The Commentariat -- January 30, 2021

Afternoon Update:

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "FBI agents around the country are working to unravel the variou motives, relationships, goals and actions of the hundreds of Trump supporters who stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Some inside the bureau have described the Capitol riot investigation as their biggest case since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and a top priority of the agents' work is to determine the extent to which that violence and chaos was preplanned and coordinated. Investigators caution there is an important legal distinction between gathering like-minded people for a political rally -- which is protected by the First Amendment -- and organizing an armed assault on the seat of American government. The task now is to distinguish which people belong in each category, and who played key roles in committing or coordinating the violence.... The FBI is also trying to determine how many people went to Washington seeking to engage in violence, even if they weren't part of any formal organization." The report cites social-media chatter that preceded the siege. For instance, "Be ready to fight. Congress needs to hear glass breaking, doors being kicked in." read one posting, according to the report. And, "Stop calling this a march, or rally, or a protest. Go there ready for war. We get our President or we die." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Weiner & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A criminal complaint against two Montana brothers and a detention memo against a prominent member of the Proud Boys help explain how, the government believes, one segment of a mob overran a small, poorly defended line of Capitol Police officers. In these and other filings, prosecutors trace the actions of possible key instigators in the storming of the Capitol, including members of the Proud Boys...." The story outlines the known actions of Proud Boy Dominic Pezzola, who has been indicted on a number of charges, & some of those he appears to have led, including two brothers from Montana, Joshua Calvin Hughes and Jerod Wade Hughes." ~~~

~~~ Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "Federal authorities arrested two women in Pennsylvania on Friday on charges related to the storming of the U.S. Capitol building after the FBI said one of the women expressed an intent to shoot House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).... Dawn Bancroft and Diana Santos-Smith were identified by law enforcement after the FBI said it received a tip on Jan. 12 with a video purportedly capturing the two women as they left the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 amid a large mob of people, according to a criminal complaint. 'We broke into the Capitol.... We got inside, we did our part,' Bancroft said in the video she sent to her children, according to the FBI. 'We were looking for Nancy to shoot her in the friggin' brain, but we didn't find her.' The women -- who the FBI said initially lied to authorities -- face three federal charges...."

Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Far-right radio show host Alex Jones and a prominent GOP donor reportedly played a larger role than previously known in the pro-Trump rally held near the White House before the Capitol riot. Jones was involved in pledging money and getting others to donate money for the Jan. 6 event, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday. The Infowars founder originally planned to give $50,000 in seed money to secure a 'top speaking slot of his choice,' according to a funding document reported by the newspaper. Julie Jenkins Fancelli, the heiress to the Publix Super Markets Inc. chain, reached out to Jones and asked to donate for the Jan. 6 event, organizers told the Journal. Jones reportedly helped Fancelli donate $300,000 through a fundraising official who helped with former President Trump's campaign. Fancelli's donation represented a majority of the funding for the $500,000 rally at the Ellipse, where Trump spoke before chaos erupted later in the day at the Capitol. During the 2020 election cycle, Fancelli donated nearly $1 million to Trump's campaign and the Republican Party, the Journal noted.... A spokesperson for Publix noted to The Hill that Fancelli is not an employee of the supermarket chain and 'is neither involved in our business operations, nor does she represent the company in any way.'"

~~~ Speaking of Publix.... Sharon Zhang of Truthout (Jan. 28): "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is facing criticism after deciding this month that he would revoke COVID-19 vaccine access at health centers in Palm Beach County and instead, funnel the states' vaccine supply through Publix, a regional grocery chain. His decision comes just a few weeks after Publix donated $100,000 to his PAC, Friends of Ron DeSantis. After the county runs out of its current supply, which health officials say will happen early next month, officials confirmed this week that the state would no longer distribute vaccines through Palm Beach's health department and will be giving them directly to Publix. DeSantis says that the county will be a 'test site' for the pilot program to funnel the state's vaccines through Publix.... Some of the county's residents live 40 miles away from a Publix. Florida's vaccine administration has thus far been rocky and, in some ways, discriminatory, some report, and many worry that the distribution of the vaccine through Publix will only cause further disparities.... According to data from the state, approximately 4.9 percent of the people who have been vaccinated so far are Black despite Black people making up 16.9 percent of the population. In Palm Beach, Black people make up 3 percent of the vaccinated population and 19.8 percent of the population overall." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: During the time I lived in Fort Myers, Florida, Publix closed down at least two stores that served minority communities and opened up at least four that served affluent areas of the city & county.

David Stern of the Washington Post: "... as the Biden administration settles in, some close allies of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky are opening up about one of the longest-running dramas from the Trump era -- the blitz of meetings, messages and public statements in Ukraine by ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani.... The new disclosures from Ukraine do not offer any bombshell revelations about Giuliani's dealings. But they help fill in some blanks on his frantic -- and unsuccessful -- quest to press Ukraine to make statements seen as potentially helpful to the Trump reelection bid. Giuliani's overall goal, according to the accounts, was to have Zelensky's government validate the Trump campaign's unsupported claims -- including that Joe Biden's son, Hunter, engaged in corrupt dealings in Ukraine and that then vice president Biden attempted to cover it up. Giuliani, saying he was acting on President Trump's behalf, also was promoting a false narrative that the Ukrainian government colluded to interfere in the 2016 U.S. presidential elections against Trump -- an unproven claim that sought to deflect attention from Russia's interference in the campaign.... The Zelensky team's decision to talk about Giuliani's tactics coincides with efforts for a reset in relations with President Biden, who dealt closely with Ukraine during his eight years as vice president."

MTG Is No Anomaly; She's the Face of the GOP. Michael Kranish, et al., of the Washington Post: Marjorie Taylor "Greene's widely reported comments about the radical ideology of QAnon and other matters had not stopped a coterie of top Republicans from urging her to run for the seat representing a deeply conservative district in north Georgia, and then issuing fervent endorsements. Greene was 'exactly the kind of fighter needed in Washington to stand with me against the radical left," declared Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Debbie Meadows, who ran an influential political action committee and whose husband, Mark Meadows, became Trump&'s chief of staff, gushed, 'We cannot wait to welcome her to Congress.'... While some Republicans have tried to portray Greene as a political anomaly, her ascent demonstrates the extent to which key party leaders embraced her ... despite her well-documented history of spreading false claims and violent rhetoric. Critical to Greene's success was the early intervention on her behalf by some of the party's most staunchly pro-Trump figures and Greene's ability to tap into the far-right online world where baseless claims thrive."

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

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Alan Rappeport & Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Biden and his top economic aides brushed aside criticism from Republicans on Friday about the administration's $1.9 trillion stimulus package and vowed to forge ahead with the proposal, saying the bill was critical for a flagging economic recovery and overwhelmingly popular with voters. The comments came as Mr. Biden was briefed by aides on the need for more fiscal help and the state of the economy, and as new analysis from the Brookings Institution suggested the Biden proposal, if enacted, would vault the economy above its prepandemic path by the second half of this year. A team of top economic officials, including Treasury Secretary Janet L. Yellen, met with Mr. Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the Oval Office on Friday to underscore the challenges facing an economy that recorded decelerating growth at the end of last year. They were joined by Brian Deese, the director of the National Economic Council, and Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey of the Council of Economic Advisers.... On Friday afternoon, as he was departing the White House to visit Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, Mr. Biden said..., 'I support passing Covid relief with support from Republicans if we get it, but the Covid relief has to pass.'..." ~~~

~~~ Kevin Freking of the AP: "The Democratic push to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour has emerged as an early flashpoint in the fight for a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package, testing President Joe Biden's ability to bridge Washington's partisan divides as he pursues his first major legislative victory. Biden called for a $15 hourly minimum wage during his campaign and has followed through by hitching it to a measure that, among other things, calls for $1,400 stimulus checks and $130 billion to help schools reopen. Biden argues that anyone who holds a full-time job shouldn't live in poverty, echoing progressives in the Democratic Party...."

Biden Cleans up Another Trump Screw-up. Helena Evich of Politico: "Millions of low-income households with children are about to get more help buying groceries during the pandemic under a new policy released Friday by the Biden administration. Congress last spring launched Pandemic EBT, a program that aims to replace free and subsidized meals kids normally get at school. After schools broadly shut down last year, billions in aid was sent out to low-income families with school-aged children on debit-like EBT cards that can be used to buy food, but this school year the program has been bogged down in bureaucracy.... The vast majority of households eligible for assistance haven't seen any P-EBT payments several months into the school year, even though Congress re-upped the program in September -- a failing that has kept roughly $2 billion in aid from going out to families each month. The Agriculture Department, which oversees school meals and P-EBT, released guidance today that makes it easier for states to get aid to more families -- and at a higher payment rate than under the Trump administration." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: A lot of emphasis rightly has been placed on President Biden's efforts to undo Trump's draconian policies, but it is also true that the Biden team has a lot of work to do in fixing programs Trump did not officially oppose but that his cruel and incompetent appointees could not or would not manage. EBT card access is one example.

Remembering Comrade Donova

David Smith of the Guardian: "Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years and proved so willing to parrot anti-western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow, a former KGB spy has told the Guardian. Yuri Shvets, posted to Washington by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, compares the former US president to 'the Cambridge five', the British spy ring that passed secrets to Moscow during the second world war and early cold war. Now 67, Shvets is a key source for American Kompromat, a new book by journalist Craig Unger." MB: Although there is a great deal of fit between what we know about Trump & what Shvets claims, I would rate Shvets' assertions as "possibly true." AND it seems likely that the CIA would have known something about Trump's contacts with Russian agents. If so, didn't the public have a right to know before the 2016 election? What about Mike Pompeo, who headed the CIA? How about members of Congress, like Pelosi & McConnell? I'll be interested to see if there's follow-up to the story. Thanks to unwashed for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

Marie: I'll bet Brian Williams got an A+ on the day they practiced deadpan in his news-anchor class: ~~~

Luke Broadwater & Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Nearly 150 House Republicans supported ... Donald J. Trump's baseless claims that the election had been stolen from him. But [Rep. Paul] Gosar [R-Az.] and a handful of other Republican members of the House had deeper ties to extremist groups who pushed violent ideas and conspiracy theories and whose members were prominent among those who stormed the halls of Congress.... Their ranks include" Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Az.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), & Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). "It is not clear whether any elected officials played a role in directly facilitating the attack on the Capitol, other than helping to incite violence through false statements about the election being stolen from Mr. Trump.... In signaling either overt or tacit support, a small but vocal band of Republicans now serving in the House provided legitimacy and publicity to extremist groups and movements as they built toward their role in supporting Mr. Trump's efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election and the attack on Congress.... To some degree, the members of Congress have been reflecting signals sent by Mr. Trump. During a presidential debate in October, he made a nod toward the Proud Boys, telling them to 'stand back and stand by.' Two months earlier, Mr. Trump described followers of QAnon ... as 'people that love our country,' adding that 'they do supposedly like me.'" The story details some of the wacko forays these Congressmembers have made into the dark side. (Also linked yesterday.)

Eric Cantor, former Republican House Majority Leader (who lost re-election to a Tea Party nut), in a Washington Post op-ed, has had an epiphany: "Our elected officials work for us, and they fail us when they decline to tell us truths that we, the people, don't want to hear. Even worse, they fail us when they set up false expectations we desperately want to believe." In 2013, that failure led to a government shutdown. In 2021, it led to insurrection. "If the majority of Republican elected officials work together to confront the false narratives in our body politic -- that the election was stolen (it wasn't), that there is a QAnon-style conspiracy to uproot pedophiles at the heart of American government (there isn't), that a Democratic-controlled government means the end of America (it doesn't; it may produce worse policy, but the republic has survived 88 years of Democrats occupying the White House) -- all Republicans will be better off." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: When Eric Cantor is the reasonable guy, Republicans have a lot to worry about.

** The Party of Violence. Dana Milbank of the Washington Post: "The supposed civil war within the Republican Party is over. The neo-Confederates have won.... Thanks to the cowardice of [Kevin] McCarthy and the perfidy of [Mitch] McConnell, the GOP now comprises two relatively harmonious factions: those who actively sabotage democracy, and those who tacitly condone the sabotage. Trump is gone; Trumpism reigns.... Republicans think they'll save their political hides by capitulating to Trump. But, inevitably, that also means capitulating to his violent supporters. And democracy can't function at the point of a gun."

Melanie Zanona of Politico: "House GOP leaders are facing mounting pressure to take action against freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), with key outside groups calling on party officials to condemn her and House Democrats pushing for Greene's removal from Congress or committees. Amid the firestorm, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy will sit down for a conversation with Greene next week, his office said. But whether McCarthy decides to punish Greene will depend on how that meeting goes.... And so far, Greene has remained publicly defiant: 'I will never back down. I will never give up,' she said in a statement Friday. Greene has, however, started to scrub some of her old social media posts.... The Republican Jewish Coalition, as well as the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, both put out statements Friday condemning Greene's rhetoric. RJC also said it is 'working closely with the House Republican leadership regarding next steps in this matter.... We opposed her as a candidate and we continue to oppose her now,' RJC said." ~~~

~~~ Colby Itkowitz & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Rep. Cori Bush, a freshman Democrat from Missouri, said Friday that she was moving her office at the U.S. Capitol complex away from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) for safety reasons, after claiming Greene accosted her without a mask. Meanwhile, Greene -- a conspiracy theorist who has a history of making racist and anti-Semitic remarks -- called Bush a liar and accused her of leading a 'terrorist mob' because she supported Black Lives Matter. The allegations, which escalated throughout the day Friday, underscored the degree to which relations have deteriorated to the point of open hostility between congressional Republicans and Democrats after pro-Trumprioters overran the Capitol on Jan. 6 in a violent insurrection.... House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) reportedly ordered the office move at Bush's request...." CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Violent. Mark Follman of Mother Jones: "... previously unreported video footage obtained by Mother Jones reveals that [Marjorie] Greene continued using violent rhetoric just before the November elections. On October 27, one week before Election Day, Greene sat down for a live interview with pro-gun activist Chris Dorr broadcast on Facebook from a Pennsylvania gun shop. In the 22-minute video posted by the Pennsylvania Firearms Association, the two held forth about the Second Amendment and the necessity of backing Trump and other far-right Republicans in the election. Greene warned ominously about fending off 'socialists' like Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, claiming they would confiscate Americans' guns. 'If this generation doesn't stand up and defend freedom, it&'s gone,' Greene said, addressing viewers. 'And once it's gone, freedom doesn't come back by itself. The only way you get your freedoms back is it's earned with the price of blood.'" ~~~

~~~ AND Crazy. Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "Marjorie Taylor Greene said in February 2019 that then-Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg -- who died in September 2020 -- didn't really make a public appearance, implying she was replaced by a body double.... Greene had a relatively short but horrific career as a right-wing commentator before successfully running for Congress.... In early 2019, conspiracy theorists -- including QAnon supporters -- claimed that Democrats were hiding Ginsburg or covering up that she was dead so they could hold on to her Supreme Court seat." ~~~

~~~ ** AND Crazier. Catie Edmondson of the New York Times: "Marjorie Taylor Greene had just finished questioning whether a plane really flew into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001, and flatly stating that President Barack Obama was secretly Muslim when she paused to offer an aside.... 'That's another one of those Clinton murders,' Ms. Greene said, referring to John F. Kennedy Jr.'s death in a 1999 plane crash, suggesting that he had been assassinated because he was a potential rival to Hillary Clinton for a New York Senate seat. Ms. Greene casually unfurled the cascade of dangerous and patently untrue conspiracy theories in a previously unreported 40-minute video that was originally posted to YouTube in 2018. It provides a window into the warped worldview amplified by the freshman Republican congresswoman from Georgia.... Republicans are now facing calls from Democrats to expel Ms. Greene from Congress, pressure from a prominent group of Jewish Republicans to discipline her, and private consternation from within their own ranks.... [Minority Leader Kevin] McCarthy's silence so far reflects, in part, the sway Mr. Trump still has over the Republican Party and its leaders. The former president has praised Ms. Greene effusively and refused to condemn QAnon, despite being asked to disavow it repeatedly while in office." Edmondson ticks off many other insane beliefs Greene espouses. MB: The woman belongs in a mental institution, not in the Congress.

~~~ Laura Barron-Lopez of Politico: "The anti-Trump Republican Accountability Project is kicking off a $1 million billboard campaign Thursday that targets 12 Republican lawmakers, including Sens. Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.... The nine other Republicans targeted in the campaign are: Reps. Devin Nunes (Calif.), Elise Stefanik (N.Y.), Jim Jordan (Ohio), Louie Gohmert (Texas.), Madison Cawthorne (N.C.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), Matt Gaetz (Fla.), Mo Brooks (Ala.) and Dan Bishop (N.C.).... The billboards call on the dozen congressional Republicans to resign for spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election. 'You lied about the election. The Capitol was attacked,' the billboards read.... All of the lawmakers on the list voted Jan. 6 -- hours after the Capitol insurrection -- to reject state electors Joe Biden won in November.... The effort is part of a larger $50 million campaign by a coalition of 'Never Trump' groups, which plan to support GOP lawmakers who vote to impeach or convict ... Donald Trump in the House and Senate and to target Republicans who've continued to side with Trump."

Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Federal prosecutors investigating the violent riot at the Capitol this month announced their first conspiracy charges against the Proud Boys on Friday night, accusing two members of the far-right nationalist group of working together to obstruct and interfere with law enforcement officers protecting Congress during the final certification of the presidential election. In a brief news release, the Justice Department said that an indictment had been filed against two Proud Boys, Dominic Pezzola, of Rochester, N.Y., and William Pepe, of Beacon, N.Y. But by late Friday night, the charging papers had not yet appeared in the Washington federal court database. Both Mr. Pezzola, a former boxer and Marine, and Mr. Pepe, an employee of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, already had been facing lesser charges connected to the Capitol attack." CNN's story is here.

Dalton Bennett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The two pipe bombs that were discovered on Jan. 6 near the U.S. Capitol shortly before a mob stormed the building are believed to have been planted the night before, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation and video footage obtained by The Washington Post. The explosive devices, which were placed blocks from one another at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, have been largely overshadowed by the violent insurrection at the Capitol. But finding the person suspected of planting both bombs remains a priority for federal authorities, who last week boosted the reward for tips leading to the person's arrest from $50,000 to $75,000.... On Friday morning, the FBI released additional information that confirmed The Post's reporting about the timing of the placement of the bombs and raised the reward offered to $100,000." Includes some new video. MB: When I watched the way the person walked, I thought I was probably looking at a woman. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ali Breland of Mother Jones: "In the days ahead of the January 6 Capitol riot..., users of TheDonald.win, a major online pro-Trump forum, were preparing for a fight, posting maps of the Capitol and swapping messages about being ready to die. In the wake of the carnage, law enforcement identified TheDonald.win as a key planning platform for the insurrectionists. And on Inauguration Day, the forum established a new domain, rebranding as Patriots.win. Alongside that transition, thousands of posts from lead up to the riot have disappeared from the site.... The posters' deleted content included maps of the Capitol, manifestos about their intentions upon arriving, discussion about flouting D.C.'s strict gun laws, and praise of extremist groups like the Proud Boys.... Bennett Gershman, a criminal and constitutional law professor at the Pace University School of Law says..., 'Destroying evidence after you've committed a crime might itself be a crime. We're talking about potentially tampering with evidence,' he says." MB: It's impossible to believe the FBI, & possibly other intelligence organizations, didn't know about these plans.

David Corn of Mother Jones: "Weeks before the murderous mob of insurrectionists stormed the United States Capitol on January 6..., a leader of the so-called Stop the Steal movement stood before a crowd of angry Donald Trump loyalists in California and called for the 'execution' of those who had supposedly plotted against Trump. Afterward, he posted video of his demand for blood on YouTube.... Alan Hostetter, a police-chief-turned-yoga-instructor ... last year became a prominent opponent of COVID shutdowns in the Golden State.... [Reading from a prepared text,] he said, 'President Trump and his ground troops here with the patriots -- we're going to fix this.... There must, absolutely must be a reckoning. There must be justice. President Trump must be inaugurated on January 20.... The enemies and traitors of America, both foreign and domestic, must be held accountable.... There must be long prison terms, while execution is the just punishment for the ringleaders of this coup.'... Weeks after urging the killing of Trump's rivals, Hostetter was part of the Trump Resistance infrastructure that organized events in Washington leading up to the ... raid on the Capitol.... Hostetter was part of the mob that attacked the Capitol."

AP: "Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick, who died at the hands of the mob that besieged the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, will lie in honor next week in the building's Rotunda, congressional leaders said Friday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer released a joint statement saying: 'The heroism of Officer Sicknick and the Capitol Police force during the violent insurrection against our Capitol helped save lives, defend the temple of our democracy and ensure that the Congress was not diverted from our duty to the Constitution. His sacrifice reminds us every day of our obligation to our country and to the people we serve.'"

Randi Kaye, et al., of CNN: "The use of Mar-a-Lago as ... Donald Trump's permanent home is under legal review by the town of Palm Beach and the arrangement may be discussed at the upcoming town council meeting, the town manager told CNN. When Trump turned the private residence into a social club, he had agreed with the town to limit his stays at Mar-a-Lago, and now some Palm Beach residents say he is violating that agreement.... [Under the agreement,] Trump ... could not spend more than seven consecutive days at Mar-a-Lago, or no more than three weeks total a year.... His signature is on the agreement.... The Trump Organization insisted in a statement to CNN in December, 'There is no document or agreement in place that prohibits President Trump from using Mar-A-Lago as his residence.'"

Ed Shanahan & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "A New York judge on Friday increased pressure on ... Donald J. Trump's family business and several associates, ordering them to give state investigators documents in a civil inquiry into whether the company misstated assets to get bank loans and tax benefits.... In December..., the judge, Arthur F. Engoron of State Supreme Court in Manhattan..., ordered ... the Trump Organization, to produce records that its lawyers had tried to shield, including some related to a Westchester County, N.Y., property that is among those being scrutinized by the New York State attorney general, Letitia James. On Friday, Justice Engoron went further, saying that even more documents, as well as communications with a law firm hired by the Trump Organization, had to be handed over to Ms. James's office. In doing so, he rejected the lawyers'claim that the documents at issue were covered by attorney-client privilege."

Where Reprobates Alight (Because They Can't Get Real Jobs). Alayna Treene & Stef Kight of Axios: "Chad Wolf, Ken Cuccinelli and Mark Morgan, three of former President Trump's biggest immigration policy defenders, will join the Heritage Foundation on Monday as fellows.... All three former Homeland Security officials consistently backed Trump and were key in implementing his strict immigration agenda. Now, they will continue to shape conservative policy ideas on national security and foreign policy from the outside."

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "The former FBI lawyer who admitted to doctoring an email that other officials relied upon to justify secret surveillance of a former Trump campaign adviser was sentenced Friday to 12 months of probation, with no time behind bars. Prosecutors had asked that Kevin Clinesmith, 38, spend several months in prison for his crime, while Clinesmith's attorneys said probation would be more appropriate. Clinesmith pleaded guilty last summer to altering an email that one of his colleagues used in preparing an application to surreptitiously monitor former Trump campaign adviser Carter Page during the bureau's 2016 investigation of Russia's election interference. U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg ... said ... he believed Clinesmith's contention that he thought, genuinely but wrongly, the information he was inserting into the email was accurate. On top of his probation sentence, Boasberg ordered Clinesmith to perform 400 hours of community service." The AP's story is here.

Arizona. End Democracy Now! Liz Dye of Wonkette: "Arizona House Ways and Means Committee Chair Shawnna Bolick is saying the quiet part out loud. On Wednesday, she introduced a bill to allow Arizona legislators to award the state's Electoral College votes to their preferred candidate at any time up until a new president is sworn in on January 20, irrespective of the will of the voters.... 'The legislature retains its legislative authority regarding the office of presidential elector and by majority vote at any time before the presidential inauguration may revoke the secretary of state's issuance or certification of a presidential elector's certificate of election,' she wrote.... Aside from the whole overturning the election thing, Bolick made sure to specify that 'The legislature may take action pursuant to this subsection without regard to whether the legislature is in regular or special session or has held committee or other hearings on the matter.' Note that she doesn't say there has to be a quorum present when they have this little ... confab to override the vote. So, under this bill, Arizona's Republican legislators could huddle up in the basement and agree to award the state's electoral votes to the Republican candidate without even inviting Democrats to the party -- something they tried to do this year. Only this time, their slate of cosplay electors would magically become real. Hooray!" Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bolick's bill isn't as crazy as it may seem, and some Republicans around the country have embraced it. In the matter of choosing Electors, Article II (Section 1.2) states, "Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors...." While state & federal law as well as the Supremes -- and "tradition" -- have effectively rejected the concept of legislatures overriding the popular vote within states, it seems to me any state legislature could give it a try, and the courts, state & federal, would be left to decide. Yet another reason to abandon the Electoral College in favor of popular election of the president & veep.

The Pandemic, Ctd.

Erin Cunningham, et al., of the Washington Post: "As governments around the world grapple with the spread of a more virulent variant of the coronavirus -- first identified in South Africa -- top health officials in the United States said Friday the new coronavirus variants present a 'wake-up call' to move faster on vaccinating the population.... The emergence of new, mutant versions of the virus was expected, said Dr. Anthony Fauci and Rochelle Walensky, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and they warned that more are likely to come. Those mutations also will challenge the ability of existing treatments and vaccines to curb the virus' spread." The article is free to nonsubscribers.

Another Important Way Biden Has to Play Catch-up Because of Trump Incompetence. William Wan & Ben Guarino of the Washington Post: "The United States is doing so little of the genetic sequencing needed to detect new variants of the coronavirus -- like the ones first identified in Great Britain and South Africa -- that such mutations are probably proliferating quickly, undetected, experts said.... Now is when genetic sequencing -- a process that maps out the genetic code of the particular virus that infected someone so it can be compared with others -- would do the most good, while such variants are less prevalent in the U.S. population and action can be taken against them.... The problem echoes the country's catastrophic stumbles early in the pandemic, when a lack of testing allowed the virus to spread widely.... For months, scientists have been sounding alarms and trying to ramp up genetic sequencing of test samples, but the effort has been plagued by lack of funding, political will and federal coordination, health experts and state officials said.... Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Rochelle Walensky said Friday that the government is increasing the level of sequencing nationwide.

Trains, Planes & "Any Conveyances." Michael Laris of the Washington Post: "Masks must be worn at train and subway stations, bus terminals and airports nationwide, as well as on planes, trains and other types of public transportation in the United States, according to a far-reaching federal public health order issued late Friday. The order, which will take effect Monday at 11:59 p.m., adds details to the mandate President Biden signed on his first full day in office. The order goes beyond the 'masking for interstate travel' previously announced by the White House.... People are ordered to wear masks 'while boarding, disembarking, and traveling on any conveyance into or within the United States,' as well as 'at any transportation hub that provides transportation within the United States,' the order said.... The CDC prepared a transportation mask requirement last year, but was blocked by the Trump White House." Reuters' story is here.

Remembering the Incompetent "King of Ventilators.' Yeganeh Torbati & Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration spent $200 million to send more than 8,700 ventilators to countries around the world last year, with no clear criteria for determining who should get them and no way to keep track of where many ended up, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office. The effort, driven by the Trump White House, was an unusual top-down initiative with little decision-making by experts at the U.S. Agency for International Development, which carried out the administration's orders.... Donald Trump last year boasted about U.S. success in manufacturing the machines and declared the U.S. 'the king of ventilators,' promising donations to foreign countries.... The GAO was unable to identify how the Trump White House made its decisions on ventilator allocations, and White House officials did not respond to the watchdog's questions, which came before President Biden took office last week. For instance, while Sri Lanka had just three new coronavirus cases per day when it received 200 ventilators, Bangladesh, which had 1,409 new cases, received just 100 of the machines, the report found." MB: Sounds like a Kushner-directed project to me.

New York. Jesse McKinley & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "For most of the past year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has tried to brush away a persistent criticism that undermined his national image as the man who led New York through the pandemic: that his policies had allowed thousands of nursing home residents to die of the virus. But Mr. Cuomo was dealt a blow when the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, reported on Thursday morning that Mr. Cuomo's administration had undercounted coronavirus-related deaths of state nursing home residents by the thousands. Just hours later, Ms. James was proved correct, as Health Department officials made public new data that added more than 3,800 deaths to their tally, representing nursing home residents who had died in hospitals and had not previously been counted by the state as nursing home deaths. The state's acknowledgment increased the overall death toll related to those facilities by more than 40 percent.... The findings do not change the overall number of Covid-19 deaths in New York -- more than 42,000, the most of any state -- but the recalculation in the number of nursing home deaths illustrates how unprepared the nursing home industry was in the first and deadliest weeks of the pandemic." An AP story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Commentariat -- January 29, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Luke Broadwater & Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "Nearly 150 House Republicans supported ... Donald J. Trump's baseless claims that the election had been stolen from him. But [Rep. Paul] Gosar [R-Az.] and a handful of other Republican members of the House had deeper ties to extremist groups who pushed violent ideas and conspiracy theories and whose members were prominent among those who stormed the halls of Congress.... Their ranks include" Reps. Andy Biggs (R-Az.), Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), & Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.). "It is not clear whether any elected officials played a role in directly facilitating the attack on the Capitol, other than helping to incite violence through false statements about the election being stolen from Mr. Trump.... In signaling either overt or tacit support, a small but vocal band of Republicans now serving in the House provided legitimacy and publicity to extremist groups and movements as they built toward their role in supporting Mr. Trump's efforts to subvert the outcome of the 2020 election and the attack on Congress.... To some degree, the members of Congress have been reflecting signals sent by Mr. Trump. During a presidential debate in October, he made a nod toward the Proud Boys, telling them to 'stand back and stand by.' Two months earlier, Mr. Trump described followers of QAnon ... as 'people that love our country,' adding that 'they do supposedly like me.'" The story details some of the wacko forays these Congressmembers have made into the dark side.

David Smith of the Guardian: "Donald Trump was cultivated as a Russian asset over 40 years and proved so willing to parrot anti-western propaganda that there were celebrations in Moscow, a former KGB spy has told the Guardian. Yuri Shvets, posted to Washington by the Soviet Union in the 1980s, compares the former US president to 'the Cambridge five', the British spy ring that passed secrets to Moscow during the second world war and early cold war. Now 67, Shvets is a key source for American Kompromat, a new book by journalist Craig Unger." MB: Although there is a great deal of fit between what we know about Trump & what Shvets claims, I would rate Shvets' assertions as "possibly true." AND it seems likely that the CIA would have known something about Trump's contacts with Russian agents. If so, didn't the public have a right to know before the 2016 election? What about Mike Pompeo, who headed the CIA? How about members of Congress, like Pelosi & McConnell? I'll be interested to see if there's any follow-up to this story. Thanks to unwashed for the link.

Dalton Bennett, et al., of the Washington Post: "The two pipe bombs that were discovered on Jan. 6 near the U.S. Capitol shortly before a mob stormed the building are believed to have been planted the night before, according to a law enforcement official familiar with the investigation and video footage obtained by The Washington Post. The explosive devices, which were placed blocks from one another at the headquarters of the Republican and Democratic national committees, have been largely overshadowed by the violent insurrection at the Capitol. But finding the person suspected of planting both bombs remains a priority for federal authorities, who last week boosted the reward for tips leading to the person's arrest from $50,000 to $75,000.... On Friday morning, the FBI released additional information that confirmed The Post's reporting about the timing of the placement of the bombs and raised the reward offered to $100,000." Includes some new video. MB: When I watched the way the person walked, I thought I was probably looking at a woman.

Jesse McKinley & Luis Ferré-Sadurní of the New York Times: "For most of the past year, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo has tried to brush away a persistent criticism that undermined his national image as the man who led New York through the pandemic: that his policies had allowed thousands of nursing home residents to die of the virus. But Mr. Cuomo was dealt a blow when the New York State attorney general, Letitia James, reported on Thursday morning that Mr. Cuomo's administration had undercounted coronavirus-related deaths of state nursing home residents by the thousands. Just hours later, Ms. James was proved correct, as Health Department officials made public new data that added more than 3,800 deaths to their tally, representing nursing home residents who had died in hospitals and had not previously been counted by the state as nursing home deaths. The state's acknowledgment increased the overall death toll related to those facilities by more than 40 percent.... The findings do not change the overall number of Covid-19 deaths in New York -- more than 42,000, the most of any state -- but the recalculation in the number of nursing home deaths illustrates how unprepared the nursing home industry was in the first and deadliest weeks of the pandemic." An AP story is here.

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Sheryl Stolberg & Abby Goodnough of the New York Times: "President Biden on Thursday ordered the Affordable Care Act's health insurance marketplaces reopened to give people throttled by the pandemic economy a new chance to obtain coverage, and he took steps to restore coverage mandates that had been undermined by his predecessor, including protecting those with pre-existing medical conditions. Thursday's orders also took aim at Trump-era restrictions on Medicaid, especially on work requirements imposed by some states on poor people trying to obtain coverage. Separately, Mr. Biden moved toward overturning his predecessor's restrictions on the use of taxpayer dollars for clinics that counsel patients on abortion, both in the United States and overseas." ~~~

~~~ Miriam Berger of the Washington Post: "On Thursday, a week into his presidency, Joe Biden signed an executive order rescinding ... the 'global gag rule,' which bars U.S. funding for organizations abroad that perform abortions or offer information about them[, a rule which Donald Trump had reinstated & expanded].... He also signed a memorandum requesting that the Department of Health and Human Services review a rule instated by Trump that cut off federal funding for domestic family planning programs involved with abortions, such as Planned Parenthood. Biden additionally ordered the restoration of funding to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which Trump had cut in a dispute over abortion provisions."; ~~~

~~~ President Biden signs executive orders "undoing the damage Trump has done" to the Affordable Care Act & Medicaid and women's access to healthcare: ~~~

Jim Tankersley & Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "Democrats are preparing to bypass Republican objections to speed President Biden's $1.9 trillion economic aid package through Congress, rather than pare it back significantly to attract Republican votes, even as administration officials and congressional moderates hold out hopes of passing a bill with significant bipartisan support. On a day when new data from the Commerce Department showed that the economic recovery decelerated at the end of last year, Democratic leaders in Congress and administration officials said publicly and privately on Thursday that they were committed to a large-scale relief bill and would move next week to start a process that would allow it to pass with only Democratic votes, if necessary. Behind closed doors, congressional committees are already writing legislative text to turn Mr. Biden's plans into law." Politico's story is here.

Camilo Montoya-Galvez & Ed O'Keefe of CBS News: "President Biden is delaying by at least a few days a series of executive actions on immigration that were anticipated as early as this week, including the reversal of Trump-era asylum policies and a plan to reunite migrant families separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, two people familiar with the ongoing deliberations told CBS News. A specific reason for the delay was not clear."

Lara Seligman of Politico: "The Pentagon has suspended the processing of a number of ... Donald Trump's last-minute appointees to defense advisory boards as the new administration looks to weed out loyalists to the former president. The move effectively prevents a number of Trump allies, including his 2016 campaign manager Corey Lewandowski and deputy campaign manager David Bossie, from actually serving on panels tasked with providing advice to the defense secretary, at least for the time being.... The freeze announced on Wednesday pertains only to appointees who have not yet been sworn in or have completed all the required paperwork.... It was not immediately clear whether the Pentagon planned to take any action against those who have been onboarded, but the Biden team is looking into whether it can replace dozens of Trump’s last-minute appointments to boards and commissions across the U.S. government."

Meryl Kornfield of the Washington Post: "A gesture meant to bolster President Biden's call for unity and inclusion instead inspired divisiveness, after news emerged that a White House American Sign Language interpreter was a Trump supporter who previously interpreted videos rife with misinformation. Heather Mewshaw, who appeared in the White House coronavirus briefing on Monday beside press secretary Jen Psaki, was identified by deaf and hard-of-hearing advocates and Time Magazine, fueling questions about the White House's vetting process and what could have happened if Mewshaw misinterpreted Biden officials or inserted her own bias.... The Time article tied Mewshaw to Hands of Liberty, a right-wing interpreters group formerly known as Right Side ASL, pointing to posts that suggested Mewshaw led the group.... Many questioned why the White House would legitimize her by giving Mewshaw the national platform.... People in the deaf community told The Washington Post and wrote on social media that they felt Mewshaw's role in the Biden White House signaled the administration didn't fully understand the significance of the interpreter role, equating the use of Mewshaw to Biden hiring Trump's former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany as his own spokeswoman."

Neal Boudette & Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The days of the internal combustion engine are numbered. General Motors said Thursday that it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only vehicles that have zero tailpipe emissions by 2035, a seismic shift by one of the world's largest automakers that makes billions of dollars today from gas-guzzling pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles. The announcement is likely to put pressure on automakers around the world to make similar commitments. It could also embolden President Biden and other elected officials to push for even more aggressive policies to fight climate change."

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Maxwell Tani & Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "Less than six months before he became the New York Times' go-to reporter on the coronavirus pandemic, Donald McNeil Jr. was under intense scrutiny from the paper's top brass over accusations that he made wildly offensive and racist comments while leading a Times student trip [to Peru].... After the excursion ended, according to multiple parents of students on the trip who spoke with The Daily Beast along with documents shared with the Times and reviewed by the Beast, many participants relayed a series of troubling accusations to the paper: McNeil repeatedly made racist and sexist remarks throughout the trip including, according to two complaints, using the 'n-word.'... Multiple people familiar with the situation told The Daily Beast that an internal investigation was conducted about the claims and that the top science reporter was reprimanded." MB: Sounds like somebody at the Times had a Kevin-McCarthy-style "conversation" with McNeil.

"The Enemy Is Within" -- Pelosi

Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Two weeks after Representative Kevin McCarthy, the top House Republican, enraged Donald J. Trump by saying that he considered the former president responsible for the violent mob attack at the Capitol, the two men met on Thursday for what aides described as a 'good and cordial' meeting, and sought to present a united front. The meeting at Mr. Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Fla., came two weeks after Mr. McCarthy, in a speech on the House floor, said that the former president 'bears responsibility' for the events of Jan. 6.... On Thursday, aides released a photograph of Mr. McCarthy and Mr. Trump posing together in one of the ornate rooms at the former president's Mar-a-Lago club.... [A] statement bore the hallmarks of Mr. Trump's bombastic and often false assertions about himself, incorrectly claiming that his 'popularity has never been stronger than it is today.' 'His endorsement means more than perhaps any endorsement at any time,' the statement, issued by Mr. Trump's Save America political action committee, added, saying that Mr. Trump had agreed to work with Mr. McCarthy to try to take back the House majority in 2022."

Colby Itkowitz & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Open hostility broke out among Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Thursday amid growing fears of physical violence and looming domestic terrorism threats from supporters of ... Donald Trump, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi leveling an extraordinary allegation that dangers lurk among the membership itself. 'The enemy is within the House of Representatives, a threat that members are concerned about, in addition to what is happening outside,' Pelosi (D-Calif.) said at a Thursday morning news conference. But even as she and others sounded the alarm, Republicans continued to deepen their ties to the former president.... Hours after Pelosi's remarks, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with Trump in Florida. In a statement, the pair vowed to work together to take back the House.... ~~~

~~~ "On Thursday, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) publicly admonished Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.), a leader of the election challenges, after he signaled support for her position on an unrelated issue. 'I am happy to work with Republicans on this issue where there's common ground, but you almost had me murdered 3 weeks ago so you can sit this one out,' she said on Twitter. 'Happy to work w/ almost any other GOP that aren't trying to get me killed.'" MB: Yeah, I'd say "trying to get me killed" could inspire me to feel some "hostility." ~~~

~~~ Sarah Ferris & Melanie Zanona of Politico: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday unloaded on House GOP leaders for elevating freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to a key panel, escalating pressure on Republicans to punish her for a long record of extremist comments. Pelosi said Greene should not be seated on the House Education Committee after peddling a false conspiracy theory that the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary in 2012 was a hoax -- remarks that Democrats say are among Greene's most horrific in a broader trend of incendiary and at times threatening rhetoric. 'What could they be thinking? Or is thinking too generous of a word for what they might be doing?' Pelosi said Thursday.... 'It's absolutely appalling, and I think the focus has to be on the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives for the disregard they have for the deaths of those children.'... Pelosi on Thursday signaled that she is putting the onus directly on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to act...." ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Swan & Alayna Treene of Axios: "During previously unreported meetings last summer, House Republican leaders discussed — but then largely set aside -- fears that QAnon-supporting conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene would end up a flaming trainwreck for their party.... Greene has emerged not just as an embarrassment but a challenge for the GOP, with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy now forced to weigh whether to maintain his policy of sanctioning members who make dangerous statements.... John Cowan, Greene's opponent in August's primary runoff for Georgia's 14th District seat, recalls separate conversations he had with McCarthy and [Steve] Scalise, the House GOP whip, in which both men acknowledged Greene was a serious problem for the party. Cowan detailed a phone conversation he had with McCarthy in July, during which he warned him about wild opposition research they had against Greene.... While both McCarthy and Scalise condemned Greene, and Scalise endorsed and raised money for and donated to Cowan, it wasn't enough to overcome the vocal support for Greene from Trump's then-chief of staff Mark Meadows. The backing of Meadows, his wife, Debbie, and Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio was so strong that Cowan never had a real shot against Greene, [Cowan] said." ~~~

     ~~~ It Wasn't Climate Change; It Was a Jewish Space Laser! Eric Hananoki of Media Matters: "In November 2018, California was hit with the worst wildfire in the state's history. At the time, future Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) wrote a bizarre Facebook post that echoed QAnon conspiracy theorists and falsely claimed that the real and hidden culprit behind the disaster was a laser from space triggered by some nefarious group of people ... [financed by Jews!:] She also speculated that a vice chairman at 'Rothschild Inc, international investment banking firm' was somehow involved.... Greene's post, which hasn't previously been reported, is just the latest example to be unearthed of her embracing conspiracy theories about tragedies during her time as a right-wing commentator. In addition to being a QAnon supporter, Greene has pushed conspiracy theories about 9/11, the Parkland and Sandy Hook school shootings, the Las Vegas shooting, and the murder of Democratic staffer Seth Rich, among others. Greene also has a history of pushing anti-Muslim and anti-Semitic remarks." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you assume climate change is a hoax, if sparking from faulty PP&E transformers does not seem compelling, then you have to come up with other explanations for climate-related diasters. A Jewish laser beam from outer space seems good. What you do have to grant QAnon people, they have vivid imaginations & are rather clever at weaving their supremacist prejudices into their fantasies. ~~~

~~~ Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) tells Chris Hayes what the House Repubican caucus is like. (Jan. 27) A civics lesson well-worth hearing:

~~~ Matthew Choi of Politico: "Rep. Matt Gaetz fired off a barrage of insults against his colleague Liz Cheney during a rally in her home state of Wyoming on Thursday -- a raw embodiment of the cleavage across the Republican Party following ... Donald Trump's exit from office. Gaetz's rally flouted Republican leadership's appeal to temper the intraparty conflict. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy urged members of his caucus Wednesday to lay off the attacks on each other.... Gaetz revealed his intention to campaign against Cheney after she and nine other House Republicans voted to impeach Trump for inciting an insurrection on the Capitol." MB: Gaetz is campaigning against & deriding a conservative leader of his own party because she opposes violent insurrection.

Marie: Wednesday, I wondered when the powers-that-be would put the Republican party on the terrorist watch list. I wasn't the only person thinking along those lines: ~~~

~~~ Harold Meyerson of the American Prospect: in a post titled, "Put the Republican Party on the Domestic Terrorist Watch List." "... the Republicans' indulgence of the [Marjorie] Greenes in their ranks -- and there are many such -- is of a piece with their overwhelming refusal to hold Trump responsible for the insurrection at the Capitol, much less their own current colleagues, such as Arizona’s Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs, who also encouraged the January 6 rioters. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution says that no government official can hold office 'who, having previously taken an oath ... to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.' That surely applies to Trump, but it increasingly appears that it should apply to most Republican members of Congress as well." ~~~

~~~ Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "The Republican Party is stuck, probably irreversibly, in a doom loop of bizarro. If the Trump-incited Capitol insurrection didn't snap the party back to sanity -- and it didn't -- nothing will. What isn't clear yet is who, exactly, will end up facing doom. Will it be the G.O.P. as a significant political force? Or will it be America as we know it? Unfortunately, we don't know the answer. It depends a lot on how successful Republicans will be in suppressing votes.... The G.O.P.'s national leadership, after briefly flirting with sense, has surrendered to the fantasies of the fringe. Cowardice rules.... One of America's two major political parties has parted ways with facts, logic and democracy, and it's not coming back.... And the Republican response to electoral defeat isn't to change policies to win over voters; it is to try to rig the next election." ~~~

~~~ Marie: And knowing all this, the media will continue to treat the GOP as one of two legitimate, mainstream political parties. The media will both-siderize GOP & Democratic views, normalizing Krugman's "bizarro." The media will describe radical, violent revolutionaries as "conservatives," as if what they really stand for is small government, fiscal responsibility & moderate social progress. The media will continue to describe the most blatant GOP lies as "presented without evidence." You will have to read between the lines of news stories, knowing all along that, unlike you, most readers have no clue.

Caitlin Emma & Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "The Capitol needs permanent fencing and backup forces continuously stationed nearby, the Capitol Police [acting] chief [Yogananda Pittman] said Thursday, immediately sparking objections from lawmakers concerned about creating a fortress that distances the public from the Legislative Branch.... Lawmakers from both parties immediately objected to the police chief's recommendations, noting that they have not received any threat assessments that would suggest permanent fencing would be necessary. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser also said the city 'will not accept' permanent fencing or additional security forces 'being a long-term fixture in D.C.'"

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge has turned down a bid for release by the man photographed with his foot up on a desk in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office during the Capitol riot earlier this month. Two weeks ago, a federal magistrate in Arkansas ordered that Richard Barnett, 60, be placed on home detention to await trial on a felony charge of entering the Capitol with a dangerous weapon, as well as misdemeanor charges of unlawful entry to a restricted building, disorderly conduct and theft. However, Chief U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell blocked that order the same day. Following a memorable hearing on Thursday afternoon, she granted the government's appeal -- effectively ruling that Barnett will stay behind bars for months or longer."

Christina Carrega & David Shortell of CNN: "US Capitol Police on Wednesday afternoon arrested a West Virginia man who was armed with a handgun and 20 rounds of ammunition outside the American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial, which is near the US Capitol, a spokesperson from the Metropolitan Police Department said. In court documents, authorities identify the man as 71-year-old Dennis Westover. According to a police affidavit, Westover had 'Stop the Steal paperwork' with him 'that had a list of Senators and Representatives' in both the US Congress and West Virginia state house, along with their contact information. In an interview with Capitol Police detectives, Westover said that 'he was concerned about the honesty and integrity of the election.'... Westover was 'animated' and 'shouting' at National Guardsmen on the inside of the perimeter surrounding Capitol Hill when police first approached him Wednesday, according to another police affidavit."

** Sean Naylor of Yahoo! News: "Former Defense Secretary James Mattis said Thursday the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol was 'fomented' by ... Donald Trump, and exemplified the 'internal threats' faced by the U.S. that should be viewed 'with every bit as much gravity as the external problems, and perhaps more so.' Speaking during an online event, Mattis walked through a list of national security threats such as North Korea, Russia, China and international terrorism, but then turned his attention to the U.S. 'There are also internal threats right now,' he said, citing 'the lack of unity on the consensual underpinnings of our democracy, and what we saw on Jan. 6, fomented by a sitting president.'... 'Globalism hasn't been altogether good in large parts of our country,' he said, adding that 'certain trade deals' had had 'second- and third-order effects inside our own country,' hurting some Americans economically and leaving them without hope for the future. 'People are much more inclined to listen to conspiracy theories and other things when they're losing hope,' Mattis said. Mattis was referring to the assault on the Capitol by hundreds of Trump supporters.... He made the comments in the webcast conversation with former Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence Michael Vickers, who said that the country faced a 'growing threat from white nationalists and other domestic extremists.'... Vickers, a former Special Forces officer, said that 'never in our worst nightmares did we imagine that we would witness an insurrection against our government incited by some of our top leaders.'"

** Voter Suppression, USA. Sam Levine of the Guardian: "After an election filled with misinformation and lies about fraud, Republicans have doubled down with a surge of bills to further restrict voting access in recent months, according to a new analysis by the Brennan Center for Justice. There are currently 106 pending bills across 28 states that would restrict access to voting, according to the data. That's a sharp increase from nearly a year ago, when there were 35 restrictive bills pending across 15 states.... The restrictions come on the heels of an election in which there was record turnout and Democrat and Republican election officials alike said there was no evidence of widespread wrongdoing or fraud. There were recounts, audits and lawsuits across many states to back up those assurances. Federal and state officials called the election 'the most secure in American history'.... Many of the restrictions have to do with placing new barriers around voting by mail, a process that a record number of Americans used in 2020 (46% of Americans cast a mail-in ballot in 2020, compared with just 19% four years ago)."

Pennsylvania. Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "As a second impeachment trial for Donald J. Trump approaches next month, Republicans in states across the country are lining up behind the former president with unwavering support. Perhaps no state has demonstrated its fealty as tenaciously as Pennsylvania, where Republican officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to keep Trumpism at the center of their message as they bolster the president's false claims of a 'stolen' election. Eight of nine Republicans in Pennsylvania's congressional delegation voted to throw out their state's own electoral votes for President Biden on Jan 6, just hours after a mob had stormed the Capitol.... And one House member from the state, Scott Perry, was instrumental in promoting a plan in which Mr. Trump would fire the acting attorney general in an effort to stay in office. In the weeks since the Nov. 3 election, Republicans in Pennsylvania have made loyalty to the defeated ex-president the sole organizing principle of the party, the latest chapter in a rightward populist march repeated across other states."

Ohio. Dan Sewell of the AP: "Republican U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, a fiery Donald Trump supporter, won't run to succeed Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, who announced this week he isn't going to seek a third term in 2022.... The eighth-term congressman's name surfaced soon after Portman's announcement as a potential strong contender in what's expected to be a crowded GOP field."

The Pandemic, Ctd.

The Washington Post's live updates of Covid-19 developments Friday are here. The New York Times' updates for Friday are here.

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

Carl Zimmer, et al., of the New York Times: "Johnson & Johnson announced on Friday that its one-dose coronavirus vaccine provided strong protection against Covid-19, potentially offering the United States a third powerful tool in a desperate race against a worldwide rise in virus mutations. But the results came with a significant cautionary note: The vaccine's efficacy rate dropped from 72 percent in the United States to 57 percent in South Africa, where a highly contagious variant is driving most cases. Studies suggest that this variant also blunts the effectiveness of Covid vaccines made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Novavax. The variant has spread to at least 31 countries, including the United States, where two cases were documented this week. Johnson & Johnson said that it planned to apply for emergency authorization of the vaccine from the Food and Drug Administration as soon as next week, putting it on track to receive clearance later in February." The AP's story is here.

Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "A coronavirus vaccine made by Maryland biotech company Novavax proved effective at stopping coronavirus infections in global hot spots where concerning variants are dominant, the company announced Thursday. But in one of those trial sites, South Africa, the vaccine's degree of protection was markedly lower against a worrisome mutant first detected there. The data, presented by company news release, provides the first highly anticipated evidence of how well a vaccine performs against variants that have drawn global alarm as they spread. In a United Kingdom trial, where the B.1.1.7 variant has become dominant, the vaccine was 89 percent effective, and about half the infections were with the variant. In a smaller and less definitive South African trial where nearly all the participants were infected with the variant, the vaccine was 49 percent effective, although the company underscored that when looking only at people not infected with HIV, the efficacy was 60 percent." Politico has a story here.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Daria Litvinova & Vladamir Isachenkov of the AP: "A Russian court on Thursday rejected an appeal by opposition leader Alexei Navalny for his release from jail, while authorities detained several of his allies and warned social media companies about promoting more protests after tens of thousands rallied across the country last weekend demanding his freedom. Appearing in court by video link from jail, Navalny denounced the criminal proceedings against him as part of a government campaign to intimidate the opposition."

The Commentariat -- January 28, 2021

"Green Jobs." Lisa Friedman, et al., of the New York Times: "President Biden on Wednesday signed a sweeping series of executive actions -- ranging from pausing new federal oil leases to electrifying the government's vast fleet of vehicles -- while casting the moves as much about job creation as the climate crisis. Mr. Biden said his directives would reserve 30 percent of federal land and water for conservation purposes, make climate policy central to national security decisions and build out a network of electric-car charging stations nationwide. But much of the sales pitch on employment looked intended to counteract longstanding Republican attacks that Mr. Biden's climate policies would inevitably hurt an economy already weakened by the pandemic. Mr. Biden argued instead that technological gains and demands for wind and solar infrastructure would create work that would more than make up for job losses even in parts of the country reliant on the fracking boom. Using the government's purchasing power to buy zero-emissions vehicles, Mr. Biden said, would help speed the transition away from gasoline-powered cars and ultimately lead to 'one million new jobs in the American automobile industry.'" ~~~

~~~ Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Biden will make tackling America's persistent racial and economic disparities a central part of his plan to combat climate change, prioritizing environmental justice for the first time in a generation. As part of an unprecedented push to cut the nation's greenhouse gas emissions and create new jobs as the United States shifts toward cleaner energy, Biden will direct agencies across the federal government to invest in low-income and minority communities that have traditionally borne the brunt of pollution, White House officials said. Biden will sign an executive order establishing a White House interagency council on environmental justice, create an office of health and climate equity at the Health and Human Services Department, and form a separate environmental justice office at the Justice Department. The order also directs the government to spend 40 percent of its sustainability investments on disadvantaged communities." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

David Sanger of the New York Times: "When President Biden swore in a batch of recruits for his new administration in a teleconferenced ceremony late last week..., a far less visible transition was taking place: the quiet dismissal of holdovers from the Trump administration, who have been asked to clean out their offices immediately, whatever the eventual legal consequences. If there has been a single defining feature of the first week of the Biden administration, it has been the blistering pace at which the new president has put his mark on what ... Donald J. Trump dismissed as the hostile 'Deep State' and tried so hard to dismantle.... The Biden team arrived in Washington not only with plans for each department and agency, but the spreadsheets detailing who would carry them out.... The president's real grasp on the levers of power has come several layers down [from Cabinet-level jobs].... The contrast with the Trump administration at a similar point in time is striking.... Many of Mr. Trump's appointees ... arrived with instructions to cut, and it became a point of pride among Trump administration officials to leave jobs open." MB: IOW, Biden is giving us back a functioning federal government. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Josh Gerstein & Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "The Biden administration on Wednesday made its first move to set the nation's immigration courts in a new direction, announcing plans to replace the official who has overseen the system for nearly four years. One week into President Joe Biden's term, the Justice Department said Jean King will soon take over on an acting basis as director of the Executive Office for Immigration Review. King, a former EOIR general counsel who currently serves as the office's chief administrative law judge, will replace James McHenry, a close ally of former Attorney General Jeff Sessions.... The personnel change comes after complaints from immigration advocates who were troubled to see McHenry's name on the agency-wide list the Justice Department released last Thursday of those holding top posts on an acting or continuing basis for the first weeks of the Biden presidency." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ She Really Does Care. Jim Acosta, et al., of CNN: "The Biden administration's planned task force aimed at reuniting children who were separated from their parents at the border under the Trump-era enforcement policies will include input from first lady Jill Biden, according to three sources familiar with the planning. Biden is tasking her East Wing with taking an active role in the reunification project. Her interest in the task force could offer something of a stark contrast with ... Melania Trump. Trump made her first trip to visit a border facility for children and families in Texas in June 2018 in the midst of the zero-tolerance separation controversy, but did so wearing a jacket emblazoned with the words, 'I really don't care. Do U?'"

Susannah Luthi of Politico: "President Joe Biden is taking the first step toward rebuilding Obamacare, ushering in a new era for the health care law after a decade of Republican attacks. The Biden administration on Thursday announced it's throwing open the doors to the law's enrollment site, HealthCare.gov, making it easier for the uninsured to get coverage during the pandemic.... The White House said it will reopen enrollment on HealthCare.gov, which serves most states, for a three-month window starting Feb. 15. The dozen-plus states that run their own enrollment websites may also reopen.... [The administration] is also expected to restore Obamacare marketing funds that the Trump administration had gutted, and it will soon begin the process of reversing the previous administration's changes seen as undermining the health law and Medicaid. The actions are the first in a series of moves Biden is planning to shore up a law he campaigned on expanding. Though ... Donald Trump failed to repeal Obamacare, his administration weakened the law through executive action and advanced policies that would shrink enrollment in its expansion of Medicaid to poor adults. But Biden's more ambitious plans for bolstering the Affordable Care Act will require help from Congress."

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is reviewing some weapons sales to Gulf Arab states approved by the Trump administration, including tens of billions of dollars of advanced fighter jets to the United Arab Emirates and precision munitions to Saudi Arabia. A State Department official speaking on background said on Wednesday that the administration was temporarily pausing some of the arms sales and transfers, calling the move a routine action typical of presidential transitions. But it drew unusual attention because the arms deals with the Gulf Arab nations, approved in the last months of the Trump administration, were the subject of intense political debate even before the review.... Democrats in Congress have strongly opposed the sales out of disgust over the Saudi and Emirati role in Yemen's grueling civil war, which has inflicted vast civilian suffering, but they failed to attract enough Republican support to block the deals in Congress in December. Many Democrats began pressuring President Biden even before his inauguration to halt the sales."

Dan Diamond & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Federal officials repeatedly raided a fund earmarked for biomedical research in the years leading up to the covid-19 pandemic, spending millions of dollars to pay for unrelated salaries, administrative expenses and even the cost of removing office furniture, according to the findings from an investigation into a whistleblower complaint shared with The Washington Post. The investigation, conducted by the Health and Human Services Department's inspector general and overseen by the Office of Special Counsel, centered on hundreds of millions of dollars intended for the development of vaccines, drugs and therapies by the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority or BARDA, an arm of the federal health department. The unidentified whistleblower alleged that officials in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response at HHS, which oversaw the biomedical agency, wrongly dipped into the money set aside by Congress for development of lifesaving medicines, beginning in fiscal year 2010 and continuing through at least fiscal year 2019, spanning both the Obama and Trump administrations. The inspector general substantiated some of the whistleblower's claims, finding that staff referred to the agency as the 'bank of BARDA' and told investigators that research and development funds were regularly tapped for unrelated projects, sometimes at 'exorbitant' rates." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It will be interesting to see what, if anything, Rick Bright -- who led BARDA for a time until Trump had him removed -- had to do with the illegal transfers. Was he a whistleblower, did he try to stop the transactions, or did he facilitate them?

Federal Judges Tie Their Retirements to Biden's Election & Inauguration. Jennifer Bendery of the Huffington Post: "... five federal judges with lifetime appointments who have announced plans to retire or semi-retire since last Wednesday, the day Donald Trump left the White House, according to data provided by the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts. That's after eight judges had already announced their plans to step down since Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. The retirements keep coming. On Tuesday, two more U.S. district judges announced their plans to take senior status, though their names aren't yet listed on the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts' website. And there are likely others in the queue with similar plans.... In total, eight of these retiring judges were appointed by President Bill Clinton, and two were appointed by President Barack Obama; it would make sense that they'd want a Democratic president to fill their vacancies. But five of these judges were appointed by President George W. Bush. ... As of Wednesday, Biden has 46 district court vacancies and three appeals court vacancies to fill...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you think you're jubilant about getting rid of Whozit, think how these judges & their families must feel. Biden's election freed them to do what they want to do. P.S. Take a hint, Stephen Breyer. Bendery even provides a couple of model letters you could copy & send on to President Biden over your signature.

Remembering the Kaiser, Ctd.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs & David Sanger of the New York Times: "Warning that the deadly rampage of the Capitol this month may not be an isolated episode, the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday said publicly for the first time that the United States faced a growing threat from 'violent domestic extremists' emboldened by the attack. The department's terrorism alert did not name specific groups that might be behind any future attacks, but it made clear that their motivation would include anger over 'the presidential transition, as well as other perceived grievances fueled by false narratives,' a clear reference to the accusations made by ... Donald J. Trump and echoed by right-wing groups that the 2020 election was stolen.... The warning contained in a 'National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin' was a notable departure for a Department of Homeland Security accused of being reluctant during the Trump administration to publish intelligence reports or public warnings about the dangers posed by domestic extremists and white supremacist groups for fear of angering Mr. Trump, according to current and former homeland security officials.... Even after the Department of Homeland Security in September 2019 singled out white supremacists as a leading domestic terrorism threat, analysts and intelligence officials said their warnings were watered down, delayed or both. Former officials in the Trump administration have even said that White House officials sought to suppress the phrase 'domestic terrorism.'" A CNN story is here.

The Chickenshits Come Home to Roost. David Siders of Politico: "For a moment, it looked like Donald Trump might be losing his iron grip on the GOP.... Not anymore. Local and state Republican parties are censuring Republicans for disloyalty in states across the country. The lawmakers who broke with him are weathering a storm of criticism from Trump-adoring constituents at home, with punitive primary challenges already taking shape. In Washington, party leaders who once suggested Trump bore some responsibility for the Jan. 6 violence are backtracking. On Tuesday, 45 Republican senators -- all but five members of the GOP conference -- voted that putting a former president on trial for impeachment is unconstitutional, all but guaranteeing the Senate won't convict him. If the Republican Party seemed to be at a crossroad about its post-Trump future, it now appears to have concluded in which direction to travel." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ "Republicans Come Crawling Back to Trump." Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "Top Republican lawmakers are increasingly signaling that they are ready to let Trump off the hook yet another time, and the former president has been working the phones from his new home base in Florida in an effort to make sure GOP senators vote to acquit him in an upcoming impeachment trial.... After the Capitol riot, [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.)] had what was described as a 'tense' and 'aggressive' phone conversation with the then-president, pushing back on some of Trump's ludicrous conspiracy theories and telling him, 'Stop it. It's over. The election is over.' But that was in the distant past, two whole weeks ago. Now, McCarthy is making nice with the former president -- and his family, too.... Multiple news outlets reported on Wednesday that former President Trump and McCarthy are scheduled to meet in person in Florida on Thursday." Nikki Haley, who was "deeply disappointed" with Trump's "badly wrong .. words," is now arguing it's time to "give the man a break." MB: Right. He only aided, abetted & encouraged the murders of five people, and that was, like, weeks ago. ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Three times in recent weeks, as Republicans grappled with a deadly attack on the Capitol and their new minority status in Washington, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky carefully nudged open the door for his party to kick Donald J. Trump to the curb, only to find it slammed shut.So his decision on Tuesday to join all but five Republican senators in voting to toss out the House's impeachment case against Mr. Trump as unconstitutional seemed to be less a reversal than a recognition that the critical mass of his party was not ready to join him in cutting loose the former president.... By Wednesday, the Republican Party stated an official position against holding Mr. Trump's impeachment trial.... Far from elucidating his position, Mr. McConnell has adopted a sphinx-like silence in public." MB: Both McConnell's willingness to distance himself from Trump & his retreat on the matter are political calculations; they have nothing to do with the morality or the treachery of inciting an insurrection.

Matthew Choi of Politico: "Rep. Jimmy Gomez [D-Calif.] ... announced on Wednesday that he planned to introduce a resolution to oust Rep. [Marjorie Taylor Greene,] the conspiracy-theory-peddling Republican from Georgia, after recent news reports revealed that Greene had previously called for violence against Democrats on social media. A two-thirds majority is required to expel a member from the House, meaning Gomez's resolution is almost certain to fail.... Still, the measure is one of the starkest rebukes yet against the congresswoman, who has antagonized her peers by flouting coronavirus guidelines and has garnered national attention for engaging in the QAnon conspiracy theory. She has also denied the Parkland school shooting, and was filmed spreading racist, Islamophobic and anti-Semitic comments, prompting condemnation from the leadership of her own party. CNN on Tuesday unveiled a series of Greene's past social media posts from as recently as 2019 that called for executing Democrats and federal law enforcement officers. In one comment, she said that 'a bullet to the head would be quicker' to get rid of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi." ~~~

     ~~~ A photo accompanying the story, which appears to have been taken January 26, pictures Greene speaking on the House floor to another member with about two feet between them. She is wearing a mask (required in the House) pulled down to her chin, with her nose AND mouth exposed. Emblazoned on the mask: "TRUMP WON." ~~~

     ~~~ Allan Smith of NBC News: "Rep. Jim McGovern, R-Mass., tweeted: 'And they wonder why we don't want members carrying guns onto the House Floor.'... 'If you don't understand that calling for the murder of political rivals is a threat to democracy, you shouldn't be allowed to represent one,' [Rep. Jake] Auchincloss [D-Mass.] tweeted.... In[ a] Facebook post, Greene promoted a conspiracy theory about [Hillary] Clinton, a top aide, and child murder and mutilation.... Clinton tweeted: 'This woman should be on a watch list. Not in Congress.'... Greene was recently appointed to the House Education and Labor Committee." MB: Yeah, that's a perfect spot for someone who thinks the Parkland massacre didn't happen. Smith's story get around crediting someone for assigning Greene to the Education Committee, but it's fair to assume Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) approved it even if it wasn't his bright idea. ~~~

     ~~~ Lachlan Markay of Axios: "Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is setting up a new test for House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy.... Media Matters for America ... previously noted her endorsements of claims that 9/11 was perpetrated by the American government, and that the Parkland school shooting was staged.... Mark Bednar, a spokesperson for McCarthy, told Axios he is aware of the comments and will discuss them with Greene. 'These comments are deeply disturbing and Leader McCarthy plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman about them,' Bednar said in an emailed statement." ~~~

~~~ WRCB-TV 3 (Chattanooga): "A Whitfield County Sheriff's Deputy escorted a Channel 3 crew out of a public town hall meeting Wednesday night and threatened them with arrest after attempting to ask Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a question.... Citizens were asked to register for the event and submit questions for Greene ahead of time. Greene's office invited the media to the event, including Channel 3's crew which had credentials to attend. Once on property, members of the media were told they would not be permitted to speak to anyone attending or ask any questions.... Channel 3's reporter attempted to ask a question of Greene about [her social media] posts and the resolution to expel her from the House, but Greene said she was there to talk to her constituents. That's when a member of Greene's staff approached Channel 3's reporter and told her to leave the event. Greene's staff waived [waved] over a deputy who escorted Channel 3's reporter and photographer out of the building." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Video & a still photo show that there were loads of empty chairs in the hall, but the (white) townfolk seated themselves close together. Though many appeared to be elderly, most were not wearing masks. Neither was Greene. Because freeedumb, I guess. Too bad freedom of the press is not among the freedoms Greene supports.

Liar, Liar. Eddie Burkhalter of the Alabama Political Reporter: "Alabama Republican Senator Tommy Tuberville through a spokeswoman Tuesday denied meeting with the then-director of the Republican Attorneys General Association and others inside Trump's private residence at the Trump International Hotel on Jan. 5 -- on the eve of the deadly U.S. Capitol attack. But a photo posted to social media appears to show Tuberville in the hotel's lobby that day, and a company CEO in a separate post describes meeting with Tuberville and others at the hotel that day and discussing 'illegal votes.'" In addition to a post by Charles W. Herbster, who was then the national chairman of the Agriculture and Rural Advisory Committee, & who first confirmed the meeting, there was this January 5 late-evening Facebook post from Daniel Beck, CEO of an Idaho technology company: "The Trump hotel is Amazing!! Fifteen of us spent the evening with Donald Trump Jr., Kimberly Guilfoyle, Tommy Tuberville, Michael J. Lindell, Peter Navarro, and Rudy Giuliani. We talked about the elections, illegal votes, court cases, the republics' status, what to expect on the hill tomorrow. TRUMP WILL RETAIN THE PRESIDENCY!!!"

Caitlin Emma & Sarah Ferris of Politico: "A second police officer who responded to the violent insurrection that rocked the Capitol Building on Jan. 6 has died by suicide, according to testimony obtained by Politico. Acting Metropolitan Police Chief Robert Contee told House appropriators during a closed-door session on Tuesday that Jeffrey Smith, a D.C. Police officer, and Capitol Police Officer Howard Liebengood both 'took their own lives in the aftermath of that battle.'"

Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "Three self-styled militia members charged in the Jan. 6 breach of the U.S. Capitol began soliciting recruits for potential violence within days of the 2020 presidential election, later training in Ohio and North Carolina and organizing travel to Washington with a busload of comrades and a truck of weapons, U.S. authorities alleged Wednesday. A four-count indictment returned in D.C. laid out fresh details and allegations against Jessica Marie Watkins, 38, and Donovan Ray Crowl, 50 -- both of Woodstock, Ohio -- and Thomas E. Caldwell, 66, of Berryville, Va. The three, all U.S. military veterans, are accused of conspiring to obstruct Congress and other counts, punishable by up to 20 years in prison." The plotting began as early as November 9, 2020. two days after the AP & other media organizations called the presidential election for Joe Biden. NPR's story, by Dustin Jones, is here.: "All three have ties to the Oath Keepers...."

Matt Zapotosky & Shayna Jacobs of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors alleged in charges made public Wednesday that a California man who wrongly believed Donald Trump had won the election built pipe bombs and planned to go to 'war' against Democrats and others to keep him in power. Ian Benjamin Rogers had been taken into custody earlier this month on state charges after Napa County authorities and the FBI searched his home and business and found 49& guns and five pipe bombs, according to an FBI affidavit in the case.... Rogers already was being held on $5 million bail on state charges when prosecutors filed the federal case. He was charged federally with unlawful possession of unregistered destructive devices." ~~~

     ~~~ Lexi Lonas of the Hill: "Federal prosecutors in California said on Wednesday that a man found with pipe bombs and ammunition may have been targeting Gov. Gavin Newsom and the offices of Facebook and Twitter in the wake of the social media platforms banning the accounts of former President Trump. Prosecutors said Ian Benjamin Rogers was charged on Tuesday after he was found with five pipe bombs and other guns after authorities searched his business on Jan. 15.... Rogers claimed the pipe bombs were only for entertainment purposes and were not intended to be used against anyone." MB: Yes, when I'm not fashioning oragami birds & flowers, I make pipe bombs to wile away my free time.

Militiaman Agrees to Sing. Pilar Melendez of the Daily Beast: "One of the Michigan militiamen accused of conspiring to overthrow the state government, kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, and put her on trial for 'treason' before Election Day has pleaded guilty in the foiled plot. Ty Garbin, 25, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to the kidnapping conspiracy, marking the first conviction in the bizarre case that made national headlines in October. Fourteen men were accused of plotting to kidnap Whitmer and discussing plans to attack the state Capitol building and a police facility, and possibly take out Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam, too. Prosecutors allege the group, which included several militia group members, were frustrated over strict COVID-19 lockdown orders in Democrat-run states. According to the plea agreement, Garbin has agreed to 'fully cooperate' with the federal authorities, the U.S. Attorney's Office, Michigan State Police, and other law enforcement agencies." (Also linked yesterday.)

You Just Can't Trust Nobody. Aram Roston of Reuters: "Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys extremist group, has a past as an informer for federal and local law enforcement, repeatedly working undercover for investigators after he was arrested in 2012, according to a former prosecutor and a transcript of a 2014 federal court proceeding obtained by Reuters. In the Miami hearing, a federal prosecutor, a Federal Bureau of Investigation agent and Tarrio's own lawyer described his undercover work and said he had helped authorities prosecute more than a dozen people in various cases involving drugs, gambling and human smuggling. Tarrio, in an interview with Reuters Tuesday, denied working undercover or cooperating in cases against others. 'I don't know any of this,' he said, when asked about the transcript. 'I don't recall any of this.' Law-enforcement officials and the court transcript contradict Tarrios denial." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

~~~ Mack Lamoureux, et al., of Vice: "After Reuters broke the news that Enrique Tarrio, 36, the current chairman of the Proud Boys, was a 'prolific' police informant, online supporters and members of the right-wing extremist group were defiant, suspicious, and in disbelief at the revelation their leader was reportedly a rat. On Telegram, a popular messaging app on the far right, reactions to the story came hard, fast, and varied: some believed this was the classic case of a 'fake news' smear campaign, while others said his treachery was all an attempt to counter the 'Deep State' and antifascist activists.... 'They're trying to take down the Proud Boys -- our beacon of light -- we won't let that happen so no worries,' wrote [a] Proud Boys fan.... On Wednesday afternoon, Tarrio broke his hours of silence to finally address his supporters in a screed published on his public-facing Telegram channel in which he accused Reuters of sensationalizing his cooperation with law enforcement as part of a larger conspiracy to destabilize the Proud Boys."

Nicole Hong of the New York Times: "A man who was known as a far-right Twitter troll was arrested on Wednesday and charged with spreading disinformation online that tricked Democratic voters in 2016 into trying to cast their ballots by phone instead of going to the polls. Federal prosecutors accused Douglass Mackey, 31, of coordinating with co-conspirators to spread memes on Twitter falsely claiming that Hillary Clinton's supporters could vote by sending a text message to a specific phone number. The co-conspirators were not named in the complaint, but one of them was Anthime Gionet, a far-right media personality known as 'Baked Alaska,' who was arrested after participating in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.... As a result of the misinformation campaign, prosecutors said, at least 4,900 unique phone numbers texted the number in a futile effort to cast votes for Mrs. Clinton. Mr. Mackey was arrested on Wednesday morning in West Palm Beach, Fla., in what appeared to be the first criminal case in the country involving voter suppression through the spread of disinformation on Twitter.... Some of their memes appeared to target Black and Latino voters." ~~~

     ~~~ The BuzzFeed News story, by Tasneed Nashrulla & Ryan Mac, is here. BuzzFeed describe Mackey as "a white nationalist troll who ran a racist and highly influential pro-Trump account on Twitter using the name 'Ricky Vaughn.'... In 2016, Mackey amassed a huge Twitter following across multiple troll accounts using anti-Semitic memes and racist messages. At the time, MIT Media Lab listed the anonymous personality as one of the top 150 influencers of the 2016 presidential election, placing him ahead of NBC News, Stephen Colbert, and Newt Gingrich."

Georgia. New Poll Tax + Hassle. Jerry Lambe of Law & Crime: "Freshman State Sen. Jason Anavitarte on Wednesday introduced Senate Bill 29 which would make it mandatory for voters to make physical copies of their photo IDs and then mail them to election officials not once, but twice, before they are permitted to cast an absentee ballot, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. The state's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who refused to endorse former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election, gave the measure his full backing. During Kemp's former tenure as a Georgia's secretary of state, he was responsible for a massive voter roll purge before his race against then-gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D).... 'By requiring access to a printer, which many Georgians obviously do not have, Republicans are attempting to purposely take away the ability of many Georgians to vote by mail simply because they believe too many Democrats and too many people of color voted by mail,' wrote Fair Fight, the voter-rights organization Abrams founded. 'Georgians will see through these cynical power grabs, but it's going to take a big fight on the part of everyone who cares about the right to vote in Georgia; Republicans are more desperate than ever to hold onto their waning power.'"

The Pandemic, Ctd.

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

House to Investigate a Totally Trumpy Scam. Reed Albergotti & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "A House subcommittee is investigating a government deal to buy $70 million worth of ventilators for the coronavirus pandemic response that a Washington Post investigation found were inadequate for treating most covid-19 patients. Last spring..., the Department of Health and Human Services and the Defense Logistics Agency purchased 11,200 AutoMedx SAVe II+ ventilators from Combat Medical Systems.... But the ventilators were inadequate for treating covid-19 patients and remain in warehouses, according to Stephanie Bialek, a spokeswoman for the Strategic National Stockpile. 'AutoMedx appears to be the beneficiary of a potentially tainted procurement process,' Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.), the chairman of the House subcommittee on economic and consumer policy.... The Post previously reported that Adrian Urias, AutoMedx's co-founder and current shareholder, advised the Trump administration's covid-19 task force on ventilator purchases. In March, when the government posted the minimum specifications that ventilator manufacturers had to meet..., those specifications were nearly identical to a spec sheet listed on AutoMedx's website at the time." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: This isn't one of those sexy scandals, & by federal government standards, a fairly small amount of change got dropped. So (1) the government tells a vendor to tell the government what it needs; (2) the vendor tells the government it needs the vendor's own product; (3) the government buys the vendors's product; and (4) the vendor's product doesn't work. And Americans died because of it. This is a very Trumpy scam.

Thanks to RAS for this link: ~~~

If people talked about coats the way they talk about vaccines. By @jpscattini #COVID19 #CovidVaccine pic.twitter.com/HnNkPLcwPO

— Walter Masterson (@waltermasterson) January 27, 2021

Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post: "Chiune 'Sempo' Sugihara..., a Japanese diplomat who ... had been sent to the Lithuanian city of Kaunas to monitor German and Soviet troop movements under the guise of handling consular affairs," saved as many as 6,000 Jews in 1940 by giving them transit visas thru the Soviet Union to Japan.

News Ledes

CNBC: "After a year in which a pandemic and politics posed challenges unlike the U.S. has seen in generations, the economy closed in fairly good shape. Gross domestic product increased at a 4.0% pace in the fourth quarter, slightly below the 4.3% expectation from economists surveyed by Dow Jones. The annualized pace closed out a 2020 that saw GDP overall decline 3.5% for the full year and by 2.5% from the fourth quarter of 2019. The economy fell into recession in February, a month before the World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic. The economy contacted a post-Depression record 31.4% in the second quarter then rebounded to a 33.4% gain in the following three months."

CNBC: "The number of Americans who filed for unemployment benefits for the first time rose less than expected last week as the Covid-19 vaccine rollout continued under the new Biden administration. Jobless claims totaled 847,000 for the week ended Jan. 23, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Economists polled by Dow Jones had expected first-time claims to total 875,000. The previous week's level (for the week ended Jan. 16) was revised up by 14,000 from 900,000 to 914,000."

AP: "Cicely Tyson, the pioneering Black actor who gained an Oscar nomination for her role as the sharecropper's wife in 'Sounder,' a Tony Award in 2013 at age 88 and touched TV viewers' hearts in 'The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,' died Thursday at age 96." ~~~

     ~~~ Update: Tyson's New York Times obituary is here.