The Conversation -- November 22, 2024

Ben Protess of the New York Times: "A New York judge on Friday postponed ... Donald J. Trump's sentencing in his Manhattan criminal case, confirming that the former and future president would not receive his punishment next week. Mr. Trump was convicted in May of falsifying business records to cover up a sex scandal and was scheduled to be sentenced on Tuesday, but his election victory made that all but impossible. The judge had already decided to halt the sentencing while Mr. Trump's lawyers sought to have the whole case thrown out. Prosecutors from the office of Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, declined to drop the case this week, noting that a jury had already convicted Mr. Trump. But they agreed to delay the sentencing and signaled a willingness to freeze the case for four years while Mr. Trump holds office. So far, the judge, Juan M. Merchan, has not ruled on whether to freeze the case or dismiss it."

Michael Schaffer of Politico Magazine: "Trump won less than 50 percent [of the vote].... The numbers might seem a wee bit jarring to anyone who has been listening to Washington's triumphal Republicans and self-flagellating Democrats -- all of whom seem to have internalized a version of the story that involves a romping, stomping Trump triumph.... Trump's victory was described as 'resounding' by news organizations ranging from the Associated Press to the The Washington Post to the The New York Times to POLITICO. Others offered 'commanding win,' 'runaway win' and 'dominant victory.'" ~~~

~~~ digby: Despite the Trump campaign's claims that his victory was "massive" and "historic," it was neither. Trump himself has claimed to have won "a powerful mandate." And the whole gang is mighty unhappy outlets like the New York Times & Politico Magazine are reporting the facts about his narrow win.

Pete Is One Scary-Crazy Dude. Jason Wilson of the Guardian: "Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump's pick for defense secretary, has written in a book that he could imagine a scenario in which the US armed forces would be used violently in American domestic politics.... He wrote that in the event of a Democratic election victory in the US there would be a 'national divorce' in which 'The military and police &... will be forced to make a choice' and 'Yes, there will be some form of civil war.' Hegseth's 2020 book exhorts conservatives to undertake 'an AMERICAN CRUSADE', to 'mock, humiliate, intimidate, and crush our leftist opponents', to 'attack first' in response to a left he identifies with 'sedition', and he writes that the book 'lays out the strategy we must employ in order to defeat America's internal enemies'." See also Jonathan Chait's Atlantic piece, gift-linked below.

Philip Bump of the Washington Post details how Pam Bondi, Trump's latest pick for attorney general, has flacked for Trump, usually under suspicious circumstances, so Bump has to write sentences like, "an investigation into the interaction determined there was insufficient evidence to file criminal charges."

Florida. Kimberly Leonard of Politico: "Florida will conduct a special election on April 1, 2025 [April Fool's Day], to fill the House seat vacated by Matt Gaetz, kicking off a sprint among Florida Republicans to represent the deep-red district.... On Friday morning, Gaetz said he did not plan to return to Congress but hasn't announced what he'll do next.... The primaries are set for January 28, but whoever wins the GOP nomination will be the heavy favorite over the Democratic pick."

Fenit Nirappil & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "The top health official of the nation's third-largest state called Friday for a halt to adding fluoride to Florida's water, citing controversial studies that suggest the widely hailed public health practice poses a risk to developing brains. Surgeon General Joseph A. Ladapo issued a recommendation citing 'the neuropsychiatric risk associated with fluoride exposure, particularly in pregnant women and children,' and noting the availability of alternative sources of fluoride in toothpaste and mouthwash.... Ladapo's announcement comes three weeks after Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who is ... Donald Trump's choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, said the Trump administration plans to issue a similar recommendation nationwide next year. Kennedy's remarks drew rebukes from public health experts who say that the practice has helped protect Americans' teeth, particularly in vulnerable communities where children might not regularly brush their teeth." Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Texas. Troy Closson of the New York Times: "Texas education officials on Friday approved a new elementary school curriculum that draws from the Bible, the final step of a contentious effort to expand religious instruction in the state. The reading and language arts curriculum, which will be optional for schools, could serve as a model for conservative Christian leaders in other states.... The curriculum incorporates into English lessons stories from the Bible such as Jesus and his Sermon on the Mount, the parable of the Prodigal Son and the Old Testament tale of Esther."

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Fritz Farrow of ABC News: "President Joe Biden on Wednesday awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards at a private ceremony, the White House said. Richards, the daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, left the reproductive health care organization in 2018 after leading it for 12 years. Earlier this year, Richards revealed she was battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer -- the same that killed Biden's son Beau." (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Tucker & Alanna Richer of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused - but not convicted -- of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. She's been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers." MB: There is a reason Trump is choosing awful Floridians for a top job; it has something to do with humiliating Gov. DeSantolini, and I'm not going to bother to figure out just how that is supposed to go down. (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

     ~~~ Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Bondi was a local prosecutor in Hillsborough County [Tampa], Florida, and ran to be the state's attorney general in 2010. In that position, she joined other Republican state attorneys general in suing unsuccessfully to strike down the Affordable Care Act.... In 2013, Trump's charity made a $25,000 contribution to a political group backing Bondi, in violation of federal tax rules. Trump's foundation later called the donation an error. The contribution was additionally controversial because it coincided with Bondi's decision not to pursue fraud complaints against Trump's for-profit real-estate-seminar business. She endorsed Trump in the 2016 Republican primary.... Bondi was among the Trump supporters and surrogates who trumpeted claims without evidence that fraud had occurred in the 2020 election." (This story also is linked below.) MB: So Trump & Bondi also have a kind of criminal bond. Sweet.

⭐ Eric Tucker of the AP: "Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as ... Donald Trump's pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on the former congressman's ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer. The Florida Republican's announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation to lead the Justice Department. 'While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,' Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "Matt Gaetz ... abruptly withdrew his bid to become attorney general on Thursday in the first major political setback for President-elect Donald J. Trump since his election this month. Mr. Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations, but his prospective nomination ran into trouble in the Senate, where Republicans were deeply reluctant to confirm someone to run the same Justice Department that once investigated him for allegations of sex trafficking an underage girl.... Two people with direct knowledge of Mr. Gaetz's thinking said he made the decision to pull out after concluding that he would not have the votes in the Senate for confirmation.... The collapse of Mr. Gaetz's selection underscored the haphazard way that Mr. Trump has gone about assembling his new administration. He picked Mr. Gaetz almost on a whim last week without extensive vetting, knowing that allegations were out there, but essentially daring Senate Republicans to accept him anyway.... Mr. Trump did not indicate who he might select as attorney general instead." MB: Better call Saul. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Gaetz and Vice President-elect JD Vance spent Wednesday courting votes in the Capitol among GOP senators who sit on the Judiciary Committee, one of whom warned that Gaetz's confirmation hearing would be like 'Kavanaugh on steroids.'... In those private meetings, Gaetz and Vance acknowledged that they were lacking the support they needed, according to a person familiar with the discussions.... Gaetz seemed nervous and did not appear familiar with the scope of the Justice Department, the person said.... 'I think that was appropriate,' said Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) when asked for his reaction to the news that Gaetz withdrew.... There was a widespread recognition in Trump's orbit that Gaetz did not have the votes to get confirmed, said a person involved on Trump's team.... Trump had not realized that his announcement of Gaetz's selection would come just before the potential release of a House Ethics Committee report on Gaetz, and was furious at the pick's failure. 'The game changed as of today,' the person said. 'McConnell just told MAGA, "I took down your golden boy in a week."'" (This story also is linked above.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Gaetz has been credibly accused of having sex with a minor, participating in drug-fueled orgies and of trafficking sex workers, he can't get along with his Congressional colleagues, he's barely practiced law, and he's "unfamiliar with the scope of the Justice Department." And here's how the reporters characterize him in the lede to this story: one "of the president-elect's unconventional Cabinet picks." Un-effing-conventional. Right. Choosing Caligula's horse would be "unconventional" (though as Akhilleus pointed out several days ago, not as bad as Trump's picks). ~~~

     ~~~ Scoop! Trump Pulled the Plug. Marc Caputo of the Bulwark: "Eight days after making the snap decision to nominate Matt Gaetz to be the nation's next attorney general, Trump phoned him Thursday morning to tell him he wouldn't get confirmed, according to a source briefed on the conversation. The president-elect explained that Republican senators were too troubled by the sex scandals and investigations surrounding Gaetz and that the constant and salacious distractions had doomed him. 'You don't have the votes,' Trump said, according to the source. 'These senators aren't moving.' Another source familiar with the conversation between Trump and Gaetz said Gaetz had acknowledged he had between four and six Republican votes against him. He could only lose three.... Dumping Gaetz constituted a remarkable about face for Trump, who had not only been adamant that Gaetz would be his attorney general but who had floated the possibility of using a recess appointment to install him." ~~~

~~~ Paula Reid & Sarah Ferris of CNN: "The woman who says she had sex when she was a minor with then-Rep. Matt Gaetz told the House Ethics Committee she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017, sources familiar with her testimony tell CNN. The woman, who was 17 years old at the time, testified that the second sexual encounter, which has not previously been reported, included another adult woman. She also testified to both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit, sources said. After being asked for comment for this story, Gaetz announced he was backing out as ... Donald Trump';s attorney general nominee.... The other woman who was an adult at the time has denied participating in the alleged second encounter, according to multiple sources...." (Also linked yesterday.)

Here's the redacted Monterey, California, police report on the 2017 incident in which a woman told police Pete Hegseth had sexually assaulted her. Via NBC News. New York Times story, by Sharon LaFraniere, linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

⭐~~~ Jonathan Chait of the Atlantic: "Hegseth has devoted a great deal of time to documenting his worldview, including three books published in the past four years.... The man who emerges from the page appears to have sunk deeply into conspiracy theories that are bizarre even by contemporary Republican standards.... He considers himself to be at war with basically everybody to Trump's left, and it is by no means clear that he means war metaphorically.... And given the power he is likely to hold -- command over 2 million American military personnel -- he is almost certainly far more dangerous than any of [Trump's other nominees].... Hegseth puts forward a wide range of familiarly misguided ideas: vaccines are 'poisonous'; climate change is a hoax (they used to warn about global cooling, you know); George Floyd died of a drug overdose and was not murdered; the Holocaust was perpetrated by 'German socialists.' Where Hegseth's thinking begins venturing into truly odd territory is his argument ... that the entire basic design of the U.S. public education system is the product of a century-long, totally successful communist plot.... [He] calls for the 'categorical defeat of the Left,' with the goal of 'utter annihilation,' without which 'America cannot, and will not, survive.'... Hegseth incessantly equates the left to wartime enemies." Oh, read on. Thanks to laura h. for this gift link, which she made at the end of yesterday's Comments. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Should Hegseth make it as far as Senate hearings, it sounds as if Democrats should hold a story time, where they perform dramatic readings of portions of Hegseth's insane rantings. Maybe at the ends of their allotted times they could ask some pointed questions.

Here's CNN's report on the lawsuit against Linda McMahon, Trump choice for Education Secretary, in which plaintiffs (five John Does) allege she "knowingly enabled the sexual exploitation of children by a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employee." Washington Post story, by Reinhard & Bhattarai, linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Here's a moment in the never-ending comedy series, "Trump Grifts": ~~~

Can't Dance, Can't Sing, Sells Guitars. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump announced the release of a series of 'limited edition' signed guitars on Wednesday, with the 'Make America Great Again' emblazoned instruments selling for as much as $10,000. 'Coming Soon! The Limited Edition "45 Guitar. Only 1,300 of each Acoustic and Electric Guitars MADE -- Some personally signed!' announced Trump in a social media post, attached to a photo of him holding one of the guitars. On its website, Trump Guitars boasts it is 'the only guitar officially endorsed by President Donald J. Trump.'" In the monologue embedded yesterday, Jimmy Kimmel says Trump can't play guitar. I would give that a 99.9 percent chance of being true. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: According to Google's dictionary, "retribution" is "punishment inflicted on someone as vengeance for a wrong or criminal act." So 99 percent of Trump's pledge to obtain "retribution" against his perceived enemies is not retribution at all, because the actions of his foes were neither wrong nor criminal. Perhaps Trump really is seeking "retaliation" or "punishment," but there too is an implication that one's adversaries have committed some wrongful act. So in my opinion, Trump is going for pure assault. And here the assault begins: ~~~

~~~ Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday instructed congressional Republicans to block the passage of a bipartisan federal shield bill intended to strengthen the ability of reporters to protect confidential sources, dealing a potentially fatal political blow to the measure -- even though the Republican-controlled House had already passed it unanimously. The call by Mr. Trump makes it less likely that the bill -- the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act -- will reach the Senate floor and be passed before the current session of Congress ends next month.... Mr. Trump issued the edict in a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday afternoon. Citing a 'PBS NewsHour' report about the federal shield legislation, he wrote: 'REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!'

"Mr. Trump has exhibited extreme hostility to mainstream news reporters, whom he has often referred to as 'enemies of the people.' In his first term as president, he demanded a crackdown on leaks that eventually entailed secretly seizing the private communications of reporters, including some from The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN." (Also linked yesterday.)

So we're on about Chapter 3 of the Department of Government Efficiency comedy series, and some familiar characters are about to join the cast: ~~~

~~~ Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The House Oversight Committee announced Thursday that Republicans plan to create a subcommittee that would work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on ... Donald Trump's recently announced advisory group, the 'Department of Government Efficiency.' The GOP-controlled panel said in a post on X that the subcommittee, which would be formed for the next Congress starting in January, would be chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News that the subcommittee would 'align with the Trump administration's priorities to eliminate government waste, streamline the federal government's operations and cut red tape that's stifling jobs and increasing costs for the American people.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As you know, Comer and Greene are old hands at buffoonery, and should be welcome additions to the high jinks. Will Jim keep up his hilarious history of making pratfalls the way he did when "investigating" Joe & Hunter Biden? Who will Miss Margie -- who has blamed Jews for wildfires and Democrats for hurricanes -- pick as the scapegoat for government inefficiency?

Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Speaking on Thursday to a group of young, Democratic elected officials, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made a case for reorienting how the party communicates with voters, even as he warned that expressing outrage at ... Donald J. Trump would not be enough to lead Democrats to victory.... 'We've got to figure out how to take online conversations offline at scale,' he said. 'While it is not obvious how to do that, that is something that through human history until about 15 years ago, we all did. And so we're going to have ways to do that that might on some level be a return to form but on other levels, entail information environment work that is unfamiliar to people who have taken a free press in a democratic society for granted.'"

Greg Sargent of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "You probably missed it, because it created barely a ripple in the media, but last Friday, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump struck down one of President Biden's most pro-worker policies: his effort to ensure that far more Americans benefit from overtime pay. Around four million salaried workers with lower incomes are the losers in this decision, yet it generated startlingly few news stories and no outraged missives from leading columnists.... The Justice Department hasn't said whether it will appeal the decision striking the rule down. It should, to compel Trump to either keep defending it or actively let it die." Read all of Sargent's piece. This isn't about one mean judge; it's about GOP politicians' hypocrisy and their ever-so-fake embrace of working people. (Also linked yesterday.)

It Takes More than $148MM to Shut Up Rudy. Brandi Buchman of the Huffington Post: "A civil contempt hearing is now on the books in Washington, D.C., for Rudy Giuliani -- just a day after two election workers he defamed, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss, notified a judge that they believed the former New York City mayor has continued to smear them publicly. U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ordered Giuliani on Thursday to respond to the motion for civil contempt by Dec. 2.... In recent comments on his podcast..., Giuliani repeated his lie that the mother-daughter duo passed a USB drive to each other containing votes for Joe Biden when they were working the polls at an arena in Atlanta in Nov. 2020.... Giuliani's statements aired on Nov. 12 and Nov. 14.... In one of the podcasts this month, Giuliani claimed the women were 'quadruple-counting votes.' He also seemed to criticize Howell, who will oversee the civil contempt hearing, by calling her 'bloodthirsty.'"

Joyce Vance on Substack: "Voters who ignored the facts about the [excellent] economy and used them as an excuse to vote for Trump weren't people who wanted a change.... They didn't like new policies advanced by the Biden-Harris administration, a more inclusive vision of America where traditionally marginalized people had equal opportunity.... They wanted the 'old stability,' the patriarchy that has run the country for generations. In many ways, that's what's at the heart of the conservative coalition. It's not a rejection of the established order; it's an embrace of it. If that's what Trump voters thought they were getting, they may be sorely disappointed.... People who voted their pocketbook without concern for their children, or at least their ability to find someone to clean their house, are going to be in for a rude awakening. We'll get back on our game and be ready by the time Trump is sworn into office." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tobi Raji of the Washington Post: "Senate Democrats have reached a deal with their Republican counterparts to confirm a dozen judges nominated by President Joe Biden while pulling four of his nominees from consideration, the latest step in a battle over who controls the nation's federal courthouses on the eve of a second Donald Trump presidency.... A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-New York) told The Washington Post that all of Biden's remaining appeals court nominees will be withdrawn as part of the deal struck with Republicans to get 12 lower-court judges confirmed. He said none of the four had the 50 votes needed for Senate confirmation.... Seven other nominees will not advance. They are still in committee or awaiting confirmation hearings....

"At the same time, lawmakers are facing new pushback against a bill that would increase the number of federal judges across the country, with some Democrats reluctant to give Trump more judgeships to fill. The bill -- known as the Judges Act -- was initially bipartisan, passing unanimously in the Senate over the summer. It remained stalled in the House Judiciary Committee on Thursday night as lawmakers headed home for the Thanksgiving recess." The Huffington Post's report is here.

Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Senator Bob Casey, a three-term Democrat from Pennsylvania long seen as an institution in state politics, conceded on Thursday to his Republican challenger, the former hedge-fund executive David McCormick, amid a recount in one of the nation's top Senate races." (Also linked yesterday.)

Thalia Beaty & Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "The U.S. House passed legislation Thursday that would give the Treasury Department unilateral authority to strip the tax-exempt status of nonprofits it claims support terrorism, alarming civil liberties groups about how a second Trump presidency could invoke it to punish political opponents.... The proposal has drawn concern from a range of nonprofits who say it could be used to target organizations, including news outlets, universities, and civil society groups, that a future presidential administration disagrees with. They say it does not offer groups enough due process.... Critics also see it as redundant as it is already against U.S. law to support designated terrorist groups.... The bill passed 219-184, with the majority of the support coming from Republicans who accused Democrats of reversing course in their support for the 'common sense' proposal only after Donald Trump was elected to a second term earlier this month."

Marie: I am happy to report that Monica Hesse of the Washington Post has a column today in which she explains to Rep. Nancy Mace (R-N.C.) the geography of public women's restrooms in the United States, including, presumably in the U.S. Capitol and its adjunct buildings. Hesse also reminds the Congresswoman that if she is super-worried that incoming Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) will see Nancy's ankles while she is using a toilet in a Capitol restroom, that Nancy has her very own private bathroom to which she can repair when the necessity arises.

Audra Burch of the New York Times: "The number of hate groups, as identified by the Southern Poverty Law Center, is resurging after a period of decline during the height of the pandemic.... Flash displays of hate and white power are happening more frequently in the United States, a trend that experts say is a reaction to changing demographics, political turmoil and social catalysts. More than 750 such incidents have taken place since 2020, according to the Anti-Defamation League, with more than half of them occurring in the last 18 months.... Almost every week, small white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups have been descending on downtowns, gathering in public parks or rallying on the grounds of state houses and courthouses across the country.... National experts describe a familiar pattern: Small groups of mostly masked men chant and wave swastika or white power flags in public and yell racial slurs at targets as varied as immigrants, Black people, Jews and L.G.B.T.Q. people. They unfurl offensive banners over highways or post racist fliers in communities. The demonstrations are typically captured on video and ricochet across social media to large audiences."

Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The Chinese government espionage campaign that has deeply penetrated more than a dozen U.S. telecommunications companies is the 'worst telecom hack in our nation's history == by far,' a senior U.S. senator told The Washington Post in an interview this week. The hackers, part of a group dubbed Salt Typhoon, have been able to listen in on audio calls in real time and have in some cases moved from one telecom network to another, exploiting relationships of 'trust,' said Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Virginia), chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a former telecom venture capitalist. Warner added that intruders are still in the networks. Though fewer than 150 victims have been identified and notified by the FBI -- most of them in the D.C. region, the records of people those individuals have called or sent text messages to run into the 'millions,' he said, 'and that number could go up dramatically.'"

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Georgia. How to Cover Up State-sanctioned Womanslaughter. Amy Yurkanin of ProPublica: "Georgia officials have dismissed all members of a state committee charged with investigating deaths of pregnant women. The move came in response to ProPublica having obtained internal reports detailing two deaths. ProPublica reported in September on the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, which the state maternal mortality review committee had determined were preventable. They were the first reported cases of women who died without access to care restricted by a state abortion ban, and they unleashed a torrent of outrage over the fatal consequences of such laws.... 'Confidential information provided to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee was inappropriately shared with outside individuals,' Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, wrote in a letter dated Nov. 8 and addressed to members of the committee. 'Even though this disclosure was investigated, the investigation was unable to uncover which individual(s) disclosed confidential information. Therefore, effective immediately the current MMRC is disbanded, and all member seats will be filled through a new application process.'" Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The appropriate reaction to Toomey's directive is to pass a law requiring that, with the permission of the deceased's heir(s), the record of each incident of preventable death be released to the public. I don't expect the GOP-controlled Georgia legislature to do that, of course.

Illinois. Todd Feurer of CBS News Chicago: "The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for orchestrating a hate crime hoax. Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in jail in 2021, but was released after only six days behind bars while he appealed his case. Smollett has maintained his innocence from the beginning. Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack near his Streeterville apartment in January 2019 after he walked several blocks for a Subway sandwich shop. After police investigated his claims, detectives later focused on Smollett himself, and he was charged with staging a fake hate crime against himself with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who later testified he paid them to stage the attack." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Brazil. Why Does This Sound So Familiar? Ana Ionova of the New York Times: "The Brazilian authorities announced on Thursday that they were recommending criminal charges against former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro over his role in a broad plot to cling to power after he lost the 2022 presidential election. The accusations sharply escalate Mr. Bolsonaro's legal troubles and highlight the extent of what the authorities have called an organized attempt to subvert Brazil's democracy. After Mr. Bolsonaro narrowly lost to the current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist, he refused to acknowledge defeat but left office anyway. Brazil's federal police urged prosecutors to charge Mr. Bolsonaro and three dozen others, including members of his inner circle, for the crimes of 'violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, coup d'état and criminal organization.'

"The charges are the culmination of a sweeping two-year investigation in which police raided homes and offices, arrested senior aides to Mr. Bolsonaro and secured confessions and plea deals with people involved in the plot. The announcement comes two days after four members of an elite military unit, including a former top aide to Mr. Bolsonaro, were arrested and accused of planning to assassinate Mr. Lula shortly before he took office in January 2023."

The Conversation -- November 21, 2024

Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "Senator Bob Casey, a three-term Democrat from Pennsylvania long seen as an institution in state politics, conceded on Thursday to his Republican challenger, the former hedge-fund executive David McCormick, amid a recount in one of the nation's top Senate races."

Eric Tucker & Alanna Richer of the AP: "... Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration. Bondi is a longtime Trump ally and was one of his lawyers during his first impeachment trial, when he was accused -- but not convicted -- of abusing his power as he tried to condition U.S. military assistance to Ukraine on that country investigating then-former Vice President Joe Biden. Bondi was among a group of Republicans who showed up to support Trump at his hush money criminal trial in New York that ended in May with a conviction on 34 felony counts. She's been a chair at the America First Policy Institute, a think tank set up by former Trump administration staffers." MB: There is a reason Trump is choosing awful Floridians for a top job; it has something to do with humiliating Gov. DeSantolini, and I'm not going to bother to figure out just how that is supposed to go down.

⭐ Eric Tucker of the AP: "Matt Gaetz withdrew Thursday as ... Donald Trump's pick for attorney general following continued scrutiny over a federal sex trafficking investigation that cast doubt on the former congressman's ability to be confirmed as the nation's chief federal law enforcement officer. The Florida Republican's announcement came one day after meeting with senators in an effort to win their support for his confirmation.... 'While the momentum was strong, it is clear that my confirmation was unfairly becoming a distraction to the critical work of the Trump/Vance Transition,' Gaetz said in a statement announcing his decision.' ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "Matt Gaetz ... abruptly withdrew his bid to become attorney general on Thursday in the first major political setback for ... Donald J. Trump since his election this month. Mr. Gaetz has consistently denied the allegations, but his prospective nomination ran into trouble in the Senate, where Republicans were deeply reluctant to confirm someone to run the same Justice Department that once investigated him for allegations of sex trafficking an underage girl.... Two people with direct knowledge of Mr. Gaetz's thinking said he made the decision to pull out after concluding that he would not have the votes in the Senate for confirmation.... The collapse of Mr. Gaetz's selection underscored the haphazard way that Mr. Trump has gone about assembling his new administration. He picked Mr. Gaetz almost on a whim last week without extensive vetting, knowing that allegations were out there, but essentially daring Senate Republicans to accept him anyway.... Mr. Trump did not indicate who he might select as attorney general instead." MB: Better call Saul. ~~~

~~~ Paula Reid & Sarah Ferris of CNN: "The woman who says she had sex when she was a minor with then-Rep. Matt Gaetz told the House Ethics Committee she had two sexual encounters with him at one party in 2017, sources familiar with her testimony tell CNN. The woman, who was 17 years old at the time, testified that the second sexual encounter, which has not previously been reported, included another adult woman. She also testified to both sexual encounters in a civil deposition as part of a related lawsuit.... After being asked for comment for this story, Gaetz announced he was backing out as ... Donald Trump's attorney general nominee.... The other woman who was an adult at the time has denied participating in the alleged second encounter, according to multiple sources...."

Fritz Farrow of ABC News: "President Joe Biden on Wednesday awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards at a private ceremony, the White House said. Richards, the daughter of the late Texas Gov. Ann Richards, left the reproductive health care organization in 2018 after leading it for 12 years. Earlier this year, Richards revealed she was battling glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer -- the same that killed Biden's son Beau."

Greg Sargent of the New Republic, republished by Yahoo! News: "You probably missed it, because it created barely a ripple in the media, but last Friday, a federal judge appointed by Donald Trump struck down one of President Biden's most pro-worker policies: his effort to ensure that far more Americans benefit from overtime pay. Around four million salaried workers with lower incomes are the losers in this decision, yet it generated startlingly few news stories and no outraged missives from leading columnists.... The Justice Department hasn't said whether it will appeal the decision striking the rule down. It should, to compel Trump to either keep defending it or actively let it die." Read all of Sargent's piece. This isn't about one mean judge; it's about GOP politicians' hypocrisy and their ever-so-fake embrace of working people.

Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Wednesday instructed congressional Republicans to block the passage of a bipartisan federal shield bill intended to strengthen the ability of reporters to protect confidential sources, dealing a potentially fatal political blow to the measure -- even though the Republican-controlled House had already passed it unanimously. The call by Mr. Trump makes it less likely that the bill -- the Protect Reporters from Exploitative State Spying Act, or PRESS Act -- will reach the Senate floor and be passed before the current session of Congress ends next month.... Mr. Trump issued the edict in a post on his Truth Social platform Wednesday afternoon. Citing a 'PBS NewsHour' report about the federal shield legislation, he wrote: 'REPUBLICANS MUST KILL THIS BILL!'

"Mr. Trump has exhibited extreme hostility to mainstream news reporters, whom he has often referred to as 'enemies of the people.' In his first term as president, he demanded a crackdown on leaks that eventually entailed secretly seizing the private communications of reporters, including some from The New York Times, The Washington Post and CNN."

Here's the redacted Monterey, California, police report on the 2017 incident in which a woman told police Pete Hegseth had sexually assaulted her. Via NBC News. New York Times story, by Sharon LaFraniere, linked below.

Here's CNN's report on the lawsuit against Linda McMahon, Trump choice for Education Secretary, in which plaintiffs (five John Does) allege she "knowingly enabled the sexual exploitation of children by a World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) employee." Washington Post story, by Reinhard & Bhattarai, linked below.

So we're on about Chapter 3 of the Department of Government Efficiency comedy series, and some familiar characters are about to join the cast: ~~~

~~~ Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "The House Oversight Committee announced Thursday that Republicans plan to create a subcommittee that would work with Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy on ... Donald Trump's recently announced advisory group, the 'Department of Government Efficiency.' The GOP-controlled panel said in a post on X that the subcommittee, which would be formed for the next Congress starting in January, would be chaired by Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga. Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., told Fox News that the subcommittee would 'align with the Trump administration's priorities to eliminate government waste, streamline the federal government's operations and cut red tape that's stifling jobs and increasing costs for the American people.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: As you know, Comer and Greene are old hands at buffoonery, and should be welcome additions to the high jinks. Will Jim keep up his hilarious history of making pratfalls the way he did when "investigating" Joe & Hunter Biden? Who will Miss Margie -- who has blamed Jews for wildfires and Democrats for hurricanes -- pick as the scapegoat for government inefficiency?

Oh, here's a moment in the never-ending comedy series, "Trump Grifts": ~~~

Can't Dance, Can't Sing, Sells Guitars. Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump announced the release of a series of 'limited edition' signed guitars on Wednesday, with the 'Make America Great Again' emblazoned instruments selling for as much as $10,000. 'Coming Soon! The Limited Edition '45 Guitar. Only 1,300 of each Acoustic and Electric Guitars MADE -- Some personally signed!' announced Trump in a social media post, attached to a photo of him holding one of the guitars. On its website, Trump Guitars boasts it is 'the only guitar officially endorsed by President Donald J. Trump.'" In the monologue embedded below, Jimmy Kimmel says Trump can't play guitar. I would give that a 99.9 percent chance of being true.

Joyce Vance on Substack: "Voters who ignored the facts about the [excellent] economy and used them as an excuse to vote for Trump weren't people who wanted a change.... They didn't like new policies advanced by the Biden-Harris administration, a more inclusive vision of America where traditionally marginalized people had equal opportunity.... They wanted the 'old stability,' the patriarchy that has run the country for generations. In many ways, that's what's at the heart of the conservative coalition. It's not a rejection of the established order; it's an embrace of it. If that's what Trump voters thought they were getting, they may be sorely disappointed.... People who voted their pocketbook without concern for their children, or at least their ability to find someone to clean their house, are going to be in for a rude awakening. We'll get back on our game and be ready by the time Trump is sworn into office." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Georgia. How to Cover Up State-sanctioned Womanslaughter. Amy Yurkanin of ProPublica: "Georgia officials have dismissed all members of a state committee charged with investigating deaths of pregnant women. The move came in response to ProPublica having obtained internal reports detailing two deaths. ProPublica reported in September on the deaths of Amber Thurman and Candi Miller, which the state maternal mortality review committee had determined were preventable. They were the first reported cases of women who died without access to care restricted by a state abortion ban, and they unleashed a torrent of outrage over the fatal consequences of such laws.... 'Confidential information provided to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee was inappropriately shared with outside individuals,' Dr. Kathleen Toomey, commissioner of the state Department of Public Health, wrote in a letter dated Nov. 8 and addressed to members of the committee. 'Even though this disclosure was investigated, the investigation was unable to uncover which individual(s) disclosed confidential information. Therefore, effective immediately the current MMRC is disbanded, and all member seats will be filled through a new application process.'" Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The appropriate reaction to Toomey's directive is to pass a law requiring that, with the permission of the deceased's heir(s), the record of each incident of preventable death be released to the public. I don't expect the GOP-controlled Georgia legislature to do that, of course.

Illinois. Todd Feurer of CBS News Chicago: "The Illinois Supreme Court on Thursday overturned former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett's conviction for orchestrating a hate crime hoax. Smollett was convicted of five counts of disorderly conduct and sentenced to 150 days in jail in 2021, but was released after only six days behind bars while he appealed his case. Smollett has maintained his innocence from the beginning. Smollett claimed he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack near his Streeterville apartment in January 2019 after he walked several blocks for a Subway sandwich shop. After police investigated his claims, detectives later focused on Smollett himself, and he was charged with staging a fake hate crime against himself with brothers Abel and Ola Osundairo, who later testified he paid them to stage the attack."

~~~~~~~~~~

Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Federal investigators have established a web of payments among Matt Gaetz [-- Trump's pick for attorney general --] and dozens of friends and associates who are said to have taken part with him in drug-fueled sex parties, according to a document obtained by The New York Times.... Among those who received money from Mr. Gaetz were two women who have testified that he hired them for sex, according to the document and a lawyer for the two women. The lawyer said payments to the women ultimately totaled around $10,000. The document obtained by The Times was assembled by federal investigators during a sex-trafficking investigation into Mr. Gaetz.... It shows how Mr. Gaetz and a friend sent thousands of dollars through Venmo to dozens of people who, according to testimony that is said to have been given to federal and congressional investigators, were involved in sex parties from 2017 to 2020.

"Among those who received payment from Mr. Gaetz's friend, the document shows, was another woman who, according to people familiar with details of the case, was 17 when she attended one of the parties.... The document uses thumbnail photos of Mr. Gaetz, dozens of women and several other men to show how payments flowed between them. Lines with arrows connect the men and the women, showing, among other things, how much Mr. Gaetz and his associates paid the women." Take a look at the Gaetz Venmo payments chart, published in Schmidt's report. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Schmidt writes that "The document was obtained by the House Ethics Committee...." so obviously his source is a Democrat on the committee (either a member or a staffer), because ~~~

~~~ Emily Brooks & Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "The House Ethics Committee met Wednesday but did not release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz, resisting significant pressure to release its findings after ... Trump selected the controversial Florida Republican to be his attorney general.... The panel, which met behind closed doors, took multiple votes, a source familiar with the situation told The Hill, including one to release the report as-is, which failed, another to publish just the exhibits associated with the report, which also failed, and a third to formally 'complete' the report, which passed in a bipartisan fashion.... The committee is scheduled to meet again Dec. 5 'to further consider this matter,' according to Rep. Susan Wild (Pa.), the top Democrat on the panel." ~~~

     ~~~ Juliegrace Brufke of Axios: "The House Ethics Committee will not release its report on former Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) after Republicans on the panel voted against making the findings public.... The 10-member panel, which is evenly split between Republicans and Democrats -- voted along party lines..., falling short of the majority vote needed to compel the report's release." ~~~

~~~ Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: "House Ethics Committee investigators probing sexual misconduct allegations against former congressman Matt Gaetz obtained records showing that he paid more than $10,000 to two women who testified before the committee, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material. The records that were exhibited during closed-door testimony displayed 27 PayPal and Venmo payments disbursed between July 2017 and January 2019 totaling over $10,000 paid to the two witnesses, that person said. Some of the payments were for sex, the witnesses testified to the committee." The ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ As Akhilleus wrote earlier this week, "I haven't read anything about [Gaetz] actually raping anyone.... Trump is different. He just goes after women whether they&'re interested or not. He's no better than any other rapist doing time for their crimes." ~~~

~~~ Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking the FBI to provide all documents related to its closed sex trafficking investigation into Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), to ensure the material is considered at his confirmation hearing next year.... Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and other Senate Democrats on the committee requested the evidentiary file on Gaetz's alleged sex trafficking in a letter to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Wednesday."

Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "... Donald Trump has picked Matthew G. Whitaker, who briefly served as acting attorney general in the first Trump administration, to serve as ambassador to NATO in the next one.Mr. Whitaker, 55, served for about three months as the nation's top law enforcement official after Jeff Sessions stepped down, and before William P. Barr was confirmed to succeed him. His short tenure at the helm of the Justice Department was marked by internal tensions and distrust.... Mr. Whitaker does not bring foreign policy experience to a job that may serve as a focal point for Mr. Trump's complaints about how much the U.S. pays to help the North Atlantic Treaty Organization keep Europe secure. Mr. Trump has repeatedly voiced skepticism about the alliance, and he has long threatened to withdraw from it. The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: On the other hand, Whitaker does have a background as an investor in an "investment promotion scam." One of the promoted products: big-dick toilets.

Dani Blum, et al., of the New York Times: "On and off the screen, [Dr. Mehmet Oz -- Trump's choice to run the $1 trillion Department of Health & Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services --] has used his influence as one of the nation's most recognizable doctors to champion healthy habits like a nutritious diet. But he has also sown misinformation -- about Covid treatments, weight loss hacks and unproven supplements. He has invested in drug companies, even as he has publicly taken aim at Big Pharma, and has profited from a medical device that he helped invent but that has been subject to several recalls. Over roughly two decades in the public eye, Dr. Oz has drawn the ire of medical experts, members of Congress and even his own peers, including a group of 10 doctors who called for him to be fired from a faculty position at Columbia University, arguing he had shown a 'disdain for science.' (The university appeared to quietly cut its public ties with the physician in 2022.)... Here are five key areas of Dr. Oz's track record on health."

Ooh, Yuck. Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "A police report released Wednesday night provided graphic details about a sexual assault accusation against Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald J. Trump's pick for defense secretary. The report also documents Mr. Hegseth's vehement denials that he coerced the complainant into a sexual encounter at a Monterey, Calif., political conference seven years ago. Mr. Hegseth was never charged with a crime.... The woman, referred to throughout the report as Jane Doe, said Mr. Hegseth took her phone, blocked his hotel room door when she tried to leave, and sexually assaulted her, ejaculating on her stomach. She said that her memory was hazy, and that she had drunk far more alcohol than usual throughout the day. Mr. Hegseth told the police that he repeatedly sought the woman's consent for sex, making sure 'she was comfortable with what was going on,' including the fact he was not using a condom."

Rachel Roubein & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "... in interviews this week, a half-dozen GOP lawmakers said they had questions or outright concerns about [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s] nomination [to be Secretary of Health & Human Services], with several citing his vaccine skepticism.... 'We've got a process,' said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), a physician and incoming chairman of the Senate Health Committee, adding that Kennedy would get an opportunity to 'define' his views on vaccines when facing lawmakers.... [Kennedy's] selection has alarmed federal health leaders and medical groups, who say Kennedy should be nowhere near the nation's public health infrastructure given that he has repeated debunked claims about vaccines and made other false or questionable assertions.... In interviews Monday and Tuesday with nearly two dozen senators, several GOP lawmakers said they enthusiastically supported Kennedy's candidacy." MB: I have a feeling that somehow Bobby Jr. will be able to satisfy the senators' "concerns." (Also linked yesterday.)

Beth Reinhard & Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Linda McMahon resigned 15 years ago from [World Wrestling Entertainment], leaving that televised spectacle behind as she sharpened her public image as a political power broker, donating tens of millions of dollars to Republicans, running for the U.S. Senate and leading the Small Business Administration during ... Donald Trump's first term. But ... a lawsuit against Linda and Vince McMahon is bringing fresh scrutiny to long-running claims that they mistreated WWE workers. Vince McMahon is also facing separate allegations [currently under investigation by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York] of sexual abuse and trafficking.... Linda and Vince McMahon face a ... civil suit filed in October by five anonymous plaintiffs who worked decades ago as 'ring boys,' teenagers who helped set up WWE events. The plaintiffs claim the McMahons were aware they were being sexually abused by other high-ranking WWE employees and did not do enough to protect them.... 'Linda is this well-spoken, congenial, bright, well-dressed woman executive, but she helped run a testosterone-fueled business that was seen as very sleazy for a long time,' said Dave Meltzer, a pro wrestling expert...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump "called Vince McMahon 'a fantastic guy, and one of the best ever' in an interview last year, after details of the federal investigation had begun to surface...," according to the linked report. So if SDNY doesn't get on the stick & bring charges against Vince McMahon within the next six weeks, I expect the federal investigation into his mistreatment of young male employees will get "disappeared."

Trump's Administration: Sleazy Teevee Personalities, Project 2025 Alum ... Oh, and Sex Offenders. ~~~

Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "After an election where podcasts and influencers played an outsize role, conservatives were quick to declare that traditional media was dead. Turns out a lot of it is just moving into the West Wing.... Donald J. Trump, whose rise was fueled by reality TV stardom, is once again turning to television to recruit the key cast members of his new administration.... At [the rate he is choosing TV personalities], the second season of the Trump administration may end up with more television stars than the first one.... One difference this time around is the sheer size and responsibility of the positions Mr. Trump is filling with figures who are better known for on-air punditry than managerial skill." ~~~

~~~ Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "... Trump ... is assembling an administration that includes some picks for key positions that stand in stark contrast to his repeated efforts to distance himself from Project 2025. The most striking example would be Russ Vought, whom Trump is leaning toward appointing to lead the White House budget office. Vought, who held the same role during Trump's first term, was an architect of Project 2025.... Trump has named at least four other nominees who are credited by name in Project 2025...: Tom Homan, Trump's pick for 'border czar'; John Ratcliffe, Trump's planned nominee for CIA director; Brendan Carr, his selection to head the Federal Communications Commission; and Pete Hoekstra, Trump's selection for ambassador to Canada.... One of the groups that advised Project 2025, America First Legal, is led by Stephen Miller, a former top Trump aide whom Trump has now picked to return to the White House as assistant to the president, deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser."

Marie: In a New York Times article by Charlie Savage & Michael Gold (pub. Nov. 18) on Trump's plans to use the military to aid in deporting undocumented immigrants, the reporters write -- down in Paragraph 24, if my count is correct -- "And the [Trump deportation] team plans to stop issuing citizenship-affirming documents, like passports and Social Security cards, to infants born on domestic soil to undocumented migrant parents in a bid to end birthright citizenship." Well, that's a bit of a big deal, innit? David Badash of the New Civil Rights Movement writes that "Trump himself has declared, 'going forward, the future children of illegal aliens will not receive automatic U.S. citizenship.'... Constitutional law professor and political scientist Anthony Michael Kreis last week said,'Birthright citizenship is a foundational concept in American constitutional law. It is a betrayal of the 14th Amendment to suggest otherwise or that it can be discarded with ease....'" ~~~

     ~~~ So Tom Sullivan of Digby's Hullabaloo asks rhetorically, "If Trump is allowed to revoke the citizenship of some people born in the United States, what's to stop him from expanding dispossession to anyone he deems insufficiently servile, including Black Americans for whom the post-Civil War amendment was principally written? What other amendments or clauses might Trump dismiss with a wave of his stubby fingers?" Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You might answer the what's-to-stop-him question with, "Why, the Supreme Court!" Ha ha ha. Just kidding.

Jeff Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy vowed 'mass headcount reductions' to the federal government in an opinion piece Wednesday that sketched out their vision for ... Donald Trump's 'Department of Government Efficiency' in the greatest detail so far. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Musk and Ramaswamy laid out their plans to slash federal regulations, cut government spending and significantly reduce the number of federal employees. Trump tapped the two with running the DOGE initiative last week, but basic questions about the effort -- including its goals, operations and authorities -- have primarily remained a source of speculation." Read on. The Hill's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know this is horrible, but I find the copycat Nazi aspects of the Department of Government Efficiency comical, if in a sickening way. I doubt Elon & Vivek have any realization of what horrid little fascists they are. I cannot take them seriously. I mean, they're planning to tell federally-employed "legal experts" to tell them how they can lawfully eliminate their own jobs. Do they think this will work? who wrote their WSJ op-ed? Charlie Chaplin ("The Great Dictator") or Mel Brooks ("Springtime for Hitler")?

Paul Campos in LG&$: "If you are saying that Donald Trump won a free and fair election, you are lying to yourself.... Donald Trump's re-election wasn't free and fair in a whole bunch of ways, including the fact that it was enabled by enormous amounts of mind-poisoning propaganda, foreign and domestic.... Specifically... the US Constitution would disqualify him from holding the office to which he was just re-elected. Donald Trump tried to overthrow the government by staying in the presidency after he lost an election. That is the very definition of committing insurrection against the lawful government of the United States. The 14th amendment was adopted specifically to bar people like Donald Trump -- insurrectionists -- from holding federal office." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But but but. Campos is forgetting our Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously this past March that states could not remove Trump from the ballot for violating the 14th Amendment. The Trump judges declare that only Congress -- via specific legislation -- could interpret the 14th Amendment to mean Donald Trump was disqualified. That is to say, the states could not remove Trump, the Congress chose not to remove him, and the Supremes said that's the way it is. Why, Kavanaugh was even muttering into his beer about "democracy" and fretting about "disenfranching voters."

Adam Reiss, et al., of NBC News: "Donald Trump's attorneys are demanding the judge who presided over his New York hush money trial and conviction immediately throw out the case, saying it would be 'uniquely destabilizing to the country' otherwise. 'Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump's overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election,' attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan that was made public Wednesday. The letter also cited presidential immunity as a reason to dismiss the case, and maintained Trump is already protected by it." (Also linked yesterday.)

Pravenna Somasundaram of the Washington Post: "A Tennessee man who was recently convicted of assaulting a police officer during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was found guilty in a separate case Wednesday for plotting to kill the law enforcement agents who investigated his role in the insurrection, the Justice Department said. A federal jury convicted Edward Kelley, 35, of Maryville, Tennessee, of conspiring to murder federal employees, including FBI agents. Prosecutors said he created a 'kill list' of the law enforcement staff who investigated him and had planned to attack an FBI office in Knoxville, Tennessee, with car bombs and incendiary devices."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd

"Morning Joke." Erik Wemple of the Washington Post, who -- obviously -- works for a newspaper, writes (five times) that instead of watching MSNBC's "Morning Joe," "You're better off reading a newspaper." MB: I confess I've never watched the show, but I've heard it quite a few times, because I preferred MSNBC's early-morning show to CNN's, so I still had the dial set to MSNBC when "Morning Joe" came on the air. In fact, I've at times had the teevee stuck on MSNBC so long that I found out MSNBC re-airs the first hour of "Morning Joe" later in the morning. You get to hear the same drivel twice!

In yesterday's Comments, Patrick quite rightly complained that in a New York Times article I had linked, the author Devlin Barrett wrote about "... Mr. Trump's complaints about how much the U.S. pays to help the North Atlantic Treaty Organization keep Europe secure." Patrick wrote, "We don't 'pay to keep Europe secure.'" The construction of the sentence in dispute is such that one could interpret Barrett to mean (1) only that Trump complained about the U.S. paying to keep Europe safe. However, the sentence can just as fairly be interpreted to mean (2) "it's a fact that the U.S. pays to keep Europe safe." Given Barrett's history, I'll go with (2) ... because this is the same Devlin Barrett, a veteran reporter & Pulitzer Prize winner who worked for the Washington Post before joining the Times. Marcy Wheeler wrote this about him in July 2023, "Regurgitating right wing law enforcement claims of scandal credulously is what Devlin seems to do best.... Right wingers seem to like Devlin because he can be trusted to write down what they tell him to write, rather than write what the evidence they describe would indicate." And of course Marcy had the goods to prove her point. (BTW, it was Patrick who first cited Wheeler's critique of Barrett.) That is, it's fair to say that Barrett has adopted Trump's view that the U.S. is paying to keep Europe safe.

David McCabe of the New York Times: "The Justice Department and a group of states asked a federal court late Wednesday to force Google to sell Chrome, its popular web browser, a move that could fundamentally alter the $2 trillion company's business and reshape competition on the internet. The request follows a landmark ruling in August by Judge Amit P. Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that found Google had illegally maintained a monopoly in online search. Judge Mehta asked the Justice Department and the states that brought the antitrust case to submit solutions by the end of Wednesday to correct the search monopoly. Beyond the sale of Chrome, the government asked Judge Mehta to give Google a choice: either sell Android, its smartphone operating system, or bar Google from making its services mandatory on phones that use Android to operate. If Google broke those terms, or the remedies failed to improve competition, the government could force the company to sell Android at a later date. In a sweeping filing, the government also asked the judge to stop Google from entering into paid agreements with Apple and others to be the automatically selected search engine on smartphones and in browsers. Google should also be required by the court to allow rival search engines to display the company's results and access its data for a decade, the government said." ~~~

~~~ Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced on Thursday that it would subject the largest technology companies to regular inspections and other rigorous oversight, paving the way for the agency to closely monitor the payment services offered by Apple, Google and PayPal-owned Venmo. The new rules amount to a major expansion in the power and reach of the nation's chief financial watchdog, allowing regulators new and unfettered access to tech giants that offer digital financial tools -- much in the same way the U.S. government long has closely monitored traditional banks and credit unions. The CFPB did not specifically name the companies it plans to subject to heightened review.... But the fate of the CFPB's new regulations face immediate political and legal doubt: Their fate may rest in the hands of ... Donald Trump and the new Republican majority in the House and Senate, which have historically criticized the CFPB for overreach."

Maegan Vazquez & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Wednesday that transgender individuals would not be allowed into restroom facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, announcing the rule change about two weeks after Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware became the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress. 'All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings == such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms -- are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,' Johnson said in a statement. 'It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women's only spaces.'" The ABC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wow, Mike! I'm glad you're "treating all persons with dignity and respect." (See AP story linked below.)

~~~~~~~~~~

Florida. Vimal Patel of the New York Times: "Florida has become a testing ground for a raft of conservative policies meant to limit or expunge what Republicans describe as 'woke' indoctrination in the state's schools and colleges.... The slashing of core classes across the state, which has often been based on course titles and descriptions, is meant to comply with a state law passed last year that curbed 'identity politics' in the curriculum. Faculty and student critics have said this latest effort infringes on university autonomy and could reduce students' exposure to courses they believe are necessary for a well-rounded education.... Rather than trying to regulate what a professor can and cannot say -- a legally questionable tactic -- the new strategy is taking aim at entire courses."

Texas. Qasim Nauman of the New York Times: "A federal jury on Wednesday awarded nearly $100 million to the family of Botham Shem Jean, a Black man who was eating ice cream and watching television at home in Dallas when he was shot dead by a white police officer six years ago. Amber R. Guyger, the officer who killed Mr. Jean, used excessive force and violated Mr. Jean's constitutional rights, the jury concluded. It ordered Ms. Guyger to pay civil penalties to Mr. Jean's family of $60 million in punitive damages and $38.65 million for their loss and suffering. The civil trial was held in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The shooting in 2018 set off widespread anger and protests, helping to sharpen focus on the use of violence by law enforcement officers against unarmed Black people in the United States.... It was unclear whether the Jean family would ever see any of the money.... Ms. Guyger was fired by the Dallas Police Department after the shooting. She was found guilty of murder and sentenced in 2019 to 10 years in prison."

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in Israel's wars are here: "The International Criminal Court on Thursday issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant, 'for crimes against humanity and war crimes' over the war in Gaza. The court also issued a warrant for Hamas military leader, Mohammed Deif, who was killed in an airstrike in Gaza in July, according to Israeli officials. Prosecutors were not able to confirm whether he is dead or alive, the chamber said, so they issued the warrant. The court also rejected Israel's challenge to its jurisdiction over 'the situation in the State of Palestine' and over Israeli nationals....

"The United States vetoed a resolution put forward Wednesday in the U.N. Security Council calling for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip. The United States could not support the cease-fire resolution because it was not contingent on the release of hostages still held in Gaza and because it did not condemn Hamas, U.S. representative Robert Wood said.... Talks over a cease-fire in Lebanon are continuing, with U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein in Israel for discussions with Israeli officials, according to local media. Hochstein left Beirut on Wednesday after two days of meetings with Lebanese officials."

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday resoundingly rejected a series of three resolutions to block weapons transfers to Israel, but the move to curtail American support for the war in Gaza drew substantial support from Democrats, reflecting growing consternation in the party over the conflict. Seventeen Senate Democrats and two independents backed at least one of the measures, a display of deepening divisions over Israel's conduct after 13 months of war and the deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinians. The vote showed that support for restricting Israel's military operations has grown beyond just the most progressive lawmakers, with notably more senators joining them than in previous efforts.

"The measures were offered by Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, who has been a vocal critic of Israel's tactics in the war. He has also been a frequent critic of the Biden administration for continuing to support Israel militarily despite ample evidence of human rights violations in Gaza. In the days since the election, he has also argued that the administration's Israel policy is partially to blame for the Democrats' election losses."

Ukraine/Russia, et al.

David Stern & Ellen Francis of the Washington Post: "Russian forces launched an intercontinental ballistic missile at the eastern Ukrainian city of Dnipro, Ukraine's air force said Thursday -- an attack that, if confirmed, would represent a dramatic intensification in the missile war between the two nations.... Russia's Defense Ministry said in its daily report Thursday that its air defense systems 'shot down two U.K.-made Storm Shadow cruise missiles,' but it did not provide any further details. Russian military bloggers reported earlier that the missiles were fired at targets in Russia's Kursk region. British media outlets, including the BBC, confirmed the attacks, citing unidentified officials, but there have been no official statements."

Helene Cooper of the New York Times: "Ukraine fired a number of British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia's Kursk region on Wednesday, a day after firing American long-range missiles into the country, according to Pentagon and Ukrainian officials. Moscow has said that the use of Western weapons to strike deeper into Russian territory is a major escalation, and for months that stance had kept the United States and Britain from allowing Kyiv to use the American long-range missiles or the Storm Shadows. But President Biden last week authorized the first use of the American Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, deep inside Russia.... Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain quickly followed suit, authorizing Ukraine to use the Storm Shadows, officials said. Britain had previously allowed Ukraine to use the missiles against Russian positions within Ukrainian territory."

The Conversation -- November 20, 2024

Devlin Barrett of the New York Times: "... Donald Trump has picked Matthew G. Whitaker, who briefly served as acting attorney general in the first Trump administration, to serve as ambassador to NATO in the next one.Mr. Whitaker, 55, served for about three months as the nation's top law enforcement official after Jeff Sessions stepped down, and before William P. Barr was confirmed to succeed him. His short tenure at the helm of the Justice Department was marked by internal tensions and distrust.... Mr. Whitaker does not bring foreign policy experience to a job that may serve as a focal point for Mr. Trump's complaints about how much the U.S. pays to help the North Atlantic Treaty Organization keep Europe secure. Mr. Trump has repeatedly voiced skepticism about the alliance, and he has long threatened to withdraw from it. The Guardian's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: On the other hand, Whitaker does have a background as an investor in an "investment promotion scam." One of the promoted products: big-dick toilets.

Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: "House Ethics Committee investigators probing sexual misconduct allegations against former congressman Matt Gaetz obtained records showing that he paid more than $10,000 to two women who testified before the committee, according to a person familiar with the investigation who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive material. The records that were exhibited during closed-door testimony displayed 27 PayPal and Venmo payments disbursed between July 2017 and January 2019 totaling over $10,000 paid to the two witnesses, that person said. Some of the payments were for sex, the witnesses testified to the committee." The ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ As Akhilleus wrote yesterday, "I haven't read anything about [Gaetz] actually raping anyone.... Trump is different. He just goes after women whether they're interested or not. He's no better than any other rapist doing time for their crimes."

Liz Goodwin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee are asking the FBI to provide all documents related to its closed sex trafficking investigation into Donald Trump's pick for attorney general, former congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Florida), to ensure the material is considered at his confirmation hearing next year.... Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) and other Senate Democrats on the committee requested the evidentiary file on Gaetz's alleged sex trafficking in a letter to FBI Director Christopher A. Wray on Wednesday."

Rachel Roubein & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "... in interviews this week, a half-dozen GOP lawmakers said they had questions or outright concerns about [Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s] nomination [to be Secretary of Health & Human Services], with several citing his vaccine skepticism.... 'We've got a process,' said Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-Louisiana), a physician and incoming chairman of the Senate Health Committee, adding that Kennedy would get an opportunity to 'define' his views on vaccines when facing lawmakers.... [Kennedy's] selection has alarmed federal health leaders and medical groups, who say Kennedy should be nowhere near the nation's public health infrastructure given that he has repeated debunked claims about vaccines and made other false or questionable assertions.... In interviews Monday and Tuesday with nearly two dozen senators, several GOP lawmakers said they enthusiastically supported Kennedy's candidacy." MB: I have a feeling that Bobby Jr. will satisfy the senators' "concerns."

It turns out that Linda McMahon, Trump's nominee for Secretary of Education is well-qualified for the job, after all: she once falsely claimed that she had a degree in ... education! ~~~

     ~~~ Beth Reinhard, et al., of the Washington Post: "Linda McMahon ... incorrectly claimed in 2009 that she had a bachelor's degree in education on a questionnaire for a Connecticut Board of Education post, according to news reports at the time. McMahon received a bachelor's degree in French and a teaching certificate from East Carolina University.... She said at the time that she mistakenly thought her degree was in education because she did a semester of student teaching, and that she had written to the governor's office the previous year to correct the error after another newspaper noticed the mistake. McMahon resigned from the state education board one day after the [Hartford] Courant told her it intended to write about the error, the paper reported, but McMahon said the timing was unrelated." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In fairness to McMahon, this is much ado about nothing. I can't tell you for certain what my undergrad degree is. I don't know that there is any document that specifies it. My best recollection is that I qualified for a double major because of the number of course hours I had amassed in two fields of study, but if the university challenged me, I couldn't prove they were wrong. ~~~

~~~ This, on the other hand, is quite disturbing: ~~~

     ~~~ Beth Reinhard & Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Linda McMahon resigned 15 years ago from [World Wrestling Entertainment], leaving that televised spectacle behind as she sharpened her public image as a political power broker, donating tens of millions of dollars to Republicans, running for the U.S. Senate and leading the Small Business Administration during ... Donald Trump's first term. But ... a lawsuit against Linda and Vince McMahon is bringing fresh scrutiny to long-running claims that they mistreated WWE workers. Vince McMahon is also facing separate allegations [currently under investigation by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York] of sexual abuse and trafficking.... Linda and Vince McMahon face a ... civil suit filed in October by five anonymous plaintiffs who worked decades ago as 'ring boys,' teenagers who helped set up WWE events. The plaintiffs claim the McMahons were aware they were being sexually abused by other high-ranking WWE employees and did not do enough to protect them.... 'Linda is this well-spoken, congenial, bright, well-dressed woman executive, but she helped run a testosterone-fueled business that was seen as very sleazy for a long time,' said Dave Meltzer, a pro wrestling expert...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Trump "called Vince McMahon 'a fantastic guy, and one of the best ever' in an interview last year, after details of the federal investigation had begun to surface...," according to the linked report. So if SDNY doesn't get on the stick & bring charges against Vince McMahon within the next six weeks, I expect the federal investigation into his mistreatment of young male employees will get "disappeared."

Adam Reiss, et al., of NBC News: "Donald Trump's attorneys are demanding the judge who presided over his New York hush money trial and conviction immediately throw out the case, saying it would be 'uniquely destabilizing to the country' otherwise. 'Immediate dismissal of this case is mandated by the federal Constitution, the Presidential Transition Act of 1963, and the interests of justice, in order to facilitate the orderly transition of Executive power following President Trump's overwhelming victory in the 2024 Presidential election,' attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove argued in a letter to Judge Juan Merchan that was made public Wednesday. The letter also cited presidential immunity as a reason to dismiss the case, and maintained Trump is already protected by it."

Maegan Vazquez & Mariana Alfaro of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Wednesday that transgender individuals would not be allowed into restroom facilities in the Capitol and House office buildings that do not correspond with their sex assigned at birth, announcing the rule change about two weeks after Democrat Sarah McBride of Delaware became the first openly transgender individual elected to Congress. 'All single-sex facilities in the Capitol and House Office Buildings -- such as restrooms, changing rooms, and locker rooms -- are reserved for individuals of that biological sex,' Johnson said in a statement. 'It is important to note that each Member office has its own private restroom, and unisex restrooms are available throughout the Capitol. Women deserve women's only spaces.'" The ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wow, Mike! I'm glad you're "treating all persons with dignity and respect." (See AP story linked below.)

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"A Hostile Takeover." Lisa Rein, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's transition team in his Mar-a-Lago resort has begun what a close ally calls a hostile takeover of the federal government.... Trump has ignored many of the rules and practices intended to guide a seamless transfer of power and handover of the oversight of 2.2 million federal employees. Instead, the president-elect, who has pledged to fire thousands of civil servants and slash billions of dollars in spending, has so far almost fully cut out the government agencies his predecessors have relied on to take charge of the federal government. Trump has yet to collaborate with the General Services Administration, which is tasked with the complex work of handing over control of hundreds of agencies, because he has not turned in required pledges to follow ethics rules. His transition teams have yet to set foot inside a single federal office.

"In calls with foreign heads of state, Trump has cut out the State Department, its secure lines and its official interpreters.... He's so far declined to let the Federal Bureau of Investigation check for potential red flags and security threats to guard against espionage -- instead relying on private campaign lawyers for some appointees and doing no vetting at all for others." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Thanks, WashPo. Now, can we stop pretending Trump's far-out choices to lead federal agencies are merely "Trump being Trump" and this is a normal transfer of power from one major party leader to the other? Let's have fewer standard-issue stories about how senators just aren't sure this one will make it through the confirmation process and Democrats are dismayed by that one's position on Taiwan.

Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "Donald J. Trump said on Tuesday that he would nominate Dr. Mehmet Oz, the author and former television host, to serve as the administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, a powerful agency that oversees health insurance programs covering more than 150 million Americans.... [This] continued a trend of Mr. Trump selecting television personalities to oversee federal agencies.... In a statement announcing his choice, Mr. Trump said Dr. Oz would 'work closely with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to take on the illness industrial complex, and all the horrible chronic diseases left in its wake.' Mr. Trump noted that Dr. Oz had 'won nine Daytime Emmy Awards hosting 'The Dr. Oz Show,' where he taught millions of Americans how to make healthier lifestyle choices.' Dr. Oz, a heart surgeon and the son of Turkish immigrants, does not have experience running a large federal bureaucracy....

"Dr. Oz has also frequently clashed with other medical experts. In the early days of the pandemic, he promoted the malaria drugs hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine to ward off the coronavirus, medicines that were shown to be ineffective in treating the virus. A decade ago, he went before a Senate panel and was chastised for hyping so-called miracle weight loss products without substantial proof that they worked." ~~~

     ~~~ And do you suppose Trump knew this? "Dr. Oz has weighed in on Medicare policy, helping to write a 2020 opinion column in Forbes arguing for a universal health coverage system, in which every American not covered by Medicaid would be enrolled in a private Medicare Advantage plan." Anyhow, thanks to Ken W. -- who has assured his wife that we're all in good hands now -- for the link.

Zach Montague & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump on Tuesday tapped Linda McMahon, a former professional wrestling executive who ran the Small Business Administration for much of his first term, to lead the Education Department, an agency he has routinely singled out for elimination in his upcoming term.... In Ms. McMahon, 76, Mr. Trump has elevated someone far outside the mold of traditional candidates for the role, an executive with no teaching background or professional experience steering education policy, other than an appointment in 2009 to the Connecticut State Board of Education, where she served for just over a year. But Ms. McMahon is likely to be assigned the fraught task of carrying out what is widely expected to be a thorough and determined dismantling of the department's core functions. And she would assume the role at a time when school districts across the country are facing budget shortfalls, many students are not making up ground lost during the pandemic in reading and math, and many colleges and universities are shrinking and closing amid a larger loss of faith in the value of higher education." The ABC News story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Look, American kids may be ignorant, but perhaps they'll learn how to wrestle.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "... Donald Trump's plans to end business-as-usual at the Justice Department apparently include replacing FBI Director Christopher Wray, Vice President-elect JD Vance indicated in a social media post on Tuesday. Vance revealed he and the president-elect were conducting interviews for the crucial FBI position in a since-deleted post on X. The post was responding to criticism the vice president-elect received for missing a Monday Senate vote that confirmed one of President Joe Biden's judicial nominees to the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit Court of Appeals."

Gaetz as Sacrificial Lamb? Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "In his private conversations over the past few days..., Donald J. Trump has admitted that his besieged choice for attorney general, Matt Gaetz, has less than even odds of being confirmed by the Senate. But Mr. Trump ... is making calls on Mr. Gaetz's behalf, and he remains confident that even if Mr. Gaetz does not make it, the standard for an acceptable candidate will have shifted so much that the Senate may simply approve his other nominees who have appalled much of Washington." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ As Akhilleus pointed out at the end of yesterday's Comments thread, Trump is still a more vile sexual predator than is Gaetz. ~~~

~~~ Rachel Bade of Politico: "Numerous Republican lawmakers told Donald Trump and his team that they believe his pick to be attorney general, controversial Rep. Matt Gaetz, has little chance of being confirmed, according to multiple Senate Republican and people around Trump. And they're privately hoping Trump doesn't make them walk the plank. That message, according to people who were granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive issue, has been delivered to the president-elect himself, his future White House chief of staff, Susie Wiles, and to Gaetz's unofficial 'sherpa,' Vice President-elect JD Vance." MB: I was wondering what happened to JayDee. Turns out he's been relegated to Gaetz Guide. (Also linked yesterday.)

Robert Draper of the New York Times: "An unidentified hacker has gained access to a computer file shared in a secure link among lawyers whose clients have given damaging testimony related to Matt Gaetz..., a person with knowledge of the activity said. The file of 24 exhibits is said to include sworn testimony by a woman who said that she had sex with Mr. Gaetz in 2017 when she was 17, as well as corroborating testimony by a second woman who said that she witnessed the encounter. The information was downloaded by a person using the name Altam Beezley at 1:23 p.m. on Monday, according to the person.... A lawyer connected to the case sent an email to the address associated with Altam Beezley, only to be informed in an automated reply that the recipient does not exist. The material does not appear to have been made public by the hacker.... [The hacked material] also contains various supporting material, such as the gate logs showing who entered the property ... on the evening in July 2017 when the two women said the sexual encounter with Mr. Gaetz occurred." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: C'mon, Donald. Time to express outrage that anyone would hack a file that could damage you. ("Russia, if you're listening -- I hope you are able to find the 30,000 emails that are missing.")

Alex Gangitano & Brett Samuels of the Hill: "... Trump is expected to nominate Howard Lutnick to serve as Commerce secretary, a source familiar told The Hill. Lutnick is the chair and CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and is also currently serving as co-chair of the Trump transition. He has notably publicly embraced Trump's tariff plans, which will be a major part of the job leading Commerce. The CEO was considered a front-runner for the role, along with Scott Bessent, who served as an economic adviser on the Trump campaign. Lutnick also beat out Linda McMahon for the role.... A co-chair of Trump's transition team, she was considered a front-runner and previously led the Small Business Administration during his first term. Trump expanded his search for a Treasury leader as the jockeying over who will fill the key economic role." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Brian Stelter of CNN: "'Morning Joe' co-hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski announced Monday, in dramatic fashion, that they went to Mar-a-Lago last week for a fence-mending meeting with ... Donald Trump. Then the pair spent the rest of the day dealing with the uncomfortable blowback.... According to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter, Scarborough and Brzezinski were credibly concerned that they could face governmental and legal harassment from the incoming Trump administration.... The two sources generally agreed with Scarborough and Brzezinski's impression of the situation at hand -- namely, that the incoming Trump administration could use its wide-ranging powers to punish people deemed enemies. (Trump ally Elon Musk wrote on X overnight, in a post supporting Matt Gaetz for attorney general, that America needs Gaetz to 'put powerful bad actors in prison.')" MB: I do think this is a plausible argument, if not an honest one. Joe & Mika have reason to worry about Trump's retribution agenda. (Also linked yesterday.)

Katrina Miller, et al., of the New York Times: "SpaceX's latest test flight of its Starship vehicle on Tuesday got off to a sobering start, as the company was unable to recover the enormous booster stage of the rocket, the most powerful ever built. But about an hour later, the vehicle's upper stage was more successful with the completion of a daring maneuver to splash down in the Indian Ocean. The late-afternoon launch brought President-elect Donald J. Trump to the company's South Texas launch site along the Gulf of Mexico for a show of solidarity with Elon Musk, SpaceX's founder...."

Elizabeth Passarella of the New York Times: "Over the past few weeks, users on X have been submitting X-rays, MRIs, CT scans and other medical images to Grok, the platform's artificial intelligence chatbot, asking for diagnoses. The reason: Elon Musk, X's owner, suggested it.... The decision to share information as sensitive as your colonoscopy results with an A.I. chatbot has alarmed some medical privacy experts.... What you post on a social media account or elsewhere isn't bound by HIPAA..., the federal law that protects your personal health information from being shared without your consent.

Anthony Adragna of Politico: "Senate Republicans moved to slow down the pace of judicial nomination confirmations in the waning days of Joe Biden's presidency..., forcing the chamber into hours of routine votes.... Republicans forced votes on ... procedural actions throughout [Monday] evening." (Also linked yesterday.)~~~

     ~~~ Update. Al Weaver of the Hill: "Senate Republicans aired frustrations Tuesday after Vice President-elect Vance and other party members [like Marco Rubio, Trump's pick for Secretary of State,] skipped votes Monday, greasing the skids for Democratic-backed judicial nominees to be greenlighted as part of a final push to fill the bench with lifetime appointees before ... Trump takes office." Meanwhile, Vice President Harris, who would be needed to break a tie, should one occur, was in Hawaii, and GOP Sens. Ted Cruz & Bill Hagerty followed Trump to Texas. MB: Yes But. As we learned from Josh Gerstein (linked above) and from Rachel Bade (also linked above), JayDee was very busy elsewhere.

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "In the House, Republicans have spent the last two years routinely proposing legislation seeking to roll back the rights of transgender people. And across the country, Republican-led state legislatures have tried to pass laws requiring people in government buildings to use bathrooms associated with their sex assigned at birth. But with [Representative-elect Sarah] McBride's arrival in Washington, House Republicans for the first time have a transgender colleague to target in their own workplace.... House Speaker Mike Johnson has been publicly noncommittal about the fate of [Rep. Nancy] Mace's resolution [to ban transgender women from using women's restrooms and locker rooms in the Capitol], but she said he had told her he planned to include it in a package of House rules."

~~~ Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "House Speaker Mike Johnson signaled support Tuesday for a Republican effort to ban Democrat Sarah McBride -- the first transgender person to be elected to Congress -- from using women's restrooms in the Capitol once she's sworn into office next year. 'We're not going to have men in women's bathrooms,' Johnson told The Associated Press. 'I've been consistent about that with anyone I've talked to about this.' Johnson earlier in the day emphasized the need to 'treat all persons with dignity and respect.'..."

Mike Johnson "Memo to Self: Things I Like Best About My Job: (1) Setting Capitol bathroom policies; (2) Kowtowing to Donald Trump's whims; (3) Steering clear of my annoying family."

Why, Miss Margie seems to have joined the progressive #MeToo movement, at the same time she is participating in the lesser-known #NotYou bigot brigade: ~~~

~~~ Olivia Beavers of Politico: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene in a private House GOP conference meeting indicated she'd fight a transgender woman if she tried to use a woman's bathroom on the House side of the Capitol, according to two people in the room, as Congress' first openly transgender lawmaker is set to assume office in January." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Isaac Schorr of Mediaite: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) threatened to expose 'all' of Republicans' 'sexual harassment and assault claims' as well as 'the entire Jeffrey Epstein files' if the House Ethics Committee report on Matt Gaetz is released and his nomination to be the next U.S. attorney general is imperiled on Tuesday morning. 'For my Republican colleagues in the House and Senate, If we are going to release ethics reports and rip apart our own that Trump has appointed, then put it ALL out there for the American people to see,' wrote Greene on X." (Also linked yesterday.)

~~~~~~~~~~

California. Jaimie Ding of the AP: "The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday approved a so-called 'sanctuary city' ordinance that bars city resources from being used for immigration enforcement and city departments from sharing information on people without legal status with federal immigration authorities, in anticipation of potential mass deportations under ... Donald Trump. Councilmembers voted unanimously on the measure, joining more than a dozen cities across the United States with similar provisions. Sanctuary cities or states are not legal terms but have come to symbolize a pledge to protect ... immigrant communities and decline to voluntarily supply information to immigration enforcement officials."

Texas. Pravena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: "Texas education officials on Tuesday voted to support an optional elementary school curriculum that would include lessons based on the Bible, which opponents say unfairly promotes Christian beliefs in public schools. In a preliminary move, the state education board voted 8-7 to move forward with approving the curriculum.... The Texas Education Agency proposed the lessons this year after Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed a bill requiring the department to create a statewide curriculum for school districts to use after approval from the state education board. Abbott publicly supported the curriculum when it was released in May, saying its materials would allow Texas students to 'better understand the connection of history, art, community, literature, and religion on pivotal events like the signing of the U.S. Constitution, the Civil Rights Movement, and the American Revolution.'" The Texas Tribune story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Wait, wait! How does violating the Constitution help students "better understand" it? Or depriving students of their civil rights help the civil rights movement? Maybe I should be asking Jesus.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine, et al. Bibi Offers Ransoms for Hostages. Ephrat Livni of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday repeated his vow that Israel would hunt down and punish anyone who hurts a hostage, but he added a new promise: Israel will give a generous reward to anyone who returns a captive, paying $5 million and providing safe passage out of Gaza.... Many Israelis, including the families of hostages, have accused the prime minister of failing to prioritize the release of the captives and prolonging the war to hold together his fragile governing coalition, which includes members who oppose a cease-fire and have threatened to bring down Mr. Netanyahu's government if he agrees to one."

Ukraine/Russia, et al.

Marc Santora & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "Ukraine's military used long-range American-made missiles on Tuesday to strike into Russia for the first time, according to senior U.S. and Ukrainian officials, just two days after President Biden gave permission to do so in what amounted to a major shift of American policy. The pre-dawn attack struck an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of southwestern Russia, Ukrainian officials said. Russia's Ministry of Defense said in a statement that Kyiv used six long-range ballistic missiles known as the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS. The senior American and Ukrainian officials ... confirmed that ATACMS were used." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marc Santora of the New York Times: "The United States Embassy in Kyiv issued an urgent warning on Wednesday morning that Russia might launch 'a significant air attack,' closing the embassy and telling employees to shelter in place. Air-raid alerts are a daily fact of life in Ukraine and the capital often comes under drone and missile attacks, but the embassy rarely issues such a specific alert or shuts down." ~~~

~~~ Michael Birnbaum & Alex Horton of the Washington Post: "President Joe Biden has authorized the provision of antipersonnel land mines to Ukraine, two U.S. officials said, a step that will bolster Kyiv's defenses against advancing Russian troops but has drawn criticism from arms control groups. The move ... [is] part of a sweep of urgent actions the lame-duck Biden administration is taking to help Kyiv's faltering war effort.... The Pentagon believes that the provision of the mines is among the most helpful steps the Biden administration can do to help slow Russia's attack.... One official said the type of antipersonnel land mine is 'nonpersistent,' meaning that the mines self-destruct or lose battery charge to render them inactive within days or weeks, reducing the danger to civilians. The official said that Ukrainian policymakers had committed to not deploying the mines in densely populated areas." A CBS News story is here. ~~~

~~~ Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin on Tuesday lowered Russia's threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, a long-planned move whose timing appeared designed to show the Kremlin could respond aggressively to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with American long-range missiles. The decree signed by Mr. Putin implemented a revised version of Russia's nuclear doctrine that Mr. Putin described in televised remarks in September. But the timing was clearly meant to send a message, coming just two days after the news that President Biden had authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine for strikes inside Russia. Asked whether Russia could respond with nuclear weapons to such strikes, Dmitri S. Peskov, Mr. Putins spokesman, repeated the new doctrine's language that Russia 'reserves the right' to use such weapons to respond to a conventional-weapons attack that creates a 'critical threat' to its 'sovereignty and territorial integrity.'" (Also linked yesterday.)"