The Ledes

Thursday, September 19, 2024

New York Times: “A body believed to be of the suspect in a Kentucky highway shooting that left five people seriously injured this month was found on Wednesday, the authorities said, ending a manhunt that stretched into a second week and set the local community on edge. The Kentucky State Police commissioner, Phillip Burnett Jr., said in a Wednesday night news conference that at approximately 3:30 p.m., two troopers and two civilians found an unidentified body in the brush behind the highway exit where the shooting occurred.... The police have identified the suspect of the shooting as Joseph A. Couch, 32. They said that on Sept. 7, Mr. Couch perched on a cliff overlooking Interstate 75 about eight miles north of London, Ky., and opened fire. One of the wounded was shot in the face, and another was shot in the chest. A dozen vehicles were riddled with gunfire.”

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The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

Washington Post: “An early Titian masterpiece — once looted by Napolean’s troops and a part of royal collections for centuries — caused a stir when it was stolen from the home of a British marquess in 1995. Seven years later, it was found inside an unassuming white and blue plastic bag at a bus stop in southwest London by an art detective, and returned. This week, the oil painting 'The Rest on the Flight into Egypt' sold for more than $22 million at Christie’s. It was a record for the Renaissance artist, whom museums describe as the greatest painter of 16th-century Venice. Ahead of the sale in April, the auction house billed it as 'the most important work by Titian to come to the auction market in more than a generation.'”

Washington Post: The Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., which houses the world's largest collection of Shakespeare material, has undergone a major renovation. "The change to the building is pervasive, both subtle and transformational."

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The Commentariat -- January 4, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Deutsche Welle: "Several rockets fell in and around Baghdad on Saturday evening, [linked fixed] including an attack targeting an air base housing US troops, the Iraqi military said. Several rockets fell in the city's Jadriya neighborhood as well as the heavily fortified Green Zone which houses government buildings and several foreign missions, including the US Embassy. Blasts also targeted the the Balad air base, located 80 kilomteters (50 miles) north of Baghdad, which is hosting US troops in Iraq. Security sources told news agency AFP that surveillance drones were sent out above the base to locate the source of the rockets. Iraqi military added in their statement that there was 'no loss of life.'"

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Now that I've reread the Raw Story piece about Pompeo's calling Lavrov and have done some cursory research, I see I misread the story: Pompeo called Lavrov on Friday; that is, after the drone strike. By this time, someone at State had called Chuck Schumer, according to a teevee news report I heard. Schumer apparently said to the caller, "Thanks for telling me what I've already heard on the news." So my bad. I apologize.

Australia. Livia Albeck-Ripka, et al., of the New York Times: "Four days after a bush fire ravaged the remote coastal town of Mallacoota, forcing people to shelter on the beach under blood-red skies, more than 1,000 stranded residents and vacationers arrived on Saturday in Hastings, a town near Melbourne. The authorities said it was most likely the largest peacetime maritime rescue operation in Australia's history. It was also a symbol of a country in perpetual flight from danger during a catastrophic fire season -- and the challenge the government faces in getting the blazes under control. Searing heat and afternoon winds propelled fires over large swaths of Australia on Saturday, adding to the devastation of a deadly fire season that has now claimed 23 lives. Thousands of people have been evacuated, while many towns and cities under threat were still smoldering from ferocious blazes that ripped through the countryside earlier in the week. More than 12 million acres have burned so far, an area larger than Switzerland, and the damage is expected to only get worse in the extremely arid conditions that are allowing the fires to spread. The fires are also so hot and so large that they are creating their own weather patterns, which can worsen the conditions."

Maanvi Singh of the Guardian: "In defense of his administration's decision to assassinate Qassem Suleimani, Mike Pence has been promoting conspiracy theories that link September 11 terrorists to Iran. In a series of tweets, the US vice-president ... insisted that the general 'assisted in the clandestine travel to Afghanistan of 10 of the 12 terrorists who carried out the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States', misstating the number of 9/11 hijackers -- there were 19 -- and insinuating Suleimani's involvement despite a lack of evidence. Foreign policy experts were quick to point out on social media that Pence's assertions were unsubstantiated. The official 9/11 commission report found there was 'no evidence that Iran or Hezbollah was aware of the planning for what later became the 9/11 attack', and that 15 out of the 19 hijackers were from Saudi Arabia, and the remainder were from the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and Egypt. Moreover, Suleimani's name is never mentioned in the nearly 600-page report. Experts have also pointed out that Suleimani, a Shia leader, would have been an unlikely ally to the Sunni militants that carried out the attacks." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: If only the Senate would remove Trump from office, we would get a real stable genius sort of president.

Faith Hassan, et al., of the New York Times: "Even before the shock of the brazen killing wore off, Iraqi factions were weighing their responses. Militias with ties to Iran vowed bloody revenge. The prime minister, Adel Abdul Mahdi, condemned the attack as 'an outrageous breach to Iraqi sovereignty' and said Parliament would meet to discuss the future of the United States presence in Iraq.... Throughout the country, there was the familiar feeling that Iraq was a mere bystander in the broader geopolitical conflict between the United States and Iran taking place on Iraqi soil. More broadly, the events raised a single, overarching question: can the United States maintain a cooperative security relationship with Iraq given the upheaval the assassination has provoked?"

The Golden Bull. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "They came to pray with their president, though in truth many came just to worship him.... An estimated 7,000 'supporters of faith' packed the King Jesus international ministry megachurch in Miami to hear the word of the president, and decided that it was good. The Maga hat-wearing faithful cheered Trump's comments on issues calculated to resonate with his churchgoing audience, including abortion, freedoms of speech and religion, and what he claimed was a 'crusade' from Democrats against religious tolerance.... Friday's rally, hastily organized in the wake of a stinging Christianity Today editorial last month, recognized Trump's need to retain the loyalty of the evangelical voting bloc that propelled him to victory in 2016. Four years ago, he won 80% backing from white evangelical voters nationwide."

Matt Welch of Reason: "'Don't trust liars -- especially about matters of war and peace,' writes Vox's Matthew Yglesias. 'Today's a day,' The Atlantic's David Frum posits, 'when the most untruthful administration in US history will wish its statements could be believed.' It is appropriate, necessary, yet insufficient to remember that government lying is bad, that government lying about war is particularly bad, and that Donald Trump is one of the most bizarrely promiscuous liars ever seen in American political life. Insufficient, because laying the blame on one particular administration, or even one major political party, too often becomes a de facto credulousness about the war-related veracity of other administrations. The truth, which literally hurts, is that every administration lies about war, particularly (though not only) about its reasons for initiating deadly force. It was literally only last month that The Washington Post's 'Afghanistan Papers' project detailed how America's longest war has been a nearly two-decade festival of deadly bullshit."

All Trump's Money Trails Lead to Russia. Scott Stedman, et al., of Forensic News: "Deutsche Bank's loans to Donald Trump were underwritten by Russian state-owned VTB Bank, according to the whistleblower whose collection of thousands of bank documents and internal communications have captured the recent attention of federal investigators.... Forensic News is not confirming the underlying claim that VTB underwrote Trump's loans from Deutsche Bank. Forensic News can, however, confirm that at least some of Trump's loans were issued by a bank subsidiary with business ties to VTB. That subsidiary owed more than $48 million to VTB in 2013 and documents suggest the subsidiary continued doing business with VTB even after the bank was sanctioned in 2014." Thanks to unwashed for the link.

Money Counts! Tess Bonn of the Hill: "Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg saw a 6-point bump in the latest Hill-HarrisX survey of the Democratic presidential primary. The nationwide poll, which was released Friday, shows Bloomberg up from 5 percent to 11 percent support for the nomination nationally. The former New York City mayor is now in a dead heat for third place with top-tier candidate, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who also received 11 percent support. [Joe] Biden, meanwhile, continues to lead the Democratic field with 28 percent followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) at 16 percent."

~~~~~~~~~~

Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: In a few minutes, around 5 pm ET Friday, "Mr. Trump ... made one of the most consequential foreign policy decisions of his presidency, giving final authorization to a drone strike halfway around the world that would eliminate one of America's deadliest enemies while pushing the United States to the edge of an escalating confrontation with Iran that could transform the Middle East.... Both [Presidents Bush II & Obama] reasoned that killing the most powerful general in Iran would only risk a wider war with the country, alienating American allies in Europe and the Middle East and undermining the United States.... National security experts and even other officials at the Pentagon said they were unaware of anything drastically new about Iranian behavior in recent weeks; General Suleimani has been accused of prodding Shiite militias into attacking Americans for more than a decade." ~~~

     ~~~ Missy Ryan, et al., of the Washington Post: "Why Trump chose this moment to explore an operation against the leader of Iran's Quds Force, after tolerating Iranian aggression in the Persian Gulf for months, was a matter of debate within his own administration. Officials gave differing and incomplete accounts of the intelligence they said prompted Trump to act. Some said they were stunned by his decision, which could lead to war with one of America's oldest adversaries in the Middle East.... He ultimately gave final approval just before the strike, a senior administration official said, making the call from his golf resort." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Alissa Rubin, et al., of the New York Times: "As Iraq held joint funeral services on Saturday for two revered military leaders killed in an American drone strike near the Baghdad airport this past week, tens of thousands of pro-Iranian fighters marched through Baghdad, waving flags and chanting that 'revenge is coming' to the United States.... Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, vowed 'forceful revenge' as the country mourned the death of General Suleimani and calls have accelerated to eject the United States from Iraq. Across the region, fears are rising that the shadow war that had been building between the United States and Iran could suddenly escalate into a wide-ranging conflict." Here's an AP story. ~~~

~~~ New York Times Live Updates Friday: "President Trump said Friday afternoon that the airstrike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the powerful Iranian commander, was ordered 'to stop a war' and prevented attacks on Americans. 'Suleimani was plotting imminent and sinister attacks on American diplomats and military personnel, but we caught him in the act and terminated him,' he said, speaking to reporters from his resort in West Palm Beach, Fla. 'We took action last night to stop a war, we did not take action to start a war.' Mr. Trump said the United States is not seeking regime change in Iran, but called for Tehran's 'aggression in the region' to immediately end. He also warned Iran against retaliating, saying, 'If Americans anywhere are threatened, we have all of those targets already fully identified, and I am ready and prepared to take whatever action is necessary.' He added, 'that in particular refers to Iran.'" ~~~

The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here. "In a conference call with reporters, national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien said early Friday evening that the strike on Soleimani happened after the Iranian commander recently visited Damascus and was plotting to target Americans. 'He was planning attacks on American soldiers, airmen, Marines, sailors and against our diplomats,' he said. 'This strike was aimed at disrupting ongoing attacks that were being planned by Soleimani and deterring future Iranian attacks through their proxies or through the IRGC Quds Force directly against Americans.'" ~~~

~~~ Qassim Abdul-Zahra & Zeina Karam of the AP: "Another airstrike almost exactly 24 hours after the one that killed Soleimani hit two cars carrying Iran-backed militia north of Baghdad, killing five people, an Iraqi official said.... The Iran-backed Popular Mobilization Forces confirmed the strike, saying it targeted one of its medical convoys near the stadium in Taji, north of Baghdad. The group denied any of its top leaders were killed." ~~~

~~~ Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "The United States is sending nearly 3,000 more Army troops to the Mideast as reinforcements in the volatile aftermath of the killing of an Iranian general in a strike ordered by ... Donald Trump, defense officials said Friday. The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a decision not yet announced by the Pentagon, said the troops are from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. They are in addition to about 700 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne who deployed to Kuwait earlier this week after the storming of the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad by Iran-backed militiamen and their supporters." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Congressional Democrats are raising alarm over the lack of consultation from the Trump administration ahead of a deadly military strike against Iran's top general, which lawmakers called 'reckless' and a 'massive escalation' against Iran.... The sudden strike sets up a debate in Congress next week on whether Trump needs to seek authorization to respond to expected retaliation. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) ... called on Congress to act immediately to curtail Trump's military authority before he sparks another war in the Middle East...[:] 'Trump's "maximum pressure" campaign has made the region less stable, divided us from key allies, and is driving our adversaries together. Congress must act to stop President Trump from entangling America in yet another unnecessary war in the Middle East.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ ** Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "Speaking on Israel's Channel 13, journalist Barak Ravid said that the 'United States informed Israel' about the operation in Iraq to kill Iranian military leader Gen. Qassem Suleimani 'a few days ago.' Additionally, The Los Angeles Times reports that an 'Israeli army officer with knowledge of Israeli military assessments, who spoke on the condition of anonymity...,' said that the attack that killed Suleimani 'did not come as a surprise.'... Also noteworthy is a Friday tweet from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who revealed that he discussed the attack with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as a means to 'protect American lives.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Carla Herreria & Akbar Ahmedof the Huffington Post: “The Trump administration did not inform Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) or Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) before its Friday morning strike in Iraq against top Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani, their aides told HuffPost via email. Schumer, the minority leader in the Senate, and Warner are part of what's called the 'Gang of Eight': powerful lawmakers whom presidents and their staff traditionally keep updated about a range of sensitive national security issues. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), another member of the group, appeared to suggest that she was not briefed either in a later statement." ~~~

     ~~~ Colby Itkowitz & Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday endorsed a tweet comparing the top Senate Democrat to Iran, the United States' longtime adversary, suggesting neither could be trusted, as Democratic leaders criticized the White House for ordering a military strike to kill a powerful Iranian commander without congressional input.... Trump retweeted conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza, who, in response to a headline about Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) not receiving advance notice of the military operation, wrote: 'Neither were the Iranians, and for pretty much the same reason.' Trump made similar insinuations about Democrats' trustworthiness after the October raid that killed Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. At that time, Trump said he didn't tell House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a former member of the Intelligence Committee, because 'he wanted to make sure this kept secret.'... Presidents typically inform the so-called Gang of Eight -- the House speaker and minority leader, the Senate majority and minority leaders, and the chairmen and ranking minority-party members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees -- about high-level military operations." A Mediaite report is here.

     ~~~ Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Congress should not let this go. The Trumpies informed Russia -- an adversary -- of their planned act of war but kept it hidden from Congressional Democrats, then implied the reason was that the Senate minority leader was a traitor. This is outrageous.

~~~ Morgan Chalfant & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Friday said Gen. Qasem Soleimani, the powerful Iranian military leader killed in a U.S. air strike on Thursday, 'should have been taken out many years ago' and that he was 'indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people.' Trump addressed the decision to launch air strikes that killed Iran's most powerful military commander in a pair of tweets that marked his first public comments on authorizing the action. 'General Qassem Soleimani has killed or badly wounded thousands of Americans over an extended period of time, and was plotting to kill many more ... but got caught! He was directly and indirectly responsible for the death of millions of people, including the recent large number ... of PROTESTERS killed in Iran itself,' Trump tweeted Friday morning. 'While Iran will never be able to properly admit it, Soleimani was both hated and feared within the country. They are not nearly as saddened as the leaders will let the outside world believe. He should have been taken out many years ago!' the president wrote." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

    ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: One difference between a president and a president*: when Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Ladin, President Obama made a solemn address to the nation as soon as practicable. When a drone killed Iran's top military operative and his associates, Donald Trump sent out a couple of inelegant tweets. ~~~

~~~ Maybe Avi Selk of the Washington Post has found the real reason Trump ordered the assassination of Soleimani: "... he was ... one of President Trump's social media antagonists.... [The] back and forth [between Trump & Soleimani] took shape [in 2018] after Trump withdrew from a three-year-old nuclear deal with Iran, and as he threatened new economic penalties on the country.... Instagram suspended [Soleimani's] account in April [2019], after Trump followed through on his sanctions threat." ~~~

~~~ Erin Durkin of Politico: "New York City is bracing for the increased risk of a terrorist attack after the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani by U.S. forces in Iraq, Mayor Bill de Blasio said Friday.... The NYPD will deploy additional, heavily armed officers at prominent sites around the city, officials said.... While the city has thwarted numerous terror plots in the nearly two decades since the Sept. 11 attacks, de Blasio said a conflict with a powerful state actor was different than anything confronted before." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Mission Accomplished. Nick Wadhams of Bloomberg: "Richard Goldberg, the U.S. National Security Council official who clashed with other members of the administration over his push for a more hawkish stance toward Iran, is leaving the job after one year for personal reasons, a person familiar with the matter said. Goldberg's departure comes just as tensions with Iran have soared.... Former National Security Adviser John Bolton created Goldberg's job -- director for countering Iran's weapons of mass destruction -- explicitly for him.... [The administration's hardened stance on Iran] underscored the influence wielded by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, the think tank where Goldberg previously worked.... Goldberg will return to FDD, which continued to pay his salary during his time on the National Security Council." (Emphasis mine) --safari ~~~

The world is a much safer place today. -- U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, on the assassination of Quassem Soleimani, Friday

U.S. citizens should depart [Iraq] via airline while possible, and failing that, to other countries via land. Due to Iranian-backed militia attacks at the U.S. Embassy compound, all public consular operations are suspended until further notice. U.S. citizens should not approach the Embassy. -- U.S. Department of State, in wake of the assassination of Soleimani, Friday ~~~

~~~ George Packer of the Atlantic: "Soleimani was a supremely powerful leader of a state apparatus, with his own cult of personality, but he was not a terror kingpin. His death doesn't decapitate anything. He had the blood of tens of thousands of people -- overwhelmingly fellow Muslims -- on his hands, but he was only the agent of a government policy that preceded him and will continue without him.... No one seems to have thought past the action itself. The initial statements from the administration have been alarmingly ludicrous.... The Soleimani crisis shows a rash and vain president for whom everything is personal; a government that follows no coherent strategy because its leadership can't provide one; and a Congress and public too irreconcilably divided to rally around a national goal. In this condition, we don't know how to think about a war with Iran, let alone win one, and it's not at all clear why we should try. For this reason, killing Soleimani was a blunder -- briefly satisfying, possibly catastrophic." ~~~

~~~ "The World Is a Much Safer Place." AP: "The U.S. men's soccer team has canceled its plan to train in Doha, Qatar, from Jan. 5-25 'due to the developing situation in the region.'"


Burgess Everett of Politico: "Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer have made zero headway on designing a bipartisan set of rules for ... Donald Trump's impeachment trial more than two weeks after their first face-to-face meeting on the matter.... In a rare Friday session, the two Senate leaders presented diametrically opposed views of how a Senate trial should go. Majority Leader McConnell (R-Ky.) continued making his case for starting a trial and considering witnesses and documents later, while Minority Leader Schumer (D-N.Y.) reiterated that Democrats are unwilling to agree on a trial's contours without a plan on whether new evidence will be introduced. The clashing viewpoints increases the possibility that McConnell seeks to build a partisan set of impeachment rules with the votes of 51 of his 53 senators." (Also linked yesterday.)

Consciousness of Guilt. Charlie Savage & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "The Trump administration disclosed on Friday that there were 20 emails between a top aide to President Trump' acting chief of staff and a colleague at the White House's Office of Management and Budget discussing the freeze of a congressionally mandated military aid package for Ukraine. But in response to a court order that it swiftly process those pages in response to a Freedom of Information Act, or FOIA, lawsuit filed by The New York Times, the Office of Management and Budget delivered a terse letter saying it would not turn over any of the 40 pages of emails -- not even with redactions. 'All 20 documents are being withheld in full,' wrote Dionne Hardy, the office's Freedom of Information Act officer. The Times's information act request sought email messages between Robert Blair, a top aide to Mr. Trump'acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, and Michael Duffey, an official in the White House's Office of Management and Budget who was in charge of handling the process for releasing $391 million in weapons and security assistance Congress had to help Ukraine resist Russian aggression.... David McCraw, a lawyer for The Times, said the newspaper would challenge the blanket withholding of the documents and would ask the judge overseeing the lawsuit, Judge Amy Berman Jackson, to approve an expedited schedule for briefs and arguments given the urgent public interest in learning more about the dispute." ~~~

     ~~~ The Hill has a summary story here.

AP: "A federal judge on Friday allowed a Rudy Giuliani associate indicted on campaign finance charges to turn over documents to Congress as part of the impeachment proceeding against ... Donald Trump. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Oetken granted Lev Parnas' request to turn over to the House intelligence committee documents and data seized by federal investigators when Parnas was arrested in October. Parnas' attorney said in a court filing he expected to receive the materials from the U.S. Justice Department this week.... Prosecutors did not object to Parnas turning over the information."

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "President Trump lashed out at a group of progressive lawmakers at a rally with evangelical supporters Friday, accusing the freshmen congresswomen of being anti-Semitic. 'These people hate Israel. They hate Jewish people,' Trump said at a campaign event in Miami launching his 'Evangelicals for Trump' coalition. 'I won't name them. I won't bring up the name of Omar, Tlaib, AOC. I won't bring that name up. Won't bring it up. I will not bring it up,' he added, referring to Reps. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)." Mrs. McC: I think the Congresswoman could successfully sue Trump for defamation, even though they are public figures.

Serial Sex Harasser Trump Hit on Fox "News" Reporter. Edward Helmore of the Guardian: "A former Fox News reporter has added her name to the list of nearly two dozen women who have accused Donald Trump of making unwanted sexual advances towards them. In a book published next week, the Fox & Friends fill-in host Courtney Friel claims Trump propositioned her before he became US president. 'You should come up to my office sometime, so we can kiss,' Friel says Trump told her, adding that he considered her 'the hottest one at Fox News'. The claims, reported by the New York Daily News, are contained in Friel's upcoming memoir.... Friel, 39, says Trump's come-on was made during a phone call to her office weeks after she mentioned an interest in working as a judge on his Miss USA beauty pageant. She says she was shocked by the proposition, which 'came out of nowhere'. '"Donald," I responded, "I believe we're both married." I quickly ended the call,' she wrote in her book. 'This proposition made it difficult for me to report with a straight face on Trump running for president. It infuriated me that he would call all the women who shared stories of his bold advances liars. I totally believe them,' she says."

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Federal agencies would no longer have to take climate change into account when they assess the environmental impacts of highways, pipelines and other major infrastructure projects, according to a Trump administration plan that would weaken one of the benchmark environmental laws of the modern era. The proposed changes to the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act could sharply reduce obstacles to the Keystone XL oil pipeline and other fossil fuel projects that have been stymied when courts ruled that the Trump administration did not properly consider climate change when analyzing the environmental effects of the projects. The act requires the federal government to prepare detailed analyses of projects that could have significant environmental effects, including long-term impacts that courts have said include climate change.... The 50 or so pages of revisions that the Council on Environmental Quality is expected to make public on Wednesday would not amend the act itself. Rather, they would revise the rules that guide the implementation of the law."

Presidential Race

Alex Thompson of Politico: "Sen. Elizabeth Warren's presidential campaign announced Friday that it raised $21.2 million in the fourth quarter -- significantly less than progressive rival Sen. Bernie Sanders' $34.5 million haul over the same time period. Warren's fundraising total -- less than the $24.6 million she raised in the previous quarter -- is the latest sign that the grassroots energy behind her campaign has dimmed in recent months as she faced attacks from rivals and spent several weeks trying to explain her position on Medicare for All." (Also linked yesterday.)

Elena Schneider of Politico: "Sen. Amy Klobuchar raised $11.4 million in the final three months of 2019, her strongest fundraising quarter since launching her presidential campaign." (Also linked yesterday.)

Congressional Race. Rachel Frazin of the Hill: "Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) announced Friday that he will not seek reelection, making the six-term lawmaker the latest House Republican to head for the doors."

The United Divided Methodist Church. Campbell Robertson & Elisabeth Diaz of the New York Times: "A group of leaders of the United Methodist Church, the second-largest Protestant denomination in the United States, announced on Friday a plan that would formally split the church, citing 'fundamental differences' over same-sex marriage after years of division. The plan would sunder a denomination with 13 million members globally -- roughly half of them in the United States -- and create at least one new 'traditionalist Methodist' denomination that would continue to ban same-sex marriage as well as the ordination of gay and lesbian clergy."

Paul Krugman: "... Australia's summer of fire is only the latest in a string of catastrophic weather events over the past year: unprecedented flooding in the Midwest, a heat wave in India that sent temperatures to 123 degrees, another heat wave that brought unheard-of temperatures to much of Europe. And all of these catastrophes were related to climate change.... While it will take generations for the full consequences of climate change to play out, there will be many localized, temporary disasters along the way. Apocalypse will become the new normal -- and that's happening right in front of our eyes." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Belarus/Russia. Radio Free Europe: "Russia has halted oil supplies to Belarus amid a disagreement over tariffs.... Belarus has been at odds with Russia over oil-transit prices for some time against a backdrop of increasing pressure by Moscow on Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka to deepen integration between the two countries.... Belarus is heavily reliant on Russia for fuel and funding and is a key transit route for Russian energy supplies to Europe. Moscow and Minsk signed an agreement in 1999 to form a unified state, but little progress has been made in the ensuing two decades.... Mike Pompeo this week postponed a planned visit to Minsk to meet with Lukashenka in what would have been the first visit by a U.S. secretary of state to that post-Soviet country in a quarter century." --s

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Reader Comments (8)

I find it both amazing and absolutely banal with the times that the current occupant of the White House decides to assassinate one of Iran's top leader (with no evidence BTW) from the comfy quarters of his cheesy private golf club. Literally hitting the links while he shifts tectonic plates in the Middle East. I read he was seen eating meatloaf and ice cream after the strike was announced (which millionaires/"billionaires" are eating meatloaf there? $200,000 just to get in, and you order meatloaf. Is that a thing?). And yet still, afterwards, Drumpf just remains there in his golf polo and stupid fucking hat! Doesn't even bother to pretend to take off in a helicopter back to the White House to play presidenting for the cameras.

Nope.

Just sitting there with his ice cream cone.

And no one bats an eye. At this point he has degraded the office of the presidency to such a degree that an overweight child eating overcooked meatloaf in his bath robe is exactly what we expect and exactly what we get.

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered Commentersafari

Here's the source on meatloaf and ice cream. And Obama wore a tan suit once and liked mustard.

https://edition.cnn.com/middleeast/live-news/baghdad-airport-strike-live-intl-hnk/h_65f1c6b6a688cd0f05cdb51b82de9dd8

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered Commentersafari

Well, this could get more interesting as DiJiT's court cases about release of his financial records are resolved. As Nancy has been saying regarding all his roads leading to Russia [via Deutsche Bank]...

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

In a world of extremes, from the raging fires in Australia driving its citizens to camp out on its beaches to escape the Armageddon-like flames, to the rabid God's on our side circus in Florida, it's hard to select the most disturbing news of the last twenty-four hours, but my nomination would be the Pretender's own personal Axis of Evil, becoming more public by the day, which most recently featured Russia and Israel.

Not the countries, let me hasten the to add, but their rightist leaders with whom the Pretender has made nice, placing his trust in them and the support he expects in return ahead of his duty to the country he took an oath to protect and defend.

Notifying Russia and Israel in advance of the Suleimani strike, while keeping the the leaders of his political opposition here at home, who by the way represent more than half the country, in the dark is just the latest evidence of where his loyalities lie.

Traitor, anyone?

Whadda a year 2020 will be.

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

My hair is on fire. This man needs to be removed from office NOW.
Not telling all of his gang of eight? Not including his closest allies?! Only telling his best friends? What is this - a third grade little boys club?
He is too dangerous. The 25th anyone? I know, I know; but the Orange One has gotta go NOW! The sluggish responses I see in the NYT comments sections seem to indicate that people still may be in denial. We are in danger now, really (where are my targeting drones now that I need them?). "Fly, Fleance, Fly!"

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterVictoria

I think it was Wendy Sherman who warned that if we pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal there would be hell to pay down the line. We now have that new fresh hell––added on to the many others–-thanks to the fat man whose modus operandi consists of whatever makes his boat float at the moment. But the fact that Trump did not inform the "gang of eight" in advance of the bombing with the excuse of "they are not to be trusted" takes my breath away––I am seething inside. As Marie said:
" Congress should not let this go. The Trumpies informed Russia -- an adversary -- of their planned act of war but kept it hidden from Congressional Democrats, then implied the reason was that the Senate minority leader was a traitor. This is outrageous."

Meanwhile Australia continues to burn

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterPD Pepe

We shouldn't be so hard on Putin and his cronies. They may be
able to help us with our infrastructure with some money from those
banks who will make loans to a mobster like trump and his mob
family.
Our roads around here are crumbling so bad it makes your car feel
like a giant vibrator.

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterForrest Morris

Trump's worried about trust? Can anyone think of a single Trump official that has NOT gotten caught lying to the public? At least Trump decided to have someone else spill the beans to Lavrov this time.

January 4, 2020 | Unregistered CommenterRAS
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