;)
The Conversation -- April 4, 2024
Marie: I will definitely lose power today, and I may lose Internet service, too. The weather report says it will start snowing in two hours here; it's snowing now and everything -- including the walls -- is covered with snow. So I'll do what I can here, but no promises. Update: Internet on, power off.
First Read This Report. Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's bid to have his charges of mishandling classified documents dismissed on the grounds that a federal records law protected him from prosecution. The judge also defended her handling of the issue.... On Thursday, Cannon shot down [Trump's] argument, saying the [Presidential Records Act] 'does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss' either the mishandling charges or the related obstruction charges against Trump. The decision comes two days after special counsel Jack Smith made a court filing saying the judge was pursuing a legal premise about the PRA that was 'wrong' and urged her to rule, adding that if she decided otherwise, he wanted to appeal any such decision quickly.... In her three-page order, Cannon defended her order and pushed back against Smith's challenge to it. She wrote that 'to the extent the Special Counsel demands an anticipatory finalization of jury instructions prior to trial, prior to a charge conference, and prior to the presentation of trial defenses and evidence, the Court declines that demand as unprecedented and unjust.'" This was still described as a "developing story" at 4:30 pm ET.~~~
~~~ Then Read This One. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The judge overseeing the case against Donald Trump on charges that he amassed classified documents at his Florida estate has rejected, for now, his bid to throw out the bulk of the case based on the argument that he had the right to keep those documents under a federal law governing presidential records. However, the three-page ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon left open the possibility for Trump to continue raising that argument if a trial takes place in the case. In the same decision, Cannon also shot down a request from special counsel Jack Smith to promptly reveal whether she agrees with Trump's claim that the Presidential Records Act ... may have authorized him to keep classified records indefinitely even after leaving office." ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Gerstein-Cheney report is quite short. And it's accurate. The Barrett-Stein report: fairly misleading and hard to decipher. What Cannon did here was a quick feint to keep in a position to exonerate Trump. After dilly-dallying for months on a slew of pretrial motions, Cannon was able to make a ruling in less than 48 hours after Smith threatened to haul her before her superiors at the 11th Circuit. BUT, as Gerstein & Cheney tell us, her ruling includes a remarkable get-out-of-jail card for Trump: she writes that she could still rule during the trial phase that the PRA allows Trump to keep all those classified docs; that is, to rule in Trump's favor when jeopardy is attached and Trump can't be retried. Cannon may not be the sharpest tack on the board, but she sure knows how to look out for herself.
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A disciplinary panel in Washington has found that Jeffrey Clark, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, violated ethics rules for lawyers in his attempt to aid Donald Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election. The three-member disciplinary committee determined Thursday that Clark's campaign to pressure Justice Department leaders to help upend the transfer of power to Joe Biden violated his duties as an attorney. The preliminary ruling jumpstarts a process that could lead to the suspension or even permanent revocation of Clark's license to practice law.... Disciplinary investigators who brought the charges against Clark say they intend to advocate for his disbarment. The decision followed six days of testimony, including by Clark's former Justice Department superiors...."
Betsy Swan & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Arizona investigators probing Republicans' efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results have subpoenaed two members of Congress who were among Donald Trump's closest Capitol Hill allies in the scheme. The subpoenas to Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar ... ordered the two Arizona Republicans to testify before a grand jury. There is no indication that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is leading the probe, is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker. And it's unclear whether Mayes has insisted on enforcing the subpoenas against the lawmakers, who may have legal bases to resist testifying.... Biggs, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus in 2020 and 2021, and Gosar were among the most vocal congressional supporters of Trump's efforts to overturn Biden's victory in Arizona."
Aamer Madhani & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future U.S. support for the Gaza war depends on new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone days after Israeli airstrikes killed seven food aid workers in Gaza and added a new layer of complication in the leaders' increasingly strained relationship. 'He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,' the White House said in a statement following the leaders call. 'He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps.' Biden, a Democrat, also told Netanyahu that an 'immediate ceasefire is essential' and urged Israel to reach deal 'without delay,' according to the White House." ~~~
~~~ Here's the White House readout of the call.
John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration approved the transfer of thousands more bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed seven aid workers for the charity group World Central Kitchen, three U.S. officials told The Washington Post this week after the incident elicited global condemnation.... The White House did not respond to a request for comment.... The State Department approved the transfer of more than 1,000 MK82 500-pound bombs, over 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs, all from authorizations granted by Congress several years before the latest hostilities between Israel and Hamas began.... A State Department spokesperson confirmed the approval and said it occurred sometime 'prior' to when the Israeli aircraft struck the aid convoy. The U.S. government has the authority to suspend an arms package any time before delivery.... It has not done so in this case."
Presidential Race. No Labels Has No Candidate. Vaughn Hillyard, et al., of NBC News: "No Labels, the bipartisan group that had been working toward putting a third-party presidential ticket on the ballot in all 50 states in 2024, announced Thursday that it was ending its efforts. 'No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House,' No Labels CEO and co-founder Nancy Jacobson said in a statement. 'No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.'"
Georgia Judge Calls B.S. on Trump Motion to Dismiss. Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "An Atlanta-area judge on Thursday upheld the criminal indictment against ... Donald Trump in Georgia, rejecting the argument that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election were protected under the First Amendment. 'The defense has not presented, nor is the Court able to find, any authority that the speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech,' Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his order."
Blayne Alexander, et al., of NBC News: "Lawyers for ... Donald Trump and eight of his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case on Friday asked a state appeals court to allow them to challenge a recent ruling that didn't disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case."
Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Former President Trump shared articles critical of Judge Juan Merchan and his family on Wednesday, appearing to test the bounds of the gag order placed on Trump in his New York hush money case. Merchan expanded the gag order Monday to prevent Trump from discussing his family, after the former president made comments critical of Merchan's daughter, Loren. Trump was already barred from speaking about court employees and witnesses in the case." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~
~~~ Marie: I don't believe I've ever even heard of an adult who behaves like this. This is a toddler testing the bounds of "Don't touch that stove, Donnie." I'd say Trump has touched it now. Make him burn, Judge.
Hankey-Panky, Ctd. About That "Bond." Katrina Kaufman of CBS News: "... the [$175 million] surety bond [posted to guarantee Donald Trump's judgment in the New York financial fraud case he lost] was missing vital information typically included in those filings, experts say. These standard elements include documents related to power of attorney for the bond provider, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, a financial statement from the company and a certificate of solvency from the Department of Financial Services.... Adam Pollock, a former assistant attorney general in New York, said, 'This bond is deficient for a number of reasons...,' including that the company doesn't appear to be licensed in New York and doesn't appear to have enough capital to make this undertaking, Pollock said.... 'The attorney general would have ample grounds to push back here' as to whether this is a valid appellate bond in New York State,' said Pollock." ~~~
~~~ Marie: A related story linked below suggested the bond was submitted without proper paperwork. But the CBS story makes it sound worse than that: the paperwork is missing because Hankey's company cannot meet the requirements. It's as if Hankey guaranteed the bond on the back of a hanky and sent it in.
Trump's Criminal Pals, Ctd. Ron Dicker of the Huffington Post: "Karl Rove, the GOP strategist who helped guide George W. Bush to two presidential victories, advised President Joe Biden's campaign to 'go hard' at Donald Trump's embrace of the 'thugs' who stormed the Capitol in 2021.... Rove said the siege is 'a stain on our history and every one of those sons of bitches who did that, we ought to find them, try them and send them to jail.... It is a mistake on the part of the Trump campaign to allow the president's impulses to identify himself with the people who assaulted the Capitol rather than people who stand for law and order.'..." ** See Akhilleus' commentary below on Trump's "campaign mistake." ~~~
~~~ Meet the "Hostages." Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The way ... Donald Trump tells it, the men and women who stormed the Capitol because they believed his lies about the 2020 presidential election are 'hostages' and 'unbelievable patriots' who are being mistreated by the justice system.But an NBC News review of hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 defendants found that just 15 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack are currently being held pretrial at the order of federal judges.... [Trump] recently vowed to 'free the Jan. 6 Hostages' as one of his 'first acts as your next President.'... Low-level defendants routinely receive sentences of probation, but about 500 have received periods of incarceration.... (... Those who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a federal judge in the United States are, by definition, not 'hostages.') In most of those cases, a judge found overwhelming evidence that the defendants had committed criminal acts of violence against law enforcement.... Below are the current pretrial Jan. 6 detainees identified by NBC News, the charges they face and the status of their cases." Reilly names the prisoners & describes the crimes of which they have been accused. The crimes are horrible, and some of those named have long criminal histories. ~~~
~~~ Marie: These are presumably the kind of criminals Trump has previously urged police to rough up when arresting them. Of course, Trump's "hostages" are mostly (or all) white guys, so maybe he wants only alleged criminals of colors mistreated.
This Congressman Is INSANE. Luke Broadwater & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Even by a conspiracy theorist's standards, the wild claims made by Representative Clay Higgins, Republican of Louisiana, stand out.... But far from relegating Mr. Higgins to the fringe of their increasingly fractious conference, House Republicans have elevated him.... This week, in a lengthy podcast interview, he expounded at length on his belief -- based, he said, on his own extensive investigation and evidence that only he has been able to see -- that federal law enforcement officers entrapped Mr. Trump's supporters into violently attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6. He was repeating a conspiracy theory that has been debunked repeatedly. Over the course of a two-hour interview on the 'Implicit Bias' podcast, Mr. Higgins, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the logo of the Three Percenters, a right-wing antigovernment militia, repeated the lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent. He laid out an outlandish story that tied the rise of the coronavirus pandemic to what he said was a plot by the government to infiltrate pro-Trump online forums and urge members to engage in 'riotous' behavior, as he put it. Finally, he said, also groundlessly, that federal agents posing as Trump supporters traveled to Washington on Jan. 6 and tricked Mr. Trump's backers into carrying out mob violence.... 'The whole thing,' Mr. Higgins said, 'was a nefarious agenda to entrap MAGA Americans.'"
~~~~~~~~~~
Ben Protess of the New York Times: "The judge overseeing Donald J. Trump's criminal case in Manhattan rejected his last-ditch bid to delay a trial beyond April 15, removing one of the final obstacles to the first prosecution of a former American president. Mr. Trump had asked the judge to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on whether he is immune from prosecution on charges involving official acts he took while president, an issue that arose in another of his criminal cases.... The judge..., Juan M. Merchan, ruled that the trial did not need to wait for the Supreme Court. He denied Mr. Trump's effort as 'untimely,' ruling that he failed to request the delay by a legal deadline." The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post reflects on Jack Smith's answer to Judge Aileen Cannon's odd pro-Trump order of a couple of weeks ago. "Smith twice alludes to seeking a writ of mandamus from the appeals court -- effectively asking it to force Cannon to correct her error.... Some Trump critics have raised the possibility that Smith might try to get Cannon removed from the case. This filing doesn't go that far. But it does make clear that Smith views the current situation as untenable, and he feels the need to put Cannon on notice." Related story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)
Trump's Crooked Pal. More Hankey-Panky: Repo Man. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "The Daily Beast Wednesday uncovered a new link between Trump and Don Hankey [who secured Trump's business fraud bond], best known for running an empire of subprime car loans, that began with a settlement agreement [with the Department of Justice] after [Trump's DOJ accused] his company Westlake Services ... of violating military employees' rights by repossessing their cars. Westlake settled the case with $700,000 in damages to the troops and about $61,000 in fines, the Daily Beast notes, but that didn't end its involvement with the Justice department. 'While the government was monitoring Westlake's compliance, the DOJ discovered new [Servicemembers Civil Relief Act] violations, forcing the firm to pay another $225,000 to settle those allegations in 2022,' the Daily Beast reported.... [AND] '... two years before the DOJ sued Westlake and its wholly-owned subsidiary Wilshire under the SCRA, those same two entities were nailed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for "illegal debt collection tactics," resulting in more than $44 million in restitution payouts and a civil fine of $4.25 million.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: So not just sticking it to poor people but also violating the rights of military service members. Well, soldiers are suckers and losers, aren't they? Just ask Trump.
Oops! The Dog Ate Trump's Paperwork. Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "A review of the New York County Supreme Court docket on Wednesday shows that paperwork for ... Donald Trump's newly-secured bond of $175 million was temporarily rejected and 'returned for correction.'... The cause for the rejection, according to the New York County Supreme Court website, is because the requisite paperwork lacked a current financial statement. It is also missing the name of his attorney-in-fact. Trump will have a chance to resubmit his request."
A Few More Crooked Trump Pals. Matt Egan of CNN: "Florida venture capitalist Michael Shvartsman and his brother Gerald Shvartsman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in an insider trading scheme linked to the blockbuster deal that brought... Donald Trump's social media business public. Each of the brothers pleaded guilty in New York to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.... The two brothers were arrested in June and charged with illegally trading on nonpublic knowledge of a shell company's secret plan to buy Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of struggling social network Truth Social. 'Michael and Gerald Shvartsman admitted in court that they received confidential, inside information about an upcoming merger between DWAC and Trump Media and used that information to make profitable, but illegal, open-market trades,' Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. The indictment accused the brothers and a third individual, Bruce Garelick, of together making more than $22 million in October 2021 by trading on their inside knowledge of the deal."
Marie: I did not plan to link the following story because I'm so sick of Donald Trump's shenanigans, but because it got a mention in today's Comments, here ya go: ~~~
~~~ Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "... Donald Trump has sued the co-founders of Truth Social, alleging they mismanaged the social media platform early on and should therefore lose their stock in the company, which recently went public. In papers filed last week in Florida state court, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. argued that executives Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky made a series of costly mistakes that resulted in a long delay in the company's going public and urged a judge to strip them of their shares in the company. The pair, who were contestants on Trump's NBC show 'The Apprentice,' had pitched him on the idea of Truth Social after he was banned from what was then known as Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol." (Also linked yesterday.)
Shorting Donnie Short Fingers. Joe Rennison of the New York Times: "Before ... Donald J. Trump's social media company made its stock market debut, many investors were lining up to bet on its collapse. After the company's share price plunged following an initial surge, the appetite to bet against the stock has grown even more ravenous. Trump Media & Technology Group, which trades under the ticker DJT, slipped on Wednesday to below $50 per share, extending a steep decline this week that pulled the stock down from its high near $80 and erased more than $2 billion of market value. Trump Media is the most 'shorted' special purpose acquisition vehicle in the country, according to the financial data company S3 Partners.... The demand to short Trump Media ... is so great that stock lenders can charge enormous fees, making it hard for short-sellers to turn a profit unless the shares fall significantly. Still, there is a lot of interest in taking the bet.... [AND even though] Last month, traders lost $126 million betting against Trump Media, according to S3."
** The Russia Connection. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's social media company Trump Media managed to go public last week only after it had been kept afloat in 2022 by emergency loans provided in part by a Russian-American businessman under scrutiny in a federal insider-trading and money-laundering investigation.... After regulators opened a securities investigation into [a merger agreement with Digital World Acquisition Corporation] in 2021..., Trump Media [took out] emergency loans, including from an entity called ES Family Trust, which opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered on the Caribbean island of Dominica that is best known for providing financial services to the porn industry.... ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named Anton Postolnikov, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger.... Postolnikov appears to have used the trust to loan money to help save Trump Media -- and the Truth Social platform -- because his bank itself could not furnish the loan. Postolnikov [is] the nephew of Aleksandr Smirnov, an ally of ... Vladimir Putin...." (MB: This does not appear to be the same Alexander Smirnov, the suspected Russian asset whom the FBI charged in February for lying to the agency about Joe & Hunter Biden. But you gotta love the insider-trading, money-laundering the porn business connections. So Trumpy!) Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Michael Kunzelman of the AP: “A Washington state man who used a megaphone to orchestrate a mob's attack on police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to more than seven years in prison. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said videos captured Taylor James Johnatakis playing a leadership role during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Johnatakis led other rioters on a charge against a police line, 'barked commands' over his megaphone and shouted step-by-step directions for overpowering officers, the judge said. 'In any angry mob, there are leaders and there are followers. Mr. Johnatakis was a leader. He knew what he was doing that day,' the judge said.... Johnatakis, who represented himself with an attorney on standby, has repeatedly expressed rhetoric that appears to be inspired by the anti-government 'sovereign citizen' movement." ~~~
~~~ Marshall Cohen of CNN: "A federal judge on Wednesday blasted a convicted January 6 rioter for downplaying the US Capitol attack and using the kind of revisionist rhetoric that ... Donald Trump often uses on the campaign trial. 'This cannot become normal... We cannot condone the normalization of the January 6 US Capitol riot,' US District Judge Royce Lamberth said while sentencing Taylor James Johnatakis to more than seven years in prison. The judge warned of a 'vicious cycle ... that could imperil our institutions' if Americans, upset with future election results, resort to the 'vigilantism, lawlessness and anarchy' that occurred on January 6, 2021. He did not reference Trump by name while sentencing Johnatakis, but the comparisons were clear.... The judge declared Wednesday that 'the January 6 riot was not civil disobedience,' but instead was a 'corrosive' and 'selfish, not patriotic' affront to the nation, where Americans were 'battling (their) own representative government.'" Reagan appointed Lamberth.
Presidential Race
Nebraska. Patrick Svitek & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's push to get the Nebraska legislature to change the way it awards electoral votes faced a major setback Wednesday night, when lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to prevent the change from being attached to an unrelated bill. Nebraska is one of only two states that divide electoral votes among statewide and congressional district winners, which allowed Joe Biden to pick off an electoral vote in the red state in 2020 by carrying a swing district in the Omaha area. But Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Trump on Tuesday endorsed a proposal to return the state to a winner-take-all system.... Republicans acknowledged they had very little time to get the stand-alone proposal to the governor's desk." ~~~
~~~ Marie: While one electoral vote may seem piddling, a couple of on-air commentators showed how it could make all the difference in a candidate's getting to the winning number of 270 Electoral College votes. Philip Bump of the Washington Post also presents such a scenario. While he's at it, Bump illustrates what a phony scum Trump is, but that's always the easy part.
In a New York Times op-ed, former Justice Stephen Breyer reminisces about those happy days when justices at different ends of the ideological spectrum would get along with one another and socialize together at hockey and bridge games. If only the whole nation could be as jolly as the Supremes were, he muses. MB: Stick a fork in it, Steve-o. It is not reassuring that you lot who determine the fate of the nation are so unwed to the weight and import of your decisions that you joke about them and that you treat immoral reprobates with hail-fellow-well-met bonhomie.
~~~~~~~~~~
Afghanistan. Kylie Atwood & Jennifer Hansler of CNN: "Hours of closed-door testimony from three top State Department officials shed new light on the 'unprecedented' situation in the final days of the US presence in Afghanistan as the officials were rushed to the country with virtually no time to prepare and no established emergency evacuation plan in place when they arrived. The three officials, John Bass, Jim DeHart and Jayne Howell, were all plucked from unrelated assignments and rushed into Afghanistan in the hours after Kabul fell to the Taliban due to their extensive experience in Afghanistan.... The new details paint a picture of the chaos outside the Kabul airport and the ad-hoc nature of the evacuation, something that top US military generals suggested could have been mitigated if the State Department had called sooner for a 'noncombatant evacuation operation' -- known as a NEO -- for remaining US citizens in Afghanistan.... Though officials who had worked at the embassy leading up to the evacuation told the committee investigators in separate interviews that planning for a NEO began in April or May, the officials who arrived in August said that no such clearly articulated plan served as their guide."
Israel/Palestine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to speak Thursday, an Israeli official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the event has not been made public.... U.N. agencies suspended nighttime operations in Gaza for at least 48 hours after the attack, which also halted WCK food deliveries and other relief operations as aid groups warn of famine in the besieged enclave. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, promised to respond to an attack on its embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, and make Israel 'repent for their crime of aggression,' he wrote in Hebrew. The strike killed two senior Revolutionary Guard members." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here. CNN's live updates are here.
Watch What He Does, Not What He Says. Yasmeen Abutaleb & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "As outrage built Tuesday over an Israeli strike that killed seven workers from the José Andrés-run World Central Kitchen, President Biden issued a rare direct rebuke of Israel for creating the conditions that have made the distribution of aid inside Gaza so difficult and deadly. 'This is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,' Biden said.... Yet there is no indication that the Monday deaths of the workers -- who included one American -- will result in any significant changes to the Biden administration's unwavering support of Israel. The president's sharp condemnation stands as the latest example in what experts, outside advisers and even some Biden officials say is an increasingly contradictory approach to Israel's six-month assault in Gaza.... Biden and his top aides have little appetite for imposing punitive action on Israel, such as conditioning or suspending weapons sales...." Politico has a similar story. ~~~
~~~ Katie Rogers & Erica Green of the New York Times: "One of the strongest voices inside the White House urging an end to civilian casualties in Gaza is the person closest to the president: Jill Biden. At a meeting with Muslim community members at the White House on Tuesday evening, one guest told President Biden that his wife had disapproved of him coming to the meeting because of Mr. Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Mr. Biden replied that he understood. The first lady, he said, had been urging him to 'Stop it, stop it now,' according to an attendee who heard his remarks." ~~~
~~~ Marie: An intentional leak reminiscent of Kennedy/Johnson Secretary of Defense and Vietnam war monger Bob McNamara's recollection of Jackie Kennedy's exploding after a dinner party and beating his chest "... demanding that I do something to stop the slaughter.'" (WashPo link.) Both stories perhaps true, poignant and convenient.
Rob Picheta of CNN: "The founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) [Jose Andres] has accused Israel of targeting his aid workers 'systematically, car by car' during the strikes that left seven dead on Monday, as mounting international fury over the attack further strains Western support for Israel's war in Gaza. WCK challenged Israel's response to the attacks in a fresh statement on Thursday and called for an independent inquiry into the strikes, which hit three WCK cars in central Gaza. 'Israel has admitted to the killings but called it a "a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants," and something that "happens in war,"' the non-governmental organization said. 'This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles. All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,' it added."
Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump spoke recently with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, their first publicly disclosed conversation since Mr. Trump left office in January 2021, according to two people briefed on the discussion who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. It was unclear what the two men discussed and whether it was their only conversation since Mr. Trump's departure from the White House." So not clear: was Trump (1) meddling in delicate international negotiations, violating the "one administration at a time" rule, and/or (2) just begging for money, and/or (3) negotiating some crooked financial deal.
Ukraine, et al. Stuart Lau & Aitor Hernández-Morales of Politico: "NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg wants a revolution in how the alliance finances and arms Ukraine, but his plan drew a mixed response from NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday. The secretary-general's idea is to take the politics and uncertainty out of military aid to Ukraine by setting up a five-year, €100 billion fund and having the alliance shoulder more of the weight in organizing arms for Kyiv. 'We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul,' Stoltenberg said ahead of the meeting, 'so that we rely less on voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments. Less on short-term offers and more on multi-year pledges.' The driver is what's happening in Washington, where a $60 billion military aid bill has been stalled in Congress thanks to resistance by some lawmakers from the Republican Party and from ... Donald Trump."
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Reader Comments (17)
When Turd Blossom is the voice of reason…
So it might seem…
Karl Rove, in an interview with Ari Melber, expressed befuddlement at the Fat Fascist’s promises to “free the J6 hostages”.
“And one of the critical mistakes made in this campaign is that Donald Trump has now said, ‘I’m going to pardon those people because they’re hostages.’ No, they’re not. They’re thugs. There were people– some of them had automatic weapons at a hotel in Virginia hoping to be able to be called up.
We had people saying, ‘Where’s Nancy Pelosi?’ We had people who were, you know, taking desks and sitting at the desk of the speaker of the House and attempting to find people in order to bring them to justice, and yelling at the police, ‘Kill them, Kill them all.’
And so, why Trump has done this is beyond me.”
Okay, okay…it’s nice and all that that Turd Blossom is registering a complaint about Fatty’s serial criminality, but claiming that “…this is beyond me”?
Karl, bubbie, you, of all people should understand the calculus here. You worked for a guy who started an illegal, unnecessary war, the horrific reverberations of which are still being felt, in order to escape criticism for being asleep at the switch and to trade on voters’ outrage after 9/11. You supported——and assisted—this same guy in stealing an election as your people descended on Florida, started the phony Brooks Brothers Riot, and got the vote counting stopped long enough to convince a Republican owned Supreme Court to hand him the presidency.
The Dubya-Cheney-Rove presidency helped pave the way for Trump. You’re surprised that the Rule of Law has been jettisoned in the hopes of electoral success, no matter how fraudulent, how treasonous? You guys wrote the playbook on this shit. Trump’s outright insurrection is no different than the crap you guys pulled. There might be a difference in degree, but not in kind.
And characterizing Trump’s promise to “free the J6 hostages” as a campaign error is itself an error. It’s not a mistake. It’s the heart of his appeal to haters of democracy and any laws that get in their way. Or have you forgotten how you people threatened anyone who criticized you for pissing on people’s civil rights? Remember rendition?
This is just another attempt by a guy who pulled the same shit to reform his reputation by pointing to Trump and saying “Oh my god! Look at this jerk. Good thing we never did anything like that! We LOVED America!”
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Go back to your day job at Fox. But thanks for stopping by.
Akhilleus,
Yeah, the Pretender is a godsend for former Republican miscreants.
You think we were bad? Liar? Racists? Enemies of democracy?
Well, maybe a little bit here and there when we thought we could get away with it.
Now with this guy's outright lies, racism and obvious disdain for democracy constantly in the news, we don't look all that bad, do we?
Please tell me we don't.
Biden infrastructure projects
lawyersgunsmoney
"The true Covid death toll"
RAS,
Yes, and almost as historic is the number of naysaying Party of Traitors schemers who voted against Biden’s infrastructure bill then lined up to take credit for it when their constituents began to see results, tangible improvements, jobs, funding for long needed projects. “Yup, we did that! See how I’ve made your lives better? Not like that commie crook Joe Biden. Gonna impeach that guy!”
Shameless liars.
The rhetoric, she is beyond crazy.
Where does he go from here? The Orange Monster is now saying that if he doesn’t win the election, the country will cease to exist. C’mon, Fatty, how do you top that? Where do you go after you whine “The sky is falling!” What’s next? “There is no sky”? “Everyone will die?”
“Earlier in Michigan, Trump declared the country was facing a ‘bloodbath’ from migrant crime, and threatened that if he didn’t win in November, the ‘country is going to cease to exist.’ He insisted, ‘It could be the last election we ever have. I actually mean that. If we don’t win, I think this could be the last election we ever have.’”
Excuse please…in fact, if this monster IS elected it could be the last election we ever have. The MAGAts are just dying to cancel democracy.
Look, stupid. You lost the popular vote in 2016. You lost the whole shooting match in 2020. We’re still here. We’re still holding elections. Republicans you endorse are still losing. You still cheat at golf, still threaten judges and their families, still grifting, still lying, and your followers are still rock stupid.
So where does the rhetoric go from “cease to exist”? We never existed at all?
Jesus. What an idiot. But sure, give this guy the nuclear codes again.
Akhilleus,
Since in his deranged mind, the Pretender is the country--all the times he's called his political enemies treasonous clearly identifies his state of mind--he may well be right. And for his corrupt big money and demented MAGA supporters, the same equivalency holds true. If he doesn't win, their country might disappear.
Narcissism holds sway on the American Right.
Elsewhere we call it despotism.
Do not pass Go, do not collect $200
"Former President Trump shared articles critical of Judge Juan Merchan and his family on Wednesday, appearing to test the bounds of the gag order placed on Trump in his New York hush money case.
Merchan expanded the gag order Monday to prevent Trump from discussing his family, after the former president made comments critical of Merchan’s daughter, Loren. Trump was already barred from speaking about court employees and witnesses in the case.
Trump shared three articles from conservative news sites Wednesday in a string of Truth Social posts that included similar attacks on Merchan’s family, accusing the judge of political bias against the former president."
Did Jack Smith score a goal?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/cannon-trump-jack-smith-presidential-records-act/
Now, if the SCOTUS weenies would get off their absolute immunity dime..
Marie,
How goes the snow? Lots of power outages reported in NH. No stray, downed power lines draped across your porch this time?
The No Labels (what a stupid name) lady sez “No…candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.”
No candidates emerged? What? Like from a swamp? From the ether? From behind the bushes in the backyard? No doubt Manchin, after considering an ego run, figured these No Labels people are numbnuts. Glomming on to a bullshit campaign run by pro-chaos jamokes is an ego killer not a booster.
Oh, and love that line about being “responsible”. Never starting up this rickety Trump-helping jalopy would have been the most responsible thing to do. Did they call Ralph Nader? I hear he’s not doing much these days. Whatever. The No Labels jalopy was unsafe at any speed. Keep that sucker up on blocks in the yard.
Gag order, part 35
No gag order will shut the Orange Pie Hole and he knows it. Rich, famous or infamous white guys, even ones with a crappy spray tan wearing a boxy suit to cover the fat rolls, will ever be incarcerated for spewing hatred and directing thugs to attack their enemies, and he knows it. He’s just dying to be locked up for breaking the rules.
He’s never been held accountable for anything and he figures it won’t start now. Besides, shove his fat ass into a cell or home confinement and he’ll make millions from the drooling MAGA horde.
The best thing to do is get the trial going and find him guilty on all charges.
@Akhilleus: Thanks. The power has gone out five times today, but has come back on within minutes each time. My Internet connection has held up except for one very short outage. It started snowing at about midnight last night, and now -- at about 5 pm ET -- it's still snowing. Never stopped. No new down power lines in sight, and no sounds of crashing trees.
@Ken Winkes: Short answer: nope.
You would think so, reading the WashPo story you linked. But Gerstein & Cheney provide the essence of the ruling: a win for Trump, even as Judge Aileen attempts to hide it -- and save her job.
Marie,
If I was still living up there, I’d be headed up with my skis. Spring skiing was always great fun. Glad you’ve got power and internet connection.
And thinking of skiing in New Hampshire, one of our favorite spots (because of its ease of access to Boston based skiers) was Mount Sunapee. Sunapee was not far from Wilmot, NH, location of Eagle Pond, home to New Hampshire poet, Donald Hall . I produced a television show with Donald, many years ago. He was a favorite both for our shared obsession with the Red Sox and with snow and the New England land.
Check out his poem about snow (in the link), specifically, snow in New Hampshire, and pick up his collection “Here at Eagle Pond” if you don’t already have it (if you do, I wouldn’t be a’tall surprised.)
A wonderful guy, and a poet of sincere and sometimes preternatural observations. A New England gem on a par with Frost, if I may be so bold.
@Marie
A yup to your nope.
When after reading the WAPO report I asked my wife if she trusted Aileen, she said the same answer: Nope.
Marie: please take care of yourself-- spring storms can be so treacherous, partially because people are seriously off-guard due to the fakeout nice spring days that come along also. Daughter was walking the Icelandic sheepdog, who does not care if rained or snowed-upon, and it was sleet, in south central PA, amongst the already gone gorgeous early blooming trees and the daffodils and almost-here tulips. Big fake: one day a nice vodka Shweppes tonic with lotsa lime on the patio, the next with wool socks and towels all over the house to dry off the aforementioned Icie, and the porch cats stay in their cozy igloo all day.
Take care, everyone-- we are off to Mesa to visit my sister, meeting a brother to travel to Sedona, Grand Canyon, Bryce and Zion, fly out from Vegas to Chicago to visit the grandchildren for a long weekend. Big trip for us, at least since before Covid. Trusty phone and laptop travels with us, so I look forward to keeping up with you marvelous folks while traveling. Happy sort-of springtime!