The Commentariat -- July 31, 2021

Late Morning Update:

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Saturday are here.

Killing Their Constituents to Thwart Biden. Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Not only are Republicans resisting Mr. Biden's push to end the pandemic, some of them are actively hampering it. Republican governors slow-walked vaccination efforts and lifted mask mandates early. In Washington, G.O.P. leaders like Steve Scalise, the second-ranking House Republican -- who himself didn't get vaccinated until about two weeks ago -- mocked public health guidance that even vaccinated people should wear masks indoors as 'government control.' There's little Mr. Biden can do."

Florida. Rich McKay of Reuters (republished in AOL): "Florida Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order on Friday blocking mask mandates in the state's schools, saying parents had the right to decide if their children would wear face coverings. The move by DeSantis, a Republican who has opposed strict COVID-19 rules on residents and businesses, overrules a requirement by two Florida counties, Broward and Gadsen, that students cover their faces when they return to class next month. 'In Florida, there will be no lockdowns, there will be no school closures, there will be no restrictions and no mandates in the state of Florida,' DeSantis said in announcing his executive order during a speech in southwest Cape Coral."

Sophie Kasakove of the New York Times: "For almost a year, a federal moratorium on evictions allowed tenants who suffered economic losses from the coronavirus pandemic to stay in their homes. Now, the moratorium's scheduled expiration at midnight on Saturday has left renters around the country packing their belongings and facing an uncertain future as they search for housing options. Already, homeless shelters have been adding beds in preparation for an influx of people in need of a safe place to live.... The protections were extended several times but also had a catch: Rent payments were delayed, not forgiven..... Through June, however, local governments had distributed just $3 billion of the nearly $47 billion in rental assistance that Congress made available, according to the Treasury Department."

Karen DeYoung & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "The Biden administration announced Friday that it will impose further sanctions on elements of the Cuban government over the crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrations earlier this month, as President Biden sought ways to help activists communicate freely and receive financial help from abroad. The Treasury Department announced penalties on two security officials and a police unit that the Biden administration blames for attempts to harm or silence protesters."

The New York Times' Olympics updates for Saturday are here. The Washington Post's live Olympics updates for Saturday are here.

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Maeve Sheehey of Politico: "Attorney General Merrick Garland urged Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to reverse his day-old executive order that aims to restrict migration at the border following a rise in Covid-19 cases. The attorney general called Abbott's order 'both dangerous and unlawful' in a Thursday letter to the governor. 'The Order violates federal law in numerous respects, and Texas cannot lawfully enforce the Executive Order against any federal official or private parties working with the United States,' Garland wrote.... Garland's letter also said Texas does not have authority to interfere with the federal government's 'broad, undoubted power over the subject of immigration.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department sued Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas on Friday in an effort to block an executive order that severely limits the transportation of migrants in the state, calling the order unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed a day after Attorney General Merrick B. Garland sent a letter to Mr. Abbott telling him that he must rescind the executive order, which bars private transportation suppliers from providing ground transit to many migrants and makes it harder for them to reach their final destinations in the United States.... The department said that the order obstructed the federal government's ability to administer immigration law and asked the court to 'declare the executive order to be invalid and enjoin its enforcement.'... Mr. Abbott said in a statement that he had 'no intention' of abdicating 'the authority under long-established emergency response laws to control the movement of people to better contain the spread of a disaster, such as those known to have Covid-19.'" Politico's story, by Josh Gerstein, is here.

Alan Suderman & Eric Tucker of the AP: "The Russian hackers behind the massive SolarWinds cyberespionage campaign broke into the email accounts of some of the most prominent federal prosecutors' offices around the country last year, the Justice Department said Friday. The department said 80% of Microsoft email accounts used by employees in the four U.S. attorney offices in New York were breached. All told, the Justice Department said 27 U.S. Attorney offices had at least one employee's email account compromised during the hacking campaign. The Justice Department said in a statement that it believes the accounts were compromised from May 7 to Dec. 27, 2020.... [The breach] was first discovered and publicized in mid-December.... Jennifer Rodgers, a lecturer at Columbia Law School, said office emails frequently contained all sorts of sensitive information, including case strategy discussions and names of confidential informants, when she was a federal prosecutor in New York."

Clare Foran, et al., of CNN: "The Senate took the next step on Friday to bring up a roughly $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal that will fulfill key priorities in President Joe Biden's agenda. Senators voted 66-28 on a motion to proceed, a vote that will open up the legislative package to potential changes through the amendment process. It remains to be seen whether any amendments will be agreed to since they are expected to be subject to a 60-vote threshold. Bill text still has not yet been formally unveiled, and amendments are not expected to be considered until Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer offers up the finalized deal as a substitute amendment, which could happen at some point later Friday afternoon. The expectation is that there could be amendment votes over the weekend." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Wherein House Republicans Play a Part originally conceived & played by Boris Badenov: ~~~

~~~ Mariam Kahn, et al., of ABC News: "House Democrats' attempt to pass an extension of the eviction moratorium via unanimous consent request failed late Friday ahead of a six-week recess. The moratorium will end Saturday. The measure was objected to by Republicans, none of whom supported the bid."

Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "After Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy this week decried the House's new face mask requirement, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) replied with a considered response: 'He's such a moron.'... Such an incendiary charge by Pelosi demands a fact check: Is McCarthy, in fact, a moron? Let's weigh the evidence.... [After recounting quite a list of McCarthy's remarks, Milbank concludes] Pelosi's claim earns the rating 'mostly true.'"

Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton blew up at an alleged January 6 insurrectionist who refused to wear a mask & follow other conditions of his release pending trial. MB: I'm getting to like Judge Walton.

Donald's Very Bad Hair Day:

Lordy, Let There Be Leaks! Rebecca Beitsch & Naomi Jagoda of the Hill: "The Justice Department on Friday said the Treasury Department must turn over former President Trump's long-sought tax returns to the Democratic-led House Ways and Means Committee. In a Friday memo from the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), acting Assistant Attorney General Dawn Johnsen said that the Treasury Department was required to defer to the congressional committee. 'The statute at issue here is unambiguous: "Upon written request" of the chairman of one of the three congressional tax committees, the Secretary "shall furnish" the requested tax information to the Committee,' Johnsen wrote in the 39-page memo." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Nicholas Fandos & Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "The 39-page opinion from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel dealt a sharp legal blow to a yearslong campaign by Mr. Trump to keep his tax information secret, reversing a Trump administration position that had shielded the documents from Congress. Rejecting that view, the Biden administration opinion said that a request for the tax information first lodged in 2019 by the House Ways and Means Committee was legitimate and that the Treasury Department had no valid grounds to refuse it.... A highly litigious and determined protector of his financial records, Mr. Trump could seek an injunction in the coming days to try to stop the transfer, setting off a new round of legal wrangling that could take weeks or longer to resolve. The Treasury Department notified a Federal District Court judge in Washington overseeing the dispute late Friday that it had reached an agreement with the House to hand over the documents, and both sides requested that the court give Mr. Trump until Tuesday to decide. Even if handed over to Congress, Mr. Trump's tax information may not become public immediately or at all."

** Katie Benner of the New York Times: "... Donald J. Trump pressed top Justice Department officials late last year to declare that the election was corrupt even though they had found no instances of widespread fraud, so he and his allies in Congress could use the assertion to try to overturn the results, according to new documents provided to lawmakers.... The exchange unfolded during a phone call on Dec. 27 in which Mr. Trump pressed the acting attorney general at the time, Jeffrey A. Rosen, and his deputy, Richard P. Donoghue, on voter fraud claims that the Justice Department had found no evidence for.... 'Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me' and to congressional allies, Mr. Donoghue wrote in summarizing Mr. Trump's [remarks]. Mr. Trump did not name the lawmakers [who would help him overturn the election], but at other points during the call, he mentioned Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio, whom he described as a 'fighter'; Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who at the time promoted the idea that the election was stolen from Mr. Trump; and Senator Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, whom Mr. Trump praised for 'getting to bottom of things.'" MB: Oh, you boys are gonna be subpoenaed.... ~~~

“In a moment of foreshadowing, Mr. Trump said, 'people tell me Jeff Clark is great, I should put him in,' referring to the acting chief of the Justice Department's civil division, who had also encouraged department officials to intervene in the election. 'People want me to replace D.O.J. leadership.' 'You should have the leadership you want,' Mr. Donoghue replied. But it would not change the department's position on a lack of widespread election fraud, he noted. Mr. Donoghue and Mr. Rosen did not know that Mr. Perry had introduced Mr. Clark to Mr. Trump. One week later, they would be forced to fight Mr. Clark for their jobs in an Oval Office showdown." Read the whole article. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Marie: David Corn of Mother Jones pointed out on MSNBC Friday that Trump was threatening Rosen & Donoghue in this part of the conversation; if they wouldn't play ball with him, he'd hand off the ball to somebody who would.

~~~ Devlin Barrett & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: Richard Donoghue's "notes were released to Congress this week and made public on Friday -- further evidence of the pressure Trump brought to bear as he sought to throw out President Biden's election victory. In one Dec. 27 conversation, according to the written account, acting attorney general Jeffrey Rosen told Trump the Justice Department 'can't + won't snap its fingers + change the outcome of the election.' The president replied that he understood that, but wanted the agency to 'just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen,' according to notes of the conversation taken by another senior Justice Department official, Richard Donoghue.... Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, said the notes 'show that President Trump directly instructed our nation's top law enforcement agency to take steps to overturn a free and fair election in the final days of his presidency.'" CNN's story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ David Graham of the Atlantic: "The violence of [January 6] has taken center stage, but these notes help put it in context: The angry crowd was just one part of ... Donald Trump's long-running effort to overturn the results of the election in the House of Representatives.... Trump's coup attempt started ... in the wee hours of November 4, when Trump said at the White House..., 'Frankly, we did win this election.'... In November and early December, the focus of Trump's efforts was pressuring state officials in places such as Arizona and Georgia to decline to certify results in favor of Biden, and pressing Attorney General William Barr to cast doubt on the results. But Barr [and pivotal state Republican officials declined.... Once Barr was pushed aside, The Washington Post reported this week, Trump began a daily campaign to pressure Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen into doing what Barr would not, trying to place new claims of fraud before the Justice Department. Unbeknownst to Rosen, Trump was also orchestrating a plan to topple him.... All Trump wanted was some semi-independent arbiter to declare the election fraudulent.... [So then Trump pressured pence to decertify the election results. ] If the election couldn't be decided based on the results, then it would go to the House of Representatives. Though Democrats held a majority there, the presidency would have been decided by state delegations, of which Republicans controlled more.” Firewalled, but hey, it's the end of the month. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Graham's post is of a piece with what I was thinking. But I see the January 6 insurrection not as the culmination of Trump's efforts to overturn the election, but as his Hail Mary pass, a last-ditch effort when all else had failed. BTW, among the unsung heroes who saved the Constitution, are these people: "Mr. Pence has spent hours with parliamentarians and lawyers in recent days. His allies said they expect him to carry out his constitutional duties on Wednesday." (From a January 5 NYT article.) If those unnamed "parliamentarians & lawyers" had advised pence differently, it's possible the election would have been thrown to the House to decide, where Jungle Gym Jordan, et al., would have tried to engineer the coup. ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "It's long been tricky to determine if Trump actually believes the nonsensical, conflicting or obviously false claims he pushes forward; that he used his familiarity with them as something of a validator in his conversation with [Jeffrey] Rosen suggests that, to at least some extent, he does.... What [Richard] Donoghue's notes suggest is that Trump had fully bought into the effort that would eventually become his Alamo: having Republican legislators block the electoral-vote counting due to take place at the Capitol on Jan. 6.... That he mentioned ['R. Congressmen' to Rosen] at all does suggest more integration than had previously been indicated." It's up to the House select committee to try to figure out how far the R. Congressmen's assistance went.~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Melanie Zanona, then of Politico, reported on December 21, "... Donald Trump huddled with a group of congressional Republicans at the White House on Monday, where they strategized over a last-ditch effort to overturn the election results next month, according to several members who attended the meeting.... The group also met with Vice President Mike Pence, who will be presiding over the joint session of Congress..., as well as members of Trump's legal team. 'It was a back-and-forth concerning the planning and strategy for January the 6th,' [Rep. Mo] Brooks said in a phone interview." So this was a plan hatched before Christmas, & several members of Congress were part of it. BTW, it seems to be a good idea to call Mo Brooks to find out what's up, because he just might spill the beans without much prodding.

Mark Berman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Washington Post began tracking fatal shootings by on-duty police officers in 2015, the year after a White officer in Ferguson, Mo., shot and killed a Black 18-year old.... Since Ferguson, departments across the country have taken steps toward reform, but these efforts have been inconsistent and incomplete.... After police kill someone, they also often shape what the public learns about the killing.... Despite a push since 2015 for police body cameras and the periodic emergence of surveillance footage or bystander cellphone video, more than 80 percent of fatal police shootings still were not filmed, according to The Post's database.... Since The Post began tracking cases, Black people have been shot and killed at higher rates than White people." This is a long report. BTW, if you're wondering why the Post is tracking these shootings, it's because the federal government isn't.

Alex Traub of the New York Times: "Richard D. Lamm, who as a Colorado state legislator led fights to pass the nation's first abortion rights law in the years before Roe v. Wade and to block the 1976 Winter Olympics from being held in his state, and who went on to serve three terms as Colorado's governor, died on Thursday in Denver. He was 85."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Erin Banco & Adam Cancryn of Politico: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has collected data that suggest fully vaccinated Americans who contract the Delta variant can spread Covid-19 as easily as unvaccinated people infected with the variant. The hotly anticipated study helped convince the agency to revise its guidance on mask-wearing earlier this week, when it said vaccinated people should wear masks indoors in areas with high levels of Covid-19 transmission. But CDC had not made the data underlying its decision public until now." The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Carolyn Johnson, et al., of the Washington Post: "A sobering scientific analysis published Friday found that three-quarters of the people infected during an explosive coronavirus outbreak fueled by the delta variant were fully vaccinated. The report on the Massachusetts cases, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, offers key evidence bolstering the hypothesis that vaccinated people can spread the more transmissible variant and may be a factor in the summer surge of infections. The data, detailed in the CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, helped persuade agency scientists to reverse recommendations on mask-wearing and advise that vaccinated individuals wear masks in indoor public settings in some circumstances.... The outbreak started in early July in Provincetown, at the tip of Cape Cod, a tourist destination known for its party scene. The July Fourth holiday atmosphere proved ideal for superspreader events." ~~~

~~~ Laura Strickler of NBC News: "At least 125,000 fully vaccinated Americans have tested positive for Covid and 1,400 of those have died, according to data collected by NBC News. The 125,682 'breakthrough' cases in 38 states found by NBC News represent less than .08 percent of the 164.2 million-plus people who have been fully vaccinated since January, or about one in every 1,300. The number of cases and deaths among the vaccinated is very small compared to the number among the unvaccinated. A former Biden adviser on Covid estimated that 98 to 99 percent of deaths are among the unvaccinated. But the total number of breakthrough cases is likely higher than 125,683, since nine states, including Pennsylvania and Missouri, did not provide any information, while 11, like Covid hotspot Florida, did not provide death and hospitalization totals. Four states gave death and hospitalization numbers, but not the full tally of cases."

Dave Philipps & Jennifer Steinhauer of the New York Times: "Late Thursday night, the Pentagon announced that all military and civilian employees would be asked to prove they were vaccinated or submit to mandatory masks, physically distancing and regular testing, as well as travel restrictions, just as President Biden demanded of the rest of federal civilian employees. The new requirements take the armed forces one step closer to a mandate. Compulsory shots are standard operating procedure for the military, which, starting in boot camp, requires troops to get vaccinated for at least a dozen diseases. For now, though, the military is trying to navigate how to get more troops to take the shot without simply issuing an order. Of the 1,336,000 active-duty members of the military, about 64 percent are fully vaccinated, above the 60 percent of Americans over 18 who are fully vaccinated. But for the military, that rate is unacceptably low, because it is difficult to deploy troops who have not been vaccinated to countries with stringent local restrictions, and because a surge of the virus among troops can cripple readiness."

Lauren Hirsch of the New York Times: "... facing renewed pandemic restrictions, and with encouragement from government leaders, a growing number of the country's biggest companies have been embracing [vaccine mandates]. On Friday, Walmart and the Walt Disney Company introduced new requirements that some employees be vaccinated. They followed similar announcements this week from Google, Facebook, Uber and others.... Even as the companies announced new requirements, large groups of workers were left out of the mandates.... The Equal Opportunity Employment Commission first issued guidance in December that employers could mandate vaccines -- and reiterated that message in June.... Recent court decisions have upheld employers" rights to require vaccinations...."

Beyond the Beltway

Wisconsin. And the Beat Goes On. Scott Bauer of the AP: "The highest ranking Republican in the Wisconsin Assembly said Friday that he was expanding a probe into the 2020 presidential election, saying it will take more investigators and time than originally planned. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos signed contracts in June with two retired police detectives and a former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice to handle the investigation. But those two investigators quit earlier this month, Vos confirmed for the first time Friday, leading him to 'take a different tack.' Vos has designated retired Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman as a 'special counsel' and empowered him to hire as many investigators as he wants, with the goal of completing the probe this fall."

Louisiana Swamp Story. Michael Levenson of the New York Times: "Lawrence Handley, 53, a business executive from Lafayette, La., pleaded guilty this week to three criminal charges after a plot to kidnap his estranged wife went badly awry. Schanda Handley was at home with her daughter and a neighbor when two men showed up at the door, dressed in ... blue uniforms. They had a carpet steamer and asked Ms. Handley if they could demonstrate it for her. When she said no, the men forced their way into her house at gunpoint, put a hood over her head and handcuffed her and her neighbor, she said. Then they pushed Ms. Handley into a van and drove off, leaving Ms. Handley's 14-year-old daughter and the neighbor behind. The kidnappers [-- Sylvester Bracey and Arsenio Haynes --] had been hired by Lawrence ... Handley, who was planning to have Ms. Handley driven to his camp near Woodville, Miss..., prosecutors said.... But as the men drove east on Interstate 10 on Aug. 6, 2017, with Ms. Handley handcuffed in the back, sheriff's deputies noticed the van was swerving and tried to stop it, prosecutors said. The men ... drove off the interstate, turned down a dead-end gravel road, and were penned in by the police.... Both men tried to escape by swimming through a canal, prosecutors said. They drowned.... Handley ... faces 15 to 35 years in prison." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Sounds borrowed from the plot of "Fargo," albeit with fewer twists & turns. A terrific Coen brothers film, BTW. Funny thing, Lawrence Handley is nearly a deadringer for actor William H. Macey, who played the kidnap schemer in the film. And yeah, I know the story has squat to do with politics, but I couldn't resist sharing it. If it weren't a true story, I would have filed it under "Infotainment."

Comments

[PD Pepe]

The cartoon's rent saga above is as old as Lillian Gish who portrayed same in a silent film–––the "But I can't pay the rent"–– You must pay the rent" to a savior's "I'll pay the rent." And last night watching coverage of families bereft and bare handed wondering what in blazes would happen to them if evicted, I thought wouldn't it be grand if one of America's many billionaires would sweep in and cough up some of those billions and say "I'LL PAY THE RENT" with no strings attached. Violins could be playing in the background.

In real life we have congress critters who have been voted in by people who believe they will work toward making their lives better. What happens when those voters understand their representatives operate for themselves––leave for vacation before addressing major legislation, for instance. Nothing like in your face slaps to change your perspective.

Marie: So enjoyed your Louisiana Swamp story ( and yes, Fargo–-one of my favorites). I'm looking forward to this country's own Swamp saga starring that fat ass bastard who played at being president for four years and apparently hasn't quit––yet––but thanks to the written word more proof in the pudding hath shewed its ugly face ––finally–-and it's one more step for mankind to rid us of that kind of operation otherwise known as demonic destruction.

Is there a wood chipper handy?

[citizen625]

"Is there a wood chipper handy?" How about Rahm Emanual for ambassador to Israel? This guy would rather be in the Israeli Defense Forces than the US and would rather exploit/use US opportunities. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jul/31/biden-political-appointments-ambassador-posts. Until people who support AOC get plum appointments like ambassador to Japan, not much will change. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahm_Emanuel. I didn't see much about Emanuel's wife; it makes me wonder if this little dictator values the counsel of his wife and women. He'll be perfect for Japan.

[Whyte Owen]

Re. Fargo, indeed. Our daughter's closest friend is a lawyer who, during law school clerked for a criminal court judge in southern Minnesota. She came away with this: almost all of the perps before the court were there not because they were evil, but because they were just plain dumb as a bag of dirt. Our local daily paper (theava.com) publishes the Mendocino County sheriffs daily booking log with mug shots, and the Sonoma county sheriff's facebook page features daily humor from their arrest log. Dominated by dumb and dumber and, sorry to say, LOL.