April 19, 2023

Afternoon Update:

** Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court extended a pause on a lower-court ruling that had sought to limit access to a commonly used abortion pill, ensuring that the drug, mifepristone, would remain widely available for now. In a brief order, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. announced that the court would extend its stay through Friday evening, giving the court more time to consider the case." This is an update of a story linked here earlier today. CNN's report is here.

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "House Republican leaders on Wednesday unveiled their proposal to lift the debt ceiling for one year in exchange for spending cuts and policy changes, as they scrounged for the votes to pass the fiscal blueprint in an effort to bring President Biden to the negotiating table. Speaker Kevin McCarthy said in a speech on the House floor that he would put the legislation to a vote next week. He urged his conference to unite around the measure in an attempt to speed up discussions with the White House amid growing anxiety about a looming default deadline, given the United States could run out of money to pay its bills within a few months. Even if Mr. McCarthy can get his own Republican caucus behind the bill, which is not at all guaranteed, it would be dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate." CNN's report is here.

Kara Scannell & Lauren del Valle of CNN: "A federal judge on Wednesday denied a request by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's office for a temporary restraining order to stop a House Judiciary Committee subpoena of former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil said Pomerantz must appear for a deposition.... Bragg's office had indicated it would likely ask the 2nd US Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay if Vyskocil sided with the committee, bu did not have an immediate comment." Vyskocil is a Trump appointee.

Judge Convicts Zip-tie Guy & His Mom. Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "A Tennessee man and his mother were convicted on Tuesday of charges that they stormed the Capitol, where they brought plastic zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery as a mob attacked the building, court records show. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth convicted Eric Munchel and his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, on all 10 counts in their indictment, including a charge that they conspired to obstruct Congress from certifying President Joe Biden's 2020 electoral victory on Jan. 6, 2021. The judge is scheduled to sentence both of them Sept. 8. Lamberth decided the case without a jury after a 'stipulated bench trial,' an unusual legal proceeding in which defendants do not admit guilt to charges but agree with prosecutors that certain facts are true. At least three dozen Capitol riot defendants have resolved their cases that way -- which allows defendants to preserve their right to an appeal -- rather than opting for a traditional trial or pleading guilty." MB: But wasn't it sweet that this mom took her boy on a vacation to see the sites in Washington, D.C.? If only they had stuck to the Smithsonian.

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "A California man who organized a group of 'fighters' to travel to Washington, D.C. on Jan. 6 in response to ... Donald Trump's 'will be wild' tweet pleaded guilty on Wednesday, agreeing to cooperate at an upcoming trial of members of the Three Percenters movement. Russell Taylor pleaded guilty to a count of obstruction of an official proceeding. His attorney, Dyke Huish, said in court that Taylor had met with the government on at least four occasions. Huish told NBC News that Taylor was 'doing the right thing' and was at court to 'take full responsibility' for his actions in the hopes of bringing finality to the case. Prosecutors did not ask a judge to set a sentencing date, saying they should wait until after the Three Percenters trial."

Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Boris Epshteyn, a top adviser to ... Donald J. Trump, is scheduled to be interviewed on Thursday by prosecutors in the office of the special counsel Jack Smith, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest example of the Justice Department's efforts to secure testimony and evidence from current and former close aides to Mr. Trump. It remained unclear what subjects the prosecutors wanted to discuss with Mr. Epshteyn. But given his expansive ties to Mr. Trump, Mr. Epshteyn is in a position to provide information in both of the investigations that Mr. Smith is overseeing: one focused on Mr. Trump's efforts to retain power after losing the 2020 election and the other centered on his handling of classified documents after he left the White House. Until recently, Mr. Epshteyn played a critical role coordinating Mr. Trump's legal efforts in both inquiries."

Kara Scannell of CNN: "Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer of the Trump Organization, was released from jail on Wednesday after serving roughly four months for his role in a decade-long tax fraud scheme. Weisselberg, who remains loyal to ... Donald Trump, was sentenced in January to five months in jail as part of a plea deal, which involved him pleading guilty to 15 felonies and testifying against his former employer at the criminal tax fraud trial. Two Trump Organization entities were convicted and fined the maximum penalty of $1.6 million."

Presidential Race 2024. Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Top donors to President Biden have received a last-minute invitation to travel to Washington at the end of next week to see Mr. Biden as he gears up for a 2024 campaign, according to more than a half-dozen people.... Invitations are going out to some of the biggest donors and bundlers for Mr. Biden's 2020 campaign -- those who donated or raised at least $1 million, according to one person.... The event, which is not a fund-raiser, is seen as an effort to rally donors before what is expected to be an expensive 2024 run."

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Democrats twice sought to strike remarks from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) during a Tuesday hearing, with the House Homeland Security Committee failing to reprimand her for accusing a colleague of an extramarital affair while agreeing to withdraw her comments accusing Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas of being a liar. It was a rare instance of Republicans agreeing to block Greene from speaking, an action Chairman Mark Green (R-Tenn.) seemed to do unknowingly, appearing not to immediately realize a move to 'take down' her comments ... terminates rights to speak in the hearing. The two comments, relayed just moments apart, came after Greene followed Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) in questioning, with the California Democrat seeming to reference Greene and others in discussing efforts to defund the FBI. Greene criticized Swalwell, calling his criticism rich 'from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy, and everyone knows it.' Democrats immediately moved to strike her words..., and Greene declined to withdraw them voluntarily. Greene's comments about Swalwell come following reports in 2020 that he was warned by the FBI that a suspected Chinese spy was aiding with fundraising efforts for his 2014 reelection campaign. Swalwell has denied any improper interaction with the woman, Christine Fang, including an extramarital affair, and the bureau said there was no indication he shared any classified intelligence with her." Read on.

Florida. Antonio Izaguirre of the AP: "The Florida Board of Education approved a ban on classroom instruction about sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades on Wednesday, expanding the law critics call 'Don't Say Gay' at the request of Gov. Ron DeSantis as he gears up for an expected presidential run. The proposal will take effect after a procedural notice period that lasts about a month, according to an education department spokesman. The rule change would ban lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity through 12th grade, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take Florida currently bans such lessons in kindergarten through third grade."

Oklahoma. Corky Siemaszko of NBC News: "An Oklahoma county commissioner who was secretly recorded reportedly talking about killing reporters and lynching Black residents after a public meeting has resigned, according to the governor's office. McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings delivered a handwritten resignation letter to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt two days after the governor called for his resignation and for the resignations of Sheriff Kevin Clardy and two other sheriff's department employees, a spokesperson for Stitt confirmed."

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** Jeremy Peters & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Fox News abruptly agreed on Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to resolve a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems over the network's promotion of misinformation about the 2020 election, averting a lengthy and embarrassing trial just as a packed courtroom was seated in anticipation of hearing opening statements. The settlement, one of the largest ever in a defamation case, was the latest extraordinary twist in a case that has been full of remarkable disclosures that exposed the inner workings of the most powerful voice in conservative news. In addition to the huge financial price, Dominion exacted a difficult admission from Fox News, which acknowledged in a statement that 'certain claims' it made about Dominion were false.... The settlement spares Fox a trial that would have gone on for weeks and put many of the company's most prominent figures -- from the media mogul Rupert Murdoch to hosts like Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo -- on the stand. The case held the potential to make public a stream of damaging information about how the network told its audience a story of fraud and interference in the 2020 presidential election that many of its own executives and on-screen personalities did not believe. And the network was not forced to apologize -- a concession that Dominion lawyers had sought, lawyers involved in the case said." ~~~

     ~~~ Yesterday the New York Times liveblogged developments in the Dominion/Fox "News" trial. The liveblog contains some details not included in the story linked above, so I'm including the link to the liveblog here. I also linked it yesterday. The AP's story, by David Bauder & others, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For those who are disappointed not to read daily reports of Rupert Murdoch, TuKKKer Carlson and other Fox execs and on-air performance artistes squirming on the stand, I remind you that this was a lawsuit between businesses and not an effort to right the wrongs Fox does to our democracy every day when it promulgates lies about public figures and public policy. Dominion won three-quarters of a billion dollars, which is far more than the current value of their company. Fox saved itself a long, embarrassing news cycle. They both saved themselves the risk of losing to a jury of naifs. As for Fox's failure to apologize, a jury award, should Dominion have won the case, would not have included an apology. ~~~

     ~~~ And Fox, in a particularly stupid calculation that baffle me, suffered a tremendous hit when it let this case get beyond the discovery period, thus allowing Dominion to release damning communications and testimony about and by Fox owners, personalities and other staff. Furthermore, based on Dominion's discovery, the judge in the case ruled, "The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true," [emphasis original] and that Fox's statements constituted 'defamation per se.'" It was the discovery documents and the judge's ruling against Fox, that benefitted the public.

Where Is the News Not the News? On Fox "News." Stuart Thompson of the New York Times: "Fox News's last-minute settlement with Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday earned banner coverage on every television news network but one: Fox News. The $787.5 million settlement was covered only three times by Fox News in about four hours after the settlement became public, amounting to about six minutes of coverage. For most of the day, including during the network's prime-time shows, hosts appeared to be focusing on other issues, like illegal immigration and Covid-19';s possible origins. The settlement remained the top story on CNN, MSNBC and CBS News well into the evening.... Neil Cavuto, host of [an] afternoon news program ... on Fox News, covered the settlement as news of it broke and again after the dollar figure was announced. Howard Kurtz, Fox News's media analyst, told Mr. Cavuto that the election fraud claims about Dominion were 'obviously false' and 'conspiracy theories.' In another segment, Mr. Kurtz said that 'both sides had an incentive to avoid a costly six-week trial.' The news network also published one story on its home page, more than an hour after the settlement was announced. The story included the network's official statement and called the lawsuit 'media fodder.' By Tuesday evening, the story was ranked around the 30th position on the home page. Fox News declined to comment."

Steve M. asks in a headline: "IS IT CATEGORICALLY IMPOSSIBLE TO HOLD RIGHT-WINGERS ACCOUNTABLE?" Steve notes that Alex Jones, who lost Sandy Hook cases in which he is required to pay [but hasn't!] $1.4BB in judgments, is still going strong. Fox's settlement of the Dominion case was "For Fox..., not a lot of money.... And that's how it goes. Donald Trump? Unbowed and running for reelection. George Santos? Unbowed and running for reelection. Clarence Thomas? The only way he'll leave the bench is in a pine box, unless a Republican president wants him to retire so a forty-year-old from the Federalist Society's breeding program can carry on his work for another forty years." ~~~

~~~ Jack Shafer of Politico in Politico Magazine: "... in the Murdoch universe, paying such settlements is just the cost of doing business Murdoch-style. The alternative to settling with Dominion for telling a series of lies about voting fraud would have been a painful and long courtroom drama. A stream of ugly would have been on the Fox image, day after day, as Dominion made its case. Even after the case concluded and went to appeals, the Fox brand would have been further stigmatized, and shame and disparagement would have been leveled at Murdoch, Fox executives and Fox hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, Maria Bartiromo, Laura Ingraham and Bret Baier, all of whom Dominion planned to put on the witness stand. Getting out from under all of that hurt for $787.5 million is a kind of bargain for a company with a market cap of $17.3 billion. Fox has $4.1 billion in cash and warrants on hand, says the New York Times.... Ever since he conquered the newspaper market in England..., [Murdoch has] paid his way out of jams." ~~~

~~~ Peter Maass of the Intercept: "Will private equity save American democracy? That question, which has lurked behind the defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems filed against Fox News, was answered today in an unsurprising fashion: no.... Dominion does not exist to serve the public interest or liberal magazines. It is a for-profit company owned by Staple Street Capital, a small private equity firm.... It's not uncommon for a company to turn its back on the public good for the sake of enriching its owners (a transaction that's traditionally known as maximizing shareholder value).... While Fox's reputation is at rock bottom with its critics, its viewers have remained loyal, and it's not clear that a jury's verdict would have influenced them any more than the bounty of evidence that emerged in discovery. It's pretty certain, however, that a settlement will have even less sway.... Hopes [that a jury loss would cripple Fox], while widely held among Fox's detractors, constitute the kind of magical thinking that circled around earlier efforts to undo the lies and violence of the Trump era." ~~~

     (~~~ Marie: The Intercept now requires you to sign in with your email address to read its content. There follows a request for paid membership, which you can just click out of. Annoying, but a trend.)

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: Fox News "also faces a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit filed by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, that alleges Fox broadcast lies that 'decimated' its business. In a nearly 300-page complaint filed in New York State Supreme Court in February 2021, Smartmatic alleges that Fox News knowingly made 'over 100 false statements and implications' about the company, amplifying false information from ... Donald Trump and his allies that Smartmatic played a role in his election loss. In February, a New York appeals court ruled that the case was allowed to proceed.... Smartmatic's lawsuit against Newsmax is being handled by Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis, the same judge who oversaw Dominion's lawsuit against Fox." Story related to the Smartmatic case linked under "Texas" below.

Cleve Wootson of the Washington Post: "President Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Tuesday released their 2022 tax returns, which showed they had a federal adjusted gross income of $579,514 and paid $169,820 in total taxes, an effective tax rate of 23.8 percent. The White House announced the returns on the April 18 U.S. tax filing deadline in a relatively pedestrian news release -- and made a point of saying that Biden, who served more that three decades in the Senate, has now 'shared a total of 25 years of tax returns with the American public.'... [Donald] Trump never voluntarily released his tax returns as a presidential candidate or commander in chief, bucking a decades-old tradition for those seeking and occupying the nation's highest office.... The Bidens contributed $20,180 to 20 different charities in 2022, the returns show. The largest donation, $5,000, was to the Beau Biden Foundation, which works to protect children from abuse.... In his speeches, the president periodically says that he 'had the great pleasure of being listed as the poorest man in Congress for 36 years....'

"The White House on Tuesday also released the federal returns of Vice President Harris and second gentleman Doug Emhoff, as well as their state returns for California and the District of Columbia. In total, Harris has released 19 years of tax returns during her long career in public service. Harris and Emhoff reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918 and a payment of $93,570 in federal income tax for 2022, an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5 percent.... In 2022, the second couple contributed $23,000 to charity, including $5,000 apiece to Howard University, where Harris obtained her bachelor's degree, and the University of Southern California, where Emhoff earned his law degree." ~~~

     ~~~ The Bidens' 2020 federal tax return is here. Emhoff & Harris's return is here. Both links are to the White House site.

White House Security So Flimsy Even a Toddler Can Breach It! AP: "A curious toddler on Tuesday earned the title of one of the tiniest White House intruders after he squeezed through the metal fencing on the north side of the executive mansion. U.S. Secret Service Uniformed Division officers, who are responsible for security at the White House, walked across the North Lawn to retrieve the tot and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue. Access to the complex was briefly restricted while officers conducted the reunification. Officers briefly questioned the parents before allowing them to continue on their way. Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said [in a statement that] officers 'encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House grounds.... The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Ismay & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Pentagon on Tuesday released details of its review of procedures across the Defense Department for using and securing the nation's secrets following the arrest of an Air National Guardsman in Massachusetts in connection with the leak of classified documents. Additionally, the Air Force announced several new actions focused on security protocols servicewide, including a pause in training and a review of each airman's requirements for accessing classified information. In an extraordinary move, the secretary of the Air Force also directed an inspector general investigation into an entire wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard and temporarily shut down its operations. That unit, the 102nd Intelligence Wing, supports global surveillance drone and spy plane missions from its base in Cape Cod.... New policies may be forthcoming that restrict or delete email distribution lists on classified computer networks, the memo said, and that limit access to certain intelligence and the ability to print paper copies of reports...."

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Federal authorities charged four Americans on Tuesday with roles in a malign campaign pushing pro-Kremlin propaganda in Florida and Missouri -- expanding a previous case that charged a Russian operative with running illegal influence agents within the United States. The FBI signaled its interest in the alleged activities in a series of raids last summer, at which point authorities charged a Moscow man, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, with working for years on behalf of Russian government officials to fund and direct fringe political groups in the United States. Among other things, Ionov allegedly advised the political campaigns of two unidentified candidates for public office in Florida. Ionov's influence efforts were allegedly directed and supervised by officers of the FSB, a Russian government intelligence service. Now, authorities have added charges against four Americans who allegedly did Ionov's bidding through groups including the African People's Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement in Florida, Black Hammer in Georgia, and an unidentified political group in California -- part of an effort to influence American politics." CNN's story is here.

Draw & Quarter Him! Oh, Wait.... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated a law that restricts political activities of federal employees when he advocated for the election of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute event in the fall, the Office of Special Counsel has determined.... While federal employees are permitted to express support for candidates when speaking in their personal capacity, the Hatch Act restricts employees from doing so when speaking as a government official. In a response to the findings, Becerra said he regretted what he described as an 'inadvertent violation.'... During the presidency of Donald Trump, numerous administration officials violated the Hatch Act without consequence. In just one episode, [Special Counsel Henry J.] Kerner's office found that at least 13 senior Trump administration officials illegally mixed governing with campaigning before the 2020 election." MB: I can't recall any of Trump's team ever apologized. (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Miroff & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas faced fresh attacks Tuesday from Republican senators who cited reports of migrant child labor exploitation to renew calls for his impeachment. The DHS secretary has long been a target for Republicans critical of the Biden administration's border and immigration policies, but GOP members appeared to open a new front over recent reports that many underage migrants are working grim jobs at U.S. slaughterhouses, construction sites and auto parts plants. Republican senators angrily denounced Mayorkas in sometimes-personal terms during a committee hearing on the 2024 DHS budget request, pledging to hold a vote of no confidence in his leadership."

House Republicans in Disarray. Melanie Zanona & Haley Talbot of CNN: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy made a plea to House Republicans during a closed-door meeting Tuesday morning to back his debt ceiling plan, telling them that although it doesn't have to include everything they want, it will help get him to the negotiating table with President Joe Biden. McCarthy also told members that once he is at the table, he can push for other policy provisions down the road, according to multiple sources in the room, underscoring the idea that leadership sees the GOP-only plan as purely a way to strengthen their hand at the negotiating table. Top House Republicans are projecting confidence that they will be able to unite the conference behind a plan and move quickly to pass it. But that is far from certain. Key details of the plan are still yet to be finalized and some members are expressing frustration over the proposal as it stands -- and elements that have not been included." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Senate Republicans in Lock-step. John Wagner & Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday voiced his strong opposition to allowing Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on the Judiciary Committee, stymieing a move sought by Democrats to strengthen the party's hand in confirming judicial nominees during Feinstein's extended absence.... Adding another Democratic vote in the meantime would only serve to allow Democrats to 'force through their very worst nominees,' McConnell said." MB: So once again we wonder, ";What's your plan, Chuck Schumer?" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ That's Your Move, Chuck?? Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's Tuesday afternoon request for unanimous consent to add Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.) temporarily to the Judiciary Committee. In theory, that could tee up a floor vote on the matter, but Democrats don't have the 10 GOP votes they'd need to move forward.... As [Sen. Dianne] Feinstein's battle with shingles continues to hamper their thin Senate majority, Democrats are also signaling they can't wait indefinitely. They expect Feinstein to act of her own volition if she sees the party's agenda keep languishing during her extended absence.... Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) has had to repeatedly delay committee votes on judges since Feinstein's absence began in late February. But on Thursday the committee is expected to at least vote on nominees that have bipartisan support, a Durbin spokesperson said. Now Democrats are largely out of options. And Schumer said little Tuesday, declining to get into any resignation talk whatsoever. Feinstein's future did not come up at Democrats' Tuesday lunch meeting, according to multiple senators."

There's No Honor Among Election Thieves. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "A new legal filing has exposed a potentially major fracture among a group of so-called 'fake electors' in Georgia, who sought to aid Donald Trump in overturning the 2020 election results in a scheme now under criminal investigation. According to a court document filed on Tuesday, a group of people involved in the scheme recently told state prosecutors that another one of the fake electors committed crimes that they were not involved in. The finger pointing, included in a document submitted by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis, exposes a rift within the group.... The court filing principally sought to disqualify attorney Kimberly Debrow, who represents 10 of the fake electors, from the case because of a twisted new conflict of interest that arose last week, when some of her clients implicated another of her clients in an additional crime." ~~~

     ~~~ Danny Hakim & Richard Fawcett of the New York Times: "The lead prosecutor investigating election interference by ... Donald J. Trump and his allies in Georgia filed a motion on Tuesday accusing two defense lawyers ​​in the case of misconduct. The prosecutor, Fani T. Willis, the district attorney of Fulton County, Ga., sought to have one of the lawyers, Kimberly B. Debrow, thrown off the proceedings.... According to the motion, some of the electors recently told prosecutors that Ms. Debrow and another attorney, Holly Pierson, had not informed them of offers of immunity in exchange for cooperation that were made last year." The filing noted that Ms. Pierson had previously told the court that she and Ms. Debrow had spoken to their clients about potential immunity offers, but that 'none of their clients were interested.'" Pierson disputes the allegation, saying that the court "already has documents in its possession" that prove her contention.

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court is expected on Wednesday to decide the fate of a crucial abortion pill that is used in more than half of abortions across the United States while an appeal moves forward. The court is weighing an emergency application by the Biden administration to maintain the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the drug after an appeals court said it would place limitations on the medication, mifepristone. Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. had issued a stay in the case that is set to expire at midnight, meaning the court is likely to act before then, although it could extend the deadline or fail to act."

Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "A majority of the Supreme Court expressed interest Tuesday in a compromise intended to balance religious rights in the workplace with the burden they might impose on employers and co-workers. The justices, whose conservative majority has been increasingly protective of religious liberty, were reviewing the case of a part-time mail carrier who quit his U.S. Postal Service job after he was forced to deliver packages on Sundays, when he observes the Sabbath. Gerald Groff sued to overturn a decades-old Supreme Court decision, which his lawyers say undermines religious protections by allowing employers to deny accommodations that would cause only a minor inconvenience. But a majority of justices seemed inclined to reinforce those protections without getting rid of past precedent -- even as they struggled during oral arguments to articulate an alternative for evaluating when an employer can reject a request related to religious observance." MB: I wonder if public reactions to Dobbs and/or the Thomas-Crow Affair have caused Trump's appointees to somewhat modulate their far-right proclivities. (Yeah, I know I'm probably dreaming.)

Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Allegations from congressional Democrats that Justice Clarence Thomas probably violated federal ethics laws in his dealings with a Republican donor have been sent to a committee of federal judges responsible for 'addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports,' a top judicial official said Tuesday. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) had requested that the Judicial Conference of the United States investigate Thomas's failure to disclose travel and real estate deals with his longtime friend and benefactor, Dallas business executive Harlan Crow.... 'I have forwarded your letter to the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure, which is responsible for implementing the disclosure provisions of the Ethics in Government Act and addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports,' [U.S. District Judge Roslynn R.] Mauskopf wrote.... The Judicial Conference is chaired by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. Sixteen federal judges sit on the Committee on Financial Disclosure."

The Pandemic, Ctd. Christina Jewett of the New York Times: "The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved an additional round of bivalent booster shots for adults who are 65 and over as well as people with compromised immune systems. The effort is to ensure ongoing protection against Covid, which is still claiming more than 1,300 lives each week. The bivalent shots target Omicron variants of the coronavirus. The agency said people who are 65 and older who have not had a bivalent booster shot in at least four months may get another one. For those who are immunocompromised, additional doses of the bivalent vaccine can be given two months after the last shot. Those who are unvaccinated can get a single dose of the bivalent booster, the agency said.... The spring booster approval was for the same formula that was released to protect people from the Omicron variant of the virus." The Washington Post story, which is here, is free to non-subscribers. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said it would halt activities on Twitter in protest of the social media platform's decision to label the CBC as 'government-funded media' -- a tag that implies potential government control over editorial content. The episode is part of a broader dispute that has emerged between Twitter and publicly funded news outlets since billionaire Elon Musk took over the company in October." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Presidential Race 2024. Signor DeSantolini Goes to Washington. Michael Bender & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Tuesday made a rare return trip to Washington, where he served in the House before his run for governor, to mingle with about a dozen Republican lawmakers. But his journey to Capitol Hill failed to spark much momentum in his expected presidential bid among Republicans in Congress, an important group for White House aspirants.... Representative Lance Gooden of Texas ... sent out a statement endorsing Donald J. Trump -- during Mr. DeSantis's event.... About two dozen protesters gathered outside, with bullhorns and loudspeakers to berate attendees with chants of 'shame.' But Mr. DeSantis used a side door away from the protesters to enter." Politico's story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

** Sam Levin of the Guardian: "The shooting of a Black teenager who rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City, Missouri, has renewed scrutiny of 'stand your ground' and other self-defense laws, which have proliferated in the US and been used to justify the killings of Black Americans.... The first 'stand your ground' law was adopted in 2005 in Florida after a homeowner fatally shot a man who had wandered on to his property. The shooter did not face charges, but the National Rifle Association argued he'd been treated unfairly while under investigation and pushed the passage of 'stand your ground', which solidified that people have the right to kill if they believe they're faced with a grave threat, even if they could have retreated or de-escalated the confrontation. 'Castle doctrine' laws in the US have long allowed people to kill intruders threatening their homes, but stand-your-ground policies extended that self-defense concept to the wider public sphere -- with deadly consequences. By 2012, the year 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by a neighborhood watch captain, 24 states had versions of 'stand your ground'. Now, 38 states have similar statutes or equivalent legal precedents, according to a 2022 Reveal investigation.... An analysis last year found 'stand your ground' laws were linked to an 8% to 11% increase in homicide rates, or roughly 700 additional deaths each year."

Missouri. Derrick Taylor, et al., of the New York Times: "Andrew D. Lester, the man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager, in Kansas City, Mo., turned himself in to the authorities on Tuesday, a day after he was charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) On-air reports this morning say Lester is out on bail.

New York. Jesse McKinley, et al., of the New York Times: "The man who [shot Kaylin Gillis dead when the car she was riding in turned into his driveway by mistake] lived on the ridge above this little upstate town [of Hebron] had long had a reputation among some residents as a sour character who barked at neighbors' dogs, scolded a local church and was so averse to unannounced visitors that he had at one time used a chain to cordon off his quarter-mile-long drive.... [Kevin] Monahan was charged with second-degree murder in an attack that the Washington County sheriff, Jeffrey J. Murphy, described as unprovoked and unexplained. 'There was no threat,' he said on Tuesday. 'They were leaving.'... According to Sheriff Murphy, Ms. Gillis was one of four people in the last [of three] vehicle[s] to turn around and was sitting in the front passenger seat when Mr. Monahan shot through the rear of the driver's side.... In an interview, Sheriff Murphy said that Ms. Gillis -- a former competitive cheerleader, honor student and budding artist -- was 'a beautiful and kind soul' who had hoped to study marine biology." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Chris Hayes noted that Hebron is in Rep. Elise Stefanik's Congressional district. Stefanik is the third-ranking House Republican and a Trump puppydog. Hayes called out Republicans for encouraging people to stockpile guns so they could "shoot first" and Fox "News" for convincing viewers that danger lurked everywhere. He said Gillis' death and the shooting of Ralph Yarl were likely the results of GOP/Fox News messaging. Earlier Tuesday, I heard an MSNBC commentator bet that both the New York & Missouri shooters were Fox viewers. Likely a winning bet, IMO.

Oklahoma. Ken Miller & Sean Murphy of the AP: "An Oklahoma sheriff's office says a newspaper's audio recording in which the sheriff and other county officials are reportedly heard discussing killing two journalists and hanging Black people was illegal and predicted felony charges will be filed.... [A statement on the sheriff's Facebook page' calls the [recorded remarks] 'complex.'... 'There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation(s) of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act ... which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation in which you are not involved and do not have the consent of at least one of the involved parties,' according to the statement. Joey Senat, a journalism professor at Oklahoma State University, said under Oklahoma law, the recording would be legal if it were obtained in a place where the officials being recorded did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So let's see. It's a felony to record public officials discussing plots to murder journalists, but discussing plots to murder journalists is “complex.” Well, thanks for explaining that.

Texas. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Heider Garcia, the head of elections in Tarrant County, Texas, announced this week that he would resign after facing death threats, joining other beleaguered election officials across the nation who have quit under similar circumstances. Mr. Garcia oversees elections in a county where, in 2020, Donald J. Trump became only the second Republican presidential candidate to lose in more than 50 years. Right-wing skepticism of the election results fueled threats against him, even though the county received acclaim from state auditors for its handling of the 2020 voting.... Election deniers have fixated on Mr. Garcia's previous employment with Smartmatic, an election technology company that faced baseless accusations of rigging the 2020 election and filed a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News that is similar to one brought by the voting machine company Dominion, which was settled on Tuesday."

Virginia. Trump's "Good People" Indicted. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: “At least three people who carried flaming tiki torches at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville in 2017 have been indicted on state charges that they intimidated others during an explosive demonstration that shocked the nation. In a news release on Tuesday, James Hingeley, the Albemarle County commonwealth's attorney, said multiple people had been indicted in connection with the rally on the night of Aug. 11, 2017, on the University of Virginia campus. The indictments 'were issued as part of a criminal investigation that is active and ongoing,' he said. While it is unclear how many people will eventually face charges, indictments were unsealed this week charging William Zachary Smith, of Nocona, Texas; Tyler Bradley Dykes, of Bluffton, S.C.; and Dallas Medina, of Ravenna, Ohio, with one count each of burning an object with the intent to intimidate. The felony carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison."

Way Beyond

China. Christian Shepherd, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Chinese military could soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, according to a leaked U.S. military assessment, a development that would dramatically strengthen China's ability to conduct surveillance operations. A secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which has not previously been reported, shows the Chinese military is making technological advances that could help it target American warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region. The document features satellite imagery dated Aug. 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles inland from Shanghai."

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he spoke with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about his country's 'defense needs and capabilities' and thanked him for the United States' 'unflagging bipartisan support.' Zelensky again invited McCarthy -- whose party includes influential members that are skeptical of continued U.S. assistance -- to visit Ukraine.... Zelensky said he 'raised the issue of F-16' fighter jets in his call with McCarthy. The United States has been reluctant to provide Kyiv with the warplanes, and President Biden said in January he would not send the jets. Zelensky said in his evening address that he also appealed for McCarthy to support the provisioning of long-range weapons and additional artillery.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is in Europe this week for meetings that include a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. The group is composed of senior defense officials from countries that are supporting Kyiv against Moscow's aggression.... Austin is in Sweden to meet with the country's defense minister.... Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny faces new charges after being provoked by staff at the penal colony where he's being held, according to his lawyer." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

News Ledes

New York. New York Times: "A man accused of shooting a young woman who had inadvertently driven up his driveway in a rural area of upstate New York was returned to jail without bail on Wednesday, a move that the victim's shattered family hailed, even as the prosecutors in the case said more charges could be forthcoming. The man, Kevin Monahan, 65, is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. During a brief hearing in a Washington County courthouse, prosecutors laid out a vivid and frightening depiction of Mr. Monahan's actions, which included using a shotgun to shoot at the car in which the victim, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was traveling while it attempted to drive away."

Maine. AP: "A man confessed to killing four people, including his parents, and then firing on motorists on a busy interstate highway, just days after being released from prison, police said Wednesday.... The gunman, Joseph Eaton, 34, had been released April 14 from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he was picked up by his mother after completing a sentence for aggravated assault, police said. That crime was serious enough to prevent him from possessing a gun in Maine. Over the past decade he has been charged with more than a half-dozen crimes." Eaton shot three motorists.

Texas. NPR: "A suspect is in custody after two elite high-school cheerleaders were shot -- one of whom was critically injured -- in a Texas supermarket parking lot after one of them mistakenly tried to get into the wrong car after a late-night practice. Police in Elgin, about 25 miles east of Austin, said in a release that 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr. was charged with 'deadly conduct,' a third-degree felony. That's punishable by two to 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $10,000. 'This is still an active investigation,' they added. 'Additional or enhanced charges may be filed.'"

Alabama. CNN: "Authorities have arrested two suspects in the deadly rampage Saturday night in downtown Dadeville that left four people dead and 32 others injured, including at least 15 teenagers who suffered gunshot wounds, Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said Wednesday. The suspects, ages 17 and 16, were arrested Tuesday and charged with four counts of reckless murder each, he said."

CNN: "A parking garage collapsed in lower Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, killing one person and injuring five others, the New York Fire Department's operations chief said. The parking garage was a four-story building that 'pancaked ... all the way to the cellar floor,' NYC Department of Buildings Acting Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said. Officials said they believe it as a structural collapse. The FDNY used a robotic dog and drones to search the building for people inside because it is 'completely unstable,' New York Mayor Eric Adams said at a news conference. FDNY Chief of Fire Operations John Esposito said everyone seems to be accounted for. 'We're trying to see if we can get up close to make sure that there's nobody in those cars,' Esposito said.... There were no open violations nor active complaints about the building prior to its collapse, Adams said." MB: I have since heard (on CNN, I think) that the garage had 3 or 4 open violations.

Comments

[P.D.Pepe]

Well, shucks! We have been deprived of seeing/listening to the Little Fox's testimonies revealing the LIES they vomited out on a regular basis. Case closed–-Dominion satisfied with the payment and relieved they didn't have to drag this suit out. Some reporters oberved that these lawyers seemed almost giddy at the prospect of being free of a long trial. But I was so looking forward to all our Fox fiends testifying and watching the eggs dripping off their faces.

[Akhilleus]

I realize the Dominion settlement is a business decision; it’s all about money (isn’t everything?) and I’m not so naive to have imagined that a lengthy, drawn out trial would end Faux’s reign of terror, but I was hoping that there was a chance to at least wound the beast. That, and seeing their gallery of demonic demagorgons that spew their fetid foulness across the land on a daily basis held up as the serial liars and MAGA monsters they all are.

I never expected the droolers, gun knobbers, white supremacists, or traitors to change their minds. The mindless have no minds to change. But it might—just might—have thrust a harpoon into the side of the great white Moby Both Sides Dicks.

Silly me.

Right-wing monsters never die. They’re the Michael Myerses of the political-media-social universe. Indefatigable, effortlessly evil, unstoppable, cannot be shamed, shunned, or reasoned with, and cannot be killed. Like those terrible, but sadly unsurprising horror movies, just when you think the monster is dead, they pounce out of your bedroom closet or pop up in the backseat of your car as you’re driving away from their most recent scene of horror.

I get that it’s not Dominion’s job to help us out here against Rupert Murdoch’s band of hellspawned ogres. Well…never mind.

The horror abides.

[Ken Winkes]

A gift from my older son:

Pith that is almost too pithy for me. (had to read the pith three times) but thought some here might be interested in the story of its origins, so I'll send it along.

https://slate.com/business/2022/06/wilhoits-law-conservatives-frank-wilhoit.html

Still a little grouchy about yesterday's Faux settlement, but looking forward to a big Smartmatic payout to ease my pain.