The Conversation -- June 18, 2024
The Party of Mass Murderers, Ctd. Sahil Kapur & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Senate Democrats sought to pass legislation Tuesday banning bump stocks for firearms after the Supreme Court overruled a previous ban, but a single Republican objected on behalf of his party, effectively stalling the bill. Backed by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., sought 'unanimous consent' to pass his BUMP Act that would prohibit the devices, which modify semi-automatic weapons to fire bullets more quickly.... The bill was met with an objection from Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., blocking it from moving forward. The objection was backed by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and many other Republican senators, marking a turnaround after many of them championed a bump stock ban imposed by the Trump administration after the Las Vegas massacre."
Turns out there's a worse teevee stock-market tipster than Jim Cramer: ~~~
~~~ When Selling Short Is a Double Entendre. Kerry Breen of CBS News: "A former CNBC analyst who ended up on the FBI's Most Wanted list for white-collar crimes was arrested over the weekend after being charged with defrauding investors, federal prosecutors announced Monday. James Arthur McDonald, 52, of California, was a frequent guest on CNBC and the CEO and chief investment officer of the companies Hercules Investments LLC and Index Strategy Advisors Inc. According to an indictment from a federal grand jury, McDonald allegedly lost tens of millions of dollars of Hercules client money after adopting a risky short position that 'effectively bet against the health of the United States economy in the aftermath of the U.S. presidential election' in late 2020, Justice Department officials said in a news release. The predicted market decline did not happen, causing clients to lose between $30 and $40 million.... In early 2021, McDonald allegedly solicited millions of dollars in funds from investors.... He allegedly misrepresented how the funds would be used ... and failed to disclose the investment company's losses the previous year.... McDonald also allegedly ... sent clients ... false account statements that misrepresented how much money was in their accounts. McDonald became a fugitive in late 2021 when he failed to appear before the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, prosecutors said."
Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "New York's highest court on Tuesday dismissed ... Donald Trump's appeal of the gag order in his criminal hush money trial. The New York Court of Appeals in a brief decision declined to hear Trump's bid 'upon the ground that no substantial constitutional question is directly involved.' The decision means Trump's gag order, which bars him from speaking about jurors, witnesses and other parties involved in the Manhattan Supreme Court case, remains in effect. Trump's attorneys have also asked Judge Juan Merchan, who presided over the trial, to terminate the gag order because the trial is over. The Manhattan District Attorney's office, however, urged Merchan to keep the restrictions in place, at least until after a sentencing hearing is held and certain post-trial motions are resolved."
Danny Hakim & Jack Healy of the New York Times: "Boris Epshteyn, who oversees Donald J. Trump's sprawling legal team, pleaded not guilty to nine felony charges on Tuesday in Arizona's election interference case.... Mr. Epshteyn has held onto his baseless assertions that the election was stolen and has not wavered in his support for Mr. Trump.... He was arraigned on Tuesday along with Jenna Ellis, a lawyer and Trump adviser who was among the former president's staunchest defenders after the 2020 election, but who has since expressed regret.... An attorney for Ms. Ellis also pleaded not guilty on her behalf on Tuesday.... One of the fake Arizona electors, a businessman and former Senate candidate named James Lamon, was also arraigned on Tuesday.... [His attorney]entered a not guilty plea on Mr. Lamon's behalf...."
Change of Venue to "Horrible" City. Michael Gold of the New York Times: "When Republicans gather in Milwaukee next month to nominate him for president, Donald J. Trump planned to stay not in the convention's host city but at a Trump hotel in Chicago, some 90 miles away, according to three people briefed on the former president's logistics. That changed midafternoon on Tuesday, after reporters for The Times and an ABC affiliate in Chicago contacted his campaign for comment. Mr. Trump now intends to stay in Milwaukee, two of the people briefed on his logistics said. The change avoids a perceived slight to the largest city in Wisconsin, a vital battleground state. Mr. Trump has been on the defensive about his views on Milwaukee since news outlets reported last week that he called it a 'horrible' city in a private meeting with House Republicans in Washington."
Jacqueline Alemany of the Washington Post: "The House Ethics Committee is still investigating allegations against Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), including that he may have engaged in sexual misconduct and illegal drug use, and accepted improper gifts. It has opened up new lines of inquiry into the Florida lawmaker, according to a statement released by the bipartisan panel on Tuesday. The 10-member committee, which rarely discloses information about ongoing investigations, clarified the status of its review of Gaetz in the lengthy statement.... The committee detailed the new avenues of investigation, including whether Gaetz 'dispensed special privileges and favors to individuals with whom he had a personal relationship, and sought to obstruct government investigations of his conduct.'"
Serious Waste of Delicious Green Mountain Spring Water.. Gloria Oladipo of the Guardian: "A Vermont lawmaker was compelled to apologize publicly after being caught on video pouring water into her colleague's work bag multiple times across several months. The bizarre behavior is allegedly a part of a campaign of harassment that one legislator aimed at another who represents the same district [Bennington]..., independent outlet Seven Days first reported. The Republican representative, Mary Morrissey, 67, confessed to dumping water in the bag of the Democratic legislator Jim Carroll, 62. She later apologized during a Vermont state house session on Monday, Boston.com reported.... For weeks, Carroll secretly recorded footage of his backpack to catch the person in the act."
Virginia House Race. Annie Karni of the New York Times: A Congressional primary race between Rep. Bob Good, leader of the House Freedom Caucus, & state senator John McGuire for "has splintered the MAGA movement and the G.O.P. itself and highlighted the shifting alliances, personal feuds and chaotic maneuvering that have come to define the party as much as any ideological or policy position.... There is scant difference between the two hard-right candidates on the issues.... Mr. Trump turned against Mr. Good after he backed Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida over him in the Republican presidential primary.... In a recent video for Mr. McGuire's campaign, Mr. Trump told Virginia voters that Mr. Good 'will stab you in the back like he did me.'" MB: All very sad, I'm sure.
Indiana Gubernatorial Race. Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: The MAGA party is eating its own in Indiana where U.S. Sen. Mike Braun (R) is running for governor. But the state convention refused to select Braun's preference for a running mate. Instead, they picked a Christian nationalist pastor named Micah Beckwith who "said that God had told him: 'Micah, I sent those riots to Washington. What you saw yesterday was my hand at work.' He's said that the 'progressive left has taken over the Republican Party in Indiana,' and promised that if he wins, he'll be a thorn in the side to the governor.... The divide within the Republican Party, in Indiana as elsewhere, isn't really between moderates and conservatives, because almost everyone involved is very right-wing. It is, rather, between people who know how to work within the existing system, and outsiders who want to overturn it." MB: Again, we're very sad about this.
Are You Better Off Now Than You Were Four Years Ago? Let's Check: New York Times, June 18, 2020: "The Congressional Budget Office projected on Monday that the pandemic would inflict a devastating long-term blow on the United States economy, costing $7.9 trillion over the next decade. Without adjusting for inflation, the agency said, the pandemic would cost $16 trillion over the next 10 years. The estimates were an official tally of the damage from the crisis, reflecting expectations of dampened consumer spending and business investment in the years to come." MB: Turns out that -- so far, at least -- the projection is far too pessimistic, but only because President Biden and Congressional Democrats poured money on the problem.
Russia. Paul Sonne of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia has arrived in North Korea, according to Russian state media, visiting for the first time in 24 years after vowing to bring ties with Pyongyang to new heights and jointly rebuff what he called the 'global neocolonial dictatorship' of the United States. The North's leader, Kim Jong-un, met the Russian president on the airport tarmac early Wednesday local time, Russian state news agencies reported. Mr. Putin arrived in the dead of night, descending from his airplane to a red carpet lined by uniformed guards to embrace the waiting North Korean leader, video later released by the Kremlin showed. Mr. Kim ushered Mr. Putin into a Russian-made Aurus limousine that he had received from him last year."
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Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden on Tuesday announced sweeping new protections for hundreds of thousands of immigrants who have been living in the United States illegally for years but are married to American citizens. Under the new policy, some 500,000 undocumented spouses will be shielded from deportation and given a pathway to citizenship and the ability to work legally in the United States. It is one of the most presidential actions to protect immigrants in more than a decade. Mr Biden will celebrate the program during a White House ceremony on Tuesday marking the 12-year anniversary of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which protects people who came to the United States as children from deportation."
Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden and the NATO secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg, announced on Monday that a record number of allies were meeting their military spending commitments as the two leaders sought to present a robust and unwavering response to Russia's war in Ukraine. Mr. Biden and Mr. Stoltenberg met ahead of the annual NATO summit next month in Washington, where member countries are expected to discuss additional measures to help secure long-term security, funding and eventual membership for Ukraine. Mr. Stoltenberg announced on Monday that NATO was prepared to take on a larger role in Ukraine's security in the meantime."
Julie Weil of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration plans to stop businesses and wealthy individuals from manipulating the value of assets in arcane ways such as using the same assets over and over to lower their taxes. High-end business partnerships like hedge funds and wealthy individuals such as real estate investors have inappropriately used labyrinthine structures to shield tens of billions of dollars from taxation, Treasury Department officials said Monday as they vowed to crack down on the practice. They announced several steps to address a tax planning strategy known as basis shifting, in which complex business partnerships can move assets from one entity to another on paper for no reason other than to avoid taxes.... Shutting down inappropriate basis shifting could increase tax collections from partnerships by at least $5 billion a year over the next decade." The AP's story is here.
Manuela Andreoni of the New York Times: "Dozens of environmental, labor and health care groups banded together on Monday to file a petition to push the Federal Emergency Management Agency to declare extreme heat and wildfire smoke as 'major disasters,' like floods and tornadoes. The petition is a major push to get the federal government to help states and local communities that are straining under the growing costs of climate change. If accepted, the petition could unlock FEMA funds to help localities prepare for heat waves and wildfire smoke by building cooling centers or installing air filtration systems in schools. The agency could also help during emergencies by paying for water distribution, health screenings for vulnerable people and increased electricity use." The Hill's story is here.
Noam Scheiber of the New York Times: "... on Monday..., members of the Amazon Labor Union, the only union formally representing Amazon warehouse workers in the United States, voted overwhelmingly to affiliate with the 1.3-million-member International Brotherhood of Teamsters. The vote was overseen by the Amazon union. The A.L.U. scored a surprise victory in an election at a Staten Island warehouse in 2022. But it has yet to begin bargaining with Amazon, which continues to contest the election outcome. Leaders of both unions said the affiliation agreement would put them in a better position to challenge Amazon and would provide the A.L.U. with more money and staff support.... The Teamsters are ramping up their efforts to organize Amazon workers nationwide." MB: Yes but, this could take money away from Jeff Bezos.
Charles Davis of Salon: "In a June 16 filing, [24 Republicans state attorneys general] ask[ed Judge Aileen] Cannon to grant them permission to intervene in Trump's [documents] case, claiming the former president's freedom to slander law enforcement is sacrosanct.... Bradley Moss, a criminal defense attorney who specializes in national security issues, told Salon that Cannon should not even be wasting the court's time by considering arguments from outside parties.... 'The influx of amicus briefs in this case is unheard of and largely the result of Judge Cannon's decision to allow everyone under the sun to chime in on a criminal matter,' Moss said. 'This should be a simple legal issue to resolve over modification to bail conditions. It does not require input from the peanut gallery.'"
Zachary Wolf of CNN: "Steve Bannon ... used the language of war to fire up a conservative gathering over the weekend, promising to remake the US government and completely deconstruct the FBI. Comparing the presidential campaign to the D-Day invasion, Bannon encouraged a cheering crowd at the Turning Point Action convention in Detroit to see themselves as filling the positions of fallen soldiers in an assault. 'Are you prepared to leave it all on the battlefield in 2024?' he asked of Turning Point activists. 'It's very simple: victory or death!' he later added." ~~~
~~~ Rachel Maddow played a bit of Bannon's speech last night, and it was gross. As Maddow said, Republicans aren't engaged in politics anymore; rather, they are competing to take power by force. ~~~
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California. Yan Zhuang of the New York Times: "A United States Secret Service agent was robbed at gunpoint in Southern California over the weekend, on the same night that President Joe Biden was in Los Angeles for a re-election fund-raiser, the authorities said on Monday.... Upon arriving at [a residential] development [in Orange County] -- a former military base -- the police discovered that the victim was a Secret Service agent whose bag had been stolen at gunpoint, the statement said. During the robbery, an agent fired a gun, the police added. The suspected robbery occurred on the same night that Mr. Biden was in downtown Los Angeles for a star-studded re-election fund-raiser with former President Barack Obama." The AP story is here.
New Jersey Is Still New Jersey. Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "George E. Norcross III, an insurance executive who for decades has been one New Jersey's most powerful Democratic kingmakers, was charged on Monday with racketeering in what prosecutors say was a 12-year scheme that involved his brother, his lawyer and a former mayor of Camden, N.J. The 13-count indictment unsealed by New Jersey's attorney general, Matthew J. Platkin, accused Mr. Norcross and five co-defendants of unlawfully obtaining property and property rights along Camden's waterfront, fraudulently collecting millions of dollars in government-issued tax breaks and influencing government officials.... The indictment accuses Mr. Norcross of bullying rival developers who were also trying to capitalize on a push to revitalize the waterfront in Camden, a poor city outside Philadelphia long plagued by violent crime....
"Mr. Norcross's brother, Philip A. Norcross, the chief executive of a Camden-based law firm, and the city's former mayor, Dana L. Redd, were also charged with racketeering in the first degree, a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison. On Monday afternoon, George Norcross, 68, who now lives in Florida, showed up, uninvited, to a news conference Mr. Platkin held in Trenton, N.J. Dressed in a suit and loafers without socks, he stared from the front row of the room as the attorney general described the charges contained in a 111-page indictment. Mr. Norcross's team of lawyers and at least one co-defendant, William Tambussi, a lawyer who has represented Mr. Norcross and the city of Camden, sat behind him." Politico's story is here.
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Israel/Palestine, et al.
The New York Times' live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.
Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "A Biden administration plan to sell $18 billion worth of F-15 fighter jets to Israel is moving forward after two top Democratic holdouts in Congress signed off on the deal, according to multiple people familiar with the sale. Representative Gregory W. Meeks of New York, the top Democrat on the Foreign Affairs Committee, who had publicly opposed the transfer by citing Israel's tactics during its campaign in Gaza, has lifted his hold on the deal, one of the largest U.S. arms sales to Israel in years. Mr. Meeks said that the sale would take years to deliver and that he supported the Biden administration's plans to hold up the sale of other munitions."
Patrick Kingsley, et al., of the New York Times: "The Israeli military said on Monday that it had paused operations during daylight hours in parts of the southern Gaza Strip, as a new policy announced a day earlier appeared to take hold, along with cautious hopes that it would allow more food and other goods to reach desperate civilians.... But aid agencies warned that other restrictions on movement, as well as lawlessness in the territory, would still make it difficult to meet the dire needs of Gazans struggling to survive after eight months of war."
AP: "Israeli officials say Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has dissolved the influential War Cabinet that was tasked with steering the war in Gaza. The three-person War Cabinet was dissolved a week after Benny Gantz, a popular opposition lawmaker and former military chief, quit Netanyahu's governing coalition in frustration over how the war was being handled. In the early days of the war, Gantz demanded a small Cabinet with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant be formed as a way to sideline far-right lawmakers in Netanyahu's government." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Ledes
New York Times: "A heat wave that is expected to punish much of the country before week's end enveloped the Midwest [Monday], leaving the region scorched and sweltering.... Chicago and Cook County designated cooling centers throughout the region in existing senior centers, libraries and athletic facilities, giving the more than five million residents of Cook County a place to rest if they had nowhere to go.... The heat is moving quickly to the Northeast. Meteorologists said the temperatures would peak on Thursday or Friday, with heat indexes exceeding 100 degrees in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New York and Connecticut." A CNN report is here.
New York Times: "Anouk Aimée, the French film actress who became an international sex symbol as the aloof, enigmatic and sensual star of Claude Lelouch's 1966 romance 'A Man and a Woman,' died on Tuesday at 92."
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