Biden courts China, Trump reveals defense secrets.

October 6, 2023

[No audio tonight due to travel.]

          President Biden is negotiating with Chinese President Xi Jinping to set up a meeting in November to de-escalate tension between two of the world’s nuclear superpowers. It has been a year since the two leaders have spoken, in part because the US shot down a Chinese “weather balloon” that wafted across the US. But relations have been tense over a variety of issues. Per the NYTimes,

[C]ommunications between top American military officials and their counterparts in Beijing remain frozen despite repeated overtures by the American side. In March, Xi accused Washington of leading an effort by the West to implement “containment, encirclement and suppression of China” to slow its development. And last month, China’s main spy agency, the Ministry of State Security, indicated in a cryptic and unusual post on its WeChat social media page that prospects for a Xi-Biden summit would depend on the United States “show[ing] enough sincerity.”

          Against that backdrop of strained relations, the prospect of a meeting between Biden and Xi is a significant development that reflects positively on the careful and disciplined foreign policy of the Biden administration. That is what Americans should expect from their presidents.

          On Thursday, ABC News reported that Trump disclosed classified information about the capabilities of US nuclear submarines to a member of the Mar-a-Lago club. See ABC News, Trump allegedly discussed US nuclear subs with foreign national after leaving White House: Sources.

          Per ABC News,

Months after leaving the White House, former President Donald Trump allegedly discussed potentially sensitive information about U.S. nuclear submarines with a member of his Mar-a-Lago Club -- an Australian billionaire who then allegedly shared the information with scores of others, including more than a dozen foreign officials, several of his own employees, and a handful of journalists, according to sources familiar with the matter.

          If true, the disclosure of classified information about US nuclear capabilities is a grave offense that should be criminally prosecuted and result in immediate disqualification from any public office. Instead, Republicans are floating Trump's name as an interim Speaker of the House—an institution that he incited a violent mob to attack on January 6.

          It is difficult to rationalize the Republican party’s irrational loyalty to Trump. When historians document this era, they will dedicate volumes to that unanswerable question. We should not waste any effort trying to make sense of nonsense. We are in the thick of the fight that will allow us to overcome the retrograde spasm of reactionary populism that Trump has hijacked for his vile ends. We just need to keep our wits about us long enough to outlast them. We can do that.

          Outlasting them does not mean that we should accept or tolerate the ongoing onslaught of daily outrages from Trump. No other politician could survive a whiff of the scandal that Trump wallows in every day. We must hold him to the same standard as other politicians. We must hold the press accountable when they treat Trump as just another candidate in the 2024 election. We must not grant his supporters in Congress legitimacy they do not deserve.

Biden issues executive orders to allow completion of portion of border wall.

          President Biden issued executive orders on Thursday that cleared the way for completion of a portion of “border wall” that was authorized by Congress in 2019 (under Trump). This story is confusing and disappointing, but we must be conversant with the facts so that we can explain them, if necessary.

          The essential facts are explained by the NYTimes, In Reversal, Biden Administration Moves to Expand Border Wall. Per the Times, the Biden administration explained that the border wall

would be built with funds appropriated by Congress in 2019 for wall construction in the Rio Grande Valley. That appropriation followed a disaster declaration by the Trump administration amid soaring numbers of border crossers.

Mr. Biden said on Thursday that he had no choice but to use the money for the wall.

“The money was appropriated for the border wall. I tried to get them to reappropriate, to redirect that money. They didn’t. They wouldn’t,” he told reporters, apparently referring to Congress.

Asked whether he thought the border wall was effective, he replied, “no.”

          So, Biden says that (a) he had no choice but to spend the previously appropriated funds, (b) he doesn’t believe the wall will be effective in preventing illegal immigration, and (c) he issued executive orders waiving various provisions of the Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, and Endangered Species Act that would have prevented the construction of the wall.

          Those premises seem inconsistent. It is possible that Biden is trying to have it both ways by making the best out of a situation over which he has limited control. That is the thesis of Nicole Narea in Vox, Biden is building a new border wall amid rising migrant crossings. Nerea writes,

Still, it’s hard to see how the project isn’t politically expedient for [Biden] when he’s facing pressure from both parties to bring the number of border crossings down.

          Although Biden is subjected to daily criticism regarding the “border crisis,” Congress has jurisdiction over international borders. Despite Republican complaints about the border crisis, they have refused to do anything meaningful in decades, even though Republicans held a federal “trifecta” for two years after Trump's election. If Republicans were serious about solving the vexing issues at the southern border, they could have and should have done so under Trump.

          I am not sure what more there is to say about this story, except that Republicans will not be satisfied with the new constructions and many Democratic constituencies will be unhappy with it. Perhaps Biden really had no choice. If so, his administration failed to prepare the public and the media for an announcement that seemed like a reversal of policy for Biden.

Trump files motion to dismiss the J6 prosecution in DC.

          Trump filed a motion to dismiss all charges in the J6 criminal prosecution in DC on Thursday. The motion is here: Motion to Dismiss Indictment based on Presidential Immunity. The central premise of the motion to dismiss is summarized in Trump's introduction:

To ensure the President may serve unhesitatingly, without fear that his political opponents may one day prosecute him for decisions they dislike, the law provides absolute immunity “for acts within the ‘outer perimeter’ of [the President’s] official responsibility.” Nixon v. Fitzgerald, 457 U.S. 731, 756 (1982).

          Trump relies heavily on the ruling in Nixon v. Fitzgerald, which recognized presidential immunity from private suits for civil damages for actions “within the outer perimeter of the president’s duties.” The Court in Nixon notes that there are other disincentives to deter presidential misconduct—including impeachment, congressional oversight, and a vigilant press.

          The Court in Nixon did not mention criminal prosecution as another check on presidential misconduct—presumably because it had not yet occurred to the Court that a president would commit a crime (as opposed to a civil wrong) while in office. Trump attempts to bootstrap the absence of any mention of criminal conduct as a check on presidential power into a bar against criminal prosecution of a president.

          The argument is ridiculous. It ignores the facts of the case in Nixon and turns logic on its head. If Judge Chutkan correctly applies the holding in Nixon to the criminal conduct alleged against Trump, the judge will dismiss Trump's motion post haste.

Something rotten in the state of Arkansas.

          There appears to be a scandal brewing in Arkansas involving Governor Sarah Huckabee. The facts are complicated, but Governor Huckabee’s efforts to conceal and misrepresent the true nature of a $20,000 expense reimbursement makes it seem like she is desperate to cover up misconduct. See Talking Points Memo, Let’s Talk about ‘PodiumGate’.

          To understand how bad things look for Huckabee, you need to read TPM’s article. The very short version is that Huckabee took a trip to Paris on taxpayer money this summer. While in Paris Huckabee allegedly bought a $20,000 podium—which just happens to look identical to the podium she used when she took the oath of office more than a year ago. Huckabee was accompanied on the trip to Paris by two consultants who allegedly paid their own expenses. But one of the traveling companion consultants is associated with the company that Huckabee allegedly bought the podium from. Hmm. Perhaps a disguised payment to the consultants for travel at state taxpayers’ expense?

          The purchase may be legitimate, but when a reporter filed a Freedom of Information Act request for details on the purchase, Huckabee called a special session of the legislature to change the Freedom of Information Act in a way that would deny the reporter the information about the purchase of the podium. Hmm. . . “The lady doth protest too much, methinks.”

          Read the article, but here’s the point: Huckabee called a special session of the legislature to change the law to deny the reporter information about the purchase—information that is usually freely available to the public. Something is rotten in the state of Arkansas!

Source of George Santos’s mysterious wealth is discovered.

          An enduring mystery of George Santos’s $500,000 “loan” from his $50,000 annual salary has been solved: Santos did not have $500,000 to loan himself—as claimed on his campaign finance disclosure form. Instead, that money came from an unnamed “National Party Committee.” Does anyone care to guess which national party gave Santos a $500,000 that he falsely claimed was a personal loan?

          The above facts are drawn from an indictment of a Santos campaign staffer (Nancy Marks” who has pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance laws. Per the indictment (actually, it was an “information” but the distinction is not important here),

Co-Conspirator #1 and MARKS agreed to falsely report to the FEC that Co-Conspirator # 1 [Santos] had loaned the Campaign Committee significant sums of money, when Co-Conspirator # 1 had not made the reported loans and, in fact, did not have the funds necessary to make such loans at the time.

          In short, per the indictment, Marks and Santos lied about Santos loaning $500,000 to his campaign. Prosecutors now have the cooperation of Nancy Marks in their case against Santos for violation of campaign finance laws. The details are here: Talking Points Memo, We’ve Finally Solved The Mystery Of George Santos’ Mysterious Fortune.

Opportunity for reader involvement.

          Laura Brill, the founder of The Civics Center, posted this article on Substack about the great opportunity for increasing youth voter turnout in Ohio: Calling Ohio: 100,000 18-year-olds remain unregistered to vote (substack.com). Per Brill,

[A] s of just a few weeks ago, more than 100,000 18-year-olds [in Ohio] were not yet registered to vote. They will be disenfranchised and barred from voting in that election unless they register between now and October 10, the cutoff date for voter registration.

The Civics Center’s Future Voter Scorecards provide a county-by-county breakdown. The top 10 most populous counties are below, and for a full state view click here.

Here’s what you need to know about the numbers.

As of August 26, 2023, just 36,000 of the state’s more than 150,000 18-year-olds had registered to vote, a statewide voter registration rate of just 23.4%.

In the most populous county, Franklin County, , where Columbus is located, only 22.5% of 18-year-olds are registered.

In the second most populous county, Cuyahoga County, where Cleveland is located, 26.5% of 18-year-olds are registered.

Those figures are well below the roughly 30% of 18-year-olds who were registered nationwide at the time of the 2022 midterm election, (according to US Census data).

          How can you help? You can help Ohio youth turnout by sending this post to everyone you know in Ohio, and ask them to let others know about these numbers and that they can make a difference.  If you’re already in Ohio, tell your friends and family. Tell high school educators and officials. You can help Ohio youth turnout by sending the Civics Center’s post to everyone you know in Ohio, and ask them to let others know about these numbers and that they can make a difference.  If you’re already in Ohio, tell your friends and family. Tell high school educators and officials. 

Concluding Thoughts.

          My wife posted more of my photos of the Air Force Thunderbirds on her blog at Every Day with Jill, Huntington Beach Pacific Air Show 2023!.

          I was surprised by the number of emails in my inbox this morning expressing regret that “Democrats helped” to remove McCarthy from the Speakership. Many emails expressed fears that we will end up with someone worse.

          We should have no regrets. First, we cannot govern our actions based on what Republicans might do in response. If we were to do so, we become hostages to our fears. We can only control our actions, so we should choose to do what is right. Period.

          Second, the path forward is through a bipartisan coalition in the House. McCarthy would never have been a partner in such a coalition. He told us so in his farewell speech. He told us so in his words and actions as Speaker, where he proved himself to be a glad-handing extremist, Trump absolutist, and inveterate liar.

          Third, it is true that we may get someone worse—for a while. But anyone who is nominated with the help of Matt Gaetz and Marjorie Taylor Greene will be incapable of governing and will disappear in months. We might have to endure another bad Speaker before we get to a candidate who will not make irresponsible promises and who will be willing to reach across the aisle to create a power-sharing agreement.

          The most likely offramp for the GOP dysfunction is to accept a lifeline from Democrats to create a bipartisan coalition. McCarthy wouldn’t accept such a lifeline. Jim Jordan and Steve Scalise won’t either. The sooner we churn through the extremist candidates and get to a responsible GOP Speaker who will work with Democrats, the better.

          I will be in touch tomorrow!