;)
March 31, 2023
Afternoon Update:
Jeremy Peters & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Fox News suffered a significant setback on Friday in its defense against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit that claims it lied about voter fraud in the 2020 election. A judge in Delaware Superior Court said the case, brought by Dominion Voting Systems, was strong enough to conclude that Fox hosts and guests had repeatedly made false claims about Dominion machines and their supposed role in a fictitious plot to steal the election from ... Donald J. Trump. 'The evidence developed in this civil proceeding,' Judge Eric M. Davis wrote, demonstrates that it 'is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.' Judge Davis said the case would proceed to trial, for a jury to weigh whether Fox spread false claims about Dominion while knowing that they were untrue, and to determine any damages. The trial is expected to begin April 17.... He rejected much of the heart of Fox's defense: that the First Amendment protected the statements made on its air alleging that the election had somehow been stolen."
Trump Supporter Convicted. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "According to federal prosecutors, [during the 2016 presidential campaign] one man, Douglass Mackey, crossed a line from political speech to criminal conduct when he posted images to Twitter that resembled campaign ads for [Hillary] Clinton and falsely stated that people could vote simply by texting 'Hillary' to a certain phone number. On Friday, after just over four days of deliberation, a jury in Brooklyn found Mr. Mackey guilty of conspiring to deprive others of their right to vote. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison."
How Not to Influence a Judge. Perry Stein & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "... New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan ... oversaw the grand jury that indicted [Donald] Trump this week and will preside over the criminal proceedings that follow. Merchan, 60, who has sat on the New York bench since 2009, also presided over the jury trial last year of Trump's namesake real estate company, which resulted in a conviction in December, and the prosecution of the company's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. On Friday, the first former president ever charged with a crime lashed out at Merchan on social media, declaring that the judge 'HATES ME.' Merchan 'is the same person who "railroaded" my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a "plea" deal,' Trump wrote. The former president continued: 'He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn't "plead," VICIOUSLY. APPEALING.'... On Tuesday, Trump is expected to appear before Merchan for an arraignment hearing...."
The New York Times' live updates of developments in the Trump indictment matter are here.
Jonah Bromwich & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "A day after filing charges against Donald J. Trump, the Manhattan district attorney's office wrote a letter criticizing three influential congressional Republicans [-- Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryal Steil --] for their efforts to interfere in the investigation into the former president. The letter was addressed to three committee chairmen who had demanded that the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, provide them with communications, documents and testimony related to the inquiry into Mr. Trump.... Concluding her letter, [the D.A.'s general counsel Leslie] Dubeck urged the congressional Republicans to withdraw their demand for information about the investigation 'and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference.' But she said that the office was willing to meet with the chairmen or their staffs, and asked for a list of questions for Mr. Bragg and a description of the types of documents they were requesting.... [Meanwhile,] In a statement, [Mr. Trump] called Mr. Bragg a 'disgrace' and said 'this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,' who ... has had nothing to do with the district attorney's investigation and has not commented on the indictment." The Hill has a story here. ~~~
~~~ The full letter, via Common Dreams, is here. Marie: Dubeck eviscerates Trump's elves. Here's a particularly sharp cut: "... based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective."
Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "It's no surprise that House Republicans leaped to Donald Trump's defense after news of his indictment broke late Thursday. What was striking, though, was how many elected GOP officials now sound like Trump.... They aped Trump ... in their vulgarity..., in demanding vengeance... and in stoking paranoia among the unstable[.]" Milbank also had fun mocking Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on instigating the Great Public Pee Pee Debate of 2023.
~~~~~~~~~~
A Trumpidy Doo-Dah Day
Shayna Jacobs, et al., of the Washington Post: "A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict ... Donald Trump, making him the first person in U.S. history to serve as commander in chief and then be charged with a crime, and setting the stage for a 2024 presidential contest unlike any other. The indictment was sealed, which means the specific charge or charges are not publicly known.... It was not immediately clear whether it will be unsealed before Trump appears in court.... Trump is expected to turn himself in and appear in court on Tuesday at 2:15 p.m., said a person familiar with the matter.... Trump, like any criminal defendant, is expected to be processed before his arraignment, including fingerprinting and mug shots.... Trump ... quickly issued a statement condemning the indictment. Democrats, he charged, 'have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to "Get Trump," but now they've done the unthinkable -- indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference. Never before in our Nation's history has this been done.'"
New York Times: "A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.... The felony indictment, filed under seal by the Manhattan district attorney's office, will likely be announced in the coming days. By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, will have asked Mr. Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now." This is part of a liveblog. Some of the liveblog updates are interesting. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) I'm leaving this up because it includes some details that may not appear in general reports. ~~~
~~~ Kara Scannell, et al., of CNN: "Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, according to two sources familiar with the case -- the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges." ~~~
~~~ The AP's report is here. Politico's story is here.
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump and his aides were caught off guard by the timing, believing that any action by the grand jury was still weeks away and might not occur at all.... On Thursday evening, after the grand jury indicted him, Mr. Trump was angry but mainly focused on the political implications of the charges, not the legal consequences, according to people familiar with his thinking. He seemed eager to project confidence and calm and was seen having a very public dinner with his wife, Melania, and her parents at the club at Mar-a-Lago.... For all of Mr. Trump's outward confidence, the reality is that he has feared and avoided an indictment for more than four decades, after first being criminally investigated in the 1970s. He watched in horror as his former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, surrendered to authorities, which was shown on television in 2021. Mr. Weisselberg is only slightly younger than Mr. Trump, who told aides he couldn't believe 'what they're doing to that old man.'"
Michael Bender & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Republican leaders in Congress lamented the moment as a sad day in the annals of United States history. Conservative news outlets issued a call to action for the party's base. One prominent supporter of Donald J. Trump suggested that the former president's mug shot should double as a 2024 campaign poster.... Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, widely viewed as Mr. Trump's leading potential presidential primary rival, rushed to condemn the prosecutor who brought the Manhattan case that led to the historic indictment of the former president on Thursday. While not naming Mr. Trump, Mr. DeSantis said Florida would not play a role in extraditing him.... 'The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,' former Vice President Mike Pence told CNN. In some quarters, there was a darker reaction. On Fox News, the host Tucker Carlson said the ruling showed it was 'probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.'... Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California said Mr. Bragg had 'irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our presidential election.'...
"'This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,' Mr. Trump said in a statement on Thursday. Mr. Trump's protests of an unfair justice system come after he repeatedly threatened or sought to employ his presidential powers to pursue his real and perceived enemies.... After the indictment was announced, [Rep. Jim] Jordan tweeted one word in response to the news: 'Outrageous.'" The Huffington Post's report, by Lydia O'Connor, is here. ~~~
~~~ The Most Dangerous Response of All. Brett Samuels & Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday called the indictment of former President Trump 'un-American' and said the state would not assist in any extradition request.... 'The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent,' DeSantis continued, adding that Florida would not assist in an extradition request 'given the questionable circumstances at issue.'... Trump's lawyers have previously indicated that they have no plans on fighting the former president's extradition." ~~~
~~~ Marie: According to CNN, the grand jury has brought a 30-count indictment. Ron DeSantis has no more idea than you do the basis for that indictment, yet DeSantis, who has sworn to uphold the law, has decided that the circumstances are "questionable," and therefore he will not extradite Trump if asked to do so. (There are occasional cases where withholding extradiction serve the best interests of justice, but this definitely is not one of them. Trump has the resources to defend himself and the indictment does not put him in physical jeopardy.) DeSantis exacerbates his refusal to perform a regular duty of his office by suggesting that the circumstances are "questionable" because the prosecuting authority is a Black man controlled by a super-wealthy Jewish financier, thus feeding in to the longstanding stereotypical prejudice that Jewish monied interests control the world (or at least try to). DeSantis' response is thus bigoted, race-baiting, xenophobic and essentially extra-legal. ~~~
~~~ David Moye of the Huffington Post: "During a breaking news alert, at least two of the hosts [of Fox 'News'; 'The Five'] can be heard expressing surprise at the announcement....Greg Gutfeld tried to turn what is undeniably bad news for Trump into something ... positive? 'He is an OG! He is a badass if he's got a mugshot,' Gutfeld said, noting that his poll numbers have recently gone up.... 'Did Democrats just indict a former president over sex?' [Jesse Watters] said, attempting to compare Trump's indictment to former President Bill Clinton's scandal while in office." ~~~
~~~ Watters Soon Went Darker. Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "Fox News host Jesse Watters warned that many Americans are going to be extremely angered by news of former President Trump's indictment by a New York grand jury on Thursday. 'I'm starting to feel it right now. I'm mad about it, I don't like. The country's not going to stand for it,' Watters said on Fox's hit daytime table talk program 'The Five' as news of Trump's indictment broke. 'And people better be careful and that's all I'll say about that.'"
Steve M.: "The obvious [right-wing] target is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, but the right-wing media already has an additional target, an assistant DA in Bragg's office named Meg Reiss. She's likely to become a household name in Wingnut Land soon...." Steve points to some initial attacks of Reiss."
Stefan Becket & Robert Costa of CBS News: "The Manhattan grand jury investigating ... Donald Trump's involvement in a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels is also probing the circumstances surrounding money paid in the run-up to the 2016 election to a second woman who alleged an affair with Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter. Witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury have fielded questions about Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model and actress, these sources said.... American Media, Inc., the Enquirer's parent company, later admitted it had acquired the rights to McDougal's story in order to bury it and help Trump's campaign. David Pecker, who was the company's CEO until 2020 and a staunch Trump ally, testified before the grand jury earlier this week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has regularly railed against a justice system that he contends has been deployed against him by his political opponents.... But as is often the case with Mr. Trump, his accusations -- widely repeated by other Republicans -- reflect his own pattern of conduct: his history of threatening or seeking to employ the expansive powers of the presidency to go after his enemies, real and perceived. 'He was always telling me that we need to use the F.B.I. and I.R.S. to go after people -- it was constant and obsessive and is just what he's claiming is being done to him now,' said John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump's second White House chief of staff." Read on. MB: I avoided reading this article earlier Thursday, but I see that it does contain new reporting, albeit on a general matter we already knew. The DOJ willingly went along with Trump's urging to investigate John Kerry, the reporters lay out. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
A Knife-wielding One-Person Protest. Wesley Parnell of Politico: "A Trump-supporter who allegedly brandished a knife at passersby with children while she protested the Manhattan district attorney's probe of the former president was charged and released without bail late Wednesday night in Manhattan Criminal Court.... Aurora Rucker, 39, was charged with menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment for pulling a 6-inch blade on a family with two children Tuesday.... The [family of four] bumped into the Trump supporter while crossing the intersection of Hogan Place and Centre Street just after 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, three bystanders told Politico. Rucker began arguing with the couple before she pulled out the knife and waved it at the family, according to the bystanders.... Despite calls from the former president to protest a potential indictment, so far, significant support for Trump has failed to materialize. Rucker was the only protester present outside the courthouse Tuesday."
Marie: I keep forgetting to post a link to this unsurprising bit of news: ~~~
~~~ Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump is appealing a court ruling that would force several of his former aides, including Mark Meadows, to answer questions before a grand jury as part of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The mid-March ruling from US District Judge Beryl Howell, who was then the chief judge of DC's federal trial court, is one of several defeats the former president has suffered in his efforts to use executive privilege claims to block the testimony of former aides and allies in the Justice Department's special counsel investigations. In another recent ruling, Howell's successor, Chief Judge James Boasberg, rejected Trump's executive privilege challenge to a subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge's secret order on Tuesday requiring Mike Pence to testify about aspects of Donald Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election was also an unprecedented ruling about the vice presidency itself. It is the first time in U.S. history that a federal judge has concluded that vice presidents -- like presidents -- are entitled to a form of immunity from prying investigators. But unlike presidents, who draw all their power from the executive branch, vice presidents get their immunity from Congress, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled. That's because vice presidents -- while commonly perceived as mere agents of the president -- are constitutionally required to serve as president of the Senate. And officers of Congress, like lawmakers and their aides, enjoy immunity rooted in a provision of the Constitution known as the 'speech or debate' clause, meant to safeguard Congress from law enforcement inquiries related to their official duties.... Pence must testify, [Boasberg] ruled, but the speech-or-debate immunity may allow him to avoid answering questions about his legislative role on Jan. 6." (Also linked yesterday.)
Afterlife of a Kleptocracy. Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested hundreds of millions of dollars with Jared Kushner's private equity firm, according to people with knowledge of the transactions joining Saudi Arabia in backing the venture launched by ... Donald J. Trump's son-in-law as he left the White House. The infusion of money from interests in the two rival Persian Gulf monarchies reflects the continued efforts by Mr. Trump and his aides and allies to profit from the close ties they built to the Arab world during his presidency and the desire of leaders in the region to remain on good terms with Mr. Kushner as his father-in-law seeks the presidency again. The Emiratis invested more than $200 million with Mr. Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners.... The U.A.E.'s embassy in Washington declined to comment. A Qatari entity invested a similar sum...."
Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "President Biden plans to veto a GOP-led measure that would block D.C.'s major police accountability legislation if the resolution passes Congress, the White House said Thursday.... Biden 'will not support congressional Republicans' efforts to overturn commonsense police reforms such as: banning chokeholds; limiting use of force and deadly force; requiring the timely release of body-worn camera footage; and requiring officer training on de-escalation and use of force,' [a White House] statement said.... Biden's threat to veto the measure -- known as a disapproval resolution -- is likely to puncture the GOP's hopes of rejecting another piece of D.C. legislation, the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act. Congress earlier this month in a bipartisan vote passed a resolution blocking D.C.'s criminal code overhaul, which Biden signed -- angering local advocates for D.C. statehood and causing local Democratic officials to fear more legislation could be in jeopardy."
Gym Jordan Presides Over Kangaroo Hearing. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: “Democratic lawmakers didn't hold back their anger Thursday at a House hearing about social media and censorship when a pair of Republican witnesses delivered testimony and left without being questioned. The shouting began after Sen. Eric Schmitt (R), the former attorney general of Missouri, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) testified before the House Judiciary select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government about what they claimed was the Biden administration's effort to censor conservative voices online. After the two spoke, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the subcommittee chairman, dismissed them.... Democrats then tried to have the two witnesses' testimony struck from the record.... Even by today's low standards for congressional decorum, the hearing stood out for its rancor and animus."
** Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Texas who once declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional issued a far-reaching ruling on Thursday that prevents the Biden administration from enforcing a provision of the law that provides patients with certain types of free preventive care, including screenings for cancer, depression, diabetes and H.I.V. The decision, by Judge Reed O'Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, applies nationwide. If it stands, it could have far-reaching implications for millions of Americans, and bring the United States back to the days before the 2010 health law known as Obamacare, when insurers were free to decide which preventive services they would cover. The ruling, which is in the form of a nationwide injunction, takes effect immediately, said Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert on health policy at Georgetown University.... The Biden administration is likely to appeal the ruling and ask for a stay of the injunction." Bush II appointed O'Connor. MB: This is a horror. People will die. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "A federal judge has rejected a Justice Department request to transfer a high-profile investment-related lawsuit against the Biden administration to a different courthouse, rebuffing the government's claims that the plaintiffs wrongly filed in a district that would guarantee a conservative judge favorable to their case. The decision by U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is the second defeat in the Justice Department's effort to fight what some legal experts say is a growing problem of judge- or forum-shopping -- a strategy in which plaintiffs intentionally file in single-judge divisions, bypassing the random assignment of judges that is considered a tenet of the American legal system. A third case, which the Justice Department asked to be transferred away from a different single-judge division in Texas, is pending. Kacsmaryk, whose courthouse is in Amarillo, Tex., ruled that he would continue to preside over a case challenging a Labor Department policy that allows retirement-plan managers to consider climate change and other social issues in their investment decisions."
Remy Tumin of the New York Times: "A jury on Thursday found that Gwyneth Paltrow was not at fault over a crash with another skier on a Utah slope in 2016, a verdict that capped a week of testimony that explored skiing etiquette, medical history and celebrity culture. The other skier, Terry Sanderson, 76, a retired optometrist, had sued Ms. Paltrow, 50, for $300,000, accusing her of skiing 'out of control' during a run on a beginner's slope at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, according to court documents, claiming that her impact caused a traumatic brain injury and four broken ribs, among other serious injuries. Ms. Paltrow, who countersued, denied the claims, and said that Mr. Sanderson skied into her back. She was awarded $1 as she requested in her countersuit." The Guardian's report is here.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Nicola Narea of Vox elaborates on how a mouse outsmarted Ron DeSantis.
New York. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, [Vermont] Deputy [Sheriff Vito] Caselnova was charged with attempted murder and other crimes as a result of [a chaotic 3 a.m. gunfight outside bars in downtown Saratoga Springs, N.Y]. In what appears to be a first, he was also charged with violating a contentious provision of New York's revised gun law that prohibits the carrying of a gun in 'sensitive' locations like public transit systems, sports venues, churches and businesses that serve alcohol."
Texas. Kaila Philo of TPM: "Republican members of the Texas state legislature introduced a slate of bills Thursday designed to subvert election processes and curb voting rights in the state. One of them would even allow the Texas Secretary of State to overturn election results in the state's largest Democratic-leaning county, with very little rationale for doing so. On Thursday, Republican state senators introduced Senate Bill 1993, a bill targeting Harris County, a diverse region that includes Houston and is also the most populous county in Texas, to a Senate committee for debate." MB: Hey, if you don't like the outcome of an election, just order a do-over.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al.
The Guardian's live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~
~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "The Wall Street Journal's editorial board called on the United States to expel the Russian ambassador and Russian journalists from the country after Russia detained its reporter Evan Gershkovich. The board accused Russia of taking the U.S. citizen hostage after his detention on alleged espionage charges, which press advocates denounced. The White House said the State Department has been in 'direct touch with the Russian government,' including 'actively working to secure consular access' to the 31-year-old journalist.... The United States called the charges against Gershkovich 'ridiculous,' while the top E.U. diplomat said his detention in Russia showed the Kremlin's 'systematic disregard for media freedom.'... Russia is set to assume the presidency of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday, a role that rotates among member states monthly. The White House urged Russia to 'conduct itself professionally,' while a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign minister called Moscow's presidency an 'April Fools' Day joke.'... Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow will continue alerting Washington of any ballistic missile launches. The clarification Thursday followed a statement that 'all forms of notifications' would end due to Moscow suspending the New START nuclear arms reduction agreement."
Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "Finland won final approval on Thursday to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after decades of nonalignment, a major shift in the balance of power between the West and Russia that was set off by the invasion of Ukraine. The Turkish Parliament cast the last vote needed for Finland's entry into NATO, meaning that the alliance's border with Russia will double. It is a diplomatic and strategic defeat for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who made clear when Russia invaded Ukraine that he was intent on blocking NATO's eastward expansion. With Finland in its fold, NATO will be in a stronger position to deter Moscow's aggression, gaining access to a strong military, as well as Finnish airspace, ports and sea lanes." The AP's report is here.
Craig Timberg, et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian intelligence agencies worked with a Moscow-based defense contractor to strengthen their ability to launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation and surveil sections of the internet, according to thousands of pages of confidential corporate documents. The documents detail a suite of computer programs and databases that would allow Russia's intelligence agencies and hacking groups to better find vulnerabilities, coordinate attacks and control online activity. The documents suggest the firm was supporting operations including both social media disinformation and training to remotely disrupt real-world targets, such as sea, air and rail control systems. An anonymous person provided the documents from the contractor, NTC Vulkan, to a German reporter after expressing outrage about Russia's attack on Ukraine. The leak, an unusual occurrence for Russia's secretive military industrial complex, demonstrates another unintended consequence of President Vladimir Putin's decision to take his country to war." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Guardian story, by Luke Harding & others, is here.
Israel. Patrick Kingsley & Ronen Bergman of the New York Times: "... on Thursday, Yoav Gallant, the defense minister who was punished for criticizing the changes [to the country's judicial system], was still in his position. Though the government announced his dismissal in a one-line statement on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still has not sent him a letter formally confirming his departure, the Defense Ministry said. In the meantime, Mr. Gallant has been continuing the job: approving military missions, meeting with officials from Israel's domestic intelligence agency, inspecting a military dog unit, greeting a visiting Azerbaijani minister -- and, on Tuesday, holding a security update with Mr. Netanyahu and other military and intelligence leaders, according to three officials who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. A spokesman for the prime minister said on Thursday afternoon that no decision had been made on Mr. Gallant's future, declining to comment further."
Mexico. Natalie Kitroeff & >Emiliano Rodríguez Mega of the New York Times: "Mexican officials said on Thursday that they had arrested five people for their role in the fire in a Ciudad Juárez migrant detention center that killed at least 39 people. The authorities did not name the suspects who had been apprehended, but said arrest warrants had been obtained for three government migration officials, two private security workers and a migrant accused of starting the blaze. The sixth person charged had not yet been taken into custody. Officials said on Wednesday they were investigating the fire as a homicide case, saying that some of those responsible, including federal and state agents, had failed to allow the migrants to escape. They did not disclose the charges against those accused in the case."
Russia/Switzerland. Luke Harding of the Guardian: "Four bankers who helped Vladimir Putin's close friend Sergei Roldugin move millions of francs through bank accounts in Zurich have been convicted of financial crimes in Switzerland. The four were found guilty on Thursday of failing to carry out proper checks on financial transactions involving Roldugin's accounts with the Swiss branch of the Russian bank Gazprombank.... The men, who cannot be identified under Swiss reporting restrictions, were found guilty at a hearing at Zurich district court and were given suspended fines totalling hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs.... [Roldugin's] secret financial affairs came to light in 2016, as part of a leak of millions of documents from Mossack Fonseca, the world's fourth-biggest offshore law firm. Named the Panama Papers, they revealed a network of offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn, with the trail leading to Putin." MB: "Suspended fines"? So they don't have to pay a franc?
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Reader Comments (12)
Waaah!! They’re out to get Trump!
Exactly. He needs to get got. He is an unrepentant, incorrigible, chronic career criminal who has slithered from the grasp of the law for decades. It is both meet and just that this fat felon be hauled into the dock to stand trial. And it’s deliciously appropriate that this misogynistic pussy grabbing coward should find himself brought low by a woman.
With luck, this is the first of a number of indictments, each more serious and jumpsuit beckoning than the last.
About time.
Clang-clang, you cheap crook.
Of Mice and Rats
Two midgets of right-wing perfidy come to mind this morning.
First Ronito, the rat who got his ass kicked by a mouse. Ronito is starting to sound like little Sen. What About Meeee? As soon as Fatty gets indicted, DeSantolini hied hisself to the nearest microphone to say “I, king of Florida, will not allow my subject, Donald J. Crookenstein to be extradited. Hmmph.” In other words, don’t forget about meeee…
Everything he says and does these days makes him look more and more diminutive.
And speaking of diminutive…
Little mikey pence sez “I have nothing to hide!” Which is why he is trying his Jesus darndest to stay hidden.
Listen, this little shit was Sancho pence-a to Don Qui-bloaty for four years, going along with all his attempts yo tilt at the windmills of democracy. Then, Don Qui-bloaty tried to have him KILLED.
Is he a man or a mouse?
Neither. He’s just another Republican rat. Where’s the D-Con?
@Akhilleus: Is there D-Con for Confederates? Wow! I'll stock up.
BTW, I think we're going to have to have a schadenfreude match, and like those kindergarten contests, everybody gets a prize. I realize Trump may never see the inside of a jail, unless it's to go visit one of the flunkies who did his dirty work (as if he'd bother), but yesterday's indictment does mean that on March 30, 2023, Trump had a far worse day than I did. May he have more to come.
David Remnick recalls that in early 2016, the ascent of such a clownish demagogue, a sleazy real-estate hustler who had only begun to reveal the full depths of his bigotry and authoritarian impulses, was a laugh line. At the time of his last State of the Union address, Barack Obama gave an airily confident interview to Matt Lauer, of NBC, asserting that the “overwhelming majority” of the electorate would see through Trump’s “simplistic solutions and scapegoating” and elect Hillary Clinton. Lauer pressed Obama: “In no part of your mind and brain can you imagine Donald Trump standing up one day and delivering the State of the Union address?”
"Well, he said, through laughter, "I can imagine it in a "Saturday Night" skit.
And here we are years later and this corrupt con man is finally facing the music that he finds sooooo unfair and refuses to listen to.. What worries me is too many agree. This is a first in this country when as Nixon once said, "when a president does it, it's not a crime." Yet the "nobody is above the law" seems not to apply here? We hold our breaths.
Marie,
More to come indeed.
We waited, it seems, an eternity for this indictment, but leave us not forget that the actual trial probably won’t take place for at least a year and during that time, the Fat Felon will try every delaying tactic he and his cronies can dream up. “Cheesy evidence!”, “Change of venue…to Lynch’em all, Mississippi”, “Alvin Bragg is….BLACK!!”, “Today’s my golf day”, and best of all…”I’m being arraigned in Georgia!”
Will Time Magazine do the OJ Photoshop thing with his mug shot?
It's not exactly schadenfreude, but this morning I almost feel sorry for the Pretender, a man who was given so much but has accomplished so little.
Despite the outward appearance of his successes (pretend president tops the list!), his life has been a succession of failures. One after another his businesses failed. He didn't destroy the Deep State, which is still out to get him. He didn't fix the immigration problems along our southern border. He didn't destroy NATO. He didn't deliver on his promises to Putin. Most of his attacks on the environment have been reversed. He didn't overturn the 2020 election. He didn't manage to steal all those government documents that he claimed were his own, because the Deep State noticed.
He did screw up our response to Covid and killed hundreds of thousands, thought, and in the process managed to reveal his vast ignorance repeatedly on national TV. He did increase the nation's debt by trillions. And he did make abortion illegal in multiple states. Have to give him credit for those things, I guess.
But he just might end op proving that the tarnished American ideal that no one is above the law still retains a little grain of truth.
That would be a Pretender legacy worth celebrating.
Of course, that history could never be taught in Florida schools.
Good government is hard, especially for those who don't wish to govern good.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/03/30/medicaid-purge-lose-coverage/
Lindsey gets emotional when begging Fox viewers to donate to Trump.
https://tinyurl.com/mw9uhnsc
Talking points do not take the place of rational conversation.
Okay, I know what your thinking. If Akhilleus is referring to the Party of Traitors or their supporters, the concepts of “rational” and “conversation” are meaningless.
Yes, and yes.
Yes, that’s who I’m taking about, and yes, those concepts are about as valid with them as discussions of economic inequality or immigration reform, but it still bears pointing out that bumper sticker slogans and propaganda talking points in no way stand in for thoughtful consideration of deadly serious problems we have as a nation (accent on dead). But that’s the point, right?
They aren’t serious about any of it. They say it right out loud: “We’re not gonna fix anything”.
So here’s how it goes:
Children are being slaughtered by assault weapons that have no purpose other than liquifying a human body.
Second Amendment.
But why do you oppose red flag laws?
Jesus.
You’re okay with deranged and unstable people having easy access to assault rifles?
Trans!
It’s like trying to have a philosophical discussion with the Magic 8 Ball:
Plato suggests that the form of the Good is the highest ideal without which we cannot truly appreciate complex concepts like Justice. How do you see his approach to the Good impacting present day philosophy?
Signs point to yes.
From the publication of his Tractatus until his writings in the Blue and Brown books, Wittgenstein’s thinking about what he called the Language Game changed dramatically. Could this adjustment have been a signal of further difficulties for analytic philosophy?
Ask again later.
Not only don’t they want to understand, they don’t care. But they’re happy to throw out the standard confederate talking points, even those long past being eviscerated as “proof” of the absolute inviolability of their most indefensible positions.
Yesterday I heard a guy, the CEO of Salem Broadcasting, a theocratic propaganda site with hundreds of radio stations barking out lies and disinformation 24,7, saying that the United States is in terrible shape (liberals, minorities, uppity women, secularism) and must return to the conservative positions the country was founded on.
Just think about this for a moment. The United States was founded on conservative principles.
You mean like “all men are created equal”?
In no universe was that a conservative principle in the 18th century. It’s not even a conservative principle TODAY!
But it sounds good, it doesn’t require any sort of factual support and it serves to shut down any conversation to the contrary.
Same with the idea that the founders were evangelical Christians.
Hang on…let’s ask the Magic 8 Ball about that:
My answer is NO.
Ya know what, guys? I may have slandered the Magic 8 Ball in that last comment by comparing its answers to those screamed out by Republicans on a daily basis.
Magic 8 Ball responses might be yes, might be no, but all are pretty anodyne. You’ll never see “Kill them all!” “Get the guns” “death and destruction” “You’re all GROOMERS!” “You Ess Ay!” “Get a brain, morans”, or “Ask George Soros” when you shake up the Magic 8 Ball.
So, what time is the "death and destruction?" I certainly don't want to miss it on teevee...
Maybe the Orange Porker will save us all the fear and frustration and experience a major cardiac event. Yes, I really hope that...but the idea should not be expressed because, horrors, his followers think Bragg just indicted him to stop him from running. Like Bragg has that in his head...election stoppage or some fake title...
So "interesting" that this A-list Loser has hijacked the entire MSM since 2015. Why isn't the NYT (etc) investigating Lindsey Graham, Gym Jordan, and the rest of his posse? Cuz the "journalists" are too busy with Trump all-day-every-day. Where's the reporting on the Nashville killing (bumped off the front pages) and that corrupt TX judge where liberalism goes to die?
I just cannot believe we have to listen and watch this s*** for the rest of our lives.
Jeanne,
It’s not so much that MSM journalists are overly occupied with the Orange Monster, it’s more that they’re fearful of backlash from the traitors and Treason Media if they hold those white supremacist, anti-democracy, gun knobber heroes to any sort of standards.
I routinely hear them (MSM reporters) going after moderate, progressive, or liberal interviewees, demanding that they explain their positions, hitting them with tough follow up questions. And nothing wrong with that. That’s their job. But when interviewing traitors and liars, they sit back meekly and allow them to lie up a storm. If the kindest follow up is ventured, the traitor screams at them, calling them deep state haters of ‘merica, and the interviewer backs off.
Decades of this shit has made MSM reporters (many, not all) skittish about daring to question right-wing criminals, liars, and traitors. But get a Democrat on the spot and they go after them hard, because they know they don’t have anything to fear, AND they’ve been beaten up enough to know that they have to treat Republicans with kid gloves but need to get after Democrats unless they want to be labeled the denizens of the (chimerical) Liberal Media.
This shit isn’t going away any time soon. Most journalists have been trained to to both-sides everything, despite the fact that one side is perpetually lying to them.