Staggering in the right direction . . . .
January 4, 2025
Before turning to the news, a quick reminder: I will hold a Substack Live Stream on Saturday, January 4 at 9:00 am PST / 12:00 noon EST. The live stream is open to all readers. To join, you will need the Substack App (Apple and Android).
There is no link to the event; you will receive a notification within the Substack App (and an email) when I go live on the Substack App.
Update on the victims of New Orleans terror attack
Officials in New Orleans have released the names of eleven of fourteen victims. The name of one British citizen killed in the attack is being withheld at the request of the family. See MSN, 'So beautiful and full of life': What we know about victims of New Orleans attack
We cannot forget the victims, ever. But the media is already moving on before they have been buried. Do not let that happen.
Judge Merchan schedules sentencing hearing for Trump
Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Donald Trump's sentencing hearing for January 10. The hearing relates to the 34-count guilty verdicts in the New York state prosecution in the so-called “hush money” election interference case.
The significance of Merchan’s decision is this: Until Trump is sentenced, he is not a “convicted” felon. But sentencing Trump to prison would raise serious constitutional questions regarding the intersection of state and federal law.
Merchan anticipated the constitutional clash if he sentenced Trump to prison—and removed that controversy from the menu of items to be appealed. He did so by indicating in his scheduling order that the Trump's sentence would include an “unconditional release”—meaning that Trump would be “convicted” but would serve no time in prison, pay no financial penalty, and serve no time on probation under court supervision.
Merchan’s move was brilliant and courageous. It may not succeed, but Merchan stood up for the rule of law and for every American who seeks justice. The high likelihood is that Trump will succeed in delaying the sentencing hearing, as explained below. But Merchan has moved the justice system as close as humanly possible to ensuring that Trump is a convicted felon on the day he takes office. For that, Judge Merchan deserves our respect and admiration.
Richard L. Hasen and Jeremy Stahl have published a brilliant analysis in Slate, One explanation for Justice Merchan’s last-second decision to sentence Trump.
As Hasen and Stahl explain, Merchan may have been motivated to act quickly because Trump's lawyers have waged a war of intimidation against Merchan. Hasen and Stahl cite to a footnote in which Merchan says,
Defendant’s disdain for the Third Branch of government, whether state or federal, in New York or elsewhere, is a matter of public record. Indeed, Defendant has gone to great lengths to broadcast on social media and other forums his lack of respect for judges, juries, grand juries and the justice system as a whole.
This Court is in complete agreement with Chief Justice Roberts’ views on this subject. Dangerous rhetoric is not a welcome form of argument and will have no impact on how the Court renders this or any other Decision.
As interpreted by Hasen and Stahl,
Merchan all but accuses Trump’s attorneys, led by Trump’s nominee for deputy attorney general, Todd Blanche, of attempting to intimidate the judge in their recent pleadings. The implication could be that Merchan is laying down a marker that he will go ahead with the sentencing at this late date to demonstrate that the judiciary will not be intimidated by the incoming president.
But the last-minute decision by Merchan likely guarantees Trump will obtain interim relief to stay the sentencing:
By waiting until the last minute, [Merchan is] putting all the courts in a bind. There is one week until sentencing, and less than three weeks until Trump is back in office again. There’s hardly time to brief and decide this case. An appeals court may decide that Merchan dallied and give Trump the benefit of the doubt.
So, we should not get our hopes up that Trump will be sentenced on January 10. But he is on the doorstep of being the first convicted felon to be elected as president. That may be all we get, for now. It will have to do.
More “obeying in advance” by the Washington Post
I haven’t referred or cited to the Washington Post since Jeff Bezos ordered the editorial board not to endorse Kamala Harris for president. I sometimes wonder whether that was the right decision. Today, it became clear it was.
Editorial cartoonist Ann Telnaes just published an article on Substack entitled, Why I'm quitting the Washington Post. Telnaes explains that she prepared an editorial cartoon that showed billionaires bowing in supplication to Trump. The cartoon is in the linked article. As explained by Telnaes,
The group in the cartoon included Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook & Meta founder and CEO, Sam Altman/AI CEO, Patrick Soon-Shiong/LA Times publisher, the Walt Disney Company/ABC News, and Jeff Bezos/Washington Post owner.
Telnaes explains,
For the first time, my editor prevented me from doing that critical job [publishing the cartoon]. So I have decided to leave the Post. I doubt my decision will cause much of a stir and that it will be dismissed because I’m just a cartoonist. But I will not stop holding truth to power through my cartooning, because as they say, “Democracy dies in darkness”.
Ann Telnaes deserves our respect and admiration for her courage. And the ongoing disgrace at WaPo should cause all self-respecting journalists and columnists to follow Ann Telnaes’s example.
Mike Johnson elected Speaker of the House
Mike Johnson was elected on the first ballot—but only after three Republicans initially voted for other candidates, temporarily denying Johnson the Speakership. But the clerk held the vote open for an hour, during which time Trump and Johnson pressured the holdouts to flip their votes.
Johnson won the Speakership with a bare majority. It is a sign of weakness but nonetheless suggests that Republicans may be able to pass a budget through the reconciliation process in early January. That process will circumvent the filibuster and allow a spending bill to pass only with Republican votes—theoretically.
If the bill contains cuts to programs that are popular with Republican voters generally or specific congressional districts, it will be difficult to pass with only Republican support.
See generally Vox, House Republicans’ speaker drama, briefly explained | Initial GOP defections point to the party’s divides.
The 119th Congress got off to a weak start for Republicans. Democrats must remain united to protect Americans who rely on retirement, medical, and regulatory programs to protect their health, safety, and financial security.
Concluding Thoughts
I received a note from a reader today that was evocative of the feelings that many readers have expressed recently. I include a portion of the note below; I have edited and anonymized the note but tried to keep its essence. I think it will speak to readers who are struggling in the bewildering circumstances we are facing.
From a reader:
We need something different. Not more, not louder. Different. I'm working on it but boy could I use some help. I can't say I have much of a clue where I'm heading with this but I do know (or at least believe) that I'm staggering in the right direction.
I suspect that part of it is not spending so much time pointing out how wrong the Tech Bros are and patiently pointing out yet again the extent to which they simply don't understand law, policy, budgets or fact, but instead allowing them to fall flat on their faces. [I]f we're going to actually fight it, it's got to be on a more emotionally resonant basis than "we have the facts and the law.”
The reader’s statement that “I can't say I have much of a clue where I'm heading . . . but I believe I'm staggering in the right direction” describes how many of us feel at the moment. The good news is that “staggering in the right direction” is progress. If we can endure, we will find time to regain our bearings. That is enough for now.
Talk to you tomorrow!
Daily Dose of Perspective
The Epsilon Orionis Nebula surrounds the star Epsilon Ori. The nebula is 1,337 light years from Earth.
Enjoy!
Regarding the statement made by Judge Merchan which strongly suggests intimidation by trump’s lawyers:
I have often wondered why more has not been written about the intimidation, threats of violence, as well as actual violence by trump and MAGA. It is an established pattern which is a direct threat to our way of life. There have been stories about members of Congress who vote with trump because they are afraid for their family’s safety. There was the report about the woman who attempted to keep trump out of a hallowed area of Arlington and declined to press charges for fear of retaliation. January 6th. People in government, journalism and the law have been changing their behavior because they fear for their safety.
This is another important story that legacy media has refused to cover.
Thank you for sharing the link to Ann Telnaes' article and cartoon on Substack. The cartoon should go viral and be seen by more people than it would have been had the editors not bowed to the mafia. I posted it on Twitter as well as Bluesky, writing:" @Anntelnaes quit her job at @washington post because editors didn't want readers (and the powers to be) to see this cartoon. Obviously too close to reality. Share!"
Yes, please do!