;)
June 30, 2022
Late Morning Update:
Marie: Okay, here's the page with the live feed (would seem to be video) of Judge Jackson's swearings-in. Update: At 11:53 am ET, there's a big instruction posted to "Click play button to start." Only there's no play button, as far as I can see. Maybe they'll add it, I don't know. The Supremes might think they're smart, but they're not very good at this newfangled video thing. Maybe they're using the same system the Founders wrote into the Constitution. Update: I refreshed the page at noon, and there's still no play button. Dimwits. Update: It's working at 12:01 pm ET. ~~~
~~~ Update: Justice Jackson has taken the oaths of office. Everybody left the room & she didn't even kick Roberts in the shins. Maybe that's the meaning of "judicial restraint."
We're killing the planet. Let's see how the Supreme confederates deal with that life-threatening emergency: ~~~
~~~ New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday limited the Environmental Protection Agency/s ability to regulate carbon emissions from power plants, dealing a blow to the Biden administration's efforts to address climate change. The vote was 6 to 3, with the court/s three liberal justices in dissent, saying that the majority had stripped the E.P.A. of 'the power to respond to the most pressing environmental challenge of our time.' The ruling appeared to curtail the agency/s ability to regulate the energy sector, limiting it to measures like emission controls at individual power plants and, unless Congress acts, ruling out more ambitious approaches like a cap-and-trade system at a time when experts are issuing increasingly dire warnings about the quickening pace of global warming." This is part of a liveblog, so likely will move down the page. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's story is here.
Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled for the Biden administration on a controversial immigration policy, saying it had the authority to reverse a Trump-era policy that requires asylum seekers to remain in Mexico while their cases are reviewed in U.S. courts. The vote was 5 to 4, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. writing for himself and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, and the court's three liberals, Stephen G. Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan."
Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Biden on Thursday said the Senate should carve out an exception to the 60-vote filibuster to codify abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned the precedent set by Roe v. Wade. 'The most important thing to be clear about is I believe we have to codify Roe v. Wade in the law, and the way to do that is to make sure the Congress votes to do that,' Biden said at a press conference at the NATO summit in Spain. 'And if the filibuster gets in the way, it's like voting rights, it should be we provide an exception for this, requiring an exception to the filibuster for this action to deal with the Supreme Court decision,' Biden added." MB: Not mentioned in Samuels' report, but Biden also said he thought the filibuster should be abandoned to pass legislation guaranteeing other privacy rights -- which is to say those rights that Clarence Thomas thought it would be a good idea to "revisit": gay rights, gay marriage rights, contraceptive rights. ~~~
~~~ Michael Shear of the New York Times: “President Biden on Thursday condemned what he called the 'outrageous behavior' of the Supreme Court in deciding to overturn Roe v. Wade and said for the first time that he supported ending the filibuster to protect a woman's right to an abortion."
Marc Santora & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Russian troops have withdrawn from Snake Island in the Black Sea after repeated assaults by Ukrainian forces, a move that is a setback for Moscow's forces and possibly undermines their control over vital shipping lanes for grain in the Black Sea. The retreat came after sustained Ukrainian attacks -- including with powerful, newly arrived Western weapons -- made it impossible for Russian forces to hold the island, a small speck of land 20 miles off the coast of Odesa that has played an outsized role throughout the war."
~~~~~~~~~~
Luke Broadwater & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol issued a subpoena Wednesday for the testimony of Pat A. Cipollone, the White House counsel to ... Donald J. Trump who repeatedly fought back against extreme plans to overturn the 2020 election, after he resisted testifying publicly. In a statement accompanying the subpoena, the leaders of the committee said they were seeking Mr. Cipollone's deposition testimony because investigators needed to 'hear from him on the record, as other former White House counsels have done in other congressional investigations.'... The subpoena of a White House counsel, a rare step for a congressional committee, sent a clear signal of the aggressive tactics the panel is willing to use to try to force cooperation of even the White House's former top lawyer, who most likely could invoke attorney-client privilege in response to many questions.... A lawyer familiar with Mr. Cipollone's deliberations, who was not authorized to speak for the record, said that the subpoena was needed before the former White House counsel could consider transcribed testimony before the committee.... In April, Mr. Cipollone and Patrick F. Philbin, who was his deputy, met separately with the panel...." The AP's report is here.
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Representative Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican and vice chairwoman of the House committee investigating the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021, described... Donald J. Trump in stark terms on Wednesday night as a threat to the republic who had 'gone to war with the rule of law.... At this moment, we are confronting a domestic threat that we have never faced before -- and that is a former president who is attempting to unravel the foundations of our constitutional republic,' Ms. Cheney said in a speech at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, Calif., where her address was met with a sustained standing ovation. 'He is aided by Republican leaders and elected officials who made themselves willing hostages to this dangerous and irrational man,' she said, continuing, 'Even after all we've seen, they're enabling his lies.'... 'Republicans, she said..., 'have to choose,' because they 'cannot both be loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.'" CNN's report is here.
Scott Wong & Peter Nicholas of NBC News: "Republicans and other sources are rebutting elements of former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony before the Jan. 6 committee, handing Donald Trump and his allies ammunition as they seek to discredit her and portray her as an unreliable witness.... And former co-workers in the White House came to Hutchinson's defense, saying that she would have been in close proximity to the president and privy to the kind of information she testified about.... Eric Herschmann, a former Trump White House lawyer who has provided damning testimony about Trump’s plot to overturn the election, is now saying that he wrote a handwritten note as the violence unfolded at the Capitol -- not Hutchinson, as she testified.... Hutchinson ... testified publicly that she was sure she had written the note and that it featured her handwriting.... Before Herschmann's statement, Trump also criticized the handwriting on the note as 'that of a Whacko.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: The pushback is without significant merit, IMO. Everything Trump says is a lie, so forget about that. Hershmann may have written such a note, but that doesn't mean Hutchinson didn't write one, too. As for exactly what happened in the SUV, Hutchinson testified that she knew only what those in the vehicle had told her. Could those people have exaggerated? Macho men working for macho Trump? Case closed. Moreover, some of those knocking her testimony are doing so anonymously, and none is speaking under oath. And there's this: ~~~
~~~ Jackson Richman of Mediaite: "Former Trump administration officials pushed back on Wednesday on the man who served as the head of ... Donald Trump's security detail pushing back on former administration official Cassidy Hutchinson's testimony.... Former Trump administration official Olivia Troye defended Hutchinson on CNN Wednesday morning, saying she would have no reason to lie and that Ornato should have to make his denials under oath. In tweets on Wednesday afternoon, both Troye and fellow former Trump White House official Alyssa Farah painted [Tony] Ornato [-- who Hutchinson testified told her about Trump's violent behavior in the SUV --] as repeat offending liar.... Farah retweeted Troye and added, 'Tony Ornato lied about me too. During the protests at Lafayette sq in 2020, I told Mark Meadows & Ornato they needed to warn press staged there before clearing the square. Meadows replied: "we aren't doing that." Tony later lied & said the exchange never happened. He knows it did.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Speaking on MSNBC, Carroll Leonnig of the Washington Post, who has reported extensively on the Secret Service and written a book about the agency, backed up Troye's & Farah's remarks. She added that Ornato & agent Robert Engel, who was also in the vehicle, were known to be 'in Trump's camp." She also said, as a general matter, "I've heard the Secret Service deny a lot of things that turned out to be true."
~~~ Betsy Swan, et al., of Politico: "The Jan. 6 committee didn't reach out to the Secret Service in the days before it aired explosive testimony about an alleged physical altercation between Donald Trump and his security detail on the day of the riot, according to an agency spokesperson.... Earlier this year, the committee already asked the head of Trump's detail on Jan. 6 -- who was with Trump riding from the 'Stop the Steal' rally to the White House that day -- about that car trip. That agent, Robert Engel, gave testimony at the time that appears to be consistent with Hutchinson's story but is not known to include the stunning details Hutchinson described."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: Cassidy "Hutchinson's account of a chief of staff [Mark Meadows] who was at best disengaged and at worst overwhelmed by the events around him was a key part of her public appearance on Tuesday at a hastily scheduled hearing by the House select committee investigating the Capitol riot, and what led to it. Another aide to Mr. Meadows, Ben Williamson, provided a different assessment, saying in testimony to the House committee that Mr. Meadows was responsive when Mr. Williamson said there was a problem. 'Any suggestion he didn't care is ludicrous,' Mr. Williamson said in a statement on Wednesday. Lawyers for Ms. Hutchinson said on Wednesday that she stood by her testimony. Yet ... a number of Mr. Meadows's former colleagues and people who were interacting with him as the riot unfolded painted a portrait of an ineffective chief of staff as a violent scene developed at the Capitol.... Mr. Meadows [was] known among many of his colleagues as someone who spoke out of both sides of his mouth.... Mr. Meadows was often criticized by associates as terrified of Mr. Trump's temper and eager to please him."
Marie: Let's say the Justice Department gets around to indicting Trump for one or more crimes. I'm all for that. Then let's say he goes to trial. The evidence, even as we know it right now, could definitely lead to a conviction. So let's say that happens. You would find me cheering in the streets. Then let's say Trump appeals, as is his right to do, and as he certainly would. Let's say a district court rejects his appeal, then an appeals court rules against him. Yahoo! So then Trump goes to the Supreme Court. And how do you suppose the rogue Supremes would rule? I do not predict a happy (or a just) ending.
Larry Neumeister of the AP: "Lev Parnas, an associate of Rudy Giuliani who was a figure in ... Donald Trump's first impeachment investigation, was sentenced Wednesday to a year and eight months in prison for fraud and campaign finance crimes by a judge who said fraud had become 'a way of life' for Parnas. Parnas, 50, had sought leniency on grounds that he'd cooperated with the Congressional probe of Trump and his efforts to get Ukrainian leaders to investigate President Joe Biden's son. U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken didn't give Parnas credit for that assistance, which came only after the Soviet-born businessman was facing criminal charges. But the judge still imposed a sentence lighter than the six years sought by prosecutors. The judge also ordered Parnas to pay $2.3 million in restitution." The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Say It Ain't So, Joe. Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "President Biden plans to nominate a conservative lawyer who has represented anti-abortion causes to a federal judgeship in Kentucky, according to Rep. John Yarmuth's (D-Ky.) office. Chad Meredith, the attorney, has previously served as Kentucky's solicitor general and represented a number of Kentucky's top GOP officials in cases curbing abortion access and COVID-19 public health measures. Meredith represented Kentucky's then-Gov. Matt Bevin (R) in a 2019 legal battle against an abortion clinic, saying at one point that effectively eliminating access to abortion in the state would have a negligible impact on women seeking the procedure.... The Courier-Journal reported that the nomination appears to be the result of a deal between Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to facilitate future Biden nominees. Yarmuth opposes the nomination, according to the outlet.... Meredith is listed as a contributor to the Federalist Society, a conservative and libertarian legal group." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If Biden nominates Meredith, every single Democrat (that includes you, Joe M. & Kyrsten!) should vote against his confirmation. Oh, and your move, Susan (R-Concerned).
Stefano Pitrelli & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a Catholic and vocal supporter of abortion rights, received Holy Communion on Wednesday during a papal Mass in St. Peter's Basilica.... The ceremony at the Vatican stood in marked contrast to the decision by conservative San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone to instruct the priests in his diocese to withhold Eucharist from Pelosi because of her stance on abortion. In September, Pope Francis had said, 'I have never refused the Eucharist to anyone,' although he later added that he had never knowingly encountered during Communion a politician backing abortion rights and reiterated the church position that abortion is 'murder.' But Francis had said that the decision on granting Communion to politicians who support abortion rights should be made from a pastoral point of view, not a political one." (Also linked yesterday.)
Nebraska. Marie Paúl of the Washington Post: "Jeff Fortenberry, a former Republican congressman from Nebraska, was sentenced Tuesday to two years of probation after he was found guilty of lying to federal agents about illegal campaign contributions from a Nigerian billionaire. Fortenberry, who resigned this year amid the trial, was convicted in March of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators -- each of which carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. But while prosecutors were seeking a six-month sentence, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. sided with the defense, which had requested probation. Noting Fortenberry's 'exceptional character,' Blumenfeld also ordered the politician to pay a $25,000 fine and perform 320 hours of community service." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: That's funny, because Martha Stewart was sentenced to 5 months in prison & 5 months of home detention for lying to federal investigators. Then again, she's only a girl so she couldn't possibly have had Fortenberry's "exceptional character." BTW, Stewart also lost her job as chair of her eponymous media company, so it's not as if she suffered no personal setbacks as a result of her conviction. (NYT link.)
An Historic Moment for a Court Gone Rogue. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson will be sworn in as the Supreme Court's first Black female justice at noon Thursday, just minutes after her mentor Justice Stephen G. Breyer makes his retirement official. Jackson, 51, was chosen for the court by President Biden after Breyer this year announced his plans to retire. She was confirmed April 7 but has been waiting for Breyer to finish out the last term of his four-decade judicial career. Breyer's work on the court will end with release of the term's remaining opinions and possibly with the announcement of some new cases accepted for next term. Jackson will be sworn in at a private ceremony at the Supreme Court that will be live-streamed on the court's website. Breyer and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. will administer the oaths Jackson must take. Breyer sent a letter to Biden on Wednesday that said he planned to end his service on the high court at noon." (Also linked yesterday.) An NPR report is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Court says it will livestream Jackson's swearing-in on its homepage, and at 7 am ET Thursday there's a bubble near the top of that page devoted to Jackson's oath-taking. I'm not sure if the livestream will be audio (which the Court provides, usually after-the-fact, for hearings) or video. A linked press release says only, "The ceremony will be streamed live on the homepage of the Court's website, www.supremecourt.gov."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Wednesday narrowed the sweep of its landmark 2020 decision declaring that much of eastern Oklahoma falls within Indian reservation lands, allowing state authorities to prosecute non-Indians who commit crimes against Indians on the reservations. The ruling left in place the basic holding of the 2020 decision, McGirt v. Oklahoma, which said that Native Americans who commit crimes on the reservations, which include much of the city of Tulsa, cannot be prosecuted by state or local law enforcement and must instead face justice in tribal or federal courts. The vote on Wednesday was 5 to 4, with Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who was not on the court when the McGirt case was decided, casting the decisive vote." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "Last Thursday, the Supreme Court jettisoned a century-old New York law -- one that had pretty much banned concealed carry of weapons in the state == because[, according to Clarence Thomas's majority opinion,] 'it prevents law-abiding citizens with ordinary self-defense needs from exercising their right to keep and bear arms.' Of all the flawed assumptions packed into that little, seemingly innocuous passage, 'ordinary self-defense' is the most alarming. The lived experience of Black people in the United States has demonstrated countless times that we are neither seen as 'law-abiding citizens' nor worthy of having 'ordinary self-defense needs' protected by the Second Amendment. The court's only African American justice (
~~~ Marie: Not that I have any first-hand (or second- or third-hand) knowledge on the matter, but I'm pretty such Clarence Thomas looks in the mirror and sees a very important White guy. James Dobbins, et al., of the New York Times: "A tractor-trailer that ended up in San Antonio with more than 50 dead or dying migrants passed through a federal immigration checkpoint inside the United States without being inspected, a top Mexican official said on Wednesday. The truck crossed the checkpoint, operated by the Border Patrol, shortly before 3 p.m. on Monday as it drove north along Interstate 35 from the border region, the official, Francisco Garduño Yáñez, the head of Mexico's National Institute of Migration, said at a news conference that featured images of the truck and its driver at the checkpoint.... The truck stopped roughly three hours later along a desolate road just off the highway, with the people inside either already dead or struggling to stay alive. A young girl managed to climb out and cry for help.... Officials said on Wednesday that at least 53 of the 64 people inside, men, women and some children who came from countries including Mexico, Honduras, Guatemala and El Salvador, died from the extreme heat inside the truck, which did not have any working cooling system on a day that temperatures topped 100 degrees.... Current and former officials said that most drivers pass through without being subjected to a thorough inspection, both because of legal limits on police searches and the sheer volume of truck traffic. Roughly 20,000 trucks pass through the corridor from Laredo to San Antonio every day." ~~~ ~~~ Ramon Vargas of the Guardian: "Federal authorities have charged four men in connection with the deaths of at least 53 migrants who were left in an abandoned trailer truck Monday evening in Texas. The 45-year-old driver, Homero Zamorano Jr, faces charges of smuggling migrants into the US, leading to their deaths. A 28-year-old man whom Zamorano texted during the doomed trip, Christian Martinez, is accused of conspiring in the fatal attempt to smuggle migrants into the country. Juan Claudio D'Luna Mendez, 23, and Juan Francisco D'Luna Bilbao, 48, both Mexican nationals, were charged with illegally possessing guns after investigators found them at an address linked to the trailer truck." ~~~ ~~~ Reuters, republished in Star News: "At least 51 migrants have died after being trapped inside a sweltering truck found abandoned in Texas, authorities say, as two Mexican nationals tied to the smuggling incident were charged in a US federal court. The deceased migrants, 39 men and 12 women, were discovered on Monday on the outskirts of San Antonio in one of the deadliest human trafficking tragedies in recent history. Two suspects identified as Juan Francisco D'Luna-Bilbao and Juan Claudio D'Luna-Mendez, both Mexican citizens, have been charged with possessing firearms while residing in the United States illegally, according to court documents and US authorities. Investigators traced the truck's vehicle registration to a San Antonio address that they placed under surveillance, and arrested the two men separately when each was seen leaving the residence. A third suspect, described as a US citizen who drove the truck, has also been taken into custody and was expected to be charged, but he remained hospitalised as of Tuesday evening, according to a Mexican official." (Also linked yesterday.) Jim Mustian of the AP: "The FBI has opened a widening investigation into sex abuse in the Roman Catholic Church in New Orleans going back decades, a rare federal foray into such cases looking specifically at whether priests took children across state lines to molest them.... More than a dozen alleged abuse victims have been interviewed this year as part of the probe that's exploring among other charges whether predator priests can be prosecuted under the Mann Act, a more than century-old, anti-sex trafficking law that prohibits taking anyone across state lines for illicit sex. Some of the New Orleans cases under review allege abuse by clergy during trips to Mississippi camps or amusement parks in Texas and Florida. And while some claims are decades old, Mann Act violations notably have no statute of limitations." (Also linked yesterday.) A Bad Week for Sexual Predators. Tom Hays & Bobby Calvan of the AP: "Fallen R&B superstar R. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison Wednesday for using his fame to subject young fans -- some just children -- to systematic sexual abuse." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~ Arielle Mitropoulos of ABC News: "After testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday that he has joined a growing group of people experiencing a Paxlovid rebound, following treatment with Pfizer's antiviral." Worth reading the whole story if you're considering taking Paxlovid. Fauci tested negative for three days after undergoing the five-day Paxlovid regimen, but tested positive again on the fourth day, and he began to feel "much worse than in the first go around." Anna Peele interviews Dr. Anthony Fauci for the Washington Post Magazine. Beyond the Beltway Mississippi. Ashton Pittman of the Mississippi Free Press: "Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn says abortion should be illegal even for a 12-year-old rape victim carrying her father or uncle's child. He made the remark to reporters in the hours after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, allowing state abortion bans to take effect.... 'No, (the [state] law) does not include an exception for incest,' Gunn said. 'I don't know that that will be changed.' 'Do you think the Legislature should revisit that?' [AP reporter Emily] Pettus asked. 'Personally, no. I do not,' Gunn said. 'I believe life begins at conception. Every life is valuable. And those are my personal beliefs.' (Child pregnancies carry significantly higher health risks than adult pregnancies.)" ** Mississippi. Jay Reeves & Emily Pettus of the AP: "A team searching a Mississippi courthouse basement for evidence about the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till has found the unserved warrant charging a white woman in his 1955 kidnapping, and relatives of the victim want authorities to finally arrest her nearly 70 years later. A warrant for the arrest of Carolyn Bryant Donham -- identified as 'Mrs. Roy Bryant' on the document -- was discovered last week by searchers inside a file folder that had been placed in a box, Leflore County Circuit Clerk Elmus Stockstill told The Associated Press on Wednesday.... Keith Beauchamp, whose documentary film 'The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till' preceded a renewed Justice Department probe that ended without charges in 2007, was also part of the search. He said there's enough new evidence to prosecute Donham. Donham set off the case in August 1955 by accusing the 14-year-old Till of making improper advances at a family store in Money, Mississippi." North Carolina. Lateshia Beachum of the Washington Post: "Two North Carolina workers allege they were fired for not participating in daily company prayer sessions, according to a lawsuit filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Monday. John McGaha and Mackenzie Saunders claim that their former employer, Aurora Pro Services in Greensboro, created a hostile work environment because they refused to attend mandatory Christian-based 'prayer meetings.'... The EEOC lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Greensboro, on Monday, says Aurora Pro Services ... did not provide religious accommodation for the two non-Christian plaintiffs, discriminatorily discharged them and punitively diminished McGaha's wages." Oklahoma Senate Race Primary Results. Couldn't Have Happened to a More Deserving Twit. Alexander Kaufman of the Huffington Post: "Despite a history of winning statewide contests and a star turn in the Trump administration, former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt badly lost his bid for a political comeback in his home state on Tuesday, coming in a distant fifth place in the Republican primary to replace retiring Sen. James Inhofe (R-Okla.). Pruitt, who resigned from EPA amid cascading scandals in 2018, trailed in polls ahead of the primary, which resulted in a runoff between U.S. Rep. Markwayne Mullin and former state lawmaker T.W. Shannon." MB: May we never hear Scott Pruitt's name again unless accompanied by a photo of a perp walk. Texas. Ken Paxton, Enemy of the People. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "Shortly after the Supreme Court struck down the fundamental right to an abortion, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) appeared to express support for Justice Clarence Thomas's concurring opinion that the high court could review other precedents that may be deemed 'demonstrably erroneous,' including those affecting the LGBTQ community. One of the cases mentioned by Thomas was Lawrence v. Texas, which prevents states from banning intimate same-sex relationships. The landmark 2003 ruling struck down a 1973 Texas law that criminalized the act of sodomy. But as Roe v. Wade was overturned, Paxton said he would defend the state's defunct sodomy law if the Supreme Court were to ... eventually revisits Lawrence.... When asked [in an interview Friday] whether the Texas legislature would pass a similar sodomy law and if Paxton would defend it..., the Republican attorney general, who is running for reelection in November..., [said,] 'Yeah, look, my job is to defend state law, and I'll continue to do that.'..." Way Beyond Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. ~~~ ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here: "Kyiv and Moscow have traded 144 prisoners each in an exchange that saw the return of some Ukrainian fighters who defended the Azovstal steel plant during a brutal siege before Russia seized control of Mariupol.... Russian forces are continuing their offensive around Lysychansk in eastern Ukraine, where regional governor Serhiy Haidai said 15,000 civilians remain as evacuation efforts continue. 'The city itself is under constant fire,' Haidai said. NATO leaders are meeting Thursday in Madrid for a third and final day. President Biden announced at the gathering Wednesday that the United States will increase its military presence in Europe, citing Russia's invasion. The new deployments will include a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland.... Russian President Vladimir Putin still intends to capture most of Ukraine and the war is likely to grind on, the top U.S. intelligence official said." Ashley Parker & Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "Under pressure to find new ways to confront Russia as its deadly invasion of Ukraine drags into its fifth month, President Biden and his NATO allies on Wednesday announced a historic surge of forces along Europe's eastern flank and welcomed Finland and Sweden as soon-to-be members as they promised to defend 'every inch' of NATO territory. The muscular military announcements were intended to send 'an unmistakable message' that NATO remains unified against Russia's growing belligerence, said Biden, standing alongside NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on the second day of the NATO summit [in Madrid, Spain].... The United States and its allies have been looking for ways to show that their early determination to help Ukraine and confront Russia would not wane, despite Moscow's recent gains on the battlefield and the growing domestic costs of the conflict for America and other countries." The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Biden, speaking Wednesday on the second day of a NATO summit, unveiled plans for an increased U.S. military presence in Europe, in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The new deployments are to include a permanent headquarters for the U.S. 5th Army Corps in Poland -- a move that ... Vladimir Putin has long resisted -- as well as the movement of two more F-35 fighter jet squadrons to the United Kingdom. Leaders of NATO member states decided Wednesday to invite Sweden and Finland to join the alliance, announcing the move a day after Turkey agreed to drop its opposition to their bids. The addition of the two Nordic countries will bring the alliance to 32 members and underscores how Russia's war in Ukraine is transforming regional security.... Bulgaria says it is expelling 70 Russian diplomats on grounds that they pose a threat to national security. The diplomats must depart by Sunday." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~ ~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, President Biden's top medical adviser for the coronavirus pandemic, sought on Wednesday to discourage doubts about the antiviral drug Paxlovid after disclosing that he had suffered what appeared to be a 'rebound' of Covid-19 after taking a five-day course of the pills. 'Paxlovid did what it was supposed to do,' Dr. Fauci, 81, said in an interview, saying that he believed that the treatment, made by Pfizer, kept him out of the hospital when he first tested positive for the virus on June 15. He added that he thought the drug also reduced the severity of his initial symptoms." ~~~
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Reader Comments (12)
What happened to “I can’t wait to set that Jan. 6 committee straight!”?
All of a sudden, insurrection fan girl and instigator Ginni Thomas and her lawyer want “better justification” before she deigns to answer questions.
Better than treason? Better than behind the scenes hammering for governmental overthrow? For participation in a deadly attack on the Capitol?
I’m guessing “Because you’re a treasonous asshole” won’t fly.
Funny how these big, tough talking Republicans run and hide when it’s their turn to explain themselves and their feckless actions to the nation they work so hard to destroy. “Waaahh! I need better justification! Waaaahhhh!”
Marie,
Re: your thoughts about the Traitors on the court coming to the rescue of their Traitor patron saint. I agree 100%. I’ve had the exact same thoughts. In fact, I think it’s a lead pipe cinch that those bobble heads will rule in favor of hyper partisanship and treason, and against the rule of law. It’s automatic.
Go ahead. Do it.
That will cement the descent by Red Amerika to banana republic status. And we may need that to happen before the nation wakes up and starts the long rebuilding process back to the country we thought we always had. Either that or we’ll find another path.
Either way, to not go after the Fat Fascist because of what might happen would be tantamount to complete surrender to the authoritarian, theocratic, anti-American thugs.
We can’t do it. We just can’t do it. If we’re going down, let’s go down fighting. Let’s at least get in the ring and battle it out. If the corrupt liars on the Court rule against us, so what? But please, let’s not throw in the towel without at least landing a punch or seven or eight. Will he gloat and strut and sieg heil himself? Of course. But at least history—and the next generation of believers in the American Experiment—will see these crooks for the debased scumbags they truly are.
Fatty will be out cold on the mat, soundly defeated, and Alito and Thomas and the rest of the criminals on the Court will declare him the winner. But let’s make them do it. Force them to show their true colors to the world and to history. Fuck it.
Indict away, Merrick!
@Akhilleus. Well-put. I agree completely that Merrick & Co. should not consider what the Supreme traitors will do when their sponsor comes before them protesting his "fake" indictment & conviction.
Interesting how the supporters of treason and Trump (a matched pair if there ever was one) are apoplectic about the latest revelations concerning broken plates, ketchup on the walls, a broken president*, and tiny hands around a throat, all in the insatiable quest for a personal belief in one’s own superior nature and greatness.
Seriously, as wild as these revelations are, who thinks they sound impossible to believe? Who says “Whaaaat? That sounds nothing like kindly old Donald”?
Morons and liars, that’s who.
Now were someone to say “You wouldn’t believe what a nutty psycho Mother Teresa was! That crazy bitch used to juggle machetes while arranging for sick children to be boiled alive!” you’d say “What kind of fabricated bullshit is this?” It sounds nothing like the mountains of evidence we have that describes her life.
But Fatty? Throwing plates, demanding this, screaming about how he’s the “fucking president” and yelling about how it’s fine that his supporters are armed like an invading army because “they’re not here to HURT ME!”?
That sounds exactly like Trump.
An asshole right to the end.
Memorable presidential quotes:
"Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not
perish from the earth." A. Lincoln, 1863
"The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." F.D.R., 1933
"Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for
your country." J.F.K., 1961
"I don't f***ing care that they have weapons, they're not going to
hurt me! They're not here to hurt me! Take the f***ing mags away!
Let my people in! They can march to the Capitol from here, let the
people in and take the mags away." Donald Trump, 2021
I'm guessing that the DOJ memo about not indicting a sitting president would come into the Supremes ruling to free the Lump or the lazy originalism they always use that it is not expressly written in the constitution that former presidents can be convicted of crimes they committed while in office.
I think that even if the secret service agent does deny Hutchinson's testimony under oath it will probably be on technicalities. Maybe Trump didn't actually get his hand on the wheel or maybe he put his hand on his shoulder and not around his neck. The core of the story is believable and most likely true. Also as has been pointed out above, they known to lie or mislead when it suits them.
The testimony was calmly delivered, and as she had worked for Steve Scalise before, she was not a "dirty librul"-- I believe her. The liars may prove to be the SS itself. She did not witness this-- it was conveyed to her. She may someday write a book and then we will know for sure. First, though, they have to thoroughly scum her life up.
NPR noted today that even if this administration is convicted on all counts, it won't help in the country, with the millions of lies spread and believed by the gullible and the stupid. Since they are invading the ones in charge of the very act of voting in elections, I don't have a good feeling about any of it, and no hope whatsoever that the Yellow Peril will ever suffer anything that he deserves. With regard to the way our cases track to the formerly-Supreme Court, and the ones they are bubbling into the general nonwell-being of the country, I have no doubt that the morons on the courts and in the legislatures and in the congress will have the last laugh, hopefully after I cease caring.
@RAS: "None of the actions described by Ms. Hutchinson happened in the Presidential limousine." It's a true statement, and the folks will say it proves she's lying.
The choke-out in the limo notwithstanding (this is more representative of character description than evidence of seditious conspiracy), the real legal bombshell is Fatty’s order that security be reduced so that his armed thugs could swarm in to better effect the job they were summoned to do, which is overthrow the government in order to install his fat ass on the throne.
This shows knowledge and intent. If prior to this revelation uncommitted bystanders could say, reasonably, that they simply had no way of telling what Trump was thinking of, this is more than a smoking gun. This is a smoking cannon. In addition, the order to remove security precautions knowing that armed crazies were waiting to do harm (“but not to me!”) is clear evidence of depraved indifference to human life. I realize it’s a shock that Donald Trump is both depraved and indifferent to whether other humans live or die, as long as he “wins”, but there it is.
And as others have pointed out, it doesn’t matter whether he thinks he wuz robbed or not. His actions and words indicate a desire to break the law.
Period.
Oh, and by the by, the guy who comes out looking even worse than he did before is Mark Meadows, a sycophantic piece of dog shit the like of which has rarely existed in a White House administration.
And I realize that Cassidy Hutchinson should get herself a heavily armed security detail toot sweet, but man, that lady has balls. And a conscience. You know there are Trumpish incels out there cleaning the guns for her.
I remember when legal experts would tell the rest of us that 5-4 decisions were actually pretty rare on the Supreme Court. Now almost every important decision coming down is 6-3. I think some of those experts are finally facing the reality that we've been seeing all along that the court is in fact partisan.
John Oliver did last weekend's show all about water. The problem of water rights is only going to get worse as the government has all it's abilities to address climate change taken away by the winger courts.