January 13, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Ariane de Vogue of CNN: "The Supreme Court blocked President Joe Biden's vaccine or testing requirement aimed at large businesses, but it allowed a vaccine mandate for certain health care workers to go into effect nationwide. The ruling blocking the rule for large businesses was based on the argument that Congress has not given the Occupational Safety and Health Administration the power to enact such a mandate.... Justices Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan dissented [from the unsigned opinion]." This is a breaking story at 2:45 pm ET. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "The Supreme Court on Thursday stopped the Biden administration's vaccination-or-testing requirement on the nation's largest employers, expressing doubt that there is legal authority for such a broad mandate. But the court allowed a different policy, which requires vaccinations for most health-care workers at the facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funds. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh were the only members of the court in the majority of both orders. Essentially, they found Congress had given federal agencies the power to impose the requirement on health-care workers at facilities receiving federal funds, but that there was no authority to impose sweeping requirements in workplaces across the nation.... Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Neil M. Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett objected to the health-care worker requirements."

** Alan Feuer & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "Stewart Rhodes, the leader and founder of the far-right Oath Keepers militia, was arrested on Thursday and charged with seditious conspiracy for organizing a wide-ranging plot to storm the Capitol last Jan. 6 and disrupt the certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s electoral victory, federal law enforcement officials said. The arrest of Mr. Rhodes was a major step forward in the sprawling investigation of the Capitol attack and the case marked the first time that prosecutors had filed charges of sedition. According to his lawyer, Jonathon Moseley, Mr. Rhodes was arrested at shortly before 1 p.m.... Prosecutors have collected reams of evidence against [the Oath Keepers], including encrypted cellphone chats and recordings of online meetings. They have charged its members not only with forcing their way into the building in a military-style 'stack,' but also with stationing an armed 'quick reaction force' at a hotel in Virginia to be ready to rush into Washington if needed."

Mariana Alfaro & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday continued to defy the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection, claiming there was no information he could provide the panel about what ... Donald Trump did that day to stop the attack, although the two men spoke privately. In a contentious news conference, McCarthy repeatedly evaded questions about whether he would defy a subpoena from the committee, and he accused the investigation of being 'pure politics.' The committee's leaders said Thursday that they are considering issuing a subpoena to McCarthy...." ~~~

~~~ Really, Kevin? Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "In refusing to testify to the House select committee examining Jan. 6, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy may well be helping to cover up potential crimes committed by Donald Trump.... McCarthy ... likely has some of the most direct knowledge available of Trump's conduct as the mob rampage continued. That could have criminal implications, if Trump's attempt to subvert the electoral count in Congress amounted to an effort to obstruct an official proceeding."

** If She's So Smart, Why Does She Pretend She's So Dumb? Carl Hulse of the New York Times: "President Biden's drive to push new voting rights protections through Congress hit a major obstacle on Thursday when Senator Kyrsten Sinema, Democrat of Arizona, declared that she would not support undermining the Senate filibuster to enact new laws under any circumstances. Pre-empting a presidential visit to the Capitol to meet privately with Democrats, Ms. Sinema took to the floor to say that while she backed two new voting rights measures and was alarmed about new voting restrictions in some states, she believed that a unilateral Democratic move to weaken the filibuster would only foster growing political division." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: See, Kyrsten, you're not really for something if you vote against measures that would make it possible. Since you seem to like to make "statements" with your clothes, may I suggest a frock in a nice stars-and-bars pattern? ~~~

     ~~~ Andrea Mitchell said on MSNBC that Sinema "completely embarrassed the leader of her own party" as President Biden was heading up to the Hill to talk with senators about the voting rights bills. Mitchell called Sinema's behavior "remarkable for a freshman senator."

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The Republican National Committee is preparing to change its rules to require presidential candidates seeking the party's nomination to sign a pledge to not participate in any debates sponsored by the Commission on Presidential Debates. Republican committee officials alerted the debate commission to their plans in a letter sent on Thursday, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. If the change goes forward, it would be one of the most substantial shifts in how presidential and vice-presidential debates have been conducted since the commission began organizing debates more than 30 years ago. The nonprofit commission, founded by the two parties in 1987 to codify the debates as a permanent part of presidential elections, describes itself as nonpartisan. But Republicans have complained for nearly a decade that its processes favor the Democrats, mirroring increasing rancor from conservatives toward Washington-based institutions." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: One of the RNC's complaints -- that in 2020, all of the debates were held after the first ballots were cast -- sounds reasonable to me. Other complaints sound like the usual GOP waaah, waaah, waaah chorus.

Russia, etc. Anton Troianovski of the New York Times: "Russian officials signaled that they could abandon diplomatic efforts to resolve the security crisis surrounding Ukraine, bringing a whirlwind week of European diplomacy to an ominous end and deflating hopes that negotiators could forge a path toward easing tensions in Eastern Europe. One senior Russian diplomat said that talks with the West were approaching a 'dead end,' while another said the Kremlin would wait until it receives written responses next week to its demands from Washington and from NATO before deciding how to proceed. It was clear that Russia's next move would be up to President Vladimir V. Putin...."

U.K. William Booth & Karla Adam of the Washington Post: "Buckingham Palace announced Thursday that 'with the Queen's approval and agreement,' all of Prince Andrew's military affiliations and remaining royal patronages have been returned -- a devastating blow for Elizabeth II's second son, who is facing a U.S. civil lawsuit that accuses him of having sex with a teenager trafficked by disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein. Andrew, who denies the allegations, has been mostly out of the public eye for the past year, and many organizations distanced themselves from him after he defended his relationship with Epstein in a disastrous 2019 BBC interview. But he had retained his honorary military roles with multiple British regiments. And the Buckingham Palace website had listed dozens and dozens of schools, hospitals and clubs with which he was still a royal patron.... Andrew will stop using the honorific title 'His Royal Highness,' though he remains a duke and a prince."

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Joe Biden Gets Under the Turtle's Skin. Trish Turner, et al., of ABC News: "As President Joe Biden prepared to head to Capitol Hill on Thursday to rally Senate Democrats on election reform, a visibly angry Republican Leader Mitch McConnell fired back Wednesday, saying he didn't recognize the man who delivered the fiery speech in Georgia on voting rights one day earlier. McConnell characterized Biden's speech -- in which the president called for the Senate to change its rules by 'whichever way they need to be changed' in order to pass Democrats' voting bills -- as 'profoundly, profoundly un-presidential,' deeming the remarks a 'rant' that 'was incoherent, incorrect and beneath his office.'" MB: That's odd; the teevee pundits I heard seemed to like the speech. If Mitch doesn't care to be likened to Jeff Davis & Bull Connor, he might start by supporting the voting rights bills. Instead, he's leading the filibusters against them. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Woe Be the Taxman. Tara Bernard of the New York Times: "The Internal Revenue Service will kick off the approaching tax season with a backlog of at least 10 million unprocessed returns from last year, according to a new report by the national taxpayer advocate. The pile of returns remaining are from the 'most challenging year taxpayers and tax professionals have ever experienced,' the advocate, Erin M. Collins, wrote in her annual report. Although the backlog is not too different from last season's, it is a far higher number than the unprocessed returns the I.R.S. typically faced before the pandemic. One big reason for the pileup, according to the report, is that the federal government charged the I.R.S. with administering various stimulus payments and other programs during the pandemic. That meant the agency, which has had its budget and work force shrink in recent years, had to reallocate a lot of resources to carry out those financial relief programs." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Feel free to blame Congressional Republicans for the backlog, because they're the ones who have insisted on squeezing the IRS.

Martin Crutsinger of the AP: "The United States Mint said Monday it has begun shipping quarters featuring the image of poet Maya Angelou, the first coins in its American Women Quarters Program. Angelou, an American author, poet and Civil Rights activist, rose to prominence with the publication of 'I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings' in 1969. Angelou, who died in 2014 at the age of 86, was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2010 by President Barack Obama. The quarter design depicts Angelou with outstretched arms. Behind her are a bird in flight and a rising sun, images inspired by her poetry."

Maria Sacchetti & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "Two months after President Biden said migrant families separated at the border under the Trump administration deserve compensation, his administration's lawyers are arguing in federal court that they are not in fact entitled to financial damages and their cases should be dismissed. The Justice Department outlined its position in the government's first court filings since settlement negotiations that could have awarded the families hundreds of thousands of dollars broke down in mid-December. Government lawyers emphasized in the court documents that they do not condone the Trump administration's policy of separating the children of undocumented migrants from their parents. But they said the U.S. government has a good deal of leeway when it comes to managing immigration and is immune from such legal challenges."

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer prepared Democrats on Wednesday for the final phase of a year-long push to pass voting rights legislation, sketching out legislative maneuvers that could launch debate on a pair of stalled bills and force a confrontation over the Senate's rules in the coming days. The details of the next steps, laid out in a memo that Schumer (D-N.Y.) sent to colleagues Wednesday afternoon, comes as President Biden has launched his own aggressive push to convince his fellow Democrats to band together and overhaul the filibuster -- the long-standing Senate rule requiring a 60-vote supermajority -- in order to overcome strict GOP opposition to voting rights bills." ~~~

     ~~~ Alayna Treene of Axios: "Democratic leaders have found a mechanism to enable them to bypass an initial Republican filibuster and debate the party's sweeping election reform bills, according to a new leadership memo.... Regardless of this new tactic, the Senate would still need to lower the 60-vote filibuster in order to pass the Freedom to Vote Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act in the face of Republicans' total opposition to the bills. But Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) are against going nuclear on the filibuster in order to do so, which means the bills will likely fail." MB: Treene explains the maneuver, which DeBonis mentions with less detail.

** Kevin Gets an Invitation. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Wednesday formally requested an interview with Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, who was in close contact with ... Donald J. Trump during and after the violence.... Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican, [is] the highest-ranking lawmaker the panel has pursued in its inquiry.... 'You have acknowledged speaking directly with the former president while the violence was underway on Jan. 6,' Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the committee, wrote [to McCarthy].... 'It appears that you had one or more conversations with the president during this period [shortly after Jan. 6], including a conversation on or about Jan. 11,' Mr. Thompson wrote. 'It appears that you may also have discussed with President Trump the potential he would face a censure resolution, impeachment, or removal under the 25th Amendment. It also appears that you may have identified other possible options, including President Trump's immediate resignation from office.'" The AP's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ The linked NYT story has been updated to reflect McCarthy's response: "Mr. McCarthy quickly announced that he would refuse to cooperate, but the request sent a clear message that the committee's investigators are willing to pursue the highest-ranking figures on Capitol Hill for information about Mr. Trump's mind-set as the violence unfolded. A federal judge has suggested the former president's attitude will be pivotal to determining whether Mr. Trump can face any liability for the day's mayhem." The AP's story linked above also has been updated to reflect McCarthy's refusal to answer questions.

     ~~~ You can read the letter here. Marie: The letter is well worth a read; along with widely-reported conversations, it contains information that, as far as I remember, the public has not previously heard. The committee's press release, which includes only some of the letter's text, is here. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "A few weeks ago, Jan. 6 committee member Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) floated a specific crime she suggested ... Donald Trump might have committed that day: 'corruptly' obstructing or attempting to obstruct an 'official proceeding' -- that is, Congress's counting of electoral votes. On Wednesday, the committee's chairman pointed to another area of inquiry with both potential criminal implications and an interesting backstory: witness tampering.... 'Your public statements regarding January 6th have changed markedly since you met with Trump,' [committee chair Bennie] Thompson wrote [to Kevin McCarthy]. 'At that meeting, or at any other time, did President Trump or his representatives discuss or suggest what you should say publicly, during the impeachment trial (if called as a witness), or in any later investigation about your conversations with him on January 6th?'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Blake goes into why Kevin's about-face would not be witness-tampering. But this seems like a no-brainer to me: of course Trump tampers with any Republican who might be a witness against him. He lets them know, directly or indirectly, that he will ruin their careers (and their lives!) if they don't repeat the Big Lie & don't bow down before him. He also belittles them publicly, impugning their characters & their abilities. Everybody knows Trump's opprobium works. So of course Republican politicians are intimidated. And that is, without doubt, Trump's intention.

Annie Grayer & Ryan Nobles of CNN: "Former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Wednesday appeared before the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, two sources familiar with the matter tell CNN. The meeting was virtual. McEnany, who worked in the Trump White House and was a spokesperson for Trump's 2020 reelection campaign, was initially subpoenaed in November. McEnany was absent Wednesday from 'Outnumbered,' the lunch hour show she usually co-hosts on Fox. The committee has requested a significant number of McEnany's records from the National Archives, which are still tied up in court because ... Donald Trump has asked the Supreme Court to block the committee's access to his White House records."

David Edwards of the Raw Story: "MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell argued this week that '300 million' Americans belong in jail for election fraud.... 'We have enough evidence to put everybody in prison for life, 300 and some million people. We have that all the way back to November and December.'... Lindell did not reveal evidence that could put all Americans in jail." ~~~

     ~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post looks at the numbers: "the number of people that Lindell has identified as culpable here is every American aged 7 and up, a group that totals 302 million. If we assume that everyone who was 6 or younger did not commit The Crime That Is So Bad, then we get to Lindell's number. Sorry for those 9-year-olds about to spend the next 65 years at Leavenworth." Marie: Any way you cut it, Mike thinks you should be behind bars. I'm thinking he has a contract with some big private prison system to provide up to 300 million pillows to all the new cells. His own cell should be fully-padded.

Marc Caputo of NBC News: "Rep. Matt Gaetz's ex-girlfriend testified Wednesday before a federal grand jury investigating him for sex crimes, a major development that suggests the Department of Justice may be moving closer to indicting him. The ex-girlfriend ... has been in talks for months with prosecutors about an immunity deal. Under a possible deal, she would avoid prosecution for obstruction of justice in return for testifying in the investigation into whether Gaetz in 2017 had sex with a 17-year-old female for money and whether months later he and others violated a federal law prohibiting people from transporting others across state lines to engage in prostitution. Legal sources familiar with the case say Gaetz is being investigated for three distinct crimes: sex trafficking the 17-year-old; violating the Mann Act, which prohibits taking women across state lines for prostitution; and obstructing justice." ~~~

     ~~~ David Shortell, et al., of CNN: "The woman, a former Capitol Hill staffer, has been linked to Gaetz as far back as the summer of 2017." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeanna Smialek & Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "Inflation climbed to its highest level in 40 years at the end of 2021, a troubling development for President Biden and economic policymakers as rapid price gains erode consumer confidence and cast a shadow of uncertainty over the economy's future. The Consumer Price Index rose 7 percent in the year through December, and 5.5 percent after stripping out volatile prices such as food and fuel. The last time the main inflation index eclipsed 7 percent was 1982. Policymakers have spent months waiting for inflation to fade, hoping supply chain problems might ease and allow companies to catch up with booming consumer demand. Instead, continued waves of the coronavirus have locked down factories, and shipping companies have struggled to work through extended backlogs as consumers continue to buy foreign goods at a rapid clip." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie Burns announces proposed Constitutional Amendment: "A well regulated economy, being necessary to the security of a free State, shall not be infringed." Maybe if business regulation were framed as a personal right of the American consumer, anti-monopoly laws, federal oversight authorities like the SEC, safety regulations, etc., would be better accepted as duties of Congress & the Executive to pass & maintain rather than as onerous rules that squelch a glorious free-market economy. Yeah, right.

Larry Neumeister & Tom Hays of the AP: "A judge has -- for now -- refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew by an American woman who says he sexually abused her when she was 17. Stressing Wednesday that he wasn't ruling on the truth of the allegations, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected an argument by Andrew's lawyers that Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit should be thrown out at an early stage because of an old legal settlement she had with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier she claims set up sexual encounters with the prince. Kaplan said the $500,000 settlement between Epstein and Giuffre didn't involve the prince and didn't bar a suit against him now." The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Thursday are here. The New York Times' live Covid-19 updates for Thursday are here: "President Biden plans to announce on Thursday the deployment of 1,000 military medical personnel to six states to help hospitals deal with a surge in cases from the Omicron variant, White House officials said. Mr. Biden is scheduled to appear alongside Lloyd J. Austin III, the defense secretary, and Deanne Criswell, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, at the White House to detail the teams heading to hard-hit communities across the country."

David Leonhardt of the New York Times: "... it's too early to be confident that the Omicron wave has peaked even in areas with encouraging data -- which tend to be the places where Omicron first arrived in the U.S. But there is good reason to consider that the most likely scenario." Leonhardt cites some places where sharp rises in infection have leveled off.

Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "A Republican member of Congress drew swift condemnation Wednesday after comparing D.C.'s upcoming vaccine mandate to Nazi Germany -- marking the latest instance in which a GOP lawmaker has chosen to compare measures intended to quell a public health emergency to Nazi practices that culminated in the genocide of millions of Jews. Rep. Warren Davidson (Ohio) made the comparison while responding to Mayor Muriel E. Bowser's (D) reminder on Twitter that, beginning Saturday, patrons will need to show proof of coronavirus vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, theaters or other places where people congregate indoors.... The Nazi comparisons have been proliferating on the right for months, in many cases without accountability from Republican congressional leaders as Jewish organizations and others repeatedly sound the alarm."

West Virginia. Timothy Bella of the Washington Post: "West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice (R) announced late Tuesday that he is 'extremely unwell' after testing positive for the coronavirus, forcing him to postpone his State of the State address. Justice ... is vaccinated and boosted.... The governor is experiencing moderate symptoms, such as congestion, coughing, a headache and a fever, and is isolating at home, his office said. The 70-year-old is being given a monoclonal antibody treatment prescribed by his physicians." Justice, a former Democrat, promoted the vaccine, & derided healthcare workers who refused to get it as "asinine."

Beyond the Beltway

Georgia Senate Race. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "As the coronavirus was sweeping across the United States last summer and the country was still without a vaccine, Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker promoted a 'mist' that he claimed would 'kill any covid on your body.' Walker, who is vying to unseat freshman Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.) and has been endorsed by ... Donald Trump, did not name the supposed product, which he claimed during an August 2020 podcast appearance was 'EPA-, FDA-approved.'... There is no known mist or spray that can prevent covid-19." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

New York. Jan Ransom of the New York Times: "The New York Times obtained jail surveillance camera footage [of a fight among Rikers Island inmates] that was gathered by New York County Defender Services as part of ... [a] petition [by its client, an inmate who was injured while guards stood by,] to go free. Depicting the fight night and an attempted stabbing, the videos, along with court records and interviews, offer vivid glimpses of the lawlessness that has taken hold on Rikers Island, where violence has soared to levels not seen since the jails overflowed during the crack epidemic in the 1990s. 'People marched for George Floyd -- I think there needs to be a similar movement for the people on Rikers Island,' said Eric M. Burse, a trial lawyer at New York County Defender Services who represented the man who was released. 'Those people over there don't have much of a voice. They are locked up. It is incumbent upon regular ordinary citizens to sound the alarm just like my client did.'"

Ohio. Jessie Balmert, et al., of the Columbus Dispatch: "The Ohio Supreme Court struck down GOP-drawn state House and Senate district maps as unconstitutional gerrymandering in a 4-3 decision Wednesday, sending the maps back to the drawing board.... The Ohio Supreme Court ruled that the Ohio Redistricting Commission -- which is tasked with drawing legislative maps and dominated by Republicans -- could not ignore parts of the Ohio Constitution that required them to attempt to match the statewide voting preferences of voters, according to the court's majority opinion, written by Justice Melody Stewart. Those preferences, according to Stewart's opinion, were 54% for Republican candidates and 46% for Democratic candidates over the past decade. 'The commission is required to attempt to draw a plan in which the statewide proportion of Republican-leaning districts to Democratic-leaning districts closely corresponds to those percentages,' Stewart wrote."

Wisconsin. Michelle Cottle of the New York Times: "... when it comes to spewing dangerous drivel, [Sen. Ron] Johnson has displayed a commitment and creativity rarely seen outside of QAnon gatherings or Trump family dinners.... RonJon wasn't always like this. He used to be a relatively straightforward pro-market, small-government, budget-conscious conservative. He seemed to have a more or less solid grip on reality. But the Trump years broke him, as they broke so many in the Republican Party." MB: I'm not sure about that. I seem to recall noticing years ago that Johnson was the Stupiest Senator.

Way Beyond

Syria/Germany. Tamara Qiblawi, et al., of CNN: "A German court sentenced a Syrian army colonel to life in prison in the first-ever torture trial against President Bashar al-Assad's regime, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights said in Koblenz on Thursday. Anwar Raslan, a senior regime official, headed the investigation unit at a notorious Damascus detention center known as Branch 251. He was found guilty of all the counts brought against him, with the court finding him to be a co-perpetrator in at least 4,000 cases of torture, 30 murders and five cases of sexual violence.... His co-defendant, Eyad al-Gharib, a junior officer who also served in the facility, was convicted in February 2021 for aiding and abetting torture and deprivation of liberty as crimes against humanity. He is serving a four-and-a-half-year sentence. Raslan is the most senior regime official to be punished for torture, extrajudicial killings and sexual assault believed to have been systematically committed by members of Assad's regime." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The story is confusing in that it describes Raslan's trial as "the first-ever torture trial" while noting that al-Gharib was tried & convicted a year ago for aiding & abetting torture. According to a February 2021 CNN story, "Gharib was convicted of accompanying the transportation of 30 detained demonstrators, despite knowing about the systematic torture in the prison the detainees were being sent to, according to the prosecutors. The protesters were allegedly beaten on the way to prison." I suppose the idea is that al-Gharib was convicted of aiding & abetting torture, not of torture.

U.K. Marie: After learning that Boris Johnson gave a BYOB party at 10 Downing Street in 2020 while ordinary Brits in locked-down England weren't even allowed to attend their relatives' funerals, Boris is in more trouble than I expected, mostly because he's skated before on this kind of story: ~~~

~~~ BBC News: "Boris Johnson is facing calls from senior Tories [MB: i.e., members of his own party] to resign after he admitted attending a drinks party during lockdown. The prime minister apologised for the way he handled the event in the Downing Street garden in May 2020 and said he understood the public's 'rage' over it. Cabinet members including deputy PM Dominic Raab rallied round Mr Johnson. But Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross and MPs William Wragg, Caroline Nokes and Roger [??] urged him to go. Mr Ross, an MP and a Member of the Scottish Parliament, said he had had a 'difficult conversation' with Mr Johnson after he apologised on Wednesday in the House of Commons. He said he would write to the 1922 Committee, which organises Conservative leadership contests, to register his lack of confidence in the prime minister.... For many on his own side, Boris Johnson has already lost the benefit of the doubt. Growing numbers of his own MPs want him out, discussing frantically how and when his exit could take place." ~~~

~~~ Martin Farrer of the Guardian: "The newspaper front pages have piled the pressure on Boris Johnson as the prime minister fights for his political life over the scandal of the 'bring your own booze' lockdown-era party at Downing Street. The Mirror's banner headline on Thursday is 'Disgrace', set below a picture of Johnson giving his humiliating apology to the Commons for 'not realising' the event in the back garden of 10 Downing Street on 20 May 2020 was a party.... The Guardian's main headline is 'PM's future on knife-edge after No 10 party apology', and reports that there is widespread 'derision' over his claim that he did not realise he was attending a party. Times also has a picture of a grim-faced Johnson in the Commons and the headline 'Defiant PM refuses to quit as polls slip further'...." And so forth.

January 12, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Joe Biden Gets Under the Turtle's Skin. Trish Turner, et al., of ABC News: "As President Joe Biden prepared to head to Capitol Hill on Thursday to rally Senate Democrats on election reform, a visibly angry Republican Leader Mitch McConnell fired back Wednesday, saying he didn't recognize the man who delivered the fiery speech in Georgia on voting rights one day earlier. McConnell characterized Biden's speech -- in which the president called for the Senate to change its rules by 'whichever way they need to be changed' in order to pass Democrats' voting bills -- as 'profoundly, profoundly un-presidential,' deeming the remarks a 'rant' that 'was incoherent, incorrect and beneath his office.'" MB: That's odd; the teevee pundits I heard seemed to like the speech. If Mitch doesn't care to be likened to Jeff Davis & Bull Connor, he might start by supporting the voting rights bills. Instead, he's leading the filibusters against them.

** Kevin Gets an Invitation. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol on Wednesday formally requested an interview with Representative Kevin McCarthy, the minority leader, who was in close contact with ... Donald J. Trump during and after the violence.... Mr. McCarthy, a California Republican, [is] the highest-ranking lawmaker the panel has pursued in its inquiry.... 'You have acknowledged speaking directly with the former president while the violence was underway on Jan. 6,' Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and chairman of the committee, wrote [to McCarthy].... 'It appears that you had one or more conversations with the president during this period [shortly after Jan. 6], including a conversation on or about Jan. 11,' Mr. Thompson wrote. 'It appears that you may also have discussed with President Trump the potential he would face a censure resolution, impeachment, or removal under the 25th Amendment. It also appears that you may have identified other possible options, including President Trump's immediate resignation from office.'" You can read the letter here (you may have to download it). The AP's story is here.

David Shortell, et al., of CNN: "An ex-girlfriend of Rep. Matt Gaetz, who is seen as a key witness in the investigation into alleged sex trafficking by the Florida Republican, entered an Orlando federal courthouse with her lawyer on Wednesday, where she was expected to testify before a grand jury, according to a CNN reporter on the scene.... The woman, a former Capitol Hill staffer, has been linked to Gaetz as far back as the summer of 2017." ~~~

     ~~~ Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The appearance of his ex-girlfriend before a federal grand jury is a potentially ominous sign for the congressman.... The ex-girlfriend was among several women on a trip Gaetz allegedly took to the Bahamas in 2018 that has been of interest to criminal investigators. The 17-year-old at issue in the investigation was also on that trip, though she was an adult at that time, people familiar with the matter have said. Prosecutors have seemed to be lining up possible witnesses who could testify against Gaetz."

Larry Neumeister & Tom Hays of the AP: "A judge has -- for now -- refused to dismiss a lawsuit against Britain's Prince Andrew by an American woman who says he sexually abused her when she was 17. Stressing Wednesday that he wasn't ruling on the truth of the allegations, U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected an argument by Andrew's lawyers that Virginia Giuffre's lawsuit should be thrown out at an early stage because of an old legal settlement she had with Jeffrey Epstein, the financier she claims set up sexual encounters with the prince. Kaplan said the $500,000 settlement between Epstein and Giuffre didn't involve the prince and didn't bar a suit against him now." The New York Times story is here.

Georgia Senate Race. Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "As the coronavirus was sweeping across the United States last summer and the country was still without a vaccine, Georgia Senate candidate Herschel Walker promoted a 'mist' that he claimed would 'kill any covid on your body.' Walker, who is vying to unseat freshman Sen. Raphael G. Warnock (D-Ga.) and has been endorsed by ... Donald Trump, did not name the supposed product, which he claimed during an August 2020 podcast appearance was 'EPA-, FDA-approved.'... There is no known mist or spray that can prevent covid-19."

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Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden endorsed changing Senate rules to pass new voting rights legislation during a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday, warning of a grave threat to American democracy if lawmakers did not act to 'protect the heart and soul' of the country. Mr. Biden ... said he supported 'getting rid of' [the filibuster] in the case of voting rights legislation. Such a change in Senate procedures has only the slimmest of chances of winning the support of all 50 senators who caucus with the Democrats, which is needed to overcome universal Republican opposition. Mr. Biden, a former senator and an institutionalist who had long been leery of whittling away at the filibuster, said such Senate traditions had been 'abused.' 'Sadly, the United States Senate, designed to be the world's greatest deliberative body, has been rendered a shell of its former self,' Mr. Biden said." This is an update of a story linked yesterday. ~~~

~~~ Vice President Harris & President Biden speak in Atlanta:

Matt Zapotosky & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department is forming a new domestic terrorism unit to help combat a threat that has intensified dramatically in recent years, a top national security official said Tuesday. Matthew G. Olsen, the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, announced the unit in his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting that the number of FBI investigations of suspected domestic violent extremists -- those accused of planning or committing crimes in the name of domestic political goals -- had more than doubled since the spring of 2020.... Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) opened the hearing with a video showing footage and news coverage from the [January 6, 2021] riot.... 'They are normalizing the use of violence to achieve political goals,' Durbin said. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) countered with a video showing footage of riots the previous summer at racial justice protests around the country. 'These anti-police riots rocked our nation for seven full months, just like the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol rocked the nation,' Grassley said." The AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Carol Rosenberg of the New York Times: "A U.S. government review panel has approved the release of five men who have been held for years without charge at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, according to a flurry of decisions released by the Pentagon on Tuesday, but they are unlikely to be freed soon as the Biden administration works to find nations to take them. The disclosure came on the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the wartime prison, and President Barack Obama's last special envoy on the task, Lee Wolosky, used the occasion to urge the White House to shut down the operation."

Aamer Madhani of the AP: "The United States on Tuesday announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, offering new aid to the country as it edges toward a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover nearly five months ago. White House national security council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement that the new aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development will flow through independent humanitarian organizations and will be used to provide shelter, health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation and hygiene services." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: "The select panel investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection is homing in on Donald Trump Jr. The committee issued subpoenas for two close advisers, Andrew Surabian and Arthur Schwartz, to ... Donald Trump's eldest son on Tuesday, an indication that they're inching ever closer to the Trump family. The panel also issued a subpoena for Ross Worthington, who helped draft the president's Jan. 6 speech to a rally crowd at the Ellipse...."

Luke Broadwater & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "The House committee examining the Jan. 6 attack disclosed on Tuesday that it had interviewed the man at the center of a right-wing conspiracy theory about who provoked the violence, noting that he had denied reports he urged protesters into the Capitol at the behest of federal law enforcement agencies. The committee said its investigators spoke in November with the man, Ray Epps, who was seen on video urging people to march into the Capitol. Some Republican members of Congress and other supporters of ... Donald J. Trump have promoted a theory that Mr. Epps was working for the F.B.I. and encouraging the attack at its direction. As evidence, they have cited the fact that Mr. Epps was at one point listed on the bureau's wanted list but was then removed from it without being arrested or charged with any wrongdoing. In a statement, the House committee said Mr. Epps told the panel he is not an F.B.I. informant and was not working at the direction of law enforcement agencies when he encouraged protesters to enter the building." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Some promoters of the false flag theory, according to the NYT report, "Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky; Representative Matt Gaetz of Florida; Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and, on Tuesday, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas have all pushed various forms of those claims." Okay then. ~~~

~~~ Cruz's Motovation: Sucking up to TuKKKer. Eric Kleefeld of Media Matters: "During a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) asked a high-ranking FBI official a series of questions meant to advance conspiracy theory that the January 6, 2021, insurrection had been fomented by FBI agents and informants -- a public display that comes just a week after Cruz appeared with Fox News host Tucker Carlson and reversed himself on all his prior claims that the insurrectionists who assaulted police were 'terrorists.'... There is no credible evidence that [Ray] Epps was some kind of point man in leading the entire attack. But his name has been spread prolifically by Darren Beattie, Carlson's main partner in spreading the false flag conspiracy theory...." Read Kleefeld's full article to get a sense of how ridiculous Ted's excellent conspiracy theory is.

Throw This Woman Out of Congress. Now. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on Tuesday floated resorting to using the 'Second Amendment' to deal with Democrats who are imposing what she described as a 'tyrannical' government. While speaking with right-wing media personality Sebastian Gorka, Greene slammed Georgia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams for her policies regarding both vaccines and gun rights. Greene then pivoted to talking about how Americans are guaranteed the right to bear arms to resist such supposed tyranny. 'Ultimately the truth is it's our Second Amendment rights, our right to bear arms, that protects Americans and give us the ability to defend ourselves from a tyrannical government,' she said. 'And I hate to use this language but Democrats, they're exactly -- they're doing exactly what our Founders talked about when they gave us the precious rights that we have.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: To be clear, Greene, who represents Georgia, is urging people to take up arms against a Black Democratic candidate for Georgia governor. Abrams' "tyrannical" proposals are centered on voting rights. Greene does not urge people to run out & shoot Abrams -- who, after all, has not been elected yet -- but that's a nuance that certainly could be lost on the riffraff who would listen to Greene & Gorka. She is way over the line of acceptable speech for a member of Congress.

A Crack in the Big Lie Wall Widens. Manu Raju of CNN: "Senior Republicans are closing ranks behind Sen. Mike Rounds after he endured a scathing attack from ... Donald Trump for acknowledging the reality that President Joe Biden won the 2020 election. 'I think Sen. Rounds told the truth about what happened in the 2020 election,' Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told CNN on Tuesday. 'And I agree with him.'... The latest blowup came over the weekend after Rounds said that any voting 'irregularities' in 2020 wouldn't have changed the outcome of the race. 'The election was fair, as fair as we have seen. We simply did not win the election, as Republicans, for the presidency,' Rounds told ABC News. That fact-based comment prompted a broadside from the former President, who called Rounds a 'jerk' and 'ineffective' and vowed 'never' to endorse Rounds for reelection, though he's not facing voters again until 2026. 'Is he crazy or just stupid?' Trump said in a statement." ~~~

~~~ Domenico Montanaro, et al., of NPR: For six years, NPR had sought an interview with Donald Trump. "Trump and his team have repeatedly declined interviews with NPR until Tuesday, when he called in from his home in Florida. It was scheduled for 15 minutes, but lasted just over 9. After being pressed about his repeated lies about the 2020 presidential election, Trump abruptly ended the interview.... In the interview with NPR, [Trump] partially blamed Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell for [Sen. Mike] Rounds and other senators feeling as though they can speak out and say -- correctly -- that Trump lost the election. 'Because Mitch McConnell is a loser,' Trump said.... Trump repeated a number of false claims about voting systems in the U.S. in the interview...." A transcript of the interview is here.

Salvador Rizzo of the Washington Post: "Anthony S. Fauci accused Sen. Rand Paul on Tuesday of raising campaign funds off false attacks on him that have encouraged threats on Fauci' life." Free to nonsubscribers. ~~~

~~~ "What a Moron!" Claire Rafford of Politico: "Anthony Fauci on Tuesday called Sen. Roger Marshall a 'moron' at the end of a contentious question-and-answer exchange focused on whether the financial disclosure information of the White House's top public medical adviser is available to the public. Marshall (R-Kan.) ... not[ed] the doctor's salary, $434,000.... 'As the highest-paid employee in the entire federal government, would you be willing to submit to Congress and the public a financial disclosure that includes your past and current investments?' Marshall asked. 'After all, your colleague [... Rochelle] Walensky and every member of Congress submits a financial disclosure that includes their investments.' Fauci ... stat[ed] that his investments and financial information were already 'public knowledge' and had been for more than 30 years. 'All you have to do is ask for it,' Fauci said. 'You're so misinformed, it's extraordinary.'... 'What a moron,' Fauci could be heard saying quietly as Tuesday's hearing moved on. 'Jesus Christ.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If Fauci is the highest-paid federal employee, it's because (a) as a medical professional, he has always held high-grade (GS) positions, and (b) he's held those jobs since 1968, for Pete's sake, and gets annual salary increases like all federal employees. Shocking as it is that someone would call a U.S. senator a moron, if you scan Marshall's Wikipage, you'll find the description is apt: a horrible human being posing as a pillar of the community.

Cat Zakrzewski of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust case against Facebook could proceed, a reversal of fortune for the agency after its first challenge against the social network was thrown out last year. In a colorful order, U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg wrote that an amended complaint the agency filed in August offered 'more robust and detailed' evidence to suggest Facebook has an alleged monopoly. In the filing, the FTC argued that Facebook is in a class of its own and should not be compared to other social apps such as TikTok. 'Second time lucky?' Boasberg wrote in the opening of the complaint, noting that the commission's first suit 'stumbled out of the starting blocks.'"

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The New York Times' live updates of Covid-19 developments Wednesday are here. The Washington Post's live Covid-19 updates for Wednesday are here.: "The omicron coronavirus variant will infect 'just about everybody' regardless of vaccination status, top U.S. infectious-disease expert Anthony S. Fauci said Tuesday. But those who have been vaccinated will 'very likely, with some exceptions, do reasonably well,' and avoid hospitalization and death, said Fauci, speaking at a virtual 'fireside chat' with the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Fauci also said in a Senate hearing the same day that the unvaccinated are 20 times likelier to die, 17 times likelier to be hospitalized and 10 times likelier to be infected than the vaccinated." ~~~

~~~ On the Same Page. Cecelia Smith-Schoenwalder of U.S. News: "The acting head of the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday said that most people will get COVID-19 as the U.S. hits record levels of hospitalizations and infections. 'I think it's hard to process what's actually happening right now, which is most people are going to get [COVID-19],' FDA acting Commissioner Janet Woodcock told a Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee hearing."

Laura Meckler & Dan Diamond of the Washington Post: "The White House is promising to provide 10 million free coronavirus tests each month for schools, aiming to help keep classes in person at a time when testing across the country is uneven and, in some cases, virtually nonexistent. President Biden has pushed schools to open and stay open for in-person learning...." The AP's report is here.

Eric Yoder of the Washington Post: "Federal agencies must start testing unvaccinated employees at least weekly for the coronavirus by Feb. 15, the Biden administration said in new guidance issued Tuesday. The testing, which mainly affects those exempted from President Biden's vaccination mandate for federal workers, would be required during any week in which those employees 'work onsite or interact in person with members of the public as part of their job duties,' the guidance says. Agencies are also free to require more frequent testing for certain occupations or work settings, the administration says." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Eh bien, là, les non-vaccinés, j’ai très envie de les emmerder. (Trans., roughly: The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. -- Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with Le Parisien, Jan. 4

Yeah, moi aussi. -- Marie

Australia. Yan Zhuang of the New York Times: "Novak Djokovic, the top-ranked men's tennis player, acknowledged on Wednesday that a travel document he presented to Australian border officials last week contained false information, as the country's authorities continued to investigate whether he should be deported. Mr. Djokovic also said that he had participated in an interview and a photo shoot last month in his native Serbia even after testing positive for the coronavirus, in an apparent breach of the country's rules for infected people.... The tennis star's comments came in a statement he released on social media that he said was intended to 'clarify misinformation.'... But Mr. Djokovic's statement did not fully resolve a range of questions that have swirled over his quest to remain in Australia and seek a record 21st Grand Slam title.: A Politico story is here.

Beyond the Beltway

California. Marie: I guess I'd better stop disparaging the LAPD. Wow! ~~~

Florida Congressional Race. Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick won Tuesday's election to fill Florida's vacant 20th Congressional District, returning her party to the 222-seat majority it held after the 2020 elections. Cherfilus-McCormick, a 42-year old health-care company CEO, easily defeated Republican nominee Jason Mariner in a seat drawn to be safe for Democrats. She will replace the late Rep. Alcee L. Hastings (D), whom she had challenged in the 2018 and 2020 primaries." (This is an update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.)

North Carolina. Michael Wines of the New York Times: "A North Carolina state court on Tuesday rejected claims by voting rights advocates that Republican gerrymanders of the state's political maps were unconstitutional. The unanimous ruling, by a panel of two Republican judges and one Democrat, set up a final battle over the maps in the seven-member state Supreme Court, where Democratic justices hold a slim edge. Voting rights groups said they would file an appeal immediately. One, Common Cause North Carolina, said the plaintiffs had presented 'overwhelming evidence' that the maps were stacked to favor Republicans."

Way Beyond

New York Times: "... NATO officials opened talks with a Russian delegation on Wednesday in an effort to hold off an invasion [of Ukraine] and calm tensions between Moscow and the West. The meeting at NATO's Brussels headquarters is the second stop in a diplomatic roadshow focused on the Kremlin, after talks in Geneva on Monday between Russian and American officials. Looming over the high-level diplomacy is whether the Russian president, Vladimir V. Putin, will invade Ukraine as he seeks to pressure the West to roll back NATO's presence in Eastern Europe, or de-escalate." This is a liveblog.

News Lede

New York Times: "The fire that broke out in a Philadelphia rowhouse last Wednesday, leaving 12 dead including nine children, was most likely caused when a 5-year-old boy ignited a Christmas tree with a lighter, city officials said on Tuesday.... The 5-year-old, one of only two people in the apartment who survived, told the police last week that he had been playing with the lighter, forming the earliest theory about the fire's cause."

January 11, 2022

Afternoon Update:

Matt Zapotosky & Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department is forming a new domestic terrorism unit to help combat a threat that has intensified dramatically in recent years, a top national security official said Tuesday. Matthew G. Olsen, the head of the Justice Department's National Security Division, announced the unit in his opening remarks before the Senate Judiciary Committee, noting that the number of FBI investigations of suspected domestic violent extremists -- those accused of planning or committing crimes in the name of domestic political goals -- had more than doubled since the spring of 2020.... Sen. Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.) opened the hearing with a video showing footage and news coverage from the [January 6, 2021] riot.... 'They are normalizing the use of violence to achieve political goals,' Durbin said. Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) countered with a video showing footage of riots the previous summer at racial justice protests around the country. 'These anti-police riots rocked our nation for seven full months, just like the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol rocked the nation,' Grassley said." The AP's story is here.

In a Senate hearing Tuesday, Anthony Fauci was prepared for Rand Paul:

Eh bien, là, les non-vaccinés, j'ai très envie de les emmerder. (Trans., roughly: The unvaccinated, I really want to piss them off. -- Emmanuel Macron, in an interview with Le Parisien, Jan. 4

Yeah, moi aussi. -- Marie

Aamer Madhani of the AP: "The United States on Tuesday announced $308 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Afghanistan, offering new aid to the country as it edges toward a humanitarian crisis since the Taliban takeover nearly five months ago. White House national security council spokesperson Emily Horne said in a statement that the new aid from the U.S. Agency for International Development will flow through independent humanitarian organizations and will be used to provide shelter, health care, winterization assistance, emergency food aid, water, sanitation and hygiene services."

California. Marie: I guess I'd better stop disparaging the LAPD. Wow! ~~~

Florida Congressional Race. Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Voters in South Florida will elect a new member of Congress on Tuesday, with health-care company CEO Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick heavily favored to replace Rep. Alcee L. Hastings, a fellow Democrat who died last year. After early voting concluded on Sunday, registered Democrats had cast more than 38,000 of about 50,000 total early ballots. The 20th Congressional District, which connects majority-Black parts of Palm Beach and Broward counties, went for President Biden by a 3-to-1 margin in 2020, and both major parties saw the November Democratic primary -- which Cherfilus-McCormick won by just five votes, after a recount -- as the decisive battle for the seat."

~~~~~~~~~~

Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "President Biden will endorse changing Senate rules to pass new voting rights protections during a speech in Atlanta on Tuesday, the most significant step he will have taken to pressure lawmakers to act on an issue he has called the biggest test of America's democracy since the Civil War.... Mr. Biden will say he supports a filibuster 'carve-out' in the case of voting rights, [an] official said." ~~~

~~~ Nick Corasaniti & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "... President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris [will] deliver major speeches on voting rights on Tuesday in Atlanta.... But several leading voting rights and civil rights groups are pointedly skipping the speech, protesting what they denounced as months of frustrating inaction by the White House -- which they said showed that Mr. Biden did not view Republican attacks on voting rights with sufficient urgency.... [The groups] groups have lost patience with the White House for refraining to single out Senator Joe Manchin III or Senator Kyrsten Sinema for their opposition to changing the filibuster rules." ~~~

     ~~~ Jonathan Capehart of the Washington Post: "While the passion fueling [the voting rights groups'] argument is understandable, their actual argument is not. They've got the wrong target, and the wrong tack.... Biden is neither an empowered king nor an autocrat.... Biden and Harris are going to Georgia to do the one thing they absolutely can do: use the bully pulpit to drum up public support and pressure those standing in the way of progress.... Advocates should focus on convincing [Sens. Joe] Manchin and [Kyrsten] Sinema that adherence to a Senate rule in the face of glaring voter suppression and potential voter subversion is a threat to democracy. More importantly, though, where are the Republicans?"

Anton Troianovski & David Sanger of the New York Times: "The United States and Russia emerged from seven hours of urgent negotiations on Monday staking out seemingly irreconcilable positions on the future of the NATO alliance and the deployment of troops and weapons in Eastern Europe, keeping tensions high amid fears of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei A. Ryabkov, Russia's lead negotiator, insisted after the meeting that it was 'absolutely mandatory' that Ukraine 'never, never, ever' become a NATO member. His American counterpart, Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, reiterated that the United States could never make such a pledge because 'we will not allow anyone to slam closed NATO's open door policy,' and she said that the United States and its allies would not stand by if Russia sought to change international borders 'by force.'" More on Russia's threat to Ukraine linked under "Way Beyond the Beltway."

Rachel Siegel of the Washington Post: "Richard Clarida, the Federal Reserve's vice chair, announced Monday that he will resign, following more revelations of his stock trading at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. Clarida, whose term as the Fed's second-in-command was to expire at the end of this month, sent a letter to President Biden on Monday saying he would resign on Jan. 14. He's the third Fed official in recent months to resign over questionable trades during the pandemic, as the Fed began its tremendous intervention to support the financial system. These trades are now under review by an inspector general, as the officials were in a position to possibly benefit from insider knowledge of economic conditions. Scrutiny over Clarida's disclosures began in October after initial reports from Bloomberg News showed that he bought shares in February 2020 of an investment fund that held stocks, just before the Fed announced it was prepared to help the economy as the pandemic began to take hold...."

Jonathan Weisman of the New York Times: "... the miners' union and the West Virginia A.F.L.-C.I.O. came out last month with statements pleading for passage of President Biden's Build Back Better Act -- just hours after [Sen. Joe] Manchin, Democrat of West Virginia, said he was a 'no.'... With the miners now officially on the opposite side of the mine owners, it signaled the escalation of a behind-the-scenes struggle centered in Mr. Manchin's home state to sway the balking senator, whose skepticism about his party's marquee domestic policy measure has emerged as a potentially fatal impediment to its enactment.... The decision of the labor groups to come out forcefully in support of Build Back Better could be significant.... But Mr. Manchin has also long been allied with the coal industry. His own family has profited from waste coal from abandoned mines, which the Manchins sell to a polluting power plant in his home state. And Mr. Manchin has received more campaign donations from the oil, coal and gas industries than any other senator in the current election cycle." ~~~

     ~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post elaborates on the miners' & mine owners' positions regarding the provisions of BBB. "...now that this fundamental conflict between mine workers and owners has been exposed, it should be harder for Manchin to sink BBB in the end, even under another pretext, without being perceived as operating in owners' interests."

Melanie Zanona & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has vowed to remove three Democratic lawmakers from key committee assignments if Republicans win back the chamber in the upcoming midterm elections. Citing a 'new standard' that Democrats had created last year by removing GOP Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul Gosar of Arizona from their committees for inflammatory rhetoric and posts, McCarthy

Michael Schmidt & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Since the [House's January 6] committee was formed last summer, [Mike] Pence's lawyer and the panel have been talking informally about whether he would be willing to speak to investigators, people briefed on the discussions said. But as Mr. Pence began sorting through a complex calculation about his cooperation, he indicated to the committee that he was undecided, they said.... In recent weeks, Mr. Pence is said by people familiar with his thinking to have grown increasingly disillusioned with the idea of voluntary cooperation. He has told aides that the committee has taken a sharp partisan turn by openly considering the potential for criminal referrals to the Justice Department about Mr. Trump and others. Such referrals, in Mr. Pence's view, appear designed to hurt Republican chances of winning control of Congress in November."

Amber Phillips of the Washington Post reviews what the House committee might do to force Reps. Jim Jordan, Scott Perry or any other members of the House to testify or sit for interviews & supply documents. Phillips paints a bleak picture. MB: But why not just skip all the legal hoohah and strip these Trumpistas of their committee assignments & privileges they may enjoy, dump them in windowless basement offices, cut their staffs and haul them before the Ethics Committee for failure to cooperate? IOW, punish them in ways that are readily available rather than trying to slog through the courts. Oh, and don't allow Jim Jordan to enter the House floor or a committee room without wearing a suit jacket. Let's get creative, people.

Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass. Now, our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives ... Are you willing to do the same? My answer is yes. Louder! Are you willing to do what it takes to fight for America? -- Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), January 6, 2021, rallying insurrectionists ~~~

~~~ Michael Kranish of the Washington Post: Mo "Brooks has faced intense scrutiny over his fiery rhetoric that morning to a crowd that soon stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent attack. But less public attention has been paid to Brooks's key role in the lead-up to Jan. 6. A review of his speeches, tweets and media appearances as well as affidavits and other court filings reveals his central part in mobilizing the effort to overturn Joe Biden's victory by repeatedly claiming that the election was stolen and then becoming the first member of Congress to declare he would challenge the electoral college results.... Brooks's extraordinary efforts to subvert the election were the culmination of a political transformation mirroring the GOP's larger embrace of Trump.... Now he's running for the U.S. Senate with Trump's endorsement and is still campaigning on those falsehoods."

Josh Gerstein & Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Donald Trump's hours of silence while a violent mob ransacked the Capitol -- egged on by his own words and tweets -- could be plausibly construed as agreement with rioters' actions, a federal judge suggested Monday. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta made the analysis as he pressed Trump's lawyers about their efforts to dismiss a series of lawsuits against the former president seeking to hold him financially liable for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection. 'What do I do about the fact the president didn't denounce the conduct immediately?' Mehta wondered.... 'Isn't that ... enough to at least plausibly infer that the president agreed with the conduct of the people that were inside the Capitol that day?'... Trump's attorney, Jesse Binnall..., [responded,] 'The president cannot be subject to judicial action for any sort of damages for failing to do something.'... The exchange was potentially the most significant in an explosive -- and lengthy -- hearing on three lawsuits filed against Trump for his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6."

Do Georgia Prisons Still have Chain Gangs? Mary Papenfuss of the Huffington Post: "Donald Trump's attorneys have met in person with Georgia prosecutors who are considering possible criminal charges against the former president for calling the state';s top election official and demanding he 'find' more votes, Rachel Maddow reported on her program Monday.... Trump's efforts concerning the Georgia vote may have violated a number of laws, including state statutes against conspiracy to commit election fraud, criminal solicitation to commit election fraud and 'intentional interference' with the performance of election duties, which are all subject to fines and imprisonment."

Stephanie Saul & Anemona Hartocollis of the New York Times: "A lawsuit filed in federal court on Monday accused 16 of the nation's leading private universities and colleges of conspiring to reduce the financial aid they award to admitted students through a price-fixing cartel. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Chicago on behalf of five former undergraduates who attended some of the universities named in the suit, takes aim at a decades-old antitrust exemption granted to these universities for financial aid decisions and claims that the colleges have overcharged an estimated 170,000 students who were eligible for financial aid over nearly two decades. The universities accused of wrongdoing are Brown, the California Institute of Technology, the University of Chicago, Columbia, Cornell, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, Georgetown, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Northwestern, Notre Dame, the University of Pennsylvania, Rice, Vanderbilt and Yale."

** The Slaveholders Who Shaped the U.S. Julie Weil, et al., of the Washington Post: "From the founding of the United States until long after the Civil War, hundreds of the elected leaders writing the nation's laws were current or former slaveowners. More than 1,700 people who served in the U.S. Congress in the 18th, 19th and even 20th centuries owned human beings at some point in their lives, according to a Washington Post investigation of censuses and other historical records.... Of the first 18 U.S. presidents, 12 were enslavers, including eight during their presidencies.... The country is still grappling with the legacy of their embrace of slavery. The link between race and political power in early America echoes in complicated ways, from the racial inequities that persist to this day to the polarizing fights over voting rights and the way history is taught in schools.... This database helps reveal the glaring holes in many of the stories that Americans tell about the country's history." Includes database.

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Marie: Remember way last month when Anthony Fauci (and others) were calling for Fox "News" to fire the excreable Jesse Watters after he urged an audience to "ambush" Fauci & "go in for the kill shot"? (In context, Watters' language was supposed to refer to an ambush interview, but especially because Fauci & his family have received many death threats, no normal person would make such incendiary remarks.) Well, Fox made a powerful response Monday: ~~~

~~~ Colby Hall of Mediaite: "Jesse Watters has been named the permanent host of the 7 PM hour on Fox News." MB: Watters, who probably has been an obnoxious prick since he was a toddler, got his big media break when he became a regular on Bill O'Reilly's Fox "News" show where he specialized in -- ambush interviews.

Kasha Patel of the Washington Post: "The warmth of the world's oceans hit a record. Again. A new analysis, published Tuesday in the journal Advances in Atmospheric Sciences, showed that oceans contained the most heat energy in 2021 since measurements began six decades ago -- accelerating at a rate only possible because of human-emitted greenhouse gases. Since the late 1980s, Earth's oceans warmed at a rate eight times faster than the preceding decades."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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.

Fenit Nirappil, et al., of the Washington Post: "The United States is poised to surpass its record for covid-19 hospitalizations as soon as Tuesday, with no end in sight to skyrocketing case loads, falling staff levels and the struggles of a medical system trying to provide care amid an unprecedented surge of the coronavirus. Monday's total of 141,385 people in U.S. hospitals with covid-19 fell just short of the record of 142,273 set on Jan. 14, 2021, during the previous peak of the pandemic in this country." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Noah Weiland & Sarah Kliff of the New York Times: "Private insurers will soon have to cover the cost of eight at-home coronavirus tests per member per month, the Biden administration said Monday. People will be able to get the tests at their health plan's 'preferred' pharmacies and other retailers with no out-of-pocket costs, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. They can also buy the tests elsewhere and file claims for reimbursement, just as they often do for medical care." The AP's report is here.

Illinois. Mitch Smith of the New York Times: Chicago "Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced a deal with the Chicago Teachers Union on Monday that would return students to classrooms on Wednesday after a dispute over coronavirus safeguards canceled a week of classes in the country's third-largest school district."

Way Beyond the Beltway

E.U. Mike Ives of the New York Times: "David Sassoli, the president of the European Parliament, died on Tuesday in Italy, his spokesman and the parliament';s office in Washington said. He was 65."

Russia/Ukraine/U.S. Ask the Weatherman! Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "The number of Russian troops at Ukraine's border has remained steady in recent weeks..., but American officials say that President Vladimir V. Putin has begun taking steps to move military helicopters into place, a possible sign that planning for an attack continues.... The hard winter freeze that typically comes to Ukraine by January has not happened in many areas of the country. As long as the ground remains muddy [making movement of troops & equipment difficult], senior administration officials said, Mr. Putin might be forced to push back a ground offensive until February at the earliest. To get a better sense of possible conditions this year, the Biden administration has enlisted meteorologists to look more closely at the likely weather in Ukraine in the coming weeks, according to a U.S. official."