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Thursday

Mar212019

The Commentariat -- March 22, 2019

It's a day ending in "y', so Donald Trump is saying offensive, stupid things:

Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump on Friday renewed his attacks on Democrats as anti-Jewish' in response to a number of 2020 Democratic presidential candidates deciding to skip the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual conference in Washington. 'I don't know what happened to them but they are totally anti-Israel,' Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House. 'Frankly, I think they are anti-Jewish.' Trump's comments come one day after he said the U.S. should recognize Israeli control of the disputed Golan Heights territory." Mrs. McC: This is of course the same guy whose "closing argument" in 2020 was one long anti-Semitic screed., said the white supemacists in Charlottesville who chanted "Jews will not replace us" were "good people," and so forth. ...

... Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "President Trump suggested the public would view special counsel Robert Mueller's expected report on possible collusion between Trump's campaign and Moscow as illegitimate. 'A deputy, that didn't get any votes, appoints a man, that didn't get any votes, he's going to write a report on me,' Trump told Fox News host Maria Bartiromo, referring to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.... 'For two years we've gone through this nonsense. There.s no collusion with Russia ... and there's no obstruction. They'll say, "oh, well wait, there was no collusion, that was a hoax, but he obstructed in fighting against the hoax,"' he said." Mrs. McC: Huh. Maybe Trump already knows the gist of Mueller's findings.

~~~~~~~~~~

The Trump Scandals, Ctd. -- Report Watch Edition

Stonewall, Ctd. Jeremy Herb & Pamela Brown of CNN: "The White House is rejecting a request from congressional Democrats to obtain documents tied to ... Donald Trump's communications with Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a letter to three Democratic committee chairmen, White House counsel Pat Cipollone said that the courts have long established that presidential communications with foreign leaders are protected and confidential."

Lock Him Up! Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Jared Kushner ... uses an unofficial online messaging service for official White House business, including with foreign contacts, his lawyer told the House Oversight Committee late last year. The lawyer, Abbe Lowell, said he was not aware if Mr. Kushner had communicated classified information on the service, WhatsApp, and said that because he took screenshots of the communications and sent them to his official White House account or the National Security Council, his client was not in violation of federal records laws. In a letter disclosing the information, the Democratic chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee [-- Elijah Cummings (D-Md.)] said that he was investigating possible violations of the Presidential Records Act by members of the Trump administration, including Mr. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump. He accused the White House of stonewalling his committee on information it had requested for months." What's the problem? (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Barbara Ortutay of the AP: "Facebook said Thursday that it stored millions of its users' passwords in plain text for years. The acknowledgement from the social media giant came after a security researcher posted about the issue online.... Facebook said there is no evidence its employees abused access to this data. But thousands of employees could have searched them. The company said the passwords were stored on internal company servers, where no outsiders could access them. But the incident reveals a huge oversight for the company amid a slew of bruises and stumbles in the last couple of years." Mrs. McC: Did I mention Facebook owns WhatsApp? Jared's password is Hot*Grifter2. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Russia, If You're Listening, I Hope You're Able to Find the 30,000 Emails that Are Missing. Chad Day & Jill Colvin of the AP: "Ivanka Trump ... did not preserve all of her official emails as required by federal law, and her husband, Jared Kushner, used a messaging application to conduct U.S. business outside government channels, the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee said on Thursday. Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., said in a letter to the White House that the use of private email accounts and the messaging application WhatsApp by senior administration officials raises 'security and federal records concerns.'... In his letter, Cummings also singled out former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon and former deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland, questioning whether they preserved documents related to a proposal to transfer nuclear power technology to Saudi Arabia. That proposal is under investigation by Cummings' committee, which is looking into information from whistleblowers who have said they witnessed 'abnormal acts' within the Trump National Security Council involving senior White House officials who were pushing the plan."

... Abigail Tracy of Vanity Fair: "'There is no "children' immunity,' Congressman Eric Swalwell told me on Thursday afternoon. Swalwell, who sits on both the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees, was describing the sprawling web of investigations picking up steam within the Democratic-controlled Congress that appear likely to cover ... the president's ... business interests, his cronies, and yes, even his family members.... The children have traditionally been behind one of Trump's red lines, but Democrats are trying to flip the script. 'We are not going out of our way to hear from the president's children, but the president has gone out of his way to involve his children in the campaign, in the transition and in the governing of our country,' Swalwell continued. 'You can't violate norms with the nepotism that he operates under and then put up a shield when those children land themselves as potential witnesses.'"

Jim Comey, in the New York Times, writes a high-minded op-ed about how he hopes the Mueller report proves justice has prevailed & how awful impeachment would be. Pardon me for gagging.

Ben Mathis-Lilley of Slate has some advice for Bob Mueller on how to finish that big writing assignment.

Rebecca Morin of Politico: "... Donald Trump announced Thursday that the United States will formally recognize Israel's sovereignty over the disputed Golan Heights. 'After 52 years it is time for the United States to fully recognize Israel's Sovereignty over the Golan Heights, which is of critical strategic and security importance to the State of Israel and Regional Stability!' the president tweeted." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Mark Landler & Edward Wong of the New York Times: "President Trump declared on Thursday that the United States should recognize Israel's authority over the long disputed Golan Heights, delivering a valuable election-eve gift to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but jettisoning decades of American policy in the Middle East. Mr. Trump's announcement, in a midday Twitter post, came after persistent pressure from Mr. Netanyahu, a close political ally who is fighting for his survival in the election scheduled for April 9, and has invoked his friendship with the American president as a prime argument for staying in office. But Mr. Trump's move, while popular in Israel and among some lawmakers in Congress, is likely to be condemned almost everywhere else. The United Nations has rejected Israel's occupation of the Golan Heights since 1967, when Israeli troops seized the 400 square miles of rocky highlands from Syria during the Arab-Israeli war. It will also reverberate throughout the Middle East and could undermine Mr. Trump's long anticipated peace proposal for Israel and the Palestinians."

** Zack Beauchamp of Vox: "... Donald Trump gleefully pressed on another culture war hot button Thursday afternoon, issuing an executive order that's supposed to address allegedly serious threats to free speech on America's college campuses.... As my colleague Ella Nilsen explains, it basically amounts to reminding universities about existing law. But that doesn't mean the order is insignificant. It reflects, instead, the degree to which the conservative movement ... has created a panic about the limitation of free speech on college campuses.... That's because this isn't a battle about free speech. it's a fight over political power and cultural control." --s

Presiduntial* Boredom. Steve M.: "I agree with George Conway that Trump has narcissistic personality disorder. I don't agree with those who believe that Trump's attacks on Conway, renewed attacks on McCain, and incessant tweeting last weekend are a sign of mental deterioration or dementia. Trump is just bored.... He has no battles to fight -- the Mueller report hasn't landed, the shutdown is over, the midterms and the Brett Kavanaugh fight were months ago, the North Korea initiative crashed and burned, the 2020 presidential campaign is just beginning ... and there won't be any significant legislation from this divided Congress anytime soon.... Trump has to be asking himself: How do I sustain my brand? The obvious answer: Twitter beefs! Fight with someone! Then fight with someone else! The base loves it! The base thinks it's presidential!" --s

Colin Kalmbacher of Law & Crime: "Marines Corps Commandant General Robert Neller slammed ... Donald Trump's plan to dispatch troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in a series of recently-leaked internal memorandums. According to the Los Angeles Times, Neller warned the Pentagon that Trump's widely-ridiculed border deployments and proposed funding transfers under his national emergency declaration have caused 'unacceptable risk to Marine Corps combat readiness and solvency.' Specifically, Neller said the 'unplanned/unbudgeted' border theatrics and spur-of-the-moment funds-shifting had caused the Marines Corps to delay crucial repairs at U.S. military bases.... [Trump's] moves, Neller said, also caused the branch to cancel or reduce several military training exercises in at least five different countries."

Scott Bixby of The Daily Beast: "The Trump administration has sought to expand the government's role in fostering religious freedom both at home and abroad, but within its own immigrant detention centers migrants of faith have seen their own religious freedoms curtailed. Religious detainees have had their religious texts and items confiscated, been forced to eat forbidden foods, and have even watched as U.S. immigration agents threw their holy objects into the garbage in front of them, according to a letter of complaint sent to government watchdogs by the American Civil Liberties Union this week." --s

Sam Mintz of Politico: "A Federal Highway Administration spokesman made dozens of jokes over the past several years about mass shootings, abortion and the killing of Trayvon Martin, a review of his personal Twitter account shows. Doug Hecox ... a comedian, writer and adjunct professor in addition to his role at the highway agency[.]" --s

John Schwartz of the New York Times: "Vast areas of the United States are at risk of flooding this spring, even as Nebraska and other Midwestern states are already reeling from record-breaking late-winter floods, federal scientists said on Thursday. Nearly two-thirds of the lower 48 states will have an elevated risk of some flooding from now until May, and 25 states could experience 'major or moderate flooding,' according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration." Mrs. McC: Of course climate change is a hoax.

Presidential Race 2020

Mike Allen of Axios: "Close advisers to former Vice President Joe Biden are debating the idea of packaging his presidential campaign announcement with a pledge to choose Stacey Abrams as his vice president.... The popular Georgia Democrat, who at age 45 is 31 years younger than Biden, would bring diversity and excitement to the ticket -- showing voters, in the words of a close source, that Biden 'isn't just another old white guy.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Jonathan Chait lists nine reasons this is a good idea for both Biden & Abrams. (Also linked yesterday.)

Ben White & Steve Shepard of Politico: "... Donald Trump has a low approval rating. He is engaging in bitter Twitter wars and facing metastasizing investigations. But if the election were held today, he'd likely ride to a second term in a huge landslide, according to multiple economic models with strong track records of picking presidential winners and losses." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Because This. A Cancer on the Body Politic. Maxwell Tani of the Daily Beast: "Almost 8 in 10 Republicans who watch Fox News say Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. That was just one finding of a new poll showing the deep ideological divide between Fox News viewers and everyone else. The poll results were provided to The Daily Beast by Navigator, a project launched by Democratic groups Global Strategy Group and GBA strategies. They surveyed more than 1,000 registered voters online with the goal of examining the differences in views between Fox News viewers and non-Fox viewers.... The data show numerous ways in which Fox News-watching Republicans have radically different beliefs from non-Republicans and even Republicans who do not watch Fox News." (Also linked yesterday.)

Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "Whatever its potential merits, [the Electoral College] is a plainly undemocratic institution.... Narrow margins throw it into chaos."

Ernie Suggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Jimmy "Carter becomes the oldest living former president in United States history" today. (Also linked yesterday.)

Alex Shephard of the New Republic: Democrats have become the party of perpetual timidity. "... they inevitably tack toward the center when out of power, ever fearful of being labeled tax-and-spend liberals or, god forbid, socialists.... Now here comes a crop of fearless left-wing politicians, from first-term congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar to septuagenarian Senator Bernie Sanders, whose fearless policies are generating much of the excitement among the rank-and-file. For the party to turn its back on them, out of certainty that history will repeat itself -- now that would be blowing it."

Never-Trumper Rick Wilson of the Daily Beast: "Damn near every elected member of the Republican Party failed another easy test this week as Donald Trump lost his grip on reality and spent days attacking the late Senator John McCain. They tripped over their own dicks in the face of Trump's egregious bullying, racing for political cover and sacrificing their few remaining shreds of dignity because they fear this mad president more than they love their own honor.... In the House, Rep. Dan Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, spoke clearly and strongly -- his voice resonating even more given the silence around it from most of his Republican colleagues there." --s ...

... So Let's See How That Went. Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "Crenshaw is a former Navy SEAL who earned two Bronze Stars and a purple heart for his service in Afghanistan, where he lost his right eye from an improvised explosive device explosion.... Supporters of ... Donald Trump quickly suffered an online meltdown." Brigham cites a number of Twitter responses, excoriating both Crenshaw & McCain. ...

... Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "By attacking McCain, Trump allies said Thursday, the president is stoking his supporters' rawest emotions and suspicions about the GOP's political elite."

Joan Biskupic, in a CNN piece about how John Roberts saved ObamaCare: "He was part of the majority of justices who initially voted in a private conference to strike down the individual insurance mandate -- the heart of the law -- but he also voted to uphold an expansion of Medicaid for people near the poverty line. Two months later, Roberts had shifted on both."

Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "Speaking in a halting, raspy voice, Cesar A. Sayoc Jr., sat in a Manhattan federal courtroom on Thursday and described how he painstakingly assembled homemade pipe bombs that he sent to prominent Democrats, including Hillary Clinton, former President Barack Obama and other critics of President Trump last fall.... Mr. Sayoc, 57, paused his explanation and broke into sobs, finally collecting himself and speaking softly just before he pleaded guilty to the attack.... Mr. Sayoc pleaded guilty to 65 counts, which included using a weapon of mass destruction and interstate transportation of an explosive. He faces up to life in prison if convicted."

Capitalism Is Deadly. Hiroko Tabuchi & David Gelles of the New York Times: "As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits. One reason: Boeing charged extra for them. For Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers, the practice of charging to upgrade a standard plane can be lucrative. Top airlines around the world must pay handsomely to have the jets they order fitted with customized add-ons." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... AFP: "Indonesia's national carrier Garuda has cancelled a multibillion-dollar order for 49 Boeing 737 Max 8 jets after two fatal crashes involving the plane, the company said, blaming passengers' loss of trust in the aircraft." --s

Julia Wong of the Guardian: "Facebook employees were aware of concerns about 'improper data-gathering practices' by Cambridge Analytica [in September 2015] months before the Guardian first reported, in December 2015, that the political consultancy had obtained data on millions from an academic.... The new information 'could suggest that Facebook has consistently mislead [sic.]' British lawmakers 'about what it knew and when about Cambridge Analytica', tweeted Damian Collins the chair of the [British] House of Commons digital culture media and sport select committee (DCMS).... After [the issue became] an international scandal, Mark Zuckerberg stated that Facebook 'learned from journalists at The Guardian that [former Cambridge University academic Aleksandr] Kogan had shared data from his app with Cambridge Analytica' in 2015. The article detailing this data sharing was published on 11 December 2015." --s

** "Spies for Hire." Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the New York Times: "The Saudi government's reliance on a firm from Israel [to surveil Saudi dissidents like Jamal Khashoggi], an adversary for decades, offers a glimpse of a new age of digital warfare governed by few rules and of a growing economy, now valued at $12 billion, of spies for hire. Today even the smallest countries can buy digital espionage services, enabling them to conduct sophisticated operations like electronic eavesdropping or influence campaigns that were once the preserve of major powers like the United States and Russia. Corporations that want to scrutinize competitors' secrets, or wealthy individual with a beef against a rival, can also command intelligence operations for a price.... The firms have enabled governments not only to hack criminal elements like terrorist and drug cartels but also in some cases to act on darker impulses, targeting activists and journalists. Hackers trained by United States spy agencies caught American businesspeople and human rights workers in their net.... The Middle East is the epicenter of this new era of privatized spying."

** Bob Moser, in the New Yorker, writes a damning reminiscence of his work at the Southern Poverty Law Center, in the news this week because the Center fired its co-founder Morris Dees. "For those of us who've worked in the Poverty Palace, putting it all into perspective isn't easy, even to ourselves. We were working with a group of dedicated and talented people, fighting all kinds of good fights, making life miserable for the bad guys. And yet, all the time, dark shadows hung over everything: the racial and gender disparities, the whispers about sexual harassment, the abuses that stemmed from the top-down management, and the guilt you couldn't help feeling about the legions of donors who believed that their money was being used, faithfully and well, to do the Lord's work in the heart of Dixie. We were part of the con, and we knew it."

Finland! Gabriella Paiella of New York: "... Bernie Sanders tweeted that it costs an average of $12,000 to have a baby in the United States, compared to just $60 in Finland -- at which point former U.N. ambassador Nikki Haley decided to weigh in. 'Alright @BernieSanders, you're not the woman having the baby so I wouldn't be out there talking about skimping on a woman when it comes to childbirth. Trust me! Nice try though,' she replied, adding, 'Health care costs are too high that is true but comparing us to Finland is ridiculous. Ask them how their health care is. You won't like their answer.' Plenty of Finns took this as an invitation to tell Haley that they did, in fact, enjoy their health care.... Finnish journalist Anu Partanen ... [said,] '... It's ... extremely ironic that she would make that comment in relation to childbirth because that is exactly the area where Finland and all of Nordic countries really excel.... Typically people are very happy with the care they get while giving birth and you just pay a minimal co-pay for the hospital stay. Also, the American maternal mortality rates and infant mortality rates are sort of shockingly high for the wealthiest country in the world, practically. On the other hand, Finland does, in those areas, particularly well -- Finnish rates are among the lowest in the world."

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Also too, "alright" is not a word, Nikki, you ignorant slut.

Beyond the Beltway

South Carolina. Will Sommer of The Daily Beast: "The wacko pro-Trump QAnon conspiracy theory has some friends in high places in South Carolina, where State Rep. Lin Bennett (R) has been posting on Facebook about her belief in QAnon.... Bennett, who represents a Charleston-area district, has been posting about QAnon on Facebook since at least last year, even helping to 'decode' the QAnon 'clues' for her Facebook friends." --s

Wisconsin. Todd Richmond of the AP: "A judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Wisconsin Republicans' contentious lame-duck laws limiting the Democratic governor and attorney general's powers, brushing aside GOP lawmakers' concerns that the move leaves thousands of pages of statutes passed in so-called extraordinary sessions susceptible to challenge. Republican legislative leaders immediately vowed to appeal Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess" order, saying it will create chaos and calling Niess biased. The order is part of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of liberal-leaning groups. They allege the Legislature met illegally when it passed the lame-duck bills in December." (Also linked yesterday.)

Way Beyond

Brazil. Brad Brooks & Rodrigo Gaier of Reuters: "Brazil's former President Michel Temer was arrested on Thursday in an investigation of alleged graft in the construction of nuclear plant Angra 3, prosecutors told Reuters, rattling the political class and threatening to delay a major pension reform. Temer was president from 2016 to 2018, taking office following the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, for whom he served as vice president for six years. His lawyer confirmed the arrest." (Also linked yesterday.)

Indonesia. Kate Lamb of the Guardian: "The spread of fake news and disinformation has spiked in Indonesia in recent months, weeks before millions are scheduled to vote in the country's elections.... In the world's third-largest democracy and a country that is among the top five users of Facebook and Twitter, fake news has been used to deepen existing social, ethnic and religious divisions -- a polarisation of identity politics for political gain." --s

Myanmar. Emma Graham-Harrison of the Guardian: "Burmese and Chinese authorities are turning a blind eye to a growing trade in women from Myanmar' Kachin minority, who are taken across the border, sold as wives to Chinese men and raped until they become pregnant, a report claims. Some of the women are allowed to return home after they have given birth, but are forced to leave their children, according to an investigation by Human Rights Watch, titled Give Us a Baby and We'll Let You Go." --s

U.K. Raf Casert & Jill Lawless of the AP: "Worn down by three years of indecision in London, European Union leaders on Thursday grudgingly offered the U.K. more time to ease itself out of the bloc, delaying by several weeks -- but not eliminating -- the threat of a chaotic British exit. After a meeting that stretched through the afternoon and over dinner, the bloc said Britain could postpone its March 29 departure to May 22 -- if the U.K. Parliament approves Prime Minister Theresa May's divorce deal with the bloc next week."

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Wednesday

Mar202019

The Commentariat -- March 21, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

... Jonathan Chait lists nine reasons this is a good idea for both Biden & Abrams.

Hiroko Tabuchi & David Gelles of the New York Times: "As the pilots of the doomed Boeing jets in Ethiopia and Indonesia fought to control their planes, they lacked two notable safety features in their cockpits. One reason: Boeing charged extra for them. For Boeing and other aircraft manufacturers, the practice of charging to upgrade a standard plane can be lucrative. Top airlines around the world must pay handsomely to have the jets they order fitted with customized add-ons."

Brad Brooks & Rodrigo Viga Gaier of Reuters: "Brazil's former President Michel Temer was arrested on Thursday in an investigation of alleged graft in the construction of nuclear plant Angra 3, prosecutors told Reuters, rattling the political class and threatening to delay a major pension reform. Temer was president from 2016 to 2018, taking office following the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, for whom he served as vice president for six years. His lawyer confirmed the arrest."

Ernie Suggs of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Jimmy "Carter becomes the oldest living former president in United States history" today.

A Cancer on the Body Politic. Maxwell Tani of the Daily Beast: "Almost 8 in 10 Republicans who watch Fox News say Donald Trump is the most successful president in history. That was just one finding of a new poll showing the deep ideological divide between Fox News viewers and everyone else. The poll results were provided to The Daily Beast by Navigator, a project launched by Democratic groups Global Strategy Group and GBA strategies. They surveyed more than 1,000 registered voters online with the goal of examining the differences in views between Fox News viewers and non-Fox viewers.... The data show numerous ways in which Fox News-watching Republicans have radically different beliefs from non-Republicans and even Republicans who do not watch Fox News."

Todd Richmond of the AP: "A judge on Thursday temporarily blocked Wisconsin Republicans' contentious lame-duck laws limiting the Democratic governor and attorney general's powers, brushing aside GOP lawmakers' concerns that the move leaves thousands of pages of statutes passed in so-called extraordinary sessions susceptible to challenge. Republican legislative leaders immediately vowed to appeal Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess' order, saying it will create chaos and calling Niess biased. The order is part of a lawsuit filed by a coalition of liberal-leaning groups. They allege the Legislature met illegally when it passed the lame-duck bills in December."

~~~~~~~~~

Rats! I missed the vernal equinox. It was March 20 this year. Happy Spring! One day in. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

You. Are. Nuts. On Wednesday, Donald Trump dedicated himself to proving George Conway right. Besides feuding with Conway, Trump continued, unbid, his attacks on John McCain, dead war hero, & offered up a nonsensical (and untrue) rationale for rejecting the Mueller report. Stories linked below.

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: "For months, President Trump has been unable to shake his grudge against Senator John McCain, who died in August of brain cancer. Planning his funeral, the Republican Arizona senator made it clear that Mr. Trump would not be welcome, leaving the president to fume when his two immediate predecessors, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, eulogized Mr. McCain in a service at Washington National Cathedral. The president's response was to stall on issuing any proclamation of praise, or ordering flags to be flown at half-staff to commemorate the senator's death.... In front of a military audience at a tank plant ... in Lima, [Indiana,] he took [his complaints] to a new level. He said he gave Mr. McCain 'the funeral he wanted, and I didn't get a thank you.' He blamed him for 'a war in the Middle East that McCain pushed so hard.' He said that 'McCain didn't get the job done for our great vets and the V.A.' 'I have to be honest, I've never liked him much,' Mr. Trump said, about 10 minutes into a freewheeling speech that was ostensibly about the resurgence of manufacturing jobs. '... -- probably never will.'" ...

... Sam Brodey of the Daily Beast: "A senior Republican senator with a reputation for not rocking the boat in Donald Trump's Washington spent Wednesday doing just that, issuing blistering criticisms of the president for his continued attacks on the late Sen. John McCain. Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican, appeared on a political talk show on Georgia Public Broadcasting on Wednesday afternoon to denounce the president's most recent comments about the senator and Vietnam war hero who died seven months ago. 'It's deplorable what he said,' Isakson said.... Most of Isakson's colleagues have been far more circumspect, save for Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) who tweeted he 'can't understand why the president would, once again, disparage a man as exemplary as my friend John McCain.'"

Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump on Wednesday escalated his attacks on George Conway, calling him a 'whack job' who is doing a 'disservice' to his wife, White House counselor Kellyanne Conway. 'I don't know him. He's a whack job, there's no question about it,' Trump told reporters on the South Lawn of the White House before traveling to Ohio." ...

... Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Kellyanne Conway on Wednesday defended ... Donald Trump's attacks on her husband George Conway saying he's 'a counterpuncher' and asserting that the president is free to respond when he's accused of having a mental illness. 'He left it alone for months out of respect for me,' Conway, a senior Trump aide, told Politico in a brief telephone interview. 'But you think he shouldn't respond when somebody, a non-medical professional accuses him of having a mental disorder? You think he should just take that sitting down?'"

Also, Trump is either unaware that (1) NATO = North ~~American~~ Atlantic Treaty Alliance or that (2) Brazil is in South America.

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Wednesday for the first time that he would be okay with making the Mueller report public. And in doing so, he nixed a major argument against its release.... 'I don't mind,' he said when asked whether the report should be public. 'I mean, frankly, I told the House if you want, let them see it.' Trump went on to decry the very existence of the Mueller report..., arguing it is the result of an investigation that never should have been launched. He concluded by again suggesting it should be public but also indicating it may not be. 'Let it come out. Let people see it,' Trump said. 'That's up to the attorney general. And we'll see what happens.'" ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: If you're able to watch videos, you may want to take the time to hear Trump's latest rationale -- delivered at Wednesday's chopper presser -- for why the Mueller report is bogus. After winning one of the greatest elections in the history of the country with 63 millions votes, some guy who was not elected to anything comes "out of the blue" to write a report; Trump and his voters can't understand that. (Even in this summary, I've made Trump sound more coherent than he was:

The Trump Grift, Ctd. Dan Alexander of Forbes: "Donald Trump has charged his own reelection campaign $1.3 million for rent, food, lodging and other expenses since taking office, according to a Forbes analysis of the latest campaign filings. And although outsiders have contributed more than $50 million to the campaign, the billionaire president hasn't handed over any of his own cash.... 'I don't need anybody's money,' he announced on the day he launched his 2016 campaign, standing inside the marble atrium at Trump Tower. 'I'm using my own money. I'm not using the lobbyists. I'm not using donors. I don't care. I'm really rich.'"

Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: "Hope Hicks, the former White House communications director and long-time confidante of ... Donald Trump, plans to turn over documents to the House Judiciary Committee as part of its investigation into potential obstruction of justice. Rep. Jerry Nadler, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, sent Hicks a detailed letter earlier this month, asking for documents on a wide-range of topics, including over former national security adviser Michael Flynn's false statements to the FBI, the firing of then-FBI Director James Comey, Trump's involvement in a hush-money scheme to silence stories about his alleged affairs and the drafting of a misleading 2017 statement to the media about Donald Trump Jr.'s 2016 meeting in Trump Tower with Russians.... Hicks' cooperation comes in stark contrast to former White House chief of staff John Kelly, who is facing an array of questions from the House Oversight Committee over his role in the White House security clearance process. Kelly is allowing the White House counsel's office to respond to the Democrats' demands for information, but Hicks appears to be interacting directly with the House Judiciary Committee."

Kyle Cheney & Anita Kumar of Politico: "Former Trump campaign adviser Rick Gates -- a central cooperating witness for special counsel Robert Mueller -- has been advised by prosecutors not to cooperate with the House Judiciary Committee's broad investigation of ... Donald Trump, his lawyer told lawmakers in a recent letter obtained Wednesday by Politico. But Gates' lawyer, Thomas Green, left open the possibility of assisting the panel 'in the coming months.'... Green's letter was also copied to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, who he said had also requested Gates' testimony. The decision to delay immediate cooperation with the Democrat-led investigation comes days after Mueller signaled that Gates was still an active cooperator in multiple ongoing investigations."

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve expressed increasing concern about slowing economic growth as it left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and showed little appetite for raising them in the near future. The Fed's fairly downbeat economic assessment is at odds with the White House's rosy economic projections, which have continued to predict stronger growth than most other forecasters say is likely. The Fed, in a statement at the conclusion of its two-day policy meeting, said 'growth of economic activity has slowed from its solid rate in the fourth quarter' and cited slowdowns in household spending and business fixed investment. Fed officials now expect economic growth of 2.1 percent for 2019, down from the 2.3 percent it forecast in December." ...

... Paul Krugman: "The 2019 Economic Report of the President is out, and everyone is having fun with the bit at the end that acknowledges the help of student interns -- a list that includes Peter Parker, Aunt May, Bruce Wayne, and Jabba the Hutt.... The White House is passing this off as a deliberate joke. More likely, someone slipped superheroes in to see whether anyone in charge was actually paying attention, and proved that they weren't. But the bigger news from the report involves the supposed economic payoffs from the Trump tax cut. Even the White House now acknowledges that the tax cut won't do all they said it would -- their wildly optimistic economic projections depend on the claimed payoff to other economic policies that they themselves haven't specified.... This report is double voodoo, or voodoo squared: it relies on voodoo economics to make big claims for tax cuts, then adds a whole additional layer of magic to get the growth projections the administration wants to hear."

Helene Cooper & Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the New York Times: "The Defense Department's inspector general said on Wednesday that it was investigating complaints that the acting defense secretary, Patrick M. Shanahan, had been promoting his former employer, the Boeing Company, and disparaging its military contractor competitors. The investigation will examine complaints filed last week by a watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington."

Steve Miletich of the Seattle Times: "The FBI has joined the criminal investigation into the certification of the Boeing 737 MAX, lending its considerable resources to an inquiry already being conducted by U.S. Department of Transportation agents, according to people familiar with the matter. The federal grand jury investigation, based in Washington, D.C., is looking into the certification process that approved the safety of the new Boeing plane, two of which have crashed since October."

** Juliet Eilperin & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "A federal judge ruled late Tuesday that the Interior Department violated federal law by failing to take into account the climate impact of its oil and gas leasing in the West. The decision by U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Rudolph Contreras marks the first time the Trump administration has been held to account for the climate impact of its energy-dominance agenda, and it could have sweeping implications for the president's plan to boost fossil fuel production across the country. Contreras concluded that Interior's Bureau of Land Management 'did not sufficiently consider climate change' when making decisions to auction off federal land in Wyoming to oil and gas drilling. The judge temporarily blocked drilling on roughly 300,000 acres of land in the state."

"An Extraordinary Departure from the Diplomatic Norm." Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Donald Trump Jr. and national security adviser John Bolton took to British media to scold the country's political leadership over Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to request a delay in Britain's seemingly endless divorce from Europe. The effort by presidential surrogates is aimed at amplifying the pro-Brexit message among Britons even though the United States has no say in the matter. 'Next Friday, March 29, is supposed to be the British people's Independence Day,' the younger Trump wrote in an opinion piece published Wednesday in Britain's Daily Telegraph. 'But because the elites control London from Brussels, the will of the people is likely to be ignored.' Bolton gave an interview to British broadcaster Sky News, accusing political leaders in London of failing voters who chose more than two years ago to quit the European Union and its collective trade policy. Bolton dangled a separate trade deal between Britain and the United States once Britain rids itself of the E.U., saying 'we are ready to go.' The commentary from members of Trump's inner circle was an extraordinary departure from the diplomatic norm, in which close allies such as the United States and Britain are careful not to appear to be meddling in each other's business."

If you'd care to read about a soulless cipher, then Alex Pareene's profile in the New Republic of Mitch McConnell is for you.

Presidential Race 2020

Dan Merica of CNN: "Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper [D] said Wednesday that he would consider putting a woman on his presidential ticket, and then asked why female Democratic presidential candidates are not being asked if they would select a man as their running mate." Mrs. McC: Apparently Hickenlooper is unaware the U.S. has never had a woman president or vice-president & that women are underepresented in Congress, in most state legislatures & in the top jobs in American businesses. ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: That said, I would like to suggest that female candidates consider studying under voice coaches. Kamala Harris & Amy Klobuchar already have good presidenty voices that project gravitas, but Elizabeth Warren & Kirsten Gillibrand, for instance, not so much. Of course, it takes more than a well-modulated voice to win, as Hillary Clinton found out.

Mika and I have been overwhelmed by the reaction @PeteButtigieg got after being on the show. The only other time in twelve years that we heard from as many people about a guest was after @BarackObama appeared on Morning Joe. pic.twitter.com/PoEK4Obtul
— Joe Scarborough (@JoeNBC) March 21, 2019

Laura Holson of the New York Times: "... a parody account pretending to be an imaginary cow owned by Representative Devin Nunes, the California Republican, is more popular on Twitter than the congressman, a day after he sued the account (and Twitter) for $250 million.... The parody account @DevinCow had only 1,200 followers on Monday, but it ended Wednesday afternoon with 467,000, surpassing Mr. Nunes's account with its 395,000 followers. And the count was still growing.... A website now sells Devin Cow T-shirts. Twitter users have been celebrating with cow-themed items and jokes. Even Mr. Nunes's fellow legislators showed their support for the errant beast. Ted Lieu, a Democratic congressman from Southern California, told Mr. Nunes on Twitter to 'lighten up, dude.' Of course, no one might have heard of @DevinCow if Mr. Nunes had not sued Twitter and other users for defamation on Tuesday, seeking $250 million and an end to online mockery he said no one should have to 'suffer in their whole life.'"

Ryan Broderick & Ellie Hall of BuzzFeed News: "Before killing 50 people during Friday prayers at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, and injuring 40 more, the gunman apparently decided to fully exploit social media by releasing a manifesto, posting a Twitter thread showing off his weapons, and going live on Facebook as he launched the attack. The gunman's coordinated social media strategy wasn't unique, though. The way he manipulated social media for maximum impact is almost identical to how ISIS, at its peak, was using those very same platforms. While most mainstream social networks have become aggressive about removing pro-ISIS content from the average user's feed, far-right extremism and white nationalism continue to thrive. Only the most egregious nodes in the radicalization network have been removed from every platform.... Christchurch could be the moment Silicon Valley decides to finally treat white nationalism the way it's been treating ISIS for years." ...

... White Supremacy Pays. Nitasha Tiku of Wired: "... concerns that Big Tech expends more effort to curb the spread of terrorist content from high-profile foreign groups, while applying fewer resources and less urgency toward terrorist content from white supremacists, resurfaced last week after the shootings at two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand.... For [the big tech companies], failure to police terrorist content by white supremacists is a business decision molded by political pressure, not a legal constraint.... Tech companies say that it is easier to identify content related to known foreign terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Al Qaeda because of information-sharing with law enforcement and industry-wide efforts, such as the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism, a group formed by YouTube, Facebook, Microsoft, and Twitter in 2017.... Law professor Hannah Bloch-Wehba ... says tech platforms built [content moderation] tools in response to pressure from regulators and engineered them to address a specific kind of terrorist threat. 'We just haven't seen comparable pressure for platforms to go after white violence,' and if they do, companies face 'political blowback from the right,'..." ...

... Kelly Weill of the Daily Beast (March 18): "A Virginia police officer assigned to a high school is involved in onboarding new members for a white nationalist group, leaked chat logs reveal. Daniel Morley, 31, is a police officer at L.C. Bird High School in Chesterfield, Virginia. He's also an organizer for Identity Evropa, a white nationalist group. In the group's leaked chat messages, first highlighted by Virginia anti-fascists on Monday, Morley discussed ways to downplay appearances of racism, while still promoting white nationalism. Morley is suspended while Chesterfield County Police Department investigates the allegations...." ...

... Zak Cheney-Rice of New York: "... such behavior has become more useful in the post-civil-rights era, as open bigotry has become more taboo in polite company and the explicit racism of Jim Crow-era laws and sumptuary codes ran afoul of federal law, requiring evasive action among its adherents. This is where cries of 'reverse racism' enter the discourse, where claims like Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts's 2007 insistence that 'the way to stop discrimination on the basis of race is to stop discriminating on the basis of race' captures the ethos of pols seeking to override civil-rights gains through fealty to a theoretical -- but not actual -- equality.... It is an easy and frequently successful pursuit to obscure racism by dressing it up in nice clothes."

Dylan Matthews of Vox: "Ari Fleischer is a liar. He lies about stuff big and small. And as President George W. Bush's press secretary during the run-up to the Iraq War, he participated in a large effort to exaggerate and misrepresent what the intelligence community believed about weapons of mass destruction and Iraq's (negligible) links to al-Qaeda. But Fleischer does not like it when people point out that he's a liar, so he took to Twitter on Tuesday night to mark the anniversary of the invasion of Iraq and address what is, in his mind, a major tragedy surrounding the war: the fact that people sometimes point out that he and his friends are liars.... Some might argue the real victims of the war are the nearly 300,000 civilians and combatants killed due to an unnecessary invasion, but Fleischer would rather focus on his and his colleagues' hurt feelings."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. Marc Caputo & Gary Fineout of Politico: "Andrew Gillum announced a plan Wednesday to register and turn-out 1 million new and low-propensity Florida voters in an effort to crush ... Donald Trump's reelection chances in the nation's largest swing state. 'Voter registration is red flag No. 1,' the former Tallahassee mayor told Politico, calling increased voter registration crucial to the Democratic Party's ability to survive and thrive in Florida."

Kentucky. Child Abuse by Stupid. Deborah Yetter & Tom Loftus of the Louisville Courier Journal: "In a move experts say is medically unsound -- and can be dangerous -- Gov. Matt Bevin [RTP] said in a radio interview Tuesday that he deliberately exposed all nine of his children to chickenpox so they would catch the disease and become immune. 'Every single one of my kids had the chickenpox,' Bevin said in an interview with WKCT, a Bowling Green talk radio station. 'They got the chickenpox on purpose because we found a neighbor that had it and I went and made sure every one of my kids was exposed to it, and they got it..... They were miserable for a few days, and they all turned out fine.' Three medical experts called the practice unsafe and unwise.... In the interview, Bevin also suggested that the government stay out of mandating vaccines. In Kentucky, varicella (chickenpox) is among vaccines mandated for all children entering kindergarten, though parents may seek religious exemptions or provide medical proof that a child has already had the disease." ...

... Only in America. Nick Martin of Splinter: "Bevin is right about one thing, and one thing only: This is indeed America, where shithead anti-vaxxers can not only ascend to some of the highest offices in the land -- don't forget, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul spouted the same bullshit just two weeks ago -- but can then go on a rant about having to vaccinate their nine (!!!) kids and think to themselves that they served as a positive influence on society."

Way Beyond

New Zealand. Kate Lyons of the Guardian: "Jacinda Ardern announced sweeping an immediate changes to New Zealand's gun laws, including the banning of assault rifles and military-style semi-automatics, following the Christchurch mosque shootings. Officials estimate that there are 1.2-1.5 million guns in a country of 5million people. They say they have 'no idea' how many assault rifles are in circulation and roughly 13,500 military style semi-automatic weapons. Ardern also directed officials to develop a gun buyback scheme for those who already own such weapons. She said 'fair and reasonable compensation' would be paid. The government estimates this will cost $100m - $200m[.]" Emphasis original.

News Lede

Guardian: "Rescue teams in Mozambique are struggling to reach the thousands of people stranded on roofs and in trees and urgently need more helicopters and boats as post-cyclone flood waters continue to rise. Mozambique, which was hit by Cyclone Idai over the weekend, has declared a state of emergency and is appealing for international help. Rescue workers, military personnel and volunteers are rushing to save thousands of Mozambicans before flood levels rise further, but with four helicopters, a handful of boats and extremely difficult conditions, have only been able to save about 413 so far."

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Tuesday

Mar192019

The Commentariat -- March 20, 2019

Afternoon Update:

~~~~~~~~~~

The Simple-Minded President* at Home. Tim Noah & Adam Behsudi of Politico: "... Donald Trump heads to Ohio Wednesday embroiled in a fight with General Motors and the United Auto Workers over the closing of GM's Lordstown plant. But his attempts to save manufacturing jobs have battered the auto industry and could erode his loyal base in the Midwest. Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminum have cost Ford and GM about $1 billion each. GM Chief Executive Officer Mary Barra cited the tariffs in November when she announced the 14,000 job cuts that included the Lordstown plant's shuttering. Potentially making things even worse, Trump is now weighing new tariffs on foreign automobiles that could threaten hundreds of thousands of additional U.S. jobs.... Trump's simple formula of demanding that specific plants should stay open doesn't account for the sophistication of the global auto industry. The auto making supply chain is global; foreign companies build cars in the U.S. but with some foreign-made parts. Likewise, cars made abroad often contain American parts. And automakers move workers from plant to plant as demand for different kinds of autos shifts."

The Simple-Minded President* Abroad. John Walcott of Time: "... Donald Trump has taken increased control of negotiations over North Korea's nuclear weapons program, sidelining his own top negotiator and dismissing the warnings of top intelligence and foreign policy advisors in the wake of last month's failed summit in Vietnam, officials familiar with the developments tell Time. In recent days, Trump shut down an effort by Stephen Biegun, nominally the Administration's lead negotiator with Pyongyang, to reestablish a back channel through the North's United Nations mission in New York, according to four U.S. and South Korean officials. At the same time, Trump continues to dismiss the conclusions of the CIA, State and Defense Departments and other agencies that North Korea will not abandon its nuclear weapons program, continuing to insist that he and Kim can negotiate a deal, according to two U.S.officials."

Ben Schreckinger of Politico: "Meeting with [Brazil's President Jair] Bolsonaro at the White House Tuesday, Trump said he was 'honored' by comparisons between the two men's winning presidential campaigns. Trump praised Bolsonaro for running 'a very incredible campaign, some said a little bit reminded people of our campaign,' noting he believed the Brazilian leader 'has done a very outstanding job.'... 'I call it fake news,' Trump said during a joint press conference with Bolsonaro. 'I'm very proud to hear the president use the term fake news.'... Unofficially, the visit marks a milestone for what some see as an emerging new world order of strongmen backed by right-wing insurgencies.... Bolsonaro, nicknamed the 'Trump of the Tropics,' has drawn widespread condemnation in the U.S. for [anti-gay] remarks as well as racist comments, his defense of Brazil's former military dictatorship and his family's ties to violent paramilitary groups. But the Trump administration has embraced him wholeheartedly." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Tim Dickinson of Rolling Stone on how Eduardo Bolsonaro, Jair's son, schmoozed with C-list "celebrities" at Mar-a-Lago as prep for Jair's White House visit. And then how Eduardo (and others) posted pix on Instagram to establish his creds -- Wilbur Ross! Jeanine Pirro! The My Pillow Guy!

Adam Edelman of NBC News: "... Donald Trump doubled down on his criticism of the late Sen. John McCain on Tuesday, telling reporters that he 'was never a fan' of the Arizona lawmaker 'and never will be.' Trump, during an appearance at the White House alongside Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, continued his posthumous broadside against his former foe, saying that he still found it 'disgraceful' that McCain voted against repealing key parts of Obamacare in 2017." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... A. B. Stoddard in the Bulwark: "Later today Sen. Johnny Isakson [R-Ga.] will call out President Trump for his continued disparagement of John McCain. The chairman of the Senate Veteran Affairs Committee said in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that the service of any veteran, let alone McCain, should never be besmirched, that president's comments 'drive me crazy,' and that he plans to speak out at length on Wednesday. Isakson had warned President Trump. When McCain died on August 25th and the flag at the White House remained at full staff, then went down to half staff but back again within one day -- before the traditional end of the period of internment -- Georgia's senior senator considered the show of disrespect 'unthinkable.'"

Josh Dawsey & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Tuesday ratcheted up a remarkable public spat with the husband of one of his top advisers, attacking Kellyanne Conway's husband as a 'total loser' on Twitter in response to the lawyer's persistent questions about his mental health and competence.... The president's tweet also included a dubious assertion from Trump's 2020 campaign manager, Brad Parscale, that the president 'doesn't even know' his senior adviser's husband. But George Conway said in an interview Tuesday that he has had a number of notable interactions with Trump over the past decade, often concerning legal representation and sensitive legal matters since Trump became president. He described the president as 'mendacious' and 'incompetent' and predicted he would not win reelection." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Diversionary Tactics, Ctd. Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "... Donald Trump escalated his attacks on the husband of one of his top aides and most visible defenders, tweeting Wednesday that George Conway is a 'husband from hell' to his wife Kellyanne. Trump also appeared to claim that Kellyanne Conway, a senior adviser to the president and former Trump campaign manager, played a role in preventing her husband from receiving a high-profile job in the Justice Department in early 2017, despite George Conway's insistence it was he who turned Trump down." ...

... So Then. Aris Folley of the Hill: "George Conway, the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway and a top critic of President Trump, is firing back after the president called him a 'stone cold loser' and a 'husband from hell.' 'You. Are. Nuts,' Conway wrote in one of two quick tweets responding to the president's early Wednesday morning insults. 'You seem determined to prove my point. Good for you!' Conway said in his first tweet responding to Trump, adding the hashtag #NarcissisticPersonalityDisorder."

The Trump Scandals, Ctd.

Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Federal authorities investigating Russian interference in the presidential election obtained search warrants for emails of Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer and fixer, beginning in July 2017, according to documents released Tuesday that provide a glimpse into the earliest stages of the inquiry into the president. The documents show that Mr. Cohen's business dealings had already been the subject of an extensive investigation by the time F.B.I. agents conducted a highly public raid on his home and office nine months later, in April of last year. They also show how little the public knew about the Russian investigation in real time as prosecutors zeroed in on Mr. Cohen.... The documents give a rough timeline of how the Cohen investigation unfolded." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... The Washington Post has the warrants here. About 150 pp. are redacted. ...

... Bob Mueller Is Very, Very Busy. Spencer Hsu & Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team on Tuesday cited the 'press of other work' in asking a judge to give them until April 1 to respond to the court about a request from The Washington Post to unseal records in Paul Manafort's criminal case. In a two-page filing, Deputy Solicitor General Michael R. Dreeben and prosecutor Adam C. Jed wrote, 'Counsel responsible for preparing the response face the press of other work and require additional time to consult within the government.' A response had been due March 21.... The Post has objected to the abundance of sealed and redacted records in Manafort's Washington case and petitioned the judge in his case, Amy Berman Jackson, to open them to public view." ...

... MEANWHILE. Darren Samuelsohn & Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Rod Rosenstein — the deputy attorney general who appointed the special counsel, signed off on all his major decisions and even spoke on behalf of the investigation at a news conference and in congressional testimony -- is not ready to leave just yet, putting off his previously planned departure for at least a few weeks, a source familiar with his plans confirmed on Tuesday.... His decision to stay put a little longer was taken as yet another sign among a growing body of clues that the special counsel is indeed nearing the finish line."

Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "... legal experts, along with the congressman leading the House Russia investigation, tell NBC News that the most important question investigators must answer is one that may never have been suitable for the criminal courts: Whether President Trump or anyone around him is under the influence of a foreign government. 'It's more important to know what Trump is NOW than to know what he did in 2016,' said Martin Lederman, professor at the Georgetown University Law Center and former deputy assistant attorney general ... during the Obama administration.... In an interview with NBC News, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff said he is steering his investigation in a new direction to focus on it -- and he will demand any relevant evidence compiled by the FBI or Mueller's team. The California Democrat also expressed concern that Mueller hasn't fully investigated Trump's possible financial history with Russia."

Josh Gerstein: "A federal appeals court panel was indisputably hostile Tuesday to a lawsuit accusing ... Donald Trump of violating the Constitution by profiting from his business dealings with foreign countries seeking to curry favor with his administration. The uphill battle the suit faces was evident before the arguments even began Tuesday morning when it was revealed that all three 4th Circuit Court of Appeals judges assigned to the case are GOP appointees, including two of the court's most conservative jurists. One of those judges suggested that the suit could be a precursor to attempting to drive the president from office through impeachment.... The arguments in the so-called foreign emoluments case test largely uncharted areas of constitutional law, but also serve as a reminder of the numerous ethical challenges Trump's administration has faced...."

Stonewall. Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), in a Washington Post op-ed: "... President Trump and his allies have complained of Presidential Harassment,' decrying Democrats for having the audacity to request documents and witnesses to fulfill our constitutional responsibilities. The problem is that the White House is engaged in an unprecedented level of stonewalling, delay and obstruction.... The White House has not turned over a single piece of paper to our committee or made a single official available for testimony during the 116th Congress.... The president dictated this approach the day after the election when he threatened a 'warlike posture' against Democrats and then vowed that, at the end of two years, 'I'm just going to blame them.'... If our committee must resort to issuing subpoenas, there should be no doubt about why. This has nothing to do with presidential harassment and everything to do with unprecedented obstruction." ...

... Anita Kumar of Politico: "House Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler wrote to the White House last month demanding information about ... Donald Trump's declaration of a national emergency to fund the construction of a southern border wall. Yet Nadler's Feb. 22 deadline came and went with no response. Not only did the Democratic congressman not receive the documents he wanted, he didn't even receive a customary letter back from the White House acknowledging his request. It was just one example of the Trump White House's unusually hostile -- or in this case, non-existent -- response to congressional investigators. In their early response to an onslaught of Democratic requests, Trump officials are breaking from norms set by previous administrations of both parties, according to people who worked in the White House or Capitol Hill during the presidencies of Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama. Over the last two months, Trump's intent has become clear: He doesn't plan to negotiate with Congress over their demands for information and witnesses the way his predecessors did. Instead, House Democrats are going to have to fight him for everything.... In total, the administration has at least 30 times refused or delayed turning over documents to 12 House committees, according to House Democrats." ...

... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Hardly surprising. This is the Trumpertantrum Presidency*, so stamping his feet & refusing to play by the rules is SOP. Trump is stonewalling not just on matters related to potentially criminal matters, but on everything. For instance, Rep. Cummings mentions first documents related to the White House's mishandling of security clearances. Nadler refers to Trump's fake emergency declaration. There's no indication -- so far, anyway -- that Trump acted criminally in these matters.

Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: "The United States transportation secretary, Elaine Chao, on Tuesday asked her agency's internal watchdog to conduct an audit of the Federal Aviation Administration's certification of the Boeing 737 Max 8. The F.A.A.'s approval of the 737 Max has come under scrutiny after the crash last week of an Ethiopian Airlines jet, the second deadly crash involving the aircraft in less than five months.... Ms. Chao wrote that she was seeking the audit 'to help inform the department's decision-making and the public's understanding, and to assist the F.A.A. in ensuring that its safety procedures are implemented effectively.'" ...

... Alan Levin & Harry Suhartono of Bloomberg News: "As the Lion Air crew fought to control their diving Boeing Co. 737 Max 8, they got help from an unexpected source: an off-duty pilot who happened to be riding in the cockpit. That extra pilot, who was seated in the cockpit jumpseat, correctly diagnosed the problem and told the crew how to disable a malfunctioning flight-control system and save the plane, according to two people familiar with Indonesia's investigation. The next day, under command of a different crew facing what investigators said was an identical malfunction, the jetliner crashed into the Java Sea killing all 189 aboard. The previously undisclosed detail on the earlier Lion Air flight represents a new clue in the mystery of how some 737 Max pilots faced with the malfunction have been able to avert disaster while the others lost control of their planes and crashed. The presence of a third pilot in the cockpit wasn't contained in Indonesia's National Transportation Safety Committee's Nov. 28 report on the crash and hasn't previously been reported."

Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "The first drug for women suffering postpartum depression received federal approval on Tuesday, a move likely to pave the way for a wave of treatments to address a debilitating condition that is the most common complication of pregnancy. The drug works very quickly, within 48 hours -- a significant improvement over currently available antidepressants, which can take two to four weeks to have an effect, if they work at all."

The Biggest Losers. Fred Barbash & Deanna Paul of the Washington Post: "Federal judges have ruled against the Trump administration at least 63 times over the past two years, an extraordinary record of legal defeat that has stymied large parts of the president's agenda on the environment, immigration and other matters. In case after case, judges have rebuked Trump officials for failing to follow the most basic rules of governance, including providing legitimate explanations for shifts in policy, supported by facts and, where required, public input. Many of the cases are in early stages and subject to reversal.... Two-thirds of the cases accuse the Trump administration of violating the Administrative Procedure Act (APA), a 73-year-old law that forms the primary bulwark against arbitrary rule. The normal 'win rate' for the government in such cases is about 70 percent, according to analysts and studies. But as of mid-January, a database maintained by the Institute for Policy Integrity at the New York University School of Law shows Trump's win rate at about 6 percent.... Contributing to the losing record has been Trump himself. His reported comments about 'shithole countries,' for example, helped convince U.S. District Judge Edward Chen in San Francisco that the administration's decision to end 'temporary protected status' for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Central America, Haiti and Sudan was motivated by racial and ethnic bias. At least a dozen decisions have involved Trump’s tweets or comments." Thanks to MAG for the link. See also MAG's commentary in yesterday's thread. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yeah, it turns out racial animus is not that sturdy a basis for policy decisions. ...

... Trump Won This One. Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: “A narrowly divided Supreme Court said Tuesday that federal authorities have broad authority to detain -- without a bond hearing -- legal immigrants who have committed certain crimes that make them eligible for deportation. It does not matter whether authorities pick up such noncitizens years after they have been released from criminal custody, Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. wrote for the majority in the 5-to-4 decision. Federal law mandates detention for certain aliens while awaiting deportation proceedings, he said. 'As we have held time and again, an official's crucial duties are better carried out late than never,' wrote Alito, joined in the outcome by his fellow conservatives." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

King Coal Prevails. Darius Dixon of Politico: "The White House has dropped plans to nominate a veteran lawyer to serve on a key federal energy panel after pressure from Energy Secretary Rick Perry and major coal companies headed by allies of President Donald Trump, two people familiar with the effort told Politico. Politico reported last month that David Hill, who served as the Energy Department's general counsel under President George W. Bush, was the likely candidate for a seat on the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. A senior administration official said at the time that Hill was 'almost certain' to be tapped. But Perry and other senior DOE officials opposed giving the post to Hill, who had publicly criticized the Trump administration's push to offer financial aid to coal power plants -- and they were joined in the effort by Joe Craft's Alliance Resource Partners and Bob Murray's Murray Energy Corp., the sources said. Both coal companies are major GOP donors, and Trump has said he planned to nominate Craft's wife, Kelly Knight Craft, to be the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations."

Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "There is a Twitter account called 'Devin Nunes' cow that has tweeted nasty things about Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.). Evidently, the account is not actually run by a cow belonging to Nunes. Nunes is now suing his purported cow.... What better way to draw attention to something than to sue what is obviously a parody account claiming to be a creature without the opposable thumbs necessary to fire off a tweet?... What might be most notable about Nunes's suit is that this is the first battle he chose. Nunes said on Sean Hannity's Fox News show Monday night that this is 'the first of many' lawsuits to come. Does he really think his most obvious and airtight case involved ... @DevinCow and @DevinNunesMom?... The legal merits of the case appear highly questionable at best. The standard for defamation of a public figure such as Nunes is much higher than for an average person.... [BUT] Nunes is telegraphing an expansive effort to go after people who hurt Republicans with their public discourse. Its potential impact, not so much legally as from personal behavioral standpoint, shouldn't be so casually dismissed." See related posts linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Josh Kovensky of TPM: "Florida prosecutors offered a deal to New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft whereby charges that he solicited prostitution would be dropped in exchange for Kraft admitting that he would be found guilty at trial, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Under the terms of the reported deferred prosecution agreement, Kraft would be screened for sexually transmitted diseased, complete a class on prostitution, finish 100 hours of community service, and pay some court costs from the case. Kraft denies the charges. The WSJ also reported that legal experts had raised questions over Florida prosecutors' conduct in the case.... " (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Anemona Hartocollis & Amy Harmon of the New York Times: "The many students enmeshed in the college admissions scandal that was unveiled last week now face a reckoning as universities seek to determine whether they were innocent victims who should keep working toward their degrees or unethical schemers worthy of discipline. The University of Southern California said it had identified six current applicants associated with the case and would reject them. The school informed an additional number of enrolled students who were linked to the scandal that they could not register for classes until administrators had determined their level of culpability. Yale, another university implicated in the fraud, reminded students last week of a longstanding policy to rescind the admission of students who falsify applications. A statement from Stanford said that inaccurate information on a college application was grounds for being 'disenrolled' from the university or having an offer of admission rescinded, 'as has happened regretfully in the past.'"

A Word of Caution. Tom Winter & Rich Schapiro of NBC News: "A notorious California con man has been charged with defrauding donors out of more than $250,000 sent to sham political groups and websites for Beto O'Rourke, Bernie Sanders and other prominent Democrats, prosecutors said Tuesday. John Pierre Dupont, 80, is accused of setting up at least three bogus political action committees, or PACs, and several websites that purported to be raising money for roughly 10 individual Senate candidates, a candidate for governor and for progressive causes, according to a criminal complaint.... The websites Dupont created included Beto4Senate.org, Sanders2016Campaign.org, GillumForFloridaGovernor.org and ImmigrantChildrenUnited.org, according to the complaint." Mrs. McC BTW: Duport isn't a real Dupont; he used to be John Gary Rinaldo. Maybe he was somebody else before that; I don't know.

Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha. Brian Stelter of CNN: "Former Speaker of the House Paul Ryan is joining the board of the newly slimmed-down Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News. Ryan and three other board of directors were appointed on Tuesday. Appointing these directors was a necessary step as the Murdoch family wraps up the Disney-Fox deal.... The parts of Fox that aren't being acquired by Disney are forming a new company, simply called Fox, that will be run by Rupert Murdoch's son Lachlan Murdoch." Mrs. McC: It heartens me to anticipate just how much more "sincere" Fox personalities will be when they tout the benefits of shivving the poor & middle class. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Trouble in the Fox Den. Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair: "Trump's [recent Twitter] attacks on Fox have widened the chasm between the network's opinion hosts and the news division, which have been fighting a cold civil war since Roger Ailes was ousted in July 2016. Fox journalists, bristling at being branded an arm of the Trump White House, are lobbying Fox News C.E.O. Suzanne Scott and President Jay Wallace to rein in Fox & Friends, Sean Hannity, Lou Dobbs and [Jeanine] Pirro.... Fox's opinion hosts, meanwhile, have made the case that Fox's prime-time lineup not only reflects the audience's worldview, but is responsible for the majority of the network's advertising revenue.... The outcome of that civil war will be decided by Fox Corporation chairman and C.E.O. Lachlan Murdoch.... Staffers believe he is likely to nudge the network away from its close marriage to Trump.... Two sources close to Lachlan told me that he has likely waited to implement any editorial changes at Fox News until the Disney deal closes on March 20, for fear of antagonizing Trump into opposing it." Also, Hannity doesn't like the Murdochs & they may sell Fox "News."

Beyond the Beltway

Florida. GOP Anti-Voters Are at It Again. Samantha Michaels of Mother Jones: "Last November, Florida passed a ballot measure to reenfranchise as many as 1.4 million people with felony records, the largest expansion of voting rights in decades. But less than six months after the historic move, [Republican] state lawmakers are considering legislation that would make it harder for some of them to vote by requiring them to first finish paying all court fines and fees.... On Tuesday, a House subcommittee approved a bill that would prevent people with felony records from voting until they finish paying all court fines and fees, including 'any cost of supervision' like parole, even if those fines and fees were not spelled out by a judge as part of the person's original sentence.... The bill was introduced last Friday and passed out of committee along party lines, with Republicans in favor. The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, a group that pushed for Amendment 4, slammed it as an 'unconstitutional overreach.'... Others argue the bill would unfairly burden low-income people who can't afford to repay all their fines." ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Ah, if only "those people" would stick with the sentiments of Florida's state song: "I'm longin' for the old plantation...." Seriously, Republicans are pining for the good ole days when "those people" knew their "place." The GOP really hates democracy. ...

... Gary Fineout of Politico: "Andrew Gillum has launched a Florida voter registration group dedicated to defeating President Donald Trump's re-election chances in the nation's largest swing state. The former Tallahassee mayor and Democratic nominee for governor is expected to formally announce the effort today at a speech in Miami Gardens. One of the groups working with Gillum -- Bring it Home Florida, named after his signature campaign phrase -- was registered last week by his supporters with the state election division overseeing third-party voter registration organizations."

Texas. O, To Be in Houston... Johnny Simon of Quartz: "A massive fire at a Texas petrochemical storage terminal will continue to burn and spew jet-black smoke for two more days, officials say. Yesterday (March 18), the blaze -- which started March17 — engulfed tanks holding the toxic chemicals naphtha, xylene, and toluene at Intercontinental Terminals Company in Deer Park, near Houston. Naphtha and xylene are components in the production of gasoline and other petroleum products. Toluene, a widely applied solvent, is in nail-polish remover, glues and paint thinner, the Houston Chronicle notes.... Company officials say, as of yesterday, the air-quality measurements had not reached dangerous levels beyond the facility, where photos show the massive column of black smoke emerging from the terminal. Harris County officials warned nearby residents that the smoke could irritate eyes and skin and cause breathing problems."

Way Beyond

Adam Satariano of the New York Times: "European authorities on Wednesday fined Google 1.5 billion euros for antitrust violations in the online advertising market, continuing its efforts to rein in the world's biggest technology companies. The fine, worth about $1.7 billion, is the third against Google by the European Union since 2017, reinforcing the region's position as the world's most aggressive watchdog of an industry with an increasingly powerful role in society and the global economy. The regulators said Google had violated antitrust rules by imposing unfair terms on companies that used its search bar on their websites in Europe. Europe's regulatory approach was once criticized as unfairly targeting technology companies from the United States, but is now viewed as potential global model as governments question the influence of Silicon Valley."

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