The Conversation -- April 6, 2024

Tamara Keith & Franco Ordoñez of NPR: "The Biden reelection campaign and the Democratic National Committee significantly outraised ... Donald Trump and the Republican Party in the month of March, according to new fundraising numbers released by the Biden campaign on Saturday. The Biden campaign and DNC combined to raise $90 million in March, according to figures released by the campaign. [President] Biden's reelection effort ended the month with $192 million cash on hand, a significant war chest even as the campaign is spending millions on television ads and opening field offices in key states around the country. 'The money we are raising is historic,' said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, Biden-Harris 2024 campaign manager. 'It's a stark contrast to Trump's cash-strapped operation that is funneling the limited and billionaire-reliant funds it has to pay off his various legal fees.'"

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times on Donald Trump's obsession with bloodbaths & bloodlines.

Rachel Leingang of the Guardian: "Donald Trump’s speeches on the 2024 campaign trail so far have been focused on a laundry list of complaints, largely personal, and an increasingly menacing tone. He’s on the campaign trail less these days than he was in previous cycles.... But when he has held rallies, he speaks in dark, dehumanizing terms about migrants, promising to vanquish people crossing the border. He rails about the legal battles he faces and how they’re a sign he’s winning, actually. He tells lies and invents fictions. He calls his opponent a threat to democracy and claims this election could be the last one.... He’s also, quite frequently, rambling and incoherent, running off on tangents that would grab headlines for their oddness should any other candidate say them." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you wonder what ails Trump when he rambles on about irrelevant matters -- like Cary Grant in a bathing suit -- and jumps from topic to topic, it turns out "it's called intelligence." Let him explain:

The fake news will say, ‘Oh, he goes from subject to subject.’ No, you have to be very smart to do that. You got to be very smart. You know what it is? It’s called spot-checking. You’re thinking about something when you’re talking about something else, and then you get back to the original. And they go, ‘Holy shit. Did you see what he did?’ It’s called intelligence.

RFK Jr. Is Still Crazy. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s approach to national politics is uncomplicated. Whatever the conventional wisdom — however sound it might be and no matter the scale of the evidence supporting it — he’s against it.... On Thursday, his scattershot presidential bid was ruffled (to the extent that it can be) by an assertion that people in jail for having participated in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol had been 'stripped of their Constitutional liberties.' The campaign quickly asserted that this presentation, one that echoes the views of ... Donald Trump, was an error introduced by 'a new marketing contractor.' Kennedy subsequently decided to clarify his position on the Capitol riot. In a statement released on Friday afternoon, he affirmed that … he broadly agreed with the position of ... Donald Trump.”

Montana. Meet Yer GOP Candidate. Liz Goodwin of the Washington Post: “Tim Sheehy, a charismatic former Navy SEAL who is the Republican candidate in a U.S. Senate race in Montana..., has cited a gunshot wound he received in combat that he said left a bullet in his right arm as evidence of his toughness. '... I have a bullet stuck in this arm still from Afghanistan,' Sheehy said in a video of a December campaign event posted on social media, pointing to his right forearm. It was one of several inconsistent accounts Sheehy has shared about being shot while deployed. And in October 2015, more than a year after he left active duty, he told a different story. After a family visit to Montana’s Glacier National Park, he told a National Park Service ranger that he accidentally shot himself in the right arm that day.... Asked this week about the citation [he received] ... for illegally discharging his weapon in a national park..., Sheehy told The Washington Post that the statement he gave the ranger was a lie. He said he made up the story about the gun going off to protect himself and his former platoonmates from facing a potential military investigation into an old bullet wound that he said he got in Afghanistan in 2012.” Read on if you'd like to know Sheehy's many tall tales about when and where and how many times he was shot.

Israel/Palestine, et al. CNN's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The US is preparing for a significant Iranian attack on US or Israeli assets in the region as soon as next week, a US official told CNN, after an Israeli strike in Syria killed Iranian commanders. Israel's ongoing conflicts with Iran and its proxy groups have intensified since October 7. There were large protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government in Israeli cities once again on Saturday. Protesters called for Israeli hostages to be freed and slammed Netanyahu's handling of the war after six months in Gaza. World Central Kitchen and some Western leaders are calling for an independent investigation into an Israeli strike that killed seven of the group's aid workers in Gaza, after Israel said its forces made a 'grave mistake' in its preliminary report. Dozens of Democrats — including former US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi — called for the US to halt arms sales to Israel until a full investigation into the strike is completed." ~~~

     ~~~ The New York Times' live updates for Saturday are here.

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Erin Cox, et al. of the Washington Post: “President Biden flew over the scene of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapse in Baltimore on Friday, surveying the wreckage as the recovery enters a pivotal new phase, 10 days after a massive container ship plowed into the span and brought it down in a jumble of twisted steel and concrete. Biden pledged federal support 'every step of the way' in a speech afterward, promising “your nation has your back” and pressing Congress to fund the cost of rebuilding the 1.6-mile bridge, which could total more than $1 billion. Officials announced plans to fully reopen the crippled Port of Baltimore by the end of May, setting a hard target for the first time.... Biden, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) and other officials leading the cleanup did two loops around the disaster site in the Marine One helicopter on Friday, before the president met with first responders and with the families of the six construction workers who perished when the bridge plunged into Patapsco on March 26.”

A'Trolling We Will Go. Filip Timotija of the Hill: “A trio of House Democrats introduced legislation to rename a Miami prison after former President Trump. Congressmen Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), and John Garamendi (D-Calif.) introduced legislation Friday to change the name of the Miami Federal Correctional Institution in Florida to 'Donald J. Trump Federal Correctional Institution.'... The bill comes in response to a measure introduced by a group of Republicans earlier to rename Washington Dulles International Airport after the former President.”

Annie Grayer of CNN: “House Republicans leading the impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden were dealt their latest blow this week when the CIA informed them that an allegation they pushed was false, the latest example of House Republicans citing questionable information to make a serious claim.... House Oversight Chair James Comer and House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan accused the CIA in a letter last month of intervening in the criminal investigation into Hunter Biden by preventing IRS and DOJ investigators from interviewing a witness in their probe, based on information they say came from a whistleblower. But the CIA has refuted that claim.... 'Without confirming or denying the existence of any associations or communications, CIA did not prevent or seek to prevent IRS or DOJ from conducting any such interview. The allegation is false,' CIA Director of Congressional Affairs James A. Catella wrote to the Republican Committee Chairs.... The witness who Republicans allege the CIA blocked from being interviewed is Kevin Morris, who serves as Hunter Biden’s lawyer and has previously testified that he cooperated with the criminal investigation by turning over documents and speaking with investigators.”

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.”

Trump Scams the Appeals Court. Robert Faturechi, et al., of ProPublica: “... Donald Trump scored a victory last week when a New York court slashed the amount he had to put up while appealing his civil fraud case to $175 million. His lawyers had told the appellate court it was a 'practical impossibility' to get a bond for the full amount of the lower court’s judgment, $464 million. All of the 30 or so firms Trump had approached balked, either refusing to take the risk or not wanting to accept real estate as collateral, they said.... But before the judges ruled..., a billionaire lender approached Trump about providing a bond for the full amount. The lawyers never filed paperwork alerting the appeals court. That failure may have violated ethics rules, legal experts say. In an interview with ProPublica, billionaire California financier Don Hankey said he reached out to Trump’s camp several days before the bond was lowered, expressing willingness to offer the full amount and to use real estate as collateral.” Hankey later revised his account to ProPublica, saying he would have needed to evaluate the assets Trump used to secure the bond.

Lisa Rubin & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Lawyers for Donald Trump have again asked the judge presiding over his upcoming criminal trial to recuse himself from the former president's case, this time citing an 'unacceptable appearance of impropriety.' In a court filing made public Friday, Trump attorneys Todd Blanche and Emil Bove contended Judge Juan Merchan has a conflict of interest because his daughter has worked for and has equity in Authentic, which has worked with various Democratic groups, since the 2020 election cycle.... [Although Merchan expanded a gag order that precluded Trump from criticizing his daughter,] Trump has continued to share articles on his Truth Social account about the judge's alleged conflicts, including articles he shared on Friday that are critical of the judge's daughter and his wife. His campaign also sent out an email blast that includes the recusal filing and mentions the judge's daughter by name along with his lawyers' allegations against her." MB: IOW, Trump is finding ways to get around the gag order.

Huffington Post: “Rebecca Lavrenz, a 71-year-old great-grandmother from Falcon, Colorado, was convicted on all four federal misdemeanor charges for trespassing the US Capitol on 06 Jan 2021. During the rally, Rebecca Lavrenz took the microphone and spoke about the 1620 Mayflower Compact that America should be 'dedicated to the glory of God' and 'advancement of the Christian faith.'” Insurrectionists call her the “Praying Grandma.” Sweet!

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.” (Also linked yesterday.) 

Presidential Race

“Tax Cheats, Scammers, Racists, and Extremists.” Alex Gangitano of the Hill: “President Biden’s reelection campaign hit former President Trump on Friday over the guest list for his high-dollar fundraiser in Palm Beach, Fla., this weekend. Trump is aiming to outraise Biden’s $26 million fundraiser in New York City last week with the event hosted Saturday by hedge fund founder John Paulson. The event is expected to raise $33 million.... The Biden campaign focused on the expected attendees to hit Trump on his fundraising strategy of looking to billionaires who have targeted programs such as Social Security. 'If you want to know who Donald Trump will fight for in a second term, just look at who he is having over for dinner Saturday night – tax cheats, scammers, racists, and extremists,' Biden campaign senior spokesperson Sarafina Chitika said.”

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: “The national director of No Labels, the third-party group which on Thursday said it would not run a candidate in the US presidential election, will now vote for Joe Biden, not Donald Trump. 'Me, as a person?' Joe Cunningham told Fox News. 'I would vote for Biden over Trump.' Cunningham did not elaborate. He was also offered the chance to choose Robert F Kennedy Jr, the vaccine sceptic and conspiracy theorist running as an independent.”

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....” (Also linked yesterday.)

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

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.” (Also linked yesterday.)

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.” (Also linked yesterday.)

Ukraine, et al. Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: “As Russia steps up airstrikes and once again advances on the battlefield in Ukraine more than two years into its bloody invasion, there is no end to the fighting in sight. And President Volodymyr Zelensky’s options for what to do next — much less how to win the war — range from bad to worse.” 

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."

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.

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.~~~

     ~~~ 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." ~~~

     ~~~ 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.

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...."

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."

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." ~~~

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

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."

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.'"

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."

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."

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. ~~~

     ~~~ 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." ~~~

     ~~~ 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.

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 below on Trump's "campaign mistake." ~~~

~~~ 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. ~~~

     ~~~ 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.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

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.

~~~~~~~~~~

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."