The Conversation -- November 17, 2023

Yo, Jack Smith! Here's some dandy evidence for you, caught on tape. If you ask Jon Karl for it, he'll send it over wrapped in fancy paper & a pretty holiday bow:

      ~~~ Marie: Gosh, Donald, I recall when you said the insurrectionists were not your supporters but Antifa guys and FBI informants. Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

~~~ Hmmm, Apt Timing. Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The federal judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election rejected on Friday a request by Mr. Trump's lawyers to remove language from his indictment describing the role he played in the violence that erupted at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.... In court papers to Judge [Tanya] Chutkan, prosecutors called the Jan. 6 attack 'the culmination' of Mr. Trump's 'criminal conspiracies' to overturn the election. They also suggested that they were poised to introduce video evidence of the riot and call witnesses at trial who could testify that they attacked police and stormed the Capitol after hearing Mr. Trump exhort them to 'fight' in a speech he gave before the violence broke out."

Jennifer Bahney of Mediaite: "The biggest danger the world faces in 2024 is if ... Donald Trump is elected to a second term, according to The Economist's guide to The World Ahead.... 'A second Trump term would be a watershed in a way the first was not. Victory would confirm his most destructive instincts about power. His plans would encounter less resistance. And because America will have voted him in while knowing the worst, its moral authority would decline. The election will be decided by tens of thousands of voters in just a handful of states. In 2024 the fate of the world will depend on their ballots.' The article posits that a Trump win would signal to China that American democracy is 'dysfunctional,' and could give the communist nation the incentive to invade ... Taiwan. In addition, the article predicts that Trump's desire to quickly end the war in Ukraine would give Vladimir Putin the impetus to take over other neighboring countries like Moldova and the Baltic states." The Economist article, linked above, is subscriber-firewalled. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link to Mediaite's summary.

Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone, republished by Yahoo! News: "In an October prayer call hosted by a Christian-nationalist MAGA pastor, Rep. Mike Johnson was troubled that America's wickedness was inviting God's wrath. Talking to pastor Jim Garlow on a broadcast of the World Prayer Network, Johnson spoke ominously of America facing a 'civilizational moment.' He said, 'The only question is: Is God going to allow our nation to enter a time of judgment for our collective sins?... Or is he going to give us one more chance to restore the foundations and return to Him?'... Johnson [said]: 'The culture is so dark and depraved that it almost seems irredeemable.' He cited, as supposed evidence, the decline of national church attendance and the rise of LGBTQ youth --- the fact, Johnson lamented, that 'one-in-four high school students identifies as something other than straight.'... In a closing prayer with Garlow he grew tearful. Johnson intoned, 'We repent for our sins individually and collectively. And we ask that You not give us the judgment that we clearly deserve.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the link. The New York Times story is here.

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David Kihara of Politico: "The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday denied a request by Florida to partially halt a judge's order blocking the state from enforcing a new law banning minors from attending drag shows. A majority of the court concurred in the decision to not grant the stay Florida asked for in October. Justice Brett Kavanaugh, in an opinion joined by Justice Amy Coney Barrett, indicated that the court was unlikely to grant full review in the case."

Lauren Peller & Alexandra Hutzler of ABC News: "Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos is facing another resolution to expel him from Congress. Republican Rep. Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, filed the resolution on Friday -- one day after his panel released an explosive report stating a monthslong probe of the New York congressman 'revealed a complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos' campaign, personal, and business finances.' Guest, in a statement, said the evidence discovered by the committee is 'more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Okay, all you people who said you were waiting for the Ethics Committee report to decide whether or not to vote to expel Santos -- now's your chance (well, okay, after you come back from vacation). In the meantime, George can enjoy a nice family Thanksgiving dinner with all his alter-egos. Unlike many of us, he will sit down to a holiday table where no squabbles break out.

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Colleen Long & Aamer Madhani of the AP: "President Joe Biden on Thursday made America's case to national leaders and CEOs attending the Asia-Pacific summit that the United States is committed to high standards in trade and to partnerships that will benefit economies across the Pacific.... Fresh off his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Biden also told business leaders that the U.S. was 'de-risking and diversifying' but not 'decoupling' from Beijing. But he did not mince words in suggesting the U.S. and friends in the Pacific could offer businesses a better option than China. He also noted that U.S. economies had invested some $50 billion in fellow Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation economies in 2023, including in clean energy technologies, aviation and cybersecurity."

Paula Reid of CNN: "Special counsel Robert Hur is not expected to charge anyone in connection with the mishandling of classified documents at two locations connected to President Joe Biden, two sources close to the investigation told CNN. Hur and his team are compiling a detailed report on their year-long probe that is expected to be critical of Biden and his staff for the way they handled sensitive materials. The report is expected to go into significant detail about what the special counsel's office found in its investigation.... Hur was appointed in January to investigate after classified documents from Biden's time as vice president were found at his former office at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, DC, and at his Wilmington, Delaware, home.... CNN previously reported charges appeared unlikely..., and that there has been no discernible grand jury activity."

Paula Reid, et al., of CNN: "Special counsel prosecutors are using a Los Angeles grand jury to seek documents and possible testimony from multiple witnesses as part of the ongoing federal investigation into Hunter Biden's business dealings, according to people familiar with the probe. James Biden, President Joe Biden's brother and a one-time business associate of Hunter, is among the individuals who have received a subpoena in recent weeks, according to two sources close to the investigation. The probe appears to be focused on Hunter Biden's alleged failure to pay taxes by IRS payment deadlines, issues that were expected to be resolved by a plea deal that fell apart earlier this year."

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "President Biden signed a short-term government funding bill on Thursday, narrowly averting a government shutdown but leaving a larger spending clash for Congress early next year.... Speaker Mike Johnson, who designed the package, has said he will not support any more stopgap funding plans, and framed the temporary spending measure as laying the groundwork for a 'fight' with the Senate in 2024." The government ran out of funds earlier this year and was preparing to shut down or curtail the work of many agencies today.

Robert Jimison of the New York Times: "Just before hard-right House Republicans staged a floor mutiny over spending on Wednesday..., they managed one final vote, on a measure to reduce the salary of an obscure Biden administration official to $1. It was the 25th time in the three weeks since Speaker Mike Johnson was elected to the top post -- and at least the 31st time this year -- that Republicans have spent time on the House floor using a spending bill to try to strip the salary of a member of President Biden's team.... House Republicans' choice to repeatedly push such proposals highlights their slash-and-burn approach to federal spending, and why Congress is facing such a steep challenge reaching a longer-term deal to fund the government.... Driven by the hard right, which is flatly opposed to federal spending, [House Republicans] have weaponized and politicized the appropriations process, primarily using the power of the purse -- the most basic role of Congress -- to push their political message and punish the Biden administration."

Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "The House Ethics Committee on Thursday found 'substantial evidence' that Representative George Santos violated federal law, ending a nearly nine-month investigation and setting the stage for another push to expel the embattled first-term Republican from New York. House investigators found evidence that Mr. Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes, defrauded donors and filed false or incomplete campaign finance and financial disclosure reports, according to a 56-page report released on Thursday. The committee voted unanimously to refer its findings to the Department of Justice, saying that Mr. Santos's conduct 'warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.'... [Rep. Glenn] Ivey [D-Md.], a former federal prosecutor, said he believed the panel's staff had uncovered additional evidence that could be used in Mr. Santos's federal prosecution....

"Shortly after the report was released, Mr. Santos announced on X...-Twitter, that he would not seek re-election in 2024. Even so, he appeared to take issue with the findings of the committee, writing: 'If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the "Ethics committee," they would have not released this biased report."' The link to the Ethics Committee report, embedded in the Times report, is to an Ethics Committee site, not to an NYT page. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The statement by the chairman of the Ethics Committee & the ranking member is here. ~~~

~~~ Here's How George Spent His Donors' Money. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Over just a few days last November, [George] Santos dropped $6,000 at Ferragamo.... He withdrew $800 in cash at a casino, where an aide said he liked to play roulette. He paid off his rent, and he pulled out another $1,000 in spending money at an A.T.M. near his apartment in Queens.... Those outlays were just a fraction of the tens of thousands of dollars or more that Mr. Santos siphoned from unknowing donors for years, propping up the kind of glittering consumer dream the 35-year-old son of immigrants never could have afforded himself.... Among the bills footed by campaign donors: trips to the casinos in Atlantic City and the Hamptons; purchases at the French fashion house Hermès; regular cosmetic treatments labeled 'Botox' on internal campaign records; and even small purchases on OnlyFans, a platform best known for allowing creators to sell explicit photos and videos to subscribers." Using campaign money for personal expenses is illegal. The Washington Post's account is here. CNN's "takeaways" report is here. ~~~

~~~ David Corn & Noah Lenard of Mother Jones: "The bizarre saga of George Santos as a member of the US House of Representatives is heading toward its finale. One way or another.... The 56-page [House ethics] report -- which is accompanied with hundreds of pages of exhibits and evidence -- is no surprise, but it is still an incredibly damning document. It depicts Santos as a total con man who perpetuated an almost unimaginable series of frauds involving campaign money and his personal finances.... [The report] notes he was non-stop grifter[.]... In December 2021, according to the report, Santos' own campaign team presented him with a 141-page 'vulnerability report' that made clear that the candidate was running on a fabricated record. His staff pushed him to drop out of the race, and three staff members quit the campaign when he refused to do so.... After all [of their] digging, the investigators remained mystified by some aspects of Santos' finances. They compiled a record that included more than 170,000 pages of documents. Still, they point out they couldn't figure out all the convolutions of his money flow[.]"

Adam Reiss & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "A New York appeals court on Thursday temporarily blocked a gag order in ... Donald Trump's civil fraud trial that barred him from complaining about the judge's law clerk. The Appellate Division judge ordered the stay after Trump's attorneys appealed the gag order that Judge Arthur Engoron had put in place as being 'unconstitutional.'... The pause will remain in place until at least Nov. 27, when a full panel of appeals court judges will consider the matter. Trump bashed the clerk on his social media platform Truth Social hours after the ruling in a post that did not name her but celebrated the appeals court ruling. The post criticized Engoron's 'ridiculous and unconstitutional gag order' for 'not allowing me to defend myself against him and his politically biased and out of control, Trump Hating Clerk, who is sinking him and his Court to new levels of LOW.'"

How to Delay a Trial While Pretending Not to Delay a Trial. Igor Derysh of Salon: "The federal judge overseeing ... Donald Trump's documents case in South Florida on Thursday denied a request from special counsel Jack Smith to set a deadline on issues related to classified materials in the case. U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon ... denied Smith's request to schedule a hearing under Section 5 of the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA), where a defendant has to disclose what classified information he intends to use at trial. Cannon in her order said she would set all remaining deadlines in March 2024.... The order is a 'clear indication May trial date won't happen,' tweeted Brandon Van Grack, a former federal prosecutor on special counsel Bob Mueller's team.... Former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann argued that 'Judge Cannon's bias is showing over and over again.... Not scheduling a CIPA section 5 hearing, which is routine, is a clear sign she is just as much in the bag for Trump as when she issued her horrendous pretrial rulings (both reversed in scathing language by the conservative 11th Circuit),' he added. 'What a piece of work is she.'... 'Unreal. Now I'm concerned. No way this thing gets to trial in May 2024,' tweeted national security attorney Bradley Moss." ~~~

     ~~~ Former prosecutor Harry Litman said on MSNBC that Judge Aileen appears to have made a "strategic" decision not to formally delay the trial at this time but to move back all the intervening due dates so that it becomes impossible to begin the trial in May. This strategic move makes it difficult/impossible for Jack Smith to file an effective complaint to the Appeals Court.

Nick Valencia & Jason Morris of CNN: "The judge presiding over Donald Trump's racketeering case over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has issued a protective order on sensitive discovery materials in the case. In his order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that a protective order was necessary in part because providing 'parties the unfettered ability to share pretrial materials with the public undermines' the process. The move comes a day after a hearing addressing the leak of key video evidence by a defense attorney for one of Trump's co-defendants.... According to Thursday's order, it will be up to the Fulton County district attorney's office to specifically designate discovery materials that it deems sensitive. Defendants will have up to 14 days to contest that designation." (Also linked yesterday.)

Meredith Deliso & Annie Pong of ABC News: "A federal jury has convicted the suspect accused of the violent hammer attack against Paul Pelosi at his and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home last year. The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon before reaching a verdict late Thursday morning, finding David DePape guilty on both federal counts. Pelosi, 83, suffered a skull fracture after being struck in the head with a hammer during the early morning attack on Oct. 28, 2022, which occurred just days before the midterm elections, police said. DePape, 43, was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with attempted kidnapping and assault on account of a federal official's performance of official duties. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and 30 years, respectively, in prison. He has pleaded not guilty." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: We should not forget that the Republicans' top candidate for president has repeatedly made jokes about this horrible attack. So have a few other Republicans. like Arizona candidate-for-everything Kari Lake and "moderate" Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin. And their audiences laugh along. I can't exaggerate how sick and outrageous this is. People who normalize violence against their political "enemies" and even the families of political rivals should be in mental health institutions, not in office.

Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "An Ohio man who repeatedly attacked police officers as he joined a mob of Donald Trump supporters in storming the U.S. Capitol was sentenced on Thursday to nearly five years in prison. Kenneth Joseph Owen Thomas has acted as a 'one-man misinformation machine' since the Jan. 6, 2021, riot, using his social media platforms to spread false narratives about the attack, according to federal prosecutors. They say Thomas produces more than 20 hours of Jan. 6-related online content every week."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A homeless man was sentenced Thursday to 27 months in prison for assaulting U.S. Rep. Angie Craig (D-Minn.) in the elevator of her Washington, D.C., apartment building. The attack led to a wave of threats against the congresswoman and prompted her to move, she told a court. Kendrick Hamlin, 27, also known as Hamlin Khalil Hamlin, pleaded guilty June 1 to assaulting the three-term congresswoman and two D.C. police officers who arrested him after Craig fought him off by tossing hot coffee at him."

** Presidential Race 2024. The Hustler. Susanne Craig of the New York Times: "Throughout his long public life, [Robert Kennedy, Jr.,] has cultivated an image as a man committed to a greater good, the blessing and burden of belonging to one of America's most storied political families.... But an examination of Mr. Kennedy's finances by The New York Times, including public filings and almost two dozen interviews as well as tax returns and other documents not previously made public, showed that while he appears to believe in the causes he champions, they have also had a practical benefit: His crusades, backed by the power of his name, have earned him tens of millions of dollars. Mr. Kennedy inherited many things from his family ... but not necessarily the kind of money that would support a life of both altruism and the trappings of wealth he seems to enjoy, The Times found.... Behind much of his public career has been a relentless private hustle: board positions and advisory gigs, side deals with law firms, book contracts and an exhausting schedule of paid speeches, once upward of 60 a year by his own count."

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Brian Steinberg of Variety: "León Krauze, one of the most prominent anchors at Univision's news division, has left the network in the wake of a controversial interview with former President Donald Trump that took place last week and has spurred concerns among journalists at the company that the Spanish-language media giant is no longer challenging Republican politicians.... The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Jared Kushner ... helped arrange the event.... Grupo Televisa, the Mexican media company that merged with Univision in 2021, has been known for cultivating relationships with political leaders in Mexico." Krause did not say why he quit. (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "As X owner Elon Musk continues his descent into white nationalist and antisemitic conspiracy theories, his social media platform has been placing ads for major brands like Apple, Bravo (NBCUniversal), IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity (Comcast) next to content that touts Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. The company's placements come after CEO Linda Yaccarino claimed that brands are 'protected from the risk of being next to' toxic posts on the platform." ~~~

~~~ So Then.... Ryan Mac of the New York Times: "Less than 24 hours after Elon Musk endorsed an antisemitic post on X as 'the actual truth' of what Jewish people were doing, IBM paused its advertising on the social media platform as X's chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, and others at the company scrambled on Thursday to contain the fallout. X employees said on Thursday that they had gotten calls from advertisers wondering why Mr. Musk was making comments seen as antisemitic and why their ads were showing up next to white nationalist and Nazi content.... IBM cut off about $1 million in advertising spending that it had committed to the platform for the last three months of the year.... Mr. Musk ... has attacked George Soros, the financier who is a frequent target of antisemitic abuse, and threatened to sue the Anti-Defamation League, a rights group that has highlighted the rise in antisemitism on X. On Wednesday, Mr. Musk went further when he agreed with a post from an X account accusing Jewish communities of pushing 'hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them.'" ~~~

     ~~~ BUT Musk is not alone. ~~~

~~~ Maria in Crooked Timber: "Silicon Valley's ideology is this: Libertarianism for me. Feudalism for thee.... Silicon Valley ideology is a master-slave mentality, a hierarchical worldview that we all exist in extractive relation to someone stronger, and exploit and despise anyone weaker...., hence its poster-boys' constant yoyoing between grandiosity and victimhood. Tech bros like [Peter] Thiel, [Elon] Musk and [Marc] Andreesen are the fluffers in the global authoritarian circle jerk.... Silicon Valley ideology blames others for its harms. Its titans built the machines currently dismantling democracies. So, to absolve themselves of responsibility, they've come to see democracy itself as flawed and weak.... Silicon Valley ideology worships "intelligence", defined narrowly as mathematical and engineering capability, with all its IQ-related ties to racism, misogyny and eugenics.... Silicon Valley's most famous funders and CEOs veer strongly into sociopathy, narcissism, and abiding Daddy issues. They are thin-skinned, vicious, gormless. Now middle-aged men, their emotional development ended when they made their first hundred million." Worth reading in full, whether or not you will be convinced in the end. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Perhaps you're wondering how the influence of these titans can be fixed. The sad truth is that no one can correct the personality disorders of people like Musk & Thiel, but we can limit their influence by limiting their incomes. Heavily taxing the rich has more than one public benefit.

Sylvia Foster-Frau, et al., in the Washington Post: "Mass shootings involving AR-15s have become a recurring American nightmare. The weapon, easy to operate and widely available, is now used more than any other in the country's deadliest mass killings. Fired by the dozens or hundreds in rapid succession, bullets from AR-15s have blasted through classroom doors and walls.... But the full effects of the AR-15's destructive force are rarely seen in public.... Now, drawing on an extensive review of photographs, videos and police investigative files from 11 mass killings between 2012 and 2023, The Washington Post is publishing the most comprehensive account to date of the repeating pattern of destruction wrought by the AR-15 -- a weapon that was originally designed for military combat but has in recent years become one of the best-selling firearms on the U.S. market." MB: I'm not looking, but I do take the reporters' word for it. (Also linked yesterday.)

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates in developments Friday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "The Israel Defense Forces released a photo and video Thursday of a newly exposed ground cavity that it described as an 'operational tunnel shaft' inside the al-Shifa Hospital complex, after troops raided Gaza's largest hospital earlier this week. The Washington Post confirmed the location of the visuals to be inside the al-Shifa Hospital complex but could not verify where the opening led, or whether it was used for military purposes. Israel has yet to produce findings that corroborate its claims that al-Shifa sits atop a Hamas headquarters and was central to the militant group's operations. The Gaza Strip remained offline Friday after a communications blackout Thursday, when telecommunications companies ran out of fuel needed for generators to power equipment, and backup batteries shut down. Calls to doctors in the north and south yielded an automated message saying connections to the Strip had been cut off." ~~~

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

Najib Jobain, et al., of the AP: "Communications systems in the Gaza Strip were down for a second day Friday with no fuel to power the internet and phone networks, causing aid agencies to halt cross-border deliveries of humanitarian supplies even as they warned people may soon face starvation."

Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "Israel is preventing some Palestinian Americans from entering the country from the West Bank, an apparent violation of a recent agreement in which citizens from the United States and Israel can travel to the other nation without a visa. The Homeland Security and State Departments, which manage the program, said American officials were trying to resolve the issue." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Conversation -- November 16, 2023

Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Brian Steinberg of Variety: "León Krauze, one of the most prominent anchors at Univision's news division, has left the network in the wake of a controversial interview with former President Donald Trump that took place last week and has spurred concerns among journalists at the company that the Spanish-language media giant is no longer challenging Republican politicians.... The Washington Post reported earlier this week that Jared Kushner ... helped arrange the event.... Grupo Televisa, the Mexican media company that merged with Univision in 2021, has been known for cultivating relationships with political leaders in Mexico." Krause did not say why he quit.

Meredith Deliso & Annie Pong of ABC News: "A federal jury has convicted the suspect accused of the violent hammer attack against Paul Pelosi at his and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's San Francisco home last year. The jury began deliberating Wednesday afternoon before reaching a verdict late Thursday morning, finding David DePape guilty on both federal counts. Pelosi, 83, suffered a skull fracture after being struck in the head with a hammer during the early morning attack on Oct. 28, 2022, which occurred just days before the midterm elections, police said. DePape, 43, was arrested at the scene and subsequently charged with attempted kidnapping and assault on account of a federal official's performance of official duties. The charges carry a maximum sentence of 20 years and 30 years, respectively, in prison. He has pleaded not guilty."

Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "The House Ethics Committee on Thursday found 'substantial evidence' that Representative George Santos violated federal law, ending a nearly nine-month investigation and setting the stage for another push to expel the embattled first-term Republican from New York. House investigators found evidence that Mr. Santos used campaign funds for personal purposes, defrauded donors and filed false or incomplete campaign finance and financial disclosure reports, according to a 56-page report released on Thursday. The committee voted unanimously to refer its findings to the Department of Justice, saying that Mr. Santos's conduct 'warrants public condemnation, is beneath the dignity of the office, and has brought severe discredit upon the House.'... [Rep. Glenn] Ivey [D-Md.], a former federal prosecutor, said he believed the panel's staff had uncovered additional evidence that could be used in Mr. Santos's federal prosecution....

"Shortly after the report was released, Mr. Santos announced on X...-Twitter, that he would not seek re-election in 2024. Even so, he appeared to take issue with the findings of the committee, writing: 'If there was a single ounce of ETHICS in the "Ethics committee," they would have not released this biased report.'" the link to the Ethics Committee report, embedded in the Times report, is to an Ethics Committee site, not to an NYT page. The AP's report is here.

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "A Georgia judge said Wednesday he will issue a protective order barring the public release of sensitive evidence exchanged between prosecutors and lawyers representing ... Donald Trump and his co-defendants in their election interference criminal cases in that state. 'Until we decide what's going to be relevant and admissible, this case should be tried and not in the court of public opinion,' Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee said at a hearing on the proposed order." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Nick Valencia & Jason Morris of CNN: "The judge presiding over Donald Trump's racketeering case over efforts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia has issued a protective order on sensitive discovery materials in the case. In his order, Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee wrote that a protective order was necessary in part because providing 'parties the unfettered ability to share pretrial materials with the public undermines' the process. The move comes a day after a hearing addressing the leak of key video evidence by a defense attorney for one of Trump's co-defendants.... According to Thursday's order, it will be up to the Fulton County district attorney's office to specifically designate discovery materials that it deems sensitive. Defendants will have up to 14 days to contest that designation."

Sylvia Foster-Frau, et al., in the Washington Post: "Mass shootings involving AR-15s have become a recurring American nightmare. The weapon, easy to operate and widely available, is now used more than any other in the country's deadliest mass killings. Fired by the dozens or hundreds in rapid succession, bullets from AR-15s have blasted through classroom doors and walls.... But the full effects of the AR-15's destructive force are rarely seen in public.... Now, drawing on an extensive review of photographs, videos and police investigative files from 11 mass killings between 2012 and 2023, The Washington Post is publishing the most comprehensive account to date of the repeating pattern of destruction wrought by the AR-15 -- a weapon that was originally designed for military combat but has in recent years become one of the best-selling firearms on the U.S. market." MB: I'm not looking, but I do take the reporters' word for it.

Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "Israel is preventing some Palestinian Americans from entering the country from the West Bank, an apparent violation of a recent agreement in which citizens from the United States and Israel can travel to the other nation without a visa. The Homeland Security and State Departments, which manage the program, said American officials were trying to resolve the issue."

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Late start this morning. Still posting at 8:30 am ET.

David Sanger & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Wednesday that four hours of discussion with President Xi Jinping of China had brought about two significant agreements, on curbing fentanyl production and on military-to-military communications. But both American and Chinese accounts of their first encounter in a year indicated little progress on the issues that have pushed the two nations to the edge of conflict. Emerging from the talks, and a brief walk with Mr. Xi on the grounds of a mansion south of San Francisco, Mr. Biden told reporters that the conversation had been the 'most constructive and productive' between the two men since Mr. Biden had come to office. The agreements they announced were modest, however, and their most important commitments were to keep talking and to pick up the phone in times of crisis." ~~~

     ~~~ President Biden one-upped Donald Trump's hosting of Xi at Mar-a-Lardo (NYT link). Filoli: the house; the gardens.

Summer Concepcion of NBC News: "President Joe Biden on Tuesday decried ... Donald Trump's recent remarks calling his political foes 'vermin' as rhetoric reminiscent of Nazi Germany.... Biden excoriated Trump's remarks as language echoing Nazi Germany in the 1930s during a campaign fundraiser in San Francisco on Tuesday night.... 'In just the last few days, Trump has said, if he returns office, he's gonna go after all those who oppose him and wipe out what he called the vermin, quote, the vermin in America -- a specific phrase with a specific meaning,' Biden said. 'It echoes language you heard in Nazi Germany in the '30s. And it isn't even the first time,' he added. 'Trump also recently talked about, quote, the blood of America is being poisoned. The blood of America is being poisoned. Again, it echoes the same phrases used in Nazi Germany." (Also linked yesterday.)

Senate Passes House's Dumb Continuing Resolution. Carl Hulse & Catie Edmondson of the New York Times:"Congress gave final approval on Wednesday to a bill to fund federal agencies into early next year, averting an immediate shutdown crisis but leaving the path toward a longer-term agreement on government spending as rocky as ever. The Senate voted 87 to 11 to clear the temporary funding patch and send it to President Biden, who is expected to sign it, just days before a deadline at midnight on Friday. The measure was approved by the House on Tuesday with near-unanimous support from Democrats and over the opposition of almost half of House Republicans. While dodging a short-term disaster, Congress will have only a few months to reach a governmentwide spending agreement. And a Republican mutiny over the measure on the House floor on Wednesday reflected how difficult it will be for the G.O.P. leaders to come to terms with Democrats on a more lasting plan." NPR's story is here.

Did not realize that the Senate hearing throwdown was over this tweet mocking Mullin for standing on a platform to feel taller during a debate 😂 https://t.co/ZjjQDx8DNC

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) November 15, 2023

~~~ Thanks to RAS for the link. In one of the great civil rights songs, Randy Newman responds ~~~

     ~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Steve M.: Sean Hannity gave Markwayne a big thumbs-up for threatening a witness with physical violence. (Read Steve for the details, wherein Hannity opined that Markwayne's doing any less "would have been a little gutless.") "Fox News has always been like this. It was like this two decades ago, when Bill O'Reilly was the channel's biggest star precisely because he viciously attacked the people he disagreed with. But if you remember the mainstream-media take on Fox at the time, it was that Fox was a normal news organization, if perhaps a smidge to the right.... Republicans fully embraced Fox, while Democrats and the rest of the media mostly gave it the kid-glove treatment, even as it became increasingly toxic. And that's how we became a country where a Trump presidency became thinkable, and behavior like Senator Mullin's came to be seen as admirable." See also Akhilleus' commentary at the top of today's thread on how Fox brought us Representative Clay Higgins, (alleged!) brutal cop. More on Clay below.

Mycheal Schnell of the Hill: "A band of House conservatives tanked a procedural vote to advance an appropriations bill Wednesday, underscoring the problems Republicans are having in the government funding process. Shortly after the failed procedural vote Wednesday morning, the office of House Majority Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) announced that no additional votes would be expected in the House following the current series until Nov. 28. The chamber was initially scheduled to hold another vote series Wednesday afternoon." MB: So they're all going home for Thanksgiving vacation. I'm guessing that if you and your coworkers fail to fulfill the basic requirements of your job, the boss doesn't reward you with extra days off.

Sarah Ferris, et al., of Politico: "The House GOP has descended, as one member put it, into 'schoolyard bully bullshit.' Republicans cannot agree on basic policy priorities or even fund the government without a majority of Democratic votes. Individual lawmakers are going rogue on the House floor with theatrical efforts to censure colleagues and impeach members of the Biden administration. A growing number of lawmakers are choosing to retire because they feel it's impossible to get anything done.... 'It's the same clown car with a different driver,' [Rep. Kelly] Armstrong [R-N.D.] said. And unless the GOP could figure out a way to regain control of the floor, he warned: 'We essentially don't have the majority.'"

MOC Tells FBI Director He Has Proof the FBI Instigated Jan. 6 Insurrection. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Republican Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) used time during Wednesday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing on domestic threats to accuse FBI Director Christopher Wray of having FBI agents fuel the violence on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol. Wray emphatically denied the accusation that 'FBI sources and or agents' took part in or encouraged any of the violence on Jan. 6th. Higgins, however..., claimed he had evidence to the contrary and threatened Wray, telling him his 'day is coming.' Higgins has long pushed the widely debunked, pro-Trump conspiracy theory that it was the FBI, not Trump supporters who instigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th.... 'If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6th was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and or agents, the answer is emphatically not,' Wray replied.... Higgins then asked Wray about so-called 'ghost buses.' 'Well, it's pretty common in law enforcement, it is a vehicle that's used for secret purposes. It's painted over. There's two buses in the middle here. There were the first to arrive at Union Station on January 6th, zero-five-hundred. I have all this evidence, I'm showing you the tip of this iceberg,' Higgins claimed pointing at an image." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll bet all MAGA hats are lined with tinfoil.

Benjamin Siegel & Rachel Scott of ABC News: "The House Ethics Committee will not recommend any punishment for embattled New York Republican Rep. George Santos in a public report it plans to release later this week after a monthslong investigation, Chairman Michael Guest said Wednesday. Instead, the panel will release its evidence and details of its work for members to review and make their own conclusion about whether Santos should be removed from Congress, Guest, a Mississippi Republican, said." MB: So a report with no teeth to a House that's on vacation."

Ella Lee of the Hill: "Former President Trump's legal team on Wednesday requested a mistrial in his New York fraud case, claiming that the trial judge and his principal law clerk's purported bias against Trump has 'tainted' the case." (Also linked yesterday.)

Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Georgia prosecutors asked a judge on Wednesday to revoke the bond of one of Donald J. Trump's co-defendants in the election interference case there amid accusations that he had been intimidating witnesses. The defendant, Harrison Floyd, who once led a group called Black Voices for Trump, faces charges related to a scheme to pressure a Fulton County, Ga., election worker to falsely say that she had taken part in election fraud. He was the only one of the 19 defendants originally charged in the case who had been jailed, because he did not make arrangements ahead of time to secure a bond agreement. Since the beginning of the month, prosecutors wrote in their motion, Mr. Floyd has been directing hostile social media posts to the accounts of likely witnesses in the case, including the election worker, Ruby Freeman, and the Georgia secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, 'in an effort to intimidate co-defendants and witnesses.' '@GaSecofState needs to call his lawyer,' Mr. Floyd posted on X...-Twitter, on Nov. 8. 'He's about to go through some things!'... Fani T. Willis, asked the presiding judge in the case, Scott McAfee, to revoke Mr. Floyd's bond, which could send him back to jail." The AP's story is here.

Ella Lee & Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "An attorney for one of former President Trump's co-defendants in Georgia admitted to providing proffer videos of defendants to a media outlet, a stunning revelation that came during an emergency court hearing Wednesday afternoon. Attorney Jonathan Miller, who is representing former Coffee County election supervisor Misty Hampton, did not name the outlet and said he leaked the footage of the defendants in the name of transparency." (Also linked yesterday.)

Gary Grumbach & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Hunter Biden asked the judge presiding over his criminal gun charge case to subpoena ... Donald Trump and top officials in his Justice Department, arguing that the investigation into him was the direct result of 'incessant, improper, and partisan pressure' from Trump and his allies. The court filing Wednesday asks Judge U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump nominee, to issue subpoenas to Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.... 'In the lead up to the 2020 election, IRS case files show certain investigative decisions were made "as a result of guidance provided" by, among others, "the Deputy Attorney General's office,"' the filing said. It also points to a passage from Barr's recent book where he said Trump called him in October 2020 asking about the status of the probe into Joe Biden's son. Barr wrote that he responded, 'Dammit, Mr. President, I am not going to talk to you about Hunter Biden. Period!'" (Also linked yesterday.) The Washington Post story is here.

Presidential Race 2024. Julia Manchester of the Hill: "New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan announced Wednesday that the state's Democratic presidential primary would be held on Jan 23, ahead of South Carolina's contest. Tensions have been ramping up between New Hampshire Democrats and the Democratic National Committee (DNC) over the committee's decision to make South Carolina's primary the first in the nation, taking place Feb. 3. President Biden did not file for the New Hampshire primary, citing obligations to comply with DNC guidance. His supporters in the state have launched a write-in campaign."

What Is Joe Manchin Thinking About Today? Rebecca Shabad of NBC News: "Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., inched closer Wednesday to confirming that he could run for president. 'I will do anything I can to help my country, and you're saying, "Does that mean you would consider it?" Absolutely,' Manchin said in an interview with NBC's 'Meet the Press' moderator Kristen Welker."~~~

~~~ Tiah Shepherd of the Hill: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) suggested Wednesday that he is 'considering' leaving the Democratic party in comments made just one week after he announced that he would not seek reelection to the Senate. During an interview on CNN, anchor Kaitlan Collins pressed the West Virginia senator on whether he was thinking about leaving the party after expressing disdain for what he called the 'business of politics.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Gregg Jaffe of the Washington Post: "Today, Congress is so divided and ideologically polarized that it struggles to execute its most basic responsibilities. State legislatures suffer a different malady. They're often so dominated by a single party that the majority can push through its agenda with little regard for what most voters might actually prefer. In the two dozen states that allow citizen-sponsored referendums, Democrats and Republicans alike are turning to the ballot box to make law and in many cases overrule their elected officials -- a process known as 'direct democracy.'... Some of the most contentious initiatives have focused on abortion." The story focuses on the efforts of a newly-minteed citizen activist, Sierra Edmisten of Nebraska, who is working to get a paid-sick-leave measure on the ballot, since the GOP-dominated state legislature & the U.S. Congress have repeated failed to pass such legislation. Edminsten has worked at numerous jobs, none of which provided any paid-sick-leaves days. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Virginia House Race. Teo Armus of the Washington Post: "Yevgeny 'Eugene' Vindman, a retired Army colonel who along with his twin brother raised alarms about ... Donald Trump's actions toward Ukraine, plans to announce that he will run for Congress in Virginia's 7th District, where Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D) has declined to seek another term to run for governor instead. Vindman, 48, is the first Democrat to announce a campaign to succeed Spanberger, whose decision to seek statewide office opens up a competitive seat in the Washington exurbs that is likely to be eyed by Republicans as a pickup opportunity -- and by some state and local Democrats as a chance to move to Congress.... Vindman emerged into the national spotlight when he reported a claim from his colleague and twin brother, Alexander, about a call in which Trump implored Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to open a corruption investigation of Joe Biden."

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine

** The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "A day after the Israeli military took control of Gaza's largest hospital, soldiers on Thursday afternoon were still combing the site that Israel has said concealed a secret Hamas base, but had yet to present much evidence supporting that claim to the public. An Israeli military spokesman said that the search of the hospital grounds would take time because 'Hamas knew we were coming' and had made off with or hidden traces of their presence there.... The claim that Hamas operated from within the sprawling hospital complex has been central to Israel's defense of the death toll caused by its military campaign in Gaza, which has killed more than 11,000 people, according to Gazan health officials." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Thursday are here.

Karen DeYoung of the Washington Post: "Hamas has agreed in principle and Israel is now considering a proposal for the release of at least 50 women and children among about 240 foreign and Israeli hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza, according to an Arab diplomat familiar with the negotiations. In exchange for the hostages, Israel would agree to a three-to-five-day pause 'in place' in the fighting, increased humanitarian aid to Gaza, and the release of an unspecified number of women and children held in Israeli prisons.... President Biden, speaking Wednesday in a news conference after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said that he was 'deeply involved' in negotiations over a hostage release with Israel and the government of Qatar, which is serving as a go-between for Hamas."

Patrick Kingsley & Iyad Abuheweila of the New York Times: "Since Israel's ground troops invaded Gaza 19 days ago, the fate of its war has become largely entwined with the fate of the territory's largest hospital. Israeli soldiers on Wednesday morning stormed that hospital, Al-Shifa, searching its corridors and rooms for evidence to support Israel's assertion that the sprawling medical complex doubles as a secret military command center. Over the course of the day, they hunted for weapons and interrogated those they found inside, according to both Israeli officials and Palestinians at the hospital. The early-morning raid was seen by both sides as a watershed moment in the conflict, capable of shaping the pace and extent of the war. Israel says Al-Shifa, a sprawling complex in Gaza City, conceals an underground military base and has presented its capture as a key metric of Israeli success. The Israelis also say that Hamas's use of the hospital highlights how the group defends itself with human shields. Hamas and the hospital's leadership have denied the Israeli assertions."

Edward Wong of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Wednesday that the endpoint of the Israel-Hamas conflict has to be a Palestinian state that is 'real,' existing alongside an Israeli one. He added that he and his aides have been negotiating with Arab nations on next steps, but did not give any details. 'I can tell you, I don't think it ultimately ends until there's a two-state solution,' Mr. Biden said at a news conference on an estate south of San Francisco after his summit with Xi Jinping, China's leader."

Rebecca Cohen of NBC News: "Police said they evacuated the area around the headquarters of the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C., after making arrests at a chaotic pro-Palestinian rally Wednesday night. U.S. Capitol Police said on X that a 'large group of illegal protesters ... have cleared out, but USCP officers will stay on scene out of an abundance of caution.' They previously put the number of demonstrators at about 150 and said they were 'violently protesting in the area.' Six officers were treated for injuries as a result of the demonstration, and one person was arrested and accused of assault on an officer, Capitol Police said on X. Capitol Police said in a separate notice to reporters that they had restricted entry and exit to the nearby House office buildings.... The top three House Democratic leaders were all inside the DNC headquarters[, as were other members,] as protests started outside tonight, according to a source familiar with the group of lawmakers attending the DNC event."

News Lede

Nevada. New York Times: "Eight Nevada high school students were arrested on murder charges this week in the death of a 17-year-old boy who was beaten unconscious during an after-school brawl this month, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department said. The boy who was beaten, Jonathan Lewis Jr., a student at Rancho High School, died of his injuries days after the Nov. 1 attack, the Las Vegas Police Department said at a news conference on Tuesday."

The Conversation -- November 15, 2023

The New York Times is live-updating developments Wednesday in the meeting between Presidents Biden & Xi: "For two leaders who have agreed on very little as their nations have spiraled into their worst relationship in four decades, there have been hints of how they will try to nudge toward the appearance of agreement. A senior administration official said they are expected to reach the outline of an agreement that would commit Beijing to regulating components of fentanyl, the drug that has driven a devastating opioid epidemic in the United States. But China has made similar commitments before. They are expected to announce a forum for a discussion of how to keep artificial intelligence programs away from nuclear command and control -- at the same moment the United States is denying China the advanced chips it needs to develop and train A.I. programs. And they will probably discuss resuming military-to-military communications, which China cut off after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan last year." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates for Wednesday are here.

Summer Concepcion of NBC News: "President Joe Biden on Tuesday decried ... Donald Trump's recent remarks calling his political foes 'vermin' as rhetoric reminiscent of Nazi Germany.... Biden excoriated Trump's remarks as language echoing Nazi Germany in the 1930s during a campaign fundraiser in San Francisco on Tuesday night.... 'In just the last few days, Trump has said, if he returns office, he's gonna go after all those who oppose him and wipe out what he called the vermin, quote, the vermin in America -- a specific phrase with a specific meaning,' Biden said. 'It echoes language you heard in Nazi Germany in the '30s. And it isn't even the first time,' he added. 'Trump also recently talked about, quote, the blood of America is being poisoned. The blood of America is being poisoned. Again, it echoes the same phrases used in Nazi Germany."

Gary Grumbach & Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "Hunter Biden asked the judge presiding over his criminal gun charge case to subpoena ... Donald Trump and top officials in his Justice Department, arguing that the investigation into him was the direct result of 'incessant, improper, and partisan pressure' from Trump and his allies. The court filing Wednesday asks Judge U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump nominee, to issue subpoenas to Trump, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.... 'In the lead up to the 2020 election, IRS case files show certain investigative decisions were made "as a result of guidance provided" by, among others, "the Deputy Attorney General's office,"' the filing said. It also points to a passage from Barr's recent book where he said Trump called him in October 2020 asking about the status of the probe into Joe Biden's son. Barr wrote that he responded, 'Dammit, Mr. President, I am not going to talk to you about Hunter Biden. Period!'"

Ella Lee & Zach Schonfeld of the Hill: "An attorney for one of former President Trump's co-defendants in Georgia admitted to providing proffer videos of defendants to a media outlet, a stunning revelation that came during an emergency court hearing Wednesday afternoon. Attorney Jonathan Miller, who is representing former Coffee County election supervisor Misty Hampton, did not name the outlet and said he leaked the footage of the defendants in the name of transparency."

MOC Tells FBI Director He Has Proof the FBI Instigated Jan. 6 Insurrection. Alex Griffing of Mediaite: "Republican Rep. Clay Higgins (R-LA) used time during Wednesday's House Homeland Security Committee hearing on domestic threats to accuse FBI Director Christopher Wray of having FBI agents fuel the violence on January 6th at the U.S. Capitol. Wray emphatically denied the accusation that 'FBI sources and or agents' took part in or encouraged any of the violence on Jan. 6th. Higgins, however..., claimed he had evidence to the contrary and threatened Wray, telling him his 'day is coming.' Higgins has long pushed the widely debunked, pro-Trump conspiracy theory that it was the FBI, not Trump supporters who instigated the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6th.... 'If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on January 6th was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and or agents, the answer is emphatically not,' Wray replied.... Higgins then asked Wray about so-called 'ghost buses.' 'Well, it's pretty common in law enforcement, it is a vehicle that's used for secret purposes. It's painted over. There's two buses in the middle here. There were the first to arrive at Union Station on January 6th, zero-five-hundred. I have all this evidence, I'm showing you the tip of this iceberg,' Higgins claimed pointing at an image." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll bet all MAGA hats are lined with tinfoil.

Ella Lee of the Hill: "Former President Trump's legal team on Wednesday requested a mistrial in his New York fraud case, claiming that the trial judge and his principal law clerk's purported bias against Trump has 'tainted' the case."

The New York Times' live updates of developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Although details of the operation remained scarce, Israel's apparent capture of Al-Shifa Hospital was a significant step that could shape the future of its war with Hamas.... The United States has intelligence that shows that Hamas has been using hospitals in Gaza, including Al-Shifa, as command centers and ammunitions depots, a spokesman for the National Security Council said on Tuesday." ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live updates are here: "Israeli forces are raiding Gaza's biggest hospital, Al-Shifa, in what the military says is a 'precise and targeted operation.' A journalist there said tanks had entered the hospital courtyard and troops were searching buildings and interrogating young men. Israel has claimed the hospital includes a Hamas command center, an allegation denied by hospital officials and Hamas. CNN cannot verify either side's claims. Hundreds of patients and staff remain inside Al-Shifa, according to hospital officials. The operation comes amid Israel's escalating ground offensive in Gaza, aimed at destroying Hamas."

~~~~~~~~~~

Marie: The contrast between what Democrats are doing for the world and the country and what Republicans are doing has never been more stark than it was Tuesday.

Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "The United States and China, the world's two largest climate polluters, have agreed to jointly tackle global warming by ramping up wind, solar and other renewable energy with the goal of displacing fossil fuels, the State Department said Tuesday. The announcement comes as President Biden prepares to meet Wednesday with President Xi Jinping of China for their first face-to-face discussion in a year. The climate agreement could emerge as a bright spot in talks that are likely to focus on sensitive topics including Taiwan, the war in Ukraine and the war between Israel and Hamas. The statements of cooperation released separately by the United States and China do not include a promise by China to phase out its heavy use of coal, the dirtiest fossil fuel, or to stop permitting and building new coal plants. That has been a sticking point for the United States in months of discussions with Beijing on climate change. But both countries agreed to 'pursue efforts to triple renewable energy capacity globally by 2030.'"

Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Speaker Mike Johnson was forced on Tuesday to rely on Democratic votes as the House passed legislation to keep federal funding flowing into early 2024, after scores of Republicans opposed his plan to avert a government shutdown at the end of the week. Almost all Democrats and a majority of Republicans overcame the opposition of G.O.P. conservatives to approve the bill under special expedited procedures that required a supermajority. That approach, hatched by Mr. Johnson in his first weeks as speaker, amounted to a gamble that a substantial number of Democrats would rally to help pass a package that Mr. Johnson's own members were unwilling to back. The vote was 336 to 95, easily clearing the two-thirds threshold required for passage. In the end, 209 Democrats and 127 Republicans joined to pass the bill. Ninety-three Republicans opposed it, as did two Democrats." (This is a substantial update of an earlier story linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yes, yes, this is all nuts. But, otherwise, all is going very smoothly with the Congress ~~~

~~~ Fight Club

~~~ Jay O'Brien, et al., of ABC News: "Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership last month, claimed to ABC News that McCarthy elbowed him in the back after a House GOP meeting on Tuesday morning. McCarthy denied this, according to an NPR reporter who said she witnessed part of the altercation. But Burchett said he was speaking to the NPR reporter when McCarthy walked behind him and allegedly put his elbow intentionally into Burchett's back. Burchett said he was pushed forward and then followed McCarthy down the hallway to confront him. According to the reporter, Burchett asked McCarthy: 'Why'd you walk behind me and elbow me in the back?' The former speaker responded: 'I didn't elbow you in the back.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to teevee reporting: Burchett told a reporter later that McCarthy made "a clean shot to the kidneys." AND bolstering Burchett's side of the story: (1) NPR reporter Claudia Grisales said Burchett lurched into her as McCarthy apparently hit him, and she was pretty sure she saw McCarthy retract his elbow; and (2) Adam Kinzinger wrote in a previously-published book that McCarthy had purposely "shouldered" him when the two were in a a hallway of Congress. Apparently that's how McCarthy rolls.~~~

     ~~~ Paragon of Probity Brings Ethics Complaint Against My Kevin. Emily Brooks of the Hill: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) filed a formal ethics complaint against former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) after Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) accused the ex-House leader of elbowing him in a hallway." (Also linked yesterday.)

Tara Suter of the Hill: "Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and chair of the House Oversight Committee James Comer (R-Ky.) got into a heated exchange on Tuesday [when Moscowitz called out Comer's financial dealings with his own brother after Comer went on Fox & lied about Joe Biden's loan to his brother James.]... '[Y]ou look like a Smurf, here, just going around and all this stuff,' Comer at one point said to Moskowitz, seemingly referencing his blue suit and tie. 'Gargamel was very angry today,' Moskowitz later quipped on X...-Twitter, referencing the main villain of the Smurfs universe." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I'm sort of disappointed neither Jungle Gym Jordan nor Miss Margie got into any physical altercations. To be fair, MTG [R-Ga.] did manage to call Darrell Issa [R-Calif.] a prick after he knocked her lack of "maturity and experience" in how to bring an impeachment proceeding. In fairness to Miss Margie, Darrell is a prick. (Also linked yesterday.)

MEANWHILE, across the hall, in a hearing held by the World's Greatest Deliberative Body ~~~

~~~ Adult Intervention Required. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R), a former mixed martial arts fighter, nearly came to blows with the president of the Teamsters at a Senate hearing on Tuesday, forcing Chair Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) to step in to stop a brawl from breaking out in the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee room. Mullin challenged International Brotherhood of Teamsters general president Sean O'Brien to a fight on the spot after the senator read aloud O'Brien's tweets calling him out as a 'clown' and a 'fraud.'" Mullin stood up, as if to head toward O'Brien, making a show of removing his ring, as Sanders gaveled him down. Mullen eventually challenged O'Brien to a cage match. "The Oklahoma senator didn't back down or apologize when later asked about his conduct. 'He called me out.... He said anytime, anyplace. You don't call me out and say "anytime, anyplace," and then not back it up what you said,' Mullin said. 'I answered his call. Period,' he added." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

You're a United States senator. Act it. Sit down, please.... Hold it, hold it. -- Bernie Sanders to Markwayne Mullin ~~~

     ~~~ Later, Mullin went on some right-wing teevee show and defended his actions as "traditional," on because President Andrew Jackson participated in duels and clocked someone sitting at his dinner table. Oh, and also remember in 1856 when Rep. Preston Brooks (S.C.) entered the Senate chamber and caned abolitionist Sen. Charles Sumner (Mass.) nearly to death. MB: As the Wikipedia entry on the infamous incident puts it, the caning "has been considered symbolic of the 'breakdown of reasoned discourse' and willingness to resort to violence that eventually led to the Civil War." So, ya know, maybe not the most auspicious historical reference.

Robert Jimison of the New York Times writes a summary report of Tuesday's GOP Fight Club shenanigans.

Marie: Maybe these incidents of Republican violence seem unrelated, but I don't think they are. They are at least partly the result of the influence of party leader Donald Trump, who has stepped up his violent rhetoric in recent weeks and has long condoned and encouraged violence as a means of besting political adversaries. The bad behavior also reflects a Congressional caucus lacking any measure of leadership control. Speaker Mike Johnson has no influence over these jamokes; he had to rely on overwhelming support from Democrats to keep the government limping along for just a couple of months.

Besides wanting for leadership, the Republican party also has no agenda beyond encouraging chaos. If you're busy trying to muster support for a bill that will help broad swaths of the American people, you're going to try to get along with people, and you're going to use verbal persuasion -- i.e., "reasoned discourse" -- rather than fistfights to obtain their backing. But these guys are sitting in high-profile jobs for no discernible reason or purpose, so their fallback is attack Democrats (and each other). Most importantly, these Republicans don't really believe in democracy; they think violence is a legitimate shortcut to maintaining or gaining power. The last time somebody thought public caning was a good idea, it led to the Civil War. So what now?

Ella Lee of the Hill: "Two Republicans on the House Intelligence Committee have recommended the Justice Department look at pursuing charges against former Trump attorney Michael Cohen for contradictory testimony he gave last month in former President Trump's fraud trial in New York. The criminal referral letter -- sent by House Intelligence Chair Mike Turner (R-Ohio) and committee member Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) -- accuses Cohen of committing perjury and having 'knowingly made false statements' before the congressional panel four years ago."

Grace Ashford & Nate Schweber of the New York Times: "A second person connected to the campaign of Representative George Santos of New York has pleaded guilty to federal charges, an ominous sign as the embattled congressman's own case moves closer to trial. Appearing before a federal judge in Central Islip, N.Y., on Tuesday, Samuel Miele pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud in connection with a fund-raising scheme in which he impersonated a House staffer for his and Mr. Santos's benefit.... Between November 2020 and January 2023, Mr. Miele used his position with the Santos campaign to charge donors' credit cards without their permission and to apply contributions to things they had not been intended for. Prosecutors have accused Mr. Santos, 35, of similar schemes.... [Mr. Miele's] lawyer declined to say whether his plea included an agreement with federal prosecutors to testify against Mr. Santos."

Ursula Perano of Politico: "Senate Democrats took a critical step towards ending Tommy Tuberville's eight-month-long blockade on military nominations. The Rules Committee on Tuesday advanced a resolution that would allow military nominations to be confirmed en masse -- an effort that would spoil Tuberville's hold on military promotions, which he's vowed to continue until the Pentagon reverses an abortion policy. There are more than 400 military officer nominations in the backlog, meaning individual votes on those promotions would take hundreds of hours. The resolution, led by Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), was passed out of committee by a 9-7 vote along party lines.... The measure requires 60 votes to pass.... Senate Republicans aren't eager to circumvent the power of an individual senator. They also don't want to side against anti-abortion advocates, even as the military community has grown increasingly hostile over the holds and criticized Tuberville for jeopardizing national security." ~~~

     ~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Tuesday voted against a Democratic resolution to circumvent Sen. Tommy Tuberville's (R-Ala.) hold on 370 stalled military promotions -- but he left open the possibility he might vote for it later this Congress.... McConnell still hopes a Republican leadership can work out a deal with Tuberville to avoid the need to pass a resolution to allow Democrats to move hundreds of military nominees in one package."

Holly Bailey & Amy Gardner of the Washington Post: "The Atlanta-area prosecutor leading the criminal racketeering case against ... Donald Trump and 14 allies ... asked the judge overseeing the case to immediately issue an 'emergency' protective order over discovery materials to prevent leaks of potential evidence. The request came a day after The Washington Post published details of recorded statements given to prosecutors by four Trump co-defendants who have accepted plea deals in the case. The recordings of interviews between prosecutors and pro-Trump attorneys Kenneth Chesebro, Jenna Ellis and Sidney Powell and Atlanta bail bondsman Scott Hall offered previously undisclosed details about the effort by Trump and his allies to reverse his defeat. Some of the details from the videos were first reported Monday by ABC News. Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) had previously requested a protective order over discovery materials in the case, which includes so-called 'proffer' videos featuring statements of those who have pleaded guilty in the case.

In a Wednesday filing, Willis renewed that request 'on an emergency basis' citing the leak of the recordings to the media. [She blames the defense:] 'The release of these confidential video recordings is clearly intended to intimidate witnesses in this case, subjecting them to harassment and threats prior to trial, constitutes indirect communication about the facts of this case with codefendants and witnesses, and obstructs the administration of justice, in violation of the conditions of release imposed on each defendant.' Prosecutors said they would no longer share 'confidential video recordings of proffers' to any defense attorneys involved in the case and said they must view those statements in person at the district attorney's office." (Also linked yesterday.)

Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "As an appellate fight swiftly approaches in Washington, D.C., weighing whether a narrow gag order imposed on Donald Trump in his election subversion case should remain in place, special counsel Jack Smith lobbed his opening volley Tuesday, urging the court to squarely reject the former president's 'scattershot' invocations of the First Amendment and enforce a gag order that will protect proceedings much like the lower courts have done in other high profile cases, including the indictment of Trump ally Roger Stone."

"Parchment Promise." Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The new Supreme Court ethics code released on Monday..., experts in legal ethics said..., lack[s] ... an enforcement mechanism[, which] means that it will operate on the honor system, with individual justices deciding for themselves whether their conduct complies with the code. That makes it a parchment promise, some experts said, without transparent procedures for assessing whether it has been violated or consequences when it has. 'The primary problem is how to give these rules teeth, especially in light of the fact that there have been repeated violations of these very rules,' said Amanda Frost, a law professor at the University of Virginia. Among those violations, she said, citing news reports, were participation in fund-raising events and the failure to disclose gifts by Justice Clarence Thomas and the use of Supreme Court staff members to help sell books by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. At the heart of much of the debate over the new ethics code is which conflicts require recusal and whether justices should decide those questions for themselves. Justice Thomas, for instance, took part in cases on the 2020 election and its aftermath, even though Virginia Thomas, his wife, had participated in efforts to overturn the results.”

Presidential Race 2024

Michigan. Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "A state judge in Michigan partly rejected an effort to disqualify ... Donald J. Trump from running for president in the state, ruling that Mr. Trump will remain on the ballot in the Republican primary, and that the state's top elections official does not have the authority alone to exclude him from the ballot. But the judge appeared to leave the door open for a future battle over Mr. Trump's eligibility as a candidate in the general election, saying that the issue 'is not ripe for adjudication at this time.'" CNN's report is here.

Mike Then. Annie Karni & Steve Eder of the New York Times: "Years before he played a lead role in trying to help ... Donald J. Trump stay in office after the 2020 election or defended him in two separate Senate impeachment trials, Speaker Mike Johnson bluntly asserted that Mr. Trump was unfit to serve and could be a danger as president. 'The thing about Donald Trump is that he lacks the character and the moral center we desperately need again in the White House,' Mr. Johnson wrote in a lengthy post on Facebook on Aug. 7, 2015, before he was elected to Congress and a day after the first Republican primary debate of the campaign cycle. Challenged in the comments by someone defending Mr. Trump, Mr. Johnson responded: 'I am afraid he would break more things than he fixes. He is a hot head by nature, and that is a dangerous trait to have in a Commander in Chief.' Mr. Johnson, then a state lawmaker in Louisiana, also questioned what would happen if 'he decided to bomb another head of state merely disrespecting him.'" ~~~

~~~ Mike Now. Kevin Brueninger of CNBC: "House Speaker Mike Johnson on Tuesday endorsed Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, while defending the former president's efforts to reverse his 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden. 'I'm all in for President Trump,' Johnson said on CNBC's 'Squawk Box.' 'I expect he'll be our nominee, and we have to make Biden a one-term president.' Johnson suggested he had already thrown his weight behind Trump, saying, 'I have endorsed him wholeheartedly.' But it was unclear when the Louisiana Republican had previously given Trump his official backing."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Over the past few weeks, we've gotten a pretty good idea of what Donald Trump would do if given a second chance in the White House. And it is neither exaggeration nor hyperbole to say that it looks an awful lot like a set of plans meant to give the former president the power and unchecked authority of a strongman.... In addition to Trump's words, which we should treat as a reliable guide to his actions, desires and preoccupations, we have his allies, who are as open in their contempt for democracy as Trump is.... Donald Trump is telling us, loud and clear, that he wants to end American democracy as we know it." (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of "Journalism." Bajo Nueva Dirección. Michael Scherer & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: With a change in ownership, Spanish-language TV network Univision has gone all-in for Donald Trump. "The reversal has shocked Democrats -- who are preparing a massive ad campaign to brand Trump as hostile to Latino interests -- and some journalists inside Univision, who think that the past week has demonstrated the heavy hand of their new corporate bosses. The Mexican media company Grupo Televisa, which has long fostered a close relationship with Mexican political leaders, merged with Univision in 2021." The new management cancelled Biden spots, scheduled to run during Trump's infamous interview, then cancelled a booking for the Biden campaign's media director to respond to the interview." Thanks to RAS for the link.

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine

Maria Abi-Habib, et al., of the New York Times: "More than 400 political appointees and staff members representing some 40 government agencies sent a letter to President Biden on Tuesday protesting his support of Israel in its war in Gaza. The letter, part of growing internal dissent over the administration's support of the war, calls on the president to seek an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip and to push Israel to allow humanitarian aid into the territory. It is the latest of several protest letters from officials throughout the Biden administration, including three internal memos to Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken signed by dozens of State Department employees as well as an open letter signed by more than 1,000 employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development. The signatories of the letter submitted on Tuesday and the one circulating among USAID employees are anonymous, the USAID letter explains, out of 'concern for our personal safety and risk o potentially losing our jobs.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Lauren Sforza & Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Thousands of demonstrators descended onto the National Mall in the nation's capital on Tuesday to express their support for Israel amid its war on Hamas, and to condemn antisemitism that has spiked amid the conflict.... Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) were among the featured speakers."