The Commentariat -- February 2, 2020

Afternoon Update:

Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Alan Dershowitz, a member of President Trump's defense team in his Senate impeachment trial, said Sunday that the president tying military aid to Ukraine to investigations of his rivals would be 'troubling if it were proved' but that 'troubling is not the criteria for impeachment.' 'On Election Day, as a citizen, I will allow that to enter into my decision,' Dershowitz said when asked by Fox News's Chris Wallace if he would find the alleged quid pro quo at the center of the impeachment fight 'troubling.'... Dershowitz responded, 'Of course any citizen would find that troubling if it were proved.... If a president linked aid to an ally to personal benefit that was not in the public interest, that would be wrong,' he added. 'That would be a reason for him not to vote for him.'" Mrs. McC Translation: I only say this stuff to get on national teevee. Vote for the anti-Trump.

Hahahahahaha. Zack Budryk: "Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said on Sunday he believes that despite his certain acquittal this week, President Trump's impeachment will dissuade him from conduct of the kind that led to the impeachment proceedings.... 'If a call like this gets you an impeachment, I would think he would think twice before he did it again,' Alexander added, referencing a call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky...." Mrs. McC: That's a lot like how the Mueller investigation made Trump think twice when he called Zelensky the day after Mueller wrapped up his report by testifying before Congress. Is Alexander stupid or does he think we are?

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Presidential Race

Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "After a long campaign of ideological clashes, policy debates and talk of a grand reckoning on the direction of the Democratic Party, the presidential primaries starting on Monday will be shaped by a less lofty but increasingly urgent matter: determining the best candidate to defeat an incumbent who has already proved to be a political survivor. With Republicans ready to acquit President Trump of two impeachment charges next week, the nation's political table has been set for 2020: Congress will not remove him from office..., leaving the fate of Mr. Trump to the November general election and the candidate nominated by Democrats in the coming months. From the liberal left to the moderate middle, the major presidential contenders are now honing or recalibrating their final appeals before Iowa's caucuses to make the case that they represent the party's best chance to overcome Mr. Trump's well-funded re-election operation and win back the White House this fall."

Lisa Lerer, et al., of the New York Times: "A highly anticipated poll of Iowa Democrats, set to be released two days before the presidential caucuses, was shelved on Saturday night because of concerns about irregularities in the methodology. The apparent problem, raised by aides to Pete Buttigieg, prompted CNN to cancel an hourlong special organized to release the results of their survey, conducted with The Des Moines Register.... A [Buttigieg] supporter received a poll phone call from an operator working for the polling operation, but ... [Buttigieg's] name was not listed on the menu of options.... The poll is conducted by telephone from a call center, where operators read from a prepared script.... One operator had apparently enlarged the font size on their computer screen, perhaps cutting off Mr. Buttigieg's name from the list of options, according to two people.... The survey, published by The Des Moines Register for 76 years, is considered the gold standard for polling in the notoriously hard-to-predict state and is carefully watched as an early indicator of strength in the caucuses." Politico's story is here.

Reid Epstein, et al., of the New York Times explain how the Iowa caucuses work (or not). Mrs. McC: I read somewhere else that there will be some kind of call-in wrinkle this year to further confuse things. The story doesn't mention that.

Jim Tankersley & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Former Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg of New York unveiled a plan on Saturday that would raise an estimated $5 trillion in new tax revenue from high earners and corporations, a proposal that would almost certainly raise his personal tax bill but is less aggressive than those from his most liberal rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination. The proposal includes a repeal of President Trump's 2017 tax cuts for high earners, along with a new 5 percent 'surcharge' on incomes above $5 million per year. It would raise capital gains taxes for Americans earning more than $1 million a year and maintain a limit on federal deductions of state and local tax payments set under the 2017 law, which some Democrats have pushed to eliminate." An AP story is here.

The Plot Against Bernie. David Siders of Politico: "A small group of Democratic National Committee members has privately begun gauging support for a plan to potentially weaken Bernie Sanders' presidential campaign and head off a brokered convention. In conversations on the sidelines of a DNC executive committee meeting and in telephone calls and texts in recent days, about a half-dozen members have discussed the possibility of a policy reversal to ensure that so-called superdelegates can vote on the first ballot at the party's national convention. Such a move would increase the influence of ... top party officials, who now must wait until the second ballot to have their say.... It is possible [Sanders] could arrive at the convention with the most delegates -- but without enough to win the nomination on the first ballot. It is also possible that he and Elizabeth Warren, a fellow progressive, could arrive at the convention in second and third place, but with more delegates combined than the frontrunner. If, on the second ballot, superdelegates were to throw their support to someone else, tipping the scales, many moderate Democrats fear the upheaval that would cause could weaken the eventual nominee."

The New York Times is live-updating Saturday events in the presidential race. The Washington Post has Iowa caucus updates here.

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The Department of Justice revealed in a court filing late Friday that it has two dozen emails related to ... Donald Trump's involvement in the withholding of millions in security assistance to Ukraine -- a disclosure that came just hours after the Senate voted against subpoenaing additional documents and witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial, paving the way for his acquittal. The filing, released near midnight Friday, marks the first official acknowledgment from the Trump administration that emails about the President's thinking related to the aid exist, and that he was directly involved in asking about and deciding on the aid as early as June. The administration is still blocking those emails from the public and has successfully kept them from Congress. A lawyer with the Office of Management and Budget wrote to the court that 24 emails between June and September 2019 -- including an internal discussion among DOD officials called 'POTUS follow-up' on June 24 -- should stay confidential because the emails describe 'communications by either the President, the Vice President, or the President's immediate advisors regarding Presidential decision-making about the scope, duration, and purpose of the hold on military assistance to Ukraine.'" Emphasis added.

The Dangers the Senate Has Unleashed. Sam Brodey & Erin Banco of the Daily Beast: After Senate Republicans acquit him, "U.S. administration officials and foreign officials acknowledge Trump will increasingly manufacture his own foreign policy decisions, with his personal associates, without the input of his intelligence and national security agencies. That means Trump will more likely have the ability to run his personal political errands -- and business agenda -- with little, if any, scrutiny. And when that scheme falls apart, and Trump's personal associates turn on him, or decide to detail the behind-the-scenes shenanigans, the U.S. will lose credibility on the world stage.... National security officials ... [are] genuinely concerned, they said, that the American political system will systematically be compromised by American adversaries and that the foundation of the country's democracy will be peeled away.... Perhaps even more concerning ... is Trump's reliance on conspiracy theories to form the basis of his foreign policy objectives."

Todd Purdum of the Atlantic writes another Requiem for the Senate, in which he recognizes "McConnell's years-long legacy of hyper-partisanship, unremitting obstruction of Barack Obama, and unswerving loyalty to Donald Trump and his caucus's raw political interests crystallized into a profound upending of the norms and procedures of the body he purports to revere."

Jeremy Diamond & Kristen Holmes of CNN: "... don't expect Trump to apologize or express any contrition for his conduct. Instead, people close to the President say they anticipate he will claim vindication and continue to proclaim his complete and total innocence."

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times: "The state of the union is upside down and inside out and sauerkraut. Trump has changed literally everything in the last three years, transforming and coarsening the game. On Friday night, he became, arguably, the most brutishly powerful Republican of all time. Never has a leader had such a stranglehold on his party, subsuming it with one gulp."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Jack Khoury of Haaretz & the AP: "Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Saturday the Palestinian Authority has cut all ties with the United States and Israel, including those relating to security, after rejecting a Middle East peace plan presented by ... Donald Trump. Abbas was in Cairo to address the Arab League, which backed the Palestinians in their opposition to Trump's plan. The Arab League rejected Trump's plan, saying in a communique it would not lead to a just peace deal and adding it will not cooperate with the United States to execute the plan." Mrs. McC: What?? You mean Jared read 25 books for nothing?? He should publish his syllabus so we'll know what not to read.

News Ledes

Guardian: "A man has been shot dead by armed police on a busy south London high street following a terrorist-related incident in which a number of people are believed to have been stabbed. Witnesses said they saw a man with silver canisters strapped to his chest and holding a 'machete' being chased by armed plainclothes officers down Streatham High Road before being shot. The attacker was under active surveillance, implying he was considered to post a serious risk, and was well known to the counter-terror authorities, the Guardian understands. He was also the subject of a live investigation."

The New York Times' live updates of developments in the coronavirus epidemic are here.

The Commentariat -- February 1, 2020

With no real witnesses, the Senate will be moving into Alice in Wonderland territory. Following the trial of the Knave of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts pronounced 'sentence first, verdict after.' In the Senate, with no witnesses, this sequence will change. It will be 'verdict first, trial never.' -- Stephen Gillers, NYU Law professor, in a Just Security op-ed, January 27

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: As I understand it, the next Senate impeachment proceeding will be debate beginning Monday @11 am ET, without the CJ. Debate will continue into Tuesday, but Tuesday night everyone moseys over to the House for the SOTU extended boast. Then the Senate will vote to acquit the SOB, with the CJ presiding, beginning @4 pm ET Wednesday. Here's a CNN story by Jeremy Herb & others on how that schedule came to be. However, when McConnell asked for & got the adjournment Friday, I don't think he had the schedule nailed down, as the story suggests.

Michael Shear & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The Senate brought President Trump to the brink of acquittal on Friday of charges that he abused his power and obstructed Congress, as Republicans voted to block consideration of new witnesses and documents in his impeachment trial.... The Democrats' push for more witnesses and documents failed 49 to 51, with only two Republicans, Mitt Romney of Utah and Susan Collins of Maine, joining Democrats in favor. A vote on the verdict is planned for Wednesday.... Senators recessed the trial for the weekend and will return Monday for closing arguments, with a vote on the verdict on Wednesday. The timetable will rob Mr. Trump of the opportunity to use his State of the Union address scheduled for Tuesday night [Mrs. McC: and a Super Bowl Sunday interview] to boast about his acquittal.... Instead, he will become the second president to deliver the speech during his own impeachment trial....

"The president has insisted that he did nothing wrong, calling a July telephone conversation in which he asked the president of Ukraine to investigate his political rivals 'perfect' and the impeachment inquiry a 'sham.' For months, he has demanded that his allies deliver nothing less than an absolute defense of his actions. But while they were poised to acquit him, several Republicans offered words of criticism, instead. Senator Rob Portman, Republican of Ohio, said that 'some of the president's actions in this case -- including asking a foreign country to investigate a potential political opponent and the delay of aid to Ukraine -- were wrong and inappropriate.' Senator Marco Rubio of Florida [said]..., 'Just because actions meet a standard of impeachment does not mean it is in the best interest of the country to remove a president from office,' he said."

Shorter Marco: "He did it, it's impeachable, don't count on me." -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Addy Baird, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "After days of arguments and questioning in ... Donald Trump's impeachment trial, many Republican senators have come to the same conclusion: The president did it, and they don't care."

The New York Times' live updates of Friday's impeachment proceedings are here. "Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, called a recess after the vote, but gave no indication how long it would last."

"... Adam B. Schiff ... rose one final time on Friday to appeal to a Senate that had already essentially made up its mind against him. Vote for additional witnesses and documents, he implored them, or risk 'long lasting and harmful consequences long after this impeachment trial is over.' Mr. Schiff's warning to senators was threefold: First, he said, it would set a dangerous precedent for every future impeachment trial that witnesses and evidence were not necessary; second, the facts about Mr. Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine will come out regardless; and third, Americans will see that for the president, there is a double standard of justice." ~~~

~~~ "Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said Friday she would vote against including new witnesses and documents in President Trump's impeachment trial.... In a statement released just as the House managers began pleading their case for witnesses, Ms. Murkowski called their impeachment articles too 'rushed and flawed' to warrant prolonging the trial. But she also said she had become convinced that the Senate would be unable to deliver a fair trial...." ~~~

"John F. Kelly, President Trump's former chief of staff and secretary of homeland security, said on Friday that the Senate would be known forever as a body that 'shirks its responsibilities' if it wraps up the trial of his former boss without hearing witnesses." (Also linked yesterday.)

Washington Post Editors: "REPUBLICAN SENATORS who voted Friday to suppress known but unexamined evidence of President Trump'’s wrongdoing at his Senate trial must have calculated that the wrath of a vindictive president is more dangerous than the sensible judgment of the American people, who, polls showed, overwhelmingly favored the summoning of witnesses. That's almost the only way to understand how the Republicans could have chosen to deny themselves and the public the firsthand account of former national security adviser John Bolton, and perhaps others, on how Mr. Trump sought to extort political favors from Ukraine. The public explanations the senators offered were so weak and contradictory as to reveal themselves as pretexts.... We can hope only that voters who wanted that evidence to be heard in the trial will respond by showing incumbent senators they are a force to be reckoned with, as much as the bully in the White House." ~~~

~~~ New York Times Editors: "... no one ever lost money betting on the cynicism of today's congressional Republicans. The move [against calling for witnesses & documents] can only embolden the president to cheat in the 2020 election. [See George Soros' NYT op-ed linked under "Presidential Race" below.] The vote also brings the nation face to face with the reality that the Senate has become nothing more than an arena for the most base and brutal -- and stupid -- power politics. Faced with credible evidence that a president was abusing his powers, it would not muster the institutional self-respect to even investigate.... Every impeachment trial in American history had included witnesses.... It's not Congress as an institution that has failed [as Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska)]; it's Senate Republicans. They didn't refuse to hold a fair trial so much as they refused to hold any trial at all.... The Senate may acquit Mr. Trump, but it will not, it cannot, exonerate him. Mr. Trump is the most corrupt president in modern times...."

** Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "More than two months before he asked Ukraine's president to investigate his political opponents, President Trump directed John R. Bolton, then his national security adviser, to help with his pressure campaign to extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton. Mr. Trump gave the instruction, Mr. Bolton wrote, during an Oval Office conversation in early May that included the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, the president's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, who is now leading the president's impeachment defense. Mr. Trump told Mr. Bolton to call Volodymyr Zelensky, who had recently won election as president of Ukraine, to ensure Mr. Zelensky would meet with Mr. Giuliani, who was planning a trip to Ukraine to discuss the investigations that the president sought, in Mr. Bolton's account. Mr. Bolton never made the call, he wrote. The previously undisclosed directive that Mr. Bolton describes would be the earliest known instance of Mr. Trump seeking to harness the power of the United States government to advance his pressure campaign against Ukraine, as he later did on the July call with Mr. Zelensky...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill has a summary report on the NYT story: "Cipollone's involvement in meetings about the pressure campaign on Ukraine would place additional scrutiny on the White House counsel. While leading Trump's defense in the impeachment trial, Cipollone has insisted there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the president and argued that the Senate does not need to hear from Bolton." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ According to this Yahoo! news story by David Knowles, either Bolton is lying or everyone else is. Trump said the meeting "never happened," Rudy tweeted, "The meeting the Times describes is a lie," and Mulvaney has claimed he always stepped out of a room when Rudy & Trump were in it to avoid compromising Trump & Rudy's client-lawyer confidentiality. Not sure what Cipollone has said during the course of the trial & elsewhere that would suggest the meeting "never happened." Knowles notes that "Records unearthed by House investigators, however, show that Giuliani's months-long pressure campaign on Ukraine overlapped with the May meeting alleged in Bolton's book." Mrs. McC: So who ya gonna believe, the POTUS*, his chief-of-staff, and two lawyers or one guy hawking a book?... Oh, the bookseller. ~~~

~~~ Paul Waldman & Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "Stephen Gillers, a professor at the New York University School of Law, told us that this raises serious questions about the propriety of [Pat] Cipollone's role as Trump's chief counsel. As Gillers wrote in a recent piece, Cipollone had an obligation, at a minimum, to disclose all his own knowledge of the facts surrounding the case. As Gillers wrote, a legal ethics rule known as the 'advocate-witness rule' says that 'when a lawyer should be a witness at trial, she cannot also be an advocate in the courtroom.' Now [John] Bolton has placed Cipollone right in the room with Trump as he ordered Bolton to pressure the Ukrainian president to work with Trump's personal lawyer to set up a shadow operation that would subvert our foreign policy and national interest to Trump's corrupt political ends.... The new Bolton revelations show that the trial has been even more corrupted by Trump and his team than we thought in another important way.' ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait: "Giuliani's role is the deepest, darkest cesspool in the Ukraine scandal. Probably for that reason, Trump and his lawyers have consistently denied knowledge of Giuliani's activities. Last November, in an interview with Bill O'Reilly, Trump repeatedly denied having directed Giuliani's work in Ukraine.... Earlier this month, Trump was asked about a signed letter by Giuliani to Zelensky, stating that he was representing Trump as a personal lawyer, with Trump's knowledge and permission. Trump again dissembled.... Meanwhile, Trump and his legal team maintain that this whole agenda was being driven in service of Trump's alleged desire to clean up corruption in Ukraine. As pathetic as Trump's defense may be, no element is as incriminating on its face as Giuliani's work. Even conceding it existed is to admit guilt. But Bolton apparently has the receipts." ~~~

~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Another "murky" Rudy deal was his advocacy for "Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko, for whom Giuliani has said he did consulting work, [who] was on the verge of being fired by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky from a separate post as the appointed head of the city administration, a move that would greatly reduce his power," according to Rosalind Helderman & others of the Washington Post. However, Rudy asked top Zelensky aide Andriy Yermak to keep Klitschoko in the administration. As Ronen Bergman & others of the New York Times put it, "But despite the fact that Mr. Zelensky's cabinet approved Mr. Klitschko's removal, he remains there today, leaving his adversaries in the murky and lucrative world of Ukrainian municipal politics to wonder whether Mr. Trump's personal attorney may have tipped the scales in his favor."

Steve Benen of MSNBC: "The lawyer for Lev Parnas ... reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this afternoon, sending him a letter signaling what Parnas would say if he's allowed to testify in the trial as a witness under oath. From the letter (pdf): 'If Lev Parnas was called as a witness, he would provide testimony based upon personal knowledge, corroborated by physical evidence..., which is directly relevant to the president's impeachment inquiry.... Mr. Parnas would testify to the efforts he and a handful of Republican operatives engaged in over a period of months, to remove Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and gather 'dirt' on Joe and Hunter Biden. Mr. Parnas would testify that those holding various roles in this plot included GOP super PAC America First, President Trump, Vice President Pence, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General Bill Barr, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Congressman Devin Nunes, Nunes' Staffer Derrick Harvey, Journalist John Soloman, Attorneys Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, [Rudy] Giuliani, and others. He is prepared to review and explain relevant phone records, text messages, and other evidence in connection with these activities.'" (Also linked yesterday.) Here's an NBC News story by Josh Lederman & Lisa Ferri.

Abilgail Williams & Phil Helsel of NBC News: "Former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, a central figure in the impeachment investigation..., retired from the State Department on Friday after three decades in the foreign service...."

Mrs. McCrabbie: To me, the worst part of this corrupt scheme was not Trump & Giuliani's going after the Bidens or even after Marie Yovanovitch (tho that was horrible). It was the repeated, relentless attempts to corrupt & compromise a new Ukrainian government, one the U.S. needed to promote "our" values in the region & stand up to Russia's aggression & anti-democratic mores. And no Republican -- that includes you, Lisa Murkowski -- is off the hook for aiding & abetting this gross abuse of U.S. power. Every American who has a Republican representative in Congress should ask him what he stands for, bearing in mind that the true answer is, "Myself." Throw the bums out. The vote to acquit (or in the case of House members, against impeachment) should be a badge of shame tattooed on their foreheads. It should, and sometimes will, be the first line of their obituaries.

** Michael Biesecker of the AP: "Charity watchdogs for years have raised concerns about the blurred lines between for-profit businesses tied to [Trump "lawyer" Jay] Sekulow and the complex web of non-profit entities he and his family control. The Associated Press reviewed 10 years of tax returns for the ACLJ [American Center for Law and Justice, a non-profit Christian legal advocacy group] and other charities tied to Sekulow.... The records from 2008 to 2017, the most recent year available, show that more than $65 million in charitable funds were paid to Sekulow [and his family].... All six of the [ACLJ] charity's paid board members share the last name Sekulow, including Jay's wife, Pam, and their sons, Jordon and Logan." --safari: A deep dive into Sekulow's life of scams. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Applicable maxim: If you work for Trump, you're a fool or a crook. Corollary: Seculow is not a fool. Ergo ....

Only While Christians Need Apply. Maria Sacchetti, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump added six countries to his administration's travel ban Friday -- including ­Nigeria, Africa's most populous country -- in a widely anticipated expansion that Democrats blasted as 'clearly discriminatory' against people from predominantly black and Muslim nations. Citing national security concerns, officials at the Department of Homeland Security and the State Department said Trump's proclamation would bar most citizens of Nigeria, Eritrea, Myanmar and Kyrgyzstan from coming to work and live in the United States. Two nations, Tanzania and Sudan, would be banned from applying for the visa lottery, which issues up to 50,000 visas a year worldwide to countries with historically low migration to the United States. The new ban takes effect Feb. 22; travelers who have received visas or are in transit at that time will not be affected."

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The only "experience" Trump brought to the top job was his "professional" career building tall things. Let's see how well his sole area of "expertise" has worked out: ~~~

     ~~~ Bienvenido a los Estados Unitos. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Trump's border wall probably will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open for months every summer during 'monsoon season' in the desert, according to U.S. border officials, agents and engineers familiar with the plans. The open, unmanned gates in remote areas already have allowed for the easy entry of smugglers and migrants into the United States." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Thursday, we learned from Matt Stieb of New York that "... on Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection confirmed to CNN that newly-installed wall panels in Calexico, California were knocked down by wind gusts of up to 37-miles-per-hour, causing the metal slats to timber into Mexican territory[.]... The wall has faced a few setbacks that contradict Trump's claims of near-impenetrability, like in November when the Washington Post reported that smugglers were using reciprocating saws -- available for less than $100 -- to cut through sections of the steel-bollard barrier in minutes. And though the president has claimed that no one would be able to climb the wall, smugglers have found a simple summiting method, using rebar ladders to hoist up one side, and rope ladders to scale down the other."

Kayla Tausche of CNBC: "In November 2017 ... Trump was on a 12-day tour through Asia, his second major international trip since taking office.... What wasn't on the White House or State Department agendas: a meeting with private equity investors convened by Jared Kushner ... and U.S. Ambassador Terry Branstad.... At the time of the meeting, the Kushner family was under fire for its pursuit of overseas investors.... The meeting and its guest list ... was arranged by Wendi Deng Murdoch, a longtime friend of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump.... CNBC filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act with the State Department [about the meeting].... The State Department acknowledged the request on Dec. 11, 2017, but suggested getting the information would take a long time.... Last October, the department finally provided a date: July 23, 2021 -- 3½ years after the original filing. Put another way: 1,323 days. During the first two years of the Trump presidency, the State Department processed 83% of 'complex' requests in less than 400 days, according to analysis of public data available on FOIA.gov." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Not surprisingly, the most corrupt administration ever is also the least transparent.

Joe Heim of the Washington Post: "The Library of Congress abandoned plans last year to showcase a mural-size photograph of demonstrators at the 2017 Women's March in Washington because of concerns it would be perceived as critical of President Trump, according to emails obtained by The Washington Post. The massive 14-by-10-foot print of the photograph -- showing tens of thousands of demonstrators filling Pennsylvania Avenue NW for the Women's March on Jan. 21, 2017 -- was envisioned by the library as one of the dominant displays of the 'Shall Not Be Denied: Women Fight for the Vote' exhibit celebrating the centennial of women's right to vote. Instead, the exhibit opened June 4 with that photograph replaced by an image of eight people taking part in a Women's March in Houston. The change was made so late in the process -- just five days before the exhibit opened -- that the photographer who captured the original image, Kevin Carroll, is credited in the exhibit's brochure and the photographer of the replacement image is not.... The National Archives said two weeks ago it made a mistake when it blurred out anti-Trump signs from a large photograph, also of the 2017 Women's March but by a different photographer...." ~~~

~~~ OR, we could just pretend anti-Trump protests never happened at all. Thanks to Ken W. for the link.

Sarah Blaskey, et al., of the Miami Herald: "A Connecticut woman chastised for dancing on her car at a Palm Beach hotel late Friday morning ended up driving away and crashing her vehicle through two security barricades outside Mar-a-Lago..., drawing gunfire from law enforcement officers, before leading a police helicopter on a chase that ended in her arrest. Hannah Roemhild, 30, a trained opera singer, is now in the custody of the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. 'This is not a terrorist thing,' Palm Beach Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said at a Friday afternoon news conference. 'This is somebody that obviously was impaired somehow.'"

Presidential Race

George Soros in a New York Times op-ed: "I believe that Mr. Trump and Facebook's chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, realize that their interests are aligned -- the president's in winning elections, Mr. Zuckerberg's in making money.... Mr. Zuckerberg met with Mr. Trump in the Oval Office on Sept. 19, 2019.... [In] an interview on the sidelines at the World Economic Forum on Jan. 22..., Mr. Zuckerberg [said that Trump] 'told me that I'm No. 1 in the world in Facebook.' Mr. Trump apparently had no problem with Facebook's decision not to fact-check political ads.... Facebook's decision not to require fact-checking for political candidates' advertising in 2020 has flung open the door for false, manipulated, extreme and incendiary statements. Such content is rewarded with prime placement and promotion if it meets Facebook-designed algorithmic standards for popularity and engagement. What's more, Facebook's design tends to obscure the sources of inflammatory and false content, and fails to adequately punish those who spread false information. Nor does the company effectively warn those who are exposed to lies." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Democrats should run ads against Facebook: "If you saw it on Facebook, it's probably a lie." In the meantime, it is hard to see how the U.S. differs from Russia in the countries' systems of government of, by and for oligarchs. We are all Russians now. Alas, most of us are serfs, trodden & abused by our masters.

Nishita Jha of BuzzFeed News: "A former aspiring actor [Jessica Mann] testified Friday that Harvey Weinstein forced oral sex on her, raped her, and then manipulated her into a sexually humiliating relationship, which she said included him wanting to film her having sex, urinating on her, and asking if she liked his 'big Jewish dick.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "'The first time I saw him fully naked, I thought he was deformed and intersex,' [Jessica Mann] said, as Weinstein put his head into his hand. 'He has extreme scarring that I didn't know if he was a burn victim but it didn't make sense. He does not have testicles and it appears that he has a vagina.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Kevin Rawlinson of the Guardian (@18:00 ET in Friday's liveblog): "The United Kingdom has left the European Union. As the clock struck 11pm GMT, the nation officially enacted the biggest constitutional change in living memory and, in doing so, became the first member state ever to leave the EU." (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- January 31, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Kevin Rawlinson of the Guardian (@18:00 ET in Friday's liveblog): "The United Kingdom has left the European Union. As the clock struck 11pm GMT, the nation officially enacted the biggest constitutional change in living memory and, in doing so, became the first member state ever to leave the EU."

Mrs. McCrabbie: The motion to issue subpoeanas for documents & witnesses in the impeachment proceedings against Trump failed 51-49, with Romney & Collins voting with Democrats.

The New York Times' live updates of the impeachment proceedings are here. "Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, called a recess after the vote, but gave no indication how long it would last."

"... Adam B. Schiff ... rose one final time on Friday to appeal to a Senate that had already essentially made up its mind against him. Vote for additional witnesses and documents, he implored them, or risk 'long lasting and harmful consequences long after this impeachment trial is over.' Mr. Schiff's warning to senators was threefold: First, he said, it would set a dangerous precedent for every future impeachment trial that witnesses and evidence were not necessary; second, the facts about Mr. Trump's pressure campaign on Ukraine will come out regardless; and third, Americans will see that for the president, there is a double standard of justice." ~~~

~~~ "Senator Lisa Murkowski, Republican of Alaska, said Friday she would vote against including new witnesses and documents in President Trump's impeachment trial.... In a statement released just as the House managers began pleading their case for witnesses, Ms. Murkowski called their impeachment articles too 'rushed and flawed' to warrant prolonging the trial. But she also said she had become convinced that the Senate would be unable to deliver a fair trial...." ~~~

"John F. Kelly, President Trump's former chief of staff and secretary of homeland security, said on Friday that the Senate would be known forever as a body that 'shirks its responsibilities' if it wraps up the trial of his former boss without hearing witnesses."

** Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "More than two months before he asked Ukraine's president to investigate his political opponents, President Trump directed John R. Bolton, then his national security adviser, to help with his pressure campaign to extract damaging information on Democrats from Ukrainian officials, according to an unpublished manuscript by Mr. Bolton. Mr. Trump gave the instruction, Mr. Bolton wrote, during an Oval Office conversation in early May that included the acting White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, the president's personal lawyer Rudolph W. Giuliani and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, who is now leading the president's impeachment defense. Mr. Trump told Mr. Bolton to call Volodymyr Zelensky, who had recently won election as president of Ukraine, to ensure Mr. Zelensky would meet with Mr. Giuliani, who was planning a trip to Ukraine to discuss the investigations that the president sought, in Mr. Bolton's account. Mr. Bolton never made the call, he wrote. The previously undisclosed directive that Mr. Bolton describes would be the earliest known instance of Mr. Trump seeking to harness the power of the United States government to advance his pressure campaign against Ukraine, as he later did on the July call with Mr. Zelensky...." ~~~

     ~~~ Brett Samuels of the Hill has a summary report on the NYT story: "Cipollone's involvement in meetings about the pressure campaign on Ukraine would place additional scrutiny on the White House counsel. While leading Trump's defense in the impeachment trial, Cipollone has insisted there is no evidence of wrongdoing by the president and argued that the Senate does not need to hear from Bolton."

Steve Benen of MSNBC: "The lawyer for Lev Parnas ... reached out to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) this afternoon, sending him a letter signaling what Parnas would say if he's allowed to testify in the trial as a witness under oath. From the letter (pdf): 'If Lev Parnas was called as a witness, he would provide testimony based upon personal knowledge, corroborated by physical evidence..., which is directly relevant to the president's impeachment inquiry.... Mr. Parnas would testify to the efforts he and a handful of Republican operatives engaged in over a period of months, to remove Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch and gather 'dirt' on Joe and Hunter Biden. Mr. Parnas would testify that those holding various roles in this plot included GOP super PAC America First, President Trump, Vice President Pence, former Energy Secretary Rick Perry, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Attorney General Bill Barr, Sen. Lindsey Graham, Congressman Devin Nunes, Nunes' Staffer Derrick Harvey, Journalist John Soloman, Attorneys Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, [Rudy] Giuliani, and others. He is prepared to review and explain relevant phone records, text messages, and other evidence in connection with these activities.'"

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The only "experience" Trump brought to the top job was his "professional" career building tall things. Let's see how well his sole area of "expertise" has worked out: ~~~

     ~~~ Bienvenido a los Estados Unitos. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Trump's border wall probably will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open for months every summer during 'monsoon season' in the desert, according to U.S. border officials, agents and engineers familiar with the plans. The open, unmanned gates in remote areas already have allowed for the easy entry of smugglers and migrants into the United States." ~~~

     ~~~ Just yesterday, we learned from Matt Stieb of New York that "... on Wednesday, Customs and Border Protection confirmed to CNN that newly-installed wall panels in Calexico, California were knocked down by wind gusts of up to 37-miles-per-hour, causing the metal slats to timber into Mexican territory[.]... The wall has faced a few setbacks that contradict Trump's claims of near-impenetrability, like in November when the Washington Post reported that smugglers were using reciprocating saws -- available for less than $100 -- to cut through sections of the steel-bollard barrier in minutes. And though the president has claimed that no one would be able to climb the wall, smugglers have found a simple summiting method, using rebar ladders to hoist up one side, and rope ladders to scale down the other."

Nishita Jha of BuzzFeed News: "A former aspiring actor [Jessica Mann] testified Friday that Harvey Weinstein forced oral sex on her, raped her, and then manipulated her into a sexually humiliating relationship, which she said included him wanting to film her having sex, urinating on her, and asking if she liked his 'big Jewish dick.'" ~~~

~~~ Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "'The first time I saw him fully naked, I thought he was deformed and intersex,' [Jessica Mann] said, as Weinstein put his head into his hand. 'He has extreme scarring that I didn’t know if he was a burn victim but it didn't make sense. He does not have testicles and it appears that he has a vagina.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

The Guardian's liveblog of today's developments is here. @9:41 am ET: "A spokesperson for Mitt Romney has confirmed the Republican senator intends to vote in favor of calling witnesses in the impeachment trial."

Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Per Manu Raju of CNN: Susan Collins issued a statement at about 10:50 pm ET Thursday that she would vote for witnesses & documents. Lisa Murkowski said in a statement she's still thinking about it & won't make a statement Thursday. Mitt Romney has been pushing for witnesses. Lamar Alexander said he has made a decision, has informed Mitch McConnell of it & will put out a statement within about an hour (of 10:45 pm ET). ** Update: Alexander said no to witnesses & docs. ~~~

~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced Thursday night that he will vote against a motion to consider subpoenas for additional witnesses and documents at the impeachment trial, putting the chamber on track to acquit President Trump on Friday or Saturday. 'There is no need for more evidence to prove that the president asked Ukraine to investigate Joe Biden< and his son, Hunter; he said this on television on October 3, 2019, and during his July 25, 2019, telephone call with the president of Ukraine,' Alexander said in a statement released shortly after the Senate ended 16 hours of questions to the impeachment managers and lawyers for Trump's defense." ~~~

     ~~~ Nicholas Fandos, et al., of the New York Times: "Mr. Alexander's statement was a strong indication that Republicans had lined up the votes to block a call for more witnesses and documents on Friday and press toward a quick acquittal in the third presidential impeachment trial in history. His opposition was a significant victory for the White House and Republican leaders.... In announcing his stance, Mr. Alexander effectively conceded that the president had engaged in a corrupt effort to leverage taxpayer money to advance his own political objectives -- the basis of the abuse-of-power charge against him -- but said he had concluded such actions were not impeachable. He called the second charge, obstruction of Congress, 'frivolous.'" Mrs. McC: Because, naturally, a member of the royal court Congress would consider it "frivolous" when another branch of government's strips Congress of its Constitutional prerogatives. The GOP is more radical than any American fringe party. ~~~

~~~ Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) said Thursday night that she will vote to allow new witnesses and documents as part of President Trump's impeachment trial in the Senate. Collins is the first Republican senator to formally say she will vote yes on a blanket up-or-down vote, scheduled for Friday, that would open the door to hearing from new witnesses as part of the Senate proceeding." ~~~

~~~ Mike DeBonis, et al., of the Washington Post: "The impeachment trial of President Trump is headed for a critical vote Friday that will determine whether the Senate hears from witnesses over allegations that the president pressured Ukraine to launch investigations for his own political benefit. But Senate Republicans are increasingly confident no new testimony will be heard and they can start on a sprint toward Trump's acquittal.... Some Republicans said they hope the trial will be completed Friday with a vote to acquit Trump.... One outside possibility is that the Senate will deadlock on the question of calling witnesses. That would put Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. in the position of breaking the tie -- a role Democrats are urging him to play. But there is little expectation Roberts would weigh in on such a politically thorny question and instead would allow the tie to result in no witness being subpoenaed." A Politico story is here.

Marina Pitofsky of the Hill: "Former national security adviser John Bolton at a private event on Thursday defended the officials who testified in the House impeachment inquiry into President Trump. Bolton, speaking in Austin, Texas, said members of the Trump administration should 'feel they're able to speak their minds without retribution,' KXAN reported. The former national security adviser defended former National Security Council senior director for Europe and Russia Fiona Hill, former top National Security Council aide Tim Morrison, Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, Bill Taylor, the former top U.S. diplomat to Ukraine and former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, the outlet reported." Mrs. McC: You didn't testify, Mr. Mustache, because ... book sales???

Mara Gay of the NYT editorial board said on MSNBC Thursday night something I've been thinking about throughout this Potemkin trial: that she felt just as she felt growing up black -- that her country had failed her. No matter what color we are, today is a day the best of us are all black Americans. The worst of us -- and there are millions of them -- have carelessly accepted or support the right-wing machine.

Adam Schiff is remarkable. Listen to how he not only thinks on his feet but also nails it on his feet:

Mrs. McCrabbie: As Adam Schiff said in yesterday's proceedings, "You can't make this stuff up." Trump's lawyers are of course arguing that the House has no authority to subpoena the President* so the second article of impeachment is invalid and Trump must be acquitted. According to Schiff, the DOJ was in court yesterday arguing that the courts have no jurisdiction over the executive to force the President* to answer Congressional subpoenas. "What's the remedy, then?" a judge asked the DOJ lawyers. The DOJ's response: "Impeachment!"

Here are the New York Times' live updates of yesterday's impeachment proceedings. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Sheryl Stolberg & Michael Shear: "After failing to get Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to read the name of the person widely thought to be the whistle-blower whose complaint prompted the impeachment inquiry into President Trump, Senator Rand Paul, Republican of Kentucky, did so himself on Thursday. Mr. Paul, who left the Senate chamber while the impeachment trial was in session to hold a news conference about Mr. Roberts's refusal to read his question, said it 'deserved to be asked.' He said the question had nothing to do with the whistle-blower, then he proceeded to read it aloud and name the person." See also Akhilleus's earlier comment in yesterday's thread.

I Didn't Say What You Heard Me Say on Those Lying Videotapes. Quint Forgey of Politico: "Alan Dershowitz ... on Thursday claimed the media twisted his words when he made the controversial legal argument that a president could engage in a quid pro quo for personal political benefit as long as the president believes his or her reelection is in the public interest. In a series of a dozen tweets, the former Harvard law professor and prominent criminal defense lawyer claimed that 'CNN, MSNBC and some other media willfully distorted my answers' from Wednesday's Senate impeachment trial proceedings.... 'I hear he's correcting it on TV today. That seems to be Mr. Dershowitz's pattern,' [Chuck] Schumer said at a news conference in the Capitol. 'He gives a statement on the floor and then spends the next day correcting it. What a load of nonsense.'" ~~~

Taking advantage of the fact most of their viewers didn't actually hear the senate Q and A, CNN, MSNBC and some other media willfully distorted my answers. -- Alan Dershowitz, in a tweet today ~~~

     ~~~ You horrible people have mischaracterized Alan Dershowitz because you listened to the left-wing, lamestream media. In responses to Dersh's tweet in his Twitter thread, Elie Honig (CNN) and Barbara McQuade (MSNBC), however, disagree, for some reason: like -- because what Alan said. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. ~~~

~~~ ** "The Normalization of Lawlessness." Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "... the wave of outrage [against Dershowitz's presentation] underscored how the politics of the Trump era -- and his lawyers' efforts to help Mr. Trump advance his agenda and defend himself from scrutiny -- have become infused with concerns about executive power overreach.... The list of ways in which Mr. Trump and his legal team have pushed limits is growing." Read on, as Charlie counts the ways.... "Adam Schiff ... told the Senate on Thursday that Mr. Trump's team had embraced the vision of a presidency that exists above the law -- 'when the president does it, that means it is not illegal' -- that Richard Nixon famously articulated to defend his conduct after Watergate. 'We are right back to where we were a half-century ago -- and I would argue we may be in a worse place because this time, this time that argument may succeed,' Mr. Schiff said, accusing Trump defenders of embracing 'the normalization of lawlessness' by a president."

Josh Marshall of TPM: "I've said many times that it's the Republican Senate rather than Donald Trump who is on trial in this exercise.... What we have seen is more and more evidence or at least a clearer and clearer illustration of what Senate Republicans will accept from President Trump. No real trial. No witnesses. Open arguments that using state power to coerce foreign leaders to sabotage U.S. elections is fine and indeed proper.... But even if Trump is not reelected we will still have the very same people now helping to finalize Trump's cover up either running the Senate or in sufficient numbers to block its action if they don't get their way. We'll have a judiciary that has been stacked over the last three years to perpetuate GOP political rule.... He might be booted next year but the climate and bases of support that made him possible won't have gone anywhere." --s

Mitch Gets Felicitous Lessons in Quid-Pro-Quos. Ben Tobin & Morgan Watkins of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Several members of ... Donald Trump's impeachment defense team recently gave money to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's 2020 reelection campaign, a Courier Journal analysis of campaign finance data found. Ken Starr ... gave the maximum individual contribution allowed -- $2,800 -- to the McConnell Senate Committee on July 31, 2019.... [Starr] ... has given to every McConnell reelection campaign since 2002. Another member of the president's impeachment defense team, Robert Ray, gave a total of $5,600 to the McConnell Senate Committee through two separate donations -- one for the primary election, one for the general -- on Sept. 30, 2019. Ray ... did not donate to previous McConnell reelection efforts, according to campaign finance data from the Federal Election Commission." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

AND in yesterday's Comments, Linda in Denver explained Chauncey Gardiner's Cory Gardner's motives for opposing witnesses in the "trial." Insightful.

Edward Wong of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Friday that the Trump administration was committed to supporting Ukraine in its defense against aggression by Russia, which invaded and annexed part of the country and is supporting a separatist insurgency.... Mr. Pompeo and [Ukraine's president Volodymyr] Zelensky met before noon in the president's office in central Kyiv.... Mr. Pompeo said no visit [between Donald Trump & Zelensky] had been scheduled. "We'll find the right time," he said.

Natasha Bertrand & Daniel Lippman of Politico: "A national security aide to Vice President Mike Pence and key witness in the House's impeachment of ... Donald Trump will be leaving her post in the vice president's office early to join Central Command, according to two people with knowledge of her plans. The aide, Jennifer Williams, will be leaving the White House as soon as Monday and plans to join CENTCOM in the spring as a deputy foreign policy adviser, one of the people said. She will be advising the command on Middle East policy issues and has had the job lined up since last fall."

Marcy Wheeler (@emptywheel) lays out a completely different view of the prosecutor's memo in the Flynn sentencing. She writes that it does not really differ from the guideline recommendation. Wheeler thinks the memo is responsive to Judge Sullivan's previous rulings and his stated views of Flynn's actions (and the Petraeus sentence): "And, yes, they mention probation, just like Flynn did. But in doing so, they almost certainly did so in a way that only exacerbates Sullivan's innate disgust with powerful people who ask for special treatment." -- Anonymous, in yesterday's Comments (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Dress: Speaking of Impeachment Trials of Yore.... Jennifer Peltz of the AP: Lawyers for a woman who accuses ... Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s are asking for a DNA sample, seeking to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress she says she wore during the encounter. Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll's lawyers served notice to a Trump attorney Thursday for Trump to submit a sample on March 2 in Washington for 'analysis and comparison against unidentified male DNA present on the dress.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Astonished by Trump's Ignorance." Rachel Premack of Business Insider: "A leaked audio recording of a 2018 dinner with ... Donald Trump and key donors has provided new insight into the president's dealings with Ukraine as well as something else: The president's knowledge of trucking is less than comprehensive.... Trump [thought semis run on gasoline, not diesel, and] appeared unaware that truck drivers have safety regulations that prevent them from driving more than 11 hours a day.... 'You mean they can only drive so much?' Trump said in the recording. 'Like a pilot? I didn't know that.'... Trucking executives and industry experts who listened to the tape told Business Insider they were astonished by Trump's ignorance." --s

AP: "Attorney General William Barr on Thursday named Timothy Shea, one of his closest advisers, to be the next top prosecutor in the nation's capital. Shea will lead the largest United States attorney's office in the country, which has been historically responsible for some of the most significant and politically sensitive cases the Justice Department brings in the U.S. He ... was Barr's right-hand man helping institute reforms at the federal Bureau of Prisons after Jeffrey Epstein's death at the Metropolitan Correctional Center in New York City.... As the U.S. attorney in the District of Columbia, Shea would oversee some of the lingering cases from special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation, along with a number of politically charged investigations." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is Big Bill Barr putting his Big Fat Thumb on the scales of justice. It cannot be a good thing.

Look for the Silver Lining. Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the Chinese coronavirus -- which has killed 171 in China and infected more than 8,100 people -- could 'help' to bring jobs to the United States because companies will be moving operations away from impacted areas. During an appearance Thursday morning on Fox Business, Ross said that he didn't 'want to talk about a victory lap over a very unfortunate, very malignant disease,' and expressed sympathy for the victims. But he said the pneumonia-like virus would be a consideration for American businesses that are scrambling to determine how the outbreak will affect their supply chains." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jesse Naranjo of Politico: "The House on Thursday approved two measures aimed at clawing back ... Donald Trump's war powers, a direct result of recent aggression between Iran and the United States that culminated earlier this month in missile attacks on Iraqi military bases housing U.S. troops. The votes, which passed with four Republican defections on one measure and 11 on the other, mark a victory for anti-war lawmakers who have long sought to rein in the executive's ability to use military force without congressional authorization." ~~~

     ~~~ Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Both measures have earned limited Republican support and are expected to face difficult odds in the Senate, where GOP leaders can easily block them from coming to the floor for a vote."

Presidential Race

This Should Shake Up The Race. Julia Manchester of the Hill: "Former Maryland Rep. John Delaney (D) dropped out of the Democratic presidential primary on Friday just days before Monday's Iowa Caucuses.... Delaney [said] that his support [in Iowa] was strong enough to peel away votes from other moderate candidates."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Judd Legum of Popular Info: "In October, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the creation of a new 'Facebook News' tab ... [']curated by a team of diverse and seasoned journalists.'... [A]s the United States heads toward election day, Facebook says it will make the tab widely available.... But who is the 'team' behind Facebook News?... [T]he person in charge of Facebook News is former NBC News anchor Campbell Brown [who has her own website].... The74, with funding from Trump Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. On Tuesday, NBC News reported that Facebook was hiring Jennifer Williams, an executive producer for Fox News, 'to head video strategy for Facebook News.' Williams spent a dozen years as a senior producer on Fox & Friends.... Williams will be part of Facebook's news curation team, which means she will be selecting content to be featured in the News tab." --s ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Subscriber-firewalled, but you can read an unspecified number of posts without paying up. Legum spends some effort in knocking Williams in this post, appropriately enough, but as I recall, Brown -- who is married to former Bushie Daniel Senor -- is as much a winger as Williams. Thanks, Zuck!

P. J. Huffstutter of Reuters: "U.S. farm bankruptcy rates jumped 20% in 2019 - to an eight-year high - as financial woes in the U.S. agricultural economy continued in spite of massive federal bail-out funding, according to federal court data.... The increase in cases had been somewhat expected, bankruptcy experts and agricultural economists said, as farmers face trade battles, ever-mounting farm debt, prolonged low commodity prices, volatile weather patterns and a fatal pig disease that has decimated China's herd.... Nearly one-third of projected U.S. net farm income in 2019 came from government aid and taxpayer-subsidized commodity insurance payments, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture." --s

Way Beyond the Beltway

China. The New York Times' live updates on developments re: the coronavirus are here. "The [U.S.] State Department on Thursday night issued a travel advisory telling Americans not to travel to China because of the public health threat posed by the dangerous new coronavirus."

Israel. Joseph Menn & Jack Stubbs of Reuters: "The FBI is investigating the role of Israeli spyware vendor NSO Group Technologies in possible hacks on American residents and companies as well as suspected intelligence gathering on governments, according to four people familiar with the inquiry.... NSO is known in the cybersecurity world for its 'Pegasus' software [and] other tools that can be delivered in several ways. The software can capture everything on a phone, including the plain text of encrypted messages, and commandeer it to record audio. A business strategy firm retained on behalf of Amazon.com Inc Chief Executive Jeff Bezos, FTI Consulting, said this month that NSO could have supplied the software it said Saudi Arabia used to hack Bezos' iPhone." --s

Jason Burke of the Guardian: "Islamic State has begun to reassert itself in its heartlands in the Middle East and continues to seek opportunities to strike in the west, the United Nations has said.... The report portrays an organisation that has suffered significant setbacks but is tenacious, well-funded and still poses a considerable local and international threat." --s