The Commentariat -- September 13, 2018

Afternoon Update:

The Mysterious Case of Brett Kavanaugh. Lissandra Villa, et al., of BuzzFeed News: "Senate Democrats on the Judiciary Committee have referred a letter concerning Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh to the FBI. The contents of the letter have been closely guarded by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, as well as California Rep. Anna Eshoo, who originally received the letter and shared it with Feinstein, according to sources familiar with the matter. But whispers of what it contains have made the rounds across Capitol Hill over the past week. The attention on it burst into the public when The Intercept published a report on the rumors surrounding the letter on Wednesday. 'This matter has been referred to the FBI for investigation,' Sen. Dick Durbin told BuzzFeed News when asked about the letter on Thursday." Mrs. McC: Okay, so we're talking about a criminal matter, probably related to sexual assault, that young Bretty is alleged to have done in high school.

Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "Before the National Rifle Association dropped hundreds of thousands of dollars to try to flip a competitive, Democratic-held Senate seat, the gun-rights group's chief lobbyist apparently gave the race's Republican challenger a heads-up. Chris Cox, the top political strategist for the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action (NRA-ILA), assured Montana Republican Matt Rosendale that the group would spend heavily to support his bid to unseat Sen. Jon Tester, Rosendale told attendees at a July event in Washington. PAY DIRT exclusively obtained audio of Rosendale's remarks, which good-government groups say raise serious questions of potentially illicit coordination between Rosendale and an independent political group supporting his campaign.... The NRA-ILA, a 501(c)(4) 'dark-money' group, is legally barred from coordinating its ad buys with a federal campaign."

Mark Stern of Slate: "On Jan. 8, 2019, a new governor of Florida will be sworn in. On that same day, three of the Florida Supreme Court's seven justices will complete their final terms. Based on those facts alone, you might assume that the new Florida governor will have the opportunity to select these justices' replacements. That, however, is not at all clear -- because current Republican Gov. Rick Scott has declared his intent to replace them hours before his term concludes. He is now moving forward with this plan to pack the court. And the only people who can stop him are the current justices themselves.... Scott insists that the justices' terms expire at the stroke of midnight on Jan. 8, but that his own term does not end until his successor is sworn in on that day, typically at noon."

Jason Hanna & Jennifer Selva of CNN: "Wednesday's shootings in which a gunman killed his former wife and four others before killing himself near Bakersfield, California, 'has implications of a domestic violence case,' Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said[.] The gunman and his ex-wife had been divorced four months, and she had just filed for a new hearing regarding child support and property values, Youngblood said Thursday. The gunman killed two females and three males in three locations in a span of 30 to 35 minutes, he said. Earlier, authorities said the gunman had killed one female and four males."

Primary Elections

New York State holds primary elections today for state offices.

Jesse McKinley of the New York Times: "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo's former top lieutenant approved an inflammatory flier that suggested his Democratic rival, Cynthia Nixon, was anti-Semitic, the campaign said on Wednesday. And it was another former aide to the governor who crafted the mailer's language, according to an email obtained by The New York Times. Lawrence S. Schwartz, the former secretary to the governor, inadvertently signed off on the flier after its language was drafted by David Lobl, a former special assistant to the governor who was volunteering with the re-election campaign, the campaign said. Mr. Lobl suggested the language for the mailer in an email to two campaign aides, who helped create the flier. The correspondence, dated Sept. 1, shows Mr. Lobl outlining text that was later replicated almost verbatim on the back side of the mailer, which was sent to 7,000 households shortly before Rosh Hashana and days before Thursday's primary.... [A spokeswoman for Cuomo's campaign] said Mr. Schwartz had not noticed the false claims on the reverse side [of the draft he approved]."

Rhode Island Results. Alexander Burns & Katharine Seelye of the New York Times: "Gov. Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island defeated a liberal challenger in a Democratic primary election on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press, reasserting herself as the party's leader in a state where she has battled criticism from activists on the left and intransigence from old-guard lawmakers in her own camp. Ms. Raimondo, 47, is expected to face a serious fight for re-election in November despite Rhode Island's Democratic lean and the difficult political climate for Republicans nationwide.... She will face Allan Fung, the Republican mayor of Cranston who also ran against her four years ago in November. Complicating matters for both parties, Joe Trillo, a former Republican state legislator who chaired Mr. Trump's campaign in Rhode Island, is also running for governor as an independent." (Mrs. McC: Sorry I missed this.)

     ... The New York Times' primary results for Rhode Island are here. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse bested challenger Spencer Dickinson in the Democratic Senate primary. Whitehouse will face Robert Flanders, who easily won the GOP Senate primary."

*****

I'm a very good dealmaker, believe me. -- Donald Trump

The wall will be paid for very easily, by Mexico. It will ultimately be paid for by Mexico. -- Donald Trump, August 28, 2018

The United States plans ... to pay Mexico. -- New York Times, September 13, 2018 ...

... Not Fake News. Gardiner Harris & Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Trump has promised for years that Mexico would pay for a vast border wall, a demand that country has steadfastly refused. Now, in the Trump administration's campaign to stop illegal immigration, the United States plans instead to pay Mexico. In a recent notice sent to Congress, the administration said it intended to take $20 million in foreign assistance funds and use it to help Mexico pay plane and bus fare to deport as many as 17,000 people who are in that country illegally.... The money will help increase deportations of Central Americans, many of whom pass through Mexico to get to the American border." More on Trump's excellent anti-immigrant policy linked below.

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump took issue Thursday with the number of deaths attributable to Hurricane Maria, falsely saying a higher count had been generated by Democrats to 'make me look as bad as possible.' A sweeping report from George Washington University released last month estimated there were 2,975 'excess deaths' in the six months after the storm made landfall in Puerto Rico in September 2017. Trump said on Twitter that 'they had anywhere from 6 to 18 deaths' at the time he visited the island after the storm. 'As time went by it did not go up by much,' Trump wrote. 'Then, a long time later, they started to report really large numbers, like 3000.... This was done by the Democrats in order to make me look as bad as possible when I was successfully raising Billions of Dollars to help rebuild Puerto Rico. If a person died for any reason, like old age, just add them onto the list. Bad politics. I love Puerto Rico!'... Trump's tweets -- which came as a highly dangerous Hurricane Florence churned toward the Carolinas -- brought an immediate rebuke from Democrats in Congress. 'Only Donald Trump could see the tragedy in Puerto Rico and conclude that he is the victim,' said Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.). 'May God bless the souls of the nearly 3,000 Americans that died in Puerto Rico and may he take pity on your soul, Mr. President.'" ...

... Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "'We got A Pluses for our recent hurricane work in Texas and Florida (and did an unappreciated great job in Puerto Rico, even though an inaccessible island with very poor electricity and a totally incompetent Mayor of San Juan),' [President Trump] wrote Wednesday on Twitter. It's a frequent tactic of the president -- elevate a widely perceived failure or mistake and defend it as a great triumph while attacking his critics.... Aides say that Trump's tendency to focus on and defend his perceived failures is fueled by a mix of potent factors. He obsesses over negative news coverage sometimes long after the topic has changed. He often marvels that he can make the cable news chyrons change. And he is constantly selling himself -- regardless of who is in front of him and no matter the topic. Sometimes, he is trying to preempt criticism that he knows is likely to revive itself, like before this week's hurricane. And he tells senior aides that his supporters will believe his version of events." ...

... Danielle McLean of ThinkProgress: "More than 1,000 Puerto Ricans, displaced by last year's hurricanes, have been living temporarily in hotels and motels throughout the country while they await more permanent housing alternatives -- major repair to their own homes, for example, or help finding a new place to live. But they are now bracing for the likelihood they will become homeless this week. A federal judge in Massachusetts on August 30 allowed the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to stop funding its Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program, which allows hurricane-displaced people to live in hotels or motels throughout Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland.... The federal judge who authorized FEMA to end the program, urged the agency to work with the people enrolled in the program to find alternative housing so they are not left homeless. However, according to the civil rights advocacy group LatinoJustice PRLDEF, which represents the hurricane survivors enrolled in the program in court, the federal agency has not done that."

Glenn Kessler, et al., of the Washington Post: "On Sept. 7, President Trump woke up in Billings, Montana, flew to Fargo, N.D., visited Sioux Falls and eventually returned to Washington. He spoke to reporters on Air Force One, held a pair of fundraisers and was interviewed by three local reporters. In that single day, he publicly made 125 false or misleading statements -- in a period of time that totaled only about 120 minutes. It was a new single-day high. The day before, the president made 74 false or misleading claims, many in a campaign rally in Montana. An anonymous op-ed article by a senior administration official had just been published in the New York Times and news circulated about Bob Woodward's insider account of Trump's presidency. Trump's tsunami of untruths helped push the count in The Fact Checker's database past 5,000 on the 601st day of his presidency. That's an average of 8.3 claims a day, but in the past nine days -- since our last update -- the president has averaged 32 claims a day."

Annie Gearan & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "President Trump issued a new order Wednesday authorizing additional sanctions against countries or individuals for interfering in upcoming U.S. elections, but lawmakers of both parties immediately said the effort does not go far enough. The order would allow Trump to sanction foreigners who interfere in the midterm elections to be held in less than two months. It covers overt efforts to meddle in election infrastructure, such as vote counts, as well as 'propaganda' and other attempts to influence voting from abroad, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats told reporters. The harshest sanctions outlined in the order would be up to the president's discretion. 'This is intended to be a very broad effort to prevent foreign manipulation of the political process,' national security adviser John Bolton said during a briefing Wednesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: In other words, "Russia, if you're listening, come on back." What I predict Trump will do is sanction countries or individuals who appear to help Democrats & accidentally forget to notice any who help Republicans. Fox "News" will be guarding the henhouse.

Alexandre Tanzi & Rich Miller of Bloomberg: "... Donald Trump's unpopularity is unprecedented given the strength of the economy. That's according to a Bloomberg analysis of polling data. It shows that Trump is the first U.S. leader dating back to at least Ronald Reagan whose approval rating is consistently low and lagging consumers' favorable assessment of the economy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Was Always a Nasty SOB. Barbara Res, a former Trump Org. vice-president, in a New York Daily News op-ed: "On this particular day, the architect had come to Donald Trump's office to show him what the interior of the residential elevator cabs would look like. Trump looked at the panels where the buttons you push to reach a floor were located. He noticed that next to each number were some little dots. 'What's this?' Trump asked. 'Braille,' the architect replied. Trump told the architect to take it off, get rid of it. 'We can't,' the architect said, 'It's the law.' 'Get rid of the (expletive) braille. No blind people are going to live in Trump Tower. Just do it,' Trump yelled back, calling him weak. The more the architect protested, the angrier Trump got. Donald liked to pick on this guy. As a general rule, Trump thought architects and engineers were weak as compared to construction people. And he loved to torment weak people...."

I had seen him do this kind of thing before and would again. He would say whatever came into his head. Ordering an underling to do something that was impossible gave Trump the opportunity to castigate a subordinate and also blame him for anything that 'went wrong' in connection with the unperformed order later. A Trump-style win-win.... So when I saw the snippets of Bob Woodward's book and the anonymous Op-Ed piece, I wasn't surprised. To an extent, Trump has always relied on people not to follow his most ridiculous orders.... Off the record, staffers tell reporters that Trump is out of control. But what have they done to try to control him?... The self-aggrandizing Anonymous wants the world to know that there are adults in the room. Really? What the hell are they doing?

Follow the Money. Anthony Cormier & Jason Leopold of BuzzFeed News: "... secret documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News reveal a previously undisclosed aspect of the [infamous June 2016 Trump Tower] meeting: a complex web of financial transactions among some of the planners and participants who moved money from Russia and Switzerland to the British Virgin Islands, Bangkok, and a small office park in New Jersey. The documents show Aras Agalarov, a billionaire real estate developer close to both and Donald Trump, at the center of this vast network and how he used accounts overseas to filter money to himself, his son, and at least two people who attended the Trump Tower meeting.... Now, four federal law enforcement officials told BuzzFeed News, investigators are focused on two bursts of transactions that bank examiners deemed suspicious: one a short time after the meeting [on the same day Paul Manafort became Trump's campaign manager!] and another immediately after the November 2016 presidential election." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Santucci & Matthew Mosk of ABC News: "... Paul Manafort has been in ongoing negotiations with special counsel Robert Mueller's office over potential plea agreement, sources familiar with the negotiations tell ABC News.... Sources tell ABC News that Mueller's office is seeking cooperation from Manafort for information related to ... Donald Trump and the 2016 campaign. Manafort, however, is resisting and his team is pushing prosecutors for a plea agreement that does not include cooperation, at least as related to the president, sources said." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Sounds as if Manafort knows some bad stuff about Trump. But the story, more generally, sounds to me like a guilty man putting out signals to the pardoner-in-chief. ...

... Marcy Wheeler of emptywheel: "But the reason why Mueller isn't just going to let Manafort plead to some of the DC charges without cooperating is because that would mean giving up the considerable leverage -- $30 million worth -- that Mueller built into place a year ago. While it hasn't gotten a lot of attention, both Manafort indictments include forfeiture provisions, meaning the government will seize his ill-gotten gains. And because Manafort had a shit-ton of ill-gotten gains, there's a whole lot of stuff that the government can now seize, starting with his ostrich skin suits.... Having been found guilty of charges 25 and 27 in his EDVA trial, for example, the government will seize the funds from the $16 million loan Manafort got by lying to Federal Savings Bank.... In the DC case..., Manafort stand to lose the proceeds of his influence peddling, the laundered proceeds of which the indictment says amount to $30 million.... And it's not clear that a presidential pardon prevents [forfeiture] from happening (and bmaz suggests that even if Trump managed the pardon deftly enough to prevent that, DOJ could seize it all civilly anyway, especially since the pardon would amount to admission of guilt)."

Donnie Junior, Tough Guy. Erin Kelly of USA Today: "Donald Trump Jr. said Tuesday he is not afraid of going to jail as the result of special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. 'I'm not because I know what I did, and I'm not worried about any of that,' the president's eldest son said during an interview on ABC's 'Good Morning America'. 'That doesn't mean they won't try to create something, I mean, we've seen that happen with everything. But, again, I'm not.' He said he would 'deal with it as it comes.'" ...

... MEANWHILE, the Other Brother. David Badash in the Raw Story: "Eric Trump is lashing out at veteran Watergate journalist Bob Woodward, and his remarks are drawing accusations of anti-Semitism. Wednesday morning the president's son charged the author of 'Fear' -- the latest bombshell book exposing the Trump administration as inept and corrupt -- with writing it 'to make 3 extra shekels.' The shekel is both an ancient and modern-day form of currency in Israel, but it can also evoke ugly old bigoted and anti-Semitic stereotypes about Jewish people.... On social media, many expressed disgust over Eric Trump's remarks, while others directly accused him of anti-Semitism." Akhilleus discussed this is a comment yesterday. He was not amused.

Caitlin Dickerson of the New York Times: "Even though hundreds of children separated from their families after crossing the border have been released under court order, the overall number of migrant children under detention has exploded to the highest ever recorded -- a significant counternarrative to the Trump administration's efforts to reduce the number of undocumented families coming to the United States.... [There are] 12,800 [children in custody] this month. There were 2,400 such children in custody in May 2017. The huge increases, which have placed the federal shelter system near capacity, are due not to an influx of children entering the country, but a reduction in the number being released to live with families and other sponsors, the data collected by the Department of Health and Human Services suggests [sic. s/b "suggest"].... Most of the children crossed the border alone, without their parents.... Despite the Trump administration's efforts to discourage Central American migrants, roughly the same number of children are crossing the border as in years past. The big difference, said those familiar with the shelter system, is that red tape and fear brought on by stricter immigration enforcement have discouraged relatives and family friends from coming forward to sponsor children. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Make American Great, my ass. Trump's motto should be "Making America Worse, One Disaster at a Time."

Carla Herreria of the Huffington Post: "Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday was on the losing end of a lawsuit accusing the Department of Education of illegally delaying regulations set by the Obama administration to protect student loan borrowers from predatory colleges. Attorneys general from 19 states and the District of Columbia filed the lawsuit against DeVos after her department began rolling back the so-called borrower defense rules, which were set to take effect on July 1, 2017.U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss ruled in favor of the attorney generals, calling DeVos' attempts to delay the Obama-era rule from its start date 'unlawful,' 'arbitrary and capricious' and 'procedurally invalid,' according to the opinion.... Moss has scheduled a hearing for Friday to address remedies for the situation." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link.

Sheila Kaplan & Jan Hoffman of the New York Times: "Warning that teenage use of electronic cigarettes has reached 'an epidemic proportion,' the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave Juul Labs and four other makers of popular vaping devices 60 days to prove they can keep them away from minors. If they fail, the agency said, it may take the flavored products off the market. The order was part of a sweeping action that targeted both makers and sellers of e-cigarettes. The agency said it was sending warning letters to 1,100 retailers -- including 7-Eleven stores, Walgreens, Circle K convenience shops and Shell gas stations -- and issued another 131 fines, for selling e-cigarettes to minors. In addition, the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a briefing that the agency would look closely at the manufacturers' own internet storefronts. He flagged what he called 'straw purchases' -- bulk orders of the devices, which buyers in turn used to sell to minors." Mrs. McC: Yeah, and they could give gun manufacturers 60 days to prove they can keep guns away from minors. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Intrigue. Frances Robles of the New York Times: "At least five Cuban-Americans in Miami ... who have opposed a trade embargo with Cuba and promoted better relations with the communist government in Havana, said they received surprise visits in the past week from federal agents. The law enforcement representatives were vague about their intentions, gave only their first names, and asked questions that seemed intended to learn about contacts with Cuban diplomats, Dr. [Julio] Ruiz[, whom the FBI visited,] said.... Some of those contacted said they feared that they were being targeted as part of President Trump's moves to curtail travel to Cuba and roll back new openings with Havana that had been enacted by the Obama administration.... The activists had an emergency meeting over the weekend with the American Civil Liberties Union, which encouraged them to file Freedom of Information Act requests for their F.B.I. files. One of the people approached said he was presented with his F.B.I. file, complete with photos."

Burgess Everett of Politico: "In 2006, Brett Kavanaugh told a Senate committee that he wasn't 'primarily' involved in shepherding the nomination of controversial circuit court nominee Charles Pickering when Kavanaugh worked in the George W. Bush White House. But emails released Wednesday show that Kavanaugh conducted meetings with Republican senators and was closely engaged in Pickering's nomination. Democrats are now arguing that Kavanaugh was not forthright under oath during his confirmation hearings to be a circuit court judge more than a decade ago, and are zeroing in on his work on behalf of Pickering. The Mississippi judge faced questions at the time about his record on civil rights and was blocked by the Senate after Bush nominated him.... The White House said Noel Francisco, now the U.S. solicitor general, was the lead White House lawyer on the Pickering nomination. But Democrats question why Kavanaugh was sometimes the only associate counsel included on emails about Pickering's confirmation; Francisco is not always copied in the newly released emails, though he is included on a handful of them."

Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh on Wednesday described in detail how he regularly bought Washington Nationals tickets and split the cost with friends -- purchases the White House has said led Kavanaug to accrue tens of thousands of dollars in credit card debt. ... The issue arose in written follow-up questions submitted by members of the committee, and Kavanaugh submitted his answers in writing late Wednesday.... Kavanaugh wrote in his responses [to Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.)] that he has never reported a gambling loss to the Internal Revenue Service or accrued gambling debt.... Asked by [Sen. Dick] Durbin [D-Ill.] whether he agreed with Trump's statement that the investigation by special counsel Robert S. Mueller III is 'an illegal investigation,' Kavanaugh declined to respond directly." ...

... Richard Hasen in Slate: "On Monday, Sen. Susan Collins accused political opponents of Judge Brett Kavanaugh of attempted 'bribery.' The charge itself is without any legal merit whatsoever.... Collins labeled as a 'bribe' a fundraising plan by two progressive Maine groups, aided by the company Crowdpac, to raise funds for Collins' eventual opponent in 2020. People are pledging to give money via Crowdpac to that unknown future opponent, but donors will only be charged for the donation if Collins votes 'yes' on Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court. As of Tuesday night, the groups reported pledged donations of more than $1 million, with a $1.3 million goal.... As Adam Smith noted, although Sen. John Cornyn boosted Collins' bribery complaints, back in January he was urging the Koch brothers to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to reward the Republican Party for tax cuts benefiting wealthy donors. This came after big donors threatened to withhold money until Republicans got that tax bill passed." ...

... Ryan Grim of the Intercept: "Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have privately requested to view a Brett Kavanaugh-related document in possession of the panel's top Democrat, Dianne Feinstein, but the senior California senator has so far refused, according to multiple sources familiar with the situation. The specific content of the document, which is a letter from a California constituent, is unclear..., but the one consistent theme was that it describes an incident involving Kavanaugh and a woman while they were in high school.... The woman who is the subject of the letter is now being represented by Debra Katz, a whistleblower attorney who works with #MeToo survivors."

Lisa Friedman, et al., of the New York Times: "Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is in discussions to work as a consultant to the Kentucky coal mining tycoon Joseph W. Craft III, according to two industry executives familiar with the plans.... Mr. Craft, the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners and a major Republican donor, enjoyed a close relationship with the E.P.A. during Mr. Pruitt's tenure. Mr. Craft met with Mr. Pruitt at least seven times in Mr. Pruitt's first 14 months at the agency and in December provided him with courtside seats at a University of Kentucky basketball game, a school where Mr. Craft is a prominent supporter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Scott Pruitt ... faced mounting financial pressures as he sought to balance his personal obligations in Oklahoma with his new role as a member of President Trump's Cabinet in Washington, new documents show. Pruitt, who made $189,600 a year as EPA administrator, incurred between $115,000 and $300,000 in legal fees last year, according to financial disclosure forms released Wednesday. He sold off tens of thousands in investments during that same period. The documents highlight the financial pressures facing the former administrator, who enlisted the help of staff to help his wife find work and to perform personal tasks for him. The form does not specify what the legal work was for: as Pruitt's spending and management practices came under increasing scrutiny starting last fall he eventually hired private attorneys to represent him and established a legal-defense fund." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Sabrina Tavernise of the New York Times: "The foreign-born population in the United States has reached its highest share since 1910, according to government data released Thursday, and the new arrivals are more likely to come from Asia and to have college degrees than those who arrived in past decades. The Census Bureau's figures for 2017 confirm a major shift in who is coming to the United States. For years newcomers tended to be from Latin America, but a Brookings Institution analysis of that data shows that 41 percent of the people who said they arrived since 2010 came from Asia. Just 39 percent were from Latin America. About 45 percent were college educated, the analysis found, compared with about 30 percent of those who came between 2000 and 2009."

Binyamin Appelbaum & Robert Pear of the New York Times: "The income of the median American household has finally rebounded from the damage caused by the 2008 financial crisis, a significant milestone in the nation's painfully slow economic recovery. Median household income reached $61,372 in 2017, the Census Bureau reported on Wednesday, a number that it said was statistically indistinguishable from the median on the cusp of the crisis, in 2007. The Trump administration, in a statement released by the White House Council of Economic Advisers, hailed the report as an indication of a strengthening American economy.... But the details of the report raised questions about whether middle-class households -- which have experienced an economic 'lost decade' -- are now likely to see actual income gains or if they will simply tread water. One reason for concern is that income growth slowed in 2017, to 1.8 percent. Median income had grown more rapidly in previous years, by 5.2 percent in 2015 and 3.2 percent in 2016. The gains in income were also driven by increased employment, rather than increased pay." ...

... Nicholas Schwartz of the New York Times: "... the scars of the financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession are still with us, just below the surface. The most profound of these is that the uneven nature of the recovery compounded a long-term imbalance in the accumulation of wealth. As a consequence, what it means to be secure has changed. Wealth, real wealth, now comes from investment portfolios, not salaries. Fortunes are made through an initial public offering, a grant of stock options, a buyout or another form of what high-net-worth individuals call a liquidity event.... The proportion of family income from wages has dropped from nearly 70 percent to just under 61 percent. It's an extraordinary shift, driven largely by the investment profits of the very wealthy.... The financial crisis ... also put an end to a fundamental belief of the middle class: that owning a home was always a good idea because prices moved in only one direction -- up.... Bankers, shareholders and investors were ... bailed out [of their financial crisis losses]. For homeowners, there wasn't much of a rescue package from Washington, and eight million succumbed to foreclosure." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... See also, linked yesterday, David Dayen's post on that weasel Tim Geithner. Mrs. McC: Among the things he slow-walked was the homeowners' mortgage recovery program. I thought the Obama administration was going to help my friends with underwater mortgages. It didn't, because Geithner.

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The Senate passed a bipartisan spending package Wednesday paying for veterans affairs, military construction and other programs for 2019 -- a big step forward as congressional leaders maneuver to avoid a government shutdown at month's end. The vote was 92 to 5. The legislation is expected to pass the House on Thursday and then go to President Trump, who is expected to sign it. The measure would mark the first batch of spending bills for 2019 to be signed into law, and comes with time running out for Congress to finalize all the must-pass bills before government funding expires Sept. 30. It's progress for lawmakers who are trying to avoid a repeat of what happened in March, when Trump threatened to veto a massive $1.3 trillion spending package for 2018 that arrived at his desk months late. Trump ultimately signed the 'omnibus' bill but vowed never to sign another one like it. This time lawmakers have wrapped the spending bills into smaller 'minibus' packages to be able to move them more quickly."

2018 Elections

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Former President George W. Bush is hitting the fundraising circuit for a handful of Republican House and Senate candidates, joining the party's push to maintain its congressional majorities. Bush has maintained a low profile since leaving office in 2009. Yet as the midterm campaign season enters its final weeks and the party braces for the prospect of a Trump-fueled wave, Bush -- who has been critical of the president -- is putting his muscle behind Republicans in heated races." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... OR, as Jonathan Chait puts it, "George W. Bush, who declined to endorse Donald Trump (or anybody) in 2016, and made muttered elliptical criticisms of the 45th president, has thrown himself into the task of covering up Trump's many crimes. Bush, reports Politico, is raising money for candidates who are committed to maintaining the cover-ups.... For the most part, the entire party has closed ranks around the no-oversight agenda.... This very much includes the parts of the party that see themselves as quietly resisting Trump." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Texas Senate Race. Joseph Hudak of Rolling Stone: "Willie Nelson will headline a rally for Beto O'Rourke.... While Nelson has performed for politicians in the past -- most famously for President Jimmy Carter on the South Lawn of the White House on September 13th, 1980 -- the O'Rourke rally will mark his first-ever public performance on behalf of a political candidate. The concert, featuring guests Joe Ely, Carrie Rodriguez, Tameca Jones, and Nelson's sons Lukas Nelson and Micah Nelson, is set for September 29th at Auditorium Shores."

Jeet Heer: "Congressman Steve King keeps retweeting racists with minimal GOP pushback. [Yesterday King retweeted Lana Lokteff.' Lokteff is a promoter of Holocaust denial and white nationalism. She once said a country 'can never, ever, ever be too white. It's never white enough.'"

Chris Johnson of the Washington Blade: "In an exchange with high school students that was caught on tape, a Republican congressman from New Jersey was tongue-tied over the prospect of same-sex couples adopting children and suggested kids would be better off in orphanages than with LGBT families. Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) made the remarks May 29 when addressing student constituents in the auditorium of Colts Neck High School. They asked the congressman about his opposition to adoption by same-sex couples, according to a source familiar with the recording. A source familiar with the tape, who delivered the recording on Monday exclusively to the Washington Blade, said it was obtained in recent days."

Alexandra Alter of the New York Times: "On Wednesday, St. Martin's Press announced that it will publish [Stephanie] Clifford's memoir, 'Full Disclosure,' (pun likely intended) this October, just before the midterm elections. In a news release, the publisher said Ms. Clifford [a/k/a Stormy Daniels] will tell 'her whole story for the first time,' including how she came to be a successful actress and director in the adult film business, her alleged affair with Mr. Trump and 'the events that led to the nondisclosure agreement and the behind-the-scenes attempts to intimidate her.'" Mrs. McC: Not your usual bodice-ripper.

Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "Facing an uproar over revelations that he mismanaged past cases of clerical sexual abuse, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, sent a letter informing his priests on Tuesday that he plans to discuss his resignation with Pope Francis in Rome. Cardinal Wuerl has faced calls for his resignation by some of his priests and parishioners since the release of a bombshell grand jury report last month in Pennsylvania. Cardinal Wuerl previously served as the archbishop of Pittsburgh, and the report included accounts of his allowing several priests accused of sexually abusing children to remain in ministry, after relying on the advice of psychologists who had assessed the priests." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

William Branigin of the Washington Post: "Pope Francis has ordered an investigation of Bishop Michael J. Bransfield of Wheeling-Charleston, W.Va., in connection with sexual harassment charges and accepted his resignation, church officials announced Thursday. The pope instructed Archbishop William E. Lori of Baltimore to conduct a probe into allegations that Bransfield, 75, sexually harassed 'adults,' the Archdiocese of Baltimore said in a statement. Church officials and witnesses in court cases previously said Bransfield was accused of molesting teenage boys. Bransfield has denied the allegations."

Jackson McHenry of New York: "Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes who was accused of promoting a culture of sexual harassment alongside Les Moonves within CBS's news division, is leaving the company.... CBS News [president] David Rhodes ... claims that Fager's departure is 'not directly related to the allegations surfaced in press reports' though he 'violated company policy.' The investigations into CBS and CBS News, one of which started after allegations against Charlie Rose surfaced and another after reports on Moonves, will continue. Fager initially denied the allegations against him, which included claims that he touched women inappropriately at parties and shielded men beneath him who were accused of misconduct. In The New Yorker's later report, on which Fager declined to comment, Sarah Johansen, a former intern, said Fager groped her at a work party." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Fager Threatened a Reporter. CBS News: "Jeff Fager, the longtime executive producer of '60 Minutes' who was fired on Wednesday, sent a text message to CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan with a warning over the network's coverage of the sexual harassment accusations against him. On Sunday, Duncan reached out to Fager for his response to allegations in The New Yorker that he had groped or touched CBS employees at company parties.... Fager replied, 'Be careful. There are people who lost their jobs trying to harm me and if you pass on these damaging claims without your own reporting to back them up that will become a serious problem.'... Fager said in a statement that his contract was terminated early 'because I sent a text message to one of our own CBS reporters demanding that she be fair in covering the story.'... 'One such note should not result in termination after 36 years, but it did.' Duncan revealed the contents of the text message on the 'CBS Evening News' on Wednesday, 'since Jeff Fager publicly referred to our exchange today.'" ...

... James Stewart in the New York Times: "In the end, it was the evidence that [Les] Moonves had misled his board -- even more than the allegations of abuse from multiple women -- that doomed him." Mrs. McC: Some board members really didn't care a whit about the women Moonves allegedly abused: "I don't care if 30 more women come forward and allege this kind of stuff. Les is our leader and it wouldn't change my opinion of him," said board member Arnold Kopelson.

Tennis Umps Get Their Fee-Fees Hurt. Des Bieler of the Washington Post: "Stung by what they perceive as a lack of institutional support for the chair umpire who gave Serena Williams a game penalty late in the U.S. Open women's final, which set off a firestorm of criticism, other umpires are reportedly discussing the possibility of boycotting her matches. Top umpires are also considering the formation of a union, according to a report Tuesday, in part because they are not allowed to discuss specific matches. Williams was free to speak her mind after losing, 6-2, 6-4, Saturday to Japan's Naomi Osaka, and she accused chair umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism. He had given her a warning for coaching, then a point penalty for smashing her racket and, after she repeatedly expressed frustration, including calling him a 'thief,' Ramos levied the game penalty for verbal abuse." Mrs. McC: See what happens when you question the authority of authority figures? They really can't take it. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Michael Birnbaum & Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "European lawmakers voted Wednesday to initiate sanctions proceedings against the Hungarian government for what they said was backsliding on democracy, an extraordinary censure for a nation that was once a beacon of post-Communist transformation. The vote, which required a two-thirds supermajority of the European Parliament to pass, declared that there was a 'clear risk of serious breach' of European values by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It was the first step in a process that could ultimately strip Hungary of its voice in decision-making in the European Union. Orban has lost many of his protectors in his ambitious quest to remake the continent in his model of 'illiberal democracy' -- a bloc that would be closer to Russia, less open to migration, and less concerned about independent judiciaries, a free press and minority rights." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, but Trumpy likes him. Of course.

News Ledes

Washington Post: "A series of gas explosions tore through several Massachusetts communities Thursday, setting numerous homes on fire and forcing evacuations in at least three towns. Following reports of between 60 and 100 fires, state police ordered residents of Lawrence, North Andover and Andover to leave their homes. Highways have been closed to aid in the evacuation. Massachusetts State Police say troopers have been dispatched to Lawrence, Andover and North Andover to secure the areas and help traffic snarled by panicked residents fleeing their neighborhoods during the evening rush hour. The cause wasn't immediately clear."

Weather Channel: "Hurricane Florence is making its final approach to the Carolinas, with landfall possible either overnight tonight or Friday, kicking off an agonizing crawl through the Southeast into early next week, producing catastrophic inland rainfall flooding, life-threatening storm surge and destructive winds. As of early Thursday morning, Florence's eye was located about 200 miles east-southeast of Wilmington, North Carolina, moving northwestward. Outer rainbands are already pushing ashore in eastern North Carolina, only the beginning of what could be a record wet siege from a tropical cyclone...." ...

... Washington Post Update: "The outer bands of Hurricane Florence, a large and dangerous Category 2 storm, landed on the North Carolina coast Thursday. The storms has already unloaded up to a half a foot of rain, winds have gusted to nearly 90 mph and sea water is surging ashore along the Outer Banks, washing over roads. In southeastern N.C., rivers have started to spill into towns. Thursday marks the beginning of a prolonged assault from wind and water, which -- by the time it's over -- is likely to bring devastating damage and flooding to millions of people in the Southeast."

The New York Times is providing free access to its Hurricane Florence coverage. The Times front page is here. "The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Florence to make these stories available without a subscription." The Post has links to several Florence-related stories on its front page. the (South Carolina) State home page is here. The State is granting free access to its site during the storm. The Raleigh News & Observer home page is here.

The Commentariat -- September 12, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Annie Gearan & Felicia Sonmez of the Washington Post: "President Trump issued a new order Wednesday authorizing additional sanctions against countries or individuals for interfering in upcoming U.S. elections, but lawmakers of both parties immediately said the effort does not go far enough. The order would allow Trump to sanction foreigners who interfere in the midterm elections to be held in less than two months. It covers overt efforts to meddle in election infrastructure, such as vote counts, as well as 'propaganda' and other attempts to influence voting from abroad, Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats told reporters. The harshest sanctions outlined in the order would be up to the president's discretion. 'This is intended to be a very broad effort to prevent foreign manipulation of the political process,' national security adviser John Bolton said during a briefing Wednesday." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In other words, "Russia, if you're listening, come on back." What I predict Trump will do is sanction countries or individuals who appear to help Democrats & accidentally forget to notice any who help Republicans. Fox "News" will be guarding the henhouse.

Lisa Friedman, et al., of the New York Times: "Scott Pruitt, the former head of the Environmental Protection Agency, is in discussions to work as a consultant to the Kentucky coal mining tycoon Joseph W. Craft III, according to two industry executives familiar with the plans.... Mr. Craft, the chief executive of Alliance Resource Partners and a major Republican donor, enjoyed a close relationship with the E.P.A. during Mr. Pruitt's tenure. Mr. Craft met with Mr. Pruitt at least seven times in Mr. Pruitt's first 14 months at the agency and in December provided him with courtside seats at a University of Kentucky basketball game, a school where Mr. Craft is a prominent supporter." ...

... Juliet Eilperin, et al., of the Washington Post: "Scott Pruitt ... faced mounting financial pressures as he sought to balance his personal obligations in Oklahoma with his new role as a member of President Trump's Cabinet in Washington, new documents show. Pruitt, who made $189,600 a year as EPA administrator, incurred between $115,000 and $300,000 in legal fees last year, according to financial disclosure forms released Wednesday. He sold off tens of thousands in investments during that same period. The documents highlight the financial pressures facing the former administrator, who enlisted the help of staff to help his wife find work and to perform personal tasks for him. The form does not specify what the legal work was for: as Pruitt's spending and management practices came under increasing scrutiny starting last fall he eventually hired private attorneys to represent him and established a legal-defense fund."

Jackson McHenry of New York: "Jeff Fager, the executive producer of 60 Minutes who was accused of promoting a culture of sexual harassment alongside Les Moonves within CBS's news division, is leaving the company.... CBS News [president] David Rhodes ... claims that Fager's departure is 'not directly related to the allegations surfaced in press reports' though he 'violated company policy.' The investigations into CBS and CBS News, one of which started after allegations against Charlie Rose surfaced and another after reports on Moonves, will continue. Fager initially denied the allegations against him, which included claims that he touched women inappropriately at parties and shielded men beneath him who were accused of misconduct. In The New Yorker's later report, on which Fager declined to comment, Sarah Johansen, a former intern, said Fager groped her at a work party." ...

     ... Update. The New York Times story is here.

Alexandre Tanzi & Rich Miller of Bloomberg: "... Donald Trump's unpopularity is unprecedented given the strength of the economy. That&s according to a Bloomberg analysis of polling data. It shows that Trump is the first U.S. leader dating back to at least Ronald Reagan whose approval rating is consistently low and lagging consumers' favorable assessment of the economy."

Follow the Money. Anthony Cormier & Jason Leopold of BuzzFeed News: "... secret documents reviewed by BuzzFeed News reveal a previously undisclosed aspect of the [infamous June 2016 Trump Tower] meeting: a complex web of financial transactions among some of the planners and participants who moved money from Russia and Switzerland to the British Virgin Islands, Bangkok, and a small office park in New Jersey. The documents show Aras Agalarov, a billionaire real estate developer close to both Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, at the center of this vast network and how he used accounts overseas to filter money to himself, his son, and at least two people who attended the Trump Tower meeting.... Now, four federal law enforcement officials told BuzzFeed News, investigators are focused on two bursts of transactions that bank examiners deemed suspicious: one a short time after the meeting [on the same day Paul Manafort became Trump's campaign manager] and another immediately after the November 2016 presidential election."

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Former President George W. Bush is hitting the fundraising circuit for a handful of Republican House and Senate candidates, joining the party's push to maintain its congressional majorities. Bush has maintained a low profile since leaving office in 2009. Yet as the midterm campaign season enters its final weeks and the party braces for the prospect of a Trump-fueled wave, Bush -- who has been critical of the president -- is putting his muscle behind Republicans in heated races." ...

... OR, as Jonathan Chait puts it, "George W. Bush, who declined to endorse Donald Trump (or anybody) in 2016, and made muttered elliptical criticisms of the 45th president, has thrown himself into the task of covering up Trump's many crimes. Bush, reports Politico, is raising money for candidates who are committed to maintaining the cover-ups.... For the most part, the entire party has closed ranks around the no-oversight agenda.... This very much includes the parts of the party that see themselves as quietly resisting Trump."

Sheila Kaplan & Jan Hoffman of the New York Times: "Warning that teenage use of electronic cigarettes has reached 'an epidemic proportion,' the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday gave Juul Labs and four other makers of popular vaping devices 60 days to prove they can keep them away from minors. If they fail, the agency said, it may take the flavored products off the market. The order was part of a sweeping action that targeted both makers and sellers of e-cigarettes. The agency said it was sending warning letters to 1,100 retailers -- including 7-Eleven stores, Walgreens, Circle K convenience shops and Shell gas stations -- and issued another 131 fines, for selling e-cigarettes to minors. In addition, the F.D.A. commissioner, Dr. Scott Gottlieb said in a briefing that the agency would look closely at the manufacturers' own internet storefronts. He flagged what he called 'straw purchases' -- bulk orders of the devices, which buyers in turn used to sell to minors." Mrs. McC: Yeah, and they could give gun manufacturers 60 days to prove they can keep guns away from minors.

Nelson Schwartz of the New York Times: "... the scars of the financial crisis and the ensuing Great Recession are still with us, just below the surface. The most profound of these is that the uneven nature of the recovery compounded a long-term imbalance in the accumulation of wealth. As a consequence, what it means to be secure has changed. Wealth, real wealth, now comes from investment portfolios, not salaries. Fortunes are made through an initial public offering, a grant of stock options, a buyout or another form of what high-net-worth individuals call a liquidity event.... The proportion of family income from wages has dropped from nearly 70 percent to just under 61 percent. It's an extraordinary shift, driven largely by the investment profits of the very wealthy.... The financial crisis ... also put an end to a fundamental belief of the middle class: that owning a home was always a good idea because prices moved in only one direction -- up.... Bankers, shareholders and investors were ... bailed out [of their financial crisis losses]. For homeowners, there wasn't much of a rescue package from Washington, and eight million succumbed to foreclosure." ...

     ... See also, linked below, David Dayen's post on that weasel Tim Geithner. Mrs. McC: Among the things he slow-walked was the homeowners' mortgage recovery program. I thought the Obama administration was going to help my friends with underwater mortgages. It didn't, because Geithner.

Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times: "Facing an uproar over revelations that he mismanaged past cases of clerical sexual abuse, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Washington, sent a letter informing his priests on Tuesday that he plans to discuss his resignation with Pope Francis in Rome. Cardinal Wuerl has faced calls for his resignation by some of his priests and parishioners since the release of a bombshell grand jury report last month in Pennsylvania. Cardinal Wuerl previously served as the archbishop of Pittsburgh, and the report included accounts of his allowing several priests accused of sexually abusing children to remain in ministry, after relying on the advice of psychologists who had assessed the priests."

Tennis Umps Get Their Fee-Fees Hurt. Des Bieler of the Washington Post: "Stung by what they perceive as a lack of institutional support for the chair umpire who gave Serena Williams a game penalty late in the U.S. Open women's final, which set off a firestorm of criticism, other umpires are reportedly discussing the possibility of boycotting her matches. Top umpires are also considering the formation of a union, according to a report Tuesday, in part because they are not allowed to discuss specific matches. Williams was free to speak her mind after losing, 6-2, 6-4, Saturday to Japan's Naomi Osaka, and she accused chair umpire Carlos Ramos of sexism. He had given her a warning for coaching, then a point penalty for smashing her racket and, after she repeatedly expressed frustration, including calling him a 'thief,' Ramos levied the game penalty for verbal abuse." Mrs. McC: See what happens when you question the authority of authority figures? They really can't take it.

Michael Birnbaum & Griff Witte of the Washington Post: "European lawmakers voted Wednesday to initiate sanctions proceedings against the Hungarian government for what they said was backsliding on democracy, an extraordinary censure for a nation that was once a beacon of post-Communist transformation. The vote, which required a two-thirds supermajority of the European Parliament to pass, declared that there was a 'clear risk of serious breach' of European values by Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. It was the first step in a process that could ultimately strip Hungary of its voice in decision-making in the European Union. Orban has lost many of his protectors in his ambitious quest to remake the continent in his model of 'illiberal democracy' -- a bloc that would be closer to Russia, less open to migration, and less concerned about independent judiciaries, a free press and minority rights." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, but Trumpy likes him. Of course.

*****

New Hampshire Primary Results. Sydney Ember of the New York Times: "Democratic voters in New Hampshire selected Molly Kelly, a former state senator, as their nominee for governor on Tuesday, as female candidates for governorships continue to show their strength in primary elections this year.... She will face the Republican incumbent, Chris Sununu, who is one of the most popular governors in the country.... Ms. Kelly's victory brings to 15 the number of women who have won governor's nominations in this primary season, a record.... But Democrats rejected the bid of another female candidate, Maura Sullivan, a military veteran who had only moved to the state last year. She fell to Chris Pappas, a local party favorite, the A.P. reported, in a key House district that Republicans hope to target in November.... Should Mr. Pappas win in November, he would be the state’s first openly gay representative in Congress. He will face Eddie Edwards, a Navy veteran and former police chief, who won the Republican primary Tuesday in a close race over Andy Sanborn. Mr. Edwards would become the state's first African-American member of Congress." ...

     ... Full New Hampshire results are here.

*****

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Wednesday leveled a fresh attack on San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz as he continued to defend his administration's response to the hurricane that hit Puerto Rico last year and asserted readiness for the one now barreling toward the Carolinas. In a morning tweet, Trump called Cruz 'totally incompetent.' She was the local official most vocal about the need for a more robust federal response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico, where researchers have estimated there were nearly 3,000 excess deaths after the storm. In the tweet, Trump also touted his administration's response to other hurricanes last year and doubled down on his insistence Tuesday that his administration's response to Hurricane Maria was 'an incredible, unsung success.'" ...

... "An Incredible, Unsung Success." Eric Levitz of New York: President Trump "did almost nothing in the lead-up to [Hurricane Maria last year] -- and went on a four-day golf vacation in its immediate aftermath. Weeks later -- after his administration's inaction contributed to a humanitarian crisis that condemned millions of U.S. citizens to a preindustrial existence, and cost thousands of them their lives -- Trump paid Puerto Rico a visit. And in between feuding with the island's elected leadership, Trump told Puerto Ricans that they should be very proud of the government's response -- because it had spared them from suffering a 'real catastrophe like Katrina.'... The president never apologized for his comments, or expressed anguish at the revelation that Puerto Rico had suffered a tragedy far greater than he had realized. The president proceeded to deny the catastrophically indebted island any significant relief funds (even while pushing through a $1.5 trillion tax-cut package, which included provisions that directly undermine Puerto Rico's manufacturing sector), warned the island that FEMA could not keep relief workers 'in P.R. forever!' less than a month after the storm had landed, and privileged Texas over Puerto Rico in the distribution of emergency resources, despite the island's far graver conditions. On Tuesday, the president ... said that his administration's response to Hurricane Maria was 'the best job we did,' and that the federal government's relief effort was an 'incredible, unsung success.'" ...

... As you can hear in the video, Trump's remarks Tuesday came in response to a reporter's asking, "How do we apply the lessons of what happened in Puerto Rico?" Cold comfort for the fleeing victims in the Carolinas.

... The lesson Trump learned was the same lesson he learns from every experience: he did a great job, & he didn't get enough credit for it. ...

Trump gets a tremendously big laugh before Colbert even cracks a joke:

... Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "Flanked in the Oval Office by charts showing the path of Hurricane Florence, President Trump on Tuesday issued a warning about the potentially catastrophic storm that at times felt strangely exuberant. 'Tremendously big and tremendously wet -- tremendous amounts of water,' Trump said, expressing something close to admiration at the expected precipitation.... In a range of situations -- from deadly shootings and natural disasters to Tuesday's anniversary of the 9/11 attacks -- Trump has responded in ways that, at best, seem ill-suited to the somberness of the events." Mrs. McC: Trump explains the weather the way I would if I were trying to express myself in another language: "Big rain make much big water." The "experts" Parker consults find various explanations for Trump's strange enthusiasm for sad or disastrous events, but I'll go with Omarosa's diagnosis: diminished capacity. ...

... Christal Hayes of USA Today: "The Trump administration took nearly $10 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency's budget this summer to help boost U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to budget documents shared with USA Today. The revelation, just ahead of Hurricane Florence's expected landfall in North and South Carolina, was found by Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who first shared the documents live on MSNBC late Tuesday." Mrs. McC: By federal standards $10MM ain't much.

Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "The family members and loved ones of the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks gathered under misty skies at the World Trade Center site on Tuesday to honor and remember the legacies of those lost by reading their names aloud in a somber ritual repeated each year in New York on the anniversary of the attacks." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump paid tribute on Tuesday to the airline passengers and crew members who stormed the cockpit of a hijacked plane and thwarted terrorists in the skies over Pennsylvania on Sept. 11, 2001, vowing to follow their example by standing up to evil in the world. In his first trip to Shanksville, Pa., as president, Mr. Trump led a ceremony marking the 17th anniversary of the terrorist attacks by honoring the heroes who brought down United Airlines Flight 93 into an unpopulated field rather than allow it to be used as a weapon against the nation's capital." ...

... WTF is wrong with this man?

Donald & Melania Trump arriving in Pennsylvania for ceremony to honor the Shanksville heroes of 9/11.... Tierney McAfee of People: "Donald Trump is facing widespread social media backlash after he was pictured greeting supporters with a triumphant double fist pump as he arrived to a 9/11 memorial service on Tuesday, the 17th anniversary of the terror attacks.... 'We have found nothing to show collusion between President Trump & Russia, absolutely zero, but every day we get more documentation showing collusion between the FBI & DOJ, the Hillary campaign, foreign spies & Russians, incredible,' [Trump tweeted this morning.]... As more than one Twitter critic noted, Trump first marked Tuesday's 9/11 anniversary 'with an angry morning tweet about Russia and Hillary Clinton.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Update: See Akhilleus's commentary yesterday on how Trump behaved in the days following September 11, 2001.

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "As politicians and others went on Twitter on Tuesday morning to mark the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Trump used the platform to launch a fresh round of assaults on the FBI and Justice Department. Trump -- apparently seizing on allegations leveled the night before by one of his conservative allies in Congress -- referred in particular two former FBI officials who have become infamous for trading anti-Trump texts: Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The president repeated a claim from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) that the pair employed a 'media leak strategy' to undermine his administration.... The claim from Meadows is debatable; Strzok's attorney said his client's reference to a 'media leak strategy' was an effort to stem unauthorized disclosures of information. Both Strzok and Page have left the FBI, Strzok because he was fired over his anti-Trump texts. 'New Strzok-Page texts reveal "Media Leak Strategy." @FoxNews So terrible, and NOTHING is being done at DOJ or FBI - but the world is watching, and they get it completely,' Trump wrote." (Also linked yesterday.)"

** Greg Sargent: Today Bob Woodward's book gets released, and much coverage of it is framed around revelations of President Trump's raging, volatile temperament, his erratic mind-changing, and his startling lack of knowledge or curiosity about complex domestic and global policy problems. But there are other key revelations in 'Fear' that illuminate a different set of traits -- Trump's nonstop lying, his utter contempt for legal and governing process, and his bottomless bad faith in developing rationales for extremely consequential decisions. These sorts of traits -- unlike Trump's temperament and incuriosity -- are not usually looked at as evidence of his unfitness for this office. But they should be. Woodward's book adds texture and context to two glaring examples of misconduct during the Trump presidency: his firing of then-FBI Director James B. Comey, and his rage at Attorney General Jeff Sessions for failing to protect him from the Russia investigation." Read on. ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Sargent is right. A person with a bad temper can govern, but one who can neither accept facts nor apply logic & reason to them cannot govern. ...

... Fiat Unlimited Is Not a Car; It's Professor Plump's Balanced Budget "Plan." John Schoen of CNBC: "As a candidate, Donald Trump pledged to balance the federal budget and lower the national debt.... Once he won..., according to ... Bob Woodward..., [Trump's solution was,] 'Just run the presses -- print money.'... Cohn was 'astounded at Trump's lack of basic understanding,' Woodward writes." Mrs. McC: This sounds like a joke, but it probably isn't. ...

Oops, misprint.     ... Stef Kight of Axios: "The CBO now says the deficit will approach $1 trillion by the end of this fiscal year, but in April the agency didn't expect the deficit to reach $1 trillion until 2020." Mrs. Mcc: Yeah, so? Just tell Steve Mnuchin & his lovely wife to print 1,000,000.000,00 dollar bills. They could put Trump's picture on them for fun. But legal tender and all.

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Bob Woodward's book is now officially out, and so is a growing series of statements from White House officials taking issue with how they are portrayed and quoted in it. But ... not all denials are created equal. And some might as well be admissions. Two denials, in particular -- from former top White House aides Gary Cohn and Rob Porter -- are conspicuously incomplete. Both men are accused in the book of effectively removing things from Trump's desk to prevent him from taking certain actions. And both have now issued statements that are rather similar, both for what they say and what they don't say.... Cohn says Woodward's book 'does not accurately portray my experience.' Porter cites the 'selective and often misleading portrait it paints.'... Neither of them says specific details or quotes offered by Woodward are wrong, mind you; they say only that the overall picture is flawed."

Jonathan Stempel of Reuters: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday won dismissal of a lawsuit in which three protesters accused him of 'inciting to riot,' after they were roughed up at a March 2016 campaign rally in Louisville, Kentucky during Trump's White House run. By a 3-0 vote, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said ... Trump's speech was protected by the First Amendment because he did not specifically advocate violence.... [The planintffs] claimed they were assaulted, pushed and shoved, with Brousseau punched in the stomach, and unceremoniously removed after Trump repeatedly exhorted supporters to 'get 'em out of here.' But in ordering the dismissal of the incitement-to-riot claim, a misdemeanor, Circuit Judge David McKeague noted that Trump said 'don't hurt 'em.' McKeague said this amounted to an 'express disavowal and discouragement' of violence...."

Tom Hamburger, et al., of the Washington Post: "Days before in-person jury ­selection is set to begin in his second trial, President Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort is in talks with the special counsel’s office about a possible plea deal, according to two people with knowledge of the discussions. The people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to ­describe the conversations, cautioned that the negotiations may not result in a deal.... The specifics of Manafort's current negotiations with prosecutors were unclear, including whether he would provide any information about the president.... Jury selection for Manafort's second trial is set to begin Monday, with opening statements scheduled for Sept. 24."

Rukmini Callimachi of the New York Times: "Members of an American-backed coalition said Tuesday that they had begun a final push to oust the militants from Hajin, the remaining sliver of territory under the group's control in the region where it was born. The assault is the final chapter of a war that began more than four years ago after the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, seized enormous tracts of land in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate. The Syrian Democratic Forces, the Kurdish-led militia that has been fighting the Islamic State in Syria with the United States and its allies, said in a statement that its forces had launched an offensive on the area from four sides on Monday evening.... Even if it is defeated in Hajin, however, the Islamic State is likely to remain a powerful terrorist force."

Above the Law. Philip Gourevitch of the New Yorker: John Bolton's policy speech against the International Criminal Court was another instance -- like Trump's attempts to weaken the special counsel -- of disempowering the prosecutor."

Tim Geithner Was Obama's Gary Cohn. David Dayen in the New Republic: "... early in [President] Obama's first term, as he struggled to prevent further [economic] collapse, he faced similar insubordination from a key official: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. According to credible accounts, Geithner slow-walked a direct presidential order to prepare the breakup of Citigroup, instead undertaking other measures to nurse the insolvent bank back to health.... Any objective look at Geithner's actions in response to the financial crisis confirms that he would maximize his power on behalf of big banks, even if it meant going around his colleagues and his president.... Failing to hold anyone accountable for causing the Great Recession as the economy struggled to regain its footing generated significant public resentment, from the Tea Party on the right to Occupy Wall Street on the left.... Geithner's actions to protect banks from the president he served, and the anger it bred at a 'rigged' system, diminished the public's faith in government intervention and helped install Trump in the White House."

Paul Blumenthal of the Huffington Post: "Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) wants to know if Judge Brett Kavanaugh ... has a gambling problem. 'Have you ever sought treatment for a gambling addiction?' Whitehouse asks pointedly as part of a series of questions submitted this week about Kavanaugh's unexplained personal debts. In 2016, Kavanaugh reported credit card and personal loan debts of between $60,000 and $200,000. The Trump White House said these debts were the result of Kavanaugh buying baseball tickets for friends who later paid him back, as well as some spending on home improvements. The 2016 debts did not appear on Kavanaugh's 2017 disclosure form because they were either entirely paid off or fell below the reporting threshold. Kavanaugh also reported between $60,000 and $200,000 in debt in 2006. The fact that Kavanaugh accrued such high debts through baseball tickets attracted notice, but surprisingly, not a single senator asked him about the issue during his televised judiciary committee hearings last week. 'Senators have limited time for questioning,' Rich Davidson, Whitehouse's spokesman, said in an email. 'Senator Whitehouse would have touched on many of these issues if he had additional time.'"

Ballooning Deficit? Let's Have Another Round of Tax Cuts for the Rich. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: "House Republicans bracing for November's midterm elections unveiled a second round of tax cuts on Monday that could add more than $2 trillion to the federal deficit over a decade, aiming to cement the steep cuts they passed last fall despite criticisms of fiscal profligacy and tailoring their policies to help the rich. The GOP's 'tax reform 2.0' aims to make permanent the tax cuts for individuals that President Trump signed into law in December 2017, including the law's temporary reductions in individual filers' rates, a doubling of the Child Tax Credit, and cuts to the estate tax paid by a small fraction of the wealthiest families."

McConnell to Deprive Democrats of Campaign Time. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to keep the [Senate] in session for a significant portion of October if not four entire weeks, costing Democrats key campaign trail days and allowing the Senate to continue its work into the fall, according to five Republican officials. The Kentucky Republican wants to keep cranking through as many lifetime judicial nominations and executive nominations as he can with his majority in the balance and the GOP still with the unilateral ability to confirm ... Donald Trump's picks. Moreover, the Senate GOP has only two members who are considered vulnerable in the election: Ted Cruz of Texas and Dean Heller of Nevada. Democrats, meanwhile, are defending 10 seats total in states that Trump won in 2016, with at least four considered extremely competitive."

Lindsey's New Amigo. Ed Kilgore: "With [Joe] Lieberman's retirement from the Senate in 2013, and [John] McCain's recent death, [Lindsey] Graham is now the last of the 'Amigos.' And given the atmosphere of partisan and ideological polarization, and the enormous pressure on Republicans to bend the knee to Donald Trump, it's probably inevitable that the South Carolinian's main mission is to encourage Donald Trump to listen to his inner War Hawk.... Graham appears to have worked hard to counteract the advice of conflict-shy civilian aides and cautious military advisors to encourage Trump to indulge his blood lust and fear of looking weak[.]"

Gubernatorial Races

New York. Anna Sanders & Bruce Golding of the New York Post: "Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he was blindsided by an 'inappropriate' political mailer tying Cynthia Nixon to anti-Semitism -- but just a day before the inflammatory literature surfaced, one of his top campaign aides pitched a story about the primary challenger's opposition to Israeli settlements. The attempt to tar the former 'Sex and the City' star over the divisive issue was made in an email to a Post reporter that casts doubt about Cuomo's repeated claims he had nothing to do with the 11th-hour hit job. The smoking-gun email, sent Friday afternoon from an official 'andrewcuomo.com' account, suggested that The Post publish a story about Nixon's support of the pro-Palestinian 'Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions' movement against Israel.... Nixon's support of the BDS movement is among three points raised in the pro-Cuomo mailer, sent out by the state Democratic committee just days before Thursday's primary, which warns, 'With anti-Semitism and bigotry on the rise, we can't take a chance with inexperienced Cynthia Nixon, who won't stand strong for our Jewish communities.'"

Kansas. Hunter Woodall of the Kansas City Star: "Kris Kobach may be the chosen standard-bearer for the Kansas Republican Party, but elected GOP officials are less than unified behind him in his run for governor. Almost 40 percent of Republicans in the Kansas Legislature, when asked whether they will support Kobach in November, either would not say or did not respond to repeated inquiries. Four moderate Republicans, all from Johnson County, have said they will not support Kobach."

Another Facebook Flub. Mark Stern of Slate: "In the wake of the 2016 election, to combat the rampant dissemination of disinformation, Facebook brought on five third-party fact-checkers to referee stories posted to the website. If any one fact-checker contests the accuracy of a story, it is flagged by Facebook as potential 'false news,' and this 'false rating' has a dire chilling effect on readership. This system thus gives a handful of outlets immense power over the articles that show up in your news feed. Four of Facebook's chosen fact-checkers -- the Associated Press, Factcheck.org, PolitiFact, and Snopes -- are widely trusted and nonpartisan. The fifth, the Weekly Standard, has generally high-quality editorial content with a conservative ideological bent. This week, the Weekly Standard used its gatekeeping role in an incredibly troubling way, declaring that a story written by Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress was false, essentially preventing Facebook users from accessing the article.... There's no sound defense of the Weekly Standard's effort to suppress Millhiser's piece.... My colleague Dahlia Lithwick and I made this exact point in an article published three days before Millhiser's. But his piece boasted a more striking headline...: 'Brett Kavanaugh said he would kill Roe v. Wade last week and almost no one noticed' -- which is apparently what triggered the Weekly Standard's ire." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Right-wing screamers like Jim Jordan & Mark Meadows do all that screaming because it works. As a result of their screaming, Facebook chose only one partisan "fact-checker," and it's a winger outfit.

Delia Gallagher & Livia Borghes of CNN: "Pope Francis has taken the unprecedented step of summoning the top officials of the Catholic church to discuss the escalating sexual abuse scandal that has plagued the church. he Pope will meet with the presidents of the Catholic Bishops conferences from around the world in the Vatican from February 21-24, the Vatican press office said Wednesday."

News Ledes

Weather Channel: "Hurricane Florence is forecast to move slowly through the Carolinas and Southeast through this weekend and will cause catastrophic inland rainfall flooding, life-threatening storm surge and destructive winds. As of Wednesday morning, Florence was centered more than 500 miles southeast of Cape Fear, North Carolina, moving west-northwestward. 'This will likely be the storm of a lifetime for portions of the Carolina coast," the National Weather Service in Wilmington, North Carolina, wrote in its Tuesday evening area forecast discussion."

"The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Florence to make these stories available without a subscription." The Post has links to several Florence-related stories on its front page. The (South Carolina) State home page is here. The State is granting free access to its site during the storm. The Raleigh News & Observer home page is here.

The Commentariat -- September 11, 2018

New Hampshire's primary is today. Sydney Ember of the New York Times reports on the top races.

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "The family members and loved ones of the victims of the Sept. 11 terror attacks gathered under misty skies at the World Trade Center site on Tuesday to honor and remember the legacies of those lost by reading their names aloud in a somber ritual repeated each year in New York on the anniversary of the attacks." ...

... MEANWHILE, WTF is wrong with this man?

Donald & Melania Trump arriving in Pennsylvania for ceremony to honor the Shanksville heroes of 9/11.... Tierney McAfee of People: "Donald Trump is facing widespread social media backlash after he was pictured greeting supporters with a triumphant double fist pump as he arrived to a 9/11 memorial service on Tuesday, the 17th anniversary of the terror attacks.... 'We have found nothing to show collusion between President Trump & Russia, absolutely zero, but every day we get more documentation showing collusion between the FBI & DOJ, the Hillary campaign, foreign spies & Russians, incredible,' [Trump tweeted this morning.]... As more than one Twitter critic noted, Trump first marked Tuesday's 9/11 anniversary 'with an angry morning tweet about Russia and Hillary Clinton.'" ...

     ... Update: See Akhilleus's commentary below on how Trump behaved in the days following September 11, 2001.

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "As politicians and others went on Twitter on Tuesday morning to mark the 17th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, President Trump used the platform to launch a fresh round of assaults on the FBI and Justice Department. Trump -- apparently seizing on allegations leveled the night before by one of his conservative allies in Congress -- referred in particular two former FBI officials who have become infamous for trading anti-Trump texts: Peter Strzok and Lisa Page. The president repeated a claim from Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) that the pair employed a 'media leak strategy' to undermine his administration.... The claim from Meadows is debatable; Strzok's attorney said his client's reference to a 'media leak strategy' was an effort to stem unauthorized disclosures of information. Both Strzok and Page have left the FBI, Strzok because he was fired over his anti-Trump texts. 'New Strzok-Page texts reveal "Media Leak Strategy." @FoxNews So terrible, and NOTHING is being done at DOJ or FBI - but the world is watching, and they get it completely,' Trump wrote."

*****

Erin Durkin of the Guardian: "As people who lost loved ones in the [9/11] attack on lower Manhattan will gather on Tuesday once again to mark the anniversary, on the site of the towers, New York is nearing a grim milestone: 10,000 people diagnosed with cancer linked to September 11, 2001.... In all, more than 43,000 people have been certified with a September 11-related health condition.... Survivors are speaking out to encourage others to sign up for the health program and get checked. Anyone who lived, worked or went to school near the site and develops a related illness is eligible for health care and possible compensation under the ;Zadroga Act." --safari

Ignoramus-in-Chief. Pilar Menendez of The Daily Beast: "In what now seems like a daily occurrence, Donald Trump woke up Monday morning and fired off 16 bizarre tweets, including several misleading or false claims about the economy -- one of which was so patently false that both Fox News and Trump's own top economic adviser had to publicly correct the president. 'The GDP Rate (4.2%) is higher than the Unemployment Rate (3.9%) for the first time in over 100 years!,' Trump wrote at 6:03 a.m. [The truth is 10 years, not 100].... The president's claim that the U.S. gross domestic product is higher than the unemployment rate for the first time in over a century is, however, incorrect....In fact -- though comparing unrelated economic measurements is already odd -- this has happened several times since 1948, according to several economists and the Fox News research team...[I]n the 70 years since the U.S. Labor Department started publishing monthly unemployment statistics, the growth rate has been higher than the jobless level more than 20 percent of the time." --safari ...

... The News from Professor Plump Trump, Economic Historian:

The GDP Rate (4.2%) is higher than the Unemployment Rate (3.9%) for the first time in over 100 years! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet yesterday

False. It has happened in 185 months since 1948, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. -- Linda Qiu, New York Times

Hahahahaha. Emily Goldberg of Politico: "... Donald Trump promised Monday that he would 'write the real book' to set the record straight on his administration, once again lashing out against veteran Washington reporter Bob Woodward, whose incendiary book about the Trump White House will be released this week. 'The Woodward book is a Joke -- just another assault against me, in a barrage of assaults, using now disproven unnamed and anonymous sources. Many have already come forward to say the quotes by them, like the book, are fiction,' Trump tweeted on Monday morning. 'Dems can't stand losing. I'll write the real book!' Trump added on Twitter, 'The White House is a "smooth running machine." We are making some of the biggest and most important deals in our country's history -- with many more to come! The Dems are going crazy!'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: As Colbert says to Trump, "That a bold statement, considering that you didn't even write your own fake book."

... Annie Karni of Politico: "... Donald Trump has called journalist Bob Woodward’s book on his administration a work of 'fiction' and a 'scam,' claiming that quotes in the book are 'made up' and that the author is a 'liar.' At the same time..., he is livid at his former economic adviser, Gary Cohn, and his former staff secretary, Rob Porter, for 'leaking' to Woodward. It's difficult to rationally argue that the book could be both: fiction dreamed up by Woodward, and a betrayal by former top stewards of the administration...."

Courtney Cube & Carol Lee of NBC News: "As ... Donald Trump issues a steady stream of praise for Kim Jong Un in interviews and on Twitter, a steady stream of evidence that North Korea is still making nuclear weapons has pushed his administration to take a much more aggressive stance toward Pyongyang. The newest intelligence shows Kim's regime has escalated efforts to conceal its nuclear activity, according to three senior U.S. officials. During the three months since the historic Singapore summit and Trump's proclamation that North Korea intends to denuclearize, North Korea has built structures to obscure the entrance to at least one warhead storage facility, according to the officials." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes But. As we learned last week, Trump needs Kim as a character witness.

Trump's Giant Fart. Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration, taking its third major step this year to roll back federal efforts to fight climate change, is preparing to make it significantly easier for energy companies to release methane into the atmosphere. Methane, which is among the most powerful greenhouse gases, routinely leaks from oil and gas wells, and energy companies have long said that the rules requiring them to test for emissions were costly and burdensome. The Environmental Protection Agency, perhaps as soon as this week, plans to make public a proposal to weaken an Obama-era requirement that companies monitor and repair methane leaks, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times." ...

... Joe Romm of ThinkProgress: "Under President Donald Trump, the staff of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shrunk to levels not seen since the Reagan administration. But if Trump has his way, pollution levels will rise to Reagan-era levels too. Not only is the president seeking to roll back or terminate countless clean air and clean water rules, but he wants to make sure that the laws we do have in place are not enforced. Since Trump took office, some 1,600 workers have left the EPA.... EPA's Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance has shrunk a stunning 15.7 percent in the past 18 months -- nearly one in six workers have left.... As one recently retired 34-year EPA veteran described the current regime, 'These people are like termites, gnawing at the foundation.'" --safari ...

... MEANWHILE. Paul Rogers & Katy Murphy of the (San Jose) Mercury News: "In a major environmental milestone, Gov. Jerry Brown on Monday signed a law requiring California to obtain 100 percent of its electricity from clean sources such as solar, wind and hydropower by 2045. The new law keeps California at the forefront of addressing climate change and essentially commits the world's fifth-largest economy with 40 million people to a phase-out of fossil fuels from power plants. It also requires that 50 percent of the state's electricity come from renewable energy by 2026 and 60 percent by 2030, up from the current level of 32 percent. At a ceremony in the state Capitol, Brown signed SB 100, by State Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles. The new law gives California the most far-reaching clean energy goals of any U.S. state, along with Hawaii, which set a similar target in 2015 of 100 percent carbon-free electricity by 2045." ...

     ... AND. Somini Sengupta of the New York Times: "Warning of the risks of 'runaway' global warming, the United Nations secretary general, António Guterres, on Monday called on global leaders to rein in climate change faster. 'If we do not change course by 2020, we risk missing the point where we can avoid runaway climate change,' Mr. Guterres said at United Nations headquarters in New York. 'Climate change is the defining issue of our time, and we are at a defining moment,' he said.... His remarks came with countries around the world far short of meeting the goals they set for themselves under the 2015 Paris accord to reduce the emissions that have warmed the planet over the last century. The next round of climate negotiations is scheduled for this year in Poland."

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The Trump administration threatened the International Criminal Court with sanctions if it pursued an investigation of American troops in Afghanistan, opening a harsh new attack on an old nemesis of many on the political right. 'The United States will use any means necessary to protect our citizens and those of our allies from unjust prosecution by this illegitimate court,' President Trump's national security adviser, John R. Bolton, said in a speech on Monday in Washington.... Mr. Bolton also announced that the United States would shut down the Palestine Liberation Organization's office in Washington -- a decision linked to the International Criminal Court, which he said was being prodded by the Palestinians to investigate Israel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Reuters: "The international criminal court has said that it will 'continue to do its work undeterred', a day after US national security adviser, John Bolton, threatened sanctions if the tribunal investigated US activities in Afghanistan. The Hague-based court said in a statement it was an independent and impartial institution with the backing of 123 countries.... ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda said last year there was a 'reasonable basis to believe' war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in Afghanistan and that all sides in the conflict would be examined, including members of the US armed forces and Central Intelligence Agency." --safari

** Josh Lederman, et al., of NBC News: U.S. "Intelligence agencies investigating mysterious 'attacks' that led to brain injuries in U.S. personnel in Cuba and China consider Russia to be the main suspect, three U.S. officials and two others briefed on the investigation tell NBC News. The suspicion that Russia is likely behind the alleged attacks is backed up by evidence from communications intercepts, known in the spy world as signals intelligence, amassed during a lengthy and ongoing investigation involving the FBI, the CIA and other U.S. agencies. The officials declined to elaborate on the nature of the intelligence. The evidence is not yet conclusive enough, however, for the U.S. to formally assign blame to Moscow for incidents that started in late 2016 and have continued in 2018, causing a major rupture in U.S.-Cuba relations." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yeah, well, Donald can just call his BFF Vlad & ask him about that.

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "A federal judge on Monday blasted U.S. prosecutors and defense attorneys during a hearing in which the defense sought to have a Russian woman freed on bail pending trial on charges she was a foreign agent attempting to infiltrate the National Rifle Association and other American conservative groups. In ordering continued detention for Maria Butina, 29, U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan said Butina remained a serious flight risk. Chutkan also imposed a gag order after slamming prosecutors for their mistaken claim in court filings that Butina traded sex for access, and her defense for repeated public statements that the judge said could bias potential jurors." ...

... It's Not about the Sex. Vera Bergengruen of BuzzFeed News: "A tantalizing sentence inserted into the case against Maria Butina proved irresistible for journalists and lawyers alike. Although it was just an aside in a sweeping case alleging that the 29-year-old Russian worked to curry favor with American conservatives, the claim that she had offered sex for a job dominated much of the news coverage about her for weeks. So did the Justice Department's two-line acknowledgment in a 22-page late-night filing Friday that the allegation was false. But the breathless coverage of a sexual-proposition-that-wasn't missed many new details that the court filing reveals about a calculated five-year effort to make inroads with prominent Republicans through gun rights and religion, including the assertion that Butina and her American partner, GOP operative Paul Erickson, saw the scrutiny brought on by hacking of the Democratic National Committee's computer system as undoing a years-long influence campaign." ...

... Tim Dickenson of Rolling Stone: "In a federal court filing, prosecutors allege that [Maria] Butina has offered to flip on [Paul] Erickson -- who is also identified as 'Person 1' in case documents. 'Although the defense contends that the defendant is in a committed relationship with Person 1,' the feds write, 'she recently offered to provide information to the government about his illegal activities.'"

Cristian Farias of New York puts the Papadopoulos flop in perspective. Observers thought he was the key to unlocking a great criminal conspiracy. But the Mueller team saw early on that Papadopoulos was just a petty liar with grand ambitions. Now he's off to Hollywood to shop his life story or something.

** Hamed Aleaziz of BuzzFeed News: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Monday warned incoming immigration judges ... against allowing sympathy for the people appearing before them, which might cause them to make decisions contrary to what the law requires. 'When we depart from the law and create nebulous legal standards out of a sense of sympathy for the personal circumstances of a respondent in our immigration courts, we do violence to the rule of law and constitutional fabric that bind this great nation. Your job is to apply the law -- even in tough cases, he said. The comments immediately drew criticism from the union that represents the judges and from former judges.... Sessions also told the judges that they should focus on maximum production and urged them to get 'imaginative and inventive' with their high caseload. The courts currently have a backlog of hundreds of thousands of deportation cases." ...

... Andrew Gumbel of the Guardian: "The childhood rabbi to Stephen Miller, special adviser to Donald Trump and a key architect of his 'zero-tolerance' immigration policies, criticized his former charge on Monday as a purveyor of 'negativity, violence, malice and brutality' who had learned nothing from his Jewish spiritual education. Rabbi Neil Comess-Daniels of Beth Shir Shalom, a progressive reform synagogue in the beachside city of Santa Monica where Miller grew up, devoted his sermon marking the Jewish New Year to a striking denunciation of Miller and the now-abandoned policy he championed of separating immigrant families at the border."

Eric Levitz: "Susan Collins won election to the Senate by running as a pro-choice Republican who would put Mainers, and ideological moderation, above her party and its orthodoxy.... And yet, Susan Collins has signaled that she's happy to make her constituents look stupid by (once again) playing Mitch McConnell's useful idiot.... In mid-August, liberal activists started a crowdfunding campaign that aimed to raise $500,000 for Collins's Democratic challenger in 2020 -- a sum that it pledged to return to donors if the incumbent Republican votes 'no' on Brett Kavanaugh's nomination. As of this writing, that campaign has raised more than $878,000." ...

... Michael Tomasky of The Daily Beast: "Brett Kavanaugh lied. The best estimate is that he lied five times.... Senator Pat Leahy, usually a man of rhetorical restraint, tweeted: 'Untruthful testimony, under oath and on the record.'... With respect to judicial fights, the Republican Party is intent on accomplishing two goals. The first is stacking the Court -- actually all federal courts -- with hard-right originalists. The second is getting them on the bench in as belligerent and aggressive a way as possible.... The Trump administration had loads of people to choose from who weren't involved in making torture policy and didn't read pilfered papers and then mislead the Senate about it under oath 14 years ago. But they said fuck it. This is our man, and to boot, we're going to short-circuit the process[.]" --safari ...

... Michelle Goldberg: "Garza v. Hargan was the only major abortion-rights case Kavanaugh ever ruled on. ... Even on a lower court, Kavanaugh put arbitrary obstacles in the way of someone desperate to end her pregnancy. Thanks to Trump, he may soon be in a position to do the same to millions of others.... We shouldn't expect a Trump nominee, however personally decent his friends say he is, to care about women's wishes." ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: What restricting or overturning Roe v. Wade will do is further divide the country into blue states that respect women & red states that do not. For women living in red states, the divide between rich & poor will be further exaggerated: traveling to a blue state for an abortion will be an inconvenience for upper-middle-class women & their families; it may be a near-impossibility for poor women. Republican men understand this: they will make sure their wives & daughters have access to abortion & other reproductive needs, but they don't care about other women. This is, as they say, every man for himself. ...

... Mark Stern of Slate: "Brett Kavanaugh hasn't even been confirmed to the Supreme Court, and lower-court judges have already declared war on Roe v. Wade. On Monday morning, the 8^th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued an astonishing decision upholding a law that’s virtually identical to an anti-abortion measure the Supreme Court struck down in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. The three-judge panel, composed entirely of Republican appointees (including a Trump judge), essentially defied the Supreme Court in allowing Missouri to saddle abortion clinics with pointless regulations designed to guarantee their closure. It's a preview of how the courts will overturn Roe &'' swiftly, ruthlessly, and dishonestly -- once Kavanaugh is confirmed."

"Capitalism is Awesome", Ctd. Kelly Weill of The Daily Beast: "Jeff Bezos's tech giant is the second U.S. company to be worth thirteen-digits on the stock market, following Apple, which hit $1 trillion in August. That's all well and good for Bezos, whose net worth exceeds $150 billion. But workers at the growing network of Amazon-owned companies say they aren't seeing the money and Senator Bernie Sanders rolled out a new bill that would penalize Amazon for leaving workers dependent on public assistance.... [T]he Stop Bad Employers by Zeroing Out Subsidies Act (Stop BEZOS Act) ... would penalize large employers for every dollar of public assistance their workers receive. Sanders, who drafted the bill after polling Amazon employees on their pay and work conditions, said the legislation could save the U.S. $150 billion annually." --safari

Election 2018

** Conservative Men's Nightmare. Elena Schneider of Politico: "A flood of women, minorities and first-time candidates is poised to radically alter the composition of Congress next year after winning Democratic primaries in record numbers in 2018. White men are in the minority in the House Democratic candidate pool, a Politico analysis shows. Democrats have nominated a whopping 180 female candidates in House primaries -- shattering the party's previous record of 120, according to Rutgers' Center for American Women and Politics. Heading into the final primaries of 2018 this week, Democrats have also nominated at least 133 people of color and 158 first-time candidates to run for the House.... Their success in primaries could herald a major shift in Congress, which is majority-white, majority-male and still mostly made up of former state legislators who climbed the political ladder to Washington. And the candidates could also mark the beginning of a new era for the rebuilding Democratic Party, which is counting on new types of candidates to take back the House." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Now even Democratic party leaders are starting to look a lot like America, where white men have always been the minority.

One of Republicans' favorite voter suppression mechanisms:

Senate Race. How perceptions of health insurance have changed:

Goobernatorial Races

Florida. Mrs. McCrabbie: I could have done this myself, but not as well as Akhilleus did, so I'm going with his take: "Florida goobernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis has announced that he is stepping down from his do-nothing job in the Confederate House so that he might have more time for some high quality -- and quantity -- racist tweeting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Wisconsin. Natasha Korecki of Politico: "There's every reason to believe this is the beginning of the end for Scott Walker.... The signs that Walker is ripe to be taken down are everywhere. His opponent, Schools Superintendent Tony Evers, has a slight lead in recent polls and there's evidence that critical suburban voters are shifting leftward. Three former Walker aides have even turned on the governor, with two cutting ads for Evers.... A career educator, Evers presents a crisp contrast with Walker, who's held elected office for more than two decades. Democrats have seized on a 'Walker fatigue' message that blames him for a teacher shortage, deteriorating roads ('Scottholes' as one group calls them) and rising health care costs." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Way Beyond the Beltway

Karen McVeigh of the Guardian: "Starvation being used as a weapon of war has become the new normal, according to Save the Children. Its analysis shows more than half a million infants in conflict zones could die of malnutrition by the end of the year if they do not receive treatment, the equivalent of one every minute. The charity makes its own estimates using UN data, and projects that 4.5 million under-fives will need treatment for life-threatening hunger this year in the most dangerous conflict zones -- an increase of 20% since 2016. At current rates, only one in three will receive treatment, and 590,000 could die as a result." --safari

Alice Speri of The Intercept: "In his riveting book, 'The Good Mothers: The True Story of the Women Who Took on the World's Most Powerful Mafia,' journalist Alex Perry explores the tragedy ... of four women who turned against their own families and stood up to the [Italian] ’Ndrangheta [mafia clan].... Perry makes an urgent case that the group's meteoric journey to the vortex of global crime -- it controls nearly three-quarters of Europe's cocaine traffic, launders money on behalf of a host of other criminal groups, and sells weapons to multiple actors in the Syrian conflict -- transpired before our eyes. He argues that modern organized crime is an often-ignored but ballooning threat[.]" --safari

Justin McCurry & Graham Readfearn of the Guardian: "Japan has launched a controversial bid to end the ban on commercial whaling, claiming that populations of certain types of whale have recovered sufficiently to allow the resumption of 'sustainable' hunting.... Although Japan is not expected to secure the votes it needs to reform the IWC [International Whaling Commission]'s decision-making rules, conservation groups warned against complacency.... It wasn't immediately clear when IWC members would vote on Japan's proposal. Waiting until Friday, when the meeting ends, would give dozens of Japanese officials in Florianópolis more time to lobby other delegations -- a tactic they have used in the past to frustrate measures to protect other marine species." --safari

The Guardian: "Saudi authorities have arrested an Egyptian hotel worker who appeared in what officials described as an 'offensive' video eating breakfast with a female co-worker.... The point that has prompted the most anger is at the end of the 30-second video when the woman appears to feed the man.... The backlash underscores the challenges facing the prince as he seeks to modernise a country steeped in conservatism. In April, Saudi sports authorities shut down a female fitness centre in Riyadh over a contentious promotional video that appeared to show a woman in tight gym clothes. Later in June, Saudi Arabia sacked the head of its entertainment authority, following an online backlash against a circus featuring women wearing skin-tight leotards." --safari: mike pence's dream

News Ledes

(South Carolina) State: "As nearly a million people hit the road before Hurricane Florence nears the coast, 934 inmates and as many as 119 prison staff were ordered to stay behind despite a mandatory evacuation." ...

... Weather Channel: "Hurricane Florence will lash the Carolinas beginning late Thursday as an intense Category 4 hurricane with life-threatening storm surge, destructive winds and massive inland rainfall flooding in one of the strongest strikes on record for this part of the East Coast. Tuesday morning, a hurricane watch and storm surge watch were issued for the entire coast of North Carolina..., and the South Carolina coast as far south as Edisto Beach. This includes Charleston, Myrtle Beach, Wilmington and the Outer Banks." ...

... Washington Post: "State and local officials in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia have ordered about 1.5 million people to evacuate a lengthy stretch of coastline ahead of Hurricane Florence's potentially catastrophic landfall, which is expected Thursday." ...

"The [Washington] Post has removed article limits on coverage of Hurricane Florence to make these stories available without a subscription."

New York Times: "Adam Clymer, who covered congressional intrigue, eight presidential campaigns and the downfall of both Nikita S. Khrushchev and Richard M. Nixon as a reporter and editor for The New York Times and other newspapers, died early Monday at his home in Washington. He was 81."