;)
The Commentariat -- May 4, 2018
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Mrs. McCrabbie: I told you (see below) the Giuliani story wasn't the last word, nor will the "last word" we hear from Trump be the truth:
... Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump undercut his attorney, Rudolph W. Giuliani, on Friday, and said the former New York mayor will eventually get the facts right regarding a payment to a pornographic actress who said she had an affair with Mr. Trump. 'And virtually everything said has been said incorrectly, and it's been said wrong, or it's been covered wrong by the press,' Mr. Trump said. Mr. Giuliani, who joined Mr. Trump's legal team last month, 'just started a day ago,' Mr. Trump said, speaking to reporters on Friday as he left Washington to attend a National Rifle Association convention in Dallas. 'He is a great guy,' Mr. Trump said. 'He'll get his facts straight.' It was the first time the president addressed the inconsistent narrative about the payment made by his personal lawyer, Michael D. Cohen, to the actress, Stephanie Clifford, who goes by the stage name Stormy Daniels. Mr. Trump did not offer any details on Friday to clarify the confusion, but said, 'It's actually very simple. But there has been a lot of misinformation.'" ...
... Jonathan Chait: "This morning, President Trump delivered an impromptu interview to reporters while shouting above the noise of his nearby helicopter. Trump stated, twice, that 'Rudy is a great guy but he started a day ago,' and 'he'll get his facts straight.' Giuliani was, in fact, hired 15 days ago. Trump also insisted that Robert Mueller was treating him unfairly because Mueller 'worked for Obama for eight years.' In fact, Mueller is a Republican who was appointed by George W. Bush, worked for Bush for seven years, and then five under Obama, before retiring. Trump offered, as further reason why Mueller should not be trusted and to explain his reason for not wanting to submit to an interview, the 'fact' that Mueller has '13 Democrats' working for him. That is also not true. Donald is a great guy, but he started a day ago, he'll get his facts straight." ...
... Aidan McLaughlin of Mediaite: "MSNBC's Donny Deutsch dropped a bombshell on Morning Joe Friday, stating that said ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen told him Rudy Giuliani 'doesn't know what he's talking about.... He also said look, there are two people that know exactly what happened. And that's myself and the president. And you'll be hearing my side of the story.'" Mrs. McC: Why, I do believe Michael's going to sing. ...
... Kristen Welker & Dennis Romero of NBC News: "... Donald Trump only recently found out that he reimbursed his personal attorney, Michael Cohen, for a $130,000 nondisclosure agreement with adult performer Stormy Daniels just days before the 2016 election, his lawyer Rudy Giuliani claimed Thursday.... 'I don't think the president realized he paid him (Cohen) back for that specific thing until we (his legal team) made him aware of the paperwork,' he said. Giuliani said the president responded, '"Oh my goodness, I guess that's what it was for."'" Mrs. McC: Totally true, I'm sure; right down to the "oh my goodness" part.
Here's the Neil Cavuto segment where he takes down Donald Trump for his pattern of lying. Mrs. McC: Never thought I'd run a full Fox "News" segment. Thanks to PD Pepe for the lead:
Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "A federal judge in Virginia on Friday grilled lawyers from the office of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III about their motivations and authorization for bringing a fraud case against former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort. 'You don't really care about Mr. Manafort's bank fraud,' Judge T.S. Ellis III said during a morning hearing. 'You really care about getting information Mr. Manafort can give you that would reflect on Mr. Trump and lead to his prosecution or impeachment.' Manafort was seeking to have bank and tax fraud charges against him dismissed in federal court in Alexandria, with his lawyers arguing that the alleged crimes have nothing to do with the election or with President Trump. Ellis agreed, emphasizing that some of the charges involve alleged conduct that occurred over a decade ago. But he made no immediate decision on the defense motion. He said even without such a connection the special counsel, which is investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election, may well still have the authority to bring the charges. 'I'm not saying it's illegitimate,' Ellis said."
Matthew Nussbaum of Politico: "Vice President Mike Pence's physician has resigned, the latest fallout from the collapse of Ronny Jackson's nomination for secretary of Veterans Affairs. Dr. Jennifer Peña, who like Jackson is a military physician detailed to the White House, was among those who detailed claims of professional misconduct against Jackson to senators considering his nomination, according to a person familiar with the events.... The allegations were troubling to many in Pence's office and the White House, who felt that Pena misrepresented the severity of the situation in an effort to harm Jackson, according to the person familiar with the situation."
Devin Nunes Is (a) Nuts, (b) Illiterate, (c) a Colossal Dick. (More than one answer may be correct.) Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.) demanded "a fully uncensored version of a highly sensitive document from the Justice Department explaining how the Russia investigation began in 2016," & when he didn't get it, he warned Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein that he would be held in contempt of Congress or impeached. "Facing the growing pressure, and outrage from ... Donald Trump, Rosenstein finally relented in early April -- and granted Nunes and Rep. Trey Gowdy of South Carolina access to the document with only minimal redactions.... But when the pair arrived at the Justice Department to review the electronic communication..., Nunes -- sitting with a copy of the document in an unopened folder directly in front of him -- opted not to read it, according to four sources with knowledge of the situation.... The moment marked at least the second time that he has demanded sensitive documents from the Justice Department, only to choose not to read them -- allowing his staff or Gowdy to pore through the materials instead."
*****
Michael Shear, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump’s new legal team made a chaotic debut as Rudolph W. Giuliani, who was tapped recently to be one of the president's lawyers, potentially exposed his client to legal and political danger by publicly revealing the existence of secret payments to Michael D. Cohen, the president's personal lawyer. After he moved into the White House, the president began paying Mr. Cohen $35,000 a month, Mr. Giuliani said, in part as reimbursement for a $130,000 payment that Mr. Cohen made to a pornographic film actress to keep her from going public about an affair she said she had with Mr. Trump. The explosive revelation ... prompted frustration and disbelief among the president's other legal and political advisers, some of whom said they feared the gambit could backfire. Legally, the failure to disclose the payments could be a violation of the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, which requires that federal officials, including Mr. Trump, report any liabilities of more than $10,000 during the preceding year. Mr. Trump's last disclosure report, which he signed and filed in June, mentions no debt to Mr. Cohen.... By the end of the day, the president and his advisers had done little to clarify the confusion that Mr. Giuliani had set in motion a night earlier." ...
... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "He may have had a strategy, but Rudolph W. Giuliani hatched it almost entirely in secret. The White House counsel had no idea. Neither did the White House chief of staff, nor the White House press secretary, nor the new White House lawyer overseeing its handling of the Russia investigation. They watched, agog, as Giuliani, the president's recently installed persona attorney, freestyled on live television Wednesday night about the president's legal troubles and unveiled an explosive new fact: that Trump reimbursed his longtime personal attorney Michael Cohen for the $130,000 paid to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels to ensure her silence about an alleged sexual encounter with Trump. Giuliani's attempt to defuse a ticking time bomb ... highlighted contradictory public statements from him and White House spokesmen.... The president was party to hatching the strategy, according to three people involved in the discussions.... Neither White House counsel Donald McGahn nor Emmet Flood, the White House attorney recently hired to handle the Russia investigation, knew that Trump had reimbursed Cohen before Giuliani revealed it, according to a person familiar with their knowledge. ...
... Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "Rudolph W. Giuliani's media blitz to convince the public that neither Donald Trump nor his lawyer had violated the law by paying a porn star to keep quiet about an alleged affair might have backfired, giving investigators new leads to chase and new evidence of potential crimes, legal analysts said. Giuliani made statements that speak to Trump and lawyer Michael Cohen's intent -- an important aspect of some crimes -- and he made assertions that investigators can now check against what they have already learned from documents and witnesses, legal analysts said." Read on. ...
... Mrs. Huckleberry: Trump Lied to Me. Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Almost nobody was aware Rudolph W. Giuliani was going to blow up the Stormy Daniels situation Wednesday night, and press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders confirmed Thursday this included her. 'The first awareness I had was during the interview last night,' Sanders said of Giuliani's disclosure that President Trump had reimbursed Michael Cohen. What was most notable was how Sanders basically blamed Trump for her own contradictory statements about Daniels. Back in March, Sanders denied Trump knew about the payment and said it was based upon her own conversation with Trump. 'I've had conversations with the president about this,' she said.... Thursday..., she essentially suggested Trump has misled her. 'We give the very best information that we have at the time,' she said, later repeating a version of that phrase several times." ...
... Michelle Goldberg: "Whether they realize it or not, experts say [Trump & Giuliani] appear to have admitted that Trump and Cohen broke the law. The question is whether the impunity that Trump has enjoyed so far will hold or whether this farce of a presidency will, at long last, begin to crumble under the weight of its own sleaze.... Even before Giuliani's revelations, USA Today reported, based on interviews with a 25-person focus group of Trump voters, that many of the president's supporters already assumed he was lying about Daniels, and didn't care.... Most of the Republican Party knows who Trump is and has submitted to him anyway.... There are two possibilities for Giuliani's bizarre media jag. Either he was acting purposefully, because even worse news for his client is on the way, or he was acting haphazardly, because he's a has-been who has joined a White House in chaos. Neither possibility bodes well for Trump...." ...
... So Then. Rudy Goes on "Fox & Friends" to Make Matters Worse. Josh Israel of ThinkProgress: After arguing that the $130K to Stormy Daniels was in no way a campaign contribution, Rudy sez, "Imagine if that came out of October 15, 2016, in the middle of the last debate with Hillary Clinton.... Cohen made it go away. He did his job." So Then. Kellyanne Conway's husband George almost immediately follows up Rudy's remark with a tweet citing relevant campaign finance law that defines Cohen's payment -- in Rudy's construction -- as a violation by Trump, by the campaign & by Cohen. Go, Team Trump! (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Josh Marshall: "Somewhere in here is what I believe is the real story, which is that Cohen cleaned up messes for Trump sometimes with his own money, sometimes with no questions asked on the understanding that he'd be paid back or cut in on deals from which he'd come out ahead. It makes perfect sense, based on my knowledge of Trump, that rather than paying him back directly -- and creating a paper trail to the sex/hush money -- he packaged the money as something else.... What you have are a half dozen brainstorms cooked up by a group of old men in a room used to bending reality to their purposes when something goes wrong. That's much more difficult on a national stage in front of intense scrutiny. That's what happened last night. Rudy Giuliani is far, far past his prime, used to the accommodating hothouse world of Fox News cronies and cash and carry deal-making in his law firm gigs. This was as sloppy as it looked and did his client no favors." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: To elaborate on what Marshall wrote, if you are under the misapprehension that Giuliani's story -- make that stories -- are what really happened vis-a-vis the Stormy Daniels payment, it's not. Giuliani has merely provided yet another set of cover stories for the real Trump-Cohen transaction, probably because he & Trump are aware that Michael Cohen's records -- soon to be in the FBI's hands -- will reveal that Trump paid or repaid Cohen for the Daniels payout. According to Giuliani, Trump paid Cohen $420K/year, and you can bet they discussed in real time where that $420K annual "legal retainer" went. ...
... Dana Bash & Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "Rudy Giuliani's cable rollout as a member of ... Donald Trump's legal team, and the torrent of statements he made Wednesday night, caught many in the White House offguard and flat-footed, highlighting the continued chaotic nature of the President's communications strategy. Giuliani told CNN Thursday he and Trump are in sync. 'You won't see daylight between me and the President,' Giuliani said in an interview. 'The strategy is to get everything wrapped up and done with this so that it doesn't take on a lie of its own.'... But Giuliani conceded that White House officials were caught off guard by his comments. '"They were, there was no way they wouldn't be,' he told CNN Thursday. 'The President is my client, I don't talk to them.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...
Netchix! ...
... Eileen Sullivan, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Thursday directly contradicted his earlier statements that he knew of no payment to Stormy Daniels the pornographic film actress who says she had an affair with Mr. Trump. Mr. Trump said he paid a monthly retainer to his former lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, and suggested that the payment by Mr. Cohen to the actress could not be considered a campaign contribution.... In three Twitter posts [republished in yesterday's Commentariat] Thursday morning, the president repeated Mr. Giuliani's statement that Mr. Trump repaid a $130,000 payment Mr.Cohen made to Ms. Clifford just days before the presidential election in 2016.... The president's tweets on Thursday had far more formal language than his typical morning messages to the world, which often include words in all capital letters and are punctuated with exclamation points.... Though Mr. Giuliani described his interview as part of a strategy, the disclosure caught several Trump advisers by surprise, sending some scrambling on Thursday morning to determine how to confront the situation.... Some of the lawyers for Mr. Cohen and Ms. Clifford were also surprised by Mr. Giuliani's remarks on Wednesday to Sean Hannity, who is close with the president." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Anna North of Vox: "In a series of tweets Thursday morning, [Donald Trump] laid out the process by which 'celebrities and people of wealth' like himself use nondisclosure agreements to keep people from talking about them in public. Trump specifically explained that he reimbursed his lawyer, Michael Cohen, for paying porn actress Stormy Daniels $130,000 for her silence.... Even more shocking than [the] admission [that he paid Cohen] is the fact that Thursday's tweets are a totally straightforward explanation of how powerful people like Trump can use their wealth to manipulate others and cover up any information they want hidden. It's essentially the same process by which producer Harvey Weinstein and other wealthy men have been able to hide allegations of harassment and other misconduct for years. The result: Men with money can abuse ordinary people and face no repercussions for their actions, beyond a few payouts here and there. Both Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal, who also says she had an affair with Trump, have helped expose this system by suing to break their nondisclosure agreements. But Trump himself ... made clear he believes that money and celebrity entitle him to do whatever he wants without facing consequences." ...
... Karen Yourish of the New York Times has a list of all the Trump & Co. yarns about the payoff to Clifford. ...
... Philip Bump of the Washington Post has more on the campaign finance law violations. (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Cristiano Lima of Politico: "Former FBI Director James Comey on Thursday rebuked Rudy Giuliani ... for referring to bureau officials as 'stormtroopers,' saying U.S. leaders should be emulating federal law-enforcement officials 'rather than comparing them to Nazis.'" ...
... Chris Geidner of BuzzFeed: "Asked about the heat he'd taken — including from former attorney general Eric Holder -- for his Wednesday night comment referring to the April 9 search warrant execution against Cohen as being conducted by 'Stormtroopers,' [Giuliani] responded, 'Oh really? If the shoe fits, wear it.' Is Giuliani really comfortable saying this about an investigation by the US attorney for the Southern District of New York -- an office he once ran? 'When you crash into an attorney's office, you're acting like a Stormtrooper. This is an attorney's office, not a defendant, an attorney for the president of the United States. I';m sorry, that is -- maybe they'd like another word -- out-of-control police,' he said. 'No, I'm not backing off, no way.'" ...
... ** Jonathan Chait: "Here was the president's lawyer, not an outside lobbyist, comparing federal law enforcement to Nazis directly, rather than indirectly.... The casualness with which the line was uttered and received does indicate something important about the way Republican thinking about law enforcement has evolved. The party's respect for the rule of law is disintegrating before our eyes, and in its place is forming a Trumpian conviction that the law must be an instrument of reactionary power.... Giuliani called for James Comey to be prosecuted and Hillary Clinton to be thrown in prison, beliefs that, in the Trump era, have become almost banal.... Just as Giuliani can call the famously straight-laced Comey 'perverted' in the very same interview he casually conceded that his own client habitually pays hush money to porn stars, Republicans can both fear the law as an instrument of terror while coveting it for the same purpose. This duality is how they can toggle between demanding ruthless authoritarian power and then, when describing their own legal predicament, squealing like the most unhinged anti-government radicals, comparing the FBI to Nazis. Trump holds this view with long-standing fervor...." Read on. ...
... The Washington Post's Editors contrast this -- A Rigged System - They don't want to turn over Documents to Congress. What are they afraid of? Why so much redacting? Why such unequal 'justice?' At some point I will have no choice but to use the powers granted to the Presidency and get involved! with "what a more presidential president might say." The contrast, to say the least, is stark.
HANNITY (in a reverent, hushed, bewildered and horrified tone): There's a Politico report today basically suggesting that now Mueller would consider Ivanka Trump ... a ... a ... a target. ...
GIULIANI (incredulously): Ivanka Trump?!?!? I would, I would, I think I would get on my charger and go right into their offices with a lance if they went after Ivanka.
HANNITY: I, uh, at this point, sir, I honestly agree with you, and I fear for the country.
GIULIANI: Now, I think if they DO do Ivanka, which I doubt they will, the whole country will turn on them. They're going after his daughter?
HANNITY: What about his son-in-law? They've talked about him!
GIULIANI: I guess, uh, Jared is a fine man. You know that. But men are, you know, disposable. [laughs] But a fine woman like Ivanka? Come on!
... Betty Cracker of Balloon Juice: "Set aside for a moment the creepy and sexist spectacle of these two infantilizing a 30-something woman who is (preposterously!) sold as a self-made business mogul and a person who merits a White House advisory role. Giuliani and Hannity's musings about Ivanka demonstrate what I hope is a fatal flaw in the Trump administration's political strategy for surviving a cascade of scandals.... Would millions rise up to follow Giuliani's lead -- mounting steeds, seizing lances and charging into Mueller's office to defend Ivanka Trump's honor?... But it's not surprising that these morons think this way -- it comes straight from the top. To the extent that he governs at all, Trump governs as if the only Americans who exist are the goobers who support him.... Speaking for myself, it would make my fucking day to see Ivanka Trump lead a perp-walk conga line -- to see all of these arrogant, corrupt, know-nothing motherfuckers swept out of power." ...
... Steve M.: "Except that our political system often functions as if the only Americans who exist are supporters of the GOP. Two of the last five presidential elections were decided in favor of the Republican popular-vote loser. It's widely accepted that Democrats might not win a House majority in the midterms even if they win the overall popular vote by a considerable margin.... The dangers Trump faces don't depend on majority rule. Anyone in Trump's orbit who goes to a jury trial will need only 1 in 12 to acquit. If Trump is impeached, he needs only 34% of the senators to save his job. The way to achieve those numbers is to rally white America. That's what Giuliani is doing. It might work." ...
... So here is why I, Mrs. Bea McCrabbie, think the Stormy Daniels payoff is actually germane to the Russia scandal: it is further evidence that Trump used probably illegal means to win the 2016 election, then covered up those actions with a series of subterfuges, followed by outright lies. That's precisely what he did by enlisting Russia to interfere with the election (tho there's no "probably" prefacing "illegal means"). The Daniels fiasco, that is, shows a pattern of behavior that tracks to Trump's use of Russian ops & the ensuing series of coverups.
Uh-Oh. Tom Winter & Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "Federal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen, the longtime personal lawyer for ... Donald Trump who is under investigation for a payment he made to an adult film star who alleged she had an affair with Trump, according to two people with knowledge of the legal proceedings involving Cohen. It is not clear how long the wiretap has been authorized, but NBC News has learned it was in place in the weeks leading up to the raids on Cohen's offices, hotel room, and home in early April, according to one person with direct knowledge. At least one phone call between a phone line associated with Cohen and the White House was intercepted, the person said." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Oops! Never Mind. Chris Geidner: "Confusion surrounded NBC reporting on surveillance of Michael Cohen's phone lines on Thursday, leading to a 5 p.m. correction that downgraded the level of reported surveillance to a phone call log — a substantial difference from its initial reporting that Cohen's phone lines were being wiretapped. Rudy Giuliani told BuzzFeed News on Thursday afternoon that he didn't believe there was a wiretap of Cohen -- two hours after NBC reported that '[f]ederal investigators have wiretapped the phone lines of Michael Cohen,' a report that also was covered extensively on MSNBC. 'I am told by two people now that it is not true,' Giuliani said. 'FBI is saying it's not true off the record, and Special Counsel is saying it&'s not true,' he said, claiming that the Special Counsel's Office 'told the press that.' NBC's correction proved Giuliani to be right." ...
... Niall Stanage of the Hill: "Rudy Giuliani called for Attorney General Jeff Sessions to intervene in the Michael Cohen case and put the people behind the probe 'under investigation' in a phone call with The Hill on Thursday.... He was reacting to an NBC News report that had initially stated phones belonging to Cohen ... had been tapped by investigators.... [Giuliani] argued that if the reported wiretapping of Cohen were true -- and he emphasized he was not sure that it was -- it would be a blatant transgression of attorney-client privilege." ...
... Louis Nelson of Politico: "... Donald Trump crowed Friday morning that 'NBC NEWS is wrong again' after the network was forced to issue a correction on reporting that initially said Trump's longtime personal attorney had been the subject of a federal wiretap. NBC News issued both on-air and online corrections to state that Michael Cohen ... had not been wiretapped but instead had been the target of a 'pen register,' a monitoring of limited logs of telephone calls." Mrs. McC: It's probably worth noting that Trump pumps out disinformation, now on an average of 6.5 times a day, & never issues a correction.
Brian Schwartz of CNBC: "Special counsel Robert Mueller is focusing intensely on alleged interactions between former top Trump campaign official Rick Gates and political operative Roger Stone, one of ... Donald Trump's closest confidants, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter. Stone, a longtime advisor to Trump, is apparently one of the top subjects of the Mueller investigation into potential collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign, sources told CNBC on condition of anonymity.... The new developments indicate that Mueller's team is interested in Stone beyond his interactions with Wikileaks founder Julian Assange during the campaign.... The link between Gates and Stone goes back to their work at what had been one of the most powerful lobbying firms in Washington, which was founded by Stone along with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.... Gates joined the firm as an intern more three decades ago...." ...
... Brandi Buchman of Courthouse News Service: "Special Counsel Robert Mueller on Thursday filed a request for 70 blank subpoenas in the Virginia court presiding over one of two criminal proceedings involving former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort. The two-page filing doesn't offer much in the way of details, but each subpoena orders the recipient to appear at the federal courthouse in Alexandria on July 10 at 10 a.m. to testify at Manafort's trial on charges stemming from Mueller's investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 presidential election."
The Hoax that Launched the Worst U.S. President Ever? Cassandra Pollock & Alex Samuels of the Texas Tribune: "A former director of the CIA and NSA said Wednesday that hysteria in Texas over a 2015 U.S. military training exercise called Jade Helm was fueled by Russians wanting to dominate 'the information space,' and that Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's decision to send the Texas State Guard to monitor the operation gave them proof of the power of such misinformation campaigns. Michael Hayden, speaking on MSNBC's Morning Joe podcast, chalked up peoples' fear over Jade Helm 15 to 'Russian bots and the American alt-right media [that] convinced many Texans [Jade Helm] was an Obama plan to round up political dissidents.' Abbott ordered the State Guard to monitor the federal exercise soon after news broke of the operation. Hayden said that move gave Russians the go-ahead to continue -- and possibly expand -- their efforts to spread fear. 'At that point, I'm figuring the Russians are saying, "We can go big time,"' Hayden said of Abbott's response."
Peter Baker of the New York Times: "As of last week, the American public had been told that President Trump's doctor had certified he would be 'the healthiest individual ever elected.' That the president was happy with his legal team and would not hire a new lawyer. That he did not know about the $130,000 payment to a former pornographic film actress who claimed to have had an affair with him. As of this week, it turns out that the statement about his health was not actually from the doctor but had been dictated by Mr. Trump himself. That the president has split with the leaders of his legal team and hired the same new lawyer he had denied recruiting. And that Mr. Trump himself had financed the $130,000 payment intended to buy the silence of the actress known as Stormy Daniels.... For Mr. Trump, it is about creating a narrative that suits his desired image, and dictating the terms of his own life.... But he now risks losing his grip on the story line he has long sought to control, in part because of his own treatment of associates like his doctor and the lawyer who paid the porn star."
Mark Landler of the New York Times: "President Trump has ordered the Pentagon to prepare options for drawing down American troops in South Korea, just weeks before he holds a landmark meeting with North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un.... Reduced troop levels are not intended to be a bargaining chip in Mr. Trump's talks with Mr. Kim about his weapons program, these officials said.... Mr. Trump has been determined to withdraw troops from South Korea, arguing that the United States is not adequately compensated for the cost of maintaining them, that the troops are mainly protecting Japan and that decades of American military presence had not prevented the North from becoming a nuclear threat. His latest push coincides with tense negotiations with South Korea over how to share the cost of the military force."
Charles Bagli of the New York Times: "Over the opposition of lawyers for a company owned by ... Donald J. Trump, State Supreme Court Judge Eileen Bransten ruled Thursday that a condominium on the Upper West Side could remove the bronze letters spelling out his name from its 46-story building. The ruling opens the door for the 377 condo owners at 200 Riverside Boulevard to formally vote on whether to keep or remove the T-R-U-M-P letters that have adorned the building, between 69th and 70th Streets, for the past 19 years. Reading a 12- page document from the bench, Judge Bransten repeatedly rejected, dismissed or found the Trump lawyers' arguments to be unpersuasive and granted summary judgment to the condominium's board.... Judge Bransten ... found that the four-page licensing agreement between Mr. Trump and the condominium gave the condo permission to use the Trump name but in no way requires it to use it. Therefore, nothing prevents the board from taking it off the building." (Also linked yesterday.)
Annals of Journalism, Ctd. Elizabeth Drew of the New Republic: "No, Mr. President, journalists aren't elitists."
Scotty's EPA Travel Agency. Juliet Eilperin & Brady Dennis of the Washington Post: "After taking office last year, [Scott] Pruitt drew up a list of at least a dozen countries he hoped to visit and urged aides to help him find official reasons to travel, according to four people familiar with the matter, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... Pruitt then enlisted well-connected friends and political allies to help make the trips happen.... Pruitt's practice of involving outsiders in his travels raises serious ethical concerns, legal experts said; federal law prohibits public officials from using their office to enrich themselves or any private individual, or to offer endorsements. Late Thursday, Democratic Sens. Thomas R. Carper (Del.) and Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.) wrote to Pruitt seeking more information about the Israel trip [partly arranged by magnate Sheldon Adelson but cancelled after the WashPo revealed related scandals], the agency's agreement with Water-Gen [an Adelson interest] and 'the role Mr. Adelson or other non-governmental officials played.'" ...
... Elaina Plott of the Atlantic: "As Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt faces a seemingly endless stream of scandal, his team is scrambling to divert the spotlight to Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. And the White House isn't happy about it. In the last week, a member of Pruitt&'s press team, Michael Abboud, has been shopping negative stories about Zinke to multiple outlets.... The stories were shopped with the intention of 'taking the heat off of Pruitt,' the sources said.... According to the two sources, Interior staffers who fielded the reporters' calls were able to ascertain that Abboud, who is a former Trump campaign official, was behind the stories. The Interior Department's White House liaison then called the White House Presidential Personnel Office to complain about his conduct.... A White House official with knowledge of the events added: 'Absolutely nothing Scott Pruitt did would surprise me.'" ...
... Hiroko Tabuchi & Steve Eder of the New York Times: "Since moving to Washington, Scott Pruitt ... has attracted the attention of federal investigators because of his unusual association with lobbyists.... As a state senator in Oklahoma 15 years ago, Mr. Pruitt went even further: He bought a home in the state capital with a registered lobbyist who was pushing for changes to the state's workers' compensation rules -- changes that Mr. Pruitt championed in the legislature. And as with the condominium rental in Washington, Mr. Pruitt never publicly disclosed his financial relationship with the lobbyist, who, like Mr. Pruitt, lived in the home when in Oklahoma City on business." Mrs. McC: This is something of a rehash of a WashPo an earlier NYT investigative report published a few weeks back (and linked here). But a nice reminder that Pruitt was always corrupt. ...
... Gregory Wallace & Sara Ganim of CNN: "... Scott Pruitt paid himself nearly $65,000 in reimbursements from his two campaigns for Oklahoma attorney general, a move at least one election watchdog has sharply criticized as being recorded so vaguely that there was no way to tell if such payments were lawful. The reimbursement method, which Pruitt used in his 2010 and 2014 campaigns, effectively scuttled two key pillars of campaign finance: transparency about how campaign funds are spent and ensuring campaign funds are not used for personal purchases, according to a former top elections attorney and a CNN review of the documents. Some of the reporting may also violate Oklahoma campaign finance rules, according to research done by the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit and nonpartisan group." ...
... Mrs McCrabbie: I'm going to go out on a limb here & predict that, in an effort to change the subject from Rudy's Big Reveal, today will be Scotty's Last Day at the EPA. I won't be surprised if this does not happen -- because Trump's big oil buddies -- but if Scotty gets Friday's afternoon dump, that won't surprise me either.
** Sheryl Stolberg & Elizabeth Dias of the New York Times: "Speaker Paul D. Ryan reinstated the Rev. Patrick J. Conroy as the chaplain of the House of Representatives on Thursday, after the chaplain sent him a letter rescinding his forced resignation and daring the speaker to fire him.... Father Conroy, a Catholic priest who has been the chaplain since 2011, intimated in a letter to Mr. Ryan on Thursday that the speaker did not have the authority to fire him, noting that the chaplain, who is selected by the speaker, is elected by the members of the House. He suggested his Catholic faith had contributed to his dismissal. And in an interview, Father Conroy said he had hired a lawyer to press his case. 'This is so contentious, and I think it is so historic,' Father Conroy said, adding, 'It's not over.'... Father Conroy said he and Mr. Ryan will sit down together on Tuesday when the House is back in session."
Senate Race. "China People." Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "West Virginia GOP Senate hopeful Don Blankenship [R-mass killer] is amping up his racial attacks on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell with a new ad declaring, 'Swamp captain Mitch McConnell has created millions of jobs for China people.... In fact, his China family has given him tens of millions of dollars.' McConnell's wife, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, was born in Taiwan and her parents are Chinese.... Earlier this week, Blankenship began running another TV spot labeling McConnell 'cocaine Mitch.' The spot is apparently in reference to a 2014 report that drugs were once found aboard a shipping vessel owned by Chao's family.... McConnell's team has noted that in 1999 Blankenship spoke of moving to China and becoming a Chinese citizen. Blankenship's girlfriend was born in China, according to media reports." Also too, McConnell's spokesperson called Blankenship "mentally ill" & texted, "This clown is a walking talking case study for the limitation of a prison's ability to rehabilitate." (Blankenship only recently got out of the clink after being found guilty of conspiracy in the deaths of 29 coal miners.) Mrs. McC: Couldn't we call these "racist attacks" instead of "racial attacks"? ...
... Oh, let's let Colbert explain:
Paul Krugman explains how Apple's way of repatriating its assets thanks to the tax heist is why "what looks like a big giveaway to wealthy investors is, in fact, a big giveaway to wealthy investors." Mrs. McC: I do love the way Krugman explains economics to dummies: "But what does 'bringing money to America' mean? Apple didn't have a huge, Scrooge McDuck-style pile of gold sitting in Ireland, which it loaded onto a homeward-bound ship. It has digital claims -- a bunch of zeros and ones on some server somewhere -- which in effect used to bear a label saying 'this money is in Ireland.' Now it has changed the label to say 'this money is in America.'"
Guardian: "Roman Polanski and Bill Cosby have been expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. In a statement, the Academy announced that the governing board had voted to remove the two disgraced stars 'in accordance with the organization's standards of conduct'."
Beyond the Beltway
Brent Griffiths of Politico: "Missouri lawmakers moved overwhelmingly on Thursday evening toward calling special legislative session to further investigate possible impeachment charges against the state's embattled governor, Eric Greitens.... According to [Missouri House Speaker Todd] Richardson [R], 138 House members and 29 senators supported the call for a special session, more than the respective three-fourths required in each chamber. The first-ever special session in the state's history will begin on May 18, the last day of the regular session, and last for 30 days, immediately after which lawmakers will adjourn from their regular business."
Way Beyond
Christina Anderson & Richard Pérez-Peña of the New York Times: "The Swedish panel that awards the Nobel Prize in Literature said on Friday that it would take the extraordinary step of not naming a laureate this year — not because of a shortage of deserving writers, but because of the infighting and public outrage that have engulfed the group over a sexual abuse scandal. The Swedish Academy said it would postpone the 2018 award until next year, when it will name two winners, making this the first year since World War II that the panel has decided not to bestow one of the world's most revered cultural honors. The academy is involved only in the literature award, so other Nobel Prizes are not affected.... In November, a Swedish newspaper reported that 18 women said they had been sexually assaulted or harassed by Jean-Claude Arnault, who is closely tied to the Swedish Academy and is accused of using his stature in the arts world to try to coerce women into sex. Other allegations against him emerged later, including a report that Mr. Arnault had groped Sweden's crown princess, Victoria." She was not amused. Read on. There's more.
News Lede
New York Times: "Five senior Islamic State officials have been captured, including a top aide to the group’s leader, in a complex cross-border sting carried out by Iraqi and American intelligence, two Iraqi officials said Wednesday. The three-month operation, which tracked a group of senior Islamic State leaders who had been hiding in Syria and Turkey, represents a significant intelligence victory for the American-led coalition fighting the extremist group and underscores the strengthening relationship between Washington and Baghdad."
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Reader Comments (17)
A major activity over the last year is the removal of the word 'trump' from buildings. I wonder, does Trump actually own a building?
Here's a NYT article from 2016 showing trump properties and debt.
He doesn't own a lot of them solely, and he is a $billion or two in
debt, probably in debt to foreign banks.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/08/20/us/elections/donald-
trump-owns-and-owes-debt-properties.html
He probably doesn't have two dimes to rub together.
@Marvin Schwalb: Wikipedia has at least a partial list of buildings & other properties Trump owns or has a substantial stake in, though some are heavily mortgaged, & of course the condos within some of these buildings are owned by others.
President AR-15 will be in Dallas talking to the crazy gun knobbers today. Just weeks after puffing out his man boobs and strutting around proclaiming that, unlike obsequious bedwetters in Congress who were hiding under the covers after the latest NRA All Star mass murder in Florida, HE, Brave Sir Donald, would take on Wayne Lapierre and his loonies who believe that convicted felons, repeat domestic abuse offenders, and terrorists all need their own stockpile of deadly weapons.
And how does he do that? First, by declaring he would do thus and such, and blah, blah, blah, cuz he ain’t ‘fraid of no NRA. Then, after he was reminded that the NRA didn’t like it, he hid under the covers too. Hope there was room, what with the entire right side of Congress under there with him.
Now, all that is in the distant past. Eight whole weeks ago. (It’s a function of state that whenever there is a huge loss of life at the hands of an NRA superstar, they refuse comment and also hide under the covers until it all blows over, then go right back to “Guns for Everyone!” As if the whole thing was just a humorous misunderstanding, something to elbow each other over and cackle as they enjoy cigars and brandy in the trophy room, filled with grisly heads of all the Americans shot and killed because of the policies they enforce.)
Now they’re besties once more. All is forgiven and prez AR-15 is down in Texas, orange tail tucked far up his fat ass, and ammo belt strung across his portly frame in solidarity with loons, to inform the ravening horde that they can shoot anyone they want at any time, for any reason, because Second Amendment!!!
Is it just me or is there something disturbing and surreal about an American president (even the * kind) going to Dallas to sing the praises of assault weapons and the sort of firearms favored by assassins?
Just one more mind bending detour on the Orange Brick Road.
When Rosemary (in Rosemary's Baby) deciphered an anagram, she gasped,––and then loudly exclaimed, "Witches! All of them ––Witches!" I thought of this scene while going through another day's news, another day's stories of corruptions, lies, scams, and as Colbert coined it, Profiles in Discourage. All of them somabitches! It's a field day for foraging the flim flams and fishing for the fakes.
But lo, a small miracle doth shew its light: Here is Neil Cavuto over at Fox–-believe it or not–- scolding Trump like a mother hen and ending up telling him he stinks!
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/fox-news-host-neil-cavuto-lists-some-of-trumps-worst-lies-in-fiery-takedown_us_5aeba767e4b0ab5c3d6394b5
Steve M. above: " The way to achieve those numbers (the minority needed to "win" in our non-democracy) is to rally white America. That's what Giuliani is doing. It might work." ...
Good math, but very bad and sad for the morality of white folks insofar (which is quite a ways), as the analysis suggests that white America may be just as readily corruptible as the Pretender and the Republican leadership that still supports him.
What a shame that Elizabeth Drew's excellent letter to Trump won't be read by him–-maybe someone close will read it to him? If we have any heroes in this crazy presidential experiment, it is exactly those kinds of journalists that Drew describes. I am awed at their tenacious reportage.
Marlin Fitzwater, press sec. to Reagan and Bush1, had a devil of a time with the press and said:
"The media is like a cocklebur that attaches to your pant's leg"
You bet your sweet bippy!!!!
Rudy and Trump: Revolutionaries of the Simpleton Liberation Army
Rudy Giuliani compares the FBI to Nazi stormtroopers and calls the FBI director "perverted".
This from a right-wing mainstay, former so-called law and order guy?
Remember how Confederates ripped Obama simply for knowing Bill Ayers, former head of the Weather Underground? They wanted to paint him with the same radical, anti-establishment brush. It was a staple (it seems now) for 60's and 70's era revolutionary movements to describe law enforcement in harsh terms. Funny how now, it's the Confederate establishment that's sounding like 60's radicals.
"...we were targeted, bam, bam, bam, by a very sophisticated, advanced, counterintelligence program; At the same time, by very crude and violent police.
"...this is an out-of-control investigation and they’re acting like storm troopers."
The first is Kathleen Cleaver, member of the Black Panthers, former wife of Eldridge Cleaver.
The second is the legal representative of the current president* of the United States.
Any difference?
Yes.
Cleaver's comment is not unhinged and it's based in fact.
And when you think about it, has there ever been a more anti-establishment, radical president than Trump? Patty Hearst and the Symbionese Liberation Army robbed a bank at the point of a gun. Trump robs banks at the point of a pen.
Wait! No Nobel for literature this year?
Damn! Screwed again.
I was so sure that trumpkins would get a Nobel for Tweetature.
@forrest morris: Ha ha. But I think theirs a speling quiz.
On the other hand, trump might get extra points for fantasy & his deft use of the absurd.
Oh my goodness!
I never realized I paid $130,000 to the porn star living down the block so my wife wouldn't find out about any extracurricular hanky-panky. Thank god Rudy called me up to clue me in. I just can't keep all those hundred grand porn star payoffs straight.
Luckily my lawyer, Wolf J. Flywheel, was on the job to pay her off, without my knowledge, of course. He also said we had an MDF--or was it an NBA--with her. Something like that. It was supposed to keep her quiet, but she's been parading up and down the street with a big sign that says "I HAD SEX WITH AKHILLEUS". Guess that NBA thing's not working.
But Wolf is my guy. Still, if the FBI comes calling, he never did nothin' for me. Nothin'. That's NO with a "thin" after it.
In case you're wondering, Wolf J. Flywheel was a character created by Groucho Marx for a Marx Brothers radio show back in the thirties, "Flywheel, Shyster, and Flywheel", about a crooked law firm and the losers it employs. I will bet you the GDP of China that the craziest script they ever put on the air can't hold a candle to what goes on in the Blight House every day.
Marie,
Or his absurd use of the daft.
Scott (Cone of Silence) Pruitt has become almost as much a font of democratic desecration as his boss.
The latest bit of Pruitt Feculence is his scheme of picking fun (or personally enriching--and we don't mean the cultural kind) spots and getting his minions in the EPA to come up with a semi-sort of-almost reason for jetting off on a first class throne surrounded by his chain-mailed phalanx of bodyguards.
So this is my chance to wrangle a job in fed'ral guv'mint. I can come up with some great reasons for Scotty's junkets.
Where Does Scotty Want to Go?
Bordeaux, France.
Word is that conditions in French wine country could be recreated in the US. King Scotty wants to make sure that Château Latour Grand Vin, Red Bordeaux Blend 1961 ($14,000 a bottle) can be duplicated in a landfill outside Muskogee. The locals would make a killing.
St. Maarten.
The Caribbean playground has more gaming machines per resident than any other country in the world. King Scotty needs to check out the environmental impact. Could be dangerous.
Venice
Lots of water. Might have to write a report someday about how rising sea levels could affect American cities. Oops. Check that. The term "rising sea levels" is banned, per order of Confederates in Congress. Soooo.....well, lots of churches there. Jesus will be happy to see him.
North Island, Seychelles
Big island, 11 houses. $10,000 a night in some. Will and Kate stayed there. King Scotty needs to see if all those rich people are affecting the environment. He'll need, oh, two or three weeks to test his very scientific hypotheses.
Las Vegas
Whoa. A city. In the desert? Have to see how that works. Five weeks.
Bali
Bob Hope and Bing Crosby once made a movie about The Road to Bali. They may have left some litter there. Can't have that. Eight days. At least.
See? Not that hard. Do I get the job?
@Akhilleus: I'm so disappointed. I applied for that job too -- the one where you get something like $267K/year but don't necessarily have to show up at the office (except on days fun trips to Paris & Morocco are planned) -- but I could not think up reasons for Scotty to go anyplace except Guantanamo, Timbuktu & Ulan Bator. Clearly, you win.
Marie,
I like Guantanamo. Many good reasons for Pruitt to go for a looooong visit (love to see him get all big and bad with former Al Qaeda captains). As for Ulan Bator, I dunno. Even though it's the most polluted capital city in the world, and it would make a good case study for what he's proposing for America, I think I'd send him to a neighboring locale more representative of the work he does at the EPA: Masta Bator.
So Father Conroy is back as House chaplain, if not back in Ryan's good graces.
My wife says Sleazy Ryan must have read my Sunday sermon.
I had no such thought of RC's reach.