;)
The Commentariat -- April 19, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Jennifer Jacobs & Chris Strohm of Bloomberg: "Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein told ... Donald Trump last week that he isn't a target of any part of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, according to two people familiar with the matter. Rosenstein, who brought up the Mueller probe himself, offered the assurance during a meeting with Trump at the White House last Thursday, a development that helped tamp down the president's desire to remove Rosenstein or Mueller, the people said. After the meeting, Trump told some of his closest advisers that it's not the right time to remove either man since he’s not a target of the probe."
Pamela Brown of CNN: "The Justice Department's inspector general has sent a criminal referral regarding former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe to the US attorney's office in Washington, according to a source familiar with the matter."
David Voreacos of Bloomberg: "Special Counsel Robert Mueller's interest in former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort stemmed in part from his suspected rol as a 'back channel' between the campaign and Russians intent on meddling in the election, a Justice Department lawyer told a judge. The disclosure by U.S. prosecutors came Thursday during a hearing on whether Mueller exceeded his authority in indicting Manafort on charges of laundering millions of dollars while acting as an unregistered agent of the Ukrainian government. Manafort's lawyers say those alleged crimes have nothing to do with Mueller's central mission.... 'He had long-standing ties to Russia-backed politicians,' [DOJ attorney Michael] Dreeben [said in court].... 'Did they provide back channels to Russia? Investigators will naturally look at those things.'"
Shut Up! Cristiano Lima of Politico: "... Donald Trump threatened Thursday to cut off federal funding for the deployment of California's National Guard if Gov. Jerry Brown insists that the troops 'do nothing,' an apparent jab at the state official's insistence that they not perform immigration enforcement duties. Brown on Wednesday mobilized 400 members of the state's National Guard to fight gangs and smugglers as part of the president's push to beef up border security. The California governor said that federal authorities agreed to fund the plan, which he announced last week, but that the troops would not enforce immigration policy. 'Governor Jerry Brown announced he will deploy "up to 400 National Guard Troops" to do nothing,' Trump tweeted. 'The crime rate in California is high enough, and the Federal Government will not be paying for Governor Brown's charade. We need border security and action, not words!'" Mrs. McC: Like Jeanne (see today's Comments), I'm sick of this crap.
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Embattled attorney Michael Cohen has dropped a pair of much-touted libel suits against BuzzFeed and the private investigation firm Fusion GPS over publication of the so-called dossier detailing alleged ties between ... Donald Trump and Russia. Cohen abandoned the suits late Wednesday as he continues to fight to recover documents and electronic files seized from his home, office and hotel room last week by federal authorities as part of what appears to be a broad criminal investigation into his conduct.... Dropping the suits could help Cohen avoid being questioned by lawyers from Fusion GPS or having to turn over evidence related to the case -- both steps that could undercut his defense in the criminal probe.... The move could also bolster Cohen's effort to delay a suit brought in Los Angeles by porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade ago. It could have been difficult for Cohen to convince that judge to put Daniels' case on hold while Cohen continued to press civil suits in other federal courts." Thanks to MAG for the lead.
Anthony Faiola of the Washington Post: "Cuba's National Assembly on Thursday officially confirmed 57-year-old Miguel Díaz-Canel as Cuba's new head of state, ending Castro rule after nearly 60 years and shifting power toward a younger generation born after Cuba's revolution.... Díaz-Canel's name was put forward Wednesday as the sole candidate to head Cuba's council of state, a post that effectively serves as the presidency. On Thursday, officials announced the results of the vote: 603 to 1 backing his nomination as Cuba's new leader. Díaz-Canel's selection amounts to the dawn of a new era in a country deeply identified with the Castros, who led the revolution that triumphed in 1959 and resulted in the most enduring communist system in the Wester Hemisphere.
James Wagner & Frances Robles of the New York Times: "After seven months and close to $2.5 billion, almost everybody in hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico had their lights back on -- until a freak accident on Wednesday plunged the entire island once again into darkness. The Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority had boasted Wednesday morning that less than 3 percent of its customers remained without power, substantially concluding what some estimates called the biggest power failure in United States history. The island of 3.4 million residents was open for business again, government officials said. It was only a few hours later that an excavator working near a fallen 140-foot transmission tower on the southern part of the island got too close to a high-voltage line. The resulting electrical fault knocked out power to nearly every home and business across the storm-battered American territory, authorities said, a catastrophic failure that could take up to 36 hours to restore."
Morgan Winsor & Kelly McCarthy of ABC News: "The two black men who were arrested at a Starbucks in downtown Philadelphia last week and accused of trespassing say they were there or a business meeting that they had hoped would change their lives. Rashon Nelson and Donte Robinson came forward this morning on ABC News' 'Good Morning America' to publicly share their story for the first time." Includes video of the interview.
*****
... Broken Record. David Jackson, et al., of USA Today: "President Trump said Wednesday he's been transparent and cooperative with the special counsel investigating his campaign's ties to Russia -- but wouldn't say whether he would ever fire Robert Mueller or Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general overseeing the probe. 'They've been saying I'm going to get rid of them for the last three months, four months, five months, and they're still here,' Trump said. 'So we want to get the investigation over with, done with. Put it behind us.' Repeating a well-worn mantra, Trump said his campaign did not collude with Russia to gain advantage in the 2016 election. He asserted that the GOP-led House Intelligence Committee found no evidence of collusion before voting to end its investigation into Russia last month. And he said the investigation was politically motivated. 'This was really a hoax created largely by the Democrats as a way of softening the blow of a loss,' he said." ...
... (And Now for a Commercial Break.) Sofia Perseo of Newsweek: "'Many of the world's great leaders request to come to Mar-a-Lago and Palm Beach. They like it; I like it. We're comfortable. We have great relationships. As you remember, we were here and President Xi of China was here,' [Trump] said [with Japanese PM Shinzo Abe at his side], referring to Abe's and Chinese leader Xi Jinping's visits to the resort last year -- the only two foreign leaders to be hosted at Mar-a-Lago in 2017, according to State Department records." He went on.) ...
... Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said his committee will take up legislation to protect special counsel Robert Mueller despite opposition from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).... With at least GOP Sens. Thom Tillis (N.C.) and Lindsey Graham (S.C.) joining Democrats in supporting the bill, it's expected to have the votes to clear the Judiciary Committee next week. But it faces an uphill climb to getting 60 votes in the Senate, much less passing the more conservative House." ...
... Erin Kelly of USA Today: "The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee introduced a bill Wednesday aimed at discouraging President Trump from granting pardons to anyone facing prosecution in the Russia investigation. Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., said he was prompted to offer the legislation after Trump's controversial pardon last week of Scooter Libby.... The Abuse of the Pardon Prevention Act does not try to strip the president of his constitutional power to grant pardons. Instead, it seeks to deter Trump -- and any future president -- from granting a pardon in any investigation where the president or a member of his family is a witness, subject or target. Trump is considered a subject of the Russia probe and ... Donald Trump Jr. ... Jared Kushner, have testified as witnesses.... The bill faces an uphill battle in the Republican-controlled Congress." ... \
... Mrs. McC: And the Understatement of the Day prize goes to Erin Kelly. As sensible as Schiff's bill may be, it also appears to me to be flat-out unconstitutional. If the Congress wanted to prevent Trump from pardoning his pals (and Congress does not), the chambers could each overwhelmingly pass a "sense of the Congress"-type resolution vowing to impeach & try the president if he pardons anyone under the circumstances Schiff lays out. That would not stop a president from exercising Constitutional pardon powers, but depending upon the timing of the resolution vis-a-vis the presidential term, a nearly-guaranteed impeachment proceeding would likely deter him or her from issuing such pardons. ...
... MEANWHILE. House Thugs Shake Down Rosenstein. Robert Costa & Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "Two of President Trump's top legislative allies met with Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein this week to press him for more documents about the conduct of law enforcement officials involved in the Russia probe and the investigation into Hillary Clinton's email server, according to three people who were not authorized to speak publicly about the discussion. Rosenstein's meeting at his office Monday with Reps. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) and Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) came days after Meadows, an influential Trump confidant, warned Rosenstein that he could soon face impeachment proceedings or an effort to hold him in contempt of Congress if he did not satisfy GOP demands for documents." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I saw Jordan on CNN Monday night, & his behavior is frightening; his rabid-dog delivery is tantamount to abuse. If he came to my door, I'd call the cops.
When I decided to just do it, I said to myself, I said, "You know, this Russia thing with Trump and Russia is a made-up story, it's an excuse by the Democrats for having lost an election that they should've won." -- Donald Trump to Lester Holt, in May 2017
I just fired the head of the F.B.I. He was crazy, a real nut job. I faced great pressure because of Russia. That's taken off. I'm not under investigation. -- Donald Trump to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov & Russian U.S. Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in May 2017 ...
** ... "This Russia Thing" Is Not "This Russia Thing," After All. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Wednesday took to Twitter to deny that he fired James B. Comey as FBI director because of the bureau's 'phony' investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 elections, including possible interaction with the Trump campaign. Trump's tweet came shortly after an appearance by Comey on NBC's 'Today' show to promote his new book, during which Comey asserted there 'could be' an obstruction of justice case to be made against Trump given the circumstances under which he was fired. 'Slippery James Comey, the worst FBI Director in history, was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation where, by the way, there was NO COLLUSION (except by the Dems)!' Trump wrote on Twitter." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Too Late, Trumpinocchio: You done been caught on tape accidentally admitting the truth.
Brad Mielke & Kelly Terez of ABC News: "Former FBI Director James Comey was a registered Republican for most of his life, but now he believes 'the Republican Party has left me and many others.' 'I just think they've lost their way and I can't be associated with it,' Comey said in an interview on the ABC News podcast 'Start Here,' adding that he no longer considers himself a Republican. He said he believes the Republican Party began to change during the 2016 presidential campaign and has continued to change with ... Donald Trump in office. It wasn't until he was fired by Trump that Comey started to focus more on politics and realized, 'These people don't represent anything I believe in.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: We here at Reality Chex noticed it a lo-o-o-ng time ago. ...
... Digby in Salon: "There is a tremendous amount of evidence ... that [Donald Trump] has been involved with known criminals like the Russian-born Felix Sater (a longtime friend of Michael Cohen).... Trump's casinos were cited for money laundering more often than any others in the country and were known to be frequented by members of the Russian mob. Many of his overseas ventures in places like Azerbaijan, Indonesia and Brazil are linked to criminal enterprises and were brokered or arranged with the help of ... Cohen.... What would possess a man with such a shady track record in business to expose himself to the kind of scrutiny that comes with being president of the United States?... It's somehow inevitable that as Trump draws near this denouement, he would be facing off against another person who has made some disastrous choices due to an overweening confidence in his own judgment.... [James] Comey's overconfidence doesn't stem from simple narcissism, as Trump's does. He is afflicted with a vain self-regard for his moral and intellectual superiority.... Pitting a flamboyant conman against a moralistic lawman in a battle for American democracy sounds like a clichéd movie plot." ...
... Brian Beutler of Crooked: "... Comey's inadequate grappling with his own failures is a real problem.... If he were to acknowledge his errors in judgment -- and, more importantly, grapple with why he made them -- he could do something really valuable: warn public servants and the rest of us not to make the same mistakes. Don't allow bad faith critics seeking to destroy neutral authority to lead you by the nose. Learn how to recognize it, identify it for what it is, and resist it, or risk compromising yourself.... A world in which we accept that Comey made the best decisions he could in a difficult but extraordinary environment is a world in which Trump and the GOP keep gnawing and gnawing at the underpinnings of the rule of law until they snap."
Emma Brown & Beth Reinhard of the Washington Post: "Former Playboy centerfold Karen McDougal has reached a settlement with tabloid publisher American Media Inc., ending a lawsuit over the rights to the story of the affair she says she had with Donald Trump a decade ago. The settlement means McDougal is no longer bound by the contract with AMI, the parent company of the National Enquirer, which bought -- but never published -- her story for $150,000 in the months before the 2016 presidential election.... The tabloid company is entitled to 10 percent of any profit McDougal makes from reselling the rights to her story within the next year, up to a maximum of $75,000, according to a copy of the settlement terms. In addition, AMI has the right to publish five health and fitness columns under McDougal's byline and to feature her on the cover of Men's Journal. Cameron Stracher, general counsel for AMI, said the company intends for McDougal to appear on the September 2018 issue of the magazine." ...
... Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times (who broke the story): "The tabloid news company American Media Inc. agreed to let a former Playboy model out of a contract that had kept her from talking freely about an alleged affair with Donald J. Trump.The settlement agreement, reached on Wednesday, ends a lawsuit brought by the model, Karen McDougal, and protects the president from being drawn into a legal case involving efforts to buy the silence of women who had stories to tell about him during the 2016 campaign."
Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A federal judge in Los Angeles has set a hearing for Friday on a bid by ... Donald Trump and his embattled personal attorney Michael Cohen to delay a lawsuit filed by porn star Stormy Daniels, who claims to have had a sexual encounter with Trump about a decade ago. U.S. District Court Judge S. James Otero scheduled the hearing after attorneys for Trump and Cohen said the suit should be put on hold for 90 days because of the criminal investigation federal prosecutors in New York are pursuing into Cohen's involvement in various matters, including a $130,000 pre-election payment to Daniels." ...
... Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "President Trump turned to Twitter early on Wednesday to dismiss the sketch of the man a pornographic actress claims threatened her years ago on his behalf.... 'A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the Fake News Media for Fools (but they know it)!'... His tweet accompanied a post from another Twitter user, who said the man looked like [Stephanie] Clifford's former husband.... Ms. Clifford says the man in the sketch threatened her in a Las Vegas parking lot in 2011 while she was with her infant daughter." (Also linked yesterday.)
Is Cohen Practicing His Singing Voice? Darren Samuelsohn & Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "... Donald Trump and his outside advisers are increasingly worried that his longtime personal attorney might be susceptible to cooperating with federal prosecutors. Two sources close to the president said people in Trump's inner circle have in recent days been actively discussing the possibility that Michael Cohen -- long seen as one of Trump's most loyal personal allies -- might flip if he faces serious charges as a result of his work on behalf of Trump.... Jay Goldberg, a longtime Trump lawyer, told The Wall Street Journal that he spoke with Trump on Friday about Cohen and warned the president against trusting Cohen if he is facing criminal charges." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "One of the ways in which the scandals around President Trump have come to resemble a mob movie, other than the nature of the crimes themselves, is that nobody involved is putting up much of a pretense that Trump is innocent. Asked today by Katy Tur if 'there's any chance [Michael Cohen] would end up cooperating, flipping,' Anthony Scaramucci said no, because Cohen 'is a very loyal person.' You meant because Trump is innocent, right? Cohen is not going to testify against Trump because Trump did nothing wrong?... [In the Politico report linked above,] all of the sources implicitly assume both Cohen and Trump are guilty of serious crimes.”
Danny Hakim & William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman of New York is moving to change New York state law so that he and other local prosecutors would have the power to bring criminal charges against aides to President Trump who have been pardoned, according to a letter Mr. Schneiderman sent to the governor and state lawmakers on Wednesday. The move, if approved by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the Legislature, would serve notice that the legal troubles of the president and his aides may continue without the efforts of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel investigating possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. Under the plan, Mr. Schneiderman, a Democrat, seeks to exempt New York's double jeopardy law from cases involving presidential pardons, according to the letter, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times. The current law and the concept of double jeopardy in general mean that a person cannot be tried for the same crime twice."
** Eric Levitz of New York: "Last week, the United States launched an act of war against a sovereign government because failing to do so would have cast doubt on the credibility of the statements that Donald Trump makes while livetweeting Fox & Friends. That may sound like hyperbolic snark, or the premise of an Andy Borowitz column, but it is a plain description of the rationale behind last Friday's missile strikes in Syria, according to multiple military and administration officials." Read on. Mrs. McC: Who needs a State Department when we have Steve Doocy & Brian Kilmeade? ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If this isn't bad enough (and it is), Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) said on MSNBC yesterday evening that he suspects the whole bombing campaign was a sham: that the U.S. warned Russia & Russia warned Syria of how the bombing would go down. As evidence, Menendez noted that Russia mounted no defense, & Syria sent off its missiles after the U.S.-allied bombs had landed. If Menendez is right, it was a very costly cover for a careless tweet. I was kidding when I wondered a few days ago if the U.S. & allies ever bombed Syria; Menendez suggests I unwittingly was close to the mark. ...
... Colbert explains everything. (Trump really should watch -- he might learn something people don't realize [see below for what-all people don't realize]):
Trump Doesn't Know When Pompeo Went to North Korea. Melanie Schmitz of ThinkProgress: "'Mike Pompeo met with Kim Jong Un in North Korea last week. Meeting went very smoothly and a good relationship was formed,' Trump tweeted early Wednesday morning.... According to White House officials who spoke with the Washington Post on Tuesday evening, Pompeo ... actually met with the North Korean dictator over Easter weekend, more than two weeks ago." Mrs. McCrabbie: Whenever.
Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "... the Export-Import Bank was created to help American companies compete overseas and bolster exports by providing cheap government-backed loans. But the institution, which once financed multibillion-dollar projects, has been effectively crippled by the Trump administration. The bank has been without a chairman since Mr. Trump took office and the last of the bank's five board members quit in March. Since 2015, it has not had the quorum of at least three members it needs to finance deals or projects worth more than $10 million. The effective shuttering of the bank has put American manufacturers like Boeing and General Electric at a global disadvantage, prompting a frenzied lobbying campaign by business groups worried that the White House is undermining its own trade goals.... Atop the bank's website is an image of its boardroom, with five empty chairs." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Remember that Trump thinks he's a super-expert on international trade & us-vs.-them trade imbalances. Obviously, the Ex-Im Bank is not going to wipe out trade deficits. But putting it back in business is a pretty easy way to improve U.S. companies' positions. Ex-Im loans also would increase the number of manufacturing jobs, another of Trump's empty campaign promises. Every day in every way, Trump is the Worst. President. Ever.
"People Don't Realize." The Belated Education of Donald J. Trump. Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "As President Trump announced that South and North Korean leaders have his blessing to discuss a permanent end to the military conflict between their two countries, he dropped in a quick history lesson. 'People don't realize the Korean War has not ended,' Trump said on Tuesday, his face contorting into a look that seemed to communicate surprise and bafflement. 'It's going on right now.' For Trump, people don't realize a lot of things.... Trump's public remarks are filled with dozens of similar comments.... Trump's lessons are often accompanied by raised eyebrows, widened eyes and a 'gee whiz' look that suggests perhaps the nation is witnessing the president's education in real time." Johnson provides a long list of things "people don't realize." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Put me down as one of the people who didn't realize just how little this jamoke knows. What I find most insulting about many of these "History Lessons by Donald J. Trump" is that they are often delivered to audiences who definitely "realize" whatever historical pearl he's dropping. ...
... Choe Sang-Hun & Jane Perlez of the New York Times: "South Korea confirmed on Wednesday that it had been in talks with American and North Korean officials about negotiating a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War after more than 60 years, as the United States and its ally try to establish a basis for persuading the North to give up its nuclear weapons." Mrs. McCrabbie: Fox "News" must have mentioned the peace negotiations; otherwise, how would Trump himself have "realized." (Also linked yesterday.)
They're All Corrupt, Ctd. Lisa Friedman of the New York Times: "Calls for Scott Pruitt, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, to resign escalated on Wednesday when nearly 170 congressional Democrats demanded his departure." Friedman provides a guide to the numerous investigations into Pruitt's illegal & questionable activities. Mrs. McC: Of course the biggest problem isn't that Pruitt wants to drive around in fancy SUVs with accommodations to literally protect his ass; it's his policies & beliefs.
... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: How can someone like Pruitt question the scientific theory of evolution (as he has done) when his raison d'être is fossil fuels? ...
... Stephanie Ebbs of ABC News: "Newly released calendars for one of the most controversial trips of ... Scott Pruitt's tenure were largely blacked out before being shared with ABC News.... Conservative congressional estimates put the cost of the trip at more than $40,000, and because of travel snags, Pruitt and his aides spent two days in Paris at high-end hotels. Pruitt did not publicly announce he was going ahead of time, did not bring reporters along, and when he finally released copies of his itinerary in response to Freedom of Information requests from ABC News and other news organizations, the bulk of the schedule was blacked out.... In Morocco, he spent at least a portion of his time promoting exports for U.S. energy firms.... At the time of the trip, the only U.S. company that exported liquid natural gas was represented by a top Washington lobbyist who arranged $50-a-night housing for Pruitt when he first moved to town."
They're All Corrupt, Ctd. Nick Schwellenbach & Adam Zagorin of the Daily Beast: "Rep. James Bridenstine (R-Okla.) is a former Navy pilot with virtually no management experience in any large organization. But the Oklahoma Republican has been tapped by ... Donald Trump to take over the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), a federal agency with a budget of $18.5 billion, 18,000 federal workers, and over 60,000 contract employees.... An investigation and review of public records by the Project On Government Oversight shows that, prior to his time in Congress, Bridenstine led a small non-profit organization into hefty financial losses. Some of the losses involved the use of the non-profit's resources to benefit a company that Bridenstine simultaneously co-owned and in which he'd invested substantial sums of his own money.... 'This is a classic example of the use of a charity's assets for private benefit,' said Marc Owens, an expert on tax law ... and former head of the Internal Revenue Services's non-profit compliance division."
Tierney Sneed of TPM: "A federal judge has ordered that Kansas Secretary of State [Mrs. McC: and failed Trump voter suppression czar] Kris Kobach be held in contempt of court for disobeying her orders in the proof-of-citizenship voter registration case. Judge Julie Robinson in her decision Wednesday bashed Kobach's failure to send postcards to voters whose registrations were restored by her previous move to block the proof-of-citizenship requirement for the 2016 election.... She also took issue with Kobach's refusal to update the state's training manual for election officials to reflect her 2016 order blocking the proof-of-citizenship requirement.... She ordered that Kobach cover the attorneys fees' of the challengers in the case or the costs of their efforts to bring Kobach in compliance with her order." Mrs. McC: Judge Robinson has "deferred further remedies"; I hope these remedies involve an orange jumpsuit.
John Myers of the Los Angeles Times: "Gov. Jerry Brown formally mobilized 400 California National Guard members Wednesday for transnational crime-fighting duties, thus preventing any effort by President Trump to have the troops focus on immigration enforcement on the Mexican border. The governor announced that federal officials have agreed to fund the plan he announced last week -- a mission to 'combat criminal gangs, human traffickers and illegal firearm and drug smugglers' in locations around California, including near the border. The order Brown signed makes clear that the troops will not be allowed to perform a broader set of duties as envisioned by Trump's recent comments."
Cristiano Lima of Politico: "An attorney for former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe said Wednesday that neither the Justice Department inspector general nor former FBI director James Comey 'has it right' when it comes to the agency's critical report on his disclosures to news outlets in 2016. Attorney Michael Bromwich pushed back on Comey for citing the DOJ watchdog's report to deliver remarks critical of McCabe, his former No. 2 at the FBI who was fired by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month."
Laurie Kellman of the AP: "Who doesn't like babies? No one in the Senate, apparently -- at least not enough to block a historic rules change that passed Wednesday allowing the newborns of members into the chamber. Its passage without objection came despite plenty of concern, some privately aired, among senators of both parties about the threat the tiny humans pose to the Senate's cherished decorum." Old white guys like Pat Roberts (R-Kansas) & Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), both of whom are fathers & grandfathers, are nonplussed. "... what if there are 10 babies on the floor of the Senate?” Hatch asked. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: The idea isn't to turn the Senate chamber into a nursery or daycare center. Rather, it's to make sure that new mothers can walk onto the floor to vote. Rules prevent senators from dumping their newborns with staff while they take care of business on the floor.
Senate Race. Burgess Everett & Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Senate Republicans are escalating their attacks on West Virginia Senate GOP candidate Don Blankenship, increasingly worried that the coal baron and ex-prisoner will blow a winnable race against Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin. Republicans see West Virginia as a prime pickup opportunity in November, given ... Donald Trump's huge popularity there. But they say the multimillionaire Blankenship, running in a tight three-way primary against Rep. Evan Jenkins (R-W.Va.) and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, is indefensible as a candidate after serving a year in prison for conspiring to violate mine safety violations. Twenty-nine miners died at his company's Upper Big Branch mine in 2010."
Samantha Schmidt of the Washington Post: Capt. Tammie Jo Shults, who skillfully landed a Southwest Airlines at Philadelphia International Airport after one of the plane's two engines exploded in-flight, throwing shrapnel into the cabin & killing one passenger -- who was nearly sucked out of the plane thru the open window -- "was among the first female fighter pilots for the U.S. Navy." As a female aviator, Shults confronted many career obstacles.
Beyond the Beltway
Ryan Reilly & Christopher Mathias of the Huffington Post: "Three right-wing militiamen from rural Kansas were found guilty on Wednesday in a 2016 plot to slaughter Muslim refugees living in an apartment complex in Garden City. Patrick Stein, Gavin Wright and Curtis Allen were found guilty on charges of weapons of mass destruction and conspiracy against civil rights. Wright was also found guilty on a charge of lying to the FBI. The defendants will face a potential life sentence when they come back to court in late June.... The men were enthusiastic supporters of Donald Trump, who vilified Muslims during his presidential campaign and has continued to do so while in office. During the plotting, Stein reportedly referred to then-candidate Trump as 'the Man.' The men had planned their attack for after the 2016 election, so as not to hurt Trump's chances of winning."
Josh Delk of the Hill: "Philadelphia authorities are investigating the death of the father of former White House national security adviser H.R. McMaster, ABC6 reports. According to the Philadelphia department of health, the former official's father, H.R. McMaster Sr., died on April 13 of blunt force trauma to the head. While health officials have ruled his death to be an accident, investigators have labeled the death suspicious, and are looking into whether there could have been institutional neglect in treating him by the retirement community where he lived. The 84-year-old Korean War veteran reportedly did not receive proper care at the Cathedral Village retirement home, where he was living after suffering a stroke."
Way Beyond
Azam Ahmed of the New York Times: "Raúl Castro, who took over from his brother Fidel 12 years ago and led Cuba through some of its biggest changes in decades, is expected to step down on Thursday and hand power to someone outside the Castro dynasty for the first time since the Cuban revolution more than half a century ago."
News Lede
New York Times: "Two years after the sudden death of Prince by accidental fentanyl overdose, one of the lingering mysteries surrounding the enigmatic musician concerned how and where he obtained the powerful synthetic opioid that killed him and whether anyone would be held responsible. On Thursday, law enforcement authorities in Minnesota closed a major part of their investigation, announcing that no one would be criminally charged in the case. The Carver County attorney, Mark Metz, said in a news conference that Prince died after unknowingly taking counterfeit Vicodin that contained fentanyl, but that there was 'no reliable evidence of how Prince obtained' the fatal drug."
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Reader Comments (21)
There are already plenty of babies in the Senate. What’s the problem? Now you wanna talk day care, you need to go the House. Poopy diapers galore there. Crying, whining, wailing. And, when there’s real work to be done...NAP TIME!
The post about NASA 'leadership' reminds me of my problem with having NASA. $18.5 billion a year so we can arrange for one human to spend a day on Mars, figure out what will happen to the Earth 2 million years from now.
How about we spend the money maintaining the Earth now? Keeping humans alive? Apparently it is much more fun looking for aliens.
Per my comment on Comey earlier this week, I agree with Digby on on the Pretender-Comey standoff. Comey does project an element of the character Jimmy Stewart admirably portrayed in "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance." Just a little too perfect for not quite all the right reasons.
Still, I think the dramatic equivalence between the Pretender and Comey, two egotists at odds, both flawed in their own ways, heading to a showdown, ignores the most important player in this 2018 drama--the backdrop of a culture that has gotten so used to cheating and lying on scales large and small, everything from the plagiarism that the internet has made so easy and so common that children learn it young to the gargantuan financial frauds behind the Bush Crash and those still the subject of the daily news, that the behavior of a lowlife like the Pretender seems just more of the same.
It's only to be expected; and we're so used to it, it's not worth further examination. But absent examination, lines blur and one egotist, who told one or two lies and also like to preen in public seems much like the other, who lies all the time and for far different, far more self-serving and destructive reasons.
Unfortunately, these are distinctions we are no longer able or willing to make.
When you live in a cesspool, everyone stinks.
And that's the real false equivalence.
"It wasn't until he was fired by Trump that Comey started to focus more on politics and realized, 'These people don't represent anything I believe in.'” " -Comey
This statement, coming from the ex-head of the F.B.I., known for his clairvoyant deciphering of legalese and exposing fraudsters as a living, is frankly unbelievable. How could he not have known until now, being so stoic and exemplary as a model of American "values"?
I'd say he was cool being in the "in" crowd, those lucky few white males who helped give a respectable veneer to the nasty GOP political power structure that helped keep his tribe atop the totem pole and with an exorbitant amount of the national pie.
Lemme see? Do I give credence someone who thinks he is smart (and actually is smart: Comey)...or someone who thinks he is way smarter than he is (Trump)?
Confusion reigns as per Dana Milbank (WAPO yesterday):
This is some of what we have learned lately from the Trump administration:
—We are imposing new sanctions on Russia. We are not imposing new sanctions on Russia.
—China isn’t manipulating its currency. China is manipulating its currency.
—We’re getting out of Syria. We aren’t getting out of Syria.
—We’ll decide about bombing Syria in 24 to 48 hours. We might not bomb Syria for a long time. We bombed Syria.
—The bombing of Syria will be sustained. The Syria bombing was a one-time shot.
—Trump will be talking to Kim Jong Un. Trump may not be talking to Kim.
—Trump fired James B. Comey because of the Russia investigation. Trump did not fire Comey because of the Russia investigation.
etc. etc. etc.
Jason Abbruzzese on NBCNews: "Cohen drops lawsuits "
(Verrry interesting):
"In a court document filed on Wednesday, Cohen's lawyer, David Schwartz, served notice that the lawsuit against BuzzFeed and four of its employees had been dropped. Cohen also dropped a separate lawsuit against Fusion GPS, the political research firm that contracted Steele to assemble the dossier, according to various news reports."
@MAG: your listing of back and forthisms is what we now expect from doofus and as many sane people have pointed out "This is not normal and we shouldn't act as though it is." Well, many of us agree but nothing seems to change. The tempest in that teapot dome of DJT has caused great hues and cries that just lead to more of the same. We will have an end point, surely, but until then we soldier on with more "Yes, I will and no ,I won't" all in a day's time; very dangerous and it's hurting our country's reputation–-such as it is.
Which brings to mind the Pompeo visit with Kim Jong Un––the secret one–-the one that "went very well" but so far we have no idea what exactly was exchanged besides handshakes and possibly cups of tea. Somehow I get the sense that Trump thinks we can be all buddy, buddy with Kim––and we can get an agreement on whatever that may be––we aren't told. I think–-and it's just a hunch–-that Little Rocket Man ain't gonna get rid of his missiles or his bombs –-it's what makes him BIG and STRONG and in the driver's seat plus he will want something in return for even agreeing to releasing the Americans that are still in his custody. Little Kim outside–-Big Kim inside––and he sticks to his format. We can count on that.
MAG,
I'm wondering if, in dropping these tangential lawsuits, Cohen has decided to save his money for his own defense. Although a defense might not be necessary if he decides to do a Pavarotti and hit a few high C's.
Comey has compared the Trump organization to a mafia family. They're really more like the gang that couldn't shoot straight, Jimmy Breslin's hysterical look at low rent mobsters and insipid goons who lose a guy they're chasing down an alley, slowing down to tiptoe around puddles so as not to ruin their expensive shoes.
The Mooch and president* capo declare Cohen a "loyal guy"? Sure. When the feds dangle prison time in his face, I'm betting he'll sing the Prologue to Pagliacci. And he'll even wear the clown costume while he does it. So much for Trumpy Omertà.
As for the Trumpado wavering and back and forth on pretty much every issue of importance (except the enrichment of the Clan Trump), it's another one of those situations that could be funny but really isn't. It demonstrates how completely rudderless he is. There's no moral or ethical core, and lacking the intellectual capacity to carefully consider the facts of each case and determine the proper course, Trump is at the mercy of the waves. A big one comes along, he goes that way, competing cross currents throw him into a tizzy and, basically, his decision will rest with whatever he hears from equally uninformed and unethical toads on Fox.
Is America great yet?
P.S. "... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I saw Jordan on CNN Monday night, & his behavior is frightening; his rabid-dog delivery is tantamount to abuse. If he came to my door, I'd call the cops."
Or have my baseball bat at the ready. When I first encountered J. Jordan during a hearing some years ago I was stunned at his delivery and his interview stance; reminded me of exactly that "rabid-dog" plus I thought, this guy is "on" something–-a sniff of that white stuff in a congressional closet. His manic behavior smacks of desperation coupled with what I would describe as NASTY and MEAN.
Akhilleus,
And maybe (since without the facts that's the world in which we live) now that the FBI has the records of all Cohen's doings, including his varied associations with the events chronicled in the Steele Dossier, he knows his claims of innocence will be proven as empty as he knew they were from the get-go.
Witch hunt, my foot, or rather Cohen's leg. The leg on which he intended to claim he stands that has just vanished.
@PD: Just looked at a few video clips with Jim Jordan...my take: Lightweight. Lots of noise, no substance.
@Ak: Yep! My take as well. Aside from Cohen dropping his lawsuits (not much of a surprise when one has to protect their own butt), I'd also suggest he donate that blue plaid sport jacket to Good Will, or just dump it in the trash!
People don't know!
Last week, watching a knock-down drag-out fight in an old cowboy movie with my seven year old, he announced that it was probably the case that no one really got hurt because the guys were just pretending to fall down, but he bet that some people might not know that because they did such a good job.
I thought this was just the sort of revelation that would cause Trump to jump on the Tweety machine and announce to the world something that "most people don't know": fights in movies are just pretend!
Who knew?
My seven year old could be president. Even better, he figured that out for himself, he didn't need someone to tell him.
I'm sure there are stupider people in government, but it can't be possible that we've ever had a stupider president. Not only is he stupid, he parades his stupidity as if it's a sign of his greatness.
(BTW, when I heard Trump blather on about how people don't know that the Korean War is still going on, my first thought was "What the fuck are you talking about?" and the second was "Yeah. Another war you would have skated out on.")
MAG,
That loud, check sports coat! Geez...please to be getting rid of that thing. He must have gotten that for a 70's costume party.
And, Mikey, pro tip: you don't do both buttons on the front of a jacket, especially when it's a little too snug. Schmuck.
He and Trump must try to outdo each other as fashion icons. At least Cohen doesn't wear his tie down to his knees like Trump.
Ken,
Brainless, unethical, criminal, and legless. A good description of Trump World.
Prez Crapweasel says Rand Paul has never let him down. That is pretty much true, as RP always changes his mind and supports anything Dolt45 declares must be done. So now Dolt has just heard about Korea-- he still doesn't know South Korea is not part of the TPP group, stating SK "wants" us to sign on. His personal dementia says ole Pompeo "just returned" from NK when it was almost three weeks ago Pompous Pompeo went off on the secret mission-- Since all this malarky takes place on a minute-by-minute basis (thanks, MAG--) why are the talking heads still talking as if this is Dolt being thoughtful and nuanced? He HAS no foreign policy, (or domestic policy beyond racism and all the other -isms, and killing the environment) and I think that the "Syrian crisis" he stayed home from South America to "monitor" was wholly cooked up and invented by him and Bolton. He was just scared to go south and terrified that the Feds are on to him. I am also not sure he is as stupid as it seems-- he has a mean streak a mile wide, is a wiley, lying SOB, cares only about himself and is sneaky AND deranged. He is also wildly ignorant, but so is his base. And yeah, the other political party IS the party of Dolt-- no question. I can't stand any of them either. This is so exhausting...
@Marvin, I was on the Iowa faculty in the '70's-'80's, during the time James Van Allen (of the belts) was the physics dept. head. He argued convincingly that ALL manned space flight is nothing more than PR, to help bolster the NASA budget and its congressional supporters by appealing to scifi fans. He knew then, as we do now, that robots gather much more information that astronauts ever will, at magnitudinally lower cost. Mars is just PR inflation, driven by politicians, not scientists.
@MAG: According to a story by the Daily Mail -- mentioned here -- that plaid jacket cost $3,000. Some Goodwill customer is in for a bargain!
A Circle of Thugs
More interesting to me was the IDs of the goombas Cohen was sitting around with, Mafia-style, albeit in front of a bit more upscale cafe than the dives where we find the more prosaic goombas of TV lore. Luckily, Cohen has no shame. You might think, from a PR perspective, that if Cohen was going to hang out with friends while his lawyers were in court arguing his case, he would choose some with impeccable bios. But no.
According to reports cited in the linked story, one was Jerry Rotunda (kind of a great name), a CFO of the now-infamous Deutsche Bank, who once attacked a traffic cop with racist slurs & threats of bodily harm. (While we are wondering who approves Trump's super-duper loans, we might want to look to Rotunda.) Another was IDed as Rotem Rosen, who has worked for Russian oligarch Lev Avenovich Leviev. According to Michael David Murphy, who wrote the Medium article I've linked, "Rosen was ID’d ... from (you guessed it!) Miss Universe 2013 in Moscow, with papas Trump & Agalarov."
These are Cohen's people. AND they are Trump's people. If you were wondering what "all the best people" really look like, here's your answer. No wonder he got rid of the likes of Jim Comey & H.R. McMaster.
@Bea: Jerry Rotunda, huh! Broadway needs to update its old classic and add in some new characters, let's see "Guys and Molls"—the 2018 version. Jerry Rotunda, a super name...and Rotem Rosen ain't bad either. as cast replacements for Harry the Horse or Benny Southstreet!
Hmmm, I remember when the Regency on Park Avenue was the site for the power breakfast and/or lunch. Sounds less chic than it used to be.
As for the $3,000 jacket! Hah! I was thinking Cohen might have picked it up it at a close-out sale from one of the boutique shops inside the Taj Mahal Casino when it went bankrupt!
Who(m) to trust?
McCabe or Dept. of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz?
Is Horowitz just doing his job, "calling balls and strikes," or does he have old scores to settle?
https://www.themarketswork.com/2017/12/23/an-introduction-to-inspector-general-michael-horowitz
Guess Rosenstein correctly counted on the Pretender's ignorance, which might have led him to conclude that "not a target" let's him off the hook.
Not a target maybe, but certainly a "person of interest," a categorization that could flip to target over night. And if Manafort is in Mueller's crosshairs because of his possible role as a campaign back channel to the Russians, if his son took a meeting with Russian operatives about something other than adoptions, if Flynn and Prince lied about their own covert meetings, if Cohen did unaccountably find himself in Prague, how could the Pretender know nothing about any of this?
Mueller and Rosenstein don't need my advice but if he takes a break to catch up on the doings here at RC, I'd tell him to keep the Pretender in the person of interest box until hours or minutes before the final report is released to the House.
Were they to do that, the Pretender might have another "who knew?" moment.
Ken,
Doofus might not be "a target", which increases my sense that nothing at all will happen to him (although if Manafort and Cohen both flip, that could change). I don't think any neutral observer could look at his history prior to running, his campaign, and his behavior in office and say that this guy is an above board actor with nothing to hide. He's a crook and a liar. But whatever comes from the Cohen papers, in addition to Russian entanglements, will be an extra scoop of ice cream.
The target, as I understand it, is the question of collusion, and whether or not Donaldo gets hit with any charges, if it can be clearly shown that he benefited from his campaign's work with Russian hackers and, by extension, Julian Assange, that finding should put a nice big fat dent in his shiny "win". The idea of this fraud being shown up as having won with the help of Vladimir Putin might be enough for me, although I'd much prefer handcuffs.