The Commentariat -- December 15, 2019

Afternoon Update:

Karoun Demirjian & Steven Mufson of the Washington Post: "House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler accused Senate Republicans of violating their oath to be impartial jurors in an impeachment trial, as GOP senators defended their right to work for President Trump's acquittal.... Senators take an oath to 'do impartial justice' at the start of any impeachment trial -- but several Republican senators argued that impartiality doesn't cover politics.... 'Senators are not required, like jurors in a criminal trial, to be sequestered, not to talk to anyone, not to coordinate. There's no prohibition,' Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said on 'This Week,' calling impeachment 'inherently a political exercise' and Trump's impeachment a 'partisan show trial.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: These yahoos are too dumb to realize that the more they make a travesty of the Senate "trial," and the more they boast about deciding for Trump before they hear evidence, the more obvious it will be to Americans who pay only scant attention to the news that the Senate proceedings are a sham. I think this tactic could blow up in their faces. For better or for worse, Americans will equate the Senate trial with a criminal trial, and they've all watched enough teevee to know jurors are excused if deemed for some reason to be partial & can be prosecuted if they are found to have lied about some specific bias or foreknowledge they might have.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Impeach." New York Times Editors: "... the story told by the two articles of impeachment approved on Friday morning by the House Judiciary Committee is short, simple and damning: ... Donald Trump abused the power of his office by strong-arming Ukraine, a vulnerable ally, holding up hundreds of millions of dollars in military aid until it agreed to help him influence the 2020 election by digging up dirt on a political rival. When caught in the act, he rejected the very idea that a president could be required by Congress to explain and justify his actions, showing 'unprecedented, categorical and indiscriminate defiance' in the face of multiple subpoenas. He made it impossible for Congress to carry out fully its constitutionally mandated oversight role, and, in doing so, he violated the separation of powers, a safeguard of the American republic.... The president insists he is innocent of any wrongdoing, yet he refuses to release any administration documents or allow any administration officials to testify -- though, if his assertions are in fact true, those would presumably exonerate him..... Republican legislators ... have been working overtime to abet the president's wrongdoing. They have spread toxic misinformation and conspiracy theories to try to justify his actions and raged about the unfairness of the inquiry.... [Mitch] McConnell there was 'no chance' the Senate would vote to convict. For now, that leaves the defense of the Constitution, and the Republic, to the House of Representatives." ~~~

     ~~~ Rebecca Leber of Mother Jones: "It's significant, and rather unusual, for the Times to take such a firm stand on impeachment. Editorial page editor James Bennet shed light on their reluctance to call for earlier impeachment inquiries both of Trump and for Andrew Johnson in 1868, Richard Nixon in 1974 and Bill Clinton in 1998...."

The Emptiest Suit in the Senate. Colby Itkowitz of the Washington Post: "Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Saturday that he's made up his mind that President Trump should be acquitted, dismissed the notion that he has to be a 'fair juror' and said he doesn't see the need for a formal trial in the Senate. Graham, a staunch defender of the president, made the comments overseas during an interview with CNN International at the Doha Forum in Qatar.... On Saturday, a clip of Graham during the impeachment of President Bill Clinton made the rounds on social media, showing the then-representative make an appeal to his colleagues not to rush through the process or make a judgment before it's over.... Graham said then, 'Members of the Senate have said, "I understand everything there is about this case, and I won't vote to impeach the president." Please allow the facts to do the talking.... Don't decide the case before the case's end.'" The CNN story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Aliza Worthington of Crooks & Liars: "Whatever you do, DON'T remind [Lindsey] of [1998 video of Lindsey begging Democrats to consider the impeachment of Bill Clinton carefully,] by tweeting that video to him at @LindseyGrahamSC . DEFINITELY don't call him at his Washington, DC office at (202) 224-5972 to applaud him for his 1998 plea to his fellow senators to 'Please let the facts do the talking.' I certainly hope you will NOT write to him at his DC office to remind him of his 1998 concern that 'people have made up their mind in a political fashion that will hurt this country long term. Here is the address at which you should NOT write him: 290 Russell Senate Office Building, Washington, DC 20510. And, for the love of all things holy, PLEASE REFRAIN from clicking this link to send 2019 Lindsey Graham a message about when 1998 Lindsey Graham urged, 'Do justice to the case. Don't decide the case before the case is in.' Thank you." ~~~

~~~ Burgess Everett of Politico: "Sen. Lindsey Graham is inviting Rudy Giuliani to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee about his recent trip to Ukraine. In an interview airing on Face the Nation Sunday, the Senate Judiciary Committee chairman said that Giuliani ... could appear before his committee separately from the impending Senate impeachment trial."

** The New Rudy Is Just Like the Old Rudy. Clyde Haberman (Maggie's dad) in BuzzFeed News: "What is going on with Rudy Giuliani? The man who long enjoyed the flattering if empty sobriquet 'America's mayor' often comes across as completely unhinged these days, as when he screamed 'Shut up, moronShut up, shut up!' at an antagonist on Fox News not that long ago.... The reality, as clear-eyed New Yorkers could tell you, is that this is the same tower of truculence Giuliani has always been: a kiss-up, kick-down kind of guy, someone fittingly described by the late columnist Jimmy Breslin as 'a small man in search of a balcony.'"

Jonathan Martin & Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey, a moderate Democrat who is among his party's staunchest opponents of impeaching President Trump, told aides on Saturday that he is planning to switch parties and declare himself a Republican as soon as next week, just as the House is casting its historic votes on articles of impeachment. At a White House meeting on Friday, Mr. Van Drew sought Mr. Trump's blessing for the move, which could be critical to his ability to avoid a primary challenge next year, and the president urged him to make the jump, according to two Democrats and one Republican...." A Politico story is here.

Evan Semones of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday lit into Fox News' decision to interview two of his politico foes -- James Comey and Rep. Adam Schiff.... 'Hard to believe that @FoxNews will be interviewing sleazebag & totally discredited former FBI Director James Comey, & also corrupt politician Adam 'Shifty'Schiff,' Trump tweeted. 'Fox is trying sooo hard to be politically correct, and yet they were totally shut out from the failed Dem debates!' In a subsequent tweet, Trump likened the conservative cable network to 'Commiecast MSNBC' and 'Fake News CNN,' saying they'd 'die together as other outlets take their place.' Fox announced this week that the former FBI director and House Intelligence Committee chairman would sit for separate interviews with Chris Wallace on 'Fox News Sunday.'"

"Truth Decay." David Smith of the Guardian: "... as impeachment looms, [Donald Trump's] allies appear to be waging an increasingly frantic political and media counter-offensive that puts truth itself in the dock. A bewildering array of fake news, warped facts and conspiracy theories have been propagated in the past week by conservative media, Republican politicians, White House officials and the president in his own defence.... Trump has far more tools at his disposal than Richard Nixon or Bill Clinton did when facing impeachment in the 1970s and 90s. No matter how outlandish, his assertions are amplified and seldom questioned by loyal hosts on Rupert Murdoch's Fox News network.... [The false assertions are] further augmented by social media.... This calibrated, multi-pronged Republican assault has left the nation in what some call a state of 'truth decay' as all sense of shared reality breaks down. The tactics offer a chilling preview of how the president intends to fight next year's election." --s

Devlin Barrett of the Washington Post: "Carter Page fought the law, and the law lost. The former Trump campaign adviser was one of the first four suspects identified by the FBI in the early days of its investigation of President Trump's 2016 campaign aides, and the only one of that group to have his electronic communications secretly targeted by a U.S. foreign intelligence court. But when the dust settled three years later, he was also the only one of the four without a criminal conviction -- a feat all the more remarkable in that he did much of it without a lawyer.... Page had declared that the year-long surveillance of his communications was an abuse of government power, and he received a significant measure of vindication last Monday in a 434-page report from Justice Department Inspector General Michael E. Horowitz. Horowitz concluded that the FBI made 17 significant errors or omissions in its applications to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to surveil Page. 'It doesn't vindicate anyone at the FBI who touched this, including the leadership,' Horowitz told Congress."

William Saletan of Slate runs down the remarkable passel of lies Bill Barr has told about the Russia investigation. It's quite a stunning list and a prime example of what David Smith of the Guardian calls "truth decay." The actual truth is that any defenses of Trump require the defenders to lie. And they're happy to do it.

David Rogers of Politico: "... Donald Trump's border wall is facing a surprising new legal hurdle down in Texas: an obscure legislative provision crafted by House Republicans in 2014 when the GOP was targeting then-President Barack Obama's budget powers. The amendment, carried forward into current law, has resurfaced with a vengeance in El Paso, Texas. U.S District Court Judge David Briones has been quoting back its words in a series of rulings against Trump's decision to take $3.6 billion from military construction projects to expedite his wall. As first adopted, the Republican language specifically prohibited Obama from taking any step to 'eliminate or reduce funding for any program, project, or activity as proposed in the President's budget request' until it's cleared with Congress. The triggering event was a relatively narrow dispute in 2013 over funding for space exploration. But when they were enacted in Jan. 2014, the restrictions applied government-wide. And a year later, under full Republican control, Congress added the word 'increase' alongside 'eliminate or reduce' funding. What goes around, in other words, comes around. But what's most remarkable is how much the legislative phrasing -- aimed squarely at Obama -- applies directly to the current fight involving Trump."

Donald Trump's ideal woman is vapid, accommodating & pretty. The Trumpettes oblige:

~~~ Karen Tumulty of the Washington Post rips supposed anti-bullying crusader Melania Trump for her response-excuse (actually, Stephanie Grisham's response-excuse) re: Donald Trump's bullying 16-year-old Greta Thunberg. ~~~

~~~ Otillia Steadman of BuzzFeed News: "At the Doha Forum in Qatar..., in a room packed with high level officials from around the world, [Ivanka] Trump answered admiring questions about her pet project advocating for women's economic development from a spokesperson for her own government, who is also working on the project.... The forum typically hosts tough interviews, and an array of senior leaders took hard questions before and after Trump spoke."

Courtney Kube & Carol Lee of NBC News: "The Trump administration intends to announce the drawdown of about 4,000 troops from Afghanistan as early next week, according to three current and former U.S. officials. The withdrawal will leave between 8,000 and 9,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan, the officials said. The announcement would come just days after Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad rejoined diplomatic talks with the Taliban, which had broken down in September.... The U.S. has between 12,000 and 13,000 troops in Afghanistan now. The officials would not say when the drawdown would begin, but did characterize it as a phased withdrawal that would occur over a few months." --s

Presidential Race 2020

Ruby Cramer of BuzzFeed News: "Cory Booker has asked his fellow presidential candidates to sign a letter petitioning the Democratic National Committee to make its debate qualification rules less exclusionary. All seven participants in next week's debate, as well as Julián Castro, who also has not qualified, have signed the letter, a DNC official said on Saturday afternoon. Booker, the 50-year-old New Jersey senator who has struggled to move beyond low single digits in national and early-state polls, failed to qualify for the Democratic debate next week in Los Angeles.... Booker has upped his criticisms of the DNC's process over the last two weeks, particularly since Sen. Kamala Harris ended her campaign. The party, he said, is enforcing 'artificial rules' that would have hurt successful past candidates like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama while allowing billionaires like Tom Steyer to get onto the debate stage.... In a statement provided on Saturday, DNC communications director Xochitl Hinojosa defended the debate qualification criteria as 'extremely low.'" ~~~

~~~ Alex Thompson & Elena Schneider of Politico: "The Democratic National Committee is pushing back against a request from the party's presidential candidates to change debate requirements to allow Cory Booker and Julián Castro to appear on the January stage." The article includes a longer statement from the DNC & a complaint about Booker from a gutless unnamed "rival campaign operative."

Heather Murphy of the New York Times: "The Hallmark Channel pulled four TV ads featuring brides kissing each other on Thursday after a targeted campaign by a conservative group. Asked to explain why the ads had been rejected, an employee of Hallmark's parent company said the channel did not accept ads 'that are deemed controversial,' according to an email exchange shared with The New York Times. A spokesman for Hallmark said the women's 'public displays of affection' violated the channel's policies, but he declined to comment on why a nearly identical ad featuring a bride and groom kissing was not rejected.... Tensions over the ads coincided with a potential shift at the Hallmark Channel. This month Bill Abbott, Crown Media's chief executive, announced that he was 'open' to airing Christmas movies that feature L.G.B.T.Q. families, according to The Advocate." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Besides discriminating against gay couples, by eliminating those ads, the network is leaving viewers with the impression that the advertiser Zola, a wedding Website service, is strictly for straight couples. Like millions of Americans, I object to the "Cars for Kids" ad. I wonder if the networks will stop running the ad because we hate it. I hate the ads for something that is supposed to straighten bent penises; it features a bent banana. The "conservative" group is just a stupid bigotry-advocacy organization. The channel made a huge mistake in caving to them. Now I won't be watching their fabulous boy-meets-girl-at-Christmas movies (as if I would have done), just in case the movies might have scenes where the couples kiss.

The Commentariat -- December 14, 2019

Olivia Beavers & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment Friday that charge President Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors, setting up a historic House vote next week that all but guarantees Trump will be just the third president to be impeached in U.S. history. The articles, which charge Trump with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, were passed out of the committee along strict party lines, with 23 Democrats voting to send the measures to the full House, which is expected to approve them next week. One Democrat, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), was absent after undergoing an unexpected medical procedure earlier in the week." The New York Times report, by Nicholas Fandos, is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Oops! Jim Dwyer & Eric Lipton of the New York Times: "... Mr. Trump did not mention Mr. Giuliani or his unpaid labor on the annual financial disclosure he filed in May, which requires that the value and source of gifts -- including free legal work -- be publicly listed. That requirement is cut and dried, said Kathleen Clark, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis. She cited guidance from the Office of Government Ethics, issued in November 2017, that states federal officials must disclose 'gifts of legal defenses -- in kind or by payment of the fees.' 'The purpose is to ensure the public has an opportunity to see whether there is any kind of corrupting influence,' said Ms. Clark.... The economic value of [Giuliani's] services to the president could be considerable. Mr. Giuliani has said that at the height of the Mueller inquiry, representing Mr. Trump amounted to a full-time job. Partners at major law firms can bill their clients as much as $1,500 an hour. To serve as Mr. Trump's lawyer, Mr. Giuliani left a firm where he was making $6 million a year." ~~~

     ~~~ ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Mrs. McCrabbie: This sounds like an ideal time for Trump to apply Steve Martin's old advice on how to get a million dollars without paying taxes on it: "First, get a million dollars (in this case, in legal services). Then, when the tax man comes to your door, you look him in the eye and say two simple words: 'I... forgot.'"

John Fritze of USA Today: "... Donald Trump's personal attorney, Rudy Giuliani, was seen entering the White House Friday, just as the House Judiciary Committee was taking a historic series of votes to approve articles of impeachment against the president. Giuliani, a central figure in the events driving the Democratic impeachment push, has said he wants to brief U.S. officials on the findings of his recent trip to Ukraine. It was not immediately clear if Giuliani was meeting with Trump." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Kristen Welker of NBC News (@4:59 pm ET Friday): "Rudy Giuliani confirmed via text he did meet with Trump at the White House on Friday. 'I'm caught going to meet with my client? Is that an impeachable offense?' he added." ~~~

~~~ Alex Ward of Vox: "... Donald Trump's entire impeachment mess began over his efforts to pressure Ukraine to investigate former Vice President Joe Biden's family and Democrats with the help of his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.... Giuliani recently returned from a trip to Kyiv this month in which he interviewed local officials to learn more about Hunter Biden ... and his time on the board of the Ukrainian gas company Burisma. He also wanted to prove the conspiracy theory ... that Ukraine, not Russia, interfered in the 2016 presidential election. After landing in New York last Saturday, according to the Wall Street Journal, the president called his attorney while the plane was still taxiing. 'What did you get?' Trump asked, according to the Journal's Friday interview with Giuliani. 'More than you can imagine,' the former New York City mayor replied, noting he would be putting his findings in a 20-page report. One almost has to respect (while remaining appalled at) how brazen Giuliani's admission is here. He's openly telling the Wall Street Journal that his anti-Biden investigation in Ukraine continues, and that Trump is still interested in knowing about it." ~~~

~~~ Matt Naham of Law & Crime: "Is that a folder -- or a dossier, if you will -- tucked under Giuliani's arm? [Naham comments on a photo of Giuliani entered the White House.]... 'Mafia in action at the White House. This is just so surreal.' [former prosecutor Mimi Rocah tweeted].... 'Trump has been emboldened, not chastened, by impeachment. His personal attorney is at the WH right now after his trip to Ukraine to continue to dig up dirt on Joe Biden, the heart of this impeachment itself. And GOP is no longer lodging any protest. This is the reality for 2020.' [CNN host Jim Sciutto tweeted]." ~~~

      ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: When Bill Clinton got caught by the blue dress (after he gave his DNA to the Starr chamber), he apologized for his behavior & implied there would be no more bimbo eruptions during his tenure in office. That's a huge difference. Trump, besides refusing to cooperate with House investigations, not only has not apologized, he sees nothing wrong with his actions and is continuing the offending behavior in an in-your-face manner. And Mitch McConnell, along with almost all other elected Republicans in Washington, is egging Trump on. We are living in dangerous times. ~~~

~~~ Josh Kovensky of TPM: "Rudy Giuliani has yet another new anti-Joe Biden theory ready to go, conjured up during his trip to Hungary and Ukraine last week. The latest Rudy eruption makes the fantastical and unsubstantiated allegation that the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, under the tenure of former Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and under the direction of Vice President Joe Biden, diverted a whopping $5.3 billion in American aid that was intended for the embattled former Soviet republic. It gets better though. [George] Soros is involved. Of course. Biden and Yovanovitch, as Rudy's theory goes, moved the funds to the embassy's 'favored' non-governmental organizations which, you may not be surprised to learn, allegedly have ties to the billionaire philanthropist and bogeyman of the right." ~~~

~~~ AND Have You Heard This One? Josh Kovensky (Dec. 10): "The Ukrainians who met with Giuliani have announced, on their own, what they told the President's lawyer. What emerges is a new conspiracy theory positing an elaborate scheme involving the Franklin Templeton investment fund, [President] Obama, and [Adam] Schiff.... Oleksandr Dubinsky..., known in Ukraine in part for his ties to a local oligarch with certain legal issues pending in the U.S..., uploaded a video last week in which he retells what he claims to have told Giuliani.... Without providing any evidence to support the claim, Dubinsky said in the video that $7 billion that had been stolen from the Ukrainian budget via various corruption schemes was laundered into the U.S. by being used to purchase an equal amount in bonds issued by the Ukrainian government.... The investment manager overseeing the alleged scheme was also one of the Obama campaign's biggest donors, Dubinsky said.... Giuliani tweeted last week that Schiff is an 'investor' in Franklin Templeton. 'Working on an important project with @OANN, [right-wing One America 'News' Network] intended to bring before the American people information Schiff (recently disclosed investor in Franklin Templton) "Star chamber" proceedings have covered up,' [Giuliani tweeted].... Schiff's connection to the mutual fund company appears to be as passive and insignificant as that of a typical investor with money in Fidelity, Schwab, or Vanguard." ~~~

     ~~~ safari, who linked both of Kovensky's posts, points out that Kovensky was formerly a reporter for the Kyiv Post. ~~~

     ~~~ digby: "If Trump pushes this publicly, you would think the Republicans would feel compelled to not only convict Trump and remove him from office, but have him hospitalized. This is lunacy and if it makes you feel crazy too, I'm pretty sure that's part of the plan." Mrs. McC: Actually, I expect Lindsey Graham, who already has opened an "investigation" into Joe & Hunter Biden's activities re: Ukraine, to incorporate Rudy's "findings" into the Senate "investigation." Further, if Biden is the Democratic nominee, the "investigation" will drag on throughout the fall, and we'll have a repeat of Hillary Clinton's 11-hour grilling before a House Benghaaazi! committee -- only Biden won't hold up in the admirable way Clinton did.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "In a late Thursday interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, [Mitch] McConnell (R-Ky.) all but guaranteed a Trump acquittal, saying there was 'zero chance' the president would be removed from office, and promised 'total coordination' with the White House and Trump's defense team.... Those remarks infuriated House Democrats as they voted to advance the fourth-ever set of presidential impeachment articles toward a Senate trial where, they said, the fix appeared to be in.... Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) ... call[ed] on McConnell to recuse himself from the Senate proceedings based on his Fox News remarks. 'He's working hand in hand with the White House, the president's attorney, and yet we are supposed to expect him to manage a fair and impartial impeachment inquiry?' she said. 'They've screamed "bias," "kangaroo court," "witch hunt" and everything else. ... When the Senate majority leader stands at the microphone and says I'm basically going to coordinate with the president's attorney, that scares me.'... Sen. Chris Murphy (Conn.) tweet[ed], 'The Majority Leader proudly announcing he is planning to rig the impeachment trial for Trump.'"

** "Vindman Rule." Alex Marquardt, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump's senior aides have further restricted the number of administration officials allowed to listen to the President's phone calls with foreign leaders since his July 25 call with Ukraine's President was revealed and became the centerpiece of the impeachment inquiry, according to multiple White House sources. Transcripts of Trump's calls with world leaders are also disseminated to a far smaller group of people inside the White House, those administration sources say, continuing an effort to limit the number of people with insight and information about the conversations. Nobody is allowed on the calls,' a White House official said.... 'The barn door officially closed after the horse escaped.'... Gone from the calls are some of the career staffers and detailees whose roles included taking notes and providing edits to the eventual transcript of the conversations meant to clarify what was said." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Congressional oversight chairs should "object in the strongest terms" to the administration's hiding the substance of Trump's calls with foreign leaders. Trump is supposed to be using these calls to advance U.S. interests & policies. If he's not -- and we know he's not -- the Congress should know about it. Limiting the number of people on the call to Trump loyalists who won't blow the whistle or even testify under subpoena to any wrongdoing is a huge national security risk.

Alexander Nazaryan of Yahoo! News: "A district court judge in Washington, D.C., has ordered administration lawyers to explain why, for more than two years, the White House has refused to turn over to the State Department an interpreter's notes from a meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. That meeting took place in the summer of 2017, during a summit of the G-20 nations in Hamburg, Germany. The two men got along so well that the meeting, which was supposed to last an hour, ran to 137 minutes. In the room with Putin were Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, along with two interpreters — one American and the other Russian. As the lengthy meeting concluded, Trump confiscated notes from the State Department interpreter, thus depriving American diplomats -- and, according to an ongoing lawsuit, the American public -- of the lone U.S. government record of what exactly was said.... Judge Trevor McFadden rejected the administration's argument that the notes were a presidential record outside the purview of the Federal Records Act, which describes how executive-branch agencies must preserve documents."

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether President Trump can block the release of his financial records, setting the stage for a blockbuster ruling on the power presidents to resist demands for information from prosecutors and Congress. The court's ruling, expected by June, could give the public a look at information the president has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect. Or the justices could rule that Mr. Trump's financial affairs are not legitimate subjects of inquiry so long as he remains in office. Either way, the court is now poised to produce a once-in-a-generation statement on presidential accountability.... Mr. Trump asked the court to block three sets of subpoenas, and the justices agreed to decide his appeals in all three. All of the subpoenas sought information from Mr. Trump's accountants or bankers, not from Mr. Trump himself, and the firms have indicated that they will comply with the court's ruling." (Also linked yesterday.) The NBC News report is here. ~~~

~~~ Ian Millhiser of Vox: "The stakes in these cases are massive, and go well beyond the question of whether a particular subpoena may be enforced. A decision for Trump could give the president broad new immunity from oversight that would extend far beyond this one case. Under existing law, Trump's legal arguments are exceedingly weak, so a decision embracing those arguments could completely rework the balance of power between Congress and the presidency."

Try Again, Mike. Michael Wilner of the Wichita Eagle: "A federal judge ordered the State Department on Friday to expand its search for records of communication between Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and ... Donald Trump's personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, regarding Ukraine policy. The State Department released a number of records last month documenting contact between the two men. But Judge Christopher Cooper, on the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, ruled on Friday that the department arbitrarily limited its search for documents with a cut-off date of August 2. The State Department was given a January 8 deadline to release all records documenting emails, text messages, call logs and scheduled meetings on Ukraine policy that were dated until October 18. The court ruled that the department had 'not adequately justified why its Executive Secretariat used a cut-off date.'... The same judge in a separate case has ordered Kurt Volker, Trump's former special envoy to Ukraine, to produce his calendar entries texts with Giuliani regarding Ukraine policy by January 10."

James Stewart of the New York Times: "The [DOJ inspector general's] report [on the origins of the Russia investigation] 'was far worse than expected,' the president asserted -- after already predicting it would be 'devastating.' 'This was an attempted overthrow and a lot of people were in on it and they got caught, they got caught red-handed,' Mr. Trump said in the Cabinet Room at the White House. Attorney General William Barr was quick to pile on, too[.] Media coverage and Senate hearings quickly shifted to the F.B.I.'s procedural failings, which [IG Michael] Horowitz labeled 'gross incompetence.' By the end of the week, Americans could be forgiven for thinking that the F.B.I. was indeed part of some sinister coup attempt -- precisely the opposite of what Mr. Horowitz had concluded.... To a striking degree, Mr. Trump and his allies have turned the [inspector general's] post into a potent weapon aimed at his supposed enemies in the federal law enforcement agencies. Their ability to wreak political havoc with the latest Horowitz report is part of what has now become a clear pattern: Call for an investigation of a favorite Trump target; speculate about the likely outcome; seize on any collateral evidence that emerges; spin the results; then move quickly to the next investigation. Repeat."

Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States and China said they had agreed to an initial trade deal that would reduce tariffs on some Chinese goods and increase purchases of American farm products, a significant de-escalation in the 19-month battle that has rattled the world economy.... The limited agreement was widely viewed as a détente that would prevent an escalation of tariffs ahead of the 2020 election and could help reignite trade between the world's largest economies. But the preliminary pact lacked the magnitude of change that Mr. Trump had promised to deliver before talks broke down earlier this year and many details that have hampered past agreements continued to be in flux, including the size of China's agricultural purchases." A CNBC story is here. Mrs. McC: Trump of course called the limited agreement "phenomenal" and "amazing." (Also linked yesterday.)

AND in our Continuing Series, "Everything Trump Says Is a Lie":

~~~ All Jewish People Speak Alike. Sad. J.M. Rieger of the Washington Post: "Touting his accomplishments during a second Hanukkah reception at the White House on Wednesday, President Trump recalled a conversation he said he had with real estate developer Charles Kushner. 'I said, "Charlie, let me ask you, what's bigger for the Jewish people: giving the embassy to Jerusalem, it becomes the capital of Israel. What's bigger? That or the Golan Heights?" He said, "Neither." I said, "What does that mean?" He said, "The biggest thing of all is what you did by ending the Iran nuclear catastrophe,"' Trump said to applause from the audience. 'I think that's true.' It was remarkably similar to a story Trump told at the first White House Hanukkah reception just four hours prior, this time recalling a conversation he said he had with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft." Four days earlier, it was the same conversation he had with Sheldon Adelson. In September he had the exact same exchange with "people." "The White House declined to comment." There's a "Sir" tell in the first iteration. ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: The point of the story, of course, is that Trump has done three wonderful things for Israel. As we already knew, Trump is so desperate for praise that he makes up anecdotes about people praising him. This is pretty amazing for anyone who hold any sort of power, much less a POTUS*; people actually do praise them all the time, at least to their faces. Sad!

Derek Chollet reviews Peter Bergen's book Trump and His Generals in a Washington Post op-ed. "Bergen traces the ways Trump's fanboy fascination with 'his' generals transformed into deep frustration with their caution and ethical code.... As Bergen tells it, [Jim] Mattis and [H.R.] McMaster were motivated to work for Trump by their perceptions of the Obama administration's failures, especially in the Middle East. They thought Obama had squandered American leadership by not enforcing the red line in Syria, ceding ground to Moscow, withdrawing from Iraq and being too timid in the fight against the Islamic State. Ironically, they ended up serving a president who wanted out of the region far more than Obama ever did.... They found themselves doing everything possible to save Obama policies (like the Iran nuclear agreement) that Trump was determined to destroy."

Melanie: Okay for Donald to Bully Teenaged Girl. Maggie Serota of Spin: "First lady and anti-bullying advocate Melania Trump apparently thinks it's fine for her husband ... to bully 16-year-old climate change activist Greta Thunberg. When asked by reporters how she squares her anti-bullying initiative Be Best with ... Donald Trump's tweet telling the teen to 'work on her Anger Management problem,' the first lady seemed unbothered by her husband's behavior. '... she will continue to do all she can to help children. It is no secret that the President and First Lady often communicate differently -- as most married couples do,' read a statement issued from the White House to CNN reporter Kate Bennett. 'Their son is not an activist who travels the globe giving speeches. He is a 13-year-old who wants and deserves privacy.'... Melania just issued a public statement condemning impeachment witness Pamela Karlan for invoking Trump's 13-year-old son Barron Trump's name while making a point about the limitations of presidential power. 'A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics. Pamela Karlan, you should be ashamed of your very angry and obviously biased public pandering, and using a child to do it,' Melania Trump tweeted." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Karlan never said anything to disparage or characterize Barron. Her remark during testimony was, "The Constitution says there can be no titles of nobility, so while the president can name his son Barron, he cannot make him a baron." Later during her testimony, Karlan apologized for the remark. Oh, and there's this bizarro tweet from Trump's campaign. I did not make this up; Newsweek has the story:

When it comes to keeping his promises, there's only one Person Of The Year:

✅Booming Economy
✅Record Job Creation
✅Historic Tax Cuts
✅#AmericaFirst Trade Deals
✅ISIS Destroyed
✅Building the Wall#TIMEPOY #PromisesMadePromisesKept pic.twitter.com/pe1CNB7KKz

— Trump War Room (Text TRUMP to 88022) (@TrumpWarRoom) December 11, 2019

Presidential Race 2020. Zeeshan Aleem of Vox: "On Friday afternoon, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) declared that she was willing to boycott next week's Democratic debate at Loyola Marymount University in California in solidarity with campus workers who are picketing for better pay and health care. She immediately set off a domino effect that would eventually see every other Democratic presidential candidate who qualified for the debate make the same pledge. Unite Here Local 11 -- a union that represents 150 cooks, dishwashers, cashiers, and servers on LMU's campus who are employed by the food services company Sodexo -- plans to picket at the debate next Thursday to express their disapproval of Sodexo's handling of negotiations with the union. 'Honestly, the proposals are relatively modest ― living wage, improvements on health care,' Susan Minato, co-president of Unite Here Local 11, told HuffPost. 'So we did not anticipate that there would be ... difficulty over it. But we were wrong. They abruptly canceled negotiations.'"

Beyond the Beltway

California. Dale Kasler of the Sacramento Bee: "In a stunning rebuke to PG&E Corp., Gov. Gavin Newsom late Friday rejected the utility's plan to pay Northern California wildfire victims and exit bankruptcy. In a letter to PG&E Chief Executive Bill Johnson, the governor declared that the company's proposal doesn't go far enough to make it 'positioned to provide safe, reliable and affordable service.'"

** Georgia. Excellent Voter Suppression Method: Shutter the Polling Places. Mark Niesse & Nick Thieme of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "Amid widespread voter distrust of government oversight of elections and questions about ballot access, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution conducted a unique statistical analysis to learn how precinct closures and distance to the polls impact voting. The AJC mapped Georgia's 7 million registered voters and compared how distance to their local precincts increased or decreased from 2012 to 2018. During that time, county election officials shut down 8% of Georgia's polling places and relocated nearly 40% of the state's precincts. The AJC's analysis ... showed a clear link between turnout and reduced voting access. The farther voters live from their precincts, the less likely they are to cast a ballot. Precinct closures and longer distances likely prevented an estimated 54,000 to 85,000 voters from casting ballots on Election Day last year.... And the impact was greater on black voters than white ones, the AJC found."

Kentucky. Ben Tobin of the Louisville Courier Journal: "Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers [R] is calling on the U.S. Attorney's Office to investigate the pardons issued by former Gov. Matt Bevin. The Courier Journal first reported Wednesday that Bevin issued hundreds of pardons during his last days in office. Those pardoned included a man who was convicted of raping a 9-year-old in Kenton County and other convicted killers. 'From what we know of former Governor Bevin's extreme pardons and commutations, the Senate Republican Majority condemns his actions as a travesty and perversion of justice,' Stivers said.... Stivers' statement came hours after two Democratic legislators, Senate Democratic Floor Leader Morgan McGarvey and state Rep. Chris Harris called on Attorney General-elect Daniel Cameron to appoint an independent special prosecutor to investigate potential criminal wrongdoing involving Bevin's pardon of Patrick Brian Baker." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Also too, I'd like to know if Bevin showed his peculiar "mercy" to any criminals of color. The mugshots I've seen of his lucky pardon recipients are of white people.

Wisconsin. Bruce Vielmetti & Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "An Ozaukee County judge on Friday ordered the state to remove hundreds of thousands of people from Wisconsin's voter rolls because they may have moved. The case is being closely watched because of the state's critical role in next year's presidential race. Circuit Judge Paul Malloy also denied the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin's petition to intervene. Lawyers for the League and for the Wisconsin Elections Commission indicated they will appeal and asked Malloy to stay his ruling pending those appeals, but he declined. At issue is a letter the state Elections Commission sent in October to about 234,000 voters who it believes may have moved. The letter asked the voters to update their voter registrations if they had moved or alert election officials if they were still at their same address. The commission planned to remove the letter's recipients from the voter rolls in 2021 if it hadn't heard from them. But Malloy's decision would kick them off the rolls much sooner, and well before the 2020 presidential election."

The Commentariat -- December 13, 2019

Late Morning/Afternoon Update:

Adam Liptak of the New York Times: "The Supreme Court agreed on Friday to decide whether President Trump can block the release of his financial records, setting the stage for a blockbuster ruling on the power of presidents to resist demands for information from prosecutors and Congress. The court's ruling, expected by June, could give the public a look at information the president has gone to extraordinary lengths to protect. Or the justices could rule that Mr. Trump's financial affairs are not legitimate subjects of inquiry so long as he remains in office. Either way, the court is now poised to produce a once-in-a-generation statement on presidential accountability.... Mr. Trump asked the court to block three sets of subpoenas, and the justices agreed to decide his appeals in all three. All of the subpoenas sought information from Mr. Trump's accountants or bankers, not from Mr. Trump himself, and the firms have indicated that they will comply with the court's ruling."

Alan Rappeport, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States and China said they had agreed to an initial trade deal that would reduce tariffs on some Chinese goods and increase purchases of American farm products, a significant de-escalation in the 19-month battle that has rattled the world economy.... The limited agreement was widely viewed as a détente that would prevent an escalation of tariffs ahead of the 2020 election and could help reignite trade between the world's largest economies. But the preliminary pact lacked the magnitude of change that Mr. Trump had promised to deliver before talks broke down earlier this year and many details that have hampered past agreements continued to be in flux, including the size of China's agricultural purchases." A CNBC story is here. Mrs. McC: Trump of course called the limited agreement "phenomenal" and "amazing."

Olivia Beavers & Mike Lillis of the Hill: "Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee approved two articles of impeachment Friday that charge President Trump with high crimes and misdemeanors, setting up a historic House vote next week that all but guarantees Trump will be just the third president to be impeached in U.S. history. The articles, which charge with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, were passed out of the committee along strict party lines, with 23 Democrats voting to send the measures to the full House, which is expected to approve them next week. One Democrat, Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), was absent after undergoing an unexpected medical procedure earlier in the week." The New York Times report, by Nicholas Fandos, is here.

MEANWHILE. John Fritze of USA Today: "... Rudy Giuliani, was seen entering the White House Friday, just as the House Judiciary Committee was taking a historic series of votes to approve articles of impeachment against the president. Giuliani, a central figure in the events driving the Democratic impeachment push, has said he wants to brief U.S. officials on the findings of his recent trip to Ukraine. It was not immediately clear if Giuliani was meeting with Trump."

~~~~~~~~~~

Mark Landler & Stephen Castle of the New York Times: "Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party won a commanding majority in the British Parliament, a striking victory that redraws the lines in British politics and paves the way for the country's exit from the European Union early next year. The Conservatives were projected to win 363 seats in the House of Commons, versus 203 for the Labour Party, according to the BBC, with almost all of Parliament's seats decided. That would give the Conservatives about a 75-seat majority, their largest since that amassed by Margaret Thatcher in 1987." Mrs. McC: This seems like a tragedy for Britain, for Europe, and perhaps for the world. I hope I'm wrong. ~~~

~~~ Jill Lawless, et al., of the AP: "Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party has won a thumping majority of seats in Britain's Parliament -- a decisive outcome to a Brexit-dominated election that should allow Johnson to fulfill his plan to take the U.K. out of the European Union next month." ~~~

~~~ BBC: "Jeremy Corbyn has said he will not lead Labour into the next election, following a 'very disappointing night' for his party. He said he would stay on as leader during a 'process of reflection' on the result, which a BBC forecast says will be its worst since 1935. He added that the issue of Brexit had 'polarised' politics and 'overridden so much of normal political debate'. But others within Labour blamed his leadership." ~~~

~~~ Here's the Guardian's latest liveblog. ~~~

~~~ Then There's This. Rodney Jefferson & Alistair Reed of Bloomberg, in Yahoo! News: "The Scottish National Party was on course to take back most of the districts it lost two years ago. Such a dramatic outcome -- possibly winning at least 50 of the 59 seats available in Scotland -- will galvanize the party in its pursuit of the independence referendum leader Nicola Sturgeon says is necessary after her country opposed leaving the European Union. [Boris] Johnson, like his predecessor Theresa May, has consistently resisted pressure from the SNP-led administration in Edinburgh for another independence vote. But the last one, when Scots chose to stay in the U.K. in 2014, was before the vote to leave the EU. Sturgeon made stopping Brexit and giving Scotland the right to dictate its own future the cornerstone of her party's campaign. 'Johnson has a mandate for Brexit and Sturgeon has a mandate for Scottish independence,' Simon Hix, professor of political science at the London School of Economics, said after the exit poll. 'We are heading towards a new constitutional crisis, which won't be resolved easily in the next few years.' As of early morning, the SNP had taken 46 of the 59 seats, gaining 13, while Johnson's Conservatives lost seven and Labour lost six. The SNP held others with increased majorities and even took the seat of Liberal Democrat Party Leader Jo Swinson. 'It shows the divergent paths that Scotland and the rest of the U.K. are on,' Sturgeon told the BBC from Glasgow. 'It's still my plan to submit an official request before the end of the year for a new independence referendum.'" ~~~

~~~ Tom McTague of the Atlantic: "The Britain built by Tony Blair is gone, fatally undermined by David Cameron's Brexit referendum and, now, swept away in a provincial tide of support for Boris Johnson's Conservatives.... He has sheared off the Conservative Party's most liberal wing, radicalized Britain's divorce deal with the European Union -- and won a thumping mandate from the public to see it through.... This is a story ... [that] is also about the deep structural and demographic currents working under the surface, eroding Labour's historic heartlands and dragging Johnson to victory thanks to a new coalition of voters, transforming the Conservatives into a party that prioritizes national sovereignty and controls on immigration over economic growth, one that had the good fortune to face a Labour Party more out of touch with its base than ever before."

Friday the 13th Not Necessarily Donnie's Lucky Day. Nicholas Fandos of the New York Times: "House Judiciary Committee Democrats on Thursday abruptly put off a pair of historic impeachment votes after a drawn-out battle with Republicans stretched late into the night, setting up final action on Friday to approve charges that President Trump abused his power and obstructed Congress. Representative Jerrold Nadler, Democrat of New York and the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, called off the votes moments before they were expected to take place, announcing just after 11 p.m. that he wanted lawmakers to have time to 'search their consciences' before the final roll call. The chairman said the committee would reconvene Friday at 10 a.m. to promptly finalize two articles of impeachment, with the outcome certain."

Michael Shear of the New York Times highlighted developments in the House Judiciary Committee's debate on Articles of Impeachment. "The recess came after more than 14 hours of debate during which Republicans repeatedly sought to derail or water down the articles of impeachment drafted by the Democratic majority in the House. The committee rejected all five amendments proposed by Republicans." (Also linked yesterday.)

Here's a moment, courtesy of Jamie Raskin (D-Maryland):

"Pot Calling the Kettle Black." Caitlin Oprysko of Politico: "Rep. Matt Gaetz ... set off a dust-up during the Judiciary Committee's markup of articles of impeachment when he brought up Hunter Biden's history of substance abuse.... The remarkable exchange took place when Gaetz (R-Fla.) introduced an amendment that would have stricken former Vice President Joe Biden's name from one of the articles and inserted that of his son Hunter Biden and Burisma, the Ukrainian natural gas company on whose board he sat.... Gaetz quoted a New Yorker profile of Hunter from July that described Hunter Biden wandering through a homeless encampment in Los Angeles in search of cocaine and an instance in which a rental car company said it found a crack pipe in a car Biden had returned.... Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) then spoke up to oppose Gaetz's amendment, but not before taking a pointed swipe at his colleague's own run-in with the law. Gaetz was arrested in 2008 on suspicion of DUI, declining a breathalyzer test and a field sobriety test, according to the Tampa Bay Times. The charges against Gaetz were later dropped, and he was never convicted. 'I would say that the pot calling the kettle black is not something that we should do,' Johnson said, prompting laughter to break out in the hearing room. 'I don't know what members, if any, have had any problems with substance abuse, been busted in DUI, I don't know,' he continued, shooting a glance in Gaetz's direction. 'But if I did, I wouldn't raise it against anyone on this committee. I don't think it's proper.'"

** Sheryl Stolberg of the New York Times has a terrific story on Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), the only member of the Judiciary Committee who has participated in the impeachment proceedings of Richard Nixon, Bill Clinton & Donald Trump. (Also linked yesterday.)

Washington Post Editors: "THE HOUSE Judiciary Committee's debate about articles of impeachment Wednesday and Thursday underlined the yawning gap between Democrats and Republicans over President Trump's behavior -- and also between Republicans and the truth.... Remarkably, not one GOP member of the Judiciary Committee was ready to acknowledge that there was anything wrong with Mr. Trump's demand that a foreign government pursue false charges against one of his most likely Democratic opponents in the 2020 election.... Instead, they offered a display of blind fealty, portraying Mr. Trump as a victim of Democratic persecution while ignoring or misrepresenting the evidence against him. Some served up gross distortions and falsehoods. Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), among Mr. Trump's most ardent supporters, repeated what they described as four key points, all of which are starkly at odds with sworn testimony and documents."

They Can't Handle the Facts. Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post on Republican Senators' reported plan to hold an abbreviated impeachment "trial" without witnesses (related story linked below): "... it would be grossly irresponsible and cowardly of the Senate majority to duck its constitutional obligations by refusing to hear facts before a vote, but it follows that nothing would more vividly convey the irresponsibility and cowardice of Republican senators." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Lauren Egan of NBC News: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday that there was 'no chance' that ... Donald Trump would be removed from office in any impeachment trial that it 'wouldn't surprise' him if some Democrats split from their party and voted in the president's favor. 'The case is so darn weak coming from the House,' McConnell said in an interview with Sean Hannity on Fox News Thursday night, as the House Judiciary Committee continued to debate articles of impeachment." ~~~

~~~ Accused & "Jury Foreman" Conspire to Fix Trial. Manu Raju & Phil Mattingly of CNN: "Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and ... Donald Trump's top lawyer sketched out a plan Thursday to coordinate closely for an impeachment trial but haven't reached agreement on a final strategy to defend Trump against charges of high crimes and misdemeanors, according to two sources familiar with the conversation. The closed-door meeting Thursday between the Kentucky Republican and White House counsel Pat Cipollone occurred as Senate Republicans and the White House have diverged on what they would like to see take place in the looming trial in the chamber. Trump has made clear he wants witnesses to testify, in person, while senators -- including McConnell in private -- have warned that going down that path could lead to a politically precarious slippery slope in the GOP effort to acquit the President." Mrs. McC: Senators swear an oath to be impartial jurors. ~~~

~~~ Democratic Senators Consider Using Mrs. Bea McCrabbie's Weird Hypothetical Scenario. Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Democrats are quietly talking about asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to hold articles of impeachment in the House until Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) agrees to a fair rules package for a Senate trial. Democratic senators are concerned by talk among Senate Republicans of holding a speedy trial without witnesses, which would set up a shorter time frame than when the Senate considered President Clinton's 1999 impeachment.... Democrats discussed their impeachment strategy at a closed-door Steering Committee meeting on Wednesday attended by former Hillary Clinton campaign chairman John Podesta, former Obama White House counsel Bob Bauer and strategist Stephanie Cutter, according to a document listing the guests. University of North Carolina law professor Michael Gerhardt, an impeachment specialist, and Frank Bowman, the author of 'High Crimes and Misdemeanors: A History of Impeachment for the Age of Trump,' also attended. The legal experts told Democrats they have a strong case against Trump but that they must present their charges as vividly as possible. 'I think we should have witnesses, and I think that the way we hear from the witnesses will be determined by negotiations,' Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who left the presidential campaign trail to attend the meeting after missing Senate votes on Monday and Tuesday." ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: We live in times where the well-worn notion, "you can't make up this stuff" is no longer operative. Because yeah, you can.

Jeff Stein & Josh Dawsey of the Washington Post: "The White House budget office asserts in a new legal memo that it withheld military aid to Ukraine as a temporary move to study whether the spending complied with U.S. policy -- and not as a political effort to block Congress's spending decisions.... The memo details the White House's latest legal rationale for freezing foreign aid to Ukraine over the summer. OMB general counsel Mark Paoletta wrote the memo to respond to a request from the U.S. Government Accountability Office, which had asked why the aid had been delayed.... Paoletta authorized the repeated delays in the spending while awaiting a decision from Trump on the matter, according to [an] administration official.... Importantly, the agency's memo does not attempt to rebut Democrats' contention that Trump abused his power by seeking to pressure a foreign nation to open an investigation into a political rival or that he obstructed justice in deterring the investigation into his conduct.... Paoletta's new memo states that the Ukrainian assistance was put on hold in response to an administration directive 'pending a policy decision,' with internal discussions on the aid beginning June 19. That was the same day the president read an article in the Washington Examiner about the Pentagon's plans to send $250 million in weapons to Ukraine, according to the administration official...." ~~~

     ~~~ABC News has a report here. Paoletta's memo is here (via the WashPo). It is dated December 11, 2019. Mrs. McC: That is, Paoletta just thought it up, wa-a-a-y after the fact. Not too convincing. Looks another iteration of the popular Trump "I really don't care, do you?" defense.

Soo Rin Kim, et al., of ABC News: "The Trump administration released heavily redacted documents Thursday evening that, without the redactions, would have been the first communications revealed between government agencies regarding aid money to Ukraine being held up. The Freedom of Information Act request, filed by the Center for Public Integrity, a D.C.-based nonprofit group that specializes in investigative reporting, was first granted by a federal judge last month. That order required the Department of Defense and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to release documents to that group from April of this year regarding the Ukraine aid.... 'We are deeply disappointed that the public won't have access to this important information at the heart of the impeachment process,' said Susan Smith Richardson, CEO of the Center for Public Integrity. 'But we will continue to fight to ensure that the documents see the light of day.'"

Katelyn Polantz of CNN: "The Justice Department on Thursday quietly published on its website some never-before-seen internal legal opinions that could help ... Donald Trump block congressional requests as he faces impeachment by the US House and a trial in the Senate. Eight of the opinions appear to bolster the White House's stonewalling of Congress on witness testimony and document subpoenas.... A Justice Department official acknowledging the releases said these opinions were cited in the Office of Legal Counsel's more recent opinion that former Trump White House counsel Don McGahn should be immune from subpoenaed congressional testimony.... The collection could be a valuable central resource for the President in the coming weeks, fleshing out the authority the executive branch has given itself to ignore congressional requests."

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Bear in mind that these are opinions written to advocate for the president, not judicial opinions or decisions.

Erica Orden & Kara Scannell of CNN: "Federal prosecutors investigating associates of Rudy Giuliani have focused on a Ukrainian state-owned natural gas company, a move that suggests authorities are exploring whether a law prohibiting the payment of bribes to foreign officials has been violated.... The law, called the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, prohibits a US company or individual from giving any payment, offer of payment or anything of value to a foreign official in order to obtain or retain business.... The fresh line of inquiry has accelerated in recent weeks. New York federal prosecutors have interviewed two senior executives at Naftogaz, the Ukrainian state-run energy company, and requested interviews with at least two others who are believed to have some knowledge of the alleged scheme by Giuliani's associates Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman to replace Naftogaz's chief executive in hopes of bettering their business prospects."

Jonathan Chait backs up my assertion (made yesterday) that Trump & Putin were colluding on 2020 election disruption: "President Trump is facing impeachment primarily for abusing his power for political gain, extorting a foreign country to discredit his political rivals. The secondary aspect of the plot is that the target of his extortion is hardly random. Ukraine is the victim of Russian aggression, and Russia's continuing incursions into Ukrainian territory is the muscle that gave Trump's threats leverage. Trump's domestic interests are one intended beneficiary of his scheme. The other is Vladimir Putin.... Rudy has worked as Trump's lawyer for 'free,' but [Rudy aide Lev] Parnas paid him half a million dollars for his work. If Parnas himself was being paid by Russian sources, this means the Russians were essentially subsidizing Trump, paying for the work themselves so he didn't have to lay out a dime of his own money." Chait does add a caveat that it's not a slam-dunk that whatever oligarch(s) paid Parnas had an interest in helping Putin with Ukraine. But the way the government-oligarchical "system" works in Russia, it's likely. (Also linked yesterday.)

Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "A federal appeals court in Virginia heard arguments Thursday about whether to revive a lawsuit accusing President Trump of violating the Constitution by profiting from his hotel near the White House, in a spirited session that indicated sharp divisions among the judges over the legal consequences of the president's conduct.... The 15-member court in Richmond met to consider whether a three-judge appellate panel had wrongly dismissed a lawsuit over the Trump International Hotel brought by the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland. The 15-member court in Richmond met to consider whether a three-judge appellate panel had wrongly dismissed a lawsuit over the Trump International Hotel brought by the District of Columbia and the state of Maryland."

Tom McCarthy of the Guardian: "Incensed perhaps by her selection -- and not his -- as Time magazine's person of the year, Donald Trump opened Twitter fire Thursday morning on the climate activist Greta Thunberg. Trump, 73, tweeted that Thunberg, 16, who has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, had an 'anger management problem' and should 'chill' -- no pun apparently intended. 'So ridiculous,' the president wrote. 'Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!'... Trump's attack on her, in personal terms, from his presidential bully pulpit struck many observers as a marked and hypocritical escalation. Trump's wife and his eldest son recently reacted with outrage when a witness called by Democrats to testify in the impeachment hearings punned on the name of Trump's 13-year-old son, Barron, to make a point about how presidents are not kings.... 'A minor child deserves privacy and should be kept out of politics,' Melania Trump wrote at the time. Thunberg swiftly changed her bio description on Twitter. 'A teenager working on her anger management problem,' it now reads. 'Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.'" Thanks to unwashed for the link. (Also linked yesterday.)

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Trump is picking on a minor, a female, specifically for a disability. A trifecta which would have been perfect if only Greta weren't white. ~~~

~~~ Aaron Rupar of Vox: "Trump's Greta tweet was undoubtedly the most unsavory he posted during his Twitter binge on Thursday, but it was far from the only bad one. Fourteen minutes after the Greta tweet, Trump ... shared an advertisement posted by the Trump Organization, a business he still owns and profits from, promoting his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. 'I will be there in two weeks, The Southern White House!' Trump said, conflating properties he profits from with the publicly funded residence in which he's supposed to do the people's business.... He [also] retweeted a post from Rudy Giuliani characterizing Democrats following the Constitution's impeachment process as an 'attempted coup'; characterized FBI agents as 'dirty cops'; lauded Fox News's ratings, adding, 'It's great to have a wonderful subject, President Trump'; and, in an apparent attempt to make it look like he's doing something constructive, touted a Chinese trade deal that he's been hyping without results for more than a year." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ Donald Trump Is Working So Hard for Americans. Brett Samuels of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday set a personal record for use of Twitter in a single day since taking office, blasting out more than 120 tweets or retweets in 24 hours. In total, the president sent 123 messages, according to a count by The Hill, topping his previous record of 105 set just a few days earlier. The majority of Trump's tweets came during a morning outburst in which he retweeted dozens of messages from Republican lawmakers ripping the House Judiciary Committee's impeachment hearings."

I believe that President Trump is engaged in the most direct sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history. -- Fox "News" host Chris Wallace, speech at the Newseum, a media museum in Washington, Wednesday

Ana Swanson, et al., of the New York Times: "The United States has settled on final terms of a partial trade deal with China, moving both countries closer to signing a pact that President Trump originally announced in October, four people familiar with the negotiations said. Mr. Trump met with his top economic advisers Thursday afternoon at the White House to discuss an arrangement that would reduce by half the overall rate on the tariffs he has placed on $360 billion of goods, in return for Chinese commitments to buy American agriculture and other concessions, the people said. The president was widely expected to announce as early as Friday that he would delay or cancel new tariffs that were scheduled to go into effect on Sunday on $160 billion of consumer products from China. On Thursday morning, he said on Twitter that the United States was closing in on a deal." ~~~

~~~ Josh Rogin of the Washington Post: "... if the president strikes the deal on the terms being reported, he will actually be making a huge concession to Beijing that achieves few U.S. goals, and is so bad that even Trump will have trouble spinning it as a political win.... The result would be a deal that immediately relieves major pressure on the Chinese economy in exchange for future promises the Chinese side may never fulfill. Beijing's concessions also don't address the bulk of the structural issues and abuses that make Chinese economic aggression a long-term threat to the U.S. economy."

Julia Ainsley & Courtney Kube of NBC News: "The Defense Department's internal watchdog plans to review a recent Army Corps of Engineers decision to award a $400 million contract for border wall construction to a North Dakota company that has been publicly and privately endorsed by members of the Trump administration, including the president himself. The review of the award to Fisher Sand & Gravel is an audit by the Pentagon's inspector general and comes in response to a request by Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, the Democratic chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security. Thompson said the decision to award the contract should be reviewed because Fisher's 'proposals reportedly did not meet the operational requirements of U.S. Customs and Border Protection' and because of 'concerns about the possibility of inappropriate influence' on the Army Corps of Engineers." The New York Times story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)

Hamed Aleaziz of BuzzFeed News: "Immigrants held in Immigration and Customs Enforcement jails around the US received medical care so bad it resulted in two preventable surgeries, including an 8-year-old boy who had to have part of his forehead removed, and contributed to four deaths, according to an internal complaint from an agency whistleblower. The allegations appear in an explosive Department of Homeland Security memo, obtained by BuzzFeed News, containing reports of detainees being given incorrect medication, suffering from delays in treating withdrawal symptoms, and one who was allowed to become so mentally unstable he lacerated his own penis and required reparative surgery."

** Andy Kroll of Rolling Stone:"For nearly three years, Stephen Miller has used his White House seat to orchestrate the most extreme anti-immigrant agenda in almost a century. But he hasn't done it alone. A loose network of lawyers and advisers embedded throughout the Trump administration has worked closely with Miller to carry out the daily effort of pushing through draconian and often inhumane policies.... In other words, Miller, with his white-nationalist mindset and fervor to enact xenophobic policies, is far from an isolated actor. He's the leader of a broad operation spread across the federal government." Kroll highlights a few of the extremist voices. --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Jake Pearson & Anand Tumurtogoo of ProPublica: "On a hunting trip this August, Donald Trump Jr. shot and killed [an argali, an endangered species of sheep]. His adventure was supported by government resources from both the U.S. and Mongolia, which each sent security services to accompany the president's eldest son and grandson on the multiday trip.... Afterward, Trump Jr. met privately with the country's president, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, before departing the capital of Ulaanbaatar back to the U.S.... Trump Jr. wouldn't answer questions about the meeting. Representatives for Battulga haven't responded to requests for comment.... [A] spokesman for Trump Jr. ... said in a statement it was a purely personal expedition. He purchased the seven-day Mongolian hunting trip at a National Rifle Association charity auction before his father announced his candidacy for president in 2015 ... and flew commercial in and out of the country. It's unclear if the auction item listed an argali or mentioned meetings with Mongolian government officials." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: "The Mongolian government issued [Junior] a hunting permit retroactively." Emphasis added.

Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Top congressional negotiators said Thursday they had reached a deal in principle to approve $1.3 trillion in federal spending for 2020, probably averting a government shutdown next week. The announcement, from House Appropriations Committee Chairman Nita M. Lowey (D-N.Y.) and Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Richard C. Shelby (R-Ala.), came after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin visited Capitol Hill midday to review a final list of sticking points. 'There's a meeting of the minds,' Lowey said. The tentative agreement sets the stage for a remarkable sequence of events next week in the House, with a presidential impeachment vote sandwiched between bipartisan deals on federal spending and North American trade. The House could vote on the spending bill as soon as Tuesday, with the Senate acting before the end of the week." The Politico story is here.

Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "The House on Thursday passed a sweeping bill aimed at lowering prescription drug prices, a step toward a long-held Democratic goal that was met with sharp Republican resistance. The bill passed on a largely party-line vote of 230-192. The measure, which would allow the government to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs, is one of House Democrats' top priorities and is expected to be touted by vulnerable Democrats up for reelection next year. The party is also looking to show that it is focused on kitchen table issues like lowering drug costs even as lawmakers prepare for an impeachment vote against President Trump.... Two Republicans voted in favor of the bill: Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Pa.) and Jaime Herrera Beutler (Wash.), both moderates who face competitive reelection races next year. No Democrats voted against the bill.... The bill is almost certain to die in the GOP-led Senate, though, given that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has called it 'socialist' and vowed to block it."

Bryant Harris of Al-Monitor: "The White House successfully pushed Congress to remove language in the annual defense bill that would have imposed concrete penalties on Saudi Arabia for the war in Yemen and the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi.... The House amended the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) 240-185 in July to block US funding for the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels. At the same time, the House passed another NDAA amendment 405-7 in a veto-proof vote to sanction Saudi officials complicit in Khashoggi's murder.... Republican negotiators successfully fought to keep the Saudi provisions out of the final defense bill after the White House marked it as a red line.... [P]aid parental leave is likely not enough to get many left-wing Democrats on board the final bill, which authorizes a $131 billion increase in annual defense spending since Trump took office while removing virtually all other progressive national security priorities that Democrats initially had in their version of the legislation." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Julian Borger of the Guardian: "Legislation to stop Donald Trump from withdrawing the US from Nato has been approved for a Senate vote, amid uncertainty over the president's intentions towards the alliance. The Senate foreign relations committee on Wednesday voted unanimously for the bipartisan bill which will now await a slot to go to the Senate.... 'We're aware that it has been seriously debated and seriously considered in the White House at the highest levels,' [Democrat Tim] Kaine told the Guardian.... Kaine predicted his bill to block a Nato withdrawal would gain overwhelming support from the House of Representatives and win a veto-proof majority in the upper chamber of at least 67 votes." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: There's no mention in this or other articles about the bill on whether or not the House has passed an analogous bill.

~~~ Patricia Zengerle of Reuters: "A U.S. Senate committee backed legislation on Wednesday to impose sanctions on Turkey after its offensive in Syria and purchase of a Russian S-400 missile system, the latest move in the chamber to push Republican President Donald Trump to take a harder line against Ankara. The Republican-led Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted by 18-4 to send the 'Promoting American National Security and Preventing the Resurgence of ISIS Act of 2019' for a vote in the full Senate. 'Now's the time for the Senate to come together and take this opportunity to change Turkey's behavior,' said Senator Jim Risch, the panel's Republican chairman, a lead sponsor of the bill with Senator Bob Menendez, the panel's top Democrat.... [The House] passed its own Turkish sanctions bill by an overwhelming 403-16 vote in October...." Mrs. McC: So now I guess the big question on both of these bills is whether or not Mitch McConnell will bring them to the floor. (Also linked yesterday.)

GOP v. Earth. Paul Krugman of the New York Times: "... the real revelation has been the utter depravity of the Republican Party. Essentially every elected or appointed official in that party has chosen to defend Trump by buying into crazy, debunked conspiracy theories. That is, one of America's two major parties is beyond redemption; given that, it's hard to see how democracy can long endure, even if Trump is defeated.... The terrifying political news and the terrifying climate news are closely related.... One factor stands out above all others: the fanatical opposition of America's Republicans, who are the world's only major climate-denialist party. Because of this opposition, the United States hasn't just failed to provide the kind of leadership that would have been essential to global action, it has become a force against action."

Presidential Race 2020

Rebecca Traister of New York on how male pundits hold female candidates to a high standard of honesty (Elizabeth Warren) while ignoring male candidates' dishonesty (Joe Biden). (Also linked yesterday.)

** Brave New Big Brother World. Lee Fang of The Intercept: "... Donald Trump's reelection effort has retained the services of a technology company [Phunware, an Austin, Texas-based firm] that specializes in the mass collection of smartphone location data, which can be used to track voters for political targeting purposes.... Phunware, in a section of its website, discusses the company's ability to obtain GPS location data and the Wi-Fi network used by an individual, as well as user data that can infer an 'individual's gender, age, lifestyle preferences' -- potential tools for identifying and influencing voters.... Earlier this year, deleted scenes from the documentary 'The Brink' revealed that Steve Bannon, Trump's campaign manager in 2016, had used similar location-tracking technology services to target church-attending Catholics during the midterm elections. 'If your phone's ever been in a Catholic church, it's amazing, they got this data,' Bannon said in the film clip. 'Literally, they can tell who's been in a Catholic church and how frequently,' he added." --s (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Since I don't have many secrets, many intrusions on our privacy don't creep me out as much as perhaps they should. This technology creeps me out.

Mark Stern of Slate: "Despite Donald Trump's periodic threats to terminate birthright citizenship, it remains the law of the land -- except for one small territory. The federal government designates individuals born in American Samoa as 'noncitizen nationals,' which denies them a fundamental right granted to those born anywhere else in the country. On Thursday, however, U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups ruled this practice unconstitutional, directing the government to recognize the citizenship of individuals born in American Samoa. (More than 55,000 people live on the island, most of whom were born there.) Waddoups' decision is the first volley in a fight that may force the Supreme Court to assess the scope of birthright citizenship for the first time in more than a century."

Beyond the Beltway

Kentucky. What a Difference a Governor Makes. There Are Ex-Felons ... Caroline Kelly of CNN: "Newly sworn-in Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear [D] restored voting rights for over 140,000 former felons in the state through an executive order, his office announced Thursday.... Beshear also lamented the state's voter access issues, asserting that Kentucky has the third highest voter disenfranchisement rate nationwide with nearly 10% of people, and nearly 25% of African-Americans, in the state not being allowed to vote.The move fulfills a campaign promise after Beshear's upset victory over former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin in November. It was a key point in Beshear's platform of progressive issues, including making Medicaid more accessible and replacing Bevin's state board of education." The New York Times has a story here. A Guardian story is here. ~~~

~~~ And There Are Ex-Felons. Kayla Epstein of the Washington Post: "Matt Bevin [R] is no longer the governor of Kentucky, but his decisions continued to send shock waves through the state's legal system this week after he issued pardons for hundreds of people, some of whom committed violent offenses. Bevin issued 428 pardons since his defeat to Democrat Andy Beshear in a close election in November, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. His list includes a man convicted of reckless homicide, a convicted child rapist, a man who murdered his parents at age 16 and a woman who threw her newborn in the trash after giving birth in a flea market outhouse. He also pardoned Dayton Jones, who was convicted in the sexual assault of a 15-year-old boy at a party, Kentucky New Era reported. It is not unusual for governors to issue pardons as they leave office, but Bevin's actions boggled some of the state's attorneys, who questioned his judgment. 'What this governor did is an absolute atrocity of justice,' said Commonwealth Attorney Jackie Steele, a prosecutor for Knox and Laurel counties. 'He's put victims, he's put others in our community danger.'"~~~

~~~ Daniel Desrochers of the Lexington Herald-Leader: "It's not clear if Betty Carnes was killed by asphyxiation or by the eight blows to her head that Delmar Partin delivered with a metal pipe..., but it was very clear that her head was then chopped off and placed on her lap in a 55-gallon barrel that was destined for a toxic waste site. On Monday, departing Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin pardoned and commuted the sentence of Partin, who was convicted of killing her at the factory where they both worked in Barbourville in 1994. In his order, Bevin said he pardoned Partin because potential DNA evidence had not been tested."

Way Beyond

Australia. Capitalism Is Awesome, Ctd. Ben Smee of the Guardian: "The Tamborine Mountain state school has run out of water, even as water miners in the Gold Coast hinterland are sending millions of litres to commercial bottling operations. Trucks sent by the Queensland government carrying emergency supplies to the school, including Mount Tamborine bottled water, have been passing trucks heading in the opposite direction taking local water to bottling plants for beverage giants such as Coca-Cola. The school remains open but parents have been advised by teachers to consider keeping their children at home." --s (Also linked yesterday.)

Raphael Satter of Reuters: "North Korean state-backed hackers appear to be cooperating with Eastern European cybercriminals, a report here said on Wednesday, a finding that suggests digital gangsters and state-backed spies are finding common ground online." --s (Also linked yesterday.)