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Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.

Success is not final, failure is not fatal; it is the courage to continue that counts. — Anonymous

A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves. — Edward R. Murrow

Publisher & Editor: Marie Burns

I have a Bluesky account now. The URL is https://bsky.app/profile/marie-burns.bsky.social . When Reality Chex goes down, check my Bluesky page for whatever info I am able to report on the status of Reality Chex. If you can't access the URL, I found that I could Google Bluesky and ask for Marie Burns. Google will include links to accounts for people whose names are, at least in part, Maria Burns, so you'll have to tell Google you looking only for Marie.

Friday

Dec152023

The Conversation -- December 15, 2023

** 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. ~~~

~~~ Marie: So 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, his lawyer chose not to mount a defense 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." I'm sure a real reporter will write a real story about this, and I'll link it when it become available. ~~~

~~~ 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."

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.

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."

"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. ~~~

~~~ 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."

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?" ~~~

~~~ Earlier 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."

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Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "The House on Thursday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill, clearing the measure for President Biden after pushing past a revolt from the far right over the exclusion of restrictions they had sought to abortion access, transgender care, and racial diversity and inclusion policies at the Pentagon. The 310-to-118 vote reflected the bipartisan nature of the bill, which earned the support of a majority of Democrats and Republicans despite the vocal opposition of hard-liners, who staged a last-ditch rebellion on the House floor to try to block its passage. Mr. Biden is expected to sign the measure into law, maintaining Washington's six-decade streak of approving military policy legislation on an annual basis." The Hill's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Trump-Proofing NATO. Laura Kelly of the Hill: "Congress has approved legislation that would prevent any president from withdrawing the United States from NATO without approval from the Senate or an Act of Congress. The measure, spearheaded by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), was included in the annual National Defense Authorization Act, which passed out of the House on Thursday and is expected to be signed by President Biden.... Trump's critics say the former president's rhetoric weakens the unity and force of purpose of the alliance. And they expressed concerns that Trump would abandon the U.S. commitment to the mutual defense pact of the alliance or withdraw the U.S. completely."

Connor O'Brien of Politico: "The Senate on Thursday approved legislation to grant back pay to senior military officers whose promotions were delayed for [about ten] months by Sen. Tommy Tuberville's hold on nominations.... The bill passed by unanimous consent before the Senate left for the week.... The measure must still pass the House, but will likely have to wait for a vote there. Lawmakers from the lower chamber left earlier Thursday for the rest of the year, but could take up the measure in January when they return to session."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Now that the House has voted to initiate an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, Rep. Jim Comer (R-Ky.) & his cronies are trying to conjure up a list of (largely imaginary) crimes supposedly committed by Joe Biden and "the Bidens." Bump knocks down the efforts. ~~~

~~~ Brian Slodysko of the AP: "Rep. James Comer, a multimillionaire farmer, boasts of being one of the largest landholders near his rural Kentucky hometown.... But there are 6 acres (2.4 hectares) that he bought in 2015 and co-owns with a longtime campaign contributor that he has treated differently [from his other landholdings], transferring his ownership to Farm Team Properties, a shell company he co-owns with his wife.... [Comer's] ... finances and relationships have begun to draw notice..., including his ties to prominent local figures who have complicated pasts not all that dissimilar to some of those caught up in his Biden [impeachment] probe.... The AP found that Farm Team Properties functions in a similarly opaque way as the companies used by the Bidens, masking his stake in the land that he co-owns with the donor from being revealed on his financial disclosure forms.... [In an appearance on Fox, Comer] also falsely claimed that the donor, Darren Cleary, 'wasn't a campaign contributor' at the time the property was purchased. Cleary and his family have donated to Comer's political campaigns since at least 2010.... Interviews with allies, critics and constituents ... reveal a fierce partisan who has ignored wrongdoing by friends and supporters if they can help him advance in business and politics." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: This isn't even a case of the pot calling the kettle black. Joe Biden has not been embroiled in any of the type of shady deals and political relationships that Comer is trying to hide from the public.

Questions for a Situationally "Concerned"TM Susan Collins Member of Congress. After Rep. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) made hay of asking university presidents to provide some "moral clarity" about antisemitism on college campuses. So Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), in a CNN opinion piece, challenged Stefanik to provide "moral clarity" to how she would answer five yes/no questions about presidential* antisemitism: Sample questions: "Is a candidate qualified to be president who hosted at his home for dinner Nick Fuentes, an avowedly pro-Hitler, Holocaust revisionist calling for a 'holy war' against the Jewish people, and Kanye West, who vowed to go 'death con 3' against Jews? Yes or no, Ms. Stefanik?... Do you regret endorsing Donald Trump for president in 2016 just days after he tweeted an image of the Star of David superimposed over Hillary Clinton's face and a thick pile of cash? Yes or no, Ms. Stefanik?" CNN adds Stefanik's "answer," which unsurprisingly does not respond to the questions. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Door Hit Him on the Way Out. Mia McCarthy of Politico: "On Thursday, [former House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy wrapped up his 2023 on Capitol Hill with a farewell speech [on the House floor].... 'It's kind of bittersweet,' McCarthy told reporters Thursday. 'It's not the timing I wanted.'" ~~~

~~~ John Parkinson of ABC News: "As the House embarks on a three-week holiday recess, McCarthy's resignation will take effect at the end of the year. But with no more votes anticipated in the lower chamber this year, Thursday was effectively the end of an era.... Thursday afternoon, McCarthy invited a half-dozen congressional reporters to the ornate office for an off-camera exit interview. For more than an hour, McCarthy shared his final thoughts on everything from his place in history to the rivals who brought him down."

Former Fraudster-in-Chief Made Fraud Victims Pay. Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "To find savings to cover some of the cost of [Trump's] deep tax cuts in 2017, GOP lawmakers scaled back or eliminated many itemized deductions that targeted specific groups of taxpayers, including those that help crime victims like Florida retirees Suzy and Dennis Gomas. In a succession of scams tied to a pet food operation..., the couple was defrauded out of nearly $2 million by Suzy Gomas's daughter, who is serving a 25-year sentence, according to federal court filings in Tampa. In a July decision, U.S. District Judge Tom Barber, who was appointed by ... Donald Trump, ruled that, 'astonishingly,' the couple was required to pay federal income tax on the stolen money. He cited the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that Trump signed in 2017, which temporarily repealed deductions for losses from storms, fires, earthquakes -- and theft.... Former law enforcement officials and some tax experts said the real-world results of Congress's actions have been unfair."

The Trials of the Trump Mob

Lauren del Valle & Kara Scannell of CNN: "A New York appellate court rejected Donald Trump's challenge of the gag order in his civil fraud trial Thursday. Trump's attorneys petitioned the court over the gag order that bars him and the attorneys from speaking publicly about Judge Arthur Engoron's court staff. In rejecting the challenge Thursday, the appeals court said Trump didn't use the proper legal vehicle to challenge the gag order and sanctions." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Trump & the (Alleged) Stalker. Adam Klasfeld of the Messenger: "The saga of ... Donald Trump's first gag order began with a social media post by an account called 'JudicialProtest.' 'Why is Judge Engoron's Principal Law Clerk, Allison R. Greenfield, palling around with Chuck Schumer?' @JudicialProtest wrote on Sept. 27, 2023, showing the clerk and the Senate Majority Leader posing for a picture.... On Oct. 3, 2023, the second day of his civil fraud trial, Trump attached a screenshot of that post to his own social media website Truth Social, with a message falsely labeling Greenfield the 'girlfriend' of Schumer. Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered Trump to delete the 'untrue' and 'disparaging' post, leading to an unprecedented gag order against a former U.S. president.... An investigation by the Messenger has found that 40-year-old Wisconsin resident Brock Fredin -- the man behind the @JudicialProtest account on X ... -- has a prolific history of civil and criminal litigation over his harassment of women that echoes his attacks on Greenfield. Fredin has been hit with 50-year restraining orders barring him from contacting three women, and he has been criminally convicted multiple times for violating two of those orders. He is currently under criminal investigation for more suspected restraining order violations and possible stalking." ~~~

~~~ Marie: The Trump mob just keeps looking sleazier & sleazier. And so, of course, does Trump.

Craig Mauger of the Detroit News: "Testifying in court Thursday, top Michigan Republicans linked the organization and execution of a false certificate saying Donald Trump won the state's 2020 presidential election directly to Trump's campaign. While the Trump campaign has previously been tied to the overall strategy of crafting electoral certificates in seven battleground states, the testimony Thursday described campaign staffers as being involved in recruiting attendees and running the meeting of the false electors in Lansing on Dec. 14, 2020.... The revelations came on the second day of preliminary examinations for six of the Republican electors as Attorney General Dana Nessel's office pursues criminal forgery charges against those whose names appeared on the false certificate." The question here is whether or not the fake electors had the intent to defraud when they signed the fake certificate. One fake elector, Meshawn Maddock, said outside of court that "the Republicans signed only one page of the false electoral certificate that was later submitted to Congress. The first page, which claimed Trump won Michigan's electoral vote, wasn't presented with the signature page in the basement [meeting of Dec. 14, 2020]."

He has no right to offer defenseless civil servants up to a virtual mob in order to overturn an election.... The cost that has [been] imposed on Ms. Freeman and Ms. Moss, on all those he has deceived, and to the public confidence in our democracy are incalculable. -- Plaintiffs' attorney Michael Gottleib, in closing arguments in the civil defamation case against Rudy Giuliani, yesterday ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A Washington jury is considering how much to award two Georgia election workers who became targets of violent threats and smear campaigns after Rudy Giuliani and Donald Trump falsely accused them of manipulating ballots in the 2020 election. The eight-member jury deliberated for 3.5 hours on Thursday after closing arguments in Giuliani's trial. Jurors will return on Friday morning to continue deliberating.... [Giuliani's attorney Joseph Sibley] rested his case without calling any witnesses.... In an unusually concessionary closing, Sibley seemed to admit that some of Giuliani's statements about the election workers and election fraud -- including things he said this week -- were out of touch with reality. 'Rudy Giuliani's a good man,' Sibley said. 'He hasn't exactly helped himself with some of the things that have happened in the last few days.'" MB: Sibley described Giuliani to the jury as a bitter old man. That seems right. ~~~

~~~ Hmm, It Seems Rudy's Lawyer Muzzled Him. Devan Cole & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "... Rudy Giuliani will no longer testify in his defamation damages trial over how much he should pay two Georgia election workers millions of dollars in damages for spreading conspiracy theories about them after the 2020 election.... The decision not to appear comes after the Georgia election workers -- Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss -- provided gut-wrenching testimony over the course of two days about how the lies spread by him damaged their reputations and upended their lives." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: Just two days ago, Rudy told reporters outside the courtroom, "When I testify, the whole story will be definitively clear that what I said was true, and that, whatever happened to them -- which is unfortunate about other people overreacting -- everything I said about them is true." Giuliani also asserted that Moss and Freeman "engaged in changing votes." And when a reporter argued there was no proof the women tampered with ballots, Giuliani shot back, "You're damn right there is.... Stay tuned." Well, Rudy, we tuned in and we got radio silence. Two things stand out here: (1) Rudy's attorney obviously thinks his client is to senile and out of touch with reality to testify; and (2) a senile, out-of-touch lawyer was one of Donald Trump's chief advisors in Trump's efforts to retain power by force. ~~~

~~~ Rachel Weiner, et al., of the Washington Post: "But jurors still heard the words of ... [Rudy Giuliani], dating back to the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and extending to as recently as this week.... [Plaintiffs' attorney Michael] Gottlieb said Giuliani continued to lie about Ruby Freeman and Wandrea ArShaye 'Shaye' Moss, mother and daughter election workers who testified that they were inundated with vicious threats and racist insults after he falsely accused them of helping fake the Georgia election results to the detriment of Republican incumbent Trump.... He said Giuliani's defense strategy was to convince jurors he was more important than the women he defamed: 'Rich famous people have valuable reputations, and ordinary people are irrelevant, replaceable, worthless. Mr. Giuliani's defense is his reputation, his comfort and his goals are more important than those of Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss. That is a fiction, and it ends today.... He called them drug dealers and criminals.'..."

Kyle Cheney & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Federal prosecutors don't appear to be done with John Eastman just yet. On Monday, a paralegal for special counsel Jack Smith's office ordered transcripts from the recent disbarment trial of the former Donald Trump attorney.... Eastman is one of six alleged co-conspirators in the federal indictment that Smith obtained against Trump in August in Washington, D.C. Eastman has not been charged in that case, but he has been charged alongside Trump and other allies in a separate criminal case involving election interference in Georgia."

Larry Neumeister of the AP: "A former top FBI counterintelligence official was ordered Thursday to spend over four years in prison for violating sanctions on Russia by going to work for a Russian oligarch seeking dirt on a wealthy rival after he finished his government career. Charles McGonigal, 55, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in Manhattan federal court by Judge Jennifer H. Rearden, who said McGonigal harmed national security by repeatedly flouting sanctions meant to put economic pressure on Russia to get results without military force. He was also fined $40,000 and ordered to forfeit $17,500."

** Jodi Kantor & Adam Liptak of the New York Times piece together how Sam Alito engineered the plot to overturn Roe v. Wade: "Justice Alito appeared to have pregamed it among some of the conservative justices, out of view from other colleagues, to safeguard a coalition more fragile than it looked.... The most glaring irregularity was the leak to Politico of Justice Alito's draft. The identity and motive of the person who disclosed it remains unknown, but the effect of the breach is clear: It helped lock in the result, The Times found, undercutting Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Breyer's quest to find a middle ground."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Former New York Times editorial-page editor James Bennet, in an essay in the Economist, criticizes Times leadership for "illiberalism." If you don't care to read a 16,000-word essay by a conservative, disgruntled former employee -- publisher A.G. Sulzberger and former executive editor Dean Baquet forced Bennet to resign -- then Ian Ward in Politico Magazine summarizes Bennet's complaints. Ward's piece also includes a statement from the Times.

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Florida. Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "Republican leaders in Florida are expressing outrage over a reported proposal that party chairman Christian Ziegler be paid as much as $2 million before he'll step down amid a sexual assault investigation. Ziegler is battling to keep his powerful position despite dual scandals, one of which has also ensnared his wife, Bridget Ziegler, a Moms for Liberty co-founder who sits on the Sarasota County School Board. The couple, whose political influence has grown along with the ascent of the Florida GOP, have been asked to quit their jobs, even by friends and allies as well as political opponents. Each has refused. Party members say a buyout for Christian was floated more than a week ago.... On Tuesday, Bridget Ziegler sat through a heated meeting of the Sarasota County School Board as her colleagues, as well as many speakers from the community, pressed her to resign." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Republicans should stop acting all surprised & outraged when one of them tries to shake down the party or otherwise behaves, well, deplorably. They're all greedy bastards.

Pennsylvania. Lab Rats. Jacey Fortin of the New York Times: "Republicans in Pennsylvania's House of Representatives voted this week to withhold millions of dollars from the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary school amid an uproar over the school's response to antisemitism on campus. The money, more than $30 million, would have been part of an annual appropriation to the School of Veterinary Medicine, which is partly funded by the state. The rest of the private university does not receive state appropriations." MB: Reflecting the legislators' reasoned belief, no doubt, that quite a few lab rats are antisemites.

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Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The United States agrees with Israel that the war against Hamas 'is going to take months,' White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday in Tel Aviv, adding that he had discussed with Israeli leaders plans to transition from the 'high intensity phase' of Israel's offensive to 'more targeted operations.' Sullivan did not specify a timeline for the transition, but said that while Israel had the intention of reducing civilian casualties, 'we want to see the results match up to that.'... President Biden said earlier that he wants Israel 'to be focused on how to save civilian lives' and to 'be more careful,' amid growing international criticism of the toll of Israel's assault. The Israeli military said Friday that its forces in Gaza recovered the bodies of three hostages taken captive during the Hamas attack on Oct. 7 and returned them to Israel, including two abducted soldiers and 28-year-old Elia Toledano. Israeli media reported that Toledano was taken in the attack on the Tribe of Nova music festival." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Friday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Ukraine, et al.

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "Senate Democrats announced on Thursday that they would put off their upcoming holiday break and stay in Washington next week to press for passage of a bill pairing military assistance for Ukraine with a crackdown on migration at the U.S. border with Mexico, as lawmakers on both sides of the talks reported progress toward a compromise. The move, announced by Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, was a bid by Democrats to intensify the pressure on Republicans to drop their opposition to the Ukraine funding bill, after House G.O.P. leaders left Washington for the year without acting on the matter. It also reflected fresh optimism among Senate negotiators who had been haggling over a border enforcement package that they were inching closer together...." An AP report is here.

Matina Stevis-Gridneff & Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "Hungary on Friday blocked the European Union from approving a financial aid package for Ukraine, though E.U. leaders agreed to officially open accession negotiations for Ukraine to join the bloc, an important breakthrough for Kyiv as it tries to bolster support from its allies. Charles Michel, the president of the European Council, said that all but one of the E.U.'s 27 countries backed the package of 50 billion euros, about $52 billion, in financial support for Ukraine. 'One leader couldn't agree on this,' Mr. Michel said at an impromptu 3 a.m. news conference, referring to Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary." A Reuters story is here. MB: Orban, of course, is one of the leaders of the Western Dictators Club, along with Vladimir Putin & dictator hopeful Donald Trump. In the U.S., Speaker Mike Johnson is bidding for membership in the Dictators' Little Helpers Club.

U.K. Alexandra Topping of the Guardian: "Prince Harry has landed a significant blow in his battle with the British tabloid press, after winning a substantial part of his phone-hacking case and damages against the Daily Mirror. In a judgment that will have profound implications for the British media landscape, a high court judge has ruled that there was 'extensive' phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers from 2006 to 2011, 'even to some extent' during the Leveson inquiry into media standards. Mr Justice [Timothy] Fancourt found that 15 out of 33 articles related to the Duke of Sussex [i.e., Harry] which were focused on during the trial were the product of hacking from his mobile phone or unlawful information gathering. He concluded that Harry's phone was hacked 'to a modest extent' from the end of 2003 to April 2009, which was carefully controlled by senior individuals at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People newspapers.' Recognising the 'distress' caused to Harry as a result of published articles containing information that had been illegally gathered, the judge awarded him £140,600 in damages."

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Thursday

Dec142023

The Conversation -- December 14, 2023

Brian Slodysko of the AP: "Rep. James Comer, a multimillionaire farmer, boasts of being one of the largest landholders near his rural Kentucky hometown.... But there are 6 acres (2.4 hectares) that he bought in 2015 and co-owns with a longtime campaign contributor that he has treated differently [from his other landholdings], transferring his ownership to Farm Team Properties, a shell company he co-owns with his wife.... [Comer's] ... finances and relationships have begun to draw notice..., including his ties to prominent local figures who have complicated pasts not all that dissimilar to some of those caught up in his Biden [impeachment] probe.... The AP found that Farm Team Properties functions in a similarly opaque way as the companies used by the Bidens, masking his stake in the land that he co-owns with the donor from being revealed on his financial disclosure forms.... [In an appearance on Fox, Comer] also falsely claimed that the donor, Darren Cleary, 'wasn't a campaign contributor' at the time the property was purchased. Cleary and his family have donated to Comer's political campaigns since at least 2010, records show.... Interviews with allies, critics and constituents ... reveal a fierce partisan who has ignored wrongdoing by friends and supporters if they can help him advance in business and politics.” ~~~

Questions for a Situationally "Concerned"TM Susan Collins Member of Congress. After Rep. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) made hay of asking university presidents to provide some "moral clarity" about antisemitism on college campuses. So Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), in a CNN opinion piece, challenged Stefanik to provide "moral clarity" to how she would answer five yes/no questions about presidential* antisemitism: Sample questions: "Is a candidate qualified to be president who hosted at his home for dinner Nick Fuentes, an avowedly pro-Hitler, Holocaust revisionist calling for a 'holy war' against the Jewish people, and Kanye West, who vowed to go 'death con 3' against Jews? Yes or no, Ms. Stefanik?... Do you regret endorsing Donald Trump for president in 2016 just days after he tweeted an image of the Star of David superimposed over Hillary Clinton's face and a thick pile of cash? Yes or no, Ms. Stefanik? CNN adds Stefanik's "answer," which unsurprisingly does not respond to the questions. Thanks to RAS for the link.

From ABC News live updates: The defamation case against Rudy Giuliani has gone to the jury. The attorneys have made their closing statements and Judge Beryl Howell has instructed the jury, emphasizing "that the court has already determined Giuliani's statements to be defamatory and untrue." ~~~

~~~ Hmm, It Seems Rudy's Lawyers Muzzled Him. Devan Cole & Holmes Lybrand of CNN: "... Rudy Giuliani will no longer testify in his defamation damages trial over how much he should pay two Georgia election workers millions of dollars in damages for spreading conspiracy theories about them after the 2020 election.... The decision not to appear comes after the Georgia election workers -- Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss -- provided gut-wrenching testimony over the course of two days about how the lies spread by him damaged their reputations and upended their lives." ~~~

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** House Votes for Impeachment About Nothing. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House voted on Wednesday to formally open an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, pushing forward with a yearlong G.O.P. investigation that has failed to produce evidence of anything approaching high crimes or misdemeanors. Republicans said the vote was needed to give them full authority to continue carrying out their investigation amid anticipated legal challenges from the White House. Democrats have denounced the inquiry as a fishing expedition and a political stunt." The Hill's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

~~~ Travis Gettys of the Raw Story: "A Republican congressman was caught on camera giving away his real goal at the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden. Rep. Troy Nehls (R-TX), one of Donald Trump's strongest allies in the U.S. House, was asked Tuesday on Capitol Hill what he hopes to gain from the inquiry into the president and his family's business dealings, and video obtained by Rolling Stone shows him appearing to admit it's political theater. 'All I can say is: Donald J. Trump 2024, baby!' Nehls replied." ~~~

~~~ Michael Luciano of Mediaite (Dec. 12): Fox "News" host Bret Baier pulled a clip of Speaker Mike Johnson when he complained four years ago about Democrats impeaching Donald Trump: "The Founders of this country warned against single-party impeachment for good reason. They feared it would bitterly and irreparably divide our nation.... I hope and pray future Congresses can and will exercise greater restraint." So Brer Bret, he asks, "So, the moderates in your caucus would say, 'Why not exercise greater restraint now?'" Without skipping a beat, Mike, he answers, "Well, we've shown great restraint. I mean, there are a lot of people who are frustrated this hasn't moved faster. But there's a big distinction ... between what's happening now and what the Democrats do. Those were rushed, sham impeachments." MB: Right. Another big difference: Democrats had ample evidence against Donald Trump (much of which Trump himself provided) that he had committed impeachable offenses; Republicans have bupkus on Joe Biden.

~~~ President Biden's statement, via the White House, is here.

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden, the president's son, appeared on Capitol Hill on Wednesday morning to offer to publicly testify in House Republicans' impeachment investigation into his father, though he insisted he would not appear for a private deposition they scheduled over his refusals. The younger Mr. Biden, who has been served a subpoena to testify, spoke to reporters in a hastily called news conference outside the Capitol near the Senate, across the complex from a House office building where Republican lawmakers were waiting to question him behind closed doors. It was a dramatic moment that came just hours before House Republicans were to hold a vote to formalize their impeachment inquiry into President Biden, after a year of investigation that has turned up no concrete evidence of high crimes or misdemeanors. They have pursued Hunter Biden for years, searching for evidence that his father was involved in corruption related to his business dealings with foreign entities...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Annie Grayer, et al., of CNN: "The Republican chairman behind the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden said Wednesday they will start contempt of Congress proceedings against Hunter Biden for not participating in his closed-door deposition on Wednesday, after he demanded to testify publicly. 'Hunter Biden today defied lawful subpoenas and we will now initiate contempt of Congress proceedings,' said House Oversight Chair James Comer and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan in a joint statement. 'We will not provide special treatment because his last name is Biden.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed an $886 billion defense bill that would set Pentagon policy and provide a 5.2 percent pay raise for military personnel, defying the demands of Republicans who failed to attach a raft of deeply partisan restrictions on abortion, transgender care and diversity initiatives. The vote was 87 to 13 to approve the legislation, which would expand the Defense Department's ability to compete with China and Russia in hypersonic and nuclear weapons. It would also direct hundreds of millions of dollars in military assistance to Ukraine and Israel. The Ukraine and Israel programs authorized by the bill are distinct from a $111 billion spending bill to send additional weapons to those countries, among other expenditures, that is currently stalled in Congress. The defense bill would also extend into 2025 a program that allows the intelligence community to conduct warrantless surveillance of foreign individuals outside the United States. The program has come under fire because of how the F.B.I. has handled the private messages of Americans." Politico's story is here.

The Trials of the Trump Mob

** Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday put on hold all of the proceedings in ... Donald J. Trump's trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as his lawyers asked an appeals court to move slowly in considering his claim that he is immune from prosecution in the case. The separate but related moves were part of an ongoing struggle between Mr. Trump's legal team and prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, over the critical question of when the trial will actually be held.... On Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump's lawyers asked the federal appeals court to avoid setting an expedited schedule as it considered whether to dismiss the election subversion charges based on the former president's sweeping claims of executive immunity. In a 16-page filing that blended legal and political arguments, the lawyers asked a three-judge panel of the court not to move too quickly in mulling the question of immunity, saying that a 'reckless rush to judgment' would 'irreparably undermine public confidence in the judicial system.'... On Wednesday afternoon, the trial judge overseeing the election case, Tanya S. Chutkan, handed Mr. Trump a victory by suspending all 'further proceedings that would move this case towards trial' until the appeal of the immunity issue is resolved." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

The lawyers of Whoville could have a bleak Christmas, I guess is the argument. -- Jake Tapper of CNN ~~~

~~~ Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump's legal team compared Special Counsel Jack Smith to the Grinch in an official legal filing urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit not to honor Smith's request that it quickly decide whether or not Trump is immune from prosecution in the 2020 election interference case.... They complained that Smith's 'proposed schedule would require attorneys and support staff to work round-the-clock through the holidays, inevitably disrupting family and travel plans.'... It is as if the Special Counsel "growled, with his Grinch finger nervously drumming, 'I must find some way to keep Christmas from coming.... But how?'"'... In a filing with the Supreme Court earlier this week, Smith made the case for the judicial system's expedited review of Trump's claim to immunity[.]... In a separate filing with the D.C. Circuit, Smith has submitted that 'the public has a strong interest in this case proceeding to trial in a timely manner.'" ~~~

~~~ Marie: BUT. It turns out the Appeals Court judges were not concerned that Trump's lawyers -- who may be billing his PACs as much as $2,000/hour -- have to work during the holidays. ~~~

~~~ Zoe Richards & Daniel Barnes of NBC News: "A federal court on Wednesday granted special counsel Jack Smith's request for an expedited appeal in the election interference case against ... Donald Trump. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit set several deadlines for prosecutors and the defense to file briefs laying out their positions on Trump's argument that the case should be dismissed on presidential immunity grounds. No date for oral arguments has been set. The decision to take up the appeal threatens to push back the trial's start date, currently scheduled for March 4. The third of three briefs requested by the appeals court is due Jan. 2. The appeal will be considered by Judge Karen Henderson, who was appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Judges J. Michelle Childs and Florence Pan, both Biden appointees. The three-judge panel is the same group who granted the motion to expedite.... Smith has also asked the Supreme Court to quickly step in on the immunity claim."

That's No Gavel; It's a Monkey Wrench. Alan Feuer & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to decide a question at the heart of the federal election-interference case against ... Donald J. Trump and hundreds of prosecutions arising from the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Can the government charge defendants in those cases under a federal law that makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct an official congressional proceeding? The decision to hear the case will complicate and perhaps delay the start of Mr. Trump's trial, now scheduled to take place in Washington in March. The Supreme Court's ultimate ruling, which may not arrive until June, is likely to address the viability of two of the main counts against Mr. Trump. It could severely limit efforts by the special counsel, Jack Smith, to hold the former president accountable for the violence of his supporters at the Capitol. The court's eventual decision could also invalidate convictions that have already been secured against scores of Mr. Trump's followers who took part in the assault. That would be an enormous blow to the government's prosecutions of the Jan. 6 riot cases." (Also linked yesterday.) Politico's report is here.

Adam Reiss & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "A federal appeals court on Wednesday shot down ... Donald Trump's attempt to use presidential immunity in the upcoming E. Jean Carroll defamation trial, finding he'd waited too long to raise the defense. Trump had argued he couldn't be sued for comments he made in 2019 about the writer and her sexual assault claims against him because he was president at the time and, he contended, they related to his duties because he needed to speak out and assure the public her accusations were untrue. In a unanimous ruling, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals found Trump had waited too long -- three years -- to raise the defense." (Also linked yesterday.)

Megan Lebowitz of NBC News: "Hours after testimony ended in ... Donald Trump's civil fraud trial, a fire at the courthouse prompted evacuations and led to more than a dozen minor injuries, officials said. Among those evacuated was Judge Arthur Engoron, who is presiding over the civil fraud case against the former president and his company, according to a person familiar with the matter. Engoron's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The fire was started by someone who lit some papers aflame and then doused the fire with an extinguisher, according to Office of Court Administration spokesperson Al Baker. The person is in custody and believed to be a litigant, not a court employee, the person familiar with the matter said. Officials have not yet detailed a possible motive."

** Marshall Cohen of CNN: "Before a group of supportive lawyers entered the Oval Office for a photo-op with ... Donald Trump in December 2020, they were given a clear instruction [by whom is unclear]...: Don't get Trump's hopes up about overturning the election. One attorney, Jim Troupis..., bluntly told the president it was over in that state. But ... attorney Kenneth Chesebro ... told Trump he could still win -- and explained how the 'alternate electors' he helped assemble in Arizona and six other states gave Trump an opening to continue contesting the election until Congress certified the results on January 6, 2021. Chesebro's optimistic comments ... apparently [gave] Trump renewed hope that he could still somehow stay in office.... This dramatic account comes from Chesebro, who sat for an interview last week with Michigan state prosecutors investigating the fake electors plot.... The 'photo-op ... gone south,' as Chesebro called the December 16, 2020, meeting, reveals a previously unknown instance of Trump hearing directly that he lost -- which could factor into his federal election subversion trial....

As often happened, Trump heard what he wanted to, ignoring Troupis and embracing Chesebro's theories.... Despite being told there was no way to undo Joe Biden's victory in Wisconsin, Trump pressured then-Vice President Mike Pence to reject the state's Democratic electors on January 6, while he presided over the congressional certification of the 2020 results. At Trump's infamous speech on January 6, he told the crowd that 'we won Wisconsin' and falsely claimed Democrats facilitated 91,000 'unlawful votes' via dropboxes and 170,000 'illegal' votes through mail-in ballots." The report includes audio clips of Chesebro's testimony to Michigan prosecutors. Extraordinary reporting.

Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "Ruby Freeman, a former Georgia election worker, sat in a federal courtroom on Wednesday and told a jury: 'Giuliani just messed me up, you know.' She was referring to Rudolph W. Giuliani ... as she described how her life has been upended since Dec. 3, 2020. That was the date Mr. Giuliani ... directed his millions of social media followers to watch a video of two election workers in Fulton County, Ga., asserting without any basis that they were cheating [Donald] Trump as they counted votes on Election Day. The workers were Ms. Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss. Ms. Freeman, who is Black, recounted what followed: a torrent of threats, accusations and racism; messages from people who said she should be hanged for treason, or lynched; people who fantasized about hearing the sound of her neck snap. They found her at her home. They sent messages to her business email and social media accounts. They called her phone so much that it crashed, she said.... The F.B.I. told Ms. Freeman she was not safe in the home where she had lived for years.... [Mr. Giuliani's lawyer] declined to cross-examine Ms. Freeman." MB: Apparently the lawyer figured beating up on an elderly woman would not win Rudy points with jurors.

Presidential Race 2024

Marie: Maybe you remember, as Akhilleus reminded us recently, how aggravating it was to witness Mitt Romney in 2012 tell lies about President Obama and his policies. Oh, for those good ole days. Romney never had a "shadow online ad agency" producing fake videos of Michelle Obama as a porn star or showing women in the Obama administration with red knees, suggesting they spent time giving blow jobs. Then along came Trump. ~~~

~~~ ** Trump's Meme Team. Ken Bensinger of the New York Times: "... a small circle of video meme-makers ... have effectively served as a shadow online ad agency for [Donald Trump']s presidential campaign. Led by a little-known podcaster and life coach, this meme team has spent much of the year flooding social media with content that lionizes the former president, promotes his White House bid and brutally denigrates his opponents. Much of the group, which refers to itself as Trump's Online War Machine, operates anonymously, adopting the cartoonish aesthetic and unrelenting cruelty of internet trolls. Cheered on by Mr. Trump, the group traffics freely in misinformation, artificial intelligence and digital forgeries known as deepfakes. Its memes are riddled with racist stereotypes, demeaning tropes about L.G.B.T.Q. people and broad scatological humor. Their most vulgar invectives are often aimed at women, particularly those seen as enemies of Mr. Trump.... Dan Scavino, Mr. Trump's social media adviser; Steven Cheung, the campaign's spokesman; and Donald Trump Jr. frequently share the memes on their social media accounts." (Also linked yesterday.)

Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "Former House Speaker Paul Ryan tore into Donald Trump in a recent interview, denouncing the former president as an 'authoritarian narcissist,' and claiming that more Republicans in Congress wished they had been bold enough to stand against him when they had the chance. Ryan, who worked with Trump when he served in Congress and now serves on the board of Fox News parent company Fox Corp., spoke with Teneo Political Risk Advisory Co-President Kevin Kajiwara about his belief that Trump drags Republicans down in elections and will lose to President Joe Biden in 2024." Ryan went on to praise Liz Cheney & Adam Kinzinger for sacrificing their political careers to call out Trump. "So I think there's a lot of people who already regret not getting him out of out of the way when they could have. So I think history will be kind to those people who saw what was happening and called it out, even though it was at the expense of their personal well being." MB: Gosh, Paul, how is it you forgot to remark on how you yourself were once Donald Trump's No. 1 enabler?

He just done that because he knew the news would go crazy with it. -- Clyde Carson, an Iowa caucus captain

I don't think he meant what everybody is saying, being a dictatorship -- and actually you know right now under Biden, that's probably what we got.... He said he was only going to do it for a day. Like if you had a home that was in disrepair and your parents came in and they were firm and they wanted to get it done, and when you got done you had this beautiful home, how could you be mad? -- Leann Reed, another Iowa GOP voter

He's not going to be no dictator. -- John Russell, an Illinois voter

If you think I'm picking on these people because they can't put together a grammatical sentence, well.... -- Marie Burns ~~~

~~~ Marianne LeVine & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "Many of Trump's supporters [in Iowa] ... said they appreciated his comments [about being a dictator on Day One] and did not take them to be a literal declaration of an intent to govern as a dictator.... [Trump's] repetition and clarification amounts to an potential attempt to downplay or desensitize the public to what he is saying and showing he will do, some experts said. Trump has a track record of suggesting he is joking, including on matters where he was not.... The repetition could be an attempt to numb people to criticism of Trump as a would-be dictator or a threat to democracy, according to [Kim] Scheppele [of Princeton Univesity], an expert on Hungary's slide into authoritarianism under Viktor Orban, who Trump referred to on Wednesday as a 'very powerful man, very respected.'"

Is This an About-Face? Or Is Trump Just Confused? Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump endorsed a Republican congressional candidate just days after saying his opponent is 'going to be a Congressman very shortly.' On Wednesday, Trump posted to Truth Social that he is giving his 'Complete and Total Endorsement' to Addison McDowell (R-NC) for North Carolina's sixth congressional district.... On Saturday, Trump had kind words for [McDowell's opponent] Bo Hines at the New York Young Republicans Gala. Hines had even posted the video of Trump's shoutout to social media.... 'Bo Hines, he's going to be a congressman very shortly,' Trump said. 'Bo Hines, thank you!'"

Marie: Gosh, I miss all the good shows. Here's another one, brought to us by CNN: ~~~

~~~ Eric Bradner, et al., of CNN: "Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy told a crowd of Iowa voters in a CNN town hall Wednesday night that the federal government has 'lied systematically' to Americans. The Ohio entrepreneur's parroting of a series of far-right conspiracy theories -- and his pushback against CNN moderator Abby Phillip -- showcased his efforts to appeal to a Donald Trump-aligned, conspiracy-minded element of the GOP electorate just weeks before the January 15 Iowa caucuses kick off the party's 2024 presidential nominating process. In the town hall at Grand View University in Des Moines, Ramaswamy turned a question about medication abortion into a critique of the federal bureaucracy. He also staked out conservative positions on immigration enforcement and railed against affirmative action efforts. Here are takeaways from the town hall[.]"

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it would decide on the availability of a commonly used abortion pill, the first major case involving abortion on its docket since it overturned the constitutional right to the procedure more than a year ago. The move sets up a high-stakes fight over the drug, mifepristone, that could sharply curtail access to medication that is used in more than half of all pregnancy terminations in the United States. It could also have implications for the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the pill more than two decades ago.... The Biden administration had asked the court to take up the cases involving challenges to the pill after a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision that would curb the availability of the drug." MB: Millions of women have used mifepristone; that is, there is irrefutable proof about its safety even above and beyond FDA approval. (Also linked yesterday.)

Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged at its final meeting of the year on Wednesday, as financial markets eagerly await any sign that the central bank is done raising borrowing costs -- and might even start lowering rates in 2024. The Fed's announcement was expected, on the heels of encouraging economic data on inflation, the job market, wages and consumer spending." (Also linked yesterday.)

Abah Bhattarai & Eli Tan of the Washington Post: "The Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high Wednesday, reflecting new optimism that the economy is slowing just enough to bring down inflation without triggering a recession. The Dow closed at 37,090 -- up more than 500 points, or 1.4 percent, for the day -- surpassing a record in January 2022, fueled by the Fed decision to hold rates steady due to progress on inflation. The milestone caps a banner couple of weeks for the U.S. stock market, including the tech-heavy Nasdaq and the S&P 500, bolstered by health-care stocks and promising earnings from technology companies."

David Chen & Michael Corkery of the New York Times: "The turmoil at the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard ... illustrates a new playbook for how the wealthiest Americans are exerting influence in higher education. There is a new class of donors who are often in the prime of their career, having amassed fortunes in finance or tech, who are more outspoken about politics and willing to wage war on social media to effect change. Their pressure campaigns have resembled winner-take-all Wall Street investment strategies, threatening to pull their money from schools that have become increasingly beholden to their largest donors.... 'Unelected billionaires without scholarly qualifications are now seeking to control academic decisions that must remain within the purview of faculty in order for research and teaching to have legitimacy and autonomy from private and partisan interests,' the American Association of University Professors Penn Executive Committee said in a statement.... 'Very large donors tend to be white, older and male,' said David Callahan, author of 'The Givers: Wealth, Power and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.' These are the people in revolt.'"

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Michigan. Julie Bosman of the New York Times: "A man was charged on Wednesday in the killing of Samantha Woll, a synagogue president who was found stabbed to death in October outside her Detroit home, the authorities said. Ms. Woll's death appeared to have taken place during a break-in at her home, Kym L. Worthy, the Wayne County prosecutor, said at a news conference.... Ms. Worthy said..., 'there are no facts to suggest that this defendant knew Ms. Woll and there are no facts to suggest that this was a hate crime. 'Michael Jackson-Bolanos, 28, was charged with first-degree felony murder, a charge that carries a penalty of life in prison without parole. He was also charged with home invasion and lying to a peace officer. Mr. Jackson-Bolanos was being held in custody on Wednesday evening...." MB: We live in a country in which we're relieved to learn that what might have been an antisemitic assassination was a "merely" a violent murder of a beloved community leader. Ewe-Ess-Aye!

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "U.S. national security adviser Jake Sullivan is expected to land in Israel on Thursday, shortly after President Biden said Israel was beginning to lose support around the world due to its 'indiscriminate bombing' in Gaza. Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, described Gaza as a 'living hell,' as conditions continue to deteriorate in the Strip.... Biden met Wednesday with relatives of U.S. nationals held captive in Gaza, including Aviva Siegel, who was released by Hamas last month and whose husband is still thought to be in captivity. Officials say there are at least eight remaining hostages with American citizenship. Almost half the population of Gaza -- about a million people -- are now in Rafah at the Egyptian border, Lynn Hastings, the top U.N. humanitarian official for the Palestinian territories, said Wednesday. The health system has collapsed, she said, and Gaza is experiencing a 'public health disaster.'" ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Kareen Fahim, et al., of the Washington Post: "As photos and video ... of the Palestinian men, stripped to their underwear, forced to kneel, some bound, some blindfolded in the custody of Israeli soldiers ... spread on X, Facebook and other platforms last week, they were picked up by Israeli media. 'Images circulate of dozens of Hamas terrorists surrendering in Gaza,' the Jerusalem Post trumpeted in a typical headline. Israel's military, which censors the Israeli media, did not object to the characterization or prevent the images' spread. Many in Israel viewed the images as evidence of victory over the militants who rampaged through Israeli communities on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people. Or righteous vengeance. Quickly, though, claims that the detainees were Hamas militants were challenged. Palestinians in Gaza identified relatives who they said were not fighters. Some of them were released. The images, rights activists say, began to convey something different, and darker: an attempt to humiliate and dehumanize Palestinians. This week, the United States, Israel's closest ally, called the images 'deeply disturbing.'"

Ukraine, et al. Valerie Hopkins & Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia is more than four hours into his year-end news conference on Thursday, and has stated clearly that his goals in Ukraine have not changed -- the 'demilitarization' and 'denazification' of the country. He reiterated that he was open to peace talks, but offered no hint of a willingness to compromise."

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Dec132023

The Conversation -- December 13, 2023

~~~ Rebecca Beitsch & Emily Brooks of the Hill: "The House GOP on Wednesday formalized its impeachment inquiry into President Biden with a House vote, a step Republicans hope will add legal weight to their demands as the probe moves into a more aggressive end stage. Lawmakers voted 221-212 along party lines to approve the resolution authorizing the inquiry."

** Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Wednesday put on hold all of the proceedings in ... Donald J. Trump's trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election as his lawyers asked an appeals court to move slowly in considering his claim that he is immune from prosecution in the case. The separate but related moves were part of an ongoing struggle between Mr, Trump's legal team and prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, over the critical question of when the trial will actually be held.... On Wednesday morning, Mr. Trump's lawyers asked the federal appeals court to avoid setting an expedited schedule as it considered whether to dismiss the election subversion charges based on the former president's sweeping claims of executive immunity. In a 16-page filing that blended legal and political arguments, the lawyers asked a three-judge panel of the court not to move too quickly in mulling the question of immunity, saying that a 'reckless rush to judgment' would 'irreparably undermine public confidence in the judicial system.'... On Wednesday afternoon, the trial judge overseeing the election case, Tanya S. Chutkan, handed Mr. Trump a victory by suspending all 'further proceedings that would move this case towards trial' until the appeal of the immunity issue is resolved."

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court announced on Wednesday that it would decide on the availability of a commonly used abortion pill, the first major case involving abortion on its docket since it overturned the constitutional right to the procedure more than a year ago. The move sets up a high-stakes fight over the drug, mifepristone, that could sharply curtail access to medication that is used in more than half of all pregnancy terminations in the United States. It could also have implications for the regulatory authority of the Food and Drug Administration, which approved the pill more than two decades ago.... The Biden administration had asked the court to take up the cases involving challenges to the pill after a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a decision that would curb the availability of the drug." MB: Millions of women have used mifepristone; that is, there is no question about its safety even above and beyond FDA approval.

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Fulfilling Their Oaths to the Orange Jesus. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "When the House votes on Wednesday to authorize an impeachment inquiry into President Biden, it will be the culmination of a slow but decisive political shift among Republicans -- urged on by ... Donald J. Trump and his closest allies in Congress -- from a place of resisting such an inquiry to fully embracing it. The vote is both a consequential step and a mere formality; Republicans have been conducting an impeachment investigation for months, a fact that former Speaker Kevin McCarthy made official when he announced in September that the inquiry was commencing without a House vote. But this week's action follows a monthslong effort by G.O.P. leaders to shore up support among more than a dozen mainstream conservatives who had been skeptical about pushing forward on impeachment amid an investigation that has so far failed to produce concrete evidence that the president has committed high crimes or misdemeanors."

Lindsay Whitehurst & Alanna Richer of the AP: "Scared for her life after Rudy Giuliani and other Donald Trump allies falsely accused her of fraud, former Georgia election worker Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss told jurors Tuesday she seldom leaves her home, suffers from panic attacks and battles nightmares brought on by a barrage of threatening and racist messages. Wandrea 'Shaye' Moss took the witness stand on the second day of the defamation trial that will determine how much the former New York City mayor will have to pay Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, for spreading a conspiracy theory that they rigged the state's 2020 election results. Moss noted that Giuliani just a day earlier -- after the trial began -- repeated the false claims about her and her mother, saying they were 'engaged in changing votes.' 'I personally cannot repair my reputation at the moment because your client is still lying on me and ruining my reputation further,' she told Giuliani's lawyer....

"Moss' testimony came hours after the judge scolded Giuliani for comments made outside the federal courthouse Monday in which he insisted his claims about the women were true.... U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell warned Giuliani's lawyer that his client's remarks amounted to 'defamatory statements about them yet again.' The judge was incredulous, asking Giuliani's lawyer [Joseph Sibley] about the contradiction of his opening statements calling Freeman and Moss 'good people' but then the former mayor repeating unfounded allegations of voter fraud... Sibley conceded her point and told the judge he discussed the comments with his client, but added, 'I can't control everything he does.' He also argued that the mayor's age and health concerns make long days in court challenging."

Presidential Race 2024

Marie: Gosh, I forgot to alert you that on Tuesday night CNN was hosting one of its fake "town halls" last night, this one featuring Rhonda Santis. ~~~

~~~ Eric Bradner & Steve Contorno of CNN: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Tuesday showed new urgency in taking on Donald Trump, attacking the former president at every turn at a CNN town hall in Iowa with the state's caucuses less than five weeks away. DeSantis was quick to flip many questions into opportunities to contrast his record as governor with Trump. The economy? Trump 'set the stage' for rising inflation, DeSantis said. The border crisis? Trump didn't complete the wall, and Mexico didn't pay for it, he said. Abortion? Trump is 'flip-flopping on the right to life,' the Florida governor claimed. He even blamed Trump for the Satanic Temple of Iowa's display at the state Capitol, a development that has roiled Iowa and triggered a free speech debate. 'Lo and behold, the Trump administration gave them approval to be under the IRS as a religion,' DeSantis said, referring to the Internal Revenue Service granting the group tax-exempt status in 2019."

Judd Legum & Rebecca Crosby of Popular Information list "10 alarming things Trump has promised to do in a second term:... He will 'abuse power' and be a 'dictator' on 'day one.'... Election fraud in 2020 gives him the power to 'terminate' the Constitution.... He will issue 'full pardons' to January 6 insurrectionists.... He will cut funding to schools that cover subjects he believes are 'inappropriate.'... He will legally erase trans people and ban them from military service.... He will end birthright citizenship by executive order.... He will impose a new 10% tax on all imported goods.... He will investigate NBC and MSNBC for treason and potentially remove the company from public airwaves.... He will demand anyone convicted of selling drugs get the death penalty.... He will order the arrest of all urban homeless and relocate them to federally-run tent cities...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Sad Schemes of a Huckster. Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: Donald "Trump announced Tuesday that snippets of the suit he wore for [his Georgia mugshot] would be available for purchase, as part of a new sale of NFT 'digital trading cards,' a product he debuted in late 2022. Customers who buy 47 of the $99 apiece digital cards, Trump says, will receive a physical card containing a piece of the suit Trump is seen wearing in the photo.... The $4,653 package also includes a dinner with Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club and residence in Palm Beach, Florida.... Like the first round of card sales, the current offer claims the cards are 'not political and have nothing to do with any political campaign.' Still, by offering buyers an in-person dinner with Trump, the deal essentially provides access to a former president and current top presidential contender -- without any of the guardrails of federal campaign finance rules." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Not that it matters, but I'd guess that those scraps of cloth probably are not from the mugshot suit. Trump wears blue suits all the time, as he did for his mugshot. I doubt he knows which of the nearly identical suits he wore on Mugshot Day. He probably just picked out an old suit that was getting frayed & sweat-stinky, and instructed the help to cut it up. He scams even his scams. Oh, and the suit likely was not "Made in the USA."

Supreme Voter Suppression. Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Tuesday allowed a local Texas election to go forward under a map that a lower court had found diluted the votes of Black and Latino residents. The order came in response to a challenge from civil rights advocates opposed to the voting districts in Galveston County. While the case involves the boundaries in just one locality, it could have broader implications for challenges to election maps and the protection of voting rights nationwide. As is customary with emergency applications, the Supreme Court majority did not explain its rationale for leaving the map in place for now."

Jeremy Peters, et al., of the New York Times: "Claudine Gay will stay on as president of Harvard University, the school's governing board announced on Tuesday, despite an uproar over her evasive answers at a congressional hearing about campus antisemitism. The members of the board, the Harvard Corporation, deliberated into the night on Monday before finally deciding not to remove Dr. Gay, the university's first Black president, from her post." This is an update of a story linked earlier yesterday. ~~~

~~~ Miles Herszenhorn & Calire Yuan of the Harvard Crimson: "The Harvard Corporation expressed concerns about allegations of plagiarism in University President Claudine Gay's academic work Tuesday morning, even as the board declared its unanimous support for Harvard's embattled president, providing Gay with a path forward to remain in office.... 'On December 9, the Fellows reviewed the results, which revealed a few instances of inadequate citation,' the Fellows wrote. 'While the analysis found no violation of Harvard's standards for research misconduct, President Gay is proactively requesting four corrections in two articles to insert citations and quotation marks that were omitted from the original publications.' In the statement, the Corporation revealed that it learned about the plagiarism allegations against Gay in late October. The board's concerns also call into question the presidential search committee's vetting process for the search that ended in Gay’s selection less than one year ago." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Here's the statement of the Harvard Corporation, via Harvard. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brad Plumer of the New York Times: "For the first time since nations began meeting three decades ago to tackle climate change, diplomats from nearly 200 countries approved a global pact that explicitly calls for 'transitioning away from fossil fuels' like oil, gas and coal that are dangerously heating the planet. The sweeping agreement, which comes during the hottest year in recorded history, was reached on Wednesday after two weeks of furious debate at the United Nations climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. European leaders and many of the nations most vulnerable to climate-fueled extreme weather were urging language that called for a complete 'phaseout' of fossil fuels. But that proposal faced intense pushback from major oil exporters like Saudi Arabia and Iraq as well as fast-growing countries like India and Nigeria. In the end, negotiators struck a compromise: The new deal calls on countries to accelerate a global shift away from fossil fuels this decade in a 'just, orderly and equitable manner,' and to quit adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere entirely by midcentury."

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As New York Goes, So Goes the Nation? Maegan Vazquez & Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: "The New York State Court of Appeals on Tuesday granted Democrats who control the state legislature a chance to approve a new set of congressional district lines for the state, effectively throwing out a map that led to several Republican victories in 2022 House races. The ruling could be consequential in determining which party controls the House during the next Congress. In 2022, Republicans flipped four districts in New York, giving them a razor-thin majority in the House. Democrats need to win a net of five seats to win back the House next year." Politico's story is here.

Texas. President Joe Biden, in a statement: "No woman should be forced to go to court or flee her home state just to receive the health care she needs. But that is exactly what happened in Texas thanks to Republican elected officials, and it is simply outrageous. This should never happen in America, period."

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Camilo Montoya-Galvaz of CBS News: "The Biden administration on Tuesday indicated to congressional lawmakers that it would be willing to support a new border authority to expel migrants without asylum screenings, as well as a dramatic expansion of immigration detention and deportations, to convince Republicans to back aid to Ukraine, four people familiar with the matter told CBS News. The White House informed Senate Democrats that it could back those sweeping and hardline immigration policy changes as part of the negotiations over President Biden's emergency funding request, a roughly $100 billion package that includes military aid to Israel, Taiwan and Ukraine, as well as money to bolster border enforcement and hire additional immigration officials." (Related links under "Ukraine, et al.," below.)

Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "President Biden said 'indiscriminate bombing' is eroding international support for Israel, in some of the sharpest criticism from Israel's closest ally over its offensive in Gaza since the latest war with Hamas began. The United Nations General Assembly for a second time voted overwhelmingly to demand a cease-fire, with 153 countries in favor -- an increase of more than 30 since the last vote for a similar resolution in October.... The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security issued a public announcement Tuesday warning of potential 'lone actor violence' in the United States as a result of the war, including at holiday and faith-based gatherings. The announcement was not made in response to any specific plot, the agencies said." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Wednesday are here. CNN's live updates are here.

Times of Israel: "The IDF [Israel Defense Forces] has started pumping seawater into Hamas's underground tunnel system in Gaza, a move aimed at destroying the Palestinian terror group's subterranean network of passages and hideaways and driving its operatives above ground, a report said Tuesday. The development was reported by The Wall Street Journal, which earlier this month reported that the tactic was under 'consideration' and that the Israel Defense Forces had set up five large water pumps near the Shati refugee camp in Gaza City, capable of flooding the tunnels within weeks by pumping thousands of cubic meters of water per hour into them.... 'With regard to the flooding of the tunnels.... There (are) assertions being made that there [are] no hostages in any of these tunnels, but I don't know that for a fact,' [President] Biden said in response to a question on the matter during a press conference [Tuesday] at the White House with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky."

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden told Israel's leaders on Tuesday that they were losing international support for their war in Gaza, exposing a widening rift with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who rejected out of hand the American vision for a postwar resolution to the conflict. Mr. Biden delivered the blunt assessment of America's closest ally in the Middle East during a fund-raiser in Washington, where he described Mr. Netanyahu as the leader of 'the most conservative government in Israel's history,' which doesn't 'want anything remotely approaching a two-state solution' to the country's long-running dispute with Palestinians.... The president's remarks came hours after Mr. Netanyahu pledged to defy weeks of American pressure to put the Palestinian Authority in charge of Gaza once the fighting ends. Mr. Netanyahu ruled out any role there for the group, which now governs Palestinian society in the Israeli-occupied West Bank." An AP story is here. A Reuters report is here.

Farnaz Fassihi of the New York Times: "The U.N. General Assembly demanded an immediate cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in an overwhelming vote on Tuesday that highlighted much of the world's desire to bring the bloody conflict to an end. About three-quarters of the body's members voted in favor of the nonbinding resolution, underscoring the isolation of Israel and the United States, which last week blocked a cease-fire resolution in the Security Council. Resounding applause and cheers erupted after the vote was announced: 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions. The resolution required two-thirds majority for passage."

Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: Under international law governing war, "proportionality is a key component in determining the legality of an act of war. It is not merely a question, lawyers said, of fairly balancing the death tolls on either side of a conflict's ledger. Instead, it is a matter of determining whether, at the moment the decision to launch any attack is made, the expected military advantage outweighs the expected harm to civilians once feasible measures are taken to reduce it. But there is no universal consensus on how to make such a comparison. Nor are the facts always clear in the fog of war.... The large numbers of civilian dead, more than in any previous Gaza conflict, do in aggregate raise questions about whether Israel's calculations of proportionality have changed in this war.... Israeli officials, speaking anonymously under military rules, acknowledge that the scale and scope of the operations in Gaza are much greater than in the past.... Officials recognize the reputational damage the war is causing and the public pressure that allied governments are feeling to bring the killing to a rapid close. But they claim they are being held to a higher standard than Hamas. Hamas, they say, has breeched numerous laws of war, including using civilians as human shields, using civilian infrastructure for military purposes and using rape as a weapon." ~~~

~~~ Marie: Israelis are correct that Israel is held to a higher standard than Hamas. But Israel is a nation; Hamas is a terrorist organization, which, by definition, doesn't play by the rules.

Ukraine, et al.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden warned on Tuesday that Russia was celebrating American division over providing aid to Ukraine, as President Volodymyr Zelensky hit a wall of resistance from congressional Republicans during a daylong lobbying blitz in Washington. Speaking from the White House with Mr. Zelensky by his side, Mr. Biden said failing to support Ukraine would be a gift to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia. 'Putin is banking on the United States failing to deliver for Ukraine,' Mr. Biden said at the White House. 'We must, we must, we must prove him wrong.'... Mr. Biden accused Republicans of holding military aid to Ukraine 'hostage' in exchange for 'an extreme Republican partisan agenda on the border.' He cited the comments of Russian broadcasters praising Republicans for refusing to approve the Ukraine assistance.... Mr. Zelensky thanked the United States for coming to Ukraine's aid, but said the support must continue....

"Speaker Mike Johnson accused the White House of failing to articulate a clear path to Ukraine's victory, which Republicans have also said is a necessary condition to unlocking military aid. Mr. Johnson has voted repeatedly against aiding Ukraine.... During Mr. Zelensky's meeting with senators, a number of Republicans told him directly that securing the U.S. border with Mexico was the key to obtaining aid for his nation." ~~~

~~~ Marie: I know this is too difficult for GOP numbskulls to understand inasmuch as their perceptions are limited by two factors: (a) if they can't see it, they don't get it, and (b) if they don't want to see it, the opposite is true. BUT. Most of the funds spent on military aid the U.S. sends to Ukraine (or anyplace else) stays in the U.S. Americans make munitions & other military stuff in U.S. factories, those same Americans go to the store & buy goods from U.S. companies, and those same job-holding Americans pay taxes to the U.S. Treasury Department. So this notion that Republicans keep repeating about how Americans are "giving billions" to Ukraine is only partially true. We're giving a lot more billions to ourselves than we are giving to Ukrainians. "Billions for Ukraine" is in fact largely a U.S. domestic redistribution of wealth. And let me add that Democrats are doing a piss-poor job of even trying to explain Econ 101 to their intellectually-impaired colleagues on the other side of the aisle. ~~~

~~~ Sahil Kapur & Megan Lebowitz of NBC News: "Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, on Monday dismissed fears of Russia's military capabilities under President Vladimir Putin and suggested Ukraine should give up some of its land to end the war.... 'No one can explain to me how this ends without some territorial concessions relative to the 1991 boundaries,' he added. A day earlier, Vance said on CNN's 'State of the Union' that it was in 'America's best interest ... to accept Ukraine is going to have to cede some territory to the Russians.'" MB: This would be a good place for me to mention that J.D. is often characterized as Donald Trump's mouthpiece in the Senate. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) on Monday dug into Sen. JD Vance's (R-Ohio) recent remarks against sending further aid to Ukraine, calling the Ohio Republican's comments 'total and unmitigated bull‑‑‑‑.' Vance, in an interview with former White House aid[e] Steve Bannon earlier Monday, claimed some lawmakers are looking to cut Social Security benefits for more aid to Ukraine that he argued will be used so one of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's ministers 'can buy a bigger yacht.' Presented with Tillis's criticism later Monday, Vance said he believes Ukraine is 'one of the most corrupt countries in Europe.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

** Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "The Russian push in eastern Ukraine this fall and winter was designed to sap Western support for Ukraine, according to a newly declassified American intelligence assessment. The drive has resulted in heavy losses but has not led to strategic gains on the battlefield for Russia, said Adrienne Watson, a spokeswoman for the National Security Council. Since the beginning of the war Russia has suffered from a staggeringly high number of losses, according to another newly declassified assessment shared with Congress. At the start of the war the Russian army stood at 360,000 troops. Russia has lost 315,000 of those troops, forcing them to recruit and mobilize new recruits and convicts from their prison system. Moscow's equipment has also been crushed, according to the assessment. At the start of the war, Russia had 3,500 tanks but has lost 2,200, forcing them to pull 50 year old T-62 tanks from storage." A related Politico report is here.

News Lede

New York Times: "Andre Braugher, an Emmy Award-winning actor best known for playing stoic police officers on the television shows 'Brooklyn Nine-Nine' and 'Homicide: Life on the Street,' died on Monday. He was 61."

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