;)
The Commentariat -- December 13, 2018
Afternoon Update:
** Trump Was in the Room. Tom Winter of NBC News: "Donald Trump was the third person in the room in August 2015 when his lawyer Michael Cohen and National Enquirer publisher David Pecker discussed ways Pecker could help counter negative stories about Trump's relationships with women, NBC News has confirmed. As part of a non-prosecution agreement disclosed Wednesday by federal prosecutors, American Media Inc., the Enquirer's parent company, admitted that 'Pecker offered to help deal with negative stories about that presidential candidate's relationships with women by, among other things, assisting the campaign in identifying such stories so they could be purchased and their publication avoided.' The 'Statement of Admitted Facts' says that AMI admitted making a $150,000 payment 'in concert with the campaign,' and says that Pecker, Cohen, and 'at least one other member of the campaign' were in the meeting. According to a person familiar with the matter, the 'other member' was Trump.... Daniel Goldman, an NBC News analyst and former assistant U.S. attorney said..., "... if Trump is now in the room, as early as August of 2015 and in combination with the recording where Trump clearly knows what Cohen is talking about with regarding to David Pecker, you now squarely place Trump in the middle of a conspiracy to commit campaign finance fraud.'" Emphasis added.
Julie Davis & Eric Schmitt of the New York Times: "The Senate voted resoundingly on Thursday to withdraw American military assistance for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, issuing the latest in a series of stinging bipartisan rebukes of President Trump for his defense of the kingdom amid outrage in both parties over Riyadh's role in the killing of a dissident journalist. The 56-to-41 vote was a rare move by the Senate to limit presidential war powers and send a potent message of official disapproval for a nearly four-year conflict that has killed thousands of civilians and brought famine to Yemen. Its immediate effect was largely symbolic, after the House earlier this week moved to scuttle it, all but assuring that the measure will expire this year without making it to Mr. Trump's desk."
Today in Trump Tall Tales. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump denied Thursday that he had directed his former personal attorney Michael Cohen to break the law during the 2016 campaign by buying the silence of two women who claimed they once had affairs with the future president. In morning tweets, Trump, however, did not dispute that he had directed Cohen to make the payments, as Cohen and federal prosecutors have alleged -- actions that could imperil Trump. The president claimed that Cohen bore responsibility for any criminal violations of campaign finance law but also asserted that Cohen 'probably was not guilty' of even civil violations related to the payments to former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal and adult-film star Stormy Daniels -- a view at odds with that of many lawyers. 'Those charges were just agreed to by him in order to embarrass the president and get a much reduced prison sentence, which he did,' Trump alleged.... Trump largely echoed his tweets in a television interview broadcast Thursday afternoon. 'I never directed him to do anything wrong,' Trump told Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner, speaking about Cohen. 'Whatever he did he did on his own. ... I never directed him to do anything incorrect or wrong.' Trump sought to minimize his relationship with Cohen, saying he did 'more public relations than law' and was generally responsible for 'low-level work.'"
Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "On Thursday, [Maria] Butina, 30, pleaded guilty to a single charge of conspiring to act as a foreign agent in a deal with federal prosecutors. In doing so, she acknowledged that her activities were motivated by more than mere personal conviction. As part of the deal, Ms. Butina admitted to being involved an organized effort, backed by Russian officials, to open up unofficial lines of communication with influential Americans in the N.R.A. and in the Republican Party, and to win them over to the idea of Russia as a friend, not a foe. Ms. Butina's guilty plea now casts a spotlight on the Americans she worked with, including prominent members of the N.R.A. and her boyfriend, Paul Erickson, 56, a longtime Republican operative who ran Patrick J. Buchanan's 1992 presidential campaign and who now faces accusations of fraud in three states. Officials have said federal investigators are examining what Mr. Erickson and others who helped Ms. Butina knew about her links to the Russian government."
Brendan Cole of Newsweek: "White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said she hoped her legacy would be that people viewed her as 'transparent and honest.'" Thanks to Akhilleus for the lead. See his commentary below, the most cogent portion of which is a long line of hahahahas.
Marina Villeneuve & Patrick Whittle of the AP: "A federal judge rejected a lawsuit Thursday by a Republican incumbent from Maine who lost the nation's first congressional election held under a candidate-ranking system. Democrat Jared Golden defeated Bruce Poliquin in the November contest, which allowed voters to rank up to four candidates. Poliquin won the most votes but failed to get a majority. Votes cast for two trailing candidates were then reassigned to voters' second choices, which swung the election to Golden. Poliquin then filed a lawsuit alleging that the new balloting system, also called ranked choice, violated the U.S. Constitution.... The judge [Lance Walker] said he failed to see how Maine's candidate-ranking system undercut voters' First Amendment rights 'in any fashion.' He said the system was 'motivated by a desire to enable third-party and non-party candidates to participate in the political process, and to enable their supporters to express support, without producing the spoiler effect.' The new method of voting 'actually encourages First Amendment expression, without discriminating against any voter based on viewpoint, faction or other invalid criteria,' said Walker, a judge with U.S. District Court in Bangor."
A Christmas Riddle. As Santa Was Going to St. Ives ... How Many Cuss Words Did He Yell at the Kids? Rob Picheta of CNN: "Organizers of a Christmas event have apologized to outraged parents after a fire alarm reportedly prompted Santa Claus to burst out of his grotto, rip off his beard and scream at children to 'get the f**k out.' The incident occurred at an event in the English town of St. Ives, Cambridgeshire on Sunday, when an alarm at a nearby but unconnected event caused an evacuation of the building, organizers said. While parents and children were already evacuating, Santa Claus tore into the room and started causing havoc, a customer said on Facebook."
*****
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd. -- A Very Bad Hair Day
Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: "Despite ... Donald Trump's public declaration that he isn't concerned about impeachment, he has told people close to him in recent days that he is alarmed by the prospect, according to multiple sources.... His allies believe maintaining the support of establishment Republicans he bucked to win election is now critical to saving his presidency.... The president has yet to acquire a team to combat the expected influx of congressional investigations and continued fallout from multiple federal investigations of his associates. He's been calling around to his friends outside the White House and allies on Capitol Hill to vent and get the input. On Wednesday the president wasn't in the Oval Office until noon."
Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "The media company that owns the National Enquirer admitted to 'working in concert' with the Trump campaign to pay off a woman who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump in order to squash her story, prosecutors in New York said Wednesday. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York said it had agreed not to prosecute American Media, Inc. (AMI), the Enquirer's parent company, for its involvement in the scheme in exchange for the company's cooperation in the investigation into the payment to Karen McDougal, a former Playboy model. AMI 'admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election,' the office said. '"AMI further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election,' the [SDNY] news release said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... The New York Times story, by Rebecca Ruiz & Ben Protess, is here. ...
... Badda Bing, Badda Boom. So Much for Trump's 'Smocking Gun' Defense. Dan Friedman ofMother Jones: "... sending the president's longtime lawyer to jail for helping Trump pay hush money to two women before the 2016 presidential election wasn't even the biggest legal blow landed by prosecutors from the Southern District of New York. In a release announcing Cohen's sentence, the prosecutors ... [said,] 'previously reached a non-prosecution agreement' with American Media Inc., the parent company of the National Enquirer, under which the firm 'admitted that it made the $150,000 payment in concert with a candidate's presidential campaign, and in order to ensure that [a] woman did not publicize damaging allegations about the candidate before the 2016 presidential election.'... '"AMI further admitted that its principal purpose in making the payment was to suppress the woman's story so as to prevent it from influencing the election.'... 'One by one, the career DOJ prosecutors are removing possible Trump defenses,' former Solicitor General Neil Katyal tweeted Wednesday. 'Now it isn't just Cohen, but also AMI, saying these hush money payments were made to influence the 2016 Presidential election, and knock out the so-called "Edwards defense."'" ...
... Mike McIntire, et al., of the New York Times: "Establishing a nexus between Mr. Cohen's efforts to silence the women and Mr. Trump's campaign is central to making a criminal case of election law violations. That is why A.M.I.'s admission carries so much weight, said Richard L. Hasen, an election law professor at the University of California, Irvine. 'I's looking a lot like an illegal and unreported in-kind corporate contribution to help the campaign, exposing the Trump campaign and Trump himself to possible criminal liability,' Mr. Hasen said.... Until this week, it was largely Mr. Cohen's word against the president's denials." ...
... Natasha Bertrand & Russell Berman of the Atlantic: "AMI's cooperation with prosecutors, which is ongoing, could be particularly damaging to the president. After initially denying he had any knowledge of the payments, Trump now says the payments did not constitute a campaign contribution and that it's [Michael] Cohen's 'liability' if he made a mistake. But AMI's admission that they made the payment to prevent a scandal from derailing Trump's candidacy undercuts his recent claim that the payments were 'a simple private transaction.' Two other Trump associates who were involved in the payments -- the Trump Organization's chief financial officer, Allen Weisselberg, and the CEO of American Media, David Pecker -- were given immunity to testify about the scheme over the summer." ...
... Andrew Prokop of Vox: "... prosecutors have concluded that the payoffs were criminal, because they were effectively designed to help Trump's electoral chances but went far above campaign contribution limits.... Both reporters and prosecutors have suggested that Trump was informed about and involved in these payments at every step of the way.... In August 2015, AMI's CEO David Pecker had a meeting with Cohen, at which Pecker floated the idea of buying the silence of women who came forward with allegations about Trump. Prosecutors have said that 'one other member of the [Trump] campaign' was at this meeting. That seems to refer to Trump himself. According to the Wall Street Journal, Trump attended this meeting and asked Pecker for help with his campaign. That ... shows Trump and Pecker had an understanding about hush money payments well before they actually happened.... Trump's company certainly appears to have been heavily involved in these illegal payoffs -- which raises the question of whether the company itself will be charged." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So can Trump pardon his company? Maybe so. Corporations are people, my friend. ...
... digby: "If [Trump's] accountant Weisselberg has offered corroborating evidence all they have left is Republican Senators acting like the potted plants they are and excusing this behavior as business as usual. Reminder: what Trump is accused of doing is paying off an adult film actress and a Playboy Playmate he slept with during the time his wife was caring for their newborn baby, and he did it to hide his deeds from the American people in the days before the presidential election. And keep in mind that as that was going on he was out there saying this:
... Bag Man to Go to the Big House. Benjamin Weiser & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, the former lawyer for President Trump, was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday morning for his role in a hush-money scandal that could threaten Mr. Trump's presidency by implicating him in a scheme to buy the silence of two women who said they had affairs with him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... According to NBC News, the judge also ordered Cohen to pay a $50,000 fine. Update: Cohen will also have to pay almost $1.4MM in back taxes & another $500K in forfeiture. The NYT story has added some figures since its story first broke, but they don't quite line up with NBC News' report. ...
... Shannon Pettypiece & Kevin Cirilli of Bloomberg News: "Michael Cohen ... is willing to reveal publicly what he knows about his former client once Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation is complete and findings are released, Cohen's lawyer said Wednesday.... Cohen ... expects to testify about what he knows in front of Congress at some point, said [attorney Lanny] Davis, who was unwilling to detail what Cohen knows about Trump and Russian election meddling.... 'Mr. Trump and the White House knew that Michael Cohen would be testifying falsely to Congress and did not tell him not to,' Davis said." ...
... Bag Men Can't Sing. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: All of the pundits are acting so surprised that Cohen didn't agree to fully cooperate with prosecutors, since it would have reduced his time to somewhere closer to zero. Maybe not. Cohen has repeatedly said his decision to cooperate was based on concerns for his family. Well, his family includes his father-in-law, "Fima Shusterman, a naturalized U.S. citizen from Ukraine who ... was in the garment business and owned a fleet of taxicabs with his partners, Shalva Botier and Edward Zubok -- all three men were convicted of a money-laundering related offense in 1993. 'Fima may have been a (possibly silent) business partner with Trump, perhaps even used as a conduit for Russian investors in Trump properties and other ventures,' a former federal investigator [said]...." Not only that, if you read the linked Rolling Stone story by Seth Hettena, you'll see that Cohen has so many ties to foreign-based shady characters that his fear for his own safety should be as great as Paul Manafort's may be. Cohen made a wise, self-defensive decision, & he must be grateful to SDNY prosecutors for complaining he didn't fully cooperate with them.
Carol Leonnig of the Washington Post: The federal judge overseeing Michael Flynn's sentencing "on Wednesday ordered both ... Michael Flynn and the special counsel to turn over additional investigative records describing his January 2017 interview with FBI agents -- a conversation in which Flynn later admitted he lied. In an order filed Wednesday evening, U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan demanded to see the formal FBI records and all other relevant documents detailing Flynn's interview with the agents in 2017 and agreed to review them under seal.... Sullivan sought more details about Flynn's FBI interview a day after Flynn's attorneys in a court filing made their own case for why their client deserved no prison time, stressing that he had been 'unguarded' when he spoke to FBI agents about his conversations with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition. The judge is well known for his concern about defendants receiving fair treatment from the government." ...
... MEANWHILE. The notorious Wall Street Journal Editors have opined about the Flynn-FBI meeting in a piece titled "The Flynn Entrapment." And it's possible they're at least partly right: "We also know from then FBI Director James Comey that this was his idea [firewalled]. This is 'something I probably wouldn't have done or wouldn’t have gotten away with in a more organized administration,' Mr. Comey boasted on MSNBC this weekend. 'In the George W. Bush Administration or the Obama Administration, if the FBI wanted to send agents into the White House itself to interview a senior official, you would work through the White House counsel, there would be discussions and approvals and who would be there. And I thought, it's early enough let's just send a couple guys over.' If the goal was to set a legal trap, it worked.... The judge should question the entire plea deal." Mrs. McC: Through a circuitous route, I was able to open the editorial in a private window, but unless you're a subscriber, neither my link here nor Google's will get you there.
Eric Banco of The Daily Beast: "Over the past year, the indictments, convictions, and guilty pleas have largely been connected, in one way or another, to Russia. But now, Special Counsel Robert Mueller's office is preparing to reveal to the public a different side of his investigation. In court filings that are set to drop in early 2019, prosecutors will begin to unveil Middle Eastern countries' attempts to influence American politics, three sources familiar with this side of the probe told The Daily Beast. In other words, the so-called 'Russia investigation' is set to go global." --s
Mrs. McCrabbie: Former Secretary of Defense & Senator William Cohen (R-Maine) -- not exactly a wild & crazy guy -- made the same point on MSNBC that I did yesterday: Trump appears to have warned that if any legal attempt is made to remove him from office, he will incite his followers to revolt. There are so many ways in which Trump is a threat to national security; this is one of them.
The Trumpiefenokee Swamp, Ctd.
The von Trump Family Grifters. Stephen Braun, et al., of the AP: "The Opportunity Zone program promoted by Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner ... could also benefit them financially, an Associated Press investigation found. Government watchdogs say the case underscores the ethical minefield they created two years ago when they became two of the closest advisers to the president without divesting from their extensive real estate investments. Kushner holds a big stake in a real estate investment firm, Cadre, that recently announced it is launching a series of Opportunity Zone funds that seek to build major projects under the program from Miami to Los Angeles. Separately, the couple has interests in at least 13 properties held by Kushner's family firm that could qualify for the tax breaks because they are in Opportunity Zones in New Jersey, New York and Maryland.... On Wednesday morning, Ivanka Trump continued her public promotion of Opportunity Zones in a series of tweets. She did not address the AP investigation.... The couple's financial disclosures ... require recusal from dealing with policy matters that touch on real estate and 'would have a direct and predictable effect on Cadre.'" See also Akhilleus's commentary below. (Also linked yesterday.) Dear Javanka: Greed is the deadliest sin, Bea.
I'm probably the most ethical person you ever met. -- Rudy Giuliani, to the New York Times ...
... Where's Rudy? Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "The special counsel's investigation was grinding relentlessly onward... But Mr. Trump's personal lawyer, Rudolph W. Giuliani, was in Manama, Bahrain, on Tuesday, meeting with the king and the interior minister of an important United States ally in the Middle East. The government-run Bahrain News Agency ... said the king discussed 'Bahraini-U.S. relations with Mr. Giuliani, who was described as leading a 'high-level U.S. delegation. But Mr. Giuliani was not in Bahrain, a country with a record of human rights abuses, on official business. He was there to seek a lucrative security consulting contract with the government. The trip was part of a concerted push Mr. Giuliani has undertaken in the last few weeks to win business from governments around the world -- including in Africa and South America -- for a firm he owns called Giuliani Security and Safety.... Mr. Giuliani is not a government employee, and is not subject to government ethics rules, including prohibitions on outside work." Mrs. McC: Wonder if Rudy warned the king of Bahrain that malicious liberal Twitter gnomes might invade his tweety text. Dear Rudy: Greed is the deadliest sin, Bea.
"Swamp Creatures," Ctd. David Corn of Mother Jones: "In late 2016, as Donald Trump was readying to move into the White House, Elliott Broidy, then one of the Republican Party's top fundraisers, was working on a deal to gain control of what a business partner called 'billions of dollars in oil & gas, and mining assets' in Angola ... as well as mounting another project to provide intelligence services to the Angolan government[.]... It was a swampy endeavor involving old-fashioned political influence, a Beverly Hills activist and realtor, and a Nigerian American businessman who had been a close friend of Michael Jackson.... Broidy's wheeling and dealing in Angola -- a full account of which has not yet been reported -- reveal how he mixed commerce and politics." --s ... Dear Elliott: Greed is the deadliest sin, Bea.
Trump Sets Bad Example for Other Dictators. Michael Tackett & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "When President Trump said in an interview this week that he was willing to intercede in the case of a Chinese telecom executive facing extradition to the United States if it helped achieve 'the largest trade deal ever made,' it was a clear signal that his White House saw no problem intervening in the justice system to achieve what it considered economic gain. A range of experts agreed on Wednesday that the president had the legal authority to order the government to rescind the extradition request for the executive, Meng Wanzhou, or even drop the charges against her. But they could not point to another instance of a president injecting himself into a criminal proceeding in a similar way.... John Demers, the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's National Security Division, bristled at the notion that the motivation behind the charges might have anything to do with leverage in trade talks. 'We are not a tool of trade when we bring the cases,' Mr. Demers said.... BUT 'By interfering in a Justice Department decision and giving the impression he may release her in exchange for concessions on trade talks, Trump may inspire authoritarian leaders to do the same to Americans around the world,' [former Undersecretary of State Nicholas] Burns said. 'You have seen that China has detained a Canadian International Crisis Group leader. Reciprocity is a fundamental foundation stone of international politics. Others will do unto you what you have done unto them.'"...
... Steve Myers & Dan Bilefsky of the New York Times: "China intensified its punitive campaign against Canada over the arrest of a top Chinese technology executive by arresting a second Canadian working here and announcing on Thursday that both men faced charges of undermining China's national security.... Accusing the two men of national security crimes -- as yet unspecified -- signaled a serious escalation of the diplomatic crisis that began when Canada detained Meng Wanzhou, the chief financial officer of Huawei, at the request of American prosecutors on charges of bank fraud related to violating sanctions against trade with Iran. The second case involves Michael Spavor, a writer and entrepreneur who operates a cultural organization that promotes trips into North Korea." ...
... New York Times: "For President Trump, the focus on tariffs has been decades in the making, transforming him from a businessman into ...
Frank Rich: "My profound hope is that Trump makes good on his threat and shuts down the government right before Christmas. He will set his party back even further than he already has, and do so at a time when congressional Republicans are going to be trapped with angry constituents back home during the holiday break." Rich also weighs in on Nick Ayers' last-minute no-thank-you. (Also linked yesterday.)
Charles Dunst & Krishnadev Calamur of the Atlantic: "The Trump administration is resuming its efforts to deport certain protected Vietnamese immigrants who have lived in the United States for decades -- many of them having fled the country during the Vietnam War. This is the latest move in the president's long record of prioritizing harsh immigration and asylum restrictions, and one that's sure to raise eyebrows -- the White House had hesitantly backed off the plan in August before reversing course. In essence, the administration has now decided that Vietnamese immigrants who arrived in the country before the establishment of diplomatic ties between the United States and Vietnam are subject to standard immigration law -- meaning they are all eligible for deportation.... But Washington and Hanoi have a unique 2008 agreement that specifically bars the deportation of Vietnamese people who arrived in the United States before July 12, 1995 -- the date the two former foes reestablished diplomatic relations following the Vietnam War." The White House has chosen to "reinterpret" the agreement to apply to all refugees who arrived before 1995. The story is a bit confusing, but it appears that most of those the Trumpies would deport have committed serious crimes. Maybe.
Vanessa Romo of NPR: "A scathing report by the Office of the Inspector General revealed that a consulting company hired by U.S. Customs and Border Protection to fill thousands of new jobs to satisfy President Trump's mandate to secure the southern border is 'nowhere near' completing its hiring goals and 'risks wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.' The audit found that as of Oct. 1, CBP had paid Accenture Federal Services approximately $13.6 million of a $297 million contract to recruit and hire 7,500 applicants.... But 10 months into the first year of a five-year contract, Accenture had processed only 'two accepted job offers,' according to the report. The inspector general called for immediate action." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Daily Beast: "Donald Trump has become the president who stole Christmas after canceling the annual festive party for the White House press..., Fox News reports.... The decades-old tradition would see reporters and the president put aside their differences for one night for a lavish party that would see spouses and family invited to drink and be merry.
Annals of "Journalism," Ha Ha Ha.
Radio Free Trump. Elizabeth Williamson of the New York Times: "The American government’s broadcast service to the world ... is becoming the news itself. TV Martí, which aims broadcasts at Cuba, aired a segment in May that called the financier and Democratic donor George Soros, a longtime opponent of authoritarianism, 'a nonbelieving Jew of flexible morals.' Voice of America, the flagship of American government efforts to promote its values abroad, was rocked in October when 15 of its journalists were fired or disciplined after an internal investigation found they accepted 'brown envelopes,' or bribes passed to them by a Nigerian official. And only weeks later, Voice of America fired the chief of its Mandarin-language section after a billionaire Chinese exile who is championed by some on the American right and is known for making unsubstantiated charges against Beijing was promised a three-hour live broadcast.... Under President Trump, the broadcasts are at risk of greater ideological tilt as more political appointees eventually join the organization.... Mr. Trump's nominee as chief executive of the global government media agency is Michael Pack, who runs a conservative filmmaking business out of his house in suburban Washington." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Apparently James O'Keefe was unavailable. ...
... Aaron Davis of the Washington Post: "The federal agency that oversees Martí launched an internal investigation this fall after a May report about [George] Soros was publicized and widely denounced. The probe has now expanded to include examining how [Radio & Television] Martí came to publish an earlier story that included anti-Semitic language about Soros, a U.S. citizen, as well as the anti-Muslim piece, the agency confirmed. Four Martí employees have been placed on leave and two contract staffers have been fired, according to ... a spokeswoman for the U.S. Agency for Global Media. All are reporters and editors, according to biographies on Martí's website and on social media."
Julie Davis of the New York Times: "Representative Nancy Pelosi has reached a deal with dissident Democrats to limit herself to four years as speaker, she announced on Wednesday, her most consequential move to date to put down a rebellion in her ranks and clinch the votes she needs to be elected speaker in January. The agreement, which if adopted by Democrats would also bind the party's other three top leaders, would almost certainly clear the way for Ms. Pelosi, the Democratic leader from California, to reclaim the mantle of the first woman to serve in the post that is second in line to the presidency." ...
Mrs. McCrabbie: It's an odd coincidence that two of the most powerful women in the world -- Pelosi & British PM Theresa May -- made exactly the same concession on the same day: to limit their leadership to four more years. See Ellen Barry's story linked under Way Beyond the Beltway.
Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "The House on Wednesday narrowly overcame a procedural hurdle allowing them to move forward with a vote on the must-pass farm bill. The bill only narrowly advanced in the House, 206-203, after language was tucked into the procedural rule preventing for the rest of the year a floor vote on any war powers resolution limiting the U.S. involvement in Yemen. The move sparked backlash from a number of lawmakers. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) blasted it, urging his colleagues to vote against the rule ahead of it coming to the floor." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
** Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "The most important news [this week from the judicial branch] ... was the [Surpeme] Court's announcement that it will hear Kisor v. Wilkie, a case asking the Court to transfer power from the executive branch to the judiciary. Kisor is likely to be the first of many such cases, and the Court's decision to hear this case so quickly after Kavanaugh's confirmation suggests that the Court plans to consolidate power quite rapidly.... It's not hard to guess why conservatives on the Supreme Court and in the Federalist Society are so eager to see judicial forbearance doctrines fall. Again, the question these doctrines resolve is not what should our nation's policies be. It is who should get to make that decision.... Overruling those doctrines shifts power to a Supreme Court that's likely to be controlled by Republicans for the foreseeable future.... [If this were to pass], Democratic administrations will have to seek permission from the Supreme Court's Republicans every time an agency wants to take regulatory action." --s
Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Facebook's Fake Fix for Fake News. Sam Levin of the Guardian: "Journalists working as fact-checkers for Facebook have pushed to end a controversial media partnership with the social network, saying the company has ignored their concerns and failed to use their expertise to combat misinformation. Current and former Facebook fact-checkers told the Guardian that the tech platform's collaboration with outside reporters has produced minimal results and that they've lost trust in Facebook, which has repeatedly refused to release meaningful data about the impacts of their work. Some said Facebook's hiring of a PR firm that used an antisemitic narrative to discredit critics -- fueling the same kind of propaganda fact-checkers regularly debunk -- should be a deal-breaker. 'They've essentially used us for crisis PR,' said Brooke Binkowski, former managing editor of Snopes, a fact-checking site that has partnered with Facebook for two years. 'They.re not taking anything seriously. They are more interested in making themselves look good and passing the buck ... They clearly don't care.'"
Hiroko Tabuchi of the New York Times: "When the Trump administration laid out a plan this year that would eventually allow cars to emit more pollution, automakers. ... said ... the changes ... went too far even for them. But it turns out that there was a hidden beneficiary of the plan that was pushing for the changes all along: the nation’s oil industry. In Congress, on Facebook and in statehouses nationwide, Marathon Petroleum, the country's largest refiner, worked with powerful oil-industry groups and a conservative policy network financed by the billionaire industrialist Charles G. Koch to run a stealth campaign to roll back car emissions standards, a New York Times investigation has found." Dear Chuck: Greed is the deadliest sin, Bea.
Joe Romm of ThinkProgress: "The annual Arctic Report Card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is out, but it appears that humanity is flunking science badly.... And one stunning result of this is that 95 percent of the oldest and thickest Arctic sea ice has disintegrated in just three decades. The Report Card makes clear that our failure to slow global warming has led to an all-but irreversible Arctic death spiral.... There are no do-overs or make-up exams for humanity's failure in the Arctic (and everywhere else on the planet). Failure just means ever worsening climate impact for our children and grandchildren and countless generations to come." -- safari: No worries, according to Drumpf's very smart gut, it'll all switch back and be very clean.
Beyond the Beltway
Florida. Marc Caputo of Politico: "Federal authorities unveiled a 44-count, 66-page indictment Wednesday of a Tallahassee politician and a city official that involved six companies, five other players and a bank in a wide-ranging bribery, extortion, fraud and racketeering scheme. But ... indictment, one name is conspicuously absent: Andrew Gillum, who was Tallahassee's mayor at the time and who was accused repeatedly on the gubernatorial campaign trail this year by Republican opponent Ron DeSantis -- and even ... Donald Trump -- of being tied to the suspected wrongdoing the FBI was investigating. Republicans spent at least $7 million on TV ads -- 27 percent of the total $26 million dropped on air in the general election -- attacking Gillum in connection with the FBI probe. But the investigation, records indicate, ultimately had little to do with the former mayor."
Kansas. Jay Senter of the Shawnee Mission Post: Kansas state "Sen. Barbara Bollier this morning officially changed her party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. Citing 'frustrations that have been ongoing for nine years,' Bollier said Wednesday that the inclusion of anti-transgender language in the party platform had proved a breaking point for her. 'Morally, the party is not going where my compass resides,' Bollier said. 'I'm looking forward to being in a party that represents the ideals that I do, including Medicaid expansion and funding our K-12 schools.' (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Kentucky. Eli Rosenberg of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, a Republican, laced into [the investigative news organization ProPublica] after it announced that it would be partnering with the Louisville Courier-Journal to fund a year-long investigative reporting project into a state government program. Bevin sought to discredit the partnership by smearing ProPublica's funding, about one to two percent of which comes from George Soros's Open Society Foundations.... Bevin ... released in a tweet and a three-minute video on his Facebook page. 'The Courier-Journal, which pretends that it’s an actual news organization, is so remarkably biased that they are now full in bed with this particular organization ProPublica,' Bevin said. He also took aim at Herb and Marion Sandler, a wealthy New York couple whose philanthropy helped found the organization, accusing the Courier-Journal of being a 'sock puppet' for ProPublica, George Soros, and others 'who hate America.'"
Michigan. Jason Linkins of ThinkProgress: "A Michigan public health official currently facing charges of involuntary manslaughter stemming from her role in an outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease during the Flint water crisis has managed to secure a cushy new job with the state.... Dr. Eden Wells, who is currently serving as Michigan's chief medical executive, was recently hired by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services as an 'advisory physician.' As such ... Wells will be entitled to 'an annual salary of $179,672,' as well as 'job protections she doesn't currently have as chief medical executive.'... The timing of the appointment is curious in itself, as it came five days before Wells was ordered to 'stand trial on charges of involuntary manslaughter, obstruction of justice and lying to a peace [sic?] officer.'... [The water crisis] 'killed 12 people and sickened at least 87' people in Flint... The 'advisory physician' position that Wells obtained was posted ... for just one week in November, not long after the midterm election. Wells was the only applicant." --s
New York. Allan Smith of NBC News: "New York Attorney Gen.-elect Letitia James [D] says she plans to launch sweeping investigations into ... Donald Trump, his family and 'anyone' in his circle who may have violated the law once she settles into her new job next month.... James campaigned on passing a bill to change New York's double jeopardy laws with an eye on possible pardons coming out of the White House. James told NBC News she wants to be able to pursue state charges against anyone the president were to pardon over federal charges or convictions and whose alleged crimes took place in the state. Under current New York law, she might not be able to do that." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
North Carolina. Timothy Williams & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "The North Carolina Legislature on Wednesday approved a bill requiring new primary elections if the state elections board calls for a second vote of a congressional election. The measure opens the door for Republicans to consider replacing Mark Harris, their candidate in the disputed race in the Ninth Congressional District. The bill, backed by substantial majorities among both parties, could eventually place Republicans in the awkward position of choosing whether to stick with Mr. Harris, who appeared to have narrowly won a primary and general election -- both now buffeted by allegations of irregularities including tainted absentee ballots -- or replace him on the ballot.... The legislation approved Wednesday, first by the State House and soon after by the State Senate, creates the possibility that Robert M. Pittenger, the incumbent, could again face off against Mr. Harris in a rematch of the Republican primary that Mr. Harris won with the help of a significant number of absentee votes." ...
... Leigh Caldwell, et al., of NBC News: "McCrae Dowless, the man whose 'get-out-the-vote' activities are the center of the election fraud investigation in North Carolina, told a local political campaign volunteer that he was holding onto 800 absentee ballots, according to a new affidavit obtained by NBC News. The new affidavit is the latest development in an investigation into election fraud involving absentee ballots that has postponed the certification of the election of the ninth congressional district race and at least two local races in the Tar Heel State." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Way Beyond
** BBC: "Prime Minister Theresa May has won a vote of confidence in her leadership of the Conservative Party by 200 to 117. Mrs May is now immune from a leadership challenge for a year. Speaking in Downing Street, she vowed to deliver the Brexit 'that people voted for'. She said she had listened to the concerns of MPs who voted against her and would be fighting for changes to her Brexit deal at an EU summit on Thursday. Mrs May won the confidence vote with a majority of 83, with 63% of Conservative MPs backing her and 37% voting against her. The BBC's Laura Kuenssberg said the result was 'not at all comfortable' for the prime minister and a 'real blow' to her authority." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Ellen Barry of the New York Times: "To save her job, Mrs. May had two arguments to put forward. First, she argued, changing leaders so close to the March 29 deadline for withdrawal from the European Union could open the door to something worse -- a Labour government or a reversal of Brexit.... The more important case was made at 5 p.m., behind the closed doors of a wood-paneled committee room, where Mrs. May promised Conservative lawmakers that she would step down before the next general election, currently scheduled for 2022."
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