The Commentariat -- January 18, 2021

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

A New York Times video op-ed:

Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden on Monday plans to nominate five women to serve in the No. 2 spots at key Cabinet agencies, moving to fill out vital day-to-day operations roles in the government he will take over on Wednesday. The moves, which will install deputies with hands-on experience in critical departments, reflect Biden's push to elevate women and his desire to quickly tackle the nation's crises and repair agencies suffering from morale and other problems. The nominees, who must be confirmed by the Senate, include Jewel H. Bronaugh at Agriculture, Polly Trottenberg at Transportation, Andrea Palm at Health and Human Services, Elizabeth Klein at Interior and Cindy Marten at Education."

The Washington Post's live inauguration updates are topped with a quintessential headline: "Biden to participate in national day of service as Trump prepares pardons." MB: Another way to put it: Biden participates in presidential tradition as Trump engages in corrupt practices." Sure hope it warms up enough this afternoon for Trump to get in a round of golf with some white megadonors.

Elizabeth Dwoskin & Aaron Gregg of the Washington Post: "Five prominent anti-vaccine organizations that have been known to spread misleading information about the coronavirus received more than $850,000 in loans from the federal Paycheck Protection Program, raising questions about why the government is giving money to groups actively opposing its agenda and seeking to undermine public health during a critical period.... Several of the Facebook pages of these organizations have been penalized by the social network, including being prohibited from buying advertising, for pushing misinformation about covid-19.... While it's unclear whether the anti-vaccine groups broke any rules, their receipt of public assistance is in many ways a consequence of the scattershot way in which the Paycheck Protection Program delivered hundreds of billions of dollars into the economy with few guardrails or preconditions." Thanks to Forrest M. for the link. MB: BTW, these PPP "loans" are not really loans at all; if certain fairly easy conditions are met, the loans are forgiven.

Disappointing News. Jonathan Karl & Marc Nathanson of ABC News: Rudy "Giuliani, who has been leading the president's efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, told ABC News' ... Jonathan Karl late Sunday that [he] will not be part of Trump's legal team for the upcoming Senate impeachment trial due to his involvement in the Jan. 6 Washington, D.C., rally that led to the attack on the U.S. Capitol building." MB: So no shouting, screaming, mugging, spitting, drooling, dripping & farting on the Senate floor.

Simon Tindsall of the Guardian: "While all eyes are on Donald Trump and his Capitol Hill mob, a would-be heir and successor is running riot all by himself, storming citadels, wagging the flag and breaking china.... Mike Pompeo may not strike many people as presidential material. But Trump lowered the bar.... In a display of extraordinary chutzpah, Pompeo has spent the time since Trump lost the election setting booby traps and laying diplomatic minefields in global conflict zones. Partly he aims to secure his own and Trump's 'legacy'. Partly it's to screw Biden. But mostly it's about winning the White House.... That potentially makes the former Kansas Tea party congressman and CIA chief more dangerous to the Biden presidency, and the progressive cause, than a disgraced Trump may ever be." --s ~~~

~~~ "The Worst Secretary of State in American History." Lara Jakes of the New York Times: "Spurned by many foreign allies, ridiculed by adversaries, disliked by a significant number of his own diplomats and trying to preserve his political future, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ... dismissed the power of persuasion, instead trying to strong-arm European leaders, taunting rulers in China and Iran, and working to keep dictators off-balance.... But by rejecting the traditional role of predictable diplomacy and mirroring President Trump's own style, Mr. Pompeo's strategy backfired, according to foreign policy analysts and a large cohort in the State Department. As he leaves office, Mr. Pompeo, 57, has been tagged by a number of officials and analysts with the dubious distinction of the worst secretary of state in American history. That will come back to haunt him as he considers running for president in 2024 or seeking another elected office, as he is widely believed to be doing. Iran is now closer to building a nuclear bomb and that North Korea has more nuclear weapons than it did at the beginning of the Trump administration. Relations with key European leaders, the United Nations and other diplomatic and economic alliances are in worse shape. The United States has less standing to promote democracy and human rights in the world than it did four years ago, according to many career diplomats. And Mr. Pompeo's role in enabling the president's shadow foreign policy in Ukraine -- undermining years of United States support to ward off Russian military aggression -- raised concerns among lawmakers...." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: But kudos for making the front page of the paper of record, Mike.

Martyn McLaughlin of The Scotsman: "The Rockshiel trust, listed by Steven Mnuchin, the US Treasury secretary, among his global portfolio of property holdings, has been trying for two years to build a cluster of upmarket townhouses and apartments in a sought-after conservation area of Edinburgh.... Now, it has emerged that the trust has withdrawn its contentious blueprints for the development in Murrayfield's Kinellan Road, casting doubt on its future plans.... The US Treasury has said that Mr Mnuchin has no financial interest in the Rockshiel trust, and that the only reason it is listed on his financial disclosure forms is because of his wife, the Scottish actor, Louise Linton." --s

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Washington Post Editors: Martin Luther King, Jr. "spoke in his 'I Have a Dream' speech of the 'sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent.' This would not pass, he explained, 'until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality.' He said this on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial -- not far from where armed insurrectionists this month tried to overturn an election decided, in part, by Black voters in Southern states who surmounted all manner of racist restrictions. He said it not far from the White House, where on the first day of June the president of the United States ordered the tear-gassing of peaceful [racial justice] protesters to clear his way for a photo op."

Ann Hornaday, the Washington Post's film critic, reviews "MLK/FBI": "In the exquisitely constructed, deeply unnerving 'MLK/FBI,' filmmaker Sam Pollard takes viewers behind the looking glass into the shadowy world of governmental surveillance during the mid-century civil rights movement, a program of spying, infiltration and harassment that reached its perverse apotheosis with FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover's obsession with Martin Luther King, Jr.... In this meticulously constructed narrative, which centers on FBI files that are scheduled to be declassified in 2027, Pollard reminds viewers that, at the time of his death, King was anything but universally admired. By the time he came out against the Vietnam War and began linking race and class via the Poor People's Campaign, Hoover's years-long campaign to peg King as a Communist had taken hold. Archival footage of anti-King demonstrators spouting lies they've uncritically accepted about the Baptist minister bear an uncanny resemblance to scenes of Americans who today believe that Democrats and their leaders worship Satan, traffic children and stole the 2020 election." A Guardian/Observer review is here. You can stream the film on demand on various platforms including Amazon & Google Play for about $7.

Robert Daniels of the New York Times has more suggestions for "movies to stream for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day."

Emily Davies, et al., of the Washington Post outline how Joe Biden's presidential inauguration is supposed to go, though some details are apparently not decided. The AP's story is here.

Robert Samuels of the Washington Post profiles economist Donald Harris, Kamala's father.

Biden Keeps Nominating People Who Will Do Their Jobs. Matthew Goldstein, et al., of the New York Times: "The Biden administration is tapping two financial regulators from the Obama administration to oversee key departments that had loosened their grip of the industry under President Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the plans. Gary Gensler, who led the Commodity Futures Trading Commission during the Obama administration from 2009 to 2014, will be President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.'s nominee to lead the Securities and Exchange Commission, these people said. Also, Rohit Chopra, the former assistant director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, has been chosen to run that agency." The Hill has a story here.

Lauren Gardner & Ben Lefebvre of Politico: "President-elect Joe Biden will rescind the cross-border permit for TC Energy's Keystone XL pipeline on his first day in office, three sources confirm.... The move is billed as one of Biden's Day One climate change actions, according to a presentation circulating among Washington trade groups and lobbyists.... The decision was not included in incoming chief of staff Ron Klain's Saturday memo outlining Biden's planned executive actions during the first days of his presidency. Two lobbyists confirmed that Biden plans to yank the project's permit on Inauguration Day, a development first reported by CBC News [Canadian Broadcasting]. It's the latest development in a decade-long fight over the controversial pipeline and solidifies a campaign promise the Canadian government had hoped was negotiable."

Lolita Baldor of the AP: "U.S. defense officials say they are worried about an insider attack or other threat from service members involved in securing President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration, prompting the FBI to vet all of the 25,000 National Guard troops coming into Washington for the event. The massive undertaking reflects the extraordinary security concerns that have gripped Washington following the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters. And it underscores fears that some of the very people assigned to protect the city over the next several days could present a threat to the incoming president and other VIPs in attendance. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told The Associated Press on Sunday that officials are conscious of the potential threat, and he warned commanders to be on the lookout for any problems within their ranks as the inauguration approaches. So far, however, he and other leaders say they have seen no evidence of any threats, and officials said the vetting hadn't flagged any issues that they were aware of."

Samantha Schmidt, et al., of the Washington Post: "The troops were in formation. The residents were told to stay home. The heart of Washington was a fortress of fences, concrete barriers and security checkpoints. But on Sunday, the planned and promoted 'armed march' on the nation's capital never materialized. There were no gathered crowds, large or small, and authorities reported just one arrest of an armed man carrying a handgun and ammunition near barricades surrounding the Capitol building just after midnight. The quiet Sunday brought little relief to a city on edge from an attack on the Capitol. Each day leading up to the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden comes with fear of additional violence and ever more security. 'It's as if we are all being held hostage to people who want to bring a lot of chaos to America,' said Charlyce Wilson, a 62-year-old Washingtonian who has been to nearly every inauguration since she was 11.... 'This is the country that the whole world is looking at,' said [Dennis] Abigoe, an immigrant from Ghana. 'To see the whole place messed up like that, it's a disgrace.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: The day of the battles of Lexington & Concord, my ancestor Benjamin Wellington is credited as the first man captured in the Revolutionary War. British troops detained him & took his gun, but for want of a proper jail, they released him before the battle. He secured another firearm & took a differentroute to join the battle at Lexington. I'd say Ben had a lot more guts than Trump's Army of Idiots. (In fairness, Ben was as good a prevaricator as Trump's Idiots: he told his captors his reason for carrying a gun was to "shoot rabbits," he promised them he would return home.) ~~~

~~~ Laura Meckler of the Washington Post: "A 22-year-old Virginia man whose Facebook page features a photo from the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol was arrested near the Capitol complex Sunday, and police said he was carrying three high-capacity magazines, 37 rounds of unregistered ammunition and a Glock 22 firearm.... Also this weekend, U.S. Capitol Police arrested a woman accused of impersonating a police officer, stopping her at a security checkpoint in place for Wednesday's inauguration." The Hill's story is here. ~~~

~~~ Not with a Bang but a Whimper. Thomas Fuller of the New York Times: "And this is how the last weekend of the Trump presidency wound down, with state capitols across the nation ringed by barricades, military vehicles guarding closed-off streets and Washington, D.C., all but shut down. In the end, it was for a handful of protesters, most from the right, a few from the left, many looking more like ragtag stragglers than the furious mob of Trump supporters that ransacked the U.S. Capitol more than a week ago.... In Washington, 15,000 troops, more than the nation has stationed in Iraq and Afghanistan, established a Green Zone, adding to the impression of an occupied city. The National Guard said the troops came from all 50 states and three territories, a force that could grow to 25,000 by Wednesday.... Protesters in some states could be counted on one hand.... In Lansing, Mich., National Guard soldiers watched as a dozen members of the far-right Boogaloo Bois group showed up with military-style weapons.... In Concord, N.H., five masked men dressed in tactical gear and carrying assault rifles gathered on the sidewalk in front of the statehouse lawn to express concerns about 'government overreach.'" An AP story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Although it's true Trump raised my taxes considerably & he irritates me every single day as I must read & record his latest stupid, corrupt stunt, yesterday was the first day he otherwise interrupted my life. I had planned to go thru downtown Concord --- the site of the state capitol -- on the way to my pharmacy, but I preemptively decided to skip the hassle by putting off my errand till Tuesday.

Julie Zauzmer & Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: As Trump & his followers conspire to shut down the national capital, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser takes center-stage: "When it became clear that the U.S. Secret Service would attempt to shut down a large swath of the city due to the seriousness of the threat of right-wing violence on Inauguration Day, it was Bowser -- not Trump or Biden -- who made the announcement. It was Bowser who told Americans in stark terms not to travel to town for inaugural events. People across the 50 states heard her words and canceled their plane tickets."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump is preparing to pardon or commute the sentences of more than 100 people in his final hours in office, decisions that are expected to be announced Monday or Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the discussions.... Trump met Sunday with ... Jared Kushner..., Ivanka Trump and other aides for a significant amount of the day to review a long list of pardon requests.... The president was personally engaged with the details of specific cases, one person said. CNN's story is here. ~~~

~~~ John Avlon of CNN has written an interesting commentary on presidential pardons & raises the question (MB: for me) of why the House didn't "suspend" Trump when it impeached him this time, thus depriving -- or attempting to deprive -- him of his pardon power.

Stephen Collinson of CNN: "A battered nation haunted by sickness, death and division is heading into an epic week in which constitutional principles will triumph over lies and insurrection with the transfer of power from one president to the next. President-elect Joe Biden's shouldering of the presidency on Wednesday will end twice-impeached Donald Trump's four-year assault on truth and tranquility and an administration awash in corruption that tested US democracy to the limit. His new team will face the gravest national challenges of any new White House in 90 years, with the pandemic running riot, nearly 400,000 citizens dead, an economy in ruins and a vaccine rollout faltering. The week begins amid unmistakable signs of a new presidency getting up to speed while an old administration dissolves in disgrace and disarray...."

Matt Flegenheimer & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... in the final frames of his presidency, Mr. Trump is confronting an unfamiliar fate. He is being held to account as never before for things he has said, finding his typical defenses -- denial, obfuscation, powerful friends, claiming it was all a big joke -- insufficient in explaining away a violent mob acting in his name.... Those who have known and watched Mr. Trump across the years cannot shake the irony of a president felled by the very formula that powered his rise: inflammatory speech and a self-regard that has congealed at times into functional self-delusion.... As president, Mr. Trump benefited daily from an army of defenders, in Congress and across the conservative media, who dedicated themselves to interpreting his often-inexplicable words as charitably as possible."

Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "... Donald Trump will leave office with the lowest approval rating of his presidency, according to a new CNN Poll conducted by SSRS, with more Americans than ever in support of removing him from office.... Overall, 34% of Americans approve of the way Trump is handling the presidency, down from 42% in a pre-election poll and one point below his previous low point in CNN's polling. Among his own partisans, Trump's approval rating has dropped 14 points since October but remains largely positive with 80% approving. It has held steady in the low single digits among Democrats (3% pre-election, 2% now).... A majority, 54%, say Trump ought to be removed from office before January 20 because of his role in the events of January 6.... Nearly all Democrats (93%) favor removing Trump from office before January 20, while just 10% of Republicans feel the same."

I Really Don't Care. Do You? Kate Bennett & Jennifer Agiesta of CNN: "Melania Trump will be exiting the White House with the lowest favorability rating of her tenure as first lady, according to a new CNN poll. At 47%, more people have an unfavorable view of the first lady now than at any point since CNN first asked about views of her in February 2016.... According to a CNN/ORC poll in January 2017, Michelle Obama departed the White House with a 69% favorable rating, which was the same number as when she entered, eight years prior. Laura Bush's parting ranking was also largely positive, despite her husband's unpopularity at the time. In 2009, a CNN/ORC poll put Bush at a 67% favorable rating...."

The violence that Americans witnessed -- and that might recur in the coming days -- is not a protest gone awry or the work of 'a few bad apples.' It is the blossoming of a rotten seed that took root in the Republican Party some time ago and has been nourished by treachery, poor political judgment, and cowardice.... Until last week, many party leaders and consultants thought they could preach the Constitution while winking at QAnon. They can't. The GOP must reject conspiracy theories or be consumed by them. Now is the time to decide what this party is about. -- Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), in the Atlantic

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "As [Joe] Biden prepares to be sworn into office surrounded by more than 20,000 National Guard troops protecting the inauguration from one of the gravest domestic terrorism threats in U.S. history, Democrats and other Trump critics are pushing Republicans to renounce the party's embrace of the falsehood that inspired the Capitol attack and is motivating many of the Trump supporters vowing to take up arms again.... [BUT] Even as much of corporate America threatens to withhold donations from lawmakers who objected to the election results, and social media companies cancel accounts -- including Trump's -- spreading the false conspiracy theories, the bulk of elected Republicans continue to follow Trump's lead in refusing to acknowledge that Biden's win was legitimate and fair.... In their comments about the election, congressional Republicans have hedged, equivocated and accused Democrats of being divisive -- even as they continue to promote a falsehood linked to ongoing violence..., [and even though] The allegation of widespread election fraud has been debunked over and over again."

Lindsey Graham Blames Nancy Pelosi for Capitol Siege. Hayley Miller of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Sunday expressed outrage over the deadly Capitol riot, pointing a finger at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for not doing more to secure the building instead of at ... Donald Trump, whose rhetoric inspired the violence. During an appearance on Fox News' 'Sunday Morning Futures,' Graham called on his fellow Republicans to unite against Trump's impeachment despite the insurrectionist attack on the Capitol, which left at least five people dead. 'I understand what happened on January the 6th was one of the low points in my time in office,' Graham told host Maria Bartiromo, one of Trump's most vocal defenders on cable news. 'It was horrendous to see people take over the Capitol, the House and the Senate, beat officers, defile the seat of government,' he continued. 'How in the hell did that happen? Where was Nancy Pelosi? It's her job to provide Capitol security. We'll get to the bottom of that.'"

Today is the day American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass! Our ancestors sacrificed their blood, their sweat, their tears, their fortunes and sometimes their lives.... Are you willing to do the same?... The question is really simple. Are you as an American citizen going to surrender in the face of unparalleled, massive voter fraud and election theft? Or are you going to do what your ancestors did and fight for your country, your republic? -- Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), January 6 speech encouraging violent revolution against the federal government

As one of America's most effective conservative leaders, I defend my honor and reputation against scurrilous, George Orwellian, 1984, Socialist Democrats Politics of Personal Destruction.... This entire smear campaign is about intimidating, censoring and suppressing the ability of American citizens to fight at the ballot box the efforts of Socialist Democrats to seize control of the United States of America. -- Mo Brooks, in a statement issued January 12

The New Yorker on Sunday published this footage, recorded by reporter Luke Mogelson, of the siege of the Capitol January 6:

Peter Lewis of the Ashville [N.C.] Watchdog: "In the middle of the siege of the Capitol on Jan. 6, while a mob of insurrectionists still roamed the halls and ransacked offices, leaving five dead and dozens injured, Madison Cawthorn called a friendly conservative radio host and blamed the violence on left-wing agitators sent by 'the Democratic machine' to make President Trump look bad.... Cawthorn confirmed to the radio host, Charlie Kirk, that he carried loaded weapons into the House that day. 'Me being in a wheelchair, I am able to carry multiple weapons at one time,' he said." ~~~

~~~ From the Lardner-Smith AP story, also linked below: "The AP reviewed social media posts, voter registrations, court files and other public records for more than 120 people either facing criminal charges related to the Jan. 6 unrest or who, going maskless during the pandemic, were later identified through photographs and videos taken during the melee. The review found the crowd was overwhelmingly made up of longtime Trump supporters, including Republican Party officials, GOP political donors, far-right militants, white supremacists, off-duty police, members of the military and adherents of the QAnon myth.... Even after police cleared the rioters, dead bodies, and injured police officers from the Capitol, and in defiance of appeals for unity, Cawthorn once again voted to contest the legitimacy of the Biden-Harris electoral victory, in an effort to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power." Emphasis added.

Devlin Barrett & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A heavy-metal guitarist, the alleged leader of a Colorado paramilitary training group and two ex-military militia members from Ohio have been charged with allegedly taking part in the riot at the Capitol last week [MB: ???], as the FBI ratchets up its investigation into the role extremist groups played in storming the building.... The Oath Keepers, the Three Percenters, and the Proud Boys, a male-chauvinist group with ties to white nationalism, have drawn particular attention from FBI agents investigating the attack on Congress, as they work to determine whether those groups organized or directed the violence to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden's election victory."

Andrew Goudsward of the Asbury Park [N.J.] Press: "A Colts Neck[, N.J.,] man who is a military contractor and an 'avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer' was part of the pro-Trump mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol building earlier this month, according to federal authorities. Timothy Louis Hale-Cusanelli, a U.S. Army Reservist who works as a contractor at Naval Weapons Station Earle, was charged Friday with five federal counts in connection with his role in the riot that disrupted a Congressional vote to affirm President-elect Joe Biden's election victory.... Investigators noted that because of Hale-Cusanelli's position as a military contractor he has a 'Secret' security clearance and 'access to a variety of munitions,' according to the NCIS affidavit." MB: So nice to be reminded on MLKJr. Day that our tax dollars are going to "an avowed white supremacist and Nazi sympathizer." And so nice to know these particular sympathies are no impediment to obtaining a secret security clearance. In context, of course, we already know that our tax dollars are going to support the white supremacist & Nazi sympathizer temporarily residing at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

Kyle Cheney of Politico: "The FBI is investigating evidence that a woman who entered the Capitol on Jan. 6 stole a laptop or hard drive from Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office and intended to sell it to Russians. The bizarre claim, which the FBI emphasized remains under investigation, was included in an affidavit describing the criminal case against Riley June Williams, a Pennsylvania woman who was seen in footage of the Jan. 6 insurrection in area of the Capitol near Pelosi's office.... According to the affidavit..., a witness who spoke to authorities claimed to have seen a video of Williams 'taking a laptop computer or hard drive from Speaker Pelosi's office.... [Witness 1] stated that WILLIAMS intended to send the computer device to a friend in Russia, who then planned to sell the device to SVR, Russia's foreign intelligence service,' the agent noted. 'According to [Witness 1], the transfer of the computer device to Russia fell through for unknown reasons and WILLIAMS still has the computer device or destroyed it.'" MB: Now, Riley June is a person Trump should pardon. A woman who intends to (a) profit off an illegal act AND (b) conspire with Russia is a woman after his own heart (figure of speech; I know Trump doesn't have a heart).

Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "A New Mexico County commissioner who founded the 'Cowboys for Trump' group was arrested and charged Sunday [link fixed] in connection with the U.S. Capitol insurrection, after returning to Washington, D.C., to participate in inauguration protests, the Justice Department said.... Couy Griffin, of Otero County, N.M., told FBI agents he got 'caught up' in the Capitol siege and remained outside the building, but video posted to his Facebook page shows him in restricted areas of the complex, according to an affidavit.... Prosecutors say Griffin pushed his way past the building's security barriers and onto an outside deck, where he allegedly used a bullhorn to lead the mob in a prayer."

Robert O'Harrow of the Washington Post: "The fiery rallies that preceded the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 were organized and promoted by an array of established conservative insiders and activists, documents and videos show. The Republican Attorneys General Association was involved, as were the activist groups Turning Point Action and Tea Party Patriots. At least six current or former members of the Council for National Policy (CNP), an influential group that for decades has served as a hub for conservative and Christian activists, also played roles in promoting the rallies. The two days of rallies were staged not by white nationalists and other extremists, but by well-funded nonprofit groups and individuals that figure prominently in the machinery of conservative activism in Washington.... Organizing warm-up events is not the same thing as plotting to invade the Capitol. But before the rallies, some used extreme rhetoric, including references to the American Revolution, and made false claims about the election to rouse supporters to challenge President-elect Joe Biden's victory[.]" ~~~

~~~ ** Richard Lardner & Michelle Smith of the AP: "Members of ... Donald Trump's failed presidential campaign played key roles in orchestrating the Washington rally that spawned a deadly assault on the U.S. Capitol, according to an Associated Press review of records, undercutting claims the event was the brainchild of the president's grassroots supporters. A pro-Trump nonprofit group called Women for America First hosted the 'Save America Rally; on Jan. 6 at the Ellipse.... But an attachment to the National Park Service public gathering permit ... lists more than half a dozen people in staff positions for the event who just weeks earlier had been paid thousands of dollars by Trump's 202 reelection campaign. Other staff scheduled to be 'on site' during the demonstration have close ties to the White House." Organizers "rushed to obscure their connections to the demonstration."

Julian Barnes & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "The National Security Agency is moving forward with hiring a Trump administration loyalist, the agency said on Sunday, after the acting defense secretary ordered he be made the spy agency's top lawyer. Christopher C. Miller, the acting defense secretary, gave Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the spy agency's director, until 6 p.m. on Saturday to install Michael Ellis as its general counsel. The deadline came and went with the National Security Agency remaining silent. But the agency said in a statement on Sunday that 'Mr. Ellis accepted his final job offer yesterday afternoon. N.S.A. is moving forward with his employment.'... Mr. Ellis has been accused of having a hand in one of the more contentious legal decisions the Trump administration made: the attempt to stop John R. Bolton ... from publishing a damning book about the president.... While it will be difficult to fire Mr. Ellis under Civil Service rules, the Biden administration could easily reassign him to another, less important post." A Politico story is here. MB: While seeking to remove him, how about putting Ellis in charge of ensuring that federal bathrooms & broom closets meet OSHA standards? I can think of a lav & closet to-do list that would keep Devin's toady busy with his nose in toilets & cleaning fluids for years.

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

"How the U.S. Guaranteed Its Own Failure."* Sarah Mervosh, et al., of the New York Times: "For nearly the entire pandemic, political polarization and a rejection of science have stymied the United States' ability to control the coronavirus. That has been clearest and most damaging at the federal level, where Mr. Trump claimed that the virus would disappear,' clashed with his top scientists and, in a pivotal failure, abdicated responsibility for a pandemic that required a national effort to defeat it, handing key decisions over to states under the assumption that they would take on the fight and get the country back to business. But governors and local officials who were left in charge of the crisis squandered the little momentum the country had as they sidelined health experts, ignored warnings from their own advisers and, in some cases, stocked their advisory committees with more business representatives than doctors." MB: I put this failure entirely on Trump & Sycophants, Ltd. Had Trump been honest about the trajectory of the coronavirus spread & the means to mitigate it, there would have been little or no "political polarization."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Russia. Anton Troianovski & Ivan Nechepurenko of the New York Times: "Aleksei A. Navalny returned to his home country Sunday, five months after a near-fatal nerve-agent attack, and was arrested at the border, a show of fearlessness by Russia's most prominent opposition leader and of anxiety by President Vladimir V. Putin. In hours of live-streamed drama that played out in Berlin, in the air and at two Moscow airports, Mr. Navalny careened headlong into near-certain detention after deciding to leave the relative safety of Germany, where he had been recovering from last summer's poisoning. Hundreds of people braved the bitter cold outside Moscow's Vnukovo Airport to greet Mr. Navalny, but the low-cost Russian airline he was flying was diverted just before landing to a different Moscow airport. There, at passport control, Mr. Navalny was confronted by uniformed policemen in black masks. He embraced his wife, Yuliya Navalnaya, before being led away." An AP story is here. ~~~

~~~ Shaun Walker of the Guardian: By purchasing flight records & phone data on the black market, a Bellingcat investigator named Christo Grozev has found that a "poison squad" working for the Russian government's FSB security services followed Aleksei Navalny on 40 flights over several years.

The Commentariat -- January 17, 2021

In with the New. Michael Shear & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr., inheriting a collection of crises unlike any in generations, plans to open his administration with dozens of executive directives on top of expansive legislative proposals in a 10-day blitz meant to signal a turning point for a nation reeling from disease, economic turmoil, racial strife and now the aftermath of the assault on the Capitol. Mr. Biden's team has developed a raft of decrees that he can issue on his own authority after the inauguration on Wednesday to begin reversing some of President Trump's most hotly disputed policies.... On his first day in office alone, Mr. Biden intends a flurry of executive orders that will be partly substantive and partly symbolic. They include rescinding the travel ban on several predominantly Muslim countries, rejoining the Paris climate change accord, extending pandemic-related limits on evictions and student loan payments, issuing a mask mandate for federal property and interstate travel and ordering agencies to figure out how to reunite children separated from families after crossing the border, according to a memo circulated on Saturday by Ron Klain, his incoming White House chief of staff...." An AP story is here.

Michael Crowley of the New York Times: "President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr. said on Saturday that he was 'always going to lead with science and truth' as he announced top science and technology officials on his White House staff, reaffirming trust in the kind of expert research that the Trump administration often ignored or disdained.... The appointees included Eric S. Lander, whom Mr. Biden will nominate to be director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, a position that will for the first time hold cabinet rank.... As Dr. Lander's deputy in the science and technology office, Alondra Nelson, whom was also named by Mr. Biden, is a professor at the Institute for Advanced Study.... Mr. Biden also named two co-chairs of the President's Council of Advisers on Science and Technology: Frances H. Arnold, the first American woman to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and Maria Zuber, a geophysics and planetary science expert and the first woman to lead a NASA spacecraft mission. Mr. Biden also said that Dr. Francis S. Collins would remain as the director of the National Institutes of Health.... President Trump left the position of science adviser unfilled for 18 months and his administration routinely ignored the guidance of government scientists on issues ranging from the coronavirus pandemic to climate change."

Laura Barron-Lopez & Sabrina Rodriguez of Politico: "In preparation for President-elect Joe Biden to drop a sweeping immigration reform bill as soon as he enters office, congressional Democrats and advocates are drafting legislation, taking the temperature of Republicans -- and gearing up for what they hope will be the defining chapter in a decadeslong battle to pass a pathway to citizenship for all undocumented immigrants. Biden has said he plans to 'immediately' introduce an immigration bill after tking office on Wednesday. And top Latino and immigrant advocacy groups who've seen details of the coming package said they were stunned by the boldness of Biden's plan."

Averi Harper & Beatrice Peterson of ABC News: "Vice President-elect Kamala Harris ... will be sworn in by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another historic female first. Sotomayor is the first Latina Supreme Court Justice.... The pair both previously served as former prosecutors -- Harris in California, Sotomayor in New York.... For the historic day, Harris has chosen to be sworn in using two bibles. One previously belonged to Mrs. Regina Shelton, who was like a second mother to Harris and her sister Maya.... The second bible belonged to the late civil rights icon and Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, someone who inspired Harris' career path.

Jessica Contrera, et al., of the Washington Post: "A Virginia man has been arrested after law enforcement found at least one firearm and more than 500 rounds of ammunition in his truck as he tried to enter an inauguration security checkpoint near the Capitol on Friday evening with a credential that was not authorized, according to court documents. Wesley Allen Beeler, 31, of Front Royal, drove his Ford F-150 up to a checkpoint on E Street Northeast of the Capitol, where he was met by Capitol Police officers, according to the court documents. Beeler is facing charges stemming from unlawful possession of weapons and ammunition.... His family said he works in private security." The story has been updated. The Hill has a story here.~~~

     ~~~ Update: A follow-up New York Times story suggests Beeler might not be a radical bent on shooting up D.C.

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

Lisa Lerer of the New York Times: "For four years, President Trump bullied his rivals and intimidated his enemies. He commanded the world stage and commandeered social media, spreading torrents of misinformation and falsehoods. From Israel' to Iowa, Mr. Trump was inescapable -- and seemingly unstoppable. Since the attack on the U.S. Capitol, his power has been rapidly disappearing, evaporating in a cloud of recriminations and condemnation.... He departs isolated and diminished, leaving behind a Capitol transformed into a war zone, a frayed body politic and a fractured Republican Party that has been ousted from power.... Marooned in the White House, Mr. Trump is facing the lowest job approval of his time in office, polling shows, and increasingly negative reviews for his post-election behavior. He plans to leave Washington hours before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn in, making him the first president since Andrew Johnson in 1869 to skip the inauguration of his successor. (Mr. Johnson was also impeached.)"

** The Trump Crime Family's Black Market -- in Pardons. Michael Schmidt & Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "As President Trump prepares to leave office in days, a lucrative market for pardons is coming to a head, with some of his allies collecting fees from wealthy felons or their associates to push the White House for clemency, according to documents and interviews with more than three dozen lobbyists and lawyers. The brisk market for pardons reflects the access peddling that has defined Mr. Trump's presidency as well as his unorthodox approach to exercising unchecked presidential clemency powers. Pardons and commutations are intended to show mercy to deserving recipients, but Mr. Trump has used many of them to reward personal or political allies.... One lobbyist, Brett Tolman, a former federal prosecutor who has been advising the White House on pardons and commutations, has monetized his clemency work, collecting tens of thousands of dollars, and possibly more, in recent weeks to lobby the White House for clemency for [his clients].... Mr. Trump's former personal lawyer John M. Dowd has marketed himself to convicted felons as someone who could secure pardons because of his close relationship with the president, accepting tens of thousands of dollars from a wealthy felon and ... and other potential clients.... John Kiriakou, a former C.I.A. officer convicted of illegally disclosing classified information..., was ... told ... Rudolph W. Giuliani could help him secure a pardon for $2 million. Mr. Kiriakou rejected the offer, but an associate ... alerted the F.B.I." ~~~

~~~ Here's what Rudy says he is doing -- when he's not working big grifts, we presume: ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Karl & Will Steakin of ABC News: "... Rudy Giuliani tells ABC News he's working as part of the president's defense team in his upcoming second impeachment trial -- and that he's prepared to argue that the president's claims of widespread voter fraud did not constitute incitement to violence because the widely-debunked claims are true.... A few hours later, Giuliani -- who led the president's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results -- was spotted at the White House. Giuliani's involvement in Trump's impeachment defense comes as many of the lawyers involved in the president's first impeachment, including White House counsel Pat Cipollone and his deputies and outside lawyers Jay Sekulow and Jane and Marty Raskin, do not plan to return for the second trial.... Giuliani dismissed the validity of the single article of impeachment accusing Trump of inciting violence against the government on the grounds that the president's rally speech did not incite the riot because there was a delay between the speech and the attack. 'Basically, if [incitement] is going to happen, it's got to happen right away,' he said. 'You'd have to have people running out, you'd have to have people running out of that frozen speech, right up to the Capitol...," Giuliani said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Uh, Rudy, the people were "running right up to the Capitol" even before Trump finished speaking (NYT link). Looks as if Trump's "defense" will be a circus of lies.

Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "The siege of the Capitol wasn't a departure for Trump, it was an apotheosis. For years, he's been telling us he wouldn't accept an election loss. For years, he's been urging his followers to violence, refusing to condemn their violence, and insinuating that even greater violence was on the way. As he told Breitbart in 2019, in one of his characteristic threats, 'I have the tough people, but they don&'t play it tough -- until they go to a certain point, and then it would be very bad, very bad.'... Throughout his presidency, Republicans pretended not to hear what the president was saying.... The violent far right appears to have been emboldened by the experience of being treated as valued constituents.... Right-wing extremist activity usually abates during Republican administrations, when conservatives feel less existentially threatened. But Trump kept the far right's paranoia and sense of grievance at a constant boil, and gave them permission to act. The people at the Capitol who said they were there because the president wanted them to be weren't necessarily delusional."

Lauren Leatherby & Anjali Singhvi of the New York Times time out "critical moments in the Capitol siege": "From the Trump rally to the violent breach of the Capitol and its aftermath, here is a moment-by-moment look at some of the pivotal events on Jan. 6, when thousands of protesters flooded the Capitol grounds and many rioters came within steps of members of Congress, who were gathered to certify the presidential election results."

Evan Hill, et al., of the New York Times: "Rosanne Boyland, a 34-year-old Trump supporter from Georgia who died during the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6, appears to have been killed in a crush of fellow rioters during their attempt to fight through a police line, according to videos reviewed by The Times. Though the videos have circulated widely, Ms. Boyland's presence in them had gone unnoticed until now, and the manner of her death had previously been unclear. The videos show her body on the ground just outside a door on the Capitol's west side that was the scene of some of the day's worst violence." Includes photographic evidence.

Kimberly Kindy, et al., of the Washington Post: "... police chiefs across the country are confronting the uncomfortable reality that members in their own ranks were among the mob that faced off against other law enforcement officers. At least 13 off-duty law enforcement officials are suspected of taking part in the riot, a tally that could grow as investigators continue to pore over footage and records to identify participants. Police leaders are turning in their own to the FBI and taking the striking step of reminding officers in their departments that criminal misconduct could push them off the force and behind bars.... It marks a notable break in the so-called 'blue wall of silence,' an aspect of police culture that encourages officers to turn a blind eye to misconduct by fellow officers.... That fellow police officers were the target of much of the mob's brutality is another important factor that may have prompted whistleblowing.... The revelation that officers participated in the chaos was the latest hit for law enforcement's reputation, coming on the heels of a year in which police violence spurred nationwide protests and activists called for cutting police funding."

Trump Made Me Do It. Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "The accounts of people who said they were inspired by the president to take part in the melee inside the Capitol vividly show the impact of Trump's months-long attack on the integrity of the 2020 election and his exhortations to supporters to 'fight' the results. Some have said that they felt called to Washington by Trump and his false message that the election had been stolen, as well as by his efforts to pressure Congress and Vice President Pence to overturn the result. But others drew an even more direct link -- telling the FBI or news organizations that they headed to the Capitol on what they believed were direct orders from the president issued at a rally that day. While legal experts are split on whether Trump could face criminal liability for his role in the events of Jan. 6, testimony from rioters who felt directed to take part in illegal acts by his speech could inform a decision by prosecutors about whether to attempt to build a case. Short of that, the testimony from rioters is likely to be cited in Trump's upcoming impeachment trial in the Senate and could become evidence should people injured in the Capitol attack seek to file civil suits against Trump."

Heavy has more on Jenna Ryan, girl realtor/rioter, who thinks she merits a pardon for merely answering Trump's call on what she described as one of the best days of her life. Thanks to RAS for the link.

David Kirkpatrick, et al., of the New York Times: "Much is still unknown about the planning and financing of the storming of the Capitol, aiming to challenge Mr. Trump's electoral defeat. What is clear is that it was driven, in part, by a largely ad hoc network of low-budget agitators, including far-right militants, Christian conservatives and ardent adherents of the QAnon conspiracy theory.... And the sheer breadth of the movement ... suggests it may be far more difficult to confront than a single organization.... [There were] many grass-roots efforts to bring Trump supporters to the Capitol, often amid calls for revolution, if not outright violence.... A few prominent firebrands, an opaque pro-Trump nonprofit and at least one wealthy donor had campaigned for weeks to amplify the president's false claims about his defeat, stoking the anger of his supporters." MB: The article & accompanying photo captions call these wingnuts "conservatives." But conservatives don't aim to overthrow the government by violent means. Can you imagine David Brooks wielding a lead pipe as he stormed a federal building?

A Dramatic Effect of Dumping Trump. Elizabeth Dwoskin & Craig Timberg of the Washington Post: "Online misinformation about election fraud plunged 73 percent after several social media sites suspended President Trump and key allies last week, research firm Zignal Labs has found, underscoring the power of tech companies to limit the falsehoods poisoning public debate when they act aggressively. The new research by the San Francisco-based analytics firm reported that conversations about election fraud dropped from 2.5 million mentions to 688,000 mentions across several social media sites in the week after Trump was banned from Twitter. Election disinformation had for months been a major subject of online misinformation, beginning even before the Nov. 3 election and pushed heavily by Trump and his allies."

Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "When controversial MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell visited the White House on Friday, a Washington Post reporter captured a photo of 'martial law' appearing on the notes he brought with him. Lindell said he was there to brief Trump on what he was missing out on after his lifetime suspension from Twitter. 'Following his meeting with President Trump on Friday, MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell said in a Facebook interview with Right Side Broadcasting News today that he's praying that the military presence in Washington is part of Trump's plan to retain power,' Tim Miller of The Bulwark reported Saturday. 'In Lindell's interview -- which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Facebook in just a few hours -- he recounts the details of his meeting with the president and rattles off a series of unintelligible conspiracies in a Minnesota lilt.' Lindell believes he has 'proof' of election fraud, pushing the debunked conspiracy theory that incited the fatal January 6th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie's Shopping Tip of the Day: It appears, according to a tweet & retweet embedded in Brigham's story, you can get a nice discount on a My Pillow product by entering the discount code "QANON." Really.

Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) said the Senate should consider removing Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) via the 14th Amendment over their objections last week to the Electoral College results. Speaking to PBS's 'Firing Line' on Friday night, Manchin said the Senate should explore the option after a violent mob, riled up by President Trump and convinced by Republicans such as Hawley and Cruz that the election was fraudulent, ransacked the Capitol in one of the darkest points in American democracy.... '... Ted's a very bright individual, and I get along fine with Ted, but what he did was totally outside of the realm of our responsibilities or our privileges.'"

Lachlan Markay, now of Axios: "The communications director for Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado, a firebrand Republican freshman who boasts about carrying a gun to work, has quit after less than two weeks on the job.... Ben Goldey's resignation cited last week's insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which came amid efforts by Boebert and other Republican lawmakers to block certification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory.... Goldey ... has a more establishment pedigree [than Boebert]. He was the press secretary at the Department of Interior until this year, and previously worked for ... Mitch McConnell.... Goldey's resignation underscores larger Republican divisions, particularly in the House, where ten GOP members ... voted to impeach Trump on Wednesday.... On the other side of the Capitol[,] Sen. Ted Cruz's communications director, Lauren Blair Bianchi, also resigned on Monday, reportedly over Cruz's role in the effort to deny certification for Biden."

Wow, this crowd has some fight in it.... I just rolled down from the Capitol building.... And I will tell you, the courage I see in this crowd is not represented on that hill.... But my friends, the Democrats, with all the fraud they have done in this election, the Republicans hiding and not fighting, they are trying to silence your voice.... But my friends, when I look out into this crowd, I can confidently say, this crowd has the voice of lions. There is a new Republican Party on the rise that will represent this country, that will go and fight in Washington D.C.... But my friends, we're not just doing this for Donald Trump, we are doing this for the Constitution. Our Constitution was violated. -- Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), speaking at the rally preceding the January 6 Capitol insurrection

Literally, I ... I ... I ... In hindsight, you know, I wish I could've ... uhh ... if I could, you know ... I probably would've ... obviously ... knowing what happened later in the day ... I wish I would've been like, 'Just so you know, we are peaceful protesters.' -- Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C), days later, defending his speech

Another Last-Minute Fast One. Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Acting defense secretary Christopher C. Miller ordered the director of the National Security Agency to install on Saturday a former GOP political operative [-- Michael Ellis, a Devin Nunes acolyte --] as the NSA's top lawyer [-- until now, a civil service job --], according to four individuals familiar with the matter.... Miller gave NSA Director Paul Nakasone until 6 p.m. Saturday to install Ellis in the job, according to several people who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the matter's sensitivity. The 6 p.m. deadline passed without Nakasone taking action.... Ellis's naming, made under pressure from the White House, drew criticism from national security legal experts. It 'appears to be an attempt to improperly politicize an important career position,' wrote Susan Hennessey, a former lawyer in the NSA Office of General Counsel, on Lawfare.... It was unclear Saturday evening what the Pentagon's next move would be." A CNN story is here.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Uganda. Abdi Dahir of the New York Times: "... after a bitter and bloody campaign marked by a lethal crackdown on the opposition, an internet blackout and accusations of vote tampering and rigging -- the president, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, was declared victor of a sixth, five-year term in office. His rival, Bobi Wine, says the election was unfair, a contention backed by independent international observers. For the world, Uganda's election was a vivid demonstration of how autocrats use elections to cement their hold on power. For the country's younger generation, and throughout Africa, it was a sign of how intractable the old systems are. On Saturday, Mr. Wine was holed up in his house -- which was surrounded on Friday by Mr. Museveni's security forces -- and declaring that Mr. Museveni had 'fabricated' the election results." MB: Wow! Something like this could happen only in a shithole country, right?

The Commentariat -- January 16, 2021

Ian Duncan of the Washington Post: "The Transportation Security Administration said Friday that it is conducting risk assessments on hundreds of people ahead of expected protests at the presidential inauguration next week, trying to determine whether they need to be subject to enhanced screening or barred from flying entirely. But an agency spokesman declined to say whether the assessments had led to anyone being stopped from flying. The agency has faced calls from a major flight attendants union and lawmakers to use the no-fly list to stop people tied to the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6 from returning to Washington next week. Airline crews operating out of the region have had to deal with disruptive groups of passengers, with several incidents captured in viral videos."

A Florida Man Arrested for "Call to Arms." Bruce Ritchie of Politico: "The FBI on Friday arrested a Florida Army veteran on charges of plotting to violently disrupt protests at the state Capitol leading up to President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration on Wednesday. Daniel Baker, 33, wanted to encircle protesters at the state Capitol and confine them with guns, U. S. Attorney Lawrence Keefe and the FBI said. Baker, a former U.S. Army Airborne infrantryman who was kicked out of the service in 2007, had issued 'a call to arms' seeking others to join the him on Sunday, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court. Armed protests in opposition to the election results are planned for all 50 state capitals this weekend."

Matthew Choi of Politico: "The White House will restart the release of its visitor logs once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, Biden transition spokesperson Jen Psaki announced Friday. The move is a shift from ... Donald Trump's White House, which kept visitor logs to core offices of the White House, including the West Wing, private. The Trump administration faced legal challenges to its position and settled a lawsuit in 2018 to allow monthly publication of visitor logs for some White House offices, including the Office of Management and Budget and the drug czar's office. The Trump-era policy was criticized as a degradation of transparency from the previous administration. Under President Barack Obama, the White House regularly archived and released visitor logs for its core offices."

The Last Days of the Mad Kaiser

There is a perfect symmetry in the Trump presidency* petering out with the same level of absurdity with which it began: Sean Spicer's insistence that Trump attracted a larger crowd to his inauguration than President Obama had to his first inauguration, all evidence to the contrary notwithstanding. ~~~

~~~ Asawin Suebsaeng & Will Sommer of the Daily Beast: "In the final week of his presidency, Donald Trump met in the Oval Office on Friday afternoon with Mike Lindell, the MyPillow CEO and a personal friend of the president's, who presented Trump with six pages of documents, loaded with unproven conspiracy theories, that he told him proved that China and other countries helped steal the 2020 election for Joe Biden. Lindell says that after a 'five-to-ten minute meeting' in the Oval, Trump asked someone to take the MyPillow inventor to a different room to show his documents to 'the lawyers,' and then asked for staff to bring Lindell back afterwards. Following a roughly two hour wait, according to Lindell, he finally met with White House attorneys who dismissed his claims but said they would 'look into it.' He was then not allowed to see the president again on Friday. The Daily Beast could not confirm with other sources if the people Lindell met with were attorneys or other White House staff." ~~~

~~~ Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump, isolated and watching the clock count down on his time in the White House, spent a few minutes of it on Friday with the C.E.O. of MyPillow, Mike Lindell, who brought some notes with him. White House officials said nothing came of the roughly five-to-ten-minute meeting between Mr. Lindell and Mr. Trump, which Mr. Lindell said came after he'd been asking to get on the president's calendar for days.... In photographs captured by Jabin Botsford, a photographer for The Washington Post, Mr. Lindell held notes in his hand as he stood outside the doorway to the West Wing lobby mid-afternoon on Friday. The notes included a mention of Sidney Powell, the lawyer and conspiracy theorist whom Mr. Trump at one point wanted to offer a job in the White House. They were only partially visible, but there was also a suggestion about invoking the Insurrection Act, by which a president can deploy active military troops into the streets, and 'martial law if necessary.' One line appeared to suggest moving Kash Patel, currently the Department of Defense chief of staff and a Trump loyalist, as 'C.I.A. Acting,' which seemed to indicate the top job.... Mr. Lindell maintained that the notes he had did not contain the words 'martial law,' although the photograph showed it to be the case." ~~~

~~~ Speaking of Patel & the CIA ... Jonathan Swan of Axios: "CIA Director Gina Haspel threatened to resign in early December after President Trump cooked up a hasty plan to install loyalist Kash Patel, a former aide to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), as her deputy, according to three senior administration officials with direct knowledge of the matter.... The revelation stunned national security officials and almost blew up the leadership of the world's most powerful spy agency. Only a series of coincidences -- and last minute interventions from Vice President Mike Pence and White House counsel Pat Cipollone -- stopped it." The story describes the "series of coincidences."

Dr. Seuss would be horrified by Maher's meter ("pack up and go" would have worked better), but it was nice of Bill & his writers & artists to go to so much trouble for the kiddies. Thanks to periscope for the link:

Jonathan Martin & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Vice President Mike Pence telephoned Vice President-elect Kamala Harris Thursday to congratulate her and offer his belated assistance -- filling a leadership role all but abdicated by President Trump, who is planning to fly out of the capital shortly before Joseph R. Biden Jr. is sworn in next week. The Pence-Harris conversation, relayed by two officials briefed on the call, was described as gracious and pleasant.... Mr. Trump has refused to call ... Biden.... While the plans remain in flux, Mr. Trump hopes to depart to the blare of a military band, with a red carpet and military honors, those briefed on the planning said." A CNN story is here.

Ashley Parker, et al., of the Washington Post: "The violent mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 came perilously close to Vice President Pence, who was not evacuated from the Senate chamber for about 14 minutes after the Capitol Police reported an initial attempted breach of the complex -- enough time for the marauders to rush inside the building and approach his location, according to law enforcement officials and video footage from that day. Secret Service officers eventually spirited Pence to a room off the Senate floor with his wife and daughter after rioters began to pour into the Capitol, many loudly denouncing the vice president as a traitor as they marched through the first floor below the Senate chamber. About one minute after Pence was hustled out of the chamber, a group charged up the stairs to a second-floor landing in the Senate, chasing a Capitol Police officer who drew them away from the Senate.... If the pro-Trump mob had arrived seconds earlier, the attackers would have been in eyesight of the vice president.... Pence was ultimately evacuated from his office off the Senate floor to a more secure location elsewhere in the Capitol complex.... The proximity of the Jan. 6 mob to the vice president and the delay in evacuating him from the chamber -- which have not been previously reported — raise questions about why the Secret Service did not move him earlier and underscore the jeopardy that top government leaders faced during the siege." MB: And Trump thought this was great teevee. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It's worth remembering this this extremely close call occurred minutes after an Army lieutenant general told the Capitol police chief, who was begging for assistance, "I don't like the visual of the National Guard standing a police line with the Capitol in the background." The general refused to recommend sending in reinforcements. (The link is to a WashPo story.)

Devlin Barrett & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "Internal investigators for the departments of Justice, Defense, Interior, and Homeland Security will investigate how security officials prepared for and responded to the pro-Trump rally on Jan. 6 that descended into a deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol, officials announced Friday. The inspectors general for all of those agencies will review what people knew and how they prepared for that day, along with their actions during the riot, according to news releases." (Also linked yesterday.)

Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: "Three days before thousands of rioters converged on the U.S. Capitol, an internal Capitol Police intelligence report warned of a violent scenario in which 'Congress itself' could be the target of angry supporters of President Trump on Jan. 6, laying out a stark alert that deepens questions about the security failures that day. In a 12-page report on Jan. 3, the intelligence unit of the congressional police force described how thousands of enraged protesters, egged on by Trump and flanked by white supremacists and extreme militia groups, were likely to stream into Washington armed for battle. This time, the focus of their ire would be members of Congress.... The report said organizers were urging Trump supporters to come armed with guns and to bring specialized combat gear -- including gas masks and military-style bulletproof vests called 'plate carriers' -- to Washington on Jan. 6.... The memo concluded that Jan. 6 was shaping up to potentially be a perfect storm of danger because of the size of the expected crowds, the urgency of the group's mission, the call for demonstrators to bring lethal weapons, the location of the two largest protests in proximity to the Capitol grounds and the fact that 'both have been promoted by President Trump himself.'"

Julian Barnes, et al., of the New York Times: "In the days leading up to the mob attack on the Capitol, congressional security officials never let House and Senate leaders know that the Capitol Police had warned they might need National Guard backup.... The police request, made to the House and Senate sergeants-at-arms, was prompted by intelligence that showed Trump supporters planned to target the Capitol itself as Congress certified the Electoral College vote on Jan. 6, according to a congressional official.... The sergeants-at-arms, Michael C. Stenger of the Senate and Paul Irving of the House, rejected the request [for National Guard backup] without raising the issue with either the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, or Speaker Nancy Pelosi.... Mr. Stenger and Mr. Irving, who have resigned amid the fallout from the violence, would most likely have had to ask the leaders whether to approve the requests for such a serious measure, according to former sergeants-at-arms. The sergeants-at-arms and the chief of the Capitol Police were also among officials who briefed lawmakers the day before the riot and reassured them that they were prepared for the events that day, going so far as to say the National Guard was on standby, though only a modest contingent was on duty to provide traffic control."

We were battling 15,000 people. It looked like a medieval battle scene. -- D.C. Police Officer Michael Falcone, describing what police were up against during the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection ~~~

~~~ ** Peter Hermann of the Washington Post on "the first public account from D.C. police officers who fought to protect the Capitol during last week's siege.... There were people caught up in the moment, [Cmdr. Robert Glover] said, doing things they would not ordinarily do. But many appeared to be on a mission, and they launched what he and the police chief described as a coordinated assault. 'Everything they did was in a military fashion,' Glover said, saying he witnessed rioters apparently using hand signs and waving flags to signal positions, and using what he described as 'military formations.' They took high positions and talked over wireless communications. Authorities would later learn that some former members of the military and off-duty police officers from across the country were in the pro-Trump crowd." (Also linked yesterday.)

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Justice Department prosecutors have formally walked back their assertion in a court filing that said Capitol rioters sought to 'capture and assassinate elected officials.' A federal prosecutor in Arizona asked a magistrate judge in a hearing on Friday to strike the line in a recent court filing about defendant Jacob Anthony Chansley, a man who is alleged to have led some in the crowd in the first wave into the Capitol with a bullhorn while carrying a spear and wearing a fur headdress. The entire line the prosecutors want to omit from their court filing is: 'Strong evidence, including Chansley's own words and actions at the Capitol, supports that the intent of the Capitol rioters was to capture and assassinate elected officials in the United States Government.' The stunning move comes a few hours after the Michael Sherwin, the acting US attorney in Washington, DC, said at a press conference there was 'no direct evidence of kill and capture teams' at this time in the siege of the Capitol building. See, for context, this Reuters story, also linked yesterday, altho the Reuters story has been updated to reflect the DOJ's "never-mind."

John Kruzel & Scott Wong of the Hill: "A growing number of Democrats are raising concerns about pro-Trump groups spotted inside the Capitol complex in the days before a mob invaded the building last week in what was a stunning failure of intelligence and police planning. Many Democrats were shocked that people in the mob were able to find offices of top Democratic leaders, including an unmarked, third-floor office used by House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.), the highest-ranking Black lawmaker in Congress.... A few Democrats have said there may have been 'co-conspirators' within the Capitol building helping those involved in the mob.... 'If it is found that members of Congress were accomplices to this insurrection, if they aided and abetted the crime,' a somber [Speaker Nancy] Pelosi said, 'there may have to be actions taken beyond the Congress, in terms of prosecution for that.'... Democrats making the charge have offered no evidence that any lawmakers helped coordinate the attack.... On Dec. 30, Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) spoke on the phone with a Capitol Police captain, warning that the online and social media chatter she was seeing was so violent that she feared Trump supporters would try to storm the Capitol and 'kill half of Congress' along with Vice President Pence. She urged police to harden security around the building, as did Financial Services Chair Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) in a phone call a day later with then-Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund. Rep. Norma Torres (D-Calif.) ... said that on Jan. 5 she saw two groups of Trump supporters in the Rayburn building. That legislative office building, located next to the Capitol, houses nearly 170 members of the U.S. House of Representatives."

... everybody knew that Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell and Lin Wood were conducting law in bad faith. They were doing everything they could online to make it seem as if they had legitimate court cases and that if not for the 'horrible' courts and judges, we would have had a different outcome in the election. The repetition shows me there was a plan and that it was coordinated. -- Joan Donovan, in a Politico Magazine interview ~~~

~~~ "The Internet Is a Crime Scene." Zack Stanton of Politico: "'The internet is a crime scene.' says Joan Donovan, research director at Harvard's Shorenstein Center.... 'We're collectively witnessing the aftermath of probably one of the biggest lies ever told in terms of the amount of people it reached and the effects that it had...: : the claims about election fraud, which then led to the event at the Capitol.'... The internet makes radicalization easy, and in the insurrection, Donovan sees a textbook case of how a conspiracy theory -- fueled by an unending buffet of disinformation served up by algorithms -- can grow online and spawn a community that commits the kind of real-world violence that took place at the Capitol on January 6. But the seeds of insurrection were planted much earlier." The article includes the text of the interview.

Thoughts of an Insurrectionist. I have a lot of faith in God and I was just praising him and praying and I was just knowing God would take care of me in this situation.... I just want people to know I'm a normal person. That I listen to my president who told me to go to the Capitol. That I was displaying my patriotism while I was there and I was just protesting and I wasn't trying to do anything violent and I didn't realize there was actually violence.... I think we all deserve a pardon. I'm facing a prison sentence. I think I do not deserve that.... I don't feel a sense of shame or guilty from my heart. I feel like I was basically following my president. I was following what we were called to do. He asked us to fly there. He asked us to be there. So I was doing what he asked us to do.... I do feel a little wronged in this situation because I'm a real estate agent and this has taken my company. This has taken my business. I am being slandered all over the internet, all over the world and all over the news and I'm just like a normal person. -- Jenna Ryan, Texas Realtor, in an interview conducted after her arrest. ~~~

~~~ Pardon Me. CBS Dallas-Fort Worth: "North Texas realtor Jenna Ryan, who was seen in photos and video at the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 riot, arrived home Friday, Jan. 15 after turning herself in to authorities earlier in the day.... Ryan posted a picture of her posing outside of the building in front of a broken window with a caption that read, 'Window at the capital (sic). And if the news doesn't stop lying about us we're going to come after their studios next.'... Ryan, who took a private plane to Washington D.C. on the day of the riot, faces charges of knowingly entering or remaining in a restricted building or grounds without lawful authority and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds." ~~~

~~~ Darragh Roche of Newsweek: Jenna "Ryan allegedly took photos of herself during the riot and posted them to social media.... An FBI statement ... alleges that Ryan recorded a now-deleted Facebook video, later posted to YouTube, where she can be heard saying 'we are going to f---ing go in here. Life or death, it doesn't matter. Here we go.' Later in the video Ryan allegedly says 'y'all know who to hire for your realtor. Jenna Ryan for your realtor.' Her face is also visible during some of the recording, according to the FBI." MB: Wait, in one pic (CBS report) she's standing in front of a broken window; in another (Newsweek), she's in a crowd pushing through a door into the building. And who knows where else she was during the ad campaign she conducted in the breached Capitol? Yet she had no idea there was any violence going on. I wouldn't buy a used house from this woman. Also, too, Trump could grant a blanketpardon to her & every other seditionist.

Kudlow Suddenly Very Disappointed in Trump. Shawna Chen of Axios: White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow criticized President Trump's response to last week's U.S. Capitol siege and his treatment of Vice President Mike Pence in the aftermath of the 2020 election, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal on Friday.... 'I was hoping that he would come out quickly and make statements calling everybody back and stopping the violence,' he said.... Kudlow was also 'very disappointed' with Trump's public criticism of Pence. The president turned on his VP after Pence said he would certify Biden's win. '[V]irtually, except for a few extremists, the entire legal profession agreed with Pence,' Kudlow said."

Will Steakin, et al., of ABC News: "Three of the key advisers who helped engineer Donald Trump's' rise to the presidency in 2016, and who fell from grace under the weight of federal criminal charges, resurfaced during Trump's final days in office to help engineer his ill-fated attempt to cling to power. Roger Stone, Steve Bannon, and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn all participated in efforts to promote the Jan. 6 'Stop the Steal' event that ultimately devolved into a riotous and deadly melee at the United States Capitol...." ~~~

~~~ Trump has pardoned two of those guys -- Stone & Flynn -- so ~~~

~~~ Anita Kumar, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump is considering granting a pardon to Steve Bannon, his former White House chief strategist and top campaign aide, who was charged with swindling donors to a private crowdsourcing effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border, according to two sources familiar with the matter. The potential pardon would follow a wave of reprieves the president has recently granted to political allies who have been convicted, charged or reportedly under federal investigation. Two additional batches of pardons are expected -- one on Friday night and one Wednesday morning before President-elect Joe Biden is sworn into office, according to one of the people."

Richard Fausset & Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "Prosecutors in Georgia appear increasingly likely to open a criminal investigation of President Trump over his attempts to overturn the results of the state's 2020 election, an inquiry into offenses that would be beyond his federal pardon power. The new Fulton County district attorney, Fani Willis, is already weighing whether to proceed, and among the options she is considering is the hiring of a special assistant from outside to oversee the investigation, according to people familiar with her office's deliberations. At the same time, David Worley, the lone Democrat on Georgia's five-member election board, said this week that he would ask the board to make a referral to the Fulton County district attorney by next month. Among the matters he will ask prosecutors to investigate is a phone call Mr. Trump made in which he pressured Georgia's secretary of state to overturn the state's election results.... 'If you ... look at the conduct of the call, it tracks the communication you might see in any drug case or organized crime case,' said Michael J. Moore, the former United States attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. 'It's full of threatening undertone and strong-arm tactics.'"

Kara Scannell of CNN: "The Manhattan district attorney's office has expanded its criminal investigation into the Trump Organization's finances to include the family's compound in Westchester County, according to lawyers and people familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors' interest in the 212-acre property called Seven Springs is a significant widening of an investigation that began more than a year ago. It also draws closer to ... Donald Trump's son Eric Trump, executive vice president of the Trump Organization, who was directly involved in discussions about the property now under scrutiny, according to court filings. Prosecutors sent grand jury subpoenas within the past two months to town officials seeking documents and communications that officials had with the Trump Organization relating to development plans it considered for the sprawling family property.... The President personally signed [MB: a dodgy] conservation easement in his thick Sharpie marker.... By making a donation [of conservation land], it allows the donor to take a tax deduction based on the appraised value of the property. If it were improperly inflated, the donor could take a larger tax deduction than is allowed."

Scotland May Check for "McMafia" Loan. Martyn McLaughlin of the Scotsman: "One of Scotland's leading QCs has directly contradicted First Minister Nicola Sturgeon's claims that the Scottish Government is not responsible for the decision on whether to seek an Unexplained Wealth Order, amid renewed calls for ministers to investigate how Donald Trump financed the multimillion pound acquisition of his flagship international property [the Turnberry golf resort]. Aidan O'Neill QC, one of the country's most experienced advocates, said that ministers alone are responsible for deciding to apply for one of the so called 'McMafia' orders.... His opinion, echoed by another leading advocate, directly contradicts claims made by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who has argued that any application for such an order is a decision for the Crown Office.... The legislative mechanism is designed to target suspected corrupt foreign officials who have potentially laundered stolen money through the UK. If the subject of an order, or their family, is unable to show a legitimate source for their wealth, authorities can apply to a court to seize their properties." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: So fleeing to Mar-a-Lago won't work well because Donald signed an agreement not to live there for more than 21 days a year. Fleeing to Seven Springs -- where he has an estate house -- won't work well because he could lose the property for fraudulently-obtained tax breaks. Now fleeing the country to Scotland might not work out well because he could lose his home base on account of corrupt financing. He is also deeply in debt for loans coming due on other properties. And Congress could deprive him of his government pension & other goodies. Trump's post-presidency* luxury-living options are looking a bit dim. On the other hand, he might find a home in the Fulton County jail. Oh, and pardon my schadenfreude.

Oren Lieberman of CNN: "Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller, who will leave office in less than a week. stated that he 'cannot wait to leave this job,' according to a transcript released by the Department of Defense. The admission, during a press gaggle Thursday on his way back from a trip to Nebraska, Tennessee and Colorado, was one of a number of stunning statements from the man ... Donald Trump picked to take over the position just over two months ago.... He ... went on to disparage the latest American fighter jet, a program that cost more than $1 trillion.... Miller was also asked what he had learned about Russian activity below the threshold of war. 'Good on them' was his surprising response." MB: My guess is Miller was drunk or high when he spoke to the press. Probably not the best look for a Defense Secretary, even an acting one.

Federal Killing Spree Ends Today. Michael Karm & Michael Kunzelman of the AP: "The Trump administration early Saturday carried out its 13th federal execution since July, an unprecedented run that concluded just five days before the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden -- an opponent of the federal death penalty. Dustin Higgs, convicted of ordering the killings of three women in a Maryland wildlife refuge in 1996, was the third to receive a lethal injection this week at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.... Donald Trump's Justice Department resumed federal executions last year following a 17-year hiatus. No president in more than 120 years had overseen as many federal executions."

The Trumpidemic, Ctd.

Berkeley Lovelace & Noah Higgins-Dunn of CNBC: "President-elect Joe Biden plans to use FEMA and the National Guard to build coronavirus vaccine clinics across the United States, according to new details of his Covid-19 vaccination plan released by his transition team on Friday. The Biden administration will also 'quickly jumpstart' efforts to make the vaccines available at local pharmacies across the U.S., which should ensure that Americans have access to doses at facilities only miles from their home, according to the plan." ~~~

     ~~~ Peter Wade of Rolling Stone: "Trump's vaccine distribution program, which he dubbed Operation Warp Speed, has gone so poorly that the incoming Biden administration announced Friday that the program will be reimagined and renamed, due to an 'urgent need to address the failures of the Trump team approach to vaccine distribution,' incoming White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted Friday."

Laurie McGinley & Amy Goldstein of the Washington Post: "President-elect Joe Biden has selected David Kessler, a close adviser on the coronavirus crisis, to help lead the incoming administration's efforts to accelerate the manufacturing, distribution and administration of coronavirus vaccines, the Biden transition team announced Friday morning. His appointment comes at a pivotal moment -- as the president-elect has begun spelling out plans to speed up the Trump administration's sluggish effort on vaccinations to protect against covid-19...."

Apoorva Mandavilli & Caryn Rabin of the New York Times: "Federal health officials warned on Friday that a far more contagious variant of the coronavirus first identified in Britain could become the dominant source of infection in the United States by March, and would likely lead to a wrenching surge in cases and deaths that would further burden overwhelmed hospitals. This dire forecast from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made plain what has been suspected for weeks now: The nation is in an urgent race to vaccinate as many Americans as possible before the variant spreads across the country. Public health officials emphasized that protective measures already in place should work against the new variant, and urged Americans to redouble their vigilance in wearing face masks, in maintaining physical distance outside their households, washing hands frequently and limiting social interactions and indoor gatherings."

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

Azar's Ruse. Isaac Stanley-Becker & Lena Sun of the Washington Post: "When Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced this week that the federal government would begin releasing coronavirus vaccine doses held in reserve for second shots, no such reserve existed, according to state and federal officials briefed on distribution plans. The Trump administration had already begun shipping out what was available beginning at the end of December, taking second doses directly off the manufacturing line. Now, health officials across the country who had anticipated their extremely limited vaccine supply as much as doubling beginning next week are confronting the reality that their allocations will not immediately increase, dashing hopes of dramatically expanding eligibility for millions of elderly people and those with high-risk medical conditions. Health officials in some cities and states were informed in recent days about the reality of the situation, while others are still in the dark." MB: Easy to see that the reason HHS officials would not cooperate with Biden's team: they were covering up this -- and probably other sleights-of-hand. (Also linked yesterday.) Update: CNN's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ So Then. Maggie Fox of CNN: "President Trump's 'actions and rhetoric' have tarnished the administration's legacy, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a resignation letter submitted this week. Azar submitted the standard resignation letter for a Cabinet secretary to offer an outgoing president, dated January 12 and obtained by CNN Friday.... Azar said he plans to stay in his role until Jan. 20, when the president-elect Joe Biden's team takes over."

Mary Louise Kelly of NPR: "... even as the pandemic enters its deadliest stage yet, [CDC Director Robert] Redfield told NPR on Friday that the country is 'about to be in the worst' months of the crisis. As his tenure winds down, the CDC director said in an interview with All Things Considered that he stands by his federal health agency's response to the pandemic despite what he characterized as an early 'learning curve' and conflicting public health guidance from President Trump.... When asked if the White House interfered with the CDC's work, Redfield said no." An interview of Redfield follows.

NRA Attempts Sneaky Retreat. Danny Hakim of the New York Times: "Seeking an end-run around an investigation by the New York attorney general, the National Rifle Association said Friday that it was declaring bankruptcy and would reincorporate in Texas. The gun group was set up in New York after the Civil War. The plan raised immediate questions from Letitia James, the New York attorney general and a Democrat, who is seeking to use her regulatory authority to dissolve the N.R.A. She has been conducting an investigation into corruption at the gun group since 2019 that has led to infighting and discontent, as well as some departures from the group's board. 'The N.R.A.'s claimed financial status has finally met its moral status: bankrupt,' Ms. James said in a statement Friday. 'While we review this filing, we will not allow the N.R.A. to use this or any other tactic to evade accountability and my office's oversight.'"