GM just flipped from Trump to California in Trump’s lawsuit against California fuel emissions regs.
1 Like
Finally! GSA has gone ahead and moving along with transition.
1 Like
Trump just unblocked the transition process by tweet.
2 Likes
The President’s lawyer…
2 Likes
ARRGH. Not only is the Trump regime pulling us out of the Open Skies Treaty illegally, they’re junking the unique, irreplaceable planes we use for it so that when Biden tries to re-enter it, he won’t have the equipment to do so.
Trump Exits Open Skies Treaty, Moves to Discard Observation Planes
Without specialized aircraft and equipment, Biden administration would have difficult time re-entering post-Cold War pact
2 Likes
AP reporting and PA is untouchable for Trump.
Bob Bauer, the Biden’s campaign senior legal advisor, in a statement said, “It’s readily apparent to everyone besides Donald Trump, [Trump campaign lawyers] Rudy Giuliani, and Jenna Ellis that this election is over and that Joe Biden won resoundingly.”
“Trump did everything he could to disenfranchise voters and stop the results from being certified in Pennsylvania, including filing over 15 unsuccessful lawsuits — most recently producing one of the more embarrassing courtroom performances of all time, with the judge in the case ruling that their arguments were ‘without merit’ and ’unsupported by evidence,” Bauer said.
“Trump did not succeed in Pennsylvania and he will not succeed anywhere else. Trump’s lawsuits will continue to fail, as they have in over 30 cases since election day, states will continue to certify their results, and Joe Biden will be sworn in as President on January 20, 2021.”
3 Likes
Stripping away unused CARES/Relief funds by Treasury Secretary Munchin to keep away from Biden’s group is another setting of a fire to keep the new Administration on it’s heals.
Here’s a statement from the US Chamber of Commerce.
Thursday, November 19, 2020 - 7:30pm
WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Chamber Executive Vice President and Chief Policy Officer Neil Bradley today issued the following statement after the Treasury Department requested that the Federal Reserve return unused funds from facilities that used CARES Act funding, including the Main Street Lending Program:
“With the coronavirus surging in communities around the nation and American businesses facing mounting challenges, we need the government’s full support by providing the resources necessary for broad-based economic recovery. A surprise termination of the Federal Reserve’s emergency liquidity programs, including the Main Street Lending Program, prematurely and unnecessarily ties the hands of the incoming administration, and closes the door on important liquidity options for businesses at a time when they need them most.
“American businesses and workers are weary of these political machinations when they are doing everything in their power to keep our economy going. We strongly urge these programs be extended for the foreseeable future and call on Congress to pass additional pandemic relief targeted at the American businesses, workers and industries that continue to suffer. We all need to unite behind the need of a broad-based economic recovery.
Link to www.Bloomberg. /2020-11-24/mnuchin-to-put-455-billion-in-funds-out-of-yellen-s-easy-reach
Biden Treasury pick will need lawmaker approval to use funds
Democrats question legality of Mnuchin’s shift of money
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin will put $455 billion in unspent Cares Act funding into an account that his presumed successor, former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, will soon need authorization from Congress to use.
The money will be placed in the agency’s General Fund, a Treasury Department spokesperson said Tuesday. Most of it had gone to support Federal Reserve emergency-lending facilities, and Mnuchin’s clawback would make it impossible for Yellen as Treasury secretary to restore for that purpose without lawmakers’ blessing.
Democrats swiftly criticized the move, with Bharat Ramamurti, a member of the congressionally appointed watchdog panel overseeing Fed and Treasury Covid-19 relief funds, saying “the good news is that it’s illegal and can be reversed next year.”
A Treasury spokesperson rejected that analysis, saying Mnuchin’s move was legal under the Cares Act stimulus law that originally provided the funding. Republicans and Democrats similarly clashed on Friday over whether the outgoing Treasury chief’s reading of the law required the phasing out of a welter of Fed facilities at year’s end.
President-elect Joe Biden has selected Yellen as his nominee for Treasury secretary. His transition team last week called Mnuchin’s demand for the return of funds from the Fed “deeply irresponsible,” but Mnuchin has denied that he was attempting to limit Biden’s options for reviving the economy.
4 Likes
Looks like some talented women coming aboard in key positions. Progressives are not happy with Neera Tanden…but she’s got strong credentials.
Jennifer Psaki, a veteran Democratic spokeswoman, will be Joe Biden’s White House press secretary,
Kate Bedingfield - Campaign communications director
Neera Tanden as director of the influential Office of Management and Budget
Cecilia Rouse as chair of the three-member Council of Economic Advisers, economists Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey serving as the other members
And Karine Jean-Pierre is part of the Communications team too. (see below)
WILMINGTON, Del. — Jennifer Psaki, a veteran Democratic spokeswoman, will be Joe Biden’s White House press secretary, one of seven women who will fill the upper ranks of his administration’s communications staff. It is the first time that all of the top aides tasked with speaking on behalf of an administration and shaping its message will be female.
Biden’s press team will be led by Kate Bedingfield, a longtime Biden aide who served as his campaign communications director and will hold the same title in his White House.
Biden will also break several barriers on key economic policy positions, including the nomination of Neera Tanden as director of the influential Office of Management and Budget. Tanden, the chief executive of the left-leaning Center for American Progress, would be the first woman of color to oversee OMB.
Biden also is expected to appoint Princeton University labor economist Cecilia Rouse as chair of the three-member Council of Economic Advisers, with economists Jared Bernstein and Heather Boushey serving as the other members. Rouse would be the first woman of color to chair the council.
“Communicating directly and truthfully to the American people is one of the most important duties of a President, and this team will be entrusted with the tremendous responsibility of connecting the American people to the White House,” Biden said in a statement.
And VP Kamala Harris has chosen Symone Sanders to work with her.
3 Likes
3 Likes
In a truly hilarious moment, the GOP has become the GOP’s worst enemy in Georgia, as fired lawyer Sidney Powell claims Kelly Loeffler and Brian Kemp rigged the election against Doug Collins, and thus Trump, to get her into the runoff.
Sidney Powell Undermined Georgia GOP During Crucial Senate Runoff Before Trump Campaign Cut Her Loose
2 Likes
WTF!
DiGenova, appearing on the Howie Carr show, which simulcasts on Newsmax, took aim at Krebs as an aside during a wheels-off segment full of false claims about how the United States election had been rigged.
“Anybody who thinks the election went well, like that idiot Krebs who used to be the head of cybersecurity [for Trump]. That guy is a class A moron. He should be drawn and quartered. Taken out at dawn and shot,” diGenova said.
This is not just a random Parler troll trying to get attention. This is an attorney speaking on behalf of the President of the United States’ re-election campaign. And while it may read like a macabre joke, the direct nature of diGenova’s comments make it impossible to interpret as anything other than a real wish/threat against a public servant for offering truthful testimony.
2 Likes
Glad to know that T does not intend to go to the Inauguration, and escape from a meet and greet at the White House with Biden because that’s who he is - a child.
2 Likes
Well, this is both nut and illegal. Just like Michael Flynn himself.
1 Like
This whole kraken camp is a special kind of nuts.
3 Likes
Oh, what fresh stupidity is this, and does this belong in humor?
Roger Stone Says North Korean Boats Delivered Ballots Through Maine Harbor As Trump Boosts Fraud Claims
3 Likes
Jeff Zients to act as Coronavirus czar. He worked with Obama/Biden on Ebola scare.
WILMINGTON, Del./WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Joe Biden has selected two former Obama administration officials to senior roles to help fight COVID-19, including the appointment of Jeff Zients as White House coronavirus coordinator, Politico reported on Thursday.
Biden adviser Vivek Murthy will return to his role as Surgeon General but with a broader portfolio as the pandemic rages through the country, Politico said, citing two people familiar with the decision.
Dealing with the virus that has killed more than 274,000 Americans as well as the economic fallout from the crisis is one of Biden’s top priorities once he takes office on Jan. 20.
Politico also said Marcella Nunez-Smith, a co-chair of Biden’s COVID-19 advisory board, will play a key role in the incoming administration’s pandemic response, focused on disparities.
Current White House coronavirus task force member Anthony Fauci, the top U.S. government infectious diseases expert, was scheduled to have his first substantive talks with the new administration on Thursday.
Fauci told media he expected to have a comprehensive discussion with the members of Biden’s team working to establish priorities and ensure a smooth transition on Inauguration Day on Jan. 20.
2 Likes
So Biden now has 270 electors points officially as California is one of the later ones certifying.
YAY!
4 Likes
Helpful explainer of what goes on with the Republicans/Trump and all their deceit, and desires to make the 2020 election a sham. Heather Cox Richardson writes a newsletter which a few of you read…but getting an historical perspective is helpful too.
Amazing all the inertia from the R’s - too afraid to speak out. Just another WTF moment. Unreal.
December 5, 2020
Heather Cox Richardson Dec 6 
Today’s news just amplifies yesterday’s, but the stories add up to an interesting scenario.
Coronavirus continues to devastate the country, with official deaths topping 281,000 today, but it turns out that the Trump administration did not actually have a plan for distribution of vaccines. Federal officials have drastically slashed the amount of vaccine they promised to states before the election. Instead of the 300 million doses the administration had promised before the end of 2020, the plan is currently to distribute 35 to 40 million doses. Even those, though, are plagued by bottlenecks in parts of the production process, as well as manufacturing issues. This means a longer struggle with the disease than many had come to expect.
Trump continues to refuse to acknowledge his loss in the November election. This morning, before a scheduled rally in Georgia for two Republican senators facing runoffs against their Democratic challengers, Trump called Georgia Governor Brian Kemp to pressure him to overturn Biden’s win in the state. Trump asked Kemp to convince the state legislature to ignore Biden’s victory and appoint their own slate of electors who would give the president the state’s votes in the Electoral College. Biden won Georgia by about 12,000 votes, and Georgia law does not permit the legislature to submit alternative electors. When Kemp, who is a Republican, declined to do as Trump asked, Trump took to Twitter to attack him.
Trump also asked Kemp to demand an audit of the signatures on mail-in ballots, which Kemp does not have the power to do. Georgia’s governor may not interfere in elections. Instead, the state secretary of state has jurisdiction, and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, has defended the existing signature match process and says there is no evidence of fraud.
At tonight’s rally, Trump continued to insist he had won the election and to assure attendees they are all victims of the Democrats’ plot to steal the election. The rally was nominally about the senate candidates, but Trump treated it pretty much as he treated his rallies before the election. He is convincing his supporters that the election was rigged, and that President-Elect Biden will be an illegitimate president.
Trump loyalists at the Pentagon continue to refuse to let Pentagon officials communicate with Biden’s transition team. According to an official, the Pentagon chief of staff Kash Patel, a former staffer for California Representative Devin Nunes appointed after the election, has rewritten policy descriptions to reflect well on Trump before letting Biden’s people see them. He has also stopped communications. He “told everybody we’re not going to cooperate with the transition team,” an official said, and he has “put a lot of restrictions on it.” He is “controlling the information flow.” This will put the Biden camp behind on getting up to speed on sensitive foreign policy issues with Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, and North Korea, hurting national security.
Also today, the Washington Post printed the results of its query to all 249 Republicans in the House and Senate, asking them who won the 202 presidential election. Only 27 of them are willing to acknowledge that Biden won. Two Republicans insist that Trump won the election, all evidence to the contrary. The rest of them—220 of them—refuse to say who won.
This is a big deal. This was not a close election. Biden currently has over 7 million more votes than Trump, and has won by 306 to 232 in the Electoral College. And yet, Republican leadership is permitting Trump to undermine our democracy. Try to imagine any past Republican president doing what Trump is doing, and you can’t. But today’s Republican lawmakers are standing to the side, permitting Trump to poison our democracy.
To what end? Why are Republicans accepting this anti-American behavior from Trump?
It seems to me they are unwilling to risk losing Trump’s voters in the future because they are determined to regain power. They don’t much care about our democracy, so long as they have a shot at keeping Trump’s people on their side. But then, again, to what end? If Republicans regain power in 2022 or 2024, what will that look like? Do we have any reason to think they will then begin to defend our democracy? Do we have any reason to think they are interested in anything but even more legislation that moves wealth upward?
We have been in a spot much like this before. In 1884, Americans turned against the Republican Party because it had abandoned its support for ordinary Americans in favor of the industrial leaders who put money into Republican lawmakers’ political war chests, as well as into their pockets. Voters put Democrat Grover Cleveland into the White House, the first Democrat to hold the presidency since James Buchanan was elected in 1856.
Horrified, the Republicans flooded the country with stories of how Democrats were socialists who would attack the rich by ending the legislation that protected businesses. If Democrats continued to control the government, Republicans said, they would destroy America. In 1888, they suppressed Democratic votes and created modern political financing as they hit up businessmen for major donations. Despite their best efforts, voters reelected Cleveland by about 100,000 votes, but Republicans managed to eke out a win for their candidate, Benjamin Harrison, in the Electoral College. Harrison promised a “BUSINESSMAN’S ADMINISTRATION,” and indeed, in office, he and his men did all they could to cement the Republican Party into power so it could continue to defend business (among other things, they added six new states to the Union to pack the Electoral College).
But voters still didn’t like the Republicans’ platform, which seemed more and more to funnel money from hardworking Americans upward into the pockets of those men who were increasingly portrayed as robber barons. In 1892, they voted for Cleveland in such numbers they couldn’t be overridden in the Electoral College. Voters also put Democrats in charge of Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
And that is the moment I cannot help thinking about today. Faced with a legitimately elected Democratic government, Republican leaders deliberately sabotaged the country. They swamped the media with warnings that Democrats would destroy the economy and that men should pull their capital out of stocks and industries. Foreign capital should, they said, go home or face disaster. Money began to flow out of the country and stocks faltered. When financiers begged the Harrison administration to shore up the markets in the face of the growing panic, administration officials told them their job was only to keep the country afloat until the day of Cleveland’s inauguration.
They didn’t quite make it. The economy collapsed about ten days before Cleveland took the oath of office, saddling the new president with the Panic of 1893 and very few ways to combat it. Republicans had deliberately sabotaged the country in order to discredit Cleveland, then demanded he honor the demands of financiers to stabilize the economy. Caught between a rock and a hard place, Cleveland tried to work with moneyed interests to combat the depression and promptly split his own party. The country roiled as out-of-work Americans despaired, some of them marching on Washington, D.C., to demand the government do something to address their plight.
The Republicans went into the 1894 midterm elections blaming the Democrats for the crisis in the country. They won the midterms in what remains the largest seat swing in the history of the House of Representatives. Then they claimed that, with Republicans back in power, the economy was now safe. They papered the country with media announcing that the panic was over and people should reinvest. The panic was over, and a Republican president won in 1896, once again insisting the Democrats were socialists, but this time adding that the past four years had proved the Democrats could not run the economy.
There is no excuse for the silence of Republican lawmakers as their president attacks our democracy. But there might be a precedent.
Notes:
3 Likes
AG Bacerra to be named HHS head…Biden’s team announces today. He’s done a good job for CA.
This California AG’s name was being thrown out for potential replacement for Sen Kamala Harris’ spot for CA Senator. Bacerra was also thought to be considered for US Attorney General.
3 Likes
11th Hour move on R’s part. Trying to get SCOTUS involved in the election results when today is Safe Harbor Deadline day and Biden has reached 270 electoral votes (excluding PA for now)
Texas has filed an audacious suit with the Supreme Court challenging the election results
The state of Texas filed an audacious lawsuit in the Supreme Court on Tuesday against four other states, asking the justices to extend the Dec. 14 deadline for certification of presidential electors.
The suit, filed by the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, said Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin had engaged in election irregularities that require investigation, and it asked the court to “enjoin the use of unlawful election results without review and ratification by the defendant states’ legislatures.”
Legal experts called the suit outlandish, and it comes at a time when Mr. Paxton is battling a scandal in his own state over whistle-blower allegations that he engaged in bribery and other wrongdoing to illegally help a wealthy Austin real estate developer and political donor.
“It looks like we have a new leader in the ‘craziest lawsuit filed to purportedly challenge the election’ category,” Stephen I. Vladeck, a law professor at the University of Texas, wrote on Twitter.
The Constitution gives the Supreme Court “original jurisdiction” to hear disputes “in which a state shall be party.” In such cases, the Supreme Court acts much like a trial court, appointing a special master to hear evidence and issue recommendations. Though the Constitution seems to require the court to hear cases brought by states, the court has ruled that it has discretion to turn them down and often does.
When the court does exercise its original jurisdiction, it is usually to adjudicate disputes between two states over issues like water rights. In 2016, the justices turned down a request from Nebraska and Oklahoma to file a challenge to Colorado’s legalization of recreational marijuana. The states said the Colorado law had spillover effects, taxing neighboring states’ criminal justice systems and hurting the health of their residents.
Texas asked the justices to put its case on an exceptionally fast track, but the court has acted with measured deliberation in considering similar requests and may defer consideration of whether to hear the suit until it can have no practical impact. Indeed, the Dec. 8 safe harbor deadline, which largely insulates states that have certified their election results from legal challenges, is about to pass.
In a blog post, Richard L. Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Irvine, called the Texas filing a “press release masquerading as a lawsuit.”
He listed what he said were its shortcomings: “Texas doesn’t have standing to raise these claims as it has no say over how other states choose electors; it could raise these issues in other cases and does not need to go straight to the Supreme Court; it waited too late to sue; the remedy Texas suggests of disenfranchising tens of millions of voters after the fact is unconstitutional; there’s no reason to believe the voting conducted in any of the states was done unconstitutionally; it’s too late for the Supreme Court to grant a remedy even if the claims were meritorious (they are not).”
2 Likes