The Conversation -- October 3, 2023

Bye-Bye, My Kevin, Good-Bye

"The office of the Speaker of the House is hereby declared vacant."

Washington Post: "The Republican-led House voted Tuesday to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as speaker, the first such removal in congressional history. McCarthy's removal was sought by hard-right members of his own party. Democrats did not provide votes that would have been needed to save him. The move puts the House in uncharted territory as it searches for a leader.... The clerk called the roll alphabetically, with House members rising individually to cast their votes.&" ~~~

~~~ MSNBC reports that Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) will serve as Speaker Pro-Tem. McCarthy designated him to the House Parliamentarian in January. Update from the NYT liveblog, linked below: "Representative Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is named interim speaker under a law passed after the Sept. 11 attacks in the event of a vacancy in the office." ~~~

~~~ From the New York Times liveblog, also linked below. Catie Edmondson: "The House on Tuesday voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership, a move without precedent in modern history that left the chamber without a leader and plunged it into chaos. Democrats joined with a small group of hard-liners in Mr. McCarthy's own party to strip the California Republican of the speaker's gavel in a 216 to 210 vote. It was the culmination of a bitter power struggle between Mr. McCarthy and members of a far-right faction who tried to block his ascent to the speakership in January and have tormented him ever since, trying to stymie his efforts to keep the government funded and the nation from defaulting on its debt." Update. Then this: "Shortly after the vote, Mr. McCarthy announced in a closed-door meeting with Republicans that he would not run for speaker again, and Republicans left the Capitol and prepared to return to their districts for the next week with no clear path forward."

~~~ From the CNN liveblog, also linked below: "The US House of Representatives has voted to oust Rep. Kevin McCarthy in a historic vote on Tuesday. The vote on the motion to vacate was 216-210 with eight Republicans voting to remove McCarthy from the speakership. The Republicans who voted to oust McCarthy were: Andy Biggs, Ken Buck, Tim Burchett, Eli Crane, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Nancy Mace and Matt Rosendale. The House will now need to elect a new speaker, but there is no clear alternative who would have the support needed to win the gavel. No House speaker has ever before been ousted through the passage of a resolution to remove them."

House of Chaos, Ctd. Catie Edmonson of the New York Times: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday that he would not try to broker a deal with Democrats to defeat a hard-right effort to oust him, even though he has little chance of hanging onto his leadership post without their support. In an interview on CNBC's 'Squawk Box,' Mr. McCarthy said Democrats would 'decide whatever they're going to do. And we will live with whatever happens.' Democrats 'haven't asked for anything' in exchange for voting to support him, Mr. McCarthy said, 'and I'm not going to provide anything.'... House Democrats were set to meet on Tuesday morning to consider whether to bail out Mr. McCarthy. Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the Democratic leader, told CNBC in an interview on Tuesday that the party would 'come to a collective decision at the end.'" ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been folded into a liveblog: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy [said] he planned to call a vote on Tuesday on the right-wing move to oust him from his post, after declaring that he had no intention of giving Democrats any concessions in exchange for helping him survive." ~~~

Luke Broadwater: "Speaker after speaker in the Democrats' closed-door meeting rose to speak against helping McCarthy, saying he can't be trusted and Democrats must remain united against helping him, said Representative Mark Takano of California. 'We don't have an obligation to save this speaker.'"

Kayla Guo: "McCarthy conceded to reporters that if five Republicans voted to oust him, and Democrats stay united against him, that he would lose the speakership. Does that seem likely to happen? 'Probably so,' he said. But he added that he remains confident he'll survive. 'I just don't give up.'"

Edmondson: "In a letter to House Democrats minutes ahead of an expected vote, the Democratic leader, Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, wrote: 'Given their unwillingness to break from MAGA extremism in an authentic and comprehensive manner, House Democratic leadership will vote yes on the pending Republican Motion to Vacate the Chair.'"

** Edmondson: "Speaker Kevin McCarthy has lost the vote to kill Representative Matt Gaetz's bid to oust him, 208 to 218. That tees an up-or-down vote to remove McCarthy."

CNN is liveblogging Donald Trump's civil trial in Manhattan. So far, Trump has sat through the second day of trial.

Update: "Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the New York attorney general's civil case against Donald Trump, said Tuesday that the trial itself is not the venue for Trump's attorneys to contest what he's already ruled on. 'That's why we have appeals,' Engoron said. The judge made several comments about the trial and the testimony at the start of the second day of a trial that's expected to go into December."

Update. "Judge Arthur Engoron rebuked Donald Trump after the former president attacked his clerk in a social media post on Tuesday and forbade the parties from making any future comments about his staff. 'This morning one of the defendants posted on social media account a disparaging untrue and personally identifying post about a member of my staff. Although I have since ordered the post deleted and apparently it was, it was also emailed out to millions of other recipients,' the judge said in court. 'Personal attacks of any member of my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate and I will not tolerate them,' the judge said. The judge then said all parties must not speak publicly about any members of the court staff." ~~~

~~~ New York Judge Tells Trump to STFU. Steve Reilly & Adam Klasfeld of the Messenger: "The New York judge presiding over Donald Trump's civil fraud trial on Tuesday issued a gag order after the former president attacked his clerk by name and shared her image on social media. 'Personal attacks on members on my court staff are unacceptable, inappropriate, and I won't tolerate it [in my courtroom],' said New York State Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron. He added later to 'consider this a gag order for all parties from posting about any members of my staff.' The judge rebuked the 'untrue and personally identifying posts' about a staff member. 'Schumer's girlfriend, Alison R. Greenfield, is running this case against me. How disgraceful! This case should be dismissed immediately!!' Trump posted on his Truth Social platform, along with a picture of the clerk and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. The post appeared to show a photograph of Greenfield standing next to Schumer, without any more context. Fact-checkers note that false rumors about Schumer and infidelity appear to trace their origins to a now-shuttered satirical website." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If Trump had been a real president, you would not believe he had targeted a court clerk with a damaging story that included personal information and his "source" for the story was a shut-down satirical website. But it's Trump, and you just shake your head. Even as a thug -- his greatest talent -- he's an amateurish screw-up.

Lindsay Whitehurst & Claudia Lauer of the AP: "Hunter Biden pleaded not guilty on Tuesday to three federal firearms charges filed after a plea deal imploded, putting the case on track toward a possible trial as the 2024 election looms. His lawyer Abbe Lowell said in court he plans to file a motion to dismiss the case, challenging their constitutionality."

Marie: Earlier today, I linked to a story by Jake Traylor of NBC News, who noticed that "... Donald Trump is lashing out at political and legal foes in increasingly violent terms as his campaign to return to office accelerates." Traylor isn't the only one who noticed: ~~~

     ~~~ Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump had a lot to say on the first day of the fraud trial against him and his company. Speaking to reporters at a Manhattan courthouse on Monday, he dismissed the judge as a 'rogue' justice and said he did not 'think the people of this country are going to stand for it.' And..., 'This is a disgrace,' he said, 'and you ought to go after this attorney general.' The remark urging people to 'go after' a top elected official in New York, by a former president whose invective has become a familiar backdrop of American life, was part of a pattern of increasingly sharp language from Mr. Trump.... His calls for supporters to refuse to 'stand' for what he insists is a broad miscarriage of justice -- are front and center in nearly every statement he makes." MB: You need merely put together his remark about people's not standing for the New York trial with his urging to go after Letitia James to see a nearly direct plea to harm James. There oughta be a law.

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Catie Edmonson of the New York Times: "Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida moved on Monday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post in an act of vengeance that posed the clearest threat yet to Mr. McCarthy's tenure and could plunge the House into chaos. After days of warnings, Mr. Gaetz rose Monday evening to bring up a resolution declaring the speakership vacant, which starts a process that would force a vote within days on whether to keep Mr. McCarthy in his post. In doing so, Mr. Gaetz sought to subject Mr. McCarthy to a rare form of political punishment experienced by only two other speakers in the history of the House of Representatives." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Olivia Beavers & Jordain Carney of Politico: "It's far from clear that Gaetz has the votes to depose McCarthy, as the Floridian himself acknowledged to reporters after making his move. Only three colleagues, Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Bob Good (R-Va.), are openly supportive of his effort. But a handful of other House Republicans frustrated with the speaker are seen as persuadable on the matter of his future." (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's story is here. ~~~

~~~ What About Kevin? Carl Hulse & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The hard-right move to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post has presented House Democrats with a tricky question: Should they help rescue the California Republican who has worked against their agenda and recently opened an impeachment inquiry against President Biden? Mr. McCarthy's slender majority and the size of the band of right-wing rebels working to depose him mean that he has little chance of surviving a vote to keep his job -- which requires a majority -- without at least some support from Democrats. But it is nearly unheard-of for members of the minority to vote for the opposing party's candidate for speaker.... Multiple Democrats said that they expected to take a unified position on the fate of the speaker, and that they would meet Tuesday morning to begin the process of determining what they would do.... Democratic officials said that, absent some sort of tangible and enforceable concession from Mr. McCarthy that benefited them, they could not envision a sufficient number backing him to offset Republican defections."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... the only way to square the circle of a radical minority with democracy-destroying potential is to acknowledge the way our institutions work to empower the people who hope to overturn constitutional government altogether.... For as much as we have changed and transformed our political institutions -- to make them far more inclusive and responsive than they were at their inception -- it is also clear that they retain the stamp of their heritage. Our counter-majoritarian institutions, for example, continue to place an incredibly higher barrier to efforts to reduce concentrations of wealth and promote greater economic equality.... The Trump crisis may never have materialized if not for specific institutions, like the Electoral College, that gave [Donald] Trump the White House despite his defeat at the hands of most voters. And even with the Electoral College, Trump might not have won if our Supreme Court had not, in Shelby County v. Holder, invalidated the most aggressive and effective rule for the federal protection of voting rights since Reconstruction.... If anyone is aware of this, it has to be [President] Biden, who won the national popular vote by 6 million in 2020, but would have lost the election if not for a few tens of thousands of votes across a handful of so-called swing states."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A Manhattan federal judge on Monday said Senator Robert Menendez of New Jersey, who faces charges of wide-ranging corruption, will stand trial on May 6 next year, along with his wife and three businessmen who were indicted with him. The date would place the trial just one month before the June 4 New Jersey state primary and raises the specter, if Mr. Menendez runs for re-election, of voters going to the polls while he is on trial, without knowing what verdict, if any, the jury might return. In court on Monday, a prosecutor said the government expected the trial to last four to six weeks, assuming all five defendants were still part of the case. Mr. Menendez, a Democrat..., had been preparing to run for re-election but has not indicated whether, in the face of bribery charges, he still intended to seek a fourth full term."

Jake Traylor of NBC News: "... Donald Trump is lashing out at political and legal foes in increasingly violent terms as his campaign to return to office accelerates.... The aggressive turn began a week ago on Truth Social, where Trump alluded to the execution of his former top military official [Gen. Mark Milley].... It's clear that some Trump supporters are hanging on his every word as his language takes a combustible turn. Many supporters on the campaign trail with Trump this week admire what he has to say and reflect the same sentiments."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: In a civil trial that began Monday, the New York State "attorney general's office accused [Donald Trump] of inflating his riches by more than $2 billion [link fixed] to obtain favorable deals with banks and bragging rights about his wealth. Outside the courtroom, fired a fusillade of personal attacks on [New York Attorney General Letitia] James and the judge, Arthur F. Engoron. He called the judge 'rogue' and Ms. James 'a terrible person,' even suggesting that they were criminals.... 'You ought to go after this attorney general,' he said, without specifying who or how. He said that Justice Engoron should 'be disbarred' and that the case against him was 'a witch hunt, it's a disgrace.'... Inside, Mr. Trump sat in uncomfortable silence as Ms. James's lawyers methodically laid out their case. 'Year after year, loan after loan, defendants misrepresented Mr. Trump's net worth,' Kevin Wallace, a lawyer for Ms. James, said during opening statements. Exaggerating for a television audience or Forbes Magazine's list of the richest people is one thing, he said, but 'you cannot do it while conducting business in the state of New York.'... As he left the courtroom on Monday afternoon, Mr. Trump passed Ms. James in the front row. He glared at her. Soon after, his son Eric[, who also is a defendant,] walked by and shook her hand." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you are old enough and if you live in an urban (or upscale) enough area, you probably have met extremely rich people. I'd be stunned if any of them ever boasted to you about his wealth. You may have met super-rich people and not even known it because they don't let on how wealthy they are. There is something fundamentally wrong with anyone who does say things like, "My financials are phenomenal," as Trump did Monday.

Marie: I wonder if anyone ever sat Donald Trump down and calmly showed him that he's absolutely crazy. The calm person could show Donald stuff like this to make her point: ~~~

~~~ Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Former President Trump said Sunday that Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) should be jailed for the 'egregious act' of pulling the fire alarm Saturday ahead of the House's vote on a stopgap measure to keep the government open past the midnight deadline. 'Will Congressman Jamal Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday. 'His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality.'" MB: Yeah but attempting to lead and carry out an insurrection in which dozens of police personnel are injured is fine, and jailing the perps is a violation of their First Amendment rights. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ And, worse, stuff like this: ~~~

~~~ ** Jake Tapper, et al., of CNN: "John Kelly, the longest-serving White House chief of staff for Donald Trump, offered his harshest criticism yet of the former president in an exclusive statement to CNN. Kelly set the record straight with on-the-record confirmation of a number of damning stories about statements Trump made behind closed doors attacking US service members and veterans, listing a number of objectionable comments Kelly witnessed Trump make firsthand.... [Kelly described] 'A person that thinks those who defend their country in uniform, or are shot down or seriously wounded in combat, or spend years being tortured as POWs are all "suckers" because "there is nothing in it for them." A person that did not want to be seen in the presence of military amputees because "it doesn't look good for me." A person who demonstrated open contempt for a Gold Star family -- for all Gold Star families -- on TV during the 2016 campaign, and rants that our most precious heroes who gave their lives in America's defense are "losers" and wouldn't visit their graves in France.... A person who admires autocrats and murderous dictators. A person that has nothing but contempt for our democratic institutions, our Constitution, and the rule of law.'" And more. ~~~

     ~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... some of the most serious reports about what he's said have gone largely unconfirmed by key players. That changed in a major way on Monday. Former Trump White House chief of staff John F. Kelly delivered a blistering statement to CNN's Jake Tapper that, for the first time, served to confirm years-old comments attributed to [Donald] Trump and for which Kelly was present.... You can now add [Kelly] to the list of former top aides warning in some very strong terms about another Trump term -- and effectively labeling Trump a clear and present danger." ~~~

~~~ AND what about this? ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Sainato of the Guardian: "Faced with a litany of criminal charges, Donald Trump on Sunday told a campaign rally in Iowa that he would prefer to die by electrocution rather than be eaten by a shark if he ever found himself on a rapidly sinking, electrically powered boat. The former president and frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination delivered the bizarre remarks during a speech in the community of Ottumwa. He was pontificating over batteries for electric powered boats.... Trump ... continued criticizing the prospect of any other sustainable energy technologies and claiming he would repeal the Joe Biden White House's electric vehicle mandate. 'These people are crazy,' Trump said." MB: More projection.

Colleen Long of the AP: "Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview that aired Sunday that he would resign if asked by President Joe Biden to take action against Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. But he doesn't think he'll be put in that position. 'I am sure that that will not happen, but I would not do anything in that regard,' he said on CBS '60 Minutes.' 'And if necessary, I would resign. But there is no sense that anything like that will happen.'... Garland said the president has never tried to meddle in the investigations, and he dismissed criticism from Republicans that he was going easy on the president's son, Hunter, who was recently indicted on a gun charge after a plea deal in his tax case fell apart." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tom Jackman & Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: "A senior member of the Department of Defense communications staff has been arrested and charged with participating in a dogfighting ring in the D.C. area for more than 20 years, federal authorities disclosed Monday. The ring regularly trained dogs for fights, ran thousands of dollars in bets on the outcomes, and executed dogs that didn't die during matches, court records state. Frederick Douglass Moorefield Jr., 62, of Arnold, Md., was a deputy chief information officer for command, control and communications for the Secretary of Defense's Chief Information Officer, court records and Moorefield's LinkedIn page show. He was arrested Thursday on a charge of promoting and furthering animal fighting venture, along with a longtime friend who allegedly admitted his participation in dogfighting, Mario D. Flythe, 49, of Glen Burnie. Investigators found battery jumper cables, which allegedly were used to execute dogs at Moorefield's house, along with five pit bull-type dogs at his house and five pit bull-type dogs at Flythe's house, court records show." A CBS News story is here.

Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a long-shot bid to disqualify former President Trump from running for office under the 14th Amendment. John Castro, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, has filed various lawsuits seeking to challenge Trump's eligibility under the amendment's provision targeting those involved in insurrections. In a brief, unsigned order issued Monday, the justices declined to take up one of his cases after Castro lost in a lower court." (Also linked yesterday.)

Justice Thomas Regrets He Cannot Opine Today. Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday denied an effort by lawyer John Eastman to appeal a ruling that found he may have acted criminally with the legal advice he gave former President Trump. It spurred a rare recusal from Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife corresponded with the California attorney in the weeks ahead of Jan. 6. Thomas's recusal comes after reporting that his wife, Ginni Thomas, emailed Eastman, as well as Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and Arizona lawmakers wrestling with pressure from the Trump campaign, to look for ways to reverse the election. The episode ... triggered a renewed look at Thomas's failure to recuse himself from other matters relating to Jan. 6. His actions have further come under the microscope following reporting he accepted a series of lavish gifts from a Republican megadonor. The order says that Thomas 'took no part in the consideration' of Eastman's petition." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here.

Marie: So you thought Elon Musk's rapid but evolving destruction of Twitter was a testament to his incompetence? Maybe not. Maybe it all has been adherence to a diabolical plan. Really. ~~~

     ~~~ Ben Collins of NBC News: "On the day that public records revealed that Elon Musk had become Twitter's biggest shareholder, an unknown sender texted the billionaire and recommended an article imploring him to acquire the social network outright. Musk's purchase of Twitter, the 3,000-word anonymous article said, would amount to a 'declaration of war against the Globalist American Empire.' The sender of the texts was offering Musk, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO, a playbook for the takeover and transformation of Twitter. As the anniversary of Musk's purchase approaches, the identity of the sender remains unknown. The three texts were sent on April 4, 2022. In the nearly 18 months since then, many of the decisions Musk made after he bought Twitter appear to have closely followed that road map, up to and including his ongoing attacks against the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit organization founded by Jewish Americans to counter discrimination.... The [article was published on a] site is run by the far-right blogger Darren Beattie, a former Trump White House speechwriter who was fired in 2018 for having spoken on a panel alongside white nationalists. After the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, Beattie promoted the baseless claim that the FBI had planted agents in the crowd who incited it to storm the building." Read on. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I know this sounds batshit crazy, but Collins is a reliable reporter on the batshit crazy, and he shows how Musk has fairly closely followed the plan laid out in the anonymous essay.

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Arizona. Isaac Stanley Becker & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: "Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs said Monday that her administration would effectively kick a Saudi-owned alfalfa farm off a critical stretch of state land, a forceful step that speaks to the firestorm of controversy over foreign extraction of natural resources as well as deepening dilemmas over water scarcity as climate change dries out the West. The move will prevent the Saudi-owned company, Fondomonte Arizona, from pumping groundwater that could one day serve as backup for booming urban areas. Currently, the company uses the water to grow alfalfa to feed the kingdom's dairy cows. Fondomonte came under fierce bipartisan criticism on the campaign trail last year, and Hobbs, a Democrat who took office in January, has been under pressure to act."

Kansas. Eduardo Medina of the New York Times: "The police chief of Marion, Kansas, who had ordered raids on the office of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher in August resigned on Monday, an official said, after facing mounting questions over his officers' aggressive actions against the news organization. The mayor of Marion, David Mayfield, told the city council on Monday night that the former chief, Gideon Cody, resigned 'effective immediately,' according to Zach Collett, a council member." ~~~

     ~~~ A Grudge in Search of a Crime. Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "The Messenger has obtained emails exposing the Marion County Police Chief trying to invent a justification for raiding the local newspaper. The news site filed an open-records request seeking the emails of suspended cop Gideon Cody as he searched for a law that would enable him to get the FBI to back him up on a wide-ranging subpoena." Thanks to RAS for the link.

Washington, D.C. Andrés Martinez of the New York Times: "Rep. Henry Cuellar, a Democrat from Texas, was held up at gunpoint and his vehicle was stolen in Washington on Monday evening, according to his office. He was not harmed and police later recovered the vehicle. Mr. Cuellar was parking on Monday at 9:30 p.m. in the Navy Yard neighborhood, about a mile from Capitol Hill, when three armed people approached him and stole his vehicle, said Jacob Hochberg, the congressman's chief of staff. The Metropolitan Police Department and Capitol Police are investigating the crime, he said. Mr. Cuellar's iPad and iPhone were also stolen, Mr. Hochberg said. He did not say whether the devices had been recovered." The Hill's story is here.

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Another Crack in the Anti-Gay, Anti-Woman Roman Catholic Church. Anthony Faiola, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the shadow of Cologne's Gothic cathedral..., men with men, women with women, and women with men -- lined up to have their unions blessed by ordained Catholic priests wearing rainbow stoles. It was an act of love -- but also sedition, in direct defiance of the Vatican's decree that same-sex unions should not be celebrated or recognized. The German Catholic Church, long known for pushing the boundaries of the faith, has been translating frustrations among progressive Catholics in pockets throughout Europe into a veritable revolt.... Pope Francis has reprimanded Germany's Catholic leadership... On Monday, however, the Vatican released a document that seemed to open a door to blessing same-sex unions and the study of female priests. In the letter, dated Sept. 25, Francis wrote that there are 'situations' that may not be 'morally acceptable' but where a priest can assess, on a case-by-case basis, whether blessings may be given -- as long as such blessings are kept separate from the sacrament of marriage."

News Lede

New York Times: "The Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Pierre Agostini, Ferenc Krausz and Anne L'Huillier on Tuesday for their experiments that 'have given humanity new tools for exploring the world of electrons inside atoms and molecules. 'Electrons' movements in atoms and molecules are so quick that they are measured in 'attoseconds,' and the experiments conducted by the three scientists demonstrated that attosecond pulses could be observed and measured, the awarding committee said."

The Conversation -- October 2, 2023

Catie Edmonson of the New York Times: "Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida moved on Monday to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy from his post in an act of vengeance that posed the clearest threat yet to Mr. McCarthy's tenure and could plunge the House into chaos. After days of warnings, Mr. Gaetz rose Monday evening to bring up a resolution declaring the speakership vacant, which starts a process that would force a vote within days on whether to keep Mr. McCarthy in his post. In doing so, Mr. Gaetz sought to subject Mr. McCarthy to a rare form of political punishment experienced by only two other speakers in the history of the House of Representatives." ~~~

     ~~~ Olivia Beavers & Jordain Carney of Politico: "It's far from clear that Gaetz has the votes to depose McCarthy, as the Floridian himself acknowledged to reporters after making his move. Only three colleagues, Reps. Eli Crane (R-Ariz.), Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Bob Good (R-Va.), are openly supportive of his effort. But a handful of other House Republicans frustrated with the speaker are seen as persuadable on the matter of his future."

The New York Times is liveblogging the civil trial of Donald Trump. So far we know Trump was 9 minutes late for court because he was busy standing out front and telling reporters that Judge Arthur Erdogan was a "rogue judge, New York AG Letitia James was a racist, and calling the trial "a sham and a scam." ~~~

~~~ Susanne Craig: "As soon as the cameras [in the courtroom] were in front of Trump, he clenched his jaw and cocked his head up and to the side. His face looked like the mug shot that resulted after his arrest in Atlanta." MB: Clearly, he thinks this is what tough guys look like. ~~~

~~~ Jonah Bromwich: "Speaking to television cameras during the break, Trump calls for Justice Engoron to be disbarred. 'This is a judge that should be out of office,' he said. 'This is a judge that some people say could be charged criminally for what he's doing.'"

     ~~~ CNN's liveblog is here: Judge Arthur Engoron "has denied media outlets' request to allow a camera in the courtroom for opening statements." The judge did allow cameras in the courtroom for a few minutes before the proceedings started.

Colleen Long of the AP: "Attorney General Merrick Garland said in an interview that aired Sunday that he would resign if asked by President Joe Biden to take action against Republican presidential frontrunner Donald Trump. But he doesn't think he'll be put in that position. 'I am sure that that will not happen, but I would not do anything in that regard,' he said on CBS '60 Minutes.' 'And if necessary, I would resign. But there is no sense that anything like that will happen.'... Garland said the president has never tried to meddle in the investigations, and he dismissed criticism from Republicans that he was going easy on the president's son, Hunter, who was recently indicted on a gun charge after a plea deal in his tax case fell apart."

Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear a long-shot bid to disqualify former President Trump from running for office under the 14th Amendment. John Castro, who is running for the Republican presidential nomination, has filed various lawsuits seeking to challenge Trump's eligibility under the amendment's provision targeting those involved in insurrections. In a brief, unsigned order issued Monday, the justices declined to take up one of his cases after Castro lost in a lower court."

Justice Thomas Recuses! Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "The Supreme Court on Monday denied an effort by lawyerJohn Eastman >to appeal a ruling that found he may have acted criminally with the legal advice he gave former President Trump. It spurred a rare recusal from Justice Clarence Thomas, whose wife corresponded with the California attorney in the weeks ahead of Jan. 6. Thomas's recusal comes after reporting that his wife, Ginni Thomas, emailed Eastman, as well as Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows and Arizona lawmakers wrestling with pressure from the Trump campaign, to look for ways to reverse the election. The episode ... triggered a renewed look at Thomas's failure to recuse himself from other matters relating to Jan. 6. His actions have further come under the microscope following reporting he accepted a series of lavish gifts from a Republican megadonor. The order says that Thomas 'took no part in the consideration' of Eastman's petition."

Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Former President Trump said Sunday that Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) should be jailed for the 'egregious act' of pulling the fire alarm Saturday ahead of the House's vote on a stopgap measure to keep the government open past the midnight deadline. 'Will Congressman Jamal Bowman be prosecuted and imprisoned for very dangerously pulling and setting off the main fire alarm system in order to stop a Congressional vote that was going on in D.C.,' Trump wrote in a Truth Social post Sunday. 'His egregious act is covered on tape, a horrible display of nerve and criminality.'" MB: Yeah but attempting to lead and carry out an insurrection in which dozens of police personnel are injured is fine and jailing the perps is a violation of their First Amendment rights.

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** Maeve Reston & Tyler Pager of the Washington Post: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office confirmed late Sunday that he plans to appoint Emily's List president Laphonza Butler to fill the seat held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who died last week at age 90. The interim appointment will extend until at least November 2024. Feinstein had planned to step down at the end of her term, in January 2025. Three of California's top Democrats -- Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter and Adam B. Schiff -- are in a contentious three-way primary contest for that seat, in what is likely to be the most expensive congressional contest in the nation next year. The appointment helps Democrats hold onto their narrow margin of control of the Senate." After Newsom promised to choose a Black woman for the position should it become necessary to replace Feinstein, liberal groups pressured him to appoint Lee, but he indicated recently that he would not choose anyone who was currently running for the seat. Butler is Black. Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: And here I was hoping Meghan Markle would get the nod. (Do we call you Senator or do we call you Duchess? Is a curtsy appropriate? What does the new Senate dress code say about wearing tiaras to work? ~~~

~~~ Hillary Clinton, in a Washington Post op-ed: Dianne "Feinstein, who passed away on Thursday evening, was a giant of the Senate. She was brave, honorable, honest and unafraid to do what was right for her constituents and her country. We both came to Washington in 1993, I as first lady and Dianne as senator. When she used her first floor speech to support the Family and Medical Leave Act, I knew I had found a kindred spirit. When I joined Dianne in the small sisterhood of Senate women eight years later, I gained an appreciation for her blend of principle and pragmatism. In an institution known for show horses, she was a workhorse. Perhaps because she had been a mayor, she believed in delivering results not rhetoric -- and that's what she did.... The United States needs leaders willing to respond to attacks on the rule of law with the same fearlessness that Dianne showed when she exposed unlawful 'enhanced interrogation techniques.'"

Kevin Freking & Colleen Long of the AP: "President Joe Biden said Sunday that American aid to Ukraine will keep flowing for now as he sought to reassure allies of continued U.S. financial support for the war effort. But time is running out, the president said in a warning to Congress. 'We cannot under any circumstances allow America's support for Ukraine to be interrupted,' Biden said in remarks from the Roosevelt Room after Congress averted a government shutdown by passing a short-term funding package late Saturday that dropped assistance for Ukraine in the battle against Russia. 'We have time, not much time, and there's an overwhelming sense of urgency,' he said, noting that the funding bill lasts only until mid-November. Biden urged Congress to negotiate an aid package as soon as possible.... 'Stop playing games, get this done.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the text of the President's speech, as delivered, via the White House.

Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Sunday said he will push to unseat House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) this week, vowing to make good on his threat after McCarthy backed a measure to prevent a government shutdown a day earlier that won broad bipartisan support. 'I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week,' Gaetz told CNN 'State of the Union' anchor Jake Tapper. 'I think we need to rip off the band-aid. I think we need to move on with leadership that's trustworthy.'" The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ David Edwards of the Raw Story: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) said he would not get involved in the possible push to expel Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) from Congress. A Republican in the House of Representatives told Fox News that caucus members could move to expel Gaetz over an ethics complaint after he tried to force a government shutdown. 'No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals,' the unnamed Republican lawmaker reportedly said."

The Supremes Are Back. Adam Liptak & Abbie VanSickle of the New York Times: "When the Supreme Court returns to the bench on Monday, it will face a docket filled with unfinished business. The justices will revisit issues like gun rights, government power, race and free speech even as they are shadowed by intense scrutiny of their conduct off the bench. In the coming months, moreover, the court will very likely agree to hear a major abortion case, one that could severely limit the availability of a drug used in more than half of all pregnancy terminations. A decision in that case could come in June, two years after the court overturned Roe v. Wade.... The coming term could also take large strides toward achieving a long-sought goal of the conservative legal movement: stripping administrative agencies of the power to regulate.... Recent history suggests that the court's six Republican appointees will continue to move the law to the right.... If liberals achieve some victories..., those may come because litigants and lower courts had staked out positions too extreme for even a fundamentally conservative Supreme Court.... The main questions are how far, how fast and what impact the questions swirling around the justices' ethical standards will have on their judicial work and personal relationships." ~~~

     ~~~ Robert Barnes & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post concentrate on the Supremes' ethics challenges and the resulting low esteem in which the public holds the Court. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I seriously want to see Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan & Sonia Sotomayor lip-synching "Stop in the Name of Love." They should definitely wear their robes & practice their choreography. Somebody has got to put the Supremes back in the Supremes. And it definitely won't be the Dancing Alitos, who are more into 16th-century ecclesiastical excesses than R&B and doo-wop.

The Apprentice Sorcerer. Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "After decades of exaggerating [his wealth] with impunity, [Donald] Trump will go on trial Monday, facing a lawsuit that accuses him of inflating his riches by billions of dollars and crossing the line into fraud.... The trial will determine how much he and his adult sons exaggerated that wealth and what the ultimate consequences will be.... It will be an avidly scrutinized spectacle that will lift the curtain on Mr. Trump's reputation as a businessman, a core piece of his identity.... Mr. Trump, who has denied wrongdoing, is expected to attend the opening day of the trial and eventually will be called to testify." The Guardian's story is here.

Mary Jordan of the Washington Post: President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's "drive through downtown Plains[, Georgia, last weekend during the annual peanut festival] was just the latest surprise from Carter, who has already lived longer than any other former president.... The waves of applause only stopped when a 'Happy Birthday' serenade began.... On Sunday, Carter plans to have a low-key birthday with Rosalynn at the Plains home they built in 1961 and where they spend most days sitting together.... But even for a life marked by the unexpected, Carter's appearance last weekend stunned many. In February, doctors told Carter's family he would likely not live more than a week.... In 2015, after doctors told him his melanoma had spread to his brain and liver, a usually fatal condition, Carter seemed unfazed."

Jason Wilson in the Guardian: The rightwing Claremont Institute is a thinktank behind a movement of far-right extremists who argue that the only way to get the U.S. back to the country the founders envisioned is to install an authoritarian leader who would quash the "cosmopolitan class that includes much of the entrenched bureaucracy, the military, the media, and government-sponsored corporations.&" The movement is called "Caesarism" or "Red Caesarism." MB: IOW, this is the Trumpists' idea of putting an intellectual gloss on fascism. If the Claremont Institute sounds familiar, you may be thinking of its prominent "scholar" John Eastman, who is now under indictment in Georgia for providing Donald Trump with a theoretical "legal" framework for overturning the federal government. As Molly Ivins might say, it sounds better in the original German: the German word for "Caesar" is "Kaiser."

Presidential Race 2024

Brian Klaas: "The 'Banality of Crazy' has warped American politics, as few voters recognize just how deranged, delusional, and dangerous Donald Trump is ... because the press rarely reports on his routine insanity.... One of [the] two [leading presidential] candidates faces relentless newspaper columns and TV pundit 'takes' arguing that he should drop out of the race. (Spoiler alert: it's somehow *not* the racist authoritarian sexual abuse fraudster facing 91 felony charges).... How is it possible that the leading candidate to become president of the United States can float the prospect of executing a general and the media response is ... crickets? How is it possible that it's not front page news when a man who soon may return to power calls for law enforcement to kill people for minor crimes? And why do so few people question Trump's mental acuity rather than [President] Biden's, when Trump proposes delusional, unhinged plans for forest management and warns his supporters that Biden is going to lead us into World War II (which would require a time machine), or wrongly claims that he defeated Barack Obama in 2016.... We need to amplify Trumps vile rhetoric more, because it will turn persuadable voters off to his cruel message." ~~~

Montage of 33 clips of the stupidest, most vile, insane, weirdest, addled dementia-ridden, psychotic statements made by Trump over the past two weeks. pic.twitter.com/iCbt5PtzBX

— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) September 30, 2023

     ~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link.

Conservative New York Times columnist David French argues that the Christian nationalists who back Donald Trump do so from an emotional or spiritual viewpoint and a sense of fellowship with other Trumpists, rather than from any philosophical or theological position. They rely more on their various prophecies, messages they receive directly from the Holy Spirit, and conspiracy theories. They believe that by supporting Trump, they are playing a part in God's divine plan.

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Slovakia. Ladka Bauerova, et al., of the Washington Post: "The party of pro-Russian populist Robert Fico has won Slovakia's parliamentary election, nearly complete results showed Sunday, dealing a potential blow to European unity on support for Ukraine.... The results mean the country is headed for a coalition government, with neither of the largest two parties winning enough support to command a parliamentary majority. If Fico's Smer leads that coalition, it could reverse Slovakia's strong support for Ukraine amid Russia's invasion."

News Lede

New York Times: "Katalin Karikó and Drew Weissman, who together identified a chemical tweak to messenger RNA that laid the foundation for vaccines against Covid-19 that have since been administered billions of times globally, were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday. Their discovery 'fundamentally changed our understanding of how mRNA interacts with our immune system,' the panel that awarded the prize said, adding that the work 'contributed to the unprecedented rate of vaccine development during one of the greatest threats to human health in modern times.'" The Guardian's report is here.

The Conversation -- October 1, 2023

Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Sunday said he will push to unseat House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) this week, vowing to make good on his threat after McCarthy backed a measure to prevent a government shutdown a day earlier that won broad bipartisan support. 'I do intend to file a motion to vacate against Speaker McCarthy this week,' Gaetz told CNN 'State of the Union' anchor Jake Tapper. 'I think we need to rip off the band-aid. I think we need to move on with leadership that's trustworthy.'" The New York Times story is here.

Mary Jordan of the Washington Post: President Jimmy Carter and Rosalynn Carter's "drive through downtown Plains[, Georgia, last weekend during the annual peanut festival] was just the latest surprise from Carter, who has already lived longer than any other former president.... The waves of applause only stopped when a 'Happy Birthday' serenade began.... On Sunday, Carter plans to have a low-key birthday with Rosalynn at the Plains home they built in 1961 and where they spend most days sitting together.... But even for a life marked by the unexpected, Carter's appearance last weekend stunned many. In February, doctors told Carter's family he would likely not live more than a week.... In 2015, after doctors told him his melanoma had spread to his brain and liver, a usually fatal condition, Carter seemed unfazed."

Conservative New York Times columnist David French argues that the Christian nationalists who back Donald Trump do so from an emotional or spiritual viewpoint and a sense of fellowship with other Trumpists, rather than from any philosophical or theological position. They rely more on their various prophecies, messages they receive directly from the Holy Spirit, and conspiracy theories. They believe that by supporting Trump, they are playing a part in God's divine plan.

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No Way to Run a Government. Carl Hulse & Catie Edmonson of the New York Times: "Congress narrowly averted a government shutdown on Saturday as the House, in a stunning turnabout, approved a stopgap plan to keep the federal government open until mid-November. After Senate passage, President Biden signed the bill shortly before midnight.... A coalition of House Democrats and Republicans voted to pass a plan that would keep money flowing to government agencies and provide billions of dollars for disaster recovery efforts.... The measure was approved on a vote of 335 to 91, with 209 Democrats and 126 Republicans voting in favor and 90 Republicans and one Democrat in opposition.... The House adjourned immediately after the vote, leaving the Senate to either take up the legislation or face blame for a shutdown, since there was no way for the House to consider additional legislation before Monday. With little alternative, and Senate Republicans clamoring for the House bill, the Senate jettisoned its own stopgap measure that contained $6 billion for Ukraine and approved the House version on an 88 to 9 vote.... In a statement after Senate passage of the bill, Mr. Biden called it 'good news for the American people.' He added, 'I fully expect the speaker will keep his commitment to the people of Ukraine and secure passage of the support needed to help Ukraine at this critical moment.'" (Also linked yesterday.) The AP's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden's statement is here. ~~~

~~~ Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "After the vote, McCarthy all but taunted his critics to come after his gavel if they wanted to. And their first chance to do that will be Monday night. Multiple House conservatives confirmed in interviews they will begin seriously mulling whether they will try to seize McCarthy's gavel in the coming days.... 'You can't form a coalition of more Democrats than you have Republicans who you're supposed to be the leader of, and not think that there's going to be serious, serious fallout,' Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) said." ~~~

~~~ Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "Let's have two cheers for the embattled speaker. He did the right thing -- after he had exhausted all other options. After bumbling into another manufactured crisis, he turned to Democrats to bail him out, just as he had done on the debt ceiling.... Eight months late and hours before a shutdown, McCarthy came up with a plan. It could hardly have been handled any worse. Asked before the [final] vote whether he had any support from the wingnuts in his caucus, [Kevin] McCarthy laughed. 'No,' he said. 'Look, I had tried that for eight months.'... In private caucus meetings in the Capitol basement, Republicans shouted at and cursed each other. In public, they called each other names: 'charlatan' and 'joke' were added to an epithet repository that already included 'lunatics,' 'pathetic,' 'weak' and 'clowns.'"

~~~ Oops, False Alarm! Kayla Guo & Gaya Gupta of the New York Times: "Representative Jamaal Bowman, Democrat of New York, pulled a fire alarm in the House Cannon office building on Saturday as his party was trying to delay a vote on a stopgap spending bill, prompting an evacuation of the building and investigations by the Capitol Police and the House Administration Committee. The alarm was triggered at the same time that House Democrats at the Capitol were stalling a vote on a spending measure to keep the government operating for another 45 days. Speaker Kevin McCarthy had unveiled the bill just minutes earlier, and Democrats were scrambling to read the bill and determine whether to support it.... In a statement released Saturday night, Mr. Bowman said that he had not pulled the alarm to delay the vote, as some Republicans had presumed. He said that as he was rushing to the Capitol to cast a vote, he came to a door in the Cannon building that would not open. 'I am embarrassed to admit that I activated the fire alarm, mistakenly thinking it would open the door. I regret this and sincerely apologize for any confusion this caused,' Mr. Bowman said." ~~~

     ~~~ Ginger Gibson & Rebecca Kaplan of NBC News: "House Speaker Kevin McCarthy called for Rep. Jamaal Bowman, D-N.Y., to be punished after he pulled a fire alarm in a Capitol office building on Saturday, comparing it to the Jan 6 rioters who attacked the building. 'When you think about how other people were treated when they come in and wanted to change the course of what was happening in the building,' McCarthy said." MB: Yeah, Bowman definitely should be locked up in the D.C. jail. Maybe MTG will lead a protest because of the jail's appalling conditions and Trump will sing a song with Bowman.

** Maureen Dowd of the New York Times remembers Dianne Feinstein. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: I didn't do a great job of creating the clip below, but you'll get the gist of it. It features Dianne Feinstein during Senate debate on the assault weapons ban in 1993, wiping the Senate floor with Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) (a/k/a Sen. Widestance). Especially if you're a woman, you'll love how Sen. Widestance disdainfully lets the little lady know how superior his Male Wisdom is to her Girly Ignorance:

     ~~~ If you're a young woman, you may not fully appreciate that this is the condescending way in which the majority of men treated women in 1993 (although some men didn't even feign courtesy). Hug your mother and tell her you're sorry about what she had to endure.

About That Silly Due-Process Thing. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "A pro-Trump crowd went wild when ex-President Donald Trump promised he would send federal law enforcement to cities with orders to shoot shoplifters as they exit stores. Trump gave a speech to the California GOP convention in Anaheim, CA Friday night that was chock full of outrageous moments, including ridiculing the attack on Paul Pelosi that was committed by a Trump supporter to appreciative laughter."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Alicia Menendez of MSNBC hit the right note.

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Kansas. Orlando Mayorquin of the New York Times: "The police chief of Marion, Kansas, was suspended on Thursday, more than a month after he ordered raids on the office of a local newspaper and the home of its publisher in an act rarely seen in American journalism, one that was widely condemned by news organizations as a violation of the First Amendment. Mayor David Mayfield suspended the chief, Gideon Cody, indefinitely, according to ... the city's administrator..., [who] did not a provide a reason for the chief's suspension, and it was not immediately clear whether the chief was suspended with pay. City leaders have faced questions about Chief Cody's hiring in the aftermath of the raids and after The Kansas City Star reported that the chief had left his previous job at the Kansas City Police Department following accusations that he had made sexist and insulting comments."