The Conversation -- November 14, 2023
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 a story linked earlier. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Yes, yes, this is all nuts. But, otherwise, all is going very smoothly with the Congress ~~~
~~~ 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.'" ~~~
~~~ 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." ~~~
~~~ 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." ~~~
~~~ 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. ~~~
~~~ 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." ~~~
Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) and Teamsters General President Sean O'Brien challenged each other to a physical fight during the Senate HELP Committee with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) having to step in.
— The Hill (@thehill) November 14, 2023
Sanders repeatedly attempted to break them up: “You’re a United States… pic.twitter.com/2OFC3eDTZr
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 of potentially losing our jobs.'"
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."
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."
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Michael Balsamo of the AP: "Secret Service agents protecting President Joe Biden's granddaughter opened fire after three people tried to break into an unmarked Secret Service vehicle in the nation's capital, a law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The agents, assigned to protect Naomi Biden, were out with her in the Georgetown neighborhood late Sunday night when they saw the three people breaking a window of the parked and unoccupied SUV, the official said.... One of the agents opened fire, but no one was struck by the gunfire, the Secret Service said in a statement. The three people were seen fleeing in a red car, and the Secret Service said it put out a regional bulletin to Metropolitan Police to be on the lookout for it." MB: Wait a minute. There was more than one agent on the scene and the best description they could come up with was "red car"? You might think one of them would consider getting the plate number. Anyhow, BOLO for a red car. Ooh, one just passed my front yard. Should I call it in? (Also linked yesterday.)
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "A small band of Republicans joined with all House Democrats on Monday to block a snap vote to impeach Alejandro Mayorkas, the homeland security secretary, turning back an attempt to oust him before a G.O.P.-led committee has completed its investigation into his agency's handling of the southwest border. The impeachment vote was forced by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a hard-right Republican from Georgia. But it was shot down by a vote of 209 to 201. Eight Republicans, including veteran lawmakers who want to see an impeachment investigation follow traditional steps, voted with Democrats to block the vote and send the matter to the Homeland Security Committee.... The House Homeland Security Committee, led by Representative Mark E. Green, Republican of Tennessee, has been investigating Mr. Mayorkas and his agency for months." The ABC News story is here.
Another Trumpity Doo-Dah Day
Amy Gardner & Holly Bailey of the Washington Post: "A former attorney for Donald Trump has told Georgia prosecutors that a top presidential aide said to her in December 2020 that 'the boss' did not plan to leave the White House 'under any circumstances,' according to a video recording obtained by The Washington Post. Jenna Ellis, a onetime Trump lawyer who pleaded guilty to lesser charges in exchange for her testimony in the Fulton County, Ga., case, told prosecutors in the video that Dan Scavino, Trump's deputy chief of staff at the time, was unfazed by her view that the president was running out of options to challenge Joe Biden's victory. 'And he said to me, you know, in a kind of excited tone, "Well, we don't care, and we're not going to leave,"' Ellis said in the video....
"Although some of the recordings were garbled, the portions of the four statements that The Post was able to review -- from Ellis, lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell, and Georgia bail bondsman Scott Hall -- offered many previously undisclosed details about the effort by Trump and his allies to reverse his defeat. Chesebro disclosed in his recorded statement that at a previously unreported White House meeting, he briefed Trump on election challenges in Arizona and summarized a memo in which he offered advice on assembling alternate slates of electors in key battlegrounds to cast ballots for Trump despite Biden's victories in those states.... Asked why [Trump leaned on her -- instead of White House lawyers -- for legal advice], Powell replied, 'Because we were the only ones willing to support his effort to sustain the White House. I mean, everybody else was telling him to pack up and go.'... The audible portions of the Fulton recordings reviewed by The Post do not appear to directly implicate Trump." The ABC News story is here. ~~~
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors on Monday accused ... Donald J. Trump of trying to turn his trial on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election into 'a media event' with a 'carnival atmosphere' by backing calls to have it broadcast live on television. Even though federal rules of criminal procedure forbid televising trials, Mr. Trump's lawyers last week asked Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who is overseeing the election subversion case, to agree to requests from news organizations to broadcast the proceedings. Mr. Trump's filing was short on legal arguments and relied instead on several dubious claims that he was being treated unfairly in the case and that only the transparency of a televised trial could cure the purported wrongs he had suffered.... Mr. Trump's lawyers initially told the government that they did not intend to take a position, one way or the other, on whether the federal proceeding should be broadcast, but they changed their minds, submitting one of their most aggressive filings yet on Friday." ~~~
~~~ Newsflash: Whether or not the judge allows cameras in the courtroom, Trump will turn the trial into "a media event with a carnival atmosphere." And he will use breaks in the trial & other means to mischaracterize testimony.
Junior's "Evidence" Is an Infomercial. Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: :In a return appearance at a trial that has featured a parade of Trumps on the stand..., [Donald Trump, Jr.,] testified in bursts of hyperbole and platitudes. His rhetoric sounded as though it had been ripped from the pages of an airline magazine or a travel brochure, and he saved the highest praise for the man who he said made it all happen: his father, a 'visionary' who is 'an artist with real estate' and 'creates things that other people would never envision.'... Trump Tower, Donald Trump Jr. declared on the witness stand Monday, is admired as 'genius.' Mar-a-Lago is 'one of the few American castles.' And 40 Wall Street, the family's towering office building across from the New York Stock Exchange, has vaults that are 'a mechanical work of art.'... Yet some of his high-flying claims clashed with present-day reality. In recent years, the Trump Organization has shrunk, as the family name was scrubbed from some of the properties he extolled...." ~~~
~~~ Marie: For details of Junior's testimony, see yesterday's New York Times liveblog of the court's proceedings. Near the top of yesterday's Conversation, I copied a number of the entries in the liveblog. The funniest is where Junior described the Trump Org as a meritocracy, immediately after which Bromwich noted, "He and his two siblings all eventually became executive vice presidents." I'll just surmise that Bromwich doesn't think the kids got their executive jobs because of merit.
About That "Visionary" Businessman. Olafimihan Oshin of the Hill: "Former President Trump's social media platform, Truth Social, has lost $73 million in net sales since the platform's official launch in February 2022, according to a new financial disclosure filing from Digital World Acquisition Corp. (DWAC). Digital World is a merger partner with Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG). Trump owns a stake in Truth Social that was last valued at between $5 million and $25 million."
Tim Arango & Holly Secon of the New York Times: "In a San Francisco courtroom, [Paul] Pelosi, the husband of Representative Nancy Pelosi, spoke for the first time publicly about the brutal attack last year that left him hospitalized for days with a cracked skull. The testimony came during the federal trial of David DePape, who has been accused of bludgeoning Mr. Pelosi as he sought out Ms. Pelosi, who was the speaker of the House and in Washington at the time. Mr. DePape told the police last year that he was on a mission to capture Ms. Pelosi, interrogate her and possibly 'break her kneecaps.' He also said that he viewed Ms. Pelosi as a leader of a cabal of liberal elites bent on taking away people's freedoms, echoing the language that right-wing pundits and elected officials have for years used to describe her." Paul Pelosi is still suffering multiple effects of the beating.
Abbie VanSickle & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it had issued an ethics code [link fixed] for the justices after a series of revelations about undisclosed property deals and gifts intensified pressure on the court to adopt one. In a statement by the court, the justices said they had adopted the code of conduct 'to set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the members of the court.'... Left unclear was how the code will be enforced." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ So here's the ethics code, via the Court. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Times story has been amended to put that bit about the lack-of-enforcement in the second paragraph; it was originally in Graf 5 or 6. The AP managed to get the lack-of-enforcement in the lede: ~~~
~~~ Mark Sherman of the AP: "The Supreme Court on Monday adopted its first code of ethics, in the face of sustained criticism over undisclosed trips and gifts from wealthy benefactors to some justices, but the code lacks a means of enforcement. The policy, agreed to by all nine justices, does not appear to impose any significant new requirements and leaves compliance entirely to each justice.... 'The absence of a Code, however, has led in recent years to the misunderstanding that the Justices of this Court, unlike all other jurists in this country, regard themselves as unrestricted by any ethics rules,' the justices wrote in an unsigned statement that accompanied the code. 'To dispel this misunderstanding, we are issuing this Code, which largely represents a codification of principles that we have long regarded as governing our conduct.'...
"'This is a long-overdue step by the justices, but a code of ethics is not binding unless there is a mechanism to investigate possible violations and enforce the rules. The honor system has not worked for members of the Roberts Court," [Sen. Sheldon] Whitehouse [D-R.I.] said. A court ethics code proposed by Whitehouse that cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee without any Republican support would allow for complaints and investigation by lower-court judges." MB: I like that part where the justices blame the public for "misunderstanding" what high ethical standards they've held all along. Yeah, okay, all our fault and I'm so ashamed I'm to thick to "understand" why Clarence & Ginni got all those all-expenses-paid luxury vacations and a humungous RV and Clarence didn't have to report any of it or recuse himself from cases his benefactors had before the Court or in which Ginni had an interest. In today's Comments, Ken W. suggests,
Presidential Race 2024. Michael Gold of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump’s campaign rejected criticism that he was echoing the language of fascist dictators with his vow to root out his political opponents like 'vermin,' then doubled down: [campaign spokesman Steven Cheung] said on Monday that the 'sad, miserable existence' of those who made such comparisons would be 'crushed' with Mr. Trump back in the White House.... An earlier version of Mr. Cheung's statement, in which he said the 'entire existence' of those critics would be crushed, was reported by The Washington Post on Sunday.... Ammar Moussa, a spokesman for President Biden's re-election campaign, said in a statement that Mr. Trump at his Veterans Day speech had 'parroted the autocratic language' of 'dictators many U.S. veterans gave their lives fighting, in order to defeat exactly the kind of un-American ideas Trump now champions.' Though violent language was a feature of Mr. Trump's last two campaigns, his speeches have grown more extreme as he tries to win a second term." ~~~
~~~ Rachel Maddow pointed out Monday night that Trump uses this language not only to intimidate potential "enemies" but also to excite his base, to inspire them to the possibilities of using cathartic violence against his enemies.
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post compares Trump's language to Hitler's. With context.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Dan Froomkin of Press Watch: "The New York Times put a light-hearted headline on a news article about Trump's Veterans Day address in New Hampshire, in which he vowed to 'root out' what he called 'the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.' 'Trump Takes Veterans Day Speech in a Very Different Direction' was the initial headline over the story by Michael Gold.... A social-media furor quickly erupted.... Meanwhile, the Washington Post made no mention of the speech at all. Until Sunday night, that is. That's when the Post published a Marianne LeVine story under the blistering but appropriate headline: 'Trump calls political enemies "vermin," echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini'. Would the Post have written the story that way (or at all) were it not for the outcry about the Times's profound cowardice? Probably not, I'd wager.... Should the Post have put it on the front page, instead of the bottom of A2? Definitely. But let's celebrate the moment nonetheless. I sensed a tonal switch, which I hope and pray will be permanent, from covering Trump as a plausible future president to covering him as a dangerous demagogue."
Sam Roberts & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Maryanne Trump Barry, a former federal judge who was an older sister of Donald J. Trump and served as both his protector and critic throughout their lives, has died. She was 86. She died at her home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, according to three people familiar with the matter. Two of them said the police were called to the home early Monday morning.... Judge Barry had been on the federal bench in New Jersey, a position that Mr. Trump's fixer, the lawyer Roy M. Cohn, was credited with helping her attain during President Ronald Reagan's tenure in the 1980s. She retired in 2019 after she became the focus of a court investigation stemming from an investigation by The New York Times into the Trump family's tax practices." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Virginia Elections. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Representative Abigail Spanberger, a prominent Virginia Democrat who was repeatedly able to win in a conservative-leaning district, announced on Monday that she would run for governor in 2025, leaving open a competitive seat that could be crucial to her party's efforts to win back control of the House next year. Ms. Spanberger, 44, is seen as among the strongest Democratic contenders to succeed Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican who is term-limited. Her decision not to seek re-election to Congress leaves House Democrats scrambling to hold a seat that is regularly in play for both parties." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Arizona Congressional Race. Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "Jacob Chansley, who rose to notoriety as the 'QAnon Shaman' following the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol riot, plans to run for Congress as a Libertarian candidate in the 2024 general election.... Chansley was sentenced in November 2021 to 41 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding in relation to the Capitol attack. His lawyers said during court proceedings that he had disavowed both QAnon conspiracy theories and former President Trump. Chansley was released to a Phoenix halfway house last March.... The U.S. Constitution does not bar convicted felons from holding federal office." (Also linked yesterday.)
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Israel/Palestine
The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "President Biden said that Gaza's hospitals 'must be protected,' as the enclave's two largest hospitals -- al-Shifa and al-Quds -- remain surrounded by fierce fighting. Only one northern Gaza hospital is able to take new patients, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. Civilian buildings appear to be increasingly at the center of Israel's military operation; Israel claims that Hamas fighters are operating out of facilities designated for humanitarian purposes, while doctors, first responders and the few aid workers still left in the area deny giving cover to militants.... Human Rights Watch, a New York-based rights group, said in a report that medical facility attacks in Gaza should be 'investigated as war crimes,' accusing Israel of 'unlawful attacks on hospitals, ambulances, and other civilian objects.'" ~~~
~~~ The New York Times' live updates are here.
David Ignatius of the Washington Post: "Israel and Hamas are close to a hostage deal that would free most of the Israeli women and children who were kidnapped Oct. 7, according to a high-ranking Israeli official. The agreement could be announced within days if final details are resolved, he said. 'The general outline of the deal is understood,' the Israeli official explained in an interview Monday, requesting anonymity to discuss the sensitive subject. The tentative agreement calls for Israeli women and children to be released in groups, simultaneously with Palestinian women and young people held in Israeli prisons."
Shira Rubin, et al., of the Washington Post: "The standoff between Israeli troops and the Hamas militants who Israel maintains are taking cover in buildings designated for humanitarian purposes deepened Monday, as the death toll soared and the most vulnerable Gazans continued to get caught in the crossfire. These kinds of buildings, including hospitals, schools, mosques and those belonging to aid groups or international organizations, have been increasingly in the crossfire during Israel's ground invasion of Gaza, focusing on Hamas infrastructure in the northern part of the Gaza Strip. In the past three days, at least 32 people, including three children from the intensive care unit, have died in al-Shifa, Gaza's largest hospital, which is surrounded by Israeli troops, Medhat Abbas, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, said Monday." (Also linked yesterday.)
News Lede
CNBC: "Inflation was flat in October from the previous month providing a hopeful sign that stubbornly high prices are easing their grip on the U.S. economy and giving a potential green light to the Federal Reserve to stop raising interest rates. The consumer price index, which measures a broad basket of commonly used goods and services, increased 3.2% from a year ago despite being unchanged for the month, according to seasonally adjusted numbers from the Labor Department on Tuesday."
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