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Friday

Apr052024

The Conversation -- April 5, 2024

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Trump Media is sounding more and more like the Trump presidency.... Not for the first time, Trump has played his supporters for suckers.... In a sense, what he did with Trump Media was just a variation on what he does to his supporters every day, whether convincing them to buy Trump-endorsed Bibles and sneakers, or selling them on election lies and white nationalism.... At the heart of [his Green Bay, Wisconsin, rally] speech was his original swindle, and still his go-to scam: convincing his supporters that their lives were being destroyed by dark-skinned invaders. It was the story of how 'Crooked Joe and his migrant armies of dangerous criminals' are producing a 'bloodbath' among innocent, native-born Americans. It's not the least bit true."

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "Trump's assault on our democracy must be viewed not 'merely' as legal infractions; the response must come not only from judges. Reducing all of Trump's reprehensible offenses to legalities also gives Republicans an excuse to avoid condemning his behavior.... Meanwhile, the media, elected leaders and voters should not ignore that Trump's conduct need not be illegal to be disqualifying."

Michelle Price of the AP: "As Donald Trump seeks the presidency for a third time, he is being vigorously opposed by a vocal contingent of former officials who are stridently warning against his return to power and offering dire predictions for the country and the rule of law if his campaign succeeds. It's a striking chorus of detractors, one without precedent in the modern era, coming from those who witnessed first-hand his conduct in office and the turmoil that followed.... Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper has called him a 'threat to democracy.' Former national security adviser John Bolton has declared him 'unfit to be president.' And former Vice President Mike Pence has declined to endorse him, citing 'profound differences.'... Yet the critics remain a distinct minority. Republican lawmakers and officials across the party have endorsed Trump's bid...."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden threatened on Thursday to condition future support for Israel on how it addresses his concerns about civilian casualties and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, prompting Israel to commit to permitting more food and other supplies into the besieged enclave in hopes of placating him. During a tense 30-minute call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, Mr. Biden for the first time leveraged U.S. aid to influence the conduct of the war against Hamas that has inflamed many Americans and others around the world. The announcement of additional aid routes hours later met some but not all of Mr. Biden's demands.... But while the president repeated his call for a negotiated deal that would result in an 'immediate cease-fire' and the release of hostages taken by Hamas, White House officials stopped short of saying directly that he might limit U.S. arms supplies if not satisfied."

Frances Vinall of the Washington Post: "McDonald's is buying the franchise that sparked global boycotts by offering free meals to Israeli forces shortly after the start of the Israel-Gaza war, taking ownership of its 225 stores. Alonyal, a McDonald's franchise operating in Israel that is owned by Omri Padan, began offering free meals to troops early in the war, a move the U.S.-based umbrella company said was independent of the wider brand.... McDonald's is among the brands that have been targeted in a boycott movement aimed at protesting Israel's conduct in Gaza, in addition to companies such as Starbucks -- which was criticized for taking its union to court over a social media post related to the war -- and Disney, which plans to debut an Israeli superhero in an upcoming Marvel film."

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The Trials of Trump & the Trump Mob

First Read This Report. Devlin Barrett & Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "U.S. District Court Judge Aileen M. Cannon on Thursday rejected Donald Trump's bid to have his charges of mishandling classified documents dismissed on the grounds that a federal records law protected him from prosecution. The judge also defended her handling of the issue.... On Thursday, Cannon shot down [Trump's] argument, saying the [Presidential Records Act] 'does not provide a pre-trial basis to dismiss' either the mishandling charges or the related obstruction charges against Trump. The decision comes two days after special counsel Jack Smith made a court filing saying the judge was pursuing a legal premise about the PRA that was 'wrong' and urged her to rule, adding that if she decided otherwise, he wanted to appeal any such decision quickly.... In her three-page order, Cannon defended her order and pushed back against Smith's challenge to it. She wrote that 'to the extent the Special Counsel demands an anticipatory finalization of jury instructions prior to trial, prior to a charge conference, and prior to the presentation of trial defenses and evidence, the Court declines that demand as unprecedented and unjust.'" This was still described as a "developing story" at 4:30 pm ET Thursday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Then Read This One. Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The judge overseeing the case against Donald Trump on charges that he amassed classified documents at his Florida estate has rejected, for now, his bid to throw out the bulk of the case based on the argument that he had the right to keep those documents under a federal law governing presidential records. However, the three-page ruling Thursday by U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon left open the possibility for Trump to continue raising that argument if a trial takes place in the case. In the same decision, Cannon also shot down a request from special counsel Jack Smith to promptly reveal whether she agrees with Trump's claim that the Presidential Records Act ... may have authorized him to keep classified records indefinitely even after leaving office." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: The Gerstein-Cheney report is quite short. And it's accurate. The Barrett-Stein report: fairly misleading and hard to decipher. What Cannon did here was a quick feint to keep in a position to exonerate Trump. After dilly-dallying for months on a slew of pretrial motions, Cannon was able to make a ruling in less than 48 hours after Smith threatened to haul her before her superiors at the 11th Circuit. BUT, as Gerstein & Cheney tell us, her ruling includes a remarkable get-out-of-jail card for Trump: she writes that she could still rule during the trial phase that the PRA allows Trump to keep all those classified docs; that is, to rule in Trump's favor when jeopardy is attached and Trump can't be retried. Cannon may not be the sharpest tack on the board, but she sure knows how to look out for herself.

Georgia Judge Calls B.S. on Trump Motion to Dismiss. Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "An Atlanta-area judge on Thursday upheld the criminal indictment against ... Donald Trump in Georgia, rejecting the argument that Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election were protected under the First Amendment. 'The defense has not presented, nor is the Court able to find, any authority that the speech and conduct alleged is protected political speech,' Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote in his order." (Also linked yesterday.)

Blayne Alexander, et al., of NBC News: "Lawyers for ... Donald Trump and eight of his co-defendants in the Georgia election interference case on Friday asked a state appeals court to allow them to challenge a recent ruling that didn't disqualify Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from prosecuting the case." (Also linked yesterday.)

Nick Robertson of the Hill: "Former President Trump shared articles critical of Judge Juan Merchan and his family on Wednesday, appearing to test the bounds of the gag order placed on Trump in his New York hush money case. Merchan expanded the gag order Monday to prevent Trump from discussing his family, after the former president made comments critical of Merchan's daughter, Loren. Trump was already barred from speaking about court employees and witnesses in the case." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I don't believe I've ever even heard of an adult who behaves like this. This is a toddler testing the bounds of "Don't touch that stove, Donnie." I'd say Trump has touched it now. Make him burn, Judge.

Hankey-Panky, Ctd. About That "Bond." Katrina Kaufman of CBS News: "... the [$175 million] surety bond [posted to guarantee Donald Trump's judgment in the New York financial fraud case he lost] was missing vital information typically included in those filings, experts say. These standard elements include documents related to power of attorney for the bond provider, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, a financial statement from the company and a certificate of solvency from the Department of Financial Services.... Adam Pollock, a former assistant attorney general in New York, said, 'This bond is deficient for a number of reasons...,' including that the company doesn't appear to be licensed in New York and doesn't appear to have enough capital to make this undertaking, Pollock said.... 'The attorney general would have ample grounds to push back here' as to whether this is a valid appellate bond in New York State,' said Pollock." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: A related story linked yesterday suggested the bond was submitted without proper paperwork. But the CBS story makes it sound worse than that: the paperwork is missing because Hankey's company cannot meet the requirements. It's as if Hankey guaranteed the bond on the back of a hanky and sent it in. ~~~

~~~ So Then. Uh-oh. Ben Protess & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "The New York attorney general’s office on Thursday took exception to a $175 million bond that Donald J. Trump recently posted in his civil fraud case, questioning the qualifications of the California company that provided it.... And the judge in the case, Arthur F. Engoron, has tentatively scheduled a hearing for April 22 to discuss the bond.... By providing the bond -- which is a legal document, not an actual transfer of money -- Knight essentially promises New York's court system that it will cover $175 million of the judgment against Mr. Trump if he loses his appeal and fails to pay.... [Attorney General Letitia] James is seeking to clarify whether Knight, which had never posted a similar court bond before aiding Mr. Trump, is financially capable of fulfilling its obligation to pay the $175 million if Mr. Trump defaults.... [Bondsman Don Hankey's] companies are known for relentlessly calling people who miss payments by a day, and repossessing vehicles from delinquent borrowers...." ~~~

~~~ Marie: What could be more Trumpy than posting a fake bond (probably backed by fake securities) proffered by a rapacious "businessman" for a judgment regarding fake property valuations.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A disciplinary panel in Washington has found that Jeffrey Clark, a former high-ranking Justice Department official, violated ethics rules for lawyers in his attempt to aid Donald Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election. The three-member disciplinary committee determined Thursday that Clark's campaign to pressure Justice Department leaders to help upend the transfer of power to Joe Biden violated his duties as an attorney. The preliminary ruling jumpstarts a process that could lead to the suspension or even permanent revocation of Clark's license to practice law.... Disciplinary investigators who brought the charges against Clark say they intend to advocate for his disbarment. The decision followed six days of testimony, including by Clark's former Justice Department superiors...." (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post story is here.

Betsy Swan & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Arizona investigators probing Republicans' efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results have subpoenaed two members of Congress who were among Donald Trump's closest Capitol Hill allies in the scheme. The subpoenas to Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar, which have not previously been reported, ordered the two Arizona Republicans to testify before a grand jury. There is no indication that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is leading the probe, is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker. And it's unclear whether Mayes has insisted on enforcing the subpoenas against the lawmakers, who may have legal bases to resist testifying.... Biggs, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus in 2020 and 2021, and Gosar were among the most vocal congressional supporters of Trump's efforts to overturn Biden's victory in Arizona." (Also linked yesterday.)

Trump's Criminal Pals, Ctd. Ron Dicker of the Huffington Post: "Karl Rove, the GOP strategist who helped guide George W. Bush to two presidential victories, advised President Joe Biden's campaign to 'go hard' at Donald Trump's embrace of the 'thugs' who stormed the Capitol in 2021.... Rove said the siege is 'a stain on our history and every one of those sons of bitches who did that, we ought to find them, try them and send them to jail.... It is a mistake on the part of the Trump campaign to allow the president's impulses to identify himself with the people who assaulted the Capitol rather than people who stand for law and order.'..." ** See Akhilleus' commentary yesterday on Trump's "campaign mistake." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Meet the "Hostages." Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The way ... Donald Trump tells it, the men and women who stormed the Capitol because they believed his lies about the 2020 presidential election are 'hostages' and 'unbelievable patriots' who are being mistreated by the justice system.But an NBC News review of hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 defendants found that just 15 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack are currently being held pretrial at the order of federal judges.... [Trump] recently vowed to 'free the Jan. 6 Hostages' as one of his 'first acts as your next President.'... Low-level defendants routinely receive sentences of probation, but about 500 have received periods of incarceration.... (... Those who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a federal judge in the United States are, by definition, not '"hostages.') In most of those cases, a judge found overwhelming evidence that the defendants had committed criminal acts of violence against law enforcement.... Below are the current pretrial Jan. 6 detainees identified by NBC News, the charges they face and the status of their cases." Reilly names the prisoners & describes the crimes of which they have been accused. The crimes are horrible, and some of those named have long criminal histories. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: These are presumably the kind of criminals Trump has previously urged police to rough up when arresting them. Of course, Trump's "hostages" are mostly (or all) white guys, so maybe he wants only alleged criminals of colors mistreated.

This Congressman Is INSANE. Luke Broadwater & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Even by a conspiracy theorist's standards, the wild claims made by Representative Clay Higgins, Republican of Louisiana, stand out.... But far from relegating Mr. Higgins to the fringe of their increasingly fractious conference, House Republicans have elevated him.... This week, in a lengthy podcast interview, he expounded at length on his belief -- based, he said, on his own extensive investigation and evidence that only he has been able to see -- that federal law enforcement officers entrapped Mr. Trump's supporters into violently attacking the Capitol on Jan. 6. He was repeating a conspiracy theory that has been debunked repeatedly. Over the course of a two-hour interview on the 'Implicit Bias' podcast, Mr. Higgins, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the logo of the Three Percenters, a right-wing antigovernment militia, repeated the lie that the 2020 election was fraudulent. He laid out an outlandish story that tied the rise of the coronavirus pandemic to what he said was a plot by the government to infiltrate pro-Trump online forums and urge members to engage in 'riotous' behavior, as he put it. Finally, he said, also groundlessly, that federal agents posing as Trump supporters traveled to Washington on Jan. 6 and tricked Mr. Trump's backers into carrying out mob violence.... 'The whole thing,' Mr. Higgins said, 'was a nefarious agenda to entrap MAGA Americans.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Presidential Race

No Labels Has No Candidate. Vaughn Hillyard, et al., of NBC News: "No Labels, the bipartisan group that had been working toward putting a third-party presidential ticket on the ballot in all 50 states in 2024, announced Thursday that it was ending its efforts. 'No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House,' No Labels CEO and co-founder Nancy Jacobson said in a statement. 'No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post story is here.

BUT There's Still This Guy. Meryl Kornfield & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "... Robert F. Kennedy's campaign told supporters Wednesday that those facing charges in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot are 'activists sitting in a Washington DC jail cell stripped of their Constitutional liberties.' Kennedy's campaign used the language in an email urging his followers to sign a petition calling for the release of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. In the email..., the campaign compared those jailed for their actions on Jan. 6 to Assange and Edward Snowden, a former National Security Agency contractor who leaked information about top-secret U.S. surveillance programs and is now living in Moscow. The campaign claimed Thursday that Kennedy did not approve of the wording in the email, blaming the 'error' on a contractor who the campaign later said has since been terminated. But Kennedy himself has previously downplayed the Jan. 6 attack and said he is open to pardoning convicted rioters." Politico's story is here. AND his sidekick ~~~

Conditions like autism used to be one in 10,000. Now here in the state of California it is one in 22. -- Nicole Shanahan, RFK Jr's running mate, March 26

In her first news conference as a candidate, Shanahan ... suggest[ed] that vaccines play a role.... The percentage of people diagnosed with ASD has gone up mainly because of expanded definitions and better detection.... Shanahan does not quite say that vaccines cause autism, but she implies it, demanding a study that is not feasible because it would be unethical. She cites numbers that claim that autism has spiked, without acknowledging the main reason is because the definition of autism has been greatly expanded. This is textbook anti-vaccine rhetoric. The overall effect is to cast doubt on the safety of vaccines. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel said it would open more aid routes into Gaza, including the Erez border crossing, hours after a call in which President Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the United States would reassess its policy on the war if Israel does not take immediate steps to address the humanitarian situation and the safety of aid workers. The call ... marked the first time the president has indicated a willingness to reconsider what has so far been ironclad support of Israel's military campaign.... Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday welcomed Israel's announcement on aid routes, but said 'the real test is results.' He added that the United States will be 'looking closely' for Israel's progress on resolving issues including bottlenecks and delays at crossings and an improved system to deconflict and coordinate aid deliveries to ensure the safety of humanitarian workers. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, pledged to respond to Israel's deadly attack on its embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, according to a social media post written in Hebrew. Shortly after, the Israel Defense Forces announced it would temporarily pause all home leave for its combat units...." ~~~

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

Aamer Madhani & Zeke Miller of the AP: "President Joe Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday that future U.S. support for the Gaza war depends on new steps to protect civilians and aid workers. Biden and Netanyahu spoke by phone days after Israeli airstrikes killed seven food aid workers in Gaza and added a new layer of complication in the leaders' increasingly strained relationship. 'He made clear the need for Israel to announce and implement a series of specific, concrete, and measurable steps to address civilian harm, humanitarian suffering, and the safety of aid workers,' the White House said in a statement following the leaders call. 'He made clear that U.S. policy with respect to Gaza will be determined by our assessment of Israel's immediate action on these steps.' Biden, a Democrat, also told Netanyahu that an 'immediate ceasefire is essential' and urged Israel to reach deal 'without delay,' according to the White House." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Here's the White House readout of the call. (Also linked yesterday.)

John Hudson of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration approved the transfer of thousands more bombs to Israel on the same day Israeli airstrikes in Gaza killed seven aid workers for the charity group World Central Kitchen, three U.S. officials told The Washington Post this week after the incident elicited global condemnation.... The White House did not respond to a request for comment.... The State Department approved the transfer of more than 1,000 MK82 500-pound bombs, over 1,000 small-diameter bombs, and fuses for MK80 bombs, all from authorizations granted by Congress several years before the latest hostilities between Israel and Hamas began.... A State Department spokesperson confirmed the approval and said it occurred sometime 'prior' to when the Israeli aircraft struck the aid convoy. The U.S. government has the authority to suspend an arms package any time before delivery.... It has not done so in this case." (Also linked yesterday.)

News Ledes

New York Times: "For most of the millions of people who felt the magnitude-4.8 earthquake that sent tremors from Philadelphia to Boston on Friday morning, it was a harmless novelty in a part of the country unaccustomed to seismic shaking. But the rattling shook buildings in New York City and drove startled residents into the streets. Aftershocks continued throughout the day Friday, including one that measured 4.0 just before 6 p.m. and that was felt widely across New York and New Jersey." ~~~

~~~ Here's where the epicenter of the quake was, via the NYT. ~~~

~~~ Marie: A friend of mine who lives in southern New Hampshire wrote that she felt the quake. She wrote and sent her email before the quake made the news, so I know she wasn't making it up. She said the sofa she was sitting on shook and she could see her plants shaking.

CNBC: "Job creation in March easily topped expectations in a sign of continued acceleration for what has been a bustling and resilient labor market. Nonfarm payrolls increased 303,000 for the month, well above the Dow Jones estimate for an increase of 200,000 and higher than the downwardly revised 270,000 gain in February, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday." The New York Times report is here.

CNN: "More than 400,000 homes and businesses in Maine and New Hampshire were without power early Friday as a late season nor'easter brought heavy snow and strong winds to parts of the Northeast. The widespread outages leave many without indoor heating as the storm blankets the region with snow, toppling trees and power lines and making travel difficult.... Already, snow accumulations in the New England region have exceeded a foot, with Moretown, Vermont, seeing a whopping 24 inches of snow in less than three days and Shapleigh, Maine, seeing 21.5 inches. Although the heaviest snow has ended, several more inches of snow are expected across large swaths of Maine and New Hampshire, according to the National Weather Service. Winds will also remain strong, gusting as high as 35 mph. The states are under a winter weather advisory until 8 a.m. ET Friday."

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Thursday

Apr042024

The Conversation -- April 4, 2024

Marie: I will definitely lose power today, and I may lose Internet service, too. The weather report says it will start snowing in two hours here; it's snowing now and everything -- including the walls -- is covered with snow. So I'll do what I can here, but no promises. Update: Internet on, power off.

Betsy Swan & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Arizona investigators probing Republicans' efforts to overturn the state's 2020 election results have subpoenaed two members of Congress who were among Donald Trump's closest Capitol Hill allies in the scheme. The subpoenas to Reps. Andy Biggs and Paul Gosar ... ordered the two Arizona Republicans to testify before a grand jury. There is no indication that Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who is leading the probe, is considering bringing criminal charges against either lawmaker. And it's unclear whether Mayes has insisted on enforcing the subpoenas against the lawmakers, who may have legal bases to resist testifying.... Biggs, the chairman of the conservative House Freedom Caucus in 2020 and 2021, and Gosar were among the most vocal congressional supporters of Trump's efforts to overturn Biden's victory in Arizona."

~~~ Here's the White House readout of the call.

Presidential Race. No Labels Has No Candidate. Vaughn Hillyard, et al., of NBC News: "No Labels, the bipartisan group that had been working toward putting a third-party presidential ticket on the ballot in all 50 states in 2024, announced Thursday that it was ending its efforts. 'No Labels has always said we would only offer our ballot line to a ticket if we could identify candidates with a credible path to winning the White House,' No Labels CEO and co-founder Nancy Jacobson said in a statement. 'No such candidates emerged, so the responsible course of action is for us to stand down.'"

~~~ Marie: A related story linked below suggested the bond was submitted without proper paperwork. But the CBS story makes it sound worse than that: the paperwork is missing because Hankey's company cannot meet the requirements. It's as if Hankey guaranteed the bond on the back of a hanky and sent it in.

~~~ Meet the "Hostages." Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The way ... Donald Trump tells it, the men and women who stormed the Capitol because they believed his lies about the 2020 presidential election are 'hostages' and 'unbelievable patriots' who are being mistreated by the justice system.But an NBC News review of hundreds of cases against Jan. 6 defendants found that just 15 people charged in connection with the Capitol attack are currently being held pretrial at the order of federal judges.... [Trump] recently vowed to 'free the Jan. 6 Hostages' as one of his 'first acts as your next President.'... Low-level defendants routinely receive sentences of probation, but about 500 have received periods of incarceration.... (... Those who have pleaded guilty or been convicted by a federal judge in the United States are, by definition, not 'hostages.') In most of those cases, a judge found overwhelming evidence that the defendants had committed criminal acts of violence against law enforcement.... Below are the current pretrial Jan. 6 detainees identified by NBC News, the charges they face and the status of their cases." Reilly names the prisoners & describes the crimes of which they have been accused. The crimes are horrible, and some of those named have long criminal histories. ~~~

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Ben Protess of the New York Times: "The judge overseeing Donald J. Trump's criminal case in Manhattan rejected his last-ditch bid to delay a trial beyond April 15, removing one of the final obstacles to the first prosecution of a former American president. Mr. Trump had asked the judge to delay the trial until after the Supreme Court rules on whether he is immune from prosecution on charges involving official acts he took while president, an issue that arose in another of his criminal cases.... The judge..., Juan M. Merchan, ruled that the trial did not need to wait for the Supreme Court. He denied Mr. Trump's effort as 'untimely,' ruling that he failed to request the delay by a legal deadline." The NBC News story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post reflects on Jack Smith's answer to Judge Aileen Cannon's odd pro-Trump order of a couple of weeks ago. "Smith twice alludes to seeking a writ of mandamus from the appeals court -- effectively asking it to force Cannon to correct her error.... Some Trump critics have raised the possibility that Smith might try to get Cannon removed from the case. This filing doesn't go that far. But it does make clear that Smith views the current situation as untenable, and he feels the need to put Cannon on notice." Related story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.)

Trump's Crooked Pal. More Hankey-Panky: Repo Man. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "The Daily Beast Wednesday uncovered a new link between Trump and Don Hankey [who secured Trump's business fraud bond], best known for running an empire of subprime car loans, that began with a settlement agreement [with the Department of Justice] after [Trump's DOJ accused] his company Westlake Services ... of violating military employees' rights by repossessing their cars. Westlake settled the case with $700,000 in damages to the troops and about $61,000 in fines, the Daily Beast notes, but that didn't end its involvement with the Justice department. 'While the government was monitoring Westlake's compliance, the DOJ discovered new [Servicemembers Civil Relief Act] violations, forcing the firm to pay another $225,000 to settle those allegations in 2022,' the Daily Beast reported.... [AND] '... two years before the DOJ sued Westlake and its wholly-owned subsidiary Wilshire under the SCRA, those same two entities were nailed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for "illegal debt collection tactics," resulting in more than $44 million in restitution payouts and a civil fine of $4.25 million.'" ~~~

~~~ Marie: So not just sticking it to poor people but also violating the rights of military service members. Well, soldiers are suckers and losers, aren't they? Just ask Trump.

Oops! The Dog Ate Trump's Paperwork. Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "A review of the New York County Supreme Court docket on Wednesday shows that paperwork for ... Donald Trump's newly-secured bond of $175 million was temporarily rejected and 'returned for correction.'... The cause for the rejection, according to the New York County Supreme Court website, is because the requisite paperwork lacked a current financial statement. It is also missing the name of his attorney-in-fact. Trump will have a chance to resubmit his request."

A Few More Crooked Trump Pals. Matt Egan of CNN: "Florida venture capitalist Michael Shvartsman and his brother Gerald Shvartsman pleaded guilty on Wednesday to participating in an insider trading scheme linked to the blockbuster deal that brought... Donald Trump's social media business public. Each of the brothers pleaded guilty in New York to one count of securities fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.... The two brothers were arrested in June and charged with illegally trading on nonpublic knowledge of a shell company's secret plan to buy Trump Media & Technology Group, the parent company of struggling social network Truth Social. 'Michael and Gerald Shvartsman admitted in court that they received confidential, inside information about an upcoming merger between DWAC and Trump Media and used that information to make profitable, but illegal, open-market trades,' Damian Williams, the US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a statement. The indictment accused the brothers and a third individual, Bruce Garelick, of together making more than $22 million in October 2021 by trading on their inside knowledge of the deal."

Marie: I did not plan to link the following story because I'm so sick of Donald Trump's shenanigans, but because it got a mention in today's Comments, here ya go: ~~~

~~~ Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "... Donald Trump has sued the co-founders of Truth Social, alleging they mismanaged the social media platform early on and should therefore lose their stock in the company, which recently went public. In papers filed last week in Florida state court, Trump Media & Technology Group Corp. argued that executives Wes Moss and Andy Litinsky made a series of costly mistakes that resulted in a long delay in the company's going public and urged a judge to strip them of their shares in the company. The pair, who were contestants on Trump's NBC show 'The Apprentice,' had pitched him on the idea of Truth Social after he was banned from what was then known as Twitter following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol." (Also linked yesterday.)

Shorting Donnie Short Fingers. Joe Rennison of the New York Times: "Before ... Donald J. Trump's social media company made its stock market debut, many investors were lining up to bet on its collapse. After the company's share price plunged following an initial surge, the appetite to bet against the stock has grown even more ravenous. Trump Media & Technology Group, which trades under the ticker DJT, slipped on Wednesday to below $50 per share, extending a steep decline this week that pulled the stock down from its high near $80 and erased more than $2 billion of market value. Trump Media is the most 'shorted' special purpose acquisition vehicle in the country, according to the financial data company S3 Partners.... The demand to short Trump Media ... is so great that stock lenders can charge enormous fees, making it hard for short-sellers to turn a profit unless the shares fall significantly. Still, there is a lot of interest in taking the bet.... [AND even though] Last month, traders lost $126 million betting against Trump Media, according to S3."

** The Russia Connection. Hugo Lowell of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's social media company Trump Media managed to go public last week only after it had been kept afloat in 2022 by emergency loans provided in part by a Russian-American businessman under scrutiny in a federal insider-trading and money-laundering investigation.... After regulators opened a securities investigation into [a merger agreement with Digital World Acquisition Corporation] in 2021..., Trump Media [took out] emergency loans, including from an entity called ES Family Trust, which opened an account with Paxum Bank, a small bank registered on the Caribbean island of Dominica that is best known for providing financial services to the porn industry.... ES Family Trust operated like a shell company for a Russian-American businessman named Anton Postolnikov, who co-owns Paxum Bank and has been a subject of a years-long joint federal criminal investigation by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) into the Trump Media merger.... Postolnikov appears to have used the trust to loan money to help save Trump Media -- and the Truth Social platform -- because his bank itself could not furnish the loan. Postolnikov [is] the nephew of Aleksandr Smirnov, an ally of ... Vladimir Putin...." (MB: This does not appear to be the same Alexander Smirnov, the suspected Russian asset whom the FBI charged in February for lying to the agency about Joe & Hunter Biden. But you gotta love the insider-trading, money-laundering the porn business connections. So Trumpy!) Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Kunzelman of the AP: “A Washington state man who used a megaphone to orchestrate a mob's attack on police officers guarding the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Wednesday to more than seven years in prison. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth said videos captured Taylor James Johnatakis playing a leadership role during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot. Johnatakis led other rioters on a charge against a police line, 'barked commands' over his megaphone and shouted step-by-step directions for overpowering officers, the judge said. 'In any angry mob, there are leaders and there are followers. Mr. Johnatakis was a leader. He knew what he was doing that day,' the judge said.... Johnatakis, who represented himself with an attorney on standby, has repeatedly expressed rhetoric that appears to be inspired by the anti-government 'sovereign citizen' movement." ~~~

~~~ Marshall Cohen of CNN: "A federal judge on Wednesday blasted a convicted January 6 rioter for downplaying the US Capitol attack and using the kind of revisionist rhetoric that ... Donald Trump often uses on the campaign trial. 'This cannot become normal... We cannot condone the normalization of the January 6 US Capitol riot,' US District Judge Royce Lamberth said while sentencing Taylor James Johnatakis to more than seven years in prison. The judge warned of a 'vicious cycle ... that could imperil our institutions' if Americans, upset with future election results, resort to the 'vigilantism, lawlessness and anarchy' that occurred on January 6, 2021. He did not reference Trump by name while sentencing Johnatakis, but the comparisons were clear.... The judge declared Wednesday that 'the January 6 riot was not civil disobedience,' but instead was a 'corrosive' and 'selfish, not patriotic' affront to the nation, where Americans were 'battling (their) own representative government.'" Reagan appointed Lamberth.

Presidential Race

Nebraska. Patrick Svitek & Michael Scherer of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump's push to get the Nebraska legislature to change the way it awards electoral votes faced a major setback Wednesday night, when lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to prevent the change from being attached to an unrelated bill. Nebraska is one of only two states that divide electoral votes among statewide and congressional district winners, which allowed Joe Biden to pick off an electoral vote in the red state in 2020 by carrying a swing district in the Omaha area. But Gov. Jim Pillen (R) and Trump on Tuesday endorsed a proposal to return the state to a winner-take-all system.... Republicans acknowledged they had very little time to get the stand-alone proposal to the governor's desk." ~~~

~~~ Marie: While one electoral vote may seem piddling, a couple of on-air commentators showed how it could make all the difference in a candidate's getting to the winning number of 270 Electoral College votes. Philip Bump of the Washington Post also presents such a scenario. While he's at it, Bump illustrates what a phony scum Trump is, but that's always the easy part.

In a New York Times op-ed, former Justice Stephen Breyer reminisces about those happy days when justices at different ends of the ideological spectrum would get along with one another and socialize together at hockey and bridge games. If only the whole nation could be as jolly as the Supremes were, he muses. MB: Stick a fork in it, Steve-o. It is not reassuring that you lot who determine the fate of the nation are so unwed to the weight and import of your decisions that you joke about them and that you treat immoral reprobates with hail-fellow-well-met bonhomie.

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Afghanistan. Kylie Atwood & Jennifer Hansler of CNN: "Hours of closed-door testimony from three top State Department officials shed new light on the 'unprecedented' situation in the final days of the US presence in Afghanistan as the officials were rushed to the country with virtually no time to prepare and no established emergency evacuation plan in place when they arrived. The three officials, John Bass, Jim DeHart and Jayne Howell, were all plucked from unrelated assignments and rushed into Afghanistan in the hours after Kabul fell to the Taliban due to their extensive experience in Afghanistan.... The new details paint a picture of the chaos outside the Kabul airport and the ad-hoc nature of the evacuation, something that top US military generals suggested could have been mitigated if the State Department had called sooner for a 'noncombatant evacuation operation' -- known as a NEO -- for remaining US citizens in Afghanistan.... Though officials who had worked at the embassy leading up to the evacuation told the committee investigators in separate interviews that planning for a NEO began in April or May, the officials who arrived in August said that no such clearly articulated plan served as their guide."

Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are expected to speak Thursday, an Israeli official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because the event has not been made public.... U.N. agencies suspended nighttime operations in Gaza for at least 48 hours after the attack, which also halted WCK food deliveries and other relief operations as aid groups warn of famine in the besieged enclave. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, promised to respond to an attack on its embassy complex in Damascus, Syria, and make Israel 'repent for their crime of aggression,' he wrote in Hebrew. The strike killed two senior Revolutionary Guard members." ~~~

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

Watch What He Does, Not What He Says. Yasmeen Abutaleb & Matt Viser of the Washington Post: "As outrage built Tuesday over an Israeli strike that killed seven workers from the José Andrés-run World Central Kitchen, President Biden issued a rare direct rebuke of Israel for creating the conditions that have made the distribution of aid inside Gaza so difficult and deadly. 'This is not a stand-alone incident. This conflict has been one of the worst in recent memory in terms of how many aid workers have been killed,' Biden said.... Yet there is no indication that the Monday deaths of the workers -- who included one American -- will result in any significant changes to the Biden administration's unwavering support of Israel. The president's sharp condemnation stands as the latest example in what experts, outside advisers and even some Biden officials say is an increasingly contradictory approach to Israel's six-month assault in Gaza.... Biden and his top aides have little appetite for imposing punitive action on Israel, such as conditioning or suspending weapons sales...." Politico has a similar story. ~~~

~~~ Katie Rogers & Erica Green of the New York Times: "One of the strongest voices inside the White House urging an end to civilian casualties in Gaza is the person closest to the president: Jill Biden. At a meeting with Muslim community members at the White House on Tuesday evening, one guest told President Biden that his wife had disapproved of him coming to the meeting because of Mr. Biden's support for Israel in its war against Hamas. Mr. Biden replied that he understood. The first lady, he said, had been urging him to 'Stop it, stop it now,' according to an attendee who heard his remarks." ~~~

~~~ Marie: An intentional leak reminiscent of Kennedy/Johnson Secretary of Defense and Vietnam war monger Bob McNamara's recollection of Jackie Kennedy's exploding after a dinner party and beating his chest "... demanding that I do something to stop the slaughter.'" (WashPo link.) Both stories perhaps true, poignant and convenient.

Rob Picheta of CNN: "The founder of World Central Kitchen (WCK) [Jose Andres] has accused Israel of targeting his aid workers 'systematically, car by car' during the strikes that left seven dead on Monday, as mounting international fury over the attack further strains Western support for Israel's war in Gaza. WCK challenged Israel's response to the attacks in a fresh statement on Thursday and called for an independent inquiry into the strikes, which hit three WCK cars in central Gaza. 'Israel has admitted to the killings but called it a "a tragic event in which our forces unintentionally harmed non-combatants," and something that "happens in war,"' the non-governmental organization said. 'This was a military attack that involved multiple strikes and targeted three WCK vehicles. All three vehicles were carrying civilians; they were marked as WCK vehicles; and their movements were in full compliance with Israeli authorities, who were aware of their itinerary, route, and humanitarian mission,' it added."

Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump spoke recently with Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, their first publicly disclosed conversation since Mr. Trump left office in January 2021, according to two people briefed on the discussion who were not authorized to speak publicly about it. It was unclear what the two men discussed and whether it was their only conversation since Mr. Trump's departure from the White House." So not clear: was Trump (1) meddling in delicate international negotiations, violating the "one administration at a time" rule, and/or (2) just begging for money, and/or (3) negotiating some crooked financial deal.

Ukraine, et al. Stuart Lau & Aitor Hernández-Morales of Politico: "NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg wants a revolution in how the alliance finances and arms Ukraine, but his plan drew a mixed response from NATO foreign ministers on Wednesday. The secretary-general's idea is to take the politics and uncertainty out of military aid to Ukraine by setting up a five-year, €100 billion fund and having the alliance shoulder more of the weight in organizing arms for Kyiv. 'We must ensure reliable and predictable security assistance to Ukraine for the long haul,' Stoltenberg said ahead of the meeting, 'so that we rely less on voluntary contributions and more on NATO commitments. Less on short-term offers and more on multi-year pledges.' The driver is what's happening in Washington, where a $60 billion military aid bill has been stalled in Congress thanks to resistance by some lawmakers from the Republican Party and from ... Donald Trump."

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Tuesday

Apr022024

The Conversation -- April 3, 2024

Marie: I did not plan to link the following story because I'm so sick of Donald Trump's shenanigans, but because it got a mention in today's Comments, here ya go: ~~~

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post reflects on Jack Smith's answer to Judge Aileen Cannon's odd order of a couple of weeks ago. Related story linked below.

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Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden on Tuesday called a decision by the Florida Supreme Court to uphold a restrictive abortion law 'outrageous' and 'extreme,' saying that it had effectively eliminated access to the procedure across the American South. The president said in a statement that the restrictions in Florida and others enacted by Republicans across the country 'are putting the health and lives of millions of women at risk.' But Mr. Biden said voters would 'have the opportunity to make their voices heard,' after the court ruled separately that Floridians would be able to decide on expanding abortion access in November. Mr. Biden's statement on the decision, which clears the way for a six-week abortion ban, came as his campaign and a host of Democratic officials began an all-out effort to pin responsibility for dwindling access to abortion care squarely on ... Donald J. Trump." ~~~

Tara Suter of the Hill: "A group of House Republicans want[s] to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after former President Trump.... Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), whose district partially includes Dulles, criticized the bill in a Tuesday post on X...[:] 'Donald Trump is facing 91 felony charges.... If Republicans want to name something after him, I'd suggest they find a federal prison." The Washington Post's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: If my local recycling center weren't so nice, I would be okay with naming it the Trump Dump. Maybe an EPA toxic waste site??

Senator Potato Head Is Not Normal. Steve Benen of MSNBC: "Sen. Tommy Tuberville recently campaigned for an ally in Utah, where the Alabama Republican made the case that supernatural forces were undermining the United States. 'I've traveled all over the country -- all 50 states -- I've been in good places and bad places,' the coach-turned-politician said. 'The one thing I saw, we are losing our kids to a Satanic cult.' The GOP lawmaker was apparently quite serious about this, adding, 'There's not one Democrat that can tell you they stand up for God.'... [In response to the fake news that President Biden had banned religious-themed egg decorations from a White House Easter egg roll competition, Tuberville wrote that] 'The Democrats are a Satanic cult.'... [Then, in response to a fake news story that President Biden had replaced Easter with Trans Day, Tuberville again wrote that] Democrats 'are a Satanic cult.'"

Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors and attorneys for Donald Trump submitted their hypothetical jury instructions in the classified-document case late Tuesday.... [Judge Aileen Cannon] last month ordered the defense lawyers and the prosecutors to file submissions outlining hypothetical jury instructions based on competing interpretations of two laws related to the case. Special counsel Jack Smith pushed back hard against the judge, saying that the jury instructions were based on a 'fundamentally flawed legal premise' and warned that he may appeal if the judge rules against him. Legal experts ... say the premise of Cannon's orders indulged some mangled interpretations of laws that have been pushed by Trump's lawyers and supporters.... Prosecutors suggested in their filings that they would appeal if Cannon decides to intertwine the [Presidential Records Act] with the Espionage Act in jury instructions. Trump is not charged with violating the PRA and prosecutors said throughout their filing that the PRA should not be in those instructions." ~~~

~~~ Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The unusual and risky move by the prosecutors, contained in a 24-page filing, signaled their mounting impatience with the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, who has allowed the case to become bogged down in a logjam of unresolved issues and curious procedural requests.... The prosecutors derided ... [Trump's brazen assertion] that he cannot be prosecuted for having taken home a trove of national security documents after leaving office because he transformed them into his own personal property under a law known as the Presidential Records Act.... [They said it was] one 'not based on any facts,' adding that it was a 'justification that was concocted more than a year after' Mr. Trump left the White House.... By appearing to adopt Mr. Trump's position on the Presidential Records Act, the judge seemed to be nudging any eventual jurors toward acquitting Mr. Trump or even leaving open the possibility that she herself could acquit the former president.... Almost from the moment she was assigned the case in June, Judge Cannon, who was appointed by Mr. Trump in his waning days in office, has handled the proceeding in an unorthodox manner." CNN's report is here. ~~~

~~~ The prosecutors' filing is here. ~~~

~~~ Marie: Sounds as if Cannon's proposed jury instructions go something like this: "You will be advised that I am dumber than a rock but totally in the bag for Trump. If you follow my instructions, as you are required to do, you must acquit Trump before the case-in-chief begins and you can go straight home. Thanking you in advance for your service. Adios."

Hankey-Panky. Michael Kranish & Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: Don "Hankey, a [California billionaire and] Trump supporter who made a fortune providing high-interest auto loans to customers with poor credit..., reached out to Trump's team to negotiate a deal that would allow Trump to stay the [$450MM] penalty while he appealed a massive New York civil fraud judgment. But when a court reduced the bond to $175 million last week and Trump said he had the cash to post it himself, the matter seemed moot, Hankey told The Washington Post. Then, to his surprise, the Trump team last week revived the talks and asked Hankey if he would back the new amount. Hankey promptly agreed. He said that his company is charging Trump a 'modest fee,' which he declined to disclose, and that the arrangement allowed Trump to hold onto his money.... If Trump is elected, their relationship could come under new scrutiny if the government is involved in matters affecting Hankey's business." ~~~

~~~ Marie: What a surprise! Trump's billionaire angel is a creep who made his fortune taking advantage of poor people.

Presidential Race

Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump used his campaign event in Michigan on Tuesday to denounce what he called 'Biden's border bloodbath,' zeroing in on the case of a young woman killed by someone immigration officials say had entered the country illegally. 'She lit up that room, and I've heard that from so many people,' Trump said at a news conference in the hometown of the 25-year-old victim, Ruby Garcia. 'I spoke to some of her family.' But Garcia's sister, acting as a family spokeswoman, said Tuesday that Trump and his campaign have not contacted her or other immediate relatives -- and rebuked the GOP presidential nominee's effort to make the case part of his calls for a border crackdown....[Laken ]Riley, [-- a Georgia student allegedly murdered by an undocumented immigrant --] was 'barbarically murdered by an illegal alien animal,' Trump said Tuesday." Riley's family has embraced Trump. Politico's story is here.

"Start the Steal." A.B. Stoddard in the Bulwark: "There is a plan afoot to overturn the results of the November election, and for both parties it is fast becoming a major concern. The scheme is being hatched by Republicans on behalf of Donald Trump, who seeks to steal the election if Joe Biden defeats him again. The Biden campaign and an army of lawyers are working to thwart it.... Trump will declare victory on election night before all the votes are counted, as he did in 2020 -- and as we know he had planned before election night.... Should Biden prevail, Trump will claim the results were tainted -- by mail-in voting, machine voting, machine counting, ballot harvesting corrupt election officials, liberal cities, and illegal immigrants.... Republican-controlled legislatures in several key swing states -- Arizona, Georgia, and Wisconsin -- could throw the election."

Tuesday Primary Elections

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "President Biden and ... Donald J. Trump won overwhelming victories in state primaries on Tuesday, while a small but significant protest vote in both parties continued to assert itself against each candidate. Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump, who have already clinched their nominations, scored yawning leads in primaries in Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island and Wisconsin, with the races called shortly after polls closed in each state. Mr. Trump held at least 75 percent of the vote in every state as of 11 p.m. But Nikki Haley, who dropped out of the race early last month, still took at least 10 percent of the vote in all four states.... Mr. Biden held at least 80 percent of the vote in every primary as of 11 p.m."

The turning point in American politics came when Republicans realized they didn’t need to be skillful liars — they just needed to be constant liars. The key was quantity, not quality.
— Mark Jacob (@MarkJacob16) April 2, 2024

~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.

Rebecca Solnit of the Guardian: "The US supreme court justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas cited the Comstock Act, named after the 19th-century anti-vice campaigner Anthony Comstock, in last week's case about access to the abortion pill mifepristone.... The Comstock Law has come up a lot lately, and it's part of the Republican war on sex ... -- against sex education, against access to birth control, against the healthcare provider Planned Parenthood and of course against abortion -- ... along with a war against the rights of women and on the rights and very existence of queer and trans people.... It's not a coincidence that the authoritarian right is obsessed with both the border and women's bodies; they'd like to increase the patrolling of both, and essentially shut them both down. It's an obsession with purity and control to be achieved by punitive and sometimes homicidally violent means."

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California Jesus Jiménez of the New York Times: "Newly released footage and audio recordings from a vehicle pursuit in September 2022 show that a 15-year-old girl who had been kidnapped by her father was fatally shot by gunfire from deputies as she followed their instructions to exit her father's truck. The girl, Savannah Graziano, was fatally shot on Sept. 27, 2022, off Interstate 15 in San Bernardino County, one day after the California Highway Patrol issued an Amber Alert that said her father, Anthony Graziano, 45, was believed to have abducted her, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department."

Georgia. Marie: You be the judge, but I don't think Kelby Vera of the Huffington Post gets it. She writes, "Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger [R]was so bothered by the depiction of the state's voting laws in 'Curb Your Enthusiasm' that he fired off a personal letter to star and creator, Larry David. During the 12th and final season, David ends up getting arrested after he passes off a bottle of water to his friend Leon's aunt while she waits in line to vote at her Atlanta precinct.... It seems Raffenspeger didn’t take kindly to the Georgia-inspired storyline...." But Raffensperger's letter to David is actually pretty funny, IMO, even as he tries to make the point that Georgia's most recent voter suppression law isn't as bad as David depicts it. Raffensperger writes, in part: "As the chief elections officer for the State of Georgia, we would like to congratulate you on becoming the first, and to our knowledge, only person arrested for distributing water bottles to voters within 150 feet of a polling station.... We apologize if you didn't receive celebrity treatment at the local jail. 'I'm afraid they've gotten used to bigger stars. It's the TMZ of mugshots."

Oklahoma. AP: "Voters in the northwest Oklahoma city of Enid ousted a city council member [Judd Blevins] with ties to white nationalism, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday on the Oklahoma Election Board website.... They instead selected Cheryl Patterson, a grandmother and longtime youth leader at an area church, to fill the seat. Blevins, an Iraq War veteran, was narrowly elected to the seat last year despite his ties to white nationalist groups. Blevins acknowledged at a community forum last week that he marched in the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017. He also admitted being connected to the now-defunct white supremacist group Identity Evropa. When asked at the forum to explain his involvement in the rally and his ties to Identity Evropa, he responded: 'Bringing attention to the same issues that got Donald Trump elected in 2016: securing America's borders, reforming our legal immigration system and, quite frankly, pushing back on this anti-white hatred that is so common in media entertainment.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. MB: Judd, what works for the Orange Racist may not work for all racists.

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley of the Washington Post: "Wisconsin voters opted Tuesday to ban private funding for election administration, joining more than two dozen states that have ended or limited the practice after Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife spent $350 million to help local governments run elections during the coronavirus pandemic. Voters approved an amendment to the state constitution to ban the donations, according to a tally of unofficial results by the Associated Press. They also approved a second proposal that limits who can perform election-related duties. Both measures were initiated by Republican state legislators."

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel 'deeply regrets' the ... Israel Defense Forces strike that killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza..., while the IDF said that the strike was a 'grave mistake' and the result of a 'misidentification.'... An Israeli delegation returned from cease-fire talks in Cairo after working with mediators on an updated proposal for Hamas, according to the prime minister's office. Hamas officials have not yet responded to the latest round of talks." MB: Seems to me Bibi has had more than 32,000 SNAFUs too many; it's time for him to get out and face his criminal trials. ~~~

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

Matt Berg, et al., of Politico: "Israel's strike against aid workers trying to get food to residents in Gaza reverberated across Washington on Tuesday, particularly resonating because of the American death and the connections the group's founder -- José Andrés -- has to the capital. Administration officials lashed out at new levels, and Israel was left struggling for damage control.... The White House was 'outraged' to learn of the strike, National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. Still, Kirby said Washington would continue to support Israel's defense of itself, even while 'there are issues of deconfliction that clearly need to be fleshed out and improved.'" ~~~

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

~~~ Nick Waters of bellingcat: "Seven aid workers were killed when their convoy was hit by an Israeli airstrike overnight, as it was leaving their Deir al-Balah warehouse, amid ongoing operations delivering aid supplies inside Gaza. The food charity World Central Kitchen (WCK) said they had coordinated the convoy's movements with the Israel Defense Forces.... The destroyed vehicles bear the hallmarks of a precision strike, which only the IDF has the capability to conduct in the region. Images from the aftermath of the strike show that the WCK vehicles were white and at least one had the WCK logo and name clearly marked on the roof.... Bellingcat geolocated two of the vehicles on a road identified by the UN's OCHA as being an 'Accessible Road for Humanitarian Aid,' while the third was in a field immediately next to this road.Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday the aid workers were killed in an 'unintended strike.'"

Cleve Wootson & Yasmeen Abutaleb of the Washington Post: "A group of six Muslim leaders will meet with President Biden and Vice President Harris on Tuesday evening to discuss U.S. policy in the Gaza Strip, after they were invited for a small Ramadan dinner but rejected such a gathering as inappropriate given the administration's continued support of Israel amid devastation in the territory. Biden initially invited the leaders for iftar, the meal in which Muslims break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that the leaders 'expressed the preference' of a policy meeting, and the White House adjusted its plans to accommodate their request." ~~~

~~~ Update. Nandita Bose & Kanishka Singh of Reuters: "The White House held a scaled-down iftar dinner on Tuesday to celebrate Islam's holy month of Ramadan, after some invitees turned the president down over frustrations in the Muslim community over his policy toward the Israel-Gaza war. President Joe Biden met with Muslim leaders before having a small dinner with senior Muslim officials in his administration, first lady Jill Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband [Doug Emhoff]."

Russia. Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "More than two weeks before terrorists staged a bloody attack [on Crocus City Hall] in the suburbs of Moscow, the U.S. government told Russian officials that [the] popular concert venue was a potential target, according to U.S. officials familiar with the matter. The high degree of specificity conveyed in the warning underscores Washington's confidence that the Islamic State was preparing an attack that threatened large numbers of civilians, and it directly contradicts Moscow's claims that the U.S. warnings were too general to help preempt the assault. The U.S. identification of the Crocus concert hall as a potential target -- a fact that has not been previously reported -- raises new questions about why Russian authorities failed to take stronger measures to protect the venue, where gunmen killed more than 140 people and set fire to the building." MB: Listen, the GRU has other things to do: like undermining Ukraine & getting Donald Trump elected.

News Ledes

The Washington Post is live-updating developments following a 7.4 magnitude earthquake that hit Taiwan.

Washington Post: "The largest egg producer in the United States said Tuesday that it temporarily ceased operations at one of its Texas facilities after detecting bird flu in chickens -- the latest in a steady uptick of cases among U.S. farm animals in recent weeks. Cal-Maine Foods said it culled about 1.6 million hens and 337,000 pullets (young hens) after some of its chickens at a Parmer County, Texas, facility tested positive for highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), caused by influenza A viruses that spread widely among wild and domestic birds. A dairy worker in Texas was being treated for the virus that causes avian influenza, becoming only the second known human case in the United States, state and federal officials said Monday. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the person tested positive for H5N1 bird flu."

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