The Full Belmonte, 3/13/2024
Special counsel Robert Hur said he had not exonerated President Joe Biden. | Francis Chung/POLITICO
THE CATCH-UP
“HIM AND HUR — Special counsel ROBERT HUR’s report about President JOE BIDEN’s handling of classified documents managed to infuriate both Democrats and Republicans. And as he testified this morning before the House Judiciary Committee, he parried criticisms from both sides while defending his work as nonpartisan.
Some of the most striking moments:
Hur told Rep. MATT GAETZ (R-Fla.) that Biden’s avowal that he didn’t share classified information was ‘inconsistent with the findings based on the evidence in my report.’
When Rep. PRAMILA JAYAPAL (D-Wash.) said Hur’s report had exonerated the president, the special counsel shot back, ‘I did not exonerate him.’
Hur also held firm that AG MERRICK GARLAND had not interfered in the report at all.
Democrats made sure to highlight the fundamental conclusion that Hur recommended no charges for Biden over the classified materials — and that Hur said Biden’s conduct wasn’t on the same level as DONALD TRUMP’s, which earned the former president criminal prosecution. Republicans, led by Chair JIM JORDAN (R-Ohio), were outraged by the disparity and grilled Hur on his decision to let Biden off. Dems, meanwhile, asked Hur — a Republican — if he was just trying to get an appointment in a future GOP administration. Hur said he has ‘no such aspirations,’ but didn’t rule it out, per Jordain Carney.
Beyond the legal ramifications of Hur’s report, of course, there was the political firestorm kicked off by his characterization of Biden as an ‘elderly man with a poor memory,’ which fed into one of the president’s greatest liabilities in the eyes of the public. Dems today blasted Hur for going over the top and having ‘smeared’ the president, but Hur maintained that he wouldn’t ‘sanitize’ his findings for political purposes.
Just as notable as the hearing was the release today of the transcript of Hur’s interview with Biden: The press quickly picked through the most striking portions and found, as NBC’s Mike Memoli puts it, ‘a more nuanced picture on both sides.’ Though Biden does forget some things or mix up some timelines, he also demonstrates sharp and detailed recall of various topics. ‘Biden doesn’t come across as being as absent-minded as Hur has made him out to be — and Hur doesn’t appear as crass as Biden has made him out to be,’ WaPo’s Matt Viser reports.
On one of the most incendiary questions — whether Biden couldn’t recall the year his son BEAU died — the transcript again offers some more shading. It was indeed Biden, not Hur, who first brought the topic up. But Biden quickly knew the date (May 30) as he tried to get the chronology of those years in order. More from the AP
The transcripts also contain some lighter moments: Biden recalls his archery success in Mongolia, jokes about whether investigators found any bathing suit photos of JILL and makes car noises as he talks about electric vehicles. Check out the transcripts for yourself here and here.” [POLITICO]
U.S. inflation was slightly stronger than expected last month but didn’t change expectations that the Fed will begin cutting interest rates later this year.
“Consumer prices rose 3.2% in February from a year earlier, the Labor Department said, up slightly from economists’ expectations of 3.1%. Next week’s central-bank meeting will include discussions about how many cuts most officials continue to expect this year—three or fewer. Inflation has declined notably from 40-year highs following the most rapid rate increases in four decades. The S&P 500 hit a new record after the inflation-data release. Traders are now assigning a roughly 60% chance that the Fed begins cutting rates in June, according to futures markets.” [Wall Street Journal]
Pentagon will give Ukraine $300 million in weapons even as it lacks funds to replenish US stockpile
“The Pentagon will rush about $300 million in weapons to Ukraine after finding some cost savings in its contracts, even though the military remains deeply overdrawn and needs at least $10 billion to replenish all the weapons it has pulled from its stocks to help Kyiv in its desperate fight against Russia.” Read More at AP News
Rep. Ken Buck to leave Congress next week, narrowing GOP's slim majority
“Republican Rep. Ken Buck said he’ll resign next week, narrowing his party’s razor-thin House majority and potentially throwing an obstacle in the way of Rep. Lauren Boebert’s effort to succeed him.” Read More at AP News
Viral video of Biden effigy beating prompts calls for top Kansas Republican leaders to resign
“Two top Kansas Republican Party officials are facing internal calls to resign over a viral online video showing people at a fundraiser kicking and beating a mannequin wearing a mask of President Joe Biden, underscoring the national GOP’s deep divisions and problems winning over suburban voters.” Read More at AP News
RFK Jr.'s veep contenders
Aaron Rodgers, Jesse Ventura. Photos: Brandon Sloter/Image Of Sport, Glen Stubbe/Star Tribune via Getty Images
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he's considering New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former Minnesota Gov. and pro wrestler Jesse Ventura as possible running mates for his 2024 bid.
Why it matters: The two men — particularly Rodgers — have built-in name recognition and could boost national interest for his long-shot independent bid, Axios' Erin Doherty writes.
Kennedy has been speaking with Rodgers ‘pretty continuously’ over the last month, the N.Y. Times reports.
He got in touch with Ventura last month. Kennedy said the two are at the top of his life.” [Axios]
Illinois police identify the three kids and two drivers killed when a school bus hit a semitruck
“Authorities have identified five people, including three children, who died Monday in a fiery crash when a school bus and a semitruck collided along a western Illinois highway.” Read More at AP News
Ukrainian drones struck refineries and other oil infrastructure deep inside Russia.
“The strikes are part of an ongoing effort to disrupt fuel supplies to the front line and damage Moscow’s most important export industry. Kyiv’s recent attacks have caused damage severe enough to require monthslong repairs and prompted Russia to ban gasoline exports to preserve its domestic supply. That disruption has contributed to a recent rise in global diesel and gasoline prices, while crude prices have remained relatively stable. The war also has sparked a rare challenge to Russian President Vladimir Putin from drafted men’s wives, mothers and sisters, who are protesting open-ended deployments. The Kremlin, which usually punishes dissenters, has allowed the women’s activism.” [Wall Street Journal]
Political Uncertainty Looms Over Haiti
A protester burns tires during a demonstration calling for the resignation of acting Prime Minister Ariel Henry in Port-au-Prince on Feb. 7, 2024.Richard Pierrin/AFP via Getty Images
“Embattled acting Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced late Monday that he would step down from the position once a transitional presidential council is formed, yielding to growing domestic and global pressure for a political transition as gang violence overtakes the country.
If all goes according to plan, the move could lay the groundwork for a long-awaited election in Haiti, but there remains considerable uncertainty and it is far from clear who Henry’s potential successor may be. Henry has held power since 2021, when he became caretaker president after the assassination of then-President Jovenel Moïse. In the years since, he has grown unpopular, particularly as he failed to follow through on pledges to hold elections and stamp out gang violence.
The crisis deteriorated rapidly last week after gangs effectively blocked Henry, who was on a diplomatic trip abroad, from returning to Haiti—forcing his plane to land in Puerto Rico, where he remains today. Gang violence grips the country, with the United Nations estimating that armed gangs have seized control of more than 80 percent of territory in Port-au-Prince, the Haitian capital.
‘The government I lead cannot remain indifferent to this situation,’ Henry said late Monday. ‘Haiti needs peace, stability, sustainable development and to rebuild its democratic institutions. I urge Haitians to remain calm and do everything they can to restore peace and stability as quickly as possible for the good of the country.’
Henry’s announcement came after Caribbean leaders and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken convened for urgent talks about Haiti’s crisis in Kingston, Jamaica, on Monday. In recent days, Blinken also ramped up pressure on Henry to back a political transition proposal. The United States has pledged some $333 million in total toward a U.N.-backed security mission and humanitarian aid to Haiti.
But mounting uncertainty may also change some involved countries’ commitments. On Tuesday, Kenyan officials announced that they would wait for a transitional government to be established before sending 1,000 police officers to the country, a deal originally secured during Henry’s tenure.
‘The deal they signed with [Henry] still stands, although the deployment will not happen now because definitely we will require a sitting government to also collaborate with,’ said Salim Swaleh, a top spokesperson in Kenya’s Foreign Ministry. ‘Because you don’t just deploy police to go on the Port-au-Prince streets without a sitting administration.’” [Foreign Policy]
“Aid shipment to Gaza. Aid groups hope that a new maritime corridor could help supply much-needed aid to the besieged Gaza Strip. The first test of the route came on Tuesday, as a ship carrying around 200 tons of food departed Cyprus for Gaza, a trip that will likely take several days. The U.S. charity World Central Kitchen is behind the aid shipment.
The aid shipment comes as the United Nations warns of dire humanitarian conditions in the war-torn territory. At least 576,000 people are ‘facing catastrophic levels of deprivation and starvation,’ according to the U.N. ‘If nothing changes, a famine is imminent in northern Gaza,’ said World Food Programme deputy executive director Carl Skau.” [Foreign Policy]
“Nigeria’s missing schoolchildren. Nigerian soldiers are continuing their search for hundreds of missing schoolchildren who were kidnapped in the past week. In the most recent kidnapping, 15 children were taken from a school on Saturday; more than 280 children were abducted last Thursday. It remains unclear who is behind the kidnappings.
The school abductions are the latest in a string of kidnappings that have rocked Nigeria in recent months. Earlier this month, more than 200 people, mostly women and children, were kidnapped in the Nigerian state of Borno. In 2023, Nigeria experienced at least 3,600 reported abductions, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.” [Foreign Policy]
“India’s citizenship law. Just weeks ahead of India’s national elections, New Delhi has enacted a 2019 citizenship law that has drawn fierce criticism for excluding Muslims. The legislation, known as the Citizenship Amendment Act, offers a fast track to citizenship for religious minorities who fled to India from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Pakistan prior to Dec. 31, 2014. Muslims, however, are not granted the same rights under the bill.
The timing of the implementation has raised concerns that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi may wield the law as a tool to discriminate against the country’s sizable Muslim community as he seeks a third term in power. ‘The CAA legitimises discrimination based on religion,’ Amnesty India posted on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘The Act is exclusionary in its structure and intent.’” [Foreign Policy]
“It might be time for the French to lay off the frog legs. The country’s infatuation with the dish—often enjoyed with butter and parsley—may be paving the way for species’ decline in other countries, hundreds of scientists warned in a letter to French President Emmanuel Macron last week. Since France is the world’s biggest consumer of frog legs, the letter said, the country has a ‘particular responsibility to take the lead on this issue.’” [Foreign Policy]
Finding that some hostages were victims of sexual violence doesn’t justify Israeli attacks, UN envoy says
“The U.N. envoy focusing on sexual violence in conflict warned Israel on Monday that the finding of ‘clear and convincing information’ that some hostages taken by Hamas during its Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel were subjected to sexual violence ‘does not in any way legitimize further hostilities.’” Read More at AP News
A former Boeing manager who raised safety concerns is found dead. Coroner suspects he killed himself
“Police in Charleston said detectives were waiting for a formal determination of the cause of death and “any additional findings that might shed further light on the circumstances surrounding” the end of former Boeing quality control manager John Barnett’s life.” Read More at AP News
Why Saban retired
Former Alabama head coach Nick Saban and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) during a roundtable on Capitol Hill yesterday. Photo: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP
“College football coaching legend Nick Saban — speaking at a Senate roundtable on the future of college sports — on his retirement from Alabama earlier this year:
"It's whoever wants to pay the most money, raise the most money, buy the most players that's going to have the best opportunity to win. I don't think that's the spirit of college athletics."
"All the things I believed in for all these years, 50 years of coaching, no longer exist in college athletics. ... It was always about helping people be more successful in life."
Between the lines: The legendary coach said he supports NIL (name, image and likeness), but has concerns about the Wild West atmosphere that's emerged in college sports.” [Axios]