Tuesday
Aug072018
The Commentariat -- August 8, 2018
Late Morning/Afternoon Update:
Big Surprise. Michael Schmidt & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "President Trump's lawyers rejected the special counsel's latest terms for an interview in the Russia investigation, countering on Wednesday with an offer that suggested a narrow path for answering questions, people familiar with the matter said.... The letter marked the latest back and forth in the eight months of negotiations between Mr. Trump's lawyers and the special counsel, Robert S. Mueller III. Last week, Mr. Mueller proposed a slightly altered format to the expansive interview he want to conduct with the president. Mr. Trump's lawyers did not reject an interview outright.... However, [a] person said that Mr. Trump's lawyers did not want him answering questions about whether he obstructed justice."
Washington Post reporters are liveblogging the Manafort trial. ...
... Josh Gerstein & Darren Samuelsohn of Politico: "... Donald Trump says that the criminal trial of his former campaign aide, Paul Manafort, has nothing to do with him. But jurors in a Virginia courtroom heard his name repeatedly on Tuesday. Trump's name, his 2016 campaign and his inauguration came up several times during the trial's sixth day, the most by far in the bank- and tax-fraud case brought by special counsel Robert Mueller. While the case does not directly involve the president, on Tuesday Trump became an unmistakable presence in the background. Documents and testimony spelled out Manafort's myriad ties to Trump and his 2016 White House run. They showed that Manafort sought to ease his financial pressures by trading on his influence in Trump's orbit. His longtime deputy, Rick Gates, said it was 'possible' he had stolen money from Trump's inauguration committee. And Gates described the roles that he and Manafort had played in Trump's winning campaign. The court even learned that Manafort's ties to Trump extend well beyond the 2016 campaign. A 2013 document entered into evidence showed that Manafort planned to share his New York Yankee season tickets with [Trump]...." ...
... Juan Cole: "Paul Manafort, Donald Trump's campaign manager, is being tried for money laundering, keeping some 15 illegal foreign accounts, and cheating the government out of the taxes he rightfully owed, among a host of other crimes.... His lobbying firm in the 1990s and after represented the most sordid gallery of torturers and villains ever assembled in one client list. There was no strong man so odious that Manafort would not take his money and make phone calls to his old buddies on his behalf.... Manafort is not a criminal in the sense of a deviant. He is all too normal in the US political system. He is how the system works. White collar criminals like Manafort and Trump are no longer even investigated or prosecuted. Manafort had been getting away with it for decades because he was so well connected.... But make no mistake about it. The indictment of Manafort is an indictment of America, a death knoll for US democracy. Manafort is who we have become." --safari
Rebecca Shabad & Frank Thorp of NBC News: "Sen. Rand Paul said Wednesday that he was 'honored' to deliver a letter from ... Donald Trump to the administration of Russian President Vladimir Putin during his trip to Moscow this week.... [Okay, that wasn't exactly true.] In a follow-up statement, Paul's office said that the senator delivered the letter to representatives of Putin since the Russian leader himself was not in Moscow during Paul's visit."
Mrs. McCrabbie: I was wondering about this possibility, so I looked it up:
Brian Lowry, et al., of the Kansas City Star: "No law requires Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to recuse himself from a recount in the governor's race, but legal and political experts say that he should to maintain trust in the election. Republican legislative leaders said Wednesday morning that a recount is almost certain and could possibly take weeks.... Kobach, the state's top election official, narrowly led Gov. Jeff Colyer in the Republican primary by a mere 191 votes Wednesday morning after each of the state's 105 counties had posted election returns after technical difficulties in Johnson County delayed results on election night." Mrs. McC: Now we can look forward to some serious voter fraud. ...
... AND, to a point Akhilleus made in today's Comments.... Kira Lerner of Think Progress: "'If you have a close race, yeah absolutely, voter fraud could swing the margin,' [Kris Kobach] told ThinkProgress at his election night party, as the votes were being counted. He offered as explanation the testimony of a highly discredited expert who claimed in a federal trial -- where a federal judge invalidated Kobach's signature voting law -- that there are thousands of illegal voters in Kansas. 'The numbers in Kansas of non-citizens -- we had an expert in the trial try to estimate it and it's in the thousands, we just don't know how many thousands,' he said."
** Shadow Government. Isaac Arsndorf of ProPublica: "Bruce Moskowitz ... is one-third of an informal council that is exerting sweeping influence on the VA from Mar-a-Lago, President Donald Trump's private club in Palm Beach, Florida. The troika is led by Ike Perlmutter, the reclusive chairman of Marvel Entertainment, who is a longtime acquaintance of President Trump's. The third member is a lawyer named Marc Sherman. None of them has ever served in the U.S. military or government.... But hundreds of documents obtained through the Freedom of Information Act and interviews with former administration officials tell a ... story ... of a previously unknown triumvirate that hovered over public servants without any transparency, accountability or oversight. The [informal troika] spoke with VA officials daily ... reviewing all manner of policy and personnel decisions. They prodded the VA to start new programs, and officials travelled to Mar-a-Lago at taxpayer expense to hear their views. 'Everyone has to go down and kiss the ring,' a former administration official said.... The arrangement is without parallel in modern presidential history." --safari
Juan Cole: "Europe, Russia, China defy Trump on Iran Sanctions" --safari
Amanda Erickson of the Washington Post: "China will impose tariffs on an additional $16 billion worth of U.S. products, officials announced Wednesday, marking the latest parry in an escalating trade war between the two countries. The 25 percent tariffs will go into effect Aug. 23, targeting cars, crude oil, natural gas and coal.... China's announcement is a direct response to new duties on Chinese goods imported into the United States, announced Tuesday in Washington. Those new tariffs, totaling $16 billion, will be levied against 279 products, including motorcycles, steam turbines and railway cars." ...
Trade deficit -- $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter.... I think nobody would have thought that would be possible so quickly. $52 billion reduction in the trade deficit for the quarter. -- Donald Trump, July 30, in one of the (at least) five times he has made the claim in recent days
We doubt the president himself is digging into the details of the GDP report, so either he is being misled by his staff or misunderstood something in a briefing. He may be very disappointed when the third-quarter numbers are released, given that the year is already on track to have the largest trade deficit in a decade. We generally are reluctant to give Four Pinocchios for a factoid based on government data. But the president is presenting this in such a misleading manner that we have little choice. In every instance, the president says the trade deficit fell by $52 billion from the first to the second quarter, calling it one of the 'biggest wins' in the GDP report. He may be convinced of it, but that's simply not true. -- Glenn Kessler of the Washington Post
My guess: Trump just made up the number. It's a very authentic-sounding number, doncha think? Anyway, it sure makes his unnecessary & counterproductive trade war look very smart. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
Renae Merle & Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post: "Federal prosecutors charged Rep. Chris Collins ([R]-N.Y.), one of President Trump's earliest congressional supporters, with insider trading on Wednesday. Collin's son, his son Cameron Collins, and Stephen Zarsky, the father of Cameron Collins's fiancee were also charged. The indictment is related to Innate Immunotherapeutics, an Australian biotech company, on whose board the congressman served. Collins illegally shared nonpublic information about the company with Cameron Collins, who traded on the information, according to federal prosecutors. Cameron Collins then passed that information along to Zarsky. The trades allowed Collins, his son, and Zarsky to avoid $768,000 in losses, according to the indictment." Mrs. McC: Trump doesn't just hire all the best people; he has all the best friends, too. ...
... The New York Times story, by Alan Feuer & Shane Goldmacher, is here.
Colbert explains yesterday's developments in the Manafort trial:
*****
Ohio Congressional & Primary Election Results:
The New York Times story, by Jonathan Martin & Alexander Burns, on yesterday's election results is here. ...
... Alexander Burns & Jonathan Martin with some take-aways: "The most significant harbinger from the Ohio race may not be the narrow margin, but the turnout gap between the most and least heavily populated parts of a district that absorbs the close-in suburbs of Columbus and rural stretches of central Ohio. In both Franklin County, which includes Columbus, and Delaware County, the fast-growing suburb just north of Ohio's capital, 42 percent of voters turned out. But in the five more lightly populated counties that round out the district, turnout ranged from 27 to 32 percent. This is an ominous sign for Republicans: The highest-income and best-educated elements of the electorate -- those deeply uneasy with President Trump -- are showing the most interest in voting.... The night was, on the whole, a display of strength by more conventional Democrats and a reminder that Democratic primary voters across the country are not necessarily motivated chiefly by liberal ideology." It was a good night for women & labor. ...
... Margaret Hartmann: "President Trump likes to act as if his endorsements are as good as gold, but two key races featuring candidates he backed ended with a question mark on Tuesday night. While Ohio congressional candidate Troy Balderson and Kansas GOP gubernatorial candidate Kris Kobach currently have narrow leads in their respective races, both were too close to call (though that didn't prevent Balderson from calling it, or Trump from claiming credit)."
... Ed Kilgore: "In conservative Missouri, a right-to-work law enacted last year by a Republican-controlled legislature and former Republican Governor Eric Greitens was overturned by voters who rejected the anti-labor measure by a comfortable margin. In early returns, rural counties were joining urban labor strongholds in opposing right-to-work.... When unions and their allies succeeded in putting the law on hold pending the ballot measure, the legislature countered by moving the vote from the relatively-high-turnout general election to the primary, hoping to kill it with voter indifference. But it didn't work.... The Missouri outcome is a much-needed tonic for the troops of the labor movement, and a good rehearsal for its political efforts in November." ...
Ohio Congressional Race (Special Election): New York Times results are here. At 8:20 pm ET Tuesday, Democrat "Danny O'Connor leads by 24 percentage points over Troy Balderson (R) with 2 percent of precincts fully reporting." MSNBC says all the early vote totals are in. The Republican is sure to close the gap in this Congressional District Republicans have held for decades. With 59% of precincts reporting, O'Connor is ahead by only 1.9%. With 75% reporting, O'Connor's lead is down to about 600 votes. With 85% in, both candidates have 49.7% of the vote. "Troy Balderson leads by 0.9 percentage points, or 1,754 votes, over Danny O'Connor with 100 percent of precincts fully reporting." The race is not being called, however, as there are still more than 3,000 uncounted provisional (lean Democratic) & absentee (lean Republican) ballots. If these ballots, when counted, should reduce Balderdash's lead to 0.5 % or less, the state would automatically do a recount. Both men are on the November ballot. Update: According to the AP, the Ohio secretary of state says there are more than 8,400 uncounted provisional & absentee ballots remaining.
Michigan: New York Times results are here. "Four Republicans and three Democrats are running for governor...."Gretchen Whitmer has been declared the winner of the Democratic primary for governor, & Bill Schulte has won the Republican primary.
Missouri: New York Times results are here. Sen. Claire McCaskell (D) easily won the primary; her challenger in November will be Josh Hawley.
Kansas: New York Times results are here. "The biggest race in Kansas is for governor, a job held by Jeff Colyer since Sam Brownback resigned to accept an ambassadorship. Mr. Colyer is running against Secretary of State Kris W Kobach, the face of President Trump's voter fraud panel, in the Republican primary. In a dynamic that has become very familiar this year, they are fighting to be seen as the most loyal and effective ally of the president." Ron Estes won the GOP primary for the 4th Congressional District. Also, Ron Estes lost the GOP primary for the 4th Congressional District. Because both candidates are named Ron Estes. Laura Kelly has won the Democratic nomination for governor, but the Republican nomination is still too close to call with 73% reporting.
Washington State: The New York Times is reporting results here. Sen. Maria Cantwell (D) received 55.5% of the vote with 52% of precincts reporting. Her challenger will be Susan Hutchison (D) in this top-two state primary.
*****
Sharon LaFraniere of the New York Times: "The trial of Paul Manafort on bank and tax fraud charges descended on Tuesday into a series of brutal assaults on the character of two of President Trump's top campaign aides, as prosecutors cast Mr. Manafort as the architect of a sprawling multiyear swindle and defense lawyers portrayed Rick Gates, the prosecution's star witness, as a serial thief, adulterer and liar. The testimony managed to further blacken the reputations of both Mr. Manafort, Mr. Trump's campaign chairman for three months in mid-2016, and Mr. Gates, who was deputy campaign chairman and later executive director of Mr. Trump's inaugural committee." ...
... The New York Times liveblogged the Manafort trial. "On Tuesday, prosecutors began leading [Manafort's right-hand-man Rick Gates] through a clinical examination of his and Mr. Manafort's business dealings, including how he doctored invoices. Mr. Gates admitted on Monday that they committed crimes together." ...
... The Washington Post's liveblog, which provided more detail on the testimony, is here. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Rachel Weiner of the Washington Post: "The courtroom showdown between Paul Manafort and his former right-hand man, Rick Gates, grew painfully personal Tuesday as a defense lawyer forced Gates, the prosecution's star witness, to admit he had a transatlantic extramarital affair and embezzled money to live beyond his means. During his second day on the witness stand, Gates detailed the lies, phony documents and fake profits he claims to have engineered at Manafort's direction. Manafort, seated at the defense table, at times stared intently at his former protege and business partner, who has assiduously avoided Manafort's gaze despite their proximity inside the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Va." ...
... Josh Gerstein of Politico: "For days, U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis has been cracking the whip at prosecutors in the Paul Manafort fraud trial, prodding them again and again to keep the case moving forward and to drop matters he considers irrelevant. Prosecutors' frustration with those exhortations spilled out publicly Monday in a series of prickly clashes in which Ellis snapped at one of special counsel Robert Mueller's prosecutors, Greg Andres, and Andres sometimes lashed back at the judge -- something lawyers rarely do.... The clashes with the judge were unusual and could be risky, since some of them took place with the jury in the room." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Michael Bender & Sadie Gurman of the Wall Street Journal: "... in recent months, [the] relationship [between Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein & President Trump] has improved. The two men talk once or twice a week, and Mr. Trump calls Mr. Rosenstein on his cellphone to discuss such issues as immigration, according to one person familiar with the matter. Mr. Rosenstein consistently prepares the president's team ahead of major news, officials said. And he visits the White House as often as three times a week, meeting with the president or White House chief of staff John Kelly. He also has a regular lunch with White House general counsel Don McGahn. 'It's fantastic,' Mr. Trump said about his rapport with Mr. Rosenstein when a spokesman told him The Wall Street Journal was seeking a comment. 'We have great relationship. Make sure you tell them that.'" Mrs. McC: Don't know why I was able to read this firewalled WSJ story, but the link above worked twice. Don't count on its lasting.
Rick Wilson in Rolling Stone: "As these past several days prove, Trump's impenetrable belief that he's a genius surrounded by morons will be his undoing. He's tweeting himself -- to say nothing of his family and co-conspirators -- into a legal dead end. A meeting with Mueller is the big leagues, where the stakes are existential, the opposing team is merciless and the downside risks are the size of the White House. This impulsive, stubborn man can't resist trying to pull off this stunt. What could possibly go wrong?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Alan Feuer of the New York Times: "Prosecutors have not said what information they think [Kristin] Davis [-- the 'Manhattan Madam' --] can provide about ties between Russia and Mr. Trump's presidential bid, but one obvious nexus between Ms. Davis and the president is [Roger] Stone, who served them both as a political strategist over the years.... Ms. Davis may be able to help investigators sort through Mr. Stone's confusing and complicated ties to ... WikiLeaks and Guccifer 2.0 -- that are at the center of the hacking of Democratic emails and political documents, and their subsequent leak to the public.... Mr. Stone employed her, on and off, for years, as an assistant in his office. Ms. Davis also has ties to one of Mr. Stone's close aides, Andrew Miller.... Is it possible that the former madam of a high-end escort service ... might have information touching on the country's national security? Only time will tell." Mrs. McC: Because Bob Mueller -- so far -- won't.
Allegra Kirkland of TPM: "Federal prosecutors in New York are homing in on possible tax fraud as part of their criminal investigation into the financial dealings of former Trump fixer Michael Cohen, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. A person familiar with the probe told the Journal that the possible fraud violations center on whether Cohen underreported the income he earned from his taxi medallion business on federal tax returns. Those funds amounted to hundreds of thousands of dollars Cohen received in cash. Prosecutors from the Manhattan U.S. attorney's office are also investigating whether employees at New York's Sterling National Bank allowed Cohen to take out loans for that business without providing appropriate documentation, according to the report. Cohen is under investigation for a host of financial crimes, including campaign finance violations and bank fraud. The former Trump Organization executive has signaled his willingness to cooperate with prosecutors and turn over information damaging to the president."
Louis Sahagun of the Los Angeles Times: "The federal government is moving to allow commercial logging of healthy green pine trees for the first time in decades in the Los Padres National Forest north of Los Angeles, a tactic the U.S. Forest Services says will reduce fire risk. It's an idea President Trump appeared to endorse in tweets inaccurately linking wildfire to state water management.... Environmental groups have long argued that the logging industry has used fire as an excuse to plunder forests, cutting big trees and leaving behind only small, unmarketable timber.... The Forest Service plans to remove most of the sagebrush and cut down thousands of Jeffrey pine, Ponderosa pine and white fir trees across 2,800 acres it says are overgrown, unhealthy and vulnerable to drought and disease. Officials said the plans include creation of a firebreak 12 miles long and up to half a mile wide along Tecuya Ridge, and removal of brush and trees, including marketable green pines in Cuddy Valley, without first conducting formal environmental impact reviews of the potential effect on habitats and wildlife such as the federally endangered California condor." Emphasis added.
California Takes on TrumpySmog. Tony Barboza of the Los Angeles Times: "California is firing back at the Trump administration with a plan to safeguard the state's greenhouse gas emissions rules from a proposed federal rollback. A state Air Resources Board proposal released Tuesday would force automakers to meet California's existing standards on car and truck pollution, even if weaker ones are adopted by Trump administration. California regulators said the clarification is a protective move intended to close a potential loophole automakers might use to elude compliance with tougher standards adopted jointly with the Obama administration."
"Toxic Shock." Sydney Frankin of ArchNews: "One of the most dangerous construction-related carcinogens is now legally allowed back into U.S. manufacturing under a new rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). On June 1, the EPA authorized a 'SNUR' (Significant New Use Rule) which allows new products containing asbestos to be created on a case-by-case basis. According to environmental advocates, this new rule gives chemical companies the upper hand in creating new uses for harmful products in the United States. In May, the EPA released a report detailing its new framework for evaluating the risk of its top prioritized substances. The report states that the agency will no longer consider the effect or presence of substances in the air, ground, or water in its risk assessments. This news comes after the EPA reviewed its first batch of 10 chemicals under the 2016 amendment to the 1976 Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA), which required the agency to continually reevaluate hundreds of potentially toxic chemicals to see whether they should face new restrictions or be removed from the market. The SNUR greenlights companies to use toxic chemicals like asbestos without consideration about how they will endanger people who are indirectly in contact with them." Emphasis added. Mrs. McC: Pruitt or not, I find this unbelievable. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Rebecca Morin of Politico: "The American Civil Liberties Union on Tuesday filed a federal lawsuit against the Trump administration over its decision to remove asylum protections for victims of domestic and gang violence. The ACLU is arguing against 'expedited removal' policies, put forth by Attorney General Jeff Sessions, that it says 'generally' deny claims of violence of that nature.... In June, the attorney general overturned asylum protections for certain victims of violence, effectively reversing a push by the Obama administration to provide refuge to women with credible claims of domestic violence." ...
... Julia Ainsley of NBC News: "The Trump administration is expected to issue a proposal in coming weeks that would make it harder for legal immigrants to become citizens or get green cards if they have ever used a range of popular public welfare programs, including Obamacare, four sources with knowledge of the plan told NBC News. The move, which would not need congressional approval, is part of White House senior adviser Stephen Miller's plan to limit the number of migrants who obtain legal status in the U.S. each year.... Immigration lawyers and advocates and public health researchers say it would be the biggest change to the legal immigration system in decades and estimate that more than 20 million immigrants could be affected." Mrs. McC: I don't have to tell you this is senseless cruelty. Many of those who suffer will be the American children of these legal immigrants. One good reason to vote Democratic: so Congressional Democrats can hall Miller up before some committee & ask "What the fuck is the matter with you?" (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Sophie Murguia of Mother Jones: "The proposal could affect as many as 47 percent of noncitizens currently in the U.S., according to an analysis by the Migration Policy Institute of an earlier leaked draft of the rule change. (In contrast, only 3 percent of noncitizens are affected by the rule as it currently stands.)" ...
... Jonathan Chait: "Under the forthcoming plan, any legal immigrants who have ever used (or whose household contains people who have ever used) children's health insurance (CHIP), Obamacare, supplemental nutrition assistance, or other social benefits could be denied legal status. Since the 19th century, immigration policy has discriminated against migrants who might become a 'public charge.' But Trump plans to expand the definition of the term to include basic benefits for the working class.... Almost nobody in the United States actually pays for their own insurance in a completely self-sufficient fashion. People who get insurance through their job are benefitting from a massive, costly tax deduction for employer-sponsored insurance. Those who get it through Medicare likewise enjoy a taxpayer-financed social benefit. Programs like Obamacare and CHIP simply extend the same regimen of subsidies and risk pooling to the low-income population that have already been granted to the middle class.... Trump's contribution to the party creed will be to infuse the top-down class war with a racial tinge. That this all proceeds from some fastidiousness about following the rules is a pretense nobody need bother entertaining anymore." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.) ...
... Katherine Krueger of Splinter: "It's nearly impossible to read about the proposal -- which advocates told the network would constitute the biggest change to the immigration system in decades and could affect at least 20 million immigrants -- and ascribe any other motive than abject cruelty and racism." ...
... Thank You for Your Service. Dana Milbank: "Sgt. Temo Juarez was a Trump guy. An Iraq combat veteran who served as a Marine infantryman and then an Army National Guardsman, his friends called him a 'super conservative.' With his wife, he brought up their two daughters in Central Florida. He supported Trump in 2016, eager for a change. But now, 'I am eating my words,' he told the military newspaper Stars and Stripes in an interview published last week. On Friday..., his wife, Alejandra, left the country under a deportation order. She had come to the United States from Mexico illegally as a teenager two decades ago and had until now being living undisturbed with Temo, a naturalized U.S. citizen, and daughters, both natural-born Americans.... The advocacy group American Families United, extrapolating from census figures, estimates there are as many as 11,800 active-duty military service members with a spouse or family member vulnerable to deportation. And that doesn't include veterans' families." (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Trumpies Say Whatever Suits Them. Dell Cameron of Gizmodo: "An investigation carried out by Federal Communication Commission's own inspector general officially refutes controversial claims that a cyberattack was responsible for disrupting the FCC's comment system in May 2017, at the height of the agency's efforts to kill off net neutrality. The investigation also uncovered that FCC officials had provided congressional lawmakers with misleading information regarding conversations between an FCC employee and the Federal Bureau of Investigation's cybercrime task force. A report from the inspector general's office (OIG) released Tuesday afternoon states that the comment system's downtime was likely caused by a combination of 'system design issues' and a massive surge in traffic caused when Last Week Tonight host John Oliver directed millions of TV viewers to flood the FCC's website with pro-net neutrality comments.... 'Today's IG report exposes [FCC] Chairman [Ajit] Pai's general willingness to ignore logic and contradictory evidence when doing so supports his preconceived notions and political agenda,' Jessica J. González, Free Press deputy director and senior counsel, told Gizmodo.'"
Aris Folley of the Hill: "Element Electronics, a consumer electronics company in South Carolina, says it will be closing its plant in Winnsboro due to tariffs imposed by President Trump. The State reported Tuesday that the company was one of the largest remaining employers in Fairfield County after the local Walmart, which used to be the largest grocery store in the county, closed its doors two years ago."
All the Best People, Ctd. "Wilbur the Grifter" Edition. Dan Alexander of Forbes: "Over several months, in speaking with 21 people who know Ross, Forbes uncovered a pattern: Many of those who worked directly with him claim that [Commerce Secretary Wilbur] Ross wrongly siphoned or outright stole a few million here and a few million there, huge amounts for most but not necessarily for the commerce secretary. At least if you consider them individually. But all told, these allegations -- which sparked lawsuits, reimbursements and an SEC fine -- come to more than $120 million. If even half of the accusations are legitimate, the current United States secretary of commerce could rank among the biggest grifters in American history.... Those who've done business with Ross generally tell a consistent story, of a man obsessed with money and untethered to facts." Not only that, he steals Sweet'N Low from the local restaurant & doesn't pay his household help. (Also linked yesterday afternoon.)
Jonathan O'Connell of the Washington Post: "The administrator of the General Services Administration, which manages the FBI headquarters project, may have misled Congress about White House involvement in the project, according to a portion of a soon-to-be published report from the agency's inspector general that was obtained by The Washington Post. Last year the GSA and the FBI scrapped a long-delayed plan to build an FBI headquarters campus in the Washington suburbs in favor of a proposal to build a smaller headquarters in downtown D.C. and relocate some staff to Alabama, Idaho and West Virginia. President Trump has said he supported the new plan. Although GSA Administrator Emily Murphy, speaking to the House Appropriations Committee in April, mentioned discussions of funding with the White House's Office of Management and Budget, she downplayed the role of the White House in the decision-making process. The conclusions section of the inspector general's report, which is expected to be released publicly in the coming weeks, states Murphy's testimony 'was incomplete and may have left the misleading impression that she had no discussions with the President or senior White House officials about the project.'"
Beyond the Beltway
Harriet Ryan of the Los Angeles Times: "USC appointed a retired aerospace executive as interim president and laid out a detailed plan for selecting a permanent leader Tuesday, ending speculation about whether outgoing President C.L. Max Nikias might remain in the post. Nikias, embattled over his administration's handling of a campus gynecologist accused of sexually abusing patients, relinquished his duties after a meeting of USC's board. The trustees tapped one of their own, Wanda Austin, an alumna and former president of the Aerospace Corp., to temporarily run the university. The trustees also approved the formation of a search committee and the hiring of search firm Isaacson, Miller to coordinate the selection of a successor."
Jamiles Lartey of the Guardian: "... unlike in the 2012 killing of Trayvon Martin, which introduced much of the US to so-called 'stand your ground' (SYG) laws, the fatal July shooting of 28-year-old Markeis McGlockton -- who was black -- is slowly gathering political momentum that could roll backself-defense statutes some say are little more than a racially discriminatory license to kill." All five Democratic gubernatorial candidates favor rolling back the Florida laws & even some Republicans say the Pineallas County sheriff who refused to press charges against McGlockton's white vigilante killer misinterpreted the SYG laws. One GOP state senator said, '"Stand your ground' uses a reasonable-person standard. It's not that you were just afraid.... It's an objective standard.'"
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Reader Comments (20)
I went back and read Franklin Foer's formidable piece on Paul Manafort to refresh my memory of what a bubonic plague that waddling wanker has been on human civilization. His life achievement is literally building a life of financial sleaze by empowering dictators and despots to murder and plunder their own populations.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2018/03/paul-manafort-american-hustler/550925/
Paul Manafort's entire "career" has been dedicated to skirting or outright breaking any law that stands between him and ostrich-skin jackets. I'm seriously worried he's going to walk in his tax fraud trial, aided and abetted by some form of manipulation and treachery. It's standard operation procedure for this unprincipled prick. Who would be surprised if he hadn't already hired some goons to do oppo research on the jury members on Day 1, found the weak link, and will dispatch a messenger soon. All it takes is one juror to withhold a guilty verdict and he avoids accountability for all of his financial fuckery. Besides that, holding his silence is worth millions to those he's protecting. Certainly someone with deep pockets could guarantee a nice fancy yacht awaiting a willing juror, delivered in due time once this is all blows over. I would frankly be surprised if he didn't try this after reviewing his track record. I hope he dies in jail with the only shred of dignity he can still claim, not ratting out traitorous Trump as his ultimate service to his oligarch handlers. What a man!
And for his backstabbing sidekick, fellow global bloodsucker Rick Gates, that man has surely heard a few stories about despotic clients "disappearing" those standing in their way, likely with at least an approving shoulder shrug from Mr. Manafort. To have Manafort's beady eyes burning a hole in his neck during testimony has got to be a surreal experience. No doubt Manafort is dreaming of the despotic powers of dispatching a few lowlifes to rid him of this pesky nuisance.
These two individuals are diseases to whatever international system we supposedly created post-WWII, except that this disease appears to have grown and proliferated, aided and abetted, directly from the source. This is quintessential American ratf*kery. And the most damning realization is that Manafort would still be suit shopping for dictators and Rick Gates would still be peddling fake invoices if they hadn't stepped into the Trump vortex of self-destruction.
It seems slightly ridiculous that Rick Gates’ many flaws as a human being appear to be a surprise to some in the media. He’s an adulterer, a cheat, a liar, and an unprincipled dung beetle? Of course he is! Look who he’s been working with all these years. Does anyone believe that Manafort, any more than Donald Trump, would hire a Dudley Dooright? A Boy Scout? A straight arrow? Hell no. These guys hire crooks and charlatans just like themselves. Whaddaya think?
@safari: The biggest danger to the prosecution in this Manafort case seems to be the presiding judge -- Reagan appointee T.S. Ellis. He has repeatedly admonished prosecutors for the most innocuous things -- like not making eye-contact judge, crying (which the prosecutor denied).
More important, Ellis also whacked Gates in an extraordinary remark. Gates had admitted in previous testimony that he embezzled money from the company. (In fact, Ellis forced Gates & the prosecutors to use the term "embezzlement.") Here's the WashPo's report on the exchange:
“'Mr. Manafort in my opinion kept fairly frequent updates,' Gates said [during testimony], after a discussion of movement between their consulting firm’s offshore accounts. 'Mr. Manafort was very good at knowing where the money was and where it was going.'
"Judge Ellis, as he has repeatedly, interjected. 'He didn’t know about the money you were stealing,' Ellis said, 'so he didn’t do it that closely.'
"The comment by the judge goes to a question at the heart of the trial — how much fraud could possibly have gone on under Manafort’s nose without his knowledge."
He did this in front of the jury, of course. Ellis has also tried to make himself likeable to the jurors. It only takes one juror to see which side Ellis is on & decide this nice judge must know best. And you've got a hung jury.
BTW, claiming judicial misconduct -- and so far Ellis' aggressive comments don't appear to rise to that level -- only works for the defendant. If a defendant is found guilty, he could appeal the verdict on the basis that the judge was unfaaair; if the defendant is found not guilty, no matter how biased the judge appears to be against the prosecution, the defendant walks.
" And the most damning realization is that Manafort would still be suit shopping for dictators and Rick Gates would still be peddling fake invoices if they hadn't stepped into the Trump vortex of self-destruction." safari
I was thinking the same thing and wondered how these two goons could have carried on with their duplicity for as long as they did despite any Trump connection. I would think some of those scammy bank exchanges would have raised red flags. When you realize how many people who hooked up with Trump have ended up broken and busted it shows the toxicity of the man.
This trial is fraught with intrigue and hilarity. Judge Ellis is a piece of work. "THERE 'S NO CRYING IN... my courtroom." "Look at me when you're talking to me"... "Don't roll your eyes–-too much eye rolling going on." He's being overly tough on the prosecutors which has its merits but some worry that he's crossed a line here. At one point he intervened during questioning of Gates; a judge never does that.
From yesterday: Message to Akhilleus: Thank you for responding to that Nation story. My thinking on this matched yours and it was good to know we were in sync. But unlike you who "got it" (reading of the poem) straightaway, I had to read it several times before it sunk in and I'm wondering whether many just didn't understand what Wee was going for here and responded too quickly in their negative assessment. In other words had they understood would they still have had those hissy fits?
@PD Pepe: It's no secret as to why Manafort, Gates & others got away with criminality for years (or decades). As Catherine Rampell wrote in the WashPo the other day:
"Manafort is also hardly the only person associated with Trump who has engaged in conspicuously suspicious financial and political activities.
"There was the apparent treatment of the Trump Foundation as a personal checkbook.... The operation of Eric Trump’s personal foundation also has raised similar questions of self-dealing, according to Forbes.
"Or there’s the fishy stock trades by Trump cronies, including Carl Icahn and even the current commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross. Ross shorted the stock of a Kremlin-linked company days after he learned journalists were reporting a potentially negative story about the firm. (Both Icahn and Ross have denied engaging in insider trading.) Or former national security adviser Michael Flynn’s failure to register as a foreign agent working on behalf of Turkey.
"There’s a clear reason so many Trump-related figures likely felt free to engage in dodgy behavior in broad daylight: They didn’t expect anyone to care....
"Federal prosecutions of white-collar crime — a category that includes tax, corporate, health-care or securities fraud, among other crimes — are on track this year to reach their lowest level on record.... Prosecutions of crimes related to public corruption are also on pace to set a record low."
Rampell goes on to cite some reasons for this & notes that Manafort's attorneys tried a sort of man-kills-parents-implores-jury-to-show-mercy-to-orphan defense.
I suspect it won't be the chutzpah defense (kill parents, plead for mercy for a poor orphan). Manafort's guys will push the old Charlie Brown (song) defense, "Why's everybody always pickin' on me?"
As Rampell notes, feds are prosecuting fewer white collar crimes and settling more of those they do prosecute. But such crime abounds. So M's lawyers will claim that he has been singled out as a political victim and as a target for the feds to squeeze for evidence on DiJiT. As Bea notes, they'll say it just so "unnffaairrrr!" No tears, but whining is probably OK in Ellis' court.
The corollary to such a defense, however, is that in a sea of criminality, political affiliation should convey immunity.
That is sort of the definition of corruption.
So it just means that M's lawyers will have to be artful in presenting that bullshit defense. Watch for it.
Judge Ellis is WAAA aaaaY tooo intrusive.
It's the 'money culture'. I don't get it. I am pretty sure that after I made my first billion I would spend my time using it. But in today's world a billion is no big deal. It's not the money. It's a numerical marker of success. And there are two ways to 'succeed', competence or crookedness (or lets call it Trumpedness). So Trump likes to hire people like himself. I wonder how many are headed for jail?
Bea, I don't think the word 'unbelievable' has a meaning anymore.
I'm more and more inclined to agree with Safari that it's looking less likely that a conviction in the Manafort case is a given (as it probably should be, considering the depth and breadth of his obvious criminal history).
Part of the reason could be the judge. Ellis's intrusions into the case may be entertaining, and they may help to speed up the trial, but since when is a speedier trial a guarantee of justice? In a case like this, connecting the dots is important to show intent and tactics. But details are important if you're telling a story that you hope will lead jurors to a logical and just conclusion.
It's like getting a three paragraph synopsis of a John le Carré or Dickens novel. You might say "Okay, yeah, I get it" but it's unlikely that you would have as deep an appreciation for the details and the granular nature of the story and the motives and psychologies of the characters involved as you get from start to finish. Your conclusion might be "Great Expectations"? It's okay I guess. The kid made out in the end, right? What's the big deal?"
Why is this important? Because if you just allow the prosecutors to say "Well Manafort did this and that" instead of "...and that and that and that and that and that, and oh yeah, what about this holy mess over here, and this bit of skullduggery over there...", some are likely to come out saying "Meh, so he fudged his taxes. No biggie. Lots of people do that".
Also, challenging the prosecution's choice of words is bizarre. Not allowing the oligarchs who hired Manafort to be called "oligarchs" because it might be prejudicial is itself prejudicial. Against the prosecution. I remember a film with Albert Brooks (can't remember the name now) in which, through some bit of business, his wife did something to fritter away their nest egg. In a fit of pique, he declared that from then on, she couldn't say "nest egg". She couldn't even say "nest". She had to say "round stick". Judge Ellis telling prosecutors they have to say "round stick" certainly helps the defendant, especially if they're trying to describe a nest.
Imagine a judge in a mob murder trial telling the DA she couldn't use the phrase "hit man" or the word "assassin" or even "murder".
A case built up over months and months investigating a criminal career that was created layer upon layer over decades shouldn't get the bum's rush because the judge doesn't want to be bothered.
Are the instances where obvious criminals not prosecuted in the first place or skate when hauled into court, evidence that our Christian nation has happily tossed most of those quaintTen Commandments in the dungheap, or another sign that in our squishy universe where nothing is certain, truth and fact are moribund, if not already dead?
Kessler just gave us 52 billion reasons to think so.
Age of Indolence
Thinking about the culture of high end grifters, and the way they all seem to get away with everything as long as no one rats them out reminds me, perhaps incongruously, of Edith Wharton's "Age of Innocence". The story, you will recall, is about the upper class tribe of old money New Yorkers, the most venerated of whom trace their lineage back to the good old Peter Stuyvesant Indian bilking days. It's a very protective clan. But within the group, there is plenty of shady dealings and funny business that most are allowed to get away with as long as it doesn't embarrass the tribe.
Thus, the clans are all allowed to fraternize with socially questionable new money types, especially if they need a quick thousand or two on loan. They don't really care how the banker Julius Beaufort makes his money as long as they can cash in with him. But when he falls on hard times, his lack of true connections to the clan dooms him to disgrace and abandonment.
Thus, in Trump World, if you get caught, you're on your own. But if you don't get bagged, because no one is really looking very hard at how you make your money, it's all good. No one is going to lift a finger to try to figure out how you got from small time real estate chiseler to billionaire president*.
Unless, I suppose, his name is Mueller.
@Marvin Schwalb writes, "Bea, I don't think the word 'unbelievable' has a meaning anymore."
Yeah, I thought about that even as I wrote it. You're right.
But asbestos??!!
This asbestos thing is particularly evil, I mean more evil than many other Trump doings (although almost all of his schemes register somewhere on the Evil Shit chart; but this is Really Evil). You have to wonder, do these people get together in some dark room and think this shit up then twirl their mustaches and cackle about their beautiful wickedness?
Surely there must be some decent rational person somewhere in this government from hell who realizes what terrible stuff asbestos is. Google "health effects of asbestos" and you get over 6 million hits. And here are some of the biggest "benefits" of asbestos to the American public, courtesy of Donald J. Trump.
Cancer. A biggie. Especially mesothelioma. Malignant forms are aggressive and almost always fatal.
Pulmonary fibrosis
Asbestosis
Pleural effects
Laryngeal effects
Compromised immune system
And is there any cure for these health horrors?
Nope.
"Due to the accumulating damage caused by asbestos fibers, asbestosis and asbestos pleural disease are slowly progressive asbestos diseases. They may be treated, but not cured."
Even Confederates get cancer. Do any of these evil pricks care?
And here's the thing, is this cavalier and malignant reintroduction of asbestos into American industries going to reap massive rewards in terms of profits? First, if I'm in an industry thinking about adding asbestos to little Johnny's bed spread, I'm guessing someone from legal will raise a red flag and say "Whoa there, Hoss, even if this shit is legal under the Trump Monsters, surely to god when responsible people get back in charge, they're going to outlaw this poisonous stuff again. And if we have a million spreads out there and little Johnnies by the thousands start getting sick, we're going to have lawsuits up the ying yang. This is NOT a good idea."
But that would be a responsible industry. Seen many of those lately?
Mustache twirling motherfuckers. Every one of them. More Trumpies who deserve perdition.
The billionaires will no doubt cover their asbestos tainted building
materials with gold leaf. Problem solved. Buy gold stocks!
How much will you bet me that, if he loses in Kansas, Kris (White Supremacy) Kobach will declare his loss the result of massive voter fraud?
Government by Amateur Cronies
For years I've heard different stories about the VA, how it's a mess, how it really helped some vets, etc. And whatever else it has been, I doubt it has ever been run by a shadowy cabal of billionaire cronies of the president* who have never spent a single second in uniform or run that kind of an organization.
The VA is currently being run by three Mar-a-Lago pals of Trump, one the CEO of a comic book-movie company, another an upper-upper class doctor who specializes in finding pricey medical care for elite West Palm Beach types, and the third, a lawyer who operates a business much like an upper class ambulance chaser. None have experience in government or the military.
Perfect for Trump.
Although they claim not to be taking any payment for their intrusions, there is the sense that they have been adjusting VA efforts in ways that benefit their own bank accounts. Pure Trump. When the mood strikes, they demand action from VA officials to drop what they're doing and take time to follow up on their own ignorant and often supercilious demands that often have nothing to do with the VA's mission.
But Trump has a question about veterans affairs, he calls the comic book guy. Because, why not?
These guys are setting policy for the VA and intruding whenever they want into the daily workings of the organization. If they don't get what they want, they call daddy. Former VA director, David Shulkin was required to travel, at taxpayer expense, to Mar-a-Lago to kiss the rings and get the approval of Trump's VA "experts" as did current director, Robert Wilkie.
"Wilkie, who was sworn in on July 30, now faces a choice between asserting his own authority over the VA or taking cues from the Mar-a-Lago Crowd. Wilkie reportedly wants to sideline O’Rourke and Sandoval and restock the agency leadership with his own people. But people familiar with the situation said the Mar-a-Lago Crowd’s allies are pushing back on Wilkie’s efforts to rein them in. As his predecessor learned the hard way, anyone who crosses the Mar-a-Lago Crowd does so at his own risk."
This is an extensively researched Pro Publica piece, well worth your time.
Mrs. Bea: I wondered about the judge's assumption that had Manafort known of Cohen's skimming he wouldn't have tolerated it. T'was more of a we're-in-this-together kind of arrangement, where both can get their beaks wet as needed. Keeping friends close, you might say. Seems a little...generous, maybe naive
.
Some former prosecutors have also said that the prosecutor has tried mob bosses and the like, so is quite unlikely to have teared up at the old meanie judge. Also, that by being hard on the prosecution side he may be insulating the government's case on appeal. Don't know, but I'd bet he'd like to not be reversed on appeal. Some of what he just blurted out seemed prejudicial to me, but federal judges are generally pretty full of themselves.
Life in Trump World
Just read about an off-duty Cincinnati police officer TASING an eleven year old girl in a grocery store. The girl was ordered to stop by an off-duty cop. Did she know he was a police officer? Who knows? Was she shoplifting, as this cop contends? The answer to both questions is not "No matter what, send thousands of volts of electricity into a little girl's back".
So, my first question was "Is this kid white or black?" It was, of course rhetorical. Of COURSE she's black. Would an off-duty Trump-state cop tase a white girl?
FUCK NO. In no possible universe would that happen.
And you know what? I don't care if the kid was clipping some hair tonic or a can of Coke. If you can't deal with a child doing something she shouldn't without sending a jolt of disabling electricity coursing through her little body, then you need to find another job, asshole.
And I guarantee you, this guy will not be punished.
When I was younger, I worked in a grocery store in a tough, tough urban area. We had shoplifters a lot scarier than an 11 year old girl. We had a regular detail cop who was in his late 50's at the time. He never once pulled a weapon on anyone. He handled it, professionally and responsibly. I loved that guy. He was my hero. He knew just how to handle the most dangerous situations with skill and aplomb. But he probably wouldn't have a job in Trump World because he never shot anyone in the back, guilty or innocent.
And it's outrageous that certain outlets are describing this girl as a teenager. She's 11. She's a kid. NOT A TEENAGER.
If this were a white girl, she'd be described by the Foxes of the world as a sweet little girl. But she's not white.
Therefore, she's a criminal and eligible to have thousands of volts of electricity shot into her.
Life in Trump World.
Because of a major technical difficulty, I'm unable to log in to Reality Chex, which means I can't do any updates. I have some people working on it, but they're having difficulty understanding the problem, much less fixing it. I'll update as soon as I can.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/08/the-guardian-view-on-saudi-arabia-time-to-back-canada
And so we bend the knee to another tyrant.
There's so much to be proud of now that we've made America great again, I'm losing count.