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The Golden Age of Cocaine

December 20, 2022 at 9:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “While fans of the hit Netflix series Narcos may have the impression that the era of Pablo Escobar’s Medellin Cartel in the 1980s and 1990s was the heyday of the cocaine trade, in fact, a much bigger boom is going on right now.”

Said Toby Muse, the author of the 2020 book Kilo: Inside the Deadliest Cocaine Cartels: “We’re living in the golden age of cocaine. Cocaine is reaching corners of the planet that have never seen it before, because there is so much of the drug.”

“Underlying that boom is a massive growth in acreage, as well as higher productivity on coca farms — trends driven by shifting political dynamics in the region as well as rising demand. The illicit industry now produces about 2,000 tons of cocaine per year, almost double the amount being made a decade ago… Satellite photos show that the amount of Colombian land planted with coca rose to a record of more than 200,000 hectares (500,000 acres) last year, more than five times what it was when Escobar was gunned down in 1993.”

Ukraine to Get Thousands More Starlink Antennas

December 20, 2022 at 9:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ukraine reached a deal with Elon Musk’s Space X to receive thousands more Starlink antennas to help counter Russian air attacks, Bloomberg reports.

Report Confirms Trump’s ‘Furious Interaction’ in SUV

December 20, 2022 at 9:48 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

In an executive summary of its final report, the January 6 Committee said that it confirmed that Donald Trump engaged in a “furious interaction” in his SUV on January 6, 2021, Insider reports.

Cassidy Hutchinson testified in June “that Tony Ornato, then the White House deputy chief of staff, told her that Trump lunged at the steering wheel inside a presidential SUV after his rally on the Ellipse when he was informed by Secret Service agent Bobby Engel that he would not be able to go to the Capitol due to security concerns.”

Sources including “multiple members of the Secret Service, a member of the Metropolitan police, and national security officials in the White House,” described Trump’s behavior during the interaction as “irate,” “furious,” “insistent,” “profane” and “heated.”

Quote of the Day

December 20, 2022 at 9:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The entire nation knows who is responsible for that day. Beyond that, I don’t have any immediate observations.”

— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in a statement after the January 6 Committee approved criminal referrals against Donald Trump.

China Outbreak Has U.S. Worried About New Variants

December 20, 2022 at 9:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The U.S. is concerned China’s runaway Covid-19 outbreak might spawn new mutations of the virus, as the world’s most populous country continues to grapple with the impact of loosening “Covid Zero” protocols that had kept the pandemic at bay, Bloomberg reports.

The New Anti-Abortion Litmus Test

December 20, 2022 at 9:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The same groups that helped put Trump in office in 2016 are now keeping him at arm’s length, illustrating how the Supreme Court’s June ruling erasing federal abortion rights has created a new litmus test in Republican presidential politics. No longer is it sufficient for a candidate to identify as ‘pro-life,’ promise to defund Planned Parenthood or even to provide — as Trump did — a list of potential Supreme Court nominees who would vote to curtail abortion rights.”

“Anti-abortion advocates are insisting on more in a post-Roe era — namely, a hard commitment to back a federal abortion ban — and they’re holding out until they get it.”

Co-Conspirators in the Insurrection

December 20, 2022 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The referral of four criminal charges against Donald Trump by the January 6 Committee is a huge political story.

But even though the focus of the committee’s work was on Trump, their final report is actually an indictment of the Republican party.

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Trouble in MAGA-Land

December 20, 2022 at 7:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) slammed Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) after the latter made fun of Greene.

Said Greene: “She gladly takes our $$$, but when she’s been asked: Lauren refuses to endorse President Trump, she refuses to support Kevin McCarthy, and she childishly threw me under the bus for a cheap sound bite.”

Boebert told the Daily Caller that she is tired of being lumped together with Greene: “I’ve been asked to explain MTG’s belief in Jewish space lasers, why she showed up to a white supremacist’s conference, and now why she’s blindly following Kevin McCarthy and I’m not going to go there.”

A Shrunken Donald Trump

December 20, 2022 at 7:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As the summer and the House Jan. 6 committee’s hearings began, former President Donald Trump was still a towering figure in Republican politics, able to pick winners in primary contests and force candidates to submit to a litmus test of denialism about his loss in the 2020 election,” the New York Times reports.

“Six months later, Mr. Trump is significantly diminished, a shrunken presence on the political landscape. His fade is partly a function of his own missteps and miscalculations in recent months. But it is also a product of the voluminous evidence assembled by the House committee and its ability to tell the story of his efforts to overturn the election in a compelling and accessible way.”

Bloomberg: Trump risks ban from elected office with insurrection evidence.

January 6 Committee’s Big Reveal Hasn’t Happened Yet

December 20, 2022 at 7:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Jan. 6 select committee’s last — and most important — act won’t happen in a hearing room,” Politico reports.

“It will come when one of the panel’s last, beleaguered staffers hits the ‘publish’ button on its collection of evidence compiled over 18 months of investigation, material that still remains almost entirely secret.”

“The committee is sitting on a stockpile of nearly 1,200 witness interview transcripts and reams of hard-won documents about Donald Trump’s attempt to derail the peaceful transfer of power. While the select panel’s nine members gathered on Monday to refer evidence of Trump’s potential crimes to the Justice Department, that raw information — not the showmanship of a final in-person public meeting — will tell the story the committee has labored to piece together.”

What’s Next for Rep.-Elect George Santos?

December 20, 2022 at 7:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “Democrats are scouring the record of Rep.-elect George Santos (R-NY) to determine their next steps following an extraordinary New York Times investigation of the incoming Republican from Long Island that revealed a history of seemingly fraudulent claims.”

“Democrats are pondering how far to go in their condemnation. Should he be referred to the House Ethics Committee? (Almost certainly.) Should they call for his resignation before he is sworn in? (Some say yes.) Should they call for his expulsion after he’s sworn in? (Probably, but with the GOP in charge it won’t work.) Or should they try to prevent him from being sworn in at all?”

Said incoming Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries: “If Mr. Santos is indicative of what we can expect from the new Republican Congress, the American people are in for a rough ride.”

House Panel Weighs Releases of Trump Tax Returns

December 20, 2022 at 7:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The House Ways and Means Committee is meeting today to decide whether to publicly release six years of former president Donald Trump’s federal tax returns that it obtained after a lengthy court battle, the Washington Post reports.

Conway Sold Firm While Advising Trump on Judges

December 20, 2022 at 7:18 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Longtime judicial activist Leonard Leo appears to have helped facilitate the sale of former White House senior adviser Kellyanne Conway’s polling company in 2017 — as she was playing a key role in advocating for Leo’s handpicked list of Supreme Court candidates,“ Politico reports.

“The transaction came at a critical moment for Conway — shortly after her ownership of The Polling Company had come under scrutiny from a congressional oversight committee for potential ‘conflicts of interest,’ likely creating pressure to unload it even though its value was unclear because she was its biggest asset and committed to her White House job.”

Official Claims 60+ Russians Held ‘Hostage’ in U.S.

December 20, 2022 at 6:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Russia’s deputy foreign minister has claimed that over 60 Russian citizens are being held “hostage” in American prisons, according to an interview published in state media Tuesday, the Daily Beast reports.

Sergei Vershinin said U.S. authorities “have been literally hunting down Russians all over the world for many years” and “seeking to detain our citizens on false charges with subsequent transfer to American punitive justice with a predictable result.”

Covid Spreading Faster Than Ever in China

December 20, 2022 at 6:52 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“China is now facing what is likely the world’s largest COVID surge of the pandemic,” NPR reports.

“China’s public health officials say that possibly 800 million people could be infected with the coronavirus over the next few months. And several models predict that a half million people could die, possibly more.”

The Next DCCC Chair

December 20, 2022 at 6:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Incoming House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is likely to nominate Rep. Suzan DelBene (D-WA) to chair the DCCC next cycle, Punchbowl News reports.

“Two men – California Reps. Ami Bera and Tony Cárdenas – were publicly vying for the spot. But the Democratic leadership felt it was important to elevate a woman to the high-profile post of leading the campaign committee.”

Suspense Builds at Border Over Future of Asylum Rules

December 20, 2022 at 6:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Suspense mounted at the U.S. border with Mexico on Tuesday about the future of restrictions on asylum-seekers as the Supreme Court issued a temporary order to keep pandemic-era limits on migrants in place,” the AP reports.

“Conservative-leaning states won a reprieve — though it could be brief — as they push to maintain a measure that allows officials to expel asylum-seekers. In a last-ditch written appeal to the Supreme Court, they argued that increased numbers of migrants would take a toll on public services such as law enforcement and health care and warned of an ‘unprecedented calamity’ at the southern border.”

Lawmakers Unveil Bill to Avoid Government Shutdown

December 20, 2022 at 6:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Congressional leaders unveiled a $1.7 trillion spending package early Tuesday that includes another large round of aid to Ukraine, a nearly 10% boost in defense spending and roughly $40 billon to assist communities across the country recovering from drought, hurricanes and other natural disasters,” the AP reports.

“The bill includes about $772.5 billion for non-defense discretionary programs and $858 billion in defense funding.”

“Lawmakers are working to stuff in as many priorities as they can into what is likely to be the last major bill of the current Congress. They are racing to complete passage of the bill before a midnight Friday deadline or face the prospect of a partial government shutdown going into the Christmas holiday. Lawmakers leading the negotiations released the details of the bill shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday.”

Playbook: “Republicans continue to be at each other’s throats about whether Senate Republicans should have negotiated a spending deal at all.”

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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