;)
The Commentariat -- February 13, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Here's Bill Barr Trying to Save His Own Ass. Anne Flaherty of ABC News: "Attorney General Bill Barr told ABC News on Thursday that ... Donald Trump 'has never asked me to do anything in a criminal case' but should stop tweeting about the Justice Department because his tweets 'make it impossible for me to do my job.... I think it's time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,' Barr told ABC News Chief Justice Correspondent Pierre Thomas.... [Barr] said he was supportive of [Roger] Stone's convictions but thought the sentencing recommendation of seven to nine years as excessive. When news outlets reported the seven to nine year sentencing recommendation last Monday, Barr said he thought it was spin.... Barr said Trump's middle-of-the-night tweet [decrying the sentencing guidelines in Stone's case] put him in a bad position. He insists he had already discussed with staff that the sentencing recommendation was too long.... He said it was 'preposterous' to suggest that he 'intervened' in the case as much as he acted to resolve a dispute within the department on a sentencing recommendation." ~~~
~~~ A portion of the interview begins at about 1:23 min. in:
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Interesting that Barr chose to sit down for an interview with a real journalist at an MSM outlet instead of Sean Hannity or Laura Ingraham.
~~~ Complete This Sentence: "President Trump is making it impossible for me to do my job because...."
"... when he publicly announces he wants me to pervert the course of justice, it makes it obvious I'm perverting the system at his direction and in his personal interest, and that outs me as a corrupt lackey." ~~~
~~~ OR Shorter Version: "... how do you expect me to cover up all your shit if you shine a light on me?" -- Bobby Lee
Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump said Thursday [in a radio interview with Geraldo Rivera] he may end the practice of having national security and foreign service staff listen in on his calls with foreign leaders after a July call with the president of Ukraine triggered his impeachment in the House.... Top White House and national security officials typically listen in on presidential phone calls to keep everyone on the same page and create a record of the conversation." Mrs. McC: Because it's in the interest of national security to have a lying bully who doesn't understand international relations speaking secretly to world leaders.
Connon O'Brien & Caitlin Emma of Politico: "The Trump administration plans to sap money intended to build fighter jets, ships, vehicles and National Guard equipment in order to fund barriers on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Pentagon told Congress on Thursday, a move that has agitated Democrats and even drawn condemnation from a top House Republican. The surprise reprogramming of another $3.8 billion, transmitted to Congress..., means the Pentagon will have forked over nearly $10 billion since last year to help pay for President Donald Trump's border wall. But this shift in funding marks a new phase for the administration, which until now had used money set for military construction and counterdrug operations, not combat equipment." You can thank the Supremes for this (link is to a July 2019 WashPo story).
Amy's Dirty Trick. William Saletan of Slate: "In a dramatic exchange [during the New Hampshire Democratic presidential debate, Amy] Klobuchar rebuked [Pete] Buttigieg for belittling the Senate impeachment trial. In the debate and in subsequent TV interviews, she used his impeachment comments to portray him as unserious. It was a clever attack. It was also deceptive." Klobuchar claimed during the debate, "what you said, Pete, as you were campaigning through Iowa -- as three of us were jurors in that impeachment hearing -- you said it was exhausting to watch and that you wanted to turn the channel and watch cartoons." Buttigieg did say that or something like it on several occasions, but it was a predicate to his true point: that Americans must resist the temptation to become demoralized & tune out the trial. Mrs. McC: I wonder why Buttigieg did nothing to correct the record then & there, inasmuch as moderators always give candidates who are attacked a chance to answer the charges, and his truthful answer would have devasted Klubuchar.
Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "The US attorney whose nomination for a top Treasury Department job was yanked because she ran the office that oversaw Roger Stone's prosecution has resigned, an administration official tells CNN. Jessie Liu, who previously headed the US attorney's office in Washington, submitted her resignation to the Treasury Department, effective Wednesday evening. She went to the Treasury Department with the intention of filling a Senate-confirmed position, which is no longer available after her nomination was withdrawn earlier Wednesday, the official said."
Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Hope Hicks, a close aide to President Trump who resigned nearly two years ago, will return to the White House in a new role, administration officials said Thursday. Ms. Hicks, 31, worked on Mr. Trump's 2016 campaign from its inception and followed him to the White House after he was elected, eventually becoming communications director.... She will report to Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, and work with the White House political director, Brian Jack. Her title will be 'counselor to the president.'" The Hill has a developing story here.
~~~~~~~~~~
The Most Corrupt "Administration" in U.S. History, Ctd.
Trump Learned His Lesson, Ctd. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: Wednesday, "Trump was asked by reporters in the Oval Office what he had learned from his impeachment by the Democrat-controlled House. 'That the Democrats are crooked,' Trump replied. 'They've got a lot of crooked things going, that they're vicious, that they shouldn't have brought impeachment and that my poll numbers are 10 points higher because of fake news like NBC.'" ~~~
~~~ After They Let the Horse out of the Barn. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Some Republican senators said on Wednesday that President Trump shouldn't weigh in on pending sentences after he publicly criticized an initial recommendation from the Department of Justice (DOJ) in the case of Roger Stone.... I think most people would look at that and say "hmm, that just doesn't look right." And I think they're right,' Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters.... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) told reporters that Trump 'should not have gotten involved.'... '"I don't think he should be commenting on cases in the system, I don't think that's appropriate," [Sen. Lindsey] Graham told reporters."
~~~ Trump Says Prosecutors Corrupt, Ignorant. Lauren Egan of NBC News: "... Donald Trump declined Wednesday to say whether he was considering a pardon for ... Roger Stone, leaving the possibility open.... 'I don't want to say yet,' Trump told reporters when asked during an event in the Oval Office whether he was considering pardoning Stone. 'People were hurt viciously and badly by these corrupt people,' Trump continued. 'I want to thank the Justice Department for seeing this horrible thing.'... 'I'm not concerned about anything, concerned about nothing,' Trump said when asked whether he found the prosecutors' departures troubling. 'They ought to go back to school and learn. Because I'll tell you, the way they treated people, nobody should be treated like that.'" ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: "Prosecutors across the United States, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to avoid reprisals, said this week that they had already been wary of working on any case that might catch Mr. Trump's attention and that the Stone episode only deepened their concern. They also said that they were worried that Mr. Barr might not support them in politically charged cases.... 'Even assuming that Bill Barr is acting with integrity, it is impossible for people to believe that because the president is making him look like his political lap dog,' [former DOJ Legal Counsel in the Bush II administration Jack] Goldsmith said. 'Trump makes it impossible to have confidence in the department's judgment.'"
Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "... Donald Trump's post-impeachment acquittal behavior is casting a chill in Washington, with Attorney General William Barr emerging as a key ally in the president's quest for vengeance against the law enforcement and national security establishment that initiated the Russia and Ukraine investigations. In perhaps the most tumultuous day yet for the Justice Department under Trump, four top prosecutors withdrew on Tuesday from a case involving the president's longtime friend Roger Stone after senior department officials overrode their sentencing recommendation.... 'With Bill Barr, on an amazing number of occasions ... you can be almost 100 percent certain that there's something improper going on,' said Donald Ayer, the former deputy attorney general in the George H.W. Bush administration. The president has only inflamed such suspicions, congratulating Barr on Wednesday for intervening in Stone's case and teeing off hours later on the prosecutors, calling them 'Mueller people' who treated Stone 'very badly.'... To many of Trump's critics, the episode was the most alarming in a series of Trump's post-acquittal reprisals.... Barr's evident intervention in matters of personal interest to the president, particularly as they relate to former campaign advisers once at the center of strong> Mueller's Russia probe, has now put the reputation of an entire institution at risk, DOJ veterans said."
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Attorney General William Barr has accepted an invitation to testify to the House Judiciary Committee on March 31, ending a year-long standoff that began when the panel first demanded his testimony in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. The arrangement comes as Democrats have demanded answers about Barr's apparent intervention in the sentencing of ... Donald Trump's longtime ally Roger Stone, who was convicted last year on charges that he lied to congressional investigators and threatened a witness.... On Wednesday morning, Trump hailed Barr for 'taking charge' of the [Stone] matter, confirming suggestions that it was the attorney general himself who intervened." (Also linked yesterday.)
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is demanding that Attorney General William Barr testify publicly over the Justice Department's decision to reduce the recommended sentence for Trump associate Roger Stone. Harris is asking Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to call Barr before the panel, of which she is a member.... Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also sent a letter to Graham on Tuesday requesting an investigation, saying the Justice Department's decision 'smacks of dangerous political interference in law enforcement decision-making.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has little interest in investigating the Justice Department's abrupt reversal on a sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone -- rebuffing a Democratic demand sparked by ... Donald Trump's attacks on the federal prosecutors in the case. Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said Wednesday he did not intend to bring Attorney General William Barr in for testimony aside from the committee's general oversight of the Justice Department. And while Senate Republicans broadly criticized Trump's Twitter forays into the case, they said further investigation was not warranted -- dismissing Democrats' calls for congressional action over allegations of politically motivated favoritism." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
Do not underestimate the danger of this situation: the political appointees in the DOJ are involving themselves in an inappropriate way in cases involving political allies of the President. This affects the rule of law and respect for it. Unprecedented. -- Former Attorney General Eric Holder, in a tweet ~~~
~~~ New York Times Editors: "When senior government officials abuse their power by wielding law enforcement for private ends, whether to attack their enemies or protect their allies, they strike at the heart of constitutional democracy. They make a mockery of 'equal justice under law,' the central animating principle of the American experiment.... President Trump, with his authoritarian nature, does not respect any of this.... Mr. Trump openly interfered in the trial and sentencing of one of his oldest and staunchest allies, and his attorney general -- who could, on such occasions, be mistaken for Mr. Trump's personal lawyer -- was more than happy to do his bidding.... Mr. Trump was exultant [when all four prosecutors on the Roger Stone case resigned].... Since Mr. Trump has described [the Constitution] as 'like a foreign language,' we'll take this opportunity to inform him that [it] ... does not give him the authority to run the Justice Department like a goon squad at one of his failed casinos.... An aspiring autocrat is only as powerful as his enablers, and Mr. Trump hit the jackpot in Mr. Barr, who is now taking control of all cases involving the president, including Mr. Stone's conviction."
Sylvan Lane of the Hill: "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin declined to explain Wednesday why President Trump pulled the Treasury nomination of a former U.S. attorney who had supervised the prosecution of several of the president's campaign advisers. In an appearance before the Senate Finance Committee, Mnuchin refused to say why Trump withdrew the nomination of Jessie Liu to serve as Treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial crimes Tuesday night. The decision came just two days before Liu's confirmation hearing and shortly after Trump dismissed two government officials who testified during his impeachment before the House.... Liu, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, oversaw the federal government's cases against several top Trump campaign aides, including Roger Stone.... 'I would hope you would give an explanation that's counter to the one everyone assumes, which is that she's part of the president's personal retribution tour,' said [Sen. Sherrod] Brown, the top Democrat on the Banking panel."
Julie Zebrak in the Washington Monthly: "... Trump's corruption of the Justice Department hides in plain sight. Equally obvious is the complicity of the attorney general who has made clear time and again that he's perfectly willing to subvert the national interest to advance the president's political interest. Trump's corruption of the Justice Department hides in plain sight. Equally obvious is the complicity of the attorney general who has made clear time and again that he's perfectly willing to subvert the national interest to advance the president's political interest.... From his prebuttal spin of the Mueller Report, effectively manipulating the public about its findings, to unprecedentedly joining Criminal Division meetings with Rudy Giuliani and his client, both of whom were under investigation, to his latest moves this week, Barr has abandoned any semblance of independence. Instead, he has telegraphed to the world that he serves as an extension of the president.... Career attorneys have been in the rooms where this has happened; they've been on the email chains. They are witnesses. It's time for them to tell us what they know."
Bob Bauer, in a New York Times op-ed: "Mr. Trump has established a new normal at the senior legal leadership of his administration. The rhetoric of ... William Barr suggests that he accepts, to a disturbing degree, the president's desire for a politically responsive Justice Department.... [White House counsel] Pat Cipollone defended the president in the impeachment proceeding with arguments of the kind, in tone and variance from the factual record, you would expect to hear from Trump surrogates on Fox News.... The prosecutor who resigns rather than remain in a decaying institution is upholding crucial norms. To his credit, at least one lawyer has chosen to do this, even if it is the rare case and it may have come too late to protect the Department of Justice from Mr. Trump's demands and Attorney General Barr's apparent willingness to accommodate them."
This Prosecutor Is Standing up to Trump. Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Amid ongoing turmoil at the Justice Department, a prominent member of former special counsel Robert Mueller's team surfaced in a court filing on Wednesday to defend the government's prosecution of former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Just one day after ... Donald Trump publicly slammed the targeting of Flynn and ... Roger Stone, fueling a furor that apparently led four prosecutors to quit Stone's case, Brandon Van Grack submitted a written pleading urging a judge to reject Flynn's effort to have his prosecution thrown out on the grounds of 'egregious government misconduct.' 'The defendant relies on allegations that do not pertain to his case, that the Court already rejected, and that have no relevance to his false statements to the FBI on January 24, 2017,' Van Grack wrote. 'Beyond failing to identify misconduct that satisfies the legal test cited in his own brief -- that the misconduct be "so grossly shocking and so outrageous as to violate the universal sense of justice" -- the defendant fails to identify any government misconduct in this case.'"
Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman "is not under Army investigation, a knowledgeable Defense Department official told The Daily Beast. But veteran Army officers caution that the lack of an investigation does not necessarily mean ... Vindman has escaped reprisal. Ever since Vindman was escorted out of the White House on Friday, along with his twin brother, there has been intense speculation over the future of his military career. Vindman has returned to the Department of the Army.... The Defense official said the Army was not investigating Vindman -- an indication that, thus far, the Army does not see Vindman as committing a professional infraction by testifying to the inquiry. The durability of that assessment stands as a key question affecting civilian-military relations in the post-impeachment phase of Trump's presidency. In an indication of how treacherous the military considers the politics of the Vindman episode, not even retired officers would speak on the record for this story.... In the military's 'up or out' culture, being denied a promotion to colonel by the next Army promotions board will spell the end of Vindman's service." (Also linked yesterday.)
Peter Nicholas of the Atlantic: "Lieut. Col Alexander Vindman, the former National Security Council aide and impeachment witness ... Donald Trump fired Friday, was just doing his job, former White House chief of staff John Kelly told students and guests at a Drew University event [in Morristown, N.J.,] Wednesday night. Over a 75-minute speech and question-and-answer session, Kelly laid out, in the clearest terms yet, his misgivings with Trump's words and actions regarding North Korea, illegal immigration, military discipline, Ukraine, and the news media. Kelly, a retired Marine Corps general, said that Vindman is blameless and simply followed the training he'd received as a soldier, migrants are 'overwhelmingly good people' and 'not all rapists,' and Trump's decision to condition military aid to Ukraine on an investigation into his political rival Joe Biden upended longstanding U.S. policy.... At times Wednesday, Kelly sounded like the anti-Trump. He said he did not believe the press is 'the enemy of the people,' for example. And he sharply criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom Trump has steadfastly courted.... Responding to questions from the audience, Kelly faulted Trump for intervening in the case of Eddie Gallagher, a Navy Seal who was convicted last year of posing with the corpse of an ISIS fighter."
Jennifer Hansler & Jamie Crawford of CNN: "Retired Ambassador Marie 'Masha' Yovanovitch -- a highly respected career diplomat who unwittingly became one of the central figures in the impeachment drama -- warned about the degradation of the State Department and took veiled jabs at the Trump administration in her first public remarks since leaving the diplomatic service. During an event at Georgetown University, Yovanvotich warned that 'right now the State Department is in trouble.' As she did in her impeachment inquiry hearing remarks, she also warned that the department was being hollowed out. The former US ambassador to Ukraine said that the department's senior leaders lacked moral clarity, the policy process had been replaced with decisions from the top with little discussion, and she said diplomats wondered if they could express concerns, even behind the scenes." ~~~
~~~ Olivia Beavers of the Hill: "Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch in a public address Wednesday called on political leaders to do more to support the U.S. foreign service, while warning about a demoralized atmosphere at the State Department under President Trump.... 'Working off of facts is not a trademark of the deep state, but the deeply committed state,' she added, emphasizing that 'truth matters.... Former diplomats, like former ambassadors Tom Pickering and William Burns, praised Yovanovitch for her bravery and courage after facing attacks from Trump and his allies for her decision to testify in the House impeachment inquiry, despite orders not to do so. They also subtly jabbed the president and others for their attacks against the longtime public servant, with Pickering describing the president's remarks against her as 'reprehensible.'"
David Fahrenthold & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday asked the Secret Service to provide a full accounting of its payments to President Trump's private company after The Washington Post revealed that the Secret Service had been charged as much as $650 per night for rooms at Trump clubs. In a letter to the Secret Service, signed by Chair Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.) and member Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), the committee asked for records of payments to Trump properties, and copies of contracts between the Secret Service and Trump clubs.... In its letter, the House Oversight Committee said that the 'Secret Service has not disclosed the full scope of its payments to the President&'s businesses or its expenses for presidential travel to [Trump's] own properties.' It said the charges stand 'in stark contrast' to the Trump Organization's public statements claiming that it isn't making money off the stays. The Secret Service is legally required to send Congress a report every six months on its spending to protect presidential residences. But since the start of Trump's term, the letter said, the Secret Service has provided only three of the required six reports. And, even in those three, the lines for spending at Trump's Bedminster and Mar-a-Lago clubs are both blank, the committee said. The letter asks the Secret Service to explain why."
Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate is expected to pass a measure Thursday limiting President Trump's ability to act militarily against Iran, in lawmakers' latest bipartisan attempt to compel the White House to involve them in foreign policy decisions. Eight Republicans voted Wednesday to advance legislation invoking Congress's war powers, a move intended to prevent the president from engaging in hostilities against Tehran without explicit authorization from the legislative branch -- except in cases of clear self-defense. The vote reflects the frustration with Trump's decision to kill a top Iranian commander, Qasem Soleimani, without first consulting lawmakers, and with what many on Capitol Hill considered insufficient candor from administration officials who have briefed them in the aftermath.... The legislation..., as a war powers measure, was guaranteed a vote [despite Mitch McConnell's opposition to it].... The legislation will still lack the votes to overcome a near-guaranteed veto." Wednesday, Trump tweeted his opposition to the bill.
Another Actual Constitutional Crisis. Kimberly Wehle, in a Politico Magazine opinion piece: "In a jaw-dropping opinion issued by the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago on January 23, Judge Frank Easterbrook -- a longtime speaker for the conservative Federalist Society and someone whom the late Justice Antonin Scalia favored to replace him on the U.S. Supreme Court --rebuked Attorney General William Barr for declaring in a letter that the court's decision in an immigration case was 'incorrect' and thus dispensable. Barr's letter was used as justification by the Board of Immigration Appeals ... to ignore the court's ruling not to deport a man who had applied for a visa to remain in the country.... 'We have never before encountered defiance of a remand order, and we hope never to see it again,' Easterbrook wrote.... 'The Attorney General, the Secretary, and the Board ... are not free to disregard our mandate....'... Given Trump's record of defiance, Barr's maneuver is predictable -- but it is a shocking break with more than 200 years of constitutional and legal precedent.... In defying the 7th Circuit..., Attorney General Barr challenged the validity of Marbury v. Madison itself...."
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Wehle suggests various scenarios that could play out if Barr continues to defy the court's order, the least likely of which, alas, is U.S. Marshals escorting Bill Barr out of the RFK building in shackles. But we can dream.
Also, Trump Is Ridiculous. Sonam Sheth of Business Insider: "When Reince Priebus was the White House chief of staff..., Donald Trump repeatedly asked him whether badgers, the state animal of Priebus' home state of Wisconsin, are 'mean to people,' how they 'work,' and how aggressive they can get. That's according to 'Sinking in the Swamp...," a new book by the Daily Beast reporters Lachlan Markay and Asawin Suebsaeng. Priebus was Trump's chief of staff for roughly six months, from when Trump took office to the end of July 2017. During that time, Trump would often 'waste Priebus's time' during briefings about foreign and domestic policy by pelting him with questions about badgers, the book says."
** Liz Roscher of Yahoo! Sports: "Ohio congressman and former Ohio State assistant wrestling coach Jim Jordan has been accused of participating in the cover-up of widespread sexual abuse in OSU’s wrestling program. Jordan was accused by Adam DiSabato, who was the team captain in the late 1980s and early 1990s. DiSabato was appearing in front of a hearing in the Ohio legislature as a witness for House Bill 249, which would waive the statute of limitations and allow the OSU athletes who had been abused to sue the university. DiSabato told the House Civil Justice Committee that several team officials, including Jordan, were aware that the team's open shower facilities put them at risk of being abused and harassed by a team doctor, but did nothing about it. Then DiSabato detailed a phone conversation between him and Jordan, in which Jordan asks DiSabato to help him cover up wrongdoing. Via Cleveland.com: '[DiSabato] ... said Jordan called him repeatedly in July 2018, after media outlets quoted his brother, Michael DiSabato, saying Strauss' abuse was common knowledge to those surrounding the wrestling program, including Jordan. 'Jim Jordan called me crying, groveling... begging me to go against my brother.... That's the kind of cover-up that's going on there,' he said." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm assuming Adam DiSabato's testimony was made under oath; that is, he wasn't just making up stuff to impress his buddies.
Presidential Race
William Mansell of ABC News: "Turnout for voters in the New Hampshire Democratic primary reached record levels this year. According to the Secretary of State's office, a record 300,622 ballots were cast in the Democratic primary, exceeding the 2008 record of 288,672 ballots.... Unlike the Iowa caucuses, which had stagnant turnout levels compared to 2016, New Hampshire voters turned out in higher numbers than they did four years ago." ~~~
~~~ Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "... taking into account the state's growing voting-age population, [this year's primary election turnout] was pretty much on par with the turnout in the past two cycles in which only one party had a competitive primary.... Dave Wasserman, an editor at the Cook Political Report, estimated on Wednesday that the largest increases in turnout, in comparison to 2016, had actually come in the places Mr. Buttigieg and Ms. Klobuchar did best."
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Deval L. Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, has suspended his campaign for president, he said, a day after the New Hampshire primary." A Hill report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Miles Parks of NPR: Troy Price, "the head of the Iowa Democratic party, filed his resignation Wednesday, as the organization is still picking up the pieces from last week's caucus debacle.... His resignation will become effective Saturday, after the State Central Committee holds an emergency meeting to elect a new chair."
Brian Slodysko of the AP: "At the height of the 2008 economic collapse, then-New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the elimination of a discriminatory housing practice known as 'redlining' was responsible for instigating the meltdown.... Bloomberg, a billionaire who built a media and financial services empire before turning to electoral politics, was correct that the financial crisis was triggered in part by banks extending loans to borrowers who were ill-suited to repay them. But by attributing the meltdown to the elimination of redlining, a practice used by banks to discriminate against minority borrowers, Bloomberg appears to be blaming policies intended to bring equality to the housing market."
Remainders. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Here are two stories that I missed: ~~~
~~~ Igor Derysh of Salon (Feb. 11): "... Donald Trump quickly deleted a tweet that attacked former Mike Bloomberg as 'racist' over comments the former New York mayor made in an unearthed audio recording defending stop-and-frisk. 'WOW, BLOOMBERG IS A TOTAL RACIST!' Trump wrote before the tweet was deleted shortly thereafter. The president later re-tweeted a post that included the hashtag #BloombergIsRacist.... It is unclear why Trump deleted the tweet, though it could have something to do with his longstanding support for stop-and-frisk. A federal judge struck down the practice 2013 as 'indirect racial profiling.'... Trump said during his 2016 campaign that the program 'worked very well' in New York and called for its nationwide implementation. 'I would do stop-and-frisk. I think you have to -- we did it in New York. It worked incredibly well,' Trump said at the time. 'You understand -- you have to have, in my opinion. I see what's going on here -- I see what's going on in Chicago, I think stop-and-frisk. In New York City, it was so incredible -- the way it worked....' The president doubled down on his support for the unconstitutional program in 2018, arguing that 'stop-and-frisk' works and it was meant for problems like Chicago.'" ~~~
~~~ Junior Spy Nunes Zeroing in on Mayor Pete? Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) spotted at the airport in South Bend, Ind. yesterday.... -- Kyle Cheney of Politico, in a tweet (Feb. 9)
Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Taylor Telford & Thomas Heath of the Washington Post: "McClatchy Co., one of the nation's largest newspaper publishers, filed for bankruptcy protection Thursday, another harbinger of America's deepening local news crisis. The Chapter 11 filing will allow the Sacramento-based company to keep its 30 newspapers afloat while it reorganizes more than $700 million in debt, 60 percent of which would be eliminated under the plan. If the court approves, it would also hand control of the 163-year-old family publisher to a hedge fund, Chatham Asset Management, its largest creditor." A CNN story is here.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Dan Scanlan of the Florida Times Union: "A Jacksonville, Florida, man jailed after crashing a minivan through a tent of Republican volunteers in a Walmart parking lot told investigators he does not like ... Donald Trump and that he felt "someone had to take a stand," according to his arrest report. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Eileen Kelley of the South Florida Sun Sentinel: "A Florida man no longer faces criminal charges because his online skit about Donald Trump appeared to be 'more of a rant by an idiot' than someone intent on harming the president, according to a prosecutor's memo obtained by the South Florida Sun Sentinel.... Prosecutors dismissed the charges against 26-year-old Chauncy Lump, a security guard from Oakland Park. He had dressed as an Arab for a skit he posted to Facebook Live, apparently calling out Trump for ordering the assassination of Iran's top military leader a day earlier, according to charging documents. Middle Eastern music was playing in the background and Lump wrapped himself in a shower curtain and a towel encased his head like a turban."
Way Beyond
Jason Horowitz & Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Pope Francis has for now rejected a landmark proposal by bishops to allow the ordination of married men in remote areas, a potentially momentous change that conservatives had warned would set the Roman Catholic Church on a slippery slope toward lifting priestly celibacy and weakening church traditions. Francis' decision, in a papal letter made public on Wednesday, surprised many given the openness he had displayed on the subject and his frequently expressed desire for a more collegial and less top-down church." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Reader Comments (12)
I don't want to hear anything about law and order from [family blog] Eric Holder, who followed his President's orders to not prosecute banksters, and who violated both statute and treaty by refusing to conduct an investigation of plausible allegations of torture, for political reasons.
@Procopius: Refresh my memory. When did President Obama order Holder not to prosecute banksters? Also, was it Obama who decided not to prosecute the CIA torturers? I can't recall either of these "orders" or implied directions. To the best of my recollection -- which is far less than perfect -- President Obama left it to the DOJ & other applicable agencies to make these decisions. Where you find evidence of your assertions please cut & paste links to back them up. Thanks.
For the record, I was totally against Obama's making Eric Chiquita Banana Holder AG, & Tim Turbo Tax Geithner Treasury Secretary, and I linked dozens (or more) of articles dissing them.
I feel like the ground has shifted under us. This is not just a lawless president.* This is a completely lawless administration, propped up by an army of clueless zombies who will always ignore all wrongdoing. Cruelty is the reason for the season. I am so tired of the "sternly-worded" letters being sent to the monsters in the government. It has been made clear that there is nowhere they will not go to support the SOB in the white house, and the white house is no longer "ours." I know that the revenge being enacted on public servants is far worse than for us, listening and watching, but it makes me so depressed I am trying to distant myself from it all. Maizie Hirano was on CNN and how she can remain calm in the face of total anarchy is beyond me. I plan to try to not worry about people like John Kelly, a nasty hypocrite, because it is futile. In fact, now we are supposed to be excited that Pit Bull Barr will testify. Yeah, like that means anything--
The U.S. Constitution is a powerful document that has guided the nation for over 230 years. Trump seems determined to reduce it to an anachronism on a par with the Articles of Confederation.
The scary thing is that with a thoroughly cowed and compliant Senate, he's succeeding.
So, Hopeless Hickey is returning to the WH. I wonder if she'll bring her pants steamer back with her.
@unwashed: Yes, but her new duties include steaming Jared's pants, too. Jared wears tight pants, so we hope Hope will be careful there. I hate to think of how much the official pants-steamer is costing us taxpayers.
"I think most people would look at that [the weighing in on pending sentences––translation: Corrupt conniving] and say," hmm, that just doesn't look right."
So says Lisa Murkowski, one of all GOP senators except one, who voted to acquit a president who is, along with his goon squad, the most corrupt president in history. "Hmm, that just doesn't look right" must not have entered Lisa's mind when report after report illustrated the rapacious deceitful, corrupt maneuverings of this fat fuck. How far does a president have to go before Lisa and the rest of the suck-ups drop the "hmm" and say "whoa, Nelly, enough is enough!"
When our justice system is being compromised, when good people get fired and bad people get pardoned, when even our supreme court is suspect, when heads of agencies are put there to destroy them, when the president disparages the press, when interference with other countries in our elections are dismissed....the list goes on––We need to feel more than insecure; this is dangerous stuff and cannot be brushed off as a ho hum, HE"S just a crazy guy doing his crazy stuff. It's a whole lot bigger and I for one am angry and terrified.
But there was good news today: Motor mouth man sans jacket guy has been outed as a liar. See story above on Jim Jordan.
and Marie Yovanovitch got a standing ovation at Georgetown U. last night that lasted for many, many minutes.
"...the small sort of sunbeam that is all February has to offer." Wolf Hall
Monica Hesse has a piece in WaPo: "You like Amy Klobuchar now? Remember that when your inner sexist starts doubting her."
"You’ll think it has nothing to do with her being a woman. It will have everything to do with her being a woman.
When and if that happens, remember back to now. Remember that you liked her."
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/you-like-amy-klobuchar-now-remember-that-when-your-inner-sexist-starts-doubting-her/2020/02/12/2ff97cb8-4db3-11ea-b721-9f4cdc90bc1c_story.html
The Democrats threatened to impeach Barr months ago, but then did nothing. Now would be a good time to follow through on that threat. They should drag it out as long as possible to try to distract Trump. While under the spotlight Trump can be restain himself a tiny bit. Even if it goes nowhere in the Senate it could buy the country a little time from some of Trump's most awful desires. Chris Matthews definitely is worried about the wrong politician dragging him to his death in Central Park, especially with the DOJ now fully in Trump's hands.
LOL!! Barr saying Trumps twets are "making it impossible to do my job". IOW, how do you expect me to cover up all your shit if you shine a light on me?"
@Mrs. McCrabbie: You're right, I was wrong, and I apologize. On researching the speech I found the New York Times said, "But Mr. Obama also said prosecutions would proceed if the Justice Department found evidence that laws had been broken." I still believe Holder refused to investigate either matter, and I believe that President Obama and he discussed the matter, but without evidence I should not be asserting it as a fact. My only excuse is I've become overwrought from the general atmosphere of malice and hatred, but I used to be better than this. Thanks for reminding me.
I hadn't been aware of the change in labels related to corona virus :
SARS-CoV-2 is the Virus (this is specifically id'ed by a PCR test)
COVID-19 is the clinical illness.(identified by a lung scan -not so specific)
Total confirmed clinical cases of COVID-19 is now: 60,332 as of yesterday
Total deaths:1369 (still about 2% mortality)
The numbers seem to jump, but actually it's just the change in nomenclature. There has been no sudden surge. And the curve is pretty linear, not exponential. And there is no decline in the curve either.
Source: WHO.