;)
The Commentariat -- December 19, 2019
Afternoon Update:
Mike Lillis of the Hill: "House Democrats on Thursday are rallying behind Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) after she said she'll delay the deliver of impeachment articles to the Senate in an effort to ensure a fair trial. President Trump has urged a speedy trial in the upper chamber, and Pelosi's allies argue that delaying the delivery of the articles will put pressure on Senate GOP leaders to call witnesses and seek more evidence surrounding the president's dealings with Ukraine -- steps Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said he'll not take." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Last night a teevee pundit -- can't recall who -- noted that when the House passed Articles of Impeachment against Bill Clinton, House Judiciary Committee chairman Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) almost immediately marched the articles right over to the Senate.
Juliegrace Brufke & Scott Wong of the Hill: "House Republicans are strongly rebuking President Trump's attacks on the late Democratic Rep. John Dingell (Mich.) and his widow, Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), with numerous GOP lawmakers saying they believe the rhetoric was inappropriate." Mrs. McC: The story goes on to cite some House Republicans who are shocked and dismayed and all about Trump's remarks -- these would be Republicans who made up one excuse after the other as to why their Dear Leader should be able to abuse his office and ignore the Congress to which they belong.
Our So-Called Representative Democracy. Philip Bump of the Washington Post does the impeachment math: "Even if he were deeply unpopular, if Trump maintained support from senators in 17 states, he could keep his job. Meaning, in the most extreme scenario, that he could be impeached but not removed from office if senators from the 17 least-populous states -- representing about 7 percent of the population -- decided to stand by him."
Christopher Miller of BuzzFeed News: "Rudy Giuliani flew to Kyiv on a budget airline [WhizzAir] when he visited earlier this month -- but he left in style, on a private jet.... According to flight data, videos, and photographs..., and confirmed by a Giuliani associate who joined him, the former mayor of New York left on a flight from Kyiv to Vienna on the night of Dec. 6, aboard a Beechcraft Premier 1A light business aircraft.... Ukrainian media have reported that the company's owner is Alexander Rovt, a Ukrainian American.... Rovt has done business in the past with Dmytro Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch with ties to organized crime and the Kremlin who is currently under house arrest in Vienna and is fighting extradition to the US, where he faces federal bribery charges.... [Rovt]'s also connected to a $3.5 million mortgage loan to former Trump campaign chair and convicted financial fraudster Paul Manafort, through a real estate investment firm founded by a former Trump business partner." --s
Sarah Blaskey, et al. of the Miami Herald: "A Chinese woman was arrested Wednesday for trespassing at Mar-a-Lago..., Donald Trump's private South Florida club and newly declared legal residence, the second such instance this year. Jing Lu, 56, was spotted on club grounds and asked to leave by staff, said Michael Ogrodnick, a spokesman for the Palm Beach Police Department. 'She returned and began to take photos, at which time the Palm Beach Police Department responded and took her into custody,' Ogrodnick said in a statement." --s
Racist in Chief. Rachana Pradhan of Politico: "Donald Trump intervened to cut the federal government's Medicaid funding for Puerto Rico as part of a larger government spending deal, according to four sources with knowledge of the discussions. The budget deal unveiled by lawmakers this week allocates up to $5.7 billion in Medicaid funds for the island over two years -- instead of $12 billion over four years that Republican and Democratic leaders on two key congressional committees had endorsed after months of negotiating a long-term financial path for Puerto Rico." --s
Sarah Okeson of Salon: "Trump's National Forest Service is using a refuted scientific theory to justify building roads in our country's largest national forest, what some call 'America's Amazon.' Loggers want to raze trees more than 1,000 years old. The Forest Service says guidelines from the United Nations' climate authority would be followed. Two scientists whose research was cited in the U.N. study says the Forest Service is espousing junk science." --s
James Laporta of Newsweek: "The Defense Department is seeking to stamp out leaks and limit media coverage of military operations at the U.S.-Mexico border by making what historically have been unclassified orders and daily briefings classified.... The policy shift to classify border documents came from Lieutenant General Laura J. Richardson of the U.S. Army in response to negative news coverage and leaks of border documents under U.S. Army North's previous commander, Lieutenant General Jeffrey S. Buchanan, who retired back in July, according to three Pentagon sources with direct knowledge of the matter." --s
Prez Hamburgers Approves. Sandra Lamotte of CNN: "If America does not collectively adopt healthier eating habits, over half of the nation will be obese within 10 years. Even worse, one in four Americans will be 'severely obese' with a body mass index over 35, which means they will be more than 100 pounds overweight. That alarming prediction, published Wednesday in NEJM, was the result of a study analyzing 26 years of self-reported body mass index (BMI) data from over six million American adults." --s
Christopher Mathias of Huffington Post: "A measure in the National Defense Authorization Act meant to keep white nationalists out of the U.S. military no longer mentions 'white nationalists' after Congress quietly altered the text [to 'extremist and gang-related activity'] after it initially passed the House. The change, which has not been previously reported, could water down a House-passed amendment meant to address the threat of white nationalists in the military.... Stripping the specific mention of 'white nationalists' from the legislation could leave the door open for more white nationalists to join the military and could leave the U.S. military off the hook for what many critics say are lackluster efforts to screen enlistees for white nationalist beliefs." --s
Wisconsin. White House-Bound? Elisha Fiedlstadt of NBC: "A Wisconsin deputy sheriff is accused of breaking into and burglarizing the homes of people whom she knew would be at funeral services after she scoured local obituaries. Jefferson County Deputy Sheriff Janelle Gericke allegedly carried out her scheme from February 2018 through June 2019, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday by the Wisconsin Department of Justice." --s
~~~~~~~~~~
Nicholas Fandos & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The House of Representatives on Wednesday impeached President Trump for obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, making him the third president in history to be charged with committing high crimes and misdemeanors and face removal by the Senate. On a day of constitutional consequence and raging partisan tension, the votes on the two articles of impeachment fell largely along party lines, after a bitter debate that reflected the deep polarization gripping American politics in the Trump era. All but two Democrats supported the article on abuse of power, which accused Mr. Trump of corruptly using the levers of government to solicit election assistance from Ukraine in the form of investigations to discredit his Democratic political rivals. Republicans were united in opposition. It passed 230-197, with Speaker Nancy Pelosi gaveling the vote to a close from the House rostrum." ~~~
~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The House of Representatives voted late Wednesday to impeach President Trump on charges that he abused his office and obstructed Congress, with Democrats declaring him a threat to the nation and branding an indelible mark on the most turbulent presidency of modern times. After 11 hours of fierce argument on the House floor between Democrats and Republicans over Trump's conduct with Ukraine, lawmakers voted almost entirely along party lines to impeach him. Trump becomes the third president in U.S. history to face trial in the Senate -- a proceeding that will determine whether he is removed from office less than one year before he stands for reelection. On Trump's 1,062nd day in office, Congress brought a momentous reckoning to an unorthodox president who has tested America's institutions with an array of unrestrained actions, including some that a collection of his own appointees and other government witnesses testified were reckless and endangered national security." The NBC News story is here.
Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi refused to commit Wednesday to delivering articles of impeachment to the Senate, citing concerns about an unfair trial on removing ... Donald Trump from office. 'So far we haven't seen anything that looks fair to us,' Pelosi told reporters at a press conference just moments after the House charged Trump with abuse of power and obstructing congressional investigations. 'That would've been our intention, but we'll see what happens over there.' Pelosi's comments, which echo suggestions raised by other Democrats throughout the day, inject new uncertainty into the impeachment timetable and send the House and Senate lurching toward a potential constitutional crisis. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has boasted that he has closely coordinated the planning of the trial with the White House and has repeatedly predicted Trump would be acquitted." Related stories linked below.
Adam Schiff's closing argument:
Madam Speaker. Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "In December 2018, President Trump mocked Rep. Nancy Pelosi's leadership skills in an Oval Office meeting, suggesting she needed help to secure enough votes to become the House speaker. The California Democrat sent a warning shot that set the table for their relationship going forward. 'Mr. President,' Pelosi interjected. 'Please don't characterize the strength that I bring to this meeting.' Over the next year, Pelosi firmly established herself as the president's most powerful political adversary, winning a showdown with him in January on the budget and regularly winning other one-on-one confrontations. A caucus filled with younger Democrats who questioned the 79-year-old's liberal bona fides now stands firmly behind her. All that culminated Wednesday night when, for only the third time in history, the House impeached a president. Pelosi presided over the chamber, wielding the gavel that Trump once doubted she could reclaim." ~~~
~~~ Heather Caygle, et al., of Politico: "... at age 79 and in her 17th term in the House, [Nancy] Pelosi has never been better, according to interviews with nearly two dozen Democrats. Her command of legislation, her control over her caucus, her ability to confront a historically hostile president and GOP-run Senate on equal terms are unparalleled. She's the one person in Washington who can beat Trump at his own game, though she never wanted to play it. Pelosi broke the marble ceiling a decade ago as the first female speaker of the House. And she was central to the legislative achievements of Barack Obama's presidency, including his signature health care law, the Affordable Care Act.... From the first weeks of [Trump's] presidency, Pelosi has been one of [his] most forceful opponents. In their very first meeting, the then-House minority leader was the only person in a roomful of congressional leaders to confront Trump when he inaccurately claimed widespread voting fraud in the 2016 election. Pelosi has also fought against Trump on his own turf, hitting back on Twitter, trolling him in made-for-TV moments, deriding him as 'an insecure imposter' and even threatening to cancel his State of the Union address in the middle of an ugly government shutdown." ~~~
~~~ Fashion Break. Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times: Nancy Pelosi wore "a lapelless black suit, almost military in design, with a high neck. Its somber color was a reflection of the darkness of the day.... Atop it, a dagger-like gold pin shone out over her heart like a beacon.... The pin ... represents the Mace of the United States House of Representatives: the long, blunt battle staff that has embodied the legislative branch's authority since 1789.... According to a website that catalogs the history of the House of Representatives, the mace is composed of 13 bundled rods, which look like a dagger from afar. They nod to the ancient Roman fasces, used to communicate strength through unity, and represent the original 13 states. The bundled rods are crowned by a globe -- i.e., the world -- atop which sits an American bald eagle, representing the obvious. The object itself, the site says, 'is usually placed atop a pedestal to the Speaker's right side' when the House is in session. If the House meets outside its traditional chamber, the mace follows." P.S. For $125, you can buy the pin, though they're on backorder.
It doesn't really feel like we're being impeached. The country is doing better than ever before. We did nothing wrong. We have tremendous support in the Republican Party like we've never had before. -- The Man Who Would Be King ~~~
~~~ Michael Crowley, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump angrily responded to the impeachment he had long been dreading on Wednesday, lashing out at his Democratic accusers in a rambling two-hour speech.... In his mostly unscripted remarks, Mr. Trump claimed he was enjoying himself.... But more often he seemed embittered, mocking the physical appearance of his rivals, attacking the news media, calling a female protester a 'slob' and a 'disgusting person,' and suggesting that John D. Dingell Jr., a Democratic congressman from Michigan who died in February after serving 59 years in the House, had gone to hell. Above all, Mr. Trump insisted that the vote to impeach him -- which unfolded at what had been billed as a 'Merry Christmas' campaign rally -- was nothing more than a fabrication by Democrats who cannot tolerate his presidency.... Even by his own standards, the president's speech was discursive and sometimes strange, as when he digressed to complain that modern toilets lack adequate flushing power and that 'women' had informed him that dishwashers, too, have lost their historic oomph." ~~~
~~~ Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press: "During his Merry Christmas rally at Kellogg Arena on Wednesday, ... Donald Trump singled out U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Michigan, after she voted for impeachment.... Trump was upset because he said that he gave her the 'A-plus treatment, not the B treatment or the C treatment' after her husband, longtime U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Michigan, died in February. He called for flags to be lowered and said he offered up the Capitol Rotunda for his memorial.... 'She called me up and said it was the nicest thing and John would have been so pleased,' Trump said, adding that Dingell said John would be happily looking down from heaven at the ceremony. 'Maybe he's looking up,' Trump said, intimating that Dingell ended up in hell, instead.... Trump seemed to say the word 'Rotunda,' as if he had something to do with John Dingell's lying in state at the U.S. Capitol. But Dingell didn't lie in state before a funeral in Washington and his burial at Arlington National Cemetery and, even if he had, control of the Rotunda belongs to the Congress, not to the president." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Well, it was a "Merry Christmas" rally, so Trump was moved by the spirit of the season. Normally, he would have mocked widows AND orphans. ~~~
~~~ Matt Stieb of New York has more lowlights of Trump's "Merry Christmas Rally," "his longest and strangest yet."
** Jonathan Chait: “... Trump's scheme to extort Ukraine for investigations of his domestic opponents became in the minds of his opposition both [an] example and a symbol of his boundless sense of Constitutional impunity.... Both the president's critics and his supporters have attributed this sort of behavior to his character.... But there is also a strong ideological cast to the president's position, a worldview that is shared by a widening circle of Republican figures who may not share, or even approve of, his temperament and personal style.... Trump's extraordinary refusal to acknowledge any oversight role for Congress whatsoever, his claim of an 'absolute right' to do something even his allies recently considered improper forced Democrats to accept that they had to impeach him simply to assert that his twisted authoritarian vision of the presidency is wrong.... There will never be a final victory over Trumpism, just the persistent work of democratic politics."
George Conway in the Atlantic: "... today's impeachment of Donald Trump ... was pretty much inevitable ... because of Trump himself, his very character, whose essential nature many who now support him have long understood.... Trump's exceptional narcissism defines him, and it's what makes him wholly unfit for his job.... In essence, Trump thinks everything should be about him, for him, for his benefit and glorification -- and he can't comprehend, and doesn't care about, anything that isn't.... Should they choose to violate their oaths, history will long remember them for having done so -- not simply because of the insurmountable evidence of what Trump has already done, but also because Trump, by his nature, will assuredly do it all again."
The House clerk reads the Articles of Impeachment:
Speaker Nancy Pelosi's opening statement:
One month before Christmas, I want you to keep this in mind. Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this president. -- Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Ga., debate on impeachment
Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I don't know if all those Republican Congressmen are as thick-headed & oblivious to facts as they say they are or if they're just playing dolts on teevee. But they sure come across as numbskulls. ~~~
~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Some Republicans have ... have set out to argue for an alternate reality: One in which it's not conceivable that Trump did something wrong, because the things that happened didn't actually happen. Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.) led the way last week by arguing that Trump hadn't even asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to investigate his political rival in their July 25 phone call[.]... Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), was asked a similar question by CBS News on Tuesday, and he had another take: That Biden wasn't Trump's opponent.... On the House floor Wednesday, Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) maintained not just that military aid to Ukraine wasn't used as part of a quid pro quo but also that the aid wasn't withheld.... Even the White House has admitted the aid was withheld.... In the same comment, Cole also notably denied there was any quid pro quo, and others ... [including] Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) ... [and] Rep. Jim Baird (R-Ind.) -- joined him in that Wednesday[.]"
Jill Colvin & Aamer Madhani of the AP: "An indignant and defiant ... Donald Trump stared down Wednesday's impending impeachment votes as he has every obstacle in his presidency: by broadcasting his grievances via tweet. The White House insisted Trump would be busy working rather than focused on the proceedings in the House, but Trump spent his morning tweeting and retweeting, expressing fury and disbelief. He has a campaign rally scheduled for Wednesday night in Battle Creek, Michigan. 'Can you believe that I will be impeached today by the Radical Left, Do Nothing Democrats, AND I DID NOTHING WRONG!' Trump wrote in one of 45 tweets posted before noon. He asked his followers to 'Say a PRAYER!' As members of the House debated the articles of impeachment, Trump's urgency appeared to escalate as he switched to all capital letters: 'SUCH ATROCIOUS LIES BY THE RADICAL LEFT, DO NOTHING DEMOCRATS. THIS IS AN ASSAULT ON AMERICA, AND AN ASSAULT ON THE REPUBLICAN PARTY!!!!' he wrote." ~~~
~~~ Meredith McGraw & Daniel Lippmann of Politico: "From the day he sent Sean Spicer out to harangue journalists over the crowd size at his inauguration, Trump has waged a three-year campaign to wear down any doubts about his right to occupy the Oval Office. He set up -- and then quietly abandoned -- a panel to investigate his specious claims that only voter fraud kept him from winning the popular vote in 2016. He publicly sowed doubts about Russia's election-year meddling. For White House visitors, reporters -- anyone really -- he constantly pulled out the red-saturated map detailing how districts voted in 2016.... 'Obsessed' is how one former White House official described Trump's mindset about how people will remember him. Trump, the ex-official said, has told people around him that impeachment would leave his presidency 'tainted.' 'His image is hugely important to him,' the former official said. 'He is going crazy over this because the legacy he is looking for is the greatest president -- even more so than Abraham Lincoln or George Washington.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: He really has no idea he's the worst, or one of the worst, president*s in U.S. history. Pathetic. ~~~
~~~ BUT. Justin McCarthy of Gallup: "... Donald Trump's job approval rating has inched up again and is now at 45%. The president's ratings have increased six percentage points since the House of Representatives opened an impeachment inquiry against him in the fall. Approval of the president's performance remains high among Republicans (89%) and low among Democrats (8%). Less than half of political independents approve, but the current 42% is up from 34% at the start of the impeachment hearings and matches their highest rating of Trump so far."
Aris Folley of the Hill: "Droves of protesters descended on the Capitol to voice support for President Trump's impeachment on Wednesday ahead of the full House's vote to impeach. According to The Washington Post, hundreds of protesters were demonstrating outside the Capitol, building on a string of similar protests calling on the president's impeachment that spread across the country the night before." (Also linked yesterday.)
The nature of foreign negotiations requires caution, and their success must often depend on secrecy. To admit, then, a right in the House of Representatives to demand and to have as a matter of course all the papers respecting a negotiation with a foreign power would be to establish a dangerous precedent. It does not occur that the inspection of the papers asked for can be relative to any purpose under the cognizance of the House of Representatives except that of an impeachment.... POTUS George Washington, letter to the House of Representatives, March 30, 1796
Except when an Impeachment is proposed & a formal enquiry instituted, I am of opinion that the House of Representatives has no right to demand papers relating to foreign negociations either pending or compleated. -- Oliver Wolcott, Secretary of the Treasury, letter to President Washington, March 26, 1796
Liberal House Democrats Push McCrabbie Move. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "A group of House Democrats is pushing Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other leaders to withhold the articles of impeachment against President Trump that are expected to emerge on Wednesday, potentially delaying a Senate trial for months. The notion of impeaching Trump but holding the articles in the House has gained traction among some on the political left as a way of potentially forcing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to conduct a trial on more favorable terms for Democrats. And if no agreement is reached, some have argued, the trial could be delayed indefinitely, denying Trump an expected acquittal." ~~~
~~~ Hoyer to Discuss McCrabbie Move. Kyle Cheney & John Bresnahan of Politico: "House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the second-ranking lawmaker in the House, said Wednesday that Democrats must discuss a last-ditch gambit to delay sending articles of impeachment to the Senate and prevent the Republican controlled chamber from summarily discarding the case against ... Donald Trump. 'Some think it's a good idea. And we need to talk about it,' Hoyer said just as the House began debating articles of impeachment that charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress." (Also linked yesterday.)
Linnaea Honl-Stuenkel & Lauren White of CREW: "In November, we noticed a mysterious spike in the price of available rooms at Trump's DC hotel for a Saturday night in December. The minimum cost was 13 times the average, but we couldn't identify a reason for the spike, until photos surfaced of the Trump Victory Committee's winter retreat at Trump's Hotel on that exact night, which appears to have sold out much of the venue. While the least expensive room for a one-night stay at the hotel was around $500 on surrounding days, the cheapest room on December 14 was a whopping $6,719.... The exorbitant cost is even more evidence that hosting fundraisers at the Trump International Hotel is one of the best ways to sell out the notoriously empty venue, sending donor money right into Trump's pocket. Lucky donors who managed to snag a room were also invited to the White House's holiday open house, meaning that the cost of a room at Trump's DC Hotel and donations towards his reelection included exclusive political access for the buyer."
The Biggest Elephant in the Committee Room. David Sanger of the New York Times: "As the House of Representatives began debating Wednesday whether to impeach President Trump for undercutting Ukraine in its fight with Russian aggressors, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee met ... to consider a bill that has been bubbling along all year with bipartisan support: S. 482, the 'Defending American Security from Kremlin Aggression Act of 2019.' The bill's lead author is Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, who introduced it in February, long before he became the Senate's leading defender of Mr. Trump, and long before Mr. Trump decided to undercut his own administration's policy.... The trick for [Republicans now] is to bash Mr. Putin without impugning Mr. Trump.... After some arguments about whether the new sanctions might harm American companies..., the bill passed, 17 to 5. A vote in the full Senate would not come until next year, presumably after an impeachment trial." ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Betsy Swan of the Daily Beast: "The Trump administration is quietly fighting a new package of sanctions on Russia.... A Trump State Department official sent a 22-page letter to a top Senate chairman on Tuesday making a wide-ranging case against a new sanctions bill. Sen. Lindsey Graham -- usually a staunch ally of the White House -- introduced the legislation earlier this year. It's designed to punish Russian individuals and companies over the Kremlin's targeting of Ukraine, as well as its 2016 election interference in the U.S., its activities in Syria, and its attacks on dissidents. The administration's letter says it 'strongly opposes' the bill unless it goes through a ton of changes."
Presidential Race 2020
Elena Moore of NPR: "The top seven Democratic presidential candidates will appear on stage in Los Angeles Thursday night in the sixth debate of the year.... The debate is set to begin at 8 p.m. ET and last around three hours. It is co-hosted by PBS NewsHour and Politico and will take place at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. The debate will be televised on PBS and CNN, livestreamed online at PBS.org, PBS NewsHour, Politico.com, and CNN.com, and available on many of the news organizations' social, mobile and live-TV streaming apps. You can also listen to the debate on SiriusXM channels 116, 454, and 795.... The debate comes on the heels of a newly settled labor dispute between the food-service workers at [Loyola] and their contracting company Sodexo, a fight that prompted all seven candidates to threaten to boycott the event in solidarity with the workers."
Congressional Race 2020. John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.), one of President Trump's closest allies and staunchest defenders in Congress, announced Thursday that he would not seek reelection next year but would instead stay 'in the fight' with Trump in an unspecified role.... Meadows, a former chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus who has served in Congress since 2013, is the 25th House Republican to announce he will not seek reelection next year, according to a tally by the House Press Gallery." CNN's story is here.
** Paul Demko of Politico: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday struck down Obamacare's individual mandate in a decision that immediately thrusts the health care law to the forefront of the 2020 elections. However, the appeals court ruling largely ducked the central question of whether the rest of the Affordable Care Act remained valid after Congress removed the penalty for not having health insurance. The three-judge panel instead sent the case back to a Texas federal judge, who previously threw out the entire law, to reconsider how much of Obamacare could survive. The high-stakes ruling keeps the legal threat to Obamacare alive while reducing the likelihood the Supreme Court could render a final verdict on the law before the next elections. Still, the appeals court's decision could renew pressure on ... Donald Trump and Republicans to explain how they will preserve insurance protections for preexisting conditions after failing to agree on an Obamacare replacement for years." ~~~
~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox: "When Texas v. United States, a lawsuit over Obamacare, was argued last summer, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit appeared determined to repeal the entire law root and branch. Instead, in their opinion Wednesday, they punted on the biggest question: whether the entire law should be repealed.... The plaintiffs argued the individual mandate -- or, at least, the shell that remains of it -- is unconstitutional. They then argued that the courts should repeal the entire Affordable Care Act because of this alleged defect in one provision of the law. The plaintiffs' legal reasoning in Texas isn't simply rejected by liberal and centrist legal experts -- it's even rejected by many lawyers who spent a good part of their career trying to convince federal courts to repeal Obamacare.... It's likely that the case will proceed on two tracks. While the Trump administration took the plaintiffs' side in this case, several states intervened to defend Obamacare. Those states are likely to ask the Supreme Court to kill this case once and for all."
Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "The government is entitled to any money former National Security Agency leaker Edward Snowden makes from his memoir and paid speeches because he disclosed classified information without approval, a federal judge ruled Tuesday. Snowden has been charged with espionage since 2013, when he exposed top-secret surveillance documents in what may have been the biggest security breach in U.S. history.... Unable to put him on trial, the Justice Department this year moved to cut off his profits from the book he published, 'Permanent Record,' as well as from paid speeches. In a brief opinion in federal court in Alexandria, Judge Liam O'Grady ruled in the government's favor. 'The contractual language of the Secrecy Agreements is unambiguous,' he wrote.... Snowden's attorneys said they disagree with the court's decision and will review their options." A Law & Crime story is here.
The Plot Thickens. Stephen Brown of the New York Daily News: "Surveillance footage of the outside of Jeffrey Epstein's cell at the troubled Metropolitan Correctional Center during his suicide attempt has gone missing, prosecutors revealed Wednesday. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Swergold admitted nobody can find the footage of the outside of the cell the multimillionaire perv shared with accused quadruple murderer Nick Tartaglione during a hearing in White Plains District Court. Tartaglione, a former Briarcliff Manor cop, faces the death penalty for the alleged murders in a drug deal gone bad.... Tartaglione's attorneys filed a request for the footage to be retained two days after Epstein's unsuccessful suicide attempt on July 23, Barket said."
Way Beyond the Beltway
Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "Canada's top court is set to rule Thursday on whether the Ontario-born son of Russian spies whose arrest by the FBI nearly a decade ago inspired the FX series 'The Americans' is entitled to Canadian citizenship. Alexander Vavilov, 25, and his brother, Timofey, 29, were born in a Toronto hospital into what appeared to be an ordinary Canadian family.... Alexander's parents, Andrey Bezrukov and Elena Vavilova, were carrying out 'deep-cover' assignments for the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service, a successor to the KGB. They arrived in Canada in the waning days of the Cold War, stole the identities of Donald Howard Heathfield and Tracey Lee Ann Foley -- Canadians who had died as infants decades earlier-- and began developing their 'legends,' or background stories. In 1995, the family moved from Canada, eventually settling in Cambridge, Mass., where 'Donald' completed graduate studies at Harvard University. The brothers, who were born Alexander and Timothy Foley, never lived in Canada again but visited frequently, Alexander said in court filings. It was in Massachusetts that Alexander's parents were busted in 2010 as part of Operation Ghost Stories, the decade-long FBI investigation that rounded up 10 Russian spies operating under aliases outside of diplomatic cover living in the United States."
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Reader Comments (16)
Marie!! Go to the head of the class! Your idea of delaying the hand-over of the articles to the Senate has gained traction! At this moment, 10:40 pm, there is no decision, and Lawrence Tribe agreed with you, so lotsa stuff going on, and you are extremely good at prediction! Maybe you can give Long Island Medium a run for her money...
CONGRATULATIONS! The people on the teevee keep saying how sad they are, but my daughter and I are not sad. We are momentarily happy, as we see it as a blow to the Idiot's legacy and maybe something to take him down a peg or two, but regardless of whether the senate and Moscow Mitch behave as poorly as I expect them to, there is tonight...
Dear Fatty,
Eat shit and die.
Sincerely,
All Americans who don’t support treason
Breaking news! The president* has issued a statement. Maybe he's
resigning.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5-vv-Ug-Mvr/?utm_source=ig_web_
button_share_sheet
https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/19/politics/vladimir-putin-impeachment-press-conference-intl/index.html
Was there any doubt that Pal Putin would defend the Pretender?
And I notice that Putin has more press conferences than does the Pretender, one per year. No wonder the Pretender so admires him. He's a much braver guy.
Magic 8 Ball Time
Oh, Magic 8 Ball, King Donny here again. My legacy is important to the history of the world, me being the best president evah, and so I want to know what will the first line of my obituary say. Will it say “The universe is saddened to the point of suicide over the death of the greatest man in history”?
Answer assured: Donald J. Trump, only the fourth president in American history impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, died today while eating a Big Mac. It was well known that Trump was a cheap, chiseling traitor. Good riddance.
That's a great picture of trump. He's got more chins than a
Chinese phone book.
Let hyperbole reign! Jesus did better by the Romans than poor King Donnie. Victims of supernatural hysteria in 17th century Salem were treated more solicitously than the Orange Menace.
Let's see...Jesus was tortured then crucified. Innocent women in Salem were hanged (or crushed).
Fatty (not at all innocent) is still tweeting away like a demented songbird whose only note is "Me-me-me-me-me-me", living in luxury in the White House, his every need paid for by taxpayers. But he's worse off?
What's next? Treated worse than Jews in Auschwitz? I wouldn't put it past them (because, hey, Nazis are such nice people, doncha know?). Pol Pot was nicer to people than Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi are to Fatty?
How about "Trump tried to bribe a foreign head of state to lie in order to benefit his election chances and got caught." It's not hard to understand. Unless you're an idiot. Or a Trump supporter. But I repeat myself.
And I'm so tired of hearing these losers and liars whine about due process. Their Dear Leader was given every opportunity to prove his innocence. At every turn he declined to provide documentary evidence (there is none) to that end or to allow anyone in his administration to testify during the proceedings. I don't remember that part in the Gospels where Pontius Pilate told Jesus he could bring along his lawyers.
I'm tempted to say "Historians will have a field day" but then I have to remind myself that hack-historians working for places like Regnery Publishing are already hard at work "proving" that the Orange Traitor did nothing wrong and that Adam Schiff practices satanic rituals using body parts of aborted fetuses.
Sheep are dumb but will follow the dogs that are bred to lead them. Yesterday we got a ring side seat into this sheep-like round up, not on grassy knolls, but in Congress. Here is John Cassidy describing a few of these wooly creatures' responses to the impeachment ––I thank him because I wouldn't have survived the onslaught––hyperbole fer sure, but felt intensely.
"The rest of the Republicans acted as if they were participating in a show trial—one with a predetermined not-guilty verdict. James Comer, of Kentucky, described the impeachment process as “a baseless attempt” to override the votes of sixty-three million Americans. Denver Riggleman, a Virginia congressman whose district includes Monticello, said that Jefferson and Madison would hate to see Congress trying to reverse the result of an election. Greg Murphy, from North Carolina, declared the proceeding to be “a mockery of American justice.” Clay Higgins, a hard-right pro-Trumper from Louisiana, called impeachment “a betrayal” and said it was “brought upon us by the same socialists who threaten unborn life in the womb.”
Trump, who the White House press office claimed might “catch some of the proceedings”—even as he tweeted about it (in all caps)—will have appreciated Higgins’s rant. But the prize for the most ludicrous speech on his behalf perhaps went to Representative Barry Loudermilk, [ with that name one could only go so far] of Georgia, who reached into the New Testament for inspiration. “When Jesus was falsely accused of treason, Pontius Pilate gave Jesus the opportunity to face his accusers,” Loudermilk declared. “During that sham trial, Pontius Pilate afforded more rights to Jesus than the Democrats have afforded this President in this process.”
Such a tragic state of affairs but I am so very proud of all the Dems, especially Nancy who orchestrated this beautifully along with Schiff and Nader. And it, in a sense, has just begun.
"Round up them sheep, Prince, and git them into the barn where they belong," said the head of herding management who resembled a long ago overseer who was nibbled to death by ducks on his own farm.
Loudermilk thinks Christmas is a month away.
These guys don't even know what day they're in.
Merry Christmas folks.
Wait! I just realized ... Loudermilk is thinking of RUSSIAN Christmas!!
My error.
@Patrick: I too had been wondering if Loudermilk was so out of it he didn't know what day, week or month it was, but your second comment clears that up for me. Thanks. Now I'm hoping Trump will have an Epiphany on Russia's Christmas Eve & resign.
Deep inside that black, shriveled heart of his, Drumpf knows that his death will be celebrated among a good many people. Only the David Duke types are going to be upset. Even Melanie will shed only crocodile tears as she thinks about putting up new curtains during the procession. Hell of a legacy.
I look forward to those people calling for civility and respecting the dead getting flooded by clips of Orange Face McFuckstick denigrating the dead from his perch as POTUS and throughout his fetid life in general.
McConnell calls this "the most rushed and unfair impeachment in history." I'd have to say he's working from a very small data base as this is only the third to come this far in the process. My memory isn't that good but I don't remember any slow process in the Clinton impeachment.
Holding the articles may have some effect, but I personally don't think it is going to change anything. It will be interesting and maybe even entertaining to see ho Trump spins this.
I think it’s a good psychological move on Pelosi’s part to hold up handing the impeachment process to McTurtle’s bag men in the senate but nothing will force that treasonous body to hold a fair trial. McConnell has already said it’s in the bag. It’s rigged and it will stay rigged. Enough jurors have been bought off to guarantee that neither fairness nor justice will make an appearance. But this is in keeping with the Trumpist Way.
Let them twist in the wind for a while and enjoy each and every spasm of whiny-baby Trumpy angst.
Fuck ‘em all for the traitors they are.
I like the McCrabbie ploy. Let 'em, as Akhilleus says, twist in the wind.
I ask two questions:
What harm will it do to slow walk the impeachment?
And what good will it do?
Yes, acquittal is inevitable in the spineless Senate, but as the promised House investigations continue, the additional revelations of mal- and misfeasance are likely to add pressure on the R's through the first months of next year, and if the SCOTUS rules against the wannabe king on the matters of subpoenas and financial disclosure before it there will be a flood of more Pretender stink released in the months immediately preceding the election, maybe enough to add another article or two.
Then there are the three stooges facing indictment or trial. Can't come soon enough. It oughta be fun.
In the meantime, let the whiners in the audience call the Dems chicken all they want while the real show on center stage goes on.
Didn't check the D votes, but have to say it's no surprise to see the same political party whose red state AGs have mounted numerous legal attacks on the ACA, and has already crowed repeatedly about its potential demise, is nonetheless concerned enough about the nation's health to place smokes in the same legal category as alcoholic beverages—again not to be purchased until three years after people can vote or rush off to war (or lay barbed wire along our southern border).
If health is the real issue, why not ban alcohol and nicotine entirely? We've proved prohibition works.
But of course, the nation's health is not the real issue here, which is why no matter how many Dems got on board (surely more than a handful), this one carries more than a whiff of typical American lunacy.
Almost have to ask, what were these folks smoking, but I think I know.
It’s the appearance of morality that is so dear to many.
When it comes to legislating about the nation’s health, it’s about morality first, the tattered remnant of the Puritanism that got us started and still lives within us. Drinking—bad. Smoking—bad.
Hamburgers and sugary drinks and denying millions access to healthcare---not so much