;)
The Commentariat -- February 23, 2019
Afternoon Update:
The Company Trump Keeps. Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "Former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is a 'hardened' criminal who 'repeatedly and brazenly violated the law,' prosecutors told a Washington federal judge. But they recommended no specific punishment for those crimes, saying that is the practice of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III, whose office brought the case. Prosecutors noted that federal guidelines call for a sentence of 17 to 22 years, although under Manafort's guilty plea in his D.C. case, the maximum he faces behind bars is 10. The special counsel team said it may ask for Judge Amy Berman Jackson to impose a sentence that runs after any prison time Manafort is given for related crimes in Virginia federal court. 'Manafort chose repeatedly and knowingly to violate the law,' prosecutors said, from 'garden-variety crimes such as tax fraud, money laundering, obstruction of justice, and bank fraud' to 'more esoteric laws' involving foreign lobbying."
Brian Faler & Aaron Lorenzo of Politico: "The average tax refund issued so far this year is down by 17 percent, the IRS said, a steep decline that promises more headaches for Republican lawmakers. The agency released data late Friday showing refunds are down for the third consecutive week, with the typical payment made through Feb. 15 totaling $2,703, compared to $3,256 during the same period last year. This filing season is the first under Republicans' overhaul of the tax code, and lawmakers have already been under fire as some taxpayers find their expected refunds smaller or gone altogether. The payments are sacrosanct to many Americans who rely on them to fill holes in their budgets.... Democrats ... have accused Republicans of manipulating people's withholding in order to boost workers' paychecks last year, ahead of the midterm elections, though that would sap their refunds come tax time. The House Ways and Means committee is planning to hold a hearing soon on the issue."
John Bowden of the Hill: "The Pentagon announced Friday that it would direct an additional 1,000 troops to the U.S.-Mexico border to install barbed wire along existing border fences. Defense officials said at a news briefing that the total size of the U.S. deployment of troops to the southern border would reach 6,000 by March 1, with 140 miles of additional concertina wire to be installed.... The news came as Pentagon officials on Friday also refused to say whether the Defense Department would seek congressional approval to appropriate billions of dollars for President Trump's project to construct a wall along the border. 'It has been the practice of the Department of Defense to request approval and it's not required by law,' an official told reporters when asked whether the department would move forward without congressional approval."
Melanie Zanona of Politico: "House Democrats are laying the groundwork to subpoena the Trump administration for a trove of documents relating to its controversial migrant family separation policy at the border.... The House Oversight Committee will vote next Tuesday to authorize three subpoenas for the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services, teeing up the first subpoena of the panel's new Democratic majority."
Robert Pear of the New York Times: "Even before Democrats finish drafting bills to create a single-payer health care system, the health care and insurance industries have assembled a small army of lobbyists to kill 'Medicare for all,' an idea that is mocked publicly but is being greeted privately with increasing seriousness. ctors, hospitals, drug companies and insurers are intent on strangling Medicare for all before it advances from an aspirational slogan to a legislative agenda item. They have hired a top lieutenant in Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign [-- Lauren Crawford Shaver --] to spearhead the effort. And their tactics will show Democrats what they are up against as the party drifts to the left on health care." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Shaver's campaign job, according to Pear, was "to put marginal states into play." How'd that work out?
John Bowden of the Hill: "A judge in North Carolina on Friday tossed out the state's constitutional amendment requiring a voter ID, citing prevalent gerrymandering in the state's General Assembly. Wake County Superior Court Judge G. Bryan Collins wrote in a ruling late Friday afternoon that the North Carolina General Assembly is so gerrymandered that its members do not truly represent the state's residents and thus should never have proposed a voter ID amendment in the first place. 'An illegally constituted General Assembly does not represent the people of North Carolina and is therefore not empowered to pass legislation that would amend the state's constitution,' Collins wrote. Collins also tossed out a second Republican-backed amendment implementing a cap on the state's income tax." ...
... Alan Blinder & Michael Wines of the New York Times: "Republican politicians across the country have for years railed against the threat of voter fraud. Some have made unproven claims about how rampant it has become in order to pass voter ID laws and open sweeping investigations. The sanctity of the vote, they have said, must be protected at all costs. But when a hard-fought congressional election in North Carolina -- in which a Republican candidate appeared to narrowly beat his Democratic opponent -- was overturned this week because of election fraud by a Republican political operative, the party was measured, and largely muted, in its response."
*****
The Trump Scandals, Ctd.
Tucker Higgins of CNBC: "Special counsel Robert Mueller will not deliver a report to the attorney general next week, as was previously reported by multiple outlets, a senior Department of Justice official told NBC News on Friday."
Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Michael D. Cohen, President Trump's former lawyer and fixer, met last month with federal prosecutors in Manhattan, offering information about possible irregularities within the president's family business and about a donor to the inaugural committee, according to people familiar with the matter. Mr. Cohen, who worked at the Trump Organization for a decade, spoke with the prosecutors about insurance claims the company had filed over the years, said the people, who did not elaborate on the nature of the possible irregularities.... The meeting suggests that they are interested in broader aspects of the Trump Organization, beyond their investigation into the company's role in the hush money payments made before the 2016 election to women claiming to have had affairs with Mr. Trump.... The prosecutors also questioned Mr. Cohen about ... Imaad Zuberi, a California venture capitalist and political fund-raiser.... Around the time that Mr. Zuberi contributed $900,000 to the [presidential inaugural] committee, he also tried to hire Mr. Cohen as a consultant and wrote him a substantial check, one of the people said."
Trump Is Still Incriminating Himself. Tal Axelrod the the Hill: "President Trump slammed special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia probe as a 'witch hunt' in a new tweet on Friday, calling for it to end amid reports that it is coming to a close. 'Highly respected Senator Richard Burr<, head of Senate Intelligence, said, after interviewing over 200 witnesses and studying over 2 million pages of documents, "WE HAVE FOUND NO COLLUSION BETWEEN THE TRUMP CAMPAIGN AND RUSSIA." The Witch Hunt, so bad for our Country, must end!' Trump tweeted." (Also linked yesterday.)
Maybe the Dog Ate Bob Mueller's Homework. Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The public will have to wait a little longer to read Paul Manafort's sentencing memo from special counsel Robert Mueller. The critical filing had a midnight Friday deadline set by the federal court, but the report was not publicly released. It is possible prosecutors have sent the document to Judge Amy Berman Jackson under seal with proposed redactions. It is up to Jackson t determine what happens next."
William Rashbaum of the New York Times: "The Manhattan district attorney's office is preparing state criminal charges against Paul J. Manafort, President Trump's former campaign chairman, in an effort to ensure he will still face prison time even if the president pardons him for his federal crimes, according to several people with knowledge of the matter. Mr. Manafort is scheduled to be sentenced next month for convictions in two federal cases brought by Special Counsel Robert S. Mueller III. He faces up to 25 years in prison for tax and bank fraud and additional time for conspiracy counts in a related case. It could effectively be a life sentence for Mr. Manafort, who turns 70 in April. The president has broad power to issue pardons for federal crimes, but no such authority in state cases. And while there has been no clear indication that Mr. Trump intends to pardon Mr. Manafort, the president has spoken repeatedly of his pardon power and defended his former campaign chairman on a number of occasions, calling him a 'brave man.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "The likelihood that former Trump campaign chairman and convicted felon Paul Manafort, 69, will spend the rest of his days in prison increased on Friday.... Any possible reliance that Manafort may have had on Trump's pardon power lost relevance as Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. reportedly has a criminal case at the ready."
Walker Davis of CREW: "New tax documents obtained by CREW shed light on the finances of a dark money group tied to longtime Trump associate Roger Stone.... The group itself is reportedly facing scrutiny in the Mueller probe, but the tax documents have not been made public until now. After missing their filing deadline by more than eight months, the 2016 tax returns for the 501(c)(4) social welfare organization, called Committee for American Sovereignty Education Fund (CASEF), were filed with the IRS in July 2018, before quickly being amended weeks later. The submission of the filings may have coincided with scrutiny of the group by Special Counsel Mueller's investigators, and may suggest activity by Mueller's team behind the scenes." (Also linked yesterday.)
** Eric Levitz of New York: "The president has been using his bully pulpit to tell the American people that illegal immigrants threaten their lives today, and are on the cusp of irrevocably destroying their culture tomorrow; that Democrats are hell-bent on increasing illegal immigration; that it may not be possible to defeat Democrats at the ballot box because they are ready and willing to rig elections (and the media is eager to cover it up); and that those tasked with impartially enforcing the rule of law cannot be trusted.... Every once in a while..., some psychopath will offer a reminder of just how dangerous the bile pouring out of our president's gaffe-hole is.... Just this week, federal prosecutors revealed that Christopher Hasson, a Coast Guard officer in Maryland, allegedly stockpiled weapons, while developing a plot to assassinate a long list of Democratic politicians, CNN anchors, and MSNBC hosts, as part of a grand plan to transform the U.S. into a white ethno-state. The suspect's recent Google searches reportedly included 'civil war if trump impeached' and 'what if trump illegally impeached.'... Regardless of whether the Coast Guard officer took inspiration from Trump, he believed in malicious fictions similar to those our president spreads -- and saw those fictions as rationalizations for violence." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yes But. After warning of the existential threats posed by Honduran toddlers, Trump did say, when a reporter asked, that an alleged white-nationalist would-be mass-murderer of politicians & journalists -- many of whom Trump knows personally -- was "sad" and "a shame." ...
... Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Speaking to reporters from the White House Friday, the president said that he hadn't yet been briefed on the accused mass-murder plotter, who reportedly kept a 'hit list' of left-leaning journalists and Democratic politicians. When asked for his thoughts, the president called it a 'shame' and 'very sad,' adding that he does not bear any responsibility to monitor his own rhetoric because his 'language is very nice.' Friday afternoon on MSNBC's Deadline White House, host Nicolle Wallace noted that some of the words Trump has used to attack Democrats and the media showed up in Hasson's Google searches. [Gene] Robinson responded that this wasn't the first time a 'would-be domestic terrorist' has taken cues from the president." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: As far as I can tell, Trump is a white nationalist, but he thinks it's "sad" and "a shame" when a fellow white supremacist either (a) resorts to mass murder, or (b) gets caught planning to commit mass murder. Let's hope the answer is (a). But we should know by now that Trump is not going to voluntarily criticize white nationalists, some of whom "are good people." Also too, is it true that Trump was not briefed on this terrorist plot last week as officials were preparing to arrest the perp? Did Trump refuse a briefing or is the DOJ suddenly either incredibly lax or loath to brief a President* who might allert the suspect? Curious. ...
... Nicolle Wallace & her guests do quite a good job of covering Trump's forced response to Hasson's alleged plot:
<Liar-in-Chief, Ctd. Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday declined to condemn the strong evidence of mass election fraud in North Carolina's 9th Congressional District, instead pointing to other questionable examples of voter fraud.... 'I condemn any voter fraud of any kind, whether it's Democrat or Republican,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'But when you look at some of the things that happened in California in particular, when you look at what has happened in Texas with all of those votes that they recently found that were not exactly properly done. I condemn all of it.' During Trump's response Friday, a reporter interrupted to point out that the California and Texas voter fraud cases have been proved false or misleading. But Trump pushed through, saying 'Excuse me, excuse me,' and continuing to shift focus on the questionable allegations in California and Texas."
David Fahrentholdof the Washington Post: "On Election Day 2016, six residential buildings called 'Trump Place' stood in a row on Manhattan's Upper West Side -- a legacy of Donald Trump's efforts to develop that site, and a sign of the Trump name's enduring value in New York. Soon, Trump's name will be gone from all of them. On Friday, the last building holding on to the name 'Trump Place' announced that it would take down the president's name, according to an email obtained by The Washington Post.... Just one day earlier, the condo board at the second-to-last Trump Place building -- at 120 Riverside -- had announced its own decision to remove the president's name...." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... digby seems all broken up by this news: "Trump destroyed his 'brand' in order to stroke his own ego and run for president. If he'd have kept quiet he might have been able to kee parlaying his tabloid celebrity into a real inheritance for his heirs. But that's over. This is going to come crashing down on all of them regardless of how the presidency ends. His brand is toxic. I suppose they'll be able to sell some MAGA hats at flea markets[.]"
Your Kleptocracy at Work. Lily Katz, et al., of Bloomberg News: "Kushner Cos., the real estate firm owned by the family of ... Jared Kushner, has sought financing from federally-owned lenders for its biggest purchase in a decade. The company has been in talks with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac about a loan for a $1.15 billion purchase of apartments in Maryland and Virginia, according to two people familiar with the discussions, who asked not to be named discussing a private transaction. Such a deal would increase Kushner Cos.' exposure to government-backed mortgages at the same time its former chief executive officer is one of the most powerful people in the White House. Jared Kushner divested ownership in many of the company's assets to close family members when he joined the government. Kushner Cos. had more than $500 million in loans from Fannie and Freddie at that time. Government-backed financing on this latest deal could more than double that figure.... President Trump appointed Joseph Otting to oversee the Federal Housing Finance Agency, which regulates Fannie and Freddie. Otting previously served as CEO of OneWest Bank, founded by now-Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, an ally of Kushner's in the West Wing."
Following Their Leader, Administration Continues to Abuse Women. Pam Belluck of the New York Times: "The Trump administration announced on Friday that it will bar organizations that provide abortion referrals from receiving federal family planning money, a step that could strip millions of dollars from Planned Parenthood and direct it toward religiously-based, anti-abortion groups. The new federal rule is almost certain to be challenged in court. Clinics will be able to talk to patients about abortion, but not where they can get one. And clinics will no longer have to counsel women on all reproductive options, including abortion, a change that will make anti-abortion providers eligible for funding. The rule, which has been expected for months, is the most recent step by the Trump administration to shift the direction of federal health programs in a conservative direction. The administration has expanded the ability of employers to claim religious or moral objections to the Affordable Care Act's requirement that they offer employees insurance coverage for contraception. It has channeled funding for teen pregnancy prevention programs and family planning grants into programs that emphasize sexual abstinence over contraception."
Karen DeYoung & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "The White House said Thursday that 'a small peacekeeping group of about 200' U.S. troops will stay in Syria beyond the planned withdrawal of American forces this spring.... The decision was a partial reversal of President Trump's order, announced in December, that all 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria would leave, since their mission to destroy the Islamic State caliphate, in his view, had been achieved. Complete withdrawal was expected by the end of April." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I heard in a later news report that the number of U.S. troops who would stay in Syria was 400.
Leo Shane of the Military Times: "Federal union officials accused the Veterans Affairs Department of undermining its own health care system by not filling thousands of open department health positions while they push new rules covering more medical appointments at private-sector hospitals.... At issue are nearly 49,000 empty posts within VA, just under 12 percent of the 420,000-plus jobs there. Department officials said that vacancy rate is normal for the sprawling bureaucracy.... The current number of vacancies is greater than the approximately 35,000 positions that were open 18 months ago, when critics and lawmakers first accused department leaders of not doing enough to keep the agency fully staffed. It's also above the 45,000 unfilled slots reported last September. Union officials call the new figure 'unconscionable' and part of a concerted effort by ... Donald Trump's administration to drain resources from the VA. 'The administration is setting us up to fail so they can dismantle veterans' preferred health care provider,' said Alma Lee, National Veterans Affairs council president for the American Federation of Government Employees."
<Sad News. AP: "The eight border-wall prototypes ... Donald Trump inspected during a visit to California in March are going to be torn down to make way for a second barrier separating California and Mexico, the U.S. Department of Customs and Border Protection said Friday.... The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Friday they cost between $300,000 and $500,000 apiece to build."
Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem [R] said Friday that ... Donald Trump's trade wars have 'devastated' her state, and though she agreed that countries like China were not following fair trade practices, she urged the Trump administration to quickly wrap up its trade talks there.... Donald Trump has engaged in a tit-for-tat war with U.S. trade partners like China and the European Union, which have levied retaliatory tariffs on major U.S. commodities like soybeans and wheat. The White House has been in talks with China for months over the issue, and faces a self-imposed deadline of next Friday to reach an agreement before tariff rates increase drastically."
Alexander Panetta, et al., of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Friday night announced he will nominate current Ambassador to Canada Kelly Knight Craft as his next United Nations ambassador.... The announcement came about an hour after the president met face-to-face with Craft along with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton in the Oval Office to finalize the nomination, according to a source familiar with the conversation.... Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell took the unusual step this week of personally recommending Craft for the position during a phone call with Trump -- a move that tipped the scales in her favor.... Craft, a Kentucky native, is the wife of billionaire coal baron Joe Craft, who has donated $1 million to Trump's inauguration, and the couple served on the finance committee for Trump's inaugural. Joe Craft donated more than $1.6 million since 2011 to campaigns and super PACs connected to McConnell, who praised the nomination...."
All the Best People, Ctd.
Juliet Eilperin & Lisa Rein of the Washington Post: "Prosecutors have begun presenting evidence to a grand jury in Washington in their probe of whether former interior Secretary Ryan Zinke lied to federal investigators, according to two individuals briefed on the matter. The closed-door deliberations are focused on Zinke's decision not to grant a petition by two Indian tribes to operate a commercial casino in Connecticut, according to these individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.... The Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes' push to run a gambling facility in East Windsor, Conn., had sparked a lobbying campaign by MGM Resorts International, a competitor that opposed the planned casino. The proposal was the subject of intense scrutiny at Interior and the White House during President Trump's first months in office. The tribes allege that Zinke decided not to grant their application because of political pressure, and Interior's Office of Inspector General opened an investigation into the matter a year ago. Investigators with the Interior Department's inspector general's office came to believe Zinke had lied to them in the course of that inquiry and referred the matter to the Justice Department late last year." ...
Rebecca Morin & Ian Kullgren of Politico: "... Donald Trump expressed confidence today in Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta, but said he was unfamiliar with the controversial 2008 plea deal that Acosta, then U.S. attorney for southern Florida, struck with billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 'I really don't know too much about it,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. 'I know he's done a great job as labor secretary, and that seems like a long time ago, but I know he's been a fantastic labor secretary. That's all I can really tell you about it....'... [Sarah Sanders told reporters,] 'My understanding is that's a very complicated case ... but that they made the best possible decision and deal they could have gotten at that time.'" ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: Yeah, breaking federal law to help a child predator escape significant punishment is "the best possible decision" one can expect from a Trump appointee.
... Juliegrace Brufke of the Hill: "Three House Democrats are collecting signatures for a letter calling on President Trump to demand the resignation of Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta. The push comes a day after a federal judge ruled that Acosta and other federal prosecutors acted illegally in making a plea deal with accused child sexual abuser and billionaire Jeffrey Epstein before speaking with his victims.... The letter is being organized by Democratic Reps. Jackie Speier (Calif.), Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) and Lois Frankel (Fla.). 'This despicable unjust plea deal that was arranged by Acosta showed no respect for the suffering of the victims and credible accounts of human trafficking and was a clear abuse of power for political gain,' the lawmakers write. The letter says Acosta's mishandling of the situation shows he's unfit to serve in the administration, arguing he 'succumbed to the pressure' from Epstein&'s legal team while disregarding the law."
Niv Elis of the Hill: "Democrats in the House introduced a resolution on Friday that would block President Trump's emergency declaration on the southern border, a step he took to free up as much as $8 billion in funding to build his proposed border wall. The resolution sponsored by Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) had 222 cosponsors. The measure is expected to pass the Democratic-held House, but will need to win GOP support to get through the Senate." (Also linked yesterday.)
Presidential Race 2020
Nicholas Pugliese of the (South Jersey) Courier Post: "New Jersey Democrats are reviving a controversial effort to force ... Donald Trump to release his tax returns or be denied a spot on the state's 2020 ballot. The state Senate on Thursday approved a bill -- which the Legislature passed once before, in 2017, but which then-Gov. Chris Christie blocked by issuing a scathing veto& -- that would prohibit candidates for president and vice president from appearing on the ballot unless they make their tax returns public. Similar legislation has been introduced in at least 30 states but never enacted, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, meaning New Jersey would be the first to impose such a disclosure requirement if its measure is also approved by the Assembly and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat."
Will Hobson & Mark Maske of the Washington Post: "New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft was charged with solicitation of prostitution Friday in connection with an investigation of a day spa in Florida. The 77-year-old billionaire and owner of one of the most successful sports franchises in the world was videotaped engaging in a sex act with an employee at Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Fla., police there said at a news conference Friday." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
... Patricia Mazzei, et al., of the New York Times: "Robert K. Kraft, the billionaire owner of the Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, was charged on Friday with two counts of soliciting sex as part of a wide-ranging investigation into prostitution and suspected human trafficking in South Florida. The charges against Mr. Kraft, 77, in Jupiter, Fla., came after the police used video surveillance to observe activity inside several day spas and massage parlors. The police said that the parlors had been used for prostitution and that many of the women involved were considered to be victims.... More than two dozen customers, men ranging in age from their 30s to at least one in his 80s, have been arrested; hundreds have been charged, the police said.... [Kraft] is a leading voice in the N.F.L.'s small fraternity of billionaire owners ... and a friend and political benefactor of President Trump.... A widower, [Kraft] has been charged with two misdemeanors, not felonies, and those charges may be reduced or dropped." ...
Here's Something Trump Funds Even Sadder than an Aspiring Mass Murderer. Rebecca Morin of Politico: "... Donald Trump said Friday it is 'very sad' that New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, who is a close friend of the president, was charged with allegedly soliciting prostitution at a spa in Florida."
Elizabeth Harris of the New York Times: "For more than two decades, the R&B singer R. Kelly has been trailed by allegations of sexual misconduct. He was married to a young singer who turned out to be 15 years old. There were claims that he controlled women in a cultlike atmosphere. He was linked to an infamous sex tape. None of it meaningfully stood in his way. Then, on Friday in Chicago, after weeks of renewed scrutiny, Mr. Kelly was indicted. The authorities accused him of aggravated criminal sexual abuse involving four victims, three of whom were underage, according to the Cook County state's attorney Kim Foxx.... Ms. Foxx said the events related to Mr. Kelly's charges spanned from 1998 to 2010. Three of the victims were between the ages of 13 and 16 at the time of the incidents."
<Dominic Patten & Nellie Andreeva of Deadline Hollywood: "One day after Jussie Smollett was arrested on multiple felony charges over last month's alleged racist and homophobic attack in Chicago, the producers of Empire have cut the actor from the rest of the show's fifth season." (Also linked yesterday.)
Beyond the Beltway
Virginia. Laura Vozzella of the Washington Post: Virginia "Republicans will invite two women who have accused Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) of sexual assault to publicly testify before lawmakers, despite Democrats' objections that it would turn into a 'political, partisan show.'" (Also linked yesterday.)
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