The Commentariat -- Sept. 20, 2018

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Damian Paletta & John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump lashed out at congressional Republicans on Thursday, questioning their strategy of pushing off a messy fight over border wall funding until after the midterm elections in November. His outburst could raise fresh questions about whether Trump will force a government shutdown in just 10 days, when funding for numerous programs expires.... This is the second time in recent days Trump has suggested Republican leaders are being duped by Democrats when it comes to wall funding, openly questioning the GOP's calculated strategy to avoid a shutdown. Earlier this week, the Senate passed a short-term spending bill that would keep the government running through Dec. 7. It aims to avert a government shutdown at the end of the month and includes less far less funding than Trump sought for his long-promised wall on the U.S.-Mexico border. 'I want to know, where is the money for Border Security and the WALL in this ridiculous Spending Bill, and where will it come from after the Midterms?' Trump wrote on Twitter. 'Dems are obstructing Law Enforcement and Border Security. REPUBLICANS MUST FINALLY GET TOUGH!'"

... all it takes for evil to triumph is for good people to do nothing. -- Akhilleus, today

Stephanie Kirchgaessner & Jessica Glenza of the Guardian: "A top professor at Yale Law School who strongly endorsed supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh as a 'mentor to women' privately told a group of law students last year that it was 'not an accident' that Kavanaugh's female law clerks all 'looked like models' and would provide advice to students about their physical appearance if they wanted to work for him, the Guardian has learned. Amy Chua, a Yale professor who wrote a bestselling book on parenting called Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, was known for instructing female law students who were preparing for interviews with Kavanaugh on ways they could dress to exude a 'model-like' femininity to help them win a post in Kavanaugh's chambers, according to sources.... Jed Rubenfeld, also an influential professor at Yale and who is married to Chua, told a prospective clerk that Kavanaugh liked a certain 'look'." Mrs. McC: Yes, I'll bet he does. ...

... Sen. Heller Dismisses Attempted Rape Allegation as an Annoyance. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) reportedly characterized the sexual assault allegation against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh as a 'hiccup' and predicted that President Trump’s nominee will soon be confirmed for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. Heller made his remarks during a conference call arranged by the Nevada Republican Party on Wednesday night in advance of Trump's planned visit to the state Thursday, according to an account by the Nevada Independent. 'I'm really grateful for the White House, for the effort of President Trump and what he has done, and the excitement that we have,' Heller reportedly said. 'We got a little hiccup here with the Kavanaugh nomination. We'll get through this and we'll get off to the races.'" ...

... Howard Koplowitz of al.com: "Former Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore called on Republicans to 'take a stand' and support suggested U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh following the sexual misconduct allegations levied against him, adding that he believes the Democrats are using Kavanaugh's accuser as a political pawn." Mrs. McC: Oh, don't worry, Roy. The attempted rape allegation is just a "hiccup." But thanks to you & Dean Heller for weighing in & reminding us of what top Republicans think of girls & women. ...

It's not very often -- likely never -- than a Supreme Court nominee gets three Pinocchios -- three times -- for lying under penalty of perjury, but Brett Kavanaugh is an extraordinary nominee.

Dean Obeidallah of the Daily Beast: "... , just a few months before [Florida goobernatorial candidate Ron] DeSantis [R] formally announced his candidacy for governor, the then member of Congress attended and spoke at an event organized by the nation's most vile anti Muslim group: ACT For America. To Muslim Americans like myself, this organization is akin to neo-Nazis who seek to demonize and marginalize blacks and Jews. But in the case of ACT, they target Muslims."

*****

What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep. -- Brett Kavanaugh, in a speech in March 2015 ...

... The Reluctant Witness, Ctd. Peter Baker & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The woman who has accused Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her when they were teenagers said Wednesday that the hearing the Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hold next week to examine her allegations would not be fair or adequate. Speaking through a lawyer, Christine Blasey Ford, a university professor in Northern California, said she remained willing to cooperate with the committee as it considers Judge Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court, but did not want to appear at a hearing where the two of them would be the only witnesses.... Speaking through her lawyers, Dr. Blasey, a research psychologist, on Tuesday evening all but ruled out appearing at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing scheduled for Monday to hear her allegations.... Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa and the chairman of the committee, said Wednesday that he was flexible on how to handle the questioning of Dr. Blasey but not on the date.... The back-and-forth came hours after President Trump described the allegation against Judge Kavanaugh as hard to believe and the furor surrounding it as 'very unfair' to the judge.... During his seven-minute encounter with reporters, Mr. Trump referred to his nominee as 'Justice Kavanaugh' three times." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Yeah, Mrs. Ford, the hearing "would not be fair." Guess what? Life isn't fair. It's nice you're a privileged person -- like Brett Kavanaugh -- and life has been more fair to you than it is to most people. This was your turn to take what life hands you & make the best of it. Anita Hill grew up the 13th child of poor black Oklahoma farmers. Apparently hers was a better upbringing than yours because she turned out to be a much better person than you are. It's pathetic when we live in a country where people who have enjoyed its benefits won't get out of their nice little comfort zones to make it better for others. So you're too fucking delicate to take the heat, & the result will be girls & poor people & workers and all the have-nots will have to live under the thumb of Justice Would B. Rapist. Shame on you. I'll take this back & apologize if you show up for the hearing. ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Republicans haven't officially made the decision to press forward with federal judge Brett M. Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination, but they appear likely to have the votes to do so. Three key GOP senators [-- Flake, Corker & Collins --] have fallen in line with the arguments put forward by their colleagues. They said that Christine Blasey Ford has been given a chance to share the story of her accusation against Kavanaugh in a hearing setting, and encouraged her to testify -- even without the FBI investigation she says must come first.... While Collins doesn’t explicitly say there should be a vote regardless of Ford's participation, her decision to lean in on some key GOP talking points is crucial." ...

... But They're All Worried about It! Robert Costa of the Washington Post: "President Trump and Senate Republicans on Wednesday took a hard line: full-speed ahead on Brett M. Kavanaugh's nomination for the Supreme Court despite an allegation of sexual assault decades ago. But privately, discussions about the political fallout gripped the party, with Republican lawmakers and strategists unnerved by the charged, gender-infused debates that have upended this campaign season. Already burdened by an unpopular president and an energized Democratic electorate, the male-dominated GOP is now facing a torrent of scrutiny about how it is handling Kavanaugh's accuser and whether the party's push to install him on the high court by next week could come at a steep political cost with women and the independent voters who are the keystone for congressional majorities." ...

... Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: " A former schoolmate of Brett Kavanaugh's accuser wrote a Facebook post saying she recalls hearing about the alleged assault involving Kavanaugh, though she says she has no first-hand information to corroborate the accuser's claims. 'Christine Blasey Ford was a year or so behind me,' wrote the woman, Cristina Miranda King, who now works as a performing arts curator in Mexico City. 'I did not know her personally but I remember her. This incident did happen.' She added, 'Many of us heard a buzz about it indirectly with few specific details. However Christine's vivid recollection should be more than enough for us to truly, deeply know that the accusation is true.'... King has since taken down her Facebook post, which NBC News verified as having appeared on her account." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Frank Thorp, et al., of NBC News: "Republican lawmakers on Wednesday appeared poised to move ahead with a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman while they were in high school, if the woman does not participate in a Senate hearing to air the allegation.... [Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck] Grassley ... said that no law enforcement investigation was warranted and that the invitation for her to testify on Monday 'still stands.' The chairman responded to Ford's lawyers Wednesday afternoon in a letter in which he said again that FBI involvement is not needed and that the Senate doesn't have the power to authorize such an investigation.... He said Ford would need to submit her biography and prepared testimony by Friday at 10 a.m. if she intends to testify Monday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, another former classmate of Brett Kavanaugh's denies attending a party like the one described in the allegation made by Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexually assaulting her three decades ago when they were teenagers. Patrick J. Smyth attended Georgetown Prep -- an all-boys school in North Bethesda, Maryland -- alongside Kavanaugh. Both men graduated in 1983.... Eric Bruce, who is representing Smyth, authored a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the committee. CNN has obtained a copy of the letter, which includes a quote from Smyth denying seeing any 'improper conduct' from Kavanaugh." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Caleb Howe of Mediaite: Andrew Napolitano, appear on Neil Cavuto's Fox Business "News" show, said, "'There's an agreement between the FBI and the Senate Judiciary Committee, and whenever the Chair, speaking for the majority, wants a nominee investigated or re investigated, the FBI will do it,' he said. 'The president of course can do it with a stroke of a pen.' 'Now, we're talking about opening up a background check. We're not talking about a criminal investigation of an event that happened 36 years ago, that would be absurd because there is no statute of limitations still available for any criminal prosecution,' he added. 'So the purpose of the FBI investigation would be as a service to the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee.'... To close the interview, Cavuto asked Napolitano whether Republicans rushing to vote now, prior to the investigation, would 'come back to bite them.' 'I think it would.... And there will be a taint on Judge Kavanaugh that will never go away until the public actually has the opportunity to hear the two of them. Not at the same time, but the two of them.'" ...

... Frank Rich: "... easy as it is for me or anyone else to say, I hope Ford goes to Washington.... Once confronted with the real Ford, [Republicans on the Judiciary Committee] are likely to be nonplussed and outwitted. They will bully her on the national stage of television at their peril. And should these senators try to duck that confrontation by delegating the questioning to a female surrogate -- a strategy that's been floated this week -- they will look like little boys cowering behind a woman's skirt.... If it sometimes seems that we heard Anita Hill's testimony of 27 years ago only yesterday, that's because its urgency is undiminished today." Read on. Rich, as usual, includes some fine, on-point anecdotes. ...

... E.J. Dionne: "For those insisting that Republican senators take Christine Blasey Ford's allegations against Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh seriously, one aspect of the conversation is particularly infuriating: the notion that the timeline established by the GOP for completing this process is quasi-sacred.... Her lawyers told the committee that she wanted an FBI investigation before she testified, which would allow potential witnesses to be interviewed.... And it is at this point where the suspicion that Republican senators are acting in bad faith cannot simply be dismissed.... They argued that the FBI does not undertake such investigations, which was patently untrue, because the FBI went back and investigated [Anita] Hill's allegations. The Trump administration could ask for such an inquiry, just as George H.W. Bush's administration did in the Thomas case 27 years ago. They expressed outrage that a vote might be postponed by, say, a week or two. This came with little grace from Republican senators who left Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the court open for one year and 53 days because they would not even hold a hearing on President Barack Obama's last nominee, Judge Merrick Garland." ...

... Kevin Liptak of CNN: "The FBI did investigate Anita Hill's accusation, and it took three days." ...

... Maria Caspani of Reuters: " A growing number of Americans said they opposed ... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as the candidate's confirmation hearings took place and as he fended off a sexual assault claim, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. The Sept. 11-17 poll found that 36 percent of adults surveyed did not want Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court, up 6 points from a similar poll conducted a month earlier. Only 31 percent of U.S. adults polled said they were in favor of Kavanaugh's appointment." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

John Solomon & Buck Sexton of the Hill: "President Trump in an Oval Office interview with Hill.TV launched one of his most ferocious broadsides to date against Jeff Sessions, suggesting the attorney general was essentially AWOL and performing badly on a variety of issues. 'I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad,' Trump told Hill.TV in an extensive and freewheeling interview Tuesday from the Oval Office.... 'I'm so sad over Jeff Sessions because he came to me. He was the first senator that endorsed me. And he wanted to be attorney general, and I didn't see it,' he said. 'And then he went through the nominating process and he did very poorly. I mean, he was mixed up and confused, and people that worked with him for, you know, a long time in the Senate were not nice to him, but he was giving very confusing answers. Answers that should have been easily answered. And that was a rough time for him.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

John Solomon & Buck Sexton: "President Trump in an exclusive interview with Hill.TV said Tuesday he ordered the release of classified documents in the Russia collusion case to show the public the FBI probe started as a 'hoax' and that exposing it could become one of the 'crowning achievements' of his presidency. 'What we've done is a great service to the country, really,' Trump said in a 45-minute, wide-ranging interview in the Oval Office." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Chris Strohm of Bloomberg: "Donald Trump has demanded the 'immediate declassification' of sensitive materials about the Russia investigation, but the agencies responsible are expected to propose redactions that would keep some information secret, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are going through a methodical review and can't offer a timeline for finishing, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive matter." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Our Ignoramus President*. Matt Gertz of Media Matters: "Law enforcement and national security experts are warning that ... Donald Trump's decision to selectively declassify and release portions of sensitive Justice Department documents related to the Russia probe could compromise U.S. intelligence methods and endanger the lives of sources. And in an alarming if unsurprising turn, the president said Tuesday that he hasn't bothered to read the documents and is putting them out because 'many people' -- likely including his sycophants at Fox -- told him to do so." ...

... Ignoramus Update. Eric Levitz: "Not only was the president interfering in a active investigation (in which he has a blatant conflict of interest), he was also potentially jeopardizing the security of American intelligence assets, and/or the comfort that foreign intelligence agencies have in sharing their secrets with the United States. A wide array of intelligence experts and officials voiced their opposition to the move. The Justice Department -- which did not receive advance instructions detailing exactly what it was expected to release -- immediately signaled its intention to slow-walk the request.... In an interview with the Hill Tuesday, the president ... [said,] 'I have not reviewed them. I have been asked by many people in Congress as you know to release them. I have watched commentators that I respect begging the president of the United States to release them.... I have been asked by so many people that I respect, please -- the great Lou Dobbs, the great Sean Hannity, the wonderful great Jeanie Pirro.'" ...

... The Washington Post excerpts & adapts a portion of Greg Miller's book, The Apprentice: Trump, Russia & the Subversion of American Democracy. In late July 2016, "Russia House," the CIA unit charged with spying on Russia, had come across "extraordinary intelligence that ... reached deep inside the Kremlin, showing that Putin was himself directing an 'active measures' operation aimed not only at disrupting the U.S. presidential race but electing Trump.... Trump's admiration for the leader of Russia was inexplicable and never wavered after taking office. He praised the Russian leader, congratulated him, defended him, pursued meetings with him, and fought virtually any policy or punitive measure that might displease him. A trained intelligence operative, Putin understood the power of playing to someone's insecurities and ego. On cue, he reciprocated with frequent praise for the president he had sought to install in the White House." ...

... Scott Shane & Mark Mazzetti of the New York Times: "For many Americans, the Trump-Russia story as it has been voluminously reported over the past two years is a confusing tangle of unfamiliar names and cyberjargon, further obscured by the shout-fest of partisan politics.... President Trump's Twitter outbursts that it is all a 'hoax' and a 'witch hunt,' in the face of a mountain of evidence to the contrary, have taken a toll on public comprehension. But to travel back to 2016 and trace the major plotlines of the Russian attack is to underscore what we now know with certainty: The Russians carried out a landmark intervention that will be examined for decades to come.... Russians or suspected Russian agents -- including oligarchs, diplomats, former military officers and shadowy intermediaries -- had dozens of contacts during the campaign with Mr. Trump's associates." Timelines of concurrent events are embedded in the report and here; I'll be damned if I can read them.

Brent Griffiths of Politico: "Michael Flynn..., Donald Trump's former national security adviser, is set to be sentenced on Dec. 18, following months of delay after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russian officials during the transition."

Our Ignoramus President*, Ctd. Adam Raymond of New York: "Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell revealed this week that Trump proposed Spain build a wall across the Sahara to stem the flow of migrants into Europe. When diplomats brushed aside the idea and pointed out that the desert is 3,000 miles long, Trump pushed back. 'The Sahara border can't be bigger than our border with Mexico,' he reportedly said. It is, in fact, bigger."

Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday suggested that the U.S. may reconsider military support for countries in the Middle East if members of OPEC don't bring down oil prices. 'We protect the countries of the Middle East, they would not be safe for very long without us, and yet they continue to push for higher and higher oil prices! We will remember. The OPEC monopoly must get prices down now!' Trump tweeted."

Mark Landler of the New York Times: "The world's two largest economies are in the opening stages of a new economic Cold War, one that could persist well after Mr. Trump is out of office." ...

... Jillian D'Ongro of CNBC: "Jack Ma, founder and chairman of Chinese retail giant Alibaba, says the company no longer plans to create 1 million jobs in the United States in the wake of the ongoing trade conflict between the U.S. and China. Ma made his original job creation pronouncement during a high-profile meeting with Donald Trump in January 2017 before Trump's inauguration as president. 'The promise was made on the premise of friendly US-China partnership and rational trade relations,' Ma told Chinese news site Xinhua on Wednesday. 'That premise no longer exists today, so our promise cannot be fulfilled.'"

Simon Denyer of the Washington Post: "North Korean leader Kim Jong Un wants to hold a second summit meeting with President Trump soon to speed up the denuclearization process, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Thursday. Moon was speaking on his return to Seoul after a three-day summit with Kim in Pyongyang. There, Kim promised to allow external inspectors into his country to verify that a missile test and launch site had been permanently dismantled, and he pledged to permanently disable an important nuclear site if the United States also takes 'corresponding steps.'... When asked what the corresponding measures would be, Moon said that needs to be discussed between North Korea and the United States."

"Running Like a Fine-tuned Machine." Frances Sellers, et al., of the Washington Post: "With his home state flooded and the death toll rising, FEMA Administrator William 'Brock' Long was on the verge of quitting this week. On Sunday, his bitter feud with Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen seemed as though it would abate. The two agreed to a truce so that the Trump administration's response to Hurricane Florence would not be further overshadowed by the deepening acrimony between them since the disclosure of an internal investigation into Long's use of government vehicles to travel between Washington and his home in North Carolina. Nothing would happen to Long in the near term, Nielsen assured him, according to three senior government officials familiar with the conversation. Let's just get through the storm, she said. About 24 hours later, as Long&'s plane landed in North Carolina, he learned that the DHS Office of Inspector General had referred his case to federal prosecutors for a possible criminal investigation. He felt devastated and betrayed, according to the three government officials...."

Rachel Bade of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Wednesday named retiring Rep. Darrell Issa to head the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, setting up what could be a contentious confirmation battle in the Senate. As former House Oversight Committee chairman, the nine-term congressman built a name for himself by dogging the Obama Administration for years. He turned the IRS upside-down by accusing top officials of targeting conservative groups for political purposes, led the charge to hold former Attorney General Eric Holder in contempt, and accused President Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton of trying to covering up the Benghazi, Libya, terrorist attacks in 2012.... Issa's once-safe GOP seat has become a top target for Democrats. Issa barely won his reelection last year, squeaking by with only a couple thousand more votes than his Democratic challenger.... He frequently appears on Fox News" lobbying for an administration job "praising the president."

Allyson Chiu of the Washington Post: "In the days following reports that a solar observatory in New Mexico had been abruptly evacuated and closed with FBI agents on the scene, the Internet exploded with theories. Aliens? UFOs? Some other mysterious extraterrestrial encounter?... The National Solar Observatory in Sunspot, N.M., stayed shuttered for 10 days earlier this month, its entrance roped off with crime-scene tape and guarded by security personnel, as The Washington Post reported.... On Monday, the facility reopened.... Much to the disappointment of conspiracy theorists, what appears to have triggered the observatory's complete shutdown was a janitor that had allegedly been using the observatory's WiFi to download and distribute child pornography....."

Florida Governor's Race. Marc Caputo of Politico: "A Republican activist who donated more than $20,000 to Ron DeSantis and lined up a speech for him at President Trump's Mar-a-Lago club called President Obama a 'F---- MUSLIM N----' on Twitter recently, in addition to other inflammatory remarks. Steven M. Alembik told Politico Wednesday he wrote the Obama tweet in anger, that he's 'absolutely not' a racist and that he understood that DeSantis's campaign for governor would need to distance himself from the comments -- which the campaign promptly did.... 'So somebody like Chris Rock can get up onstage and use the word and there's no problem? But some white guy says it and he's a racist? Really?' the 67-year-old Alembik said.... This is the fifth race-related issue concerning the Florida candidate, his gubernatorial campaign or one of its supporters." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I posted this link not because I think it reflects on DeSantis but because I just have to marvel at someone who can call the last real POTUS a 'FUCKING MUSLIM NIGGER" -- that's the way it appeared in the tweet -- and happily proclaim he is "absolutely not a racist." What, exactly, do these people think is indicative of racism?

Medlar's Sports Report. Scott Cacciola of the New York Times: "Mark Cuban, the billionaire owner of the Dallas Mavericks, will pay $10 million to women's leadership and domestic-violence organizations under an agreement with the N.B.A. announced Wednesday to address sexual harassment and other improper conduct among employees in the team's front office. The payment, and other reporting, staffing and leadership changes, are a result of a monthslong investigation into accusations against several employees, including the former team president and chief executive, Terdema Ussery. Cuban did not face accusations of misconduct, but the investigation found his supervision severely lacking, and he agreed to the payment, avoiding a fine. Still, the payment by far exceeds the amount of any fine the league has imposed on a team or owner." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Uh, about that presidential bid, Mark?

Beyond the Beltway

David Mack of BuzzFeed News: "A California surgeon who once appeared on a Bravo reality show and his girlfriend have been charged with drugging and raping at least two women, officials said Tuesday, and prosecutors believe there may be many, many more victims. Orthopedic surgeon Grant W. Robicheaux, 38, and Cerissa Riley, 31, are accused of meeting women in restaurants and bars, spiking their drinks, taking them to Robicheaux's apartment, and sexually assaulting them.... Prosecutors said the pair filmed the assaults of the two women. Officials don't know how many other women may have been victims, but noted they had discovered more than 1,000 videos on the doctor's phone."

Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "Cody Wilson, whose push to post blueprints for 3-D printed guns online has made him a key figure in the national gun control debate, was charged on Wednesday with sexually assaulting a child in Texas. But law enforcement officers said they were having trouble finding Mr. Wilson, who missed a flight back to the United States from Taipei, Taiwan, his last known location. During a news conference on Wednesday, Cmdr. Troy Officer of the Austin Police Department said that a warrant had been filed for Mr. Wilson's arrest and that local detectives were working with national and international partners to find him. Mr. Wilson, 30, is accused of having sex with a 16-year-old girl at a hotel in Austin on Aug. 15 and paying her $500 in cash, according to an affidavit filed in Travis County. The girl told the police that she had met Mr. Wilson through the website SugarDaddyMeet.com...." Mrs. McC: What? You thought he was probably a nice guy?

The Commentariat -- September 19, 2018

Afternoon Update:

Ken Dilanian, et al., of NBC News: " A former schoolmate of Brett Kavanaugh's accuser wrote a Facebook post saying she recalls hearing about the alleged assault involving Kavanaugh, though she says she has no first-hand information to corroborate the accuser's claims. 'Christine Blasey Ford was a year or so behind me,' wrote the woman, Cristina Miranda King, who now works as a performing arts curator in Mexico City. 'I did not know her personally but I remember her. This incident did happen.' She added, 'Many of us heard a buzz about it indirectly with few specific details. However Christine's vivid recollection should be more than enough for us to truly, deeply know that the accusation is true.'... King has since taken down her Facebook post, which NBC News verified as having appeared on her account." ...

... Frank Thorp, et al., of NBC News: "Republican lawmakers on Wednesday appeared poised to move ahead with a confirmation vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who is accused of sexually assaulting a woman while they were in high school, if the woman does not participate in a Senate hearing to air the allegation.... [Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck] Grassley ... said that no law enforcement investigation was warranted and that the invitation for her to testify on Monday 'still stands.' The chairman responded to Ford's lawyers Wednesday afternoon in a letter in which he said again that FBI involvement is not needed and that the Senate doesn't have the power to authorize such an investigation.... He said Ford would need to submit her biography and prepared testimony by Friday at 10 a.m. if she intends to testify Monday." ...

... Kaitlan Collins of CNN: "In a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee, another former classmate of Brett Kavanaugh's denies attending a party like the one described in the allegation made by Christine Blasey Ford, who has accused the Supreme Court nominee of sexually assaulting her three decades ago when they were teenagers. Patrick J. Smyth attended Georgetown Prep -- an all-boys school in North Bethesda, Maryland -- alongside Kavanaugh. Both men graduated in 1983.... Eric Bruce, who is representing Smyth, authored a letter to Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, the top Democrat on the committee. CNN has obtained a copy of the letter, which includes a quote from Smyth denying seeing any 'improper conduct' from Kavanaugh." ...

... Maria Caspani of Reuters: " A growing number of Americans said they opposed ... Donald Trump's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, as the candidate's confirmation hearings took place and as he fended off a sexual assault claim, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed. The Sept. 11-17 poll found that 36 percent of adults surveyed did not want Kavanaugh in the Supreme Court, up 6 points from a similar poll conducted a month earlier. Only 31 percent of U.S. adults polled said they were in favor of Kavanaugh's appointment."

John Solomon & Buck Sexton of the Hill: "President Trump in an Oval Office interview with Hill.TV launched one of his most ferocious broadsides to date against Jeff Sessions, suggesting the attorney general was essentially AWOL and performing badly on a variety of issues. 'I don't have an attorney general. It's very sad,' Trump told Hill.TV in an extensive and freewheeling interview Tuesday from the Oval Office.... 'I'm so sad over Jeff Sessions because he came to me. He was the first senator that endorsed me. And he wanted to be attorney general, and I didn't see it,' he said. 'And then he went through the nominating process and he did very poorly. I mean, he was mixed up and confused, and people that worked with him for, you know, a long time in the Senate were not nice to him, but he was giving very confusing answers. Answers that should have been easily answered. And that was a rough time for him.'" ...

John Solomon & Buck Sexton: "President Trump in an exclusive interview with Hill.TV said Tuesday he ordered the release of classified documents in the Russia collusion case to show the public the FBI probe started as a 'hoax' and that exposing it could become one of the 'crowning achievements' of his presidency. 'What we've done is a great service to the country, really,' Trump said in a 45-minute, wide-ranging interview in the Oval Office." ...

... Chris Strohm of Bloomberg: "Donald Trump has demanded the 'immediate declassification' of sensitive materials about the Russia investigation, but the agencies responsible are expected to propose redactions that would keep some information secret, according to three people familiar with the matter. The Justice Department, FBI and Office of the Director of National Intelligence are going through a methodical review and can't offer a timeline for finishing, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak publicly about the sensitive matter."

*****

What happens at Georgetown Prep stays at Georgetown Prep. -- Brett Kavanaugh, in a speech in March 2015 ...

... John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Wednesday that it is 'very hard for me to imagine anything happened' between Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of sexual assault when both were teenagers. Trump praised his Supreme Court nominee as 'an extraordinary man' with 'an unblemished record' and said what he is experiencing is 'unfair.' But the president also said that Kavanaugh's accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, deserves to be heard at a Senate hearing scheduled for Monday. 'If she shows up and makes a credible showing, that will be very interesting, and we'll have to make a decision,' Trump told reporters as he left the White House for North Carolina to survey hurricane damage. Lawyers for Ford alerted the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday that she wants the FBI to investigate her allegation before she testifies, a request Republicans are resisting. Trump told reporters that Kavanaugh has been investigated by the FBI six times and suggested it is unnecessary to do so again." ...

... The Case of the Reluctant Witness. Sheryl Stolberg & Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "The woman who has accused President Trump's Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault has so far failed to respond to requests from the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify at an extraordinary public hearing on Monday, raising doubts about whether she plans to attend -- and whether the session would go on without her. Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the radio host Hugh Hewitt on Tuesday that he had sent several requests to lawyers for the accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, to testify along with Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh.... The mysterious silence from Dr. Blasey and her lawyers was another turn in a drama that has gripped the Capitol since Thursday.... Dr. Blasey, thrust suddenly into a spotlight that she never sought, has been inundated with vulgar email and social media messages, and even death threats, according to a person close to her.... Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, are clashing over the scope and shape of the hearings. Mr. Grassley said Judge Kavanaugh and Dr. Blasey would be the only witnesses, prompting pushback from top Democrats, who are demanding an F.B.I. investigation to search for additional witnesses or evidence, and to avoid the specter of a 'he said, she said' debate.... One possible witness is a friend of Judge Kavanaugh's, Mark Judge, who Dr. Blasey said was in the room with Judge Kavanaugh when the assault occurred. Mr. Judge had told the Judiciary Committee that he does not remember the episode and has nothing more to say...." ...

     ... The story has been updated: "The woman who has accused President Trump's Supreme Court nominee of sexual assault threw into doubt plans for an extraordinary Senate hearing to air her accusations, charging on Tuesday that some senators have already made up their minds and insisting that the F.B.I. investigate first. Speaking through her lawyers, Christine Blasey Ford did not explicitly rule out appearing next Monday before the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify along with Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh. But echoing Senate Democrats, she said an investigation should be 'the first step' before she is put 'on national television to relive this traumatic and harrowing incident.'... 'If she does not come on Monday, we are going to move on and vote on Wednesday,' Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina and a member of the committee, told Fox News on Tuesday evening." ...

... Seung Min Kim, et al., of the Washington Post: "The woman who has accused Brett M. Kavanaugh of sexual assault decades ago wants the FBI to investigate her allegation before she testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee -- a demand that came as President Trump and Senate Republicans increasingly rallied to the defense of the embattled Supreme Court nominee.... The two-page letter does not explicitly say she will not attend if there is no FBI probe.... Though Kavanaugh's confirmation prospects looked shaky earlier this week after Ford's allegations became public, senior Republicans on Tuesday were increasingly determined to press forward with his nomination." ...

     ... ** Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: MSNBC reported on-air that Blasey Ford's attorney has said Blasey Ford will not appear before the Judiciary Committee on Monday. So that's a big win for Trump unless something changes. As Josh Marshall points out, top Republicans, including Susan Collins, have presented the planned Monday hearing as a take-it-or-leave-it "opportunity" for Blasey Ford. I agree that an investigation is necessary, but sometimes you have to make do with what you get, even if that's appearing before Chuck Grassley & Orrin Hatch without a couple of cream pies to throw at their mugs. So if the on-air report is true, shame on Blasey Ford & her attorneys. Unless Blasey Ford's lawyers are coordinating their moves with Democrats on the committee & they plan to allow her to testify whatever the eventual circumstance, I'm disgusted with all of them. ...

... Rebecca Shabad, et al., of NBC News has a well-explained story on the state of the impasse. It does not specifically state that Blasey Ford refuses to testify Monday, but that's pretty much the effect. Chuck Grassley is standing his ground that no FBI investigation is necessary. Sen. Dianne "Feinstein, meanwhile, criticized the FBI and White House on Tuesday for 'failing to take even the most basic steps' to investigate Ford's allegation. 'What's worse at that time, President Bush asked the FBI to do its job and perform an investigation looking into Anita Hill's allegations, which it did. Now, under the Trump administration, Republicans want to do even less by blocking any investigation into Dr. Ford's allegations,' she said. 'I'm disappointed the FBI and White House are failing to take even the most basic steps to investigate this matter.'" ...

... AND Margaret Hartmann, as she always does, writes another helpful post on where things stand. Apparently Republicans have settled on a mistaken-identity defense: "they believe Ford was assaulted, but she's wrong about Kavanaugh being the perpetrator[.]" Hartmann notes that Blasey Ford "knew Kavanaugh in passing before the party, which makes it harder to believe that she simply misremembered the identity of the man who attempted to rape her." ...

... Burgess Everett & Elan Schor of Politico: "Republicans are already taking shots at Ford.... Their conduct could determine not just the public's perception of their party but whether Kavanaugh wins the 50 votes needed to sit on the high court.... Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) questioned Ford's motives.... Graham questioned why she waited months after contacting The Washington Post and her Democratic representative in Congress to go public. He also expressed skepticism about some of the details of her story, including why she took a lie detector test administered by a former FBI agent." ...

... Amanda Terkel of the Huffington Post: "Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are considering having their aides question Christine Blasey Ford should she testify about her sexual assault accusations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.... There's a reason for this unusual move: Every Republican senator on the committee is male, and aggressive questioning of Blasey could backfire for them. If they use their aides, they would be able to rely on female staffers.... Three Democratic sources familiar with the committee's planning told HuffPost that this proposal was under consideration, although so far it's not clear whether Blasey and Kavanaugh will testify." Mrs. McC: Everett & Schor reported that Republicans also were considering having a female attorney question Blasey Ford. ...

... Elana Schor, et al., of Politico: "The woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago has not yet confirmed her appearance at a public hearing the GOP is planning next week as of midday Tuesday, according to top Republican senators. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that his staff has reached out to Christine Blasey Ford's camp several times since the California-based professor came forward with her story of a high-school-era assault by ... Donald Trump's high court pick. Although Ford's lawyer said that her client would be open to 'a fair proceeding,' it remains unclear whether she would agree to a planned hearing on Sept. 24 that Republicans have set up to help save Kavanaugh's nomination." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Julie Davis of the New York Times: "President Trump falsely charged on Tuesday that Democrats had sought to time a sexual assault allegation against his Supreme Court nominee, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, to obstruct his confirmation, siding with the judge as he called for a swift process for airing the accusation on Capitol Hill. 'I feel so badly for him that he's going through this,' Mr. Trump said of Judge Kavanaugh.... 'This is not a man that deserves this.'... 'Why didn't the Democrats bring it up then?' Mr. Trump said Tuesday during a news conference at the White House with President Andrzej Duda of Poland. 'Because they obstruct, and because they resist. That's the name of their campaign against me -- they just resist and they just obstruct.' It's a shame,' he added, 'because this is a great gentleman.'... Mr. Trump, himself the subject of sexual misconduct allegations that he has denied, mischaracterized Democrats' role. They took their cue from Dr. strong> Blasey, who was not willing to go public with her accusation until this past weekend.... Mr. Trump, who has been uncharacteristically restrained about the matter in his public statements and on Twitter, said he felt 'terribly' for Judge Kavanaugh and did not address his feelings about the alleged victim, Dr. Blasey, to whom he referred as 'the woman.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Wow! See how compassionate & even-handed Trump can pretend to be. Never mind that his fake compassion is for a man who has been accused of sexual assault; Trump says the guy has an "impeccable record." One does feel a certain awe for a party that manages in one fell swoop to sully all three branches of government. ...

... Gabriel Sherman of Vanity Fair: "According to sources, several factors are at play. White House advisers are worried that more damaging information about Kavanaugh could come out. Two sources told me the White House has heard rumors that Ford's account will be verified by women who say she told it to them contemporaneously.... One source says Ivanka Trump has told her father to 'cut bait' and drop Kavanaugh. Another reason Trump hasn't gone to the mat for Kavanaugh is that he's said to be suspicious of Kavanaugh's establishment pedigree. '"He's a Bush guy, why would I put myself out there defending him?"' Trump told people, according to a former White House official briefed on the conversations. Trump also has expressed frustration with White House counsel Don McGahn, who aggressively lobbied for him to choose Kavanaugh, a source said. But the threat of losing the House and Senate seems to have helped convince Trump not to go scorched-earth on Ford. If Trump antagonizes women voters, it could increase the odds Republicans would lose both houses in Congress. 'Trump knows the Senate is not looking good,' an outside adviser said. 'It's all about the impeachment, he knows it's coming.'"...

... MEANWHILE. Daniel Lippman of Politico: "Former President George W. Bush is standing by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.... Bush told Politico in a statement on Tuesday: 'Laura and I have known and respected Brett Kavanaugh for decades, and we stand by our comments the night Judge Kavanaugh was nominated.'" ...

... Jordan Fabian of the Hill: "President Trump said Tuesday the FBI doesn't want to investigate sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. 'I don't think the FBI really should be involved because they don't want to be involved,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office during a meeting with Poland's president. Trump said he hasn't spoken to his pick for the Supreme Court since Sunday, when The Washington Post published Christine Blasey Ford's allegations that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her during a high school party in the 1980s. Trump indicated that he has made a point not to speak with Kavanaugh because he expected to be asked about any conversations with the judge." Mrs. McC: Funny how he wants "complete transparency" of secret investigative documents regarding his own case, even at the expense of national security & possibly the very lives of informants, but when it comes to charges of sexual abuse by a privileged white man, nothing doing. ...

... Pema Levy of Mother Jones: "In April 2014, Kavanaugh gave a speech to the Yale Law School Federalist Society in which he recalled drinking and partying in law school. The speech recalls innocent hijinks, but in light of the accusations now leveled against him, they provide context to Kavanaugh's partying, though they happened several years after the alleged attack would have taken place." Levy provides excerpts of the speech. ...

... Matt Stevens of the New York Times: "Christine Blasey Ford's claims that Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers while he was drunk have drawn attention to a speech he gave four years ago in which he discussed heavy drinking at Yale Law School -- and to an offhand remark about his high school days that he made during another speech.... In one episode, he described taking a bus with his classmates to Boston for a Red Sox game and a night of barhopping, which ended with the students 'falling out of the bus onto the front steps of Yale Law School at about 4:45 a.m.'" Kavanaugh also described another such incident in the same speech. And Stevens reports on the March 2015 speech in which Kavanaugh laughed off his Georgetown Prep capers. Mrs. McC: Not only do his recent remarks back up one aspect of Blasey Ford's account -- that Kavanaugh was a heavy drinker -- but they suggest he has not changed his views on that. He still thinks it's funny. What about now? Does he still binge-drink? Will a senator ask him about that? ...

... The Other Reluctant Witness. Elana Schor, et al., of Politico: "A key witness in Ford's decades-old allegation, Kavanaugh's high school classmate Mark Judge, said Tuesday he would prefer not to testify. Judge, who Ford says was the third person in the room when Kavanaugh assaulted her, said in a letter to the Senate Judiciary Committee that 'I have no more information to offer the committee and I do not wish to speak publicly regarding the incidents.'... GOP lawmakers are vowing to proceed regardless [of whether or not Ford appears] on Monday, as Democrats slam what they describe as a rushed process designed to push Kavanaugh through to confirmation." ...

... John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The No. 2 Republican in the Senate on Tuesday sharply questioned the credibility of the woman who has accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, as GOP leaders indicated they will limit witnesses at next week's hearing to just the Supreme Court nominee and his accuser. Speaking to reporters, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said..., 'The problem is, Dr. Ford can't remember when it was, where it was, or how it came to be,' Cornyn told reporters at the Capitol late Tuesday morning. When asked whether he was questioning the accuser's account -- which Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied — Cornyn said, 'There are some gaps there that need to be filled.' His comments came shortly after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) outlined a plan to limit testimony at Monday's planned hearing to that provided by Kavanaugh and Ford -- which brought cries of protest from Democrats. They insisted that other witnesses also be called, including Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who Ford said witnessed the assault." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Blasey Ford Told Her Story to a Friend in 2017. Julia Sulek of the Mercury News: "In an interview Monday with this news organization, [Rebecca] White..., one of Blasey Ford's neighbors and a good friend..., said that Blasey Ford had told her about the alleged assault -- without naming Kavanaugh -- in late 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement and long before Kavanaugh was a Supreme Court nominee. Last year, White had added her own #MeToo story about being raped as a teenager to a Facebook post. 'She reached out to me afterward, supporting me and my story and that she had something happen to her when she was really young and that the guy was a federal judge,' White said. 'She said she had been assaulted. She said hers had been violent as well, physically scary, fighting for her life.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Since Sen. Upchuck Grossly won't allow other witnesses to come forward, I sure hope Democrats bring up White's attestation during the hearing Monday -- if there is a hearing Monday. ...

... No, It's Not a "He Said/She Said." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... Georgetown University law professor David Super notes, federal law explicitly says these previous statements are not regarded as hearsay, or unreliable, when they are used 'to rebut an express or implied charge that the declarant recently fabricated it or acted from a recent improper influence or motive in so testifying.' That's exactly what Republicans are implying -- often gently and without expressly calling Ford a liar. 'Calling it "he said, she said" implies that both accounts are uncorroborated,' Super said. 'But these prior consistent statements are corroboration. And with so many complaining about the lateness of the charges, they are at least implying recent fabrication. That makes her prior consistent statements not hearsay. Even a court would consider them.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mimi Rocah & four other former federal prosecutors make the same point in an NBC News opinion piece: "... prosecutors look for corroborating evidence -- and there are strong indications already that Ford is telling the truth about her attack.... A Senate hearing, if it indeed occurs, is not enough.... Rather, there must be a thorough, unrushed investigation by the FBI or by another independent investigator and a full and fair public hearing, including all relevant witnesses and not just Kavanaugh and his accuser.... There is no legitimate reason to rush a confirmation vote. Confirming Kavanaugh under the current circumstances would undermine both his legitimacy and the integrity of the Supreme Court." ...

... Brian Beutler of Crooked: "Facing the real prospect that their long-sought fifth anti-abortion Supreme Court justice might go unseated, and President Trump's growing legal exposure, the Republican Party is charging into election season with a two-fronted disinformation campaign, in a desperate effort to salvage conservative control not just of the Court, but of Congress and the White House as well. Specifically, they are maximizing confusion about whether Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl when he and she were both high school students, and about the legitimacy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. And they are advancing both goals with naked abuses of power. In the Senate, Republicans believe the path to confirming Kavanaugh now runs through preventing the public from reaching consensus about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's allegation that Kavanaugh assaulted her in high school.... Trump has ordered the Justice Department and the Director of National Intelligence to breach Mueller's investigation by declassifying and disclosing sensitive counterintelligence information...." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Margaret Hartmann of New York: "While President Trump declassifying documents 'at the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency,' may sound like routine presidential behavior, the directive announced by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday afternoon was actually a dramatic escalation of his attempts to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller.... This is the first time a president has released information about an ongoing investigation into members of his campaign and administration over the objections of intelligence officials.... The materials won't immediately be made public. In a classic Trumpian move, the administration made the announcement before giving the Justice Department specific instructions about what it's supposed to release, according to the Washington Post. The department responded with a statement saying it will review the information to ensure it doesn't release anything that would put 'national security interests' at risk." (Also linked yesterday.)

Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Nearly a dozen lawyers now assist President Trump in contending with two federal investigations, one in Washington and one in New York, that could pose serious threats to his presidency and his businesses. But the expanding legal team is struggling to understand where the investigations could be headed and the extent of Mr. Trump's legal exposure. The lawyers have only a limited sense of what many witnesses -- including senior administration officials and the president's business associates -- have told investigators and what the Justice Department plans to do with any incriminating information it has about Mr. Trump, according to interviews with more than a dozen people close to the president. What is more, it is not clear if Mr. Trump has given his lawyers a full account of some key events in which he has been involved as president or during his decades running the Trump Organization." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Tom McCarthy of the Guardian: "In a tell-all memoir, the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels details salacious descriptions of her time with Donald Trump, wonders if he is fit to be president and claims he offered to cheat for her in his reality TV show.... [Mrs. McC: Sorry, I'm going there:] She describes Trump's penis as 'smaller than average' but 'not freakishly small'. 'He knows he has an unusual penis,' Daniels writes. 'It has a huge mushroom head. Like a toadstool.... I lay there, annoyed that I was getting fucked by a guy with Yeti pubes and a dick like the mushroom character in Mario Kart.... It may have been the least impressive sex I'd ever had, but clearly, he didn't share that opinion.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Paul Sonne & Anne Gearan of the Washington Post: "After months of pushing for a permanent U.S. military presence in Poland as a bulwark against Russia, the Polish president offered President Trump a new incentive tailored to his real estate sensibilities: naming rights. 'I would very much like for us to set up a permanent base in Poland, which we would call Fort Trump,' Polish President Andrzej Duda said Tuesday in a joint news conference at the White House.... Trump smirked and raised his right eyebrow before pursing his lips as he appeared to consider the possibility of an American military base in Poland emblazoned with his name. Though the Polish president's naming proposal appeared to be in jest, Trump said Poland was willing to make a 'very major' contribution if the United States were to establish a permanent military presence in the nation."

Trump's War on Christmas. Jim Tankersley & Alan Rappeport of the New York Times: "The Trump administration seems confident that consumers will not feel pain from its escalating trade war with China. 'Because it's spread over thousands and thousands of products, nobody's going to actually notice it at the end of the day,' Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross told CNBC on Tuesday, when asked about the administration’s latest round of tariffs on Chinese imports. But a pain-free trade war with China is nearly impossible. For American consumers, prices have already risen on some products that the administration targeted for tariffs this year -- most notably, washing machines, which were subjected to steep tariffs in January.... Tariffs on thousands of products are 'death by a thousand cuts,' said David French, the senior vice president for government relations for the National Retail Federation, which opposes the administration's approach. 'In the aggregate, household budgets will feel the impact.'... The initial effect of the new $200 billion round of tariffs will be felt just ahead of the holiday shopping season in the United States, when Americans will be looking to stock up on gifts."

Our Most Incompetent President Ever. Jonathan Chait: "President Trump frequently posts short videos online of him attempting to appear presidential -- i.e. he is shot with professional lighting, he discusses the kinds of normal subjects presidents customarily address, he is not engaging in obstruction of justice at that very moment, etc. Unfortunately, Trump subverts the effect by declining to use any kind of script for his appearances. Even a polished, articulate speaker would struggle in such circumstances, and Trump is comically inarticulate. In his latest video, Trump comments on Hurricane Florence. 'This is a tough hurricane,' he proclaims, 'one of the wettest we’ve ever seen from the standpoint of water.' Whether Florence is also wet from other standpoints is a question the president did not address." Read on for more laughs.

"The Trump Administration Gives the World One More Reason to Lose Faith in America. Washington Post Editors: "Another milestone in America's retreat from global leadership passed Monday when the Trump administration announced that it will cap refugee admissions next year at 30,000, by far the lowest ceiling since the current program was established in 1980. The total is just over a third of the number admitted in 2016, the last year of the Obama administration. Judging from the current year, even that paltry goal may overstate actual admissions, as officials use bureaucratic means to cripple the program. In announcing this abdication, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said it should not be misread as 'the sole barometer of America's commitment to vulnerable people around the world.' That's a fair point. A 'barometer' would include a raft of other programs and initiatives the administration has used to intimidate, deter, remove, oppress and, in some cases, terrify other groups of vulnerable migrants, including many who aspire to enter this country or who are already here: Thousands of Central American parents and children forcibly separated as a means of dissuading their compatriots who might follow."

Erica Werner of the Washington Post: "The Senate on Tuesday passed a short-term spending bill that would keep the government running through Dec. 7, aiming to avert a government shutdown and put off a fight over funding for President Trump's border wall until after the midterm elections. The short-term bill came attached to a massive budget package containing full-year 2019 funding for the Pentagon as well as for the Labor, Education and Health and Human Services departments. GOP leaders designed the package to combine key Republican and Democratic priorities in an attempt to garner overwhelming bipartisan support. The package also aims to satisfy Trump's desire for more military spending. The 93-to-7 vote came less than two weeks ahead of a Sept. 30 deadline when government funding will expire unless Congress and Trump intervene.... The House is expected to take up the bill next week, but it remains uncertain whether Trump would sign the measure."

Michelle Lee & Robert Barnes of the Washington Post: "Advocacy groups pouring money into independent campaigns to impact this fall's midterm races must disclose many of their political donors beginning this week after the Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to intervene in a long-running case. The high court did not grant an emergency request to stay a ruling by a federal judge in Washington who had thrown out a decades-old Federal Election Commission regulation allowing nonprofit groups to keep their donors secret unless they had earmarked their money for certain purposes. With less than 50 days before this fall’s congressional elections, the ruling has far-reaching consequences that could curtail the ability of major political players to raise money and force the disclosure of some of the country's wealthiest donors.... The ruling last month by Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell will be challenged on appeal. But in the immediate, the decision forces major groups on the left and the right to scramble and reassess how they plan to finance their fall campaigns."

Sharon Otterman of the New York Times: "Four men who were repeatedly sexually abused as children by a religion teacher at a Catholic church in Brooklyn received a $27.5 million settlement from the Diocese of Brooklyn on Tuesday, in one of the largest settlements ever awarded to individual victims of sexual abuse within the Catholic Church. The settlement comes two weeks after the New York State attorney general announced a statewide civil investigation into sex abuse within the Catholic Church and its cover-up by church leaders."

News Lede

New York Times: The Carolinas contend with the second "500-year-flood" in two years.

The Commentariat -- September 18, 2018

Afternoon Update:

John Wagner, et al., of the Washington Post: "The No. 2 Republican in the Senate on Tuesday sharply questioned the credibility of the woman who has accused Judge Brett Kavanaugh of sexual assault, as GOP leaders indicated they will limit witnesses at next week's hearing to just the Supreme Court nominee and his accuser. Speaking to reporters, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) said..., 'The problem is, Dr. Ford can't remember when it was, where it was, or how it came to be,' Cornyn told reporters at the Capitol late Tuesday morning. When asked whether he was questioning the accuser's account -- which Kavanaugh has repeatedly denied -- Cornyn said, 'There are some gaps there that need to be filled.' His comments came shortly after Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) outlined a plan to limit testimony at Monday's planned hearing to that provided by Kavanaugh and Ford -- which brought cries of protest from Democrats. They insisted that other witnesses also be called, including Mark Judge, a Kavanaugh friend who Ford said witnessed the assault." ...

... Elana Schor, et al., of Politico: "The woman who has accused Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh of sexually assaulting her decades ago has not yet confirmed her appearance at a public hearing the GOP is planning next week as of midday Tuesday, according to top Republican senators. Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that his staff has reached out to Christine Blasey Ford's camp several times since the California-based professor came forward with her story of a high-school-era assault by ... Donald Trump's high court pick. Although Ford's lawyer said that her client would be open to 'a fair proceeding,' it remains unclear whether she would agree to a planned hearing on Sept. 24 that Republicans have set up to help save Kavanaugh's nomination." ...

... Blasey Ford Told Her Story to a Friend in 2017. Julia Sulek of the Mercury News: "In an interview Monday with this news organization, [Rebecca] White..., one of Blasey Ford's neighbors and a good friend..., said that Blasey Ford had told her about the alleged assault -- without naming Kavanaugh -- in late 2017 during the height of the #MeToo movement and long before Kavanaugh was a Supreme Court nominee. Last year, White had added her own #MeToo story about being raped as a teenager to a Facebook post. 'She reached out to me afterward, supporting me and my story and that she had something happen to her when she was really young and that the guy was a federal judge,' White said. 'She said she had been assaulted. She said hers had been violent as well, physically scary, fighting for her life.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Since Sen. Upchuck Grossly won't allow other witnesses to come forward, I sure hope Democrats bring up White's attestation during the hearing Monday -- if there is a hearing Monday. ...

... No, It's Not a "He Said/She Said." Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "... Georgetown University law professor David Super notes, federal law explicitly says these previous statements are not regarded as hearsay, or unreliable, when they are used 'to rebut an express or implied charge that the declarant recently fabricated it or acted from a recent improper influence or motive in so testifying.' That's exactly what Republicans are implying -- often gently and without expressly calling Ford a liar. 'Calling it "he said, she said" implies that both accounts are uncorroborated,' Super said. 'But these prior consistent statements are corroboration. And with so many complaining about the lateness of the charges, they are at least implying recent fabrication. That makes her prior consistent statements not hearsay. Even a court would consider them.'" ...

... Brian Beutler of Crooked: "Facing the real prospect that their long-sought fifth anti-abortion Supreme Court justice might go unseated, and President Trump's growing legal exposure, the Republican Party is charging into election season with a two-fronted disinformation campaign, in a desperate effort to salvage conservative control not just of the Court, but of Congress and the White House as well. Specifically, they are maximizing confusion about whether Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a 15 year old girl when he and she were both high school students, and about the legitimacy of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. And they are advancing both goals with naked abuses of power. In the Senate, Republicans believe the path to confirming Kavanaugh now runs through preventing the public from reaching consensus about Dr. Christine Blasey Ford's allegation that Kavanaugh assaulted her in high school.... Trump has ordered the Justice Department and the Director of National Intelligence to breach Mueller's investigation by declassifying and disclosing sensitive counterintelligence information...."

Margaret Hartmann of New York: "While President Trump declassifying documents 'at the request of a number of committees of Congress, and for reasons of transparency,' may sound like routine presidential behavior, the directive announced by White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Monday afternoon was actually a dramatic escalation of his attempts to undermine Special Counsel Robert Mueller.... This is the first time a president has released information about an ongoing investigation into members of his campaign and administration over the objections of intelligence officials.... The materials won't immediately be made public. In a classic Trumpian move, the administration made the announcement before giving the Justice Department specific instructions about what it's supposed to release, according to the Washington Post. The department responded with a statement saying it will review the information to ensure it doesn't release anything that would put 'national security interests' at risk."

Maggie Haberman & Michael Schmidt of the New York Times: "Nearly a dozen lawyers now assist President Trump in contending with two federal investigations, one in Washington and one in New York, that could pose serious threats to his presidency and his businesses. But the expanding legal team is struggling to understand where the investigations could be headed and the extent of Mr. Trump's legal exposure. The lawyers have only a limited sense of what many witnesses -- including senior administration officials and the president's business associates -- have told investigators and what the Justice Department plans to do with any incriminating information it has about Mr. Trump, according to interviews with more than a dozen people close to the president. What is more, it is not clear if Mr. Trump has given his lawyers a full account of some key events in which he has been involved as president or during his decades running the Trump Organization."

Tom McCarthy of the Guardian: "In a tell-all memoir, the pornographic actor Stormy Daniels details salacious descriptions of her time with Donald Trump, wonders if he is fit to be president and claims he offered to cheat for her in his reality TV show.... [Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry, I'm going there:] She describes Trump's penis as 'smaller than average' but 'not freakishly small'. 'He knows he has an unusual penis,' Daniels writes. 'It has a huge mushroom head. Like a toadstool.... I lay there, annoyed that I was getting fucked by a guy with Yeti pubes and a dick like the mushroom character in Mario Kart.... It may have been the least impressive sex I'd ever had, but clearly, he didn.t share that opinion.'"

*****

Anita Hill in a New York Times op-ed on how to get the Kavanaugh hearing right. ...

... Sheryl Stolberg & Julie Davis of the New York Times: "The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, under mounting pressure from senators of his own party, will call ... Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh and the woman who has accused him of sexual assault before the committee on Monday for extraordinary public hearings just weeks before the midterm elections. Senator John Kennedy, Republican of Louisiana, told reporters Monday afternoon that the chairman, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, told senators there would be an 'opportunity' for senators to hear from Judge Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, in a public setting where senators would be able to ask questions. Both have said they are willing to testify.... [The move] effectively delay[ed] a planned committee vote on Judge Kavanaugh's nomination, which had been scheduled for this Thursday.... Mr. Trump on Monday vigorously defended his nominee, calling him an 'outstanding' judge with an unblemished record, and dismissing as 'ridiculous' the prospect that Judge Kavanaugh might withdraw his nomination. Nevertheless, he told reporters that he was willing to accept a delay in the judge's path to confirmation in order to air the new information.... Senator Susan Collins of Maine ... told reporters that if Judge Kavanaugh lied, it would disqualify him." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Sen. Orrin Hatch (Troglodyte-Utah) told reporters he does not believe Ford. He said, "this woman, whoever she is, is mixed up." ...

... Babysitting Donald. Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump’s routine reaction to allegations of sexual assault is to deny, retaliate and repeat. He has dismissed accusations against himself as 'phony' and 'false,' and when presented with claims against other men, the #MeToo-era president tends to side instinctually with the accused. But in the case of federal judge Brett M. Kavanaugh -- whose Supreme Court nomination is suddenly endangered after a woman accused him of sexual assault when they were in high school -- Trump on Monday was uncharacteristically muted. White House aides said they persuaded the president to refrain from tweeting a defense of Kavanaugh in the accusation's immediate aftermath and deliberately worked to keep him from meeting personally with the nominee, even though the two men spent most of the day in proximity. Kavanaugh was hunkered down in the West Wing office of White House Counsel Donald McGahn, strategizing to save his nomination and calling senators to deny the claim against him.... Trump's advisers calmed him by giving him space to vent privately about Senate Democrats...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The best part of the story is how Mitch McConnell was all upset that no one in the White House had briefed Fox "News" on the messaging the Trump network should push. I'd say the message is "I'll dump Brett in a New York minute if that's what works best for me." ...

... Chris Strohm & Shannon Pettypiece of Bloomberg: "The White House hasn't asked the FBI to investigate the allegation that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted a woman when they were in high school, a request required for the bureau to take further action, according to two people familiar with the matter.... Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have said they want the FBI to investigate the allegation. But FBI background investigations are conducted under specific procedures and through requests from government agencies -- which in Kavanaugh's case would come from the White House, said the two people...." ...

... John Cassidy of the New Yorker: "Although neither the conservative federal judge nor the White House has given any indication that Kavanaugh intends to drop out, the path to his confirmation now looks much more challenging, and it is one that contains great peril for the Republican Party.... The real question is: Will the White House and Republican leaders actually allow a potentially sensational set of hearings, with all the political risks that would entail, just weeks before the midterm elections in which they are already struggling mightily to attract women's votes in key suburban districts? Or will they decide to cut their losses and withdraw the Kavanaugh nomination? We'll find out soon." --safari ...

... ** There's More. Ryan Grim of The Intercept: "The top Republican and Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee were both approached in July by an attorney claiming to have information relevant to the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. The attorney claimed in his letter that multiple employees of the federal judiciary would be willing to speak to investigators, but received no reply to multiple attempts to make contact, he told The Intercept. Cyrus Sanai made his first attempt to reach out to Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., in a letter dated July 24.... Sanai said that he did not hold Kavanaugh responsible for Kozinski's behavior, but rather that his claim of ignorance was not credible and could be contradicted by witnesses." Read on. --safari...

... ** Ian Millhiser of ThinkProgress: "This will be a story about Alex Kozinski, the disgraced former federal judge that Supreme Court nominee for whom Brett Kavanaugh clerked. Yet it is also a story about Kavanaugh himself. It is a story about Kavanuagh's repeated denials that he ever witnessed Kozinski 'engaging in inappropriate behavior of a sexual nature.' It's a story about why these denials are almost certainly lies.... Kavanaugh's repeated claims that he has no recollection of Kozinski making sexually inappropriate comments to a law clerk -- or that he never even heard anyone raise concerns about such behavior by Kozinski -- are quite literally unbelievable." --safari ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: To read Grim & Millhiser is to know that the Liar-in-Chief has nominated another practiced liar to the Supreme Court. There cannot be any question about it. Brett Kavanaugh has no moral compass, and his false sworn testimony is all the evidence necessary to disqualify him from the job he holds now & the one he aspires to hold. ...

... Mark Stern of Slate: "It is entirely reasonable to feel uncomfortable holding 17-year-olds strictly liable for their misdeeds for the rest of their lives. Fortunately, that is not what's happening here, which makes this argument around age a red herring. Kavanaugh is not asking for absolution; he is denying Ford's allegations outright. The real question, then, is ... whether he is telling the truth about those actions all these years later.... It is perfectly consistent to believe that nobody's life should be ruined for committing a crime at age 17 -- and that any adult who lies about that crime should not be elevated to the Supreme Court. Rejecting Kavanaugh's confirmation on this basis wouldn't be dolling it punishment, but rather withholding a privilege." ...

... Charles Pierce: "The Categorical Denial is a two-edged sword, which is why politicians and those nominated for seats on the Supreme Court avoid the Categorical Denial.... Throughout his hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Brett Kavanaugh ... managed to dodge the Categorical Denial. He was not as slick at it as was Neil Gorsuch. He stammered and blathered and came off like someone who hadn't learned his lines very well.... Here's the thing about Categorical Denials.... If you're mistaken, or you've forgotten, or you did it but you were too sockless hammered to recall the events, you're just as done as if you were flat-out lying about the whole matter.... Brett Kavanaugh is standing by his Categorical Denial because that's another thing about Categorical Denials. You can't walk them back." ...

... What Mazie Knew. Mrs. McCrabbie: Pierce -- not to mention Grim & Millhiser -- reminds me that this is more out there on Kavanaugh: "The strange questions from Senator Sheldon Whitehouse about gambling. And a line of inquiry from Senator Maizie Hirono...: 'Since you became a legal adult, have you ever made unwanted requests for sexual favors or committed any verbal or physical harassment or assault of a sexual nature?'... All of these curious questions were a direct result of those documents that the committee members have seen that are nonetheless kept secret from the rest of us. They know what's in there, and Kavanaugh knows that they know, but they can only vaguely hint at the material in open session.... Kavanaugh took full advantage of the protection this policy offered him." Maybe this week's delay will give reporters a chance to ferret out some of the stories behind the "curious questions." ...

... I'll See Your 65 & Raise You 200. Amanda Terkel & Arthur Delaney of the Huffington Post: "A group of women who went to Christine Blasey Ford's high school are circulating a letter to show support for the woman who has alleged that Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh tried to sexually assault her while they were in high school. 'We believe Dr. Blasey Ford and are grateful that she came forward to tell her story,' says a draft letter from alumnae of Holton-Arms, a private girls school in Bethesda, Maryland.... The women also say that what Ford is alleging 'is all too consistent with stories we heard and lived while attending Holton. Many of us are survivors ourselves.'... More than 200 women had signed the letter as of late Monday morning, said Sarah Burgess, a member of the class of 2005. Burgess said she and some of her schoolmates wrote the letter because hearing Ford's story felt 'personal.'... Susanna Jones, the Holton-Arms head of school, put out a statement Sunday night in support of Ford. 'In these cases, it is imperative that all voices are heard,' Jones said. 'As a school that empowers women to use their voices, we are proud of this alumna for using hers.'" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Ariane de Vogue & Eli Watkins of CNN: "... Brett Kavanaugh said Monday that he would be willing to speak with lawmakers to refute an allegation of physical and sexual assault.... Kavanaugh's statement came shortly after his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford, said through her attorney that she would be willing to speak with Congress to tell her side of the story.... According to multiple sources, Kavanaugh has hired Beth Wilkinson, of the law firm Wilkinson Walsh and Eskovitz, to be his attorney.... Maine GOP Sen. Susan Collins, one of the chamber's most closely watched votes, said on Twitter that she wanted both Ford and Kavanaugh to testify under oath before the Senate Judiciary Committee." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... John Wagner & Seung Min Kim of the Washington Post: "Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa) said in a statement early Monday afternoon that Ford 'deserves to be heard' but stopped short of committing to a public airing that would likely force a delay of a planned committee vote on Thursday.... Democrats are insisting that the FBI handle the matter by reopening Kavanaugh's background investigation rather having committee staff make calls.... Underscoring the uncertainty Kavanaugh faces, four senators considered swing votes on the nomination issued statements Monday calling for a thorough review of the allegations by Ford, a professor in California": Susan Collins (R-Maine), Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.), Heidi Heitkamp (D-N.D.) & Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.). (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Megan Garber of The Atlantic: "What [Christine Blasey] Ford is talking about -- what she has been talking about, for years -- is not the behavior of kids simply being kids, boys simply being boys. What she is alleging, instead, is cruelty; it is entitlement; it is violence; it is assault.... Brett Kavanaugh's nomination to the Supreme Court was already, in the profoundest of ways, a matter of norms: It will determine, almost inevitably, whether the women of America maintain autonomy over their bodies. Here, though, in Christine Blasey Ford's claim that a young Brett Kavanaugh compromised her autonomy in another way, another norm is being litigated: the way we talk about sexual violence. Whether such violence will be considered an outrage, or simply a sad inevitability. Whether it will be treated as morally intolerable ... or as something that, boys being boys and men being men, just happens." ...

... Paul Krugman: "The very process that brought Kavanaugh to the brink of a lifetime Supreme Court appointment was saturated in bad faith.... Republicans wouldn't even give President Barack Obama's nominee a hearing, claiming that because Obama was late in his second term the process should wait, leaving a court seat vacant for more than a year, to let voters weigh in.... Why the rush [now]? Because there's a chance the G.O.P. will lose the Senate soon. That whole thing about letting the voters have their say was dishonest from the beginning.... Bad faith takes a moral toll on Republican politicians, too. We keep seeing people who once appeared to have some sense of decency turn into abject apparatchiks.... Instead of attacking those activists back in Maine, [Susan Collins] should be thanking them, for giving her one last chance to save her political soul." ...

... Nancy LeTourneau of the Washington Monthly: "Over the years, Republicans have reminded women over and over again that they don't take sexual assault seriously. Regardless of what you think about Brett Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford's allegations, we're getting a good reminder of the fact that they still don't.... What we are about to witness when it comes to Kavanaugh is a lot of pearl-clutching that is not only dismissive of the trauma of sexual assault, it is about how boys make 'mistakes' when they're young and grow up to be men of fine character. The problem is that all too often that kind of compassion is only extended to white boys who went to fancy prep schools." ...

... What Republicans Mean by "Law & Order." Eric Levitz: "In the United States, juvenile drug offenders are routinely tried as adults, 13-year-old murderers can be (and have been) sentenced to life without parole, and teenagers who text naked pictures of themselves regularly get arrested for child pornography, and forced to spend the rest of their lives as registered sex offenders.... The American right played a central role in bringing [these laws] into being.... The president regularly refers to teenage gang members as 'animals,' and has, in the past, called for imposing the death penalty on alleged teen rapists. Attorney General Jeff Sessions, meanwhile, has actively made the criminal justice system more punitive toward juvenile offenders.... But in the past 24 hours, the right's thinking on juvenile justice appears to have radically changed: Where conservatives once believed that people who commit violent crimes as teenagers do not necessarily deserve the opportunity to ever reenter free society, many now contend that such people should not (necessarily) be denied the chance to serve on the nation's highest court.... One 'outside Trump adviser,'... suggested that Kavanaugh's behavior was such a relatable example of boys beings boys, Democrats could suffer politically for stigmatizing it.... [But it seems likely] that conservatives are merely clarifying, yet again, that 'law and order' means 'using the law to reinforce a social order that protects those at the top of class, race, and gender hierarchies, while suppressing those at the bottom.'" ...

... Michelle Goldberg: "If the Kavanaugh nomination goes forward, it's because Trump and his allies believe that a certain class of men accused of sexual assault deserve impunity. The question now is whether any Republican senators believe otherwise." ...

... Marcy Wheeler of Emptywheel: "I'm all in favor of having [Christine Blasey] Ford testify. After all, Brett Kavanaugh thinks a 17-year old must jump through extraordinary hoops before she can terminate an unwanted pregnancy; surely he thinks young men should similarly bear the consequences of their actions? But she shouldn't testify alone. Mark Judge should testify along with her. After all, according to her letter and the WaPo account, he was a witness to the event.... And while he currently claims he doesn't recall the event, she says that the one time they crossed paths afterwards, he exhibited discomfort upon seeing her.... Virtually all the people attacking Ford's story are utterly silent on Judge's presence as a witness. I suspect that's because both his own descriptions of his social life at the time, and his professed inability to recall the event, might suggest that Kavanaugh, too, was simply too drunk to remember this attempted rape." --safari

... Here's what "Kavanaugh character witness" Mark Judge wrote in the Washingtonian about his family's reaction to his 1997 memoir, and what his brother Michael Judge wrote in response. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Were You Wondering What Donnie Jr. Thinks about All This? Tasneem Nashrulla of BuzzFeed News: "Donald Trump Jr. posted an image on his Instagram account that appeared to mock the woman who alleged she was sexually assaulted by the president's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.... The image — titled 'Judge Kavanaughs sexual assault letter found by Dems...' -- was that of a note scrawled in childish handwriting which read, 'Hi Cindy will you be my girlfreind [sic]?" The note had two checkboxes marked 'yes' and 'no' and was signed 'Love Bret [sic].' In his Instagram caption, Trump Jr. wrote: 'Oh boy... the Dems and their usual nonsense games really have him on the ropes now. Finestein [sic] had the letter in July and saved it for the eve of his vote... honorable as always. I believe this is a copy for full transparency.'" Mrs. McC: Besides three misspellings in this short but grate wirk of litterchur, Donnie calls the recipient of the letter "Cindy," which is not a common nickname for "Christine." The nut doesn't fall far from the tree. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... MEANWHILE. Brad Reed of the Raw Story: "Right-wing media personality Matt Drudge on Monday completely crashed and burned in his latest attempt to smear Christine Blasey Ford.... Specifically, Drudge promoted an article at Grabien News claiming to show that Ford got poor ratings from her students, some of whom purportedly described her as having a 'dark personality' on the Rate My Professors website.... In fact, the RateMyProfessors page refers to a Christine A. Ford, who taught at the social work department at California State University Fullerton, and who actually received only five reviews -- two of which rated her as 'awesome,' two of which rated her as 'average,' and only one of which rated her as 'awful.' Christine Blasey Ford, meanwhile, is a professor of clinical psychology at Palo Alto University who has never worked at Fullerton. In addition to Drudge, Trump-loving conservative pundits Mark Levin and Kurt Schlichter also shared the false claim that Ford's students gave her extremely negative ratings on RateMyProfessors." Mrs. McC: Grabien has since retracted its fake story.

** Warning. Ian Millhiser: "'People don't have to believe in the judiciary,' Justice Elena Kagan warned at an event styled as a conversation between her and Slate's Dahlia Lithwick. 'You can lose that belief,' the justice warned. And then she made what may be her most important point -- that it is up to Supreme Court itself to prevent this outcome. 'I think that, on the Court, it's incumbent upon us to be aware of that,' Kagan said. 'And to not do the things that where people will reject the Court and say, you know, we don't view it as legitimate anymore.'.... Such a public and explicit warning that the Court may be an imminent threat to its own legitimacy is unusual from any justice, but it is especially alarming from Justice Kagan. As dean of Harvard Law School, Kagan earned praise from conservatives for brokering a compromise between liberal and conservative factions within her faculty that led to three prominent conservatives being hired. She is widely viewed as one of the Court's deal-makers. --safari ...

... Matt Ford of the New Republic: "The Supreme Court's only real power is its legitimacy in the eyes of the American public, and forcing through another justice who's been accused of sexual misconduct is a surefire way to damage it. The Senate, meanwhile, could claim that voters gave them a mandate in 2016 to confirm judges like Kavanaugh, but the message it would send to many Americans is that women's traumatic stories still don't matter to them."

Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Monday ordered the Justice Department to declassify significant materials from the investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election, threatening to spur a high-stakes showdown with federal law enforcement officials resistant to publicizing information from an ongoing probe. In a statement, the White House said Trump was ordering the department to immediately declassify portions of the secret court order to monitor former campaign adviser Carter Page, along with all interviews they conducted as officials applied for the order. Trump also instructed the department to publicly released the unredacted text messages of several former high-level Justice Department and FBI officials, including former FBI director James B. Comey and deputy director Andrew McCabe. For months, conservative lawmakers have been calling on the department to release Russia-related and other materials, many of them believing law enforcement was hiding information that might discredit the investigation now led by ... Robert S. Mueller III." ...

... Sonam Sheth of Business Insider: "Adam Schiff, the ranking member on the House Intelligence Committee, slammed ... Donald Trump's decision Monday to order the release of a slew of sensitive documents related to the Russia investigation.... Schiff called the president's move a 'clear abuse of power' meant to 'intervene in a pending law enforcement investigation by ordering the selective release of materials he believes are helpful to his defense team and thinks will advance a false narrative.' Schiff also revealed that the FBI and DOJ had previously told him that they would consider the release of some of the materials Trump wants declassified a 'red line that must not be crossed as they may compromise sources and methods.'" Schiff said on MSNBC that top officials should resign if Trump releases the sensitive documents.

Useful Idiots. Spencer Ackerman of The Daily Beast: "[B]efore Manafort enters a new phase of his criminal career, Mueller filed a new superseding criminal information document in federal court listing new details of the man in the ostrich skin jacket's infamous political resume.... [O]ne of his tactics ... was to get what Manafort described 'in a contemporaneous communication [as] "[O]bama jews"' to pressure the Obama administration in October 2012. The scheme was to tie [Yulia] Tymoshenko to antisemitism through association. Manafort got 'a senior Israeli government official to issue a written statement publicizing this story.' That's a reference to a statement from then-Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman, a hardliner who is now defense minister.... The story was published by Ben Shapiro at Breitbart[.]" --safari ...

... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's Friday plea agreement with Paul Manafort took unusual and possibly unprecedented steps to undercut President Donald Trump's ability to pardon his former campaign chairman. The plea deal Mueller struck with the former Trump campaign chairman contains several provisions that appear intended to discourage the former Trump aide both from seeking a pardon and to rein in the impact of any pardon Trump might grant. Legal experts with sweeping views of executive power and attorneys who advocate for broad use of clemency criticized what they call an effort by Mueller's team to tie the president's hands." --safari

Tom Winter & Adiel Kaplan of NBC News: "Federal prosecutors have asked a judge to set a late November sentencing date for ... Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, according to a court document filed Monday by federal prosecutors. In a joint filing to the court, special counsel Robert Mueller's team and Flynn's attorneys requested that sentencing be set for November 28, or any of the following seven business days after that date. Flynn pleaded guilty last December to lying to the FBI about his communications with Russian officials and agreed to cooperate in the special counsel's investigation."

David Lynch & Damian Paletta of the Washington Post: "President Trump threw his biggest punch yet at China, imposing tariffs on an additional $200 billion worth of Chinese imports and gambling that American consumers are willing to pay more for popular products to wring trade concessions from Beijing. With Monday's announcement, roughly half of the $505 billion in goods that Americans buy annually from Chinese firms will face new import levies. Unlike the $50 billion in Chinese products that Trump hit in the first tariff wave in July -- which fell mainly on industrial goods -- Monday's action will affect consumer products such as air conditioners, spark plugs, furniture and lamps. Starting Sept. 24, American importers will pay an extra 10 percent tariff for the affected items, rising to 25 percent at the end of the year, according to senior administration officials, who briefed reporters on the condition that they not be identified by name. China has vowed to retaliate for the latest U.S. tariffs with new import taxes on $60 billion in American products. If that happens, the president said he would immediately begin the process of approving tariffs on a further $267 billion in Chinese imports — effectively taxing everything Americans buy from China." ...

... Stuart Leavenworth of McClatchy DC: "The tariffs President Trump has slapped on imports from foreign countries -- including duties on $200 billion of Chinese goods announced Monday -- are almost certain to raise costs on homeowners in the Carolinas hoping to rebuild and refurnish after Hurricane Florence. While prices naturally rise after a natural disaster, given the spike in demand for building materials, Trump's trade war has already boosted costs for imported plywood and lumber, which jumped 30 percent in the six months after the Trump administration announced tariffs on Canadian softwood timber in December." --safari

Julie Davis: "President Trump plans to cap the number of refugees that can be resettled in the United States next year at 30,000, his administration announced on Monday, further cutting an already drastically scaled-back program that offers protection to foreigners fleeing violence and persecution.... The number represents the lowest ceiling a president has placed on the refugee program since its creation in 1980, and a reduction of a third from the 45,000-person limit that Mr. Trump set for 2018.... It is ... the culmination of a quiet but successful effort by Stephen Miller, the president's senior policy adviser, to severely restrict the number of refugees offered protection inside the country."

Rebekah Entralago of ThinkProgress: "Some undocumented immigrants living in the United States have received fake documents, ordering them to arrive at the courthouse at midnight, on weekends, or on dates that don't exist, such as September 31, according to a report by The Dallas Morning News.... According to the Morning News, reports of fake court dates have sprung up in Los Angeles, San Diego, Chicago, Atlanta, and Miami. Neither the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, nor the Justice Department have offered a clear explanation for why undocumented immigrants are being handed fake court dates." --safari

Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "In a rare moment of bipartisanship, the Senate overwhelmingly passed on Monday evening a sweeping package of bills aimed at addressing the nation's deadly opioid epidemic. The vote was 99 to 1 with only Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) dissenting.... The House passed a similar measure in June, and the two chambers will need to negotiate a few differences before sending the package to Trump's desk."

Election 2018

New York. Shane Goldmacher & Lisa W. Foderaro of the New York Times: "Representative Chris Collins, the New York Republican indicted on insider trading charges last month, reversed course on Monday and planned to announce he would seek another term, according to two Republicans familiar with his plans. Mr. Collins opted to stay on the ballot on the advice of lawyers who said his removal -- a Byzantine procedure governed by New York's complex election laws -- would most likely face a Democratic lawsuit, and would muddle the election for his replacement, ultimately leaving the Western New York seat vulnerable to Democrats, according to one of the Republicans." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)"

E.A. Crunden of ThinkProgress: "A second breach was reported at a coal ash landfill site in North Carolina on Monday according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the latest impact from Hurricane Florence's heavy rains. That update comes amid a state of emergency declared at a nuclear power plant overseen by the landfill's operator, Duke Energy, as the extent of the damage from Florence — now a tropical depression — slowly becomes apparent.... Coal ash ... landfill sites can contain toxic mercury, arsenic and lead, among others, and pose a danger to human health as well as the environment. The initial breach over the weekend spilled roughly 2,000 cubic yards of coal ash...." --safari

Way Beyond the Beltway

AFP: "Germany has rolled out the world's first hydrogen-powered train, signalling the start of a push to challenge the might of polluting diesel trains with costlier but more eco-friendly technology. Two bright blue Coradia iLint trains, built by French TGV-maker Alstom, on Monday began running a 62 mile (100km) route...in northern Germany -- a stretch normally plied by diesel trains.... Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen, a process that leaves steam and water as the only emissions. Excess energy is stored in ion lithium batteries on board the train. The Coradia iLint trains can run for about 600 miles (1,000km) on a single tank of hydrogen, similar to the range of diesel trains." --safari

New Lede

Weather Channel: "Hurricane Florence, now a post-tropical cyclone, began its second week of impacts Monday with much of the same -- flooding that cut off entire towns, water rescues in parts of the Carolinas that have been inundated, and more death. The storm is responsible for at least 32 deaths -- 25 in North Carolina, six in South Carolina, and one in Virginia when a building collapsed during a tornado near Richmond on Monday afternoon." ...

... The Weather Channel has numerous Florence-related stories linked on its front page.