The Ledes

Tuesday, October 1, 2024

New York Times: “Pete Rose, one of baseball’s greatest players and most confounding characters, who earned glory as the game’s hit king and shame as a gambler and dissembler, died on Monday. He was 83.”

The Ledes

Monday, September 30, 2024

New York Times: “Kris Kristofferson, the singer and songwriter whose literary yet plain-spoken compositions infused country music with rarely heard candor and depth, and who later had a successful second career in movies, died at his home on Maui, Hawaii, on Saturday. He was 88.”

~~~ The New York Times highlights “twelve essential Kristofferson songs.”

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Public Service Announcement

Washington Post: "Americans can again order free rapid coronavirus tests by mail, the Biden administration announced Thursday. People can request four free at-home tests per household through covidtests.gov. They will begin shipping Monday. The move comes ahead of an expected winter wave of coronavirus cases. The September revival of the free testing program is in line with the Biden administration’s strategy to respond to the coronavirus as part of a broader public health campaign to protect Americans from respiratory viruses, including influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), that surge every fall and winter. But free tests were not mailed during the summer wave, which wastewater surveillance data shows is now receding."

Washington Post: “Comedy news outlet the Onion — reinvigorated by new ownership over this year — is bringing back its once-popular video parodies of cable news. But this time, there’s someone with real news anchor experience in the chair. When the first episodes appear online Monday, former WAMU and MSNBC host Joshua Johnson will be the face of the resurrected 'Onion News Network.' Playing an ONN anchor character named Dwight Richmond, Johnson says he’s bringing a real anchor’s sense of clarity — and self-importance — to the job. 'If ONN is anything, it’s a news organization that is so unaware of its own ridiculousness that it has the confidence of a serial killer,' says Johnson, 44.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'll be darned if I can figured out how to watch ONN. If anybody knows, do tell. Thanks.

Washington Post: “First came the surprising discovery that Earth’s atmosphere is leaking. But for roughly 60 years, the reason remained a mystery. Since the late 1960s, satellites over the poles detected an extremely fast flow of particles escaping into space — at speeds of 20 kilometers per second. Scientists suspected that gravity and the magnetic field alone could not fully explain the stream. There had to be another source creating this leaky faucet. It turns out the mysterious force is a previously undiscovered global electric field, a recent study found. The field is only about the strength of a watch battery — but it’s enough to thrust lighter ions from our atmosphere into space. It’s also generated unlike other electric fields on Earth. This newly discovered aspect of our planet provides clues about the evolution of our atmosphere, perhaps explaining why Earth is habitable. The electric field is 'an agent of chaos,' said Glyn Collinson, a NASA rocket scientist and lead author of the study. 'It undoes gravity.... Without it, Earth would be very different.'”

The New York Times lists Emmy winners. The AP has an overview story here.

New York Times: “Hvaldimir, a beluga whale who had captured the public’s imagination since 2019 after he was spotted wearing a harness seemingly designed for a camera, was found dead on Saturday in Norway, according to a nonprofit that worked to protect the whale.... [Hvaldimir] was wearing a harness that identified it as “equipment” from St. Petersburg. There also appeared to be a camera mount. Some wondered if the whale was on a Russian reconnaissance mission. Russia has never claimed ownership of the whale. If Hvaldimir was a spy, he was an exceptionally friendly one. The whale showed signs of domestication, and was comfortable around people. He remained in busier waters than are typical for belugas....” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Oh, Lord, do not let Bobby Kennedy, Jr., near that carcass. ~~~

     ~~~ AP Update: “There’s no evidence that a well-known beluga whale that lived off Norway’s coast and whose harness ignited speculation it was a Russian spy was shot to death last month as claimed by animal rights groups, Norwegian police said Monday.... Police said that the Norwegian Veterinary Institute conducted a preliminary autopsy on the animal, which was become known as 'Hvaldimir,' combining the Norwegian word for whale — hval — and the first name of Russian President Vladimir Putin. 'There are no findings from the autopsy that indicate that Hvaldimir has been shot,' police said in a statement.”

New York Times: Botswana's “President Mokgweetsi Masisi grinned as he lifted the diamond, a 2,492-carat stone that is the biggest diamond unearthed in more than a century and the second-largest ever found, according to the Vancouver-based mining operator Lucara, which owns the mine where it was found. This exceptional discovery could bring back the luster of the natural diamond mining industry, mining companies and experts say. The diamond was discovered in the same relatively small mine in northeastern Botswana that has produced several of the largest such stones in living memory. Such gemstones typically surface as a result of volcanic activity.... The diamond will likely sell in the range of tens of millions of dollars....”

Click on photo to enlarge.

~~~ Guardian: "On a distant reef 16,000km from Paris, surfer Gabriel Medina has given Olympic viewers one of the most memorable images of the Games yet, with an airborne celebration so well poised it looked too good to be true. The Brazilian took off a thundering wave at Teahupo’o in Tahiti on Monday, emerging from a barrelling section before soaring into the air and appearing to settle on a Pacific cloud, pointing to the sky with biblical serenity, his movements mirrored precisely by his surfboard. The shot was taken by Agence France-Presse photographer Jérôme Brouillet, who said “the conditions were perfect, the waves were taller than we expected”. He took the photo while aboard a boat nearby, capturing the surreal image with such accuracy that at first some suspected Photoshop or AI." 

Washington Post: “'Mary Cassatt at Work' is a large and mostly satisfying exhibition devoted to the career of the great American artist beloved for her sensitive and often sentimental views of family life. The 'at work' in the title of the Philadelphia Museum of Art show references the curators’ interest in Cassatt’s pioneering effort to establish herself as a professional artist within a male-dominated field. Throughout the show, which includes some 130 paintings, pastels, prints and drawings, the wall text and the art on view stresses Cassatt’s fixation on art as a career rather than a pastime.... Mary Cassatt at Work is on view at the Philadelphia Museum of Art through Sept. 8. philamuseum.org”

New York Times: “Bob Newhart, who died on Thursday at the age of 94, has been such a beloved giant of popular culture for so long that it’s easy to forget how unlikely it was that he became one of the founding fathers of stand-up comedy. Before basically inventing the hit stand-up special, with the 1960 Grammy-winning album 'The Button-Down Mind of Bob Newhart' — that doesn’t even count his pay-per-view event broadcast on Canadian television that some cite as the first filmed special — he was a soft-spoken accountant who had never done a set in a nightclub. That he made a classic with so little preparation is one of the great miracles in the history of comedy.... Bob Newhart holds up. In fact, it’s hard to think of a stand-up from that era who is a better argument against the commonplace idea that comedy does not age well.”

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The Commentariat -- June 1, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump announced on Friday that the summit meeting he had canceled with North Korea's leader would be held after all, the latest twist in a nuclear-edged diplomatic drama that has captivated and confused much of the world.... The reversal followed an Oval Office meeting on Friday afternoon with a high-ranking North Korean envoy who delivered a personal letter from Mr. Kim to Mr. Trump. The envoy, Kim Yong-chol, the former North Korean intelligence chief and top nuclear arms negotiator, became the first North Korean official to set foot in the White House since 2000 and only the second ever to meet with a sitting American president."

Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday broke with decades of protocol and commented publicly about the highly anticipated jobs report data 69 minutes before they were released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Treasury yields moved sharply higher within seconds of a tweet from Trump that said he was 'looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning.' He had never issued such a tweet before. Bloomberg News data also showed that the value of the U.S. dollar moved sharply higher after the Twitter post compared with previous trades the mornings jobs data are released. That means traders were probably making investment decisions based on signals they took from Trump's post." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Now, as Donald signals he'll pardon Martha for a crime associated with insider trading, would be a good time for the feds to look into whether or not any of Donald's phone friends made surprisingly excellent market moves in the minutes & hours between the time Trump got federal BLS reports & when those reports were made public. If they can't get him on "collusion" with Russia, maybe they can get Trump on insider trading.

John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Friday lashed out at Samantha Bee.... 'Why aren't they firing no talent Samantha Bee for the horrible language used on her low ratings show? A total double standard but that's O.K., we are Winning, and will be doing so for a long time to come!'... Bee apologized Thursday for describing Ivanka Trump with a vulgarity on her show 'Full Frontal,' saying it was 'inappropriate and inexcusable' and that she had 'crossed a line.'... TBS later apologized in a separate statement.... Ivanka Trump ... sparked online outrage Sunday when she tweeted a photo of herself with her younger son around the same time as reports circulated that the U.S. government had lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year." Mrs. McC: Obviously, the "double standard" begins at 1600 Pa. Ave., with a president who condoned Roseanne Barr's racist remark but is infuriated by Bee's sexist language.

AP: "French President Emmanuel Macron has told ... Donald Trump that the new U.S. tariffs on European, Mexican and Canadian goods are illegal and a 'mistake.'... The European Union is planning retaliatory tariffs on U.S. steel and food goods in the coming weeks, once it calculates the exact cost to EU companies of the U.S. tariffs. Macron pledged the riposte would be 'firm' and 'proportionate' and in line with World Trade Organization rules.... As its first step to challenge the U.S. tariffs, the EU on Friday formally filed a request for consultations at the WTO. The two sides will discuss the matter and try to reach a deal. If that fails to solve the matter, after 60 days the EU can ask a WTO panel to rule on the case. The EU's trade chief, Cecilia Malmstrom, said that the U.S. decision to impose tariffs 'is further weakening the Trans-Atlantic relations.'"

Jennifer Dlouhy of Bloomberg: "Trump administration officials are making plans to order grid operators to buy electricity from struggling coal and nuclear plants in an effort to extend their life, a move that could represent an unprecedented intervention into U.S. energy markets. Although the memo describes a planned Energy Department directive, there was no indication ... Donald Trump had signed off on the action nor when any order might be issued."

Carol Lee & Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "A close friend of Jared Kushner has come under scrutiny by Special Counsel Robert Mueller for his proximity to some key meetings between Trump associates and foreign officials, according to five people familiar with the matter. Richard Gerson, a hedge-fund manager in New York, was in the Seychelles in January 2017, less than two weeks before ... Donald Trump's inauguration and around the time Trump associate Erik Prince secretly met with Russian and United Arab Emirates officials, including Crown Prince Mohamed bin Zayed al-Nahyan of Abu Dhabi, four of the people said. While in the remote Indian Ocean island nation, Gerson met with Prince Mohammed -- also known by his initials as MBZ -- and communicated with a Lebanese-American businessman with close ties to the UAE, George Nader, who had organized the Erik Prince meeting, according to text messages Gerson sent at the time and a person familiar with the meeting.... Gerson had met Nader just weeks earlier when Trump officials, including Kushner, gathered for a secret meeting with MBZ at a Four Seasons hotel in New York.... Counterintelligence investigators have been scrutinizing UAE influence in the Trump campaign since before Mueller was appointed as special counsel, and the probe has continued in coordination with Mueller's team, according to two people briefed on the investigation."

Ken Vogel of the New York Times: "Michael Avenatti, the lawyer for Stephanie Clifford..., has sought help for his legal battle against Mr. Trump from leading Democratic operatives. Mr. Avenatti contacted an official in the network of liberal groups led by David Brock, while someone associated with Mr. Avenatti's law firm was in touch with two people connected to major Democratic donors, according to people familiar with the conversations. But the discussions do not appear to have led to any financial help for the high-profile legal and public relations fight being waged by Mr. Avenatti and Ms. Clifford, whose stage name is Stormy Daniels."

Senate Race. Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp will be going into the congressional midterm elections knowing she's received support for at least one piece of legislation by the unlikeliest of groups: the Koch political network. Americans for Prosperity, an arm of the influential network supported by conservative billionaire industrialists Charles and David Koch, is unleashing a digital advertising campaign on Friday thanking Heitkamp for co-sponsoring the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protect Act, a bill that rolls back Dodd-Frank regulations mainly on community banks, or those with less than $100 billion in assets. It recently passed in Congress with bipartisan support.... The move to support Heitkamp comes only two months after the Koch network launched a six-figure ad buy attacking her for voting against the Republican tax reform bill in December."

*****

NEW. Donald Trump Cannot Be Trusted with Sensitive Information, Ctd. Politico: "President Barack Obama's former economic adviser [Jason Furman] on Friday floated the idea that ... Donald Trump should be barred from getting the monthly jobs report in advance, after Trump tweeted out what appeared to be a tease of the strong numbers. 'Looking forward to seeing the employment numbers at 8:30 this morning,' Trump tweeted at 7:21 a.m. on Friday.... The report ... showed that the U.S. added 223,000 jobs in May, beating expectations and driving the unemployment level down to 3.8 percent, the lowest since April 2000." Austan Goolsbee, once Obama's chief economic advisor, tweeted, 'If the president just tipped that the numbers are good, he broke the law.'" ...

... NEW. Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "President Trump broke years of presidential protocol on Friday morning by posting a tweet that signaled a strong jobs report was on its way from the Labor Department an hour before the report was released.... Mr. Trump, who was briefed on the numbers Thursday evening, appeared to foreshadow the strength of the latest report on Friday morning on Twitter[.]... Mr. Trump's tweet may have violated a federal rule, issued in 1985 governing the release of embargoed federal data like the jobs report.... Even before the numbers were released on Friday, economists said they were stunned at the prospect that Mr. Trump was giving hints about the report's content, which fast-acting traders in financial markets could seize on to place bets on an optimism-fueled market surge. Other economists went further, raising the possibility that if Mr. Trump was willing to give Twitter users a premature hint at the strength of report, he could also have shared the numbers with a more select group even earlier.... Jason Furman ... [said,] 'Sharing [the report results] with the public is destabilizing and inappropriate. A bigger concern is if he was bragging about them privately to his friends last night -- friends who could make millions on the information.'"

NEW. The Over-the-Hill, Incomptent POTUS*. Michael Kruse in Politico Magazine: Donald Trump's "self-burnished image as a tip-top deal-maker long has obscured an actual record that is far more mixed, pocked with moves and acquisitions that scratched a passing itch but created massive financial problems later. His best work, too, was his earliest work. Trump was at his most patient, his most diligent, his most attentive and his most creative -- his most effective -- some 35 to 45 years ago.... These past 16 months of Trump's presidency have shown that whatever skills Trump thinks he acquired over the course of his business career haven't necessarily translated to his work in the White House.... Trump has proven to be more adept at breaking deals than making deals. And the sudden and bizarre scuttling of his meeting with murderous North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un ... and now might be back on again -- is only the latest data point that suggests he's either not as good at negotiating as he promised he was, or that negotiating with disparate factions of Congress or in geopolitically fraught international arenas is harder than he thought it would be and harder than anything he's ever done." Mrs. McC: The opening grafs of this report are, well, amazing.

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

** Jonathan Swan of Axios: "President Trump pressured Attorney General Jeff Sessions to reclaim control of the Russia investigation on at least four separate occasions, three times in person and once over the phone, according to sources familiar with the conversations.... A source with knowledge of the conversations said they occurred throughout last year, until fairly late in the year -- not just in the short period after Sessions recused himself last March.... Four sources with direct knowledge told me Trump has been obsessed by the Mueller investigation over the past year.... Trump takes out much of his anger on the White House Counsel Don McGahn, according to sources who've watched them interact." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Jonathan Chait: "Two days ago, the New York Times reported that President Trump berated Attorney General Jeff Sessions for recusing himself from the Russia investigation. (The recusal was a slam dunk, as Sessions had a clear and glaring conflict of interest in an investigation of a campaign he was part of on a subject he misled Congress about.) Now Jonathan Swan reports that Trump did not give up when the recusal was explained to him. He urged Sessions to take back control of the Russia investigation at least four separate times.... This falls into the category of 'shocking, but not surprising,' the kinds of Watergate-level abuses of power we learn about every week. Trump believes he is entitled to run the federal law-enforcement apparatus for his personal and political benefit, sparing his friends and subjecting his allies to merciless harassment. Trump is incorrigibly authoritarian.... The Constitution is not going to be safe as long as Trump occupies the Oval Office."

Trump Tries to Lie His Way out of an Obstruction Charge. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump again insisted Thursday that he did not fire former FBI director James B. Comey because of the Russia investigation, blaming the 'Corrupt Mainstream Media' for pushing a false storyline.... Trump made a similar assertion last month, writing that Comey 'was not fired because of the phony Russia investigation.'... The president's assertion, in a morning tweet, is at odds with comments he made in a television interview last year in which he said Comey's stewardship of the Russia inquiry was on his mind when he decided to dismiss him.... In a separate tweet Thursday, Trump continued to insist that the FBI had spied on his 2016 campaign and claimed that the media 'is working overtime' to avoid reporting about it." Mrs. McC: How do you "work overtime" by doing nothing? Of course none of this makes sense, which is what we have come to expect from the Worst President* Ever. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Thursday peppered his Twitter feed with falsehoods, claiming the media is ignoring a controversy he's dubbed 'spygate' and is maliciously pushing the idea that he fired FBI director James Comey because of the Russia probe -- an explanation the president himself offered in the days after the ousting. It was another example of Trump hammering the media as he tries to beat back damaging stories about special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, the Trump campaign and whether the president tried to obstruct justice." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Kevin Johnson of USA Today writes a more damning take than does the NYT article linked below on Andrew McCabe's memo regarding his conversation with Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein concerning Trump's firing of Jim Comey: "Former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe authored a memo claiming that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein said President Trump asked him to refer to the Russia investigation as a reason for recommending the dismissal of FBI Director James Comey, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday." Mrs. McC: Congratulations, Kevin. You are now a card-carrying member of the "Corrupt Mainstream Media." And thank you. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Frank Rich: "If Trump is innocent of all potential charges in the Russia probe, why would he want a loyal puppet in charge of the Mueller investigation except to obstruct it? His continued wail about Sessions, not just on Twitter but to anyone in earshot, is so patently self-incriminating that it's laughable. Not to mention over-the-top. Look at our president's priorities: He is now spending more time vilifying Sessions (and Rod Rosenstein and Robert Mueller )than he is on his putative summit with Kim Jong-un, in which America's national security is at stake. He now professes a far lower opinion of Sessions, his own choice for our country's chief law-enforcement officer, than he does of North Korea's murderous dictator.... Trump is so anxious about his legal exposure as Mueller closes in that he just can't help betraying his guilt in public like a bargain-basement Macbeth. Or he's batshit crazy. Or both." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Jonathan Chait: "President Trump has been making the novel argument that the real flaw in the Russia scandal lies with the FBI, which allegedly failed to warn Trump that his campaign was being targeted by Russian intelligence. 'Why didn't the crooked highest levels of the FBI or "Justice" contact me to tell me of the phony Russia problem?,' he complained last weekend. Today, Trump approvingly quotes Rush Limbaugh repeating his argument[.]... In fact, the FBI did tell Trump. As NBC reported last December, in 'a high-level counterintelligence briefing by senior FBI officials' the candidate 'was warned that foreign adversaries, including Russia, would probably try to spy on and infiltrate his campaign.' At the time, of course, Trump was publicly dismissing the FBI;s warnings that Russia had stolen Democratic emails, insisting it might be China or a 400-pound man, while also publicly asking Russia to expand its email theft. His campaign was also swarming with secret Russia contacts, most prominently a meeting in Trump Tower with Russian spies promising dirt on his opponent." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Eileen Sullivan & Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Thursday that he planned to issue a pardon to Dinesh D'Souza, a conservative author, commentator and filmmaker, and was strongly considering commuting the sentence of former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois, a Democrat. Flexing his clemency power as he and his team face multiple criminal investigations of their own, Mr. Trump also said that he was looking at the case of Martha Stewart, the lifestyle mogul who spent five months in prison for lying to investigators about the timing of a stock sale. The pardon for Mr. D'Souza, who pleaded guilty in 2014 to making illegal campaign contributions, represents a victory for one of the president's most vocal bases of support, the conservative media. Mr. D'Souza has argued that he was singled out for prosecution because of his conservative politics." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

** The president was focusing on cases where he argued that the justice system had unfairly treated celebrity figures, all of whom were convicted of crimes that in some ways mirrored charges that have been made or mentioned in connection with allies of Mr. Trump in recent weeks, including campaign finance violations and lying to investigators. All three have connections, if sometimes distant, to Mr. Trump, either through political allies or his time in the private sector.... Mr. Blagojevich appeared on 'Celebrity Apprentice,' Mr. Trump's reality show, and Ms. Stewart hosted an 'Apprentice' spinoff show. Moreover, all three of the cases were tied to prosecutors who have become nemeses of the president. Mr. D'Souza was prosecuted by Preet Bharara, the United States attorney in New York who was fired by Mr. Trump last year and has been one of his fiercest critics. Ms. Stewart was prosecuted by James B. Comey, the F.B.I. director who was fired by Mr. Trump last year and has engaged in a running war of words ever since. As for Mr. Blagojevich, he was prosecuted by Patrick J. Fitzgerald, a close friend and colleague of Mr. Comey. Mr. Trump previously pardoned I. Lewis Libby Jr., a top aide to former Vice President Dick Cheney, who was also prosecuted by Mr. Fitzgerald. (Mrs. McC: Fitzgerald currently is representing Comey.)

... ** Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump granted a full pardon Thursday to conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza and said he was strongly considering clemency for other celebrity felons, signaling his willingness to exercise his unilateral power to reward friends an allies while undercutting the work of his nemeses in law enforcement.... With Thursday's announcements, Trump also delivered an indirect but unmistakable message to personal attorney Michael Cohen, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and others ensnared in Trump-related investigations that they, too, could be spared punishment in the future. D'Souza, Blagojevich and Stewart had been convicted of such crimes as campaign-finance violations or lying to investigators -- charges similar to those brought against Flynn..., Paul Manafort and other Trump associates indicted in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Russia investigation. Cohen, meanwhile, is under investigation by federal prosecutors in New York for possible campaign-finance violations and other possible crimes." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Congratulations to NYT & WashPo reporters & editors for barely mincing words in analyzing Trump's ulterior motives. See also yesterday's Comments for opinions on the D'Souza pardon. As for my opinion -- what they said. ...

... Eugene Scott of the Washington Post: "When President Trump pardoned Dinesh D'Souza on Thursday, he was pardoning one of the most inflammatory voices on the right.... D'Souza, who has written books and directed films attacking former president Barack Obama, claims he was targeted for his conservativ views." Scott lists some of D'Souza's commentary, much of it stunningly racist, right down to using the word "nigger." Mrs. McC: D'Souza is an Indian-American. ...

... They Were "Treated Unfairly"! Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "The most popular read on President Trump's pardon of conservative provocateur Dinesh D'Souza is that he may be sending a signal to other allies -- hello, Michael Cohen! -- that he will pardon them if they stay loyal. The more fundamental and clearer takeaway is that presidential pardon powers are being perhaps irrevocably politicized for Trump's own legal purposes.... In his tweet about D'Souza on Thursday morning, Trump said D'Souza 'was treated very unfairly by our government!'... Of Arpaio, he said, 'I thought he was treated unbelievably unfairly when they came down with their big decision to go get him, right before the election voting started. ... I thought that was very, very unfair thing to do.'... As for Libby? You guessed it: He was 'treated unfairly.'... 'I think to a certain extent Martha Stewart was harshly and unfairly treated,' Trump said, as on-message as ever.'... The president who routinely complained about the 'witch hunt' that is special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's investigation is using his pardon power in perhaps unprecedented ways to assert that myriad other witch hunts have taken place in recent years." ...

... David Graham of the Atlantic: "It's Trump's fifth pardon of his short presidency, and the third to go to a conservative cause célèbre, after former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and Dick Cheney aide Scooter Libby.... As with so many of Trump's maneuvers, this is entirely within the legal bounds of his power but still largely outside the realm of propriety and precedent.... [Trump] has granted mercy to prominent conservatives more or less off the cuff, circumventing the standard application process through the Justice Department, in some cases undermining the rule of law with these moves.... Some observers have seen [the pardons] as political messaging related to the probes into Russian interference in the election, a method of telegraphing to friends and aides who are ensnared that the president is willing to use his pardon power to help them escape legal issues. It is true that the offenses involved in the D'Souza, Libby, and Arpaio pardons parallel the troubles facing some of his former associates: Fixer Michael Cohen is suspected of campaign-finance violations; several former aides have already pleaded guilty to making false statements; Trump himself is being investigated for obstruction of justice. Last month, New York began considering changes to its laws to allow state prosecution for certain crimes even if Trump grants federal pardons." ...

... ** Michelle Goldberg uncovers the many motives of Trump in pardoning D'Souza: "... even if Trump was acting out of instinct rather than calculation, he has an intuitive ability to speak to his supporters' dark impulses, and an insatiable need to smash boundaries that constrained his predecessors. The fact that D'Souza is utterly undeserving of a pardon might be part of the point; it signals that fealty to the president transcends all other values."...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Here's one motive Goldberg suggests: "By pardoning D'Souza, who has said more disgusting things than [Roseanne] Barr, Trump sends a rejoinder: his supporters can cross any lines they please." While many wise people attribute Trump's cruelty to daddy & mommy issues, I often think the more potent factor was the New York elite's rejection of his crass materialism. Trump thought his minor real-estate successes earned him entree into that rarified society; he cannot fathom why somebody who slathers everything with gold-leaf & pink marble, rubs shoulders with the Mafia (and other underworld figures) & uses someone like Michael Cohen to fix his little problems is unacceptable to New York's haute société. Edith Wharton's Age of Innocence is still instructive. ...

... Anderson Cooper diagrams some of the connections among Trump's pardon or potential-pardon recipients & Trump's "enemies":

... Rachel Maddow is more long-winded than usual, but this opening segment is compelling in the way she puts Trump's pardons/obstruction of justice in historical perspective:

     ... Shorter Maddow: The president has the "absolute" power to pardon, but s/he can commit a crime -- such as obstruction of justice -- in exercising that power. Mrs. McC: BTW, several commentators have noted today that the president's pardon power is the one place the U.S. Constitution adopts English royal prerogatives: English kings, going back to Anglo-Saxon monarchs, established & retained their unfettered power to pardon.

Adam Raymond of New York: "... Trump has not stuck by [Michael] Cohen for this long because he's a master litigator; he's stuck by him because he's a 'fixer.' And now NPR has provided a taste of what Cohen's brand of fixing looks like. On Thursday, in a piece by reporter Tim Mak about Cohen's history of legal threats, NPR published the audio of a 2015 phone call between Cohen and Mak, who worked for the Daily Beast at the time. The call was recorded before the Daily Beast published a story on Ivana Trump's claim, later recanted, that Trump raped her. In addition to wrongly claiming that a husband cannot rape his wife, Cohen lit into Mak and made a series of threats, some of which were published by the Daily Beast at the time.... Cohen is like a character out of a bad mobster movie. He's also all bark. As Mak writes, despite Cohen's bluster, the story ran and he never filed a lawsuit."

Tim Mak of NPR: "... as part of reporting on Cohen's history of legal threats, so is a previously little-noticed claim regarding [Stormy] Daniels.... Her lawyer, Michael Avenatti, now tells NPR that she was coerced into signing the agreement. 'In October of 2016, Michael Cohen made threats against my client Stormy Daniels, as it related to pressuring her to enter into the NDA and accept the $130,000 payment,' Avenatti told NPR, but he offered no additional details when pressed.... Avenatti alleged in a March court filing that as news stories about the NDA were beginning to emerge in January, Cohen 'through intimidation and coercive tactics, forced [Daniels] into signing a false statement' denying a previous sexual relationship with Trump.... Making legal threats on Trump's behalf has been typical for Cohen." Here's the audio:

One Price of a Corrupt President. Carrie Johnson of NPR: "The special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election has cost nearly $17 million dollars so far, according to a new report from the Justice Department.... The office has been operating for just over a year -- since May 17, 2017, when Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed [Robert] Mueller.... His task is to get to the bottom of Russian manipulation surrounding the election and whether there were any links or coordination with the Trump campaign. Earlier this month, President Trump tweeted the probe was a 'soon to be $20,000,000 Witch Hunt, composed of 13 Angry and Heavily Conflicted Democrats and two people who have worked for Obama for 8 years, STOP!' Some of the attorneys working for Mueller have made campaign contributions to Democrats or have other such political connections. By law, Mueller is barred from considering political affiliation when hiring for career posts inside the Justice Department."


Ana Swanson of the New York Times: "The Trump administration said on Thursday that it would impose tariffs on metals imported from its closest allies, a measure certain to strain diplomatic relationships and provoke retaliation against businesses and consumers in the United States. Tariffs of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico, which together supply nearly half of America's imported metal, are to take effect at midnight Thursday, Wilbur Ross, the commerce secretary, said on a call with reporters. The move follows months of uncertainty during which the Trump administration dangled potential exemptions to the tariffs in return for concessions on other fronts, including voluntary limits on metal shipments to the United States and reduced tariffs on imports from America." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... David Lynch, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump Thursday imposed tariffs on imported steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico, triggering immediate retaliation from U.S. allies against American businesses and farmers. The tariffs -- 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum -- will take effect at midnight Thursday, marking a major escalation of the trade war between the U.S. and its top trading partners. In response, the E.U. said it would impose duties 'on a number of imports from the United States,' referring to a 10-page list of targets for retaliation it published in March, which included Kentucky bourbon and Harley-Davidson motorcycles. European leaders also vowed to proceed with a complaint to the World Trade Organization.... The Mexican government said it would levy import taxes on U.S. exports of pork bellies, blueberries, apples, grapes, certain cheeses, and various types of steel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said months of intense negotiations between his country, the United States and Mexico imploded Tuesday when Vice President Pence demanded that any deal expire automatically in five years. Trudeau said he was prepared to travel to Washington this week to try to finalize a rework of the North American Free Trade Agreement, but Pence, in the phone call, said a meeting would occur only if the 'sunset' provision was agreed to in advance.... Trudeau's comments came after President Trump enacted the most severe economic penalties he has imposed to date against U.S. allies, establishing tariffs on steel and aluminum imports from Canada, Mexico and the European Union.... Thursday evening, Trump seemed to respond directly to Trudeau's criticism, saying in a statement issued by the White House that 'That United States has been taken advantage of for many decades on trade. Those days are over. Earlier today, this message was conveyed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada: The United States will agree to a fair deal, or there will be no deal at all.'"

Trump endorses Rep. Dan Donovan (R-N.Y.) in his primary race against ex-con & ex-Rep. Michael Grimm (and a guy who threatened -- on camera -- to throw a reporter over a balcony to his death). In a tweet, Trump promoted Donovan because he "voted for Tax Cuts and is helping me to Make America Great Again." Anna Palmer of Politico:"THERE'S ONLY ONE PROBLEM. Donovan voted against the tax-cut bill. He voted against it three times. He voted against it in every incarnation. The only material reason Trump gave to support Donovan was incorrect. Not only did Donovan vote against it, he was vocally opposed to it. He called it a 'tax hike on the people I represent.'... What is going on in the White House? It's tough to think of a mistake easier to avoid than whether a lawmaker voted for the largest legislative achievement of the past two years." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Trump Turns to Victimhood Politics." Brian Stelter of CNN: "For a second straight day, President Trump has found a way to talk about the 'Roseanne' controversy without condemning Roseanne Barr's racist remark. He is targeting ABC and its parent company Disney, whose chief executive is Bob Iger. He is expressing resentment that ABC took swift action when Barr attacked former Obama aide Valerie Jarrett, but didn't take equivalent action when other ABC stars assailed Trump.... But Trump is tapping into a potent strain of grievance politics. It's the same thing that drives countless segments on his favorite Fox News talk shows: the notion of a double standard that hurts conservatives.... 'Iger, where is my call of apology? You and ABC have offended millions of people, and they demand a response,' Trump tweeted [Thursday]. Then he added: 'How is Brian Ross doing? He tanked the market with an ABC lie, yet no apology. Double Standard!'... Brian Ross, the ABC News correspondent who made a serious reporting error on the day that former National Security Advisor Michael Flynn pled guilty to lying to the FBI. Ross was suspended and later reassigned.... ABC may not have apologized directly to Trump, but the network did issue a full apology for the faulty reporting." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Samantha Bee Called Ivanka Trump a Cunt. John Coblin of the New York Times: "The TBS late night host Samantha Bee has come under intense scrutiny after using a vulgar expletive to describe Ivanka Trump during her show on Wednesday night. Ms. Bee dedicated nearly seven minutes of Full Frontal With Samantha Bee' to the issue of migrant children before using a crude reference for the female anatomy to describe the first daughter and presidential adviser, modifying it with the word 'feckless.' On Thursday..., Ms. Bee issued an apology. 'I would like to sincerely apologize to Ivanka Trump and to my viewers for using an expletive on my show to describe her last night,' the host said in a statement. 'It was inappropriate and inexcusable. I crossed a line, and I deeply regret it.' In a statement, TBS said Ms. Bee had taken the right action by apologizing for the 'vile and inappropriate language' she had used. 'Those words should not have been aired,' the network said. 'It was our mistake, too, and we regret it.'... The host's remarks, including the epithet, were scripted. When the segment was broadcast, the offending word was bleeped out, but was left uncensored on the clip that was posted online. TBS removed the video from its site on Thursday afternoon.... Hours before Ms. Bee and TBS offered their apologies, Sarah Huckabee Sanders ... condemned Ms. Bee's remarks."

Carol Morello & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and a senior North Korean official abruptly ended two days of talks Thursday with no immediate announcement of progress toward reinstating a potential summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Trump. The State Department said Pompeo and Kim Yong Chol, the right-hand man to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, concluded their meetings before noon, roughly 90 minutes earlier than expected. Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert did not immediately explain why the schedule changed, and it was not clear whether the two men had hit an impasse in efforts to set the agenda for a leader summit in Singapore next month. Pompeo gave no indication of trouble with a short tweet after the talks broke up." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Coral Davenport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration took a major step toward dramatically weakening an Obama-era rule designed to cut pollution from vehicle tailpipes, setting the stage for a legal clash with California that could potentially split the nation's auto market in two. The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday submitted its proposal to roll back climate change rules that required automakers to nearly double the fuel economy of passenger vehicles to an average of more than 50 miles per gallon by 2025. The rules, which would have significantly lowered the nation's greenhouse gas emissions, were opposed by automakers who said they were overly burdensome.... The new proposal could end up leading to two separate sets of fuel economy regulations within the United States, creating what automakers say would be an even greater regulatory burden."

Jeet Heer of the New Republic: There are countless examples of the unnecessary suffering imposed on immigrants under the Trump administration. While past administrations also oversaw an immigration system that caused unnecessary suffering, Trump's approach is markedly different. Unfair and harmful treatment is no longer a side effect of these policies -- it's the policy itself. Cruelty is ... the thread that runs through ICE's strategy of instilling terror in immigrant communities, the Department of Homeland Security's restrictive approach to refugees and asylum-seekers, the White House's decision to rescind temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of settled immigrants, Sessions's decision to reopen 350,000 cases for potential deportation, and much more. Much of this cruelty springs from Trump himself, who rose to power with unabashedly racist rhetoric toward immigrants and non-whites.... In his tweet on Saturday, Trump suggested that he would stop separating families only if some of his other draconian immigration policies are enacted. Its the same playbook he used with DACA.... Trump is causing misery for political leverage: making decisions that harms thousands of people in the hopes of enacting policies that would harm thousands of others. But ... America's immigration system['s] ... problems run much deeper than just this presidency -- and a simple change in leadership can't fix it."

Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Investigators from the D.C. U.S. Attorney's Office recently interviewed former FBI director James B. Comey as part of a probe into whether his deputy, Andrew McCabe, broke the law by lying to federal agents -- an indication the office is seriously considering whether McCabe should be charged with a crime, a person familiar with the matter said. Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz accused McCabe in April of misleading investigators and Comey four times -- three of them under oath -- about authorizing a disclosure to the media. Horowitz referred the findings to the D.C. U.S. Attorney-s Office to determine whether criminal charges are warranted.... McCabe and Comey are at odds over the inspector general's findings. McCabe asserts that Comey knew he authorized the media disclosure, and Comey claims otherwise. Comey has said he 'could well be a witness' against McCabe if McCabe were ever charged and tried."

Washington Post: "The American Federation of Government Employees on Thursday took the Trump administration to court to block a new executive order that severely restricts the time employees can spend on union activity,claiming it violates the First Amendment guarantee of the right to freedom of association and oversteps the president's constitutional authority." This is a developing story. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Joseph Bernstein & Charlie Warzel of BuzzFeed: "MSNBC host Joy Reid's now-defunct blog published an image of Sen. John McCain's head photoshopped onto the body of Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho, according to a newly discovered post reviewed by BuzzFeed News. The October 2007 post, titled 'Baghdad John Strikes Again,' discusses the infamous claim from McCain, then the GOP presidential nominee, that he would 'follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of hell.' The image appears at the end of the post, which was apparently penned by Reid. The McCain post is the latest in a series of archived items from Reid's blog that have embarrassed the AM Joy host and her network."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Jason Horowitz of the New York Times: "After a seesaw week that spooked financial markets, Italy's president on Thursday gave a green light to a government of populist parties that would put Europe's fourth largest economy into the hands of leaders deeply antagonistic to the European Union, its currency and illegal migrants. Only days ago, President Sergio Mattarella of Italy rejected a populist government over concerns about a key minister who had suggested he wants to withdraw Italy from the group of countries that use the euro, Europe's single currency. The chaotic consequences of such a move -- even if remote -- alarmed many investors and resurrected fears about a possible fracturing of the European Union. On Thursday evening, the party leaders presented the president with a reshuffled cabinet that would make it difficult for Mr. Mattarella to reject them a second time. The new government still needs to win a confidence vote in Parliament, but at this stage that was a formality."

Sam Jones of the Guardian: "Mariano Rajoy, once viewed as the great survivor of Spanish politics, has been ousted as prime minister in a vote of no confidence called after several former members of his ruling party were convicted of corruption in a case that proved a scandal too far. He will be replaced by Pedro Sánchez, the leader of Spain's opposition socialist PSOE party, which tabled the motion to unseat him.... Rajoy, who served as premier for seven years, had managed to weather a string of corruption scandals within his People's party (PP) but was unable to withstand political anger after Spain's highest criminal court found the party had benefited from an enormous and illegal kickbacks-for-contracts scheme, known as the Gürtel case."

News Lede

New York Times: "The American economy roared into overdrive last month, delivering the strongest job gains since February. The report underscored other recent signs of strength, like robust personal income and spending data reported earlier this week. The unemployment rate for May was at lows not seen since the heady days of the dot-com bubble. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve are almost certain to raise interest rates when they meet this month, and have said they expect at least one more increase later this year, most likely in September or December." See also related Politico & NYT reports in today's Commentariat re: the Trump tease.

Comments Off

Reader Comments (13)

"Sarah Huckabee Sanders ... condemned Ms. Bee’s remarks."... because Samantha Bee comes from the wrong tribe.

Otherwise, cunts are great and just anatomy and BTW bragging about pussy-grabbing sexual assault is just harmless "men's locker room" talk.

While "feckless cunt" might be a bit extreme, I'm really tired of Ivanka being used with kid gloves by the media in general. The whole Trump clan has been engaging in a maximum PR campaign to avoid serious discussions at all costs, unless with pre-approved dolts in safe places, like their cherished warm bosom of Fox News. When will our president* give an interview again to someone not working at Fox? It's been over a year. He's pathetic.

I saw Pruitt, who goes out of his way to throw out journalists at each event, gave an interview with Boris Epstein on the Sinclair Brainwashing Network talking up how important it is to be frugal with the public's tax money. Orwellian.

The media in this country has been diverging since the end of the "Fairness Doctrine" and the arrival of Faux News.

Then Trump came and he cleavered it in two.

Now he's trimming the fat, wrapping it up, and burning his Trump brand deep into its flesh.

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered Commentersafari

Interesting thing to me about the Sam Bee kerfuffle is that she only apologized for using a certain word, not about the sentiment.

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered Commenterunwashed

We need to keep remembering that

Re: ParDonnie-moi-et-moi-et-moi Gate, while it appears that Trump may be sending signals to his former associates in bad boy behaviors, there is one outstanding vulnerability to note. Michael Cohen "can't be pardonned " in New York state:

...presidential pardons only apply to federal charges, and there are ways for federal prosecutors to craft their charges so as to leave the door open for state charges that wouldn’t violate double jeopardy in case of pardons or firings.

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

In the department of "would surprise me if it WASN'T true"... I'm wondering if any conversations were had at the DoJ by some water carriers pushing officials to open up the McCabe/Comey fight to further strain the FBI's fabric at such a convenient time for Trump to then cry foul and then throw that stink on the Mueller investigation.

Sounds absolutely right up the alley of the Stone/Bannon/Drumpf Spatial Theory on the Spread of Feces.

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered Commentersafari

@safari: Although many executive branch IG reports are initiated by complaints from Congress or outside groups -- that is, they're opened for overtly political reasons -- the inspector general's report on McCabe -- according to the report itself -- came about because of an internal FBI referral regarding a leak to the WSJ. In searching for the source of the leak, the FBI's Inspection Division "became concerned that McCabe may have lacked candor when questioned by INSD agents about his role in the disclosure to the WSJ."

Obviously I don't know the motivations of the particular FBI officials who referred the McCabe issue to the IG, but since the FBI has valid reason to be concerned about leaks, I would say that on the surface, the referral would seem to be legitimate.

P.S. This was kind of difficult to find, because a lot of published reports stated that the McCabe inquiry came directly as a result of the IG's investigation of how the FBI handled the Hillary Clinton e-mail investigation; specifically, Jim Comey's weird press conference when he announced the FBI had cleared Clinton of wrongdoing but adlibbed that she had been "careless" & the October-November Comey "surprises" where he wrote to blabbermouth Congressmen that the FBI was re-opening the e-mail thing because of the Weiner-Abedin laptops, then immediately before the election said, "Never mind."

June 1, 2018 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns

Given the tsunami of chicanery, lies, anti-democratic and unconstitutional conniving, self-dealing, crooked dealing, law scoffing, law breaking, racist, authoritarian, and self-pitying whining on the part of the Trumpies--not to mention possible collusion with a foreign power to ratfuck an American election--that inundate the media on an almost hourly basis, I'm wondering if it wouldn't be more useful to skip all that and simply report anything he does that is legal, decent, and beneficial to all Americans.

Yeah, I know. There'd be nothing to report.

Never mind.

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterAkhilleus

@BeaMcCrab: the Politico article linked!! is most telling about Trump's alleged masterful negotiating skills re the book deal, the Plaza purchase, his amazing "Apprentice" raise, and many other artful achievements. ...hahaha! What a dealmaker!

High praise comes from such valued authorities as:
*Corey Lewan...: Trump's on-again / off-again consigliere !

**Lil Mikey Cohen..."he's the best" from a guy who finished at the worst law school in the country.

"In spite of his associates’ contentions that he’s “the greatest deal-maker our country’s ever seen” (Corey Lewandowski*) and “an amazing negotiator, probably the best in the world” (Michael Cohen**), Trump in his first week as president torpedoed negotiations with Mexico about funding the border wall before the talks even began." —Politico

Moving backwards with 'the best in the world"....

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterMAG

From the "1600 Daily" which graced my inbox this AM. I did read this one....and pass on two related items, one on job growth and the other on environmental rapine.)

"Unemployment reaches lowest level in 18 years

Job growth in goods-producing industries such as manufacturing, construction, and mining and logging have been especially robust."

And the ironically titled, "Get outside: June is 'Great Outdoors Month'

"Spending time in the great outdoors, especially during summer, is an American tradition," President Trump writes in his Proclamation of June 2018 as Great Outdoors Month. "Every American should take the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of our natural wonders*, which stretch from coast to coast and beyond."

The Trump Administration has made access to public land a top priority. In December, President Trump stood with local communities against Federal overreach on land management, modifying the boundaries of the Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante national monuments in Utah. The Administration also "opened or expanded hunting and fishing access at 10 national wildlife refuges** across the country," the President wrote this week."

*hurry, hurry, while they last

** refuge: yet another word redefined in Orwellian Pretender speak.

The asterisks were not in the original.

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

More in the world of national (read: Pretender) security:

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/06/report-department-of-energy-recommends-bail-out-of-failing-coal-plants/

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

And one more. This one another embarrassment to a mostly fine institution which I still think of very fondly.

Never did like the Hoover Institution, which often extends invitations to washed-up right wingers who couldn't land even a quasi-academic post anywhere else. Condi Rice, who may still be serving as university provost, was more than enough and Donald Rumsfeld, who was/is? post-Iraq debacle sequestered in Stanford's proudly prominent phallus, almost pushed me over the edge. Used to respond to one of the Hoover hacks whose op-eds occasionally appeared in the local paper, but never got an answer.

Now this Ferguson fellow(!). Why. didn't Harvard keep him?

Interesting note about Susan Rice's son, too, and his own reaction formation.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/6/1/17417042/niall-ferguson-stanford-emails

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkes

Nailed it.
"There are only two possible answers: Trump is so anxious about his legal exposure as Mueller closes in that he just can’t help betraying his guilt in public like a bargain-basement Macbeth. Or he’s batshit crazy. Or both."

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterJustAGuy

Another reason for our government to support ailing the coal industry?

(Not the only coal-associated thing that's ailing, it turns out.)

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-coal-blacklung-insight/coal-lobby-fights-black-lung-tax-as-disease-rates-surge

June 1, 2018 | Unregistered CommenterKen Winkwa

Welcome to the Commentariat, Ken Winkwa.

June 1, 2018 | Registered CommenterMarie Burns
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