The Commentariat -- April 1, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Daniel Lippman of Politico: "The White House is removing the Interior Department's chief of staff, Jennifer Van der Heide, who recently planned a 50-person indoor party at the agency that the White House ordered canceled, and is moving her to a senior counselor job at the agency, according to two Biden administration officials. The White House's Cabinet affairs office ordered that party, which was intended to celebrate Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's confirmation, to be called off amid fears it could become a superspreader event, as Politico first reported late last week." MB: Van der Heide said she thought the fact that the agency was called the Interior Department meant they could party in the interior of the building. She's pretty bright, and we're all sure she'll make a great "senior counselor."

Thomas Moore of the Hill: "Fox News has confirmed it has no plans to hire Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) for a job at the network. 'No one with any level of authority has had conversations with Matt Gaetz for any of our platforms, and we have no interest in hiring him,' the network said in a statement. The statement was issued after a report in The Daily Beast Wednesday that Gaetz was talking with people at Fox News, One America News Network and Newsmax about possible jobs. Axios first reported Tuesday that Gaetz was considering retiring from Congress and possibly working at Newsmax."

Yin. Texas. Jane Timm of NBC News: "The Texas Senate in the early morning hours Thursday passed a package of election bills that would put new restrictions on voting in the state. The final version of the Senate Bill 7 is not yet online for review, but the original bill banned overnight early voting hours and drive-thru early voting, while restricting how election officials handle mail voting."

~~~ And Yang. Virginia. Gregory Schneider of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court of Virginia has cleared the way for the city of Charlottesville to take down the statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee that was the focus of 2017's deadly Unite the Right rally, and the ruling appears to open the door for statue removals around the state. The Charlottesville City Council voted to take down both the Lee and a nearby statue of Stonewall Jackson shortly after the rally in which white supremacists defended Confederate iconography, with one of them driving his car through a crowd of counterprotesters and killing a young woman. But several local residents sued to prevent the statues from coming down. They argued that a state law passed in 1997 prohibited localities from removing Confederate war memorials."

The New York Times is liveblogging Day 4 of Derek Chauvin's trial here. The Washington Post's live updates are here.

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Jonathan Lemire, et al., of the AP: "President Joe Biden outlined a huge $2.3 trillion plan Wednesday to reengineer the nation's infrastructure in what he billed as 'a once-in-a-generation investment in America' that would undo his predecessor's signature legislative achievement -- giant tax cuts for corporations -- in the process. Speaking at a carpenters union training center in Pittsburgh, Biden drew comparisons between his hard-hatted proposed transformation of the U.S. economy and the space race -- and promised results as grand in scale as the New Deal or Great Society programs that shaped the 20th century. 'It's not a plan that tinkers around the edges,' Biden said. 'It's a once-in-a-generation investment in America unlike anything we've seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades ago. In fact, it's the largest American jobs investment since World War II. It will create millions of jobs, good-paying jobs.'... [Biden's] infrastructure projects would be financed by higher corporate taxes -- a trade-off that could lead to fierce resistance from the business community and thwart attempts to work with Republican lawmakers. Biden hopes to pass an infrastructure plan by summer, which could mean relying solely on the slim Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate." ~~~

     ~~~ Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out that in choosing Pittsburgh as the site for his infrastructure announcement, Biden was choosing the city that has the greatest number of bridges in the world, three more than Venice, Italy.

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The Defense Department on Wednesday reversed a Trump-era ban restricting transgender troops from serving openly, outlining new policies that include greater access to medical care resources to help people transition while in uniform. The new Pentagon guidelines roll back 2019 Trump administration restrictions that severely limited how transgender people could enlist and serve. Soon after taking office, President Biden issued an executive order offering immediate protection for troops at risk of being forced out of the military, with the White House saying in a statement that 'America is stronger, at home and around the world, when it is inclusive.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't know why Horton repeatedly invokes a "Trump-era ban." This was Donald Trump's ban. His personal order. In July 2017, "... Donald Trump used Twitter to announce that the U.S. Military will no longer allow transgender people to serve 'in any capacity,' reversing Obama-era policy." The Pentagon, under then-Defense Secretary Jim Mattis, initially resisted Trump's Twitter rant.

So Long, Trump "Experts." Dino Grandoni of the Washington Post: "Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will purge more than 40 outside experts appointed under ... Donald Trump from two key advisory panels, a move he says will help restore the role of science at the agency and reduce the heavy influence of industry over environmental regulations. The unusual decision, announced Wednesday, will sweep away outside researchers picked under the previous administration whose expert advice helped the agency craft regulations related to air pollution, the oil-and-gas extraction method known as fracking and other issues. Critics say that, under Trump, membership of the two panels -- the EPA's Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) -- tilted too heavily in favor of regulated industries and that their positions sometimes contradicted scientific consensus."

Tracy Connor, et al., of the Daily Beast: "The scandal swirling around Rep. Matt Gaetz took a stunning turn Wednesday with the news that a former Air Force intelligence official and a Florida lawyer tried to get the congressman's dad to cough up $25 million that would be used to free American Bob Levinson from Iranian custody -- and somehow release Gaetz from a federal sex-crimes investigation. And if that wasn't enough, here's one more strange fact: Levinson was declared dead last year. The Washington Examiner obtained a document that was allegedly presented to Don Gaetz [-- Matt's father --] by the ex-military official, Bob Kent, that laid out the purported scheme. The site also obtained an email sent to Don Gaetz's lawyer by federal prosecutors that suggests they were looking into whether a crime was under way. The document ... stipulated that Gaetz would deposit money for Levinson's ransom in an account connected to the firm of Florida lawyer David McGee, who has represented the Levinson family for years. Also named in the scheme: Stephen Alford, a convicted fraudster who McGee has represented -- both in court and in business matters." ~~~

~~~ Matt Dixon & Betsy Swan of Politico: "Rep. Matt Gaetz's father, Don, a former Florida Senate president, said he is working with the FBI, including wearing a wire on more than one occasion as part of an investigation into an alleged extortion plot that the pair said was organized by former federal prosecutor David McGee. 'The FBI asked me to try and get that information for Matt and an indication we would transfer money to Mr. David McGee,' Don Gaetz said in an interview late Tuesday, without specifying what information he was referring to.... [Former AG Bill] Barr ... received multiple briefings on the Gaetz probe, beginning in the summer of 2020.... The briefing was important because -- among other reasons -- Barr didn't want to accidentally appear anywhere with Gaetz.... At one point, Barr was scheduled for a meet-and-greet with Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee. But DOJ canceled his appearance at the event when they saw that Gaetz, a member of that committee, had RSVP'd for it." ~~~

~~~ His Dinner with Matt. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Fox News host Tucker Carlson was angered after Congressman Matt Gaetz attempted to rope him into a scandal involving allegations related to sex trafficking of a minor, a person familiar with the matter said.... Gaetz, who has strongly denied allegations that he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her travel with him, seemed to attempt to draw Carlson into the controversy during a bizarre Tuesday night interview.... Gaetz suggested Carlson had met a woman involved in the recent controversy related to the sex allegations. Gaetz said that woman was threatened by the FBI to tell people he was involved in a 'pay to play scheme.'... 'You and I went to dinner about two years ago,' Gaetz told Carlson. 'Your wife was there, and I brought a friend of mine, you'll remember her.' Carlson immediately denied knowledge of the dinner." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: BTW, we'll never know who's lying without the receipts. I would not hazard to opine on who's less credible, Gaetz  or Carlson. ~~~

~~~ They Caught the Wrong Guy! David Gilbert of Vice: QAnon followers think the Gaetz investigation is all part of The Plan. "For more than three years, QAnon followers have been waiting for the Storm, the moment when high-profile [Democratic] lawmakers and other elites would be made to answer for their crimes of child sex trafficking. On Tuesday it sure seemed like the Storm had arrived, when the New York Times broke a bombshell story that Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, 38, was being investigated by the Department of Justice for allegedly having a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl and paid for her to travel with him. But in the hours after the news broke, QAnon followers ... frantically scrambled to explain why he couldn't possibly have done what he's accused of doing...." Because winger Gaetz doesn't fit QAnon's sex-trafficker profile, the theory now is that he is working with the FBI to thwart the child sex ring. ~~~

~~~ Friend of Matt Indicted on More Charges. Christopher Heath of WFTV Orlando: "Already facing charges of sex trafficking a child, stalking and identity theft, former Seminole County Tax Collector Joel Greenberg is now facing new charges related to Small Business Administration pandemic loans he received after resigning from his office. According to federal court documents, in early 2020, Greenberg dissolved two companies he owned: DG3 Network and Greenberg Media. However, after his arrest and subsequent resignation as tax collector, the feds say Greenberg restarted both companies in order to obtain pandemic SBA loans.... [According to the indictment, Greenberg submitted] false documents stating that the companies were in business prior to February 2020, that they each had revenues in the 12 months prior, and making false claims about the number of employees.... Greenberg now faces 33 federal charges." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What an enterprising young man is Joel. Whereas I might be challenged by the tasks a county tax collector is required to do, not so Joel. He spent his entire tenure coming up with one jaw-dropping crooked scheme after another. And some of Joel's activities were uniquely inventive; I mean, who would have thought to use a tax collector's badge to pull over a woman who might -- or might not -- have been driving over the speed limit? Let's see how inventive he is at designing a defense.

Ryan Heath of Politico: "The Government Accountability Office has issued a damning report about the implementation of legislation supporting Ivanka Trump's signature women's empowerment initiative.... As Ivanka Trump traveled the world talking up the whole-of-government Women's Global Development and Prosperity Initiative, deep problems were developing in [the] roll out of the... [law]."

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood admitted to federal prosecutors that he intentionally excluded from his financial disclosures a $50,000 loan he obtained while in office from a billionaire foreign donor, a document released by the Justice Department said Wednesday. During an interview with the FBI in 2017, LaHood [-- an Obama appointee --] initially denied receiving the loan, but later acknowledged the payment after being shown a copy of the $50,000 check he received in 2012, according to a non-prosecution agreement LaHood signed with federal prosecutors in Los Angeles. Under the deal struck in 2019, federal prosecutors agreed not to file criminal charges over the omissions and misstatement, while LaHood agreed to pay a $40,000 fine and to repay the loan." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: LaHood is a Republican. President Obama hired too many Republicans (Jim Comey).

Lauren Feiner of CNBC: "Facebook removed a video featuring ... Donald Trump, a company spokesperson confirmed on Wednesday, citing his indefinite suspension from the platform.... The video featuring Trump was posted by his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who was interviewing the former president. Lara Trump had teased the interview in an Instagram photo of the sit-down on Tuesday."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "A top adviser privately urged ... Donald Trump to acquire critical medical supplies in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak -- and after the warning was ignored, pursued his own ad hoc strategy that committed more than $1 billion in federal funds and has since prompted multiple probes, according to newly released documents from congressional investigators. Peter Navarro, who served as Trump's trade adviser, warned the president on March 1, 2020, to 'MOVE IN "TRUMP TIME"' to invest in ingredients for drugs, handheld coronavirus tests and other supplies to fight the virus, according to a memo obtained by the House's select subcommittee on the coronavirus outbreak. Navarro also said that he'd been trying to acquire more protective gear like masks, critiquing the administration's pace.... [In dodgy deals,] Navarro ... steered a $765 million loan to Eastman Kodak to produce ingredients for generic drugs, a $354 million sole-source contract for pharmaceutical ingredients to a start-up called Phlow, and a $96 million sole-source contract for powered respirators and filters from AirBoss Defense Group." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. ProPublica's story, by David McSwane, is more damning: "A top adviser to ... Donald Trump pressured agency officials to reward politically connected or otherwise untested companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts as part of a chaotic response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the early findings of an inquiry led by House Democrats. Peter Navarro ... essentially verbally awarded a $96 million deal for respirators to a company with White House connections. Later, officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency were pressured to sign the contract after the fact, according to correspondence obtained by congressional investigators."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "State prosecutors in Manhattan investigating ... Donald J. Trump and the Trump Organization have subpoenaed the personal bank records of the company's chief financial officer and are questioning gifts he and his family received from Mr. Trump, according to people with knowledge of the matter. In recent weeks, the prosecutors have trained their focus on the executive, Allen H. Weisselberg, in what appears to be a determined effort to gain his cooperation. Mr. Weisselberg, who has not been accused of wrongdoing, has overseen the Trump Organization's finances for decades and may hold the key to any possible criminal case in New York against the former president and his family business."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. They Were Witnesses; They Were Victims. John Eligon, et al., of the New York Times: "In surveillance footage played for the first time in a Minneapolis courtroom on Wednesday, the world got to see George Floyd as it never had before: He was just another customer in a corner store.... On the third day of testimony in the trial of Derek Chauvin, the former police officer charged with murdering Mr. Floyd, a clearer picture emerged of the events preceding Mr. Floyd's death, with witness after witness agonizing over whether they could have done anything to stop what would soon unfold.... Mr. Floyd's death last May left a trail of agony for the people who were part of the unfolding tragedy -- the weight of what they had witnessed plain to see in the form of tears, long pauses and deep breaths during their testimony."

Arizona. This Should Go Well. Jeremy Duda & Jim Small of the Arizona Mirror: "The audit team that Senate President Karen Fann [R] selected to examine the 2020 general election in Maricopa County will be led by a company owned by an advocate of the 'Stop the Steal' movement who repeatedly alleged on social media that the election was rigged against ... Donald Trump. Fann announced on Wednesday that she'd selected four companies to participate in an extensive audit and recount of the election, led by Cyber Ninjas, [a] Florida-based cybersecurity company. Cyber Ninjas is owned by Doug Logan, who has been an active promoter of baseless conspiracy theories alleging widespread election fraud last year, including in Arizona."

Georgia. David Gelles of the New York Times: "Companies that remained silent last week as Georgia Republicans rushed to pass a law to restrict voting access reversed course on Wednesday in the face of mounting outrage from activists, customers and a coalition of powerful Black executives. Delta Air Lines, Georgia's largest employer, had made only general statements in support of voting rights last week and had declined to take a position on the legislation. That muted response drew fierce criticism, as well as protests at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and calls for a boycott. But on Wednesday, Ed Bastian, Delta's chief executive, made a stark reversal. 'I need to make it crystal clear that the final bill is unacceptable and does not match Delta's values,' he wrote in an internal memo.... Coca-Cola, another of Georgia's largest companies, which had also declined to take a position on the legislation before it passed, made a similarly worded statement." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, so maybe capitalism really isn't awesome, but democracy is. Those protesters, who took time out of their own lives to fight for the fundamental right to vote, get all the credit for Bastian's "stark reversal." We all owe them our thanks. ~~~

     ~~~ Hannah Denham & Jena McGregor of the Washington Post: "Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) hit back at [Delta CEO Ed] Bastian, saying that the airline executive had worked closely with state officials in drafting the law.... And two Atlanta sports teams -- the Falcons professional football team and the Hawks basketball team -- issued statements [against] the bill within the past day."

New York. Michael Gold & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: “A homeless man who was out on parole for killing his mother was arrested and charged with a hate crime early Wednesday morning in connection with a violent attack on a Filipino immigrant near Times Square, the police said. The man, Brandon Elliot, 38, was living at a hotel in Midtown Manhattan that has been serving as a homeless shelter, the police said. He was seen on security footage brutally assaulting Vilma Kari, 65, as she was walking to church on Monday morning, the police said.... 'Mr. Elliot is accused of brutally shoving, kicking and stomping a 65-year-old mother to the ground after telling her that she didn't belong here,' [Manhattan D.A. Cyrus] Vance [Jr.] said at a joint news conference with the city's police commissioner, Dermot F. Shea. 'So let me join the commissioner in being clear: This brave woman belongs here. Asian-American New Yorkers belong here. Everyone belongs here.'"

Way Beyond

Russia. Andrew Roth of the Guardian: "Alexei Navalny has gone on hunger strike after saying he was denied urgent medical treatment in prison. The Russian opposition leader has complained of a 'sharp deterioration' in his health since his transfer to a prison colony in the Vladimir region to serve a two-and-a-half year sentence on embezzlement charges. The colony, which is 60 miles from Moscow, is notoriously strict and said to excel at isolating inmates from the outside world."

News Lede

AP: "A child was among four people killed Wednesday in a shooting at a Southern California office building that left a fifth victim and the gunman critically wounded, police said. The violence in the city of Orange southeast of Los Angeles was the nation's third mass shooting in just over two weeks."

The Commentariat -- March 31, 2021

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Day 3 of the Derek Chauvin murder trial are here. The Washington Post's live updates of Day 3 are here. CNN's live updates are here.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here.

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "A top adviser privately urged ... Donald Trump to acquire critical medical supplies in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak -- and after the warning was ignored, pursued his own ad hoc strategy that committed more than $1 billion in federal funds and has since prompted multiple probes, according to newly released documents from congressional investigators. Peter Navarro, who served as Trump's trade adviser, warned the president on March 1, 2020, to 'MOVE IN "TRUMP TIME"' to invest in ingredients for drugs, handheld coronavirus tests and other supplies to fight the virus, according to a memo obtained by the House's select subcommittee on the coronavirus outbreak. Navarro also said that he'd been trying to acquire more protective gear like masks, critiquing the administration's pace.... [In dodgy deals,] Navarro ... steered a $765 million loan to Eastman Kodak to produce ingredients for generic drugs, a $354 million sole-source contract for pharmaceutical ingredients to a start-up called Phlow, and a $96 million sole-source contract for powered respirators and filters from AirBoss Defense Group."

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Jim Tankersley & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "President Biden intends to pay for the $2 trillion package of infrastructure spending he will propose on Wednesday with a substantial increase in corporate taxes, people briefed on the plan said Tuesday. The scale of the infrastructure program -- one of the most ambitious attempts in generations to shore up the nation's aging roads, bridges, rail lines and utilities -- is so big that it will require 15 years of higher taxes on corporations to pay for eight years of spending, they said."

Kate Bennett of CNN: "The Bidens' dog Major has been involved in another biting incident that required medical attention, two people with knowledge of the incident tell CNN. The incident, which involved a National Park Service employee, took place on the White House South Lawn on Monday afternoon. The employee was working at the time and needed to stop in order to receive treatment from the White House medical unit. First lady Jill Biden's press secretary Michael LaRosa told CNN that Major is 'still adjusting to his new surroundings.' 'Yes, Major nipped someone on a walk. Out of an abundance of caution, the individual was seen by WHMU and then returned to work without injury.'... Major, a 3-year-old German shepherd adopted by the Bidens in 2018, received training within the last two weeks, according to the White House, following a separate biting incident earlier this month."

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration allowed reporters for the first time Tuesday to go inside the crowded border tents where record numbers of migrant teenagers and children have been held in recent weeks after crossing into the United States without their parents. Department of Homeland Security officials permitted the Associated Press and a camera crew to tour the Donna, Tex., temporary processing facility run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, where 3,400 unaccompanied minors were in custody Tuesday along with 700 members of migrant families. The reporters allowed inside described extreme levels of overcrowding, including one detention 'pod' with 516 minors despite a pandemic-rated capacity of 32 people. Another pod had 676 minors, and a third had 567, officials said. The Biden administration is on pace to take in more than 17,000 unaccompanied minors this month, far higher than the previous record of 11,861 in May 2019." ~~~

     ~~~ Elliot Spagat & Nomaan Merchant of the AP: "More than 500 migrant children were packed into plastic-walled rooms built for 32 people, sitting inches apart on mats with foil blankets Tuesday at the largest U.S. Customs and Border Protection holding facility for unaccompanied children. Overall, CBP's main child processing center, a compound of white tents in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, held over 4,100 migrants, more than 3,400 of them children who traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border alone. The rest of the migrants being housed were families. The facility, designed for 250 people under guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the coronavirus pandemic, has had to adapt amid a spike in families and unaccompanied children crossing the border.... Children, most of them between 13 and 17, are separated by age. Families occupied a separate pod that was less crowded than the jam-packed rooms for olde children. A room for 'tender age' children from 3 to 9 years old consisted of a walled playpen with mats on the floor and far more space than the eight pods for older children."

Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Women's access to contraceptives and reproductive care is a global human right that will be monitored by the United States, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken declared on Tuesday, reversing a Trump administration policy that had overlooked discrimination or denials of women seeking sexual health services worldwide. The announcement was one of several departures Mr. Blinken made from the previous administration's approach as the State Department issued its annual report on human rights violations, even while he similarly condemned abuses and state-sanctioned oppression from China to Syria to Venezuela that have continued for years. The report was completed during the Trump administration and, Mr. Blinken said, did not include examples of women who were refused health care and family planning information in nearly 200 countries and territories in 2020. He has directed officials to compile that data and identify violators this year...."

Republicans Find a New Stupid War on Government. Annie Linskey, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republicans are opening a new front in the pandemic culture wars, attacking efforts by the Biden administration to develop guidelines for coronavirus vaccination passports that businesses can use to determine who can safely participate in activities such as flights, concerts and indoor dining. The issue has received an increasing amount of attention from some of the party's most extreme members and conservative media figures, but it has also been seized on by Republican leaders like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.... 'It's completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society,' [DeSantis said].... Some conservative activists comparing it with Nazi policies to identify Jews.... [The attack] ... taps into a long-standing warning from the right: that a powerful federal government will try to control the population."

Marie: It was a windy day in my part of the USA yesterday. The power went out several times, but otherwise, I was none the worse for wear. I did go outside, but my hair looked fine, IMO. MEANWHILE, however the breezes blew in the Sunshine State, things were not going well for two Florida men who seem to put extraordinary stock in their coifs. ~~~

~~~ Matt's Very Bad Hair Day

Unpossible! Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida and a close ally of ... Donald J. Trump, is being investigated by the Justice Department over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him, according to three people briefed on the matter. Investigators are examining whether Mr. Gaetz violated federal sex trafficking laws, the people said. A variety of federal statutes make it illegal to induce someone under 18 to travel over state lines to engage in sex in exchange for money or something of value. The Justice Department regularly prosecutes such cases, and offenders often receive severe sentences.... The investigation was opened in the final months of the Trump administration under Attorney General William P. Barr.... Given Mr. Gaetz's national profile, senior Justice Department officials in Washington -- including some appointed by Mr. Trump -- were notified of the investigation, the people said.... ~~~

"... the examination of Mr. Gaetz, 38, is part of a broader investigation into a political ally of his, a local official in Florida named Joel Greenberg, who was indicted last summer on an array of charges, including sex trafficking of a child and financially supporting people in exchange for sex, at least one of whom was an underage girl. Mr. Greenberg, who has since resigned his post as tax collector in Seminole County, north of Orlando, visited the White House with Mr. Gaetz in 2019, according to a photograph that Mr. Greenberg posted on Twitter." The report also links Greenberg to Roger Stone & the Proud Boys. MB: These sleazebags are all friends. There's a club of sorts, and Mar-a-Lardo would seem to be a good clubhouse. An AP story on Gaetz is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "... the probe [of Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.)] has been complicated by the congressman's assertion that his family is being extorted.... Axios published an interview in which Gaetz confirmed the probe but claimed the allegations against him were 'rooted in an extortion effort against my family.'... Gaetz repeated the extortion claim in a statement, alleging that a former Justice Department employee, whom he did not identify, had been 'seeking $25 million while threatening to smear my name.' Gaetz asserted that his family had been cooperating with the FBI, and that his father had even worn a wire. 'No part of the allegations against me are true, and the people pushing these lies are targets of the ongoing extortion investigation,' Gaetz said." A Politico story is here. ~~~

~~~ Here's the Axios interview of Gaetz, conducted by Jonathan Swan. Gaetz says, "I believe that there are people at the Department of Justice who are trying to criminalize my sexual conduct, you know when I was a single guy.... I have definitely, in my single days, provided for women I've dated. You know, I've paid for flights, for hotel rooms. I've been, you know, generous as a partner. I think someone is trying to make that look criminal when it is not.'" MB: Kind of a non-denial denial, IMO. I think we're going to find out that Gaetz had "no idea that girl was younger than 18." ~~~

~~~ Earlier That Same Day. Alayna Treene of Axios: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) has privately told confidants he's seriously considering not seeking re-election and possibly leaving Congress early for a job at Newsmax, three sources with direct knowledge of the talks tell Axios." MB: Actually, Matt may be leaving Congress early for a job in a federal pen. I'll bet the boys will like him. ~~~

~~~ Martin Comas, et al., of the Orlando Sentinel: "Federal authorities are investigating potential sex trafficking violations by U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, a probe that emerged from the prosecution of former Seminole County tax collector Joel Greenberg.... Greenberg, who faces a slew of charges including sex trafficking of a child..., is currently slated to stand trial in June.... Greenberg resigned as tax collector in June, after he was arrested at his home by federal agents. He faces 14 charges, including allegations that he stalked a political opponent, illegally used a state database to create fake IDs and sex trafficked a minor.... Prosecutors said in a grand jury indictment that Greenberg, as tax collector, took surrendered drivers licenses before they were shredded by office staff and created new IDs with his photograph but with the personal information of residents.... Greenberg also is charged with producing 'a false identification document and to facilitate his efforts to engage in commercial sex acts,' according to federal indictments...." The story is firewalled, but hey, it's the end of the month. The Washington Post has a story here. ~~~

~~~ Steve M. "[Joel Greenberg] engaged in a staggering array of sleazy activities, up to and including pedophilia. He was indicted nine months ago. So why have I never heard of him until now? If there were a close associate of prominent Democrats who'd done a tenth of what Greenberg has done and had visited the White House during a Democratic presidency, there would have been several hundred stories about him on Fox News. Your right-wing relatives would have dropped his name in conversation as if he were as famous as Tom Brady.... I don't want to be exactly like Republicans. But I think we'd be winning over more voters if there were more demonization of Republicans who deserve it." ~~~

~~~ Blake Montgomery & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: Matt "Gaetz told Fox that the former DOJ employee going after him was David McGee, now a lawyer at Beggs & Lane. In an interview with The Daily Beast late Tuesday night, McGee said any reports of extortion involving him or his firm were 'completely, totally false.... This is a blatant attempt to distract from the fact that Matt Gaetz is apparently about to be indicted for sex trafficking underage girls,' McGee said.... Gaetz proposed to his girlfriend Ginger Luckey at Mar-a-Lago in December.... Gaetz's romances with younger women have attracted some scrutiny. In 2018, a college student confirmed to HuffPo reporter Matt Fuller -- who is now a Daily Beast editor — that she was dating the congressman.... In 2019, Mother Jones reported that a staffer admonished Gaetz via text about his relationship with a camera-happy 21-year-old...." ~~~

~~~ Aris Folley of the Hill: "Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) on Tuesday called for Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) to be suspended from the House Judiciary Committee, on which they both serve, pending the outcome of a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe reportedly investigating whether the Florida lawmaker had sexual relations with a teenager. 'Rep Matt Gaetz should be taken off the @HouseJudiciary Committee until the @TheJusticeDept investigation is completed,' Lieu tweeted shortly after news broke of the investigation on Tuesday. 'He should not be sitting on a Congressional Committee with oversight over the DOJ while the Department is investigating him,' Lieu added."

~~~ Donald's Bad Hair Day

Marshall Cohen & Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Two US Capitol Police officers who say they were injured during the January 6 insurrection are suing ... Donald Trump for inciting the crowd. The officers -- the first police to sue in court following the riot -- say they suffered physical and emotional damages because Trump allegedly 'inflamed, encouraged, incited (and) directed' the violent mob that stormed the Capitol. Capitol Police Officers James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, who have been with the force for a combined 28 years, said they were injured during the attack. Hemby 'was crushed against the doors' of the Capitol, was 'sprayed with chemicals' and bled from his face, the lawsuit says. Blassingame claims he was slammed against a stone column, injuring his head and back." ~~~

~~~ Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "The legal issues facing ... Donald J. Trump compounded on Tuesday when the highest court in New York State allowed a defamation suit from a former contestant on his reality television show 'The Apprentice' to proceed. The suit was filed by the contestant, Summer Zervos, in 2017, after Mr. Trump said that she had lied when she accused him of having groped and kissed her against her will years earlier. Mr. Trump had tried to stop the suit, arguing that as president, he was protected from legal action. Two courts had decided against him before his lawyers appealed the case to the State Court of Appeals, the highest court in New York. But before the court heard the case, Mr. Trump ceased to be president." ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge ruled Tuesday that a broad non-disclosure agreement that Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign required employees to sign is unenforceable. U.S. District Court Judge Paul Gardephe's ruling generally steered clear of the constitutional issues presented by such agreements in the context of political campaigns. Instead, the judge -- an appointee of President George W. Bush -- said the sweeping, boilerplate language the campaign compelled employees to sign was so vague that the agreement was invalid under New York contract law."

Michael Dobbs of the Washington Post: "G. Gordon Liddy, the undercover operative whose bungling of the Watergate break-in triggered one of the gravest constitutional crises in American history and led to the resignation of President Richard M. Nixon, died March 30 at his daughter's home in Fairfax County, Va. He was 90.... A theatrical personality whose event-filled career included more twists and turns than a fictional potboiler, Mr. Liddy was at various times an FBI agent, jailbird, radio talk-show host, best-selling author, candidate for Congress, actor and promoter of gold investments." Liddy's New York Times obituary is here. The AP's obituary is here.

Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "When Simon J. Levien found [a photo of Harvard men dressed in KKK robes & hoods gathered around the statue of John Harvard on Class Day 1924] last spring, he dove into reporting that resulted in a 4,500-word feature published last week in the Harvard Crimson, culminating nearly a year of research.... The Harvard branch of the Ku Klux Klan was founded in 1921, according to university archives.... Levien said he and professors who study Harvard's history were disappointed with how little Harvard appears to have reckoned with its racism in the modern era -- especially when he considers how much of the information he pieced together was hiding in plain sight in archives, student newspaper clippings and other documents as recent as 2014."

Marie's Free Advice to All Fugitives: Do not make yourself a star of YouTube videos. ~~~

~~~ Buon Appetito! Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "Marc Feren Claude Biart was always careful to hide his face in his Italian cooking tutorials, filming the YouTube videos while laying low from police on a sandy beach in the Caribbean. But Biart, an alleged member of southern Italy's powerful 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate, had failed to obscure his tattoos on tape -- a clue authorities say they used to track down the mobster in the Dominican Republic. Biart, 53, was arrested Monday at Milan's Malpensa Airport after arriving on a flight from Santo Domingo, according to the Italian state broadcaster Rai, the latest episode in a sprawling, international effort to fight the 'Ndrangheta."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Florida. Alexander Nazaryan of Yahoo! News: "New research published earlier this month in the American Journal of Public Health argues that Florida is undercounting the number of people who died from COVID-19 by thousands of cases, casting new doubt on claims that Gov. Ron DeSantis navigated the coronavirus pandemic successfully. Conservatives have celebrated DeSantis for his handling of the pandemic, which has killed more than 30,000 residents of the state. Critics of the combative governor, meanwhile, say that many of those death would have been prevented if he had listened more diligently to health experts. DeSantis resisted lockdowns, downplayed masks and has made it increasingly difficult for localities to institute public health measures of their own. And the state could be on the cusp of a new coronavirus surge."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: Darnella Frazier, "the teenager who filmed the viral video of Derek Chauvin kneeling on George Floyd's neck. tearfully recalled Tuesday how the Black man begged for his life and the 'cold look' on the face of the White police officer accused of killing him. In deeply emotional testimony, Darnella Frazier, who was just 17 when she came across Floyd being restrained by the police, testified of the lingering anxiety and guilt she feels about Floyd's death and not doing more to intervene.... Frazier was one of several eyewitnesses called to the stand Tuesday, including four girls who were under 18 when they saw Floyd being held to the ground by Chauvin and two other officers during a May 25 police investigation into an alleged counterfeit $20 bill. The jury also heard from firefighter Genevieve Hansen, who was off-duty and came across the scene while on a walk. Hansen burst into tears as she recounted begging officers to check Floyd's pulse but being rebuffed." The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ As RAS pointed out yesterday, not much has changed in the last 30 years:

     ~~~ Marie: On the TV police procedural shows I watch, the cops sometimes beat up "suspects." But they don't do so in broad daylight on a busy street. And really, that is the most audacious part of the story: that not one, but several, cops thought it was all right to murder a Black man in the middle of the day even as they knew people were watching & videotaping the murder.

Missouri. All-White Jury Does Not Convict White Cops Who Allegedly Beat Black Undercover Cop. AP: “No convictions were returned for three white St. Louis police officers accused of beating a Black undercover colleague so severely during a protest over another officer's acquittal that he had to undergo multiple surgeries. A jury on Monday acquitted officer Steven Korte of charges of deprivation of rights under color of law and of lying to the FBI in connection to the attack on officer Luther Hall. It happened when Hall was mistaken for a protester during demonstrations that erupted after former police officer Jason Stockley, who is white, was found not guilty in the 2011 death of Anthony Lamar Smith, who was Black.... The former officer Christopher Myers also was acquitted of a deprivation of rights count but the jury could not reach a verdict on a charge of destruction of evidence against Myers for allegedly smashing Hall's cellphone. The jury also deadlocked on the deprivation of rights charge against the former officer Dustin Boone, leading the judge to declare a mistrial on counts where the jury could not agree.... The verdicts reignited criticisms that an all-white jury was picked to decide the case. 'If an undercover cop can't get justice, how will the rest of us who have been maced, shot, beaten, and brutalized ever get justice?' Tweeted Cori Bush, a Black congresswoman who represents the Missouri district that includes St Louis."

Texas. Arelis Hernández of the Washington Post: "A Texas grand jury indicted two former sheriff's deputies on manslaughter charges Tuesday related to the 2019 death of Javier Ambler, a Black man whose death in law enforcement custody was captured by a television film crew. Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced the charges against former Williamson County deputies James Johnson and Zachary Camden, who resigned earlier this year. Both men were being held on $150,000 bond and prohibited from seeking any law enforcement or security work. This is the second high-profile indictment against Texas law enforcers in March for Garza's office, which also secured first-degree murder charges against an Austin police officer in the 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos. That was the first murder indictment ever returned against an Austin city police officer stemming from a use-of-force incident."

Way Beyond

Tom Phillips of the Guardian: "Jair Bolsonaro's crisis-stricken administration has been rocked by the sudden sacking of Brazil's defence minister [Gen Fernando Azevedo] and the subsequent resignation of the heads of all three branches of the armed forces. The commanders of the Brazilian army, navy and air force -- Gen Edson Leal Pujol, Adm Ilques Barbosa and Lt-Brig Antônio Carlos Bermudez -- met with the president's new minister on Tuesday morning and reportedly tendered their resignations during a dramatic and heated encounter. On Tuesday afternoon the defence ministry confirmed all three would be replaced, a political earthquake that rattled a country already grappling with one of the world's worst coronavirus outbreaks. The Folha de São Paulo newspaper said that never before in Brazilian history had the heads of all three branches of the military resigned out of disagreement with a president."

The Commentariat -- March 30, 2021

The New York Times' live updates of Day 2 of the Derek Chauvin murder trial are here. The Washington Post's live updates of Day 2 are here. NBC News live updates are here.

The Wind Beneath Our Wings. Juliet Eilperin & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "The White House announced on Monday an ambitious plan to expand wind farms along the East Coast and jump-start the country's nascent offshore wind industry, saying it hoped to trigger a massive clean-energy effort in the fight against climate change. The plan would generate 3 gigawatts of offshore wind power by the end of the decade -- enough to power more than 10 million American homes and cut 78 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions. To accomplish that, the Biden administration said, it would speed permitting for projects off the East Coast, invest in research and development, provide low-interest loans to industry and fund changes to U.S. ports. 'We are ready to rock-and-roll,' national climate adviser Gina McCarthy told reporters in a phone call Monday. She framed the effort as being as much about jobs as about clean energy." (Also linked yesterday.) Common Dreams' report is here.

Marianne Levine, et al., of Politico: "The White House is expected to release its first slate of judicial nominees as early as Tuesday, according to three sources.... President Joe Biden plans to tap 11 nominees for the federal bench, including three Black women, sources said. At least two of those women will be named to the appeals courts, according to allies of his administration briefed on the selections." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Ann Marimow & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President Biden announced his first slate of judicial nominees on Tuesday, elevating U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the influential appeals court in Washington to succeed Merrick Garland as part of the largest and earliest batch of court picks by a new administration in decades. Jackson, often mentioned as someone who could become the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, is among Biden's 11 nominations that include three Black women for appeals court vacancies and the first Muslim American to serve on a District Court. The group is designed to send a message about the administration's desire for more diversity on the federal bench and how rapidly the president wants to put his mark on it." The story names all the nominees.

Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A newly surfaced recording shows a senior adviser to Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell conspiring with the Koch brothers' network and other conservative groups to torpedo sweeping voting rights legislation. The Jan. 8 recording obtained by The New Yorker reveals leading conservative activists are alarmed by public support for House Resolution 1 and Senate Bill 1, commonly known as the For The People Act, and they privately admitted they had no effective way to counter the argument that billionaires should not be able to buy elections." MB: Apparently even many white Republicans aren't gullible enough to support a bill that gives them more rights, too.

Dressed for Success Arrest. Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "Garret Miller didn't speak to the law enforcement officers who arrested him on charges he stormed the U.S. Capitol in January, but the T-shirt he was wearing at his Dallas home that day sent a clear and possibly incriminating message. Miller's shirt had a photograph of ... Donald Trump, and it said 'Take America Back' and 'I Was There, Washington D.C., January 6, 2021,' federal prosecutors noted in a court filing Monday.... On a recorded call immediately after his arrest, Miller told his mother, 'I don't feel that I've done anything wrong and now I'm being locked up,' according to prosecutors. Like many of the more than 300 people facing federal charges in connection with the siege, Miller thoroughly documented and commented on his actions that day in a flurry of social media posts."

Sarah Bailey of the Washington Post: "The proportion of Americans who consider themselves members of a church, synagogue or mosque has dropped below 50 percent, according to a poll from Gallup released Monday. It is the first time that has happened since Gallup first asked the question in 1937, when church membership was 73 percent. In recent years, research data has shown a seismic shift in the U.S. population away from religious institutions and toward general disaffiliation, a trend that analysts say could have major implications for politics, business and how Americans group themselves." The Gallup report is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here.

Gina Kolata of the New York Times: "The coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech are proving highly effective at preventing symptomatic and asymptomatic infections under real-world conditions, federal health researchers reported on Monday. Consistent with clinical trial data, a two-dose regimen prevented 90 percent of infections by two weeks after the second shot. One dose prevented 80 percent of infections by two weeks after vaccination."

Maegan Vazquez, et al., of CNN: "President Joe Biden announced on Monday that 90% of adults will be eligible to get a coronavirus vaccine within the next three weeks as well as have a vaccination site within five miles of where they live. 'For the vast, vast majority of adults, you won't have to wait until May 1. You'll be eligible for your shot on April 19,' Biden said. The President previously said he was directing states to open eligibility to all adult Americans by May 1. Biden said the US would increase the number of pharmacies participating in the federal pharmacy vaccination program from the current 17,000 locations to 40,000. He also announced a record 33 million doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be made available to vaccination sites this week -- a surge in availability that the administration hopes will mean newly eligible adults can find shots. The President, however, stressed that the country's battle against Covid-19 is 'far from won' as cases are once again on the rise and called on every governor, mayor and local leader to maintain -- and in some cases reinstate -- mask mandates." Video of President Biden's full speech is here. ~~~

~~~ Sharon LaFraniere & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "President Biden, facing a rise in coronavirus cases around the country, called on Monday for governors and mayors to reinstate mask mandates as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned of 'impending doom' from a potential fourth surge of the pandemic. The president's comments came only hours after the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, appeared to fight back tears as she pleaded with Americans to 'hold on a little while longer' and continue following public health advice, like wearing masks and social distancing, to curb the virus's spread." ~~~

"Impending Doom." Nicholas Florko & Andrew Joseph of STAT News: "As Covid-19 cases begin again to spike throughout the United States, CDC Director Rochelle Walensky issued an urgent plea to Americans Monday to continue following public health measures. 'We have so much to look forward to, so much promise and potential of where we are and so much reason for hope, but right now I'm scared,' said Walensky, who noted she has begun experiencing a 'recurring' feeling of 'impending doom.' The plea came amid news that positive Covid-19 cases have increased by 10.6% compared to the previous seven-day period. Hospitalizations and deaths, which are a lagging metric, also rose over the last seven-day period, by 4.2% and 2.6%, respectively."

Ali Zaslav of CNN: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday encouraged 'all Republican men' to get the Covid-19 vaccine, as new polls indicate many in the group are skeptical of getting the shot. 'I can say as a Republican man, as soon as it was my turn, I took the vaccine. I would encourage all Republican men to do that,' said McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, on Monday, when asked what kind of messaging he can push as the GOP leader to help encourage people, specifically Republican men, that the vaccine is safe and they should get it. McConnell added that there is 'no good argument not to get the vaccination. I would encourage all men regardless of party affiliation to get the vaccination,' at a news conference in Hazard, Kentucky, outside a health care clinic for an event focusing on the state's vaccination efforts. In a CNN poll released earlier this month, 92% of Democrats said they had gotten a dose of the vaccine or planned to get one, while just 50% of Republicans said the same."

Dan Diamond of the Washington Post has a new report on CNN's interviews of top Trump administration Covid-19 response officials."... the finger-pointing and portrayals of some episodes prompted critics to say that former Trump administration officials who managed the pandemic response have turned to a new project: managing their legacies.... Some of those officials also have compared notes and aligned their recollections, a dynamic detailed by Politico last week, as they work to rehabilitate their reputations and shape future perspectives on the pandemic." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Monday went on a tirade against Anthony Fauci and Deborah Birx, two of his former top medical advisers on the COVID-19 pandemic, excoriating their decisionmaking during his administration on the day after CNN aired previews of comments by the top government health experts. Trump issued a lengthy statement in which he argued that he ignored both Fauci and Birx while in office as a benefit to the country and boasted that he was responsible for getting vaccines rapidly developed and approved."

Ken Moritsugu & Jamey Keaten of the AP: "A joint World Health Organization-China study on the origins of COVID-19 says that transmission of the virus from bats to humans through another animal is the most likely scenario and that a lab leak is 'extremely unlikely,' according to a draft copy obtained by The Associated Press. The findings offer little new insight into how the virus first emerged and leave many questions unanswered, though that was as expected. But the report does provide more detail on the reasoning behind the researchers' conclusions. The team proposed further research in every area except the lab leak hypothesis." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Troy Closson of the New York Times: "New York must immediately begin to offer Covid vaccines to all incarcerated people in the state's prisons and jails, a judge ruled on Monday, making the state one of few in the nation to provide doses to such a broad population behind bars. The order, the first involving any of the country's largest correctional systems, comes as the coronavirus continues to roar through facilities in New York. At least 1,100 people living behind prison walls have tested positive for the virus since the start of last month, and five have died."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Holly Bailey & Kim Bellware of the Washington Post: "Derek Chauvin violated his oath as a police officer when he knelt on George Floyd's neck for over nine minutes and ignored Floyd's cries for help 'until the very life was squeezed out of him,' a prosecutor said Monday as testimony began in the landmark trial set to be a defining moment in the nation's reckoning over race and policing.... As the video [of Floyd's death] played on television monitors set up around the socially distanced courtroom, several jurors visibly reacted, including one who drew a sharp breath as Floyd was heard saying, 'I can't breathe.'... Prosecutors opened their case with testimony from three eyewitnesses -- including a 911 dispatcher who phoned a Minneapolis police supervisor after she saw Chauvin and the other officers kneeling on Floyd on a police surveillance camera that overlooks 38th and Chicago.... 'Something was not right,' [dispatcher Jena Scurry] said, testifying she had a 'gut instinct' that she needed to phone a police supervisor to make sure he was aware of the situation."

Georgia. Maya Prabhu of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Two weeks after eight people where gunned down in three Atlanta-area spas, the Georgia Senate on Monday approved legislation to loosen the state's gun laws. House Bill 218 passed 34-18 on a party-line vote, with Republicans in support of the measure.... Canton Republican Rep. Mandi Ballinger initially proposed HB 218 to make it legally easier for travelers to bring their guns into the state. Senators amended the legislation during the committee process to allow probate judges to process gun carry licenses and license renewals online. Currently, applicants must go to the court in person. The legislation also prohibits the governor from closing weapons manufacturers or shooting ranges during a public emergency. The Senate also voted 34-18 to amend HB 218 to include a proposal ... to bar the governor from enacting any guidelines that 'specifically limit the practice of any religion' during a declared state of emergency." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Looks like that last amendment is designed to prevent a governor from imposing safe-distancing rules in churches during a communicable-illness emergency.

Michigan. James Dickson of the Detroit News: "Three men accused in an alleged plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will not face false report or threat of terrorism charges, a Jackson County judge ruled Monday. Judge Michael Klaeren of 12th District Court in Jackson dismissed the charge against Joseph Morrison and Pete Musico, both of Munith, and declined a request by prosecutors to add it to the charges against Paul Bellar, of Milford.... Klaeren on Monday ordered Bellar, Morrison and Musico to stand trial on three remaining charges, gang membership and providing material support for terrorism, both punishable by up to 20 years in prison, as well as felony firearm, punishable by up to two years in prison." (Also linked yesterday.)

New York. Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "Another woman has accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo of 'unwanted, unwelcome physical contact,' the latest in a series of allegations of sexual harassment and misconduct levied against the governor. The woman, Sherry Vill, said during a press conference on Monday afternoon that the governor 'suddenly grabbed her face and kissed her' in 2017 outside of her home in the town of Greece, which borders Lake Ontario. Cuomo was visiting the area to survey flood damage in the wake of a storm. She said that Cuomo commented on her appearance and kissed her two times with other family members present, advances that she alternately described as being in a 'highly sexual' and 'highly aggressive' manner.... Vill presented ... a screengrab captured by her daughter from video footage taken by Vill's son that appeared to show the governor grabbing her by the face and kissing her."

Way Beyond

Isabel Debre & Samy Magdy of the AP: "Salvage teams on Monday set free a colossal container ship that has halted global trade through the Suez Canal, bringing an end to a crisis that for nearly a week had clogged one of the world's most vital maritime arteries. Helped by the peak of high tide, a flotilla of tugboats managed to wrench the bulbous bow of the skyscraper-sized Ever Given from the canal's sandy bank, where it had been firmly lodged since last Tuesday. After hauling the fully laden 220,000-ton vessel over the canal bank, the salvage team was pulling the vessel toward the Great Bitter Lake, a wide stretch of water halfway between the north and south end of the canal, where the ship will undergo technical inspection, canal authorities said." See Victoria's comment in yesterday's thread. Funny. (Also linked yesterday.)