;)
The Commentariat -- January 15, 2020
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Nicholas Fandos & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send the Senate two articles of impeachment against President Trump, appointing seven Democrats to prosecute the case and initiating only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history.... Only one Democrat, Representative Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota, joined every Republican in voting 'no.'... The [impeachent] managers are scheduled to reconvene in the Capitol at 5 p.m. to finalize the articles with Ms. Pelosi in a formal 'engrossment ceremony' that will mark the beginning of an elaborate, and highly orchestrated, ritual. From there, accompanied by the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms, the managers will file from the House, through the old House chamber and the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate, where Democrats will present the articles to the secretary of the Senate. But the trial itself is not expected to start until Thursday, when the managers will most likely exhibit the articles inside the Senate chamber. Once they do so, the Senate will summon Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to preside and all senators will take an oath to administer 'impartial justice.' The Senate must promptly issue a summons to Mr. Trump informing him of the charges and requesting a response. Republican leaders have said the proceeding will not begin in earnest until next Tuesday, after the long holiday weekend."
Aaron Rupar of Vox has a good post on how the mainstream media in general, and in this case, NPR in particular, sanitize and normalize Trump's wild, incoherent rants. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Mrs. McC: During the first year-plus of his term, almost all major-media outlets labored to "interpret" Trump's rants by making some sense of what he was saying, which of course had the effect of normalizing his speeches and remarks. But I have noticed that, after maybe two years, reporters at some major outlets, including the NYT, finally started writing about Trump's "disjointed rambling" and "anger" and so forth even in straight news reports. Too little, too late.
Washington "Post Opinions invited the Democratic presidential candidates not on the stage in Des Moines on Tuesday to add their thoughts to a key exchange in the debate. Here are the responses from five of them."
Olivia Beavers & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tapped seven impeachment managers on Tuesday.... Some members who the Speaker tapped were considered shoo-ins, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who both had leadership roles during the impeachment inquiry into Trump's contacts with Ukraine. Others picked for the high-profile role of managers include Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Val Demings (Fla.), Sylvia Garcia (Texas), and Jason Crow (Colo.)." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' liveblog on impeachment is here. The Washington Post's liveblog is here.
The Impartial Jury Foreman. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday ripped House Democrats and made the case for the upper chamber acquitting President Trump as he waits for the articles of impeachment to be transmitted. McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, did not directly call for senators to vote to acquit Trump but argued that senators cannot follow the House's lead and agree that the president deserves to be impeached and ultimately removed from office. '... If the Senate blesses this unprecedented and dangerous House process by agreeing that an incomplete case and subjective basis are enough to impeach a president, we will almost guarantee the impeachment of every future president,' McConnell said."
Jonathan Chait: In "a series of messages between [Lev] Parnas, who met with Trump on several occasions and claims the president personally directed his mission in Ukraine, and Robert Hyde..., Hyde made several chilling remarks that seemed to indicate that he was surveilling Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and prepared to do something to her. Reading these messages makes clear Hyde was planning to do something unpleasant to Yovanovitch, apparently in tandem with some kind of security personnel he contacted, perhaps Russian ones[.]... Several months later, even after she had been removed from her post, President Trump appeared intent on doing some kind of harm to Yovanovitch. 'Well, she's going to go through some things,' he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in his July 25 phone call.... The Parnas-Hyde texts are evidence of how the whole scheme played out on the ground, which is basically as an episode of The Sopranos. And as the sordid evidence of the scheme continues to pour out, it remains the position of the Trump administration and nearly every elected Republican that Congress is not entitled to to any additional testimony or documents." Worth reading the thread of Hyde's messages. Chait also discusses the letter from Giuliani to Zelensky. ~~~
~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post highlights a letter from Rudy Giuliani to Volodymyr Zelensky that makes it fairly impossible for Trump to throw Giuliani under the bus, as Trump attempted to do in an interview with Bill O'Reilly. In the letter, which is reproduced with the post, Giuliani writes, "I am private counsel to President Donald J. Trump. Just to be precise, I represent him as a private citizen, not as President of the United States.... In my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent, I request a meeting with you...."
Katy O'Donnell of Politico: "The Department of Housing and Urban Development will allow Puerto Rico to access more than $8 billion in blocked disaster aid funding, ending a monthslong hold by the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Puerto Rico, which suffered devastating losses from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, has received just $1.5 billion of the roughly $20 billion in congressionally authorized disaster funds that HUD is supposed to administer. The delay in receiving the additional funds had incensed both U.S. lawmakers and commonwealth officials.... Democrats had cranked up the pressure on the White House to release the money in the wake of the earthquakes, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Thursday calling on administration officials to 'cease and desist that illegal activity.'"
Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia abruptly resigned on Wednesday, shortly after his political patron, President Vladimir V. Putin, sent the country's political elite into a swirl with proposals for sweeping constitutional changes that could extend his hold on power for many years. Mr. Medvedev's cabinet also resigned. In a statement issued by the Russian news agency Tass, Mr. Medvedev, a lawyer who has known Mr. Putin since they worked together in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, linked the unexpected resignations to an overhaul put forward earlier on Wednesday by Mr. Putin." A Politico story is here.
Jason McGahan of the Daily Beast: "Ex-Stormy Daniels lawyer and Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was led out of the State Bar Court in Los Angeles by federal agents on Tuesday evening. The arrest occurred outside the disciplinary hearing in which the State Bar of California has accused the hard-charging, tough-talking attorney of using a doctored document to scam a client out of nearly $840,000, funneling money from a lawsuit settlement fund to his own personal use. The State Bar of California, the official attorney licensing agency, has sought to put Avenatti on 'involuntary inactive status,' setting in motion a timeline for disbarment proceedings. During a break in testimony, members of the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, who are prosecuting Avenatti in a separate criminal matter in Orange County, parleyed with Avenatti's team of lawyers and took the lawyer into custody."
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Democratic Presidential Debate
Matt Viser, et al., of the Washington Post: "A whittled-down field of Democratic presidential candidates on Tuesday focused on their shared disdain for President Trump and elaborated on a host of policy differences domestic and foreign in an Iowa presidential debate whose most animated moment turned on whether a woman could become president." ~~~
~~~ Here's that "animated moment":
Daniel Strauss of the Guardian: "A post-debate confrontation between progressive senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders capped the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses after an evening of infighting on foreign policy, healthcare, and what makes a candidate most fit to defeat Donald Trump. In a sign of the depth of the tension between Sanders and Warren, at the end of the debate, as candidates were shaking hands, the Massachusetts senator walked over to the Vermont senator. Sanders outstretched his hand; Warren did not. It was not immediately clear what the two said but after a few short, apparently stern words from both sides they shook their heads and walked in opposite directions." Here's that moment:
Eric Levitz of New York has a good "takeaways" rundown.
Ryan Lizza of Politico: "Democratic voters..., in polls and interviews have consistently been bewildered by the size of the field and turned off by petty fights between candidates that do little to clarify their differences. The CNN-Des Moines Register debate Tuesday night at Drake University did not feature the expected -- choose your favorite journalistic cliché -- no holds barred/gloves-are-off/there will be blood on the floor exchanges between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, or either of them and Joe Biden."
Two Things. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: (1) Several teevee pundits noted that one reason Democrats may have gone easy on each other is that second-place matters a great deal in Iowa; if a caucus-goer's favorite candidate doesn't get 15% of the votes in that locality, she has to move to a candidate who met the 15% threshold. Therefore, it's a mistake for a candidate to alienate voters by slamming their favored candidate, as that could keep them from choosing you second. (2) Haven't seen this anywhere: I watched the debate to see who I thought could (a) beat Trump and (b) seem credibly "presidential." I thought Warren did the best job there, something I would not have said several months ago.
Here's the New York Times' real-time snark analysis. Here are the Washington Post's live updates.
Mrs. McCrabbie: Debate preceded by most embarrassing rendition of the national anthem since Roseanne's notorious performance in 1990.
Libby Watson of the New Republic: "Millions have watched as the media asks, on behalf of the American people, things that only people in the media think are important.... The same gestures towards your dad's idea of Sensible Policymaking that routinely oozes out of the Beltway thinkpiece class and onto the pages of our finest newspapers was once again seamlessly shunted onto cable television. If the unstated premise of every debate question is 'How can you assure us you will continue a sufficiently right-wing status quo,' it's hard to see how things will ever change.... If the Democratic Party thinks it is important for us to have 20 debates, for example, perhaps at least one or two could be hosted by a left-wing outlet not bent on assessing the relative conservatism of the liberal party's candidates." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Watson is right, but the Democratic National Committee -- which sets the rules for the debates -- is run by establishment Democrats, and they're going to favor candidates like Hillary Clinton, as they did in 2016, and Joe Biden, as they are doing now. Their big "reform" in this cycle was cutting Fox "News" from the debates, so Chris Wallace couldn't ask Joe any tough questions. The DNC likes what CNN is doing. Of course, if Bernie or Elizabeth became president/the establishment, that could shift slightly leftward. ~~~
~~~ Frank Rich (written before the debate): "I have not been an admirer of [Cory] Booker's easy-listening campaign, but it says everything you need to know about the DNC's debate criteria that he did not make it into this debate and that Tom Steyer did. So now Booker, a United States senator and former Newark mayor of actual substance and proven political chops, is out of the race altogether, and Steyer, a poseur with zero achievements and no known adherents, hobbles on, thanks to heavy self-spending on campaign ads that boosted his name recognition in two states' polls. It's a joke, and the public knows it. Another joke is the focus on the caucuses in Iowa, a 91 percent white state that, like the white and unrepresentative New Hampshire primary, is another glitch in the system by which the Democrats choose a national ticket." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I have thought for several years that Booker was a lightweight phony, and I suspect he chose to run, as Rich aptly puts it, an "easy-listening campaign" because that's what he calculated Iowa & New Hampshire voters wanted. He may have been right about that, but my guess is that the voters saw through the phony.
Alex Thompson & Holly Otterbein of Politico: "The controversial talking points attacking Elizabeth Warren that Bernie Sanders' campaign deployed were given to teams in at least two early voting states on Friday, three Sanders campaign officials confirmed. Volunteers and staffers used the script on Saturday while canvassing for votes, meaning the talking points were more official than what Sanders previously suggested after Politico reported on the language. The campaign pulled back the script -- which described Warren's appeal as limited to the highly educated and financially well off -- later on Saturday after the story published. Sanders initially appeared to blame the controversy on rogue employees. 'We have hundreds of employees.... And people sometimes say things that they shouldn't,' Sanders said Sunday in Iowa. His press aides never denied the veracity of the document."
Zack Budryk of the Hill: "A clip emerged Tuesday of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) saying in 1988 that he believed a woman could be elected president, just a day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Sanders told her in 2018 that a woman couldn't win the presidency. 'The real issue is not whether you're black or white, whether you're a woman or a man. In my view, a woman could be elected president of the United States,' Sanders, at the time a high-profile supporter of Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential bid, said in the clip. 'The real issue is whose side are you on? Are you on the side of workers and poor people, or are you on the side of big money and the corporations?'"
More on the presidential race linked below.
Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House will vote on Wednesday to send the Senate impeachment charges against President Trump, allowing a long-awaited trial to begin, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats privately Tuesday, according to officials in the room.... In a closed-door gathering with Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning, Ms. Pelosi detailed her plan to move on Wednesday to appoint the team of lawmakers who will prosecute the case against Mr. Trump, known as the House managers in his impeachment trial. The officials who described her private remarks spoke on condition of anonymity. Unless things change, her timetable means that the House managers would ceremonially walk the articles of impeachment from the House chamber to the Senate well later in the day Wednesday, formally presenting them and prompting a trial to commence. The speaker said she was not yet ready to share the names of the lawmakers she would select as managers...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Cristina Marcos, et al., of the Hill: "But the resolution slated to hit the House floor on Wednesday is expected to name the impeachment managers." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Washington Post (@5:50 pm ET Tuesday): Speaker "Pelosi will hold a news conference Wednesday morning to announce the impeachment managers, her office said in a statement. The announcement, set for 10 a.m. in the Capitol Visitor Center, will precede a vote later Wednesday on the resolution that will trigger a Senate impeachment trial."
Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico provide an outline of how the impeachment trial will run.
Lev Saved a Lot of Stuff. Stefan Becket & Olivia Gazis of CBS News: "House Democrats released a trove of documents from an indicted businessman [Lev Parnas] who helped Rudy Giuliani in his campaign to pressure Ukraine, including previously undisclosed handwritten notes and a letter Giuliani addressed to the Ukrainian president-elect requesting a meeting shortly before his inauguration.... Chairman Adam Schiff sent the material to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler on two flash drives, writing in a letter that the Intelligence Committee 'continues to receive and review potentially relevant evidence" in its investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Among [the documents] were handwritten notes scrawled on a sheet of hotel paper at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna that mention getting President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, and a May 2019 letter from [Rudy] Giuliani requesting a meeting with Mr. Zelensky in which he said Mr. Trump had 'knowledge and consent' of his actions.... The material built upon details undergirding the charges against Mr. Trump, and highlighted how much is still to be learned about the scope of a scheme that the impeachment charges call a blatant effort to solicit foreign help in the 2020 election.... 'There cannot be a full and fair trial in the Senate without the documents that President Trump is refusing to provide to Congress,' [senior House Democrats] said [in a statement]."
~~~ The Hill has the docs here. ~~~
~~~ Rudy's Guys Spied on U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch. Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "New documents released by House Democrats on Tuesday offered fresh detail on the shadow diplomacy campaign at the center of President Trump's impeachment, including text messages suggesting that the former United States ambassador to Ukraine was under surveillance while in Kyiv. In a series of cryptic text messages, Lev Parnas ... communicated with another man who appeared to be monitoring the movements of the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch. The texts, exchanged in March on the WhatsApp messaging service, indicated that the other man, Robert F. Hyde, was in touch with people in Ukraine who were watching Ms. Yovanovitch." The story has been substantially updated. For instance, there's this: “In a brief interview conducted via text on Tuesday, Mr. Hyde, a Republican congressional candidate in Connecticut, denied that he had tracked Ms. Yovanovitch's movements in Kyiv, and called Representative Adam B. Schiff ... a 'commie.'" The AP's report is here. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So it appears we know now why the State Department ordered Yovanovitch to "get on the next plane" out of Kiev on account of concern for her security: Trump's own mobsters were tailing her in a fashion worthy of a B movie and perhaps had plans to harm her. It would not surprise me at all to learn that U.S. agents in Kiev picked up on the surveillance of Yovanovitch: spies following spies following the ambassador. "The Trump Story" should be shot in film-noir black-and-white.
~~~ Justine Coleman of the Hill: "Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch called for an investigation Tuesday into 'what happened' after newly released evidence suggested that her movements were being monitored. Yovanovitch requested the investigation through her lawyer Lawrence Robbins, who issued a statement on her behalf." ~~~
~~~ David Corn of Mother Jones offers a brief introduction to the new guy in Trump's gang of shady characters: Robert Hyde. "... a 2019 police report ... suggests that Hyde might have been a peculiar choice for Parnas to work with on his Giuliani-led Ukrainian op. The report notes that Hyde had a disturbing episode at a Trump resort for which he had to be taken into custody by police and brought to a medical facility under a state law that allows for involuntary confinement of people who might pose a risk to themselves." Mrs. McC: You have to check police blotters & law enforcement investigation records to get to know the guys in the Trump mob.
Brian Faler & Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington Tuesday ... has put House Democrats' suit for Donald Trump's tax returns on hold ... until there's a decision in a dispute over whether former White House Counsel Don McGahn must testify before Congress.... In the McGahn case, a three-judge panel heard oral arguments earlier this month, and a ruling is possible by the end of this month.... Whoever loses the case before the three-judge panel is likely to appeal that decision, first to the entire D.C. Circuit panel of judges and ultimately to the Supreme Court."
Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Former national security adviser Michael Flynn asked a federal judge Tuesday evening for permission to withdraw his plea of guilty to lying to the FBI in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe of Russian election interference, alleging that prosecutor breached his cooperation agreement by demanding his false testimony. The stunning reversal -- more than two years after Flynn pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2017, and just two weeks before he faces sentencing -- threatens to sidetrack if not derail the prosecution of the highest-ranking Trump official charged and one of the first to cooperate with Mueller's office. Any change in plea must be approved by a judge." The Hill's report is here.
Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "As many as 10 Republican senators are considering bucking President Trump on a resolution that would limit his ability to take military action against Iran. The increasing number is the latest sign of growing GOP frustration over the Trump administration's justification for the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is circulating a bipartisan resolution that would direct Trump to remove U.S. forces from any hostilities against Iran within 30 days of its enactment.... It needs only a simple majority to pass." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate is poised to formally counter President Trump's ability to initiate further military action against Iran, as four Republicans now say they will vote with Democrats to pass a resolution invoking Congress' war powers. 'Congress cannot be sidelined on these important decisions,' said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who on Tuesday declared her support for the measure, joining Sens. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and all 47 Democrats. A vote could come as soon as next week."
Ivana Kottasová, et al., of CNN: "Several people have been arrested in Iran over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that those responsible would be punished. Gholamhossein Esmaili, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, was quoted by the semi-official FARS news agency Tuesday as saying that an into the crash had started and several arrests had been made. He did not provide details on how many people had been arrested or what their roles in the incident may have been." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Malachy Browne, et al., of the New York Times: "The New York Times has verified security camera footage on Tuesday that shows, for the first time, that two missiles hit Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8. The missiles were launched from an Iranian military site around eight miles from the plane. The new video fills a gap about why the plane's transponder stopped working, seconds before it was hit by a second missile.An earlier Times analysis confirmed what Iran later admitted: that an Iranian missile did strike the plane. The Times also established that the transponder stopped working before that missile hit the plane. The new video appears to confirm that an initial strike disabled the transponder, before the second strike, also seen in the video, around 23 seconds later." ~~~
Erin Banco & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) ... and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) ... [are] calling on financial regulatory agencies to investigate whether associates and attendees at ... Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago illegally traded in defense company stocks or commodities after he gave them a heads up that he was planning something 'big' in response to Iran's killing of an American contractor in Iraq. The Daily Beast previously reported that Trump told allies at his Palm Beach club that he had something 'big' in the works to address Iran's aggressive behavior in the region and that they would read about it 'soon.' The president specifically mentioned to some of his associates at Mar-a-Lago that he'd been in contact with his senior national security and military advisors on possible plans to hit back, two sources told The Daily Beast. He did not mention specific plans of attack or human targets for a military response, the sources noted."
The Daily Beast publishes an "adapted excerpt" of a book by Joe Palazzolo & Michael Rothfeld that describes how Michael Cohen, David Pecker, & others shut up Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. There was something of a bidding war for her story.
** Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post: "For the first time ever, the United States is shipping asylum seekers who arrive at its border to a 'safe third country' to seek refuge there. The Trump administration hopes the program will serve as a model for others in the region. But during its first weeks, asylum seekers and human rights advocates say, migrants have been put on planes without being told where they were headed, and left here without being given basic instruction about what to do next. When the migrants land in Guatemala City, they receive little information about what it means to apply for asylum in one of the hemisphere's poorest countries. Those who don't immediately apply are told that they must leave the country in 72 hours. The form is labeled 'Voluntary Return.'... Human rights organizations in Guatemala say they have recorded dozens of cases of asylum seekers who were misled by U.S. officials into boarding flights, and who were not informed of their asylum rights upon arrival.... An an Asylum Cooperation Agreement [that the U.S. forced on Guatemala] is bringing migrants to a country that is unable to provide economic and physical security for its own citizens -- many of whom are themselves trying to migrate." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I know it's wrong to make Holocaust analogies, but it's tempting. It's also wrong to want to pummel Trump, Stephen Miller, et al., but this makes me furious.
Alex Johnson & Laura Strickler of NBC News: "Carla Provost, one of the longer-serving members of ... Donald Trump's administration, is stepping down as chief of U.S. Border Patrol, a spokesperson for the agency said Tuesday. There was no immediate indication who will replace Provost, a 25-year veteran who is the first woman to lead the agency, officials said.... Border Patrol chief becomes one of at least 14 top Homeland Security positions that remain vacant or are occupied by acting officials, beginning at the top with Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security."
Paul Sonne, et al., of the Washington Post: "Lawmakers from both parties criticized White House plans to take an additional $7.2 billion this year from Pentagon funds to pay for President Trump's border wall project, as more congressionally approved renovation and construction plans for U.S. military installations risked losing their funding.... Senior Republicans grumbled about the plan but mostly put the blame on Democrats, who agreed to provide $1.4 billion in border barrier funding this year -- far less than the $5 billion Trump requested." A related Hill story is here. A Politico story is here.
David Lynch of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday, Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are scheduled to sign a partial trade deal, calling a truce in a conflict that has shaken the global economy. Yet ... many of the trade war's casualties have been left on the battlefield. Even as the White House celebrates the president's negotiating accomplishment, the 'phase one' deal offers little relief for countless American businesses -- including chemical makers, apparel retailers and auto parts manufacturers -- that will still face the same punishing tariffs they have confronted for some time." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Lynch writes, "Wednesday's White House ceremony will mark a political triumph for the president as he prepares for a reelection fight." Really? That's only if the media make it out to be a "triumph." From what little I've read about the deal, it's about as impressive as Infrastructure Week. Let's hope the nightly news leads with shots of Pelosi's walking the Articles of Impeachment across the hall to Mitch -- or with whatever new catastrophe Trump launches tomorrow. ~~~
~~~ Welfare for White People. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "There is ... at least one place where Trump's welfare chauvinism has taken hold -- his multibillion-dollar payments to farmers harmed by the president's trade war with China. In the context of his larger attack on the social safety net, those payments, a direct subsidy to a narrow group of favored Americans, are the closest thing to the kind of help Trump promised during the campaign.... The vast majority of payments have gone to white farmers, with large landowners the greatest beneficiaries. It's true that most American farmers are white. But disparities exist nonetheless. In Mississippi, for example, 14 percent of farms are run by black operators, but those farmers have received 1.4 percent of the aid that has been distributed in the state."
Eric Geller of Politico: "Apple on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department's claim that it has refused to help investigators unlock two iPhones that belonged to the shooter in the Pensacola, Fla., naval base attack. The iPhone maker said that Attorney General William Barr was wrong to claim Monday that the company 'has not given us any substantive assistance' in accessing phones associated with the December shooting. 'We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation,' Apple said in a statement to Politico. 'Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Alex Henderson of AlterNet, republished in the Raw Story: "... this week, things turned ugly after [U.S. Rep. Matt] Gaetz [R-Fla.] attacked [Florida] Republican State Rep. Chris Latvala for tweeting a photo of him meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton.... Latvala (the 38-year-old son of former Florida State Sen. Jack Latvala, now 68) responded by accusing Gaetz of inventing a sleazy game for Florida legislators that included a sexual scoring system. In 2013, Politico's Marc Caputo reported that according to the rules of the alleged game, legislators received one point for sleeping with a lobbyist, two points for sleeping with legislative staff, three points for sleeping with another legislator and six points for sleeping with a married legislator." The TwitterSpat went on from there.
More on the Presidential Race
Tucker Higgins & Annie Nova of CNBC: "... Democratic presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday that she would begin to forgive student loan debt on the first day of her administration, using legal tools that would allow her to bypass Congress. The announcement, which comes just weeks before voting begins in the first primary and caucus states, adds urgency to legislation she introduced over the summer to cancel the bulk of the nation's outstanding student loan debt. That bill, introduced with Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., would forgive up to $50,000 in student debt for individuals with household incomes under $100,000. But Warren wrote in her plan on Tuesday that the U.S. Education Department already has authority to cancel student debt, 'and we can't afford to wait for Congress to act.'"
Mrs. McCrabbie: Here is, what?, the 20th article I've seen and not linked about how regrettable it is that presidential candidates of color keep dropping out of the race and/or there will be no candidates of color on tonight's debate stage. Yeah, that is regrettable, but it is black voters who have flocked to Joe Biden and are keeping him on top of the heap. He's their choice, fine, but let's not complain about "the lack of diversity" among the top candidates when the largest group of "diversity" voters is voting for any white guy.
Jack Nicas & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Apple is privately preparing for a legal fight with the Justice Department to defend encryption on its iPhones while publicly trying to defuse the dispute, as the technology giant navigates an increasingly tricky line between its customers and the Trump administration. Timothy D. Cook, Apple's chief executive, has marshaled a handful of top advisers, while Attorney General William P. Barr has taken aim at the company and asked it to help penetrate two phones used by a gunman in a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla."
Bridgegate Redux. Ryan Hutchins of Politico: "Most of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court expressed skepticism Tuesday about the federal government's case in the infamous 'Bridgegate' scandal, several of them peppering a Justice Department lawyer with questions as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie watched from the front row. A number of the justices, weighing some dense legal issues that surround the convictions of two former Christie allies, seemed to find merit in the defendants' arguments that they did not defraud the government of its 'property' by closing off two local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge.... Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan all asked numerous, sharp-edged questions about those arguments, while Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Ruth Bader Ginsburg each asked at least one tough question of the government."
Contributor Jeanne points to this post by Driftglass on Rick Wilson's analysis (and book!) on when the GOP went wrong (spoiler: 2010). Mrs. McC: What I didn't know about Wilson is that he made those despicable ads about Max Cleland & Jeremiah Wright. The Cleland ad, in particular, is unforgivable. (Also linked yesterday.)
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "In a long-simmering rift between factions of the Murdoch family over climate change, Rupert's younger son, James, and his activist wife, Kathryn, are attacking the climate denialism promoted by News Corporation, the global media group, and also by the Fox News Channel overseen by James' older brother, Lachlan. 'Kathryn and James' views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known,' a spokesperson for the couple exclusively told The Daily Beast as wildfires rage in Australia. 'They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Maryland. Alex Pareene of the New Republic on Gov. Larry Hogan, "the most popular crook in America.": "Larry Hogan is a Republican governor of a solidly Democratic state. He is also, according to one survey, the single most popular governor in the country. In a state where only 37 percent of likely voters approve of Donald Trump, 73 percent of Democrats approve of Hogan.... Hogan, who ostensibly left his brother in charge of his real estate brokerage firm when he was elected, has, in fact, maintained ownership and control while serving as governor; the trustees he handpicked to run his company have continued to keep him apprised of its business dealings. And as governor, he has advanced highway and road construction projects that directly boosted the value of land owned by his company. Those efforts have proved extraordinarily lucrative: During his first three years in office, Hogan reported $2.4 million in income, more than four times his salary. No other governor in the history of the state has made as much.... Hogan ... is exactly the 'normal' to which politicians like Joe Biden promise to return us when they try to speak into existence a Republican Party that they can 'work with.' Here he is: a self-dealing crook whose racist policymaking will speed the destructive effects of climate change...."
Wisconsin. Scott Bauer of the AP: "A Wisconsin appeals court on Tuesday put on hold an order to immediately remove up to 209,000 names from the state's voter registration rolls, handing Democrats who had fought the move a victory in the battleground state. The appeals court sided with the bipartisan state elections commission in putting the brakes on removing any voters while the court fight continues. It also put on hold a ruling from Monday in which a judge found the commission and its three Democratic members in contempt for not proceeding with removing the voters. The orders effectively hit the pause button on the fast-moving case and means there will be no immediate change to the state's voter registration rolls.... A judge last month sided with conservatives and ordered the removal of the voters. When the bipartisan elections commission deadlocked on proceeding with the purge, the judge on Monday found it and its three Democratic commissioners in contempt, and again ordered the voters'; names removed."
Way Beyond
Russia. Vladimir Isachenkov of the AP: "President Vladimir Putin proposed Wednesday to tweak the Russian Constitution to increase the powers of parliament and the Cabinet -- a move that could herald his intention to shift into a new position to stay at the helm after his current term expires. Speaking in his state of the nation address before top officials and lawmakers, Putin suggested amending the constitution to allow lawmakers to name prime ministers and Cabinet members. The right currently belongs to the president. 'It will increase the role of parliament and parliamentary parties, powers and independence of the prime minister and all Cabinet members,' Putin said. At the same time, Putin argued that the president should retain the right to dismiss the prime minister and Cabinet ministers. He said that the president also should have the power to name top defense and security officials. Putin emphasized that constitutional changes must be put to a nationwide vote. Putin's current term expires in 2024...."
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Reader Comments (14)
I am appalled to find out that someone involved in the ouster of Ambassador Yovanovitch is trying to run for Rep. of my congressional district, which includes the town where she grew up.
Robert F. [Fucktard] Hyde can certainly not count on getting my vote. But Jahana Hayes can.
@unwashed: And he went after Yovanovitch in the creepiest, sleaziest of ways. The guy is all Hyde & no Jekyll.
Two articles today that seemed well worth consideration.
@douglaslondon5, retired in 2018 from CIA Clandestine Services in Just Security. An insider's analysis of the whys, alternatives and consequences of Trump's actions toward his ME targets, Soliemani and others, without once saying narcissist.
https://www.justsecurity.org/68072/the-president-his-relationship-with-intelligence-and-the-soleimani-strike/
Jasmine M. El-Gamal in the Atlantic. 'Muslim' is Not an Insult. An article that goes beyond the initial reaction to Trump's tweet.
"When the president tweets an image of two Democrats wearing Muslim clothing and his spokesperson pairs that image with words such as terrorism they are going well beyond criticism of Democrats’ political positions; …"
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/01/muslim-is-not-an-insult/604906/
There is such a lot of news to wade through I need to don my red rubber boots today. The biggie is the Parnas Papers: Very damaging information for the Trump cabal and one hopes that it will be presented at the trial––some more proof positive that everything involving the Ukraine debacle was "perfect." A real hidey-Hyde operation.
If you were raising pigs you'd get rid of your food (slop) garbage without the need for bins. I thought of this while learning that our very compassionate government is putting asylum seekers on planes and dumping them in Guatemala, a desperately poor country, who will not be able to deal with this influx. I have no words–-this is beyond cruel and inhumane–-it's evil.
I saw only the end of the debate because I was watching Frontline's excellent two-part series on the great division in this country featuring the Obama years and then the "glories" of the Trump chaos. We see again how this country resembles the division years before and during the Civil War years. Obama issued in hope and change––and told us this country was not blue or red; it was THE United States of America and some believed him. He struggled with this until he finally gave up and realized the great divide and went his own way with lots of executive signings because the Republicans refused to work with him except John Boehner who would actually sneak over to the W.H. through the back door and try to cut a deal of sorts. What Trump did was become the manifestation of what was already here––in the Republican Congress and in this country.
Meanwhile Sean Hannity calls Meghan Markle "very uppity."
@PD Pepe: According to a Media Matters transcript, Hannity did not call Markle "uppity," but one of his radio producers, Lynda McLaughlin, did so on his radio show. There's no indication Hannity called her out for her blatantly racist remark.
The Libby Watson piece (linked above) should be required reading for any registered Democrat (especially the Wasserman Schultz types-who will never listen to such outlandish claptrap as letting Democrats be Democrats and not off-brand wingers who won't piss off the bug-eyed horde of Trumpbots).
She is exactly correct when she mentions that no Republicans are ever, and I mean EVER asked to explain how they'll pay for...you name it...eternal war, continued obscene corporate welfare--the idea that we have to coddle giant international corporations, well, because, isn't even questioned anymore--continued obscene welfare for farmers fucked by Trump's clusterbomb of a trade war, or the fucking wall.
Only Democrats have to answer such questions. And the questions they have to answer are not "Where will we get the money to continue paying for a military that already outspends the next 20 nations put together?" or "How can we continue to allow corporations and corporate moochers (like Trump) to get away with paying zero taxes?". They're asked "How can we afford to keep people healthy?" "Why should Joe and Mary Blow in Iowa pay into a Medicare for all program so that mooching inner city types can go to the doctor?", "Why is education important?" and "What can you say to far-right religious conservatives that will make them not hate you for supporting Planned Parenthood?"
It's time for Democrats to throw it right back in the face of these assholes. But they have been, and continue to be hamstrung by, as Watson puts it, institutional timidity. Confederates never have to answer why they support institutional racism, they tell you to fuck off, but Democrats are constantly held over the fire for backing programs that help the have-nots, and the have-nothings. Instead we're still treated to stories about lazy welfare moms driving Cadillacs and eating filet mignon on the dimes of good honest, hardworking Iowa farmers (the ones being paid $100,000 in welfare a year by Trump because he wants their votes).
As an example of the institutionalized media thinking that forces Democrats to explain why they aren't better Republicans, let's wait for the howls about the seven House members selected by Nancy Pelosi as impeachment managers for the Senate show trial. How dare she not appoint crazed loons like Matt Gaetz and that nice Jim Jordan. Democrats are trying to railroad the president!
And as an aside to PD, did Hannity really call Meghan Markle uppity?
Holy shit. These fuckers get away with anything. I wonder how many lazy bothsider media douchebags will call him on the carpet for that? They make sure to tear into any Democrat who doesn't wear a fucking flag pin, that's for sure, but calling a black woman uppity doesn't even register, because, well, wingers have every right to express their opinions, and are you trying to infringe on his First Amendment rights? The idea!
PD,
Never mind. Just read Marie's post. Hannity is still a racist asshole and evidence to that effect is legion.
Yet another dissection of what has often been noted here:
https://www.vox.com/2020/1/15/21066935/trump-milwaukee-rally-media-sanitizing-npr
Linked with my hope that the Pretender's "enemy of the people" will in 2020 take a turn not right or left but toward honest and complete reporting and thus become a friend of the people and by objective corollary the enemy of the Pretender that honest reporting would demand.
In a NYT 's article about US/China trade it is mentioned that one of the US concerns is China subsidizing companies.
I wonder how China views US companies earning billions and paying no taxes or, even worse, claiming tax "refunds"?
Reading McConnell on all the awful things that will happen if the senate gives honest consideration to all the crimes this administration has committed I noticed the most important (to him) one. "If we don't speedily acquit the president I'll be moving out of my fancy office and have to go back to Kentucky."
Regardless of the 2020 elections, I'm damn proud the history books will record the House Dems entrapping the Unfit in Chief in impeachment purgatory.
The Senate trial will be mostly theatrics for most uninformed Americans, but I'm proud of the diverse and intelligent group Pelosi had put together for Team Constitution. Anyone tuning in will be unable to unsee the stark contrasts between a representation America (gender & race) versus geriatric white males defending ethno-nationalism with all their twilight capacity to hold on to disappearing dominance. And Adam Shiff is a fire-spitter that takes no shit. We need him to burn the path in the Senate as fierce as climate change is scarring Austrialian.
Take no prisoners, except Drumpf.
Safari,
“Team Constitution”. I like it. They’re the group who believe that the Constitution and the rule of law are vital to the roles and actions of the three branches of government. Republicans, of course, are the other guys.
With Drumpf's fascination about toilet flushing I wonder if he isn't aware that a roll of toilet paper is not a single-serving product.
Unwashed,
Very likely, someone so completely full of shit would find it impossible that normal people could find a few square pulls of TP perfectly acceptable for the job at hand.