;)
July 16, 2022
Peter Baker & David Sanger of the New York Times: "In the most fraught foreign visit of his presidency to date, [President] Biden's encounter with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gave the de facto Saudi leader a measure of the international rehabilitation he sought, while securing steps toward closer relations with Israel and an unannounced understanding that the kingdom would soon pump more oil to relieve high gas prices at home. Mr. Biden's discomfort was palpable as he avoided a handshake with the prince in favor of a fist bump.... Mr. Biden ... told reporters [Jamal] Khashoggi's murder was 'outrageous' and said he had confronted the crown prince privately. 'I raised it at the top of the meeting, making clear what I thought at the time and what I think of it now,' he said. 'I was straightforward and direct in discussing it. I made my view crystal clear.' He reported that Prince Mohammed, often known by his initials M.B.S., had denied culpability. 'He basically said that he was not personally responsible for it,' Mr. Biden said. 'I indicated that I thought he was.'... The Saudis wasted little time splashing photographs of the president and the prince across social media...." An ABC News report is here.
Patrick Kingsley of the New York Times: "President Biden had contrasting messages for Israelis and Palestinians on Friday before departing Israel for Saudi Arabia, announcing new steps toward Israeli integration within the Middle East while cautioning Palestinians that now was not the time for new peace talks to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For the Palestinians, Mr. Biden offered sympathy and funding, but few long-term prospects. On a brief visit to the West Bank, he announced more than $300 million for Palestinian hospitals and refugees, some of it subject to congressional approval. And he reported that Israel had agreed to give the Palestinians access to 4G internet, a decision not yet confirmed by Israel. He also restated his support for a future Palestinian state, with a capital in at least part of Jerusalem, and said that Israel's increased acceptance within the Arab world could lead to new momentum for the dormant peace process." An NPR report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Good grief! 4G? Haven't I been using 5G for several years? And so far Israel isn't even promising 4G? Here's a little background, from a February 9, 2022, Jerusalem Post report. We, or at least I, don't know the many ways Israel mistreats Palestinians.
Rand Paul to the Rescue! Really. Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The White House is abandoning plans to nominate a Kentucky lawyer [Chad Meredith] who opposes abortion rights and is backed by Senator Mitch McConnell to a federal court seat, citing opposition from Senator Rand Paul, Mr. McConnell's home-state colleague. The resistance from Mr. McConnell's fellow Republican marked a new twist over a potential nomination that had prompted outrage on the left.... Mr. McConnell ... said the White House intended to follow through on its commitment to nominate Mr. Meredith until Mr. Paul objected. Mr. Paul informed the White House that he would not return a 'blue slip' consenting to the nomination of Mr. Meredith, who is now in private practice. 'The net result of this is it has prevented me from getting my kind of judge out of a liberal Democratic president,' Mr. McConnell said in an interview, calling Mr. Paul's position 'just utterly pointless.'... Mr. McConnell said that he had made no pledge to the White House to do anything in return for Mr. Biden accepting his recommendation.... Democrats had sharply questioned why Mr. Biden would put forward a nominee backed by Mr. McConnell, considering that the Republican leader blocked Barack Obama's Supreme Court pick in 2016 and has been a main impediment to the president's agenda." No one seems to know Paul's objection to the nomination. The Huffington Post's story is here.
Senator Manchin has said a lot of things. Every time, what he makes clear over and over again, is he can't close a deal and that you can't trust what he says. -- Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) ~~~
~~~ Off With His Head! Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A day after pulling the plug on his party's plans to pass a climate, energy and tax package this summer, Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia ... suggested, in another month or so, he might see his way clear to salvaging the last bits of President Biden's domestic agenda.... This time, Democrats had had enough. Rather than engage in another round of will-he-or-won't-he negotiations with Mr. Manchin, Mr. Biden let it be known that he was done trying to secure his climate agenda in Congress. Mr. Manchin's abrupt withdrawal left Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, jilted after months of courting a colleague whose demands and red lines seemed to shift by the day, or the latest economic projection. And it prodded many Democrats into open revolt against Mr. Manchin, blaming him for the demise of their ambitions and the last chance for their party to tackle the existential threat of climate change." Read on. An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Joe reminds me of Anne Boleyn. According to legend, she kept enticing Henry VIII with sexy moves but pushed Jenry away every time he got, you know, too close. She would not do the deed, she said, unless he married her. He did, and you know how that turned out for Anne. ~~~
"A Modern-day Villain." Oliver Milman of the Guardian: "Joe Manchin's decision to kill off sweeping US climate legislation has been called 'nothing short of a death sentence' for younger people and a livable climate on Earth, amid an outpouring of anger and despair from activists, scientists and even many of the US Senator's Democratic colleagues. Manchin, the centrist West Virginia senator who has become a millionaire through his founding of a coal-trading company in his home state, dealt a crushing political blow to Joe Biden's agenda on Thursday night when he made clear he would not support any spending to curb the climate crisis in a proposed bill." ~~~
~~~ Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "... President Biden on Friday called on congressional Democrats to refocus their once-sweeping spending ambitions -- and adopt a package soon that aims to lower Americans' health-care costs. The public statement from the White House reflected an unavoidable reality: Biden's once-vast vision to remake broad swaths of the U.S. economy -- including an attempt to invest historic sums in the fight against climate change -- had faltered for perhaps the final time after months of failed negotiations between Democratic leaders and Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W. Va.)."
The Party of Women's Rights. Amy Wang & Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "The House on Friday passed legislation that would protect access to reproductive health care, including the ability to travel across state lines for an abortion, as part of Democrats' efforts to minimize the consequences of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade last month. One bill, the Women's Health Protection Act, would enshrine the protections of Roe v. Wade into law. The House already passed the bill last year, but it did not advance in a Senate vote in May. The House passed the bill, 219-210, prompting applause from Democrats in the chamber. All Republicans and Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Tex.) voted against the measure. Another bill, the Ensuring Women's Right to Reproductive Freedom Act, would reaffirm the right for someone seeking an abortion to travel freely across state lines. The House passed that measure, 223-205, with three Republicans -- Adam Kinzinger (Ill.), Fred Upton (Mich.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) -- joining all Democrats in backing the bill.... The bills are almost certain to fail in the Senate, where they would require 60 votes or the suspension of filibuster rules and a simple majority. Both are unlikely in the face of Republican opposition."
Jacqueline Alemany & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol issued a subpoena to the U.S. Secret Service on Friday requesting records after a government watchdog accused the agency of erasing texts from Jan. 5 and 6 after his office requested them. Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson (D-Miss.), in a letter transmitting notice of the subpoena, wrote that the panel sought relevant text messages and reports issued in any way related to the attack on the Capitol.... The subpoena is the first the committee has issued to an executive branch agency. The text messages could provide insight into the actions of the agency and potentially those of President Donald Trump on the day of the insurrection.... Joseph Cuffari, the DHS's inspector general, briefed members of the committee on Friday after sending a letter to lawmakers this week notifying them that the text messages were erased following the inspector general's request [for the text messages]." Politico's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Zachary Cohen, et al., of CNN: "The inspector general told the committee that the Secret Service has not been fully cooperative with his probe. Cuffari's description left the impression that the Secret Service had been 'footdragging,' the source said. The inspector general told the committee they were not getting full access to personnel and records. Cuffari said he brought the issue to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas more than once and was told to keep trying to get the information. Ultimately, Cuffari decided to go to Congress because he could not get anywhere within DHS with his concerns. Separately, a law enforcement official told CNN about Cuffari going to Mayorkas."
Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The Justice Department declared Friday that the Jan. 6 select committee has adequately justified its subpoena for testimony and documents from Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff in Donald Trump's White House. That conclusion came as part of a landmark filing taking a position for the first time that former advisers to presidents who have left office are not 'absolutely immune' from congressional subpoenas. DOJ filed the brief Friday evening in a civil suit Meadows filed in December against House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the committee's members in a bid to quash subpoenas the former Trump aide received from the House panel.... The department's brief concludes such advisers only retain that 'qualified immunity' after the president they served leaves office and that such immunity can be overcome by Congress if lawmakers prove they need the information at issue and can't get it anywhere else.... The Justice Department's decision to side with the House committee in the civil suit is notable ... [because] last month, department officials passed up the chance to pursue criminal charges against Meadows for defying the same House panel."
A Ridiculous Little Mystery, Solved. Kyle Cheney & Nicholas Wu of Politico: "A little-known Donald Trump campaign operative delivered lists of false electors to Capitol Hill in a bid to get them to Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, according to two people familiar with the episode. Mike Roman, then Trump's 2020 director of Election Day operations, delivered those false elector certificates -- signed by pro-Trump activists in Michigan and Wisconsin -- to Rep. Mike Kelly's (R-Pa.) chief of staff at the time [Matt Stroia].... Kelly was a Trump ally in the effort to overturn the 2020 election, and his then-top aide received the documents from Roman before deputizing a colleague to disseminate copies on Capitol Hill, according to both people.... After the committee revealed the role of a top aide to Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in the episode during a hearing last month, Johnson said the false elector lists came from Kelly -- who has repeatedly denied any involvement by his office in their distribution." Johnson's spokesperson said Kelly should apologize to Johnson. The January 6 committee has subpoenaed Roman regarding his part in the fake electors scheme.
Insurrectionists Turned Crybabies. Tom Jackman of the Washington Post: “Two New York state men who led a mob that overwhelmed police at the perimeter of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021 -- then bodysurfed over the top of the crowd at a building entrance and pepper-sprayed officers -- were both sentenced Friday to 44 months in prison. Cody Mattice, 29, of Greece, N.Y., and James Mault, 30, of Brockport, N.Y., both wept as they stood before Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell and asked for leniency, apologizing for their actions and saying they hoped to return soon to their families and young children. But Howell noted that prosecutors had already cut them a reasonable deal by dropping charges that could have led to far more prison time, and she imposed the sentences requested by the government."
Michael Isikoff & Daniel Klaidman of Yahoo! News: "In the latest sign that she is moving rapidly in her investigation into Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis has sent so-called target letters to prominent Georgia Republicans informing them they could be indicted for their role in a scheme to appoint alternate electors pledged to the former president despite Joe Biden's victory in the state.... Among the recipients of the target letters, the sources said, are GOP state Sen. Burt Jones, Gov. Brian Kemp's running mate for lieutenant governor; David Shafer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party; and state Sen. Brandon Beach. Jones and Shafer were among those who participated in a closed-door meeting at the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, in which 16 Georgia Republicans selected themselves as the electors for the state, although they had no legal basis for doing so.... 'Yes,' said Willis when asked if there was any chance Trump will be called to testify." The New York Times story is here.
Emily Anthes of the New York Times: "As the monkeypox outbreak grows in the United States, demand for the vaccine is outstripping the nation's supply, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said at a news briefing on Friday.... The federal government made another 131,000 doses available to states and other jurisdictions on Friday. But the scope of the outbreak remains unclear, in part because diagnostic testing has been slow and limited. Nearly 1,500 cases have been identified in the United States, primarily in men who have sex with men, and the figure is likely to rise in the coming weeks, Dr. Walensky said.... The Department of Health and Human Services ordered an additional 2.5 million doses of the vaccine, known as Jynneos, on Friday, but those doses are not scheduled to arrive until next year. A previously ordered 2.5 million doses should begin arriving late this year, officials said."
Maria Paúl & Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Hours after a man was charged Wednesday with raping a 10-year-old Ohio girl, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) questioned whether the Indianapolis doctor who helped the child obtain an abortion had reported the procedure to state officials, as required by law.... Rokita again raised doubts Thursday in a letter to Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb (R), saying that his office had requested, but not received, documentation from state agencies that the girl's abortion had been properly reported by the OB/GYN, Caitlin Bernard. But records obtained by The Washington Post on Thursday afternoon show that Bernard indeed reported the minor's abortion to the relevant state agencies before the legally mandated deadline to do so. The doctor's attorney, Kathleen DeLaney..., sent a cease-and-desist order to Rokita on Friday."
~~~ Marie: Are we to assume that the Washington Post -- and the New York Times (here) AND the Indy Star (here), both a full day earlier -- have better access to Indiana state records than does the state's own attorney general? A better assumption would be that Rokita is a news whore who just wanted his moment in the Fox "News" sunlight. Because Rokita could hardly wait to get on the Fox teevee. I'm getting angrier & angrier at these fat, lying, misogynistic, holier-than-thou Republicans.
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona, the Worst Place to Live. In yesterday's thread, RAS & Akhilleus linked to stories that suggest that if you are thinking of moving states, Arizona is a really bad choice: ~~~
(1) Scott Cohn of CNBC: "With five million more job openings in the U.S. than there are employees to fill them, workers have more leverage than they have had in years. They are using that power -- and unprecedented mobility -- to demand a welcoming environment and great quality of life in the places they work. Our Life, Health and Inclusion category considers factors such as crime rates, environmental quality, and health care. For the first time in 2022, we also consider the availability of childcare.... We also consider inclusiveness of state laws in areas like protections against discrimination and voting rights. That's not politics, it's business.... [According to these metrics,] America's worst state to live in is ... ~~~
~~~ "Arizona: "... it [has] some of the worst air quality in the nation.... Maricopa County, home to Phoenix, endures 39 high ozone days per year. That puts more stress on an already poor health care system, short on hospital beds and staff." The state's "Life, Health & Inclusion" score is the worst in the nation, Grade: F. Meanwhile, none of CNBC's metrics put Arizona in the top 50 percent. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link.
(2) MEANWHILE, Arizona Is the Slave Labor State. Robyn Pennacchia of Wonkette: "Giving testimony on Thursday before [a state legislative budget committee], Arizona Department of Corrections Director David Shinn explained that many Arizona communities would 'collapse' without prison labor.... In other words, he is arguing that ... the state literally needs people to commit crimes in order to function economically.... According to the ACLU, 'charging misdemeanors as felonies, throwing thousands of people behind bars instead of offering drug treatment or diversion services, and abusing prosecutorial power to secure guilty pleas are just some of the tactics used that have led to Arizona's exceedingly high rate of incarceration.'" Thanks to RAS for the link.
New York. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "Ivana Trump, the ex-wife of ... Donald J. Trump, died accidentally of blunt impact injuries to her torso, according to New York City's chief medical examiner. The office, which announced its determination in a news release on Friday afternoon, said it would have no further comment on the death of Ms. Trump, 73." CNN's report is here. MB: It is my personal hope that this succinct ME announcement will be no impediment to conspiracy theorists.
Texas. David Goodman of the New York Times: "Days after the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, the leaders of the grieving city fumed during a closed-door meeting with Steven McCraw, the state's top police official.... [The city officials] laid out their own version of events, one that praised the officers for initially rushing to the gunfire and saving hundreds of other children in the school.... The competing accounts have obscured the actions of the police.... The clearest picture yet is expected to come on Sunday when a Texas House committee is set to report the results of its investigation, one of several overlapping inquiries into what took place. The committee's report was expected to spread blame beyond Chief Pete Arredondo, the head of the small Uvalde school district police force who Mr. McCraw has said was principally responsible for a law enforcement response that he has called an 'abject failure.'"
West Virginia. Chris Dickerson of the West Virginia Record: "A circuit court judge allegedly brandished a handgun during a hearing earlier this year, leaving it pointed at an attorney from Texas during the proceedings. Second Judicial Circuit Judge David Hummel was overseeing a trial in a case ... regarding royalty payments to landowners. Houston-based attorney Lauren Varnado was leading the legal team representing [one of the litigants]. The incident in question occurred March 12 during a rare Saturday hearing involving only trial counsel.... According to the Daily Beast website..., Hummel 'whipped out his handgun, waved it in the air and left it on the bench with the barrel pointing directly at corporate lawyers who had irritated him.' At first, Hummel told the Daily Beast that never happened. Then, he told the reporter he kept the gun, a Colt .45, in a secret drawer in his bench. Then, he said he was wearing a holstered gun under his robe during the trial the previous week. But he said it was a long, classic-looking revolver.... During the trial, [Varnado] said Hummel would walk around the courtroom with his robe unzipped and the firearm visible." Varnaro notified the FBI & attested to Varnaro's courtroom gunslinging in in an affidavit. She said she was terrified by his behavior.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "A Russian strike on an industrial plant and a busy street in the central Ukrainian city of Dnipro killed at least three people and injured 15 on Friday night, a regional leader said.... A spokesperson for Ukraine's Ministry of Defense said about 70 percent of Russian strikes have targeted nonmilitary infrastructure.... Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Ukraine had received its first M270 multiple-launch rocket systems, which he called 'good company' for comparable U.S. weapons credited for the destruction of more than 30 Russian military logistics centers. Russian opposition activist Andrei Pivovarov was sentenced to four years in prison for leading a pro-democracy group. Moscow has intensified its crackdown on dissidents since the Feb. 24. invasion. As ... Vladimir Putin prepares to visit Tehran next week, Iran said recent U.S. intelligence reports that it is sending Russia weapons-ready drones were 'baseless,' state media reported." ~~~
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "Lawyers for WNBA star Brittney Griner told a Russian court Friday that doctors in the United States prescribed her medical cannabis for chronic pain, as the basketball player faced her fourth day in a trial on drug charges that could send her to prison for up to 10 years.... [Griner had] told the court she accidentally packed the two vape cartridges and did not intend to break Russian law.... As part of the presentation of evidence for the defense, one of Griner's attorneys, Maria Blagovolina ... read a medical certificate indicating that Griner was prescribed medical cannabis by U.S. doctors as part of treatment for chronic pain and other conditions. The trial was then adjourned until July 26."
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Reader Comments (14)
I don't give a rat's ass why Rand Paul objects to the nomination of Chad Meredith for a federal court seat; what I DO want to know is why Biden would nominate him in the first place? It was pure speculation that some kind of deal was made with McConnell who denies it.
Interesting to listen to different views re: Biden's big trip––he shouldn't have gone ––-he needed to go–––you need to deal with foes as well as friends–-but consensus on MBS: He's trash! Can't be trusted but you deal with him–--fist bumps and other bumps in the road. As for Israel. their mistreatment (nice word) of Palestine makes me crazy but we continue to give them money and pretend we care.
The fine line between speculation and conspiracy:
Haven't slipped into conspiracy land yet, but am having great trouble imagining how someone can sustain deadly blunt force trauma to one's torso outside of a car or pedestrian accident. Certainly can't understand how one could administer such an injury to oneself by falling in a shower or bathtub. Wouldn't someone or something else have to apply the necessary force?
And we all know a drunken fall's landing is sodden soft...
Not thoughts and prayers. Just thoughts.
Maybe Ivana's alimony was too high? Must cost a lot to live in a
4 story Manhattan condo or apartment. Then there's the staff to pay
and those 10 thousand $ gowns and thousand $ shoes, etc.
Forrest,
I’ll bet Fatty wasn’t paying her a red cent out of his own pocket. She was probably being paid from some slush fund he had somewhere, fattened up with all the money from his many insurance scams and money he never used to pay contractors.
You can be sure that if he did have something to do with this he was careful to make sure Princess Ivanka doesn’t find out about it. He’s still hoping to bang her. If he hasn’t already.
I haven’t read anything about a single word of condolence or a mention of this unfortunate accident from the Fat Fascist. He must be pondering how he can make this event all about him. There must be some way he can benefit from Ivana’s death. After all, she was never anything but an eye candy trophy wife. When she passed her date of usefulness in that regard, he dumped her like dirty laundry.
But he’s still a hero to the Bible bangers.
@Ken Winkes & @Forrest Morris: When I read Ivana took a tumble down the stairs, I imagined she lived in a two-floor high-rise apartment with wide marble stairs ending on a marble floor. I could imagine her wearing spike heels & tripping, then hitting her head as she fell down the stairs or landed. In fact, I fall occasionally while wearing socks or nothing on my feet, and that's the reason that my houses have wood floors; they're far more resilient than tile or marble.
BUT then it turns out that she didn't hit her head; rather, she had "blunt injuries to her torso." Say what?
So I decided to see if I could find out how those stairs could have injured her torso. Well, first of all, she doesn't live in a high-rise. Her New York City home is a townhouse. (I'd be surprised if it doesn't have an elevator; many townhouses do. I'm putting one in the modest house I'm building.) So I looked for pictures of the stairs. I found them here, here and here.
And guess what? The stairs are carpeted. Not only that, they have substantial iron railings. So if she wasn't unconscious before she fell, she could have grabbed the geegaws on the railing to arrest her fall. I couldn't find a photo that showed the surface of the main floor, but the second picture shows the second-floor landing, and it too is carpeted. In fact, the stairs down to the second-floor landing are double-carpeted. I'll just guess that the main reception floor has a thick, padded carpet, too. IOW, I think it would be damned difficult to kill yourself falling -- as opposed to being pushed! -- down those stairs and causing "blunt injuries to your torso."
Let the conspiracy theories pour forth like lava.
Even if Donnie wasn't involved he still benefited from it. Trump sent out an announcement of Ivana's death along with a fundraising request. There is no situation in which he won't try to make a buck.
@RAS: Thanks. I was going to tell Akhilleus that Trump had announced Ivana's death in a very decent notice. It's damned indecent to attach a fundraising appeal to it.
I missed Fatty’s death notice, but I was spot on that he’d use her demise to benefit himself. A scheming, grasping prick all the way.
Re: Li’l Randy to the rescue.
Something to do with his immaculate sense of ethics and decency?
Hang on…
Hahahahahahaha….!!
Nevah.
I will bet my Ted Williams autographed baseball, my bootleg copy of a live 1935 recording of “Der Rosekavalier” with Lotte Lehmann as the Marschallin, and my (kind of ratty) first edition of “Ulysses”, that this anti-choice lawyer, Chad Meredith, said or did something to personally piss off the littlest asshole. Maybe he dissed him at some confederate fundraiser or didn’t offer flowery enough encomiums about his wonderfulness, or maybe he did it to stick it to the Turtle for getting more face time in the media.
Whatever it is, it’s something stupid.
But I ain’t complaining. A stopped clock, and all that…
Imagine the difference in message if these two sentences are reversed: "The Department of Health and Human Services ordered an additional 2.5 million doses of the vaccine, known as Jynneos, on Friday, but those doses are not scheduled to arrive until next year. A previously ordered 2.5 million doses should begin arriving late this year, officials said."
Subtle, but revealing a bias in message, I think.
@Allen: Good point.
Spent a lovely half a day with old, best female friends whose two young children, after the initial reconnecting, left us alone to talk the hours away. One of these women is an artist who designs Tees and was wearing one that had stencil figures of all the female Supreme Court justices including the newest; the one missing was Amy. They, I must say, are selling like hotcakes.
And AK: "You wicked, wicked monkey!" ( line from Mrs.Doubtfire") to insinuate that Fatty done do it with his pretty daughter is shocking–-I mean, just the image alone leaves one limp with disgust. But I bet my buffalo nickel the idea was not farthest from his mind. As to the death of his three children's mother (thanks Marie for your intake) it could very well have been alcohol induced –-a hard fall from up high could be enough of a blow to kill an elderly woman with fragile bones and a broken heart.
The falling and dying due to torso injuries is easy-peasy. Ivana was slightly old; women of that age commonly have osteoporotic ribs. Ivana could have fallen on the rug covered stairs, cracked several ribs, punctured her lung(s), and suffocated relatively quickly.
No conspiracy necessary.
@Victoria: I'm sure you're right. In fact, while I was looking for photos of the staircase, I found a short, recent video of Ivana, and she did look frail. But I long for some weird conspiracy theories here.