;)
March 21, 2023
Evening Update:
Katherine Faulders, et al., of ABC News: "Prosecutors in the special counsel's office have presented compelling preliminary evidence that former President Donald Trump knowingly and deliberately misled his own attorneys about his retention of classified materials after leaving office, a former top federal judge wrote Friday in a sealed filing, according to sources who described its contents to ABC News. U.S. Judge Beryl Howell, who on Friday stepped down as the D.C. district court's chief judge, wrote last week that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office had made a 'prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,' according to the sources, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers could therefore be pierced. In her sealed filing, Howell ordered that Evan Corcoran, an attorney for Trump, should comply with a grand jury subpoena for testimony on six separate lines of inquiry over which he had previously asserted attorney-client privilege. Sources added that Howell also ordered Corcoran to hand over a number of records tied to what Howell described as Trump's alleged 'criminal scheme,' echoing prosecutors." ~~~
~~~ Andrew Weissmann said on MSNBC that "If Donald Trump's own attorney testifies that Trump misled him about documents he (Trump) still had in his possession, and the attorney then communicated that misleading info to federal officials, therein is a clear case of obstruction.
~~~~~~~~~~
Zeke Miller of the AP: “President Joe Biden issued the first veto of his presidency Monday in an early sign of shifting White House relations with the new Congress since Republicans took control of the House in January.... Biden sought to kill a Republican-authored measure that would ban the government from considering environmental impacts or potential lawsuits when making investment decisions for people's retirement plans. In a video released by the White House, Biden said he vetoed the measure because it 'put at risk the retirement savings of individuals across the country.' His first veto represents a more confrontational approach at the midway of Biden's term in office, as he faces a GOP-controlled House that is eager to undo parts of his policy legacy and investigate his administration and his family." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
Carmen Paun of Politico: "President Joe Biden signed into law Monday a bill to declassify intelligence on the origins of Covid-19, offering the public a chance to review information that government agencies say is inconclusive. The legislation, called the Covid-19 Origin Act of 2023, which passed the Senate and House with unanimous support earlier this month, orders the Director of National Intelligence to declassify within 90 days of enactment all information relating to potential links between China's Wuhan Institute of Virology and Covid-19. The director is then to submit the information in a report to Congress."
The Woes of Trump, Ctd.
Rachel Maddow delivers a (kind of fun) civics lesson:
Alexander Burns of Politico argues against the journalists, pundits & politicians who have produced a genre of opinionation (nice word, hey?) that Trump's legal woes will boost his popularity & re-election prospects: "For all his unusual strengths, Trump is defined these days more by his weaknesses -- personal and political deficiencies that have grown with time and now figure to undermine any attempt to exploit the criminal case against him. His base of support is too small, his political imagination too depleted and his instinct for self-absorption too overwhelming for him to marshal a broad, lasting backlash. His determination to look inward and backward has been a problem for his campaign even without the indictment.... The question before Republicans is whether they need another lesson from the electorate in the perils of running on a version of Trumpism that is all about Trump. A campaign about Jan. 6 and Stormy Daniels is not one that is likely to end well for Republicans." ~~~
~~~ Marie: You may have been wondering why the Justice Department never brought charges against Donald Trump, a/k/a Individual No. 1, after Michael Cohen was convicted of various charges in participating, at Trump's behest, in the very same scheme to induce Stormy Daniels to hide her (alleged!) sexual relationship with Trump. Here's a partial answer, which does not explain why Merrick the Unready has -- as far as we know -- done absolutely nothing: ~~~
~~~ Ryan Goodman & Andrew Weissmann, professors at N.Y.U. Law, in a New York Times op-ed: "... it is a mistake to assess the Manhattan district attorney's investigation of Donald Trump by comparing its relative severity with those of myriad other crimes possibly committed by him.... It would be anathema to the rule of law not to prosecute the principal for the crime when a lower-level conspirator [-- Michael Cohen --] has been prosecuted. [Manhattan District Attorney Alvin] Bragg, however, has had to pick up the slack, since federal prosecutors have not pursued such charges, for reasons that were clear under the corrupt influence of William Barr. Barr is reported to have shut down any follow-up investigation of Mr. Trump, but it remains murky as to why a criminal investigation or indictment of Mr. Trump has not been pursued under the current administration (Attorney General Merrick Garland has not explained publicly any reason for not pursuing this investigation)." The writers go in to detail some aspects of a case against Trump.
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "In a last-ditch effort to stave off the indictment of Donald J. Trump, a witness on Monday appeared before a Manhattan grand jury at the request of the former president's lawyers, providing testimony aimed at attacking the credibility of the prosecution's star witness. The man who testified, Robert J. Costello, who was once a legal adviser to Michael D. Cohen, the crucial witness for the Manhattan district attorney's office in its investigation of Mr. Trump. Mr. Cohen, Mr. Trump's former fixer, has already spent hours testifying before the grand jury. Mr. Costello and Mr. Cohen had a falling out a few years ago, and Mr. Trump's lawyers hoped that Mr. Costello's grand jury appearance on Monday would undercut Mr. Cohen's testimony.... In an interview after his appearance, Mr. Costello attacked the prosecutors, saying they had withheld evidence from the grand jury.... Addressing Mr. Cohen's credibility, he said, 'I told the grand jury that this guy couldn't tell the truth if you put a gun to his head.' Prosecutors had summoned Mr. Cohen to the courthouse where the grand jury meets, thinking he might be useful in rebutting Mr. Costello's testimony. They did not call him into the grand jury on Monday, however...." ~~~
~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: Former Watergate prosecutor Nick Ackerman, speaking on MSNBC Monday with Michael Cohen & host Ari Melber, opined that Robert Costello's testimony, along with other evidence gathered by Robert Mueller's team, subjected Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani & perhaps Costello himself to charges of witness-tampering. The men discussed the various attempts Trump and others are known to have made to discourage Cohen from speaking truthfully about the payment to Stormy Daniels. "Giving D.A. Alvin Bragg access to Costello, Akerman said, gives him the opportunity to bring up 'all the conversations Costello had with Michael. All the conversations Costello had with Rudy Giuliani. What Rudy Giuliani said that Donald Trump said and what he conveyed to Donald Trump. And then I would end up indicting Donald Trump for witness tampering and obstruction of justice....'"
Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Monday broke his silence about the potential indictment of his state's most famous resident..., Donald J. Trump, attacking the Manhattan district attorney pursuing the case but also pointedly noting the personal conduct over which Mr. Trump is being investigated.... 'I don't know what goes into paying hush money to a porn star to secure silence over some type of alleged affair,' Mr. DeSantis said to chuckles from the crowd at the event. 'I just, I can't speak to that,' he said. 'But what I can speak to is that if you have a prosecutor who is ignoring crimes happening every single day in his jurisdiction, and he chooses to go back many, many years ago, to try to use something about porn star hush-money payments, you know, that's an example of pursuing a political agenda and weaponizing the office.' ...
"In a post on his social media site ... later in the day, Mr. Trump fired back at Mr. DeSantis in personal terms, mockingly raising questions about the governor's sexuality. 'Ron DeSanctimonious will probably find out about FALSE ACCUSATIONS & FAKE STORIES sometime in the future..., when he's unfairly and illegally attacked by a woman, even classmates that are "underage" (or possibly a man!)...,' Mr. Trump wrote. It was a second effort after Mr. Trump deleted a shorter version. His longer post appeared to refer to an earlier insinuation by Mr. Trump that Mr. DeSantis -- who is married to a woman -- was inappropriately involved with students when he was a teacher in his early 20s." ~~~
~~~ Soros, Soros, Soros. Natasha Korecki of NBC News: "After remaining silent over the weekend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis took shots at the 'Soros-funded prosecutor' in Manhattan involved in an ongoing hush money case against ... Donald Trump. 'I have no interest in getting involved in some manufactured circus by some Soros-DA,' DeSantis said at a news conference Monday, referring to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. 'He's trying to do a political spectacle. He's trying to virtue signal for his base. I've got real issues I got to deal with here in the state of Florida. I don't know what's going to happen but I do know this: the Manhattan district attorney is a Soros-funded prosecutor,' he added." MB: Have you got that now? A Jewish man has funded a Black D.A., see. And that can only be bad news. (I have no idea if Bragg received a political contribution from Soros or from a Soros-funded PAC. And I'm not going to look it up, because I really, really don't care.) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update: According to Haberman & Swan of the New York Times (linked above), Bragg received "indirect financial support the district attorney received in his 2021 campaign from George Soros...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: One cannot exaggerate how disgusting it is for a politician to use Trump's demand for a response to his possible indictment as a platform to send a screeching dogwhistle to the vast bigot branch of the GOP about the fake "international cabal of rich Jews attempting to control the world." That DeSantis also manages to suggest that a Black person is a pawn of that cabal compounds this bigoted response, and I'm sorry there has been no wide condemnation of DeSantis. DeSantis is a Nazi kind of fascist. Between DeSantis' response to Trump & Trump's response to DeSantis suggesting DeSantis may have been involved in gay sex with his minor students, these two are among the lowest of lowlifes.
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... if there's no voter Trump could lose if he stood in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shot somebody, as Trump famously said, there are probably no leading Republican politicians who would leave his camp, either. Hell, they might even say the victim deserved it."
Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Republicans on Monday braced for the impact of the impending indictment of ... Donald J. Trump, with his allies on Capitol Hill flexing their investigative powers to target the prosecutor pursuing Mr. Trump while the leading rival for the 2024 G.O.P. presidential nomination, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, took his first swipe at Mr. Trump's personal conduct.... With police barricades going up outside the Criminal Courts Building in Manhattan on Monday, prominent Republicans, including Mr. Trump's allies, were divided over whether to encourage mass protests.... Three Republican House committee chairmen ... Representatives Jim Jordan of Ohio, James R. Comer of Kentucky and Bryan Steil of Wisconsin ... made an extraordinary pre-emptive strike on Monday against the Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, demanding that he provide communications, documents and testimony about his investigation, a rare attempt by Congress to involve itself in an active criminal inquiry."
Don Lemon & Jason Morris of CNN: "Atlanta-area prosecutors are considering bringing racketeering and conspiracy charges in connection with Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation. Investigators have a large volume of substantial evidence related to a possible conspiracy from inside and outside the state, including recordings of phone calls, emails, text messages, documents, and testimony before a special grand jury. Their work, the source said, underscores the belief that the push to help Trump was not just a grassroots effort that originated inside the state." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump filed a motion in a Georgia court on Monday seeking to quash the final report of a special grand jury that investigated whether Mr. Trump and some of his allies interfered in the 2020 election results in Georgia. The motion also seeks to 'preclude the use of any evidence derived' from the report, and asks that the office of Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, be disqualified from the case." (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's report, by Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein, is here. MB: Waah, waaah, waaaah. Good luck with this one, Donald. You're just aggravating the judge who has to rule on such a waste-of-time motion. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Constitutional law expert Laurence Tribe, appearing on MSNBC, said the 480-page filing was "nothing but air," and -- invoking Gertrude Stein, said, "There's no there there."
Alan Feuer & Zach Montague of the New York Times: "Four people who marched with the Oath Keepers militia into the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, were convicted on Monday of conspiracy to obstruct the work of Congress, bringing an end to the third and final trial examining the role that members of the far-right group played in the attack. The four defendants -- Sandra Parker, Laura Steele, Connie Meggs and William Isaacs -- were also found guilty of an array of other charges, including destruction of government property and conspiracy to prevent members of Congress from discharging their duties by certifying the results of the 2020 election. Two other people charged in the case -- Ms. Parker's husband, Bennie Parker, and Michael Greene, a close associate of Stewart Rhodes, the leader of the Oath Keepers -- avoided conviction on conspiracy charges, but were both found guilty of illegally entering and remaining on the Capitol grounds." (Also linked yesterday.) A CNN report is here.
The Woes of the Murdochs, Ctd. Jeremy Peters of the New York Times produces a timeline of what happened inside Fox "News" when company executives & personalities went into a panic over Joe Biden's win & fear of losing viewers. Peters' reporting is based largely on revelations from Dominion Systems' filings in its suit against Fox. And there's this: ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Confessore & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "A Fox News producer who has worked with the hosts Maria Bartiromo and Tucker Carlson filed lawsuits against the company in New York and Delaware on Monday, accusing Fox lawyers of coercing her into giving misleading testimony in the continuing legal battle around the network's coverage of unfounded claims about election fraud. The producer, Abby Grossberg, said Fox lawyers had tried to position her and Ms. Bartiromo to take the blame for Fox's repeated airing of conspiracy theories about Dominion Voting Systems and its supposed role in manipulating the results of the 2020 presidential election. Dominion has filed a $1.6 billion defamation suit against Fox. Ms. Grossberg said the effort to place blame on her and Ms. Bartiromo was rooted in rampant misogyny and discrimination at the network.... Ms. Grossberg says she and other women endured frank and open sexism from co-workers and superiors at the network.... Ms. Grossberg accuses lawyers for Fox News of coaching her in 'a coercive and intimidating manner' before her September deposition in the Dominion case....
"On Monday afternoon, Fox filed its own suit against Ms. Grossberg, seeking to enjoin her from filing claims that would shed light on her discussions with the company's lawyers. A judge has not yet ruled on Fox's suit. Later on Monday, according to her lawyer, Parisis G. Filippatos, Fox also placed Ms. Grossberg on forced administrative leave." CNN's report, by Oliver Darcy, is here.
And now we break from the news of the day to turn to the gossip page: ~~~
~~~ Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "Rupert Murdoch, four times married and divorced at 92..., said he plans to marry a fifth time. Murdoch announced he is engaged once again, this time to Ann Lesley Smith, 66, a former model, singer-songwriter, radio talk-show host, and police chaplain in San Francisco. The couple met last year. Murdoch is fresh off his divorce from Jerry Hall, the model and actress he married in 2016. Murdoch divorced Hall, the mother of four of Mick Jagger's children, last year. Murdoch broke the news of his engagement in the New York Post, the tabloid that helped launch his foray into the American and global media market when the Australian immigrant bought it in 1976."
Kylie Atwood of CNN: "An American aid worker who was kidnapped in Niger more than six years ago and held hostage by terrorists has been released, President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan tweeted on Monday. 'I'm gratified & relieved to see the release of U.S. hostage Jeff Woodke after over 6 years in captivity. The U.S. thanks Niger for its help in bringing him home to all who miss & love him. I thank so many across our government who've worked tirelessly toward securing his freedom,' Sullivan tweeted. Jeffery Woodke is now being offered support and transport. He was released outside of Niger in the Mali-Burkina Faso area, [a senior administration] official said." (Also linked yesterday.)
Karen Weise of the New York Times: "Amazon plans to lay off 9,000 corporate and tech workers by the end of April, adding to the 18,000 roles it already cut late last year and this January, Andy Jassy, the company's chief executive, said in a note to employees on Monday. The new layoffs, which amount to less than 3 percent of its corporate work force, will target workers in some of Amazon's most profitable divisions, which had previously been spared, including Amazon's cloud computing business and advertising operations."
Brad Plumer of the New York Times: "Earth is likely to cross a critical threshold for global warming within the next decade, and nations will need to make an immediate and drastic shift away from fossil fuels to prevent the planet from overheating dangerously beyond that level, according to a major new report released on Monday. The report, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a body of experts convened by the United Nations, offers the most comprehensive understanding to date of ways in which the planet is changing. It says that global average temperatures are estimated to rise 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial levels sometime around 'the first half of the 2030s,' as humans continue to burn coal, oil and natural gas. That number holds a special significance in global climate politics: Under the 2015 Paris climate agreement, virtually every nation agreed to 'pursue efforts' to hold global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Beyond that point, scientists say, the impacts of catastrophic heat waves, flooding, drought, crop failures and species extinction become significantly harder for humanity to handle."
Beyond the Beltway
California. Kurtis Lee & Soumya Karlamangla of the New York Times: "Tens of thousands of Los Angeles school employees will begin a three-day strike starting on Tuesday, forcing hundreds of campuses to close and canceling classes for 422,000 students. The union that represents 30,000 support workers in the Los Angeles Unified School District is seeking a 30 percent pay increase, saying that many employees make little more than the minimum wage and struggle to afford the cost of living in Southern California. The Los Angeles teachers' union has asked its 35,000 members to walk out in solidarity and to avoid crossing the support workers' picket lines."
California. Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "A federal judge is blocking a California law that would mandate certain safety features for semiautomatic handguns. U.S. District Judge Cormac Carney on Monday ruled in favor of the California Rifle & Pistol Association (CRPA) and four individuals who had said the law violates the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms since no new guns being manufactured complied with it, Reuters reported. The plaintiffs noted that gun buyers in California were de facto limited to purchasing models from before 2013, the year when the law fully took effect." Carney is a George W. Bush appointee.
Minnesota. Nina Masih of the Washington Post: "Minnesota has advanced legislation that would shield local providers and their out-of-state patients from action by states that punish those seeking or providing abortions, as Democratic lawmakers move to establish the state as a Midwestern haven for reproductive rights.If it becomes law, the Reproductive Freedom Defense Act would expand on an executive order issued last year by Gov. Tim Walz (D) that shields abortion patients and providers from other states' laws. The bill passed Monday by 68 to 62 votes in the state's Democratic-controlled House and will now need to clear the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority."
Virginia. Salvador Rizzo, et al., of the Washington Post: "As many as 10 sheriff’s deputies and medical staff at Virginia's Central State Hospital can be seen piling on top of a shackled Irvo N. Otieno for approximately 11 minutes until he stops moving, according to new video showing the encounter that led to the 28-year-old Black man's death. The hospital surveillance video, which has no sound, shows Otieno's final moments on March 6, from the time Henrico County sheriff's deputies drag him into a hospital admissions room in handcuffs and leg irons, to the 11 minutes in which they restrain Otieno on the ground, to the moment when they release Otieno's limp body around 4:40 p.m. Minutes later, video shows workers beginning to apply chest compressions and a defibrillator machine to Otieno's upper body, before a medical technician drapes him with a white sheet at 5:48 p.m. A Virginia prosecutor has charged seven Henrico County sheriff's deputies and three staff members at the hospital with second-degree murder in Otieno's death, and has said she expects more arrests and charges." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I won't be watching the video, but a screenshot reveals that most of the people involved in Otieno's killing appear to be Black. If this is a hate crime, it's a hate crime against a mentally-disturbed person.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Tuesday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Beijing has billed [Xi Jinpeng's] state visit as a peace mission. But officials around the world are watching warily for signs it could embolden Putin by signaling China's tacit approval of his aggression, as the two men position themselves as the leaders of a new global order opposed to the United States and its allies.... Beijing has portrayed itself as a potential negotiator over the Ukraine conflict, although its 12-point proposal for ending the conflict includes no demands for Moscow to withdraw its troops -- a position that sets it at odds with Ukraine, which wants to reclaim all of its territory. [U.S.] Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a news conference in Washington on Monday that any truce that doesn't force Russian troops to withdraw from internationally recognized Ukrainian territory 'would effectively be supporting the ratification of Russian conquest.'"
Valerie Hopkins, et al., of the New York Times: "Standing side by side in a show of partnership unshaken by Russia's yearlong war in Ukraine, President Vladimir V. Putin and China's top leader, Xi Jinping, began talks in Moscow on Monday with boasts of their close ties and only understated mention of the conflict itself. Though the war and the schisms it has exposed hung over the meeting, the public comments about it from Mr. Xi and Mr. Putin were muted.... The leaders went to great lengths to flatter each other and project unity in a series of meticulously choreographed events.... They sat by a small fireside table, a far more intimate setting than the extremely long room where Mr. Putin held tense meetings with Western leaders before Russia invaded Ukraine. But behind the display of friendship was a backdrop of hardheaded geopolitics. China and Russia both oppose a global order dominated by the United States and its allies, and that appears to outweigh any objections that Mr. Xi may have about Mr. Putin's invasion of Ukraine."
France. Dalel Mawad, et al., of CNN: "Two no-confidence votes against French President Emmanuel Macron's government have failed in the country's parliament, clearing the way for his hugely unpopular pension reforms to be implemented and sparking new protests in Paris. The government triggered special constitutional powers last Thursday to push through controversial legislation that would raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64 for most workers. Lawmakers critical of the move called the no-confidence votes that were held on Monday. The first motion was brought forward by the small parliamentary group 'LIOT,' which represents various small parties, and was seen as the most likely of the two to threaten the government. It received 278 votes -- just nine short of the 287 majority needed to pass. The second vote -- tabled last week by far-right party National Rally -- drew less support, with only 94 lawmakers voting in favor. The government's narrow survival will exacerbates the legitimacy crisis that Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne's cabinet and Macron's presidency are facing." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.
U.K. Bryan Pietsch of the Washington Post: "Racism, misogyny and homophobia are running rampant in London's Metropolitan Police force, an official review of the institution found, recommending that the force undergo a dramatic overhaul to address deep-seated issues that it said have been exacerbated by a culture of 'defensiveness and denial.' The Met, as the force is commonly called, 'has failed over time to ensure the integrity of its officers and therefore of the organisation,' Louise Casey, a British government official, wrote in the report released Tuesday. The Met commissioned the review after an officer admitted to kidnapping, raping and murdering a woman in 2021."
News Lede
Washington Post: "A deadly and highly-drug resistant fungus is spreading at 'an alarming rate' in long-term care hospitals and other health facilities caring for very sick people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Monday. Fungal infections from the yeast strain known as Candida auris tripled nationally from 476 in 2019 to 1,471 in 2021, according to CDC data. Cases where a person carries the fungus but is not infected nearly quadrupled from 1,077 to 4,040 in the same time period. Preliminary data suggests the numbers have continued to rise.Scientists believe the fungus is not a threat to healthy people whose immune systems can fight it off. But it poses a danger to medically fragile people, including nursing home patients on ventilators and cancer patients on chemotherapy. Between 30 to 70 percent of hospitalized people who develop bloodstream infection."
Share Article
Reader Comments (16)
Here’s a thought…
I wonder if the MAGA morons and the Trumpolytes in Congress completely missed the image of a black DA indicting Mr. White (My dad was in the KKK) Supremacy. I mean that would really piss them off, right?
Hahaha…just kidding. Of COURSE these bigoted baboons didn’t miss that one. Look at all the attacks on Alvin Bragg just in the last day or so. If he were a city, he’d be called Stalingrad. A white DA (Democrat, natch) would be bad enough. But a black guy having Massa Trump printed and standing still for his mug shot (“turn to the right…” Snap!)? Whew…that there is cause for some Emmett Till action. Fatty’s Stormfront supporters and his “very nice” Nazi pals must be losing their collective shit.
The only thing better would have been if the DA were a black, Jewish, trans, drag queen member of Greenpeace, Black Lives Matter, and the ACLU who showed up for the event in a tight fitting wedding dress singing “That’s the sound of the men, working on the chain gaaa-aang. Oh don’t you know, that’s the sound of the men, working on the chain gang”.
Book ‘em, Danno.
Take it away, Sam Cooke!
https://youtu.be/zBn5aIfZElE
So let’s see…
This Trump lawyer (there are so many of them, pretty much all corrupt, all incompetent, and all stoopid), Costello…
Fatty sends him in to tell the grand jury not to believe Michael Cohen.
Seriously? This guy was an ADVISOR to Michael Cohen when Cohen was Fatty’s fixer. He was helping Cohen doing Trump’s dirty work. But we should believe this guy?
“Ladies and gentlemen of the grand jury, we have here before us, a Ms. Bonnie Parker. Ms. Parker is here to impeach the testimony of Mr. Clyde Barrow. Pay attention now.”
So we have “Philadelphia lawyers”, “White Shoe lawyers”, “Just passed the bar lawyers” and now “Trump lawyers”. The first three might actually be useful.
@Akhilleus: From what I read or heard sometime in the last day, DeSantis's "look, look, super-rich international Jewish guy backed Bragg" is a thing going around the MAGAverse, and the Dear Leader himself has featured it in some Untruth Social posts. Too bad Bragg didn't attend New York AG Letitia James's Drag Queen Story Hour in Lower Manhattan (not all that far from Bragg's office). Nobody's perfect.
Check out < href="https://democraticunderground.com/100217739818">
trump's latest recruitment poster.
That's not how I typed it. I'm determined to someday get it right.
Oh, Forrest, you're so close.
One important item missing is the "a" immediately after the less-than sign. Plus other things, perhaps.
Here is the basic syntax for the html "a" tag. In order to trick this text-editor I inserted an apostrophe after the less-than sign in both the start and end tags, omit them when you're creating the link.
<'a href="paste URL">paste URL again or other text<'/a>
Give it a go, I'm sure you'll get it.
Forrest,
Good recruitment poster for Crime Boy. Trump as Uncle Scam. Perfect.
Marie,
Thanks for the Maddow clip. A couple of things. First, it reminded me of the hay Republicans made over John Edwards’ affair and attempt to cover it up by paying off his girlfriend. No problems for them with that. Edwards was, admittedly, a grade A asshole. Cheating on his wife was bad enough, but while she was battling cancer? I remember at one point thinking that we maybe had a future superstar in the Democratic Party. Little head doing the thinking for the big head never guarantees a lengthy political career.
Unless your name is FUCKING TRUMP.
The other thing I noticed about Maddow’s reporting was how she spared no side, showed no partisanship, holding up Democrats as well as Republicans. The same sort of thing on Fox would never have included any Republicans. Hell, their glorious leader is in the exact same boat and all they can do is whine about how unfaaaair it all is that he be held accountable for his criminal actions.
Rachel is the real deal.
Not sure who the fuck Gym Jordan and James Comer think they are. These schmucks are traitors and lying losers who blackmailed their way into House committee chairmanships, positions they have both roundly besmirched with their extreme, hyper partisan bullshit and blithering ignorance.
They must think their purloined positions make them some kind of super powerful political entities, demanding this and demanding that. In fact, these pigs have no control over state attorneys general, and demanding all relevant information on an open case amounts to tampering with an ongoing criminal investigation, which is, surprise, surprise, surprise, itself a crime.
But these pigs know as much about rule of law as they do quantum physics. Oh wait, I guess maybe they were trying to accomplish what Einstein once referred to as Quantum mechanics’ “Spooky action at a distance” ‘cept they replaced “spooky” with “stupid”. What a surprise.
@Forrest Morris: "Did you leave out the a space before href?
If you follow exactly what unwashed wrote above -- but don't include the single apostrophes or put anything in bold or italic -- you should have it.
You can check to see if your effort worked before you publish it by clicking on "Preview Post" before clicking on "Create Post."
@Akhilleus: You know who she left out? Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), whose daughter Alicia Menendez is a weekend MSNBC host & sometimes fills in for regular hosts -- like Rachel.
In fairness to Maddow, when I looked on the Googles for a mugshot of Papa Menendez, I didn't find one.
Well, I got up early, turned on the teevee and lo and behold! The Fatski has not been arrested or indicted or anything else, as he had insisted was scheduled, on Lies Social...Like I really expected...What I really expect is Bragg to fold, as he saw no point in this early on, and only lately began to figure this out. I also am completely disappointed in the Phantom Head of DOD, Merrick the Unready (thanks, Marie! So apt...)that the so-called evidence is not "enough" to get Fatso on the docs case, the J6 case and the GA case, all of which are completely documented and evidence-based with sound and photos even...Merrick Garland will go down as almost as useless as Bill Barr.
To change the subject, I just read a piece in Daily Kos about Ben Cohen, of Ben and Jerry's ice cream/candy store. The author called him a "tankie" for founding and funding a group that wants us not to supply military hardware etc to Ukraine, but work for peace. Okay, don't we all want peace? Not happening with a monster as prez of Russia, of course. The term dates back to Stalin, somehow-- I really was confused by Wiki's stuff on "tankies" and I assume they mean people so left they are commie-pinkos...Anyhow-- I guess Bernie is a tankie-- yikes. Being an ultra-leftie is hard. I bet you all know all about this and history of the soviets...but it was new to me. Does this mean the Rs reluctant to fund Ukraine are tankies? But they are ultra-right...so confused...Ak will probably know all about this...
Also, I did not know that Alicia Menendez is daughter of Senator M--I rather like her except her hair part is often askew on purpose, and I just cannot have that, and she pronounces things oddly (for me...Jersey accent or what?)-- she seems pretty girl-next-door. I learn new things every day on RC! Thanks! Happy Indictment Day (haha)!
Jeanne,
The Ben and Jerry’s guys have been peaceniks as long as I’ve been aware of their New York Super Chunk Fudge ice cream. So everyone is entitled to their own ideas, right? But refusing to help an ally being invaded by a ruthless murdering dictator, in the name of peace, strikes me as a tad disingenuous. Reminds me of my time in city government when a city councilor, deciding we needed to address the problem of air pollution, put in an order for cars, buses, and trucks, any vehicles causing harmful emissions, to be banned from the city completely. This, he proudly announced, would end our pollution problem.
In addition to killing the economy and stranding citizens who relied on public transit, his order didn’t take into account stuff like, oh, I dunno…wind. Since none of the surrounding communities decided to impose similar measures, there was no way to stop pollution from their cars, trucks, buses, factories, etc. from finding its way into our city.
Nice idea though.
But I digress…so…Tankies. Yeah. I first read about the term in a book on the Cambridge Five, homegrown British spies working on behalf of the Soviet Union. I think I came across it again in a John le Carré novel, which was perhaps not weird considering that his career in British intelligence was curtailed when he was outed by Kim Philby, most notorious of the C5 traitors.
It’s not one of the more well known political nicknames but it seems to have been given a new lease on life since the Russian invasion. As to whether or not Party of Traitor members, the anti-Ukraine, pro-Putin wing could be called Tankies, I’m tempted to say that they deserve it more than Ben Cohen, since the origin of the term points to pro-Stalinist types who were down with employing to military violence to crush opposition. Pretty sure Mr. Cohen isn’t pro-tanks. TuKKKer and Co. might not be Stalinists, per se (although they love them some totalitarianism), but they are keen on militarism and blowing shit up. I’d say, as far as they go, they’re excited about the idea of tanks rolling into Kiev and shutting down that country for good. They wouldn’t help Trump’s plot to steal the election? To hell with them.
A more salient point would be that they, and even the pro-Ukraine Rs, are all very much for Tanking democracy. So there’s that.
As for political nicknames, “Tankies” is/was a pretty obvious name, if not a very well known one. But political groups come and go, wax and wane. You don’t hear much about the Jacobins lately, or the Syndicalists. Luddites still exist, but not so much as a political/economic movement. America Firsters are still around though, and still fucking Nazis. The Know Nothings are rooted in the past even though there are more know nothings all the time. Look at Gym Jordan.
Then there are the really weird parties. How ‘bout Church of the Militant Elvis Party (was that before or after Nixon made pill popping Elvis a DEA agent)?
The Guns and Dope Party, founded by a guy who thought the verb To Be should be eradicated from the English language. What, no more Hamlet? Actors couldn’t even say “…that is the question”. I guess that’s the dope part of the name.
Then one of my favorites, the Undecided Cow Party. Is the cow undecided or the party? I can’t decide.
Austria has a Beer Party. Sounds like not a lot gets done at those conventions.
In Italy there’s the Love Party, (partita dell’amore). I guess they have their conventions on the Love Boat, (la nave dell’ amore).
Hungary, Land of Orban, has, or had, a Two-Tailed Dog Party. Two tails wagging the dog? Confusing, no?
And not to be out-weirded, in Germany, there is the famous (only kidding about the famous part) Anarchist Pogo Party. When I read about that I wondered if this was a reference to Okefenokee Swamp Pogo, but sadly, it’s some kind of industrial tech-pop dance thing.
Oh well, that tanks that idea.
Long and short of it, the Screw Ukraine types are pro-death, pro-authoritarian, anti-democracy, Tankies or not.
Jeanne,
The Ben and Jerry’s guys have been peaceniks as long as I’ve been aware of their New York Super Chunk Fudge ice cream. So everyone is entitled to their own ideas, right? But refusing to help an ally being invaded by a ruthless murdering dictator, in the name of peace, strikes me as a tad disingenuous. Reminds me of my time in city government when a city councilor, deciding we needed to address the problem of air pollution, put in an order for cars, buses, and trucks, any vehicles causing harmful emissions, to be banned from the city completely. This, he proudly announced, would end our pollution problem.
In addition to killing the economy and stranding citizens who relied on public transit, his order didn’t take into account stuff like, oh, I dunno…wind. Since none of the surrounding communities decided to impose similar measures, there was no way to stop pollution from their cars, trucks, buses, factories, etc. from finding its way into our city.
Nice idea though.
But I digress…so…Tankies. Yeah. I first read about the term in a book on the Cambridge Five, homegrown British spies working on behalf of the Soviet Union. I think I came across it again in a John le Carré novel, which was perhaps not weird considering that his career in British intelligence was curtailed when he was outed by Kim Philby, most notorious of the C5 traitors.
It’s not one of the more well known political nicknames but it seems to have been given a new lease on life since the Russian invasion. As to whether or not Party of Traitor members, the anti-Ukraine, pro-Putin wing could be called Tankies, I’m tempted to say that they deserve it more than Ben Cohen, since the origin of the term points to pro-Stalinist types who were down with employing to military violence to crush opposition. Pretty sure Mr. Cohen isn’t pro-tanks. TuKKKer and Co. might not be Stalinists, per se (although they love them some totalitarianism), but they are keen on militarism and blowing shit up. I’d say, as far as they go, they’re excited about the idea of tanks rolling into Kiev and shutting down that country for good. They wouldn’t help Trump’s plot to steal the election? To hell with them.
A more salient point would be that they, and even the pro-Ukraine Rs, are all very much for Tanking democracy. So there’s that.
As for political nicknames, “Tankies” is/was a pretty obvious name, if not a very well known one. But political groups come and go, wax and wane. You don’t hear much about the Jacobins lately, or the Syndicalists. Luddites still exist, but not so much as a political/economic movement. America Firsters are still around though, and still fucking Nazis. The Know Nothings are rooted in the past even though there are more know nothings all the time. Look at Gym Jordan.
Then there are the really weird parties. How ‘bout Church of the Militant Elvis Party (was that before or after Nixon made pill popping Elvis a DEA agent)?
The Guns and Dope Party, founded by a guy who thought the verb To Be should be eradicated from the English language. What, no more Hamlet? Actors couldn’t even say “…that is the question”. I guess that’s the dope part of the name.
Then one of my favorites, the Undecided Cow Party. Is the cow undecided or the party? I can’t decide.
Austria has a Beer Party. Sounds like not a lot gets done at those conventions.
In Italy there’s the Love Party, (partita dell’amore). I guess they have their conventions on the Love Boat, (la nave dell’ amore).
Hungary, Land of Orban, has, or had, a Two-Tailed Dog Party. Two tails wagging the dog? Confusing, no?
And not to be out-weirded, in Germany, there is the famous (only kidding about the famous part) Anarchist Pogo Party. When I read about that I wondered if this was a reference to Okefenokee Swamp Pogo, but sadly, it’s some kind of industrial tech-pop dance thing.
Oh well, that tanks that idea.
Long and short of it, the Screw Ukraine types are pro-death, pro-authoritarian, anti-democracy, Tankies or not.
@Jeanne & @Akhilleus: While extremist leftists, for the most part, don't seem to be as separated from reality as right-wing extremists, and -- again for the most part -- are not as cruel. But there is a tendency of some leftists to carry their liberal values to extremes.
Drowning puppies is cruel so don't kill cockroaches. If war, in general, is a bad thing, then every specific war is wrong. Under that theory, a great military power could and probably would take over the world in no time -- if we didn't all blow each other up first. So maybe the sun still would never set on the British Empire, maybe Germany or Russia or China or Japan would control every country, including the U.S.A.
Ben Cohen probably spends a lot of time thinking about ice cream or corporate profits or something else, and he hasn't taken the time to think through the consequences of wars of aggression. He means well, but his political "ideas" are embarrassingly simplistic.
P.S. I wonder if Devin Nunes' cow belongs to the Undecided Cow party. Or maybe, being Devin's cow, she belongs to the opposition: the Decided Cow party.