The Conversation -- December 1, 2023

AP: "Retired Justice Sandra Day O"Connor, the first woman on the Supreme Court, died Friday, the high court said. She was 93." MB: I'll post a link to an obituary when it becomes available. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: O'Connor's New York Times obituary, by Linda Greenhouse, is here.

Rachel Weiner & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump can be held civilly liable for the actions of the mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, an appeals court ruled Friday in a long-awaited decision that could clear the way for lawsuits seeking financial damages from the former president.... Trump and his lawyers have argued that he is protected from both the lawsuit and the criminal charges brought by Special Counsel Jack Smith because of the absolute immunity conferred on a president for anything done as part of his official duties.... [But the judges] compared former presidents to judges, who enjoy protection from lawsuits but are 'subject to criminal prosecutions as are other citizens.' Trump is 'not above the law,' they wrote.... The unanimous decision by a federal appeals court in Washington is expected to be appealed...." CNN's report, by Katelyn Polantz, is here.

Clare Foran & Haley Talbot of CNN: "The House voted Friday to expel GOP Rep. George Santos, a historic vote that makes the New York congressman the sixth lawmaker ever to be expelled from the chamber. The vote brings an end to a scandal-plagued and tumultuous tenure on Capitol Hill for the freshman New York congressman.... The resolution passed 311 to 114, with 105 Republicans voting with the overwhelming majority of Democrats in favor of expulsion. Two Democrats voted 'no,' and two Democrats voted present.... 'To hell with this place,' [Santos] said [after the vote]." ~~~

Nothing Says "Get Out!" Like ~~~

Changing the locks in George Santos former office ... pic.twitter.com/ZpfcnLLTGp

— Howard Mortman (@HowardMortman) December 1, 2023

~~~ Adeus, Jorge. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House is expected to vote in about an hour on the resolution to expel George Santos. But the outcome is far from clear. Leaders in both parties are flying blind, having chosen not to conduct a formal whip count ahead of the vote." This post, written at about 9:40 am ET, is part of a liveblog. ~~~

Fandos: "... as his biography unraveled and criminal charges piled up, Mr. Santos remained securely in his seat for nearly a year thanks to the protection of two consecutive House speakers, Kevin McCarthy of California and Mike Johnson of Louisiana."

Grace Ashford: "With roughly 45 minutes left until the vote, no one is quite sure how it will go. But in recent days, some Republican leaders have indicated that they oppose expulsion, which appears to have offset some of the momentum following the release of the Ethics Committee report."

Michael Gold: "In a letter to his House Republican colleagues this morning, Max Miller of Ohio said that Santos's campaign charged his and his mother's credit card for campaign contributions that neither of them approved and that were above the legal limit. He said the scheme, which he alluded to in a floor speech yesterday supporting Mr. Santos's expulsion, was his main reason for deciding to vote 'yes' today."

Gold: "Santos was just expelled from the House, 311-114-2."

Fandos: "Speaker Mike Johnson is in the speaker's chair to deliver the tally.... That's it. The gavel falls and George Santos of New York has been expelled from the House of Representatives less than a year after he took the oath of office."

Fandos: "Santos's expulsion opens a highly competitive House seat in New York. Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is expected to call a special election to fill Santos's seat early next year, likely in February."

Fandos: "Representatives of the Architect of the Capitol, which maintains the congressional complex, arrived promptly Friday afternoon to change the locks on the door to Santos's House office. C-SPAN got footage of the work, not long after Santos left the building."

Gold: "Santos's official House website is no longer live. The link redirects to a page on the House clerk's site that tracks vacancies in Congress, though Santos's former seat has not yet been added.

     ~~~ CNN's Santos liveblog is here. "The House has voted to expel New York Republican Rep. George Santos over ethics violations, making him only the sixth lawmaker ever to be kicked out of the chamber. The resolution required a two-thirds majority vote to succeed. House Speaker Mike Johnson announced that 311 members of the House voted to expel Santos. Another 114 voted against the expulsion, with two members recording themselves 'present.' He is the first member of Congress to be expelled since the Civil War who wasn't first convicted of a felony."

     ~~~ Marie: We already know that it is possible for a completely fabricated person can become a Republican member of Congress. Today, we'll find out if at least one total fake will be expelled.

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~~~ Darlene Superville of the AP: “The president and his wife, Jill, participated Thursday in the annual tradition of lighting the National Christmas Tree on the Ellipse, an area known as President's Park, on the south side of the White House.... [President] Biden said the White House holiday theme of 'wonder, magic and joy' captures the essence of Christmas, which he said is about rediscovering simple joys like familiar songs and favorite recipes, performing acts of kindness, and strengthening bonds with family and friends as well as with one's faith."

Katie Rogers, et al., of the New York Times: "On June 22, as [President] Biden pulled out all of the diplomatic stops to bring [India's Prime Minister Narendra] Modi closer, a senior official in the Indian government was offering the 'go ahead' approving the murder-for-hire plot surrounding a Sikh American on U.S. soil, according to a Justice Department indictment filed in a federal court in New York Wednesday.... The suspect, an Indian national accused of trying to arrange the killing, was arrested in the Czech Republic on June 30, eight days after [Biden's] state dinner [for Modi].... The audacious scheme illustrates how complicated it can be for American presidents to balance their relationships with deeply imperfect allies, while also trying to preserve a commitment to the values of human rights and democracy.... Publicly ... the episode has not caused a rupture.... It is clearly Mr. Biden's preference to hold friends closer, using positive reinforcement to try to change their policies."

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden hosted President João Lourenço of Angola at the White House on Thursday, promoting a major U.S. investment in the country as he tries to shore up his pledge to revitalize relations with African nations. The visit marked three decades of diplomatic relations between the countries, and the two leaders discussed cooperation on critical issues such as trade, energy, climate and a $1 billion U.S.-backed infrastructure project that would aid Angola's economy."

Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "As the House of Representatives opened the floor on Thursday to debate the fate of George Santos, Republican of New York, the arguments over whether to expel him took an immediate and indecorous turn. Mr. Santos's use of Botox was invoked several times, even by those defending him. His detractors pointed to falsified ties to the Holocaust and to his claims, contradicted by paperwork, that his mother was at the World Trade Center on Sept. 11. The final speaker calling to expel Mr. Santos concluded with the briefest of remarks: 'You, sir, are a crook.'... Mr. Santos offered a minimal defense, again refusing to provide evidence that would counter the laundry list of misdeeds and 23 criminal charges that Republicans and Democrats cited to support his removal. Instead, as a group of lawmakers repeatedly cited the findings of the ethics report, Mr. Santos and his defenders argued that removing him before his criminal case is resolved could open the floodgates to a raft of frivolous expulsion efforts, overriding the will of voters.... The House is scheduled to vote on a resolution to expel Mr. Santos, 35, following the release of a damning and detailed report from the House Ethics Committee that found 'substantial evidence' that he had violated federal law." ~~~

~~~ Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "A defiant Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) said Thursday that House members were 'bullying' him as a vote on his expulsion from Congress loomed and warned that if a third effort to remove him were successful, it would lead to the downfall of several other lawmakers down the line. At a news conference, Santos continued to insist he would never resign and railed against a House Ethics Committee report -- which detailed a litany of fraud and ethics violations allegations against him -- as incomplete and 'littered with hyperbole.'... Santos said he planned to introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who pleaded guilty last month to pulling a false fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building." The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats voted Thursday to subpoena two prominent allies of conservative Supreme Court justices, an unusual attempt to learn more about undisclosed gifts to the justices that Republican lawmakers said would not ultimately succeed before the full Senate. The contentious hearing on whether to demand information from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow and conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo featured forceful pushback from Republicans who defended the court's conservatives.... At the hearing Thursday, Democrats said the [new Supreme Court 'ethics'] code does not go far enough and that it is still necessary to subpoena and press for more information from Crow and Leo to inform proposed legislation. 'Without an enforcement mechanism, this code of conduct, while a step in a positive direction, is insufficient to restore the public's faith in the Court,' committee Chairman Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said in his prepared opening statement.... If Leo and Crow do not comply, Democrats can seek enforcement of the subpoenas in court. That step requires a vote of the full Senate, with 60 votes needed to break a filibuster." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "The Republican members of the committee stormed out of the hearing room in the Hart Building shortly before Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called a vote on authorizing the subpoenas. The motion passed with 11 Democratic votes. Not a single Republican was left in the room by the time the roll call ended.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) set the tone of the meeting, calling the authorization of subpoenas 'garbage' and Democratic efforts to address the court's ethics a 'complete joke' and 'crap.'" MB: So I don't think we'll have any trouble picturing Lindsey -- or for that matter, Ted Cruz & Mike Lee -- "storming out." (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker of the New York Times: Liz Cheney's "book offers a rare peek inside the Republican cloakroom at what Ms. Cheney, a former representative from Wyoming, heard from her colleagues about 'the Orange Jesus,' as one wryly called Mr. Trump. Here are a half-dozen stories she tells in the book...." Fairly interesting. MB: I am sort of surprised everyone is making such a big deal about the Orange Jesus. I think it's funny, but Cheney mentioned this remark months ago, although she had not previously said which GOP member of Congress had uttered it. (Also linked yesterday.)

A True-life Story with a Self-Certified Ophthalmologist Playing the Hero. No, Really. Praveena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: "While hosting a luncheon Thursday featuring dishes from her state, Senate Republican Joni Ernst of Iowa choked on some of the food, a spread of corn, rib-eye and pork chops. But Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) came to the rescue, Senate colleagues said, moving swiftly to perform the Heimlich maneuver." A Mediaite item is here. MB: Ernst used the incident to diss Democrats. ("Can't help but choke on the woke policies Dems are forcing down our throats.") Because that's what life-threatening, self-inflicted accidents are for. There is something really wrong with these people.

STFU! Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A New York appeals court on Thursday reinstated a limited gag order on Donald Trump, preventing him from making public comments about the law clerk in a civil business fraud case brought by the state. The court in a two-page decision upheld New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's set of orders that prevented Trump and his defense team from mentioning the clerk, who has been the subject of anti-Semitic and other threats and messages since the case began.... A temporary pause on the gag order issued Nov. 16 gave Trump two-week window in which to discuss the clerk publicly. That day, he resumed his complaints and accusations against her on social media." The AP's report, which characterizing the ruling as a "one-sentence decision," is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In case you are moved by Donald the Aggrieved's argument that the courts are depriving him of his First Amendment rights, Andrew Weissmann, appearing on MSNBC, says he thinks of the orders less as "gag orders" and more as a condition of bail. People who are out on bail generally have usual Constitution rights constrained. For instance, they are not allowed to carry weapons so faggedaboud the Second Amendment. "Unreasonable search and seizure," proscribed by the Fourth Amendment, may become "reasonable" for folks "free" on bail. IOW, legally, Donald Trump really is not like you and me; he has fewer rights than do those of us not currently accused of 91 crimes.

Yvonne Sanchez & Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "Kenneth Chesebro, one of ... Donald Trump's co-defendants in the Georgia election-interference case, plans to meet with investigators in Arizona and Nevada, where similar probes are underway, according to three individuals with knowledge of the arrangements. Chesebro, who pleaded guilty in the Georgia case to a single felony count of participating in a conspiracy to file false documents, had been charged primarily in relation to his 2020 role in organizing slates of pro-Trump state electors. Those electors met and voted in seven states where Joe Biden had won the presidential election -- actions that they hoped would allow Congress to award those states' electoral votes to Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. As part of his pleading, Chesebro avoids prison time but must testify in the case.... [An] individual said Nevada officials have offered Chesebro a 'proffer' agreement in which they have pledged not to charge him in exchange for truthful testimony.... [Chesebro] plans to travel to the state this week."

** Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump seemingly endorsed a call for Capitol Police officers who repelled rioters on January 6, 2021 to be prosecuted.... Trump's post [on Liars Social] linked to another one from earlier this week on X, which showed officers grappling with and using their batons to pushback on the rioters. 'The Capitol cops beat the hell out of innocent J6 protesters, and the videos are finally coming out,' asserted the original poster. 'The cops should be charged and the protesters should be freed This is why the uniparty didn't want the videos released.'" MB: This won't get much attention, but it should.

Situation Normal. Matt Friedman of Politico: "A former server at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster alleges she was sexually harassed and coerced into sex by a supervisor, then tricked into signing an illegal non-disclosure agreement by Trump's lawyer, Alina Habba. The former server, Alice Bianco, made the allegations in a lawsuit against Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster filed Wednesday in New Jersey's Middlesex County Superior Court. Trump is not named as a defendant in the suit.... Habba, according to the lawsuit, encouraged Bianco to fire [her own] lawyer and forwarded her a negative article about him. 'Is this the guy? Be careful,' she wrote, according to text messages appended to the lawsuit. Habba then allegedly invited Bianco to her car during her shift and discouraged her from going public with her story, saying she could 'protect her' if Bianco signed a 'simple' non-disclosure agreement that included a penalty of $1,000 a day if she violated it, in exchange for what the lawsuit described as a 'paltry sum.'... 'Alina Habba used the unethical silencing of my client, Ali Bianco, as a way to propel herself into Trump's inner circle. Her behavior was predatory. Pretending to be "neutral" when acting on behalf of one party is clearly unethical,' Bianco attorney Nancy Erika Smith said in a statement"

The feminist movement is not about women, it's always been about abortion and communism. -- Fox "News" host Rachel Campos-Duffy

News to me. BTW, Rachel, how come you use your birth name professionally? That's such a feminist thing. Is that about abortion or communism? -- Marie Burns

Presidential Race 2024

Holly Ottenbein & Gary Fineout of Politico: "Florida appears poised to hold no presidential primary election for Democrats this cycle after the state party submitted only President Joe Biden's name as a candidate up for the nomination. The move to leave Rep. Dean Phillips off the primary ballot left the Minnesota Democrat enraged on Thursday. In a statement..., Phillips, who has launched a longshot primary bid against Biden, accused Florida Democratic Party officials of rigging the primary. He threatened a lawsuit and a convention fight if he didn't win ballot access in the state.... Under state law, it is left up to the parties to decide who makes the primary ballot. The deadline for parties to submit a list of approved candidates to state election officials is Thursday. But Florida Democrats acted before then, sending a notice on Nov. 1 to the state that had Biden as the only primary candidate.... Under state law, if a party only signs off on one candidate for the primary ballot, the contest is not held."

Allan Smith of NBC News: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom duked it out in a roughly two-hour debate Thursday that was heavy on contrasts between their leadership of two of the nation's largest states but lighter on references to the ongoing presidential primaries.... The showdown -- dubbed 'The Great Red vs. Blue State Debate' by Fox News -- featured spirited exchanges on tax, education, abortion, energy, immigration, Covid and crime policy, with both DeSantis and Newsom warning that their opponent's models would be disastrous for the country if they were exported nationwide." ~~~

     ~~~ Eric Bradner of CNN has some takeaways from the fake presidential debate: "The highly unusual debate -- one moderated by Fox's conservative host Sean Hannity ... -- was a window into an alternative political universe; one in which President Joe Biden and ... Donald Trump were not on course for a 2024 rematch of the 2020 presidential race.... [Gov. Gavin] Newsom went to bat for Biden, defending the president's record on the economy, immigration and more in front of Fox's right-leaning audience.... Newsom also lobbed a series of attacks that sounded like they could have come from any of DeSantis' primary opponents, accusing the Florida governor of shifting positions on issues like immigration and environmental protections as he began to eye a presidential run. Those attacks -- clearly designed to damage DeSantis in front of an audience of likely Republican presidential primary voters -- were among the debate's most memorable moments."

Trump Is Not as Bad as Putin -- Yet. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "Republican presidential candidate Chris Christie assured his rival Nikki Haley that it is safe to call out ... Donald Trump by name, as he had not yet been poisoned for doing so. During a town hall at Concord, New Hampshire on Thursday, Christie declared, 'The frontrunner in this race is Donald Trump. I just said his name out loud and lightning did not strike me. I did not fall dead of a heart attack. I have not been poisoned by a member of his staff.'"

Kate Conger & Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "Advertisers said on Thursday that they did not plan to reopen their wallets anytime soon with X ... after its owner, Elon Musk, insulted brands using an expletive and told them not to spend on the platform. At least half a dozen marketing agencies said the brands they represent were standing firm against advertising on X, while others said they had advised advertisers to stop posting anything on the platform. Some temporary spending pauses that advertisers have enacted in recent weeks against X are likely to turn into permanent freezes, they added, with Mr. Musk's comments giving them no incentive to return." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Who could have known that urging your biggest advertisers' CEOs "to go fuck themselves" was not the best way to coax them back to your product? It's almost as if very rich people don't give unconditional love to super-rich people. Nonetheless, as RAS expressed some time back, just how long it takes these advertisers to return to the X fold is an open question. ~~~

Not for nothing, but how long do we morons need to be informed that X used to be know as Twitter? I never Xitted, and never will. Elon can go f*ck himself... -- unwashed, in yesterday's Comments

My view precisely. I've been ellipsisizing this particular historical lesson for a while now. -- Marie Burns

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Jeremy Barr of the Washington Post: "MSNBC faced a blizzard of backlash Thursday after announcing that popular liberal host Mehdi Hasan would lose his Sunday-night show as part of a broader restructuring of the network's weekend lineup. The network said the changes, which include a new weekend panel show, were made with 2024 election coverage in mind. But fans and prominent liberals questioned whether Hasan, one of the few Muslim hosts in cable news, was being penalized for his criticism of the Israeli government's actions in Gaza and strong support for the Palestinian people.... His segments often went viral on social media, where users celebrated his takedowns of conservatives such as former Trump adviser John Bolton and Israeli government adviser Mark Regev. During a Nov. 16 interview on his show for NBC's Peacock streaming service, Hasan pressed Regev on the children killed in Gaza by Israeli strikes. When Regev said that Hasan had seen photos of dead children 'because they're the pictures Hamas wants you to see,' the host responded, 'and also because they're dead, Mark. They're also people your government has killed.'...

"Hasan will remain with the network as an analyst and fill-in host. And though his time segment will be absorbed by fellow host Ayman Mohyeldin -- who has also gone viral for segments about the conflict in Gaza and Israel -- criticism of the decision was sharp. 'It is bad optics for MSNBC to cancel @mehdirhasan's show right at a time when he is vocal for human rights in Gaza with the war ongoing,' Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), wrote on X." The Guardian's story is here. MB: Fortunately, according to the WashPo story, we're going to get to see more Michael Steele, the former RNC chair. and more Alicia Menendez, who currently (and in the foreseeable future) has to tiptoe through the stories about political corruption inasmuch as her dad Senator Bob is under criminal indictment for some (alleged!) really sleazy, traitorous stuff. I agree with the critics. While I also am a fan of Ayman's, MSNBC didn't need to cut Mehdi for more Ayman. But, hey, the suits wear those costly duds so's you might not notice their teensy brains. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

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California. Phil Helsel of NBC News: "A former Marine pleaded guilty Thursday in a 2022 firebombing attack on a Planned Parenthood clinic in California, federal prosecutors said. Chance Brannon, 24, is one of three men charged in the Molotov cocktail attack on the building in Costa Mesa, which occurred while Brannon was an active-duty Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton, officials said. No one was hurt in the March 13, 2022, incident, which occurred in the early morning when no one was there. The front entrance had some burn damage, and the clinic had to reschedule about 30 appointments."

Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "Florida's Republican Party found itself roiled on Thursday after the police said they were investigating an accusation made two months ago that the party's chairman had engaged in sexual battery. The chairman, Christian Ziegler, was elected to the post this year as top Florida Republicans were fretting over whether to support Gov. Ron DeSantis or ... Donald J. Trump for their party's 2024 nomination. Mr. Ziegler was seen as the choice of Mr. Trump's allies. No charges have been filed against Mr. Ziegler.... In response to requests for the [Sarasota Police Department] sexual battery incident report, the police released a heavily redacted, 12-page document from Oct. 4 with names, addresses, identifying information and most other details blacked out. Unredacted in the report are two mentions of the word 'raped,' and a reference to someone reporting being 'sexually battered' at home on Oct. 2." ~~~

     ~~~ And Now for the Sordid Details. Bob Norman of the Florida Center for Government Accountability: "Christian Ziegler, Florida's GOP chairman and husband of Sarasota County School Board member and Moms of Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler, is under criminal investigation after a woman filed a complaint with the Sarasota Police Department alleging the longtime Republican official had raped her, according to a heavily redacted police report obtained by the Florida Trident.... The woman, according to sources close to the investigation, alleged that she and both Zieglers had been involved in a three-year consensual three-way sexual relationship. The incident under investigation by Sarasota police occurred when Christian Ziegler and the woman were alone at the woman's house, without Bridget Ziegler present, the sources conveyed.... Christian Ziegler is also alleged to have secretly videotaped the sexual encounters between the couple and the woman, sources said....

"The Zieglers are one of Florida's top political power couples in the GOP. Christian Ziegler is a longtime Republican Party official who served as vice chairman of the state party prior to his election as chair in February. Prior to that he was a Sarasota County Commissioner who ran on a 'family values' platform. Bridget Ziegler has become a star within the MAGA movement who was personally endorsed for her school board seat by Florida Governor and Republican presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, who also appointed her in March to the state board that oversees the special district previously overseen by Disney World prior to DeSantis's politically motivated feud with the entertainment company.... [Bridget]Ziegler has been a leading anti-trans activist and 'critical race theory' opponent who has said her aim is to bring 'religious values' into public schools that she claims are 'indoctrination centers for the radical left.'"

     ~~~ Marie: Admit it. You're not all that surprised. Great posed pix of DeSantis & Trump smiling away with these "family values" superstars. Aggravating, BTW, that the Gray Lady doesn't think these details are fit to print. And how 'bout that "expletive deleted" crap editorial decision as demonstrated once again in the Times' Go-Fuck-Me story linked above?

Florida. Christine Sexton of Florida Politics: "A new poll of Florida voters shows a proposed abortion rights initiative could pass in 2024 if it makes the ballot -- results show it's picking up support across gender, racial and party lines. The University of North Florida poll found that 62% of all respondents would vote 'yes' on the proposed amendment while 29% oppose the proposal. Nine percent didn't answer the question. Florida requires that constitutional amendments receive approval from 60% of voters in order to pass. The numbers from the poll, which has a margin of error of 4.37%, show that the amendment is hovering around the margin it needs." MB: Of course, even if the amendment gets on the ballot & passes, Republican legislators could and probably would do all they can to gut the new constitutional law, as they did a few years back when Florida voters passed an amendment restoring voting rights to most former felons. Because pure democracy is so wrong.

Montana. Sapna Maheshwari of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Montana on Thursday blocked a statewide ban of TikTok from taking effect next year, at least temporarily preventing the nation's first such prohibition on the popular video app. The judge, Donald W. Molloy, said Montana could act as a leader in protecting its residents from harm but must 'act within the constitutional legal context,' and he granted a preliminary injunction to stop the TikTok ban. He said a ban of the Chinese-owned app most likely violated the First Amendment and a clause that gives Congress the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations."

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The seven-day pause in fighting between Israel and Hamas ended early Friday. Each side blamed the other. Israel said Hamas had 'violated the operational pause and, in addition, fired toward Israeli territory,' while a Hamas official said talks to extend the pause were 'thwarted by the Israelis' who had 'refused' an offer to release elderly male hostages and the bodies of three Israeli hostages. The Washington Post could not immediately verify either claim. Several airstrikes were reported across Gaza on Friday morning; a Post photographer witnessed a strike 200 meters from a hospital in Khan Younis in the south."

Michael Birnbaum of the Washington Post: "The Israeli government agreed to form a 'clear plan' for averting civilian deaths before resuming its assault of southern Gaza, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday, a sign of the intensifying U.S. pressure that Israel faces to recalibrate its approach amid the war's grave humanitarian toll. Blinken's conversations with Israeli leaders were the toughest to date and, by his account, resulted in concrete assurances that they would change how their war is waged against Hamas.... At the same time, the Israelis left no doubt that they intended to abandon the week-long pause in their military campaign as soon as Hamas stops releasing hostages." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Friday are here.

** Ronen Bergman & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Israeli officials obtained Hamas's battle plan for the Oct. 7 terrorist attack more than a year before it happened, documents, emails and interviews show. But Israeli military and intelligence officials dismissed the plan as aspirational, considering it too difficult for Hamas to carry out. The approximately 40-page document, which the Israeli authorities code-named 'Jericho Wall,' outlined, point by point, exactly the kind of devastating invasion that led to the deaths of about 1,200 people. The translated document, which was reviewed by The New York Times, did not set a date for the attack, but described a methodical assault designed to overwhelm the fortifications around the Gaza Strip, take over Israeli cities and storm key military bases, including a division headquarters." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sounds even worse than Dubya's daily briefing titled, "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US," issued 36 days before 9/11.

Katherine Rosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As some hostages captured ... in the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel have been released, they have relayed ... stories of their captivity to family members. While their individual experiences differ in some details, their accounts share features that corroborate one another and suggest that Hamas and its allies planned to take hostages. Some of the hostages were held in sweltering tunnels deep beneath Gaza, while others were squeezed into tight quarters with strangers or confined in isolation. There were children forced to appear in hostage videos, and others forced to watch gruesome footage of Hamas's Oct. 7 terrorist attack. They bore physical and psychological wounds.... The freed hostages, many of them children, were deprived of adequate food while in Gaza. Many said they had received just a single piece of bread per day for weeks. Others were fed small portions of rice, or pieces of cheese. The Red Cross said it was denied access to the hostages. Many of the hostages who have returned to Israel in the past week ... have come home malnourished, infested with lice, ill, injured and deeply traumatized." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Conversation -- November 30, 2023

Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats voted Thursday to subpoena two prominent allies of conservative Supreme Court justices, an unusual attempt to learn more about undisclosed gifts to the justices that Republican lawmakers said would not ultimately succeed before the full Senate. The contentious hearing on whether to demand information from Texas billionaire Harlan Crow and conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo featured forceful pushback from Republicans who defended the court's conservatives.... At the hearing Thursday, Democrats said the [new Supreme Court 'ethics'] code does not go far enough and that it is still necessary to subpoena and press for more information from Crow and Leo to inform proposed legislation. 'Without an enforcement mechanism, this code of conduct, while a step in a positive direction, is insufficient to restore the public's faith in the Court,' committee Chairman Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) said in his prepared opening statement.... If Leo and Crow do not comply, Democrats can seek enforcement of the subpoenas in court. That step requires a vote of the full Senate, with 60 votes needed to break a filibuster." ~~~

     ~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "The Republican members of the committee stormed out of the hearing room in the Hart Building shortly before Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) called a vote on authorizing the subpoenas. The motion passed with 11 Democratic votes. Not a single Republican was left in the room by the time the roll call ended.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) set the tone of the meeting, calling the authorization of subpoenas 'garbage' and Democratic efforts to address the court's ethics a 'complete joke' and 'crap.'" MB: So I don't think we'll have any trouble picturing Lindsey -- or for that matter, Ted Cruz & Mike Lee -- "storming out."

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "A defiant Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) said Thursday that House members were 'bullying' him as a vote on his expulsion from Congress loomed and warned that if a third effort to remove him were successful, it would lead to the downfall of several other lawmakers down the line. At a news conference, Santos continued to insist he would never resign and railed against a House Ethics Committee report -- which detailed a litany of fraud and ethics violations allegations against him -- as incomplete and 'littered with hyperbole.'... Santos said he planned to introduce a resolution to expel Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who pleaded guilty last month to pulling a false fire alarm in the Cannon House Office Building." The AP's report is here.

STFU! Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A New York appeals court on Thursday reinstated a limited gag order on Donald Trump, preventing him from making public comments about the law clerk in a civil business fraud case brought by the state. The court in a two-page decision upheld New York Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron's set of orders that prevented Trump and his defense team from mentioning the clerk, who has been the subject of anti-Semitic and other threats and messages since the case began.... A temporary pause on the gag order issued Nov. 16 gave Trump two-week window in which to discuss the clerk publicly. That day, he resumed his complaints and accusations against her on social media." The AP's report, which characterizing the ruling as a "one-sentence decision," is here.

     ~~~ Thanks to D in MD for the link.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: Liz Cheney's "book offers a rare peek inside the Republican cloakroom at what Ms. Cheney, a former representative from Wyoming, heard from her colleagues about 'the Orange Jesus,' as one wryly called Mr. Trump. Here are a half-dozen stories she tells in the book...." Fairly interesting. MB: I am sort of surprised everyone is making such a big deal about the Orange Jesus. I think it's funny, but Cheney mentioned this remark months ago, although she had not previously said which GOP member of Congress had uttered it.

Katherine Rosman, et al., of the New York Times: "As some hostages captured ... in the Hamas-led assault on southern Israel have been released, they have relayed ... stories of their captivity to family members. While their individual experiences differ in some details, their accounts share features that corroborate one another and suggest that Hamas and its allies planned to take hostages. Some of the hostages were held in sweltering tunnels deep beneath Gaza, while others were squeezed into tight quarters with strangers or confined in isolation. There were children forced to appear in hostage videos, and others forced to watch gruesome footage of Hamas's Oct. 7 terrorist attack. They bore physical and psychological wounds.... The freed hostages, many of them children, were deprived of adequate food while in Gaza. Many said they had received just a single piece of bread per day for weeks. Others were fed small portions of rice, or pieces of cheese. The Red Cross said it was denied access to the hostages. Many of the hostages who have returned to Israel in the past week ... have come home malnourished, infested with lice, ill, injured and deeply traumatized."

~~~~~~~~~~

Marisa Iati of the Washington Post: "President Biden on Wednesday slammed conservative firebrand Rep. Lauren Boebert in her own district, the latest move in his effort to use Boebert and other 'MAGA Republicans' as foils in a reelection campaign.... He criticized her for voting against the Inflation Reduction Act, a sprawling climate-and health law that Boebert has decried as 'dangerous for America.'... 'The speaker, Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans here in Congress are committed to protecting outrageous tax cuts for those at the very top,' Biden said in remarks on clean energy at a plant here that makes wind tower turbines. 'And they're going to continue to oppose investing in all those programs that help people.'"

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is proposing new restrictions that would require the removal of virtually all lead water pipes across the country in an effort to prevent another public health catastrophe like the one that came to define Flint, Mich. The proposal on Thursday from the Environmental Protection Agency would impose the strictest limits on lead in drinking water since federal standards were first set 30 years ago. It would affect about nine million pipes that snake throughout communities across the country."

My Kevin: Eating Disorders Therapist. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump was 'really depressed' in the days after losing re-election and leaving office in January 2021, so much so that he was 'not eating.' At least that is what Kevin McCarthy told Liz Cheney in trying to explain why he had traveled to Mr. Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, an act of solidarity that many have identified as a pivotal moment in reviving the former president's political viability. Mr. McCarthy, the California congressman who was then the House Republican leader, had condemned Mr. Trump for fueling the Jan. 6 mob attack on the Capitol and even suggested that he resign, only to turn around and effectively absolve the former president by embracing him again.... Ms. Cheney wrote that she was so shocked when she first saw the photograph of Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Trump standing side by side with grins on their faces that she thought it was a fake." Trump's spokesman & McCarthy "did not deny anything in the book," though the Trumpy guy Steven Cheung trashed Cheney & the book, which he said "should be repurposed as toilet paper." ~~~

     ~~~ AND here's what My Kevin said to Andrew Sorkin of the New York Times at a "Dealbook Summit." (Link is to a Hill story by Lauren Irwin.) MB: If this was My Kevin's attempt to rehabilitate himself, I'm not sure it went well. ~~~

     ~~~ digby wasn't impressed, either.

Jacquline Alemany & Leigh Ann Caldwell of the Washington Post: "During a phone call with [Kevin] McCarthy weeks after his historic Oct. 3 removal as House speaker, [Donald] Trump detailed the reasons he had declined to ask Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other hard-right lawmakers to back off their campaign to oust the California Republican from his leadership position, according to people familiar with the exchange.... During the call, Trump lambasted McCarthy for not expunging his two impeachments and endorse him in the 2024 presidential campaign, according to people familiar with the conversation. 'F--- you,' McCarthy claimed to have then told Trump, when he rehashed the call later to other people in two separate conversations.... A spokesperson for McCarthy said that he did not swear at the former president and that they have a good relationship. A spokesperson for Trump declined to comment."

Zachary Basu of Axios: "Former President Trump ... spent ... 24 hours on Truth Social unleashing a torrent of grievances, vengeful promises and links to online conspiracy theories about his political rivals.... Below is a sampling of Trump's online rhetoric over the last 24 hours[.]" MB: Sort of a fun read, as long as you can pretend Trump will never hold public office again.

Oops! Rachel Weiner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. Circuit said that a district court judge needed to individually review roughly 2,000 communications [among Rep. Scott Perry and others] to decide which ones were 'speech or debate' -- falling under a clause that grants members of Congress immunity fro criminal investigation in their official capacities. But the same appellate panel on Wednesday exposed many of those messages by [briefly and probably accidentally] unsealing that lower court judge's 51-page opinion, previously available only with heavy redactions.... The Justice Department first sought Perry's phone records in August 2022. According to materials unsealed Wednesday, they asked for his communications with multiple people now facing criminal liability for their efforts to keep Trump in office: [Jeffrey] Clark, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell and [Donald] Trump himself."; Politico's story, by Kyle Cheney, is here. MB: The reports include some interesting exchanges, including communications between Perry & that ambitious weasel Jeffrey Clark.

Trump Knowingly Broke the Law. Maggie Haberman & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Not long after federal prosecutors issued a subpoena last year for all the classified documents that former President Donald J. Trump took with him from the White House to his estate in southern Florida, one of his lawyers told him, in no uncertain terms, that it would be a crime if he did not comply with the demand, according to a person familiar with the matter. The lawyer, Jennifer Little, this year related the account of her discussion with Mr. Trump to a grand jury overseen by the special counsel Jack Smith. She is one of several witnesses who prosecutors were told had advised Mr. Trump to cooperate.... As part of her grand jury appearance, Ms. Little told prosecutors that the former president clearly understood her warning, the person familiar with the matter said. Her sworn testimony that Mr. Trump was aware that disregarding the subpoena would be a criminal offense could serve as significant evidence of his consciousness of guilt...." Federal Judge Beryl Howell ordered Little and Trump attorney Evan Corcoran -- who, with Little, advised Trump to comply with the subpoena -- to testify under the crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege. ABC News broke the story here.

Jonah Bromwich & Kate Christobek of the New York Times: "Bankers whom Donald J. Trump is accused of defrauding testified at his civil fraud trial this week that they did not rely on his embellished claims of wealth, lending support to the central plank of the former president's defense.... Mr. Trump has protested the premise of the case, insisting that the banks did their own due diligence and that misstatements in the financial documents would not have affected the overall terms of the loans. It follows, his lawyers have argued, that the alleged fraud had no victim. The bankers who testified this week supported that argument when asked about the loan process." ~~~

~~~ MEANWHILE. Dan Mangan & Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "The financial watchdog overseeing the Trump Organization informed a New York judge on Wednesday about $40 million in cash transfers that were not previously disclosed as required to that court-appointed monitor. The transactions included $29 million sent to ... Donald Trump, which he used to make tax payments, Barbara Jones, the monitor, told Judge Arthur Engoron in a letter filed in Manhattan Supreme Court. The other transfers were for insurance premiums and the $5.6 million that Trump posted in June as security while he appeals a civil jury verdict in favor of the writer E. Jean Carroll for sexually abusing her in the 1990s and for defaming her when she went public with her allegation when he was in the White House. Jones, who is a retired federal judge, was appointed in November 2022 to oversee the financial statements of Trump's company as part of the New York attorney general's $250 million business fraud lawsuit against the Trump Organization, the former president, and his two adult sons."

Lola Fadulu of the New York Times: "Nathan Donald Pelham, a Texas man, was sentenced on Wednesday to two years in federal prison for shooting at local law enforcement officers days before he was scheduled to surrender to the F.B.I. for charges related to illegally entering the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. On April 12, an F.B.I. special agent called Mr. Pelham to tell him that there was a federal misdemeanor warrant for his arrest and that he needed to surrender on April 17, according to the criminal complaint. Mr. Pelham agreed to do so. But later that day, Mr. Pelham's father asked local police to check on his son because he had been threatening to kill himself and had a gun, according to the criminal complaint. When police arrived at Mr. Pelham's home, it was dark and police soon heard a series of gunshots from inside the home. 'The bullet from this gunshot came in so close proximity to myself that I could hear the distinct whistling sound as the bullet traveled by me and then strike a metal object to my right side,' one of the responding officers recalled, according to the criminal complaint."

Presidential Race 2024

There is a clear path to dictatorship in the United States, and it is getting shorter every day. -- Robert Kagan ~~~

~~~ Here's a horrifying op-ed in the Washington Post by conservative Robert Kagan that warns us of all the reasons Donald Trump could win re-election. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Steve M. considers the endorsements for Nikki Haley and sees a conspiracy against Trump! Fun speculation.

Sahil Kapur of NBC News: "Even as his party has backed away from the issue, Donald Trump is doubling down on his calls to replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as 'Obamacare,' if he's elected president again. 'I don't want to terminate Obamacare, I want to REPLACE IT with MUCH BETTER HEALTHCARE. Obamacare Sucks!!!' Trump said in a pair of late-night posts on social media. Trump promised 'much better Healthcare than Obamacare for the American people,' although he hasn't offered a replacement plan."

Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "Democrats, for very good reason, have been in a poll-induced panic for weeks now. Despite a relatively successful presidency and a booming economy, Joe Biden is falling behind Donald Trump in the polls, often by downright startling margins.... But this week, a small ray of hope has opened up, because Trump has indicated that he plans to run an incredibly stupid campaign, focused on two of his least popular political views: the Big Lie and his wish to strip health care away from millions of Americans. Even better, his approach to these two toxic issues suggests that, despite his team's efforts to normalize Trump, his psychotic levels of narcissism will always drag the campaign straight back to his ego obsessions, reminding voters what they most dislike about Trump." (Also linked yesterday.)

Rick Rojas of the New York Times: A "simple red brick church [in Plains, Georgia,], where [Rosalynn] Carter had worshiped for decades, was filled for her funeral on Wednesday with the people who had known her as a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, aunt, neighbor and friend. Her husband, Jimmy, who is 99 and has been in hospice care since February, was also there, sitting in a wheelchair near the front of the church." Includes numerous photos. ~~~

~~~ This New York Times page has a lot of photos of Rosalynn Carter from the time she was a baby until two years ago. (Also linked yesterday.)

Thomas Lippman of the New York Times: "Henry A. Kissinger, a scholar, statesman and celebrity diplomat who wielded unparalleled power over U.S. foreign policy throughout the administrations of Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Gerald Ford, and who for decades afterward, as a consultant and writer, proffered opinions that shaped global politics and business, died Nov. 29 at his home in Connecticut. He was 100. Here's the AP's obituary.~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As some of you may know, I'm too proper-like & delicate to speak ill of the dead. So I'll leave the obit-writing to Akhilleus, who never disappoints: ~~~

An infamous war criminal has died. Every outlet I've seen thus far describes this scheming murderer as a vaunted diplomat. The term diplomat is defined as a person who can deal with people in a sensitive and effective way. I suppose if by effective you mean 'can ensure that those he considers enemies can be killed, or those who come into conflict with those he considers useful friends can be raped, murdered, and buried in a shallow grave', then I suppose Henry Kissinger could be labeled a 'diplomat'. I guess by that light, John Gotti was a diplomat as well. Good riddance. Fucker.

     ~~~ The Huffington Post, to its credit, describes Kissinger in its headline as "America's Most Notorious War Criminal." See also Julia, below, links this New York Times op-ed by Ben Rhodes, who gives an accurate picture of Kissinger and of what his brand of "realism" means to the tale we tell of American "democracy."

Ellen Nakashima, et al., of the Washington Post: "An Indian government employee who described himself as a 'senior field officer' responsible for intelligence ordered the assassination of a Sikh separatist in New York City in May, U.S. prosecutors alleged Wednesday. The court filing heightens scrutiny of India's spy services following similar allegations made by Canadian authorities in September. The government employee, who was not named in the indictment filed in a federal court in Manhattan, recruited an Indian national named Nikhil Gupta to hire a hit man to carry out the assassination, which was foiled by U.S. authorities, according to prosecutors. The court filing did not name the victim, but senior Biden administration officials say the target was Gurpatwant Singh Pannun, general counsel for the New York-based Sikhs for Justice, a group that seeks to carve from India an independent Sikh state called Khalistan."

Kate Conger & Remi Tumin of the New York Times: "Elon Musk hit out at brands that have pulled their advertising from X after he endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the social media platform. Mr. Musk apologized for the post at the DealBook Summit in New York on Wednesday, but said that the advertisers were attempting to 'blackmail' him. His message for those brands was simple: 'Don't advertise' and used an expletive multiple times to emphasize his point." ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, Let's See What That Expletive Was. Karl Paul of the Guardian: "Elon Musk has issued a defiant and profanity-laced message for the advertisers who pulled money from X in recent weeks amid a backlash over his endorsement of an antisemitic tweet and reports of increased hate speech on the platform. Video of the interview, which was widely circulated, showed that Musk said..., 'If someone's going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself.'... He said 'fuck you' numerous times...."

Ian Millhiser of Vox: "Ordinarily, [Elon Musk/X's] lawsuit [against Media Matters] would be the kind of stunt that legal observers could probably ignore.... But the case was just reassigned to Judge Reed O'Connor, a notoriously partisan former Republican Senate staffer, known for handing down poorly reasoned opinions giving major policy victories to right-wing litigants. O'Connor is frequently reversed by the Supreme Court, even though this Court is also quite conservative.... O'Connor's decisions appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a far-right court dominated by Trump appointees and other MAGA loyalists who share O'Connor's penchant for manipulating the law to achieve right-wing results." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in today's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Arizona. Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Two Republicans who lead a rural county in southern Arizona were indicted by a state grand jury this week for allegedly flouting last year's deadline to formally accept the results of the 2022 midterm election. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) on Wednesday announced the felony indictments of Cochise County Supervisors Peggy Judd and Terry Thomas 'Tom' Crosby. The two are charged with interference with an election officer and conspiracy. The indictment states the two county officials conspired to delay the canvass of their county's votes, creating chaos that could have undermined the projected victories of Republicans in a U.S. House seat and the statewide race for schools superintendent. The three-member Cochise County board eventually did vote to certify the results of the election, but only after a judge ordered they do so." ~~~

     ~~~ Rachel Maddow on Monday night, before the indictments, mentioned these scofflaws, whom she said refused to certify the election results even though the results were undisputed and the election was "perfectly normal."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel and Hamas's pause in fighting is 'producing results' and facilitating the freeing of hostages, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday as he met with Israeli leaders, starting a day of discussions in which he hopes to extend the current pause and improve conditions for civilians in Gaza. Israel and Hamas announced early Thursday they would extend the pause in fighting, with Qatar, which has been mediating negotiations, saying the extension would last another day. Hamas freed 16 hostages and Israel released 30 imprisoned Palestinians on Wednesday, and both sides are expected to release more on Thursday." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Thursday are here. CNN's live updates are here: "A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas was extended for a seventh day on Thursday, the Israeli military confirmed, minutes before it was set to expire. Hamas also confirmed the extension of the truce. The Israel Defense Forces said the 'operational pause will continue' amid talks for the release of more hostages. In the hours before the deadline, both Israel and Hamas ratcheted up bellicose rhetoric. Hamas told its military wing to be ready for combat, after Israel's military said it was prepared for the next stage of the war."

~~~ From Wednesday's CNN liveblog on the Israel/Hamas war: "The sixth round of hostages has been handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross, the Israeli military said, citing the organization. This includes 10 Israelis and four Thai nationals, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The hostages are still in Gaza and are on their way to Israeli territory, the IDF said. This handover is separate from the two hostages released earlier that were not part of Israel's hostage deal with Hamas. Those two released had immigrated to Israel from Russia, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum in Israel." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Conversation -- November 29, 2023

From Wednesday's CNN liveblog on the Israel/Hamas war, also linked earlier: "The sixth round of hostages has been handed over by Hamas to the Red Cross, the Israeli military said, citing the organization. This includes 10 Israelis and four Thai nationals, according to the Israel Defense Forces. The hostages are still in Gaza and are on their way to Israeli territory, the IDF said. This handover is separate from the two hostages released earlier that were not part of Israel's hostage deal with Hamas. Those two released had immigrated to Israel from Russia, according to the Hostages and Missing Persons Families Forum in Israel."

Amanda Marcotte of Salon: "Democrats, for very good reason, have been in a poll-induced panic for weeks now. Despite a relatively successful presidency and a booming economy, Joe Biden is falling behind Donald Trump in the polls, often by downright startling margins.... But this week, a small ray of hope has opened up, because Trump has indicated that he plans to run an incredibly stupid campaign, focused on two of his least popular political views: the Big Lie and his wish to strip health care away from millions of Americans. Even better, his approach to these two toxic issues suggests that, despite his team's efforts to normalize Trump, his psychotic levels of narcissism will always drag the campaign straight back to his ego obsessions, reminding voters what they most dislike about Trump."

Ian Millhiser of Vox: "Ordinarily, [Elon Musk/X's] lawsuit [against Media Matters] would be the kind of stunt that legal observers could probably ignore.... But the case was just reassigned to Judge Reed O'Connor, a notoriously partisan former Republican Senate staffer, known for handing down poorly reasoned opinions giving major policy victories to right-wing litigants. O'Connor is frequently reversed by the Supreme Court, even though this Court is also quite conservative.... O'Connor's decisions appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, a far-right court dominated by Trump appointees and other MAGA loyalists who share O'Connor's penchant for manipulating the law to achieve right-wing results." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in today's thread.

This New York Times page has a lot of photos of Rosalynn Carter from the time she was a baby until two years ago.

~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Former President Jimmy Carter emerged from hospice care to join some of his successors and every living presidential spouse on Tuesday to honor Rosalynn Carter, his wife and partner of more than three-quarters of a century and the nation's first lady from 1977 to 1981.... The former president was unable to address the gathering and so left it to others to express his own feelings. Speaking from the pulpit, family and friends honored Mrs. Carter as her husband's alter ego and most important confidant, with her own strong will behind a shy exterior and a determined commitment to helping the world's most vulnerable." (This is an update of a story linked earlier yesterday.) The AP's story is here. ~~~

Nick Robertson of the Hill: In a floor speech Tuesday, "Rep. George Santos (R-N.Y.) made it clear to House colleagues Tuesday that he will not resign his seat, choosing instead to face an expulsion vote this week which he said 'undermines and underscores the precedent we've had in this chamber.' Santos is set to face a third expulsion attempt this week after Rep. Robert Garcia\ (D-Calif.) introduced a privileged resolution on the House floor Tuesday to advance a vote on the matter.... The congressman survived two previous attempts at expulsion, including a vote early this month."

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden, the president's son, who is the subject of an investigation by House Republicans into his family, told Congress on Tuesday that he was willing to testify -- but only publicly so that Republicans cannot twist or selectively leak what he says. In a letter to Congress, Abbe D. Lowell, Mr. Biden's lawyer, criticized the Republican inquiry as a 'partisan crusade,' and said he has watched as Representative James R. Comer, Republican of Kentucky and the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, has used 'closed-door sessions to manipulate, even distort the facts and misinform the public.'... Mr. Comer quickly rejected the offer, insisting that Mr. Biden first speak to the oversight panel behind closed doors, but said that he could still testify publicly down the road." See also Akhilleus' commentary below. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Trials of Trump

The View from Under the Bus: Vlad Gets the Trump Treatment. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "For years..., Donald Trump has avoided agreeing with intelligence assessments that Russian President Vladimir Putin interfered on his behalf during the 2016 presidential election. Most infamously, Trump rejected the American intelligence community's assessment about Russia's actions at a press conference in Helsinki, Finland where he stood next to Putin and said, 'President Putin says it's not Russia, I don't see any reason why it would be.' [But in a legal filing in the federal election interference case against Trump, his] attorneys this week ... dispute special counsel Jack Smith's claims that Trump has damaged Americans' faith in the electoral system by essentially arguing that Putin did it first. [Politico's Kyle Cheney notes in an X post, 'Trump wants people to know that it was Russia, not him, who caused Americans to distrust the election system. He will make this case by relying on intelligence community assessments he and his allies have constantly maligned and disputed.']" Thanks to RAS for the link to the Raw Story post. (Also linked yesterday.)

Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Attorneys representing ... Donald Trump are trying to undermine former Vice President Mike Pence's credibility by suggesting he may be in cahoots with Biden administration prosecutors. In a filing flagged by Politico's Kyle Cheney, Trump attorneys suggested that Pence may have felt incentivized to turn on Trump because of leverage held over him by government prosecutors investigating his handling of classified documents. 'In January 2023, Vice President Mike Pence reportedly turned over at least a "dozen" documents bearing classification markings,' the attorneys argue. 'In February 2023, the FBI found at least one additional classified document at Vice President Pence's home.... The potential charges faced by Vice President Pence gave him an incentive to curry favor with authorities by providing information that is consistent with the Biden Administration's preferred, and false, narrative regarding this case.' In fact, most legal experts predicted that Pence would face no charges at all for his retention of classified documents because, unlike Trump, he cooperated with investigators and did not try to obstruct law enforcement officials...." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Plot Thickens. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "ABC News reported Tuesday that on Christmas Eve 2020, [Vice President] Pence had momentarily decided against presiding [over the Electoral College vote count].... ABC also reported that Pence has testified that Trump personally suggested that he recuse. 'Not feeling like I should attend electoral count,' Pence wrote in notes obtained by special counsel Jack Smith, according to ABC. 'Too many questions, too many doubts, too hurtful to my friend. Therefore I'm not going to participate in certification of election.' Pence testified that he reversed course after a conversation with his son, who cited the vice president's constitutional duty, according to ABC." Trump's (or rather Ken Chesebro & John Eastman's) idea was to have Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) preside and reject critical states' votes, thus supposedly insulating the administration from the coup. The ABC News story, also linked below, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

See Y'all in Court, Fellas. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Fulton county prosecutors do not intend to offer plea deals to Donald Trump and at least two high-level co-defendants charged in connection with their efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, according to two people familiar with the matter, preferring instead to force them to trial. The individuals seen as ineligible include Trump, his former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani. Aside from those three, the Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis has opened plea talks or has left open the possibility of talks with the remaining co-defendants in the hope that they ultimately decide to become cooperating witnesses against the former president, the people said. The previously unreported decision has not been communicated formally and could still change...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "In her new book, former Rep. Liz Cheney paints a scathing portrait of the Republican Party, condemning her former colleagues and party leaders as 'enablers and collaborators,' who after the 2020 election were 'willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump...', who she calls 'the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office.'... Throughout 'Oath and Honor,' Cheney describes how she saw her Republican colleagues go from condemning Trump to falling back in line and supporting his claims of election fraud. Cheney reveals for the first time that [Kevin] McCarthy told her just two days after Election Day that he had talked to Trump and that Trump acknowledged he had lost the 2020 election. 'He knows it's over,' McCarthy said, according to the book. 'He needs to go through all the stages of grief.'... Cheney is also critical of McCarthy's successor, House Speaker Mike Johnson, who 'appeared especially susceptible to flattery from Trump and aspired to being anywhere in Trump's orbit,' she writes."

Presidential Race 2024

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "The Biden campaign on Tuesday seized on former President Trump's assertion that he was 'seriously looking at alternatives' to the Affordable Care Act, warning a second Trump presidency could harm millions of Americans with preexisting conditions. President Biden's reelection team, in a memo first shared with The Hill, cautioned that repealing ObamaCare would strip protections from up to 135 million Americans with preexisting conditions. The 2010 law barred health insurance companies from denying coverage to patients with such conditions 'Whether you have cancer or diabetes, or are simply a woman, Trump's plan means insurance companies would again be able to deny coverage for no reason at all -- other than the fact that they can,' Seth Schuster, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in a statement. 'But Donald Trump doesn't care, because like everything in his life, he only cares about himself -- and turns out, a billionaire doesn't have to worry about his health insurance.'"

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to be the top rival to ... Donald J. Trump." The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nikki Is Coming After Your Social Security. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "So it seems worth looking at what [Nikki] Haley stands for. From a political point of view, one answer might be: nothing. A recent Times profile described her as having 'an ability to calibrate her message to the moment.'... 'Flip-flopping' doesn't really convey the sheer cynicism with which she has shifted her rhetoric and changed her positions.... That said, Haley has shown some consistency on issues of economic and fiscal policy. And what you should know is that her positions on these issues are pretty far to the right.... On fiscal and economic policy, she's a hard-right advocate of tax cuts for the rich and benefit cuts for the working class.... In particular, she seems exceptionally explicit, even among would-be Republican nominees, in calling for an increase in the age at which Americans become eligible for Social Security -- a bad idea that seems to be experiencing a revival."

Better Than Haley. Alison Main of CNN: "Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday he would not sign a six-week federal abortion ban as president because he does not believe such legislation aligns with the views of the American public.... Christie has said that he personally opposes abortion and that he would only sign a federal bill restricting the procedure if it represented a national consensus, something he acknowledges would be difficult in a divided Congress."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Major news outlets devoted dramatically less coverage to ... Donald Trump describing his political enemies as 'vermin' earlier this month than they provided then-Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's 2016 'basket of deplorables' remark in the week following those respective comments."

Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "As the host of global climate talks that begin this week, the United Arab Emirates is expected to play a central role in forging an agreement to move the world more rapidly away from coal, oil and gas. But behind the scenes, the Emirates has sought to use its position as host to pursue a contradictory goal: to lobby on oil and gas deals around the world, according to an internal document made public by a whistle-blower.... The ... details in the nearly 50-page document -- obtained by the Centre for Climate Reporting and the BBC -- have cast a pall over the climate summit, which begins on Thursday. They are indications, experts said, that the U.A.E. is blurring the boundary between its powerful standing as host of the United Nations climate conference, and U.A.E.'s position as one of the world's largest oil and gas exporters." The BBC's story is here. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Robertson of the Hill: "A co-founder of the Students for Trump supporter group was arrested last week on domestic violence charges in North Carolina, according to court documents. Ryan Fournier, who co-founded the organization as a Campbell University student in 2016 and now leads conservative activist group Radical Alert, was charged with assault of a woman and assault with a deadly weapon after an incident last Tuesday. According to court records, Fournier grabbed his girlfriend by the arm and hit her in the head with a handgun." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You may have noticed that I post links to many more articles about Republicans behaving badly than about Democrats behaving badly. That's not because I ignore stories that shine a bad light on Democrats; I don't. I try to post the stories that make the news, no matter the political party of the perp. But the fact is, as far as I can tell, that more Republicans violate the law and/or societal norms than do Democrats. I suspect that's because people drawn to the Democratic party are more geared toward societal interests while Republicans are more apt to be selfish pricks. Just sayin'.

Drew Harwell of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk voiced support Tuesday for Pizzagate, the long-debunked conspiracy theory that led a man to fire a rifle inside a Washington, D.C., restaurant in 2016. The far-right theory, a predecessor to QAnon, alleged that the Clintons and Democratic Party leaders ran a secret satanic child sex ring in a D.C. pizzeria known as Comet Ping Pong.... Musk ... posted a meme on Tuesday implying that the expert who debunked Pizzagate 'went to jail for child porn.' Musk said that 'does seem at least a little suspicious.' The post was viewed more than 15 million times before being deleted at around 2 p.m., less than an hour after this story was published. The meme itself is based on a fabricated headline that suggests Pizzagate was debunked by one person, the disgraced former ABC reporter James Gordon Meek, who pleaded guilty last year to possessing child sexual abuse images and was sentenced to six years in federal prison. Meek covered national security and appeared to have mentioned Pizzagate only once...." ~~~

     ~~~ Ben Goggin of NBC News: "Since Nov. 20, Musk has responded to tweets referring to pizzagate four other times."

     ~~~ Marie: The amazing thing here is that Musk seems to think random tweeters are reliable news sources. Every high-school student should know better. How smart is Elon? One has to wonder.

Jennifer Hassan of the Washington Post: "Robert De Niro has accused the organizers of a film awards ceremony of editing his speech without permission, removing critical remarks of ... Donald Trump and other political comments. De Niro was presenting the Historical Icon and Creator Tribute award at the Gotham Awards on Monday when, mid-speech, he paused and looked confused as he read off the teleprompter. De Niro continued with his speech, then said: 'I just want to say one thing. The beginning of my speech was edited, cut out, I didn't know about it. And I want to read it.' The 80-year-old star, who was presenting an honor for the film 'Killers of the Flower Moon,' in which he stars, then reached for his phone and began reading from what appeared to be the original, unedited script." The Guardian's story is here.

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "As the humanitarian pause in combat in Gaza entered its fifth day Tuesday and more Israeli hostages were exchanged for Palestinian prisoners, international mediators pushed for an even longer break in the conflict. The two sides have agreed to a 48-hour extension of the initial four-day pause in exchange for the release of 20 more Israeli hostages and 60 Palestinian prisoners. Aid organizations hope the break will allow for the delivery of additional desperately needed supplies to the besieged Palestinian enclave, where the humanitarian situation is worsening as winter weather sets in." ~~~

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

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in a New York Times op-ed: "Today, too many Americans are exploiting arguments against Israel and leaping toward a virulent antisemitism. The normalization and intensifying of this rise in hate is the danger many Jewish people fear most.... Too often in Jewish history, legitimate criticism of Israeli policies or even older disputes over religious, economic and political issues have often crossed over into something darker, into attacking Jewish people simply for being Jewish."

Ukraine. et al. Marc Santora & Maria Varenikova of the New York Times: "The wife of Ukraine's military intelligence chief has been poisoned and is recovering in a hospital, Ukrainian intelligence officials said on Tuesday, an incident that has led to widespread speculation that Russia was stepping up efforts to target Ukraine's senior leadership. Andriy Chernyak, an official from the Ukrainian military intelligence agency, said that Marianna Budanova had been poisoned and was receiving treatment. Her husband, Kyrylo Budanov, is the head of the agency known as G.U.R. and is one of the country's most senior military leaders."

Vatican to Evict Cardinal. Jason Horowitz & Ruth Graham of the New York Times: Pope "Francis told a meeting of high-ranking Vatican officials that he intended to throw [U.S.] cardinal [Raymond Burke] out of his Vatican-subsidized apartment and deprive him of his salary as a retired cardinal." Burke has been Francis' chief critic inside the church.

News Lede

AP: "A U.S. Air Force Osprey based in Japan crashed during a training mission Wednesday off of the country's southern coast, killing at least one of the eight crew members, the Japanese coast guard said."