December 31, 2022
The Guardian is liveblogging New Year's celebrations around the world.
Joan Greve of the Guardian: President Biden & Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer aim to "repair" the fedeal judiciary.
Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden on Friday pardoned six people, most of them for minor drug or alcohol offenses, continuing a series of drug-related reprieves this year.... The pardon list also included Beverly Ann Ibn-Tamas, 80, of Columbus, Ohio, who was convicted of second-degree murder for shooting her abusive husband nearly a half-century ago. Ms. Ibn-Tamas was pregnant at the time of the killing and testified that her husband had beaten her throughout her pregnancy, including shortly before she shot him. Her case focused new attention on battered woman syndrome. In each case, White House officials stressed that Mr. Biden was issuing pardons to people who had served their sentences and become upstanding members of their communities."CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Here's the clemency recipient list, via the White House. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Friday Was Trumpty Dumpty Day:
Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "House Democrats on Friday released six years of ... Donald J. Trump's tax records, making the closely guarded documents public after years of legal battles and speculation about Mr. Trump's wealth and his financial entanglements.... While much of the information in the tax returns has already come to light, including through the two reports released last week [by the House Ways & Means Committee], the full records from 2015 through 2020 are expected to provide a rare window into the complexity of Mr. Trump's finances and whether he may have profited from tax policies he signed into law as president. Those include the 2017 Tax Cut and Jobs Act, which provided a series of tax breaks and cuts for businesses and wealthy people.... 'The "Trump" tax returns once again show how proudly successful I have been and how I have been able to use depreciation and various other tax deductions as an incentive for creating thousands of jobs and magnificent structures and enterprises,' [Trump wrote in a statement]." The story is developing. The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The story has been updated. New Lede: "House Democrats released six years of former President Donald J. Trump's tax records on Friday, offering new insight into his business dealings that further undermined his long-cultivated image as a wildly successful businessman." Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ Jim Tankersley, et al., of the New York Times: "The documents contain new details not revealed in those earlier releases. New York Times reporters are combing the pages for key takeaways. Here is a running list.... [For instance:] As a presidential candidate in 2015, Mr. Trump said he would not take 'even one dollar' of the $400,000 salary that comes with the job.... In his first three years in office, Mr. Trump said he donated his salary quarterly. But in 2020, his last full year in office, the documents show that Mr. Trump reported $0 in charitable giving. Also in 2020, as the pandemic recession swiftly descended, Mr. Trump reported heavy business losses and no federal tax liability.... The tax law Mr. Trump signed in late 2017, which took effect the next year, contained some provisions that most likely gave him an advantage at tax time -- including the scaling back of the alternative minimum tax on high earners. But one provision in particular drastically reduced the income tax deductions Mr. Trump could claim in 2018 and beyond: limits that Republicans placed on deductions for state and local taxes paid.... Republicans ... warned Democrats that they had started down a dangerous road [by releasing Trump's returns], and that public pressure could push the incoming majority to release returns from President Biden's family or a wide range of other private individuals." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
Judy Weil & Eugene Scott of the Washington Post also report some takeaways: "Trump's charitable contributions declined over the course of his presidency. He donated $1.8 million in 2017 and about half a million dollars in each of the next two years. In 2020, as many nonprofits intensified their calls for donations as they scrambled to help victims of the coronavirus pandemic and the associated unemployment, the Trumps reported giving no money to charity." MB: IOW, Trump treated charitable donations as tax deductions; in 2020, he claimed negative adjusted gross income, so no need for so-called charitable giving. CNN's key takeaways are here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Bernie Becker & Benjamin Guggenheim of Politico: "Donald Trump's tax returns show the former president received income from more than a dozen countries during his time in office, highlighting a string of potential conflicts of interest.... The six years of tax returns disclosed Friday show that Trump received extensive income from Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom -- including gross business income of at least $35.3 million from Canada in 2017, the year he entered office. That year, Trump also brought in $6.5 million from China, $5.8 million from Indonesia and $5.7 million from India."
The House January 6 Select Committee released more witness transcripts Friday. Links to the transcripts are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Luke Broadwater, et al., of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Friday released more than 40 additional transcripts of its interviews, bringing the total number of transcripts published to more than 160.... Here are some takeaways from the thousands of pages released this week."
Bad News. McKenna Oxenden of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows, a former chief of staff in the Trump White House, will not face voter fraud charges after officials determined that he did not fraudulently register to vote and cast a ballot in North Carolina during the 2020 presidential election, the state attorney general said on Friday. The attorney general, Josh Stein, said there was 'not sufficient evidence' to bring charges against Mr. Meadows or his wife, Debra Meadows. The State Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation and found that because Mr. Meadows was 'engaged in public service' in Washington, he was qualified for a residency exception, officials said. Under North Carolina law, if a person moves to Washington or other federal territories for government service, then the individual will not lose residency status in the state."
Ryan Reilly of NBC News: "Transcripts of interviews with law enforcement officials released this week by the Jan. 6 committee reveal the panel learned that numerous security concerns had been raised in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol.... The new revelations add to a growing body of evidence from news reports and court proceedings that illustrate how federal law enforcement officials were in possession of ample information that indicated Jan. 6 was going to be violent. As NBC News first reported last month, [committee] staffers were informed that chapters prepared by committee staff -- including material focused on law enforcement and intelligence failures -- would be cut from the final version.
"Among the revelations from the transcripts: One FBI employee wrote in a Dec. 26, 2020, memo about planning for Jan. 6 that was unfolding on a pro-Trump forum called TheDonald. 'They think they will have a large enough group to march into DC armed, and it will outnumber the police so they can't be stopped,' read the notification in the eGuardian system, which is meant to help federal, state and local law enforcement officials coordinate. 'They believe that since the election was stolen, that it's their constitutional right to over take the government and during this coup no U.S. laws apply. Another group of Proud Boys will be in DC already and are planning on blocking the roads with their cars in order to stop traffic.'... Days before the attack, the FBI lost use of the program it had been using to track threats on social media, as the bureau transitioned to a new product to gather open source information.
~~~ Marie: Needless to say, it defies common sense to take down a security system before its replacement is up, tested, & running properly.
Jo Becker & Julie Tate of the New York Times: "The charity, the Supreme Court Historical Society, is ostensibly independent of the judicial branch of government, but in reality the two are inextricably intertwined. The charity's stated mission is straightforward: to preserve the court's history and educate the public about the court's importance in American life. But over the years the society has also become a vehicle for those seeking access to nine of the most reclusive and powerful people in the nation. The justices attend the society's annual black-tie dinner soirees.... The society has raised more than $23 million over the last two decades. Because of its nonprofit status, it does not have to publicly disclose its donors -- and declined when asked to do so. But The New York Times was able to identify the sources behind more than $10.7 million raised since 2003, the first year for which relevant records were available. At least $6.4 million -- or 60 percent -- came from corporations, special interest groups, or lawyers and firms that argued cases before the court.... ~~~
~~~ Marie: It appears to me that it's way cheaper to corrupt the Supremes than it is to corrupt the president* or members of Congress. This is like bargain-basement corruption.
Jim Rutenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "Surveys [by GOP-aligned pollsters] showing strength for Republicans ... set Democratic klaxons blaring in [Washington state,] Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Colorado. Coupled with the political factors already favoring Republicans -- including inflation and President Biden's unpopularity -- the skewed polls helped feed what quickly became an inescapable political narrative: A Republican wave election was about to hit the country.... Not for the first time, a warped understanding of the contours of a national election had come to dominate the views of political operatives, donors, journalists and, in some cases, the candidates themselves. The misleading polls of 2022 did not just needlessly spook some worried candidates into spending more money than they may have needed to on their own races. They also led some candidates -- in both parties -- who had a fighting chance of winning to lose out on money that could have made it possible for them to do so, as those controlling the purse strings believed polls that inaccurately indicated they had no chance at all.... The skewed red-wave surveys polluted polling averages, which are relied upon by campaigns, donors, voters and the news media.... Yet questionable polls were not only put out by Republicans.
Alessandra Stanley of the New York Times: "Barbara Walters, who broke barriers for women as the first female co-host of the 'Today' show and the first female anchor of a network evening news program, and who as an interviewer of celebrities became one herself, helping to blur the line between news and entertainment, died on Friday. She was 93." Walters' Washington Post obituary is here. Her ABC News obituary was here.
~~~ McKenna Oxenden & Jenny Gross of the New York Times: "Andrew Tate, a former professional kickboxer and online personality who frequently made misogynistic comments to his large following on social media sites, has been remanded into custody for 30 days by a judge in Romania after the police charged him and three others with human trafficking, rape and forming an organized criminal group." ~~~
~~~ Marie: Oh, guess I should have watched more TuKKKer: ~~~
~~~ Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "Clips of Tucker Carlson defending Andrew Tate have resurfaced after the kickboxer turned controversial internet personality was detained in Romania on suspicion of human trafficking, rape, and organized crime. Prosecutors said Tate, his brother and two other suspects, 'appear to have created an organized crime group with the purpose of recruiting, housing and exploiting women by forcing them to create pornographic content meant to be seen on specialized websites for a cost.'... In the months that followed, Tate -- who achieved notoriety online for his misogynistic commentary and support for former President Donald Trump -- was banned from a slew of social media platforms. As a result, he received gushing coverage from conservative media, including a lengthy interview in August with Fox News host Tucker Carlson."
For an explanation of why today's crop of right-wingers are better-viewed as "confederates" than as "conservatives," see Monoloco's post at the top of today's Comments thread.
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Some Bad News for Misogynists. Jack Healy of the New York Times: "Arizona cannot prosecute doctors under an 1864 ban on abortions that would have outlawed the procedure in nearly every circumstance, a state appeals court ruled on Friday. The ruling, which abortion-rights groups celebrated as a qualified victory, offers some clarity after months of uncertainty and legal fights over the fate of abortion in Arizona -- and effectively allows licensed doctors in Arizona to perform abortions through the 15th week of pregnancy. The decision resolved, for the moment, the question of which abortion ban in Arizona would be the law of the land in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion. The Supreme Court decision effectively sent the issue back to states to decide, and many have been caught up in litigation over state bans."
Kansas 2020 Senate Race. John Hanna of the AP: "Incoming Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach agreed to help pay a $30,000 penalty to resolve a federal complaint over the improper use of a group's email list during his unsuccessful 2020 campaign for the U.S. Senate.... The issue was the $2,000 paid by Kobach's Senate campaign to rent We Build the Wall's email list. While Kobach's campaign initially considered that to be a fair market price, the agreement said, it later conceded that it was below market value, resulting in an illegal campaign contribution from We Build the Wall. Kobach served on the group's board of directors and as its general counsel but resigned in early September, after the group and Steve Bannon ... were indicted in New York on allegations of money laundering, conspiracy and fraud... Kobach, who is a polarizing advocate of tough immigration measures, lost the Republican primary for an open U.S. Senate seat in August 2020." MB: Every little thing they do is crooked.
Way Beyond
Ukraine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Saturday in Russia's war on Ukraine are here. The Guardian's live updates for Saturday are here. The Guardian's summary report is here.
Vatican. Anthony Faiola, et al. of the Washington Post: "Pope Benedict, 95, died Saturday in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican." The Guardian's obituary is here. ~~~
~~~ The New York Times is liveblogging developments.
Brazil. Gabriela Sá Pessoa of the Washington Post: "Two days before leaving office, ending a tumultuous four years as the race-baiting, Amazon-developing, coronavirus-downplaying, vaccine-skeptical leader of Latin America's largest country, Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro remained defiant in a teary farewell address on Friday, defending his record and saying the election that led to his ouster was not impartial, but condemning violence against the result. Then he flew to Florida, Brazilian media reported, where in the past he has met with ... Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago. He apparently planned to skip the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, when the outgoing leader traditionally presents the presidential sash to his successor, a ceremony intended to reaffirm the country's young democracy."
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Reader Comments (7)
I missed yesterday's discussion about the need for a more accurate label than "conservative" for right-wing extremists whose aim is to tear down our institutions rather than improve them.
My 2015 proposal to call them "confederates" was inspired by an article by Doug Muder in the Weekly Sift:
https://weeklysift.com/2014/08/11/not-a-tea-party-a-confederate-party/
Muder's case in brief: The Confederacy is a worldview, strongest in the South, but found all over the country. It is based on the conviction that the social order is divinely ordained and cannot legitimately be changed. Threatened by the democratic process, a shrinking Confederate minority views all forms of resistance as justified, legal or not. Thus the need for guns and the need to keep the wrong people from voting in their full numbers.
People who share this worldview may seem childish and petulant, lacking in common sense and even common decency. They are contrarian because they see their world headed in the wrong direction. They say "no" to laws, facts, opinions, and consequences that fly in the face of their belief system. They may feel that violence is justified when those beliefs are threatened.
Muder traces the roots of this resistance to the Confederacy, which he defines as a worldview, one that lives on today, expressing itself in right-wing extremism. It's not an organized movement. It's not about secession or slavery or the South. It's simply a way of seeing the world that seems as misguided to us as our worldview does to Confederates.
Seems we all agree it's long past time the media jettisoned the word "conservative" to describe today's Right.
And Marie and Monoloco, thanks for the reminder of how long ago others had figured that out.
While I remain uncomfortable with "confederate" because to me the word 's strongest attachment is to the Civil War, the War between the States (still ongoing I admit) and slavery, I'll go with it until I experience that flash of inspiration that has so far eluded me and I come up with something more satisfying.
Whatever label we give them, "childish and petulant" certainly applies.
Just wish we could get the media on board.
Happy New Year's Eve (to those of us on the right side of the Dateline)
What a send off to Barbara Walters in the NYT. Here are videos from some of her interviews.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/30/arts/television/the-best-of-barbara-walters.html
It took a lot of spunk and fortitute to start out co-anchoring with a man like Harry Reasoner who resented the fact that he had to share his spot with someone and the fact that someone was a WOMAN! was doubly hard for Harry. How times have changed---let's chalk that up to progress on this New Year's eve day in 2022.
Marie wrote: "...it defies common sense to take down a security system before its replacement is up, tested, & running properly."
Then recall that, at the exact same time, the Secret Service was replacing it's field communication system (cellphones?) and thereby accidentally erased most agent text commo around the January 6 period. Whoops.
Back in the old days, in the Army, we used to blame all such losses on "mortar attack." You just had to wait until Charlie put a round near the perimeter, and you could square the books on your whole inventory. ("Damaged beyond repair; disposed.")
Seems now they don't have to wait for an event, they just schedule their information losses to coincide with whatever event may prove inconvenient.
@P.D. Pepe: Indeed. The hoops Walters had to jump through seem almost unimaginable today, even if you & I can remember them. Actually doing her job was the least of her challenges. Imagine going to work every day knowing everyone at the "office" hates, resents or envies you and any of them will do what they can to undermine you.
Absent a Douthat to pick on, I just read as much of WAPO's Thiessen as I could stand. Though it seemed over the top even for him, he praises Pope Benedict, thereby inviting the scorn I would have reserved for the Times altar boy:
Like all Right Wing theists, (I'm thinking too of those on the SCOTUS), Thiessen picks, chooses, deletes and obfuscates to support his preconceived conclusion: Right, good. Left, bad.
Must be both satisfying and terrifying to be so empty of self you have to rely on some kind of god to support you on your lonely path through our mysterious universe.
These are people who would rather deny what doesn't fit into their preconceptions, who can't tolerate (much of anything, really) but especially admitting they don't know.
True believers like Thiessen, who trim the universe to the size of their small, frightened brains, prove time and again that the Right is wrong.
Dear Marie,
Never heard of Tate either but love Greta Thunberg!
“On Dec 27...Tate,36, sent a boastfully hostile tweet to climate activist Greta Thunberg,19,...” read on in The Guardian opinion piece “Greta Thunberg ends year with one of the greatest tweets in history” by Rebecca Solnit (sorry for the lack of link) published today.
When that arrogant creepy Musk reopened twitter to the deplorables it helped facilitate the downfall of the creepy arrogant Tate. Hoping more deplorables receive their comeuppance in 2023!
Thank you for all the work you do keeping this excellent site going hats off and Cheers to you Wishing you and all RCers a happy and healthy New Year!
MB Update: Here's the URL: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/dec/31/greta-thunberg-andrew-tate-tweet