;)
June 17, 2022
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Glenn Thrush & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack could start sharing some transcripts of witness interviews with federal prosecutors as early as next month as Justice Department officials ratchet up public pressure on the panel to turn over the documents. Negotiations between Justice Department officials and Timothy J. Heaphy, the lead investigator for the House panel and a former federal prosecutor, have intensified in recent days, as the two sides wrangle over the timing and content of the material to be turned over, according to several people familiar with the talks but not authorized to publicly discuss the matter.... 'The select committee is engaged in a cooperative process to address the needs of the Department of Justice,' said a spokesman for the committee, Tim Mulvey. 'We are not inclined to share the details of that publicly....'"
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here.
Florida. Ron DeSantis Makes Sure You Know He's Still an Irresponsible Jerk. Renzo Downey of Florida Politics: McClatchy News & the White House indicated the DeSantis administration had changed course & now -- like every other state -- was allowing doctors to order vaccines for the youngest children. "Despite federal officials detailing that Florida providers can now accept orders during the standard ordering phase, DeSantis Press Secretary Christina Pushaw told Florida Politics Florida did not change course. 'The White House (Press Secretary) and (McClatchyDC) are both spreading disinformation. NOTHING has "reversed" or changed. The State of Florida is not placing any orders of (COVID-19) shots for 0-5 year old babies and kids,' Pushaw tweeted. Florida Department of Health (DOH) Press Secretary Jeremy Redfern similarly told Florida Politics the story is false and that nothing has changed.... Although individual providers can order vaccines, Florida is not directing state and public health departments to administer vaccines to children. 'This will specifically leave the most vulnerable underserved children of Florida behind,' [White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator Ashish] Jha said."
Lauren Gardner & Katherine Foley of Politico: "The FDA on Friday authorized two Covid-19 vaccines for emergency use in babies, toddlers and preschool-age children, setting the stage for the country's youngest kids to begin receiving shots as soon as next week. The agency's action came two days after its independent advisory panel on vaccines unanimously voted to recommend EUAs for Moderna's and Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccines, which can be administered to children as young as six months."
~~~~~~~~~~
** Trump Sicced Mob on Pence. Luke Broadwater & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump continued pressuring Vice President Mike Pence to go along with a plan to unilaterally overturn his election defeat even after he was told it was illegal, according to testimony laid out in extensive detail on Thursday by the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. The committee showed how Mr. Trump's pressure campaign -- aided by a little-known conservative lawyer, John Eastman -- led his supporters to storm the Capitol, sending Mr. Pence fleeing for his life as rioters demanded his execution. In the third public hearing this month..., the panel recounted how Mr. Trump's actions brought the nation to the brink of a constitutional crisis, and raised fresh questions about whether they were also criminal. It played videotaped testimony in which Mr. Pence's top White House lawyer, Greg Jacob, said Mr. Eastman had admitted in front of Mr. Trump two days before the riot that his plan to have Mr. Pence obstruct the electoral certification violated the law. Following the riot, Mr. Eastman sought a pardon after being informed by one of Mr. Trump's top White House lawyers that he had criminal exposure for hatching the scheme, according to an email displayed by the committee.... Knowing his supporters were attacking the Capitol with the vice president inside, [Trump] tweeted a public condemnation of him, further whipping up a crowd chanting 'Hang Mike Pence!'" Emphasis added. An AP report is here. The Guardian's story is here.
Annie Karni & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "An angry mob with baseball bats and pepper spray chanting 'hang Mike Pence' came within 40 feet of the vice president. Mr. Pence's Secret Service detail had to hustle him to safety and hold him for nearly five hours in the bowels of the Capitol. Mr. Trump called Mr. Pence a 'wimp' and worse [MB: 'worse' being 'pussy'] in a coarse and abusive call that morning from the Oval Office, Mr. Trump's daughter and former White House aides testified. And a confidential witness who traveled to Washington with the Proud Boys, the most prominent of the far-right groups that helped lead the assault on the Capitol, later told investigators the group would have killed Mr. Pence -- and Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- if they got the chance."~~~
~~~ A Vox report, by Li Zhou, elaborates on the Trump's "pussy" phone call to pence, which took place the morning of January 6.
NPR has a full transcript of the hearing. You can watch the full hearing on the committee's website.
Marie: All of the fact witnesses so far have been Republicans, and the vast majority of them are or were Trumpists from Trump World's inner sanctum. Their sworn testimony often tends to play down Trump's bad acts. So the hearings are by no means a product of a bunch of rabid, partisan Democrats making false charges about a wonderful, wonderful president*. When it comes to Trumpbots, however, it remains to be seen if the truth will set them free. I suppose many who bother to watch the hearings are doing so to make their lists of "RINO traitors."
Violence Was of the Essence of the Scheme. Marie: Here's a nugget from [Broadwater & Schmidt's] report, linked above: "'You're going to cause riots in the streets [if your plan succeeds],' Eric Herschmann, a White House counsel, testified that he told Mr. Eastman. In videotaped testimony, he said Mr. Eastman had responded: 'There's been violence in the history of our country to protect the democracy or protect the Republic.'" That is, Eastman admitted that mass violence was an expected and acceptable result of the plan. So we should hardly be surprised that violence also was acceptable to his co-conspirator Donald Trump, and if that violence led to the assassination of his own vice president, well, pence "deserved it." A president's main job is to defend the nation. The gangster/sociopath-in-chief did the opposite. ~~~
~~~ Ned Foley in Election Law Blog: "It is simply astonishing how far removed from any sense of principle, legitimacy, or moral compass Eastman became. Was the worst moment when Eastman was told that his plan would cause violence in the streets and he was still undeterred?"
Matt Shuham of TPM: "In Thursday's Jan. 6 Committee hearing, former Vice President Mike Pence's chief counsel Greg Jacob recalled the moment when Donald Trump's top election theft advisor, John Eastman, admitted that even he didn't believe his plot to steal Trump a second term was legitimate.... Eastman had in fact doubted the plan for months, the committee revealed. Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) ... pulled up a draft letter to Trump from October 2020, in which someone had proposed the idea that Pence could determine which electors to count at the joint session of Congress. Eastman had written a comment on that letter ... saying of the Twelfth Amendment, 'Nowhere does it suggest that the president of the Senate gets to make the determination on his own.' That's not all: In a meeting that included both Trump and Pence on Jan. 4, Jacob recalled Eastman acknowledging that his proposals violated the Electoral Count Act. 'But he thought that we could do so because, in his view, the Electoral Count Act was unconstitutional,' Jacob recalled. 'When I raised concerns that that position would likely lose in court, his view was that the courts simply wouldn't get involved. They would invoke the political question doctrine, and therefore we could have some comfort proceeding with that path.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: The twisted "logic" here is impressive. Trump & Eastman plan to overturn the election by relying on a law they concurrently plan to break because Eastman thinks the law is unconstitutional.
Let's Ask Mikey! Tim Miller of the Bulwark: "Now don't get me wrong, [Mike Pence] does deserve recognition for his actions on January 6. He should definitely be awarded a very special cookie or be given a gold star for carrying out the bare minimum constitutional requirement of his office at a time when his boss and his supporters were pressuring him to shirk that responsibility. He also deserves credit for being stalwart in the face of legitimate physical danger.... But ... amidst all of this lavish praise of Pence [at Thursday's hearing], and the compelling, if fawning, testimony from his own counsel, Greg Jacob, the proceedings felt like they had a phantom limb.... Shouldn't [Mike Pence] testify, under oath, about the events of January 6? Don't we deserve to hear from Pence what his conversations with Trump were like in the lead-up to that day? Shouldn't he tell us the ways in which the president abdicated his responsibility to help protect the Capitol and everyone within it as the mob descended?"
The New York Times live-updated developments related to Thursday's January 6 committee hearing: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol plans on Thursday to present new details of the intense pressure campaign ... Donald J. Trump and the conservative lawyer John Eastman waged against Vice President Mike Pence to try to get him to overturn the election, which the panel says directly contributed to the violent siege of Congress." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "Thursday's January 6 committee hearing will begin at 1pm ET.... Retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig, a Republican who is testifying at Thursday's January 6 committee hearing, will provide a sharp condemnation of ... Donald Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election, saying Trump and his allies 'instigated' a war on democracy 'so that he could cling to power,' according to a written statement he intends to submit for the committee's record obtained exclusively by CNN. Luttig outlined in his statement how close he believed democracy came to the brink." A printout of Luttig's prepared statement, via CNN, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Tensions between the US justice department and the House of Representatives January 6 select committee have escalated after federal prosecutors complained that their inability to access witness transcripts was hampering criminal investigations into rioters who stormed the Capitol.... 'The select committee's failure to grant the department access to these transcripts complicates the department's ability to investigate and prosecute those who engaged in criminal conduct in relation to the January 6 attack on the Capitol', [wrote the US attorney for Washington Matthew Graves]."
Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Each day seems to bring a new controversy for the [Supreme Court], and Thursday's was additional revelations about Virginia 'Ginni' Thomas, the wife of the court's longest-serving member, Justice Clarence Thomas.... Ginni Thomas indicated to a conservative media outlet Thursday she would comply with the [January 6] committee's request for information. 'I can't wait to clear up misconceptions. I look forward to talking to them,' Thomas told the Daily Caller.... The outcry over the court comes at the precise moment it wants to project a unified, or at least collegial, front. Instead, the court appears 'deeply unsettled,' in the words of Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe.... [Justice Sonia] Sotomayor said [in an interview] the court had the chance to lead the way to 'regain public confidence' in institutions. She went out of her way to praise her relationship with Thomas." ~~~
~~~ A Guardian story on Justice Sotomayor's remarks is here.
Andrew Solender of Axios: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack plans to seek testimony from conservative activist Ginni Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, the panel's chair said Thursday.... 'We think it's time that we, at some point, invite her to come talk to the committee,' Chair Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) told reporters." See related NYT report by Broadwater & Haberman & WashPo report by Alemany, et al., both linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The main effect of ... years of Republican scandal mongering was to produce a cloud of suspicion and mistrust that helped to undermine [President] Obama's preferred successor as president, as well as to shield Trump, as the 2016 Republican nominee, from the kind of scrutiny that might have made him more vulnerable.... It is with this knowledge in mind that Democrats in Washington should do something about Ginni Thomas.... 'Thomas's efforts to overturn the election were more extensive than previously known,' The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.... But if the first revelation, of Thomas's correspondence with [Mark] Meadows, was shocking, then these revelations of Thomas's contact with [John] Eastman are explosive. And it raises key questions, not just about what Ginni Thomas knew, but about what Clarence Thomas knew as well.... Democratic leaders in Congress should launch an investigation into Ginni Thomas's activities and announce that they intend to speak to her husband as well." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I'm not saying Bouie's advice is bad; in fact, it sounds good to me. Now just how do you spell "hi-teck linching"? I suspect those will be the first three words we hear from Clarence Thomas and I need to be ready.
David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "A Nebraska man pleaded guilty Thursday on charges that he threatened an election official over social media last year, marking the first conviction for a Justice Department task force charged with protecting poll workers. Federal authorities said Travis Ford, 42, of Lincoln, Neb., posted multiple hostile messages on an Instagram page associated with the official, who was not named in a Justice Department news release."
Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: “Walmart said it pulled MyPillow products from its stores as the pillow company's founder and CEO Mike Lindell continues to falsely claim the 2020 presidential election was rigged against former President Trump.... 'While we are no longer carrying them in stores, MyPillow products continue to be available on Walmart.com,' a Walmart spokesperson told The Hill." Lindall complained Walmart had "cancelled" him. Marie: Well, isn't that special? You no longer have to look at Mike's crap pillows when you walk into a store, but you can still buy them!
Today is the 50th anniversary of the Watergate break-in.
Washington Post Editors: "The scandal that ended in President Richard M. Nixon's resignation from office helped shape our modern politics, reforming the government, revitalizing the press and redefining the parties. Now, the country confronts another generation-defining crisis, and events half a century old feel as relevant as if they happened yesterday.... Yet most members of [today's] GOP appear afraid to utter a word against the ex-president, who continues to hold their party in his grip. Worse still, most refuse to engage at all in this truth-seeking effort, or even to put much stock in the concept of truth itself.... [Decades ago] enough people -- from those in the chambers of Congress to those in any spot in the country near a television set or a newsroom desk -- cared 50 years ago to make government work again when it appeared to have broken. The worst mistake anyone can make today is to give up on it because it has broken again."
Hannah Natanson & Moriah Balingit of the Washington Post: "... more than 160 educators ... were either fired or resigned their jobs in the past two academic years due to the culture wars that are roiling many of the nation's schools, according to a Washington Post analysis of news reports.... The teachers included in the analysis all lost their employment when hot-button cultural, racial, political or pandemic issues intersected with their ability to teach, either because the teacher sought to address controversial topics in the classroom or because administrators took issue with the teacher's views as expressed inside or outside the classroom.... Educators fear conditions will only worsen as lawmakers seek to regulate how teachers talk about any number of issues, including politics, race, history, gender identity and sexuality, creating a new basis to push teachers out. In some cases, the authors of education-related bills and laws have used vague, broad and unclear wording, leading to widespread concern that teachers may unintentionally run afoul of the law."
Jamie Grierson & Ben Quinn of the Guardian: Britain's home secretary "Priti Patel has approved the extradition of the WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange to the US, a decision the organisation immediately said it would appeal against in the high court. The case passed to the home secretary last month after the supreme court ruled there were no legal questions over assurances given by US authorities over how Assange was likely to be treated.... The Australian is being held at Belmarsh prison in London after a lengthy battle to avoid being extradited."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Benjamin Mullin & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "USA Today said on Thursday that it had removed 23 articles from its website after an investigation into a reporter's work revealed sources that appeared to be fabricated. The internal investigation, which took place over a period of several weeks, began after USA Today received an inquiry related to the veracity of details in an article by Gabriela Miranda, who was a breaking news reporter at USA Today. Ms. Miranda resigned from USA Today recently, as the investigation progressed, according to a person briefed on the inquiry.... [According to a note posted on USA Today's website,] 'The audit revealed that some individuals quoted were not affiliated with the organizations claimed and appeared to be fabricated. The existence of other individuals quoted could not be independently verified. In addition, some stories included quotes that should hav been credited to others.'"
Peter Marks of the Washington Post: "The country is at long last training a spotlight on an unsung World War II unit of Black women, with Congress bestowing its highest honor on them -- and with a new musical on the way, too, to sing about their astonishing story. They were the 855 members of the Women's Army Corps' 6888th Central Postal Directory Battalion, the only all-Black, all-female battalion sent overseas during the war. A handful, ages 98 to 102, are still alive. And though none could make it to an emotional ceremony on Wednesday at Arlington National Cemetery, dozens of their sons, daughters and grandchildren were on hand to celebrate their courage and reflect on their trailblazing achievements as women of color.... As the audience was told by Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis R. McDonough, it was a direct result of their success that President Harry S. Truman desegregated the military in 1948.... [At the ceremony,] actor Blair Underwood, executive producer of 'Six Triple Eight -- The Musical,' introduced the creative team before a video of a song from the show was played."
Ryan Mac of the New York Times: "SpaceX, the private rocket company, on Thursday fired employees who helped write and distribute an open letter criticizing the behavior of chief executive Elon Musk, said three employees with knowledge of the situation. Some SpaceX employees began circulating the letter, which denounced Mr. Musk's activity on Twitter, on Wednesday. The letter called the billionaire's public behavior and tweeting 'a frequent source of distraction and embarrassment' and asked the company to rein him in."
Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "A congressional deal for billions of dollars in additional coronavirus funding appeared all but dead Thursday after Senate Republicans accused the White House of being dishonest about the nation's pandemic funding needs. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who brought the Senate close to a bipartisan $10 billion covid funding deal in March, said the Biden administration had provided 'patently false' information about its inability to buy additional vaccines, treatments and supplies.... 'I hope that there's an appreciation that for the administration to say they could not purchase [anti-Covid supplies], and then after several months, divert some funds and then purchase them is unacceptable, and makes our ability to work together .. very much shaken to the core.' Biden officials said last week they had no choice but to repurpose about $10 billion from other covid priorities, such as testing, to purchase more coronavirus vaccines and treatments, since Congress had not been able to reach agreement. In interviews Thursday, three administration officials insisted that the White House had been transparent about their needs and spending, and that Republicans had continually found new reasons to object to the efforts to secure additional covid funds." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Biden officials are right. Republicans force the administration to rob Peter to pay Paul, then claim there was plenty of money all along. That's like your saying, correctly, "I can't pay the rent," then you do pay it instead of putting food on the table. Mitch proves his GOP creds by showing off his duplicity.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Eliza Fawcett of the New York Times: "... a lawsuit filed last week by a South Florida synagogue challenges new legislation in the state banning most abortions after 15 weeks, saying it violates the State Constitution's right to privacy and freedom of religion. In Jewish law, the suit argues, 'abortion is required if necessary to protect the health, mental or physical well-being of the woman.' The lawsuit, filed by Congregation L’Dor Va-Dor, a progressive synagogue in Palm Beach County not affiliated with a broader denomination, may face an uphill climb in court. But it is a reminder that abortion poses religious issues beyond those of the Christian right. And it suggests potential legal issues that could surface at a time when Roe seems likely to be overturned, and the Supreme Court has been aggressively open to a wider role for religion in public and political life."
Georgia. Herschel Walker Has a Lot of Children. Caroline Vakil of the Hill: "Georgia Senate hopeful Herschel Walker (R) has confirmed that he has a third son and an adult daughter, a revelation that comes just a day after his campaign acknowledged he had a second son previously unknown to the public. In a statement from his campaign to The Hill, Walker acknowledged he had four children total: one son with his first wife, Cindy Deangelis Grossman, and three other children reportedly with other women, according to the Daily Beast. 'I have four children. Three sons and a daughter. They're not "undisclosed" -- they're my kids. I support them all and love them all,' he said." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michigan Gubernatorial Race. Paul Egan of the Detroit Free Press: "Republican candidate for governor Ryan Kelley will have to surrender his guns while awaiting trial on misdemeanor criminal charges related to the U.S. Capitol riot, a federal judge ruled Thursday. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robin Meriweather made the ruling over objections from Kelley's attorney that Kelley needs to carry a concealed weapon for self-defense during campaign appearances around the state."
Montana. Governor MIA. Karin Brulliard of the Washington Post: "Montana National Guard soldiers are deployed around the Yellowstone region, where they say they have rescued dozens of people from this week's severe floods and ushered travelers along ravaged roads. The FEMA administrator is now in the state, surveying the destruction. Montana Red Cross officials are operating evacuation centers across the area. But one key figure is not on the ground at this historic disaster: Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte (R). Gianforte's office has said he left for a personal trip outside of the country with his wife before heavy rains deluged southwest Montana.... Gianforte's spokeswoman has declined to disclose his whereabouts or specify when the Republican will return.... Lt. Gov Kristen Juras, signed a statewide declaration of disaster, as well as a letter to the White House Wednesday requesting a presidential declaration of major disaster. That letter, which cites Montana's need for federal assistance for infrastructure repairs and other immediate needs, referred to Juras as 'acting governor.'... In a statement on Thursday, Gianforte announced that he had 'secured' a major disaster declaration from President Biden...." ~~~
~~~ Update. Marie: Several fairly schlocky sources, like the Daily Mail, report that Greggers & Spouse are vacationing in Tuscany. In fairness to Greg, maybe he couldn't get home because he was drunk on a nice chianti. ~~~
New York Congressional Race. Andrew Kaczynski & Em Steck of CNN: "New York Republican congressional candidate Carl Paladino told a radio host in late 2016 that Black Americans were kept 'dumb and hungry' so they could be conditioned to only vote for the Democratic Party, saying, 'You can't teach them differently.' Paladino, then a Buffalo school board member, was defending himself against allegations that previous comments he made were racist and said he cared about Black people, but they had been conditioned to be a base for the Democrats." MB: Maybe Southerners will be happy to know that their neck of the woods doesn't have a corner on flagrant racism.
Texas AG: God Wanted a Maniac to Mow Down Your Children with an AR-15. David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement: "The Uvalde school shooting last month that cost 19 young children and two teachers their lives was God's plan, says Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton. 'Life is short,' Paxton told radio host and pastor Trey Graham, who had asked the Attorney General what he would say to 'give a little comfort' to the parents of the elementary school students slaughtered by an 18-year-old with two AR-15 style assault weapons." MB: This is not even a Christian view. It's clear from the New Testament that God (and. by extension, Jesus) are in a constant battle with the devil. See, for instance, the Temptation of Jesus (Matthew 4:1-13). The Hebrew God is not as omnipotent as Kenny-Boy asserts. Sometimes the devil wins. Seems to me the devil has a pretty good hold of Ken.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the leaders of France, Germany, Italy and Romania for their Thursday visit to Kyiv -- the first trip to the capital by some of Europe's most influential politicians since the Russian invasion.... The leaders also offered coveted backing for Ukraine's candidacy to join the European Union. France pledged six additional howitzers -- key to the artillery battle against Russia in the east -- while Romania offered to facilitate the transport of Ukrainian goods such as grain through its territory. Conditions across the country remain bleak.... Amid the devastation, however, Britain's top uniformed officer told reporters Kyiv's forces had inflicted so much damage on the invader that Russia would 'never take control of Ukraine.'" ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here: "The European Commission recommended on Friday that Ukraine be granted candidate status in the country's bid to become a member of the European Union, the first formal step in a process that normally lasts longer than a decade. It also recommended a similar status for Moldova -- which applied for membership to the bloc soon after Ukraine, spurred by concerns about Russia's threats in the region -- but not for neighboring Georgia, which was deemed not ready for E.U. candidacy." (Note: at 8:20 am ET, this is the top item on the liveblog. It will likely move down the page later in the day.)
~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Friday are here.
Loveday Morris, et al., of the Washington Post: "The leaders of the European Union's three largest economies on Thursday said they were backing Ukraine's candidacy to join the 27-member bloc, a move that President Volodymyr Zelensky has fiercely advocated as his country loses ground in the face of Russia's invasion. French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi pledged the backing after traveling by overnight train to Kyiv. Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, who is also visiting Kyiv to meet with Zelensky, accompanied them. 'We are at a turning point in our history' said Draghi, calling the visit 'an unequivocal confirmation of our support.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Katrin Bennhold & Melissa Eddy of the New York Times: "As the leaders of Europe's three biggest economies appeared in Kyiv on Thursday to send a message of support to Ukraine..., Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had his own message for them: Don't forget, your industries are at my mercy. With inflation already near a 40-year high, gas prices surged further as Russia cut flows to Europe's most important natural gas pipeline for the second day in a row on Thursday. Germany, Italy, Austria and the Czech Republic all reported shortfalls. Gazprom, Russia's state-controlled gas giant, said repairs were to blame for the squeeze. But European officials openly accused Mr. Putin of using energy supplies as a weapon, burying any last shred of the notion that, on energy at least, Moscow was a reliable partner."
Iran. David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "Israeli and American intelligence officials have been watching each day as Iran digs a vast tunnel network just south of the Natanz nuclear production site, in what they believe is Tehran's biggest effort yet to construct new nuclear facilities so deep in the mountains that they can withstand bunker-busting bombs and cyberattacks. Though the construction is evident on satellite photographs and has been monitored by groups that track the proliferation of new nuclear facilities, Biden administration officials have never talked about it in public and Israel's defense minister has mentioned it just once, in a single sentence in a speech last month."
News Lede
New York Times: “An assailant opened fire at a church in Alabama on Thursday evening, killing two people and wounding one other, the authorities said. A suspect was in custody after the shooting, at Saint Stephen's Episcopal Church in Vestavia Hills, a city of around 34,000 people about six miles south of Birmingham, said Capt. Shane Ware of the Vestavia Hills Police Department." An NBC News story is here.
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Reader Comments (18)
It would be interesting to hear Pence's take on the J6 events since
he was supposedly one of the targets of Trump's posse.
I don't recall having heard or read any statement from him, but
could be I missed it.
Or maybe he's too wimpy to make a statement on his own?
Forrest,
Pence will say nothing. He's running for president as a Republican and cannot afford to make the wrong kind of news by directly criticizing his former boss, to whom he was head-noddingly and dumbly loyal for the nation's four miserable years.
He knows the thoroughly corrupt Pretender still commands his party's base.
Of course, that means his Christian ethics should cause him to wholly abandon both the Pretender and his party, but Lil' Mikie isn't really all that moral.
Hence his silence and his cowardice.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/16/opinion/golf-saudi-arabia.html
Krugman on “sellout culture,” asks when it started…
My grouchy answer written last night (when I should have been in a better mood, seeing only the bright side of everything, since the Warriors had just won but.....):
"Corruption has always been with us; and since corruption's presence is a constant, it's fair to ask what and when things changed.
My hurried answer: With the Reagan presidency.
Reagan presented wealth as public good, ran a closet racist campaign, ducked responsibility for Iran-Contra, and set the stage for much of what followed.
It got worse. White collar crime is now often unpunished. A fine, maybe, but no jail time. And a supine Senate that twice refused to convict an impeached president whose corruption was in plain sight.
Even the SCOTUS has gotten in on the act with its confusion of money with speech, its evisceration of campaign finance laws and its determination that corrupt practices have to be on video (my summary) to justify a conviction.
Note: it is "conservative" justices who think all that's OK.
Truly revolutionary, aren't those conservatives?"
As with far too many Bible bangers, pence’s religiosity only goes so far. It’s a useful in with fundamentalist supporters of theocracy, but like many of them, Christian teachings go out the window if and when there’s a chance to grab political power with which to attack those they hate and ram their ideology and beliefs down our throats. Power is all that matters. Turning the other cheek, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, helping the homeless, comforting the afflicted (especially if they’re blank or brown)?
That stuff is someone else’s lookout.
And anyway, little mikey won’t say a word unless he has Mother’s permission.
Pence is no hero. Merely doing your job and not breaking the law does not make you a hero. A hero would have left the building then gone straight to the media to report Trump’s murderous plot to steal the election.
Pence…did not. And as already pointed out, he was a happy little bobblehead doll, nodding reflexively at Fatty’s every insidious, immoral, and evil whim. Babies in cages? Jesus must have told Trump to do it. No problem. Hero, my ass.
@Forrest Morris, @Ken Winkes & @Akhilleus: Tim Miller, writing in the Bulwark, agrees with you. I just linked his post.
I do think pence acted heroically, at least for him. I don't think if any of us were veep, we'd consider it too heroic to stand up and announce, "That's 17 electoral votes for Joe Biden," and so forth. But mike pence has been a weanie for a long, long time. I seem to recall that way back when, he used to be a whore for his patrons, like tobacco companies. (Ah, yes, here it is.) So to get up the gumption to defy Trump at a defining moment in our history was really something. After years of fawning over someone he must have abhorred, I would never have guessed pence would defy Trump when it mattered. A lot.
I suppose pence may have merely delayed the country's complete unraveling rather than stopped it in its tracks. And as you-all suggest, speaking out against Trump in a public hearing would be a little closer to heroic and could have an impact. Frankly, I don't see what he has to lose. Some huge percentage of the Trumpenlumpen already want to hang him; laying low does not seem to give him much of an advantage. If he had any sense, he would know he is not going to be president.
Given all the revelations cited in yesterday's hearing which to those who weren't paying attention or to those whose fealty to "the chosen one" clouded their minds, might have said "Oh, shit, I didn't know THAT!" but for those who have kept up and stepped up to no avail, it was not surprising yet still shocking that a killing field was actually in the works and would have worked if it hadn't been for protective measures and a whole lot of luck. These Trumpers weren't kidding–-they were out to kill and their leader sat watching the whole scenario approvingly. It's the stuff of a bad thriller––-albeit we own it.
And then we have––and for me this is something that's been in my craw for a long, long time–––the matter of Ginni Thomas: Eastman SAYS EMAIL WITH HER WAS INNOCUOUS. Oh yeah?
"A string of revelations over the past year has shown that [ G.T.] actively supported and participated at the highest levels in efforts to overturn the election." Here's a Time's report on this:
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2022/06/16/us/jan-6-hearings#ginni-thomas-emails-john-eastman
AK: Your take on Pence––my guess is he's like his father who according to the brother saw the world in black and white and nothing in-between––-nuance was foreign, religiosity ruled the day and children never had a say. Mike is, I think, wound like a tight clock, while "Mother" keeps the curtains closed.
Agree with you all. Most of these lizards feel no guilt and intend no support to those who are not lizardly-inclined, and the field of heros is minuscule for the right wing crowd. Pence is either an idiot or a sociopath and he will never turn on the psycho whose boots he licked daily. Eastman is certifiable and needs disbarring and jail, along with Fatso. Ginny is a cultist and her husband a sexual predator. Mitch defies description— if the tortoise had permitted Obama to replace Scalia and impeachment #1, maybe we would not be here, although maybe that is simply wishful thinking.
Don't understand how a smartie like Miller can even be a Republican, but that aside, often enjoy his smart-ass writing style...especially today with his apt resurrection of "strategery" near the end of his piece.
Maybe Ken Paxton is really a Moloch devotee. That god's plan certainly involved little kids.
We know the Founders had definite reservations about democracy.
Maybe they took a poll like this one:
https://news.yahoo.com/poll-biden-disapproval-hits-new-high-as-more-americans-say-they-would-vote-for-trump-090021657.html
Ken,
You’re correct. A lot of this started with St. Ronnie of Rayguns: I’m tempted to go back to Tricky Dick, but it was Reagan who made obscene capitalism cool (can you picture ol’ Ron protesting that fellow Hollywood star and wife, Nancy, only owned a simple Republican cloth coat?), weaponized racial animosity, and promoted hatred of government, the tent poles of current Party of Traitor ideology (along with a cynical nod to the barking mad fundamentalist shitheads).
And while I’m at it, congrats to your Dubs. The Celtics had a legitimate chance to win, but the pressure and ensuing frustration blew them out of the water. Turnovers did us in.
The problem with our political situation is that turnovers and terrible shooting (dangerous metaphor, I know) never seem to impact the traitors’ prospect for domination.
Any ideas about the tussle between the House Committee and the DOJ on sharing documents, etc.
I have a few but want to hear other, likely more well-informed, ideas...
@Patrick: Hmmm. I didn't think of that. I guessed I picked out the wrong god for Ken. My apologies to him & the Church of Moloch.
Mike Pence was just saving his own ass. Trump and the crazies wanted Pence to commit crimes on live television in front of the world. They wanted to keep Trump in power. Pence could come along for the ride if he could keep up and if they didn't need a fall guy to chuck under the bus if the rioters and corrupt Supreme Court Justices weren't able to keep the scam going to fruition. Pence had seen Trump toss person after person under the bus whenever consequences closed in on him. Pence knew he would be taking the blame if they were not able to stay in power. Even with all that knowledge Pence bent over backwards to try and find a semi-sane person to give him an excuse to go along with Trump's coup and destroy America in front of the world. No gold stars or happy face stickers for Pence for not overthrowing the government.
Also, how the hell can the DOJ be slower than Congress when it comes to investigations? No wonder so many people like Trump can keep getting away with all their crimes, even when they commit them in public.
@Ken Winkes: The committee & the DOJ have different needs, so it's not surprising that they haven't reached an agreement. The NYT article by Thrust & Broadwater explain some of this.
Betsy Swan appeared on MSNBC a short while ago, and she outlined some other points of contention: for one, the committee not only is still interviewing people, they are also still allowing many of those whom they previously interviewed to amend their testimony. So if they turned over transcripts of an interview taken last week, some answers could change substantially next week. According to Swan, Congressional committees are always hesitant to release documentation and other information they've collected while their investigation is still in progress. I do think a big part of the hesitation is that the committee members don't want it to seem like they can hardly wait to rat on interviewees to the DoJ, which conducts criminal investigations (Thrush & Broadwater touch on this). That could have the proverbial "chilling effect" on potential witnesses & hamper the committee's ability to procure more information from new witnesses.
And the logistics problems must be substantial. If somebody asked me to drop what I was doing and send over copies of transcripts of 1,000 interviews & supporting documentations, I expect I'd let on I was too busy.
I don't doubt some of the committee's findings would be useful to prosecutors. For one thing, DoJ & committee staffers probably have interviewed some of the same people/possible criminals, and DoJ would have an interest in finding out if interviewees were telling the committee different stories from what they told the DoJ, raising the old "Are you lying now or were you lying then?" challenge.
I don't see a "right side" and a "wrong side" here. It's two different institutions, from two different branches of government, each with its own set of priorities.
@RAS: I take your point.
Marie,
Thanks.
Wondered also if the House Committee hesitated in part because they had reason to believe that the DOJ's lips might not be as tightly sealed as their own have been and wish to make sure they remain in charge of what information is released, to whom, and when...
And the Pretender speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition?
https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/trump-fires-back-jan-committee-calls-hearings-disgraceful/story?id=85463648
Irony so heavy, it should rip the very Heavens asunder.
Anyone one to take money on whether it was an R or a D that called the cops?
https://www.politico.com/news/2022/06/17/u-s-capitol-police-charges-colbert-staff-with-unlawful-entry-00040695