The Commentariat -- December 9, 2020

Real News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Way Beyond the Beltway

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

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

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

The Commentariat -- December 8, 2020

Afternoon Update:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Real Political News

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

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

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

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

News Lede

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

The Commentariat -- December 7, 2020

Afternoon Update:

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Monday are here. The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here.

Lee Facher of STAT: "Both Pfizer and Moderna, the two major drug manufacturers likely to receive emergency authorizations for a Covid-19 vaccine in the coming weeks, have rejected invitations from President Trump to appear at a White House 'Vaccine Summit' on Tuesday, according to two sources familiar with the event's planning.... The vaccine manufacturers' absences will be conspicuous at a 'Vaccine Summit,' an event that drug industry figures and one Trump administration official largely viewed as a public relations stunt when STAT first reported the event last week. The event appeared to be an effort for the administration to claim credit for the rapid development of a Covid-19 vaccine and to pressure the Food and Drug Administration to move quickly on an authorization." MB: I heard on the teevee that among those not invited to the so-called summit: anyone from Joe Biden's Covid-19 team. So, yeah, to no one's surprise, this is a Me-Me-Me-Me affair; not a means to help Americans find out what's going on.

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

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

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

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

~~~ Chandelis Duster of CNN: "Georgia is set to recertify its presidential election results on Monday, which will again find Joe Biden as the winner following three counts of ballots, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said."

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

~~~~~~~~~~

Real Political News

AP: "The annual Remembrance Day ceremony to commemorate the attack on Pearl Harbor will be closed to the public this year and streamed online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The ceremony will begin at 7:50 a.m. on Dec. 7 at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial's Contemplation Circle in Hawaii. A small number of veterans will be in attendance on site, Hawaii News Now reported. A moment of silence will be observed at 7:55 a.m., the time when the Japanese attack on the American naval base began in 1941."

Sheryl Stolberg & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. has selected Xavier Becerra, the Democratic attorney general of California, as his nominee for secretary of health and human services, tapping a former congressman who would be the first Latino to run the department as it battles the surging coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Becerra became Mr. Biden's clear choice only over the past few days, according to people familiar with the transition's deliberations, and was a surprise. Mr. Becerra has carved out a profile more on the issues of criminal justice, immigration and tax policy, and he was long thought to be a candidate for attorney general. But as attorney general in California, he has been at the forefront of legal efforts on health care, leading 20 states and the District of Columbia in a campaign to protect the Affordable Care Act from being dismantled by Republican attorneys general. He has also been a leading voice in the Democratic Party for women's health." Politico's story is here.

Tyler Pager of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden has selected Rochelle Walensky, the chief of infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, to run the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. Walensky, who is also a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and an expert on AIDS and HIV, will be tasked with rebuilding a critical health agency that has been sidelined by the Trump administration amid a pandemic. Walensky will ... take a top role in helping the Biden administration curtail the coronavirus pandemic. Biden is planning to announce Walensky along with a slate of top health officials this week, including Xavier Becerra as secretary of Health and Human Services, Jeff Zients as the Covid-19 coordinator and Vivek Murthy as surgeon general. Marcella Nunez-Smith, a professor at Yale who is an expert on health care inequality, will have a senior role focused on health disparities."

Harry Enten of CNN: " A new Gallup poll finds that President-elect Joe Biden has a 55% favorable rating and a 41% unfavorable rating. The same poll gives ... Donald Trump a 42% favorable rating and a 57% unfavorable rating.... Biden is more popular than Trump has been at any point since he started running for president in June 2015." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Trump's Swan Song? Flipping the Bird at America. Alayna Treene of Axios: "President Trump is considering a made-for-TV grand finale: a White House departure on Marine One and final Air Force One flight to Florida for a political rally opposite Joe Biden's inauguration, sources familiar with the discussions tell Axios.... Immediately announcing he is running for re-election in 2024 would set up four years of Trump playing Biden's critic-in-chief. The visual also would embody the vast difference in the two leaders' approaches to the pandemic. And flying off from the South Lawn before landing in Florida would let Trump escape protests, the normal pleasantries of welcoming the incoming president to the White House -- and sitting there while Biden takes the oath of office." MB: Treene speculates that Trump's plan "could create a split-screen moment." It shouldn't. The networks, C-SPAN, whoever, should ignore the Biggest Loser.

Matthew Choi & Daniel Lippman of Politico in Politico Magazine: "Presidents have generally succeeded in ... managing to project an image of executive competence no matter how absurd the backstage dynamics. And then came Donald Trump. 'Every day was like a Veep episode,' said one former senior administration official, recounting his time working for Trump. 'You tried to win each day, but like most Veep episodes, it typically ended in disaster.' Maintaining the normal veneer of smooth competence proved impossible in a White House that struggled from the start to find disciplined aides, and where the boss's whims and ego made even Veep's Selina Meyer seem levelheaded. As for keeping it hidden, not even close: Trumpworld's constant leaks and backstabbing ensured that all of America saw its dirty laundry.... From the administration's very first press conference to its last ham-handed attempts to reverse its loss at the polls, the Trump show kept delivering nuggets that could easily have slid into a Veep script -- and in at least one case literally replicated a Veep plot point.... Here\s Politico Magazine's unscientific, non-exhaustive reconstruction of Trump's four years in office, told through its most Veep-worthy moments." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr is considering stepping down before President Trump's term ends next month, according to three people familiar with this thinking. One said Mr. Barr could announce his departure before the end of the year. It was not clear whether the attorney general's deliberations were influenced by Mr. Trump's refusal to concede his election loss or his fury over Mr. Barr's acknowledgment last week that the Justice Department uncovered no widespread voting fraud. In the ensuing days, the president refused to say whether he still had confidence in his attorney general.... But ... by leaving early, Mr. Barr could avoid a confrontation with the president over his refusal to advance Mr. Trump's efforts to rewrite the election results.... Mr. Barr has not made a final decision...." MB: Looks like one of those calculated fake leaks designed to improve Barr's rep. Sorry, Bill, you blew your cover long ago. Update: A CNN story is here.

Oops! Martin Pengelly & Amanda Holpuch of the Guardian: "White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany appeared on Sunday to admit Donald Trump lost the presidential election.... In an interview on Fox News, McEnany discussed runoff elections in Georgia in January which will decide control of the Senate. 'If we lose these two Senate seats,' she said, 'guess who's casting the deciding vote in this country for our government? It will be Kamala Harris.'... Harris, a senator from California, will become vice-president [and sometimes preside over the Senate & could break tie votes]."

The Peasants Revolt. David Edwards of the Raw Story: "Fox News viewers expressed outrage at Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace on Sunday after he repeatedly insisted that Joe Biden is the rightful president-elect. Wallace made the remarks during an interview with Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who referred to Biden as a former vice president. 'He's president-elect,' Wallace told Azar multiple times." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Georgia. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "Top Georgia Republicans criticized President Trump on Sunday for spreading falsehoods and misinformation about the election, warning that his comments could make it harder for the GOP to win its upcoming Senate races and arguing that his continued attacks on the process put local officials in danger. The state's lieutenant governor also publicly rebuffed Trump's calls for a special session of the legislature to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory in the state, saying, 'We're certainly not going to move the goal posts at this point in the election.'... During a Sunday interview on CNN, Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan (R) said Trump was fanning the flames of misinformation and called the president's false claims 'concerning.' Duncan also criticized the president for suggesting the election had been 'stolen' from him...." ~~~

     ~~~ The Guardian's story is here. Headline: "Trump's attacks on election integrity 'disgust me', says senior Georgia Republican.

Georgia Senate Race. Crazy Inhabits the GOP. Richard Fausset & Rick Rojas of the New York Times: "In a televised debate on Sunday night, Senator Kelly Loeffler, a Georgia Republican, declined to say that President Trump had lost the election, arguing instead that the president had 'every legal recourse available' to pursue his baseless assertion that the vote in Georgia was rigged against him.... She used the debate to label her Democratic opponent, the Rev. Raphael Warnock, as a 'radical liberal' more than a dozen times over the course of an hour. Mr. Warnock criticized Ms. Loeffler, one of the richest members of the Senate, for making a large number of stock trades after she attended a briefing on the coronavirus in January. Ms. Loeffler did not answer directly when asked whether members of Congress should be barred from trading stocks.... The other runoff race in Georgia pits [Sen. David] Perdue, a former corporate executive, against Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old Democrat and documentary filmmaker. Mr. Perdue declined to attend a debate with Mr. Ossoff on Sunday, which resulted in a strange 30-minute session in which Mr. Ossoff faced off against an empty lectern." A CNN story is here.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

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

** Felicia Sonmez & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "Rudolph W. Giuliani, President Trump's personal lawyer, has contracted the coronavirus, the president said Sunday in a tweet.... Giuliani traveled to states including Michigan and Georgia last week and met indoors with state legislators in an effort to persuade them to overturn President-elect Joe Biden's victory. Videos of the appearances showed Giuliani was not wearing a mask during the meetings. Hours before Trump's tweet, Giuliani appeared on Fox News's 'Sunday Morning Futures,' where he repeated the president's false claims of election fraud.... When he has been around others who have tested positive, Giuliani has not quarantined, including after a news conference last month at the Republican National Committee's headquarters when his son tested positive." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Guardian story is here. ~~~

~~~ Arizona. Maria Polletta of the Arizona Republic: "The Arizona Legislature will close for a week 'out of an abundance of caution' after Rudy Giuliani ... possibly exposed several Republican lawmakers to COVID-19. The president announced Giuliani had tested positive for the virus Sunday afternoon, less than a week after the former New York City mayor visited Arizona as part of a multistate tour aimed at contesting 2020 election results. The 76-year-old was later admitted to Georgetown University Medical Center. Giuliani had spent more than 10 hours discussing election concerns with Arizona Republicans -- including two members of Congress and at least 13 current and future state lawmakers -- at the Hyatt Regency Phoenix last Monday. He led the meeting maskless, flouting social distancing guidelines and posing for photos. Giuliani also met privately with Republican lawmakers and legislative leadership the next day, according to lawmakers' social media posts."

Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A doctor who is skeptical of coronavirus vaccines and promotes the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine as a Covid-19 treatment will be the lead witness at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing on Tuesday, prompting criticism from Democrats who say Republicans should not give a platform to someone who spreads conspiracy theories. Dr. Jane M. Orient is the executive director of the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, a group that opposes government involvement in medicine and views federal vaccine mandates as a violation of human rights.... Her selection as a witness as federal health officials are trying to promote a vaccine as a way to end a pandemic that has killed more than 281,000 Americans prompted harsh criticism from Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader.... A spokesman for the chairman of the Senate committee, Senator Ron Johnson, Republican of Wisconsin, did not immediately return an email message asking why Dr. Orient had been invited to testify." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For some years, we here at Reality Chex have been labeling Ron Johnson "America's Stupidest Senator." I had thought that was our idea alone, but it turns out if you Google "America's dumbest senator," you get an awful lot of hits. In any event, America's stupidest Senator did the smart thing Sunday when he hid from the New York Times, so as not to get caught saying something really stupid.

Not the Best Way to Save Your Business. Mihir Zaveri of the New York Times: "The manager of a Staten Island bar who has repeatedly and flamboyantly defied New York's coronavirus restrictions hit a sheriff's deputy with his Jeep early Sunday as he unsuccessfully tried to escape arrest, the sheriff's office said. The bar, Mac's Public House, was ordered closed by the state on Wednesday, but deputies said they found several patrons being served there on Saturday night. When deputies confronted the manager, Daniel Presti, he fled to his Jeep and drove into one of the deputies, throwing him onto the hood, according to the sheriff's office. Mr. Presti, 34, faces 10 charges, including assault with intent to cause injury to an officer, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and resisting arrest, according to a criminal complaint filed on Sunday." MB: As many of you know, Staten Island is the NYC hub for crazy wingers. ~~~

~~~ Before Presti ran down the deputy, Pete Davidson commented on earlier protests at Mac's Public House:

Bart Barnes of the Washington Post: "Paul S. Sarbanes, who as a young Maryland congressman drafted and introduced the first article of impeachment against President Richard M. Nixon and as a five-term U.S. senator tightened the regulation of corporate accounting practices after corruption scandals at Enron and other businesses, died Dec. 6 in Baltimore. He was 87. The death was confirmed by his son Rep. John Sarbanes, who represents Maryland's 3rd Congressional District."