts’ wife is a headhunter for law firms that have (or could have) business before the Court.
Amy Phony Barrett’s husband’s law firm opened an office in DC just months after her ascension to the high court, a firm dealing with Fortune 500 companies who, I’m sure, will never have business before the court. Barrett even blacked out the name of his firm on her disclosure forms. Some disclosure.
Neil Gorsuch has his own billionaire guardian angel as well, a guy he co-owns property with. When Obama was trying to get Merrick Garland appointed, a dark money group called Wellspring paid for attack ads to ensure that Republicans kept him off the Court, then this same group, with a mysterious dark money gift of $28 million, advocated for someone’s good buddy, Gorsuch, to be shoved in by Fatty.
Hit Man Sam Alito enjoyed expensive vacations and shared influence-peddling dinners with far right Christian nationalists advocating for overturning Roe, when whaddaya know…somehow, ROE WAS OVERTURNED! What a coincidence!
And Bart O’Kavanaugh last year indicated in filings that he was carrying a debt of about $200,000. Next year, whoa! That debt is gone! Wow! Great! But who paid it off? And don’t forget Bart’s red-faced promise of vengeance (“What comes around, goes around!”) at his confirmation hearing during which the FBI hid numerous complaints about highly questionable past acts, never to be disclosed when it counted.
And this crap has been going on for years. The Dark Lord Nino Scalia took regular trips paid for by right-wing billionaires. He died, fer crissakes, at a ritzy resort owned by one of these guys, paying not a penny for the vacation. When called on his frequent hunting trips with wealthy Republican donors, he issued a screed yelling that “We were in a duck blind! We’re not talking about Court business!”
This is a ridiculous statement. Of COURSE you don’t have to be talking about court stuff. It LOOKS terrible! And can anyone truthfully say that a case coming before Scalia involving one his duck blind buddies would absolutely be considered without prejudice? Even if that were possible (it’s not), appearance is everything. Or at least it is to those who aren’t arrogant, privileged assholes.
I’m guessing it was Nino who told Clarence to fuggedabout disclosing lavish gifts from donors trying to influence the Court. But lemme ask you this. Clarence Thomas might be corrupt to the core, but is he stupid? No. Does he think it’s a bad look to have people trying to buy him off? Yes! That’s why he hid it. And saying “Well, a guy tole me I din’ have to say nothin’ bout it” makes him sound like a rube. A stupid rube. Which he most definitely is not. He’s a cagey abuser of the system.
I recently heard Barbara McQuade and Joyce Vance talking about their time as federal prosecutors. They both agreed that they wouldn’t even let someone buy them a cup of coffee because of how it might look. But fucking Supreme Court justices have their hands out all the time.
And this idea of these crooks monitoring their own behavior? This is why we don’t let Mafia bosses serve as judges.
And here’s something else.
The last time we had a Supreme Court with a majority of liberal justices was 1969. 1969!! “Gunsmoke” was still the top show on TV. No one had heard of personal computers. Schools were still segregated. Dwight Eisenhower, who was born in the fucking 19th century had just died.
That was 54 years ago. Since then we’ve had four Democratic presidents, but still—-the traitors rule.
Oh, but they’re victims! Boo-hoo.
The American public is growing increasingly progressive, but the people who rule over us are growing increasingly crooked, and authoritarian. And they don’t give a shit what anyone thinks.
Crime marches on.
Right, Johnny?
Poor Alexi Navalny. Jesus. He’s toast. He comes back to Russia to stand up to Trump’s BFF, the murderous dictator Putin, has a rigged trial and is sent back to prison. And this is AFTER Putin had already tried once to kill him.
In the documentary “Navalny”, there’s an amazing scene in which the producers get a Putin scientist on the phone who, thinking he’s talking to someone else, spills the beans about Putin’s Novichuk poisoning schemes. Holy shit! I heard an interview with the cameraman, who spoke no Russian, seeing the astonished look on the faces of everyone else in the room hearing this confession. He said “I was almost asleep, then suddenly it looks like a red alert!” RED alert is right.
I’m guessing that scientist got himself a Novichuk sandwich soon after.
But now Navalny is back in Putin’s hands.
He’s a dead man. Putin doesn’t allow anyone to look like they can stand up to him.
Another reason Trump loves him. He kills his enemies with impunity.
@Ken Winkes: Yes, Judd Legum mentions the $92K in fake expenses that Sexton claimed in both of his articles about Sexton's home-away-from-district scandal. I think I referred to that in my link to the first Legum story, but I didn't today. And it hadn't occurred to me that Sexton was effectively using money illegally taken from the taxpayers to make the mortgage payments on his fancy new house, but that's a good point.
Sexton made fools of Tennessee Republicans when he urged them to expel members who "disrupted" House proceedings. You'd think they would be mad enough to do something to kick him out, inasmuch as he is not a legitimate resident of the district he "represents" and has falsely accepted travel expenses that aren't due him. OR the state's AG should bring criminal charges against him, at least for the $$$$. But so far, it sure doesn't look like either of those things is going to happen.
So Democrats in his former hometown should bring a suit against him for both violations. They have standing, IMO. He doesn't represent them, and they're having to pay him with their taxpayer dollars for fake travel expenses.
After reading Ak's excellent rundown of the usual suspects on the Supreme Court I wondered if Biden ever meanders back to when he was chairman during the Thomas confirmation. The panel of all males who tried to make mincemeat of that uppity female who accused him of sexual meanderings of a pretty nasty scenario simply dismissed her as a liar but then refused to hear statements from a few other women who were ready to tell the same story. Thomas lied then and he continues to lie.
And yes, I know that Biden called Hill some years ago to apologize but given the new revelations of the "I give you lavish vacations and build you many mansions so that you are in my debt big time, brother!" Biden must look back and hang his head a bit or as the Irish tend to say---"that's the way of it"––-what's done is done.
The fact that Thomas had the sale for his mother's house to Crow notarized at the Supreme Court shows how brazen and untouchable these criminals feel. Making the Court a part of his crime shows how little he thinks of the institution. It is just a vehicle for him to wield power over others, nothing more.
Thanks Marie for including Jamelle Bouie's piece. I find his writings worth digesting.
" Even in the privacy of your own home, it does not make sense to honor victims of tyranny with statues of the tyrants or knickknacks from their regimes.”
He nails it. Me thinks Crow's memorabilia smacks of honoring the tyrants because of their power ––-something to crow about, I imagine.
@P.D.Pepe & @RAS: Thanks for making such excellent points about Clarence Thomas.
I had sort of forgotten to connect Thomas to Biden, but of course Biden, as chair of the Judiciary Committee, holds partial responsibility for putting Thomas on the Court. Biden didn't vote to confirm Thomas, but he let all the other white guys on the committee attack Hill and he made some kind of a deal with the Republican men on the committee not to call other witnesses (there were at least two credible women, with first-hand knowledge of Thomas' sexist behavior, who came forward).
The hearings turned out to be a breakthrough for women's rights, but it would have been much more so if it had cost Thomas a seat on the court & forced Bush Pere to find a more acceptable "replacement" (hahahaha) for Thurgood Marshall.