David Sanger & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday praised Senator Chuck Schumer's address lashing out at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, calling it 'a good speech' that raised concerns 'shared not only by him but by many Americans.' Even though Mr. Biden did not explicitly endorse any of the specific criticisms in the speech, or Mr. Schumer's call for elections to replace Mr. Netanyahu, the president's comments were the latest step in his escalating public critique of the Israeli prime minister.... In an interview on Friday, Mr. Schumer said he delivered the speech because 'I thought it was important to show even if you strongly disagree with Netanyahu, you can still be a strong ally of Israel.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: I've never been a big fan of Schumer's, but I should re-evaluate my dislike of his sometimes calculating & seemingly cynical political decisions. That speech took guts, and it must have been gut-wrenching for him to give it.
Raja Abdulrahim & Anushka Patil of the New York Times: "For at least the second time in just over two weeks, a convoy bringing aid to hunger-stricken northern Gaza ended in bloodshed late Thursday when Palestinians were killed and wounded in an attack surrounding the trucks, according to Gazan health officials and the Israeli military, which offered divergent accounts of what happened. The Gaza Health Ministry said that at least 20 people had been killed and more than 150 injured, and it accused Israeli forces of carrying out a 'targeted' attack against 'a gathering of civilians waiting for humanitarian aid' near the Kuwait traffic circle in Gaza City. The Israeli military denied the allegation in a statement on Friday, blaming Palestinian gunmen and saying that an 'intensive preliminary review' had determined 'that no tank fire, airstrike or gunfire was carried out toward the Gazan civilians at the aid convoy.' It did not say whether Israeli forces had opened fire at all."
Erica Orden of Politico: "Donald Trump's criminal trial in Manhattan will be delayed by at least three weeks after the judge overseeing the matter agreed Friday that the former president and the district attorney's office need additional time to review records from federal prosecutors that are related to the case. Even with the delay, the Manhattan case, which concerns a hush money payment Trump allegedly orchestrated during the 2016 election to silence a porn star who claimed she had a sexual encounter with him, will likely remain the first to proceed to trial."
Neil Vigdor of the New York Times: "When asked whether he would endorse Mr. Trump now that the former president had clinched the party's nomination, [Mike] Pence said on Fox News that he 'could not in good conscience' support him. 'It should come as no surprise that I will not be endorsing Donald Trump this year,' he told Martha MacCallum.... The former vice president declined to say whether he would vote for Mr. Trump in the November election, but answered, 'I would never vote for Joe Biden.' He also ruled out running as a third-party or independent candidate for president, saying he remained a Republican." The AP's story is here. MB: It's not exactly a profile in courage to decline to endorse someone who was happy to see you hanged, but not as lily-livered as, say, Ron DeSantolini, either.
Jason Morris, et al., of CNN: "Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis can stay on and prosecute the Georgia 2020 election interference racketeering case against ... Donald Trump and 14 of his co-defendants, Judge Scott McAfee ruled Friday, but only if she removes the special prosecutor with whom she engaged in a romantic relationship." At 9:15 am ET, this is a breaking news story & will be updated. ~~~
~~~ Politico's story, by Betsy Swan & Kyle Cheney, is here.
~~~ Judge Scott McAfee's decision, via CNN, is here.
~~~ Kate Brumback & Alanna Richer of the AP: "A special prosecutor who had a romantic relationship with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis formally withdrew Friday from the Georgia election interference case against Donald Trump after a judge ruled he had to leave or Willis couldn't continue to pursue the charges. Attorney Nathan Wade's resignation allows Willis to remain on the most sprawling of four criminal cases against the presumptive Republican nominee in the 2024 presidential election." ~~~
~~~ Wade's resignation letter is here, via CNN. Willis' acceptance letter is here, also via CNN.
~~~ The New York Times is live-updating developments. ~~~
Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim: "Judge McAfee said that no 'disqualification of a constitutional officer necessary when a less drastic and sufficiently remedial option is available.' But he concluded 'that the prosecution of this case cannot proceed until the State selects one of two options.' Either 'the District Attorney may choose to step aside, along with the whole of her office' or 'Wade can withdraw' allowing the case to proceed without further distraction.... Mr. Trump and his co-defendants could appeal the judge's ruling, as could Ms. Willis, further delaying the proceedings and leaving the matter unresolved indefinitely. The state's Republican-led Senate is also reviewing the conflict-of-interest accusations, and lawmakers have empowered a new oversight commission to investigate and potentially remove prosecutors."
Hakim: "In his ruling, Judge McAfee was critical of recent public comments about the Trump case by Fani Willis, the district attorney, and wrote that 'the time may well have arrived for an order preventing the State from mentioning the case in any public forum to prevent prejudicial pretrial publicity, but that is not the motion presently before the Court.'"
Hakim: "Scott McAfee ... said in his ruling on whether the former romantic relationship between prosecutors creates a conflict of interest that there was an 'appearance of impropriety' that needs to be remedied.... The judge did not find enough evidence to disqualify Fani Willis ... from the case, however. McAfee said 'the allegations and evidence' were 'legally insufficient to support a finding of an actual conflict of interest.'"
Fausset: "Though the judge's order gives Fani Willis a way to keep the most important case of her career -- a big win for her -- he also levels some harsh words for Willis and her former lover, referring to their actions as a 'tremendous lapse in judgment.' And he says that Ms. Willis, who had a fiery turn on the stand last month, behaved in an 'unprofessional manner.' All the more notable because the judge once worked under Willis in the D.A.'s office."
Fausset: "This ruling, from a 34-year-old rookie judge, is remarkable for its clarity and plain language. Explaining the essence of the problem Ms. Willis has created by taking trips with a romantic partner who was working for her, Judge McAfee writes that 'an outsider could reasonably think that the District Attorney is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influence.'"
Hakim: "McAfee also references what he calls Fani Willis's 'unorthodox decision to make on-the-record comments' to the authors of a recent book, 'Find Me the Votes,' by the journalists Michael Isikoff and Daniel Klaidman, noting they took place 'during the pendency of this case.' He says 'such decisions may have ancillary prejudicial effects yet to be realized, but the comments do not rise to the level of disqualification.'"
Hakim: "A key contention of the defense has been that Fani Willis had a financial interest in extending the case, since her romantic partner was being paid to run it. Judge McAfee rejected that, noting that Willis brought charges against far fewer people than a special grand jury had recommended for indictment. 'The District Attorney has not in any way acted in conformance with the theory that she arranged a financial scheme to enrich herself,' the judge wrote."
Hakim & Fausset: "A special committee of the Georgia State Senate held a hearing last week into accusations of misconduct by the Fulton County district attorney, Fani T. Willis, making it clear that the effort to disqualify her from the prosecution of Donald J. Trump is not the only threat to her case against the former president. Ms. Willis faces a series of inquiries that could perpetuate questions about her character and uncertainty around the Trump case for months to come.... Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, a Trump ally and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has used the conflict-of-interest allegations to seek more records as part of the committee's ongoing investigation of the district attorney's office.... Georgia Republicans are in the process of empowering a prosecutorial oversight commission that is also likely to review the matter The commission is expected to have the authority to remove district attorneys. The Republican-controlled Georgia Senate created its special committee to investigate Ms. Willis soon after defense attorneys filed a motion to disqualify her. The committee has no power to punish the district attorney. But with the ability to issue subpoenas, it can embarrass her."
Fausset: "Steve Sadow, Donald Trump's main lawyer on the Georgia case, said in a statement that he and his team think the judge 'did not afford appropriate significance to the prosecutorial misconduct of Willis and Wade.' He said they would 'use all legal options available' to continue to fight the case, strongly suggesting they would try to appeal the order."
** Hakim: "Nathan J. Wade has resigned from his role leading the investigation of Donald J. Trump, and Fani T. Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, has accepted it, according to letters from the two prosecutors just released by the D.A.'s office."
~~~ Andrew Weissmann, speaking on MSNBC, says Willis should recuse herself. One of the NBC legal analysts -- maybe Danny Cevallos -- said the Fulton County line prosecutors must be furious because some of them will have to continue working on various aspects of the fallout from the Willis-Wade affair instead of on the case-in-chief they signed up for.
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Lisa Lerer & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris described the flood of laws restricting abortion access as a 'health care crisis' as she visited with abortion providers and staff members on Thursday at a clinic in St. Paul, Minn. The stop by Ms. Harris at the Planned Parenthood clinic was believed to be the first official visit by a vice president to an abortion clinic. No presidents are known to have made such visits, either. Speaking to reporters in the lobby of the clinic, which was open and seeing patients, Ms. Harris assailed conservative 'extremists' for passing laws that restrict abortion, resulting in the denial of emergency care for pregnant women and the shuttering of clinics that provide reproductive health care beyond abortion." The Guardian's story is here.
Marianna Sotomayor, et al., of the Washington Post: "Pressure is mounting for Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to address aiding foreign allies as House Democrats and Republicans tee up opposing measures that would supersede House GOP leadership and trigger votes on bills funding Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan and the U.S. border. Democrats and a separate bipartisan group of lawmakers on Tuesday began gathering signatures for competing discharge petitions, a mechanism that moves legislation out of committees and forces a House floor vote without support from leadership if it has the backing of 218 lawmakers. The Democratic measure, led by Rep. Jim McGovern (Mass.), had amassed nearly 180 signatures from the caucus as of Wednesday evening and would advance a national security package the Senate overwhelmingly approved over a month ago that allots $95.3 billion to assist foreign democracies.... The bipartisan petition extends funding for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan for one year. But unlike the Democratic petition, it also extends Trump-era border security measures used to mitigate the flow of migrants at the U.S. southern border...." It has received fewer than 15 signatures. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Republican senators Wednesday to expect the House to send them legislation to help Ukraine, but cautioned that what comes out of the House will look substantially different than the $95 billion foreign aid package the Senate passed last month. Johnson tried to reassure frustrated GOP senators who asked him about funding for Ukraine during a question-and-answer session at the annual Senate Republican retreat, which was held at the Library of Congress." MB: Maybe the most startling part of this story is that Republicans found a library -- with books! (My vague recollection is that there's a tunnel between the Capitol building & the Library of Congress, so maybe the GOP members thought they were "retreating" via a secret tunnel and wouldn't get caught in the vicinity of books.) (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mitch Is Not Amused. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Thursday again pressed Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) to take up the Senate-passed national security spending package, which includes $60 billion for Ukraine, despite Johnson's message to GOP senators this week that he's moving in a different direction. McConnell didn't express much interest in waiting weeks or maybe months for the House to come up with an alternative proposal to help Ukraine [which would be some kind of lend-lease arrangement]. 'I want to encourage the Speaker again to allow a vote, a vote. Let the House speak on the supplemental that we sent over to them several weeks ago,' he said." (Also linked yesterday.)
The Trials of Trump -- Delay, Delay, Delay
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The federal judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's prosecution on charges of mishandling classified documents on Thursday rejected one of his motions seeking to have the case dismissed, the first time she has denied a legal attack on the indictment. In a two-page order, the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, rebuffed arguments by Mr. Trump's lawyers that the central statute in the indictment, the Espionage Act, was impermissibly vague and should be struck down entirely. The decision by Judge Cannon followed a nearly daylong hearing in Federal District Court in Fort Pierce, Fla., where she entertained arguments from Mr. Trump's legal team and from prosecutors in the office of the special counsel Jack Smith about the Espionage Act.... In her order, Judge Cannon acknowledged that Mr. Trump's lawyers had raised 'various arguments warranting serious consideration,' but she added that their concerns about the Espionage Act were better made in 'connection with jury-instruction briefing.'...
"Mr. Trump's lawyers raised another attack on the case during the hearing in Fort Pierce, asserting that under a law known as the Presidential Records Act, Mr. Trump designated the documents he took with him from the White House as his own personal property and so he could not be charged with possessing them without authorization. Judge Cannon expressed deep reservations about that claim, too, noting that while Mr. Trump was free to argue at trial that the documents he was charged with holding on to actually belonged to him, it was 'difficult to see' how the argument warranted tossing out the entire case before it went to a jury." Read on. The AP report is here.
~~~ Marie: Neal Katyal and others, appearing on MSNBC, opined that the kinds of motions Trump's attorneys are introducing in the documents case are ones that a "normal" judge would throw out without wasting all day on hearing arguments on the motions. Moreover, Cannon dismissed the motion "without prejudice," meaning that Trump's lawyers could make the case during the jury trial, at which point Cannon could agree, thus dismissing the case against Trump in its entirety. AND, if she buys Trump's argument during the trial -- rather than in an appealable pretrial motion -- the case would be over because double jeopardy would kick in. Andrew Weissmann said Cannon's ruling was "the worst possible outcome for the government." ~~~
~~~ Of course the main purpose of Trump's frivolous motions is to delay the trial, and Judge Aileen is absolutely on board with that program. As a number of experts & other commentators have pointed out, the plan seems to be that Cannon will schedule her trial for July or August. That would leave no time for Judge Tanya Chutkan, who is presiding over the election interference case is D.C., to hold that trial before the November election. For their part, the confederate "justices" have chosen to delay for as long as possible hearing & deciding on Trump's ridiculous immunity appeal in the D.C. case. THEN, having set a late summer date for the documents trial, Cannon will -- at the last minute -- delay that trial, too, and oh gosh it will be too late to hold it before the election. If you think this is all some coordinated corrupt plot among the kleptocrats, you're right. The final step in the plot, of course, is that Trump becomes president* again, and throws out all the federal cases against him. So the only way for the plot to ultimately fail (maybe!) is to re-elect Joe Biden & a Democratic majority to the Congress, so the House cannot declare Trump president*.
MEANWHILE, in Manhattan. Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Less than two weeks before Donald J. Trump is set to go on trial on criminal charges in Manhattan, the prosecutors who brought the case proposed a delay of up to 30 days, a startling development in the first prosecution of a former American president. The Manhattan district attorney's office, which accused Mr. Trump of covering up a sex scandal during and after the 2016 presidential campaign, said the delay would give Mr. Trump's lawyers time to review a new batch of records. The office sought the records more than a year ago, but only recently received them from federal prosecutors, who years ago investigated the hush-money payments at the center of the case. In response to the records -- tens of thousands of pages of them -- Mr. Trump's lawyers requested that the trial be delayed 90 days.... In January, Mr. Trump's lawyers subpoenaed the records from the federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York. And, according to [Manhattan D.A. Alvin] Bragg's office, the former president 'consented to repeated extensions of the deadline' for the federal prosecutors.... It is unclear why the Southern District failed to provide the records earlier to Mr. Bragg...." In his motion, Bragg blamed Trump for the delay. The ABC News story is here.
MEANWHILE in Georgia. Olivia Rubin of ABC News: "Judge Scott McAfee said his long-awaited ruling on the effort to disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis 'should' come out Friday.... McAfee has been weighing motions to disqualify Willis, primarily over accusations from Ashley Merchant's client, Trump co-defendant Michael Roman, that Willis benefited financially from a "personal, romantic relationship" with Nathan Wade, who she hired for the case, through Wade's 'paying for vacations across the world with money he is being paid by the Fulton County taxpayers and authorized solely by Willis.'" MB: Should Trump become president*, he would not be tried in Willis' case during his presidency, giving him further incentive not to leave office after the end of his second term, as required under the Constitution as we know it.
Lindsay Whitehurst of the AP: "An appeals court denied Trump White House official Peter Navarro's bid to stave off his jail sentence on contempt of Congress charges Thursday. Navarro has been ordered to report to a federal prison by March 19. He argued he should stay free as he appeals his conviction for refusing to cooperate with a congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. But a three-judge panel of the federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. disagreed, finding his appeal wasn't likely to reverse his conviction."
Benjamin Weiser & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "A Manhattan judge refused on Thursday to dismiss bribery and other charges against Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, rejecting an argument that they violated constitutional protections afforded to members of Congress. Mr. Menendez could appeal the judge's decision, which might end up delaying his trial for months. It currently is scheduled to begin on May 6."
Will Steakin of ABC News: "Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz on Thursday was served a subpoena to sit for a deposition in a civil lawsuit that involves allegations he had sex with a 17-year old-girl..., as part of a suit brought by a friend of the congressman against the young woman and others. Gaetz was issued the subpoena ... by attorneys representing the woman who is now in her 20s and was at the center of a years-long investigation by the Justice Department into allegations that the Florida congressman had sex with her when she was a minor.... The congressman's deposition is slated for April 5, according to sources, and is part of a sprawling defamation and racketeering lawsuit brought by Gaetz's longtime friend, former Florida House member and lobbyist Chris Dorworth, against the woman and others. The deposition could see Gaetz asked under oath about his alleged sexual activity with the woman when she was a minor."
Presidential Race
Michael Scherer & Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "The centrist group No Labels announced a committee of 12 people Thursday who will decide in the coming weeks who should appear on the group's potential third-party presidential ticket.... The committee will then take its recommendation to a separate group of No Labels supporters that is prepared to formally nominate the ticket on 48 hours' notice.... The announcement comes a day after the resignation of another co-chair of the group, former North Carolina governor Pat McCrory (R), for reasons that have not been fully explained in public.... In a sharp contrast with 2016, Democrats and party allies are taking third-party and independent candidates seriously this election cycle. These efforts have included hiring staff members at the Democratic National Committee, filing federal and state complaints about ballot access moves by independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and forming a super PAC called Clear Choice aimed at blocking candidates from gaining traction." The NBC News story is here.
Confused, Elderly Man Still Claiming Clinton Bleached (or Something) Her Emails. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: During an interview with Newsmax this week, "Trump claimed that Hillary Clinton had destroyed some emails with acid -- an assertion that is not only untrue but has also been debunked countless times over the past eight years. 'She used, uh, all sorts of acid testing and everything else. They call it, uh, BleachBit, but it's essentially acid that will destroy everything within 10 miles -- I mean, what she did was unbelievable. Nothing happens to her.'" Originally, Trump claimed Hillary bleached her emails, but that bleach morphed into acid over the years. MB: Now, I guess he's asserting she used an acid bleach. Bleach, as Bump notes, is a base, not an acid. But Trump has a very good brain so he definitely does not need something as lame as grade-school-level sciencey stuff to make his repeated absurd claims. (Also linked yesterday.)
Ja'han Jones of MSNBC: "In a victory for the extremist wing of the Republican Party, it looks like Donald Trump's hand-picked leadership team at the Republican National Committee has officially scrapped the GOP's plan to encourage early voting this election cycle. Instead, the party is taking steps to prioritize legal challenges to voting systems ahead of November.... The significance, of course, is that Trump has pushed false claims that mail-in voting is rife with voter fraud since 2020, months before he lost the election to Joe Biden. Ever since the election, Trump has continued to spread conspiracy theories that mail-in voter fraud cost him that race." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: In case you were wondering how a kleptocracy works, the Trumps continue to provide previews. Here's one that involves multiple high-stakes business schemes (one of which led to RICO charges), personal associations, international intrigue, a dirty spy and fake attacks on the political opposition. IOW, it's got everything but sex (as far as we know): ~~~
~~~ ** Jacqueline Sweet of the Guardian: "An American company [-- Economic Transformation Technologies (ETT) --] that paid the now indicted FBI informant Alexander Smirnov in 2020 is connected to a UK company owned by Trump business associates in Dubai, according to business filings and court documents. Smirnov is now accused of lying to the FBI about Hunter Biden and his father, President Joe Biden, alleging that they engaged in a bribery scheme with executives at the Ukrainian energy company Burisma. Smirnov's accounts to the FBI, beginning in 2020, that federal prosecutors now say are fabrications, served as a major justification of the House impeachment investigation into the Bidens." Sweet elaborates on the complicated business and personal ties to Trump, which go back a decade. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marcy Wheeler points to other ties among Smirnov & Trump enablers & affiliates.
~~~ AND worth noting: the Trump Congressional Gang, foiled by the DOJ's investigation & indictment of Smirknov, continues on its merry way: ~~~
~~~ Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Facing the prospect that they may never be able to impeach President Biden, House Republicans are exploring a pivot to ... issuing criminal referrals against him and those close to him.... The move would be largely symbolic, but it would allow Republicans in Congress to save face while ending their so far struggling impeachment inquiry. It has the added appeal for the G.O.P. of aligning with ... Donald J. Trump's vow to prosecute Mr. Biden if he wins the election.... On Thursday, Speaker Mike Johnson confirmed that Republican leaders were discussing the possibility of criminal referrals." (Also linked yesterday.)
Then There's This. Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Former treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin is putting together a group of investors to buy TikTok, he said Thursday.... Mnuchin was part of a 2020 effort to force a TikTok sale or ban when he led the Treasury Department under ... Donald Trump.... Several other investors have expressed interest in buying TikTok, although it's unclear how advanced those efforts are." A CNBC story is here. MB: It works like this: (1) You use your high-profile government job to try to force the sale of a foreign O&O company to a U.S. company. (2) If you succeed, you buy the company, maybe at a bargain price because it's a forced sale. (Also linked yesterday.)
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Michigan. Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "A Michigan jury found James Crumbley guilty of involuntary manslaughter late Thursday over his failure to prevent his teenaged son from carrying out a school shooting that killed four fellow students and wounded seven others. Mr. Crumbley's wife, Jennifer Crumbley, was convicted of identical charges last month in the same Pontiac, Mich., courtroom, after a jury deliberated for roughly the same amount of time. The trials became a lightning rod for issues of parental responsibility at a time of high-profile gun violence by minors." The NBC News story is here.
North Carolina. Andrew Kaczynski & Em Steck of CNN: "The Republican nominee for superintendent overseeing North Carolina's public schools and its $11 billion budget has a history marked by extreme and controversial comments, including sharing baseless conspiracy theories and frequent calls for the execution of prominent Democrats. Michele Morrow, a conservative activist who last week upset the incumbent Superintendent of Public Instruction in North Carolina's Republican primary, expressed support in 2020 for the televised execution of former President Barack Obama and suggested killing then-President-elect Joe Biden. In other comments on social media between 2019 and 2021 reviewed by CNN's KFile, Morrow made disturbing suggestions about executing prominent Democrats for treason, including Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Chuck Schumer and other prominent people such as Anthony Fauci and Bill Gates.... Morrow has in the past called public schools 'socialism centers' and 'indoctrination centers.'... Morrow also promoted QAnon slogans." Read on. ~~~
Oklahoma. Marie: I have found it impossible to find a straight news story on this: Judd Blevins successfully ran for the Enid, Oklahoma, city council. Blevins was elected in February 2023, even after some local residents -- and later the local newspaper -- outted him as a white nationalist who had participated in the Neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. He was also, from 2017 till at least 2019 an active leader of the alt-right Neo-Nazi group Identity Evropa and a Hitler admirer. After activists obtained the requisite number of signatures, the city council set a recall election in December 2023. The election will be held April 2. Here's the background story by Brandy Zadrozny of NBC News. (Also linked yesterday.)
South Dakota. Jack Dura & Josh Funk of the AP: "A Democratic legislator on Wednesday called for an inquiry into South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem's trip to Texas for dental work and a promotional video in which she praises the doctors for giving her 'a smile I can be proud of and confident in.' State Sen. Reynold Nesiba ... said he wonders whether Noem used a state airplane or public funds for the Texas trip and whether the governor paid for the dental procedure or if it was discounted because of her video.... [In the video, Noem] identifies herself as the governor of South Dakota and includes clips of her speaking at a Republican Party event with Trump signs in the background.... Noem's video ... comes at a time when South Dakota has spent $5 million on a workforce recruitment ad campaign in which she stars in TV spots portraying herself as [various workers, including] ... a dentist.... Nesiba said the dental promotion 'just undermines the millions of dollars that we have invested in her as being a spokesperson for South Dakota.'" ~~~
~~~ Marie: Okay, Kristi, looks like you win the Trump veepstakes or at least take first in the "Best Grifter" category.
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Hungary. Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Viktor Orban is jeopardizing Hungary's position as a trusted NATO ally, the U.S. ambassador to Budapest warned on Thursday, with 'its close and expanding relationship with Russia,' and with 'dangerously unhinged anti-American messaging' in state-controlled media. The ambassador, David Pressman, has for months criticized Mr. Orban for effectively siding with President of Russia over the war in Ukraine, but his latest remarks sharply ratcheted up tensions and indicated that trust in Hungary among NATO allies had collapsed. Hungary is 'an ally that behaves unlike any other' and is 'alone on the defining issue of European security of the last quarter century, Russia's war in Ukraine,' Mr. Pressman said in a speech in Budapest marking the 25th anniversary of Hungary's admission to the Western military alliance.... The ambassador detailed a catalog of complaints of the ways in which Hungary had not lived up to its obligations as an ally." MB: Not helpful: that little tête-à-tête with Donald Trump last week, where the two authoritarians conspired against Ukraine and NATO allies and for Russia.
Israel/Palestine, et al.
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel's government warned Hamas 'is continuing to hold to unrealistic demands' as it prepared to review the latest cease-fire proposal Friday. A ship carrying 200 tons of food -- the first attempt to deliver aid by way of a maritime corridor -- was spotted just off the Gaza coast on Friday. The boat left Cyprus earlier this week, dispatched by the U.S. nonprofit World Central Kitchen, founded by celebrity chef José Andrés, and the Spanish search-and-rescue group Open Arms.... Australia will resume funding to UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. Canada and Sweden resumed their funding last week, after more than a dozen countries paused payments in the wake of Israel's allegations that some UNRWA staff members participated in Hamas's Oct. 7 attack."
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
** Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the majority leader, on Thursday delivered a pointed speech on the Senate floor excoriating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel as a major obstacle to peace in the Middle East and calling for new leadership in Israel, five months into the war. Many Democratic lawmakers have condemned Mr. Netanyahu's leadership and his right-wing governing coalition, and President Biden has even criticized the Israeli military's offensive in Gaza as 'over the top.' But Mr. Schumer's speech amounted to the sharpest critique yet from a senior American elected official -- effectively urging Israelis to replace Mr. Netanyahu. 'I believe in his heart, his highest priority is the security of Israel,' said Mr. Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in the United States. 'However, I also believe Prime Minister Netanyahu has lost his way by allowing his political survival to take precedence over the best interests of Israel.... He has been too willing to tolerate the civilian toll in Gaza, which is pushing support for Israel worldwide to historic lows. Israel cannot survive if it becomes a pariah.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Barak Ravid in Axios: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's (D-N.Y.) speech calling for a new government in Israel landed like an earthquake Thursday, delivering a huge shock to the already tense U.S.-Israel relationship.... In addition to being the most senior Jewish elected official [MB: ever!] in the country, Schumer has had one of the longest and closest relationships with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of any U.S. politician. Schumer's speech stunned officials and observers in both Washington and Jerusalem because he has been -- and still is -- the Democratic Party's most avid supporter of Israel in decades."
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel's military intends to direct a 'significant' portion of Rafah's population of 1.4 million toward 'humanitarian islands' in central Gaza ahead of Israel's planned ground offensive, Israel Defense Forces spokesman Daniel Hagari said.... The humanitarian zones 'that we will create with the international community' would house the displaced and provide food, water and other necessities, Hagari said at a news briefing Wednesday. The Biden administration announced sanctions on two West Bank settlements Thursday, marking the first time economic restrictions have been placed on entire Israeli outposts in the Palestinian territory. The move coincided with a scathing speech by Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) calling for new elections in Israel." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here. (Also linked yesterday.)
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