CBS News: “The Senate on Monday approved the nomination of Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the federal appeals court in the District of Columbia, confirming President Biden’s first nominee to the U.S. appellate courts. Jackson received bipartisan backing from the upper chamber in a 53 to 44 vote. Three Republicans – Susan Collins of Maine, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – joined Democrats in confirming Jackson, a judge on the federal district court in D.C. She will fill the seat vacated by Attorney General Merrick Garland.”

“The D.C. Circuit is considered the nation’s second most-powerful court and a springboard to the Supreme Court. Three of the high court’s nine members – Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh – served on the appeals court in the nation’s capital before ascending to the high court. Jackson is considered a contender for the Supreme Court if a vacancy arises during Mr. Biden’s presidency, especially since the president has pledged to name the nation’s first Black woman to the high court if there is an open seat.”

“Attorney General Merrick B. Garland met with representatives from the news media today following the recent notifications that the Justice Department had obtained reporter records in the course of leak investigations. As previously announced, the department will no longer use compulsory process to obtain reporters’ source information when they are doing their jobs. The group had a productive conversation about the need for new rules implementing the policy change.”

“During the discussion the department made clear that reporters were never the subject or the target of the recent investigations. The Attorney General and the media representatives agreed on the need for strong, durable rules. In the coming weeks the Attorney General will develop and distribute to the field a memo detailing the current policy. The Attorney General committed to working with members of the news media to codify the memo setting out these new rules into regulation” – Justice Department statement via CNN’s Brian Stelter.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Q-GA) privately visited the Holocaust Museum today and will hold a news availability this evening to express contrition for previous remarks about Jewish people. This has been in the works for about a week, per a source” – Jake Sherman, Punchbowl News.

Politico: “A Virginia couple on Monday became the third and fourth defendants to plead guilty in the sprawling investigation stemming from the Capitol riot in January. However, Jessica and Joshua Bustle of Bristow, Va., became the first to plead guilty in federal court who faced only misdemeanor charges as a result of their actions at the Capitol as lawmakers were attempting to certify President Joe Biden’s electoral college victory. Under a deal with prosecutors, the Bustles each pleaded guilty to one of the four misdemeanor charges they faced: parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building. They could get up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $5,000, but will be spared the potential of back-to-back sentences on multiple counts.”

“The arrangement could serve as a template for hundreds of other misdemeanor-only cases filed related to the Jan. 6 events. Defense attorneys say it also suggests that prosecutors will not readily agree to more lenient resolutions in Capitol riot cases, such as deferring the case and dismissing it following a period of good behavior. ‘There’s no guarantee what the sentence will be in this case,’ Judge Thomas Hogan told the Bustles during the afternoon hearing, conducted by video conference. ‘I can give a sentence that’s legal up to the maximum in the statute: six months.’ According to a complaint filed by an FBI agent in March, Jessica Bustle posted on her Facebook page on Jan. 6: ‘Pence is a traitor. We stormed the capital. An unarmed peaceful woman down the hall from us was shot in the neck by cops. It’s insane here….Pray for America!!!!’ In another post, Jessica Bustle – who said she’s opposed to taking the coronavirus vaccine – indicated she and her husband were attending a ‘health freedom’ rally separate from then-President Donald Trump’s rally. They later decided to check out what was happening at the Capitol, she wrote. ‘My husband and I just WALKED right in with tons of other people.'”

“The Yavapai County Recorder’s Office has received calls from concerned citizens regarding individuals knocking on their doors asking questions for a survey in our county. They are being asked if they voted and if they did, who they voted for? There have been instances where individuals have identified themselves as volunteers for the Yavapai County Recorder’s Office and asked who resides in the home. When asked for county ID, they could not provide it.”

“These people DO NOT work for or with the County Recorder’s Office. These instances have been reported to the Yavapai County Sheriffs Office, who are concerned this type of activity may be an attempt to gain personal information for fraudulent purposes. Please be assured that the Recorder’s Office will never send anyone to a residence asking, ‘survey questions,’ nor would they ask voters for personal information, to include information about a candidate(s)” – Public safety bulletin from the Yavapai County, Arizona Sheriff’s Office.

This sounds a lot like the aborted plan the Maricopa County “Cyber Ninjas” douchebags had for their fake audit, where they’d dispatch agents to visit voters at their homes to ask them who they voted for to compare them against the ballots they’re examining. Arizona Republicans only backed off from that idea when the Justice Department warned them it amounted to voter intimidation. Whoever’s doing this in a different county might be thinking they can get the info ahead of time before they start another clusterfuck fake audit there.

https://youtu.be/Bs7FotNj5xU

Asked how America’s foreign allies should respond to questions about the security of American democracy given the ongoing assault on the 2020 elections by Republicans and how that’s impacting the US response to the coronavirus, President Joe Biden pointed to his leadership and the spirit of the overwhelming number of Americans.

“McConnell attacks Democrats for going after Barr and Sessions in the aftermath of news that DOJ seized House Dems’ records. Says Dems are picking ‘at the scab of politically motivated investigations’ and says their ‘outrage…rings completely hallow’, says Barr served the nation with distinction and honor. And said that IG probe is sufficient. ‘There’s no need for a partisan circus here in the Congress.’ McConnell’s opposition to a Dem probe here probably kills any hope of a subpoena in the Senate since they’ll need bipartisan support for a subpoena on Senate Judiciary to compel Barr and Sessions to testify” reports CNN Congressional Correspondent Manu Raju.

Commend @NATO partners' understanding of all the risks and challenges we face. NATO leaders confirmed that 🇺🇦 will become a member of the Alliance & the #MAP is an integral part of the membership process. 🇺🇦 deserves due appreciation of its role in ensuring Euro-Atlantic security

— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) June 14, 2021

UPDATE 6/14/21 4:17 PM EDT: An earlier headline stated Zelensky announced that Ukraine was joining NATO. Zelensky was apparently noting that Ukraine had been following a path to membership extended in 2008 as soon as it completes addressing some parts of the membership criteria laid out in that plan, including addressing corruption. National Zero regrets the confusion.

CNN: “The FBI has warned lawmakers that online QAnon conspiracy theorists may carry out more acts of violence as they move from serving as ‘digital soldiers’ to taking action in the real world following the January 6 US Capitol attack. The shift is fueled by a belief among some of the conspiracy’s more militant followers that they ‘can no longer ‘trust the plan’ set forth by its mysterious standard-bearer, known simply as ‘Q,’ according an unclassified FBI threat assessment on QAnon sent to lawmakers last week, which was obtained by CNN. But the report suggests the failure of QAnon predictions to materialize has not led to followers abandoning the conspiracy.”

“Instead, there’s a belief that individuals need to take greater control of the direction of the movement than before. This might lead followers to seek to harm ‘perceived members of the ‘cabal’ such as Democrats and other political opposition – instead of continually awaiting Q’s promised actions which have not occurred,’ according to the assessment. ‘Other QAnon adherents likely will disengage from the movement or reduce their involvement in the wake of the administration change,’ it adds. Titled ‘Adherence to QAnon Conspiracy Theory by Some Domestic Violent Extremists,’ the public FBI threat assessment was provided at the request of Democratic New Mexico Sen. Martin Heinrich. ‘The participation of some domestic violent extremists (DVE) who are also self-identified QAnon adherents in the violent siege of the US Capitol on 6 January underscores how the current environment likely will continue to act as a catalyst for some to begin accepting the legitimacy of violent action,’ the unclassified FBI assessment obtained by CNN says. ‘The FBI has arrested more than 20 self-identified QAnon adherents who participated in the 6 January violent unlawful entry of the Capitol. These individuals were charged with violent entry and disorderly conduct in a restricted building and obstruction of an official proceeding, according to court documents and press reporting based on court documentation, public statements, and social media posts,’ it reads.”

“The Electric Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) is asking Texans to reduce electric use as much as possible today through Friday, June 18. A significant number of forced generation outages combined with potential record electric use for the month of June has resulted in tight grid conditions. Generator owners have reported approximately 11,000 MW of generation is on forced outage for repairs; of that, approximately 8,000 MW is thermal and the rest is intermittent resources. According to the summer Seasonal Assessment of Resource Adequacy, a typical range of thermal generation outages on hot summer days is around 3,600 MW. One MW typically powers around 200 homes on a summer day.”

“‘We will be conducting a thorough analysis with generation owners to determine why so many units are out of service,’ said ERCOT Vice President of Grid Planning and Operations Woody Rickerson. ‘This is unusual for this early in the summer season.’ According to generation owners, the number of outages should decrease throughout the week. Wind output for today is expected to be 3,500 to 6,000 MW between 3 and 9 p.m. This is roughly 1,500 MW lower than what is typically available for peak conditions. Wind output is expected to increase as the week goes on. Today’s peak load forecast may exceed 73,000 MW. The peak demand record for June is 69,123 MW set on June 27, 2018 between 4 and 5 pm” says the advisory notice on ERCOT’s website.

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said that if the GOP wins control of the Senate in the 2022 midterms, he would block any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Joe Biden in 2024, hinting that he would also block a nominee in 2023 if a seat on the Court opens.

According to Politico, McConnell cites his rule that a Senate controlled by the opposition Party to the President would have a duty to do such a thing, even though that only became the habit of Senates he’s led.

“I don’t think either party, if it controlled, if it were different from the president, would confirm a Supreme Court nominee in the middle of an election,” McConnell told conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. “What was different in 2020 was we were of the same party as the president.”

Because “grand jury subpoenas” were used to secure the phone and email records of Democrats Adam Schiff and Eric Swalwell, a federal judge likely played no part in obtaining the communications records sought by the Trump administration’s Department of Justice, according to the attorneys discussing the case on the #SistersInLaw podcast released Saturday.

Taking a deep dive into the news that then-minority leader of the House Intelligence Committee Schiff and member Swalwell had their phone records–as well as those of some aides and family members, including a minor–seized by federal investigators under the guise of a leak investigation, former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance noted that no one outside the Justice Department needed to be consulted about issuing a subpoena to get the records, and in fact, the grand jury itself didn’t play any role in the seizure until after federal prosecutors had the records in hand.

As Vance explains, federal prosecutors can issue a grand jury subpoena on their own, with no instruction to do so from the grand jury and with no review from a judicial officer.  “There’s probably  procedure in the office for  supervisor to review it and make sure that they’re comfortable with that subpoena,” Vance notes commenting, however, that that is not a law. 

With the number of daily new cases of the coronavirus doubling in the past four weeks, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson has delayed the planned loosening of public health restrictions for another four weeks, the Associated Press reports.

“I think it is sensible to wait just a little longer,” Johnson said in a press briefing Monday. “Now is the time to ease off the accelerator, because by being cautious now we have the chance in the next four weeks to save many thousands of lives by vaccinating millions more people.”

The new planned date for easing restrictions on the size of social gatherings and the capacity of public places, like restaurants and pubs, will now be July 19th instead of the previously announced June 21st.

The Independent: “An Iowa man who beat and spat on a shop customer who asked him to wear his face mask properly has been sentenced to 10 years in prison. On 11 November 2020, Shane Wayne Michael was wearing his mask improperly in a Vision 4 Less eyewear shop in Des Moines, Iowa, when a fellow customer asked him to pull up his mask, the Iowa Central Dispatch reported. After customer Mark Dinning asked Michael to cover both his nose and mouth with his mask, the two began exchanging words. Both men then left the store and continued the altercation in the car park. As the fight escalated, the two men fell to the ground. Michael jabbed Mr Dinning in the eye; Mr Dinning then bit Michael in return. Michael then kneed Mr Dinning repeatedly in the groin before fully lowering his mask and spitting on Mr Dining. He then shouted: ‘If I have it, you have it,’ referring to Covid. Both men claimed that the other initiated the brawl.”

“Mr Dinning said that Michael had followed him into the car park, where he attacked him; Michael claimed that Mr Dinning had “shoulder-checked” him, and poked him in the stomach, starting the fight. Eyewitnesses sided with Mr Dinning. A fellow customer told police officers that Michael appeared to be the aggressor, confirming that Michael had followed Mr Dinning outside and attacked him. A shop employee also told the police a similar story, describing Michael as a ‘problem’. Shortly after the exchange, Michael was arrested. On 1 April, he was convicted of wilful injury causing serious injury and sentenced to 10 years in prison on 9 June.”

Some very exciting news for #RealityWinner and her family!! pic.twitter.com/yjZf7xiitk

— Alison Grinter Allen (Taylor’s Version) (@alisongrinter) June 14, 2021

Winner’s attorney Alison Grinter shared the news Monday. Winner was an NSA contractor had been sentenced to five years in federal prison for leaking documents regarding an attempted Russian cyberattack on election systems to the media, which was a big no-no when the fat orange bastard was in charge and needed all the help he could get with reelection.

“Private employers in Florida have been required to use E-Verify, a federal system for checking the legal status of a potential hire, since the start of the year. But there have been no complaints made to the state agency in charge of enforcing the law in the five and a half months it’s been in effect. A Department of Economic Opportunity spokeswoman told the Orlando Sentinel there have been no complaints and no enforcement measures taken against any employers since the provisions affecting private businesses took effect Jan. 1” the Orlando Sentinel reports.

“The lack of tangible enforcement within the new law has led to criticism from those who seek more aggressive measures to ensure undocumented immigrants aren’t being hired. ‘It’s a fake bill. It’s paper thin. It’s window dressing,’ said Rep. Anthony Sabatini, R-Howey-in-the-Hills. ‘It’s a bill to make it looked like we passed EVerify in the state of Florida.’ Gov. Ron DeSantis pushed his fellow Republicans in charge of the Legislature to pass the bill last year and included it as a top priority, arguing it would help screen undocumented immigrants from the workforce and help lead to pay increases for low-wage workers. ‘Lower-income workers also shouldn’t have their wages depressed by cheap foreign labor,’ DeSantis said in his 2020 State of the State speech. ‘Assuring a legal workforce through E-Verify will be good for the rule of law, protect taxpayers, and place an upward pressure on the wages of Floridians who work in blue collar jobs.’ A spokeswoman for DeSantis did not return an email seeking comment Friday.”

Greg Sargent, Washington Post: “The midterm elections will take place in approximately 500 days. Which is exactly why some Democratic strategists believe it’s urgent to begin executing their midterm strategy right now – nearly a year and a half in advance. In some respects, the political landscape for Democrats looks forbidding. Though they passed the massive covid-19 relief package known as the American Rescue Plan, Sen. Joe Manchin III’s (D-W.V.) opposition to ending the filibuster means that even if they pass a huge infrastructure package, action on many major priorities could then grind to a halt. That’s one reason Democratic strategists are taking steps now to set the terms of the debate in the midterms. To this end, they say they’ve homed in on a key demographic: suburban women who support President Biden but are at risk of either backing Republicans in 2022 or staying at home.”

“This demographic is somewhat distinct from the relatively affluent, educated White suburbanite demographic that is often discussed as central to the suburban shift to Democrats in the 2018 and 2020 elections. Instead, this group is a subset of suburban women who are more likely to be non-college-educated and somewhat less affluent, and tend to be drawn from the working class or lower-middle class, or the ranks of small business owners. ‘Without a doubt, it’s a key target audience,’ John Anzalone, one of Biden’s pollsters, told me. Democrats see this group as a challenge and an opportunity. Recent research by the group American Bridge in four states with big Senate races – Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and Georgia – found that among suburban women who approve of Biden but are not committed to voting Democratic (or voting at all) in 2022, an uncomfortably large percentage were unaware of the details of the covid rescue package. Yet at the same time, large percentages of them generally approve of Biden’s overall priorities, the group’s spokesman, Max Steele, told me. This has led Democrats to conclude they must do more to inform these voters about what’s in the relief package, which included stimulus checks, tax credits for families with children, aid to small businesses and large expenditures on vaccine distribution.”

Once again, The Hill’s Li’l Joey Concha refers to the satirical website The Babylon Bee as a source for people “mocking” Vice President Kamala Harris.  Not understanding the difference between satire and mockery, Concha–who is the subject of the latter, not the former–has used the Babylon Bee as a source before. 

Monday is Trumpmas, the most sacred holiday in the MAGAmerican pagan religion, celebrating the birth of their Lord and Savior, Former President Donald J Trump. It’s the most wonderful day of the year for them, a time of merriment, exchanging Chinese-made Trumpmas gifts like MAGA hats and bobbleheads, stringing up orange-colored lights, singing Trumpmas carols like “Wreck the halls of the US Capitol” and “I’m dreaming of a White Nation”, and feasting on Trumpmas delicacies like “hamberders” and extra well-done steak covered in Heinz Ketchup.

Yeah, obviously I made all of that up. I’m sure plenty of them are acknowledging it and more than a few are indeed going overboard with full sincerity without my having to fit the “traditions” into a satirical version of Christmas. I’ll keep an eye on the internet to find a deeply depressing yet hilarious display of fanatic devotion to the Orange Baby Jesus. Probably won’t take too long at all.