What a day for news

The U.S. Supreme Court Thursday gutted most of what remains of the landmark Voting Rights Act. The court's decision, while leaving some protections involving redistricting in place, left close to a dead letter the law once hailed as the most effective civil rights legislation in the nation's history.

The 6-3 vote was along ideological lines, with Justice Samuel Alito writing the decision for the court's conservative majority, and the liberals in angry dissent.

At issue in the case were two Arizona laws: one banned the collection of absentee ballots by anyone other than a relative or caregiver, and the other threw out any ballots cast in the wrong precinct. A federal appeals court struck down both provisions, ruling that they had an unequal impact on minority voters and that there was no evidence of fraud that would have justified their use.

But on Thursday, the Supreme Court reinstated the state laws, declaring that unequal impact on minorities in this context was relatively minor, that other states have similar laws and that states don't have to wait for fraud to occur before enacting laws to prevent it.

  NPR

The MAGA court in action.

Just because voting may be "inconvenient for some," Alito wrote, doesn't mean that access to voting is unequal. [...] And "the mere fact that there is some disparity in impact does not necessarily mean that a system is not equally open or that it does not give everyone an equal opportunity to vote."

That's precisely what it means.

[T]he U.S. Justice Department, in a statement, said: "The department remains strongly committed to challenging discriminatory election laws and will continue to use every legal tool available to protect all qualified Americans seeking to participate in the electoral process. The department urges Congress to enact additional legislation to provide more effective protection for every American's right to vote."

Thye'll have to do it without Republicans.

Thursday's decision complicates the department's decision to sue the state of Georgia over its new voting law, alleging that the measure is intended to restrict ballot access to Black voters.

"Complicates."

In response to the SCOTUS voting decision, House Judiciary members Nadler and Cohen announce the Committee will "expeditiously complete its work on an updated John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act and move to bring legislation to the House floor as quickly as possible." Source

Indiscreet comments made by an Exxon Mobil lobbyist to undercover activists may figure prominently in upcoming congressional hearings about the role of oil companies in the battle against climate change.

Video clips released by the Greenpeace investigation project Unearthed show Keith McCoy, the oil giant's senior director for federal relations, talking frankly about Exxon Mobil's lobbying strategies. Channel 4 from the United Kingdom first reported the comments.

[...]

"Joe Manchin, I talk to his office every week," McCoy bragged to the interviewer. He called the Democratic senator from West Virginia a "kingmaker" and discussed how "on the Democrat side we look for the moderates on these issues" in their efforts to stop policies that could hurt the company's business.

  NPR

Nicely calling out Joe Manchin there.

Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California, says he will hold a hearing this fall about "climate disinformation & the coordinated attack on scientific truth among polluters and their lobbyists."

Khanna, who chairs the House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on the Environment, says he will ask the CEOs of Exxon, Chevron and other fossil fuel companies to testify.

It should be an interesting hearing. Among McCoy's comments to the undercover activists, he said Exxon Mobil has a playbook for dealing with hearings like what Khanna plans. He said they usually send trade group representatives to be "the whipping boy."

Khanna says he will subpoena executives if they refuse to appear themselves.

[...]

Exxon Mobil Chairman and CEO Darren Woods said in a statement that McCoy's comments don't represent his company's views.

Sure.

On LinkedIn, McCoy wrote, "I am deeply embarrassed by my comments and that I allowed myself to fall for Greenpeace's deception. My statements clearly do not represent ExxonMobil's positions on important public policy issues."

McCoy's profile on the site showed he was still employed at the company as of Thursday morning.

Hahaha. Ask again tomorrow.

Trump's family business and its longtime chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, have been charged by the Manhattan district attorney's office in a case involving alleged tax-related crimes.

[...]

The investigation by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. began in 2018 around the time Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges related to payments of hush money.

[...]

New York state Attorney General Letitia James' office launched its own probe in 2019.

[...]

In a statement released in May, Trump said the New York-based investigations were part of a "Witch Hunt," adding, with a reference to how his presidential campaign started in 2015: "It began the day I came down the escalator in Trump Tower, and it's never stopped."

  NPR

It SHOULD have started long before that day.

The indictment of Allen Weisselberg and the Trump Organization is more sweeping than anticipated, indicate other execs are involved and makes a possible prison sentence a real fear for Weisselberg. Source

Also...

Nancy Pelosi gave Liz Cheney a seat on the January 6 insurrection investigating committee.  That should get her some more MAGA death threats. She's not afraid though. She accepted this offer after McCarthy threatened to strip anyone of their committee assignments if they agreed to serve on the commission.

And Adam Kinzinger appears to care even less. (Although he was not invited.)

“Who gives a sh*t?” @RepKinzinger tells reporters on @GOPLeader’s threat to remove committee assignments for any GOP House member who joined Jan 6 Select Committee. Source

And the old war criminal Donald Rumsfeld has gone to meet his maker in Hell.