The Commentariat -- January 15, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Nicholas Fandos & Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times: "The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to send the Senate two articles of impeachment against President Trump, appointing seven Democrats to prosecute the case and initiating only the third presidential impeachment trial in American history.... Only one Democrat, Representative Collin C. Peterson of Minnesota, joined every Republican in voting 'no.'... The [impeachent] managers are scheduled to reconvene in the Capitol at 5 p.m. to finalize the articles with Ms. Pelosi in a formal 'engrossment ceremony' that will mark the beginning of an elaborate, and highly orchestrated, ritual. From there, accompanied by the House clerk and sergeant-at-arms, the managers will file from the House, through the old House chamber and the Capitol Rotunda to the Senate, where Democrats will present the articles to the secretary of the Senate. But the trial itself is not expected to start until Thursday, when the managers will most likely exhibit the articles inside the Senate chamber. Once they do so, the Senate will summon Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. to preside and all senators will take an oath to administer 'impartial justice.' The Senate must promptly issue a summons to Mr. Trump informing him of the charges and requesting a response. Republican leaders have said the proceeding will not begin in earnest until next Tuesday, after the long holiday weekend."

Aaron Rupar of Vox has a good post on how the mainstream media in general, and in this case, NPR in particular, sanitize and normalize Trump's wild, incoherent rants. Thanks to Ken W. for the link. Mrs. McC: During the first year-plus of his term, almost all major-media outlets labored to "interpret" Trump's rants by making some sense of what he was saying, which of course had the effect of normalizing his speeches and remarks. But I have noticed that, after maybe two years, reporters at some major outlets, including the NYT, finally started writing about Trump's "disjointed rambling" and "anger" and so forth even in straight news reports. Too little, too late.

Washington "Post Opinions invited the Democratic presidential candidates not on the stage in Des Moines on Tuesday to add their thoughts to a key exchange in the debate. Here are the responses from five of them."

Olivia Beavers & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) tapped seven impeachment managers on Tuesday.... Some members who the Speaker tapped were considered shoo-ins, including Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.), who both had leadership roles during the impeachment inquiry into Trump's contacts with Ukraine. Others picked for the high-profile role of managers include Democratic Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), Zoe Lofgren (Calif.), Val Demings (Fla.), Sylvia Garcia (Texas), and Jason Crow (Colo.)." ~~~

~~~ The New York Times' liveblog on impeachment is here. The Washington Post's liveblog is here.

The Impartial Jury Foreman. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday ripped House Democrats and made the case for the upper chamber acquitting President Trump as he waits for the articles of impeachment to be transmitted. McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, did not directly call for senators to vote to acquit Trump but argued that senators cannot follow the House's lead and agree that the president deserves to be impeached and ultimately removed from office. '... If the Senate blesses this unprecedented and dangerous House process by agreeing that an incomplete case and subjective basis are enough to impeach a president, we will almost guarantee the impeachment of every future president,' McConnell said."

Jonathan Chait: In "a series of messages between [Lev] Parnas, who met with Trump on several occasions and claims the president personally directed his mission in Ukraine, and Robert Hyde..., Hyde made several chilling remarks that seemed to indicate that he was surveilling Marie Yovanovitch, the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine, and prepared to do something to her. Reading these messages makes clear Hyde was planning to do something unpleasant to Yovanovitch, apparently in tandem with some kind of security personnel he contacted, perhaps Russian ones[.]... Several months later, even after she had been removed from her post, President Trump appeared intent on doing some kind of harm to Yovanovitch. 'Well, she's going to go through some things,' he told Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in his July 25 phone call.... The Parnas-Hyde texts are evidence of how the whole scheme played out on the ground, which is basically as an episode of The Sopranos. And as the sordid evidence of the scheme continues to pour out, it remains the position of the Trump administration and nearly every elected Republican that Congress is not entitled to to any additional testimony or documents." Worth reading the thread of Hyde's messages. Chait also discusses the letter from Giuliani to Zelensky. ~~~

~~~ Philip Bump of the Washington Post highlights a letter from Rudy Giuliani to Volodymyr Zelensky that makes it fairly impossible for Trump to throw Giuliani under the bus, as Trump attempted to do in an interview with Bill O'Reilly. In the letter, which is reproduced with the post, Giuliani writes, "I am private counsel to President Donald J. Trump. Just to be precise, I represent him as a private citizen, not as President of the United States.... In my capacity as personal counsel to President Trump and with his knowledge and consent, I request a meeting with you...."

Katy O'Donnell of Politico: "The Department of Housing and Urban Development will allow Puerto Rico to access more than $8 billion in blocked disaster aid funding, ending a monthslong hold by the Trump administration, according to people familiar with the matter. Puerto Rico, which suffered devastating losses from Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017, has received just $1.5 billion of the roughly $20 billion in congressionally authorized disaster funds that HUD is supposed to administer. The delay in receiving the additional funds had incensed both U.S. lawmakers and commonwealth officials.... Democrats had cranked up the pressure on the White House to release the money in the wake of the earthquakes, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California on Thursday calling on administration officials to 'cease and desist that illegal activity.'"

Andrew Higgins of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Dmitri A. Medvedev of Russia abruptly resigned on Wednesday, shortly after his political patron, President Vladimir V. Putin, sent the country's political elite into a swirl with proposals for sweeping constitutional changes that could extend his hold on power for many years. Mr. Medvedev's cabinet also resigned. In a statement issued by the Russian news agency Tass, Mr. Medvedev, a lawyer who has known Mr. Putin since they worked together in St. Petersburg in the 1990s, linked the unexpected resignations to an overhaul put forward earlier on Wednesday by Mr. Putin." A Politico story is here.

Jason McGahan of the Daily Beast: "Ex-Stormy Daniels lawyer and Trump antagonist Michael Avenatti was led out of the State Bar Court in Los Angeles by federal agents on Tuesday evening. The arrest occurred outside the disciplinary hearing in which the State Bar of California has accused the hard-charging, tough-talking attorney of using a doctored document to scam a client out of nearly $840,000, funneling money from a lawsuit settlement fund to his own personal use. The State Bar of California, the official attorney licensing agency, has sought to put Avenatti on 'involuntary inactive status,' setting in motion a timeline for disbarment proceedings. During a break in testimony, members of the United States Attorney's Office for the Central District of California, who are prosecuting Avenatti in a separate criminal matter in Orange County, parleyed with Avenatti's team of lawyers and took the lawyer into custody."

~~~~~~~~~~

Democratic Presidential Debate

Matt Viser, et al., of the Washington Post: "A whittled-down field of Democratic presidential candidates on Tuesday focused on their shared disdain for President Trump and elaborated on a host of policy differences domestic and foreign in an Iowa presidential debate whose most animated moment turned on whether a woman could become president." ~~~

~~~ Here's that "animated moment":

Daniel Strauss of the Guardian: "A post-debate confrontation between progressive senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders capped the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses after an evening of infighting on foreign policy, healthcare, and what makes a candidate most fit to defeat Donald Trump. In a sign of the depth of the tension between Sanders and Warren, at the end of the debate, as candidates were shaking hands, the Massachusetts senator walked over to the Vermont senator. Sanders outstretched his hand; Warren did not. It was not immediately clear what the two said but after a few short, apparently stern words from both sides they shook their heads and walked in opposite directions." Here's that moment:

Eric Levitz of New York has a good "takeaways" rundown.

Ryan Lizza of Politico: "Democratic voters..., in polls and interviews have consistently been bewildered by the size of the field and turned off by petty fights between candidates that do little to clarify their differences. The CNN-Des Moines Register debate Tuesday night at Drake University did not feature the expected -- choose your favorite journalistic cliché -- no holds barred/gloves-are-off/there will be blood on the floor exchanges between Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, or either of them and Joe Biden."

Two Things. Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: (1) Several teevee pundits noted that one reason Democrats may have gone easy on each other is that second-place matters a great deal in Iowa; if a caucus-goer's favorite candidate doesn't get 15% of the votes in that locality, she has to move to a candidate who met the 15% threshold. Therefore, it's a mistake for a candidate to alienate voters by slamming their favored candidate, as that could keep them from choosing you second. (2) Haven't seen this anywhere: I watched the debate to see who I thought could (a) beat Trump and (b) seem credibly "presidential." I thought Warren did the best job there, something I would not have said several months ago.

Here's the New York Times' real-time snark analysis. Here are the Washington Post's live updates.

Mrs. McCrabbie: Debate preceded by most embarrassing rendition of the national anthem since Roseanne's notorious performance in 1990.

Libby Watson of the New Republic: "Millions have watched as the media asks, on behalf of the American people, things that only people in the media think are important.... The same gestures towards your dad's idea of Sensible Policymaking that routinely oozes out of the Beltway thinkpiece class and onto the pages of our finest newspapers was once again seamlessly shunted onto cable television. If the unstated premise of every debate question is 'How can you assure us you will continue a sufficiently right-wing status quo,' it's hard to see how things will ever change.... If the Democratic Party thinks it is important for us to have 20 debates, for example, perhaps at least one or two could be hosted by a left-wing outlet not bent on assessing the relative conservatism of the liberal party's candidates." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Watson is right, but the Democratic National Committee -- which sets the rules for the debates -- is run by establishment Democrats, and they're going to favor candidates like Hillary Clinton, as they did in 2016, and Joe Biden, as they are doing now. Their big "reform" in this cycle was cutting Fox "News" from the debates, so Chris Wallace couldn't ask Joe any tough questions. The DNC likes what CNN is doing. Of course, if Bernie or Elizabeth became president/the establishment, that could shift slightly leftward. ~~~

~~~ Frank Rich (written before the debate): "I have not been an admirer of [Cory] Booker's easy-listening campaign, but it says everything you need to know about the DNC's debate criteria that he did not make it into this debate and that Tom Steyer did. So now Booker, a United States senator and former Newark mayor of actual substance and proven political chops, is out of the race altogether, and Steyer, a poseur with zero achievements and no known adherents, hobbles on, thanks to heavy self-spending on campaign ads that boosted his name recognition in two states' polls. It's a joke, and the public knows it. Another joke is the focus on the caucuses in Iowa, a 91 percent white state that, like the white and unrepresentative New Hampshire primary, is another glitch in the system by which the Democrats choose a national ticket." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I have thought for several years that Booker was a lightweight phony, and I suspect he chose to run, as Rich aptly puts it, an "easy-listening campaign" because that's what he calculated Iowa & New Hampshire voters wanted. He may have been right about that, but my guess is that the voters saw through the phony.

Alex Thompson & Holly Otterbein of Politico: "The controversial talking points attacking Elizabeth Warren that Bernie Sanders' campaign deployed were given to teams in at least two early voting states on Friday, three Sanders campaign officials confirmed. Volunteers and staffers used the script on Saturday while canvassing for votes, meaning the talking points were more official than what Sanders previously suggested after Politico reported on the language. The campaign pulled back the script -- which described Warren's appeal as limited to the highly educated and financially well off -- later on Saturday after the story published. Sanders initially appeared to blame the controversy on rogue employees. 'We have hundreds of employees.... And people sometimes say things that they shouldn't,' Sanders said Sunday in Iowa. His press aides never denied the veracity of the document."

Zack Budryk of the Hill: "A clip emerged Tuesday of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) saying in 1988 that he believed a woman could be elected president, just a day after Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Sanders told her in 2018 that a woman couldn't win the presidency. 'The real issue is not whether you're black or white, whether you're a woman or a man. In my view, a woman could be elected president of the United States,' Sanders, at the time a high-profile supporter of Jesse Jackson's 1988 presidential bid, said in the clip. 'The real issue is whose side are you on? Are you on the side of workers and poor people, or are you on the side of big money and the corporations?'"

More on the presidential race linked below.

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House will vote on Wednesday to send the Senate impeachment charges against President Trump, allowing a long-awaited trial to begin, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats privately Tuesday, according to officials in the room.... In a closed-door gathering with Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning, Ms. Pelosi detailed her plan to move on Wednesday to appoint the team of lawmakers who will prosecute the case against Mr. Trump, known as the House managers in his impeachment trial. The officials who described her private remarks spoke on condition of anonymity. Unless things change, her timetable means that the House managers would ceremonially walk the articles of impeachment from the House chamber to the Senate well later in the day Wednesday, formally presenting them and prompting a trial to commence. The speaker said she was not yet ready to share the names of the lawmakers she would select as managers...." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Cristina Marcos, et al., of the Hill: "But the resolution slated to hit the House floor on Wednesday is expected to name the impeachment managers." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Washington Post (@5:50 pm ET Tuesday): Speaker "Pelosi will hold a news conference Wednesday morning to announce the impeachment managers, her office said in a statement. The announcement, set for 10 a.m. in the Capitol Visitor Center, will precede a vote later Wednesday on the resolution that will trigger a Senate impeachment trial."

Kyle Cheney & Andrew Desiderio of Politico provide an outline of how the impeachment trial will run.

Lev Saved a Lot of Stuff. Stefan Becket & Olivia Gazis of CBS News: "House Democrats released a trove of documents from an indicted businessman [Lev Parnas] who helped Rudy Giuliani in his campaign to pressure Ukraine, including previously undisclosed handwritten notes and a letter Giuliani addressed to the Ukrainian president-elect requesting a meeting shortly before his inauguration.... Chairman Adam Schiff sent the material to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler on two flash drives, writing in a letter that the Intelligence Committee 'continues to receive and review potentially relevant evidence" in its investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "Among [the documents] were handwritten notes scrawled on a sheet of hotel paper at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Vienna that mention getting President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine to announce an investigation of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son, and a May 2019 letter from [Rudy] Giuliani requesting a meeting with Mr. Zelensky in which he said Mr. Trump had 'knowledge and consent' of his actions.... The material built upon details undergirding the charges against Mr. Trump, and highlighted how much is still to be learned about the scope of a scheme that the impeachment charges call a blatant effort to solicit foreign help in the 2020 election.... 'There cannot be a full and fair trial in the Senate without the documents that President Trump is refusing to provide to Congress,' [senior House Democrats] said [in a statement]."

     ~~~ The Hill has the docs here. ~~~

~~~ Rudy's Guys Spied on U.S. Ambassador Yovanovitch. Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "New documents released by House Democrats on Tuesday offered fresh detail on the shadow diplomacy campaign at the center of President Trump's impeachment, including text messages suggesting that the former United States ambassador to Ukraine was under surveillance while in Kyiv. In a series of cryptic text messages, Lev Parnas ... communicated with another man who appeared to be monitoring the movements of the ambassador, Marie L. Yovanovitch. The texts, exchanged in March on the WhatsApp messaging service, indicated that the other man, Robert F. Hyde, was in touch with people in Ukraine who were watching Ms. Yovanovitch." The story has been substantially updated. For instance, there's this: “In a brief interview conducted via text on Tuesday, Mr. Hyde, a Republican congressional candidate in Connecticut, denied that he had tracked Ms. Yovanovitch's movements in Kyiv, and called Representative Adam B. Schiff ... a 'commie.'" The AP's report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So it appears we know now why the State Department ordered Yovanovitch to "get on the next plane" out of Kiev on account of concern for her security: Trump's own mobsters were tailing her in a fashion worthy of a B movie and perhaps had plans to harm her. It would not surprise me at all to learn that U.S. agents in Kiev picked up on the surveillance of Yovanovitch: spies following spies following the ambassador. "The Trump Story" should be shot in film-noir black-and-white.

~~~ Justine Coleman of the Hill: "Former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch called for an investigation Tuesday into 'what happened' after newly released evidence suggested that her movements were being monitored. Yovanovitch requested the investigation through her lawyer Lawrence Robbins, who issued a statement on her behalf." ~~~

~~~ David Corn of Mother Jones offers a brief introduction to the new guy in Trump's gang of shady characters: Robert Hyde. "... a 2019 police report ... suggests that Hyde might have been a peculiar choice for Parnas to work with on his Giuliani-led Ukrainian op. The report notes that Hyde had a disturbing episode at a Trump resort for which he had to be taken into custody by police and brought to a medical facility under a state law that allows for involuntary confinement of people who might pose a risk to themselves." Mrs. McC: You have to check police blotters & law enforcement investigation records to get to know the guys in the Trump mob.

Brian Faler & Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden in Washington Tuesday ... has put House Democrats' suit for Donald Trump's tax returns on hold ... until there's a decision in a dispute over whether former White House Counsel Don McGahn must testify before Congress.... In the McGahn case, a three-judge panel heard oral arguments earlier this month, and a ruling is possible by the end of this month.... Whoever loses the case before the three-judge panel is likely to appeal that decision, first to the entire D.C. Circuit panel of judges and ultimately to the Supreme Court."

Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Former national security adviser Michael Flynn asked a federal judge Tuesday evening for permission to withdraw his plea of guilty to lying to the FBI in special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's probe of Russian election interference, alleging that prosecutor breached his cooperation agreement by demanding his false testimony. The stunning reversal -- more than two years after Flynn pleaded guilty Dec. 1, 2017, and just two weeks before he faces sentencing -- threatens to sidetrack if not derail the prosecution of the highest-ranking Trump official charged and one of the first to cooperate with Mueller's office. Any change in plea must be approved by a judge." The Hill's report is here.

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "As many as 10 Republican senators are considering bucking President Trump on a resolution that would limit his ability to take military action against Iran. The increasing number is the latest sign of growing GOP frustration over the Trump administration's justification for the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is circulating a bipartisan resolution that would direct Trump to remove U.S. forces from any hostilities against Iran within 30 days of its enactment.... It needs only a simple majority to pass." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Karoun Demirjian of the Washington Post: "The Senate is poised to formally counter President Trump's ability to initiate further military action against Iran, as four Republicans now say they will vote with Democrats to pass a resolution invoking Congress' war powers. 'Congress cannot be sidelined on these important decisions,' said Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who on Tuesday declared her support for the measure, joining Sens. Todd C. Young (R-Ind.), Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and all 47 Democrats. A vote could come as soon as next week."

Ivana Kottasová, et al., of CNN: "Several people have been arrested in Iran over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that those responsible would be punished. Gholamhossein Esmaili, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, was quoted by the semi-official FARS news agency Tuesday as saying that an into the crash had started and several arrests had been made. He did not provide details on how many people had been arrested or what their roles in the incident may have been." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Malachy Browne, et al., of the New York Times: "The New York Times has verified security camera footage on Tuesday that shows, for the first time, that two missiles hit Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 on Jan. 8. The missiles were launched from an Iranian military site around eight miles from the plane. The new video fills a gap about why the plane's transponder stopped working, seconds before it was hit by a second missile.An earlier Times analysis confirmed what Iran later admitted: that an Iranian missile did strike the plane. The Times also established that the transponder stopped working before that missile hit the plane. The new video appears to confirm that an initial strike disabled the transponder, before the second strike, also seen in the video, around 23 seconds later." ~~~

Erin Banco & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) ... and Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) ... [are] calling on financial regulatory agencies to investigate whether associates and attendees at ... Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago illegally traded in defense company stocks or commodities after he gave them a heads up that he was planning something 'big' in response to Iran's killing of an American contractor in Iraq. The Daily Beast previously reported that Trump told allies at his Palm Beach club that he had something 'big' in the works to address Iran's aggressive behavior in the region and that they would read about it 'soon.' The president specifically mentioned to some of his associates at Mar-a-Lago that he'd been in contact with his senior national security and military advisors on possible plans to hit back, two sources told The Daily Beast. He did not mention specific plans of attack or human targets for a military response, the sources noted."

The Daily Beast publishes an "adapted excerpt" of a book by Joe Palazzolo & Michael Rothfeld that describes how Michael Cohen, David Pecker, & others shut up Stormy Daniels in the days before the 2016 election. There was something of a bidding war for her story.

** Kevin Sieff of the Washington Post: "For the first time ever, the United States is shipping asylum seekers who arrive at its border to a 'safe third country' to seek refuge there. The Trump administration hopes the program will serve as a model for others in the region. But during its first weeks, asylum seekers and human rights advocates say, migrants have been put on planes without being told where they were headed, and left here without being given basic instruction about what to do next. When the migrants land in Guatemala City, they receive little information about what it means to apply for asylum in one of the hemisphere's poorest countries. Those who don't immediately apply are told that they must leave the country in 72 hours. The form is labeled 'Voluntary Return.'... Human rights organizations in Guatemala say they have recorded dozens of cases of asylum seekers who were misled by U.S. officials into boarding flights, and who were not informed of their asylum rights upon arrival.... An an Asylum Cooperation Agreement [that the U.S. forced on Guatemala] is bringing migrants to a country that is unable to provide economic and physical security for its own citizens -- many of whom are themselves trying to migrate." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: I know it's wrong to make Holocaust analogies, but it's tempting. It's also wrong to want to pummel Trump, Stephen Miller, et al., but this makes me furious.

Alex Johnson & Laura Strickler of NBC News: "Carla Provost, one of the longer-serving members of ... Donald Trump's administration, is stepping down as chief of U.S. Border Patrol, a spokesperson for the agency said Tuesday. There was no immediate indication who will replace Provost, a 25-year veteran who is the first woman to lead the agency, officials said.... Border Patrol chief becomes one of at least 14 top Homeland Security positions that remain vacant or are occupied by acting officials, beginning at the top with Chad Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security."

Paul Sonne, et al., of the Washington Post: "Lawmakers from both parties criticized White House plans to take an additional $7.2 billion this year from Pentagon funds to pay for President Trump's border wall project, as more congressionally approved renovation and construction plans for U.S. military installations risked losing their funding.... Senior Republicans grumbled about the plan but mostly put the blame on Democrats, who agreed to provide $1.4 billion in border barrier funding this year -- far less than the $5 billion Trump requested." A related Hill story is here. A Politico story is here.

David Lynch of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday, Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are scheduled to sign a partial trade deal, calling a truce in a conflict that has shaken the global economy. Yet ... many of the trade war's casualties have been left on the battlefield. Even as the White House celebrates the president's negotiating accomplishment, the 'phase one' deal offers little relief for countless American businesses -- including chemical makers, apparel retailers and auto parts manufacturers -- that will still face the same punishing tariffs they have confronted for some time." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Lynch writes, "Wednesday's White House ceremony will mark a political triumph for the president as he prepares for a reelection fight." Really? That's only if the media make it out to be a "triumph." From what little I've read about the deal, it's about as impressive as Infrastructure Week. Let's hope the nightly news leads with shots of Pelosi's walking the Articles of Impeachment across the hall to Mitch -- or with whatever new catastrophe Trump launches tomorrow. ~~~

~~~ Welfare for White People. Jamelle Bouie of the New York Times: "There is ... at least one place where Trump's welfare chauvinism has taken hold -- his multibillion-dollar payments to farmers harmed by the president's trade war with China. In the context of his larger attack on the social safety net, those payments, a direct subsidy to a narrow group of favored Americans, are the closest thing to the kind of help Trump promised during the campaign.... The vast majority of payments have gone to white farmers, with large landowners the greatest beneficiaries. It's true that most American farmers are white. But disparities exist nonetheless. In Mississippi, for example, 14 percent of farms are run by black operators, but those farmers have received 1.4 percent of the aid that has been distributed in the state."

Eric Geller of Politico: "Apple on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department's claim that it has refused to help investigators unlock two iPhones that belonged to the shooter in the Pensacola, Fla., naval base attack. The iPhone maker said that Attorney General William Barr was wrong to claim Monday that the company 'has not given us any substantive assistance' in accessing phones associated with the December shooting. 'We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation,' Apple said in a statement to Politico. 'Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Alex Henderson of AlterNet, republished in the Raw Story: "... this week, things turned ugly after [U.S. Rep. Matt] Gaetz [R-Fla.] attacked [Florida] Republican State Rep. Chris Latvala for tweeting a photo of him meeting with the Rev. Al Sharpton.... Latvala (the 38-year-old son of former Florida State Sen. Jack Latvala, now 68) responded by accusing Gaetz of inventing a sleazy game for Florida legislators that included a sexual scoring system. In 2013, Politico's Marc Caputo reported that according to the rules of the alleged game, legislators received one point for sleeping with a lobbyist, two points for sleeping with legislative staff, three points for sleeping with another legislator and six points for sleeping with a married legislator." The TwitterSpat went on from there.

More on the Presidential Race

Tucker Higgins & Annie Nova of CNBC: "... Democratic presidential contender Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday that she would begin to forgive student loan debt on the first day of her administration, using legal tools that would allow her to bypass Congress. The announcement, which comes just weeks before voting begins in the first primary and caucus states, adds urgency to legislation she introduced over the summer to cancel the bulk of the nation's outstanding student loan debt. That bill, introduced with Rep. James Clyburn, D-S.C., would forgive up to $50,000 in student debt for individuals with household incomes under $100,000. But Warren wrote in her plan on Tuesday that the U.S. Education Department already has authority to cancel student debt, 'and we can't afford to wait for Congress to act.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here is, what?, the 20th article I've seen and not linked about how regrettable it is that presidential candidates of color keep dropping out of the race and/or there will be no candidates of color on tonight's debate stage. Yeah, that is regrettable, but it is black voters who have flocked to Joe Biden and are keeping him on top of the heap. He's their choice, fine, but let's not complain about "the lack of diversity" among the top candidates when the largest group of "diversity" voters is voting for any white guy.

Jack Nicas & Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Apple is privately preparing for a legal fight with the Justice Department to defend encryption on its iPhones while publicly trying to defuse the dispute, as the technology giant navigates an increasingly tricky line between its customers and the Trump administration. Timothy D. Cook, Apple's chief executive, has marshaled a handful of top advisers, while Attorney General William P. Barr has taken aim at the company and asked it to help penetrate two phones used by a gunman in a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla."

Bridgegate Redux. Ryan Hutchins of Politico: "Most of the justices on the U.S. Supreme Court expressed skepticism Tuesday about the federal government's case in the infamous 'Bridgegate' scandal, several of them peppering a Justice Department lawyer with questions as former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie watched from the front row. A number of the justices, weighing some dense legal issues that surround the convictions of two former Christie allies, seemed to find merit in the defendants' arguments that they did not defraud the government of its 'property' by closing off two local access lanes to the George Washington Bridge.... Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan all asked numerous, sharp-edged questions about those arguments, while Justices Brett Kavanaugh and Ruth Bader Ginsburg each asked at least one tough question of the government."

Contributor Jeanne points to this post by Driftglass on Rick Wilson's analysis (and book!) on when the GOP went wrong (spoiler: 2010). Mrs. McC: What I didn't know about Wilson is that he made those despicable ads about Max Cleland & Jeremiah Wright. The Cleland ad, in particular, is unforgivable. (Also linked yesterday.)

Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "In a long-simmering rift between factions of the Murdoch family over climate change, Rupert's younger son, James, and his activist wife, Kathryn, are attacking the climate denialism promoted by News Corporation, the global media group, and also by the Fox News Channel overseen by James' older brother, Lachlan. 'Kathryn and James' views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known,' a spokesperson for the couple exclusively told The Daily Beast as wildfires rage in Australia. 'They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Maryland. Alex Pareene of the New Republic on Gov. Larry Hogan, "the most popular crook in America.": "Larry Hogan is a Republican governor of a solidly Democratic state. He is also, according to one survey, the single most popular governor in the country. In a state where only 37 percent of likely voters approve of Donald Trump, 73 percent of Democrats approve of Hogan.... Hogan, who ostensibly left his brother in charge of his real estate brokerage firm when he was elected, has, in fact, maintained ownership and control while serving as governor; the trustees he handpicked to run his company have continued to keep him apprised of its business dealings. And as governor, he has advanced highway and road construction projects that directly boosted the value of land owned by his company. Those efforts have proved extraordinarily lucrative: During his first three years in office, Hogan reported $2.4 million in income, more than four times his salary. No other governor in the history of the state has made as much.... Hogan ... is exactly the 'normal' to which politicians like Joe Biden promise to return us when they try to speak into existence a Republican Party that they can 'work with.' Here he is: a self-dealing crook whose racist policymaking will speed the destructive effects of climate change...."

Wisconsin. Scott Bauer of the AP: "A Wisconsin appeals court on Tuesday put on hold an order to immediately remove up to 209,000 names from the state's voter registration rolls, handing Democrats who had fought the move a victory in the battleground state. The appeals court sided with the bipartisan state elections commission in putting the brakes on removing any voters while the court fight continues. It also put on hold a ruling from Monday in which a judge found the commission and its three Democratic members in contempt for not proceeding with removing the voters. The orders effectively hit the pause button on the fast-moving case and means there will be no immediate change to the state's voter registration rolls.... A judge last month sided with conservatives and ordered the removal of the voters. When the bipartisan elections commission deadlocked on proceeding with the purge, the judge on Monday found it and its three Democratic commissioners in contempt, and again ordered the voters'; names removed."

Way Beyond

Russia. Vladimir Isachenkov of the AP: "President Vladimir Putin proposed Wednesday to tweak the Russian Constitution to increase the powers of parliament and the Cabinet -- a move that could herald his intention to shift into a new position to stay at the helm after his current term expires. Speaking in his state of the nation address before top officials and lawmakers, Putin suggested amending the constitution to allow lawmakers to name prime ministers and Cabinet members. The right currently belongs to the president. 'It will increase the role of parliament and parliamentary parties, powers and independence of the prime minister and all Cabinet members,' Putin said. At the same time, Putin argued that the president should retain the right to dismiss the prime minister and Cabinet ministers. He said that the president also should have the power to name top defense and security officials. Putin emphasized that constitutional changes must be put to a nationwide vote. Putin's current term expires in 2024...."

The Commentariat -- January 14, 2020

Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "Tuesday marks the final Democratic debate before the Iowa caucuses, as candidates look to shore up their ground game and their televised case for the nomination." The story has info on how to watch. The debate begins at 9 pm ET. Mrs. McC: CNN is a co-sponsor, and the network is so excited about it, there is not currently (@7:45 pm ET Monday) one mention of it on their main Webpage. This is actually one debate I will watch as I have to vote next month, and I'm torn.

~~~~~~~~~~

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Stefan Becket & Olivia Gazis of CBS News: "House Democrats released a trove of documents from an indicted businessman [Lev Parnas] who helped Rudy Giuliani in his campaign to pressure Ukraine, including previously undisclosed handwritten notes and a letter Giuliani addressed to the Ukrainian president-elect requesting a meeting shortly before his inauguration.... Chairman Adam Schiff sent the material to Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler on two flash drives, writing in a letter that the Intelligence Committee 'continues to receive and review potentially relevant evidence" in its investigation into President Trump's dealings with Ukraine.'"

Lachlan Cartwright of the Daily Beast: "In a long-simmering rift between factions of the Murdoch family over climate change, Rupert's younger son, James, and his activist wife, Kathryn, are attacking the climate denialism promoted by News Corporation, the global media group, and also by the Fox News Channel overseen by James' older brother, Lachlan. 'Kathryn and James' views on climate are well established and their frustration with some of the News Corp and Fox coverage of the topic is also well known,' a spokesperson for the couple exclusively told The Daily Beast as wildfires rage in Australia. 'They are particularly disappointed with the ongoing denial among the news outlets in Australia given obvious evidence to the contrary.'"

Ivana Kottasová, et al., of CNN: "Several people have been arrested in Iran over the downing of a Ukrainian passenger plane as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that those responsible would be punished. Gholamhossein Esmaili, the spokesman for Iran's judiciary, was quoted by the semi-official FARS news agency Tuesday as saying that an investigation into the crash had started and several arrests had been made. He did not provide details on how many people had been arrested or what their roles in the incident may have been."

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The House will vote on Wednesday to send the Senate impeachment charges against President Trump, allowing a long-awaited trial to begin, Speaker Nancy Pelosi told Democrats privately Tuesday, according to officials in the room.... In a closed-door gathering with Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning, Ms. Pelosi detailed her plan to move on Wednesday to appoint the team of lawmakers who will prosecute the case against Mr. Trump, known as the House managers in his impeachment trial. The officials who described her private remarks spoke on condition of anonymity. Unless things change, her timetable means that the House managers would ceremonially walk the articles of impeachment from the House chamber to the Senate well later in the day Wednesday, formally presenting them and prompting a trial to commence. The speaker said she was not yet ready to share the names of the lawmakers she would select as managers...." ~~~

      ~~~ Cristina Marcos, et al., of the Hill: "But the resolution slated to hit the House floor on Wednesday is expected to name the impeachment managers."

Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "As many as 10 Republican senators are considering bucking President Trump on a resolution that would limit his ability to take military action against Iran. The increasing number is the latest sign of growing GOP frustration over the Trump administration's justification for the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) is circulating a bipartisan resolution that would direct Trump to remove U.S. forces from any hostilities against Iran within 30 days of its enactment.... It needs only a simple majority to pass."

Jeanne points to this post by Driftglass on Rick Wilson's analysis (and book!) on when the GOP went wrong (spoiler: 2010). Mrs. McC: What I didn't know about Wilson is that he made those despicable ads about Max Cleland & Jeremiah Wright. The Cleland ad, in particular, is unforgivable.

David Lynch of the Washington Post: "On Wednesday, Trump and Chinese Vice Premier Liu He are scheduled to sign a partial trade deal, calling a truce in a conflict that has shaken the global economy. Yet ... many of the trade war's casualties have been left on the battlefield. Even as the White House celebrates the president's negotiating accomplishment, the 'phase one' deal offers little relief for countless American businesses -- including chemical makers, apparel retailers and auto parts manufacturers -- that will still face the same punishing tariffs they have confronted for some time." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Lynch writes, "Wednesday's White House ceremony will mark a political triumph for the president as he prepares for a reelection fight." Really? That's only if the media make it out to be a "triumph." From what little I've read about the deal, it's about as impressive as Infrastructure Week. Let's hope the nightly news leads with shots of Pelosi's walking the Articles of Impeachment across the hall to Mitch -- or with whatever new catastrophe Trump launches tomorrow.

Eric Geller of Politico: "Apple on Tuesday rejected the Justice Department's claim that it has refused to help investigators unlock two iPhones that belonged to the shooter in the Pensacola, Fla., naval base attack. The iPhone maker said that Attorney General William Barr was wrong to claim Monday that the company 'has not given us any substantive assistance' in accessing phones associated with the December shooting. 'We reject the characterization that Apple has not provided substantive assistance in the Pensacola investigation,' Apple said in a statement to Politico. 'Our responses to their many requests since the attack have been timely, thorough and are ongoing.'"

Mrs. McCrabbie: Here is, what?, the 20th article I've seen and not linked about how regrettable it is that presidential candidates of color keep dropping out of the race and/or there will be no candidates of color on tonight's debate stage. Yeah, that is regrettable, but it is black voters who have flocked to Joe Biden and are keeping him on top of the heap. He's their choice, fine, but let's not complain about "the lack of diversity" among the top candidates when the largest group of "diversity" voters is voting for an old white guy.

~~~~~~~~~~

Assassination "Justification" of the Day. Today. Zachary Cohen of CNN: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Attorney General William Barr said Monday that killing Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was part of a larger strategy of deterrence, a shift from the Trump administration's previous rationale that the strike was carried out to prevent an 'imminent' attack. Barr's comments were particularly noteworthy as he attempted to push back on criticism over the administration's claim that Soleimani was planning attacks that posed an imminent threat, calling the concept 'something of a red herring.'... 'I think when you're dealing with a situation where you already have attacks underway, you know there is a campaign that involves repeated attacks on American targets, I don't think there's a requirement frankly for, you know, knowing the exact time and place of the next attack. And that certainly was the position of the Obama when it droned leaders of terrorist organizations,' Barr [said]. Pompeo, who has leaned heavily on the assertion that intelligence showed an imminent threat..., [said] Monday during a speech at the Stanford's Hoover Institute '... There's a bigger strategy to this.... President Trump and those of us in his national security team are re-establishing deterrence -- real deterrence ‒ against the Islamic Republic of Iran."

~~~ Yesterday. Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday said it didn't matter if Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani posed an imminent threat to the United States because of his 'horrible past.' Trump also asserted that his national security team agreed on the imminent threat posed by Soleimani that led to the decision to kill him. He made this assertion despite remarks from Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday that undercut Trump's claim that the Iranian general was planning to target four American embassies before a U.S. drone strike killed him in Baghdad on Jan. 3.... 'The Fake News Media and their Democrat Partners are working hard to determine whether or not the future attack by terrorist Soleimani was "eminent" or not, & was my team in agreement,' Trump tweeted morning." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So this is an update to a discussion in yesterday's Comments on whether or not anyone had used "eminent" to mean "imminent" in discussing the fake reason for assassinating Soleimani. Thanks for this contribution, Donnie! On a more serious note, it "matters" because assassinating a foreign state leader -- in a third country, no less -- is certainly provocation for war, and Congress can declare war. In such situations, Congressional leaders, at the least, must be advised, consulted or asked for their permission to act. According to NBC News (story linked yesterday), this assassination plan had been an option since June; there's no excuse for not consulting the Gang of 8. Refusing to notify them -- and then lying about why the leaders were not notified-- is just one more example of Trump's false notion that Article II of the Constitution says, "I can do whatever I want as president*." (Paraphrase. WashPo link.) And it's a big "screw you" to Congress. ~~~

     ~~~ MEANWHILE. I think it's been totally consistent. -- Donald Trump, speaking about the administration's various stated rationales for killing Soleimani to reporters, Monday ~~~

~~~ Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post demonstrate how Trump, over a few days, blew up his lie about an "eminent attack" on the U.S.'s Baghdad embassy. It's also interesting to see how Pompeo has helped Trump along with his own string of lies. ~~~

~~~ Annie Karni of the New York Times: "In the 10 days since it carried out the drone strike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, the Trump administration has been struggling to draft an after-the-fact narrative to justify it. On Monday, President Trump put an end to that hash of explanations. 'It doesn't really matter,' he tweeted, 'because of his horrible past.' Until that message on Twitter, the administration had insisted in various ways that General Suleimani, Iran's most important military official, was planning myriad 'imminent' attacks. The unraveling of the explanations accelerated over the weekend after Mr. Trump said four embassies were under immediate threat, a charge that his own administration could not back.... The administration's explanations for the strike have been shifting from day to day...."

Dylan Stableford of Yahoo! News: "In a series of tweets and retweets riddled with typos and offensive images, President Trump lashed out Monday morning against criticism over the way he and his administration have handled the killing of a top Iranian general. Trump' message conflated doubts raised about the process that led to the controversial airstrike on Gen. Qassem Soleimani with 'trying to make terrorist Soleimani into a wonderful guy.'... One of the retweets by the president included a Photoshopped image of [Nancy] Pelosi and ... Chuck Schumer wearing hijabs. Another included the photo of a bloody dead body, presumably in Iran, hanging over barbed wire. 'Question: Who in America supports this mullahs' crime?' the tweet read. 'Answer: Nancy Pelosi.'" Thanks to safari for the lead. See also his commentary in yesterday's thread. Mrs. McC: Yo, mikey. Twentyfifth Amendment. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Greg Sargent of the Washington Post: "After President Trump retweeted a doctored image of Democratic leaders dressed in Islamic garb, the White House offered a curious justification: Trump retweeted that image to send the message that Democrats are on the side of terrorists. This was apparently intended as a defense. Which would appear to mean the White House's official message is now that depictions of Democrats in Muslim garb denote Democratic support for terrorists.... In response to the ensuing blowback, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham defended Trump's actions on Fox News.... 'I think the president is making clear that the Democrats have been parroting Iranian talking points and almost taking the side of terrorists and those who were out to kill the Americans,' Grisham said.... Nowhere in the interview did Grisham send a broader message to Muslims that Trump didn't intend to equate Muslim garb with terrorism. If anything, she actively reinforced that equating of the two."

AFP: "Victims of an Iran-downed jetliner would still be alive were it not for a recent escalation of tensions partly triggered by the US, Justin Trudeau has said. 'I think if there were no tensions, if there was no escalation recently in the region, those Canadians would be right now home with their families,' the Canadian prime minister said in an interview with Global television."

Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "Protesters and riot police faced off in at least two cities in Iran on Monday, a third day of angry demonstrations at the country's leaders after the government acknowledged having shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing 176 people.... Videos from inside Iran shared on social media on Monday showed university students in Isfahan and the capital, Tehran, chanting against the country's clerical rulers while riot police deployed nearby. The extent of the protests and the amount of violence used to try to stop them were hard to assess because of tight restrictions on social media and the news media inside the country. Videos from previous days have shown protesters carrying off bleeding comrades while gunshots echoed in the background." (Also linked yesterday.)

** 2016 Hacking Redux. Nicole Perlroth & Matthew Rosenberg of the New York Times: "With President Trump facing an impeachment trial over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his son Hunter Biden, Russian military hackers have been boring into the Ukrainian gas company at the center of the affair, according to security experts. The hacking attempts against Burisma, the Ukrainian gas company on whose board Hunter Biden served, began in early November, as talk of the Bidens, Ukraine and impeachment was dominating the news in the United States.... Experts say the timing and scale of the attacks suggest that the Russians could be searching for potentially embarrassing material on the Bidens -- the same kind of information that Mr. Trump wanted from Ukraine when he pressed for an investigation of the Bidens and Burisma, setting off a chain of events that led to his impeachment. The Russian tactics are strikingly similar to what American intelligence agencies say was Russia's hacking of emails from Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman and the Democratic National Committee during the 2016 presidential campaign." NBC News has a summary report here. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: This is no coincidence. I suspect there's a you-scratch-my-back-I'll-scratch-yours arrangement -- probably explicitly agreed-upon -- between Trump & Putin. Trump's mysterious affinity for Putin may not be all about Kompromat Putin has on Trump, but a manifestation of their agreement to assist each other's political goals.

CBS News: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is telling his Republican conference he expects the impeachment trial for President Trump to begin on Tuesday, January 21, and last potentially three to five weeks, two GOP senators told CBS News. The House is expected to send over the articles on Wednesday or Thursday of this week.... There aren't enough votes for an outright dismissal of the articles of impeachment, as Mr. Trump had hoped. The trial will run six days a week, including Saturdays, but not Sundays, sources said. McConnell wants to make this 'uncomfortable' for senators, a source added."

Manu Raju, et al., of CNN: "The White House is urging Senate Republicans to preserve the option of moving to swiftly dismiss the charges against ... Donald Trump after opening arguments in his impeachment trial, as GOP leaders and Trump's team look for a quick end to the proceedings, according to sources familiar with the discussions.... Once the trial has begun, the Senate can vote on the merits of the articles of impeachment and choose to acquit Trump, something that can be done with only 34 votes because the Constitution requires 67 votes to convict the President and remove him from office. GOP proponents of this move argue Trump would have a stronger argument to say he was exonerated on the merits of the case...." ~~~

~~~ BUT. Jordain Carney of the Hill: "Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) told reporters on Monday that the Senate Republican caucus doesn't have the votes to dismiss the articles of impeachment against President Trump, who endorsed an 'outright dismissal' over the weekend. 'I think our members generally are not interested in a motion to dismiss.... Certainly there aren't 51 votes for a motion to dismiss,' Blunt, the No. 4 Senate Republican, told reporters after a closed-door leadership meeting." ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "Top Senate Republicans on Monday rejected President Trump's call for outright dismissal of the impeachment charges against him, but continued to grapple with the shape of the Senate trial that could begin as soon as this week." ~~~

~~~ Don't Get Your Hopes Up, But.... Ben Tracy & Kathryn Watson of CBS News: "The White House is preparing for some Republican senators to join Democrats in voting to call witnesses in President Trump's impeachment trial.... Senior White House officials tell CBS News they increasingly believe that at least four Republicans, and likely more, will vote to call witnesses. In addition to Senators Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, Susan Collins of Maine, strong> Mitt Romney of Utah and possibly Cory Gardner of Colorado, the White House also views Rand Paul of Kentucky as a 'wild card' and Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee as an 'institutionalist' who might vote to call witnesses, as one official put it." ~~~

     ~~~ Steve M. "... I'm skeptical[.]... When I read this, my first thought was that this group of Republicans would make a great show of wanting witnesses, but they'd find fault with Democrats' list of proposed witnesses and never agree on any motion that can get 51 votes. However, I see that (according to a Hill story from last Friday) Democrats are 'planning to offer multiple motions on specific witnesses, instead of one motion that covered their request writ large.' So this group of Republicans will have to find another way to dodge testimony from the witnesses the Democrats want, while still getting Brownie points for centrism (particularly Collins and Gardner, who are in tough reelection fights in bluish states)." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: And, as Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) told Chris Hayes, there's a big difference between senators telling reporters they "would like to hear from witnesses" and actually stepping up & voting -- against Trump -- to hear witnesses.

Cornyn Fears Catching Jordan, Gaetz Cooties. Bob Brigham of the Raw Story: "With Speaker Nancy Pelosi poised transmit articles of impeachment against ... Donald Trump to the United States Senate, all eyes are on who each side will choose as impeachment managers for the Senate trial. Trump allies have considered selecting impeachment managers from among the combative members of the House Republican caucus who interrupted impeachment proceedings during the inquiry phase: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-TX) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC). But Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the former Republican Whip, urged against such a move, as reported by CNN congressional reporter Manu Raju. 'My advice to [Trump] would be: Let's not infect the Senate trial with the circus-like atmosphere of the House,' Cornyn counseled. 'And I think there would be an increased risk of doing that if you start inviting House members to come over to the Senate and try the case,' he explained."

Jeremy Diamond & Pamela Brown of CNN: "... Rudy Giuliani, whose dealings with Ukraine are a key facet of the impeachment case, has been lobbying the President to join his legal team on the Senate floor during his upcoming trial. Giuliani has pressed Trump to make him part of the team of lawyers who will argue the case against his removal from office on the Senate floor, a White House official and two sources close to the President told CNN. Giuliani has argued that he knows the case against the President inside-out. The White House declined to comment." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: As a matter of course when reading the "news headlines," Anderson Cooper described Rudy as "Trump's teevee lawyer and alleged bagman."

Kara Scannell of CNN: "An attorney for Lev Parnas, the indicted associate of Rudy Giuliani, has turned over photos, dozens of text messages and thousands of pages of documents to House impeachment investigators in an effort to win his client an audience with lawmakers. Joseph A. Bondy, Parnas' New York attorney, traveled to Washington, DC, over the weekend to hand-deliver the contents of an iPhone 11 to Democratic staff on the House Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, according to a series of Bondy's tweets."

Brandi Buchman of Courthouse News: "An informal adviser to Donald Trump's 2016 campaign who testified in the Mueller probe pleaded guilty Monday to charges of child sex trafficking and possessing child pornography. George Nader, 60, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Virginia's Eastern District.... Nader was first charged in June 2019 with transporting and possessing pornographic images of children including some featuring toddler-age boys, baby goats and other farm animals. A month later in July, prosecutors added a sex-trafficking charge<, saying Nader had arranged the transport to his Washington home of a 14-year-old boy from the Czech Republic in February 2000. Nader allegedly held onto the child's passport after flying him through Dulles International Airport. Once at his residence, he assaulted him nightly and kept the child silent by threatening him and his mother with imprisonment should they ever attempt to report him, according to the indictment." The story reprises Nader's role in the Trump campaign, transition & early administration. The Washington Post report is here.

Joe Palazzolo & Michael Rothfeld of TPM have "an in-depth look at the events leading up to the FBI's pre-dawn raid on Michael Cohen's hotel, office and apartment in spring 2018." --s

Trump's Most Shameless Lie Yet. Aaron Rupar of Vox: "Trump -- who in 2017 pushed health care legislation [link fixed] that would've resulted in 23 million Americans losing coverage, and whose administration is currently fighting in federal court to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including its protections for people with preexisting conditions -- nonetheless claimed in a tweet attacking Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Monday that 'I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now.' Alluding to the aforementioned lawsuit, Trump went on to write that 'if Republicans win in court and take back the House of Represenatives [sic], your healthcare, that I have now brought to the best place in many years, will become the best ever, by far. I will always protect your Pre-Existing Conditions, the Dems will not!'" Rupar allows that "The possibility Trump knows so little about health care policy that he actually believes he saved protections for preexisting conditions can't be ruled out." Mrs. McC: Ignorance of his own actions is no excuse; this is a horrible lie Trump is trying to kill Americans, and those Americans he plans to kill come in every color & political persuasion. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Jonathan Chait examines why Trump has to lie about pre-existing conditions: "The [Republican] party's formal legislative and legal stance remains wedded to overturning protections for people with preexisting conditions." Mrs. McC: The tacit deal Trump made with the GOP "establishment" is that he would follow their policies, no matter how little he cared about them or how blatantly he had to lie about them. So this is just another lie in the what's-good-for-me vein. Trump doesn't give a rat's ass whether or not you can afford good health insurance; he might even prefer you had adequate coverage. But he needs support from both the GOP & ordinary voters, so a bald-faced lie is in order here. No problem.

I Can Do Whatever I Want, Ctd. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "President Trump is preparing to divert an additional $7.2 billion in Pentagon funding for border wall construction this year, five times what Congress authorized him to spend on the project in the 2020 budget, according to internal planning figures obtained by The Washington Post. The Pentagon funds would be extracted, for the second year in a row, from military construction projects and counternarcotics funding.... A federal-district court in El Paso ruled last month that the White House broke the law when it commandeered funds for the border wall that had been authorized by Congress for another purpose. The court froze $3.6 billion the administration budgeted for new barriers. But ... last week the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, in New Orleans, lifted the injunction, saying work could proceed while legal challenges to the government are pending. The president and his administration viewed that ruling as additional encouragement to take the money again this year, according to administration officials familiar with the plans."

Thomas Franck of CNBC: "The United States removed China from a list of countries considered currency manipulators just two days before top trade negotiators for Washington and Beijing sign a key 'phase one' trade deal, the Treasury Department announced Monday. The decision to strike China from the currency manipulator list comes more than five months after the Treasury Department formally made the designation.... Donald Trump and China Vice Premier Liu He are scheduled to sign a preliminary trade agreement in Washington on Wednesday. China is now on a 'monitoring list' for currency practices along with nine other countries, including Germany, Italy and Japan.... 'China is a currency manipulator -- that is a fact,' [Sen. Chuck] Schumer said in a statement. 'Unfortunately, President Trump would rather cave to President Xi than stay tough on China. When it comes to the president's stance on China, Americans are getting a lot of show and very little results.'"

Katie Benner of the New York Times: "Attorney General William P. Barr declared on Monday that a deadly shooting last month at a naval air station in Pensacola, Fla., was an act of terrorism, and he asked Apple in an unusually high-profile request to provide access to two phones used by the gunman. Mr. Barr's appeal was an escalation of an ongoing fight between the Justice Department and Apple pitting personal privacy against public safety.... The technology has frustrated law enforcement officials, who accuse Apple of providing a safe haven for criminals."

Adam Federman of the Guardian: "A group of US environmental activists engaged in non-violent civil disobedience targeting the oil industry have been listed in internal Department of Homeland Security documents as 'extremists' and some of its members listed alongside white nationalists and mass killers, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal.... The document ... listed two of the group's members alongside violent white supremacists and other extremists who have engaged in mass killings, including the man [Dylann Roof] behind the racist 2015 slaying of 9 black church-goers in Charleston, South Carolina." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Declan Walsh of the New York Times: "An American imprisoned in Egypt for six years on what he insisted were false charges, and whose case had been championed by Vice President Mike Pence, died on Monday after a long hunger strike, the State Department said. Moustafa Kassem, 54, a dual Egyptian-American citizen from New York, was arrested in central Cairo in August 2013 during a bloody crackdown following the military takeover that brought to power Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, then an army general and now the president of Egypt. Mr. Kassem insisted he had no links to opposition politics and had been wrongfully detained by Egyptian soldiers who snatched his American passport and stomped it on the ground. After years in dire conditions at a high-security prison, where he said his diabetes and a heart ailment went largely untreated, he was sentenced to 15 years in September 2018.... Mr. Trump has regularly lavished praise on Mr. el-Sisi, hailing him for doing a 'fantastic job' and calling him 'my favorite dictator,' even as the Egyptian leader has overseen Egypt's harshest crackdown on freedom of speech and political opposition in decades." An NPR story is here.

Presidential Race

M.J. Lee of CNN: Elizabeth Warren & Bernie Sanders met for a one-on-one in her Washington apartment in December 2018 and agreed to a non-aggression pact for the presidential campaign. Then Sanders told her he did not believe a woman could win the presidency. "The description of that meeting is based on the accounts of four people: two people Warren spoke with directly soon after the encounter, and two people familiar with the meeting. Sanders denied the characterization of the meeting in a statement to CNN. '... Do I believe a woman can win in 2020? Of course! After all, Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by 3 million votes in 2016.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Astead Herndon & Jonathan Martin of the New York Times: "Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said on Monday night that Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont told her in 2018 he did not think a woman could win the presidency.

Ali Vitali, et al., of NBC News: "Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., announced Monday he is dropping out of the Democratic presidential race." (Also linked yesterday.)

Beyond the Beltway

Michigan. Steve Neavling of the Detroit Metro Times: "An anti-Gov. Gretchen Whitmer group on Facebook devolved into a vile platform that promoted violence against Democrats and Muslims and churned out degrading comments about women. But on Friday afternoon, the group's creator deactivated the page in response to questions from Metro Times.... Metro Times identified dozens of recent posts promoting or threatening violence, primarily against Whitmer, U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Elissa Slotkin, American Muslims, and Dearborn. Hundreds of comments were posted each day, and many included vulgar insults against women, Muslims, Democrats, and LGTBQ+ communities.... Tlaib, who is a Muslim American from Detroit, was a common target of the vitriol. 'She needs a bullet between her eyes,' Spencer Hayward wrote. Carl Wilhelm Sr. posted, 'How many teeth you figure you could knock out with one swipe with a baseball bat.' Mike Nixon suggested, 'set that bitch on fire.'... The creator of the page, Charlie Gillett ... had done little, if anything, to stop the threats and posts promoting violence, and blamed the anger on Democrats." Warning: pretty shocking content. --s

Wisconsin. Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "An Ozaukee County judge found the state Elections Commission and three of its members in contempt of court Monday, saying they had flouted his December order to remove thousands of people from Wisconsin's voter rolls. 'I can't be any clearer than this,' Judge Paul Malloy said. 'They need to follow my order.' Hours later, the state Supreme Court ruled it would not get involved in the case for now, leaving it to a Madison-based appeals court to handle. That decision gave liberals hope they could stop the voter purge. Malloy ruled the commission must pay $50 a day until it starts taking people off the rolls. In addition, he fined the three Democrats on the commission who have fought taking people off the rolls -- Ann Jacobs, Julie Glancey and Mark Thomsen -- $250 a day each."

Way Beyond

Libya. AFP: "Libya's eastern strongman Gen Khalifa Haftar has left Moscow without signing a ceasefire agreement to end nine months of fighting in the country, leaving the future of a fragile truce uncertain.... The commander's abrupt departure in the early hours of Tuesday was a setback for an international diplomatic push in recent days, though Moscow insisted it would continue mediation efforts. Haftar and his allies were in Moscow on Monday for talks with the UN-recognised government headed by Fayez al-Sarraj and based in Tripoli.... The two sides agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Russia and Turkey that took effect at the weekend and were in Moscow to sign a long-term agreement." --s

U.K. Tim Shipman of the [U.K.] Times: "Britain must prepare to fight wars without America, the defencesecretary has warned, amid concerns that President Donald Trump will pursue an ever more isolationist foreign policy. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ben Wallace admitted that the prospect of America withdrawing from the world 'keeps me awake at night'. He said the government needed to rethink military assumptions, in place since 2010, that the UK would always be fighting alongside the Americans -- and should use the upcoming defence review to buy new kit to ensure that the armed forces do not have to rely on US air cover and spy planes in future conflicts." [article firewalled] --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Karla Adam & William Booth of the Washington Post: "Queen Elizabeth II announced Monday that she and her royal family were' entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life' and that she had agreed to a 'period of transition' during which her grandson and his wife would split their time between Canada and Britain. In a statement, the queen wrote, 'Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.' The queen acknowledged that Harry and Meghan 'made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives,' but she did not describe their new duties or ventures. She cautioned there is more work to be done on the 'complex matters for the family to decide' and said she expects final decisions to be made in the coming days.' The announcement from the 93-year-old sovereign and leader of the House of Windsor followed a meeting at her Sandringham estate attended by princes Harry, William and Charles. It is believed that Meghan, who is in Canada, participated by phone." Here's an AP story. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ The Guardian of course liveblogged developments & reactions. (Also linked yesterday.)

News Lede

NBC News: "A Delta flight injured more than 50 people after dumping fuel on a Los Angeles schoolyard and school buildings when it declared an emergency shortly after departing for China from the Los Angeles International Airport on Tuesday. At least 20 children were were treated for minor injuries after being exposed to the jet fuel, according to the Los Angeles County Fire Department. The department said it had a total of 44 patients from four schools...."

The Commentariat -- January 13, 2020

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Dylan Stableford of Yahoo! News: "In a series of tweets and retweets riddled with typos and offensive images, President Trump lashed out Monday morning against criticism over the way he and his administration have handled the killing of a top Iranian general. Trump's message conflated doubts raised about the process that led to the controversial airstrike on Gen. Qassem Soleimani with 'trying to make terrorist Soleimani into a wonderful guy.'... One of the retweets by the president included& a Photoshopped image of [Nancy] Pelosi and ... Chuck Schumer wearing hijabs. Another included the photo of a bloody dead body, presumably in Iran, hanging over barbed wire. 'Question: Who in America supports this mullahs' crime?' the tweet read. 'Answer: Nancy Pelosi.'" Thanks to safari for the lead. See also his commentary below. Mrs. McC: Yo, mikey. Twentyfifth Amendment.

Trump's Most Shameless Lie Yet. Aaron Rupar of Vox: "Trump -- who in 2017 pushed health care legislation [link fixed] that would've resulted in 23 million Americans losing coverage, and whose administration is currently fighting in federal court to strike down the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including its protections for people with preexisting conditions -- nonetheless claimed in a tweet attacking Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg on Monday that 'I was the person who saved Pre-Existing Conditions in your Healthcare, you have it now.' Alluding to the aforementioned lawsuit, Trump went on to write that 'if Republicans win in court and take back the House of Represenatives [sic], your healthcare, that I have now brought to the best place in many years, will become the best ever, by far. I will always protect your Pre-Existing Conditions, the Dems will not!'" Rupar allows that "The possibility Trump knows so little about health care policy that he actually believes he saved protections for preexisting conditions can't be ruled out." Mrs. McC: Ignorance of his own actions is no excuse; this is a horrible lie. Trump is trying to kill Americans, and those Americans he plans to kill come in every color & political persuasion.

Ben Hubbard of the New York Times: "Protesters and riot police faced off in at least two cities in Iran on Monday, a third day of angry demonstrations at the country's leaders after the government acknowledged having shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, killing 176 people.... Videos from inside Iran shared on social media on Monday showed university students in Isfahan and the capital, Tehran, chanting against the country's clerical rulers while riot police deployed nearby. The extent of the protests and the amount of violence used to try to stop them were hard to assess because of tight restrictions on social media and the news media inside the country. Videos from previous have shown protesters carrying off bleeding comrades while gunshots echoed in the background."

Karla Adam & William Booth of the Washington Post: "Queen Elizabeth II announced Monday that she and her royal family were 'entirely supportive of Harry and Meghan's desire to create a new life' and that she had agreed to a 'period of transition' during which her grandson and his wife would split their time between Canada and Britain. In a statement, the queen wrote, 'Although we would have preferred them to remain full-time working Members of the Royal Family, we respect and understand their wish to live a more independent life as a family while remaining a valued part of my family.' The queen acknowledged that Harry and Meghan 'made clear that they do not want to be reliant on public funds in their new lives,' but she did not describe their new duties or ventures. She cautioned there is more work to be done on the 'complex matters for the family to decide' and said she expects final decisions to be made in the coming days.' The announcement from the 93-year-old sovereign ... followed a meeting at her Sandringham estate attended by princes Harry, William and Charles. It is believed that Meghan, who is in Canada, participated by phone." Here's an AP story. ~~~

~~~ The Guardian of course is liveblogging developments & reactions.

Ali Vitali, et al., of NBC News: "Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., announced Monday he is dropping out of the Democratic presidential race."

Morgan Chalfant of the Hill: "President Trump on Monday said it didn't matter if Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani posed an imminent threat to the United States because of his 'horrible past.' Trump also asserted that his national security team agreed on the imminent threat posed by Soleimani that led to the decision to kill him. He made this assertion despite remarks from Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Sunday that undercut Trump's claim that the Iranian general was planning to target four American embassies before a U.S. drone strike killed him in Baghdad on Jan. 3.... 'The Fake News Media and their Democrat Partners are working hard to determine whether or not the future attack by terrorist Soleimani was "eminent" or not, & was my team in agreement,' Trump tweeted Monday morning." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So this is an update to a discussion in today's Comments on whether or not anyone had used "eminent" to mean "imminent" in discussing the fake reason for assassinating Soleimani. Thanks for this contribution, Donnie! On a more serious note, it "matters" because assassinating a foreign state leader -- in a third country, no less -- is certainly provocation for war, and only Congress can declare war. In such situations, Congressional leaders, at the least, must be consulted or advised of the Pentagon's plans. According to NBC News (story linked below), this plan had been an option since June; there's no excuse for consulting the Gang of 8. Refusing to notify them -- and then lying about why the leaders were not notified-- is just one more example of Trump's false notion that Article II of the Constitution says, "I can do whatever I want as president*." (Paraphrase. WashPo link.) And it's a big "screw you" to Congress.

Tim Shipman of the [U.K.] Times: "Britain must prepare to fight wars without America, the defence secretary has warned, amid concerns that President Donald Trump will pursue an ever more isolationist foreign policy. In an interview with The Sunday Times, Ben Wallace admitted that the prospect of America withdrawing from the world 'keeps me awake at night'. He said the government needed to rethink military assumptions, in place since 2010, that the UK would always be fighting alongside the Americans -- and should use the upcoming defence review to buy new kit to ensure that the armed forces do not have to rely on US air cover and spy planes in future conflicts." [article firewalled] --s

Adam Federman of the Guardian: "A group of US environmental activists engaged in non-violent civil disobedience targeting the oil industry have been listed in internal Department of Homeland Security documents as 'extremists' and some of its members listed alongside white nationalists and mass killers, documents obtained by the Guardian reveal.... The document ... listed two of the group's members alongside violent white supremacists and other extremists who have engaged in mass killings, including the man [Dylann Roof] behind the racist 2015 slaying of 9 black church-goers in Charleston, South Carolina." --s

~~~~~~~~~~

First snow of the year! ❄️ pic.twitter.com/kgSLQX6QxK

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 13, 2020

~~~ Extreme Climate Change Denial. That's an actual White House tweet sent out last night. Matt Stieb of New York: "D.C. on Sunday hit a high of 69 degrees, and bottomed out at 49 degrees." No, it was not a snowy eve in Washington, D.C.

Thomas Gibbons-Neff of the New York Times: "Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper said on Sunday that he never saw any specific piece of evidence that Iran was planning an attack on four American embassies, as President Trump had claimed last week as a justification for the strike on an Iranian general that sent the United States and Iran to the brink of war. 'I didn't see one with regard to four embassies,' Mr. Esper said on CBS's 'Face the Nation.' But he added: 'I share the president's view that probably -- my expectation was they were going to go after our embassies....' The muddled message on Sunday by Mr. Esper and other administration officials only added to the public debate regarding the Jan. 3 strike that killed Iran's most important general, Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani and whether there was appropriate justification for the killing. The administration has offered shifting justifications for the strike.... Appearing on 'Fox News Sunday,' Robert O'Brien, the national security adviser, had also played down Mr. Trump's claim of specific, imminent threats to four American embassies in the region. 'Look, it's always difficult, even with the exquisite intelligence that we have, to know exactly what the targets are,' Mr. O'Brien said. 'We knew there were threats to American facilities, now whether they were bases, embassies -- you know it's always hard until the attack happens." The CBS News story is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The Secretary of Defense is confirming on national TV that the POTUS* & Secretary of State lied about the reasons for setting the U.S. on a war footing. Oh, Nancy, could you bring us another Article of Impeachment, please. ~~~

~~~ Daniel Politi of Slate: Some Senators are pissed off that obnoxious Fox "News" host Laura Ingraham got more details about the assassination of Qassem Suleimani than they did in a classified briefing.

Rishika Dugyala of Politico: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that the Trump administration was not 'straight with Congress' about its killing of Iranian military leader Qassem Soleimani.... Pelosi on Sunday reiterated Democratic concerns with ... Donald Trump's justification for killing Soleimani the way he did and when he did.... On Sunday, [Sen. Mike] Lee [R-Utah] said the briefing didn't provide much information that wasn't already public. 'When something like this happens, when events are unfolding quickly, events that will have a profound impact on national security and military strategy, Congress does need to know about it, in part so we can evaluate the scope of our authority to act or choose not to act,' Lee said on CNN's 'State of the Union.' 'We didn't get that. And that was disappointing.'"

** Trump Okayed Soleimani Assassination Last June. Carol Lee & Courtney Kube of NBC News: "... Donald Trump authorized the killing of Iranian Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani seven months ago if Iran's increased aggression resulted in the death of an American, according to five current and former senior administration officials. The presidential directive in June came with the condition that Trump would have final sign-off on any specific operation to kill Soleimani, officials said. That decision explains why assassinating Soleimani was on the menu of options that the military presented to Trump two weeks ago for responding to an attack by Iranian proxies in Iraq...." Read on for details. Mrs. McC: In case you thought Trump honchos, including Trump himself, just might be lying to you -- yeah, big-time.

David Stern & Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post: "Within hours of Iran's stunning admission Saturday that its missile mistakenly shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, Ukraine ... put out photos, taken a day earlier, showing wreckage riddled with small holes, suggesting damage from shrapnel. Well before Iran admitted shooting down Ukrainian International Airlines Flight 752 outside Tehran on Wednesday, Ukraine realized the plane had been destroyed by a missile. But the country's leaders tread a careful diplomatic path.... Soon after the plane went down..., U.S. officials and the leaders of Canada and Britain told the world they believed the plane was likely shot down by Iran. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asked them to share their information with him, but held off announcing any of Ukraine's conclusions -- a strategic decision.... [Ukrainian] officials were careful to avoid sharp criticism of Iran during this time to ensure its cooperation in the probe. Zelensky, caught between the United States and Iran after a U.S. drone strike killed Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani..., had the difficult task of securing the 'cooperation of Western backers and Iran without being drawn into either side's narrative of the Iran-U. S. conflict,' said Katharine Quinn-Judge, a Kyiv-based analyst for International Crisis Group." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: It's kind of amazing that a year ago, Volodymyr Zelensky was a teevee comic. Right now he looks like about the smartest politician on the world stage. Let's hope he stays honest.

Joseph Krauss & Jon Gambrell of the AP: "Iranian demonstrators defied a heavy police presence Sunday night to protest their country's days of denials that it shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane carrying 176 people, the latest unrest to roil the capital amid soaring tensions with the United States. Videos posted online showed protesters shouting anti-government slogans and moving through subway stations and sidewalks, many around Azadi, or Freedom, Square.... Other videos suggested similar protests were taking place in other Iranian cities. Protesters often wore hoods and covered their faces, probably to avoid being recognized by surveillance cameras. Some online videos purported to show police firing tear gas sporadically, though there was no immediate wholesale crackdown on demonstrators. Meanwhile, in an emotional speech before parliament, the head of the Revolutionary Guard apologized for the shootdown and insisted it was a tragic mistake." The New York Times story is here.

To the leaders of Iran - DO NOT KILL YOUR PROTESTERS. Thousands have already been killed or imprisoned by you, and the World is watching. More importantly, the USA is watching. Turn your internet back on and let reporters roam free! Stop the killing of your great Iranian people! -- Donald Trump, in a tweet, Sunday

... the president's claim of supporting reporters abroad directly contradicts his messaging at home, where he has casually and consistently eroded the relationship between the White House and the press. -- Matt Stieb of New York

Kendall Karson of ABC News: "... a majority of Americans said they disapprove of President Trump's handling of the situation with Iran and feel less safe, according to a new ABC News/Ipsos poll.... The poll showed a majority of Independents, 57%, and all U.S. adults, 56%, disapproving of Trump's handling of the situation with Iran, with 43% of both Independents and U.S. adults approving." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

"Impeached for Life." Elise Viebeck & Juliet Eilperin of the Washington Post: "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Sunday that President Trump is 'impeached for life' regardless of 'any gamesmanship' by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), whom she accused of orchestrating a 'coverup' of Trump's actions as the Senate waits for the House to transmit the articles of impeachment. Challenging McConnell to hold a serious trial that includes testimony from witnesses, Pelosi did not rule out the possibility that the House would subpoena former national security adviser John Bolton if the Senate chooses not to. She repeatedly chastised McConnell for signaling that he is not interested in fully weighing the House's charges." Politico has the story here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "President Trump on Sunday injected fresh instability into final preparations for the Senate's impeachment trial, suggesting that senators should dismiss the House's charges of high crimes and misdemeanors against him outright rather than dignifying them with a full tribunal. That unexpected statement, arriving amid a flurry of tweets, not only appeared to put the president at odds with Republican Senate leaders moving toward a full trial but also contradicted Mr. Trump's own words from just hours earlier, when he argued for a trial that would include as witnesses Democratic House leaders who are prosecuting him. 'Many believe that by the Senate giving credence to a trial based on the no evidence, no crime, read the transcripts, "no pressure" Impeachment Hoax, rather than an outright dismissal, it gives the partisan Democrat Witch Hunt credibility that it otherwise does not have,' Mr. Trump wrote on Twitter on Sunday afternoon. 'I agree!'"

Susan Hennessey & Benjamin Wittes in a New York Times op-ed: "What is on trial [in the Senate], at the most basic level, is Mr. Trump's vision of the American presidency.... The Ukraine scandal presents a near-perfect distillation of Mr. Trump's conception of his office -- and the House's articles of impeachment will put many of the elements of his vision before the Senate for judgment. Fundamentally, Mr. Trump proposes that the purpose of executive power is to serve the individual interests of the president. It serves the public good only coincidentally and only when convenient."

How the Food-Stamp Work Requirement Really Works. Campbell Robertson of the New York Times: "Four years ago, thousands of poor people ... in ... [nine] counties in West Virginia that were affected by a state policy change found themselves having to prove that they were working or training for at least 20 hours a week in order to keep receiving food stamps consistently. In April, under a rule change by the Trump Administration, people all over the country who are 'able-bodied adults without dependents' will have to do the same.... The most visible impact has been at homeless missions and food pantries, which saw a big spike in demand that has never receded. But the policy change was barely noticeable in the work force...."

Presidential Race

Shane Goldmacher & Sydney Ember of the New York Times: Elizabeth "Warren said on Sunday she was 'disappointed' that [Bernie] Sanders's campaign had been using a script for volunteers that suggested she was appealing mainly to highly educated voters and would not be able to expand the Democratic Party coalition.... In a rare question-and-answer session with reporters after his final event of a weekend Iowa swing, Mr. Sanders -- in response to a question on whether he approved of his campaign's criticism of Ms. Warren -- denied responsibility for the script, saying he himself had never attacked Ms. Warren." Politico's story is here. Mrs. McC: "Disappointed"? Wow. That's what my father used to say about me when I'd screwed up, and it was way more effective than my mother's more traditional ways of punishing me.

Putting a Lot of Money Where His Mouth Is. Jason Lange of Reuters: "U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg told Reuters he is ready to spend much of his vast fortune to oust ... Donald Trump from the White House in 2020, rejecting criticism from rivals for the Democratic nomination that the billionaire is trying to buy the U.S. election." ~~~

~~~ AND Judge Judy is campaigning for Mike Bloomberg. (Link is to a NYT story.)

Blabbermouth Benedict Breaks Vow of Silence. Again. Chico Harlan of the Washington Post: "Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has issued an ardent defense of clerical celibacy, breaking his pledged silence on major church affairs just as Pope Francis is considering an exception that would allow some married men to serve as priests. Benedict's remarks, revealed in a new book excerpt published Sunday by the French newspaper Le Figaro, cast light on a once-unthinkable dynamic inside the Roman Catholic Church: A former pope trying to influence his successor in whether the church heeds or breaks with its traditions.... But no matter what Francis decides, Benedict's willingness to speak out risks the kind of inner-church tension that analysts worried about when he abdicated seven years ago. After he stepped down, Benedict -- who lives inside a Vatican monastery -- vowed silence on key issues to give room for Francis. But he has twice broken that vow in less than a year, with the excerpt Sunday and the release in April of a lengthy letter devoted to clerical sexual abuse in which his theories often contradicted Francis's."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Australia. David Crowe of the Sydney Morning Herald: "Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said he wants to take further action to tackle climate change and flagged a royal commission into the horror bushfire season but indicated the crisis would not lead to any increase in his government's target to reduce carbon emissions by 2030.... Mr Morrison has come under criticism from political opponents, climate change experts and sometimes global celebrities during the bushfire crisis for not doing enough on climate change, while appearing reluctant to talk about the issue."