The Commentariat -- May 9, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Matthew Rosenberg, et al., of the New York Times are sort of live-blogging Gina Haspel's Senate testimony. ...
... Eli Okun of Politico: "CIA director nominee Gina Haspel tangled with Democrats at a crucial confirmation hearing Wednesday, where she came under fire for her involvement with the harsh interrogation methods of the George W. Bush era. But Haspel defended her moral compass before the Senate Intelligence Committee and promised not to restart the CIA's controversial interrogation program.... Here are some key moments from the confirmation hearing: Haspel vowed not to push the CIA to act in ways she considered immoral -- even if the president ordered it.... Haspel pledged she would not restart the harsh interrogation program.... Haspel said torture doesn't work -- but hedged on whether 'enhanced interrogation' methods worked after the Sept. 11 attacks.... Haspel defended her role in the destruction of tapes of waterboarding, a technique considered torture that Congress later outlawed.... Haspel refused to say whether she ever called for the interrogation program to be continued."
Beth Reinhard & Emma Brown of the Washington Post: "The Treasury Department's inspector general is investigating whether confidential banking information related to a company controlled by President Trump's personal attorney Michael Cohen may have been leaked, a spokesman said. Rich Delmar, counsel to the inspector general, said that in response to media reports the office is 'inquiring into allegations' that Suspicious Activity Reports on Cohen's banking transactions were 'improperly disseminated.'... In an interview, [Michael] Avenatti [-- who initially released information about some of the payments to Cohen's LLC --] declined to reveal the source of his information. 'The source or sources of our information is our work product, and nobody' business,' Avenatti said. 'They can investigate all they want, but what they should be doing is releasing to the American public the three Suspicious Activity Reports filed on Michael Cohen's account. Why are they hiding this information?' A fixture on cable television, Avenatti has been calling on the Treasury Department for weeks to release reports of unusual banking transactions by Cohen. He came up with a social media hashtag: #releasetheSAR, using the acronym for a Suspicious Activity Report.... It is not uncommon for journalists, lawyers and others in the public eye to receive unauthorized leaks of sensitive information, and there is nothing improper in receiving such information."
Michael Kranish & Carolyn Johnson of the Washington Post: "Special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's team sought information last November from Novartis, a major pharmaceutical company that paid a company created by President Trump's lawyer, the drug company said Wednesday. The interest by Mueller, who is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election, indicates that the special counsel is scrutinizing clients that paid Michael Cohen while he served as Trump's personal attorney...." Novartis offered a really flimsy excuse for paying Cohen, cited in the WashPo report & in the CNBC report below. "Separately, Korean Aerospace Industries confirmed to The Washington Post that it paid $150,000 to Cohen's company, but spokesman Oh Sung-keon said that it was not aware of its connection to Trump. The company said [Mrs. McC: hilariously] that it paid Cohen's firm 'to inform reorganization of our internal accounting system.' The company is in contention for a multibillion joint U.S. contract with Lockheed Martin for jet trainers. Lockheed said Wednesday it was not aware of any connection between Korea Aerospace and Cohen." ...
... Dan Mangan of CNBC: "Drug giant Novartis paid ... Michael Cohen more than $1 million for health-care policy consulting work that he actually ended up being 'unable' to do, the company said Wednesday.... Novartis said it signed a one-year contract with Cohen's shell company, Essential Consultants, for $100,000 per month in February 2017, shortly after Trump was inaugurated as president. Novartis said it believed Cohen 'could advise the company as to how the Trump administration might approach certain U.S. health-care policy matters, including the Affordable Care Act.' But just a month after signing the deal, Novartis executives had their first meeting with Cohen, and afterward 'determined that Michael Cohen and Essentials Consultants would be unable to provide the services that Novartis had anticipated.'... 'As the contract, unfortunately, could only be terminated for cause, payments continued to be made until the contract expired by its own terms in February 2018,' Novartis said. That means that Cohen was paid up to $1.2 million for his work. Novartis did not immediately disclose the total amount paid." (The WashPo story cites a shorter time period over which Cohen was paid, concluding that Novartis paid Cohen about $400K.)
"Diplomacy," Trump-Style. Rick Noack of the Washington Post: "For the past year, German officials have been urging their U.S. counterparts to send a new ambassador to Berlin. But ... within hours of assuming his new post on Tuesday, [Amb.] Richard Grenell triggered harsh criticism in this Trump-weary country after appearing to threaten one of the American president's frequent targets: German businesses. In a tweet following President Trump's announcement to leave the Iran nuclear deal, Grenell wrote that 'German companies doing business in Iran should wind down operations immediately.'... The remarks, which were widely perceived as a threat here, came only an hour after the U.S. Embassy in Berlin took to Twitter to announce that Grenell had officially arrived in the German capital.... Business associations and leading European politicians immediately lashed out at him...."
Rachel Bade & Heather Caygle of Politico: "Two lawmakers on Tuesday evening erupted into a shouting match on the House floor over Speaker Paul Ryan's firing -- and then reinstatement -- of the House chaplain, reigniting a contentious religious fight the Wisconsin Republican hoped would fade. No. 4 House Democrat Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.), who is Catholic, and Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) got up in each other's faces on the House floor and squabbled over the merits of a special investigation into the dismissal.... The confrontation started after Crowley offered a privilege resolution to establish a select committee to investigate Conroy's forced resignation.... The two men bickered as their faces turned red. Crowley gestured his thumb to the GOP side of the chamber, telling MacArthur to get back to the Republican side of the chamber. MacArthur wouldn't move. Eventually House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) came over to try to calm both men.... MacArthur, who is Episcopalian, said he was offended by Crowley's actions." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: MacArthur should listen to the sermon more often. Episcopalians agree with the prayers Father Patrick Conroy offered which so offended some House Republicans. "Real Episcopalians" are pretty liberal, if in a noblesse-oblige manner. Anyhow, religion is a great way to civilize the unruly, isn't it?
*****
NEW. Choe Sang-Hun of the New York Times: "President Trump declared a diplomatic victory on Wednesday by announcing that North Korea had freed three American prisoners, removing a bitter and emotional obstacle ahead of a planned meeting between him and the young leader of the nuclear-armed nation. The release of the three prisoners, all American citizens of Korean descent, was in some ways the most tangible gesture of sincerity shown by North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-un, to improve relations with the United States after nearly seven decades of mutual antagonism. Mr. Trump said in a tweet that the three were freed following a visit to North Korea by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who was in Pyongyang, the North's capital, for more discussions with North Korean officials about the expected meeting between Mr. Kim and Mr. Trump."
The Fake News is working overtime. Just reported that, despite the tremendous success we are having with the economy & all things else, 91% of the Network News about me is negative (Fake). Why do we work so hard in working with the media when it is corrupt? Take away credentials? -- Donald Trump, in a tweet this morning ...
... NEW. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Wednesday raised the prospect of taking away credentials from news media outlets that he believes are reporting negatively on his administration.... In his tweet, Trump referred to a study that found 91 percent of network news stories about him are negative. Shortly before, the anchors on 'Fox & Friends' on Fox News discussed a study by the Media Research Center study citing that figure after evaluating the nightly newscasts on ABC, CBS and NBC between January and April." ...
... Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The Media Research Center, we'll note, is part of the conglomerate of conservative enterprises funded by Robert Mercer and his family, the folks that also funded Cambridge Analytica, Breitbart and former White House adviser Steve Bannon."
Mark Landler of the New York Times: ""President Trump declared on Tuesday that he was pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, unraveling the signature foreign policy achievement of his predecessor, Barack Obama, and isolating the United States among its Western allies. 'This was a horrible one-sided deal that should have never, ever been made,' Mr. Trump said at the White House in announcing his decision. 'It didn't bring calm, it didn't bring peace, and it never will.' Mr. Trump's announcement, while long anticipated and widely telegraphed, plunges America's relations with European allies into deep uncertainty. They have committed to staying in the deal, raising the prospect of a diplomatic and economic clash as the United States reimposes stringent sanctions on Iran. It also raises the prospect of increasing tensions with Russia and China, which also are parties to the agreement." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... David Sanger of the New York Times: "Mr. Trump and his Middle East allies [-- Israel and Saudi Arabia --] are betting they can cut Iran's economic lifeline and thus 'break the regime,' as one senior European official described the effort. In theory, America's withdrawal could free Iran to produce as much nuclear material as it wants -- as it was five years ago, when the world feared it was headed toward a bomb. But Mr. Trump's team dismisses that risk.... It is a brutally realpolitik approach that America's allies in Europe have warned is a historic mistake, one that could lead to confrontation and perhaps to war. And it is a clear example of Middle East brinkmanship that runs counter to what President Barack Obama intended when the nuclear deal was struck in July 2015.... Now, suddenly, the world may well be headed back to where it was in 2012: On a road to uncertain confrontation, with 'very little evidence of a Plan B,' as Boris Johnson, the British foreign minister, said on a visit to Washington." ...
... Aaron Rupar of ThinkProgress: "Trump was asked the most basic question about his Iran deal decision. He had no answer. After publicly signing a memorandum to violate the Iran nuclear deal by reinstating the 'highest levels' of U.S. sanctions against the country..., [a reporters asked,] 'Mr. President, how does this America safer?' she said.... Trump gathered his thoughts for a moment, then just restated the question in the form of an assertion. 'This will make America much safer,' he said, before getting up for the table...." ...
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: Obviously, then, "making America safer" was not among Trump's objectives in scuttling the Iran deal. So what were they? Well (1) whacking another Obama accomplishment; (2) trying to make himself look tough & mean; (3) fulfilling an ignorant campaign promise; (4) giving righty-right Republicans a boost in November; (5) changing the subject from Russia/Stormy Daniels; (6) currying favor with Bibi Netanyahu, Vladimir Putin (see this HuffPost report), rich Saudis, Christian evangelicals & various other right-wing factions; (7) and it wouldn't surprise me, tho there's no evidence of this, gaining some financial benefit we won't find out about for some time (see Cohen-pay-for-play). ...
... Oh, and there's this extremely mature reason:
... Travis Gettys of RawStory: "Trump felt contempt for the officials and experts who negotiated the Iran deal, and the White House official explained the president's motives for risking a potential Middle East crisis and setting in motion a chain of long-term consequences. '(Trump) likes it when "experts" are on CNN freaking out,' the White House official explained." --safari ...
If I allowed this deal to stand, there would soon be a nuclear arms race in the Middle East. Everyone would want their weapons ready by the time Iran had theirs. -- Donald Trump, in his speech yesterday
In fact, Trump has single-handedly fast-forwarded that race by removing the constraints the deal imposed on Iran. -- Roger Cohen of the New York Times ...
... Roger Cohen: "President Trump is withdrawing the United States from an Iran nuclear deal that has worked, in the name of unrelated demands that are unworkable, at very high cost to America's alliances and the value of its word, with no viable alternative policy in place and at the risk of igniting the Middle East. Only Trump can believe that makes sense. But believe it he does, with a vengeance. From Day 1, it has been the deal Trump loves to hate. He knows who authorized it: Barack Obama. Whether he knows its content is another matter.... It was not 'a horrible, one-sided deal,' as Trump grotesquely claimed on Tuesday. It was not about delivering 'peace,' as he absurdly suggested. It was not a 'rotten structure,' as he emptily claimed. It was a painful compromise where each side got less than it wanted.... America has made a mockery of the value of its signature on an international agreement. The world will take note.... Trump has done what he likes to do: express his anger, break things and hope for the best. His Iran decision is a reckless gamble, even by his standards, the shredding of a singular diplomatic achievement."
... Don Lee of the Los Angeles Times: "For American consumers, the effect of President Trump's announcement Tuesday that the U.S. would pull out of the Iran nuclear deal was already apparent at their local service stations days ago. Gas prices nationally have climbed about 11% since March, to an average of $2.85 a gallon last week, reflecting higher global petroleum costs partly in anticipation of Trump's withdrawal and move to reimpose sanctions against the world's fifth-largest oil producer.... Taken together with increasing tensions on trade, with large tariffs possibly coming against China, there is growing wariness among some investors. Analysts expect that will be reflected in commodities and financial markets." ...
... Erin Cunningham & Bijan Sabbagh of the Washington Post: "Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that his government remains committed to a nuclear deal with world powers, despite the U.S. decision to withdraw, but is also ready to resume uranium enrichment should the accord no longer offer benefits. Rouhani, who had made the deal his signature achievement, spoke following President Trump's announcement that the United States would reimpose wide-ranging sanctions on Iran. The removal of those sanctions, including on the Iranian oil and banking sectors, had been key to persuading Iran to accept limits on its nuclear program. The Iranian leader said he had directed his diplomats to negotiate with the deal's remaining signatories -- including European countries, Russia and China -- and that the nuclear agreement could survive without the United States. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that he would 'spearhead a diplomatic effort to examine whether remaining JCPOA participants can ensure its full benefits for Iran.'" ...
... Jon Swaine of the Guardian: "Donald Trump's decision to torpedo the nuclear agreement with Iran has harmed the prospects of freedom for American dual national prisoners held by Tehran, analysts have warned. At least four Iranian-Americans and one Chinese-American are being detained by Iranian authorities on charges their supporters and relatives say are bogus or unjustified." --safari ...
... James McAuley of the Washington Post: "... key U.S. allies and others voiced concern about the fallout but vowed to salvage the deal. Chief among the critics was French President Emmanuel Macron, who was Europe's leading emissary to Washington in efforts to defend the deal and who has sought to cultivate a strong personal rapport with Trump.... An American exit threatens the entire accord. Tehran was lured to the bargaining table by the prospect of an injection of international investment to buoy its economy. A renewal of sanctions would give the country's leaders little reason to adhere to their part of the deal.... But after Trump's remarks Tuesday, the co-signatories of the agreement -- France, Britain, Germany, Russia, China, the European Union and Iran -- said they would seek to save it. 'We urge the U.S. to ensure that the structures of the JCPOA can remain intact, and to avoid taking action which obstructs its full implementation by all other parties to the deal,' Macron, [Angela] Merkel and [Theresa] May said in their statement." ...
... Here's the statement by Macron, Merkel & May. ...
... Reuters: "Germany wants to preserve a nuclear deal with Iran because U.S. President Donald Trump did not offer an alternative to halt the Islamic Republic from making atomic weapons after he pulled out of the agreement, Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said on Wednesday." --safari ...
... Sabrina Siddiqui of the Guardian: "Barack Obama on Tuesday condemned Donald Trump's decision to violate the Iran nuclear deal as 'misguided' joining a throng of other outspoken Democratic critics - even as many Republicans praised the move. The former president, for whom the landmark 2015 accord was a signature foreign policy accomplishment, issued a lengthy written statement shortly after Trump announced the US would break with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) despite the urging of European allies and some of his own advisers. 'In a democracy, there will always be changes in policies and priorities from one Administration to the next. But the consistent flouting of agreements that our country is a party to risks eroding America's credibility, and puts us at odds with the world's major powers,' Obama said. Since leaving the White House, Obama has responded to only a handful of Trump's policy decisions, including his travel ban on several Muslim-majority countries, decision to pull the US from the Paris climate accord, and move to rescind protections to young, undocumented immigrants." ...
... President Obama's full statement is here. ...
... OR, as Heather Hurlburt of New York puts it, "Trump Continues to Rebrand America As Weird and Flaky.... The president provided all the television staples of national-security seriousness. He described the threat posed by Iran with headline-worthy hyperbole. No one thinks Iran is close to having a missile that can 'threaten American cities' (that would be North Korea). He said Israel had provided new information about Iran's nuclear intentions -- all of which dated from before the agreement was signed and implemented, but never mind. And, with a flourish, he signed a national-security directive that would, he said, institute 'the highest level of economic sanction.'... Though you would never have known it from Trump's remarks, everyone from Senate Republicans to Israeli military leaders believed that the Iran deal was working to keep Tehran's nuclear ambitions constrained -- and to keep outside powers well-informed of what went on in Iran's labs, reactors, and storage sites." Read on. ...
... John Wolfsthal in the New Republic: "Before the JCPOA came into force, Iran had close to 20,000 uranium enrichment machines, called centrifuges, in operation.... Under the JCPOA, Iran cannot have more than 5,060 centrifuges operating and cannot use more advanced models until 2025, and then would have had to slowly introduce them and explain why they were doing so. Iran was also required to let IAEA inspectors track and monitor centrifuge production and storage of parts. That all goes away after today. Iran is within its right to reject any restrictions now that the U.S. is openly violating the deal.... Now, Iran can enrich [uranium] to whatever level it wants, for any reason, and posses as much uranium gas for enrichment as they choose. This will leave Iran weeks if not days from a bomb once they restore their infrastructure.... U.S. violation of the JCPOA gives Iran more nuclear options, and us less control and insight. Iran can be expected slowly, carefully but persistently to remove the restrictions it is now under and work toward being able to produce a nuclear weapon at a time of its choosing.... Europe may try to provide Iran with incentives to go slow...."
Robert Mackey of The Intercept: "The contours of the [Black Cube] campaign ... appeared to closely match those of a similar effort carried out by operatives of an Israeli firm this year to smear critics of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the far-right populist who is an ally of both President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel.... Between December and March ... at least 10 people who either run Hungarian nongovernmental organizations or have worked with or been supported by [George] Soros were approached by intelligence operatives posing as representatives of nonexistent businesses who requested meetings." --safari
This Russia Thing, Etc., Ctd. -- Follow the Money Edition
Game Changer. Sarah Fitzpatrick, et al., of NBC News: "Stormy Daniels' attorney claimed Tuesday that ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer Michael Cohen received $500,000 from a company controlled by a Russian oligarch, deposited into an account for a company also used to pay off the adult film actress. Daniels' attorney, Michael Avenatti, also detailed other transactions he said were suspicious, including deposits from drug giant Novartis, the state-run Korea Aerospace Industries, and AT&T -- which confirmed it paid Cohen's company for 'insights' into Trump.... Avenatti said his investigation uncovered eight transactions between January and August 2017, totaling half a million dollars, from U.S.-based Columbus Nova, which he said is controlled by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg and his cousin Andrew Intrater. The money was deposited into a First Republic account for Essential Consultants, Avenatti said. That's the same company Cohen created in 2016 and then used to wire $130,000 to Daniels.... Agents working for Special Counsel Robert Mueller searched and questioned Vekselberg as he got off a private plane in the New York area earlier this year." ...
... Noah Shachtman & Kate Briquelet of the Daily Beast: "The Daily Beast can confirm that ... Michael Cohen received hundreds of thousands of dollars from a company controlled by Putin-aligned Russian oligarch Viktor Vekselberg. The allegations were initially made Tuesday by Michael Avenatti.... 'How the fuck did Avenatti find out?' the source asked The Daily Beast.... [Vekselberg's cousin Andrew] Intrater was also a donor to the Republican National Committee, where Cohen served as a deputy finance chairman. In June 2017, Intrater donated $35,000 to a joint fundraising committee for the RNC and Trump's reelection campaign. He also gave a quarter-million dollars to Trump's inaugural committee. (Previously, Intrater gave only to Democrats like Gov. Bill Richardson and Sen. Ted Kennedy.)" Mrs. McC: As Friedman & Corn note (linked next), Intrater "had previously made no large political contributions." ...
... A TPM reader tells Josh Marshall "how the fuck Avenatti found out." Most likely. ...
... Dan Friedman & David Corn of Mother Jones: "Avenatti's report suggests Cohen set up a company, Essential Consultants LLC, that he used to sell access to President Trump. Payments came from firms in Korea, Hungary, Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Israel, Avenatti says. He claims Novartis, a Swiss pharmaceutical company, paid $399,920 to Cohen's firm in late 2017 and early 2018. After the payments, Trump met with Novartis' CEO at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The document also says Essential Consultants received $200,000 in four payments from AT&T in late 2017 and early 2018. AT&T confirmed the payments in a statement reported by CNBC.... Avenatti's report could launch a massive case of alleged influence-peddling and may be a real game-changer in the Trump-Russia scandal.... Avenatti's report claims that Vekselberg's payment to Cohen came through Intrater's company. If Avenatti is correct, this would prompt an obvious lead for special counsel Robert Mueller to follow: Did the money Intrater donated to Trump come from his cousin the oligarch? That is, did a wealthy Russian with Kremlin contacts funnel money to Trump and the Republicans?" ...
... Judd Legum of ThinkProgress: "AT&T's payment is a stunning development that is likely to create a thicket of legal problems forCohen and Trump himself.... AT&T tries to justify the payments as a legitimate consulting expense, saying that the firm provided 'insights.' But Essential Consultants is not a real company.... The shell company has no website, no known employees, and no public facing presence of any kind. It raises the question of how AT&T could have even possibly known about Essential Consultants.... The $200,000 payment to Cohen was made while AT&T was seeking approval from Trump's Justice Department to merge with Time-Warner. AT&T claims that Cohen did no lobbying or legal work for the company." --safari ...
... Kara Scannell & Shimon Prokupecz of CNN: "Special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators have questioned a Russian oligarch about hundreds of thousands of dollars in payments his company's US affiliate made to ... Donald Trump's persona attorney, Michael Cohen, after the election, according to a source familiar with the matter. Viktor Vekselberg, chairman of asset manager Renova Group, is an oligarch close to Vladimir Putin, and last month the Trump administration placed him on a list of sanctioned Russians for activities including election \ interference. The purpose of the payments, which predate the sanctions, and the nature of the business relationship between Vekselberg and Cohen is unclear." ...
... The New York Times story, published after those linked above, counts up all the payments/bribes to Cohen:
... Mike McIntire, et al., of the New York Times: "A shell company that Michael D. Cohen used to pay hush money to a pornographic film actress received payments totaling more than $1 million from an American company linked to a Russian oligarch and several corporations with business before the Trump administration, according to documents and interviews. Financial records reviewed by The New York Times show that Mr. Cohen, President Trump's personal lawyer and longtime fixer, used the shell company, Essential Consultants L.L.C., for an array of business activities that went far beyond what was publicly known. Transactions totaling at least $4.4 million flowed through Essential Consultants starting shortly before Mr. Trump was elected president and continuing to this January, the records show.... References to the transactions first appeared in a document posted to Twitter on Tuesday by Michael Avenatti.... The Times's review of financial records confirmed much of what was in Mr. Avenatti's report. In addition, a review of emails and interviews shed additional light on Mr. Cohen's dealings with the company connected to Mr. Vekselberg...." ...
... Rosalind Helderman, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Michael Cohen was hired last year by the U.S.-based affiliate of a Russian business magnate who attended Trump's inauguration and was recently sanctioned by the U.S. government, the company said Tuesday. The New York investment firm Columbus Nova said it retained Cohen as a consultant 'regarding potential sources of capital and potential investments in real estate and other ventures.' Though Columbus Nova has been described in federal regulatory filings as an affiliate of the Renova Group, founded by Russian billionaire Viktor Vekselberg, the company said Vekselberg was not involved with hiring or paying Cohen.... Vekselberg is a Russian billionaire who regularly participates in gatherings of Russian business leaders with Putin and sometimes meets one on one with the Russian president, according to news accounts and people familiar with his role.... Two people familiar with Mueller's probe told The Post that the special counsel is investigating whether foreign money helped fund Trump's inauguration. By law, only U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents can donate to a U.S. inaugural committee." ...
... Josh Marshall: "Tonight [Tuesday] we have what I'd say may be the most staggering revelations since the tangle of 'Trump/Russia' investigations began almost two years ago. This is not hyperbole.... The payments all end in January 2018. That's when the name 'Essential Consultants LLC' was first published by The Wall Street Journal as part of the Stormy Daniels' story.... Just through this single shell company Cohen was receiving major payments from a Russian oligarch and additional moneys from various Fortune 500 companies looking for access to President Trump. On the US corporate side these are classic off-the-books pay-for-play payments to what appears to have been a slush fund.... The US corporate payments appear to be just garden variety corruption.... These payoffs won't stand legal scrutiny. But the big revelation is [Viktor] Vekselberg's money.... This is money, more or less directly from a top Russian oligarch with close ties to Vladimir Putin, putting money directly into a shell company controlled by Donald Trump's bag man and fixer. The collusion is real and high level." ...
... Jonathan Chait: "The payments gave Russia several sources of possible leverage over Cohen and Trump. First, the money itself could amount to some kind of bribe, in return for which a favor would be expected. Second, Russia had knowledge of the secret payoff, which it could always expose. Third, the possibility (at minimum) exists that Russia knew the account was being used to silence Trump's mistresses, yet another source of kompromat." Chait also addresses the Devin Nunes/DOJ standoff, described in the WashPo story linked immediately below: "The chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who enjoys the full backing of his party's leadership, is willing to risk what his own government describes as the betrayal and potential loss of life of an intelligence source. And officials within this government believe the president would do the same, all in order to obstruct an investigation into the president's secretive ties to a foreign power. They are acting as though Trump is compromised by Russia, or at the very least, that he cannot be trusted to defend his own country's security against it." ...
... Robert Costa, et al., of the Washington Post: "Last Wednesday, senior FBI and national intelligence officials relayed an urgent message to the White House: Information being sought by House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes could endanger a top-secret intelligence source. Top White House officials, with the assent of President Trump, agreed to back the decision to withhold the information. They were persuaded that turning over Justice Department documents could risk lives by potentially exposing the source, a U.S. citizen who has provided intelligence to the CIA and FBI, according to multiple people.... The showdown marked a rare moment of alignment between the Justice Department and Trump.... But it is unclear whether Trump was alerted to a key fact -- that information developed by the intelligence source had been provided to the Mueller investigation. The debate over the risk to the source is now at the center of a pitched battle between House Republicans and the Justice Department. Several administration officials said they fear Trump may reverse course and support Nunes's argument.... On Tuesday, House Speaker Paul D. Ryan (R.-Wis.) said he had not discussed the matter with Nunes but added that he expected congressional subpoenas to be enforced."
Emma Loop of BuzzFeed: "The Senate Intelligence Committee has released a summary of a report on how to help states prevent election hacking that found Russia launched an 'unprecedented' cyber-campaign against the US in 2016. The report is the first of several about the panel's investigation into Russian interference during the last election. The six-page document, released Tuesday, says that during the last election, 'cyber actors affiliated with the Russian Government conducted an unprecedented, coordinated cyber campaign against state election infrastructure' and that 'Russian actors scanned databases for vulnerabilities, attempted intrusions, and in a small number of cases successfully penetrated a voter registration database.' The committee says this 'activity was part of a larger campaign to prepare to undermine confidence in the voting process' but notes that it 'has not seen any evidence that vote tallies were manipulated or that voter registration information was deleted or modified.'"
Leigh Ann Caldwell of NBC News: "Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is making a surprise visit to North Korea to continue preparations for what is expected to be a historic summit..., Donald Trump announced Tuesday." ...
... Yonhap (South Korea) News: "North Korea is expected to release three U.S. citizens held in the communist state on Wednesday, an official from Seoul's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said, in an apparent goodwill gesture ahead of a historic meeting between its leader Kim Jong-un and ... Donald Trump. The official said U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was expected to return with the exact time of the Trump-Kim summit, along with the three U.S. captives in North Korea."
A Reminder that Melania Trump Is a Be-yotch. Katie Rogers of the New York Times: "Melania Trump's rollout this week of her 'Be Best' initiative focusing on children was intended to give the first lady an agenda all her own. Instead, it revived accusations that Mrs. Trump's ideas were really coming from somewhere else. Observers on Twitter quickly pointed out that one of the primary materials with 'Be Best' branding, a booklet on social media guidelines called 'Talking With Kids About Being Online,' had been circulated by the Federal Trade Commission during the Obama era. As the story spread, Mrs. Trump's communications director published an extraordinary statement on Tuesday that admonished the news media for reporting on the plagiarism claims.... Before the official 'Be Best' rollout on Monday, aides had been upfront to reporters when asked about the fact that Mrs. Trump's office was repackaging items ... from other programs."
Margaret Hartmann: "... on the eve of Wednesday's confirmation hearing, excerpts of what [Gina Haspel] plans to tell the Senate Intelligence Committee revealed that lawmakers have absolutely nothing to worry about. If confirmed, Haspel won't restart the horrific torture program that led to the closing of the black sites and the passage of new anti-torture legislation -- she promises! 'Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment, clearly and without reservation, that under my leadership CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation program,' Haspel plans to say. Haspel's critics object to her refusal to declassify documents related to her 30-year career at the CIA, and according to the Washington Post, her prepared testimony is peppered with dramatic yet vague allusions to her work. Haspel will have the opportunity to share more information with senators in a closed-door hearing following her public testimony." ...
... Charlie Savage of the New York Times: "Khalid Shaikh Mohammed..., the principal architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks..., asked a military judge at Guantánamo Bay for permission to share six paragraphs of information about Ms. Haspel with the Senate Intelligence Committee. Ms. Haspel ran a black-site prison in Thailand where another high-level detainee was tortured in late 2002. But it is not known whether she was involved, directly or indirectly, in Mr. Mohammed's torture. Mr. Mohammed was held in secret C.I.A. prisons in Afghanistan and Poland. In the weeks after his capture, an Intelligence Committee report said, Mr. Mohammed was subjected to the suffocation technique called waterboarding 183 times over 15 sessions, stripped naked, doused with water, slapped, slammed into a wall, given rectal rehydrations without medical need, shackled into painful stress positions and sleep-deprived for about a week by being forced to stand with his hands chained above his head. While being subjected to that treatment, he made alarming confessions about purported terrorist plots -- like recruiting black Muslims in Montana to carry out attacks -- that he later retracted. They were apparently made up, the Senate report said."
Oliver Milman of the Guardian: Scott Pruitt's newly-confirmed deputy Andrew Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist, is more dangerous to the environment than Pruitt. "Wheeler was previously a lobbyist at Faegre Baker Daniels, focusing on clients such as Murray Energy, one of the US's largest coalmining companies. He joined Robert Murray, chief executive of Murray Energy, in a series of meetings with the Trump administration to wind back regulations affecting the coal sector.... Wheeler is well known in Washington DC, having spent four years at the EPA at the start of his career before shifting to Congress to work for Senator James Inhofe.... 'Pruitt does whatever his fossil fuel overlords like; Mr Wheeler's main qualification is knowing which levers to pull to give polluters maximum benefit,' said Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat." ...
... Kyla Mandel of ThinkProgress: "The Heritage Foundation -- ... known for promoting climate science denial -- paid for Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Scott Pruitt's hotel stay while attending a conference in Colorado last year. The think tank also offered to cover his flights.... As emails between Heritage Foundation and EPA staffers show, the think tank also provided talking points for Pruitt to use in his speech.... The Heritage Foundation didn't just arrange Pruitt's accommodations in Colorado Springs; as the emails detail, the think tank also took care of booking rooms for several other EPA staffers." --safari
Nick Miroff, et al., of the Washington Post: "In the past six months, the Trump administration has moved to expel 300,000 Central Americans and Haitians living and working legally in the United States, disregarding senior U.S. diplomats who warned that mass deportations could destabilize the region and trigger a new surge of illegal immigration. The warnings were transmitted to top State Department officials last year in embassy cables now at the center of an investigation by Senate Democrats, whose findings were recently referred to the Government Accountability Office.... The cables' contents ... reveal career diplomats' strong opposition to terminating the immigrants' provisional residency, known as temporary protected status (TPS), and the possible deportation of hundreds of thousands of people to some of the poorest and most violent places in the Americas. Then-Secretary of State Rex Tillerson dismissed the advice and joined other Trump officials in pressuring leaders at the Department of Homeland Security to strip the immigrants of their protections...."
Congressional/Gubernatorial Races
Jonathan Martin & Andrew Burns of the New York Times: "Republicans narrowly averted political disaster in the West Virginia Senate primary on Tuesday with the defeat of former coal executive Don Blankenship while mainstream Democrats fended off a liberal insurgent in the Ohio governor's race, bringing relief to the establishment of both parties on a day of elections in four states. But Washington Republicans were handed a stinging defeat in North Carolina, where Representative Robert Pittenger was defeated by Mark Harris, a pastor who made his name denouncing same-sex marriage."
The New York Times has live primary election results for West Virginia here. Ohio results are here, Indiana results here, and North Carolina results here. There are no state-wide races in North Carolina.
West Virginia: At 9:45 pm ET Tuesday, no winner yet declared in the GOP Senate race, but Morrisey is ahead & Blankenship is trailing both him & Jenkins. The winner will challenge incumbent Sen. Joe Manchin (D). At 10:25 pm ET NBC News has projected Patrick Morrisey as the winner of the Republican Senate primary. ...
... Cocaine Mitch Gets the Last Laugh. Matthew Dessem of Slate: "After Don Blankenship lost the West Virginia primary on Tuesday, the official Twitter account for Team Mitch was there to rub salt -- or some other white powder -- in his wounds.... The source image for McConnell's tweet was this key art of Brazilian actor Wagner Moura playing Pablo Escobar on Netflix's Narcos." Mrs. McC: You'll have to read/see the story to get the full impact of Mitch's tweet.
Ohio: James Renacci has been declared the winner of the GOP Senate primary. He will challenge incumbent Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). Richard Cordray has been declared winner of the Democratic primary for governor. He handily beat former Rep. Dennis Kucinich & Joe Schiavoni. State AG & former U.S. Sen. Mike DeWine has been declared winner of the GOP gubernatorial primary, besting Mary Taylor.
Indiana: Mike Braun has won the GOP primary for U.S. Senate. He will face incumbent Democratish Joe Donnelly.
Jonathan Chait: "The great virtue of Mitch McConnell has always been his willingness to ... bluntly confess the game he is playing. McConnell is currently dealing with a West Virginia Republican primary in which one leading contender, Don Blankenship, is a criminal who has smeared McConnell as a cocaine smuggler and made racist attacks against his family. Asked by reporters today if he would describe Blankenship's ads as racist, McConnell admitted the answer would depend on whether Blankenship won the nomination.... 'Well, we're going to find out what happens in West Virginia tonight, and I may have more to say about that tomorrow.'... If Blankenship loses, he’s a racist. If he wins, he’s just another important voice for pro-growth blah blah blah."
Jan Ransom of the New York Times: New York "Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo asked Tuesday night that a special prosecutor be appointed to investigate allegations that Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman assaulted four women he was romantically involved with over several years, taking the inquiry away from the Manhattan district attorney.... Hours after The New Yorker reported on Monday that they had accused Mr. Schneiderman of assault, the Manhattan district attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., announced that his office would investigate the allegations, raising the possibility that criminal charges would accompany Mr. Schneiderman's political fall from grace. But by early Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo had raised questions about Mr. Vance's ability to be impartial.... And by nightfall, he had written a letter ordering the Nassau County district attorney, Madeline Singas, be appointed to investigate 'any and all matters' related to Mr. Schneiderman's mistreatment of his former romantic partners.... Mr. Vance fired back at the governor on Tuesday night, saying in a letter that he objected to the decision to appoint a special prosecutor." Read on for details. ...
... Kalhan Rosenblatt of NBC News: "The Manhattan District Attorney's Office confirmed on Tuesday that it is investigating outgoing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman.... On Monday, Schneiderman said he would resign after The New Yorker published a 6,100-word article, in which several women claimed the he had been violent toward them.... [Gov. Andrew] Cuomo, who himself once held the role of New York state attorney general, said that the women who made the claims 'should have their day in court' and that he had asked the Manhattan district attorney to open the investigation into Schneiderman."
Annals of "Journalism," Ctd. Jeremy Barr of the Hollywood Reporter: "MSNBC is being forced to answer questions about the role that one of its employees, Saturday-morning show host Hugh Hewitt, played in brokering a meeting between embattled EPA head Scott Pruitt and lawyers representing a California Superfund site[, Politico reported (also linked here yesterday)]. The lawyers, who work for the same firm as Hewitt, Larson O'Brien, met with Pruitt in October and were successful in lobbying the EPA to put the Orange County North Basin site they represent on a list of locations targeted for 'immediate and intense' action.... When asked if MSNBC was aware of Hewitt's involvement, a spokesman said Tuesday afternoon, 'We'll get back to you.' [They didn't.]... Media watchers ... say that Hewitt's involvement amounts to a conflict of interest, particularly considering Hewitt's persistent defense of Pruitt on television. 'Um, it's not okay for a cable news contributor to ask the EPA administrator for favors like this and still be on TV talking about him. At. All,' The New York Times' Michael Barbaro wrote. 'How does @MSNBC possibly justify keeping Hugh Hewitt on the payroll given this?' Vox Media's Matthew Yglesias asked Tuesday morning."
Beyond the Beltway
Mark Hand of ThinkProgress: "In New Orleans, actors were paid to show up at city council meetings to demonstrate their support for a planned natural gas-fueled power plant. The paid actors ... held signs about the power plant project's job-creating potential at New Orleans City Council meetings. Some of the actors also gave speeches in favor of the proposed Entergy New Orleans LLC power plant during the public comment period.... [T]hey were paid $60 to wear orange shirts. Others were paid more to speak in front of the city council members. In a vote of 6-1, the New Orleans City Council in March ended up voting in favor of Entergy's proposed power plant.... The fossil fuel industry has employed such tactics for years." --safari
A Duke U. VP Walked into a Coffee Bar.... (But this is not a joke.) Mrs. McCrabbie: In case it's been a while since you had a low-level job you were good at doing, here's a reminder of how such employees can be fired on the whim of a prissy higher-up. Oh, and then somebody is lying about who's responsible for the firing.
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