The Commentariat -- March 1, 2018

Late Morning Update:

Linda Qiu of the New York Times: "President Trump signaled he was open to some proposals to curb gun violence on Wednesday during an hourlong televised meeting with a bipartisan group of lawmakers. But even as he voiced support for proposals generally backed by Democrats -- including expanded background checks and raising the age limit to 21 for some gun buyers -- the president peppered his remarks with inaccuracies about mass shootings and gun policy. And many of his comments hewed firmly to traditional Republican Party tenets."

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's an update of a WashPo story, by David Lynch & Damian Paletta, which I linked (below) about an hour ago: "President Trump has decided against announcing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports on Thursday after 18 hours of frenetic push-back from inside the White House and on Capitol Hill, two people briefed on the decision said." As I wrote, they don't know what they're doing.

Neil MacFarquhar of the New York Times: "President Vladimir V. Putin used his annual state of the nation speech on Thursday to threaten Western nations with a battery of new weapons, including an intercontinental nuclear cruise missile, and to assure Russians that their lives would improve through enormous new social spending. The guns-and-butter speech came 17 days before the March 18 presidential election. It seemed intended to reassure ordinary Russians that a huge increase in social spending would help salve the economic problems of the past four years, while also evoking traditional fears that Russia could be invaded at any minute. Gleb O. Pavlovsky, a political analyst and former Kremlin consultant, wrote on Facebook that, 'From tales about progress, the speech flowed into an open-ended declaration of world war.'"

**Joe Romm of ThinkProgress: "A new study finds that wind power and solar photovoltaics could by themselves meet 80 percent of all U.S. electricity demand...It's especially encouraging for two additional reasons. First, the price of solar and wind have been dropping rapidly.... Second, the study...still leaves 20 percent that could be provided by a variety of alternative types of carbon-free power...[H]ydropower already provides& 6.5 percent of U.S. powerwhile geothermal and biomass together add another 2 percent. All of those can be expanded... .This latest finding should help resolve the debate as to whether the United States can have an affordable carbon-free grid by mid-century. We absolutely can." --safari: In a normal world, this would be a "let's come together and fly to the moon" political moment. Instead, we have Scott Pruitt's turds.

*****

Outrageous Times. "This Russia Thing," Ctd.

Jon Swan & Mike Allen of Axios: "After a crazy 24 hours, sources close to President Trump say he is in a bad place -- mad as hell about the internal chaos and the sense that things are unraveling. Hope Hicks leaving is obviously a huge blow to him. Every time he reads about Attorney General Jeff Sessions, his head explodes. The staff is just trying to ride out the storm.... The people he genuinely enjoys and feels close to are gone (Keith Schiller), leaving (Hope) or getting pounded in the press (Jared). The restraints are almost fully loosened, and what staff sees in private is more public than ever. We have never seen top officials this concerned, defeated." ...

... Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "Hope Hicks, the White House communications director and one of President Trump's longest-serving advisers, said Wednesday that she plans to leave the White House in the coming weeks. Ms. Hicks, 29, a former model who joined Mr. Trump's 2016 presidential campaign without any experience in politics, became known as one of the few aides who understood his personality and style and could challenge the president to change his views. Ms. Hicks had been considering leaving for several months. She told colleagues that she had accomplished what she felt she could with a job that made her one of the most powerful people in Washington, and that there would never be a perfect moment to leave, according to White House aides. Her resignation came a day after she testified for eight hours before the House Intelligence Committee, telling the panel that in her job, she had occasionally been required to tell white lies but had never lied about anything connected to the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election." ...

... Meg Wagner, et al., of CNN: " ... Donald Trump berated Hope Hicks ... for testimony she gave to US lawmakers this week during which she admitted to telling white lies on behalf of Trump, CNN reported on Wednesday, citing an ally of the president.... 'What happened yesterday just put the nail in the coffin for her,' said April Ryan, a White House correspondent and CNN contributor. Citing her own sources in the West Wing, Ryan said Hicks had given a tentative resignation after the Porter incident. She suggested that what happened on Wednesday 'was a forced resignation.'" ...

     ... David Remnick of the New Yorker: "... it is hard to agree that her deceptions were merely occasional or, as she put it to the House members, 'white lies'; the self-deception required to serve Donald Trump with such unquestioning devotion, to be his voice, knowing what she must know, has proved anything but harmless."

Devlin Barrett, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Robert S. Mueller III has been investigating a period of time last summer when President Trump seemed determined to drive Attorney General Jeff Sessions from his job, according to people familiar with the matter who said that a key area of interest for the inquiry is whether those efforts were part of a months-long pattern of attempted obstruction of justice. In recent months, Mueller's team has questioned witnesses in detail about Trump's private comments and state of mind in late July and early August of last year, around the time he issued a series of tweets belittling his 'beleaguered' attorney general, these people said.... The president, [an] adviser [said], had been hoping the attorney general would be so embarrassed by Trump's scathing comments that he would leave. Trump in this period also ordered his then-chief of staff, Reince Priebus, to get a resignation letter from Sessions.... Behind the scenes, Trump has derisively referred to Sessions as 'Mr. Magoo,' a cartoon character who is elderly, myopic and bumbling.... Trump has told associates that he has hired the best lawyers for his entire life, but is stuck with Sessions, who is not defending him and is not sufficiently loyal...." ...

... Cristiano Lima of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to have the Justice Department inspector eneral investigate claims of wrongdoing by FBI agents in obtaining a FISA warrant of a former Trump campaign official, calling the move 'disgraceful!' 'Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc,' the president tweeted. 'Isn't the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!'" Mrs. McC: Anyway, this is high comedy. JeffBo bent over backwards to accommodate Trump's ridiculous demand to investigate something that doesn't need investigating, & now Trump is ragging him for it because JeffBo didn't appoint Jeanine Pirro or Sean Hannity to run the investigation. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "The tweet was the latest example of Mr. Trump publicly scolding Mr. Sessions and wading into Justice Department investigations. Though previous presidents have allowed law enforcement a large degree of independence to keep from influencing their inquiries, Mr. Trump has consistently called for investigations into his political rivals. Republicans have accused Justice Department and F.B.I. officials of abusing their powers by surveilling a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.... Mr. Sessions said on Tuesday that he referred those concerns to the department's inspector general, who is charged with investigating possible agency abuses. But he stopped short of announcing that a fresh inquiry had begun." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Update. Josh Gerstein & Cristiano Lima of Politico: "In an unusual public response that did not mention Trump by name, Sessions rejected the attack. 'We have initiated the appropriate process that will ensure complaints against this Department will be fully and fairly acted upon if necessary,' Sessions said in a statement. 'As long as I am the Attorney General, I will continue to discharge my duties with integrity and honor, and this Department will continue to do its work in a fair and impartial manner according to the law and Constitution.'" ...

     ... Margaret Hartmann: "Here's how the Trump-Sessions relationship devolved to the point that two 71-year-old lawmakers are barely speaking, lobbing insults on Twitter, and sending passive-aggressive messages with their choice of dinner companion."

Katie Tur & Carol Lee of NBC News: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's team is asking witnesses pointed questions about whether Donald Trump was aware that Democratic emails had been stolen before that was publicly known, and whether he was involved in their strategic release, according to multiple people.... Mueller's investigators have asked witnesses whether Trump was aware of plans for WikiLeaks to publish the emails. They have also asked about the relationship between GOP operative Roger Stone and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, and why Trump took policy positions favorable to Russia. The line of questioning suggests the special counsel, who is tasked with examining whether there was collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 election, is looking into possible coordination between WikiLeaks and Trump associates in disseminating the emails, which U.S. intelligence officials say were stolen by Russia."

Josh Gerstein: "A judge in Washington on Wednesday set a Sept. 17 trial date for former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort on charges from ... Robert Mueller, including money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent. The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson would put Manafort on trial at the height of the midterm campaign season, a potentially unwelcome distraction for Republicans as they try to maintain majorities in Congress." Mrs. McC: Let's have wall-to-wall coverage, at least of the prosecutor's case." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Jeet Heer: "Trump's entire career is a vindication of the huckster adage, 'Fake it till you make it.' For Trump, faking it and making it are one in the same. Reality and fantasy are one. His path to the presidency was based on selling the charade that he was a genius dealmaker who could outwit the Washington establishment and end partisan gridlock. The reality of his presidency has been the opposite: Trump's lack of political experience or even basic understanding of how government works has made him an easy pawn for various factions in Washington.... But the Mueller investigation shows that the power of Trump's fantasies may be limited, even among his supporters. Trump and his allies have crafted a fantasy version of the Russia story that's worthy of a pulp novel.... Over time, reality will chip away at the dream scenarios he conjures with such ease."

"Robert Mueller Has Trump & Family in His Crosshairs." Jonathan Chait: "The big picture is that, after Trump burned enough creditors that American banks stopped dealing with him, he became deeply reliant on Russian capital. The Russian economy is deeply connected to Vladimir Putin, and uses its leverage to advance political goals. For instance, Vnesheconombank, which works closely with Putin, financed a Trump hotel in Toronto. Trump's finances are totally opaque, and he has been willing to endure a great deal of critical media coverage -- th thing he most hates in the world -- in order to avoid publishing his tax returns. Kushner is also an important figure. He has his own web of business ties with Russia, and had assumed a lead role in communicating with the Russians secretly.... Meanwhile, as Steve Bannon sloppily confessed, after Donald Trump Jr. had a meeting with a Russian promising dirt on Hillary Clinton in June 2016, it is overwhelmingly likely that he proceeded immediately to tell the father whose approval is the thing he most craves." ...

...Alberto Nardelli of Buzzfeed: "The Maltese professor [Joseph Mifsud], who allegedly delivered word ofHillary Clinton’s stolen emails to Donald Trump's campaign, is an authentically mysterious figure.... And while others ... told their stories, Mifsud went to ground.... His email and cell phones went dead. And politicians, colleagues, and journalists can't find him. Neither can Anna, his 31-year-old Ukrainian fiancé, who says he is the father of her newborn child...She refused to talk then, saying her relationship with Mifsud was private. Now ...s he's changed her mind. The result is new information about Mifsud's activities, including his claim of having dined with Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister.... Mifsud also told Anna he was in Saudi Arabia at the same time as President Donald Trump's visit, and in Sicily, Italy, for the G7 Summit." --safari...

... Jared's Very Bad Week:

Knife Fight at the Not-OK Corral. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "The Trump family --; and the president's oldest son, Don Jr., in particular -- was angry about the overwhelmingly negative TV coverage about Jared Kushner last night, and feels White House Chief of Staff [John] Kelly is hanging Jared out to dry, a source familiar with the situation tells Axios." ... Mrs. McC: Which means Junior was not watching Fox "News." ...

... Tom Kludt of CNN: "Jared Kushner's downgraded security clearance is the top story for nearly every major news organization in America, but on Fox News, the stunning development has itself been downgraded. On Wednesday morning, as other outlets continued to go big on the story, which broke Tuesday afternoon, 'Fox & Friends' discussed it only once during a 20-second report that came in the final hour of the show. It was a similar situation on online, where Fox's homepage contained zero mentions of Kushner as of Wednesday morning when this story was published. And the Kushner story was ignored entirely by the network's triumvirate of conservative hosts in prime time: Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham." ...

... Amber Phillips of the Washington Post: "The Washington Post's White House team reports that Chief of Staff John F. Kelly really wouldn't mind if Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump left their jobs at the White House. And it's easy to see why Kelly feels that way. From the moment Kushner started working at the White House, he has walked on the edge of what's ethically appropriate. The clearest example of this is his work with top-secret information despite not having been cleared to access it. Kushner had only an interim security clearance, and the full one was on hold more than a year later as intelligence officials investigated his background.... Experts say that less influential federal employees (i.e. those who aren't related to the president) would have long since had their clearances denied for doing some of the things Kushner has done.... [Among the red flags:] 1. He's a prime target for foreign governments to try to get leverage with the United States.... 2. He wasn't up front about his foreign contacts with other White House officials.... 3. He repeatedly amended his application because he omitted foreign contacts." ...

... Jesse Drucker, et al., of the New York Times: "Early last year, a private equity billionaire started paying regular visits to the White House. Joshua Harris, a founder of Apollo Global Management, was advising Trump administration officials on infrastructure policy. During that period, he met on multiple occasions with Jared Kushner..., said three people familiar with the meetings. Among other things, the two men discussed a possible White House job for Mr. Harris. The job never materialized, but in November, Apollo lent $184 million to Mr. Kushner's family real estate firm, Kushner Companies.... An even larger loan came from Citigroup, which lent the firm and one of its partners $325 million to help finance a group of office buildings in Brooklyn. That loan was made in the spring of 2017, shortly after Mr. Kushner met in the White House with Citigroup's chief executive, Michael L. Corbat.... Federal ethics regulations restrict government employees from participating in some matters that involve companies with which the official is seeking 'a business, contractual or other financial relationship that involves other than a routine consumer transaction.'... All of the executives who met with Mr. Kushner have lots to gain or lose in Washington." ...

... Greg Farrell & David Kocieniewski of Bloomberg: "New York’s banking regulator has asked Deutsche Bank AG and a pair of local lenders to provide information about their relationships with Jared Kushner, his family and the Kushner Cos., according to people familiar with the matter. The state's Department of Financial Services sent letters to the German lender as well as Signature Bank and New York Community Bank last week, said one of the people, who described the letter. The request was broad, covering the banks' relationships with Kushner and his business properties; documents and communications about certain loan applications; and descriptions of the banks' processes for approving Kushner loans. Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, have taken on more debt in the past year at banks including Signature and New York Community, according to their recent government disclosures.... [Regulator Maria Vullo] asked for copies of emails and other communications between the Kushners and the banks related to financing requests that have been denied or are pending. She also asked whether the banks have conducted any internal reviews of the Kushners and their companies and asked what such inquiries revealed." ...

... Marcy Wheeler, in a New York Times op-ed: According to reports, [Robert] Mueller appears to be assessing whether [Jared] Kushner, in the guise of pursuing foreign policy on behalf of the United States, was actually serving the interests of his family and foreign governments.... Such appearances of conflict might not, by themselves, get Mr. Kushner in trouble.... But Mr. Kushner might face more trouble to the extent he keeps such negotiations secret from those in charge of carrying out United States foreign policy.... If [these secret negotiations] are a concern to Mr. Mueller, he has recently gotten far more details of what happened at the meetings [from Michael Flynn & Steve Bannon].... There are many reasons to question whether he has talked with foreign officials with the proper disclosures, designed to ensure that those claiming to represent the interests of the United States aren't hiding their own interests or those of foreign governments." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Never asked: Why did Trump give Jared a portfolio without boundaries? It wasn't because Jared had vast diplomatic experience. (He has none.) So there was some other reason. And I doubt it was a legitimate reason. I think Trump is implicated in Jared's shady deal-making.

... The Least of Jared's Problems. Jordan Libowitz of CREW: "Presidential adviser Jared Kushner appears to have violated the Hatch Act, according to a complaint filed today by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) with the Office of the Special Counsel (OSC). Kushner likely violated the Hatch Act in a press release sent out by the Trump presidential campaign this morning. Kushner gave a quote about the the president's reelection campaign and is identified as 'Jared Kushner, Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, and President Trump's son-in-law.' The Hatch Act prohibits the use of official title for political purposes." ...

     ... Update. Emily Stewart of Vox: "A version of the press release announcing the Parscale pick posted on the Trump campaign's website later removed Kushner's White House title, identifying him only as President Trump's son-in-law." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie PS: You can bet the original, probably illegal, campaign blurb was Hope Hicks' doing as she's (a) the White House communications director & expert blurb-writer (remember the great job she did getting everybody to endorse boyfriend & [alleged] serial abuser Rob Porter?), & (b) really good friends with Jared & Ivanka.

... Javanka's Implosion. Olivia Nuzzi of New York: "The sun was shining everywhere in Washington on Tuesday, but not over Jared Kushner. For him dark clouds began brewing in the afternoon and by nightfall, had reached Charlie Brown -- like severity.... As the White House briefing got underway, Axios broke the story that Josh Raffel, a press official who is considered the personal spokesman of Kushner and his wife, Ivanka Trump, would be resigning." --safari

... Margaret Talev & Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg: "More than 30 aides to ... Donald Trump have been stripped of access to top secret intelligence, two people familiar with the move said. The officials have been notified that they will be downgraded to a lower-level 'secret' interim security clearance while their background investigations continue, said the two people. None of the officials have been asked to leave the administration and their portfolios on top secret matters will be distributed to other staff members, they said." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Of course this means that at least 30 people with questionable pasts & jobs inside the White House have been rifling through top-secret documents, in some case for more than a year. That private server of Crooked Hillary through which a couple of three classified docs may have passed is looking less & less consequential, isn't it? But, hey, Trump, Fox "News," the House of Representatives, the FBI & the MSM obsessed over that server for a couple of years. Everything being equal, nothing is equal. The scales are heavily-weighted toward GOP fake "scandals." ...

Betsy Klein of CNN: "... the chief White House calligrapher now has greater access to sensitive information than White House adviser ... Jared Kushner."

... Digby, in Salon, has a very good overview of Tuesday's TrumpNews. Mind you -- that's just one day of news, & it's all scandalous. We are no longer living in interesting times. We are living through outrageous times.

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday repeatedly embraced a series of gun control measures, telling a group of lawmakers at the White House to pursue bills that have been opposed for years by the vast majority of the Republican Party and the National Rifle Association. In a remarkable televised meeting in the Cabinet Room, the president appeared to stun giddy Democrats and stone-faced Republicans by calling for comprehensive gun control that would expand background checks, keep guns from the mentally ill, secure schools and restrict gun sales from some young adults. To the surprise of many in the room, Mr. Trump urged the bipartisan lawmakers to start with a bipartisan bill put forward in 2013 by Senators Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, a Democrat, and Patrick J. Toomey of Pennsylvania, a Republican. That bill died months after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., after intense Republican opposition." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Nothing Trump says would make me "giddy." One call from Wayne LaPierre, & Trump will revert to NRAisms. ...

... Max Greenwood of the Hill: "The number of Floridians who approve of Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) job performance has fallen to an all-time low, according to a new Quinnipiac University poll out Tuesday. That poll pegged Rubio's approval rating at just 38 percent -- down 8 points from the last time Quinnipiac surveyed Florida voters' approval of the junior senator in July 2016.... Rubio was criticized following a deadly shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., earlier this month for his stance on gun control reform." Mrs. McC: Don't worry, Marco. This should help: ...

... Marco's Mouth Has Two Sides. Alex Daugherty of the Miami Herald: "Last week, Marco Rubio stared into the eyes of a father who lost his daughter during the nation's deadliest high school shooting and made an announcement: Young adults should not be able to purchase guns. 'I absolutely believe that in this country, if you are 18 years of age you should not be able to buy a rifle. I will support a law that takes that right away,' Rubio said during an intense town hall event with Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students, parents and alumni. But one of Rubio's own bills, which he has introduced twice, would overturn an assault weapons ban and legalize gun sales for young adults in the nation's capital, allowing 18- to 21-year-olds in Washington, D.C. to purchase weapons like the AR-15 used in the Parkland shooting.... The Florida Republican introduced the Second Amendment Enforcement Act in 2015 and again in 2017 that would drastically change the District of Columbia's gun laws. After introducing the bill for the first time in 2015 while seeking the Republican presidential nomination, Rubio's National Rifle Association's grade went from a B+ to an A.... Spokesperson Olivia Perez-Cubas said Tuesday that Rubio's D.C. gun bill won't be changed in light of his new policy position." Mrs. McC: Apparently Marco, who speaks English & Spanish fluently, is confused about what "bilingual" means. ...

... Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "Walmart, the largest retailer in the United States, said Wednesday evening that it would stop selling guns and ammunition to anyone under 21 years of age and remove from its stores all toys and airsoft rifles that resemble assault-style weapons.... In 2015, Walmart said it would no longer sell high-powered rifles in the United States, but cited lower customer demand for the military-style rifles and not politics. Walmart also does not sell handguns, except in Alaska, and has not sold high-capacity magazines or 'bump stocks,' an attachment that enables a semiautomatic rifle to fire faster, which was used by the gunman in Las Vegas in October." ...

Mr. Davidson in happier days.... Madison Kircher of New York: "Earlier on Wednesday, an armed teacher, Jesse Randall Davidson, reportedly fired several shots after barricading himself in a classroom at Dalton High School in Georgia. Fortunately, nobody was injured, according to local police, but students were still evacuated from the campus. One student, junior Chondi Chastain, detailed the evacuation in a tweet directed at the NRA. 'I dare you to tell me arming teachers will make us safe,' Chastain tweeted.... If only there had been another teacher with a gun, in the room with the teacher with the gun. That would definitely have deescalated the situation."

... Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is inviting Delta Airlines to relocate its headquarters to New York. '[Delta], i Georgia politicians disagree with your stand against gun violence, we invite you to move your headquarters to New York,' Cuomo tweeted on Tuesday.... Cuomo is not the only Democrat to make an offer to Delta amid the backlash. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) on Tuesday invited Delta to relocate its headquarters to Ohio." Mrs. McC BTW: I'm sure Delta is aware that taxes are a lot higher in New York State than in Georgia, with or without Georgia's previously-planned tax break. Of course, NYS could always make Delta a sweetheart deal. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday celebrated a 'big legal win' delivered by a federal judge against whom he once leveled racial criticism. Earlier Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel rejected lawsuits brought by environmentalists and the state of California related to the Trump administration's efforts to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Big legal win today. U.S. judge sided with the Trump Administration and rejected the attempt to stop the government from building a great Border Wall on the Southern Border. Now this important project can go forward!' the president wrote online. Trump made no mention in his Tuesday tweet of his previous feud with Curiel, which dates back to the summer of 2016, when the then-GOP candidate characterized the federal judge as a 'Mexican' whose heritage meant he could not capably oversee a lawsuit against Trump, even though Curiel was born in Indiana." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: So Judge Curiel has gone from being a "Mexican judge" to a "U.S. judge" because he ruled in favor of Trump. That's how it works for all of us: we're not "Americans" unless we are pleasing to Donald Trump. I'm sure Judge Curiel is not celebrating Trump's belated recognition of his U.S. citizenship. He knows he'll go back to being a "Mexican judge" if he rules against the Trump administration in the future. ...

... New York Times Editors: "... there are in fact still people of principle in public service, and they're doing important work every day to preserve our institutions and counteract this president's worst impulses. Judge Curiel, for one, has continued to do his job, carefully applying the law to the cases that come before him, no matter how obnoxious the litigants might be. In his ruling on Tuesday, the judge acknowledged the 'heated political debate' surrounding the border wall, and quoted a passage on the role of courts by Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. -- who, he slyly noted, is a 'fellow Indiana native': 'Courts are vested with the authority to interpret the law; we possess neither the expertise nor the prerogative to make policy judgments. Those decisions are entrusted to our nation's elected leaders, who can be thrown out of office if the people disagree with them. It is not our job to protect the people from the consequences of their political choices.' That is what being a public servant in America sounds like, and it requires a level of selflessness and devotion to democratic ideals that are alien to Mr. Trump."

All the Best People Do. Not. Know. What. They're. Doing. ...

NEW. David Lynch & Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "The White House is planning to make a major announcement Thursday about whether it will impose new limits on steel and aluminum imports, three people familiar with the event said, following months of speculation about whether President Trump would follow through on trade threats and impose tariffs that could roil global markets. The details of the announcement were closely held and the situation remained very fluid, the people warned. A decision could still be postponed. Trump hinted at a decision Thursday morning." ...

... Or Maybe Not. Jonathan Swan: "But the news comes as a big surprise to many administration officials, signaling a truly remarkable breakdown in process -- and the event may not happen. The confusion last night among senior officials on the trade announcement -- a decision of global consequence -- is like nothing I've seen in the Kelly era:... Senior White House officials had no idea what was going on, and tried to find out after seeing the WashPost story." ...

... AND. Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "More than a year after President Trump abruptly pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, saying it was a bad deal for the United States, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said on Tuesday that the United States is discussing rejoining the multilateral trade agreement. Mr. Mnuchin, speaking at an investment summit meeting sponsored by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said that renegotiating the trade agreement was 'on the table' and that he had been in talks with other countries about what it would take for the United States to reverse course." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: I do believe Mr. Davidson's social studies students could do a better job of running the government than the bozos were paying to do it. Of course the kids would have to keep Mr. Davidson in lockdown. But then that's what All the Best People have failed to do to President* Trump.

Fake News Nobel Nomination. BBC News: "A nomination made for US President Donald Trump to receive the Nobel Peace Prize was potentially fraudulent, according to the awarding committee. The Norwegian committee has filed a report with police over its concerns. Mr Trump was reportedly nominated for his 'ideology of peace by force' by an anonymous American.... 'I can say that we have good reason to believe that [the nomination of Mr Trump] is a fake,' Nobel Institute Director Olav Njølstad told Norwegian broadcaster NRK. 'The same "fake" nomination probably took place last year too, Mr Njølstad said."

Jessie Hellman of The Hill: "Vice President Pence predicted Tuesday that legal abortion would end in the U.S. 'in our time.' 'I know in my heart of hearts this will be the generation that restores life in America,' Pence said at a luncheon in Nashville, Tenn., hosted by the Susan B. Anthony List & Life Institute, an anti-abortion organization.... He told the crowd he has seen more progress in the Trump administration's first year in office than he has in his entire life." --safari

Danny Vinik of Politico: "Two top public-affairs officers of the Federal Emergency Management Agency have resigned over the past month, with one complaining that as the agency faced unprecedented challenges in responding to hurricanes, its top public-affairs official was excluded from meetings because of her gender. Former FEMA press secretary Paul McKellips, who resigned o February 12, wrote in his resignation letter that FEMA's front office was a 'boys club' that excluded the former head of external affairs, Susan Phalen. 'When the front office shut her out, you effectively shut me out as well,' McKellips wrote. Phalen announced her resignation in early February."

Cristiano Lima: "Rep. Trey Gowdy, the chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on Wednesday requested that Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson turn over all documents and communications pertaining to allegations by a high-ranking civil servant that she was the target of reprisals after sounding the alarm on agency spending."...

... Cristina Alesci, et al. of CNN: "A CNN review of documents found several examples that ethics watchdogs say raise questions about whether [Interior Secretary Ryan] Zinke is misusing his travel privileges, despite receiving approval from the department's lawyer and ethics officer.... His career as a Navy SEAL was derailed when he admitted to poor judgment for taking government flights back to his hometown of Whitefish, Montana, using taxpayer expenses at a time he was supposed to be helping to prevent such abuses.... His travel as secretary is currently the subject of two government reviews.... Records obtained by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, and shared with CNN, show that Zinke's office was told in October that he was on pace to be $200,000 over budget for travel." --safari: His corruption is absolute. Of course Drumpf loves him.

Gail Collins: "Well, the votes are in, people, and the winner of our latest competition for Worst Member of the Trump Administration is ... Scott Pruitt of the Environmental Protection Agency! It was a landslide. To be fair, if we had included Donald Trump himself in the balloting, I'm sure the big guy would have swept the field -- actually winning the popular vote for the first time in his presidential career. But pitted against his peers, Pruitt walloped the competition. The winner of our last Worst survey, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, hardly got a mention. She even came in behind Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a person whose only actual power is to be irritating while claiming the president was just joking/isn';t really going to do that/was totally misunderstood."

Rebecca Burns of The Intercept: "[A] damning new report from the American Civil Liberties Union ... finds that collectors ranging from federal student lenders, to third-party debt buyers, to utility and ambulance services routinely wield the threat of arrest to intimidate people into paying up. Federal law outlawed debt prisons in 1833, but lenders, landlords and even gyms and other businesses have found a way to resurrect the Dickensian practice. With the aid of private collection agencies, they file millions of lawsuits in state and local courts each year, winning 95 percent of the time.... When being in debt can get you sent to prison, and being in prison can drive you further into debt, 'what we're really seeing is the broad criminalization of poverty,' said Marceline White, executive director of the Maryland Consumers Union." --safari

Presidential Race 2020. Oh God! Oprah Goes Full Bachmann. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Oprah Winfrey said she’s had billionaires offer to fund her presidential campaign if she runs for the White House, but said she’s waiting for a sign from God. 'I went into prayer,' she said of calls for her to run for president. '"God, if you think I'm supposed to run, you gotta tell me, and it has to be so clear that not even I can miss it." And I haven't gotten that yet,' Winfrey told People Magazine in an interview published Wednesday." Mrs. McC: Whatever God tells Oprah, I am not voting for Oprah Winfrey for president. ...

     ... Ed Kilgore: "One interpretation of her remarks is that she's really saying no power on earth can get me to run for president. If so, it would have been much better if she had expressly put it that way."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Oren Liebermann & Amir Tal of CNN: "For the first time, prosecutors directly linked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to what is known as Case 4000, alleging he gave regulatory benefits worth up to 1 billion shekels (approximately $280 million) to his friend in exchange for favorable media coverage. Case 4000 is one of five investigations targeting the Prime Minister and members of his inner circle. Netanyahu has been named as a suspect in two cases, though not in Case 4000. He has denied any wrong doing in those cases." --safari

"Capitalism is Awesome", Ctd. Dom Phillipsof the Guardian: "Six months before a dam containing millions of litres of mining waste collapsed, killing 19 people in Brazil's worst environmental disaster, the company operating the mine accurately predicted the potential impact of such a disaster in a worst-case risk assessment. But federal prosecutors claim the company -- a joint venture between the Brazilian mining giant Vale and the Anglo-Australian multinational BHP Billiton -- failed to take actions that they say could have prevented the disaster. The prosecutors instead claim the company focused on cutting costs and increasing production...[The disaster] polluted the water supply for hundreds of thousands of people, decimated wildlife and spewed a rust-red plume of mud down the Doce river. Yet more than two years later, nobody has accepted responsibility.... President Michel Temer's business-friendly government wants to increase mining, even in sensitive areas like the Amazon, and make environmental licensing more flexible." --safari

Nathan Hodge & Mary Ilushina of CNN: "Last week, Argentine police announced the drug bust: The country's Gendarmería Nacional said police had discovered and seized 389 kilograms of cocaine -- more than 850 pounds -- on the grounds of the Russian Embassy in Buenos Aires in December 2016.... It seemed to have been a textbook example of cross-border cooperation, with Russian diplomats tipping off the Argentinians about the drugs, and the two countries working together to stop illicit drug traffic. Now it's a story the Russian government appears to want to wish away." --safari

All Work, No Play. Benjamin Haas of the Guardian: "Employees in one of the most overworked countries in Asia are about to get a break after South Korea passed a bill ... which cut the maximum weekly work hours to 52, down from 68.... The cut was a campaign promise by President Moon Jae-in, who also secured a 16% increase in the minimum wage this year.... The law faced opposition from businesses but was seen as necessary to improve living standards, create more jobs and boost productivity. It is also aimed at increasing the country’s birth rate, which hit record lows last year." --safari

The Commentariat -- February 28, 2018

Late Morning Update:

Cristiano Lima of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday slammed Attorney General Jeff Sessions' decision to have the Justice Department inspector general investigate claims of wrongdoing by FBI agents in obtaining a FISA warrant of a former Trump campaign official, calling the move 'disgraceful!' 'Why is A.G. Jeff Sessions asking the Inspector General to investigate potentially massive FISA abuse. Will take forever, has no prosecutorial power and already late with reports on Comey etc,' the president tweeted. 'Isn't the I.G. an Obama guy? Why not use Justice Department lawyers? DISGRACEFUL!'" Mrs. McC: Anyway, this is high comedy. JeffBo bent over backwards to accommodate Trump's ridiculous demand to investigate something that doesn't need investigating, & now Trump is ragging him for it because JeffBo didn't appoint Jeanine Pirro or Sean Hannity to run the investigation. ...

     ... Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "The tweet was the latest example of Mr. Trump publicly scolding Mr. Sessions and wading into Justice Department investigations. Though previous presidents have allowed law enforcement a large degree of independence to keep from influencing their inquiries, Mr. Trump has consistently called for investigations into his political rivals. Republicans have accused Justice Department and F.B.I. officials of abusing their powers by surveilling a former Trump campaign aide, Carter Page.... Mr. Sessions said on Tuesday that he referred those concerns to the department's inspector general, who is charged with investigating possible agency abuses. But he stopped short of announcing that a fresh inquiry had begun."

Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday celebrated a 'big legal win' delivered by a federal judge against whom he once leveled racial criticism. Earlier Tuesday, U.S. District Court Judge Gonzalo Curiel rejected lawsuits brought by environmentalists and the state of California related to the Trump administration's efforts to construct a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. 'Big legal win today. U.S. judge sided with the Trump Administration and rejected the attempt to stop the government from building a great Border Wall on the Southern Border. Now this important project can go forward!' the president wrote online. Trump made no mention in his Tuesday tweet of his previous feud with Curiel, which dates back to the summer of 2016, when the then-GOP candidate characterized the federal judge as a 'Mexican' whose heritage meant he could not capably oversee a lawsuit against Trump, even though Curiel was born in Indiana." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: So Judge Curiel has gone from being a "Mexican judge" to a "U.S. judge" because he ruled in favor of Trump. That's how it works for all of us: we're not "Americans" unless we are pleasing to Donald Trump. I'm sure Judge Curiel is not celebrating Trump's belated recognition of his U.S. citizenship. He knows he'll go back to being a "Mexican judge" if he rules against the Trump administration in the future.

Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A judge in Washington on Wednesday set a Sept. 17 trial date for former Trump campaign chief Paul Manafort on charges from special counsel Robert Mueller, including money laundering and failing to register as a foreign agent. The decision from U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson would put Manafort on trial at the height of the midterm campaign season, a potentially unwelcome distraction for Republicans as they try to maintain majorities in Congress." Mrs. McC: Let's have wall-to-wall coverage, at least of the prosecutor's case."

Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) is inviting Delta Airlines to relocate its headquarters to New York. '[Delta], if Georgia politicians disagree with your stand against gun violence, we invite you to move your headquarters to New York,' Cuomo tweeted on Tuesday.... Cuomo is not the only Democrat to make an offer to Delta amid the backlash. Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) on Tuesday invited Delta to relocate its headquarters to Ohio." Mrs. McC BTW: I'm sure Delta is aware that taxes are a lot higher in New York State than in Georgia, with or without Georgia's previously-planned tax break. Of course, NYS could always make Delta a sweetheart deal.

*****

Eliana Johnson & Andrew Restuccia of Politico: White House "... Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded -- a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. Kushner is not alone. All White House aides working on the highest-level interim clearances -- at the Top Secret/SCI-level -- were informed in a memo sent Friday that their clearances would be downgraded to the Secret level, according to three people with knowledge of the situation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Katie Rogers & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "Mr. Kushner has had his top-secret clearance reduced to secret and his portfolio, specifically in regard to foreign affairs, is expected to be reduced, the people said." ...

... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: MSNBC security analyist Jeremy Bash said "secret" is the same clearance level the White House kitchen staff has. I want to see Jared in a hairnet. ...

... ** Kushner Is Definitely a Security Risk. Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "Officials in at least four countries have privately discussed ways they can manipulate Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, by taking advantage of his complex business arrangements, financial difficulties and lack of foreign policy experience, according to current and former U.S. officials.... Among those nations discussing ways to influence Kushner to their advantage were the United Arab Emirates, China, Israel and Mexico, the current and former officials said.... Kushner's contacts with certain foreign government officials have raised concerns inside the White House and are a reason he has been unable to obtain a permanent security clearance, the officials said.... H.R. McMaster, President Trump's national security adviser, learned that Kushner had contacts with foreign officials that he did not coordinate through the National Security Council or officially report.... Within the White House, Kushner's lack of government experience and his business debt were seen from the beginning of his tenure as potential points of leverage that foreign governments could use to influence him, the current and former officials said. Officials in the White House were concerned that Kushner was 'naive and being tricked' in conversations with foreign officials, some of whom said they wanted to deal only with Kushner directly and not more experienced personnel...." ...

... ** Conservative Rick Wilson in the Daily Beast: "The stench of [Jared Kushner's] venality and desperation hangs around him like stripper perfume, cloying and obvious. Jared all but hiked up his sassy pink petticoats while whistling, 'Hey, sailor!' to the Chinese, Israeli, Arab, and Russian investors he begged to invest in his failing 666 5th Avenue white elephant.... [H]e lied and omitted information [on his clearance forms] in a way that was painfully obvious to the FBI and government officials examining his qualifications for the most elevated intelligence clearances. Then, the whispers in foreign capitals started; Kushner ... is for sale. American intelligence was listening." --safari ... Mrs. McC: A delightful read. Wilson tears Kushner, et al., into teensy shreds.

... Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "Four Commerce Department political appointees working on interim security clearances lost their jobs Tuesday because of problems in their background checks, the latest fallout from the intensifying public scrutiny on administration officials working without permanent clearances. The department determined that the four appointees -- including one who worked for the agency for nearly a year and served for several months as a senior adviser to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross -- should not be given access to classified information, according to multiple officials who requested anonymity to discuss personnel matters." ...

... Jeremy Diamond of CNN: "A top White House communications aide who has worked most closely with Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump is leaving the White House in the coming months. Josh Raffel, who was recruited to the White House by Kushner, has primarily served as a spokesman for Ivanka Trump and Kushner's White House initiatives, including the Office of American Innovation and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.... [An] official said he is returning to work in the private sector in New York, where he has 'family obligations.'" Mrs. McC: No word as to the real reason.

"WITCH HUNT!" ...

** Trump Welcomes Russian Hackers. Zachary Cohen of CNN: "US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told lawmakers on Tuesday that he has not been granted the authority by ... Donald Trump to disrupt Russian election hacking operations where they originate. Asked by Democratic Sen. Jack Reed if he has been directed by the President, through the defense secretary, to confront Russian cyber operators, Rogers said 'no I have not' but noted that he has tried to work within the authority he maintains as a commander.... "They [the Russians] have not paid a price that is sufficient to change their behavior,' [Rogers] added." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Cynthia McFadden, et al., of NBC News: "The U.S. intelligence community developed substantial evidence that state websites or voter registration systems in seven states were compromised by Russian-backed covert operatives prior to the 2016 election -- but never told the states involved, according to multiple U.S. officials. Top-secret intelligence requested by President Barack Obama in his last weeks in office identified seven states where analysts -- synthesizing months of work -- had reason to believe Russian operatives had compromised state websites or databases. Three senior intelligence officials told NBC News that the intelligence community believed the states as of January 2017 were Alaska, Arizona, California, Florida, Illinois, Texas and Wisconsin.... Denis McDonough, who was Obama's last chief of staff..., argu[ed] the [Obama] administration acted to thwart the Russians before and after the election. Obama administration spokespeople also say they transmitted sensitive intelligence regarding state compromises to congressional leaders. 'The administration took a series of steps to push back against the Russians to include far-ranging sanctions, diplomatic steps to push people associated with the Russian effort out of this country and also warning our friends and allies,' [McDonough] said." ...

... Kara Scannell, et al., of CNN: "Investigators for special counsel Robert Mueller have recently been asking witnesses about Donald Trump's business activities in Russia prior to the 2016 presidential campaign as he considered a run for president, according to three people familiar with the matter. Questions to some witnesses during wide-ranging interviews included the timing of Trump's decision to seek the presidency, potentially compromising information the Russians may have had about him, and why efforts to brand a Trump Tower in Moscow fell through, two sources said. The lines of inquiry indicate Mueller's team is reaching beyond the campaign to explore how the Russians might have sought to influence Trump at a time when he was discussing deals in Moscow and contemplating a presidential run."

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "White House communications director Hope Hicks refused to answer questions about the Trump administration that House investigators posed Tuesday as part of their probe of Russian meddling in the 2016 election. But under pressure from lawmakers, she began to offer some details about the transition period Tuesday afternoon, according to House Intelligence Committee members Thomas J. Rooney (R-Fla.) and Peter T. King (R-N.Y.), who said Hicks and her attorneys agreed to address topics already broached with the Senate Intelligence Committee in an earlier private interview. Democrats and Republicans emerging from the House Intelligence Committee's ongoing interview with Hicks on Tuesday noted that, at first, she categorically resisted answering any questions about events and conversations that occurred since Trump won the election, [even] though Trump has not formally invoked executive privilege with the panel.... Hicks, who has already spoken with special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team as part of its probe, has emerged as a central figure in an ongoing dispute between lawmakers and the White House about when and where witnesses can legitimately resist answering questions in a congressional probe." ...

... Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Hope Hicks ... told House investigators on Tuesday that her work for President Trump, who has a reputation for exaggerations and outright falsehoods, had occasionally required her to tell white lies. But after extended consultation with her lawyers, she insisted that she had not lied about matters material to the investigations into Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and possible links to Trump associates, according to three people familiar with her testimony. The exchange came during more than eight hours of private testimony before the House Intelligence Committee. Ms. Hicks declined to answer similar questions about other figures from the Trump campaign or the White House." ...

... Alas, Roger Stone Is Full of Shit. Natahsa Bertrand of The Atlantic: "On March 17, 2017, WikiLeaks tweeted that it had never communicated with Roger Stone, a longtime confidante and informal adviser to President Donald Trump. In his interview with the House Intelligence Committee last September, Stone, who testified under oath, told lawmakers that he had communicated with WikiLeaks via an 'intermediary.' ... Private Twitter messages obtained by The Atlantic show that Stone and WikiLeaks ... communicated directly on October 13, 2016 -- and that WikiLeaks sought to keep its channel to Stone open after Trump won the election. The existence of the secret correspondence marks yet another strange twist in the White House's rapidly swelling Russia scandal." --safari ...

... The Department of "Justice", Ctd. Noor Al-Sibai of RawStory: "Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday announced that the Justice Department's inspector general will investigate the circumstances that led to a former Trump campaign aide's surveillance. The Wall Street Journal reported that Sessions made the remarks about the investigation at a press conference when answering a question about a GOP memo that alleged abuses in the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrants obtained to surveil one-time Trump adviser Carter Page." --safari ...

... ** Jason Sattler of USA Today: "There are two options: Donald Trump's campaign and Russia worked together to help elect our current president of the United States, or we are witnessing the greatest coincidence since the Big Bang.... Call it a 'conspiracy against the United States' -- since that's probably what the indictments will keep calling it.... Trump has long benefited from the willingness of his opponents, his creditors and the media to underestimate his guile and ruthlessness. Apparently, that's a mistake Russia didn't make." Mrs. McC: Sattler lists a damning number of "coincidences," including one or two I did know or forgot.

Your Questions Are "Inappropriate." Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post: "In Donald Trump's world, there are Ivanka Trump and John F. Kelly -- they who must not be questioned. 'I think it's a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he's affirmatively stated that there's no truth to it,' Ivanka Trump said, scolding the NBC News correspondent Peter Alexander in an interview on 'Today.'... 'If you want to go after General Kelly, that's up to you, but I think that -- if you want to get into a debate with a four-star Marine general, I think that that's something highly inappropriate,' [Sarah] Sanders said [last October when Kelly lied about Rep. Frederica Wilson].... Far from backing off, journalists should hone their questioning skills and find new ways to pin down this particularly slippery administration.... Journalists need to do a better job of [questioning Trump officials]."

Glenn Thrush of the New York Times: "Department of Housing and Urban Development officials spent $31,000 on a new dining room set for Secretary Ben Carson's office in late 2017 -- just as the White House circulated its plans to slash HUD's programs for the homeless, elderly and poor.... The purchase of the custom hardwood table, chairs and hutch came a month after a top agency staff member filed a whistle-blower complaint charging Mr. Carson's wife, Candy Carson, with pressuring department officials to find money for the expensive redecoration of his offices, even if it meant circumventing the law.... Mr. Carson 'didn't know the table had been purchased,' but does not believe the cost was too steep and does not intend to return it, said Raffi Williams, a HUD spokesman. Department officials did not request approval from the House or Senate Appropriations Committees for the expenditure of $31,561, even though federal law requires congressional approval 'to furnish or redecorate the office of a department head' if the cost exceeds $5,000. Mr. Williams said department officials did not request congressional approval because the dining set served a 'building-wide need.' The table is inside the secretary's 10th-floor office suite." ...

... It Gets Worse. Jon Swaine of the Guardian: "The US Department of Housing and Urban Development (Hud) has agreed to spend $165,000 on 'lounge furniture' for its Washington headquarters, in addition to a $31,000 dining set purchased for housing secretary Ben Carson's office. The revelations on Tuesday of Carson's expensive decor spending come as Donald Trump's administration has proposed a cut of $6.8bn to Hud's annual budget, or roughly 14% of its total spending.... Department officials signed a contract last September with an Indiana-based seller for the furniture." --safari

Mark Hand of ThinkProgress: "The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plans to eliminate its National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), a department that funds research into environmental impacts on communities. The center, tasked with distributing 'grants to test the effects of chemical exposure on adults and children,' will be shuttered amid a reorganization at the agency as part of EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt's goal of creating more efficiency at the agency." --safari...

...Mark Hand: "[A]t the CPAC annual convention in National Harbor, Maryland ... Pruitt cited President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement as the proudest moment in his first year as EPA administrator." --safari

Anna Fifield of the Washington Post: "The State Department's point man on North Korea, Joseph Yun, will leave his post on Friday, amid glimmers of hope that Pyongyang might finally be willing to sit down for talks with Washington. Yun, 63, is retiring as special representative for North Korea policy and deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan after more than three decades of service. His departure reflects widespread frustration within the State Department at diplomats' relative lack of power in the Trump administration, according to someone familiar with Yun's thinking." Mrs McC: Probably thinks he knows more about North Korea than Ivanka Trump. Also probably has top-secret clearance. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** The Executioner. Jonathan Swan of Axios: "According to five sources who've spoken with Trump about [drug enforcement], he often leaps into a passionate speech about how drug dealers are as bad as serial killers and should all get the death penalty....Trump has said he would love to have a law to execute all drug dealers here in America, though he's privately admitted it would probably be impossible to get a law this harsh passed under the American system." --safari ...

... Old white guys from Queens have always shared the same ideas about gun control:

Captain of your new school safety patrol.An Unregulated Militia. Eric Levitz of New York: "The GOP's plan A was to sit tight until the dead of Parkland got buried by the ever-turning news cycle. But the theater kids of Marjory Stoneman Douglas refused to take thoughts and prayers for an answer. And so, Republicans moved on to plan B: Find a way to 'do something' on gun violence that didn't just leave AR-15 manufacturers and far-right firearms enthusiasts unscathed, but that actually benefited those constituencies. To that end, President Trump called last week for arming America's teachers.... Alas, liberals, teachers -- and every American who can distinguish between reality and Clint Eastwood films -- deemed this proposal insane.... Fortunately, House conservatives took these critiques to heart. And on Monday night, Freedom Caucus chair Mark Meadows floated a compromise ... 'tax credits for volunteers -- like retired law enforcement -- who want to offer security for schools,' [tweeted Tara Golshan]. This proposal ... leaves teachers unarmed, just as liberals requested, while also giving a targeted tax cut to any patriotic American with a gun, too much free time, and a longing to legally pump bullets into another human being -- or, in conservative parlance, to 'a well-regulated militia.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Don't worry, Meadows' bill will never pass. And neither will any gun-control law. ...

... ** Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "The Oath Keepers militia group on Monday issued an official 'call to action' asking their members to serve as voluntary armed guards at U.S. schools.... But ... [d]uring a meandering Monday night webinar held by the far-right, anti-government group, the gun writer David Codrea referred to Emma González and David Hogg, survivors of the Valentine's Day school shooting in Parkland, Florida as 'the enemy.'... Codrea, a writer for the Oath Keepers and War on Guns blogs, also said that Gonzalez's father is a 'refugee from Castro's Cuba,' and lamented that the National Rifle's Association 595,000 Twitter followers paled in comparison to the one million that follow 'this young Communist girl.' Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes, who hosted the webinar, suggested that law enforcement may have deliberately ... allow[ed] a massacre that could pave the way for gun control." --safari...

... Rachel Bade of Politico: "House GOP leaders downplayed the need for Congress to pass expansive new gun control measures on Tuesday, instead turning their ire on the FBI and local law enforcement for failing to prevent the Parkland, Fla. school shooting. Speaker Paul Ryan told reporters at a press conference that 'we shouldn't be banning guns for law-abiding citizens' but 'focusing on making sure that citizens who shouldn't get guns in the first place, don't get those guns.' Ryan -- who said arming teachers was a 'good idea' but a local issue that Congress should not infringe upon -- touted a House-passed bill to reinforce background checks under current law. But that bill also loosens gun laws by allowing gun owners with concealed-carry weapons permits in their state to take their firearm into other states -- an idea going nowhere in the Senate. Ryan wouldn't say whether he would allow the House to decouple so-called Fix NICS language from the more controversial concealed-carry reciprocity provisions." ...

... MEANWHILE, in Florida. Patricia Mazzei of the New York Times: "Gun control legislation is moving at an unusually fast pace in the Florida Capitol following a deadly high school shooting, which has pushed state lawmakers and the governor to act after years of loosening restrictions on firearms. Powerful budget committees in the State House and Senate signed off on a package of bills on Tuesday that would raise the minimum age to purchase a firearm to 21 from 18, mandate a three-day waiting period for most gun purchases, and increase funding for school safety measures and access to mental health care. The bills must still be approved by the full House and Senate, and approved by Gov. Rick Scott. Included in the proposals is a contentious, $67 million voluntary program to arm school staff, including teachers, trained by law enforcement to carry concealed weapons on campus. Lawmakers gave preliminary approval to what has become known as the 'marshal program' in spite of impassioned pleas by many parents of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School students in Parkland, who said educators should not have to take on the role of the police." ...

... Julie Creswell of the New York Times: "One of the nation's largest sports retailers, Dick’s Sporting Goods, said Wednesday morning it was immediately ending sales of all assault-style rifles in its stores. The retailer also said that it would no longer sell high-capacity magazines and that it would not sell any gun to anyone under 21 years of age, regardless of local laws. The announcement, made two weeks after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla., that killed 17 students and staff members, is one of the strongest stances taken by corporate America in the national gun debate. It also carries symbolic weight, coming from a prominent national gunseller." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Medlar & I stopped shopping at Dick's after the company reneged on its ban of Duck Dynasty products several years ago. Now we'll have to rethink that. (Oh, for Pete's sake. Even L.L. Bean sells Duck Dynasty stuff.)

... How Likely Are You to Get Shot Dead? John Schoen of CNBC: "... states with stricter gun regulation have fewer firearms deaths -- in some cases dramatically fewer -- than those that don't. But while the correlation is clear, there is little hard evidence of cause and effect." The story includes a scatter plot graph of every state, correlating deaths/100,000K & number of gun-control laws. Mrs. McC: Needless to say, this is kind of correlation is very rough. Number of laws doesn't necessary demonstrate effectiveness or severity of laws. But I'll tell you this: if you live in Alaska (4 gun laws), you're almost seven times more likely to be shot dead than if you live in Massachusetts (103 gun laws). Thanks to MAG for the link. ...

... Elizabeth Preza of RawStory: "Glenn Haab, the father of Colton Haab, admitted on Tuesday that he doctored emails between his son and CNN in an effort to convince people the network told the Marjory Stoneman High School junior what to say during a live town hall last week." --safari...

..."Capitalism is Awesome," Ctd. Addy Baird &Judd Legum of ThinkProgress: "FedEx has refused to cut ties with the [NRA], and a confidential company document obtained by ThinkProgress detailing the courier service's relationship with the firearms industry may explain why.... In a stark contrast with FedEx's recent attempts to distance themselves from the gun lobby, the internal company document obtained by ThinkProgress outlines in great detail precisely how FedEx has secretly agreed to bend its own rules on gun shipments for powerful forces in the gun industry, including all major gun manufacturers and the NRA itself." --safari

Eric Schmitt & Rod Norland of the New York Times: "The United States-led campaign to hunt down the last pockets of Islamic State militants in Syria has lost its most effective fighting partner -- Kurdish forces that are newly-focused on a Turkish assault -- in what American military officials fear will stall a critical phase of the offensive and leave open the door for hundreds of foreign fighters to escape. Syrian Kurds make up the backbone of a ground force of Kurdish and Arab militia that last fall routed the Islamic State from its self-proclaimed headquarters in Raqqa and chased insurgents fleeing south along the Euphrates River Valley to the Iraqi border. In recent weeks, Kurdish officials have pulled thousands of fighters and commanders from that battle and rushed them to Afrin, in Syria's northwest, where other Kurdish militia are facing sharp attacks from Turkish troops."

#MAGA. P.J. Huffstutter & Adriana Barrera of Reuters (Feb. 22): "Mexican buyers imported ten times more corn from Brazil last year amid concern that NAFTA renegotiations could disrupt their U.S. supplies, according to government data and top grains merchants.... Mexico is on track to buy more Brazilian corn in 2018, which would hurt a U.S. agricultural sector already struggling with low grains prices and the rising competitive threat from South America.... Mexican buyers imported a total of more than 583,000 metric tonnes of Brazilian corn last year -- a 970 percent jump over 2016.... Mexico has long been the top importer of U.S. corn, and is the second largest buye of U.S. soybeans, giving Mexico leverage in corn-belt states that are staunch Trump supporters but also strongly back the trade status quo." --safari

Presidential Race 2020. Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the appointment of digital guru Brad Parscale to manage his bid to win re-election to the White House in 2020. Parscale was digital director of Donald Trump's successful campaign for the White House in 2016. He has been called the 'secret weapon' of that campaign." Mrs. McC: Yeah, if Parscale doesn't come under indictment for conspiring with Russia by next year. (Also linked yesterday.) ...

     ... Sean Illing of Vox explains: Brad Parscale "is an extremely controversial choice to run the president's 2020 campaign -- particularly given that Trump's 2016 campaign is still being investigated for potential collusion with Russia. That's because Parscale is intimately tied to a company called Cambridge Analytica, a shady data analytics firm that has become a major focus of both the House Intelligence Committee's investigation into Russian meddling in the election and special counsel Robert Mueller's probe.... Part of [Russia's disinformation] operation relied on manipulating Facebook's algorithms to target specific voters. And this is precisely the sort of work that Cambridge Analytica and Brad Parscale were hired to perform for the Trump campaign.... Parscale insisted that allegations of collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia were 'a joke.' But there's a mountain of circumstantial evidence that suggests otherwise...." BTW, Michael Flynn & Jared Kushner figure in the subplot. And Flynn is talking. ...

     ... On Another Note -- They're All Crooks. Josh Horwitz of the AP: Brad Parscale "has a close financial relationship with a penny-stock firm with a questionable history that includes longstanding ties to a convicted fraudster, according to an Associated Press investigation.... Parscale ... signed a $10 million deal in August to sell his digital marketing company to CloudCommerce Inc. As part of the deal, Parscale currently serves as a member of California-based company's management team.... In 2006, a top executive at the company, which was operating under a different name at the time, was caught in an FBI bribery sting and later pleaded guilty to securities fraud. The company said the former executive no longer has any connection to the company, but documents reviewed by the AP indicate he has remained involved in CloudCommerce's major corporate decisions in recent years.... As part of the deal with CloudCommerce, the company acquired Parscale's web development company, including roughly 60 employees, many of his past clients and a web-hosting business that services some Trump family business websites.... Parscale has hired Eric Trump's wife, Lara, a move that ... shields how much she is being paid from public disclosure because she works for a private company."

Congressional Races

To Run or Not to Run. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) will not run for reelection after reconsidering his decision last fall to retire, his chief of staff said Tuesday. After listening to some Tennessee Republicans and GOP senators who were privately urging him to run, the two-term senator and Foreign Relations Committee chairman decided that this will be his last year as senator, said Todd Womack, Corker's chief of staff. The move ends a period of intense speculation in Tennessee and Washington about Corker's future and avoids what could have been an ugly primary between Corker and Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn." Paul Waldman notes that Corker's retirement could be an opportunity for Democrats to pick up a Senate seat. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Ed Kilgore: "After waiting around to see if senior senator Thad Cochran might resign and open up an easier path to Washington, fiery conservative Chris McDaniel, the man who nearly ended Cochran's career in a 2014 primary, has decided to run against the junior senator from Mississippi, Roger Wicker. McDaniel's announcement is scheduled to happen [today]. So it's interesting that today, when Wicker is technically the only Republican candidate in the field for 2018, President Trump reached out to endorse him" via Twitter.

Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Arizona Republicans picked Debbie Lesko, a former state legislator, as their nominee to replace disgraced former congressman Trent Franks Tuesday night -- after a race that was rocked by more allegations of inappropriate behavior. Lesko pushed past 11 other Republicans, including Steve Montenegro, rising conservative star who had been endorsed by Franks and some national conservative figures and then tumbled into a scandal over racy text messages sent by a staffer.... Democrats elected Hiral Tipirneni, a physician and political activist, to vie for the seat that Franks had always won easily."

Gideon Resnick of The Daily Beast: "Two Democrats won state legislative contests on Tuesday night [in New Hampshire and Connecticut], flipping the seats from Republican hands and marking the 38th and 39th legislative flips since PresidentTrump's inauguration. Democrats have now also flipped six this year alone." --safari

INS Can Habeas Your Corpus for as Long as It Wants. Domenico Montanaro & Richard Gonzales of NPR: "The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that immigrants, even those with permanent legal status and asylum seekers, do not have the right to periodic bond hearings. It's a profound loss for those immigrants appealing what are sometimes indefinite detentions by the government. Many are held for long periods of time — on average, 13 months -- after being picked up for things as minor as joyriding. Some are held even longer.... The majority opinion was penned by Justice Alito and joined by the court's conservatives. (Justice Kagan did not participate. She recused herself, stemming from work she had done as President Obama's solicitor general.) The decision reversed a Ninth Circuit ruling and the court remanded it for the Ninth to reconsider the case." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Rachel Cohen of The Intercept: "[W]hile most of the media has focused on the fact that the Janus [v. AFSCME, Council 31] case stands to decimate union coffers -- and by extension, Democratic Party coffers -- some labor activists and legal scholars have begun sounding the alarm on what they say would be the unintended consequences of the suit, effectively opening up the floodgates for countless lawsuits.... If Mark Janus doesn't have to pay his agency fees because collective bargaining is speech he disagrees with, then collective bargaining is speech. And it can't be restricted.... If the Janus plaintiffs win ... the court would actually be elevating the free speech standards of bargaining. That, in turn, could bring with it new legal protections...Nearly all states impose some form of restriction on collective bargaining, limiting who can bargain and what workers can bargain over. If the Janus plaintiffs win in court, the theory goes, then workers could start bringing First Amendment challenges to limitations on their bargaining rights" --safari

Robin Wright of the New Yorker: "Over the past year, the most striking global trend has been the entrenchment of imperious autocrats. This weekend, China announced it is abolishing term limits, enabling President Xi Jinping to stay in power indefinitely. Next month, Russia's Vladimir Putin and Egypt's Abdel Fattah El-Sisi will compete in farcical Presidential elections without meaningful opponents because they have been arrested, banished, or intimidated into silence. Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has consolidated power ... once based on consensus within the sprawling royal family. Turkey amended its constitution to create an executive Presidency with sweeping political, judicial, and military powers, diminishing its parliament. After seven years of war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has reclaimed physical control over most of his country and reëstablished his draconian political dominance. There's a growing array of wannabes, too, from Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.... The United States shares a big chunk of the blame, according to career diplomats as well as both Republicans and Democrats who have helped craft American foreign policy for decades. 'Some of this has to do with the resurgence of old powers, but it also has to do with reckless American detachment over the past year, which has accelerated the ambitions of other leaders. When vacuums are created, they get filled,' William J. Burns, a career diplomat..., told me."

Juan Cole: "Iran's economy is seeing bright spots that the Western press rarely admits.... It is settling down now into a regular 4% a year growth or so and is trying to grow its non-oil economy.... Just for an example of the challenge the Trump administration faces in isolating Iran economically, Iranian trade with Denmark grew 11% in 2017.... France, Belgium, Italy and other European countries are setting up state-backed Euro-denominated investment and trade pipelines that avoid US currency and banks.... China, India and Turkey continue to ignore Washington's increasingly idiosyncratic jihad against Iran.... But if you tallied up wins and losses, there does not seem much question that Iran is gradually winning." --safari

Beyond the Beltway

Paul Duggan of the Washington Post: "A judge in Charlottesville ruled Tuesday that local officials must take down the black shrouds covering two Confederate monuments while a lawsuit continues over the city's plan to permanently remove the controversial statues. The towering bronze sculptures of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Thomas J. 'Stonewall' Jackson, each in a public park, were draped in black by the city after an Aug. 12 rally by hundreds of white supremacists erupted in violence. The demonstration drew throngs of counterprotesters, and one of them, Heather Heyer, 32, was killed in the mayhem."

Way Beyond

Michael Schwirtz of the New York Times: "North Korea has been shipping supplies to the Syrian government that could be used in the production of chemical weapons, United Nations experts contend. The evidence of a North Korean connection comes as the United States and other countries have accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons on civilians, including recent attacks on civilians in the Damascus suburb of eastern Ghouta using what appears to have been chlorine gas. The supplies from North Korea include acid-resistant tiles, valves and thermometers, according to a report by United Nations investigators. North Korean missile technicians have also been spotted working at known chemical weapons and missile facilities inside Syria, according to the report, which was written by a panel of experts who looked at North Korea's compliance with United Nations sanctions."

Tom Phillips of the Guardian: "[F]or the Communist party of China [the letter 'n'] is also a subversive and intolerable character that was this week banished from the internet as Chinese censors battled to silence criticism of Xi Jinping’s bid to set himself up as ruler for life. The contravening consonant was perhaps the most unusual victim of a crackdown targeting words, phrases and even solitary letters censors feared might be used to attack Beijing's controversial decision to abolish constitutional term limits for China’s president." --safari: Includes a list of banned words, like 'disagree' and 'shameless'.

AFP: "Norway plans to ban semi-automatic firearms as of 2021, a decade after rightwing extremist Anders Breivik's mass shooting that left 69 people dead, a Norwegian lawmaker said on Tuesday." --safari

The Commentariat -- February 27, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Eliana Johnson & Andrew Restuccia of Politico: White House "... Jared Kushner has had his security clearance downgraded -- a move that will prevent him from viewing many of the sensitive documents to which he once had unfettered access. Kushner is not alone. All White House aides working on the highest-level interim clearances -- at the Top Secret/SCI-level -- were informed in a memo sent Friday that their clearances would be downgraded to the Secret level, according to three people with knowledge of the situation."

Captain of your new school safety patrol.An Unregulated Militia. Eric Levitz of New York: "The GOP's plan A was to sit tight until the dead of Parkland got buried by the ever-turning news cycle. But the theater kids of Marjory Stoneman Douglas refused to take thoughts and prayers for an answer. And so, Republicans moved on to plan B: Find a way to 'do something' on gun violence that didn't just leave AR-15 manufacturers and far-right firearms enthusiasts unscathed, but that actually benefited those constituencies. To that end, President Trump called last week for arming America's teachers.... Alas, liberals, teachers -- and every American who can distinguish between reality and Clint Eastwood films -- deemed this proposal insane.... Fortunately, House conservatives took these critiques to heart. And on Monday night, Freedom Caucus chair Mark Meadows floated a compromise ... 'tax credits for volunteers -- like retired law enforcement -- who want to offer security for schools,' [tweeted Tara Golshan]. This proposal ... leaves teachers unarmed, just as liberals requested, while also giving a targeted tax cut to any patriotic American with a gun, too much free time, and a longing to legally pump bullets into another human being -- or, in conservative parlance, to 'a well-regulated militia.'"

Anna Fifield of the Washington Post: "The State Department's point man on North Korea, Joseph Yun, will leave his post on Friday, amid glimmers of hope that Pyongyang might finally be willing to sit down for talks with Washington. Yun, 63, is retiring as special representative for North Korea policy and deputy assistant secretary for Korea and Japan after more than three decades of service. His departure reflects widespread frustration within the State Department at diplomats' relative lack of power in the Trump administration, according to someone familiar with Yun's thinking." Mrs McC: Probably thinks he knows more about North Korea than Ivanka Trump. Also probably has top-secret clearance.

Trump Welcomes Russian Hackers. Zachary Cohen of CNN: "US Cyber Command chief Adm. Mike Rogers told lawmakers on Tuesday that he has not been granted the authority by ... Donald Trump to disrupt Russian election hacking operations where they originate. Asked by Democratic Sen. Jack Reed if he has been directed by the President, through the defense secretary, to confront Russian cyber operators, Rogers said 'no I have not' but noted that he has tried to work within the authority he maintains as a commander.... They [the Russians] have not paid a price that is sufficient to change their behavior.'"

Dan Mangan of CNBC: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday announced the appointment of digital guru Brad Parscale to manage his bid to win re-election to the White House in 2020. Parscale was digital director of Donald Trump's successful campaign for the White House in 2016. He has been called the 'secret weapon' of that campaign." Mrs. McC: Yeah, if Parscale doesn't come under indictment for conspiring with Russians by next year.

Senate Race. To Run or Not to Run. Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) will not run for reelection after reconsidering his decision last fall to retire, his chief of staff said Tuesday. After listening to some Tennessee Republicans and GOP senators who were privately urging him to run, the two-term senator and Foreign Relations Committee chairman decided that this will be his last year as senator, said Todd Womack, Corker's chief of staff. The move ends a period of intense speculation in Tennessee and Washington about Corker' future and avoids what could have been an ugly primary between Corker and Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn."

INS Can Habeas Your Corpus for as Long as It Wants. Domenico Montanaro & Richard Gonzales of NPR: "The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that immigrants, even those with permanent legal status and asylum seekers, do not have the right to periodic bond hearings. It's a profound loss for those immigrants appealing what are sometimes indefinite detentions by the government. Many are held for long periods of time — on average, 13 months -- after being picked up for things as minor as joyriding. Some are held even longer.... The majority opinion was penned by Justice Alito and joined by the court's conservatives. (Justice Kagan did not participate. She recused herself, stemming from work she had done as President Obama's solicitor general.) The decision reversed a Ninth Circuit ruling and the court remanded it for the Ninth to reconsider the case."

*****

A Hero in His Own Mind. Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump asserted Monday that he would have rushed in to save the students and teachers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School from a gunman with an assault weapon, even if he was unarmed at the time of the massacre.Speaking to a meeting of the country's governors at the White House, Mr. Trump ... said he believed he would have exhibited bravery 'even if I didn't have a weapon, and I think most of the people in this room would have done that, too.'... Mr. Trump continued to grapple publicly with how best to respond to the mass shooting in Parkland, Fla., discussing such things as arming teachers and reopening mental institutions.... He mused about the 'old days,' when potential criminals could be locked in mental hospitals; he clashed with Washington State's Democratic governor about the benefits of giving guns to some teachers; and he vowed to ban 'bump stocks,' an accessory that can make a semiautomatic weapon fire rapidly, more like an automatic rifle. The president dropped any mention of raising the age required to purchase a rifle to 21 from 18, something he said last week he supported. Mr. Trump said he had lunch on Sunday with the leaders of the National Rifle Association, which vigorously opposes raising the age limit for rifles." ...

... Eli Rosenberg of the Washington Post looks at how Trump deals with possible danger to himself and/or to others nearby.

... AND as Lawrence O'Donnell pointed out last night, even though Trump claims he would risk almost-certain death to protect other people's children from organ-shattering gunfire, he won't even protect his own son (or wife, who was following Barron) from rain:

Most selfish man in the world hogs umbrella.... Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "What we're seeing here is a White House presenting excuses, in advance, for Trump to reverse himself on increasing the age limit for purchases of assault rifles. The future spin is easy to see coming. The White House is setting itself up to say that the president supported the concept of a higher age limit but ultimately rejected a concrete proposal because of the way the change would have been implemented." Borchers lays out how Trump & Mrs. Huckleberry have set the tone for the slide into the NRA's arms. ...

... Emma González, a Douglas High student, in Harper's Bazaar: "... if I'm able to communicate one thing to adults, it would be this: it should not be easier to purchase a gun than it is to obtain a driver's license, and military-grade weapons should not be accessible in civilian settings. You don't drive a NASCAR on the street, no matter how fun it might be, just like you don't need an AR-15 to protect yourself when walking home at night." Thanks to unwashed for the link. ...

... Burgess Everett of Politico: "The Senate stumbled out of the gate Monday in its efforts to enact eve modest gun legislation, raising doubts about whether Congress can do anything in the wake of this month's massacre at a Florida high school. Senate Republicans, backed by the National Rifle Association and ... Donald Trump, are pressing to quickly pass a narrow bill aimed at improving records and information-sharing in the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System [called Fix NICS].... Senate Democrats say the Fix NICS bill falls far short of the action that Capitol Hill should take in an era of increasingly frequent mass shootings.... [MEANWHILE.] The House passed a bill in December that included [Fix NICS] language but paired it with provisions allowing people with concealed-carry weapons permits to take their firearm across state lines. Multiple sources told Politico that House leadership promised conservatives that they would not decouple the two issues." ...

... Greg Bluestein of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "The Georgia Senate vowed to block a lucrative tax break bill on Monday that would benefit Delta Air Lines after the Atlanta-based company severed ties with the National Rifle Association. Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle said he would not support tax legislation that helped the airline 'unless the company changes its position and fully reinstates its relationship with the NRA.' He echoed a growing number of conservatives who opposed the measure over the weekend." ...

... Josh Feldman of Mediaite: "FedEx put out a statement this afternoon saying they will not be cutting ties to the NRA[.]" ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: The FedEx man comes to my house fairly often. I'd like to figure out a way to get vendors to use other carriers. If I'm expecting a package, I'll ask the sender not to use FedEx. Any other ideas?

AP: "The Trump Organization said Monday it has made good on the president's promise to donate profits from foreign government spending at its hotels to the U.S. Treasury, but neither the company nor the government disclosed the amount or how it was calculated. Watchdog groups seized on the lack of detail as another example of the secrecy surrounding ... Donald Trump's pledges to separate his administration from his business empire."

Jeff Zeleny, et al., of CNN: "... inside the White House, Ivanka Trump's unique stature -- along with that of her husband, Jared Kushner -- is causing tension.... The decision to send her to South Korea did not sit well with some senior officials in the West Wing, two people familiar with the situation told CNN.... The blurred line between staffer and daughter has long irked [John] Kelly.... He often feels that she tries to have it both ways, acting as a senior adviser to the president when it suits her and then as his daughter when it doesn't. Kelly has remarked privately that Ivanka is just 'playing government.'... Ahead of her trip to South Korea, top White House aides went to lengths to insist that Ms. Trump was leading the delegation as an administration official, not as a member of Trump's family.... Despite the trip's official nature, when Ms. Trump was questioned about accusations of sexual misconduct against the President it was her role as his daughter that she leaned on." ...

... "Playing the Daughter Card." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "NBC News's Peter Alexander asked Ivanka Trump in an interview airing Monday about accusations that her father engaged in multiple affairs a decade ago and that the women were effectively paid to keep quiet.... 'I think it's a pretty inappropriate question to ask a daughter if she believes the accusers of her father when he's affirmatively stated there's no truth to it,' she said.... Trump is asking for special treatment simply by virtue of who she is.... If she were any other presidential adviser, the question would not have seemed out of bounds to anybody.... It's also hugely important to note that the interview was conducted while Ivanka Trump was on official business at the Olympics in South Korea -- during a trip, no less, in which the White House emphasized that she was acting as a diplomat rather than a daughter.... The White House also has been silent on this from the briefing room podium.... The president has also been unusually silent about this whole thing. Despite calling women who accused him of sexual harassment liars' in the past, Trump has been quieter about allegations from [porn actor Stormy] Daniels and Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Jamelle Bouie of Slate: "'I;m going to be a daughter,' Ivanka Trump said in an interview just after the election. Now, the presidents oldest daughter receives sensitive intelligence information without a proper security clearance and does work that is typically the province of experienced officials.... Either Trump is a representative of the White House, and thus should expect to be asked difficult questions about the president she serves, or she's simply a relative of the president with no particular obligation to the public, in which case, she ought to resign her position in the administration." Mrs. McC: Bouie makes another important point: previous presidents have engaged in nepotism, but -- unlike Ivanka -- the family members they appointed had relevant experience for the jobs they assumed. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's back up a bit: John Kelly thinks Ivanka Trump is just "playing government"? WTF does Kelly think Donald Trump is doing? He spends much of his time watching teevee shows about himself, he doesn't read his daily briefing or anything else, he knows almost nothing about policy & he is unwilling to learn, he changes the "game" from day-to-day, he approaches international crises as teevee-show cliffhangers, where he foreshadows nuclear war with "we'll see" remarks & flat-out threats of "fire & fury," he shows up mostly for public events where he is likely to receive adulation or at least polite compliments, he goes on vacation almost every weekend, & he lies to the public several times a day in furtherance of making himself seem more presidenty. Isn't that "playing president" -- even though he's a really bad actor plopped center-stage with no script & no familiarity with the character he's supposed to play?

All the Best People, Ctd. Brianna Gurciullo & Tanya Snyder of Politico: "... the notion of Trump's pilot as FAA chief is drawing skepticism from people in the industry, who note that recent leaders of the technocratic, $16 billion-a-year agency have typically been people with long experience either in the government or running large organizations. In contrast, John Dunkin's experience since 1989, according to a Smithsonian documentary, has been working 'on and off' for Trump as his personal pilot. Dunkin is the Trump Organization's director of aviation operations for a fleet that includes a Boeing 757, a Cessna Citation X business jet and three Sikorsky helicopters. 'The only person that thinks it's a good idea, from what I gather, is the president,' said one lobbyist with aviation clients.... Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.), who would take the lead in vetting any FAA nominations, said Monday evening that Dunkin may have a difficult road to confirmation if the White House chooses him." ...

     ... Rachel Maddow had an excellent segment on Dunkin's "expertise." It's a bit long-winded, comme d'habitude, but worth your time, both for the punchline & for your entertainment (especially if you're drawn to horror stories:

Sad. Ken Vogel & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "... Melania Trump has parted ways with an adviser after news about the adviser's firm reaping $26 million in payments to help plan President Trump's inauguration. Stephanie Winston Wolkoff, who has been friends with Mrs. Trump for years, had been working on a contract basis as an unpaid senior adviser to the office of the first lady.... [Two people] said the move was prompted by displeasure from the Trumps over the news, first reported by The New York Times, [over the news of the payment to Wolkoff's firm.]... Mr. Trump, who is notoriously tight with his money, was also enraged to learn that Ms. Winston Wolkoff brought on a close friend, David Monn, to help plan inaugural events, according to people who spoke to him. Mr. Monn's firm was paid $3.7 million, according to a tax filing by the nonprofit group, the 58th Presidential Inaugural Committee.... Ms. Winston Wolkoff said news coverage of her work was 'completely unfair,' but she did not specify any errors."

Jon Swaine & Ben Jacobs of the Guardian: "A senior career official in the US Department of Housing and Urban Development has alleged that she was demoted and replaced with a Donald Trump appointee after refusing to break the law by funding an expensive redecoration of Ben Carson's office. Helen Foster said she was told '$5,000 will not even buy a decent chair' after informing her bosses this was the legal price limit for improvements to the HUD secretary's suite at the department's Washington headquarters. Foster, 47, claimed that she also faced retaliation for exposing a $10m budget shortfall, and for protesting when she was barred from handling a pair of sensitive freedom of information act (FOIA) requests relating to Trump apparently because she was perceived to be a Democrat. A copy of a complaint letter filed by Foster to a watchdog for federal employees was obtained by the Guardian. It alleges that HUD violated laws protecting whistleblowers from reprisals. Foster is seeking a public apology, compensatory damages and reinstatement as HUD's chief administrative officer."

This Russia Thing

Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "Hope Hicks, one of President Trump's closest aides and advisers, is scheduled to speak behind closed doors Tuesday with the House Intelligence Committee in a meeting lawmakers fear could deepen their standoff with the White House over witnesses refusing to answer questions. Rep. K. Michael Conaway (R-Texas), who is running the panel's Russia investigation, said in an interview Monday that he 'would not be surprised' if Hicks followed the example of other close Trump aides and advisers who have simply refused to answer certain questions, arguing that the president might want to invoke executive privilege at some point in the future." ...

... Michelle Goldberg of the New York Times: "According to [Adam] Schiff's memo, when the Justice Department sought a warrant to surveil [Carter] Page in 2016, it presented the court with contextual information about Russian election interference. The court was told that Russian agents 'previewed their hack and dissemination of stolen emails' to George Papadopoulos, another Trump foreign policy adviser.... This is the first public confirmation that Papadopoulos had advance notice of a Russian plan to release these emails.... None of last week's new information proves that Trump is too disloyal to his own country to be president. But the only alternative is that he's too clueless." ...

... ** Elizabeth Drew in the New Republic: "Trump wasn't looking like a future president at the time that [Paul] Manafort signed up. So, what made Manafort think that Trump had a chance to win the nomination, much less the presidency?... Did he perhaps have information that the public didn't know about?... The assurances by many, in and out of the government, that Russia's efforts didn't change the outcome in 2016 are based on air. There's no knowing the answer to this.... If Trump is innocent of any involvement with Russia's activities he certainly hasn't acted like it.... It has been reported that the FBI is investigating whether Russia funneled money to the Trump campaign through the NRA.... [According to CNBC,] 'Recent reports have shown that money continues to move into Trump-branded properties from obscured sources like anonymous LLCs and shell companies. CNBC's report went on to say, 'One such report found that since Trump secured the Republican nomination in 2016, the fraction of anonymous purchases of his properties through shell companies has "skyrocketed" from 4 to 70 percent.'" Mrs. McC: I've barely scratched the surface of Drew's essay. Read it for the full effect.

Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "With lawmakers poised next month to approve new priorities for agency funding for the first time since the president took office, the bureaucratic bloodletting can officially begin.... Dozens of long-standing programs are slated for termination, and every agency, large and small, has submitted a plan to the White House for reorganization.... Until now, the administration has been largely prevented from making such moves because the government has been operating under a series of continuing budget resolutions. Those generally require agencies to maintain funding for existing programs.... The ground is about to shift, however.... Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.), who met with House Republicans this month to discuss the restructuring efforts, said in an interview that he believes President Trump and his allies in Congress are prepared to fundamentally change the way government operates." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Nothing good can come of anything Newt touches. Why isn't he in Rome? Please, Francis, make him a cardinal or something & give him a full-time job in the basement of the Vatican library.

Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "A group of mostly young veterans of the Barack Obama administration and the Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign is launching a national security political strike force aimed at countering Trump and Republicans.... Called 'National Security Action,' the group is more expressly political than many Democratic-leaning think tanks and policy shops, but it will not endorse candidates or make political donations, [Ben] Rhodes and others said. The idea is to give Democratic candidates, lawmakers and policy organizations opposing Trump a foreign policy tool kit -- everything from talking points to legal and policy expertise to campaign surrogates -- said Rhodes, a deputy national security adviser for [President] Obama."

Senate Races

Benjamin Hart of New York: "... Mitt Romney seemingly has a clear path to becoming Utah's next senator. But a hard-right faction within the state's Republican Party has taken a drastic step that could derail him. Over the weekend, the faction passed a bylaw that allows Utah Republicans to expel any candidate that qualifies for the ballot via signatures -- the route Romney plans to take. Utahpolicy.com reports that Utah Republican Party chairman Rob Anderson, a relative moderate, is attempting to fend off repeated challenges to his leadership by a group of aggressive right-wingers in the party's Central Committee.... And, the new bylaw says, if a candidate does follow that route to the ballot, they 'immediately' lose their membership. Romney wouldn't be the only Republican affected by this drastic measure; 56 other GOP candidates in the state, including the sitting Senate president, have also announced their intention to gather signatures." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trip Gabriel of the New York Times: "The devastating explosion in the Upper Big Branch coal mine killed 29 men in 2010 and scarred West Virginia like few events in modern memory. Don Blankenship, the head of the mining company, went to prison over it. Yet when Mr. Blankenship emerged last year from his one-year sentence for conspiracy to violate mine safety laws, rather than express remorse or contrition over the tragedy, he announced a run for the United States Senate, in a state where coal has been as much a cultural identity as an economic one.... He brazenly calls himself a former 'political prisoner.'... Dianne Dewey White, chairwoman of the Republican Party of Logan County, said thousands of miners who once looked to Mr. Blankenship for work are likely to support him now.... As West Virginia has become a deep-red state, the sympathies of many mine families have shifted from unions to mine operators, who are portrayed as job creators." The winner of the GOP primary will face Democratic Senator Joe Manchin.

Adam Liptak & Michael Shear of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday declined an unusual White House request that it immediately decide whether the Trump administration can shut down a program that shields some 700,000 young undocumented immigrants from deportation. The move meant that the immigrants, often called 'Dreamers,' could remain in legal limbo for many months unless Congress acts to make their status permanent. The Supreme Court's decision not to hear the administration's appeal was expected, as no appeals court has yet ruled on the issue. The court's order was brief, gave no reasons and noted no dissents. It said it expected the appeals court to 'proceed expeditiously to decide this case.'" (This is an update of a story linked late yesterday morning.)

Benjamin Weiser & Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled on Monday that federal civil rights law bars employers from discriminating based on sexual orientation. The case, which stemmed from the 2010 dismissal of a Long Island sky-diving instructor, was a setback for the Trump Justice Department, whose lawyers found themselves in the unusual position of arguing against government lawyers from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The E.E.O.C. had argued that Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which bars workplace discrimination based on 'race, color, religion, sex or national origin,' protected gay employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. But the Trump Justice Department took the position that the law did not reach sexual orientation, and said the E.E.O.C. was 'not speaking for the United States.' The Justice Department and Altitude Express, the instructor's employer, could seek review of the decision by the United States Supreme Court, although neither party had any immediate comment on the ruling." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Kind of amazing what a retrograde bozo JeffBo is & how far he will push it. Let's hope this ruling is the end of the discussion.

Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Conservative and liberal justices on Monday appeared to have hardened their views since the last time the Supreme Court considered a case that public-employee unions say poses an existential threat to organized labor. In an hour-long, often caustic oral argument, the justices largely echoed their stances from two years ago, when a shorthanded court split, 4 to 4, on whether it is unconstitutional to require government workers to pay a fee to unions representing them even when they choose not to join. But the justice likely to break the tie -- rookie Neil M. Gorsuch, who in his short time on the court has consistently sided with conservatives -- said nothing Monday to hint at his leanings in a similar case. What Gorsuch decides will have major implications for the future of organized labor, which has become a pillar of Democratic Party politics, and for millions of workers in the nearly half of the states that require payments from nonmembers to cover the cost of collective bargaining." Mrs. McC: I'm not the Oracle of Delphi, but I think I can predict what Gorsuch will decide.

Effects of the Tax Heist. Matt Phillips of the New York Times: "At a news conference Thursday, the head of the White House's Council of Economic Advisers, Kevin Hassett, acknowledged that many companies were spending their money on buying their own shares.... In 2005..., a one-time tax holiday allowed companies to repatriate money on the cheap. That plan, championed by President George W. Bush, was sold as a way to get American companies to invest more in the domestic economy. Some $300 billion came back to the United States that year. But economists estimated that as much as 92 percent of it may have been paid out to companies' shareholders -- mostly in the form of buybacks. Studies have shown that the tax change lifted companies' stock prices but did not expand their American work forces.... The vast majority of the billions of dollars in planned share purchases [now] will benefit the richest 10 percent of American households, who own 84 percent of all stocks. The top 1 percent of households own about 40 percent of all stocks."

Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Lee Fang & Nick Surgey of the Intercept: "In the backdrop of a chaotic first year of Donald Trump's presidency, the conservative Koch brothers have won victory after victory in their bid to reshape American government to their interests. Documents obtained by The Intercept and Documented show that the network of wealthy donors led by billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch have taken credit for a laundry list of policy achievements extracted from the Trump administration and their allies in Congress. The donors have pumped campaign contributions not only to GOP lawmakers, but also to an array of third-party organizations that have pressured officials to act swiftly to roll back limits on pollution, approve new pipeline projects, and extend the largest set of upper-income tax breaks in generations." See also Juan Cole's article in truthdig on our super-corrupt government, linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Paul Krugman: "A funny thing is happening on the American scene: a powerful upwelling of decency. Suddenly, it seems as if the worst lack all conviction, while the best are filled with a passionate intensity. We don't yet know whether this will translate into political change. But we may be in the midst of a transformative moment. You can see the abrupt turn toward decency in the rise of the #MeToo movement.... You can see it in the reactions to the Parkland school massacre.... And I'd argue that you can see it at the ballot box, where hard-right politicians in usually reliable Republican districts keep being defeated thanks to surging activism by ordinary citizens." ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: We're also seeing from Democrats & liberals a bit more organizing for action than we've seen in the past. Witness the organization Ben Rhodes & others are putting together to help clueless Democratic candidates negotiate foreign policy issues (story linked above) & Eric Holder's group's challenge of autocrat Gov. Scott Walker's refusal to hold elections for open state legislature seats in Wisconsin (linked below).

Jason Samenow of the Washington Post: "The sun won't rise at the North Pole until March 20, and it's normally close to the coldest time of year, but an extraordinary and possibly historic thaw swelled over the tip of the planet this weekend. Analyses show that the temperature warmed to the melting point as an enormous storm pumped an intense pulse of heat through the Greenland Sea. Temperatures may have soared as high as 35 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) at the pole, according to the U.S. Global Forecast System model.... The temperature averaged for the entire region north of 80 degrees latitude spiked to its highest level ever recorded in February. The average temperature was more than 36 degrees (20 degrees Celsius) above normal.... Scientists were shocked in recent days to discover open water north of Greenland, an area normally covered by old, very thick ice."

Beyond the Beltway

Ari Berman of Mother Jones: "In January, Democrat Patty Schachtner won a shocking upset, winning a special election for a Wisconsin State Senate seat by 11 points. The district had been in Republican hands since 2000, and was carried by Donald Trump by 17 points in 2016. There are currently two more vacancies in Wisconsin's state legislature, created after a Republican state senator and representative both left to take jobs in Governor Scott Walker's administration in December. But Walker has so far refused to schedule special elections to fill those seats, claiming that balloting would be a waste of money, since the legislature is set to adjourn in May. Instead, the governor announced plans to pick the district's new legislators during November 2018's general election, and seat them in January 2019. On Monday afternoon, a Democratic group led by former Attorney General Eric Holder sued Walker in a Wisconsin court on behalf of voters in the two vacant districts, arguing the governor's decision would deny them representation for over a year. The motion cites the Wisconsin Constitution's language saying legislative vacancies 'shall be filled as promptly as possible by special election.' The complaint alleges 'Governor Walker has repeatedly publicly stated that he will not do so,' and seeks to force earlier elections." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The suit would seem to be a slam-dunk for the Democrats, but as I recall, the Wisconsin state supreme court is highly corrupt.

Way Beyond

Luke Harding of the Guardian: "A Danish bank accused of money laundering shut down Russian accounts after concluding that they were being used to funnel cash through British companies by members of Vladimir Putin's family and the FSB spy agency, according to leaked reports. Danske, Denmark's biggest bank, closed 20 Russian customer accounts in 2013 following a whistleblower report alleging that its Estonian branch was involved in suspicious and possibly illegal activity. Last September it emerged that the same branch was at the centre of a secret lobbying operation in which some $2.9bn (£2.2bn) of mostly Azerbaijani money was channelled through opaque British companies." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: My suspicion is that one of the "opaque U.S. companies" through which Putin & his allies have been channelling money is called the "Trump Organization." Maybe Robert Mueller knows that; it's highly likely that Vladimir Putin knows. See Elizabeth Drew's article, linked above, for instance.