Reality Chex Annex

Saturday, March 25, 2023

March 25, 2023

Matt Viser & Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "President Biden used his first trip to Canada as president Friday to reaffirm the close ties between the two nations, seeking to solidify a key relationship with America’s northern neighbor at a time when the world appears increasingly divided between democratic and authoritarian blocs. During a whirlwind 24-hour trip, Biden addressed the Canadian Parliament, receiving several standing ovations, and met one-on-one with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who repeatedly referred to him as a personal friend. Trudeau also cited recent 'challenging times in our relationship as a country, as two friends and countries,' an apparent reference to the Trump years. Biden signaled that those times were over. 'Today I say to you and to all the people of Canada that you will always, always, be able to count on the United States of America — I guarantee you,' Biden told a boisterous Parliament. 'Together, we have built a partnership that is an incredible advantage to both our nations.'”

Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The conflict in northeast Syria escalated on Friday as Iran-backed militias launched a volley of rocket and drone attacks against coalition bases after American reprisals for a drone attack that killed a U.S. contractor and injured six other Americans. President Biden, speaking at a news conference in Canada, sought to tamp down fears that tit-for-tat strikes between the United States and militant groups could spiral out of control, while at the same time warning Tehran to rein in its proxies. 'Make no mistake, the United States does not, does not, I emphasize, seek conflict with Iran,' Mr. Biden said in Ottawa, where he was making a state visit. 'But be prepared for us to act forcefully to protect our people. That’s exactly what happened last night.'”

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "A key lawyer for Donald Trump appeared Friday before a federal grand jury investigating whether the former president sought to keep top-secret documents in his home — testimony that capped an ultimately losing effort by Trump’s legal team to prevent prosecutors from reviewing the lawyer’s notes and other documents in the case. Shortly before 9 a.m., Evan Corcoran strode into the federal courthouse in D.C., where judges had previously ruled he could not use attorney-client privilege to shield his material from investigators. He left about 12:20 p.m."

** Springtime for Trump. John Santucci, et al., of ABC News: "A federal judge has rejected ... Donald Trump's claims of executive privilege and has ordered Mark Meadows and other former top aides to testify before a federal grand jury investigating Trump's efforts to overturn the election leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell ABC News.... In a sealed order last week, Judge Beryl Howell rejected Trump's claim of executive privilege for Meadows and a number of others, including Trump's former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, his former national security adviser Robert O'Brien, former top aide Stephen Miller, and former deputy chief of staff and social media director Dan Scavino, according to sources familiar with the matter. Former Trump aides Nick Luna and John McEntee, along with former top DHS official Ken Cuccinelli, were also included in the order, the sources said. Trump is likely to appeal the ruling, according to sources...." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story, by Maggie Haberman & Alan Feuer, is here.

"Happy Crime-Fraud Exception Day!" Marcy Wheeler: "... today marks crime-fraud exception day, the day that at least one of Trump’s attorneys will be obliged to testify about how Trump lied to his lawyers to try to get away with hoarding stolen classified documents.... [Trump attorneys] Evan Corcoran (and possibly Georgia attorney Jennifer Little) will testify today.... [Thirty-one] lawyers have all — at a minimum — appeared in subpoenas pertinent to one or another of the investigations into Donald Trump, and a surprising number have testified before grand juries, including at least three with (Executive Privilege) waivers.... Some of these lawyers have had legal process served against them, and so may themselves be subjects of one or multiple investigations." Wheeler also discusses the new revelation that Trump attorney Tim Parlatore also testified in December of last year. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: Wheeler's post raises more questions. Is there a Crime-Fraud Exception tree? Maybe an avocado (similar to Romance language words for "lawyer"; Aztec for "testicle") tree? What about Crime-Fraud Exception decorations? Little German glass lawyer ornaments? British "silks" streaming down the tree? Are there Crime-Fraud Exception carols? "O, come all ye lawyers, hapless and discouraged...." "On the first day of Crime-Fraud, Jack Smith sent to me ... a subpoena from the grand jur-ee!" What's on the menu for an appropriate feast? Big Macs? Taco bowls? Does everybody throw ketchup at the wall?

Jonathan Dienst, et al., of NBC News: "The FBI and NYPD are investigating a letter containing a death threat and white powder that was mailed to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, whose office is investigating ... Donald Trump, law-enforcement sources told NBC News. The letter was addressed to Bragg and said, 'ALVIN: I AM GOING TO KILL YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!' the sources said. It contained a small amount of white powder.... Markings on the envelope indicate it was mailed from Orlando, Florida earlier this week.... It was the latest in what a senior law enforcement source described as "several hundred threats" aimed at Bragg and his office in recent weeks. A couple dozen of the messages were considered to be directly threatening serious harm to Bragg, the source said. Bragg sent an email to his office acknowledging the difficult week." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Chances are extremely low that some creep in Orlando would know who Alvin Bragg was had Trump and his cronies not targeted Bragg. These threats to Bragg and his staff are all Trump's work. Trump is our own home-grown bin Laden. ~~~

~~~ Why Waco? Nicole Hemmer of Vanderbilt U., in a CNN opinion piece: "... Donald Trump’s decision to hold the first rally of his 2024 bid for the White House in Waco, Texas, sends a powerful message about his unfolding presidential campaign. The rally coincides with the 30th anniversary of a siege just outside of Waco between religious extremists, a sect known as the Branch Davidians led by David Koresh, and the federal government. The 51-day standoff began in February 1993 and ended in mid-April with a fire that killed 76 people, including 25 children.... For the past three decades, this incident has been a key element of far-right mythology: a rallying cry for armed resistance to the federal government and its representatives. For Trump, whose first term ended with an assault on the US Capitol, the choice to rally in Waco sends a clear message that will energize proponents of far-right extremism among his base."

** Dan Froomkin of Press Watch: "I’m not sure there has ever been a major-media 'fact check' that more completely, ludicrously, and appallingly missed the point than the one the New York Times published on Thursday about the vile, scurrilous, racist, antisemitic Republican claims aimed at demonizing and linking a Black district attorney and a prominent Jewish funder. Appearing under the headline 'Explaining the Ties Between Alvin Bragg and George Soros,' the 'fact check' by Linda Qiu addressed whether there were, in fact, any links between the Manhattan DA who may be on the verge of indicting Trump for fraud and campaign-finance violations, and the left-wing philanthropist and noted target of antisemitic slander.... Concluding that 'These claims are exaggerated' is to entirely miss the actual meaning of the claims. It minimizes them. It whitewashes them. It virtually endorses them." ~~~

~~~ Marie: A lot like fact-checking a mass murderer's manifesto: "According to data gathered and analyzed by the Center for Postal Statistics, the USPS lost far fewer letters in 2019 than Mr. Gunslinger claimed in his manifesto. We give the manifesto three Pinocchios."

Miss Margie Takes Us on a Field Trip. Tom Jackman & Emily Davies of the Washington Post: "About a dozen House Republicans, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), and two Democrats toured the D.C. jail Friday to inspect the conditions under which 20 men charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot are being held, and the two parties emerged with sharply different versions of what they saw. The lawmakers met with some of the defendants, 17 of whom have been charged or convicted of assaulting police officers, and 'they told us stories..., stories of being denied medical treatment, stories of assault, stories of being threatened with rape...,' Greene said afterward.... The two Democrats who joined the tour [-- Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Tex.) & Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) --] said the jail conditions were unremarkable. They said jails are not supposed to be luxury hotels, and that the tour was a political stunt." ~~~

~~~ And then a protester, aided and abetted by left-wing radical D.C. cops, put Miss Margie through hell. Outrageous! ~~~

~~~ Whistling Past the Jailyard. Gidion Rubin of the Raw Story: “'We toured the DC Jail today and held a press conference outside the jail after our tour,' Greene tweeted. 'This man assaulted everyone there by blowing a whistle as loud in as he could in other’s ears and tried multiple times to assault me and other members.'... 'He needs to be arrested and we tried to have him arrested,' Greene said.... 'My staffer called 911 and reached an automated recording for several minutes before reaching a human. Reported the guy. She then asked the jail to send out an officer and they refused.' Greene said that the decision not to arrest the man typified a much bigger pattern of lawless liberals acting out without facing consequences.”

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: Former Attorney General Bill "Barr, writing in the Wall Street Journal, defended Fox News in the face of a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems. It’s perhaps unsurprising from a guy with a demonstrated penchant for tailoring his legal analysis to fit his allies’ purposes.... Echoing Fox, Barr argues that the network was merely covering claims from newsworthy individuals, rather than endorsing them." Blake looks for the holes in Barr's argument.

Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "The flight that left a former White House official dead earlier this month was marked by multiple missteps, alerts and system issues before the plane lurched violently in the sky, according to a preliminary report Friday from the National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Aviation Administration and NTSB initially described the incident as a turbulence event.... According to the new report, pilots said there was no remarkable turbulence during the flight.... Instead, the report says, a key probe affixed to the outside of the plane was initially left covered, a takeoff was aborted, and pilots received a string of alerts on the ground and in the air before switching off a key flight control system immediately before the deadly incident."

Beyond the Beltway

California. Corina Knoll, et al., of the New York Times: "The union representing 30,000 education workers reached a tentative deal with the Los Angeles Unified School District on Friday, following a three-day strike that had closed hundreds of campuses and canceled classes for 422,000 students earlier this week. Local 99 of the Service Employees International Union, which represents support workers in the district, said that Los Angeles Unified, the second-largest school district in the nation, had met its key demands, including a 30 percent pay increase. The deal must still be voted on by the full union. Mayor Karen Bass announced the deal on Friday at City Hall with Max Arias, the executive director of Local 99, and Alberto Carvalho, the district superintendent."

Florida. Sunshine Is the Best Disinfectant. So Sunshine State Gets Germy. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Members of the Florida Legislature moved this week to shield Gov. Ron DeSantis’s travel records from the public, proposing to change the state’s public information laws just as the governor ramps up what is expected to be a 2024 presidential campaign. The bill, which was advanced by state senators in both parties, includes a sweeping retroactive clause that would block the release of many records of trips already taken by Mr. DeSantis and other officials, as well as their families and staff members. The sealed information would include who accompanied officials like Mr. DeSantis on trips within Florida and around the country. In recent months, he has traveled widely as he promotes a new book and moves toward a White House bid..... On Wednesday, Republicans and Democrats unanimously passed the new bill out of the State Senate’s committee on governmental oversight and accountability. (Also linked yesterday.)

Kentucky. Bruce Schreiner of the Huffington Post: "Kentucky’s Democratic governor [Andy Beshear] issued an election-year veto Friday of a Republican bill aimed at regulating the lives of transgender youths that includes banning access to gender-affirming health care and restricting the bathrooms they can use.The bill also bans discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity in schools and allows teachers to refuse to refer to transgender students by the pronouns they use. It easily passed the GOP-led legislature with veto-proof margins, and lawmakers will reconvene next week for the final two days of this year’s session, when they could vote to override the veto." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "U.N. human rights monitors said the vast majority of the human rights violations they documented were committed by Russian forces. Russia committed 621 cases of enforced disappearances and arbitrary detentions of civilians, while Ukraine committed 91, they said. They also alleged that Russia was responsible for 109 cases of sexual violence, and Ukraine for 24. Brutal treatment of prisoners of war is common on both sides, the mission said. Canada and the United States pledge to keep the “torch of liberty burning brightly” for Ukraine, President Biden said in an address to the Canadian parliament in Ottawa on Friday." ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Friday, March 24, 2023

March 24, 2023

Marie: The underlying program that supports RealityChex.com just keeps deteriorating further. I set up a new computer today to see if, by chance, the problem was with the computer and not the program. It wasn't. Yesterday, I was able to send a cryptic message via my phone, but Reality Chex wouldn't load on the phone this morning. I've received no help from Squarespace so far. They say they can't replicate the problem; I don't think they really tried. I'm going to take my computer to BestBuy's Geek Squad late tomorrow, but I'm sure that's useless, since the problem is not likely to be with the computer.

Late Morning Update:

Florida. Sunshine Is the Best Disinfectant. So the Sunshine State Gets Germy. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Members of the Florida Legislature moved this week to shield Gov. Ron DeSantis’s travel records from the public, proposing to change the state’s public information laws just as the governor ramps up what is expected to be a 2024 presidential campaign. The bill, which was advanced by state senators in both parties, includes a sweeping retroactive clause that would block the release of many records of trips already taken by Mr. DeSantis and other officials, as well as their families and staff members. The sealed information would include who accompanied officials like Mr. DeSantis on trips within Florida and around the country. In recent months, he has traveled widely as he promotes a new book and moves toward a White House bid..... On Wednesday, Republicans and Democrats unanimously passed the new bill out of the State Senate’s committee on governmental oversight and accountability.

Florida. This is pretty funny. It helps to read the Annex comments linked below to appreciate the full import. Thanks to RAS for the link:

pic.twitter.com/S6U5Kpb5nZ
— Nikki Fried (@NikkiFried) March 23, 2023

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Shear & Ian Austen of the New York Times: "The United States and Canada have reached an agreement that will allow both countries to divert asylum seekers from their borders at a time when migration has surged across the hemisphere, a U.S. official familiar with the agreement said Thursday. The deal, which is set to be announced Friday by President Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau after the two leaders meet in Ottawa, will allow Canada to turn back immigrants at Roxham Road, a popular unofficial crossing point from New York for migrants seeking asylum in Canada. In exchange, Canada has agreed to provide a new, legal refugee program for 15,000 migrants who are fleeing violence, persecution and economic devastation in South and Central America, the official said, lessening the pressure of illegal crossings into the United States from Mexico."

John Wagner & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "... President Biden used an event marking the 13th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act to criticize congressional Republicans for wanting to repeal the now-popular program enacted under President Barack Obama — saying that would have 'a devastating impact on the American people.”'Biden said the law moved the country in the direction of 'the fundamental principle that we hold as Democrats and Americans that health care is a right, not a privilege.'”

Zoë Richards of NBC News: "A new administration rule for retirement plans will be implemented as planned after the House failed to override President Joe Biden's first veto Thursday. In a 219-200 vote, the House fell short of the two-thirds majority needed in each chamber to undo a presidential veto.... Congress this month sent Biden a bipartisan measure that would have blocked a Labor Department rule allowing some retirement plans to weigh environmental, social and corporate governance factors when investments are selected, instead of focusing solely on the best rate of return."

Katherine Tully-McManus of Politico: "A gun rights hearing on Capitol Hill escalated Thursday into a verbal altercation between two lawmakers amid the arrest of a parent whose son died in 2018’s Parkland, Fla., school shooting. The fracas during a joint hearing held by the House Oversight and House Judiciary Committees began when Patricia and Manuel Oliver shouted aloud about their son Joaquin’s death before being removed by Capitol Police at the request of Reps. Pat Fallon (R-Texas) and Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.).... After the Olivers were removed by Capitol Police from the Rayburn hearing room, two officers pinned Manuel Oliver to the ground in the process of making an arrest, putting his face on the floor. 'Back up or you’ll go to jail next,' one officer shouted at Patricia, in response to her speaking to the officers and leaning over the arrest, according to video of the incident. The second officer kicked Patricia away. Patricia eventually made her way back into the committee room while the panel was called into recess." See also Akhilleus' commentary below.

Ready for His Perp Walk, Ctd.

** Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "... prosecutors [in the D.O.J's classified documents case] believe they have compelling evidence that [Donald] Trump obstructed the government’s efforts to reclaim the sensitive records and may have even misled his own lawyers.... Most notably, in a lengthy memorandum of law that accompanied [Judge Beryl Howell's] ruling [last Friday by], Judge Howell ... laid out damning assertions made by prosecutors that Mr. Trump knowingly deceived the government and caused [his attorney Evan] Corcoran to misstate to prosecutors where the documents were being held at Mar-a-Lago.... Mr. Corcoran, who testified before the grand jury earlier this year, is set to appear before the grand jury again on Friday in compliance with rulings from both Judge Howell and the appeals court [which upheld her ruling]. According to two people familiar with the events, he is not intending to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when he testifies, underscoring that he is not the target of the special counsel’s scrutiny." Emphasis added. Judge Howell ordered another Trump lawyer, Jennifer Little, to testify before the grand jury, though the judge did not require Little to produce a document the lawyer asked to be withheld. " ~~~

~~~ Marie: No, Corcoran's plan not to take the Fifth does not so much "[underscore] that he is not the target of the special counsel’s scrutiny" as it underscores is the probability that Corcoran will finger Trump as the perp. ~~~

(~~~ Drag Queen Story Time. Mention of Evan Corcoran brings to mind the young lawyer he talked into actually signing the false statement about how there was nary a classified document to be found at Mar-a-Lardo: Christina Bobb, Esquirette. On a recent podcast, Crazy Uncle Rudy (Giuliani) "interviewed" Bobb, and Rudy recounted to her an event which supposedly happened when he was in Ukraine in 2019, looking up dirt on the Biden family, Philip Bump of the Washington Post reports: "So here comes this story, in which George Soros — at the time 89 years old and primarily a resident of Westchester County, N.Y. — was in a car on the tarmac of a private airport in Kyiv, an airport Giuliani says Soros owned. (A small airport near Kyiv is privately owned … by an aircraft manufacturing company.) And not only was Soros there, Giuliani said, but his goons actively tried to block Giuliani’s egress..., necessitating an urgent escape by plane." MB: You can't make this up. But Crazy Uncle Rudy can [Re: the "Drag Queen" reference, you may recall the time when Rudy dressed in drag years ago for a charity event in which Donald Trump sexually abused him/her, a role Trump reputedly had practiced in real life.])

Katherine Faulders & Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "A top attorney for ... Donald Trump gave previously undisclosed testimony before a grand jury late last year regarding efforts by Trump's team to locate any classified documents that remained in Trump's possession after the FBI's unprecedented August search of his Mar-a-Lago estate, sources familiar with the matter told ABC News. The Dec. 22 testimony from attorney Timothy Parlatore was ordered after months of wrangling between Trump's attorneys and officials in the Justice Department, who had grown increasingly concerned that Trump still continued to hold onto classified documents after more than 100 were discovered in the August 8 search, sources said.... Parlatore was not subpoenaed for his testimony...."

Trump Threatens "Death and Destruction." John Wagner of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump warned early Friday of 'potential death & destruction' if he is charged in Manhattan in a criminal case related to alleged hush-money payments to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to conceal an affair.... Trump wrote: /What kind of person can charge another person, in this case a former President of the United States, who got more votes than any sitting President in history, and leading candidate (by far!) for the Republican Party nomination, with a Crime, when it is known by all that NO Crime has been committed, & also known that potential death & destruction in such a false charge could be catastrophic for our Country?'... In a separate post Thursday, Trump criticized those who have called for his supporters to remain peaceful.”

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump ramped up his inciteful[*] rhetoric in a social media post that pushed back on calls for peaceful protest amid reports of his impending arrest.... Trump called for [Alvin] Bragg to drop the case in an ALL CAPS rant posted Thursday morning[.]... Trump’s rejection of those calling for calm — 'THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!' — comes as political tensions remain high in the country.... It does not take a genius to see that Trump is suggesting that a violent approach to protest — like the one that struck the Capitol on Jan. 6 — is still very much on the table. In classic Trump fashion, however, he is also not saying that." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: Trump made his remarks in two all-caps posts, which Hall republishes here. I am not reproducing them, but both posts are worth reading. He calls Manhattan D.A. Alvin Bragg "a Soros backed animal" and says the justice system Bragg represents 'is the Gestapo."

~~~ * It appears Colby got "inciteful-not-a-word" mixed up with "insightful." He meant something like "infammatory."

From an NBC News liveblog: "The Manhattan grand jury that has been investigating the hush money case involving [Donald] Trump is not expected to consider it today [Thursday], NBC News has confirmed. The grand jury was set to return to court in lower Manhattan on Thursday, but it is expected to meet about a different case, according to three sources familiar with the matter.... Members of the jury have been meeting Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told them to stay home yesterday." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update from the liveblog: "The Manhattan District Attorney's Office sent a lengthy letter [Thursday] to three House GOP committee chairmen arguing that they are overstepping their bounds in their quest to obtain information related to the hush money case involving [Donald] Trump. General counsel Leslie B. Dubeck, writing on behalf of [DA Alvin] Bragg, said in the letter that the Republican chairmen are embarking on an unprecedented inquiry 'into pending local prosecution.... [Your] letter seeks non-public information about a pending criminal investigation, which is confidential under state law,' Dubeck wrote, adding that 'it is clear that Congress cannot have any legitimate legislative task relating to the oversight of local prosecutors enforcing state law.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Update: The New York Times story, by Luke Broadwater & others, is here. The letter is a doozy.

Judge Compares Trump to Terrorist, Takes Precautions. Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A Manhattan judge ruled on Thursday that jurors hearing a trial next month involving a rape allegation against ... Donald J. Trump will be kept anonymous because of concern they could become victims of “harassment or worse” by Mr. Trump’s supporters. The judge, Lewis A. Kaplan of Federal District Court, issued his ruling in a lawsuit filed by E. Jean Carroll, a writer who has accused Mr. Trump of raping her in a dressing room at the luxury department store Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s.... [Judge Kaplan] noted Mr. Trump had repeatedly attacked courts, judges, law enforcement officials and even individual jurors in other matters.... In his opinion, Judge Kaplan noted anonymous juries historically have been ordered in criminal cases, most often involving terrorism and organized crime, in which 'the risk of tampering with or violent retaliation against jurors by criminal defendants or their confederates was palpable.'” CNN's report is here.

Say, remember all those AI-generated fake pix of Trump's arrest? (Linked here yesterday.) Well, guess who liked at least one of them: Porky the Perp! ~~~

~~~ Brandon Gage of AlternNet: "... Donald Trump shared an artificial intelligence-generated picture of himself kneeling and praying to his Truth Social account on Thursday afternoon, triggering a blizzard of mockery on social media." MB: Weirdly, I gather from the "mockery" that follows is that Trump pretended it was a real photo of him praying to God on bended knee. ~~~

~~~ Diego Lasarte of Quartz: Trump did not identify the picture as a fake when he posted it. "An earlier post on Twitter with the same image shows thousands of replies from Trump’s base, apparently believing it was an actual photo of the former president praying, with comments reading 'love this picture' and 'that’s powerful.'”

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "The Trump campaign has sent a warning shot to the Republican Party’s House campaign arm and some of its most prominent digital consultants: Stop using the former president’s image and likeness in your fundraising pitches or you will pay. In a letter sent on Thursday afternoon to the National Republican Campaign Committee and ten GOP consulting firms, Trump’s top two campaign officials, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, said the former president may not endorse candidates who used firms that were fundraising off of Trump without his consent.... Several of the firms are working for prospective GOP rivals to Trump."

Zach Montague of the New York Times: " A Pennsylvania woman who steered a group of rioters toward Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office on Jan. 6, 2021, and directed others inside the Capitol to steal a laptop computer was sentenced in Federal District Court in Washington on Thursday to three years in prison. The woman, Riley June Williams, 24, was convicted in November of several charges including felony civil disorder and impeding officers trying to defend the Capitol Rotunda. The jury deadlocked on whether she had played a role in the theft of the computer, which Ms. Pelosi used for Zoom calls during the coronavirus pandemic, and whether her actions amounted to obstruction of Congress’s certification of the 2020 electoral vote." The NBC News report, by Ryan Reilly, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Cat Zakrzewski & Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew tried to allay mounting national security concerns about the Chinese-owned video app but encountered open hostility Thursday in his first appearance before Congress, a five-hour thrashing that underscored the popular app’s precarious future in the United States. Lawmakers from both parties sought to tie Chew personally to the Chinese Communist Party, frequently interrupted him and called him 'evasive.' While he pledged to safely steward the data of American users and shield TikTok from foreign manipulation, lawmakers from both parties criticized TikTok, without evidence, as a tool of China’s Communist government.... The Biden administration has pushed TikTok’s Chinese owners to sell their stakes in the company.... Hours before Chew’s testimony, the Beijing government announced that it would strongly oppose any forced sale of TikTok." ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are questioning Shou Chew, the C.E.O. of the viral video app. Their main concerns are data privacy and its Chinese ownership." This is a liveblog of the hearing. (Also linked yesterday.)

Oh Nos! Caught on Tape.Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "A nine-minute Fox News appearance last year has earned Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) a public admonishment from the Senate ethics select committee because, during it, he solicited campaign contributions for former Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker while standing on Capitol grounds. In a letter to Graham, the ethics committee’s chairman, Sen. Christopher A. Coons (D-Del.), and vice chairman, Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.), detailed that the South Carolina Republican violated Senate rules and standards of conduct by soliciting campaign contributions in a federal building.... The Senate ethics committee ... concluded that Graham 'directly solicited campaign contributions on behalf of Mr. Walker’s campaign committee, www.teamherschel.com, five separate times.'”

Beyond the Beltway

Alexandra Alter & Elizabeth Harris of the New York Times: "Efforts to ban books nearly doubled in 2022 over the previous year, according to a report published Thursday by the American Library Association. The organization tracked 1,269 attempts to ban books and other resources in libraries and schools, the highest number of complaints since the association began studying censorship efforts more than 20 years ago. The analysis offers a snapshot of the spike in censorship, but most likely fails to capture the magnitude of bans. The report is compiled from book challenges that library professionals reported to the association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, and it also relies on information gathered from news reports. Book removals have exploded in recent years, and have become a galvanizing issue for conservative groups and elected officials."

Arizona. Jacques Billeaud of the AP: "The Arizona Supreme Court has declined to hear most of Republican Kari Lake’s appeal in a challenge of her defeat in the governor’s race but revived a claim that was dismissed by a trial court. In an order Wednesday, the state’s highest court said a lower court erroneously dismissed Lake’s claim challenging the application of signature verification procedures on early ballots in Maricopa County. The court sent the claim back to a trial court to consider." (Also linked yesterday.)

Florida. Sarah Boboltz of the Huffington Post: "The principal of Florida’s Tallahassee Classical School is out of a job after parents complained that their sixth-grade children were shown Michelangelo’s 16th century 'David' sculpture, with one parent calling it 'pornographic,' the Tallahassee Democrat first reported. The now-former principal, Hope Carrasquilla, told HuffPost the situation was also 'a little more complicated than that,' noting that the usual protocol is to send parents a letter before students are shown such classical artwork. Due to 'a series of miscommunications,' the letter did not go out to the sixth-grade parents, and some complained, Carrasquilla said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: Gosh, I sure hope none of those parents ever takes their impressionable children on an educational tour of Italy, because there are naked statues everywhere. Standing in Florence's main square -- the Piazza della Signoria -- right in front of the town hall -- the Palazzo Vecchio -- is a copy of the David, where the original once stood. Both are huge, BTW, but you do have to go into a museum to see the original. As for firing an administrator because a few parents are shocked that kids who know what bodies look like should not see great art -- that's just medieval. (They called it the Renaissance for a reason.) ~~~

~~~ Now let's tell those pious parents a little Bible story, what with David's being a Biblical character. It seems the penis those church-lady parents found so objectionable caused David some problems, too. David initiated an affair with Bathsheba, the beautiful wife of Uriah while Uriah was out fighting in David's army. David got Bathsheba pregnant, as will happen, then tried to make it appear that Uriah was the father. When that ruse didn't work out, David arranged to have Uriah killed in battle, and David married the pregnant widow. This bit of adultery & murder considerably irritated God, who killed the baby a week after it was born. God later killed three more of David's infant sons. Not exactly abortion, which would be wrong, but infanticide! Ha ha. See related post linked under "Utah" below.

Michigan. CBS/AP: "The parents of a teenager who killed four students at a Michigan high school can face trial for involuntary manslaughter, the state appeals court said Thursday in a groundbreaking case of criminal responsibility for the acts of a child. The murders would not have happened if the parents hadn't purchased a gun for Ethan Crumbley or if they had taken him home from Oxford High School on the day of the shooting, when staff became alarmed about his extreme drawings, the appeals court said." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tennessee. Ava Sasani of the New York Times: "... Tennessee’s health commissioner announced earlier this year that the state would no longer accept $8.8 million in federal grant money [for H.I.V. care].... Tennessee is the only state to have rejected the funding; Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, instead plans to allocate $9 million in new state funding for H.I.V. prevention and monitoring in July.... But some organizations say they are concerned that the state will not offer them funding if they do not align with the governor’s conservative positions on issues like transgender rights, and his opposition to abortion access.... The governor’s office has indicated that its priorities include 'vulnerable populations, such as victims of human trafficking, mothers and children, and first responders.' Public health experts say Mr. Lee’s listed examples are at odds with the reality on the ground, as those groups represent only a tiny fraction of new H.I.V. cases in Tennessee....”

Utah. Courtney Tanner of the Salt Lake Tribune: "Frustrated by the books being removed from school libraries, a Utah parent says there’s one that hasn’t been challenged yet, but that they believe should be, for being 'one of the most sex-ridden books around.' So they’ve submitted a request for their school district in Davis County to now review the Bible for any inappropriate content. 'Incest, onanism, bestiality, prostitution, genital mutilation, fellatio, dildos, rape, and even infanticide,' the parent wrote in their request, listing topics they found concerning in the religious text. 'You’ll no doubt find that the Bible, under Utah Code Ann. § 76-10-1227, has "no serious values for minors" because it’s pornographic by our new definition.'”

Wyoming. Oh, the Irony! Ian Millhiser of Vox: "On Wednesday, a judge in the deep-red state of Wyoming temporarily blocked a state law that would make performing nearly any abortion in that state a felony. She relied on a 2012 amendment to the state constitution that was intended to spite then-President Barack Obama.... In many states, opponents of Obamacare effectively took the GOP’s talking points and turned them into state constitutional amendments protecting patients’ ability to obtain health care that the government might not want them to have. Wyoming’s amendment, for example, provides that 'each competent adult shall have the right to make his or her own health care decisions.'... [Judge Melissa] Owens construed the amendment to give people in Wyoming a 'fundamental right' to make their own health care decisions, including the decision to seek an abortion." Thanks to Winkes & Son for the link.

Way Beyond

Syria. Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "A U.S. contractor was killed and another contractor and five U.S. service members were injured when a self-destructing drone struck a maintenance facility on a coalition base in northeast Syria on Thursday, the Pentagon said in a statement. U.S. intelligence analysts concluded that the drone was of 'Iranian origin,' according to the Pentagon statement, which said the attack took place near Hasaka at 1:38 p.m. local time. In response, at President Biden’s direction, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III said he ordered airstrikes against facilities in eastern Syria used by groups affiliated with Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, or I.R.G.C." An NBC News story by Courtney Kube is here.

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. ~~~

~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "More than 50 villages in Kherson have been 'completely destroyed' by Russia, with more than 90% of buildings in some locations ruined, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after a visit to the embattled southern region.... Zelensky has been touring Ukraine’s front line regions and visited Bakhmut a day earlier. European Union leaders promised to jointly deliver 1 million rounds of artillery ammunition to Ukraine in the next year. They said at a leaders’ summit that they would also provide missiles upon Kyiv’s request, without specifying what type, adding that E.U. member states have made available about $73 billion to Ukraine since the war began.... President Biden is expected to discuss defense spending and the war in Ukraine with Canadian President Justin Trudeau during meetings in Ottawa Friday.... The International Criminal Court signed an agreement to establish a country office in Ukraine, a week after the ICC issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin on charges of deporting Ukrainian children."

U.K./France. Ellen Francis of the Washington Post: "The French president’s office announced Friday that a visit by Britain’s King Charles III, which was meant to be the first state visit of his reign, was postponed as protests over raising the retirement age in France roil the country. The announcement came the morning after protesters flooded streets across France, clashing with police in Paris and other big cities on Thursday, in a burst of defiance against French President Emmanuel Macron’s pledge to raise the retirement age."

Wednesday, March 22, 2023

March 23, 2023

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump ramped up his inciteful rhetoric in a social media post that pushed back on calls for peaceful protest amid reports of his impending arrest.... Trump called for [Alvin] Bragg to drop the case in an ALL CAPS rant posted Thursday morning[.]... Trump’s rejection of those calling for calm — 'THEY TELL US TO BE PEACEFUL!' — comes as political tensions remain high in the country.... It does not take a genius to see that Trump is suggesting that a violent approach to protest — like the one that struck the Capitol on Jan. 6 — is still very much on the table. In classic Trump fashion, however, he is also not saying that." ~~~

New York Times: "Members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee are questioning Shou Chew, the C.E.O. of the viral video app. Their main concerns are data privacy and its Chinese ownership." This is a liveblog of the hearing.

From an NBC News liveblog: "The Manhattan grand jury that has been investigating the hush money case involving [Donald] Trump is not expected to consider it today, NBC News has confirmed. The grand jury was set to return to court in lower Manhattan on Thursday, but it is expected to meet about a different case, according to three sources familiar with the matter.... Members of the jury have been meeting Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told them to stay home yesterday." ~~~

~~~ Update from the liveblog: "The Manhattan District Attorney's Office sent a lengthy letter today to three House GOP committee chairmen arguing that they are overstepping their bounds in their quest to obtain information related to the hush money case involving [Donald] Trump. General counsel Leslie B. Dubeck, writing on behalf of [DA Alvin] Bragg, said in the letter that the Republican chairmen are embarking on an unprecedented inquiry 'into pending local prosecution.... [Your] letter seeks non-public information about a pending criminal investigation, which is confidential under state law,' Dubeck wrote, adding that 'it is clear that Congress cannot have any legitimate legislative task relating to the oversight of local prosecutors enforcing state law.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point on Wednesday, moving forward with its fight against high inflation after taking dramatic steps to contain a banking crisis." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story, by Jeanna Smialek, is here. ~~~

~~~ Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: "Two of the nation’s top economic policymakers on Wednesday said they were focused on determining how the failure of Silicon Valley Bank had happened and suggested changes to federal regulation and oversight might be needed to prevent future runs on American banks. The discussion of stricter oversight by Jerome H. Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, and Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen came as lawmakers, the financial industry and investors are working to figure out why Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failed and as policymakers try to ensure other firms don’t suffer the same fate. At a news conference following the Fed’s announcement that it would raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point, Mr. Powell said he was focused on the question of what had gone wrong at Silicon Valley Bank, which was overseen by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.... Ms. Yellen echoed his comments at a Senate hearing on Wednesday afternoon...."

"Ready for His Perp Walk," Ctd.

Katelyn Polantz & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: " ... Donald Trump’s defense attorney Evan Corcoran is scheduled to testify Friday before the grand jury investigating classified documents found at Mar-a-Lago after a new order from a federal appeals court, a source familiar with the matter told CNN. The US DC Circuit Court of Appeals said that Corcoran must provide additional testimony and turn over documents about the former president as part of the criminal investigation into possible mishandling of classified documents. The source said Trump’s side is unlikely to appeal to the Supreme Court." ~~~

~~~ Katherine Faulders & Alexander Mallin of ABC News: "D.C. district judge Beryl Howell [had] ruled [last Friday] that prosecutors in special counsel Jack Smith's office had made a 'prima facie showing that the former president had committed criminal violations,' according to sources who described her Friday order, and that attorney-client privileges invoked by two of his lawyers, [Evan] Corcoran and Jennifer Little, could therefore be pierced. Sources ... further described to ABC New the six topics that Corcoran was ordered by Judge Howell to testify about, over which he had previously sought to assert attorney-client privilege. The topics indicate that Smith has zeroed in on [Donald] Trump's actions surrounding his response to a May 11 DOJ subpoena that sought all remaining classified documents in his possession -- which investigators have described as key to Trump's alleged 'scheme' to obstruct the investigation...."

Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "After forcing Department of Justice attorneys to burn the midnight oil, the D.C. Circuit quickly affirmed that ... Donald Trump’s legal team must turn over 'documents' to special counsel Jack Smith. Details of the ruling are sparse, as it was filed pursuant to an appeal of a sealed case. The public portion makes clear, however, that it will fuel the special counsel’s ongoing investigation into the former president’s possession of highly classified documents, which sparked last year’s FBI search at Mar-a-Lago." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Update: The Washington Post's story by Josh Dawsey & others, is here: "The panel of three judges issued a brief order Wednesday afternoon directing the parties 'to comply with the district court’s March 17, 2023, order to produce documents' and ending an emergency hold on a ruling last week by a lower-court judge." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "The Manhattan grand jury that has been hearing evidence about Donald J. Trump’s involvement with a hush-money payment to a porn star will not meet on Wednesday, according to two people with knowledge of the matter, suggesting that any indictment of the former president would come Thursday at the earliest."

Chris Stokel-Walker of BuzzFeed News: "Many are envisioning — some gleefully — what a Trump arrest would look like. Among them is Eliot Higgins, best known as the founder of open-source investigative journalism website Bellingcat. This week, Higgins used the AI image generator Midjourney to depict Trump’s arrest. He shared 50 images on Twitter, and they quickly went viral. As a result, he said on Wednesday, Midjourney appeared to have banned him from the service." To see Higgins' images, many of which are fairly convincing, click on the second link above (at "shared 50 images on Twitter").

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. DeSantis Plans to Expand "Don't Say Gay." Anthony Isaguierre of the AP: " Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis′ administration is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the controversial law critics call 'Don’t Say Gay' as the Republican governor continues to focus on cultural issues ahead of his expected presidential run. The proposal, which would not require legislative approval, is scheduled for a vote next month before the state Board of Education and has been put forward by the state Education Department, both of which are led by appointees of the governor.... The initial law that DeSantis championed last spring bans those lessons in kindergarten through the third grade." MB: Once you get a horrible idea, don't drop it. Expand it.

Mississippi. Sarah Fowler of the New York Times: "As residents [of Jackson, Mississippi,] had to boil their tap water and businesses closed because their faucets were dry, [a water-main] break at [a country club golf course] squandered an estimated five million gallons of drinking water a day in a city that had none to spare. It is enough water to serve the daily needs of 50,000 people, or a third of the city residents who rely on the beleaguered water utility.... Newly appointed water officials say the city discovered the broken mainline pipe in 2016 and left it to gush.... [Another recently-discovered leak] is spewing water 30 feet in the air like a geyser and losing the city as much as one million gallons a day.... In Jackson, the city’s problems with leaks are so extensive, its systems so antiquated, its chronic staffing problems so overwhelming, that many leaks, seemingly of any size, have gone undetected or unaddressed.... Outside the country club on Tuesday afternoon, construction crews were preparing to begin repairs, which are expected to take a couple of weeks."

Virginia. Laura Vozzella, et al., of the Washington Post: "Newly released surveillance video shows a group of law enforcement officers in Virginia enter Irvo Otieno’s cell in the Henrico County Jail, and at least one appears to throw several punches in an encounter just hours before Otieno’s death at a mental hospital. Otieno, a 28-year-old Black man, died at Central State Hospital as sheriff’s deputies from Henrico County and hospital staff piled on him for approximately 11 minutes on March 6.... Mark Krudys, a lawyer for the family, has said that video of the jail shows Henrico County sheriff’s deputies beating and pepper-spraying Otieno."

Wyoming. Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "Abortion will remain legal in Wyoming — at least temporarily — after a judge on Wednesday ordered that a newly enacted ban be blocked until further court proceedings in a lawsuit challenging it. After a three-hour hearing, Judge Melissa Owens of Teton County District Court granted a temporary restraining order, pausing a law that took effect Sunday. The law would make providing almost all abortions a felony punishable by up to five years in prison. The lawsuit ... also challenges another law, scheduled to take effect on July 1, that would make Wyoming the first state to explicitly ban the use of pills for abortion. Now, the medication abortion ban and the overall ban will be considered at a hearing where the plaintiffs will seek an injunction to suspend both laws until the full lawsuit can be heard."

Ukraine, et al.

The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "European Union leaders are meeting in Brussels for a two-day summit, which will include continued E.U. support for Ukraine, measures to increase “collective pressure” on Russia, and decisions on sending more ammunition to Kyiv. The United Nations’ Secretary-General, António Guterres, will also attend.... Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu handed out medals to the two fighter pilots responsible for dumping fuel and then hitting the propeller of a U.S. surveillance drone over the Black Sea, according to the Russian state news agency, Tass.... Lawmakers in Sweden formally voted to allow the country to join NATO.... Russia and Belarus have been barred from the ice hockey world championships, the international federation announced.... The International Olympic Committee cannot be a referee in global political disputes, the president of its ruling body Thomas Bach said, after backlash for refusing to bar Russian and Belarusian athletes from the 2024 Games...." ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates for Thursday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

Marc Santora, et al., of the New York Times: "Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelensky, made a rare and defiant trip near the front line on Wednesday, personally thanking soldiers who have been fighting in the devastated eastern city of Bakhmut, which has become a potent symbol of Ukrainian resistance. The trip to the Bakhmut area came on a day when air- and seaborne drones attacked the Russian-occupied peninsula of Crimea and a Russian missile ripped into a nine-story apartment complex in Zaporizhzhia, in the south, killing at least one person and injuring more than 30 others.At least seven other people were killed, including an ambulance driver, and nine others wounded when a drone strike hit a college in Rzhyshchiv, about 50 miles southeast of the capital, Kyiv, military officials said on Wednesday."

Ron the Uncertain. Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida this week clarified his description of the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a 'territorial dispute' and said that Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, was a 'war criminal' who should be 'held accountable.' Mr. DeSantis, a Republican who is expected to announce a presidential campaign in the coming months, made his latest comments in an interview with the British broadcaster Piers Morgan, who shared them with The New York Post and Fox News, both owned by Rupert Murdoch." ~~~

~~~ Marie: No, DeSantolini did not "clarify" his position. Instead, he tried one tack and when that bombed, he tried another. Like most tin-pot dictatorial types, Ron has no principles, so he just test-runs crap and has no qualms about contradicting himself. He is trying to define himself as a "winner," as he said elsewhere in his interview with Morgan, and "winning" means "whatever works." ~~~

~~~ David Kihara of Politico: "... during an interview with Morgan set to air this week, DeSantis called Putin ... 'a gas station with a bunch of nuclear weapons,' repeating a similar line he had used in early March.... Both lines echoed a 2014 quip from then-Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in which he said, 'Russia is a gas station masquerading as a country.'” MB: What DeSantis lacks in gravitas, he makes up for in banality.

U.K. Rob Picheta & Luke McGee of CNN: "Boris Johnson admitted he misled lawmakers but claimed he did so unintentionally, as the former British prime minister fought to save his political career at a tense and combative hearing into the 'Partygate' scandal that contributed to the collapse of his government. Johnson, flanked by lawyers in a packed committee room, sparred with lawmakers during a heated three-hour grilling at the hands of members of parliament (MPs) on the Privileges Committee on Tuesday afternoon. He was rebuffed by members of the panel, whose televised interrogation of Johnson is the major spectacle of a months-long investigation...."

The following link belongs in "Infotainment," but I don't have an Infotainment section today, so here ya go:

Gina Kolata of the New York Times: "By analyzing seven samples of hair said to have come from Ludwig van Beethoven, researchers debunked myths about the revered composer while raising new questions about his life and death."

March 22, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "After forcing Department of Justice attorneys to burn the midnight oil, the D.C. Circuit quickly affirmed that ... Donald Trump’s legal team must turn over 'documents' to special counsel Jack Smith. Details of the ruling are sparse, as it was filed pursuant to an appeal of a sealed case. The public portion makes clear, however, that it will fuel the special counsel’s ongoing investigation into the former president’s possession of highly classified documents, which sparked last year’s FBI search at Mar-a-Lago." ~~~