The Commentariat -- June 5, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

This Is a Real Headline in a Real Newspaper: "Scott Pruitt enlisted an EPA aide to help his wife find a job -- with Chick-fil-A." There's a real story below the real headline, by Juliet Eilperin & others of the Washington Post. Almost tops yesterday's news: "Scott Pruitt enlisted an EPA aide to buy an old Trump Hotel mattress." Extra points for predicting tomorrow's story: "Scott Pruitt enlisted an EPA aide to _______(fill in the blank)_______."

Trump Foiled Again. Laura Nahmias of Politico: New York State Judge Jennifer Schechter "ruled Tuesday that ... Donald Trump can be deposed in a defamation lawsuit brought last year by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on 'The Apprentice' who says Trump kissed and groped her after she appeared on the show.... [Trump's] lawyers have appealed to New York's highest court in hopes of avoiding it.... Zervos' attorney Mariann Wang said Trump's attorneys are trying to stall for time. Wang said her legal team had already issued a subpoena to the Trump campaign, which had been unwilling to hand over any information related to other women who've accused Trump.... Schecter ordered both legal teams to give her a briefing on the issue."

** Joe Romm of ThinkProgress: "In a series of exclusive interviews, former Fox News Channel chief political correspondent Carl Cameron explained to ThinkProgress how the Russians coordinated their cyber-attack on the 2016 election with the Trump campaign. 'Trump confidant Roger Stone's success was having the connections and creating the opportunities for [Russian intelligence officer] Guccifer2.0 and other Russian groups to really start taking advantage of social media'... Cameron explained.... In 2016 ... Stone helped Guccifer2.0 -- who worked for Russian intelligence -- and other Russian-backed groups boost an anti-Clinton narrative online targeted at key groups. Stone direct-messaged with Guccifer2.0 on Twitter and WikiLeaks editor Julian Assange in August 2016.... The President, Roger Stone, and other campaign officials have put a lot of effort into lying about their meetings and contact with Russians linked directly to the Kremlin and its cyber attack on the United States. But they put even more effort into coordinating their message with the Russians." --safari

David Corn of Mother Jones: "The other evening I was on a cable news show to cover the latest Russia news ... -- and I had an epiphany.... Though it's clear Trump's presidency has been hobbled by the Russia scandal, the manner in which this matter plays out in the media has helped Trump.... The evidence [against Trump] is rock-solid.... But how often do you hear or see this fundamental point being made?.... It is hard to hold on to all these pieces and place them into one big picture.... The problem is there is no organized force with as loud a bullhorn countering his disinformation in fundamental terms.... When it comes to framing the overarching story, Trump practically has a monopoly.... All this shows how easy it is for disinformation and demagoguery to distort reality. That is a tragedy for the United States. For Trump -- and Putin -- that is victory." --safari

Marcus Hayes of the Philadelphia Inquirer: "Trump disinvited the Eagles. Why? Because he couldn't stand to have so few show him fealty. And here's the thing: He's admitting it.... Pro Bowl quarterback Carson Wentz wanted to go. So did head coach Doug Pederson. They said they didn't see it as a political issue.... If two or three dozen Eagles wanted to attend, they should now realize why they were invited.... They were pawns in his game.... It was never to be done in their honor, only his.... So, what now, Pennsylvania?... Let's hear how spitting in the face of the Super Bowl champions Makes America Great Again.... This act -- this graceless, puny act -- insults both the democratic ideal and the sporting ideal. Both are rooted in the concept that citizens put aside their differences to unite for the greater good." --safari

Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress: "During an interview on Monday, Fox News host Harris Faulkner and Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) vigorously agreed that President Trump has the power to pardon himself..." --safari

Mike Ives of the New York Times: "Tens of thousands of dollars in cash. Documents listing locations of United States Cyber Command outposts. A passcode-protected thumb drive, hidden behind a sock in the toe of a shoe. According to the Justice Department, these are among the items that United States agents found over the years while searching the luggage of Ron Rockwell Hansen, a former Defense Intelligence Agency case officer, as he flew numerous times between the United States and China. Mr. Hansen, 58, a fluent Mandarin speaker who first visited China in 1981, has allegedly received at least $800,000 in 'funds originating from China' since May 2013. On Saturday, Mr. Hansen was arrested in Seattle and charged with attempted espionage, in what appears to be another high-profile mole hunt by F.B.I. investigators intent on uncovering Chinese spying against the United States."

Good-bye to all that.Matthew Haag of the New York Times: "The Miss America Organization, confronting a harassment scandal and trying to find its place in the #MeToo era, announced on Tuesday that it would scrap the swimsuit portion, starting with its next pageant in September. 'We are not going to judge you on your outward appearance,' Gretchen Carlson, a former Fox News anchor who is now the organization's chairwoman, said on ABC's 'Good Morning America.' 'We want more women to know that they are welcome in this organization.'"

*****

Ella Nilsen, et al., of Vox: "June 5 marks one of the most consequential and crowded primary days of the year. There's a 'jungle primary' that could lock out Democrats from important House seats in California, an establishment 84-year-old Democratic senator is facing a compelling primary challenger, and there's a surprisingly heated governor's race in South Dakota. There are key primaries in five states Tuesday: California, New Jersey, Iowa, Montana, and New Mexico. California will likely be the most closely watched state. With seven Republican-held districts that Hillary Clinton won in 2016, the state is an integral part of Democrats' path to regaining control of the House in November." The reporters provide details.

This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.

Painting by Patrick Shea.... Trump Declares Himself King. Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump declared Monday that the appointment of the special counsel in the Russia investigation is 'totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL!' and asserted that he has the power to pardon himself, raising the prospect that he might take extraordinary action to immunize himself from the ongoing probe. In a pair of early-morning tweets, Mr. Trump suggested that he would not have to pardon himself because he had 'done nothing wrong.' But he insisted that 'numerous legal scholars' have concluded that he has the absolute right to do so, a claim that vastly overstates the legal thinking on the issue. In fact, many constitutional experts dispute Mr. Trump's position on his pardon power, an issue for which there has been no definitive ruling.... Mr. Trump did not elaborate in the tweets about the legal basis for his claim that the appointment of Robert S. Mueller III, the special counsel in the Russia case, was unconstitutional. In that tweet, he insisted that 'we play the game because I, unlike the Democrats, have done nothing wrong!'... The president also tweeted Monday morning about trade, asserting that Canada has 'all sorts of trade barriers' on American agricultural products. 'Not acceptable,' he said. He also bragged about his accomplishments at the 500-day mark in office. Shortly after, the White House echoed that sentiment with an email to reporters titled: 'President Donald J. Trump's 500 Days of American Greatness.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Allan Smith of Business Insider: Rudy interprets Donald. Mrs. McC: When pundits rely on opinions from the DOJ's Office of Legal Counsel, remember these are opinions, & courts disagree with the DOJ's opinions all the time. OLC opinions do not set precedent in the way court decisions do. So Smith reports, "Giuliani repeatedly cited a 2000 memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel following President Bill Clinton's scandal, saying that while the Constitution does not give the president immunity from prosecution, the president cannot be indicted." That was the opinion of probably-career DOJ lawyers; it's up to the courts -- in this case, most likely the Supremes, to decide whether the opinion is "correct." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "The president has had help in shaping his expansive view of his authority: For at least a year, his lawyers in the investigation into whether he tried to obstruct the Russia inquiry have been advising the president that he wields sweeping constitutional powers to impede investigations no matter his motive -- and despite obstruction-of-justice laws that everyone else must obey.... But their striking constitutional claim that obstruction statutes cannot bind Mr. Trump stood apart from the rest of their case.... Mr. Trump's lawyers, by contrast, are claiming that he is 'the chief la enforcement officer' -- a description usually applied to the attorney general -- wielding absolute power to command the actions of every federal prosecutor or F.B.I. agent in a way no congressional statute can limit." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: This is what happens when a bad client hires bad lawyers. Typically, a layperson who asks a lawyer to represent him against some adversary will believe some misbegotten tropes about the law that inure to his benefit -- like "possession is 9/10th of the law," or "my boss violated my First Amendment rights when he fired me for swearing at a customer." It's up to the lawyer to explain to him what the "real" law is and/or how cases like his are commonly decided. But Trump is a narcissist who is not capable of grasping or even hearing anything that suggests he could be a "loser." So the only "law" he can hear is that which would benefit him. The lawyers willing to take on this kind of client are also ones who must be willing to make outlandish claims with straight faces. Trump's lawyers feed his fantastical views & bill him for it. That may not matter much with an "ordinary" client -- he'll just lose the case & the client & his lawyers can all sit around & blame the judge & jury -- but it does matter when the client is a person of unique power.

... Carol Leonnig, et al., of the Washington Post: "Despite President Trump's declarations that he has expansive powers that could blunt the special-counsel investigation, his legal team is preparing for the possibility of a presidential interview, or a legally precarious subpoena battle over such a sit-down.... Private moves by Trump's attorneys and advisers indicate that -- despite the president's public bravado -- they are readying for a fraught legal confrontation that could have far-reaching consequences.... However, the fledgling briefings have not gone very deep, because of the president's anger about the probe, according to a person familiar with the situation." ...

... Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Senate Republicans on Monday warned President Trump, with varying degrees of alarm, against entertaining the prospect of pardoning himself of any federal crime.... Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) noted constitutional scholars have reached varying conclusions on whether a president can pardon himself, but she added that ... she would urge him to 'never say another word about Bob Mueller's investigation until it's complete.'... 'It would be a tremendous abuse of his authority if he were to do so, as well as remarkably unwise.' Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) stressed that the Constitution 'doesn't give carte blanche freedom to a president.' And Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), who is leading his own investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign... [told reporters], 'If I were president and somebody, some lawyer told me that I could do that, I'd hire a new lawyer.'..." And so forth. ...

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "A recently published letter from ... Donald Trump's attorneys claiming that the president could not have obstructed the federal investigation into ties between his campaign and Russia is deeply flawed, 14 prominent law professors and legal scholars said Monday in a pointed rebuttal sent to top lawyers at the White House. 'The Office of the President is not a get-out-of-jail free card for lawless behavior,' the professors wrote in their letter.... "Indeed, our country's Founders made it clear in the Declaration of Independence that they did not believe that even a king had such powers; they specifically cited King George's obstruction of justice as among the "injuries and usurpations" that justified independence. Our Founders would not have created -- and did not create -- a Constitution that would permit the President to use his powers to violate the laws for corrupt and self-interested reasons.' Among the better known signers of the rebuttal: Harvard Law Professor Laurence Tribe, former U.S. Attorneys Harry Litman and Joyce Vance and former Obama White House ethics czar Norm Eisen. The letter was coordinated by Project Democracy, a watchdog group.... The professors [directed their rebuttal] ... to White House Counsel Don McGahn and a recent addition to McGahn's office, Emmet Flood." ...

... Charles Pierce: "The president* ... has at his easy disposal everything a dictator could possibly want.... He is succeeding in his campaign to delegitimize any criminal investigation of his various schemes.... Hostile press, he can easily ignore. He is consolidating power based on deceit at an alarming rate, and, worst of all, he is becoming more popular for doing so among the only voters that matter to him.... [T]he president*'s approval rating among Republicans is the highest of any Republican president since World War II at this point in his administration* with the exception of where George W. Bush was at immediately after the attacks of 9/11. He stands at 87 percent approval among Republicans....It is entirely possible that the momentum now is unstoppable. The country is hurtling toward the destruction of its most basic ideas about itself.... Not that anyone actually is doing anything about it." -safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Jack Holmes of Esquire: "The authoritarian movement that this president began during his campaign is approaching its natural conclusion.... The signs are that his supporters will back him no matter what: He enjoys the support of 87 percent of Republicans.... That support is similarly reflected in the ethno-nationalist fervor of his rallies.... If the president believes he can do as he wishes because he has unlimited authority, and a section of the nation backs him simply because he is the authority, you are dealing with an authoritarian movement that could support a tyrant. The alarm bells should be ringing." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "... Trump's tweets reinforce an underrecognized point: The likelihood that the fate of the Trump administration will eventually be decided by the Supreme Court is greater than most people realize. Consider three issues that seem increasingly likely to end up before the court. [1] Trump pardoning himself.... [2] Trump rejecting the authority of the special counsel.... [3] Trump rejecting a subpoena from the special counsel." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Matt Apuzzo of the New York Times: "For nearly a year, the denials from President Trump's lawyers and spokeswoman were unequivocal. No, the president did not dictate a misleading statement released in his son's name.... But in a confidential, hand-delivered memo to the special counsel, Mr. Trump's lawyers acknowledged that, yes, Mr. Trump had dictated the statement, which attempted to deflect questions about a meeting with a Kremlin-tied lawyer at Trump Tower. Prosecutors are asking whether the statement was part of an effort by the president to obstruct a federal investigation. Even for a president whose false statements have been constantly cited by fact-checkers, this was a stark private acknowledgment of what was a repeated public falsehood. And it sums up the dilemma that Mr. Trump faces as he weighs whether to sit for an interview with the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. The misleading statement is but one aspect of Mr. Mueller's investigation. But it highlights a communication strategy that the White House has used repeatedly: deny facts, attack news outlets and dismiss journalism as 'fake news.'... On Monday, [Sarah] Sanders refused to answer the question or address her previous denial." ...

... Ashley Parker of the Washington Post: "The admission that Trump dictated his son's statement is the latest example of where on a number of key issues -- especially pegged to Mueller's ongoing Russia probe and Trump's legal difficulties -- the White House and the president's lawyers have offered contradicting stories and whipsaw about-faces, often revealing the truth only weeks later, when confronted with their inconsistencies." Parker cites a number of instances in which Trump lied, then left others to try to cover for him when the "fake news" uncovered the facts of the matters. ...

... Michael Gerson of the Washington Post: "On the evidence of House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy's CNN interview over the weekend, the likely next speaker of the House is a mindless sycophant and a threat to the constitutional order. Confronted with a simple ethical question -- would he condemn demonstrable White House lies in covering up President Trump's role in drafting his son's account of the now-infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting with Russians -- McCarthy, a California Republican, was initially dumbstruck, then shifted into a prerecorded attack on special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.... McCarthy seems to view surrender to the president as a matter of principle -- as part of the tribal code of the partisan.... Because the Constitution makes impeachment so difficult -- requiring a two-thirds supermajority vote in the Senate for conviction and removal -- any president who retains the loyalty of his party has essentially no practical limits on his power in criminal matters.... The president has now claimed the entire executive branch as his private fiefdom, and every federal law enforcement official as his personal servant. Would a Speaker McCarthy stand athwart Trumpism yelling 'Stop!'? There is no reason to think it." ...

... Another Profile in Cowardice. Dominique Jackson of the Raw Story: "When asked by a local D.C. journalist, Haley Byrd, if he believes that President Trump can pardon himself, [Sen. Ted] Cruz had nothing to say. The Texas Senator paused for nearly 20 seconds before giving a lukewarm response. 'That is not a constitutional issue I have studied, so I will withhold judgement,' Cruz said." Includes audio w/20 seconds of background noise. ...

... ** Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "How did Trump get the idea he has powers that allow him to fire anyone, even for an illegal reason (e.g., a bribe)? We're only talking about self-pardon ... because Republicans were largely indifferent to pardons of cronies such as Joe Arpaio and right-wing race-monger Dinesh D'Souza. When reports suggested that the president's team might have dangled pardons in front of key witnesses, you did not see Republicans in Congress leap to object.... The failure of Republicans, even those considered constitutional sticklers, to balk at Trump's increasingly outrageous claims goes back the GOP original sin in 2016 -- sticking by Trump because of the notion he could deliver on taxes or appoint conservative judges.... Conservatives repeatedly called out [President] Obama and his administration for allegedly obstructing of justice. When exactly did it become impossible for presidents to obstruct justice?... The reason Trump feels emboldened to make frightful claims of vast executive power is that the constitutional conservatives don't much care about the Constitution and aren't conservative in any meaningful sense of the word." ...

... Callum Borchers of the Washington Post: "In the past, White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has made excuses for false statements. On Monday, she tried something new -- telling incredulous reporters that she is not the right person to answer questions about one of her own untrue assertions. During a televised media briefing, journalists pressed Sanders about her insistence in August that President Trump 'certainly didn't dictate' a misleading statement to the New York Times on behalf of his son Donald Trump Jr. In a January letter to special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, published for the first time over the weekend by the Times, the president's private legal team conceded that Trump had, in fact, dictated the statement. 'What's the reason for that discrepancy?' the Hill's Jordan Fabian asked Sanders. 'This is from a letter from the outside counsel, and I'd direct you to them to answer that question,' Sanders replied. That. Doesn't. Make. Sense. ...

... ** Maybe Putin Dictated the "Adoption" Excuse. Marcy Wheeler: "Right in the middle of this heated effort to respond to the NYT [About Junior's Trump Tower meeting with Russians], Trump bizarrely spent an hour chatting Vladimir Putin up over dinner at the G-20.... The question here is not just ... 'why did you emphasize adoptions -- Russian code for sanctions -- rather than the sanctions that were at the core of the meeting?' It's also the unstated question: 'Did you dictate that statement? Or did Vladimir Putin?'... We don't actually have to speculate about whether that spin -- adoptions rather than sanctions -- came up in the chat between Putin and Trump. In an interview not long after news of the June 9 meeting broke, Trump actually told the NYT he and Putin were talking about adoptions. '... And I actually talked about Russian adoption with him [Putin], which is interesting because it was a part of the conversation that Don [Jr., Mr. Trump's son] had in that meeting. As I've said -- most other people, you know, when they call up and say, 'By the way, we have information on your opponent,' I think most politicians ... [would say], "Who wouldn't have taken a meeting like that?"'" ...

     ... digby has more on this. Natasha Bertrand (tweet) & Josh Marshall (firewalled) agree with Wheeler. Mrs. McC: If anybody pays directly for the Trump-Putin collusion on the false story, it will likely be Junior, because he apparently perjured himself before committees of both Houses regarding who wrote the false cover story.

Eric Beech of Reuters: "... Paul Manafort, who has been indicted by U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller, attempted to tamper with potential witnesses, Mueller said in a court filing on Monday. Mueller, who is investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia, asked the judge overseeing the case in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to revoke or revise an order releasing Manafort ahead of his trial." The story has been updated: "FBI Special Agent Brock Domin, in a declaration filed with Mueller's motion, said Manafort had attempted to call, text and send encrypted messages in February to two people from 'The Hapsburg Group,' a firm he worked with to promote the interests of Ukraine.... The communications were 'in an effort to influence their testimony and to otherwise conceal evidence,' Domin wrote." ...

... Darren Samuelsohn of Politico has more. A lot of "Person A" & "Person D2" stuff. ...

... Here's the government's filing, via the Washington Post. ...

... Now Is the Time for Manafort to Flip. Margaret Hartmann: "President Trump and his legal team are working feverishly to discredit the Russia probe, dismissing it as a 'witch hunt' at every opportunity, and filling the media with increasingly audacious claims about the president being above the law. Special Counsel Robert Mueller is using opposite tactics: avoid the press, don't leak, and occasionally file a court document that shows you're several steps ahead of those seeking to thwart your investigation. Mueller's team did it again on Monday when they interrupted the current discussion about whether Trump could kill James Comey and get away with it (theoretically!) to accuse former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort of attempted witness tampering.... The people Manafort was trying to tamper also ratted him out to the FBI.... Now he could wind up in jail until his two trials, scheduled for July and September, which would increase the pressure to cut a plea deal considerably.... [Trump] tweets [that attempted to distance him from Manafort] may help convince Manafort that the man he can trust to reduce his prison time is Mueller, not Trump."

Alan Feuer & Benjamin Weiser of the New York Times: "A special master reviewing a trove of documents and electronic files seized in April from Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's longtime lawyer and fixer, said on Monday that, at least so far, only a tiny fraction of the materials are protected by the attorney-client privilege, meaning that most can be used by the federal prosecutors who are conducting a wide-ranging criminal investigation into Mr. Cohen. In a report submitted to Kimba M. Wood, the federal judge presiding over Mr. Cohen's case in Manhattan, the special master, Barbara S. Jones, said that only 14 paper documents out of the 639 that she had looked at are privileged, or partly privileged, and would be withheld from the prosecutors' inquiry. Of the 291,770 electronic files contained on two of Mr. Cohen's cellphones and on one of his iPads, 148 are privileged and will be withheld if the judge approves, Ms. Jones said." ...

     ... Rachel Maddow ties the Cohen docs to Trump's latest freakout.

BUT Here's a DOJ Investigation Trump Anxiously Awaits. Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump complained Tuesday that there have been 'numerous delays' in the release of the Justice Department inspector general's report on the FBI's investigation into Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server during her tenure as secretary of state.... 'What is taking so long with the Inspector General's Report on Crooked Hillary and Slippery James Comey. Numerous delays,' the president wrote on Twitter. 'Hope Report is not being changed and made weaker! There are so many horrible things to tell, the public has the right to know. Transparency!'"

Before There Was Donald, There Was Bill:

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes, Bill is still a colossal dick. Poor boy is a victim of what he did to Monica Lewinsky. But, hey, this was a political thing, and the people love him. And the press didn't get the story straight. Nice way to turn a question about moral behavior into a political question -- very Trumpian Clintonian. Asshole. ...

... Update. Dana Milbank: "... in Bill Clinton were the seeds of Donald Trump.... To see the former president -- now promoting a mystery he co-wrote with novelist James Patterson -- sit down with NBC's Craig Melvin was to see how Clinton's handling of the Monica Lewinsky affair was a precursor of the monstrosity we now have in the White House: dismissing unpleasant facts as 'fake news,' self-righteously claiming victimhood attacking the press and cloaking personal misbehavior in claims to be upholding the Constitution. The former president's offenses were far less serious than President Trump's. Trump's many misdeeds -- against women, law, facts, democracy and decency -- are in a category of their own. But Clinton set us on the path, or at least accelerated us down the path, that led to today.... [In the Melvin interview,] Clinton hid his behavior behind high principle ('I think I did the right thing. I defended the Constitution') on the same day the current president complained about the 'unconstitutional' investigation of him and his campaign." ...

... AND Erin Ryan of the Daily Beast: "Bill Clinton just doesn't fucking get it. And he never will.... Instead of remorse, Clinton offered a brand of sleazy obfuscation.... There was the self-pity ('I left the White House $16 million in debt'), the argumentum ad populum ('Two-thirds of the American people sided with me'), and the clever, vague distractions ('you typically have ignored gaping facts in describing this'). There was even the misdirection. 'I've apologized to everybody in the world,' he said when asked whether he'd expressed sorrow to Monica Lewinsky. (For what it's worth, I wasn't able to find any reports of him apologizing directly to her.)... But above all, there was the moral preening that, when distilled to its purest form, is just a ham-fisted attempt to avoid taking responsibility. How could he, Bill Clinton, have been bad to Monica Lewinsky if he, Bill Clinton, had been so good for women elsewhere?... If Democrats are serious about being the party that women can count on to stand up for them, they need to take several giant steps away from Bill Clinton." ...

... AND Rebecca Traister of New York: "By many measures..., it's feminists -- and not Bill Clinton himself -- who have been blamed for having extinguished the post -- Anita Hill conversation. It is feminists, and more broadly women, who have had to answer for their errors in judgment 20 years ago, often with more frequency or rigor than Bill Clinton has been made to answer with for his errors in judgment 20 years ago. Which is what makes the most notable thing about [Monday] morning's interview the fact that Bill Clinton seemed to be shocked that he would be asked about his behavior in light of #MeToo.... Consider that Lewinsky herself has been asked to answer for this relationship -- and only this relationship -- for two decades.... Pundits like the New York Times' Maureen Dowd accused Hillary of leveraging sympathy as a wronged wife into a political career.... When Michigan congressman John Conyers was revealed to have settled sexual-harassment claims, it was Nancy Pelosi's (ill-advised!) defense of him on Meet the Press that garnered the most critical ink.... Considering all this, it is truly only a powerful white man who could have lived the past 20 years -- through the defeat of his wife and the social revolution it helped to galvanize -- and think that none of this effort or upheaval applied to him, especially given that so much of it applies to him directly." Mrs. McC: Traister cites other examples. Here's my favorite:

Let's not forget, and I'll be brutal, the reason she's a U.S. senator, the reason she's a candidate for president, the reason she may be a front-runner is her husband messed around. That's how she got to be senator from New York ... She didn't win there on her merit. -- Chris Matthews, January 2008 ...

... I'm no fan of Hillary Clinton's, but when she ran for Senate in 2000, she knew more about federal policy than most Senate candidates & more than many sitting senators. And she campaigned hard in New York for the Senate seat. In 2008, she knew more than most other presidential candidates, including Barack Obama. She had immersed herself in policy issues in Arkansas, too, when Bill was governor. Yes, she did win that Senate seat on her merit. Sexists like Chris Matthews should STFU. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie

Justin Carissimo of CBS News: "President Trump has disinvited the Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles from a planned visit to the White House on Tuesday over what he says is a disagreement on standing during the national anthem. Mr. Trump issued a statement Monday evening saying the full NFL team would not be coming after several players indicated they wouldn't participate.... Mr. Trump said the team wanted to send a 'smaller delegation' of players but fans attending the event 'deserve better.' 'These fans are still invited to the White House to be part of a different type of ceremony -- one that will honor our great country, pay tribute to the heroes who fight to protect it, and loudly and proudly play the National Anthem,' it said. Some Democratic members of Congress from Pennsylvania reacted to the president's announcement by inviting the team to visit the Capitol instead. Sen. Bob Casey said he would be skipping the revised event[.]" ...

... Zach Berman, et al., of philly.com: "Fewer than 10 players planned to attend, a team source told the Inquirer and Daily News.... Owner Jeffrey Lurie planned to make the visit, the source said."

In More Trump Gossip "News" ... Jennifer Jacobs of Bloomberg: "Trump told ... Kim Kardashian,] wife of hip-hop mogul Kanye West, in the Oval Office that the couple was boosting his popularity with African-Americans, according to two people familiar with the matter." Mrs. McC: There's always something in it for Donald.

Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "Melania Trump emerged on Monday after more than three weeks out of the public eye, ending an absence that inspired wild conspiracy theories about her health and well-being. She appeared at a closed-door Memorial Day reception at the White House with the families of fallen members of the U.S. military. Reporters, photographers and videographers were barred from covering the event, but the first lady issued a statement on Monday evening in what might have been an effort to quell the mounting questions about her lengthy departure from public view." ...

... Amanda Arnold of New York: "... one reporter who was somehow in attendance [at the Gold Star event] tweeted some of Trump's uncomfortable remarks about his wife's absence. According to Jena Greene, a reporter for the right-wing outlet Daily Caller, Trump said, 'Melania had a little problem a couple weeks ago but she wouldn't miss this for anything.'" Mrs. McC: In another tweet, Greene wrote, "@realDonaldTrump joked about the media's speculation regarding Melania's recent absence. He laughed off rumors of them breaking up, saying it wasn't happening. 'Isn't that right honey?' He says to a room full of laughing Gold Star families." Arnold: "Though the state of Melania's well-being is less clear, Trump is certainly feeling fine, and acting like his typical tacky self. Laughing off rumors about the dissolution of your marriage in a room full of families of service members who were killed in the Iraq War -- that's our president!"

Kevin Liptak, et al., of CNN: "Furious after [John] Bolton raised the so-called 'Libya' model to describe US intentions in North Korea -- with its suggestion of a grisly death for a dictator who relinquishes his nuclear arms -- Trump has publicly walked back his national security adviser's rhetoric as he works to ensure his summit talks with Kim proceed. In doing so, he's dramatically lowered the bar for his face-to-face session with Kim, who has made no concrete commitments toward abandoning his nuclear arsenal.... The remarks about Libya also infuriated [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo, who angrily confronted Bolton in a heated conversation at the White House.... Trump has given his secretary of state, whom he views as intelligent and charismatic, considerable leeway on North Korea -- including following his lead and keeping Bolton at arm's length from the negotiations.... Pompeo views Bolton skeptically, two people familiar with their relationship say, and doesn't trust his motives on North Korea."

Michelle Kosinski & Maegan Vazquez of CNN: "A call about trade and migration between ... Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron soured last week after Macron candidly criticized Trump's policies, two sources familiar with the call told CNN. 'Just bad. It was terrible,' one source told CNN. 'Macron thought he would be able to speak his mind, based on the relationship. But Trump can't handle being criticized like that.'... Thursday's strained call is particularly notable because Macron is arguably the European leader to whom Trump is closest."

Caleb Ecarma of Mediaite: "Corey Stewart, the GOP front-runner in Virginia's Senate race, called white nationalist Paul Nehlen 'one of my personal heroes' on-camera and praised an apparent neo-Nazi his campaign's official 'volunteer of the week.' Stewart, an ardently pro-Trump candidate, is leading the Republican primary against two challengers on an anti-immigration platform. Should he win the nomination -- to be held on June 12 -- he will face off against Democratic incumbent Sen. Tim Kaine."

Our Political Racket. Aaron Lorenzo of Politico: "Top-level GOP aides who helped write the new tax law are now leaving the Hill in droves to cash in as lobbyists on K Street and other marquee private-sector destinations.... Meanwhile, some of their bosses have already left or announced retirements, and Republican control of the Hill could be in jeopardy." Lorenzo lists quite a few Congressional and one top White House aide who are proceeding through the revolving door.

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court sided with a Colorado baker on Monday in a closely watched case pitting gay rights against claims of religious freedom. Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the majority in the 7-2 decision, relied on narrow grounds, saying a state commission had violated the Constitution's protection of religious freedom in ruling against the baker, Jack Phillips, who had refused to create a custom wedding cake for a gay couple.... The Supreme Court’s decision, which turned on the commission's asserted hostility to religion, strongly reaffirmed protections for gay rights and left open the possibility that other cases raising similar issues could be decided differently.... Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and Justices Stephen G. Breyer, Samuel A. Alito Jr., Elena Kagan and Neil M. Gorsuch joined the majority opinion. Justice Clarence Thomas voted with the majority but would have adopted broader reasons. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, joined by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, dissented.... Though the case was mostly litigated on free speech grounds, Justice Kennedy's opinion barely discussed the issue. Instead, he focused on what he said were flaws in the proceedings before the Colorado Civil Rights Commission. Members of the commission, he wrote, had acted with 'clear and impermissible hostility' to sincerely held religious beliefs." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Mark Stern of Slate analyzes the decision, which doesn't actually decide much. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Richard Primus in Politico Magazine: "... from a culture-war perspective, the baker's victory was considerably less than opponents of same-sex marriage might have been hoping for.... The Court ruled only that the specific administrative proceeding that ruled against this particular baker had been tainted by a disrespectful attitude toward his religious beliefs.... By framing the case as it did, the Court made its limited decision in Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission a warm-up act for ... Hawaii v. Trump, the case about the executive order banning entry into the United States by nationals of several countries, most of them majority-Muslim. That case, like the wedding-cake case, is about the First Amendment's Free Exercise Clause. The author of Monday's decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy, is generally assumed to be the swing vote in the entry-ban case. And over and over in Monday’s decision, Justice Kennedy articulated positions directly relevant to the entry ban — all of them running against the Trump administration's position.... In Monday's decision, Justice Kennedy made plain that it is appropriate to consider the prejudice in things government officials say when analyzing claims that those officials' actions are unconstitutionally discriminatory...."

Adam Liptak: "The Supreme Court on Monday turned away a request from the Justice Department to discipline lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union for assisting an undocumented teenager to obtain an abortion. In an unsigned opinion with no noted dissents, the court vacated an appeals court ruling that had allowed the teenager to obtain the procedure, saying the dispute was moot. That wiped out the appeals court's ruling as precedent. The case attracted wide attention after the Justice Department, in an unusual Supreme Court filing in November, accused the A.C.L.U. of serious professional misconduct in the case of the teenager, who was known as Jane Doe. She obtained an abortion in October over the government's objection after an appeals court allowed it." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Brent Griffiths of Politico: "... Donald Trump and one of his top aides on Monday night appealed a federal court ruling that said the president was violating the constitutional rights of individuals he has blocked from viewing his personal Twitter feed. Three Justice Department officials filed notice of their appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second District on behalf of Trump and Dan Scavino, the White House social media director.

WTF? Nicole Lafond of TPM: "Among a slew of odd and unprofessional personal requests that Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt asked his top aide Millan Hupp to undertake for him.... Pruitt asked Hupp to secure a 'used mattress' from the Trump International Hotel for him.... Hupp said she didn’t know why Pruitt wanted the mattress other than he mentioned it 'around the same time that he was moving.' She said she never 'actually connected' with someone at the Trump Hotel about the secondhand bedding." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Now that's a firing offense! Hilarious. Here's more on the old mattress from Lisa Friedman & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "Federal ethics standards prohibit such personal assistance by a subordinate, even if the employee is working outside of office hours. One provision bans the use of government time to handle personal matters. A second provision prohibits bosses from asking employees to handle personal matters for them outside of the office.... According to a partial transcript released by Democrats on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, [Millan] Hupp ..., who serves as Mr. Pruitt’s scheduling director..., worked with real estate agents and visited at least 10 apartments over more than a month to find Mr. Pruitt new lodging. She also did other personal errands for the administrator including booking his personal travel to the Rose Bowl college football game." Ms. Hupp could not recall if Mr. Pruitt requested a urine-stained mattress. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Mark Hand of ThinkProgress: "Over the past seven years, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has overseen a sweeping rollback of state environmental protections, implementing a suite of industry-friendly policies that have since been embraced by the Trump administration at the national level.... Now, the person Walker hired to implement his pro-industry vision for environmental regulation [Cathy Stepp] has a key leadership position in the EPA." --safari

Jeremy Diamond & Kevin Liptak of CNN: "in his role as deputy chief of staff, [Joe] Hagin is being counted on to pull off a high-stakes presidential trip of a different nature,& President Donald Trump's summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.... Deployed to Singapore last week to negotiate logistical details with a delegation of North Koreans, Hagin has assumed an outsized role in the preparations for the off-again, on-again meeting.... Two officials said Hagin has kept sensitive logistical details from Trump -- including during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Mar-a-Lago last year -- for fear that the President might tweet about them and upend the plans." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Trump Goon Calls Cops on U.S. Senator. James Hohmann of the Washington Post: "As the sun set Sunday night, Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) went to a shuttered Walmart in Brownsville, Texas, that has been converted into a detention center for immigrant children who have been separated from their parents. He asked for a tour. Instead, the government contractor that runs the converted store called the cops. An officer filled out a police report, and the senator was asked to leave. The half-hour incident at a strip mall near the southern border with Mexico underscores the lack of transparency from President Trump's administration about its intensifying efforts to break up undocumented families caught crossing the border, the centerpiece of a 'zero tolerance' policy announced by Attorney General Jeff Sessions last month to deter illegal immigration." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Andrew Sorkin of the New York Times: "Howard Schultz, the outspoken executive chairman of Starbucks, will leave the company at the end of the month, bringing to an end the tenure of a socially conscious entrepreneur who turned a local Seattle coffee chain into a global giant with more than 28,000 stores in 77 countries. Mr. Schultz's decision to retire, a plan he said he privately outlined to the board a year ago, will most likely stoke speculation that he is considering a run for president in 2020. He is frequently mentioned as a potential candidate for the Democratic Party and has become increasingly vocal on political issues, including criticizing President Trump last year as 'a president that is creating episodic chaos every day.' While Mr. Schultz, 64, typically bats away speculation about his political ambitions with an eye roll or a pithy answer, on Monday he acknowledged for the first time that it is something he may consider." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Is this a candidacy that excites me? Absolutely not. But the furniture there looks really nice, & gilt-free. Also, nice suit -- and it fits.

Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: "The head of Illinois' National Rifle Associate affiliate inadvertently admitted on Tuesday that gun restrictions have helped prevent mass shootings in his state. Richard Pearson, the executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association, made the argument on Fox & Friends on Tuesday morning while trying to make the case that additional gun laws are not necessary in Illinois." --safari

** David Taylor of the Guardian: "The emboldened religious right has unleashed a wave of legislation across the United States since Donald Trump became president, as part of an organised bid to impose hardline Christian values across American society. A playbook known as Project Blitz, developed by a collection of Christian groups, has provided state politicians with a set of off-the-shelf pro-Christian 'model bills.'... Some legislation uses verbatim language from the 'model bills' created by a group called the Congressional Prayer Caucus Foundation (CPCF), set up by a former Republican congressman which has a stated aim to 'protect religious freedom, preserve America's Judeo-Christian heritage and promote prayer'. At least 75 bills have been brought forward in more than 20 states during 2017 and 2018 which appear ... to have similar objectives to the playbook." --safari (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Beyond the Beltway

Meet Your GOP. Kelly Weill of The Daily Beast: "An affiliate of a 'pro-white' group who marched in Charlottesville last year was elected to a Republican Party post in Washington state last week, part of his campaign to take over the GOP for the alt-right.... James Allsup ... was filmed marching with Identity Evropa, an anti-immigrant alt-right group.... Allsup was now a precinct committee officer for the Whitman County, Washington Republican Party."

Kelsey Mo & Anne Ryman of the Arizona Republic: "Police say a man suspected of murdering a prominent forensic psychiatrist, a psychologist and two paralegals at their offices in Phoenix and Scottsdale is dead... of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.... The series of murders that began Thursday evening have rattled the legal community. Police said evidence connects all four homicides. First killed was Steven Pitt, a forensic psychiatrist who consulted on a number of high-profile cases including the Baseline Killer case and the JonBenét Ramsey murder investigation.... Less than 24 hours later, 48-year-old Veleria Sharp and 49-year-old Laura Anderson were shot in the downtown Scottsdale law offices of Burt, Feldman and Grenier.... Psychologist and counselor Marshall Levine was found dead of an apparent gunshot wound early Saturday inside an office building...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "A rookie police officer in Georgia was swiftly fired over the weekend after body camera video showed him striking a man with his patrol car during a pursuit. An internal investigation by the Athens-Clarke County Police Department determined that the officer, Taylor Saulters, used excessive force when he struck the man, Timmy Patmon, with his vehicle on Friday. Chief Scott Freeman fired Officer Saulters on Saturday after initially placing him on administrative leave, said Eppi Rodriguez, a police spokesman. The Georgia State Patrol is investigating the crash and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation is conducting a criminal investigation, Mr. Rodriguez added. Mr. Patmon suffered scrapes and bruises and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, a police statement said." Saulters is white; Patmon is black. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

Washington Post: "The molten lava on the island of Hawaii has destroyed what officials said may be hundreds of homes, including a vacation home of the county's mayor, Harry Kim, as a spewing vent has sent a wide, slow-moving river of lava into a residential community and the sea beyond it on the island's east side. The lava flow, which has destroyed homes in the community of Kapoho and filled in an ocean bay known for snorkeling and tidal pools, is coming from a nearby fissure that has spouted a fountain of lava that has reached as high as 250 feet in recent days."

New York Times: American fashion designer Kate "Spade, 55, was discovered dead at her Manhattan apartment, where she had hanged herself in her bedroom, the police said."

Comments

[PD Pepe]

Several days ago I put on a link to a story about Niall Ferguson's right wing hand into college campus lefties. Here is Paul Krugman addressing this situation and expanding it in a piece called:

Intellectuals, Politics & Bad Faith
https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/04/opinion/conservative-free-speech.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fopinion&action=click&contentCollection=opinion&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=8&pgtype=sectionfront

"These days both universities and news organizations are under constant pressure to not just be nicer to Trump but to respect right-wing views across the board. The people [like Ferguson] making these demands claim to want fairness."

"So––you need to remember that this claim is made in bad faith. It has nothing to do with fairness; it's all about power."

RE: Bill Clinton: For a guy who always had a way with words, who could charm even hard nosed conservatives, who was the Democrats' explainer, who said he felt your pain and looked you in the eye –-simply failed in his feeble acknowledgement yesterday regarding the Monica mishmash otherwise known as a MISTAKE of the highest order. He obviously is still furious over what he considers the actual "witch hunt" that finally led to the report about this liaison––however––come on, Bill, you want to hawk your new thriller–-just say you're sorry and leave it at that.

And for all those congressional males getting pizza deliveries make sure it isn't a young female intern who lifts up her skirt to show you her thong.

[Ken Winkes]

Anyone else see the parallels between the White House cancellation of the Eagles' visit and the similarly abrupt cancellation of the N. Korean summit? The art of the deal in action or displays of childish pique?

That Pretender is soooo in charge.

Just a slight difference or two. Because the Pretender has nothing to offer but the chance to have their picture taken with someone they don't like, most of the Eagles didn't want to come anyway. And a photo op with half the team missing would have been embarrassing for the Pretender. So no deal. Just a Pretender who wants all or nothing and some football players who didn't much care.

Now, on to N. Korea. Some of the same negotiating methods here, but more players and different stakes. Does anyone know what the White House wants out of its now back on again summit? Or what it will be willing to call a success? Is the part China is already playing (a warming between China a N. Korea is already visibly under way) at all clear, let alone how our so far bootless trade talks with China will influence the negotiations. Will any deal with N. Korea leave China in a stronger or weaker position?

Will the Pretender learn anything at all from the G-7plus meeting this weekend? Will he actually listen to anyone's advice?

For N. Korea, the preferred four year old's all or nothing approach obviously won't fly, so what will the Pretender do?

Might prove almost as entertaining as the witch hunt's daily episodes.

[Marvin Schwalb]

His Majesty Czar Donald I- Eugene Robinson
King Trump- all over the place

Sorry, neither is correct. The problem is that Kings and Czars make mistakes. Trump is perfect. In one very ill brain, Trump is not a last name. It is the title itself of worlds perfect person.

[Patrick]

This is sad.

Esquire Jack Holmes reports that DiJiT's reason to un-invite the Philadelphia Eagles, due to the issue of players kneeling during the anthem, is weird ... because no Eagles knelt or stayed in the locker room during the anthems last season.

"Reporting" the un-invite story, Fox ran photos of Eagles players kneeling -- but they were doing the player prayer thing, not during the anthems.

So this afternoon the Marine Band and the Army Chorus will perform patriotic music at the WH for about 1,000 Eagles fans -- but no Eagles.

This DiJiT person is just ... strange.

[Jeanne]

Gives presidunce whiney-baby an opportunity to...what? And which Eagles fans are there? Just off the street or what? Come to see...whom? What a jackass. Must read dime novel becuz media coverage of said jackass ruins lunch...

[Marvin Schwalb]

Patrick,
I think the reason for the un-invite is that most players would not show up if invited, insulting the Trump.

[RAS]

Like so much else with the Notorious LIP [Little Impotent Prick] the Eagles fiasco comes down to crowd size.

On another note, no one on tv seems to be able to understand why Manafort was so reckless. From what legal experts have said Manafort is screwed already so a little tampering (even if he gets caught like he did) won't make much difference.

[Akhilleus]

Scott Pruitt enlisted an EPA aide to...

See if there's room for his face on Mount Rushmore, and if not, find out how soon the mountainside can be blasted to make room.

Sneak into the White House private residence and go through Trump's underwear drawer so Pruitt can buy the same kind, planning to casually mention how comfy that brand was in his next meeting with the little king.

Start the ball rolling to change the name of Pruitt's 90 person security detail to Team P and get them all black superhero costumes to wear while on duty. No natural fabrics, please. And guns. Lots of guns.

Drop off and pick up his dry cleaning like that (R) pol in Virginia. Great idea.

Find a Playboy bunny or porn star for him to date. Some people have all the fun. The aide can drop off her dry cleaning too.

Help promote the health benefits of mercury, arsenic, and sulphur dioxide.

Find out about a little more about Russian adoptions.

Buy him a throne for his office. But make it portable so he can take it with him to meetings outside DC. It will impress the fossil fuel mooks.

Check on his secret Swiss bank accounts every now and then. Can't let the bribery funds get too low.

[Patrick]

Here's DiJiT faking his way through "God Bless America" at his patriotic songfest today (thanks Driftglass and Deadspin):

http://driftglass.blogspot.com/2018/06/do-you-know-what-constitution-says.html

Not quite as moving as the final scene of "The Deer Hunter", but entertaining in its own way. He's no Kate Smith, I can tell you that.