;)
The Commentariat -- Dec. 20, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Thursday that President Trump will not sign a stopgap spending bill over concerns about border security, a decision that increases the risk of a government shutdown.... In a minute-long statement on the driveway outside the West Wing, the Speaker said lawmakers would work on adding border security measures to the funding bill but did not specifically mention border-wall funding."
Judy Kurtz of the Hill: "Former President Obama did his best Santa Claus impression while making a surprise hospital visit at Children's National Health System in Washington." ...
Sarah Ferris & John Bresnahan of Politico: "The House Republican caucus was thrown into chaos Thursday as conservatives revolted against a funding bill that includes no new money for ... Donald Trump's border wall. On the brink of a Christmastime shutdown, House Speaker Paul Ryan is confronting resistance from rank-and-file Republicans, who have begun personally egging on Trump to force a shutdown over the wall. The odds of a shutdown rose dramatically Thursday as Freedom Caucus leaders Mark Meadows and Jim Jordan headed to the White House for a sit-down with Trump himself. Ryan and his deputies began making plans to put a funding bill on the floor that would deliver $5 billion to the border wall, in an attempt to make good on Trump's promise in the final days of a GOP-controlled Congress.... The issue erupted Thursday during a raucous closed-door meeting."
Laura Davison & Shobhana Chandra of Bloomberg News, via Yahoo! News: "The amount of offshore cash corporations are bringing back to the U.S. dropped sharply for a second straight quarter, falling short of the trillions of dollars ... Donald Trump had promised would result from his tax overhaul.... Trump has said, without specifying his source, that he expects more than $4 trillion to return to the U.S., which will help to create jobs and more investment." Thanks to PD Pepe for the link. Mrs. McC BTW: Trump's $4 trillion estimate, not surprisingly, does not make any sense. According to an expert the reporters cite, "The amount of cash accumulated offshore is probably closer to $2.5 trillion than $4 trillion." Even if the amount were $4 trillion, for various reasons, companies would not repatriate 100% of it. As it is, assuming the expert is right, there's not more than about $2.5 trillion out there to repatriate, and again, corporations will not bring 100% of that back into the U.S.
Bob Mueller, Take Note. Anna Massoglia of Open Secrets: "The Trump campaign funneled money to ad buyers alleged to have facilitated illegal coordination between the campaign and the NRA by routing funds through a secretive LLC that appears to be little more than a shell company, an investigation by the Center for Responsive Politics has found. While the Trump campaign stopped reporting payments to ad buyers alleged to have facilitated illegal coordination between the campaign and the NRA after the 2016 election cycle, Trump's 2020 campaign has continued to deploy the same individuals working for the firms at the center of the controversy through payments to Harris Sikes Media LLC ... a low-profile limited-liability company operating with no website or public-facing facade whatsoever. Facing the illegal coordination allegations are National Media, Red Eagle Media Group and American Media & Advocacy Group (AMAG), closely tied consultancies that share staff, resources and adjacent storefronts in Alexandria, Va." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump does seem awfully fond of employing those secretive shell LLCs to get around campaign finance laws. (See Daniels, Stormy.)
Here's the New York Times story, by Charlie Savage, on William Barr's memo bitching about the Mueller investigation. "Separately, a Justice Department official said on Thursday that Matthew G. Whitaker, the acting attorney general, had met with ethics experts at the Justice Department and would not be recusing himself from the Mueller investigation." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "It's entirely possible indeed, it seems quite likely -- Trump was aware of the memo. The assertion by the Journal source that the memo 'played no role' in Trump's selection of Barr is therefore extremely hard to accept at face value. We know Trump is obsessed with finding an attorney general who will suppress the Mueller investigation. His candidate wrote a memo attacking Mueller, and submitted it to Trump's lawyer, who may or may not have informed others of the memo's existence. The worst-case scenario for Barr is that he opened a covert back channel to the administration and campaigned for the role of being Trump's Roy Cohn. The best-case scenario is that he merely created the appearance of impropriety. Barr, in this scenario, merely happens to be a fanatical proponent of executive power who expresses his passion for the issue by writing long memos in his spare time."
Daniel Burke of CNN: "In yet another blow to the Catholic Church in the United States, Illinois' attorney general says the state's six dioceses have failed to disclose accusations of sexual abuse against at least 500 priests and clergy members. Illinois' dioceses have released lists publicly identifying 185 clergy members who had been credibly accused of child sex abuse. But state Attorney General Lisa Madigan said preliminary findings in her investigation reveal that the church failed to disclose sexual abuse allegations against at least 500 additional priests and clergy members. In many cases, the accusations have 'not been adequately investigated by the dioceses or not investigated at all,' Madigan's office said in a statement Wednesday. What's more, the statement added, the church often failed to notify law enforcement authorities or the state's Department of Children and Family Services about the allegations."
I only read the Constitution for the articles. -- Ilya Shapiro, conservative lawyer
Funny, But. That should be "I read the Constitution only for the Articles." -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie, liberal pedant
Scott Shane & Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "As Russia's online election machinations came to light last year, a group of Democratic tech experts decided to try out similarly deceptive tactics in the fiercely contested Alabama Senate race, according to people familiar with the effort and a report on its results. The secret project, carried out on Facebook and Twitter, was likely too small to have a significant effect on the race, in which the Democratic candidate it was designed to help, Doug Jones, edged out the Republican, Roy S. Moore. But it was a sign that American political operatives of both parties have paid close attention to the Russian methods, which some fear may come to taint elections in the United States.
*****
Elaine Cochrane of the New York Times: "Moving to head off a looming government shutdown, the Senate passed a stopgap spending bill on Wednesday night that would keep the government funded through Feb. 8 -- and would punt the impasse over a southern border wall to the new year and a divided Congress. The bill was expected to pass the House on Thursday and be sent to President Trump before the midnight Friday deadline, when funding would lapse for nine federal departments. The measure poses an uncomfortable political problem for Mr. Trump among his far-right supporters, even though it remained unclear if the president, who has been a volatile factor throughout the spending debate, would sign such a measure without the $5 billion he has demanded for a border wall.... Conservatives were already condemning the president's seeming capitulation on his signature campaign promise." ...
... Yes, But Not to Worry. Brent Griffiths of Politico: "Brian Kolfage, a 37-year-old Florida resident who was severely wounded in the Iraq war, has started a GoFundMe campaign to complete Trump's signature pledge. The campaign has raised over $2 million in the three days since it started, with an overall goal of $1 billion." Mrs. McC: Go for it, Kolfage. If citizens want to waste their money on a ridiculous project, it's no more ridiculous than my buying Christmas decorations. Wall construction will create jobs for Americans (definitely including some undocumented ones). It's true that somehow or other, the von Trump Family Grifters will take a cut, but we can blame that on the same fools who crowd-fund the wall.
Helene Cooper, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump is considering pulling 2,000 United States ground troops out of Syria in a move that would seek to describe the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday. 'We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,' the president said in a Twitter post on Wednesday morning. He offered no details on his plans for the military mission in Syria.... A formal withdrawal announcement could come as early as Wednesday, administration officials said. But Pentagon officials were still trying to talk the president out of it, arguing that such a move would betray Kurdish allies who have fought alongside American troops in Syria and who could find themselves under attack in a military offensive now threatened by Turkey." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Update. New Lede: "President Trump has ordered a rapid withdrawal of all 2,000 United States ground troops from Syria within 30 days, declaring the four-year American-led war against the Islamic State as largely won, officials said Wednesday." ...
... Joby Warrick & Souad Mekhennet of the Washington Post: "Even as the territory claimed by the Islamic State continues to shrink, the group remains a powerful and deadly force across large swaths of Syria and Iraq. In some regions, the Islamist militants appear to be gaining ground, reconstituting themselves as a brutal insurgency bent on killing local leaders and police officers and terrorizing populations, officials and analysts say.... For many security experts, the depiction of the Islamic State as 'defeated' -- as President Trump declared in a Twitter post Wednesday -- is not only inaccurate, but is also dangerously misleading. Despite its setbacks, the group maintains a formidable presence in Syria and Iraq, commanding cadres of fanatical, highly trained fighters believed to number in the thousands, including many who went into hiding after the fall of the group's self-declared caliphate." ...
... Karoun Demirjian, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Wednesday delivered a parting snub to one of his biggest congressional critics, as even his Republican allies laid into administration officials for the White House's surprise announcement that U.S. troops would be withdrawing from Syria because, as the president put it on Twitter, Islamic State forces there had been 'defeated.'... Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) ... [went] to the White House for a previously scheduled meeting with Trump where he planned to ask him about the Syria decision. Instead, while he was waiting, Trump canceled on him without explanation.... Corker was one of several lawmakers to express shock that Trump would 'wake up and make this kind of decision' to pull out of Syria 'with this little communication, with this little preparation.'... 'This is chaos. I can only imagine how it's playing in Syria,' said Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a Trump confidant on some matters but a critic of the president on foreign policy. 'I have the same feeling about this as I did in Iraq: Over time, this is not going to play well.... Graham went to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis for answers on just what Trump's decision meant, later telling reporters that he might introduce a resolution condemning the decision. Meanwhile, over a lunch on Capitol Hill, other GOP senators excoriated Vice President Pence for supporting Trump's move." ...
... Josh Rogin of the Washington Post: "On Monday, the U.S. special representative for Syria engagement publicly pledged that the U.S. commitment to Syria would not waiver. The very next day, Trump reportedly decided to rapidly withdraw all U.S. troops there. Trump appears to be discarding his entire Syria and Iran strategy at a single stroke, giving up any and all U.S. influence in the region -- and disregarding the advice of his top national security officials. If he follows through, Trump's decision will have devastating and dangerous consequences for the United States, the region and the Syrian people.... Trump is now contradicting what all of his other top national security officials have been telling the world for months.... Trump is abandoning all of the partner forces the United States has been fighting with over the years. We've also spent billions of dollars building and supporting them." ...
... Barbara Starr, et al., of CNN: "The decision, a sharp reversal from previously stated US policy, surprised foreign allies and lawmakers, sparking rebukes, rebuttals and warnings of intensified congressional oversight, even as the White House said troops are already on their way home.... The President's decision flew in the face of policy statements by administration officials just days earlier and military statements about the threat of ISIS, highlighting the continuing dysfunction at the most senior levels of Trump's administration.... Many analysts said a withdrawal of ground forces will please US enemies by clearing the way in Syria for the Assad regime, Russia and Iran." Mrs. McC: And Turkey. ...
... Kori Schake in the Atlantic: "The Trump administration has unexpectedly decided to rapidly withdraw U.S. forces from Syria, where they have been fighting ISIS. This decision, which demonstrates that the president's National Security Strategy does not govern his policies, will have deleterious effects across the strategic waterfront: throwing Syria policy into chaos; rewarding Iranian regional destabilization and Russian intervention; alarming Kurdish forces and American allies fighting in the region, as well as countries to which jihadists might return; and calling into question America's commitment to stabilizing Iraq and Afghanistan. All of these priorities have been capriciously sacrificed by President Trump for no apparent reason other than that he campaigned on withdrawal and wants it to happen now. There has been no precipitating event to drive a policy change." ...
... Jeet Heer: "Withdrawing from Syria is not, on the face of it, an inherently bad or indefensible policy. But what is undeniably dangerous is the chaotic manner the policy is being executed and the mixed messages being sent to the world. The incoherence increases the chance of greater conflict, as Americ's friends and rivals will see the country as a fickle and untrustworthy actor on the world stage." ...
... of the Washington Post: "Russian President Vladimir Putin praised President Trump's decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria, describing the American presence there as illegitimate and the Islamic State as largely defeated on the ground. Putin told journalists at his annual year-end news conference that the Islamic State has suffered 'serious blows' in Syria. 'On this, Donald is right. I agree with him,' Putin said.... Moments after Putin's statement, Trump tweeted about his decision to withdraw troops. He noted the presence of Russian, Iranian and Syrian forces, also enemies of the Islamic State, and said the United States was doing their work for them. 'Time for others to finally fight,'he said in a follow up tweet." ...
... Martin Chulov & Andrew Roth of the Guardian: "The Kurdish-led force that has led the ground war against Islamic State in Syria has condemned the White House's surprise decision to withdraw US troops from the country and claimed it will spark a revival of the terror group. The Syrian Democratic Forces, a group of Kurdish and Arab units raised by Washington specifically to fight Isis, said the Trump administration's move would have 'dangerous implications for international stability'. The planned US pullout was announced as Turkey was preparing to send its military into Syria to confront Kurdish militias that it says threaten its sovereignty. The US-backed Kurds are drawn from the same Kurdish groups -- a point that has caused friction between Ankara and Washington throughout the four-year campaign against Isis.... On Wednesday morning, days after speaking by phone with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Trump tweeted: 'We have defeated Isis in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency' -- a claim at odds with his own administration's assessments."
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If you're wondering why Trump suddenly decided, against the advice of the Pentagon & his own national security team, to pretend ISIS in Syria has been defeated so the U.S. should withdraw all troops, look no further than the collapse of the Great Wall of Trump. (Also too, Putin must be all smiles.) ...
... Update. Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is on the Armed Services Committee, appeared on Rachel Maddow's show, & agreed with me that Trump had pulled this stunt out of his hat to change the subject from his capituation on the Great Wall. ...
... Update 2. Mrs. McCrabbie: I'll have to amend my own earlier "analysis." It can't be a coincidence that Trump made this decision the day before Putin's annual press conference & just days after he spoke with Erdogan. Yeah, Putin is grinning ear-to-ear. And so is Erdogan. This is another of Trump's installment payments for his initiation into the International Thugs Club. ...
... Brett Samuels of the Hill: "House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on Wednesday criticized President Trump's decision to pull U.S. troops out of Syria, and raised concerns that the timing of the announcement coincided with new developments in the legal proceedings for former national security adviser Michael Flynn.... 'All Americans should be concerned that this hasty announcement was made on the day after sentencing in criminal proceedings began against the President's former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, who admitted that he was a registered foreign agent for a country with clear interests in the Syrian conflict.'... Flynn has admitted he failed to register as a foreign agent for the Turkish government as part of a plea deal with special counsel Robert Mueller." ...
... Wait, wait, more goodies for Putin ...
... This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.
Saleha Mohsin & Daniel Flatley of Bloomberg News: "The Trump administration is ready to remove sanctions on Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska's aluminum company, United Co. Rusal, after reaching an agreement to significantly reduce his ownership stake. Deripaska will remain under U.S. sanctions and his property will remain blocked, but Treasury intends to remove financial restrictions on Rusal, En+ Group Plc and JSC EuroSibEnergo. The move will take effect in 30 days unless Congress blocks the action, the Treasury Department said in a statement Wednesday.... The Treasury secretary highlighted that Deripaska, not the companies, was the intended target of U.S. sanctions imposed in April on associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow's interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, joined by Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the top-ranking Democrats respectively on the Banking and Foreign Relations committees, said the decision 'raises key questions that the administration will need to answer about whether the structural and governance changes made by these companies are sufficient to ensure that Deripaska is no longer in the driver's seat.'" ...
... Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "If Deripaska sounds like a familiar name, that's because he reportedly paid former Trump campaign chairman and convicted felon Paul Manafort to help Vladimir Putin by lobbying for 'Putin-friendly oligarchs in Ukraine, and for pro-Russian governments in Georgia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, from 2006 through at least 2009.'" Mrs. McC: Deripaska is close to Putin. ...
... BUT. Matthew Choi of Politico: "The Trump administration rolled out a new spate of sanctions on Russian entities on Wednesday, targeting the country's hacking in international organizations and the two Russian nationals who allegedly carried out an assassination attempt on a former KGB spy in the United Kingdom last March. The sanctions focus on agents of Russia's main foreign military intelligence body, the GRU, and a Russian digital propaganda and disinformation company, the Internet Research Agency. Both organizations have been the subject of past sanctions for interfering in the 2016 elections, but Wednesday's action expands the list of targeted individuals."
Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III asked the House Intelligence Committee on Friday for an official transcript of Trump adviser Roger Stone's testimony, according to people familiar with the request, a sign that prosecutors could be moving to charge him with a crime. It is the first time Mueller has formally asked the committee to turn over material the panel has gathered in its investigation of Russian interference of the 2016 campaign.... The move suggests that the special counsel is moving to finalize his months-long investigation of Stone -- a key part of Mueller's inquiry into whether anyone in President Trump's orbit coordinated with the Russians.... Securing an official transcript from the committee would be a necessary step before pursuing an indictment that Stone allegedly lied to lawmakers, legal experts said."
Dan Mangan of CNBC: "Someone on Wednesday filed a document saying something in connection with a criminal case against ... Donald Trump's former personal lawyer, Michael Cohen. But who filed it and what it says are a mystery. The document, which is sealed from public view, was 'placed in vault' at U.S. District Court in Manhattan, according to a docket entry."
** Sadie Gurman & Aruna Viswanatha of the Wall Street Journal: "William Barr, President Trump's choice for attorney general, sent an unsolicited memo earlier this year [firewalled] to the Justice Department that excoriated special counsel Robert Mueller's inquiry into potential obstruction of justice by Mr. Trump, saying it is based on a 'fatally misconceived' theory that would cause lasting damage to the presidency and the executive branch. The 20-page document, which was reviewed by The Wall Street Journal, provides the first in-depth look at Mr. Barr's views on the special counsel's Russia investigation, which he would likely oversee if confirmed. In the memo, Mr. Barr ... wrote he was concerned about the part of Mr. Mueller's probe that, according to news reports in the Journal and elsewhere, has explored whether Mr. Trump obstructed justice in asking then-FBI director James Comey to drop an investigation into former national security adviser Mike Flynn's contacts with Russia, and by later firing Mr. Comey. Mr. Barr's memo, dated June 8 and sent to Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, argues that, based on the facts as he understands them, the president was acting well within his executive-branch authority.... Mr. Barr's memo is peppered with strongly worded phrases about the peril he sees in Mr. Mueller's reading of the law, as he understood it. He described Mr. Mueller's approach as 'grossly irresponsible' with 'potentially disastrous implications' for the executive branch. He also wrote: 'Mueller should not be permitted to demand that the President submit to interrogation about alleged obstruction.'" Mrs. McC: The WSJ accidentally allowed me to open this page in a private window. Don't expect to do the same unless you're a WSJ subscriber. ...
... Update. Yen Nee Lee of CNBC summarizes the WSJ report on Barr's memo. ...
Rebecca Ballhaus & Joe Palazzolo of the Wall Street Journal: "Sworn statements by President Trump dating back several decades indicate he has a deep understanding of campaign-finance laws [firewalled], legal experts say, which could be critical if investigators ever pursue a case against him over his alleged direction of hush-money payments in the 2016 campaign. Mr. Trump's statements were made as part of a 2000 regulatory investigation into his casino company and in 1988 testimony for a government-integrity commission. They contrast with the portrayal by some of the president's allies that he is a political novice with little understanding of campaign-finance laws and therefore couldn't be charged with violating them. In 2000, the Federal Election Commission investigated allegations that Trump Hotels & Casinos violated the law related to a fundraising event for a Senate candidate. Mr. Trump's sworn affidavit 'indicates that Trump had a very thorough understanding of federal campaign finance law, especially regarding what he could and could not legally do when raising money for a federal candidate,' said Brett Kappel, an election-law lawyer...."
Chris Sommerfeldt & Theresa Braine of the New York Daily News: "President Trump signed a 'bulls[hi]t' letter of intent to build a Trump Tower in Moscow during the 2016 campaign, Rudy Giuliani conceded Tuesday -- just two days after the former New York mayor claimed the missive had not been signed. Giuliani refused to acknowledge he told CNN's Dana Bash on camera Sunday that Trump didn't put his John Hancock on the Oct. 28, 2015 letter. 'I don't think I said nobody signed it,' Giuliani told the Daily News, even though he literally told Bash 'no one signed' the letter. In a stunning contradiction, Giuliani told The News that 'of course' Trump signed it. 'How could you send it but nobody signed it?' he said.... Giuliani claimed the letter was 'bulls[hi]t' because it didn't go anywhere. 'That was the end of it,' Giuliani said. 'It means nothing but an expression of interest that means very little unless it goes to a contract and it never did.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Dana Milbank: "The 'fool' has been a dramatic fixture at least since Shakespeare scribbled, and [Rudy] Giuliani is the fool for our time. Occasionally he speaks accidental truths, but mostly he plays the clown. He's America's crazy uncle...." Milbank reprises some of Giuliani's greatest hits.
Samatha Vinograd, a member of President Obama's National Security Council, writes an op-ed in Politico Magazine about the extent of Michael Flynn's criminality. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: What caught my attention in Vinograd's essay was this: "National security advisers are supposed to have one customer: the president of the United States. It's disturbing that President Trump doesn't seem bothered that his top aide on foreign policy was serving other [foreign] clients." Actually, I find it quite likely that Flynn -- at least in regard to Russia -- was serving one customer: Donald Trump. Flynn may have lied about & and omitted disclosing his relationship with Turkey to cover his own ass, but his lies to the FBI about his contacts with Russia were surely on orders from Trump. One day Bob Mueller will let us know. ...
... Marcy Wheeler: "By yesterday morning, [Judge] Emmet Sullivan probably became one of the few people outside Mueller's team and his DOJ supervisors that understands the activities that Trump and his associates, including Flynn, engaged in from 2015 to 2017. He understands not just the significance of Flynn's lies, but also how those lies tied to graft and conspiracy with foreign countries -- countries including, but not limited to, Russia. It should gravely worry the Trump people that Sullivan's comments about whether Flynn's behavior was treasonous came from someone who just read about what the Mueller investigation has discovered.... By filing a [false] registration [i.e., foreign agent's statement] in March 2017 specifically denying what all the [Turkey] co-conspirators knew -- that Flynn Intelligence Group was actually working for Turkey..., it prevented the public and the government from assessing the import of Flynn's actions in trying to force DOJ to deem [Fethullah] Gulen a terrorist who could be extradited to Turkey. And frankly, so long as Flynn continued to hide that detail, it made him susceptible to pressure if not blackmail from Turkey."
Tangled Web, Ctd. Carrie Levine of the Center for Public Integrity: "An aide to National Security Adviser John Bolton sought to schedule a meeting for him with a Ukrainian billionaire Victor Pinchuk during Bolton's official trip to Ukraine last August, according to new disclosure filings.... The August meeting ultimately did not take place, and it's unclear why Bolton's aide sought it. But Bolton and Pinchuk have financial ties dating to before Bolton joined the Trump administration: Pinchuk's foundation had paid Bolton a combined $115,000 for his participation in two panel discussions -- one during September 2017 and the other in February 2018, according to Bolton's federal personal financial disclosure.... A steel magnate, Pinchuk has also drawn notice in the U.S. for his relationship with Trump. The New York Times reported in April that the ... Special Counsel's Office ... was investigating a $150,000 donation Pinchuk made in September 2015 to Trump's foundation. Early in his presidential campaign, Trump deemed Pinchuk a 'very, very special man, a special entrepreneur.' The payment was in exchange for a 20-minute appearance Trump made via video to a conference in Kiev, according to the Times, which reported scrutiny of the payment was part of a broader examination of foreign money flowing to Trump and his associates." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
There's a New Day Dawning, but It Will Be a Nightmare for Trump. Rachel Bade & John Bresnahan of Politico: "Incoming House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings on Wednesday sent more than 50 letters to multiple agencies and departments as well as the Trump Organization and Trump's personal attorneys requesting documents on a series of scandals that have plagued the White House. The Maryland Democrat is asking for more information on the administration's handling of hurricanes Irma and Maria, Trump's controversial family separation policy at the border, the White House decision to revoke the security clearances of high ranking former officials who became Trump critics, and more. While the documents are not subpoenas, Cummings' letters lay the groundwork for a much more aggressive oversight of the executive branch in the next two years." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News: "A federal judge on Wednesday dismissed a defamation lawsuit against BuzzFeed News over the publication of a dossier in January 2017 that alleged several years of links between Russia and then-president-elect Donald Trump. A Cypriot businessman, Aleksej Gubarev, was named in the dossier, and his name wasn't redacted in the version originally published by BuzzFeed. Gubarev sued shortly after the article came out, claiming he was defamed by having his name included. US District Judge Ursula Ungaro in Florida found that BuzzFeed News was shielded against defamation claims because the dossier was the subject of official proceedings -- both Trump and then-president Barack Obama had been briefed on it, according to reporting at the time, and the FBI investigated allegations in the documents. The judge concluded that BuzzFeed News was protected by what's known as the 'fair report' privilege."
The von Trump Family Grifters. Charles Blow has a good question: "How can a family that can't run a charity run a country?" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie has the answer: They can't, but they use the same corrupt, lying, cheating, unlawful tactics to run the country as they used to run the charity.
Binyamin Appelbaum of the New York Times: "The Federal Reserve announced a widely expected quarter-point increase in its benchmark interest rate on Wednesday, and signaled that it plans to continue raising rates next year. The Fed emphasized the strength of economic growth in a statement released after a two-day meeting of its policymaking committee. It said firms keep adding jobs and consumers keep spending money. The statement made no mention of recent turbulence in financial markets." (Also linked yesterday.)
Judge Sullivan Is on a Roll. Ted Hesson of Politico: "A federal judge on Wednesday struck down most of a Trump administration policy that turned away asylum seekers who claimed to suffer domestic violence or gang violence. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan ruled that policies blocking the alleged victims from obtaining 'credible fear' of return to their home country -- the first step in an asylum claim -- violates federal immigration law. The decision bars the Trump administration from rapidly deporting such asylum seekers and represents another legal setback in ... Donald Trump's battle to discourage migrants from trekking to the U.S.-Mexico border.... Sullivan called the new standards 'arbitrary' and 'capricious,' and ruled that they violated federal regulatory law in addition to immigration statutes.... The Justice Department on Tuesday swiftly filed a motion to stay a broad application of the ruling while it decides whether to appeal the order." ...
... Emily Birnbaum of the Hill: "The White House on Wednesday night slammed a judge's ruling from earlier in the day blocking President Trump's asylum ban, calling it 'the latest example of judicial activism.' 'Today, a court has, once again, overridden and undermined United States immigration law,' White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement." Mrs. McC: That's so odd, because when a federal judge struck down the Affordable Care Act on a convoluted excuse that legal experts on left & right agreed -- besides being downright nutty -- took "judicial activism" to a whole new level, Trump was jubilant.
Tal Axelrod of the Hill: "A federal judge Wednesday rejected a request from the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its addition of a question regarding citizenship to the 2020 census. U.S. District Court Judge George J. Hazel's ruling paves the way for a trial in January to determine if the question is constitutional."
Mark Hand of ThinkProgress: "Even before he participates in his first public meeting on Thursday, Bernard McNamee, the newest member of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC), is facing multiple calls for his recusal from cases related to the resilience of the electric power grid. Environmental and public interest groups believe McNamee's past work on President Donald Trump's coal and nuclear bailout proposals disqualify him from voting on those issues when they come before FERC." --s
Criminal Justice Reform as a Racist Project. Katie Zezima & Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "The criminal justice bill headed to President Trump by week's end is the culmination of a major pivot by the Republican Party from the punitive, law-and-order stance of the 1980s to policies that include cutting prison sentences for some offenders. The political and ideological shift comes as crime rates have dropped, the opioid crisis has ravaged the country and prison populations, after reaching record highs, are on the decline.... [The change] also has a financial component: Republicans said revising the criminal justice system will save money by moving people convicted of low-level offenses out of prison and into programs that will help reduce the recidivism rate.... Many Republicans have also embraced treating drug addiction as a public health issue rather than one for the criminal justice system, with a realization that authorities cannot arrest their way out of the opioid epidemic.... One difference between now and the 1980s is that the opioid epidemic has primarily affected white, rural communities, though the rates of overdose death are now skyrocketing among African Americans due to fentanyl."
Beyond the Beltway
Kansas. Kate Riga of TPM: "When the Kansas state government reconvenes in January, three of its formerly Republican members will report as freshly minted Democrats. The two state senators and one state representative, all women, cited varying sources of their discontent within the GOP. State Sen. Barbara Bollier started the trend last week, as first reported by the Kansas City Star.... Her fellow state Sen. Dinah Sykes followed her lead Wednesday, also citing complaints with being a moderate trying to operate in an increasingly partisan Republican party.... State Rep. Stephanie Clayton jumped on the bandwagon too, citing a specific issue: education." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michigan. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "After Republicans lost their hold on key political positions in Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Kentucky in the 2018 Blue Wave, lame duck legislative Republicans have drawn national attention for their efforts to strip power from the newly elected Democrats.... But it appears [in Michigan] their effort to strip Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson (D) of her powers may have been a bridge too far for the state's House. A bill to take away campaign finance oversight from the new Secretary of State ... passed the Senate earlier this month.... State Rep. Aaron Miller (R) said Wednesday that the House Elections and Ethics Committee, which he chairs, would not consider the bill during the lame duck session, due to 'lack of support.' That likely means the bill is dead[.]" --s
Way Beyond
Brazil Targets Foot. Shoots. Reuters in the Guardian: "Brazil has failed to replace nearly one third of the thousands of Cuban doctors who exited the country after a diplomatic spat..., the health ministry has said. Brazil's president-elect, Jair Bolsonaro, had criticized Cuba's involvement in a government healthcare program, saying that Cuban doctors were being used as 'slave labor' because Havana took 75% of their salaries. In response, Cuba's government pulled out of the cooperation agreement ... leaving more than 8,000 doctor positions vacant.... The money the [Cubans] doctors earned in Brazil under the program was considered good by Cuban standards, even after the government took its portion. Bolsonaro ... has ... said that he would take all action 'within the rule of law and democracy' to oppose the governments of Venezuela and Cuba." --s
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Reader Comments (16)
Fatty’s decision to pull out of Syria, jeopardizing national security, deserting allies, giving huge wins to Russia and Iran, and laying the groundwork for an ISIS resurgence, all to shoot for an overnight nudge in his personal polling, demonstrates the lengths to which he is willing to go in using the power of his office for his own purposes.
Look for much worse once investigations begin, and expect a hastily arranged military “emergency” that requires Fatty to become a wartime president* once Mueller is spotted pulling up to the White House with handcuffs in his pocket.
This guy is not just a loony, he’s a despicable, dangerous loony.
@Akhilleus: Couldn't agree more. It is no longer foolish to think Trump would start a war with an impetuous tweet. He has gotten rid of or quit listening to subordinates who would just say no.
Trump is going all out in his operation attention diverting from Michael Flynn. With the Syrian retreat, executive order on SNAP, and the back down on the shut down Flynn will likely drop to at least #3 on the list.
Russia has already said the retreat is great. Likewise Syria and Iran. Now how long will it be before ISIS checks in with approval?
Oh yeah...anybody heard from Trumps brain, Hannity yet?
@Bobby Lee: Good question. Here's Hannity's response. It's Obama's/liberals' fault.
Not a word here about the Portman and Cardin rider to the must- pass spending bill making US companies civilly and criminally liable if they honor any boycott, divest or sanction action against Israel. NYT's editorial a couple of days ago.
Re: US withdrawal from Syria. Increased chaos and violence in the Syria is part of the longer term strategy for "regime change" in Iran that Trump promised AIPAC. Withdrawing from the nuclear agreement with Iran; Done. Moving the US Embassy to Jerusalem. Done. Abrogating the Obama era memorandum of understanding placing conditions of US aid to Israel will come when the Iranian action begins and Israel wants more aid. Federal aid to religious schools, the fourth item on the AIPAC/Jewish agenda, will garner a majority of Dems and Repubs fearful of an Evangelical/Jewish backlash. Mark my words. Been here before. Remember the run up to the Iraq clusterf*ck?
As dawn was breaking yesterday, the man who would be King, if he could, woke up with a start. He had been dreaming that he was shackled and in some kind of an orange jump suit being taken into a room in which a large table was present. On it were Trump steaks, Trump wine, Trump tater-tots and what looked like a big bowl of Borsch with a dollop of sour cream. There were also cakes and pies with a sign "Just Deserts." A large banner draped across the table read "MONSTER'S BALL."
"Shit!" said the man who would be King, if he could, as he sat on his golden throne, otherwise known as a toilet. "This witch hunt is killing me–-gotta get me a dog that wags––hmmm––start a war? Nah–-oh, wait–-end one or...and here he flushed, grabbed his transitional object and tweeted to the world.
Meanwhile on the other side of town Senator Corker, having just finished his bowl of Breakfast of Champions, got a ring-a ding- on his phone alerting him to check out a tweet by the man who would be King, if he could. "I'll be damned," said Corker who immediately high tailed it up to the White House. When he got there he was told the TMWWBK had cancelled the previous scheduled meeting. Fuming, Corker hot footed over to the Defense Dept.–-"What the fuck's going on? We are going to pull our troops out of Syria?" The Defense said, "first we heard of it." Undeterred, Corker worked his way through the foggy bottom where he received the same answer: The Pentagon knows nothing about this.
For the man who desperately needed/needs a diversion, this is brilliant! It has got everybody riled up––better that than the list of scams and lies and crimes and ... That this presents gigantic problems is not a problem for this man who will, eventually, have his nightmare come true.
And the dog keep wagging...
@Crashdavid: I'm not certain, but I don't think the Portman-Cardin rider was attached to the continuing resolution passed last night. I think policy riders don't usually attach to CRs, maybe because the policies would expire with the CRs. Don't take my word for it; this comment is more opinion/guess than fact.
Yesterday's short fish in a barrel exercise on the Blow piece. I wasn't up to more.
"See that many have noted your key line, Mr. Blow,
'How can a family that can’t run a charity run a country?'
and said but ah! they can, they have and they are, now with an entire nation to plunder.
Wish I believed the Real Big Court, the Supremes, had the capacity (moral, if not constitutional) to shut that operation down, too, and require restitution (let's start with the National Monuments) paid to the American people for the damage they've already done.
With Trump and has band of merry pirates at the helm, the country is already dissolving."
This Syria pull-out is just DiJiT creatively keeping another promise. Recently the WH hinted that a "visit to the troops" was in the works, no details. So now he'll bring back all the SOCOM guys to Tampa and visit them there!
Saves AF1 fuel too!
I see where Fatty has announced that his Syria jaunt is a win, so he can pick up his chips and leave the table. A winner, natch. As always.
It's probably unnecessary at this late date to point out the extreme dangers of such a juvenile world view (I win, you lose, game over) employed as a rationale on the international geopolitical stage.
Trump seems to believe that it's all like a game in which if he wins, he can thump his chest, call everyone else a loser, and go home with the trophy. He has no interest in understanding the nuances of conflicts like that in Syria. Bush ran his war the same way. "Shock and Awe" and we win! Fifteen years later, we're still there, and he created ISIS to boot.
Of course there will be the usual corybantic twaddle from the Foxbots about how the Glorious Leader is such a winner and how he beat those nasty ISIS guys and blah, blah, blah.
But don't think ISIS doesn't see this as the opening they were looking for. Putin loves it, so does Assad. Fatty gets to hide behind the chaos and grin like an idiot and we'll be listening to Liarbee Sanders talking about how he fulfilled his promise and now he's taking his ball and going home.
You couldn't invent such an idiot, especially one surrounded by other idiots who tell him his ideas are just fabulous.
Making America Lose Again.
Mueller can't get here soon enough.
U.S. Cash Repatriation Plunges 50% Defying Trump's Tax Forecast:
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-offshore-repatriated-cash-fell-133001066.html
My pup and I, getting a break from the high surf conditions on the California coast, went to the Coronado Island Dog Beach for some running and swimming. Actually he was doing the running and swimming while I was just chucking the ball out for him to retrieve. Back at home I was listening to MSNBC while I gave him bath. Ari Melber had Ken Starr on as his special interview guest. Ken is flacking his recent book "Contempt". Ari tried to push him to own up to some his prosecutorial misdeeds but as a typical Republican Ken wasn't going down that lane. Clinton was crooked liar who deserved to be impeached but the SCO hasn't proved any collusion against Trump. What did surprise me was that Starr said that the SCOTUS ruling that Clinton could be tried on civil charges supports the theory that Trump can be indicted and tried on criminal charges!
If you can stomach it, the interview can be viewed or listened to here Ken Starr: Trump can be indicted
Reading Balloon-Juice comments on the Ken Starr interview I posted above, (most agreed with my perception of it) I found this link to an article in Vanity Fair by Monica Lewinsky. Just twenty years ago that this all happened. My position at the time was that WJC should have retired in shame and failing that, Al Gore and Democratic leaders should have forced him out of office. In my twenty-one years in the Army and then working as a civilian with a major industrial company any leader who acted as Clinton did would have been relieved of his position. Anyway back to the article. Monica shares that just recently while with her family, she spotted Ken Starr with his family in the same establishment. The exchange that they had is interesting.
MONICA LEWINSKY: EMERGING FROM “THE HOUSE OF GASLIGHT” IN THE AGE OF #METOO
When you ally yourself with crazies, it shouldn't be a surprise to you when they act crazy.
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/12/20/conservative-media-trump-border-wall-1071391
The minority crazies wag the Big Dawg, with the political effect of further isolating him and diminishing his reach and appeal.
Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/12/20/politics/senators-angry-trump-shutdown/index.html
"Are you ruining my life?" asks Collins.
Why not? The Pretender is ruining everyone else's.
And you, Senator Collins, have helped.
One of the reasons that Trump is so worried about his base is because he believes, probably correctly, that they are as shallow as he is. It is also why the republicans are so awful. They do to others what they believe everyone wants to do to them.
The Syria pull out could also be part of Trump's (and Kushner's) protection of the Saudis and MBS. The Turks can finally go after the Kurds without the US in the way and then they quiet down about any murders in their backyard.