The Conversation -- February 1, 2024
William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Allen H. Weisselberg, a longtime lieutenant to Donald J. Trump, is negotiating a deal with Manhattan prosecutors that would require him to plead guilty to perjury, people with knowledge of the matter said. As part of the potential agreement with the Manhattan district attorney's office, Mr. Weisselberg would have to admit that he lied on the witness stand in Mr. Trump's recent civil fraud trial, the people said. Mr. Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at Mr. Trump's family business, also would have to say that he lied under oath during in an interview with the New York attorney general's office, which brought the civil fraud case. The situation springs from a web of criminal and civil cases brought by the two agencies and would culminate a lengthy pressure campaign by the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, whose prosecutors had sought Mr. Weisselberg's cooperation as they investigated whether Mr. Trump committed electoral and financial crimes."
Daniel Boffrey of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's data protection claim for damages over allegations in the 'Steele dossier' that he took part in 'perverted' sex acts and gave bribes to Russian officials has been dismissed by a high court judge in London. Mrs Justice Steyn agreed with Orbis Business Intelligence, the company founded by the former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele, who compiled the contentious material, that the case should not go to trial. The ruling issued on Thursday said the court did not 'consider or determine the accuracy or inaccuracy of the memoranda' but found that Trump's claim for damages had been made outside the six-year period of 'limitations'. The court ruled that Trump 'has no reasonable grounds for bringing a claim for compensation or damages, and no real prospect of successfully obtaining such a remedy'." MB: So Trump's crack London lawyers don't know what the statue of limitations is? ~~~
~~~ Where Did It All Go, Donald? David Edwards of the Raw Story: "... Donald Trump appears to have spent $250,000 of donor money while losing a lawsuit against Christopher Steele in London.... MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin gathered Wednesday's financial filings from Trump's Save America leadership PAC. The document indicated Trump had spent hundreds of thousands on legal fees in the U.K. The firm Level Law is on record representing Trump in the London case. Save America PAC made multiple payments to Level Law throughout August, September, and October 2023, totaling over $270,000."
Ankush Kardori interviews attorney Roberta Kaplan for Politico Magazine: Kaplan, on why the jury found for E. Jean Carroll: Donald Trump's "misbehavior at the deposition in Carroll ... combined with how he acted in the trial -- which was speaking under his breath, shaking his head, getting up ... about eight or nine minutes into my closing argument.... The single most important thing that convicted Donald Trump -- both from his deposition and from the trial --- is Donald Trump's own behavior.... He basically said about the Access Hollywood tape, 'Unfortunately, or fortunately, stars have been able to get away with that for millions of years.'... When he left during [my closing] -- I didn't see it happen because I was facing the other way -- but when Judge Kaplan announced that he'd left the courtroom, I thought to myself, 'Okay, that's another $10 million.'... That Trump was misbehaving throughout the trial, like an 8-year-old having a temper tantrum, was a very important thing for people to understand."
Oregon. Claire Rush of the AP: "The Oregon Supreme Court said Thursday that 10 Republican state senators who staged a record-long walkout last year to stall bills on abortion, transgender health care and gun rights cannot run for reelection. The decision upholds the secretary of state's decision to disqualify the senators from the ballot under a voter-approved measure aimed at stopping such boycotts. Measure 113, passed by voters in 2022, amended the state constitution to bar lawmakers from reelection if they have more than 10 unexcused absences. Last year's boycott lasted six weeks -- the longest in state history -- and paralyzed the legislative session, stalling hundreds of bills." ~~~
~~~ Marie: As I've written before, there are all kinds of reasons people are barred from running for office. So I don't find barring the leader of a violent insurrection from running for president* to be out-of-line.
DeSantis Issues a States' Rights Manifesto & Sends the Guard to Texas. Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) announced Thursday he will be deploying members of the National Guard to 'assist' Texas at the southern border, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has declared an invasion amid a surge in migrant border crossings. DeSantis said he will be sending members of the Florida National Guard and members of the Florida State Guard to help Texas 'in its efforts to stop the invasion at the southern border.' The announcement stated that Florida has offered up to 1,000 of its National Guard members 'based on Texas's needs.' 'States have every right to defend their sovereignty and we are pleased to increase our support to Texas as the Lone Star State works to stop the invasion across the border,' DeSantis said in a statement. 'Our reinforcements will help Texas to add additional barriers, including razor wire along the border. We don't have a country if we don't have a border.'"
Yasmeen Abutaleb & Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "President Biden signed an executive order on Thursday that imposes sanctions on four West Bank settlers who have committed violence against Palestinians. The order marks the most significant action Biden has taken against Israelis amid criticism over U.S. backing for Israel's war in Gaza. The executive order mirrors sanctions imposed on individuals designated as terrorists, two senior administration officials said on a call with reporters Thursday. It will block the settlers from accessing all U.S. property and assets or from engaging with the American financial system. The settlers will not be allowed to send money to the United States or have anyone act on their behalf, the officials said. The order also prevents any American from contributing money, goods or services to those sanctioned, the officials said.... Thursday's executive order marks the first significant action [Biden] has been willing to take against Israelis in the nearly four-month-old war." The AP's report is here.
Twisting Orban's Arm with Carrots and Sticks. Matina Stevis-Gridneff, et al., of the New York Times: “Some European leaders jested they’d send Prime Minister Viktor Orban of Hungary their hotel bills for the extra nights they had to spend in Brussels to convince him to support funding for Ukraine. Others, less jokingly, relayed to him he was facing the risk of a legal suspension from E.U. proceedings. And a few offered a friendly, sympathetic ear over late-night drinks as he complained about what he sees as a European bureaucracy stacked against him out of ideological animus. By Thursday morning, just one hour into an emergency European Union summit meeting, this carefully coordinated, behind-the-scenes pressure had forced Mr. Orban to fold and agree to a landmark 50 billion euro ($54 billion) fund for Ukraine that will help the country stay afloat for the next four years, even as U.S. aid is stuck in Congress." A threat from European Council President Charles Michel & late-nite champagne with Italy's PM Giorgia Meloni figured into the offensive. ~~~
~~~ Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "For Mr. Orban, whether to send billions of dollars to Ukraine has never been a question of immovable principle, and he folded Thursday when told that some member states were serious about isolating him, even stripping him of his vote, if he continued to block the aid. Rather, it is just one of many issues on which he has sought to establish himself as the leader of a pan-European movement in defense of national sovereignty and traditional values against what he scorns as out-of-touch urban elites."
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Jeanna Smialek of the New York Times: "Federal Reserve officials held interest rates at their highest level in more than two decades at their first meeting of 2024 and hinted that their next move will be to lower borrowing costs.... Jerome H. Powell, the Fed's chair, said that the country had 'six good months' of moderating inflation, but officials wanted to see continued progress before lowering rates. 'We believe that our policy rate is likely at its peak for this tightening cycle, and that if the economy evolves broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year,' Mr. Powell said. He added that when it comes to gaining enough confidence to move borrowing costs lower, 'we want to see more good data.'" ~~~
~~~ Chris Hayes on the booming Biden economy:
Maxine Joselow of the Washington Post: "President Biden will tap senior adviser John D. Podesta to replace outgoing U.S. special climate envoy John F. Kerry once Kerry steps down this spring.... Podesta, now a senior adviser on clean energy and a veteran Democratic strategist, will remain at the White House rather than move to the State Department in his new role.... His new title will be senior adviser to the president for international climate policy. Podesta now oversees implementation of Biden's signature climate law, the Inflation Reduction Act." NPR's story is here.
Cate Cadell & Joseph Menn of the Washington Post: "FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Wednesday that the bureau had disrupted a major Chinese government-backed effort to hack into U.S. water, communications, transportation and energy facilities that could enable it to shut down essential services and foment chaos in the event of a conflict. Wray testified in a House committee hearing that the FBI used court-authorized operations to wrest control of hundreds of routers that the Chinese group known as Volt Typhoon had been using as springboards to get inside sensitive infrastructure. Wray also urged lawmakers to support investments in U.S. cyberdefense, warning that China's hacking force far outnumbered America's." An AP story is here.
Kayla Guo of the New York Times: "The House gave broad bipartisan approval on Wednesday to a $78 billion bill that would expand the child tax credit and restore a set of corporate tax breaks, a rare feat in an election year by a Congress that has labored to legislate.... It would also bolster the low-income housing tax credit and extend tax benefits to disaster victims and Taiwanese companies and individuals.... The bill passed 357 to 70, with mainstream lawmakers in both parties driving the House's first major bipartisan bill of the year to passage. Forty-seven Republicans and 23 Democrats voted against the bill.... [The bill] faces resistance from Senate Republicans..., [who] previously voted in favor of the same provision in previous bills." Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gosh, why would Senate Republicans oppose legislation they had previously supported? ~~~
~~~ Here's Why. Sahil Kapur & Megan Lebowitz of NBC News: "Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, cast doubt Wednesday on passing a bipartisan tax bill, saying it could make President Joe Biden 'look good' and improve Democrats' chances of holding the White House in the 2024 election.... 'Passing a tax bill that makes the president look good -- mailing out checks before the election -- means he could be re-elected, and then we won't extend the 2017 tax cuts,' Grassley told reporter. The bill does not include checks for Americans; what it includes is a tax credit."
Cecilia Kang & David McCabe of the New York Times: "Lawmakers on Wednesday denounced the chief executives of Meta, TikTok, X, Snap and Discord, accusing them of creating 'a crisis in America' by willfully ignoring the harmful content against children on their platforms, as concerns over the effect of technology on youths have mushroomed. In a highly charged 3.5-hour hearing, members of the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee raised their voices and repeatedly castigated the five tech leaders -- who run online services that are very popular with teenagers and younger children -- for prioritizing profits over the well-being of youths.... The tech chiefs, some of whom showed up after being forced by subpoena, said they had invested billions to strengthen safety measures on their platforms.... The issue has united Republicans and Democrats, with lawmakers pushing for a crackdown on how Silicon Valley companies treat their youngest and most vulnerable users." ~~~
~~~ But You Look Chinese. AND Sen. Tom Cotton (R[acist]-Ark.) repeatedly embarrassed himself by asking "TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew has ties to the Chinese Communist party, forcing Chew to remind Cotton over and over again that he's not Chinese.... 'Have you ever been a member of the Chinese Communist Party?' Cotton asked. A visibly frustrated Chew responded firmly: 'Senator, I'm Singaporean. No.'... 'Are you a citizen of any other nation?' Cotton asked. 'Have you ever applied for Chinese citizenship?' Chew once again replied no to both questions.... Cotton then repeatedly grilled Chew on Chinese geopolitics, including China's treatment of the Uyghur ethnic group and whether he thought Chinese President Xi Jinping was a dictator. Chew said he was there to talk about TikTok." MB: Singapore is an island nation. "Neither China nor Singapore allow dual citizenship." Cotton holds two Harvard degrees.
Presidential Race
Meredith McGraw & Jessica Piper of Politico: "Donald Trump's political operation spent millions more than it took in over the past year due, in part, to massive legal costs incurred by the former president.... The expenditures provide a stark illustration of how Trump's courtroom issues have not just defined his campaign but begun to overwhelm it. In total, the former president spent roughly $50 million in donor funds on legal expenses over the course of 2023. All told his web of committees, in aggregate, spent roughly $210 million during the 2023 calendar year while raising a bit shy of $200 million over the same period, a Politico analysis of campaign finance filings found. The political operation still entered 2024 with a surplus due to strong fundraising in prior years."
I'd vote for a cardboard cutout before I'd vote for Donald Trump.... He doesn't have a character flaw; he doesn't have a character at all. -- John Bolton, on MSNBC today ~~~
~~~ ** "The Room Where It Happened." Jamie Frevell of Mediaite: "During an appearance on CNN's The Source with Kaitlan Collins on Tuesday, John Bolton, who served as Trump's National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019, told anchor Kaitlan Collins that while his former boss gloats about his personal relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, North Korea's Kim Jong Un, and Chinese President Xi Jinping, 'they think he's a laughing fool and they're fully prepared to take advantage of him' if he was elected to a second term." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. Worth reading the post in its entirety. You'll probably find yourself nodding along, as Akhilleus did: "Yeah, pretty much what we all thought." (Also linked yesterday.)
Fox Stars Warn Taylor Swift to Stay Out of Politics. Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "Taylor Swift has not uttered a word about the 2024 presidential election. But the mere prospect that the pop superstar could endorse President Biden has sent conservatives on Fox News into conniptions. 'Why would someone as popular as she is alienate your fans, the Swifties?' Jeanine Pirro said ... before addressing the singer directly. 'So don't get involved! Don't get involved in politics! We don't want to see you there!'... And Sean Hannity, using his prime time soapbox on Tuesday evening, suggested that Democrats were leading Ms. Swift astray. 'Does Taylor realize the guy that they want her to endorse is a kind of stumbling, bumbling mess?' he asked. 'Maybe,' Mr. Hannity added, 'she wants to think twice before making a decision about 2024.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: You know, Pirro & Hannity sound a lot like goombahs. We'll see if Taylor Swift cowers under their threats.
Haley: States Have a Right to Secede. Nicholas Kerr, et al., of ABC News: "Texas has the right to secede from the U.S. if its citizens decide to do so, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley argued on Wednesday -- a controversial view that contradicts centuries of established history and precedent. Similar secession efforts infamously led to the Civil War. But 'if Texas decides they want to do that, they can do that,' Haley said in an interview with the radio show 'The Breakfast Club.' 'If that whole state says, "We don't want to be part of America anymore," I mean, that's their decision to make,' Haley said, though she also noted, 'Let's talk about what's reality. Texas isn't going to secede.' Asked if she still believes that states generally have the right to secede, a sentiment she expressed on camera during her initial run for governor of South Carolina, Haley said that 'states have the right to make the decisions that their people want to make.' 'I believe in state's rights, I believe that everything should be as close to the people to decide,' she said." MB: On the up side, under a Haley administration, secession would not lead to civil war.
Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump took questions from reporters on Wednesday ... in Washington, DC.... 'Do you plan to try to use campaign funds or PAC money to try to pay some of the penalties ... you incurred ... in the New York defamation and fraud cases?'... 'What penalties?' Trump asked. 'In the New York fraud case, the defamation case,' answered the reporter. 'I didn't do anything wrong. I mean, that's been proven as far as I'm concerned. And actually, we won in the Court of Appeals. You probably saw that that case has been largely won in the Court of Appeals. That was a political case coordinated with the White House by the attorney general, I assume is what you're talking about,' Trump said of his civil fraud case, where he has already been found liable. 'And we won that case largely in the Court of Appeals,' Trump added, despite the case awaiting a verdict. The reporter then pressed him to answer regarding the E. Jean Carroll defamation cases, in which separate juries have ordered him to pay Carroll $88.3 million. 'That's a ridiculous case,' Trump shot back." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Trump lives in his own little world, where he is always the winner. I think he's crazy. ~~~
~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times tells CNN's Kaitlan Collins that Donald Trump will have to pay the $83 million judgment in favor of E. Jean Carroll out of his own pocket; i.e., he cannot use campaign funds to pay off Carroll in the defamation case.
Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "An anticipated hearing over allegations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) engaged in an improper personal relationship with the lead prosecutor [Nathan Wade] in the election-interference case against ... Donald Trump is beginning to take shape, with subpoenas issued seeking the sworn testimony of Willis and others in a proceeding that is likely to determine whether the case proceeds.... In addition to Willis and Wade, [Ashleigh Merchant, an attorney for defendant Mike Roman,] has issued subpoenas to several employees of the district attorney's office.... Other subpoenas were issued to Wade's current and former law partners ... and to ... a longtime Willis associate who previously worked at the district attorney's office." Merchant also has subpoenaed travel agency & financial records. An ABC News story is here. MB: And it's all going to be on the teevee!
Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "A Queens man who tackled a police officer and pushed him over a ledge during the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced this week to six and a half years in prison.... The man, Ralph Joseph Celentano III, 56, of Broad Channel, was sentenced on Tuesday, according to court records. A jury convicted him last June on two felony counts -- assaulting, resisting or impeding an officer, and interference with officers during a civil disorder -- and several misdemeanor counts, court records show."
Marie: Tuesday night, Alex Wagner said everybody loves football. She shoulda asked me: ~~~
~~~ Will Hobson of the Washington Post: "Finalized in 2015, the NFL concussion settlement resolved the most serious threat America's most popular and lucrative sports league has faced. While the NFL admitted no wrongdoing, it promised to pay every former player who developed dementia or several brain diseases linked to concussions.... In seven years since the settlement opened, the NFL has paid out nearly $1.2 billion to more than 1,600 former players and their families -- far more than experts predicted during settlement negotiations.... But ... the settlement routinely fails to deliver money and medical care to former players suffering from dementia and CTE, a Washington Post investigation found, saving the NFL hundreds of millions of dollars, if not more....
"The settlement's definition for dementia requires more impairment than the standard definition used in the United States.... At least 14 players have ... failed to qualify for settlement money or medical care and then died, only to have CTE confirmed via autopsy.... In more than 70 cases reviewed by The Post, players were diagnosed with dementia by board-certified doctors, only to see their claims denied by the administrative law firm that oversees the settlement.... In total, court records show, the settlement has approved about 900 dementia claims since it opened in 2017. It has denied nearly 1,100, including almost 300 involving players who were diagnosed by the settlement's own doctors." (Also linked yesterday.)
Marie: This demented right-wing fellow murdered his father and cut off his head: ~~~
~~~ Claire Moses & Orlando Mayorquin of the New York Times: "A man who posted a graphic video on YouTube in which he claimed to be holding his father's severed head was charged with murder and abuse of a corpse early Wednesday after his father's body was found in a Pennsylvania home, the police said. Lt. Stephen Forman, a detective with the Middletown Township Police Department, said the man, Justin Mohn, was arrested Tuesday night. The police also confirmed that it was Mr. Mohn in the YouTube video, in which he promoted conspiratorial and anti-government views and briefly showed what he claimed was his father's head wrapped in plastic.
"The video, which has since been removed, appeared to have been filmed during the daytime and was online for about five hours, Lieutenant Forman said. He added that it had received just over 5,000 views.... On Wednesday morning, YouTube confirmed it had taken down the video because it violated the company's graphic violence policy. It also terminated Mr. Mohn's channel for violating its violent extremism policies. YouTube said it was monitoring for any re-uploads of the video to prevent it from resurfacing.... A YouTube spokeswoman did not answer questions about why it took that long for the video to be removed." (Also linked yesterday.)~~~
~~~ Zenebou Sylla, et al., of CNN: "During [his] online tirade, Mohn describes his father as a federal worker and rails against the Biden administration and the border crisis while declaring himself the new acting US president under martial law.... 'America is rotting from the inside out as far left, woke mobs rampage our once prosperous cities,' he says in the video.... 'Some of the things that he has said on the video -- allegedly referring to woke mobs and things like that -- that's not dissimilar from rhetoric that you hear from some politicians that we've heard recently in the primary season,' [former FBI Deputy Director Andrew] McCabe said. 'So this kind of language has an effect on the ... most vulnerable, most potentially dangerous part of our population. And I think it's something that most security officials are really concerned about.'... After fleeing the home, Mohn drove more than 100 miles, then broke into a Pennsylvania National Guard base with a gun, state Department of Military and Veterans Affairs spokesperson Angela Watson told CNN." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mack Lamoureux & Tess Owen of Vice: "Mohn, who appeared to be reading from a script, delivered a conspiracy-laden speech that would not be out of place on widely-watched, far-right broadcasts.... 'America is rotting from the inside, as far-left woke mobs ravage our once prosperous country.' He ranted about 'the globalist, communist takeover of America' and 'bribed members of the deep state.' He went on against 'fifth column' groups, which he said includes undocumented immigrants, the LGBTQ community, Black Lives Matter and antifa, who are working in concert with the 'traitorous' federal government to destroy the U.S."
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Florida. Zach Schonfeld & Jared Gans of the Hill: "A federal judge on Wednesday tossed Disney's lawsuit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) that accused him and other officials of unconstitutionally retaliating against the company for political reasons. U.S. District Judge Allen Winsor, an appointee of former President Trump, ruled Disney lacked legal standing to sue DeSantis and that the company's free speech claims also failed on the merits. The ruling hands a major win to DeSantis in his escalating legal fight with the entertainment conglomerate.... In the aftermath of Disney's criticism [of DeSantis' 'Don't Say Gay' bill], Florida legislators moved to revoke a special status that the company has had giving it some self-governing power for the 25,000-acre district surrounding its theme parks. DeSantis signed that legislation dissolving the district, known as the Reedy Creek Improvement District, last February, creating a new board." ~~~
~~~ The New York Times report, by Brooks Barnes, is here: "Disney said it planned to appeal the ruling."
~~~ Marie: I'm wondering if Winsor is friends with Aileen Cannon. Saying Disney doesn't have standing to sue here is like saying that if a guy comes in and takes over your house, you don't have standing to sue him. There may be other aspects of the case that lack merit, but standing doesn't seem like one to me.
Texas. Marie: This Colbert monologue is a day old, but I thought it was too good not to share. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing, start at about 4:54 minutes in and stay tuned till 7:10 minutes in. BTW, I checked out the Andrew Jackson citation, and it's accurate (WashPo link). ~~~
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Israel/Palestine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The head of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hossein Salami, said the country is 'not looking for war, but we are not afraid of it either,' after an attack by a militia supporting Iran killed three U.S. service members in Jordan. President Biden said Iran was responsible for supplying weapons for the attack, while Iran has denied involvement. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said a U.S. response 'won't just be a one-off.'... U.S. Central Command said it conducted strikes early Thursday against a Houthi drone station in Yemen and 10 drones. Centcom also said that a U.S. warship shot down a missile and three drones launched from rebel-controlled areas toward the Gulf of Aden on Wednesday night."
Ukraine, et al. Emily Rauhala of the Washington Post: "E.U. leaders on Thursday agreed to more than $50 billion in aid for Ukraine..., overcoming months of opposition from Hungary to secure critical funding as battlefield progress stalls and support from the United States looks uncertain. In emergency meetings in Brussels, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has spent months railing against the aid, finally agreed to sign on. The agreement is a win for E.U. leaders who have increasingly struggled to work with Orban on key issues, particularly Russia's war in Ukraine, and it is good news for Ukraine, which is running desperately short of both ammunition and cash." ~~~
~~~ Washington Post Editors: "... the E.U.'s consensus-based process enables Mr. Orban to serve Russian President Vladimir Putin, who would like nothing better than to paralyze the European Union as he seeks to destroy Ukraine.... After a landslide election victory in 2010, he neutered the constitutional court and drafted a new constitution that reflected a collectivist, nationalist worldview.... Mr. Orban nationalized much of the economy, undercut free and fair elections and human rights, and enabled allies to take over most of the national media. His rhetoric bristles with hostility to immigrants, LGBTQ+ people and the European Union. There is no E.U. mechanism to suspend or expel a member, but the bloc can withhold funds and suspend voting rights.... Continued financial pressure is critical to deliver the message that a member cannot corrode the bloc's values.... The E.U. [should make itself] less vulnerable to Orban-like manipulation, reforming voting rules so that fewer decisions require unanimity. Majority or supermajority rule would suit a bloc devoted to democracy and curb the likes of Mr. Orban from destroying from within one of the West's most successful institutions."
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