The Commentariat -- December 23, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Why? Because He Can. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "President Trump made good Wednesday on his repeated threats to veto a $741 billion defense spending bill, setting up what is expected to be the first successful veto override of his presidency during his last weeks in office. The House and Senate each passed the bill earlier this month with strong veto-proof majorities, rejecting Trump's insistence that it be changed to meet his oftentimes shifting demands. Both chambers are expected to sustain the two-thirds majorities needed to override the president's veto. In his veto message, Trump complained that the legislation includes 'provisions that fail to respect our veterans' and military's history' -- a seeming reference to instructions that the Defense Department change the names of installations commemorating Confederate leaders. He also scorned the bill as a '"gift" to China and Russia,' slammed the bill for restricting his ability to draw down the presence of U.S. troops in certain foreign outposts, and excoriated lawmakers for failing to include an unrelated repeal of a law granting liability protections to technology companies that Trump has accused, without significant evidence of anti-conservative bias." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One or more of these possibilities explains the veto beyond Trump's just exercising his power: (1) screw up already screwed-up the holidays of Members of Congress who didn't bend to his will; (2) screw up the federal government; (3) further reduce U.S. influence around the world, thus sending an intended gift to China & Russia.

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

Anneken Tappe of CNN: "Claims for unemployment benefits fell across most categories in Wednesday's Labor Department report. Still the job market recovery has stalled while more than 20 million Americans need aid to make ends meet. Another 803,000 Americans filed for first-time unemployment benefits last week on a seasonally adjusted basis. That was a drop off from the week before but still nearly four times the claims during the same period in 2019, and yet another sign that the US job recovery has run into serious trouble."

Katie Thomas & Rebecca Robbins of the New York Times: "When federal regulators approved two antibody treatments last month for emergency use in high-risk Covid-19 patients, doctors worried there would not be enough to go around.... Early trial data had shown the treatments could keep people at risk of severe disease out of the hospital if administered soon after infection with the coronavirus. But in a surprising turn of events, the treatments are sitting unused in hospital refrigerators around the country, just when they might do the most to help patients and relieve the burden on overwhelmed hospitals as cases and deaths surge to record levels.... The federal government has on hand nearly 532,000 doses of the two drugs, and 55 percent of that has been shipped out, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. But early data collected from hospitals by the federal government suggest that they have given only about 20 percent of their supply to patients.... Administrators have struggled to identify people who should get the antibody drugs because of delays in testing and a lack of coordination between testing sites and hospitals."

Never Mind. Quint Forgey & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Conflicting internal memos created confusion inside the White House on Wednesday about when staffers in the Executive Office of the President should begin preparing to leave work ahead of the transition next month. In an email Wednesday morning from the White House Management Office, EOP staffers were instructed to 'please disregard' an earlier memo that had been sent Tuesday informing them that they 'will start departing' on the week of Jan. 4.... The Tuesday memo also included information pertaining to outgoing employees' payroll, benefits, sick leave, records, ethics debriefing and security clearance.... The initial White House communication sent Tuesday had contradicted the ongoing public effort by ... Donald Trump and his top aides to reverse the outcome of the 2020 election." MB: So the fantacists have trumped the realists.

Another Fool's Errand. Kate Riga of TPM: "White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made a mostly pointless pilgrimage to Cobb County, Georgia Tuesday to 'get to the truth' of the signature matching audit. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Meadows showed up flanked by secret service, but wasn't let into the room where the voter signatures from ballot envelopes are being matched to the signatures on file."

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI has concluded that Iran was behind online efforts earlier this month to incite lethal violence against the bureau's director, a former top U.S. cyber expert and multiple state elections officials who have refuted claims of widespread voter fraud promoted by President Trump and his allies, federal and state officials said Tuesday. FBI Director Christopher A. Wray and ousted Homeland Security Department official Christopher Krebs were among more than a dozen people whose images, home addresses and other personal information were posted on a website titled 'Enemies of the People.' Crosshairs were superimposed over the photos."

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Trump Begins His Pardon Binge. See stories linked below.

~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden upbraided ... Donald Trump on Tuesday over his response to a massive cyberattack that's affected numerous government agencies. 'The attackers succeeded in catching the federal government off-guard and unprepared,' Biden said at an event in Wilmington, Delaware. 'The truth is this: the Trump administration failed to prioritize cybersecurity.'... Biden said based on the details that are publicly known thus far, the breach 'certainly fits Russia's long history of reckless disruptive cyber-activities.' He called on Trump to officially attribute the attack and hold those responsible for it accountable. 'This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch,' Biden said. 'It is still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks.... His failure will land on my doorstep,' he said. Biden said the Pentagon and other parts of the Trump administration need to keep his transition team in the loop about the cyberattack, which he said 'they haven't been doing.'" ~~~

     ~~~ David Sanger of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. accused President Trump on Tuesday of 'irrational downplaying' of the widespread hack of the federal government and American industries, saying that the current administration was denying him intelligence and warning Russia that he would not allow the intrusion to 'go unanswered' after he takes office. 'This assault happened on Donald Trump's watch when he wasn't watching,' Mr. Biden said.... 'It is still his responsibility as president to defend American interests for the next four weeks, but rest assured that even if he does not take it seriously, I will.' The direct critique was a remarkable departure from tradition, in which incoming presidents are careful about not second-guessing the actions of the incumbent. But Mr. Trump's refusal to recognize Mr. Biden's election victory, and his effort to subvert the results, has clearly poisoned elements of the transition process."

Miriam Jordan & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "In a message intended to prevent a rush to the southwestern border, the incoming Biden administration announced on Tuesday that it would not immediately reverse restrictions imposed by President Trump that have effectively halted asylum and left thousands of migrants stranded outside the United States.... At an event in Wilmington, Del., the president-elect told reporters that he would enact a more 'humane policy' at the borders but that his administration would need 'probably the next six months' to rebuild a system to process migrants and secure funding for immigration judges. Changing Mr. Trump's policies immediately, he warned, would be 'the last thing we need' because it might lead to having 'two million people on our border.'"

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to nominate Miguel A. Cardona, Connecticut's education commissioner, to serve as his education secretary, tapping a Latino to be the nation's highest education policymaker, according to two officials familiar with his plans. Dr. Cardona, if confirmed by the Senate, would be tasked with bringing the elementary, secondary and higher education systems back from the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and repairing the considerable damage done.... The selection of Dr. Cardona would fulfill Mr. Biden's campaign promise to appoint a diverse cabinet and a secretary of education with public school experience -- a blunt juxtaposition to President Trump's billionaire private-school champion Betsy DeVos." MB: Time for an op-ed condemning Dr. Cardona for using that honorific. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Alex Padilla, California's secretary of state, has been appointed to fill the Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday, capping months of intense political jockeying among Democratic factions in the state. The son of Mexican-born immigrants who settled in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, Mr. Padilla, 47, will be the first Latino senator from California, where Latinos are about 40 percent of the population." MB: Because in a state with a population of about 20 million women, the majority of them citizens, Gavin couldn't find one who was qualified to do the job. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Consolation Prize. Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) on Tuesday tapped Assemblywoman Shirley Weber to serve as secretary of state after he picked Alex Padilla to join the Senate. Weber has served in the state legislature since 2012 and is the chair of the California Legislative Black Caucus."

Thomas Kaplan, et al., of the New York Times: "A day after Congress approved a hard-fought $900 billion stimulus package, President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. called the measure a 'down payment' on Tuesday and vowed to enter office next month asking lawmakers t return to the negotiating table. 'Congress did its job this week,' he said, 'and I can and I must ask them to do it again next year.' In a year-end news conference in Wilmington, Del., Mr. Biden remained vague about the specifics of his plan. But he appeared to be laying the groundwork for how he will handle the country's economic recovery, signaling that another major economic relief package would be a priority." ~~~

~~~ Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "... the agreement on a new pandemic aid package showed the ascendance of moderates as a new force in a divided Senate and validated President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s belief that it is still possible to make deals on Capitol Hill.... The group of moderates was essential to the outcome, pushing Senate and House leaders of both parties into direct personal negotiations that they had avoided for months, and demonstrating how crucial they are likely to be to Mr. Biden.... Given the slender partisan divides that will exist in both the Senate and House next year, the approach could provide a road map for the Biden administration if it hopes to break through congressional paralysis, especially in the Senate, and pass additional legislation. Mr. Biden has said another economic relief plan will be an early priority.... He was also not an idle bystander in the negotiations.... Mr. Biden on Dec. 2 threw his support behind the $900 billion plan being pushed by the centrist group." ~~~

~~~ ** BUT. "So, So Dumb." Rachel Siegel, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Tuesday night asked Congress to amend the nearly $900 billion stimulus and spending bill passed by the Senate just one day before, describing the legislation as 'a disgrace' and suggesting he would not immediately sign off on aid for millions of Americans. In a video posted to Twitter, Trump called on Congress to increase the 'ridiculously low' $600 stimulus checks to $2,000 and outlined a list of provisions in the final legislation that he described as 'wasteful spending and much more.' He did not mention that the $600 stimulus check idea came from his treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin. 'I am also asking Congress to immediately get rid of the wasteful and unnecessary items from this legislation, and to send me a suitable bill, or else the next administration will have to deliver a covid relief package, and maybe that administration will be me,' Trump said.... His own aides were stunned. Congressional aides were stunned. And the implications for what happens next could be severe. If he refuses to sign the bill, the government will shut down on Dec. 29. The $900 billion in emergency economic aid will be frozen.... 'So dumb,' one administration official said. 'So, so dumb.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Even though Trump's threat appears to come out of nowhere, it's worth bearing in mind that even crazy people do stuff "for a reason." In this case, I'd guess that Trump watched Joe Biden's press conference yesterday, and the threat is Trump's response to Biden's "down payment" remark (something he has said before). Trump likely feels compelled to respond to any perceived "mine's bigger than yours" challenge. The fact that a veto would stall or perhaps obliterate aid to desperate Americans evidently did not figure into his "thinking." ~~~

     ~~~ Kelly Hooper of Politico: "Trump said the package provides too much funding to foreign countries and should include more for American families and small businesses.... 'For example, among the more than 5,000 pages in this bill, which nobody in Congress has read because of its length and complexity, it's called the Covid relief bill, but it has almost nothing to do with Covid,' Trump said.... House Democrats quickly capitalized on Trump's demand for $2,000 checks, announcing plans Tuesday night to try to pass a bill later this week doing just that." Both Speaker Pelosi & Leader Schumer tweeted support for a $2,000 payment. The New York Times' story is here. MB: Trump appears to be so out of it that he is unaware the bill is not just "a Covid relief bill," but funds the government through next September -- which is why so much of it "has almost nothing to do with Covid." I suspect his staff tried to explain this to him, but he isn't bright enough to pick up on a little $1.4 trillion detail. ~~~

~~~ Yeganeh Torbati of the Washington Post: "... tucked in the [big federal spending] bill was over $110 billion in tax breaks that strayed far from the way the bill was marketed to many Americans. These giveaways include big tax cuts for liquor producers, the motorsports entertainment sector, and manufacturers of electric motorcycles. Tax experts and good governance advocates have criticized such short-term tax relief extensions, arguing they hide the true cost of the cuts and advantage industries with the most well-connected lobbyists." MB: Thanks, Congress, because I'm so happy to subsidize NASCAR. Vroom, vroom. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Peggy McGlone of the Washington Post: "The 5,500-page spending and relief bill that Congress passed Monday night includes the authorization of two Smithsonian museums -- one focused on American Latinos, the other on American women -- that pave the way for the world's largest museum complex to become even more diverse. The omnibus bill calls on the Smithsonian to begin the lengthy process of creating the National Museum of the American Latino and the American Women's History Museum by giving the quasi-federal institution permission to hire staff members, collect objects and present programs aimed at telling the stories unique to the groups. The proposed museums would be the first new Smithsonian facilities since the National Museum of African American History and Culture opened in 2016. Like that $540 million project, the new museums would be financed with 50 percent federal funding and 50 percent private donations."

Laurel Wamsley of NPR: "The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against Walmart on Tuesday, alleging that the retail giant unlawfully dispensed controlled substances from pharmacies it operated nationwide. The government says that, between the actions of the company's pharmacies and its distribution centers, Walmart helped to fuel America's ongoing opioid crisis. Damages in the civil case could total in the billions of dollars, the Justice Department said. 'As one of the largest pharmacy chains and wholesale drug distributors in the country, Walmart had the responsibility and the means to help prevent the diversion of prescription opioids,' Jeffrey Bossert Clark, acting assistant attorney general of the Civil Division, said in a statement. 'Instead, for years, it did the opposite -- filling thousands of invalid prescriptions at its pharmacies and failing to report suspicious orders of opioids and other drugs placed by those pharmacies,' he added." The New York Times story is here.

Reset to Zero. Victoria Bekiempis of the Guardian: "Joe Biden will not inherit Donald Trump's millions of followers on the official president of the United States and White House Twitter accounts when he assumes the presidency, marking a departure from past social media practice, the Democratic president-elect's team said on Tuesday. In 2017 Barack Obama's administration insisted that Twitter transfer not only these accounts to Trump when he left the White House that January, but the accounts' followers as well and the social media giant appeared to do just that, per Business Insider." MB: Trust me, Joe. You don't want the majority of those followers.

Mike Stobbe of the AP: "This is the deadliest year in U.S. history, with deaths expected to top 3 million for the first time -- due mainly to the coronavirus pandemic. Final mortality data for this year will not be available for months. But preliminary numbers suggest that the United States is on track to see more than 3.2 million deaths this year, or at least 400,000 more than in 2019. U.S. deaths increase most years, so some annual rise in fatalities is expected. But the 2020 numbers amount to a jump of about 15%, and could go higher once all the deaths from this month are counted."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Marc Tracy of the New York Times: "The Pulitzer Prize Board said on Tuesday that it would no longer recognize the New York Times podcast 'Caliphate' and a related article as a 2019 Pulitzer finalist. The board stripped The Times of its finalist status four days after the news organization announced that the 2018 audio series did not meet its standards for accuracy.... A statement from The Times on Tuesday said, 'Given our conclusion that core portions of "Caliphate" did not live up to our editorial standards, we felt the right thing to do was to offer to return the Pulitzer finalist citation.'" The AP's story is here.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

** Trump Grants Pardons, Clemency to Criminal Pals, Mass Murderers. Rosalind Helderman & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to 20 people, including three former Republican members of Congress and two people who were convicted of crimes as part of the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.... Trump gave a full pardon to George Papadopoulos, a foreign policy adviser to his 2016 campaign who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI during its Russia investigation.... Trump also pardoned Alex van der Zwaan, a lawyer who had worked with Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort in work related to Ukraine and pleaded guilty to lying to Mueller's team.... Trump's other pardons on Tuesday included grants of clemency to former Republican members of congress Steve Stockman, Duncan Hunter and Chris Collins. He also pardoned four military contractors convicted of killing 14 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Baghdad in 2007. [MB: The contractors worked for Trump pal Erik Prince at the time.]" ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "In an audacious pre-Christmas round of pardons, President Trump granted clemency on Tuesday to two people convicted in the special counsel's Russia inquiry, four Blackwater guards convicted in connection with the killing of Iraqi civilians and three corrupt former Republican members of Congress.... And Mr. Trump granted full pardons to two former Border Patrol agents whose sentences for their roles in the shooting of an alleged drug trafficker had previously been commuted by President George W. Bush.... A tabulation by the Harvard Law School professor Jack Goldsmith found that of the 45 pardons or commutations Mr. Trump had granted up until Tuesday, 88 percent aided someone with a personal tie to the president or furthered his political aims. And by nullifying the legal consequences of convictions in the Russia inquiry, Mr. Trump escalated a long campaign, aided by his outgoing attorney general, William P. Barr, to effectively undo the investigation by [Robert] Mueller, discredit the resulting prosecutions and punish those who instigated it in the first place." Politico's story is here. The AP's story is here.

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump is plotting a final stand in Congress on Jan. 6, casting it as the ultimate loyalty test in his quest to remain in power and shutting out anyone who won't get in line. Trump has been strategizing in recent days with a band of his fiercest congressional supporters about the effort, which will involve lodging objections during the typically pro forma congressional certification of President-elect Joe Biden's victory.... The objections will ... force Republicans in Congress to go on record voting to affirm Biden's victory.... It's a preview of the burgeoning rift between two groups of Trump supporters: Those who will stand with him to subvert the outcome of the election, no matter what, and those who are accepting the results of the democratic process." ~~~

~~~ Manu Raju & Daniella Diaz of CNN: "Alabama GOP Rep. Mo Brooks and fellow House conservatives met privately on Monday with ... Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence as the lawmakers prepared to mount a long-shot bid in January to overturn the Electoral College results that made Joe Biden the official winner of the election." MB: We'll have to see if pence makes any unusual moves when he presides over the Congress's formal count of Electoral College votes. ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M. says pence has to join Trump in this kamikaze mission, as his political future depends on it: "Sure, we all know he's not crazy enough to win the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, even if no member of the Trump family runs, but for now he polls well when President Trump isn't included in the surveys. If Pence fails to back this challenge, his chances instantly drop to zero." ~~~

~~~ Nevertheless. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.... Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.... Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal --; and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House.... Pence's role on Jan. 6 has begun to loom large in Trump's mind, according to people who've discussed the matter with him. Trump would view Pence performing his constitutional duty -- and validating the election result -- as the ultimate betrayal." Swan has obtained secret tapes from inside the White House: (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

I'm losing friends and family over a straight-up cult based on anti-Semitism, fantasy and just bizarre made-up tripe. It's an idiocracy based on a digital prophet. -- Rep. Denver Riggleman, R-Va ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Ben Collins of NBC News: "With Trump's days in office dwindling, QAnon influencers have become increasingly restless and militant, urging the president to'#crosstherubicon,' the hashtag a reference to Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon river after the Roman Senate explicitly told him not to, effectively kick-starting the Roman civil war and Caesar's dictatorship." Interesting reading. ~~~

~~~ AND Forrest M. uncovered this video of a meeting Down Under of QAnon Anonymous:

David Enrich of the New York Times: "President Trump's longtime banker at Deutsche Bank, who arranged for the German lender to make hundreds of millions of dollars of loans to his company, is stepping down from the bank. Rosemary Vrablic, a managing director and senior banker in Deutsche Bank's wealth management division, recently handed in her resignation, which the bank accepted, according to a bank spokesman, Daniel Hunter. The reasons for Ms. Vrablic's abrupt resignation were not clear. Deutsche Bank in August opened an internal review into a 2013 real estate transaction between Ms. Vrablic and a company owned in part by Jared Kushner..., a client of Ms. Vrablic's. Dominic Scalzi, a longtime colleague of Ms. Vrablic's who played a role in that transaction, will also leave the bank." CNN's report is here.

Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Federal prosecutors have discussed making a legal request for Rudy Giuliani's electronic communications, two sources familiar with the probe tell NBC News, a sign that the investigation into ... Donald Trump's personal attorney remains active and may soon be ramping up. Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have been in communication with Justice Department officials in Washington about gaining access to Giuliani's emails, the two sources said. The Southern District needs Washington's approval before its prosecutors can ask a judge to sign a search warrant for materials that may be protected by attorney-client privilege, according to department policy. It is not known whether Washington has been granted that approval." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Sharon LaFraniere & Katie Thomas of the New York Times: "The Trump administration and Pfizer are close to a deal under which the pharmaceutical company would bolster supply of its coronavirus vaccine for the United States by at least tens of millions of doses next year in exchange for a government directive giving it better access to manufacturing supplies, people familiar with the discussions said. An agreement, which could be announced as early as Wednesday, would help the United States at least partly offset a looming vaccine shortage that could leave as many as 110 million adult Americans uncovered in the first half of 2021." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ ** Update. Zack Budryk of the Hill: "The Trump administration has ordered another 100 million doses of Pfizer and BioNTech's coronavirus vaccine, Pfizer announced Wednesday. Under the agreement, Pfizer and BioNTech will supply a total of 200 million doses to the U.S., the company said in a statement. The deliveries are expected to be completed by the end of July 2021." At 7:50 am ET, this was a developing story.

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

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nick Niedzwiadek of Politico: "A cohort of the federal government's top health officials received shots of the coronavirus vaccine on stage Tuesday alongside a half-dozen frontline health care workers. The event was equal parts a public endorsement of the safety of the vaccines, two of which have been authorized for emergency use by the Food and Drug Administration this month, and a celebration of the National Institutes of Health's influential role in developing the inoculation created by U.S. pharmaceutical company Moderna.... In addition to [HHS Secretary Alex] Azar, the list of dignitaries included National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.... Fauci was introduced as 'America's doctor' by the event's master of ceremonies -- NIH Office of Research Services Director Colleen McGowan, who also received a shot Tuesday...."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Dr. Deborah Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator, indicated in an interview Tuesday that she would soon retire from government service, suggesting a recent report on her personal travel had taken a toll on her family. Asked whether she would stay on to assist President-elect Joe Biden's pandemic response, Birx told the U.S. news network Newsy that she wants the incoming administration 'to be successful,' and that she 'will be helpful in any role that people think I can be helpful in. And then I will retire.'... Birx's remarks ... came after the Associated Press reported Monday that on the day after Thanksgiving, she traveled to one of her vacation properties on Delaware's Fenwick Island, accompanied by three generations of her family from two households.... While Biden has named [Anthony] Fauci ... as his chief medical adviser in the incoming administration, the president-elect's team has hesitated to bring Birx on board -- with critics voicing concerns about her credibility and accusing her of at times being overly deferential to Trump."

U.K. William Booth, et al., of the Washington Post: "France agreed Tuesday to reopen its borders to travelers from Britain and get trade flowing again, but it may take days to clear out the thousands of cargo trucks snarled while a travel ban was in place, prompted by fears of a fast-spreading coronavirus mutation in England. More than 50 countries have enacted restrictions on arrivals from Britain, disrupting passenger air service between the United Kingdom and the rest of the world. But France's ban was particularly disruptive, halting transit along one of the most crucial trade routes in Europe. The French government on Tuesday announced a reopening, starting Wednesday, for European Union citizens and residents if they provide a negative coronavirus test from the previous 72 hours. Truck drivers of all nationalities will be permitted entry as long as they, too, can provide evidence of a test if asked." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A CNN on-air report I heard early this morning said that some 7,000 trucks are stuck in Southeast England waiting to cross the Channel. These truckers were stuck out in the middle of nowhere, with no facilities & no food, some of them for days. And of course the drivers have no way to get the coronavirus tests that may be required for passage. According to CNN, France had let through only two trucks.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Israel. Steve Hendrix of the Washington Post: "Israel's fractious coalition government collapsed Tuesday night, forcing the country into its fourth round of national elections in less than two years. The immediate cause was the failure of the Knesset, Israel's parliament, to pass an annual budget by a midnight deadline, one of many basic acts of lawmaking that have gone undone since right-wing and centrist parties reached an unwieldy power-sharing agreement in the spring. In the upcoming elections, automatically scheduled for March 23, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will face an usually strong right-wing challenge. Major defections from the dominant Likud party could imperil the record-long rule of Netanyahu, whose popularity has plummeted as the coronavirus has devastated the Israeli economy." The AP's report is here.

The Commentariat -- December 22, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to nominate Miguel A. Cardona, Connecticut's education commissioner, to serve as his education secretary, tapping a Latino to be the nation's highest education policymaker, according to two officials familiar with his plans. Dr. Cardona, if confirmed by the Senate, would be tasked with bringing the elementary, secondary and higher education systems back from the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic and repairing the considerable damage done.... The selection of Dr. Cardona would fulfill Mr. Biden's campaign promise to appoint a diverse cabinet and a secretary of education with public school experience -- a blunt juxtaposition to President Trump's billionaire private-school champion Betsy DeVos." MB: Time for an op-ed condemning Dr. Cardona for using that honorific.

Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "Alex Padilla, California's secretary of state, has been appointed to fill the Senate seat held by Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday, capping months of intense political jockeying among Democratic factions in the state. The son of Mexican-born immigrants who settled in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley, Mr. Padilla, 47, will be the first Latino senator from California, where Latinos are about 40 percent of the population." MB: Because in a state with a population of about 20 million women, the majority of them citizens, Gavin couldn't find one who was qualified to do the job.

Yeganeh Torbati of the Washington Post: "... tucked in the [big federal spending] bill was over $110 billion in tax breaks that strayed far from the way the bill was marketed to many Americans. These giveaways include big tax cuts for liquor producers, the motorsports entertainment sector, and manufacturers of electric motorcycles. Tax experts and good governance advocates have criticized such short-term tax relief extensions, arguing they hide the true cost of the cuts and advantage industries with the most well-connected lobbyists." MB: Thanks, Congress, because I'm so happy to subsidize NASCAR. Vroom, vroom.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump, in his final days, is turning bitterly on virtually every person around him, griping about anyone who refuses to indulge conspiracy theories or hopeless bids to overturn the election, several top officials tell Axios.... Targets of his outrage include Vice President Pence, chief of staff Mark Meadows, White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Secretary of State Pompeo and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.... Trump thinks everyone around him is weak, stupid or disloyal -- and increasingly seeks comfort only in people who egg him on to overturn the election results. We cannot stress enough how unnerved Trump officials are by the conversations unfolding inside the White House.... Pence's role on Jan. 6 has begun to loom large in Trump's mind, according to people who've discussed the matter with him. Trump would view Pence performing his constitutional duty -- and validating the election result -- as the ultimate betrayal." Swan has obtained secret tapes from inside the White House: ~~~

Julia Ainsley, et al., of NBC News: "Federal prosecutors have discussed making a legal request for Rudy Giuliani's electronic communications, two sources familiar with the probe tell NBC News, a sign that the investigation into ... Donald Trump's personal attorney remains active and may soon be ramping up. Prosecutors for the Southern District of New York have been in communication with Justice Department officials in Washington about gaining access to Giuliani's emails, the two sources said. The Southern District needs Washington's approval before its prosecutors can ask a judge to sign a search warrant for materials that may be protected by attorney-client privilege, according to department policy. It is not known whether Washington has been granted that approval."

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Marie: I added a few links before 10 am ET. They're marked by "NEW." You can find them easily with a search for NEW.

Rejoice. Now, and for roughly the next six months, the days are growing longer.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congress on Monday night overwhelmingly approved a $900 billion stimulus package that would send billions of dollars to American households and businesses grappling with the economic and health toll of the pandemic. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said hundreds of dollars in direct payments could begin reaching individual Americans as early as next week. The long-sought relief package was part of a $2.3 trillion catchall package that included $1.4 trillion to fund the government through the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. It included the extension of routine tax provisions, a tax deduction for corporate meals, the establishment of two Smithsonian museums, a ban on surprise medical bills and a restoration of Pell grants for incarcerated students, among hundreds of other measures.... Lawmakers hustled on Monday to pass the bill, nearly 5,600 pages long, less than 24 hours after its completion and before virtually anyone had read it. At one point, aides struggled simply to put the measure online because of a corrupted computer file.... In the Senate, the bill passed 92 to 6, with Senators Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Ted Cruz of Texas, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, Mike Lee of Utah, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Rick Scott of Florida, all Republicans, voting no." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's story is here. Both papers gave the story banner headlines online. The AP story by Andrew Taylor, is here: "... the House approved the COVID-19 package by another lopsided vote, 359-53." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post has an interactive feature that allows you to plug in some numbers to calculate what, if anything, you should expect to receive from the package. The article, by Heather Long & others, answers some frequently-asked questions.

Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden received his first dose of the Pfizer and BioNTech coronavirus vaccine on live television Monday afternoon and reassured Americans of the vaccine's safety. The shot, which Biden received in his left arm, was administered at ChristianaCare's Christiana Hospital in Newark, Delaware, by Tabe Mase who is a nurse practitioner and the head of employee health services at the hospital, according to the Biden transition team. 'We owe these folks an awful lot,' Biden said, thanking those involved in the vaccine's development and distribution and front-line health care workers. Biden said the Trump administration deserved 'some credit' for Operation Warp Speed, the federal government's vaccine program, and their role in making coronavirus vaccinations possible. '... I'm doing this to demonstrate that people should be prepared, when it's available, to take the& vaccine. There's nothing to worry about. I'm looking forward to the second shot; so is Jill,' Biden said. 'She's had her shot earlier today. She loves shots, I know,' he said, taking his wife's hand as she laughed. Biden noted that the vaccine rollout was in beginning stages and cautioned Americans about the long road ahead. 'It's going to take time,'..." ~~~

More Real News

But the Emails! David Sanger & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The Russian hackers who penetrated United States government agencies broke into the email system used by the Treasury Department's most senior leadership, a Democratic member of the Senate Finance Committee said on Monday, the first detail of how deeply Moscow burrowed into the Trump administration's networks.... The Treasury Department ranks among the most highly protected corners of the government because of its responsibility for market-moving economic decisions, communications with the Federal Reserve and economic sanctions against adversaries. [Sen. Ron] Wyden [D-Oregon] said the hackers had gained access to the email system by manipulating internal software keys. The department learned of the breach not from any of the government agencies whose job is to protect against cyberattacks, but from Microsoft, which runs much of Treasury's communications software, Mr. Wyden said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While I'm dismayed the Russians might be able to manipulate our data (though if all they gained access to were emails, that's unlikely), let's hope Putin got hold of Trump's tax returns & will publish them.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The House Oversight Committee intends to reissue a subpoena for ... Donald Trump's financial records next year, House Counsel Douglas Letter said in a federal court filing Monday. The House has been pursuing Trump's financial documents form his accounting firm, Mazars USA, since Democrats took power in early 2019 but the effort has been tied up in the courts. The case landed before the Supreme Court this year, and the justices determined that the lower courts had failed to scrutinize the subpoena closely enough, kicking it back to them for further review."

Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol overnight. The statue has stood with America's first president, George Washington, as the state of Virginia's contribution to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the Capitol for more than 100 years. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, announced on Monday the state will seek to have it replaced with a statue of civil rights icon Barbara Johns.... Earlier this year, a state commission recommended the removal of the statue [of Lee] from the Capitol. The commission, led by state Sen. Louise Lucas (D), voted unanimously to remove it.... The statue will be transported to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Northam's office said." Here's the Wikipedia entry for Barbara Johns. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

"It's Scary." Kevin Liptak & Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "... Donald Trump has turned to a fringe group of advisers peddling increasingly dubious tactics to overturn the results of the election, creating a dire situation that multiple senior officials and people close to the President say has led to new levels of uncertainty at how Trump will resist the coming end to his tenure.... Conspiracist lawyer Sidney Powell, disgraced former national security adviser Michael Flynn, onetime chief strategist Steve Bannon, hawkish trade adviser Peter Navarro and the eccentric founder of the retail website Overstock have all recently found themselves in the Oval Office or on the telephone advising Trump on new last-ditch efforts to reverse his loss. That's in addition to Trump's personal attorney Rudy Giuliani, who has been feeding the President's conspiracy theories for weeks and who, along with Powell, was seen again at the White House on Monday.... Trump has mostly shunned those working inside the government.... Trump has mostly abandoned the day-to-day running of government. At a Cabinet meeting last week, he spent much of the time complaining about his suspicions of voter fraud, according to a person familiar with the matter, leaving some attendees puzzled at the point of the gathering.... 'It's scary, said [an] administration official, who added that Trump appears 'obsessed' with far-flung scenarios to overturn the election results...."

Coup du Jour.* Joe Walsh of Forbes: "... Donald Trump met with several House Republicans Monday and reportedly discussed a plan to contest President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College votes when they're counted in Congress next month, a longshot gambit tacitly endorsed by Trump last week as he continues to deny his electoral loss. These representatives -- including Trump allies like Reps. Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Matt Gaetz (Fla.) -- discussed whether to object to slates of pro-Biden electors when the Electoral College's votes are counted in a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, Fox News reported, a far-flung idea some House members have already publicly floated." *Thanks to Adam Silverman for the headline. ~~~

~~~ Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "With his baseless claims of widespread voter fraud rejected by dozens of judges and GOP leaders, President Trump has turned to a ragtag group of conspiracy theorists, media-hungry lawyers and other political misfits in a desperate attempt to hold on to power after his election loss. The president's orbit has grown more extreme as his more mainstream allies, including Attorney General William P. Barr, have declined to endorse his increasingly radical plans to overturn the will of the voters. Trump's unofficial election advisory council now includes a pardoned felon [Michael Flynn], adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory, a White House trade adviser [Peter Navarro] and a Russian agent's former lover [former Overstock chief executive Patrick Byrne].... After meeting with his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani on Monday, Trump met in the Oval Office with a group of Republicans from the House Freedom Caucus, including Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), a public supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theory whose campaign was marked by racist, anti-Semitic and Islamophobic statements. That was followed by a second meeting in the Cabinet Room among Giuliani, the House lawmakers and Vice President Pence, an administration official said.... Monday's meeting at the White House followed an Oval Office gathering Friday that was one of the most contentious yet of Trump's seven-week post-election push to reverse his fate.... 'They dropped hundreds of thousands of ballots in each state. It's all documented,' the president claimed falsely in a call Monday to a gathering of the pro-Trump youth organization Turning Point USA in West Palm Beach, Fla." ~~~

     (NEW. ~~~ About Those Turning Point Kids. Paulina Villegas & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "Conservative student group Turning Point USA held two large events in Florida this weekend, including one at Mar-a-Lago, President Trump's private club, allegedly violating local coronavirus restrictions and disregarding authorities' pleas to avoid such massive gatherings. Turning Point on Friday night held its annual winter gala at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach. The party was attended by hundreds of students, organizers and GOP notables such as South Dakota Gov. Kristi L. Noem, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.), White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and Mike Lindell, otherwise known as the 'MyPillow Guy.' Then on Saturday, thousands of students gathered indoors at the organization's 'Student Action Summit,' where they heard from conservative GOP speakers, including Donald Trump Jr., and cheered loudly as women shot money into the crowd with a cannon. Photos posted on social media showed Friday's maskless gala crowd mingling in apparent violation of Palm Bach County's coronavirus protocols, which require that face coverings be worn inside 'all businesses and establishments.'")

The Saboteur. Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, the list of crises he will face includes a massive cyber intrusion, a still-raging global pandemic, a slowing economic recovery and a lingering reckoning over the nation's racial tensions. President Trump is not making his job any easier and, in several ways, appears to be actively making it harder -- going to extraordinary lengths to disrupt and undermine the traditional transition from one administration to another despite the nation's many crises.... In his final weeks in office, Trump is making a series of moves aimed at cementing his legacy and handicapping Biden's presidency -- from abruptly pulling troops from war zones to cracking down on Iran to encouraging the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies. The result is a situation without precedent in American history: One president ending his term amid crisis is seeking to delegitimize a successor and floating the prospect of mounting a four-year campaign to return to power." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Some day somebody may find some compelling evidence that reveals the probable answer to the question: was Trump (a) a purposeful, traitorous Manchurian president* or (b) just a consummate asshole & flaming ignoramus? I don't know the answer, but I believe there is one, and it would not surprise me if (a) were the answer.

Covid-19 Is a Plot Against Trump. Emily Czachor of Newsweek: "... Trump has routinely referenced a nonspecific Democratic plot to oust him from office when discussing the election's outcome. After posting a series of messages to Twitter that quickly earned fact-checking labels from the social media platform, Trump retweeted a video on Sunday that showcased a number of conspiracy theories related to the election.... In addition to holding media coverage, polling data and voting software responsible for Trump's failure to secure another term in the White House, the video suggests that COVID-19, and its consequences, were engineered to taint his reputation." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: There was a Democratic plot to oust Trump. We usually call it "an election," an exercise where two or more people vie for the same political job. Only one can win, and the way to win, usually, is to get the most votes. That's what one Democrat did.

Trump Trashes Mitch. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump lashed out at Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday night for acknowledging Joe Biden won the election, sending a slide to Republican lawmakers taking credit for saving McConnell's career with a tweet and robocall.... It's an extraordinary broadside against McConnell by the sitting president and most popular Republican in the party, ahead of a crucial runoff election in Georgia on Jan. 5 that will determine control of the Senate. 'Sadly, Mitch forgot,' reads the top of the slide sent to Republican senators by Trump's personal assistant, written in red for emphasis. 'He was the first one off the ship.'... [The message] also carried a subtle warning to other Republicans who may follow suit as the president grasps at the last straws of his election-fraud claim." MB: Uh, not so subtle.

Beautiful!Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "Donald Trump decreed on Monday that all new US federal buildings should be 'beautiful', in a long-expected executive order which excoriated architectural modernism but stopped short of demanding that all such projects should be in the classical style. The Pulitzer prize-winning architectural critic Paul Goldberger said the order was 'mostly symbolic' and 'just a chance [for Trump] to lob another grenade on his way out the door'. When a draft of the order first surfaced, in February, critics reacted with horror to its promise to 'make federal buildings beautiful again' by mandating a return to 'the classical architectural style'.... Given his career in real estate developments marked by a love for gold, gilt, black marble and baroque excess, not to mention the brutal treatment of beloved old buildings, Trump's professed love for classicism has attracted critical comment."

Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump has taken to asking some aides and advisers about the process of naming airports after former U.S. presidents, according to two people who've heard him recently inquiring on this. One of the two sources relayed that, in the past three weeks, Trum mentioned that 'no president' wants an American airport that has a bad reputation or crumbling infrastructure named after them. The other knowledgeable source said that Trump had, at one point since the 2020 election, offhandedly asked what kind of 'paperwork' was necessary to get an airport named after a former president." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I can't think of an airstrip or heliport insignificant enough to name after Trump. The Naval Air Station Lakehurst in Manchester Township, N.J., where the airship Hindenburg exploded, came to mind. However, I don't wish to be disrespectful to the actual victims of the Hindenburg explosion, so maybe a cattlefield in Kansas where someone once made a successful emergency landing would be more appropriate. Possible souvenirs: gold-plated cowpies. ~~~

     ~~~ As Forrest M. pointed out in yesterday's Comments, "It appears there are already a number of airports named after Trump. Deadhorse Airport in Alaska; Shafter Airport in California; Eek Airport in Alaska; and if he moved to Argentina, Moron Airport."

On His Way Out the Door. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he saw no reason to appoint special counsels to oversee the Justice Department's ongoing criminal investigation into Hunter Biden ... or to investigate President Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, again undercutting Mr. Trump's efforts to bend the department to his political will and to overturn the results of the election. At a news conference to announce charges in an unrelated terrorism case, Mr. Barr said that he did not 'see any reason to appoint a special counsel' to oversee the ongoing investigation into the younger Mr. Biden. 'I have no plan to do so before I leave,' Mr. Barr said. 'To the extent that there is an investigation, I think that it's being handled responsibly and professionally.' He also said that he would name a special counsel to oversee an inquiry into election fraud if he felt one was warranted. 'But I haven't and I'm not going to,' Mr. Barr said. He added that he saw 'no basis' for the federal government to seize voting machines." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "During a final news conference at Justice Department headquarters Monday, Barr did little if anything to hide his disagreements with the president.... With Trump mulling extreme actions to investigate claims of widespread voter fraud, including the use of an executive order to seize voting machines the president's lawyers say are likely to contain evidence of manipulation, Barr made clear he isn't on board." (Also linked yesterday.)

NEW. Spencer Hsu & Kareem Fahim of the Washington Post: "The U.S. government is weighing a request to declare Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman immune from a federal lawsuit accusing him of targeting for assassination a former top intelligence officer who could disclose damaging secrets about the prince's ascent to power, according to legal documents related to the case. The Saudi government has asked that the prince be shielded from liability in response to a complaint brought by Saad Aljabri, a former Saudi counterterrorism leader and longtime U.S. intelligence ally now living in exile in Canada. A State Department recommendation could also lead to the dismissal of the prince as a defendant in other cases recently filed in the United States, including ones accusing him of directing the death and dismemberment of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018; and of targeting a hack and leak operation to discredit an Al Jazeera news anchor, Ghada Oueiss, in retaliation for her critical reports on Mohammed and the crown prince of the United Arab Emirates."

Sarah Burris of RawStory: "The son of a billionaire friend of President Donald Trump's scored a no-bid contract in Florida thanks to a favor from Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). According to the Florida Bulldog, DeSantis's administration handed more than $4 million in no-bid, COVID-19-related contracts to a New York City social media startup founder. Hedge fund billionaire Nelson Peltz's son 'Diesel,' 27, scored a $2.75 million contract for Twenty Labs, LLC in June for a customer relationship management platform to do contact tracing." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Kansas/Missouri. Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Mike Fannin, editor & publisher of The Kansas City Star: "Today we are telling the story of a powerful local business that has done wrong. For 140 years, it has been one of the most influential forces in shaping Kansas City and the region. And yet for much of its early history -- through sins of both commission and omission -- it disenfranchised, ignored and scorned generations of Black Kansas Citians. It reinforced Jim Crow laws and redlining. Decade after early decade it robbed an entire community of opportunity, dignity, justice and recognition. That business is The Kansas City Star.... It still pains me personally to know that in The Star's monopolistic heyday -- when it had the biggest media platform in the region -- the paper did little to unify the city or recognize the inherent rights of all Kansas Citians. But our history doesn't have to own us. We are grateful for how far we've come. We are humbled by how far we still have to go." --safari: Imagine the contribution to rewriting the wrongs of history if every state's major newspaper took on a similar project.

NEW. New York State. Tom Vanden Brook of USA Today: "More than 70 cadets at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point were accused of cheating on a math exam, the worst academic scandal since the 1970s at the Army's premier training ground for officers. Fifty-eight cadets admitted cheating on the exam, which was administered remotely because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of them have been enrolled in a rehabilitation program and will be on probation for the remainder of their time at the academy. Others resigned, and some face hearings that could result in their expulsion. The scandal strikes at the heart of the academy's reputation for rectitude, espoused by its own moral code, which is literally etched in stone: 'A cadet will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If I were the kids, I'd plead the Trump: "West Point made us come back to the Academy to listen to Donald Trump, and he's the biggest cheat in the world. He told a lot of lies during the speech. He lied about running down a ramp, when we could see he barely managed to totter down it. Donald Trump is the Commander-in-Chief. We were just following in his footsteps, so to speak."

Oregon. Winston Ross & Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: A group of about 300 demonstrators attempted to force their way into two separate entrances of the Oregon State Capitol on Monday, outraged lawmakers were holding a special session closed to the public. The crowd was a loose collection of members of the Proud Boys, Patriot Prayer and other far-right groups, many of them are armed with pistols and rifles." Chaos ensued. "Despite the chaotic protest, some protesters managed to continue selling pro-Trump merchandise at a tent set up outside the Capitol -- including 'Stop The Steal' sweaters.... The state government's agenda dealt with pandemic relief and whether to allow restaurants and bars to serve cocktails to go, both touchy subjects for a crowd that calls restrictions enacted by local lawmakers and Gov. Kate Brown 'tyranny.'"

Way Beyond

Israel. Reuters: "Facebook has taken down content that spread lies in Israel about coronavirus vaccinations, the Israeli justice ministry has said, as the government sought to drum up support for its vaccination programme. On Saturday, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, became the first person to be vaccinated in Israel. Opinion polls show two-thirds of the public want to follow suit.... Such 'fake news' included arguments that vaccines would be used to plant government tracking chips in recipients' bodies; to poison them; or to subject them to medical experimentation, the ministry said." --s

** Russia. Navalny Pwned Underpants Poisoner. Tim Lister, et al., of CNN: "A Russian agent sent to tail opposition leader Alexey Navalny has revealed how he was poisoned in August -- with the lethal nerve agent Novichok planted in his underpants. The stunning disclosure from an agent who belonged to an elite toxins team in Russia's FSB security service came in a lengthy phone call following the unmasking of the unit by CNN and the online investigative outfit Bellingcat last week. In what he was told was a debriefing, Konstantin Kudryavtsev also talked about others involved in the poisoning in the Siberian city of Tomsk, and how he was sent to clean things up. But the agent was not speaking to an official in Russia's National Security Council as he thought. He was talking to Navalny himself, who almost died after being poisoned in August. Navalny has long been a thorn in the side of President Vladimir Putin, exposing corruption in high places and campaigning against the ruling United Russia party. Putin essentially confirmed last week that FSB agents tailed Navalny but said if Russia had wanted him dead, 'they would've probably finished it.'" MB: Cannot help but think of John le Carré, who died a little more than a week ago. An amazing true spy story, if not so well told as in a novel by le Carré. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As a going-away present, couldn't Putin at least send Trump -- ruthless, murderous dictator to would-be dictator -- a pair of underpants steeped in poison ivy?

~~~ Sean Ingle of the Guardian: "Athletes and anti-doping groups have reacted with outrage after a four-year ban on Russia for state-sponsored doping offences was halved -- and its athletes were told they could compete at next year's Olympics and the 2022 World Cup wearing red shirts with the word Russia on them.... Under the ruling, official Russia teams will still be barred from next summer's Olympics in Tokyo, as well as the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing and the 2022 World Cup in Qatar as a punishment for covering up a massive state-sponsored doping programme." --s

The Commentariat -- December 21, 2020

A Solstice to Remember. New York Times: Today "we will be treated to no fewer than three astronomical occurrences on the same day: a great alignment of our solar system's largest planets, the winter solstice and a meteor shower at its peak."

A Very Special Solstice. Charles Choi in Scientific American: "On December 21, Jupiter and Saturn will meet in a 'great conjunction,' the closest they could be seen in the sky together for nearly 800 years.... 'If you have a telescope, you'll be able to see both the rings of Saturn and the Galilean moons of Jupiter close together at the same moment,' says astronomer Jackie Faherty at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.... 'But the best part about it is we'll be able to watch it with the naked eye.'... The last time Jupiter and Saturn appeared so close was July 16, 1623, back when Galileo was still alive, a little more than a decade after he first used a telescope to discover Jupiter's four largest moons that now collectively bear his name. The odds are low, however, that Galileo or anyone else on Earth managed to witness that great conjunction, which was virtually impossible to see because of its apparent position near the sun. The last great conjunction to appear as close and as visible as the upcoming one occurred on March 4, 1226." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

The Saboteur. Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "When President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office on Jan. 20, the list of crises he will face includes a massive cyber intrusion, a still-raging global pandemic, a slowing economic recovery and a lingering reckoning over the nation's racial tensions. President Trump is not making his job any easier and, in several ways, appears to be actively making it harder -- going to extraordinary lengths to disrupt and undermine the traditional transition from one administration to another despite the nation's many crises.... In his final weeks in office, Trump is making a series of moves aimed at cementing his legacy and handicapping Biden's presidency -- from abruptly pulling troops from war zones to cracking down on Iran to encouraging the Justice Department to investigate his political enemies. The result is a situation without precedent in American history: One president ending his term amid crisis is seeking to delegitimize a successor and floating the prospect of mounting a four-year campaign to return to power." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Some day somebody may find some compelling evidence that reveals the probable answer to the question: was Trump (a) a purposeful, traitorous Manchurian president* or (b) just a consummate asshole & flaming ignoramus? I don't know the answer, but I believe there is one, and it would not surprise me if (a) were the answer.

Covid-19 Is a Plot Against Trump. Emily Czachor of Newsweek: "... Trump has routinely referenced a nonspecific Democratic plot to oust him from office when discussing the election's outcome. After posting a series of messages to Twitter that quickly earned fact-checking labels from the social media platform, Trump retweeted a video on Sunday that showcased a number of conspiracy theories related to the election.... In addition to holding media coverage, polling data and voting software responsible for Trump's failure to secure another term in the White House, the video suggests that COVID-19, and its consequences, were engineered to taint his reputation."

Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump has taken to asking some aides and advisers about the process of naming airports after former U.S. presidents, according to two people who've heard him recently inquiring on this. One of the two sources relayed that, in the past three weeks, Trump mentioned that 'no president' wants an American airport that has a bad reputation or crumbling infrastructure named after them. The other knowledgeable source said that Trump had, at one point since the 2020 election, offhandedly asked what kind of 'paperwork' was necessary to get an airport named after a former president." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I can't think of an airstrip or heliport insignificant enough to name for Trump. The Naval Air Station Lakehurst in Manchester Township, N.J., where the airship Hindenburg exploded, came to mind. However, I don't wish to be disrespectful to the victims of the Hindenburg explosion, so maybe a cattlefield in Kansas where someone once made a successful emergency landing would be more appropriate. Possible souvenirs: gold-plated cowpies.

On His Way Out the Door. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he saw no reason to appoint special counsels to oversee the Justice Department's ongoing criminal investigation into Hunter Biden ... or to investigate President Trump's baseless claims of widespread voter fraud, again undercutting Mr. Trump's efforts to bend the department to his political will and to overturn the results of the election. At a news conference to announce charges in an unrelated terrorism case, Mr. Barr said that he did not 'see any reason to appoint a special counsel' to oversee the ongoing investigation into the younger Mr. Biden. 'I have no plan to do so before I leave,' Mr. Barr said. 'To the extent that there is an investigation, I think that it's being handled responsibly and professionally.' He also said that he would name a special counsel to oversee an inquiry into election fraud if he felt one was warranted. 'But I haven't and I'm not going to,' Mr. Barr said. He added that he saw 'no basis' for the federal government to seize voting machines." ~~~

     ~~~ Nick Niedzwiadek & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "During a final news conference at Justice Department headquarters Monday, Barr did little if anything to hide his disagreements with the president.... With Trump mulling extreme actions to investigate claims of widespread voter fraud, including the use of an executive order to seize voting machines the president's lawyers say are likely to contain evidence of manipulation, Barr made clear he isn't on board."

Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "A statue of Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee was removed from the U.S. Capitol overnight. The statue has stood with America's first president, George Washington, as the state of Virginia's contribution to the National Statuary Hall Collection at the Capitol for more than 100 years. Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, a Democrat, announced on Monday the state will seek to have it replaced with a statue of civil rights icon Barbara Johns.... Earlier this year, a state commission recommended the removal of the statue [of Lee] from the Capitol. The commission, led by state Sen. Louise Lucas (D), voted unanimously to remove it.... The statue will be transported to the Virginia Museum of History and Culture in Richmond, Northam's office said." Here's the Wikipedia entry for Barbara Johns.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders on Sunday reached a hard-fought agreement on a $900 billion stimulus package that would send immediate aid to Americans and businesses to help them cope with the economic devastation of the pandemic and fund the distribution of vaccines. The deal would deliver the first significant infusion of federal dollars into the economy since April.... While the plan is roughly half the size of the $2.2 trillion stimulus law enacted in March, it is one of the largest relief packages in modern history.... It was expected to be merged with a sweeping catchall spending measure that would keep the government funded for the remainder of the fiscal year, creating a $2.3 trillion behemoth whose passage will be Congress's last substantive legislative achievement before adjourning for the year. The deal came together after a weekend of frenzied negotiating only hours before the government was set to run out of funding and two weeks before the next Congress was to convene on Jan. 3." Politico's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Rachel Siegel, et al., of the Washington Post: "The bill would extend aid to millions of struggling households through stimulus checks, enhanced federal unemployment benefits and money for small businesses, schools and child care, as well as for vaccine distribution. It also repurposes $429 billion in unused funds provided by the Cares Act for emergency lending programs run by the Federal Reserve.... The legislation includes $600 stimulus checks per person, including adults and children. That means a family of four would receive $2,400, up to a certain income threshold.... Congress will extend unemployment benefits of up to $300 per week. The benefit could kick in as early as Dec. 27 and run at least through March 14.... The bill includes more than $284 billion for first and second forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans, expanded PPP eligibility for nonprofit organizations and news outlets, and modifications to the program to serve small businesses, nonprofits and independent restaurants.... The agreement extends until Jan. 31 a moratorium on evictions that was slated to expire at the end of the year. The incoming Biden administration can extend the deadline further.... The bill includes $25 billion in emergency assistance to renters, although it remains unclear how the money will be distributed.... The bill includes $20 billion for the purchase of vaccines 'that will make the vaccine available at no charge for anyone who needs it.'... Colleges and schools will have $82 billion to help cover HVAC repair and replacement to reduce the risk of coronavirus infections and reopen classrooms."

~~~ Tara Bernard & Ron Lieber of the New York Times take a "look at what the latest legislative package will mean for you." ~~~

~~~ AND If You're a Corporate Exec, You Can Count of Deducting That Three-Martini Lunch. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "The draft language of the emergency coronavirus relief package includes a tax break for corporate meal expenses pushed by the White House and strongly denounced by some congressional Democrats, according to a summary of the deal circulating among congressional officials and officials who are familiar with the provision.... President Trump has for months talked about securing the deduction -- derisively referred to as the 'three-martini lunch' by critics -- as a way to revive the restaurant industry badly battered by the pandemic. But critics said it would do little to help struggling restaurants and would largely benefit business executives who do not urgently need help at this time." MB: Thanks, Donald! The Constant Weader, Mrs. McCrabbie & I are off to lunch to get drunk reviving the restaurant industry. Bottoms up! ~~~

~~~ One Good Thing. Dan Diamond of Politico: "Congressional negotiators on Sunday agreed to allow [Marshall Islanders] living in the United States to sign up for Medicaid, revising a drafting mistake in the 1996 welfare reform bill that barred the islanders from the program, according to three people with knowledge of the deal. Democratic lawmakers like Sen. Mazie Hirono and her Hawaii colleagues had spent about two decades trying to restore the islanders' coverage -- saying that the United States broke its promise to the Marshallese after using their homeland to test dozens of nuclear bombs -- but legislative proposals repeatedly died without Republican support. This spring, the House passed a bill to restore the islanders' Medicaid for the first time in more than 20 attempts, although it stalled in the Senate. The decision to bar the Marshallese from Medicaid has contributed to the islanders' greater rates of sickness and death, researchers have concluded, and those disparities were accelerated by this year's Covid-19 pandemic, which has ravaged the Marshallese community in the United States." ~~~

~~~ Pell Grants for Prisoners. Michael Stratford of Politico: "Congressional leaders have struck a deal to reinstate Pell grants for incarcerated students more than a quarter century after banning the aid for prison education programs, top Democrats and Republicans announced on Sunday. The legislation, which is expected to be included as part of the year-end spending deal, would lift the prohibition Congress imposed in the 1994 crime bill that then-President Bill Clinton signed and Joe Biden championed as a senator." ~~~

~~~ This Is a Bill, Not a Law. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Congress is buying itself more time to pass and send the deal to President Trump's desk, after House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) announced that the House would pass a one-day stopgap bill instead of voting on the coronavirus-government funding package immediately.... That will delay passage through both chambers until at least Monday. The House is expected to pass the deal and send it over to the Senate by early Monday afternoon where leadership is eager to pass it quickly.... Congressional leaders are expected to need a separate days-long CR in order to give them time to get the mammoth bill to President Trump's desk and for him to sign it to avoid a government shutdown. The House is expected to tuck the longer CR, likely lasting seven days, into its package that governs the debate of the omnibus-coronavirus package. Once the House passes the rules for its debate, the longer, days-long CR will automatically go to the Senate for passage." ~~~

     ~~~ Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump signed a continuing resolution on Sunday night that will fund the government for the next 24 hours, preventing a shutdown just before midnight and giving Congress extra time to pass a coronavirus relief measure and an accompanying $1.4 trillion government funding bill."

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. Reminder: free to nonsubscribers. Also, these updates often include summaries of WashPo stories that are not free to nonsubscribers.

Lena Sun & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Grocery store employees, teachers, emergency workers and other people on the front lines of America's workforce should be next to get the coronavirus vaccine, along with adults ages 75 and older, a federal advisory panel said Sunday. The recommendations, which came two days after regulators authorized a second coronavirus vaccine, will guide state authorities in deciding who should have priority to receive limited doses of shots made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. More than 2.8 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine have been distributed, and 556,208 of those shots were given as of 2 p.m. Sunday, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The groups designated Sunday include about 49 million people, some of whom could begin getting shots early in the new year. The priorities represent a compromise between the desire to shield people most likely to catch and transmit the virus, because they cannot socially distance or work from home, and the effort to protect people who are most prone to serious complications and death." The article is free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

     ~~~ A New York Times story is here. The AP's report is here. MB: One thing that is completely unclear, & will likely vary by state & even by community, is how an individual gets in the queue for a vaccination. I am a high-risk person (1-B on the CDC scale), but what do I do? Sit & wait for a call or letter from somebody? Call the state health agency? My doctor? My pharmacy?

Jill Colvin of the AP: "President-elect Joe Biden will receive his first dose of the coronavirus vaccine on live television as part of a growing effort to convince the American public the inoculations are safe.... Biden and his wife, Jill, will also thank health care workers at the facility where they receive the shots, his incoming press secretary has said.... Vice President-elect Kamala Harris and her husband are expected to receive their first shots next week. But missing from the action has been ... Donald Trump, who has spent the last week largely out of sight as he continues to stew about his election loss and floats increasingly outlandish schemes to try to remain in power."

Do As I Say, Not as I Do. -- Dr. Debbie. Aamer Madhani & Brian Slodysko of the AP: "As COVID-19 cases skyrocketed before the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, Dr. Deborah Birx, coordinator of the White House coronavirus response, warned Americans to 'be vigilant' and limit celebrations to 'your immediate household.' For many Americans that guidance has been difficult to abide, including for Birx herself. The day after Thanksgiving, she traveled to one of her vacation properties on Fenwick Island in Delaware. She was accompanied by three generations of her family from two households. Birx, her husband Paige Reffe, a daughter, son-in-law and two young grandchildren were present. [Birx & her family members often travel between a Washington, D.C., home & another home they own in Potomac, Md.]... Birx has expressed a desire to maintain a significant role on the White House coronavirus task force when President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated next month.... 'To me this disqualifies her from any future government health position,' said Dr. Angela Rasmussen, a virologist at the Georgetown Center for Global Health Science and Security. 'It's a terrible message for someone in public health to be sending to the American people.'"

U.K. Apoorva Mandavilli of the New York Times: "... officials in Britain on Saturday sounded an urgent alarm about what they called a highly contagious new variant of the coronavirus circulating in England.... In South Africa, a similar version of the virus has emerge.... Several experts ... [said] it would take years -- not months -- for the virus to evolve enough to render the current vaccines impotent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Pan Pylas of the AP: "British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is to chair a meeting of the government's emergency committee later Monday after France closed its borders to arrivals from the U.K. to stem the spread of a new strain of the coronavirus circulating in London and the southeast of England. The meeting of the COBRA civil contingencies committee comes amid warnings of 'significant disruption' around the ports in the English Channel, with tailbacks going back miles into Kent, the county in southeastern England. The tailbacks came after France announced Sunday that it was closing its borders for 48 hours, which means lorries cannot get across the English Channel by boat. Goods arriving on containers are unaffected." ~~~

~~~ BBC: "India is the latest state to suspend flights from the UK, joining Hong Kong, Canada, Switzerland and Germany. On Sunday evening, France shut its border with the UK for 48 hours, meaning no lorries or ferries will be able to sail from the port of Dover. Belgium and the Irish Republic have also suspended flights.... Austria is also set to bring in a ban, while Bulgaria has suspended flights to and from the UK from midnight. Unlike the short-term measures in many other nations, its ban lasts until 31 January. European Union member states are currently meeting in Brussels to discuss a co-ordinated response.... Meanwhile, coronavirus cases in the UK rose by 35,928 on Sunday - nearly double the number recorded seven days previously." ~~~

~~~ Reuters: "Canada is halting passenger flights from the United Kingdom for 72 hours, the health ministry said on Sunday, joining a growing list of countries barring British travelers to prevent the spread of a new coronavirus strain from the country.... The decision came after Canadian officials, including the prime minister and health minister, met on Sunday afternoon to discuss the new variant, which officials say is up to 70% more transmissible than the original."

One President at a Time, Ctd. Hope Yen of the AP: "Once in office, President-elect Joe Biden will punish Russia for its suspected cyberespionage operation against the United States with financial sanctions and measures to hobble the Kremlin’s ability to launch future hacks, his chief of staff said Sunday, as a GOP senator [Mitt Romney] criticized ... Donald Trump for having a 'blind spot' when it comes to Moscow. 'Those who are responsible are going to face consequences for it,' said Biden chief of staff Ron Klain. 'It's not just sanctions. It's also steps and things we could do to degrade the capacity of foreign actors to repeat this sort of attack or, worse still, engage in even more dangerous attacks.'"

Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "To preserve his hold on power, Trump has spent the weeks since Election Day promoting falsehoods about voting problems in Georgia and five other states, successfully persuading tens of millions of his supporters to believe a lie -- that the election was stolen from him, and from them. He has done so by harnessing the power of his position, using his pulpit at the White House and his Twitter feed to let loose a fusillade of conspiracy theories. His assault on the integrity of the election has gotten a hefty assist from pro-Trump media outfits and an assortment of state lawmakers and lawyers who gave oxygen to the debunked allegations -- and a majority of congressional Republicans, who called on the Supreme Court to overturn the results in four states.... Along the way, Trump has willfully damaged two bedrocks of American democracy that he has been going after for years: confidence in the media as a source of trusted information and faith in systems of government. It might be one of his lasting legacies."

There is no role for the U.S. military in determining the outcome of an American election. -- Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy & top Army Gen. James McConville, in a joint statement ~~~

~~~ Felicia Sonmez, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump has intensified efforts to overturn the election, raising a series of radical measures in recent days, including military intervention, seizing voting machines and a 13th-hour appeal to the Supreme Court. On Sunday, Trump said in a radio interview that he had spoken with Sen.-elect Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) about challenging the electoral vote count when the House and Senate convene on Jan. 6 to formally affirm President-elect Joe Biden's victory. 'He's so excited,' Trump said of Tuberville. 'He said, "You made me the most popular politician in the United States."... He's great. Great senator.' Trump's conversation with Tuberville is part of a much broader effort by the defeated president to invalidate the election. He is increasingly reaching out to allies like [Rudy] Giuliani and White House trade adviser Peter Navarro for ideas and searching his Twitter feed for information to promote.... In recent days, Trump has expressed frustration that his Cabinet is not doing more to assist. At a Cabinet meeting last week at the White House, Trump vented about the election and made unsubstantiated allegations of fraud, officials said, but did not give Cabinet members specific orders.... On Sunday, the Trump campaign said it was filing a suit with the Supreme Court over Pennsylvania's mail-in voting rules." (An earlier version of this story was linked yesterday afternoon.) MB: Apparently Trump is unaware that "great senator" Tommy Tuberville is not, in fact, a senator at all, much less showing the slightest indication he will be a great one. ~~~

~~~ Jill Colvin & Marc Levy of the AP: "Undeterred by dismissals and admonitions from judges..., Donald Trump's campaign continued with its unprecedented efforts to overturn the results of the Nov 3. election Sunday, saying it had filed a new petition with the Supreme Court. The petition seeks to reverse a trio of Pennsylvania Supreme Court cases having to do with mail-in ballots and asks the court to reject voters' will and allow the Pennsylvania General Assembly to pick its own slate of electors. While the prospect of the highest court in the land throwing out the results of a democratic election based on unfounded charges of voter fraud is extraordinary unlikely, it wouldn't change the outcome. President-elect Joe Biden would still be the winner even without Pennsylvania because of his wide margin of victory in the Electoral College."

Alexander Burns & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Seldom has the leader of an American political party done so much to strike fear into the hearts of his allies, but done so little to tackle challenges facing the country during his final days in office. Far from presenting the vaccine breakthroughs from Pfizer and Moderna as testaments to private-sector ingenuity and innovation -- once a conservative creed -- [Donald Trump] was fixated on menacing Republicans who might dare to acknowledge Joseph R. Biden Jr. as president-elect. That duality in Mr. Trump's behavior -- acting as a bystander while other leaders answered a crisis and simultaneously raging at Republicans who have inched away from him -- also amounts to a preview of Mr. Trump's post-presidency." (Also linked yesterday.)

David Sanger & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Confronted with a vast cyberattack believed to have been carried out by Russia, the Trump administration is suddenly reviving an old idea: Strip the general who leads the United States Cyber Command of his second title as the director of the National Security Agency, the country's largest spy operation.... But when the idea was revived in recent days with a recommendation en route to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Gen. Mark A. Milley, for action before President Trump leaves office next month, it led to a firestorm of protest on Capitol Hill. Democrats and Republicans alike say that the two institutions are too intertwined to be managed separately and that any unilateral action by the administration to change the current structure would violate legal requirements for extensive assessments before altering it. They said it was also unclear how such a step, especially carried out hastily during a presidential transition, would help with the current crisis." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I don't know much about much, but I do know that the cable news networks have been littered during the past week with pundits of all political stripes who blame the Trump administration for not detecting the attack in part because it has balkanized cybersecurity experts into their respective agencies. To further diminish the government's right hand from knowing what its left hand is doing would seem unwise, at least on the surface. Then there's this: ~~~

~~~ Alexandra Villarreal of the Guardian: "Frontline healthcare workers saw their hopes dashed last week when a botched algorithm, crashing scheduling platforms and other logistical mishaps thwarted their efforts to be among the first in the US to receive a long-awaited coronavirus vaccine.... More than 100 Stanford doctors protested on Friday, standing up for respiratory therapists, environmental services workers, nursing staff, residents and fellows who interact with patients. They were unable to lay claim to initial doses of the vaccine, even as they learned that employees doing telehealth from home had nabbed slots.... On the east coast, doctors in Boston's Mass General Brigham system were also distraught. After the online scheduling platform crashed, employees filed into a long line on Thursday morning to sign up for shots in-person. But staff in emergency departments couldn't abandon their patients. Once appointments came back online, availability vanished in minutes...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So if the system doesn't work for medical personnel working in relatively closed, controlled facilities, how well will it work for us ordinary people out here in the hinterlands?

The Enablers. Erica Newland in a New York Times op-ed/confessional: "I was an attorney at the Justice Department when Donald Trump was elected president. I worked in the Office of Legal Counsel, which is where presidents turn for permission slips that say their executive orders and other contemplated actions are lawful.... My job was to tailor the administration's executive actions to make them lawful -- in narrowing them, I could also make them less destructive.... But there was a trade-off: We attorneys diminished the immediate harmful impacts of President Trump's executive orders -- but we also made them more palatable to the courts.... I now see what might have happened if, rather than nip and tuck the Trump agenda, responsible Justice Department attorneys had collectively -- ethically, lawfully -- refused to participate in President Trump's systematic attacks on our democracy from the beginning. The attacks would have failed [because Trump would have had to rely on incompetent lawyers like Rudy Giuliani]. No matter our intentions, we were complicit."

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Potential Lawsuits That Could Disable Right-Wing Media. Ben Smith of the New York Times: Antonio Mugica's company Smartmatic, "and a competitor, Dominion ... were at the center of [Rudy] Giuliani's and Sidney Powell's theories, and on the tongues of commentators on Fox News and its farther-right rivals, Newsmax and One America News.... Here's the thing: Smartmatic wasn't even used in the contested states. The company ... pulled out of the United States in 2007 after a controversy over its founders' Venezuelan roots.... Last week, [Mugica's high-powered defamation] lawyer [J. Erik Connolly] sent scathing letters to the Fox News Channel, Newsmax and OAN demanding that they immediately, forcefully clear his company's name -- and that they retain documents for a planned defamation lawsuit. He has, legal experts say, an unusually strong case.... Dominion Voting Systems has hired another high-powered libel lawyer, Tom Clare, who has threatened legal action against Ms. Powell and the Trump campaign.... [The lawyers have made] legal threats any company, even a giant like Fox Corporation, would take seriously.... And so Newsmax and OAN appear likely to face the same fate as so many of President Trump's sycophants, who have watched him lie with impunity and imitated him -- only to find that he's the only one who can really get away with it."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Middle East, Mostly. Stephanie Kirchgaessner & Michael Safi of the Guardian: "Spyware sold by an Israeli private intelligence firm was allegedly used to hack the phones of dozens of Al Jazeera journalists in an unprecedented cyber-attack that is likely to have been ordered by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to leading researchers. In a stunning new report, researchers at Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto said they discovered what appears to be a major espionage campaign against one of the world's leading media organisations, which is based in Qatar and has long been a thorn in the side of many of the region's autocratic regimes. The report, written by some of the world's top digital surveillance researchers, also raises troubling new questions about the apparent vulnerability of the Apple iPhone, which has sought to promote a reputation for security and commitment to privacy. Researchers at Citizen Lab said the apparent malicious code they discovered, which they claim is used by clients of Israel's NSO Group, made 'almost all' iPhone devices vulnerable if users were using an operating system that pre-dated Apple's iOS 14 system, which appears to have fixed the vulnerability."