The Conversation -- August 18, 2023

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden welcomed his counterparts from Japan and South Korea to Camp David on Friday morning as he seeks to cement a newly fortified three-way alliance, bridging generations of friction between the two Asian powers to forge mutual security arrangements in the face of an increasingly assertive China. Mr. Biden greeted Prime Minister Fumio Kishida of Japan and President Yoon Suk Yeol of South Korea at the presidential retreat in Maryland, the first time he has invited foreign leaders there and the first time the leaders of the three countries will have met in a stand-alone session rather than on the sidelines of larger international gatherings.... Biden administration officials said the leaders would sign off on a formal 'commitment to consult,' an understanding that the three nations would treat any security threat to one of them as a threat to all, requiring mutual discussion about how to respond. The pledge would not go as far as the NATO treaty's Article 5, which obligates allies to 'take action' in the event of an attack on any member, but it would reinforce the expectation that the three would act in tandem."

** The Architect, There at the Insurrection. Andrew Kaczynski, et al., of CNN: "When conspiracy theorist Alex Jones marched his way to the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, riling up his legion of supporters, an unassuming middle-aged man in a red 'Trump 2020' hat conspicuously tagged along.... The man dutifully recording Jones with his phone as the bombastic media personality ascended to the restricted area of the Capitol grounds where mobs of ... Donald Trump's supporters eventually broke in... The man ... is attorney Kenneth Chesebro, the alleged architect of the scheme to subvert the 2020 Electoral College process by using fake GOP electors in multiple states. When asked by the House select committee where he was the first week of January 2021 and on January 6, Chesebro invoked his Fifth Amendment rights. But a CNN investigation has placed him outside of the Capitol at the same time as his alleged plot to keep Trump in office unraveled inside it. There is no indication Chesebro entered the Capitol Building or was violent. Jones did not enter the Capitol on January 6, 2021, or engage in violence, but he had warned of a coming battle the day before and urged his supporters to converge on the Capitol." The New York Times story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Strange Career of a Latter-Day Revolutionary. Ken Chesebro went from a long post-doctoral gig as liberal Harvard Law Prof. Lawrence Tribe's aide to hanging out at the insurrection with crazed right-wing provocateur & conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. According to this report by Isaac Stanley-Becker of the Washington Post, what seems to have flipped Chesebro's politics was making several million dollars in a cryptocurrency investment. MB: Now, Ken may go from crypto king to inmate in the Fulton County Jail.

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "It is not hard to find commentators asking a simple question about the events of the past few years:... How did 'America's mayor' -- the man who rocketed to national fame after the Sept. 11 attacks -- come to disgrace and debase himself in defense of Donald Trump?... But ... the line from 'America's mayor' to indicted co-conspirator is a straight one.... He is the same man he's always been.... If we think of Giuliani as the scowling demagogue who stoked the flames of chauvinism and racial hatred against New York's first Black mayor [David Dinkins] for his own gain, then there's little other than his carefully crafted image in the press that separates the Giuliani of '92 from the Giuliani of '23.... It is easy to see that [Giuliani & Trump] are of a type. They share the same demagogic instincts, the same boundless resentment, the same authoritarian manner -- it is not for nothing that Giuliani reportedly tried to get the 2001 mayoral election canceled so that he could stay in office beyond the limit on his term -- and the same willingness to indulge in racism and use it for their own political purposes." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I have long associated Giuliani with the racist police attack on Dinkins. But recently, when I looked for contemporaneous stories about the incident, I didn't find anything that mentioned Giuliani, so I thought I must have been mistaken. I was not. Bouie spells it out. The stories I read also hedged on the racism expressed during the police protest with language like, "reported to have used the N word." I lived in Manhattan then, and I saw the video on a local TV channel and the audio was replete with cops using the racial slur. It confused me for a moment because I had forgotten that Dinkins was Black. He never made his race a feature of his mayoralty and there was no reason for anyone else too, either.

On the Lam. Daniel Barnes & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Christopher Worrell, a Florida Proud Boy convicted on seven counts stemming from his actions during the Jan. 6 riot, was scheduled to be sentenced today in Washington, D.C, federal court but is now missing, according to a spokeswoman from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia.... Worrell had been initially detained pre-trial following his arrest in March 2021. However, [Judge Royce] Lamberth ordered Worrell released to home detention in November 2021 after finding that DC jail officials had failed to provide Worrell with adequate treatment for his non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and a broken hand that may have required surgery. As part of his conditions of release, Worrell surrendered his passport and was subject to GPS monitoring."

Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "James L. Buckley, a conservative recruit from Connecticut who invaded the New York strongholds of Democrats and liberal Republicans in 1970 and against the odds won a United States Senate seat on the Conservative Party line, died early Friday in Washington. He was 100."

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Trump Family Crime Blotter

Seems Reasonable. Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Donald Trump says he'll be ready to go on trial on federal charges over his bid to subvert the last election ... in April 2026. Citing extraordinary amounts of evidence -- including a tranche of 11.5 million pages that prosecutors handed over earlier this month -- Trump lawyers John Lauro and Todd Blanche said in court papers filed Thursday that a 2.5-year delay before picking a jury would properly factor in the complexity of the case. The proposal stands in almost absurd contrast to prosecutors' call for a trial to begin on Jan. 2, 2024, a highly ambitious timeline.... [In their own filing last week, prosecutors] noted that Trump [has had access to and] is privy to large swaths of evidence arrayed against him as a result of the House Jan. 6 select committee's hearings and trove of public documents. And he also has access to millions of pages of records that overlap with the materials the government is producing to him -- such as documents from his White House, his campaign and his PAC." The New York Times story is here.

Katherine Faulders & Jonathan Karl of ABC News: "... Donald Trump's promised press conference to refute the allegations in the indictment handed up by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office is now very much in doubt.... Sources tell ABC News that Trump's legal advisers have told him that holding such a press conference with dubious claims of voter fraud will only complicate his legal problems and some of his attorneys have advised him to cancel it." MB: Darn, because I thought telling more of the same lies that led to federal and state indictments was a brilliant idea. Trump should fire his lawyers for taking away his First Amendment rights. And election interference! And whatever! (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Soo Rin Kim & Lalee Ibssa of ABC News: "... Donald Trump says his press conference previously scheduled for Monday regarding Georgia's 2020 election results ... was canceled because his lawyers would prefer putting his allegations 'in formal Legal Filings.... Therefore, the News Conference is no longer necessary!' he wrote [on his social media platform]. MB: So even his reason for cancelling a presser is a lie: his lawyers are not planning to put his false charges in legal filings; they're trying to bury Trump's lies so nobody ever see them again.

Spirit Animals Are Attacking Jeff Clark. Josephine Harvey of the Huffington Post: "Jeffrey Clark, a former top Justice Department official under Donald Trump, is posting online about supernatural beings in the wake of his racketeering indictment in Georgia.... 'Today witches, spiritists, mediums, those with spirit animals, and Ukrainian NPCs resumed their attacks on me,' Clark wrote on X-...Twitter, on Wednesday." MB: Do you suppose Clark is working up an insanity defense? (Also linked yesterday.)

Anna Betts, et al., of the New York Times: "The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said Thursday that it was investigating online threats against the grand jurors who voted this week to indict ... Donald J. Trump and 18 others, accusing them of conspiring to overturn Georgia's 2020 election results. The jurors' names are listed early in the sprawling 98-page indictment, as required in Georgia, making the state an outlier among federal and state court systems. [Facebook took down a post that purported to reveal personal info about some of the grand jurors.] On Truth Social, the social media platform founded by Mr. Trump -- who has himself lashed out at prosecutors, judges and private citizens who have sued him -- many users reposted the names. In one response to a list of several jurors, a user urged others to make them 'infamous' and to 'make sure they can't walk down the street.'"

Jesus Jiménez of the New York Times: "A woman was sentenced on Thursday to more than 21 years in prison for mailing letters containing the lethal substance ricin to ... Donald J. Trump and eight Texas law enforcement officials in 2020, the Justice Department said. The woman, Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 55, of Quebec was sentenced in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. After she completes her prison term, she will be on supervised release for the rest of her life, the Justice Department said in a statement." CNN's report is here.

There's excellent commentary in yesterday's thread on a Fifth Circuit decision to limit access to the abortion drug mifepristone. Commentary centers of Judge James Ho's notion that a central purpose of procreation is to satisfy doctors' right to look at pictures of fetuses and babies. ~~~

Love to hear it explained yet again that men’s emotions matter more than women’s safety and dignity. https://t.co/6aSTvegEsf

— Moira Donegan (@MoiraDonegan) August 16, 2023

     ~~~ Adorable ultrasound photos & baby pictures aside, you may best recall Judge Ho from this photo of his swearing-in in Harlan Crow's palatial library. The swearer-inner? "Justice" Clarence Thomas, who flew down to Dallas for the occasion in Crow's private jet.

Presidential Race 2024

Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Ron DeSantis needs 'to take a sledgehammer' to Vivek Ramaswamy, the political newcomer who is rising in the polls. He should 'defend Donald Trump' when Chris Christie inevitably attacks the former president. And he needs to 'attack Joe Biden and the media' no less than three to five times. A firm associated with the super PAC that has effectively taken over Mr. DeSantis's presidential campaign posted online hundreds of pages of blunt advice, research memos and internal polling in early nominating states to guide the Florida governor ahead of the high-stakes Republican presidential debate next Wednesday in Milwaukee.... Super PACs are barred by law from strategizing in private with political campaigns. To avoid running afoul of those rules, it is not unusual for the outside groups to post polling documents in the open, albeit in an obscure corner of the internet where insiders know to look.... But it is unusual, as appears to be the case, for a super PAC, or a consulting firm working for it, to post documents on its own website...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Religious Freedom for Me but Not for Thee. Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: An opposition research memo about the Republican presidential hopeful Vivek Ramaswamy that was written by the super PAC supporting Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida invokes the entrepreneur's Hindu faith and family visits to India. The document's first paragraph, addressing Mr. Ramaswamy's past support for inheritance taxes, draws a link between that policy position and his Hindu upbringing as the son of Indian immigrants. 'Ramaswamy -- a Hindu who grew up visiting relatives in India and was very much ingrained in India's caste system -- supports this as a mechanism to preserve a meritocracy in America and ensure everyone starts on a level playing field,' the document states. Mr. Ramaswamy is the only candidate joining Mr. DeSantis on the debate stage whose national or religious backgrounds were mentioned in any of the documents posted on the Axiom Strategies website." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The underlying irony of this criticism is that DeSantis' backers seem to present as a bad thing a religion-based policy position -- ensuring a level playing field -- that is a democratic ideal. Uh, unless you're a Republican. So bigotry AND anti-democratic values.

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Arkansas. Dana Goldstein of the New York Times: "The Little Rock School District in Arkansas said on Wednesday that it would continue to offer Advanced Placement African American studies, over the objections of the administration of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a Republican who has limited instruction on race. The decision comes after the State Department of Education announced on Monday that the course's content might violate a new law banning 'indoctrination' in schools.... 'A.P. African American Studies will allow students to explore the complexities, contributions and narratives that have shaped the African American experience throughout history, including Central High School's integral connection,' the district said.... In 1957, a group of nine Black teenagers, escorted by the U.S. National Guard, integrated Little Rock Central High School as white protesters spit and jeered."

The Conversation -- August 17, 2023

Spirit Animals Are Attacking Jeff Clark. Josephine Harvey of the Huffington Post: "Jeffrey Clark, a former top Justice Department official under Donald Trump, is posting online about supernatural beings in the wake of his racketeering indictment in Georgia.... 'Today witches, spiritists, mediums, those with spirit animals, and Ukrainian NPCs resumed their attacks on me,' Clark wrote on X-...Twitter, on Wednesday." MB: Do you suppose Clark is working up an insanity defense?

Katherine Faulders & Jonathan Karl of ABC News: "... Donald Trump's promised press conference to refute the allegations in the indictment handed up by the Fulton County District Attorney's Office is now very much in doubt.... Trump's legal advisers have told him that holding such a press conference with dubious claims of voter fraud will only complicate his legal problems and some of his attorneys have advised him to cancel it." MB: Darn, because I thought telling more of the same lies that led to federal and state indictments was a brilliant idea. Trump should fire his lawyers for taking away his First Amendment rights. And election interference! And whatever!

Presidential Race 2024. Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Ron DeSantis needs 'to take a sledgehammer' to Vivek Ramaswamy, the political newcomer who is rising in the polls. He should 'defend Donald Trump' when Chris Christie inevitably attacks the former president. And he needs to 'attack Joe Biden and the media' no less than three to five times. A firm associated with the super PAC that has effectively taken over Mr. DeSantis's presidential campaign posted online hundreds of pages of blunt advice, research memos and internal polling in early nominating states to guide the Florida governor ahead of the high-stakes Republican presidential debate next Wednesday in Milwaukee.... Super PACs are barred by law from strategizing in private with political campaigns. To avoid running afoul of those rules, it is not unusual for the outside groups to post polling documents in the open, albeit in an obscure corner of the internet where insiders know to look.... But it is unusual, as appears to be the case, for a super PAC, or a consulting firm working for it, to post documents on its own website...."

~~~~~~~~~~

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Biden staged a day of celebration on Wednesday to herald the reduction in inflation and the Inflation Reduction Act even though experts believe one had little to do with the other. Mr. Biden hosted a boisterous ceremony in the East Room of the White House while allies and aides conducted briefings, gave speeches, published newspaper articles, sent emails, went on television and distributed talking points to mark the first anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the major climate and energy law that is one of the signature accomplishments of his presidency. The fact that the anniversary came at the same time as a significant decrease in the inflation rate was more happy coincidence than anything else, say economists, who attribute it more to the Federal Reserve's interest rate increases and other factors. The legislation did plenty of important things in terms of investing in clean energy, raising corporate taxes and curbing prescription drug prices. But it was not really about inflation. As even Mr. Biden implicitly conceded last week, the name of the bill was more about political branding than policy goals."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, said Wednesday that he and Speaker Kevin McCarthy had agreed that a bill to temporarily fund the government is necessary in order to stave off the possibility of an impending government shutdown on Oct. 1 and keep the government funded through early December. But his comments were also an acknowledgment that Congress remains far from reaching any agreement on spending levels that would keep the government running on a longer-term basis. 'Speaker McCarthy and I met a few weeks back, and we agreed we should do what's called a C.R. -- in other words, a congressional resolution where you just extend the existing funding for a few months so we could work this out,' Mr. Schumer said on MSNBC's 'Morning Joe.'"

Trump Crime Blotter

Olivia Rubin of ABC News: "Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has proposed a March start date for the trial of ... Donald Trump and 18 others on charges related to efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia. The proposed pretrial scheduling order, filed on Wednesday, proposes a start date of March 4. The date is one day before Super Tuesday in the 2024 presidential race...."

This Is Irritating. Danny Hakim & Richard Fausset of the New York Times: According to the local sheriff, defendants in the case will be processed in the Fulton County Jail where "they would undergo a medical screening, be fingerprinted and have mug shots taken, and could spend time in a holding cell at the jail, weeks after the Justice Department announced an investigation for what it called 'serious allegations of unsafe, unsanitary living conditions' there.... But whether Mr. Trump himself is processed there will very likely depend on the Secret Service.... The Rice Street jail is not a place for the faint of heart, said Robert G. Rubin, a veteran defense lawyer.... In recent weeks, two inmates have been found dead at the jail. Last year, a detainee was found dead in his cell, his body covered in bites from bed bugs and other insects, according to his lawyer.... 'It's miserable. It's cold. It smells. It's just generally unpleasant,' he said, relying on his clients' past descriptions." Emphasis added. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie BTW: Yesterday, when it seemed Trump would be booked at the jail, I suggested there was a C&W song asking to be written about it, and contributor Patrick came up with some great lyrics (see Comments thread). We aren't the first to find the Fulton County jail a source of artistic inspiration. According to the Times report, "At least two songs on Spotify are titled '901 Rice Street,' the jail's address. The popular rapper Latto has a song whose title refers to Rice Street with an expletive. And a line from a Killer Mike rap goes, 'Locked in like Rice Street without a bond.'"

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump's defenses against his four indictments are, characteristically, absolutist. The phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), which undergirds Trump's newest indictment, was a 'perfect phone call.' The 91 criminal charges against Trump aren't just overzealous but born of meritless 'witch hunts.' Bristling at a question about a hypothetical plea deal in Georgia, Trump said, 'We did nothing wrong.'... Increasingly, few Americans actually believe Trump did 'nothing' wrong, according to new polling. And while Republicans overwhelmingly say they don't think Trump broke the law, most -- even a very strong majority -- fault him in some measure."

Trump Revises a Toxic Racist Slur to Attack Georgia Grand Jurors. Blayne Alexander & Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "The purported names and addresses of members of the grand jury that indicted Donald Trump and 18 of his co-defendants on state racketeering charges this week have been posted on a fringe website that often features violent rhetoric, NBC News has learned. NBC News is choosing not to name the website featuring the addresses to avoid further spreading the information.... The indictment issued Monday lists the names of the grand jury members but not their addresses or other personal information. Tuesday -- after Trump posted on his social media website that authorities were going 'after those that fought to find the RIGGERS!' -- Advance Democracy said Trump supporters were 'using the term "rigger" in lieu of a racial slur' in posts.... 'These jurors have signed their death warrant by falsely indicting President Trump,' a post on a pro-Trump forum read in response to a post including the names of jurors, which was viewed by NBC News."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A Texas woman has been charged with threatening to kill Tanya S. Chutkan, the federal judge in Washington who is overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's prosecution on charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 election. The woman, Abigail Jo Shry, of Alvin, Texas, called Judge Chutkan's chambers on Aug. 5, two days after Mr. Trump was arraigned on the election interference charges, and left a voice mail message attacking the judge, who is Black, with a racial slur, according to a criminal complaint unsealed on Friday. In the message, Ms. Shry told Judge Chutkan, 'If Trump doesn't get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you, so tread lightly, bitch,' according to the complaint. She added, 'You will be targeted personally, publicly, your family, all of it.'" The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If like me, you keep wondering what possible appeal a whiney, selfish, entitled, elderly fat man could have, Mizz Shry answers that question. Most likely, she is not a crazy person. She is the Kracken, and Donald Trump has released her. He has given her permission to degrade, threaten and even kill authority figures who irritate her. Trump has transferred power from those charged with enforcing the rule of law & normal "fairness" to individual Americans who have long felt that "fairness" means that they have the freedom and individual right to harm anyone who displeases them. Trump thought he had "an Article II where I have the right to do whatever I want," and every surly, ragtag Trumpbot believes Trump has transferred that same right to them.

Gideon Rubin of the Raw Story: "Longtime GOP operative and Donald Trump ally Roger Stone is shown hatching plans to overturn the 2020 election before the results were even known in a video obtained by MSNBC host Ari Melber. The video, which the cable network released publicly on Wednesday..., shows Stone ... dictating the plans to an associate on Nov. 5, 2020, two days after Election Day. The statement outlines plans to compel state legislatures to overturn close races by claiming election fraud." Includes video.

Kaitlan Collins & Paula Reid of CNN: "With his attorney in tow, Rudy Giuliani traveled to Mar-a-Lago in [late April] on a mission to make a personal and desperate appeal to ... Donald Trump to pay his legal bills. By going in person, a source familiar with the matter told CNN, Giuliani and his lawyer Robert Costello believed they could explain face-to-face why Trump needed to assist his former attorney with his ballooning legal bills.... But the former president ... didn't seem very interested. After Costello made his pitch, Trump verbally agreed to help with some of Giuliani's legal bills without committing to any specific amount or timeline. Trump also agreed to stop by two fundraisers for Giuliani, a separate source said.... But what has surprised those in Trump's inner circle is the former president's unwillingness to pay for Giuliani's bills, given Giuliani could find himself under intense pressure to cooperate with the federal and state prosecutors who have charged Trump."

Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "A campaign associate of Representative George Santos who impersonated Speaker Kevin McCarthy's former chief of staff was charged with wire fraud and identity theft in a federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday. The aide, Samuel Miele, was arraigned Wednesday morning in Brooklyn federal court and released on $150,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty. He was accused by federal prosecutors of sending 'fraudulent fund-raising' emails to more than a dozen potential contributors to an unnamed candidate. In those messages, he claimed to be a 'high-ranking aide to a member of the House with leadership responsibilities,' the indictment said. When Mr. Miele successfully solicited campaign contributions, he received a 15 percent commission, according to the indictment." Also linked yesterday. An NBC News story is here.

Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "A Republican lawmaker apologized Tuesday for a 'religious freedom' tweet he posted earlier that day after receiving backlash from both sides of the aisle. Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) asked Lizzie Marbach, director of communications at Ohio Right to Life, to delete one of her posts on X...-Twitter, that said there is 'no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.' 'This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen. Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far,' he posted on X. Just hours after that post, Miller apologized for the tweet." MB: Miller's mistake was the tone of his tweet, particularly because he's a public official, and he gives the dimwitty lady a command. But the sentiment? I'm with Miller. Marbach's tweet is a straightforward expression of religious bigotry. Also linked yesterday.

American Nightmare. Matt Berg of Politico: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she had not ruled out the possibility of running for the Senate. And she would consider "very heavily" (which must be like considering "very strongly") accepting the V.P. spot on a Trump ticket. Also linked yesterday.

Pam Belluck & Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court panel said on Wednesday that the abortion pill mifepristone should remain legal in the United States but with significant restrictions on patients' access to it, setting up a showdown before the Supreme Court on the fate of the most common method of terminating pregnancies. The decision, which would prohibit the pill from being sent through the mail or prescribed by telemedicine, is the latest development in a closely watched lawsuit that seeks to remove abortion pills entirely from the market by invalidating the Food and Drug Administration's 23-year-old approval of mifepristone. But for now, the ruling will have no real-world effect: In April, the Supreme Court said mifepristone would have to remain available under the current rules until the appeals process concludes." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I see no reason to look forward to a reasonable outcome. These old fogies, none of whom has medical or scientific expertise, think that because they cannot be overruled, they should decide what doctors and scientists are allowed to determine. Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. It is the responsibility of the first two branches of government to get together and check the absolute power of the third.

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Kansas. Kevin Draper & Benjamin Mullin of the New York Times: "The top prosecutor in Marion County, Kan., said on Wednesday that there was not sufficient evidence to support a raid on a local newspaper last week, and that all the devices and materials obtained in the search would be returned. Joel Ensey, the Marion County attorney, said in a statement that, in light of the insufficient evidence, he directed local law enforcement to return the seized material. Police officers and county sheriff's deputies searched the newspaper's office, the home of its owner and editor and the home of a city councilwoman on Friday -- collecting computers, cellphones and other materials. It is extremely rare for law enforcement authorities in the United States to search and seize the tools to produce journalism." See related stories linked over the past few days.

North Carolina. Rick Rojas & Anna Betts of the New York Times: "North Carolina became the latest state to block minors from having access to gender-transition care, as Republican lawmakers voted on Wednesday to override the governor's veto of a bill restricting hormone treatments, puberty blockers and surgeries for young people. The move came as the State Legislature's Republican supermajorities marshaled the votes to topple several other of Gov. Roy Cooper's [D] vetoes, reviving legislation that limits female transgender students' participation in school sports and restricts what can be taught in schools about gender and sexual orientation. North Carolina now joins about 20 other states that have enacted legislation blocking access to transition-related care for minors, with many of those laws passed this year as conservative lawmakers across the country have seized upon L.G.T.B.Q. issues." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I would not say that they "have seized upon L.G.T.B.Q. issues." I would say that they have cruelly seized upon a group of young people to target, and like the Supremes, have put themselves in a position to overrule the best practices of medical professionals and the natural rights of parents to participate in decisions about their children's medical treatment. I do think the government has an inherent interest in professional standards, but this is not it.

The Conversation -- August 16, 2023

Michael Gold & Grace Ashford of the New York Times: "A campaign associate of Representative George Santos who impersonated Speaker Kevin McCarthy's former chief of staff was charged with wire fraud and identity theft in a federal indictment unsealed on Wednesday. The aide, Samuel Miele, was arraigned Wednesday morning in Brooklyn federal court and released on $150,000 bond. He has pleaded not guilty. He was accused by federal prosecutors of sending 'fraudulent fund-raising' emails to more than a dozen potential contributors to an unnamed candidate. In those messages, he claimed to be a 'high-ranking aide to a member of the House with leadership responsibilities,' the indictment said. When Mr. Miele successfully solicited campaign contributions, he received a 15 percent commission, according to the indictment."

Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "A Republican lawmaker apologized Tuesday for a 'religious freedom' tweet he posted earlier that day after receiving backlash from both sides of the aisle. Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) asked Lizzie Marbach, director of communications at Ohio Right to Life, to delete one of her posts on X...-Twitter, that said there is 'no hope for any of us outside of having faith in Jesus Christ alone.' 'This is one of the most bigoted tweets I have ever seen. Delete it, Lizzie. Religious freedom in the United States applies to every religion. You have gone too far,' he posted on X. Just hours after that post, Miller apologized for the tweet." MB: Miller's mistake was the tone of his tweet, particularly because he's a public official, and he gives the dimwitty lady a command. But the sentiment? I'm with Miller. Marbach's tweet is a straightforward expression of religious bigotry.

American Nightmare. Matt Berg of Politico: Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution she had not ruled out the possibility of running for the Senate. And she would consider "very heavily" (which must be like considering "very strongly") accepting the V.P. spot on a Trump ticket.

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Trump Crime Blotter

For my presidential knowledge, I am plucky and adventury,
I can never be brought down by the mischief of Jack Smithery;
Because no matter how the Jacks & Fanis try to bring me down
I am the very model of a modern presidential clown. ~~~

     ~~~ To the tune of and borrowed from the last stanza of the "Modern Major-General's Song" from Gilbert & Sullivan's "Pirates of Penzance." Thanks to contributor Patrick for the inspiration. MB: To be fair, there are hundreds of opportunities for poetic creativity in these indictments. Even as I typed it, I could feel that this next story read like the first line of a country & western song: ~~~

     ~~~ They'll be taking Trump's mugshot at the Fulton County Jail. ~~~

     ~~~ Update: We have our first stanza! See today's Comments. ~~~

     ~~~ MB: While Trump does make his perfect phone calls, sadly, it is not possible to write a perfect country and western song about him. As David Allan Coe once pronounced, the perfect C&W song must include "Mama, or trains, or trucks, or prison, or getting drunk," only one of which has much to do with Trump. The late, great Steve Goodman responded to Coe by adding a verse (in one version or another) to a song he had previously told Coe "was perfect":

I was drunk the day my mom got out of prison
And I went to pick her up in the rain
But before I could get to the station in my pickup truck
She got runned over by a damned old train.

Here is the New York Times' liveblog for Tuesday's developments in Georgia's Trump crime family indictment. ~~~

     ~~~ CNN's live Tuesday updates are here.

Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "On Tuesday morning, [Donald] Trump announced on Truth Social that he will hold a press conference next week where he will produce a 'Large, Complex, Detailed but Irrefutable REPORT on the Presidential Election Fraud which took place in Georgia.'... In a statement posted to X...-Twitter -- [Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp] flatly declared: 'The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen.... For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward -- under oath -- and prove anything in a court of law.'..." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Maggie Haberman & Jonathan Swan of the New York Times: "The report..., according to people familiar with the matter, is a document of more than 100 pages that was compiled at least in part by Liz Harrington, a Trump communications aide who is often described as among the true believers in his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen from him through widespread fraud." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: IOW, what Trump says he plans to do is exactly what Rudy did to get himself indicted in Georgia: tell big fat lies about Georgia election fraud. So, brilliant move! And, for a touch of verisimilitude, I do urge him to get the MyPillow Guy to provide charts and printouts to "back up" Trump's assertions. I can hardly wait.

Here are the 19 defendants, in alphabetical order: Robert Cheeley, Ken Chesebro, Jeffrey Clark, John Eastman, Jenna Ellis, Willie Floyd III, Rudy Giuliani, Scott Hall, Misty Hampton, Trevian Kutti, Cathy Latham, Stephen Lee, Mark Meadows, Sidney Powell, Michael Roman, David Shafer, Ray Smith, Shawn Still, Donald Trump. D.A. Willis said she planned to try them all together. MB: I hope the court seats them in alphabetical order.

Trump Stiffed His Co-Conspirators. Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Several of the attorneys who spearheaded ... Donald Trump's frenzied effort to overturn the results of the 2020 election tried, and failed, to collect payment for the work they did for Trump's political operation, according to testimony to congressional investigators and Federal Election Commission records. This is despite the fact that their lawsuits and false claims of election interference helped the Trump campaign and allied committees raise $250 million in the weeks following the November vote.... Among them was Trump's closest ally ... Rudy Giuliani.... The revelation that [Trump] likely stiffed Giuliani, a longtime friend, is all the more striking given that much of the work Giuliani did for the Trump operation is detailed in a sprawling RICO indictment in Georgia released Monday, in which Giuliani is a co-defendant.... Today, that money raised by Trump's political operation is instead helping Trump pay his own legal bills...." Also not paid: Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro or John Eastman. MB: Aw shucks, this is just Trump being Trump.

Tuesday Morning. Kyle Cheney of Politico: Trump is likely to try to move the Georgia case to federal court. And he could be successful. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Tuesday Evening. Tierney Sneed of CNN: "Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows is seeking to move the Fulton County, Georgia, prosecution against him to federal court so that he can try to get the case dismissed under federal law. Meadows argued in a new court filing submitted in the US District Court of the Northern District of Georgia that he is entitled to bring a federal immunity defense because the Georgia state charges against him stem from his conduct as ... Donald Trump's chief of staff. Meadows is one of 19 defendants, including Trump, who were charged on Monday in the Georgia 2020 election subversion case. Meadows' request would not move the entirety of District Attorney Fani Willis' case to federal court. Rather, it would be a defendant-by-defendant endeavor. Trump, who faces 13 charges, is also expected to try to move the case to federal court, according to multiple sources familiar with the legal team's thinking.... Willis charged Meadows with violating Georgia's anti-racketeering act known as the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO, and with soliciting a public official to violate their oath. According to the docket, Meadows' removal request has been assigned to US District Judge Steve Jones, an appointee of former President Barack Obama."

Jeff Amy of the AP: “A Georgia state agency said Tuesday that it will name a special prosecutor to consider whether the state's Republican lieutenant governor should face criminal charges after ... Donald Trump and 18 of his allies were indicted Monday for working to overturn the state's 2020 election results. Lt. Gov. Burt Jones was one of 16 Republican electors who falsely claimed that Trump won Georgia. As a state senator, he also sought a special session of Georgia's Legislature aimed at overturning President Joe Biden's narrow win in the state. But Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was barred by a judge from indicting Jones. Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney agreed with Jones that Willis, an elected Democrat, had a conflict of interest because she hosted a fundraiser for the Democrat who lost to Jones in the 2022 election for lieutenant governor. McBurney said in a hearing that Willis' decision to host the fundraiser was a 'what are you thinking?' moment."

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "Just days ago, the judge overseeing ... Donald J. Trump's prosecution on charges of seeking to subvert the 2020 election admonished him against violating the conditions of his release put in place at his arraignment -- including by making 'inflammatory statements' that could be construed as possibly intimidating witnesses or other people involved in the case. But Mr. Trump immediately tested that warning by posting a string of messages on his social media website, Truth Social, that largely amplified others criticizing the judge, Tanya S. Chutkan.... Mr. Trump is now probing the limits of what the criminal justice system will tolerate and the lines that Judge Chutkan sought to lay out.... Some lawyers have said that if Mr. Trump were an ordinary citizen issuing these attacks, he would be in jail by now." MB: This is just how a bratty toddler responds to a parental warning.

Release the DMs! Alan Feuer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The federal prosecutors who charged ... Donald J. Trump this month with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election got access this winter to a trove of so-called direct messages that Mr. Trump sent others privately through his Twitter account, according to court papers unsealed on Tuesday. While it remained unclear what sorts of information the messages contained and who exactly may have written them, it was a revelation that there were private messages associated with the Twitter account of Mr. Trump, who has famously been cautious about using written forms of communications in his dealings with aides and allies.... The [newly-unsealed] papers included transcripts of hearings in Federal District Court in Washington in February ... [before] Judge Beryl A. Howell...." During the proceedings, Twitter sought to tell Mr. Trump the court had ordered the company to release the direct messages to Jack Smith. "Twitter not only lost the fight but also was found to be in contempt of court for delaying complying with the warrant. Judge Howell fined the company $350,000." Politico's story is here.

Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "Former President Trump is asking for a hold on a lawsuit related to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol due to his federal charges. The partner of Brian Sicknick, a Capitol Police officer who died after responding to the Jan. 6 insurrection, sued the former president and two rioters charged with assaulting Sicknick earlier this year. Sandra Garza alleged that Trump and the two rioters, Julian Khater and George Tanios, are 'directly and vicariously liable' for Sicknick's death.... 'Forcing President Trump to defend this case while simultaneously defending a criminal prosecution based on related conduct would undoubtedly compromise either his right to defend himself in this case, his criminal defense, or both,' his lawyers wrote in a court filing Monday."

Trump Crime Family Made Man Pleads Not Guilty. Shawn Nottingham of CNN: "Carlos de Oliveira, the Mar-a-Lago property manager, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to multiple obstruction-related offenses tied to ... Donald Trump's alleged unlawful retention of documents after leaving office, including classified material at Trump's Florida resort." (Also linked yesterday.)

(Alleged!) GOP Criminal Misses Another Disclosure Deadline. Grace Ashford & Michael Gold of the New York Times: Rep. George "Santos ... missed the Aug. 13 deadline to file his [financial] disclosures [with the House Ethics Committee], a lapse that could lead to fines. He had already received a 90-day extension from the initial deadline.... [Rep. Santos] is facing 13 felony charges related to his finances...."

Reid Epstein & Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: "President Biden said on Tuesday that he would travel to Hawaii to inspect damage on Maui after deadly wildfires ripped through the island, killing at least 99 people and devastating an entire coastal town. 'My wife, Jill, and I are going to travel to Hawaii as soon as we can,' Mr. Biden said in a speech focused on the economy at a wind and electric power manufacturing plant in Milwaukee. 'That's what I've been talking to the governor about but I don't want to get in the way.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

David Ignatius of the Washington Post: President Biden & Secretary of State Antony Blinken are "trying to foster partnerships and norms of behavior -- in dealing with China, Russia and Ukraine, as well as new challenges such as artificial intelligence -- that are broadly based and, hopefully, sustainable.... Even at a moment when American politics seems to be in free fall, this administration has kept its feet on the ground in foreign policy. That should reassure people who care about American interests -- at home and abroad." MB: This is another example of how responsible governance garners zero votes. Far fewer Americans know about Biden & Blinken's global diplomacy than believe that Donald Trump would have prevented Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At Baylor, Harassment of LGBTQ+ Students is A-OK. Fiona Andre of the Washington Post: "The U.S. Education Department accepted Baylor University's request for exemption from Title IX's sexual harassment provision after the private Baptist school asked to dismiss discrimination complaints filed by LGBTQ+ students that the university said were 'inconsistent' with the institution's religious values."

Michael Rothfeld of the New York Times: "The former head of counterintelligence for the F.B.I. in New York pleaded guilty in federal court in Manhattan on Tuesday to a single reduced charge of conspiring to violate U.S. sanctions and laundering payments from a prominent Russian oligarch. The plea by the former agent, Charles F. McGonigal, represented a remarkable turn for a man who once occupied one of the most sensitive and trusted positions in the American intelligence community, placing him among the highest-ranking F.B.I. officials ever to be convicted of a crime.... The conspiracy charge he pleaded guilty to was newly filed by prosecutors on Tuesday, replacing the original indictment handed up by a grand jury in January that had included more serious charges of violating U.S. sanctions and laundering money.... Mr. McGonigal still faces a second indictment brought by federal prosecutors in Washington on charges that accuse him of concealing his acceptance of $225,000 from a businessman and of hiding dealings in Eastern Europe while working for the bureau. Mr. McGonigal has pleaded not guilty to those charges but is in talks to resolve them...." (Also linked yesterday.) CNN's story is here.

Rebecca Beitsch of the Hill: "Hunter Biden attorney Christopher Clark is withdrawing from representing the president's son in a Delaware probe, pointing to a continuing legal battle over a plea agreement in the tax case that dissolved before it could be approved by a judge. Clark's notice to the court indicates he could be a witness in coming challenges over the disintegration of the deal, which the Justice Department moved to withdraw minutes after Attorney General Merrick Garland elevated Delaware prosecutor David Weiss to serve as a special counsel in the matter." (Also linked yesterday.) The New York Times story is here. ~~~

~~~ Kara Scannell of CNN: "Special counsel David Weiss said the deal his team previously reached with Hunter Biden to resolve a felony gun possession charge was never approved by a probation officer and is not binding.... Biden's lawyers on Sunday said they believed an agreement to resolve a felony gun possession charge was 'valid and binding.'"

Presidential Race 2024

The Elephant in the Room -- Is Under Indictment. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: During a speech in Milwaukee, President Biden made Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) the object of his scorn but said nothing about the presidential candidate currently out on bail in three criminal cases & awaiting booking in a fourth. "'We have the best workers in the world,' Mr. Biden said. 'It's about time Ron Johnson's friends understood that.'"

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Kansas. Clay Risen of the New York Times: "Joann Meyer, who spent nearly 60 years as a reporter, columnist, editor and associate publisher at The Marion County Record in Kansas, died on Saturday [link fixed] at her home, a day after the police searched the newspaper's offices. She was 98. Her son, Eric Meyer, the newspaper's publisher, confirmed the death. He said that the cause had not been determined, but that the coroner had concluded that the stress of the searches -- at her home, which she shared with him, as well as at the paper's offices -- was a contributing factor.... Mr. Meyer said that his mother was in shock after the raid...."

Yes, Massachusetts, There Is a Free Lunch. Megan Cerullo of CBS News: "Every kid in Massachusetts will get a free lunch, paid for by proceeds from a new state tax on millionaires. A new 4% tax on the state's wealthiest residents will account for $1 billion of the state's $56 billion fiscal budget for 2024, according to state documents. A portion of those funds will be used to provide all public-school students with free weekday meals, according to State House News Service. The new tax, which was approved by voters last year and went into effect in 2023, applies to Massachusetts residents with incomes over $1 million."