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To keep the Conversation going, please help me by linking news articles, opinion pieces and other political content in today's Comments section.

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Thank you to everyone who has been contributing links to articles & other content in the Comments section of each day's "Conversation." If you're missing the comments, you're missing some vital links.

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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Jan112024

The Conversation -- January 11, 2024

** New York Times: "The United States and a handful of its allies on Thursday carried out military strikes against more than a dozen targets in Yemen controlled by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia, U.S. officials said, in an expansion of the war in the Middle East that the Biden administration had sought to avoid for three months. The American-led air and naval strikes came in response to more than two dozen Houthi drone and missile attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea since November, and after warnings to the Houthis in the past week from the Biden administration and several international allies of serious 'consequences' if the salvos did not stop." This is a liveblog.

The New York Times is liveblogging developments [link fixed] today in Donald Trump's civil fraud trial. CNN's live updates are here. ~~~

~~~ From the New York Times liveblog:

Jonah Bromwich & Ben Protess: "Donald J. Trump's civil fraud trial enters its final phase on Thursday as each side presents closing arguments in a case that has enraged the former president and threatens his family business."

Bromwich: "The judge has emerged, looking far more cross than usual. The bomb threat to his house arrived early this morning."

Bromwich: "[Trump attorney Christopher] Kise begins by noting that there is no jury, and then claims, to begin his closing, that 'not one witness came into this courtroom, your honor, and said there was fraud.'... Kise ... says 'this entire case is a manufactured claim to pursue a political agenda,' complete with 'press releases and posturing but no proof at all.' He then delivers one of the points that is most important to him: That the banks were unaffected by any fraud in Trump's financial statements and there was no harm to the marketplace."

Kate Christobek: "Kise ... is telling the court that their expert witness Eli Bartov was 'unfairly maligned' by both the attorney general's office and the court. During this argument, Trump starts shifting in his chair and hunches over the defense table."

Bromwich: "[Judge Arthur] Engoron has said that Bartov, an N.Y.U. professor, 'lost all credibility' by 'doggedly attempting to justify' every falsehood in Trump's annual financial statements. 'All that his testimony proves is that for a million or so dollars, some experts will say whatever you want them to say,' the judge wrote."

Christobek: "Kise is lavishing praise on his client, telling the court that Trump is an 'industry expert' working in real estate for nearly 50 years. Engoron reminds Kise that he didn't deem Trump an expert witness during this trial, but Kise argues that someone with Trump's knowledge, training, and experience is an expert and the court should weigh that expertise."

Bromwich: "Kise ... notes that Deutsche Bank was happy to lend to Trump, and that the annual financial statements did not affect the terms of the loans he received. 'That's unrebutted!' he keeps exclaiming as he argues.... In their closing papers, the defense wrote that the court 'may not disregard unrebutted testimony.'"

Christobek: "While Engoron, the judge, sat silent in the early portion of Kise's closing statements, he has now started routinely interrupting Kise to ask questions and counter his arguments. This hasn't seemed to bother Trump today, even though he has typically appeared frustrated by such disruptions during the trial."

Bromwich: "Kise, the Trump lawyer, and the judge are back to arguing. They frequently are at loggerheads, in part because -- unlike what happens in most proceedings -- Kise does not try to conform to the judge's opinions or try to appease him. Instead, as we've noted, his arguments seem targeted toward an appeals court, the public, and his client, the former president."

Christobek: "Addressing cameras outside the courtroom [during a break in proceedings], Trump says that [New York AG] Letitia James is an attorney general 'who hates Donald Trump' and who sued him only for publicity. He continues that she should be 'criminally liable' for pursuing this case."

Bromwich: "[Alina] Habba's argument is, as usual, performative. She's pacing in front of the bench, gesticulating and raising her voice, as she defends two of her clients, Allen Weisselberg and Jeffrey McConney, who were the heads of accounting at the Trump Organization. She is shuffling through arguments rapidly, perhaps because she is time-limited."

Bromwich: "Habba is starting to attack the attorney general for drinking Starbucks and for, she claims, having her shoes off in court this morning.... The judge cuts in, inquiring about the relevance of the attorney general's shoes."

Bromwich: "Next up is Clifford S. Robert, a lawyer for Trump's adult sons.... Robert calls Michael Cohen 'the biggest liar on the face of the planet,' before saying that even Cohen admitted that Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. had nothing to do with the company's annual financial statements.... Robert concludes. Kise asks that Engoron allow Trump to address the court.... Engoron says 'this is not how it should have been done.' He addresses Trump directly and asks him to promise to comment on the law and the facts, and not go outside those lines."

** Bromwich: "Trump, speaking into the microphone, says the case goes outside the law and the facts, and that the annual financial statements were perfect. 'There wasn't one witness against us,' Trump says, calling the case a 'political witch hunt.'... 'I'm an innocent man,' he says. 'I've been persecuted by someone running for office,' apparently referring to the attorney general.... 'This is a fraud on me,' he says of the case. Engoron is staring stonily at him.... [Trump] is attacking Letitia James, saying she 'hates Trump and uses Trump to get elected.' He says that James 'found nothing.'... And Trump is now attacking the judge to his face, saying 'You can't listen for more than one minute.' Engoron asks Kise to 'control your client.' Trump says 'I did nothing wrong,' and says the attorney general 'should pay me' for what he's gone through.... Engoron cuts Trump off. The former president stands slowly and prepares to leave the room."

[Marie: I am struck again at how monumentally stupid Trump is. The fact that millions of Americans think he a demigod is sad evidence of how many Americans are even stupider than he.]

Bromwich: "Kevin Wallace, the lawyer for the attorney general's office..., [says,] 'We're back to hearing the same arguments from defendants... Valuations are subjective. Donald Trump is rich. Banks like rich people.'"

Christobek: "Wallace cuts right to the heart of this case by saying that Trump's financial statements were false in every year from 2011 to 2021, and false by as much as $2.2 billion."

Bromwich: "Wallace is attacking the credibility of Trump's expert witnesses one by one.... Christopher Kise ... is standing up and objecting to Wallace using the phrase 'murderer's row' in describing Trump's expert witnesses."

Nate Schweber: "During a short and rambling news conference at 40 Wall Street, Trump repeatedly attacked both Letitia James and Joe Biden. 'She's got serious Trump Derangement Syndrome,' he said of James. Twice, Trump said that Biden could not 'string two sentences together.'"

Bromwich: "Meanwhile, in court, Wallace ... is making an elaborate argument, saying that the fraud was necessary for the operations of the Trump Organization. He says, for instance, that while Trump's actual cash on hand was significantly lower than he reported, the business was able to continue to operate with generous loan terms, allowing the Trump family to avoid making hard choices."

Bromwich: "[A lawyer for the attorney general's office, Andrew] Amer, says that [Trump's CFS Allen] Weisselberg's intent to defraud was demonstrated by actions he took in regard to Trump's triplex in Trump Tower. When Forbes reported that Trump had been overvaluing the apartment, saying it was triple its actual size, Weisselberg corrected its value in the annual financial statements. But he distributed that excess value to other assets to keep Trump's represented net worth at the same level."

Bromwich: "Amer has moved to trying to show that Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. acted with intent to defraud. He says that evidence demonstrates that they played an active role in a 2021 financial statement that included fraudulent values.... Engoron interrupts. He says that the attorney general's post-trial brief doesn't have much evidence that Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr. knew there was fraud. 'I haven't seen it,' the judge says. This comment is about the best news from this trial that Eric and Donald Trump Jr. have received in months."

Bromwich: "Wallace [for the state] is remarking on the total lack of repentance from Trump and the other defendants, saying he and his lawyers 'cannot stop telling anyone with a microphone' that the case is a politically motivated witch hunt.... 'Nothing is his fault,' he says [of Donald Trump]. 'Everything being done to him is conspiracy and unjust. He's the victim.'"

[Marie: So unfa-a-a-air! (Thanks to RAS for the link.) ~~~

Bromwich: "Engoron says that he knows everyone is anxious to get a decision. He says he will do his best to issue a final decision in the case by Jan. 31."

Olivia Bensimon: "After the court was adjourned, Letitia James calmly walked down the steps of the courthouse to deliver a statement. 'This case has never been about politics, personal vendetta, or about name calling. This case is about the facts and the law, and Mr. Trump violated the law,' she said."

~~~ Another Trump-Inspired Threat. Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Nassau County authorities on Thursday responded to a bomb threat at the house of the judge presiding over the civil fraud trial of Donald J. Trump. A spokesman for the Nassau County Police Department confirmed that there was an investigation at the house of the judge, Arthur F. Engoron, who in several hours is expected to hear closing arguments in Mr. Trump's case. Two people with knowledge of the matter said that the threat involved a bomb and that the bomb squad came to the house."

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: Lot's o' news, little progress on anything.

Presidential Race 2024

** Gregory Krieg, et al., of CNN: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced Wednesday that he is ending his campaign for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, marking the exit of the most outspoken critic of ... Donald Trump in the GOP primary. 'It is clear to me tonight that there isn't a path for me to win the nomination, which is why I'm suspending my campaign tonight for President of the United States,' he said at a town hall in Windham, New Hampshire, just 10 days before the first-in-the-nation primary. He called it the 'right thing for me to do' and promised that he would never 'enable Donald Trump to become, to ever be president of the United States again.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey suspended his presidential campaign on Wednesday, but he undermined his effort to stop Donald J. Trump when he sweepingly dismissed his Republican rivals during a hot-mic moment. Minutes before his announcement in Windham, N.H., Mr. Christie could be heard on the event's livestream, saying, 'She's going to get smoked, and you and I both know it,' in a reference to Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor. 'She's not up to this.' He added of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, 'DeSantis called me, petrified.' Mr. Trump immediately seized on the remarks, writing on Truth Social that Mr. Christie's comments about Ms. Haley, who appears to be the most significant obstacle to a Trump victory in New Hampshire, were a 'very truthful statement.' In his speech, Mr. Christie did not endorse any of his rivals, nor did he address their prospects against Mr. Trump, dashing the hopes of Republican moderates that his exit would unify remaining members of the party who oppose Mr. Trump." ~~~

     ~~~ Politico has the (not-firewalled) audio of Christie's hot-mic moment here.

The Bickersons. Shane Goldmacher, et al., of the New York Times: "Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis traded attacks on a debate stage on Wednesday night as Donald J. Trump basked in the applause of a friendly audience on a different television network, dueling appearances that showcased how the Republican primary race increasingly feels like a contest for second place. At Drake University in Iowa, Mr. DeSantis and Ms. Haley engaged in two hours of verbal combat in which they showed more determination to relentlessly score points against each other than present a cohesive vision for the American people -- or attack the dominant front-runner, Mr. Trump. At times, it seemed as if Mr. DeSantis and Ms. Haley thought the winner would be determined by whoever spoke the most words per minute, racing through attacks at such speed they were all but indecipherable. With a platform all his own, Mr. Trump appeared to keep marching toward the party's nomination." The AP's report is here.

Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump ... said on Wednesday that he knew who he would choose to be his running mate. 'I can't tell you that really,' Mr. Trump said when asked about a potential vice president at a Fox News town hall in Des Moines. 'I mean, I know who it's going to be.'"

Former Racist-in-Chief Returns to His Birther Roots. Vaughn Hillyard & Amanda Terkel of NBC News: "Donald Trump, the chief propagator of false 'birther' claims first against then-President Barack Obama and later against Sen. Ted Cruz, has a new target: Nikki Haley. As Haley surges in New Hampshire polling, Trump posted an article on his Truth Social account from a right-wing outlet that claimed Haley, his GOP rival, is ineligible to be president because her parents were not U.S. citizens when she was born. Haley was born in South Carolina and has lived in the U.S. her entire life. Her parents were immigrants, who became citizens after her birth in 1972. 'The birther claims against Nikki Haley are totally baseless as a legal and constitutional matter,' Harvard Law School professor emeritus Laurence Tribe wrote in an email. 'I can't imagine what Trump hopes to gain by those claims unless it's to play the race card against the former governor and UN ambassador as a woman of color -- and to draw on the wellsprings of anti-immigrant prejudice by reminding everyone that Haley's parents weren't citizens when she was born in the USA.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times is more direct than the NBC reporters about the racism at the heart of Trump's false charge: "... Donald J. Trump has reached back into his brand of nativism to accuse a political opponent of color -- this time, Nikki Haley -- of not being a real American eligible for the presidency as he defends his own eligibility for the ballot under the Constitution."

Eddy Wax of Politico: "One of Europe's most senior politicians recounted how ... Donald Trump privately warned that America would not come to the EU's aid if it was attacked militarily.'You need to understand that if Europe is under attack we will never come to help you and to support you,' Trump told European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in 2020, according to French European Commissioner Thierry Breton, who was also present at a meeting at the World Economic Forum in Davos. 'By the way, NATO is dead, and we will leave, we will quit NATO,' Trump also said, according to Breton. And he added, "and by the way, you owe me $400 billion, because you didn't pay, you Germans, what you had to pay for defense,"' Breton said about the tense meeting, where the EU's then-trade chief Phil Hogan was also present.... Brussels is rife with fear about the possibility Trump will return to the U.S. presidency." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Isn't this all part of Trump's plan to aid Vladimir Putin; that is, to allow a wanna-be emperor to run roughshod over smaller European and Europe-adjacent countries and restore the Soviet Union? And what? Trump would do it for a licensing deal for Trump Tower Moscow?


Chaos at a House Hearing. Marie: So I turn on the teevee Wednesday morning, and what do I hear to my wondering ears but Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.) pounding the gavel while members of his Get-Hunter committee shouting over each other: ~~~

     ~~~ Turns Out This Is What All the Excitement Was About. Annie Grayer of CNN: "House Republicans [began] the process of holding Hunter Biden in criminal contempt of Congress on Wednesday for not complying with a congressional subpoena to sit for a closed-door deposition last month, and the president's son showed up unexpectedly on Capitol Hill.... Hunter Biden was spotted in the halls of Congress with his lawyers outside the Oversight Committee hearing, creating a tumultuous scene inside and outside the committee room as lawmakers debated what to do. Hunter Biden entered the committee room and sat down for around 10 minutes before departing. His lawyers made a brief statement to reporters." The New York Times report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ John Berman of CNN said on-air that what went on at the hearing was "complete mayhem." MB: Is telling a potential witness he has "no balls," as Rep. Nancy Mays (R-S.C.) did, follow House rules of decorum? Maybe so, when you consider that another member of the committee, Marjorie Taylor Greene, used an earlier hearing to display large placards featuring all of Hunter Biden's junk. Biden walked out of the hearing Wednesday when Miss Margie got her turn to speak. ~~~

~~~ Rep. Jared Moscowitz (D-Fla.) had a modest proposal:

~~~ And Here's the Upshot. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House Judiciary Committee voted on Wednesday along party lines to hold Hunter Biden, the president's son, in contempt of Congress, hours after he surprised Republicans by appearing unannounced on Capitol Hill, prompting a partisan free-for-all. The 23-to-14 vote sends the matter to the full House, which is controlled by Republicans. The measure accuses the younger Mr. Biden of failing to sit for a private deposition in the impeachment inquiry against President Biden. It came as the House Oversight Committee continued a lengthy and at times vitriolic meeting on an identical resolution, which also was expected to be approved along party lines." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Surpri-i-ise! Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "When Hunter Biden interrupted a House Oversight Committee vote over holding him in contempt of Congress on Wednesday, Republican lawmakers were not the only ones caught off guard. President Biden's advisers were surprised to see him there, too. According to several people with knowledge of the younger Mr. Biden's legal strategy, he and his legal team, which includes the Washington scandal lawyer Abbe Lowell and the Los Angeles-based lawyer Kevin Morris, saw no reason to give the White House a heads-up. Hunter Biden and his team had wanted the response they got: shock, surprise and, ultimately, unwillingness by Republicans to swear him in on the spot so he could testify in public, rather than in the closed-door deposition that the G.O.P. had demanded.... White House officials privately say that the younger Mr. Biden has the right to defend himself, but that there are risks associated with added public attention to his legal troubles."

MEANWHILE, Chaos on the House Floor. Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Conservatives [MB: i.e., mad winger ideologues] thrust the House back into chaos on Wednesday, grinding business to a halt in protest of the spending deal Speaker Mike Johnson struck with Democrats to avert a government shutdown and leaving the funding package in limbo. A dozen hard-line Republicans defected from the party line to tank a routine procedural measure, blocking consideration of a pair of G.O.P. bills in what amounted to a warning shot by members of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus that they would not stand for the agreement.... The upheaval came as it was becoming clear that Congress would most likely have to resort to yet another short-term spending patch -- something Mr. Johnson had previously ruled out -- to buy time to push a bipartisan deal to fund the government. The scene on the House floor on Wednesday was a procedural protest that was once seen as all but unthinkable in the chamber, but which right-wing lawmakers used repeatedly last year against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy to protest his spending deals before they eventually deposed him." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As ye sow, Mikey.... ~~~

~~~ AND. Fake Impeachment, Sí; Immigration Bill, No. BUT. Jacqueline Alemany, et al., of the Washington Post: "... House Republicans ramped up the long-simmering effort to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas heading into the 2024 election on Wednesday during the first hearing on the issue. During the hearing, Republicans did not clearly articulate what formal charges will brought against Mayorkas. But they maintained that Mayorkas has been derelict in his duty to secure the border, citing a 2006 law that requires the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security to maintain 'operational control' over the border.... The renewed focus on the impeachment case against Mayorkas, the face of one of the country's most intractable issues, also comes as some far-right Republicans are pressuring House GOP leadership to force a government shutdown over proposed changes to immigration law.... Frank O. Bowman III, a professor at the University of Missouri School of Law and a witness for Democrats at the hearing, argued that..., according to the Constitution, impeachment 'is not supposed to be a routine tool to resolve ordinary public policy debates, even very passionate ones.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) made a panel of GOP state attorneys general squirm on Wednesday when he got them to all agree on what counts as impeachable offenses ― and then asked them about Donald Trump's conduct. House Republicans brought in three GOP state attorneys general to testify in a hearing in support of impeaching Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.... Swalwell took the opportunity to ask the GOP's witnesses ― Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen, Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey ― what they consider to be an impeachable offense.... But [when Swalwell] brought up Trump's conduct in recent years..., suddenly, nobody had legal opinions about impeachment anymore.... 'They're not interested in finding any solution to the border,' [Swawell] said of the GOP. 'We have witnesses who want to comment only on Mayorkas, but don't want to comment on President Trump.... I just see a party that does not want to fix, but only wants the fiction.':

The Trials of Trump

So Unfa-a-a-air! Jennifer Peltz & Jake Offenhartz of the AP: "Donald Trump won't make his own closing argument after all in his New York civil business fraud trial after his lawyers objected to the judge's insistence that the former president stick to 'relevant' matters. Judge Arthur Engoron rescinded permission for the unusual plan on Wednesday, a day ahead of closing arguments in the trial.... [Judge Engoron] said Trump would have to limit his remarks to the boundaries that cover attorneys' closing arguments: 'commentary on the relevant, material facts that are in evidence, and application of the relevant law to those facts.' He would not be allowed to introduce new evidence, 'comment on irrelevant matters' or 'deliver a campaign speech' -- or impugn the judge, his staff, the attorney general, her lawyers or the court system, the judge wrote.... Trump attorney Christopher Kise ... termed the restrictions 'very unfair.'" And more. MB: Engoron shot down Trump's entire soliloquy. And here Akhilleus was looking forward to a remarkable unraveling (see yesterday's Comments). (Also linked yesterday.)

Tatyana Tandanpolie of Salon: "A federal judge on Tuesday delivered a scathing order effectively blocking ... Donald Trump from employing the go-to moves of his litigation playbook ahead of his second, E. Jean Carroll defamation trial in New York, which is set to begin next week. Trump's lawyers had initially prepped for the upcoming trial as if the first case brought by the ex-columnist hadn't happened, according to The Daily Beast's Jose Pagliery, viewing it as a redo and a chance at vindication for the former president after a jury concluded last year that he sexually abused Carroll in the mid-1990s. But U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan intercepted that plan Tuesday, establishing that this proceeding would not be rehashing whether he assaulted Carroll. 'In other words, the material facts concerning the alleged sexual assault already have been determined, and this trial will not be a "do over" of the previous trial,' Kaplan said in the 27-page order. The federal judge outlined that the jury in the upcoming trial will only be deciding on how much in damages Trump will fork over for defaming Carroll while serving as president in 2019...." (Also linked yesterday.)

An Essentially Violent Man. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Eight years ago, just before the Iowa caucuses, Donald J. Trump crowed about his invulnerability. 'I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?' he said. 'It's, like, incredible.' On Tuesday, at a federal appeals court argument held the week before this year's caucuses, a lawyer for Mr. Trump said that the Constitution basically states the same thing. It took a few questions from Judge Florence Y. Pan to pin down the lawyer, D. John Sauer. But in the end he made the jaw-dropping claim that former presidents are absolutely immune from prosecution even for murders they ordered while in office. Mr. Sauer ... explained that prosecution would only be permitted if the president were first impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate.... A member of Congress might be reluctant ... to vote against a president prepared to order the military to murder his opponents." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As I pointed out a few days ago, Judge Pan got Sauer to contradict his own argument that jeopardy attaches to impeachment; that is, if there is one circumstance in which impeachment does not create jeopardy -- i.e., when the Senate convicts -- then impeachment itself is not inherently a proceeding to which jeopardy attaches -- or guarantees immunity. But I see now that Sauer's ludicrous position is also self-contradictory because if (a) the Senate convicts, then (b) a prosecutor brings charges for the same conduct, the prosecutor has -- by Sauer's "logic" -- subjected the hapless president* to double jeopardy. So Unfa-a-a-air. The more straightforward fact is that, as Liptak points out, the so-called "impeachment judgment clause" of the Constitution does not in any way preclude criminal prosecution of a president* -- at least after s/he has left office. ~~~

~~~ Alan Feuer & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "When ... Donald J. Trump appeared before an appeals court in Washington this week to claim he was immune from prosecution for his efforts to overturn the 2020 election, one of his lawyers argued that he should not face criminal charges because the Senate had failed to convict him of similar offenses at an impeachment trial three years ago. But at that February 2021 trial, Mr. Trump, through a different set of lawyers, made the opposite claim: He argued that the Senate could not convict him because he was already out of office, while pointing to the criminal justice system as the legitimate remaining way to seek accountability. 'After he is out of office,' Bruce Castor, one of the impeachment lawyers, said, 'you go and arrest him.'... A doctrine in the law known as judicial estoppel forbids parties from taking positions that contradict statements they made in earlier legal proceedings. And at least two of the judges on the three-judge panel appeared troubled by the prospect that the seeming discrepancy in Mr. Trump's arguments amounted to something like a shell game." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Quite a number of pundits & legal experts have obsessed this week over Trump's argument that he couldn't be held criminally accountable for offenses in office unless the Senate had convicted him. But it's almost silly to try to find the logic in that argument, because it's just part of that Trumpity shell game. I don't think any of us doubts that if Trump were re-elected, impeached and convicted of some potentially criminal acts, that he would send his lawyers to court arguing that he could not be criminally prosecuted because the Senate already had convicted him, and the Fifth Amendment protects a person from double jeopardy. BTW, what the Fifth Amendment specifies is, "nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb." IMO, the Fifth Amendment makes clear that jeopardy does not attach to a Senate conviction because an impeachment merely removes a person from office (and can prevent him/her from holding office again); it does not put the convicted person "in jeopardy of life or limb." What the Founders meant by "jeopardy" was incarceration or the death penalty, not removal from office. ~~~

     ~~~ George Conway Sees Another Glaring Flaw in Trump's Flawed Argument. Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "Conservative attorney George Conway said Tuesday that the presidential immunity argument made by former President Trump's legal team in federal court Tuesday 'made absolutely no sense.'... So what he's saying, on one hand, is ... we can't have presidents prosecuted because ... it could be political, and then he';s saying that the political Congress gets to decide,' Conway told CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday....' Conway suggested that in the hearing, [Trump lawyer John] Sauer 'set a trap for himself' that [Judge Florence] Pan 'completely closed off' with an 'intellectual tour de force.'"


Ruth Graham of the New York Times: "The criminal case against a former cardinal who was once one of the most prominent and revered Catholic leaders in the country was suspended Wednesday, possibly ending efforts to prosecute him on sex abuse charges. Theodore McCarrick, the highest-ranking Catholic official in the nation to be criminally prosecuted on charges of sexual abuse, was found not competent to stand trial. Wisconsin county Judge David M. Reddy did not dismiss the case outright, since he said he did not have the power to do so. That decision will be up to District Attorney Zeke Wiedenfeld, who was not immediately available for comment on Wednesday. His deputy, Jim Sempf, said Mr. Wiedenfeld said Tuesday, the day before the hearing, that he had not wanted to dismiss the charges."


Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "More than 20 million people have signed up for plans on the Affordable Care Act's marketplaces during the annual open enrollment period, far surpassing last year's record of more than 16 million enrollments, the Biden administration announced on Wednesday. The figures were a landmark moment for the 2010 health law, underscoring the significance of enhanced subsidies for Americans and the continuing reach of the marketplaces after years of Republican efforts to whittle them down." (Also linked yesterday.)

Francesca Paris of the New York Times: "The curves on some Covid graphs are looking quite steep, again. Reported levels of the virus in U.S. wastewater are higher than they have been since the first Omicron wave, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, though severe outcomes still remain rarer than in earlier pandemic winters.... The surge might reach its peak this week or soon after, modelers predict, with high levels of transmission expected for at least another month beyond that."

~~~~~~~~~~

Annie Gowen of the Washington Post: "Republican governors in 15 states are rejecting a new federally funded program to give food assistance to hungry children during the summer months, denying benefits to 8 million children across the country. The program is expected to serve 21 million youngsters starting around June, providing $2.5 billion in relief across the country. The governors have given varying reasons for refusing to take part, from the price tag to the fact that the final details of the plan have yet to be worked out. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) said she saw no need to add money to a program that helps food-insecure youths 'when childhood obesity has become an epidemic.' Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen (R) said bluntly, 'I don't believe in welfare.'... Those who work with families in states where the food money has been turned down said the impact will be devastating and add pressure to private food banks." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I still find it jarring when Republicans show off their stupidity. For instance, Gov. Reynolds' claiming she won't support a childhood food program because childhood obesity. A main reason some children from poor families are obese is that their parents use their meager financial resources to fill the kids up on unhealthy starches instead of providng them with healthful, balanced meals including unprocessed fruits & vegetables. If my goal were to make kids go hungry, as is Reynolds', I'd guess I'd try to conjure up more highminded excuses for my cruelty.

~~~~~~~~~~

Ecuador. Arturo Torres, et al., of the Washington Post: "This country was once a relatively peaceful haven in South America, wedged between neighbors often racked by armed conflict and guerrilla violence. On Wednesday, Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, declared that his nation was entering a new era: 'We are in a state of war.' A day earlier, the 36-year-old president had taken an extraordinary measure never before used in Ecuador and rarely seen in Latin America, formally announcing a state of internal armed conflict and giving the military sweeping powers to combat 22 criminal gangs he defined as 'terrorists.' Noboa issued the executive order in response to a series of apparently coordinated attacks that swept across Ecuador on Tuesday, terrorizing citizens and paralyzing cities."

Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "South Africa is presenting its arguments Thursday to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, accusing Israel of committing genocide in Gaza. Israel denies the allegations, which U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has described as 'meritless' while urging Israel to scale back the intensity of its military operations.... Blinken arrived in Egypt to conclude his seven-nation tour of the Middle East. His visits with Arab and Turkish leaders have focused on plans for postwar reconstruction and governance in Gaza, which received little public response from Israeli officials." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Thursday are here. The New York Times' live updates are here.

Poland. Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Poland's bumpy transition to a new government hit dramatic turbulence on Wednesday when a prominent hard-line minister in the former right-wing administration declared himself a 'political prisoner' and announced he was going on a hunger strike to protest his arrest following conviction for abuse of power. Seeking to avoid a two-year jail sentence handed down by a Warsaw court in December, the former minister, Mariusz Kaminski, took refuge from police on Tuesday in the palace of the Polish president, a close ally of the former conservative governing party, Law and Justice. The resulting standoff between police officers loyal to the new government of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, a veteran centrist, and Law and Justice supporters escalated a disruptive campaign by the former governing party, defeated in an October election, to resist the transfer of power by casting the election winners as illegitimate usurpers intent on persecuting their rivals.Tuesday's confrontation at the presidential palace ended peacefully late in the evening after police officers were allowed to enter the building. They took Mr. Kaminski, a former minister responsible for Poland's security services, into custody, along with a former aide, Maciej Wasik, who has also been convicted of abuse of power." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Except for the hunger strike part, this is what I expected Donald Trump to do on January 20, 2021. I was surprised when aides or others persuaded him to leave the White House.

News Lede

CNBC: }Prices that consumers pay for a variety of goods and services rose more than expected in December, according to a Labor Department measure Thursday that shows inflation still holding a grip on the U.S. economy. The consumer price index increased 0.3% for the month, higher than the 0.2% estimate at a time when most economists and policymakers see inflationary pressures easing. On a 12-month basis, the CPI closed 2023 up 3.4%. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for a year-over-year reading of 3.2%."

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Reader Comments (6)

Remember that headline "Dewey defeats Truman"?

We should keep that in mind when Fox News reports "Trump
defeats Biden".

There's always hope.

January 11, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterForrestMorris

This morning's predictable bomb threat on the Pretender's fraud trial judge reminds me of something I often heard in my youth, when nearly everyone had access to the dynamite that was commonly used for stump blasting:

He's not worth the powder to blow him up, they'd say.

This threat was unfortunately directed at the wrong guy.

January 11, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

"Trump says he got money from China and Saudi Arabia because he was “doing services” for them

Former President Donald Trump defended his businesses accepting payments from foreign governments during a Fox News town hall on Wednesday. The comments came in response to a Jan. 4 report from House Oversight Committee Democrats finding that the former president had received at least $7.8 million in payments from foreign governments, including China and Saudi Arabia, and their controlled entities while in office.

"That's a small amount of money. You know, it sounds like a lot of money. That's small," Trump said during the event. He went on to explain that the governments paid for accommodations at his hotels and clubs. "I was doing services for them. People were staying in these massive hotels, these beautiful hotels," Trump said, adding, "I don't get $8 million for doing nothing." Oversight Committee Democrats reported that Trump's businesses had raked in money from at least 20 countries, ranging "from the People's Republic of China to Saudi Arabia to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Malaysia to Albania to Kosovo," which spent "often lavishly" for stays at his hotels in Washington, Las Vegas and New York or his apartments.

Receiving those payments violated the Constitution, according to the lawmakers. "President Trump never sought or received Congress's approval to keep these foreign payments, as the Constitution requires," the report said."

January 11, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

Trump's defenses

January 11, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS

So, Trump is going to leave Israel out to dry. Yesterday he dissed Nato, Germany, Europe, The UN but he pointedly left out The International Criminal Court currently hearing a case charging Israel with genocide. Trump, under other circumstances, would tell The Court to go to hell.

January 11, 2024 | Unregistered Commentercrashdavid

Rolling Stone

"According to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to Rolling Stone, in recent weeks Trump had told several close allies of his intention to personally deliver a closing argument, and at times previewed some of the things he wanted to say before the judge. One of the sources describes it as the ex-president informally “rehearsing” his spite-filled court monologue for his friends.

The former president’s private “rehearsing” of what he planned to say included haranguing the judge’s staff, railing against the New York attorney general as “racist” and soft on crime, claiming that the trial was an example of the Democratic Party and Biden supposedly trying to “rig” the 2024 election, and gratuitously boasting of the values of his sprawling business and real-estate empire, among other jabs and bluster."

January 11, 2024 | Unregistered CommenterRAS
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