July 4, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Contra Nisky Guy (see below) (well, not really contra), Paul Waldman of the Washington Post has had it with the vaunted Founding Fathers: "And now it's time for us to declare our own independence, from Founding Father fetishism.... As we've seen recently, the American right has found in the framers an extraordinarily effective tool with which they can roll back social progress and undermine our democracy.... It has gone from an affectation to a weapon, and a brutally effective one.... Originalism was a scam from the start, a foolproof methodology for conservatives to arrive at whatever judicial result matches their policy preferences.... This is the conceit of today's right: The Founders were essentially perfect, and only we conservatives are capable of interpreting their will.... I've never been more fearful for the future of America than I am today; there are good reasons to believe that the democracy we began to fashion two and a half centuries ago may not survive the next decade." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: There is a reason confederate judges turn to the Founding Fathers for all interpretations of the Constitution & laws: the founders were white, propertied, Christian men whose property included their chattel wives & enslaved men, women & children. They had little respect for the environment & no experience in running or living under a centralized government. So they were inclined to give short shrift to the rights of the rest of us & to many matters that can best be organized & regulated by a national government at a time when we can all move from state to state in a matter of hours, not days, and technology connects us in seconds.

Patrick Kingsley & Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "The bullet that killed Shireen Abu Akleh, the Palestinian American journalist shot in the occupied West Bank in May, was most likely fired from Israeli military lines but was too damaged to say for sure, the State Department said on Monday. The damage to the bullet made it difficult to draw a definitive conclusion about the gun it was fired from, according to a State Department statement. But shots fired from the position of the Israel Defense Forces were 'likely responsible for the death,' it added.... Palestinian officials have said that Ms. Abu Akleh was intentionally killed by an Israeli soldier. The Israeli government ... [has said] that she was hit by either an Israeli soldier or a Palestinian gunman. Israeli officers have said that an Israeli soldier from Duvdevan, an elite unit, fired in Ms. Abu Akleh's direction, but that it was impossible to determine who shot her without examining the bullet."

Stephanie Kirchgaessner of the Guardian: "A US judge has asked the Biden administration to weigh in on whether Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, should be granted sovereign immunity in a civil case brought against him in the US by Hatice Cengiz, the fiancee of Jamal Khashoggi, the journalist who was killed by Saudi agents in 2018. John Bates, a district court judge, gave the US government until 1 August to declare its interests in the civil case or give the court notice that it has no view on the matter. The administration's decision could have a profound effect on the civil case and comes as Joe Biden is facing criticism for abandoning a campaign promise to turn Saudi Arabia into a 'pariah'."

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Nisky Guy has become an originalist! And it turns out that can be a good thing. See the top of today's Comments.

Marie: So the news I'm starting with today involves a president* who tried to toss the will of the people, how police are using women's phone records to prosecute them for getting abortions, Akron cops shot a Black man 60 times, & Russia won the battle for another Ukrainian city. Happy "Independence Day"!

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "... nearly two and a half centuries after the 13 American colonies declared independence from an unelected king, the nation is left weighing a somber new view of the fragility of its democracy -- and the question of what, if anything, could and should be done about it.... For a year and a half, [Donald] Trump has been shielded by obfuscations and mischaracterizations, benefiting from uncertainty about what he was thinking on Jan. 6, 2021.... But for a man who famously avoids leaving emails or other trails of evidence of his unspoken motives, any doubts about what was really going through Mr. Trump's mind on that day of violence seemed to have been eviscerated by testimony presented in recent weeks by the House committee investigating the Capitol attack.... More than perhaps any insider account that has emerged, the recollections of ... Cassidy Hutchinson demolished the fiction of a president who had nothing to do with what happened."

Benjamin Siegel & Mariam Kahn of ABC News: "The Justice Department should not avoid prosecuting Donald Trump in relation to the Jan. 6 Capitol attack if a prosecution is warranted, Rep. Liz Cheney said in an interview with ABC News' 'This Week' co-anchor Jonathan Karl. While bringing charges against the former president -- who may challenge President Joe Biden in 2024 -- would be unprecedented and "difficult for the country, not doing so would support a 'much graver constitutional threat,' Cheney said Wednesday in an interview at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library that aired Sunday on 'This Week.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm sick of hearing that to prosecute Trump would turn the U.S. into a banana republic. What turned the U.S. into a banana republic were Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 election results, not the prospect of holding him responsible for his actions.

Hope Yen of the AP: "More witnesses are coming forward with new details on the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot following former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson's devastating testimony last week against ... Donald Trump, says [Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.),] a member of a House committee investigating the insurrection.... The next hearings will aim to show how Trump illegally directed a violent mob toward the Capitol on Jan. 6, and then failed to take quick action to stop the attack once it began. Over the weekend, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the committee's vice chair, made clear that criminal referrals to the Justice Department, including against Trump, could follow."

Sharon Lerner of the Intercept (June 30) on how Charles Koch bought the Supreme Court's decision to restrict the EPA: "To ensure further growth of his riches even as science showed that the continued use of fossil fuels would accelerate climate disaster, Koch has funneled some of his vast fortune into an extraordinary network of political front groups, lobbying efforts, think tanks, and activist networks that aim to stifle climate action. For decades, the Kochtopus, as some call his many-tentacled political influence machine, has sought to undermine not just the environmental regulation in Koch Industries' path but also the science and philosophy of government on which it is based.... Americans for Prosperity, an astroturf political group founded by Charles Koch and his brother David, conducted extraordinary campaigns to put [Gorsuch, Kavenaugh & Barrett] on the highest bench.... The case itself can also be tied directly to Koch. The challengers are 27 Republican attorneys general, who were supported by the Koch-funded Republican Attorneys General Association."

Cat Zakrzewski, et al., of the Washington Post: "Women have been punished for terminating pregnancy for years. Between 2000 and 2021, more than 60 cases in the United States involved someone being investigated, arrested or charged for allegedly ending their own pregnancy or assisting someone else, according to an analysis by If/When/How, a reproductive justice nonprofit. If/When/How estimates the number of cases may be much higher.... A number of those cases have hinged on text messages, search history and other forms of digital evidence."

Beyond the Beltway

Ohio. Andres Simakis, et al., of the Washington Post: "Police released body-camera footage Sunday showing officers firing dozens of rounds at a Black man who left his car while fleeing a traffic stop one week ago, a killing that has sparked outrage, investigations and demands for accountability. Akron Police Chief Stephen Mylett said he did not know the exact number of rounds fired at Jayland Walker, 25. But, Mylett added, the medical examiner's report indicates more than 60 wounds on Walker's body.... Evidence indicates that Walker had fired a gun during the car chase, Mylett said.... Among the images polic displayed Sunday were those of a gun that they said they found in his car, beside a loaded magazine.... Police tried to stop Walker's Buick about 12:30 a.m. June 27 for investigation of an unspecified traffic violation and chased him when he did not pull over, the Akron Police Department said. Shortly after an officer said he heard a gunshot come from the Buick, Walker jumped out of the car and ran into a parking lot, with officers following -- and eventually firing."

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Monday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "Ukrainian forces on Sunday announced their withdrawal from the eastern city of Lysychansk -- their final foothold in the Luhansk region -- in a crucial loss that gives Moscow access to capture much of the rest of eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian military said continued defense of the city would have fatal consequences, given the Russian troops' 'advantage' in 'artillery, aviation, ammunition and personnel.' President Volodymyr Zelensky vowed in his nightly address that Ukraine would return to Lysychansk.... Russia on Sunday shelled several cities in the Donetsk region, which neighbors Luhansk. In the town of Slovyansk, six people were killed and 20 wounded, officials said.... Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Saturday expressed shock at the destruction in Ukraine during his first visit to the country. He was taken to Bucha, Hostomel and Irpin, where Russian forces were accused of deliberately killing civilians and other war crimes." ~~~

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

Thomas Gibbons-Neff, et al., of the New York Times: "The last major city held by Ukraine in the heavily contested eastern province of Luhansk has fallen, military officials on both sides said Sunday, giving Moscow a milestone victory in its campaign to capture the Donbas, the mineral-rich region bordering Russia that has long been in President Vladimir V. Putin's sights. The industrial city of Lysychansk, on a rise overlooking the Siversky Donets River, had held out for a week after Russia seized control of Sievierodonetsk, its twin city across the river. But as Russia inundated Lysychansk with artillery fire and strangled its supply lines, building on months of bombardment and weeks of ferocious street fighting that reduced both cities to grayed-out husks, Ukrainian defenders were forced to retreat.... Western military analysts had expressed little doubt that Moscow would eventually prevail in the twin cities, but with their loss undeniable, pressure redoubled on the United States and its allies to get the more powerful weapons they have promised Ukraine to the front."

News Lede

AP: "At least six people died and 24 were wounded in a shooting at a July Fourth parade in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, and officers are searching for a suspect who likely fired on the festivities from a rooftop, police said Monday. Highland Park Police Commander Chris O'Neill, the incident commander on scene, urged people to shelter in place as authorities search for the suspect. Lake County Major Crime Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said at a news conference that the gunman apparently opened fire on parade-goers from a rooftop using a 'high-powered rifle' that was recovered at the scene.&" The report has been updated. ~~~

     ~~~ According to CNN, the shooter is believed to be a white male, aged 18-20. ~~~

     ~~~ New York Times live updates of developments are here. @ about 6:04 p.m. ET: ** "Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli of the Lake County Sheriff's Office said at a news conference that the police are looking for Robert E. Crimo III, 22, in connection with the shooting. He is believed to be driving a 2010 silver Honda Fit with Illinois license plates, Covelli said, and is 'from the area' and goes by the name 'Bobby.'" ~~~

     ~~~ ** 17:52 pm ET, Highland Park police gave a brief news conference & said police had located the suspect in his vehicle in Lake Forest, a suburb not far from Highland Park; the suspect left his car & a brief chase ensued after which the police took him into custody & arrested him. I'll get up a real news report ASAP. ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the initial NYT update: "Chief Lou Jogmen of the Highland Park Police said that Crimo had been spotted in his car by a North Chicago police unit. When the police tried to stop him, Crimo fled, leading officers on a brief chase, before they were able to stop him and take him into custody, Jogmen said. Crimo was being taken to the Highland Park Police Department, he said."

     ~~~ Marie: In almost every mass murder, there are multiple mass murderers, too, or at least accessories before the fact: the Second Amendment fetishists in Congress & statehouses who regard their gun lobby money as way more important than the lives of innocent Americans. Ditto the Supremes for their support. I wonder if Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.) thinks shooting parade-goers from a rooftop is a lot like shooting prairie dogs on the back 40.

July 3, 2022

Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post looks at the Secret Service's role in the January 6, 2021, coup attempt. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Washington Post Editors: The DOJ has no choice but to investigate Donald Trump and others for their parts in the January 6, 2021, coup plot. "The Justice Department has investigative powers that the Jan. 6 committee does not, and there are critical questions that remain unanswered. [AG Merrick] Garland should have no higher priority than using these powers to investigate all of those involved in one of the darkest days in American history."

Fox "News" Makes Viewers Crazy & Stupid. Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "A whopping 68% of Fox News viewers blame the Jan. 6 attack on 'Left-wing protesters trying to make Trump look bad,' the most of any viewership group by almost double.

Kate Zernike of the New York Times: "Attempting to recover from their staggering loss in the Supreme Court, abortion rights groups have mounted a multilevel legal and political attack aimed at blocking and reversing abortion bans in courts and at ballot boxes across the country. In the week since the court overturned Roe v. Wade, litigators for abortion rights groups have rolled out a wave of lawsuits in nearly a dozen states to hold off bans triggered by the court's decision, with the promise of more suits to come. They are aiming to prove that provisions in state constitutions establish a right to abortion that the Supreme Court's decision said did not exist in the U.S. Constitution. Advocates of abortion rights are also working to defeat ballot initiatives that would strip away a constitutional right to abortion, and to pass those that would establish one.... And after years of complaints that Democrats neglected state and local elections, Democratic-aligned groups are campaigning to reverse slim Republican majorities in some state legislatures...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: While this campaign is a necessity that is all well & good, only the last item on the agenda -- winning majorities in state houses -- gets anywhere near the heart of the problem. Even that is just chipping at the edges of the crisis. As shocking and inhumane as overturning Roe is, the Dobbs decision is just the start of the confederate Supremes' extreme, radical agenda. Confederate Supremes have been chipping away at voting rights for years, and they have just taken a case that -- if they rule for the state, as four of them have suggested they might -- will essentially eliminate voting rights altogether. Clarence Thomas has a plan to overturn gay rights & gay marriage as well as the right to contraception. It is not just abortion rights that must be restored; the entire Court apparatus must somehow be rejiggered. I wish I could see a clear path to getting that done, and at this point I cannot. This country is undergoing an existential crisis, and too few of us have figured that out. Moreover, from what I can see from my window, the vast majority of voters do not have the intellectual capacity or the interest to understand what is happening. So restoring abortion rights, yes. But that is not nearly enough.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "... thanks to legislative gridlock, Congress very seldom responds these days to Supreme Court decisions interpreting its statutes -- and that means the balance of power between the branches has shifted, with the justices ascendant.... Congress has largely fallen silent as a partisan stalemate has gripped Capitol Hill, aggravated by the increased use of the filibuster, which has blocked almost all major legislation in an evenly divided Senate.... There are many ... cases in which the court merely interprets statutes enacted by Congress. Its task in those cases is to determine what a law means, not to test its constitutionality. If Congress disagrees with the court's interpretation, it is free to override the decision.... But if recent practices are any guide, congressional action is unlikely." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is very bipartisany of Liptak, but the problem lies principally with Republicans, whose refusal to act on Supreme Court rulings to repair laws, largely because Republicans like the rulings that strike down the laws. The Republican party is an anti-government, states-rights, corporation-loving party, and Republicans will do nothing to clarify laws that give them or the administration authority to oversee or regulate activities of the states and private entities. ~~~

Leah Litman, et al., in a Washington Post op-ed: In a North Carolina "case, Moore v. Harper, the justices will review a North Carolina Supreme Court decision holding that the state constitution prohibits extreme partisan gerrymanders. The Supreme Court's choice to take the case could presage yet another decision that will undermine democracy, by prohibiting other government institutions -- here, state courts -- from protecting voting rights and democracy. Just three years ago, a 5-to-4 Supreme Court prohibited federal courts from addressing whether extreme partisan gerrymandering violates the Constitution. But don't worry, the court said, state courts can curb the practice if they conclude it violates state constitutions. Harper invites the Supreme Court to go back on that promise." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The authors write that "... even if the court embraces the revanchist [independent state legislature theory], that would not permit state legislatures to throw out votes already cast to appoint presidential electors of their choosing. The federal Constitution prohibits states from disregarding votes already cast, no matter what the court might say in Harper." Their assertion gives me no confidence whatsoever. I promise you Clarence Thomas & Co. can think up "reasons" to disregard or "reinterpret" this Constitutional provision. Just this last week, they had no trouble at all disregarding the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, one of the best known guarantees in the Bill of Rights. ~~~

~~~ Sam Levine of the Guardian cites some legal experts, including Litman, who opine that the Court has gone bonkers and is just making up stuff to back up its radical rulings: "The court's turn has prompted glaring warnings, both to the public and to history, from its three liberal justices, who have been in the minority in all of the major cases. In December, Justice Sonia Sotomayor wondered aloud whether the court would be able to survive the 'stench' that would come from overturning Roe v Wade and the perception that the court is a political body. She said she didn't think it was possible the court would survive. Months later, when the court did overturn Roe, Stephen Breyer, writing on behalf of the three liberal justices, quoted Thurgood Marshall and wrote: 'Power, not reason, is the new currency of this Court's decisionmaking.'"

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "New civics training for Florida public school teachers comes with a dose of Christian dogma, some teachers say, and they worry that it also sanitizes history and promotes inaccuracies. Included in the training is the statement that it is a 'misconception' that 'the Founders desired strict separation of church and state.' Other materials included fragments of statements that were 'cherry-picked' to present a more conservative view of American history, some attendees said.... Some slides in a presentation pointed out that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson repudiated slavery; unsaid is that both men held enslaved people and helped worked toward a Constitution that enshrined the practice.... Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has made civics teaching a cornerstone of his education policy, and he says he's fighting back against 'woke indoctrination' of students by teachers from kindergarten to colleges." (Also linked yesterday.)

Texas. Shimon Prokupecz, et al., of CNN: "Uvalde school district police chief Pedro 'Pete' Arredondo has resigned his separate position on the Uvalde city council in the wake of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in May, according to a statement attributed to him in Saturday's Uvalde Leader-News.... Arredondo's resignation from the city council 'is the right thing to do,' the city said in a news release Saturday responding to the Leader-News' report. But no one from city government 'has seen a letter or any other documentation of his resignation, or spoken with him,' the release reads.... [Arredondo] had not yet attended any public meeting [of the council]. Council members unanimously voted to deny him a leave of absence from future sessions, leaving open the possibility that he could have been removed from office if he continued to miss meetings.... Arredondo was placed on leave from his job as school district police chief by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District last week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Sunday in Russia's ware on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live updates for Sunday are here: "... in the early hours Sunday, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said explosions in the Russian city of Belgorod killed three people and injured four.... Russia runs supply and communication lines into Ukraine from Belgorod, about 25 miles from the border."

~~~ Dan Lamothe & Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The shifting nature of the war in Ukraine has prompted a split among analysts and U.S. lawmakers, with some questioning whether American officials have portrayed the crisis in overly rosy terms while others say the government in Kyiv can win with more help from the West.... 'I don't know ... how it's going to end,' [President Biden] said [Thursday], 'but it will not end with a Russian defeat of Ukraine in Ukraine.'... U.S. officials have downplayed [Russian] gains, calling them halting and incremental, while highlighting the significant number of Russian military fatalities that have come as a result.... Scrutiny [of the U.S. assessment] is fueled by U.S. government assessments of other wars, notably in Afghanistan, where U.S. officials habitually glossed over widespread dysfunction and corruption and sidestepped questions of whether battlefield successes were not only achievable but sustainable."

July 2, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post looks at the Secret Service's role in the January 6, 2021, coup attempt.

Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "New civics training for Florida public school teachers comes with a dose of Christian dogma, some teachers say, and they worry that it also sanitizes history and promotes inaccuracies. Included in the training is the statement that it is a 'misconception' that 'the Founders desired strict separation of church and state.' Other materials included fragments of statements that were 'cherry-picked' to present a more conservative view of American history, some attendees said.... Some slides in a presentation pointed out that George Washington and Thomas Jefferson repudiated slavery; unsaid is that both men held enslaved people and helped worked toward a Constitution that enshrined the practice.... Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) has made civics teaching a cornerstone of his education policy, and he says he's fighting back against 'woke indoctrination' of students by teachers from kindergarten to colleges."

Texas. Shimon Prokupecz, et al., of CNN: "Uvalde school district police chief Pedro 'Pete' Arredondo has resigned his separate position on the Uvalde city council in the wake of the massacre at Robb Elementary School in May, according to a statement attributed to him in Saturday's Uvalde Leader-News.... Arredondo's resignation from the city council 'is the right thing to do,' the city said in a news release Saturday responding to the Leader-News' report. But no one from city government 'has seen a letter or any other documentation of his resignation, or spoken with him,' the release reads.... [Arredondo] had not yet attended any public meeting [of the council]. Council members unanimously voted to deny him a leave of absence from future sessions, leaving open the possibility that he could have been removed from office if he continued to miss meetings.... Arredondo was placed on leave from his job as school district police chief by the Uvalde Consolidated Independent School District last week."

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Maegan Vazquez, et al., of CNN: Kentucky Democrats have expressed outrage at President Biden's plan to nominate a conservative Republican anti-abortion lawyer to a lifetime federal judgeship. "... on Friday, US District Court Judge Karen K. Caldwell of the Eastern District of Kentucky was added to a public list of future federal judicial vacancies, clearing a path for [Chad] Meredith to potentially join the court.... Biden's prospective nomination comes just as the President is pledging to use everything within his power to fight for abortion rights.... Meredith previously worked as then-Kentucky Republican Gov. Matt Bevin's deputy counsel, defending a state law [restricting abortions].... [Gov. Andy] Beshear [D] [said]: 'If the President makes that nomination, it is indefensible.' The governor also criticized Meredith's involvement in Bevin's decision to issue hundreds of pardons before leaving office, which included forgiveness for a variety of violent acts such as murder and rape." ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Shuham's post for TPM -- which is otherwise a straight news story -- is titled, "Why On Earth Would Biden Do A "Deal" With McConnell For An Anti-Abortion Judge?" He a number of connected Democrats who are mystified by/irate about the reported nomination. ~~~

     ~~~ Mark Stern of Slate writes that the deal is still on. His post is firewalled, but Balloon Juice published a short excerpt that includes this tidbit and a reminder: "The deal hinges on Judge Karen Kaye Caldwell, a GWB nominee who agreed to take senior status *on the condition* that Biden and McConnell name a conservative to replace her. That's why there was no public vacancy when this story first broke. The White House was supposed to consult with @RepJohnYarmuth and @AndyBeshearKY on judicial nominees when a vacancy arose, but cut this deal with McConnell instead. [Rep. John] Yarmuth [D] and [Gov. Andy] Beshear [D] were blindsided because only the White House knew about the vacancy." Balloon Juice's mistermix sez, "... Caldwell should sit on the bench until she dries up and blows away, and I hope her hemorrhoids give her daily pain during her extended time in service. Judges already think they're God -- hopefully we can make an example of one who's trying to manipulate the appointment process this baldly." Speaking of balloons, we can hope this is a trial balloon. If so, we can do something about it. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This planned appointment is in-sane. Ali Velshi said on MSNBC that what Biden is getting for a deal he reportedly made with Mitch McConnell is two U.S. attorneys, whose tenure is of course limited to the president's term. If Biden really made this deal, he got rolled. There is zero upside to it. Zero. If you want to contact Biden, as I did, & tell him not to make this idiotic nomi nation, here's the page to email, phone or write via snail-mail.

~~~ Marie: It looks as if Biden has decided the best way forward is to infuriate women, Democrats, liberals and environmentalists. You know, a good chunk of his base. ~~~

~~~ Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The Biden administration announced its plan for oil and gas drilling off the coasts of the United States, closing off the possibility of new leases in the Atlantic, Pacific and Arctic Oceans but potentially allowing new lease sales in both the Gulf of Mexico and in Cook Inlet in Alaska. By law, the Department of the Interior is required to issue a plan for new oil and gas leases in federal waters every five years.... President Biden ... wants to scale back drilling to fight climate change at the same time gas prices are rising, allowing his Republican critics to blame his climate policies for pain at the pump. In fact..., the jump in oil prices is a result of the pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.... It takes years between the time a drilling lease is issued and when gasoline flows to gas stations.... With the release of the plan, the Biden administration risks angering both the fossil fuel industry and environmental advocates."

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden announced on Friday that he will present the Presidential Medal of Freedom next week to 17 leaders from the worlds of politics, civil rights, sports, business, education and entertainment, including the Olympic gymnast Simone Biles, the actor Denzel Washington and the first American to receive a Covid-19 vaccine. The recipients, the first of his presidency, include a variety of barrier-breaking figures familiar to many Americans as well as prominent political veterans Mr. Biden has known over the years. The list includes three posthumous award recipients: Steve Jobs, the pioneering co-founder of Apple; John McCain, the longtime Republican senator and two-time presidential candidate; and Richard Trumka, the A.F.L.-C.I.O. president and Democratic power broker." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Here's the list of recipients, via the White House. (Also linked yesterday.)

Michael Bender, et al., of the New York Times: "Republicans are bracing for Donald J. Trump to announce an unusually early bid for the White House, a move designed in part to shield the former president from a stream of damaging revelations emerging from investigations into his attempts to cling to power after losing the 2020 election.... He has accelerated his planning [for a presidential* run] in recent weeks.... Rather than humble Mr. Trump, [recent] developments [-- including losses by several primary-election candidates he endorsed --] have emboldened him to try to reassert himself as the head of the party, eclipse damaging headlines and steal attention from potential rivals, including Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, a rising favorite of donors and voters. Republicans close to Mr. Trump have said he believes a formal announcement would bolster his claims that the investigations are politically motivated." A CNN report is here.

Matthew Goldstein of the New York Times: "The investigation by federal prosecutors and securities regulators into a proposed merger between a cash-rich blank check company and ... Donald J. Trump's social media company has gotten closer to Mr. Trump's end of the deal. Federal prosecutors served grand jury subpoenas on Trump Media & Technology Group and 'certain current and former TMTG personnel,' according to a regulatory filing on Friday by Digital World Acquisition, the special purpose acquisition company that has a tentative deal to merge with Trump Media. Grand jury subpoenas are typically issued in connection with a potential criminal investigation. The filing said the Securities and Exchange Commission also served a subpoena on Trump Media this week." MB: Here's hoping "certain TMTG personnel" include Trump & Devin Nunes.

Isaac Arnsdorf, et al., of the Washington Post: "Toward the end of 2020..., Donald Trump began raising a new idea with aides: that he would personally lead a march to the Capitol on the following Jan. 6. Trump brought it up repeatedly with key advisers in the Oval Office, according to a person who talked with him about it. The president told others he wanted a dramatic, made-for-TV moment that could pressure Republican lawmakers to support his demand to throw out the electoral college results showing that Joe Biden had defeated him, the person said.... But ... several of his advisers doubted he meant it or didn't take the suggestion seriously.... As a result, the White House staff never turned Trump's stated desires into concrete plans.... This account of Trump's ceaseless plotting to join the mob at the Capitol on Jan. 6 is based on committee testimony and evidence as well as 15 former officials, aides, law enforcement officials and others...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: What comes out from this report is that top staff considered Trump a blowhard given to braggadocio whom they could manipulate into behaving more presidenty. After the stroll to St. John's Church & the show-drive when he was deathly-ill with Covid, they should have known better. But then again, there may have been numerous other wild Trump "proposals," of which we are not aware, that they had thwarted. ~~~

~~~ Noah Gray & Zachary Cohen of CNN: "... Donald Trump angrily demanded to go to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, and berated his protective detail when he didn't get his way, according to two Secret Service sources who say they heard about the incident from multiple agents, including the driver of the presidential SUV where it occurred. The sources tell CNN that stories circulated about the incident -- including details that are similar to how former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson described it to the House select committee investigating January 6 -- in the months immediately afterward the US Capitol attack.... Like Hutchinson, one source, a longtime Secret Service employee, told CNN that the agents relaying the story ... that the former President said something similar to: 'I'm the f**king President of the United States, you can't tell me what to do.' The source said he originally heard that kind of language was used shortly after the incident. 'He had sort of lunged forward -- it was unclear from the conversations I had that he actually made physical contact, but he might have. I don't know,' the source said. 'Nobody said Trump assaulted him; they said he tried to lunge over the seat.'... The source added that agents often recounted stories of Trump's fits of anger, including the former President throwing and breaking things." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "... Donald Trump is so unconcerned by Cassidy Hutchinson testimony he insists is false, he went on a social media rant suggesting she be criminally prosecuted. For several days, Trump has been lobbing social media grenades at Hutchinson, the former top aide to Trump White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows -- dropped bombshell after bombshell at Tuesday's surprise hearing of the January 6 committee." MB: Trump can't abide a woman getting the better of him.

Lock Him Up. Alan Rozenshtein & Jed Shugerman in Lawfare: "Until Tuesday, we had both publicly stated that the Department of Justice had insufficient evidence to indict former President Trump for his conduct on Jan. 6.... But Tuesday's explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson ... changed our minds. In particular, Hutchinson testified to hearing Trump order that the magnetometers (metal detectors) used to keep armed people away from the president be removed: 'I don't fucking care that they have weapons, they're not here to hurt me. They're not here to hurt me. Take the fucking mags [magnetometers] away. Let my people in. They can march to the Capitol from here; let the people in and take the mags away.'... These utterances by Trump (as alleged by Hutchinson) were not political speech. They serve as additional proof of intent and context, and -- crucially -- a material act to increase the likelihood of violence. This easily distinguishes Trump's speech at the rally from other kinds of core political speech that should never be criminalized."

Oliver O'Connell of the Independent, reprinted in Yahoo! News: "Donald Trump Jr. ... [referred] to ... Cassidy Hutchinson as a 'coffee girl'.... Mr Trump Jr posted on Truth Social: 'It's pretty surreal watching the CNNs of the world still pretending that there aren't multiple actual witnesses willing to testify that the fake bombshell hearsay testimony they're salivating over isn't demonstrably false and that their dream witness/coffee girl perjured herself!'." MB: Missed this when it was first published. Please see Akhilleus' comment in yesterday's, which expresses my sentiments, too. Junior is so fucking clueless that he doesn't understand that he's nothing compared to Hutchinson. Junior is so stupid he couldn't even get a job as a coffee boy in his daddy's White House, a job which Patrick pointed out (also in yesterday's thread) goes to "mess boys," young men who are no doubt also smarter & more competent than Junior. Moreover, quite a few of well-known coffee boys in the White House -- like Mark Meadows, Pat Cipollone & Tony Ornato -- did enjoy confiding in Hutchinson. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Here, James Corden shows he would be a way better coffee boy than Junior ever could be:

Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Rudy Giuliani insisted on Twitter that Cassidy Hutchinson was 'never present' when he asked ... Donald Trump when he asked for a pardon, and then deleted it." (Also linked yesterday.)

This phony 'doctrine' is an anti-democratic Republican power grab masquerading as legal theory. It was cooked up in a right-wing legal hothouse by political operatives looking to give state legislatures the power to overturn the will of American voters in future elections. -- Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) ~~~

~~~ The Rolling Coup, Ctd. Colby Itkowitz & Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post: "Voting rights advocates expressed alarm Friday, a day after the U.S. Supreme Court said it will consider a conservative legal theory giving state legislatures virtually unchecked power over federal elections, warning that it could erode basic tenets of American democracy.... In its most far-reaching interpretation, [the 'independent legislature theory,'] could cut governors and state courts out of the decision-making process on election laws while giving state lawmakers free rein to change rules to favor their own party. The impact could extend to presidential elections in 2024 and beyond, experts say, making it easier for a legislature to disregard the will of its state's citizens. This immense power would go to legislative bodies that are themselves undemocratic, many advocates say, because they have been gerrymandered.... The case could also open the door for state legislatures to claim ultimate control over electors in presidential elections, said Marc Elias, veteran Democratic voting rights attorney." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We need to get over the idea we live in a democratic republic. Instead, we live in a country where the right-wing minority is oppressing the majority. Trump's violent coup attempt in January 2021 was just a tiny, unsuccessful battle in a much larger and longer war against typical Western liberal democracy. ~~~

~~~ ** The Supreme Court Is (Potentially) Not So Supreme. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "The Constitution then states that in [most] cases, 'the Supreme Court shall have appellate jurisdiction.'... But then the Constitution tells us that the court's appellate jurisdiction is subject to 'such Exceptions' and 'under such Regulations' as 'the Congress shall make.'... The court's appellate jurisdiction accounts for virtually everything it touches. And the Constitution says that Congress can regulate the nature of that jurisdiction. Congress can strip the court of its ability to hear certain cases, or it can mandate new rules for how the court decides cases where it has appellate jurisdiction.... The modern Congress has largely relinquished its power to regulate and structure the court.... The Constitution [also says,] 'The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government....' But neither Congress nor the courts have ever said ... what it means for the United States to guarantee to every state a 'republican form of government.'... The Constitution gives our elected officials the power to restrain a lawless Supreme Court, protect citizens from the 'sinister legislation' of the states, punish those states for depriving their residents of the right to vote and expel insurrectionists from Congress." Read the whole column. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This sounds like a possible route to curbing the reach of the Supremes. But as Bouie himself writes, "Article 3 of the Constitution gives the Supreme Court 'original jurisdiction' in all cases affecting 'Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party.'" [Emphasis added.] And if you'll notice, states seem to be parties in many of the most consequential cases. For instance in Dobbs -- the decision that overturned Roe v. Wade -- Dobbs is the name of a Mississippi state health official. Bouie implies that the Supremes don't have original jurisdiction in state cases because "most cases involving states occur in the lower federal courts established by Congress." Apparently Bouie is arguing that Congress could forbid the Supreme Court from hearing state cases decided in lower courts. I'm not sure how much of an improvement that would be. Anyway, Bouie's column is food for thought.

Jasmine Hilton & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court's chief security officer has penned letters requesting that top Maryland officials direct police to enforce laws 'that squarely prohibit picketing at the homes of Supreme Court Justices' following weeks of protests outside their houses in Montgomery County.In two separate letters reviewed by The Washington Post, one addressed to Gov. Larry Hogan (R) and another to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich (D), Supreme Court Marshal Gail Curley says protests and 'threatening activity' has increased since May at justices' homes in Maryland.... The ongoing demonstrations outside of justices' homes have sparked legal debate over whether laws banning picketing outside of the private homes of judges are constitutional." MB: The Supremes don't care much about the First Amendment, and certainly not when it comes up against their own convenience. Just this week they ate into the Establishment Clause again.

Nico Grant of the New York Times: "Google said on Friday that it would delete abortion clinic visits from the location history of its users, in the company's first effort to address how it will handle sensitive data in the wake of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade.... The policy will also apply to trips to fertility clinics, domestic violence shelters, addiction treatment facilities and other sensitive locations. Google, which holds reams of intimate information about its billions of users, has come under scrutiny since the Supreme Court's decision last week to strike down Roe v. Wade.... The Alphabet Workers Union, a group representing more than 800 people who work for Google's parent company, Alphabet, demanded on Tuesday that the search giant delete any personal data that law enforcement could try to use to prosecute those who are getting abortions." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I must say I'm no technical wiz, but I don't see how this would work. How can Google possibly know where a woman is going when she leaves her home on any given day? Does she have to tell a phone app, "I'm going to my gynecologist now"? "I'm going to New York to get an abortion now"? That seems even more dangerous than offering no information at all.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida, the Crappy Schools State. Susan Svrluga & Lori Rozsa of the Washington Post: "In his efforts to remake higher education in Florida, Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed laws that alter the tenure system, remove Florida universities from commonly accepted accreditation practices, and mandate annual 'viewpoint diversity surveys' from students and faculty. DeSantis (R) also pushed through legislation he dubbed the 'Stop WOKE Act' that regulates what schools, including universities, and workplaces can teach about race and identity. The legislation -- which went into effect Friday -- already faces a legal challenge.... Meanwhile, the board of governors for Florida's public university system took initial steps Thursday to approve regulations for enforcing the law, with potential penalties including discipline and termination for employees who do not comply. The law also ties some university funding to compliance." ~~~

~~~ Florida, the Crappy Schools State, Ctd. Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post: "Florida's Parental Rights in Education Law, popularly known by critics as the 'don’t say gay' bill, went into effect on Friday, restricting what teachers can say about gender and sexual orientation. The White House called it part of 'a disturbing and dangerous nationwide trend' of targeting the LGBTQ community.... The White House encouraged any student or parent experiencing discrimination to file a complaint with the Education Department's Office for Civil Rights.... The law ... prevents teachers in kindergarten through third grade from discussing gender and sexual orientation in class and restricts what they can say in upper grades to what is developmentally appropriate, without saying what that is." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Now, to be fair to DeSantolini(TM, Akhilleus), this law is not designed to discriminate against LGBTQ teachers and students, even though on the face of it that's about all it does. Its purpose is to endear would-be President* Ron's bigot base to would-be President* Ron. The fact that every Florida teacher & student will be harmed by the law is of no concern to Ron.

New York. Jonah Bromwich & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "A week after the Supreme Court issued monumental rulings loosening restrictions on carrying guns and overturning the constitutional right to abortion, New York enacted sweeping measures designed to blunt the decisions' effects. In an extraordinary session convened by Gov. Kathy Hochul that began Thursday and carried late into Friday evening, the State Legislature adopted a new law placing significant restrictions on the carrying of handguns and passed an amendment that would initiate the process of enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution."

Oklahoma, the Execution State. Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs of the New York Times: "An Oklahoma court on Friday set execution dates for 25 death row prisoners, setting up a string of executions that would take place nearly every month over the next two years. The executions are set to begin in late August and run through December 2024. The 25 men on death row have all exhausted their appeals, but they were temporarily spared in recent years as Oklahoma stopped administering the death penalty in 2015 because of botched executions. Although the state began carrying out executions again late last year, it waited to set execution dates for the 25 prisoners because of a lawsuit over one of the drugs used in lethal injections. In June, a federal judge upheld the use of the drug, the sedative midazolam, finding that its use did not constitute cruel and unusual punishment and clearing the way for the courts to begin setting the execution dates."

Texas, a Misogynist State. Adela Suliman of the Washington Post: "Legal wrangling over abortions in Texas took a further twist late Friday, after the state Supreme Court blocked a lower court order issued just days earlier that had temporarily allowed the procedures to resume. The Texas Supreme Court in Austin granted an 'emergency motion for temporary relief' that was filed Wednesday by the state's attorney general, Republican Ken Paxton, staying a temporary restraining order that had been granted earlier this week by a judge in Harris County. A further state Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for later this month." MB: Texas is one of those states that is inviting to men that no woman would have sex with anyway. Like say, Ken Paxton.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here: "President Volodymyr Zelensky decried 'purposeful Russian terror' late Friday after missile strikes killed at least 21 people near the Black Sea port of Odessa and hit the southern front-line city of Mykolaiv. The mayor of Mykolaiv reported more explosions early Saturday. A Ukrainian security chief cast the attack in the Odessa region as retaliation for Russia's retreat from the small but strategic Snake Island.... Ukraine has called on Turkey to detain a Russian-flagged cargo ship loaded with stolen Ukrainian grain ... bound for Turkey's Black Sea coast.... U.S. officials say Ukraine is dispersing weapons delivered by its Western allies around the country to avoid losses as the Russian military targets arms depots.... British nationals Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill have been charged with 'mercenary activities' by Moscow-backed separatist authorities in eastern Ukraine, according to Russian state media." ~~~

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

New Zealand. Trump Supporters Designated Terrorist Group. Daniel Victor of the New York Times: "New Zealand has declared the Proud Boys, the far-right American group that played a key role in the deadly storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, to be a terrorist organization, making it illegal for New Zealanders to participate in or support its activities. There was no evidence that the group was operating in New Zealand, but its activity has been observed in Australia and Canada, which designated the group a terrorist organization last year. New Zealand's prime minister can designate groups terrorist entities if they have carried out at least one terrorist act, and the government believed the Proud Boys' involvement in the Jan. 6 attack was 'consistent with the definition of a terrorist act,' it said in a statement from June 20." (Also linked yesterday.)