The Conversation -- July 16, 2025
Oh, Here's an A-mazing, Er, Coincidence. Jonah Bromwich, et al., of the New York Times: “Maurene Comey, a Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the criminal cases against Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, was fired on Wednesday.... The reason for Ms. Comey’s firing was not initially clear. Her dismissal immediately raised questions, given her involvement in cases that have roiled the White House in recent days, as well the fact that her father is the former F.B.I. director James Comey, who was fired by ... [Donald] Trump during his first term.” Politico's story is here.
Andrew Ackerman of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump signaled to Republican lawmakers on Tuesday that he may soon seek to fire Jerome H. Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve, according to people familiar with the discussion. But on Wednesday Trump denied he was planning to fire the central banker. Trump asked House lawmakers gathered at the White House on Tuesday about how they felt about firing Powell and they expressed approval for the firing, Trump confirmed to reporters on Wednesday. Trump then indicated to the lawmakers that he would likely fire Powell soon, said the people, who were familiar with the discussions but spoke on the condition of anonymity. When asked again Wednesday whether he planned to fire Powell, Trump said that media reports that he’s planning to fire Powell are 'not true.'” A CNBC story is here.
Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump on Wednesday attacked fellow Republicans who have been raising questions about his administration’s handling of the case of deceased sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In a social media post, Trump ... [wrote that] Democrats’ 'new SCAM is what we will forever call the Jeffrey Epstein Hoax, and my PAST supporters have bought into this “bullshit,” hook, line, and sinker.... They haven’t learned their lesson, and probably never will, even after being conned by the Lunatic Left for 8 long years.'” ~~~
~~~ Marie: To me, Trump's most curious attempt at a defense was when he wrote over the weekend, "Why are we giving publicity to Files written by Obama, Crooked Hillary, Comey, Brennan, and the Losers and Criminals of the Biden Administration. ... They created the Epstein Files...." (Trump has since reiterated this theory of the case, at least in part.) So I can't help see the image of Obama, Clinton, Comey and John Brennan sitting around a big round table while each dutifully writes down different imaginary stories about Jeffrey Epstein. As each author finishes a page, he she stuffs it in a file folder (or File folder). Mind you, these File folders are stamped "Top Secret" and are never to be released. That is, the fantastic "reports" are intended for an audience of no one, which is to say they have no political utility whatsoever. But still. It is the heroic Trump who was always going to expose these completely fabricated Obama-Clinton-Comey-Brennan-Biden-Losers-and-Criminals works of fiction. This is a dodgy proposition, inasmuch as Trump's long association with Epstein -- combined with the Democrats' corrupt intent -- means Trump himself is bound to figure into many of these tall tales. Moreover, it seems a bit unlikely Obama, et al., would devote their prose to fingering the "real" villains" the international Jewish pedophile ring of which they are a part. I am sure that somewhere in the Mind of Donald, there is a twisted logic to this theory of the case; I just have not been able to discern it.
Giving New Meaning to “The Banality of Evil.” Peter Baker of the New York Times: “Last week, [Donald Trump] denounced a reporter as a 'very evil person' for asking a question he did not like. This week, he declared that Democrats are 'an evil group of people.' 'Evil' is a word getting a lot of airtime in the second Trump term. It is not enough anymore to dislike a journalistic inquiry or disagree with an opposing philosophy. Anyone viewed as critical of the president or insufficiently deferential is wicked. The Trump administration’s efforts to achieve its policy goals are not just an exercise in governance but a holy mission against forces of darkness. The characterization seeds the ground to justify all sorts of actions that would normally be considered extreme or out of bounds.... Mr. Trump has demonstrated willingness to use power against those he considers evil. On a single day two weeks ago, he threatened to arrest two political rivals and deport an estranged ally who had angered him.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Because the totality of the evidence against him is overwhelming, I do think it's fair to denounce Donald Trump as "evil," but I seldom do so. In general, the term "evil" should be used in a religious context, IMO, and it's probably more authentic when coming from an "expert" like a bishop or rabbi. The term has no place in normal political discourse. When Trump uses "evil" to put down a reporter asking a valid question, he is showing the peculiar limitations of his vocabulary, which are well-enough known already.
The majority is either willfully blind to the implications of its ruling or naïve, but either way the threat to our Constitution’s separation of powers is grave. -- Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissent in McMahon v. New York ~~~
~~~ The Silence of the Supremes. Adam Liptak of the New York Times: “In clearing the way for ... [Donald] Trump’s efforts to transform American government, the Supreme Court has issued a series of orders that often lacked a fundamental characteristic of most judicial work: an explanation of the court’s rationale. On Monday, for instance, in letting Mr. Trump dismantle the Education Department, the majority’s unsigned order was a single four-sentence paragraph entirely devoted to the procedural mechanics of pausing a lower court’s ruling. What the order did not include was any explanation of why the court had ruled as it did. It was an exercise of power, not reason. The silence was even more striking in the face of a 19-page dissent by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson. The court has allowed the administration to fire tens of thousands of government workers, discharge transgender troops, end protections for hundreds of thousands of migrants from war-torn countries and fundamentally shift power from Congress to the president — often with scant or no explanation of how it arrived at those results. In the last 10 weeks alone, the court has granted emergency relief to the Trump administration without explanation seven times....” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Liptak is right when he describes these fake "emergency docket" decisions as exercises in power, not reason. The implicit message, IMO, is a big endorsement of the letters F-U: "We don't need no stinkin' reason."
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Colby Smith of the New York Times: “Inflation accelerated in June as ... [Donald] Trump’s tariffs started to leave a bigger imprint on the economy, keeping the Federal Reserve on track to hold interest rates steady when policymakers next meet this month. The Consumer Price Index rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier, the swiftest pace since February, data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed on Tuesday. That is slightly higher than expected and up from an annual pace of 2.4 percent in May. 'Core' inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices and is seen as a reliable gauge for underlying price pressures, also shifted higher. Those prices were up 2.9 percent from the same time last year.” The AP's report is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Andrew Feinberg of the Independent: “... Donald Trump delivered a rambling speech in Pittsburgh Tuesday, but set off alarm bells by forgetting names and telling ‘facts’ that were, at best, very unlikely to be true. Speaking at a Pennsylvania 'Energy and Innovation' event hosted by Senator Dave McCormick..., Trump claimed that his uncle, a noted physicist who helped develop radar systems during the Second World War, taught notorious future terrorist Theodore Kaczynski [a/k/a the Unabomber] at MIT, despite none of it having actually happened. The 79-year-old president also forgot names and who was with him on the trip.” In addition, Trump claimed it was his uncle who told him about having taught the Unabomber, but the uncle died in 1985, more than a decade before the identity of the Unabormber was known. Trump's uncle taught at MIT; Kaczynski did not attend MIT or have any association with it. See Akhilleus' commentary in today's thread. MB: It's pretty weird to effectively boast about an association-by-proxy with a notorious terrorist, but even weirder, I'd say, to make up a story to establish a connection with said terrorist. Besides, the story doesn't seem to have anything to do with the topic of the occasion.
Composition Lesson #47: The proper form of a cease-and-desist letter. Thanks to RAS for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)
Yes, There Will Be Election Interference. Patrick Marley & Yvonne Sanchez of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration and its allies have launched a multipronged effort to gather data on voters and inspect voting equipment, sparking concern among local and state election officials about federal interference ahead of the 2026 midterms. The most unusual activity is happening in Colorado — a state that then-candidate Donald Trump lost by 11 points — where a well-connected consultant who says he is working with the White House is asking county clerks whether they will allow the federal government or a third party to physically examine their election equipment. Federal agencies have long offered technical assistance and cybersecurity advice to election officials but have not examined their equipment because election laws tightly limit who has access. Separately, the Justice Department has taken the unusual step of asking at least nine states for copies of their voter rolls, and at least two have turned them over, according to state officials.” ~~~
~~~ Trump Demands More Gerrymandering. Joey Cappelletti & Nicholas Riccardi of the AP: “... Donald Trump said Tuesday that he is pushing Texas Republicans to redraw the state’s congressional maps to create more House seats favorable to his party, part of a broader effort to help the GOP retain control of the chamber in next year’s midterm elections.... Asked as he departed the White House for Pittsburgh about the possibility of adding GOP-friendly districts around the country, Trump responded, 'Texas will be the biggest one. And that’ll be five.'... Congressional maps drawn after the 2020 census were expected to remain in place through the end of the decade. If Texas redraws them at the behest of Trump, that could lead other states to do the same, including those controlled by Democrats. In response to the Texas plan, California Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote on social media: 'Two can play this game.'” ~~~
~~~ David Goodman & Shane Goldmacher of the New York Times: “National Democratic leaders are encouraging state Democrats in the Texas House to consider walking out of a special legislative session this month to block Republicans from redrawing the state’s congressional maps ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.... During the Democratic call on Monday evening, which lasted for more than two hours, the Democratic leader in the U.S. House, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, and the chairman of the Democratic National Committee, Ken Martin, spoke with about 40 Democrats in the Texas House. Mr. Jeffries called the coming special session an all-hands-on-deck moment that would require extraordinary actions to block Mr. Trump and Texas Republicans....” The link appears to be a gift link.
Man Who Lives in Public Housing Accuses Senator of Mortgage Fraud. Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump accused Sen. Adam Schiff (D-California) of mortgage fraud Tuesday, and a senior administration official told The Washington Post that a criminal case had been referred to the Justice Department, in a sharp escalation of the White House’s attacks on vocal Trump critics. In a message on Truth Social, his social media site, Trump said Fannie Mae’s financial crimes division found that Schiff had a 'sustained pattern of possible Mortgage Fraud,' which the president claimed, without providing specifics, had involved misstating which home Schiff used as a primary residence, helping him secure a cheaper mortgage. 'I would love to see him brought to justice,' Trump told reporters later in the day.... A spokesperson for Schiff’s office said the lenders for Schiff’s homes in both California and Washington were 'well aware' of his intended year-round use of both homes while in public office and that neither of the properties was a vacation home.” ~~~
~~~ Marie: Gosh, I wonder if Trump has ever used (dodgy) primary-residence claims to lower his mortgage interest rate or property taxes. If so, I would love to see him brought to justice.
Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the right-wing Georgia Republican who first discovered politics by way of the QAnon conspiracy theory, has always been one of ... [Donald] Trump’s most ardent acolytes in Congress. But these days, she is finding plenty to criticize about her 'favorite president,' particularly his turnabout on revealing a complete accounting of the Jeffrey Epstein case. 'It’s a full reversal on what was all said beforehand, and people are just not willing to accept it,' Ms. Greene said in an interview, after the Justice Department said no further disclosures would be 'appropriate or warranted.'... Ms. Greene and others, like Representative Eli Crane of Arizona, have also condemned Mr. Trump’s reversal on aiding Ukraine in its fight against Russia, a decision that they also said ran directly counter to campaign promises....” ~~~
~~~ Marianna Sotomayor of the Washington Post: “House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) told right-wing podcaster Benny Johnson on Tuesday that he supported the release of the Epstein files, days after ... Donald Trump’s Justice Department said the matter was effectively closed. Johnson is a close Trump ally and has never broken so publicly with the president on an issue. 'I’m for transparency,' Johnson told Benny Johnson. 'It’s a very delicate subject, but we should put everything out there and let the people decide it.' Even as Johnson publicly called for the files to be released, he opposed a procedural motion advanced Tuesday by Democrats that would have set up a House vote to release them.... Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky) signed on to [the Democratic] resolution [to release the Epstein files] and said that he planned to go around GOP leadership’s wishes and force a vote on the matter as soon as next week.... On Tuesday, Trump said [Attorney General Pam] Bondi gave him 'a very quick briefing' on the Epstein documents before baselessly blaming previous Democratic administrations for creating the files.” Politico's story is here. ~~~
~~~ digby: According to the Daily Beast, some of Trump's MAGA backers, including Steve Bannon & Charlie Kirk, are urging Trump to appoint Matt Gaetz as special counsel to investigate the Epstein matter. Gaetz has been credibly accused of "sexual misconduct with an underaged girl" at wild parties, so according to MAGA, that makes him the perfect person to investigate a case about someone believed to have trafficked hundreds of young girls as sex partners to older men at wild parties. Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See his commentary below. ~~~
~~~ If you are wondering what may be in the notorious Epstein files, Tim Miller of the Bulwark has a rundown on this video. Miller bases his conjectures on this March 2025 report by Julie K. Brown of the Miami Herald. Over the years, Brown has done extensive reporting on the Epstein case, and has written a book about it. ~~~
~~~ For instance, "Epstein's client list" -- that is of such interest to MAGA conspiracy theorists -- according to Brown, "is actually a phone directory. It features contacts for a number of wealthy and famous people, like Donald Trump and Prince Andrew, while others on the list claim they never met Epstein. Ghislaine Maxwell compiled, updated, copied and distributed countless versions of the directory for use by Epstein and members of his household, as it also includes contacts for landscapers, Epstein’s doctors and numbers for local hospitals and restaurants. The list was first published in 2015 by the website Gawker with phone numbers redacted. It has since been published hundreds of times, and versions of it sometimes come up for auction on Ebay." So it's a real thing, but it's a phone book of people Epstein might want to call, not a list of Epstein's associates who had sex with minors. ~~~
~~~ David Edwards of the Raw Story: "An analysis of the prison video recorded from outside Jeffrey Epstein's prison cell found that nearly three minutes appeared to be missing. However, Attorney General Pam Bondi claimed last week that just one minute of the recording had been omitted. The analysis, published by Wired on Tuesday, determined that 'approximately 2 minutes and 53 seconds were removed from one of two stitched-together clips.'" MB: The MAGAts will never be satisfied with whatever the government releases any more than JFK assassination conspiracy theorists were/are satisfied with the Warren Commission's findings.
Hana Kiros in the Atlantic, republished by Yahoo! News: "Five months into its unprecedented dismantling of foreign-aid programs, the Trump administration has given the order to incinerate food instead of sending it to people abroad who need it. Nearly 500 metric tons of emergency food — enough to feed about 1.5 million children for a week — are set to expire tomorrow, according to current and former government employees with direct knowledge of the rations. Within weeks, two of those sources told me, the food, meant for children in Afghanistan and Pakistan, will be ash.... Sometime near the end of the Biden administration, USAID spent about $800,000 on the high-energy biscuits.... The biscuits, which cram in the nutritional needs of a child under 5, are a stopgap measure, often used in scenarios where people have lost their homes in a natural disaster or fled a war.... They were stored in a Dubai warehouse and intended to go to the children this year." (Also linked yesterday.)
Shawn Hubler of the New York Times: “About half of the California National Guard troops deployed to Los Angeles are being released, Trump administration officials said on Tuesday, signaling a significant scaling back of a military deployment that began last month to quell demonstrations over immigration raids and that has angered Democratic leaders in California. The release of about 2,000 members of the Guard’s 79th Infantry Brigade Combat team came as California officials pushed for an end to what the White House had suggested would be a 60-day mobilization. The infantry team was federalized by ... [Donald] Trump and dispatched on June 7 in the wake of chaotic protests, over the objections of California’s governor, who normally controls the state’s National Guard troops. The initial deployment grew to more than 4,000 members of the Guard.... National Guard troops have continued to be a local fixture, standing with rifles outside federal office buildings and inching through freeway traffic in armored military vehicles. On July 1, about 150 troops in a specialized firefighting unit were released to return to their regular duty fighting wildfires.” A CBS News report is here.
Hamed Aleaziz of the New York Times: “The Trump administration sent five migrants from Vietnam, Jamaica, Laos, Yemen and Cuba to a small African nation on Tuesday, resuming the practice of so-called third-country deportations after the Supreme Court cleared the practice earlier this month, Department of Homeland Security officials said Tuesday. The deportations were announced on social media by the agency on Tuesday evening. 'NEW: a safe third country deportation flight to Eswatini in Southern Africa has landed — This flight took individuals so uniquely barbaric that their home countries refused to take them back,' wrote Tricia McLaughlin, a D.H.S. spokeswoman. She added that the men had been convicted of crimes including murder, assault and robbery. Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland, is a nation of about 6,700 square miles surrounded on three sides by South Africa.”
Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: “Four veteran Homeland Security agents who helped execute the Trump administration’s arrests of pro-Palestinian foreign academics for deportation testified Tuesday that the orders they received were both highly unusual and described by senior officials as urgent.... The agents appeared as witnesses for the government at an ongoing trial in Boston on a lawsuit claiming the Trump administration is implementing an 'ideological deportation policy' that targets non-citizens in violation of the First Amendment’s free speech guarantees. Each of the arrests discussed Tuesday took place based on determinations by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that the presence of the foreign academics in the U.S. undermined U.S. foreign policy interests. They included [Columbia student Mahmoud] Khalil, [Tufts student Rumeysa] Öztürk, Georgetown University researcher Badar Khan Suri and Columbia University student Mohsen Mahdawi. Subsequent to their arrests, all four were ordered released from custody by federal judges who found Rubio’s orders appeared to have violated their constitutional rights.” Read on.
Dan Lamothe of the Washington Post: In April, “Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth lashed out at the Pentagon’s top representative from Elon Musk’s U.S. DOGE Service weeks ago in an angry confrontation arising from claims the DOGE official had summoned law enforcement to remove a subordinate from the building....”
Christina Jewitt & Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: “The Department of Health and Human Services finalized the layoffs of thousands of employees after a Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for the Trump administration to proceed with mass firings across the government. Employees received notice of their termination late Monday, marking a turning point in the reshaping of the nation’s health care work force.... Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced 10,000 layoffs late in March, cutting workers across the National Institutes of Health, the Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other federal health agencies. Some workers who received the initial layoff notices on April 1 found out only when their badge to enter a building did not work. Still, many of them remained on the federal payroll until Monday at 5 p.m., when a message went out citing last week’s Supreme Court decision that allowed Trump officials to significantly slash the size of the federal payroll even as court challenges to the administration’s plans play out.” The link appears to be a gift link.
The GOP Is Still Pretty Much the Party of Lemmings. Robert Jimison of the New York Times: “... more than three years into the war [Russia is waging against Ukraine], many Republicans in Congress who have railed consistently against sending more money and weapons to Ukraine and clamored to end American involvement in the war are rushing to shift their stance, following the lead of ... [Donald] Trump. It is the latest evidence that Mr. Trump ... holds an iron grip on his party. And now that the president, who once disdained American aid to Ukraine, has pivoted and announced a new plan to speed weapons to the war-torn country, some Republicans are contorting themselves to stay aligned with him. That has involved relative silence from some previously vocal opponents of supporting Ukraine and striking public reversals from some of Mr. Trump’s closest allies, many of whom spent considerable time on Capitol Hill arguing against a policy they once called reckless but now argue is brilliant diplomacy from a master strategist.”
A “Crypto Week” Glitch. Joey Cappelletti of the AP: “A trio of cryptocurrency bills that had been expected to pass the House this week stalled Tuesday after a bloc of Republicans unexpectedly joined with Democrats to prevent the legislation from coming up for debate and votes. The procedural snafu brought the House’s so-called 'crypto week' to a standstill — and dealt a blow to ... Donald Trump, who had strongly urged Republicans to pass the bills as part of his push to make the U.S. the 'crypto capital of the world.' Trump intervened during a late evening meeting with Republicans at the White House, and appeared to put the bills back on track. He posted on social media that he expected votes as soon as Wednesday.”
Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: “The Senate on Tuesday voted to take up legislation to claw back $9 billion for foreign aid and public broadcasting, signaling that the Republican-led Congress is poised to acquiesce to President Trump in a simmering battle with the White House over spending powers. The 51-to-50 vote came after Republican leaders agreed to a handful of concessions to win the votes of holdouts who were uneasy with the proposed rescissions. G.O.P. leaders said on Tuesday they would strip out a $400 million cut that Mr. Trump requested to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, known as PEPFAR, a move that the White House signaled it would not contest. Even then, some Republican senators refused to support a move that they said would relinquish their constitutional power over federal spending, forcing their leaders to summon Vice President JD Vance to the Capitol to break a tie and ram the legislation through a pair of procedural votes.... [Three] Republicans [sided] with Democrats in opposition to advancing the measure: Senators [Lisa Murkowski of Alaska,] Susan Collins of Maine, the chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, and Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.” The NBC News report is here. ~~~
~~~ Scott Nover of the Washington Post: “The Public Broadcasting Service will survive — in some form — no matter how the Senate votes this week on a bill aimed at eliminating the $1.1 billion in federal funding allotted for public media over the next two years, according to PBS chief Paula Kerger. But for local member stations, the legislative package poses an 'existential' threat, she told The Washington Post in an interview Monday....” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Nice Elmo Is Back. Seb Starcevic of Politico: “Much-loved children’s TV character Elmo is back on X after his account was hacked to post a slew of antisemitic and racist messages. Elmo, the cheerful red monster from 'Sesame Street,' unleashed a torrent of hate speech earlier this week, calling for the extermination of Jews to his 650,000 followers.... The incident is the latest example of hate speech spreading on X, which was acquired in 2022 by billionaire Elon Musk.... Musk’s overhaul of the platform’s rules, along with his outspoken support for right-wing political movements in the United States and Europe, has drawn sharp criticism for enabling the spread of disinformation and abuse. Elmo’s outburst comes less than a week after Musk’s artificial intelligence chatbot Grok posted a series of antisemitic messages on X, including some glorifying Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.”
We knew Josh could run. Now we learn he can twirl on one tippy toe like the ghost of Rudolf Nureyev: ~~~
~~~ Megan Mineiro of the New York Times: “Senator Josh Hawley introduced legislation on Tuesday that aims to roll back some of the major changes to Medicaid made in Republicans’ sweeping policy bill, legislation that the Missouri Republican voted to pass just two weeks ago.... [Mr. Hawley's] bill included new restrictions on key strategies many states rely on to finance Medicaid, changes that could hit some Republican-led states the hardest, a recent analysis shows. Mr. Hawley is now proposing to repeal those restrictions. His bill would also double a rural hospital fund to $100 billion, from $50 billion, and extend the fund’s life span from five years to 10.... In what amounted to a 360-degree return to his original position opposing the Medicaid cuts that are now law, he added: 'I want to see Medicaid reductions stopped and rural hospitals fully funded permanently.' Mr. Hawley had vowed in a statement released after the Senate passed the policy bill to 'continue to do everything in my power to reverse future cuts to Medicaid.' But that promise rings somewhat hollow, given that his new bill is unlikely to garner the support needed to become law.”
Steve Benen of MSNBC: “... this week, Senate Republicans, voting along party lines, confirmed Whitney Hermandorfer, who served as director of the strategic litigation unit in the Tennessee attorney general’s office, marking the first judicial confirmation of Trump’s second term.... Hermandorfer, who rose to public prominence defending a Republican abortion ban and challenging a Biden administration prohibition on discrimination against transgender students, only has six years of actual legal practice — and as my MSNBC colleague Lisa Rubin recently explained, that’s 'roughly half of what the American Bar Association considers necessary to be qualified for a federal judgeship.' During an exchange with Democratic Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware during her confirmation hearing, Hermandorfer conceded that she’d never served as sole or chief counsel in any case, tried to a jury verdict; never served as sole or chief counsel in any case tried to a final judgment; never personally engaged in direct examinations in federal court; never personally engaged in cross-examinations in federal court; never taken depositions; and never defended depositions.” (Also linked yesterday.)
Avery Lotz of Axios: "Over 75 former federal and state judges signed a letter urging lawmakers to reject the 'deeply inappropriate' nomination of ... [Donald] Trump's former attorney Emil Bove to serve as a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit.... The letter sounds the alarm over Bove's 'egregious record' amid mounting controversies.... The former judges described Bove's role in the mass firing of Justice Department prosecutors who investigated the Jan. 6, 2021, attack as 'disqualifying' and his refusal to denounce the attack as 'reprehensible.' Also disqualifying, they said in the letter addressed to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Ranking Member Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), was his leadership in the effort to drop the DOJ's prosecution of Adams, prompting several prosecutors to resign." (Also linked yesterday.)
Justine McDaniel, et al., of the Washington Post: “The leaders of Georgetown University, the City University of New York and the University of California at Berkeley faced harsh questioning from House lawmakers Tuesday during a hearing about antisemitism on college campuses.... Tuesday’s is the latest of several hearings over alleged failures to protect Jewish students that the House Committee on Education and the Workforce has held since the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. It is also part of a broader congressional effort to scrutinize universities’ handling of campus antisemitism. Earlier hearings put intense scrutiny on leaders of other universities, some of whom eventually resigned after difficult exchanges with lawmakers.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Marie: The Republicans' "concern" would be a little more convincing if they called out Donald Trump and members of Congress like Marjorie Taylor Greene who are so happy to meet with white nationalists. And the whole Epstein file hoohah -- that has some members so worked up -- is about trying to tie Jews to imaginary elite international pedophile rings.
Hansi Lo Wang of NPR: "Republicans in Congress are reviving a controversial push to alter a key set of census numbers that are used to determine how presidents and members of the U.S. House of Representatives are elected. Ratified after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment says the 'whole number of persons in each state' must be included in what are called apportionment counts, the population numbers based on census results that determine each state's share of House seats and Electoral College votes for a decade. But GOP lawmakers have now released three bills this year that would use the 2030 census to tally residents without U.S. citizenship, and then subtract some or all of them from the apportionment counts. Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee unveiled the latest bill Monday. Any attempt to carry out the unprecedented exclusion of millions of noncitizens from the apportionment counts of the 2030 census is likely to undermine the head count's accuracy and face legal challenges, as the first Trump administration did in its failed push for similar changes for the 2020 census." (Also linked yesterday.)
Pot ... Kettle ... Black. Ryan Nobles & Melanie Zanona of NBC News: "Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., has been leading the probe into Joe Biden’s cognitive state during his presidency, with Republicans alleging that Biden's occasional use of an 'autopen' to sign documents — a practice other presidents have done as well — demonstrated that he wasn’t fully in control or aware of what his administration was doing. But documents show that some of the letters and subpoena notices Comer has sent out in connection to his investigation have been signed using a digital signature — not written by the congressman himself." (Also linked yesterday.)
David Ovalle & Praveena Somasundaram of the Washington Post: “A divided federal appeals court on Tuesday allowed West Virginia to restrict access to mifepristone, the pill used to end pregnancies that has emerged as a focal point of legal battles over abortion. The decision marks the first time a federal appeals court has allowed a state to strictly limit the drug, teeing up a key test of states’ powers to ban medication approved by the Food and Drug Administration.... Medication abortion is effectively banned in 17 states.”
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Arizona Congressional Race. Jack Healy of the New York Times: “In a Democratic primary election that pitted continuity and experience against generational change, voters decided to stick with what they knew, nominating Adelita Grijalva, the oldest daughter of Representative Raúl Grijalva, to fill the House seat of her father, who had held it for more than 20 years until his death in March. The Associated Press called the race for Ms. Grijalva, who was winning more than 60 percent of votes counted. Deja Foxx, a Gen Z activist who tried to recreate the youthful magic of Zohran Mamdani’s campaign for New York City mayor, attracted millions of fans on social media. But with about 20 percent of votes, the 25-year-old was not able to translate viral support into victory at the polls. Daniel Hernandez, a former state lawmaker who ran as a moderate, won 14 percent of the vote. He had made the pitch that Democrats needed to move away from social issues and focus on economic struggles in order to win back Hispanic men who moved dramatically toward ... [Donald] Trump in 2024.” A brief Politico story is here.
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France. Gosh, it looks as if France had a super-duper Bastille Day parade, nothing like the rusty tanks, out-of-step marching, boring Trump birthday flop:
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