The Commentariat -- May 1, 2021

Grace Segers of CBS News: "President Biden delivered remarks on Friday to celebrate 50 years of service by Amtrak, arguing that expanding and investing in the country's passenger rail system would help the economy by creating jobs and benefit the environment by cutting down on fossil fuel emissions from commuters.... Mr. Biden's remarks came as he continues to promote his multi-trillion dollar legislative agenda. His infrastructure and jobs proposal, the $2.3 trillion American Jobs Plan, would invest $621 billion in improving transportation infrastructure such as roads, bridges and public transit, including $80 billion dedicated specifically to Amtrak." ~~~

Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration said Friday it has canceled border wall projects paid for with funds diverted from Defense Department accounts, a widely expected move that follows Biden's decision to suspend construction activity on ... Donald Trump's signature project. Trump diverted about $10 billion from military construction accounts and counternarcotics programs to pay for hundreds of miles of steel barriers along the Mexico border, an effort that Biden has denounced as wasteful and ineffective." An ABC News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Cleaning Up After Trump. Elliot Spagat of the AP: "The Biden administration said Friday that it will begin work to address the risks of flooding and soil erosion from unfinished sections of the wall on the U.S. border with Mexico and will cancel military-funded contracts as it shuts down one of ... Donald Trump's signature domestic projects. Construction under the Trump administration 'blew large holes' into the flood barrier system of low-lying regions in Texas' Rio Grande Valley, the Homeland Security Department said. It said it will 'quickly repair' the flood barrier system without extending the wall.&"

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The Army on Friday punished several leaders at Fort Hood after an investigation of a slain soldier's chain of command revealed systemic failures, including ignoring harassment that tormented Spc. Vanessa Guillén, whose killing triggered a wave of reckoning across the military. Other leaders were reprimanded or suspended from their duties following another review in December that found sweeping failures. All told, 21 soldiers, including one general and other officers, have been punished or suspended. Guillén, 20, was bludgeoned to death with a hammer in an arms room on the Texas installation by a fellow soldier, Spc. Aaron Robinson, on April 22, 2020. He dismembered and buried her remains with the help of a girlfriend, investigators have said. The remains were discovered June 30 as investigators zeroed in on Robinson as a suspect. Robinson was put under guard but fled, obtained a firearm and died by suicide, investigators said." The AP's story is here.

The United States of Joe (Manchin, That Is). Madeleine Ngo of the New York Times: "Senator Joe Manchin III, Democrat of West Virginia, told local news reporters on Friday that he would not support a bill to grant statehood to Washington, D.C., saying he believed a constitutional amendment was needed instead of legislation." The Hill's report is here.

If you couldn't read the Daily Beast story, linked yesterday, that advances the Matt Gaetz scandal because the story is firewalled, maybe you can read Aaron Blake's post in the Washington Post, which repeats the central points of the story and is also -- firewalled.

James Brooks of the Anchorage Daily News: "The FBI and an agent from the U.S. Capitol's police department served a search warrant Wednesday at the home of Homer Inn & Spa owners Paul and Marilyn Hueper, who say the search was related to the U.S. Capitol riot in January. The Huepers attended the Jan. 6 pro-Trump rally that preceded the riotous invasion of the Capitol.... Marilyn Hueper said law enforcement officers accused her of entering the Capitol and assisting in the theft of a laptop belonging to Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. But she said she didn't enter the Capitol, and she believes the FBI has mistaken her for another woman."

Jared Kushner, Cruel Slum Landlord. AP: "A judge in Maryland has ruled that an apartment company co-owned by Jared Kushner ... repeatedly violated state consumer protection laws by collecting debts without required licenses, charging tenants improper fees and misrepresenting the condition of rental units. Administrative Law Judge Emily Daneker said in her 252-page decision Thursday that violations by Westminster Management and the company JK2 were 'widespread and numerous,' the Baltimore Sun reports. Kushner and his brother, Joshua, each held 50% interest in JK2. Westminster is the company's successor. Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, a Democrat, sued Westminster and 25 related companies in 2019, claiming they took advantage of financially vulnerable consumers in the Baltimore area."

Paul Krugman, in what he calls a wonkish post, explains why tax cuts for the rich don't work. However, he explains things even Republicans could understand if they tried (which they won't - [and Krugman explains why that is, too!]): "... at that level people don't seek more money so they can afford more things, since they're already able to afford far more luxury than anyone can enjoy. Instead, it's about keeping score; that is, their goal is to make as much or more than the people they compare themselves with. And raising taxes on rich people in general doesn't eliminate the race to out-earn one's rivals. Even to the extent that the rich seek income for what it can buy, however..., cutting their taxes ... could lead to reduced effort, because it becomes easier for them to afford what they want.... Higher wages have two effects on workers. They have an incentive to work more, because an extra hour gets them more stuff. But they're also more affluent, which lets them consume more -- and one of the things they might choose to consume is more leisure, i.e., they might choose to work less. Historically, in fact, higher wages have generally led to reduced working hours.... While tax cuts for the rich may offer an incentive to work harder, they're also a big giveaway that encourages the elite to work less." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's something Krugman doesn't take into account, but that I think is obvious. Most of the super-rich work because they like to work and they like the work they're doing, even when it's extremely challenging and anxiety-producing. Whether they take home $100K a year or $100MM a year, their "incentive" to work is unchanged. Their job is an obsession or a hobby; it's not an onerous obligation best left behind at 5 pm.

Here's a video PD Pepe mentions in today's Comments. It was produced by Meidas Touch, a pro-Democratic PAC:

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Joel Achenbach, et al., of the Washington Post: "The spring wave of coronavirus infections that began in March is subsiding in most of the country, with 42 states and D.C. reporting lower caseloads for the past two weeks. Hospitals in hard-hit Michigan and other Upper Midwest states that were flooded with patients in mid-April are discharging more than they're admitting. The daily average of new infections nationwide has dropped to the lowest level since mid-October. Many cities are rapidly reopening after 14 months of restrictions. The mayor of virus-ravaged New York City, Bill de Blasio (D), said he plans to have the city fully open by July 1."

Lori Aratani & Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "The Transportation Security Administration announced Friday that it has extended through Sept. 13 its orders requiring people to wear masks in transportation settings, including at airports, on commercial aircraft, and on buses and trains. TSA officials said the extension of the mask requirement is consistent with updated policies from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The TSA requirement had been set to expire May 11." The AP story is here.

Zeke Miller, et al., of the AP: "The U.S. will restrict travel from India starting Tuesday, the White House said Friday, citing a devastating rise in COVID-19 cases in the country and the emergence of potentially dangerous variants of the coronavirus. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said President Joe Biden's administration made the determination on the advice of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Biden signed a proclamation barring entry to most foreigners who have been in India in the past 14 days, with exceptions for legal permanent residents, spouses and close family members of U.S. citizens, and some others. He cited the spread of the virus and its variants."~~~

~~~ Lazaro Gamio & Alexandria Symonds of the New York Times: "Worldwide, the number of new coronavirus cases has shot upward since the beginning of March, more than doubling in two months. For the past two weeks, new global cases have exceeded their previous high point in early January. The average daily rate of new cases has now been above 800,000 for more than a week. The increase in cases is largely being driven by the uncontrolled outbreak in India.... India now accounts for more than 40 percent of the world's new cases. The country's death rate has followed the same dramatic curve, with more than 3,000 people now dying every day.... After enacting one of the world's strictest lockdowns last March, which kept deaths relatively low, Indian officials relaxed restrictions.... The vaccine rollout in India has been too slow to stem the wave of cases, despite the country's status as one of the world's leading vaccine producers. Less than 2 percent of its residents are fully vaccinated...."

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Andrew Oxford of the Arizona Republic: "An Arizona Republic reporter was escorted from the Arizona election audit site on Friday morning after posting a photo showing a former Republican legislator at a ballot-counting table. The photo showed a ballot, with no markings discernible, on a vertical stand in front of former state Rep. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale. The reporter, Ryan Randazzo, was told his press privileges were revoked. He left the building as requested. Randazzo was observing the audit, along with two other Arizona journalists, as part of an agreement with audit organizers to monitor the proceedings. Randazzo had spotted Kern tallying votes at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum as part of the unprecedented review ordered by the Arizona Senate.... Kern, who was defeated in an election bid in November, was active in 'Stop the Steal' efforts. He also signed a letter with several other Republican lawmakers urging Congress not to accept the presidential electors selected by Arizona voters. And he was in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6 to speak to a rally outside the U.S. Capitol on the same day a mob stormed the building." MB: So he seems impartial.

Mississippi. How to Whistle "Dixie." Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Appearing on Fox "News"' Laura Ingraham show, Gov. Tate Reeves (R) of Mississippi said, "'There is not systemic racism in America... We live in the greatest country in the history of mankind. And I'll just tell you in Mississippi, I was very proud of the fact that last year we had, we had peaceful protesters, but we did not have one event in which there was a riot. And the reason for that is because in our state, we back the blue, we support the police.'... In addition to his Fox News appearance, he got Monday off since it was a state holiday: Confederate Memorial Day. In fact, he was speaking to Fox at the tail end of what he on April 7 declared to be Confederate Heritage Month. April, according to the proclamation obtained by the Mississippi Free Press, should be a period in which Mississippians 'honor all who lost their lives in this war.'..."

South Dakota. Raja Razek & Caroline Kelly of CNN: "Republican South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem is suing Interior Department officials including Secretary Deb Haaland for declining to grant a permit for a Fourth of July event including fireworks at Mount Rushmore this year, according to a news release from the governor's office....'The 2019 Memorandum of Agreement between the State of South Dakota and the Department of the Interior commits us to work together to bring fireworks back to the Memorial in a safe and responsible manner,' National Park Service Regional Director Herbert Frost, who also is named in Noem's lawsuit, wrote in the March 11 letter. 'Potential risks to the park itself and to the health and safety of employees and visitors associated with the fireworks demonstration continue to be a concern and are still being evaluated as a result of the 2020 event,' he continued. 'In addition, the park's many tribal partners expressly oppose fireworks at the Memorial. These factors, compiled with the COVID-19 pandemic, do not allow a safe and responsible fireworks display to be held at this site.'"

Way Beyond

Afghanistan. AFP: "At least 21 people have been killed and nearly 100 wounded after a car bomb exploded in an Afghan city south of the capital that president Ashraf Ghani has blamed on the Taliban. Friday's blast occurred in a residential area of Pul-e-Alam, capital of Logar province, as people were breaking their Ramadan fast, and came on the eve of the formal start of the US military's withdrawal from Afghanistan."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Olympia Dukakis, the self-assured, raspy-voiced actress who often played world-weary and worldly wise characters, and who won an Academy Award for her role as just such a woman in 'Moonstruck,' died on Saturday at her home in Manhattan. She was 89."

AP: "Medina Spirit has won the 147th Kentucky Derby by a half-length over Mandaloun, giving Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the premier race for 3-year-olds. The bay colt led the $3 million race from start to finish after going off at 12-1 odds from the No. 8 post.... Medina Spirit held strong to the wire for his second career victory, a strong rebound from his runner-up finish to Rock Your World in the Santa Anita Derby. Jockey John Velazquez earned his second consecutive Derby victory and fourth overall. Medina Spirit covered the 1¼ mile in 2:01.02 and paid $26.20, $12 and $7.60.... Thousands of spectators ... gathered in the infield at Churchill Downs, many not wearing face masks required amid the coronavirus pandemic. Hundreds stood in lines that were not spaced out to use ATMs or buy food."

The Commentariat -- April 30, 2021

WSB-TV Atlanta: "President Joe Biden came to metro Atlanta on Thursday to hold a rally to celebrate his first 100 days in office. The drive-in event was held in Duluth at Infinite Energy Center. Biden came to Georgia to talk about his administration's accomplishments, including vaccinating more than 200 million Americans. During his speech, Biden thanked Georgians for helping elect him.... 'We promised to deliver emergency relief to the millions of Americans who were in financial distress,' Biden said. 'We've already sent more than 160 million checks out the door. And I want to stop here and give thanks to both your senators, Sens. Ossof and Warnock, for making it happen, because those two votes, had we not come back and you elected them, those two votes made the difference.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "At a rally hosted by the Democratic National Committee, the first in-person political event for Biden since he took office, the president infused more politics into the message he delivered Wednesday night in his speech to a joint session of Congress.... As the president gears up for a high-stakes legislative push for his ambitious infrastructure package, he is hitting the road to garner support from the American public as Republicans raise opposition to the expansive approach Biden is taking."

Alana Wise of NPR: "President Biden met with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter on Thursday in their hometown of Plains, Ga. The trip, which comes on Biden's 100th day in office, is part of an effort to celebrate his early accomplishments in office and make the push for trillions in new spending that would reshape the nation's economy."

Lisa Lerer & Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Now 100 days into his presidency, Mr. Biden is driving the biggest expansion of American government in decades, an effort to use $6 trillion in federal spending to address social and economic challenges at a scale not seen in a half-century. Aides say he has come into his own as a party leader in ways that his uneven political career didn't always foretell, and that he is undeterred by matters that used to bother him, like having no Republican support for Democratic priorities. For an establishment politician who cast his election campaign as a restoration of political norms, his record so far amounts to the kind of revolution that he said last year he would not pursue as president -- but that, aides say, became necessary to respond to a crippling pandemic. In doing so, Mr. Biden is validating the desires of a party that feels fiercely emboldened to push a liberal agenda through a polarized Congress." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's something Biden & Trump have in common. When each ascended to the presidency, he said to himself, "Wow, I'm the President now, and I can do whatever I want." For Trump, there was an addendum to that thought: "... for myself." He immediately set about to become the biggest grifter (and worst administrator) in the history of the U.S. presidency. Biden, on the other hand, used his new power (1) to clean up his act, which over the years has been uneven, and (2) to reimagine the federal government as one that does favor the middle class and those trying to get there. Clearly, he decided that nibbling at the edges -- a la Clinton's school uniforms -- was not going to cut it. Joe Biden believes in the BFD.

Cleve Wootson & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: Sen Tim "Scott [R-S.C.], delivering the official GOP response Wednesday, suggested that liberals are using race as a political weapon, defining all White people as oppressors and seeking to use the language of civil rights to rig elections. 'Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country,' Scott, the only Black Republican in the Senate, said in the televised GOP rebuttal to [President] Biden's speech." Marie: Scott went on to describe racial discrimination he had experienced. ... "many Black activists, who publicly criticized Scott into the wee hours Thursday morning, deemed him the latest in a line of Black apologists who give political and racial cover to White grievance. On Twitter..., the hashtag #UncleTim began trending not long after Scott finished his remarks."

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: Sen. Tim "Scott's rebuttal [to President Biden's speech to Congress] is notable for having nothing to say as an answer to [President Biden's] vision of a rebalanced political economy, let alone its underlying assessment of what's gone wrong. Instead, Scott employed a two-step. He portrayed the GOP as favoring government spending amid crisis by citing spending Republicans supported under President Donald Trump, while falling back on bromides about big government to dismiss spending proposed by Biden.... This hints at how badly on the defensive Republicans are. Scott needs to portray the GOP as committed to using government to help people, at time when large majorities favor Biden's plans. But this GOP simply doesn't exist.... Even more tellingly, Scott hailed the wonders of the pre-coronavirus economy. But what about the current economy?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Priscilla Alvarez of CNN: "The number of unaccompanied migrant children held in jail-like conditions by US Customs and Border Protection dropped nearly 84% in the span of a month, according to a White House official, underscoring the significant progress made by the administration after reaching record high custody figures. As of Wednesday, there were 954 children in CBP facilities, down from a peak of 5,767 on March 28, the official told CNN.... The volume of arrivals weeks into President Joe Biden taking office, combined with an unprepared administration, left thousands of children languishing in Border Patrol facilities often for longer than the 72-hour limit set by federal law.... In recent weeks, the Department of Health and Human Services, which is responsible for the care of migrant children, has opened up a string of temporary shelters to accommodate minors.... The average time that kids are in CBP custody is now 28 hours, compared to 133 hours on March 28, the official said, a nearly 80% reduction in time spent in Border Patrol detention."

Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post: "The Food and Drug Administration promised Thursday to issue new rules within a year that would ban menthol in cigarettes and small cigars, a longtime goal of civil rights and anti-tobacco groups, which contend aggressive marketing of the products has disproportionately harmed Black communities. The move also would ban flavorings in cigars and small cigars, which are popular with young people."

Marc Caputo of Politico: "Matt Gaetz is going on tour. With Marjorie Taylor Greene.... Together, they plan to attack Democrats and call out Republicans they deem as insufficiently loyal to ... Donald Trump, such as the 10 GOP House members who voted for his second impeachment after the Jan. 6 Capitol riots." More on Matt linked below.

Montana Congressional Race 2022. Reid Wilson of the Hill: "Former Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke has filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to seek a new term in Congress, six years after leaving office to join the Trump administration. Zinke, 59, a Republican, won two elections to represent Montana's lone congressional district, in 2014 and 2016. He was the first Navy SEAL to serve in the House of Representatives, and he won a spot in former President Trump's Cabinet after bonding with Donald Trump Jr. In office, Zinke courted controversy, coming under investigation for using private planes to travel to events and to raise funds for Republican causes. He cited the investigations into what he called 'false allegations' in a statement announcing his departure in 2018."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the government must comply strictly with a requirement that immigrants receive detailed notices about their deportation hearings. The 6-to-3 decision featured unusual alliances, with the three conservative justices most committed to interpreting statutes according to their plain words -- Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett -- joining the court's three-member liberal wing to form a majority.... The question in the case was whether the government had to provide all of the information at once or could do so piecemeal. Justice Gorsuch, writing for the majority, said the statute's use of the article 'a' in 'a notice to appear' was crucial.... 'To an ordinary reader ... "a" notice would seem to suggest just that: "a" single document containing the required information, not a mishmash of pieces with some assembly required,' he wrote.... The decision means that Agusto Niz-Chavez, an immigrant from Guatemala who entered the United States unlawfully in 2005, may apply to seek permission to stay." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "A federal appeals court on Thursday ruled that the Environmental Protection Agency must ban a widely used pesticide linked to neurological damage in children from being sprayed on food crops, unless the agency can demonstrate safe uses for the chemical. The 2-to-1 ruling by judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit comes nearly two years after the Trump administration's decision to keep chlorpyrifos on the market despite appeals by environmental and public health groups."

Ashes of the Smoldering Trumpster Fire

** Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: Rudy "Giuliani's push to oust the [U.S.] ambassador [to Ukraine], Marie L. Yovanovitch, not only became a focus of ... Donald J. Trump's first impeachment trial, but it has now landed Mr. Giuliani in the cross hairs of a federal criminal investigation into whether he broke lobbying laws, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The long-running inquiry reached a turning point this week when F.B.I. agents seized telephones and computers from Mr. Giuliani&'s home and office in Manhattan, the people said. At least one of the warrants was seeking evidence related to Ms. Yovanovitch and her role as ambassador, the people said.... At issue for investigators is a key question: Did Mr. Giuliani go after Ms. Yovanovitch solely on behalf of Mr. Trump, who was his client at the time? Or was he also doing so on behalf of the Ukrainian officials, who wanted her removed for their own reasons?" ~~~

~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Biden was not given advance notice of an FBI raid on Rudy Giuliani's apartment, he told NBC News on Thursday, vowing he wouldn't meddle in Justice Department matters. 'I made a pledge I would not interfere in any way, order or try to stop any investigation the Justice Department had underway,' Biden told NBC's Craig Melvin in an interview. 'I learned about that last night when the rest of the world learned about it....' Biden added that he hasn't been briefed on any investigation into Giuliani, nor has he asked to be briefed. 'That's the Justice Department's independent judgment,' Biden said. 'The last administration politicized the Justice Department so badly. So many quit, so many left because that's not the role of a president to say who should be prosecuted, when they should be prosecuted, who should be not prosecuted. That's not the role of the president. The Justice Department is the people's lawyer.'" ~~~

~~~ Simon Shuster of Time: "By the time federal investigators searched the Manhattan home of Rudy Giuliani on Wednesday, they had amassed a trove of evidence from his associates in Ukraine, focusing most intently on Giuliani's ties to Ukrainian oligarchs, three witnesses in the case told Time. The witnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity, described lengthy interviews with investigators in Europe, Manhattan and Washington, starting in the fall of 2019 and continuing through February. The calls and meetings with investigators grew more frequent and 'intense' after Joe Biden's victory in last fall's presidential election, says one of the witnesses. Two of the witnesses say they were working with Giuliani while cooperating with federal investigators.... What interested investigators most of all was the relationship between Giuliani and the Ukrainian businessman Dmitry Firtash, who is wanted in the U.S. on corruption charges, this witness says.... As part of his defense, Firtash hired two lawyers in July 2019 who are close associates of Giuliani: Victoria Toensing and Joe diGenova, a married couple known for their staunch allegiance to Trump. The couple then sought Firtash's help in their effort to discredit the Biden family." ~~~

~~~ Josh Kovensky of TPM: "Rudy Giuliani gave his first interview on Thursday following the FBI searches of his home and office, telling Fox News host Tucker Carlson that the DOJ had 'spied on me.' During a sprawling interview, the former lawyer to the former president spun a yarn in which the DOJ was engaged in a multi-year, politically motivated prosecution.... If that doesn't kill the prosecution, Giuliani said, 'we might as well be in East Berlin before the wall fell. This is tactics only known in a dictatorship.'" MB: It is worth noting that when Giuliani was the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, he most certainly "spied on" targets of his investigations in precisely the manner today's SDNY has "spied on" him. ~~~

~~~ Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "Speaking to CNN this Thursday, Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael Cohen, addressed the recent raid by federal agents on the home and office of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani.... '... Rudy's an idiot,' Cohen said. 'And that's the problem -- Rudy drinks too much. Rudy behaves in such an erratic manner that who knows what's on those cellphones or what's on those computers.... Do I think Rudy will give up Donald in a heartbeat? Absolutely,' Cohen said."

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "The FBI warned Rudolph W. Giuliani in late 2019 that he was the target of a Russian influence operation aimed at circulating falsehoods intended to damage President Biden politically ahead of last year's election, according to people familiar with the matter. The warning was part of an extensive effort by the bureau to alert members of Congress and at least one conservative media outlet, One America News, that they faced a risk of being used to further Russia's attempt to influence the election's outcome, said several current and former U.S. officials.... The warning, made by counterintelligence agents..., reflects a broader concern by U.S. intelligence and federal investigators that Giuliani -- among other influential Americans [including Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)] and U.S. institutions -- was being manipulated by the Russian government to promote its interests and that he appears to have brazenly disregarded such fears. Despite the alert, Giuliani went forward in December 2019 with a planned trip to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, where he met with a Ukrainian lawmaker who the U.S. government later labeled 'an active Russian agent' and sanctioned on grounds he was running an 'influence campaign' against Biden." Johnson acknowledged receiving the briefing, but called it vague and "completely useless" because the briefers did not supply him with specific intelligence and because he suspected its purpose was "to offer the biased media an opportunity to falsely accuse me of being a tool of Russia despite warnings."

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Video footage released Wednesday of the January attack on the Capitol shows the moments when rioters appeared to spray an unknown substance at Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, forcing him to retreat behind police lines. Sicknick, 42, was among the vastly outnumbered officers attempting to hold back a violent crowd on the west side of the Capitol at around 2:30 p.m. Jan. 6. He died the next day of natural causes, officials said, and has been hailed as a hero. The video has been played in federal court at hearings for men charged with assaulting Sicknick by spraying a chemical irritant. Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of W.Va. are charged with assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to impede or injure an officer and other related counts.... The videos show the moments when Sickick was sprayed and capture him trying to wash his eyes after being hit." Includes video. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kevin Brueninger of CNBC: "The family of Ashli Babbitt, who was fatally shot while participating in the Jan. 6 invasion of the U.S. Capitol, plans to sue the police department and the officer who fired the gun for at least $10 million. News of the forthcoming lawsuit, first reported by Newsweek, came more than two weeks after the Justice Department said it would not file criminal charges against the officer who killed Babbitt."

Trump Thinks Cyber Ninjas Will Prove He Wuz Robbed. Rosalind Halderman & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Several advisers said [Donald Trump] has become fixated on the unorthodox process underway in Phoenix, where the GOP-led state Senate took ballots and voting equipment from Maricopa County and turned them over to Cyber Ninjas, a private contractor whose chief executive has echoed baseless claims that the election was fraudulent.... Ensconced at his private club in Florida, Trump asks aides for updates about the process multiple times a day, advisers said, expressing particular interest in the use of UV lights to scrutinize Maricopa's ballots -- a method that has bewildered election experts, who say it could damage the votes.... Trump's embrace of the Arizona effort -- which he and his allies claim will prove that the election was stolen -- has come amid mounting anxiety among election officials that similar partisan vote counts could become the norm." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So maybe Cyber Ninjas' secret "proprietary methods" are UV lights, perhaps the same lights Trump thought would cure Covid-19 if you beamed them up your nose or something. ~~~

~~~ David Link of USA Today (April 28): "As a controversial 2020 election recount continues in Maricopa County, Arizona, some Donald Trump loyalists are using the occasion to rekindle false conspiracy theories about watermarked ballots.... This claim references a QAnon-related, election-fraud conspiracy theory that USA TODAY debunked in November. Proponents argued Trump had secretly watermarked mail-in ballots before the election so he could have evidence of widespread Democratic fraud...' On April 27, [the president of the printing company that printed Maricopa County's ballots] ... said 'there are no watermarks on the ballots' and there was no possibility the Trump administration could have added these watermarks without him knowing," as did local officials. Marie: It is these nonexistent, QAnon-invented watermarks that the Cyber Ninjas are using UV lights to "detect." ~~~

~~~ Jeremy Duda of the Arizona Mirror: "Following a judge's ruling that the Arizona Senate's election audit team can't keep its policies and procedures secret, lead audit contractor Cyber Ninjas submitted nearly two hundreds pages to the court detailing its practices.... The policies shed some light [MB: ha ha] on the processes that auditors are using to count the ballots, a process ... [that includes] checking the ballots for folds..., examining the thickness and feel of the paper, checking for discrepancies in the printing and scanning ballots with ultraviolet lights to 'compare to representative specimens.' The policy documents don't elaborate on what exactly the lights are supposed to show. Through Wednesday morning, audit employees had been shining UV lights on each ballot, though they haven't been using the lights since later that afternoon. Auditors are also using technology purportedly invented by Jovan Pulitzer, an inventor and treasure hunter, that he says can detect fake ballots by examining the folds, or lack thereof, in the paper." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Maddow reported Thursday that a judge has ordered that "real" observers must be allowed to watch the fake Maricopa County recount. Maddow's opening segment Thursday was a review of what-all was going on in the recount; she could not stop laughing.

Annie Karni of the New York Times: In a speech in South Carolina Thursday, mike pence spoke "fondly" of Donald Trump. MB: Warms my heart.

Jose Pagliery & Roger Sollenberger of the Daily Beast: "A confession letter written by Joel Greenberg in the final months of the Trump presidency claims that he and close associate Rep. Matt Gaetz paid for sex with multiple women -- as well as a girl who was 17 at the time. 'From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.' The letter, which The Daily Beast recently obtained, was written after Greenberg — who was under federal indictment -- asked Roger Stone to help him secure a pardon from then-President ... Trump.... In his confession letter, Greenberg also admitted he facilitated Gaetz's interactions with college students -- and paid them on his behalf. 'From time to time, gas money or gifts, rent or partial tuition payments were made to several of these girls, including the individual who was not yet 18. I did see the acts occur firsthand and Venmo transactions, Cash App or other payments were made to these girls on behalf of the Congressman.' [Greenberg wrote].... On Nov. 20, 2020, Stone told Greenberg he had received 'the document' and would show it to the team that 'got me my commutation.'... I will review it with them and give you a budget. This is very doable and the time is now,' Stone wrote. [On January 13, Stone wrote,] 'I hope you are prepared to wire me $250,000 because I am feeling confident.'" The story is firewalled. MB: I copied it before the firewall went up. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There's no way to tell from the article who would ultimately receive the $250K (Greenberg later bid that up to $300K before his effort failed) if Trump granted a pardon to Greenberg (or Gaetz), but the messages make it obvious that Stone was running a for-profit pardon mill. This does not necessarily implicate Trump, but it could. I don't think Trump gave Stone a blanket pardon, so he could be prosecuted, and if Trump was party to the conspiracy to profit from the pardons, he too may have committed a crime.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

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

Kevin Collier & Ben Collins of NBC News: "Specific directions showing how to forge Covid-19 vaccination cards have proliferated on conspiracy, pro-Trump and anti-vaccination forums throughout the internet in recent weeks, as users have exploited a largely makeshift verification system. The cards, distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have been handed out to the more than 140 million Americans who have already received at least one dose of a Covid-19 vaccination. The Biden administration has declared it wouldn't create a federal vaccination database, citing privacy concerns, paving the way for the cards to become the country's default national way to verify if someone has been vaccinated.... In March, the FBI released a public warning that creating or buying a fake vaccine card is illegal.... The CDC has since delivered guidance to states to pull the templates from their sites, citing 'misuse' by the anti-vaccine community, according to state officials."

They're Not Ignorant; They're Just Nuts/Stupid. Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "For years, scientists and doctors have treated vaccine skepticism as a knowledge problem.... But as public health officials now work to convince Americans to get Covid-19 vaccines as quickly as possible, new social science research suggests that a set of deeply held beliefs is at the heart of many people's resistance, complicating efforts to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control.... What [epidemiologists have] discovered was a clear set of psychological traits offering a new lens through which to understand skepticism -- and potentially new tools for public health officials scrambling to try to persuade people to get vaccinated. Dr. [Saad] Omer and a team of scientists found that skeptics were much more likely than nonskeptics to have a highly developed sensitivity for liberty -- the rights of individuals — and to have less deference to those in positions of power. Skeptics were also twice as likely to care a lot about the 'purity' of their bodies and their minds.... Conspiratorial thinking is another predictor of vaccine hesitancy...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Tavernise doesn't say so, but it seems to me the real problem these anti-vaxxers have is an inability to make rational choices. I share some of the skepticism some of them articulate, but I weigh that skepticism against other factors. For instance, one person said she didn't trust drug companies. I don't either. But I balance that skepticism against other factors like the coronavirus is killing hundreds of thousands of people, the feds are looking over the drug companies' shoulders, and there's empirical evidence that the vaccines work. It wasn't even slightly difficult for me to decide to go to some trouble to get the vaccine as soon as possible. Numerous other factors far outweigh my general disdain for Big Pharma CEOs.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Brittany Shammas of the Washington Post: "For eight months, investigators worked to determine the cause of the Markley Fire [in Northern California], which merged with nearby blazes in what became one of the largest wildfires in state history. On Wednesday, authorities announced they had found an answer: The blaze was set intentionally to cover up a killing. Police arrested Victor Serriteno within weeks of the August 2020 fire, charging him with killing Priscilla Castro, 32, of Vallejo, Calif., who he had met for a date. Prosecutors now plan to file additional murder charges against the 29-year-old in connection to the blaze, including the two men it killed: Douglas Mai, 82, and Leon 'James' Bone, 64."

Florida. Ben Kamisar of NBC News: "Florida's Legislature passed an election bill Thursday that includes restrictions on drop boxes and voting by mail over the concerns of Democrats and voting rights activists that the restrictions would amount to voter suppression. Both the House and the Senate passed the bill Thursday after weeks of negotiations between Republicans in both bodies. The bill is poised to be signed into law by Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has already blessed efforts to enact restrictions along these lines. The bill passed the Senate 23-17 and the House 77-40. The legislation would make a slew of changes to the state's election laws." The New York Times story is here.

Georgia. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "According to the Belleville News-Democrat, a former Georgia sheriff's deputy arrested on multiple gun charges bragged in private texts that he would charge Black people with felonies to prevent them from voting." The Washington Post's story is here.

Ohio. Johnny Diaz of the New York Times: "Eight people have been indicted in connection with the death last month of a sophomore at Bowling Green State University in Ohio, days after he had attended an off-campus fraternity event where school officials have said 'alleged hazing activity' took place, prosecutors said on Thursday. A grand jury indicted the men, seven of whom are Bowling Green students, on charges that included involuntary manslaughter and hazing in the death of Stone Foltz, 20, said Paul A. Dobson, the Wood County prosecuting attorney. Most of the defendants, who range in age from 19 to 23, were also charged with multiple misdemeanor counts of providing alcohol to underage people and obstructing official business. Two face charges of reckless homicide, the authorities said."

Way Beyond

Russia. Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "Associates of Aleksei A. Navalny said they were shutting down their nationwide network of regional offices on Thursday even as the imprisoned Russian opposition leader vowed, in an online court appearance, to keep fighting the 'emperor with no clothes' in the Kremlin. Disbanding Mr. Navalny's 40 regional offices became inevitable in recent weeks, an aide to Mr. Navalny said, amid the Kremlin's latest efforts to stifle political dissent. Prosecutors are seeking to have Mr. Navalny's movement declared an extremist organization. A Moscow court this week ordered Mr. Navalny’s groups to halt all public activity pending a final ruling in the extremism case.... Many of Mr. Navalny's associates have been jailed or forced into exile, while the extremism case against his organization could turn the faintest expression of support for him into a crime.... On the courtroom video screens, Mr. Navalny appeared gaunt...." ~~~

~~~ Robyn Dixon of the Washington Post: "Russian authorities have jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, arrested his staff and supporters and even independent journalists who covered protest rallies last week in his support. On Friday at about 6.40 a.m., agents from Russia's internal security agency, the FSB..., [arrested] his attorney, Ivan Pavlov."

News Lede

Guardian: "At least 44 people have been killed and about 150 injured in a crush at a Jewish religious gathering in northern Israel attended by tens of thousands of people, in one of the country's worst peacetime disasters. Children were among the dead, Eli Beer, the director of an Israeli volunteer ambulance service, United Hatzalah, said. 'Unfortunately, we found small children trampled there, and we performed CPR. We were able to save some of them,' he told Army Radio." The New York Times story is here.

The Commentariat -- April 29, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Video footage released Wednesday of the January attack on the Capitol shows the moments when rioters appeared to spray an unknown substance at Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, forcing him to retreat behind police lines. Sicknick, 42, was among the vastly outnumbered officers attempting to hold back a violent crowd on the west side of the Capitol at around 2:30 p.m. Jan. 6. He died the next day of natural causes, officials said, and has been hailed as a hero. The video has been played in federal court at hearings for men charged with assaulting Sicknick by spraying a chemical irritant. Julian Elie Khater, 32, of Pennsylvania, and George Pierre Tanios, 39, of W.Va. are charged> with assault on a federal officer with a dangerous weapon, conspiracy to impede or injure an officer and other related counts.... The videos show the moments when Sickick was sprayed and capture him trying to wash his eyes after being hit." Includes video.

Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: Sen. Tim "Scott's rebuttal is notable for having nothing to say as an answer to [President Biden's] vision of a rebalanced political economy, let alone its underlying assessment of what's gone wrong. Instead, Scott employed a two-step. He portrayed the GOP as favoring government spending amid crisis by citing spending Republicans supported under ... Donald Trump, while falling back on bromides about big government to dismiss spending proposed by Biden.... This hints at how badly on the defensive Republicans are. Scott needs to portray the GOP as committed to using government to help people, at a time when large majorities favor Biden's plans. But this GOP simply doesn't exist.... Even more tellingly, Scott hailed the wonders of the pre-coronavirus economy. But what about the current economy?"

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Thursday ruled that the government must comply strictly with a requirement that immigrants receive detailed notices about their deportation hearings. The 6-to-3 decision featured unusual alliances, with the three conservative justices most committed to interpreting statutes according to their plain words -- Justices Clarence Thomas, Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett -- joining the court's three-member liberal wing to form a majority.... The question in the case was whether the government had to provide all of the information at once or could do so piecemeal. Justice Gorsuch, writing for the majority, said the statute's use of the article 'a' in 'a notice to appear' was crucial.... 'To an ordinary reader ... "a" notice would seem to suggest just that: "a" single document containing the required information, not a mishmash of pieces with some assembly required,' he wrote.... The decision means that Agusto Niz-Chavez, an immigrant from Guatemala who entered the United States unlawfully in 2005, may apply to seek permission to stay."

~~~~~~~~~~

The New York Times has the full transcript of President Biden's speech, as delivered. MB: The only "free" transcript of the speech as delivered that I could find is Politico's. It's interspersed with Politico reporters' commentary.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden laid out an ambitious agenda on Wednesday night to rewrite the American social compact by vastly expanding family leave, child care, health care, preschool and college education for millions of people to be financed with increased taxes on the wealthiest earners. Invoking the legacy of Franklin D. Roosevelt, Mr. Biden unveiled a $1.8 trillion social spending plan to accompany previous proposals to build roads and bridges, expand other social programs and combat climate change, representing a fundamental reorientation of the role of government not seen since the days of Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society and Roosevelt's New Deal.... After presenting himself during last year's campaign as a 'transition candidate' to follow the volatile tenure of Donald J. Trump, Mr. Biden has since his inauguration positioned himself as a transformational president.... The president, who fist-bumped his way down the aisle, arrived amid tighter security than usual, with streets around the building closed and patrolled by swarms of police officers and National Guard troops.... The smaller audience produced a more intimate feeling in the chamber, and unlike previous presidents, who had to project their voices, Mr. Biden at times lowered his to a whisper, as he often does during speeches. He departed from his prepared text and ad-libbed more than most presidents do, and he lingered around the chamber afterward to chat with lawmakers.

"Not allowed to bring anyone to the first lady's box, Jill Biden hosted five guests online beforehand, including a transgender teenager, a gun control activist and an immigrant brought to the country illegally as a child." Here's White House video of Dr. Biden introducing & speaking with her guests. ~~~

~~~ The AP's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Politico's main "report" on the President's speech, which appears in the Magazine, is by John Harris. Harris seems quite exercised: "President Joe Biden's address to a joint session Congress was the most ambitious ideological statement made by any Democratic president in decades -- couched in language that made it sound as if he wasn't making an ideological argument at all." ~~~

     ~~~ Natasha Korecki & Christopher Cadelago of Politico: "In his first address before a joint session of Congress, the president embraced a tax-and-spend mantra to frame his next big legislative fight, walking right up to a third rail that has terrified Democrats for decades and forced his predecessors to triangulate and retreat to safer middle ground.... Biden's speech was, in its most direct form, an attempt to sell a host of agenda items, from massive spending on infrastructure and social welfare programs to calls for police reform, racial justice, gun control laws and, as he put it, ending 'our exhausting war over immigration.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The fear of the super-rich is so baked-in in this country that even reporters who probably are not among the super-wealthy seem rather breathless about remarks like this from the President: "I'm not out to punish anyone. But I will not add to the tax burden of the middle class of this country.... When you hear someone say that they don't want to raise taxes on the wealthiest 1 percent and on corporate America, ask them: Whose taxes are you going to raise instead, and whose are you going to cut?”

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "There were two moments during President Biden's address to the nation on Wednesday in which he obviously, if only indirectly, referred to the man who preceded him in his position.... 'America is rising anew,' Biden said, 'choosing hope over fear, truth over lies, and light over darkness.'... That tracks with Biden's past rhetoric and, frankly, Trump's own: Biden warned the country last autumn that a dark winter was coming because of the pandemic (and Trump's leadership failures), and Trump himself made fear a central part of his reelection bid.... From there, Biden turned his attention to an exhaustive list of policy priorities, one that, in its own way, differentiated his speech from any of Trump's.... It was also a reminder that Biden always ran on being a president who just sort of quietly went about presidenting, a promise that he has fulfilled in spades.... [Near the end of his speech, Biden said,] '... We have stared into an abyss of insurrection and autocracy, of pandemic and pain, and "we the people' did not flinch.'... Then: 'The autocrats will not win the future. America will.'" ~~~

~~~ Marie: My favorite line of the speech, which has received little or no attention, was this: "The question of whether our democracy will long endure is both ancient and urgent, as old as our republic, still vital today."

The New York Times is liveblogging President Biden's address to a Joint Session of Congress. Times reporters are providing analyses & fact-checks here; the page also includes a livefeed of the speech. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's liveblog of President Biden's speech is here. The video livefeed is featured on the Post's front page. CNN's live updates of the speech are here. It appears CNN's livefeed of the speech will appear on both its main Webpage & the analysis page.

Alan Fram of the AP: "Sen. Tim Scott accused Democrats on Wednesday of dividing the country and suggested they're wielding race as 'a political weapon,' using the official Republican response to President Joe Biden's maiden speech to Congress to credit the GOP for leading the country out of its pandemic struggles and toward a hopeful future. Scott, R-S.C., in his nationally televised rebuttal of Biden's address, belittled the new president's initial priorities -- aimed at combating the deadly virus and spurring the economy -- as wasteful expansions of big government." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Here's the transcript of Sen. Tim Scott's (R-S.C.) response, via the New York Times. I watched the whole thing, up till the time Scott knocked the President for the first time -- so for about 30 seconds. CNN has a transcript of Scott's remarks, as prepared. ~~~

~~~ Adam Gabbatt & David Smith of the Guardian: "Scott ... open[ed] with a solidly Republican criticism of 'socialist dreams' before taking aim at the president over some public schools having failed to reopen -- a decision which is taken at state-level, frequently by local districts, rather than by the federal government.... The extent to which Trump still looms over the Republican party was clear in Scott's speech, with the senator praising the Trump administration and on occasion using talking points that could have been lifted straight from a Trump stump speech." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Republicans don't know what socialism is. According to the Googles, socialism is "a political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole." I don't know of any Democrats who advocate for the federal government's operating our manufacturing facilities and meting out washing machines & laptops to the folks back home. Forcing top earners, wealthy Americans & big corporations to pay taxes at a rate higher than middle-class Americans is not "socialism." It's called "progressive taxation." Right now, as we know, we have, to a large extent, regressive taxation: the rich are among the best tax avoiders & outright evaders, and some huge corporations -- like Amazon -- pay no federal taxes at all.

"It's About Time." Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) acknowledged the historical significance of President Biden's speech before Congress on Wednesday night when she and Vice President Harris will be the first two women to be seated behind the president at a joint address, saying 'it's about time.... I made history when I was the first Speaker to be standing behind President Bush and he made note of that,' Pelosi [told Andrea Mitchell of NBC News], referring to former President George W. Bush's State of the Union address in 2007. Bush began his speech by noting it was the first time a president was addressing 'Madam Speaker.' 'Now this is just -- just so exciting.'"

Jim Tankersley & Dana Goldstein of the New York Times: "The Biden administration on Wednesday detailed a $1.8 trillion collection of spending increases and tax cuts that seeks to expand access to education, reduce the cost of child care and support women in the work force, financed by additional taxes on high earners. The American Families Plan, as the White House calls it, follows the $2.3 trillion infrastructure package President Biden introduced last month, bringing his two-part package of economic proposals to just over $4 trillion. He will present the details to a joint session of Congress on Wednesday evening. The proposal includes $1 trillion in new spending and $800 billion in tax credits, much of which is aimed at expanding access to education and child care." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Tami Luhby, et al., of CNN on what's in the $1.8 trillion plan. A CNBC report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Mitch Teaches Old Chuck a New Trick. Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Senate is expected to vote Wednesday to effectively reinstate an Obama-era regulation that sought to clamp down on the release of methane, a powerful, climate-warming pollutant that will have to be controlled to meet President Biden's ambitious climate change promises. Taking a page from congressional Republicans who in 2017 made liberal use of a once-obscure law to roll back Obama-era regulations, Democrats will invoke the law to turn back a Trump methane rule enacted late last summer. That rule had eliminated Obama-era controls on leaks of methane, which seeps from oil and gas wells. The vote will be the first time congressional Democrats have used the law, called the Congressional Review Act, which prohibits Senate filibusters and ensures one administration's last-minute regulations can be swiftly overturned with a simple majority vote in both chambers of Congress." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "The Senate voted on Wednesday to effectively reinstate an Obama-era regulation designed to clamp down on emissions of methane, a powerful, climate-warming pollutant that will have to be controlled to meet President Biden's ambitious climate change promises.... Three Republican senators -- Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Rob Portman of Ohio -- joined Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents to vote for the measure." The vote was 52-42.

This Is Rich. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday pronounced President Biden's first 100 days a massive disappointment and accused the president of breaking his campaign promise to bring the nation together in the wake of a tumultuous 2020." Then, of course, Kumbaya Mitch goes on to show his commitment to unity by lambasting the President: "'Behind President Biden's familiar face, it's like the most radical Washington Democrats have been handed the keys, and they're trying to speed as far left as they can possibly go before American voters ask for their car back,' he said. McConnell took aim at Biden's handling of the surge of migrants crossing the southern border...," his coronavirus relief package and even his administration's distribution of vaccines. And other stuff. The only things Mitch missed were Meatless Joe & book-pushing Kamala. (Also linked yesterday.)

Hawley's Very Fake Outrage. Dominic Rushe & Daniel Strauss of the Guardian: "Senator Josh Hawley (R) of Missouri accuses the US's biggest tech companies of committing the 'gravest threat to American liberty since the monopolies of the Gilded age' in his upcoming book. He rails that tech giants like Amazon, Google and Facebook 'have become a techno-oligarchy with overwhelming economic and political power'. Hawley has also invested potentially tens of thousands of dollars in the very companies he denounces, according to public financial disclosure records examined by the Guardian.... The disclosures also show that Hawley is invested in another of his persistent targets: China. Hawley has between $1,000 and $15,000 invested in iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF, holds stakes in some of China's biggest companies including Alibaba, Ping An Insurance group and Tencent.... Last year Hawley launched an attack on China, claiming 'imperialist China seeks to remake the world in its own image, and to bend the global economy to its own will'."

Weird News. Katie Williams & Jeremy Herb of CNN: "Federal agencies are investigating at least two possible incidents on US soil, including one near the White House in November of last year, that appear similar to mysterious, invisible attacks that have led to debilitating symptoms for dozens of US personnel abroad. Multiple sources familiar with the matter tell CNN that while the Pentagon and other agencies probing the matter have reached no clear conclusions on what happened, the fact that such an attack might have taken place so close to the White House is particularly alarming."

From the Smoldering Trumpster Fire

** William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Federal investigators in Manhattan executed a search warrant on Wednesday at the Upper East Side apartment of Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former New York City mayor who became ... Donald J. Trump's personal lawyer, stepping up a criminal investigation into Mr. Giuliani's dealings in Ukraine, three people with knowledge of the matter said. One of the people said the investigators had seized Mr. Giuliani's electronic devices. Executing a search warrant is an extraordinary move for prosecutors to take against a lawyer, let alone a lawyer for a former president.... The United States Attorney's office in Manhattan and the F.B.I. had for months sought to secure a search warrant for Mr. Giuliani's phones. Under Mr. Trump, senior political appointees in the Justice Department repeatedly sought to block such a warrant.... After Merrick B. Garland was confirmed as President Biden's attorney general, the Justice Department lifted its objection to the search." The Hill has a summary report here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Paul Campos, in LG&$, excerpts key passages of the NYT story. ~~~

     ~~~ NYT Report Update: "F.B.I. agents on Wednesday morning also executed a search warrant at the Washington-area home of Victoria Toensing, a lawyer close to Mr. Giuliani who had dealings with several Ukrainians involved in seeking negative information on the Bidens, according to people with knowledge of that warrant, which sought her phone. Ms. Toensing, a former federal prosecutor and senior Justice Department official, has also represented Dmitry Firtash, a Ukrainian oligarch under indictment in the United States whose help Mr. Giuliani sought." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It seems quite likely that the request for a warrant went up the DOJ chain to Garland. Garland serviced as chief judge of the D.C. circuit court. He would not have approved the warrant because Borat. There's some there there. ~~~

~~~ Michael Sisak, et al., of the AP have independently confirmed the NYT report: "Federal agents raided Rudy Giuliani's Manhattan home and office on Wednesday, seizing computers and cellphones in a major escalation of the Justice Department's investigation into the business dealings of ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer. Giuliani, the 76-year-old former New York City mayor once celebrated for his leadership in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, has been under federal scrutiny for several years over his ties to Ukraine. The dual searches sent the strongest signal yet that he could eventually face federal charges. Agents searched Giuliani's home on Madison Avenue and his office on Park Avenue, people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tim Elfrink of the Washington Post: "In the months since [the Capitol insurrection, police officer Michael] Fanone ... [who] suffering a mild heart attack and a concussion as he was shocked with a stun gun and beaten ... said it has been 'difficult' to listen to politicians like ... Donald Trump, who last month falsely claimed rioters were actually 'hugging and kissing' police, downplay the severity of the insurrection.... In an emotional interview on 'CNN Tonight,' Fanone described in vivid detail the terror he experienced defending the Capitol from a mob intent on stopping certification of the election, and called out elected officials who have tried to obscure that reality -- a position that some GOP officials have embraced as they seek to defend Trump.... Fanone, a 40-year-old who joined the force after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States, was among the 850 D.C. police officers who responded on Jan. 6 as rioters threatened to overwhelm the Capitol Police. He joined a group of officers at the West Terrace facing what he described to The Washington Post as a 'medieval battle scene.'" CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Republicans Choose Capitol Insurrectionist as County Precinct Chair. Ed Lavandera of CNN: "A Texas man arrested for storming the US Capitol and assaulting police officers on January 6 also serves as a Republican Party precinct chair and has been an election poll worker in north Texas. Mark Middleton, 52, was appointed as the chair of Precinct 14 in Cooke County in December, just a month after the presidential election, according to Chris McNamara, chairman of the Cooke County Republican Party. A precinct chair is a low-level elected position in local party politics. However, Middleton was not elected. He was appointed by a committee of local Republicans to fill the vacant precinct officer position.... Middleton and his wife, Jalise Middleton, were both arrested and face seven federal charges each. They have pleaded not guilty."

Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Brendan Hunt, a Trump supporter who called for killing members of Congress days after the Jan. 6 insurrection, was found guilty Wednesday of making a death threat against elected officials. The jury, which took about three hours to reach its verdict, found that comments Hunt made in a disturbing video posted online two days after the U.S. Capitol riot amounted to a genuine threat to murder lawmakers in Washington. He faces up to 10 years in prison.... Hunt, 37, was charged with one count of making a threat to assault and murder a U.S. official. He was arrested Jan. 19, a day before President Biden's inauguration, after the FBI received a tip about his video, titled 'KILL YOUR SENATORS: Slaughter them all.' The clip had been posted on BitChute, a hosting site popular with far-right conservatives, after the deadly riot in Washington.... [Hunt's] prosecution in Brooklyn federal court has been seen as a test of how far violent speech can go before it crosses a line into criminality and comes as such politically charged rhetoric on social media has come under increasing scrutiny." The New York Times report is here.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge Tuesday ordered the release from jail pending trial of a man who was photographed with his foot on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection, citing an appeals court decision making it harder to detain riot defendants not accused of violence. Richard Barnett, 60, of Gravette, Ark., had been denied bond and jailed for nearly four months on charges including obstructing Congress, violent entry into the Capitol while armed with a stun gun and stealing a piece of government mail that he later displayed to media outlets." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

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

Beyond the Beltway

Arkansas. Alex Bollinger of LGBTQ Nation: "The father of a transgender teen was arrested while testifying against an anti-trans bill in the Arkansas House because his speech went 30 seconds over his allotted time, even though he said that far-right representatives of hate groups were allowed to talk for nearly an hour over their allotted times.... Video has been shared online of [Chris] Attig being dragged out of the legislature last month by officers while defending the rights of transgender minors who, like his son 22-year-old did, need access to gender-affirming medical care.... Attig said that he was taken to jail, where he stayed for several hours and now faces a charge of disorderly conduct. He said that representatives from the SPLC designated hate groups Alliance Defending Freedom and Family Research Council were allowed to talk for up to 40 minutes and that only opponents of H.B. 1570 were held the the two-minute time limit."

Florida. Karen Murphy of the (Tallahassee) Capitolist: State Senate "Democrats ... found themselves Wednesday morning squabbling in a backroom.... Once they emerged, the 16-member Florida Senate Democrat Caucus announced it had unexpectedly ousted its party's leader. With only three days left in the legislative session, Senator Gary Farmer, (D-District 34) was removed from his post as Senate Minority Leader and replaced by either Senator Lauren Book (D-District 32), who was on deck to take over as leader next year or Senator Bobby Powell (D-District 30), the Leader Pro Tempore, depending on who you ask. Book's spokesperson Claire VanSusteren told the Sun-Sentinel, a no-confidence vote on Farmer, taken during that private meeting, was the culmination of issues that had been building through the 2021 legislative session that ends on Friday."

Florida. Nick Corasaniti & Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "A bill that would impose a raft of new restrictions on voting in Florida cleared the State House of Representatives on Wednesday after hours of contentious debate. Democrats denounced the legislation as overly stringent and unnecessary, and Republicans argued that it would install necessary 'guardrails' for securing elections, despite their acknowledgment that the state's election last year had been a 'gold standard' without fraud. The bill passed on a 78-to-42 vote, largely along party lines. Because the House added significant amendments to the bill, which had previously passed the State Senate, the legislation now faces a final vote in the full Senate before it heads to the desk of Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican, who is expected to sign it." MB: I hope the bill makes it too difficult for old Republicans to vote.

Florida. Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "After he was charged with lying to a grand jury earlier this month, Robert W. Runcie insisted he would 'be vindicated.' The schools superintendent in Broward County, Fla. had spent years battling accusations tied to his leadership before and after the Parkland school shooting -- and the indictment, he claimed, was simply another politically motivated attack tied to the massacre. Yet, less than 24 hours after saying as much in a video on Tuesday, Runcie appeared to change his tune. 'I will step aside so you can have the peace you are looking for,' he told Broward school board member Lori Alhadeff in a meeting later that night. Her 14-year-old daughter Alyssa was one of 17 people killed in the mass shooting in February 2018." (Also linked yesterday.)

Georgia. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Three Georgia men were indicted on federal hate crime and attempted kidnapping charges in connection with the death of Ahmaud Arbery, a 25-year-old Black man who was shot to death while jogging through a South Georgia neighborhood last year, the Justice Department announced on Wednesday. The deadly encounter helped fuel nationwide racial justice demonstrations last year, and the charges are the most significant hate crimes prosecution so far by the Biden administration, which has made civil rights protections a major priority. The suspects -- Travis McMichael, 35; his father, Gregory McMichael, 65; and William 'Roddie' Bryan, 51 -- were each charged with one count of interference with Mr. Arbery's right to use a public street because of his race and with one count of attempted kidnapping. Travis and Gregory McMichael were also charged with one count each of using, carrying, and brandishing a firearm. Travis McMichael is accused of shooting Mr. Arbery." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's report is here. The DOJ's press release is here.

Georgia. Jaclyn Peiser of the Washington Post: "Last February, two detainees sat side-by-side in a Georgia jail cell, strapped into restraint chairs. As hours passed, the two were not allowed respite, including a chance to use the bathroom. One man ended up urinating on himself and the chair, according to prosecutors. 'I'm a sit your a-- in that chair for 16 hours straight,' Clayton County Sheriff Victor Hill allegedly said. 'I need to hear from both of y'all that y'all not gonna show y'all's a-- in my county no more.' Hill, 56, now faces federal civil rights charges in the Northern District of Georgia, according to an indictment unsealed on Monday, for allegedly ordering his deputies to use excessive force against four detainees last year by strapping them into restraint chairs as punishment." (Also linked yesterday.)

Georgia. Defeated U.S. Senator Still Beating the Drum for Trump. Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.) is calling on Georgia's top law enforcement official to investigate Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) for his handling of the 2020 election. Loeffler sent a letter on Wednesday to state Attorney General Chris Carr [R] requesting a probe into whether Raffensperger used his office to advance his personal political interests during the 2020 election cycle, alleging that he 'politicized and minimized voters' legitimate concerns about changes to Georgia's elections' that came about in response to the coronavirus pandemic."

Illinois. Julie Bosman, et al., of the New York Times: "City officials in Chicago released body camera footage on Wednesday showing a police officer fatally shooting Anthony Alvarez, 22, after an early-morning foot chase on the city's Northwest Side in March. The killing of Mr. Alvarez was the second police shooting in a month to prompt an outcry from the public and renew calls for an overhaul to the Chicago Police Department.... Video from the body cameras and from residential security cameras appear to show that Mr. Alvarez was holding a cellphone in his left hand and a gun in his right hand. After he was shot, he dropped the gun, which fell several feet in front of him."

Michigan. Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "Three of the six men charged in the kidnapping plot against Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) have been hit with additional charges of conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction in a superseding indictment on Wednesday. New federal firearms charges have been leveled against another two of the men. The development represents a sharp escalation of charges against Adam Fox, Barry Croft Jr., and Daniel Joseph Harris, whom federal authorities first indicted last December, along with Kaleb Franks, Brandon Caserta, and Ty Garbin. Garbin pleaded guilty to the kidnapping plot since that time and faces the possibility of life imprisonment upon his sentencing. Prosecutors accuse the men of plotting how to 'seize, confine, kidnap, abduct and carry away, and hold for ransom and reward, or otherwise, the Governor of the State of Michigan.'"

Minnesota. Andy Mannix of the Minneapolis Star Tribune: "... with [Derek] Chauvin's state trial out of the way, federal prosecutors are moving forward with their case [against Chauvin & three other officers]. They plan to ask a grand jury to indict Chauvin and the other three ex-officers involved in George Floyd's killing -- J. Alexander Kueng, Thomas Lane and Tou Thao -- on charges of civil rights violations, a source said. If the grand jury voted to indict, the former officers would face the new civil rights charges on top of the state's cases, meaning all four could be headed toward yet another criminal trial in federal court." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

New York. A Conspiracy of Secrets, Lies & Abuse of Power. David Goodman, et al., of the New York Times: "The effort by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's office to obscure the pandemic death toll in New York nursing homes was far greater than previously known, with aides repeatedly overruling state health officials over a span of at least five months, according to interviews and newly unearthed documents. Mr. Cuomo's most senior aides engaged in a sustained effort to prevent the state's own health officials, including the commissioner, Howard Zucker from releasing the true death toll to the public or sharing it with state lawmakers, these interviews and documents showed. A scientific paper, which incorporated the data, was never published. An audit of the numbers by a top Cuomo aide was finished months before it became publicly known. Two letters, drafted by the Health Department and meant for state legislators, were never sent. The actions coincided with the period in which Mr. Cuomo was pitching and then writing a book on the pandemic, with the assistance of his top aide, Melissa DeRosa, and others." ~~~

~~~ Steve M. writes a funny, cynical post on why the subpoena of Rudy's electronic devices is good news for Andrew Cuomo.

North Carolina. Richard Fausset & Giulia Nieto del Rio of the New York Times: "For a week now, protesters in Elizabeth City, a small, majority-Black community in eastern North Carolina, have taken to the streets, demanding to see the body camera video of the fatal encounter between county sheriff's deputies and an African-American man. Many had hoped that a court hearing on Wednesday would prompt the release of the footage and bring some clarity to the matter. Instead, Judge Jeff Foster of Pitt County Superior Court delayed the public release of the videos for at least 30 days, citing concerns that their release could compromise the investigation into the April 21 killing of the man, Andrew Brown Jr.... Judge Foster denied the release altogether to the media outlets, saying they did not have legal standing to request the video.... But Judge Foster also ruled that authorities must show the footage to Mr. Brown's adult son, Khalil Ferebee, and his immediate family within one degree of kinship, plus one lawyer licensed to practice law in North Carolina. The judge said the family could receive redacted versions of the videos from four body cameras and one dashboard camera within 10 days."

News Ledes

Another Murderous Win for the NRA. New York Times: "Two sheriff's deputies were among four people who were killed in a 13-hour standoff in Boone, N.C., that the authorities said started on Wednesday morning when they were called to the home of a man who had not shown up for work. Deputies from the Watauga County Sheriff's Office arrived at a house at 9:44 a.m. on Wednesday after the homeowner's employer called to report that the person had not come to work or answered telephone calls, the sheriff's office said. When the deputies went inside, two of them were shot as they descended the basement steps, Sheriff Len Hagaman said. Sheriff Hagaman told reporters it was fair to say his deputies had been ambushed by the gunman, who was later identified by officials as Isaac Alton Barnes, 32. He is also suspected of killing his mother, Michelle Annette Ligon, 61, and his stepfather, George Wyatt Ligon, 58, before killing himself, according to a statement Thursday afternoon from the sheriff's office."

Another NRA Win. New York Times: "Five people have been arrested and charged in connection with a violent attack in February in which a man who was walking Lady Gaga's French bulldogs in Hollywood was shot and two of the dogs were stolen, the Los Angeles police said on Thursday."

CNBC: "Economic activity boomed to start 2021, as widespread vaccinations and more fuel from government spending helped get the U.S. closer to where it was before the Covid-19 pandemic struck, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Gross domestic product, the sum of all goods and services produced in the economy, jumped 6.4% for the first three months of the year on an annualized basis. Outside of the reopening-fueled third-quarter surge last year, it was the best period for GDP since the third quarter of 2003.... In a separate report Thursday, the Labor Department said initial jobless claims fell to a pandemic-era low last week, but the number was higher than expected.... Another 553,000 Americans filed first-time jobless claims last week. That marked another pandemic-era low...."