The Commentariat -- April 9, 2019

Late Morning Update:

Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin told lawmakers on Tuesday that White House lawyers had been in touch with his department about a congressional request for President Trump's tax returns but said he had not personally spoken to Mr. Trump about how the matter was being handled. Mr. Mnuchin, who is testifying before two congressional committees on Tuesday, said it would be 'premature' to comment on how Treasury would respond to a formal request by House Democrats for six years of Mr. Trump's personal and business tax returns. 'It is our intent to follow the law,' Mr. Mnuchin said. 'It is being reviewed by the legal departments and we look forward to responding to the letter.'"

Hypocrite-in-Chief. Mirian Jordan, et al., of the New York Times: "Alongside the [legal] foreign guest workers and the sizable American staff [at Donald Trump's South Florida resorts] is another category of employees, mostly those who work on the pair of lush golf courses near Mar-a-Lago.... They have been picked up by Trump contractors from groups of undocumented laborers at the side of the road; hired through staffing companies that assume responsibility for checking their immigration status; or brought onto the payroll with little apparent scrutiny of their Social Security cards and green cards, some of which are fake.... Facing growing questions about its employment of undocumented workers, the [Trump Organization] has quietly begun to take steps to eliminate any remaining undocumented workers from its labor pool in South Florida." In about 2016, the Trump properties began using staffing companies to supply some of its undocumented workers, rather than directly hiring them.

Vicki Divoll, in a New York Times op-ed: "The House and Senate Intelligence Committees should already have certain investigative materials relating to Russian election meddling, in unredacted form, collected by the special counsel, Robert Mueller. This legal structure was created by a provision in the Patriot Act combined with the notification provisions of the National Security Act. The intelligence committees have a lawful right, virtually unbounded, to foreign intelligence information in the possession of the intelligence agencies of the executive branch. Federal law requires that the attorney general provide to the director of national intelligence any foreign intelligence information collected during a criminal investigation. Then the director must by law provide it to the intelligence committees of Congress -- either by sending a notification or acting in response to a request from the committees.... By design or by ignorance, the executive branch agencies may not have followed the laws they have sworn to uphold. And the congressional committees may have failed to fulfill their oversight responsibilities. The House Intelligence Committee should demand immediate attention to the mandates of the Patriot and National Security Acts." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Something else that should be in Mueller's tens of thousands of pages of appendices: Trump's tax returns.

Justin Elliott of ProPublica: "Just in time for Tax Day, the for-profit tax preparation industry is about to realize one of its long-sought goals. Congressional Democrats and Republicans are moving to permanently bar the IRS from creating a free electronic tax filing system. Last week, the House Ways and Means Committee, led by Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass., passed the Taxpayer First Act, a wide-ranging bill making several administrative changes to the IRS that is sponsored by Reps. John Lewis, D-Ga., and Mike Kelly, R-Pa. In one of its provisions, the bill makes it illegal for the IRS to create its own online system of tax filing. Companies like Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, and H&R Block have lobbied for years to block the IRS from creating such a system.... Under an existing memorandum of understanding with the industry group, the IRS pledges not create its own online filing system and, in exchange, the companies offer their free filing services to those below the income threshold [of $66,000].... The [bill in progress] would codify the status quo.... Intuit and H&R Block last year poured a combined $6.6 million into lobbying related to the IRS filing deal and other issues. Neal, who became Ways and Means chair this year after Democrats took control of the House, received $16,000 in contributions from Intuit and H&R Block in the last two election cycles."

~~~~~~~~~~

Bill Barr is scheduled to testify before a House Appropriations subcommittee beginning at 9:30 am ET. Also too, Steve Mnuchin will appear before two House committees today. ...

... The New York Times is liveblogging Barr's testimony.

Why Won't Subordinates Stand up to the Monster-in-Chief?

Peter Baker, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump moved to clear out the senior ranks of the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, a day after forcing the resignation of its secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, as he accelerated a purge of the nation's immigration and security leadership. The White House announced the departure of Randolph D. Alles, the director of the Secret Service, who had fallen out of favor with the president even before a security breach at his Mar-a-Lago club that the agency effectively blamed on Mr. Trump's employees.... The president even made fun of the director's looks, calling him Dumbo because of his ears.... Government officials, who asked not to be identified..., said at least two to four more high-ranking figures affiliated with Ms. Nielsen were expected to leave soon, too, hollowing out the top echelon of the department.... Officials said they expect to see the departures of L. Francis Cissna, the head of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services; Kathy Nuebel Kovarik, one of his top deputies; and John Mitnick, the department's general counsel and a senior member of Ms. Nielsen's leadership team. All of them were said to be viewed by [Trump's cruelty czar Stephen] Miller as obstacles to implementing the president's policies.... The latest departures, along with previous vacancies, will leave the Department of Homeland Security without a permanent secretary, deputy secretary, two under secretaries, Secret Service director, Federal Emergency Management Agency director, ICE director, general counsel, citizenship and immigration services director, inspector general, chief financial officer, chief privacy officer and, once Mr. McAleenan moves, Customs and Border Protection commissioner. 'The purge of senior leadership at the Department of Homeland Security is unprecedented and a threat to our national security,' said Senator Dianne Feinstein, Democrat of California."

Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump's purge of the nation's top homeland security officials is a sign that he is preparing to unleash an even fiercer assault on immigration, including a possible return of his controversial decision last summer to separate migrant children from their parents, current and former administration officials said Monday.... Several of the president's closest immigration confidants have been pushing him to consider even harsher measures. Those include further limits on who can seek asylum; stronger action to close ports of entry along the Mexican border; an executive order to end birthright citizenship; more aggressive construction of a border wall; and a more robust embrace of active-duty troops to secure the border against illegal immigration.... By removing [Kirstjen] Nielsen, [Ron] Vitiello and perhaps others, Mr. Trump is getting rid of voices who sometimes cautioned him against taking actions they believed to be illegal or unwise."

** Jake Tapper of CNN: "Two Thursdays ago, in a meeting at the Oval Office with top officials -- including Nielsen, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, top aides Jared Kushner, Mercedes Schlapp and Dan Scavino, White House counsel Pat Cipollone and more -- the President, according to one attendee, was 'ranting and raving, saying border security was his issue.' Senior administration officials say that Trump then ordered Nielsen and Pompeo to shut down the port of El Paso the next day, Friday, March 22, at noon. The plan was that in subsequent days the Trump administration would shut down other ports. Nielsen told Trump that would be a bad and even dangerous idea.... She proposed an alternative plan that would slow down entries at legal ports. She argued that if you close all the ports of entry all you would be doing is ending legal trade and travel, but migrants will just g between ports. According to two people in the room, the President said: 'I don't care.' Ultimately, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney seemed to have been able to talk the President out of closing the port of El Paso. Trump, however, was insistent that his administration begin taking another action -- denying asylum seekers entry.... Last Friday, [when] the President visited Calexico, California..., two sources told CNN, the President told border agents to not let migrants in. Tell them we don't have the capacity, he said. If judges give you trouble, say, 'Sorry, judge, I can't do it. We don't have the room.'After the President left the room, agents sought further advice from their leaders, who told them they were not giving them that direction and if they did what the President said they would take on personal liability. You have to follow the law, they were told."

Everybody Clean out Your Desk. AP: "U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph 'Tex' Alles is expected to leave the Trump administration. That's according to two administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... The officials say Alles' departure stems from a personality conflict within the agency. They said it was unrelated to the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and a recent security breach at the president's private club in Florida.” (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... BUT. Jake Tapper, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump instructed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to fire Alles. Alles remains in his position as of now but has been asked to leave. The USSS director was told two weeks ago there would be a transition in leadership and he was asked to stay on until there was a replacement, according to a source close to the director.... The Secret Service director reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned on Sunday amid growing pressure from the President. The director oversees the Secret Service's work on both protection and investigations. 'There is a near-systematic purge happening at the nation's second-largest national security agency,' one senior administration official says. Secret Service officials have been caught by surprise with the news and are only finding out through CNN according to the source." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

Another Cabinet Official Fired by Tweet. Jonathan Swan & Mike Allen of Axios: "Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen brought her resignation letter with her when she met President Trump in the White House residence yesterday afternoon, top sources tell Axios. She wasn't intent on quitting but was prepared to, sources tell us. The meeting went poorly, and Trump didn't even let her announce her 'resignation.' While she was racing to put out the letter (not that different from one she wrote after midterms), Trump tweeted that she will be leaving her position.'" Mrs. McC: No one with any self-respect would work for this prick. (Also linked yesterday.)

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, et al., of the New York Times (April 7): "The president called Ms. Nielsen at home early in the mornings to demand that she take action to stop migrants from entering the country, including doing things that were clearly illegal, such as blocking all migrants from seeking asylum. She repeatedly noted the limitations imposed on her department by federal laws, court settlements and international obligations. Those responses only infuriated Mr. Trump further."

... Michelle Goldberg: "Nielsen did not create Trump's monstrous policy of separating migrant families, but she should be known forever as the person who carried it out. She put babies in cages, traumatized children for life, and then appears to have lied to Congress about what she had done. She did this evil work with either blithe incompetence or malicious sloppiness, failing to create a system to properly track kids who were ripped from their families.... Those horrified by family separation should do whatever they can to deny Nielsen the sort of cushy corporate landing or prestigious academic appointment once customary for ex-administration officials. The fact that she evidently didn't go as far as an erratic and out-of-control Trump wanted is immaterial; she should be a pariah for going as far as she did.... Either the leaders of corporate America and academia want to be associated with terrorizing toddlers, or not." ...

     ... Scott Lemieux in Lawyers, Guns & Money: "I assume [Nielsen will] land a very nice no-work job at Heritage or something, accompanied by a hail of Bari Weiss and Conor Friedersdorf columns about how if a fascist can't get the sinceure of her choice the First Amendment and Civility Itself are dead."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Before we forget Kirstjen & all the horrible things she did, I do want to reprise her most a-mazing lie. Not surprisingly on account of her name, Kirstjen is of Scandinavian descent -- Danish, to be exact -- which makes her response to Sen. Patrick Leahy all the more absurd: In the wake of Trump's suggesting that Norway was an excellent source for immigrants to the U.S. (as opposed to "shithole countries," Leahy asked Nielsen, "'Norway is a predominantly white country, isn't it?' Sensing the trap, Nielsen tried to pretend that she was a fifth grader who forgot to do her geography homework, saying, 'I actually do not know that, sir, but I imagine that is the case.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "... Trump is unusual among modern presidents for his routine elevation of people who lack that basic sense of public ethics.... The overall pattern is clear. Trump wants to act with impunity, breaking the law if he needs or even just wants to. His appointees, who share his goals but not his methods, resist. He scolds and attacks them until they resign, replacing them with loyalists who may actually bend to his will.... [To head Homeland Security,] Trump is reportedly considering Ken Cuccinelli, the former Virginia attorney general turned conservative television personality, and Kris Kobach, the former Kansas secretary of state notorious for his aggressively anti-immigrant policies. With either choice, Trump would affirm the pattern of his administration so far, jettisoning people who act as if they were accountable to the public and replacing them with people who above all are loyal to Trump, willing to go in the 'tougher' -- and possibly illegal -- direction he demands."

Michael Tackett of the New York Times: "Temporary status is a seemingly permanent condition of the Trump administration. The resignation of Kirstjen Nielsen as homeland security secretary on Sunday means that another cabinet officer who reports directly to President Trump will have the word 'acting' next to the official title at a major department of government. Interim secretaries are also in place at the Departments of Defense and of the Interior, and at the Office of Management and Budget, the Small Business Administration and ambassador's office at the United Nations. Mick Mulvaney, Mr. Trump's chief of staff, is also serving in an acting capacity. 'I like acting. It gives me more flexibility....' Mr. Trump told reporters in January before departing to Camp David. 'I like acting. So we have a few that are acting. We have a great, great cabinet.' But there are concerns about having men and women in such high-level jobs without having been subjected to Senate confirmation for those posts. Leaving cabinet secretaries unconfirmed in their roles could give the president even more leverage over them, or could leave them without full authority in the job."

"The Thriving Cockroach." Alex Shephard of the New Republic: "Stephen Miller is winning. In recent days..., Donald Trump's senior adviser for policy has overseen a purge of officials who were seen as insufficiently extreme on immigration.... In a White House defined by dysfunction and turnover -- the departments of justice, defense, and veterans affairs are all led by acting directors -- Miller is the thriving cockroach. It's no secret why: He has shown an unwavering commitment to Trump's toxic immigration agenda, perhaps even more so than the president himself. Miller's expanding influence and seemingly permanent tenure suggest that Trump's immigration policies will become even more radical than those he implemented during his first two years in office.... Again and again, Trump has responded to crises and defeat by embracing extreme immigration policies, which have always backfired. This underlines his weakness as a president.... But this also speaks to his actual political philosophy, which elevates cruelty -- often misconstrued as 'strength' -- into a perverse virtue. Those who express uneasiness about this approach are dismissed as weak. Miller only advocates for the cruelest available options, and therefore rises in Trump's favor." ...

... Calling All MSM Journalists. Steve M.: Stephen "Miller might be the most frightening Trump subordinate. But he could be stopped. Here's how. Miller is skilled at remaining in the shadows. Over the past couple of years, he's done TV interviews and other public appearances when President Trump wanted him to, but he doesn't court the press.... If the press were to begin writing big stories about Miller, especially stories calling him 'the real president of the United States' (which, at this moment, he seems to be), Trump would be mightily peeved. It would especially offend Trump if Miller were to show up on the cover of Time, or some other legacy magazine.... Trump would feel upstaged.... Miller seems too shrewd to cooperate with writers seeking to do big feature stories. But they could be done without access, using a little ... what's the word for it? -- journalism.... I know it's not the job of the press to motivate a fragile-egoed president to fire a sick, bigoted, megalomaniacal underling, but sometimes true patriotism demands more of us than is contained in our job descriptions."

Burgess Everett, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump’s congressional allies are alarmed by his purge at the Department of Homeland Security -- urging him not to fire more top officials and warning him how hard it will be to solve twin crises at the border and the federal agencies overseeing immigration policy.... 'It's a mess,' Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said, summing up the dynamic on the border and in Washington.... Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the most senior GOP senator, is trying to head off even more dismissals as Trump tries to reshape DHS into a 'tougher' mold.... '[Trump] thinks it's a winning issue,' said Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the Republican whip. 'It works for him. It may not work for everybody else.'"

AP: "A US judge blocked the Trump administration's policy of returning asylum seekers to Mexico as they wait for an immigration court to hear their cases, but the order won't immediately go into effect. On Monday, Judge Richard Seeborg in San Francisco granted a request on behalf of 11 asylum seekers from Central America and legal advocacy groups to halt the practice while their lawsuit moves forward, but he held off on enforcing his decision until Friday to give the government a chance to ask an appeals court for a review. The policy lacks sufficient protections to ensure migrants don't face' undue risk to their lives or freedom' in Mexico, the judge said. Seeborg also said a law that Donald Trump's administration cited as its authority to send back migrants does not apply to asylum seekers such as those in the lawsuit. It was not immediately clear whether the administration would ask an appeals court to put the ruling on hold."

Sarah Kinosian of the Guardian: "The total number of migrants reaching the US southern border is significantly down from its peak in the early 2000s. But where once migrants were mostly adult males who sneaked across the desert, now the majority are Central American families who present themselves to US authorities and request asylum.... But Donald Trump's chaotic attempt to crack down on immigration seem[s] to have also helped trigger a reaction in the highly organized industry bringing people to the US -- and inadvertently prompted more families to head north.... [Among migrants] there is a growing impression that if you bring a child, you are more likely to get in. This is partly due to Trump. For weeks last year the furore over family separations dominated the news, and drew the attention of smugglers and would-be migrants.... As the numbers of families arriving climbs, a system designed for quick deportation of men traveling alone has become overwhelmed, and the US government is releasing people more quickly into the United States. A cycle has emerged: the more families that come, the more likely they are to be released -- and word is getting back to Guatemala." --s

Jay Weaver, et al., of the Miami Herald: "A federal prosecutor argued in court Monday that Yujing Zhang, the Chinese woman arrested trying to enter ... Donald Trump's private Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, 'lies to everyone she encounters,' adding that a search of her hotel room uncovered more than $8,000 in cash, as well as a 'signal-detector' device used to reveal hidden cameras. Found in the search: $7,500 in U.S. hundred-dollar bills and $663 in Chinese currency, in addition to nine USB drives, five SIM cards and other electronics, according to federal prosecutor Rolando Garcia. Signal detectors are portable devices that can detect radio waves, magnetic fields and hidden-camera equipment. Prosecutors are treating the case as a national security matter and an FBI counterintelligence squad is investigating...."

Larry Summers, who was Secretary of the Treasury under Bill Clinton, writes in a Washington Post op-ed that Steve Mnuchin must allow the IRS commissioner to release Trump's tax returns to the House Ways & Means Committee. "Under a long-standing delegation order, the secretary does not get involved in taxpayer-specific matters and has delegated to the IRS commissioner as follows: 'The Commissioner of Internal Revenue shall be responsible for the administration and enforcement of the Internal Revenue laws.'... Federal law provides that if the secretary determines not to delegate a power, such determination may not take effect until 30 days after the secretary notifies the tax-writing (and other specified) committees. So for the secretary to seek to decide whether to pass on the president's tax return to Congress would surely be inappropriate and probably illegal." ...

... Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "In an attempt to work around the White House, Democratic lawmakers in Albany are trying to do what their federal counterparts have so far failed to accomplish: to obtain President Trump's tax returns. Albany lawmakers are seeking state tax returns, not the federal ones at the heart of the current standoff in Washington. But a tax return from New York -- the president-s home state, and the headquarters of his business empire -- could likely contain much of the same financial information as a federal return. Under a bill that is scheduled to be introduced this week, the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance would be permitted to release any state tax return requested by leaders of three congressional committees for any 'specific and legitimate legislative purpose.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. Jesse McKinley: Gov. Andrew "Cuomo's office said late Monday that it would back a new bill that would permit the New York Department of Taxation and Finance to release any state tax return -- including the president's -- if it were requested by leaders of three congressional committees for any 'specified and legitimate legislative purpose.'"

Anne Gearan & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "The United States moved Monday to list Iran's elite military Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization as the Trump administration looks for new ways to increase economic and political pressure on the Islamic regime in Tehran. The designation marks the first time Washington has branded a foreign government entity a terrorist group and came despite warnings from U.S. military and intelligence officials that other nations could use the designation as a precedent against U.S. action abroad. The announcement also comes one day before Israeli elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a fifth term with hawkish promises to battle threatening Iranian behavior across the Middle East." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Back When Trump Was "Bankrolling Terrorism." Rachel Maddow pointed out a 2017 story by Adam Davidson of the New Yorker in which Davidson revealed that Trump was a partner in developing a hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan, beginning in 2012. Trump abandoned the deal in December 2016, after he won the presidency. The Trump Tower Baku, as Davidson reported, was financed by "the Mammadov family, [which] in addition to its reputation for corruption, has ... been financially entangled with an Iranian family tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps." And Trump knew it. Maddow finds Trump's official statement Monday on the Revolutionary Guard is ever-so-slightly ironic. Like this bit: "If you are doing business with the IRGC, you will be bankrolling terrorism." "Davidson also pointed to Trump's view of the U.S.'s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act: "In May, 2012, the month the Baku deal was finalized, the F.C.P.A. was evidently on Donald Trump's mind. In a phone-in appearance on CNBC, he expressed frustration with the law. 'Every other country goes into these places and they do what they have to do,' he said. 'It's a horrible law and it should be changed.' If American companies refused to give bribes, he said, 'you'll do business nowhere.'" Not only did Trump disapprove of the U.S. government's attempt to squelch corruption, Davidson makes clear that Trump enthusiastically participated in corrupt practices.)

David Sanger of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, facing criticism that the Trump administration has sought to sweep away the Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi's brutal killing, announced on Monday that 16 Saudis, including one of the closest aides to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, were being barred from entry to the United States.... But conspicuously missing from the list is Prince Mohammed himself, despite the conclusion by American intelligence agencies that he was ultimately responsible for sending the team to Istanbul to kill Mr. Khashoggi, and for other actions by the Rapid Intervention Group.... It is far from clear that the relatively minor penalty, against Saudis who would be unlikely to enter the United States under current conditions, will be viewed as sufficient.... Mr. Trump once called the report about the crown prince's involvement a 'feeling' by the C.I.A., and has insisted that the evidence is not conclusive." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Pompeo's "punishment" of the Saudis is akin to the Saudis' barring me from entering Saudi Arabia. I can handle that.

Carol Lee & Josh Lederman of NBC News: "The Trump administration scuttled a landmark deal enabling Cuban baseball players to play on Major League Baseball teams and declared it illegal, the latest move to roll back the warming of relations between the United States and Cuba that began in the Obama administration. Senior Trump administration officials said they were rescinding an Obama-era decision that deemed Cuba's baseball league to be separate from the Cuban government.... That deal was designed to allow Cuban baseball players joining U.S. teams without having to defect, as had been the case in years past. Former Obama administration officials said the goal of the policy had been to enable Cuban players to join U.S. teams without having to defect to the United States, which often involved dangerous journeys at the hands of human smugglers.... Ben Rhodes, a former National Security Council official who led the Obama administration's effort to restore U.S. relations with Cuba, said the Trump administration's new approach is 'cruel and serves no purpose.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Wrong, Ben. The "purpose" is white supremacy.

Stephanie Baker of Bloomberg has a long piece on where Rudy Giulani's money comes from: "In addition to Ukraine, in the past two years he's given speeches and done consulting and legal work in Armenia, Bahrain, Brazil, Colombia, Turkey, and Uruguay, among other countries.... His work abroad led seven Democratic senators in September to request that the U.S. Department of Justice review whether he should be disclosing his activities under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).... The question of conflict arises, in part, because Giuliani keeps popping up in world capitals to make pronouncements that dovetail with Trump's foreign policy positions." --s

Ken Vogel & Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "The Treasury Department allowed the influential Russian oligarch Oleg V. Deripaska to satisfy the terms of his divorce by transferring tens of millions of dollars in stock to benefit his children as part of a deal to lift United States sanctions on his corporate empire, according to the Trump administration and an interview with Mr. Deripaska.... The couple divorced last year, and their settlement, which called for him to provide funds for their children, was finalized before Mr. Deripaska and his companies were sanctioned in April 2018.... Senator Ron Wyden, Democrat of Oregon..., said in a letter sent late last month to Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, that the transfer of the EN+ shares -- which had a value of more than $78 million at the close of business on Monday — 'constitutes a clear benefit to Deripaska and his children,' and conflicts with Treasury Department claims that neither would benefit from the sanctions relief deal.... When asked by Mr. Wyden at a Senate Finance Committee hearing late last month about the arrangement, Mr. Mnuchin said of Mr. Deripaska that 'his children did in no way benefit from sanctions relief.'"

Victoria Guida of Politico: "GOP lawmakers have given in to ... Donald Trump on almost every contentious issue, but they're quietly breaking from him on one front that has drawn the president's repeated ire: the Federal Reserve. Trump is pushing two celebrity Republicans and Fed critics -- Herman Cain and Stephen Moore -- to serve on the central bank's board in his bid to shake and shape the institution in Trumpian ways.... GOP lawmakers -- who often showed little restraint in lambasting the Fed for near-zero interest rates in the Obama era -- are signaling publicly and privately their intent to keep politics out of the central bank.... The lawmakers plan to press Trump nominees about their allegiance to the Fed's data-based approach, amid concern that the president wants the central bank to pursue policies that will goose the economy." Mrs. McC: We'll see if the senators' "break" with Trump is so serious that they'll vote against Cain & Unable.

Paul McLeod of Buzzfeed: "In an unusual move, House Republicans are warning drug companies against complying with a House investigation into drug prices. Republicans [Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows] on the House Oversight Committee sent letters to a dozen CEOs of major drug companies warning that information they provide to the committee could be leaked to the public by Democratic chair Elijah Cummings in an effort to tank their stock prices. Cummings requested information from 12 drug companies such as Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson, and Novartis AG in January as part of a broad investigation into how the industry sets prescription drug prices." --s ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: That's hilarious. Congressional Republicans don't leak; they immediately call the press every time they find or pretend to find damaging information. It took less than 14 seconds for them to leak the October 2016 news that the FBI had reopened the E-mail! investigation. But they're worried Democrats will say mean things about price-gouging drug companies. Okay.

Rebecca Clawson of Axios: "Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) filed a $150 million lawsuit Monday against The McClatchy Company and 2 others, alleging they interfered with his investigations into reported Russian interference in the 2016 elections and Hillary Clinton's campaign. The lawsuit, first reported by Fox News, comes one day after the House Intelligence Committee ranking member told the network he would send 8 criminal referrals to the Justice Department this week concerning allegations of misconduct by federal authorities during the Russia probe. He's also suing Twitter for 'shadow-banning' him and other conservatives users." Mrs. McC: Clearly Devin does not have enough to do now that he's no longer chair of the Intelligence Committee. So he's suing everybody, including his own cow.

Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "A familiar story line played out Monday night for Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), who condemned one of President Trump's most trusted advisers only to end up being accused of anti-Semitism. 'Stephen Miller is a white nationalist,' she tweeted on Monday afternoon. 'The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage.' But because Miller, Trump's senior policy adviser, is Jewish, Omar's fervent detractors on the right saw her comments not as incendiary criticism of Miller's hard-line immigration policies but instead as part of a pattern of targeting Jews." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'd call Miller a white supremacist rather than a white nationalist, but either term is accurate.

Presidential Race 2020

Maggie Astor of the New York Times: "And then there were 18. Representative Eric Swalwell, a fourth-term congressman from the East Bay region of California, is running for the Democratic nomination for president, he announced Monday on 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.' Mr. Swalwell, a member of the House Intelligence and Judiciary Committees, has gained some attention as an outspoken voice on President Trump's foreign and immigration policy. He is a frequent guest on cable news shows, often discussing the Intelligence Committee's investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election. But he has said the top focus of his campaign will be something else: gun control."

Senate Race 2020. Mainers Not Showing Susan the Love. Simone Pathé of Roll Call: "Maine Sen. Susan Collins, one of the most vulnerable Republican senators in 2020, raised more than $1.1 million in itemized contributions during the first three months of the year. But less than 1 percent of that money came from her home state. Collins raised $9,200 from 17 itemized donations ($200 or more) from Maine during the first three months of 2019. Those came from 15 Pine Tree State residents."

Doha Madani of NBC News: "Actress Felicity Huffman is among 14 defendants in the college admissions scandal who are expected to plead guilty, according to the Department of Justice." At 3:01 pm ET Monday, this is a breaking story. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

North Carolina Corruption. Kate Riga of TPM: "Since last week's bombshell indictment dropped implicating North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Robin Hayes and businessman Greg Lindberg in a sprawling bribery scheme, more details have come to light, revealing the depth of the rot.... Here are five new revelations to get caught up on[.]" Read on. --s

Way Beyond

Dom Phillips of the Guardian: "When news broke that Brazil's president had sacked his controversial far-right education minister, any hopes that Jair Bolsonaro might have moderated his views lasted about as long as it took Brazilians to research his replacement. The new minister, Abraham Weintraub, is an economist and university professor who ... has voiced rightwing conspiracy theories -- arguing last year that crack was deliberately introduced in Brazil as part of a communist conspiracy.... After his appointment was announced on Monday, Weintraub praised Bolsonaro's intellectual guru Olavo de Carvalho -- a former astrologer and philosopher who berates his enemies with obscenity-laden YouTube videos from his home in Richmond, Virginia, and has questioned whether the world revolves around the sun." --s

The Commentariat -- April 8, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Everybody Clean out Your Desk. AP: "U.S. Secret Service Director Randolph 'Tex' Alles is expected to leave the Trump administration. That's according to two administration officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel matter. The officials say Alles' departure stems from a personality conflict within the agency. They said it was unrelated to the resignation of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and a recent security breach at the president's private club in Florida." ...

... BUT. Jake Tapper, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump instructed his acting chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney, to fire Alles. Alles remains in his position as of now but has been asked to leave. The USSS director was told two weeks ago there would be a transition in leadership and he was asked to stay on until there was a replacement, according to a source close to the director.... The Secret Service director reports directly to the Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen, who resigned on Sunday amid growing pressure from the President. The director oversees the Secret Service's work on both protection and investigations. 'There is a near-systematic purge happening at the nation's second-largest national security agency,' one senior administration official says. Secret Service officials have been caught by surprise with the news and are only finding out through CNN, according to the source."

Doha Madani of NBC News: "Actress Felicity Huffman is among 14 defendants in the college admissions scandal who are expected to plead guilty, according to the Department of Justice." At 3:01 pm ET, this is a breaking story.

Another Cabinet Official Fired by Tweet. Jonathan Swan & Mike Allen of Axios: "Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen brought her resignation letter with her when she met President Trump in the White House residence yesterday afternoon, top sources tell Axios. She wasn't intent on quitting but was prepared to, sources tell us. The meeting went poorly, and Trump didn't even let her announce her 'resignation.' While she was racing to put out the letter (not that different from one she wrote after midterms), Trump tweeted that she will be leaving her position.'" Mrs. McC: No one with any self-respect would work for this prick. ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Before we forget Kirstjen & all the horrible things she did, I do want to reprise her most a-mazing lie. Not surprisingly on account of her name, Kirstjen is of Scandinavian descent -- Danish, to be exact -- which makes her response to Sen. Patrick Leahy all the more absurd: In the wake of Trump's suggesting that Norway was an excellent source for immigrants to the U.S. (as opposed to "shithole countries," Leahy asked Nielsen, "'Norway is a predominantly white country, isn't it?' Sensing the trap, Nielsen tried to pretend that she was a fifth grader who forgot to do her geography homework, saying, 'I actually do not know that, sir, but I imagine that is the case.'"

Anne Gearan & Carol Morello of the Washington Post: "The United States moved Monday to list Iran's elite military Revolutionary Guard Corps as a foreign terrorist organization as the Trump administration looks for new ways to increase economic and political pressure on the Islamic regime in Tehran. The designation marks the first time Washington has branded a foreign government entity a terrorist group and came despite warnings from U.S. military and intelligence officials that other nations could use the designation as a precedent against U.S. action abroad. The announcement also comes one day before Israeli elections in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seeking a fifth term with hawkish promises to battle threatening Iranian behavior across the Middle East."

Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "In an attempt to work around the White House, Democratic lawmakers in Albany are trying to do what their federal counterparts have so far failed to accomplish: to obtain President Trump's tax returns. Albany lawmakers are seeking state tax returns, not the federal ones at the heart of the current standoff in Washington. But a tax return from New York -- the president's home state, and the headquarters of his business empire -- could likely contain much of the same financial information as a federal return. Under a bill that is scheduled to be introduced this week, the commissioner of the New York Department of Taxation and Finance would be permitted to release any state tax return requested by leaders of three congressional committees for any 'specific and legitimate legislative purpose.'"

~~~~~~~~~~

Maggie Haberman & Noah Weiland of the New York Times: "Kirstjen Nielsen, the homeland security secretary, is leaving her position, President Trump announced on Sunday, ending a tumultuous tenure in charge of the border security agency that had at times made her the target of the president's criticism. 'Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service....' [Trump wrote in a tweet]. The move comes just two days after Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly expressed anger at a rise in migrants at the southwestern border, withdrew his nominee to run Immigration and Customs Enforcement because he wanted the agency to go in a 'tougher' direction. The president said in a tweet that Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of Customs and Border Protection, will be the acting replacement for Ms. Nielsen, who took over the agency in late 2017." ...

... Jackie Kucinich, et al., of the Daily Beast: "Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen resigned from her position on Sunday evening, after serving sixteen turbulent months as the nation's top national security official and a punching bag for the the president on border security.... Nielsen's ouster comes amid a continuing -- even continuous -- shakeup in the Trump administration." ...

... Vinnie Longobardo of the Washington Press: "Neilsen also tweeted out her letter of resignation, proudly patting herself on the back for a job well done since no one else considers the caging of children a commendable accomplishment.... While the usual group of Trump supporters -- fed a steady diet of fear-mongering propaganda by Fox News -- replied [on Twitter] to Neilsen thanking her for her service, Americans horrified at the degradation of previously held values of compassion and the rule of law vilified her and called for her prosecution for crimes against humanity in the Court of International Justice." Longobardo publishes some brutal examples. ...

... Anita Kumar, et al., of Politico: "As ... Donald Trump roils the capital over illegal immigration, his influential aide Stephen Miller is playing a more aggressive behind-the-scenes role in a wider administration shakeup.... [Miller] has been arguing for personnel changes to bring in more like-minded hardliners, according to three people familiar with the situation.... Miller has also recently been telephoning mid-level officials at several federal departments and agencies to angrily demand that they do more to stem the flow of immigrants into the country.... 'It's intimidation,' one of the people who was briefed on the calls told Politico.... 'There's definitely a larger shakeup abreast being led by Stephen Miller and the staunch right wing within the administration,' said a person close to [Kirstjen] Nielsen.... 'They failed with the courts and with Congress and now they're eating their own.'" ...

... New York Times Editors: With the head of Customs and Border Protection replacing Nielsen & Trump's withdrawing his nominee to head the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, Homeland Security is "without a top official at either of its critical immigration agencies.... Within this leadership vacuum, it seems likely that more influence will be exerted by [Stephen] Miller, who inspires and reinforces Mr. Trump's harshest ideas on immigrants and immigration. The House speaker, Nancy Pelosi, said of Ms. Nielsen's departure, 'It is deeply alarming that the Trump administration official who put children in cages is reportedly resigning because she is not extreme enough for the White House's liking.'"

Kyle Balluck of the Hill: "President Trump said on Saturday that some asylum-seekers should be 'fighting for the UFC,' calling the process a 'scam.' Speaking to the Republican Jewish Coalition in Las Vegas, Trump said asylum-seekers are 'some of the roughest people you've ever seen, people that look like they should be fighting for the UFC,' referring to the Ultimate Fighting Championship, a company that promotes mixed martial arts matches. Trump also said that asylum-seekers are coached. 'They read a little page given by lawyers that are all over the place -- you know lawyers, they tell them what to say,' Trump said. 'I am very fearful for my life. I am very worried that I will be accosted if I'm sent back home,' he added. 'No, no. He'll do the accosting.' The president's comments came after he last week backed away from a threat to close the border with Mexico."

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

"The Fix Is In." Jeff Toobin of the New Yorker: William "Barr has taken every possible step to lessen the sting of the Mueller report -- and, so far, to block it from view altogether." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Matthew Choi of Politico: "Rudy Giuliani wants the full Mueller report to go to Congress -- because 'believe me, there was nothing there.' Appearing on CBS' 'Face the Nation' Sunday, the former New York mayor ... argued the president has nothing to hide and has demonstrated 'unprecedented' cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Quint Forgey of Politico: "Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday no one in the White House has requested from the Justice Department an advance copy of special counsel Robert Mueller's final report -- but he also noted that 'anything could change' in the days before a redacted version of the document is delivered to lawmakers." Mrs. McC: Rudy seems to think he knows what's in the report. Of course Rudy isn't "in the White House."

Trump Must Be Hiding Something Big. Michael Burke of the Hill: "Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that Democrats will 'never' see President Trump's tax returns. 'Nor should they. That&'s an issue that was already litigated during the election. Voters knew the president could have given his tax returns, they knew that he didn't, and they elected him anyway,' Mulvaney said during an appearance on 'Fox News Sunday.' He added that Democrats 'know they're not going to' get the tax returns." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... ** The Party of Lawlessness. Jonathan Chait: "This week, the House Ways and Means Committee formally moved to obtain President Trump's federal tax forms. This move, which ought to be a mere formality, has slipped immediately into a political and legal conflict. What is so striking about the episode is how little outcry Trump's open defiance of the law has created.... The law governing this matter is unusually clear.... This law has been used to examine tax returns of high-placed political officials. It was enacted in order to let Congress examine financial conflicts of interest by the administration, and forced the disclosure of a president's tax returns (Richard Nixon).... [Sen. Chuck] Grassley [R-Iowa] asserts that obtaining Trump's tax filings would 'destroy him.'... Grassley believes ... that the proper response is to prevent this ruinous information from being made available to Congress or the public, [even though, for decades, all Democratic & Republican presidential nominees & presidents have routinely released their returns.] Maintaining the secrecy of Trump.s tax returns 'is a hill and people would be willing to die on it ... we will see you in court,' boasts an administration official. Legally, they haven't got a leg to stand on. It';s telling that nobody in the administration or the Republican Party seems to care."

McGahn Speaks. Jonathan Swan & Alayna Treene of Axios: "Don McGahn, who has kept his head down since leaving as White House counsel, shared some off-the-record thoughts on Thursday in a lunch with about 40 senior Republican Senate aides.... 'I spent the last couple of years getting yelled at,' he said, per two sources at the lunch.... 'And you may soon read about some of the more spirited debates I had with the president.' McGahn didn't explicitly mention Mueller's report, but sources in the room said they understood him to be referring to it when he said this.... McGahn said a big part of his job as White House counsel was to deregulate and rein in the 'administrative state.' He said he did that by writing deregulatory executive orders and picking judicial nominees who wanted to limit the power of federal agencies. He talked about Trump nominating judges who agree that the courts have given too much flexibility to federal agencies to interpret laws and enforce regulations."

Devin Has Been a Busy Boy. Jeremy Herb of CNN: "California Rep. Devin Nunes, the top Republican on the House Intelligence Committee, said Sunday he was planning to send eight criminal referrals to Attorney General William Barr as soon as this week. Nunes, who investigated accusations of FBI and Department of Justice abuse while he was previously chairman of the intelligence panel, did not say who he would be referring in a Fox News interview on Sunday. Appearing on Fox's 'Sunday Morning Futures,' Nunes said five of the referrals are related to lying to Congress, misleading Congress and leaking classified information. The other referrals, Nunes said, are allegations of lying to the FISA court that approves foreign surveillance warrants, manipulating intelligence and what he described as a 'global leak referral,' which Nunes said wasn't tied to one individual." ...

... Sophie Weiner of Splinter: "These referrals don't necessarily mean much -- they are essentially a request for the DOJ and FBI to investigate. That option is now in their hands. Nunes has been busy stirring up shit in recent months. Last month, he announced that he is suing Twitter and specific parody accounts, including one named Devin Nunes' Cow and another named Devin Nunes' Mom, for $250 million."

Mallory Pickett of the Guardian: "Scientists and officials around the US have told the Guardian that the Trump administration has withdrawn funding for a large, successful conservation program -- in direct contradiction of instructions from Congress. Unique in scale and ambition, the program comprises 22 research centers that tackle big-picture issues affecting huge swaths of the US, such as climate change, flooding and species extinction. They are known as Landscape Conservation Cooperatives [created under Obama] -- or were, because 16 of them are now on indefinite hiatus or have dissolved.... [F]ederal employees were instructed not to speak with the Guardian for this story.... [F]ederal support for the LCC program appeared to dry up after the start of an unprecedented political review of scientific research at the interior department.... It was led by Steve Howke, a high school friend of the former interior secretary Ryan Zinke." --s

Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will receive the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award at a ceremony next month, the Kennedy Library Foundation announced Sunday. The California Democrat is being recognized for leading 'with strength, integrity and grace under pressure -- using her power to protect the most vulnerable of our citizens,' former ambassador Caroline Kennedy, the foundation's honorary president, said in a statement. 'She is the most important woman in American political history and is a true Profile in Courage,' Kennedy said."

Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "Actions by federal regulators and Republicans in Congress over the past two years have paved the way for banks and other financial companies to issue more than $1 trillion in risky corporate loans, sparking fears that Washington and Wall Street are repeating the mistakes made before the financial crisis. The moves undercut policies put in place by banking regulators six years ago that aimed to prevent high-risk lending from once again damaging the economy. Now, regulators and even White House officials are struggling to comprehend the scope and potential dangers of the massive pool of credits, known as leveraged loans, they helped create. Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America and other financial companies have originated these loans to hundreds of cash-strapped companies, many of which could be unable to repay if the economy slows or interest rates rise."

Presidential Race 2020. Zack Budryk of the Hill: "Former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke (D), in an apparent reference to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, said Sunday that the relationship between the U.S. and Israel must transcend 'a prime minister who is racist.' Asked in Iowa City Sunday if his criticism of Netanyahu risked alienating supporters of Israel, O'Rourke drew a distinction between support for Israel and support for Netanyahu. 'The US-Israel relationship is one of the most important relationships that we have on the planet, and that relationship, if it is successful, must transcend partisanship in the United States, and it must be able to transcend a prime minister who is racist, as he warns against Arabs coming to the polls, who wants to defy any prospect for peace as he threatens to annex the West Bank, and who has sided with a far-right racist party in order to maintain his hold on power,' O'Rourke said, referring to Netanyahu seeking to form a coalition with the Otzma Yehudit party." ...

... Sophie Weiner: "This is all accurate. In the lead up to Israel's 2015 election, Netanyahu did warn that Arabs were coming out to vote, as a way to instill fear in, and garner votes from, his anti-Arab base. In February, Netanyahu announced that his party, Likud, would merge with the far-right, anti-Arab Otzma Yehudit party, raising the possibility that one of their extremist members will make it into the Knesset. And just this weekend, Netanyahu suggested that if he retains power in this week's elections, he will begin annexing the West Bank.

Way Beyond the Beltway

Patrick Wintour & Chris Stephen of the Guardian: "The battle for Tripoli[, Libya,] escalated on Sunday as a military assault on the city by the eastern Libyan military commander Khalifa Haftar led to 21 deaths and nearly 90 injuries, and international calls for calm were ignored. As the fighting neared the capital, the UN issued a plea for a temporary ceasefire to allow the wounded to be evacuated. Hours earlier, the US announced it was withdrawing some of its troops from the country, citing deteriorating 'security conditions on the ground'. India also withdrew a group of its peacekeepers, saying the situation in Libya had suddenly worsened. The international airport 15 miles south of central Tripoli was a scene of fierce battles after Haftar claimed to have seized control of the area from the UN-backed government of national accord."

The Commentariat -- April 7, 2019

Afternoon Update:

"The Fix Is In." Jeff Toobin of the New Yorker: William "Barr has taken every possible step to lessen the sting of the Mueller report -- and, so far, to block it from view altogether." ...

... Matthew Choi of Politico: "Rudy Giuliani wants the full Mueller report to go to Congress -- because 'believe me, there was nothing there.' Appearing on CBS' 'Face the Nation' Sunday, the former New York mayor ... argued the president has nothing to hide and has demonstrated 'unprecedented' cooperation with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election."

Trump Is Hiding Something Big. Michael Burke of the Hill: "Acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney said Sunday that Democrats will 'never' see Trump's tax returns. 'Nor should they. That's an issue that was already litigated during the election. Voters knew the president could have given his tax returns, they knew that he didn't, and they elected him anyway,' Mulvaney said during an appearance on 'Fox News Sunday.' He added that Democrats 'know they're not going to' get the tax returns."

~~~~~~~~~~

Zeke Miller of the AP: "... Donald Trump warned on Saturday that a Democratic victory in 2020 could 'leave Israel out there,' as he highlighted his pro-Israel actions in an effort to make the case for Jewish voters to back his re-election. Speaking at the annual meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Trump touted his precedent-shredding actions to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv and recognition last month of Israeli sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights, a strategic plateau that Israel seized from Syria in 1967. 'We got you something that you wanted,' Trump said of the embassy move, adding, 'Unlike other presidents, I keep my promises.' The group, backed by GOP megadonor Sheldon Adelson, supported Trump's 2016 campaign and is preparing to spend millions on his 2020 effort." ...

... Trump Fan Threatens to Kill Ilhan Omar. Kevin Bohn of CNN: "A New York man is in custody after having been arrested and charged with threatening to assault and murder Rep. Ilhan Omar, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Western District of New York. Patrick W. Carlineo, Jr., 55, of Addison, New York, threatened to kill Omar because of her Muslim faith, according to a criminal complaint and accompanying affidavit....A call was placed to Omar's Washington, DC, office on March 21, an FBI agent stated in the affidavit. During the call, an individual, who identified himself as Pat Carlineo, said to a staff member: 'Do you work for the Muslim Brotherhood? Why are you working for her, she's a (expletive) terrorist. I'll put a bullet in her (expletive) skull.'Omar's office referred the threat to the US Capitol Police, which began an investigation with the FBI." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Besides being a dangerous bigot, Carlineo is not too bright: "Carlineo sounded angry during the call but provided the spelling of his name and contact information, the affidavit said. He was later interviewed by authorities where he stated that he was a patriot, that he loves ... Donald Trump, and 'that he hates radical Muslims in our government,' the affidavit stated." Anyway, I was wondering if Trump or the White House issued a pro forma statement condemning violence, supporting freedom of religion, & so forth. Not exactly. ...

... Seung Min Kim & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Saturday criticized Rep. Ilhan Omar, one day after a New York man was arrested and charged with threatening to kill the Minnesota Democrat. In remarks to a conservative Jewish group, Trump thanked several Republican lawmakers for their support before proceeding to mock Omar, an outspoken critic of U.S. policy toward Israel who has also made comments that some say invoke anti-Semitic stereotypes. 'Special thanks to Representative Omar of Minnesota,' Trump told members of the Republican Jewish Coalition in a ballroom of the Venetian Resort. 'Oh, I forgot. She doesn't like Israel. I forgot. I'm so sorry.'" ...

Sexual Assaulters Club. Russ Choma of Mother Jones: "When President Donald Trump exited Air Force One at the start of his Saturday trip to Las Vegas, he was greeted on the tarmac by former casino executive Steve Wynn, a longtime business rival and friend who was a major fundraiser for the president during the 2016 campaign. Wynn has kept a low profile since resigning his post as CEO of Wynn Resorts in February 2018, after multiple accusations alleging sexual misconduct by Wynn with subordinates at the casino company.... Wynn, who denies the allegations, also resigned from his post as the Republican National Committee's finance chair last year. Despite Wynn's denials, this past week, Massachusetts state gaming regulators released a scathing report finding that Wynn's company had worked to cover up the allegations against Wynn." --s

Blustering Bluffer-in-Chief. Michael Tackett & Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "For President Trump, a threat is frequently his first impulse.... But his threats often remain just that. The most recent example was when Mr. Trump backed down from a vow to close the border with Mexico, instead saying he would give one of the United States' most essential trading partners a year to deal with the migrant crisis. This came only a day after he had threatened to act if Congress did not bend to his will on the issue. The price of Mexican avocados spiked, but the government of Mexico seemed unmoved. (Mr. Trump has warned Mexico of an impending border closing at least three times before, in October, November and December.)... Here is a look at some of Mr. Trump's more high-profile threats...." ...

... Seung Min Kim & David Nakamura of the Washington Post: "... unauthorized immigration has surged to the highest levels in a decade, leaving [President* Trump] searching for quick-fix solutions and his administration roiling with internal tensions over how to address a problem the president promised to solve.... His public indecision over the past week -- threatening in a tweet to close the border with Mexico before reversing himself six days later -- revealed an administration that is grasping to deal with a humanitarian challenge without a well-defined strategy and with significant divisions within Trump's team. A sign of the discord came Friday when the White House yanked the Senate nomination of a longtime federal immigration official, Ronald Vitiello, to lead Immigration and Customs Enforcement after a senior White House adviser, Stephen Miller, lobbied Trump to cut him loose.... He has focused on outdated models of hard-line deterrence and punishment developed more than a decade ago to stop Mexican men from sneaking into the country in search of jobs. Those methods, including a border wall, are largely ineffective in keeping out the asylum-seeking families who are driving the recent immigration spike, immigration experts said." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: So on one of Trump's favorite white supremacist issues, both the New York Times & Washington Post use their front pages to point out that Trump is an incompetent, indecisive clown. So unfaaaair!

... Good Grief! Elliot Spagat of the AP: "The Trump administration wants up to two years to find potentially thousands of children who were separated from their families at the border before a judge halted the practice last year, a task that it says is more laborious than previous efforts because the children are no longer in government custody. The Justice Department said in a court filing late Friday that it will take at least a year to review about 47,000 cases of unaccompanied children taken into government custody between July 1, 2017 and June 25, 2018 -- the day before U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw halted the general practice of splitting families. The administration would begin by sifting through names for traits most likely to signal separation -- for example, children under 5. The administration would provide information on separated families on a rolling basis to the American Civil Liberties Union, which sued to reunite families and criticized the proposed timeline on Saturday. 'We strongly oppose a plan that could take up to two years to locate these families,' said Lee Gelernt, the ACLU's lead attorney. 'The government needs to make this a priority.'"

Heather Long of the Washington Post: "As President Trump threatened to shut down the U.S.-Mexico border in recent days, his Department of Homeland Security nearly doubled the number of temporary guest worker visas available this summer. The Homeland Security and Labor departments plan to grant an additional 30,000 H-2B visas this summer on top of the 33,000 they had already planned to give out, the agencies confirmed. The H-2B visa allows foreign workers to come to the United States legally and work for several months at companies such as landscapers, amusement parks or hotels. About 80 percent of these visas went to people from Mexico and Central America last year, government data shows.... On Friday, [Trump] implored migrants to turn around and go home. 'Can't take you anymore,' Trump said, while standing at the border in California. 'Our country is full.'" Mrs. McC: Apparently not.

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Lucia Mutikani & David Brunnstrom of Reuters: "... Donald Trump said on Saturday he had not read Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report.... 'I have not read the Mueller Report yet, even though I have every right to do so,' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Only know the conclusions, and on the big one, No Collusion.'... In another tweet, Trump called the report 'a total waste of time.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: What is not addressed here is whether or not Trump has received the Mueller report & had staff tell him the highlights. That would explain Trump's change of heart on releasing the report. ...

... Marcy Wheeler, in a Washington Post op-ed, argues that "we already know Barr's summary was too easy on Trump.... Barr's judgment that Trump didn't obstruct justice because 'the evidence does not establish that the President was involved in an underlying crime related to Russian election interference' doesn't hold up. Eve the public record shows that Trump's associates appear to have tried to coordinate with Russia.... The same public record suggests Trump's potential abuse of his pardon power may have thwarted Mueller's ability to get at the underlying crime." Wheeler goes over some of the evidence against Roger Stone & Paul Manafort that surfaced in court filings to make her case. ...

... William Saletan of Slate: "Until we see the report, we won't know what's in it. But we do know what Republicans have said about it, and eventually -- unless it's buried forever -- we'll be able to check these descriptions against the document. Here's a catalog of what Trump and his surrogates have said since Barr's letter came out. Some of these claims have been repeated uncritically by TV anchors, headline writers, and reporters. If the claims prove to be false, the media has a clear duty: to acknowledge that the report is more damning than we were told.... [The report] might show that some of these claims are true. But if they're false -- if Republicans lied about the report, and the media fell for those lies -- then it will be time to talk less about exoneration and more about cover-up. The Barr letter and the blitz of spin around it could turn out to be another chapter in a Republican campaign to bury the truth." --s

... Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The federal appeals court in Washington, DC, sided with grand jury secrecy on Friday, ruling that federal district judges don't have the power to make the grand jury's records public, even in historically significant cases.... The DC Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday split 2-1 in its grand jury secrecy decision, ultimately siding with the Justice Department in a case brought by researcher Stuart McKeever seeking records from 60 years ago.... The decision has major implications for the release of grand jury records -- especially at a moment when the lower federal court in Washington has been asked to make grand jury information related to the Mueller investigation public.... The appeals court notes that in other cases, grand jury secrecy was overcome to aid in other investigations. Judges still are able to disclose grand jury records 'in connection with a judicial proceeding' in some circumstances, such as when the House Judiciary Committee weighed the impeachment of President Richard Nixon.... Friday's opinion 'says nothing about Congress and its access to the full Mueller report,' Deana El-Mallawany, counsel at Protect Democracy, said in a statement Friday. 'Before and after that decision, House Judiciary clearly has a right to seek information from the Mueller grand jury under the express exception to grand jury secrecy.'"

David Corn, et al., of Mother Jones have more reporting on the "Mar-a-lago/China affair" where we're introduced to: "... an unusual Chinese fellow named Charles Lee [whose real name is Li Weitian], who ran a business bringing Chinese execs to the United Stateson travel packages that included visits to Mar-a-Lago for events.... Lee ... established the United Nations Chinese Friendship Association in 2011. According to a press release issued at the time, the UNCFA ... was accredited by the UN Economic and Social Council and the Chinese Embassy in New York City. (According to the Washington Post, the UNCFA 'is not on any list of nongovernmental organizations with UN affiliation.')... After Lee's name emerged in this scandal, the UNCFA's website was taken down.... Much about Charles Lee does not check out. Lee seems to be an operator and a mixer ... who has long-standing ties to Chinese government and Communist Party organizations of concern to counterintelligence experts.... Yet he has obtained access to Mar-a-Lago and Trump events. " --s

Let Them Eat Salt. Catherine Kim of Vox: "Six states and Washington, DC, led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, are fighting President Trump's mission to make school lunches unhealthy again. During the Obama administration, first lady Michelle Obama pushed for healthier school meals as part of her agenda to tackle obesity. In 2010, Congress passed legislation requiring school lunches to be more nutritious, and the Department of Agriculture published new regulations to enforce the law. The Trump administration rolled back those guidelines in 2018, allowing schools to abandon their commitment to lowering sodium and increasing whole-grain foods. Now the states are suing to set the standards high again.... The lawsuit focuses on three key changes from 2018: the reintroduction of refined grains and two of the changes meant to gradually reduce sodium from school meals." --s

Supreme Gun Nuts. Ian Milhiser of ThinkProgress: "The Supreme Court handed down a brief order on Friday denying a request to block a federal ban on 'bump stocks,' a device that effectively converts a semi-automatic rifle into a fully automatic weapon.... Yet, while even the Trump administration deemed these devices to be too dangerous for civilian use, two members of the Supreme Court would have blocked the ban. Both Justice Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch voted to grant a request to stay a lower court decision allowing the ban to take effect." --s ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, we have two Supreme Court justices who believe the Second Amendment guarantees the right to mass-murder.

Robert McFadden of the New York Times: "Ernest F. Hollings, a silver-haired South Carolina Democrat who served 38 years in the United States Senate in an era of rising prosperity and often painful accommodation to racial tolerance in his state and across the South, died on Saturday at his home in Isle of Palms, S.C. He was 97."

Lauren Aratani of the Guardian: "Scientists estimate that at least 100 million and maybe as many as a billion birds die each year in the US when they collide with buildings, especially glass-covered or illuminated skyscrapers.... Most birds migrating through the US do so at night, when the airspace is cool and calm -- and often end up veering through cities because their glow stands out. Scientists have long known that birds are attracted to light, so when they fly over a bright city at night, they are naturally drawn toward it, unaware they are in dangerous territory.... Houston and Dallas, which also lie along some of the most popular migration paths, round out the top three most deadly cities after Chicago. New York, Los Angeles, St Louis and Atlanta also pose risks during migration." --s

Beyond the Beltway

Louisiana. Richard Fausset of the New York Times: "Three historically black churches have burned in less than two weeks in one south Louisiana parish, where officials said they had found' suspicious elements' in each case.... The F.B.I. and federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are involved in the investigation, said Jeff Nowakowski, a spokesman for the A.T.F.'s New Orleans field division."

Way Beyond

Guardian: "Thousands of protesters have clashed with security forces in the Sudanese capital Khartoum in a huge demonstration against president Omar al-Bashir's 30-year rule, witnesses said.... Security forces fired tear gas at stone-throwing demonstrators gathered outside the presidential residence on Saturday in one of the biggest protests against Bashir in months of unrest.... The Sudanese Professionals Association has spearheaded calls for an end to Omar al-Bashir's three-decade rule soon after protests began on 19 December over surging prices and a failing economy." --s