December 7, 2021
Afternoon Update:
Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin held a video call Tuesday morning focused on growing tensions over Ukraine as Russia masses troops along the border, prompting fears of a Russian invasion of the Eastern European nation." At 1:25 pm ET, this story appears to be "in progress." MSNBC just received the White House's call readout.
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff under ... Donald J. Trump, on Tuesday informed the committee scrutinizing the Jan. 6 attack at the Capitol that he was no longer willing to cooperate with its investigation, reversing a deal he reached with the panel just last week to sit for an interview and provide documents.... Instead, he proposed that Mr. Meadows answer questions in writing through what he called an 'orderly process' that would create a 'clear record of questions and related assertions of privilege.' The turnabout was the second in two weeks by Mr. Meadows, who had initially refused to comply with a subpoena from House panel in line with a directive from Mr. Trump, but told the panel last week that he would be willing to provide documents and sit for a voluntary interview." CNN's story is here.
The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Tuesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Tuesday are here.
Ben Hubbard & Aurelien Breeden of the New York Times: "The French police arrested a Saudi man on Tuesday in connection with the assassination of the dissident writer Jamal Khashoggi, but French authorities warned that they were still verifying his identity. A French judicial official confirmed that the man, identified as Khalid Alotaibi, 33, was arrested at the Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport north of Paris on the basis of an international arrest warrant issued by Turkey, just before he was to board a flight for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A man by that name is accused of being a member of the team that killed Mr. Khashoggi inside the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul in 2018.... If his identity is confirmed, France could extradite him to Turkey to face charges there." A BBC News report is here.
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President Biden, in a proclamation, on "a date which will live in infamy." ~~~
~~~ Audrey McAvoy of the AP: "A few dozen survivors of Pearl Harbor are expected to gather Tuesday at the site of the Japanese bombing 80 years ago to remember those killed in the attack that launched the U.S. into World War II."
Ellen Nakashima & Rick Maese of the Washington Post: "The United States will not send President Biden or any U.S. government official to the Beijing Winter Olympics in February to protest China's human rights abuses, the White House announced Monday, in a pointed snub to a country seeking to use the Games to enhance its global standing. Though largely symbolic -- the diplomatic boycott does not affect the ability of American athletes to participate in the Games -- it will be seen as a major affront by Washington's greatest military and economic competitor as China seeks to distract from its increasingly repressive policies at home and aggression abroad."
Trumped-up Charges? Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The defense team for a cybersecurity lawyer who was indicted in September by a Trump-era special counsel asked a judge on Monday to set a trial date sooner than the prosecutor wants -- while disclosing evidence recently turned over to them that appears to contradict the charge. The materials could make it harder for the special counsel, John H. Durham, to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the cybersecurity lawyer, Michael Sussmann, is guilty of the charge against him: making a false statement to the F.B.I. during a September 2016 meeting about possible links between Donald J. Trump and Russia. The newly disclosed evidence consists of records of two Justice Department interviews of the former F.B.I. official to whom Mr. Sussmann is accused of lying, each of which offers a different version of the key interaction than the version in the indictment. That official [-- James A. Baker --] is the prosecution's main witness.... Mr. Baker's accounts ... have been inconsistent...."
Jamie Gangel, et al., of CNN: "Marc Short, the former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, is cooperating with the January 6 committee, a significant development that will give investigators insight from one of the highest-ranking Trump officials, according to three sources with knowledge of the committee's activities. CNN is also reporting for the first time that the committee subpoenaed Short a few weeks ago. Short remains one of Pence's closest advisers and is a firsthand witness to many critical events the committee is examining, including what happened to Pence at the Capitol on January 6 and how ... Donald Trump pressured the former vice president not to certify the presidential election that day."
Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "Representative Devin Nunes, a California Republican who emerged as one of ... Donald J. Trump's most loyal and pugnacious allies, announced on Monday that he would resign from Congress after 19 years to become the chief executive officer of Mr. Trump's new media and technology company. Mr. Nunes faced almost impossible odds in being re-elected to the Central Valley district that his family has farmed for three generations. A new map emerging from an independent citizens' redistricting commission was almost certain to flip it from a district Mr. Trump won handily to one President Biden would have won. But political analysts and politicians in the district had predicted that Mr. Nunes ... would jump to a newly created, Republican-friendly district.... Mr. Nunes's decision to take over Mr. Trump's fledgling media enterprise instead of the influential House panel that writes tax and health care policy signals where he thinks power lies in the Republican Party and the conservative movement." Politico's story is here. Thanks to Ken W. for the lead. In yesterday's thread, unwashed speculated on the role of Devin Nunes' Cow in the Trump media empire. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Being a member of Congress cannot be a fun job. But there's hardly a worse, more humiliating job in the U.S. than "Donald Trump employee." ~~~
~~~ digby is bearish: "The odds of this enterprise ever making any money are very long. Trump is a terrible businessman and what Nunes knows about running a company and social media is confined to suing a twitter user and losing. Should work out great."
~~~ Matthew Goldstein & David Enrich of the New York Times: "Securities regulators have opened investigations into the planned merger of a nascent social media company backed by ... Donald J. Trump with a so-called blank-check company that raised nearly $300 million in an initial public offering in September. The investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority were disclosed Monday in a regulatory filing by Digital World Acquisition Corporation, the special purpose acquisition company that intends to merge with Trump Media Technology Group. Both regulators are looking for information regarding the trading in shares of Digital World. The S.E.C. is also looking into 'documents and communications' between Digital World and Trump Media.... The investigation ... comes after The New York Times reported that the chief executive of Digital World, Patrick Orlando, had talks with representatives of Trump Media as far back as March about doing a deal." The report is part of the Times' business updates for Monday. The Washington Post story is here. MB: I'll bet you're way surprised that a business deal involving Donald Trump could be suspect. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) CNBC has a story here.
Emma Brown, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the months after ... Donald Trump lost the November election, lawyer Sidney Powell raised large sums from donors inspired by her fight to reverse the outcome of the vote. But by April, questions about where the money was going -- and how much there was -- were helping to sow division between Powell and other leaders of her new nonprofit, Defending the Republic.... Records reviewed by The Washington Post show that Defending the Republic raised more than $14 million, a sum that reveals the reach and resonance of one of the most visible efforts to fundraise using baseless claims about the 2020 election. Previously unreported records also detail acrimony between Powell and her top lieutenants over how the money -- now a focus of inquiries by federal prosecutors and Congress -- was being handled." MB: I'll bet you're way surprised that a fundraising scheme cooked up by Donald Trump's lawyer could be suspect. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Audra Burch & Tariro Mzezewa of the New York Times: "The Justice Department announced on Monday that it had closed an investigation into the abduction and murder of Emmett Till, the African American teenager whose gruesome killing by two white men more than six decades ago in Mississippi helped begin the civil rights movement. In a news release dated Dec. 6, federal officials said there was not enough evidence to pursue charges in the case, which was reopened after a historian claimed in a book that Carolyn Bryant Donham, the central witness whose account of an encounter with Emmett led to his death, had recanted the most salacious portions of her story -- that he had grabbed her and made sexually suggestive remarks. Citing the statute of limitations and Ms. Donham's denial that she had ever changed her story, the Justice Department said it could not move forward with prosecuting her for perjury." A Politico report is here.
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Former senator Robert J. Dole, who died Sunday at age 98, will lie in state in the U.S. Capitol rotunda on Thursday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Monday."
Bob Dole, in a Washington Post op-ed. Dole "drafted early in 2021 to be published around the time of his death": "We have overcome our biggest challenges only when we focused on our shared values and experiences. These common ties form much stronger bonds than political parties. I cannot pretend that I have not been a loyal champion for my party, but I always served my country best when I did so first and foremost as an American.... By leading with a shared faith in each other, we become America at its best: a beacon of hope, a source of comfort in crisis, a shield against those who threaten freedom. Our nation's recent political challenges remind us that our standing as the leader of the free world is not simply destiny. It is a deliberate choice that every generation must make and work toward. We cannot do it divided."
Matt Schudel of the Washington Post: "Fred Hiatt, a onetime foreign correspondent who in 2000 became The Washington Post's editorial page editor and greatly expanded the global reach of the newspaper's opinion writers in the era of 9/11, the election of Barack Obama and the destabilizing presidency of Donald Trump, died Dec. 6 at a hospital in New York City. He was 66. He had sudden cardiac arrest on Nov. 24 while visiting his daughter in Brooklyn, said his wife, Margaret 'Pooh' Shapiro, and did not regain consciousness. He had been treated for heart ailments in the past." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Hannah Knowles of the Washington Post: “Federal health authorities issued a warning Monday against travel to several European countries as well as Jordan and Tanzania amid growing fears of the omicron variant, telling people to make sure they are fully vaccinated if they must visit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said to avoid travel to France, Portugal, Cyprus, Andorra and Liechtenstein, grouping all in a Level 4 category that represents a 'very high' level of the coronavirus."
Beyond the Beltway
Georgia Gubernatorial Race. Amy Gardner & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Donald Trump lobbied hard to get former Sen. David Perdue (R) to run against current Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, ensuring a nasty primary race.
Illinois. Sonia Rao of the Washington Post: "Former 'Empire' actor Jussie Smollett, facing six felony disorderly conduct charges for allegedly filing a false police report about being the victim of a hate crime, took the stand in a Chicago courtroom Monday to testify in his own defense. He reiterated his stance that there 'was no hoax.'"; Politico's report is here.
New York. Billionaire Thief. Tom Mashberg of the New York Times: "Michael H. Steinhardt, the billionaire hedge fund pioneer and one of New York's most prolific antiquities collectors, has surrendered 180 stolen objects valued at $70 million and been barred for life from acquiring any other relics, the Manhattan district attorney's office said in a statement Monday. The prosecutor's office struck an agreement with Mr. Steinhardt after a four-year multinational investigation that determined that the seized pieces had been looted and smuggled from 11 countries, trafficked by 12 illicit networks and appeared on the international art market without lawful paperwork, the office said." MB: I think the old fart should go to jail.
New York. Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "A woman who says she had a years-long sexual relationship with Jeffrey Epstein told jurors on Monday that Ghislaine Maxwell played a key role in facilitating their encounters, first telling her that Epstein was a philanthropist interested in helping young people and then encouraging her to give him massages. The former British model, actress and musician testified in Maxwell's sex-trafficking trial under the pseudonym Kate, although she has been named in interviews she has given in the past about alleged abuse by Epstein. Because she was not under the legal age of consent when she was involved with Epstein, jurors in U.S. District Court in Manhattan were told she is not one of Maxwell's alleged sex-trafficking victims."
Texas. Katie Benner, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department sued Texas on Monday over the state's plan to redraw its voting districts, saying it would essentially make ballots cast by Black and Latino voters count for less than those of others. In announcing the suit, Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said that the redistricting plan that the state's Republican-led legislature approved in October violates Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, which says that voters cannot be denied equal access to the political process based on their race or ethnicity. The suit was the second in a little over a month to be filed by the Justice Department challenging Texas over voting. The department sued the state in early November over a new voting law that it argued would disenfranchise Texans who do not speak English, people with disabilities, older voters and those who live outside the United States." Politico's story is here.
Way Beyond
Germany. Geir Moulson of the AP: Chancellor Angela Merkel is "leaving office at age 67 to praise from abroad and enduring popularity at home. Her designated successor, Olaf Scholz, is expected to take office Wednesday. Merkel, a former scientist who grew up in communist East Germany, is bowing out about a week short of the record for longevity held by her one-time mentor, Helmut Kohl, who reunited Germany during his 1982-1998 tenure."
Haiti. Amanda Coletta of the Washington Post: "Three more of the 17 missionaries who were kidnapped by a notorious street gang in Haiti in October have been released, Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries said Monday. The three, who were freed Sunday night, 'are safe and seem to be in good spirits,' the organization said in a statement. Two other members of the group were released last month; 12 remain in captivity."
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Reader Comments (6)
Rachel Maddow once pointed out that trump was the only
president who lost the popular vote twice. Biden got a greater
percentage of the vote against an incumbent president than anyone
since 1932.
She doesn't have to point out that he also holds the record for
most lies told in 4 years, and the record for_______ (fill in the blanks).
I often wonder how to get through to the few supporters of him
that I know. It's almost impossible since they seem to be in denial,
or in another universe. On the way back from the Post Office
yesterday I greeted a neighbor with the usual how are you doing.
First thing out of her mouth was not so good since Biden has been
in office. What has he done to you personally? Well, everything he
does is wrong. What did the former president do for you?
We shouldn't talk politics she says, end of conversation.
Apparently when they can't come up with anything positive about
the former guy, it's end of conversation.
One of the Christmas cards we got yesterday started off: "This has
been the worst year of my life. Got covid in March (unvaccinated),
my girlfriend left me last summer, and Biden became president."
I will not answer that greeting. Or I may answer and ask him to just
say Merry Christmas in the future or just shut up.
Forest: Here's the voices of those in the past that nailed Trump to a T/ but they, like the Pod people, were transformed. They look the same but they utter altogether different messages. This video should be played once again on all the news stations.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P43wDpKQxaM
Your encounter with said person is similar to my encounter with a neighbor that I wrote about. Unlike you, I wasn't that smart and got into a heated discussion. When I see her now and she asks–-and she always does––-"how are you?" I just say fine and dandy––I add the "dandy" just to let her know I'm not.
Good luck to Biden in HIS talk with Putin today. Armed with images of American racial hypocrisy, the insurrection, the shootings, etc. Putin done gots lots of damning counters to our American democracy which appears to be under water struggling to survive.
@P.D.: Every single one of those Republicans in the video is the
perfect description of "talking out of both sides of the mouth"
to a tee.
Nunez has great timing. Jumping on the Trump media train just as federal investigations are being reported. Nice of him to volunteer to be the latest fall guy.
Most Trump supporters that I hear have internalized his message of "They are attacking Us, not me." Criticize him, then you are criticizing them. If we could get his supporters to seperate their own identity from that of Trump and the GOP then there may be some hope to actually talk to them. Not an easy task.
More on the Pretender Media empire to be:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/people-are-laughing-at-trumps-new-company-214853729.html
Sounds like another winner. Can't wait until the stock goes public.