The Commentariat -- December 10, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Marie: Here's a story I missed (Dec. 1-2), so I'll present it as a test: You are President* of the United States. You hear that a Nevada hospital is so crowded with Covid patients that it has set up a field hospital in its parking garage. You (a) thank the doctors, nurses & other personnel for working under extreme conditions; (b) offer federal aid to the afflicted region; (c) retweet a tweet that describes the parking-garage hospital as "fake" & add that the state's election results are fake, too. If you chose (c), congratulations! You, too, are qualified to be the worst president* in U.S. history.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. Free to non-subscribers, they include video of the FDA panel's deliberations of emergency use authorization (EUA) of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. The hearing is expected to take most of the day. ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here: "Late Wednesday in the United States, the daily death toll exceeded the record set just one week earlier, 2,885. By midnight it had climbed to 3,053, and total deaths since the coronavirus spread into the country at the beginning of the year and began laying siege had reached 289,529. If American hospitals were any guide, those numbers are unlikely to dip any time soon."

Republicans Still Don't Want You to Vote. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "President Trump's barrage of losses in court cases trying to undermine the election has not stopped Republicans from ... attempts to limit or undermine the future use of the vote-by-mail ballots that so infuriated Mr. Trump. Absentee ballots constituted nearly half the votes cast in the 2020 election, and the experiment in mass voting by mail has been viewed by election experts as a remarkable success, one that was less prone to errors than expected and had almost no documented fraud.... This week in Georgia..., Republican state senators promised to make getting and casting mail ballots far more difficult.... In Pennsylvania, Republicans preparing for the legislative session that convenes on Jan. 11 are seeking co-sponsors for bills to stiffen identification requirements for mail ballots.... Michigan Republicans have signaled that they want to review a 2018 ballot initiative approved by two-thirds of voters that authorized no-excuse absentee balloting as well as same-day registration and straight-ticket voting. Texas already has some of the nation's toughest restrictions on voting by mail. But Republicans have filed bills ... that would crimp officials' ability to distribute absentee ballot applications and even make it a felony to offer to help a voter fill out a ballot."

Tyler Pager of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Obama's former national security adviser Susan Rice to run the White House Domestic Policy Council, according to people familiar with the decision. Rice, who also served as the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, was vetted to serve as Biden's vice president and was a contender to be secretary of State, a position that went to Antony Blinken. The director of the Domestic Policy Council is not a Senate-confirmed position.... The ... top domestic policy job comes as a surprise given her expertise and experience in foreign policy."

Megan Cassella & Alex Thompson of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden will nominate longtime Obama aide Denis McDonough for secretary of Veterans Affairs, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. McDonough served as former President Barack Obama's chief of staff from 2013 until 2017."

Toljaso. Aamer Madhani & Zeke Miller of the AP: Dr Deborah "Birx has made clear that she wants to stick around to help the Biden administration roll out vaccines and persuade the American people to be inoculated. She has reached out to Biden advisers in recent days as she tries to make the case for a role in the incoming Democratic president's virus response effort, according to a person familiar with the Biden team's personnel deliberations and a Trump administration coronavirus task force official.... When ... Birx was brought into ... Donald Trump's orbit..., she had a sterling reputation as a former U.S. Army physician, a globally recognized AIDS researcher and a rare Obama administration holdover. Less than 10 months later..., the White House coronavirus task force coordinator's reputation is frayed And after serving every president since Ronald Reagan, her future in the incoming Joe Biden administration is uncertain."

Trump Continues to Try to Force Constitutional Crisis. Rachel Bade, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump is shifting his focus to Congress after the courts roundly rejected his bid to overturn the results of the election, pressuring congressional Republicans into taking a final stand to keep him in power. Trump's push is part of a multipronged approach as he also seeks to lobby state lawmakers and officials to give him cover for his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud, as well as rally support for a last-gasp legal challenge in the Supreme Court that election law experts almost universally dismiss. The president has been calling Republicans, imploring them to keep fighting and more loudly proclaim the election was stolen while pressing them on what they plan to do.... The president also has enlisted Vice President Pence to reach out to governors and other party leaders ... to see what else can be done to help the president. A person familiar with the calls said Pence has not exerted pressure on lawmakers to take specific actions.... Meanwhile..., Trump's conservative allies in the House have been privately buttonholing GOP senators, seeking to enlist one to join in objecting to slates of electors on Jan. 6.... On that day, Congress will meet in a joint session to count the electoral votes and declare Joe Biden as the 46th president.... If a member of the House and a member of the Senate challenge a state's results, the whole Congress would vote..., forcing Republicans to choose between accepting the election results or Trump's bid to overturn the outcome."

Zoe Richards of TPM: "... Donald Trump is said to have warned Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) not to rally other Republican officials against a Texas lawsuit seeking to discard the state's election results, according to a report from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution late Wednesday. Trump's plea to the attorney general on Tuesday, came after Carr's office had called the request filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) which aims to toss out election results in four battleground states 'constitutionally, legally and factually wrong.' According to the Journal-Constitution, Trump had also called Georgia Sens. David Perdue (R) and Kelly Loeffler (R) and complained about Carr's opposition to the lawsuit. Two Republican officials told the Journal-Constitution that the President had been 'furious' in his call with Loeffler.... The senators issued a joint statement later on Tuesday saying they 'fully support' the Texas lawsuit to reject election results in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin...."

Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "The last of the four lawsuits filed by President Donald Trump's former lawyer Sidney Powell bit the dust late Wednesday in Wisconsin, where a federal judge noted that voters choose who goes to the White House in the United States. 'Federal judges do not appoint the president in this country,' U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper wrote in a 45-page ruling.... The decision fell hours after a similar decision by a federal judge in Arizona, who found Powell's claims of voter fraud entirely unsupported. 'Not only have Plaintiffs failed to provide the Court with factual support for their extraordinary claims, but they have wholly failed to establish that they have standing for the Court to consider them,' U.S. District Judge Diane Joyce Humetewa said."

Dan Diamond of Politico: "Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield instructed staff to delete an email from a Trump political appointee seeking control over the agency's scientific reports on the pandemic, a senior CDC official told congressional investigators this week. Redfield's apparent instruction was revealed in a Monday closed-door interview with the House subcommittee probing the White House's coronavirus response, which includes the Trump administration's interference at the federal public health agency. It came following an Aug. 8 email sent by Paul Alexander, who was then the scientific adviser to Health and Human Services spokesperson Michael Caputo, aiming to water down the CDC's famed Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports to match ... Donald Trump's efforts to downplay the virus.... Rep. Jim Clyburn, who chairs the House Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, on Thursday warned Redfield and HHS Secretary Alex Azar that instructing staff to delete documents is unethical and possibly a violation of federal record-keeping requirements...."

~~~~~~~~~~

Seung Min Kim & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden, introducing his pick for defense secretary, launched Wednesday into what could be a tough, weeks-long sales pitch to persuade members of both parties that retired Gen. Lloyd J. Austin III is the right choice despite the long-standing principle of civilian leadership at the Pentagon. 'I fully understand and respect' the law requiring service members to be retired for at least seven years before heading the Defense Department, Biden said. But Austin, the retired former head of U.S. Central Command, was uniquely qualified and deserved the once-in-a-generation exception, Biden said. 'I would not be asking for this exception if I [thought] this moment in our history didn't call for it,' Biden said. 'It does call for it.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Crowley & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Mr. Biden's team has already begun making its case to lawmakers, where Democratic leaders have expressed strong support for the nomination, and believe General Austin's prospects are good. 'Lloyd Austin served our nation for more than four decades and his willingness to serve his country again is admirable,' the Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, said on the chamber floor on Wednesday. 'He will make an excellent secretary of defense.' On Tuesday, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, also declared her support for General Austin in a statement that did not address his recent retirement. Some lawmakers have acknowledged that it was hard to justify opposing a waiver for General Austin after Congress approved one for [the recently retired former Marine general Jim] Mattis.... But many Democrats still have qualms."

Gavin Bade, et al., of Politico:"President-elect Joe Biden will nominate House Ways and Means Committee trade lawyer Katherine Tai as U.S. trade representative, according to two people familiar with the decision. Biden's pick will be responsible for repairing economic ties with allies chastened by ... Donald Trump's trade wars while fulfilling his campaign pledge to stay tough on China."

Scott Wong & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "President-elect Joe Biden's decision to tap Reps. Cedric Richmond (D-La.) and Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio) for his new administration will mean Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) fragile House majority -- already decimated in the November elections — will temporarily shrink by a couple more seats next month. Democrats will easily refill those deep-blue seats in New Orleans and Cleveland, but they'll have to wait for special elections to do so. The looming vacancies mean Democrats will likely hold a precarious 220-213 majority, the slimmest in modern history, just as they kick off the 117th Congress and Biden and his Hill allies grapple with twin public health and economic crises." --s

Evan Perez & Pamela Brown of CNN: "After pausing in the months before the election, federal authorities are now actively investigating the business dealings of Hunter Biden, a person with knowledge of the probe said. His father, President-elect Joe Biden, is not implicated. Now that the election is over, the investigation is entering a new phase. Federal prosecutors in Delaware, working with the IRS Criminal Investigation agency and the FBI, are taking overt steps such as issuing subpoenas and seeking interviews, the person with knowledge said. Activity in the investigation had been largely dormant in recent months due to Justice Department guidelines prohibiting overt actions that could affect an election, the person said." The New York Times' story is here. MB: Pretty amazing that news of this probe didn't leak during the election cycle. That must mean that neither Bill Barr nor Trump's man at the IRS Charles Rettig clued in Trump. So something else to infuriate Trump.

Cecilia Kang & Mike Isaac of the New York Times: "The Federal Trade Commission and more than 40 states accused Facebook on Wednesday of buying up its rivals to illegally squash competition, and they called for the deals to be unwound, escalating regulators' battle against the biggest tech companies in a way that could remake the social media industry. Federal and state regulators of both parties, who have investigated the company for over 18 months, said in separate lawsuits that Facebook's purchases, especially Instagram for $1 billion in 2012 and WhatsApp for $19 billion two years later, eliminated competition that could have one day challenged the company's dominance. Since those deals, Instagram and WhatsApp have skyrocketed in popularity, giving Facebook control over three of the world's most popular social media and messaging apps." CNN's story is here.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Dan Mangan & Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "Seventeen states whose elections were won by ... Donald Trump told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that they support Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's bid to file a lawsuit that could effectively reverse President-elect Joe Biden's projected Electoral College victory. The filing backing Paxton by those states came a day after he asked the Supreme Court for permission to sue Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, all of which Biden won, over their voting processes. Later Wednesday, Trump filed a motion to intervene in the case 'in his personal capacity' as a presidential candidate. The Supreme Court has yet to rule on Paxton's request.... After Trump asked to intervene in the case, 17 former officials and lawmakers filed their own brief supporting the four swing states."; MB: I suppose we should be grateful nobody has fired on Fort Sumpter. Meanwhile, as to the real intent of the attorneys' general suit, maybe it's to wise up the last naif who believed the main job of an AG was to uphold the law. ~~~

     ~~~ Jeremy Peters & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The show of support, in a brief filed with the Supreme Court, represented the latest attempt by Trump loyalists to use the power of public office to come to his aid as he continues to deny the reality of his loss with baseless claims of voter fraud.... Legal experts ... have largely dismissed [the suit] as a publicity stunt.... That these political allies are also elected officials whose jobs involve enforcing laws, including voting rights, underscores the extraordinary nature of the brief to the court..... Late Tuesday, the president asked Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, a Republican, if he would be willing to argue the case, according to a person familiar with their conversation. Mr. Cruz agreed, this person said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case the Supremes need guidance in drafting their order of dismissal, here's my suggestion: "The application for injunctive relief is denied, although the Court unanimously regrets foregoing the opportunity to tear Ted Cruz to shreds."

     ~~~ Ariane de Vogue & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "... Donald Trump asked the Supreme Court on Wednesday [link fixed] to block millions of votes from four battleground states that voted for President-elect Joe Biden. Trump's request came in a filing with the court asking to intervene in a lawsuit brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton seeking to invalidate millions of votes cast in Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The President is being represented by a new attorney, John Eastman, who is known for recently pushing a racist conspiracy theory questioning whether Vice President-elect Kamala Harris was eligible for the role because her parents were immigrants."

She Wants to Be Alone. Kate Bennett of CNN: "While the President is busy figuring out a way to stay in the White House, the first lady is determining what to put in storage, what goes to Trump's New York City digs, and what should be tagged for shipment to Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida. 'She just wants to go home,' said another source familiar with Melania Trump's state of mind."

Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "... Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden and Rep. Joaquin Castro opened up a new probe on Wednesday focusing on Jared Kushner's potentially compromising dealings with Qatar and other Middle Eastern governments. The latest investigation looks into whether Kushner pushed his father-in-law Trump to support a Qatari blockade while Kushner Companies sought a more than billion-dollar bailout from officials from that and other Middle Eastern governments."

Jessica Corbett of Common Dreams: "Capping off nearly four years of Trump and members of his administration working to roll back over 100 environmental and public health protections in the service of corporate polluters..., the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday finalized a rule that critics are calling a last-minute attempt to 'sabotage' future efforts by President-elect Joe Biden's incoming administration to tackle the intertwined climate and pollution crises.... [T]he new rule changes how the EPA calculates the costs and benefits of new policies on air pollution under the Clean Air Act." --s

Lisa Rein & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The Veterans Affairs inspector general informed federal prosecutors this fall of possible criminal conduct by Secretary Robert Wilkie stemming from an investigation into whether he worked to discredit a congressional aide who said she was sexually assaulted, according to three current and former federal officials. The Justice Department has not pursued a case against Wilkie, a former senior Pentagon official who has served since 2018 as President Trump's second veterans chief. Prosecutors told Inspector General Michael J. Missal they did not think there was enough evidence presented to bring charges, according to two federal officials with direct knowledge of the case. But Missal's outreach to prosecutors suggests the seriousness of a probe that has engulfed the secretary and his top political staff for almost a year, these people said.... Missal launched his inquiry into Wilkie's conduct in February after a request from House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Mark Takano (D-Calif.), who said Wilkie had worked to damage the credibility of his senior policy adviser, Navy veteran Andrea Goldstein."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here (also linked yesterday): "After weeks of surging infections and rising levels of virus hospitalizations, the United States recorded more than 3,000 covid-19 deaths in a single day, a pandemic record, according to a Washington Post analysis.... The new death record, as well as a new high of more than 106,000 covid-19 patients in hospitals, are grim reminders of the pandemic's devastating toll."

Some Are Far More Equal Than Others. Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "Ben Carson, Chris Christie and Donald J. Trump are not the sturdiest candidates to conquer the coronavirus: older, in some cases overweight, male and not particularly fit. Yet all seem to have gotten through Covid-19, and all have gotten an antibody treatment in such short supply that some hospitals and states are doling it out by lottery. Now Rudolph W. Giuliani, the latest member of President Trump's inner circle to contract Covid-19, has acknowledged that he received at least two of the same drugs the president received. He even conceded that his 'celebrity' status had given him access to care that others did not have. 'If it wasn't me, I wouldn't have been put in a hospital frankly,' Mr. Giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, told WABC radio in New York.... Mr. Giuliani's candid admission once again exposes that Covid-19 has become a disease of the haves and the have-nots. The treatment given Mr. Trump's allies is raising alarms among medical ethicists...." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Lauren Leatherby, et al., of the New York Times: "More than a third of Americans live in areas where hospitals are running critically short of intensive care beds, federal data show.... Hospitals serving more than 100 million Americans reported having fewer than 15 percent of intensive care beds still available as of last week, according to a Times analysis.... Many areas are even worse off: One in 10 Americans -- across a large swath of the Midwest, South and Southwest -- lives in an area where intensive care beds are either completely full, or fewer than 5 percent of beds are available. At these levels, experts say maintaining existing standards of care for the sickest patients may be difficult or impossible."

Florida. Teo Armus & Melissa Iati of the Washington Post: "A Republican lawyer resigned Tuesday from a Florida judicial panel in objection to police raiding the home of a data scientist. That scientist was previously ousted from the state health department in what she has characterized as retribution for objecting to unethical requests during the pandemic.Ron Filipkowski, who served on a nominating commission for the state's 12th Circuit, wrote in a pointed resignation letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis's general counsel that he considered the search warrant executed on Rebekah Jones's home 'unconscionable.' He also said it was indicative of the state's 'reckless and irresponsible' handling of the coronavirus pandemic."

Canada. Ian Austen of the New York Times: "Canada on Wednesday become only the second Western country to approve a coronavirus vaccine, a week after Britain did so and a day before U.S. regulators will meet to consider taking that step, opening the possibility that Canadians will start being inoculated next week.The regulatory agency Health Canada approved the same vaccine, created by the American company Pfizer and a German firm, BioNTech, that was authorized in Britain and is up for a decision in the United States." MB: That's odd. Just yesterday we learned that Donald Trump "all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a 'medical miracle' and congratulating himself for doing what 'nobody has ever seen before.'" Apparently Trump's supposedly unique "medical miracle" has "been seen before": in the U.K. & Canada.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Earth. Big Foot. Sandra Laville of the Guardian: "The giant human footprint stamped across the world in 2020 is greater than the impact on the planet of all other living things, research suggests. The amount of plastic alone is greater in mass than all land animals and marine creatures combined, the study estimates.... Their research shows that human activity including production of concrete, metal, plastic, bricks and asphalt has brought the world to a crossover point where human-made mass -- driven mostly by enhanced consumption and urban development -- exceeds the overall living biomass on Earth.... On average, every person in the world is responsible for the creation of human-made matter equal to more than their bodyweight each week, the paper published in Nature says. The research found that the stamp of humanity has been increasing in size rapidly since the beginning of the 20th century, doubling every 20 years." --s

News Lede

CNBC: "The pace of weekly jobless claims jumped last week after filings caught up with a decline due in part to the Thanksgiving holiday. First-time claims for unemployment insurance totaled 853,000, an increase from the upwardly revised 716,000 total a week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been expecting 730,000. This was the highest weekly total since Sept. 19 and reflects the job market's struggles lately as coronavirus cases have spiked and local and state governments have imposed restrictions on some activities.Continuing claims increased by 230,000 to 5.76 million, the first time that number has gone up since late August."

The Commentariat -- December 9, 2020

Real News

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden Tuesday laid out a three-point plan to begin defeating the coronavirus pandemic during his first 100 days in office, saying he will sign an executive order the day he is sworn in to require Americans to wear masks on buses and trains crossing state lines, as well as in federal buildings. Biden also pledged to distribute at least 100 million vaccines during that time, singling out educators, who he said should get shots 'as soon as possible' after they are given first, under current plans, to health workers and peoPerfectple who live and work in long-term care facilities.... The other goal of his 100-day plan, Biden said, is to enable 'the majority of our schools' to reopen within that time horizon and to remain open. He called on Congress to devote the funding needed to make it safe for students and teachers to return to classrooms." Politico's story is here. More on Biden's remarks linked under "The Trumpidemic" below.

Katy O'Donnell, et al., of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden has selected Rep. Marcia Fudge [D-Ohio] to lead the Department of Housing and Urban Development, according to two people with knowledge of the decision." MB: Nice, but could be a problem for House Democrats who hold an extremely thin majority. Gov. Mike DeWine is a Republican. According to an item in the New York Times, Ohio requires a special election for a vacated seat; Fudge noted that her District was a "safe seat" for Democrats." ~~~

~~~ Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Biden also chose Tom Vilsack, who served as the secretary of agriculture for eight years under former President Barack Obama, to lead that department again, according to two people familiar with the president-elect's deliberations. Mr. Vilsack, 69, a former governor of Iowa, is the seventh member of his cabinet Mr. Biden has now chosen." A CNN story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ He's So White. Marie: Vilsack? Really? His claim to fame is getting punked by Andrew Breitbart, then racing to fire a Black woman -- Shirley Sherrod -- based on an egregious Breitbart smear. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez would be a more effective ag secretary. Vilsack soon apologized to Sherrod & offered her a new job, but the damage was done & Sherrod moved on, suing Breitbart before reaching a settlement agreement.

Mike Memoli, et al., of NBC News: "Alabama Sen. Doug Jones is the leading contender to be nominated for attorney general by President-elect Joe Biden, three sources familiar with the discussions tell NBC News. Biden is also considering Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who was denied a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016 by a Republican-led Senate, and Sally Yates, a former deputy attorney general, sources said." MB: IOW, Biden is considering white moderates for the job, according to the scuttlebutt. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marie: Tony Fauci stood up to Trump Tuesday afternoon. He made brief remarks at an event announcing Joe Biden's healthcare team, of which Fauci is a part. Hope Fauci made Trump hopping mad.

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Two Senate Democrats are signaling that they will oppose giving retired Gen. Lloyd Austin a waiver to serve as President-elect Joe Biden's Pentagon chief. 'I have the deepest respect and administration for General Austin and this nomination, and this nomination is exciting and historic. But I believe that a waiver of the seven year rule would contravene the basic principle that there should be civilian control over a nonpolitical military,' Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told reporters on Tuesday.... Blumenthal was one of 17 Democratic senators who in 2017 voted against providing a waiver to retired Gen. James Mattis, who was President Trump's first pick to lead the Pentagon.... Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.), another one of the 17 'no' votes in 2017, said on Tuesday that he was also unlikely to support granting Austin a waiver.... The law mandates a Defense secretary must be retired from active service for at least seven years before assuming the top civilian role unless Congress grants a waiver. Austin retired in 2016." ~~~

     ~~~ Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) also has said she will not support a waiver for Austin.

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The House on Tuesday passed a bipartisan $741 billion defense authorization bill by a sizeable veto-proof majority, throwing down the first of two expected gauntlets before President Trump, who has escalated his threat to scuttle the legislation. The 335 to 78 vote represents a bigger margin of victory for the bill than the House mustered for an earlier version of the legislation this summer. House leaders credit the increased support to changes that were made during a months-long negotiation process between the Senate and House, despite Trump's exhortations to House Republicans to vote against the bill. The House's vote sets up a challenge for the Senate, which has yet to vote on the legislation. Should senators approve the bill by a similarly decisive margin, leaders are hopeful the president will reconsider his veto threat." A Politico story is here.

Bethany Allen-Ebrahimian & Zach Dorfman in Axios: "A suspected Chinese intelligence operative [named Fang Fang or Christine Fang] developed extensive ties with local and national politicians, including a U.S. congressman [Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).], in what U.S. officials believe was a political intelligence operation run by China's main civilian spy agency between 2011 and 2015, Axios found in a yearlong investigation.... Through campaign fundraising, extensive networking, personal charisma, and romantic or sexual relationships with at least two Midwestern mayors, Fang was able to gain proximity to political power.... U.S. officials do not believe Fang received or passed on classified information" --s

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Nick Corasaniti, et al., of the New York Times: Donald Trump's "baseless conspiracy theories about voting fraud have devolved into an exercise in delegitimizing the election results, and the rhetoric is accelerating among his most fervent allies. This has prompted outrage among Trump loyalists and led to behavior that Democrats and even some Republicans say has become dangerous. Supporters of the president, some of them armed, gathered outside the home of the Michigan secretary of state Saturday night. Racist death threats filled the voice mail of Cynthia A. Johnson, a Michigan state representative. Georgia election officials, mostly Republicans, say they have received threats of violence. The Republican Party of Arizona, on Twitter, twice called for supporters to be willing to 'die for something' or 'give my life for this fight.' 'People on Twitter have posted photographs of my house,' said Ann Jacobs, the chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, who alerted her neighbors and the police about the constant threats."

Supremes to Trumpies: Get Out! Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused a request from Pennsylvania Republicans to overturn the state's election results. The justices said they would not block a ruling from Pennsylvania's highest court that had rejected a challenge to the use of mail ballots in the state. The Supreme Court's order was all of one sentence, and there were no noted dissents. The request that the Supreme Court intercede had faced substantial legal hurdles, as it was filed long after the enactment of the challenged statute that allowed mailed ballots and was based on questions of state rather than federal law. In late November, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled against the plaintiffs, led by Representative Mike Kelly, a Republican, on the first ground, saying they could have challenged a 2019 law allowing vote by mail for any reason more than a year ago." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Robert Barnes & Elise Viebeck of the Washington Post: "Tuesday afternoon, just before the court's order was released, Trump appealed for help in his boast that he had won, rather than lost, reelection. 'Now, let's see whether or not somebody has the courage, whether it's a legislator or legislatures, or whether it's a justice of the Supreme Court, or a number of justices of the Supreme Court -- let's see if they have the courage to do what everybody in this country knows is right,' Trump said [at what was supposed to be an event touting the Covid-19 vaccine]." MB: Looks as if even winger justices had the "courage" to thumb their noses at the Biggest Loser. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Shortest legal doc I've ever seen. Here's the order: "The application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and by him referred to the Court is denied." So whaddaya think the chances are for the nonsense case Texas AG Ken Paxton [ARRRR!] plans to present to the Court? ~~~

~~~ Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Texas announced on Tuesday that it would be filing a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against four battleground states in an effort to halt presidential electors from finalizing President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Texas argued that electors from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin should not be allowed to cast their votes in part because those states unconstitutionally changed their voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic to allow for increased mail-in ballots. Biden won all four states.... [Texas AG Ken] Paxton's 154-page complaint echoes the legal arguments made by President Trump and his allies in courts across the country seeking to overturn election results in key states Biden won." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ The headline to Tierney Sneed's TPM story calls Paxton's suit "bonkers," and her lede is equally dismissive: "Everything is bigger in Texas, including the lengths its top attorney will go to to do the anti-democratic bidding of President Trump." ~~~

     ~~~ Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, called Paxton's motion 'a publicity stunt, not a serious legal pleading.'... Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul [D] said, 'I feel sorry for Texans that their tax dollars are being wasted on such a genuinely embarrassing lawsuit.'... Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs [R] said the allegation in Paxton's suit are 'false and irresponsible.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ MB: Rachel Maddow pointed out last night that Paxton is in a boatload of legal trouble, under indictment for one set of crimes & under FBI investigation for a more recent spate of crimes committed while in office & alleged by seven of his deputy & associate AGs. Paxton's target audience, Maddow reasonably speculates, is not the Supremes but the Pardon King who is encouraging gifts from others in exchange for pardons.

Summer Concepcion of TPM: "Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) on Tuesday called out President Trump for his 'completely unacceptable' attempt at persuading state lawmakers to overturn Pennsylvania's election results that handed President-elect Joe Biden a win in the battleground state. Toomey's condemnation of Trump comes amid ... most congressional Republicans refusing to recognize Biden as President-elect as they egg on Trump's flailing legal battles contesting the legitimacy of the election process.... Toomey, who is not seeking re-election in 2022, condemned Trump in light of the Washington Post's report that the President called the Republican speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Bryan Cutler, twice as part of his flailing attempts to overturn election results." Toomey is not running for re-election.

Arizona. David Baker of CBS 5 Arizona: "Arizona's highest court has agreed with the lower courts that Democrat President-elect Joe Biden won Arizona's 11 electoral votes. In court documents released on Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court said Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward requested more time to review duplicate ballots aside from the 1,626-ballot sample that was already done. The results found an audit of those ballots was 99.45% accurate, with only nine errors. The high court said Ward 'offered no evidence' to show that the sample was inadequate or that there was any widespread fraud that could be proven with more samples. The Supreme Court said even if the error rate stayed the same for all 27,869 duplicate ballots, there would only be 153 votes with errors, which would not be enough to call the election results into questions."

Jordan Libowitz of CREW: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spent more than $40,000 in taxpayer money on a series of 'Madison Dinners' attended by major donors and figures in the Republican party, according to documents obtained by CREW. While that number appears low for roughly two dozen events, the documents obtained by CREW represent just the first production from State as part of a records lawsuit against the agency." --s

Ryan Browne of CNN: "A member of the Defense Business Board has resigned in protest at the Trump White House's recent purge of the board's membership, replacing members with arch Trump loyalists and campaign staffers. 'The abrupt termination of more than half of the Defense Business Board and their replacement with political partisans has now put the nation's safety and security at risk,' Steve Blank wrote in his letter of resignation to acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. Blank, a longtime entrepreneur, wrote: 'My service to the Department of Defense was a service to the country, not to a party. I hereby tender my resignation.'" --s

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Christopher Krebs, the nation's former top election security official, tells 'Axios on HBO' that President Trump is spreading disinformation, which he described as a form of domestic 'threat' that he swore an oath to defend against in his job. 'The caller was inside the house,' Krebs told me. 'The president is a big part of the disinformation that's coming out there about the rigged election, but there are absolutely others.'... Despite receiving death threats from Trump supporters, Krebs is continuing to speak out against Trump's campaign to falsely claim the election was stolen from him. And Krebs is calling on Republican leaders to join him. 'Republican leadership needs to stand up and say that, "This is not, this is just not what we need to be telling the American people right now,'" Krebs said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu & Dan Morse of the Washington Post: "The former top U.S. cybersecurity official responsible for securing November's presidential election sued the Trump campaign and one of its lawyers for defamation Tuesday, asserting that they conspired to falsely claim the election was stolen, attack dissenting Republicans and fraudulently reap political donations. Christopher Krebs ... singled out comments made almost two weeks later by attorney Joseph diGenova, who said..., 'He should be drawn and quartered.... Taken out at dawn and shot.'... The lawsuit accused diGenova and the Trump campaign of defamation and 'intentional infliction of emotional distress.' It labeled Newsmax [-- which aired diGenova's remarks --] an aider and abettor." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "A Trump appointee with a short but controversial record of overseeing Voice of America and other federally funded news agencies has declined to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden's representatives as they seek access to records and personnel. Michael Pack, who has headed the U.S. Agency for Global Media since June, has defied requests from Biden's transition team to make officials from his agency available to answer questions about the agencies' operations.... Among other things, Pack has instructed associates not to discuss his agency's operations, budget and personnel with Biden's transition team, as transition officials have requested, these people said.... Biden's aides have indicated that he would replace Pack, who has ordered a series of sweeping changes that have shaken up VOA and sister agencies, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office for Cuba Broadcasting and Radio Free Asia." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "President Donald Trump's pick to lead a federal media agency is attempting one last purge of personnel before Joe Biden is sworn in as the next commander-in-chief. Michael Pack, the CEO of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, is pushing for the removal of agency officials he previously put on administrative leave.... Many of his targets are part of a whistleblower complaint against the CEO.... The latest move comes as Biden's transition team has been meeting with former officials, some of whom were ousted by Pack himself.... Biden has said he plans to& fire Pack after inauguration day in January.... The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, according to National Public Radio, recently disclosed that it had found 'a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing' at USAGM since Pack became the chief executive." --s Paul Farhi writes the Washington Post's story.

He Scammed the Scammer-in-Chief. Jack Nicas of the New York Times: "Last month..., President Trump posted an article from a conservative website that said his sister Elizabeth Trump Grau had just joined Twitter to publicly back her brother's fight to overturn the vote.... 'Thank you Elizabeth,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter. 'LOVE!' But the Twitter account that prompted the article was not his sister's. It was a fake profile run by Josh Hall, a 21-year-old food-delivery driver in Mechanicsburg, Pa.... It was a surreal coda to nearly a year of deception for Mr. Hall. Since February, he had posed as political figures and their families on Twitter, including five of the president's relatives. He had pretended to be Robert Trump, the president's brother; Barron Trump, the president's 14-year-old son; and Dr. Deborah L. Birx, the White House coronavirus response coordinator. The accounts collectively amassed more than 160,000 followers.... 'There was no nefarious intention behind it,' Mr. Hall said. 'I was just trying to rally up MAGA supporters and have fun.'... Records also show that some accounts ... direct[ed] people to give Mr. Hall money." MB: I linked to a story on Hall's deception a while back, but the Times' story is broader.

Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "[New FOIA requests show that] Mr Trump's flagship Turnberry resort has been paid nearly £25,000 by his own government to cover accommodation costs for Secret Service agents assigned to protect his son, Eric, on [four] trips to Scotland to attend to the family's business affairs.... Once car rentals and other expenses are taken into account, the total cost to US taxpayers for the visits was $62,960 (£46,880).... It means that, since his election, Mr Trump's Turnberry resort has now received close to £300,000 from the Secret Service, US State Department, and US Defence Department, according to an ongoing analysis of spending.... [T]he property has yet to turn a profit, having run up losses of nearly £43m under Mr Trump's ownership. Its most recent annual losses stood at £10.7m." --s

Judge to Flynn: "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire." Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "A federal judge dismissed Michael Flynn's prosecution Tuesday after President Trump's pardon, but said the act of clemency does not mean the former national security adviser is innocent of lying to FBI agents about his talks with the Russian government before Trump took office. In formally ending Flynn's three-year legal saga, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said he probably would have denied the Justice Department's controversial effort this year to drop the case, which Democrats and many legal experts said appeared to be an attempt by Attorney General William P. Barr to bend the rule of law to help a Trump ally. Sullivan expressed deep skepticism about the Justice Department's stated reasons for abandoning the case, criticizing it for applying a different set of rules to Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia's ambassador during special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe of 2016 election interference." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The Army on Tuesday said it had fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment. Two general officers were among those being removed from their jobs, as top Army leaders announced the findings of an independent panel's investigation into problems at the Texas base. The actions, taken by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, come in the aftermath of a year that saw 25 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, including the bludgeoning death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen.... The firings and suspensions include Army Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, who was left in charge of the base earlier this year when Guillen was killed, as well as Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater, commander of the 1st Cavalry Divisions. The administrative actions are expected to trigger investigations that could lead to a wide range of punishments. Those punishments could go from a simple letter of reprimand to a military discharge." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times' story is here.

Paul Martin of The Telegraph via Yahoo!: "A former CIA agent has claimed he was excluded from the original Lockerbie bombing trial and that investigators should turn their attention to the 'true culprit' -- Iran. John Holt, 68, says he was the author of secret cables showing that the Libyan double agent put forward by Scottish prosecutors as the star witness in the Lockerbie bombing trial had a history of 'making up stories'. Mr Holt was never sent to the trial by his bosses, even though he had been the CIA handler for Libyan double agent and principal witness Abdul-Majid Giaka. 'I have reason to believe there was a concerted effort, for unexplained reasons, to switch the original investigations away from Iran and its bomb-making Palestinian extremist ally the PFLP General Command...,' he told The Telegraph in an exclusive interview. 'I would start by asking the current Attorney General, William Barr, why he suddenly switched focus in 1991, when he was also Attorney General, from where clear evidence was leading, toward a much less likely scenario involving Libyans.'" --s

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

Lauran Neergaard & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "U.S. regulators Tuesday released their first scientific evaluation of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and confirmed it offers strong protection, setting the stage for the government to green-light the biggest vaccination effort in the nation's history. The analysis by Food and Drug Administration scientists comes ahead of a Thursday meeting where the FDA's independent advisers will debate if the evidence is strong enough to recommend vaccinating millions of Americans. A final FDA decision and the first shots could follow within just days. They are among a whirlwind of developments that are expected to make multiple vaccines available by early next year, in the U.S. and beyond." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times' story is here.

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The Trump administration is requiring states to submit personal information of people vaccinated against Covid-19 -- including names, birth dates, ethnicities and addresses, raising alarms among state officials who fear that a federal vaccine registry could be misused. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is instructing states to sign so-called data use agreements that commit them for the first time to sharing personal information in existing registries with the federal government. Some states, such as New York, are pushing back, either refusing to sign or signing while refusing to share the information.... Administration officials say that the information will not be shared with other federal agencies and that it is 'critically necessary' for several reasons: to ensure that people who move across state lines receive their follow-up doses; to track adverse reactions and address safety issues; and to assess the effectiveness of the vaccine among different demographic groups."

Biden v. the Lying Braggart. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "One president all but declared victory over the pandemic, hailing new vaccines as a 'medical miracle' and congratulating himself for doing what 'nobody has ever seen before.' The next president declared the pandemic deadlier than ever, calling it a 'mass casualty' event that is leaving 'a gaping hole' in America with more misery to come.... Mr. Trump offered told-you-so triumphalism as he bragged about the 'incredible,' 'amazing' and 'unprecedented' development of vaccines for the coronavirus. Mr. Biden projected feel-your-pain empathy, urged resisters to wear masks and warned that 'this mess' would not end quickly.... Rarely has there been a single hour on a single day that saw such discordant messages emanating from Washington in a time of national crisis.... The American tradition of one president at a time during the 10-week period between election and inauguration days has fallen by the wayside as Mr. Biden seeks to assert moral leadership even without the instruments of power. Mr. Trump spreads evermore outlandish claims about an invented conspiracy to steal the election and evermore desperate efforts to overturn the will of the people."

Jeff Stein & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration on Tuesday proposed an economic relief package that would offer far skimpier federal unemployment benefits than what has been proposed by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, adding an element of uncertainty into the fragile stimulus negotiations, according to two people familiar with the matter. Instead, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has proposed that lawmakers approve another stimulus check worth $600 per person and $600 per child.... The new White House proposal was a nonstarter for Democrats and a sharp rejection of the bipartisan efforts that have brought the two parties closer to a compromise...." A New York Times story is here. MB: Obviously, the point of the checks is to give Trump another chance to put his big fat signature on a check (and probably on an enclosed letter) that would go to millions of households. Aid to states' unemployment benefit coffers would yield no visible Trumpy stamp.

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump's lawyer Jenna Ellis has informed associates she tested positive for the coronavirus, multiple sources tell Axios, stirring West Wing fears after she attended a senior staff Christmas party on Friday.... The revelation follows Sunday's news that Ellis' legal sidekick Rudy Giuliani was hospitalized after testing positive."

Stupidest Senator Elevates Fringe Covid-19 "Treatments." AP: "A group of doctors at a U.S. Senate hearing chaired by Republican Sen. Ron Johnson, of Wisconsin, touted unproven alternative treatments to COVID-19 on Tuesday, even as medical experts derided the testimony and Democrats largely skipped the proceeding.... Johnson and the witnesses he called accused the medical establishment and health agencies of failing to explore and promote the use of relatively inexpensive drugs.... 'They're safe and they're cheap and they just might be incredibly effective,' said Johnson, who claimed that 'tens of thousands of people have lost their lives' because government agencies have focused on expensive 'silver bullet' solutions instead of medications already in use for other diseases.... Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, the top Democrat on the panel..., appeared at the hearing to read his opening statement and then declined to participate further. Besides Johnson, only two other senators, both Republicans, asked questions of the witnesses." ~~~

     ~~~ Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "Mr. Johnson called witnesses who promoted the use of hydroxychloroquine and ivermectin. The National Institutes of Health guidelines recommend against using either drug to treat coronavirus patients except in clinical trials.... Despite the regulatory warnings and the lack of substantial scientific evidence for their efficacy, Mr. Johnson claimed that 'discouraging and in some cases prohibiting the research and use of drugs that have been safely used for decades has cost tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people their lives.'... For about two and a half hours, the participants continuously challenged public health consensus, sometimes advancing inaccurate and previously debunked claims. One witness, Dr. Ramin Oskoui, a cardiologist in Washington, argued that 'masks do not work' and 'social distancing doesn't work' by [misreading the results of] a recent study published in The New England Journal of Medicine." The study's lead author said Oskoui's reading was akin to "claiming that car brakes are not effective in preventing crashes because accidents still occur when they are used."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Russia. Andrew Roth of the Guardian: "A Russian businessman [Kirill Shamalov] who was married to Vladimir Putin's daughter [Katerina Tikhonova] received an estimated $380m (£283m) stake in a Russian petrochemicals company for just $100, an investigation by Russia's iStories investigative outlet has claimed.... 'It's simple,' wrote Alexey Navalny, an opposition politician and anti-corruption activist. 'Putin's daughter gets married and the newlyweds receive the present of $380m.'... The emails, which were provided to the investigative journalists by an anonymous source (possibly hacked, they noted), also revealed an ascendant circle of young power-players from St Petersburg, who generally were the children and grandchildren of Putin and his friends and colleagues in government.... The leaked emails ... are a rare, documented look at how those in Putin's circle manage to acquire fantastic wealth." --s

Russia/World. Michael Weiss of the 4 Free Russia Foundation: "... Free Russia Foundation has translated and published five documents from the GRU, Russia's military intelligence agency. The documents ... details [sic] the GRU's modern psychological warfare program and are dated from within the last decade. The documents include the memoir of a former colonel in the Soviet Union's Special Propaganda Directorate who explains how psychological and information operations were conducted at the tail-end of the Cold War, and then adapted for the post-Soviet era. The documents also include the organization of psychological warfare, down to the military unit, as well as the theory and practice of working over targets in the West." --s

Earth. Damian Carrington of the Guardian: "Global soils are the source of all life on land but their future looks 'bleak' without action to halt degradation, according to the authors of a UN report. A quarter of all the animal species on Earth live beneath our feet and provide the nutrients for all food.... The report was compiled by 300 scientists, who describe the worsening state of soils as at least as important as the climate crisis and destruction of the natural world above ground. Crucially, it takes thousands of years for soils to form, meaning urgent protection and restoration of the soils that remain is needed. The scientists describe soils as like the skin of the living world, vital but thin and fragile, and easily damaged by intensive farming, forest destruction, pollution and global heating." --s

The Commentariat -- December 8, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Lauran Neergaard & Matthew Perrone of the AP: "U.S. regulators Tuesday released their first scientific evaluation of Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and confirmed it offers strong protection, setting the stage for the government to green-light the biggest vaccination effort in the nation's history. The analysis by Food and Drug Administration scientists comes ahead of a Thursday meeting where the FDA's independent advisers will debate if the evidence is strong enough to recommend vaccinating millions of Americans. A final FDA decision and the first shots could follow within just days. They are among a whirlwind of developments that are expected to make multiple vaccines available by early next year, in the U.S. and beyond."

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "Christopher Krebs, the nation's former top election security official, tells 'Axios on HBO' that President Trump is spreading disinformation, which he described as a form of domestic 'threat' that he swore an oath to defend against in his job. 'The caller was inside the house,' Krebs told me. 'The president is a big part of the disinformation that's coming out there about the rigged election, but there are absolutely others.'... Despite receiving death threats from Trump supporters, Krebs is continuing to speak out against Trump's campaign to falsely claim the election was stolen from him. And Krebs is calling on Republican leaders to join him. 'Republican leadership needs to stand up and say that, "This is not, this is just not what we need to be telling the American people right now,'" Krebs said." ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu & Dan Morse of the Washington Post: "The former top U.S. cybersecurity official responsible for securing November's presidential election sued the Trump campaign and one of its lawyers for defamation Tuesday, asserting that they conspired to falsely claim the election was stolen, attack dissenting Republicans and fraudulently reap political donations. Christopher Krebs ... singled out comments made almost two weeks later by attorney Joseph diGenova, who said..., 'He should be drawn and quartered.... Taken out at dawn and shot.'... The lawsuit accused diGenova and the Trump campaign of defamation and 'intentional infliction of emotional distress.' It labeled Newsmax [-- which aired diGenova's remarks --] an aider and abettor."

Marie: Tony Fauci just stood up to Trump, too. He made brief remarks at an event announcing Joe Biden's healthcare team, of which Fauci is a part. Hope Fauci made Trump hopping mad.

Mike Memoli, et al., of NBC News: "Alabama Sen. Doug Jones is the leading contender to be nominated for attorney general by President-elect Joe Biden, three sources familiar with the discussions tell NBC News. Biden is also considering Judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia, who was denied a seat on the Supreme Court in 2016 by a Republican-led Senate, and Sally Yates, a former deputy attorney general, sources said." MB: IOW, Biden is considering white moderates for the job, according to the scuttlebutt.

Paul Farhi of the Washington Post: "A Trump appointee with a short but controversial record of overseeing Voice of America and other federally funded news agencies has declined to cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden's representatives as they seek access to records and personnel. Michael Pack, who has headed the U.S. Agency for Global Media since June, has defied requests from Biden's transition team to make officials from his agency available to answer questions about the agencies' operations.... Among other things, Pack has instructed associates not to discuss his agency's operations, budget and personnel with Biden's transition team, as transition officials have requested, these people said.... Biden's aides have indicated that he would replace Pack, who has ordered a series of sweeping changes that have shaken up VOA and sister agencies, such as Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Office for Cuba Broadcasting and Radio Free Asia."

Harper Neidig of the Hill: "Texas announced on Tuesday that it would be filing a lawsuit in the Supreme Court against four battleground states in an effort to halt presidential electors from finalizing President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Texas argued that electors from Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin should not be allowed to cast their votes in part because those states unconstitutionally changed their voting procedures during the coronavirus pandemic to allow for increased mail-in ballots. Biden won all four states.... [Texas AG Ken] Paxton's 154-page complaint echoes the legal arguments made by President Trump and his allies in courts across the country seeking to overturn election results in key states Biden won." ~~~

     ~~~ Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, a Democrat, called Paxton's motion 'a publicity stunt, not a serious legal pleading.'... Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul [D] said, 'I feel sorry for Texans that their tax dollars are being wasted on such a genuinely embarrassing lawsuit.'... Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs [R] said the allegation in Paxton's suit are 'false and irresponsible.'"

Judge to Flynn: "Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire." Spencer Hsu & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "A federal judge dismissed Michael Flynn's prosecution Tuesday after President Trump's pardon, but said the act of clemency does not mean the former national security adviser is innocent of lying to FBI agents about his talks with the Russian government before Trump took office. In formally ending Flynn's three-year legal saga, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan said he probably would have denied the Justice Department's controversial effort this year to drop the case, which Democrats and many legal experts said appeared to be an attempt by Attorney General William P. Barr to bend the rule of law to help a Trump ally. Sullivan expressed deep skepticism about the Justice Department's stated reasons for abandoning the case, criticizing it for applying a different set of rules to Flynn, who twice pleaded guilty to lying about his contacts with Russia's ambassador during special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe of 2016 election interference."

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "The Army on Tuesday said it had fired or suspended 14 officers and enlisted soldiers at Fort Hood, Texas, and ordered policy changes to address chronic leadership failures at the base that contributed to a widespread pattern of violence including murder, sexual assaults and harassment. Two general officers were among those being removed from their jobs, as top Army leaders announced the findings of an independent panel's investigation into problems at the Texas base. The actions, taken by Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy, come in the aftermath of a year that saw 25 soldiers assigned to Fort Hood die due to suicide, homicide or accidents, including the bludgeoning death of Spc. Vanessa Guillen.... The firings and suspensions include Army Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, who was left in charge of the base earlier this year when Guillen was killed, as well as Maj. Gen. Jeffery Broadwater, commander of the 1st Cavalry Divisions. The administrative actions are expected to trigger investigations that could lead to a wide range of punishments. Those punishments could go from a simple letter of reprimand to a military discharge."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States has recorded its most coronavirus-related deaths over a weeklong period.... The nation is averaging nearly 200,000 cases per day, an increase of 15 percent from the average two weeks earlier, and has recorded over 15 million total cases.... The latest wave to hit the United States has hospitalized record numbers. Each day since Dec. 2, more than 100,000 Covid-19 patients were in hospitals. That far surpasses the number of people hospitalized during the peaks spring and summer, which at their worst had nearly 60,000 Americans in the hospital daily."

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "The United States will not be able to buy more doses of coronavirus vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner, BioNTech, until late June or July, sources said, after other countries bought most of the supply.... The news came shortly before Britain announced it had begun administering the same Pfizer vaccine."

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

** Operation Warped Minds. Sharon LaFraniere, et al., of the New York Times: "Trump administration officials passed when Pfizer offered in late summer to sell the U.S. government additional doses of its Covid-19 vaccine, according to people familiar with the matter. Now Pfizer may not be able to provide more of its vaccine to the United States until next June because of its commitments to other countries, they said. As the administration scrambles to try to purchase more doses of the vaccine, President Trump plans on Tuesday to sign an executive order 'to ensure that United States government prioritizes getting the vaccine to American citizens before sending it to other nations,' according to a draft statement and a White House official, though it was not immediately clear what force the president's executive order would carry." Update: The AP's story is here.

     ~~~ Marie: Un-fucking-believable. The vaccine was the only part of the Covid response Trump ever expressed any interest in -- and they passed on getting vaccinations for Americans??? Evidently, turning down an offer to purchase vaccinations was a minor detail Trump correctly calculated would not become public before the election. (In fact, Trump boasted Saturday night about all the vaccinations he would be getting to Americans right away. "Nobody's ever seen anything like it," blah blah.) At least this NYT story helps explain the reason for the next story, linked earlier: ~~~

~~~ Lee Facher of STAT: "Both Pfizer and Moderna, the two major drug manufacturers likely to receive emergency authorizations for a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, have rejected invitations from President Trump to appear at a White House 'Vaccine Summit' on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the event's planning.... The vaccine manufacturers' absences will be conspicuous at a 'Vaccine Summit,' an event that drug industry figures and one Trump administration official largely viewed as a public relations stunt when STAT first reported the event last week. The event appeared to be an effort for the administration to claim credit for the rapid development of a Covid-19 vaccine and to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to move quickly on an authorization." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I heard on the teevee that among those not invited to the so-called summit: anyone from Joe Biden's Covid-19 team. So, yeah, to no one's surprise, this is a Me-Me-Me-Me affair & not a means to help Americans find out what's going on. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ ** Update. Quint Forgey of Politico: "The chief scientist of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed was unable to explain ... Donald Trump's latest executive order Tuesday, which aims to prioritize shipment of the coronavirus vaccine to Americans over other countries. Moncef Slaoui, who Trump tapped in May to head up the administration's efforts to hasten vaccine development, appeared puzzled when asked to clarify the president's order during an interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America.' 'Frankly, I don't know, and frankly, I'm staying out of this. I can't comment,' Slaoui said. 'I literally don't know.'... 'But you're the chief science adviser for Operation Warp Speed,' [host George] Stephanopoulos pressed [to no avail]." MB: Clearly, the chaotic, disorganized Trump administration never would have been able to carry off a relatively smooth, coordinated distribution system consisting of many, many parts & players. This was always going to be a disaster of Trumpian proportions mismanaged by a gang of incompetent toadies who can't even coordinate their own "daily message."

The Stupidest Senator Takes Center-Stage. Catie Edmondson & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "In choosing a slate of doctors to testify about coronavirus treatments before his committee on Tuesday, Senator Ron Johnson has assembled a cast of witnesses who question much of the public health consensus about the virus. There is a prominent vaccine skeptic, an outspoken critic of masking and social distancing, and at least two doctors who have promoted the use of an anti-parasitic drug that government scientists have recommended against using to treat the coronavirus. It is the latest example of how Mr. Johnson, a Wisconsin Republican who has used his powerful investigative panel to amplify groundless accusations pushed by President Trump, has now embraced the role of the Senate's leading Covid contrarian.... Mr. Johnson has suggested that the dangers of the coronavirus have been overblown and excessively regulated. And twice in the past three weeks, Mr. Johnson has used his gavel on the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to elevate voices who public health experts say represent fringe beliefs."

Every single person ... in the vehicle during that completely unnecessary Presidential "drive-by" just now has to be quarantined for 14 days. They might get sick. They may die. For political theater. Commanded by Trump to put their lives at risk for theater. This is insanity. -- Dr. James Phillips, Oct. 4, in a since-deleted tweet ~~~

~~~ No Good Observation Goes Unpunished: Doctor Kicked Out of Walter Reed. Nancy Cordes of CBS News: "Dr. James Phillips, the emergency room physician who publicly criticized President Trump's decision to drive with Secret Service agents to greet supporters while he was hospitalized with COVID-19 in October, has been removed from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center's schedule starting in January, according to sources familiar with the situation. Phillips is chief of disaster medicine at George Washington University and works as an attending physician on a contract basis for Walter Reed.... Walter Reed officials deny they made the decision to remove him.... That suggests that it was Phillips' contractor, GW Medical Faculty Associates, that removed him from the schedule.... Colleagues of Dr. Phillips were surprised that a disaster medicine specialist would be eliminated from the schedule at a busy military hospital at a time when Maryland is nearing a record high for COVID-19 hospitalizations."

Florida. No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Armed State Police Terrorize Children. Jeffrey Schweers of the Tallahassee Democrat: "State police brandishing firearms Monday raided the Tallahassee home of Rebekah Jones, the former Department of Health data scientist who built the state's much-praised COVID-19 dashboard before being fired over what she said was refusing to 'manipulate data.' 'They pointed a gun in my face. They pointed guns at my kids,' Jones tweeted shortly before 5 p.m. Jones -- who launched her own COVID-19 dashboard after she was fired, and used crowdsourcing to raise money to support it -- said the agents knocked on her door around 8:30 a.m. that morning, took all her 'hardware and tech' after showing her a warrant based on a complaint filed by the Florida Department of Health." A short video shows an officer pointing a gun up the stairs, where Jones said her husband and two children were. MB: Jones is 31 years old & has worked on several advanced degrees, so I would guess her children are no older than grade-school age.

Alabama. Dying Declaration. Wilson Wong of NBC News: Former Alabama state senator Larry Dixon (R) "who was also a former executive director of the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, died Friday [of Covid-19], the board said in a statement. Dr. David Thrasher, a pulmonologist in Montgomery who was a close friend of Dixon's, said Dixon's wife, Gaynell Dixon, told him that her husband's last words to her were a prescient warning to the people of Alabama. 'We messed up. We let our guard down,' Dixon said, according to Thrasher. 'Please tell everybody to be careful. This is real, and if you get diagnosed, get help immediately.' Thrasher said Dixon was exposed to the virus at a social gathering 'with a couple of guys' that was hosted outside about two weeks ago."

Real Political News

Lara Seligman, et al., of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden has selected Retired Gen. Lloyd Austin to serve as secretary of defense, according to three people with knowledge of the decision. If confirmed, Austin would be the first Black person to lead the Pentagon. In picking Austin, Biden has chosen a barrier-breaking former four-star officer who was the first Black general to command an Army division in combat and the first to oversee an entire theater of operations. Austin's announcement could come as soon as Tuesday morning, people familiar with the plans said Monday. Austin, who also ran U.S. Central Command before retiring in 2016, emerged as a top-tier candidate in recent days after initially being viewed as a longshot for the job." The Washington Post's story is here. The New York Times' story is here.

Bryan Bender of Politico: "The Democrats' 2020 platform was unambiguous: Donald Trump had damaged the civil-military balance and Joe Biden would repair it. But the president-elect has quietly slotted his own coterie of former military officials into key transition positions and is now ready to tap a retired general to run the Pentagon.... Already, Biden's transition team has appointed at least four retired generals or admirals and a former top enlisted Marine.... 'I think it's one more example of the pernicious trend of civilians taking shelter behind the legitimacy of uniforms,' said Kori Schake, director of foreign and defense policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute.... 'The civilians on his defense team deserve more confidence from him than this portrays.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This also is part of Democrats' rolling concession that Democrats are "weak on defense." As a result, Democratic presidents often choose Republicans for secretaries of defense: to wit, Chuck Hagel (Obama), Robert Gates (Obama), William Cohen (Clinton). (Similarly, Democratic presidents are okay with Republican FBI directors; e.g., Bob Mueller, Jim Comey (Obama), and now, according to Biden, Chris Wray.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

A Witching Hour Approaches. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "... Donald Trump's effort to snatch a second term through a series of state and federal court challenges has been flaming out for weeks. Now, the calendar has all but extinguished it. Dec. 8 is the so-called 'safe harbor' date for the presidential election, a milestone established in federal law for states to conclude any disputes over the results. Trump's failure to gain traction in litigation, with his lawyers and allies failing to block crucial states from declaring Joe Biden the winner, means the safe harbor deadline stands as another potentially insurmountable reason for the courts to decline to intervene. Trump's legal team publicly says the safe harbor deadline is meaningless.... Set by a 140-year-old statute, the date isn't enshrined in the Constitution, they say. But the campaign's legal filings tell another story, as Trump's lawyers pressed courts for urgent action ahead of the deadline midnight on Tuesday.... The last time a presidential election was resolved at the Supreme Court, the safe harbor deadline proved pivotal.... During the 2000 dispute between George W. Bush and Al Gore, as the court's majority essentially awarded the presidency to Bush, the justices cited the looming deadline as a reason Florida could not initiate a new, manual recount.... And several legal actions seem to be hurtling toward a potential resolution on Tuesday -- including a Pennsylvania dispute where Justice Samuel Alito initially asked for responses by Wednesday but decided to expedite further to Tuesday amid speculation about the safe harbor deadline."

Our Criminal President*. Amy Gardner, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump called the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives twice during the past week to make an extraordinary request for help reversing his loss in the state, reflecting a broadening pressure campaign by the president and his allies to try to subvert the 2020 election result. The calls, confirmed by House Speaker Bryan Cutler's office, make Pennsylvania the third state where Trump has directly attempted to overturn a result since he lost the election to former vice president Joe Biden. He previously reached out to Republicans in Michigan, and on Saturday he pressured Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in a call to try to replace that state's electors.... Cutler told the president that the legislature had no power to overturn the state's chosen slate of electors, Straub said. But late last week, the House speaker was among about 60 Republican state lawmakers who sent a letter to Pennsylvania's congressional representatives urging them to object to the state's electoral slate on Jan. 6, when Congress is set to formally accept the results." MB: Sounds criminal to me.

Wisconsin. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "The outgoing White House's desperate efforts to steal a second term in office reached new heights with a new lawsuit on Monday against President-elect Joe Biden and Vice-President elect Kamala Harris, seeking to disenfranchise Wisconsin's most diverse areas. Lame-duck ... Donald Trump and his soon-to-be ex-vice president Mike Pence both signed onto lawsuits filed in Milwaukee Circuit Court pestering judges to overturn the Badger State's election -- but only for Milwaukee and Dane Counties, where most of the voters of color live. It was a request that, in a separate lawsuit, Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) denounced as a 'shocking and outrageous assault on our democracy'; Democratic Party attorneys, echoing civil rights groups in other states, called out Trump's focus on counties where Black voters live as racist.... The complaints do not explain what roles President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris could possibly have in election administration in two Wisconsin counties."

Michigan. Armed Trumpbots Terrorize 4-Year-Old. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson had just finished wrapping string lights around her home's portico on Saturday evening and was about to watch 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' with her 4-year-old son when a crowd of protesters marched up carrying American flags and guns. About two dozen protesters chanted 'Stop the Steal' and accused Benson, a Democrat and Michigan's chief election officer, of ignoring widespread voter fraud -- an echo of President Trump's continued unfounded claims as he seeks to overturn the results of the election that President-elect Joe Biden won. Although the group dispersed with no arrests when police responded just before 10 p.m. Saturday, Michigan state officials accused the group of 'terrorizing' Benson's family. '... at least one individual could be heard shouting "you're murderers" within earshot of her child's bedroom," Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) and Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy (D) said in a joint statement on Sunday.... Vitriolic rhetoric has led bipartisan leaders to warn that Trump's baseless attacks on the election are endangering election officials' lives." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What's wrong with this picture? Benson is a state official. She has received threats before. Armed, rowdy, abusive men & women are surrounding her home. And the cops arrested nobody???

~~~ Miss Sidney Regrets She's Been Laughed Out of Court Today. Pete Williams of NBC News: "A federal judge in Michigan on Monday denied a Republican effort to undo the certification of President-elect Joe Biden as the winner of the presidential election in the state and rejected every aspect of the case, one of the lawsuits filed by ... Donald Trump supporter Sidney Powell. The allegations of fraud were based on 'nothing but speculation and conjecture,' U.S. District Court Judge Linda Parker said.... The claims amounted to 'an amalgamation of theories, conjecture, and speculation that such alterations were possible,' she said. Parker was also harshly critical of the plaintiffs -- Trump presidential electors -- for waiting so long to file their lawsuit." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Georgia. Ditto. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "Hours after failing in a similar lawsuit in Michigan, pro-Trump attorneys Sidney Powell and Lin Wood lost their effort to decertify Georgia's election before a federal judge who called their bid the most audacious he had ever seen. 'The relief that the plaintiffs seek, this court cannot grant,' U.S. District Judge Timothy C. Batten ruled from the bench after a roughly hourlong hearing, where he called 'the most extraordinary relief ever sought' for an election in a court. Judge Batten, a conservative judge appointed by George W. Bush, noted that allowing the case to stand would amount to 'judicial activism,' as it requested relief far beyond his power." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Richard Fausset & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Georgia election officials on Monday recertified the results of the state's presidential race after another recount reaffirmed Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s victory over President Trump, the third time that results showed that Mr. Trump had lost the state.... 'We have now counted legally cast ballots three times, and the results remain unchanged,' Georgia's secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, said at a news conference.... Mr. Raffensperger on Monday chastised both Mr. Trump and Stacey Abrams, who acknowledged her loss in the race for governor in the state in 2018 but who claimed that her race was rendered fundamentally unfair because of Republican-designed policies that Democrats have described as voter suppression efforts. Ms. Abrams has said that the 2018 election was 'stolen from the voters.'... He also said that he would support legislation offering 'a major reform of our election processes' in the coming state legislative session." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'd wager Abrams does, too, Raffensperger, legislators & other sundry state Republicans plan to use Trump's fake challenges as an excuse to further curb access to the ballot. We must never kid ourselves that there are Republicans "heroes" who "do the right thing," because even when they seem to do so, it's (a) usually for their own benefit in some way, and (b) will be followed by an act or acts in bad faith.

Marie: As a reminder, in case the pile-up of individual acts of treasons have numbed you to the big picture, we are living through the greatest Constitutional crisis of the republic since the Civil War. Trump is merely the instigator & "leader." His Republican enablers -- from McConnell & McCarthy to the craziest, loudest backbenchers -- have, with knowledge aforethought, engineered the real crisis. Every single one of them has disqualified himself from remaining in public office. ~~~

~~~ Manu Raju & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "... Donald Trump's staunchest defenders on Capitol Hill are urging him not to concede even after President-elect Joe Biden wins the Electoral College vote next week, calling on their party's leader to battle it out all the way to the House floor in January as he makes unsubstantiated claims of widespread election fraud.... They said that Congress should engage in a full-throated debate over the results in key states because of their allegations of fraud, which have yet to be borne out in court.... Asked if Trump should concede next Monday, Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio said bluntly: 'No. No way, no way, no way.'... Even if Trump loses a bevy of GOP support for his unprecedented quest after next week['s Electoral College vote], the backing of his staunchest supporters is likely to only encourage the mercurial President to continue his barrage of attacks against the integrity of the elections." ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... you really shouldn't be surprised by this willingness to indulge malicious, democracy-endangering lies. After all, when was the last time Republicans accepted a politically inconvenient fact? It has been clear for years that the modern G.O.P. is a party that can't handle the truth.... Republican rejection of reality didn't start ... with the Trump era. Climate change denial -- including claims that global warming is a hoax perpetrated by an international cabal of scientists -- has been a badge of partisan identity for many years. Crazy conspiracy theories about the Clintons were mainstream on the right through much of the 1990s."

Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump isn't just accepting pardon requests but blindly discussing them 'like Christmas gifts' to people who haven't even asked, sources with direct knowledge of the conversations told Axios.... Trump recently told one adviser he was going to pardon 'every person who ever talked to me,' suggesting an even larger pardon blitz to come." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This brings to mind a story Chuck Rosenberg told on MSNBC the other day. I looked it up. Scott Shane of the New York Times (Dec. 2006): "... for many years after leaving office in 1977, [President Gerald Ford (R)] carried in his wallet a scrap of a 1915 Supreme Court ruling [Burdick v. U.S]. A pardon, the excerpt said, 'carries an imputation of guilt,' and acceptance of a pardon is 'a confession of it.' Mr. Ford's decision to pardon Richard M. Nixon for any crimes he might have been charged with because of Watergate is seen by many historians as the central event of his 896-day presidency."

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration on Monday declined to tighten controls on industrial soot emissions, disregarding an emerging scientific link between dirty air and Covid-19 death rates. In one of the final policy moves of an administration that has spent the past four years weakening or rolling back more than 100 environmental regulations, the Environmental Protection Agency completed a regulation that keeps in place, rather than tightening, rules on tiny, lung-damaging industrial particles, known as PM 2.5, even though the agency's own scientists have warned of the links between the pollutants and respiratory illness." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

What Would the Mafia Do? Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "Two whistle-blowers have accused contractors building President Trump's border wall of smuggling armed Mexican security teams into the United States to guard construction sites, even building an illegal dirt road to speed the operation, according to court documents unsealed by a federal judge on Friday.... An unnamed supervisor at the Army Corps of Engineers approved the operation [to build the new border-crossing road], according to a complaint filed in February and released on Friday.... The allegations came to light as data obtained by The New York Times showed that a border wall that Mr. Trump once advertised as 'impenetrable' has continued to prove very penetrable." Thanks to Ken W. for the link. MB: To have a concrete subcontractor employing illegal workers & facilitating that employment by creating an avenue that belies the very purpose of the project is cliched mob activity. Trump is accustomed to such practices.

The Lost Island of Atlantis? Sarah Nathan & Emily Smith of the New York Post's Page Six: "Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner have splashed out on a $30 million-plus dollar lot of land on Miami's uber-swanky and high-security Indian Creek Island -- known as the 'Billionaire's Bunker'.... Ahead of President Trump's exit from the White House, the couple is busy making plans for life after D.C.... The private, guarded and gated Indian Creek Island is also one of the most secure places in Florida, as it boasts a 13-man police force for just 29 residences. It is believed the couple purchased Lot 4, which was owned by Julio Iglesias, to build a bayfront estate. The sale closes on December 17...." MB: Sadly, thanks in part to Daddy's anti-environmental policies, that $30MM lot will soon sink into the sea.

Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said on Monday that the Senate will take up and pass a mammoth defense bill despite a looming veto showdown with President Trump. McConnell mentioned the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) as he outlined the items left on Congress's year-end to-do list as lawmakers prepare to leave Washington for the year as soon as next week.... The House is poised to vote on the bill on Tuesday, paving the way for the Senate to pass it as soon as this week.... McConnell did not address Trump's veto threat during his floor remarks. The House and Senate both passed their initial bills with a veto-proof majority."

A New York Times obituary for former Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.) is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Chuck Yeager, the most famous test pilot of his generation who was the first to break the sound barrier, and, thanks to [writer] Tom Wolfe, came to personify the death-defying aviator who possessed the elusive yet unmistakable 'right stuff,' died on Monday at a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 97."