The Commentariat -- January 19, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Field of Flags. Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "Nearly 200,000 flags have been placed on the National Mall ahead of President-elect >Joe Biden's inauguration, signifying the tens of thousands of people who won't be able to attend this year's ceremony. The Presidential Inaugural Committee first announced plans to install the public art display, which has flags representing all the U.S. states and territories, on Jan. 11. The display was lit up Sunday evening. ~~~

200k flags have been placed on the #NationalMall representing people from around the world who would gather for the #Inauguration of President Biden & VP Harris.

The #fieldofflags is illuminated by 56 pillars of light representing America’s states & territories. @BidenInaugural pic.twitter.com/ZJdxh8J1w7

— Brandon Chaderton (@Bran_InTheArena) January 19, 2021

The Washington Post is live-updating Tuesday's Senate confirmation hearings: "Senate confirmation hearings are being held for five of Biden's Cabinet nominees throughout the day on a heavily fortified Capitol Hill, where preparations also continue for Biden's swearing-in at noon on Wednesday." ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Snotty Seditionist Punk Puts Hold on DHS Nominee. Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced on Tuesday he would place a hold on Alejandro Mayorkas, President-elect Joe Biden's choice to lead the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). Hawley, who has come under fire recently amid allegations that he played a role in the Capitol riot early this month, made the announcement just hours after the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wrapped its hearing with Mayorkas. The move delays the nomination of a post Democrats have argued is critical to fill immediately to protect national security.... Defeating the hold will require a 50 vote threshold cloture vote and eats up days of floor time, complicating the process. 'Mr. Mayorkas has not adequately explained how he will enforce federal law and secure the southern border given President-elect Biden's promise to roll back major enforcement and security measures,' Hawley said in a statement.... Hawley's opposition stems from an exchange where the lawmaker asked Mayorkas if he would obligate $1.4 billion in funds set aside for Trump's border wall."; MB: On Friday night, the Senate's most conservative Democratic senator, Joe Manchin (W.Va.), said the Senate should consider removing Hawley (R-Mo.) via the 14th Amendment because of his actions during the insurrection. Seems like an excellent idea.

Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he will nominate Pennsylvania's top health official, Rachel Levine, to be his assistant secretary of health. Levine, a pediatrician, would become the first openly transgender federal official to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate." An AP story is here.

AP: "Three new Democratic senators are set to be sworn into office after President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration Wednesday. The arrival of Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia and Alex Padilla of California will give Democrats a working majority in the Senate -- split 50-50, with the new vice president, Kamala Harris, as the tie-breaking vote.... Harris is set to deliver the oath of office to the three Democrats after she is sworn in during the inauguration as vice president."

Yellin Says "Act Big"; Curmudgeon Scolds Her. Erica Werner & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden"s nominee for treasury secretary, urged lawmakers Tuesday to 'act big' on economic relief for the coronavirus pandemic as she appeared before a Senate committee for her confirmation hearing. 'I think there is a consensus now: Without further action, we risk a longer, more painful recession now -- and long-term scarring of the economy later,' Yellen said in written testimony submitted to the Senate Finance Committee ahead of the hearing. She faced immediate pushback from Finance Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who used his opening statement to slam the Biden relief plan as a 'laundry list of liberal structural economic reforms' that would not be appropriate to enact."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Outgoing Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday accused President Trump of provoking the violent crowd that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 'The last time the Senate convened, we had just reclaimed the Capitol from violent criminals who tried to stop Congress from doing our duty. The mob was fed lies. They were provoked by the president and other powerful people,' McConnell said on the Senate floor, marking the first convening of the full Senate since the attack. McConnell's statements carry significance ahead of an anticipated Senate impeachment trial. The GOP leader has told colleagues he hasn't yet decided how he would vote on a House-passed article of impeachment against Trump." MB: No angry-bird response from Trump yet.... Oh, yeah. Tweetybird dead.

James LaPorta of the AP: "Two Army National Guard members are being removed from the mission to secure Joe Biden's presidential inauguration. A U.S. Army official and a senior U.S. intelligence official say the two National Guard members have been found to have ties to fringe right group militias. No plot against Biden was found. The Army official and the intelligence official spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity due to Defense Department media regulations. They did not say what fringe group the Guard members belonged to or what unit they served in."

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "U.S. authorities have leveled the first conspiracy charge against an apparent leader of an extremist group in the Jan. 6 storming of the U.S. Capitol, arresting an alleged Oath Keeper who is accused of plotting to disrupt the electoral vote confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's victory and proposing further assaults on state capitols. Thomas Edward Caldwell, 66, of Clarke County, Va., was taken into custody before 7 a.m. on four federal counts, including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States in the attack on the Capitol.... A charging affidavit says he helped organize a group of eight to 10 individuals, including self-styled Ohio militia members apprehended Sunday, who wore helmets and military-style gear and were seen moving purposefully toward the top of the Capitol steps and leading the move against police lines." The article reports more evidence against Caldwell cited in the charging affidavit.

Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast on "Trump's Pathetic Final Weekend in Office": "'Everyone knows I won.' That's a phrase that Donald Trump, the twice-impeached former game show host and soon-to-be former president, repeated to different advisers and confidants over the long MLK Day weekend.... Because of him and his party, the city and the federal government were forced to perform a simulacrum of a police state -- simply to ensure that the outgoing president's extremist supporters would allow a transition of government to occur without further bloodshed.To another president, this would bring a sense of deep shame and regret, or at least a moment of humility. But to Trump, it's still a matter of me, me, me." A fun read for the schadenfreude-inclined.

How Not to Celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "The Trump White House on Monday released the report of the presidential '1776 Commission,' a sweeping attack on liberal thought and activism that calls for a 'patriotic education,' defends America's founding on the basis of slavery and likens progressivism to fascism. President Trump formed the commission in September, saying that American heritage was under assault by revolutionary fanatics and that the nation's schools required a new 'pro-American' curriculum. Its report, released on Martin Luther King's Birthday, denounces the charge that the American founders were hypocrites who preached equality even as they codified slavery in the Constitution and held slaves themselves. 'This charge is untrue, and has done enormous damage, especially in recent years, with a devastating effect on our civic unity and social fabric,' it says." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's report, by Maegan Vazquez, is here. Its headline: "Trump administration issues racist school curriculum report on MLK day". ~~~

~~~ ** Michael Crowley & Jennifer Schussler of the New York Times: "President Trump formed the 18-member commission ... in the heat of his re-election campaign in September.... The commission formed part of Mr. Trump's larger response to the antiracism protests [last summer].... The report drew intense criticism from historians, some of whom noted that the commission, while stocked with conservative educators, did not include a single professional historian of the United States. James Grossman, the executive director of the American Historical Association, said the report was not a work of history, but 'cynical politics.'" MB: Let me just say that those who wrote, signed onto or believe this report are batshit crazy. Oh, and flaming racists.

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

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Michael Shear & Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will arrive in the nation's capital on Tuesday evening for an inauguration eve ceremony at the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool honoring the nearly 400,000 people who have died during the coronavirus pandemic that will be his first priority after he is sworn in the next day. The somber remembrance will kick off two days of in-person and virtual events as Mr. Biden takes the oath of office on Jan. 20, becoming the 46th president of the United States at a time of economic struggle and cultural upheaval in the wake of President Trump's four years in the White House.... Mr. Biden has planned a mix of celebratory, upbeat events to mark the occasion ... along with more serious moments aimed at marking the grim times that many Americans are facing as he takes office. Instead of an in-person parade along Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. Biden's inaugural committee on Monday provided details about a virtual 'Parade Across America' that will start at 3:15 Wednesday afternoon after Mr. Biden's swearing-in."

James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday at noon, President-elect Joe Biden will ... [deliver his inaugural address] two weeks after the Capitol was stormed by a pro-Trump mob intent on stopping Congress from formally counting the electoral votes to confirm his victory. The bloodshed on Jan. 6 means the handoff from the 45th to the 46th president has not been a peaceful transfer of power. While Biden will nod to the violence and to the unprecedented security that has locked down the capital city, he plans to make a broader case for national healing and to make government work again.... 'What you'll hear from President-elect Biden on Wednesday will be a reflection of a lot of what you heard from him on the campaign trail, which is that he believes we can bring this country together,' incoming White House communications director Kate Bedingfield said on Sunday."

Jasmine Wright & Chandelis Duster of CNN: "Vice President-elect Kamala Harris has formally submitted a letter of resignation for her US Senate seat to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, ending her four-year career in the chamber. As Harris says goodbye to her seat, she assured Americans in an op-ed for the San Francisco Chronicle that her work is not done since she will preside over the chamber once she is sworn as the first female, first Black and first South Asian woman vice president of the United States on Wednesday. '... As I resign from the Senate, I am preparing to take an oath that would have me preside over it,' Harris wrote. 'As senator-turned-Vice-President Walter Mondale once pointed out, the vice presidency is the only office in our government that "belongs to both the executive branch and the legislative branch." A responsibility made greater with an equal number of Democrats and Republicans in the Senate.'"

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday plans to nominate five women to serve in the No. 2 spots at key Cabinet agencies, moving to fill out vital day-to-day operations roles in the government he will take over on Wednesday. The moves, which will install deputies with hands-on experience in critical departments, reflect Biden's push to elevate women and his desire to quickly tackle the nation's crises and repair agencies suffering from morale and other problems. The nominees, who must be confirmed by the Senate, include Jewel H. Bronaugh at Agriculture, Polly Trottenberg at Transportation, Andrea Palm at Health and Human Services, Elizabeth Klein at Interior and Cindy Marten at Education." (Also linked yesterday.)

Lisa Mascaro & Bill Barrow of the AP: "President-elect Joe Biden plans to unveil a sweeping immigration bill on Day One of his administration, hoping to provide an eight-year path to citizenship for an estimated 11 million people living in the U.S. without legal status, a massive reversal from the Trump administration's harsh immigration policies. The legislation puts Biden on track to deliver on a major campaign promise important to Latino voters and other immigrant communities after four years of President Donald Trump's restrictive policies and mass deportations. It provides one of the fastest pathways to citizenship for those living without legal status of any measure in recent years, but it fails to include the traditional trade-off of enhanced border security favored by many Republicans, making passage in a narrowly divided Congress in doubt." A Washington Post story is here.

The Washington Post's live inauguration updates Monday are topped with a quintessential headline: "Biden to participate in national day of service as Trump prepares pardons." MB: Another way to put it: Biden participates in presidential tradition as Trump engages in corrupt practices." Sure hope it warms up enough this afternoon for Trump to get in a round of golf with some white megadonors. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Sorest Losers. Ever. Kate Bennett of CNN: "On the morning of January 20, Donald Trump and Melania Trump will depart the White House as President and first lady, but they will not invite their incoming counterparts, Joe and Jill Biden, inside before they do. The dissolving of one of America's most enduring transfer-of-power rituals -- the outgoing president welcoming the incoming president on the steps of the North Portico, and then riding with them to the United States Capitol -- is just one of the snubs the Trumps are perpetrating as they leave Washington. Instead of a president and first lady, the Bidens will be greeted by the White House chief usher Timothy Harleth.... The Inauguration Day snub of the Biden's comes on the heels of a series of broken norms and childish behavior that comes directly from the President of the United States, who has been vocal about his disinterest in preserving any semblance of decency towards the man who will succeed him.... 'It's abhorrent,' said [a] former White House official who worked in the Trump administration.... Trump, according to several sources, is even mulling whether to write a letter to Biden to leave for him in the Oval Office, a standard-bearing tradition. Melania Trump, who has not been seen in public in more than two weeks, has not reached out to Jill Biden, dashing expectations she would continue the passing along of hospitality to her successor, hosting her for a tour. Even after contentious election cycles, first ladies and presidents have set aside hard feelings and ego, no matter how bruised, until now."

Carol Leonnig & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The FBI privately warned law enforcement agencies Monday that far-right extremists have discussed posing as National Guard members in Washington and others have reviewed maps of vulnerable spots in the city -- signs of potential efforts to disrupt Wednesday's inauguration, according to an intelligence report obtained by The Washington Post. The document, a summary of threats that the FBI identified in a Monday intelligence briefing, warned that both 'lone wolves' and adherents of the QAnon extremist ideology, some of whom joined in the violent siege on the Capitol on Jan. 6, have indicated they plan to come to Washington for President-elect Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony. The FBI also said it had observed people downloading and sharing maps of sensitive locations in Washington and discussing how those facilities could be used to interfere in security during the inauguration."

Manu Raju of CNN: "The top two Senate leaders are nearing a power-sharing agreement to hash out how the evenly divided chamber will operate, with Democrats in charge of setting the schedule but both parties likely to hold an equal number of seats on Senate committees, according to sources familiar with the talks. The negotiations between Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell have been built largely around how the Senate operated the last time the body was split 50-50.... Similar to those rules, set in January 2001, Schumer and McConnell aides are discussing allowing bills and nominations to advance to the Senate floor even if they are tied during committee votes.... Democrats will hold the chairmanships of the committees, giving them power to set the agenda, and Schumer will be granted the title of majority leader.... The full chamber still has to ratify these procedures...." MB: I doubt Mitch would have been so generous had the veep been a Republican. Mitch was not majority leader in 2001.

The Last Full Day of the Mad Kaiser

For a lovely trip down Memory Lane, CREW has put together an essay with extensive illustrative graphics of Trump's "legacy of profound corruption and egregious conflicts of interest." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday ordered an end to the ban on travelers from Europe and Brazil that had been aimed at stopping the spread of the coronavirus to the United States, a move quickly rejected by aides to President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who said Mr. Biden will maintain the ban when he takes office on Wednesday. In a proclamation issued late Monday, Mr. Trump said that the travel restrictions, which apply to noncitizens trying to come to the United States after spending time in those areas, would no longer be needed on Jan. 26, the date on which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will start requiring all passengers from abroad to present proof of a negative coronavirus test before boarding a flight."

Some weeks back, thanks to a commentator (sorry, can't recall who), we linked to a mock-up of the Donald J. Trump Library, complete with rooms dedicated to such topics as Impeachments I & II, Storming the Capitol, and of course a Grift Shop for the Losers & Suckers. Immune to parody as Trump is, it turns out his library will be even sillier than clever people have imagined:

~~~ Phil Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post (Jan. 16): "... two people familiar with internal discussions [about a Trump presidential library] said it is likely to be located in Florida and run by Dan Scavino, one of Trump's longest-serving and most loyal aides who advises him on social media and most recently served as deputy White House chief of staff.... [Trump] wants to raise $2 billion for the library -- a far greater sum than has been raised for past presidential libraries...." MB: IOW, Trump thinks the appropriate "librarian" for his oeuvre is his Twitter manager, a guy whose previous professional experience was caddying for Trump. Maybe Trump is right. Who better to archive Trump's tweets & run the Grift Shop? However, it's more likely what we can expect has something else in common with the library Website linked above: they'll both be virtual "libraries." Oh, Trump will collect the $2BB if he can, but he won't ever buy the property or break ground. He will give his fans progress reports, telling them about the big, beautiful footings and doors so strong no criminal Mexicans and caravans can get through them.

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "As President Trump enters the final hours of his term, he has been intently focused on who should benefit from his clemency power. Along with the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, and advisers including Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner..., Mr. Trump has spent days sifting through names and recommendations, assembling a list that officials say he intends to disclose on Tuesday, his last full day in office. The size and precise composition of the list is still being determined, but it is likely to cover at least 60 pardons or commutations and perhaps more than 100. Already, Mr. Trump has been making calls to some of the recipients, people briefed about them said, and he held another meeting about the topic on Monday afternoon." MB: I also heard on the teevee that Trump was taping a "farewell address" somebody wrote.

Disappointing News. Jonathan Karl & Marc Nathanson of ABC News: Rudy "Giuliani, who has been leading the president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, told ABC News' ... Jonathan Karl late Sunday that [he] will not be part of Trump's legal team for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Washington, D.C., rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building." MB: So no shouting, screaming, mugging, spitting, drooling, dripping & farting on the Senate floor. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Em Steck & Andrew Kaczinski of CNN: "... Rudy Giuliani personally voted in the 2020 election using a voting method he publicly disparaged and bashed in his attempts to overthrow the presidential election results, a CNN KFile investigation has found. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York City, voted in Manhattan by an affidavit ballot, also known as a provisional ballot, after his name did not appear on the voter rolls when he showed up to vote. According to records obtained by CNN's KFile, Giuliani's registration was moved to his Long Island home in August and his registration in New York City was purged in September. Giuliani told CNN he did not know why his registration was moved to his Long Island home in August and contested that he changed his registration at all.... Giuliani has baselessly claimed that a high number of provisional ballots cast in Pennsylvania proved instances of fraud; he further suggested that voters were given provisional ballots when they showed up to vote after Democrats cast fraudulent ballots on behalf of voters.... In a statement to CNN, Giuliani claimed he never registered to vote elsewhere and said his case was another example of voter irregularities, if not fraud from the New York State Board of Elections." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The reporters don't take into account the fact that Rudy is white, and many of those Pennsylvania provisional voters probably were Black. In any event, they were Democrats. So, ya know.

ITV (U.K.): "Former US attorney general William Barr has told ITV News that questioning the legitimacy of the presidential election result 'precipitated the riots' in the US Capitol on January 6. In his first interview since the violent siege of America's seat of political power, Mr Barr said he was 'sad' but 'not surprised to see the kind of violence we saw'. He described the scenes in the US Capitol earlier this month as 'despicable'. MB: Barr never named Trump or Republicans as the perps; in fact, he said something about "whichever side does it...."

Eric Schmitt, et al., of the New York Times: "The Pentagon is intensifying efforts to identify and combat white supremacy and other far-right extremism in its ranks as federal investigators seek to determine how many military personnel and veterans joined the violent assault on the Capitol. In the days since a pro-Trump mob breached the Capitol on Jan. 6, senior leaders of the 2.1 million active-duty and reserve troops have been grappling with fears that former or current service members will be found among the horde. The F.B.I. investigation into the Capitol siege, still in its very early stages, has identified at least six suspects with military links out of the more than 100 people who have been taken into federal custody or the larger number still under investigation.... The military's examination of its ranks marks a new urgency for the Pentagon, which has a history of downplaying the rise of white nationalism and right-wing activism, even as Germany and other countries are finding a deep strain embedded in their armed forces."

Ursula Perano of Axios: "Dominion Voting Systems on Monday sent a cease and desist letter to My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell over his spread of misinformation related to the 2020 election.... Trump and several of his allies have pushed false conspiracy theories about the company, leading Dominion to take legal action. It's suing pro-Trump lawyer Sidney Powell for defamation and $1.3 billion in damages, and a Dominion employee has sued Trump himself, OANN and Newsmax. The letter also orders Lindell to 'preserve and retain all documents relating to Dominion and your smear campaign against the company.' Lindell also must preserve all communications with any member of the Trump campaign, in addition to communications with Rudy Giuliani, Powell, Jenna Ellis and Lin Wood. Lindell told Axios, 'I want Dominion to put up their lawsuit because we have 100% evidence that China and other countries used their machines to steal the election.'"

Jim Sciutto, et al., of CNN: "Democratic Rep. Steve Cohen of Tennessee said that he and a fellow lawmaker [-- John Yarmuth (D-Ky.) --] personally saw Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado guiding a group of people through the Cannon House Office Building tunnel in the days leading up the Capitol insurrection on January 6.... '... Now whether these people were people that were involved in the insurrection or not, I do not know,' Cohen told CNN's Jim Sciutto.... While Cohen is the first to specifically name Boebert as someone who may have given the tours, the rumors surrounding her role in the days leading up to January 6 were so heated that the congresswoman preemptively denied any wrongdoing..... Boebert sent Democratic Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York a letter denying that she gave tours to insurrectionists after an interview on MSNBC in which Maloney accused Republican members of doing so. Maloney never mentioned Boebert by name. 'The only people I have ever had in the Capitol with me are my young children, husband, mom, aunt and uncle,' Boebert wrote in the letter to Maloney." MB: I feel certain investigators have access to CCTV that will show who-all was in the Capitol complex in the days preceding the insurrection. There are visitor logs as well. If these names match up with any of those IDed in the Capitol siege, case closed -- tho not necessarily against Boebert, who could have more-or-less innocently acted as tour guide.

** Nomaan Merchant & Colleen Long of the AP: "As the rioters stormed the U.S. Capitol, many of the police officers had to decide on their own how to fight them off. There was no direction. No plan. And no top leadership.... Interviews with four members of the U.S. Capitol Police who were overrun by rioters on Jan. 6 show just how quickly the command structure collapsed as throngs of people, egged on by ... Donald Trump, set upon the Capitol. The officers spoke on condition of anonymity because the department has threatened to suspend anyone who speaks to the media. 'We were on our own,' one of the officers told The Associated Press. 'Totally on our own.' The officers ... said they were given next to no warning by leadership on the morning of Jan. 6.... And once the riot began, they were given no instructions by the department's leaders on how to stop the mob or rescue lawmakers who had barricaded themselves inside. There were only enough officers for a routine day. Three officers told the AP they did not hear Chief Steven Sund on the radio the entire afternoon. It turned out he was sheltering with Vice President Mike Pence in a secure location for some of the siege. Sund resigned the next day." ~~~

~~~ Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "... House Sergeant-at-Arms Paul Irving balked when the chief of the Capitol Police suggested activating the National Guard two days before the Jan. 6 event... [because ] '... the leaders of the House and the Senate don't want the military up there...,' said Bill Pickle, who served as the Senate sergeant-at-arms from 2003 to 2007 and spoke to The Washington Post at Irving's request.... Irving did not consult first with his boss, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), but thought he was reflecting her likely response, Pickle said.... In a statement, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said, 'Our expectation is to always be fully briefed on the options. The failure of the nation's law enforcement apparatus to fully understand the gravity of the situation coupled with the President's dramatic and deliberate incitement to violence led to the failure of any and all plans previously briefed to the Congress.'... According to Pickle, Irving said he, [Senate Sergeant-at-Arms Michael] Stenger and [Capitol police chief Steven] Sund were all comfortable with the security arrangements in place before Jan. 6 -- and thought that the National Guard would be on alert if needed."

Spencer Hsu & Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Federal authorities said they have arrested Capitol rioter Riley June Williams and are investigating claims from a 'former romantic partner' that Williams stole a laptop or hard drive from the office of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Williams was arrested Monday in her home state of Pennsylvania, the Justice Department said, a day after she was charged in the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol. The department did not immediately provide further details. An ex-partner of Williams's, identified only as W1 in court filings, told the FBI that friends of Williams played a video of her stealing the drive or computer from Pelosi's office, and that Williams 'intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,' a criminal complaint states."

Tim Stelloh of NBC News: "A Texas man who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 was arrested and accused of having threatened to shoot his children if they told authorities that he had gone to Washington, D.C., according to federal court documents released Monday.... In an affidavit, an FBI agent described [Guy] Reffitt as an apparent militia member who traveled from suburban Dallas to Washington with a Smith & Wesson pistol to help 'protect his country.' Reffitt's wife told investigators that during an argument, he told his children that if one of them turned him in, 'you're a traitor and you know what happens to traitors ... traitors get shot.'"

S.A. Miller of the Washington Times: "The Republican Party Central Committee in Carbon County, Wyoming, has censured Rep. Liz Cheney for voting to impeach President Trump, as support for the one-time rising GOP star crumbles in her home state. The censure resolution passed in a unanimous vote by the 45-member central committee. It included a demand that Ms. Cheney appear before the committee to explain her actions." MB: It wouldn't surprise me that some committee members would vote to censure Cheney, but all of them?? The once pristine rivers of Wyoming must run with Kool-Aid these days. ~~~

~~~ Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Monday, the Washington Examiner reported that the chairman of the Wyoming Republican Party floated the idea of secession to form a neo-confederacy consisting of Republican-voting states. 'Wyoming GOP Chairman Frank Eathorne suggested the idea to War Room Pandemic podcast host and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon in a weekend interview focused on the decision by Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the third-ranked Republican in the House, to vote in favor of impeaching Trump on a charge of incitement of insurrection related to the deadly riot that took place at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6,' reported Mike Brest [of the Examiner].

Capitalism (Russian-Style) Is Awesome. Joseph Menn, et al., of Reuters: "Parler, a social media website and app popular with the American far right, has partially returned online with the help of a Russian-owned technology company. Parler vanished from the internet when dropped by Amazon Inc's hosting arm and other partners for poor moderation after its users called for violence and posted videos glorifying the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. On Monday, Parler's website was reachable again, though only with a message from its chief executive saying he was working to restore functionality. The internet protocol address it used is owned by DDos-Guard, which is controlled by two Russian men and provides services including protection from distributed denial of service attacks, infrastructure expert Ronald Guilmette told Reuters."

Trump Team's Incompetence Saves Civil Service Jobs. Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President Trump's last-ditch effort to remove civil service protections from tens of thousands of career federal employees appears to have lost steam, facing time constraints and legal hurdles as the administration prepares to leave office, officials said. As a result, President-elect Joe Biden will become president Wednesday with an executive order in place to carry out the biggest change to the civil service in a generation -- but no completed paperwork to reclassify the affected employees so they can be fired without cause. Allies of Biden say he's likely to reverse Trump's order. In their final weeks, outgoing Trump administration officials took steps to fast-track the sweeping directive the president issued in October at one department, the powerful Office of Management and Budget. The agency closest to the White House identified a list of hundreds of jobs and sent it to federal personnel officials for final sign-off. But in a meeting last week, Budget Director Russell T. Vought, a conservative firebrand who targeted his agency as a test case for the new policy, told his senior staff that the administration ran out of time to change the employees' status before leaving office, according to two officials familiar with his comments."

Simon Tindsall of the Guardian: "While all eyes are on Donald Trump and his Capitol Hill mob, a would-be heir and successor is running riot all by himself, storming citadels, wagging the flag and breaking china.... Mike Pompeo may not strike many people as presidential material. But Trump lowered the bar.... In a display of extraordinary chutzpah, Pompeo has spent the time since Trump lost the election setting booby traps and laying diplomatic minefields in global conflict zones. Partly he aims to secure his own and Trump's 'legacy'. Partly it's to screw Biden. But mostly it's about winning the White House.... That potentially makes the former Kansas Tea party congressman and CIA chief more dangerous to the Biden presidency, and the progressive cause, than a disgraced Trump may ever be." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "The Worst Secretary of State in American History." Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Spurned by many foreign allies, ridiculed by adversaries, disliked by a significant number of his own diplomats and trying to preserve his political future, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... dismissed the power of persuasion, instead trying to strong-arm European leaders, taunting rulers in China and Iran, and working to keep dictators off-balance.... But by rejecting the traditional role of predictable diplomacy and mirroring President Trump's own style, Mr. Pompeo's strategy backfired, according to foreign policy analysts and a large cohort in the State Department. As he leaves office, Mr. Pompeo, 57, has been tagged by a number of officials and analysts with the dubious distinction of the worst secretary of state in American history. That will come back to haunt him as he considers running for president in 2024 or seeking another elected office, as he is widely believed to be doing. Iran is now closer to building a nuclear bomb and that North Korea has more nuclear weapons than it did at the beginning of the Trump administration. Relations with key European leaders, the United Nations and other diplomatic and economic alliances are in worse shape. The United States has less standing to promote democracy and human rights in the world than it did four years ago, according to many career diplomats. And Mr. Pompeo's role in enabling the president's shadow foreign policy in Ukraine -- undermining years of United States support to ward off Russian military aggression -- raised concerns among lawmakers...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But kudos for making the front page of the paper of record, Mike.

Tara Bahrampour of the Washington Post: "The embattled director of the U.S. Census Bureau is resigning in the wake of allegations that he had supported a partisan push to deliver data on undocumented immigrants to President Trump before the president leaves office. Steven Dillingham's resignation will be effective Wednesday, according to a farewell message he sent to the bureau staff, posted on the agency's website Monday. Reports last week from bureau whistleblowers said political appointees were pressuring staff members to release state tallies of undocumented immigrants by Jan. 15, regardless of their accuracy, to boost Trump's effort to exclude them from congressional apportionment. Those reports prompted calls from civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers for Dillingham to resign. 'That the census director would push expert, career staff to ignore quality standards to achieve an unlawful policy for an outgoing president is appalling,' said Wade Henderson, interim president and chief executive of the Leadership Conference, and one of those who called for Dillingham's resignation." MB: In fairness to Dillingham, most actions by Trump's appointees are appalling.

Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "The Rockshiel trust, listed by Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, among his global portfolio of property holdings, has been trying for two years to build a cluster of upmarket townhouses and apartments in a sought-after conservation area of Edinburgh.... Now, it has emerged that the trust has withdrawn its contentious blueprints for the development in Murrayfield’s Kinellan Road, casting doubt on its future plans.... The US Treasury has said that Mr Mnuchin has no financial interest in the Rockshiel trust, and that the only reason it is listed on his financial disclosure forms is because of his wife, the Scottish actor, Louise Linton." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Fortunately, Steve is doing a fine job here at home: ~~~

~~~ Elizabeth Dwoskin & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Five prominent anti-vaccine organizations that have been known to spread misleading information about the coronavirus received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, raising questions about why the government is giving money to groups actively opposing its agenda and seeking to undermine public health during a critical period.... Several of the Facebook pages of these organizations have been penalized by the social network, including being prohibited from buying advertising, for pushing misinformation about covid-19.... While it's unclear whether the anti-vaccine groups broke any rules, their receipt of public assistance is in many ways a consequence of the scattershot way in which the Paycheck Protection Program delivered hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy with few guardrails or preconditions." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. MB: BTW, these PPP "loans" are not really loans at all; if certain fairly easy conditions are met, the loans are forgiven. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- January 18, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

A New York Times video op-ed:

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday plans to nominate five women to serve in the No. 2 spots at key Cabinet agencies, moving to fill out vital day-to-day operations roles in the government he will take over on Wednesday. The moves, which will install deputies with hands-on experience in critical departments, reflect Biden's push to elevate women and his desire to quickly tackle the nation's crises and repair agencies suffering from morale and other problems. The nominees, who must be confirmed by the Senate, include Jewel H. Bronaugh at Agriculture, Polly Trottenberg at Transportation, Andrea Palm at Health and Human Services, Elizabeth Klein at Interior and Cindy Marten at Education."

The Washington Post's live inauguration updates are topped with a quintessential headline: "Biden to participate in national day of service as Trump prepares pardons." MB: Another way to put it: Biden participates in presidential tradition as Trump engages in corrupt practices." Sure hope it warms up enough this afternoon for Trump to get in a round of golf with some white megadonors.

Elizabeth Dwoskin & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Five prominent anti-vaccine organizations that have been known to spread misleading information about the coronavirus received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, raising questions about why the government is giving money to groups actively opposing its agenda and seeking to undermine public health during a critical period.... Several of the Facebook pages of these organizations have been penalized by the social network, including being prohibited from buying advertising, for pushing misinformation about covid-19.... While it's unclear whether the anti-vaccine groups broke any rules, their receipt of public assistance is in many ways a consequence of the scattershot way in which the Paycheck Protection Program delivered hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy with few guardrails or preconditions." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. MB: BTW, these PPP "loans" are not really loans at all; if certain fairly easy conditions are met, the loans are forgiven.

Disappointing News. Jonathan Karl & Marc Nathanson of ABC News: Rudy "Giuliani, who has been leading the president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, told ABC News' ... Jonathan Karl late Sunday that [he] will not be part of Trump's legal team for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Washington, D.C., rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building." MB: So no shouting, screaming, mugging, spitting, drooling, dripping & farting on the Senate floor.

Simon Tindsall of the Guardian: "While all eyes are on Donald Trump and his Capitol Hill mob, a would-be heir and successor is running riot all by himself, storming citadels, wagging the flag and breaking china.... Mike Pompeo may not strike many people as presidential material. But Trump lowered the bar.... In a display of extraordinary chutzpah, Pompeo has spent the time since Trump lost the election setting booby traps and laying diplomatic minefields in global conflict zones. Partly he aims to secure his own and Trump's 'legacy'. Partly it's to screw Biden. But mostly it's about winning the White House.... That potentially makes the former Kansas Tea party congressman and CIA chief more dangerous to the Biden presidency, and the progressive cause, than a disgraced Trump may ever be." --s ~~~

~~~ "The Worst Secretary of State in American History." Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Spurned by many foreign allies, ridiculed by adversaries, disliked by a significant number of his own diplomats and trying to preserve his political future, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... dismissed the power of persuasion, instead trying to strong-arm European leaders, taunting rulers in China and Iran, and working to keep dictators off-balance.... But by rejecting the traditional role of predictable diplomacy and mirroring President Trump's own style, Mr. Pompeo's strategy backfired, according to foreign policy analysts and a large cohort in the State Department. As he leaves office, Mr. Pompeo, 57, has been tagged by a number of officials and analysts with the dubious distinction of the worst secretary of state in American history. That will come back to haunt him as he considers running for president in 2024 or seeking another elected office, as he is widely believed to be doing. Iran is now closer to building a nuclear bomb and that North Korea has more nuclear weapons than it did at the beginning of the Trump administration. Relations with key European leaders, the United Nations and other diplomatic and economic alliances are in worse shape. The United States has less standing to promote democracy and human rights in the world than it did four years ago, according to many career diplomats. And Mr. Pompeo's role in enabling the president's shadow foreign policy in Ukraine -- undermining years of United States support to ward off Russian military aggression -- raised concerns among lawmakers...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But kudos for making the front page of the paper of record, Mike.

Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "The Rockshiel trust, listed by Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, among his global portfolio of property holdings, has been trying for two years to build a cluster of upmarket townhouses and apartments in a sought-after conservation area of Edinburgh.... Now, it has emerged that the trust has withdrawn its contentious blueprints for the development in Murrayfield's Kinellan Road, casting doubt on its future plans.... The US Treasury has said that Mr Mnuchin has no financial interest in the Rockshiel trust, and that the only reason it is listed on his financial disclosure forms is because of his wife, the Scottish actor, Louise Linton." --s

~~~~~~~~~~

Washington Post Editors: Martin Luther King, Jr. "spoke in his 'I Have a Dream' speech of the 'sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent.' This would not pass, he explained, 'until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.' He said this on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial -- not far from where armed insurrectionists this month tried to overturn an election decided, in part, by Black voters in Southern states who surmounted all manner of racist restrictions. He said it not far from the White House, where on the first day of June the president of the United States ordered the tear-gassing of peaceful [racial justice] protesters to clear his way for a photo op."

Ann Hornaday, the Washington Post's film critic, reviews "MLK/FBI": "In the exquisitely constructed, deeply unnerving 'MLK/FBI,' filmmaker Sam Pollard takes viewers behind the looking glass into the shadowy world of governmental surveillance during the mid-century civil rights movement, a program of spying, infiltration and harassment that reached its perverse apotheosis with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with Martin Luther King, Jr.... In this meticulously constructed narrative, which centers on FBI files that are scheduled to be declassified in 2027, Pollard reminds viewers that, at the time of his death, King was anything but universally admired. By the time he came out against the Vietnam War and began linking race and class via the Poor People's Campaign, Hoover's years-long campaign to peg King as a Communist had taken hold. Archival footage of anti-King demonstrators spouting lies they've uncritically accepted about the Baptist minister bear an uncanny resemblance to scenes of Americans who today believe that Democrats and their leaders worship Satan, traffic children and stole the 2020 election." A Guardian/Observer review is here. You can stream the film on demand on various platforms including Amazon & Google Play for about $7.

Robert Daniels of the New York Times has more suggestions for "movies to stream for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day."

Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post outline how Joe Biden's presidential inauguration is supposed to go, though some details are apparently not decided. The AP's story is here.

Robert Samuels of the Washington Post profiles economist Donald Harris, Kamala's father.

Biden Keeps Nominating People Who Will Do Their Jobs. Matthew Goldstein, et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is tapping two financial regulators from the Obama administration to oversee key departments that had loosened their grip of the industry under President Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Gary Gensler, who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2014, will be President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, these people said. Also, Rohit Chopra, the former assistant director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been chosen to run that agency." The Hill has a story here.

Lauren Gardner & Ben Lefebvre of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden will rescind the cross-border permit for TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, three sources confirm.... The move is billed as one of Biden's Day One climate change actions, according to a presentation circulating among Washington trade groups and lobbyists.... The decision was not included in incoming chief of staff Ron Klain's Saturday memo outlining Biden's planned executive actions during the first days of his presidency. Two lobbyists confirmed that Biden plans to yank the project's permit on Inauguration Day, a development first reported by CBC News [Canadian Broadcasting]. It's the latest development in a decade-long fight over the controversial pipeline and solidifies a campaign promise the Canadian government had hoped was negotiable."

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn't flagged any issues that they were aware of."

Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "The troops were in formation. The residents were told to stay home. The heart of Washington was a fortress of fences, concrete barriers and security checkpoints. But on Sunday, the planned and promoted 'armed march' on the nation's capital never materialized. There were no gathered crowds, large or small, and authorities reported just one arrest of an armed man carrying a handgun and ammunition near barricades surrounding the Capitol building just after midnight. The quiet Sunday brought little relief to a city on edge from an attack on the Capitol. Each day leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden comes with fear of additional violence and ever more security. 'It's as if we are all being held hostage to people who want to bring a lot of chaos to America,' said Charlyce Wilson, a 62-year-old Washingtonian who has been to nearly every inauguration since she was 11.... 'This is the country that the whole world is looking at,' said [Dennis] Abigoe, an immigrant from Ghana. 'To see the whole place messed up like that, it's a disgrace.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The day of the battles of Lexington & Concord, my ancestor Benjamin Wellington is credited as the first man captured in the Revolutionary War. British troops detained him & took his gun, but for want of a proper jail, they released him before the battle. He secured another firearm & took a differentroute to join the battle at Lexington. I'd say Ben had a lot more guts than Trump's Army of Idiots. (In fairness, Ben was as good a prevaricator as Trump's Idiots: he told his captors his reason for carrying a gun was to "shoot rabbits," he promised them he would return home.) ~~~

~~~ Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "A 22-year-old Virginia man whose Facebook page features a photo from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was arrested near the Capitol complex Sunday, and police said he was carrying three high-capacity magazines, 37 rounds of unregistered ammunition and a Glock 22 firearm.... Also this weekend, U.S. Capitol Police arrested a woman accused of impersonating a police officer, stopping her at a security checkpoint in place for Wednesday's inauguration." The Hill's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Not with a Bang but a Whimper. Thomas Fuller of the New York Times: "And this is how the last weekend of the Trump presidency wound down, with state capitols across the nation ringed by barricades, military vehicles guarding closed-off streets and Washington, D.C., all but shut down. In the end, it was for a handful of protesters, most from the right, a few from the left, many looking more like ragtag stragglers than the furious mob of Trump supporters that ransacked the U.S. Capitol more than a week ago.... In Washington, 15,000 troops, more than the nation has stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, established a Green Zone, adding to the impression of an occupied city. The National Guard said the troops came from all 50 states and three territories, a force that could grow to 25,000 by Wednesday.... Protesters in some states could be counted on one hand.... In Lansing, Mich., National Guard soldiers watched as a dozen members of the far-right Boogaloo Bois group showed up with military-style weapons.... In Concord, N.H., five masked men dressed in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles gathered on the sidewalk in front of the statehouse lawn to express concerns about 'government overreach.'" An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although it's true Trump raised my taxes considerably & he irritates me every single day as I must read & record his latest stupid, corrupt stunt, yesterday was the first day he otherwise interrupted my life. I had planned to go thru downtown Concord --- the site of the state capitol -- on the way to my pharmacy, but I preemptively decided to skip the hassle by putting off my errand till Tuesday.

Julie Zauzmer & Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: As Trump & his followers conspire to shut down the national capital, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser takes center-stage: "When it became clear that the U.S. Secret Service would attempt to shut down a large swath of the city due to the seriousness of the threat of right-wing violence on Inauguration Day, it was Bowser -- not Trump or Biden -- who made the announcement. It was Bowser who told Americans in stark terms not to travel to town for inaugural events. People across the 50 states heard her words and canceled their plane tickets."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump is preparing to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 100 people in his final hours in office, decisions that are expected to be announced Monday or Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the discussions.... Trump met Sunday with ... Jared Kushner..., Ivanka Trump and other aides for a significant amount of the day to review a long list of pardon requests.... The president was personally engaged with the details of specific cases, one person said. CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ John Avlon of CNN has written an interesting commentary on presidential pardons & raises the question (MB: for me) of why the House didn't "suspend" Trump when it impeached him this time, thus depriving -- or attempting to deprive -- him of his pardon power.

Stephen Collinson of CNN: "A battered nation haunted by sickness, death and division is heading into an epic week in which constitutional principles will triumph over lies and insurrection with the transfer of power from one president to the next. President-elect Joe Biden's shouldering of the presidency on Wednesday will end twice-impeached Donald Trump's four-year assault on truth and tranquility and an administration awash in corruption that tested US democracy to the limit. His new team will face the gravest national challenges of any new White House in 90 years, with the pandemic running riot, nearly 400,000 citizens dead, an economy in ruins and a vaccine rollout faltering. The week begins amid unmistakable signs of a new presidency getting up to speed while an old administration dissolves in disgrace and disarray...."

Matt Flegenheimer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... in the final frames of his presidency, Mr. Trump is confronting an unfamiliar fate. He is being held to account as never before for things he has said, finding his typical defenses -- denial, obfuscation, powerful friends, claiming it was all a big joke -- insufficient in explaining away a violent mob acting in his name.... Those who have known and watched Mr. Trump across the years cannot shake the irony of a president felled by the very formula that powered his rise: inflammatory speech and a self-regard that has congealed at times into functional self-delusion.... As president, Mr. Trump benefited daily from an army of defenders, in Congress and across the conservative media, who dedicated themselves to interpreting his often-inexplicable words as charitably as possible."

Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "... Donald Trump will leave office with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, with more Americans than ever in support of removing him from office.... Overall, 34% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency, down from 42% in a pre-election poll and one point below his previous low point in CNN's polling. Among his own partisans, Trump's approval rating has dropped 14 points since October but remains largely positive with 80% approving. It has held steady in the low single digits among Democrats (3% pre-election, 2% now).... A majority, 54%, say Trump ought to be removed from office before January 20 because of his role in the events of January 6.... Nearly all Democrats (93%) favor removing Trump from office before January 20, while just 10% of Republicans feel the same."

I Really Don't Care. Do You? Kate Bennett & Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Melania Trump will be exiting the White House with the lowest favorability rating of her tenure as first lady, according to a new CNN poll. At 47%, more people have an unfavorable view of the first lady now than at any point since CNN first asked about views of her in February 2016.... According to a CNN/ORC poll in January 2017, Michelle Obama departed the White House with a 69% favorable rating, which was the same number as when she entered, eight years prior. Laura Bush's parting ranking was also largely positive, despite her husband's unpopularity at the time. In 2009, a CNN/ORC poll put Bush at a 67% favorable rating...."

The violence that Americans witnessed -- and that might recur in the coming days -- is not a protest gone awry or the work of 'a few bad apples.' It is the blossoming of a rotten seed that took root in the Republican Party some time ago and has been nourished by treachery, poor political judgment, and cowardice.... Until last week, many party leaders and consultants thought they could preach the Constitution while winking at QAnon. They can't. The GOP must reject conspiracy theories or be consumed by them. Now is the time to decide what this party is about. -- Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), in the Atlantic

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "As [Joe] Biden prepares to be sworn into office surrounded by more than 20,000 National Guard troops protecting the inauguration from one of the gravest domestic terrorism threats in U.S. history, Democrats and other Trump critics are pushing Republicans to renounce the party's embrace of the falsehood that inspired the Capitol attack and is motivating many of the Trump supporters vowing to take up arms again.... [BUT] Even as much of corporate America threatens to withhold donations from lawmakers who objected to the election results, and social media companies cancel accounts -- including Trump's -- spreading the false conspiracy theories, the bulk of elected Republicans continue to follow Trump's lead in refusing to acknowledge that Biden's win was legitimate and fair.... In their comments about the election, congressional Republicans have hedged, equivocated and accused Democrats of being divisive -- even as they continue to promote a falsehood linked to ongoing violence..., [and even though] The allegation of widespread election fraud has been debunked over and over again."

Lindsey Graham Blames Nancy Pelosi for Capitol Siege. Hayley Miller of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday expressed outrage over the deadly Capitol riot, pointing a finger at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not doing more to secure the building instead of at ... Donald Trump, whose rhetoric inspired the violence. During an appearance on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures,' Graham called on his fellow Republicans to unite against Trump's impeachment despite the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol, which left at least five people dead. 'I understand what happened on January the 6th was one of the low points in my time in office,' Graham told host Maria Bartiromo, one of Trump's most vocal defenders on cable news. 'It was horrendous to see people take over the Capitol, the House and the Senate, beat officers, defile the seat of government,' he continued. 'How in the hell did that happen? Where was Nancy Pelosi? It's her job to provide Capitol security. We'll get to the bottom of that.'"

Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass! Our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives.... Are you willing to do the same?... The question is really simple. Are you as an American citizen going to surrender in the face of unparalleled, massive voter fraud and election theft? Or are you going to do what your ancestors did and fight for your country, your republic? -- Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), January 6 speech encouraging violent revolution against the federal government

As one of America's most effective conservative leaders, I defend my honor and reputation against scurrilous, George Orwellian, 1984, Socialist Democrats Politics of Personal Destruction.... This entire smear campaign is about intimidating, censoring and suppressing the ability of American citizens to fight at the ballot box the efforts of Socialist Democrats to seize control of the United States of America. -- Mo Brooks, in a statement issued January 12

The New Yorker on Sunday published this footage, recorded by reporter Luke Mogelson, of the siege of the Capitol January 6:

Peter Lewis of the Ashville [N.C.] Watchdog: "In the middle of the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, while a mob of insurrectionists still roamed the halls and ransacked offices, leaving five dead and dozens injured, Madison Cawthorn called a friendly conservative radio host and blamed the violence on left-wing agitators sent by 'the Democratic machine' to make President Trump look bad.... Cawthorn confirmed to the radio host, Charlie Kirk, that he carried loaded weapons into the House that day. 'Me being in a wheelchair, I am able to carry multiple weapons at one time,' he said." ~~~

~~~ From the Lardner-Smith AP story, also linked below: "The AP reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who, going maskless during the pandemic, were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. The review found the crowd was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, off-duty police, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth.... Even after police cleared the rioters, dead bodies, and injured police officers from the Capitol, and in defiance of appeals for unity, Cawthorn once again voted to contest the legitimacy of the Biden-Harris electoral victory, in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power." Emphasis added.

Devlin Barrett & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A heavy-metal guitarist, the alleged leader of a Colorado paramilitary training group and two ex-military militia members from Ohio have been charged with allegedly taking part in the riot at the Capitol last week [MB: ???], as the FBI ratchets up its investigation into the role extremist groups played in storming the building.... The Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and the Proud Boys, a male-chauvinist group with ties to white nationalism, have drawn particular attention from FBI agents investigating the attack on Congress, as they work to determine whether those groups organized or directed the violence to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden's election victory."

Andrew Goudsward of the Asbury Park [N.J.] Press: "A Colts Neck[, N.J.,] man who is a military contractor and an 'avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer' was part of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building earlier this month, according to federal authorities. Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, a U.S. Army Reservist who works as a contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle, was charged Friday with five federal counts in connection with his role in the riot that disrupted a Congressional vote to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's election victory.... Investigators noted that because of Hale-Cusanelli's position as a military contractor he has a 'Secret' security clearance and 'access to a variety of munitions,' according to the NCIS affidavit." MB: So nice to be reminded on MLKJr. Day that our tax dollars are going to "an avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer." And so nice to know these particular sympathies are no impediment to obtaining a secret security clearance. In context, of course, we already know that our tax dollars are going to support the white supremacist & Nazi sympathizer temporarily residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The FBI is investigating evidence that a woman who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 stole a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and intended to sell it to Russians. The bizarre claim, which the FBI emphasized remains under investigation, was included in an affidavit describing the criminal case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania woman who was seen in footage of the Jan. 6 insurrection in area of the Capitol near Pelosi's office.... According to the affidavit..., a witness who spoke to authorities claimed to have seen a video of Williams 'taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi's office.... [Witness 1] stated that WILLIAMS intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,' the agent noted. 'According to [Witness 1], the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and WILLIAMS still has the computer device or destroyed it.'" MB: Now, Riley June is a person Trump should pardon. A woman who intends to (a) profit off an illegal act AND (b) conspire with Russia is a woman after his own heart (figure of speech; I know Trump doesn't have a heart).

Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "A New Mexico County commissioner who founded the 'Cowboys for Trump' group was arrested and charged Sunday [link fixed] in connection with the U.S. Capitol insurrection, after returning to Washington, D.C., to participate in inauguration protests, the Justice Department said.... Couy Griffin, of Otero County, N.M., told FBI agents he got 'caught up' in the Capitol siege and remained outside the building, but video posted to his Facebook page shows him in restricted areas of the complex, according to an affidavit.... Prosecutors say Griffin pushed his way past the building's security barriers and onto an outside deck, where he allegedly used a bullhorn to lead the mob in a prayer."

Robert O'Harrow of the Washington Post: "The fiery rallies that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were organized and promoted by an array of established conservative insiders and activists, documents and videos show. The Republican Attorneys General Association was involved, as were the activist groups Turning Point Action and Tea Party Patriots. At least six current or former members of the Council for National Policy (CNP), an influential group that for decades has served as a hub for conservative and Christian activists, also played roles in promoting the rallies. The two days of rallies were staged not by white nationalists and other extremists, but by well-funded nonprofit groups and individuals that figure prominently in the machinery of conservative activism in Washington.... Organizing warm-up events is not the same thing as plotting to invade the Capitol. But before the rallies, some used extreme rhetoric, including references to the American Revolution, and made false claims about the election to rouse supporters to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's victory[.]" ~~~

~~~ ** Richard Lardner & Michelle Smith of the AP: "Members of ... Donald Trump's failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president's grassroots supporters. A pro-Trump nonprofit group called Women for America First hosted the 'Save America Rally; on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse.... But an attachment to the National Park Service public gathering permit ... lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions for the event who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump's 202 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be 'on site' during the demonstration have close ties to the White House." Organizers "rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration."

Julian Barnes & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The National Security Agency is moving forward with hiring a Trump administration loyalist, the agency said on Sunday, after the acting defense secretary ordered he be made the spy agency's top lawyer. Christopher C. Miller, the acting defense secretary, gave Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the spy agency's director, until 6 p.m. on Saturday to install Michael Ellis as its general counsel. The deadline came and went with the National Security Agency remaining silent. But the agency said in a statement on Sunday that 'Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon. N.S.A. is moving forward with his employment.'... Mr. Ellis has been accused of having a hand in one of the more contentious legal decisions the Trump administration made: the attempt to stop John R. Bolton ... from publishing a damning book about the president.... While it will be difficult to fire Mr. Ellis under Civil Service rules, the Biden administration could easily reassign him to another, less important post." A Politico story is here. MB: While seeking to remove him, how about putting Ellis in charge of ensuring that federal bathrooms & broom closets meet OSHA standards? I can think of a lav & closet to-do list that would keep Devin's toady busy with his nose in toilets & cleaning fluids for years.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

"How the U.S. Guaranteed Its Own Failure."* Sarah Mervosh, et al., of the New York Times: "For nearly the entire pandemic, political polarization and a rejection of science have stymied the United States' ability to control the coronavirus. That has been clearest and most damaging at the federal level, where Mr. Trump claimed that the virus would disappear,' clashed with his top scientists and, in a pivotal failure, abdicated responsibility for a pandemic that required a national effort to defeat it, handing key decisions over to states under the assumption that they would take on the fight and get the country back to business. But governors and local officials who were left in charge of the crisis squandered the little momentum the country had as they sidelined health experts, ignored warnings from their own advisers and, in some cases, stocked their advisory committees with more business representatives than doctors." MB: I put this failure entirely on Trump & Sycophants, Ltd. Had Trump been honest about the trajectory of the coronavirus spread & the means to mitigate it, there would have been little or no "political polarization."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Russia. Anton Troianovski & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Aleksei A. Navalny returned to his home country Sunday, five months after a near-fatal nerve-agent attack, and was arrested at the border, a show of fearlessness by Russia's most prominent opposition leader and of anxiety by President Vladimir V. Putin. In hours of live-streamed drama that played out in Berlin, in the air and at two Moscow airports, Mr. Navalny careened headlong into near-certain detention after deciding to leave the relative safety of Germany, where he had been recovering from last summer's poisoning. Hundreds of people braved the bitter cold outside Moscow's Vnukovo Airport to greet Mr. Navalny, but the low-cost Russian airline he was flying was diverted just before landing to a different Moscow airport. There, at passport control, Mr. Navalny was confronted by uniformed policemen in black masks. He embraced his wife, Yuliya Navalnaya, before being led away." An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Shaun Walker of the Guardian: By purchasing flight records & phone data on the black market, a Bellingcat investigator named Christo Grozev has found that a "poison squad" working for the Russian government's FSB security services followed Aleksei Navalny on 40 flights over several years.

The Commentariat -- January 17, 2021

In with the New. Michael Shear & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., inheriting a collection of crises unlike any in generations, plans to open his administration with dozens of executive directives on top of expansive legislative proposals in a 10-day blitz meant to signal a turning point for a nation reeling from disease, economic turmoil, racial strife and now the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol. Mr. Biden's team has developed a raft of decrees that he can issue on his own authority after the inauguration on Wednesday to begin reversing some of President Trump's most hotly disputed policies.... On his first day in office alone, Mr. Biden intends a flurry of executive orders that will be partly substantive and partly symbolic. They include rescinding the travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, rejoining the Paris climate change accord, extending pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments, issuing a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel and ordering agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from families after crossing the border, according to a memo circulated on Saturday by Ron Klain, his incoming White House chief of staff...." An AP story is here.

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said on Saturday that he was 'always going to lead with science and truth' as he announced top science and technology officials on his White House staff, reaffirming trust in the kind of expert research that the Trump administration often ignored or disdained.... The appointees included Eric S. Lander, whom Mr. Biden will nominate to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, a position that will for the first time hold cabinet rank.... As Dr. Lander's deputy in the science and technology office, Alondra Nelson, whom was also named by Mr. Biden, is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study.... Mr. Biden also named two co-chairs of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology: Frances H. Arnold, the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Maria Zuber, a geophysics and planetary science expert and the first woman to lead a NASA spacecraft mission. Mr. Biden also said that Dr. Francis S. Collins would remain as the director of the National Institutes of Health.... President Trump left the position of science adviser unfilled for 18 months and his administration routinely ignored the guidance of government scientists on issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change."

Laura Barron-Lopez & Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "In preparation for President-elect Joe Biden to drop a sweeping immigration reform bill as soon as he enters office, congressional Democrats and advocates are drafting legislation, taking the temperature of Republicans -- and gearing up for what they hope will be the defining chapter in a decadeslong battle to pass a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants. Biden has said he plans to 'immediately' introduce an immigration bill after tking office on Wednesday. And top Latino and immigrant advocacy groups who've seen details of the coming package said they were stunned by the boldness of Biden's plan."

Averi Harper & Beatrice Peterson of ABC News: "Vice President-elect Kamala Harris ... will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another historic female first. Sotomayor is the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.... The pair both previously served as former prosecutors -- Harris in California, Sotomayor in New York.... For the historic day, Harris has chosen to be sworn in using two bibles. One previously belonged to Mrs. Regina Shelton, who was like a second mother to Harris and her sister Maya.... The second bible belonged to the late civil rights icon and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, someone who inspired Harris' career path.

Jessica Contrera, et al., of the Washington Post: "A Virginia man has been arrested after law enforcement found at least one firearm and more than 500 rounds of ammunition in his truck as he tried to enter an inauguration security checkpoint near the Capitol on Friday evening with a credential that was not authorized, according to court documents. Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Front Royal, drove his Ford F-150 up to a checkpoint on E Street Northeast of the Capitol, where he was met by Capitol Police officers, according to the court documents. Beeler is facing charges stemming from unlawful possession of weapons and ammunition.... His family said he works in private security." The story has been updated. The Hill has a story here.~~~

     ~~~ Update: A follow-up New York Times story suggests Beeler might not be a radical bent on shooting up D.C.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "For four years, President Trump bullied his rivals and intimidated his enemies. He commanded the world stage and commandeered social media, spreading torrents of misinformation and falsehoods. From Israel' to Iowa, Mr. Trump was inescapable -- and seemingly unstoppable. Since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, his power has been rapidly disappearing, evaporating in a cloud of recriminations and condemnation.... He departs isolated and diminished, leaving behind a Capitol transformed into a war zone, a frayed body politic and a fractured Republican Party that has been ousted from power.... Marooned in the White House, Mr. Trump is facing the lowest job approval of his time in office, polling shows, and increasingly negative reviews for his post-election behavior. He plans to leave Washington hours before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in, making him the first president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to skip the inauguration of his successor. (Mr. Johnson was also impeached.)"

** The Trump Crime Family's Black Market -- in Pardons. Michael Schmidt & Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "As President Trump prepares to leave office in days, a lucrative market for pardons is coming to a head, with some of his allies collecting fees from wealthy felons or their associates to push the White House for clemency, according to documents and interviews with more than three dozen lobbyists and lawyers. The brisk market for pardons reflects the access peddling that has defined Mr. Trump's presidency as well as his unorthodox approach to exercising unchecked presidential clemency powers. Pardons and commutations are intended to show mercy to deserving recipients, but Mr. Trump has used many of them to reward personal or political allies.... One lobbyist, Brett Tolman, a former federal prosecutor who has been advising the White House on pardons and commutations, has monetized his clemency work, collecting tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, in recent weeks to lobby the White House for clemency for [his clients].... Mr. Trump's former personal lawyer John M. Dowd has marketed himself to convicted felons as someone who could secure pardons because of his close relationship with the president, accepting tens of thousands of dollars from a wealthy felon and ... and other potential clients.... John Kiriakou, a former C.I.A. officer convicted of illegally disclosing classified information..., was ... told ... Rudolph W. Giuliani could help him secure a pardon for $2 million. Mr. Kiriakou rejected the offer, but an associate ... alerted the F.B.I." ~~~

~~~ Here's what Rudy says he is doing -- when he's not working big grifts, we presume: ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Karl & Will Steakin of ABC News: "... Rudy Giuliani tells ABC News he's working as part of the president's defense team in his upcoming second impeachment trial -- and that he's prepared to argue that the president's claims of widespread voter fraud did not constitute incitement to violence because the widely-debunked claims are true.... A few hours later, Giuliani -- who led the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results -- was spotted at the White House. Giuliani's involvement in Trump's impeachment defense comes as many of the lawyers involved in the president's first impeachment, including White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputies and outside lawyers Jay Sekulow and Jane and Marty Raskin, do not plan to return for the second trial.... Giuliani dismissed the validity of the single article of impeachment accusing Trump of inciting violence against the government on the grounds that the president's rally speech did not incite the riot because there was a delay between the speech and the attack. 'Basically, if [incitement] is going to happen, it's got to happen right away,' he said. 'You'd have to have people running out, you'd have to have people running out of that frozen speech, right up to the Capitol...," Giuliani said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Uh, Rudy, the people were "running right up to the Capitol" even before Trump finished speaking (NYT link). Looks as if Trump's "defense" will be a circus of lies.

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The siege of the Capitol wasn't a departure for Trump, it was an apotheosis. For years, he's been telling us he wouldn't accept an election loss. For years, he's been urging his followers to violence, refusing to condemn their violence, and insinuating that even greater violence was on the way. As he told Breitbart in 2019, in one of his characteristic threats, 'I have the tough people, but they don&'t play it tough -- until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.'... Throughout his presidency, Republicans pretended not to hear what the president was saying.... The violent far right appears to have been emboldened by the experience of being treated as valued constituents.... Right-wing extremist activity usually abates during Republican administrations, when conservatives feel less existentially threatened. But Trump kept the far right's paranoia and sense of grievance at a constant boil, and gave them permission to act. The people at the Capitol who said they were there because the president wanted them to be weren't necessarily delusional."

Lauren Leatherby & Anjali Singhvi of the New York Times time out "critical moments in the Capitol siege": "From the Trump rally to the violent breach of the Capitol and its aftermath, here is a moment-by-moment look at some of the pivotal events on Jan. 6, when thousands of protesters flooded the Capitol grounds and many rioters came within steps of members of Congress, who were gathered to certify the presidential election results."

Evan Hill, et al., of the New York Times: "Rosanne Boyland, a 34-year-old Trump supporter from Georgia who died during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, appears to have been killed in a crush of fellow rioters during their attempt to fight through a police line, according to videos reviewed by The Times. Though the videos have circulated widely, Ms. Boyland's presence in them had gone unnoticed until now, and the manner of her death had previously been unclear. The videos show her body on the ground just outside a door on the Capitol's west side that was the scene of some of the day's worst violence." Includes photographic evidence.

Kimberly Kindy, et al., of the Washington Post: "... police chiefs across the country are confronting the uncomfortable reality that members in their own ranks were among the mob that faced off against other law enforcement officers. At least 13 off-duty law enforcement officials are suspected of taking part in the riot, a tally that could grow as investigators continue to pore over footage and records to identify participants. Police leaders are turning in their own to the FBI and taking the striking step of reminding officers in their departments that criminal misconduct could push them off the force and behind bars.... It marks a notable break in the so-called 'blue wall of silence,' an aspect of police culture that encourages officers to turn a blind eye to misconduct by fellow officers.... That fellow police officers were the target of much of the mob's brutality is another important factor that may have prompted whistleblowing.... The revelation that officers participated in the chaos was the latest hit for law enforcement's reputation, coming on the heels of a year in which police violence spurred nationwide protests and activists called for cutting police funding."

Trump Made Me Do It. Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The accounts of people who said they were inspired by the president to take part in the melee inside the Capitol vividly show the impact of Trump's months-long attack on the integrity of the 2020 election and his exhortations to supporters to 'fight' the results. Some have said that they felt called to Washington by Trump and his false message that the election had been stolen, as well as by his efforts to pressure Congress and Vice President Pence to overturn the result. But others drew an even more direct link -- telling the FBI or news organizations that they headed to the Capitol on what they believed were direct orders from the president issued at a rally that day. While legal experts are split on whether Trump could face criminal liability for his role in the events of Jan. 6, testimony from rioters who felt directed to take part in illegal acts by his speech could inform a decision by prosecutors about whether to attempt to build a case. Short of that, the testimony from rioters is likely to be cited in Trump's upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate and could become evidence should people injured in the Capitol attack seek to file civil suits against Trump."

Heavy has more on Jenna Ryan, girl realtor/rioter, who thinks she merits a pardon for merely answering Trump's call on what she described as one of the best days of her life. Thanks to RAS for the link.

David Kirkpatrick, et al., of the New York Times: "Much is still unknown about the planning and financing of the storming of the Capitol, aiming to challenge Mr. Trump's electoral defeat. What is clear is that it was driven, in part, by a largely ad hoc network of low-budget agitators, including far-right militants, Christian conservatives and ardent adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory.... And the sheer breadth of the movement ... suggests it may be far more difficult to confront than a single organization.... [There were] many grass-roots efforts to bring Trump supporters to the Capitol, often amid calls for revolution, if not outright violence.... A few prominent firebrands, an opaque pro-Trump nonprofit and at least one wealthy donor had campaigned for weeks to amplify the president's false claims about his defeat, stoking the anger of his supporters." MB: The article & accompanying photo captions call these wingnuts "conservatives." But conservatives don't aim to overthrow the government by violent means. Can you imagine David Brooks wielding a lead pipe as he stormed a federal building?

A Dramatic Effect of Dumping Trump. Elizabeth Dwoskin & Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively. The new research by the San Francisco-based analytics firm reported that conversations about election fraud dropped from 2.5 million mentions to 688,000 mentions across several social media sites in the week after Trump was banned from Twitter. Election disinformation had for months been a major subject of online misinformation, beginning even before the Nov. 3 election and pushed heavily by Trump and his allies."

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "When controversial MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell visited the White House on Friday, a Washington Post reporter captured a photo of 'martial law' appearing on the notes he brought with him. Lindell said he was there to brief Trump on what he was missing out on after his lifetime suspension from Twitter. 'Following his meeting with President Trump on Friday, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said in a Facebook interview with Right Side Broadcasting News today that he's praying that the military presence in Washington is part of Trump's plan to retain power,' Tim Miller of The Bulwark reported Saturday. 'In Lindell's interview -- which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Facebook in just a few hours -- he recounts the details of his meeting with the president and rattles off a series of unintelligible conspiracies in a Minnesota lilt.' Lindell believes he has 'proof' of election fraud, pushing the debunked conspiracy theory that incited the fatal January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Shopping Tip of the Day: It appears, according to a tweet & retweet embedded in Brigham's story, you can get a nice discount on a My Pillow product by entering the discount code "QANON." Really.

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said the Senate should consider removing Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) via the 14th Amendment over their objections last week to the Electoral College results. Speaking to PBS's 'Firing Line' on Friday night, Manchin said the Senate should explore the option after a violent mob, riled up by President Trump and convinced by Republicans such as Hawley and Cruz that the election was fraudulent, ransacked the Capitol in one of the darkest points in American democracy.... '... Ted's a very bright individual, and I get along fine with Ted, but what he did was totally outside of the realm of our responsibilities or our privileges.'"

Lachlan Markay, now of Axios: "The communications director for Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a firebrand Republican freshman who boasts about carrying a gun to work, has quit after less than two weeks on the job.... Ben Goldey's resignation cited last week's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which came amid efforts by Boebert and other Republican lawmakers to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.... Goldey ... has a more establishment pedigree [than Boebert]. He was the press secretary at the Department of Interior until this year, and previously worked for ... Mitch McConnell.... Goldey's resignation underscores larger Republican divisions, particularly in the House, where ten GOP members ... voted to impeach Trump on Wednesday.... On the other side of the Capitol[,] Sen. Ted Cruz's communications director, Lauren Blair Bianchi, also resigned on Monday, reportedly over Cruz's role in the effort to deny certification for Biden."

Wow, this crowd has some fight in it.... I just rolled down from the Capitol building.... And I will tell you, the courage I see in this crowd is not represented on that hill.... But my friends, the Democrats, with all the fraud they have done in this election, the Republicans hiding and not fighting, they are trying to silence your voice.... But my friends, when I look out into this crowd, I can confidently say, this crowd has the voice of lions. There is a new Republican Party on the rise that will represent this country, that will go and fight in Washington D.C.... But my friends, we're not just doing this for Donald Trump, we are doing this for the Constitution. Our Constitution was violated. -- Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), speaking at the rally preceding the January 6 Capitol insurrection

Literally, I ... I ... I ... In hindsight, you know, I wish I could've ... uhh ... if I could, you know ... I probably would've ... obviously ... knowing what happened later in the day ... I wish I would've been like, 'Just so you know, we are peaceful protesters.' -- Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C), days later, defending his speech

Another Last-Minute Fast One. Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller ordered the director of the National Security Agency to install on Saturday a former GOP political operative [-- Michael Ellis, a Devin Nunes acolyte --] as the NSA's top lawyer [-- until now, a civil service job --], according to four individuals familiar with the matter.... Miller gave NSA Director Paul Nakasone until 6 p.m. Saturday to install Ellis in the job, according to several people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. The 6 p.m. deadline passed without Nakasone taking action.... Ellis's naming, made under pressure from the White House, drew criticism from national security legal experts. It 'appears to be an attempt to improperly politicize an important career position,' wrote Susan Hennessey, a former lawyer in the NSA Office of General Counsel, on Lawfare.... It was unclear Saturday evening what the Pentagon's next move would be." A CNN story is here.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Uganda. Abdi Dahir of the New York Times: "... after a bitter and bloody campaign marked by a lethal crackdown on the opposition, an internet blackout and accusations of vote tampering and rigging -- the president, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, was declared victor of a sixth, five-year term in office. His rival, Bobi Wine, says the election was unfair, a contention backed by independent international observers. For the world, Uganda's election was a vivid demonstration of how autocrats use elections to cement their hold on power. For the country's younger generation, and throughout Africa, it was a sign of how intractable the old systems are. On Saturday, Mr. Wine was holed up in his house -- which was surrounded on Friday by Mr. Museveni's security forces -- and declaring that Mr. Museveni had 'fabricated' the election results." MB: Wow! Something like this could happen only in a shithole country, right?