;)
The Commentariat -- January 27, 2021
Afternoon Update:
David Sanger of the New York Times: "When President Biden swore in a batch of recruits for his new administration in a teleconferenced ceremony late last week..., a far less visible transition was taking place: the quiet dismissal of holdovers from the Trump administration, who have been asked to clean out their offices immediately, whatever the eventual legal consequences. If there has been a single defining feature of the first week of the Biden administration, it has been the blistering pace at which the new president has put his mark on what ... Donald J. Trump dismissed as the hostile 'Deep State' and tried so hard to dismantle.... The Biden team arrived in Washington not only with plans for each department and agency, but the spreadsheets detailing who would carry them out.... The president's real grasp on the levers of power has come several layers down [from Cabinet-level jobs].... The contrast with the Trump administration at a similar point in time is striking.... Many of Mr. Trump's appointees ... arrived with instructions to cut, and it became a point of pride among Trump administration officials to leave jobs open." MB: IOW, Biden is giving us back a functioning federal government. ~~~
~~~ Josh Gerstein & Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "The Biden administration on Wednesday made its first move to set the nation's immigration courts in a new direction, announcing plans to replace the official who has overseen the system for nearly four years. One week into President Joe Biden's term, the Justice Department said Jean King will soon take over on an acting basis as director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. King, a former EOIR general counsel who currently serves as the office's chief administrative law judge, will replace James McHenry, a close ally of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.... The personnel change comes after complaints from immigration advocates who were troubled to see McHenry's name on the agency-wide list the Justice Department released last Thursday of those holding top posts on an acting or continuing basis for the first weeks of the Biden presidency."
Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden will make tackling America's persistent racial and economic disparities a central part of his plan to combat climate change, prioritizing environmental justice for the first time in a generation. As part of an unprecedented push to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and create new jobs as the United States shifts toward cleaner energy, Biden will direct agencies across the federal government to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution, White House officials said. Biden will sign an executive order establishing a White House interagency council on environmental justice, create an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department, and form a separate environmental justice office at the Justice Department. The order also directs the government to spend 40 percent of its sustainability investments on disadvantaged communities."
Dan Diamond & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Federal officials repeatedly raided a fund earmarked for biomedical research in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, spending millions of dollars to pay for unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture, according to the findings from an investigation into a whistleblower complaint shared with The Washington Post. The investigation, conducted by the Health and Human Services Department's inspector general and overseen by the Office of Special Counsel, centered on hundreds of millions of dollars intended for the development of vaccines, drugs and therapies by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA, an arm of the federal health department. The unidentified whistleblower alleged that officials in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS, which oversaw the biomedical agency, wrongly dipped into the money set aside by Congress for development of lifesaving medicines, beginning in fiscal year 2010 and continuing through at least fiscal year 2019, spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations. The inspector general substantiated some of the whistleblowe's claims, finding that staff referred to the agency as the 'bank of BARDA' and told investigators that research and development funds were regularly tapped for unrelated projects, sometimes at 'exorbitant' rates." ~~~
~~~ Marie: It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rick Bright -- who led BARDA for a time until Trump had him removed -- had to do with the illegal transfers. Was he a whistleblower, did he try to stop the transactions, or did he facilitate them?
House to Investigate a Totally Trumpy Scam. Reed Albergotti & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "A House subcommittee is investigating a government deal to buy $70 million worth of ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic response that a Washington Post investigation found were inadequate for treating most covid-19 patients. Last spring..., the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Logistics Agency purchased 11,200 AutoMedx SAVe II+ ventilators from Combat Medical Systems.... But the ventilators were inadequate for treating covid-19 patients and remain in warehouses, according to Stephanie Bialek, a spokeswoman for the Strategic National Stockpile. 'AutoMedx appears to be the beneficiary of a potentially tainted procurement process,' Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the chairman of the House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy.... The Post previously reported that Adrian Urias, AutoMedx's co-founder and current shareholder, advised the Trump administration's covid-19 task force on ventilator purchases. In March, when the government posted the minimum specifications that ventilator manufacturers had to meet..., those specifications were nearly identical to a spec sheet listed on AutoMedx's website at the time." ~~~
~~~ Marie: This isn't one of those sexy scandals, & by federal government standards, a fairly small amount of change got dropped. So (1) the government tells a vendor to tell the government what it needs; (2) the vendor tells the government it needs the vendor's own product; (3) the government buys the vendors' product; and (4) the vendor's product doesn't work. And Americans died because of it. This is a very Trumpy scam.
The Chickenshits Come Home to Roost. David Siders of Politico: "For a moment, it looked like Donald Trump might be losing his iron grip on the GOP.... Not anymore. Local and state Republican parties are censuring Republicans for disloyalty in states across the country. The lawmakers who broke with him are weathering a storm of criticism from Trump-adoring constituents at home, with punitive primary challenges already taking shape. In Washington, party leaders who once suggested Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan. 6 violence are backtracking. On Tuesday, 45 Republican senators -- all but five members of the GOP conference -- voted that putting a former president on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional, all but guaranteeing the Senate won't convict him. If the Republican Party seemed to be at a crossroads about its post-Trump future, it now appears to have concluded in which direction to travel."
Militiaman Agrees to Sing. Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "One of the Michigan militiamen accused of conspiring to overthrow the state government, kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for 'treason' before Election Day has pleaded guilty in the foiled plot. Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the kidnapping conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the bizarre case that made national headlines in October. Fourteen men were accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and discussing plans to attack the state Capitol building and a police facility, and possibly take out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, too. Prosecutors allege the group, which included several militia group members, were frustrated over strict COVID-19 lockdown orders in Democrat-run states. According to the plea agreement, Garbin has agreed to 'fully cooperate' with the federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies."
You Just Can't Trust Nobody. Aram Roston of Reuters: "Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters. In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio's own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others. 'I don't know any of this,' he said, when asked about the transcript. 'I don't recall any of this.' Law-enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrio's denial."
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here.
~~~~~~~~~~
Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Tuesday ordered the Department of Justice to end its reliance on private prisons and acknowledge the central role government has played in implementing discriminatory housing policies. In remarks before signing the order, Biden said the U.S. government needs to change 'its whole approach' on the issue of racial equity. He added that the nation is less prosperous and secure because of the scourge of systemic racism.... Beyond calling on the Justice Department to curb the use of private prisons and address housing discrimination, the new orders will recommit the federal government to respect tribal sovereignty and disavow discrimination against the Asian American and Pacific Islander community over the coronavirus pandemic. Biden directed the Department of Housing and Urban Development in a memorandum to take steps to promote equitable housing policy. The memorandum calls for HUD to examine the effects of Trump regulatory actions that may have undermined fair housing policies and laws."
Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "President Biden and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia agreed to extend the last remaining nuclear arms treaty between their countries..., the White House said. It was the first call between the leaders of the world&'s two nuclear superpowers since Mr. Biden's inauguration. The New Start treaty, which limits the size of the two countries' strategic nuclear arsenals, expires on Feb. 5, and the call appeared to seal a last-minute agreement to extend the treaty after the Trump administration declined to do so. But on a host of other high-stakes matters, Mr. Biden sent the message that he would be taking a harder line on Russia than his predecessor. He raised the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, whose arrest on Jan. 17 sparked protests across the country last weekend, the White House said. He also spoke to Mr. Putin about what American officials have described as a highly sophisticated hack of American government networks, reports of Russia placing bounties on American soldiers in Afghanistan, and what the White House said was 'interference in the 2020 United States election.'" Politico's report is here. Here's the White House readout of their conversation.
Nahal Toosi of Politico: "Antony Blinken was confirmed as secretary of State on Tuesday, taking the reins of U.S. foreign policy amid major global challenges and following years of turmoil at the State Department. Blinken won bipartisan approval in the Senate, with a vote of 78-22. He's expected to begin work almost immediately, including by addressing the workforce at Foggy Bottom.... Blinken is well known in Foggy Bottom, where he served as John Kerry's deputy from 2015 to 2017. That familiarity may help him address the State Department's sagging morale: Foreign Service officers and other officials often felt marginalized under Trump, who generally ignored their advice and accused them of being members of a 'deep state' bent on thwarting his policies. Trump's first secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, frequently sidelined career officials and concentrated decision-making in the hands of a few top aides. Trump's second secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, improved morale when he first took over, but soon lost the confidence of many veteran diplomats. His refusal to stand up for Marie Yovanovitch, the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine caught up in Trump's first impeachment trial, was a particular sore point." The New York Times' story is here.
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Janet L. Yellen was sworn in as the secretary of the Treasury Department on Tuesday by Vice President Kamala Harris, a history-making moment as both are the first women to hold two of the most powerful jobs in the United States government. Ms. Yellen is the nation's 78th Treasury secretary and the first woman to head the institution in its 232-year history. She is also the first woman to have held all three top economic jobs in the government, having served as chair of the Federal Reserve and the Council of Economic Advisers."
Michael Balsamo & Colleen Long of the AP: "The Justice Department rescinded a Trump-era memo that established a 'zero tolerance' enforcement policy for migrants crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally, which resulted in thousands of family separations. Acting Attorney General Monty Wilkinson issued the new memo to federal prosecutors across the nation on Tuesday, saying the department would return to its longstanding previous policy and instructing prosecutors to act on the merits of individual cases.... While the rescinding of 'zero tolerance' is in part symbolic, it undoes the Trump administration's massively unpopular policy responsible for the separation of more than 5,500 children from their parents at the U.S-Mexico border.... President Joe Biden has issued an executive order to undo some of Trump's restrictive policies, but the previous administration has so altered the immigration landscape that it will take quite a while to untangle all the major changes."
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) told Democrats on a conference call on Tuesday that they could vote as soon as next week on a budget resolution that would pave the way for coronavirus legislation to pass the chamber with a simple majority. Schumer, who disclosed the detail to reporters during a press conference, didn't commit to using reconciliation -- a budget process that bypasses the 60-vote filibuster -- but warned that Democrats were willing to go it alone. 'We want to work with our Republican colleagues to advance this legislation,' Schumer said. '[But] we're keeping all our options open, on the table, including budget reconciliation.'... Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the incoming Budget Committee chairman, said he was already drafting instructions for reconciliation that would include a directive for an increase in the minimum wage as part of the eventual coronavirus legislation."
Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The first step toward victory is a government that can act. So, sure, moderate Democrats [like Senators Joe Manchin & Kyrsten Sinema] can keep the filibuster if they want. But they should prepare for when the voting public decides it would rather have the party that promises nothing and does nothing than the one that promises quite a bit but won't work to make any of it a reality." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Jacob Pramuk of CNBC: "Democrats in the House and Senate reintroduced a bill Tuesday to raise the U.S. minimum wage to $15 per hour, seeking fresh support for the policy during an economic crisis and with control of Congress and the White House. The legislation would gradually hike the pay floor to $15 an hour nationwide by 2025, then tie future increases to median wage growth. The measure would also end pay below the minimum wage for tipped workers, along with certain teens and people with disabilities. The party has long pushed to raise the federal minimum wage, which has stalled at $7.25 an hour since 2009."
Em Steck & Andrew Kaczynski of CNN: "Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene repeatedly indicated support for executing prominent Democratic politicians in 2018 and 2019 before being elected to Congress, a CNN KFile review of hundreds of posts and comments from Greene's Facebook page shows. Greene, who represents Georgia's 14th Congressional District, frequently posted far-right extremist and debunked conspiracy theories on her page, including the baseless QAnon conspiracy which casts ... Donald Trump in an imagined battle against a sinister cabal of Democrats and celebrities who abuse children. In one post, from January 2019, Greene liked a comment that said 'a bullet to the head would be quicker' to remove House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In other posts, Greene liked comments about executing FBI agents who, in her eyes, were part of the 'deep state' working against Trump.... In [a] Facebook Live broadcast from inside Pelosi's office on February 22, 2019, Greene suggested the House speaker will 'suffer death or she'll be in prison' for her 'treason.' Notably, Greene never mentions a trial. In another broadcast from later that day, she suggested California Rep. Maxine Waters was 'just as guilty of treason as Nancy Pelosi.'" ~~~
~~~ As Rachel Maddow noted Tuesday night, there's no indication that there will be any repercussions for Greene's threats against Pelosi, Waters & FBI agents, "because that's not weird for the Republican party any more." MB: It's getting close to time for the FBI to list the Republican party as a terrorist organization. More on their pro-terrorist activities linked under "Remembering the Kaiser" below.
Nicole Narea of Vox: "A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Joe Biden's attempt to pause deportations for 100 days, marking the new administration's first major defeat on immigration policy. US District Judge Drew Tipton, a Trump appointee, issued a temporary restraining order preventing the administration from stopping deportations for a period of 14 days. Though the moratorium on deportations could still go into effect once Tipton issues a final ruling, he said the administration likely did not sufficiently explain the reasoning behind the policy change and may have violated federal immigration law requiring that a noncitizen be removed from the US within 90 days of being ordered deported by an immigration judge. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton -- who is currently under investigation for bribery, abuse of office, and other potential crimes -- is leading the legal challenge to the policy, arguing that it violates an agreement with the Department of Homeland Security that the state signed shortly before ... Donald Trump left office.... Ken Cuccinelli, formerly the second-highest-ranking official at DHS, secretly signed a memorandum of understanding with Texas during his final days at the agency, in an apparent attempt to impede the Biden administration from dismantling Trump's immigration legacy." Thanks to RAS for the link.
Benjamin Din of Politico: "Marty Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post who led the newsroom to 10 Pulitzer Prizes, will retire at the end of February, he announced in a newsroom memo Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.) A Washington Post story is here.
Derrick Taylor of the New York Times: "CBS has placed two top TV executives on leave after a report detailing accusations that they had created a hostile work environment, including making disparaging remarks about female and Black employees. The executives, Peter Dunn, the president of CBS television stations, and David Friend, the senior vice president of news for TV stations, were placed on administrative leave pending the results of a third-party investigation, the company said in a statement on Monday.... The suspensions came after The Los Angeles Times published a report on Sunday in which employees accused the executives of 'bullying female managers and blocking efforts to hire and retain Black journalists.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Technical Difficulties. Rachel Lerman of the Washington Post: "People across the East Coast were having trouble accessing core Internet services Tuesday morning, just as they were logging on for work and school. Users reported trouble loading Gmail, Slack and Zoom -- apps that have become necessities to keep work-from-home life running smoothly during the coronavirus pandemic. On Twitter, which many still were able to access, people reported they were seeing issues with their Verizon Fios Internet service. DownDetector, which tracks reports of outages, showed widespread issues with Verizon, Google, Zoom, YouTube, Slack, Amazon WebServices and others Tuesday just before noon. It was not immediately clear what was causing the outages." (Also linked yesterday.)
Remembering the Kaiser
Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), who is set to preside over the impeachment trial of former President Trump, was taken to the hospital Tuesday, his office said in a statement. Leahy, 80, 'was not feeling well' in his Capitol office and examined by the attending physician, said David Carle, a spokesperson for the Vermont senator. 'Out of an abundance of caution, the Attending Physician recommended that he be taken to a local hospital for observation, where he is now, and where he is being evaluated,' Carle said." Update: Rachel Maddow reported at 9: 23 pm ET that Leahy had been released from the hospital; a CNN story is here.
Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "All but five Republican senators backed ... Donald Trump Tuesday in a key test vote Tuesday ahead of his forthcoming impeachment trial, signaling that the proceedings are likely to end with Trump's acquittal on the charge that he incited the Jan. 6 Capitol riot. Trump's trial is not scheduled to begin until Feb. 9, but senators were sworn in for the proceedings Tuesday and immediately voted on an objection raised by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) questioning the constitutional basis for the impeachment and removal of a former president. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) immediately moved to kill Paul's objection, prompting a vote. Only five Republican senators voted against Paul -- Sens. Susan M. Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Patrick J. Toomey (Pa.).... Notably, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) -- who had previously said Trump had 'provoked' the Capitol mob -- voted to back Paul and Trump." Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times story by Nicholas Fandos is here. His lede: "Senate Republicans rallied on Tuesday against trying ... Donald J. Trump for 'incitement of insurrection' at the Capitol, with only five members of his party joining Democrats in a vote to go forward with his impeachment trial." MB: That's right: 45 Senators "rallied around" a mob boss who sent his mob into their place of work to kill them. They are, as Forrest M. has dubbed them, "psychophants." ~~~
~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "The majority of Senate Republicans remain every bit as timorous and intellectually slippery as they were in 2020 when they voted to acquit Donald Trump and when they sought to overturn the election.... A well-balanced and detailed report by the [nonpartisan] Congressional Research Service recalls: 'The House has never impeached, nor has the Senate ever tried, a former President. However, both chambers have previously determined that they retain power to proceed against an executive branch official that has resigned from office. The principal precedent is the 1876 impeachment of Secretary of War William Belknap....' ... According to the CRS report, 'a number of scholars have argued that the delegates at the Constitutional Convention appeared to accept that former officials may be impeached for conduct that occurred while in office.'" Rubin suggests Democrats call Republicans' bluff by forcing them to vote on stipulating the known facts, presented in video form. "Since these facts are not in doubt, call for a unanimous vote putting the Senate on record as to the evidence.... Finally, force a vote on conviction [based on the stiuplated facts]." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The main thing we found out for certain (-- we always figured as much --) about elected Republicans is that there is no bottom to their treachery. Even when Trump tried to turn our representative democracy into a dictatorship with an unelected tyrant at the top, even when he threatened their very lives & that of the Vice President by siccing a violent mob on them -- they find excuses for him. They oppose the fundamental principles laid down in the preamble to the Constitution: to "...establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty...." Once one has denied the basics, anything goes. And that's the Republican way.
Paul Sonne of the Washington Post: "The commander of the D.C. National Guard said the Pentagon restricted his authority ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol, requiring higher level sign-off to respond that cost time as the events that day spiraled out of control. Local commanders typically have the power to take military action on their own to save lives or prevent significant property damage in an urgent situation when there isn't enough time to obtain approval from headquarters. But Maj. Gen. William J. Walker, the commanding general of the District of Columbia National Guard, said the Pentagon essentially took that power and other authorities away from him ahead of a pro-Trump protest on Jan. 6. That meant he couldn't immediately roll out troops when he received a panicked phone call from the Capitol Police chief warning that rioters were about to enter the U.S. Capitol.... The Pentagon required the highest-level approval for any moves beyond that narrow mission, in part because its leaders had been lambasted for actions the D.C. Guard took during last June's racial justice protests...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The acting chief of the Capitol Police apologized to Congress on Tuesday for the agency's massive security failures on Jan. 6, acknowledging during a closed-door briefing that the department knew there was a 'strong potential for violence' but failed to take adequate steps to prevent what she described as a 'terrorist attack.' Yogananda D. Pittman, the acting chief of police, also confirmed that the Capitol Police Board, an obscure panel made up of three voting members, had initially declined a request two days earlier for National Guard troops and then delayed for more than an hour as the violence unfolded on Jan. 6 before finally agreeing to a plea from the Capitol Police for National Guard troops, according to prepared testimony obtained by The New York Times.... Chief Pittman's comments offered the fullest detailed account to date...." Pittman was not yet acting chief on January 6. The Hill's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The Capitol Police department on Tuesday delivered to Congress its first after-action report since the deadly pro-Trump assault on the Capitol, laying out a dismal picture of failure to prepare adequately despite knowing days ahead of time that right-wing extremists could target lawmakers." This is a somewhat more detailed version of the story above (different links).
** How Trump & Allies Endangered the Lives of Congressman's & News Anchor's Families. Jonah Bromich of the New York Times: "The same day that a mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol and tried to stop Congress from certifying President Biden's electoral victory, the brother of Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York received several troubling text messages.... Robert Lemke, 35, of Bay Point, Calif., told Representative Jeffries's brother in the texts that he was part of a group of 'active/retired law enforcement or military,' and that the group had 'armed members near your home.'... The source of the threats on Jan. 6 remained unclear until Tuesday, when federal authorities in New York City arrested a California man and charged him with sending those messages, among others.... On the same day, the complaint said, Mr. Lemke also threatened a family member of George Stephanopoulos, the ABC News anchor and former White House communications director under President Bill Clinton. Mr. Lemke texted a relative of Mr. Stephanopoulos, saying that the journalist's 'words are putting you and your family at risk. We are nearby armed and ready.'... In the days after the presidential election, Mr. Lemke posted ominous messages to his Facebook account.... In one post, he said to his followers: 'Folks. Be ready for war. Trump has refused to cede.'" An AP story is here.
Alan Feuer & Frances Robles of the New York Times: "The leadership of the Proud Boys has come under increased scrutiny as agents and prosecutors across the country try to determine how closely members of the far-right nationalist group communicated during the riot at the Capitol this month and to what extent they might have planned the assault in advance, according to federal law enforcement officials. At least six members of the organization have been charged in connection with the riot, including one of its top-ranking leaders, Joseph Biggs. Mr. Biggs, a U.S. Army veteran, led about 100 men on an angry march from the site of ... Donald J. Trump's speech toward -- and then into -- the Capitol building. The Proud Boys, who have a history of scuffling with left-wing antifascist activists, have long been some of Mr. Trump's most vocal, and violent, supporters, and he has returned the favor, telling them during one of the presidential debates to 'stand back and stand by.' Along with the right-wing militia the Oath Keepers, the Proud Boys was one of the extremist groups with a large presence at the Capitol incursion, investigators said."
Andrew Oxford of the Arizona Republic: "Two Arizona legislators who went to the U.S. Capitol the day it was stormed by a mob ... will not provide emails or text messages about their travel to Washington, D.C. The Arizona Republic asked the state House of Representatives to provide any such messages from Rep. Mark Finchem, R-Oro Valley, and then-Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, under public records laws. But responding through a private attorney, and not the House, the duo said they would not turn over any records that are on their 'personal devices,' arguing that these are not public records. The letter also noted the ongoing FBI investigation into the storming of the U.S. Capitol and added that even if the lawmakers agreed the records were public, 'the threat of criminal prosecution gives rise to certain Constitutional rights that may overcome the duty to disclose otherwise public documents under Arizona's public records law.' Arizona courts have ruled that records on a public official's private device can be considered a public record if those records relate to public business and the phone was used for a public purpose.... Finchem and Kern both signed on to a 'joint resolution' with many Republican legislators ... arguing that Congress should not accept Arizona's electoral college votes and their trip to Washington, D.C. appeared to be an extension of that campaign."
Eddie Burkhalter of the Alabama Political Reporter: "The night before the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville and the then-director of the Republican Attorneys General Association met with ... Donald Trump's sons and close advisers, according to a social media post by a Nebraska Republican who at the time was a Trump administration appointee. Charles W. Herbster, who was then the national chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee in Trump's administration, in a Facebook post ... said that he was standing 'in th private residence of the President at Trump International with the following patriots who are joining me in a battle for justice and truth.' Tuberville, through a spokeswoman Tuesday, told APR that he did not attend a Jan. 5 meeting at the Trump International Hotel.... Among the attendees, according to Herbster's post, were Tuberville, former RAGA director Adam Piper, Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump..., Michael Flynn..., Peter Navarro..., Corey Lewandowski and 2016 deputy campaign manager David Bossie. RAGA's dark-money fundraising arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund, led by Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, paid for robocalls directing people to the March to Save America and rally, which took place just before the Capitol attack."
Pennsylvania. Holly Otterbein of Politico: "Pennsylvania once stocked D.C. with a steady stream of establishment Republicans. Now, in the wake of Donald Trump's reelection defeat, it's better known for its GOP hard-liners -- among them, Scott Perry, the congressman who recently made headlines for his behind-the-scenes efforts to assist Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. The state GOP's transformation from the party of former Sens. Arlen Specter and John Heinz -- and Govs. Dick Thornburgh and Tom Ridge -- to a bastion of Trump loyalists has been decades in the making. But the shift has perhaps never been so obvious as in the past two months when Republicans here were repeatedly thrust into the spotlight for their role in trying to override President Joe Biden's victory."
Maria Santana & Chris Isidore of CNN: "Goya's board of directors had enough of CEO Robert Unanue's public comments in support of ... Donald Trump and his unfounded claims of voter fraud. On Friday, it voted to muzzle him. The board of the privately held Latino food company voted to censure Unanue, following his most recent controversial remarks that questioned the legitimacy of the November election, according to a person familiar with the board's actions.... Unanue will no longer be allowed to speak to the media without the board's permission, the source said.... The source said this is a 'full stop' on Unanue speaking to the press, not only about politics, but also about the company itself." Leave us not forget Ivanka's Goya sales pitch.
Ken Vogel of the New York Times: In the ad hoc clemency system the White House used, people "skipped the line and got their petitions directly on the president's desk because they had money or connections, or allies who did.... Of the nearly 240 pardons and commutations issued by Mr. Trump, only 25 came through the rigorous process for identifying and vetting worthy clemency petitions overseen by the Justice Department, according to a tally kept partly by Margaret Love, who ran the department's clemency process from 1990 to 1997 as the United States pardon attorney. The system has a backlog of 14,000 applications.... In addition to rewarding people ... whose allies could afford to buy access to the highest levels of the administration, the results included pardons for people with direct personal relationships with the former president.... The Justice Department had recommended against clemency for some of the people granted it by Mr. Trump.... And some pardon recipients -- including [Roger] Stone, [Steve] Bannon and [Paul] Manafort -- would not have been eligible under the department's rules, which require people to wait five years after being released from confinement to apply.... 'This is the ultimate corruption of a system that was set up to serve a public purpose, but has been privatized to allow anybody who has connections to get to the front of the line,' said Ms. Love...." (Also linked yesterday.)
Homeless Mike, Couch Surfer. Mike Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Tuesday, Business Insider reported that former Vice President Mike Pence and his wife Karen do not have a permanent residence since leaving the vice president's mansion -- and though Republicans close to the couple aren't exactly sure of their current living arrangements, they believe the former second couple is 'couch-surfing' at the residences of various Indiana officials.... 'Republicans who spoke with Insider also said they wondered whether Pence and his team are closely guarding their new domicile because of the wave of death threats he faced just three weeks ago,' said the report. The Business Insider report is here; firewalled. MB: Don't feel too sorry for homeless mike. He has up to $1mm in a retirement account, plus whatever he's due annually for his federal government service as a member of Congress & veep; also, he probably gets retirement benefits as a former governor. In addition, of course, he can make plenty giving speeches & sitting on boards. And Karen is probably a great seamstress; she'll let out your favorite dress for a fee.
Donie O'Sullivan of CNN: "Mike Lindell, the CEO of MyPillow, was banned from Twitter Monday night, according to a Twitter spokesperson. Twitter made its decision based on a new policy it enacted after the Capitol insurrection whereby people who repeatedly share election misinformation can be permanently banned.... It is not immediately clear which tweets lead [led] to Lindell's ban." MB: Sure hope Mike wasn't your very favorite tweeter. (Also linked yesterday.)
Is Kellyanne Conway the Mom from Hell? MB: I don't know whether or not this story is true, but according to numerous media reports, Conway posted on Twitter a topless photo of her teenaged daughter Claudia. Claudia & her parents Kellyanne & George have been in a well-publicized battle over the past several months. (Supposedly, Kellyanne quit her White House gig to actually spend more time with her family; posting a nude photo of her daughter does not seem like good use of that time.) Still, it's hard to believe a parent would do this to a child, so I'll give Mrs. Alternate Facts the benefit of the doubt unless & until I learn otherwise. (Also linked yesterday.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Sheryl Stolberg, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden, under intense pressure to speed up the pace of coronavirus vaccination, said Tuesday that his administration was nearing a deal with two manufacturers that would enable 300 million Americans to have their shots by the end of the summer. Supplies to the states will be increasing by 16 percent beginning next week, according to figures provided by Mr. Biden, who promised that his administration would give governors something they had long asked for: certainty over the supply they would receive. He said states would now have three weeks' advance notice of how many doses they would get. 'Until now we've had to guess how much vaccine to expect for the next week, and that's what the governors had to do: "How much am I getting next week?"' the president said. 'This is unacceptable. Lives are at stake here.'" ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Drew of the AP: "An increasing number of COVID-19 vaccination sites around the U.S. are canceling appointments because of vaccine shortages in a rollout so rife with confusion that even the new CDC director [Dr. Rochelle Walensky] admitted she doesn't know exactly how many shots are in the pipeline. States were expected to find out their latest weekly allocation of vaccines on Tuesday amid complaints from governors and top health officials about inadequate supplies and the need for earlier and more reliable estimates of how much is on the way so that they can plan accordingly.... The setup [Biden] inherited from the Trump administration has been marked by frustration, miscommunication and unexplained bottlenecks, with shortages reported in some places even as vaccine doses remain on the shelf." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Federal allocations of coronavirus vaccine doses to states and other jurisdictions are expected to increase by about 16 percent next week, easing shortages that have intensified nationwide without fully alleviating supply problems. Jeff Zients, coordinator of the White House's coronavirus response, is expected to inform governors of the increase on a call Tuesday afternoon, according to two people...." (Also linked yesterday.) A Hill story is here.
Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "President Biden is scheduled to take executive actions as early as Thursday to reopen federal marketplaces selling Affordable Care Act health plans and to lower recent barriers to joining Medicaid. The orders will be Biden's first steps since taking office to help Americans gain health insurance, a prominent campaign goal that has assumed escalating significance as the pandemic has dramatized the need for affordable health care -- and deprived millions of Americans coverage as they have lost jobs in the economic fallout. Under one order, HealthCare.gov, the online insurance marketplace for Americans who cannot get affordable coverage through their jobs, will swiftly reopen for at least a few months.... Another part of Biden's scheduled actions ... is intended to reverse Trump-era changes to Medicaid that critics say damaged Americans' access to the safety-net insurance." (Also linked yesterday.)
Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday spoke in personal terms about a 'full circle' moment after receiving the second dose of the Moderna Covid-19 vaccine at the same National Institutes of Health building her late mother had frequented for work. 'I have the luxury of being here at this moment on just the fifth day of our administration -- coming full circle because, you see, NIH was such a huge part of my youth as this place that my mother went all the time and was very excited to work,' Harris recalled moments after receiving her shot." ~~~
~~~ If you wonder why Harris made such a show of it, there's this alarming story: ~~~
~~~ Rachel Chason, et al., of the Washington Post: "A large percentage of nursing home workers in D.C., Maryland and Virginia have declined to take the coronavirus vaccine, officials say, presenting a major challenge in the region's plans to protect its most vulnerable residents. Nursing home workers were first offered the vaccine in late December and early January, along with residents of long-term care facilities and other health-care workers. Their wariness, providers and union representatives say, is fueled by online misinformation about the vaccine and historical mistrust of the medical system of which they are a part.... In an internal document obtained by The Washington Post, Maryland health officials said that as of Tuesday, only about 58 percent of the doses allocated to nursing home staff and residents had been administered -- even though vaccination clinics have been conducted at every facility."
Good News. Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "Schools operating in person have seen scant transmission of the coronavirus, particularly when masks and distancing are employed, but some indoor athletics have led to infections and should be curtailed if schools want to operate safely, researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in papers published Tuesday. The CDC team reviewed data from studies in the United States and abroad and found the experience in schools differed from nursing homes and high-density work sites where rapid spread has occurred.... The review, which echoes the conclusions of other researchers, comes as many school districts continue to wrestle with whether and how to reopen schools and as President Biden makes a return to in-person learning one of his top pandemic-related priorities."
Antonia Farzan of the Washington Post: "Located deep in Canada's Yukon, the remote community of Beaver Creek is home to only about 100 people, most of them members of the White River First Nation. So when an unfamiliar couple who claimed to work at a local motel showed up at a mobile clinic to receive coronavirus vaccines..., authorities soon found that the couple were actually wealthy Vancouver residents who had chartered a private plane to the isolated outpost so that they could get shots intended to protect vulnerable Indigenous elders. 'I can't believe I've ever seen or heard of such a despicable, disgusting sense of entitlement and lack of a moral compass,' Mike Farnworth, the British Columbia solicitor general, said Monday, according to the Vancouver Sun. Canadian media outlets have identified the couple as casino executive Rodney Baker, 55, and his wife, Ekaterina Baker, a 32-year-old actress whose recent credits include the 2020 films 'Fatman' and 'Chick Fight.'" ~~~
~~~ Leyland Cecco of the Guardian: "The former head of a Canadian casino company and his actor wife have been fined after chartering a private plane to a remote community near the Alaska border and receiving coronavirus vaccines meant for vulnerable Indigenous residents.... Until resigning Sunday, Rodney Baker was head of the Great Canadian Gaming Corporation, which runs racetracks and casinos across the country. His total annual compensation in 2019 was C$10.6m, according to the Yukon News."
Beyond the Beltway
Trouble in Oregon
(1) Crazy People Run Oregon GOP. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "In Oregon, the state Republican Party isn't just backing ... Donald Trump -- its official position falsely claims that the entire [siege of the U.S. Capitol] was a 'false flag' operation staged to discredit the GOP and silence Trump's supporters. Last week, the state party released a resolution passed by its executive committee that says the supposedly fake operation was meant to undermine Trump and give more power to President Biden, citing websites by John Solomon and the Trump-friendly Epoch Times. 'The violence at the Capitol was a "false flag" operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans; this provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democratic goal of seizing total power,' the resolution says." (Also linked yesterday.)
(2) Shane Kavanaugh of the Oregonian: "Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler blasted with pepper spray an unmasked man who confronted him and former Mayor Sam Adams with a video camera as the two left a pub Sunday night, the two men told police." Wheeler had an exchange with the man who complained Wheeler had not worn a mask while dining. "The man then followed Wheeler closely as he walked to his car, the mayor told police. 'He had no face mask on and got within a foot or two of my face while he was videoing me,' Wheeler said, according to the police report.... 'I clearly informed him that he needed to back off. He did not do so I informed him that I was carrying pepper spray and that I would use it if he did not back off. He remained at close distance, I pulled out my pepper spray and I sprayed him in the eyes.' Afterward, Wheeler said, he provided the man with a bottle of water to rinse his face." (Also linked yesterday.)
Way Beyond
Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte of Italy resigned on Tuesday after weeks of political infighting, thrusting the country into renewed instability as the coronavirus pandemic ravages lives and livelihoods.... As in the rest of Europe, Italy's immunization campaign has been held up by production delays for the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech. At the current pace, it would take almost five years to vaccinate the majority of Italians, according to the most recent data. Mr. Conte's is serving his second consecutive stint as prime minister -- first as the head of an alliance of right-wing nationalists and populists, and then leading a coalition of populists and the center-left establishment that focused almost exclusively on the pandemic." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
CNBC: "Americans continued to hit the unemployment line last week in large numbers as the ongoing surge of Covid cases added to America's unemployment problem. Jobless claims totaled 900,000 for the week ended Jan. 16, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That was slightly less than the Dow Jones estimate of 925,000 and below the previous week's downwardly revised total of 926,000."
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Reader Comments (20)
l missed this one:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-lawsuit-washington-oregon/dozens-of-groups-sue-u-s-government-over-seattle-national-archives-closure-idUSKBN29A0HW
Easier for schools to teach the "real" American history of the Northwest if on their way to California and Missouri (to Senator Hawley's personal collection?), you lose the archived records of the phony history that all those librul teachers are foisting on our unsuspecting youth.
As a take off on our government "A Republic, if you can keep it" I would suggest we change it to "A Republic, if you want it," It would seem most republican senators prefer a kleptocracy.
The government has about as much business privatizing prisons as it does privatizing wars: none. Those two things just like insuring the health and wellness of the citizens is THE BUSINESS OF GOVERNMENT! (I promise not to use cap-locks again for a while.)
I have to second a reaction Ken mentioned yesterday. My system is clearly not detoxed enough, at least not yet.
Listening to a news report that begins with something along the lines of “Today, the president...”, I am still bracing myself for something stupid, illegal, cruel, corrupt, self-serving, or vile, maybe all of the above. When the report continues and I hear that the president did something good, necessary, worthwhile, decent, compassionate, or smart, the relief is palpable. We have a real President, qualified, humane, responsible, respectful, truthful AND elected by an overwhelming majority of Americans.
Oh, what a relief it is.
If Charlie Brown Democrats aren't completely fed up with being Lucied by sniveling little creeps like Rand Paul, I don't know when they ever will.
It's time to stop bringing knives to these gun fights (in too many cases they're plastic knives). Time to start kicking traitor ass.
Kill that fucking filibuster. Today. Then go to work for the American people.
This isn't just another "What about me?" stunt by the littlest treason collaborator, although everthing he does has that stench. This is yet another Republican finger in the eye of the rule of law and the Constitution. The idea that Fatty is beyond the law because he's now on the golf course every day is beyond ridiculous. This isn't much different than Turtle Man telling President Obama that he, not the president, gets to decide who goes to the Supreme Court.
Time to start fighting back. Hard. Time for Schumer to announce that he's not taking any prisoners.
Fucking traitors, every last one of 'em.
Is there anything that this corrupt, despicable, sociopath and his administration accomplished that we could slap on a "good job done"? As I listen to what Biden and his team are proposing it's like having to clean up a hoarder's home along with all the stray cats that left behind a stench that will take fumigation to rid it. Or maybe that's too tame–-how about cleaning up a serial killer's abode whose back yard has all the dead bodies.
And so while we are trying to get our house back in order we also want a reckoning–-an acknowledgement of an insurrection proposed and orchestrated by HIM. We, of course, have four years of evidence but we have to make this REAL simple since most of the GOPee-ers don't cotton to any of it––these people who took an oath to protect and defend are not protecting and defending only themselves and an ex president that besmirched that office. Or as whats-her-name said yesterday, "Get over it! Let's move on."
Would that the headlines in papers throughout the country in bold letters on the front page convey the obstruction from Republicans:
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY DOES NOT CARE ABOUT YOU! and in smaller print–-"except for a very few" and then name them.
Is this naive? Perhaps–– but those like Paul, Cruz, Hawley and Graham need to explain their positions ––their obstruction is, to put it politely, fucking up the progress we need to make if we are to make it at all!!!!!
Re: the Conway controversy: I'm with Marie in doubting a mother would post a nude picture of her daughter's breasts but hey, since the daughter once said she had a mother from hell ––well, then... I find it amusing that within that marriage they are on opposite political sides––unless Kellyanne was posing as a spy master––and so within that household I imagine all hell doth indeed break loose. Only those whispers from their micro-wave oven know for sure.
Oh, what to make of these Republicans who want to let bygones be bygones?
The same old thing, that's what.
So, their party's leader encouraged an insurrection. No big deal, really. Nothing wrong with that. The party that now owes its existence to a coalition of very well-financed gun-toting crazies has been mounting an insurrection for years.
A minority party, their hold on power has long been dependent on keeping the promise of American democracy at bay. Until the Pretender's arrival on the scene, they've just been a little more subtle about it, using voter suppression in the states and a barrage of filibusters in the Senate to deny any progress on race or economic issues or any need for such.
How are things? Well, they're just perfect as they are. There is no systemic racism, no climate crisis, no economic problems worthy of note in our capitalist paradise. And if you don't believe any of that, we'll just tell more lies, move our party and its supporters even farther into alternative fact land where we long ago staked our claim.
As I said, nothing new. It's all denial, top to bottom.
Was it an insurrection? We don't want to think about it. Did party leaders encourage it--whatever it was? We don't want to think about--let alone be forced to take a position on--that either. If we do, it might say too much about who we really are:
A bunch of privileged autocrats who have been running a successful con on gullible Americans since the 1980's. We don't want to talk about insurrection because at its base our con has always depended on rank rebellion.
A rebellion against truth and reality that on Jan. 6 went far beyond metaphor.
In simple terms, we care so little about the fact of democracy that when we can't suppress enough votes, we don't want to count them at all.
Don't believe that, just look at the footage. And that's the last thing, with the nation looking over their shoulders, 45 sniveling Senators want to do.
On a lighter note:
See the ex- Pretend president has just opened an office in Palm Beach.
With apologies to Bobby Lee and any other RC Floridians, have to ask if anyone else hears strong echoes of Dr. Seuss' Runaway Mayzie in reports like this?
Is it mere coincidence that 45 Senators* still support President** 45?
Are there still phone booths? If so, a phone booth in a McDonald's would make a perfect office for 45, saving lots of travel time.
I enjoyed AK's one-minute celebration of the relief we all feel when we hear about actual, concrete gestures of competency by the present admin. But then I went all-in with feeling stressed and anxious about the reality of our position, expressed by Ken, PD and others, of relying on Chuckie Schumer to get the things done that are needed, by mowing down the indescribably rotten 45 Senators from yesterday's vote. I don't trust him. He's usually a damn milktoast. I am sitting here in PA reading about the plans of the treasonous legislature (although they have not risen to the height of treason in Oregon--)to get rid of voting by mail, since that sank their 2020 hopes... I had called the office of York traitor Scott Perry at least a week and a half ago, the newspaper here wants both Perry and Smucker-the-fcker, our rep, to resign, but neither has any shame at all. I am beginning to think it is a gene thing, which they are missing, and which trump the ugly also "suffers" from. I think shame is an element of people who care how they feel about others, so maybe sociopaths are all like this. I did not know how many there are in the US-- vast underestimation.
So, after a brief euphoria at the successful election, anxiety has been replaccd by resignation and fear that this will NOT improve, and we are still being governed by psychos in the other, minority party. Unless our own side does arm themselves, this will not change. Crap crap crap.
Back to being angry that those of us in the "first" group can't get the vaccine the big medical guns in our community do not have. Yuck. Well, at least the sun is peeking through today...and we still have a Dem governor that can veto the lege's perfidy.
How many Republicans in Congress would vote on a motion to condemn January 6's Trump violent insurrection today?
@RAS: I suspect the majority of Congressional Republicans are more likely to celebrate the 6th of January as their own special 4th of July.
You are right Marie, especially after they saw how bummed all the rioters were when the Republicans initially gave credit to Antifa instead of Qanon, the Proud Boys and the rest of the deplorables.
Other than some dated reporting on the Senate filibuster situation, I found this a good explanation of budget reconciliation's ins and outs.
https://www.vox.com/22242476/senate-filibuster-budget-reconciliation-process
Fox News calls out media for sucking up to Biden
Not brainwashed by the billion-dollar coat industry.
Is Tulsi Gabbard gunning for Laura Ingram's job? This is rich. According to Tulsi, James Brennan and Adam Schiff are domestic terrorists because they want to monitor seditious and treasonous speech.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ik1-gYEH-ys
She is very seductive in how she wraps up treasonous speech in the constitution with perfectly mitered corners and a pretty bow.
Fortunately Tulsi gave up her house seat when running for president. I'm guessing she has what Rupert needs to boost Fox's ratings.
BTW, I don't consume Fox. I can't say why the YouTube algorithms pulled this up for me.
@Ras: "No coats cuz they be a hoax –-do your research and we can have a conversation"––this is one of the best examples of smooth talkers whose blather is bull. Next: pillows prevent Rem sleep, therefore infect the brain with loss of memory. Just don't ask "My Pillow" guy cuz he's no longer in business. Thanks for the laugh!
Re: the Canadian vaccine fraudsters. According to my local county health site, if I make three lies, I move onto the schedule. I'm reminded that fully 30% of the Beverly Hills zip code has handicapped plates on their cars. Chump made a situation where dishonesty is more rewarded than honesty. Republicans incentivize dishonesty. F******.