;)
The Commentariat -- February 27, 2019
Afternoon Update:
Jonathan Chait: "Trump's former fixer alleges not only systematic criminality by his former boss, but deep culpability in the Russia scandal itself. There is no longer any serious chance that Trump will avoid impeachment proceedings. Cohen's testimony should be seen as the first hearing." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: House Republicans seem to have conceded today that "their" President* is a criminal. They spent almost all of their teevee time berating Michael Cohen & none of it defending Donald Trump. They showed absolutely no interest in a "search for the truth" & an abiding compulsion to distract from Trump's bad acts. It's sort of a "group consciousness of guilt." They seem to be suffering from Trump Syndrome, which is a type of Stockholm syndrome.
Roger Stone Removes His Gag. Zoe Tillman of BuzzFeed News: "Roger Stone pushed back against Michael Cohen's claims that Stone told Trump in July 2016 that he had spoken to WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange about an email dump that would hurt Hillary Clinton's campaign, saying in a text message to BuzzFeed News: 'Mr. Cohen's statement is not true.' Stone's text, which he made clear was a 'statement,' was just the one sentence, and he did not explain what exactly about Cohen's testimony he maintained was false. Stone, who is facing criminal charges for lying to Congress, is under a gag order not to publicly comment on his case, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation, or any 'participants' in his case or the investigation." ...
... Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "Roger Stone's comments in multiple publications on Wednesday in response to Michael Cohen's testimony on Capitol Hill has some attorneys thinking he may have already violated a gag order and risked jail before trial.... Stone told BuzzFeed News, 'Mr. Cohen's statement is not true.' Stone told VICE News, 'Mr. Cohen's testimony is entirely untrue.' Stone told the New York Times by phone that 'Mr. Cohen's statement is untrue.' He told ABC News the same thing.... 'Given that his prosecution involves Stone'’s communications with Wikileaks/Assange as well as touches upon President Trump's alleged knowledge, a reasonable interpretation of the Court's gag order is that it was violated,' national security lawyer Mark Zaid told Law&Crime. Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti commented elsewhere that the statement 'appears to violate the gag order, although [Stone] will argue that it is a profession of innocence and thus does not violate the order.'"
Lachlan Markay & Sam Stein of the Daily Beast: "The Florida Bar has opened an investigation into whether Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) violated professional conduct rules by threatening former Trump fixer Michael Cohen ahead of Cohen's congressional testimony on Wednesday. The organization, which licenses lawyers to practice in the state, would not disclose details of the investigation, but spokesperson Francine Walker, said the bar is 'quite aware of [Gaetz's] comments ... and we have opened an investigation.' 'If rules have been violated, The Florida Bar will vigorously pursue appropriate discipline by the Florida Supreme Court,' Walker said in a statement. 'The Florida Bar takes its responsibility of regulating lawyer conduct very seriously.'"
Sharon LaFraniere & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "The attorney general for the District of Columbia has subpoenaed documents from President Trump's inaugural committee, the third governmental body to delve into how the fund raised $107 million and spent it to celebrate Mr. Trump's swearing in. The latest subpoena follows similar demands for documents by federal prosecutors in Manhattan and by New Jersey's attorney general. The attorney general in Washington is a local official who enforces statutes governing the operation of nonprofit organizations like the inaugural committee."
Andrew Restuccia & Katie Galiato of Politico: "... Donald Trump was hit with a spray of shouted questions on Wednesday evening in Vietnam, including one about his former fixer Michael Cohen's salacious testimony, as North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un sat alongside him, chuckling and looking bemused at the media outburst. Minutes later, the White House barred four American journalists from covering their next event. The decision ... sparked outrage among the White House press corps and prompted immediate accusations that the White House was punishing journalists for asking the president uncomfortable questions.... Ultimately, just one print reporter from the pool of 13 journalists that shadow the president on foreign trips was allowed into the subsequent dinner meeting between Trump and Kim. Reporters from all three wire services -- the Associated Press, Reuters and Bloomberg -- as well as a fourth reporter from the Los Angeles Times were blocked from the meeting. Past White Houses have often fought for increased access for American journalists while the U.S. president was traveling abroad in an effort to underscore the importance of a free press."
Brakkton Booker of NPR: "The House passed the most significant gun control measure in more than two decades on Wednesday when it approved the first of two bills aimed at strengthening the federal background check system for firearms purchases. The bill will likely stop in the House, though, as the Senate is unlikely to take up the measure and, even if it does, the president likely would not sign it. The vote on the first bill dubbed the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2019 passed largely along party lines 240 to 190 with Democrats who control the House cheering as they carried the legislation across the finish line."
Alan Blinder of the New York Times: "The North Carolina political operative who oversaw a fraud-ridden voter-turnout effort on behalf of a Republican congressional candidate was arrested on Wednesday, a prosecutor said, after a grand jury'’s secret indictment this week. The campaign contractor, L. McCrae Dowless Jr., was among five people charged in Wake County, N.C., in connection with misconduct related to absentee ballots. Mr. Dowless faces the gravest charges, including three counts of felonious obstruction of justice."
Maria Abi-Habib & Hari Kumar of the New York Times: "Pakistan said Wednesday that it downed two Indian fighter jets and captured a pilot, escalating hostilities between the nuclear-armed neighbors a day after Indian warplanes struck inside Pakistani territory for the first time in five decades. The apid turn of events raised fears that the historical animosities between India and Pakistan could be steering them toward another war."
*****
The Trump Scandals, Ctd. -- Day of Reckoning
Must-See Teevee. Michael Cohen is scheduled to testify publicly before the House Oversight Committee beginning at 10 am ET today. ...
... New York Times reporters are liveblogging the hearing. The page also includes live video. The Washington Post's liveblog is here.
** Days before the Democratic convention, I was in Mr. Trump's office when his secretary announced that Roger Stone was on the phone. Mr. Trump put Mr. Stone on the speakerphone. Mr. Stone told Mr. Trump that he had just gotten off the phone with Julian Assange and that Mr. Assange told Mr. Stone that, within a couple of days, there would be a massive dump of emails that would damage Hillary Clinton's campaign. Mr. Trump responded by stating to the effect of 'wouldn't that be great.' -- Michael Cohen, in prepared testimony ...
President Donald Trump told special counsel Robert Mueller in writing that Roger Stone did not tell him about WikiLeaks, nor was he told about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between his son, campaign officials and a Russian lawyer promising dirt on Hillary Clinton, according to two sources familiar with the matter. -- CNN report, November 2018 ...
... ** Tim Elfrink & Meagan Flynn of the Washington Post: "Michael Cohen ... will tell Congress on Wednesday that Trump knew his longtime adviser Roger Stone was communicating with WikiLeaks about publishing stolen emails from the Democratic National Committee, according to the text of his prepared opening statement. In the prepared remarks [** via Politico], Cohen calls Trump a 'racist,' a 'conman' and a 'cheat' and also levels accusations that the president personally signed a check to cover 'hush money payments' to keep quiet an affair with adult-film actress Stormy Daniels. Cohen says Trump never directly told him to lie to Congress about his business dealings in Moscow, but claims the president implicitly encouraged him to do so."
Michael Cohen was one of many lawyers who represented me (unfortunately). He had other clients also. He was just disbarred by the State Supreme Court for lying & fraud. He did bad things unrelated to Trump. He is lying in order to reduce his prison time. Using Crooked's lawyer! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet this morning ...
... Especially when you think about what Trump knows about what Cohen knows, Trump's attacks on Cohen are remarkably restrained -- not much worse, for instance, than his mocking of Elizabeth Warren & less extensive & shameful than all he has said about Barack Obama & Hillary Clinton. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie ...
... David Corn, et al. of Mother Jones: "There is practically a bottomless pit of questions that members of the committee can hurl at [Michael] Cohen.... But here is a partial list of specific queries for Cohen that members of the oversight panel may want to pose. They cover some of the known mysteries and puzzles of Trumpland. No doubt, there are plenty of questions that could be added to this compendium. Yet getting straight answers to these would be a very good start." --s
... Besty Woodruff of The Daily Beast: "Michael Cohen is prepared to share who signed the $35,000 monthly checks he received in reimbursement for his hush-money payments to Stormy Daniels, according to a person with knowledge of his upcoming congressional testimony. Cohen is expected to bring documentation revealing who signed the checks, according to that source. The checks are important because Cohen pleaded guilty to violating campaign-finance laws by facilitating those payments.... The efforts to repay him for that disbursement could spell legal trouble for the person who signed the checks." --s ...
... ** Mrs. McCrabbie: According to Woodruff, "Trump signed some of the checks, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday night, citing a source familiar with his planned testimony. Cohen began receiving the checks after Trump took office, the Journal said." IOW, assuming the WSJ reporting is correct & Cohen has documentary evidence of Trump's payments, then the Congress will have proof that the POTUS* committed financial crimes while in office. "High crimes & misdemeanors"? Uh, yeah. ...
... Alayna Treene of Axios: "If asked about the bombshell BuzzFeed News article -- later disputed by ... Robert Mueller's office -- that alleged Trump directed Cohen to lie about the extent of the Moscow project, the source said Cohen will explain that Trump never speaks in direct language: 'It's always code words.'" Yeah, that the way teevee mob bosses talk: "When you talk to the guy about the thing in the place, you don't know from nothing. You got that?" Treene has more info on Cohen's expected testimony. ...
Update. Mr. Trump did not directly tell me to lie to Congress. That's not how he operates. In conversations we had during the campaign, at the same time I was actively negotiating in Russia for him, he would look me in the eye and tell me there's no business in Russia and then go out and lie to the American people by saying the same thing. In his way, he was telling me to lie. -- Michael Cohen, prepared remarks
GOP Congressman Threatens Cohen. Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) taunted Michael Cohen Tuesday, accusing ... Donald Trump's former lawyer of having an affair and warning details would be revealed this week.... 'Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends?' Gaetz asked Cohen on Twitter the night before his appearance before the House committee. 'Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison,' he added. 'She's about to learn a lot...'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
What's next, seating Frank Pantangeli's brother in the witness section? -- Ben Shapiro, formerly of Breitbart "News," in a tweet ...
... Rick Wilson of the Daily Beast: "Tuesday afternoon, Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Trump's Colon) launched a Twitter attack on Cohen in the dumbest effort at witness intimidation in modern memory. If you didn't think this came directly from Trump, I have some beachfront condos in North Korea to sell you." Oh, read the whole post.
... Maggie Haberman & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "... Representative Matt Gaetz, a firebrand Republican from Florida, went after Mr. Cohen pre-emptively with a personal attack that some Democrats said amounted to witness intimidation.... Mr. Gaetz's threat and the enraged reaction to it reflected the stakes on Capitol Hill in anticipation of Wednesday's open hearing, at which Mr. Cohen is expected to allege a litany of misdeeds by Mr. Trump over the course of a decade.... Neither Mr. Cohen nor members of the Senate Intelligence Committee provided details of his testimony on Tuesday. Mr. Cohen began his meeting with the senators by apologizing for lying to them in 2017 about the duration of time during the 2016 campaign that the Trump Organization was in discussions about a Trump Tower project in Moscow, people familiar with what took place said. Mr. Cohen emerged from a secure room in the Senate after more than eight hours of questioning and told reporters that he appreciated 'the opportunity that was given to me' to tell the truth. 'I look forward to tomorrow to be able to, in my voice, tell the American people my story,' he said." ...
... ** David Corn of Mother Jones: "Did a Republican member of Congress just commit a felony crime? On Tuesday afternoon, on the eve of Michael Cohen's public appearance before the House Oversight Committee, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted out this threatening message: 'Hey @MichaelCohen212 -- Do your wife & father-in-law know about your girlfriends? Maybe tonight would be a good time for that chat. I wonder if she'll remain faithful when you're in prison. She's about to learn a lot...' Immediately, commenters on Twitter raised the question of whether Gaetz had engaged in witness tampering, which is a federal crime.... Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics, tweeted out the part of the federal criminal code that could apply.... The code's definition of an 'official proceeding' includes congressional proceedings." --safari: All fellow Confederates will stay mum on this Congressional thuggery. ...
... UPDATE: Andrew Restuccia & Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz, a staunch ally of ... Donald Trump, apologized late Tuesday night after he threatened Michael Cohen with the release of damaging personal information, a startling statement that drew an implicit rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and led legal experts to wonder if he had committed witness tampering. 'While it is important 2 create context around the testimony of liars like Michael Cohen, it was NOT my intent to threaten, as some believe I did,' the Florida Republican wrote shortly before midnight, quoting Pelosi's statement. 'I'm deleting the tweet & I should have chosen words that better showed my intent. I'm sorry.'"
Stephen Brown & Chris Sommerfeldt of the New York Daily News: "A mid-level [New York] state appeals court in Manhattan disbarred ... [Michael Cohen] on Tuesday, ruling that he abandoned his oath when he lied to lawmakers. '(Cohen) ceased to be an attorney upon his federal conviction of making false statements to the United States Congress,' a five-judge panel on the court wrote in a disbarment decision, referencing Cohen's guilty plea last year to lying to House and Senate committees about a scuttled Trump Tower development in Moscow."
Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Roger Stone associate Andrew Miller will have to testify to a grand jury in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation or will go to jail, a three-judge panel at the DC Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday morning, in an endorsement of Mueller's authority as a prosecutor. The court agreed with a trial-level judge's ruling that Miller should be held in contempt of court and jailed for refusing to testify under a grand jury subpoena from Mueller." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "A federal appeals court that is widely viewed as the second-most powerful court in the country handed down an opinion on Tuesday holding that Robert Mueller's appointment as special counsel is constitutional.... And the ... decision was joined by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson -- an arch-conservative judge who fairly often dissented from Judge Brett Kavanaugh's right when Kavanaugh served on her court.... Yet, while the arguments in Grand Jury are not especially controversial, they've been treated as such by one of the most powerful organizations in the country. Steven Calabresi, a law professor and chairman of the Federalist Society's board of directors, published a 21-page memo arguing that Mueller's appointment is unconstitutional.... So its significant that one of the Federalist Society's top leaders -- the chairman of its board -- is so radicalized that he embraces the kind of arguments that are swiftly rejected even by hardline conservative judges like Judge Henderson." --s
Big Dick Toilet Salesman Gets a Re-do. Justin Wise of the Hill: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said Tuesday that former acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker would return to Capitol Hill to clarify previous testimony.... The Justice Department said that Whitaker will meet with the committee privately, according to The Associated Press." Mrs. McC: "Clarify previous testimony," in case you were wondering, is a genteel way of saying, "clean up lies told under oath."
Joshua Eaton of ThinkProgress: "Russian gun-rights activist and spy Maria Butina is still cooperating with federal prosecutors, the government said in court Tuesday. Judge Tanya S. Chutkan put off setting a date for Butina's sentencing after Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Kravis told the court that her cooperation was ongoing." --s
Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Hillary Clinton wants Congress to 'connect the dots' of the Russia investigation led by special counsel Robert Mueller, saying in an interview that lawmakers on Capitol Hill should be more aggressive in digging into alleged ties between ... Donald Trump and the Russian government. The 2016 Democratic nominee -- who once worked as an attorney for the House Judiciary Committee during the Richard Nixon impeachment inquiry -- advocated more Congressional hearings to help the public piece together what's already been made publicly available about the investigation into a more digestible narrative.... Clinton said that during the Watergate investigation, Congressional hearings were instrumental to informing the press and public about the Nixon probe. She said Mueller's investigation is obscured not only be its secrecy, but also by legal jargon -- like 'obstruction of justice' -- that may be unknown to many parts of the general public." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Gus Garcia-Roberts & Christal Hayes of USA Today: "[Last year] Special counsel Robert Mueller ... was the target of a scheme where women were offered money to make up claims of sexual harassment against him. The plot ... was quickly uncovered ... [and] referred to the FBI for investigation.... [One of the morons] Jacob Wohl, a 21-year-old self-professed 'political and corporate intel consultant' and supporter of President Donald Trump, told USA TODAY in an interview that he's already plotting ways to discredit Democrats in the 2020 election with lies and other disinformation, using his large following on social media to cause disarray similar to what Russians did during the 2016 election." --safari: The article details the buffonery putting together the fake Mueller "assault" allegations. Idiocracy in action ...
... Gus Garcia-Roberts: "Twitter announced that it is permanently suspending Jacob Wohl, a 21-year-old Internet hoaxer and supporter of President Donald Trump, following the publication of a USA TODAY article in which he boasted of using the social media platform to spread lies and disinformation.... Wohl disclosed what he claimed were his plans to create 'enormous left-wing properties' including Facebook and Twitter accounts before the 2020 presidential election in order 'to steer the left-wing votes in the primaries to what we feel are weaker candidates compared with Trump.'... Wohl has regularly used Twitter to spread baseless claims.... He took credit for starting a widely-disseminated false claim last month that Sen. Kamala Harris was ineligible for election because she had immigrant parents and spent part of her childhood in Canada. In discussing his role in spreading that disinformation, Wohl said that the accuracy of a claim is not important. All that matters is how far it reaches, and how many people believe it. 'The believability stuck at about 15 to 18 percent by my measurement,' Wohl said. 'So it's not a bad campaign.'" --safari: Putin would be so proud.
Ellen Nakashima of the Washington Post: "The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said.... The strike on the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin, was part of the first offensive cyber campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, the officials said.... The operation marked the first muscle-flexing by U.S. Cyber Command, with intelligence from the National Security Agency, under new authorities it was granted by President Trump and Congress last year to bolster offensive capabilities.... Russia's tactics are evolving, and some analysts were skeptical of the deterrent value on either the Russian troll factory or on Putin, who, according to U.S. intelligence officials, ordered an 'influence' campaign in 2016 to undermine faith in U.S. democracy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Trump & Kim's Play DateTM: Mrs. Patrick
In Havana in 2016, Obama aides goaded Raul Castro into a press conference, where Obama made point of forcing him to answer reporters' questions. In Hanoi today, Trump followed Kim's lead in not having reporters ask questions at all, punishes those who tried anyway. -- Edward-Isaac Dovere of the Atlantic, in a tweet ...
... AP (See 7:45 pm entry): "The White House is restricting press access to ... Donald Trump's summit in Vietnam with North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Four print reporters, including one from The Associated Press, were prohibited from covering the beginning of Trump's dinner with Kim in Hanoi on Wednesday. That came after two of those reporters asked questions of the president during earlier events at the summit. White House press secretary Sarah Sanders released a statement saying that due to the 'sensitive nature of the meetings we have limited the pool for dinner to a smaller group.' Sanders initially said no reporters would be allowed into the dinner. But after photographers said they would not cover it without an editorial presence, one print reporter and a radio reporter were allowed in." Mrs. McC: Trump & Miss Sarah sure know how to show Li'l Kim the paramount values of an open, democratic system with a free press. What Trump wanted was a photo-op, a/k/a propaganda, free of pesky journalism.
International Man of Pettiness Nonpareil. I have now spent more time in Vietnam than Da Nang Dick Blumenthal, the third rate Senator from Connecticut (how is Connecticut doing?). His war stories of his heroism in Vietnam were a total fraud - he was never even there. We talked about it today with Vietnamese leaders! -- Cadet Bonespurs, in a tweet
Rebecca Morin of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday signed a trade deal with Vietnam valued at more than $20 billion, with several of the country's airlines agreeing to buy Boeing jets and technology from the U.S. VietJet is buying 100 Boeing 737-Max jets and 215 GE/CFM joint venture engines, and Bamboo Airways is buying 10 Boeing 787-9 jets. In addition, Vietnam Airlines is buying $100 million in services and technology from Sabre Corp."
Low Expectations. David Sanger & Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "When he vowed to 'solve' the North Korea problem just before his inauguration two years ago, President Trump made clear he meant eliminating its nuclear arsenal. But on the eve of a second meeting with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, the president sounds prepared to accept much less, at least for the foreseeable future. 'I don't want to rush anybody,' he said this past weekend. 'As long as there is no testing, we're happy,' he added, pointing to the North's suspension of nuclear and missile tests. Even to some of Mr. Trump's national security aides, that sounded like a significant retreat at a critical moment.... Mr. Trump faces the biggest opportunity of his presidency yet for a diplomatic breakthrough -- and the stark risks of underdelivering on a signature issue after threatening 'fire and fury' only months ago." ...
... BUT So Far, the Play Date Is a Big Success! Vietnam is thriving like few places on earth. North Korea would be the same, and very quickly, if it would denuclearize. The potential is AWESOME, a great opportunity, like almost none other in history, for my friend Kim Jong Un. We will know fairly soon - Very Interesting! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet Wednesday night ...
According to Trump, then, if North Korea would only denuclearize, it would become an economic juggernaut where you might want to buy a beachfront time-share. What an idiot! -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
L'il Kim Kicks U.S. Journalists out of Press Center. David Nakamura & John Hudson of the Washington Post: "What happens when the authoritarian ruler of North Korea checks into a hotel teeming with American journalists filing round-the-clock news reports? The free press loses -- or at least it did Tuesday after Kim Jong Un arrived a day ahead of his two-day summit with President Trump.... Not long before Kim arrived [in Hanoi], a notice was distributed to the press corps that the filing center [in the Melia hotel] would be moved to a separate site for the international press corps at the Cultural Friendship Palace.... One member of hotel management called the North Korean moves 'unprecedented' and said he was forced to turn over control of the entire hotel to the North Koreans." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
The Art of Wrecking the Deal. Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "President Trump has signaled that he is moving toward peace with China in a trade standoff that has rattled markets and businesses globally. But as he backs off his threat to impose higher tariffs, the president's relationship with his own trade negotiator is now showing signs of strain. The situation has left Mr. Trump's trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, who is both an ardent supporter of the president and a longtime China critic, in an uncomfortable bind. While broad tariffs on Chinese imports brought Beijing to the negotiating table, Mr. Trump has grown impatient with the talks, and a consensus is growing in Washington that Mr. Trump will ultimately accept a weak deal. And despite the lack of a transformative arrangement he once promised, the president has begun dangling the idea of a 'signing summit' with President Xi Jinping of China at Mar-a-Lago Mr. Trump's Florida resort. As a result, the president is undermining Mr. Lighthizer as he tries to pressure China to make big concessions. 'Trump is certainly doing his negotiating team no favors by undercutting them in public,' said Eswar Prasad, a trade expert and the former head of the China division of the International Monetary Fund." Emphasis added. ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is not only corrupt; he's also stunningly stupid. Having created the China trade crisis in the first place, he is now working against his own negotiator to make the outcome as lousy as possible, all so he can have a photo-op with Xi at Mar-a-Lago. I'm sure that not just Xi, but all of the U.S.'s adversaries, as well as our former friends Trump has burned (especially those with whom he's "negotiating" bilateral trade deals), are gleeful.
** Emily Cochrane of the New York Times: "The House voted on Tuesday to overturn President Trump's declaration of a national emergency on the Mexican border, with just 13 Republicans joining Democrats to try to block his effort to divert funding to a border wall without congressional approval. House Republican leaders kept defections low after feverishly working to assuage concerns among rank-and-file members about protecting congressional powers.... 'Is your oath of office to Donald Trump or is it to the Constitution of the United States?' Speaker Nancy Pelosi asked her Republican colleagues in a speech on the floor ahead of the vote.... The resolution of disapproval, which passed 245 to 182, must now be taken up by the Senate, where three Republicans have already declared their support, only one short of the number needed for Congress to ratify a stinging rebuke of Mr. Trump&'s efforts.... Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader and an open supporter of the declaration, declined to offer his opinion on the legal merits. 'We're in the process of weighing that,' Mr. McConnell said when asked at a news conference on Tuesday. 'I haven't reached a total conclusion.'" ...
... Burgess Everett of Politico: "Vice President Mike Pence faced a wall of resistance from Senate Republicans on Tuesday as he tried to sell ... Donald Trump's national emergency declaration on the southern border, according to multiple GOP sources. The pointed reception at the GOP lunch raised further doubts among Senate Republicans that the administration will be able to hold down defections on a crucial vote to block the president in the coming weeks.... As many as 10 Senate Republicans could support a resolution of disapproval if a vote were held today, according to four GOP senators who attended the lunch and heard Republican senators' complaints. That's far more than the four needed to pass the legislation on a simple majority and force Trump to issue the first veto of his presidency. Currently there are three public 'yes' votes in the Senate GOP conference."
Nick Miroff, et al., of the Washington Post: "At separate hearings on Capitol Hill, Democratic lawmakers hammered the Trump administration Tuesday over the 'zero tolerance' prosecution policy that split thousands of migrant children from their parents last year and devolved into a political fiasco for the White House. Several Trump officials acknowledged to the House Judiciary Committee that they did not speak up to supervisors or attempt to stop the implementation of the family separations at the border, despite warnings it probably would traumatize children.... At another hearing on 'zero tolerance' Tuesday, the House Oversight Committee voted to subpoena records from the Departments of Justice, Homeland Security and Health and Human Services for documents related to the policy." ...
... Caitlin Owens, et al. of Axios: "Thousands of allegations of sexual abuse against unaccompanied minors (UAC) in the custody of the U.S. government have been reported over the past 4 years, according to Department of Health and Human Services documents.... Allegations against staff members reported to the DOJ included everything from rumors of relationships with UACs to showing pornographic videos to minors to forcibly touching minors' genitals.... From October 2014 to July 2018, the HHS' Office of Refugee Resettlement received 4,556 complaints, and the Department of Justice received 1,303 complaints. This includes 178 allegations of sexual abuse by adult staff." --s ...
... Hannah Levintova of Mother Jones: "For the last 20 months, [Scott] Lloyd has been charged with running the [Department of Health and Human Services'] Office of Refugee Resettlement...It also runs shelters housing detained child migrants.... Last month, it was revealed that Lloyd's bungled handling of the reunification of these kids with their families was under formal HHS review; as of this writing, 171 children are still separated from their families. Today, the department announced that Lloyd will be leaving the refugee office for a new role involving outreach to religious communities with HHS's Center for Faith and Opportunity Initiatives.... Lloyd [has] ... a long history of working to restrict reproductive rights." --s
Ivanka Has Some Thoughts. Rebecca Falconer of Axios: "When asked [in a Fox 'News" interview] what she would say to people to whom [Alexandra] Ocasio-Cortez's new deal policy appealed, [Ivanka] Trump said: 'I don't think most Americans, in their heart, want to be given something.... People want to work for what they get. So, I think that this idea of a guaranteed minimum is not something most people want.'" Mrs. McC: Luckily, Ivanka has not suffered the humiliation of someone "giving her something." No guaranteed minimum wage for her; Ivanka works for the money. Pulled herself up by designer bootstraps, I reckon. More scientific evidence that the lack of a self-awareness gene is hereditary. (Also linked yesterday.)
BUT Maybe the Hypocrites Prize should go to Andy Biggs & David Perdue: Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) and Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) on Thursday are slated to introduce companion resolutions declaring the national debt a threat to the country's national security. The introduction of the resolutions comes just days ahead of Congress's March 2 debt limit deadline. The resolutions note that the total outstanding public debt surpassed $22 trillion in February with total interest exceeding $192 billion for fiscal year 2019. They call on Congress to return to regula order, adding that a balanced federal budget hasn't been signed since 1997." Mrs. McC: Both Biggs and Perdue voted from Trump's deficit-exploding tax "reform" bill, which of course also balloons the national debt." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Oh, Wait. Mitch is in the running. Martin Longman of the Washington Monthly: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) suggested on the Senate floor Tuesday morning that Democrats were to blame for a recent case of substantial election fraud in North Carolina that benefited a GOP House candidate.... '... We were hit with left-wing talking points insisting that voter fraud wasn't real. Never happens, they [Democrats] said. Well, that fraud just didn't happen, that modest efforts to ensure that voters who are who they say they are and are voting in the proper place were really some sinister right-wing plot to prevent people from voting,' McConnell said. 'So now, as you might expect, now that an incident of very real voter fraud has become national news and the Republican candidate seems ― seems ― to have benefited, these long-standing Democratic talking points have been really quiet.' It doesn't get any more disingenuous than that. The fraud in North Carolina was perpetrated on the voters, not by them. Republican operatives took Democrats' absentee ballots and threw them in the trash."
Rep. Adam Schiff in the Atlantic: "This week, the House Intelligence Committee will hold its first open hearing under the new Democratic majority. When I took over as chairman of the committee in January, there was no shortage of topics that would be obvious candidates for the committee to focus on -- China's growing might, Russian interference in our election, Turkey's drift, or countless other threats. Our first hearing will not be on any of those topics, but rather on an issue that may surpass them all in importance, and yet underlies each: the rise of authoritarianism and the threat to liberal democracy around the world." --s
Bess Levin of Vanity Fair: "When you're actively working for the president of the United States, you can't just come out and publicly say, 'This guy is a complete and total moron,' however accurate or obvious the statement may be.... In an interview with Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal, [former Fed chair Janet] Yellen was asked, point blank: 'Do you think the president has a grasp of macroeconomic policy?' And instead of dancing around the issue..., she responded, 'No, I do not.' And, apparently, macroeconomics is just one of several things she thinks President Buy and Sell knows nothing about, the others being international trade, business, and the entire purpose of the Federal Reserve." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yellin also expressed concern about "Trump's apparent lack of understanding about the Federal Reserve being an independent organization, and how crucial it is for the economy that Americans have confidence in the central bank." So during Senate hearings today ....
Wow. Sen. Schatz asks Powell if the White House has ever communicated with him about rates. Very long awkward pause. Powell says probably not appropriate for him to comment on conversations with other government officials. -- Kate Davidson of the Wall Street Journal, in a tweet
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Sam Stein & Maxwell Tani of The Daily Beast: "Officials at CNN have told the Democratic National Committee that their new politics editor, Sarah Isgur, will have no editorial decision-making control over the network's coverage of the 2020 elections, a Democratic official familiar with those conversations told The Daily Beast.... The former top communications aide to Attorney General Jeff Sessions was brought on board the network to help lead its political coverage for the 2020 election." --s
Beyond the Beltway
Nevada. Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "On Tuesday, the Nevada Gaming Commission fined Wynn Resorts, the casino empire that [Steve] Wynn founded and ran for years, $20 million for ignoring multiple complaints about his [sexual misconduct]. The fine, which the commission approved unanimously, is the largest imposed against a gambling licensee in Nevada.... Mr. Wynn resigned as the company's chairman and chief executive last February after a Wall Street Journal report described a decades-long pattern of sexual misconduct, including accusations that he pressured employees for sex. He was not paid severance and liquidated his shares in Wynn Resorts. Mr. Wynn, 77, denied the allegations, but faced immediate and intense backlash. He resigned as finance chairman of the Republican National Committee, and his name was removed from university buildings and programs. Shareholders filed multiple lawsuits and several regulatory agencies began investigations into the allegations."
North Carolina. Caroline Kelly of CNN: "North Carolina Republican Mark Harris will not run in the new election for the 9th Congressional District following November's disputed result caused by absentee ballot irregularities...." ...
... Beavis & Butthead. Adam Peck of ThinkProgress: "Republican Mark Harris won't seek the same congressional seat he vied for last year when North Carolina holds a new election later this year, he announced on Tuesday.... Harris also [threw] his support to local Republican county commissioner Stony Rushing, a far right conspiracy theorist and avid gun supporter who was among the more vocal defenders of Harris throughout his legal battle." --s...
... ** Jacob Rosenberg of Mother Jones: "Union County Commissioner Stony Rushing ... has made some controversial remarks about Confederate symbols in the past.... Rushing is a political unknown; his position as Union County commissioner is the highest-ranking office he has held. But he made news locally in 2015 when he defended Confederate symbols barely a week after nine congregants were murdered in their church by a 21-year-old white supremacist..., Rushing ... owns a firing range on the North Carolina border, is a proud member of the National Rifle Association and a 'Top Ten Recruit of 2009 & 2010,' according to a newsletter from the range..., Photoshopped images of Al Sharpton and Barack Obama as zombies appear in the newsletter[.]" --s
Way Beyond
Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Theresa May of Britain bowed on Tuesday to overwhelming pressure to reduce the risk of a disorderly departure from the European Union, accepting that Parliament should have the chance to delay Britain's exit if it rejects her withdrawal plans next month. Mrs. May's concession, in the face of an internal rebellion, was the latest in a long line of retreats as she has struggled to cajole her fractious party into supporting a revised version of ... Brexit that lawmakers threw out by a massive margin last month. Mrs. May's hand was forced by rebels in her own Conservative government, who had threatened to vote on Wednesday for an amendment that could force her to request an extension of Brexit talks if she is unable to get her blueprint through Parliament." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
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Jimmy Kimmel once again shows the stupidity of people who not only lie through their teeth but believe outrageous things like Trump making N.K. our 51st state. "And you vote?" would be something to ask these people after their utterances.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/jimmy-kimmel-tricks-donald-trump-north-korea_n_5c765a5de4b0031d95638aba
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And Cain said unto the Lord, "My punishment is greater than I can bear."
Genesis 4:13
Or–––Mein Hertz ist Schwer (my heart is heavy): Cohen at ten–-Trump ever after.
In Politico's report on d's (pence's) attempt to persuade GOP Senators to support DiJiT's border wall misappropriation, Sen Kennedy (R-LA) is reported to have said:
"... the administration is going to adjust military spending to "backfill" projects that are affected by the spending shifts, which could alleviate some senators' parochial concerns ... "
So ... you can vote for an unconstitutional misappropriation, which will involve fraudulent eminent domain taking in someone else's state, secure in the knowledge that your constituent's pork will remain (or more politely, that vital defense projects in your state will be unaffected).
If the original misappropriation is illegal (and it is), this shell-game variant is doubly so.
Is there such a thing as "mass impeachment?"
Seems entirely appropriate that today's news roundup is chock full of sleaze, assholes and dumbfuckery, on the same day Cohen narrates the low life shallows of the shithead in the White House.
Today's a new low for the modern US of A.
Jeezoflip Jim Jordan is a sniveling piece of shit. I hadn’t realized he was as bad as he has just amply shown he is. (Accidentally posted this in yesterday’s thread)
Just imagine the president* stranded in Vietnam and can't be here
to get love from Faux news.
He's probably having a real angrygasm.
PD's mention of the expression "Mein herz ist schwer" immediately called to mind one of the masterpieces of western civilization*, Schubert's lied, "Gretchen am Spinnrade"
(Gretchen at the spinning wheel). You can hear the wheel spinning in the right hand of the piano accompaniment. It is a perfect representation of the delusional, hypnotic state in which the poor girl still finds herself.
The story comes from Goethe's "Faust". The song, sung by Gretchen, sitting and spinning at the wheel, recounts her immense sadness at the events that had brought her to the lowest point in her life.
She had been conned by Faust, with help from Mephistopheles, into a relationship, deceived, defiled, and abandoned.
The deceiver is protected at all turns from punishment for his crimes and sins by his devilish master--he fools--and damages--everyone--and after seducing Gretchen, casts her off in search of the next shiny object.
Sound familiar?
Gretchen sings
Meine Ruh ist hin,
Mein Herz ist schwer,
Ich finde sie nimmer
Und nimmermehr.
My peace is gone,
My heart is heavy,
I will find it never
and never more.
In an early working of the tale, Goethe allows Gretchen to be condemned, but a later version (the more familiar one) finds her redeemed and welcomed into heaven.
It remains to be seen which ending transpires in its current iteration.
*By the way, Schubert wrote this when he was just 17. Just crazy! The soprano is the great Jessye Norman.
@Rockygirl: Jim Jordan sure comes across as a smartass.
Also, he couldn't be bothered to wear a jacket...just sitting there in his white shirt as tho' this hearing was not worthy of his time.
Can somebody please throw some hot tar all over the Drumpf's spawn? Especially Javanka's shady character given that they're the major "advisor" to Grampy Drumpf.
And I gotta agree, Gym Jordan is such a shameless asshole, that's exactly why the Confederates overlooked him aiding and abetting homosexual abuse.
I have only listened to the Democrats interrogating Michael Cohen. I have been employing the mute button every time one of those crapweasels opens his or her (don't forget Virginia Foxx etc) shitgibbon mouth. They are snot producers that have nothing to say except be self-righteous about how horrible Michael is. And we all know how wonderful Meadows and Jordan are. How do these people sleep at night, knowing they support the most corrupt POTUS in history, and dumping on a small-time crook like Cohen as if he is Hitler...? You need not answer that. There simply is nothing to be gained by this, as people on this committee are trying to disrupt (right from the beginning--) and they are not educable. And I mean every word of disrespect toward these moral midgets. I really really hate the other side of the aisle, every one of 'em.
@ P. D. Pepe & Akhilleus:
Yes! The lyrics - and narrative - of “Gretchen am Spinnrade” are so deeply expressive at / of this time.
(Transcendently sung, as well, by the inimitable Ms. Norman, are Strauss’ “Last Four Songs”.)
@ Jeanne:
Ditto!
And many thanks you for “crapweasels” and, especially, ”shitgibbon mouth”. I’d begun running low on modifiers.
Cheers.
Dear Aunt Hattie: nothing is trademarked-- feel free to borrow or steal-- nothing is off-limits, as there are no boundaries where description of these terrible brigands is concerned! Who woulda guessed that things could get WORSE than the people screeching about Obama in 2007-2008, but we live in never-never-never-NEVERland.