The Commentariat -- September 25, 2021
Late Morning Update:
Brandon Gage of the Hill Reporter: "... Donald Trump's multiple attempts to interfere with the 2020 election in Fulton, County Georgia have left him at 'substantial risk of state charges predicated on multiple crimes,' a panel of legal experts determined in an exhaustive report on the matter that was published on Friday. Norman Eisen, President Barack Obama';s ethics czar, and Gwen Keyes Fleming, a former DeKalb County district attorney, were among the co-authors of a Brookings Institution think tank analysis of the possible consequences Trump may be facing for demanding that Georgia's Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, along with GOP Governor Brian Kemp, overturn the will of the voters and award the state's 16 Electoral College votes to himself. Specifically, Trump had pressured Raffensperger and Kemp to 'find 11,780 votes.' President Joe Biden carried the Peach State by 11,779 votes."
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** Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "As the full picture of Jan. 6 begins to come into view, I think we should consider it a kind of revolution or, at least, the very beginning of one.... Donald Trump's fight to keep himself in office against the will of the voters has upturned the political order.... This week we learned that [Trump] had an actual plan in mind, devised by John Eastman, a prominent conservative lawyer.... [If you haven't read Eastman's memo, Bouie does a good job of summarizing Eastman's plan for Congress & Republican-led states to throw the election to Trump.] Eastman's confidence throughout this memo (he dismisses potential Democratic objections as 'howls') belies his shoddy legal, political and constitutional thinking." [Here Bouie explains Eastman's "shoddy ... thinking." He concludes ... Meaning, in short, that at noon on Jan. 20, [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi would become acting president of the United States. Pence would lose authority as vice president (and president of the Senate) and the joint session would resume, with Congress putting its stamp of approval on Biden's victory.... [BUT] In [the world Trump & many of his prominent cohort envision], the voters, as filtered through the Electoral College, no longer choose the president. It becomes ... a question of ... power, of who holds the right positions at the right time, and especially, of who can bring the military to their side." ~~~
~~~ Marie: If you don't have a NYT subscription & have been saving your freebies, Bouie's column is a good place to spend one. I can't do it justice in a summary. ~~~
~~~ Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Media Ignore Blueprint for a Coup. Scott Lemieux in LG&$: "The Paper of Record, which sent six reporters to write four stories about Alan Dershowitz's dinner invitations and did two news and three opinion pieces about whether a Harvard Law professor would be able to keep his side gig as a dorm RA, still has no news stories about the Eastman memo. But at least there is now an excellent Jamelle Bouie column[.]... Network news has also completely ignored the story. ~~~
~~~ Tim Murphy of Mother Jones: "... I sort of think [the Eastman memo & Trump's dedication to following it] is a pretty big deal.... But it is not such a big deal, apparently, if you watch network TV news. On Wednesday, Media Matters' Matt Gertz reported that the total number of minutes devoted to the story on either the morning or evening editions of ABC, NBC, or CBS News in the first two days after the memo was published was zero. 'In fact,' Gertz wrote, 'the only national network broadcasts to mention Trump's coup memo were the late-night variety shows hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, and Seth Meyers.'... Some institutions [are] not programmed to take on problems like this -- it disturbs the comfortable equilibrium that defines a lot of political media. Republicans come on to speak to one side of things, and Democrats come on (slightly less often) to speak to the other side of things.... But what happened at the close of Trump's presidency, and seems likely to happen again if we continue mostly ignoring it, is an existential problem." ~~~
~~~ Marie: I haven't watched the evening news, much less the morning network fluff, in years. But apparently the network suits are still concerned, just as they are at PBS & NPR, about conveying anything of substance, especially if it might upset confederate viewers. If Americans are going to get upset at breakfast or around the dinner table, best that it be over the disappearance and murder of a white girl, something everyone can agree is horrible.
Seung Min Kim & Tony Romm of the Washington Post: "President Biden promised Friday that his sweeping domestic agenda package will cost 'nothing' because Democrats will pay for it through tax hikes on the wealthy and corporations, a show of confidence despite the struggles of congressional Democrats to bridge internal divisions on myriad issues. The remarks were an attempt by Biden to assuage some of the cost concerns pointedly expressed by the moderate Democrats about the size of the legislation -- composed of significant investments in health care, climate, education and the social safety net -- as the bill's fate teeters on Capitol Hill. The total spending outlined in the plan is $3.5 trillion, but moderates such as Sens. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) have said they will not support so high a figure.... Though he expressed confidence that he would ultimately sign the pillars of his 'Build Back Better' plan, Biden acknowledged that the legislative process is 'just going to take some time.'"
There will be consequences. It's an embarrassment, but it's beyond an embarrassment -- it's dangerous, it's wrong, it sends the wrong message around the world and sends the wrong message at home. It's simply not who we are. -- President Joe Biden, speaking to reporters Friday about Border Patrol agents on horseback trying to corral refugees as if they were cattle
Yeah, Joe, this is who we are. -- Marie ~~~
~~~ Maria Verza & Juan Lozano of the AP: "No migrants remained Friday at the Texas border encampment where almost 15,000 people -- most of them Haitians -- had converged just days earlier seeking asylum, local and federal officials said. It's a dramatic change from last Saturday, when the number peaked as migrants driven by confusion over the Biden administration's policies and misinformation on social media converged at the border crossing connecting Del Rio, Texas, and Ciudad Acuña, Mexico.... [Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro] Mayorkas said [Friday] about 2,000 Haitians have been rapidly expelled on 17 flights since Sunday.... He said the U.S. has allowed about 12,400 to enter the country, at least temporarily, while they make claims before an immigration judge to stay in the country under the asylum laws or for some other legal reason. They could ultimately be denied and would be subject to removal. Mayorkas said about 5,000 are in DHS custody and being processed to determine whether they will be expelled or allowed to press their claim for legal residency. Some returned to Mexico. A U.S. official with direct knowledge of the situation said six flights were scheduled to Haiti on Friday, with seven planned Saturday and six Sunday...." ~~~
~~~ A photo accompanying the AP story shows the Del Rio bridge encampment area completely clear of people and makeshift shelters. ~~~
~~~ Kevin Liptak & Kate Sullivan of CNN: "President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris on Friday harshly condemned the actions depicted in images showing Border Patrol agents on horseback rounding up Haitian migrant families in Texas after they crossed over from Mexico. 'It's horrible what you saw. To see people like they did, with horses, running them over, people being strapped, it's outrageous,' Biden said at the White House. The President said: 'I promise you: those people will pay... There is an investigation underway right now and there will be consequences.'" ~~~
~~~ Why, even at Fox "News," they're very upset about the images. Here's the headline: "Border Patrol stunned as Biden goes to war with his own agents over false 'whipping' allegations." MB: As I said, Joe, this is who we are.
Felicia Sonmez & Ann Marimow of the Washington Post: "The House on Friday passed legislation that would create a statutory right for health-care professionals to provide abortions, amid an intensifying legal battle over a Texas law that is the most restrictive in the nation. H.R. 3755, the Women's Health Protection Act, was approved by the Democratic-controlled House 218 to 211 but faces tough odds in the evenly divided Senate. The measure states that health-care providers have a statutory right to provide, and patients have a right to receive, abortion services without any number of limitations that states and opponents of the procedure have sought to impose. The measure would essentially codify Roe v. Wade.... Rep. Henry Cuellar (Tex.), who opposes abortion rights, was the sole Democrat to vote against the measure. All Republicans present voted 'no.' In a sign of the legislation's importance to Democrats, [Nancy] Pelosi cast a vote in favor. The speaker typically does not vote.... In the Senate, the measure currently has the support of 48 senators who caucus with Democrats. Two key Democrats -- Sens. Robert P. Casey Jr. (Pa.) and Joe Manchin III (W.Va.) -- have not yet signaled how they would vote." Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is a no vote.
Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York and the highest-profile progressive in the House, apologized on Friday to her constituents for an abrupt decision to pull back her vote against providing $1 billion in new funding for Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system, suggesting she had done so after being subjected to 'hateful targeting' for opposing it.... She was seen weeping on the House floor after she switched her vote from 'no' to 'present.'... In a lengthy letter on Friday, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez told her constituents that she opposed the funding, citing 'persistent human rights abuses against the Palestinian people,' and had pleaded with top Democrats to delay the vote."
Myah Ward of Politico: "The White House on Friday evening clarified an earlier statement by press secretary Jen Psaki suggesting that President Joe Biden had opted against shielding any of Donald Trump's records from the committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Following Psaki's comments at a briefing earlier in the day, the White House said it intends to review each request by the former president to prevent the disclosure of such records on a 'case-by-case' basis. Psaki intended to refer to a decision weeks earlier by the Justice Department not to invoke privilege to block officials from providing documents and testimony to the committee.... '... The president already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege,' Psaki said [during Friday's briefing]. 'And so, we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise. And certainly, as they come up from Congress, and certainly we have been working closely with congressional committees and others as they work to get to the bottom of what happened on Jan. 6.'... ~~~
~~~ "The National Archives has identified hundreds of pages of relevant documents, which will be sent to Biden and Trump lawyers, as required by statute. Once the documents are delivered, Trump has 30 days to approve or deny the release, according to the statute. If Trump decides to object, Biden can still turn the material over, since his White House has the final say on the matter." ~~~
~~~ Earlier That Same Day. Amy Wang, et al., of the Washington Post: President "Biden ... probably plans to share ... information [related to the insurrection] with Congress if asked, White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters Friday. 'The president has already concluded that it would not be appropriate to assert executive privilege,' Psaki said. 'And so we will respond promptly to these questions as they arise and certainly as they come up from Congress.' She added the White House has already been working closely with congressional committees and others 'as they work to get to the bottom of what happened on January 6th, an incredibly dark day in our democracy.' Psaki also noted that no one from Trump's team has reached out to the Biden administration to formally request that Biden use executive privilege to block information requests from the Jan. 6 select committee.... 'The highly partisan, Communist-style 'select committee' has put forth an outrageously broad records request that lacks both legal precedent and legislative merit,' Trump spokesman Taylor Budowich said in a statement Thursday." An NBC News story is here. ~~~
~~~ Marie: No doubt Bennie Thompson & Liz Cheney will soon be spotted wearing "Communist-style" cloth worker's caps as they go about directing the committee.
Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol has begun to solicit testimony from the rioters, issuing requests for some defendants to voluntarily provide an account of their decision to travel to Washington and join the angry mob. Lawyers for multiple riot defendants who have already pleaded guilty say they have received communications from the panel in recent days requesting their clients' cooperation with the committee.... It's not immediately clear how many, if any, of those charged will agree to speak with House investigators. Such cooperation might help defendants get more lenient sentences, but some have already been sentenced, with most escaping jail time." ~~~
~~~ Marie: One thing to bear in mind -- and this is something I think most reasonable Americans haven't figured out -- is that the select committee, no matter how thorough and enlightening its investigation -- cannot produce a smoking gun that will change hearts and minds. First, we pretty much know now what Trump and company did. At best, the committee will find additional or more concrete proofs of malfeasance. Second, Republicans don't care. They are invested in anti-democratic, extra-legal and extra-Constitutional exercises. They no longer accept Western liberal democracy as the most desirable, workable, normative form of government.
What Did the FBI Know & When Did It Know It? Alan Feuer & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "In the middle of an unfolding melee that shook a pillar of American democracy [on Jan. 6] -- the peaceful transfer of power -- the [F.B.I.] had an informant in the crowd, providing an inside glimpse of the action, according to confidential records obtained by The New York Times. In the informant's version of events, the Proud Boys, famous for their street fights, were largely following a pro-Trump mob consumed by a herd mentality rather than carrying out any type of preplanned attack.... The records obtained by The Times do not directly address whether the informant was in a good position to know about plans developed for Jan. 6 by the leadership of the Proud Boys, why he was cooperating, whether he could have missed indications of a plot or whether he could have deliberately misled the government. But the records, and information from two people familiar with the matter, suggest that federal law enforcement had a far greater visibility into the assault on the Capitol, even as it was taking place, than was previously known.... Moreover, the records indicate that F.B.I. officials in Washington were alerted in advance of the attack that the informant was traveling to the Capitol with several other Proud Boys."
Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "A federal judge tore into a low-level defendant in the Capitol Riot Friday, moments after the man entered a guilty plea to a misdemeanor charge stemming from the Jan. 6 unrest. 'You've disgraced this country in the eyes of the world and my inclination would be to lock you up, but since the government isn't asking me to do that ... I won't,' U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton shouted at Fort Pierce, Fla., resident Anthony Mariotto during a video hearing. 'I find it outrageous that American citizens would do what you did, so you better walk the straight and narrow, sir, you understand?'"
The leaked report conclusively shows there were enough fraudulent votes, mystery votes, and fake votes to change the outcome of the election 4 or 5 times over. There is fraud and cheating in Arizona and it must be criminally investigated! -- Donald Trump, Friday ~~~
~~~ Reid Epstein & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "... for those who have tried to undermine confidence in American elections and restrict voting, the actual findings of the Maricopa County [fraudit] review that were released on Friday [-- which found that Joe Biden won the county by more votes than the official count recorded --] did not appear to matter in the slightest.... Donald J. Trump and his loyalists redoubled their efforts to mount a full-scale relitigation of the 2020 election.... As draft copies of the report began to circulate late Thursday, Trump allies ignored the new tally, instead zeroing in on the report's specious claims of malfeasance, inconsistencies and errors by election officials.... Cherry-picking from the report on Friday, the former president and his allies cited a series of eye-popping statistics that, on first glance, appeared to bolster their case.... Peter Navarro, a former adviser to Mr. Trump, falsely claimed on Twitter that the report had shown that 50,000 potentially illegal votes were cast in Maricopa County." See related story, linked below under Beyond the Beltway. ~~~
~~~ Marie: Steve Schmidt who said on MSNBC Friday that a democracy cannot function in an essentially two-party system where one of the parties operates on facts and the other ignores facts. And that's where we are. (Paraphrase.)
David Sanger, et al., of the New York Times: "The Justice Department reached an agreement on Friday clearing the way for a senior executive of Huawei Technologies, the Chinese telecommunications giant, to return to China after admitting some wrongdoing in a sanctions violation case, removing one major irritant between the two superpowers. Within hours, China reciprocated, releasing two Canadians whom it had held since shortly after the executive, Meng Wanzhou, was detained, and who had appeared to be jailed as hostages to Ms. Meng's case.... In China, Ms. Meng..., the daughter of Huawei's founder..., is considered a member of the new Chinese royalty -- technology executives who have used their power to expand China's influence across the globe."
Peter Hermann & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A D.C. police officer was indicted Friday on a murder charge accusing him of leading an improper pursuit that resulted in the death of a young man in a moped crash, and conspiring with his supervisor to cover up the chase and the severity of the victim's injuries.... The death of [Karon] Hylton, which came amid a nationwide movement for police reform, had roiled his Brightwood Park neighborhood and put law enforcement tactics under renewed scrutiny. D.C. police officials and prosecutors said they could not recall any other cases in which a D.C. police officer has been charged in an on-duty death."
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Noah Weiland, et al., of the New York Times: "State health officials rushed on Friday to roll out campaigns to provide coronavirus booster shots for millions of vulnerable people who got the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and to help a confused public understand who qualifies for the extra shots. Among their challenges: making sure that recipients of the Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines know that they are not yet eligible for boosters, reaching isolated elderly people and informing younger adults with medical conditions or jobs that place them at higher risk that they might be eligible under the broad federal rules.... President Biden said 20 million people could get boosters immediately because they had gotten their second Pfizer-BioNTech shot at least six months ago.... State and federal officials said the booster program would look much different than earlier coronavirus vaccination drives, which relied heavily on mass inoculation sites at sports stadiums and convention centers. Instead, pharmacies, primary care physicians and smaller vaccination clinics that have become accustomed to offering shots will deliver boosters.... CVS said on Friday that its pharmacies were ready to provide booster shots and would rely on customers to 'self-attest' regarding their eligibility."
Who Could Have Known? Moriah Balingit of the Washington Post: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Friday offered more evidence that school mask requirements can help keep children healthy and in classrooms, showing lower spikes in pediatric coronavirus cases and fewer school outbreaks in places that require them. In an analysis of 520 U.S. counties, the CDC found that pediatric cases rose more sharply in places without school mask requirements. And in a separate report that looked at Arizona's two most populous counties, the agency found that schools without mask requirements were 3.5 times as likely to experience an outbreak than schools with them."
John Koblin of the New York Times: "A dramatic scene played out on 'The View' on Friday morning when two of the show's hosts, Ana Navarro and Sunny Hostin, were directed to leave the set live on the air after both had apparently tested positive for the coronavirus. 'The View' had just returned from a commercial break about 15 minutes into the show and the four hosts of were on the verge of introducing Vice President Kamala Harris for an in-person interview.... [After some minutes of confusion & an abrupt cut to an untimely commercial break, co-hosts Joy] Behar and Sara Haines scrambled and took questions from the studio audience as they tried to, as Ms. Behar put it, 'tap dance' their way through what would hav been an interview with the vice president. Ms. Harris was ushered to a remote location and joined the show for a brief interview via satellite in the final 10 minutes of the show."
Beyond the Beltway
Arizona. Jack Healy, et al., of the New York Times: "After months of delays and blistering criticism, a review of the 2020 election in Arizona's largest county, ordered up and financed by Republicans, has failed to show that ... Donald J. Trump was cheated of victory. Instead, the report from the company Cyber Ninjas said it found just the opposite: It tallied 99 additional votes for President Biden and 261 fewer votes for Mr. Trump in Maricopa County.... The hourslong presentation before the State Senate the [Cyber Ninja] review officials did not focus on the numbers showing [Joe] Biden's victory but instead presented a blizzard of hypotheticals, none verified, most hinting darkly at a tainted election. They came prepared with slides, ballot scans and discussions of arcane election rules.... At the presentation's end..., Karen Fann, the Republican Senate president who commissioned the vote review..., called for Arizona's attorney general, a Republican, to investigate the claims of irregularities. None of the claims held up, according to experts on election administration who monitored the proceedings.... Maricopa County officials devoted their Twitter feed to debunking allegations as they were made on the floor." ~~~
~~~ Marie: As Rachel Maddow highlighted, one of the charges the Cyber Ninja team claimed needed investigation was that the Maricopa County's election Website appeared to be online. It is. You know, it tells citizens how the can register to vote and so forth. This is not a site that counts votes or is hooked up to the county's vote-counting mechanisms. This "charge" is as earth-shattering a revelation as would be a charge that Reality Chex and the New York Times Websites access the Internet. They do. (Shockingly, the Cyber Ninjas themselves have a Website, and if you click on the link, you will discover that it, too, is connected to the Internet.)
Way Beyond
Karla Adam & Rick Noack of the Washington Post: "Young people around the world spilled into streets, city squares and local parks on Friday, following the call of Swedish teen Greta Thunberg, for the first big, in-person, coordinated climate protests since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Thunberg, who started the Fridays for Future student movement in 2018, was in Berlin, where the turnout was especially high, and where voters are gearing up to select a successor to Chancellor Angela Merkel in national elections Sunday.... With coronavirus-related restrictions relaxing in many countries, street protests can resume once more. Students demonstrated in more than 1,500 locations around the world on Friday, though not in the numbers they achieved in 2019."
Preview: Lauren Boebert & Josh Hawley at CPAC 2022:
~~~ Hungary. Yay! Fascisto Tourism. Joe Jervis of Joe.My.God: "The Budapest Business Journal reports: 'Budapest will host the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), a gathering of conservative activists and elected officials from the United States and beyond, in 2022, the Budapest-based Center for Fundamental Rights said....'... Last month CPAC also held a conference in Brazil in support of Jair Bolsonaro. Anywhere there's a budding dictatorship, CPAC will follow." MB: In a tweet embedded in Joe's post, David Frum expresses skepticism about the BBJ's report. Knowing as much as I do about the BBJ (which is nothing), I share his skepticism. On the other hand, what with TuKKKer's and mike pence's pilgrimages to New Nationalist Mecca, the story is plausible.
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Reader Comments (6)
Friday's elegant and disturbing Steve Schmidt comments on state of American democracy:
https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/schmidt-republicans-are-driving-chaos-promising-order-with-easy-scapegoats-121953861736
I do happen to watch the evening news but stick to MSNBC and PBS and Rachel, Joy and I think Chris–-and perhaps others, (I can't say since I was mired in the Muhammad Ali documentary) covered the Eastman story.
I have, for many years, felt a sense of safety and security about this nation's democracy–-through all the problems and sheer lunacy, I never envisioned its complete collapse–––until now.
When I was a young girl and discovered my love of poetry, Edna St.Vincent Millay's poems appealed. I thought of one the other day that corresponds to my feelings of loss:
Safe upon the solid rock the ugly houses stand:
Come and see my shining palace built upon the sand!
Chris Hayes had a good take down of the racists myths about immigrants last night.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ls8x3JzL_rk
I heard part of Steve Schmidt's discourse last night when it was on the second time-- He was glum and grim, with completely gloomy phrasing about what a mess this country is. Rachel sounded scared. When half the people and a full measure of the other political party are complete lunatics, or simply evil people, and part of the present governing bodies' members are only concerned with their own wonderfulness (hello Mean Manchin and Sloppy Sinema--) and refusing to help govern, where in the hell do we go from here? That guy in the WaPo whose column I did not read but heard quoted is correct: the coup has succeeded and is ongoing.
Sometimes it's depressing (or embarrassing?) being a Democrat.
Get rid of the damned filibuster and get on with running the
country for the good of the people, not the enrichment of politicians.
What's wrong with our party? Don't answer that.
Watching what passes for "Evening News" today and the reactions to the mild tones of "both sides" I can't help but wonder what would be the reactions to the broadcasters of my younger days. How would the public react to Murrow, Cronkite, or Huntley and Brinkley?
Not well I fear.