The Commentariat -- December 6, 2017

Afternoon Update:

Heather Caygle of Politico: "A former Democratic congressional aide said Al Franken tried to forcibly kiss her after a taping of his radio show in 2006, three years before he became a U.S. senator. The aide, whose name Politico is withholding..., said Franken (D-Minn.) pursued her after her boss had left the studio. She said she was gathering her belongings to follow her boss out of the room. When she turned around, Franken was in her face. The former staffer ducked to avoid Franken's lips. As she hastily left the room, she said, Franken told her: 'It's my right as an entertainer.'... Franken, who has been accused by six other women of groping or trying to forcibly kiss them, denied the accusation." ...

... Elana Schor & Seung Min Kim of Politico: "A half-dozen female senators on Wednesday called on Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) to resign in the wake of multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand was the first of Franken's fellow Senate Democrats to take that step and was quickly followed by Democratic Sens. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Patty Murray of Washington and Kamala Harris of California." ...

... Lindsey Bever & Abby Ohlheiser of the Washington Post: "Time magazine has named 'The Silence Breakers' as its 2017 Person of the Year, recognizing the women (and some men) who came forward with stories of sexual harassment and assault and helped force a nationwide reckoning. The magazine calls them 'the voices that launched a movement.' Among them Ashley Judd and Rose McGowan, the actresses whose stunning accusations against movie mogul Harvey Weinstein helped lead to his downfall; and activist Tarana Burke, creator of the #MeToo movement, along with the Hollywood star who amplified it on social media, Alyssa Milano." ...

... Here's the Time cover story. ...

... Abettor of the Year. Julia Manchester of the Hill: "White House counselor Kellyanne Conway defended President Trump's endorsement of Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore on Wednesday.... 'The president has tremendous moral standards. He has said, the White House has said the allegations are troubling,' Conway told CNN's Chris Cuomo on 'New Day,' after Cuomo said 'the president seems to have no moral standard at play.'" ...

... Lachlan Markay & Asawin Suebsaeng of the Daily Beast: "... Donald Trump has privately told confidants over the past week that he firmly believes Roy Moore's innocence and feels no hesitation at all about endorsing the embattled Alabama Senate candidate, three sources close to the president tell The Daily Beast." ...

Kelly Weill & Katie Zavadski of the Daily Beast: "Harvey Weinstein and the Weinstein Company are the subjects of a new class-action lawsuit in federal court that accuses them of a pattern of racketeering to cover up Weinstein's alleged serial sexual assaults. The plaintiffs, six women, seek to be certified as a class to sue on grounds of racketeering, civil battery, assault, and intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress. All six women say Weinstein sexually assaulted them when they auditioned for him or met him at a company-sponsored events."

Pope Pops Trump. Philip Pullella of Reuters: "Pope Francis, speaking hours before ... Donald Trump's announcement on Jerusalem, called on Wednesday for the city's 'status quo' to be respected, saying new tension in the Middle East would further inflame world conflicts."

*****

Mark Landler & David Halbfinger of the New York Times: "President Trump told Israeli and Arab leaders on Tuesday that he plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a symbolically fraught move that would upend decades of American policy and upset efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Trump is expected to announce his decision on Wednesday, two days after the expiration of a deadline for him to decide whether to keep the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Palestinian officials said Mr. Trump told the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, that the United States would move the embassy to Jerusalem. Jordan said the president gave a similar message to King Abdullah II. American officials, however, said such a move could not occur immediately for logistical reasons.... As a result, Mr. Trump is expected to sign a national security waiver that would authorize the administration to keep it in Tel Aviv for an additional six months. Still, Mr. Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital -- and to set in motion an embassy move -- is his riskiest foray yet into the thicket of Middle East diplomacy." (Also linked yesterday afternoon. The story has been updated.) ...

... Nick Wadhams, et al., of Bloomberg: "... in a sign the announcement could be more symbolic than substantive, the White House warned that any actual move would take years and that the specific boundaries of Israeli sovereignty over Jerusalem are still subject to peace talks that have bedeviled U.S. presidents for decades." ...

... Sarah Wildman of Vox: "The administration's planned announcement is already sparking fury across the Arab world. A spokeswoman for [Palestinian President Mahmoud] Abbas's office issued a statement early Tuesday warning of 'dangerous consequences' if Trump moves forward with plans to eventually move the embassy. King Abdullah [of Jordan] was equally critical, saying in a statement that the White House shift on Jerusalem 'will undermine the efforts of the American administration to resume the peace process.' Right-wing Israeli leaders, by contrast, didn't try to disguise their happiness."

... Yanqui Go Home. Gardiner Harris of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson's reception in Brussels was distinctly chilly, as disappointment among European diplomats in President Trump's nationalistic tone and insulting messages on Twitter built into quiet fury on the eve of an expected announcement that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Such a move could infuriate the Palestinians, who want East Jerusalem to be their capital in a future Palestinian state. In a brief public appearance beside Mr. Tillerson, Federica Mogherini, the European Union's top diplomat ... made clear that the European Union saw the Trump administration's possible announcement on Jerusalem as a threat to peace in the Middle East.... Ms. Mogherini also warned the United States not to walk away from the Iran nuclear deal, something President Trump has said he may do.... Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel of Germany declared at a foreign policy conference in Berlin that relations with the United States 'will never be the same' and said that the Trump administration increasingly viewed Europe as a 'competitor or economic rival' rather than an ally. On Monday, President Emmanuel Macron of France warned Mr. Trump in a phone call that recognizing Jerusalem as the capital of Israel was a bad idea, joining leaders from Jordan, Egypt, Turkey and the Arab League in speaking out publicly against the move." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: In less than a year, Donald Trump has alienated all our allies & foes alike. We are now a second-tier nation -- the Turkey of North America. That's quite a feat. Was that the plan all along? It looks that way; that is, Trump's desire for an alliance with Russia was just one leg of a plan to make the U.S. & Russia, along with some other authoritarian nations (like Turkey) a new "Axis of Evil."

The Russia Scandal, Ctd.

Steven Arons of Bloomberg: "Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on ... Donald Trump's business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens. Mueller issued a subpoena to Germany's largest lender several weeks ago, forcing the bank to submit documents on its relationship with Trump and his family, according to a person briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified because the action has not been announced.... Deutsche Bank for months has rebuffed calls by Democratic lawmakers to provide more transparency over the roughly $300 million Trump owed to the bank for his real estate dealings prior to becoming president. Representative Maxine Waters of California and other Democrats have asked whether the bank's loans to Trump, made years before he ran for president, were in any way connected to Russia. The bank previously rejected those demands.... Handelsblatt reported the subpoena earlier on Tuesday." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Josh Marshall: "This is a critical development. As we've discussed before..., all major banks have for years refused to do business with Donald Trump. The exception is Deutsche Bank, which is of course not a US bank but does substantial business in the US and is on the scale of other big banks that have refused to do business with the now President. Why Deutsche Bank still works with Trump (they financed most of the DC Trump hotel project, for instance) is a basic question running through the Russia story.... Lots of Russian money goes through Deutsche Bank and indeed the bank has been repeatedly fined for Russian money laundering. The Deutsche Bank subpoena is certainly about probing the President's financial ties to Russia.... This is the kind of move Trump has suggested might provoke him to fire Mueller." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Stephen Collinson of CNN: "... Donald Trump's legal defense against Robert Mueller's unrelenting special counsel investigation is beginning to look as chaotic as his early days in the White House. A sequence of reflexive tweets and comments about the Russia probe from the White House and Trump's legal team has spectacularly backfired, suggesting that the administration was knocked off balance by news of Michael Flynn's plea deal and raising questions about whether its struggles reflect a deteriorating legal position for the President." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Don't Tell Mikey? Elizabeth Landers, et al., of CNN: "New revelations about Michael Flynn's lies to the FBI are laying bare Vice President Mike Pence's in-the-dark strategy when it comes to Russia's election meddling, raising new questions about whether he could have been left in the dark as he has argued for nearly a year.... Pence -- who was in charge of Trump's transition -- knew Flynn had contacted Russia, but was left unaware of the sanctions discussion, according to transition officials.... In the days since Flynn's guilty plea was unveiled last week, seven people close to the vice president continue to maintain that Pence did not know Flynn spoke with Kislyak about Russian sanctions, despite being the head of the Trump transition. But among top transition officials, Pence would have been largely alone in his lack of knowledge." ...

... Ken Dilanian &Natasha Lebedeva of NBC News: "Donald Trump Jr. asked a Russian lawyer at the June 2016 Trump Tower meeting whether she had evidence of illegal donations to the Clinton Foundation, the lawyer told the Senate Judiciary Committee in answers to written questions obtained exclusively by NBC News. The lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, told the committee that she didn't have any such evidence, and that she believes Trump misunderstood the nature of the meeting after receiving emails from a music promoter promising incriminating information on Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump's Democratic opponent. Once it became apparent that she did not have meaningful information about Clinton, Trump seemed to lose interest, Veselnitskaya said, and the meeting petered out.... Veselnitskaya said there was no discussion at the Trump Tower meeting of hacked or leaked emails, social media campaigns or any of the other main aspects of Russian interference in the U.S. election." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: It is illegal in the U.S. for a campaign to accept "something of value" from a foreign entity or person. I don't know if it's illegal to request something of value which you don't receive. But of course Junior anticipated obtaining something of value. He set up the meeting & invited Kushner & Manafort because "On June 3, [Rob] Goldstone wrote ... that 'the Crown prosecutor of Russia ... offered to provide the Trump campaign with some official documents and information that would incriminate Hillary and her dealings with Russia and would be very useful to your father.'" ...

... Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "Robert Mueller may not be through with Rick Gates, a deputy Trump campaign aide and one of the four people who have been charged as part of the special counsel probe into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. In a court appearance Monday in Manhattan, Gates' attorney Walter Mack said that federal prosecutors have told him that more charges, called superseding indictments, may be coming."

AND More Sad! News for Trumpelthinskin. Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "No tweets by President Trump made Twitter's list of the year's most retweeted posts. But three tweets by former President Barack Obama made the list. Obama'stweets on 'The 9 Most Retweeted Tweets of 2017' include one with a Nelson Mandela quote that says: 'No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion.' The tweet received 1.7 million retweets and 4.6 million likes." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

** Consumer Fiancial Protection Bureau. Jessica Silver-Greenberg & Stacy Cowley of the New York Times: "The defanging of a federal consumer watchdog agency began last week in a federal courthouse in San Francisco. After a nearly three-year legal skirmish, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau appeared to have been victorious. A judge agreed in September with the bureau that a financial company had misled more than 100,000 mortgage customers. As punishment, the judge ordered the Ohio company, Nationwide Biweekly Administration, to pay nearly $8 million in penalties. All that was left was to collect the cash. Last week, lawyers from the consumer bureau filed an 11-page brief asking the judge to force Nationwide to post an $8 million bond while the proceedings wrapped up. Then Mick Mulvaney was named the consumer bureau's acting director. Barely 48 hours later, the same lawyers filed a new two-sentence brief. Their request: to withdraw their earlier submission and no longer take a position on whether Nationwide should put up the cash."

Noah Bierman of the Los Angeles Times: "The White House press briefing reached an ignominious milestone this week when a spokesman stood before reporters aboard Air Force One, read a series of prepared statements, then refused to take on-the-record questions during one of the newsiest days of the Trump presidency. The briefing for decades has been a mix of spin and information. But under President Trump, a practice established to keep the public informed and the president accountable has increasingly failed to do either, according to academic experts and current and former journalists." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: What if Mrs. Huckleberry gave a "briefing" & nobody showed up? I don't see why reporters waste their time unless it's to get a surreal quote for their papers. This is worse than it was back in the day when Stephen Colbert said, "The President makes decisions. He's the decider. The press secretary announces those decisions, and you people of the press type those decisions down. Make, announce, type. Just put 'em through a spell check and go home." Now they have to add, "But Democrats say that isn't true." I don't know if April Ryan ever got her fake "homemade" pecan pie from Mrs. H., but I do know the White House didn't invite her to its Christmas party for the press. Ryan has been on the guest list for a couple of decades.

Ron Nixon of the New York Times: "The Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm Kirstjen Nielsen as the secretary of homeland security, elevating a top White House aide and former agency official to oversee the department central to President Trump's plan to crack down on illegal immigration and beef up border security. The vote was 62 to 37."

This is gonna cost me a fortune. -- Donald Trump, at a speech in Missouri, November 29 ...

... Patricia Cohen & Jesse Drucker of the New York Times: The biggest winners in the Republican Tax Sweepstakes? -- the Trump & Kushner family businesses. "Most businesses were hit with new limits on deductions for interest payments, but not real estate.... The real estate industry ended up with an even more generous depreciation timetable, allowing owners to shelter more income. And in a break from previous practice, rental and mortgage-interest income qualifies for a lower tax rate, the kind of special treatment traditionally reserved for long-term capital gains and certain qualified dividends." ...

     ... The Trump Cabal. Mrs. McCrabbie: The most troubling part about this is not that Trump & family get a bigger tax break than other types of corporations -- it's that this is more evidence that nearly the entire Republican party has joined a corrupt scheme to enrich its titular leader. There is no chance they will impeach & convict Trump for anything. They are intentional enablers of & participants in an American coup -- the first in our history. ...

... Brian Faler of Politico: "Republicans' tax-rewrite plans are riddled with bugs, loopholes and other potential problems that could plague lawmakers long after their legislation is signed into law. Some of the provisions could be easily gamed, tax lawyers say. Their plans to cut taxes on 'pass-through' businesses in particular could open broad avenues for tax avoidance. Others would have unintended results, like a last-minute decision by the Senate to keep the alternative minimum tax, which was designed to make sure wealthy people and corporations don't escape taxes altogether. For many businesses, that would nullify the value of a hugely popular break for research and development expenses. Some provisions are so vaguely written they leave experts scratching their heads, like a proposal to begin taxing the investment earnings of rich private universities' endowments. The legislation H.R. 1 (115) doesn't explain what's considered an endowment...." ...

We Believe the Women. But So What? Jonathan Martin & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump's sudden decision on Monday to endorse Roy S. Moore and direct the Republican National Committee to restore funding for the embattled Senate candidate in Alabama undercut party officials who have disavowed him. On Tuesday, Senate leaders appeared dismayed about -- but also resigned to -- being linked to Mr. Moore's candidacy.... Mr. Trump's improvisational, and often impulsive, political decision making has become ... routine.... Senator Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky and the majority leader, conceded that he could not stop Mr. Moore, a former state judge, from being seated if he won the special election next Tuesday. But in an illustration of how uneasy Senate Republicans are about Mr. Moore joining their ranks, Mr. McConnell pointedly said that if Mr. Moore was elected, 'he would immediately have an issue with the Ethics Committee.'" ...

... Kevin Drum: "This is the most depraved conduct possible from the Republican Party.... They publicly accepted that the charges against Moore were credible. They agreed that this made him unfit for office. But then, when it looked like he might win, they turned around and decided to support him anyway." ...

... The Party of Gross Old Pervs. Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "One can criticize the unapologetic manner in which [Conyers] left and the cheesy effort to install his son, but the important point is that the Democratic Party forced him out.... The contrast with the GOP, which stood behind President Trump even after the 'Access Hollywood' tape and now has thrown its full support behind an accused child molester, could not be greater -- or more toxic -- for the GOP. To be blunt, one party has adopted a zero-tolerance position (with Sen. Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, set to go before the ethics committee) and another party opens its arms to people it believes are miscreants." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Gabby Morrongiello, et al., of the Washington Examiner: "Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore's account of when he began dating his wife Kayla would place the start of their courtship before her divorce from her first husband, according to court documents.... Divorce records ... show that Kayla, however, had not yet even filed for divorce from her first husband, John Charles Heald, by the time she caught Moore's attention at [a] Christmas gathering [in December 1984]. In fact, Kayla and Heald had only just separated on Dec. 1, 1984, two weeks before her and Moore's serendipitous introduction." Mrs. McC: Moore had first become interested in Kayla when he saw her performing at a dance recital when she was 15 or 16 years old. ...

... Seung Min Kim & Kevin Robillard of Politico: "Senate Republicans are still trying to keep their distance from Roy Moore, creating a fresh break with ... Donald Trump and the Republican National Committee, which have re-embraced Moore less than a week before a key special Senate election despite accusations of child molestation against the Alabama Republican. Both the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC controlled by allies of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said they plan on staying out of the contest. Several Republican senators furiously protested the RNC's decision on Tuesday." Mrs. McC: I'm not convinced. They're trying to have their cake & eat it, too. ...

... Nolan McCaskill of Politico: "Sen. Jeff Flake [R-Az.] tweeted an image of a completed check for $100 for [Democrat Doug] Jones' Senate campaign.... The check to Jones' campaign ... is for 'Country over Party,' Flake wrote on Twitter." Mrs. McC: Very nice. You didn't put country over party when you voted for the Tax Heist. You could have sent that $100 to Medlar & me -- or to any other taxpayers who are going to be paying a lot more than $100 in new taxes, thanks to your vote on the bill. There are no Republican heroes. There are grandstanding hypocrites, tho.

Elise Viebeck & Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) resigned as Congress's longest-serving member on Tuesday, becoming the first lawmaker to step down as Capitol Hill grapples with allegations of inappropriate behavior by lawmakers. Conyers, who represented the Detroit area for 52 years, yielded to mounting pressure from Democratic leaders to step aside as a growing number of female former aides accused him of unwanted advances and mistreatment. He has denied wrongdoing. From a hospital in Detroit, the 88-year-old congressman said he was 'putting his retirement plans together' and endorsed his son John Conyers III to replace him. Another Conyers family member has already declared his intention to run for the seat, raising the specter of an intrafamily contest.... Now that Conyers has resigned, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) will call a special election to replace him." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

Megan Twohey, et al., of the New York Times: "Harvey Weinstein built his complicity machine out of the witting, the unwitting and those in between. He commanded enablers, silencers and spies, warning others who discovered his secrets to say nothing. He courted those who could provide the money or prestige to enhance his reputation as well as his power to intimidate. In the weeks and months before allegations of his methodical abuse of women were exposed in October, Mr. Weinstein, the Hollywood producer, pulled on all the levers of his carefully constructed apparatus." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: In the end, Weinstein is just a fat, pathetic mogul who filled his hollow soul with shit. Citizen Kane without Rosebud.

When have we ever given protection to a food? -- Justice Sonia Sotomayor, oral arguments, Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, December 5 ...

... Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who almost certainly holds the crucial vote in the case of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, sent sharply contradictory messages when it was argued Tuesday at the Supreme Court.... The case, which pits claims of religious freedom against the fight for gay rights, has attracted extraordinary public attention and about 100 friend-of-the-court briefs.... Tuesday's argument, which lasted almost 90 minutes instead of the usual hour, appeared to divide the justices along the usual lines." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Dana Milbank: "Piece of cake: If you can't do it to racial and religious minorities, women and the disabled, you shouldn't be able to do it to gay people." ...

... BUT Amy Howe of ScotusBlog, a disinterested & acute observer, sees the vote going 5-4 for the bigoted baker. ...

... Jeff Toobin of the New Yorker seems to agree with Howe: "The briefs in the case were full of testimonials about the artistic qualities of icing, and the argument veered at times into the metaphysical. (Does a four-year-old's cake say 'happy birthday' from the baker, or from the kid's mom?) But the message in the courtroom was, in the end, deeply sombre. Discrimination against gay people (and others) is clearly fine with the Trump Administration, and, in this case, it may be fine with the Supreme Court, as well." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is another of those cases that invites an easy fix: Congress (ha ha) could pass a law and the presidunce* could sign it (ha ha) protecting LGBT persons in the same way minorities & women are legally (if not actually) protected under civil rights laws. Of course, Colorado has such a law, but state laws can't override the U.S. Constitution. The bigoted baker is claiming a First Amendment right to free speech, arguing that baking a cake is "speech," just the way confederates think money is speech.

Unsolved Mystery. Josh Lederman of the AP: "Doctors treating the U.S. Embassy victims of mysterious, invisible attacks in Cuba have discovered brain abnormalities as they search for clues to explain the hearing, vision, balance and memory damage, The Associated Press has learned. It[s the most specific finding to date about physical damage, showing that whatever it was that harmed the Americans, it led to perceptible changes in their brains. The finding is also one of several factors fueling growing skepticism that some kind of sonic weapon was involved.... Acoustic waves have never been shown to alter the brain's white matter tracts, said Elisa Konofagou, a biomedical engineering professor at Columbia University who is not involved in the government's investigation."

David Faber of CNBC: "Disney and Twenty-First Century Fox are closing in on a deal, and it could come as soon as next week, according to sources familiar with the matter. CNBC has been reporting that Disney has held talks with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company to acquire its studio and television production assets, leaving Fox with its news and sports assets. Fox is also talking with CNBC parent company Comcast, but the talks with Disney have progressed more significantly. The deal contemplates the sale of Fox's Nat Geo, Star, regional sports networks, movie studios and stakes in Sky and Hulu, among other properties. What would remain at Fox includes its news and business news divisions, broadcast network and Fox sports." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Oh, crap. And here I was hoping that Hannity & Dobbs would have to appear on-air in Mickey Mouse costumes.

Medlar's Sports Report. Rebecca Ruiz & Tariq Panja of the New York Times: "Russia's Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country's government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound. Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals. That was the punishment issued Tuesday to the proud sports juggernaut that has long used the Olympics as a show of global force but was exposed for systematic doping in previously unfathomable ways. The International Olympic Committee, after completing its own prolonged investigations that reiterated what had been known for more than a year, handed Russia penalties for doping so severe they were without precedent in Olympics history." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

News Ledes

Los Angeles Times: "Several homes were destroyed in Bel-Air on Wednesday as a wind-driven wildfire triggered mandatory evacuations in one of Los Angeles' most exclusive neighborhoods. The fire prompted evacuations in a large swath of the hillside enclave, which taken with other fires around the region added to a total of more than 100,000 people forced from their homes." ...

... Los Angeles Times: "A series of Santa Ana wind-driven wildfires burned out of control in Southern California on Tuesday, destroying at least 180 structures, forcing thousands to flee and smothering the region with smoke in what officials predicted would be a pitched battle for days. In Ventura, flames consumed dozens of stucco-and-tile homes along tidy streets and cul-de-sacs. Propane tanks exploded and fan palms became ragged torches lofting fiery debris hundreds of yards."

The Commentariat -- December 5, 2017

Afternoon Update:

Medlar's Sports Report. Rebecca Ruiz & Tariq Panja of the New York Times: "Russia's Olympic team has been barred from the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea. The country's government officials are forbidden to attend, its flag will not be displayed at the opening ceremony and its anthem will not sound. Any athletes from Russia who receive special dispensation to compete will do so as individuals wearing a neutral uniform, and the official record books will forever show that Russia won zero medals. That was the punishment issued Tuesday to the proud sports juggernaut that has long used the Olympics as a show of global force but was exposed for systematic doping in previously unfathomable ways. The International Olympic Committee, after completing its own prolonged investigations that reiterated what had been known for more than a year, handed Russia penalties for doping so severe they were without precedent in Olympics history."

More Sad! News for Trumpelthinskin. Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "No tweets by President Trump made Twitter's list of the year's most retweeted posts. But three tweets by former President Barack Obama made the list. Obama's tweets on 'The 9 Most Retweeted Tweets of 2017' include one with a Nelson Mandela quote that says: 'No one is born hating another person because of the color of his skin or his background or his religion.' The tweet received 1.7 million retweets and 4.6 million likes."

Mark Landler & David Halbfinger of the New York Times: "President Trump told Israeli and Arab leaders on Tuesday that he plans to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, a symbolically fraught move that would upend decades of American policy and upset efforts to broker peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Mr. Trump is expected to announce his decision on Wednesday, two days after the expiration of a deadline for him to decide whether to keep the American Embassy in Tel Aviv. Palestinian officials said Mr. Trump told the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, that the United States would move the embassy to Jerusalem. Jordan said the president gave a similar message to King Abdullah II. American officials, however, said such a move could not occur immediately for logistical reasons.... Mr. Trump is expected to sign a national security waiver that would authorize the administration to keep it in Tel Aviv for an additional six months. Still, Mr. Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital -- and to set in motion an embassy move -- is his riskiest foray yet into the thicket of Middle East diplomacy."

Steven Arons of Bloomberg: "Special prosecutor Robert Mueller zeroed in on ... Donald Trump's business dealings with Deutsche Bank AG as his investigation into alleged Russian meddling in U.S. elections widens. Mueller issued a subpoena to Germany's largest lender several weeks ago, forcing the bank to submit documents on its relationship with Trump and his family, according to a person briefed on the matter, who asked not to be identified because the action has not been announced.... Deutsche Bank for months has rebuffed calls by Democratic lawmakers to provide more transparency over the roughly $300 million Trump owed to the bank for his real estate dealings prior to becoming president. Representative Maxine Waters of California and other Democrats have asked whether the bank's loans to Trump, made years before he ran for president, were in any way connected to Russia. The bank previously rejected those demands.... Handelsblatt reported the subpoena earlier on Tuesday." ...

... Josh Marshall: "This is a critical development. As we've discussed before..., all major banks have for years refused to do business with Donald Trump. The exception is Deutsche Bank, which is of course not a US bank but does substantial business in the US and is on the scale of other big banks that have refused to do business with the now President. Why Deutsche Bank still works with Trump (they financed most of the DC Trump hotel project, for instance) is a basic question running through the Russia story.... Lots of Russian money goes through Deutsche Bank and indeed the bank has been repeatedly fined for Russian money laundering. The Deutsche Bank subpoena is certainly about probing the President's financial ties to Russia.... This is the kind of move Trump has suggested might provoke him to fire Mueller." ...

... Stephen Collinson of CNN: "... Donald Trump's legal defense against Robert Mueller's unrelenting special counsel investigation is beginning to look as chaotic as his early days in the White House. A sequence of reflexive tweets and comments about the Russia probe from the White House and Trump's legal team has spectacularly backfired, suggesting that the administration was knocked off balance by news of Michael Flynn's plea deal and raising questions about whether its struggles reflect a deteriorating legal position for the President."

Elise Viebeck & Dave Weigel of the Washington Post: "Facing multiple allegations of sexual harassment, Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) resigned as Congress's longest-serving member on Tuesday, becoming the first lawmaker to step down as Capitol Hill grapples with allegations of inappropriate behavior by lawmakers. Conyers, who represented the Detroit area for 52 years, yielded to mounting pressure from Democratic leaders ... as a growing number of female former aides accused him of unwanted advances and mistreatment. He has denied wrongdoing. From a hospital in Detroit, the 88-year-old congressman said he was 'putting his retirement plans together' and endorsed his son John Conyers III to replace him. Another Conyers family member has already declared his intention to run for the seat, raising the specter of an intrafamily contest.... Now that Conyers has resigned, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder (R) will call a special election to replace him." ...

... The Party of Gross Old Pervs. Conservative columnist Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post: "One can criticize the unapologetic manner in which [Conyers] left and the cheesy effort to install his son, but the important point is that the Democratic Party forced him out.... The contrast with the GOP, which stood behind President Trump even after the 'Access Hollywood' tape and now has thrown its full support behind an accused child molester, could not be greater -- or more toxic -- for the GOP. To be blunt, one party has adopted a zero-tolerance position (with Sen. Al Franken, Democrat of Minnesota, set to go before the ethics committee) and another party opens its arms to people it believes are miscreants."

When have we ever given protection to a food? -- Justice Sonia Sotomayor, oral arguments, Masterpiece Cake Shop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, December 5 ...

... Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, who almost certainly holds the crucial vote in the case of a Colorado baker who refused to make a wedding cake for a gay couple, sent sharply contradictory messages when it was argued Tuesday at the Supreme Court.... The case, which pits claims of religious freedom against the fight for gay rights, has attracted extraordinary public attention and about 100 friend-of-the-court briefs.... Tuesday's argument, which lasted almost 90 minutes instead of the usual hour, appeared to divide the justices along the usual lines."

David Faber of CNBC: "Disney and Twenty-First Century Fox are closing in on a deal, and it could come as soon as next week, according to sources familiar with the matter. CNBC has been reporting that Disney has held talks with the Rupert Murdoch-controlled media company to acquire its studio and television production assets, leaving Fox with its news and sports assets. Fox is also talking with CNBC parent company Comcast, but the talks with Disney have progressed more significantly. The deal contemplates the sale of Fox's Nat Geo, Star, regional sports networks, movie studios and stakes in Sky and Hulu, among other properties. What would remain at Fox includes its news and business news divisions, broadcast network and Fox sports." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Oh, crap. And here I was hoping that Hannity & Dobbs would have to appear on-air in Mickey Mouse costumes.

*****

NEW. Nick Miroff of the Washington Post: "The number people caught trying to sneak over the border from Mexico has fallen to the lowest level in 46 years, according to Homeland Security statistics released Tuesday that offer the first comprehensive look at how immigration enforcement is changing under the Trump administration. During the government's 2017 fiscal year, which ended Sept. 30, U.S. border agents made 310,531 arrests, a decline of 24 percent from the previous year and the fewest overall since 1971. The figures show a sharp drop in arrests immediately following President Trump's election win, possibly reflecting the deterrent effect of his rhetoric on would-be border crossers, though starting in May the number of people taken into custody began increasing again. Arrests of foreigners living illegally in the United States surged under Trump. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers made 110,568 arrests between Trump's inauguration and the end of September, according to the figures published Tuesday, a 42 percent increase over the same period during the previous year."

Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: "President Trump said he would dramatically reduce the size of a vast expanse of protected federal land in Utah on Monday, a rollback of some two million acres that is the largest in scale in the nation's history. The administration said it would shrink Bears Ears National Monument, a sprawling region of red rock canyons, by about 85 percent, and cut another area, Grand Staircase-Escalante, to about half its current size. The move, a reversal of protections put in place by Democratic predecessors, comes as the administration pushes for fewer restrictions and more development on public lands." ...

     ... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Although Trump's main goal in shrinking the monuments is to help his mining/robber baron friends, I suspect he's happy with the side benefit: disrespecting Native Americans. Before Trump clipped its ears, Bear Ears contained "some 100,000 objects of archaeological significance, including grave sites, ceremonial grounds, ancient cliff dwellings." Trump said he was shrinking the site because "some of the places in the original monument ... 'are not of significant scientific or historic interest.'" Odd how Trump is all excited about saying "Merry Christmas" but he shows no respect for Native American religious traditions? You might think he privileges one faith over others. Which would be unconstitutional.

The Russia Report

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Monday that he feels 'very badly' for his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, because his false statements to the FBI have 'ruined his life.' Trump, who tweeted over the weekend that he fired Flynn from his White House job because he had lied to the FBI as well as to Vice President Pence, told reporters Monday morning that Flynn's undoing was 'a shame' and 'very unfair.' 'I feel badly for General Flynn,' Trump said on the South Lawn of the White House, as he boarded Marine One ahead of a trip to Utah [Mrs. McC: to destroy a national monument]. 'I feel very badly. He's led a very strong life, and I feel very badly.'... 'I will say this: Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI,' Trump said. 'Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and they destroyed his life. I think it's a shame. Hillary Clinton, on the 4th of July weekend, went to the FBI, not under oath. It was the most incredible thing anyone's ever seen. She lied many times. Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and it's like they ruined his life. It's very unfair.'... White House spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request to substantiate Trump's allegation that she had 'lied many times' to the FBI." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: That might be because there is no evidence to substantiate Trump's allegation, as Jim Comey testified last year. It's just another of those made-up charges that Trump says "people will believe." Not sure if Trump is trying to appeal to Flynn in hopes Flynn will keep some secrets, or if Trump is laying the groundwork for a pardon of Flynn so he no longer has incentive to testify against Trump & others, or both.

Kara Scannell of CNN: "The White House's chief lawyer told ... Donald Trump in January he believed [-- based on his conversations with Acting AG Sally Yates --] then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled the FBI and lied to Vice President Mike Pence and should be fired, a source familiar with the matter said Monday.... Despite McGahn's recommendation that Trump fire Flynn, the retired lieutenant general was kept on. Flynn was forced out in mid-February after news outlets reported about Yates' warning to McGahn." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Greg Sargent: Trump's attorney John "'Dowd is basically arguing that as the chief law enforcement officer, Trump has the authority to block investigations into himself, his allies and into his friends, and nothing he does can be construed as obstruction of justice,' Matthew Miller, a former Justice Department spokesman, told me this morning. 'The logical extension of all this is that Trump can try to remove Mueller and it would be entirely legitimate.'... Trump is amplifying a narrative that his media allies have banged away at in recent weeks, one designed to goad Trump into going full authoritarian. The basic idea is that Mueller and the FBI are themselves corrupt -- Clinton is not being investigated, but Trump's campaign is -- so the only way to set things right is to close down Mueller's probe. If Miller is correct, then Dowd's new quote may telegraph an argument that might be used to justify this, and Trump's vow to bring the FBI 'back to greatness' can also be read as a hint at this possibility.... Multiple GOP lawmakers have said Mueller's probe should be allowed to proceed. But that isn't enough. We should all do our part to ensure that they are pressed on whether Trump will face actual consequences if he tries to prevent that from happening." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "To be clear, this is a Trump lawyer effectively trying to knock down one of two major pillars of the Russia investigation -- to exempt his client completely from being held liable for his actions in (roughly) half the investigation.... [While some lawyers saw some merits in Dowd's argument], [o]thers were blunter, arguing that Dowd's case is bogus and entirely self-serving. Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina's School of Law called it 'absurd.' 'The president is obliged to faithfully execute the law, and that includes in circumstances where he or his friends are involved,' Gerhardt said. 'He must also comply like every citizen is obliged to follow the laws in everything else he does ...." (Also linked yesterday.) ...

... Sean Illing of Vox rounds up more Constitutional scholars who write that, just because the president has the power to do something doesn't mean he has the right to commit a corrupt act. That is, he has the power to fire federal officials who serve at his pleasure, but it is unlawful to fire them for a corrupt purpose -- like, um, protecting himself & his friends. Mrs. McC: As MAG points out in today's thread, Trump has already admitted -- to top Russian officials, no less -- that "Firing 'Nut Job' Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Hey, Even Jeffbo Agrees! Kyle Cheney of Politico: "In 1999, [Jeff] Sessions -- then an Alabama senator -- laid out an impassioned case for President Bill Clinton to be removed from office based on the argument that Clinton obstructed justice amid the investigation into his affair with White House intern Monica Lewinsky. 'The facts are disturbing and compelling on the President's intent to obstruct justice,' he said, according to remarks in the congressional record.... More than 40 current GOP members of Congress voted for the impeachment or removal of Clinton from office for obstruction of justice. They include Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell -- who mounted his own passionate appeal to remove Clinton from office for obstruction of justice -- Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley and Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, who was a House member at the time." ...

... Brian Beutler of Crooked: The press had adopted the White House's defense that "there is no evidence Trump & his campaign colluded with Russia." "This framing gets things almost completely backward: There is more than enough evidence to say definitively that the Trump administration colluded with Russia, and there is every reason to believe the plot encompassed criminal activity, even if that activity remains invisible for now.... After repeatedly communicating to Russia (in public and in private) that they welcomed interference in the election, Trump and his aides cast public doubt on whether the saboteurs were Russians at all. When Trump went on to win the election after benefiting from this interference, members of his inner circle, through Michael Flynn, secretly connived with Russia to subvert the countermeasures the American government had undertaken as penalties for Russia's interference." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... McFarland Caught Lying to Congress. Michael Schmidt & Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "An email sent during the transition by President Trump's former deputy national security adviser, K.T. McFarland, appears to contradict the testimony she gave to Congress over the summer about contacts between the Russian ambassador and Mr. Trump's former national security adviser, Michael T. Flynn. Ms. McFarland had told lawmakers that she did not discuss or know anything about interactions between Sergey I. Kislyak ... and Mr. Flynn, according to Senate documents. After the hearing, Senator Cory Booker, Democrat of New Jersey, asked her in writing: 'Did you ever discuss any of General Flynn's contacts with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak directly with General Flynn?' I am not aware of any of the issues or events as described above,' Ms. McFarland replied.... But emails obtained by The New York Times appear to undermine those statements. In a Dec. 29 message about newly imposed Obama administration sanctions against Russia for its election interference, Ms. McFarland ... told another transition official that Mr. Flynn would be talking to the Russian ambassador that evening." ...

... ** Josh Marshall reprints McFarland's full memo (via Michael Schmidt) & writes a long piece on the Trump administration's plans for a partnership with Russia: "As Mike Isikoff reported back in June, pretty much from day one in office, Trump administration officials began tasking State Department officials with drawing up plans for [a] rapprochement.... This touched off a panicked effort by career officials and Obama administration hold overs to slow down these efforts and warn key leaders on Capitol Hill of what was happening and what was being planned. But the preparation for this effort began immediately after the election, way back on November 9th.... As McFarland clearly understood[, the administration's deal with Russia] had to become a fait accompli before the full story emerged. Indeed, if the Trump Team could get in place before most of the information was revealed it might never become known at all since they would take over the key agencies doing the investigating. The urgency of [Flynn's] reaching out to Kislyak was to make sure a rapprochement was still possible by late January." ...

... Tierney Sneed of TPM: Ben Cardin (Md.), "the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is calling for KT McFarland to 'clarify' testimony she gave the committee on what she knew about former National Security Advisor Mike Flynn's conversations with the Russian ambassador before she receives a floor vote confirming her as an ambassador to Singapore." Mrs. McC: Will Republicans confirm McFarland after she flat-out lied to their faces on a significant matter the Senate was investigating? I just don't think she is going to Singapore, unless it's on a tourist visa. ...

... Josh Marshall: "... the nature of Flynn's calls, specifically that they dealt with sanctions, were known widely among Trump's top advisors: McFarland, Conway, Bannon, Miller, Priebus and certainly others.... This is ... based on the Flynn plea agreement and contemporaneous pool reports which detailed which top advisors the transition team said were with the President on the days in question handling the foreign policy transition.... Trump's top advisors knew the true nature of the calls and repeatedly lied about it to reporters. This is the only plausible read of the the current evidence. They allowed Pence's false statements to stand for weeks, which amounts to a furtherance of those lies.... This was a cover-up, a string of publicly verified deceptions that went back to the beginning of the month." --safari ...

... Looking for an example of Marshall's assertion that the White House had engineered a cover-up? Let's check in with Chris Hayes:

... Paul Manafort Is Dumber Than Dirt. Chris Megerian of the Los Angeles Times: "Paul Manafort ghost-wrote an editorial about his political work in Ukraine, violating a court order, according to a new court filing from the special counsel's office. The allegation was disclosed Monday as the reason the special counsel was backing out of a deal on bail with Manafort's lawyers. The deal would have loosened the terms of house arrest for ...[Manafort]. Manafort wanted to be allowed to travel among a few states in return for agreeing to forfeit $11.6 million in property if he missed a court appearance. The special counsel's office ... said Manafort helped draft the editorial in recent days, working with a Russian who has ties to that country's intelligence services." Mrs. McC: Nothing like pissing off the judge who controls your fate. ...

... Rosalind Helderman & Spencer Hsu of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors asserted Monday that a longtime associate of Paul Manafort, the former chairman of President Trump's campaign, has been 'assessed to have ties' to Russian intelligence -- the first time the special counsel has alleged a Trump official had such contacts. The statement came as prosecutors working for special counsel Robert S. Mueller III withdrew their support for a joint bail deal filed last week that would have released Manafort from home detention and GPS monitoring while he awaits trial on charges including money laundering and fraud." ...

What about mikey? Matthew Nussbaum of Politico: "As the White House contends with questions about who knew about former national security adviser Michael Flynn lying to the FBI, people close to Vice President Mike Pence are trying to make clear that ... Donald Trump's No. 2 knew nothing at all.... Their story has been consistent, even as it has left outside observers wondering how Trump's running mate and transition head could have known so little." ...

... McKay Coppins of the Atlantic profiles mike pence in a long piece titled "God's Plan for Mike Pence." Here's a nice outtake: "Within hours of The Post's ["Access Hollywood"] bombshell, Pence made it clear to the Republican National Committee that he was ready to take Trump's place as the party's nominee.... Republican donors and party leaders began buzzing about making Pence the nominee and drafting Condoleezza Rice as his running mate.... [Mike & Karen Pence were] appalled by the video.... Karen in particular was 'disgusted,' says a former campaign aide. 'She finds him [Trump] reprehensible -- just totally vile.'" ...

... ** Asha Rangappa  in a Hill op-ed, outlines how the Trump transition team crippled U.S. diplomatic power against Russia both before & after the inauguration. "Focusing on whether the Trump campaign and transition team broke the law misses the bigger picture. By secretly sabotaging a measure designed to protect America's sovereignty in the face of a foreign attack, these individuals acted against the interest of the United States and aided our adversary. Now they are the stewards of the country and its institutions. Whatever happens in a court of law, that is what should concern us all." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

... Carrie Johnson of NPR: "President Trump may have been involved with a change to the Republican Party campaign platform last year that watered down support for U.S. assistance to Ukraine, according to new information from someone who was involved. Diana Denman, a Republican delegate who supported arming U.S. allies in Ukraine, has told people that Trump aide J.D. Gordon said at the Republican Convention in 2016 that Trump directed him to support weakening that position in the official platform. Ultimately, the softer position was adopted. Denman is scheduled to meet this week with the House and Senate Intelligence committees to discuss what she saw, said two sources familiar with the briefings.... 'I dispute [Denman's] recollection of events,' [Gordon] said in messages with NPR.... The Obama administration also vowed support for pro-Western forces in Ukraine and supplied them with vehicles and other military equipment, but stopped short of weapons." ...

... Laura Jarrett & Evan Perez of CNN: "A former top counterintelligence expert at the FBI, now at the center of a political uproar for exchanging private messages that appeared to mock ... Donald Trump, changed a key phrase in former FBI Director James Comey's description of how ... Hillary Clinton handled classified information, according to US officials familiar with the matter. Electronic records show Peter Strzok, who led the investigation of Hillary Clinton's private email server as the No. 2 official in the counterintelligence division, changed Comey's earlier draft language describing Clinton's actions as 'grossly negligent' to 'extremely careless,' the source said. The drafting process was a team effort, CNN is told, with a handful of people reviewing the language as edits were made.... The shift ... [in language] reflected a decision by the FBI that could have had potentially significant legal implications, as the federal law governing the mishandling of classified material establishes criminal penalties for 'gross negligence.'" ...

... Adam Goldman & Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Christopher A. Wray, the F.B.I. director, defended his work force in an email on Monday, a day after President Trump said on Twitter that the agency's standing was the 'worst in History' and its reputation was in 'Tatters'. In a message to the F.B.I.'s 35,000 agents and support staff that was provided to The New York Times, Mr. Wray said that he was 'inspired by example after example of professionalism and dedication to justice demonstrated around the bureau. It is truly an honor to represent you.' He did not mention Mr. Trump by name.... A White House spokesman traveling with the president on Monday would not answer questions about the president's tweets." ...

... James Hohmann of the Washington Post: The president of the FBI Agents Association & Jim Comey are defending the agency on Twitter against Trump's tweeted assertions that the FBI is "in tatters" & the new director must "clean house." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

** Matthew Cole & Jeremy Scahill of the Intercept: "The Trump administration is considering a set of proposals developed by Blackwater founder Erik Prince and a retired CIA officer -- with assistance from Oliver North, a key figure in the Iran-Contra scandal -- to provide CIA Director Mike Pompeo and the White House with a global, private spy network that would circumvent official U.S. intelligence agencies, according to several current and former U.S. intelligence officials and others familiar with the proposals. The sources say the plans have been pitched to the White House as a means of countering 'deep state' enemies in the intelligence community seeking to undermine Trump's presidency. The creation of such a program raises the possibility that the effort would be used to create an intelligence apparatus to justify the Trump administration's political agenda.... Some of the individuals involved with the proposals secretly met with major Trump donors asking them to help finance operations.... The White House has also considered creating a new global rendition unit meant to capture terrorist suspects around the world.... According to two former senior intelligence officials, Pompeo has embraced the plan and has lobbied the White House to approve the contract." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: We had better hope that unnamed CIA spokesperson is right, & this is one big left-wing wet dream of a conspiracy theory, because if there's any truth to the notion that Trump plans to establish his own, privately-funded deep state, this country is in even bigger trouble than we knew. ...

... Aram Roston of BuzzFeed reported a similar version of this tale on November 30. Mrs. McC: One of the major companies reputedly involved in the plot works out of -- wait for it -- Whitefish, Montana, that nice little home town of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, neo-Nazi Richard Spencer & other fascists, & the owners of that two-person electrical contracting firm that ripped off Puerto Rico.

Frances Sellers of the Washington Post: "The defamation suit filed in January in New York State Supreme Court by [Summer] Zervos, a short-lived contestant on 'The Apprentice,' has reached a critical point, with oral arguments over Trump's motion to dismiss scheduled for Tuesday, after which the judge is expected to rule on whether the case may move forward. If it proceeds, Zervos's attorneys could gather and make public incidents from Trump's past and Trump could be called to testify.... By turning personal and branding the women [who accused him of sexual trangressions] liars, Trump has perhaps unwittingly played into a cutting-edge strategy in the legal pursuit of sexual misconduct -- claims of defamation.... 'An allegation of defamation against somebody who can seem flamboyantly reckless with the truth may have a higher probability of sticking,' said Naomi Mezey, a law professor at Georgetown University."

Nahal Toosi of Politico: "The State Department has warned American embassies worldwide to heighten security ahead of a possible announcement Wednesday by ... Donald Trump that the U.S. recognizes Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. The warning -- delivered in the past week via two classified cables described by State Department officials -- reflects concern that such an announcement could provoke fury in the Arab world...."

Jim Tankersley of the New York Times: "A Republican requirement that Congress consider the full cost of major legislation threatened to derail the party's $1.5 trillion tax rewrite last week. So lawmakers went on the offensive to discredit the agency performing the analysis. In 2015, Republicans changed the budget rules in Congress so that official scorekeepers would be required to analyze the potential economic impact of major legislation when determining how it would affect federal revenues. But on Thursday, hours before they were set to vote on the largest tax cut Congress has considered in years, Senate Republicans opened an assault on that scorekeeper, the Joint Committee on Taxation, and its analysis, which showed the Senate plan would not, as lawmakers contended, pay for itself but would add $1 trillion to the federal budget deficit. Public statements and messaging documents obtained by The New York Times show a concerted push by Republican lawmakers to discredit a nonpartisan agency they had long praised. Party leaders circulated two pages of 'response points' that declared 'the substance, timing and growth assumptions of J.C.T.'s "dynamic" score are suspect.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is not only the GOP's own rule; it also their own committee. If Democrats take control of either house & propose a bill that the JCT estimated went $12 over the "revenue-neutral" rule, Republicans will be screaming to the hills. The only consistency in Republican philosophy is that rules are for thee but not for me. ...

... The GOP "War on Economics." Jonathan Chait: "After having spent years browbeating the Joint Committee on Taxation into incorporating 'dynamic' models that assume tax cuts bring faster economic growth, [Republicans] ignored reports which found the Republican plan would not produce nearly enough to pay for itself.... The fiscal effects of tax policy is a field of research, like climate science, where the Republican Party has dismissed the academic consensus and instead resided in a fantasy world.... After 2007, the 'Bush Boom' that conservatives had been celebrating as proof of the brilliance of their tax-cutting scheme was revealed as a bubble, which collapsed. Then in 2012, they predicted that the expiration of the Bush tax cuts on high incomes would cause the economy to slow, but instead it accelerated. The intellectual case for supply-side economics grows weaker and weaker. Yet the supply-siders control of the party remains as firm as ever." --safari ...

... **More Morons! Eric Levitz of New York: "While Republicans were manically outlining their plans to take from the poor togive to the Trumps, they also, accidentally, nullified all of their corporate donors' favorite deductions.... This is a big problem. The Senate bill brings the normal corporate rate down to 20 percent -- while leaving the alternative minimum rate at ... 20 percent. The legislation would still allow corporations to claim a wide variety of tax credits and deductions -- it just renders all them completely worthless. Companies can either take no deductions, and pay a 20 percent rate -- or take lots of deductions ... and pay a 20 percent rate. With this blunder, Senate Republicans have achieved the unthinkable: They've written a giant corporate tax cut that many of their corporate donors do not like.... McConnell's mistake has two big implications. First..., it means the Senate will almost certainly have to vote on a tax bill again before [this] one goes into law.... Second..., McConnell is going to need new revenue." --safari ...

... Ian Millhiser of Think Progress: "Appearing on CNBC Monday, Harvard economist and former Obama and Clinton administration official Larry Summers warned that if the Senate tax bill becomes law, about 10,000 people will die every year who otherwise would have lived. If anything, his estimate isn't pessimistic enough.... The reason why is that the bill repeals the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate ... which can cause entire insurance markets to collapse.... The Congressional Budget Office estimates that, if the individual mandate is repealed, 13 million fewer Americans will be insured by 2027.... [E]stimates vary regarding how many people will die if this many people lose their health insurance. One oft-cited study ... looked at how mortality rates declined in Massachusetts after that state enacted Obamacare-like reforms in 2006. It found that 'for every 830 adults gaining insurance coverage there was one fewer death per year.'... That's 15,600 people who will die every year, thanks to the Senate tax bill." --safari ...

... Paul Krugman: "... it's not at all surprising that [Congressional Republicans] were willing to enact a huge tax cut for corporations and the wealthy even though all independent estimates said this would add more than $1 trillion to the national debt. And it was also predictable that they would return to deficit posturing as soon as the deed was done, citing the red ink they themselves produced as a reason to cut social spending. Yet even the most cynical among us are startled both by how quickly the bait-and-switch is proceeding and by the contempt Republicans are showing for the public's intelligence." ...

... The Gilded Age, Ctd. Dylan Scott of Vox: "Here's a grim picture of the state of the American economy: The CEO of Dollar General explained to the Wall Street Journal why things are looking up for his company. Dollar General, with about 14,000 stores across the country and a $22 billion market value, targets customers making $40,000 a year or less. They are expanding, CEO Todd Vasos told the Journal. Why? 'The economy is continuing to create more of our core customer,' Vasos said." --safari: I thought all those irresponsible leeches were wasting their last pennies on booze, women, and movies...? ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Sorry, safari. It turns out those reprobates are buying cheap toothpaste & diapers for the kiddies.

Oh, Did We Mention? ... Thomas Kaplan of the New York Times: "With government funding set to expire at the end of Friday, Republicans are aiming to buy more time so they can negotiate over a long-term spending package. The task is complicated by a feud between President Trump and Democrats, whose votes Republicans need to secure passage, and measures on the politically fraught issues of immigration and the Affordable Care Act." ...

     ... Mrs. McC: Yeah, yeah, the federal government could be kaput by the end of the week, but hey, the IRS promised me a check in the mail & wiped out the bill they sent me last week, so what do I care? Sure, I might miss the next Social Security check, but Medlar was only going to use it to booze around with loose women at the movies. I've got leftover cat food, so I'll just whip up a few casseroles & we'll be fine.

Senate Race

Richard Fausset, et al., of the New York Times: "President Trump on Monday strongly endorsed Roy S. Moore ... prompting the Republican National Committee to restore its support for a candidate accused of sexual misconduct against teenage girls. Mr. Trump's endorsement strengthened what had been his subdued, if symbolically significant, embrace of Mr. Moore's campaign. At Mr. Trump's direct urging, and to the surprise of some Republican Party officials, the national committee, which severed ties to Mr. Moore weeks ago, opened a financial spigot that could help Mr. Moore with voter turnout in the contest's closing days. 'Democrats refusal to give even one vote for massive Tax Cuts is why we need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama,' Mr. Trump posted on Twitter on Monday...." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: The GOP's failure to get a single Democratic vote has nothing whatever to do with the fact that Republicans completely shut out Democrats from their secret meetings & accepted no input whatsoever from them. I should note that when Democrats controlled the government, they took pains to include Republicans in the process. No, both sides don't do it. ...

... The Week: "Moore tweeted the news of the coveted endorsement and quoted the president as saying, "'Go get 'em, Roy!'" Mrs. McC: Oh, he will, Donald. As long as they're very young, female & good-looking.

... Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post: Debbie Wesson Gibson, one of the women who said Roy Moore dated her when she was a teenager, has found in a high-school scrapbook a note Moore wrote her. Moore originally admitted to knowing Wesson Gibson but now to dating her. He later said he did "not know any of these women, did not date any of these women and have not engaged in any sexual misconduct with anyone." She also found a note (which she wrote in her scrapbook that Moore had given her $10 as a graduation gift. "On a page titled 'the best times,' she had written: 'Wednesday night, 3-4-81. Roy S. Moore and I went out for the first time. We went out to eat at Catfish Cabin in Albertville. I had a great time.' She had underlined 'great' twice." Wesson Gibson & her family continued their friendship with Moore for several years.

Yamiche Alcindor of the New York Times: "Representative John Conyers Jr., who faces allegations that he sexually harassed former employees, plans to announce Tuesday that he will not seek re-election, according to a family member.... Mr. Conyers, the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives, will make the announcement by calling into a local radio show on Tuesday morning, Ian Conyers, a Michigan state senator, said in a phone interview early Tuesday. Ian Conyers, 29, the grandson of Mr. Conyers's brother, said he now planned to run for the seat held by his 88-year-old great-uncle, a Democrat who represents the Detroit area." ...

... Todd Spangler of the Detroit Free Press: "Another former staff employee of U.S. Rep. John Conyers, D-Detroit, came forward late Monday to publicly accuse the congressman of sexual harassment, saying he once slid his hand up her skirt in church. Attorney Lisa Bloom, who is representing Marion Brown, the former staffer who first accused Conyers, 88, of sexual harassment, on Monday night made public on Twitter an affidavit from Elisha Grubbs making many of the same accusations. Conyers, who is being called on by many of his Democratic colleagues to resign, is expected to have an announcement about his future at 10:15 a.m. Tuesday in Detroit."

Steven Zeitchik of the Washington Post: "HBO host John Oliver hammered Dustin Hoffman about allegations of sexual harassment and the actor fired back with a ferocious defense, as a seemingly benign screening became an explosive conversation about Hollywood sexual misconduct on Monday night.... [Oliver was hosting] an anniversary screening of the film 'Wag the Dog.' [He alluded] to an allegation made by Anna Graham Hunter last month that Hoffman groped her and made inappropriate comments when she was a 17-year-old intern on the set of the 1985 TV movie 'Death Of A Salesman.'... Approximately halfway through the hour-long talk, Oliver brought up the issue to Hoffman, saying he found the actor's statements about the matter wanting. Nearly the entire rest of the discussion was then dominated by Oliver, Hoffman and the subject of sexual harassment."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court on Monday allowed the third version of the Trump administration's travel ban to go into effect while legal challenges against it continue. The decision was a victory for the administration after its mixed success before the court over the summer, when justices considered and eventually dismissed disputes over the second version. The court's brief, unsigned orders on Monday urged appeals courts to move swiftly to determine whether the latest ban was lawful. Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor said they would have denied the administration's request to allow the latest ban to go into effect."

"Capitalism is Awesome" Ctd. Sarah Kliff of Vox: "There are 141 million visits to the emergency room each year, and nearly all of them ... have a charge for something called a facility fee. This is the price of walking through the door and seeking service. It does not include any care provided.... Most hospitals do not make these fees public.... That's why Vox has launched a year-long investigation into emergency room facility fees.... A new Vox analysis reveals ... the price of these codes has increased sharply since 2009.... We found that the price of these fees rose 89 percent between 2009 and 2015 -- rising twice as fast as the price of outpatient health care, and four times as fast as overall health care spending." --safari

Way Beyond the Beltway

David Filipov of the Washington Post: "Russia on Tuesday named Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and seven affiliated news services as foreign agents, in retaliation for similar U.S. moves against the English-language Russian network RT. The Justice Ministry published a list of nine outlets, which includes Russian-language subsidiaries of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that cover the Caucasus region of Russia, Crimea, Siberia, and two predominantly Muslim regions in central Russia, Tatarstan and Bashkortostan. The ban also includes Current Time TV, which is produced by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Factograph a website produced by Radio Liberty."

The Commentariat -- December 4, 2017

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump said Monday that he feels 'very badly' for his former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, because his false statements to the FBI have 'ruined his life.' Trump, who tweeted over the weekend that he fired Flynn from his White House job because he had lied to the FBI as well as to Vice President Pence, told reporters Monday morning that Flynn's undoing was 'a shame' and 'very unfair.' 'I feel badly for General Flynn,' Trump said on the South Lawn of the White House, as he boarded Marine One ahead of a trip to Utah [Mrs. McC: to destroy a national monument]. 'I feel very badly. He's led a very strong life, and I feel very badly.'... 'I will say this: Hillary Clinton lied many times to the FBI,' Trump said. 'Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and they destroyed his life. I think it's a shame. Hillary Clinton, on the 4th of July weekend, went to the FBI, not under oath. It was the most incredible thing anyone's ever seen. She lied many times. Nothing happened to her. Flynn lied, and it's like they ruined his life. It's very unfair.'... White House spokesmen did not immediately respond to a request to substantiate Trump's allegation that she had 'lied many times' to the FBI." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: That might be because there is no evidence to substantiate Trump's allegation, as Jim Comey testified last year. It's just another of those made-up charges that Trump says "people will believe."

Kara Scannell of CNN: "The White House's chief lawyer told ... Donald Trump in January he believed [-- based on his conversations with Acting AG Sally Yates --] then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had misled the FBI and lied to Vice President Mike Pence and should be fired, a source familiar with the matter said Monday.... Despite McGahn's recommendation that Trump fire Flynn, the retired lieutenant general was kept on. Flynn was forced out in mid-February after news outlets reported about Yates' warning to McGahn." ...

... Greg Sargent: Trump's attorney John "'Dowd is basically arguing that as the chief law enforcement officer, Trump has the authority to block investigations into himself, his allies and into his friends, and nothing he does can be construed as obstruction of justice,' Matthew Miller, a former Justice Department spokesman, told me this morning. 'The logical extension of all this is that Trump can try to remove Mueller and it would be entirely legitimate.'... Trump is amplifying a narrative that his media allies have banged away at in recent weeks, one designed to goad Trump into going full authoritarian. The basic idea is that Mueller and the FBI are themselves corrupt -- Clinton is not being investigated, but Trump's campaign is -- so the only way to set things right is to close down Mueller's probe. If Miller is correct, then Dowd's new quote may telegraph an argument that might be used to justify this, and Trump's vow to bring the FBI 'back to greatness' can also be read as a hint at this possibility.... Multiple GOP lawmakers have said Mueller's probe should be allowed to proceed." ...

... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "To be clear, this is a Trump lawyer effectively trying to knock down one of two major pillars of the Russia investigation -- to exempt his client completely from being held liable for his actions in (roughly) half the investigation.... [While some lawyers saw some merits in Dowd's argument], [o]ther wereblunter, arguing that Dowd's case is bogus and entirely self-serving. Michael Gerhardt of the University of North Carolina's School of Law called it 'absurd.' 'The president is obliged to faithfully execute the law, and that includes in circumstances where he or his friends are involved,' Gerhardt said. 'He must also comply like every citizen is obliged to follow the laws in everything else he does...." ...

... Sean Illing of Vox rounds up more Constitutional scholars who write that, just because the president has the power to do something doesn't mean he has the right to commit a corrupt act. That is, he has the power to fire federal officials who serve at his pleasure, but it is unlawful to fire them for a corrupt purpose -- like, um, protecting himself & his friends. Mrs. McC: As MAG points out in today's thread, Trump has already admitted -- to top Russian officials, no less -- that "Firing 'Nut Job' Comey Eased Pressure From Investigation." ...

... Brian Beutler of Crooked: The press had adopted the White House's defense that "there is no evidence Trump & his campaign colluded with Russia." "This framing gets things almost completely backward: There is more than enough evidence to say definitively that the Trump administration colluded with Russia, and there is every reason to believe the plot encompassed criminal activity, even if that activity remains invisible for now.... After repeatedly communicating to Russia (in public and in private) that they welcomed interference in the election, Trump and his aides cast public doubt on whether the saboteurs were Russians at all. When Trump went on to win the election after benefiting from this interference, members of his inner circle, through Michael Flynn, secretly connived with Russia to subvert the countermeasures the American government had undertaken as penalties for Russia's interference." ...

... ** Asha Rangappa in a Hill op-ed, outlines how the Trump transition team crippled U.S. diplomatic power against Russia both before & after the inauguration. "Focusing on whether the Trump campaign and transition team broke the law misses the bigger picture. By secretly sabotaging a measure designed to protect America's sovereignty in the face of a foreign attack, these individuals acted against the interest of the United States and aided our adversary. Now they are the stewards of the country and its institutions. Whatever happens in a court of law, that is what should concern us all."

James Hohmann of the Washington Post: The president of the FBI Agents Association & Jim Comey are defending the agency on Twitter against Trump's tweeted assertions that the FBI is "in tatters" & the new director must "clean house."

*****

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Trump lashed out at the F.B.I. on Sunday ... by charging that the bureau's reputation was 'in tatters -- worst in history' and denying that he had told his first F.B.I. director to end the Flynn investigation.... In a 6:15 a.m. tweet on Sunday, the president called [James] Comey a liar and said the news media had spread falsehoods.... 'I never asked Comey to stop investigating Flynn. Just more Fake News covering another Comey lie!'... In an extraordinary attack on the top law enforcement body in his own government, Mr. Trump accused the F.B.I. and its career investigators of having a bias against him.... 'After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History! But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness.'... Mr. Trump's efforts to shift the attention to Mrs. Clinton after Mr. Flynn's guilty plea began Saturday night, when he assailed the Justice Department." And so forth. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: It seems obvious that just yesterday, one of his attorneys or some other advisor was able to impress upon Trump that trying to get the FBI to squelch a criminal investigation is obstruction of justice AND is a crime for which a president can be impeached & possibly indicted. This is the first time in lo, these many months since Comey first made the assertion -- under oath -- that Trump has denied he asked Comey to clear Flynn. Of course this is a pattern with Trump: deny, deny, deny. Insist upon his own reality. Pretty soon we'll find out that Flynn's name never even came up in the meeting. Or maybe there was no meeting -- it's just "another Comey lie." ...

... Roberta Rampton & Karen Freifeld of Reuters: "Trump's attorney, John Dowd, told Reuters in an interview on Sunday ... that then-Acting U.S. Attorney General Sally Yates informed White House counsel Don McGahn in January that Flynn told FBI agents the same thing he told Pence, and that McGahn reported his conversation with Yates to Trump. He said Yates did not characterize Flynn's conduct as a legal violation." Dowd said he "took responsibility" for the tweet, which was "a mistake." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: This is Dowd, supposedly falling on his sword, but actually making matters worse for his client by confirming that McGahn told Trump in January that Flynn had lied to the FBI. Mueller is going to use this. And please don't try to tell us that McGahn & Trump had no idea that lying to the FBI was a crime. Trump was friendly with Martha Stewart at the time Stewart went to jail for lying to the FBI & even went into business with her briefly in an "Apprentice" spin-off during that period. ...

     ... Update. The WashPo has the story at the top of its online page this morning. Carol Leonnig, et al.: "President Trump;s personal lawyer said on Sunday that the president knew in late January that then-national security adviser Michael Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with the Russian ambassador. Trump lawyer John Dowd said the information was passed to Trump by White House counsel Donald McGahn, who had been warned about Flynn's statement to the vice president by a senior Justice Department official. The vice president said publicly at the time that Flynn had told him he had not discussed sanctions with the Russian diplomat -- a statement disproved by a U.S. intelligence intercept of a phone call between Flynn and then-Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyak. Trump was aware of the issue a couple of weeks before a conversation with then-FBI Director James B. Comey in which Comey said the president asked him if he could be lenient while investigating Flynn, whom Trump had just fired for misleading Pence about the nature of his conversations with the Russian.... A person close to the White House involved in the case termed the Saturday tweet 'a screw-up of historic proportions' that has 'caused enormous consternation in the White House.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: AND here's a twist in the WashPo story: "People familiar with Yates' account say she never discussed any part of the FBI investigation with the White House." In other words, Trump found out from someone on his own staff -- likely Flynn -- that Flynn had lied to the FBI. It's equally plausible that Trump ordered Flynn to lie to the FBI. No doubt Flynn has already told the Mueller team how Trump came to know about Flynn's lie to the FBI. Anyhow, keep on digging, Donald. The one & only way you may be saving taxpayer dollars is making Mueller's job easier. ...

... Mike Allen of Axios: "John Dowd, President Trump's outside lawyer, outlined to me a new and highly controversial defense/theory in the Russia probe: A president cannot be guilty of obstruction of justice. 'The "President cannot obstruct justice because he is the chief law enforcement officer under [the Constitution's Article II] and has every right to express his view of any case,' Dowd claims.... Dowd says the ... Trump tweet 'did not admit obstruction. That is an ignorant and arrogant assertion.'... Trump's legal team is clearly setting the stage to say the president cannot be charged with any of the core crimes discussed in the Russia probe: collusion and obstruction. Presumably, you wouldn't preemptively make these arguments unless you felt there was a chance charges are coming.... Remember: The Articles of Impeachment against Nixon began by saying he 'obstructed, and impeded the administration of justice.'" ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: One of several problems with Dowd's argument: the obstruction began when Trump was a private citizen; i.e., he did not have the supposed omnipotence of the presidency. mike pence lied on national television about Flynn's conversation with Kislyak on January 15, three days after David Ignatius of the WashPo reported on the actual nature of the Flynn/Kislyak conversation about sanctions & five days before the inauguration. Presuming Trump knew the true nature of the call, Trump had a duty to correct the record. He did not & instead installed the compromised Flynn as his top national security advisor immediately after the inauguration. The I-fired-Flynn-because-he-lied-to-pence story was always a sham. Whether or not pence knew he was lying to the American public, it almost certain (but not proved) that Trump knew.

... Andrew Restuccia of Politico: "... by Sunday, the notoriously hot-headed president had already claimed Flynn was fired earlier this year in part for lying to the FBI and had moved on to accusing the nation's top law-enforcement agency of being 'in tatters.'... The tweets all combined to reignite fears among people close to Trump that the president is not taking the special counsel's investigation seriously enough and is getting bad advice from his legal team.... The tweet [about the reason he fired Flynn] immediately raised questions about whether Trump knew when he fired Flynn that the then-adviser was lying to the FBI.... Trump's personal lawyer, John Dowd, told Politico on Sunday that he drafted it, adding that he believed it was posted online by social media director Dan Scavino. Dowd's confession was met with widespread skepticism.... Peter Zeidenberg, who served on the Justice Department's special prosecution team during the George W. Bush-era Valerie Plame investigation, said Trump's tweets and public statements 'are extremely damaging to him and helpful to Mueller's team.' 'The toughest thing in bringing an obstruction case is proving the state of mind of the defendant,' Zeidenberg said. 'Trump is making their job easy.'" ...

... Marcia Chambers & Charles Kaiser of the Guardian: "The least-noticed sentence in Michael Flynn's plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller may also be the most important one. Section eight of the deal ... specifies that as well as answering questions and submitting to government-administered polygraph tests, Flynn's cooperation 'may include ... participating in covert law enforcement activities'.... Long-time students of federal law enforcement practices agreed, speaking anonymously, that 'covert law enforcement activities' likely refers to the possibility of wearing a concealed wire or recording telephone conversations with other potential suspects. It is not known whether Flynn has worn a wire at any time." ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie BTW: It's somewhat surprising to see Jared Kushner come out of the woodwork today (story linked below) inasmuch as Flynn's cooperation puts him in a heap of trouble. Not only was Kushner the guy who told Flynn to round up international opposition to the proposed U.N. resolution condemning Israeli settlements, (1) Obama was still president, (2) Kushner's move was counter to longstanding U.S. policy, including the Obama administration's, & (3) Kushner was a co-director of a family foundation that funded some of those illegal settlements (see yesterday's links), something (4) he failed to disclose in his financial forms, forms he has had to revise several times because of many other "accidental oversights."

Billy House of Bloomberg: "U.S. House Republicans are drafting a contempt of Congress resolution against Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and FBI Director Christopher Wray, claiming stonewalling in producing material related to the Russia-Trump probes and other matters. Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes and other committee Republicans, after considering such action for several weeks, decided to move after media including the New York Times reported Saturday on why a top FBI official assigned to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russia-Trump election collusion had been removed from the investigation. Republicans, including the president, pointed to the reports as evidence that the entire probe into Russian meddling has been politically motivated. 'Now it all starts to make sense,' Trump said on Twitter Sunday." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's see: Mueller -- with no outside prodding -- removes an agent who may have left an appearance of bias, which leads Nunes to think the Mueller probe is biased. Like most of Nunes' (and Trump's) bright ideas, this one doesn't make a lick of sense. If you prove you're unbiased, then you're biased. Nitwits. ...

... A Surprise Welcome-Home Committee. Josh Gerstein: "When former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser George Papadopoulos stepped off a flight from Germany at Dulles Airport outside Washington last July, he had no inkling of the unwelcome surprise in store for him: FBI agents waiting to place him under arrest.... Jail records ... show Papadopoulos was booked in at the Alexandria (Va.) city detention center at 1:45 a.m. the following morning.... [One of Papadopoulos' lawyers] said Papadopoulos arrived on a Lufthansa flight from Munich that touched down at about 7 p.m. on July 27, and the FBI intercepted him as soon as he got off the plane." Another of Papadopoulos' lawyers said his client needing "calming down" as a result of the arrest. Former federal prosecutor Jeff Cramer said, "'I wouldn't underestimate the shock value of that to flip someone.'... It worked."

Billy Bush, in a New York Times op-ed: "He said it. 'Grab 'em by the pussy.' Of course he said it. And we laughed along, without a single doubt that this was hypothetical hot air from America's highest-rated bloviator. Along with Donald Trump and me, there were seven other guys present on the bus at the time, and every single one of us assumed we were listening to a crass standup act. He was performing. Surely, we thought, none of this was real. We now know better." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: Assuming Billy is being truthful here (and who knows?), this somewhat mitigates his playing along with Trump's boasts about sexually abusing women. I can imagine myself laughing along with-- that is, laughing at -- some nitwit whose boasts were too ridiculous to credit. I would not laugh, however, at someone who bragged about doing violence to anyone or anything. "Ha ha, when I see a dog, I just kick it." "Ha ha, when I go camping, I just leave the mess behind. Campfire still burning? Eh."

... Kevin Drum highlights another graf in Bush's op-ed: "'In the days, weeks and months to follow, I was highly critical of the idea of a Trump presidency. The man who once told me -- ironically, in another off-camera conversation -- after I called him out for inflating his ratings: 'People will just believe you. You just tell them and they believe you,' was, I thought, not a good choice to lead our country.'... In the end, Trump may turn out to be less right than he thinks.... It's not true of everyone, and it's not true all the time, but it's true for an awful lot of people an awful lot of the time." Mrs. McC: This is the future POTUS*, rather than being ashamed of his propensity to lie, boasting about it. Hope Mueller catches this, as it sure goes to Trump's credibility. Bush may get another 15 minutes of fame as a lack-of-character witness.

Rebecca Savransky of the Hill: "President Trump has reportedly given staffers direct assignments by calling them secretly to the residence in the evenings, in an attempt to circumvent chief of staff John Kelly. Trump reportedly gives aides tasks and says they should not share them with Kelly, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.... The Wall Street Journal also reported that sometimes, friends of Trump will get a message to the president through first lady Melania Trump." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: digby has a long excerpt from the WSJ report here. safari linked yesterday to a Raw Story piece on the WSJ report. ...

... Chas Danner of New York: "Melania Trump's spokesperson ... called the reports 'more fake news.' But a more accurate categorization would probably be: 'more leaked news that characterizes the president as a mischievous little boy treating the White House as his clubhouse and his advisers like substitute teachers.'" ...

... Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump & Dennis have the same hairdos & equally tiny hands. I guess the main difference is that Dennis was nice enough to have a devoted pet.

... in President Donald Trump, I think the United States once again has a President whose vision, energy, and can-do spirit is reminiscent of President Teddy Roosevelt.-- mike pence, August 2017

[Theodore] Roosevelt used his presidential authority to issue executive orders to create 150 new national forests, increasing the amount of protected land from 42 million acres to 172 million acres. The President also created five national parks, eighteen national monuments, and 51 wildlife refuges. -- Miller Center at the University of Virginia ...

... Julie Turkewitz of the New York Times: "President Trump is expected to announce a historic reduction to Bears Ears National Monument on Monday, a sprawling region of red rock canyons in Utah that has been at the center of a national fight over how much land a president can legally set aside for protection. The Trump administration plans to announce that he will shrink the monument by between 77 and 92 percent, according to statements from the office of Senator Orrin Hatch, Republican of Utah. It would be the largest reduction of a national monument to date, and it comes as the administration pushes for fewer restrictions and more development on public lands. The move is ... expected to trigger a legal battle that could alter the course of American land conservation, possibly opening millions of protected public acres to oil and gas extraction, mining, logging and other commercial activities." ...

Conceptualization.

... Sadly, plans to replace TR on Mount Rushmore with a humungous likeness of DiJiT have been abandoned as Trump unwittingly turned the national park over to a Russian mining conglomerate, which blasted the mountain last week. This news should not diminish Trump's assertion that he belongs on Mount Rushmore.

Karen DeYoung & Loveday Morris of the Washington Post: "President Trump's push for a peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians stems from a belief that his broader goals of stopping Iranian aggression and Islamist extremism will not be possible without it, presidential adviser Jared Kushner said in a rare public appearance Sunday. 'If we're going to try to create more stability in the region as a whole, you have to solve this issue,' Kushner told Middle East experts gathered at the Brookings Institution's Saban Forum.... But nearly a year after Trump named Kushner ... as point person for what he called 'the ultimate deal,' there has been no public indication of where the initiative is heading." ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: What? What? Kushner, & by implication Trump, are telling Middle East experts what to do? Might as well have Beavis & Butthead running the country's nuclear programs. Oh, wait. We kinda do.

Faith Karimi of CNN: "The United States notified the United Nations that it will no longer take part in the global compact on migration, saying it undermines the nation's sovereignty. The US has been a part of the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants since it was formed last year. The declaration aims to ensure the rights of migrants, help them resettle and provide them with access to education and jobs. It calls for the negotiation of a global compact on migration, which is expected to be adopted next year." Tillerson & Ambassador Nikki Haley both mumbled something about U.S. sovereignty. ...

     ... Mrs. McCrabbie: It probably didn't help the U.N. effort on global migration to situate its meeting this week in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Whether or not that was an intentional slap in Trump's pouty face, you can be sure he took it that way.

Booze, Women & Movies. Grassley Finds a Swell Way to Justify Tax Breaks for the Super-Rich. Prynard of Iowa Starting Line: "... Senator Chuck Grassley made clear his disdain for those not benefiting under the new tax law. 'I think not having the estate tax recognizes the people that are investing, as opposed to those that are just spending every darn penny they have, whether it’s on booze or women or movies,' Grassley told the Register in a story posted yesterday. It's difficult to think of a more condescending, elitist worldview.... That's also an interesting assumption that perhaps only the men in a household make and spend money." Emphasis added. Mrs. McC: Did Chuck go to the Country Music School of Philosophy? ...

... Erik Loomis of LG&$ recalls Orrin Hatch's remarks on the Senate floor suggesting that the parents of poor kids "are leeches on the plutocrats who deserve all the money," & throws in Grassley's musings. "This is an attitude of robbing the poor to give to the rich and then blaming the poor for their own poverty. What could be more New Gilded Age?... This is full-fledged late 19th century elite Robber Baron governance."

Senate Races, Trump Edition

Philip Rucker of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Monday offered his most explicit endorsement to date of Roy Moore, the embattled Republican Senate candidate in Alabama who stands accused of making unwanted sexual advances on teenagers when he was in his 30s. 'We need Republican Roy Moore to win in Alabama,' Trump declared in an early morning tweet, leaving no question that he was supporting a Senate nominee that many other Republican leaders have repudiated and called upon to quit the race." The special election is next Tuesday, December 12.

Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "Donald Trump is going all out to persuade seven-term Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch to seek reelection -- a push aimed in no small part at keeping the president's longtime nemesis, Mitt Romney, out of the Senate. Romney has been preparing to run for Hatch's seat on the long-held assumption that the 83-year-old would retire. Yet Hatch, the longest-serving Republican senator in history, is now refusing to rule out another campaign -- a circumstance Romney's infuriated inner circle blames squarely on the president. Their suspicions are warranted: Trump has sounded off to friends about how he doesn't like the idea of a Senator Romney."

AND Fox Business commentator Lou Dobbs, a/k/a Bigoted Old Coot, thinks President Obama should be arrested for saying that a person (any person) should think before he tweets. Mrs. McC: Even tho Orrin Hatch says the federal government doesn't have any money any more, he may still want to propose a bill charging the CDC with searching for a cure for ODS --the debilitating, as-yet incurable Obama Derangement Syndrome. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)

Michael Cooper of the New York Times: "The Metropolitan Opera suspended James Levine, its revered conductor and former music director, on Sunday after three men came forward with accusations that Mr. Levine sexually abused them decades ago, when the men were teenagers. Peter Gelb, the general manager of the Met, announced that the company was suspending its four-decade relationship with Mr. Levine, 74, and canceling his upcoming conducting engagements after learning from The New York Times on Sunday about the accounts of the three men, who described a series of similar sexual encounters beginning in the late 1960s. The Met has also asked an outside law firm to investigate Mr. Levine's behavior."

Michael de la Merced & Reed Abelson of the New York Times: "CVS Health said on Sunday that it had agreed to buy Aetna for about $69 billion in a deal that would combine the drugstore giant with one of the biggest health insurers in the United States and has the potential to reshape the nation's health care industry. The transaction, one of the largest of the year, reflects the increasingly blurred lines between the traditionally separate spheres of a rapidly changing industry and represents an effort to make both companies more appealing to consumers as health care that was once delivered in a doctor's office more often reaches consumers over the phone, at a retail clinic or via an app."

Way Beyond the Beltway

Washington Post: "Ali Abdullah Saleh, the autocratic president who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, has died in the latest outbreak of violence in the country's civil war, according to members of his political party as well as a Yemeni rebel group. The Associated Press also confirmed the death." This is a breaking story at 8:50 am ET.