Thank you, Madame Speaker.

November 18, 2022

          Nancy Pelosi announced on Thursday that she would not seek re-election as leader of the Democratic caucus for the upcoming term of Congress. Her decision was a visionary act of grace and leadership. She could have held onto her position until her caucus forced her to retire—the usual path chosen by most politicians who rise to the pinnacle of power. But not Nancy Pelosi. In choosing to step aside, she has elevated the next generation of leaders in the Democratic Party and provided for an orderly transition at a critical moment in the party’s history. Her decision was a selfless act that should be emulated by others in the party who have held onto power only because they can.

          Pelosi made her motivation clear in her remarks today:

For me, the hour has come for a new generation to lead the Democratic caucus that I so deeply respect. And I am grateful that so many are ready and willing to shoulder this awesome responsibility.

          The full video of Speaker Pelosi’s remarks are here (beginning at 17:00 minute mark): Speaker Nancy Pelosi announces future plans

          Pelosi will be remembered as the greatest Speaker in the history of the House. On the day when American democracy teetered on the brink, Pelosi took on the role of acting Commander-in-Chief. Her “alpha-male” colleagues in leadership on both sides of the aisle stood anxiously by her side as she sought support from the military, the Department of Defense, the DOJ, and governors in neighboring states. Even as insurrectionists hunted her in the halls of the Capitol, she remained at her post, ensuring the peaceful transfer of power. For her courage and leadership on that day alone, she will be remembered as a great American patriot.

          But her legacy is secure without regard to January 6th. She presided over the passage of one of the most consequential bills in our nation’s history: the Affordable Care Act, which President Obama greatly expanded at Pelosi’s urging. She also presided over the passage of landmark bills in her most recent tenure, including the infrastructure bill, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the PACT Act, the Safer Communities Act, and the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act.

          She also distinguished herself as the first female speaker of the House and one of the few politicians with the courage, skill, and willingness to confront and constrain Donald Trump. The photo of her standing at a table filled with cowardly and complicit men as she towers over Trump to deliver a stinging rebuke captures the essence of Nancy Pelosi—a fearless leader speaking truth to power. Nancy Pelosi has made America a much better place than she found it—an accolade that applies to precious few politicians.

          Writing in praise of Nancy Pelosi is difficult because her accomplishments will always outrun the tributes heaped upon her—so I will stop here, for now. She is a national treasure, an American hero, and a faithful servant of democracy. We have been blessed to be American citizens during her tenure as Speaker of the House of Representatives. Thank you, Madame Speaker.

The GOP’s dumpster fire.

          As Nancy Pelosi was giving a masterclass in leadership, House Republicans were dumpster diving. After a historic rebuke in the midterms because of their pointless “revenge agenda,” Republicans wasted no time in announcing that their first order of business was . . . wait for it . . . an investigation into Hunter Biden. To put it mildly, Republicans are idiots if they believe investigating Hunter Biden is what the American people expect them to do with their new majority in the House.

          Investigating Hunter Biden and impeaching administration officials is a monumental waste of time that will accomplish nothing. But the prospect is nonetheless causing anxiety. See, e.g., Rolling Stone, Get Ready for Two Years of House Republican Bulls–t. Per Rolling Stone,

          The prospect of House committees being taken over by Republicans is terrifying, and will likely lead to several bogus investigations into everyone from Hunter Biden, to Dr. Anthony Fauci, to Attorney General Merrick Garland. Greene and others have also vowed to impeach President Biden. It’s not clear for what, exactly, although Rolling Stone reported last week that Trump has been calling Republicans to ask if they’re going to impeach his successor — and “how many” times they might do so.

          Republicans know this is the moment of maximum publicity for their performative chest-thumping—and the media is obliging with non-stop coverage. The saturation of the airwaves and print media is having its intended effect: It is panicking some Democrats unnecessarily. Here is an email I received from a reader regarding an article in The Guardian by Sidney Blumental, Trump is now effectively in control of the US House of Representatives:

Several of my friends, as well as I, read this article today and found it quite disturbing. It was one of the most depressing, unnerving articles I have read this year. It seems that we are in for a horribly upsetting 2 years ahead.  Can this nation really withstand this kind of callous, malevolent beating for the next 2 years?

          To answer the reader’s question, “Yes, the nation can withstand two years of callous and malevolent investigations by Republicans.” We are strong enough to withstand a series of bogus investigations. We must be.

          It is easy for Republicans to generate a list of investigations they intend to pursue. That does not mean that they will accomplish everything on their list—although we should assume they might. But “So what?” Hunter Biden has been under investigation by the DOJ for years. Are the hapless Republicans going to discover something the DOJ has not? And if the GOP investigates the security lapses on January 6th—good! And if they investigate Nancy Pelosi’s alleged mistreatment of defendants arrested for insurrection, they will discover something every high school student understands—the Speaker of the House has no role in arresting, detaining, or prosecuting criminal defendants.

          At this point, it is not clear that Republicans are even organized enough to elect a Speaker. See Manu Raju on Twitter,

Rep. Andy Biggs predicted "some kind of consensus candidate" will emerge. Asked about chances McCarthy will become speaker, Biggs said flatly: "He doesn’t have the votes."

          So, let’s not collapse the future (and our imagined fears) into a single moment. The Republican caucus is a mess, and their plans for mischief will unfold over time. They will spin their wheels, waste their time, and (ultimately) make fools of themselves. Yes, it will be painful to watch and ugly at times, but they will damage GOP prospects going into 2024. Let’s take it a day at a time. We can do that.

Trump’s legal peril.

          As Americans wait for the DOJ to indict Trump, legal analysts and the media are examining the grounds for indictment and Trump’s possible defenses. Ten prominent prosecutors have prepared a “model prosecution memo” for the theft of defense secrets case against Trump. The authors include Andrew Weismann and Joyce Vance. The analysis is exhaustive and compelling. Indeed, if Merrick Garland’s staff is behind in their work, they would be well-served to use the memo as a template to recommend indictment of Trump.

          It’s a bit tricky to download the pdf of the memo, so here is the conclusion:

The Department’s own precedent makes clear that charging Trump would be to treat him comparably to others who engaged in similar criminal behavior, often with far fewer aggravating factors than the former president. Based on the publicly available information to date, a powerful case exists for charging Trump under the federal criminal statutes discussed in this memorandum.

          The above memo covers only charges relating to theft of defense secrets and obstruction of justice. The New York Times has covered all of the major grounds for prosecuting Trump (or holding him civilly liable), including the defenses Trump could raise. See Opinion | Trump Faces Five Major Investigations. He Has Dozens of Ways Out. While the piece is well-done and easy to navigate, it tends to overstate the ways in which Trump could avoid liability by listing substantive and procedural “offramps” available to every criminal defendant. The two defenses unique to Trump involve running for president so that he can (a) fire Merrick Garland and quash the investigations, and (b) grant himself a pardon.

          (The last time I said that Trump could fire Garland, I received lots of quizzical emails from readers. If Trump is re-elected (I am not saying he will be), Merrick Garland could still be Attorney General. Cabinet appointments do not automatically expire with the end of the term of the president who appointed the cabinet officer. A cabinet officer remains in place until they resign or are fired. That is why Merrick Garland must move quickly to avoid a situation where Trump could fire him.)

          So, here’s the point: The above resources make clear that there are ample grounds to indict Trump now. Many readers disagree, saying that Garland is working to bring a case that is “airtight,” “bulletproof,” or “ironclad.” None of those phrases define the standard for prosecuting Trump—either in the statutes or Justice Department Manual.

Do you know a citizen of the state of Georgia living overseas? Please forward this information!

          From reader Laura Mosedale:

In 2020, Georgia voters outside the US returned over 19,000 ballots for the general election. There's compelling evidence that a sizeable majority voted for Democrats, making overseas voters the ‘margin of victory’ for Biden in a state he won by only 12,000 votes.

To help boost the overseas vote in the Georgia runoff, spread the word about how to vote in the GA runoff by sharing this link VoteFromAbroad.org/Georgia via email, text, Twitter, and Instagram. You may not know a Georgia voter outside the US, but your friend's friend may!

Many students who vote in Georgia study abroad! Many might not realize that even if they did not vote in the general election, they can STILL vote in the runoff, as long as they are already registered Georgia voters. But they need to request their ballot and mail back their vote right away!  Voter registration volunteers are staffing live Zoom sessions to help all voters outside the US navigate the entire process: Global Voter Help Desk.

Concluding Thoughts.

          During the midterms, Republicans attempted to “mess with our minds” by manipulating the polls. Sadly, they might have depressed turnout in some races by convincing Democrats that we were going to lose. They are trying to do the same thing now by pretending that they will “investigate” us into submission. They won’t, and they can’t. But don’t let them mess with our minds by causing us to doubt ourselves. We control the Senate and the presidency. That counts for something. In the meantime, Republicans have their own problems—including a brewing civil war for the Speakership. So, let’s stay focused on Georgia and try to ignore the GOP circus that is coming to town.

          I will be in touch over the weekend!