The Commentariat -- December 17, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.) has been selected to lead the Interior Department in President-elect Joe Biden's administration, making history as the first Native American tapped for a Cabinet position. Haaland, who has been backed by a number of progressive groups as well as tribes, would take over a sprawling, 70,000-person agency with a mandate from Biden to help deliver on his climate promises. If confirmed by the Senate, Haaland would likely deliver a significant turnaround for an agency that has rolled back environmental and endangered species protections and expanded oil and gas drilling. Biden has pledged to bar any new oil and gas leasing on public lands -- an effort likely to require action from Interior." * The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ * Marie: Yeah But. We did have a Native American vice president.

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. will nominate Michael S. Regan, secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, according to three people on the Biden transition team. Mr. Regan became Mr. Biden's top choice only in recent days, two people familiar with the selection process said.... A longtime air quality specialist at the E.P.A. working under both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, Mr. Regan later worked for the Environmental Defense Fund, a nonprofit advocacy group. In 2017, Roy Cooper, a Democrat, defeated Gov. Pat McCrory, a Republican, in North Carolina and tapped Mr. Regan to lead the state environmental agency. There he replaced Donald R. van der Vaart, a Trump administration ally who has questioned the established science of climate change and fought Obama-era rules limiting greenhouse gas emissions from power plants and championed a pro-business agenda of deregulation in North Carolina. Supporters of Mr. Regan said he improved low morale and emphasized the role of science at the department. Several called it an obvious parallel to what he would be expected to do at E.P.A." MB: As to Regan's improving morale, the photo of Regan that accompanies the article depicts a man who could make me smile on my worst day. Politico's story is here.

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

One-Man Superspreader. Celine Castronuovo of the Hill: "Department of Interior Secretary David Bernhardt has tested positive for COVID-19 following days of meetings with political appointees, a department spokesman confirmed to The Washington Post Wednesday. Interior spokesman Nicholas Goodwin told the Post in an email that Bernhardt, 51, received the diagnosis ahead of a scheduled Cabinet meeting with President Trump Wednesday, which Bernhardt did not attend following his positive test."

Tuning Out Covid. Neal Rothschild of Axios: "States that voted for President Trump tend to have high coronavirus caseloads compared to how much COVID content they read online, while the opposite is true of states that voted for President-elect Biden, according to exclusive data from social media management platform SocialFlow.... The trend highlights a widespread rejection of coronavirus news and information in states that supported Trump, even in areas where the virus has gotten particularly deadly."

Fred Imbert of CNBC: "Jobless claims unexpectedly rose last week as states reimposed coronavirus restrictions as lawmakers struggle to push through new government aid, according to a Labor Department report Thursday. The number of first-time unemployment-benefits filers totaled 885,000 in the week ending Dec. 12, the most since the week of Sept. 5. Economists polled by Dow Jones expected initial claims to fall to 808,000. Initial claims for the previous week were revised higher by 9,000 to 862,000."

Gabby Orr & Nahal Toosi of Politico: "On Jan. 6, Vice President Mike Pence will oversee final confirmation of President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Then he'll likely skip town.... According to three U.S. officials familiar with the planning, the vice president is eyeing a foreign trip that would take him overseas for nearly a week, starting on Jan. 6.... For Pence, visiting [Middle East] countries is ... a way to bolster already-strong credentials with the Christian right, which strongly supports Israel. And it allows Pence -- once again -- to put distance between himself and Trump's complaints about the election outcome that are likely to intensify after Congress affirms Biden's win."

Marina Pitofsky of the Hill: "Jennifer Horn, the former chairwoman of the New Hampshire Republican Party and a co-founder of the anti-Trump GOP group The Lincoln Project, announced Thursday in a new op-ed that she is leaving the Republican Party as President Trump and his allies continue their efforts to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election. Horn said she 'became a Republican' because she viewed the party's values as 'a voice for equality, freedom and constitutional conservatism, with a rich history of fighting for what was right because it was right.... For the past five years, however, I have found myself fighting for what I thought were the principles of my party in the face of the ever-deteriorating character and integrity of party representatives,' Horn wrote in the op-ed published Thursday by USA Today. 'They have revealed their impotence and decrepitude as they have fallen, one by one, at the feet of the most corrupt, destructive and unstable president in the history of our country.'"

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David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "... the broad Russian espionage attack on the United States government and private companies, underway since spring and detected by the private sector only a few weeks ago, ranks among the greatest intelligence failures of modern times.... Over the past few years, the United States government has spent tens of billions of dollars on cyberoffensive capabilities, building a giant war room at Fort Meade, Md., for United States Cyber Command, while installing defensive sensors all around the country -- a system named Einstein to give it an air of genius -- to deter the nation's enemies from picking its networks clean, again.... President Trump has said nothing, perhaps aware that his term in office is coming to an end just as it began, with questions about what he knew about Russian cyberoperations, and when. The National Security Agency has been largely silent, hiding behind the classification of the intelligence." MB: And for National Security Advisor Robert O'Brien, the worst part was the discovery cut short his excellent all-expense-paid vacation to Europe with his wife. ~~~

~~~ AND There's This: "Curiously, the Russian attack barely featured as a footnote at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee [run by Stupidest Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)] hearing on Wednesday, which featured testimony from Christopher Krebs, the cybersecurity chief who was fired last month after refusing to back Mr. Trump's baseless claims of voter fraud. The hack took place during Mr. Krebs's tenure as director of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, but senators did not ask him about it at the hearing, instead focusing on the hack that wasn't: baseless allegations of fraud in the November election." MB: Nothing "curious" about it at all: there's nothing in it for Johnson, the dimwitted master of Trumpish conspiracy theories.

The New York Times' live Biden transition updates Wednesday are here: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday formally introduced Pete Buttigieg as his nominee for transportation secretary, a role that will be key to advancing Mr. Biden's ambitious agenda on rebuilding the nation's infrastructure and on climate change.... Mr. Biden appeared with Mr. Buttigieg at an event in Wilmington, Del., calling him 'a policy wonk with a big heart.' Vice President-elect Kamala Harris joined via video because of the winter storm on the East Coast. 'We selected Pete for transportation because the department is at the intersection of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better,' Mr. Biden said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Zack Colman & Tyler Pager of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden will tap Brenda Mallory to lead the White House Council on Environmental Quality, according to two people familiar with selection, which would put the veteran environmental lawyer in charge of an office with sweeping purview over how the federal government assesses environmental effects of policies, permits and infrastructure projects. The Senate-confirmed post would mark a return to the office for Mallory, who worked as general counsel there during the Obama administration. Mallory currently leads the Southern Environmental Law Center's regulatory practice."

Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "... the coronavirus pandemic will dramatically change President-elect Joe Biden's swearing-in ceremony and stoked calls for a more festive celebration around July 4. Members of Congress typically receive 200,000 tickets to distribute among their constituents for inaugurations. This year, tickets will be for the member and one guest only. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), who leads the committee, said the decision to limit attendance was made in consultation with public health officials and a separate Biden-appointed committee working on planning.... On Tuesday, Biden's planning team formally announced the president-elect would be sworn in on the west side of the Capitol but also urged Americans to stay home and refrain from gathering during the inauguration." ~~~

~~~ Ken Vogel & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s allies have begun an ambitious campaign to raise millions of dollars from corporations and individuals by offering special 'V.I.P. participation' in reimagined inaugural festivities that will be largely virtual because of the coronavirus pandemic.... To create an air of celebration, Mr. Biden's inaugural committee said it was raising private funds to pay for virtual events that will echo the Democratic convention this year, which featured a 50-state roll call from spots around the nation. There are also plans for a 'virtual concert' with major performers whose names have not yet been released -- and possibly for an in-person event later in the year.... President Trump's inauguration ... became an access-peddling bazaar of sorts, and aspects of its record fund-raising and spending emerged as the subjects of investigations."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued in a new interview that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should no longer lead Democrats in Congress, and complained that the party had failed at grooming a 'next generation' of younger lawmakers to succeed them. 'I do think that we need new leadership in the Democratic Party,' Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Intercept in an interview published Wednesday.... But Ocasio-Cortez observed in the interview that even the party's more moderate members have found it difficult to produce 'viable alternatives' to challenge her leadership. 'I think one of the things that I have struggled with -- I think that a lot of people struggle with -- is [that] the internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there's very little option for succession, if you will,' she said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Carol Lee & Courtney Kube of NBC News: "... Donald Trump has come so close to firing FBI Director Christopher Wray in recent months that the White House counsel's office has warned him not to do so because it could put him in potential legal jeopardy, according to a senior administration official with direct knowledge of the discussion and a U.S. official familiar with the discussion. White House lawyers 'strongly' advised Trump against firing another FBI director out of concern that doing so would risk creating the perception that a 'loyalty test' was being imposed on a position that traditionally has maintained independence from the White House, according to the senior administration official. The lawyers, led by White House counsel Pat Cipollone, specifically said that firing Wray could spark legal issues similar to those raised after Trump ousted James Comey as FBI director in 2017 in the midst of the Russia investigation, the officials said."

When You Think Trump Can't Get More Insulting. Jewish Telegraph Agency: "... Donald Trump named three White House aides to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Council, including the son of his lawyer Rudy Giuliani, on Wednesday. Along with Andrew Giuliani, who works in the Office of Liaison, which interacts with interest groups, the others named to the voluntary posts are Mitchell Webber, a lawyer in the Office of the White House Counsel, and Nick Luna, Trump's 'body man.'... Only Webber, who is Jewish and wrote about Jewish and Israeli issues for the conservative New York Sun over a decade ago, seems to have any record of experience in [Jewish affairs].... Andrew Giuliani..., whose designated special interest group in the Public Liaison office is the sports community, at one point aspired to be a professional golfer.... Luna is a former actor who featured in films like 'Sammy and Sherlock Can't Get Any.' The Internet Movie Database summarizes the movie as 'A stoner couple spends the day trying to score weed in their dry suburban town.' His LinkedIn page says he trained in comedy."

The Coming Pardonpalooza. Pamela Brown, et al., of CNN: "Since Trump lost the election six weeks ago, calls and emails have been flooding into the West Wing from people looking to benefit from the President's powers of clemency.... Trump, who refuses to acknowledge his loss and who officials say is devolving further into denial, has nonetheless been eager to engage on who is requesting what. He's been handed case summaries to review and, in some instances, has polled his network of associates about whom he should pardon."

Because Trump Is Stupid. AFP: "Dutch prosecutors have confirmed that Donald Trump's Twitter account was hacked in October despite denials from Washington and the company, but said the 'ethical hacker' would not face charges. The hacker, named as Victor Gevers, broke into Trump's account @realDonaldTrump on 16 October by guessing the US president's password, Dutch media reports said. Both the White House and Twitter strenuously denied reports that the account had been hacked. Gevers, 44, disclosed the hack immediately, saying the password he guessed was 'maga2020!'" MB: Trump's new password, I'd guess, is "Trump2020."

North Carolina, Virginia. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "On Facebook, North Carolina state Sen. Bob Steinburg (R) ... [suggested] President Trump should declare a national emergency, suspend civil rights and remain in power over his baseless claims of election fraud. Asked by a local TV station on Tuesday whether he stands by those sentiments, Steinburg doubled down, insisting that nefarious forces had corrupted President-elect Joe Biden's victory.... 'President Trump must declare a national emergency,' the 72-year-old state senator wrote in the post, which has since been deleted. 'Trump should also invoke the Insurrection Act.' The Insurrection Act, which was signed into law by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807, would allow the president to deploy military forces on U.S. soil.... Steinburg also suggested in the Facebook post that the president suspend habeas corpus.... Virginia state Sen. Amanda F. Chase (R) on Tuesday also called for martial law, echoing a suggestion floated by Michael Flynn, the former national security adviser pardoned by the president last month." ~~~

     ~~~ Musical Accompaniment: "Dixie Land." Here's a nice version posted by something called "MAGA News." Comments suggest YouTube took the video down at least once. One recent commenter writes, "Texas secead then the rest of the South will and play Dixie so loud."

Leo Shane of the Military Times: "The nation's leading veterans groups on Wednesday formally requested that ... Donald Trump fire Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie immediately from his Cabinet post, saying that the VA administrator 'no longer has the trust or confidence of America's veterans.' The letter -- signed by leaders from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS and Vietnam Veterans of America -- is the latest damning assessment of Wilkie's ability shepherd the department following the release of an inspector general report last week criticizing his handling of a sexual assault allegation late last year.... Since the report’s release, 21 lawmakers have also called for Wilkie's removal, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.... No Republicans have publicly called for Wilkie's firing." The White House has not commented.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Finally, significant fraud has been identified in the 2020 election. It is being perpetrated by Sen. Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin.... Though passively admitting 'the conclusion has collectively been reached' that any fraud was too small to reverse President-elect Joe Biden's win, Johnson then spent nearly four hours in a hearing Wednesday trying to suggest otherwise.... Other Republicans on the panel echoed the election-fraud alarm.... Johnson ... accused the ranking Democrat, Sen. Gary Peters (Mich.), of leaking 'a false intelligence product' about his attacks on Hunter Biden echoing Russian disinformation. When Peters tried to respond, Johnson interrupted: 'You lied! ... Outright lie! ... I told you to stop lying!' Peters replied, civilly, 'Mr. Chairman, this is not about airing your grievances. I don't know what rabbit hole you're running down.'... The Republicans displayed a distinct lack of self-awareness as they wondered aloud why most Trump voters believe there was fraud." Here's video of Johnson blowing up at Peters.

How Fox "News" Will Carry on without a Kaiser to Praise. Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Fox News host Tucker Carlson obsessed over Jill Biden's doctorate in education for the third night in a row on Wednesday, this time devoting roughly ten minutes to mocking her dissertation while claiming the incoming first lady is 'borderline illiterate.'... [Carlson] has repeatedly bestowed the 'doctor' title on Sebastian Gorka, whose doctorate in political science has been questioned in the past. He's also addressed several other political scientists as 'Dr.' on his program." MB: As far as I'm concerned, Tucker can keep "obsessing" over Jill Biden for Joe Biden's entire presidency. What nonsense.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

New York Times: "Officials across the United States on Wednesday reported the highest daily number for new coronavirus since the pandemic began, as well as the most deaths in a single day. New infections were put at 244,365, and deaths at 3,607 -- nearly 500 more than the record set only a week ago. The previous case record, 236,800, was set last Friday (though a reporting anomaly in Texas made it appear still higher.) The latest figures capped day on which health experts warned Americans, buoyed by the rollout of a vaccination campaign, that it is far too soon to abandon common-sense precautions for halting the spread of the virus." From the Times' live updates for Wednesday, also linked below. ~~~

~~~ NBC News: "The U.S. on Wednesday saw its highest numbers yet of the pandemic, setting records for both the number of new cases and deaths. Across the nation, 232,086 Covid-19 cases were reported, with 3,293 deaths, according to NBC News' count.... By Thursday morning, the number of cases in the U.S. since the start of the pandemic passed 17 million, according to NBC News' count. More than 308,000 people have died."

Jeff Zeleny & Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden is expected to get his first Covid-19 vaccination early next week, CNN has learned, and plans to get his shot in public. 'I don't want to get ahead of the line, but I want to make sure we demonstrate to the American people that it is safe to take,' Biden told reporters Wednesday in Wilmington, Delaware. 'When I do it, I'll do it publicly, so you can all witness my getting it done,' the President-elect said. People familiar with the plans say Biden is likely to get his shot next week. The delay has not been borne out of hesitation, aides say, but rather logistics of administering the shot in a public setting." ~~~

~~~ Joey Garrison & Michael Collins of USA Today: "Vice President Mike Pence is set to receive a vaccine for the COVID-19 virus Friday, while President-elect Joe Biden is expected to be vaccinated as soon as next week. Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence will receive the vaccine at the White House. Pence's office said they will get the shot 'publicly' to promote the safety and efficacy of the vaccine and 'build confidence among the American people.' The Pences will be joined by Surgeon General Jerome Adams, who will also receive the vaccine, Pence's office said.... Donald Trump has not announced plans to take the vaccine...."

Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "Congressional negotiators are on the brink of a coronavirus rescue package that would include a second round of direct payments and boost unemployment benefits, but would leave out state and local funding and a liability shield, according to lawmakers and sources briefed on the talks. The price tag of the emerging deal is roughly $900 billion, and a deal could be finalized on Wednesday, those sources said. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said the proposal would likely include direct checks to individuals of $600 to $700 and a weekly unemployment boost of $300 through March." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sarah Owermohle of Politico: "Pharmacists have found a way to squeeze extra doses out of vials of Pfizer's vaccine, potentially expanding the nation's scarce supply by up to 40 percent. The Food and Drug Administration said late Wednesday that those extra doses could be used, clearing up confusion that had caused some pharmacists to throw away leftover vaccine for fear of violating the rules the agency set last week. 'Given the public health emergency, FDA is advising that it is acceptable to use every full dose obtainable,' an agency spokesperson told Politico, mirroring language that a federal health official sent to state vaccine providers Wednesday morning."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The Trump administration is negotiating a deal to use its power to free up supplies of raw materials to help Pfizer produce tens of millions of additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for Americans in the first half of next year, people familiar with the situation said. Should an agreement be struck, it could at least partially remedy a looming shortage that the administration itself arguably helped create by not pre-ordering more doses of the vaccine Pfizer developed with its German partner, BioNTech." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here: "... a health-care worker in Alaska had a serious allergic reaction and was hospitalized after getting the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and is in stable condition, according to two people.... Authorities have not released further details about the incident, which echoes two similar cases in the United Kingdom last week...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dr Jeremy Faust, et al., in a New York Times op-ed: "In research published on Wednesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association, we found that among U.S. adults ages 25 to 44, from March through the end of July, there were almost 12,000 more deaths than were expected based on historical norms. In fact, July appears to have been the deadliest month among this age group in modern American history.... The trends continued this fall.... We know Covid-19 is the driving force behind these excess deaths.... What we believed before about the relative harmlessness of Covid-19 among younger adults has simply not been borne out by emerging data.... We need to tell young people that they are at risk and that they need to wear masks and make safer choices about social distancing."

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo canceled his final major holiday party of the year Wednesday after his exposure to a person who tested positive for the coronavirus forced him into quarantine, according to two officials familiar with the situation. The decision caps a run of indoor holiday parties hosted by Pompeo, his wife, Susan, and his top aides that health experts and U.S. lawmakers warned could turn into superspreader events.... Pompeo was scheduled to give remarks at [a Tuesday] gathering [for which 900 invitations were sent] but canceled without explanation."

Dan Diamond of Politico: "A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a 'herd immunity' approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained by a House watchdog.... 'There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD,' then-science adviser Paul Alexander wrote on July 4 to his boss, Health and Human Services assistant secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo, and six other senior officials. Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk ... so we use them to develop herd ... we want them infected...,' Alexander added. '[I]t may be that it will be best if we open up and flood the zone and let the kids and young folk get infected' in order to get 'natural immunity ... natural exposure,' Alexander wrote on July 24 to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Caputo and eight other senior officials.... Officials told Politico that they believed that when Alexander made recommendations, he had the backing of the White House.... 'Herd immunity is not the strategy of the U.S. government with regard to coronavirus,' HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified in a hearing before the House coronavirus subcommittee on Oct. 2." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

France. Emma Reynolds of CNN: "France's President Emmanuel Macron has tested positive for Covid-19, the Elysee Palace said in a press release.... It said the president was diagnosed after he was tested 'at the onset of the first symptoms.... In accordance with current health regulations applicable to all, the President of the Republic will isolate himself for 7 days. He continues to work and carry out his activities remotely.'" At 4:40 am ET, this is a breaking story.

Major League Baseball Steps Up. At Long Last. Dave Sheinin of the Washington Post: "... on Wednesday, in a monumental change for the sport, Major League Baseball announced it was elevating the 1920-48 Negro Leagues to major league status, a move that not only seeks to right a cosmic wrong that has shadowed the game for a century -- the segregation of baseball that famously ended when Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947 -- but also forces a wholesale recalibration of its record book.... 'All of us who love baseball have long known that the Negro Leagues produced many of our game's best players, innovations and triumphs against a backdrop of injustice,' Commissioner Rob Manfred said in the statement.... In effect, the move reverses the decision of MLB's Special Baseball Records Committee -- a five-person, all-White group commissioned in 1969 to codify the historical standards that define the major leagues -- which bestowed big league status on six leagues (including the Union Association, which played its only season in 1884) but never even considered including the Negro Leagues."

Katie Benner & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "... the Justice Department ... plans to unseal criminal charges in the coming days against another suspect in the [1988] bombing [of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland], a Libyan bomb expert named Abu Agila Mas'ud, according to two people familiar with the case. Monday will mark the 32nd anniversary of the attack.... The case against Mr. Mas'ud in part relied on the work of a journalist named Ken Dornstein, who was working at the PBS news show 'Frontline' when he began his own exhaustive investigation into the bombing. His brother, David, was among those killed aboard the plane...."

News Ledes

Weather Channel: "Winter Storm Gail is hammering the Northeast as a high-impact nor'easter packing heavy snow, strong winds and coastal flooding. This storm's impacts aren't confined to the interior Northeast, but are also occurring near parts of the Interstate 95 corridor from New England to New York City. Over 40 inches of snow has been reported in south-central New York and snowfall from Gail, heavy in some areas, continues to fall in much of New York and New England. Ten inches of snow has been measured at Central Park as of Thursday morning. The National Weather Service has posted winter storm warnings and winter weather advisories from portions of New England to the mid-Atlantic." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of the winter snowstorm Gail hitting the Northeast U.S. are here. MB: My VW bug, sitting in my snow-hidden driveway, looks less like a vehicle than an igloo with rearview mirrors. ~~~

The Commentariat -- December 16, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "Congressional negotiators are on the brink of a coronavirus rescue package that would include a second round of direct payments and boost unemployment benefits, but would leave out state and local funding and a liability shield.... The price tag of the emerging deal is roughly $900 billion, and a deal could be finalized on Wednesday, those sources said. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) said the proposal would likely include direct checks to individuals of $600 to $700 and a weekly unemployment boost of $300 through March."

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The Trump administration is negotiating a deal to use its power to free up supplies of raw materials to help Pfizer produce tens of millions of additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine for Americans in the first half of next year, people familiar with the situation said. Should an agreement be struck, it could at least partially remedy a looming shortage that the administration itself arguably helped create by not pre-ordering more doses of the vaccine Pfizer developed with its German partner, BioNTech." ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here: "... a health-care worker in Alaska had a serious allergic reaction and was hospitalized after getting the vaccine developed by Pfizer and BioNTech, and is in stable condition, according to two people familiar with the situation. Authorities have not released further details about the incident, which echoes two similar cases in the United Kingdom last week...."

The New York Times' live Biden transition updates Wednesday are here: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Wednesday formally introduced Pete Buttigieg as his nominee for transportation secretary, a role that will be key to advancing Mr. Biden's ambitious agenda on rebuilding the nation's infrastructure and on climate change.... Mr. Biden appeared with Mr. Buttigieg at an event in Wilmington, Del., calling him 'a policy wonk with a big heart.' Vice President-elect Kamala Harris joined via video because of the winter storm on the East Coast. 'We selected Pete for transportation because the department is at the intersection of some of our most ambitious plans to build back better,' Mr. Biden said."

Quint Forgey of Politico: "Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez argued in a new interview that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should no longer lead Democrats in Congress, and complained that the party had failed at grooming a 'next generation' of younger lawmakers to succeed them. 'I do think that we need new leadership in the Democratic Party,' Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told The Intercept in an interview published Wednesday.... But Ocasio-Cortez observed in the interview that even the party's more moderate members have found it difficult to produce 'viable alternatives' to challenge her leadership. 'I think one of the things that I have struggled with -- I think that a lot of people struggle with -- is [that] the internal dynamics of the House has made it such that there's very little option for succession, if you will,' she said."

Dan Diamond of Politico: "A top Trump appointee repeatedly urged top health officials to adopt a 'herd immunity' approach to Covid-19 and allow millions of Americans to be infected by the virus, according to internal emails obtained by a House watchdog and shared with Politico. 'There is no other way, we need to establish herd, and it only comes about allowing the non-high risk groups expose themselves to the virus. PERIOD,' then-science adviser Paul Alexander wrote on July 4 to his boss, Health and Human Services assistant secretary for public affairs Michael Caputo, and six other senior officials. Infants, kids, teens, young people, young adults, middle aged with no conditions etc. have zero to little risk ... so we use them to develop herd ... we want them infected...' Alexander added. '[I]t may be that it will be best if we open up and flood the zone and let the kids and young folk get infected' in order to get 'natural immunity ... natural exposure,' Alexander wrote on July 24 to Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen Hahn, Caputo and eight other senior officials.... Officials told Politico that they believed that when Alexander made recommendations, he had the backing of the White House.... 'Herd immunity is not the strategy of the U.S. government with regard to coronavirus,' HHS Secretary Alex Azar testified in a hearing before the House coronavirus subcommittee on Oct. 2."

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The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Jeff Stein & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Congressional leaders are near an agreement to add a new round of stimulus checks to a roughly $900 billion relief package as they rush to complete a deal before the end of the week, according to three people familiar with the talks...." The story has some of the details of the package, but it looks as if they remain a bit fluid. MB: What's there there at this point doesn't look as bad as a GOP-generated bill.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

William Wan of the Washington Post: "The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday authorized the first rapid coronavirus test that can be taken at home without prescription and that yields immediate results. The test could be a vital tool in the country's fight against the virus -- especially in the months before most Americans are vaccinated. Unlike previous home tests, this version does not require samples to be sent to a lab and can be taken without doctor's orders by anyone older than 2. The test, developed by Australian company Ellume, is just one of several positive developments for coronavirus testing. The newly approved home test will cost about $30, and the first batches will be shipped out the first week of January, according to Ellume. After months of failures, long lines and continued shortages, the country's testing capacity is finally expected to increase rapidly in the coming two to three months, reaching many times its current levels, experts said.... The FDA allowed the test under an emergency use authorization."

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "Newly released data confirmed on Tuesday that Moderna's coronavirus vaccine is highly protective, setting the stage for its emergency authorization this week by federal regulators and the start of its distribution across the country. The Food and Drug Administration intends to authorize use of the vaccine on Friday, people familiar with the agency's plans said. The decision would give millions of Americans access to a second coronavirus vaccine beginning as early as Monday. The review by the F.D.A. confirms Moderna's earlier assessment that its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent in a trial of 30,000 people. Side effects, including fever, headache and fatigue, were unpleasant but not dangerous, the agency found. The success of Moderna's vaccine has become all the more crucial to fighting the pandemic as other vaccine efforts have faltered." Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Insidious Grasp of Tiny Hands. Noah Weiland of the New York Times on how the White House political shop controlled the CDC. As one employee put it, "... like a hand grasping something, and it slowly closes, closes, closes, closes until you realize that ... it has a complete grasp on everything at the C.D.C."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Congressional leaders scrambled on Tuesday to reach agreement on a stimulus bill and a catchall omnibus funding package to keep government funding flowing, meeting to try to hammer out critical spending deals ahead of a Friday deadline. Their talks broke up about 10 p.m. Tuesday, with lawmakers voicing some optimism as they left the Capitol. Stopping to speak to reporters after the meeting, Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, said, 'We're making significant progress.'"

Florida. Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: "The South Florida Sun Sentinel has noticed an extremely strange anomaly in the state's coronavirus-related death figures. On Oct. 24..., the state stopped including the backlog of unrecorded fatalities, leading to smaller death totals in the days when Floridians started heading to the polls for early voting. Officials only started including the number in the overall totals again on Nov. 17, weeks after the vote. It's not clear why the anomaly happened, and state officials refused to explain it to the newspaper. Read it at South Florida Sun Sentinel." MB: Gee, that's the same gang who fired data scientist Rebekah Jones for refusing to manipulate coronavirus data. Recently, law enforcement agents, at the behest of the same gang (state health department), raided Jones' home, pointing weapons at her & her children. The state's treatment of Jones & its manipulation of Covid-19 data warrant a criminal investigation.

More Real News

Rick Rojas & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on Tuesday urged Georgia voters to cast ballots for two Democratic Senate candidates in a pair of critical runoffs early next month that he hopes will give his party control of the Senate and help Democrats advance the agenda he promised during his campaign. 'You all did something extraordinary in November,' Mr. Biden said to cheers and honks at a drive-in campaign rally intended to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. 'You voted in record numbers in order to improve the lives of every Georgian. And you voted as if your life depended on it. Well, guess what?' he added. 'Now you're going to have to do it again.'"

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden will nominate Jennifer M. Granholm, a former governor of Michigan and a longtime champion of renewable energy development, to be the next secretary of energy, according to four people close to the president-elect's transition team. If confirmed, Ms. Granholm, 61, will be the second woman, after Hazel R. O'Leary, who served under President Bill Clinton, to lead the vast department, which oversees the United States nuclear weapons complex as well as 17 national laboratories and a wide range of energy research and development initiatives." A Politico story is here.

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. is expected to pick Gina McCarthy, the former administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Barack Obama and the architect of some of his most far-reaching regulations to limit greenhouse gas emissions, to serve as senior White House adviser on climate change, according to three people close to the Biden transition team. As White House adviser, Ms. McCarthy will coordinate domestic climate policies across the United States government, playing a central role in helping Mr. Biden make good on his campaign promise of putting the United States on track to reach carbon neutrality before 2050. Mr. Biden also intends to name Ali Zaidi, the deputy secretary for energy and environment for New York State, who helped write Mr. Biden's climate plan, as Ms. McCarthy's deputy.

Dan Merica of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, elevating the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to a top post in the federal government. Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary should his nomination make it through the chamber. The choice vaults a candidate Biden spoke glowingly of after the Democratic primary into a top job in the incoming administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats believe is needed experience should he run for president again. The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden's push for a bipartisan infrastructure package." The Washington Post's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Turtle Has Spoken. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday, marking the first time he has directly acknowledged their victory. 'The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He's devoted himself to public service for many years,' McConnell said." Update: A New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Breaking with President Trump's drive to overturn his election loss, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky on Tuesday congratulated President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. on his victory and began a campaign to keep fellow Republicans from joining a doomed last-ditch effort to reverse the outcome in Congress. Although Mr. McConnell waited until weeks after Mr. Biden was declared the winner to recognize the outcome, his actions were a clear bid by the majority leader, who is the most powerful Republican in Congress, to pu an end to his party's attempts to sow doubt about the election." ~~~

~~~ Maybe Moscow Mitch Was Waiting for Vlad's Okay. Mary Ilyushina of CNN: "Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election Tuesday, six weeks after the vote and a day after the Electoral College officially affirmed Biden's win." The WashPo's item on Putin's congrats was posted at 6:52 am ET. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live Biden transition updates Tuesday are here.  (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: In his seventh acceptance speech Monday, President-elect Biden noted that he had won the same number of Electoral College votes as Trump did in 2016. While that's true, Biden actually received two more votes than Trump did in 2016, because of faithless electors. So if Trump's win was a "landslide" (it wasn't), then I guess Biden won a "huge landslide."

** Nathaniel Rakich & Elena Majia of 538: "Joe Biden may have won the White House, but down-ballot races were much better for Republicans. In fact, the GOP's victories in state-level elections could pay dividends long after Biden leaves office, thanks to their influence over next year's redistricting process.... [T]he end result was just about the best-case scenario for Republicans.... Republicans are set to control the redistricting of 188 congressional seats -- or 43 percent of the entire House of Representatives. By contrast, Democrats will control the redistricting of, at most, 73 seats, or 17 percent.... The GOP is in almost as good a position as it enjoyed in the last redistricting process, when Republicans controlled the drawing of 55 percent of congressional districts and Democrats controlled only 10 percent after 2010's GOP wave. As a result, the House map has been more biased toward Republicans this decade than at any point since the 1970s.... Democrats were able to win the House and several state legislatures in 2018 thanks to shifting vote patterns in the suburbs in particular, but Republicans in many states will now have the opportunity to draw new gerrymanders that account for this realignment.... That said..., at least 167 districts, or 38 percent of the House, will be drawn by independent commissions or by both parties sharing power. That’s up from 145 (33 percent) in 2011[.]" --s

Nicole Brodeur of The Seattle Times: "MacKenzie Scott, the philanthropist, author and former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, announced Tuesday that she has given away $4.1 billion in the past four months to 384 organizations, part of a giving pledge she announced last year.... In a Medium post that went live Tuesday morning, Scott explained the thinking behind her pandemic-era philanthropy. She wrote of the poet Emily Dickinson, whose isolation was voluntary and focused on death -- but also on hope. That is what Scott chose to focus on, she wrote, as winter approached and the pandemic dragged on. She described the coronavirus pandemic as 'a wrecking ball in the lives of Americans already struggling,' and noted is has been worse for women, people of color and those living in poverty. 'Meanwhile,' she wrote, 'it has substantially increased the wealth of billionaires.'" --s

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Right up to Monday's Electoral College vote, President Trump held the false hope that Republican-controlled state legislatures would replace electors with allies who'd overturn Joe Biden's win, two people who discussed the matter with him told Axios.... Through the past week, the sources said, the president browbeat GOP legislators in multiple states, launched tirades against Republican Govs. Doug Ducey of Arizona and Brian Kemp of Georgia, vowed to make Fox News 'pay' for accurately calling the race, and tested ways to say he didn't win without acknowledging he had lost." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I do think there's a good chance that the German-speaking von Trump (typo; that's von Trapp) family, appearing in the great hall of a lavish castle (note gold upholstery on chairs), could impress upon the Kailser that it's time to decamp to other digs. Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link: ~~~

~~~ But Maybe Not to Palm Beach. Manuel Roig-Franzia & Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Next-door neighbors of Mar-a-Lago, President Trump&'s private club in Palm Beach, Fla., that he has called his Winter White House, have a message for the outgoing commander in chief: We don't want you to be our neighbor. That message was formally delivered Tuesday morning in a demand letter delivered to the town of Palm Beach and also addressed to the U.S. Secret Service asserting that Trump lost his legal right to live at Mar-a-Lago because of an agreement he signed in the early 1990s when he converted the storied estate from his private residence to a private club. The legal maneuver could, at long last, force Palm Beach to publicly address whether Trump can make Mar-a-Lago his legal residence and home, as he has been expected to do.... The contretemps sets up a potentially awkward scenario, unique in recent history, in which a former Oval Office occupant would find himself having to officially defend his choice of a place to live during his post-presidency. It also could create a legal headache for Trump because he changed his official domicile to Mar-a-Lago.... (Trump originally tried to register to vote in Florida using the White House in Washington as his address, which is not allowed under Florida law. He later changed the registration to the Mar-a-Lago address.)"

Michael Stratford of Politico: "Education Secretary Betsy DeVos urged career employees at the Education Department on Tuesday to 'be the resistance' when the Biden administration comes into power next month, according to a recording of her remarks obtained by Politico. During a department-wide virtual meeting to discuss the shift to the new administration, DeVos acknowledged that most of the agency's thousands of career employees 'will be here through the coming transition and beyond.' 'Let me leave you with this plea: Resist,' DeVos said. 'Be the resistance against forces that will derail you from doing what's right for students. In everything you do, please put students first -- always.'... The secretary's remarks come after nearly four years of frequently sparring with the career employees of her department." MB: Here are a few ways Betsy, uh, put students first.

Brett Wilkins of Common Dreams: "The Trump administration on Tuesday finalized a rule that wildlife advocates say will weaken the Endangered Species Act and severely limit the federal government's ability to protect habitat critical to the survival and recovery of imperiled species including grizzly bears and whooping cranes.... Under the new rule adopted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the definition of 'critical habitat' for an endangered species will be limited to places that could currently support such animals, not areas where they once lived and could be restored with the proper care and protections.... 'President [Donald] Trump has cemented his legacy as the most anti-wildlife president in history,' Stephanie Kurose, a senior policy specialist with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement on Tuesday." --s

Roque Planas of the Huffington Post: "After being hit with a lawsuit in federal court, and after months of being pressed by Democratic lawmakers, the U.S. Postal Service finally released Postmaster General Louis DeJoy's calendar on Tuesday.... But the calendar released Tuesday is almost entirely redacted. From June 15 to Nov. 7, DeJoy held more than 450 meetings and conference calls, his electronic calendar says. But the agency's Freedom of Information Act office blacked out nearly every word[.]" --s ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What on earth is DeJoy doing that's so secret? Is his every clandestine activity corrupt? I think we should assume so. He's sure acting like a criminal.

Ho Ho Ho. John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Only a tiny fraction of the more than 900 guests invited to an indoor holiday party hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife Susan showed up on Tuesday following an outcry from public health officials and U.S. lawmakers warning that the reception bore all the hallmarks of a superspreader event, said two U.S. officials familiar with the event. Pompeo, whose name was on the invitation and who was scheduled to speak at the event, canceled his speech and tapped a substitute speaker, said the two officials. The event was dedicated to the family members of diplomats serving overseas in dangerous postings that require them to leave their spouses and children behind, such as in Iraq or Afghanistan. The State Department did not respond to questions about why Pompeo canceled the speech and whether it was due to his own health concerns about holding a large indoor event. About 70 people RSVP'd for the event as of Monday night and even fewer showed up...." MB: All this went down precisely as contributor Patrick predicted a couple of weeks ago.

Mitch Threw Down the Gauntlet. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The position of the Senate GOP leader [Mitch McConnell] is now clear, pretty much negating any chance that Senate Republicans would participate in some kind of unlikely end-run not to accept the verdict of the electoral college.... McConnell is basically signaling he won't participate in such shenanigans.... Shortly after McConnell [congratulated Joe Biden & Kamala Harris], Trump made clear he's not giving up on his doomed crusade. 'Tremendous evidence pouring in on voter fraud,' Trump [tweeted] falsely. 'There has never been anything like this in our Country!' [Twitter flagged the tweet.]... Now is when we find out who is truly running this party from this point forward because its two top leaders' positions are completely irreconcilable." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Marianne Levine & Melanie Zanona of Politico: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned Republican senators Tuesday during a private caucus call not to object to the election results on Jan. 6, according to two sources familiar with the matter. McConnell told his caucus that challenging the results would force Republicans to take a 'terrible vote' because they would need to vote it down and appear against ... Donald Trump. Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) also echoed McConnell's remarks. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said that no one objected on the call to McConnell encouraging members to accept the election results..., though Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) hasn't ruled ... out a challenge." ~~~

     ~~~ AND Steve M. points out that soon-to-be Senator Tommy Tuberville (MB: who is challenging Ron Johnson for the title of Stupiest Senator) has been sending coup-y tweets. (It is clear from Tuberville's tweets, BTW, that he thinks of the Senate as a football field. Thanks, Alabama!) And still-King of the Stupid Johnson is another possible challenger. ~~~

~~~ Alayna Treene of Axios: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called White House chief of staff Mark Meadows Tuesday morning to say he planned on congratulating Joe Biden on winning the Electoral College and would officially address him as president-elect on the Senate floor, two sources familiar with the call tell Axios.... The Kentucky Republican ... did not speak directly with Trump.... McConnell's courtesy call to the White House didn't stop Trump from tweeting an article quoting Rep. Mo Brooks. The Alabama Republican asserted: 'Trump Won the Electoral College - I Can Be a Part of the "Surrender Caucus" or I Can Fight for Our Country,' just moments after McConnell spoke." ~~~

~~~ Keith Griffith of the Daily Mail & AP: "Donald Trump says people are 'angry' after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell congratulated President-elect Joe Biden, and the sitting president's most ardent loyalists vented their fury at the high-ranking Republican.... Early on Wednesday, Trump tweeted this DailyMail.com article, writing: 'Mitch, 75,000,000 VOTES, a record for a sitting President (by a lot). Too soon to give up. Republican Party must finally learn to fight. People are angry!'... Recently pardoned former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn joined the outcry, retweeting a Twitter user who called on 'American patriots' to let 'McConnell know we aren't on board with his "President Elect Biden" mindset.' Flynn told Trump: 'millions & millions & millions of Patriots stand behind, alongside & in front of you during this crucible moment in US History where our very Republic is on the line. We won't fail or cower like some in the Republican Party have shown.'" ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Georgia Senate Race. Max Greenwood & Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Georgia's GOP senators [Perdue & Loeffler] are refusing to acknowledge Joe Biden as president-elect a day after Electoral College voters met to cast their ballots and officially name him the winner over President Trump." ~~~

~~~ AND Ron Johnson Is Still "Investigating." Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The Wisconsin Republican [Ron Johnson], who says he has not yet decided whether to seek a third term in 2022, has used his perch as the chairman of the Senate's chief oversight body to investigate Trump's political foes -- from Hunter Biden to Hillary Clinton and the slew of Obama administration officials who launched the Russia probe -- and is set to hold a hearing Wednesday on alleged 'irregularities' in the election even as ... Trump's allegations of voter fraud continue to crumble.... It also comes two days after the Electoral College sealed Biden's victory.... 'I'm just doing everything I can because I think it's important, when people go into an election and say, "I'm going to vote for that guy," they ought to know he has all kinds of foreign financial entanglements, and he's lied to you bold-faced about them,' Johnson said about the Biden family." --s

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times asks, but does not answer, how dangerous Donald Trump was. MB: I come down on the side of very dangerous. As Goldberg points out, George W. Bush lied us into a disastrous war. But when the lies were exposed, the Bush administration, for the most part, did not insist they were true. Moreover, millions of people -- even those who supported the Iraq war -- did not accept the lies per se, as dogma. And while millions of right-wing Americans, including Donald Trump, never accepted Barack Obama as a real American, much less a real president, there was no attempted coup, a la Trump & Co., to prevent Obama's inauguration. Mitch McConnell and others did try to destroy Obama's presidency from within the government, but they did so, more or less, under "regular order," both in the Congress & in the courts.

Joyce Vance in an MSNBC opinion piece: "Recently-resigned Attorney General William Barr left the Justice Department just like he came in -- with a lie. His lack of honesty and steadfast refusal to understand his duty to serve justice and the people, not the president's personal and political agenda, will be the legacy of his time in office.... Barr's resignation letter is a genuflection to the president, not the expression of gratitude for the opportunity to serve that typifies departures from the Department of Justice.... Barr will go down in history as the worst attorney general of our lifetimes." ~~~

~~~ Charles Pierce will not miss Bill Barr. Again. And Pierce loved that resignation letter, too!

What Trump Hath Wrought. Alex Kaplan of Media Matters: "Multiple influencers supporting the false QAnon conspiracy theory have praised the appointment of new Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, claiming that he will carry out mass arrests of ... Donald Trump's political opponents and fulfill the conspiracy theory.... In response to the change in Justice Department leadership due to Attorney General William Barr resigning, multiple QAnon supporters with major followings on social media have suggested that Donoghue will carry out the conspiracy theory, pointing to a 'Q' post from 2018 mentioning him and citing the fact that he served as a military judge and was in the same Army division as former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn -- who is a QAnon supporter himself and widely admired among the QAnon community." ~~~

~~~ Kansas. Alexander Mitchell, et al., of NBC News: "A Republican mayor in western Kansas announced in a letter to city officials and on social media Tuesday that she is resigning, effective immediately, because of threats she has received after she publicly supported a mask mandate. Mayor Joyce Warshaw of Dodge City said she was concerned about her safety after being met with aggression, including threats via phone and email, after she was quoted in a USA Today article on Friday supporting the mandate, The Dodge City Globe reported. The city commission voted 4-1 on Nov. 16 to impose a mask mandate, with several exceptions." MB: While I'm sympathetic to the mayor's plight, I remind her & all Republicans who have received threats for exercising good judgment that those threats come from their own standard-bearer & his followers. ~~~

~~~ Texas. KTRX Houston: "A former Houston Police Department Captain was arrested and charged for running a man off the road and pointing a gun at his head in an attempt to prove claims of a massive voter fraud scheme in Harris County, according to a news release from the Harris County's DA's office. Mark Anthony Aguirre, 63, was arrested by Houston police Tuesday and charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.... According to court documents, Aguirre told police that he was part of a group of private citizens called the 'Liberty Center,' who were conducting a civilian investigation into the alleged ballot scheme. According to Aguirre, he had been conducting surveillance for four days on a man who was allegedly the mastermind of a giant voter fraud scheme. Aguirre told authorities the man was hiding 750,000 fraudulent ballots in a truck he was driving. Instead, the victim turned out to be an innocent air conditioner repairman, court documents said. Aguirre ran his SUV into the back of the truck to get the technician to stop and get out, according to court documents. When the technician got out of the truck, Aguirre pointed a handgun at the technician, forced him to the ground and put his knee on the man's back until police came, the court document said. Aguirre allegedly directed police to a parking lot nearby where another suspect, who has not been identified, took the truck. According to court documents, there were no ballots in the truck." ~~~

     ~~~Aguirre's Attack on the A/C Man Was Not a One-off. Erin Douglas of the Texas Tribune: "Mark Aguirre was working on behalf of a powerful Republican megadonor's group to investigate unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.... Prosecutors say Aguirre's election fraud claims were baseless and that he was paid $266,400 by the group Liberty Center for God and Country, whose CEO is prominent Texas right-wing activist Steven Hotze. Hotze was among a group of Republicans who unsuccessfully sued to have nearly 127,000 Harris County ballots tossed out this year. He was also among Republicans who tried -- and failed -- to stop Gov. Greg Abbott from extending early voting during the coronavirus pandemic...."

News Ledes

Weather Channel: "Winter Storm Gail is spreading into the Northeast, where it will be a high-impact nor'easter packing heavy snow, strong winds and coastal flooding. Significant winter storm impacts are not only expected in the interior Northeast, but also near parts of the Interstate 95 corridor from New England to New York City and areas near or just west of Philadelphia. Snowfall from Gail is spreading from the Ohio Valley into Northeast. Freezing rain continues in parts of western Virginia and eastern West Virginia.... Among the cities in winter storm warnings are Boston, Hartford, Providence, New York City, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and Roanoke, Virginia." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments in the big storm.

The Commentariat -- December 15, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon News:

Dan Merica of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden will nominate Pete Buttigieg to be his transportation secretary, sources familiar with the matter tell CNN, elevating the former South Bend, Indiana, mayor and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate to a top post in the federal government. Buttigieg would be the first Senate-confirmed LGBTQ Cabinet secretary should his nomination make it through the chamber. The choice vaults a candidate Biden spoke glowingly of after the Democratic primary into a top job in the incoming administration and could earn Buttigieg what many Democrats believe is needed experience should he run for president again. The role of transportation secretary is expected to play a central role in Biden's push for a bipartisan infrastructure package." The Washington Post's story is here.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Right up to Monday's Electoral College vote, President Trump held the false hope that Republican-controlled state legislatures would replace electors with allies who'd overturn Joe Biden's win, two people who discussed the matter with him told Axios.... Through the past week, the sources said, the president browbeat GOP legislators in multiple states, launched tirades against Republican Govs. Doug Ducey of Arizona and Brian Kemp of Georgia, vowed to make Fox News 'pay' for accurately calling the race, and tested ways to say he didn't win without acknowledging he had lost."

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

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "Newly released data confirmed on Tuesday that Moderna's coronavirus vaccine is highly protective, setting the stage for its emergency authorization this week by federal regulators and the start of its distribution across the country. The Food and Drug Administration intends to authorize use of the vaccine on Friday, people familiar with the agency's plans said. The decision would give millions of Americans access to a second coronavirus vaccine beginning as early as Monday. The review by the F.D.A. confirms Moderna's earlier assessment that its vaccine had an efficacy rate of 94.1 percent in a trial of 30,000 people. Side effects, including fever, headache and fatigue, were unpleasant but not dangerous, the agency found. The success of Moderna's vaccine has become all the more crucial to fighting the pandemic as other vaccine efforts have faltered." Politico's story is here.

The Turtle Has Spoken. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) congratulated President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris on Tuesday, marking the first time he has directly acknowledged their victory. 'The Electoral College has spoken, so today I want to congratulate President-elect Joe Biden. The president-elect is no stranger to the Senate. He's devoted himself to public service for many years, McConnell said." Update: A New York Times story is here. ~~~

Maybe Moscow Mitch Was Waiting for Vlad's Okay. Mary Ilyushina of CNN: "Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Joe Biden on his victory in the US presidential election Tuesday, six weeks after the vote and a day after the Electoral College officially affirmed Biden's win." The WashPo's item on Putin's congrats was posted at 6:52 am ET. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live Biden transition updates Tuesday are here. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The position of the Senate GOP leader [Mitch McConnell] is now clear, pretty much negating any chance that Senate Republicans would participate in some kind of unlikely end-run not to accept the verdict of the electoral college.... McConnell is basically signaling he won't participate in such shenanigans.... Shortly after McConnell [congratulated Joe Biden & Kamala Harris], Trump made clear he's not giving up on his doomed crusade. 'Tremendous evidence pouring in on voter fraud,' Trump [tweeted] falsely. 'There has never been anything like this in our Country!' [Twitter flagged the tweet.]... Now is when we find out who is truly running this party from this point forward because its two top leaders' positions are completely irreconcilable."

Marie: In his speech yesterday, President-elect Biden noted that he had won the same number of Electoral College votes as Trump did in 2016. While that's true, Biden actually received two more votes than Trump did in 2016, because of faithless electors. So if Trump's win was a "landslide" (it wasn't), then I guess Biden won a "huge landslide."

~~~~~~~~~~

Real News

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "When future historians close the books on the misery of 2020, a grueling year of disease, death, racial strife, street violence, economic collapse and political discord the likes of which have not been seen in the United States in generations, they may look back on Monday, Dec. 14, as a pivotal juncture. It was on that day that Americans began rolling up their sleeves for a vaccine produced in record time to defeat a virus even as the death toll crossed 300,000. And it was on that day that members of the Electoral College gathered in each of the 50 states to ratify the end of the most polarized election in more than a century.... The day played out in a remarkable fashion as television viewers watched images of health care workers receiving lifesaving injections juxtaposed with live shots from state capitals around the country showing electors casting votes formally confirming the victory of President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. and Vice President-elect Kamala D. Harris.

Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden reaffirmed his faith in American democracy and the integrity of its elections in an address Monday after the electoral college formalized his victory over President Trump, despite the incumbent's false claims that the election results are somehow in doubt. In some of his most sweeping comments since he was projected as the winner 37 days earlier, Biden attempted to unify a polarized and skittish country with direct appeals to the more than 74 million Americans who voted for Trump.... Biden's speech on Monday night was designed to once again counter Trump's assault -- and to cement his belief that the country's founding democratic principles would remain intact.... Biden, in remarks that appeared clearly aimed at Trump, implicitly rejected those attempts to challenge the results of the election. 'In America, politicians don't take power -- people grant it to them,' Biden said. 'The flame of democracy was lit in this nation a long time ago. And we now know that nothing -- not even a pandemic or an abuse of power -- can extinguish that flame.'" The AP's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday gave his most scathing indictment yet of the attempts by ... Donald Trump and his allies to overturn November's election, hours after the Electoral College officially sealed Biden's victory. Biden called ... attacks on the election and election officials 'simply unconscionable' and Trump's attempts to overturn the election an 'abuse of power.'" ~~~

From the New York Times' live election updates Monday: "Joseph R. Biden Jr. was affirmed as the president-elect on Monday as members of the Electoral College pushed him past the 270 threshold to win the White House, all but ending a disruptive chapter in American history in which President Trump sought to use legal challenges and political pressure to overturn the results of a free and fair election." (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live election updates are here: "Joe Biden has amassed the electoral votes to secure his White House win. California and its 55 electoral votes put the president-elect over the top, despite President Trump's efforts to subvert the Nov. 3 election results. (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

~~~ California Electors put Biden & Harris over the top:

Josh Holder & others at the New York Times updated the results of the Electoral College vote as the states submit their results. CNN's tracker is here. MB: When I first checked this morning, Biden had only seven votes & Trump had 38. Now (at 4:20 pm ET Monday) Biden is ahead. How is that possible? There's only a one-in-a-bazillion statistical chance that could happen, absent rampant cheating. Trump wuz robbed! (Also linked yesterday.)

Scott Stedman of Forensic News: "U.S. Sen Mark Warner, the Ranking Member of the US Senate Intelligence Committee, has deep connections to a founder of the spyware company NSO Group according to corporate and government documents, open-source information, and sources who spoke to Forensic News, raising questions of a potential conflict of interest. As the Ranking Member on the committee, Warner is responsible for overseeing the intelligence apparatuses of the U.S. government and investigating potential national security risks posed by malign actors. The link between Warner and Omri Lavie, an ex-Israeli intelligence officer and one of the three founders of NSO Group (NSO stands for Niv, Shalev, and Omri, the first names of the three founders) lies in Warner's longtime confidant, current business partner, and the former manager of his family's investment office, Nicholas Perrins.... Corporate records reviewed by Forensic News reveal that Warner and Omri Lavie share an office space in Alexandria, Va.... A spokesperson for Senator Warner said, 'Senator Warner does not know, has not met, and has zero relationship with Omri Lavie.'" --s

Kansas. AP: "The Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal from Kansas that sought to revive a law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote. A federal appeals court had declared the law unconstitutional. Kansas had been the only state to require people to show a physical document such as a birth certificate or passport when applying to register to vote. The issue is distinct from state laws that call for people to produce driver licenses or other photo IDs to cast a vote in person. The law was championed by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who led ... Donald Trump's now-defunct voter fraud commission. Kobach was a leading source for Trump's unsubstantiated claim that millions of immigrants living in the U.S. illegally may have voted in the 2016 election. Roughly 30,000 people were prevented from registering to vote during the three years the law was in effect, and the state's own expert estimated that almost all of those were U.S. citizens who were eligible to vote." A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Isabelle Khurshudyan & Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "A team of Russian state security agents poisoned prominent opposition activist Alexei Navalny in August [link fixed], the investigative website Bellingcat claimed in a report Monday, citing telecom and travel data that it says links Moscow with the attempt on Navalny's life and reveals how he has been under constant surveillance for three years. Bellingcat said the 'voluminous' data implicates eight members of a clandestine group of Russia's FSB, a successor to the Soviet-era KGB responsible for domestic intelligence. The unit specializes in working with chemical weapons, Bellingcat said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Bellingcat: "A joint investigation between Bellingcat and The Insider, in cooperation with Der Spiegel and CNN, has discovered voluminous telecom and travel data that implicates Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) in the poisoning of the prominent Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny.... Throughout 2017, and again in 2019 and 2020, FSB operatives from a clandestine unit specialized in working with poisonous substances shadowed Navalny during his trips across Russia, traveling alongside him on more than 30 overlapping flights to the same destinations.... In the course of this investigation, Bellingcat and its partners also uncovered data pointing to the existence of a clandestine chemical weapons program operated by members of Russia's domestic intelligence services (FSB).... Our investigation also unearthed telecoms and travel data that strongly suggests the August poisoning attempt on Navalny's life was mandated at the highest echelons of the Kremlin." --s

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here: "The first shot was given in the American mass vaccination campaign on Monday morning, opening a new chapter in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more people in the United States than in any other country. Shortly after 9 a.m. on Monday, the first vaccination took place in Long Island Jewish Medical Center in Queens. The pandemic has scarred New York State profoundly, leaving more than 35,000 people dead and severely weakening the economy. 'I believe this is the weapon that will end the war, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said at a news conference Monday morning, shortly before the shot was given to Sandra Lindsay, an intensive-care nurse. State officials said the shot was the first to be given outside of a vaccine trial in the United States." (Also linked yesterday.) MB: Wow! A Black female ICU nurse in a Jewish hospital. Perfect. Plus, I hope this makes the head of a Queens Man explode:

     ~~~ Ben Guarino & William Wan of the Washington Post: "It was fitting for so many reasons that Sandra Lindsay became the face of the country's first coronavirus vaccinations Monday. With the coronavirus killing people of color at disproportionate rates, she was a Black woman eager to prove the shot's safety to those still hesitant about being vaccinated. She is a critical-care nurse, among the health-care workers who have spent more time than any caring for the pandemic's sickest victims -- working at a New York hospital system that was on the front lines of the pandemic this spring and has treated thousands of covid-19 patients.... In an interview shortly after the vaccination, Lindsay said she knew when she woke up Monday morning she would be getting the shot but had no idea she would be the first person in America to do so since the vaccine's approval this weekend.... As an intensive care unit director at Long Island Jewish Medical Center, Lindsay, 52, oversees five units of critical-care nurses who have been caring for covid-19 patients since the worst weeks in New York this spring. Amid that work, Lindsay lost an aunt and an uncle to covid-19...." ~~~

     ~~~ Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Because of lingering skepticism about the vaccine, even among some on her own staff, [Sandra] Lindsay, the director of critical care nursing, said she wanted to lead by example -- particularly as a Black woman who understands the legacy of unequal and racist medical treatment and experimentation on people of color. 'That was the goal today,' she said in a phone interview on Monday. 'Not to be the first one to take the vaccine, but to inspire people who look like me, who are skeptical in general about taking vaccines.'... During the first wave of the pandemic, Ms. Lindsay led a team of hundreds of critical care nurses as the hospital coped with waves of extremely ill Covid-19 patients."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Water Carrier Drops Bucket. Allie Malloy, et al., of CNN:"Attorney General William Barr resigned on Monday, ending a tenure in which the... Donald Trump loyalist carried the administration's 'law and order' message but ultimately dealt the most credible blow to Trump's unfounded claims that the 2020 election was littered with fraud. 'Just had a very nice meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr at the White House. Our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job! As per letter, Bill will be leaving just before Christmas to spend the holidays with his family,' Trump tweeted.... 'Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, an outstanding person, will become Acting Attorney General. Highly respected Richard Donoghue will be taking over the duties of Deputy Attorney General. Thank you to all!' Update: A Washington Post report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Jake Tapper of CNN: Trump released Barr's resignation letter minutes after the Electoral College put Joe Biden over the top. Pundits seems to think Trump forced Barr to resign. Others suggest Barr quit because he didn't want to be around for the last-minute pardon blitz. MB: My guess: After Trump let it be known he would fire Droopy Dawg, Droopy asked Trump to let him resign. Trump said, "Okay, but you have to write me a nice letter." The "nice letter" went through several iterations, one more sycophantic than the next, each of which Trump rejected until Barr wrote this stellar masterpiece of asskissery. No saint-to-be, no beloved muse has ever received so profusely complimentary a missive. Will Shakespeare (Sonnet 18), Elizabeth Barrett B. (Sonnet 43), hang your heads. Billy Barr hath outdone ye. ~~~

~~~ Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Mr. Barr had in recent weeks fallen out of favor with the president after acknowledging that the department had found no widespread voter fraud. Tensions between them escalated this past weekend when Mr. Trump accused his attorney general of disloyalty for not publicly disclosing the department's investigation into President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s son Hunter Biden during the campaign. Mr. Trump sought to play down their differences on Monday, saying in a tweet announcing Mr. Barr's departure that 'our relationship has been a very good one, he has done an outstanding job!'... Mr. Barr reciprocated the praise in a resignation letter devoted to commending Mr. Trump's term, saying that the Justice Department was pursuing some accusations of voter fraud and mentioning that he and the president had met on the issue on Monday afternoon."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump's allies are preparing to send an 'alternate' slate of electors to Congress, senior White House adviser Stephen Miller said Monday, signaling Trump will drag out his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election even after the Electoral College certifies Joe Biden as the winner. Miller appearing on Fox News as a senior adviser to the Trump campaign, brushed off the idea that the Electoral College vote marked any kind of end to the process. 'The only date in the Constitution is Jan. 20. So we have more than enough time to right the wrong of this fraudulent election result and certify Donald Trump as the winner of the election,' Miller said on 'Fox & Friends.'... Nothing in the Constitution or state electoral processes allows for such an 'alternate' slate of electors. Miller also raised the idea of state legislatures stepping in to overturn the results or of Congress interceding." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As Neal Katyal pointed out on MSNBC, an "alternate slate" of electors is akin to Kellyanne Conway's "alternate facts." ~~~

~~~ Haisten Willis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Republicans in six states won by President-elect Joe Biden held their own electoral college-style votes Monday for President Trump -- hoping that future court decisions would throw out Biden's votes and count the GOP ones instead. These votes have no legal meaning, according to election law experts. The law only recognizes votes from electors chosen according to state law -- which, in every one of these states, is the Democratic electors. But many Republicans who had been chosen to cast electoral votes for Trump still gathered to cast them.... In several states, Republicans said they were modeling their behavior after tactics used by Democrats in Hawaii in the 1960 presidential election. On the day that the electoral college voted that year, Republican Richard M. Nixon was ahead -- but Democratic electors, believing that John F. Kennedy had carried the state, held their own vote for Kennedy. Later, after a recount, the courts and the governor declared that Kennedy had won. So Hawaii officially sent two sets of electors. When Congress met to count the votes, Kennedy was ahead by a wide margin. With little debate, they counted Hawaii for the Democrat."

Big News! A Few U.S. Senators Acknowledge Reality. Marianne Levine, et al., of Politico: "... as the day went on [Monday] and the Electoral College's verdict was made clear, an increasing number of Republican senators -- though certainly not all -- began to say what the leader of their party won't and what they declined to acknowledge for weeks: [Joe] Biden will take office in January.... Senate Majority Whip John Thune (R-S.D.), the second-ranking Senate Republican[, said,]'... I think that once the Electoral College settles the issue today, it's time for everybody to move on.' 'There's clearly a constitutional president-elect,' added Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), the No. 4 GOP leader. Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said 'the Electoral College vote today makes clear that Joe Biden is now president-elect.' Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) agreed that 'it's time to turn the page and begin a new administration.' And Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) was unequivocal: 'Vice President Biden is the president-elect based on the electoral count.'... For more than a month, only a small group of Republicans has been willing to say that Biden is the president-elect, despite a clear victory and massive barriers to overturning the election results.... Even at this late stage, some Senate Republicans refused to acknowledge Biden's victory Monday, noting that Trump is still pursuing his bid to overturn the election in court." ~~~

~~~ Paul McLeod of BuzzFeed News publishes more comments from Senate Republicans about the election results. MB: Like me, McLeod is very impressed with their "UNSPEAKABLE BRAVERY."

Jake Tapper of CNN: "Rep. Paul Mitchell, Republican of Michigan, told CNN that his disgust and disappointment with ... Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the results of the election have led him to request that the Clerk of the House change his party affiliation to 'independent,' and to notify GOP leaders in a letter that he is withdrawing his 'engagement and association with the Republican Party at both the national and state level.' Mitchell, who is retiring at the end of this session of Congress, says he fears that the House GOP leadership's participation in the outgoing President's conspiracy theories and attempts to disenfranchise millions of American voters to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory could cause 'long-term harm to our democracy.' It is 'unacceptable for political candidates to treat our election system as though we are a third-world nation and incite distrust of something so basic as the sanctity of our vote,' Mitchell wrote in his letter, which was sent Monday." (Also linked yesterday.)

Arizona. Ronald Hansen of the Arizona Republic: "In another sign of the lingering unrest over ... Donald Trump's election loss, an Arizona group sent the National Archives in Washington, D.C., notarized documents last week intended to deliver, wrongly, the state's 11 electoral votes for him. Copies of the documents obtained by The Arizona Republic show a group that claimed to represent the 'sovereign citizens of the Great State of Arizona' submitted signed papers casting votes for what they want: a second term for Trump and Vice President Mike Pence.... The 11 electors actually chosen by Arizona voters last month -- meeting in an unpublicized location because of security concerns over their task -- cast their votes Monday for President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, formalizing the Democrats' victory nationally and in the state." The leader of these "sovereign citizens" claimed firsties: "We seated before the legislators here. We already turned it in. We beat them to the game."

Michigan. Dave Boucher of the Detroit Free Press: "Michigan Republican legislative leaders pulled a GOP lawmaker from his committee assignments Monday after the lawmaker hinted he was part of a group that sought to disrupt or otherwise undermine the Electoral College vote slated to happen at the Capitol in the afternoon. State Rep. Gary Eisen, R-St. Clair Township, made the comments Monday morning during an interview with Port Huron-area radio station WPHM-AM (1380). He was asked about the Electoral College, members of which were set to meet Monday in the state Senate chamber to cast the state's 16 electoral votes for President-elect Joe Biden. Eisen made the comments in the context of he and others in Lansing having some sort of event, either at the Capitol or somewhere else. He said he could not rule out the possibility of violence.... House Speaker Lee Chatfield, R-Levering, denounced threats made against Electoral College members in announcing the decision to pull Eisen from his committee assignments." ~~~

~~~ Chandelis Duster of CNN: "'Credible threats of violence' have prompted Michigan authorities to close the state capitol to the public and shutter House and Senate offices, a spokeswoman said, on the day the Electoral College will formally declare Joe Biden the President-elect. The tension surrounding Monday's procedure -- a typically routine event affirming a presidential victory -- was underscored in an interview with a GOP state lawmaker [Gary Eisen] who floated the possibility of violence at the capitol and was swiftly stripped of his committee assignments by the legislature's Republican leaders. 'The decision was not made because of anticipated protests, but was made based on credible threats of violence, Amber McCann..., the spokeswoman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey, said in a statement."

Wisconsin. Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Wisconsin's Supreme Court on Monday rejected a legal challenge from President Trump's campaign seeking to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the key battleground state. A majority decision from the state's high court said that the Trump campaign had failed to show that more than 220,000 votes were illegallycast and should be invalidated." MB: The court has a conservative majority. The one conservative justice who rejected Trump's claim, Brian Hagedorn, wrote the majority opinion. (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Saudi Arabia/Norway. Torgeir Krokfjord, et al. of Dagbladet (Norway): "In the early summer of 2018, Norway received an unusual request from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's government. Saudi Arabia wanted to send ten men on an official assignment to Norway.... But Saudi Arabia wanted the security guards to be registered as diplomats in Norway. This would give them extended room for manoeuvring in Norway [and diplomatic immunity]. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intervened, and the Norwegian Police Security Service(PST) has informed Iyad el-Baghdadi (43) - a Norway-based journalist, activist, and critic of the Saudi regime - about the incident.... Officials ... have later noted that security personnel, from the consulate in Istanbul, played key roles in the murder of the Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.... At the same time that Saudi Arabia requested that the security team were registeret [sic] as diplomats - in the spring/early summer of 2018 - el-Baghdadi and Khashoggi met in Oslo." --s