Saturday
Aug042018
The Commentariat -- August 5, 2018
Afternoon Update:
Ashley Parker & Rosalind Helderman of the Washington Post: "President Trump on Sunday offered his most definitive and clear public acknowledgment that his oldest son met with a Kremlin-aligned lawyer at Trump Tower during the 2016 campaign to 'get information on an opponent.'... It is ... against the law for U.S. campaigns to receive donation or items of value from foreigners, and that June 2016 meeting between Donald Trump Jr. and Natalia Veselnitskaya is now a subject of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's Russia probe.... 'Fake News reporting, a complete fabrication, that I am concerned about the meeting my wonderful son, Donald, had in Trump Tower,' the president wrote in one of several early morning tweets Sunday, many of which took aim at the media. 'This was a meeting to get information on an opponent, totally legal and done all the time in politics -- and it went nowhere.' He concluded by further distancing himself from the meeting his son arranged, writing: 'I did not know about it!'... ... In one tweet, [Trump] declared the media the 'Enemy of the People' and accused them of sowing division and distrust. 'They can also cause War!' Trump wrote. 'They are very dangerous & sick!' In another, he expressed frustration with both the media and Mueller's probe. 'Too bad a large portion of the Media refuses to report the lies and corruption having to do with the Rigged Witch Hunt -- but that is why we call them FAKE NEWS!'... On Sunday, one of the president's attorneys [Jay Sekulow] defended the 2016 meeting as something that would not have been illegal.... Sekulow on Sunday also noted that he himself had given a misleading statement a year ago when, on 'This Week' and other media appearances, he said that Trump had nothing to do with the misleading statement given to the New York Times." ...
... OR, as Marcy Wheeler put it, "Trump tweets a confession, then Sekulow admits his client has been lying about his involvement.... Amid a series of batshit tweets just now, in an attempt to rebut reporting in this [WashPo] story, Trump admitted that his spawn took a meeting with people described as 'part of Russia and its government's support' for his father to obtain dirt on his opponent." ...
... Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "Trump appears to have broken some new ground here when it comes t admitting the true purpose of the Trump Tower meeting with a Kremlin-aligned lawyer -- and even further contradicted the initial statement he helped draft about it.... The second issue here are the final words of the tweet. 'I did not know about it!'... If you've got no real concern about legal exposure from the meeting, why distance yourself from it?... [This suggests] he isn't as convinced as he'd like us to believe that there's nothing to see here." ...
... Jeet Heer: "... an intriguing timeline of events: 1) On June 9, 2016, Donald Trump Jr. and other Trump campaign officials meet with a Russian group led by Natalia Veselnitskaya to get opposition research on Hillary Clinton. 2) On July 8, 2017, the president dictates a statement giving a false account of that meeting. His lawyer Jay Sikulow subsequently make the false statement that Trump had no role in dictating that false statement. 3) On August 5, 2018, Trump admits the meeting was about collecting opposition research and Sikulow admits Trump had a role in crafting the false statement. If Robert Mueller wants to pursue an obstruction of justice charge against Trump and others in his White House, he has a lot of material to work with." Mrs. McC: Nonetheless, it's not against the law to lie to the news media.
... Mrs. Bea McCrabbie: I've been seeing some hoohah recently -- a column by the WashPo's Mark Thiessen last week, for instance -- that "Hillary did the same thing," except that she used cutouts -- a lawyer & an oppo research team -- to get dirt on Trump from foreign national Christopher Steele. This is a false equivalency, as conservative columnist Eli Lake wrote in Bloomberg last October: "'There is a real meaningful distinction,' said [Adav] Noti, [a former FEC lawyer,].... 'The Clinton campaign, based on what has been reported, paid for opposition research, which included paying people to dig up dirt in foreign countries.'... Noti said that if the Trump officials solicited the information, 'the act itself was unlawful.'" An organization Noti heads up is suing the Clinton campaign for hiding the payments, not for collecting the info in the dossier. It is not against U.S. law for foreign nationals to work for a contractor (or in this case, a subcontractor), at least as long as they're not "decision-makers." As Lake (or his headline writer) put it, "Both Campaigns Sought Russian Dirt. Clinton's Way Was Legal."
"The Trump Slump." Elizabeth Drew in the Daily Beast: "Despite a world-wide boom in travel, ever since our forty-fifth president was elected, tourism to the United States from foreign countries has steadily dropped.... Trump's rhetoric and new policies and rules and regulations regarding travel have combined to blot America's long-standing image as a welcoming nation. And of course his travel ban.... While some attribute the recent drop in tourism to the U.S. to a strong dollar, in fact, the dollar was strong in 2015, when our tourism growth was at its apex, and it was strong in 2016. Yet when it declined in 2017, which should have helped tourism, foreign tourism to the U.S. dropped steeply that year.... The Pew Research Center Reserve found earlier this year that a survey of ten nations showed that a favorable opinion of the US occurred in only one country: Russia...."
Bill Maher has a credible theory on why Republicans like Russia:
*****
One More Rally Just Like the Other Ones. Ashley Parker & Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "President Trump used his third campaign rally this past week to relive his 2016 election-night victory, press his hard-line immigration policies and take aim at his favorite villains -- everyone from the Democrats and the 'Russian witch hunt' to the coastal elites and the 'fake news media.' The 70-minute rally Saturday night was ostensibly to boost the candidacy of Ohio state Sen. Troy Balderson, who faces a special election for a House seat on Tuesday, but Trump placed himself center stage -- physically and figuratively -- as he touted what he said were his achievements and pressed his personal grudges. He praised the enthusiastic if sweaty crowd in the sweltering gymnasium -- 'You are the elite,' he told them, adding that they were 'smarter' and earned 'bigger incomes' than the self-proclaimed elite in the swamp of Washington -- before turning the topic back to himself." More on the rally linked below under Congressional Race. ...
... Philip Rucker, et al., of the Washington Post: "In private, President Trump spent much of the past week brooding.... He has been anxious about the Russia investigation’s widening fallout, with his former campaign chairman standing trial. And he has fretted that he is failing to accrue enough political credit for what he claims as triumphs.... Yet in public..., The president, more than ever, is channeling his internal frustration and fear into a ravenous maw of grievance and invective. He is churning out false statements with greater frequency and attacking his perceived enemies with intensifying fury. A fresh broadside came on Twitter at 11:37 p.m. Friday, mocking basketball superstar LeBron James and calling CNN's Don Lemon 'the dumbest man on television.'... Trump ... has decamped to his New Jersey golf estate for an 11-day working vacation...." Mrs. McC: The headline might as well have been, "The POTUS* Is Nuts." ...
... Christina Caron of the New York Times: "President Trump lashed out at the basketball star LeBron James in a scathing attack on Twitter on Friday night after Mr. James criticized the president in an interview on CNN. In a wide-ranging interview with Don Lemon, an anchor on CNN, Mr. James spoke about a school for at-risk children that he recently helped open in his hometown, Akron, Ohio, in a partnership between his philanthropic foundation and the city's public schools. During the interview on Monday, he also said Mr. Trump was using sports to divide the country. 'Lebron James was just interviewed by the dumbest man on television, Don Lemon,' Mr. Trump wrote. 'He made Lebron look smart, which isn't easy to do. I like Mike!'... The reference to 'Mike' appeared to be Mr. Trump's way of taking sides in the debate over who is the greatest basketball player of all time: Mr. James or Michael Jordan. Through a representative, Mr. Jordan told reporters: 'I support L.J. He's doing an amazing job for his community.'... His tweet about Mr. James and Mr. Lemon came days after he declared at a campaign rally that Representative Maxine Waters of California, a Democrat who is black, had a 'very low I.Q.' The latest attacks, directed at prominent black people, appeared to widen the racial divide that Mr. James spoke about on CNN.... Mr. Lemon came to Mr. James's defense on Saturday morning, tweeting: 'Who's the real dummy? A man who puts kids in classrooms or one who puts kids in cages?' He added the hashtag #BeBest, a reference to an initiative by the first lady, Melania Trump, that aims to help children." ...
... Melanie Strikes Back. Alex Horton & T.J. Ortenzi of the Washington Post: "First lady Melania Trump issued a statement Saturday in support of LeBron James, after President Trump posted a late-night tweet attacking the basketball star.... 'It looks like LeBron James is working to do good things on behalf of our next generation,' said Melania Trump's spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham. 'And just as she always has, the First Lady encourages everyone to have an open dialogue about issues facing children today.' Grisham went on to say that the first lady supports 'responsible online behavior' as part of her Be Best initiative, and said that Melania Trump would be open to visiting James's new school." ...
... Jacqueline Thomsen of the Hill: "NBA legend Bill Russell praised LeBron James and CNN host Don Lemon after President Trump attacked the two men.... Russell also cited Reps. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) and
Ok, I'll take the bait.
-- Tommy Beer (@TommyBeer) August 4, 2018
LeBron: Born poor. Homeless as a kid. Marries high school sweetheart. Become rich. Donates $41M to build a school.
Donald: Born rich. Dad gives him millions. Files for bankruptcy. Divorced twice. Scandals! Sad! Fined $25M for defrauding students.#MAGA https://t.co/oL3FfDpa4M
Michael Weiss, in the New York Review of Books, examines how the Russians "handle" Trump.
Matthew Rosenberg, et al., of the New York Times: "While the charging documents [against Maria Butina] focus on her alleged efforts to infiltrate the National Rifle Association, interviews with more than two dozen people in Russia and the United States show that her attempts at connecting with prominent American conservatives extended beyond making inroads with the gun-rights group." The article details many of Butina's connections. ...
... Sara Murray of CNN: "As far as spy craft goes, Maria Butina's skills didn't seem particularly impressive. The alleged covert Russian agent liked to communicate via Twitter messages and WhatsApp. Her overly flirtatious approach left men wondering what she was truly after. She tended to brag about her ties to Russian intelligence when she was intoxicated, according to people familiar with the situation.... On at least two separate occasions she got drunk and spoke openly about her contacts within the Russian government, even acknowledging that Russian intelligence services were involved with the gun rights group she ran in Moscow. Twice, classmates [at American University] reported her actions to law enforcement because they found her comments so alarming, sources said."
Brent Griffiths of Politico: "A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued a ruling invalidating a Federal Election Commission regulation that has allowed donors to so-called dark-money groups to remain anonymous, the latest development in a years-long legal battle that could have major implications for campaign finance. Judge Beryl A. Howell ruled the FEC's current regulation of such groups, including 501(c) 4 non-profits, fails to uphold the standard Congress intended when it required the disclosure of politically related spending.... The decision is likely to be appealed.... Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a watchdog group that brought the suit against the FEC, hailed the decision as a 'major game changer' for political spending." Howell is an Obama appointee.
Congressional Race. Alex Isenstadt of Politico: "... Donald Trump on Saturday implored his supporters to turn out for Republican congressional candidate Troy Balderson, as the party raced to fend off an embarrassing special election loss that could portend a November wave. During an hour-long rally in a sweltering high school auditorium, the president repeatedly lavished praise on Balderson, a state legislator who suddenly finds himself in a neck-and-neck contest for a House seat that Republicans have held for over three decades. ...
... Morgan Gstalter of the Hill: "President Trump bragged about his prowess in defeating the Republicans who oppose him, saying at an Ohio rally that he 'destroys' the careers of GOP politicians who dare defy him. 'How do you get 100 percent of anything? We always have somebody who says "I don't like Trump, I don't like our president, he destroyed my career,"' Trump said. 'I only destroy their career because they said bad things about me and you fight back and they go down the tubes and that's OK,' he added."
Bad Taste News
Jamie Ducharme of Time: "The Newseum has removed controversial 'fake news' T-shirts from its gift shop after they set off a wave of criticism from journalists. The Washington, D.C. museum, which is dedicated to all things media and the First Amendment, was as of Saturday morning selling shirts that said 'You Are Very Fake News' in its store.... 'The Newseum has removed the "You Are Very Fake News" t-shirts from the gift shop and online. We made a mistake and we apologize,' [Newseum spokesperson Sonya] Gavankar said by email [to Time]. 'A free press is an essential part of our democracy and journalists are not the enemy of the people.'... The museum sells a range of political gear..., including 'Make America Great Again' hats, American flag paraphernalia and a Constitution tie. In her second statement, Gavankar suggested that these items will not be removed." ...
... Mrs. McCrabbie: So what about selling Paul Manafort paper dolls? If they have MAGA cap buyers, surely they have Manafort fans. I mean, Justin Trudeau has his own paper doll. Isn't the U.S. as good as Canada? Okay, no, probably not. But still.
... Question: Did Manafort think "money laundering" meant turning money into things that can be laundered?
Way Beyond the Beltway
Scott Smith & Christine Armario of the AP: "Drones armed with explosives detonated near Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro Saturday in an apparent assassination attempt that took place while he was delivering a speech to hundreds of soldiers being broadcast live on television, officials said. Caught by surprise mid-speech, Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, looked up at the sky and winced after hearing the sound of an explosion pierce the air. 'This was an attempt to kill me,' he said later in an impassioned retelling of the events. 'Today they attempted to assassinate me.'"
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Reader Comments (8)
It was good to see Michael Jordan respond to Fat Boy’s insulting denunciation of LeBron James, “I like Mike”, with a message supporting James’ many community outreach efforts, but I think a more pithy response might have been “Well, I like Barack”.
And while we’re talking pithy, how ‘bout all those tweets responding to news of the possible imminent demise of the NRA: “Thoughts and prayers.”
Yes, mighty pithy pistol talk there, Ak. Apropos of the discussion re: Ms Jeong of the NYT, this kind of retort is the kind of thing she should have done. Look at how Bill Russell reacted to the bully on the block: "To be criticized by Trump means you must be doing something right."
And somewhere out there I hear Sting singing–-"That's the way you do it"––
Another method is one that Richard Dawkins does which is read the vile letters he gets from various and sundry–-the bit is called "Love Letters" ––it's one of the funniest "Back at you, bastards" bit I've ever seen.
Hats off to Beryl Howell for his ruling invalidating a Federal Election Com. Reg.–––no more dark money groups skulking around in festive disguise with their pockets full of green backs.
The antics displayed at another rally to boost this demented man's ego–-to get his fix––has begun, I think, to be looked at as pathological. How this will play out before the shit hits the fan is up for grabs, but when a President's wife deliberately counteracts her husband and does it by tweeting, no less, then...
Here's an interesting and important back-lash story on how a Wisconsin bean supplier found itself in the middle of Trump's trade battle with Europe. "This is killing us!"
And this is only the beginning....
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/03/wisconsin-bean-supplier-caught-in-the-middle-of-us-europe-trade-spat.html
PD,
As happy as I am to read about any rulings that stanch the flow of untraceable dark money into political campaigns, I’m afraid that Judge Howell’s decision will be appealed by the Trumpies up to their pals on the Supreme Court who will give it the big thumbs down. After all, their job is to look out for that which they’ve sworn to protect: the Party of Traitors.
You didn’t think it was the Constitution, did you?
That Tommy Beer tweet is sure to become an all time favorite
riposte for me!
As for Paul Manafort's pricey wardrobe, to paraphrase Men's Warehouse (even tho' that's not where he shopped): "If you don't look good, it's probably because you don't look good." considering what was paid, if you don't have a great bod...you'll still look like a schlump.
That bluish plaid sport jacket ( Row 1, second from right) looks very much like the one Michael Cohen.)
@Bea: About that orangey ostrich jacket, somewhere I read that it belonged to Mrs. Manafort!
Seeing lots of photos of the Obama family on places like Instagram.
They're always smiling and have that happy family look like most
normal families. Then there are the pictures of 45 and wife and/or
children. They aren't smiling at all. It's either a smirk, a grimace or
a f.u. look.
And they don't have pets. Never trust anyone who doesn't like
animals. He might have a pet viper, don't know.
Okay, so now it appears that the infamous Trump Tower meeting was not to talk about adoptions after all (stop the presses!). It was a chance to meet with Russians who offered to help Trump get dirt on Clinton, which the little king now sez was perfectly legal. Just like collusion, I guess and ignoring the emoluments clause.
And to try to tamp down more criticisms of Trump lies and hypocrisy, Trump mouthpiece Jay Sekulow goes on TV to proclaim that it’s not surprising that they’re all telling a different story now because “facts develop over time”. Yup. He really said that.
Sorry Sek, here are some things that develop over time: habits, relationships, film (in the old analog days), mold, hair loss, and, oh yeah, flimsy cover stories. Did you see “facts” on that list? No? That’s because facts are. They don’t develop, like ringworm or a rash.