The Conversation -- April 21, 2024

Philip Nieto of Mediaite: "President Joe Biden's White House denounced Columbia University's pro-Palestinian protests as 'blatantly anti-Semitic and dangerous.' Over the last week, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters have gathered to demand an end to the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The student protesters set up what they called a 'Gaza Solidarity Encampment' and included tents, signs, and more. The actions have led to hundreds of activists being arrested, including the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN)." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do realize that hot war and mass murder are not the best circumstances under which to try to foster nuance, but to folks on both sides: there is a stark difference between antisemitism and anti-war. And it is quite possible to be pro-Israel and anti-Bibi.

On the other hand, for the first time in my life, I am beginning to wonder if the very premise of a Jewish state is past its sell-by date. A more tolerant model of government could do a much better job at maintaining the peace by guaranteeing equal protection to Jews & non-Jews alike. I never thought I'd feel that way, but Netanyahu has showed me the cracks in my traditional views of Israel. If this be the Promised Land, I'd rather be in Sweden! Of course I don't think my Kumbaya premise holds much chance in a series of wars that predate history, so in the meantime, I'll go with the two-state "solution."

The Fascists Have Always Been with Us. Paul Rosenberg of Salon interviews author David Austin Walsh on the history of the far right in the U.S. Walsh tells Rosenberg: "... even after the so-called purge of the racists and the Nazis and antisemites in the mid-1960s, you still see these elements very close to the so-called mainstream of American conservatism.... [William F. Buckley, Jr.] is the conduit through which I found all the characters in my book.... Joe McCarthy ... doesn't emerge out of nowhere.... You already have, immediately after World War II, the growing power of the farthest fringes of the right.... There's a real danger in 2024 of nostalgizing the 20th-century conservative movement as 'responsible,' 'respectable' and 'about ideas.' The same features of what became MAGAism were embedded in the movement from the very beginning, and were broadly tolerated by conservative elites even if they found them to be slightly distasteful."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times reports the official version of how Mike Johnson got to "yes" on aid to Ukraine: "Mr. Johnson's decision to risk his speakership to push the $95 billion foreign aid bill through the House on Saturday was the culmination of a remarkable personal and political arc for the Louisiana Republican.... As a rank-and-file hard-liner, Mr. Johnson had largely opposed efforts to fund Kyiv's war effort.... Mr. Johnson attributed his turnabout in part to the intelligence briefings he received, a striking assertion from a leader of a party that has embraced ... Donald J. Trump's deep mistrust of the intelligence community.... 'I want to be on the right side of history,' Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, recalled the speaker telling him." In today's Comments, Ken W. & I are more skeptical of the impetus for the Conversion of St. Michael of Shreve.

Michael Rothfeld of the New York Times: In the 2016 election interference criminal case against Donald Trump, "... prosecutors for Alvin L. Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, will try to show that the payment [to Stormy Daniels] was part of a larger effort to suppress negative news about Mr. Trump to sway the election. That scheme, they will contend, resulted in not just the hush-money payment at the center of the trial, but two others. Though the other episodes are not part of the formal indictment in the case, prosecutors will use them to argue that the true purpose of the Daniels payment was related to the election, making it a federal campaign finance violation, and that his company's records were falsified to cover it up. The accusation that Mr. Trump concealed another crime elevates charges that would normally be misdemeanors into felonies." Based on numerous sources, including court records, Rothfeld traces the schemes to quash stories that might hurt Trump's chances to win the 2016 presidential election. Rothfeld, who previously worked for the Wall Street Journal, was the lead reporter on the WSJ's Pulitzer Prize-winning reports on Trump's hush-money payments in 2018.

Marie: The headline planted on Stephen Markley's opinion piece in the NYT -- "A Planetary Crisis Awaits the Next President" -- made me suspect Markley would use his precious Sunday NYT space to make mild mitigation, both-sider suggestions to whoever got the top job next time around. Well, I was wrong. Markley really lets fly what a disaster Trump would be: "... everyone will fall short -- and, surely, I've fallen short -- in describing just how frightening a second Trump presidency could actually be...." And his attitude toward Biden is similar to what yours may be: "I fully admit, Mr. Biden was not my first, nor even my seventh, choice in the 2020 Democratic primary. Yet when it came to the immense challenge of confronting this crisis, I am forever grateful that he proved me wrong, delivering a game-changing victory with the narrowest of congressional margins." Thanks to RAS for the link.

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Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The House voted resoundingly on Saturday to approve $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as Speaker Mike Johnson put his job on the line to advance the long-stalled aid package by marshaling support from mainstream Republicans and Democrats. In four back-to-back votes, overwhelming bipartisan coalitions of lawmakers approved fresh rounds of funding for the three U.S. allies, as well as another bill meant to sweeten the deal for conservatives that could result in a nationwide ban of TikTok.... Minutes before the vote on assistance for Kyiv, Democrats began to wave small Ukrainian flags on the House floor, as hard-right Republicans jeered. The legislation includes $60 billion for Kyiv; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region.

"It would direct the president to seek repayment from the Ukrainian government of $10 billion in economic assistance, a concept supported by ... Donald J. Trump, who had pushed for any aid to Kyiv to be in the form of a loan. But it also would allow the president to forgive those loans starting in 2026. It also contained a measure to help pave the way to selling off frozen Russian sovereign assets to help fund the Ukrainian war effort, and a new round of sanctions on Iran. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation as early as Tuesday and send it to President Biden's desk, capping its tortured journey through Congress." (Also linked yesterday.) An NPR story is here.

Maria Kostenko, et al., of CNN: "Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu have thanked US lawmakers after they voted in favor of new aid packages for their countries worth billions of dollars."

David McAfee of the Raw Story: According to David Frum of the Atlantic, the Ukraine vote shows that "'... Trump's party in Congress has rebelled against him -- and not on a personal payoff to some oddball Trump loyalist, but on one of Trump's most cherished issues, his siding with Russia against Ukraine.'... Trump still has strong GOP support, but 'the cracks in unity are visible,' according to [Frum]."

Jill Colvin of the AP: “Over the past week, Donald Trump has been forced to sit inside a frigid New York courtroom and listen to a parade of potential jurors in his criminal hush money trial share their unvarnished assessments of him. It's been a dramatic departure for the former president and presumptive 2024 GOP nominee, who is accustomed to spending his days in a cocoon of cheering crowds and constant adulation.... [At] Mar-a-Lago..., he is surrounded by doting paid staff and dues-paying members who have shelled out tens of thousands of dollars to be near him. Many days, Trump heads to his nearby golf course, where he is 'swarmed by people wanting to shake his hand, take pictures of him, and tell him how amazing he is,' said Stephanie Grisham, a longtime aide who broke with Trump after ... Jan. 6, 2021. When he returns to Mar-a-Lago in the afternoon, members lunching on the patio often stand and applaud. He receives the same standing ovation at dinner, which often ends with Trump playing DJ on his iPad, blasting favorites like 'It's a Man's Man's Man's World' by James Brown."

Presidential Race

Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "At least 10 men wearing the uniform of the Proud Boys, a violent extremist group, appeared outside the entrance of a rally [in Wilmington, N.C.,] for presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.... A spokesman for the Biden campaign condemned Trump for emboldening violent extremists.... It was not clear if the Proud Boys entered the event, which was subsequently canceled because of severe weather.... The crowd awaiting Trump on the airport tarmac was similar in size to the audience during a rally here in 2022. Vendors sold T-shirts, posters and lawn signs bearing varied renderings of Trump's mug shot; as well as vulgar signs; bumper stickers and shirts directed at Biden; knives; Confederate flag bedsheets; shirts for the QAnon online extremist movement; and MAGA visors with attached orange poufs."

Maeve Reston & Clara Morse of the Washington Post: Donald Trump's "legal expenses continue to be a tremendous burden on his campaign and its allied groups, the latest campaign finance records show, accounting for 26 percent of the spending in March by his political committees. New Federal Election Commission filings released Saturday show that Save America leadership PAC, a Trump-aligned group he has used to pay some of his lawyers, took in $5 million during March and racked up $4.6 million in legal bills for Trump and some of his associates.... Trump's political committees have spent at least $16.7 million on legal bills so far this year, and owe another $900,000 to various firms as of the end of March, bringing his overall legal fees since starting his campaign to around $86 million." CNN's report is here.

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 21, 2020. Bernie Sanders: "... supplies like personal protective equipment for health care workers -- seen as essential if coronavirus surges re-emerge -- remain in dangerously short supply. An intense and chaotic scramble continues to unfold as hospitals, cities and states go out on their own to compete for masks and gowns, with uneven and shifting coordination by the federal government." ~~~

~~~ Top News in the NYT, April 20, 2020. Bernie Sanders: "We are the richest country in the history of the world, but at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, that reality means little to half of our people who live paycheck to paycheck, the 40 million living in poverty, the 87 million who are uninsured or underinsured, and the half million who are homeless. In the midst of the twin crises that we face -- the coronavirus pandemic and the meltdown of our economy -- it's imperative that we re-examine some of the foundations of American society, understand why they are failing us, and fight for a fairer and more just nation." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Israel/Palestine, et al. CNN's live updates of developments Sunday is the Israel/Hamas war are here: "At least 14 people, including one child, have been killed in an Israeli military operation in Nur al-Shams refugee camp, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. The military said the operation, which appeared to be one of the largest in the occupied West Bank since October 7, had killed 10 'terrorists.' Elsewhere in the West Bank, Israeli settlers killed an ambulance driver trying to transport Palestinians who had been attacked, according to the Palestine Red Crescent Society. A spike in violence by extremist settlers in the occupied territory has led to more sanctions by the US and EU. Officials in Tehran have sought to play down the Friday morning strike on Iran -- which has been attributed to Israel -- as tensions simmer from a significant escalation between the regional powerhouses."

News Lede

New York Times: "Terry Anderson, the American journalist who had been the longest-held Western hostage in Lebanon when he was finally released in 1991 by Islamic militants after more than six years in captivity, died on Saturday at his home in Greenwood Lake, N.Y., in the Hudson Valley. He was 76."

The Conversation -- April 20, 2024

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "The House voted resoundingly on Saturday to approve $95 billion in foreign aid for Ukraine, Israel and Taiwan, as Speaker Mike Johnson put his job on the line to advance the long-stalled aid package by marshaling support from mainstream Republicans and Democrats. In four back-to-back votes, overwhelming bipartisan coalitions of lawmakers approved fresh rounds of funding for the three U.S. allies, as well as another bill meant to sweeten the deal for conservatives that could result in a nationwide ban of TikTok.... Minutes before the vote on assistance for Kyiv, Democrats began to wave small Ukrainian flags on the House floor, as hard-right Republicans jeered. The legislation includes $60 billion for Kyiv; $26 billion for Israel and humanitarian aid for civilians in conflict zones, including Gaza; and $8 billion for the Indo-Pacific region. It would direct the president to seek repayment from the Ukrainian government of $10 billion in economic assistance, a concept supported by ... Donald J. Trump, who had pushed for any aid to Kyiv to be in the form of a loan. But it also would allow the president to forgive those loans starting in 2026. It also contained a measure to help pave the way to selling off frozen Russian sovereign assets to help fund the Ukrainian war effort, and a new round of sanctions on Iran. The Senate is expected to pass the legislation as early as Tuesday and send it to President Biden's desk, capping its tortured journey through Congress."

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 20, 2020. Bernie Sanders: "We are the richest country in the history of the world, but at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, that reality means little to half of our people who live paycheck to paycheck, the 40 million living in poverty, the 87 million who are uninsured or underinsured, and the half million who are homeless. In the midst of the twin crises that we face -- the coronavirus pandemic and the meltdown of our economy -- it's imperative that we re-examine some of the foundations of American society, understand why they are failing us, and fight for a fairer and more just nation."

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Ellen Nakashima & Shane Harris of the Washington Post: "Laboring into the early hours of Saturday morning, Congress reauthorized for two years a surveillance program that U.S. spy agencies regard as one of their most valuable tools and that critics on the left and the right say intrudes on Americans' privacy. The 60-34 vote in the Senate came a week after the House renewed Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which enables U.S. intelligence agencies to gather without a warrant the digital communications of foreigners overseas -- including when they text or email people inside the United States. The measure now goes to President Biden's desk for a signature." CNN's report is here.

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The House took a critical step on Friday toward approving a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, as Democrats supplied the crucial votes to push the legislation past Republican opposition so that it could be considered on the floor. The 316-94 vote cleared the way for the House to bring up the aid package, teeing up separate votes on Saturday on each of its parts. But passage of those measures, each of which enjoys bipartisan support from different coalitions, was not in doubt, making Friday's action the key indicator that the legislation will have the backing needed to prevail. The rule for considering the bill -- historically a straight party-line vote -- passed with more Democratic than Republican support, but it also won a majority of G.O.P. votes, making it clear that despite a pocket of deep resistance from the far right, there is broad bipartisan backing for the $95.3 billion package.

"The vote was an enormous victory in the long effort to fund to Ukraine as it battles against Russian aggression, a major priority of President Bidenthat has met with bitter resistance from the right. It was a triumph against the forces of isolationism within the G.O.P. and a major moment of bipartisan consensus in a Congress that for the past year has been mostly defined by its dysfunction." (Also linked yesterday.) An NBC News story is here.

Finally, MTG Gets the Respect She Deserves. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Russian state TV broadcasters who once treated Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) as a joke now believe she's worthy of being taken very seriously. The Daily Beast's Julia Davis reported that Kremlin-approved broadcasters have been ecstatic at the ways the Georgia congresswoman has taken a lead role in trying to block Congress from passing more military aid to Ukraine, which has been trying to fend off an unprovoked Russian invasion for the past two-plus years. According to Davis, broadcasters have felt especially gratified that Greene has been reciting Kremlin propaganda about the Ukrainian government being filled with 'Nazis,' despite the fact that the country's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, is Jewish."

The Trials of Trump & the Trump Mob

Jesse McKinley & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "The final jurors for Donald J. Trump's criminal trial were selected on Friday, with lawyers preparing to offer opening statements on Monday in a landmark proceeding.... The day was marked by an intensity of emotion from the start. Several prospective jurors asked to be excused, and some became upset, with one saying she had become too nervous to continue the process. Then word quietly began to spread about the man who had set himself on fire in a park across the street from the courthouse. The courtroom proceedings continued, but the stir was noticeable.... An afternoon hearing at which the judge was to determine the questions prosecutors could ask the former president if he were to testify proceeded as scheduled.... Even as jury selection was concluding, Mr. Trump filed an appeal for another emergency pause of the trial, arguing that the case should be stopped until a full panel rules on his bid to move the trial out of Manhattan. An appeals court judge denied the request. Justice [Juan] Merchan seemed weary of the defense's efforts to continually file motions that might delay the trial."

New York Times reporters liveblogged developments on Friday, Day 4 of the Trump 2016 criminal election interference case brought by the Manhattan district attorney. Bedtime for Bonzo started awfully early. According to a couple of Maggie Haberman's observations: "Trump has taken his seat. His hair is uncharacteristically messy.... [AND] Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again. It happened several times just now. His eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice."

MB: But my favorite remark came via Jesse McKinley at the other end of the court day: "'Sir, can you please have a seat?' the judge says to Trump, as he rises before court is adjourned." According on on-air reports I heard later, Trump did sit down as ordered to do. You will notice that it turns out that at least one official does indeed call Trump "Sir," so perhaps it is no longer a reliable signal of a fictional account. YET the judge calls Trump "Sir" in the same way a cop would tell a vagrant to move along: "Sir, you can't lie down on a bench next to the children's playground." That is, "Sir' is used in this case not as an address showing special respect but as a generic address designed not to convey disrespect, and perhaps employed ironically. (Also linked yesterday.)

Nate Schweber & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "A man set himself on fire on Friday afternoon near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where jurors were being chosen for the criminal trial of ... Donald J. Trump. The man doused himself with accelerant at around 1:35 p.m. in Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse. Onlookers screamed and started to run, and soon, bright orange flames engulfed the man. It was unclear what motivated his action. People rushed over to try to extinguish the fire, but the intensity of the heat could be felt several hundred feet away. After a few minutes, dozens of police officers rushed over and tried to smother the flames. The man, who appeared to be alive, was loaded into an ambulance and rushed away." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News: "A man who set himself on fire Friday outside the courthouse where ... Donald Trump's hush money trial is taking place has died, New York City police said early Saturday. The man, whom police identified as Maxwell Azzarello of St. Augustine, Florida, was in the designated protest area outside."

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "The New York Attorney General's office on Friday asked a judge to effectively void a $175 million bond posted by ... Donald Trump to secure a much larger monetary damage award in his civil business fraud case as he appeals the judgment. The AG's office in a filing said Trump and other defendants in the case had failed to show there is enough identifiable collateral to back the bond for the judgment in Manhattan Supreme Court. The filing notes that the surety Trump used to obtain the bond, Knight Specialty Insurance Company, is 'a small insurer that is not authorized to write business in New York and thus not regulated by the state's insurance department, had never before written a surety bond in New York or in the prior two years in any other jurisdiction, and has a total policyholder surplus of just $138 million.'... Lawyers for AG Letitia James asked Judge Arthur Engoron to require Trump and other defendants to put up a replacement bond within seven days of ruling on the issue.... A hearing on the bond dispute is set for Monday."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan has handed down her harshest Jan. 6 sentence to date -- five-and-a-half years -- to Scott Miller, a Maryland man and former Proud Boys leader who assaulted multiple officers in a violent attempt to breach the Capitol. Chutkan based her sentence, delivered on Friday, in part on Miller's 'aggressive' actions at the Capitol but also on his private writings that called for racial and religious violence against minorities and Jews. She said the evidence of his 'violent ideology' -- his embrace of Nazism and his purported belief that Washington, D.C., residents should be executed -- troubled her despite Miller's insistence that he had disavowed those beliefs soon after Jan. 6.... Chutkan, who is in line to preside over the criminal trial of Donald Trump for his bid to subvert the 2020 election, emphasized her belief that the Jan. 6 mob attack was 'close to as serious a crisis as this nation has ever faced.'"

Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Three [Four??] California men who were associated with the 'Three Percenter' militia group and convicted in connection with the Jan. 6 Capitol attack were taken into custody Friday after a judge ordered them to serve sentences ranging from 21 to 33 months in federal prison, far below what the government had requested. Erik Scott Warner, Felipe Antonio Martinez, Derek Kinnison and Ronald Mele were all found guilty of felony obstruction of an official proceeding and other charges after a trial last year.... The felony charge they were convicted of -- obstruction of an official proceeding -- is currently before the Supreme Court, where some of the justices seemed skeptical of the way the government had used the charge.... If the Supreme Court guts the charge, two of the defendants could end up only serving 12 months in prison on their misdemeanor convictions."

Presidential Race

"Sleepy Don." Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "The [Biden] campaign has increasingly put a spotlight on reports that Trump has appeared to doze off during his hush-money trial in New York.... 'A feeble and tired Donald Trump once again falls asleep in court,' the campaign said Friday on X, responding to a New York Times live blog entry saying Trump 'appears to have fallen asleep in court again.' Later Friday, Biden's campaign labeled Trump 'Sleepy Don' in a news release saying he had a 'nightmare week' that included getting 'some shut-eye.' The digs are notable because Biden's campaign and the White House have otherwise avoided commenting on the trial itself."

** Michigan. Shane Goldmacher & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "The prospect of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. threatening to upend the presidential race went from an idea to a reality in one of the country's most consequential battlegrounds on Thursday, when Mr. Kennedy qualified for the ballot in Michigan. The decision by the Natural Law Party to grant Mr. Kennedy its ballot line in November ensures he will be a factor in a pivotal swing state where the presidential election is expected to be incredibly close and where President Biden has already shown vulnerability with key Democratic constituencies.... Mr. Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat and the scion of perhaps the nation's most famous Democratic family, is running as an independent in 2024 and polling higher in early surveys than any third-party candidate since Ross Perot, the self-funding billionaire who ran in the 1990s. His independent candidacy has earned him the estrangement of his own family -- who campaigned this week with Mr. Biden in Pennsylvania -- and many of his previous colleagues from the environmental movement, who denounced his candidacy publicly on Friday." ~~~

     ~~~ Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: By accepting the fake nomination of Michigan's Natural Law Party, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. got on the Michigan ballot "without having to gather a single signature, avoiding a costly and arduous organizing effort, not to mention the possibility of having to fight court challenges to those signatures.... [It is primarily the project of Doug Dern, a Michigan bankruptcy lawyer.] Mr. Kennedy was formally nominated at a brief convention held Wednesday morning in Mr. Dern's law office. The only two attendees were Mr. Dern and the party's secretary."

Trump Plans Massive Voter Intimidation Squad. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "... Donald Trump's political operation said Thursday that it plans to deploy more than 100,000 attorneys and volunteers across battleground states to monitor -- and potentially challenge -- vote counting in November. The initiative -- which the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee described as 'the most extensive and monumental election integrity program in the nation's history' -- will include training poll watchers and workers as well as lawyers."

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 19, 2020: "Sloppy laboratory practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caused contamination that rendered the nation's first coronavirus tests ineffective, federal officials confirmed on Saturday." (Also linked yesterday.)

** Jeanne Whalen & Lauren Gurley of the Washington Post: "Volkswagen workers in Chattanooga, Tenn., passed a historic vote to join the United Auto Workers, the union said Friday, becoming the first Southern auto factory to approve a union with an election since the 1940s. The union's unofficial vote count, which still must be confirmed by federal labor officials conducting the ballot, showed 73 percent of workers had voted yes by 10 p.m. E.T. on Friday night. It will take a simple majority for the vote to pass. The vote marks a victory for the UAW and for organized labor, which has faced years of difficulty organizing factories in Southern states."

Jonathan Edwards, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than 100 people protesting the war in Gaza were cleared off Columbia University's campus, arrested and charged with trespassing on Thursday. The arrests came a day after the university's president pledged during a congressional hearing on antisemitism to balance students' safety with their right to free speech. Having been summoned by Columbia President Minouche Shafik in what she described as 'an extraordinary step' to keep the campus safe, New York Police Department officers in riot gear entered the encampment with zip ties in the early afternoon and systematically arrested protesters, who offered little resistance.... Columbia's gates have been closed all week, so only people with a university identification can get in; it was a peaceful student protest, [student body president Tejasri Vijayakumar] said.... Students who participated in the encampment would be suspended, Shafik said in a letter to New York police." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Apparently strongly committed to not being the latest pelt for angry donors, Columbia's leadership appeared before Congress yesterday and agreed to various investigations and firings without even suggesting that academic freedom might be an important consideration in the process. Today, they demonstrated that they got the campus free speech 'speech members of Congress disagree with' message[.]... If there's any evidence that this protest was a threat to student 'safety' that would justify an immediate and recently unprecedented crackdown by armed police, the administration certainly doesn't seem to be providing it." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Moira Donegan of the Guardian: At the GOP-run House hearing, "Minouche Shafik, the Columbia University president..., made only tepid defenses of academic freedom, instead favoring wholehearted condemnations of the protesters, assents to bad-faith mischaracterizations of the students as antisemitic and genocidal, and public, apparently on-the-spot, personnel decisions that removed some pro-Palestinian faculty and staff from their positions.... The police raid against Columbia students that followed the next day can be seen as an extension of the policy of appeasement and pre-emptive compliance with the anti-Palestinian, anti-student Republican right that Shafik adopted in her testimony.... It is worth stating plainly what happened at Columbia: the raid was nothing less than the product of collusion between a university administration and rightwing politicians to suppress politically disfavored speech." Thanks to RAS for the link. See also the discussion in Friday's Comments thread. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, and this from Donegan's column: "The arrested students were charged with 'trespassing' on the campus that they are charged more than $60,000 a year to attend." ~~~

~~~ Update. Sharon Otterman & Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "A day after Columbia's president, Nemat Shafik, called in the police to arrest some 100 students and take down their encampment, the activists showed little sign of losing steam. There were heaps of blankets and deliveries of water bottles and food. Dr. Shafik's decision drew criticism on Friday from the campus chapter of the American Association of University Professors, a professional faculty organization. 'We have lost confidence in our president and our administration, and we pledge to fight to reclaim our university,' the group said in a statement Friday. In addition, a pro-Palestinian coalition of faculty and staff at Columbia, Barnard and Teachers colleges called upon faculty to boycott graduation and academic events, until the university lifts student suspensions and withdraws financial support from Israel, among other demands. But not all faculty members agreed with the criticism. Vincent A. Blasi, a Columbia law professor who has spent decades studying civil liberties issues, said the university had articulated a 'reasonable' policy to govern protests and had every right to punish students who violate it."

The Effects of the Epistle of Saint Samuel to the Women of Jackson, Mississippi: ~~~

~~~ ** Amanda Seitz of the AP: "One woman miscarried in the lobby restroom of a Texas emergency room as front desk staff refused to check her in. Another woman learned that her fetus had no heartbeat at a Florida hospital, the day after a security guard turned her away from the facility. And in North Carolina, a woman gave birth in a car after an emergency room couldn't offer an ultrasound. The baby later died. Complaints that pregnant women were turned away from U.S. emergency rooms spiked in 2022 after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, federal documents obtained by The Associated Press reveal."

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Pennsylvania Senate Race. Hee-Haw. Katie Glueck of the New York Times: David McCormick, a former hedge fund executive, is soon to become Pennsylvania's GOP candidate for U.S. Senate. "Interviews in Mr. McCormick's hometown, as well as a review of public records, news coverage from his childhood and his own words, suggest that he has given a misleading impression about key aspects of his background. He has explicitly said and strongly implied that he grew up on a farm, claimed in 2022 that he had 'started with nothing' and that he 'didn't have anything,' and he and his campaign have recently described his parents as schoolteachers. In fact, Mr. McCormick is the son of a well-regarded college president who later became chancellor of higher education systems in Pennsylvania and Minnesota. He largely grew up in the president's sprawling hilltop residence, which students called the president's mansion, at what is now Bloomsburg University.... The family did own a farm several miles from the school.... But it was also often known locally as a place where his mother raised Arabian horses...."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. CNN's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Israel carried out a military strike on Iran early Friday, a US official told CNN, in a potentially dangerous escalation of a fast-widening Middle East conflict that Iranian officials have so far sought to play down. Israel has not commented and Iran has not identified the source of the attack. An Iranian official said air defenses intercepted three drones close to an airbase in Isfahan province, where explosions were reported. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the G7 countries are 'committed to de-escalating' tensions between Israel and Iran. Meanwhile, the US has imposed sanctions on two organizations for fundraising on behalf of violent Israeli extremists in the West Bank, and the EU also sanctioned 'extremist settlers.'"

Niger. Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "More than 1,000 American military personnel will leave Niger in the coming months, Biden administration officials said on Friday, upending U.S. counterterrorism and security policy in the tumultuous Sahel region of Africa. In the second of two meetings this week in Washington, Deputy Secretary of State Kurt M. Campbell told Niger's prime minister, Ali Lamine Zeine, that the United States disagreed with the country's turn toward Russia for security and Iran for a possible deal on its uranium reserves, and the failure of Niger's military government to map out a path to return to democracy, according to a senior State Department official...."

The Conversation -- April 19, 2024

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The House took a critical step on Friday toward approving a long-stalled package of aid to Ukraine, Israel and other American allies, as Democrats supplied the crucial votes to push the legislation past Republican opposition so that it could be considered on the floor. The 316-94 vote cleared the way for the House to bring up the aid package, teeing up separate votes on Saturday on each of its parts. But passage of those measures, each of which enjoys bipartisan support from different coalitions, was not in doubt, making Friday's action the key indicator that the legislation will have the backing needed to prevail. The rule for considering the bill -- historically a straight party-line vote -- passed with more Democratic than Republican support, but it also won a majority of G.O.P. votes, making it clear that despite a pocket of deep resistance from the far right, there is broad bipartisan backing for the $95.3 billion package.

"The vote was an enormous victory in the long effort to fund to Ukraine as it battles against Russian aggression, a major priority of President Biden that has met with bitter resistance from the right. It was a triumph against the forces of isolationism within the G.O.P. and a major moment of bipartisan consensus in a Congress that for the past year has been mostly defined by its dysfunction."

Jonathan Edwards, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than 100 people protesting the war in Gaza were cleared off Columbia University's campus, arrested and charged with trespassing on Thursday. The arrests came a day after the university's president pledged during a congressional hearing on antisemitism to balance students' safety with their right to free speech. Having been summoned by Columbia President Minouche Shafik in what she described as 'an extraordinary step' to keep the campus safe, New York Police Department officers in riot gear entered the encampment with zip ties in the early afternoon and systematically arrested protesters, who offered little resistance.... Columbia's gates have been closed all week, so only people with a university identification can get in; it was a peaceful student protest, [student body president Tejasri Vijayakumar] said.... Students who participated in the encampment would be suspended, Shafik said in a letter to New York police." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "Apparently strongly committed to not being the latest pelt for angry donors, Columbia's leadership appeared before Congress yesterday and agreed to various investigations and firings without even suggesting that academic freedom might be an important consideration in the process. Today, they demonstrated that they got the campus free speech 'speech members of Congress disagree with' message[.]... If there's any evidence that this protest was a threat to student 'safety' that would justify an immediate and recently unprecedented crackdown by armed police, the administration certainly doesn't seem to be providing it." Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Moira Donegan of the Guardian: At the GOP-run House hearing, "Minouche Shafik, the Columbia University president..., made only tepid defenses of academic freedom, instead favoring wholehearted condemnations of the protesters, assents to bad-faith mischaracterizations of the students as antisemitic and genocidal, and public, apparently on-the-spot, personnel decisions that removed some pro-Palestinian faculty and staff from their positions.... The police raid against Columbia students that followed the next day can be seen as an extension of the policy of appeasement and pre-emptive compliance with the anti-Palestinian, anti-student Republican right that Shafik adopted in her testimony.... It is worth stating plainly what happened at Columbia: the raid was nothing less than the product of collusion between a university administration and rightwing politicians to suppress politically disfavored speech." Thanks to RAS for the link. See also the discussion in Friday's Comments thread. ~~~

     ~~~ Oh, and this from Donegan's column: "The arrested students were charged with 'trespassing' on the campus that they are charged more than $60,000 a year to attend."

Nate Schweber & Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "A man set himself on fire on Friday afternoon near the Lower Manhattan courthouse where jurors were being chosen for the criminal trial of ... Donald J. Trump. The man doused himself with accelerant at around 1:35 p.m. in Collect Pond Park, across the street from the courthouse. Onlookers screamed and started to run, and soon, bright orange flames engulfed the man. It was unclear what motivated his action. People rushed over to try to extinguish the fire, but the intensity of the heat could be felt several hundred feet away. After a few minutes, dozens of police officers rushed over and tried to smother the flames. The man, who appeared to be alive, was loaded into an ambulance and rushed away." MB: In a press conference, following publication of this story, NYC fire officials said the man, who is in his 30s, was from St. Augustine, Florida.

New York Times reporters liveblog developments on Day 4 of the Trump 2016 criminal election interference case brought by the Manhattan district attorney. What with Trump's hair all messy and his nodding off minutes after he landed in his comfy leatherette nap-time chair, Bedtime for Bonzo started awfully early today:

Maggie Haberman: "Trump spoke in the hallway before re-entering the hold room. Apparently without a sense of irony, he told reporters, 'They've taken away my constitutional rights to speak and that includes speaking to you.'"

Haberman: "Trump has taken his seat. His hair is uncharacteristically messy. Like the wind hit it on the way into court."

Haberman: "Trump appears to have fallen asleep in court again. It happened several times just now. His eyes were closed for extended periods and his head dropped down twice." [MB: There must be something physically/psychologically wrong with Trump to cause him to fall asleep when most people would be wide-awake and engaged.]

Kate Christobek: "So far this morning, we've lost two potential jurors who were excused after they said they could not be fair and impartial."

Jonah Bromwich: "It may be slow going. Lawyers on each side have many challenges to spend now that we are in the alternate phase: 12 each, in fact. We could lose as many as 24 prospective alternates during voir dire."

[MB: If you can, scan the liveblog. I skip a lot of the "color," but it's often worth reading, at least for the fun of it. For instance, there's this, which is the type of remark I'm skipping: ~~~]

~~~ Wesley Parnell: "Because technology use is limited -- and phone calls are strictly prohibited in the hallways and courtrooms -- reporters who need to make phone calls have resorted to using the 15th floor bathrooms. They're using them to relay information to their editors and, in one case this morning, to patch into a live radio hit from inside a stall. The reporter did not convey on live air that he was inside the men's lavatory, instead conducting himself with aplomb."

Bromwich: "Multiple jurors have started crying as they have opened up about their lives in front of the judge and the former president. A very intense Friday as we near the end of jury selection."

Haberman, et al.: "Prosecutors and defense lawyers interviewed 22 prospective jurors during a Friday morning session to see if they could pick an additional five to serve as alternates, to add to the 12 jurors and one alternate who were selected a day earlier."

Jesse McKinley: "We now have a complete panel. 12 jurors and six alternates."

Bromwich: "... some part of the afternoon will be devoted to a hearing known as a Sandoval hearing, in which the judge will determine what questions prosecutors could ask Trump in cross-examination were he to testify. It's an important hearing and will almost certainly inform whether the former president testifies.... The judge confirms there will be a Sandoval hearing at 3:15.... Prosecutors will seek permission to cross-examine Trump about lawsuits he's lost, women he&'s attacked and a judge who found him to have testified in a 'hollow and untrue' manner during his civil fraud trial last year."

Schweber: "Al Baker, a spokesman for the court system, says the trial schedule would not be affected by the man setting himself on fire [near the courthouse]." ~~~

~~~ Matthew Haag: "The pamphlets the man threw into the air before he lit himself on fire appeared to be published online before the incident. The documents espoused anti-government conspiracy theories as well as criticisms of New York University."

Bromwich: "And now the Sandoval hearing has begun.... Justice Merchan is not weighing in on the individual issues, merely letting the lawyers fight them out, then moving down the list prosecutors provided."

Bromwich: "Justice Merchan just read another judge's determination aloud, from a case in which Trump sued Hillary Clinton. That judge found that the lawsuit was 'completely frivolous, both factually and legally,' and 'was brought in bad faith for an improper purpose.' Justice Merchan reads another quote from the judge in that suit, in which he labeled Trump a 'sophisticated litigant who is repeatedly using the courts to seek revenge on political adversaries.' The judge said: 'He is the mastermind of strategic abuse of the judicial process, and he cannot be seen as a litigant blindly following the advice of a lawyer.' Justice Merchan sounds inclined to allow prosecutors to cross-examine Trump on this matter."

Haberman: "Justice Merchan is warning the defense not to keep blitzing the court with motions to reconsider matters that have been settled. The defense is literally targeting his decisions one by one, Merchan says: 'There comes a point where you accept my rulings.'"

Bromwich: "'You won't' delay the trial, the judge says sharply to the defense, as we seem close to wrapping up for the day."

McKinley: "'Sir, can you please have a seat?' the judge says to Trump, as he rises before court is adjourned."

Donald Trump Has Been Asking, "Are You Better Off Than You Were Four Years Ago?" Let's Check. Top News in the NYT, April 19, 2020: "Sloppy laboratory practices at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention caused contamination that rendered the nation's first coronavirus tests ineffective, federal officials confirmed on Saturday."

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Marie: I've had an extraordinary amount of trouble this morning, not the least of which was a bot (or person) who "wrote" dozens of fake comments in the middle of the night. I've deleted them, but I don't feel confident that this is the end of the mischief, which seems to come with every presidential election year. If the site breaks down, it's probably not because I broke down.

Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "Future oil and gas drilling will be limited across more than 13 million acres of the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska, the nation's largest expanse of public land, under a sweeping Biden administration plan aimed at protecting sensitive ecosystems and wildlife. The Interior Department's final rule represents one of President Biden's most significant steps to curb fossil fuel development on federal lands. It could help the president's reelection campaign court young voters, a key Democratic constituency, after many youth climate activists criticized the administration's approval of a massive drilling project on Alaska's North Slope last year. In a separate move, Interior announced Friday that it will block a controversial road crucial to operating a planned copper and zinc mine in northern Alaska, saying it would threaten Indigenous communities and fragment wildlife habitat. Together, the two decisions are aimed at safeguarding some of Alaska's last wild places from development."

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "House Republicans took a critical step late Thursday night toward bringing up the long-stalled foreign aid bill for Ukraine and Israel, after being forced to rely on Democratic votes to move a plan to consider it out of a key committee and onto the floor. The 9-to-3 vote in the critical Rules Committee was an early step in the convoluted process the House is expected to go through over the next couple of days to approve the $95 billion aid package. It reflected the extent of far-right anger over Speaker Mike Johnson's plan to push through the legislation over the opposition of ultraconservative Republicans, and underscored how heavily the speaker will have to rely on Democrats to push it across the finish line. In a spasm of anger, three far-right Republicans on the panel, which controls what legislation comes to the House floor, refused to back the rule needed to bring up the foreign aid bill, putting it on track to die in committee. But Democrats on the panel stepped in to save it in an extraordinary breach of custom." ~~~

~~~ Luckily, Miss Margie has come up with some amendments to these bills which will make them all better, not the least of which is -- wait for it -- one funding Jewish space lasers. Yes, really, Sarah Rumpf of Mediaite reports that MTG filed: "an amendment to the Israel funding bill that included 'such sums as necessary shall be used for the development of space laser technology on the southwest border.'... She also filed an amendment to the Ukraine bill that requires '[a]ny Member of Congress who votes in favor of this Act' to 'conscript in the Ukraine military.'... Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) reacted to Greene's latest amendments by tweeting that he had '[j]ust submitted an amendment ... appointing MTG as Putin's Special Envoy to the United States Congress.'" ~~~

     ~~~ AND Philip Bump of the Washington Post has some thoughts on MTG's Jewish space lasers amendment.

The Trials of Trump & the Trump Gang

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "At 4:34 p.m. on Thursday, a jury of 12 citizens was selected to determine the fate of an indicted former president for the first time in American history.... 'We have our jury,' Justice Juan M. Merchan proclaimed as the 12th juror was added.... The selection of the 12 capped a seesaw day in which the judge first excused two people who had been seated earlier in the week...." NPR's report is here.

David Bauder & Larry Neumeister of the AP: "The judge in Donald Trump's hush money trial ordered the media on Thursday not to report on where potential jurors have worked and to be careful about revealing information about those who will sit in judgment of the former president. Judge Juan Merchan acted after one juror was dismissed when she expressed concern about participating in the trial after details about her became publicly known.... On Fox News Channel Wednesday night, host Jesse Watters did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were 'stealth liberals' who would be out to convict Trump."

     ~~~ Marie: The AP reporters seem to have missed the significance of Watters' commentary. Merchan reluctantly dismissed the juror, saying she would have "been a very good juror." As Maggie Haberman wrote in the NYT's liveblog of yesterday's courtroom events, "[A prosecutor] notes that Trump posted on social media quoting Jesse Watters on Fox News appearing to attack the jurors, saying they were activists trying to get on the jury to harm Trump. He underscores that they are asking Justice Merchan to hold Trump 'in contempt.'" Both sides in the case are limited to ten peremptory challenges to jurors (and two 12 to alternates), and they were using them up fast. So Trump and Watters went around the restriction and frightened a juror into asking to be excused. That is, Trump & Watters bought Trump an extra peremptory strike. There would be a different jury today had Trump not intimidated a juror. Lock him up.

Yesterday, New York Times reporters ran a live-blog of courtroom developments as they happened. The liveblog is here. Yesterday's Conversation includes a number of the reporters' entries.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Thursday rejected ... Donald J. Trump's attempt to delay a group of civil lawsuits that are seeking to hold him accountable for inspiring the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Mr. Trump had sought to have the suits put on hold until after the completion of his federal criminal trial connected to many of the same events. But in a nine-page ruling, the judge, Amit P. Mehta, decided that the civil lawsuits could move forward without running the risk that Mr. Trump might damage his chances in the criminal case by revealing his defense strategy prematurely or making statements that prosecutors might use against him. Last month, when lawyers for Mr. Trump first asked Judge Mehta to postpone the civil cases, it was the latest example of the former president seeking to pit his multiple legal matters against one another in an effort to delay them." Politico's story is here.

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The federal judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's classified documents case on Thursday denied initial attempts by Mr. Trump's two co-defendants to have the charges against them dismissed. The ruling by the judge, Aileen M. Cannon, was the first time she had rejected dismissal motions by the two men, Walt Nauta and Carlos De Oliveira, both of whom work for Mr. Trump at Mar-a-Lago, his private club and residence in Florida.... Judge Cannon has still not reached a decision on several other dismissal motions filed by Mr. Trump and Mr. Nauta, and she has yet to set a new date for the trial, which was originally scheduled to begin next month but now seems unlikely to start before midsummer." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Another no-brainer. Obviously, the argument "I didn't know what was in the boxes" is meant to be made at trial, not in a pretrial motion.

Presidential Race

Adam Nagourney, et al., of the New York Times: "The elaborate rollout of a Kennedy family endorsement of President Biden on Thursday -- talk-show interviews, a campaign event with the president -- was the most powerful sign yet of rising concern in the Biden camp that Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s independent White House bid presents a serious threat to the president's re-election prospects. Members of this prominent Democratic family, including most of Mr. Kennedy's siblings, had already signaled their support for Mr. Biden. Mr. Kennedy's estrangement from much of his family had grown increasingly apparent over the years, as he became a leading spokesman against Covid vaccines and promoted conspiratorial theories about the 1968 assassination of his father, Robert F. Kennedy.... Democratic worries about Mr. Kennedy have grown as he has turned up his attacks on the president and worked to win ballot lines in critical battleground states. Michigan election officials announced on Thursday that he had secured a spot as a member of a little-known third party."

Trump Takes a Cut from Down-ballot Candidates. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "In a letter received by Republican digital vendors this week, the Trump campaign is asking for down-ballot candidates who use his name, image and likeness in fundraising appeals to give at least 5 percent of the proceeds to the campaign." Extra credit for giving more than 5%! Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Boggioni of the Raw Story: "Donors to Donald Trump's 2024 presidential campaign are not only helping to pay his massive legal bills as he faces an onslaught of criminal charges but they are also helping prop up his businesses at a time when he is facing financial difficulties. According to new campaign filings, reported ... by USA Today's Zac Anderson and Erin Mansfield, four checks written between February and March went to Trump's Mar-a-Lago and Trump National Doral Miami for nearly a half million dollars from his joint campaign committee.... This is not something new, as the report notes that 'the Trump campaign and affiliated political committees paid businesses owned by Trump at least $4.9 million since the start of 2023.... Most of that money -- $4.1 million -- went to TAG Air, Inc. for air travel. The report also added that 'Trump's various campaign committees and a super PAC controlled by his supporters also spent at least $809,000 at his properties since the beginning of last year.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

You Can't Make up This Stuff. Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: “A top leader of the national conservative group Turning Point Action, which has amplified false claims of election fraud by ... Donald Trump and others, resigned Thursday after being accused of forging voter signatures on official paperwork so that he could run for reelection in the Arizona House. State Rep. Austin Smith (R) -- who was senior director at Turning Point Action, the campaign arm of Charlie Kirk's Turning Point USA -- was accused by a Democratic activist of submitting petition sheets with rows of voter names, addresses and signatures that 'bear a striking resemblance' to Smith's handwriting, according to a complaint. Smith 'personally circulated multiple petition sheets bearing what appear to be forged voter signatures,' the complaint said."

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Louisiana. Yes, Republicans Are Cruel, Sick SOBs. James Finn of the (New Orleans) Times-Picayune: "A Louisiana House committee voted Thursday to repeal a law requiring employers to give child workers lunch breaks and to cut unemployment benefits -- part of a push by Republicans to remove constraints on employers and reduce aid for injured and unemployed workers.... First-term state Rep. Roger Wilder, R-Denham Springs, who sponsored the child labor measure and owns Smoothie King franchises across the Deep South, said he filed the bill in part because children want to work without having to take lunch breaks." MB: Yeah, that's what I figured. Kids hate lunch.

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israeli military carried out a strike inside Iran in retaliation for a barrage of missiles and drones launched last weekend, an Israeli official said Friday. It was not clear what damage the apparently limited strike caused, but the official ... said it was intended to signal to Iran that Israel had the ability to strike inside the country. A second person familiar with an Israeli briefing on the attack ... said the strike was 'carefully calibrated.'... There was no damage to Iran's nuclear sites, including those in Isfahan, the International Atomic Energy Agency said Friday morning. Isfahan is the site of Iran's largest nuclear research complex; the area is home to a military base. Iranian state media said air defenses intercepted 'three small drones' in Isfahan province in central Iran." ~~~

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

Yonette Joseph of the New York Times: "The United States blocked the U.N. Security Council on Thursday from moving forward on a Palestinian bid to be recognized as a full member state at the United Nations, quashing an effort by Palestinian allies to get the world body to back the effort. The vote was 12 in favor of the resolution and one -- the United States -- opposed, with abstentions from Britain and Switzerland."

Brett Murphy of ProPublica: "A special State Department panel recommended months ago that Secretary of State Antony Blinken disqualify multiple Israeli military and police units from receiving U.S. aid after reviewing allegations that they committed serious human rights abuses. But Blinken has failed to act on the proposal in the face of growing international criticism of the Israeli military's conduct in Gaza, according to current and former State Department officials. The incidents under review mostly took place in the West Bank and occurred before Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel." Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)