The Commentariat -- July 28, 2021
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Marie: According to CNN & MSNBC, President Biden has announced that Democrats, Republicans, & the White House have reached a bipartisan agreement on an infrastructure bill. I'll get up a link to a print story when one becomes available. ~~~
~~~ Ali Zaslav, et al., of CNN: "The senators negotiating an infrastructure deal announced they have an agreement on their major issues and hope to move forward with a procedural vote as soon as Wednesday evening, an optimistic sign for the group that has been seeking a deal for weeks though final bill text has yet to be released. The new bipartisan infrastructure bill will include $550 billion in new spending over the next five years, according to two sources familiar with the matter, rather than the $579 billion agreed to last month. The Republican senators made the announcement after a meeting in Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office on Wednesday morning."
Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "GOP Rep. Andrew Clyde (Ga.) defended his description of rioters walking through the Capitol on Jan. 6 appearing to look like a 'normal tourist visit' during a committee meeting on Tuesday. The heated exchange occurred hours after four police officers appeared before the select committee probing the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.... Rep. advancing horde normal tourists.
Marie: In yesterday's thread, Akhilleus pointed out that Rep. Margie Greene (GQP-Ga.) is upset that some liberal-type establishments may start banning potential customers with "staff infections." I meant to point that out earlier today, but I guess I let myself accidentally forget because I recently wrote "phase" where I meant "faze." My excuse is I don't have a staph to correct my spelling errors.
Katie Williams & Maegan Vazquez of CNN: President "Biden made his first formal remarks to staff at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence on Tuesday -- an address at a moment of quiet but profound change for a workforce that was buffeted by the fierce political winds of the Trump era. After four years of bitter criticism by ... Donald Trump, who accused the intelligence community of 'Nazi'-like practices and said top leaders should 'go back to school,' the intelligence community has sought to quietly return to business-as-usual under a decidedly more conventional president. And Biden, in turn, has vowed to never politicize the intelligence community's work, installing senior leaders who are seen as far less overtly partisan than either of Trump's final two national intelligence directors. 'You've served the American people no matter which political party holds power in Congress or the White House,' Biden told staff at the ODNI. 'It's so vital, so vital that you are and should be totally free of any political pressure or partisan interference. It's basic. And I want to be absolutely clear that my administration is getting us back to the basics.... I'll never politicize the work you do. You have my word on that,' he added."
~~~~~~~~~~
Marie: What most people, including many teevee pundits, don't seem to entirely grasp is that those defending the Capitol were defending it against a would-be fascist dictator (and his collaborators) who was at the time President* of the United States. This is, as said POTUS* would say, unpresidented.
Meet Your Trumpbot. Here's a voicemail D.C. MPD Officer Michael Fanone received while he was testifying at the hearing: ~~~
~~~ If CNN has this video removed, here's a tweet with an embedded video that includes the voicemail, which Fanone released to CNN's Don Lemon. Discussion of the voicemail begins at about 5:35 min. in, the voicemail at about 6 min. in.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lee Moran of the Huffington Post: "Fox News' prime-time personalities Laura Ingraham and Tucker Carlson were slammed on Tuesday for their coverage of the first day of the House select committee's hearing on the U.S. Capitol riot. Ingraham responded to the harrowing testimony from officers who faced down the violent mob of ... Donald Trump's supporters on Jan. 6 with a spoof awards ceremony.... Ingraham said the hearing was akin to 'performance art.' Among the 'awards,' Ingraham gave 'best performance in an action role' to Washington Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone, who during his testimony recalled fearing he'd be shot with his own weapon.... Carlson, meanwhile, responded with a smirk to footage of Fanone telling the hearing he'd experienced post-traumatic stress disorder after the riot. Throughout his monologue, Carlson piled onto his previous claims about the violence just being a 'political protest that got out of hand.'" Thanks to P.D. Pepe for the link. See also her comment below.
** Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "A House select committee examining the events of Jan. 6 opened its investigation Tuesday with vivid, visceral testimony from four law enforcement officers who were among those attacked as they defended the U.S. Capitol from armed supporters of ... Donald Trump, delivering an emotional portrait of the insurrection's lasting toll more than six months later.... The select committee's members believe the first-person accounts of such intensely traumatic experiences will resonate with the American public, cutting through the bitter political war in Congress over how the Capitol riot should be investigated -- and who bears responsibility for it." ~~~
Mary Jalonick of the AP: "'This is how I'm going to die, defending this entrance,' Capitol Police Sergeant Aquilino Gonell recalled thinking, testifying Tuesday at the emotional opening hearing of the congressional panel investigating the violent Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection. Gonell told House investigators he could feel himself losing oxygen as he was crushed by rioters -- supporters of ... Donald Trump -- as he tried to hold them back and protect the Capitol and lawmakers. He and three other officers gave their accounts of the attack, sometimes wiping away tears, sometimes angrily rebuking Republicans who have resisted the probe and embraced Trump's downplaying of the day's violence. Six months after the insurrection, with no action yet taken to bolster Capitol security or provide a full accounting of what went wrong, the new panel launched its investigation by starting with the law enforcement officers who protected them. Along with graphic video of the hand-to-hand fighting, the officers described being beaten as they held off the mob that broke through windows and doors and interrupted the certification of Democrat Joe Biden's presidential win." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times report is here. ~~~
~~~ Chairman Bennie Thompson released this video of the insurrection before the officers' testimony began:
~~~ Video of the full hearing, via USA Today, is here. The testimony was remarkably compelling. ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Herb of CNN suggests five takeaways from the hearing.
Maeve Sheehey of Politico: "The two House Republicans participating in the Democratic-led investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol attack issued pointed rejoinders to their party's leadership, defending their own conservative credibility, during the select panel's first hearing on Tuesday. An emotional Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois spent much of his questioning time criticizing fellow Republicans who 'have treated this as just another partisan fight.' While he didn't mention House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy by name, the GOP leader has chastised Kinzinger and Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming for serving on the panel, calling them 'Pelosi Republicans' in a bid to link them to the Democratic speaker who appointed them." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ ** Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "... Republican lawmakers took the occasion [of Tuesday's hearing] to demand justice -- for the terrorists who took up arms against the U.S. government on that terrible day. Six Republican members of the House, escorted by a man in a giant Trump costume bearing the message 'TRUMP WON,' marched on the Justice Department Tuesday afternoon to speak up for those they called 'political prisoners' awaiting trial for their roles in the insurrection. 'These are not unruly or dangerous, violent criminals,' Rep. Paul Gosar (Ariz.) proclaimed at a news conference outside DOJ headquarters. 'These are political prisoners who are now being persecuted and bearing the pain of unjust suffering.'... They distributed copies of a letter alleging the Jan. 6 defendants had been denied 'potentially exculpatory evidence' and subjected to 'cruel and unusual punishment.' Their supporters waved signs proclaiming 'Free the Jan. 6 Political Prisoners,' and 'Jan. 6 Was an Inside Job.'... The half-dozen lawmakers, including Matt Gaetz of Florida and Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, made explicit what has become more obvious by the day: Republicans stand with those who attempted a violent coup on Jan. 6." ~~~
~~~ Mychael Schnell of the Hill: "A news conference held by a coalition of House GOP firebrands was cut short Tuesday after a group of counterprotesters gathered behind the lawmakers.... [The House members] were repeatedly interrupted and eventually ended the event after counterprotesters got too close to the speakers.... 'The left is interrupting the press conference, we need to end it,' [an unidentified] man announced, as protesters gathered behind the lawmakers with signs. As the Republicans left the microphones at the DOJ, the protesters followed them down the street." ~~~
~~~ Dana Milbank, in the column linked above, writes that "the unidentified man" was "a worried staffer" who said, "We got to get out." Milbank wonders, "What were they afraid of? These protesters were nonviolent -- unlike the Jan. 6 terrorists with whom Republicans now side."
~~~ Luke Broadwater & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "One officer described how rioters attempted to gouge out his eye and called him a traitor as they sought to invade the Capitol. Another told of being smashed in a doorway and nearly crushed amid a 'medieval' battle with a pro-Trump mob as he heard guttural screams of pain from fellow officers. A third said he was beaten unconscious and stunned repeatedly with a Taser as he pleaded with his assailants, 'I have kids.' A fourth relayed how he was called a racist slur over and over again by intruders wearing 'Make America Great Again' garb.... The two top congressional Republicans [McConnell & McCarthy] later said they had been too busy with other work to watch.... Ignoring those who organized, encouraged and carried out the attack, [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy] and other Republicans faulted Ms. Pelosi, who on Jan. 6 was forced to flee the Capitol as armed members of the mob roamed the corridors calling out, 'Where are you, Nancy?'... Congressional leaders hire the law enforcement personnel responsible for Capitol security, but are typically not involved in day-to-day decisions about security protocols." ~~~
~~~ It's All Nancy's Fault. Mike Lillis of the Hill: "House GOP leaders teed off on Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) Tuesday morning, accusing her of neglecting her duty to defend the Capitol on Jan. 6 and demanding answers about her role in the violent attack that injured more than 140 police officers.... They also did not answer reporters' questions about why Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who was Senate majority leader on Jan. 6, should not bear the same responsibility they say Pelosi does for the security lapses.... Pelosi's office quickly issued a statement pushing back against the charges. The statement noted that congressional leaders do not oversee the everyday decisions surrounding Capitol security -- a responsibility of the Capitol Police Board -- while asserting that the Speaker never denied a request to active the National Guard." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jill Colvin of the AP: "The Republican Party's self-portrayal as champions of law and order collided with searing testimony Tuesday from police officers themselves. Officers described in vivid, personal terms the terror of defending the U.S. Capitol from violent Trump-inspired insurrectionists on Jan. 6.... It highlighted the GOP's effort to brush past the violence unleashed by a mob of ... Donald Trump's supporters that endangered hundreds of officers."
Bad News for Der Furor. Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department notified former officials this week that they could testify to the various committees investigating the Trump administration's efforts to subvert the results of the presidential election and the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to a letter obtained by The New York Times. Witnesses can give 'unrestricted testimony' to the House Oversight and Reform Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee, the department said. Both panels are scrutinizing the bid by officials in the Trump White House to force the Justice Department to undermine President Biden's victory, as well as the events leading up to the Capitol riot, as Congress convened to formally tally the electoral results.&" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Evan Perez of CNN: "The Justice Department formally declined to assert executive privilege for potential testimony of at least some witnesses related to the January 6 Capitol attack.... The decision paves the way for some former Justice Department officials to testify on what they witnessed in the chaotic days between ... Donald Trump's November election loss and early January when he tried to use the Justice Department and other means to advance false claims that he won." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~
~~~ Devlin Barrett & Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A Republican congressman's Jan. 6 speech at a rally ahead of the riot at the U.S. Capitol is not covered by protections for members of Congress and federal employees, the Justice Department said in a court filing Tuesday -- drawing a legal line over attempts to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.) had argued that he is effectively immune from a lawsuit filed by his colleague Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) that accused Brooks..., Donald Trump, and others of fomenting the failed attack on Congress.... The agency 'cannot conclude that Brooks was acting within the scope of his office or employment as a Member of Congress at the time of the incident out of which the claims in this case arose,' the court filing said. 'Inciting or conspiring to foment a violent attack on the United States Congress is not within the scope of employment of a Representative -- or any federal employee.'" ~~~
~~~ Katie Benner of the New York Times: "The Justice Department's decision shows it is likely to also decline to provide legal protection for Mr. Trump in the lawsuit.... Lawyers for the House also said on Tuesday that they declined to defend Mr. Brooks in the lawsuit."
White, Christian, heterosexual males are 25 percent of the population, and they are not satisfied to hold only 85 percent of the power. -- Matthew Dowd, a white, Christian, heterosexual male, on the teevee Tuesday
Jonah Bromwich of the New York Times: "A one-of-a-kind album recorded by the Wu-Tang Clan and sold at auction to the disgraced pharmaceutical executive and hedge fund manager Martin Shkreli has been purchased by an anonymous buyer for an undisclosed sum of money, the federal prosecutors who seized the album three years ago said. Jacquelyn M. Kasulis, the acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, announced the sale of the one known copy of the album, 'Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,' in a news release on Tuesday.... The sale satisfied the balance that Mr. Shkreli had owed the government, according to the news release. The buyer was a group of people or a company, rather than an individual, according to a person with knowledge of the sale."
Julian Barnes of the New York Times: "A former intelligence contractor who disclosed details of the American drone warfare program to a reporter [at the Intercept] was sentenced on Tuesday to nearly four years in prison. The former official, Daniel E. Hale, 33, was working as a contract employee with a security clearance at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency when he provided documents to a reporter for The Intercept, a news site that specializes in intelligence matters. He was originally charged in 2019 with various counts including disclosing intelligence information and theft of government property. In March, Mr. Hale pleaded guilty to retaining and transmitting national defense information. On Tuesday, Judge Liam O'Grady of U.S. District Court sentenced Mr. Hale to 45 months in prison." MB: But, who will take care of Hale's cat?
Abha Bhattarai of the Washington Post: "Walmart will begin offering free college tuition and books to its 1.5 million U.S. employees, the latest effort by the country's largest private employer to attract and retain workers in a tight labor market. The retail giant said Tuesday that it will invest nearly $1 billion over the next five years in career training and development programs for workers who want to pursue majors in high-demand fields, such as business administration, supply chain and cybersecurity. The company had previously required its Walmart and Sam's Club workforce to pay $1 a day to participate in the program.... Walmart's Live Better U education program, which will be free beginning Aug. 16, was created three years ago to help employees advance within the company.... More than 52,000 employees have participated and 8,000 have graduated since 2018." MB: Walmart just made itself an attractive employer for young people and anyone who wants to work toward a college degree. I never thought I'd say, "Good for Walmart." I'm saying it now. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Pandemic, Ctd.
Tyler Pager & Eli Rosenberg of the Washington Post: "President Biden will announce Thursday that all federal employees will be required to be vaccinated against the coronavirus or face repeated testing mandates, a White House official said, a dramatic escalation of the administration's effort to combat the spread of the delta variant. The new rules will closely align with policies recently put in place for government officials in California and New York City, the person said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.... The White House is not planning on firing government employees who aren't vaccinated but will impose a number of restrictions on them as a way to encourage them to receive one of the vaccines that have received emergency-use authorization. Another official cautioned that nothing is final until Biden announces it and the plan could change, adding that a policy review is underway." (This is a substantial update of a story linked yesterday afternoon.) The New York Times story is here. CNN's story is here.
Annie Karni of the New York Times: "The White House is masking up again, just over two months after President Biden and senior government officials shed their face coverings in the biggest sign to date that the country was moving toward normalcy. The shift came after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said on Tuesday that people vaccinated against the coronavirus should resume wearing masks in public indoor spaces in parts of the country where the virus is surging, amid growing reports of breakthrough infections of the more contagious Delta variant among people who are fully immunized."
Cristina Marcos of the Hill: "Masks will once again be universally required on the House side of the Capitol amid the spread of the highly contagious delta variant, the Capitol physician announced late Tuesday night. The resumption of the House mask mandate -- just over a month after it was lifted -- comes after new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) earlier Tuesday recommending that vaccinated people should wear masks in high-risk areas.... The Capitol physician, Brian Monahan..., said that masks are justified given that members of Congress hail from all over the country, where some areas -- primarily conservative-leaning -- are seeing a surge in COVID-19 amid low vaccination rates.... The mask requirement will not apply to the Senate. But it's a different COVID-19 risk environment in the Senate, where all but four senators have confirmed publicly that they are vaccinated in a recent CNN survey."
Yasmeen Abutaleb, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended Tuesday that vaccinated Americans wear masks indoors in certain circumstances -- the latest step in the nation's escalating fight against the highly transmissible delta variant of the coronavirus. The agency advised that vaccinated people who live in high-transmission places wear masks in indoor public spaces, according to three people familiar with the guidance. It also recommended that vaccinated people with vulnerable household members, including young children and those who are immunocompromised, wear masks indoors in public spaces." The article is free to nonsubscribers. CNN's report is here.
Paul Waldman of the Washington Post: "... in the world's richest country we have more vaccine doses than we know what to do with, and we're terribly worried about not hurting the delicate feelings of those who insist on putting everyone else at risk... Being nice to those who refuse to be vaccinated is getting awfully tiresome.... After a year and a half of this pandemic, and so much suffering and death, it's hard to care about their feelings.... At the very least, we should start taking every step possible to prevent those actively refusing to participate in our mutual effort to prevent each other from getting sick and dying from doing more harm.... There's no perfect answer to how far ... restrictions should go, but at a minimum we ought to say that if you want the freedom not to be vaccinated, a business or organization should have the freedom to tell you to stay away until either you're vaccinated or the pandemic is over." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jordan Frieman of CBS News: "The Department of Justice on Tuesday ordered the forfeiture of a tablet containing a portion of the 'Epic of Gilgamesh,' one of the oldest known works of literature. The forfeiture is part of an ongoing process to return thousands ;of clay tablets and bullae that were illegally smuggled out of Iraq and purchased by Hobby Lobby.... Hobby Lobby purchased the tablet and thousands of others like it with the intent of displaying some of them in the Museum of the Bible, which is funded by the family of the arts and crafts chain's founder, David Green. The Gilgamesh Dream Tablet was seized by law enforcement officers in 2019, according to the DOJ, and Hobby Lobby agreed to its forfeiture." MB: Green, an evangelical Christian, fought -- and won in the Supreme Court -- the Obamacare mandate that required large companies like Hobby Lobby to pay for birth control. Most of Hobby Lobby's employees are women. Green laid off a big percentage of those women in March 2020 because his wife had a vision from God. MB: Too bad God didn't tell the lovely Mrs. that all those artifacts they bought were stolen.
Beyond the Beltway
California. Do as I Say, Not as I Do. Kathleen Ronayne of the AP: "California Gov. Gavin Newsom's office said Tuesday he pulled his children out of a summer day camp that did not require kids to wear masks, a violation of state policy that Newsom's spokeswoman said he and his wife missed when reviewing communication from the camp.... Two of Newsom's four children, ages 10 and 11, attended the day camp, [the spokeswoman] said. Reopen California Schools, a group that promotes full school reopening without masks, tweeted Monday it had obtained photos of one of Newsom's sons at the camp. The group cast it as another example of Newsom saying one thing and doing another, something that could further frustrate his critics and other voters as his Sept. 14 recall election looms. Signatures in support of the recall spiked last November after he was caught dining maskless at the expensive French Laundry restaurant while telling Californians to avoid gatherings of more than three households."
California. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "An attacker robbed former senator Barbara Boxer near her home in Oakland, Calif., on Monday, shoving the longtime lawmaker and snatching her cellphone before fleeing by car.... 'I said, "How can you do this to a grandmother?"' said Boxer, who served as a Democratic senator from California.... The attack on 80-year-old Boxer follows the Oakland City Council's decision last month to cut the police department's budget by about $18 million in favor of funding social services and violence-prevention programs." (Also linked yesterday.)
California. Stephanie Dazio of the AP: "A federal jury on Tuesday convicted a wealthy California political donor on charges he injected gay men with methamphetamine in exchange for sex, leading to two deaths and other overdoses. Ed Buck, 66, was found guilty of all nine felony counts in federal court, which could lead to a life sentence. The verdict came exactly four years after one of the victims, 26-year-old Gemmel Moore, was found dead of an overdose in Buck's West Hollywood apartment.... Prosecutors said Buck paid men and provided drugs in return for sex acts. Buck had pleaded not guilty."
Oregon. Matthew Chapman of the Raw Story: "On Tuesday, The Daily Beast reported that former Oregon state Rep. Mike Nearman has been banned from setting foot on the state capitol grounds for 18 months as part of a guilty plea deal to official misconduct relating to his participation in a violent right-wing riot. 'Last December, when the Capitol was closed due to the pandemic, Nearman opened a side door to allow a group of violent protestors inside,' the publication writes. 'It led to a clash with police near the entrance. While explaining his actions to Marion County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Pellegrini, Nearman claimed he didn't support what the group did upon entering but eventually admitted that he opened the door so he could "appear favorable to certain citizen groups."'... Nearman was expelled from the Oregon House of Representatives in a bipartisan 59 to 1 vote in June -- the first time any lawmaker was removed this way in the history of the state." MB: As the linked WashPo story reports, "Nearman himself cast the sole no in the 59-to-1 tally." The Daily Beast report, which is firewalled, is here. ~~~
~~~ BUT. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: "Despite pleading guilty to knowingly committing official misconduct after holding open a door to allow right-wing demonstrators into the Oregon Capitol building in December, former Republican lawmaker Mike Nearman denied wrongdoing in a radio interview after his sentencing. 'I don't think I committed a crime, and I don't think I did anything wrong,' Nearman, 57, told conservative talk-show host Lars Larson on Tuesday.... 'The legal bills were stacking up,' he told Larson. 'It made more sense to pay and do a little community service rather than pay twenty or thirty thousand more to attorneys.'"
New Jersey. Ed Shanahan & Tracey Tully of the New York Times: "A New Jersey woman can leave up several banners that use what local officials called an obscenity to express her hostility toward President Biden, a state court ruled on Tuesday. The ruling came after the woman, Andrea Dick of Roselle Park, enlisted the American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey to fight a municipal judge's order that she take the banners off a fence outside the house where she lives with mother or face $250 a day in fines. After the civil liberties group joined the case, Roselle Park officials backpedaled on their earlier demand that Ms. Dick take down the banners and effectively dropped the matter.... [Some of Dick's large banners] included a crude word [-- fuck --] whose use the Supreme Court long ago ruled could not be restricted simply to protect those it offends."
Texas Congressional Election. Ally Mutnick of Politico: "Voters in North Texas delivered an upset Tuesday, picking GOP state Rep. Jake Ellzey to fill a vacant House seat over a candidate endorsed by ... Donald Trump. Ellzey beat fellow Republican Susan Wright, the widow of former Rep. Ron Wright, 53 percent to 47 percent, when the Associated Press called the low-turnout, Republican-vs.-Republican runoff. Though Ellzey was better funded, Wright leaned heavily on her backing from the former president.... [Trump] held two tele-town halls for [Susan Wright] and taped a robocall for her, making the loss more painful.... It's possible Ellzey benefited from Democratic voters who participated in the runoff to rebuff Trump. Though the runoff was between tw Republican candidates, it was a special election open to all voters in the district."
Way Beyond
Japan. The New York Times' live updates of Olympics games developments Tuesday are here: Simone "Biles, the most decorated gymnast in the world, walked off the mat and left the competition, saying she was not mentally prepared to continue. She said later that she was not certain she would compete again at the Tokyo Games. In her absence, the Russian team surged to the gold medal. The Americans held on for silver."
Share Article 