My daily chronicle of news about the Trump administration (20 January 2017 – 20 January 2021), Republicans, Democrats, corporations, courts, resistance, and persistence continues. I am still posting important articles, especially ones that reflect the differences between the Biden administration and the Trump administration and ones that address the toxic legacy of the Trump administration and Republicans. However, I hope to devote more of my time to posting muckraking articles on my site and to working with my local activist group in pursuit of progressive change and a stronger democracy. Thanks for reading!
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Tuesday, 1 November 2022:
Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Kyiv and Moscow to halt grain ships Wednesday, The Washington Post, Rachel Pannett, Erin Cunningham, Leo Sands, Adam Taylor, Alex Horton, and Praveena Somasundaram, Tuesday, 1 November 2022: “Amid tense talks Tuesday over the future of safe passage for grain ships departing Ukraine, after Russia backed out of a U.N.-brokered deal that has been a lifeline for agricultural exports to countries facing shortages, Moscow and Kyiv are set to halt all grain ship departures Wednesday as they hash out a path forward. Russia suspended its participation in the deal over the weekend after a drone attack in Crimea that Russia blamed on Ukraine. Kyiv has not claimed responsibility for the attack. Ships continued to depart Ukraine’s Black Sea ports on Tuesday, the United Nations said. Water and electricity supplies to Kyiv were restored Tuesday, the capital’s mayor announced, after Russia unleashed a fresh wave of infrastructure attacks across Ukraine on Monday that it described as retaliation for the weekend’s drone attacks. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Monday that those attacks were ‘not all we could have done.’
- At least 17 vessels have transited the Black Sea corridor since Russia suspended its participation in the agreement, according to the United States, including three ships carrying corn, wheat and sunflower meal that departed Ukrainian ports Tuesday. The U.N. says it’s continuing discussions with Russia, Ukraine and Turkey to resume the deal in full, with departures to pause Wednesday. U.N. and Turkish inspectors inspected 36 outbound ships Tuesday, according to a U.N. statement.
- Iran has already provided drones to Russia and could offer other weapons, such as surface-to-surface missiles, Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters Tuesday. The Washington Post reported last month that Iran planned on such an expansion. Air defense systems are a top priority for Ukraine to combat these threats, though many will not be available for some time. A system known as the Vampire, which can fire munitions from the back of a pickup truck, will be contracted out and available in mid-2023, Ryder said. Two other advanced systems will arrive soon, he added, but it will be a years-long process to build and deliver another six, the Pentagon has indicated.
- U.S. monitors have conducted in-person inspections for only about 10 percent of the 22,000 U.S.-provided weapons sent to Ukraine that require special oversight. U.S. officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to provide details that had not been made public previously, told The Post they are racing to deploy new means of tracking weapons seen as having a heightened risk of diversion, including Stinger surface-to-air missiles and Javelin antitank missiles, amid what they call Ukraine’s ‘super hot conflict.’
- BP, one of the world’s largest energy producers, reported massive profits on Tuesday, a day after President Biden lambasted oil companies whose profits have been buoyed by the war in Ukraine. BP reported third-quarter profits of $8.2 billion — more than double its equivalent profit from a year earlier. Biden said companies could face higher taxes if they don’t pass on profits to consumers by lowering gas prices. Republicans criticized Biden’s idea as a political stunt.
Russian Invasion of Ukraine: Russia Broadens Push to Relocate Civilians as Battle for Kherson Looms. The Ukrainian military said occupation officials were forcing people from their homes in Kherson, ahead of a possible battle for control of the key region. The New York Times, Tuesday, 1 November 2022:
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Ukraine says civilians are being evicted in Kherson as Russia tries to shore up its defenses.
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The United Nations says that no grain ships will leave Ukrainian ports on Wednesday.
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Advanced defensive weapons systems could be delivered to Ukraine in the coming days, U.S. officials say.
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The water supply has been fully restored in Kyiv, officials said.
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Cheap drones and Western weapons help Ukraine turn the tide in the south.
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Europe braces for winter by moving away from its main energy provider: Russia.
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Saudi Aramco reports a big profit as the war keeps oil prices high.
Chief Justice John Roberts Extends Freeze on House’s Attempt to Obtain Trump’s Tax Returns. The move further delays an oversight request by the House Ways and Means Committee from 2019 as the midterm election looms. The New York Times, Charlie Savage, Tuesday, 1 November 2022: “Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. issued an order on Tuesday to temporarily bar the Treasury Department from giving former President Donald J. Trump’s tax returns to a House committee, the latest move in a long-running dispute over whether Congress can gain access to them. Lawyers for Mr. Trump had asked the Supreme Court on Monday to freeze matters while they prepared a formal appeal of a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which held that the House Ways and Means Committee had a right to see his returns. Chief Justice Roberts oversees appeals that come out of the District of Columbia Circuit Court. In a terse order, he gave lawyers for the House Ways and Means Committee, which has been seeking the returns since 2019, a deadline of Nov. 10 to file a response to Mr. Trump’s latest move. The setting of a deadline is an indication that the full Supreme Court will rule on the matter. The Democrats who run the committee are running out of time to obtain Mr. Trump’s tax returns. If Republicans retake control of the House in the midterm elections next week, as polls indicate is likely, they are almost certain to drop the request when the new Congress is seated in January.” See also, Chief Justice Roberts temporarily delays release of Trump tax records. Lawmakers have said they need Trump’s tax returns from his time in office to help evaluate the effectiveness of annual presidential audits. The Washington Post, Robert Barnes, Tuesday, 1 November 2022: “Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. on Tuesday temporarily halted the release of former president Donald Trump’s tax records to a congressional committee and called for more briefing in the case. Without the Supreme Court’s intervention, the Treasury Department could have handed over the documents to the House Ways and Means Committee as early as Thursday. Roberts’s action seems intended to give the full court more time to consider the issue. But time is not on the side of the Democrats who run the committee. If the party loses control in next week’s midterm elections, as polling suggests, demand for the records surely will expire in January, when the new Congress is sworn in and control of the committee would change hands.” See also, Chief Justice John Roberts puts temporary hold on release of Trump’s tax returns to Congress, CNN Politics, Ariane de Vogue and Tierney Sneed, Tuesday, 1 November 2022: “Chief Justice John Roberts agreed to temporarily put on hold a lower court order requiring the release of former President Donald Trump’s tax returns by the Internal Revenue Service to a Democratic-led House committee. The tax returns had been set to be turned over to the House Ways and Means Committee later this week. Roberts asked for a response by November 10. The ‘administrative stay’ is temporary in nature and does not always reflect the final disposition of the dispute. It is a move often made when a deadline approaches to preserve the status quo and give the justices more time to act.”
Continue reading Aftermath of the Trump Administration, November 2022: [Read more…]