;)
The Conversation -- February 15, 2024
Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "A hearing that could put Donald J. Trump's election interference case in Georgia in limbo began with a witness testifying that the top prosecutors were in a romantic relationship earlier than they have acknowledged. The defense sees the detail as crucial for arguing that the lead prosecutor and her office should be disqualified from the case.... A friend of [Fulton County District Attorney Fani] Willis, Robin Bryant-Yeartie, testified Thursday morning that she had 'no doubt' that the romance began before Ms. Willis hired [attorney Nathan] Wade for the case. That would contradict the timeline presented by the prosecutors, who said it began in early 2022 -- after Mr. Wade was hired in November 2021. Mr. Wade stuck by his timeline on the witness stand." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. ~~~
Fausset & Danny Hakim: "If Judge Scott McAfee determines that Ms. Willis has a conflict of interest because of her romantic relationship with the prosecutor she hired to manage the case, and that it merits disqualification, his decision would, by extension, disqualify her entire office. The case would then be reassigned to another Georgia prosecutor, who would have the ability to continue with the case exactly as it is, make major changes -- such as adding or dropping charges or defendants -- or to even drop the case altogether. The latter decision would end the prosecution of Mr. Trump and his allies for their actions in Georgia after the 2020 election, when the former president sought to overturn his loss in the state."
Anna Betts: "Ashleigh Merchant is a lawyer representing Michael Roman, a former campaign official for ... Donald J. Trump and a co-defendant facing criminal charges in the Georgia election interference case. Ms. Merchant, who was recently elected president of the Georgia Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, owns a private practice with her husband." Betts is arguing that the prosecutors should be disqualified.
Hakim: Merchant "is probing for discrepancies between filings Wade made in his divorce case and his filings in the Trump case."
Fausset: "Nathan Wade is sticking to his contention that his romantic relationship with Fani Willis began in 2022, after he started working for the district attorney's office in November 2021."
Hakim: "Wade says that Willis typically reimbursed him in cash for their joint travel, so there aren't credit card receipts available to show that."
Hakim: "Over a long series of questions about who paid for their joint travel, Nathan Wade is insistent that he and Fani Willis split costs, calling the district attorney an 'independent strong woman' who insisted that 'she is going to pay her own way.' Regarding a trip to California, she [MB: should be 'he,' I think] said, 'Everything we did when we got into Napa, she paid for.'"
Luke Broadwater: "In Washington, the Republican-led House Judiciary Committee has been posting about the proceedings on social media, mocking the Atlanta prosecutors and suggesting they misused taxpayer money."
Hakim: "Under questioning from Steve Sadow, former President Trump's lawyer, Nathan Wade says his romantic relationship with Fani Willis ended in the summer of 2023. But they remain close friends -- 'closer than ever because of these attacks,' he says."
Fausset: "Judge McAfee has now issued a warning to Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, saying he will strike her testimony if she does not directly answer the questions put to her by the defense lawyers seeking to disqualify her from the Trump case. McAfee formerly worked under Wade in the district attorney's office."
~~~ Marie: Of course McAfee will be the judge, but so far (end of morning session), it doesn't look good for Willis. Yeartie did testify she had witnessed Willis and Wade "hugging & kissing" (but not co-habiting) prior to Willis' hiring Wade. It is odd, though, that Merchant did not ask Yeartie to elaborate. At all. Yeartie also has a credibility problem in that she and Willis were good friends until Willis told her to quit or be fired from her job in Willis' office. So the facts that Yeartie (1) offered little in the way of specifics about the Willis-Wade relationship and (2) may bear a grudge make her a fairly weak witness, IMO. Wade's testimony, however, was problematic. He did a lot of equivocating on the stand that I did not find vaguely convincing -- just the kind of bullshit excuses you'd expect to hear from a cheating husband. Merchant had the receipts (literally) to refute some of his sworn answers on interrogatories from his divorce case. And his answers to Merchant on when his relationship with Willis began were, well, tortured, IMO. ~~~
~~~ Update: Merchant questioned Willis, and Willis made a formidable witness. McAfee was not necessarily going to require her to testify, but she waived her objection to her subpoena. It was the right move, because she helped herself more than hurt. Fulton County indicated they would call witnesses Wednesday to impeach Yeartie.
Jonah Bromich, et al., of the New York Times: "A New York judge on Thursday rejected Donald J. Trump's bid to throw out criminal charges against him stemming from a hush-money payment to a porn star, setting a trial date for next month and clearing the way for the first prosecution of a former American president. The judge, Juan M. Merchan, announced the decision at a hearing in a Lower Manhattan courtroom as Mr. Trump looked on from the defense table. The former president's lawyers objected to the judge's decision for jury selection to begin on March 25, noting that the six-week trial would conflict with Mr. Trump's presidential campaign. One of the former president's lawyers, Todd Blanche, called the schedule 'unfathomable,' arguing that, 'We are in the middle of primary season,' and claiming that the trial would overlap with dozens of Republican primaries and caucuses. But Justice Merchan summarily dismissed arguments from Mr. Trump's lawyers, who had derided the case as 'a discombobulated package of politically motivated charges.' The judge also bristled at the pushback from Mr. Blanche, at one point instructing him to 'stop interrupting me, please.'" This is the pinned item in a liveblog. ~~~
Kate Christobek: "Addressing the cameras in the hallway, Trump says this case is about something that is not a crime. He calls the prosecution election interference that is being brought by 'Joe Biden's White House,' though the case was actually brought by Manhattan's district attorney."
Alan Feuer: "The Manhattan district attorney's office is totally separate from the Justice Department."
Christobek: "The most surprising moment of Trump's hallway comments was how candidly he spoke about his strategy today, saying: 'We want delays, obviously. I'm running for election again.'"
Bromwich: "Merchan says he expects the trial to last about six weeks. He is not humoring [Trump attorney Todd] Blanche, and Blanche is struggling to balance his client's wishes against the judge's impatience."
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Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States has informed Congress and its allies in Europe about Russian advances on a new, space-based nuclear weapon designed to threaten America's extensive satellite network, according to current and former officials briefed on the matter. Such a satellite-killing weapon, if deployed, could destroy civilian communications, surveillance from space and military command-and control operations by the United States and its allies. At the moment, the United States does not have the ability to counter such a weapon and defend its satellites, a former official said. Officials said that the new intelligence, which they did not describe in detail, raised serious questions about whether Russia was preparing to abandon the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which bans all orbital nuclear weapons....
"The intelligence was made public, in part, in a cryptic announcement on Wednesday by Representative Michael R. Turner, Republican of Ohio and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. He called on the Biden administration to declassify the information without saying specifically what it was.... Mr. Turner's statement ... infuriated White House officials, who feared the loss of important sources of information on Russia.... His committee took the unorthodox move of voting on Monday to make the information available to all members of Congress -- a step that alarmed some officials.... Other officials said Mr. Turner was making more of the new intelligence than would ordinarily have been expected, perhaps to create pressure to prod the House to take up the supplemental funding request for Ukraine that the Senate passed this week.... Senator Mark Warner, Democrat of Virginia, and Senator Marco Rubio, Republican of Florida, said in a joint statement ... that releasing information about the intelligence could expose the methods of collection." CNN's report is here.
Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Senate leaders plan to move quickly this month to reject the articles of impeachment against Alejandro N. Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, setting up a speedy trial in hopes of preventing House Republicans from turning the chamber into a political spectacle. Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, has not yet determined exactly how to go about truncating the proceedings, according to people familiar with the continuing discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe plans that were still under development. But he is aiming for quick action, beginning on Feb. 28, the day the House is expected to deliver the charges, that could be over in just a couple of days.... Senate leaders are betting that there is enough Democratic anger and Republican exasperation at the precedent-breaking nature of the charges -- and with the way Mr. Mayorkas's impeachment was handled -- to swiftly exonerate him, either by throwing out the charges entirely or by moving to bring the proceedings to an early close."
Marie: Say, what will the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee do now that he has shoved through the first impeachment of a sitting Cabinet member? The impeachment of the Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, of which the chairman seems to be right proud, unfortunately is fake, since Republicans couldn't find any real "high crimes and misdemeanors" to charge against Mayorkas. Alas, having settled on a punishment, the search for a crime must have tuckered out Chairman Mark Green: ~~~
~~~ Maegan Vazquez of the Washington Post: "Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, announced Wednesday that he plans to retire at the end of his term, joining a growing list of Republican committee leaders who say they won't seek reelection." CNN's story is here.
Scott Wong & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., announced Wednesday that he's stepping down from his Democratic leadership position in the House, while a protégé signaled a desire to succeed him. 'I have informed Leader Hakeem Jeffries of my intention to step down as Assistant Democratic Leader of the House Democratic Caucus,' Clyburn, 83, said in a statement.... Rep. Joe Neguse, 39, D-Colo., who's considered a rising star in the party, will run for Clyburn's leadership post, a House Democratic leadership aide told NBC News."
House Pines for My Kevin. Rachel Bade of Politico: "... in his fourth month in alleged power, Speaker Mike Johnson has accomplished what once seemed unthinkable: making [former speaker Kevin] McCarthy seem like a skilled strategist and master of the House. Interviews with multiple Republicans over the last few days across multiple House factions -- people who consider themselves on Johnson's team, as well as those who were never enthusiastic about his rise -- describe a speaker who seems to be winging it on major questions of strategy, messaging and basic vote-counting.... 'Kevin would have a strategy, he'd shop it around, then he'd make a play call,' a senior Republican lawmaker said. 'The more I'm around Johnson, the more it's clear to me he doesn't have a plan.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
Lindsey's Surrender Is Complete. Liz Goodwin & Leigh Ann Caldwell of the Washington Post: "Last May, Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv, warmly embracing the embattled leader and later urging President Biden to 'do more' to help the nation as it fights off Russia's invasion. But this week, Graham voted repeatedly against sending $60 billion in aid to that nation as well as against other military funds for Israel and U.S. allies in the Indo-Pacific.... 'I talked to President Trump today and he's dead set against this package,' Graham said on the Senate floor on Sunday.... 'He thinks that we should make packages like this a loan, not a gift,' Graham said.... The episode has also eroded Graham's credibility among colleagues who worked closely with him to shape a bipartisan package of border policy reforms that Republicans demanded be attached to the foreign aid in exchange for their votes -- only to backtrack and help kill it in the end." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: In yesterday's Comments, Patrick was wondering if Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) had displaced Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) as the Stupidest Senator. Naturally, I was concerned, and I'm here to report that Johnson is holding his own: ~~~
~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC: During an interview conducted over the weekend, "Johnson conceded that the Russian leader is a 'war criminal,' before saying, 'But an awful lot of what Vladimir Putin said was right.' [Johnson then] criticized U.S. sanctions before concluding, 'A lot of the points that Vladimir Putin made are accurate. They're obvious.'" Benen also cited some Politico reporting that suggests Johnson voted against aid to Ukraine as a way of "helping" Ukraine, because letting Russia win will mean the war will end faster. (Also linked yesterday.)
Will Steakin of ABC News: "Congressional House Ethics investigators have obtained text messages allegedly showing that a few months after first joining Congress, Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz asked a young woman, who at the time had received payments for sex from Gaetz's then-close friend Joel Greenberg, to join him and others on a three-day trip to the Florida Keys in May 2017, multiple sources tell ABC News.... [The woman] was older than 21 at the time.... According to bank and Venmo records reviewed by ABC News, the woman had previously received multiple payments from Greenberg, which multiple sources tell ABC News were for the woman to have sex at parties with Greenberg's friends.... It's unknown if Gaetz knew that Greenberg had allegedly been paying the woman in such a manner."
Alex Griffing of Mediaite: After U.K. Foreign Minister David Cameron (the former Prime Minister) urged Congress to vote for funding Ukraine, Marjorie Taylor Greene told a Sky News reporter, "... David Cameron needs to worry about his own country, and frankly, he can kiss my ass." Oh, and she seemed to confuse one-time British PM Neville Chamberlain with Hitler. MB: But that's a mistake anyone can make. They both had funny little mustaches. The only way I can tell the difference is that Chamberlain wore a bowler hat & Hitler wore a visor cap. Anyhow, the dignified Miss Margie is definitely diplomat material.
Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "Disgraced former Congressman George Santos trolled his Republican ex-colleagues after a Democratic candidate won back his vacated House seat in a special election.... 'I hope you guys are happy with this dismal performance and the 10 million dollars your futile Bull S--t cost the party,' read one message. 'I look very much forward to seeing most of you lose due to your absolute hate filled campaign to remove me from Congress arbitrarily. Now go tell the Republicans Base what you f---ing idiots did and good luck raising money next quarter.' Only one member appeared to reply to Santos. 'Sorry, new phone, who dis?' texted Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-NY)." MB: Almost seems as if Georgy Anthony is not too remorseful or self-reflective.
The Trials of Trump
Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump is expected at the defendant's table in a Manhattan courtroom on Thursday for a conference that could confirm he'll be tried next month for allegedly falsifying hush money repayment records -- the first criminal trial of a former U.S. president. At the same hour in Atlanta, a team of Trump's lawyers will appear with some of his co-defendants for a hearing in a separate indictment, in which Trump and others are accused of a vast scheme to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. That hearing will focus on alleged misconduct by the prosecutor. The dual court sessions could help crystallize the timing and viability of two of Trump's four criminal cases, with additional clarity coming after a hearing in Florida on March 1." CNN's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: A few days ago, the story was that Trump would attend the Georgia hearing, but he seems to have changed his mind. Amy Gardner of the WashPo writes, "It's not known what scuttled the idea -- nor why Trump wanted to attend the Georgia hearing." Also, Rachel Maddow said Monday that that if the judge disqualified the Georgia prosecutor, the case itself was toast. However, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance, speaking on MSNBC, laid out a more complicated list of possible consequences, suggesting to me that Maddow's premise was not correct. Let's hope Willis understands the possible outcomes and acts prudently, prudence obviously not being her strong suit. ~~~
~~~ Jonah Bromich and others at the New York Times on the Manhattan district attorney's criminal case against Donald Trump: "The judge, Juan M. Merchan, will convene a hearing at 9:30 a.m. to address Mr. Trump's long-shot request that he throw out the charges, which stem from a hush-money payment to a porn star. If Justice Merchan rejects Mr. Trump's request -- as is expected -- then the judge will most likely set a firm date for the trial, which had been tentatively scheduled for March 25"
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting ... Donald J. Trump on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election, urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject a request from Mr. Trump to put the case on hold while he pursues appeals. 'Delay in the resolution of these charges threatens to frustrate the public interest in a speedy and fair verdict -- a compelling interest in every criminal case and one that has unique national importance here, as it involves federal criminal charges against a former president for alleged criminal efforts to overturn the results of the presidential election, including through the use of official power,' Mr. Smith wrote." Politico's report is here.
Adam Reiss & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "State Judge Arthur Engoron, who presided over the $370 million civil fraud case in New York against ... Donald Trump and his company, is expected to issue his verdict in the trial by the end of the week, a person with direct knowledge of the situation told NBC News. 'It is currently anticipated the Engoron decision will be released on Friday, barring unforeseen circumstances,' the person said Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday.)
True the Vote Forced to Admit to Telling the Big Lie. Russ Bynum of the AP: "A conservative group has told a Georgia judge that it doesn't have evidence to support its claims of illegal ballot stuffing during the the 2020 general election and a runoff two months later. Texas-based True the Vote filed complaints with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in 2021, including one in which it said it had obtained 'a detailed account of coordinated efforts to collect and deposit ballots in drop boxes across metro Atlanta' during the November 2020 election and a January 2021 runoff. A Fulton County Superior Court judge in Atlanta signed an order last year requiring True the Vote to provide evidence it had collected, including the names of people who were sources of information.... In their written response, attorneys for True the Vote said the group had no names or other documentary evidence to share."
Presidential Race
Marianne Levine of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump escalated his calls for Congress to impeach President Biden, just one day after House Republicans voted to impeach Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. At a rally Wednesday evening in North Charleston, S.C., Trump said..., 'Congress ought to impeach crooked Joe Biden for attacking his political opponent by weaponizing the DOJ, the FBI, and even the local DAs and attorney generals against his political opponent.'... Trump's remarks in North Charleston came after making similar allegations against Biden on Truth Social.' THE HUR REPORT SHOWS THAT PRACTICALLY EVERYTHING JOE BIDEN SAID WAS A LIE. ADDITIONALLY, HE HAS ILLEGALLY WEAPONIZED THE DOJ & FBI, TOGETHER WITH LOCAL D.A.'S & ATTORNEY GENERALS, AGAINST HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT, ME!' Trump posted. 'NOTHING LIKE THIS HAS EVER HAPPENED IN THE USA BEFORE, AND FOR THIS HE SHOULD BE IMPEACHED!'" ~~~
~~~ At the rally, Trump again insisted that he never made gaffes. He claimed that when he mixes up people, places, dates and events, he does so purposely to be "sarcastic." Right. And when I was fighting in World War II against George Washington, I saw a whale in South Dakota and it reminded me of Nancy Pelosi.
Miranda Nazzarro of the Hill: "... just days after [Donald Trump] threw his support behind his daughter-in-law [Lara Trump] to serve as co-chair of the RNC[, she told Newsmax,] 'Every single penny will go to the No. 1 and the only job of the RNC -- that is elected Donald J. Trump as president of the United States and saving this country.'" MB: The RNC's mandate is to aid all GOP candidates, not only its presidential* candidate. (Also linked yesterday.)
Natalie Allison, et al., of Politico: "Several senior Republican officials are concerned that Donald Trump's expected takeover of the RNC will ultimately pave the way for the committee to once again cover his legal bills.... Henry Barbour, a Mississippi committeeman, said he believed 'most RNC members will go along" with Trump's vision for the committee, "unless there is a play to use RNC funds for President Trump's legal bills.'... 'I don't think it's appropriate for the committee to pay the legal bills for things done outside the work of the committee,' [Tennessee committee member Oscar] Brock said." ~~~
~~~ Jack Birle of the right-wing Washington Examiner: "A report from Bloomberg suggests the former president is likely to drain his war chest paying for legal fees by the summer, meaning the RNC could be back on the hook if they return to supporting him financially.... During Trump's presidency and up until he announced his current run for president in 2022, the RNC covered some of his legal fees. The committee could start picking up the tab for his legal fees again if they choose to."
Oh Noes! Biden Get's Putin's Vote. Joe Stanley-Smith of Politico: "Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday Joe Biden would be better for Russia as president than Donald Trump, ahead of a potential rematch between the two in this year's U.S. election. '[Biden] is a more experienced, predictable person. He is a politician of the old school. But we will work with any leader of the United States, who is trusted by the American people,' Putin said in an interview on broadcaster Rossiya 1 TV when asked to choose between the two.... Putin used Wednesday's interview to downplay speculation about Biden's cognitive health, recalling when the two met in Switzerland in June 2021, less than a year before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. 'When I met with Biden in Switzerland..., even then there were talks about him being incompetent. I saw nothing of the sort. Yes, he glanced at his notes. Honestly, I glanced at mine too,' Putin said. 'There's nothing to it.'"
Just the Sweetest Valentine's Day Message Ever. Miranda Nazzarro of the Hill: Donald "Trump wished former first lady Melania Trump a Happy Valentine's Day on Wednesday by thanking her for her support throughout his various criminal cases. In a campaign email sent Wednesday morning, Trump offered a 'letter' with the subject line, 'I love you, Melania!' 'Dear Melania, I LOVE YOU. Even after every single INDICTMENT, ARREST, and WITCH HUNT, you never left my side... You've always supported me through everything. I wouldn’t be the man I am today without your guidance, kindness, and warmth.... You will always mean the world to me, Melania! From your husband with love, Donald J. Trump.'... Readers were then directed to a website where they could leave their own Valentine's Day message or donate to his reelection campaign." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: Isn't it sweet, too, that Trump is thoughtful enough to realizes his wife may not remember who he is, so he identifies himself as her husband and includes his full name? Okay, it is rather unkind of him to blame her for making him the man he is. Still, it almost makes you feel like making a large campaign contribution -- though maybe not to Trump.
Kate Conger of the New York Times: "X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, is potentially violating U.S. sanctions by accepting payments for subscription accounts from terrorist organizations and other groups barred from doing business in the country, according to a new report. The report, by the Tech Transparency Project, a nonprofit focused on accountability for large technology companies, shows that X ... has taken payments from accounts that include Hezbollah leaders, Houthi groups, and state-run media outlets in Iran and Russia. The subscriptions, which cost $8 a month, offer users a blue check mark -- once limited to verified users like celebrities -- and better promotion by X's algorithm, among other perks.... 'It's yet another sign that X has lost control of its platform,' [said Katie Paul, the director of the Tech Transparency Project.]" (Also linked yesterday.) The Verge has a story here.
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Arizona. GOP Plans to Rig Election. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives have introduced a resolution that would seek to declare ... Donald Trump the winner of the 2024 presidential election -- regardless of what the voters decide, reported KPNX's Brahm Resnik. The resolution would not carry any force of law because it is not a bill, noted Resnik.... According to Resnik, the resolution advocates 'to change the manner of the presidential election by appointing the eleven presidential electors to the republican primary winner to offset the removal of a republican candidate in Colorado and Maine,' and "that Governor Hobbs sign the election reform measures listed below, and if not, the presidential electors be appointed to protect the 2024 presidential election from another maladministered and illegally run election.' There is no evidence that the 2020 presidential election in Arizona was rigged or otherwise 'illegally run.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: The GOP could show how fiscally-responsible the party is by pre-determining the results of every election, thereby precluding the necessity of actually running costly elections. Already I'm seeing the advantages of a Trumpy dictatorship.
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Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israeli forces raided Nasser Hospital, the main hospital in southern Gaza's Khan Younis, on Thursday. The Israel Defense Forces said it was conducting an operation to recover the bodies of hostages, while the Gaza Health Ministry accused the IDF of storming the complex 'after demolishing the southern wall' and said an Israeli drone had fired at a doctors room, injuring one of the emergency doctors. At least 10 people were killed in Lebanon and at least one in Israel after an exchange of strikes Wednesday that marked Israel's most forceful attack on its northern neighbor since the start of the war in Gaza....
"Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday that the military would carry out a 'powerful' offensive in Rafah 'after we allow the civilian population to leave the battle zones.' On Thursday, the leaders of Canada, Australia and New Zealand warned that a ground offensive in Rafah would be 'catastrophic,' with 'simply nowhere else for civilians to go.' Negotiations in Egypt to pause the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of Israeli hostages appeared to stall as Netanyahu accused Hamas of making 'delusional demands.' Officials involved said the two sides were no closer on key details, and Israeli media reported that Netanyahu had ordered negotiators not to return to Cairo." ~~~
~~~ CNN's live updates for Thursday are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.
News Ledes
Washington Post:"The deadly shooting that turned a celebration for the Kansas City Chiefs into tragedy on Wednesday appeared to stem from a dispute among three people and had 'no nexus to terrorism,' officials said Thursday morning. Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a briefing that two of the individuals involved are juveniles.... One woman was killed and 22 people injured in a matter of minutes. The victims' ages range from 8 to 47, Graves said, and half are younger than 16."
Washington Post: The woman who was murdered was Lisa Lopez-Galvan, a local radio DJ "The station where Lopez-Galvan worked, KKFI, announced her death 'with sincere sadness and an extremely heavy and broken heart.'..."
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Reader Comments (22)
Brit Hume realizes that the PoT stooges in the House, under the “leadership” of Bible Mike, shoeshine boy to the Orange Monster, are a bunch of incompetent Do Nothing losers.
In a follow-up report, Brit announces his discovery that water is wet! Stop the presses!
Bible Mike and his band of hair-on-fire, step-on-the-rake bunglers and hypocrites might remind you of that Indian tribe on the old TV satire “F-Troop”. The tribe was named the Hakawis, as in “where the heck are we?” (writers originally tried to call them the Fugawis but censors said “Okay, we see what you’re doing there…”). The Hakawis were a fake tribe played by fake Native Americans, very much like Bible Mike and his bunch, played by fake members of congress. The difference is the Hakawis were good natured types who tended to be much cannier than the F Troop guys. Bible Mike and his bunch of Trump spittoons are vicious idiots, no cannier than a can of tomato soup. An empty can, at that.
Might let Brit know about that too.
Poor TuKKKums. He flies all the way to Moscow to do a sycophantic “interview” (*cough-cough*) with murderous dictator Vladimir Putin, listens as Vlad the Impaler drones on for half an hour about fairy tale, delusional Russian history, asks a couple of softball questions, hoping he comes across as a real journalist (which, let’s face it, he’s never ever been) and gets a back of the hand from Putin who calls him a Weenie Boy.
“‘I honestly thought he would be aggressive and ask so-called sharp questions. And I wasn’t just ready for that, I wanted it, because it would have given me the opportunity to respond sharply in kind.’
Putin complained, ‘But he chose a different tactic.’”
He licked my butt.
These right-wing authoritarian loving sycophants never learn, do they? Demagogues like Putin and Trump use them for their own purposes, then kick them in the teeth.
Hey, at least Bow Tie Boy got to see the ballet before Putin shoved him back in the freezer with the other frozen dinners.
"What was radicalizing, very shocking and very disturbing for me was the city of Moscow, where I'd never been, the biggest city in Europe, 13 million people, and it is so much nicer than any city in my country. It is so much cleaner and safer and prettier aesthetically..." -- Tucker Carlson
I visited Moscow in October 1982. No one knew it then, but that was just about the high water mark for the old Soviet Union. Brezhnev died the following month, followed soon by Andropov and Chernenko. Then Gorbachev took over and that was the beginning of the end.
A neighbor at the time was a career State Department diplomat. He spoke fluent Russian and had been stationed there for many years. He warned us that everything we would see and hear in Moscow was a lie. Nothing was real, it was all a facade.
A prime example was the world famous GUM department store. The show windows on Red Square would have done credit to Saks Fifth Avenue. But inside, the place was like a dirty, gutted warehouse crammed full of rickety tables and stalls. A cheesy flea market and yard sale, with nothing that any American would have had if you gave it to them.
I have wondered if anything has changed much. Has anyone been there more recently?
@D in MD: Ultra-conservative Charles C.W. Cooke of the National Review begs to differ with savvy travel reporter TuKKKer: "There is a small part of [Moscow] that is rather pretty, and, thanks largely to the mafia, a few good restaurants have popped up, but the rest of it remains as bleak and moribund and soulless as it was during the Soviet era." And so forth. Cooke goes to on describe Moscow as what you might call, well, a Potempkin village. (The NR is firewalled, but you get two freebies.)
I'll bet the reason Moscow (Mockba) is so depressed is that there is
no Trump Tower (yet). When that happens, all the other hotels and
businesses will be updated to match the gorgeous Trump Tower.
And billionaire trump can loan all of them the money, interest free,
because he's so generous (with other people's money).
D,
I was there for about a month in 1986, right after the Chernobyl disaster. We were all paying attention to which way the prevailing winds were blowing the radioactive plumes. I was there in an official capacity so we were monitored quite closely, but my observation was pretty much the same as the one Marie quotes.
Right around the center of Moscow, Red Square, eg, things looked presentable, although I was somewhat taken aback at the long line of Muscovites waiting their turn to get a drink of something called Gaz, I think it was. It was an orange syrupy liquid dispensed from a large tank on the back of a truck, squirted out through a nasty looking black hose. Worse? Everyone drank out the same dirty glass. Yeah. Third world, for sure.
In fact, a few blocks outside Red Square and pretty much everywhere else we were allowed to go (I did go off the reservation a few times, but that’s a much longer story), the place looked decidedly third world. At a bookstore in Baku (Azerbaijan, but part of the Soviet Union back then), the lady at the counter added up my purchases on an abacus.
I’m guessing TuKKker’s minders made sure he got the VladWorld tour, and, intrepid journalist that he is (*snicker*), he bought it.
But Russians are well practiced in gaslighting the gullible and the goo-goo brains. Like KKKarlson.
Soulless bastards like Tucker are easy to identify. They don't even have to open their mouths. They just follow the money trail wherever it leads, hoping to scoop up a little for themselves...
Which has me wondering about the large contingent of House Republicans now fleeing their august posts. Did they finally find a little soul deep inside themselves?
Or do they see that tying themselves to the Pretender in the November election is not where smart money would have them position themselves?
Jim Jordan is going after the ghostwriter of Biden's two books.
There must be some leaked security stuff somewhere in those notes
and meetings, say Gym.
https://www.cmm.com/2024/02/14/politics/jim-jordan-biden-ghostwriter-special-counsel-report/index.html
We stayed in the Moskva hotel, off limits to the proletariat. It was very fine, as were the restaurants catering to visitors from the west.
There were some rituals to be observed, though. The first morning I went down to breakfast, I was given a demitasse cup of some vaguely coffee flavored, tepid water. I asked the waiter for a big cup of strong, black, American coffee. He replied "It's not possible."
We had also been briefed that when a Russian says, "it's not possible" what he means is that the exact thing you are asking for is not possible under the circumstances pertaining at that moment. Should something occur to change those circumstances, it may become possible, but he is not going to tell you that.
So the trick was to open a fresh pack of American cigarettes, smoke one, and leave the rest of the pack on the table. On subsequent mornings, I got big cups of delicious coffee.
D,
We stayed at the Moskva as well. Huge hotel. We were apprised of the cigarette trick before going. I had packed three cartons of Camels (the real cancer sticks) and Marlboros, even though I don’t smoke. Any staff coming to the room for any reason hung around until they got their pack of Anericanski smokes. The somewhat unnerving thing was having to turn in your passport when you checked in.
And forget ice water at dinner. Mineral water. Warm.
The other thing I thought interesting was flying on Aeroflot. At a couple of stops, we disembarked in the middle of the runway, walking down movable staircases like in 50’s movies, and had to walk to the terminal (sometimes a hundred yards away).
But the most memorable part of flying Aeroflot was the fact that it didn’t seem like pilots used instruments. It felt like visual flight rules all the time. It was like “Oh shit! There’s the airport, through the clouds!” Steep descent like we were on a bombing run. Non Russians all had this OMG look on their faces. Natives continued reading the latest bullshit in Pravda.
Trump sounds mad that Joe is stealing his moves, which is ridiculous. It was Trump who called for investigations of Hillary, Hunter, Joe and the Mueller probe. This lead to tax audits and firings in some cases, but the investigations fizzled out because of a lack of something called evidence of real crimes. He tried and failed to blackmail Ukraine into opening an investigation into Biden. Though he would most likely still be actively helping out Russia even if Ukraine had done his bidding. Then there are free passes Stone and Flynn got from Don's DOJ. Trump's real problem is that he was so loudly and proudly and publicly criminal for all to see. That forced the hand of the once again independent, but reluctant justice system to look at the former president's* conduct and the excessive criminal behavior. Trump projects his bad behavior on to everyone else. And much of MAGA has taken that projection as an excuse to double down on all the things Trump accuses others of doing.
I can say I have been to Russia too, on a cruise that spent about 12 hours in St. Petersburg in 2019. I must say, just setting foot there made me nervous, but the sheer gold on everything palace-y, and what was not gold was amber made it worthwhile to ogle. We also saw a fancy subway station. That's about it and I didn't regret leaving, and I can't say I saw how people actually live there, but it seems it's nowhere to live. BUT-- I certainly hope evil Putin offers sanctuary to evil Dumpsterfire and we may never see his fat hangdog face again.
A girl can dream...
Listened to part of the Georgia effort to hang Fani Willis and her paramour/romantic partner, and it made me sick. How stupid she has/they have played this, and what a contrast to how she handled the political case, apparently. Truly disappointing.
OK, just one more:
Went down to the hotel kiosk. The woman behind the counter looked exactly like John Belushi. I surveyed the products, spotted the world's most familiar bottle, pointed and said, "Coke, Pazhalsta". She replied, "No Coke, Pepsi." I collapsed with laughter and had to be carried from the room.
@Jeanne: Your 12 hours in St. Petersburg sounds ideal. It is exactly how and how much I would like to see of Russia: the Winter Palace/Hermitage Museum.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/02/15/truth-social-trump-merger-sec/
Maybe the Pretender will now be able to pay his lawyers...
@Ken W: Now why should Trump break with a lifetime and willingly pay for something when he's got an cult of devotees on call to handle the problem? That's what the RNC seems to be for not to mention a tangled web of PACs and Super PACS.
Bobby Lee, you are right, of course.
Don't have a high opinion the Pretender's intelligence but it does seem he's managed to make the Republican Party his wholly owned subsidiary.
It's remarkable. We've seen it done locally, in Daly's Chicago, Tammany Hall, the Missouri political machine whose name I can't recall that elevated Truman, but nationally? The whole stock and barrel?
Interesting to speculate how he's managed it. It sure ain't his genius.
I think it says something about the times.
Social media influence? A generation raised on the three G's? A rise in the national selfish component? Not to mention an outbreak of willful ignorance?
All of the above? And more.
D,
Clearly an SNL fan. Who knew? At least she wasn’t channeling Belushi’s samurai character.
Frank Bruni in NYT does a column postscript which culls great sentences recently printed and sent to him by readers. This one today made me larf:
"... On the electoral-vote.com website, Christopher Bates asserted that Ronald Reagan, in contrast to Trump, had a “fundamental decency” reflected in a sense of humor: “Trump couldn’t make a joke if you spotted him a chicken and a road.” (Lee Semsen, Richland, Wash.) ..."
And, to semi-quote Henny Youngman: "Take my ex-president* ... please!"
The Georgia clusterfuck is stupid, horrible, unnecessary, and yet another life preserver tossed to a criminal traitor fuck who should have gone down with the Pequod months if not years ago. Instead he’s hanging on to Queequeg’s coffin, trying elbow Ishmael out of the way. Willis and Wade should have kept their pants on until that fat traitor was hanging higher than Haman.
But here’s the thing. The PoT asswipes trying to deep six the charges are screaming “conflict of interest”. Aieeeee!
Dear morons, conflict of interest would only apply if they were on opposite sides of the V, as in Trump v Georgia. If Wade was on the Trump side of the V, it certainly could be conflict of interest. But in this case, Willis and Wade were both on the same side.
Where’s the conflict? Stupid, yes, but no conflict.
Had they been engaged in Roman Orgy 101 whoop de do, it would have zero bearing on whether or not that fat fuck and his band of traitors were guilty.
But is it a bad look?
Christ, is it ever.
So, stupid, stupid, stupid.
But not a conflict of interest. And it shouldn’t be a Get Out of Jail card for the Orange Monster.
But it might be.
@Patrick: So mocking minorities, women, veterans and people with disabilities is not evidence of a sense of humor?
I don't think Trump even knows what funny is; he thinks it's hurting people he doesn't like. I hadn't thought about it before, but I suspect a sense of humor requires at least a modicum of humility. Not only does Trump possess no humility, he thinks humility is a personal flaw.
Re: Fatty the Unfunny, it goes along with my longstanding belief that wingers have zero sense of humor, or perhaps it’s more that the type of humor they indulge in tends to be a vicious form of punching down.
Going after the have nots, the poor, the downtrodden, minority groups who serve as punching bags for right-wing media is funny only to thugs, racists, and haters. And I’d go a step further. It’s not so much that these people find it ha-ha funny as much as they enjoy the kind of snarky smirking at someone they hate getting into an accident and breaking a leg.
If your idea of humor relies on pain, violent retribution, and owning the libs, I’d suggest that’s not humor, it’s a nasty form of hate-infused glee based in fear and loathing.
The kind of stuff Trump finds funny.