The Conversation -- November 18, 2023

Jacquiline Alemanyof the Washington Post: "White House special counsel Dick Sauber questioned the validity of the GOP-led impeachment inquiry into President Biden on Friday in a scathing letter sent to House Oversight Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). In the four-page letter, Sauber demanded that Comer and Jordan withdraw their subpoenas and requests for interviews with members of the Biden family and aides, arguing that since the House did not hold a floor vote on the impeachment inquiry, it has not been formally authorized by the legislative body as required by the Constitution. 'In fact, both of you previously supported the position that moving forward with an impeachment inquiry without a vote of the House "represents an abuse of power and brings discredit to the House of Representatives,"' Sauber wrote, quoting a 2019 resolution disapproving of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) decision to unilaterally initiate an impeachment inquiry into ... Donald Trump....* Sauber also railed against Comer and Jordan's misrepresentation of evidence and politically motivated statements about the impeachment inquiry." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This is somewhat misleading. Although a number of House committees began investigating matters related to the ultimate Articles of Impeachment before a vote of the full House occurred, the House did formally authorize the impeachment inquiry "by a vote of 232 to 196 on October 31, 2019."

Kathleen Cullitan of the Raw Story: "On the heels of President Joe Biden's comprehensive exchange with Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Daily Beast issued a stark reminder to any Americans thinking about hopping back into bed with Donald Trump. 'Biden ... in both his press conference following the Xi meeting and in his remarks throughout the summit, showed a complete, confident mastery of an enormous range of issues,' David Rothkopf writes. 'That's a far cry from Trump's flaccid performance.' Rothkopf's opinion piece published Friday heaped praise on Biden's handling of diplomatic relations with China both as a Vice President and the nation's commander-in-chief."

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

Farnoush Amiri of the AP: "House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday he plans to publicly release thousands of hours of footage from the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, making good on a promise he made to far-right members of his party when he was campaigning for the job.... The move by Johnson will grant the general public a stunning level of access to sensitive and explicit Jan. 6 security footage, which many critics have warned could endanger the safety of staff and members in the Capitol complex if it gets into the wrong hands. The hours of footage detail not only the shocking assault rioters made on U.S. Capitol Police as they breached the building but also how the rioters accessed the building and the routes lawmakers used to flee to safety.... In February, [then-Speaker Kevin] McCarthy gave then-Fox News host Tucker Carlson exclusive access to the footage, a move that Democrats swiftly condemned as a 'grave' breach of security with potentially far-reaching consequences."

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... while we keep our eyes on Trump and his allies and enablers, it is important not to lose sight of the fact that antidemocratic attitudes run deep within the Republican Party.... [For instance,] Not one full day after the vote [to add reproductive rights to Ohio's constitution], four Republican state representatives announced that..., 'We will do everything in our power to prevent our laws from being removed upon perception of intent....' Notice the language: 'our power' and 'our laws.' There is no awareness here that the people of Ohio are sovereign and that their vote to amend the state Constitution holds greater authority than the judgment of a small group of legislators.... To many Republicans, unfortunately, persuasion is anathema.... Instead, the game is to create a system in which, heads or tails, you always win." Bouie gives a number of other examples of Republicans overriding or attempting to override the will of the people. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Yesterday, I heard a teevee pundit state the obvious: that democracy can't work in a country where only one of the two major political parties actually favors democracy.

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

     ~~~ Marie: Gosh, Donald, I recall when you said the insurrectionists were not your supporters but Antifa guys and FBI informants. Oh, and for some reason, I'm skeptical you wanted to go to the Capitol to stop the insurrection (like, say, those 187 minutes you sat in your dining room cheering on your troops while aides, family members and even Sean F. Hannity begged you to intervene). Thanks to RAS for the lead. ~~~

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

     ~~~ Brandi Buchman of Law & Crime: "A federal judge on Friday denied Donald Trump's request to strike so-called 'inflammatory allegations' about the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6 from his criminal indictment in Washington, D.C., saying he failed to prove his claim while 'making several accusatory and unsupported comments' on his own.... [Judge Tanya] Chutkan also appeared to highlight the irony in Trump's motion.... 'Defendant's sixteen-page reply in support of the motion despite making numerous inflammatory and unsupported accusations on its own devotes only a single paragraph to the prejudice requirement,' she wrote, noting a line in Trump's filing where he asserted, baselessly, that President Joe Biden had 'directed the Department of Justice to prosecute his leading opponent for the presidency through a calculated leak to the New York Times.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Judge Chutkan's order is here.

Kevin Breuninger of CNBC: "A New York judge on Friday denied a request by ... Donald Trump and his co-defendants for a mistrial in the $250 million civil business fraud case against them. Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron said the arguments for a mistrial were 'utterly without merit' as he declined to sign the defendants' bid for a motion to throw out the case. The ruling came two days after attorneys for Trump Sr., Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, the Trump Organization and its top executives argued that the case had been undermined by political bias."

Presidential Race 2024

Colorado. It Depends on What the Meaning of "Support" Is. Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "A Colorado judge ruled on Friday that ... Donald J. Trump could remain on the primary ballot in the state, rejecting the argument that the 14th Amendment prevents him from holding office again -- but doing so on relatively narrow grounds that lawyers for the voters seeking to disqualify him said they would appeal. With his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled, Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution, an offense that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment -- which was ratified in 1868 to keep former Confederates out of the government -- deems disqualifying for people who previously took an oath to support the Constitution.

"But Judge Wallace, a state district court judge in Denver, concluded that Section 3 did not include the presidential oath in that category. The clause does not explicitly name the presidency, so that question hinged on whether the president was included in the category 'officer of the United States.... The absence of the president from the list of positions to which the amendment applies combined with the fact that Section 3 specifies that the disqualifying oath is one to "support" the Constitution whereas the presidential oath is to "preserve, protect and defend" the Constitution,' Judge Wallace wrote...." MB: Seems like a strange reading. Why would the Constitution bar a low-level functionary from running for office but not the most important official in the U.S.? ~~~

     ~~~ An ABC News story is here. The judge's ruling, via the state court system, is here.

Michigan. Nick Robertson of the Hill: "A liberal activist group appealed a Michigan court's decision on Thursday to throw out their case attempting to bar former President Trump from the presidential ballot, taking the case to the state Supreme Court. Free Speech for People sued the state of Michigan in September, arguing that Trump's involvement with the Jan. 6 Capitol riots violates the 14th Amendment, which should bar him from being eligible for office. A lower court threw out the suit last month, arguing that a 14th Amendment challenge is not valid in the primary stage of an election. The appeal requests 'emergency application' to bypass the usual state Appeals Court and go straight to the Supreme Court, given the short time until state primary ballots are finalized."

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

James Zirin in the Washington Monthly: "Has Donald Trump gone nuts?... All the armchair gerontologists parsing every utterance from President Joe Biden, trying to distinguish his congenital stutter from his natural aging, should look at Trump, whose behavior has gone from bad to weird to bizarre.... Perhaps more worrisome than Trump's mental miscues is the fact that his authoritarian tendencies have veered into even more fascistic territory, and his insults have become even more intemperate, which is saying something.... Trump's policy pronouncements have become more incendiary and more insane, if that were possible." Zirin recounts numerous examples of the general failings he identifies.

No Labels, Where the "Grassroots" Are Always Greener. Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "No Labels, the nonprofit group actively working to field a third party ticket for president in 2024, doubled its annual revenue last year over 2021, collecting $21 million, nearly all of it from wealthy donors who gave $100,000 or more. No Labels is not required to publicly disclose the names of its donors, but CNBC obtained a list from the group of contributions last year that exceeded $5,000. The list did not include names, but it revealed that around 80% of the group's total revenue, roughly $17 million, came from at least 68 individual donors who each gave the group $100,000 or more. The 990 tax return also revealed that No Labels had only one program last year, which it called, 'citizen engagement, digital and grassroots movement building and ballot access.'"

Donald, Frater Non Gratus. Jacob Bernstein of the New York Times: "More than 100 mourners streamed into the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola in Manhattan on Friday morning for the memorial service of Maryanne Trump Barry, a longtime federal judge and an older sister of Donald J. Trump. The former president was among those who attended. He arrived, along with his wife, Melania, and other family members as part of a processional from the Frank E. Campbell Funeral Home.... Mr. Trump did not speak at the service.... [Judge Barry's son, David William] Desmond did not mention former President Trump in his remarks.... In a series of surreptitiously recorded interviews in 2018 and 2019 with a niece, Mary L. Trump, [Judge Barry] spoke scathingly of [Donald Trump]. 'He has no principles,' she said. 'None.' She added, 'It's the phoniness and this cruelty. Donald is cruel.'... I don't want any of my siblings to speak at my funeral,' Judge Barry continued. 'And that's all about Donald and what he did at Dad's funeral [which was not to mention Dad at all in a supposed eulogy].... It was all about him.'"

Ryan Mac, et al., of the New York Times: "The blowback over Elon Musk's endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X gathered steam on Friday, as several major advertisers on his social media platform cut off their spending after his comments. Disney said it was pausing spending on X, as did Lionsgate, the entertainment and film distribution company, and Paramount Global, the media giant that owns CBS. Apple, which spends tens of millions of dollars a year on X, also suspended advertising on the platform, a person with knowledge of the situation said. They followed IBM, which cut its spending with X on Thursday. Mr. Musk ... has been under scrutiny for months for allowing and even stoking antisemitic abuse on the site. That snowballed on Wednesday when the tech billionaire agreed with a post on X that accused Jewish people who are facing antisemitism amid the Israel-Hamas war of pushing the 'exact kind of dialectical hatred against whites that they claim to want people to stop using against them' and supporting the immigration of 'hordes of minorities.'" ~~~

~~~ Amy Wang, et al., of the Washington Post: "The White House on Friday condemned a social media post by Elon Musk in which he indicated support for an antisemitic conspiracy theory, calling the billionaire's action an 'abhorrent promotion of antisemitic and racist hate.'... In a subsequent tweet, Musk went on to criticize the Anti-Defamation League, a nonprofit that combats antisemitism and extremism, saying it 'unjustly attacks the majority of the West' for anti-Jewish hate rather than 'the minority groups who are their primary threat.'... 'We condemn this abhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate in the strongest terms, which runs against our core values as Americans,' [White House spokesman Andrew] Bates said." Politico's story is here.

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady, has entered hospice care at her home in Georgia alongside her husband, former President Jimmy Carter, who has been in hospice since February, the family announced on Friday. Mrs. Carter, 96, revealed in May that she has dementia, but Friday's statement offered no further details about her condition or any other ailments she might be suffering. She has been by her husband's side for the last nine months as he has similarly decided to forgo full-scale medical treatment...."

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Israel/Palestine

The Washington Post's live updates of developments Saturday in the Israel/Hamas war are here: "Doctors, patients and displaced civilians left Gaza's largest hospital Saturday, amid competing claims over who had ordered the evacuation, which aid groups described as 'complex and dangerous.' The head of al-Shifa hospital said Israel gave people one hour to evacuate, and that 120 patients and five doctors remained inside the complex, which had housed thousands of displaced people. Conditions inside the hospital for those who remained were 'very difficult,' with water and electricity cut off, he added. The Israeli military denied ordering an evacuation, instead saying that it had agreed to assist evacuation efforts following requests from the hospital. Many evacuees are headed south, although Israeli forces have indicated their ground offensive may also intensify in parts of southern Gaza soon." ~~~

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

Philip Pan, et al., of the New York Times: "The discovery [of a tunnel shaft] at Al-Shifa Hospital did not seem to settle the question of whether Hamas has been using the complex to hide weapons and command centers, as Israel has said. Israeli forces on Friday probed further into civilian infrastructure in northern Gaza for signs of a Hamas presence, announcing that they had found weapons at a school and guiding international reporters to a tunnel shaft on the grounds of the territory's largest hospital. As troops searched the hospital, Al-Shifa, for a third day, Israel announced that it would allow limited shipments of fuel to the enclave to avoid 'epidemics' amid the wreckage of the territory.... In a building next to the hospital, the military said on Friday, it had discovered the body of a second hostage taken by Hamas, Noa Marciano, 19, who had been a corporal in the Israeli army. The military also announced that it had killed Hamas terrorists found 'hiding' in a school. 'You have said the actual truth,' Mr. Musk replied."

News Lede

New Hampshire. No Country for Old Women. Marie: When I was driving to a doctor's appointment yesterday afternoon, I hoped -- as I do every time I go to a public place during regular business hours -- that a crazed mass murderer wouldn't shoot me dead in this gun-loving state. At the doctor's office, I was very aware there was no way to run and hide from a murderous nut who might enter the waiting room. So as I was driving home, unscathed, I passed this (although I passed by at least an hour before the events unfolded): ~~~

~~~ New York Times: "An assailant fatally shot a security officer inside the lobby of a state psychiatric hospital in Concord, N.H., on Friday afternoon and then was killed shortly afterward by a state trooper patrolling the campus, state officials said. Col. Mark B. Hall, the director of the New Hampshire Department of Safety, said at a news conference on Friday night that the authorities were still investigating a motive for the shooting, which occurred about 3:30 p.m. Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire identified the victim as Bradley Haas, a security officer with the Department of Safety." An NBC News story is here.

The Conversation -- November 17, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

     ~~~ BUT Musk is not alone. ~~~

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

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

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

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Israel/Palestine

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

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

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

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

The Conversation -- November 16, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

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

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

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

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

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

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

— Tim Miller (@Timodc) November 15, 2023

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

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

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

~~~~~~~~~~

Israel/Palestine

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

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

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

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

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

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

News Lede

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