;)
February 16, 2023
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Zeke Miller & Chris Megerian of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Thursday that the U.S. is developing 'sharper rules' to track, monitor and potentially shoot down unknown aerial objects, following three weeks of high-stakes drama sparked by the discovery of a suspected Chinese spy balloon transiting much of the country. The president has directed national security adviser Jake Sullivan to lead an 'interagency team' to review U.S. procedures after the U.S. shot down the Chinese balloon, as well as three other objects that Biden said the U.S. now believes are most likely 'benign' objects launched by private companies or research institutions. While not expressing regret for downing the three still-unidentified objects, Biden said he hoped the new rules would help 'distinguish between those that are likely to pose safety and security risks that necessitate action and those that do not.'"
Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, who was hospitalized last week after feeling lightheaded, checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Wednesday night to receive treatment for clinical depression, his office said on Thursday.... [Mr. Fetterman's spokesman] said that after undergoing an evaluation on Monday by Dr. Brian P. Monahan, the attending physician in Congress, Mr. Fetterman followed the recommendation for inpatient care at Walter Reed." An AP story is here.
CNN is live-updating developments in the Fulton County, Georgia, special grand jury looking into efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The judge in the matter released a partial grand jury report late this morning:
"A judge in Fulton County, Georgia, has made public some parts of a report from a special grand jury that investigated Donald Trump's actions after the 2020 election in the state.... The special grand jury recommended that the Fulton County district attorney consider indicting some witnesses for perjury.... The special grand jury in Georgia that investigated Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election 'unanimously' concluded that there wasn't widespread voter fraud, rejecting Trump's conspiracy theories after hearing 'extensive testimony' from election officials, poll workers and other experts." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times liveblog is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The portions of the report that have been released are very short. You can read them here, where they are attached as exhibits to the judge's order.
~~~~~~~~~~
Jim Tankersley & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The United States is on track to add nearly $19 trillion to its national debt over the next decade, $3 trillion more than previously forecast, the result of rising costs for interest payments, veterans' health care, retiree benefits and the military, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday. The new forecasts project a $1.4 trillion gap this year between what the government spends and what it takes in from tax revenues. Over the following 10 years, deficits will average $2 trillion annually as tax receipts fail to keep pace with the rising costs of Social Security and Medicare benefits for retiring baby boomers."
Peter Nicholas, et al., of NBC News: "President Joe Biden plans to deliver his most extended public remarks yet -- as early as Thursday -- about the unidentified objects that the U.S. military has been shooting down, three people familiar with the matter said. Biden will explain how he has tasked his administration with setting parameters about how to deal with aerial balloons and other objects spotted in the future."
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "As the new Republican-led panel tasked with investigating the weaponization of government continued this week to issue new subpoenas, those who orchestrated the inquiry that its leaders have claimed as a model are warning the chairman against allowing his work to veer into partisan territory. More than two dozen staff members from the panel formed in the 1970s that came to be known as the Church Committee sent an open letter on Wednesday to Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio and chairman of the Judiciary Committee and its powerful new subcommittee, offering advice for how he could follow in the footsteps of their panel, which uncovered decades of intelligence and civil liberties abuses under presidents of both parties and set the gold standard in Congress for scrutinizing the executive branch. The counsel is simple: Pursue a bipartisan inquiry, follow the facts, don't attempt to interfere with ongoing investigations and operate in good faith." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Anyone who thinks Jim Jordan is capable of, or even wants to, conduct a sensible, useful inquiry almost certainly has another think coming.
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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here.
Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "... a letter filed with ethics watchdogs in the House of Representatives requesting an investigation into whether [Rep. George] Santos has violated federal immigration laws [when he married a Brazilian woman years ago]. The request was made by Malcolm Lazin, an L.G.B.T.Q. rights activist and former federal prosecutor, to the House Ethics Committee and Office of Congressional Ethics.... During the marriage, Mr. Santos's wife obtained citizenship through her husband, a United States citizen. Immigration officials have given no indication that the marriage raised any red flags.... Still, friends, former roommates and co-workers said in interviews that Mr. Santos identified as gay for his entire adult life and that he wa dating men during the period in which he was married to his ex-wife."
Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "A senior Democrat on Tuesday renewed a request to Jared Kushner for documents outlining how the former White House official received $2 billion from a Saudi investment fund, writing that Kushner had failed to respond to an earlier inquiry and raising new questions about whether he had 'improperly traded' on his government work to benefit his financial interests. The letter from Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Accountability Committee, cited a Washington Post story published online Saturday and other reports that he said raised disturbing questions about Kushner's relationship with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman."
Rachel Weiner, et al., of the Washington Post: “The leader of a right-wing extremist group learned days in advance that he would be arrested for his actions after a pro-Trump rally through his conversations with a D.C. police lieutenant, according to testimony in federal court Wednesday. Enrique Tarrio was arrested on Jan. 4, 2021, for his part in burning a Black Lives Matter flag stolen from a historic African American church weeks earlier.... [Shane] Lamond [-- a 22-year veteran of the D.C. police who in 2021 was head of the department's intelligence unit --] was suspended with pay from the D.C. police a year ago and is under federal investigation for his contacts with Tarrio; he has not been charged with a crime.... According to the court record, by [Jan. 4, 2021,] Lamond had been giving Tarrio inside information for at least six months....
"On Nov. 7, 2020, when news networks declared that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election over Donald Trump, Lamond offered a tip about the right-wing social media site Parler. 'Alerts are being sent out to law enforcement that Parler accounts of your people are talking about mobilizing and taking back the country and getting people spun up,' Lamond wrote. Later that day, Lamond added, 'Just giving you a heads up. Let's keep this between you and me.' Lamond said that he and Tarrio needed to talk on an encrypted application." An AP story is here. Politico's story is here.
Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Donald Trump's former chief of staff Mark Meadows has been subpoenaed by the special counsel investigating the former president and his role in the January 6, 2021, insurrection, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. Special counsel Jack Smith's office is seeking documents and testimony related to January 6, and Meadows received the subpoena sometime in January, the source said. An attorney for Meadows declined to comment."
Mike's Got a Secret. Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former Vice President Mike Pence said on Wednesday that he was willing to fight all the way to the Supreme Court a bid by special counsel Jack Smith to force him to testify about Donald Trump's effort to subvert the 2020 election. 'It's unconstitutional,' Pence said during a press availability amid a trip to Iowa. He swiped at what he called the 'Biden DOJ subpoena' and said his role as president of the Senate -- which he was fulfilling on Jan. 6, 2021, when a pro-Trump mob attacked the Capitol -- makes him immune from the criminal grand jury proceedings Smith is leading." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Under pence's theory of the law, no one can ever question him about anything. For the purposes of evading a DOJ subpoena, pence has suddenly decided to become a member of the Senate. BUT when the January 6 committee requested his cooperation, pence refused, citing his position in the executive branch: "... the very notion of a committee on Congress, in Congress, summoning a vice president to speak about deliberations that took place at the White House, I think, would violate that separation of powers. And I think it would erode the dynamic of the office of president and vice president for many years to come."
David French of the New York Times: "... It is beyond the 'proper powers' of the Department of Justice 'to weigh whether indicting [a former president*] would be in the national interest.' Weighing the national interest is the president's purview, and the path to avoiding prosecution for the sake of national stability is through a presidential pardon, not through an exercise of prosecutorial discretion. Presidents can pardon federal crimes. They cannot pardon state crimes. But even if President Biden could pardon Trump, he should not. If the evidence clearly indicates that Trump committed a crime, he should face a jury, and if the jury convicts, he should go to prison. After the Senate failed to convict Trump in his impeachment trial, the criminal justice system is one of the last lines of defense against this malignant man and his malignant mob." ~~~
~~~ Marie: David French is a conservative, anti-gay opinionator who used to write for the National Review. As I recall, he's also a never-Trumper. He recently got a gig as a columnist at the so-called liberal NYT.
Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "A judge in Atlanta is expected to release portions of a report on Thursday detailing the findings of a special purpose grand jury that examined whether ... Donald J. Trump and some of his allies violated Georgia law in their efforts to overturn Mr. Trump's 2020 election loss in the state. Special grand juries cannot issue indictments, but they can recommend whether criminal charges should be sought. Earlier this week, Judge Robert C.I. McBurney of Fulton County Superior Court ruled that much of the jury's final report should not be disclosed until after Fani T. Willis, the local district attorney, makes her own charging decisions. Still, he ordered the report's introduction and conclusion to be made public, along with a section detailing the special grand jury's concerns about witnesses lying under oath."
Larry Neumeister of the AP: "... Donald Trump missed his chance to use his DNA to try to prove he didn't rape a longtime magazine advice columnist, a federal judge said Wednesday, clearing away a potential roadblock to an April trial. Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected the 11th-hour offer by Trump's legal team to provide a DNA sample to rebut claims E. Jean Carroll first made publicly in a 2019 book. Kaplan said that lawyers for Trump and Carroll had over three years to make DNA an issue in the case and that both chose not to do so. He said it would almost surely delay the trial scheduled to start April 25 to reopen the DNA issue four months after the deadline passed to litigate concerns over trial evidence and just weeks before trial."
Paula Reid of CNN: "The FBI has conducted two searches at the University of Delaware in connection with the investigation into President Joe Biden's handling of classified documents, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN. The previously undisclosed searches were conducted in recent weeks, with the consent and cooperation of the president's legal team, the source said. The library at the University of Delaware, Biden's alma mater, is home to an extensive collection of papers from the president's time in the Senate, according to its website." The New York Times story is here.
The Bible Tells Him So. Chris McGreal of the Guardian: "Mike Pompeo, the former US secretary of state, has defended Israel's decades-long control of the Palestinian territories by claiming that the Jewish state has a biblical claim to the land and is therefore not occupying it. Pompeo told the One Decision podcast that his religious beliefs, US strategic interests and his view of the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, as a 'known terrorist' underpinned his support as the Trump administration's top diplomat for the shift in US policy away from mediating a two-state solution and toward more openly siding with Israel. '[Israel] is not an occupying nation. As an evangelical Christian, I am convinced by my reading of the Bible that 3,000 years on now, in spite of the denial of so many, [this land] is the rightful homeland of the Jewish people,' he said."
Beyond the Beltway
Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: There is "a growing effort among state election officials, lawmakers and private-sector advocates -- most of them Democrats -- to push back against the wave of misinformation and mistrust of elections that sprang from ... Donald Trump's false claim that his 2020 defeat was rigged.... 'We want to protect the people who protect democracy,' said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D), who is working with state lawmakers in Lansing to toughen penalties for threatening election officials or releasing private information about them. Benson is also drafting legislation that would make it a crime to knowingly spread misinformation about elections. Later this week, at a conference of secretaries of state in Washington, she and her counterparts from Minnesota and Arizona will promote those ideas among officials from other states."
Alabama. Maham Javaid of the Washington Post: "An Alabama man probably froze to death after being restrained in a jail's walk-in freezer or similarly frigid environment, says a lawsuit filed by the man's family, which cites footage shared by a corrections officer who spoke out against the incident. Anthony Mitchell, 33, was arrested after allegedly firing a gun during a wellness check. He was then jailed for 14 days until he was taken unconscious to the Walker Baptist Medical Center in the back seat of a police car on Jan. 26, according to the lawsuit and footage. Upon arrival, Mitchell's body temperature was 72 degrees Fahrenheit."
Florida, Etc. Tim Craig, et al., of the Washington Post: "As [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis (R) gears up for a potential presidential run in 2024, Black activists and political strategists around the country are organizing, protesting and preparing to highlight the particular danger they say he and his anti-'woke' movement pose to civil rights and to their push to tackle racism as a systemic issue. Some say they are determined not to repeat what they consider a tepid and belated response to ... Donald Trump's rise in 2016, and argue that DeSantis's political strategy is even more rooted in racial division than Trump's." MB: "Anti-woke" is a euphemism for homophobic racist bigotry.
New York. Jesse McKinley & Jack Higgins of the New York Times: "The gunman in a racist massacre at a Buffalo supermarket last year was sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole on Wednesday, after apologizing for his attack amid a torrent of raw emotions from the victims' families, including one man who lunged at him in court. 'You will never see the light of day as a free man again,' the judge, Susan Eagan, said after reading a statement about the harmful effects of institutional racism and white supremacy, calling it an 'insidious cancer on our society and nation.' The sentence reflected the outcome of a guilty plea to 10 counts of first-degree murder and a single count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, which carries a penalty of life imprisonment without parole. He was the first person in New York convicted of that domestic terrorism charge." The NBC News story is here.
Pennsylvania/Ohio. Ben Brasch of the Washington Post: "Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) chastised Norfolk Southern for putting emergency responders and community members at risk by not working with state leaders two weeks ago when one of the company's trains derailed, unleashing highly toxic chemicals and causing the train cars to catch fire, displacing residents. Shapiro's letter to Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw is the most prominent finger-pointing since the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, which is near the Pennsylvania border.... Chemicals from the controlled release have killed about 3,500 fish in local waterways and crews are digging out a 1,000-foot 'grossly contaminated' area near the tracks where butyl acrylate puddled and vinyl chloride burned.... [Ohio Gov. Mike] DeWine [R] announced Wednesday that tests indicated it was safe for residents on the municipal system to drink the water -- one day after Ohio officials had recommended residents drink bottled water until they had results from tests of the public system." ~~~
~~~ Campbell Robinson & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Hundreds of Ohio residents gathered in a school gym on Wednesday night to demand answers about the ongoing fallout from a derailed train carrying hazardous chemicals, transforming what had been billed as an informational meeting into a heated town hall where officials with the railroad company didn't even show up.... Many residents were angry that officials had changed what had been billed as a town hall meeting to an 'informational' session with representatives from state, county and local agencies, who sat at separate tables and fielded individual questions.... Norfolk Southern officials ... pulled out hours earlier, infuriating some residents who said they wanted answers from the company."
Virginia. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "The Republican governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, appears to have thwarted an attempt to stop law enforcement obtaining menstrual histories of women in the state. A bill passed in the Democratic-led state senate, and supported by half the chamber's Republicans, would have banned search warrants for menstrual data stored in tracking apps on mobile phones or other electronic devices. Advocates feared private health information could be used in prosecutions for abortion law violations, after a US supreme court ruling last summer overturned federal protections for the procedure. But Youngkin, who has pushed for a 15-week abortion ban to mirror similar measures in several Republican-controlled states, essentially killed the bill through a procedural move in a subcommittee of the Republican-controlled House."
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "Russia launched a 'barrage' of missile strikes against critical infrastructure overnight, Ukrainian officials said. Dozens of missiles were fired at Ukraine, the General Staff of the Ukrainian army said Thursday, while critical infrastructure in Lviv was hit, according to the regional governor. Vice President Kamala Harris arrived in Germany ahead of an annual meeting of international political, intelligence and defense leaders at the Munich Security Conference, where they will discuss their response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken will also attend the meeting before traveling to Turkey and Greece.... Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko has said his country will only join Russia's war if Ukraine attacks Belarus.... Russia has lost about half of its prewar fleet of modern battle tanks in the Ukraine conflict, according to ... the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and is instead turning to older vehicles to maintain its fleet."
Marc Santora of the New York Times: "As Moscow steps up its offensive in eastern Ukraine, weeks of failed attacks on a Ukrainian stronghold have left two Russian brigades in tatters, raised questions about Russia's military tactics and renewed doubts about its ability to maintain sustained, large-scale ground assaults. The battle for the city of Vuhledar, which has been viewed as an opening move in an expected Russian spring offensive, has been playing out since the last week of January, but the scale of Moscow's losses there is only now beginning to come into focus. Accounts from Ukrainian and Western officials, Ukrainian soldiers, captured Russian soldiers and Russian military bloggers, as well as video and satellite images, paint a picture of a faltering Russian campaign that continues to be plagued by battlefield dysfunction."
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." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Reader Comments (17)
Read French's first few columns and thought his background/training likely contributed to the way his writing felt to me: slow, tentative and a little apologetic, like he was happy to be invited to a party, pleased to be there but not quite certain he belonged..
But so far...nothing Douthat-nutty or Stephens-silly from him, so I listened politely.
Evolution is sometimes slow. We'll see.
This is beyond stupid:
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/14/arts/music/pensacola-college-kings-singers.html?smid=url-share
I hope the King's Singers get every penny they are owed.
The parents and students who complained, and the administrators who took action, are not capable of seeing the humanity and talent of a person who, going out on a limb here, has no interest in bonking any of them.
Does this mean they will turn the former president away if he wants to give a speech at this college? I doubt it.
Got to say this for DeSantis:
He seems to be succeeding in his campaign to turn Florida into the national nexus of fear and hate.
From the Beyond Laughable Department:
Subpoena, subpoena, subpoena. Subpoena this person, that person, the couple next door, and their little dog too.
Gym Jordan, who never received a subpoena he didn’t immediately set afire (how dare they subpoena me! Harrumph!) is setting new records for commanding the presence of any who might profitably be harassed and humiliated in order to justify his position as head GQP judicial executioner in charge of fantasy and fluff.
Funny also because members of his party, the Party of Treason, treat subpoenas as discourteous suggestions to be haughtily ignored. The number two guy in TFG’s administration of crime, graft, insurrection, and threatened murder, promises to fight his latest subpoena all the way to the Subprime Court, which no doubt will say “Subpoenas for Dems, Get Out of Jail Free cards for traitors.
What I’m waiting for is sexual abuse supporter Gym to get on his high horse and lecture everyone about how his subpoena power is mighty and not to be treated lightly, because, um, because, well…SUBPOENAS!!
Yes, thank you, gym. Your forensic skills, as always, just superb.
@Akhilleus: Yeah, anyone whom Jungle Gym subpoenas should just write back to him, "Will consider complying with your subpoena as soon as you comply with the January 6 Committee subpoena. Oops! Too late. You jamokes dissolved the committee. So sorry I won't be seeing ya!"
During the recent gigantic fail on the part of hair-on-fire traitors going after Twitter execs, it was all the rage on the right to whine incessantly about how their brothers and sisters in far right-wing extremist blather were being unfairly deprived of their rightful (see what I did there?) place as masters of social media.
Hahahaha.
I’m not wanting to deprive any of you kids 20 or 30 seconds of the good life which you will never get back, but have you guys taken a peek lately into the comments sections of various websites? Even on the most liberal sites you’ll find trolling winger cockroaches scurrying madly from one topic to the next, screaming, cajoling, mucking it up with “So’s your mother!” and “I know you are but what am I?” comments. They never stop. These idiots are everywhere. And it would be one thing if there were the tiniest sliver of a well developed and germane argument over the topic at hand, but comments like “U R stupid and go back to Africa!” and “Commie queers! Die!” don’t quite rise to that level. My favorites are the ones where these maniacs remind other commenters that they own guns. Lots of guns.
Seriously, these creatures are like pus filled sores on the body politic. And they’re everywhere.
So much for “Waaah! They kicked us off social media!”
Jesus! I wish.
Marie,
Good idea. They could also say that they would be happy to appear to discuss events in the real world. However, subpoenas to be questioned about fever dreams and right-wing fantasy wanking are not worth the stamp used to send them, so…ta-ta.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/nikki-haley-launches-gop-campaign-
193422788.html
Nikki says that racism is over and done with in the U.S. No more
racism. Then what's with shooting all those minorities?
She also is for testing the mental acuity of those over 75 years old,
especially politicians. That might be a good idea, but eventually
she'll want the rest of us tested before we can vote, with our liberal
ideas.
To my way of thinking, stupidity starts at a lot younger age for millions
and millions of people, especially those with an R after their names.
Yesterday I listened to Andrea Mitchell ask John Bolton if he'd describe a man in the same way he as he recently described Nikki Haley.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/msnbc-john-bolton-nikki-haley_n_63ed9609e4b022eb3e348896
and Forest: Nikki gonna have one hell of a time with her once upon a time connection with the fat man and her words from yesterday––-she's trying to be all things for the wrong kind of people.
This morning I feel "the world is too much with me" and I want to just snuggle under a warm throw and "forget all your troubles–-forget all your woes" just like Petula Clark once suggested only I'm not about to go downtown any time soon.
https://democraticunderground.com/10143034880
Jack Smith's team has subpoenaed a large number of trump vendors,
involving around three-quarters of a billion dollars. Where did that
money go? What were the payments for?
Sounds a lot like money laundering to me.
Like Princes Ivanka once said to Jared, 'honey, we need lots more
washing machines. I can't keep up with all this laundry.'
Re: Fulton Co. grand jury decision…
I’m guessing they’re not going to indict that fat fuck since they’re looking at perjury charges. Not that he wouldn’t lie under oath, of course he would. But he didn’t testify.
What about fraud?
Guess we’ll have to wait and see…
Forrest,
Laundry…hahaha.
“And oh dear, these dishpan hands!”
Haha.
Seriously. Do you think either of those entitled schmucks could operate a washing machine?
“Where does the water go?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know! It’s the servants’ day off!!”
The first question is not "where does the water go?", but might be "what's this big white metal box for?"
Jared: "The big white metal box? It's a personal sauna for the maid."
Ivanka: "Hmmph. We really must stop treating the help to such luxuries."
@Akhilleus: The talking heads on the teevee are all excited about the possible perjury charges. But I have a feeling that instead of indicting Rudy Giuliani or Mark Meadows, the alleged perjurers will be some fake elector or electors whose names we don't even know.
As for Trump, he's a target of the grand jury probe, so he would not have been called. We can only hope he and some of his capos will be indicted.
Here's a preview of chapter 51 in the book I'm working on.
I was introduced to money laundering at age 14. At the time, I don't
know if the term 'money laundering' existed but I realized that
something was going on that I had no explanation for. TBC.
Forrest,
Money laundering back then was when you threw your jeans in the washing machine with a scrunched up dollar bill, 45 cents in change and your Mickey Mantle rookie card in the pockets before your mum could extract same.