The Conversation -- January 13, 2025

Alana Richer & Eric Tucker of the AP: "The Justice Department can publicly release its investigative report on ... Donald Trump's 2020 election interference case, [Judge Aileen Cannon] said Monday. But a temporary injunction barring the immediate release of the report remains in effect until Tuesday, and ... defense lawyers may seek to challenge it all the way up to the Supreme Court.... She set a hearing for Friday on whether the department can release to lawmakers the volume on the case that accused Trump of hoarding classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago estate after he left the White House in 2021. The department has said it will not publicly disclose that volume as long as criminal proceedings against two of Trump's co-defendants remain pending."

Aamer Madhani & Zeke Miller of the AP: "Incoming senior Trump administration officials have begun questioning career civil servants who work on the White House National Security Council about who they voted for in the 2024 election, their political contributions and whether they have made social media posts that could be considered incriminating by ... Donald Trump's team, according to a U.S. official.... At least some of these nonpolitical employees have begun packing up their belongings since being asked about their loyalty to Trump -- after they had earlier been given indications that they would be asked to stay on at the NSC in the new administration, the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive personnel matters. Trump's pick for national security adviser, Florida Rep. Mike Waltz, in recent days publicly signaled his intention to get rid of all nonpolitical appointees and career intelligence officials serving on the NSC by Inauguration Day to ensure the council is staffed with those who support Trump's agenda."

Meredith Hill of Politico: "A group of House Republicans and ... Donald Trump talked about tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase Sunday night, as the fires spreading across huge swaths of Los Angeles are estimated to become one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Of the nearly two dozen House Republicans who attended the Sunday dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where this option was discussed, several are caucus leaders and appropriators with major influence in upcoming budget reconciliation and government funding negotiations." MB: This is sort of ironic-laced cruelty -- as Krugman points out in the post linked below, the debt would be a lot higher if not for Californians' contributions to the federal coffers. ~~~

~~~ "Bumbling Callousness." Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice: Donald Trump "and his minions are already using the fires to score cheap political points while Americans suffer. It's an ominous reminder of, and prelude to, Trump's mob boss approach to disaster relief in particular and to the presidency in general." Berlatsky reminds us that Trump's reactions to disasters -- as occurred when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the pandemic hit the whole country -- could not be worse: "a cocktail of incompetence and malice." Definitely worth a read.

Meredith Hill of Politico: "A group of House Republicans and ... Donald Trump talked about tying wildfire aid to a debt ceiling increase Sunday night, as the fires spreading across huge swaths of Los Angeles are estimated to become one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history. Of the nearly two dozen House Republicans who attended the Sunday dinner at Mar-a-Lago, where this option was discussed, several are caucus leaders and appropriators with major influence in upcoming budget reconciliation and government funding negotiations." MB: This is sort of ironic-laced cruelty -- as Krugman points out in the post linked below, the debt would be a lot higher if not for Californians' contributions to the federal coffers. ~~~

~~~ "Bumbling Callousness." Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice: Donald Trump "and his minions are already using the fires to score cheap political points while Americans suffer. It's an ominous reminder of, and prelude to, Trump's mob boss approach to disaster relief in particular and to the presidency in general." Berlatsky reminds us that Trump's reactions to disasters -- as occurred when Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico and the pandemic hit the whole country -- could not be worse: "a cocktail of incompetence and malice." Definitely worth a read.

Brian Stelter of CNN: "Veteran opinion columnist Jennifer Rubin is becoming the latest in a long list of Washington Post figures to leave the troubled institution. Rubin is partnering with former White House ethics czar Norm Eisen and launching something new: a startup publication called The Contrarian. The startup's tagline, 'Not owned by anybody,' is a pointed reference to billionaire Washington Post owner Jeff Bezos and other moguls who, in Rubin's view, have 'bent the knee' to ... Donald Trump.... Rather than anti-Trump, the founders describe their venture as pro-democracy. They said they have already enlisted about two dozen contributors, including people who played prominent roles in debunking 2020 election denialism and investigating the January 6, 2021, attack at the US Capitol." ~~~

     ~~~ Jennifer Rubin of the Contrarian, a Substack site: "Corporate and billionaire owners of major media outlets have betrayed their audiences' loyalty and sabotaged journalism's sacred mission -- defending, protecting and advancing democracy. The Washington Post's billionaire owner and enlisted management are among the offenders. They have undercut the values central to The Post's mission and that of all journalism: integrity, courage, and independence. I cannot justify remaining at The Post. Jeff Bezos and his fellow billionaires accommodate and enable the most acute threat to American democracy -- Donald Trump -- at a time when a vibrant free press is more essential than ever to our democracy's survival and capacity to thrive. I therefore have resigned from The Post, effective today." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Dr. Paul Offit in a New York Times op-ed: "The news media labels [label!] Robert F. Kennedy Jr. a 'vaccine skeptic.' He's not. I'm an actual vaccine skeptic. In fact, everyone who serves with me on the Food and Drug Administration's vaccine advisory committee is a vaccine skeptic. Pharmaceutical companies must prove to us that a vaccine is safe, that it's effective.... Mr. Kennedy, on the other hand, is a vaccine cynic, failing to accept studies that refute his beliefs. He claims that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine causes autism despite more than a dozen studies performed in seven countries on three continents involving thousands of children showing that it doesn't. He has claimed that 'there is no vaccine that is safe and effective.' (Childhood vaccines have prevented more than one million deaths and 32 million hospitalizations over the past three decades). He has encouraged people not to vaccinate their babies.... [And more.] Given the lack of appropriate guardrails that would normally prevent an anti-vaccine activist, science denialist and conspiracy theorist from heading the country's most important public health agency, it's a dangerous time to be a child in the United States."

Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Melania Trump ... said in an interview broadcast on Monday that she planned to live and work full time in the White House during Donald J. Trump's second term, addressing speculation about whether she would be a regular presence in Washington. Mrs. Trump told 'Fox and Friends' that she would travel as needed to New York, her longtime home where she stayed regularly during Mr. Trump's first term, and his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, which has become Mr. Trump's official state of residence. 'When I need to be in New York, I will be in New York,' she said. 'When I need to be in Palm Beach, I will be in Palm Beach. But my first priority is, you know, to be a mom, to be a first lady, to be a wife.'" MB: I dunno. Doesn't sound too definitive to me. At least we know Donald comes after Barron & the blood-red Christmas decor.

Jonathan Chait of the Atlantic considers why Bidenomics or "post-neoliberalism" was not enough to give either Biden or Harris a win over the Bloated Buffoon. Thanks to laura h. for the gift link. MB: I tend to agree with Ken W.'s commentary below on Chait's theory.

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Quack, Quack. Brian Beutler: "After two months of watching American corporate and opposition-party officials 'obey in advance' or, worse, choose to align with Donald Trump for selfish reasons, it's nice to see leaders in foreign countries recognize something that hasn't really sunk in among U.S. elites: Donald Trump is a lame duck.... I suspect this is why he and his fellow trolls suggest he may seek an unconstitutional third term -- it's not just to trigger the libs, it's also to paper over this definitional vulnerability." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Marie: I didn't bother to read this article yesterday, but fortunately laura h. did: ~~~

     ~~~ Billionaires v. Us. Theodore Schleifer & Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "An unpaid group of billionaires, tech executives and some disciples of Peter Thiel, a powerful Republican donor, are preparing to take up unofficial positions in the U.S. government in the name of cost-cutting.... On the eve of Mr. Trump's presidency, the structure of DOGE is still amorphous and closely held. People involved in the operation say that secrecy and avoiding leaks is paramount, and much of its communication is conducted on Signal, the encrypted messaging app.... DOGE is also expected to have an office in the Office of Management and Budget, and officials have also considered forming a think tank outside the government in the future.... The DOGE team, including those paid engineers, is largely working out of a glass building in SpaceX's downtown office located a few blocks from the White House." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is not about the proverbial $400 hammer. This is about slashing & eliminating programs & whole departments we all depend upon to assist us in our daily lives -- whether we realize it or not. It isn't about reducing your taxes, either; it's about reducing theirs. Unfortunately, besides their general disdain for all Americans, Musk himself has a specific hatred of certain Americans: ~~~

~~~ Pranshu Verma, et al., of the Washington Post (Jan. 10): Elon "Musk has posted or replied to more than 80 posts about the fire, many of which pinned the devastation on liberal policies, in some cases based on false claims or racist ideas, according to a Washington Post analysis. He downplayed the role of climate change, placing blame on individual female firefighters of color and lesbian firefighters, including posting their names and faces. He boosted an hour-long propaganda video by right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones that claimed the fires were 'part of a larger globalist plot' to cause the collapse of the United States; Musk replied simply, 'True.' And he repeatedly amplified claims that the Los Angeles Fire Department's investments in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs cost lives by wasting money that could have been spent on disaster response, suggesting that the destruction could have been mitigated if more White men had been retained." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It should be abundantly clear by now that in one week, the federal government will be controlled by people who are insane megalomaniacs. "Stable geniuses"? Nowhere to be found. ~~~

~~~ Maegan Vazquez, et al., of the Washington Post: "Instead of offering words of sympathy or pledges of rebuilding [after the devastating Los Angeles fires, Donald] Trump, his billionaire ally Elon Musk and top Republicans have spent much of the past several days blaming Democratic leadership in the state for the crisis, exacerbating the already high tensions between the Republicans set to soon be in charge of the federal response and the mostly Democratic officials on the ground. Many of Trump and Musk's attacks are rooted in misinformation, but their responses to the ongoing destruction could pose a political risk to incumbent California Democrats, who are already seeking investigations and accountability efforts over the fires.... 'I called for him to come out, take a look for himself. We want to do it in the spirit of an open hand, not a closed fist,' [California Gov. Gavin] Newsom said of his invitation to Trump in an interview that aired Sunday on NBC's 'Meet the Press.' When NBC News correspondent Jacob Soboroff asked Newsom if he had received a response from Trump, he answered, 'No.'"

Immigrants Are Building the United States. León Krauze, in a Washington Post op-ed: "Rebuilding [Los Angeles & surrounding communities] will be a monumental task fraught with uncertainty.... One thing, however, is certain: the rebuilding of Los Angeles will rely heavily on immigrants.... According to a 2020 report by the American Immigration Council, 43 percent of construction workers in California are immigrants. Among these, a majority are of Mexican origin, reflecting a long history of Mexican labor contributing to the city's development.... According to the National Association of Home Builders, 31 percent of workers in construction trades nationwide are foreign born.... As Trump takes power, vowing to implement punitive immigration policies to vigorously go after the undocumented, it is crucial to acknowledge who truly builds America." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I live in New Hampshire, which is nearly as far away from Mexico as one can get & still be in the U.S. I recently had a house built here. I would say that a third of the people who worked on the house were Hispanic. As Krauze suggests, 100% of the plasterers & roofers were Hispanic. I didn't ask where they came from; I just tried to remember my high-school Spanish.

MAGA Civil War. Now Is the Winter of Their Discontent. Chris Michael of the Guardian: "In an escalation of discontent among the highest-profile far-right followers of Donald Trump, his former adviser Steve Bannon has called Trump's newest favorite, Elon Musk, 'racist' and a 'truly evil guy', pledging to 'take this guy down' and kick him out of the Maga movement. In an interview with the Corriere della Sera newspaper in Italy, excerpts of which were published this weekend by Breitbart, Bannon criticised Musk's embrace of some forms of immigration and vowed to ensure that Musk does not have top-level access to the White House.... Bannon further widened his aim to attack Musk's fellow tech giants Peter Thiel and David Sacks for having South African heritage. 'He [Musk] should go back to South Africa,' Bannon said. 'Why do we have South Africans, the most racist people on earth, white South Africans, we have them making any comments at all on what goes on in the United States?'" A Washington Post story is here.

Cagan Koc of Bloomberg, reprinted by Yahoo!: "Europe's largest pension fund sold its entire €571 million ($585 million) stake in Tesla Inc. in the third quarter partly due to disagreement with Elon Musk's remuneration package.... The fund also considered costs, return and responsible investment requirements in its decision to sell its investment. The news was first reported by Dutch newspaper Het Financieele Dagblad, which also cited poor working conditions at the company among ABP's reasons to ditch Tesla."

Lauren Irwin of the Hill: "Vice President-elect JD Vance said people who 'committed violence' on Jan. 6, 2021, 'obviously' shouldn't be pardoned.... 'I think it's very simple, look, if you protested peacefully on Jan. 6, and you had Merrick Garland's Department of Justice treat you like a gang member, you should be pardoned,' Vance said during an interview on 'Fox News Sunday.... If you committed violence on that day, obviously you shouldn't be pardoned.... And there's a little bit of a gray area there.' Vance said he and Trump are 'very much committed' to the equal administration of law. He added that they believe there were people who were 'prosecuted unfairly.... We need to rectify that.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems unlikely that JayDee is going rogue here, so I'd guess he's walking back Trump's pardon promises. This is fine because reneging on campaign promises is what Trump does. In that sense, he is consistent. The big back-pedal came when he intimated he could not, after all, reduce the price of g-r-o-c-e-r-i-e-s. Nor will he end the war between Russia & Ukraine on Day One. For the most part, the country's best hope is that Trump does not keep his draconian promises, because the promises are either (a) really bad for ordinary Americans, or (b) the ways he would try to keep them would be really bad for ordinary Americans.

Peter Wade of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo!: "Americans who are sick and dying should mostly blame themselves for their health condition. That's what Sen. Roger Marshall said as Republicans are poised to cut health care access and increase costs for millions of Americans. 'Look, about 70 percent of your health outcomes are determined by you,' Marshall said Sunday on Fox News' Sunday Morning Futures. 'It's determined by what you eat and what you're surrounded by. By the time you come to my office as a doctor, I can impact maybe 10 or 20 percent of your health outcomes.' Marshall did not cite where he got those percentage figures from. A former OBGYN, he is a leader of the newly-formed Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) Caucus. He has said the caucus will work with Dr. Mehmet Oz and Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. ... to 'improv[e] health outcomes by prioritizing nutrition, providing access to affordable, nutrient-dense foods, and focusing on primary care availability to tackle the root causes of chronic diseases.'"

Ben Blanchet of the Huffington Post: "Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio) on Friday sounded off about his 'problem' with California's policies as he threatened to withhold disaster relief aid amid the devastating Los Angeles wildfires. 'If they want the money, then there should be consequences where they have to change their policies,' said Davidson in an interview with Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo.... Davidson [took] issue with the state's forest management.... Right-wing media figures have recently pushed misleading claims that California's 'bad forest management' is to blame for the fires while ignoring how climate change impacts measures to prevent the spread of fires.... Davidson's policy 'problem' adds to a right-wing blame game for the recent Los Angeles fires which includes everything from diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives to -- in Trump's case -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) wanting to protect an 'essentially worthless fish' species, the delta smelt." ~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, if lazy liberal lesbians are not willing to get out & sweep California's forest floors, then they have only themselves to blame when their houses burn down. ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman on Substack: "One of the unwritten rules of American politics is that it's OK to sneer at and smear our big cities and the people who live in them, while it's an outrageous act of disrespect to suggest that there's anything wrong with the Heartland. And many people believe the smears.... These delusions of dystopia ... can have real consequences. As you read this, much of America's second-largest city is an actual hellscape. But many politicians, from the president-elect on down, are showing zero sympathy, insisting that California -- which in its own way gets trash-talked as much as New York -- somehow brought this disaster on itself by being too liberal, too woke, or something. And this lack of sympathy may translate into refusal to provide adequate disaster aid.... This ... seems like a good time to remind people just how much the Golden State contributes to American greatness.... California is ... an economic and technological powerhouse; without it America would be a lot poorer and weaker than it is. Most narrowly, at a time when Donald Trump is making nonsensical claims that America is subsidizing Canada via our bilateral trade deficit, California is literally subsidizing the rest of the United States, red states in particular, through the federal budget.... California, in particular, pays a lot in federal taxes because it's so much richer and more productive than most of the rest of America." Nice musical coda.

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Israel's Wars. Reuters, republished by Yahoo!: "U.S. President Joe Biden spoke on Sunday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House said, as U.S. officials race to reach a Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal before Biden leaves office on Jan. 20. Biden and Netanyahu discussed efforts underway to reach a deal to halt the fighting in the Palestinian enclave and free the remaining hostages there, the White House said in a statement after the two leaders spoke by telephone.... 'We are still determined to use every day we have in office to get this done,' [Biden's national security advisor Jake] Sullivan said, 'and we are not, by any stretch of imagination, setting this aside.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I hope I'm wrong, but my guess is that this will be a repeat of January 20, 1981, when Iran waited to release U.S. hostages until a few minutes after Ronald Reagan assumed the presidency, even as it honored an agreement made under Jimmy Carter's presidency. Bibi will not likely give Biden's team any credit for coddling him for more than a year & he'll thank Trump for his support. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the White House's readout of the phone call.

News Lede

New York Times: "Dangerous winds were again expected to sweep through Los Angeles late Monday, threatening the progress that firefighters have made in recent days against the devastating wildfires that have raged across the city. Forecasters have issued a rare fire danger alert for Monday night through Wednesday morning. That is the same level of alert that was issued a week ago, as strong wind gusts fueled some of the deadliest and most destructive fires in California history.&" This is a liveblog.

The Conversation -- January 12, 2025

"Five Presidents and a Funeral." Maureen Dowd of the New York Times reflects on the éminences grises who attended President Carter's funeral, including, well, the star of the show. It's worth a read even though, MoDo being MoDo, she cannot help speaking ill of the dead. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Family Photos. Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter's funeral on Thursday brought together five current and former presidents. But photos of the group later shared to social media by Vice President Kamala Harris and the Carter Center left one of them out of frame: ... Donald J. Trump.... The Carter Center, a nonprofit started by Mr. Carter after leaving the White House, shared a different photo on Thursday of the funeral scene.... It shows the attendees seated, with the president and vice president and their spouses clearly visible in the front row. In the second row, Mr. Clinton, Laura Bush and Mr. Obama are visible. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Mr. Bush are partly obscured, and the Trumps cannot be seen at all."

White House: "Today [Saturday], President Biden spoke with His Holiness Pope Francis and named him as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation's highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors. This is the first time that President Biden has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction." (Also linked yesterday.) A New York Times story is here. An AP story is here.

Mike Ives of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump offered fresh criticism early Sunday of the officials in charge of fighting the Los Angeles wildfires, calling them 'incompetent' and asking why the blazes were not yet extinguished.... His post did not mention any officials by name.... He has renewed a longstanding feud with California's governor, Gavin Newsom, who in turn has accused Mr. Trump of politicizing the fires." MB: This should go under the heading of "Trump Doesn't Know How to Behave, Ctd." While there may be reason to investigate officials' actions, the time to do it is not during a massive crisis in which people are dying. Moreover, calling the officials "incompetent" is in no way constructive. It's just schoolyard name-calling.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The wave of self-congratulation that followed the certification of the 2024 presidential election on Monday was premature in the extreme.... We have no evidence that Trump would have honored [the election results] had he lost.... Until [a Democrat wins a presidential election], all we can say about the integrity of the peaceful transfer of power in the United States is that it's an open question." See also Jeanne's commentary in yesterday's thread, as well as what's going on in a North Carolina state supreme court election (story linked yesterday). (Also linked yesterday.)

⭐Glenn Thrush & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Jack Smith, the special counsel who brought two failed federal prosecutions against ... Donald J. Trump, resigned this week, according to a footnote buried in court papers -- a remarkably muted conclusion to a fight that redefined the nation's legal and political landscape. Mr. Smith ... left his offices in Washington on Friday, according to a senior law enforcement official. His departure was expected. Mr. Smith had signaled his intention to leave before Mr. Trump, who had threatened to fire and punish him, took office on Jan. 20. In the end, Mr. Smith made no formal announcement. His spokesman had no comment." Politico's report is here.

DOJ to Judge Aileen: MYOB. Eric Tucker of the AP: "The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to move swiftly in reversing [Judge Aileen Cannon's] order that had blocked the agency from releasing any part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report on ... Donald Trump. The emergency motion late Friday is the latest back and forth in a court dispute over whether any portion of Smith's report can be made public before Trump takes office Jan. 20. The push to release it before Trump's inauguration reflects concerns that the Justice Department under the Trump administration, which will include members of his personal legal team in key leadership roles, would be in position to prevent the report from coming to light.... The filing noted that in addition to temporarily blocking the release of the election interference report, Cannon's action also prevents officials from sharing the classified documents report privately with the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. Cannon's order is 'plainly erroneous,' according to the department's motion. 'The Attorney General ... is vested with the authority to supervise all officers and employees of the Department,' the Justice Department said. 'The Attorney General thus has authority to decide whether to release an investigative report prepared by his subordinates.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "F.B.I. officials briefed the top members of the Senate Armed Services Committee late Friday afternoon on the findings from their background check of Pete Hegseth..., Donald J. Trump's pick to serve as defense secretary, according to two people aware of the briefings. Senator Roger Wicker, Republican of Mississippi and the chairman of the armed services panel, and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island, its top Democrat, each huddled separately with F.B.I. officials on Friday for over an hour.... Since the results of the F.B.I.'s probe have not been shown to other members of the committee, several Democrats on the panel expressed concerns that they might not have relevant information for Mr. Hegseth's confirmation hearing on Tuesday.... Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut..., [said] that the fact that senators had not been promised access to Mr. Hegseth's background check gave the 'appearance of a cover-up.'"

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Oklahoma. Audra Burch of the New York Times: "The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in which a prosperous Black neighborhood in Oklahoma was destroyed and up to 300 people were killed, was not committed by an uncontrolled mob but was the result of 'a coordinated, military-style attack' by white citizens, the Justice Department said in a report released Friday. The report, stemming from an investigation announced in September, is the first time that the federal government has given an official, comprehensive account of the events of May 31 and June 1, 1921, in the Tulsa neighborhood of Greenwood. Although it formally concluded that, more than a century later, no person alive could be prosecuted, it underscored the brutality of the atrocities committed." The Guardian's report is here. The report, which includes an executive summary, is here, via the DOJ. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

New York Times: "Beleaguered firefighters in Los Angeles were working on Sunday to contain mammoth fires that have raged over parched hillsides for nearly a week, killing at least 16 people, turning entire neighborhoods to ash, and lending a bleak, surreal feel to daily life. The biggest fire, the Palisades, expanded even as firefighters made progress containing its spread in some areas. By late Saturday, the blaze's momentum toward a road of multimillion-dollar homes in Mandeville Canyon, a section of the Brentwood neighborhood, had largely been stopped, fire officials said."

The Conversation -- January 11, 2025

"Five Presidents and a Funeral." Maureen Dowd of the New York Times reflects on the éminences grises who attended President Carter's funeral, including, well, the star of the show. It's worth a read even though Dowd cannot help speaking ill of the dead.

White House: "Today, President Biden spoke with His Holiness Pope Francis and named him as a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the Nation's highest civilian honor, presented to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to the prosperity, values, or security of the United States, world peace, or other significant societal, public or private endeavors. This is the first time that President Biden has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The wave of self-congratulation that followed the certification of the 2024 presidential election on Monday was premature in the extreme.... We have no evidence that Trump would have honored [the election results] had he lost.... Until [a Democrat wins a presidential election], all we can say about the integrity of the peaceful transfer of power in the United States is that i's an open question." See also Jeanne's commentary in today's thread, as well as what's going on in a North Carolina state supreme court election (story linked below).

DOJ to Judge Aileen: MYOB. Eric Tucker of the AP: "The Justice Department has asked a federal appeals court to move swiftly in reversing [Judge Aileen Cannon's] order that had blocked the agency from releasing any part of special counsel Jack Smith's investigative report on ... Donald Trump. The emergency motion late Friday is the latest back and forth in a court dispute over whether any portion of Smith's report can be made public before Trump takes office Jan. 20. The push to release it before Trump's inauguration reflects concerns that the Justice Department under the Trump administration, which will include members of his personal legal team in key leadership roles, would be in position to prevent the report from coming to light.... The filing noted that in addition to temporarily blocking the release of the election interference report, Cannon's action also prevents officials from sharing the classified documents report privately with the leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary committees. Cannon's order is 'plainly erroneous,' according to the department's motion. 'The Attorney General ... is vested with the authority to supervise all officers and employees of the Department,' the Justice Department said. 'The Attorney General thus has authority to decide whether to release an investigative report prepared by his subordinates.'"

Audra Burch of the New York Times: "The Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921, in which a prosperous Black neighborhood in Oklahoma was destroyed and up to 300 people were killed, was not committed by an uncontrolled mob but was the result of 'a coordinated, military-style attack' by white citizens, the Justice Department said in a report released Friday. The report, stemming from an investigation announced in September, is the first time that the federal government has given an official, comprehensive account of the events of May 31 and June 1, 1921, in the Tulsa neighborhood of Greenwood. Although it formally concluded that, more than a century later, no person alive could be prosecuted, it underscored the brutality of the atrocities committed." The Guardian's report is here. The report, which includes an executive summary, is here, via the DOJ.

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Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump appeared virtually at his criminal sentencing on Friday from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, more than 1,000 miles away from the chilly Manhattan courtroom where his case was called for a final time. Projected on a 60-inch screen, his image loomed over the gallery as a prosecutor recounted his crimes and a judge imposed his sentence. Mr. Trump once faced up to four years in prison for falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal, but on Friday, he received only a so-called unconditional discharge. The sentence, a rare and lenient alternative to jail or probation, reflected the practical and constitutional impossibility of jailing a president-elect.... 'It is the legal protections afforded to the office of the president of the United States that are extraordinary, not the occupant of the office,' said Justice Merchan.... Once the sentencing concluded, it cemented his status as the first felon to occupy the Oval Office." Here's NPR's report. ~~~

~~~ Ben Protess & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "After months of delay..., Donald J. Trump's New York criminal case culminated on Friday with the nation's former and future president avoiding jail, but becoming a felon." This is liveblog, also linked yesterday. It's kinda worth reading; if you don't have time or a subscription to the NYT, see yesterday's Conversation, which includes a few of the entries: ~~~

~~~ You can listen to audio of the proceedings, via a CBS news YouTube video here. It's about 32 minutes long. Justice Juan Merchan's remarks, which come at the end of the proceedings, are worth hearing. He makes clear that the punishment fits neither the crime nor the criminal but is necessitated by of the rights of the American people to have a president* unencumbered by criminal procedures & the consequences of his criminal behavior. (MSNBC's audio was linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ (Marie: And yet. And yet. The sentence reflects the bad judgment of the majority of American voters. It is an indictment of us.) ~~~

     ~~~ For his part, Trump either does not understand or pretends he does not understand what Merchan was talking about: ~~~

     ~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "In both predictable and strange fashion..., Donald Trump framed the occasion of his official sentencing as a convicted felon as a win against 'Radical Democrats.' He also claimed that Judge Juan Merchan's ruling of 'unconditional discharge' was proof that 'THERE WAS NEVER A CASE.'... Shortly after the official sentencing procedure ended..., the president-elect took to social media to call the sentencing a loss for his political foes. 'The Radical Democrats have lost another pathetic, unAmerican Witch Hunt,' he posted, first on Truth Social. After repeating much of the same 'Witch Hunt' claims and alleging that the New York Southern District Court was working in coordination 'with the Biden/Harris Department of Injustice in lawless Weaponization,' Trump claimed the unconditional discharge 'proves that, as all Legal Scholars and Experts have said, THERE IS NO CASE, THERE WAS NEVER A CASE, and this whole Scam fully deserves to be DISMISSED.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Are There Any Consequences for Felonious Don? Yes, a Few. AP: "... unless [Donald Trump's] conviction for falsifying business records is someday overturned, [he] will have felonies on his criminal record, which will affect some of his rights.... Under federal law, people convicted of felonies are not allowed to possess firearms.... By law, every person convicted of a felony in New York must provide a DNA sample for the state's crime databank.,,, It's a noninvasive process involving a swab along the inside of the cheek. State police analyze the cells and genetic material, creating a profile that is then entered into the databank.... Trump's felony conviction could bar him from holding liquor licenses, but that doesn't necessarily mean his golf courses and hotels will have to stop serving booze.... Trump's company has said his properties are all owned through corporate entities, and that he is not officer or director of any entity that holds any liquor licenses.Trump's conviction could also bar him from reentering the casino business, if he wanted, because people with criminal records are typically unable to obtain gaming licenses. Trump once owned three casinos in Atlantic City, New Jersey...."

Trump Lowers the Bar. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "'What is extraordinary about Trump's behavior and record is that the electorate does not care, as it once did, that a president pay public fealty to law and norms and other traditional expectations of the office,' said Jack Goldsmith, a ... former assistant attorney general under President George W. Bush.... Indeed, he has not only moved the bar for the presidency, but is attempting to do the same for senior cabinet positions and other top officials in government. He has picked Pete Hegseth ... to be secretary of defense despite the allegation that he raped a woman ... and a report that he was pushed out as head of two veterans organizations after being accused of mismanagement, drunken behavior and sexual impropriety.... Mr. Trump has selected other candidates for top positions who have been accused of sexual misconduct themselves or failure to stop it." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In fairness to the voters, our old standards were fairly ridiculous. Not so long ago, a college student's taking a toke or a person's getting a divorce forevermore disqualified him from holding high public office. These standards changed as the 21st century loomed. Bill Clinton didn't inhale (right!) and John McCain had been divorced. In fact, so insignificant was McCain's divorce, I hadda look it up to see if he had been divorced; was never a factor (as far as I recall) in any discussion in 2008 about his fitness for the presidency. But there's a helluva difference between (1) smoking an occasional joint when it was illegal & (2) being an incessant liar, a career grifter, an (alleged!) serial molester of women, an insurrectionist leader & a thief of classified material. There is no excuse for voting for someone like Trump.

Ruth Marcus of the Washington Post: "We should be more alarmed than grateful that the Supreme Court let the sentencing of Donald Trump go forward. The fact that there were four justices prepared to block the proceeding bodes ill for the high court's willingness to act as a check on Trump once he returns to office.... 'President Trump is already suffering grave irreparable injury from the disruption and distraction that the trial court abruptly inflicted by suddenly scheduling a sentencing hearing for the President-Elect of the United States, on five days' notice, at the apex of the Presidentia transition,' [Trump's lawyers/DOJ officials-in-waiting] warned the justices. This argument took some nerve, since the delay in sentencing until after the election came at Trump's behest.... The most outlandish of Trump's claims was that the doctrine that presidents are immune from criminal prosecution during their time in office somehow also creates an additional category of pre-presidential immunity for presidents-elect.... A chilling question: What would have happened if the judge hadn't announced his intention to impose the wrist-slappiest possible sentence?" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: NYT reporters Susanne Craig made the same point yesterday about how Merchan's pre-sentencing announcement might have influenced the Supremes' decision. And I'll bet Merchan factored in a likely Supreme visitation before he announced his decision to impose an "unconditional discharge" sentence in hopes it would overcome a Supreme effort to shut him down. Personally, I would not want to get near any of the confederate Supremes because I'm sure their breaths smell like Trump's rear end.

Marianne LeVine of the Washington Post reports that the Trump Organization has an ethics plan that looks just like its old ethics plan, the one that allowed Donald Trump to repeatedly violate the emoluments clause of the Constitution.

Contemptible Rudy, Ctd. Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "A federal district judge found Rudolph W. Giuliani in contempt of court on Friday for continuing to defame two Georgia women after the 2020 election. In May, Mr. Giuliani agreed to stop repeating lies about the women, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, a mother-daughter team of election workers in Fulton County, Ga., during the 2020 race. That agreement, the judge, Beryl A. Howell, of the District of Columbia, said was 'clear and unambiguous.' In November, Mr. Giuliani repeated accusations against the women at least four times, after Donald J. Trump won the 2024 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "'Mr Giuliani engaged in the worst kind of defamation,' [District Judge Beryl] Howell said as she read her verdict, slamming him for continuing to portray himself as a victim in this case and not responding to previous court orders. 'It is outrageous and shameful,' Howell said. 'This takes real chutzpah, Mr Giuliani.' Following the hearing, Giuliani told reporters he believes Howell is 'not American' because she had her 'opinion written before' the hearing. He then compared her to Soviets and Nazis."

Marie: Oh, I recall when we were all pulling for John Fetterman: ~~~

     ~~~ AP: "Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman will become the chamber's first Democrat to meet with ... Donald Trump since the election and plans to travel to Trump's private Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. The trip marks Fetterman's continuing evolution from a leading surrogate for President Joe Biden into a Trump-friendly lawmaker since Trump won the premier battleground state of Pennsylvania in November. Fetterman since has shown surprising warmth to Trump, complimenting his political appeal, agreeing with him on some policies and embracing some of Trump's would-be Cabinet nominees. Fetterman said in a statement Thursday that Trump invited him to meet and that he accepted." (Okay, I'll admit that if a president*-elect from the other party asked me to meet with him, I most likely would, although I would not travel out-of-state or out-of-District to do so.) (Also linked yesterday.)

Lisa Mascaro of the AP: "... Donald Trump is preparing more than 100 executive orders starting Day One of the new White House, in what amounts to a shock-and-awe campaign on border security, deportations and a rush of other policy priorities. Trump told Republican senators about the onslaught ahead <during a private meeting on Capitol Hill. Many of the actions are expected to launch on Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, when he takes office. Trump top adviser Stephen Miller outlined for the GOP senators the border security and immigration enforcement measures that are likely to launch soonest." ~~~

~~~ Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: "Illegal crossings along the U.S.-Mexico border have slowed significantly as President Biden prepares to leave office and as ... Donald J. Trump ... is days away from retaking power. More than 46,000 people crossed the border illegally in November, the lowest number during the Biden administration. Though overall crossings ticked up slightly in December, the daily averages were the lowest since summer 2020, according to a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection official.... January is on track to have even fewer monthly crossings, the official said...."

Hamed Aleaziz & Miriam Jordan of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Friday issued sweeping extensions of deportation protections for hundreds of thousands of people from Sudan, Ukraine and Venezuela in a move that makes it almost impossible for ... Donald J. Trump to swiftly strip the benefit when he takes office. The extension of Temporary Protected Status, as the program is called, allows the immigrants to remain in the country with work permits and a shield from deportation for another 18 months from the expiration of their current protection in the spring. Late last year, Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken recommended the protections be extended in a series of letters.... President Biden has expanded who could receive the status, as war erupted in Ukraine and instability gripped countries like Venezuela and Haiti.... About 600,000 Venezuelans who currently have the protection will be allowed to renew and remain in the United States until October 2026, and approximately 232,000 immigrants from El Salvador will be able to do so. More than 100,000 Ukrainians will also be able to remain in the United States until October 2026. Some 1,900 people from Sudan will also be allowed to renew their status." (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's story is here.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden criticized Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive of Meta, on Friday for deciding to abandon its fact-checking program on Facebook and Instagram, calling it a 'shameful' decision that undermines America's commitment to telling the truth.... The president's comments came during a news conference on economic issues that was followed by a wide-ranging Q&A session in which Mr. Biden defended his policy agenda as his term ends.... The president appeared tired during the Q&A session. He fumbled his words several times and at one point misunderstood a question.... [He] insisted that he could have beaten ... Donald J. Trump if he had continued to run for re-election, but added that he had stepped aside from the race in the belief that it was 'important to unify the party.'"

Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post assesses Joe Biden's presidency.

Tracey Tully & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York have recommended a sentence of at least 15 years for Robert Menendez, New Jersey's former senator who was convicted of trading his political clout for bribes. The U.S. attorney's office is requesting a similarly long period of incarceration for Mr. Menendez's two co-defendants, Wael Hana and Fred Daibes. The government asked the judge, Sidney H. Stein, to impose a sentence of at least 10 years for Mr. Hana and nine years for Mr. Daibes." (Also linked yesterday.)

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court seemed inclined on Friday to uphold a law that could effectively ban TikTok, the wildly popular app used by half of the country. Even as several justices expressed concerns that the law was in tension with the First Amendment, a majority appeared satisfied that it was aimed not at TikTok's speech rights but rather at its ownership, which the government says is controlled by China. The law requires the app's parent company, ByteDance, to sell TikTok by Jan. 19. If it does not, the law requires the app to be shut down." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To millions of young users, there was no life before TikTok. But of course there was. So although it will be an inconvenience for hundreds of millions of U.S. TikTok users to find other online accommodations (or do without!), life will go on -- and new alternatives to TikTok will arise.

Christopher Flavelle of the New York Times: "... California [is] the state best equipped to deal with wildfires.... Yet the events of this week demonstrate the limits of those efforts, raising uncomfortable questions about whether any part of the United States -- even the wealthiest, best prepared and most experienced -- can truly adapt to wildfires made worse by a hotter climate." Flavelle reviews the steps California has taken & identifies more aggressive steps government might take to reduce the risk of destroying homes.

Mike Isaac, et al., of the New York Times: "Meta typically alters policies that govern its apps -- which include Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Threads -- by inviting employees, civic leaders and others to weigh in. Any shifts generally take months. But [Mark] Zuckerberg turned this latest effort into a closely held six-week sprint, blindsiding even employees on his policy and integrity teams. On Tuesday, [Mr. Zuckerberg] said [Meta] was overhauling speech on its apps by loosening restrictions on how people can talk about contentious social issues such as immigration, gender and sexuality. It killed its fact-checking program that had been aimed at curbing misinformation and said it would instead rely on users to police falsehoods. And it said it would insert more political content into people's feeds after previously de-emphasizing that very material.

"In the days since, the moves -- which have sweeping implications for what people will see online -- have drawn applause from Mr. Trump and conservatives, criticism from President Biden, derision from fact-checking groups and misinformation researchers, and concerns from L.G.B.T.Q. advocacy groups that fear the changes will lead to more people getting harassed online and offline.... On Friday, Meta's makeover continued when the company told employees that it would end its work on diversity, equity and inclusion." ~~~

~~~ Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post: "When PolitiFact won a Pulitzer Prize for its work covering the 2008 presidential campaign..., the award felt novel at the time 'and really put fact-checking on the map,' said Bill Adair, who founded PolitiFact in 2007. 'It was a moment of promise when people really believed that the internet could be a positive force to empower people around the world with the information they need to make decisions about voting in good and powerful ways,' he said. It didn't work out that way. Politicians attacked fact-checking as a partisan infringement on speech. And the internet and social media platforms spurred an ecosystem that prioritized viral content and capturing clicks over the lofty goal of providing accurate information.... [Mark] Zuckerberg's statement [when he announced Meta was eliminating fact-checking] echoed language that ... Donald Trump and other Republicans have used for years to attack fact-checking and social media content moderation." ~~~

~~~ Annie Palmer of CNBC: "Amazon said it is halting some of its diversity and inclusion initiatives, joining a growing list of major corporations that have made similar moves in the face of increasing public and legal scrutiny.... In 2020, Amazon set a goal of doubling the number of Black employees in vice president and director roles. It announced the same goal in 2021 and also pledged to hire 30% more Black employees for product manager, engineer and other corporate roles. Meta on Friday made a similar retreat from its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The social media company said it's ending its approach of considering qualified candidates from underrepresented groups for open roles and its equity and inclusion training programs. The decision drew backlash from Met employees, including one staffer who wrote, 'If you don't stand by your principles when things get difficult, they aren't values. They're hobbies.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

North Carolina. Eduardo Medina & Michael Wines of the New York Times: "... Jefferson Griffin, a Republican candidate for the State Supreme Court, [is] trying to nullify more than 60,000 votes in his closely contested race, which three vote counts had already shown him to have lost ... [to] Justice Allison Riggs, the Democratic incumbent in the race.... On Tuesday, the State Supreme Court blocked state officials from certifying the outcome of the race. Later this month, pending the outcome of legal battles over whether the issue should be heard in state or federal courts, the North Carolina court could decide, in effect, whether a Democrat or a Republican will hold the seat." What Griffin is contesting is the votes of voters who registered to vote on forms the state government provided to them but that did not contain all of the voter I.D. information that is required under the law. "Anne Tindall, a lawyer with Protect Democracy, a government watchdog group, said that 'you can't allow people to vote with certain rules in place, and then after the election say, "Oops! Now we're going to throw out your ballot."' She added that it did not make sense to delegitimize voters' ballots for only one race, but allow them to stand for other races." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So here's how voting works in North Carolina. You realize you need to register to vote because you've just come of age or you've moved or whatever. So you go into your county clerk and s/he asks for some documents and s/he gives you a form to fill out. And you provide the docs & fill out the form & s/he checks it over & says it's fine, and s/he issues you a voter card. So on election day, you go in to vote & the poll workers check your creds, & they give you a ballot and you vote. Your vote is tallied and everything's all so democratic. Unless a Republican loses an election. In which case your vote doesn't count.

News Lede

New York Times: "The mammoth Palisades fire roared closer to residential areas of Los Angeles early Saturday, forcing a new round of evacuation orders and dimming hopes that a brief drop in wind speeds would help firefighters tame Southern California's devastating blazes. The desert winds that have stoked the fires are expected to pick up again Saturday afternoon. But even without high wind speeds, the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles's history expanded overnight across the region's bone-dry terrain.." This is a liveblog.