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The Commentariat -- February 20, 2019
Afternoon Update:
Trump v. First Amendment. Eileen Sullivan of the New York Times: "President Trump on Wednesday took direct aim at The New York Times, calling the news organization a 'true ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE,' in an escalation from his previous lashings which were typically addressed to a group of news organizations or over specific Times articles.... Mr. Trump does not cite a specific article, but his blunt declaration comes a day after The Times published a report describing how he has tried to influence and undermine investigations surrounding him, his presidential campaign and his administration." ...
... Ken Meyer of Mediaite: "New York Times publisher A.G. Sulzberger is hitting back at ... Donald Trump for attacking the paper as the 'enemy of the people.'... In a statement he released on Wednesday, Sulzberger condemned Trump for diminishing the free press as an institution whenever he demonizes them for asking tough questions and run unflattering coverage on his administration. Sulzberger goes on to say that Trump has every right to critique reporters, but this is different from Trump's attacks on the media, which Sulzberger calls an abandonment of a 'distinctly American principle' to defend the free press."
Breathe Deeply -- Carbon Emissions Are Good for You. Juliet Eilperin & Missy Ryan of the Washington Post: "The White House is working to assemble a panel to assess whether climate change poses a national security threat, according to documents obtained by The Washington Post, a conclusion that federal intelligence agencies have affirmed several times since President Trump took office. The proposed Presidential Committee on Climate Security, which would be established by executive order, is being spearheaded by William Happer, a National Security Council senior director. Happer, an emeritus professor of physics at Princeton University, has said that carbon emissions linked to climate change should be viewed as an asset rather than a pollutant. The initiative represents the Trump administration's most recent attempt to question the findings of federal scientists and experts on climate change and comes less than three weeks after Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats delivered a worldwide threat assessment that identified it as a significant security risk."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Siding with a small time drug offender in Indiana whose $42,000 Land Rover was seized by law enforcement officials, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the Constitution places limits on civil forfeiture laws that allow states and localities to take and keep private property used to commit crimes.... Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, writing for eight justices, said the question was an easy one. 'The historical and logical case for concluding that the 14th Amendment incorporates the Excessive Fines Clause is overwhelming,' she wrote."
Matthew Rodriguez of Out Magazine: "The Trump administration is set to launch a global campaign to decriminalize homosexuality in dozens of nations where anti-gay laws are still on the books, NBC News reported Monday. While on its surface, the move looks like an atypically benevolent decision by the Trump administration, the details of the campaign belie a different story. Rather than actually being about helping queer people around the world, the campaign looks more like another instance of the right using queer people as a pawn to amass power and enact its own agenda.... [Ambassador Richard] Grennell's sudden interest in Iran's anti-gay laws is strikingly similar to Trump's rhetoric after the 2016 Pulse massacre in Orlando, Florida. After the deadly shooting, Trump used the 49 deaths as a way to galvanize support for an anti-Muslim agenda rather than find a way to support LGBTQ+ people."
Margaret Sullivan of the Washington Post slams CNN's hiring of former Jeff Sessions flak Sarah Isgur. "This is the same CNN, under the same leadership, that in 2016 hired the bullying and ultra-partisan Corey Lewandowski as a commentator after Trump fired him as campaign manager. It's the same CNN that this month inexplicably and foolishly gave Starbucks founder Howard Schultz a prime-time 'town hall' event to promote his scattered notions of a run as an independent 2020 presidential candidate. That Trump has spent the past two years mocking and endangering CNN's journalistic staff makes Isgur's hiring even more incomprehensible -- and insulting.... Far from being reformed from a time when it aired Trump rallies live during the 2016 primary season and let the candidate call in by phone to comment on this and that, CNN seems to be doubling down on a ratings-first, fair-in-name-only approach to politics."
The Bern Is Back. David Wright of CNN: "Bernie Sanders raised nearly $6 million in the 24 hours following his 2020 presidential campaign launch, his campaign said Wednesday, a record-smashing debut that easily outstripped his Democratic rivals. Sanders raised $5,925,771 from 223,047 individual contributors across all 50 states in the campaign's first 24 hours, and more than $6 million from 225,000 individuals in total since the launch. And Sanders' campaign also noted that the average contribution was $27, 'mirroring [Sanders'] 2016 campaign's average donation,' a symbolic reflection of the Vermont senator's grassroots support that was key to his anti-establishment bid against Hillary Clinton."
Steven Shepard of Politico: "Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam appears to have quelled any widespread public clamor for his resignation in the wake of his blackface scandal. Two new polls out Wednesday show pluralities say the Democrat should not quit or be forced out over a racist photo that appeared on his medical-school yearbook page 35 years ago. Most African-American voters agree that he shouldn't go, according to one of the surveys.... Northam's position has ... been reinforced by the controversies around [Lt. Gov. Justin] Fairfax and [AG Mark] Herring -- the two men next up in Virginia's line of succession for governor."
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The Trump Scandals, Ctd.
Larry Buchanan & Karen Yourish of the New York Times: "President Trump has publicly criticized dozens of people and groups related to federal inquiries into contacts between his campaign and Russia, according to a New York Times analysis of nearly every public statement or Twitter post that he has made while in office. The attacks, which number nearly 1,200, are part of a strategy to beat back the investigations. They have also opened him to possible obstruction of justice charges. They include statements made on Twitter, in official speeches, at rallies and during news media interviews and other press events.... It is highly unusual for anyone -- let alone the president of the United States -- to comment on continuing criminal investigations...." Lots of graphics. ...
... Trump Tried to Obstruct SDNY Investigation. Mark Mazzetti, et al., of the New York Times: "An examination by The New York Times reveals the extent of a ... sustained..., secretive assault by Mr. Trump on the machinery of federal law enforcement.... The story of Mr. Trump's attempts to defang the investigations has been voluminously covered in the news media, to such a degree that many Americans have lost track of how unusual his behavior is. But fusing the strands reveals an extraordinary story of a president who has attacked the law enforcement apparatus of his own government like no other president in history, and who has turned the effort into an obsession. Mr. Trump has done it with the same tactics he once used in his business empire: demanding fierce loyalty from employees, applying pressure tactics to keep people in line, and protecting the brand -- himself -- at all costs." Trump called Matt Whitaker to ask him if he could put Geoffrey S. Berman, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York and a Trump ally, in charge of the SDNY investigation. "... Berman had already recused himself from the investigation," so Whitaker couldn't do so. P.S. Looks as if Matt Whitaker might have a little perjury problem. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Matthew Choi of Politico: "... Donald Trump denied asking then-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker about putting a sympathetic U.S. attorney in charge of an investigation into pre-election hush payments to women who claimed to have had affairs with him.... Taking questions from reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump flatly denied making any such inquiry. 'No, not at all, I don't know who gave you that,' Trump told reporters Tuesday, after taking a noticeable pause. 'That's more fake news....'" ...
... MEANWHILE, Over at Fox "News." Justin Baragona of the Daily Beast: "Shortly after the New York Times dropped an explosive report alleging President Trump called then-Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker to put a Trump ally in charge of the Southern District of New York's case against former Trump attorney Michael Cohen, Fox News senior judicial analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano said this request amounted to 'an attempt to obstruct justice.'... Napolitano said the president's reported phone call to Whitaker demonstrates 'corrupt intent.' ''That is an effort to use the levers of power of the government for a corrupt purpose to deflect an investigation into himself or his allies,' he pointed out...." ...
... Steve Benen: "Trump, clearly concerned about the hush-money case in which he was effectively named as an unindicted co-conspirator, apparently tried to arrange for an ally to oversee the case.... In a normal political era, this alone would be a jaw-dropping, stop-the-presses revelation. If the Times' reporting is accurate, the sitting president reached out to his handpicked attorney general, hoping he could also handpick a conflicted prosecutor to intervene in a case in which the president may yet face criminal scrutiny. If true, it suggests Trump abused his power and obstructed justice. In 2019, it also means it's a typical Tuesday."
Eric Tucker of the AP: "The FBI developed a backup plan to protect evidence in its Russia investigation soon after the firing of FBI Director James Comey in the event that other senior officials were dismissed as well, according to a person with knowledge of the discussions. The plan was crafted in the chaotic days after Comey was fired, when the FBI began investigating whether ... Donald Trump had obstructed justice and whether he might be, wittingly or not, in league with the Russians. The goal was to ensure that the information collected under the investigations, which included probes of Trump associates and possible coordination between Russia and the Trump campaign, would survive the firings or reassignments of top law enforcement officials. Those officials included special counsel Robert Mueller, who was appointed eight days after Trump fired Comey in May 2017. Andrew McCabe, who became acting director after Comey was fired, asked investigators to develop a plan to ensure evidence would be protected, said the person...."
** When the Kleptocracy Goes Nuclear. Tom Hamburger & Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "Several current and former Trump administration appointees promoted sales of nuclear power plants to Saudi Arabia despite repeated objections from members of the National Security Council and other senior White House officials, according to a new report from congressional Democrats. The officials who objected included White House lawyers and H.R. McMaster, then the chief of the National Security Council. They called for a halt in the nuclear sales discussions in 2017, citing potential conflicts of interest, national security risks and legal hurdles. Yet the effort to promote nuclear sales persisted, led by retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, who served briefly as President Trump's national security adviser, and more recently by Energy Secretary Rick Perry. The possible nuclear power sale was discussed in the Oval Office as recently as last week. Details about these internal White House battles are contained in a 24-page report released Tuesday morning by Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee.... The Cummings report notes that one of the power plant manufacturers that could benefit from a nuclear deal, Westinghouse Electric, is a subsidiary of Brookfield Asset Management, the company that provided financial relief to the family of Jared Kushner.... Brookfield Asset Management took a 99-year lease on the family's deeply indebted New York City property at 666 Fifth Avenue." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Ken Dilanian of NBC News: "Whistleblowers from within ... Donald Trump's National Security Council have told a congressional committee that efforts by former national security adviser Michael Flynn to transfer sensitive nuclear technology to Saudi Arabia may have violated the law, and investigators fear Trump is still considering it, according to a new report obtained by NBC News. The House Oversight Committee has formally opened an investigation into the matter, releasing an interim staff report that adds new details to previous public accounts of how Flynn sought to push through the nuclear proposal on behalf of a group he had once advised. Tom Barrack, a prominent Trump backer with business ties to the Middle East, also became involved in the project, the report says.... In mid-March 2017, deputy national security adviser K.T. McFarland reportedly stated during a meeting that Trump told Barrack that he could lead the implementation of the plan, the report says." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Nicholas Fandos & Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "The report is the most detailed portrait to date of how senior White House figures -- including Michael T. Flynn ... -- worked with retired military officers to circumvent the normal policymaking process to promote an export plan that experts worried could spread nuclear weapons technology in the volatile Middle East. Administration lawyers warned that the nuclear exports plan ... could violate laws meant to stop nuclear proliferation and raised concerns about Mr. Flynn's conflicts of interest.... House Democrats could expand [a federal investigators'] inquiry into whether the prospect of business deals might have had a direct effect on American foreign policy in the oil-rich Persian Gulf region.... The Democrats' investigation comes at a sensitive time, when lawmakers of both parties are incensed over the Trump administration's reluctance to punish Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the Saudi government over the killing of the Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi."
What About This, Lindsey? Allan Smith of NBC News: "Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe told NBC's 'Today' show on Tuesday that he briefed congressional leaders about the counterintelligence investigation he had opened into ... Donald Trump and that 'no one objected.' 'That's the important part here,' McCabe told Savannah Guthrie, who had asked if he had informed the 'Gang of Eight' bipartisan group of leaders on the Hill. 'No one objected. Not on legal grounds, not on constitutional grounds and not based on the facts.' The purpose of the briefing in 2017 was to let the congressional leadership, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, then-House Speaker Paul Ryan and their Democratic counterparts, know what the FBI was doing in the probe into Russian election interference and possible collusion by the Trump campaign, McCabe said." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Natasha Bertrand of the Atlantic interviews Andrew McCabe. Very interesting. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "A post on Roger Stone's Instagram account featuring a picture of the judge overseeing his case with crosshairs in the background could jeopardize the lenient gag order he received from her last Friday, as well as his bail. Judge Amy Berman Jackson ordered Stone to come to court on Thursday for a hearing to address the situation. She also raised the question that his social media posting could jeopardize his bail, which allows him to travel with some restrictions." (Also linked yesterday.) ...
Never gratuitously annoy the person who is deciding how long you'll spend in federal prison. -- Ken White, in the Atlantic ...
... Amy, Whatcha Wanta Do? Tom Winter & Adiel Kaplan of NBC News: "A judge may send Roger Stone to jail after Stone posted a photo of the judge on Instagram Monday afternoon with crosshairs in the background next to her head. Judge Amy Berman Jackson, who is presiding over Stone's prosecution in D.C. federal court, scheduled a new hearing Thursday to discuss 'why the media contact order entered in this case and/or his conditions of release should not be modified or revoked in light of the posts on his Instagram account.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Barbara McQuade in a USA Today op-ed: "One of the most intriguing recent court filings in special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation came Friday in a brief arguing that Roger Stone's case is related to the indictment against 12 officers from Russia's GRU military intelligence agency.... One detail in the new filing jumps out. It says 'the government obtained and executed dozens of search warrants on various accounts used to facilitate the transfer of stolen documents for release, as well as to discuss the timing and promotion of their release. Several of those search warrants were executed on accounts that contained Stone's communications with Guccifer 2.0 [operated by the GRU] and with Organization 1 [WikiLeaks].'... The filing discloses that the government has evidence of Stone's direct communications with Russian intelligence and WikiLeaks.... The phrase 'to discuss the timing and promotion of their release' emphasizes that Mueller considers the conspiracy with which he has charged the Russian intelligence officers to include not just hacking and stealing emails, but also disseminating them. The GRU indictment provides a framework for adding as co-conspirators anyone else who conspired to promote the release of the stolen emails at a time that would be most beneficial to Trump's campaign. In fact, one batch of emails was released about an hour after news broke about the 'Access Hollywood' tape...." ...
... Lovely Fort Lauderdale House for Rent. Clare Hymes & Emily Tillett of CBS News: "The Florida house where Roger Stone was arrested in a dramatic predawn raid by the FBI in January is now up for rent. The ... [Stones are] moving out of the Fort Lauderdale residence he leased and into a smaller nearby apartment to save money for his legal defense, his wife wrote in an email last week. Ted Scouten from CBS Miami spotted a 'for rent' sign outside the home on Tuesday." Mrs. McC: I think I read somewhere that Stone doesn't own the property, so I guess this would be a sublease.
** Declan Walsh of the New York Times: "Egyptian officials detained a New York Times correspondent after he arrived in Cairo on Monday, holding him incommunicado for hours before forcing him onto a flight back to London without explanation. The move against the correspondent, David D. Kirkpatrick, is an escalation of a severe crackdown against the news media under Egypt's strongman leader, President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. Egyptian journalists have borne the brunt of Mr. el-Sisi's repression, with dozens imprisoned or forced into exile. But of late, a lack of pushback from the United States has emboldened Egypt's security forces to take stronger action against representatives of Western news outlets, including expulsion.... After being officially denied entry to the country, Mr. Kirkpatrick's phone was confiscated and he was held without food or water for seven hours.... Defenders of press freedom worry that President Trump's outbursts -- such as a Twitter post last weekend that read 'THE RIGGED AND CORRUPT MEDIA IS THE ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!' -- embolden autocrats around the globe to take aggressive action against the news media. Despite growing human rights abuses in Egypt, Mr. Trump counts Mr. el-Sisi among his closest allies in the Middle East and has described him as a 'great guy.' During a speech in Cairo in January, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered further praise for Mr. el-Sisi." (Also linked yesterday.)
Kathleen Ronayne of the AP: "Disputes over ... Donald Trump's border wall and California's bullet train are intensifying the feud between the White House and the nation's most populous state. The Trump administration on Tuesday said it plans to cancel or claw back $3.5 billion in federal dollars allocated to California's high-speed rail project, a move Gov. Gavin Newsom called 'political retribution' for the state&'s lawsuit against Trump's declaration of a national emergency. California led a 16-state coalition in filing the suit Monday, challenging Trump's power to declare an emergency to earn more money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.... Trump's comments about a 'failed' project followed Newsom's comments last week that the current plan for an LA-San Francisco train would cost too much and take too long. Instead, he said he'd focus immediately on a line through the Central Valley while still doing environmental work on the full line. That work is a requirement for keeping the federal money."
Josh Lederman of NBC News: "The Trump administration is launching a global campaign to end the criminalization of homosexuality in dozens of nations where it's still illegal to be gay, U.S. officials tell NBC News, a bid aimed in part at denouncing Iran over its human rights record. U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, the highest-profile openly gay person in the Trump administration, is leading the effort, which kicks off Tuesday evening in Berlin. The U.S. embassy is flying in LGBT activists from across Europe for a strategy dinner to plan to push for decriminalization in places that still outlaw homosexuality -- mostly concentrated in the Middle East, Africa and the Caribbean." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: If any other president initiated such a campaign, I'd be cheering. But, as usual, Trump has an ulterior motive & limited objectives: "Narrowly focused on criminalization, rather than broader LGBT issues like same-sex marriage, the campaign was conceived partly in response to the recent reported execution by hanging of a young gay man in Iran, the Trump administration's top geopolitical foe.... Reframing the conversation on Iran around a human rights issue that enjoys broad support in Europe could help the United States and Europe reach a point of agreement on Iran."
Michael Burke & Brandon Conradis of the Hill: "President Trump on Tuesday announced his intention to nominate Jeffrey Rosen, the current deputy Transportation secretary, to be the next deputy attorney general. If confirmed, Rosen would replace Rod Rosenstein, who oversees the special counsel investigation into Russian election meddling. Rosenstein plans to leave the Department of Justice next month, according to the Washington Post. Bloomberg News reported Tuesday that Attorney General William Barr, who was confirmed last week, chose Rosen as his deputy."
Shane Harris, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump has grown increasingly disenchanted with Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats, who has served as the nation's top intelligence official for nearly two years, leading some administration officials to worry he will soon be dismissed, according to people familiar with the matter.... Trump is still 'enraged' about Coats's congressional testimony on national security threats last month, believing that the director undercut the president's authority when he shared intelligence assessments about Iran, North Korea and the Islamic State that are at odds with many of Trump's public statements, said one adviser who spoke with the president over the weekend.... In venting his anger at Coats, the president was following a familiar pattern that precedes his dismissal of Cabinet officials. Trump often grouses about disloyalty with the understanding that his interlocutors will speak to reporters, thereby putting the offending official on notice that their days are numbered." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is a nasty, chicken-shit method for firing top officials, but Trump can do even worse, like when Comey found out on teevee in the middle of an FBI conference in L.A. that Trump had fired him, then Trump tried to keep Comey from flying home on a government jet, or like when John Kelly fired Rex Tillerson when Tillerson was reportedly on the toilet. Trump is the only person who could make me feel a little sorry for that racist weasel Jeff Sessions. Trump is as hateful as a serial killer.
Patrick Temple-West of Politico: "The head of the Office of Government Ethics has refused to approve Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross's 2018 financial disclosure report, citing an inaccuracy concerning the former investing mogul's holdings of BankUnited stock. The action is the latest blow for Ross, who has repeatedly drawn scrutiny over his personal finances since he was nominated for the Commerce job.... 'OGE is declining to certify Secretary Ross's 2018 financial disclosure report because that report was not accurate and he was not in compliance with his ethics agreement at the time of the report,' Emory Rounds, the OGE director, said in a Feb. 15 letter. In an Oct. 31, 2018, report, Ross said he had 'a mistaken belief' that an order to sell BankUnited holdings had been executed in 2017. That error was featured in a Campaign Legal Center complaint sent earlier this month to the Commerce Department's inspector general that said if the false filing was knowingly made then that would be a violation of law."
Erica Green of the New York Times: With the House Education Committee now under the control of Chairman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), the committee aims to get answers to questions Betsy DeVos dodged when the committee was under Republican control. "... when it comes to oversight, 'just asking the questions usually gets people to act,' [Scott] said. That approach has gotten results. A recent move by the White House to replace the Education Department's acting inspector general, Sandra Bruce, was reversed shortly after Mr. Scott, joined by other Democratic leaders, sent a letter to Ms. DeVos questioning the decision."
Presidential Race 2020. Natasha Korecki of Politico: "A wide-ranging disinformation campaign aimed at Democratic 2020 candidates is already under way on social media, with signs that foreign state actors are driving at least some of the activity.... A Politico review of recent data extracted from Twitter and from other platforms, as well as interviews with data scientists and digital campaign strategists, suggests that the goal of the coordinated barrage appears to be undermining the nascent candidacies through the dissemination of memes, hashtags, misinformation, and distortions of their positions. But the divisive nature of many of the posts also hint at a broader effort to sow discord and chaos within the Democratic presidential primary." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I guess I'm too out-of-it to get why anyone would rely on social media to get the "news." I thought the purpose of, say, Facebook, was to post pictures of yourself having drunk sex with strangers & ruining your employment prospects forever.
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Maxwell Tani of the Daily Beast: "CNN staffers are upset and confused about the network's decision to hire a partisan political operative to oversee its 2020 campaign reporting. On Tuesday, a CNN spokesperson confirmed to The Daily Beast that the network has hired Republican political advisor Sarah Isgur as the politics editor helming CNN's 2020 coverage.... Until last year, Isgur was a top spokesperson for former Attorney General Jeff Sessions' Department of Justice.... 'There weren't any journalists available?' NYU journalism professor Jay Rosen.... While CNN discourages its reporters from publicly taking sides in partisan issues, Isgur's political views are public. Her Twitter includes fact-free invectives against liberals and repeatedly rails against the 'abortion industry.'... Her feed has often targeted the mainstream media, including the massive cable-news network that now employs her." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: All Democratic candidates are hereinafter to be introduced as "baby-killers."
Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Justice Clarence Thomas on Tuesday called for the Supreme Court to reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark 1964 ruling interpreting the First Amendment to make it hard for public officials to prevail in libel suits. He said the decision had no basis in the Constitution as it was understood by the people who drafted and ratified it.... Justice Thomas's statement came in the wake of complaints from President Trump that libel laws make it too hard for public officials to win libel suits. 'I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money, Mr. Trump said on the campaign trail." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: I'm sure Thomas's opinion has nothing at all to do with the fact that he & the lovely Mrs. Thomas dined with President* Fake-News & First Lady Sue-the-Bastards. ...
... Matt Steib of New York: "Nicholas Sandmann, Covington Catholic teenager and the face of the debacle in front of the Lincoln Memorial in January, is suing the Washington Post in federal court in the Eastern District of Kentucky for $250 million -- the amount of money Amazon founder Jeff Bezos initially paid for the paper in 2013. In a lawsuit filed by his parents Ted and Julie Sandmann, the family of the 16-year-old is seeking a quarter-billion in damages for the Post's initial coverage of the event, in which the paper described Sandmann as the instigator in a confrontation with Native American activist Nathan Phillips, '"accost[ing]" Phillips by "suddenly swarm[ing]" him in a "threaten[ing]" and "physically intimidat[ing]" manner.' Reports later emerged that Sandmann and the Covington students did not initiate the conflict, a clarification that could cause the Post to pay out the most expensive defamation award in U.S. history.... Such a massive payout is unlikely though, considering the stringent libel laws in the United States, and some of the more outlandish statements in the plaintiff's complaint published on Wednesday."
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