The Conversation -- June 12, 2024

Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Wednesday muscled through a measure recommending that Attorney General Merrick B. Garland be held in contempt of Congress for failing to comply with a subpoena. The G.O.P. acted over Democratic opposition after the Justice Department declined to provide audio recordings of President Biden's interview with the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents. By a nearly party-line vote of 216 to 207, the House called on the Justice Department to compel the executive branch to produce the materials.... In a statement, Mr. Garland said it was 'deeply disappointing that this House of Representatives has turned a serious congressional authority into a partisan weapon.'... Just one Republican, Representative David Joyce of Ohio, the leader of a mainstream G.O.P. group on Capitol Hill, voted 'no.'... The Justice Department has already made public a transcript of Mr. Biden's interview with [special counsel Robert] Hur, but House Republicans argue they need the recordings to continue their impeachment investigation and examine the president's mental fitness.... Mr. Biden last month asserted executive privilege to deny House Republicans access to recordings. That move was intended to shield Mr. Garland from prosecution."

Nia-Malika Henderson of Bloomberg: "On one of the worst days of his life, President Joe Biden showed the best of who he is. He affirmed his faith in his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted on three felony gun charges. And he affirmed his faith in the justice system that held his only living son to account. Not only that, but hours after his son was found guilty, the president delivered a forceful speech on gun control that underscored his deep humanity, decency, and determination to stay focused on the problems of average Americans rather than drown in bitterness, self-pity, revenge and victimization. He spoke of hope in the face of loss, comforting those who've lost loved ones with his own story of grief. It was yet another stark and important contrast with ... Donald Trump, who believes that his self-created legal problems are matters of the state. Trump has vowed revenge if he returns to the White House, and Biden has said he respects the outcome of his son's trial." Firewalled.

Kathleen Culliton of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump has funneled nearly $5 million from his presidential campaign coffers into his private businesses, according to a new financial analysis..., Forbes reported Wednesday.... Forbes analysis of Federal Election Commission records found $4.2 million funneled to Trump's aviation company Tag Air. Trump's private jet -- which he claims is better than Air Force One but experts say is comparable to a flying Staten Island ferry -- has been transformed into 'something of a charter service,' Forbes reports.... Trump's 2024 campaign has also spent $332,000 at his social club Mar-a-Lago.... The campaign spent $20,000 at the Miami golf resort Trump National Doral, $36,000 a Trump hotel in Las Vegas, according to the report. 'Add it all up -- the $4.6 million from the 2024 campaign and millions more from Trump's other groups -- and his businesses have collected about $7 million in total since the 2020 election," the analysis concludes."

Alex Woodward of the Independent: "A fundraising email blast from the chief political action committees supporting Donald Trump shared a troubling new message: 'haul out the guillotine.' The email went on to blast 'sicko' Kathy Griffin for her 2017 image holding a mock-severed Trump head and instead accused his Democratic rivals of wanting to behead him. 'The SAD and HORRIFIC TRUTH is that this is STILL the Sick Dream of every Trump-Deranged lunatic out there!' the message says. 'And it's not just me they want gone, THEY'RE REALLY COMING AFTER YOU! SICK SICK SICK!'"

Daniel Barnes & Zoe Richards of NBC News: "Former Trump adviser Steve Bannon asked a federal appeals court Tuesday to let him remain out of prison while he continues to appeal a nearly two-year-old conviction on criminal contempt of Congress charges. Bannon filed an emergency motion Tuesday evening asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overrule a lower court's order last week that he report to prison for four months on July 1. Bannon is asking the D.C. Circuit to quickly rule on his motion -- by next Tuesday -- to allow him time if necessary to appeal to the Supreme Court over his conviction on two counts of contempt of Congress in 2022, after he refused to answer questions from the House Jan. 6 committee." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yo, Steve-o. If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

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David Lynch of the Washington Post: "The global economy is in better shape than it was at the start of the year, thanks largely to the performance of the United States, the World Bank said in its latest forecast Tuesday. But the sunnier outlook could cloud over if major central banks -- including the Federal Reserve -- keep interest rates at elevated levels.... While Americans' unhappiness with high prices remains a key vulnerability for President Biden's reelection bid, the World Bank now expects the U.S. economy to grow at an annual rate of 2.5 percent, nearly a full percentage point higher than it predicted in January. The United States is the only advanced economy growing significantly faster than the bank anticipated at the start of the year."

ProPublica Cracks the IRS. Jesse Eisenger, et al., of ProPublica: "ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth -- sometimes, even nothing.... The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America's titans.... It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits. Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can -- perfectly legally -- pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although the specifics here may make for blockbluster news (and surely somebody's head will roll), as the authors themselves note, "Experts have long understood the broad outlines of how little the wealthy are taxed in the United States...." Trump and Republicans, of course, want to cut these billionaires' tax liability even more (and, yes, less than zero is possible), while Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and President Biden (and even billionaire Warren Buffett) want to tax the rich and ultra-rich more. If you want a good example of stupid, you will find it animated in the form of "typical Republican voter."

New York Times reporters liveblogged results from Tuesday's primary elections. Here are a few:

Chris Cameron: "Candidates [were] on the ballot on Tuesday in five states: South Carolina, Nevada, Maine, North Dakota and Ohio...."

Richard Fausset: "A 22-year-old who participated in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol lost his bid to unseat a Republican incumbent in the South Carolina House of Representatives. The defeat of Elias Irizarry in the state primary on Tuesday is the latest in a number of losses that riot participants have suffered at the ballot box in recent months.... The incumbent, Randy Ligon, will not face a Democratic challenger in the general election, and will serve a fourth term in office."

Mitch Smith: "Representative Kelly Armstrong won the Republican nomination for governor of North Dakota, The Associated Press said on Tuesday, defeating the state's lieutenant governor, Tammy Miller, and positioning himself as the strong favorite in the general election.... On the campaign trail, both candidates emphasized their support for ... Donald J. Trump and, as one debate moderator put it, tried to 'out-conservative the other.'"

Ernesto Londoño: "Voters in North Dakota approved a ballot measure that sets a maximum age for representing the state in Congress, The Associated Press said on Tuesday. Experts said they believed North Dakota was the first state to impose such a requirement on members of Congress, though they said the measure is likely to be challenged in court.... A Supreme Court case in 1995 established that states cannot add eligibility restrictions beyond those in the Constitution."

Annie Karni: "Representative Nancy Mace, Republican of South Carolina, on Tuesday defeated a well-funded primary challenger, putting her on track to win a third term. Her resounding victory also dealt a major blow to former Speaker Kevin McCarthy's efforts to exact political retribution against those who voted to oust him. Ms. Mace, 46, who once leaned center on social issues, won a Democratic seat in 2020 and claimed that all of ... Donald J. Trump's accomplishments had been 'wiped out' by his behavior on Jan. 6, 2021. But she has made a hard tack to the right over the past year as she has tried to game out her political future."

Kellen Browning: "Sam Brown, an Army veteran who was the heavy favorite in the Nevada Republican primary race for Senate even before ... Donald J. Trump's last-minute endorsement, won the nomination on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. He will face Senator Jacky Rosen, the state's Democratic incumbent, in one of the most closely watched Senate contests of the year."

National Crime Blotter

Perry Stein, et al., of the Washington Post: "Hunter Biden was found guilty of felony gun charges in federal court Tuesday, ending a trial that exposed some of the ugliest moments in the life of the president's son and put on national display the first family's pain, heartache and regrets.... The jury deliberated for a little more than three hours before finding him guilty on all three counts. Biden nodded, but otherwise showed little emotion when the verdict was read. He then hugged each member of his legal team and said thank you. Biden walked out past the defendant's table, hugged and kissed his wife, Melissa Cohen-Biden, and left the courtroom, shaking the hands of friends and family along the way.... After the verdict, one juror told The Washington Post that he didn't believe Hunter Biden belonged in prison and that he felt bad that his daughter had to testify about her father's drug use." ~~~

~~~ Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A jury in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday found Hunter Biden, President Biden's long-troubled son, guilty of three felony counts of lying on a federal firearms application in 2018, a grievous personal blow to the Biden family as his father enters the final months of a brutal re-election campaign. He could face up to 25 years in prison, but first-time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit a violent crime typically receive no jail time." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. Some other items in the liveblog appear in yesterday's Conversation.

Hannah Rabinowitz of CNN: Some jurors in the Hunter Biden case spoke to CNN about how the jury reached its verdict and their feelings about Biden and the case against him.

Lisa Kashinsky & Meredith McGraw of Politico: "Republicans are scrambling to prevent Hunter Biden's conviction on felony gun charges from undermining their argument that the judicial system is being weaponized against Donald Trump. They just can't agree on how. Trump's campaign cast the conviction of his rival's son on Tuesday as a 'distraction from the real crimes of the Biden Crime Family,' while some hard-line supporters dismissed the proceedings as 'fake.' House Speaker Mike Johnson argued that Hunter Biden's conviction 'doesn't' undercut Republicans claims of a two-tiered justice system because the evidence against him was 'overwhelming.' And still other Hill Republicans went so far as to describe the verdict as a 'step towards ensuring equal application of the law.'... 'It throws a bit of sand in the gears of people suggesting the Biden Department of Justice has been engineered to go after Trump,' said Jason Roe, a GOP strategist and former chair of the Michigan Republican Party. But, Roe conceded, 'one feature of the modern Republican Party is ignoring facts that don't support the argument and sometimes embracing the conspiracy theories that do.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Why, Mr. Roe, how could you possibly say that? ~~~

     ~~~ Jordain Carney of Politico: "House Oversight Chair James Comer is urging the Justice Department to launch a sweeping investigation into the Biden family in the wake of Hunter Biden being found guilty on three felony gun charges. 'Today's verdict is a step toward accountability but until the Department of Justice investigates everyone involved in the Bidens' corrupt influence peddling schemes that generated over $18 million in foreign payments to the Biden family, it will be clear department officials continue to cover for the Big Guy, Joe Biden,' Comer (R-Ky.) said in a statement after the verdict." ~~~

     ~~~ And This. Hadas Gold of CNN: "In the wake of Hunter Biden's conviction on federal gun charges Tuesday, right-wing media personalities sought to downplay the jury's decision, falsely claiming the case was a 'fake trial' designed to 'cover up' other supposed crimes committed by the president and his family. The reaction showcased how far to the fringes the right-wing and pro-Trump media ecosystem has drifted in recent years, with high-profile personalities defaulting to conspiracy theories and innuendo in response to inconvenient political news.... There is no evidence Joe Biden has received large sums of money from China or has otherwise gained wealth as a result of his son's business dealings abroad." ~~~

     ~~~ And This. Julianne McShane of Mother Jones: "In the moments following Hunter Biden's conviction on federal gun charges on Tuesday, Fox News celebrated the justice system doing its job. They sang the praises of the judge and jury. They delighted in the fact that Biden would face consequences. And they doubted President Joe Biden's repeated pledges that he will not pardon his son. In short: They reacted very differently from how they did when Donald Trump was found guilty in his hush-money trial.... Yet not everyone on the right was jubilant.... Stephen Miller, a senior advisor to Trump, posted to X: 'DOJ is running election interference for Joe Biden -- that's why DOJ did NOT charge Hunter with being an unregistered foreign agent (FARA) or any crime connected with foreign corruption. Why? Because all the evidence would lead back to JOE.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is all so surprising, because naturally I thought when Hunter was convicted of a crime that most prosecutors would never have charged under the circumstances, all the wingers would be totally apologetic and at least concede that the DOJ was unfair to a Democratic President's son. Oddly enough, one of the usual suspects did come close: Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) said: "The Hunter Biden gun conviction is kinda dumb tbh." ~~~

~~~ digby also cites others' reactions to the verdict and their reporting on GOP responses. Unfortunately, she fails to credit the source (not for the first time) for some reactions. Like these: "Hunter Biden was convicted in the state of Delaware, where the Bidens decidedly have a 'home court' advantage -- for the people who say trump couldn't get a fair trial in NYC because they hate him, just look at Delaware. There was no ridiculous daily parade of same-suit-wearing Senators and members of Congress in the court; just Hunter's mom and family members." Read on.

Tracey Tully & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "On Tuesday..., cross-examination [of the prosecution's star witness against Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.)] began with a blistering volley of questions aimed at undermining the testimony of Jose Uribe, a disgraced insurance broker who pleaded guilty in March to conspiring to bribe Mr. Menendez with a Mercedes-Benz and is cooperating with federal prosecutors.... Mr. Uribe, 57, acknowledged that he had lied to [customers, to a bank and to the federal government], leading [Menendez attorney Adam] Fee to call him a 'sophisticated liar' who was willing to put his family members in legal jeopardy to cover up his crimes. Mr. Uribe, who also pleaded guilty in 2011 to insurance fraud charges in New Jersey, maintained his composure during hours of aggressive cross-examination, even as he avoided answering many questions by claiming he had 'no recollection' of certain events."

Presidential Race

If you could reason with Trump's supporters there would be no Trump supporters. -- Sundae Gurl

Ed Mazza of the Huffington Post: "Former Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan tore into ... Donald Trump on Tuesday, saying he won't be voting for him and calling out his lack of character and principles. 'If you put yourself above the Constitution, as he has done, I think that makes you unfit for office,' he told Fox News host Neil Cavuto.... Ryan also blamed Trump for GOP election losses in recent years. 'He's cost us a lot of seats,' Ryan said. 'He cost us the Senate twice. He cost us the House because he is nominating, he is pushing through the primaries people who cannot win general elections but who pledge fealty to him.' Ryan, who added that he doesn't support President Joe Biden either, said voters have been given 'terrible choices' for the Nov. 5 election."

Catherine Rampell of the Washington Post: Donald Trump is "already preparing to constitutionally nuke Congress. So far, lawmakers in his party seem to be welcoming their own obliteration.... In recent months, Trump has said explicitly that sometimes he won't spend money the way Congress -- which controls power of the purse, per the Constitution -- instructs him to. He and his advisers have described plans to use 'impoundment,' a technical term meaning to withhold funds that Congress has appropriated for specific purposes. 'Restoring the Impoundment Power,' Trump's campaign website says, will help 'stop unnecessary spending' and 'crush the Deep State.'... Trump could unilaterally zero out any program he doesn't like, or whose recipient has angered him, regardless of Congress's instructions.... Trump's targets for budgetary nuking include clean-energy subsidies, international aid programs and funding for the World Health Organization. He told Fox News last week that he might cut the entire Education Department, Interior Department and 'the environmental agencies,' too." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yeah? So? As far as I can tell, Congressional Republicans have no desire whatsoever to legislate. When Democrats control either house or the presidency, their job is to obstruct. When Republicans control a house, they generally accede to the wishes of a Republican president. So it's hardly surprising that they're willing to roll over and play dead for Trump again. It's what they do.

Ethics Are So Wrong. Zoe Richards, et al., of NBC News: "Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, plans to block an effort by Senate Democrats to unanimously pass a Supreme Court ethics bill Wednesday on the Senate floor.... Graham's objection means the bill won't be able to move forward, because any senator can block a request. It isn't clear whether the measure will come up for a vote under the normal process, but Senate Majority LeaderChuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said he's considering it. Even before Graham made his comments, Democrats doubted the legislation would advance.... The Democratic-led Judiciary Committee advanced the Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency Act on a party-line vote nearly a year ago, but it can't break a filibuster on the Senate floor without 60 votes. Democrats have 51 members, and no Republican is on board with the bill."

ProPublica gets a lot of money, and they have spent a fortune investigating Clarence Thomas, for example. You know, everything he's ever done in his entire life.... [They have] done some of that to me, too.... They look for any little thing they can find, and they try to make something out of it. -- Justice Sam Alito, to Lauren Windsor, June 3 ~~~

Yes, yes, "any little thing." Like a half-million-dollar vacation, or a quarter-million-dollar travel bus. Petty, petty partisans! -- Marie ~~~

~~~ Daniel Hampton of the Raw Story: "Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito believes news organizations -- specifically calling out the investigative news organization ProPublica -- [are] out to get him.'... That's according to a new recording from liberal documentary maker Lauren Windsor that were obtained Tuesday by Rolling Stone. In the audio, recorded June 3 at an event hosted by the Supreme Court Historical Society, the questioner asks the justice why he feels the nation's highest court has been 'attacked' and 'targeted by the media' in recent years. Alito replied: 'They don't like our decisions, and they don't like how they anticipate we may decide some cases that are coming up. That's the beginning of the end of it,' he said.... 'There are groups that are very well-funded by ideological groups that have spearheaded these attacks. That's what it is.'"

Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: Samuel "Alito has long made clear his special solicitude for religious claims, whether before the court or on the flagpole outside his house. Still, it should shock us to hear him lay out his worldview so bluntly -- and to a woman he never met before. It shows an utter lack of regard for the court's delicate posture of neutrality in the constitutional system and American society.... He is also in good company in the upper reaches of government. Recall that House Speaker Mike Johnson ... told an interviewer..., 'Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That's my worldview.' Perhaps we should be grateful that these aspiring theocrats have fully ripped off the mask. Why submit to the sinful compromises demanded by a pluralistic society when you can just impose your (and God's) will by fiat? In that regard, this is really the Alito court." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is a good place to emphasize that Bible Mike doesn't know WTF he's talking about. If he did "go pick up a bible off the shelf and read" more than a few passages, he would know that the Christian Bible does not by any stretch express a definable, cohesive worldview. It is a book with many authors, many editors, written and revised over centuries, with all the contradictions and oddities one would expect of such a miscellany. And the contradictions are not a neat dichotomy between the Old Testament and the New. Within each testament, indeed, often within a single book, there appears a god of diverging attributes and attitudes, a savior messiah disagreeing with something he supposedly said in the previous chapter, and so on. If Bible Mike "goes and picks up a bible off the shelf and reads it," his worldview will depend upon the verse he lands on.

Uh, Onward, Christian Soldiers. Elizabeth Dias & Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "... the core of the idea expressed to [Justice Samuel] Alito, that the country must fight the decline of Christianity in public life, goes beyond the questions of bias and influence at the nation's highest court. An array of conservatives ... has openly embraced the idea that American democracy needs to be grounded in Christian values and guarded against the rise of secular culture. They are right-wing Catholics and evangelicals who oppose abortion, same-sex marriage, transgender rights and what they see as the dominance of liberal views in school curriculums. And they've become a crucial segment of ... Donald J. Trump's political coalition, intermingled with the MAGA movement.... Justice Alito ... is embracing language and symbolism that line up with a much broader movement pushing back against the declining power of Christianity as a majority religion in America."

You need a democracy to have effective capitalism. If you don't, you get cronyism. You get oligarchy. You get crony capitalism. You get arbitrary and capricious administration to the law, which reduces people's tendency to invest in your country. -- Words of Wisdom, from the most unlikely sources, the Mooch a/k/a Anthony Scaramucci ~~~

~~~ Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... democracy under capitalism is necessarily of limited scope. We have the power and capacity to regulate and structure the market, but the fundamental questions -- of production and surplus, of ownership and social reproduction -- are beyond the reach of democratic decision-making as presently constituted. But even the weak grasp of capitalist democracy is too strong for, well, capitalists.... According to Sam Sutton, writing in Politico, several Wall Street executives and Silicon Valley venture capitalists who backed Donald Trump and then spurned him after the Jan. 6 insurrection have now returned to the fold, with open arms and open wallets. They are, he writes, 'looking past qualms about his personality and willingness to bulldoze institutional norms and focusing instead on issues closer to the heart: how he might ease regulations, cut their taxes or flex U.S. power on the global stage.'... [But] the truth is that regimes of corrupt, personalist rule -- in which authoritarians wield the state to reward friends, punish enemies and secure their fortunes -- are much less prosperous than the alternative."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Elahe Izadi & Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post use the front page for some navel-gazing: "What [owner Jeff] Bezos wants from and for The Post has remained the compelling question through a week of internal turmoil, during which his handpicked new publisher and CEO, William Lewis, abruptly replaced the newspaper's first female executive editor and announced a reorganization of the newsroom -- the exact plans for which remain unclear -- in a bid to boost earnings." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "Key parts of a Florida law that bans gender transition care for minors and imposes hurdles on adults seeking such care are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled on Tuesday. Judge Robert L. Hinkle of Federal District Court in Tallahassee sided with advocacy groups and three families who had said that the law stripped them of parents' rights to make medical decisions for their transgender children. In a 105-page order, Judge Hinkle said that 'gender identity is real' and that a 'widely accepted standard of care' includes puberty blockers and hormone treatments that Florida unlawfully banned. 'The State of Florida can regulate as needed but cannot flatly deny transgender individuals safe and effective medical treatment -- treatment with medications routinely provided to others with the state's full approval so long as the purpose is not to support the patient's transgender identity,' Judge Hinkle wrote." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Explain to me again why legislators and judges are horning in on family medical care decisions. Oh yeah, Ron DeSantis thought bullying vulnerable teenagers would compensate enough for his multiple personality disorders that voters would want him to be POTUS. DeLusional.

Virginia. Karina Elwood of the Washington Post: "The Virginia NAACP and five students are suing a school board that voted last month to restore the names of two schools previously named for Confederate leaders, saying the decision creates a discriminatory educational environment for Black students. The federal complaint filed Tuesday says the reversal denies Black students an equal opportunity to education by forcing them to attend a school named after Confederate leaders.... The Shenandoah County School Board voted 5-1 last month to revert the name of Mountain View High to Stonewall Jackson High School. In addition, Honey Run Elementary School was renamed Ashby Lee Elementary School after Robert E. Lee and Turner Ashby."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Vatican. Emma Bubola of the New York Times: "Pope Francis repeated an anti-gay slur during a meeting with priests in Rome on Tuesday, Italian news outlets reported, the same offensive term he was accused of using two weeks ago. The Vatican, in summarizing the gathering, said only that the pontiff had cautioned about admitting gay men into Roman Catholic seminaries. The Vatican did not address the reports by two of the most prominent news agencies in Italy, ANSA and Adnkronos, that he had again used the word 'frociaggine,' an offensive Italian slang term referring to gay men. The reports cited anonymous sources they said had been present at the meeting."

News Ledes

We are in what I view as a new global world war for control of the search for truth. We have to mobilize our truth-seeking strength to survive, for America and democracy to survive. -- Howard Fineman, 2024 ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "Howard Fineman, a witty, encyclopedic political reporter who dominated the fast-evolving world of Washington journalism for nearly 40 years, moving effortlessly from daily news coverage to the pages of Newsweek magazine to cable news punditry and later to the frontiers of online journalism, died on Tuesday at his home in Washington. He was 75."

CNBC: "The consumer price index showed no increase in May as inflation slightly loosened its stubborn grip on the U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The CPI, a broad inflation gauge that measures a basket of goods and services costs across the U.S. economy, held flat on the month though it increased 3.3% from a year ago, according to the departments Bureau of Labor Statistics."

New York Times: "Jerry West, who emerged from West Virginia coal country to become one of basketball's greatest players, a signature figure in the history of the Los Angeles Lakers and a literal icon of the sport -- his is the silhouette on the logo of the National Basketball Association -- died on Wednesday. He was 86."

New York Times: "Morrie Markoff, a supercentenarian blogger and scrap-metal sculptor who was believed to be the oldest man in the United States and whose brain has been donated for research on what is known as super-aging, died on June 3 at his home in downtown Los Angeles. He was 110."

The Conversation -- June 11, 2024

ProPublica Cracks the IRS. Jesse Eisenger, et al., of ProPublica: “ProPublica has obtained a vast cache of IRS information showing how billionaires like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Warren Buffett pay little in income tax compared to their massive wealth -- sometimes, even nothing.... The data provides an unprecedented look inside the financial lives of America's titans.... It shows not just their income and taxes, but also their investments, stock trades, gambling winnings and even the results of audits. Taken together, it demolishes the cornerstone myth of the American tax system: that everyone pays their fair share and the richest Americans pay the most. The IRS records show that the wealthiest can -- perfectly legally -- pay income taxes that are only a tiny fraction of the hundreds of millions, if not billions, their fortunes grow each year." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although the specifics here may make for blockbluster news (and surely somebody's head will roll), as the authors themselves note, "Experts have long understood the broad outlines of how little the wealthy are taxed in the United States...." Trump and Republicans, of course, want to cut these billionaires' tax liability even more (and, yes, less than zero is possible), while Democrats like Elizabeth Warren and President Biden (and even billionaire Warren Buffett) want to tax the rich and ultra-rich more. If you want a good example of stupid, you will find it animated in the form of "typical Republican voter."

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "A jury in Wilmington, Del., on Tuesday found Hunter Biden, President Biden's long-troubled son, guilty of three felony counts of lying on a federal firearms application in 2018, a grievous personal blow to the Biden family as his father enters the final months of a brutal re-election campaign. He could face up to 25 years in prison, but first-time offenders who did not use their weapons to commit a violent crime typically receive no jail time." This is the pinned item in a liveblog. Here are some other items in the thread: ~~~

Zach Montague: "The verdict came after just over three hours of deliberations split between Monday and Tuesday."

Thrush: "Jill Biden tried to enter the building with her sister-in-law Valerie Owens Biden a few minutes before the jury entered the courtroom to read the verdict, but they did not make it through in time, according to bystanders."

Katie Rogers: "In a statement, President Biden ... says...: 'As I said last week, I am the President, but I am also a Dad. Jill and I love our son, and we are so proud of the man he is today. So many families who have had loved ones battle addiction understand the feeling of pride seeing someone you love come out the other side and be so strong and resilient in recovery. As I also said last week, I will accept the outcome of this case and will continue to respect the judicial process as Hunter considers an appeal....'"

Eileen Sullivan: "Hunter Biden just released a statement. 'I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome,' he said, referring to his wife, Melissa Cohen Biden. 'Recovery is possible by the grace of God, and I am blessed to experience that gift one day at a time.' He says he has been sober since mid-2019."

Thrush: "David Weiss, the special counsel, flanked by Leo Wise and Derek Hines, the two prosecutors who oversaw the trial, reiterated that he brought the case because nobody 'is above the law' -- but also suggested the government would not seek a sentence more severe than for any other person convicted in such a case.... Weiss, who signed off on a plea deal for Hunter Biden last July that would have resulted in no criminal prosecution, expressed sympathy with people with addiction but said the purchase of a gun made his conduct 'dangerous' and worthy of prosecution."

Rogers: "President Biden has changed his schedule and will leave for Wilmington, where Hunter is, at around 3 p.m. today. The president is scheduled to leave Wednesday for the Group of 7 summit in Italy."

Nicholas Nehamas: "During an address to the nation's largest gun control group on Tuesday, President Biden did not mention his son Hunter Biden's felony convictions for lying on a federal firearms application. The White House is also not holding a press briefing this afternoon."

Montague: "A juror said that even as some members of the jury sympathized with Hunter Biden's struggles with addiction, the verdict was ultimately grounded in a close review of the evidence and that the political climate surrounding the trial was never discussed. 'Politics was not even spoken about,' the man, who identified himself as Juror No. 10, said in an interview with CNN on Tuesday. 'The first family was not even spoken about -- it was all about Hunter.'"

Jesse Wegman of the New York Times: Samuel "Alito has long made clear his special solicitude for religious claims, whether before the court or on the flagpole outside his house. Still, it should shock us to hear him lay out his worldview so bluntly -- and to a woman he never met before. It shows an utter lack of regard for the court's delicate posture of neutrality in the constitutional system and American society.... He is also in good company in the upper reaches of government. Recall that House Speaker Mike Johnson ... told an interviewer..., 'Go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it. That's my worldview.' Perhaps we should be grateful that these aspiring theocrats have fully ripped off the mask. Why submit to the sinful compromises demanded by a pluralistic society when you can just impose your (and God's) will by fiat? In that regard, this is really the Alito court." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is a good place to emphasize that Bible Mike doesn't know WTF he's talking about. If he did "go pick up a bible off the shelf and read" more than a few passages, he would know that the Christian Bible does not by any stretch express a single, definable worldview. It is a book with many authors, many editors, written and revised over centuries, with all the contradictions and oddities one would expect of such a miscellany. And the contradictions are not a neat dichotomy between the Old Testament and the New. Within each testament, indeed, often within a single book, there appears a god of diverging attributes and attitudes, a savior messiah disagreeing with something he supposedly said in the previous chapter, and so on. If Bible Mike "goes and picks up a bible off the shelf and reads it," his worldview will depend upon the verse he lands on.

Elahe Izadi & Sarah Ellison of the Washington Post use the front page for some navel-gazing: "What [owner Jeff] Bezos wants from and for The Post has remained the compelling question through a week of internal turmoil, during which his handpicked new publisher and CEO, William Lewis, abruptly replaced the newspaper's first female executive editor and announced a reorganization of the newsroom -- the exact plans for which remain unclear -- in a bid to boost earnings."

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Merrick Garland, in a Washington Post op-ed: "... heinous threats of violence have become routine in an environment in which the Justice Department is under attack like never before. In recent weeks, we have seen an escalation of attacks that go far beyond public scrutiny, criticism, and legitimate and necessary oversight of our work. They are baseless, personal and dangerous.... Using conspiracy theories, falsehoods, violence and threats of violence to affect political outcomes is not normal. The short-term political benefits of those tactics will never make up for the long-term cost to our country.... It is absurd and dangerous that public servants, many of whom risk their lives every day, are being threatened for simply doing their jobs and adhering to the principles that have long guided the Justice Department's work." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: For some strange reason, the Post has chosen to accompany the op-ed with a photo of Garland testifying before Congress; behind him in the photo is a jumbo screen of Matt Gaetz speaking, presumably to Garland.

Steve Benen of MSNBC: Last week, "45 House Republicans -- representing roughly a fifth of the GOP conference -- thought it'd be a good idea to defund NATO as members prepared to recognize the anniversary of D-Day.... [This] is a reminder of just how far contemporary Republicans -- the party's so-called 'Putin wing' -- have strayed from where the party stood until the recent past." Marjorie Taylor Greene sponsored the bill.

National Crime Blotter

Mariana Alfaro & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump met with his probation officer via a video conference call Monday, a routine step following a verdict in the Manhattan hush money trial that found him guilty on 34 counts. The interview with the New York City Department of Probation was 'uneventful and lasted less than thirty minutes,' according to a person familiar with the proceedings.... Trump received special dispensation to hold the meeting virtually and was in Palm Beach, Fla. He was also allowed to have one of his lawyers appear alongside him, an exception granted to him by Justice Juan Merchan, who oversaw the trial.... In a statement, a group of public defender groups including the Legal Aid Society and the Bronx Defenders said that the exceptions made for Trump 'are not typically afforded to low-income defendants.'" The AP's report is here. MB: I heard on the teevee that Trump's probation officer is a woman and that -- in another unusual aspect of the interview -- a supervisor was in the room with her.

Wayne Parry of the AP: "New Jersey's attorney general's office is looking into whether Donald Trump's recent felony convictions in New York make him ineligible to hold liquor licenses at his three New Jersey golf courses. A spokeswoman for the office said Monday that it is reviewing whether Trump's conviction on 34 felony counts involving payment of hush money to a porn star and falsifying business records in an attempt to hide it should impact the former president's continued ability to hold liquor licenses. State law prohibits anyone from holding a liquor licenses who has been convicted of a crime 'involving moral turpitude.'" MB: Has Trump ever demonstrated anything other than "turpitudity"?

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Monday slightly narrowed the classified documents case against ... Donald J. Trump, saying prosecutors cannot charge him based on an episode in which he is said to have shown a highly sensitive military map to a political adviser months after leaving office. The decision by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was more of a swipe at prosecutors working for the special counsel, Jack Smith, who brought the case than a major blow to the allegations against Mr. Trump. Even though Judge Cannon technically removed the incident from the 53-page indictment, prosecutors may still be able to introduce evidence of it to the jury if the case finally goes to trial.... Judge Cannon ... left untouched a similar allegation that ... the former president showed a classified battle plan to a group of people who had come to interview him for a memoir being written by his former chief of staff, Mark Meadows." MB: IOW, Cannon has decided it's way unfair to demonstrate that Trump is careless with the classified documents he (allegedly!) stole.

Benjamin Weiser & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "Jose Uribe, the businessman who has said he bribed Senator Robert Menendez [D-N.J.] in return for his help in quashing a criminal investigation involving two people close to him, testified on Monday that he had asked the senator directly for his help and that Mr. Menendez had said he would 'look into it.'... At the senator's request, Mr. Uribe wrote down the names of two friends and two companies he believed were under investigation. Mr. Menendez then took the paper, folded it and placed it in his pants pocket.... [The next day,] Mr. Menendez met with New Jersey's attorney general to discuss the matter.... But Mr. Uribe also said the men never discussed the thousands of dollars in car payments Mr. Uribe had been making for a Mercedes-Benz convertible that, months earlier, he had provided to Ms. Menendez."

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: "Jurors in Hunter Biden's federal gun trial began deliberations late Monday after prosecutors concluded their case with an exhaustive inventory of evidence they presented over the past week in hopes of proving that Mr. Biden knowingly falsified a firearms application in 2018. During an hourlong closing argument, Leo J. Wise, the lead prosecutor in the case, connected dozens of evidentiary dots seeking to show that Mr. Biden ... lied when he filled out the gun form by claiming to be drug-free when he was addicted to crack cocaine, tearing his family apart in the process. Abbe Lowell, Mr. Biden's lawyer, countered with a 90-minute closing argument that attacked the credibility of the government's main witnesses. He accused prosecutors of peddling 'suspicion' and 'conjecture,' and suggested that the trial had less to do with justice than punishing a remorseful and sober man for the crime of drug addiction." This is an update of a story linked yesterday.

Presidential Race

Erica Green of the New York Times: "President Biden warned on Monday of 'old ghosts in new garments trying to take us back' in remarks commemorating Juneteenth, the national holiday that marks the freedom of the last enslaved people in America, and vowed that his administration was committed to protecting Black history and civil rights. Speaking from the South Lawn of the White House, where he held a concert in honor of the upcoming holiday, Mr. Biden assailed efforts to erase Black history through book bans, limit opportunities through attacks on diversity programs and chip away at freedoms like the right to vote."

Choices. Donald Trump, a shark, and a powerful battery are sinking in the ocean. You can either save the former president or shoot a dramatic Pulitzer Prize winning photo; do you select high contrast color film, or do you go with the classic simplicity of black and white? -- Sundae Gurl, in a tweet ~~~

~~~ Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post: Donald "Trump ... rants like someone you'd cross the street to avoid. We in the media have failed by becoming inured to Trump's verbal incontinence -- not just the rapid-fire lies and revenge-seeking threats, but also the frightening glimpses into a mind that is, evidently, unwell.... His rally on Sunday in Las Vegas offered a grim smorgasbord of examples, but the obvious standout (and not in a good way) is the story he told about being aboard a hypothetical electric-powered boat." Read on. Robinson cites Trump's whole crazy story in which we once again are presented with Trump's fear of sharks. Oh, and about that time Trump cancelled a visit to the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery in Belleau, France, because he didn't want his hair mussed in a light rain? Trump thinks he went. ~~~

~~~ Sarah Fortinsky of the Hill (Jan. 9): "Former President Trump defended his supporters who rioted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and called them 'warriors' at a Nevada rally on Sunday. 'Those J6 warriors -- they were warriors -- but they were really, more than anything else, they're victims of what happened,' Trump said at the rally, speaking to a crowd of supporters. 'All they were doing is protesting a rigged election. That's what they were doing,' Trump continued, repeating his false claims that the 2024 presidential election was rigged against him. Trump also falsely claimed police welcomed rioters into the Capitol and, Trump said, told the rioters, 'Go in, go in, go in, go in.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Steve Benen of MSNBC: "The result is an increasingly head-spinning political dynamic without precedent in the American tradition: A convicted criminal, who's surrounded himself with other convicted criminals, is running on a presidential platform of championing the interests of still other convicted criminals.... President Joe Biden's re-election campaign recently enlisted three police officers from Jan. 6 -- Sgt. Aquilino Gonell, Officer Harry Dunn and Officer Danny Hodges — to hit the campaign trail as surrogates, warning voters about the threat Trump poses to our system of government. The result is a dynamic in which the former Republican president is siding with those who committed acts of violence against police officers, while the incumbent Democratic president is aligned with the officers themselves."

Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post puts into historical context part of Trump's plans for 2025: "One plan that hasn't gotten nearly enough attention ... is Trump's desire to replace the professionalized civil service of today with his own version of the 19th-century 'spoils system.' He's already tried. Near the end of his presidency, Trump issued an executive order making it possible for him to fire tens of thousands of civil servants in policymaking positions and to install political allies in their places. It was to be done through a newly created status known as 'Schedule F.' President Biden reversed that order shortly after his inauguration.... In the eyes of Trump and his compatriots, [the civil service] system has become the reviled 'deep state.'... The bureaucracy is undeniably ripe for reform. If Trump has his way, however, what Americans will get is the worst outcome of all -- a civil service composed of amateurs and ideologues, and one that is accountable only to him."

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump pledged Monday to walk 'side by side' with the Danbury Institute, a coalition of Christian groups that opposes abortion, even in cases of rape or incest, and has called the procedure 'child sacrifice.'... [in taped remarks played Monday,] he told the group that it was time to 'defend religious liberty, free speech, innocent life, and the heritage and traditions that built America into the greatest nation in the history of the world.'... [President] Biden's campaign repeatedly called out Trump's plans to speak to the group, highlighting a section on the Danbury Institute's website that states: 'Abortion must be ended. We will not rest until it is eradicated entirely.'"

Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: “Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. told a woman posing as a Catholic conservative last week that compromise in America between the left and right might be impossible and then agreed with the view that the nation should return to a place of godliness. 'One side or the other is going to win,' Justice Alito told the woman, Lauren Windsor, at an exclusive gala at the Supreme Court. 'There can be a way of working, a way of living together peacefully, but it’s difficult, you know, because there are differences on fundamental things that really can’t be compromised,' ... according to the edited recordings of Justice Alito and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., which were posted and distributed widely on social media on Monday. 'Like, people in this country who believe in God have got to keep fighting for that, to return our country to a place of godliness.' 'I agree with you, I agree with you,' [Alito] responded. The justice’s comments appeared to be in marked contrast to those of Chief Justice Roberts, who ... who pushed back against Ms. Windsor’s assertion that the court had an obligation to lead the country on a more 'moral path' [and that the U.S. is a 'Christian nation.']” ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Gerstein of Politico: “Newly released audio recordings of Justice Samuel Alito appear to capture him speaking candidly about the limits of the investigation the Supreme Court conducted into the leak of his draft majority opinion in the 2022 case that ended the federal constitutional right to abortion.... Asked how the country can become less polarized, Alito responded: 'I wish I knew. I don’t know. It’s easy to blame the media, but I do blame them because they do nothing but criticize us. And so they have really eroded trust in the court. … American citizens in general need to work on this to heal this polarization because it’s very dangerous.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Somebody should have asked Alito a long time ago his thoughts on the First Amendment. Clearly, he opposes the establishment clause, and he doesn't seem to favor a free press, either. ~~~

     ~~~ You can listen to Lauren Windsor's audio recording of Sam Alito & John Roberts here, on X. Her recording of her conversation with Martha-Ann Alito is here.

     ~~~ William Vaillancourt of the Daily Beast, republished by Yahoo! News: “Martha-Ann Alito, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, complained about the Pride flag, ranted about 'feminazis,' and explained a flag design that she has been creating in her head in anticipation of when her husband is 'free of this nonsense,' according to undercover audio released by a journalist and documentary filmmaker Monday on X. 'I want a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag, because I have to look across the lagoon at the Pride flag for the next month,' Alito griped at one point.... After stating her need for a Sacred Heart of Jesus flag, Alito described her husband’s reaction. 'He’s like, “Oh please don’t put up a flag.” I said, “I won’t do it because I’m deferring to you. But when you are free of this nonsense, I’m putting it up and I’m going to send them a message every day. Maybe every week, I’ll be changing the flags.”'... Alito’s comments were recorded undercover June 3 at the Supreme Court Historical Society’s annual dinner by Lauren Windsor, who was playing the role of a conservative activist.”

Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "MSNBC on Monday aired never-before-seen footage of an irate Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) demanding to know why the National Guard had not yet been deployed to secure the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021 after a pro-Trump mob attacked the building and forced lawmakers to evacuate.... Donald Trump has long spread the roundly debunked falsehood that then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi blocked his order to send the National Guard to the Capitol ahead of January 6th. Trump’s own acting defense secretary told Congress under oath that Trump never gave any such order. Furthermore, the president is the commander-in-chief of the District of Columbia National Guard and a congressional leader could not prevent it from being deployed.... Schumer can then be heard saying, 'D.C. has requested the National Guard, and it’s been denied by DoD. I’d like to know a good fucking reason why it’s been denied. We need them fast.... We’re like a third-world country here. We had to run and evacuate the Capitol.'” ~~~

     ~~~ Jordan Carney & Kyle Cheney of Politico (June 9): "The [footage was] shot by the former speaker’s daughter, documentarian Alexandra Pelosi, and recently provided to congressional investigators by HBO upon a request by Republicans pushing to undermine the findings of the previous Jan. 6 select committee.... The new footage does not bolster GOP claims of [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi being at fault. Instead, it largely aligns with and adds depth to previous snippets of Alexandra Pelosi’s footage released by the Jan. 6 select committee and in an HBO documentary that was released in 2022."

Paul Krugman of the New York Times: “After Donald Trump was convicted on 34 felony counts, the Heritage Foundation — a right-wing think tank that has, among other things, produced the Project 2025 agenda, a blueprint for policy if Trump wins — flew an upside-down American flag, which has become an emblem for support of MAGA in general and election denial in particular.... Heritage’s embrace of what amounts to an attack on democracy is a useful symbol of one of the really troubling developments of this election as it heads into the final stretch. Heritage presents itself as a defender of freedom, but its real mission has always been to produce arguments — frequently based on shoddy research — for low taxes on rich people. And its tacit endorsement of lawlessness illustrates the way many of America’s plutocrats — both in Silicon Valley and on Wall Street — have, after flirting with the crank candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., been rallying around Trump.”

Davone Morales & Meredith Deliso of ABC News: "Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman was involved in a crash on a Maryland interstate over the weekend, police and his office confirmed on Monday. The two-vehicle crash occurred on Interstate 70 near Hagerstown shortly before 8 a.m. Sunday, according to Maryland State Police. Fetterman, 54, was driving a Chevrolet Traverse west on I-70 when, 'for unknown reasons,' his vehicle struck the rear of a Chevrolet Impala, according to preliminary information from state police. Fetterman's wife, Gisele Barreto Fetterman was also in the vehicle, according to the senator's office. Both were evaluated at a local hospital "out of abundance of caution' and the senator was treated for a bruised shoulder, according to his office. Both were discharged Sunday afternoon."

Paul Valentine of the Washington Post: “The Rev. James M. Lawson, a United Methodist minister who became a principal tactician of nonviolent protest during the civil rights movement, leading sit-ins, marches and Freedom Rides that withstood attacks by mobs and police throughout the 1960s, died June 9. He was 95.... Among the student recruits for his sit-ins were John Lewis, who later became a Georgia congressman; future D.C. Mayor Marion S. Barry; and future civil rights leaders and activists Diane Nash, James Bevel and Bernard Lafayette. Rev. Lawson was among the first Freedom Riders arrested in Jackson, Miss., in 1961, as the activists sought to integrate interstate bus and train travel. During the 'Bloody Sunday' clash of March 1965, he was among the protesters beaten by authorities at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., during a march for voting rights.”

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Georgia. All the Best Candidates. Jeff Amy of the AP: "A Georgia congressional candidate convicted of a misdemeanor for illegally demonstrating inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, walked out of a televised debate with a fellow Republican on Sunday ahead of a June 18 primary runoff. It was the latest volatile turn in southwest Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District, where Chuck Hand and Wayne Johnson are competing for the GOP nomination to take on 16-term Democratic incumbent Rep. Sanford Bishop in November. Hand is one of at least four people convicted of Jan. 6 crimes running for Congress this year, all as Republicans. He was sentenced to 20 days in federal prison and six months of probation. At the beginning of a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Hand said he was refusing to debate Johnson after Michael Nixon, who finished third in the four-way May 21 primary, gave a news conference last month endorsing Johnson."

Maryland. Michael Laris of the Washington Post: “After a colossal cleanup effort, federal and state authorities fully reopened the main shipping channel to the Port of Baltimore on Monday, transforming a site of ferocious destruction into a symbol of resilience after an errant container ship downed the Francis Scott Key Bridge in March and killed six workers.... [Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott] credited a partnership that included [Gov. Wes] Moore, President Biden, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Coast Guard, and officials from federal, state, county and city governments.” MB: It is not coincidental that the three politicians who led the effort to reopen the shipping channel are Democrats.

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' liveblog of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Farnaz Fassihi, et al., of the New York Times: “The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan for the Gaza Strip with only Russia abstaining, a sign of the growing frustration among the world’s major powers over the war and the desire to bring it to an end. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told members of the Security Council that Israel had already agreed to the deal laid out in the resolution — although Israel has so far resisted taking a public position on it — and she urged Hamas 'to do the same.'”

Jamey Keaten of the AP: “The U.N. human rights office is citing possible war crimes by Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups in connection with a deadly raid by Israeli forces that freed four hostages over the weekend and killed hundreds of Palestinians.... [Spokesman Jeremy] Laurence said Palestinian armed groups who are holding hostages in densely populated areas are putting the lives of nearby civilians and the hostages at 'added risks' from the hostilities.”

The Conversation -- June 10, 2024

Glenn Thrush, et al., of the New York Times: "Hunter Biden's defense team is expected to wrap up arguments in his federal firearms trial in Delaware on Monday, and the jury could begin deliberating by day's end barring any dramatic moves -- like a last-minute decision by Mr. Biden to testify on his own behalf."

CNN's live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "More details emerged of the Israeli operation that rescued four hostages held by Hamas but left many Palestinians dead.... Eyewitness said it was 'hell on Earth,' with the Palestinian foreign ministry calling the raid 'a gruesome massacre.' Israeli officials put the death toll lower, but blamed the carnage on Hamas for holding hostages in civilian areas. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called on key war cabinet member Benny Gantz to reconsider after resigning from government over the handling of the war in Gaza. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who traveled to the Middle East on Monday to push for a ceasefire agreement, is set to meet Netanyahu and defense minister Yoav Gallant this evening, before meeting Gantz on Tuesday.... The United States on Sunday called for a vote on its UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution backing the proposal for a permanent ceasefire and release of the hostages in Gaza."

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Biden Pays Respects to Soldiers Trump Called "Suckers" & "Losers." Toluse Olorunnipa, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden visited an American cemetery in France on Sunday, a somber setting that allowed him to pay his respects to fallen soldiers while reminding voters of one of the most controversial moments of Donald Trump's presidency. Biden's stop at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery -- a site Trump skipped during a 2018 trip after reportedly calling those buried there 'suckers' and 'losers' -- capped a five-day trip to France in which the president did not say his predecessor's name in public but nonetheless sought to make clear the sharp differences that exist between the two men and their presidencies.... The visit was part of a mounting effort by Biden and his campaign to resurface the worst memories of Trump's turbulent four years in office -- a push that has run squarely into a phenomenon pollsters have branded 'Trump amnesia.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

📺 Here's the video of @EmmanuelMacron gifting @POTUS @JoeBiden the @vuarnetofficiel sunglasses. 👓 https://t.co/W2KLxh8FYr pic.twitter.com/5MNHe1VJpy

— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) June 9, 2024

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link. Via digby.

Hamed Aleaziz, et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is considering a proposal to protect undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens from deportation and allow them to work in the country legally.... The officials ... said that no final decision had been made and that the shape of the policy was unclear. Any such program could also provide some spouses an easier route to obtain U.S. citizenship."

National Crime Blotter

Notorious Crime Boss Donnie Short-Fingers Has Probation Hearing Monday. Adam Reiss, et al., of NBC News: "Former President Trump is scheduled to sit for a virtual interview on Monday with a New York City probation officer from his home at Mar-a-Lago with his attorney Todd Blanche at his side.... The probation interview is required by the court as part of the former president's pre-sentencing report. Judge Juan Merchan, who is presiding over the hush money case, permitted Blanche to be present for the probation interview after prosecutors did not object.... Martin Horn, former commissioner of the New York City Department of Corrections and Probation..., noted that the typical purpose of a probation interview is to obtain information on Trump's social and criminal history, financial resources, history of mental health, physical or addiction issues as well as to assess his living situation. Trump could also be asked if he is associating with anyone with a criminal record because he cannot associate with them if he is placed on probation, Horn said." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I suppose this will be the first time in history that the answer to, "Do you associate with known criminals?" will be, "Almost everyone I know is a criminal, but then I pardoned them all." Of course there's still Steve Bannon, Peter Navarro, Ken Chesebro, Jenna Ellis, et. al, whose most recent crimes Trump couldn't pardon since he lost his pardoning privileges.

Presidential Race

Plus ça Change.... (Well, Except for that Total Fascist-Embrace Thing). Jacob Bogage of the Washington Post: "Republicans in Congress are preparing to not just extend ... Donald Trump's 2017 tax cuts if they win control of Washington in November's elections, but also lower rates even more for corporations, laying the early groundwork for a ferocious debate over taxes and spending next year and beyond.... GOP lawmakers and some of Trump's economic advisers are considering more corporate tax breaks -- which could expand the national debt by roughly $1 trillion over the next decade, according to researchers at Stanford University and MIT.... [President] Biden promises to raise taxes on the wealthiest individuals and corporations, allowing the Trump tax law's individual rate cuts to expire and pushing for legislation with taxes on businesses to pay for new investments in child and elder care, affordable housing and education."

John Bowden of the Independent: Donald Trump "was in Las Vegas, Nevada for a summertime rally in the searing heat -- high temperatures on the strip were projected to be around 103 degrees Fahrenheit.... At several points in the rally, he addressed the heat.... 'I don't want anybody going on me. We need every voter,' he said. 'I don't care about you. I just want your vote.'... After the rally concluded, local media reports found that nearly two dozen rallygoers had been treated onsite for medical issues resulting from the heat, while six ended up going to the hospital.... Trump spent much of the speech insulting America's immigrant population and describing incoming immigrants and asylum-seekers as criminals, mentally unstable, and 'not productive' members of society." ~~~

     ~~~ And for a bit more color, see Akhilleus' commentary at the top of today's thread.

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Europe

Things Fall Apart. The Center Barely Holds. Matina Stevis-Gridneff of the New York Times: "Casting ballots in 27 countries, voters largely backed centrists in European Parliament elections, but far-right parties made serious inroads in France and Germany. Partial results made public late Sunday showed that centrist political groups were poised to lose some seats, but still maintain a clear majority of more than 400 seats in the 720-seat assembly. Even so, the outcome seemed likely to steel the far right as a disruptive force and unsettled the bloc's mainstream establishment." This is an update of a story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

Bad News in France. Roger Cohen & Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "President Emmanuel Macron of France, battered by a crushing defeat to the extreme right in European elections, dissolved the lower house of Parliament on Sunday and called for legislative elections beginning on June 30. His decision, announced in a television broadcast to the nation, was a measure of the devastating nature of the European Parliament election result, which gave the National Rally, led by Marine Le Pen and her wildly popular protégé, Jordan Bardella, about 31.5 percent of the vote, to about 15.2 percent for Mr. Macron's Renaissance party. It became the leading party in France by some distance. 'The rise of nationalists and demagogues is a danger for our nation and for Europe,' Mr. Macron said. 'After this day I cannot go on as though nothing has happened.'" Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ CNN's live updates of developments in the European elections are here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Nadeen Ebrahim of CNN: "sraeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has resigned from Benjamin Netanyahu's government, delivering a blow to the prime minister who has been celebrating the rare rescue of hostages held in Gaza. 'Netanyahu prevents us from moving forward to a real victory [in Gaza],' Gantz said in a televised statement Sunday in which he described leaving the government as a 'complex and painful' decision.... He accused Netanyahu of putting his own personal political considerations ahead of a post-war strategy for the Gaza Strip, claiming that 'fateful strategic decisions are met with hesitancy and procrastination due to political considerations,' and urged the prime minister to hold an election in the coming months." (Also linked yesterday.)

Waafa Shurafa & Samy Magdy of the AP: "At least 274 Palestinians, including dozens of children, were killed, and hundreds more were wounded, in the Israeli raid that rescued four hostages held by Hamas, Gaza's Health Ministry said Sunday. The Israeli military said its forces came under heavy fire and responded during the complex daytime operation in central Gaza. The killing of so many Palestinians, in a raid that Israelis celebrated as a stunning success, showed the heavy cost of such operations on top of the already soaring toll of the 8-month-old war ignited by Hamas' Oct. 7 attack."