The Commentariat -- December 4, 2020

Afternoon Update:

From Friday's WashPo Covid-19 updates, also linked below: "'We have not yet seen the post-Thanksgiving peak,' Anthony S. Fauci said Friday. 'That's the concerning thing, because the numbers in and of themselves are alarming.'"

Axios: "The government's top infectious-disease expert Anthony Fauci said Friday that he 'absolutely' will accept the offer from President-elect Joe Biden to serve as his chief medical adviser, telling NBC's 'Today' that he said yes 'right on the spot.'"

Where There's Smoke, There's Smoke. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "To date, the [Trump] campaign has done little more than throw smoke bombs and insist there's a fire. In a triumphant appearance on Sean Hannity's Fox News program Thursday night, however, Giuliani announced that all of that had changed. 'Today's video was really explosive,' he said.... The video at issue is a collection of feeds from security cameras apparently recording a ballot-counting operation in Fulton County, Ga. In it, an individual is seen directing others to pull black containers from either a shelving unit or from under a table. The containers are then taken to nearby tables, opened and apparent ballots removed. It's hard to tell what happens next, but a voice-over suggests that the half-dozen individuals in the room then scanned the ballots. What Giuliani and others claim happened is that observers were cleared from the room and that ballots hidden in suitcases were then brought out to be counted without oversight.... The fact-checking site Lead Stories dug into the claims, speaking with several Georgia officials about what the video showed. '... the work you see is the work you would expect,' said Gabriel Sterling, the state's voting systems manager, 'which is you take the sealed suitcase-looking things in, you place the ballots on the scanner in manageable batches and you scan them.'... Another official ... also denied that anyone had been told to leave the room. A monitor from the state election board also told Lead Stories that he was present the entire time."

Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha. Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "The Georgia Kraken, when arguing on Friday that the Eleventh Circuit has jurisdiction to hear its appeal, said Dominion Voting Systems rigged the election against Joe Biden. The assertion can be found in the first paragraph of Sidney Powell and Lin Wood's background presentation of their case.... '[T]here were all imaginable varieties of voting fraud,' appellants said, 'including machine-controlled algorithms deliberately run by Dominion Voting Systems that generally took more than 2.5% of the votes from Mr. Biden and flipped them to Mr. Trump for a more than 5% fraudulent increase for Mr. Biden.' To be clear, this line says that Dominion took votes from Biden and gave them to Trump -- to increase Biden's vote. That's an ... interesting theory and 'epic fail.'" Thanks to NiskyGuy for the laugh.

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post, who enjoys thumbing her nose at Trump as much as anyone, now takes on Mitch & his confederate mob: "The refusal by Republicans to acknowledge President-elect Joe Biden's election victory is remarkable in its contempt for democracy and defiance of reality.... Biden not only received a majority of the popular vote, but also cleared 51 percent -- the largest vote percentage obtained against an incumbent president since 1932 and a bigger percentage of the popular vote than any Republican president since George H.W. Bush in 1988, when Bush was essentially running for a third Ronald Reagan term. In the process, Biden amassed the largest total number of ballots in U.S. history. He pummeled Trump by more than 7 million votes (and exceeded Barack Obama's 2008 vote total by more than 11 million).... Biden's victory..., far from narrow..., represents the overwhelming verdict of the voters. If there is such a thing as a mandate, Biden has one.... Treating Biden as anything but the president-elect and denying him ample latitude to compile the Cabinet and senior staff of his choosing represents an outlandish attempt to preempt the will of more than 80 million Americans."

Nathan McDermott, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's nominee to become a senior Pentagon official spread debunked conspiracies on Twitter that called Trump's election loss to Joe Biden a 'coup' attempt and shared tweets that suggest Trump should declare martial law. Scott O'Grady, a former fighter pilot and Trump loyalist, repeatedly retweeted tweets that falsely stated Trump won the election in 'landslide fashion' and that millions of votes were stolen from the President.... O'Grady was nominated by the White House to become an assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs at the Pentagon.... CNN's KFile reviewed O'Grady's tweets and media appearances and found that O'Grady shared other debunked election conspiracies and that he also degraded top military and intelligence officials. In a radio interview, he called former President Barack Obama and military generals 'sworn socialists,' and advocated that the military justice system should bring back treason charges. He retweeted a tweet that called former Defense Secretary James Mattis a 'traitor.'" And so forth. Lotsa so-forth. MB: I'm just thinking top DOD jobs should go to people who are (1) fairly apolitical and (2) fairly sane.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Stuart Thompson in a New York Times op-ed: "A vaccine may be around the corner, but how long will it be until you get the shot? Health officials are considering vaccine timelines that give some Americans priority over others. If you're a healthy American, you may wait many months for your turn. To put this in perspective, we worked with the Surgo Foundation and vaccine tool to calculate the number of people who will need a vaccine in each state and county -- and where you might fit in that line." MB: The article includes a swell interactive feature that allows you to enter some personal information to find out where you stand in line, according to parameters identified by the researchers.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here: "Nearly 213,000 new coronavirus cases were reported across the United States on Thursday, the highest number yet. And at least 2,500 covid-19 deaths were reported for the third consecutive day -- the deadliest stretch since the pandemic began."

Jeff Cox of CNBC: "Nonfarm payrolls increased by just 245,000 in November, well below Wall Street estimates as rising coronavirus cases coincided with a considerable slowdown in hiring.... Though the U.S. is coming off its fastest growth quarter ever, economists worry that the next quarter or two could see flat or even negative growth before rebounding strongly in the latter part of 2021. The November job gains would be considered strong under normal circumstances, but the pandemic has left millions of Americans out of work from jobs lost in the early stages of the crisis. The total represents the slowest job growth since the employment recovery began in May." The Washington Post's report is here.

Dan Merica of CNN: "President-elect Joe Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper on Thursday that he will ask Americans to wear masks for his first 100 days after he takes office, in a sign of how Biden's approach to the virus will be dramatically different to ... Donald Trump's response. 'Just 100 days to mask, not forever. 100 days. And I think we'll see a significant reduction,' Biden told Tapper during his first joint interview with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris since winning the election. The full interview will air at 9 p.m. ET [Thursday]. Biden said that where he has authority, like in federal buildings or in interstate transportation on airplanes and buses, he will issue a standing order that masks must be worn.... Biden also said he has asked Dr. Anthony Fauci to be a chief medical adviser and part of his Covid-19 response team when his administration begins next year."

Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, talked on Thursday about reaching agreement on must-pass government funding legislation and on another coronavirus relief package, amid pressure from rank and file members for a bipartisan compromise.... But Mr. McConnell appeared to be [interested in] a much smaller stimulus proposal he began circulating earlier this week that he said would be able to secure President Trump's signature, not the compromise measure being developed by a group of moderate senators in both parties.... Mr. McConnell has been largely removed from discussions with Ms. Pelosi over another stimulus bill since the two chambers enacted a sweeping $2.2 trillion stimulus law in March.... Later on Thursday, more Republican senators signaled openness to embracing the $908 billion framework that Democratic leaders had endorsed as a baseline for restarting negotiations." This is an item in the Times' Biden transition live updates. ~~~

~~~ Patricia Cohen of the New York Times: "The coronavirus pandemic has inflicted an economic battering on state and local governments, shrinking tax receipts by hundreds of billions of dollars. Now devastating budget cuts loom, threatening to cripple public services and pare work forces far beyond the 1.3 million jobs lost in eight months. Governors, mayors and county executives have pleaded for federal aid before the end of the year. Congressional Republicans have scorned such assistance, with the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, calling it a 'blue-state bailout.' But it turns out ... six of the seven states that are expected to suffer the biggest revenue declines over the next two years are red -- states led by Republican governors and won by President Trump this year, according to a report from Moody's Analytics."

Best Excuse Ever for Holding Crowded Parties. Lydia O'Connor of the Huffington Post (12/2): "The White House plans at least 25 indoor holiday parties this month. All will include more than 50 guests, The Washington Post reported, and few attendees will be tested in advance. Invitations make no mention of coronavirus precautions.... A reporter who asked [White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany] at a news briefing how the White House could continue with planned holiday parties while the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention asks Americans to forgo celebrations to slow the spread of COVID-19. 'If you can loot businesses, burn down buildings, engage in a protest, you can also go to a Christmas party,' McEnany responded. 'You can celebrate the holiday of Christmas, and you can do it responsibly.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Love the way Mac-a-Ninny equates protests with looting & burning down buildings. Perhaps more important: equating looting & burning down buildings with hosting unprotected, crowded parties may be a fair comparison, but it's not a great argument.

Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a California ministry that argued the state's Covid-related restrictions on indoor services violated its religious liberty rights, the court's second such ruling on pandemic guidelines for churches in two weeks. In an unsigned order, the justices sent the dispute between the Harvest Rock International Ministry and California Gov. Gavin Newsom back to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to further consider the case in light of its ruling from last week when the court blocked similar restrictions in New York. There were no noted dissents.... To make their point [the ministry] included in the legal filing a picture of Newsom at a restaurant with a large gathering where no one was wearing masks." (Also linked yesterday.)

Return to Normality

Morgan Chalfont of the Hill: "President-elect Joe Biden pledged Thursday that the Justice Department will be run independently and not be influenced by politics when he takes office. 'It's not my Justice Department. It's the people's Justice Department,' Biden told CNN's Jake Tapper. The president-elect said the officials he chooses to lead the Justice Department will have the 'independent capacity to decide who gets prosecuted and who doesn't.'"

Toluse Olorunnipa & Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden has selected a close adviser to help lead the nation's response to the coronavirus crisis, tapping a veteran of the Obama administration to serve as America's top doctor as the country suffers from a surging pandemic. Vivek H. Murthy, a former U.S. surgeon general, has been asked to reprise the role in an expanded version in the new administration, according to an individual familiar with the decision. Murthy is expected to be part of a team of health-care officials charged with tackling the issue Biden has said would be his top priority upon taking office, according to people with knowledge of the matter, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because decisions have not been officially announced. On Thursday, Biden told CNN that Anthony S. Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, would serve as a chief medical adviser and help his administration with its coronavirus response plan. Fauci, who served on President Trump's coronavirus task force, has been attacked by the president in recent months as he has contradicted the White House's message that the pandemic is under control and on the verge of disappearing."

Jim Tankersley & Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has officially selected Brian Deese, who played a leading role in bailing out the automotive industry and negotiating the Paris climate agreement under President Barack Obama, to head the National Economic Council, his transition team said Thursday. The appointment, which does not require Senate confirmation, highlights Mr. Biden's plans to use economic policy initiatives to drive climate policy. It also defies pre-emptive criticism from some environmental groups, which have targeted Mr. Deese for his work in recent years as the sustainability director for the asset-management giant BlackRock."

Chelsea Janes of the Washington Post: "Vice President-Elect Kamala D. Harris will name Tina Flournoy Chief of Staff, the transition team announced Thursday, tapping a trailblazer with decades of Washington experience to help run the vice presidential operation. Harris's longtime aide Rohini Kosoglu will serve as domestic policy advisor, and former ambassador to Bulgaria Nancy McEldowney will advise her on national security. Flournoy had been serving as Chief of Staff to former President Bill Clinton, hovering out of the direct Washington spotlight for a few years after serving in several prominent roles in the Democratic party throughout the 1990s and 2000s."

The Last Days of the Kaiser

Pardon Us. All of Us. Anita Kumar & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "... Donald Trump is considering preemptively pardoning as many as 20 aides and associates before leaving office.... Still, Trump is hesitant to pardon any of them, particularly [Rudy] Giuliani, because it may appear that members of his inner circle are criminals, said one of the three people, who spoke to Trump this week. The Giuliani pardon has been discussed more seriously, the person added." MB: Much of this story is dedicated to how upset "Republicans" are about Trump's wholesale (well, okay, he likely charges retail) pardons. Upset? Seems like the reporters' wishful thinking. The senators they cited hardly expressed outrage. ~~~

~~~ Pardons for Dollars. Michael Schmidt, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department investigated as recently as this summer the roles of a top fund-raiser for President Trump and a lawyer for his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, in a suspected scheme to offer a bribe in exchange for clemency for a tax crimes convict, according to two people familiar with the inquiry. A federal judge in Washington unsealed heavily redacted court documents on Tuesday that disclosed the existence of the investigation into possible unregistered lobbying and bribery. The people said it concerned efforts by the lawyer for Mr. Kushner, Abbe Lowell, and the fund-raiser, Elliott Broidy, who pleaded guilty in October to a charge related to a different scheme to lobby the Trump administration. A billionaire real estate developer from the San Francisco area, Sanford Diller, enlisted their help in securing clemency for a Berkeley psychologist, Hugh L. Baras, who had received a 30-month prison sentence on a conviction of tax evasion and improperly claiming Social Security benefits.... Mr. Diller ... died in February 2018, and there is no evidence that the effort continued after his death.... Mr. Baras did not receive clemency."

"Very Bad Criminal Stuff." Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump said Thursday he is disappointed in Attorney General William Barr for saying that the Justice Department had not uncovered evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.... 'He hasn't done anything, so he hasn't looked. When he looks, he'll see the kind of evidence that right now you are seeing in the Georgia Senate. They are going through hearings right now in Georgia and they are finding tremendous volumes,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'So, they haven't looked very hard. Which is a disappointment, to be honest with you, because it's massive fraud.' The president also declined to offer a vote of confidence in Barr when asked. 'Ask me that in a number of weeks from now. They should be looking at all of this fraud,' he said. 'This is not civil. He thought it was civil. This is not civil. This is criminal stuff. This is very bad criminal stuff.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ DOJ Throws Trump Aide Out of the Building. Michael Balsamo & Zeke Miller of the AP: "The official serving as ... Donald Trump's eyes and ears at the Justice Department has been banned from the building after trying to pressure staffers to give up sensitive information about election fraud and other matters she could relay to the White House, three people familiar with the matter tell The Associated Press. Heidi Stirrup, an ally of top Trump adviser Stephen Miller, was quietly installed at the Justice Department as a White House liaison a few months ago. She was told within the last two weeks to vacate the building after top Justice officials learned of her efforts to collect insider information about ongoing cases and the department's work on election fraud, the people said. Stirrup is accused of approaching staffers in the department demanding they give her information about investigations, including election fraud matters...." ~~~

    ~~~ Marie: In case you're thinking, "But maybe Heidi is a good person," there's this near the end of the AP story: "Stirrup, a close ally of [Stephen] Miller, previously served as the acting director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement...." Nuf said. ~~~

     ~~~ So Then. Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump has rewarded some of his top fundraisers [& other loyalists] with plumb federal positions that will outlast his single term in office.... [Among] 24 appointments to various federal bodies announced on Thursday: Heidi Stirrup, a White House liaison to the Department of Justice, landed a spot on the Board of Visitors to the United States Air Force Academy."

"Incontrovertible Evidence" of Election Fraud! Jeffrey Martin of Newsweek: "Former Trump adviser Roger Stone claimed on Wednesday that North Korea had interfered in the U.S. presidential election.... 'I just learned of absolute incontrovertible evidence of North Korean boats delivering ballots through a harbor in Maine, the state of Maine,' Stone said. 'If this checks out, if law enforcement looked into that and it turned out to be true, it would be proof of foreign involvement in the election.'" MB: Wait, wait, Roger; I'm all confused. If the evidence is "incontrovertible," why does it need to be "checked out" to see if "it turned out to be true"? Sounds a tad "controvertible" to me. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trump Clown Car Takes on Excellent Ghostbuster Witness. Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Truck driver Jesse Morgan thrust himself into the middle of the post-2020 election drama on Tuesday when he claimed at a press conference that he had unwittingly driven a truck full of suspicious mail-in ballots from New York to Pennsylvania ahead of Election Day.... The appearance at a voter fraud event hosted by the right-wing Thomas More Center turned Morgan into the latest viral star on the Trumpist right. And, soon enough, his claims were being amplified by the president, his legal team, conservative groups unaffiliated with the campaign, and Trump supporters themselves all of whom have argued that nearly 300,000 bogus mail-in ballots were used in Pennsylvania, Morgan's home state, to put Joe Biden over the top.... In addition to witnessing supposed voter fraud, the man believes his family has been stalked cross-country by ghosts. Before he became a hero in MAGAworld, Morgan was an amateur ghost-hunter." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ So that's Trump's star witness in Pennsylvania. But what about Michigan? you ask. ~~~

~~~ Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "Weeks after Melissa Carone was tapped by the Trump campaign as a star witness in Michigan, little appeared to be going as planned with the contract IT worker's testimony -- an unverified series of claims about ballot fraud at Detroit's vote-counting center. In interviews with conservative-leaning media, last month, her offbeat tale suggesting ballots were being smuggled inside food vans seemed to baffle even Fox Business host Lou Dobbs. Two days later, a Wayne County judge ruled that her allegations 'simply are not credible.' Yet, there she was in front of a Michigan House panel on Wednesday, dressing down a Republican lawmaker as she loudly insisted, without proof, that tens of thousands of votes had been counted twice. At one point, she was audibly shushed by ... Rudolph W. Giuliani.... On social media, her pointed declarations, Midwestern lilt and poofy, blond updo drew comparisons to 'Saturday Night Live' characters played by Victoria Jackson and Cecily Strong." (Also linked yesterday.)

Wisconsin. State Supremes Throw Trump Out of Court. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday declined to take up a challenge to the presidential election filed by President Trump's campaign, finding that under state law, it should have sought a hearing first in a lower-level court. Trump's campaign could still seek to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's more than 20,000-vote lead in the state in Wisconsin circuit court. But the refusal of the state's highest court to take up Trump's petition is a new blow to Trump's foundering efforts to overturn the election -- and a particularly stinging rebuke, given that conservatives hold a 4-to-3 majority on the elected panel. One conservative member of the panel, Brian Hagedorn, joined the court's three more liberal members in declining to take the case." An AP story is here. The New York Times' story is here.

Georgia Senate Race. A Florida Man Is up to No Good Again. Nicole Carr of WSB-TV Atlanta: "A Florida attorney is at the center of a new state investigation after elections officials say he recently attempted to register to vote in Georgia and instructed other Florida Republicans on how to do it. Bill Price is seen in a now-deleted Facebook Live video, speaking to the Bay County GOP members in Florida on Nov. 7th. It was about half an hour after the election was called for the Joe Biden-Kamala Harris ticket. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirmed the video is being investigated....'Those who move to Georgia just to vote in the Senate runoffs with no intention of staying are committing a felony that is punishable with jailtime and hefty fines....' ''We absolutely have to hold the Senate and we have to start fighting back, and we have to do whatever it takes,' Price said in the video. 'And if that means changing your address for the next two months, so be it. I'm doing that. I'm moving to Georgia and I'm gonna fight and I want you all to fight with me.' Price told the group he's moving to his brother's address in Hiram, Georgia in order to register to vote in the January runoff. He repeats and spells and his brother's name and address, as members of the group jot it down."

~~~ Marie: In case you have any friends who are Georgia voters & who think "divided government" will lead to "moderate" outcomes, send them E.J. Dionne's Washington Post column to disabuse them of that idea. (Also linked yesterday.)

Russ Buettner of the New York Times: "President Trump will face a raft of potential legal challenges when he leaves office.... Now add to that Leonie Green of the Westminster Apartments in Brooklyn. Ms. Green is among a group of tenants in rent-regulated apartments once owned by Mr. Trump's father who have filed a lawsuit against the president and his siblings, accusing the Trumps of a decade-long fraud to win artificially high rent increases through an invoice-padding scheme. The scheme, first revealed in a 2018 investigation by The New York Times, involved tacking at least 20 percent onto the cost of materials purchased for the apartments, with Mr. Trump, his siblings and a cousin splitting the extra proceeds. The maneuver generated millions of dollars for each sibling, with no work required. While the siblings were still liable for income taxes, the maneuver allowed them to evade far-higher gift and estate taxes on part of the fortune they received from their father. But the tenants paid a price. New York laws governing rent-regulated apartments allow owners to increase rents based on the costs of major capital improvements.... The new lawsuit ... seeks the extra rent paid, plus interest and triple damages, for current and former tenants in more than 30 apartment complexes that belonged to the president's father, Fred C. Trump."

Jacqueline Alemany & David Fahrenthold of the Washington Post: "Ivanka Trump was questioned for more than five hours this week by investigators from the D.C. attorney general's office, which has accused President Trump's Inaugural Committee of wasting donated money on an overpriced ballroom at the president;s D.C. hotel, Ivanka Trump said on Twitter Thursday.... On Twitter on Thursday, D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) replied to Ivanka Trump's post with a message calling the Trump hotel's bills 'grossly overpriced.' 'Our investigation revealed the Committee willfully used nonprofit funds to enrich the Trump family. It's very simple: They broke the law. That's why we sued,' Racine wrote in another tweet. In a lawsuit filed in January, Racine said that the Trump Inaugural Committee -- legally a nonprofit, using donated money -- and the Trump hotel took advantage of that arrangement. Racine said the Inaugural Committee spent more than $1 million on a ballroom at the hotel over several days. The rate was $175,000 per day, plus about $300,000 in charges for food and beverages." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to Emily Fox of Vanity Fair, who appeared on MSNBC, Ivanka was responsible for approving the price charged to the inaugural committee, which Fox said was 35 times the price the hotel normally charges to non-profits.

Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "White House communications director Alyssa Farah resigned from her post Thursday after 3½ years in the Trump administration. Farah, 31, began her White House tenure as press secretary under Vice President Pence before joining the Defense Department as press secretary last September, and she returned to the White House as communications director in April. She is the first person to serve in these three roles in one administration, and the youngest Pentagon press secretary. Farah's departure, with little over a month remaining in President Trump's administration, amounts to a tacit acknowledgment that ... Trump lost the 2020 election, and much of his team is now pondering their post-White House future." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I wondered why Farah would resign with fewer than seven weeks left of this pathetic administration. Then, I saw this near the end of Parker's report: "Much of Farah's final months focused on the coronavirus pandemic...." So I'm guessing Farah has nothing to do and is not that enthusiastic a thumb-twiddler.

That's the Way It Always Goes. Matt Bonesteel of the Washington Post: "In September, prosecutors in Florida dropped misdemeanor prostitution charges against New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft after a state appeals court ruled that footage of Kraft from a police-installed video camera inside the Orchids of Asia spa had been obtained using unconstitutional methods and would be inadmissible at trial. The case didn't end there, however. Three Orchids of Asia employees, including two women Kraft was accused of patronizing, have pleaded guilty to prostitution-related charges. They must pay thousands of dollars in fines, court fees and cash forfeitures and face months of probation. One other employee already had pleaded guilty in February and was sentenced to the 60 days she had spent in custody awaiting an outcome of her case."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Mystery Monolith Updates. Samir Ferdowsi of Vice: "Another unexplained monolith has been spotted, this time in Atascadero, California. The ever-familiar silver silhouette stands atop Pine Mountain, which is located between the Bay Area and Los Angeles. It closely resembles the first monolith found in Utah, but the haste at which it was seemingly placed mimics that of its Romanian counterpart." ~~~

~~~ Samir Ferdowsi: "The new California monolith was torn down overnight by a group of right-wing young men who livestreamed their vandalism in a grainy video posted on the blockchain streaming site DLive. In the video, a group of three men are seen pushing the statue over and chanting 'America First' and 'Christ is King.' The men, one of whom was wearing a 'Make America Great Again' headband, called part of the monolith's construction 'gay' then replaced it monolith with a wooden cross.... Throughout the video they mentioning burning crosses and white power.... It is a decidedly bleak turn in the ongoing monolith saga that has generally been a delightful distraction for a world wracked by a pandemic."

News Lede

New York Times: "Betsy Wade, the first woman to edit news copy for The New York Times and the lead plaintiff in a landmark sex discrimination lawsuit against the newspaper on behalf of its female employees, died on Thursday at her home on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. She was 91. Her death was confirmed by her husband, James Boylan, who said she had learned in 2017 that she had colon cancer. In a 45-year Times career, Ms. Wade also became the first woman to lead the Newspaper Guild of New York, the largest local in the national journalism union (now known as the NewsGuild). She was revered among peers for her role in the 1974 class-action suit against The Times, one of the industry's earliest fights over women's rights to equal treatment in hiring, promotion, pay and workplace protections under federal antidiscrimination laws."

The Commentariat -- December 3, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with a California ministry that argued the state's Covid-related restrictions on indoor services violated its religious liberty rights, the court's second such ruling on pandemic guidelines for churches in two weeks. In an unsigned order, the justices sent the dispute between the Harvest Rock International Ministry and California Gov. Gavin Newsom back to the 9th US Circuit Court of Appeals to further consider the case in light of its ruling from last week when the court blocked similar restrictions in New York. There were no noted dissents.... To make their point [the ministry] included in the legal filing a picture of Newsom at a restaurant with a large gathering where no one was wearing masks."

"Very Bad Criminal Stuff." Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump said Thursday he is disappointed in Attorney General William Barr for saying that the Justice Department had not uncovered evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election.... 'He hasn't done anything, so he hasn't looked. When he looks, he'll see the kind of evidence that right now you are seeing in the Georgia Senate. They are going through hearings right now in Georgia and they are finding tremendous volumes,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'So, they haven't looked very hard. Which is a disappointment, to be honest with you, because it's massive fraud.' The president also declined to offer a vote of confidence in Barr when asked. 'Ask me that in a number of weeks from now. They should be looking at all of this fraud,' he said. 'This is not civil. He thought it was civil. This is not civil. This is criminal stuff. This is very bad criminal stuff.'"

"Incontrovertible Evidence" of Election Fraud! Jeffrey Martin of Newsweek: "Former Trump adviser Roger Stone claimed on Wednesday that North Korea had interfered in the U.S. presidential election.... 'I just learned of absolute incontrovertible evidence of North Korean boats delivering ballots through a harbor in Maine, the state of Maine,' Stone said. 'If this checks out, if law enforcement looked into that and it turned out to be true, it would be proof of foreign involvement in the election.'" MB: Wait, wait, Roger; I'm all confused. If the evidence is "incontrovertible," why does it need to be "checked out" to see if "it turned out to be true"? Sounds a tad "controvertible" to me.

The Trump Clown Car Takes on Excellent Ghostbuster Witness. Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "Truck driver Jesse Morgan thrust himself into the middle of the post-2020 election drama on Tuesday when he claimed at a press conference that he had unwittingly driven a truck full of suspicious mail-in ballots from New York to Pennsylvania ahead of Election Day.... The appearance at a voter fraud event hosted by the right-wing Thomas More Center turned Morgan into the latest viral star on the Trumpist right. And, soon enough, his claims were being amplified by the president, his legal team, conservative groups unaffiliated with the campaign, and Trump supporters themselves all of whom have argued that nearly 300,000 bogus mail-in ballots were used in Pennsylvania, Morgan's home state, to put Joe Biden over the top.... In addition to witnessing supposed voter fraud, the man believes his family has been stalked cross-country by ghosts. Before he became a hero in MAGAworld, Morgan was an amateur ghost-hunter." ~~~

~~~ So that's Trump's star witness in Pennsylvania. But what about Michigan? you ask. ~~~

~~~ Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "Weeks after Melissa Carone was tapped by the Trump campaign as a star witness in Michigan, little appeared to be going as planned with the contract IT worker's testimony -- an unverified series of claims about ballot fraud at Detroit's vote-counting center. In interviews with conservative-leaning media, last month, her offbeat tale suggesting ballots were being smuggled inside food vans seemed to baffle even Fox Business host Lou Dobbs. Two days later, a Wayne County judge ruled that her allegations 'simply are not credible.' Yet, there she was in front of a Michigan House panel on Wednesday, dressing down a Republican lawmaker as she loudly insisted, without proof, that tens of thousands of votes had been counted twice. At one point, she was audibly shushed by ... Rudolph W. Giuliani.... On social media, her pointed declarations, Midwestern lilt and poofy, blond updo drew comparisons to 'Saturday Night Live' characters played by Victoria Jackson and Cecily Strong."

Marie: In case you have any friends who are Georgia voters & who think "divided government" will lead to "moderate" outcomes, send them E.J. Dionne's Washington Post column to disabuse them of that idea.

~~~~~~~~~~

Nahal Toosi, et al., of Politico: "Now that he's chosen a big chunk of his Cabinet nominees, President-elect Joe Biden's transition team is focusing increasingly on selecting candidates for government positions that do not require Senate confirmation. Concerned about Republicans slow-walking confirmation hearings ... and hollowed-out federal agencies, Biden and his aides are eager to place mid- to lower-level officials across the federal government, particularly in national security roles, to ensure his administration can begin to enact his agenda immediately, according to three people familiar with the situation. By quickly selecting candidates for slots that don't require Senate confirmation, such as deputy assistant secretaries, the transition team also can try to ensure that many of those hired can obtain security clearances by the time Biden takes office. The shift in focus to filling positions that do not require confirmation reflects the urgency with which the Biden team sees its staffing conundrum.... It also signals Biden's anxiousness to replace Trump appointees and fill long-empty positions as soon as possible so he can enact his agenda." (Also linked yesterday.)

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has no plans to remove Christopher Wray, the F.B.I. director installed by President Trump if he is still in the job when the new administration comes in, according to a senior adviser to Mr. Biden with knowledge of the process. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Mr. Biden's team was 'not removing the F.B.I. director unless Trump fired him' -- signaling a return to pre-Trump norms of continuity at a core domestic law enforcement agency that is supposed to operate without political meddling." This is an item in the Times' transition updates Wednesday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alex Thompson & Theodoric Meyer of Politico: "A former colleague of Heather Boushey, a top economic adviser to President-elect Joe Biden, is publicly airing prior accusations that Boushey mismanaged the think tank she runs and verbally abused her and other subordinates, saying she wants to prevent future White House employees from enduring a similar experience. Claudia Sahm, a former director of macroeconomic policy at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth, Boushey's think tank, published an account of her and other former employees' experiences working with Boushey on her personal website Tuesday night.... Former subordinates and employees have alleged that Boushey was 'phenomenally incompetent as a manager' and had 'frequent episodes of yelling and swearing.' The complaints were serious enough that the think tank where she worked hired a management coach to work with her to improve her management style around 2015.... The revelations resurfaced Tuesday night, just hours after the president-elect publicly introduced Boushey as a member of his Council of Economic Advisers."

The Last Days of the Kaiser

The Kaiser Has No Clothes. Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday released a 46-minute videotaped speech that denounced a 'rigged' election and was filled with lies the day after his own attorney general joined election officials across the country in attesting to his defeat. Mr. Trump recorded what he said 'may be the most important speech I've ever made' in the Diplomatic Room of the White House and delivered it behind a lectern bearing the presidential seal. He then posted a two-minute version on Twitter, with a link to the full version on his Facebook page. The president once again refused to concede defeat in his bid for re-election almost a month after Election Day, repeating a long list of false assertions about voter fraud and accusing Democrats of a conspiracy to steal the presidency. Twitter quickly labeled the post 'disputed.' Facebook added a note that President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., who received almost 81 million votes and 306 electoral votes, is the projected winner of the election. The video, which a White House official said was recorded last week, was the in-person embodiment of Mr. Trump's staccato tweets over the past three weeks: one falsehood after another about voting irregularities in swing states, attacks on state officials and signature verifications, and false accusations against Democrats." ~~~

~~~ Aamer Madhani & Kevin Freking of the AP: "Increasingly detached from reality..., Donald Trump stood before a White House lectern and delivered a 46-minute diatribe against the election results that produced a win for Democrat Joe Biden, unspooling one misstatement after another to back his baseless claim that he really won." ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "Over the length of a 46-minute video posted to social media Wednesday, President Trump read and riffed on a prepared script lambasting those who had the audacity to suggest that receiving fewer votes than his opponent meant he shouldn't serve a second consecutive term in office.... It was, almost literally, a distillation of the past four weeks of rants, allegations and accusations, including countless examples of claims which have already been soundly debunked.... It was a cri de coeur which, given the season, begs comparisons to the Festivus airing of grievances from George Costanza's father on 'Seinfeld' -- another older Queens man unable to gracefully accept the nature of the world around him."

The Veep Is Not Amused. Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: VP Mike Pence's name no longer appears on Trump fundraising letters & some recent campaign literature has appeared with a logo changed from "Trump-Pence" to "Trump." "According to four people with knowledge of the matter, they reflect an effort by the vice president and his team to distance Pence from some of the president's more outlandish claims about a conspiracy to undermine the election and illegally deny him a second term in office.... A senior administration official [said,] 'The vice president doesn't want to go down with this ship ... and believes much of the legal work has been unhelpful.'... And, as a former governor himself, he has been particularly uncomfortable with Trump's attacks on Republican governors in some of the key battleground states that he lost.... On Wednesday, Pence went to Capitol Hill where he participated in the swearing in of Senator Mark Kelly (D-AZ) -- an act that implicitly conceded the validity of the elections in Arizona."

Trump's Patriotic Friends. Peter Montgomery of Right Wing Watch: "Lin Wood, an Atlanta-based lawyer who says ... Donald Trump asked him to join the effort to challenge Joe Biden's election victory, is promoting a right-wing group's call for Trump to declare martial law and use the military to oversee a new election. Retired Gen. Michael Flynn also promoted the call for martial law [in a tweet] just a day after the Justice Department released the language of the extremely broad pardon Flynn received from Trump[.]" MB: Wingers are getting crazier by the day. (Also linked yesterday.)

Katherine Faulders & Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "While at the White House for meetings Tuesday, Attorney General Bill Barr had a meeting with ... Donald Trump following an interview with the Associated Press in which Barr disclosed that the Department of Justice has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the election results, multiple sources ... tell ABC News.... One source briefed on the meeting described Barr's interaction with the president as 'intense,' but would not elaborate on any additional details about the content of their discussion." ~~~

~~~ Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump remained livid at Attorney General William P. Barr on Wednesday, with one senior administration official indicating there was a chance Barr could be fired -- not just for his public comments undercutting Trump's unfounded claims of election-shifting fraud, but also for steps he did not take on a probe of the FBI's 2016 investigation into Trump's campaign. A day after Barr told the Associated Press that he had 'not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election,' Trump continued to complain about his attorney general, people familiar with the matter said." ~~~

~~~ Dan Mangan & Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "... Donald Trump's spokeswoman refused to say Wednesday whether Trump still has faith in Attorney General William Barr, a day after Barr said the Justice Department has not found evidence that widespread ballot fraud led to President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Barr's statement badly undercut baseless allegations by Trump and his campaign legal team that the Republican president was swindled out of reelection by voting fraud." MB: And Bill Barr is smiling. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Stone Pegs Barr as a Deep-state Shill. Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: "Remember in February when Attorney General Bill Barr trashed his department's reputation to override the recommended prison term for Roger Stone and push for a much shorter sentence? Because, apparently, Stone has forgotten -- and has gone on the attack against the AG.... Stone, one of Trump's longest standing allies, is particularly angry even though Barr did him a huge favor.... In a video posted to Parler, Stone said he's not surprised that Barr has 'suddenly determined' there is no voter fraud, adding: 'Bill Barr's job is to block for the "deep state."' Stone, who had his prison sentence commuted by Trump in July, also complained of a 'two-tiered justice system.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Brad Parscale, the former Trump campaign manager who was demoted in July, claimed in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night that President Trump would have handily won the election if he had expressed more empathy about the coronavirus pandemic.... Mr. Parscale also appeared to blame those who succeeded him in running Mr. Trump's campaign for failing to file lawsuits before Election Day. In fact, the campaign filed multiple lawsuits during the early voting period seeking to block mail-in ballot rule changes.... At other points in the interview, Mr. Parscale refused to concede that the president had lost the election, claiming that Mr. Trump was 'in a position that he might be able to pull this off." A Politico story is here. MB: Brad says he wants to go back to flipping houses. If you live in Southeast Florida, you might want to be careful whose flip you buy. (Also linked yesterday.)

Susan Rice, in a New York Times op-ed: "While President Trump rages relentlessly about election 'fraud,' many Republican leaders continue to parrot false denials of the validity of President-elect Joe Biden's clear victory. Yet, so far, our democracy has withstood the greatest stress test of our lifetimes.... Still, the lesson we must learn is not a reassuring one: A determined autocrat in the White House poses a grave threat to our democratic institutions and can severely undermine faith in our elections, particularly when backed by partisans in Congress.... Bolstering our democracy depends in large part on the people of Georgia voting out their incumbent senators on Jan. 5. If the Senate flips to Democratic control, Congress will be able to apply the lessons of our democracy's near-death experience." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "The federal judge presiding over Sidney Powell and L. Lin Wood's lawsuit challenging Wisconsin's election results issued a ruling on Wednesday that reads like a laundry list of embarrassing procedural failures and omissions, highlighting what could well represent the nadir of post-election legal ineptitude.... On Wednesday, Chief U.S. District Judge Pamela Pepper, an appointee of Barack Obama, took the attorneys to task, bluntly laying out the litany of basic mistakes made in the complaint."

Elahe Izadi of the Washington Post: "Joseph diGenova, the Trump campaign lawyer who had been a fixture in Washington legal circles for decades, resigned under pressure Tuesday from the elite Gridiron Club after an uproar over his comments suggesting a former government official should be executed.... The White House denounced the statement, Krebs said he would consider legal action -- and the 135-year-old Gridiron Club asked diGenova to step down.... On Wednesday, U.S. Reps. Kathleen Rice (D-N.Y.) and Ted W. Lieu (D-Ca.), both former prosecutors, called on the disciplinary arm of the D.C. bar to immediately open an investigation into diGenova's statements as an incitement to violence and a violation of rules of professional conduct." MB: It's useful to bear in mind, as Rice & Lieu do, that diGenova was representing the POTUS* when he issued his call for extreme violence against a former federal official whom said POTUS* had just fired. ~~~

~~~ Colleen Long & Calvin Woodward of the AP: "The last throes of Donald Trump's presidency have turned ugly -- even dangerous. Death threats are on the rise. Local and state election officials are being hounded into hiding. A Trump campaign lawyer is declaring publicly that a federal official who defended the integrity of the election should be 'drawn and quartered' or simply shot. Neutral public servants, Democrats and a growing number of Republicans who won't do what Trump wants are being caught in a menacing postelection undertow stirred by Trump's grievances about the election he lost." ~~~

~~~ Michelle Lee & Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "Intensifying attacks on the integrity of the vote by President Trump and his allies are fueling deep alarm among state and local officials, who have watched with dread in recent weeks as election workers have been targeted by fast-spreading conspiracy theories. They echoed calls by Gabriel Sterling, a top Republican election official in Georgia who on Tuesday urged Trump and other GOP politicians to tamp down their baseless claims of widespread fraud. In an impassioned statement, Sterling blamed the president for 'inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence.'... White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Wednesday that the president condemns violence, adding that there have been threats against Trump's lawyers.... But later in the day, Trump released a 46-minute taped address ... in which he repeated baseless claims ... promoting the same conspiracy theories that have led to the targeting of election workers. He also filed yet another legal challenge attempting to challenge the results, this time a federal lawsuit in Wisconsin arguing that state officials ran the election so poorly it amounted to a constitutional violation."

Georgia. NPR: "NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with Georgia election official Gabe Sterling on his plea to President Trump and fellow Republicans to condemn threats against election officials." Here's a piece of Sterling's remarks, which contributor NiskyGuy highlighted at the end of yesterday's Comments thread: "... I am a Republican. That's one of the things about this that makes it so frustrating. And I will still vote for them (Sens. Perdue & Loeffler) because some things are bigger than this.... It's just - they are in campaign mode. They are terrified they're going to lose the Trump base, so they do not want to cross President Trump. So I feel bad for them that they're kind of stuck in that terrible box of a position because if you piss off the Trump voters, in their opinion, you lose those Trump voters." NiskyGuy: "I believe 'this' refers to the death threats against election workers. Yes, Mr. Sterling, you believe party is the most important thing. More important than the lives of your fellow election workers, more important than country. You are nothing more than a small, self-righteous enabler. Baaaaaah." ~~~

~~~ Georgia Senate Race. Fox 5 Atlanta: "The campaigns for [Sens. David] Perdue [R] and [Kelly] Loeffler [R] both issued statements Tuesday evening condemning violence but also criticizing election officials, according to news outlets. They previously called for [Georgia state election official Gabriel] Sterling's boss, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign over what they call a mismanagement of the statewide election.... [Democrat] Stacey Abrams released the following statement: 'Fair Fight and I condemn in the strongest terms possible all threats against election workers, contractors, and election officials.... Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who have echoed election conspiracies without evidence and contributed to the culture of intimidation and fear, should join us in condemning those who engage in these despicable attacks.'" The Rev. Raphael Warnock (D), who is challenging Loeffler, also issued a statement condemning the threats of violence against election officials. Jon Ossoff (D), who is running against Perdue, did not. See related stories linked below. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ I Like Being Senator Because ... the Correct Answer Is (a) Insider Trading Opportunities. Stephanie Saul, et al., of the New York Times: "An examination of [Sen. David] Perdue's [R-Ga.] stock trading during his six years in office reveals that he has been the Senate's most prolific stock trader by far, sometimes reporting 20 or more transactions in a single day.... Mr. Perdue's [2,596] transactions accounted for nearly a third of all Senate trades reported in the past six years.... The data also shows the breadth of trades Mr. Perdue made in companies that stood to benefit from policy and spending matters that came not just before the Senate as a whole, but before the committees and subcommittees on which he served.... Mr. Perdue's Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff, has seized on the trading as a campaign issue. In a news conference on Monday, he accused Mr. Perdue of 'using his office to enrich himself' through the stock trades." (Also linked yesterday.)

Killing Them Quickly. Matt Berman & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "After nearly two decades without any federal executions, the Justice Department reversed course this summer by carrying out three death sentences in four days. Now the department is planning a similarly busy schedule of executions during the Trump administration's final days, before a president who staunchly backs capital punishment is succeeded by one who opposes it. The Justice Department's push to carry out executions during the run-up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration -- including scheduling three during the week before he takes office -- has drawn sharp condemnation from critics who denounced these actions during the lame-duck window."

Kylie Atwood of CNN: "A senior US administration official said Israel was behind the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist but declined to give details about whether the Trump administration knew about the attack before it was carried out or provided support. The official said that in the past, Israelis have shared information with the US about their targets and covert operations before carrying them out but would not say if they did so in this instance. The Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed Friday, had been a target for the Israelis for a long time, the official added." (Also linked yesterday.)

Kara Scannell of CNN: "Ivanka Trump ... sat for a deposition Tuesday with investigators from the Washington, DC, attorney general's office as part of its lawsuit alleging the misuse of inaugural funds, according to a court filing. In January, the DC attorney general's office sued the Trump Organization and Presidential Inaugural Committee alleging they abused more than $1 million raised by the nonprofit by 'grossly overpaying' for use of event space at the Trump hotel in Washington for the 2017 inauguration. Depositions of witnesses as part of the lawsuit have been underway over the past several weeks. Tom Barrack, chairman of the inaugural committee, was deposed on November 17, according to the court filing. The attorney general's office has also subpoenaed records from Barrack, Ivanka Trump, first lady Melania Trump, and Rick Gates, the former inaugural committee deputy chairman, the filing said." MB: According to a TV lawyer, Donald Trump has no pardon power here. Besides, this is a civil suit.

David Folkenflik of NPR: "The U.S. Office of Special Counsel, a federal watchdog, disclosed Wednesday that it had found 'a substantial likelihood of wrongdoing' at the parent agency of the Voice of America under the leadership of the CEO appointed by President Trump. Since taking over the U.S. Agency for Global Media, CEO Michael Pack has turned it upside down, sidelining top executives, firing network chiefs, and deep-sixing requests for visa extensions for foreign staffers. Most notably, Pack had two senior political aides with records of strongly pro-Trump ideological statements investigate journalists for perceived anti-Trump bias and push for sympathetic news coverage of the president during the campaign. The finding ... is not a final determination. In late November, U.S. Judge Beryl Howell ruled that Pack had acted unconstitutionally in investigating his own journalists on political grounds. She ordered him to stop intervening inside VOA's newsrooms."

Julia Ainsley & Jacob Soboroff of NBC News: "Legal advocates tasked by a federal judge with helping to find migrant families separated at the U.S. border in 2017 and 2018 say that after months of pleas, the government last week handed over new data that could be critical to helping them find the families.... 'We have been repeatedly asking the Trump administration for any additional data they might have to help locate the families and are only finally getting these new phone numbers and addresses," said Lee Gelernt, deputy director of the ACLU Immigrants' Rights Project.... 'Everyone's been asking whether the Trump administration has been helping to find these families. Not only have they not been helping, but they have been withholding this data forever,' Gelernt said."

Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Democrat Mark Kelly was sworn in to the Senate on Wednesday, marking the first time in more than 67 years that Arizona will have two Democratic senators. Kelly, 56, a former astronaut and the husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), defeated Sen. Martha McSally (R) in a special election last month. The seat was once held by longtime Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who died in 2018.... Vice President Pence administered the oath in the Senate chamber, and Arizona's senior senator, Kyrsten Sinema (D), accompanied Kelly and held the Bible. All three wore masks. Republicans and Democrats stood and applauded." (This is an update of a story also linked yesterday.)

Emily Cochrane & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "The top Democrats in Congress on Wednesday endorsed a bipartisan $908 billion stimulus compromise as a baseline for talks, offering a significant concession in an effort to pressure Republicans to revive stalled talks on providing additional relief before the end of the year. After months of publicly insisting that another stimulus package must provide at least $2 trillion, Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, called on Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, to return to the negotiating table with a bill less than half that size as a starting point. President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., whose advisers had pushed privately in recent weeks for lawmakers to make compromises to pass an economic aid agreement as quickly as possible, also offered a blessing of sorts for the effort. In a virtual event with laid-off workers and a small-business owner struggling amid the pandemic, Mr. Biden said the bipartisan package' wouldn't be the answer, but it would be immediate help for a lot of things, quickly.'"

Andrew Desiderio, et al., of Politico: "Congress is moving forward on a must-pass defense policy bill without repealing a legal shield for social media companies, rejecting a last-minute veto threat from ... Donald Trump. The final version of the National Defense Authorization Act that will soon be considered by the House and Senate won't include Trump's long-sought repeal of the legal immunity for online companies, known as Section 230, according to lawmakers and aides.... Senate Armed Services Chair Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said that while he agrees with Trump on Section 230, the provision 'has nothing to do with the military.... You can't do it in this bill. That's not a part of the bill,' Inhofe said, adding that he has conveyed that belief to Trump.... The final defense bill does include a provision that would spur the Pentagon to remove the names [of Confederate leaders from ten Army bases] over a three-year period, according to an aide for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who authored the proposal." Trump also has said he would veto the bill if it included that provision. MB: I guess Congressional leaders think they have enough votes to override a veto by America's Biggest Loser. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Jamie Gangel & Shelby Erdman of CNN: "Former Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton are volunteering to get their Covid-19 vaccines on camera to promote public confidence in the vaccine's safety once the US Food and Drug Administration authorizes one. The three most recent former presidents hope an awareness campaign to promote confidence in its safety and effectiveness would be a powerful message as American public health officials try to convince the public to take the vaccine." MB: Uh, where's Trump?

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The United States set a pair of alarming coronavirus records Wednesday, surpassing 200,000 new infections and topping 100,000 covid-19 patients hospitalized -- the first time the country has reached either metric in a single day." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here: "The United States on Wednesday recorded its single-worst daily death toll since the pandemic began, and on a day when Covid-19 hospitalizations also hit an all-time high, the pace of loss showed no signs of slowing any time soon. Not since spring, during the pandemic's first peak, were so many deaths reported. The high point then was 2,752 deaths on April 15. On Wednesday it was at least 2,760. Hospitalizations from the virus topped 100,000 -- more than double the number at the beginning of November. That is a clear indicator of what the days ahead may look like, experts say.... ~~~

~~~ “The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday that the nation is facing a devastating winter, predicting that total deaths from Covid-19 could reach 'close to 450,000' by February unless a large percentage of Americans follow precautions like mask-wearing. 'The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times,' said Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the C.D.C., in an address to the Chamber of Commerce Foundation." (Also linked yesterday.)

Worse than Trump. David Sanger & Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "A series of cyberattacks is underway aimed at the companies and government organizations that will be distributing coronavirus vaccines around the world, IBM's cybersecurity division has found, though it is unclear whether the goal is to steal the technology for keeping the vaccines refrigerated in transit or to sabotage the movements.... Both the IBM researchers and the department's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said the attacks appear intended to steal the network credentials of corporate executives and officials at global organizations involved in the refrigeration process necessary to protect vaccine doses.... Researchers for IBM Security X-Force ... said they believed that the attacks were sophisticated enough that they pointed to a government-sponsored initiative, not a rogue criminal operation aimed purely at monetary gain. But they could not identify which country might be behind them."

Party On, Dudes! John Hudson of the Washington Post: "Following a sharp spike in coronavirus cases across the country, State Department leadership sent out a notice to employees one week ago recommending that 'any non-mission critical events' be changed to 'virtual events as opposed to in-person gatherings.' That same week, U.S. event planners were told that the guidance did not apply to the upcoming functions they were working on: large indoor holiday parties hosted by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan, on the eighth floor of the State Department involving hundreds of guests, food and drinks. Pompeo's lineup of parties in the next three weeks comes as the Trump administration's own health experts are imploring Americans to limit travel and avoid large gatherings amid a pandemic that has killed more than 270,000 Americans and infected nearly 14 million across the United States.... Invitations have already gone out to 900 people [for a December 15 party in the department's main reception room]..., raising concerns about a potential superspreader event."

The Commentariat -- December 2, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has no plans to remove Christopher Wray, the F.B.I. director installed by President Trump if he is still in the job when the new administration comes in, according to a senior adviser to Mr. Biden with knowledge of the process. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, said Mr. Biden's team was 'not removing the F.B.I. director unless Trump fired him' -- signaling a return to pre-Trump norms of continuity at a core domestic law enforcement agency that is supposed to operate without political meddling." This is an item in the Times' transition updates Wednesday.

Andrew Desiderio, et al., of Politico: "Congress is moving forward on a must-pass defense policy bill without repealing a legal shield for social media companies, rejecting a last-minute veto threat from ... Donald Trump. The final version of the National Defense Authorization Act that will soon be considered by the House and Senate won't include Trump's long-sought repeal of the legal immunity for online companies, known as Section 230, according to lawmakers and aides.... Senate Armed Services Chair Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.) said that while he agrees with Trump on Section 230, the provision 'has nothing to do with the military.... You can't do it in this bill. That's not a part of the bill,' Inhofe said, adding that he has conveyed that belief to Trump.... The final defense bill does include a provision that would spur the Pentagon to remove the names [of Confederate leaders from ten Army bases] over a three-year period, according to an aide for Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), who authored the proposal." Trump also has said he would veto the bill if it included that provision. MB: I guess Congressional leaders think they have enough votes to override a veto by America's Biggest Loser.

Dan Mangan & Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "... Donald Trump's spokeswoman refused to say Wednesday whether Trump still has faith in Attorney General William Barr, a day after Barr said the Justice Department has not found evidence that widespread ballot fraud led to President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Barr's statement badly undercut baseless allegations by Trump and his campaign legal team that the Republican president was swindled out of reelection by voting fraud." MB: And Bill Barr is smiling.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday is here: "The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned on Wednesday that the nation is facing a devastating winter, predicting that total deaths from Covid-19 could reach 'close to 450,000' by February unless a large percentage of Americans follow precautions like mask-wearing. 'The reality is, December and January and February are going to be rough times,' said Dr. Robert Redfield, the head of the C.D.C., in an address to the Chamber of Commerce Foundation."

Kylie Atwood of CNN: "A senior US administration official said Israel was behind the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist but declined to give details about whether the Trump administration knew about the attack before it was carried out or provided support. The official said that in the past, Israelis have shared information with the US about their targets and covert operations before carrying them out but would not say if they did so in this instance. The Iranian nuclear scientist, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed Friday, had been a target for the Israelis for a long time, the official added."

I Like Being Senator Because ... the Correct Answer Is (a) Insider Trading Opportunities. Stephanie Saul, et al., of the New York Times: "An examination of [Sen. David] Perdue's [R-Ga.] stock trading during his six years in office reveals that he has been the Senate's most prolific stock trader by far, sometimes reporting 20 or more transactions in a single day.... Mr. Perdue's [2,596] transactions accounted for nearly a third of all Senate trades reported in the past six years.... The data also shows the breadth of trades Mr. Perdue made in companies that stood to benefit from policy and spending matters that came not just before the Senate as a whole, but before the committees and subcommittees on which he served.... ... Mr. Perdue's Democratic challenger, Jon Ossoff, has seized on the trading as a campaign issue. In a news conference on Monday, he accused Mr. Perdue of 'using his office to enrich himself' through the stock trades."

Nahal Toosi, et al., of Politico: "Now that he's chosen a big chunk of his Cabinet nominees, President-elect Joe Biden's transition team is focusing increasingly on selecting candidates for government positions that do not require Senate confirmation. Concerned about Republicans slow-walking confirmation hearings for Cabinet appointees and hollowed-out federal agencies, Biden and his aides are eager to place mid- to lower-level officials across the federal government, particularly in national security roles, to ensure his administration can begin to enact his agenda immediately, according to three people familiar with the situation. By quickly selecting candidates for slots that don't require Senate confirmation, such as deputy assistant secretaries, the transition team also can try to ensure that many of those hired can obtain security clearances by the time Biden takes office. The shift in focus to filling positions that do not require confirmation reflects the urgency with which the Biden team sees its staffing conundrum.... It also signals Biden's anxiousness to replace Trump appointees and fill long-empty positions as soon as possible so he can enact his agenda."

Trump's Patriotic Friends. Peter Montgomery of Right Wing Watch: "Lin Wood, an Atlanta-based lawyer who says ... Donald Trump asked him to join the effort to challenge Joe Biden's election victory, is promoting a right-wing group's call for Trump to declare martial law and use the military to oversee a new election. Retired Gen. Michael Flynn also promoted the call for martial law [in a tweet] just a day after the Justice Department released the language of the extremely broad pardon Flynn received from Trump[.]" MB: Wingers get crazier by the day.

Susan Rice, in a New York Times op-ed: "While President Trump rages relentlessly about election 'fraud,' many Republican leaders continue to parrot false denials of the validity of President-elect Joe Biden's clear victory. Yet, so far, our democracy has withstood the greatest stress test of our lifetimes.... Still, the lesson we must learn is not a reassuring one: A determined autocrat in the White House poses a grave threat to our democratic institutions and can severely undermine faith in our elections, particularly when backed by partisans in Congress.... Bolstering our democracy depends in large part on the people of Georgia voting out their incumbent senators on Jan. 5. If the Senate flips to Democratic control, Congress will be able to apply the lessons of our democracy's near-death experience."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Brad Parscale, the former Trump campaign manager who was demoted in July, claimed in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night that President Trump would have handily won the election if he had expressed more empathy about the coronavirus pandemic.... Mr. Parscale also appeared to blame those who succeeded him in running Mr. Trump's campaign for failing to file lawsuits before Election Day. In fact, the campaign filed multiple lawsuits during the early voting period seeking to block mail-in ballot rule changes.... At other points in the interview, Mr. Parscale refused to concede that the president had lost the election, claiming that Mr. Trump was 'in a position that he might be able to pull this off." A Politico story is here. MB: Brad says he wants to go back to flipping houses. If you're thinking of purchasing a house in Southeast Florida, you might want to be careful whose flip you buy.

Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Democrat Mark Kelly will be sworn into the Senate on Wednesday, marking the first time in more than 67 years that Arizona will have two Democratic senators. Kelly, 56, a former astronaut and the husband of former congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), defeated Sen. Martha McSally (R) in a special election last month. The seat was once held by longtime Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who died in 2018. McSally was later appointed to the seat but came up short this year in her race against Kelly, who will be up for a full six-year term in 2022. Upon being sworn in, Kelly will join Arizona's senior senator, Kyrsten Sinema (D), a former congresswoman who won election to the Senate in 2018, also defeating McSally."

Fox 5 Atlanta: "The campaigns for [Sens. David] Perdue [R] and [Kelly] Loeffler [R] both issued statements Tuesday evening condemning violence but also criticizing election officials, according to news outlets. They previously called for [Georgia state election official Gabriel] Sterling's boss, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to resign over what they call a mismanagement of the statewide election.... [Democrat] Stacey Abrams released the following statement: 'Fair Fight and I condemn in the strongest terms possible all threats against election workers, contractors, and election officials.... Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, who have echoed election conspiracies without evidence and contributed to the culture of intimidation and fear, should join us in condemning those who engage in these despicable attacks.'" The Rev. Raphael Warnock (D), who is challenging Loeffler, also issued a statement condemning the threats of violence against election officials. Jon Ossoff (D), who is running against Perdue, did not. See related stories linked below.

Stone Pegs Barr as a Deep-state Shill. Jamie Ross of the Daily Beast: "Remember in February when Attorney General Bill Barr trashed his department's reputation to override the recommended prison term for Roger Stone and push for a much shorter sentence? Because, apparently, Stone has forgotten -- and has gone on the attack against the AG.... Stone, one of Trump's longest standing allies, is particularly angry, even though Barr did him a huge favor.... In a video posted to Parler, Stone said he's not surprised that Barr has 'suddenly determined' there is no voter fraud, adding: 'Bill Barr's job is to block for the "deep state."' Stone, who had his prison sentence commuted by Trump in July, also complained of a 'two-tiered justice system.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Brakkton Booker of NPR: "... President-elect Joe Biden on Tuesday formally announced the advisers who he hopes can guide the United States back to solid economic footing. The six-person economic team Biden has tapped -- which was revealed on Monday == is a who's who list of veterans from previous Democratic administrations and, if confirmed, includes a number of historic firsts. Speaking from Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday, the president-elect referred to the group as 'first rate' and well-equipped to meet the dual challenges the pandemic and the sputtering economy present.... The incoming administration's economic team is set to be led by Janet Yellen, a former Federal Reserve chair whom Biden nominated for treasury secretary. Yellen would become the first woman to lead the department in its 231 years of existence."

The Last Days of the Kaiser

** Biggest Rat Abandons Sunk Ship. Michael Balsamo of the AP: "Attorney General William Barr said Tuesday the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of widespread voter fraud that would change the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. His comments in an interview with The Associated Press come despite ... Donald Trump's repeated baseless claims that the election was stolen, Trump's effort to subvert the results of the 2020 presidential election and his refusal to concede his loss to President-Elect Joe Biden. Barr said U.S. attorneys and FBI agents have been working to follow up specific complaints and information they've received, but they've uncovered no evidence that would change the outcome of the election.... Before the election, he had repeatedly raised the notion that mail-in voter fraud could be especially vulnerable to fraud.... Shortly after Barr's statement was published, Trump tweeted out more baseless claims of voter fraud. And his attorney Rudy Giuliani and his campaign issued a scathing statement claiming that, 'with all due respect to the Attorney General, there hasn't been any semblance' of an investigation." A Washington Post story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ As NiskyGuy noted at the end of yesterday's Comments thread, articles -- like this one in the WashPo -- allow Barr to imply that there was fraud, but not on such a scale that it would have flipped the presidential election outcome: "It strongly implies that there was plenty of fraud but not enough to overturn the election. But there wasn't. The recounts of the PAPER BALLOTS showed that there was NO FRAUD. The news media are still coddling the fascists." MB: I'd add that Barr's implication could be interpreted to mean that there was so much fraud that results in a particular state or states could have flipped, but not enough swing states were implicated to give Biden fewer than 270 Electoral College votes. Barr, even in his admission, is still delegitimizing the election. It's what Republican losers do. Also too, Barr will likely return to private practice, so it will probably help him drum up clients to demonstrate that he's not as crazy as Trump. ~~~

~~~ Paul Campos in LG&$: "Barr is a slippery creature, so you can be fairly confident that 'no fraud on a scale that could have affected a different outcome in the election' means 'no fraud of any sort, because if my inquisitors had found any I would be holding a nationally televised press conference about these extremely disturbing findings.'"

AND Mitch Has Such an Understated Way of Saying Good-Bye. Felicia Sonmez & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Tuesday that there will be a new administration in January, going further than he previously has in acknowledging Trump's election loss. 'I think we all know that after the first of the year there's likely to be a discussion about additional -- some additional package of some size next year, depending upon what the new administration wants to pursue,' McConnell told reporters during remarks on coronavirus relief negotiations." This is part of the WashPo's free election updates Tuesday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ron Brownstein of CNN: "The silence of congressional Republican leaders as ... Donald Trump's unfounded claims of election fraud grow wilder and more venomous increasingly resembles the party's deference to Sen. Joe McCarthy during the worst excesses of his anti-Communist crusade in the early 1950s. In McCarthy's era, most of the GOP's leaders found excuses to avoid challenging conspiracy theories that they knew to be implausible, even as evidence of their costs to the nation steadily mounted. For years, despite their private doubts about his charges and methods alike, the top GOP leadership -- particularly Senate Republican leader Robert A. Taft, the Mitch McConnell of his day -- either passively abetted or actively supported McCarthy's scattershot claims of treason and Communist infiltration. A significant faction of Senate Republicans didn't join with Democrats to curb McCarthy's power until the senator immolated himself with his accusations, in highly publicized 1953 and 1954 hearings, that the Army was riddled with Communists during the presidency of fellow Republican Dwight Eisenhower.... The vast majority of congressional Republicans have supported Trump since his 2017 inauguration at almost every turn, brushing aside concerns about everything from openly racist language to his efforts to extort the government of Ukraine to manufacture dirt on ... Joe Biden." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Christopher Krebs, who was recently fired by ... Donald Trump as the head of the federal government's election cybersecurity efforts, suggested Tuesday that he might take legal action against one of Trump's lawyers who said that Krebs should be shot. In an interview on NBC's 'Today' show, host Savannah Guthrie asked Krebs how concerned he is about the comments made by Trump campaign lawyer Joe DiGenova in an interview Monday in which he said that Krebs 'is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot.' 'It's certainly more dangerous language, more dangerous behavior,' Krebs responded. 'And the way I look at it is that we are a nation of laws, and I plan to take advantage of those laws. I've got an exceptional team of lawyers that win in court, and I think they're probably going to be busy.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Georgia. Basta! Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "In one of the most striking rebukes to President Trump since he launched his baseless attacks on the American electoral process, a top-ranking Georgia election official lashed out at the president on Tuesday for failing to condemn threats of violence against people overseeing the voting system in his state. 'It has to stop,' Gabriel Sterling, a Republican and Georgia's voting system implementation manager, said at an afternoon news conference at the state Capitol, his voice shaking with emotion. 'Mr. President, you have not condemned these actions or this language.'... Mr. Sterling's outburst of anger and frustration came amid a sustained assault on Georgia's election process by Mr. Trump.... He added that the president needed to 'step up' and say, 'Stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence. Someone is going to get hurt, someone is going to get shot, someone is going to get killed....' Mr. Sterling also called on the state's two Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, to condemn the rhetoric that he said was getting dangerously out of hand. The two senators, both Trump loyalists, have called for [Georgia Secretary of State Brad] Raffensperger [R] to resign." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump's response, not surprisingly, was to further fuel the flames. He retweeted a video of Sterling's remarks attached to a tweet in which he falsely declared, "Rigged Election. Show signatures and envelopes. Expose the massive voter fraud in Georgia. What is Secretary of State and @BrianKempG afraid of. They know what we'll find!!!" Twitter flagged Trump's tweet.

Pennsylvania. Kevin McCoy & Richard Wolf of USA Today: "A long-shot effort to overturn the presidential election results in Pennsylvania made its way to the Supreme Court Tuesday. Conservative Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., and others contend state officials had no right under the Pennsylvania Constitution to expand mail-in voting in 2019, and the state Supreme Court was wrong to uphold that statute. The group called it 'an unconstitutional, no-excuse absentee voting scheme.'... The group seeks an emergency injunction from the nation's highest court to block the completion of any remaining steps in the state's certification of Pennsylvania's 2020 election results, which took place last week. The petition was submitted to Associate Justice Samuel Alito."

Wisconsin. Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "President Trump's campaign on Tuesday asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to intervene in the state's presidential election by throwing out hundreds of thousands of ballots in the state's two most Democratic-leaning counties, a last-ditch bid to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the state. Legal experts said the suit has little chance of prevailing, and an attorney for the Trump campaign even acknowledged that it was unlikely to change the outcome of the White House race." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow noted that the pleading pegs Detroit as a city in Wisconsin and that the lead plaintiff named in the suit is a losing GOP candidate who had no clue about the case & wants out. But good job, folks. Should inspire more contributions to the Donald Forever PAC.

Georgia Senate Races. Mixed Messages. Dave Goldiner of the New York Daily News: "President Trump demanded Tuesday that Georgia 'call off' its upcoming runoff elections over his claims of fraud, giving Republicans a new headache in their fight to keep control of the Senate.Repeating his attacks about mail-in voting, Trump angrily urged Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to 'do something' about absentee votes that are expected to be cast predominantly by Democrats in the pair of make-or-break Senate contests. 'You allowed your state to be scammed,' Trump warned Kemp on Twitter, presumably referring to the presidential election. 'Call off election. It won't be needed. We will all WIN!' Trump tweeted.... Trump is planning a campaign rally on Saturday to support Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, neither of whom managed to clear 50% of the votes against Democratic challengers on Nov. 3." MB: Huh? You're campaigning for candidates running in an election that "won't be needed"? What does that mean?

Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "President Trump has discussed with advisers whether to grant pre-emptive pardons to his children, to his son-in-law and to his personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani, and talked with Mr. Giuliani about pardoning him as recently as last week, according to two people briefed on the matter. Mr. Trump has told others that he is concerned that a Biden Justice Department might seek retribution against the president by targeting the oldest three of his five children -- Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump and Ivanka Trump -- as well as Ms. Trump's husband, Jared Kushner." This is an update of an item linked yesterday.

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times:"The Justice Department has been investigating whether intermediaries for a federal convict offered White House officials a bribe in exchange for a potential pardon or commutation from President Trump, according to court documents unsealed by a federal judge on Tuesday. The documents were heavily redacted, and it was unclear who may have been involved. Nothing directly tied Mr. Trump to the scheme, and the documents said no one had been charged.... Late Tuesday, Mr. Trump used Twitter to briefly address the disclosure of the investigation, calling it 'Fake News.'... Given Mr. Trump's undisciplined approach to pardons, the disclosure, coming amid a flurry of reports about how Mr. Trump has been discussing whether to pardon his children and close confidants in the final weeks of his presidency, raised fears that the pardon process may have been corrupted." ~~~

~~~ Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department in August investigated a potential 'bribery-for-pardon' scheme in which a large political contribution would be offered in exchange for a presidential pardon by the White House, according to court records unsealed Tuesday. The documents show that U.S. prosecutors were scrutinizing whether two individuals approached senior White House officials as unregistered lobbyists, and a related scheme in which cash would be funneled through intermediaries for a pardon or reprieve of a sentence for a defendant apparently in Federal Bureau of Prisons custody at some point. The status of the investigation is unclear.... [The record, heavily redacted,] does not indicate what senior White House officials did after allegedly being approached." A CNN story is here. An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Paul Campos, in LG&$ peeks behind the curtain: "Bill Barr is really angling for that firing that will reestablish his integritude to all the haters."

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr revealed on Tuesday that he had bestowed special counsel status on John H. Durham, the prosecutor he assigned to investigate the officials who conducted the Trump-Russia inquiry -- setting the stage to leave him in place after the Biden administration takes over. In a letter to Congress, Mr. Barr disclosed that he had secretly appointed Mr. Durham as a special counsel on Oct. 19, before the election. The action gives Mr. Durham the same independence and protections against being fired that had been enjoyed by Robert S. Mueller III, the former special counsel who eventually oversaw the Russia investigation.... The step appeared likely to create a headache for whoever Mr. Biden appoints as attorney general, who would take over supervision of Mr. Durham's continuing work.... Representative Adam B. Schiff, Democrat of California and the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, defended the legitimacy of the Russia investigation and condemned Mr. Barr's move as an abuse of the special counsel power 'to continue a politically motivated investigation long after Barr leaves office.'... Mr. Barr's memo was broadly written and vague. It did not identify any suspected crime that could serve as a predicate for a continuing criminal investigation, or any particular person whom Mr. Durham was to focus on." ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Balsamo & Eric Tucker of the AP: Barr "said Durham's investigation has been narrowing to focus more on the conduct of FBI agents who worked on the Russia investigation...." A Politico story is here. MB: Biden's AG could always assign Durham a windowless 8 x 10 room with no staff, computers, paper or pen. But a nice government-issue chair & desk and a "Special Counsel" title on the door. And a paycheck! Still, if this seems like a dirty GOP trick to you, remember that there is always another point-of-view: ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump and his allies are piling extreme pressure on Attorney General Bill Barr to release a report that Trump believes could hurt perceived Obama-era enemies -- and view Barr's designation of John Durham as special counsel as a stall tactic, sources familiar with the conversations tell Axios.... Trump has been ranting about the delay behind the scenes and mused privately about replacing Barr with somebody who will expedite the process.... Barr met with White House chief of staff Mark Meadows and other officials in the West Wing Tuesday afternoon." Emphasis added.

Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Tuesday threatened to veto an annual defense bill authorizing nearly $1 trillion in military spending unless Congress opens the door for Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites to be held legally liable for the way they police their platforms. Trump delivered his ultimatum -- calling for the repeal of a federal law known as Section 230 -- in a pair of late-night tweets that transformed a critical national security debate into a political war over his unproved allegations that Silicon Valley's technology giants exhibit systemic bias against conservatives. 'Section 230, which is a liability shielding gift from the U.S. to "Big Tech"(the only companies in America that have it -- corporate welfare!), is a serious threat to our National Security & Election Integrity,' Trump tweeted. Unless the 'very dangerous & unfair Section 230 is not completely terminated as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA),' Trump continued, 'I will be forced to unequivocally VETO the Bill when sent to the very beautiful Resolute desk.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: How does someone with veto power "equivocally VETO" a bill?

Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "A bipartisan group of senators introduced a stimulus proposal worth about $908 billion on Tuesday, aiming to break a months-long partisan impasse over providing emergency federal relief to the U.S. economy.... With negotiations among congressional leaders at a standstill, senators in both parties have worked together for weeks on a proposal that could break the logjam. Several centrist lawmakers in the Senate -- including Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), Mark R. Warner (D-Va.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Mitt Romney (R-Utah) and Susan Collins (R-Maine) -- held a news conference Tuesday morning to push their proposal as a template for legislation that could pass Congress as the economy faces increasing strain from a winter surge in coronavirus cases." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Could these two Politico stories possibly be related? ~~~

~~~ (1) At the Superspreader Party. Alex Isenstadt: "... Donald Trump hinted to supporters Tuesday evening at a White House Christmas party that he is looking to wage a 2024 comeback campaign, the most public comments he's made about seeking another term since losing the 2020 election. 'It's been an amazing four years. We are trying to do another four years. Otherwise, I'll see you in four years,' Trump told a crowd of mostly Republican National Committee members, who immediately erupted in cheers, according to video of the remarks viewed by Politico.... Many of the attendees at the Tuesday evening party appeared to be maskless, and coughs could be heard in the video." ~~~

~~~ (2) Big Money. Anita Kumar: "After he leaves the White House, Donald Trump is expected to do something no president before him has done: cut multimillion dollar deals with foreign governments and companies for his own private business. Trump's namesake company plans to resume foreign real estate projects, likely luxury hotels, as it grapples with a tarnished brand in the United States and the need to pay off hundreds of millions of dollars of debt, according to three people familiar with the plans, not to mention past public statements from Trump's children. Company officials have already vowed to look into more developments in India and will be expected to give a second look to projects they had considered in China, Turkey, Colombia and Brazil before Trump entered office. The arrangement is already being criticized as one that could be used to pay back Trump for his policies as president or to influence U.S. policy through a former president -- and possibly a future presidential candidate." MB: Seems to me foreign entities would be far more likely to give Trump remarkably good terms if they think he might get his old job back.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here: "An independent panel advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Tuesday to recommend that residents and employees of nursing homes and similar facilities be the first people in the United States to receive coronavirus vaccines, along with health care workers who are especially at risk of being exposed to the virus. The panel, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, voted 13 to 1 during an emergency meeting to make the recommendation. The director of the C.D.C., Dr. Robert R. Redfield, is expected to decide by Wednesday whether to accept it as the agency's formal guidance to states as they prepare to start giving people the shots as soon as two weeks from now." ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here.: "Drugmakers Pfizer and BioNTech announced Wednesday that their coronavirus vaccine had been granted emergency authorization in Britain, making it the first Western nation to approve a covid-19 vaccine." ~~~

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

Party Like It's 2019. Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Invitations to at least 20 White House parties, the first one on Monday at 7 p.m., have been sent out so far, according to administration officials.... The red and gold party invitations make no mention of the coronavirus, nor do they acknowledge the holiday message that public health officials have been trying to emphasize to Americans: Stay home. Instead, the invitations are the latest example of how President Trump is spending his final weeks in office operating in an alternative universe, denying the realities of life during the pandemic.... The holiday party season, canceled across most of Washington, will be a rare time when the White House will feel busy." ~~~

~~~ And now I know why Rudy held his presser at the landscaping place, the crematorium across the street must have been having a sale on urns. -- RAS, in yesterday's Comments

Ohio. Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "A group of four Republican state lawmakers filed a dozen articles of impeachment against [Ohio Gov. Mike] DeWine [R] on Monday, saying the governor violated state and federal laws by requiring masks in public and ordering some businesses to close.... But with the pandemic having killed more than 267,000 people across the country and at least 6,429 in Ohio, DeWine brushed off their efforts and urged the lawmakers to focus on those suffering from or fighting covid-19 on the front lines." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Serge Kovaleski, et al., of the New York Times: "The pop-up metal monolith that became the focus of international attention after it was spotted in a remote section of the Utah desert on Nov. 18 was dismantled just 10 days later. On Tuesday a local outdoorsman with a penchant for stunts claimed credit on social media for the sculpture's removal. The office of the San Juan County Sheriff at first announced that it was declining to investigate the case in the absence of complaints about missing property. To underscore that point, it uploaded a 'Most Wanted' poster on its website, or rather a jokey version of one in which the faces of suspects were replaced by nine big-eyed aliens. But by the end of Monday, the sheriff's office had reversed its position and announced that it was planning a joint investigation with the Bureau of Land Management, a federal agency. It was left to an adventure photographer, Ross Bernards, to disclose evidence on Instagram. Mr. Bernards, 34, of Edwards, Colo., was visiting the monolith on Friday night when, he said, four men arrived as if out of nowhere to dismantle the sculpture."

Way Beyond

Australia. Graham Readfearn of the Guardian: "A bushfire has burned across half the World Heritage-listed K'gari/Fraser Island -- the world's biggest sand island, off Australia's Queensland coast -- with potentially catastrophic consequences for its habitats and wildlife. The blaze, which has been alight for more than six weeks, is threatening major tourism and rainforest areas after burning much of the island's north. Queensland Fire and Emergency Services told the Guardian on Tuesday the fire was encroaching on the island's famous Valley of the Giants -- home to trees more than 1,000 years old.... The fire started in mid-October after an illegal campfire and has since burned across 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres)." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Dalya Alberge of the Guardian: "One of the world's largest collections of prehistoric rock art has been discovered in the Amazonian rainforest. Hailed as 'the Sistine Chapel of the ancients', archaeologists have found tens of thousands of paintings of animals and humans created up to 12,500 years ago across cliff faces that stretch across nearly eight miles in Colombia." --s (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, the modern-minded conservative who became president of France in 1974 vowing to transform his tradition-bound, politically polarized country, only to be turned out of office seven years later after failing to accomplish his goals or to shed his imperious image, died on Wednesday at his family home in the Loir-et-Cher area of central France. He was 94. His foundation said the cause was complications of Covid-19."