;)
Sunday
Jan222023
January 22, 2023
Afternoon Update:
Tyler Pager & Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "President Biden will name Jeff Zients to serve as his next chief of staff, turning to a management consultant who oversaw the administration's coronavirus response to replace Ron Klain, who is expected to leave in the coming weeks, according to four people familiar with the decision. Zients left the White House in April after steering the administration's pandemic response and leading the largest vaccination campaign in U.S. history. He returned to the White House in the fall to help Klain prepare for staff turnover after the midterms -- a project that was ultimately limited in scope, as few senior staff members have left across the administration. But, in recent weeks, Klain has assigned him different projects, which some viewed as preparing Zients for the top role, people familiar with the arrangement said...." CNN's story is here.
~~~ Wherein Colin Jost agrees with me, Marie Burns, about Hillary Clinton's emails.
~~~~~~~~~~
Michael Shear & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Investigators for the Justice Department on Friday seized more than a half-dozen documents, some of them classified, at President Biden's residence in Wilmington, Del., after conducting a 13-hour search of the home, the president's personal lawyer said Saturday evening. The remarkable search of a sitting president's home by federal agents -- at the invitation of Mr. Biden's lawyers -- dramatically escalated the legal and political situation for the president, the latest in a series of discoveries that has already led to a special counsel investigation. During Friday's search, six more items with classified markings -- including some documents from his time as a senator and others from his time as vice president -- were taken by investigators, along with surrounding materials, according to the statement from Bob Bauer, Mr. Biden's attorney." CNN's report is here.~~~
~~~ Marie: The last time Biden was a senator was January 2009, 14 years ago. At various times he chaired both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees. I have no idea what kind of staff such powerful senators have and whether or not those staff sometimes work out of his home. But a reasonable person is bound to suspect that Joe did some of his own filing in his home office. And that suggests he himself -- or someone without any clearance at all -- just blithely filed away at least a few classified documents in a box or drawer where they've been moldering, perhaps for decades. This doesn't make Trump look any better, but it sure makes the brouhaha over Hillary Clinton's emails look ridiculous. So thanks again, Jim Comey, for bringing us President* Trump.
From the OPM's "Hard to Get (and Keep) Good Help" File:
(1. White House) Peter Baker & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Ron Klain, the White House chief of staff who has steered President Biden's administration through two years of triumphs and setbacks, is expected to step down in coming weeks in the most significant changing of the guard since Mr. Biden took office two years ago.... Mr. Klain likely would stay around for a transition period to help the next chief settle in.... His resignation would be a striking moment of turnover at the top of an administration that has been relatively stable through the first half of Mr. Biden's term, and Mr. Klain takes pride that he has lasted longer than any other Democratic president's first chief of staff in more than half a century.... The departure would also come at a time when the White House faces a widening array of political and legal threats from a newly appointed special counsel investigating the improper handling of classified documents and a flurry of other inquiries by the newly installed Republican majority in the House." The NBC News report is here.
(2. Border Patrol) Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "One of the most senior officials at the U.S. Border Patrol quietly resigned in October amid an internal investigation into allegations of improper conduct with women, according to four people familiar with the matter. The official, Tony Barker, the acting chief of the Border Patrol's law enforcement operations directorate, had been an agent for more than 20 years and was being considered for a high-ranking post when he learned that internal investigators were reviewing his online communications with women, including subordinates, that took place on government equipment.... Concerns about Mr. Barker surfaced last fall during the vetting process when he was being considered for a top position in the Border Patrol...." The NBC News story is here.
(3. Pentagon, OPM) Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: While he was a high-ranking Pentagon official, Douglas Glenn, then the Pentagon's acting comptroller, "called a subordinate a 'hot blonde.' He told another woman who worked for him he 'hoped some studly guy would be rubbing oil on her back at the beach.' He used the n-word in a meeting with his staff. These are among the litany of racially and sexually offensive behaviors by a former high-ranking Defense Department official that the Pentagon's inspector general says it substantiated in a new report released on Thursday." Okay, so then what happened? "As the investigation into his conduct at the Pentagon was underway, Glenn was hired in November 2021 by the Office of Personnel Management, where he now serves as chief financial officer -- raising questions about the vetting process used by the government's own personnel agency.... An OPM spokesman, declined to comment Friday, leaving unclear Glenn's status at the agency." ~~~
~~~ Well, what are you going to do when federal government employee/most powerful woman in the world quit her job? ~~~
~~~ Maureen Dowd of the New York Times had lunch with Nancy Pelosi. An exit interview in which they talked about more than shoes. But shoes, too. Worth a read for Pelosi's insights.
TMZ: "Rep. George Santos did, in fact, dress in women's clothing as a young man -- but don't go calling him a drag queen now ... 'cause he's still rejecting that label, it seems.... [When reporters greet him at La Guardia,] he cops to it, saying he was 'just having fun' out there and that it's much ado about nothing. He also made sure to specifically denounce the term 'drag queen.'... It's great Santos -- who's openly gay -- is finally being truthful ... but the fact this is basically a 180 from his outright denial appears to be in line with an emerging pattern with him. Namely, he tends to flatly challenge stories about him as false -- only to recant later." Includes video & a definitive photo of George in drag. Here's the report from WABC (New York) News.
Jodi Kantor of the New York Times writes what purports to be the inside story of the search for the Supreme Court leaker. She doesn't seem to reveal much of anything we didn't already know or surmise from earlier public reporting. More illuminating:
By Ann Telnaes of the Washington Post
... when you have eliminated all which is impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth. -- Sherlock Holmes, in Arthur Conan-Doyle's The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Surely it's improbable that a Supreme Court Justice would be the leaker. -- bowtiejack, in yesterday's Comments
... justices have a long history of being the ultimate source of leaks. -- Prof. Aaron Tang, U.C. Davis, in a New York Times op-ed
So should we not presume guilt and assert with confidence that the leaker was a justice or the spouse of a justice? -- Marie Burns
The Unfinished Tale of Bart O'Kavanaugh, Sexual Predator. Jada Yuan of the Washington Post: "'We're getting more tips,' Amy Herdy announced Friday night after the Sundance Film Festival premiere of 'Justice,' a documentary she produced about the sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh. The film's existence was a surprise, with the festival only revealing on Thursday, its opening night, that it was making a very last-minute addition to the lineup: the first documentary from ... director Doug Liman. Within half an hour of the news getting out, Liman said in the post-screening Q&A, the film team started hearing from people who had sent the FBI tips before Kavanaugh's confirmation, which the agency did not further investigate.... The tips were compelling enough for the team to start investigating and filming again with plans to add footage to the completed film, Liman said.... The filmmakers told the audience Friday that they have a website, JusticeFilm.com, where people can send tips.... If there's a smoking gun in Liman’s film, it's a voice message left on the FBI tip line from Max Stier, the president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service who attended Yale with Kavanagh and Ramirez." Read on. A Guardian story is here. ~~~
~~~ What if you get seated as a Supreme Court justice because you committed perjury at your confirmation hearing? For those of you who can't quite recall Bart's testimony, here's an excellent, accurate recap:
She Had a Ticket to Flee. Maya Yang of the Guardian: "The disgraced founder of Theranos, Elizabeth Holmes, made an 'attempt to flee the country' by purchasing a one-way ticket to Mexico after she was found guilty on four counts of fraud last January, according to prosecutors. In the new filing on Thursday, prosecutors said that 'contrary to defendant's assertion that she has a 'flawless record with US Pretrial Services' and claim that no evidence suggests she will flee while she pursues her appeal ... the incentive to flee has never been higher and defendant has the means to act on that incentive." Her attorneys claimed the one-way ticket was for a pre-planned trip to attend the wedding of friends.
Beyond the Beltway
Having the legal right on the books to get an abortion and getting one in practice are two distinctly different things. -- Laurie Bertram Roberts of the Mississippi Reproductive Freedom Fund
What gets put out to the press is: "We have exceptions for fetal abnormalities and we have exceptions for maternal life." When you get into the nitty-gritty details of it, you actually don't. -- Dr. Lori Day, Indiana ~~~
~~~ ** Where "Exceptions" Are Not Exceptions. Amy Walker of the New York Times: "The abortion bans enacted in about half the states since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June do not prohibit abortion entirely. Most make exceptions in certain circumstances, commonly to protect the health or life of the patient, or in the case of rape or incest.... But in the months since the court's decision, very few exceptions to these new abortion bans have been granted.... Doctors and hospitals are turning away patients, saying that ambiguous laws and the threat of criminal penalties make them unwilling to test the rules." MB: This is great for state legislators. They can pretend they're good reasonable Christians who don't want to punish women & their families for pregnancies that present extraordinary circumstances, all the while knowing that they have written laws that effectively ban nearly every abortion in every circumstance.
Florida. Education Department Releases Official Excuses for Racism. Eliza Fawcett & Anemona Hartocollis of the New York Times: "After rejecting [a College Board] Advanced Placement course in African American studies for high school students, the Florida Department of Education offered an explanation of what it found objectionable in the curriculum -- citing examples of what it calls 'the woke indoctrination' of students that would violate state laws restricting how race can be taught in the classroom.... The department cites the inclusion of readings from many major African American scholars, activists and writers, who explored subjects like Black queer studies, Black feminist literary thought, the reparations movement and intersectionality.... Florida law requires the study of African American history. But Gov. Ron DeSantis [R is for Racist] ... has gained national prominence for backing restrictions on what students in Florida can and cannot learn. Last year, he signed the Individual Freedoms Act -- known as the Stop WOKE Act -- into law, which regulates how race-related issues are taught in public universities, colleges and in workplace trainings." ~~~
~~~ Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: Marvin Dunn, a professor emeritus of Florida International University, is teaching Florida Black history anyway. For instance, he recently took students & their parents to the burial place of the Newberry Six, Black Floridians lynched by a White mob. "Dunn's statewide 'Teach the Truth' tours are taking high school students to the sites of some of the worst racial violence in Florida history.... Dunn is one of eight plaintiffs in a lawsuit over [Gov. Ron] DeSantis's law, formally the Stop Wrongs to Our Kids and Employees Act, which also applies to public university professors. A federal judge ruled against the state in November, ordering a temporary injunction against portions of the act that restrict how college and university professors teach about race.... [DeSantis's] staff has described the term 'woke' as 'the belief there are systemic injustices in American society and the need to address them,' and said DeSantis doesn't believe that theory."
Georgia. Josh Marcus of the Independent, via Yahoo! News: "Activists across Atlanta are planning a string of events for the weekend in honour of Manuel Esteban Paez Teran, 26, a protester who was fatally shot by police on Wednesday during an operation evicting demonstrators protesting the construction of a $90m police training centre in an area forest. Defend the Atlanta Forest, one of the groups opposing the construction of the sprawling 'Cop City' development, said a vigil would be held inside the forest on Friday evening. Remembrances are expected to continue through Saturday.... Teran, known by fellow activists as Tortuguita, was killed in Wednesday, as a multi-agency task force moved into the South River Forest to clear out the encampments of protesters who have been fighting the Cop City project since 2021.... Georgia officials say Teran fired unprovoked on officers after failing to comply with commands, while activist groups say this account is false or questionable."
Way Beyond
Brazil. Anthony Faiola & Marina Dias of the Washington Post: "President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva ousted the head of Brazil's army on Saturday, moving against the most senior military officer to be held accountable after the Jan. 8 insurrection, when right-wing rioters rampaged through this nation's halls of power.... The removal of [Gen. Júlio Cesar de] Arruda came six days after The Washington Post reported that he had sought to protect rioters and supporters of defeated former president Jair Bolsonaro who were sheltering at a camp in front of army headquarters after storming and ransacking the presidential palace, the supreme court and congress.... [An] official said Lula acted after Arruda refused his order to fire a former senior Bolsonaro aide, Col. Mauro Cid..."
Haiti. Widlore Mérancourt & Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "Haiti, beset by horrific gang violence, record hunger and another outbreak of cholera, has suffered a new blow: the end of democratically elected government. Having failed to hold legislative elections in 2019, this Caribbean nation lost its last 10 senators this month when their terms expired. That's left the country of 11 million without a president -- that office has been vacant since the assassination of Jovenel Moïse 18 months ago -- or a parliament. The national government, such as it is, is run by Ariel Henry, an appointed prime minister who has yet to set a date for elections, who is accused by opponents of being a dictator -- and might have been involved in Moïse's killing.... The United States has voiced its support for a 'rapid action force,' but it does not want to lead one, and has instead prevailed upon Canada to assume a leadership role. Canadian officials have said that any form of intervention must have political consensus in Haiti, which has proved elusive."
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Sunday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "The Russian Defense Ministry claimed to have made advances in Ukraine's southeastern Zaporizhzhia region and continued offensive operations around the city of Bakhmut in Donbas, as a chorus of Western allies urged Germany to approve the delivery of battle tanks that Kyiv says are crucial to fighting entrenched Russian forces. Germany has declined to send its Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine or approve the transfer of the tanks by other nations with the German-made system in their inventories.... Berlin needs to provide Leopard tanks to Ukraine immediately, the foreign ministers of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania said in a joint appeal on Saturday." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Sunday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
~~~ Send in the Tanks. Washington Post Editors: "... Germany's refusal to approve the transfer of dozens of heavy battle tanks to Ukraine opened the first serious crack in what had been NATO's solid front.... Several European countries with Leopards in their arsenals have signaled they are ready to ship them immediately to Ukraine.... But those shipments must first be approved by Germany, which insisted on a right-to-refusal in its arms sale contracts. [German Chancellor Olaf] Scholz is sacrificing sound strategy on the altar of political calculation by wavering in the face of opposition from some political allies and a segment of the German electorate. It is a misjudgment that cannot stand.... If sending some [U.S.-made] Abrams tanks is the key to breaking the impasse on a potentially much greater shipment of Leopards, President Biden should give his assent."
U.K. Mark Landler of the New York Times: "Late Saturday, Buckingham Palace announced details of a three-day merrymaking [coronation] jamboree that will rival Queen Elizabeth II's Platinum Jubilee last June. Among the highlights [for the May 6-8 weekend]: a star-studded concert at Windsor Castle, a nationwide series of street parties and a national volunteering campaign.... The palace is still expected to shorten the [coronation] service, which will take place May 6 at Westminster Abbey and be conducted by the Most Rev. Justin Welby, the archbishop of Canterbury. It will reduce the guest list and dispense with some of the more antiquated rituals of a ceremony that dates back nearly 1,000 years.
News Ledes
Saturday Night in the U.S.A. Washington Post: "At least nine people were shot, with several hospitalized, in Monterey Park, Calif., on Saturday night, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department official said, on a night of Lunar New Year festivities in the area." At 5:45 am ET, this is a developing story. ~~~
~~~ New, Terrible Lede: "At least nine people were killed in a shooting in Monterey Park, Calif., the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said early Sunday." Still developing at 6:25 am ET. ~~~
~~~ An NBC News report has the number killed as ten. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments here: "Ten people were killed and at least 10 others were injured in a shooting late Saturday night inside a dance venue in Monterey Park, Calif., the authorities said. The gunman, described by the Los Angeles County sheriff only as 'a male Asian' somewhere between the ages of 30 and 50, remained at large, the subject of a manhunt by several local and state law enforcement authorities and the F.B.I." ~~~
~~~ NYT Update: "About 20 minutes after the attack in Monterey Park, an armed man walked into another dance hall in the neighboring city of Alhambra. He was disarmed by someone inside and then fled, Sheriff Luna said. His getaway vehicle was described as a white cargo van." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Friday evening, CNN & MSNBC are reporting that police in Torrance, CA, surrounded a white van they believed to be the shooter's and that he shot himself to death.
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Reader Comments (7)
Wow! I'm plumb tuckered out after reading today's R.C. thanks to our esteemed editor in chief's handiwork. Just a word about Dowd's excellent piece on Nancy: she will go down in history–--unless, of course, we start banning books celebrating women who have made a difference in our lives––-as the supreme example of a leader who kept her head high while dealing with those who kept their heads in the sand. There was a revelation of sorts that Alexandria mentions that took me aback; It pertains to the assault on Paul:
"Alexandra, always the id to her mother’s superego, was more blunt: “I think that weighed really heavy on her soul. I think she felt really guilty. I think that really broke her. Over Thanksgiving, she had priests coming, trying to have an exorcism of the house and having prayer services.”
I had to sit back and think about that for a spell.
P.D.
If true, the account of the Pelosi's reliance on mumbo-jumbo, while disturbing, has an upside:
It's apparently possible for some to compartmentalize in a sane way, keeping the private crazy from influencing their public actions...
A vanishingly rare talent, I'd note, on the Right.
Thank you so much for posting that glorious SNL open! It's the perfect rendition of that sorry episode but the present day House of Representatives is constantly worse, isn't it?
I read realitychex quite often, but it's been a while since I commented here. Your daily summaries and notes are valuable.
Three headlines on the same subject:
A - HuffPo. "FBI Searched Biden Home, Found More Documents Marked Classified"
B - NYT. "Investigators Sieze More Classified Documents From Biden's Home"
C - WaPo. "Justice Dept. search of Biden home in Wilmington turns up more documents"
Which one sounds more inflammatory and/or prejudicial than the other two?
@unwashed: Both A and B mention 'classified documents'.
Secret? Top secret? What or which?
I had a Secret Clearance in the military. I saw any variety of
documents, but mostly it was the places I went to, which I can't
reveal since I signed my life away, promising to keep quiet about
anything I saw.
The problem is, Biden probably didn't know the documents were
there. Trump obviously did.
It will go on for at least two more years.
Unwashed: I try every day to think positively about the great document debacle. I really think it is all pretty innocent, caused by careless packing, by aides or other helpers, and that Biden did not know that they were wherever they were, or he didn't think they were as "important" as the press is making them out to be. But it infuriates me that, no matter how sophisticated systems are, something always happens that Dems are caught flat-footed, and the absolutely odious, hideous press and that disgusting cult have the upper hand in every mistake. And the leader of the hideous press/cult is crystal-clearly Teflon, besting their idol, St. Ronnie. Each "discovery" makes me sure that the guy making the calls, ultimately, will bend over to touch the earth and let them all get away with it. I don't think he has the stomach to rely on the facts in the face of such tripe. It is all rotten to the core.
@unwashed: Good point. The first definition of "seize," according to the Googles dictionary is "to take hold of suddenly and forcibly." Synonyms are "clutch," "grab," "arrest," "apprehend." So, as you suggest, way more dramatic than "finding" some docs during a "search."
The suggestion is that agents rushed in and grabbed the goods at the last minute before Biden could use them to do great harm. (Never mind that he had been holding onto these docs for years or even decades & there's a good chance most of them haven't much or any relevance any more.)