;)
The Commentariat -- February 12, 2020
Afternoon Update:
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Attorney General William Barr has accepted an invitation to testify to the House Judiciary Committee on March 31, ending a year-long standoff that began when the panel first demanded his testimony in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation. The arrangement comes as Democrats have demanded answers about Barr's apparent intervention in the sentencing of ... Donald Trump's longtime ally Roger Stone, who was convicted last year on charges that he lied to congressional investigators and threatened a witness.... On Wednesday morning, Trump hailed Barr for 'taking charge' of the [Stone] matter, confirming suggestions that it was the attorney general himself who intervened."
Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast: Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman "is not under Army investigation, a knowledgeable Defense Department official told The Daily Beast. But veteran Army officers caution that the lack of an investigation does not necessarily mean ... Vindman has escaped reprisal. Ever since Vindman was escorted out of the White House on Friday, along with his twin brother, there has been intense speculation over the future of his military career. Vindman has returned to the Department of the Army.... The Defense official said the Army was not investigating Vindman -- an indication that, thus far, the Army does not see Vindman as committing a professional infraction by testifying to the inquiry. The durability of that assessment stands as a key question affecting civilian-military relations in the post-impeachment phase of Trump's presidency. In an indication of how treacherous the military considers the politics of the Vindman episode, not even retired officers would speak on the record for this story.... In the military's 'up or out' culture, being denied a promotion to colonel by the next Army promotions board will spell the end of Vindman's service."
** Liz Roscher of Yahoo! Sports: "Ohio congressman and former Ohio State assistant wrestling coach Jim Jordan has been accused of participating in the cover-up of widespread sexual abuse in OSU's wrestling program. Jordan was accused by Adam DiSabato, who was the team captain in the late 1980s and early 1990s. DiSabato was appearing in front of a hearing in the Ohio legislature as a witness for House Bill 249, which would waive the statute of limitations and allow the OSU athletes who had been abused to sue the university. DiSabato told the House Civil Justice Committee that several team officials, including Jordan, were aware that the team's open shower facilities put them at risk of being abused and harassed by a team doctor, but did nothing about it. Then DiSabato detailed a phone conversation between him and Jordan, in which Jordan asks DiSabato to help him cover up wrongdoing. Via Cleveland.com: '[DiSabato] ... said Jordan called him repeatedly in July 2018, after media outlets quoted his brother, Michael DiSabato, saying Strauss' abuse was common knowledge to those surrounding the wrestling program, including Jordan. 'Jim Jordan called me crying, groveling... begging me to go against my brother.... That's the kind of cover-up that's going on there,' he said." Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm assuming Adam DiSabato's testimony was made under oath; that is, he wasn't just making up stuff to impress his buddies.
Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Deval L. Patrick, the former Massachusetts governor, has suspended his campaign for president, he said, a day after the New Hampshire primary." A Hill report is here.
Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen.Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) is demanding that Attorney General William Barr testify publicly over the Justice Department's decision to reduce the recommended sentence for Trump associate Roger Stone. Harris is asking Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) to call Barr before the panel, of which she is a member." ~~~
~~~ Update. Andrew Desiderio of Politico: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has little interest in investigating the Justice Department's abrupt reversal on a sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone -- rebuffing a Democratic demand sparked by ... Donald Trump's attacks on the federal prosecutors in the case. Graham, a staunch Trump ally, said Wednesday he did not intend to bring Attorney General William Barr in for testimony aside from the committee's general oversight of the Justice Department. And while Senate Republicans broadly criticized Trump's Twitter forays into the case, they said further investigation was not warranted -- dismissing Democrats' calls for congressional action over allegations of politically motivated favoritism."
Dan Scanlan of the Florida Times Union: "A Jacksonville, Florida, man jailed after crashing a minivan through a tent of Republican volunteers in a Walmart parking lot told investigators he does not like ... Donald Trump and that he felt "someone had to take a stand," according to his arrest report.
Jason Horowitz & Elisabetta Povoledo of the New York Times: "Pope Francis has for now rejected a landmark proposal by bishops to allow the ordination of married men in remote areas, a potentially momentous change that conservatives had warned would set the Roman Catholic Church on a slippery slope toward lifting priestly celibacy and weakening church traditions. Francis' decision, in a papal letter made public on Wednesday, surprised many given the openness he had displayed on the subject and his frequently expressed desire for a more collegial and less top-down church."
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Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns of the New York Times: "Senator Bernie Sanders narrowly won the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday, consolidating support on the left and fending off a late charge by two moderate rivals to claim his second strong showing in two weeks and establish himself as a formidable contender for the Democratic nomination. Mr. Sanders had about 26 percent of the vote with 90 percent of the ballots counted, while former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., was a close second. Mr. Buttigieg split the centrist vote with Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who surged in New Hampshire to finish in third. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Mr. Sanders's progressive rival, finished a distant fourth in her neighboring state, and in a stinging blow to his candidacy, former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. finished fifth. The results raised immediate questions about how much longer Mr. Biden and Ms. Warren, onetime front-runners, could afford to continue their campaigns." An ABC News story is here.
Matt Flegenheimer & Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "The revolution has not come. Bernie Sanders is looking like the front-runner anyway. The more moderate, non-Sanders alternatives combined to far outpace the liberal Vermont senator's vote share here on Tuesday night, with Pete Buttigieg, the former mayor of a small Indiana city, again holding him to a virtual draw. His predictions of runaway progressive turnout remain unproved. But the two fading former favorites who once seemed to have a hold on the liberal establishment and the moderate establishment -- Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. -- lost, badly. Two other professed unity candidates, Mr. Buttigieg and Senator Amy Klobuchar, performed well in New Hampshire but have shown little capacity to resonate with nonwhite voters so far."
Jenna Johnson of the Washington Post: "After months of trying to find her place in this crowded field, [Sen. Amy] Klobuchar (D-Minn.) seemed to have hit a stride.... Then, Tuesday night, came the stunning result: a third-place finish in New Hampshire, surpassing her better-funded and better-known rivals, former vice president Joe Biden and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and rocketing from the bottom tier of a crowded field to the center of the race.... Her challenge now is to keep that momentum building as the Democratic nominating contest moves to states where she has spent far less time campaigning -- and where she will face higher-polling candidates with more money and larger campaign operations.... More than two-thirds of her supporters said they made their decision in the last few days."
The New York Times has New Hampshire primary results here. The Times also has results for top candidates on the front page, so free to nonsubscribers. BuzzFeed News has results here, and they're more up-to-date than the Times', at least at 7:34 pm ET Tuesday. Update: Maybe the Times had a glitch. The paper seems to be catching up now. ~~~
~~~ NBC News has a livefeed of video of results, with Chuck Todd moderating.
Amy Wang & Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Michael Bennet, the Colorado senator and former public school superintendent, is ending his campaign for the presidency, he said.... Bennet did not announce support for any other candidate and hinted that the state would 'see me again' in the future. But he reiterated that his party would be best served by a nominee with broad appeal and a popular agenda, focusing on expanding access to education and fighting climate change."
Dave Weigel & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Andrew Yang, a Democratic businessman who campaigned on giving every adult American a monthly check for $1,000, will end his campaign for president after a disappointing showing in the New Hampshire primary. 'I am a numbers guy,' Yang said in an interview before addressing supporters at Manchester's Puritan Backroom. 'In most of these [upcoming] states, I'm not going to be at a threshold where I get delegates, which makes sticking around not necessarily helpful or productive in terms of furthering the goals of this campaign.' Yang said he had not decided whether to endorse another candidate, though campaigns have reached out."
Ed Kilgore of New York: "... there are three bigger obstacles on the road to victory that Buttigieg and Klobuchar face that their centrist antecedents didn't encounter. The first is a lack of post-New Hampshire campaign infrastructure. Buttigieg poured all his resources into the first two states, and Klobuchar, having no other options, did as well.... The second problem is that both Buttigieg and Klobuchar have serious diversity problems in their electoral bases.... And the third problem is that even if Joe Biden eases out of the race, a battle to keep Sanders and Bloomberg from snatching the nomination would be extremely difficult for Pete or Amy.... The odds are high that Buttigieg and Klobuchar will hit a wall in Nevada and in South Carolina, and will give way to Sanders and Bloomberg on, or shortly after, Super Tuesday."
The New York Times' liveblog of New Hampshire primary developments for Monday is here.
Stop and Smash. Alexandra Jaffe of the AP: "Mike Bloomberg is under fire for resurfaced comments in which he says the way to bring down murder rates is to 'put a lot of cops' in minority neighborhoods because that's where 'all the crime is.' The billionaire and former New York mayor made the comments at a 2015 appearance at the Aspen Institute, as part of an overall defense of his support for the controversial 'stop and frisk' policing tactic that has been found to disproportionately affect minorities. Bloomberg launched his Democratic presidential bid late last year with an apology for his support for the policy_and on Tuesday, after the comments resurfaced, he reiterated his apology and said his 2015 remarks 'do not reflect my commitment to criminal justice reform and racial equity.'... [In the taped speech,] Bloomberg says that '95 percent of murders and murder victims are young male minorities.... And to 'get the guns out of the kids hands,' Bloomberg says, police must 'throw 'em against the wall and frisk 'em.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ "Total Racist" Calls Out Racist. Kevin Brueninger of CNBC: "... Donald Trump slammed Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Tuesday as a 'TOTAL RACIST' over a 2015 audio clip in which Bloomberg defended the 'stop and frisk' police practice. In reply to Trump's tweet, Bloomberg said, 'I am not afraid of you and I will not let you bully me or anyone else in America.' Bloomberg made his comments defending stop and frisk in 2015, years before the three-term former New York mayor disavowed the policy in advance of launching his presidential bid in November." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jill Filipovic in a CNN opinion piece: "If you need proof that Michael Bloomberg is the absolute wrong person to lead the diverse Democratic coalition to victory in 2020, look no further than a recently resurfaced 2015 recording of him defending not only the controversial policy of stop-and-frisk but violent, racist policing in New York City.... [Bloomberg's claim that 95% of murderers & victims were young black men] is actually not true.... This is no small thing. This is about decency, judgment and the very basics of leading a party that is fueled by voters of color and claims to stand for basic fairness and justice." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The most surprising part to me is that Bloomberg made these racist remarks out in the open at an Aspen symposium. Apparently, he thought all white rich people think alike, and he could say the reprehensible things out loud.
Blackburn Blocks Election Bill to Rein in Trump's Cheating. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats to unanimously pass three election security-related bills Tuesday, marking the latest attempt to clear legislation ahead of the November elections. Democrats tried to get consent to pass two bills that require campaigns to alert the FBI and Federal Election Commission (FEC) about foreign offers of assistance, as well as legislation to provide more election funding and ban voting machines from being connected to the internet. But Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) opposed each of the requests. Under the Senate's rules, any one senator can ask for unanimous consent to pass a bill, but any one senator can object and block their requests." (Also linked yesterday.)
Catherine Garcia of the Week: "President Trump easily won the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday, but his challenger, former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, was able to secure nearly 10 percent of the vote. With 85 percent of precincts reporting, Trump has 85.7 percent of the vote, and Weld has 9.2 percent of the vote. Write-in candidates received 5.3 percent."
Time for Some Traffic Problems in Manchester, N.H. AP: "Eager to put on a show of force in a general-election battleground state..., Donald Trump tried to rattle Democrats on Monday with a rally in New Hampshire on the eve of the state's first-in-the-nation primaries.... Before leaving Washington, Trump said he had planned the rally to rattle Democrats and demonstrate his strength in the state before the primary vote.... Advisers also hoped that Secret Service moves in downtown Manchester to secure the area for the president's arrival would also make it harder for Democratic candidates and their supporters to transverse the state's largest city in the hours before the primary's first votes are cast, according to Trump campaign officials not authorized to discuss internal deliberations publicly." Emphasis added. (Also linked yesterday.)
Impeachment Fallout, Ctd.
Kate Brannen of Just Security: Just Security obtained a number of unredacted emails from the Office of Budget & Management previously released on Jan. 22 in highly-redacted form, "under the condition that they not be reprinted. Similar to the unredacted emails Just Security reported on in January, these new emails shed further light on the standoff that took place between the Pentagon and OMB over Trump's hold on Ukraine funding. They confirm that OMB, including the general counsel's office, was fully in the loop about the Pentagon's concerns and took active steps to bury them. They also expose the extent to which OMB misled, and even lied to, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), a congressional investigative body, as the GAO tried to understand the circumstances surrounding the funding hold. To this day, and through these redacted documents, OMB is continuing its efforts to keep its knowledge of the Pentagon's legal worries a secret, blacking out the portions of the emails where DoD officials voiced their concerns and where OMB staffers acknowledged them. The Washington Post reported earlier this month that [OMB general counsel Mark] Paoletta reviewed the redactions before the documents were released. (Also linked yesterday.)
** Tim O'Donnell of the Week: "The impeachment fallout continues. The New York Post reported Tuesday that Elaine McCusker, the acting Pentagon comptroller, will have her nomination for the permanent position rescinded by the White House. And, surprise, it has to do with Ukraine. In January, emails sent from McCusker questioning President Trump's directive to freeze about $250 million in Ukrainian military aid were leaked just before the president's Senate impeachment trial." The New York Post story is here. ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Chait: "What's especially chilling about this move is the reason for the retaliation. McCusker is losing her job because she attempted to follow the law. There's no cover story to rationalize it. That is the cover story. 'This administration needs people who are committed to implementing the president's agenda, specifically on foreign policy, and not trying to thwart it,' a White House official tells the [New York Post].... Emails show McCusker advising budget officials as to what the law said. She was not acting especially rigid about it.... The Government Accountability Office later examined the question, and found that McCusker was right. Holding up the aid was indeed illegal.... Trump is making it perfectly clear throughout the federal government. Anybody who stands in his way will be punished, even if they are on the side of the law. And his allies will be protected, even if they violate it."
Trump Has Learned His Lesson, Ctd.
** The Capo & His Consigliere: Barr Is Now Trump's Full-time Fixer. Carol Lee, et al., of NBC News: Jessie Liu, "the U.S. attorney who had presided over an inconclusive criminal investigation into former acting FBI director Andrew McCabe was abruptly removed from that job last month in one of several recent moves by Attorney General William Barr to take control of legal matters of personal interest to ...Donald Trump, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.... Senior officials at the Justice Department also intervened last month to help change the government's sentencing recommendation for Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who pled guilty to lying to the FBI. While once the prosecutors in the case had recommended up to six months in jail for Flynn, their latest filing now says they believe probation would be appropriate.... Senior officials at the Justice Department also intervened last month to help change the government's sentencing recommendation for Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, who pled guilty to lying to the FBI. While once the prosecutors in the case had recommended up to six months in jail for Flynn, their latest filing now says they believe probation would be appropriate."
We sent him on his way to a much different location, and the military can handle him any way they want. General Milley has him now. I congratulate General Milley. He can have him. And his brother, also. We'll find out. We will find out. But he reported very inaccurate things. -- Donald Trump, in what will happen to Alexander & Yevgeny Vindman, Tuesday
Clearly, Trump is thinking waterboarding would work well to facilitate "finding out." -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
** Philip Rucker & Paul Kane of the Washington Post: "Trump escalated his campaign of retribution against his perceived impeachment enemies Tuesday, railing in the Oval Office about a decorated combat veteran who testified about the president's conduct with Ukraine.... 'The military can handle him any way they want,' Trump said of Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who was ousted from his position on the National Security Council last Friday and reassigned to the Pentagon. Asked whether he was recommending the military take disciplinary action against Vindman..., Trump replied, 'They're going to certainly, I would imagine, take a look at that.' Trump also leaped to the defense Tuesday of Roger Stone.... Stoking new worries about improperly politicizing the Justice Department, Trump admonished federal prosecutors for recommending a seven- to nine-year sentence for Stone.... Trump provided fresh evidence that he feels emboldened and will say and do as he pleases after the Republican-controlled Senate voted last week to acquit him in the impeachment trial. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Trump's actions in recent days have seemed 'almost delightedly vengeful' and are cause for 'very deep and profound concern and alarm. It completely explodes this delusion that he's learned his lesson and he will turn over a new leaf, which was magical thinking from the start and a fig leaf for a number of my Republican colleagues.'" ~~~
~~~ Politico has a story on Trump's threat that the Department of Defense would retaliate against Vindman here.
Spencer Hsu, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Tuesday withdrew the nomination of former U.S. attorney Jessie K. Liu of the District of Columbia to a high-ranking Treasury Department post after being lobbied by critics of her office's handling of cases, including ones inherited from special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, two people familiar with the decision said.... In the job, Liu oversaw late-stage courtproceedings for top Trump aides and Mueller defendants, including Trump's 2016 deputy campaign chairman Rick Gates and former national security adviser Michael Flynn, as well as the November trial and conviction of longtime Trump political adviser Roger Stone.... Treasury officials believe Trump himself made the call to withdraw Liu...."
** Prosecutor Proposes, Trump Disposes. Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Justice Department plans to reduce its sentencing recommendation for Roger Stone, a longtime confidant of President Trump, after top officials professed to be blindsided by the seven-to-nine-year penalty prosecutors urged a judge to impose, a senior Justice Department official said Tuesday. In a stunning rebuke of career prosecutors that immediately raised questions about political interference in the case, a senior Justice Department official said the department 'was shocked to see the sentencing recommendation in the Roger Stone case last night. That recommendation is not what had been briefed to the department,' the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.... The statement came hours after Trump tweeted about the sentence prosecutors recommended, saying: 'This is a horrible and very unfair situation. The real crimes were on the other side, as nothing happens to them. Cannot allow this miscarriage of justice!' The senior Justice Department official, though, said the decision to revise prosecutors' recommendation came before Trump's tweet." Mrs. McC: So what now? Thirty days of home detention. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. New Lede: "All four career prosecutors handling the case against Roger Stone ... asked to withdraw from the legal proceedings Tuesday -- and one quit his job entirely -- after the Justice Department signaled it planned to reduce their sentencing recommendation for the president's friend. Jonathan Kravis, one of the prosecutors, wrote in a court filing he had resigned as an assistant U.S. attorney, leaving government altogether. Three others -- Aaron S.J. Zelinsky, Adam Jed and Michael Marando -- asked a judge's permission to leave the case. Zelinsky, a former member of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team, also indicated in a filing he was quitting his special assignment to the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office, though a spokeswoman said he will remain an assistant U.S. attorney in Baltimore. A CNN story is here. ~~~
~~~ John Kruzel of the Hill: "... in a rebuke to the career prosecutors, the DOJ on Tuesday told the judge in the case to apply 'far less' to Stone's sentence. 'The government respectfully submits that a sentence of incarceration far less than 87 to 108 months' imprisonment would be reasonable under the circumstances,' the DOJ wrote in a memo late Tuesday afternoon." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Jeremy Stahl of Slate: "... Timothy Shea -- a longtime adviser to Barr and newly minted interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia -- issu[ed] a new recommendation. The original sentencing recommendation, Shea wrote, 'does not accurately reflect the Department of Justice's position on what would be a reasonable sentence in this matter' and 'could be considered excessive and unwarranted under the circumstances.' The substitute request ... noted that a sentence of three to four years would be more 'typical.' The memo also asked that the judge 'consider the defendant's advanced age, health, personal circumstances, and lack of criminal history in fashioning an appropriate sentence' -- a request more typical of defense counsel than of prosecutors.... Lead House impeachment manager Adam Schiff said the change was in keeping with 'the gravest threat to the rule of law in America in a generation.' Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to DOJ Inspector General Michael Horowitz saying that the 'situation has all the indicia of improper political interference in a criminal prosecution' and asking that Horowitz 'conduct an expedited review of this urgent matter and issue a public report with your findings and recommendations as soon as possible.'" ~~~
~~~ Catherine Garcia of the Week: "President Trump on Tuesday night attacked the judge presiding over his friend and adviser Roger Stone's criminal case.... 'Is this the Judge that put Paul Manafort in SOLITARY CONFINEMENT, something that not even mobster Al Capone had to endure?' he tweeted. 'How did she treat Crooked Hillary? Just asking!'" ~~~
Congratulations to Attorney General Bill Barr for taking charge of a case that was totally out of control and perhaps should not have even been brought. Evidence now clearly shows that the Mueller Scam was improperly brought & tainted. Even Bob Mueller lied to Congress! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet last night
~~~ Betsy Swan of the Daily Beast: "A federal prosecutor, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the apparent involvement of Attorney General Bill Barr in overriding the sentencing recommendation was remarkable. 'We've long known that Trump views his political opponents as crooks and his allies as righteous, regardless of the facts or the law.... What's remarkable now is that Barr appears to share that same corrupt view,' the prosecutor said. A current Justice Department official said it was 'not often DOJ leaps to the defense of people who threaten witnesses and judges, and who commit perjury.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm not that it's better that Barr may have made the decision before Trump tweeted his complaints, as Justice claims. Which is better: Trump signals to Barr to interfere in a prosecutorial decision OR Barr doesn't even need the signal to do the deed?
~~~ Jonathan Chait: "Trump's coy promise [in the tweet recited above] to take care of Stone is the latest step in a public communication between the two longtime partners.... Trump's all-but promise to pardon Stone or commute his sentence is the next step in completing the bargain between them.... William Barr's Department of Justice has made decision after decision that benefits Trump, the merits of which run from questionable to baffling. Covering up Trump's misconduct is easy when he has the pardon power. When he has Barr backing him up, it is trivially easy.... This is a situation that screams out that the Department is interfering to protect Trump's cronies." ~~~
~~~ Marcy Wheeler: "... after DOJ recommended what Roger Stone's own memo makes clear is a a guidelines sentence yesterday, top DOJ officials almost certainly named Bill Barr have objected and announced they're going to lower the recommendation. I believe the brazenness of this fight may be a reflection of the damaging information Roger Stone may have about Trump's own conduct.... Bill Barr was brought in as AG to bury abundant evidence that Trump was personally involved in efforts to maximize the Russian operation, to deny all the ways that Trump did cheat to win. From his initial misleading claims in the wake of the report's release, he was always suppressing the centrality of Roger Stone in all this." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Other experts react with horror. (Also linked yesterday.)
Mrs. McCrabbie: The Great Thing about Trump's America is that you no longer have to go through the hassles of travel to visit a banana republic. You don't have to learn Useful Phrases for Travelers in another language. You don't need shots. You can drink the water (presuming you don't live in Flint, Newark or near a fracking operation). Just sit back, look out the window & behold your very own slice of banana republic. ~~~
~~~ Here's a swell graf from Peter Baker's NYT story about Trump Unbound that highlights an, um, different view of what constitutes a banana republic: "'The president is entitled to staffers that want to execute his policies, that he has confidence in,' said Robert C. O'Brien, the national security adviser, who supervised Colonel Vindman and his brother, Yevgeny Vindman, also an Army lieutenant colonel, who was dismissed last week from the National Security Council staff even though he did not testify in the House hearings. 'We're not a banana republic where lieutenant colonels get together and decide what the policy is.'"
Fed Chair Tries to Explain Basic Macroeconomics to House Dummies. Heather Long of the Washington Post: "Federal Reserve Board Chair Jerome H. Powell told Congress on Tuesday that now would be a good time to reduce the federal budget deficit, which is expected to top $1 trillion this year. 'Putting the federal budget on a sustainable path when the economy is strong would help ensure that policymakers have the space to use fiscal policy to assist in stabilizing the economy during a downturn,' Powell said in testimony to the House Financial Services Committee. In past recessions, the Fed has played a large role in reviving the economy by sharply cutting interest rates. But Powell has been warning lawmakers that the central bank won't have much ammunition left to fight the next downturn because interest rates are so low (the benchmark rate is just below 1.75 percent, far below rates above 5 percent in the past). More government spending is likely to be needed to aid the economy in the next recession. The Fed chair's warning comes as the U.S. federal debt has grown by about $3 trillion since President Trump took office, and the president's latest budget proposal submitted this week would add another $5 trillion to the debt over the coming decade."
Weird News. Trump's DOJ Favors Hookers for Jesus over Catholic Charities. Sarah Lynch of Reuters: "A U.S. Justice Department anti-human trafficking grant program is facing internal complaints, after two nonprofits were denied funding in favor of two less established groups whose applications were not recommended by career DOJ officials. The awarding of more than $1 million total to the two groups, Hookers for Jesus in Nevada and the Lincoln Tubman Foundation in South Carolina, has triggered a whistleblower complaint filed by the Justice Department's employee union to the department's Inspector General. An internal department memo seen by Reuters shows that as of September 12, two long-established nonprofits -- the Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Palm Beach and Chicanos Por La Causa of Phoenix -- were originally on the list of recommended grant winners after receiving high marks from outside contractors hired to review applications. The annual grants help nonprofits and local governments aid human trafficking victims. Later that month, those two organizations were replaced as recommended recipients by Hookers for Jesus and the Lincoln Tubman Foundation, which both received lower rankings from the outside reviewers." (Also linked yesterday.)
Greg Miller of the Washington Post: "For more than half a century, governments all over the world trusted a single company to keep the communications of their spies, soldiers and diplomats secret. The company, Crypto AG, got its first break with a contract to build code-making machines for U.S. troops during World War II. Flush with cash, it became a dominant maker of encryption devices for decades.... The Swiss firm made millions of dollars selling equipment to more than 120 countries well into the 21st century. Its clients included Iran, military juntas in Latin America, nuclear rivals India and Pakistan, and even the Vatican. But what none of its customers ever knew was that Crypto AG was secretly owned by the CIA in a highly classified partnership with West German intelligence. These spy agencies rigged the company's devices so they could easily break the codes that countries used to send encrypted messages. The decades-long arrangement, among the most closely guarded secrets of the Cold War, is laid bare in a classified, comprehensive CIA history of the operation...."
Edmund Lee of the New York Times: "... a federal judge ruled in favor of T-Mobile's planned takeover of Sprint. The long-in-the-works merger would combine the nation's third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers, creating a telecommunications giant to take on AT&T and Verizon. The new company, to be called T-Mobile, would have about 100 million customers."
Beyond the Beltway
Todd Feurer of CBS News Chicago: "Actor Jussie Smollett has been indicted on six new charges of disorderly conduct, accusing him of filing false police reports claiming he was the victim of a racist and homophobic attack last year. A special Cook County grand jury handed down the new indictment on Tuesday, following a six-month investigation by special prosecutor Dan Webb."
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Reader Comments (4)
As another dreary day passes in the Dark Land of Trump Treason, that thin, whiny bleating voice, at once self-pitying and rancid with hatred and snark, squeaks out through curled sneering lips, demanding that everyone listen intently to authoritarian lies and vitriolic attacks, debasing all within earshot.
And in another corner of the world, a genuinely wondrous, truly uplifting voice is stilled. Joseph Shabalala died yesterday. Shabalala, the founder and lead singer of the South African group Ladysmith Black Mambazo, exported not just his sense of music as a cultural treasure, to be shared with the world, but its power to inform, heal, and connect in positive and human ways.
I was lucky enough to see Ladysmith a few times. It was always one of those celebrations of music, humanity, and joy that stayed with me for weeks after. Years, actually. One could look across the crowd at a Ladysmith concert and see strangers smiling broadly, all connected by something far greater than the hatred and snarling viciousness that binds those at a Trump event.
No doubt the Orange Menace considers Shabalala a shithole country moocher who sings unintelligible songs (unlike Fatty, who, attempting to sing the National Anthem, fails miserably on a regular basis, reduced to muttering and mumbling and nodding like a halfwit, trundled out of the home for a few minutes in the outside world).
The above mentioned qualities of healing, joy, and connection are so far removed from the Trump worldview as to be like the top of Everest to a some subterranean worm. And forget sharing. Sharing to Trump means everyone gives to him; he gives nothing back.
Such a small, warped and blackened, self-aggrandizing soul will never understand Joseph's dictum that sometimes it's good to just sit and sing.
Ngibona kakhulu, Joseph.
Here's a terrific video by Robert Reich that exposes many of Fatty's
swamp creatures; no draining ever took place. Instead his whole administration is full of them. Our hopeful Democratic candidates might just want to emphasize these facts more than they have. Good they tell us what they will do. but even better to tell those "others" what Trump has actually done.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/robert-reich-donald-trump-swamp_n_5e43b682c5b6d0ea38108d02
The matter of Roger Stone and the I.G. interference is scary––this better be a big story and Trump's telling us he had nothing to do with this is bonkers. This man's long hairy arm is in as far as it can go.
And honey dripping Marsha Blackburn: I was waiting for Trump to mention her name at his celebratory speech last week but it was not forthcoming and I thought Marsha must feel so dismissed. Well, shucks on a corn cob pipe if that little gal done gain some marks: (See story above)
Just another day in the neighborhood.
Correction: A.G. instead of my "I.G" although "I" might be more fitting cuz Mr. Barr is IN over his head by being Fatty's lap dog.
In this one, [campaign] we’ve got a wintry showdown between one guy who would be the oldest president ever (and is beloved by young people) and another who would be the youngest president ever (and is beloved by older people). If you’ve got a time machine, go back a year or so and put some money down on that prospect in Vegas. But be careful about your return date, because the only safe prediction about the 2020 Democratic campaign is that it will look completely different in a few weeks. And, oh yeah, it will still be an incredible mess." Andrew O'Hehir (Salon)
I've been consistently outraged but mildly agnostic as to the permanent effects of Trumpism on the US gov., remembering that I'm a millennial that came of age with Dick Cheney running things. My bar was set low but hightened considerably under Obama.
This week feels different, and I'm even more outraged than usual as the entire DOJ just gets iceberged by Barr and Trump and yet it registers a blip on the radar screen. I get the Dem primary is ramping up, but Barr should be hounded out of DC with every ounce of Dem + media effort we can muster. Instead, we continue to send Very Serious Letters...FFS.
What kind of country are all these fucks and their enablers going to leave my generation and those coming to age? Out-fucking-rageous. Lickspittles, all.
I play the role of the mildly patriotic, naively optimistic American abroad but it's turning darker as of late as we get an increasingly clearer picture on the balance between true patriots and happy-to-go-along shitbags infiltrating our government.