The Conversation -- December 18, 2023

Marie: We're having something of a mini-hurricane here in the North Country, and my lights are flickering, so I'm not sure how much I'll be doing this morning. Update: The storm continues, and I've been without power most of the day; still am.

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: In a 3-0 decision, "a federal appeals court has denied Mark Meadows' bid to move his Georgia-based criminal charges into federal court, rejecting a procedural gambit that could have derailed the state's election-related charges against not only Meadows but also Donald Trump. In an unsparing opinion written by a stalwart conservative judge [-- William Pryor --] the court ruled that Meadows, who served as Trump's White House chief of staff, must fight the charges against him in state court in Atlanta. Meadows had aimed to transfer the charges before a federal judge in hopes of having them quickly tossed out.... The panel ruled that a law permitting federal officials to transfer state-level charges into federal court applies only to current government officials, not former ones like Meadows. And the panel of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit concluded that, even if Meadows were still in office, his argument would still fail because the state's charges against Meadows are about an alleged criminal agreement to join a conspiracy, not about any actions Meadows took as Trump's chief of staff." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times story is here. The ruling, via Politico, is here.

Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "Attorneys for former President Trump on Monday formally asked a judge to toss Trump's Georgia 2020 election criminal racketeering case on First Amendment grounds.... On Monday, [Trump's Georgia attorney Steve] Sadow filed court papers insisting that the allegations involved "core political speech,' telling the judge the indictment must be dismissed ahead of trial."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Lawyers for ... Donald J. Trump asked the full federal appeals court in Washington on Monday to consider whether a gag order in the criminal case in which he stands accused of plotting to overturn the 2020 election should be further narrowed or thrown out. The request for a hearing in front of the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was Mr. Trump's latest attempt to challenge the order, which was imposed on him in October by the trial judge handling the case in Federal District Court in Washington."

Andrew Kaczynski, et al., of CNN: "Donald Trump and Donald Trump Jr. have come to the defense of a one time social media influencer who has been convicted of election interference and has a well-known history of pushing deeply racist, antisemitic, anti-Muslim and homophobic content online. In a video posted by his campaign in early December..., Trump blasted President Joe Biden and 'his henchmen' for allegedly trampling on the First Amendment rights of Douglass Mackey, a longtime supporter of the former president who ran an anonymous, notorious Twitter account in 2016.... Trump Jr. lauded the content featured on Mackey's Twitter feed. He praised Mackey on his December 7 podcast as 'maybe my favorite Twitter account of all time.'... Mackey, however, was under federal investigation for conspiracy to suppress votes in the 2016 presidential election during Trump's administration. Mackey was charged seven days after Biden took office and convicted earlier this year. He was sentenced to seven months in prison but is currently out pending an appeal of his case."

Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "Two former Georgia election workers who successfully sued Rudolph W. Giuliani for spreading baseless lies about them after the 2020 presidential election sued him again on Monday, seeking to bar him from continuing to repeat those falsehoods. Lawyers for the election workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, also asked the Federal District Court in Washington on Monday to force Mr. Giuliani to pay the $148 million in damages he owes the women immediately because of his financial troubles. Typically, there is a 30-day delay before a defendant can be forced to pay.... During the weeklong trial to determine the amount of compensation and in the days after, Mr. Giuliani, speaking in interviews and to reporters outside the courthouse, reasserted his debunked claims that the women sought to deprive ... Donald J. Trump of victory as they counted votes in Fulton County, Ga., on Nov. 3, 2020." CNN's story is here.

** Chris D'Angelo of the Huffington Post: "The group that organized the pro-Donald Trump rally in front of the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, knowingly misled government officials about plans for attendees to march on the U.S. Capitol, according to a new investigation from the Interior Department's internal watchdog. The report, published Monday by Interior's Official of Inspector General, includes text messages from Kylie Kremer ― the rally's organizer, and a representative of the group Women for America First ― and one potential event speaker. The Interior report does not name the individuals, but the exchange between Kremer and Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and Trump ally, was previously made public by the House Jan. 6 select committee. 'This stays only between us, we are having a second stage at the Supreme Court again after the ellipse. POTUS is going to have us march there/the Capitol,' Kremer wrote to Lindell on Jan. 4. 'It cannot get out about the second stage because people will try and set up another and Sabotage it. It can also not get out about the march because I will be in trouble with the national park service and all the agencies but the POTUS is going to just call for it "unexpectedly."'" The New York Times report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The report includes statements from National Park Service officials who said Kremer repeatedly said there were no plans for a march on the Capitol. Seems to me Kremer broke some federal law, and I'd be happy if DOJ prosecuted her for it.

Justin Elliott, et al., of ProPublica: "Interviews and newly unearthed documents reveal that [Supreme Court Justice Clarence] Thomas, facing financial strain [in 2000], privately pushed for a higher salary and to allow Supreme Court justices to take speaking fees.... [Thomas told Florida Rep. Cliff Stearns (R) that] Congress should give Supreme Court justices a pay raise.... If lawmakers didn't act, 'one or more justices will leave soon' -- maybe in the next year.... Congress never lifted the ban on speaking fees or gave the justices a major raise. But in the years that followed..., Thomas accepted a stream of gifts from friends and acquaintances that appears to be unparalleled in the modern history of the Supreme Court.... Ralph Mecham, then the judiciary's top administrative official, fired off the memo describing Thomas' complaints to [then-Chief Justice William] Rehnquist, his boss.... Several months later, Rehnquist focused his annual year-end report on what he called 'the most pressing issue facing the Judiciary: the need to increase judicial salaries.'"

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Zach Montague & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times: "President Biden was interrupted while speaking with reporters in downtown Wilmington, Del., on Sunday when a sedan slammed into a Secret Service vehicle protecting the president's motorcade, as he was leaving his re-election campaign offices. Mr. Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, were not injured, according to the White House. They had been attending an event at their campaign headquarters and having dinner with members of the campaign staff.... In a statement, the Secret Service said 'there was no protective interest associated with this event,' meaning the crash was accidental and the driver did not know Mr. Biden was at the event.... David Karas, a spokesman for the Wilmington Police Department, said nobody was injured in the collision. 'Investigators are also working to determine if impairment was a factor,' Mr. Karas said. The authorities outside responded to the collision, surrounding the car and aiming weapons at the driver before the driver surrendered, according to reporters in the White House press pool." The CBS News story is here.

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Speaking in Phoenix as part of 'Amfest, [Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene lambasted Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for saying the House GOP has nothing on President Joe Biden after they voted to launch an impeachment inquiry. Sunday morning, Graham appeared on 'Meet the Press,' where he said, among other things, that he hasn't seen a smoking gun yet, and Republicans have been searching for five years.... Greene said, 'It's absolutely provably true that they are the most corrupt criminals to ever serve or hold office in Washington.... Lindsey Graham, today, on "Meet the Press" said that there is not a "smoking gun...". Even though, let me tell you something people. We had produced checks written to Joe Biden. Is that not a smoking gun?'"

Presidential Race 2024

Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill: "The Biden campaign late Saturday sharply criticized former President Trump for invoking rhetoric it referred to as 'parroting Adolf Hitler' in the wake of remarks in which Trump said immigrants were 'poisoning the blood of our country.' At a campaign rally in Durham, N.H., Trump offered praise for authoritarian world leaders. He quoted Russian President Vladimir Putin to attack President Biden while once again offering praise for North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, calling him 'very nice.'"

Marianne Levine & Maria Sacchetti of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Sunday accused undocumented immigrants of waging an 'invasion' of the United States, in a speech that highlighted his frequent use of dehumanizing language and exaggerated terms to describe many foreigners seeking to enter the country. During a campaign event in Reno, Nev...., [Trump] blamed President Biden for what he portrayed as a dangerous incursion on the homeland -- although many migrants detained at the southern border are parents and children seeking protection, and studies show that undocumented immigrants are less likely than U.S. citizens to commit crimes. 'This is an invasion. This is like a military invasion,' Trump said. 'Drugs, criminals, gang members and terrorists are pouring into our country at record levels. We've never seen anything like it. They're taking over our cities.'... During his speech on Sunday, Trump reiterated that in a second term he would have the 'largest deportation operation in American history.' He falsely portrayed immigrants as coming from 'mental institutions and insane asylums.'..." ~~~

     ~~~ Zachary Wolf of CNN: "Donald Trump's rhetoric dropped to a spine-tingling new low this weekend.... Whipping up thousands of supporters at a New Hampshire hockey rink on Saturday, the former president again drew comparisons to the language of Nazi Germany with the comments about migrants from mostly Africa, Asia and South America 'poisoning the blood of our country.'... The former president -- who leads Biden in some swing-state polling of a hypothetical rematch -- has a long history with language that plays on racial prejudice and excites the right wing. His recently repeated claim that he wants to be 'dictator' for one day to build his border wall and stop immigration could be laughed off as a joke if he didn't keep saying it. On Sunday night, at rally in Reno, Nevada..., he wondered, again without evidence, if Chinese migrants crossing the border are meant to be part of an invading army. Trump promised to reorient the US government to purge migrants. Claiming the US is now a 'haven for bloodthirsty criminals,' he said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law, to remove migrants from the country."

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "Rudy Giuliani made the stunning claim that lawyers in the defamation case he just lost were actually working for President Joe Biden, and trying to get him to 'rat' on ... Donald Trump.... [Giuliani said,] 'Stalking action for Biden and also to shut up the guy that's the most damage to him. Remember when he came into the campaign, he sent out a letter to the press to keep Giuliani off the media. He succeeded in doing that eventually with the hard drive.'" MB: I have no idea what Rudy was talking about here, but then I'm confident that Rudy doesn't know what he's talking about either. I guess by "the hard drive," he means that right before the 2020 election, MSM outlets would not publish unverified stories Giuliani was telling about Hunter Biden's lost laptop. Or something else, I don't know.

Christopher Rowland, et al., of the Washington Post: "Patients with Alzheimer's disease and other cognitive problems walk away from assisted-living facilities just about every day in America, a pattern of neglect by an industry that charges families an average of $6,000 a month for the explicit promise of safeguarding their loved ones, a Washington Post investigation has found. Since 2018, more than 2,000 people have wandered away from assisted-living and dementia-care units or been left unattended outside, according to The Post's exhaustive search of inspection results, incident reports and media accounts nationwide. Nearly 100 people died -- though the exact number is unknowable because no one is counting.... In cases where a cause of death could be determined, The Post found that 61 percent died after exposure to extreme heat or cold. Others died after wandering into ditches, drowning in nearby bodies of water or being hit by cars.... The federal government does not regulate the nation's roughly 30,000 assisted-care facilities, as it does nursing homes. Instead, regulation falls to individual states, few of which have adopted strong staffing and training requirements...."

Pranshu Verma of the Washington Post: "Artificial intelligence is automating the creation of fake news, spurring an explosion of web content mimicking factual articles that instead disseminates false information about elections, wars and natural disasters. Since May, websites hosting AI-created false articles have increased by more than 1,000 percent, ballooning from 49 sites to more than 600, according to NewsGuard, an organization that tracks misinformation. Historically, propaganda operations have relied on armies of low-paid workers or highly coordinated intelligence organizations to build sites that appear to be legitimate. But AI is making it easy for nearly anyone -- whether they are part of a spy agency or just a teenager in their basement -- to create these outlets, producing content that is at times hard to differentiate from real news.... Regulation ... is largely nonexistent. It may be difficult for governments to clamp down on fake news content, for fear of running afoul of free-speech protections. That leaves it to social media companies, which haven't done a good job so far." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What? You mean Elon Musk's "system" of labeling sites "verified" if they pay for the designation is, like, useless?

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Florida. Eric Adelson & Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "The embattled chairman of the Republican Party of Florida was censured and stripped of his duties and salary on Sunday, decisions that all but ousted him from the party's top post as he faces a criminal investigation into an accusation that he sexually assaulted a woman. In an emergency meeting in Orlando, Fla., the party's executive committee stopped short of immediately forcing out Christian Ziegler, the chairman. But the votes to declare him unfit for office, remove almost all of his authority and reduce his salary to $1 were seen among many party members as the final steps before his potential removal from office.... The woman told the police that she had a sexual encounter with Mr. Ziegler and his wife, Bridget Ziegler, more than a year ago, but that she declined to have sex with Mr. Ziegler on Oct. 2 after realizing that his wife would not be joining them. Mr. Ziegler then went to the woman's apartment uninvited and sexually assaulted her, she told the police." An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It must be the threesome thing that so irritated Florida Republicans; after all, most of them are just thrilled to have a court-declared rapist as their presidential candidate.

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The World Health Organization is 'appalled by the effective destruction' of Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza, WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media, adding that it was a 'severe blow' to the enclave's already struggling health system. Gen. Herzi Halevi, Israel Defense Forces chief of staff, told troops to 'use your head' while fighting in Gaza amid mounting criticism over the mistaken killing of three hostages by Israeli forces.... The war has turned the Gaza Strip into a fertile ground for disease, The Washington Post reported, with the WHO raising particular concern about the spread of bloody diarrhea, jaundice and respiratory infections.... Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is set to meet Israeli officials during his tour of the region, which began with stops in Kuwait and Bahrain. He intends to discuss how Israel plans to mitigate civilian harm and what the next phase of the war will look like, the Defense Department said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Monday are here. CNN's live updates are here: "At least 110 people have been killed and dozens more injured following Israeli attacks on Jabalya in northern Gaza over the past 24 hours, the Hamas-controlled health ministry said Monday.... A British minister urged Israel to abide by humanitarian law after an Israeli military sniper allegedly shot and killed a mother and daughter at a Gaza church in an incident also condemned by Pope Francis. Aid trucks on Sunday entered Gaza through the Kerem Shalom border crossing with Israel for the first time since it was closed on October 7, Israeli officials said. The volume of aid reaching Gaza is less than half of pre-war levels, according to the UN."

Helene Cooper & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin brought a more blunt message on his second trip to Israel since the Hamas attack of October 7: "Israel, Mr. Austin recently predicted, could face strategic defeat' that would leave the country less secure if it does not do more to protect civilians. The warning is one that Mr. Austin is well equipped to deliver. The retired four-star general brings a wealth of military experience in combat, including urban warfare.... Critics of Israel's bombing campaign say the message is long overdue, as the death toll in Gaza nears 20,000, according to health officials there.... During his earlier trip to Israel, six days after the Hamas attack, Mr. Austin warned his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, and the country's military chief, Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi, that the large number of troops they had assembled at the border of Gaza, combined with the air campaign, was excessive. Israel needed to establish humanitarian corridors and a defined set of rules to protect Palestinian civilians, he told them. The Israel Defense Forces, he said, should carry out a targeted precision air campaign...."

Vatican. Anthony Faiola & Stefano Pitrelli of the Washington Post: "On Saturday, [Cardinal Giovanni] Becciu -- the first cardinal to be tried by the Vatican's little-known criminal court -- was found guilty of three counts of embezzlement and sentenced to five years and six months in a verdict read out in a converted quarter of the museum that houses the Sistine Chapel. He was acquitted of charges of money laundering, abuse of office and influencing a witness.... Becciu was barred from holding any Vatican office and fined 8,000 euros (around $8,700). The trial, a hodgepodge of charges heard over a marathon of 86 courtroom hearings, offered an unusual glimpse into the murky world of Vatican finances and Pope Francis's campaign for accountability -- even, critics argued, at the cost of due process." MB: I was wondering where Becciu would do his time, and the answer is in "one of Vatican City's handful of jail cells."

The Conversation -- December 17, 2023

The President's Brother. Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: "President Biden's brother [James Biden] has for decades benefited financially from his proximity to his powerful sibling, a relationship that is newly relevant today as congressional Republicans investigate whether President Biden assisted his family members' business deals. During Joe Biden's 36 years in the Senate, eight years as vice president and now three years as president, James Biden's private business work -- as a consultant for hire and behind-the-scenes political fixer -- has often intersected with his brother's public responsibilities.... As FBI agents circled in on [Richard] Scruggs ... -- a famed Mississippi trial attorney -- ... and his associates over a plan to deliver $40,000 in bribes to a local judge, they also secretly recorded conversations with James Biden -- who, at the same time, was trying to create a consulting firm with the Scruggs partners. Neither James Biden nor his brother was charged or accused of wrongdoing in the case, which led to prison for Scruggs and several of his associates, including James Biden's would-be partners.... Much of the material related to James Biden in the Mississippi case is not available in court files, but the recordings, transcripts and other material were collected by Curtis Wilkie, who wrote a 2010 book about Scruggs..., which reported a number of details about the Biden connections.... What emerges is a tale of money, politics and influence, stretching from Mississippi to the corridors of power in Washington...."

Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Army intends to remove a Confederate memorial from Arlington National Cemetery next week as part of its ongoing work to rid Defense Department property of divisive rebel imagery, defying dozens of congressional Republicans who have vociferously protested the move.... This month, 44 Republican lawmakers cautioned Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the first African American to hold the post, that the Pentagon would overstep its authority by removing the memorial, and they demanded that all efforts to do so stop until Congress works through next year's appropriations bill.... A congressional commission had previously decided the memorial met the criteria for removal. The task will cost $3 million.... Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) ... plans to relocate it to New Market Battlefield State Park...." The AP story is here. MB: See also the stories about Donald Trump's New Hampshire rally. The stories are of a piece, demonstrating Republicans' antipathy for democratic principles and people of color as well as their sympathy for violent revolution against the United States.

A Show About Nothing Stunts. Paul Kane of the Washington Post looks at House Republicans and elaborates on how "the GOP move[d] away from its conservative policy roots to instead focus on political stunts. Rather than trying to work on policy through congressional committees and winning political support, they would find some looming fiscal deadline and threaten calamity unless their conservative demands were met. For 13 years, the House GOP has cycled between a far-right group of about 15 to 30 conservatives first holding things hostage, and then the leadership team getting ahead of the next hostage-taking by declaring that that was the preferred strategy." MB: It's a long-running show and not as funny as "Seinfeld," which ostensibly made fun of its buffoonish, nihilistic characters.

Amanda Terkel & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Sen. Ben Cardin's office has parted ways with a staffer who conservative news outlets alleged was shown in a leaked video having sex in a Senate hearing room. 'Aidan Maese-Czeropski is no longer employed by the U.S. Senate,' the Maryland Democrat's office said in a statement to NBC News on Saturday, which was first obtained by Politico. 'We will have no further comment on this personnel matter.'... NBC News was not able to identify the staffer in the interaction." See yesterday's Conversation for a related link.

Presidential Race 2024

News from the Dictators' Club. Maggie Haberman & Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Saturday [at a rally in New Hampshire] invoked Vladimir V. Putin to support his case that the four criminal indictments he is facing are political payback..., [and suggesting that Mr. Putin is] a credible observer of the U.S. political system..... 'Even Vladimir Putin says that Biden's -- and this is a quote -- politically motivated persecution of his political rival is very good for Russia, because it shows the rottenness of the American political system, which cannot pretend to teach others about democracy.'... There is no evidence that [President] Biden has meddled in the prosecutions of Mr. Trump.... [Mr. Trump] also revived a widely condemned comment about immigrants 'poisoning the blood of our country,' noting that immigrants are coming not just from South America but also Africa and Asia. He did not mention Europe." ~~~

I don't call them prisoners, I call them hostages. They're hostages. -- Donald Trump, Saturday, describing the January 6 insurrectionists ~~~

     ~~~ Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump approvingly quoted autocrats Vladimir Putin of Russia and Viktor Orban of Hungary, part of an ongoing effort to deflect from his criminal prosecutions and spin alarms about eroding democracy against President Biden.... Trump called [Orban] 'highly respected' and welcomed his praise as 'the man who can save the Western world.'... And he used the term 'hostages' to describe people charged with violent crimes in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Capitol. The comments came as experts, historians and political opponents have voiced growing alarm about Trump's rhetoric, ideas and emerging plans for a second term, pointing to parallels to past and present authoritarian leaders.... The speech ended with an instrumental track that Trump has continued using at rallies despite becoming associated with the QAnon online extremist movement." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I hope it's clear that Donald Trump is teaching Americans to despise Western democracy and revere repressive authoritarian governments like those of Russia and Hungary. He's also teaching them to believe violence against democratic processes is justified and non-European immigrants are sub-human. And millions of American nitwits are learning his lessons. Trump is probably the most successful malignant individual in the history of the U.S. The Washington Post's newish masthead declaration that "Democracy Dies in Darkness"; is passé; it turns out democracy dies in bright light.

Marie: Last year, former prosecutor James Zirin wrote in a Hill opinion piece: "In Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito gleefully declared that any recognition of abortion was surely 'calculated to perpetuate give-it-a try litigation' before judges 'assigned an unwieldy and inappropriate task.' Continued adherence to that standard,' he said, 'would undermine, not advance, the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles.' That's legalese for getting the courts out of the abortion business." But, it turns out, Alito was just kidding. He and his Supreme pals were not at all interested in "getting the courts out of the abortion business." ~~~

~~~ ** Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Religious fanatics on the Supreme Court have yanked America back to back alleys. American women are punished, branded with Scarlet Letters, forced to flee to get procedures.... The Savonarola wing of the Supreme Court -- all Catholics except Neil Gorsuch, who was raised Catholic and went to the same suburban Washington Catholic prep school as Brett Kavanaugh -- could go to even more extreme lengths. The court announced Wednesday that it will consider curtailing the availability of a pill used to terminate first-trimester pregnancies.... Conservative judges who assured the Senate that Roe was settled law in their confirmation hearings could barely wait until Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died to throw it in the constitutional rights rubbish bin. The more we learn, the more infuriating it is that our lives and choices about our bodies are determined by conniving radicals. The Supreme Court is way, way out of order." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Sunday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Thousands of Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv after the Israel Defense Forces mistakenly killed three hostages carrying a white flag in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it a 'terrible tragedy.' Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin embarked on a trip to Bahrain, Qatar and Israel, where he will discuss the next 'operational milestones' with his Israeli counterparts, the Defense Department said.... British Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock, called for a 'sustainable cease-fire' in Gaza, signaling a shift in tone as support for Israel's offensive slips in some Western countries. 'Too many civilians' have been killed, they said. The World Health Organization said it delivered health supplies to al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza. After most of its staff and patients evacuated in the wake of the IDF's raid on the facility in November, al-Shifa 'needs to urgently resume at least basic operations' as new patients are 'arriving every minute,' the WHO said." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Sunday are here: "Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III will visit Israel and two Persian Gulf nations this week, as Biden administration officials push Israel to end its large-scale ground and air campaign in the Gaza Strip within weeks and transition to a more focused phase in its war against Hamas.... The fatal shooting by Israeli soldiers in Gaza of three unarmed men who turned out to be Israeli hostages could give momentum to those pushing for a new cease-fire to allow for more hostages to be released."

Aaron Boxerman, et al., of the New York Times: "The Israeli military on Saturday said three hostages mistakenly killed by Israeli troops had been shirtless, unarmed and bearing a makeshift white flag.... The military, which acknowledged that the killings violated its rules of engagement, announced the deaths on Friday, hours after saying it had recovered the bodies of three other Israeli hostages in Gaza. Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy, the Israeli military chief of staff, said on Saturday..., 'It is forbidden to shoot at those who raise a white flag and seek to surrender.'... Some families of the hostages seized on the shootings to urge the government to make securing the captives' freedom its highest priority.... One soldier, believing the [three] men posed a threat, opened fire, killing two of them and wounding the third, the early investigation found. The third hostage fled into the building, from which a cry in Hebrew for help could be heard, the military said. The battalion commander ordered the forces to hold their fire. But the wounded hostage later re-emerged, after which he was shot and killed, the military statement said."

Libya. Yonette Joseph of the New York Times: "More than 60 migrants drowned in a shipwreck off Libya, an international migrant agency said on Saturday, another chapter in the unrelenting toll in the Mediterranean Sea as people in Africa flee famine, conflict and other upheavals for distant shores.... The boat had set off from the Libyan city of Zwara with about 86 people, the agency said, citing survivors of the shipwreck. It was unclear exactly when it began its voyage." The article doesn't say who rescued the survivors.

The Conversation -- December 16, 2023

Marie: Last year, former prosecutor James Zirin wrote in a Hill opinion piece: "In Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization, Justice Samuel Alito gleefully declared that any recognition of abortion was surely 'calculated to perpetuate give-it-a try litigation' before judges 'assigned an unwieldy and inappropriate task.' Continued adherence to that standard,' he said, 'would undermine, not advance, the evenhanded, predictable, and consistent development of legal principles.' That's legalese for getting the courts out of the abortion business." But, it turns out, Alito was just kidding. He and his Supreme pals were not at all interested in "getting the courts out of the abortion business." ~~~

~~~ ** Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "Religious fanatics on the Supreme Court have yanked America back to back alleys. American women are punished, branded with Scarlet Letters, forced to flee to get procedures.... The Savonarola wing of the Supreme Court -- all Catholics except Neil Gorsuch, who was raised Catholic and went to the same suburban Washington Catholic prep school as Brett Kavanaugh -- could go to even more extreme lengths. The court announced Wednesday that it will consider curtailing the availability of a pill used to terminate first-trimester pregnancies.... Conservative judges who assured the Senate that Roe was settled law in their confirmation hearings could barely wait until Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died to throw it in the constitutional rights rubbish bin. The more we learn, the more infuriating it is that our lives and choices about our bodies are determined by conniving radicals. The Supreme Court is way, way out of order."

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Edward Wong & Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "The Biden administration has 43 presidential nominees still awaiting confirmation in the Senate as Congress prepares to break for the holidays, a delay that is putting American national security and foreign policy interests in jeopardy around the world, the State Department said on Friday. Any nominee not confirmed before the Senate ends its session, which is expected as soon as next week, will have to be renominated by the White House next year, leading to further delays.... The blockade of diplomatic nominees has continued as many Republicans in Congress have sought to condition support for [President] Biden's foreign policy priorities on winning right-wing policy concessions.... A single senator can hold up a nomination, and several G.O.P. senators have put holds on the nominees, similar to what Senator Tommy Tuberville, Republican of Alabama, did for months with at least 425 nominees to Pentagon positions, before senators in his own party rebelled against him.... Republican senators who have placed holds on ambassador nominees during Mr. Biden's presidency include J.D. Vance of Ohio, Ted Cruz of Texas and Rand Paul of Kentucky."

MEANWHILE, in a Senate Hearing Room. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "A congressional staffer filmed a gay porn video in a Senate hearing room, according to footage leaked to the Daily Caller on Friday. In the footage, a nude man can be seen engaging in anal sex before the cameraman shows that the act is taking place in a Senate hearing room. 'A source identified the room to the Daily Caller as Senate room Hart 216- The Judiciary Room. The Caller blurred out his face because his identity has not been confirmed,' reported Daily Caller chief national correspondent Henry Rodgers, who added, 'It appears to be unprotected sex.' The video was reportedly 'shared in a private group for gay men in politics,' where it was then leaked to the Daily Caller. While the report stated that it could not confirm the identities of either man in the video, Rodgers went on to retweet several posts identifying one of the men...." MB: The report names the alleged porno star, but I won't do so here.

"Worst. Congress. Ever." Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "What do House Republicans have to show the voters for their year in power? A bipartisan debt deal (on which they promptly reneged) to avoid a default crisis that they themselves created. A pair of temporary spending bills (both passed with mostly Democratic votes) to avert a government-shutdown crisis that they themselves created. The ouster of their speaker, nearly a month-long shutdown of the chamber as they sought another, and the expulsion of one of their members, who is now negotiating himself a plea deal.... On Thursday, the House, exhausted from its labors, recessed for a three-week vacation, leaving behind a pile of urgent, unfinished business...." Read on. Milbank has a good deal to say on the Impeachment About Nothing, like how Jim Comer said he would bring in Hunter Biden to testify in a deposition or committee hearing, whichever he chose. But when Hunter chose a public hearing, Comer said no, and he & Gym Jordan announced they would charge Hunter Biden with contempt of Congress. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: RAS has some breaking news that could (but won't) shut me up about the Impeachment About Nothing: "James Comer announces that they have proof that Christmas presents Hunter Biden received in 1976 were actually from Joe Biden and not in fact from Santa Claus. Several elves are expected to give depositions."

** A Binder Full of Secrets. Jeremy Herb, et al., of CNN: "A binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump's presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed, sources familiar with the matter told CNN.... The binder contained raw intelligence the US and its NATO allies collected on Russians and Russian agents, including sources and methods that informed the US government's assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to help Trump win the 2016 election, sources tell CNN.... The binder was last seen at the White House during Trump's final days in office. The former president had ordered it brought there so he could declassify a host of documents related to the FBI's Russia investigation." Cassidy Hutchinson fingered Mark Meadows, testifying she saw him leave the White House with the unredacted file, but Meadows denies it. The file was not found among the stolen files the FBI found at Mar-a-Lago. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: Donald Trump "suggested, during an April 2021 interview for a book about the Trump presidency, that Mr. Meadows still had the material. 'I would let you look at them if you wanted,' Mr. Trump said in the interview. 'It's a treasure trove.' Mr. Trump did not address a question about whether he himself had some of the material. But when a Trump aide present for the interview asked him, 'Does Meadows have those?' Mr. Trump replied, 'Meadows has them.'... A court filing ... submitted in August described the binder as about 10 inches thick and containing about 2,700 pages. The publicly released version includes fewer than 600 pages, many heavily redacted; it is not clear what accounts for the discrepancy."

     ~~~ Marie: I have a theory about this, and I'm only half-kidding. Last night, contributor Jeanne wrote, "So who has it? My money is on Meadows, since he has lied on several occasions about his residence, his kid's wedding during Covid lockdown, he vows his 'work' was all federal work, and he was burning stuff in the fireplace at work ... again, WTF??" And why did Meadows agree to be chief-of-staff when he had what was probably a secure seat in the House, he was a founder of the Freedumb Caucus and was popular with members of Congress. Even Democrats liked him, so he was bound for a significant House leadership slot.

By contrast, the job of chief-of-staff to Trump was humiliating, and -- like all of his predecessors -- Meadows was likely a very temporary chief. But he stuck like glue to Trump and jumped every time Trump said jump. He knocked himself out helping Trump try to effect a coup, which -- if successful -- would have created a nearly-unprecedented destabilization of the quasi-democratic republic, possibly leading to civil war & in any event, radically diminishing the position of the U.S as a world leader. Subsequently, he appeared to cooperate with the House January 6 committee, then he suddenly stopped, without explanation. Now he's doing everything he can to avoid coming clean about what he knows about the insurrection. This all makes sense if Meadows had some kind of nefarious ulterior motive. I would not be surprised if he was a foreign operative, probably for Russia. And I won't be shocked if Meadows suddenly disappears, either of his own volition or with the help of Russians who dissolve his body in a vat of acid.

** Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "A federal jury on Friday ordered Rudolph W. Giuliani to pay two former Georgia election workers more than $148 million for destroying their reputations and causing them extreme emotional distress by spreading baseless lies that they had tried to steal a victory from ... Donald J. Trump after the 2020 presidential election. The award came after Judge Beryl A. Howell of the Federal District Court in Washington had ruled that Mr. Giuliani, who helped lead Mr. Trump's efforts to remain in office after his defeat, had defamed the two workers, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. The jury in the civil trial had been asked to decide only on the amount of the damages.... Mr. Giuliani's net worth is unknown because he refused to comply with routine trial disclosures." The story has been updated & expanded. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: After the verdict, Rudy went out & told reporters a bunch of lies. He said, for instance, that he "was not allowed to put in one piece of evidence in defense." No, (1) for months, he chose not to participate in the case-in-chief, forcing the judge to issue a judgment against him and (2) his lawyer chose not to mount a defense in the damages aspect of the case because he didn't have one. He said he didn't testify because the judge threatened him, maybe with jail time, if he made one little mistake during testimony. It's true Rudy might have been charged with perjury because he's a raving liar, but the judge didn't threaten to jail him if he misspoke & said it was raining the day he held a presser at Four Seasons Landscaping. And he said his comments implicating Freeman & Moss "were supportable." ~~~

     ~~~ Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney, has some of Giuliani's response to the verdict, including his telling reporters, "My country had a president imposed on it by fraud." And this anecdote: Giuliani's lawyer, John "Sibley left the courthouse by another door shortly after the verdict and was not at his client's side as he spoke to reporters." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ bmaz on emptywheel: "This was absolutely a damning verdict, and there is no way for Rudy to hide from it. Nor Trump, who will blithely act like he never knew Rudy. Fun times, but there is a LOT ahead. Stay tuned." ~~~

~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Please send donations of Johnnie Walker Black to the Super 8 Motel in Yonkers. Your periodic reminder that 'what happened' to Rudy is 'nothing.' Indeed, he was a canary in the authoritarian coalmine[.]"

Jason Morris, et al., of CNN: "A federal appeals court appeared skeptical of former Donald Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows' attempt to move his Georgia election interference criminal case to federal court during a hearing Friday morning. Meadows attorney George Terwilliger argued that he should be protected because the Fulton County racketeering charges against him stem from his time in the White House and therefore were part of his role as a federal official. Moving the case to federal court could let Meadows get the charges dismissed altogether by invoking federal immunity extended to certain individuals who are prosecuted or sued for conduct tied to their US government roles.... Previously, US District Judge Steve Jones, an Obama appointee, found that his alleged actions in the sprawling Fulton County indictment weren't part of his federal responsibilities." (Also linked yesterday.)

AP: "The apology letters that Donald Trump-allied lawyers Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro were required to write as a condition of their plea deals in the Georgia election interference case are just one sentence long. The letters, obtained Thursday by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an open records request, were hand-written and terse. Neither letter acknowledges the legitimacy of Democrat Joe Biden's win in Georgia's 2020 election nor denounces the baseless conspiracy theories they pushed to claim Trump was cheated out of victory through fraud. 'I apologize for my actions in connection with the events in Coffee County,' Powell wrote in a letter dated Oct. 19, the same day she pleaded guilty to six misdemeanors accusing her of conspiring to intentionally interfere with the performance of election duties. 'I apologize to the citizens of the state of Georgia and of Fulton County for my involvement in Count 15 of the indictment,' Chesebro wrote in a letter dated Oct. 20, when he appeared in court to plead guilty to one felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.... The letters written by the other two defendants to plead guilty -- Trump lawyer Jenna Ellis and bail bondsman Scott Hall -- were longer and more specific." ~~~

~~~ Axios reproduces images of Chesebro's & Powell's "apology" letters, which are handwritten on grade-school lined paper. They look like something Bart Simpson wrote, but Bart had to write his apologies 100 times. And his "apologies" were more on point: ~~~

~~~ Marie: Chris Hayes & his guests Shan Wu & Josh Marshall agreed last night that neither the district attorney nor the judge overseeing the plea deals should accept these fake apologies as meeting the conditions of the deals.

Sebastian Murdock of the Huffington Post, republished by Yahoo! News: "A Florida Proud Boy who claimed he was trying to help police on Jan. 6, 2021, by throwing a rock at the Capitol doors was sentenced to five years in prison on Friday. Anthony Sargent, 47, pleaded guilty earlier this year to a felony charge of civil disorder and six misdemeanor charges including engaging in physical violence in a restricted building and disorderly conduct. The day of the Capitol attack, Sargent could be seen on video repeatedly throwing a rock at the Capitol doors and encouraging others to attack the building. Sargent also 'physically separated a law enforcement officer' from a rioter and 'prevented the officer from apprehending the rioter,' according to the Justice Department."

Michael Schaffer of Politico Magazine: For some reason, "Former first lady Melania Trump [is] slated to be the honored guest speaker today at a naturalization ceremony for new citizens in the rotunda of the [National] Archives' headquarters.... How did it happen that a resident of the same Mar-a-Lago estate whose bathrooms were used to store thousands of allegedly ill-gotten Archives documents won an invite to speak in the same room as the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence? For that matter, how is it that a federal agency is giving the spouse of any presidential candidate a star turn in a heart-warming photo-op less than a month before the Iowa caucuses?" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Early this week (Dec. 11), Akhilleus wrote, in part, "First, Melanie ain't in no way, no how, in any conceivable universe, an exemplar for immigrants hoping to become American citizens. She cut the line by being Donald Trump's girlfriend and was given an Einstein Visa.... 'In March 2001, she was granted a green card in the elite EB-1 program, which was designed for renowned academic researchers, multinational business executives or those in other fields ... who demonstrated "sustained national and international acclaim." Also included are applicants who demonstrate 'exceptional abilities'. I'm pretty sure 'national and international acclaim' doesn't extend to 'nice ass' and 'exceptional abilities' don't include getting naked and rolling around on a rug.... As soon as Melanie became a citizen, she used chain migration to bring her parents here. But as soon as her fat asshole of a husband slithered into the White House, he put the kibosh on immigration of all kinds, including the EB-1 program and chain migration." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Olivia Renaldi of CBS News: "Former first lady Melania Trump made a rare public appearance Friday at a naturalization ceremony in Washington, D.C., to congratulate 25 new American citizens at the National Archives -- which happens to be at the center of one of the federal indictments against her husband ... Donald Trump. Melania Trump spoke candidly about the difficulties she faced in becoming a citizen after she emigrated to the United States from Slovenia for her fashion career in 1996, recalling the 'labyrinth of organizing paperwork' she had to navigate."

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Ohio Congressional Race. Ally Mutnick & Olivia Beavers of Politico: "House Republicans are scrambling to fix a potential nightmare that's unfolding in a must-win race in northwestern Ohio. The GOP is eager to block J.R. Majewski from winning its nomination to challenge veteran Democratic Rep. Marcy Kaptur. Majewski lost his previous bid for Congress last year, after a news report on his military records indicated he lied about combat duty in Afghanistan. Republicans turned to former state legislator Craig Riedel to beat Majewski in this cycle's primary. But last week, an audio tape surfaced of Riedel calling Donald Trump 'arrogant' and vowing not to endorse the former president. Now the primary looks poised to become a referendum on which is worse in today's GOP: criticizing Trump or allegedly lying about one's military valor." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Pardon me for laughing at the GOP's quandary because for the good of the republic, it isn't all that funny. Ohio Republicans redrew the district's lines before the 2022 election, shifting its voter makeup from blue to purple, so one of these two reprobates could become a member of Congress. Still, these two guys are illustrative of the quality of the GOP's handpicked candidates. Trump backed Majewski in the 2022 GOP primary, after Majewski "gained public attention after painting a giant mural in support of ... Donald Trump across his lawn." Still Majewski has other qualifications, like he's a "hip-hop performer and promoter of QAnon...."

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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israeli military said its forces shot the three hostages after mistakenly identifying them as a threat, and expressed 'deep remorse.' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was an 'unbearable tragedy,' while the White House described the news as ;heartbreaking.'... The announcement that Israeli forces had mistakenly killed three Israeli hostages in Gaza brought grief and outrage, with hundreds gathering outside a military compound Friday in protest. A group of the families of hostages is meeting urgently on Saturday, planning to raise pressure on Israeli leaders to secure the release of all hostages taken in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.... U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin is visiting the Middle East this weekend, with stops in Israel, Qatar and Bahrain. He is expected to discuss 'next steps in the conflict' with Israeli military leaders, including when and how the war will move to less intense ground operations and airstrikes, the Department of Defense said."