;)
The Commentariat -- May 25, 2018
Afternoon Update:
William Rashbaum, et al., of the New York Times: "Eleven days before the presidential inauguration last year, a billionaire Russian businessman with ties to the Kremlin visited Trump Tower in Manhattan to meet with ... Michael D. Cohen, according to video footage and another person who attended the meeting. In Mr. Cohen's office on the 26th floor, he and the oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, discussed a mutual desire to strengthen Russia's relations with the United States under President Trump, according to Andrew Intrater, an American businessman who attended the meeting and invests money for Mr. Vekselberg."
Trump Is Not Giving up on SPYGATE! Max Greenwood of the Hill: "President Trump on Friday once again made the claim that the FBI improperly spied on his presidential campaign, suggesting that the bureau used a top-secret informant to surveil his team long before it began investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election. 'The Democrats are now alluding to the the concept that having an Informant placed in an opposing party's campaign is different than having a Spy, as illegal as that may be,' he tweeted. 'But what about an "Informant" who is paid a fortune and who "sets up" way earlier than the Russian Hoax?'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Say, why haven't we heard from Devin Nunes since he got the goods on the intelligence agencies way yesterday? No press conference decrying FBI spies? No interviews revealing a CIA conspiracy? I'm so disappointed.
Blah, Blah, Blah. Peter Baker of the New York Times: "President Trump said on Friday that his administration was back in touch with North Korea and the two sides may reschedule his summit meeting with Kim Jong-un, perhaps even on the original June 12 date, a stunning reversal just a day after the president canceled the get-together. 'We'll see what happens,' Mr. Trump told reporters. 'It could even be the 12th,' he said. 'We're talking to them now. They very much want to do it. We'd like to do it. We'll see what happens.'" ...
... Susan Glasser of the New Yorker: "Sixteen months into the Trump Presidency, it is finally time to say: ... There are no deals with Trump, and there are increasingly unlikely to be. Not on NAFTA. Not on Middle East peace. Or Obamacare or infrastructure. On tax cuts, the one big deal that did get passed, Republicans in Congress agreed to give their grandchildren's money to American corporations and wealthy families and put it all on the nation's credit card; Trump championed it but ... played little role in shaping the legislation, and did nothing to build consensus with skeptical Democrats. On North Korea, Trump spontaneously (and over the fears of his advisers) agreed to meet a dictator whose family, for three generations, has made the acquisition of nuclear weapons the centerpiece of its national security; Trump's negotiating strategy was to demand that the Kim dynasty completely give them up. How surprised are we that it didn't work out? No, Trump is a much better dealbreaker than dealmaker."
*****
NEW. Perp Walk of a Fat Pig. Benjamin Mueller of the New York Times: "Harvey Weinstein turned himself in to New York City detectives and was arrested on Friday on charges that he raped one woman and forced another to perform oral sex, a watershed in a monthslong sex crimes investigation and in the #MeToo movement. Around 7:30 a.m., Mr. Weinstein walked into a police station house in Lower Manhattan, flanked by several sex crimes detectives. Toting three large books under his right arm, he looked up without saying a word as a crush of reporters and onlookers yelled, 'Harvey!'... Then about an hour later, he was led from the First Police Precinct in TriBeCa and taken to court on Centre Street to face rape charges, his arms pinned behind him in several sets of handcuffs to accommodate his girth, the police said."
NEW. Rick Noack of the Washington Post: "Within 3 months, Trump's dealings with North Korea and Iran have antagonized: Russia, China, Germany, France, Japan, Britain, Austria, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Spain, Slovakia, Portugal, Finland, Ireland, South Korea [...]. Here's a timeline....
John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "BREAKING: North Korea said it is ready to talk to U.S. 'at any time,' responding to Trump's cancellation of summit with Kim Jong Un.... North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Kim Gye Gwan issued a conciliatory statement, saying the regime was ready to meet with the United States 'at any time.'" ...
... Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "President Trump has notified Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, that he has canceled their much-anticipated meeting to discuss steps toward denuclearization and peace because of recent 'tremendous anger and open hostility' by Pyongyang toward members of his administration. In a letter dated Thursday to Mr. Kim, the American president left open the possibility that the two could meet in the future. But hours later Mr. Trump warned that the United States and its allies are prepared to respond should 'foolish or reckless acts be taken by North Korea.'" Mrs. McC: "Many people are saying" Trump should get the Nobel Peace Prize anyway. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "With foreign journalists watching on Thursday, the North Koreans detonated explosives to destroy tunnels and buildings at the site in the country's remote mountains. But then, only hours later, President Trump abruptly canceled the June 12 summit meeting, turning North Korea's seeming gesture of good will into a potential embarrassment by its longtime enemy, the United States. Mr. Trump's move so blindsided the North Koreans that the invited foreign journalists learned about the cancellation on their smartphones -- even before some of their hosts did. One of the journalists, Will Ripley from CNN, read the text of Mr. Trump's withdrawal letter to their official North Korean chaperones on the return train ride from the remote nuclear test site, Punggye-ri."
... Jonathan Chait reproduces Trump's letter to Kim. "The letter clearly springs from, or at least reflects the deep influence of, Trump's own mind. Almost the entirety of Trump's very short list of favorite words is represented: 'tremendous,' 'massive,' 'powerful,' 'wonderful,' 'beautiful,' 'wealth,' and 'sad.'... The president was obviously manipulated by other actors into a series of impulsive decisions that rewarded his momentary ego needs.... He has, characteristically, refused to learn anything about the subject he was putatively negotiating." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Fred Kaplan of Slate: "By canceling his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un..., Donald Trump has proved his lack of skill as a negotiator, handed the world's most brutal dictator a win, and further isolated the United States as a world power. In a letter to Kim, released at the same time as Western reporters were witnessing the destruction of North Korea's nuclear test site, Trump wrote that proceeding with a summit would be 'inappropriate,' given the 'tremendous anger and open hostility' in Kim's recent statements. He thus revealed how little he knows about the history of diplomacy with Pyongyang -- a true expert could have told him that fiery rhetoric is par for the course -- and about Kim's long-standing position on the issues that were to be discussed.... Trump's big mistake was accepting Kim's invitation to a summit without first discussing its potential risks and opportunities with people who know something about these things. His second, bigger mistake was hyping expectations, tweeting that a peace treaty was on the horizon and that he should win the Nobel Peace Prize simply for agreeing to meet. These absurd remarks only heightened his own stake in the summit's success -- and Kim's leverage in the negotiations."
... Alex Shephard of the New Republic: "There's no magic bullet -- or magic summit -- that will resolve the North Korea situation. Trump has finally acknowledged that. But in Trump-ian fashion he's done so in a way that escalates the situation and alienates our allies." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Josh Rogin of the Washington Post: "... by cutting off the diplomacy in the middle with no certainty of what comes next, Trump has opened up a world of possible consequences, most of them bad.... The U.S.-South Korea alliance is headed for tough times. [Secretary of State Mike] Pompeo didn't deny that Trump neglected to give President Moon Jae-in advance warning that he was scrapping the summit. Moon was in town just two days ago. His legacy hangs in the balance. Trump made Moon lose face and put distance between the two allies. Pompeo could lose credibility, not only with Kim but also any world leader who now can't be sure he speaks for the president.... Perhaps the biggest risk is that Trump himself loses interest in North Korean diplomacy, feeling burned and calculating that his best chances for a Nobel Peace Prize lie elsewhere.... Unpredictability as a tactic only works on adversaries when it's intentional -- for allies it's always bad." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Fortunately for Reality Chex readers, safari kept his eye on the most important issue that arose from Trump's bailout: how could he get his hands "on one of those fucking moronic coins" minted to celebrate the mythical summit? I heard on the teevee that the White House gift shop's Website crashed what with everybody else trying to get their hands on one of those fucking moronic coins. And no wonder; CNN reports the gift shop had a "deal of the day" $5 discount on the coins. And, someone called Tea Pain figured out the real reason Trump bailed: "One day we'll find out Trump did a short sale on the commemorative coins, then pulled outta the summit."
John Eligon & Michael Shear of the New York Times: Donald Trump pardoned heavyweight champion Jack Johnson, the first black heavyweight champion, who died in 1946, & was convicted & imprisoned for transporting a white woman across state lines. "Although his own record on civil rights has come under question, often harshly, Trump, flanked by boxing champions and Sylvester Stallone, the actor who brought the case to his attention, signed an order pardoning Johnson." Trump said Johnson was imprisoned "for what many view as a racially-motivated injustice." [Mrs. McC: "Many people"?] "Hours before he announced the pardon, he told Fox News that he agreed with the N.F.L.'s new policy requiring players to stand for the national anthem or remain in the locker room before games, saying of those who did not stand, 'maybe you shouldn't be in the country.'" ...
... "Most Unpatriotic President Ever" Whacks Black Patriots. Again. Jonathan Chait: "Yesterday, the National Football League capitulated to President Trump and announced a policy banning players from kneeling during the national anthem to protest police brutality.... Trump pressed his advantage. 'You have to stand proudly for the national anthem or you shouldn't be playing,' he told Brian Kilmeade. 'You shouldn't be there. Maybe you shouldn't be in the country.'... The explanation for this contradiction between his demands that players revere the flag and his own contempt for its spirit is easily explained. Patriotism is the cover for Trump's true intention, which is to delegitimize protest on behalf of African-American civil rights." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd.
Nicholas Fandos & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Top law enforcement and intelligence officials briefed congressional leaders from both parties on Thursday about the F.B.I.'s use of an informant in the Russia investigation, a highly unusual concession to Congress all but ordered by President Trump.... White House officials had at first arranged for only [Rep. Devin] Nunes to be briefed. But Republican Senate leaders, including Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, and Richard M. Burr of North Carolina, the Intelligence Committee chairman, pressed the White House to change the audience to the so-called Gang of Eight, the select bipartisan group with whom the government's most sensitive intelligence is shared. The senators ... were successful, at least in part. Administration officials held two separate briefings on Thursday: one for Mr. Nunes at the Justice Department, which has ended, and another on Capitol Hill Thursday afternoon for the Gang of Eight.... The details continued to be fluid Thursday. At the last minute, Representative Adam B. Schiff of California, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, was also included in the first meeting. He was there in place of Representative Nancy Pelosi, the House Democratic leader, who received a last-minute invitation. John F. Kelly, the White House chief of staff, whom Mr. Trump asked to help organize the meetings, attended both sessions, as did Emmet T. Flood, a lawyer representing Mr. Trump in the Russia investigation. Their presence was highly unusual in a sensitive congressional oversight briefing.... Both men left the rooms after initial remarks, according to two officials familiar with the meeting." ...
... Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "The first briefing, which lasted about an hour at the Justice Department, went to [Devin] Nunes, [Paul] Ryan, [Rep. Adam] Schiff and House Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.). The second, which lasted slightly longer on Capitol Hill, was to the Gang of Eight, which includes the top Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate, as well as the top Republicans and Democrats on the House and Senate Intelligence committees.... [John] Kelly and [Emmet] Flood's presence was notable, as it contradicted White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders's assertion no one from the White House would attend.... Trump tweeted Thursday morning: 'Large dollars were paid to the Spy, far beyond normal. Starting to look like one of the biggest political scandals in U.S. history. SPYGATE -- a terrible thing!' House Intelligence Committee Ranking Democrat Adam B. Schiff (Calif.) ... said afterward: 'Nothing we heard today has changed our view that there is no evidence to support any allegation that the FBI or any intelligence agency placed a spy in the Trump campaign or otherwise failed to follow appropriate procedures and protocols.'" ...
... Betsy Woodruff of the Daily Beast: "Emmet Flood, the new lawyer for the White House overseeing its response to the Mueller probe, headed into the Justice Department with White House Chief of Staff John Kelly late Thursday morning and departed with him when the meeting was over. Flood also accompanied Kelly in and out of a second meeting held on Capitol Hill. The first meeting included Rep. Trey Gowdy, Speaker Paul Ryan, Rep. Adam Schiff, Rep. Devin Nunes, Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, Rod Rosenstein, and Chris Wray, as well as brief appearances from Kelly and Flood. The second included the Congressional 'Gang of Eight,' the leaders of both parties from both chambers, as well as the heads of the intelligence committees. Flood and Kelly left soon after appearing in the Capitol Hill meeting. More than one participant in that meeting told Flood his appearance was inappropriate, according to a Congressional official familiar with the meeting.... Schiff said in a statement released later that he told Flood his appearance at the meeting was 'completely inappropriate.' Mark Warner, the Senate intelligence committee's top Democrat..., [tweeted], 'For the record, the President's Chief of Staff and his attorney in an ongoing criminal investigation into the President's campaign have no business showing up to a classified intelligence briefing.'..." ...
... Rudy Explains Why Flood Crashed the Meetings. Kyle Cheney & Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "Two highly classified briefings Thursday about an FBI informant who contacted the Trump campaign could help grease the wheels for a highly anticipated interview between ... Donald Trump and special counsel Robert Mueller, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani told Politico. 'We want to see how the briefing went to today and how much we learned from it,' Giuliani said in a Thursday phone call. 'If we learned a good deal from it, it will shorten that whole process considerably.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: As Fandos & Benner of the NYT write (linked above) -- in a much-revised version of their story -- "the presence of John F. Kelly, the chief of staff, and Emmet T. Flood, the president's lawyer, infuriated Democrats, and it gave what legal experts described as at least the appearance that the White House might have abused its authority to gain insight into an investigation that implicates the president. The president's legal team was unapologetic. 'We are certainly entitled to know' what information the government has on the F.B.I. informant, Rudolph W. Giuliani ... said in an interview."
Eric Levitz of New York: "... on Thursday, The Wall Street Journal revealed, for the first time, that [Roger] Stone privately requested access to stolen Clinton emails that he believed to be in WikiLeaks's possession: 'In a Sept. 18, 2016, message, Mr. Stone urged an acquaintance who knew [Julian] Assange to ask the WikiLeaks founder for emails related to Mrs. Clinton's alleged role in disrupting a purported Libyan peace deal in 2011.... "Please ask Assange for any State or HRC e-mail from August 10 to August 30 -- particularly on August 20, 2011," Mr. Stone wrote to Randy Credico, a New York radio personality who had interviewed Mr. Assange several weeks earlier....'... In an interview with the Journal, Credico insisted that he had never forwarded Stone's request to Assange.... Stone, for his part, said he 'never had possession or access to any Clinton emails or records.'... When Stone testified before the House Intelligence Committee last September, he suggested that he had never requested access to stolen Clinton emails, but merely sought 'confirmation' that Assange had information about Clinton.'" ...
... Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress: "Emails obtained by the Wall Street Journal indicate that longtime Trump adviser Roger Stone withheld key documents from the House Intelligence Committee -- documents indicating he lied about his communications with a radio host he hoped would serve as a backchannel to WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign.... About two weeks after Stone reached out to [Randy] Credico, Stone posted a cryptic tweet suggesting he had foreknowledge that WikiLeaks was about to publish stolen emails that would be damaging to Clinton." The WSJ report is here, firewalled of course.
Norman Eisen and Elizabeth Holtzman in a USA Today op-ed: "Faced with the possibility that his client is criminally exposed on multiple fronts, the president's attorney Rudy Giuliani recently [said] ... a sitting president ... cannot be indicted. He is wrong, and his client should take scant comfort in this claim." Eisen & Holtzman explain why. "Pursuing an indictment of a sitting president is a last resort that is entirely consistent with our constitutional values and democratic norms. It should be on the table not because it is a perfect option, but rather because it is preferable to a world in which our president is above the law and can engage in criminal conduct with impunity."
Everything Is Going Very Smoothly. Glenn Thrush & Danielle Ivory of the New York Times: "Mark S. Inch, a retired Army major general [and] the man who was ostensibly in charge of the federal prison system..., [has] submitted his resignation as the bureau's director to Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein.... He found himself caught in an ideological turf war between Mr. Kushner and [AG Jeff] Sessions. Mr. Kushner has championed reforms to the corrections system and more lenient federal sentencing, and Mr. Sessions ... has opposed significant parts of the bipartisan prison reform bill that Mr. Kushner backs, according to officials.... Internally [Inch] was marginalized, cut out of budgetary decisions and largely excluded from discussion of the prison reform bill backed by Mr. Kushner, which passed the House on Tuesday but faces an uphill battle in the Senate."
Benjamin Mueller, et al., of the New York Times: "Harvey Weinstein, the disgraced movie mogul, is expected to surrender to investigators in Manhattan on Friday and face sexual assault charges after a monthslong inquiry into allegations by numerous women. The charges follow an avalanche of accusations against him that led women around the world, some of them famous and many of them not, to come forward with accounts of being sexually harassed and assaulted by powerful men. Those stories spawned the global #MeToo movement, and since then, the ground has shifted beneath men who for years benefited from a code of silence around their predatory behavior."
News Lede
ABC7-Chicago: "A teacher and a student have been injured and a student has been detained after a shooting at Noblesville West Middle School in Indiana Friday, authorities said. A male student has been detained in connection with the shooting, Noblesville Police Chief Kevin Jowitt said at a press conference Friday morning. Now the teacher who stopped the shooting is being hailed as a hero."
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Reader Comments (12)
I am so disgusted by the way Trump didn't handle the N.Korean business–-and other matters such as the phony "spy" game, I literally have to concentrate on something else like how am I going to wash the kitchen floor today–-on my hands and knees or.... would clear the mind perhaps. The anger that accompanies this disgust takes its toll but I'll be damned if I let this buffoon drive me crazy. Hands and knees–-way to go.
Here is an exchange from PBS News re: the Sterling Brown arrest that refuels debate on excessive force against black Americans. (with video)
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/sterling-brown
Wasn't Rudy Giuliani once a prosecutor?
He must have really sucked at it. I mean, sucked royally.
Since when is an investigative body required to update parties being investigated on what it is they have on them? Giuliani says Trump and his band of crooks have a right to know everything. Then he says this, an even more amazing statement:
"If we learned a good deal from [a briefing with Justice and the FBI], it will shorten that whole process considerably."
First, how does he figure that? Does he expect now that Mueller will ask his help in deciding what to look at more closely and what to ignore? Did Giuliani invite crooks he was investigating in hopes that they would help "shorten that whole process considerably"?
The process takes as long as it takes, Rudy. And if it's taken a while, that could have been "considerably shortened" if your boss was considerably less crooked.
Just incredible.
We often hear or read the words: 'follow the money' when certain situations first appear to defy comprehension, but a money trail or seeming lack of one can be equally intriguing.
Been thinking about that Devin Nunes guy. Hmmm. Looking at what's available online he has a rather puny net worth. (Devin Nunes's estimated net worth for 2016 is $158,001.00). That one-dollar at the end is odd . The Visalia Times-Delta listed his average net worth in 2014 as being $83,000, the same as it was in 2013.
He's way down on the list compared to the wealthier members of Congress. This alleged wine maker is a limited partner in two different wineries, not a majority owner. He lives in a 3,000 sf house in Tulare, CA that is valued at $207,000. (Median home price in that area is $221,000±). He and his teacher wife have three young daughters to raise. His annual income from Congress is $174,000 plus his wife's income which probably puts them over $200K.
Interesting how many members of Congress became quite wealthy over the years... especially when they started out in a similar financial boat such as young Devin's. It will be interesting to observe the 'ways and means' - as just how this process will enrich him before he retires, or joins a bank, or becomes a lobbyist!
Ah, but much to do before Trump's errant boy gets there.
@MAG: Yes, but it looks as if Nunes is trying to get rich, even if it may not be working out all that well, what with the hookers & cocaine & all.
PD,
It's perfect that the Sterling Brown arrest video has gone viral just as the NFL bends over to kiss the feet of president* KKK.
Just trying to parse this whole situation is headache inducing.
First, you have a player, Colin Kaepernick, who takes a knee during the playing of the national anthem in order to protest exactly the sort of treatment handed out to Sterling Brown (tased for a parking violation--TASED!).
Kaepernick's protest strikes a chord. Other players see this as a way to give high visibility to their contention, to alert other Americans to the continuing injustices visited upon non-whites in our society.
Suddenly, however, because he has nothing better to do, president* KKK sees a chance to beat down the darkies and win points with the mouthbreathers. But rather than go full-massa and order them chained up and whipped by the plantation overseer, he wraps the flag around his fat ass and calls them unpatriotic.
So...exercising the right of free speech guaranteed under the Constitution, to protest the fact that the promise of "justice for all", repeated millions of times every day in the Pledge of Allegiance, has not been kept, and that the promise of equality, an essential element of the Declaration of Independence, has likewise been broken, burnt, and thrown into the ocean, proves that someone is unpatriotic.
Oh, and while we're at it, let's deport those people too. Because.....patriotism??
And then, just as the NFL and Trump take a victory lap, dancing around the Confederate flag, and denouncing the concerns of athletes about the treatment of black Americans, along comes the Sterling Brown video. Tased over a parking spot.
Perfect. But don't complain about it. Or we'll tase you too.
@Bea McCrab: Wonder if there's a passenger list!
MAG,
"errant boy"...well done! Might have to steal that one.
Marie,
Coke and hookers to sell wine? I remember when a simple wine tasting did the trick (so to speak). Looks like ol' Devin's learning a lot from his master, King Sexual Assault.
(Even if he had nothing to do with the cruise, aligning himself with people who think this is the best way to do their work demonstrates a distinct, shall we say, lack of business acumen. Either that, or he's entirely aware of the type of people he's, er, in bed with, which would explain his fatal attraction to president* pussy grabber.)
It's the First Amendment, Stupid
Got a chance to see "The Post" last night. Excellent film and very timely.
I thought I knew a lot about the Pentagon Papers situation but what I knew was mostly a few inches deep. I didn't realize that the Post was on the verge of financial ruin at the time and printing the Papers was an act of immense bravery on the part of Kay Graham.
Meryl Streep, as Graham, does a bravura turn. I've made jokes in the past about " The Dreaded Streep" (scenery chewing, being able to see all the parts moving, etc), but she's spot on here. She moves with restraint but also with the ability to keep you guessing. That's a nice trick. Hanks and the rest of the cast keep up (ensemble acting is superb), but Streep is the force at the center that holds it all together. There are no superfluous narrative flourishes and the cinematography helps reinforce the gravity of the situation.
For me, the big fist pump moment came when the Supreme Court decision is handed down (and it's a testament to good filmmaking that you find yourself holding your breath even when you already know the outcome). The Meg Greenfield character (and man, does she look like Greenfield--another great reporter in her own right) repeats the words being read to her over the phone. Justice Black, responding to the Nixon White House's order that the press knuckle under to their demands, says in his opinion that the press's job is to serve the governed, NOT the governors. So shag off, Dicky. (You too, Trumpy.)
(If you're interested, you can read all the opinions. Black's is soaring, while Marshall does a nice job parsing the legal underpinnings of the decision. It's a far cry from today's opinions by the wingers which often don't stray far from "It is because we say it is".)
But as elated as I felt at that moment, I also realized that should a similar situation arise today, a very different outcome would obtain. Wingers on today's Court would very likely pull for Trump, and pull hard.
Also, when you think of it, had the Warren court in 1971 sided with the Tricky One, there likely would not have been any Watergate investigation. There might not have been a Post by then, and strangulation marks on the neck of the press might very well have given any other paper great pause before going after the Imperial Nixon presidency again.
Trump has yet to learn that the press is not there to serve him.
The film is also fun for political and media junkies (especially those around at that time--most of us, that is). At one point Ben Bradlee fields a call from Asst. Attorney General Rehnquist (prick). Abe Rosenthal and Punch Sulzberger from the Times show up, Bob McNamara, Times reporter Neil Sheehan (who broke the story originally), Art Buchwald, as well as a rogues gallery of Nixon reprobates, Haldeman, Kissinger, and Tricky Dick himself (most on phone calls). And of course, Daniel Ellsberg. Spielberg does a nice job of demonstrating, without being overblown, the spot Graham was in as a woman in charge of a major paper in 1971. The general assumption was that she should simply follow the orders of the men "in charge". This leads to a very satisfying "Fuck all y'all" moment at the film's high point.
"The Post" isn't "All the President's Men", which is an absolute masterpiece, but it's pretty damn good.
So trump's letter, that thing that gobbled up 24 column inches on the front page of the Times, complete with seismic signature, isn't worth the paper it was written on, much less the paper upon which it was reproduced.
When our kids were teenagers, my wife and I would often have them read correspondence we were sending to various people. Their mission was to point out phrases that had a "You Moron!" subtext directed at the recipient. We would usually rework the phrases.
In trump's case, every single proofreader should have yelled "YOU MORON" at him, both for getting himself (and our entire country!!!!!!!!!) into the position of going toe-to-toe with the North Korean leader and for dashing off that simpleton "I'm taking my ball and going home" letter.
NiskyGuy,
Unfortunately, your kids, no matter how old they are, seem way too smart to work for the Trump Debacle. Especially in the communications/English language department. Now, if they could learn to grunt, misspell, learn corkscrew constructions, curse, insult, and unlearn grammar, then they might have a chance. They wouldn't, however, be hired if they were wont to say things like "You Moron" to president* Moron.
Now, were they to suggest something like "Try threatening to nuke the whole country", they'd be in line for Secretary of State. That is, after Mike Pompeo gets bounced.
Josh Marshall's "Dignity Wraith" claims another one. This Emmet Floyd, per wikipedia, represents any side, incl. HRC and Bill at one point, Williams & Connelly. Here he is being told face to face by at least one sitting Senator and Rep. Schiff that he shouldn't be there. And he had to have big man Kelly hold his hand walking down those scary halls. And the entire world knows it, knows him for this episode of Stable Genius dignitude.