April 1, 2023

What's New with the Indicted, Twice-impeached, Defeated Ex-president* & His Gang

Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "After a brief hiatus, The Trump Show is back.... Thursday ended in a cliffhanger -- the exact criminal charges against Mr. Trump remain unknown -- and new episodes are already on the horizon: Mr. Trump is potentially facing several more indictments.... Cable news viewership dropped after Mr. Trump left office. The news of his criminal charges turned that right around."

The New York Times' live updates of developments Friday in the Trump indictment matter are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"No Comment." Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden has nothing to say about the indictment of ... Donald J. Trump.... In fact..., he said nothing in four different ways: Would the indictment divide the country? 'I have no comment on that.' Was he worried about protests? 'No. I'm not going to talk about the Trump indictment.' What did the indictment say about the rule of law? 'I have no comment at all.' Are the charges politically motivated? 'I have no comment on Trump.' The strategy behind his 'no comment' response is twofold: Mr. Biden and his advisers want to avoid a situation in which Mr. Trump tries to bait him into a reaction.... But most of all, White House officials say, Mr. Biden believes that presidents should not comment on pending legal matters. (Not commenting on legal investigations, of course, was a common practice for presidents until Mr. Trump took office.)"

James McKinley & Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump is expected ... to answer charges before a state judge on Tuesday.... Mr. Trump intends to travel to New York on Monday and stay the night at Trump Tower, people familiar with his preparations said. He has no plans to hold a news conference or address the public while he is in New York, the people said.... Late on Friday afternoon, Mr. Trump burst out on Truth Social..., writing in all capital letters that Democrats were 'INDICTING A TOTALLY INNOCENT MAN IN AN ACT OF OBSTRUCTION AND BLATANT ELECTION INTERFERENCE.' He concluded that it was all happening 'WHILE OUR COUNTRY IS GOING TO HELL!'... The case, which could drag on for months and whose outcome is far from clear, is likely to test the country's institutions and the rule of law." ~~~

~~~ Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "An advance team of Secret Service agents -- mostly comprised of New York field office agents -- conducted a site tour of the courthouse on Friday to map [Donald] Trump's path in and out of the building, according to a law enforcement official involved in the planning.... The official ... said that 'dozens and dozens of agents' will be required to secure the former president's travel between Mar-a-Lago ... and New York.... The former president will be fingerprinted, photographed and brought to the courtroom of Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan upon surrendering before the proceeding, where he is expected to enter a not-guilty plea. If the charges have not already been made public, they will be unsealed by the time of the arraignment."

How Not to Influence a Judge. Perry Stein & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "... New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan ... oversaw the grand jury that indicted [Donald] Trump this week and will preside over the criminal proceedings that follow. Merchan, 60, who has sat on the New York bench since 2009, also presided over the jury trial last year of Trump's namesake real estate company, which resulted in a conviction in December, and the prosecution of the company's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. On Friday, the first former president ever charged with a crime lashed out at Merchan on social media, declaring that the judge 'HATES ME.' Merchan 'is the same person who "railroaded" my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a "plea" deal,' Trump wrote. The former president continued: 'He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn't "plead," VICIOUSLY. APPEALING.'... On Tuesday, Trump is expected to appear before Merchan for an arraignment hearing...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Erica Orden of Politico (March 30): "The Manhattan district attorney's office asked for Donald Trump to surrender on Friday following a grand jury's vote to indict the former president. But lawyers for Trump rebuffed the request saying that the Secret Service, which provides security detail for the former president, needed more time to prepare." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Why, whoever would have guessed that Trump's lawyers lied to the D.A.??? ~~~

     ~~~ Julia Ainsley of NBC News, in a tweet: "Secret Service officials tell @NBCNews that Trump's detail is not to blame for him reporting to NYC for arrest Tuesday rather than tomorrow. 'Preposterous' one said.

Jonah Bromwich & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "A day after filing charges against Donald J. Trump, the Manhattan district attorney’s office wrote a letter criticizing three influential congressional Republicans [-- Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryal Steil --] for their efforts to interfere in the investigation into the former president. The letter was addressed to three committee chairmen who had demanded that the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, provide them with communications, documents and testimony related to the inquiry into Mr. Trump.... Concluding her letter, [the D.A.'s general counsel Leslie] Dubeck urged the congressional Republicans to withdraw their demand for information about the investigation 'and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference.' But she said that the office was willing to meet with the chairmen or their staffs, and asked for a list of questions for Mr. Bragg and a description of the types of documents they were requesting.... [Meanwhile,] In a statement, [Mr. Trump] called Mr. Bragg a 'disgrace' and said 'this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,' who ... has had nothing to do with the district attorney's investigation and has not commented on the indictment." The Hill has a story here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ The full letter, via Common Dreams, is here. Marie: Dubeck eviscerates Trump's elves. Here's a particularly sharp cut: "... based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marie: Here's a story about the indictment of the Arrested Developer which I missed. ~~~

     ~~~ Ryan Schwach of the Queens Daily Eagle (March 30): "A Queens man was indicted Thursday for allegedly making hush money payments to a porn star shortly before he was elected president of the United States in 2016. Although the exact charges against former president and Queens native Donald Trump are still unknown, Trump will be the first former president to ever face criminal charges...."

Scott Wong of NBC News: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga..., said Friday she will travel to New York next week to protest the former president's indictment and urged other supporters to join her. 'I'm going to New York on Tuesday. We MUST protest the unconstitutional WITCH HUNT!' Greene tweeted to her 663,000 followers. The Tuesday protests would come on the same day Trump's attorneys have said the former president and 2024 Republican presidential front-runner is expected to be arraigned in court.... Less than two weeks ago..., she said on Twitter that Trump supporters 'don't need to protest about the Communists Democrat's planning to arrest Pres Trump and the political weaponization of our government and election interference.'"

David Gilbert & Mack Lamoureux of Vice: "Minutes after ... Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury in New York, his supporters flooded social media and extremist message boards with violent and racist threats against the officials prosecuting Trump, as well as bloody civil war.... 'None of this will stop unless there is blood in the streets' ..., one member of the rabidly pro-Trump message board The Donald wrote on Thursday night.... On platforms like The Donald..., commenters openly called for violence that was largely racist in nature.... There were also many users calling for civil war on the platform. 'Yeah. I'm down with just getting 1776 round 2 over with. The build up is infuriating,' one user wrote.... Some users laid out more detailed plans, discussing militias and boycotts and tax avoidance, while another simply wrote: War.'" ~~~

~~~ Ben Collins of NBC News: "While there is little evidence of ... planning for real-world unrest just yet, extremism researchers are keeping a close eye on the varied calls for everything from targeted attacks on the district attorney who brought the case to a new civil war.... Animated by claims about liberal megadonor George Soros' ties to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, some users have consistently called for violence and assassination attempts. Soros has never met nor talked to Bragg, according to a report from CNBC, but Bragg did receive donation money, along with other progressive-leaning district attorneys, through the super PAC Color of Change after Soros donated $1 million to it.... [But] Advance Democracy's report said they 'had not identified any definitive plans by users to engage in violence or any large-scale organizing activities.' However, users on the pro-Trump forum [Patriots.com] encouraged those who did not want to 'form organized militias' to 'take on lone wolf mentalities,' 'weaponize suicidal people' and 'make the jurors public knowledge.'" ~~~

~~~ AND Then There's Aunt Pittypat. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Friday bizarrely suggested that ... Donald Trump could avoid prosecution in New York by attacking police officers and committing acts of vandalism.... '"On the way to the DA's office on Tuesday, Trump should smash some windows, rob a few shops and punch a cop. He would be released IMMEDIATELY!' Graham's tweet as an apparent dig at the wrongly held belief that Black Lives Matter protesters who rioted in the summer of 2020 were never prosecuted for committing crimes." ~~~

     ~~~ BUT. To Know Trump Is to Despise Him. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Appearing on CNN, [New York Times reporter Maggie] Haberman said that several former Trump Organization employees were 'cheering' on the fact that their one-time boss has now been indicted.... '... there is a long trail of people who feel burned, in one way or another, by Donald Trump,' she said. 'We certainly saw that in the White House. This was a pattern that existed for decades in the Trump Organization. And the number of people I heard from yesterday who worked for his company who were really happy, one person texted with the words, "Wonderful news."'"

The Zombie That Ate Donald Trump

     ~~~ Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: "One year ago this week, the Manhattan district attorney's investigation into Donald J. Trump appeared to be dead in the water. The two leaders of the investigation had recently resigned after the new district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, decided not to charge Mr. Trump at that point.... [But Mr. Bragg's investigators went] back to square one, poring over the reams of evidence that had already been collected by his predecessor. For a time, their efforts were haphazard as they examined a wide range of Mr. Trump's business practices, including whether he had lied about his net worth, which was the focus of the investigation when Mr. Bragg had declined to seek an indictment. But by July, Mr. Bragg had decided to assign several additional prosecutors to pursue one particular strand that struck him as promising: a hush-money payment made on Mr. Trump's behalf to a porn star during the final days of the 2016 presidential campaign. On Thursday, Mr. Trump was indicted on that strand." The report continues, describing how the focus of the investigation changed, as did the make-up of the lead investigators. ~~~

     ~~~ Glenn Thrush & others at the New York Times try to explain why the Justice Department has not brought charges against Trump in regard to the hush-money payments inasmuch as the Department charged Trump fixer Michael Cohen for his part in the hush-money scheme. The reporters conclude that, under AG Merrick Garland, "The decision not to indict appeared to be rooted in lingering concerns about Mr. Cohen's credibility and cooperation as a government witness." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oddly, Thrush, et al., never mention Bill Barr's earlier intervention. As Steve Benen of MSNBC (and others) recently reported, federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York initiated the hush-money case. It was they who charged Cohen, who pleaded guilty and went to jail. "... according to [a book by SDNY's Trump-appointed U.S. attorney Geoffrey] Berman..., then-Attorney General Bill Barr not only intervened in the case, he tried to kill the ongoing investigation and even suggested that Cohen's conviction should be reversed.... [The investigation ended "because Trump's attorney general told them to stop." Now Trump finally has been indicted on what some attorneys in the Manhattan office call a "zombie case"; it has died three times, killed first by Bill Barr, then by Merrick Garland, then by Alvin Bragg.

** Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "... it is a mistake to treat this indictment ... as tangential to Trump's other misdeeds.... The conduct at issue in this case is directly tied to the 2016 election and the question of whether Trump cheated to win it.... It's part of a pattern of anti-democratic behavior.... In addition to hearing about the payoff to the porn film star Stormy Daniels, the grand jury in New York heard extensive questioning about the payoff to a Playboy model, Karen McDougal. Both women were going to tell their stories before the 2016 election. Unlawful means were used to silence them.... It's impossible to know what impact these stories would have had if the electorate had been allowed to hear them.... Nevertheless, it should matter whether Trump broke the law in the service of securing his minority victory. Especially given all the evidence that he continued to defy the law in order to hold on to it."

Greg Sargent & Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: "Because the indictment of a former president is unprecedented in U.S. history, it has become a media cliche to assert that the prosecution of Donald Trump will 'test our democracy.'... But this gets the story wrong.... If anything is posing a test, it's largely the Republican response to it.... Many are taking the position that any charges against Trump ... should be seen as presumptively illegitimate no matter the counts against Trump or the facts that underlie them.... Even worse, some elite right-wing media figures are hinting at violence.... The position implied here is that the price of social peace is absolute impunity for Trump.... This appalling civic conduct is itself a major story.... It's perfectly plausible that the charges against Trump prove damning, the process is handled with integrity and Trump is found guilty -- and a large swath of voters cannot accept that as a legitimate reckoning, precisely because one of our major political parties refused to acknowledge it as such. If so, that would constitute a truly glaring failure of our 'test.'"

Jeremy Peters & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Fox News suffered a significant setback on Friday in its defense against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit that claims it lied about voter fraud in the 2020 election. A judge in Delaware Superior Court said the case, brought by Dominion Voting Systems, was strong enough to conclude that Fox hosts and guests had repeatedly made false claims about Dominion machines and their supposed role in a fictitious plot to steal the election from ... Donald J. Trump. 'The evidence developed in this civil proceeding,' Judge Eric M. Davis wrote, demonstrates that it 'is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.' Judge Davis said the case would proceed to trial, for a jury to weigh whether Fox spread false claims about Dominion while knowing that they were untrue, and to determine any damages. The trial is expected to begin April 17.... He rejected much of the heart of Fox's defense: that the First Amendment protected the statements made on its air alleging that the election had somehow been stolen." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney, is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Adam Klasfeld of Law & Crime: "In a 'rare' ruling, Dominion Voting Systems scored blockbuster victories against Fox News on multiple issues.... The remarkable, 130-page ruling from Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis found that there was no need for a jury to establish that the broadcasts at issue were false.... [Davis wrote,] '... The evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the Statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.' (emphasis in original)... He also removed multiple other defenses from Fox's arsenal, except for actual malice."

Trump Supporter Convicted. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "According to federal prosecutors, [during the 2016 presidential campaign] one man, Douglass Mackey, crossed a line from political speech to criminal conduct when he posted images to Twitter that resembled campaign ads for [Hillary] Clinton and falsely stated that people could vote simply by texting 'Hillary' to a certain phone number. On Friday, after just over four days of deliberation, a jury in Brooklyn found Mr. Mackey guilty of conspiring to deprive others of their right to vote. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The Justice Department's press release is here.

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "It's no surprise that House Republicans leaped to Donald Trump's defense after news of his indictment broke late Thursday. What was striking, though, was how many elected GOP officials now sound like Trump.... They aped Trump ... in their vulgarity..., in demanding vengeance... and in stoking paranoia among the unstable[.]" Milbank also had fun mocking Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on instigating the "Great Public Pee Pee Debate of 2023." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Frederic Frommer of the Washington Post: "Four days before he was assassinated, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his final Sunday sermon at Washington National Cathedral, highlighting the country's widespread poverty and the urgent need to address it. Then he stepped outside the cathedral and delivered a stark warning: If social unrest continued, it would lead to a right-wing or fascist takeover of the United States.... King's prediction of popular unrest and right-wing backlash would echo a half-century later, when the United States had its largest nationwide demonstrations for racial equality in the wake of George Floyd's murder in 2020 -- followed by a right-wing mob storming the U.S. Capitol the next year in an attempt to overturn the presidential election."

What's New with Normal People

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden vowed on Friday that the federal government would help Mississippi recover and rebuild from devastation caused by a deadly tornado that ripped through rural parts of the state last week. The storm left at least 26 people dead and injured dozens in Rolling Fork, a town of about 2,000, and across a wide swath of the Mississippi Delta, leaving the struggling region grasping for help to respond on behalf of those affected. 'This is tough stuff,' Mr. Biden said after arriving in his motorcade, which drove past home after home that had been reduced to piles of lumber and twisted metal.... Mr. Biden and the first lady, Jill Biden, met privately with families affected by the storms at South Delta Elementary School, which had parts of its roof ripped off and trees toppled."

Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration told a Texas federal court Friday that it plans to appeal an order by a judge that invalidates the Affordable Care Act's promise of free preventive health services to every American with private health insurance. The one-paragraph filing by the Justice Department says the defendants in the case, including Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, intend to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, a conservative circuit based in New Orleans. The notice came a day after U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor issued an order that immediately invalidates nationwide the ACA's guarantee of preventive services -- including cancer screening and medicines to prevent HIV or heart disease. O'Connor is the judge who, in 2018, ruled the entire ACA unconstitutional in a case that reached the Supreme Court, which preserved the law for the third time in a decade."

Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department filed a major civil suit Friday against Norfolk Southern Railway after one of its trains carrying toxic chemicals derailed near the Ohio town of East Palestine on Feb. 3 and burst into flames.... The Justice Department is asking for penalties of $64,618 a day for every violation of the Clean Water Act as well as civil penalties of $55,808 a day or $2,232 per barrel of oil or hazardous substance. Costs could mount as each part of the train crash could invoke separate penalties."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "Senator John Fetterman, Democrat of Pennsylvania, announced on Friday that he had checked out of Walter Reed Military Medical Center six weeks after having admitted himself to be treated for clinical depression, using the occasion to urge those suffering from mental health challenges to seek help. Mr. Fetterman is set to return to the Senate on April 17, after a two-week holiday recess, according to his spokesman, who said that the senator planned to spend the time until then in Pennsylvania with his family and constituents. His office said that Dr. David Williamson, the neuropsychiatry chief and medical director at Walter Reed, had determined that Mr. Fetterman's depression was now in remission." NPR's report is here.

Guardian & Agencies: "The bodies of eight people believed to have died trying to cross from Canada into the United States have been found in the past two days, authorities said on Friday, including two children. Six people, described as members of two families of Romanian and Indian descent, were found on Thursday in a marshy area of the St Lawrence River, which forms part of the Canada-US border. And on Friday, the bodies of two more migrants were found.... Shawn Dulude, the Mohawk police chief, said authorities were still looking for a man, identified as Casey Oakes, 30, who was last seen on Wednesday operating a boat that was found next to the bodies."

Beyond the Beltway

Minnesota. Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "The city of Minneapolis agreed on Friday to make sweeping changes in policing, including a pledge to rein in the use of force and discontinue the practice of using the smell of marijuana as a pretext to search people. The promised changes are part of a legal settlement between the city and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, which found in a report last year that the Minneapolis Police Department had routinely engaged in racially discriminatory practices and failed to punish officers for misconduct. State and city officials called Friday's agreement a milestone in the quest to change the culture of the police force that sparked a national reckoning over systemic racism in law enforcement after the murder of George Floyd by a police officer in 2020."

Minnesota. Matt Sepic of Minnesota Public Radio: "A federal jury on Friday found Anton 'Tony' Lazzaro, a one-time Minnesota Republican political operative and top donor, guilty on all counts of sex trafficking five girls, ages 15 and 16.... Lazzaro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years." MB: Might there be some connection between Republicans' obsession with legislating against everything remotely sexual and the unusual number of Republicans found guilty of sex-related crimes?

Ohio. Joe Vardon of the Athletic, republished in the New York Times: LeBron James, his business partner Maverick Carter and his foundation are reviving downtown Akron, his hometown. He just opened a Starbucks like no other, where baristas are receiving comprehensive job-training for the hospitality industry. He has also opened a public school, provided college scholarships for students and built housing for their families.

Tennessee. Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the implementation of a Tennessee law aimed at restricting public drag performances, hours before it was set to go into effect.A Memphis theater company that frequently stages drag performances, Friends of George's, challenged the law this week, arguing that the ambiguity of the law violated the theater's constitutional rights.... The murkiness of the language [of the law], paired with a concerted effort among conservative lawmakers across the country to limit the rights of the L.G.B.T.Q. community, had raised concerns about the implications for drag performers and transgender and gender-nonconforming people. Judge Thomas L. Parker agreed to delay the law's implementation for at least 14 days, acknowledging that the company's concerns about upcoming performances -- whether to impose an age restriction or risk legal scrutiny -- were not 'trifling issues for a theater company -- certainly not in the free, civil society we hold our country to be.'" MB: Parker is a Trump appointee. CNN's report is here.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al. The Washington Post's live briefing of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine is here: "Russia took up the presidency of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday, a rotating role that it will hold for one month. Moscow last held the position in February 2022 -- the month it invaded Ukraine.... Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba called Russia's presidency 'a stark reminder that something is wrong with the way international security architecture is functioning.' Pressure is mounting on Moscow to release Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, a U.S. citizen who was detained in Russia this week on espionage charges. The Journal denied the charges and said the 'minimum' it expects of the Biden administration is to expel Russia's ambassador and Russian journalists working in the United States. [President] Biden called on Russia to 'let him go,' but told reporters expelling diplomats is 'not the plan right now.'... Finland will formally join NATO "in the coming days," the alliance's head Jens Stoltenberg said, finalizing what he described as 'the fastest ratification process in NATO's modern history.'... Stoltenberg said he hopes Sweden can join 'as soon as possible.'

:The International Monetary Fund approved a $15.6 billion economic program for Ukraine, allowing around $2.7 billion to be immediately disbursed to Kyiv, the organization announced Friday. U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen said in a statement that the four-year program 'will support economic growth, strengthen good governance and anti-corruption efforts, and set the foundation for longer-term reconstruction.'" ~~~

~~~ The Guardian's live updates of developments Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Tornadoes in Arkansas injured at least 30 people. One person was killed and at least 28 others were hospitalized after a roof collapsed at a theater in Illinois." Across the Midwest and South, the storms killed at least seven people." ~~~

     ~~~ New Lede: "Communities in at least six states on Saturday began assessing destruction left by a powerful storm system on Friday that spawned ferocious tornadoes, killing at least 21 people and causing a roof at a packed venue in Illinois to collapse -- the second such deadly outbreak of severe weather in the region in a week." An AP report is here.

March 31, 2023

Afternoon Update:

Jeremy Peters & Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Fox News suffered a significant setback on Friday in its defense against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit that claims it lied about voter fraud in the 2020 election. A judge in Delaware Superior Court said the case, brought by Dominion Voting Systems, was strong enough to conclude that Fox hosts and guests had repeatedly made false claims about Dominion machines and their supposed role in a fictitious plot to steal the election from ... Donald J. Trump. 'The evidence developed in this civil proceeding,' Judge Eric M. Davis wrote, demonstrates that it 'is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.' Judge Davis said the case would proceed to trial, for a jury to weigh whether Fox spread false claims about Dominion while knowing that they were untrue, and to determine any damages. The trial is expected to begin April 17.... He rejected much of the heart of Fox's defense: that the First Amendment protected the statements made on its air alleging that the election had somehow been stolen."

Trump Supporter Convicted. Colin Moynihan of the New York Times: "According to federal prosecutors, [during the 2016 presidential campaign] one man, Douglass Mackey, crossed a line from political speech to criminal conduct when he posted images to Twitter that resembled campaign ads for [Hillary] Clinton and falsely stated that people could vote simply by texting 'Hillary' to a certain phone number. On Friday, after just over four days of deliberation, a jury in Brooklyn found Mr. Mackey guilty of conspiring to deprive others of their right to vote. He is scheduled to be sentenced in August and faces a maximum of 10 years in prison."

How Not to Influence a Judge. Perry Stein & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "... New York Supreme Court Justice Juan Merchan ... oversaw the grand jury that indicted [Donald] Trump this week and will preside over the criminal proceedings that follow. Merchan, 60, who has sat on the New York bench since 2009, also presided over the jury trial last year of Trump's namesake real estate company, which resulted in a conviction in December, and the prosecution of the company's longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg. On Friday, the first former president ever charged with a crime lashed out at Merchan on social media, declaring that the judge 'HATES ME.' Merchan 'is the same person who "railroaded" my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a "plea" deal,' Trump wrote. The former president continued: 'He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didn't "plead," VICIOUSLY. APPEALING.'... On Tuesday, Trump is expected to appear before Merchan for an arraignment hearing...."

The New York Times' live updates of developments in the Trump indictment matter are here.

Jonah Bromwich & Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "A day after filing charges against Donald J. Trump, the Manhattan district attorney's office wrote a letter criticizing three influential congressional Republicans [-- Jim Jordan, James Comer and Bryal Steil --] for their efforts to interfere in the investigation into the former president. The letter was addressed to three committee chairmen who had demanded that the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, provide them with communications, documents and testimony related to the inquiry into Mr. Trump.... Concluding her letter, [the D.A.'s general counsel Leslie] Dubeck urged the congressional Republicans to withdraw their demand for information about the investigation 'and let the criminal justice process proceed without unlawful political interference.' But she said that the office was willing to meet with the chairmen or their staffs, and asked for a list of questions for Mr. Bragg and a description of the types of documents they were requesting.... [Meanwhile,] In a statement, [Mr. Trump] called Mr. Bragg a 'disgrace' and said 'this Witch-Hunt will backfire massively on Joe Biden,' who ... has had nothing to do with the district attorney's investigation and has not commented on the indictment." The Hill has a story here. ~~~

     ~~~ The full letter, via Common Dreams, is here. Marie: Dubeck eviscerates Trump's elves. Here's a particularly sharp cut: "... based on your reportedly close collaboration with Mr. Trump in attacking this Office and the grand jury process, it appears you are acting more like criminal defense counsel trying to gather evidence for a client than a legislative body seeking to achieve a legitimate legislative objective."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "It's no surprise that House Republicans leaped to Donald Trump's defense after news of his indictment broke late Thursday. What was striking, though, was how many elected GOP officials now sound like Trump.... They aped Trump ... in their vulgarity..., in demanding vengeance... and in stoking paranoia among the unstable[.]" Milbank also had fun mocking Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on instigating the Great Public Pee Pee Debate of 2023.

~~~~~~~~~~

A Trumpidy Doo-Dah Day

Shayna Jacobs, et al., of the Washington Post: "A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict ... Donald Trump, making him the first person in U.S. history to serve as commander in chief and then be charged with a crime, and setting the stage for a 2024 presidential contest unlike any other. The indictment was sealed, which means the specific charge or charges are not publicly known.... It was not immediately clear whether it will be unsealed before Trump appears in court.... Trump is expected to turn himself in and appear in court on Tuesday at 2:15 p.m., said a person familiar with the matter.... Trump, like any criminal defendant, is expected to be processed before his arraignment, including fingerprinting and mug shots.... Trump ... quickly issued a statement condemning the indictment. Democrats, he charged, 'have lied, cheated and stolen in their obsession with trying to "Get Trump," but now they've done the unthinkable -- indicting a completely innocent person in an act of blatant Election Interference. Never before in our Nation's history has this been done.'"

New York Times: "A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.... The felony indictment, filed under seal by the Manhattan district attorney's office, will likely be announced in the coming days. By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, will have asked Mr. Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now." This is part of a liveblog. Some of the liveblog updates are interesting. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) I'm leaving this up because it includes some details that may not appear in general reports. ~~~

     ~~~ Kara Scannell, et al., of CNN: "Donald Trump faces more than 30 counts related to business fraud in an indictment from a Manhattan grand jury, according to two sources familiar with the case -- the first time in American history that a current or former president has faced criminal charges." ~~~

     ~~~ The AP's report is here. Politico's story is here.

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump and his aides were caught off guard by the timing, believing that any action by the grand jury was still weeks away and might not occur at all.... On Thursday evening, after the grand jury indicted him, Mr. Trump was angry but mainly focused on the political implications of the charges, not the legal consequences, according to people familiar with his thinking. He seemed eager to project confidence and calm and was seen having a very public dinner with his wife, Melania, and her parents at the club at Mar-a-Lago.... For all of Mr. Trump's outward confidence, the reality is that he has feared and avoided an indictment for more than four decades, after first being criminally investigated in the 1970s. He watched in horror as his former chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, surrendered to authorities, which was shown on television in 2021. Mr. Weisselberg is only slightly younger than Mr. Trump, who told aides he couldn't believe 'what they're doing to that old man.'"

Michael Bender & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Republican leaders in Congress lamented the moment as a sad day in the annals of United States history. Conservative news outlets issued a call to action for the party's base. One prominent supporter of Donald J. Trump suggested that the former president's mug shot should double as a 2024 campaign poster.... Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, widely viewed as Mr. Trump's leading potential presidential primary rival, rushed to condemn the prosecutor who brought the Manhattan case that led to the historic indictment of the former president on Thursday. While not naming Mr. Trump, Mr. DeSantis said Florida would not play a role in extraditing him.... 'The unprecedented indictment of a former president of the United States on a campaign finance issue is an outrage,' former Vice President Mike Pence told CNN. In some quarters, there was a darker reaction. On Fox News, the host Tucker Carlson said the ruling showed it was 'probably not the best time to give up your AR-15s.'... Speaker Kevin McCarthy of California said Mr. Bragg had 'irreparably damaged our country in an attempt to interfere in our presidential election.'...

"'This is Political Persecution and Election Interference at the highest level in history,' Mr. Trump said in a statement on Thursday. Mr. Trump's protests of an unfair justice system come after he repeatedly threatened or sought to employ his presidential powers to pursue his real and perceived enemies.... After the indictment was announced, [Rep. Jim] Jordan tweeted one word in response to the news: 'Outrageous.'" The Huffington Post's report, by Lydia O'Connor, is here. ~~~

~~~ The Most Dangerous Response of All. Brett Samuels & Max Greenwood of the Hill: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on Thursday called the indictment of former President Trump 'un-American' and said the state would not assist in any extradition request.... 'The Soros-backed Manhattan District Attorney has consistently bent the law to downgrade felonies and to excuse criminal misconduct. Yet, now he is stretching the law to target a political opponent,' DeSantis continued, adding that Florida would not assist in an extradition request 'given the questionable circumstances at issue.'... Trump's lawyers have previously indicated that they have no plans on fighting the former president's extradition." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: According to CNN, the grand jury has brought a 30-count indictment. Ron DeSantis has no more idea than you do the basis for that indictment, yet DeSantis, who has sworn to uphold the law, has decided that the circumstances are "questionable," and therefore he will not extradite Trump if asked to do so. (There are occasional cases where withholding extradiction serve the best interests of justice, but this definitely is not one of them. Trump has the resources to defend himself and the indictment does not put him in physical jeopardy.) DeSantis exacerbates his refusal to perform a regular duty of his office by suggesting that the circumstances are "questionable" because the prosecuting authority is a Black man controlled by a super-wealthy Jewish financier, thus feeding in to the longstanding stereotypical prejudice that Jewish monied interests control the world (or at least try to). DeSantis' response is thus bigoted, race-baiting, xenophobic and essentially extra-legal. ~~~

~~~ David Moye of the Huffington Post: "During a breaking news alert, at least two of the hosts [of Fox 'News'; 'The Five'] can be heard expressing surprise at the announcement....Greg Gutfeld tried to turn what is undeniably bad news for Trump into something ... positive? 'He is an OG! He is a badass if he's got a mugshot,' Gutfeld said, noting that his poll numbers have recently gone up.... 'Did Democrats just indict a former president over sex?' [Jesse Watters] said, attempting to compare Trump's indictment to former President Bill Clinton's scandal while in office." ~~~

     ~~~ Watters Soon Went Darker. Dominick Mastrangelo of the Hill: "Fox News host Jesse Watters warned that many Americans are going to be extremely angered by news of former President Trump's indictment by a New York grand jury on Thursday. 'I'm starting to feel it right now. I'm mad about it, I don't like. The country's not going to stand for it,' Watters said on Fox's hit daytime table talk program 'The Five' as news of Trump's indictment broke. 'And people better be careful and that's all I'll say about that.'"

Steve M.: "The obvious [right-wing] target is Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, but the right-wing media already has an additional target, an assistant DA in Bragg's office named Meg Reiss. She's likely to become a household name in Wingnut Land soon...." Steve points to some initial attacks of Reiss."

Stefan Becket & Robert Costa of CBS News: "The Manhattan grand jury investigating ... Donald Trump's involvement in a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels is also probing the circumstances surrounding money paid in the run-up to the 2016 election to a second woman who alleged an affair with Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter. Witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury have fielded questions about Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model and actress, these sources said.... American Media, Inc., the Enquirer's parent company, later admitted it had acquired the rights to McDougal's story in order to bury it and help Trump's campaign. David Pecker, who was the company's CEO until 2020 and a staunch Trump ally, testified before the grand jury earlier this week." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has regularly railed against a justice system that he contends has been deployed against him by his political opponents.... But as is often the case with Mr. Trump, his accusations -- widely repeated by other Republicans -- reflect his own pattern of conduct: his history of threatening or seeking to employ the expansive powers of the presidency to go after his enemies, real and perceived. 'He was always telling me that we need to use the F.B.I. and I.R.S. to go after people -- it was constant and obsessive and is just what he's claiming is being done to him now,' said John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump's second White House chief of staff." Read on. MB: I avoided reading this article earlier Thursday, but I see that it does contain new reporting, albeit on a general matter we already knew. The DOJ willingly went along with Trump's urging to investigate John Kerry, the reporters lay out. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

A Knife-wielding One-Person Protest. Wesley Parnell of Politico: "A Trump-supporter who allegedly brandished a knife at passersby with children while she protested the Manhattan district attorney's probe of the former president was charged and released without bail late Wednesday night in Manhattan Criminal Court.... Aurora Rucker, 39, was charged with menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment for pulling a 6-inch blade on a family with two children Tuesday.... The [family of four] bumped into the Trump supporter while crossing the intersection of Hogan Place and Centre Street just after 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, three bystanders told Politico. Rucker began arguing with the couple before she pulled out the knife and waved it at the family, according to the bystanders.... Despite calls from the former president to protest a potential indictment, so far, significant support for Trump has failed to materialize. Rucker was the only protester present outside the courthouse Tuesday."

Marie: I keep forgetting to post a link to this unsurprising bit of news: ~~~

      ~~~ Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump is appealing a court ruling that would force several of his former aides, including Mark Meadows, to answer questions before a grand jury as part of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The mid-March ruling from US District Judge Beryl Howell, who was then the chief judge of DC's federal trial court, is one of several defeats the former president has suffered in his efforts to use executive privilege claims to block the testimony of former aides and allies in the Justice Department's special counsel investigations. In another recent ruling, Howell's successor, Chief Judge James Boasberg, rejected Trump's executive privilege challenge to a subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge's secret order on Tuesday requiring Mike Pence to testify about aspects of Donald Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election was also an unprecedented ruling about the vice presidency itself. It is the first time in U.S. history that a federal judge has concluded that vice presidents -- like presidents -- are entitled to a form of immunity from prying investigators. But unlike presidents, who draw all their power from the executive branch, vice presidents get their immunity from Congress, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled. That's because vice presidents -- while commonly perceived as mere agents of the president -- are constitutionally required to serve as president of the Senate. And officers of Congress, like lawmakers and their aides, enjoy immunity rooted in a provision of the Constitution known as the 'speech or debate' clause, meant to safeguard Congress from law enforcement inquiries related to their official duties.... Pence must testify, [Boasberg] ruled, but the speech-or-debate immunity may allow him to avoid answering questions about his legislative role on Jan. 6." (Also linked yesterday.)

Afterlife of a Kleptocracy. Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested hundreds of millions of dollars with Jared Kushner's private equity firm, according to people with knowledge of the transactions joining Saudi Arabia in backing the venture launched by ... Donald J. Trump's son-in-law as he left the White House. The infusion of money from interests in the two rival Persian Gulf monarchies reflects the continued efforts by Mr. Trump and his aides and allies to profit from the close ties they built to the Arab world during his presidency and the desire of leaders in the region to remain on good terms with Mr. Kushner as his father-in-law seeks the presidency again. The Emiratis invested more than $200 million with Mr. Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners.... The U.A.E.'s embassy in Washington declined to comment. A Qatari entity invested a similar sum...."

Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "President Biden plans to veto a GOP-led measure that would block D.C.'s major police accountability legislation if the resolution passes Congress, the White House said Thursday.... Biden 'will not support congressional Republicans' efforts to overturn commonsense police reforms such as: banning chokeholds; limiting use of force and deadly force; requiring the timely release of body-worn camera footage; and requiring officer training on de-escalation and use of force,' [a White House] statement said.... Biden's threat to veto the measure -- known as a disapproval resolution -- is likely to puncture the GOP's hopes of rejecting another piece of D.C. legislation, the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Act. Congress earlier this month in a bipartisan vote passed a resolution blocking D.C.'s criminal code overhaul, which Biden signed -- angering local advocates for D.C. statehood and causing local Democratic officials to fear more legislation could be in jeopardy."

Gym Jordan Presides Over Kangaroo Hearing. Azi Paybarah of the Washington Post: “Democratic lawmakers didn't hold back their anger Thursday at a House hearing about social media and censorship when a pair of Republican witnesses delivered testimony and left without being questioned. The shouting began after Sen. Eric Schmitt (R), the former attorney general of Missouri, and Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry (R) testified before the House Judiciary select subcommittee on the weaponization of the federal government about what they claimed was the Biden administration's effort to censor conservative voices online. After the two spoke, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the subcommittee chairman, dismissed them.... Democrats then tried to have the two witnesses' testimony struck from the record.... Even by today's low standards for congressional decorum, the hearing stood out for its rancor and animus."

** Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Texas who once declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional issued a far-reaching ruling on Thursday that prevents the Biden administration from enforcing a provision of the law that provides patients with certain types of free preventive care, including screenings for cancer, depression, diabetes and H.I.V. The decision, by Judge Reed O'Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, applies nationwide. If it stands, it could have far-reaching implications for millions of Americans, and bring the United States back to the days before the 2010 health law known as Obamacare, when insurers were free to decide which preventive services they would cover. The ruling, which is in the form of a nationwide injunction, takes effect immediately, said Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert on health policy at Georgetown University.... The Biden administration is likely to appeal the ruling and ask for a stay of the injunction." Bush II appointed O'Connor. MB: This is a horror. People will die. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Perry Stein of the Washington Post: "A federal judge has rejected a Justice Department request to transfer a high-profile investment-related lawsuit against the Biden administration to a different courthouse, rebuffing the government's claims that the plaintiffs wrongly filed in a district that would guarantee a conservative judge favorable to their case. The decision by U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk is the second defeat in the Justice Department's effort to fight what some legal experts say is a growing problem of judge- or forum-shopping -- a strategy in which plaintiffs intentionally file in single-judge divisions, bypassing the random assignment of judges that is considered a tenet of the American legal system. A third case, which the Justice Department asked to be transferred away from a different single-judge division in Texas, is pending. Kacsmaryk, whose courthouse is in Amarillo, Tex., ruled that he would continue to preside over a case challenging a Labor Department policy that allows retirement-plan managers to consider climate change and other social issues in their investment decisions."

Remy Tumin of the New York Times: "A jury on Thursday found that Gwyneth Paltrow was not at fault over a crash with another skier on a Utah slope in 2016, a verdict that capped a week of testimony that explored skiing etiquette, medical history and celebrity culture. The other skier, Terry Sanderson, 76, a retired optometrist, had sued Ms. Paltrow, 50, for $300,000, accusing her of skiing 'out of control' during a run on a beginner's slope at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City, according to court documents, claiming that her impact caused a traumatic brain injury and four broken ribs, among other serious injuries. Ms. Paltrow, who countersued, denied the claims, and said that Mr. Sanderson skied into her back. She was awarded $1 as she requested in her countersuit." The Guardian's report is here.

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Nicola Narea of Vox elaborates on how a mouse outsmarted Ron DeSantis.

New York. Ed Shanahan of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, [Vermont] Deputy [Sheriff Vito] Caselnova was charged with attempted murder and other crimes as a result of [a chaotic 3 a.m. gunfight outside bars in downtown Saratoga Springs, N.Y]. In what appears to be a first, he was also charged with violating a contentious provision of New York's revised gun law that prohibits the carrying of a gun in 'sensitive' locations like public transit systems, sports venues, churches and businesses that serve alcohol."

Texas. Kaila Philo of TPM: "Republican members of the Texas state legislature introduced a slate of bills Thursday designed to subvert election processes and curb voting rights in the state. One of them would even allow the Texas Secretary of State to overturn election results in the state's largest Democratic-leaning county, with very little rationale for doing so. On Thursday, Republican state senators introduced Senate Bill 1993, a bill targeting Harris County, a diverse region that includes Houston and is also the most populous county in Texas, to a Senate committee for debate." MB: Hey, if you don't like the outcome of an election, just order a do-over.

Way Beyond

Ukraine, et al.

The Guardian's live updates of developments Friday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's summary report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Friday is here: "The Wall Street Journal's editorial board called on the United States to expel the Russian ambassador and Russian journalists from the country after Russia detained its reporter Evan Gershkovich. The board accused Russia of taking the U.S. citizen hostage after his detention on alleged espionage charges, which press advocates denounced. The White House said the State Department has been in 'direct touch with the Russian government,' including 'actively working to secure consular access' to the 31-year-old journalist.... The United States called the charges against Gershkovich 'ridiculous,' while the top E.U. diplomat said his detention in Russia showed the Kremlin's 'systematic disregard for media freedom.'... Russia is set to assume the presidency of the U.N. Security Council on Saturday, a role that rotates among member states monthly. The White House urged Russia to 'conduct itself professionally,' while a spokesperson for Ukraine's foreign minister called Moscow's presidency an 'April Fools' Day joke.'... Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow will continue alerting Washington of any ballistic missile launches. The clarification Thursday followed a statement that 'all forms of notifications' would end due to Moscow suspending the New START nuclear arms reduction agreement."

Steven Erlanger of the New York Times: "Finland won final approval on Thursday to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization after decades of nonalignment, a major shift in the balance of power between the West and Russia that was set off by the invasion of Ukraine. The Turkish Parliament cast the last vote needed for Finland's entry into NATO, meaning that the alliance's border with Russia will double. It is a diplomatic and strategic defeat for President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, who made clear when Russia invaded Ukraine that he was intent on blocking NATO's eastward expansion. With Finland in its fold, NATO will be in a stronger position to deter Moscow's aggression, gaining access to a strong military, as well as Finnish airspace, ports and sea lanes." The AP's report is here.

Craig Timberg, et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian intelligence agencies worked with a Moscow-based defense contractor to strengthen their ability to launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation and surveil sections of the internet, according to thousands of pages of confidential corporate documents. The documents detail a suite of computer programs and databases that would allow Russia's intelligence agencies and hacking groups to better find vulnerabilities, coordinate attacks and control online activity. The documents suggest the firm was supporting operations including both social media disinformation and training to remotely disrupt real-world targets, such as sea, air and rail control systems. An anonymous person provided the documents from the contractor, NTC Vulkan, to a German reporter after expressing outrage about Russia's attack on Ukraine. The leak, an unusual occurrence for Russia's secretive military industrial complex, demonstrates another unintended consequence of President Vladimir Putin's decision to take his country to war." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) A Guardian story, by Luke Harding & others, is here.

Israel. Patrick Kingsley & Ronen Bergman of the New York Times: "... on Thursday, Yoav Gallant, the defense minister who was punished for criticizing the changes [to the country's judicial system], was still in his position. Though the government announced his dismissal in a one-line statement on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still has not sent him a letter formally confirming his departure, the Defense Ministry said. In the meantime, Mr. Gallant has been continuing the job: approving military missions, meeting with officials from Israel's domestic intelligence agency, inspecting a military dog unit, greeting a visiting Azerbaijani minister -- and, on Tuesday, holding a security update with Mr. Netanyahu and other military and intelligence leaders, according to three officials who requested anonymity in order to speak freely. A spokesman for the prime minister said on Thursday afternoon that no decision had been made on Mr. Gallant's future, declining to comment further."

Mexico. Natalie Kitroeff & >Emiliano Rodríguez Mega of the New York Times: "Mexican officials said on Thursday that they had arrested five people for their role in the fire in a Ciudad Juárez migrant detention center that killed at least 39 people. The authorities did not name the suspects who had been apprehended, but said arrest warrants had been obtained for three government migration officials, two private security workers and a migrant accused of starting the blaze. The sixth person charged had not yet been taken into custody. Officials said on Wednesday they were investigating the fire as a homicide case, saying that some of those responsible, including federal and state agents, had failed to allow the migrants to escape. They did not disclose the charges against those accused in the case."

Russia/Switzerland. Luke Harding of the Guardian: "Four bankers who helped Vladimir Putin's close friend Sergei Roldugin move millions of francs through bank accounts in Zurich have been convicted of financial crimes in Switzerland. The four were found guilty on Thursday of failing to carry out proper checks on financial transactions involving Roldugin's accounts with the Swiss branch of the Russian bank Gazprombank.... The men, who cannot be identified under Swiss reporting restrictions, were found guilty at a hearing at Zurich district court and were given suspended fines totalling hundreds of thousands of Swiss francs.... [Roldugin's] secret financial affairs came to light in 2016, as part of a leak of millions of documents from Mossack Fonseca, the world's fourth-biggest offshore law firm. Named the Panama Papers, they revealed a network of offshore deals and vast loans worth $2bn, with the trail leading to Putin." MB: "Suspended fines"? So they don't have to pay a franc?

March 30, 2023

Afternoon Update:

** New York Times: "A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter.... The felony indictment, filed under seal by the Manhattan district attorney's office, will likely be announced in the coming days. By then, prosecutors working for the district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, will have asked Mr. Trump to surrender and to face arraignment on charges that remain unknown for now." This is part of a liveblog. Some of the liveblog updates are interesting. ~~~

     ~~~ Michael Sisak, et al., of the AP: Joe Tacopina, "a lawyer for Donald Trump, said Thursday he's been told that the former president has been indicted in New York on charges involving payments made during the 2016 presidential campaign to silence claims of an extramarital sexual encounter. It becomes the first ever criminal case against a former U.S. president and a jolt to Trump's bid to retake the White House in 2024.... Trump, who has denied any wrongdoing and has attacked the investigation was expected to surrender to authorities next week, according to a person familiar with the matter...."

** Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "A federal judge in Texas who once declared the Affordable Care Act unconstitutional issued a far-reaching ruling on Thursday that prevents the Biden administration from enforcing a provision of the law that provides patients with certain types of free preventive care, including screenings for cancer, depression, diabetes and H.I.V. The decision, by Judge Reed O'Connor of the Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, applies nationwide. If it stands, it could have far-reaching implications for millions of Americans, and bring the United States back to the days before the 2010 health law known as Obamacare, when insurers were free to decide which preventive services they would cover. The ruling, which is in the form of a nationwide injunction, takes effect immediately, said Lawrence O. Gostin, an expert on health policy at Georgetown University.... The Biden administration is likely to appeal the ruling and ask for a stay of the injunction." MB: This is a horror. People will die.

Afterlife of a Kleptocracy. Jonathan Swan, et al., of the New York Times: "Wealth funds in the United Arab Emirates and Qatar have invested hundreds of millions of dollars with Jared Kushner's private equity firm, according to people with knowledge of the transactions, joining Saudi Arabia in backing the venture launched by ... Donald J. Trump's son-in-law as he left the White House. The infusion of money from interests in the two rival Persian Gulf monarchies reflects the continued efforts by Mr. Trump and his aides and allies to profit from the close ties they built to the Arab world during his presidency and the desire of leaders in the region to remain on good terms with Mr. Kushner as his father-in-law seeks the presidency again. The Emiratis invested more than $200 million with Mr. Kushner's firm, Affinity Partners.... The U.A.E.'s embassy in Washington declined to comment. A Qatari entity invested a similar sum...."

Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump has regularly railed against a justice system that he contends has been deployed against him by his political opponents.... But as is often the case with Mr. Trump his accusations -- widely repeated by other Republicans -- reflect his own pattern of conduct: his history of threatening or seeking to employ the expansive powers of the presidency to go after his enemies, real and perceived. 'He was always telling me that we need to use the F.B.I. and I.R.S. to go after people -- it was constant and obsessive and is just what he's claiming is being done to him now,' said John F. Kelly, Mr. Trump's second White House chief of staff." Read on. MB: I avoided reading this article earlier today, but I see that it does contain new reporting, albeit on a general matter we already knew. The DOJ willingly went along with Trump's urging to investigate John Kerry, the reporters lay out.

Stefan Becket & Robert Costa of CBS News: "The Manhattan grand jury investigating ... Donald Trump's involvement in a payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels is also probing the circumstances surrounding money paid in the run-up to the 2016 election to a second woman who alleged an affair with Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter. Witnesses who have appeared before the grand jury have fielded questions about Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model and actress, these sources said.... American Media, Inc., the Enquirer's parent company, later admitted it had acquired the rights to McDougal's story in order to bury it and help Trump's campaign. David Pecker, who was the company's CEO until 2020 and a staunch Trump ally, testified before the grand jury earlier this week."

Marie: I keep forgetting to post a link to this unsurprising bit of news: ~~~

     ~~~ Sara Murray, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump is appealing a court ruling that would force several of his former aides, including Mark Meadows, to answer questions before a grand jury as part of the criminal investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, two sources familiar with the matter told CNN. The mid-March ruling from US District Judge Beryl Howell, who was then the chief judge of DC's federal trial court, is one of several defeats the former president has suffered in his efforts to use executive privilege claims to block the testimony of former aides and allies in the Justice Department's special counsel investigations. In another recent ruling, Howell's successor, Chief Judge James Boasberg, rejected Trump's executive privilege challenge to a subpoena for former Vice President Mike Pence."

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge's secret order on Tuesday requiring Mike Pence to testify about aspects of Donald Trump's bid to subvert the 2020 election was also an unprecedented ruling about the vice presidency itself. It is the first time in U.S. history that a federal judge has concluded that vice presidents -- like presidents -- are entitled to a form of immunity from prying investigators. But unlike presidents, who draw all their power from the executive branch, vice presidents get their immunity from Congress, Chief U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg ruled. That's because vice presidents -- while commonly perceived as mere agents of the president -- are constitutionally required to serve as president of the Senate. And officers of Congress, like lawmakers and their aides, enjoy immunity rooted in a provision of the Constitution known as the 'speech or debate' clause, meant to safeguard Congress from law enforcement inquiries related to their official duties.... Pence must testify, [Boasberg] ruled, but the speech-or-debate immunity may allow him to avoid answering questions about his legislative role on Jan. 6."

Craig Timberg , et al., of the Washington Post: "Russian intelligence agencies worked with a Moscow-based defense contractor to strengthen their ability to launch cyberattacks, sow disinformation and surveil sections of the internet, according to thousands of pages of confidential corporate documents. The documents detail a suite of computer programs and databases that would allow Russia's intelligence agencies and hacking groups to better find vulnerabilities, coordinate attacks and control online activity. The documents suggest the firm was supporting operations including both social media disinformation and training to remotely disrupt real-world targets, such as sea, air and rail control systems. An anonymous person provided the documents from the contractor, NTC Vulkan, to a German reporter after expressing outrage about Russia's attack on Ukraine. The leak, an unusual occurrence for Russia's secretive military industrial complex, demonstrates another unintended consequence of President Vladimir Putin's decision to take his country to war."

~~~~~~~~~~

The Murderers' Accomplices

Katie Rogers & Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "When President Biden bluntly warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he 'cannot continue down this road' of overhauling his country's judiciary, he touched off the kind of response usually expressed by America's adversaries rather than its allies.... Mr. Netanyahu ... on Wednesday accus[ed] the U.S. president of meddling in another country's politics -- which is exactly what Mr. Biden was intending to do. It was a remarkably public outbreak of the kind of disagreement that usually takes place in private. But there were other factors at work that had been brewing for many years. There is no love lost between the two leaders, despite their polite facade when it comes to their decades-long relationship and their common commitment to Israel's defense. Mr. Netanyahu made no particular effort to hide his backing for ... Donald J. Trump in the 2020 election.... In Mr. Biden's eyes, Mr. Netanyahu himself engaged in what was perhaps the boldest interference in the American legislative process in modern history, when he arrived in Washington in 2015 and addressed Congress, denouncing a then-pending nuclear deal with Iran as a 'nightmare.'..."

Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The mass shooting at a Christian elementary school in Nashville this week has generated a broad shrugging of the shoulders in Washington, from President Biden to Republicans in Congress.... But while President Biden's stark admission on Tuesday that he could do no more on his own to tackle the issue was a statement of fact that aimed to put the burden on Congress to send him legislation..., Republicans' expressions of helplessness reflected an unwillingness, rather than an inability, to act. Their answer to Mr. Biden's plea was as blunt as it was swift, as lawmaker after Republican lawmaker made it clear that they had no intention of considering any additional gun safety measures.

"'We're not going to fix it,' Representative Tim Burchett, Republican of Tennessee, told reporters on the steps of the Capitol just hours after the shooting that killed three children and three adults in his home state. 'Criminals are going to be criminals.' Mr. Burchett said he saw no 'real role' for Congress to play in reducing gun violence, and volunteered that his solution to the issue of protecting his family was to home-school his children.... Senator John Cornyn, Republican of Texas, who served as the lead Republican negotiator on [an extremely weak gun-control] bill [last year], dismissed Mr. Biden's calls for banning assault weapons as a set of 'tired talking points.'... After Karine Jeane-Pierre, the White House press secretary, criticized congressional Republicans for their inaction on guns, Senator Tom Cotton, Republican of Arkansas, pointedly made reference to the issue of the shooter's gender on Twitter, posting a message that, 'it doesn't get much lower than blaming Republicans in Congress for a transgender killer who targeted a Christian school.'" ~~~

Mike Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "Amid the ghastly cadence of multiple mass shootings that have prompted calls for more comprehensive controls on guns, Republicans in statehouses have been steadily expanding access to guns.... Tennessee lawmakers propos[ed] bills this year to arm more teachers and allow college students to carry weapons on campus, among other measures. The same day [as the mass shooting in a Nashville elementary school], a federal judge signed off on a state settlement allowing people as young as 18 to carry a handgun without a permit.... In Kentucky, Ohio, Nebraska, Texas and Virginia, Republicans have pushed this year to limit gun-free zones, remove background checks and roll back red-flag laws that seek to remove firearms from those who are a danger to themselves or others.... Republican leaders around the country have rushed to burnish their firearms credentials, mindful that eventhe suggestion they are not all-in on gun rights could have political consequences....

"In Congress, the same day as the Tennessee shooting, the House Judiciary Committee chairman, Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, postponed a hearing where he planned to make the case for a Republican bill to outlaw one of the modest regulatory efforts undertaken by the Biden administration, a requirement to register so-called stabilizing braces that allow semiautomatic pistols to be propped against the shoulder for easier, more focused firing. Images of the weapons used in the Nashville shooting appeared to show that the killer owned such a brace and might have used it in the attack, according to law enforcement officials."

Andrew Jeong of the Washington Post: "... a heated discussion over gun control between Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) turned into a shouting match in a hallway outside the House chamber. Bowman, a former middle school principal, was telling reporters that Republicans were 'gutless' for not backing gun control laws after this week's [elementary school] shooting [in Nashville].... Massie..., who was walking by..., [and] who once tweeted a holiday photo of his family holding guns, then told Bowman, 'You know, there's never been a school shooting in a school that allows teachers to carry.'... Bowman then repeatedly told Massie that states that have open-carry laws have more deaths. When Massie told Bowman to calm down, the second-term congressman yelled, 'Calm down? Children are dying!'" The Huffington Post's report is here.

Jared Gans of the Hill: "Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) slammed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) over Republican efforts to ban certain books in schools but not enact gun control legislation following the shooting at the Nashville, Tenn., school.... 'You guys are worried about banning books -- dead kids can't read,' Moskowitz said at a House Oversight Committee hearing Wednesday...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: You need watch only till about :32 seconds in, although Moskowitz does reply to the retort from Miss Margie, which follows.

Hannah Allam of the Washington Post: "The AR-15's image as an instrument of domestic terror has been crystallized in recent years by its use in a string of hate-filled mass shootings.... Far-right factions throughout the country have shown up with AR-15s to intimidate voters and local officials, harass Muslims outside of mosques, and stand as self-appointed guards at pro-Donald Trump rallies.... Two armed groups -- one on the far right, one on the far left -- agreed to allow a Washington Post reporter and photographer to document training sessions ... last fall.... There is no parallel, however, when it comes to the use of violence by the extreme right and left.... Attacks by militant leftists are almost never deadly, according to attack records, and typically involve 'melee violence' at protests rather than the premeditated mass shootings or standoffs carried out by the far right.... Militant leftists [are] a tiny fraction of armed movements.... Far-left violence in the past decade, according to a report by George Washington University's Program on Extremism, 'pales in comparison.'... [On the right,] the violent rhetoric of once-fringe movements has now seeped into the Republican mainstream, with extremists exploiting white-grievance politics and anti-LGBTQ bigotry at all levels of political office."

Fenit Nirappil of the Washington Post: "Conservative commentators and Republican politicians unleashed a new wave of anti-trans rhetoric following Monday's shooting at a Nashville Christian school that killed six people, escalating a broader backlash to the rising visibility of transgender people in public life. The attempts on the right to connect violence to transgender people come even though transgender people are rarely the perpetrators of mass shootings, which are overwhelmingly carried out by cisgender men, according to criminal justice experts. And trans people are more likely to be victims of violence than cisgender people, multiple studies have shown.... Nevertheless, Fox News host Tucker Carlson featured a photo of the shooter superimposed with the words 'Trans Killer' on his Tuesday show. The chyron read: 'We are witnessing the rise of trans violence.' Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speculated on Twitter, as well as during a congressional hearing Wednesday, that hormone treatment may have played a role in the shooting, even though there is no evidence the shooter was on hormone therapy. And ... Donald Trump on Wednesday, without evidence, also connected the Nashville shooting to hormone therapy...." MB: You can hear Greene's remarks in the video posted above. A Guardian story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Even though we don't know how the Nashville shooter self-identified, this supposed issue is a win-win for Republicans. Not only do they use it to deflect attention from their support for vast distribution of weapons of mass murder, they also are using it as an opportunity to bash vulnerable people.

Karoun Demirjian of the New York Times: "The Senate voted on Wednesday to repeal authorizations from 1991 and 2002 for combat operations against Iraq, moving with broad bipartisan support to advance a yearslong effort to claw back congressional war powers. The bill goes next to the Republican-led House, which has passed similar legislation several times in recent years but where G.O.P. leaders are undecided about whether to put it on the floor. Still, the 66-to-30 vote in the Senate was a potentially pivotal step in the long-running push by Republicans and Democrats to reassert the national security prerogatives of Congress, with 18 G.O.P. senators joining in support."

Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "The Senate on Wednesday approved and sent to President Biden another Republican-led measure to overturn an administration rule, this one a rollback of new clean water regulations opposed by business and agriculture interests. Mr. Biden has pledged to veto the legislation blocking the 'waters of the United States' rule, but the approval of the measure marked the second time this month that Republicans have broken away enough Democrats to force a veto showdown over administration policies.... The vote was 53 to 43, with four Democrats and one independent joining 48 Republicans in challenging the administration rule. The House had already voted to overturn it."

Bernie, for the People. Lauren Gurney of the Washington Post: "Former Starbucks executive Howard Schultz unequivocally denied that the coffee giant had broken the law in its fight against unionization during a tense questioning from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Wednesday.... 'Over the past 18 months, Starbucks has waged the most aggressive and illegal union-busting campaign in the modern history of our country,' Sanders said on Wednesday. 'That union-busting campaign has been led by Howard Schultz, the multibillionaire founder and director of Starbucks who is with us this morning only under the threat of subpoena.'... Schultz said he was not involved in decisions to discipline or fire union activists or close unionizing stores, though he said he had conversations that may have been interpreted as threatening to workers.... Schultz initially declined to testify at Wednesday's hearing, but he relented after Sanders, the committee's chairman, threatened to hold a vote earlier this month to subpoena him.... Organizers of the Starbucks Workers United campaign accuse Starbucks of stalling contract negotiations and continuously retaliating against employees engaged in labor organizing." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

House Republicans in Disarray. Catie Edmonson of the New York Times: "House Republicans who have said they will not vote to raise the national debt limit without deep spending cuts are backing away from their promise to balance the budget and struggling to unite their fractious majority behind a fiscal plan, paralyzing progress on talks to avert a catastrophic default as soon as this summer.... Even as they continue to deride President Biden's $6.8 trillion budget proposal, released this month, House Republicans have begun to inch away from their own stated objectives, plagued by divisions that have prevented them from agreeing on a plan of their own that can draw enough support to pass with their slim majority."

Senate Republicans in Disarray. Mariana Alfaro & Kelsey Ables of the Washington Post: "Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) blocked an effort by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) to fast-track legislation he introduced that would ban the popular Chinese-owned social media app TikTok nationwide."

Zoë Richards of NBC News: "Twitter temporarily restricted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's congressional account Tuesday after she repeatedly posted a graphic that referred to a 'Trans Day of Vengeance.' According to a screenshot Greene, R-Ga., posted on her personal account, Twitter said it had 'temporarily limited' some of her account's features, with full functionality scheduled to be restored in seven days. The post in question, which Twitter has since removed, included a graphic that Greene said was for an antifa event in Washington, D.C., next month. 'Antifa is organizing a Trans Day of Vengeance,' Greene wrote in accompanying text.... 'We do not support tweets that incite violence irrespective of who posts them,' [a Twitter veep] tweeted. '"Vengeance" does not imply peaceful protest. Organizing or support for peaceful protests is ok.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Martin Pengelly of the Guardian: "In bizarre scenes in a US House hearing, the far-right Republican Lauren Boebert asked if a revised Washington DC criminal code was now law -- only to be reminded that Congress overturned it earlier this month -- then fixated on whether that code would have decriminalised public urination.... Boebert said [to one of the witnesses, D.C. Councilman Charles Allen]: 'You led the charge, yes sir. And these changes are now law here in DC. Correct?' Allen said: 'You mean the revised criminal code? No, those are not the law.' Boebert appeared confused. [Another witness, D.C. council chair Phil] Mendelson said: 'The revised code was rejected by -- ' Cutting Mendelson off, Boebert pressed Allen. 'Did you or did you not decriminalise public urination in Washington DC? Did you lead the charge to do so?'" Boebert continued to grill Allen about his supposed efforts to decriminalize public urination and "claimed to 'have records' showing Allen favored 'allowing public urination'." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do want to congratulate Boebert for upholding the House GOP's successful effort to hold ridiculous "investigative" hearings. I eagerly await the dog poop hearing.

Homina Homina. Lee Moran of the Huffington Post (March 25): "C-SPAN anchor Greta Brawner fact-checked far-right Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) during a viewer call-in segment Friday. On the 'Washington Journal' program, one caller told Biggs how angry he was about ... Donald Trump's wish 'to pardon the traitors ... convicted of seditious conspiracy' over the deadly U.S. Capitol riot that took place on Jan. 6, 2021.... Biggs, a Trump loyalist who helped organize the 'Stop the Steal' rally..., falsely claimed that nobody had been convicted of that charge in relation to the attack.... Brawner ... told him, 'Congressman, USA Today had this headline back in November of 2022 that Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers' founder, was found guilty of seditious conspiracy.' 'Oh, OK,' Biggs replied. 'Yeah, well, I didn't follow that case.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In fairness to Biggs, I doubt right-wing media extensively covered the seditious conspiracy case, and there's not much chance Biggs reads MSM outlets, which did report, sometimes daily, on the trial and repeatedly related how rarely DOJ has brought and successfully prosecuted seditious conspiracy charges. Also too, Biggs is as dumb as a rock.

All the Best People. Ken Klippenstein of the Intercept: "Derrick Miller, a former U.S. Army National Guard sergeant who spent eight years in prison for murdering an Afghan civilian in 2010, now serves as a legislative assistant covering military policy for Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz.... Miller covers armed forces and national security, international affairs, and veterans affairs for Gaetz, according to the Congress-tracking website LegiStorm. Gaetz serves on the House Armed Services Committee." MB: Yeah, so what could possibly be wrong with that?

** Happy Holidays, Everybody! Erica Ordan of Politico: "The Manhattan grand jury examining Donald Trump's alleged role in a hush money payment to a porn star isn't expected to hear evidence in the case for the next month largely due to a previously scheduled hiatus, according to a person familiar with the proceedings. The break would push any indictment of the former president to late April at the earliest, although it is possible that the grand jury's schedule could change." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Marie: On the teevee yesterday, I heard a good deal of speculation like this: ~~~

     ~~~ Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "Sources are telling WNBC that Allen Weisselberg, the former CFO of the Trump Organization, has fired his Trump Org lawyers.... Michael Cohen [switched lawyers] just before he flipped on Trump. Cassidy Hutchinson had a Trump-funded lawyer before she fired him and got another lawyer so she could tell the Jan. 6 investigatory committee the truth.... Each time a Trump-funded lawyer was fired, it has been an indication that those previous allies were about to turn. Weisselberg is serving a five-month sentence in a Rikers Island jail, known for being one of the most violent in America. MSNBC's Ali Velshi noted that if someone was trying to get Weisselberg to flip, now would be the time.... 'It's a big deal. That could potentially explain the delay' [in the Manhattan DA's case, Velshi said.]" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Of course I hope the speculation is correct. But the speculation very well could be nothing more than wishful thinking. Until another news organizations independently verify WNBC's story, we can't even be sure the underlying "fact" -- that Weisselberg fired his lawyers -- is true. If true, there are other reasons Weisselberg could have dismissed the attorneys. Moreover, there's no indication Bragg has delayed his case. The notion that Bragg suddenly delayed asking the grand jury to bring a true bill is based entirely on (1) Trump's false claim he would be indicted last Tuesday and (2) rampant media hype based on Trump's claim. Bragg has never indicated (as far as I recall) that he was wrapping up his presentation to the grand jury. So, as far as we know, there has not been a delay. RAS and I briefly discussed this near the end of yesterday's Comments.

Trump v. the People. Philip Bump of the Washington Post: Wherein Donald Trump tells Sean Hannity how much he admires "Chinese democracy": "... They have a caste system. And the smartest person gets to the top. The smartest and most vicious," Trump says. Bump: "What Trump appears to have been trying to describe is the stratified system of political ascent in the Chinese Communist Party, in which potential leaders work their way up through the ranks to power.... Trump's praise for the Chinese system ... was simply praise for a process in which ruthless actors can scramble for power and climb their way up to the top.... He was the autocratic leader of the Trump Organization and, save a bankruptcy or two, that worked out. Why not be the autocratic leader of the United States?... His view of democratic elections was not of an electorate empowered to choose its leaders but, instead, a process to be manipulated for power." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ MB: Bump's brief post may explain most of Trump's "philosophy" and why he thinks he has a right to do whatever he wants, & why everyone who defers to laws and norms is -- in his opinion -- corrupt.

The News About Fox "News." Amanda Terkel, et al. of NBC News: "Ten days after the 2020 election, Fox News' so-called Brain Room looked into conspiracy theories that Dominion Voting Systems had rigged the presidential election against Donald Trump. The fact-checking and research division of the network came back with a clear decision: Those claims were false. But the misinformation went on the air anyway. Details of the Brain Room's fact-check were revealed Wednesday in newly released slides from a presentation by Dominion, which the company showed at last week's pretrial hearing in its $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp.... Fox News had redacted the Brain Room findings, but the judge ordered Tuesday that they be made public." ~~~

     ~~~ Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: Among the previously-redacted documents were communications among Fox personnel, like this exchange between Tucker Carlson and a staffer re: loony lawyer Sidney Powell: "'That cunt,' he wrote in a text on Nov. 22[, 2020]. 'I hope she's punished.' 'I'm going to destroy her,' the staffer replied."

Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times: "On March 17, the Biden administration asked the [Supreme Court] justices to overturn an appeals court decision that can charitably be described as nuts, and accurately as pernicious. The decision by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit invalidated a federal law that for almost 30 years has prohibited gun ownership by people who are subject to restraining orders for domestic violence.... Now it is up to the justices to say whether that analysis is correct.... The government's petition points out that there are more than one million acts of domestic violence in the United States every year 'and the presence of a gun in a house with a domestic abuser increases the risk of homicide sixfold.' Will a fact like that matter to the Supreme Court? Do facts still matter at all?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jan Hoffman of the New York Times: "Narcan, a prescription nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses, can now be sold over the counter, the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday, authorizing a move long-sought by public health officials and treatment experts, who hope wider availability of the medicine will reduce the nation's alarmingly high drug fatality rates. By late summer, over-the-counter Narcan, could be for sale in big-box chains, vending machines, supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations and even online retailers.... Narcan is a nasal spray version of the drug naloxone, which blocks an opioid&'s effect on the brain.... But for people who use drugs, as well as for their friends and relatives, ready access to the prescription medication has been elusive." An NPR report is here. MB: Not a solution to the opioid crisis, but this could be a real life-saver. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Arizona. Michael Sherer of the Washington Post: "The Arizona Democratic Party will file a lawsuit Thursday against the state's top election administrator and No Labels, seeking to reverse the moderate group's recognition as a political party for the 2024 elections, according to Democratic officials. The lawsuit, in state court in Phoenix, reflects growing concern in Democratic circles that a No Labels third-party ticket in 2024 will jeopardize the reelection hopes of President Biden and make it harder for Democrats to maintain control of the Senate."

Arizona. Maham Javaid of the Washington Post: "Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) asked her press secretary to resign Tuesday night amid backlash over a meme she tweeted that prominent conservatives in the state said was a threat against 'transphobes.' The meme was shared hours after a mass killing in Nashville took six lives and left questions about the shooter's gender identity. Murphy Hebert, Hobbs' director of communications, told The Washington Post that Josselyn Berry delivered her resignation after the governor asked for it. The meme shared on Twitter by Berry depicts a woman wielding a gun in each hand, a still from the 1980 crime thriller 'Gloria.' Berry's caption alongside the image read, 'Us when we see transphobes.'... Berry's Twitter account was locked by Wednesday afternoon." A CBS News story is here.

Florida. Mouse Routs DeSantolini. AP: “Board members picked by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to oversee the governance of Walt Disney World said Wednesday that their Disney-controlled predecessors pulled a fast one on them by passing restrictive covenants that strip the new board of many of its powers. The current supervisors of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said at a meeting that their predecessors last month signed a development agreement with the company that gave Disney maximum developmental power over the theme park resort's 27,000 acres in central Florida. The five supervisors were appointed by the Republican governor to the board after the Florida Legislature overhauled Disney's government in retaliation for the entertainment giant publicly opposing so-called 'Don't Say Gay' legislation...." A Washington Post report is here.

Kentucky. Campbell Robertson & Ernesto Londoño of the New York Times: "The Republican-dominated Kentucky legislature voted overwhelmingly on Wednesday to override the governor's veto of a bill that will create a host of new regulations and restrictions on transgender youth, including banning access to what doctors call gender-affirming health care. The bill, described by L.G.B.T.Q. rights groups as among the most extreme in the nation, was vetoed on Friday by Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, but it was overridden in both the State House and Senate, where Republicans hold supermajorities."

Minnesota. Ellen Francis of the Washington Post: "A train carrying ethanol derailed and sparked a fire in Raymond, Minn., authorities said Thursday, urging nearby residents to evacuate. People within a half-mile of the incident were told to evacuate after emergency responders found 'numerous rail cars' on a BNSF train had derailed on the edge of the city and caught fire, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office said in a statement overnight. The derailed tankers contained 'a form of ethanol and others with a corn syrup liquid,' it said. 'The site remains active as the fire is being contained, no travel is advised to the city of Raymond.' Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the Federal Railroad Administration was at the site after the train derailed early Thursday. He said there were no initial reports of injuries or deaths." At 8:30 am ET, this is a developing story.

Way Beyond

Brazil. Terrence McCoy & Moriah Balingit of the Washington Post: "Former president Jair Bolsonaro left the United States Wednesday night on a flight home to Brazil, a country deeply divided by his governance and policies, where he faces an array of investigations that could ultimately end his political career and even put him in prison."

Mexico. Simon Romero, et al., of the New York Times: "Mexican officials announced on Wednesday that they were investigating a fire at a migrant detention center in Ciudad Juárez as a homicide case, saying that government workers and private security employees had not allowed detainees to escape from the blaze that killed at least 39 people. The authorities, in a news conference, said they had identified eight suspects, including federal and state agents, and would issue four arrest warrants on Wednesday. 'None of the public servants, nor the private security guards, took any action to open the door for the migrants who were inside where the fire was,' said Sara Irene Herrerías Guerra, a top federal human rights prosecutor.... The authorities said they might also investigate one migrant suspected of starting the fire."

Ukraine, et al.

The New York Times' live updates of developments Thursday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates are here. ~~~

     ~~~ The Washington Post's live briefing for Thursday is here: "There has been a 'significant increase in the number of troops' in Zaporizhzhia and 'open talk about offensives and counter-offensives' involving Ukrainian and Russian forces, IAEA chief Rafael Mariano Grossi said during a visit Wednesday to the nuclear plant.... Turkey's parliament is expected to ratify Finland's NATO bid on Thursday, paving the way for the Nordic country to join the alliance -- but without its ally and fellow membership hopeful Sweden. Thursday's vote is the last remaining hurdle in Finland's quest to join the military organization. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky invited China's leader, Xi Jinping, to discuss the war during an interview with the Associated Press, adding that he had not been in contact with Xi since before Russia invaded last year."

Daniel Victor & Michael Grynbaum of the New York Times: "The Russian authorities said on Thursday that they had detained an American journalist for The Wall Street Journal and accused him of espionage, marking a sharp escalation in Moscow's hostilities toward foreign news organizations -- and against the United States -- amid the invasion of Ukraine. The journalist, Evan Gershkovich, a correspondent based in Moscow, is believed to be the first American reporter to be held as an accused spy in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union.... Hours after the F.S.B. [announceed his detention], the Kremlin endorsed Mr. Gershkovich's arrest.... In a statement, The Wall Street Journal strongly rejected Russia's allegations and said that it was concerned for Mr. Gershkovich's safety." The Guardian's report is here.

News Ledes

New York Times: "Mark Russell, a master of political satire who stood at a star-spangled piano and kept the cognoscenti in stitches for six decades with musical parodies and professorial tomfoolery that tweaked politicians and captured the silly side of Washington, died on Thursday at his home there. He was 90."

New York Times: "Two United States Army helicopters collided during a training mission near a sprawling Army base along the Kentucky-Tennessee border on Wednesday night, causing casualties, the Army said. The two HH-60 Black Hawk assault helicopters crashed into each other at about 10 p.m. during a routine training mission in Trigg County, Ky., Nondice L. Thurman, a spokeswoman at the Army base, Fort Campbell, said in a statement. She added that the crash was under investigation." ~~~

     ~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "Nine soldiers were killed after two United States Army helicopters collided during a training mission near an Army base along the Kentucky-Tennessee border on Wednesday night, the Army said."

David Martin says it's feared that as many as nine people were killed."