;)
February 15, 2023
Afternoon Update:
Paula Reid of CNN: "The Justice Department has informed lawyers for at least one witness that it will not bring charges against Florida GOP Rep. Matt Gaetz after a years-long federal sex-trafficking investigation, according to a source familiar with the matter." At 12:45 pm ET Wednesday, this is a breaking story.
Italy. Colleen Barry of the AP: "Italian former Premier Silvio Berlusconi was found not guilty Wednesday of witness tampering, in a trial related to the sexually charged 'bunga bunga' parties he held at his villa near Milan while he was in office. The six-year-old trial is the third and likely final one in a scandal that made headlines around the world in 2010 when Berlusconi -- as a sitting premier -- faced charges of having paid for sex with an underage girl. He was eventually acquitted."
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Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "By the time a Chinese spy balloon crossed into American airspace late last month, U.S. military and intelligence agencies had been tracking it for nearly a week, watching as it lifted off from its home base on Hainan Island near China&'s south coast. U.S. monitors watched as the balloon settled into a flight path that would appear to have taken it over the U.S. territory of Guam. But somewhere along that easterly route, the craft took an unexpected northern turn, according to several U.S. officials, who said that analysts are now examining the possibility that China didn't intend to penetrate the American heartland with their airborne surveillance device." A CBS News story is here.
Justin Gomez & Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News: "White House spokesperson John Kirby said Tuesday the intelligence community is 'considering as a leading explanation' that the three objects shot down over the weekend 'could just be balloons tied to some commercial or benign purpose.' But Kirby told reporters the U.S. is still not able to call them anything other than 'objects' at this point, adding that officials are 'pretty comfortable' ruling out that the objects belonged to the U.S. government." MB: If these UFOs were legitimately floating the friendly skies, don't you suppose the owners would squawk, in the form of a lawsuit, for having their expensive projects shot down? (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Update: Michael Shear & Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: [John Kirby] "said that no company or other organization had contacted the government to say they were the owners of the objects that were shot down.... Senator Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat who is the chairman of the committee, said the government's tracking of airborne objects launched for legitimate purposes needs to be improved.... Mr. Warner said the administration needed to be 'much more aggressive' about ensuring 'a much better notification process with the authorities' to register legitimate scientific, weather and other craft so officials would know which outliers were potentially cause for alarm." (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Amy Wang & Adrian Blanco of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday confirmed President Biden's 100th judicial nominee, marking a significant milestone in Democrats' efforts to remake the courts, after ... Donald Trump filled more than 200 judicial openings during his term in office.... On Monday night, the Senate confirmed Cindy K. Chung to be the U.S. circuit judge for the 3rd Circuit. On Tuesday, in a 54-45 vote, the Senate confirmed Gina R. Mendez-Miró to be the U.S. district judge for the District of Puerto Rico." MB: Take a look at the diversity chart embedded in the article. Not a fair comparison because Clinton served eight years & Biden only two, but Biden has appointed only five white men; Clinton appointed 197. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has agreed to brief top congressional leaders at the end of this month about the classified documents that were improperly in the custody of ... Donald J. Trump, President Biden and former Vice President Mike Pence, officials said on Tuesday. The deal for a Justice Department briefing with the so-called Gang of Eight, a select group of House and Senate members with whom the most sensitive intelligence is shared, may ease long-simmering tensions over bipartisan demands by the Senate Intelligence Committee to see the files. Still, the briefing would include only the top two members of the committee and not its rank-and-file members.... And while the Justice Department has agreed to reveal additional information about the nature of the records to the Gang of Eight, it is resisting providing access to the documents themselves, which it considers key evidence in continuing investigations. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, the panel's chairman, Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, said the details of what would be shared remained 'a work in progress.'" (Also linked yesterday evening.)
Farnoush Amiri & Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "House Republicans are kicking off an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by requesting documents and testimony for current and former Biden administration officials. The Republican chairmen of the House Oversight Committee and the Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic are seeking information, including from Dr. Anthony Fauci, concerning the idea that the coronavirus leaked accidentally from a Chinese lab.... Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., chairman of the oversight committee, said Republicans will 'follow the facts' and 'hold U.S. government officials that took part in any sort of cover-up accountable.'" MB: One major problem with this so-called investigation: no normal person will give any credence to the committees' supposed findings.
Josh Marshall of TPM: "... Republicans are now aghast that anyone would be claiming they want to cut Social Security. But last year the Republican Study Committee -- a House caucus which includes about 75% of all House Republicans -- released a proposed 2023 budget which included basically every kind of Social Security cut on offer. The Blueprint to Save America proposed raising the eligibility age at first to 70 and then higher if and when life expectancy goes up; it proposed cutting (or in their words 'modernizing') the benefit formula for everyone currently 54 and under; means-testing Social Security benefits; including work requirements for some Social Security beneficiaries; and allowing people to divert payroll taxes into private investment accounts -- aka 'retirement freedom.'... RSC members are out hitting the airwaves now claiming that none of this ever happened. In fact, new RSC Chair Rep. Kevin Hern (OK), who oversaw the creation of the Blueprint, says this: 'There is NO Republican in Washington, DC, in the House of Representatives or the Senate, that wants to CUT the benefits for seniors on Social Security and Medicare. That's a falsehood. That's a lie.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A far-right pro-Trump activist from Southern California pleaded guilty Tuesday to using a Taser on D.C. police officer Michael Fanone as he was dragged down the steps of the U.S. Capitol in one of the most violent assaults in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Daniel Rodriguez, 40, of the Los Angeles area, admitted to shocking Fanone in the base of his neck as he was pulled out of the Lower West Terrace Tunnel and into the crowd. Fanone lost consciousness and was stripped of his badge and gun; he suffered a heart attack and a traumatic brain injury.... Rodriguez pleaded guilty to five felony counts including conspiracy, obstruction of an official proceeding, obstruction of justice and assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly or dangerous weapon."
Alan Feuer, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors overseeing the investigation into ... Donald J. Trump's handling of classified documents are seeking to pierce assertions of attorney-client privilege and compel one of his lawyers to answer more questions before a grand jury, according to two people.... The prosecutors have sought approval from a federal judge to invoke what is known as the crime-fraud exception, which allows them to work around attorney-client privilege when they have reason to believe that legal advice or legal services have been used in furthering a crime. The fact that prosecutors invoked the exception in a sealed motion to compel the testimony of the lawyer, M. Evan Corcoran, suggests that they believe Mr. Trump or his allies might have used Mr. Corcoran's services in that way.... After his [recent] appearance in front of the grand jury, Mr. Corcoran received notice that the Justice Department was seeking to use the exception to break through his assertions of privilege [on certain questions]...." (Also linked yesterday evening.) ~~~
~~~ Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN put the DOJ's assertion more bluntly: "To overcome the shield of attorney-client privilege, prosecutors alleged in writing to the judge that the former president used his attorney in furtherance of a crime or fraud, according to one source."
Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Three lawyers for Donald Trump recently appeared before a federal grand jury as part of the special counsel investigation into his possible retention of national security materials at his Mar-a-Lago resort, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The lawyers -- Evan Corcoran, Christina Bobb and most recently, Alina Habba -- were involved in efforts to compile documents that had been subpoenaed. They remain among a small number of people to have searched Mar-a-Lago. Habba appeared before the grand jury in the documents case in recent weeks, the sources said, a notable development given she is not a member of the legal team defending Trump in that criminal matter and has represented the former president in civil suits."
Off with Their Heads! Alex Griffing of Mediaite: “... Donald Trump had been widely discussing with 'close associates' ahead of his 2024 presidential campaign bringing back the death penalty, expanding the execution methods used by the federal government, and even broadcasting executions as a means to deter violent crime and drug dealers, Rolling Stone reported on Tuesday, citing multiple sources close to Trump.... 'Trump has talked about bringing back death by firing squad, by hanging, and, according to two of the sources, possibly even by guillotine. He has also, sources say, discussed group executions.'" MB: I'm opposed to the death penalty, but if whatever will be will be, I can think of one traitor we could use to test the guillotine, even though the subject I have in mind is kind of a no-neck. And yes, in the national interest, broadcast the execution. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A New York appeals court panel on Tuesday upheld a $110,000 fine on ... Donald Trump that a judge imposed last spring after he was found in contempt for failing to turn over documents to the state attorney general's office as part of an investigation of his company. The panel of five justices ruled that Trump's contempt fine for not complying with a subpoena for the records was a 'proper exercise' of the discretionary power of Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron. The panel also said the fine of $10,000 per day 'was not excessive or otherwise improper, under the particular circumstances.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Jared Kushner's dealings with the Saudi kingdom are creating a highly dubious situation. As The Post reports, just after his father-in-law's presidency ended, Kushner entered into a lucrative business arrangement that ultimately involved the Saudi crown prince. Ethics experts note that this potentially conflicted relationship appears to be continuing while Donald Trump runs for president again. This situation cries out for congressional scrutiny, and Senate Democrats are trying to provide it. But they're facing an unexpected obstacle: The Biden administration, they say, has been resistant to provide them with the documents they need to carry out that investigation.... [Senate aides] tell me they've received strong indications that administration officials are worried about the disconnect between cooperating with the probe of Kushner's Saudi-related activities and resisting myriad House GOP investigations.... The day after leaving as White House senior adviser, Kushner created a company that became a private equity fund with $2 billion from a sovereign wealth fund chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.... [The Post's Michael] Kranish reports that a big question remains unanswered: whether Kushner 'talked to Mohammed during the administration about doing business with him afterward.'..." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Frankly, I don't see that White House records would be much help. Kushner, like all crooks, has more than one means of communication, and it's unlikely he made his deal with the Saudis on his White House phone and on White House stationery.
Mass Murder, USA. Juslie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As gunshots erupted on the vast Michigan State University campus late on Monday, killing three students and injuring five others, many on campus felt a chilling sense of familiarity.... For a generation of young Americans, mass shootings at schools or colleges once considered sanctuaries for learning have become so painfully routine that some of them have lived through more than one by their early 20s.... In one TikTok video, a [Michigan State] student who was at Sandy Hook Elementary on the day of the shooting said it was 'incomprehensible' to have lived through two mass shootings in her 21 years.... Being keenly aware of the possibility of gun violence has become a trademark of the generation of adults who grew up after the Columbine High School attack of 1999...." This article also contains some information on the murder victims & the shooter.
Beyond the Beltway
California Senate Race 2024. Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) on Tuesday announced she would not seek reelection in 2024, putting to rest uncertainty over whether she would seek a sixth full term as the oldest sitting senator. Feinstein, 89, said she would instead focus on accomplishing 'as much for California as I can through the end of next year' when her term ends.... Two California Democrats -- Reps. Katie Porter, 49, and Adam B. Schiff, 62 -- have already launched campaigns to fill Feinstein's seat. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-Calif.), 76, has told colleagues that she intends to run for the Senate seat as well." CNN's report is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Florida. Nick Anderson of the Washington Post: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis threatened Tuesday to withdraw state support for Advanced Placement programs and expand other methods of awarding college credit to high school students, escalating a highly unusual clash that burst into public last month when his administration rejected plans for a new AP African American studies course.... DeSantis said he supports opportunities for high school students to earn college credit. 'Does it have to be done by the College Board?' he asked. 'Or can we utilize some of these other providers who I think have a really, really strong track record?' He added: 'It's not clear to me that this particular operator' -- referring to the College Board -- 'is the one that's going to need to be used in the future.'"
Ohio. Nick Keppler, et al., of the Washington Post: "Eleven days after a train derailed, spilling toxic chemicals and causing a massive fire [in East Palestine, Ohio], officials told residents Tuesday to use bottled water until testing could confirm whether the local water supply was safe to drink -- heightening concern among some locals who were already wary of returning to their homes.... The disaster's still-emerging list of effects [has become] more clear: Water officials are tracking a large plume of contamination flowing down the Ohio River; about 3,500 fish in local waterways have been killed by the chemical release; and cleanup crews are excavating a 'grossly contaminated' 1,000-foot area around the train tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.... Many residents pondered their options as a strong odor of chemicals continued to hang over the town.... [Gov. Mike DeWine (R)] called on Congress to reexamine regulations for trains carrying toxic substances, something some environmental advocates have long pushed for." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Good luck with that, Mike. As Chris Hayes pointed out on MSNBC last night, Congressional Republicans' answer to the problem is not to more strictly regulate railroads but to complain that the Transportation Secretary is gay. Also see Akhilleus' comment below, wherein we learn that Majorie Taylor Greene has become an environmentalist and pro-corporate-regulation enthusiast.
NEW. Virginia. The Dimwits of Madison County. Grace Brooks of the (Charlottesville) Daily Progress: "The Madison County School Board recently removed 22 books from the high school library in enacting a policy last fall against sexually explicit content. The banned titles included Toni Morrison's 'The Bluest Eye,' 'The Handmaid's Tale' by Margaret Atwood and Stephen King's tale of Pennywise the clown, 'It.' Board member Christopher Wingate proposed the policy, an extension of a mandate passed down the Governor Glenn Youngkin. In April, Youngkin signed a bill requiring the Virginia Department of Education to develop model policies to ensure parents are notified if students are being taught sexually explicit materials in the classroom. The bill requires local school boards to adopt the policies based on the model policies' minimum requirements." Thanks to Forrest M. for the lead. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Glad to read parents will be able to spend a whole year deciding what books are available for free at the school library and they can veto trash by Nobel-Prize-winning authors and other acclaimed writers. Now the kids can get more of their sexually-explicit content on actual trash Internet sites. Great!
Wisconsin. Anger Management Issues. Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "The Wisconsin woman who made global headlines after being accused of the particularly gruesome meth-fueled decapitation of her lover one year ago attacked her own defense lawyer in court Tuesday when the judge in the case suggested a trial delay was necessary." MB: I have never watched a boxing match of any sort (okay, except the fictional ones in "Rocky I"), but I guess I could be compelled to watch a match-up between this woman and Marjorie Taylor Greene. My money would be on Miss Margie.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Moscow is 'preparing for more war' and Ukraine's allies should send more ammunition to help Kyiv fight off the assault, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said Tuesday in Brussels, where member nations' defense ministers were meeting to discuss Ukraine.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin also traveled to Brussels to host a gathering of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes more than 50 nations. He echoed the NATO chief's calls to help Ukraine 'meet this crucial moment in the course of the war.'... Washington and allies have 'a lot to get done' to position Ukrainian troops to use advanced weapon systems promised by the West ahead of Russia's offensive, Austin said.... Officials focused heavily on getting ammunition to Ukraine.... Moldovan President Maia Sandu accused Russia of plotting a coup in her country to install a pro-Kremlin administration and put the Eastern European nation at the disposal of Moscow's war in Ukraine, citing intelligence provided by neighboring Ukraine.... U.S. officials on Tuesday said that Iran was supplying Russia with lethal drones for use in Ukraine and that Iran hoped to become a more dominant supplier on the global stage." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Haiti/U.S. Maria Abi-Habib, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal agents arrested four men whom they accused of playing key roles in the assassination of Haiti's former president, U.S. prosecutors said on Tuesday, the latest step in an investigation that has implicated several American citizens. Federal court documents also stated that several 'conspirators' in the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse of Haiti met with the F.B.I. a few months before the killing, and tried to draw agents 'into a discussion about regime change in Haiti.' In response, an agent told the men 'that the F.B.I. could not help them because Haiti had to solve its own political problems." The revelation raised troubling questions about how much the United States government knew in advance of the killing. In court records, the government denied that it had any advance notice of a criminal plot."
Scotland. Severin Carrell of the Guardian: "Nicola Sturgeon will stand down as first minister of Scotland, she has announced at a press conference. In a shock decision, Scotland's longest-serving first minister said she had instructed the Scottish National party (SNP) to begin the process of electing a new leader and would remain in office until her successor is chosen. The SNP leader has had a series of political setbacks recently, including the UK supreme court defeat of her plans for a fresh independence referendum and a damaging row over a double rapist being sent to a female jail after announcing she was a trans woman.... There had been growing speculation that Sturgeon was preparing to stand down at the next Scottish parliamentary election, but not so abruptly."
News Ledes
CNN: "One person is dead and three others injured after a shooting Wednesday evening at the Cielo Vista Mall in El Paso, Texas, according to police. Two men are in custody and there is no longer a threat to the public, interim El Paso Police Chief Peter Pacillas said at a news conference Wednesday night."
New York Times: "strong>Raquel Welch, the voluptuous movie actress who became the 1960s' first major American sex symbol and maintained that image for a half-century in show business, died on Wednesday at her home in Los Angeles. She was 82."
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Reader Comments (11)
MTG with WMBS*
The train derailment in Ohio is getting plenty of attention from the Party of Treason, Hypocrisy, Mendacity, and Bigotry.
Here’s noted environmentalist MTG appearing on Hannity (not dressed as a cartoon villain, oddly enough) complaining about water quality in the wake of the disaster and how birds and bees is being harmed. The reason? Ilhan Omar is too concerned about going after big Republican donors, owners of these derailed trains, and Pete Buttigieg who worries too much about “inclusion”. Also, there’s this:
“We need to make sure that our rails are safe. Democrats passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill and only $5 billion went towards rail safety. This is a failure. It would’ve never happened under a Republican-controlled infrastructure bill.”
Where to start? Being concerned about greedy corporate pigs who fight transportation regulation isn’t causing derailments. Is she soft? Also, typical in PoT circles is the idea that a person can only do one thing at a time and no more. So if the Transportation Secretary is concerned about A, he must not, QED, be working on BCDEF or fucking G! The outrage!! (I’m guessing Mayor Pete can walk and chew gum at the same time…something out of reach for the traitors.)
But there are two much bigger problems here.
The amount of money contained in Biden’s infrastructure bill was sharply cut BY REPUBLICANS!! Also, Greene is whining about a bill SHE DIDN’T VOTE FOR!!
Finally, the sad bit about how this would never have happened under a Republican administration. Right. We had a Republican administration and nothing ever happened. About infrastructure, that is. Oh sure, Trump regularly announced Infrastructure Weeks, but no infrastructure bills were never passed, they weren’t even written, never mind not voted on.
So four major hypocritical lies in a single attack visit to Trump testicle cozy, Sean Hannity’s show.
*With More Bullshit
That presidential hopeful, Nikki Haley, originally known as
Nimrata Nikki Randhasa, whose parents are Indian immigrants,
will fit right in with the rest of the R hopefuls.
One bill she supported in her state was to require all immigrants
to carry documentation at all times proving that they are legally in
the U.S.
I want to see her long form birth certificate.
Book sales for The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood should
soar in Virginia, and probably elsewhere now.
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/02/margaret-
atwood-handmaids-tale-virginia-book-ban-library-removal/673013/
Regarding the appointment of Federal judges, I read the Post article linked above and did not see any attention paid to what I thought was an important question: How many of President Biden's nominees are rated "Not Qualified" by the American Bar Association?
I went to the ABA website and was happy to see: "As of February 13, 2023, the ABA had offered ratings for 144 of President Joe Biden's (D) nominees. The ABA rated 119 of those nominees well qualified, 22 nominees qualified, and three nominees as qualified and well qualified." [Why "three" when the other numbers are numbers? Hard to scan.]
As opposed to the previous administration, where 10 nominees were rated "Not Qualified", four of them unanimously. Two of those were withdrawn, but two!! were confirmed anyway!!!
The ABA has rated 22 nominees "Not Qualified" since 1989. The previous administration nominated almost half of those.
@Nisky Guy: There are two rules, often in conflict with each other, on how to express numbers in writing: Rule 1: use Arabic numerals. Rule 2: spell out the numbers from zero to nine (or ten). Rule 3 solves the inconsistency -- and agrees with you -- by dictating that if a number or numbers between zero and ten occurs in a series with higher numbers, use all Arabic numerals; i.e., "7 swans a'swimming, 11 pipers piping." Sometimes writers will spell out zero and one, no matter what, because these numbers are hard to tell from the letters "O" and lower-case "L" (in fact, indistinguishable in some typefaces).
There is another rule that says when a number is the first word in a sentence, it must be spelled out. This is okay when the number is twenty-two, but it gets a little ridiculous when the number refers to say, this year, or is an odd number in the millions. I notice that writers usually get around this by writing, "In 2023, my true love sent to me...," but they will write, "Fifteen hundred protesters...."
On the credits pages of old movies, the year was usually expressed in Roman numerals. That was rumored to be because the picture companies didn't want viewers to notice they were watching last year's movie.
Anyway, thanks for the numbers on Biden's qualified nominees and Trump's unqualified ones. And I'm so glad I could add some fairly useless information.
All these stories about the cozy business relationships between the Trump family and the Saudis reminds me of all the hysteria over gas prices in the run up to the election last year and how prices fell after the Republicans squeaked by with the House. I'm sure it is just a coincidence...
Fidel DeSantis is hinting really hard to all those right-wing grifters to start writing some AP courses so they can sink their teeth into those public education coffers. I'm sure all the pragerU execs are using those AI chatbots right now to come up with something ASAP. Though a Black history course that is sanitized enough for their fragile sensibilities would be pretty short.
@MB It doesn't matter which of the execution methods was used, nor how big a crowd of MAGAs witnessed the execution. Just like post WW2, the whispered "He is still alive" would go on for a generation.
@
RASBobby Lee: Point well-taken. I wonder if placing the head on a spike on the fence around the Capitol would help with the credibility issue. Not that I'm making such a recommendation, because that would be wrong.Statutory rapist (alleged, *snicker-snicker*) Matt Gaetz, lives to sex traffick another day. Despite mountains of evidence, the DoJ says “Oh well”…
These fuckers are never held accountable for anything.
"Fifteen will get you twenty?"
Guess not....
I'm sooo old-fashioned.