The Commentariat -- February 16, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Marie: Reality Chex was down for more than an hour this morning. The problem was with Squarespace. Obviously, it's back up, but I had trouble posting a comment, so be sure to save your comment before you click on "Create Comment."

Trump & Rudy Sued for Violating anti-KKK Law. Jessica Schneider of CNN: "... Donald Trump and attorney Rudy Giuliani are being accused of conspiring with the far-right groups Proud Boys and Oath Keepers to incite the January 6 insurrection in a civil lawsuit filed Tuesday in federal court by the Democratic chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee. The suit cites a post-Civil War law designed to combat violence and intimidation by the Ku Klux Klan. The lawsuit, filed by Mississippi Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson in his personal capacity, is the first civil action filed against the former President related to the attack at the US Capitol...." ~~~

~~~ Trump Dumps Rudy. Marie: According to CNN, Donald Trump has fired Rudy Giuliani. Trump's office sent out what was described as a "curt" notification that Rudy was out. I'll get up a link to a print report when one becomes available.

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "Congressional Democrats will renew their focus this week on passing President Biden's $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill, as they face a mid-March deadline when enhanced unemployment benefits expire, if Congress don't act in time. With ... Donald Trump's impeachment trial out of the way in the Senate, Democrats are preparing to push the legislation through a few final procedural hoops before an expected floor vote next week in the House. From there, the legislation would go to the Senate. Biden is participating in a CNN town hall Tuesday night to discuss the coronavirus, the economy and other issues. He is likely to use the opportunity to promote his relief plan...."

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "Anthony Fauci said in an interview with 'Axios on HBO' that he worried about contracting the coronavirus during the Trump administration because of its lax approach to the virus. Fauci, who is 80 years old and has served as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) for over three decades, said that his age category was always in the back of his mind particularly when he visited the White House under ... Trump."

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Aamer Madhani & Rob Gillies of the AP: "A new-old ritual is taking shape in the Biden White House, one that starts with bulky briefing packages, war-gaming the 'what-ifs,' and Oval Office discussions about how to talk to this or that particular U.S. ally or adversary. Twelve times since he took office, President Joe Biden has dialed up a world leader after reinstituting what was a long-held White House standard mothballed by Donald Trump: vigorous preparation. Gone are unnecessary digressions and over-the-top cajoling or haranguing of fellow heads of state. The changes to telephone diplomacy have been about both style and substance as Biden has sought to send the message to foreign leaders -- many embittered by Trump's habit of berating his counterparts and conflating personal interests with U.S. national security -- that Biden is determined to reset the U.S. relationship with the world."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congress will move to establish an independent commission to investigate the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, including facts 'relating to the interference with the peaceful transfer of power,' Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California announced on Monday. In a letter to her Democratic colleagues in the House, Ms. Pelosi also promised to move forward in coming weeks with emergency funding legislation 'for the safety of members and the security of the Capitol' after consulting with retired Gen. Russel L. Honoré, whom she had asked to examine security on Capitol Hill."

"Because of Mitch's Filibuster™." James Sattler of USA Today: "... the lessons of both [Trump] impeachments were the same: The Republican Party cannot be trusted with our democracy.... Under Trump, Republicans lost the White House, the House and the Senate in one term -- something that hasn't happened since Herbert Hoover was president. But Trump also is the first modern president to leave office with fewer Americans employed than when he came in -- something that also hasn't happened since Hoover. And there was the pandemic that left more than 400,000 Americans dead on Trump's watch, with 40% of those deaths being avoidable, according to the recent findings of a Lancet Commission.... Democrats now have less than two years to do everything they can to make sure America never faces another president who would turn a deadly mob on his own running mate and our government.... 'In the 87 years between the end of Reconstruction and 1964, the only bills that were stopped by filibusters were civil rights bills,' writes Adam Jentleson.... When Kentucky's Mitch McConnell become Senate minority leader in 2007, he began using the filibuster at a rate unprecedented in American history. What the filibuster actually does is make sure policies that are popular with average Democrats and Republicans -- universal background checks for gun buyers, raising the minimum wage, citizenship for DREAMers brought to this country illegally as kids -- have no chance of becoming law.... Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have assured McConnell they'll be the wind beneath his Filibuster™.... These two senators must be convinced [to change their minds]." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "To [lead House manager Jamie] Raskin [D-Md.] and the eight other managers, [Mitch] McConnell's speech was at once a vindication and an insult, showing that they'd proved their case, and that it didn't matter. McConnell voted to acquit on a manufactured technicality, arguing that a former president is 'constitutionally not eligible for conviction.' His bad faith is awe-inspiring; it was he who refused to move forward with a trial while Trump was still in office. With his split-the-baby solution to Trump's manifest guilt, McConnell seemed to be trying to stay on the right side of his caucus while calming corporate donors who've cut off politicians who supported the insurrectionists. But -- and here's the important part -- McConnell signaled openness to Trump's prosecution in other forums.... McConnell has at least stripped away some of the taboo about prosecuting a former president." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would add this. Convicting Trump of incitement to riot is a tough row to hoe. First, the standard for criminal conviction is higher than the Senate's, because the Senate can decide for itself what constitutes "incitement." Second, a criminal trial requires a lot more leg-work than does a Senate trial. Hundreds of witnesses would have to be interviewed & deposed, and many of those would have to testify at trial, so they would have to be prepped, too. Some -- like, say, Kevin McCarthy -- would fight subpoenas. Two-faced Mitch of course knows this & no doubt is counting on it. I do think there's a good chance Atlanta prosecutor Fani Willis can make a winnable case against Trump, but even there, as a first offender, a convicted criminal Trump might get off with community service (with any luck, at an Atlanta recycling center bagging cat litter). ~~~

~~~ Daniel Goldman, in a Washington Post op-ed, raises another problem with any trial of Donald Trump: :Trump's propensity for witness tampering, intimidation and retaliation is well known and began long before the 2020 election. During his first impeachment inquiry, he threatened the whistleblower on Ukraine and attacked Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, among others.... In addition, the Mueller report documented Trump's effort to intimidate former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen after he decided to cooperate with authorities. The violence on Jan. 6 places Trump's threats in a different light. His'Stop the Steal' campaign has created a loosely coordinated group of domestic terrorist organizations ready to inflict harm at his command. He may have lost the ability to issue a mean tweet, but his threats now come with violent supporters appended to them.... Witnesses [with direct knowledge of Trump's part in the Jan. 6 insurrection] were apparently unwilling or afraid to cooperate undermined the entire proceeding."

Ron Johnson Trying Hard to Keep "Stupidest Senator" Status. Brooke Seipel of the Hill: "Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) in a new interview said he didn't think the Jan. 6 Capitol riot seemed like 'an armed insurrection' and praised former President Trump's Senate impeachment trial attorneys following his acquittal.... 'The group of people that supported Trump, the hundreds of thousands of people who attended those Trump rallies, those are the people that love this country,' Johnson [said on a Milwaukee radio show]... 'They never would have done what happened on Jan. 6. That is a group of people that love freedom; that's a group of people we need to unify and keep on our side.'... He accused House impeachment managers of editing the videos they presented as evidence in the Senate impeachment trial.... Johnson, a staunch Trump ally, has argued the defense 'eviscerated' the Democratic prosecutors and 'blew their case out of the water.' After voting to acquit Trump, Johnson clashed with Mitt Romney on the Senate floor over his vote to convict." ~~~

~~~ In fairness to Ron, his stupidity makes him a fine example of the Trump/GOP base. ~~~

~~~ Justine Coleman of the Hill: "A petition is being circulated among Utah Republicans on social media to censure Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) for his vote to convict former President Trump in last week's Senate impeachment trial.... The petition, made with Google Forms, does not say who is promoting the censure or how many people have signed the document.... [Petitioners] They argue that Romney's willingness to move forward with this year's trial and his subsequent conviction vote 'intentionally violate the 1st, 4th, 5th and 14th Amendment Rights' of Trump, noting the senator 'appears to be an agent for the Establishment Deep State.'" ~~~

~~~ Dan Merica & Devan Cole of CNN: "The North Carolina Republican Party central committee voted Monday to censure Sen. Richard Burr for his vote to convict ... Donald Trump during his second impeachment trial -- a move that made him the latest GOP senator to be reprimanded by his state party for siding with Democrats in the trial.... n a statement released after the vote, the committee members said the unanimous vote was aimed at punishing Burr for his 'vote to convict former President Trump in the impeachment trial which he declared to be unconstitutional.'" ~~~

~~~ Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "As the Republican Party censures, condemns and seeks to purge leaders who aren't in lock step with Donald J. Trump, Adam Kinzinger, the six-term Illinois congressman, stands as enemy No. 1 -- unwelcome not just in his party but also in his own family, some of whom recently disowned him. Two days after Mr. Kinzinger called for removing Mr. Trump from office following the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol, 11 members of his family sent him a handwritten two-page letter, saying he was in cahoots with 'the devil's army' for making a public break with the president.... Mr. Kinzinger has drawn praise from Democrats, but he is not anyone's idea of a progressive. His campaign website trumpets his longstanding opposition to the Affordable Care Act, and he is an opponent of abortion rights and increased taxes. He first won his seat in Congress with Sarah Palin's endorsement." Mediaite has a summary item here.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "After historic turns as House impeachment managers for the Senate trial of ... Donald J. Trump, both [Delegate Stacey] Plaskett [D-V.I.] and [Rep. Joe] Neguse [D-Colo.] emerged from the proceedings with national platforms and as high-profile faces of a Democratic coalition that is younger and more diverse than its leaders.... Both lawmakers said they hope to turn their newfound prominence into gains for their constituents as President Biden barrels forward with an ambitious agenda for economic stimulus and other overhauls. And in interviews after the trial's conclusion, both said they were conscious of their roles as among the few Black lawmakers who took part in an impeachment of a former president whose race-baiting and anti-immigration stances helped create deep divisions in the country."

Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "... at least 30 police or other law enforcement officers ... attended the demonstration on Jan. 6. Many are now facing internal investigations and three have thus far been arrested on federal charges related to breaching the Capitol. Their presence has brought to a boil questions that have been simmering for years: How many law enforcement officers nationwide subscribe to extreme or anti-government beliefs, and how, precisely, can agencies weed them out? Leaders in law enforcement say that public servants must be held to a higher standard than private individuals when it comes to accepting the results of an election and performing their duties. Police chiefs from the largest North American cities, meeting in an online conference this past week, agreed to work together to try and block members of far-right organizations or others with radical views from entering their ranks.... Concerns about extremism in police ranks have long existed, but after Sept. 11 chasing jihadists took priority over chasing domestic threats, senior police officials and law enforcement experts said."

Shawn Boburg & John Swaine of the Washington Post: "Like many Trump supporters, conservative donor Fred Eshelman awoke the day after the presidential election with the suspicion that something wasn't right. His candidate's apparent lead in key battleground states had evaporated overnight. The next day, the North Carolina financier [pledged $2 million to True the Vote -- a fake right-wing 'election integrity' organization -- to fight what he believed was rampant voter fraud].... Now, he wants his money back. The story behind the Eshelman donation ... provides new insights into the frenetic days after the election, when baseless claims led donors to give hundreds of millions of dollars to reverse President Biden's victory. Trump's campaign and the Republican Party collected $255 million in two months, saying the money would support legal challenges to an election marred by fraud.... Eshelman has alleged in two lawsuits -- one in federal court has been withdrawn and the other is ongoing in a Texas state court -- that True the Vote did not spend his $2 million gift and a subsequent $500,000 donation as it said it would. Eshelman also alleges that True the Vote directed much of his money to people or businesses connected to the group's president, Catherine Engelbrecht." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie. Yo, Fred, there's a reason the AP didn't call states like Pennsylvania, Nevada & Georgia for days. If you had listened to MSNBC or CNN, instead of to Trump & Hannity, you could have saved yourself TWO MILLION AND A HALF DOLLARS. When I was a child, my mother made me read a NYT Mag story titled, "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?" The question here is, "If you're so rich, why ain't you smart?"

Georgia Senate Race. David Perdue Wants His Old Job Back. Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "David Perdue, the one-term U.S. senator from Georgia who lost a runoff election last month against Senator Jon Ossoff, filed paperwork on Monday night indicating that he plans a comeback effort -- this time against Georgia's other new senator, Raphael Warnock."

Kareem Fahim & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Simmering hostility between Turkey's government and the Biden administration burst into the open Monday when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused the United States of supporting Kurdish militants and his Foreign Ministry summoned the American ambassador. The latest outburst came a day after Ankara said that 13 Turkish hostages being held in northern Iraq by the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, had been found executed by their captors. The State Department issued a statement condemning the killings but suggesting the PKK's involvement had yet to be confirmed. Erdogan dismissed the statement as 'ridiculous' and criticized ongoing U.S. support for Kurdish fighters in Syria who are affiliated with the Iraq-based PKK. 'You are behind them,' he said."

Mustafa Salim of the Washington Post: "A civilian contractor was killed and a U.S. service member was injured Monday night when coalition forces in Irbil were stuck by 'indirect fire,' U.S. officials said. The rocket fire landed near a military base that hosts coalition forces in the capital of Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region. Five civilian contractors were injured, tweeted coalition spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto. A U.S. defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe an evolving assessment, said the attack appeared to involve 14 rockets that targeted a U.S. facility in the vicinity of the Irbil airport."

A Medal Delayed -- 56 Years. Dave Philipps of the New York Times: On "June 18, 1965, and according to after-action reports, 26-year-old Captain [Paris] Davis was suddenly the last American standing with a ragtag company of 90 South Vietnamese volunteers, pinned down by hundreds of enemy troops. Certain that he was as good as dead, he began fighting without fear of consequence, pulling his M-16 trigger with his pinkie [-- a grenade had just torn off his trigger finger --], sprinting repeatedly into open ground to rescue teammates, and refusing to leave the fight, even after being shot several times. He made it out alive, and was immediately nominated for the military's highest award, the Medal of Honor. But the Army somehow lost the nomination. His frustrated commander resubmitted it, and inexplicably the nomination disappeared again. His teammates ... eventually came to believe the Army's inaction had nothing to do with what the captain had done in 1965, and everything to do with who he was: One of the first Black officers in the Special Forces.... In January. Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher C. Miller personally ordered an expedited review of the lost nomination, to be completed by March. The resulting report will then go up the chain to the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of Defense and finally President Biden. If they all sign off, Mr. Davis, now 81, may finally be recognized."

Jack Nicas of the New York Times: "Parler, the social network that drew millions of Trump supporters before disappearing from the internet, is back online a month after Amazon and other tech giants cut off the company for hosting calls for violence around the time of the Capitol riot. Getting iced out by the tech giants turned Parler into a cause célèbre for conservatives who complained they were being censored, as well as a test case for the openness of the internet."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

New York. Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Admitting a degree of fault for the first time, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Monday that his administration's lack of transparency about the scope of coronavirus-related deaths in nursing homes in New York was a mistake. By failing to answer questions from state lawmakers, the public and the news media, Mr. Cuomo acknowledged, the state created a void that was 'filled with skepticism, and cynicism, and conspiracy theories which furthered the confusion.' But he stopped short of a full apology for his handling of information about the death toll in the state's nursing homes, an issue that has engulfed his administration in recent weeks. Speaking in the State Capitol, Mr. Cuomo made his first remarks since a top aide to the governor, Melissa DeRosa, privately told some state lawmakers last week that the state had withheld data from the Legislature because it feared that the Trump administration would use the information to begin a federal civil rights investigation." An NPR story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Pennsylvania. GOP Plans to Gerrymander State Courts. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected a Republican attempt to overturn the state's election results in November, Justice David N. Wecht issued his own pointed rebuke, condemning the G.O.P. effort as 'futile' and 'a dangerous game.'... Now Pennsylvania Republicans have a plan to make it less likely that judges like Justice Wecht get in their way. G.O.P. legislators, dozens of whom supported overturning the state's election results to aid ... Donald J. Trump, are moving to change the entire way that judges are selected in Pennsylvania, in a gambit that could tip the scales of the judiciary to favor their party, or at least elect judges more inclined to embrace Republican election challenges. The proposal would replace the current system of statewide elections for judges with judicial districts drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature. Those districts could empower rural, predominantly conservative areas and particularly rewire the State Supreme Court, which has a 5-to-2 Democratic lean. Democrats are now mobilizing to fight the effort, calling it a thinly veiled attempt at creating a new level of gerrymandering...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

New York Times: "Millions of people in the United States were without power early Tuesday after a deadly winter storm bulldozed its way across the southern and central parts of the country, in places where such perilously frigid conditions tend to arrive just once in a generation. The massive storm was expected to bring snow, sleet and freezing rain to the Northeast, while the central part of the country braced for several more days of record low temperatures and continued power failures. More than four million customers across the country were without electricity early Tuesday, according to PowerOutage.us, which aggregates live power data from utilities across the country. Most of the outages were in Texas, where power was interrupted Sunday and Monday because of storm damage or in rotating outages ordered by regulators." This is a live-blog. ~~~

     ~~~ The Weather Channel's main story is here. MB: It's still dark (at 6 am ET) where I live, but I can hear the ice storm outside.

The Commentariat -- February 15, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Shawn Boburg & John Swaine of the Washington Post: "Like many Trump supporters, conservative donor Fred Eshelman awoke the day after the presidential election with the suspicion that something wasn't right. His candidate's apparent lead in key battleground states had evaporated overnight. The next day, the North Carolina financier [pledged $2 million to True the Vote -- a fake right-wing 'election integrity' organization -- to fight what he believed was rampant voter fraud].... Now, he wants his money back. The story behind the Eshelman donation ... provides new insights into the frenetic days after the election, when baseless claims led donors to give hundreds of millions of dollars to reverse President Biden's victory. Trump's campaign and the Republican Party collected $255 million in two months, saying the money would support legal challenges to an election marred by fraud.... Eshelman has alleged in two lawsuits -- one in federal court has been withdrawn and the other is ongoing in a Texas state court -- that True the Vote did not spend his $2 million gift and a subsequent $500,000 donation as it said it would. Eshelman also alleges that True the Vote directed much of his money to people or businesses connected to the group's president, Catherine Engelbrecht." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie. Yo, Fred, there's a reason the AP didn't call states like Pennsylvania, Nevada & Georgia for days. If you had listened to MSNBC or CNN, instead of to Trump & Hannity, you could have saved yourself TWO MILLION DOLLARS. When I was a child, my mother made me read a NYT Mag story titled, "If you're so smart, why ain't you rich?" The question here is, "If you're so rich, why ain't you smart?"

"Because of Mitch's Filibuster™." James Sattler of USA Today: "I... the lessons of both [Trump] impeachments were the same: The Republican Party cannot be trusted with our democracy.... Under Trump, Republicans lost the White House, the House and the Senate in one term -- something that hasn't happened since Herbert Hoover was president. But Trump also is the first modern president to leave office with fewer Americans employed than when he came in -- something that also hasn't happened since Hoover. And there was the pandemic that left more than 400,000 Americans dead on Trump's watch, with 40% of those deaths being avoidable, according to the recent findings of a Lancet Commission.... Democrats now have less than two years to do everything they can to make sure America never faces another president who would turn a deadly mob on his own running mate and our government.... 'In the 87 years between the end of Reconstruction and 1964, the only bills that were stopped by filibusters were civil rights bills,' writes Adam Jentleson.... When Kentucky's Mitch McConnell become Senate minority leader in 2007, he began using the filibuster at a rate unprecedented in American history. What the filibuster actually does is make sure policies that are popular with average Democrats and Republicans -- universal background checks for gun buyers, raising the minimum wage, citizenship for DREAMers brought to this country illegally as kids -- have no chance of becoming law.... Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema have assured McConnell they'll be the wind beneath his Filibuster.... These two senators must be convinced [to change their minds]."

Pennsylvania. GOP Plans to Gerrymander State Courts. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "When the Pennsylvania Supreme Court unanimously rejected a Republican attempt to overturn the state's election results in November, Justice David N. Wecht issued his own pointed rebuke, condemning the G.O.P. effort as 'futile' and 'a dangerous game.'... Now Pennsylvania Republicans have a plan to make it less likely that judges like Justice Wecht get in their way. G.O.P. legislators, dozens of whom supported overturning the state's election results to aid ... Donald J. Trump, are moving to change the entire way that judges are selected in Pennsylvania, in a gambit that could tip the scales of the judiciary to favor their party, or at least elect judges more inclined to embrace Republican election challenges. The proposal would replace the current system of statewide elections for judges with judicial districts drawn by the Republican-controlled legislature. Those districts could empower rural, predominantly conservative areas and particularly rewire the State Supreme Court, which has a 5-to-2 Democratic lean. Democrats are now mobilizing to fight the effort, calling it a thinly veiled attempt at creating a new level of gerrymandering...."

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Marie: Remember those Presidents Day morphing videos that often appeared on Reality Chex? Now they can never happen again because any one that includes Joe Biden would have to include the SOB who sat in the Oval afore him. And there's no way Obama morphs into Whozit & Whozit morphs into Biden. Both would be insults. So that enjoyable morphing video is something else Whozit stole. ~~~

     ~~~ Robbed of the usual commemoration here of Presidents Day, I Googled the news for Presidents Day. All of the stories listed were about sales -- the best deals of teevees and refrigerators, etc. That's where we are.

Quint Forgey of Politico: "On a mission to rebuild institutional norms and help heal a hurting nation, Joe and Jill Biden are trying something novel after four years of the Trumps: a little tenderness. Since Inauguration Day last month, the first couple have been conspicuous in their frequent public displays of affection, from a fleeting kiss before boarding Marine One to a cozy morning stroll among oversized candy hearts on the White House North Lawn." ~~~

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden's allies say that with the distraction of the impeachment trial of his predecessor now over, he will quickly press for passage of his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief plan before moving on to an even bigger agenda in Congress that includes infrastructure, immigration, criminal justice reform, climate change and health care. Mr. Biden has so far succeeded in pushing his agenda forward even amid the swirl of the impeachment, trial and acquittal of ... Donald J. Trump. House committees are already debating parts of the coronavirus relief legislation he calls the American Rescue Plan. Several of the president's cabinet members have been confirmed despite the Trump drama. And Mr. Biden's team is pressing lawmakers for quick action when senators return from a weeklong recess."

Nikki Carvejal, et al., of CNN: "President Joe Biden on Sunday called on Congress to institute 'commonsense gun law reforms,' including widespread firearm sales background checks and a ban on assault weapons -- highlighting an 'epidemic of gun violence' in the US on the third anniversary of the deadly Parkland school shooting." The President's full statement is here.

Hope Yen of the AP: "... bipartisan support appear[s] to be growing for an independent Sept. 11-style commission to make sure that such a horrific assault [as took place January 6] could never happen again.... More investigations into the riot were already planned, with Senate hearings scheduled later this month in the Senate Rules Committee. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., also has asked retired Army Lt. Gen. Russel Honoré to lead an immediate review of the Capitol's security process. Lawmakers from both parties signaled on Sunday that even more inquiries were likely.... [Sen. Bill] Cassidy [R.-La.] said ... that as Americans hear all the facts, 'more folks will move to where I was.' He was censured by his state's party after [voting 'guilty'].... An independent 9/11 style commission, which probably would require legislation to create, would elevate the investigation a step higher, offering a definitive government-backed accounting of events." A New York Times story is here.

Bill Hutchinson of ABC News: "Vandals targeted the home of one of ... Donald Trump's impeachment lawyers, spray-painting the word 'TRAITOR' in red on his driveway in suburban Philadelphia, police said. The vandalism occurred around 8 p.m. on Friday at attorney Michael van der Veen's residence in West Whiteland Township, Pennsylvania, about 30 miles southwest of Philadelphia, according to police.... [a township detective] said the graffiti was the only vandalism officers found on the van der Veen's property." MB: In a photo accompanying the story, the spray paint appears to be on the sidewalk leading up to the driveway and not on the driveway itself. That is, the spray-painted area is most likely in the public right-of-way and not on the van der Veens' private property. So I wouldn't call it vandalism. I'd call it "sidewalk art." Just sayin'.

Marie: RAS made a comment in yesterday's thread that made so much sense & in a way was so obvious, I'm ashamed I didn't think of it. If 43 (or fewer) Republicans truly thought the whole impeachment trial was unconstitutional, they could have sat it out back home, dedicating themselves to constituent services. If they were askeert of said constituents, they could have claimed they were in quarantine or something. That would have reduced the number of senators needed to reach two-thirds, and Trump could have been convicted. But no. They wanted to acquit the traitor. So they did. (I'm not sure what a "present" vote would do. If a bunch of senators voted "present," a two-thirds vote might still have required 67.) Anyhow, fuck the chicken traitors. And that means you, too, Mitch.

Marie: BTW, I predict this is the end of Donald Trump's political career. He's a bloated old racist, misogynist guy who might make some forays into the lands of Oath Keepers & Proud Boys, but otherwise he's done for. Adios, MoFo. ~~~

~~~ It Isn't Only Trump Who's in Trouble. E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post: "Led with extraordinary grace by Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), a diverse and able group of prosecutors laid out an indelible record not only of what happened on Jan. 6 and why, but also Trump's irresponsibility throughout his term of office: his courting of the violent far right; his celebration of violence; his habit of privileging himself and his own interests over everything and everyone else, including his unrequitedly loyal vice president.... By tying themselves to Trump with their votes, most House and Senate Republicans made themselves complicit in his behavior. And Trump will prove to be even more of an albatross than Hoover, who, after all, had a moral core.... You can tell how worried Republicans are that they are now the Trump Party by the contortions of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who aided Trump almost to the end.... His words told the world who won the argument.... The fact that only seven Senate Republicans bolted should end the absurd talk that there is a burden on President Biden to achieve a bipartisan nirvana in Washington." Looks as if Republicans know that. ~~~

~~~ Cowards Lie Low. Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "CBS' Margaret Brennan ended Sunday's Face the Nation with a note to viewers about Republicans.... 'We did offer invitations to over two dozen Senate Republicans to join us today. No one accepted.' And if that wasn't clear enough, Brennan later tweeted that these invitations were to senators 'following their votes to acquit former President Trump.'"

Marie: Most of the news today seems to be about what Mitch McConnell did & what Lindsey Graham thinks, and, frankly, my dears, I don't give a damn.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

Reis Thebault of the Washington Post: "In recent weeks, U.S. coronavirus case data -- long a closely-watched barometer of the pandemic's severity -- has sent some encouraging signals: The rate of newly recorded infections is plummeting from coast to coast and the worst surge yet is finally relenting. But scientists are split on why, exactly, it is happening.... And every explanation is appended with two significant caveats: The country is still in a bad place, continuing to notch more than 90,000 new cases every day, and recent progress could still be imperiled, either by new fast-spreading virus variants or by relaxed social distancing measures." Among the explanations: better social distancing, seasonality, vaccinations, & well, less testing.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Marie Fazio of the New York Times: "The Los Angeles Police Department has opened an internal investigation after an inappropriate image of George Floyd, the man killed in police custody in Minneapolis last year, was reported to have been circulated in the department, officials said. The image was styled in an unspecified Valentine-like format with the words 'You take my breath away,' according to an internal memo posted on Twitter and what Chief Michel Moore told The Los Angeles Times on Saturday." MB: The LAPD used to be notoriously racist. Apparently that hasn't changed much.

Florida Residents Turn on Publix. Richard Luscombe of the Guardian: "After a member of Publix's founding family donated $300,000 to the Donald Trump rally that preceded January's deadly Capitol riots..., [Floridians are] joining ... a boycott of the Florida-based grocery chain that operates more than 1,200 stores across seven south-eastern states.... Publix is an institution in Florida, the company growing from Depression-era roots in the 1930s to a regional behemoth with 225,000 workers today, and its founding Jenkins family now worth $8.8bn, according to Forbes. It prides itself on a family-friendly image, luring customers with prominent buy-one-get-one deals and a range of popular sandwich subs, and boasts of being the largest employee-owned company in the US. Yet the company and its founders have donated often and generously to partisan, conservative causes, including more than $2m alone by Publix heiress Julie Jenkins Fancelli, daughter of the late company founder George Jenkins, to the Republican National Committee and Trump's failed re-election campaign.... Earlier this year, Publix donated donated $100,000 to a political action committee looking to secure [Gov. Ron] DeSantis's [R-Trump] re-election in 2022. Soon after, the governor awarded Publix a lucrative and exclusive contract to distribute Covid-19 vaccines in numerous stores."

Ohio. Indiana. Sarah Bahr of the New York Times: "The Indianapolis Museum of Art at Newfields has edited and apologized for an employment listing that said it was seeking a director who would work not only to attract a more diverse audience but to maintain its 'traditional, core, white art audience.'... Malina Simone Jeffers and Alan Bacon, the guest curators for the museum's upcoming 'DRIP: Indy's #BlackLivesMatter Street Mural' exhibition, scheduled to open in April, said in a statement on Saturday night that they had decided they could not remain as guest curators.... Kelli Morgan, who was recruited in 2018 to diversify the museum's galleries, resigned in July, calling the museum's culture 'toxic' and 'discriminatory' in a letter she sent to [museum director Charles] Venable, as well as to board members, artists and the local news media.... Venable, who has led the museum since 2012, has been criticized for catering to a popular audience with programming like an artist-designed miniature golf course at the expense of investing in traditional art experiences. He also instituted an $18 admission charge at the formerly free institution in 2015." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: More than half of Cleveland's population is Black or Hispanic. I'll bet before Director Chuck there raised the price of admission from $00 to $18, a large percentage of visitors were not of the "traditional, core, white" persuasion. The museum's board has planned for Venable to stay on as president after it chooses a new director; this would be a good time to rethink Venable's continued employment. Not to worry, Chuck; you'd probably be great as director of the Trump Presidential* "Library" for White People. First curated exhibition: photos of the graffiti, broken exhibits, feces & blood, etc., Trump "patriots" left in the Capitol building.

Washington State. A Republican Prosecutor Quits. Kate Briquelet of the Daily Beast: "When Arian Noma ran for prosecutor in a rural Washington county in 2018, he was a newcomer who vowed to stop the over-prosecution of crimes and seek bail only when necessary.... The 44-year-old Republican wanted to create a reentry support group for people released from incarceration and had other grand ideas, too, which he said would ultimately save taxpayers money.... But halfway through his four-year term, Noma resigned.... The final straw, Noma continued, was a series of 'racially motivated attacks.' Speaking publicly for the first time since his resignation, Noma -- whose ancestry includes Black, Native American and Filipino heritage -- told The Daily Beast that he believes the online harassment campaign had help from law enforcement and county colleagues, including people within his own office. He says the online smear campaign ... ramped up after he supported Black Lives Matter protesters last summer.... Voters, even those who didn't elect Noma, told The Daily Beast the county's conservatives turned on him after his Black Lives Matter support and positions on armed militias possibly violating state laws."

News Ledes

New York Times: “A line of fans queuing up to honor actor Cicely Tyson "began forming in the dark on Monday, hours before anyone would be allowed inside the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem.... Ms. Tyson, who died on Jan. 28 at 96, lay at rest in the sanctuary of the church.... Fans from New York and far beyond, all inspired by her seven-decade acting career, waited their turn to say their last goodbye to the revered actress. She was a pioneering actress who won three Emmys, a Tony and an honorary Oscar, but her fame went beyond her awards. She challenged Hollywood on how it cast Black actors, and became a paragon for civil rights. But in East Harlem, where Ms. Tyson was born and raised to immigrant parents from Nevis, she was even more than that. She co-founded the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1969 after a tumultuous year in the civil rights movement and after Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, and continued to support the arts, albeit quietly. She had been a member of the Abyssinian Baptist Church for more than three decades...."

New York Times: "A sprawling winter storm pummeled a large swath of the United States on Monday, delivering heavy snowfall and icy conditions as temperatures plunged well below freezing. The coast-to-coast storm has knocked out power for several million people across the country. Ice-slicked roads have led to highway pileups and sent eighteen-wheelers careening off the pavement. The National Weather Service said early Monday that at least 150 million Americans were under ice or winter weather advisories.... The storm, which brought record low temperatures in Minnesota and dumped 11 inches of snow in Seattle, is now barraging parts of the country that are far less familiar with the worst of winter.... The temperatures in the middle of the country are expected to approach record lows.... In Texas, Austin was locked down for the worst winter storm in a generation." This is a live-blog. ~~~

     ~~~ The Weather Channel's main report on the winter storm is here. You can always check your local forecast by plugging in your ZIP Code on the Weather Channel's main page, then clicking on the bar beneath the town & temp that pops up for the report you want.

The Commentariat -- February 14, 2021

Happy Valentine's Day from a Real President & First Lady. Thanks to RAS for the link: ~~

President Biden: "#ValentinesDay is a big. Jill's favorite day. For real."

Q: "What inspired you to do this?"@FLOTUS: "I just wanted some joy. With the pandemic, just everybody's feeling a little down. So, it's just a little joy. A little hope. That's all." pic.twitter.com/JW0S1cclNO

— CSPAN (@cspan) February 12, 2021

Kelly Mena & Jason Hoffman of CNN: "President Joe Biden weighed in late Saturday night on ... Donald Trump's acquittal in his second impeachment trial.... 'This sad chapter in our history has reminded us that democracy is fragile. That it must always be defended. That we must be ever vigilant. That violence and extremism has no place in America. And that each of us has a duty and responsibility as Americans, and especially as leaders, to defend the truth and to defeat the lies,' Biden said in a statement.... 'While the final vote did not lead to a conviction, the substance of the charge is not in dispute. Even those opposed to the conviction, like Senate Minority Leader McConnell, believe Donald Trump was guilty of a "disgraceful dereliction of duty" and "practically and morally responsible for provoking" the violence unleashed on the Capitol." President Biden's full statement is here.

Scott Wong of the Hill: "After the Senate voted to acquit former President Trump, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Saturday ruled out censuring the former president -- an idea that several Republicans had floated in recent days. 'Censure is a slap in the face of the Constitution. It lets everybody off the hook...,' Pelosi told reporters following the Senate impeachment trial at the Capitol. 'Oh, these cowardly senators who couldn't face up to what the president did and what was at stake for our country are now going to have a chance to give a little slap on the wrist?' Pelosi said while slapping her own wrist. 'We censure people for using stationery for the wrong purpose,' said Pelosi, referring to an episode that led Democrats to censure former Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) in 2010. 'We don't censure people for inciting insurrection that kills people in the Capitol.'... Pelosi also took a couple jabs at Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)...."

Mitch Has Cake; Eats It, Too. Carl Hulse & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Senator Mitch McConnell said he believed that Donald J. Trump was undeniably guilty of a 'disgraceful dereliction of duty' on Jan. 6, when he incited and then failed to do anything to halt a deadly assault on the Capitol. 'There's no question -- none-- that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day,' Mr. McConnell, the Kentucky Republican and minority leader, declared Saturday afternoon in an anti-Trump diatribe so scathing that it could have been delivered by any of the nine House prosecutors seeking a conviction. But minutes before he spoke, when it came time for the most powerful Republican in Washington to hold Mr. Trump to account on the charge of causing the riot, Mr. McConnell said his hands were tied. It could not be done, he argued. He voted to acquit. 'We have no power to convict and disqualify a former officeholder who is now a private citizen,' Mr. McConnell, who said he reached that conclusion after 'intense reflection,' said as he delivered a lawyerly explanation on the limits of Senate power." This is an update of an item by Fandos linked earlier. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Former Sen. Claire McCaskill [D-Mo.] explained on MSNBC that the soliloquy was Mitch's bid to get his donor base back. To convict or not to convict evidently was not the question.

Here's a statement from Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who voted to convict Donald Trump.

43 Profiles in Cowardice. Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans voted against convicting Donald Trump Saturday for inciting his supporters to storm the Capitol Jan. 6, bringing a swift end to the former president's second impeachment trial after Democrats abandoned plans to call witnesses in the face of GOP opposition. Seven Republicans joined Democrats in a 57-43 vote in favor of conviction, falling short of the two-thirds majority needed to convict Trump in the Senate. Sens. Richard Burr (N.C.), Bill Cassidy (La.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitt Romney (Utah), Ben Sasse (Neb.) and Patrick Toomey (Pa.) were the Republicans who voted with Democrats. The decision in the end to forego witnesses set the stage for Trump's acquittal without a full accounting of the former president's actions as the riots unfolded, endangering the lives of lawmakers and former vice president Mike Pence. The result underscored Trump's continued grip on most Republicans...." ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Under the watch of National Guard troops still patrolling the historic building, a bipartisan majority voted to find Mr. Trump 'guilty' of the House's single charge of 'incitement of insurrection.' They included seven Republicans, more members of a president's party than have ever returned an adverse verdict in an impeachment trial.... Party leaders and even the president's most loyal supporters in the Senate did not defend his actions -- a monthslong campaign, seeded with election lies, to overturn his decisive loss to Mr. Biden that culminated when Mr. Trump told thousands of his supporters to 'fight like hell' and they did. Instead, in the face of a meticulous case brought by nine House prosecutors, they found safe harbor in technical arguments that the trial itself was not valid because Mr. Trump was no longer in office." The story has been updated.

Taking Stockholm Syndrome to a New Low. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "As his marauders sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 in their bloody attempt to overturn the election, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called the then-president and pleaded for Trump to call off the attack. Trump refused, essentially telling McCarthy he got what he deserved. Trump was, in effect, content to let members of Congress die.... Trump's lawyers, in their slashing, largely fictitious defense, claimed that Trump was 'horrified' by the violence, hadn't known that Vice President Mike Pence was in danger and took 'immediate steps' to counter the rioting. But [Rep. Jaime] Herrera Beutler [R-Wash.] revealed such claims to be a lie.... On Saturday afternoon, senators agreed that Herrera Beutler's statement would be entered into the trial record as evidence. Even knowing this, most Republican senators, as long expected, voted to acquit Trump, a craven surrender to the political imperative not to cross the demagogue.... [Forty-three] Republicans, some of whom, like McConnell, feebly denounced Trump's conduct even as they acquitted him, now have the cowardly distinction of licking the boots of the man who left them to die."

A Very Trump Closing. Daniel Dale & Tara Subramaniam of CNN: "... Donald Trump's impeachment defense was dishonest from start to finish. Prior to Trump's Senate acquittal on Saturday on a charge that he incited the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol, Trump lawyer Michael van der Veen delivered a closing argument that was replete with false and misleading claims. This followed a Friday session in which van der Veen delivered other false and misleading claims. Which followed a Monday written filing in which van der Veen and his colleagues delivered still more false and misleading claims. Here is a fact check of some of the things van der Veen said on Saturday, plus a fact check of a false claim made by a Democratic impeachment manager during Saturday's closing arguments." It's quite a list.

Here are the final final arguments. Both Rep. Raskin's & Rep. Neguse's closing arguments are tearjerkers:

Peter Baker & Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "Though Mr. Trump escaped conviction, the Senate impeachment trial has served at least one purpose: It stitched together the most comprehensive and chilling account to date of last month's deadly assault on the Capitol, ensuring that the former president's name will be inextricably associated with a violent attempt to subvert the peaceful transfer of power, the first in American history. In the new details it revealed and the methodical, minute-by-minute assembly of known facts it presented, the trial proved revelatory for many Americans -- and even for some who lived through the events."

Moving On. From the Guardian's live updates @ 12:43 pm ET: "Senate minority whip John Thune, a Republican of South Dakota, told the Washington Post that he believes the chamber has reached an agreement to admit Jaime Herrera Beutler's statement into the official record and then move on without calling witnesses, allowing for a swift end to the trial." @ 12:52 pm ET: "Senator Patrick Leahy, who is presiding over the trial, resumed the proceedings by recognizing Bruce Castor, one of Donald Trump's lawyers. Castor said he believed that congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler's testimony, if she were called as a witness, would be consistent with her statement from last month. Lead impeachment manager Jamie Raskin then read Beutler's statement aloud, and it was added to the official trial record." @ 12:55 pm ET: "With Jaime Herrera Beutler's statement added to the official record, the Senate has now agreed that no witnesses will be called in the impeachment trial. The trial has now moved on to closing arguments from the impeachment managers and Donald Trump's defense lawyers. The trial is expected to conclude with a final vote on acquittal later today." The House managers then deliverrf their closing arguments. (Also linked yesterday.)

The New York Times' live analysis is here, and the reporters' comments are much more timely as to what's going on than are its "live updates." The morning got off to a wild start. The Times page includes video of the proceedings, but you can pause the video or turn off the sound if it's intrusive. (Also linked yesterday.)

The New York Times' live updates of the impeachment trial Saturday are here: "Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican leader, informed colleagues Saturday morning that it was a 'close call,' but he would vote to acquit ... Donald J. Trump on the charge of 'incitement of insurrection' for his role in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, according to three people familiar with the matter. His decision, revealed in an email to colleagues hours before a vote on the verdict, put to rest weeks of uncertainty and public silence about how Mr. McConnell would judge the former president, and confirmed that it was all but certain that the Senate would acquit Mr. Trump." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of Saturday's proceedings are here: "Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) on Saturday said Democrats would like to subpoena as a witness Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-Wash.), who tweeted late Friday details of a conversation House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy had with Trump while the Jan. 6 attack was ongoing.... Responding angrily, Trump attorney Michael van der Veen said if Democrats were to call one witness, he would call 100." MB: The vote to call witnesses was 55-45 in favor. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates of Saturday's proceedings are here: "Four Senate Republicans have voted along with the Democrats, giving them more than enough votes to call witnesses: Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Mitt Romney and Ben Sasse. Lindsay Graham changed his vote from no to yes after it was clear the motion would pass." MB: So no way to know when this trial will end. At this point (11 am ET), the Senate still needs to hold a vote on a resolution that lays out the rules for calling witnesses. So we still don't know for sure, for sure that there will be witnesses. We do know fairly certainly that the defense won't be calling 100 witnesses, because 100 is not going to be the resolution's threshold. (Also linked yesterday.)

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times provide an up-to-date timeline of what Donald Trump was doing as the siege of the Capitol played out.

A Jan. 6 Commission? Dan Balz of the Washington Post: "The Senate vote left multiple questions still to be answered.... Chief among them: Exactly what did Trump know as the attacks were unfolding, and why he didn't he do anything to protect Vice President Mike Pence or order immediate reinforcements to the beleaguered law enforcement officers at the Capitol?... One vehicle for fact finding that could lead to protecting the Capitol ... is the kind of commission that Tom Kean, the former Republican governor of New Jersey, and Lee Hamilton, the former Democratic House member from Indiana, headed after 9/11 and now are advocating to investigate the Jan. 6 events. On Friday, Kean and Hamilton sent a letter to President Biden and to the bipartisan leaders in the House and Senate urging the establishment of a commission that would be both independent and bipartisan.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) already has raised the idea of creating such a commission, as have some other members of Congress. Kean and Hamilton said that each had received a call from the speaker on Friday...."

** Christiaan Triebert, et al., of the New York Times: "At least six people who had provided security for Roger Stone entered the Capitol building during the Jan. 6 attack, according to a New York Times investigation. Videos show the group guarding Mr. Stone, a longtime friend of ... Donald J. Trump, on the day of the attack or the day before. All six of them are associated with the Oath Keepers, a far-right anti-government militia that is known to provide security for right-wing personalities and protesters at public events." MB: This is another of my toljaso moments, as I said a while back it wasn't silly to explore Stone's roll as the link between Trump & the insurrectionsts. This would be a really good time for the FBI to get search warrants to storm Stone's homes & offices looking for evidence of his involvement in the siege and his communications with Trump about it. Stone's connections to the Proud Boys are also suspect.

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "In an interview about her newly announced criminal investigation into election interference in Georgia, [Fani] Willis, the [new] district attorney of Fulton County, made it clear that the scope of her inquiry would encompass the pressure campaign on state officials by ... Donald J. Trump as well as the activities of his allies.... She and her office have indicated that the investigation will include Senator Lindsey Graham's phone call to [state attorney general Brad] Raffensperger in November about mail-in ballots; the abrupt removal last month of Byung J. Pak, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, who earned Mr. Trump's enmity for not advancing his debunked assertions about election fraud; and the false claims that Rudolph W. Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, made before state legislative committees." (Also linked yesterday.)

MEANWHILE ~~~

Ashley Parker & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "Deputy White House press secretary TJ Ducklo resigned Saturday amid fallout from a contentious phone call last month in which he berated and threatened a female reporter who was working on a story about a potential conflict of interest stemming from his personal life.... White House press secretary Jen Psaki had announced Friday that Ducklo would be suspended for a week without pay, but by Saturday, both senior White House advisers and Ducklo said they had reassessed the incident, leading to his resignation that night. 'We are committed to striving every day to meet the standard set by the President in treating others with dignity and respect, with civility and with a value for others through our words and our actions,' Psaki said in a statement, explaining why the White House accepted Ducklo's resignation.... The White House turnabout, which took just over 24 hours and came amid public outcry, was the result of discussions Saturday between [among!] top administration officials.... While [Ducklo] wasn't forced to resign, one person close to the situation said that 'we would not have accepted any other outcome.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story is here. The AP's story is here.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here: "British government scientists are increasingly finding the coronavirus variant first detected in Britain to be linked to a higher risk of death than other versions of the virus, a devastating trend that highlights the serious risks and considerable uncertainties of this new phase of the pandemic. The scientists said last month that there was a 'realistic possibility' that the variant was not only more contagious than others, but also more lethal. Now, they say in a new document that it is 'likely' that the variant is linked to an increased risk of hospitalization and death."